Episode 13: The Hammer Lies and Great War Buys
General Summary
Welcome to the Season Finale. Important to note, it is the season finale; not the series finale. There are still more secrets to unfurl in Andali yet.
The session began with a recap; everything important up until the point of the Season Finale. The adventuring party, who still lacks a decided upon name, began as attendees of the Peace Accords Conference in Helorus, capital of the Aurelian Empire. You met in a bar called the Embassy where the most important people in the world lodge during their stay for the Accords.
Valeria was a guard for the Head House of the Theocracy, protecting Dahlia, the Matriarchs daughter.
Tyra was a young diplomat, sent out to learn about the world and how to be an emissary of House Dawnbreaker of the Rose Protectorate.
Charles, Valan, and Callisto were mercenaries of the Tenebric Vanguard, supposed to be protecting, but mostly lounging with the Vagabond, their leader.
Valan had the first encounter with the Archmage Reharis of the Rose Protectorate, leader of the Scribes of the Six, commonly nicknamed the Hammer of the Empire for his abilities in combat, as he bumped into him while the mage wrote in his book. Reharis soon left the Embassy, and not shortly after that, a fomorian rose from the central fountain of the establishment and attacked the group.
Fomorians are creatures of darkness, and there had been reports of rising attacks, but none so brazen as this one. During the fight, the Vagabond couldn't hit a single shot, and Stormdancer, Divine Armament and sword of Emperor Nicodemus of the Fulminarian Empire, disappeared.
After killing the fomorian, the night resumed and everyone went about their business. Four days later, the Accords started in earnest. Emperor Nicodemus confronted Emperor Valus about his missing sword, but was heavily encouraged to leave by Leonidas, the Sovereign, general of Aurelian armies, and his Divine Armament Dawnfire.
Emperor Valus went on to make an announcement that would "Forge a new era; not one of war, not one of peace, but one of expansion." Before he could finish his statement and expand upon what that means in terms of actual action, the Vagabond stood up, told Charles, Valan, and Callisto to take care of the Vanguard for him, and assassinated Emperor Valus with the Stormdancer.
R͓̙̞̺͙ͨ̅͋̊̆͌́e̯͕̰̰̖̭̠̾̿ͩͮͯͭͥ͘g̺̲̮͟r̴̩̪̣̝̉ͬ̓̉̈́̄e̙̞̺̘͙͍ͣ̑͜t̘̫ ̣̦̹̙ͪ͆ͨ̓͐̎̋a̎͋̓̈́ͥ̃n͎̘ͭd̩͖̗̮̔̇ͩ̃̔̽ ̴̱̺̺̞̝̠̈́̌̄͋Ŕ̲̩ͧ͌ͮe͖̜̠͙̹͚̖̊ͦ̀̇m̺̻̋̉ͪ̾͗ͦ͝oͫͮ͏̟̤̦r̲̊́s͚̰͇̣̺̏͊̿̈́ͨ̊́e̥̼͇͍ͨͪ̓ͤ
ͮ͂͒̌҉Ä̃̀m̰̺̎̎̾ͥ̒̔e̲̦̫̹͙̰n̯̯̞̚͞d̝̗́s̥̟͎ ̱̱͙̯̳ͬa͚̤̬̣̹̻͛̃̓̿̓n̬͍̭̼̳ͩ̽͛̃̒́̍d̹̗̮̹̗ͭͪ̐̈́ͭ ̹͖̙̖̼̞͖̂ͮA͎t̶̹͍̰̱͈̤̱̽͑̋ȯ̙̲̦ͤ̌ͫn̦̍̉̔ͯȇ̬̼̂̊̓ͮ̏m̉̾̽̍͟é̤͈̓ͦ̌ͣͪ̚n̦̳̳̙͇͇̰̏ͪ́͛t̨̰
̴̉͌ͬ̔̚Ŵ̭̰̠̺̳̻́̽͗ͬẽ̞̫̳̫̼̜̉̇lͧ͏̦̹l̿̋͗̈́̇͐҉̮͎̺,͖̱̩̹̟̥͙̒͛͞ ̞̫̃ͪ͊̃̑̉͢t̡ͥͣ̉̊h͖͉̻̋̾͆̚at̛͈̟̬̘͕̾ͫ́'͔̮̤s̟͈̺̖͖͓͖͘ ͈̮͈ͭl͈̦͕͙͐ͩ̆̇͛͂͋ͅi̫̩̎̎̊ͫf͎̱̩̻͕͗ͫ̆ͬ̏e̲̟ͯ̈̄͛͆ͨ͢,̦̠̳̘̘̝ͯ̅̚ ̂̔ͯͬ̄r̮͓͚̰̦̟̠͗̀ͭͬ̽̀iͬ̿͒̿͗̅̚͏̗̺g͎͕̺̙̍͒̔̉̆͒h̳̎̀̈́ͨt̜̏̊?̭͚̤̟̳͈̻͗ͪ͋ͭ̾̍̋.
The city was locked down, and the adventurers as well as Callisto and Dahlia were called into a clandestine meeting with the leaders of each nation because of their presence both at the Embassy during the fomorian attack and at the Hall of Amphiaraus when the emperor was assassinated. Leonidas, Emperor Nicodemus, the Matriarch, the Archmage, and the Speaker were there as well.
Each person was put under a Zone of Truth cast by the Speaker and questioned. After the questioning, no one was sure how to proceed because no one quite knew how to follow up. Then, a mage of the Scribes of the Six staggered through the clandestine teleportation circle with a glyph of warding carved into his chest and exploded, reducing the Archmages simulacrum to steamed clothes and putting Emperor Nicodemus in a coma.
The next day, Leonidas sent the gang out to track down the Vagabond.
On the first leg of the trip, the party ran into a group of darklings just north of the city attempting to summon a fomorian and encountered dark blight in person for the first time.
Eventually, the group caught up to the Vagabond at a performance by Cirque de Stille. While they were meeting with him after the show, Valan was poisoned by someone, his brother, and almost died.
