Solanna Bael

Population Migration / Travel

The Path of Nightshade travel to the Tower known as Solanna Bael to find the lost piece of Gilderoy that is hidden in its vaults.

The Shades decide to do a little research about Solanna Bael and prepare for there trip to the Elven tower. Bobushio decides to take The Dragons Redemption to the tower while Thuniel, Mozakosh and Gilly will stay behind and travel by teleportation circle to the ship when it arrives.   During the days of studying Moz gets a visitor, Theo Topos , from the Athenium. He has received word that the Athenium has promoted dues to her thorough and impressive reports. She is promoted to Junior Curator, and gets a few new spells onto her list she can prepare. Moz gives Theo a reluctant kiss on the cheek and he passes out, and she leaves. He’s wakes up on the floor not sure if he was dreaming or not.   During the course of the investigation, they get a better location for the tower and history. They then portal to the ship is on route to Solanna Bael. It’s a skinny tower with a large hamburger shaped fatter at the top. It’s very overgrown and it rests just above the tree line. It is learned wizards of old for The Aislinn Tower already came here and took all the info we needed from this tower, and they closed it up and left nothing of worth. Solanna Bael was made by a group of elven people that lived here long ago the were driven from there after a conflict. This was a library of information the Elven people accumulated about the region.   During the final leg of the journey they travel over the Gloom River and cross the border of The Albion Alliance. The tower is of ancient construction, and very elven and perfectly engineered. Bobushio attempts to paint a door with is magical paints on the roof of the tower. He tries to paint an angled crack to make the stone slide out under its own weight. He increases it to 10 feet.   With the opening into the top level. ISAC goes in and observes a geometric design and four pillars covered in shiny metal that reflects and distorts the pattern. Atop the floor pattern are three grooves that represent a sword, a book, a bow, and an empty space. Bobushio recognizes that there’s an essence that would take magical power out of an object which activates something in the room. There doesn’t appear anywhere to descend or ascend from here.   The party decides to go to the base lower down in the tower and try and travel thru. Under the overgrown plants, they find two big double doors. Inscribed on it is a seven pointed star in an abstract pattern. They look and see that the door isn’t trapped and get the impression that entering isn’t the the most dangerous part of this encounter.   ISAC is on sentry duty. Inside the small room, there is the same star pattern inlaid in the marble floor. Across from the door there is a statue of an elven warrior, standing with head bowed and hands folded across the pommel of a downward sword. Gilly attempts to touch the sword and hears a beautiful but stern voice saying “If you are children of the True Race, then you know of our wars. How did we come to lose the battle of The Gloomtide, and at whose feet does the blame lie?”   Thuniel remembers that she was tutored about elven wars, and a general named Faelyn Shandalar and the Battle of The Gloomtide. General Faelyn forged ahead with battle plan without waiting for her scouts to report. She did not know that the Gloom River tide rises on the New Moon, so the tide rose and wiped out her forces during the battle. The battle is why the elves eventually lost this area.   As they answer correctly, the statue holds the sword out flat on its palms. It looks like a regular elven scimitar. The statue bears Faelyn’s likeness. As Thuniel holds the sword, the sigil in the middle of the floor starts to glow. Gilly goes and touch it, and she disappears. Gilly finds herself in another room. The rest follow.   This room also contains a statue of a tall, lean elf holding a book in one palm and his other hand is pointed skyward. Next to him is a statue of a robed dwarf. The elf’s face looks like he’s concentrating. The statue animates as the party arrives. It says in elvish, “Our people are masters of magic. What are the prime principles by which it is used and what is it in its true form.” Bobushio remembers the speech by the dwarf depicted in the statue on The Prime Powers and recites the various powers and schools. Bobushio gets the impression that the elves are trying to take credit for “perfecting” magic.   