Episode 11: Lover Cries When Beloved Dies
General Summary
The main focus of the beginning of the session was determining how to act on the information that the group currently has; they know that someone who may or may not have been the real Emperor Valus paid the Vagabond in freshly minted Rose Protectorate platinum to kill the Emperor. They know that changelings have been replacing people at a new and alarming rate, and a group of individuals have been going around and killing them at an equally alarming speed and efficiency, a group that is theorized Valan's brother is involved in. They know that people have been disappearing from the streets of Sylva and the surrounding towns. The confirmed rumor is that whoever witnesses the Midnight March of the Soldiers of the Six disappear within the following week. Tyra's Mother has witnessed the Midnight March. Everything seems to be coming together, but there seems to be a missing piece or two that needs to fall into place before they can see the full picture.
Some details which are not in the forefront of the minds of the Accused, bͯ̋̓̒́uͫ͛͛̉t͋̂ͥͯ̀ I͛͐ͥ͆̐ ̢̇̍̿ͤ̌f̴eͦ̉̅̑ͭͤ̂eͮͤ̑͋̕lͮ͛ͣ̂̃ͤ͝ ̧̈́̉͒͂̾͑lͫͭ҉i̶k̓ͮ̒̾͆́e̒̔̀̍ ͩs̶̊̔ͨh̿ͯͩ̾͘ó̢ͤ̅̚uͤ͂l̓̒ͯ̈́ͥͨ̉dͯ͊̇̇̉͑͏ ͒̚b͘e͆ͦ ̨͐ͭͩ̂ͮb̶̀͒ͬ̊̇̚ȓͧ͠o̡ͯͩ̃̈́ͭǘͫ̈́ͫ̎̿͞g̊ͮ́h̉̄ͬ̽̒ͫtͬ̿̋͠ ͭͭͫ͛̚͢u͠p͒̑ͭ̾̉ ̛ͦ͒͌̎͒ͯa̓́̔ͫ̈͐g̉̂ͦ́a͊ͩ͋i̍ͨ͋̓ņͦͭͣ, not as a nudge but just as a reminder that they exist because they were talked about in the first few sessions and that was a long time ago: Fomorian attacks have risen in the past few months (Session 1), and one appeared in the Embassy the night Stormdancer was taken. Emperor Nicodemus, "rightful" owner of the Stormdancer, is currently in a coma because of an attempt on his life that left him permanently scared when a mage from the Scribes of the Six stumbled into the room with a glyph of warding carved into their chest and exploded (Session 2). Darklings seem to be able to take magic users and turn them into Fomorians, something you discovered when you found the half-man half-Fomorian in the Well of Darkness (Session 3). I̱̤͔̬̳̥͟t̖ͅ ̸̫̟͕̣a̢̜̦̱͇p̤͙p̷͕͕e͢ạ̫̙̯͘r҉̝̠̳̥̦͙͉s̷ ̟͙͓̀i̝̺̮͈m҉̹͚̬͇p͈̗̀ơ̜͇ṛ̥̦̻͢t҉͈͈̬͚̬̹a͎͖n̷̘͉̮̣̖̱t̟͖̻ ̷̰̹͈͙d͍̠e͍͓̘̦̣̺̺t̜͓̰̤̣͚̖a͇͖̗̮͈̠i̬͞l̬̪͘ͅs̸̪̣ ̙͓w͎͇͞e̳ͅr̲͞e̫ ͙̺̻͚̥̜̀r̝͔̟͔͈ḙ̡͇a̼͝lͅly̩͎̠̝̰ ̢̮͓̫̝̯ͅͅh͇̝̩̬͖a̤͚̩̥͜m̦͙̱̪͓̟m̶̙e͙͈̪̝͉̱̼r̛͈̰̞̟͓ͅe͓͖̤̣ͅd̵͈ ̺͇́i҉n̨̙ ͉͔̦̣̤͙̤t͙̦͠h̼os̢̖̪͇ę̳ ͚̩fì͓̻̘̳r͉͇̮̖͉̗̀s̥̫͇̤̰t̟̱̳͕͇ ̶̱̠͍f̵̼̣̞è̱̩̠̪w̶̼͇̟ ̣̝̪̱̭w̸̙̹̠͉̤̜̱é̩̟͚̻e͇͍͝k̙̪̣̳̞s̩̱̯ ̻̩͉̦͇ͅý̪̜͔͔o͎̼͕̞u͕͝ ̘͝w̠͡er̴̯̱̮͙̤̟̯e̹̮͇͝ ͈͎̬̟̫̦ͅt̺̭͈̹͚͍̼͞o͏̭͔͚̭̯̫g͍̩̻̻̟̻̩e̢̙t̞̹̺͓̥̣͇͟h̜͖̟̺̥͞er̨̯̱.̣̱
After a discussion amongst themselves and Mother, who reminded Tyra to eat their greens, the group decided to go to Dawnbreaker mansion in order to speak with Remnik, who had just returned from a philanthropic mission to aid a town that had been affected by the war. On their way out, Squiddly stopped them to ask if they were there to take care of the Ferryman. They told him that they can take care of the Ferryman, but not now. Going to speak to Remnik, they ran into a few clerics that looked extremely tired who raised a hand in greeting to them as they passed. After entering the mansion and a magical shower, Remnik was just leaving Zentilar's office as Tyra went to enter. They spoke briefly outside the office, where Remnik told them that Dahlia had made it home safely and was doing well. Her mother, however, was not. The Matriarch doesn't leave her room but to speak to her highest generals. Vyra is set to be married to a member of House Monpierre. The group began to ask questions, but before they could get too far into it, Remnik told the group it would be wiser to speak on the matter somewhere that prying ears cannot keep track of them, lest the Hammer of Zhestia come down on them.