Upon delivering the Vagabond across the sea to Myrr, an island of multiversal mystery, he revealed to the party that he had been hired by none other than Emperor Valus himself to kill the emperor using coins minted in the Rose Protectorate.
Traveling back to Ignix, the party read in the newspaper that there had been a massacre of changelings in the main square, civil war had errupted in the west, then they ran into the Circus repeatedly, each time seeing a massacre of changelings crop up.
When the group returned homeward to Leonidas, he congratulated them on succeeding and asked them to escort Dahlia back to her homeland, where there was a tense civil war in the process of erupting. The group utilized the Pathfinder to send her back, and cut ties with Leonidas, opting to instead investigate the tense geopolitical situation in Tyra's homeland.
The group met with Remnik who told them about his time in Marlton, a town in need of aid, and he promised to arrange the guard patrols at night to create an opening for the group to intercept a group of mages that were known to regularly patrol an area.
There, they found out that citizens had been taken off the streets by Mages of the Tower. Upon further investigation, the group found that these members appeared to be Changelings, and at least one member of the Circus had arrived in town to fight them. The changelings had a strange book on them that allegedly communed with a Fathomless Entity, as well as orders to travel to Marlton.
then, the party discovered that the Ferryman was in fact an ancient entity that had been hijacked by the Mages to help them make witnesses disappear, and it was not there for Squiddly, but in reality for Mother; Squiddly had simply figured out a way to stave off its approach.
Following the Ferryman, it lead them across a river and into the back door of the Tower of Zhestia, where the party solved a puzzle to get in which told them to "Follow the Flow of Knowledge to Secure Your Passage." The flow lead from a Sea of Darkness, up the Roots of the Tree, to a face of a warforged with a symbol associated with the Bedlamite (not the Devil, sorry), to the Scribes of the Six, and finally to Reharis.
The party at this point undertook the Trials of the Six, making their way in to speak with Reharis after completing nine trials; one for each school of magic, and the Trial of Trust.
During the Trial of Conjuration, the portal accidentally landed them in the Winter Court, where Lady Maeve stole their names for a moment, but returned them when scolded by Queen Mab. Mab offered them a deal; they tell her an interesting story, and she'll return them to where they ought to be. If they tell an extra interesting story, she might even give them a present. And after everyone told them their stories, and that's exactly what she did. She told them to speak her name three times, and she will come to their aid.
In the Necromancy Trial, Callisto scared everyone by killing himself, gold almost killed Charles in the Enchantment Trial, angry water waterboarded Valeria in the Divination Trial, and everyone was bullied by the walls in the Illusion Trial.
Lͭ̇ͣͥͦ̈̉e̤̟͚͗̐͋̓țͫͦͦ ̮̠̲̗̝̺̹̅̔m̥͇̬̖ͣ͛̌ͣͯ͛̿͡e̔͑ͨ̈́̆̋ ̦͎̻̻̥ͅͅs͚̱͍̙̠̟͒͋̓̄̔ĩ̘̲̭̽͂n̟ͬ̓͌̔g̠̰ͬ̆̅ ͍̘̣̉̈́͛ͅy̡̞̺̣̓̄̊̃̉ͧo̥͗̐́ͩ͆ͤ̎u͝ ̤͍̯̯̬ͧ͗͞t̋͠h̯̱͔̃̒͂ͪ̒̅e͙ͫ̇̉͗ͮ̓̋͘ ̭̹ͭͣ̐̂͐̋̚s̘̭̞̮̬̜͜ǫ͎̳̞͚̤̫̦͗͗̄͛̽r͡r̲̪̘̠̟̱̓ͨ̉̔̇̚ͅo̩͕̐̚w̡̩̩͛͌͐̿̉ś
͑̽̀̔̓ͯ́o̙͉̗͐̊f̏̀̋̽ ̬̃̿̓̍ṱ͗̈́͂̾̚ͅh̜͛ͮ̕ͅę͙̩̖̟ͮ̂̂̔̿ ͍̙͈͔͇̈͂ͬ̆́Nͦ͌̀҉̖̥̪̥̜í̽͐ͦ̉͏̯̦͔̼̗̲n̈́̒̒e͙̞̣̹̭̿̃̆͐̇̍ͥ ̄̈́ͥ̿͏̺͇̤͓͙H͍̯̦ͨͥẻ̻̙͙̣̩͕̍ͪ̋r̖̝̲̹͕̬̮ͧ̅ͦ̾̌̒͢o̖̩̺̤͉̾ë̙̦́̋ͣ͠s͕̻̳̏ͯͦ́̍̈́ ̛̰͛̒ͮ́W̳̳͉̖͉̩̓ͭ̽́ͅh̹̱̲̮́̉ͮ̊̀o͎̪͎͓̖ͅ ͋ͩͩ͒̏͌͘W̬̹̼̮̤̺̫̏ͭê̺̣̭̺̠̮̙̍͂ͤ͌r̥̬̲̻͂͆̋́̚e̋̌ͣ.
The Trial of Trust got them in a bit of trouble. Finishing the last challenge, the doorway to the next room opened, revealing Archmage Reharis standing behind a small bar pouring five glasses of wine. The Trial of Trust required only one thing; to drink the wine.
After drinking the wine, blindness consumed the groups vision. They felt something fleshy wrap around the base of their necks and under their shoulders, pulling them up and away, whisking them through space. Something slid up beneath them, cupping their arms and legs into a seated position. As light slowly began to filter in again, filling their vision, the party found themselves seated at a long ovular table in a piercingly white room. They sat on one rounded edge and the Archmage was seated at the other in a high backed chair.
"Hello, everyone," he said. "Please, relax, eat. You've earned it. Really, you never cease to amaze me. I will make sure never to underestimate you again. Although that is what I said last time. And the time before that. And before that. Anyway, you have passed the Trials, you have earned your time to relax. And you've earned at least a little closure, so you can ask any questions that you have."
