Azimuth 2 - Session 25 - Rose Glasses, Clay Compass
General Summary
Northern Orcish Plains
Last Caravan Camp
As the night’s camp was coming to a close, Mortimr asked Gertrude for a drink, starting the questions drinking game. He drank the whole pint immediately and waited for the group to ask questions. Arwin asked if they could trust him examining the Eight-Pronged Residuum Ring. Romsca added that Mortimr initially said to not let him have the ring. Mortimr said they needed answers and nothing was a guarantee, but it couldn’t be more dangerous than other people's pasts coming to haunt them. Mortimr said there was someone granting him his magic. When he visited the Kievs Morounin Archive in search of a means to get revenge, he found an old book. He lost several hours and awoke in an alley, and since then he’d had a connection to this entity. He didn’t know who they were, but a voice spoke to him in his mind. Mortimr wanted revenge, and the entity seemed aligned with that goal. They party agreed to let Mortimr examine to ring, as both a way to learn more of the ring and of Mortimr’s entity. Romsca retrieved the box and Demitri unlocked it. He took out the ring and handed it over to Mortimr.Rose-Scented Petals
Mortimr felt the entity’s presence within him, and others noticed a pink tint to his glasses and a floral scent in the air. The voice said to Mortimr, “Thank you, my love, for trusting me. I hope in time that it will be easier to do.” After a minute, the entity’s examination seemed to finish. It said, “The genasi will try to take this from you. This is a key to what they are trying to accomplish. It is dangerous to let them have it.” Mortimr asked if the entity knew what the ring was and if it could be destroyed. It said, “The knowledge of how to destroy artifacts like this has been lost to your kind for a long time. I do not know how powerful this is compared to what it is copied from.” It continued, saying the ring was a copy of something “far older than all of you.” Mortimr asked why the genasi wanted it and what it could do. Mortimr felt the connection recede and he pushed forward to maintain it, feeling an overlapping of their essences. The entity said, “The genasi want this as a means to an end, to bring an end to all things, but I know not if this has the power they would need it for. It might, but this is something new. This ring has not existed in the world for long.” Concerned with the lengthy quiet, Romsca grabbed Mortimr’s shoulder, and he raised a hand to her calmly. The entity said, “If this can do the same job as what the genasi hunted, then it should not fall into their hands. I know not where she may have gotten the resources to do this.” Mortimr asked who the entity meant, and it clarified that 'she' was one of the genasi group. Mortimr pushed again and asked what they needed to do. As he did, Gertrude, Romsca, and Demitri started to see ephemeral flower petals in the air around Mortimr. “The genasi have part of what this ring was based on. This ring may be a shadow of that, but I do not know what their plan with this ring is. But its origin should be removed from them.” The entity continued, “Tread carefully, but let it not fall from your grasp.” The entity said their revenge was hand in hand, and it pulled fully away. The rose petals and floral scents faded away in the night breeze. Mortimr returned the ring to Demitri, and he locked it back away in the box. Mortimr shared the details of his conversation. Arwin was aggravated by the revelations, and Gertrude asked if he’d expected good news from it. Mortimr asked if Gertrude could try asking Chedae. She took the time to pray and center herself, and she meditated in a practiced way. She focused her thoughts on asking for help. The connection she felt to Chedae was strained and tenuous, but several lightning bugs seemed to be drawn to Gertrude before they flew away southwards. Demitri suggested Romsca try reaching Morounin, as well. She made a forge fire and began rhythmically repairing her shield. In the heat and pace of the repair, she suddenly felt a strong presence bear down on her over her shoulder. She quickly turned and the feeling was gone, but she now faced southwards down the Orc Highway.Reminders of Home
Demitri approached Gertrude and thanked her for agreeing to let Mortimr examine the ring. He wanted to offer a gift after their earlier altercation, and he gifted her his copy of The Fate of Johanna. Gertrude was genuinely touched, and she hugged Demitri, lifting him up. She said she didn’t have a gift to provide him, though, and she offered him some ale instead. Before bed, Romsca cast a pair of Sending spells to members of her tribe. To Hceehc of the Golden Fur, she asked if she was exchanging their culture, what could she or the tribe give? Hceehc replied that culture is more than goods, and said that Endor seeing the gnolls the same way they see other races was of value. Then, Romsca sent a message to her mother, Thrin, and she said missed her family. Her mother’s reply was strained and delayed, but she wished Romsca to return home soon, calling her Starlight-Dancer.Approaching the City