The group went to the gardens, where they filled Remnik in on everything that had happened. He told them that he has also heard of this Midnight March that happens, but when he asked Zentilar about it he was told it would be looked into and then sent far away to Marlton to work his ass off trying to mitigate casualties of the brutal civil war that is grinding its gears in the south. He told the party that the best he can do is rework patrols for the night so that the party won't be interrupted in their investigations of the Midnight March.
On their way out, the group ran into Onvyr and Archmage Reharis. Reharis greeted them warmly and invited them to dinner sometime in the Tower. Onvyr didn't say a word.
Upon further waiting and deliberating how to wait and some weird magic that gave some of them better stats, the party decided to camp out in the surrounding area and wait for midnight, the time they march would be arriving. When they arrived, the March was confronted by another figure who appeared to be a member of Cirque de Stille. After a swift battle, in which a strange book that reality seemed to distort around was used to request help from a distant ally, which summoned a strange plant creature which appeared to be grown from a humanoid and was immune to lightning damage, as Charles found out on his first attempt to use Stormdancer. After the Beastmaster was killed and the book was hidden from its sight, the beast began to vibrate and shake, and as it did so it fell apart like a wilting shrub, until there was nothing left but a small pile of course dry leaves.
Tyra took a moment to examine the book. Leafing through the pages, they all appeared blank. Writing on the pages, however, the ink slowly faded away, and was eventually replaced with a reply. Using this strategy, Tyra and the rest of the group managed to converse with the entity on the other side, learning that this is a Book of Shadows belonging to a Fathomless Entity that can only truly be used to its full potential while wielded by a Warlock. Of this information, they focused on it calling itself a Fathomless Entity which can be abbreviated to FE, Iron, thus naming the thing on the other end and insinuating the existence of the Periodic Table in Andali. The book was excited because since the party had picked it up and it might finally be used for something other than communicating. The group also found a package of notes on the body of one of the mages with details about the town of Marlton; the place Remnik had just returned from.
The party decided to take a moment to catch their breath before returning to the orphanage to take care of the Ferryman. During this time, Tyra had a vision.
They felt a warm breeze across their face while meditating, and a soft voice which said "Open your eyes, little one."
As they opened their eyes, they found themselves sitting on the side of a hill beneath the boughs of a massive arcing oak tree. This tree overlooks the entirety of the Rose Protectorate, from the West Sea to the forests of Arboria. While under its boughs, they felt totally at peace with the world, like there is complete equilibrium between themselves and all other life around them. Looking around, they saw that every flower, every tree, every blade of grass within a five mil radius seemed to lean towards them and this tree. The wildlife around the tree seems to be in tune with it as well, peacefully roaming throughout the roads within the Gardens where they would otherwise avoid because of fear of human interaction.
Within the tree, they saw something massive swoop down from the upper branches. As the form approaches, it swooped around the back half of the tree before coming back around and great horned owl with burning green eyes alighted upon Tyra's shoulder. It wasn't horned in the traditional sense, but had a set of large antlers protruding from its head.
"Walk with me. Something is coming, little one," the owl said. "The inevitable flow of time across the infinitudes of reality has been leading us to this moment since the rebirth of the universe." As they walked through the garden with the owl on their shoulder, Tyra noticed the towers of Silva looming in the distance.
