Session III: The Aftermath Report

General Summary

Premise

The city of Cynhall is still reeling from the attacks that occurred during the Festival of Mothers (see Session II: The Festival of Mothers and Session II.5: The Festival of Mothers, Part 2). Many innocent civilians have been killed, and much of the city has been left in ruins. The leadership of Therium desires justice for these attacks, but who is behind them?

Session Events

The Aftermath

Uthal 'Swordguard' Gormotti, Xarvarax Gilmar, Jack Springer, Kyros, and Arizima Pascar awake in what appears to be an infirmary with six beds, clean sheets, and a faint medicinal smell permeating the room. They're in their travelling clothes, their wounds treated while they were unconscious. The group finds their equipment in footlockers at the foot of their beds, save for Swordguard's sword, Aegis. In a surprising flurry of emotion and determination, he throws the door open, which wasn't locked. Outside, two guards are frightened by the goliath, and immediately start to run. Swordguard follows. As they reach the end of the hallway, one guard turns to explain the situation to the group while the other continues running down another hall. Swordguard doesn't want to hear any of it; he's focused solely on finding his sword. Shoving the guard out of the way, he follows after the other guard, the rest of the group following behind.   As the group makes their way down the hallway, they run into Quintus Mallius Verulus, Servius Tellius Caldus, and Commander Canus Tacitus , the latter of which is holding a big, long box. They quickly explain the situation to the group, saying that when a guard tried to collect Swordguard's equipment, he immediately disintegrated when he tried to pick up the sword. The Commander hands over the long box to Swordguard, revealing Aegis inside. With that, Servius requests the group all make their way into a nearby room so that he may explain the situation further. The group agrees, making their way inside. Ari, Jack, and Kyros take a seat at the long table, at which Prince Quin and Servius also take a seat. Swordguard and Xarvarax lean against the wall aside the door, and Commander Tacitus takes his own post beside Xarvarax. Before starting the discussion, Servius suggests that they wait, as he expects to be joined by others shortly, who Commander Tacitus leaves to retrieve.   In the dungeon, Alice Blackhawk, Korrina Spiros, Grunk, and Cassius Montassar remain detained. They receive a meager breakfast, but at least they're safe. Late in the morning, Commander Tacitus - who the group is familiar with from the questioning they all underwent - along with two other Tutors arrive at the cells. The Commander address the group, saying that their innocence has been proven after discussing their testimonies with the King and his advisers. He also says that their presence has been requested in order to explain what has happened. He unlocks each of their cells in turn, before starting to lead them out of the dungeon. As the group makes their way past Sarza's cell, a piercing scream coming from them fills the dungeon. Looking into the cell, they see a massive amount of blood pouring down their face. They're able to see, though their hands, a black tattoo running across Sarza's eyes, from which the blood appears to be coming from. It's clear that Sarza is in a lot of pain, and Commander Tacitus does his best to urge the group to move along as other guards tend to them. Before leaving, however, they see Sarza fall catatonic as they finally make their way up.   Commander Tacitus leads the second group into the castle and to the meeting room where the first group, Prince Quin, and Head Advisor Servius are waiting. With everyone collected, Head Advisor Servius and Prince Quin launch into an explanation of what happened. The group quickly notices that the Prince is unable to speak physically, and instead communicates telepathically using a ring that Aurelia Elvorix created for him. The two explain how the city was attacked, as well as their belief that the attacks were orchestrated by Vaaler'nian mages, due to the Signum Mysticis that were present on some of the suspects that were detained or corpses that were collected. However, the Vaaler'nia mages that were taken prisoner were all starting to go catatonic after their Signum Mysticis exploded in blood - just like what happened with Sarza. The Tutors weren't able to get much information from the mages, most of them choosing to use evasive or vague wording.   Servius and Quin also discuss the marks that both groups, as well as Quin, were left with. Strangely, it seems like Prince Quin's mark was more severe, restricting his ability to speak. No one knew what the brands were, or what they meant or their purpose. Additionally, the group discusses the strange voice they all appeared to hear when they received their mark. After sharing each of the bits that they heard, none of it sounded familiar to any of the group, Prince Quin, or Head Adviser Servius, though the latter promises that the historians would look into it.   Finally, Head Adviser Servius mentions that there will be a summit in the city of Naki in Oplea with commissaries from each different kingdom. Servius requests the presence of some of the group here, though he doesn't force any of them to go. He also promises each of the reparations for their involvement in the attack and their help once the summit is complete. Finally, he mentions that the mages - Cassius, Korrina, Jack, and Ari - were all Perfuga, or mages living in Therium who have not passed the Rite of Graduation. He requests (read, strongly suggests) that they make their way to the city of Acum after the summit, where they will be expected to undergo the Rite. He points out that it probably won't be necessary for them to take any classes and may simply undergo the Rite. He also mentions that they will be provided with supplies to make the two week trip. Hesitantly, the group agrees to make the trip after the summit, and Alice promises to see the mages to Acum. Swordguard chooses to take his leave now, not caring about the money and with a more important goal in mind. Xarvarax chooses to remain in the city until the summit is over, no interest in politics. Ari chooses not to attend the summit as well, instead heading off to the Academy in Gegium across the Therium Depths. Grunk also chooses to wait in Cynhall while Jack, Korrina, Alice, Kyros, and Cassius all choose to attend the summit. The group is lead by Commander Tacitus to the Royal Armory, where they replenish some supplies. He then leads them to the Mage's Tower, where Head Mage Aurelia Elvorix activates a teleportation circle to bring them to Naki.