Gilly remembers the master enchanter named Jodar Kathdray, and the enchanter specifically laid down the rules for magical ethics among elves, and the rules for duels, the orders of heraldry among practitioners of magic (which has bled down to the noble houses), he pushed to make elves the most powerful practitioners in the world. She gets the impression that the elf statue is disgusted that a halfling is talking to him. He says that he’s impressed that you know the great things he did, but he finds your tone offensive. He prepares to attack.   Bobushio sends ISAC forward with the paints to draw cracks on the statue’s joints. Bobushio punches him with his thunder gauntlets and deepens the cracks. Moz strikes him with her staff, then Gilly strikes and defeats him. The statue bows and salutes Gilly. He claps his hands, dropping the book, and the sigil in the middle of the floor begins to glow. Gilly takes the time to put ugly face on the elf with the disguise kit and a sign that says, “I love halflings.”   The party steps onto the sigil and get teleported to the next room. On the east wall of the next chamber is a pair of statues with elaborate headdresses holding bows, and on the west wall is a three-headed chimera. Paired voices ask, “What is better for an archer, magic or alchemy?” Gilly remembers that it’s hotly debated among elves, but that a slim majority favor alchemy. She tells Thuniel, who bows and addresses the archers. As Thuniel says alchemy, they hand her a quiver and bow and say “Prove it.” Then the chimera comes to life.   Thuniel shoots it, then the chimera shoots fire at us all. Then it attacks Thuniel who dodges both attacks. Bobushio tells ISAC to distract it during Thuniel’s turn, then attacks it himself. Moz manages to do some damage, then Thuniel does three hits in a row. It breathes fire again and tries to swipe at Thuniel who dodges it. Bobushio shatters the chimera with his thunder gauntlets. Moz takes a round piece of marble, Bobushio and Thuniel each take long sharp shards.   The archer statues bow to us and let them keep the bow.   The Shades find themselves on the top floor. They place the three items in the spaces, and Bobushio gets the feeling that the space should remain empty. The pedestal starts to glow, and the glow fades from each of the items, flows to the mirrors, and the mirrors shoot beams of the energy into a portal. From the portal, a huge mechanical gyroscope guardian called a Mythoblade from The Vault of Ages emerges. Beyond him through the portal, they see The Vault full of treasure.   Moz tires to heat it, but it doesn’t seem to do it much damage. She snatches the book from the floor. The Mythoblade makes a harmonizing, vibrating noise, but it doesn’t touch the party. It hurts Moz, then Gilly’s attack glances off and doesn’t seem like it might have done damage from magical weapons.   Bobushio runs up to punch the construct, but the magic doesn’t seem to take. Thuniel seizes the mundane sword from the floor and stabs through the center of the construct and does damage, but is deafened for it. Moz puts down a totem and heals everyone.   Bobushio lands a heavy hit on it. Thuniel unleashes a wave of lightning damage from her scimitar, but it doesn’t seem to do as much as expected. Moz casts a spell to damage it, then the construct makes the noise again. As magical weapons don't seems to do damage to the Mythoblade it take some time to chip away at the construct but eventually Gilly makes the final blow.   The rings fall from the construct, and the portal opens up. The magic then goes back into the mundane items. Thuniel picks up the longbow and hands the scimitar to Bobushio. Moz has the book.   Inside the vault is a variety of items of ancient elven civilization. Books of elven combat tactics, history, etc. lore 2000 GP. Mundane armor and weapons worth about 700 GP. Ivory tusk carved with hunting scene 400 GP. Pair of Jade statues of some ancient elven god, and a suit of elven chain. Gilly rummages through everything and finds something on a shelf hidden in the back. It looks like the same type of metal as Gilderoy’s armor. It’s a small piece of filigree for the top of his helmet.   They identify the newly magic items. The scimitar is a +1 scimitar to anyone other than an elf. To an elf it is a scimitar of speed. The bow is a plus one long bow to non-elf. It is an oath bow to an elf. The book is called Jodar’s tome of enchantment; contains exercises and advice for influencing people. If she uses the book to prepare her spells, the save DC to resist increases by 1 for a day.   The party prepares to talk to Gilderoy and see if the found piece of him with help him remember any of his lost memories.