The first question was asked came from Tyra, and it was fairly simple. "Why us? Why are we the ones who ended up here?"
"Do you know how hard it was to convince Leonidas to send you after the Vagabond?" Reharis said in response. "I only had an hour to get a new simulacrum teleported in, illegally mind you, thank the Nine for the Pathfinders, and convince Leonidas to send a bunch of losers after Andali's most wanted.
"'Nopp," he said. 'They're too inexperienced. At least three of them are flight risks and the Vagabond is going toblast the mouthy one's head off if they say one word out of line. And leave the Matriarch's daught with only one guard among a gang of delinquents? Unspeakable.'"
"But I convinced him that you were young, up and coming adventurers who the Vagabond would take pity on and probably not kill on sight. Imagine my surprise when I was right. So then I send your brother after you," he continues, motioning to Valan. At this point, the Illusionist of Cirque de Stille stepped into the room, dressed in the pressed blue military uniform of the Scribes of the Six. "Not that he knew I was sending him after you all. Maia here made sure to guide his path to stay on your tracks while also killing the changelings we placed in the surrounding cities."
"It is a shame that the Beastmaster discovered our purpose," the Illusionist said. "He showed such promise. Luckily, we found Aiyisha just in time."
"Hold on now, rewind a bit there," Valan interrupted. "Changelings that you placed? What did you do to Aiyisha? Did you kill her?"
"No, we didn't kill her. We hired her," the Illusionist said smuggly.
"And yes," Reharis continued. "Changelings we placed. We used transformed our plant creatures into changelings and modified their memories to believe they were changelings there to replace the townspeople."
"Why?" asked several players in unison.
"Funny you ask that. Perhaps it is time you see the full picture." With that, the Archmage reached up behind his head and pulled something away, vanishing from sight. Shortly afterwards, the Illusionist did the same. Everyone took a moment, assessed their situation, and pulled the plug on themselves as well. Tyra and Callisto were last to go, sharing a moment before pulling away their tendrils.
P̵̝̠͓̞̫̪͈ư̩͕ͯͪ̍̾ͩͪĺ͎̬̜͔̱̩̼̃͊̓̒ͨl̗͓̠̺̮̣̚ȉ̎̔͡n͉̱͇̩̪̻̭̈̐̉̒g̖̤̠̭̜̀̑ͧ́ ͙̅̿̀͑ă̧̈͊ͫ̆̑ͧw̨̭̠͕͕̪̄̋ͬa̢͈̞̹͉̫̬ͅy̴̮̫̗̭̗͍̋ͅ ͈̗͚̞͕ͤ̄͑͢ͅẗ́͑͂͊͗̚h͙̖̦̭͙̲̙ͩ͌̂͊̇ͫͦ̕eͨ҉̮͍͎ ̗̳͖f̷̟͉̝ͫͨ̅̄̀ͯ̃ȍ̧̙̳͉̳͖̘̩͛͐̈́ͯͮͯg̲̘͇̻̔ͬ͜ͅ
̵͈̾ͦͮ̽ṭͪ̆́o̻̻̿̇͂ͤ̐͐ ̗̺̠̲̼̟̝̊̋͗ͯͤͬ͠g͇̯̺̻͚̙͙͊̉͐̂̒ͧu̺̺̗̖̤͕ī̮ͩ̋̂ͫ̀͠d̴͙̹̺̥̟̩̐̃e̞ͩͥ̅͑ͮ̚͡ ̶̫̬͙̐̓͗t̹̯̰h̗̩̭̿o̳͕̱͑ͦͦsͨ͌̎̾̇ͦ͋͏͓̪͓͈̠ȅ̺̼̮͇̳̺ͫͩͫͨ̏̕ ̫̃ͩ̍̀̿͛w̥̠̣̲̯̦̟̽͛ͭͣͨ̌h̘͚͕͉͓̱͖͐o̮̟̺̺ ̙f̘̾͋͜o̧̮͍ḽ̘̗͌̎̈́ͮ̎l̀̄ͥ́ͬͨ̃͡o̶̝̠̰̪͓͇̅̓̈̿̈̒ͣw͔̙̲͉̩͇
Pulling at their back, the party tugged away a think ropy vine from the base of their necks. It left small cuts near the spine where tiny teethy tines and fleshy tendrils had secured it in place where it tapped into your perceptions, fooling your senses into thinking you were having dinner with the Archmage when in fact they were all suspended in cages. Looking into the end of the tendril, it looked like a leech had a baby with a face hugger and a tomato plant.
The seat they felt beneath them was made of moss and leafy greens and small cilia tugged at their arms and legs, holding them in place. Looking around, the cages are suspended amongst several walkways at the very bottom of the Tower of Zhestia. Above them, they can see the True Zhestia; an infinite extradimensional space of walkways and towers spinning in a whirlwind around themselves, filled with the greatest magical minds Andali had ever produced.
Below, there is a machine. From it protrudes large pipes which glimmer with some sort of energy flow. They could just barely make out a semi complicated looking vault mechanism attached to the front of it. The Archmage and the Illusionist stand at the top walkway, casting off tendrils of their own.
"This place is the heart and soul of the true Rose Protectorate. A great eldritch machine, buried here by the Precursor Race where the gods first touched down to create life. Our original purpose as the Scribes of the Six was to harness the machines predictive power to assist in the war effort and in our spare time interpret the Six Sequential Prophecies. Since then, we've had a little extra down time, and in the forty years since the war ended, we delved deeper. We found teat the Prophecies could start coming to pass a little earlier, if we coaxed them. We would bring on a New Cataclysm, and we would be the only nation who knows it is coming. We will be a Tower amidst a swirling ocean of Chaos, and wehen then Next World comes, we will be ready for it. To rule it.
"Hence the changelings. By placing large amounts of replacements to sow discord and distrust amongst enemy nations, and then sending around the hit squad who believes they're doing the right thing by killing them, we would slowly but surly completely destabilize the governments of every nation but ours."