The Summit

Arriving in Naki, the group is greeted by Vom Nassen, the right hand of King Glal Peacegleam of Oplea. Vom speaks with an eerily calm and breathy voice, somewhat not matching his handsome appearance. He explains that the emissaries from Drovhin and Uspana have yet to arrive, and points them in the direction of the meeting theatre. There are no guards to escort the party. While Prince Quin and Servius make their way there, Jack takes a moment to pick the lock to a nearby room using Kyros' thieves' tools. Inside, he finds a room similar to the one he had just come from, with an unactivated teleportation circle in the center.   Soon, Alice urges the group to head toward the meeting theatre. Stepping inside, they find a room that appears strangely as if they're outside, covered in ferns, bushes, and trees. Voices further in draw the group down a path, where they find a stone amphitheater. To the left, they see Prince Quin and Servius. To the right, they see three others. Kyros recognizes the human woman as Princess Liliana Sutton, crown princess of Vaaler'nia. The party approaches the group to the right, where one of the others - a high elf male - as Yves Camille, the current Laranlors of Eska. He had previously been catching up with Princess Liliana and the male sitting next to her, a mysterious individual called Caszer, a member of the Shadow Council.   Before the group and have much further discussion with these strangers, the emissaries from Drovhin (a dwarvish male named Huugo Viitanen) and Uspana (an elderly gnomish male named Pauli Rivelli and a halfling woman named Zelfie Zarro) arrive, and Vom moves to start the summit. However, Pauli seems annoyed by the strangers in his presence, prompting everyone in the room to introduce themselves. After the introductions, Prince Quin and Head Adviser Servius explain everything that happened. They allow the party to add their testimonies to support the claims of the leaders. Prince Quin also proves that he cannot speak and what happens when he tries - pain crosses his face as he coughs and chokes, vomiting up a thick, dark, smoky shadow.   The discussions are not very fruitful, as far as gaining more information. No one present seems to know anything about the marks on the party. Princess Liliana promises that she knew nothing of the attacks beforehand, and that they weren't sanctioned by the Royal Family of Vaaler'nia or the Shadow Council. She promises to look into the records of the Academies for the names of those who were captured, especially Sarza and Portia. They also have never heard of the phenomenon of Signum Mysticis starting to bleed. While the Prince and Head Adviser reiterate that they're not accusing the Royal Family of Vaaler'nia of knowing, they do demand some sort of reparations for the attacks. Princess Liliana promises to send gold and laborers to help repair Cynhall. Before the end of the summit, Prince Quin asks the people present if the words they had heard in their minds. It doesn't sound familiar to anyone, but Yves Camille suggests that an ancient elf known as "The Elder" might have heard of it who lives in the Alais Mountains.   With that, the summit is disbanded. Oplean wizards work to send everyone back from which they came. Back in Cynhall, Head Adviser Servius makes good on his promise of reparations, producing a letter with the seal of the Royal Family of Therium. Grunk rejoins the party as they make their way to the guard barracks to collect their rewards and supplies. Making their way out of the city, they're stopped at the northern gate, where the guards seem to be inspecting everyone coming in and going out of the city. Without much hassle, the group is allowed to leave.

On the Road to Acum

By the time they start north, it's already afternoon. The first day of travel goes by uneventfully, with Grunk driving the carriage as the others busy themselves in other ways. They make camp for the night, where Cassius casts Find Familiar, summoning a hawk. Korrina and Kyros go on a crawling adventure, while Cassius also produces an illusion of a kobold nearby. Eventually, they all go to sleep. After an equally uneventful night, the group makes their way back onto the road. This first part of travel is bringing them through Vassorum's Wood, a forest rumored to be protected by a unicorn with a glowing golden horn. As the party makes their way off of the road to find water for the horses, they stumble upon a pool of what was once likely water, now turned into an oily black liquid. On the shore of the pool is a unicorn, barely alive and its horn covered in blackness. Noticing the party approach, it asks for help. It motions to the island at the center of the pool, which holds a statue of the goddess Ehlonna, who is holding three tablets. At the base of the statue are three jars. The unicorn mentions a ritual that Ehlonna has prepared that can purify the pool, but that he could not complete it because he has no hands. He also explains how he had drank some of the water before the corruption in it had shown.   With that, the party is set on helping the unicorn. Korrina and Grunk remain on the shore, either unwilling or uncaring to help. The rest jump to the island, where they solve the riddle presented by Ehlonna. The party is able to purify the water by performing the ritual correctly. They bring some of the purified water to the unicorn, dribbling it into its mouth. With that, the unicorn regains its strength and introduces itself as Ehlonna-Vossorum. It gives the party a medallion showing the visage of Ehlonna, and promises to come to their aid should they ever encounter undead, fiends, or demons.   Taking a few moments to relax and allow the horses to drink, the party returns to the road. The rest of the day of travel goes uneventfully, and they make camp for the night. Alice takes the first watch, noticing nothing. Jack takes the second watch, which is equally uneventful. However, during Cassius' watch, he hears the sound of approaching creatures. He sneaks forward to investigate further, only to be rushed by two gnolls and a giant hyena. The party is able to knock one of the gnolls and the hyena unconscious, while the last one runs away. They return to bed, hoping to sleep through the rest of the night.

Repercussions

• Cynhall is recovering from the attacks.
• Vaaler'nia promises to send laborers and gold to help Cynhall recover.
• Swordguard, Xarvarax, and Ari leave the party, while Grunk, Cassius, Alice, and Korrina join.
• The party receives reparations for their involvement.
• The party starts toward Acum.

Rewards Granted

• 200 gp each
• Potion of Healing each
• Supplies for the trip to Acum, including camping supplies, rations, two horses, a covered carriage, and a map.

Character(s) interacted with

• Quintus Mallius Verulus
• Servius Tellius Caldus
• Commander Canus Tacitus
• Vom Nassen
• Yves Camille
• Liliana Sutton
• Caszer
• Pauli Rivelli
• Zelfie Zarro
• Huugo Viitanen