Session 3: So, are we leaving or...? Report

General Summary

The session began with weather report and date check: dry, cold and windy on the 22nd of Junith. The party awakes on the floor of Traviel's large yet cosy lounge, surrounded by cushions and blankets galore. The order of business began with a dainty breakast provided by Traviel, but Xiti was soon discovered to be missing, having left nothing but a note; "gone to help Steven". With this discovery, the plan to set off on Gregory's return was made more complicated, and the remaining duo arranged to keep busy in the meantime. Gregory had left early that morning, saying he would scout out the journey ahead for any major obstacles or mishaps, and return when he'd made sure the route was safe. This left Ghar and 'Visionary' in Traviel's company, and Ghar was keen to get into contact with his patron, while 'Visionary' spent the days experimenting with new robotic parts, and learning about dwarven machinery from some of Traviel's books. Ghar focused on trying to learn Common, as Traviel had at his disposal considerable resources, and contacting a demonic patron would be hard while under the watchful eye of such a stringent wizard.   The main event of the session was the request Traviel made of the party: go retrieve a book lost in a bet with a fellow wizard. Apparently, Traviel and his friend had made a bet some weeks before- the detials of which Traviel did not give- and the forfeit was a memorial tome of Traviel's university days. He asked the players to go get the book back, stating that he'd made a mistake in wagering it, and he wanted it back. So, Ghar and 'Visionary' agreed, and made their way to the tower Traviel had given them directions to: "a tall stately tower some two miles west of town".   Soon enough, Ghar and 'Visionary' found the tower as described, but its exterior was forboding on account of its seeming dereliction: boarded windows and shabby stonework. In spite of this, the pair made their way to the small wooden door entrance, and after smashing it in happened upon quite a chaotic scene. The ground floor was dark, and ransacked. Neverthless, Ghar was keen to investigate, and found little in the way of evidence, as the room seemed to be nothing more than storage- littered with open crates and chests. Up the stairs, the first floor was much the same ransacked scene, though this floor was evidently a study with a large wooden desk piled high with scrolls, papers and books. Around the walls of this room were bookcases picked clean, with the exception of only a few books. In the middle of the floor was a stone circle etched with arcane runes that 'Visionary' understood to be some form of ward or summoning incantation. The pair were quick to investigate the remaining books, picking up a couple and finding a small safe hidden inside the wall behind one of the bookcases most populated with books. Some of the books were defaced with the sigil the party had seen on the Ogre's neck. 'Visionary' was able to discern that the safe was enchanted, and that some spell or key would be required. Moving on, the pair headed to the final floor above. Here there was another stone circle, upon which was set some kind of contraption that 'Visionary' recognised to be an Æthir Conduit mechanism. In the middle of the metal rings hovered a Conduit Stone, which Ghar reached to remove, only to be thrown back after knocking one of the rings. A second attempt was more successful, and he managed to remove the stone, though doing so caused a noise from the study below. Luckily, 'Visionary' was able to check the downstairs and see the stone creature rising from the stone circle fast enough to cast 'Dispel Magic'- stopping the ritual in its tracks. Once solved, Ghar took a small case he'd found on the table beside the contraption, and put the stone into it as the case was evidently designed to hold Conduit Stones. What was unsettling was that there were two empty spaces beside the stone Ghar put in the case.   After this brief encounter, the pair returned to the safe, and after casting 'Dispel Magic' a couple of times, and Ghar yanking it hard enough, the door opened, revealing some coin and the book Traviel had mentioned. Ghar pocketted the coin, and took the book. After this, the pair made a quick exit, making sure not to disturb the half-summoned guardian in the middle of the room.   On returning to Traviel, Ghar and Visionary settled back into their downtime activities, but not before asking a few questions in regards to the importance of the book they'd retrieved, and informing Traviel of the state in which they had found the tower. Not only this, but they mentioned the sigil they'd seen, asking of its significance. For the importance of the book, Traviel explained it was a memorial tome compiled by he and his classmates from his time at university, and that the memories associated were extremely important. As to the state of the tower, Traviel was shocked and rather concerned, saying he would attempt to contact his friend to ensure his health. Finally, he explained that the sigil they'd seen was a common rune used by amatuer spell casters during training, and its use seemed odd considering its placement and the apparent lack of other evidence of spell-casting.   After this conversation, 'Visionary' resumed his reading and rest, while Ghar took the opportunity to contact his patron while Traviel was busy contacting his friend. Ghar and his patron Thran discussed the recent killing Ghar had done, and argued as to where the promised riches were. However, in the end, Thran's spirit was briefly hijacked by the greater demon who he spoke on behalf of. This demon insisted that all the riches in the world would be Ghar's as long as he stayed true to his agreement with Thran- to purge the Alithar name from the face of Estanon.   After some housekeeping and downtime organisation, the session ended with the arrangement being that the party would leave once Gregory returned at the end of Junith, and that hopefully Xiti had returned by then.