"Now, I present your group with a choice. You passed your trials; you will be allowed to join us if you swear fealty to the Scribes of the Six. keep in mind, it will be eternally binding, I do have your blood. Or you can say no, and I pull this lever over here, and your soul will be consumed by the machine and your bodies will transformed into plant creatures and tossed in the River for future use."
Obviously, the party rejected this offer. After a brief conversation in the telepathic group chat during which Callisto distracted the Archmage by asking about the health benefits the Tower had to offer, they decided to use Mab's Wish to escape. After whispering her name three times, they heard Mab's voice in their minds.
"Hm," she said. "The Veil is thin here, but there are a lot of protective wards placed on the inside of the Tower... on the inside." At which point a giant spike of ice tore down the tower, vertically splitting it open. As the tower began to collapse, the cages containing the adventurers were in were shaken loose.
This lead to a lengthy battle, in which the Archmage polymorphed into a red dragon, Charles fulminated against him, inadvertently causing a fomorian to appear. Unfortunately, Charles, Tyra, and Valeria and her drake all bunched up around the red dragon, at which point the fireball-happy Illusionist and fire breathing dragon teamed up to knock each of them down in turn. Callisto flexed his new spells, misty stepping up to grab a potion off of Charles' belt to heal Tyra and get them up to heal everyone else. Valan knocked the Archmage out of his dragon form, but when the Archmage summoned his Halo of Blades, Valan was knocked down.
The fomorian obliterated the Illusionist once it had been fully summoned and cursed Charles with its Evil Eye, and Valeria moved in to square off with it. Archmage Reharis took a moment to parley for a truce to destroy the fomorian before continuing to fight each other. Unfortunately, at this point, the ruins of the towers above began to fall all the way to the bottom, obliterating the walkways. Valeria and the fomorian were caught underneath the falling rubble, becoming buried as their walkway was destroyed. Reharis took this opportunity to unilaterally decide the fomorian problem had been handled, and resumed his onslaught on the party.
As the tower fell around them, the party vanquished Archmage Reharis. As he fell, crown slipping off his head, and the swords shattered on the floor. And he began to laugh.
As blood dripped from the bullet hole in his jugular, spilling out his mouth, he spat out his final words.
"You will never know if you caught the right man."
And slowly, his features slipped into the featureless visage of a changeling.
As the Archmage fell, so too did Valeria. Invisible, buried underneath three towers of rubble, her allies unable to reach her, she succumbed to her wounds.
A tower above fell, splitting open the eldritch machine in the center of the room. As the machine broke, a wave of golden energy washed over the room, filling everyone's ears with the resounding sound of a heartbeat, and Charles' mind was swallowed by a driving baseline. A beautiful warforged tumbled out of the machine; its plates were made of ivory held together by platinum brackets and pulled along by sinews of golden thread. It immediately pulled a gun on the party. Charles pulled Valeria's body out of the wreckage and as the warforged took off, deciding not to shoot anyone, the party all followed. Valan took the stairs.
Scrambling their way out of the collapsing tower, following the staggering steps of the warforged, the party eventually rounded a corner to find themselves outside an old ruins of a watchtower on the side of the road, which in many ways resembled the collapsing Tower of Zhestia.
As they exited the tower, a thunderous crack shook the air and ground around them. In the distance, the central tower of Sylva cracked up the middle, sending light shining through, a beam of which passed by, scorching a nearby copse of trees. Then Sylva exploded. When a bag of holding is ruptured, it sends its contents spilling into the nearby area. Much like a bag of holding, the extradimensional space of the Tower had been ruptured, sending its innards spilling out into the surrounding countryside.
The party head a soft snort form up the road. "That you?" Iravek asked, gesturing to the exploding tower.
"Sort of," came the halfhearted reply.
"We were going to stop there next, but I suppose we'll just be on our way now. Need a ride somewhere? We're heading south."
The party and the warforged joined the caravan, placing Valeria's body beneath a blanket in one of the covered wagons in the back. Iravek tried to introduce the party to a familiar face, Aengus Etain, but both parties made it clear that they were already familiar with the other.
As the party worked their way over the hills heading south, they felt a shockwave pass through the wisteria trees of the Rose Protectorate: Winds of change bringing cold weather from the north.
The session began with a recap; everything important up until the point of the Season Finale. The adventuring party, who still lacks a decided upon name, began as attendees of the Peace Accords Conference in Helorus, capital of the Aurelian Empire. You met in a bar called the Embassy where the most important people in the world lodge during their stay for the Accords.
Valeria was a guard for the Head House of the Theocracy, protecting Dahlia, the Matriarchs daughter.
Tyra was a young diplomat, sent out to learn about the world and how to be an emissary of House Dawnbreaker of the Rose Protectorate.
Charles, Valan, and Callisto were mercenaries of the Tenebric Vanguard, supposed to be protecting, but mostly lounging with the Vagabond, their leader.
Valan had the first encounter with the Archmage Reharis of the Rose Protectorate, leader of the Scribes of the Six, commonly nicknamed the Hammer of the Empire for his abilities in combat, as he bumped into him while the mage wrote in his book. Reharis soon left the Embassy, and not shortly after that, a fomorian rose from the central fountain of the establishment and attacked the group.
Fomorians are creatures of darkness, and there had been reports of rising attacks, but none so brazen as this one. During the fight, the Vagabond couldn't hit a single shot, and Stormdancer, Divine Armament and sword of Emperor Nicodemus of the Fulminarian Empire, disappeared.
After killing the fomorian, the night resumed and everyone went about their business. Four days later, the Accords started in earnest. Emperor Nicodemus confronted Emperor Valus about his missing sword, but was heavily encouraged to leave by Leonidas, the Sovereign, general of Aurelian armies, and his Divine Armament Dawnfire.
