Old Friends

"Then it all as Lawrence predicted. All shall come to pass."

 

Death of the wayward preacher

Theo spoke to the... thing. It mentioned a ruin, and Lawrence.
 
When it looked to Kane's dead body, a tattoo on his arm flickered before growing dim. It spoke as they all do, high and mighty of itself.
 
Theo and Steel made off for Kane's stash of goods.
 
Murg collected himself and moved closer to the spectral being. Neither he nor the ghost held respect for one another as they interacted, revealing little about themselves. The spirit did reveal itself as Kane.
 
Murg tried to catch Kane in some transaction -- "This is not an oath between you and I, but between you and Abadar." -- but the cleric of the Lord of Commerce could not change the mind of the dark priest of Entropy's Shadow as much as Kane could convert Murg.
 
 

Forces beyond reach

But the priest couldn't keep his faith to himself: he preached once again on the end of the world, nigh as it was. "Asmodeus will come."
 
The Order of the White Tree. Which Kane and Lawrence belonged to (one a dark priest, the other a necromancer).
 
The Order is ultimately behind the Arcadian Accord.
 
Hrothamari was a member of the order as well, and though his future sight saw ruin for Kane and Lawrence, they didn't listen. The opening of the Living Gate was a sign for the giant soothsayer; the next sign is an aspect of Asmodeus, who could effectively ascend to godhood.
 
Kane believed, in many ways, he would be the one to close the Living Gate with Samuel's help. Lawrence though so as well, with his magics, but was consumed the instant he approached the gate. "An illithid, and with magic: an alhoon who waits in Narathai."
 
Lawrence works now to control a Great Old One, having contact at the moment with the Endless -- who Izol knew too well.
 
Kane had, after a point, turned against Lawrence to try and prevent what ultimately corrupted Lawrence's life.
 
(Cerelak, the lich who cut Chult in two, was mentioned.)
 
"Do you really believe you can change fate?"
 
 

The altar

The fire connected to Kane's life had flickered out, and behind it stood a blood-stained altar adjacent to a rotted trapdoor. Opening it offered only a terrible odor.
 
Jojen descended first, Steel crafting a sort of oil that gave off the strong smell of wheat and cut chaff. "For the smell," he murmured.
 
The basement below the altar was blood, gore, and the dead. A torture room, a dissection chamber, and a mess of lives taken.
 
Murg did what he could.
 
Kane's hidden study was in the back near an... impressive display of corpses. There was a conglomerate of:

It was Steel that noticed a glimmer in the rubble, a copper and gold insignia buried underneath what was once a footlocker. It was Kane's sigil: a claw or an opening flower, clutching an icy stone, and glowed faintly. Taking it to Murg, it matched what the Vanguard had seen of Hrothamari's things -- it had probably been stolen. The writing on the back held some vague prayers, and putting two and two together Murg realized it was a mark of order. Whomever wears it benefits -- or suffers -- from a permanent 5-foot zone of truth.
 
Steel spoke. "I should probably take it. I lie the least."


 

Eastgate: Closed

As the ground moved through Nostalii upwards to the surface, they saw a host of bluish-gray ghosts see them off. One by one they disappeared, reappearing only when Murg laid out the belongings Kane had taken from them.
 
The guards of Eastgate were shocked to see the Vanguard return, and the group offered no answers to what happened. "It should be... safer, at least. Still, remain extremely careful." The captain and men of Eastgate all saluted the Vanguard.
 
And with current events making men want to leave Ibrithil, Murg had many potential hires to speak with in Eastgate.
 

The Vecti Confederacy

An orcish lieutenant called Orgenn caught Theo's attention when speaking about his home in the Vecti Confederacy. Theo and Murg followed the orc to his tent while Steel sought Francis, the little one, and rest.
 
Over hot tejj ("the good grog", Chultish fermented alcohol) the group talked. Orgenn described the importance of heirlooms and keepsakes, so much so that they protect them in vaults and safe places. "It is weregildt [blood money] to take that which others own." Orgenn enjoyed being able to speak to an Arcadian without blades at each other's throats. "Something our leaders should have done long ago."
 
High Arc-Vera, the capital of the confederacy, run by a parliament of officials elected from the tribes of Vecti. The military tradition has always been strong there. Communities look out for themselves, training and watching over each other at a local level.
 
Orgenn did not have a good opinion of the Vecti leadership: most of the confederacy share his belief, saying that too much blood has been shed. Vectians see Arcadia as a colonizing force: if they move in to "offer aid", the Vecti culture and lifestyle would be lost, and the people subjugated.
 
Theo sympathized, to a point; Murg too. "The Accord should be rewritten."
 