"The machinations of the Scribes of the Six have expideited this process. Threads of fate that should have lain dormant for another millennia have been pulled into being by their schemes and now we lie at the precipice of a Second Great Metamorphosis. Anything that can feel the change will be preparing for it." As the owl says this, images flashed across the auburn sky; of Aurelian soldiers preparing for battle as Leonidas watched from the ramparts, images of mages sitting in on a meeting with Archmage Reharis, and an image of the tree of Silver Night shivering as something beneath it stirred. The world rotated to reveal the Feywild, surrounded by snow and ice of the winter kingdom as Mab prepared the Nights of Winter. Tyra noted that Reharis looked different, he was wearing a silver woven circlet around his head and on the Rose Protectorate uniform, where there should have been a mark signifying them as part of the Aurelian Empire, there is not.
"Everything is almost alined for the Change."
Tyra asked "When will this images come to pass?"
"They already have," the owl replied. "I do not have much more time to talk," it said as something dark began to rise on the horizon. "It will prevent me from interfering, but know that I am there, and I am watching. My roots run deep, and you are never far from my side. You will need to be careful. You will need to move slowly. And you will need the keys to understanding. You know where a few are. Now know Mine."
As the owl said this, the world seemed to rotate, bringing Tyra across the Southern Ice Sea, through a heavy fog, and into the ruins of an old citadel, across a bridge guarded by a singular armored figure, and came to a rest in front of a staff extending out of the ground. The staff is a little bit taller than the average human, and appears to be stabbed into the ground. It has a fan of tree branches that extends from the top that seems to hold a glowing golden light. Several little charms dangle down from its branches. The room is choked with plant growth, with vines snaking up the walls and across the ceiling, forming a thick coating across the entire room. There seemed to be the densest concentration of foliate at the far side of the room, where there is a doorway shaped to look like the screaming mouth of a human man.
Tyra picked up the staff, breaking it away from the rest of the foliage which seemed to whither and die. Soon after came the pounding sound, followed by a sharp crack which repeated once, twice, three times, and then stopped. Tyra began to turn but the sound rang out a fourth time, and the wilted tangle of vines was consumed by Darkness in the shape of a man, and they were shocked back into consciousness where they had been meditating, ears ringing with the slight taste of iron on their tongue.
Some details which are not in the forefront of the minds of the Accused, bͯ̋̓̒́uͫ͛͛̉t͋̂ͥͯ̀ I͛͐ͥ͆̐ ̢̇̍̿ͤ̌f̴eͦ̉̅̑ͭͤ̂eͮͤ̑͋̕lͮ͛ͣ̂̃ͤ͝ ̧̈́̉͒͂̾͑lͫͭ҉i̶k̓ͮ̒̾͆́e̒̔̀̍ ͩs̶̊̔ͨh̿ͯͩ̾͘ó̢ͤ̅̚uͤ͂l̓̒ͯ̈́ͥͨ̉dͯ͊̇̇̉͑͏ ͒̚b͘e͆ͦ ̨͐ͭͩ̂ͮb̶̀͒ͬ̊̇̚ȓͧ͠o̡ͯͩ̃̈́ͭǘͫ̈́ͫ̎̿͞g̊ͮ́h̉̄ͬ̽̒ͫtͬ̿̋͠ ͭͭͫ͛̚͢u͠p͒̑ͭ̾̉ ̛ͦ͒͌̎͒ͯa̓́̔ͫ̈͐g̉̂ͦ́a͊ͩ͋i̍ͨ͋̓ņͦͭͣ, not as a nudge but just as a reminder that they exist because they were talked about in the first few sessions and that was a long time ago: Fomorian attacks have risen in the past few months (Session 1), and one appeared in the Embassy the night Stormdancer was taken. Emperor Nicodemus, "rightful" owner of the Stormdancer, is currently in a coma because of an attempt on his life that left him permanently scared when a mage from the Scribes of the Six stumbled into the room with a glyph of warding carved into their chest and exploded (Session 2). Darklings seem to be able to take magic users and turn them into Fomorians, something you discovered when you found the half-man half-Fomorian in the Well of Darkness (Session 3). I̱̤͔̬̳̥͟t̖ͅ ̸̫̟͕̣a̢̜̦̱͇p̤͙p̷͕͕e͢ạ̫̙̯͘r҉̝̠̳̥̦͙͉s̷ ̟͙͓̀i̝̺̮͈m҉̹͚̬͇p͈̗̀ơ̜͇ṛ̥̦̻͢t҉͈͈̬͚̬̹a͎͖n̷̘͉̮̣̖̱t̟͖̻ ̷̰̹͈͙d͍̠e͍͓̘̦̣̺̺t̜͓̰̤̣͚̖a͇͖̗̮͈̠i̬͞l̬̪͘ͅs̸̪̣ ̙͓w͎͇͞e̳ͅr̲͞e̫ ͙̺̻͚̥̜̀r̝͔̟͔͈ḙ̡͇a̼͝lͅly̩͎̠̝̰ ̢̮͓̫̝̯ͅͅh͇̝̩̬͖a̤͚̩̥͜m̦͙̱̪͓̟m̶̙e͙͈̪̝͉̱̼r̛͈̰̞̟͓ͅe͓͖̤̣ͅd̵͈ ̺͇́i҉n̨̙ ͉͔̦̣̤͙̤t͙̦͠h̼os̢̖̪͇ę̳ ͚̩fì͓̻̘̳r͉͇̮̖͉̗̀s̥̫͇̤̰t̟̱̳͕͇ ̶̱̠͍f̵̼̣̞è̱̩̠̪w̶̼͇̟ ̣̝̪̱̭w̸̙̹̠͉̤̜̱é̩̟͚̻e͇͍͝k̙̪̣̳̞s̩̱̯ ̻̩͉̦͇ͅý̪̜͔͔o͎̼͕̞u͕͝ ̘͝w̠͡er̴̯̱̮͙̤̟̯e̹̮͇͝ ͈͎̬̟̫̦ͅt̺̭͈̹͚͍̼͞o͏̭͔͚̭̯̫g͍̩̻̻̟̻̩e̢̙t̞̹̺͓̥̣͇͟h̜͖̟̺̥͞er̨̯̱.̣̱