Emperor Valus went on to make an announcement that would "Forge a new era; not one of war, not one of peace, but one of expansion." Before he could finish his statement and expand upon what that means in terms of actual action, the Vagabond stood up, told Charles, Valan, and Callisto to take care of the Vanguard for him, and assassinated Emperor Valus with the Stormdancer.
R͓̙̞̺͙ͨ̅͋̊̆͌́e̯͕̰̰̖̭̠̾̿ͩͮͯͭͥ͘g̺̲̮͟r̴̩̪̣̝̉ͬ̓̉̈́̄e̙̞̺̘͙͍ͣ̑͜t̘̫ ̣̦̹̙ͪ͆ͨ̓͐̎̋a̎͋̓̈́ͥ̃n͎̘ͭd̩͖̗̮̔̇ͩ̃̔̽ ̴̱̺̺̞̝̠̈́̌̄͋Ŕ̲̩ͧ͌ͮe͖̜̠͙̹͚̖̊ͦ̀̇m̺̻̋̉ͪ̾͗ͦ͝oͫͮ͏̟̤̦r̲̊́s͚̰͇̣̺̏͊̿̈́ͨ̊́e̥̼͇͍ͨͪ̓ͤ
ͮ͂͒̌҉Ä̃̀m̰̺̎̎̾ͥ̒̔e̲̦̫̹͙̰n̯̯̞̚͞d̝̗́s̥̟͎ ̱̱͙̯̳ͬa͚̤̬̣̹̻͛̃̓̿̓n̬͍̭̼̳ͩ̽͛̃̒́̍d̹̗̮̹̗ͭͪ̐̈́ͭ ̹͖̙̖̼̞͖̂ͮA͎t̶̹͍̰̱͈̤̱̽͑̋ȯ̙̲̦ͤ̌ͫn̦̍̉̔ͯȇ̬̼̂̊̓ͮ̏m̉̾̽̍͟é̤͈̓ͦ̌ͣͪ̚n̦̳̳̙͇͇̰̏ͪ́͛t̨̰
̴̉͌ͬ̔̚Ŵ̭̰̠̺̳̻́̽͗ͬẽ̞̫̳̫̼̜̉̇lͧ͏̦̹l̿̋͗̈́̇͐҉̮͎̺,͖̱̩̹̟̥͙̒͛͞ ̞̫̃ͪ͊̃̑̉͢t̡ͥͣ̉̊h͖͉̻̋̾͆̚at̛͈̟̬̘͕̾ͫ́'͔̮̤s̟͈̺̖͖͓͖͘ ͈̮͈ͭl͈̦͕͙͐ͩ̆̇͛͂͋ͅi̫̩̎̎̊ͫf͎̱̩̻͕͗ͫ̆ͬ̏e̲̟ͯ̈̄͛͆ͨ͢,̦̠̳̘̘̝ͯ̅̚ ̂̔ͯͬ̄r̮͓͚̰̦̟̠͗̀ͭͬ̽̀iͬ̿͒̿͗̅̚͏̗̺g͎͕̺̙̍͒̔̉̆͒h̳̎̀̈́ͨt̜̏̊?̭͚̤̟̳͈̻͗ͪ͋ͭ̾̍̋.
The city was locked down, and the adventurers as well as Callisto and Dahlia were called into a clandestine meeting with the leaders of each nation because of their presence both at the Embassy during the fomorian attack and at the Hall of Amphiaraus when the emperor was assassinated. Leonidas, Emperor Nicodemus, the Matriarch, the Archmage, and the Speaker were there as well.
Each person was put under a Zone of Truth cast by the Speaker and questioned. After the questioning, no one was sure how to proceed because no one quite knew how to follow up. Then, a mage of the Scribes of the Six staggered through the clandestine teleportation circle with a glyph of warding carved into his chest and exploded, reducing the Archmages simulacrum to steamed clothes and putting Emperor Nicodemus in a coma.
The next day, Leonidas sent the gang out to track down the Vagabond.
On the first leg of the trip, the party ran into a group of darklings just north of the city attempting to summon a fomorian and encountered dark blight in person for the first time.
Eventually, the group caught up to the Vagabond at a performance by Cirque de Stille. While they were meeting with him after the show, Valan was poisoned by someone, his brother, and almost died.
Upon delivering the Vagabond across the sea to Myrr, an island of multiversal mystery, he revealed to the party that he had been hired by none other than Emperor Valus himself to kill the emperor using coins minted in the Rose Protectorate.
Traveling back to Ignix, the party read in the newspaper that there had been a massacre of changelings in the main square, civil war had errupted in the west, then they ran into the Circus repeatedly, each time seeing a massacre of changelings crop up.
When the group returned homeward to Leonidas, he congratulated them on succeeding and asked them to escort Dahlia back to her homeland, where there was a tense civil war in the process of erupting. The group utilized the Pathfinder to send her back, and cut ties with Leonidas, opting to instead investigate the tense geopolitical situation in Tyra's homeland.
The group met with Remnik who told them about his time in Marlton, a town in need of aid, and he promised to arrange the guard patrols at night to create an opening for the group to intercept a group of mages that were known to regularly patrol an area.
There, they found out that citizens had been taken off the streets by Mages of the Tower. Upon further investigation, the group found that these members appeared to be Changelings, and at least one member of the Circus had arrived in town to fight them. The changelings had a strange book on them that allegedly communed with a Fathomless Entity, as well as orders to travel to Marlton.
then, the party discovered that the Ferryman was in fact an ancient entity that had been hijacked by the Mages to help them make witnesses disappear, and it was not there for Squiddly, but in reality for Mother; Squiddly had simply figured out a way to stave off its approach.
Following the Ferryman, it lead them across a river and into the back door of the Tower of Zhestia, where the party solved a puzzle to get in which told them to "Follow the Flow of Knowledge to Secure Your Passage." The flow lead from a Sea of Darkness, up the Roots of the Tree, to a face of a warforged with a symbol associated with the Bedlamite (not the Devil, sorry), to the Scribes of the Six, and finally to Reharis.