Orgenn tied his tent shut and fetched more tejj before continuing. "There are rumors in Vecti." He mentioned the attack in Excellion that the Vanguard had helped defend against. "I am unsure, but some say there is disorder in the council at High Arc-Vera. The human ambassador, Yu-Gin, is the worst -- he pursues power without thinking of the cost. He is relentless. The rumor is that he is connected to the attack, using magic to somehow help from afar. Maybe a magical creature, a substance, or at least his learned magics."
 
"As for our current state, my group's status is unknown outside of this gate. I don't know what's going on, but I'm certain neither do my superiors." Orgenn did reaffirm that like Excellion, High Arc-Vera has eyes and mouths everywhere.
 
Theo broached the subject of heading to Vecti for diplomatic reasons. Orgen furrowed his brow but responded: "The easiest way would be through the Bladelands. If you started at Bezia and ignored the river, traversing to Mishvi and its river, you should avoid a good amount of danger. The Eshcaton River, well, Eshcaton has no interest in working with the confederacy." The Bladelands and Vecti are not allies in current political standings, per se, but they are working together far more than either with Arcadia.


 
Steel tried to clear his mind, borrowing a horse from the watch and taking loops around camp. Murg obliged to play fetch with Francis and the little one; Theo cracked open his lessons on the tabaxi language, before night fell on the camp.
 



 

"Indrada first"

Theo called for Cireseas, who arrived an hour later outside of the Eastgate camp. The dragon appeared to be bleeding, having survived some attacks between the last time he saw the Vanguard.
 
The dragon explained that the artifacts must be brought to the Hall of the Stars, a chamber that used to reside in Chillmoon tower. Now the tower has been twisted into Narithai. Cireseas tried to gain access to Narithai but was unable due to defenses there.
 
Theo mentioned Lawrence, and all confidence drained from Cireseas. He knew Lawrence: "A tragedy".
 
Discussion turned to current action: before entering Narithai the Vanguard wished to visit Ibrithil, and perhaps Lady Ducati (via sending) as well. Cireseas agreed, wishing only that Lawrence be lain to rest. He knew little about the man, only Lawrence's "ambition and violence".
 
 

Now Westgate

Indrada now lay underneath what was called Westgate. It took the dragon two days to arrive at the entrance to the underdark, reaching it just before the moon rose on the horizon. Previously Westgate's entrance was Kreethi's Depths; it seemed unmarred by crystals or by anything living.
 
Cireseas stayed aboveground, and with Francis and the little one in tow the Vanguard descended. The shrine of Kreethi still marked the entrance, and still opened for the Vanguard.
 
The cavern that Indrada found itself seemed in the distance just as it was previously. The Vanguard was met by riders on spider mounts, now with human's on their own (smaller) spiders. The group recognized a face: a fire giant, one who met them when the Vanguard first saw Ibrithil. "The shaman has been anticipating your return for some time now. You all will be guests of honor."
 

Ritual for Prophecy

And this was true. As the party made their way into Ibrithil and met the shaman the moment was bittersweet. The shaman was glad to see the Vanguard, but at missing Izol a solemn tone overtook him.
 
The group sat down, laying out the four artifacts they had collected -- the staff, the sigil, the prophetic scrolls, and the spellbook intelligence Varunmund of Adaralmus.
 
"By the gods it worked." The shaman mentioned offhand that Adaralmus had sought to create Varunmund for ages. "It contains the collection of giant lore, a recording if you will of giant history across all times Adaralmus had visited."
 
Varunmund consented to the ritual needed to close the false Living Gate. "It will buy us ten days, maybe less. If you are ready, we can perform this now. But I don't know how to stave all of this off otherwise."
 
On the mention of Alexia Ducati the shaman passed news: she had arrived in Fort Richter to help oversee from the Arcadian side.
 
 

Seeing Sawscha

The Vanguard decided to perform the ritual in a couple of hours, taking time to check in at Ibrithil first.
 
Steel and Murg sought Sawscha (the tabaxi forgot about his sending stone until it was too late).
 
The succubus was happy to see the Vanguard, particularly Steel. While the tabaxi warmed up by her forge the succubus smith showed Murg a particular treasure: a single longsword hilt, notched in the middle: a sunblade called "Helios". It would be Murg's, for 8k gp and a contract with the Veradin Caravan Company.
 
And when Murg mentioned armor, after some discussion Sawscha found a silver brooch of protection (2.5k gp) for the cleric.
 
Jojen produced the broken sword hilt recovered from Nostalii. "Oh my. A dreaded weapon: a Soul Carver. Specifically, one must kill a thousand people, and stain the hilt with all of that blood. Wherever you got this, whomever, they did that. And I'd guess since they're dead, the power is gone now."
 
Steel asked about Last Watch, Fort Richter. Sawscha was familiar and up-to-date on current events, and confirmed Steel's questions on the existence of a forge there.
 
Soon the Vanguard would prepare; soon they would ascend Narithai and face Lawrence.