After a discussion amongst themselves and Mother, who reminded Tyra to eat their greens, the group decided to go to Dawnbreaker mansion in order to speak with Remnik, who had just returned from a philanthropic mission to aid a town that had been affected by the war. On their way out, Squiddly stopped them to ask if they were there to take care of the Ferryman. They told him that they can take care of the Ferryman, but not now. Going to speak to Remnik, they ran into a few clerics that looked extremely tired who raised a hand in greeting to them as they passed. After entering the mansion and a magical shower, Remnik was just leaving Zentilar's office as Tyra went to enter. They spoke briefly outside the office, where Remnik told them that Dahlia had made it home safely and was doing well. Her mother, however, was not. The Matriarch doesn't leave her room but to speak to her highest generals. Vyra is set to be married to a member of House Monpierre. The group began to ask questions, but before they could get too far into it, Remnik told the group it would be wiser to speak on the matter somewhere that prying ears cannot keep track of them, lest the Hammer of Zhestia come down on them.
The group went to the gardens, where they filled Remnik in on everything that had happened. He told them that he has also heard of this Midnight March that happens, but when he asked Zentilar about it he was told it would be looked into and then sent far away to Marlton to work his ass off trying to mitigate casualties of the brutal civil war that is grinding its gears in the south. He told the party that the best he can do is rework patrols for the night so that the party won't be interrupted in their investigations of the Midnight March.
On their way out, the group ran into Onvyr and Archmage Reharis. Reharis greeted them warmly and invited them to dinner sometime in the Tower. Onvyr didn't say a word.
Upon further waiting and deliberating how to wait and some weird magic that gave some of them better stats, the party decided to camp out in the surrounding area and wait for midnight, the time they march would be arriving. When they arrived, the March was confronted by another figure who appeared to be a member of Cirque de Stille. After a swift battle, in which a strange book that reality seemed to distort around was used to request help from a distant ally, which summoned a strange plant creature which appeared to be grown from a humanoid and was immune to lightning damage, as Charles found out on his first attempt to use Stormdancer. After the Beastmaster was killed and the book was hidden from its sight, the beast began to vibrate and shake, and as it did so it fell apart like a wilting shrub, until there was nothing left but a small pile of course dry leaves.
Tyra took a moment to examine the book. Leafing through the pages, they all appeared blank. Writing on the pages, however, the ink slowly faded away, and was eventually replaced with a reply. Using this strategy, Tyra and the rest of the group managed to converse with the entity on the other side, learning that this is a Book of Shadows belonging to a Fathomless Entity that can only truly be used to its full potential while wielded by a Warlock. Of this information, they focused on it calling itself a Fathomless Entity which can be abbreviated to FE, Iron, thus naming the thing on the other end and insinuating the existence of the Periodic Table in Andali. The book was excited because since the party had picked it up and it might finally be used for something other than communicating. The group also found a package of notes on the body of one of the mages with details about the town of Marlton; the place Remnik had just returned from.
The party decided to take a moment to catch their breath before returning to the orphanage to take care of the Ferryman. During this time, Tyra had a vision.
They felt a warm breeze across their face while meditating, and a soft voice which said "Open your eyes, little one."