The party at this point undertook the Trials of the Six, making their way in to speak with Reharis after completing nine trials; one for each school of magic, and the Trial of Trust.
During the Trial of Conjuration, the portal accidentally landed them in the Winter Court, where Lady Maeve stole their names for a moment, but returned them when scolded by Queen Mab. Mab offered them a deal; they tell her an interesting story, and she'll return them to where they ought to be. If they tell an extra interesting story, she might even give them a present. And after everyone told them their stories, and that's exactly what she did. She told them to speak her name three times, and she will come to their aid.
In the Necromancy Trial, Callisto scared everyone by killing himself, gold almost killed Charles in the Enchantment Trial, angry water waterboarded Valeria in the Divination Trial, and everyone was bullied by the walls in the Illusion Trial.
Lͭ̇ͣͥͦ̈̉e̤̟͚͗̐͋̓țͫͦͦ ̮̠̲̗̝̺̹̅̔m̥͇̬̖ͣ͛̌ͣͯ͛̿͡e̔͑ͨ̈́̆̋ ̦͎̻̻̥ͅͅs͚̱͍̙̠̟͒͋̓̄̔ĩ̘̲̭̽͂n̟ͬ̓͌̔g̠̰ͬ̆̅ ͍̘̣̉̈́͛ͅy̡̞̺̣̓̄̊̃̉ͧo̥͗̐́ͩ͆ͤ̎u͝ ̤͍̯̯̬ͧ͗͞t̋͠h̯̱͔̃̒͂ͪ̒̅e͙ͫ̇̉͗ͮ̓̋͘ ̭̹ͭͣ̐̂͐̋̚s̘̭̞̮̬̜͜ǫ͎̳̞͚̤̫̦͗͗̄͛̽r͡r̲̪̘̠̟̱̓ͨ̉̔̇̚ͅo̩͕̐̚w̡̩̩͛͌͐̿̉ś
͑̽̀̔̓ͯ́o̙͉̗͐̊f̏̀̋̽ ̬̃̿̓̍ṱ͗̈́͂̾̚ͅh̜͛ͮ̕ͅę͙̩̖̟ͮ̂̂̔̿ ͍̙͈͔͇̈͂ͬ̆́Nͦ͌̀҉̖̥̪̥̜í̽͐ͦ̉͏̯̦͔̼̗̲n̈́̒̒e͙̞̣̹̭̿̃̆͐̇̍ͥ ̄̈́ͥ̿͏̺͇̤͓͙H͍̯̦ͨͥẻ̻̙͙̣̩͕̍ͪ̋r̖̝̲̹͕̬̮ͧ̅ͦ̾̌̒͢o̖̩̺̤͉̾ë̙̦́̋ͣ͠s͕̻̳̏ͯͦ́̍̈́ ̛̰͛̒ͮ́W̳̳͉̖͉̩̓ͭ̽́ͅh̹̱̲̮́̉ͮ̊̀o͎̪͎͓̖ͅ ͋ͩͩ͒̏͌͘W̬̹̼̮̤̺̫̏ͭê̺̣̭̺̠̮̙̍͂ͤ͌r̥̬̲̻͂͆̋́̚e̋̌ͣ.
The Trial of Trust got them in a bit of trouble. Finishing the last challenge, the doorway to the next room opened, revealing Archmage Reharis standing behind a small bar pouring five glasses of wine. The Trial of Trust required only one thing; to drink the wine.
After drinking the wine, blindness consumed the groups vision. They felt something fleshy wrap around the base of their necks and under their shoulders, pulling them up and away, whisking them through space. Something slid up beneath them, cupping their arms and legs into a seated position. As light slowly began to filter in again, filling their vision, the party found themselves seated at a long ovular table in a piercingly white room. They sat on one rounded edge and the Archmage was seated at the other in a high backed chair.
"Hello, everyone," he said. "Please, relax, eat. You've earned it. Really, you never cease to amaze me. I will make sure never to underestimate you again. Although that is what I said last time. And the time before that. And before that. Anyway, you have passed the Trials, you have earned your time to relax. And you've earned at least a little closure, so you can ask any questions that you have."
The first question was asked came from Tyra, and it was fairly simple. "Why us? Why are we the ones who ended up here?"
"Do you know how hard it was to convince Leonidas to send you after the Vagabond?" Reharis said in response. "I only had an hour to get a new simulacrum teleported in, illegally mind you, thank the Nine for the Pathfinders, and convince Leonidas to send a bunch of losers after Andali's most wanted.
"'Nopp," he said. 'They're too inexperienced. At least three of them are flight risks and the Vagabond is going toblast the mouthy one's head off if they say one word out of line. And leave the Matriarch's daught with only one guard among a gang of delinquents? Unspeakable.'"
"But I convinced him that you were young, up and coming adventurers who the Vagabond would take pity on and probably not kill on sight. Imagine my surprise when I was right. So then I send your brother after you," he continues, motioning to Valan. At this point, the Illusionist of Cirque de Stille stepped into the room, dressed in the pressed blue military uniform of the Scribes of the Six. "Not that he knew I was sending him after you all. Maia here made sure to guide his path to stay on your tracks while also killing the changelings we placed in the surrounding cities."
"It is a shame that the Beastmaster discovered our purpose," the Illusionist said. "He showed such promise. Luckily, we found Aiyisha just in time."
"Hold on now, rewind a bit there," Valan interrupted. "Changelings that you placed? What did you do to Aiyisha? Did you kill her?"
"No, we didn't kill her. We hired her," the Illusionist said smuggly.
"And yes," Reharis continued. "Changelings we placed. We used transformed our plant creatures into changelings and modified their memories to believe they were changelings there to replace the townspeople."
"Why?" asked several players in unison.
"Funny you ask that. Perhaps it is time you see the full picture." With that, the Archmage reached up behind his head and pulled something away, vanishing from sight. Shortly afterwards, the Illusionist did the same. Everyone took a moment, assessed their situation, and pulled the plug on themselves as well. Tyra and Callisto were last to go, sharing a moment before pulling away their tendrils.
