Session 99: Perfect Timing

General Summary

1st-11th Brussendar 836PD   1st Brussendar   As the Unbroken prepare to leave, Allura senses someone approaching her tower, but she drops her guard when she recognises the individual. A human male, grey hair, prim and proper appearance and attire walks through the door. Allura introduces Arthur Krone to the Unbroken, a wizard from Deastok, Wildemount that studies chronurgy, the manipulation of time. And he seems short of it at the moment, as soon as the quickest of social niceties are exchanged, he vents his frustrations of having to defend the weakened Ioun shackle just by himself.   Arthur had come to Allura for further support as whilst he has strengthened the defensive wards around the shackle, there has been increasing incursions by Tharizdun’s demons and the protections will only last a month if he doesn’t get any support. As fate would have it, Arthur had arrived just at the time where the only people experienced with defending shackles were also looking for help.   Allura proposes that if Arthur could join with the Unbroken in their mission to retrieve their spy and possibly find the Lock-Breaker, then the Unbroken could provide support for Arthur with defending the shackles. While Raphael is sceptical of the ‘weapon-less’ wizard, the huffing human will bide his time to prove him wrong.   The group head down to the docks to find the favour of Kima’s associate “Tuna Can”. They find the Mermaid’s Whistle and scout around the inn, Raven notices a thieves sign that the pub serves as a place to ‘fence’ items. He also spots the description provided of a halfling bard at the bar. The forewarned annoying voice that slurs in-between sips of rum, with a tarnished rapier and well-thumbed lute by his sides.   Raven approaches the bar and offers a drink to the halfling, which buys him the name of this sullied sailor, Rhetoric. With Raven’s nod to confirm they’ve found their man; Raphael joins and introduces himself as friend of Lady Kima’s. Rhetoric is evasive on any favour or inquiry of help, until Raph calls him “Tuna Can” as Kima instructed. Rhe is persuaded this is genuine call on a debt (buying him a bottle of rum also helps), and obliges to help the Unbroken sail to the Ruins of O’Noa.   The now even more expanded party disguise themselves in case of any prying eyes have followed them, and head to a small jetty off the side of the docks where Raphael activates the folding boat, they procured to travel the Underdark. They sail along down the Bladeshimmer shoreline for a couple of hours, until they spot a large ship with no colours crossing to intercept them.   Rhetoric recognises this troubling ship; the group try to pin down his elusive answers of how he recognises the ship and what or who is it looking for. Rhetoric eventually shares under the increasing pressure of the decreasing ship’s distance, that he stole some clicks (pistols) from Pirate Captain Kaleb ‘Four Clicks’.   Whilst the group decide whether to parley or launch an attack, Arthur had pulled out his Pocket Watch focus, touched it to his head while speaking enchantment magic that coalesced into a swirling bead which then froze still as if it was stuck in time. Arthur hands the bead to his unseen servant ‘Tempus’, and he will tell it when the time is right to use it.   As the ship gets in range, Rhe sees a Captain at the bow of the ship, but doesn't recognise them as Kaleb Four Clicks. Raph messages the captain to try and intimidate through his magical disguises of the Plank King, Drakkar and Dashilla but the captain isn’t fazed by ‘parlour tricks’.   The captain tells them to prepare to be boarded, but before he can even turn around to his crew, Tempus activates Arthur’s bead unleashing a psychic lance that strikes the pirate captain’s brain. He shrieks in pain as blood pours from his eyes and nose, and his limp, lifeless body falls overboard. A beat follows, is this the first strike to start a deadly naval battle?   A couple of the pirate crew look overboard, and start to turn the ship around in retreat, not wanting to face the same fate as their captain! As the large pirate ship sails away, Arthur takes a genuinely earned smug look back at Raphael, wizards don’t need weapons, they are the weapon.   The party row through the rest of the day and night, Simeon and Rhetoric pulling all-nighters to make up for the slow pace of the folding boat. Raphael uses his dream magic to connect with Allura, updating on their progress with their new members, but also seeking an update on what Allura has found out about Karkematth. Allura’s contacts had heard that remnants of a ‘cloning laboratory’ had been discovered in the Summit Peaks by the Lucidian Coast, presumably this is where Raphael and the other 12 clones were created before being transported to the Frostweald.   2nd-10th Brussendar   The group awaken the next morning find that they were way off course with Rhetoric’s night time sailing, they lose the day sailing back and also miss the river that runs inland for them to cross down with a shortcut to the Ruins of O’Noa. They sail south the next day till they can get closer along, and camp on shore. They spend the next week travelling over land to avoid any other misadventures at sea.   The group begin to get to know each other a little, Rhetoric’s lute lulls the evenings like the gentle sway of a ship and Arthur shares some of his adventures travelling from Wildemount to Tal’dorei.   11th Brussendar   The Unbroken arrive just at the outskirts of the Ruins, the surrounding land is desolate and scarred by arcane attrition during the Scattered War. Arthur summons his clockwork owl familiar ‘Fugit’ to scope out some buildings ahead, and he soon spots a lone boy, heavily malnourished and crying.   Eventually the party overcome their paranoia of potential trap and after several awkward attempts to speak with the boy (Raphael spooking the child by casting message in his mind and Raven chasing him down after he runs), Simeon manages to charm him with food. His name is Harry, and he can take them to Loushia who is looking after other children like him.   In a ramshackle tent, the group meet with the young woman Loushia, who has been caring for several orphans. She is sceptical of the new arrivals, but with Simeon’s creation of food and water as well as treatment of some of the children’s illnesses, she relents to their questions about the area and that they are seeking someone who was kidnapped.   Orlando asks if the term ‘blackened hand’ from Simeon’s divination on Jinarth means anything to her, her face turns thunderous and then tortured as she recognises it to refer to the Dark Grasp. A gang that plagued the ruins and entered into a power sharing deal with another bandit, Wakeen, after a brutal turf war. The Dark Grasp recently forcibly conscripted one of her charges, Travis, to their gang, and if they have Jinarth then Loushia will help the Unbroken to take them down.