As they opened their eyes, they found themselves sitting on the side of a hill beneath the boughs of a massive arcing oak tree. This tree overlooks the entirety of the Rose Protectorate, from the West Sea to the forests of Arboria. While under its boughs, they felt totally at peace with the world, like there is complete equilibrium between themselves and all other life around them. Looking around, they saw that every flower, every tree, every blade of grass within a five mil radius seemed to lean towards them and this tree. The wildlife around the tree seems to be in tune with it as well, peacefully roaming throughout the roads within the Gardens where they would otherwise avoid because of fear of human interaction.
Within the tree, they saw something massive swoop down from the upper branches. As the form approaches, it swooped around the back half of the tree before coming back around and great horned owl with burning green eyes alighted upon Tyra's shoulder. It wasn't horned in the traditional sense, but had a set of large antlers protruding from its head.
"Walk with me. Something is coming, little one," the owl said. "The inevitable flow of time across the infinitudes of reality has been leading us to this moment since the rebirth of the universe." As they walked through the garden with the owl on their shoulder, Tyra noticed the towers of Silva looming in the distance.
"The machinations of the Scribes of the Six have expideited this process. Threads of fate that should have lain dormant for another millennia have been pulled into being by their schemes and now we lie at the precipice of a Second Great Metamorphosis. Anything that can feel the change will be preparing for it." As the owl says this, images flashed across the auburn sky; of Aurelian soldiers preparing for battle as Leonidas watched from the ramparts, images of mages sitting in on a meeting with Archmage Reharis, and an image of the tree of Silver Night shivering as something beneath it stirred. The world rotated to reveal the Feywild, surrounded by snow and ice of the winter kingdom as Mab prepared the Nights of Winter. Tyra noted that Reharis looked different, he was wearing a silver woven circlet around his head and on the Rose Protectorate uniform, where there should have been a mark signifying them as part of the Aurelian Empire, there is not.
"Everything is almost alined for the Change."
Tyra asked "When will this images come to pass?"
"They already have," the owl replied. "I do not have much more time to talk," it said as something dark began to rise on the horizon. "It will prevent me from interfering, but know that I am there, and I am watching. My roots run deep, and you are never far from my side. You will need to be careful. You will need to move slowly. And you will need the keys to understanding. You know where a few are. Now know Mine."
As the owl said this, the world seemed to rotate, bringing Tyra across the Southern Ice Sea, through a heavy fog, and into the ruins of an old citadel, across a bridge guarded by a singular armored figure, and came to a rest in front of a staff extending out of the ground. The staff is a little bit taller than the average human, and appears to be stabbed into the ground. It has a fan of tree branches that extends from the top that seems to hold a glowing golden light. Several little charms dangle down from its branches. The room is choked with plant growth, with vines snaking up the walls and across the ceiling, forming a thick coating across the entire room. There seemed to be the densest concentration of foliate at the far side of the room, where there is a doorway shaped to look like the screaming mouth of a human man.
Tyra picked up the staff, breaking it away from the rest of the foliage which seemed to whither and die. Soon after came the pounding sound, followed by a sharp crack which repeated once, twice, three times, and then stopped. Tyra began to turn but the sound rang out a fourth time, and the wilted tangle of vines was consumed by Darkness in the shape of a man, and they were shocked back into consciousness where they had been meditating, ears ringing with the slight taste of iron on their tongue.
Rewards Granted
All: Level 6, a Book of Shadows
Tyra: Learned the location of Respite
Tyra: Learned the location of Respite
Missions/Quests Completed
The Midnight March
Beastmaster, Eliminated
Beastmaster, Eliminated
Character(s) interacted with
Mother: Have you eaten your greens today?
Remnik: He's tired, but this time it's not because of a hangover!
Archmage Reharis: The Hammer of Zhestia. He has a shiny silver sword
Ornvyr: Silently fumes
Squiddly: Will get into trouble, whether you want him to or not
The Beastmaster: The first to be eliminated
The Wanderer
Remnik: He's tired, but this time it's not because of a hangover!
Archmage Reharis: The Hammer of Zhestia. He has a shiny silver sword
Ornvyr: Silently fumes
Squiddly: Will get into trouble, whether you want him to or not
The Beastmaster: The first to be eliminated
The Wanderer
Notes
For extra credit, give me your questions, comments, and concerns about the campaign. What would you like to see more of? What would you like to see less of? Should I do more funny voices? Do you want to run off into the forest to kill goblins? Give me your honest opinion; I'll give you inspiration whether or not you stoke my insatiable ego.
Report Date
24 Jul 2021
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