P̵̝̠͓̞̫̪͈ư̩͕ͯͪ̍̾ͩͪĺ͎̬̜͔̱̩̼̃͊̓̒ͨl̗͓̠̺̮̣̚ȉ̎̔͡n͉̱͇̩̪̻̭̈̐̉̒g̖̤̠̭̜̀̑ͧ́ ͙̅̿̀͑ă̧̈͊ͫ̆̑ͧw̨̭̠͕͕̪̄̋ͬa̢͈̞̹͉̫̬ͅy̴̮̫̗̭̗͍̋ͅ ͈̗͚̞͕ͤ̄͑͢ͅẗ́͑͂͊͗̚h͙̖̦̭͙̲̙ͩ͌̂͊̇ͫͦ̕eͨ҉̮͍͎ ̗̳͖f̷̟͉̝ͫͨ̅̄̀ͯ̃ȍ̧̙̳͉̳͖̘̩͛͐̈́ͯͮͯg̲̘͇̻̔ͬ͜ͅ
̵͈̾ͦͮ̽ṭͪ̆́o̻̻̿̇͂ͤ̐͐ ̗̺̠̲̼̟̝̊̋͗ͯͤͬ͠g͇̯̺̻͚̙͙͊̉͐̂̒ͧu̺̺̗̖̤͕ī̮ͩ̋̂ͫ̀͠d̴͙̹̺̥̟̩̐̃e̞ͩͥ̅͑ͮ̚͡ ̶̫̬͙̐̓͗t̹̯̰h̗̩̭̿o̳͕̱͑ͦͦsͨ͌̎̾̇ͦ͋͏͓̪͓͈̠ȅ̺̼̮͇̳̺ͫͩͫͨ̏̕ ̫̃ͩ̍̀̿͛w̥̠̣̲̯̦̟̽͛ͭͣͨ̌h̘͚͕͉͓̱͖͐o̮̟̺̺ ̙f̘̾͋͜o̧̮͍ḽ̘̗͌̎̈́ͮ̎l̀̄ͥ́ͬͨ̃͡o̶̝̠̰̪͓͇̅̓̈̿̈̒ͣw͔̙̲͉̩͇
Pulling at their back, the party tugged away a think ropy vine from the base of their necks. It left small cuts near the spine where tiny teethy tines and fleshy tendrils had secured it in place where it tapped into your perceptions, fooling your senses into thinking you were having dinner with the Archmage when in fact they were all suspended in cages. Looking into the end of the tendril, it looked like a leech had a baby with a face hugger and a tomato plant.
The seat they felt beneath them was made of moss and leafy greens and small cilia tugged at their arms and legs, holding them in place. Looking around, the cages are suspended amongst several walkways at the very bottom of the Tower of Zhestia. Above them, they can see the True Zhestia; an infinite extradimensional space of walkways and towers spinning in a whirlwind around themselves, filled with the greatest magical minds Andali had ever produced.
Below, there is a machine. From it protrudes large pipes which glimmer with some sort of energy flow. They could just barely make out a semi complicated looking vault mechanism attached to the front of it. The Archmage and the Illusionist stand at the top walkway, casting off tendrils of their own.
"This place is the heart and soul of the true Rose Protectorate. A great eldritch machine, buried here by the Precursor Race where the gods first touched down to create life. Our original purpose as the Scribes of the Six was to harness the machines predictive power to assist in the war effort and in our spare time interpret the Six Sequential Prophecies. Since then, we've had a little extra down time, and in the forty years since the war ended, we delved deeper. We found teat the Prophecies could start coming to pass a little earlier, if we coaxed them. We would bring on a New Cataclysm, and we would be the only nation who knows it is coming. We will be a Tower amidst a swirling ocean of Chaos, and wehen then Next World comes, we will be ready for it. To rule it.
"Hence the changelings. By placing large amounts of replacements to sow discord and distrust amongst enemy nations, and then sending around the hit squad who believes they're doing the right thing by killing them, we would slowly but surly completely destabilize the governments of every nation but ours."
"Now, I present your group with a choice. You passed your trials; you will be allowed to join us if you swear fealty to the Scribes of the Six. keep in mind, it will be eternally binding, I do have your blood. Or you can say no, and I pull this lever over here, and your soul will be consumed by the machine and your bodies will transformed into plant creatures and tossed in the River for future use."
Obviously, the party rejected this offer. After a brief conversation in the telepathic group chat during which Callisto distracted the Archmage by asking about the health benefits the Tower had to offer, they decided to use Mab's Wish to escape. After whispering her name three times, they heard Mab's voice in their minds.
"Hm," she said. "The Veil is thin here, but there are a lot of protective wards placed on the inside of the Tower... on the inside." At which point a giant spike of ice tore down the tower, vertically splitting it open. As the tower began to collapse, the cages containing the adventurers were in were shaken loose.
This lead to a lengthy battle, in which the Archmage polymorphed into a red dragon, Charles fulminated against him, inadvertently causing a fomorian to appear. Unfortunately, Charles, Tyra, and Valeria and her drake all bunched up around the red dragon, at which point the fireball-happy Illusionist and fire breathing dragon teamed up to knock each of them down in turn. Callisto flexed his new spells, misty stepping up to grab a potion off of Charles' belt to heal Tyra and get them up to heal everyone else. Valan knocked the Archmage out of his dragon form, but when the Archmage summoned his Halo of Blades, Valan was knocked down.
The fomorian obliterated the Illusionist once it had been fully summoned and cursed Charles with its Evil Eye, and Valeria moved in to square off with it. Archmage Reharis took a moment to parley for a truce to destroy the fomorian before continuing to fight each other. Unfortunately, at this point, the ruins of the towers above began to fall all the way to the bottom, obliterating the walkways. Valeria and the fomorian were caught underneath the falling rubble, becoming buried as their walkway was destroyed. Reharis took this opportunity to unilaterally decide the fomorian problem had been handled, and resumed his onslaught on the party.