In the morning of 12 Adroth, the caravan continued its march southwards. The weather was clear and cool, though Romulus let the group know to expect rain in the evening. During the travel, Captain Ruslan was upbeat and jovial. He was making an effort to keep morale up and thanked the Lightbringers for their efforts during the journey. Ruslan relayed their destination was Breakwater Keep in New Keeleon; Ruslan wanted to turn the wagons in soon so they were not sitting around in the city, and so they could all get paid. The group discussed what to do with the ring and the lead box as they approached the city. Ideas were tossed around and considered, including hiding the ring among other supplies or under the wagons, or keeping it outside of New Keeleon. Arwin asked, “If the Tarterian Trader Company has their hands in pretty much everything in this city, do you think taking this box where someone might notice it, to a governmental facility where they have their hands in it, is a good idea?” The group didn’t have much information about what they were headed into, but Chaka was somewhat familiar with the city from his recent time here. He brought up several inns he knew of, and the group thought to maybe rent a room at the Far Bar Inn and have someone hold the ring there. Romulus mentioned he had previously Wild Shaped while holding the box. He could do that again to conceal the box and ring while the group turned in the wagons. The group thought it was the best option, and they could regroup and decide their next steps afterwards.New Keeleon
Cereus Compass
Romulus pointed ahead, and the group could see the outskirts of New Keeleon: a small farming, trade worker, and exchange region called Argil’s Gate. There was a gathering of people near the Cereus Compass, a shrine to Avianor, where someone was addressing the crowd. Arwin and Demitri recognized the speaker as the hooded ex-soldier they had seen among the crowd outside the Darksteel Foundry in Porgorag. The figure was speaking of the rebellion. He said the crown was lying to them. He said their leader, Lulakor, wanted a better life for the orcish people and was charged with treason by “a queen who cares more for the money of merchants than the will of the orcs.” As he had in Porgorag, he mentioned that Chedae was with the rebellion, and he invited the onlookers to come to the west to see for themselves. Guards from the town began making their way over to investigate the commotion and the ex-soldier started moving away. He noticed the caravan group and recognized Arwin. The figure started moving away, and Arwin followed. It quickly turned into a chase, and Arwin ran after the orc to Kuad's Farm. With a blunted arrow, he shot and subdued the orc. Before the guards reached the group, Mortimr said to meet up at the Far Bar Inn. He cast an invisibility spell on himself and Romulus transformed into a rat with the ring’s box, and the pair slipped away towards the city. The guards caught up to Arwin and apprehended the captured orc. They thanked him for doing the city a service and pulled him away as the ornery Kuad shook his pitchfork at the lot of them.Argil’s Gate
At Argil’s Gate, the group waited to be processed by the guards handling the incoming wagons. They overheard conversation from other travelers and merchants talking about fees and the wagon wheel tax. Another said, “When the coinguard was here, this type of thing wouldn’t fly.” They reached the front of the queue, and Ruslan informed them who they were. He paid the wagon wheel tax for the three wagons, and he asked for directions to the Breakwater Keep. The guards told him the most direct route would be to follow the Orc Highway to Resilience Park, then take Maddison Avenue west to the river. On the other side of the gateway, the group entered the Pipestones district. City landmarks, like the shining glazed brick buildings of the Highland Hills community and the towers of the Breakwater Keep, were quickly obscured by the masses of brick buildings bordering the roadway. A message board and town crier were nearby in the plaza, and the group could see the hustle and bustle of the City of Bricks before them.
Report Date
17 Jan 2024
Primary Location
Secondary Location
Related Characters
11 Adroth 5A 352 to 12 Adroth 5A 352