As the tower fell around them, the party vanquished Archmage Reharis. As he fell, crown slipping off his head, and the swords shattered on the floor. And he began to laugh.
As blood dripped from the bullet hole in his jugular, spilling out his mouth, he spat out his final words.
"You will never know if you caught the right man."
And slowly, his features slipped into the featureless visage of a changeling.
As the Archmage fell, so too did Valeria. Invisible, buried underneath three towers of rubble, her allies unable to reach her, she succumbed to her wounds.
A tower above fell, splitting open the eldritch machine in the center of the room. As the machine broke, a wave of golden energy washed over the room, filling everyone's ears with the resounding sound of a heartbeat, and Charles' mind was swallowed by a driving baseline. A beautiful warforged tumbled out of the machine; its plates were made of ivory held together by platinum brackets and pulled along by sinews of golden thread. It immediately pulled a gun on the party. Charles pulled Valeria's body out of the wreckage and as the warforged took off, deciding not to shoot anyone, the party all followed. Valan took the stairs.
Scrambling their way out of the collapsing tower, following the staggering steps of the warforged, the party eventually rounded a corner to find themselves outside an old ruins of a watchtower on the side of the road, which in many ways resembled the collapsing Tower of Zhestia.
As they exited the tower, a thunderous crack shook the air and ground around them. In the distance, the central tower of Sylva cracked up the middle, sending light shining through, a beam of which passed by, scorching a nearby copse of trees. Then Sylva exploded. When a bag of holding is ruptured, it sends its contents spilling into the nearby area. Much like a bag of holding, the extradimensional space of the Tower had been ruptured, sending its innards spilling out into the surrounding countryside.
The party head a soft snort form up the road. "That you?" Iravek asked, gesturing to the exploding tower.
"Sort of," came the halfhearted reply.
"We were going to stop there next, but I suppose we'll just be on our way now. Need a ride somewhere? We're heading south."
The party and the warforged joined the caravan, placing Valeria's body beneath a blanket in one of the covered wagons in the back. Iravek tried to introduce the party to a familiar face, Aengus Etain, but both parties made it clear that they were already familiar with the other.
As the party worked their way over the hills heading south, they felt a shockwave pass through the wisteria trees of the Rose Protectorate: Winds of change bringing cold weather from the north.
Rewards Granted
Magic initiate for completing the Trials of the Six
Level 7
Warforged fren :D
Level 7
Warforged fren :D
Missions/Quests Completed
Umbral Whispers arc completed
Character(s) interacted with
Archmage Reharis: I showed you my villainous plot, please respond.
The Illusionist: You learned her name is Maia, she fireballed all of you, then a fomorian crushed her, and then the tower extra crushed her.
The Gunslinger: A warforged with a gun in his arm. You didn't ask him his name, so "Gunslinger" seems an apt title as any.
The Illusionist: You learned her name is Maia, she fireballed all of you, then a fomorian crushed her, and then the tower extra crushed her.
The Gunslinger: A warforged with a gun in his arm. You didn't ask him his name, so "Gunslinger" seems an apt title as any.
Notes
N̴҉̡̢̰̗͈̦͚͙̗̟̗͖̳͕̼̝̣͈̺̲o̭̖͍̙͕͍̪͘ͅw̢̙͖̳͙̬̭̟̺̫̩̠ͅ ҉̡̮̱̰̪̙̮̪͍̦̞͠a̛̲̜͖̭͔̥̜̤̦͓̲͉̜ͅͅͅl̕͢҉͠͏͍̝̺͔̳͙̺͔͙͚̩̠͍̞͓͎͉l̕͏҉̙̼̜̹͈̯̼̙̳͍̱ͅ ̸̵̡̪̩͕͖̩͉̦̤̥̮͘͢ͅÀ̢҉̵̨̤̪̻̰̤̯̮̜̥̯̲͍̯̼̯͚ͅr̨̗̙̜̮͎̟̥͇͖͇̱͓̻̮̯͚̠̪̕͢m̢҉̼̜͈̱̬̹̲̺̼̣̭͟a̵̢̮̹̯̬͍̦ḿ̴̗̹̼͎̙̖̯̪̭̘̬͍͓̝͉̯̗͓͢͠e̴̢̮̝̗̙̗̝͘͡͝n͡͏̢̤̲̣̞̜̬̼͚̗̝̭̺͚͎t͏̶͖̠̠̬̥̥̲̥̹̯͈̤̼̫͠s̶̶̸̭̠̟̞̝̯̰̯͍͓̰̺̱̥̹̥͚̖̕͢ ̶͠͏͚͔͈̬͔̗̼̀͡ͅḒ̡̨̖͔͎̯͙̣̯͙̣̲̮̮͔̫i̶̷̢͍͙̣̟͎̖̖̜͕̳̟̝̕v̭̘̠͘͟͜ì͙͕͚̜͓̮̠̲̘̬̬͍͈̖͉̤͝ņ̕҉̷̸̩͖̰̝̩͇̮̪͖̣̲̼̪̗̱̙̞͔ę̶̖͖̙͇̺̻͖ ̡̖̙̮̖̞̖̪̠̱̼̻̥͢͜͝ͅl̶͏͜͏̙̹̯̮͈̠͙͙͝á̴̵̴̡̮͔̼̠͕͚͔̯͔̣̰̞̟ͅͅͅḿ̵͉̟̩͈͔̱̙́͢e̵̶̤̹͕̘͖͕͙̱͕̯͝ņ̥͕͙̰̪͚͕̠̻̬̦̖͔͉̦͖̀͘ͅͅͅt̢̙͎̼̲͈͕̣͢͟ ̧̲͍̝̬͖̣̫̩̺̟̤̬͔̺̖͔́͜͢͝Ḭ̵̸̛̮̘̹̠̥̮̪͢͝
Report Date
14 Aug 2021
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