Session VII - The New War
28th of Derima - 1st of Tororima, 560 AL
The morning after the funeral, Flint ventures beneath the city to investigate the ominous feeling that Melinoe experienced when the bodies were tossed there at the mass funeral.
They are blessed by various spells of the party and head below with Astra. There is an endless sea there beneath the dark clouds. They see the destroyed ruins of the Garden Ward, as well as a mountain of corpses from the burial at Shipyard Square. The corpses are piled so high that they reach just under the surface of the water. Dark shapes lurk below in the water: scavengers. After observing the corpse of a fire genasi dignitary in the ruins, the pair flies back up to join the rest of the party.
At the surface, a figure approaches to party. He is a man in a Zivil military peacoat: an officer. The man introduces himself as Nasos Valumin, an officer sent to give the party a mission: forge a path for the Zivil soldiers to march through Thrahin. The party is tasked with capturing the Nasht Kara, an ancient battlefield in a line-shaped valley in Thrahin. He explains that the battlefield was the site of many conflicts in the past decades when Zivilon was more interested in the pursuit of empire. The mission's reward: promotion to Legionnaires, and a sum of gold. Nasos explains that there is a specific route that the army will take: they will sail south down the Tal Kanna river and then march on land next to the Valley of Denouement until they reach Elgroth -- after which they will take the capital city of Attjandi. Nasos tells the party that the Gamanari and Cult of Sunlight are two central political factions, one nationalist and one pacifist. He also says that the forests near Nasht Kara are protected by the brood of the Grey Wolf, which could be friends or foes. Flint asks if a dial-priest could accompany them to the portal to ensure their safe travel. They ask for Dargon Hightide, a Lord of the High Thrones and supposed ally of Kirasum. Nasos reluctantly agrees to try to get Dargon's assistance. After being asked about his nature, Nasos explains that he is a flesh golem from Shakun in Thrahin: a town of necromancers. They leech power from the tree of death: Svarn. The other trees, Curuvat and Gamanad, are more neutral forces of nature that are exploited by Elgroth's enchanters to create golems and elementals. Nasos was "stitched together" from multiple bodies, having 6 sets of skin and 2 hearts. He says he was given sentience and free will later, joining the city of Zivilon. Nasos requisitions the supplies that the party asks for, giving them 8 hours to commence the operation.
In the intervening 8 hours, the party gathers supplies and both Melinoe and Astra message their contacts. Lady Petreia Thallus tells Melinoe that her mission's time limit is extended due to the invasion's failure. She also asks her what she thinks about Kirasum, to which Melinoe responds that she is dependable. Astra, meanwhile, uses a Kaath Mirror to message Commander Gaius. He says he's been to the Plane of Moss, decades ago as a soldier. He also adds that the Plane of Moss is where the Fen Father originates from. If Astra wants, they could try to find him there -- though he was last located in Quirrach.
After resting, the party makes their way to the Consecutarus in the dead of night, where the dial-priest Lord Dargon Hightide is waiting with Nasos and another soldier. They are led to a portal room beneath the grounds where their supplies are neatly packaged, waiting for them. Lord Hightide begins a lengthy Hyrr magic ritual to imbue the portal with a contract. When he is done, golden runes adorn the portal face, and a multicolored energy forms within it. The party enters the new portal.
The party emerges in a ruined prison of some sort. They immediately see a venom troll nearby, gorging on humanoid corpses. They ambush the troll and quickly kill it before a second troll burrows its way through a nearby wall, roaring at the sight of the first troll's body. They clash with the second troll, and it proves harder to put down due to its regeneration. Flint finally sets it ablaze with a torch, burning it to cinders.
After the battle, the party investigates the prison. There is a tunnel leading to a rubble-covered exit, and a jail room with a collection of iron cells. Within one, two magical items glow bright red: an orb and a staff. When Cornelius attempts to use his mage hand to lift the staff out of the jail, a voice echoes out of it, swearing at him. He is able to retrieve it, but when he touches the staff it casts a fireball on the party, nearly killing a few of them. Angered, Flint threatens the staff with destruction unless it obeys them. The staff surrenders immediately, explaining that it killed its previous owner Bertrand. Its name is Herod, and it has been in this cell for 54 years. Fire's power seems to be dampened here, so it wants out. The party reluctantly brings Herod with them, with Cornelius taking ownership of the staff and Strattora taking the orb.
At the surface, a figure approaches to party. He is a man in a Zivil military peacoat: an officer. The man introduces himself as Nasos Valumin, an officer sent to give the party a mission: forge a path for the Zivil soldiers to march through Thrahin. The party is tasked with capturing the Nasht Kara, an ancient battlefield in a line-shaped valley in Thrahin. He explains that the battlefield was the site of many conflicts in the past decades when Zivilon was more interested in the pursuit of empire. The mission's reward: promotion to Legionnaires, and a sum of gold. Nasos explains that there is a specific route that the army will take: they will sail south down the Tal Kanna river and then march on land next to the Valley of Denouement until they reach Elgroth -- after which they will take the capital city of Attjandi. Nasos tells the party that the Gamanari and Cult of Sunlight are two central political factions, one nationalist and one pacifist. He also says that the forests near Nasht Kara are protected by the brood of the Grey Wolf, which could be friends or foes. Flint asks if a dial-priest could accompany them to the portal to ensure their safe travel. They ask for Dargon Hightide, a Lord of the High Thrones and supposed ally of Kirasum. Nasos reluctantly agrees to try to get Dargon's assistance. After being asked about his nature, Nasos explains that he is a flesh golem from Shakun in Thrahin: a town of necromancers. They leech power from the tree of death: Svarn. The other trees, Curuvat and Gamanad, are more neutral forces of nature that are exploited by Elgroth's enchanters to create golems and elementals. Nasos was "stitched together" from multiple bodies, having 6 sets of skin and 2 hearts. He says he was given sentience and free will later, joining the city of Zivilon. Nasos requisitions the supplies that the party asks for, giving them 8 hours to commence the operation.
In the intervening 8 hours, the party gathers supplies and both Melinoe and Astra message their contacts. Lady Petreia Thallus tells Melinoe that her mission's time limit is extended due to the invasion's failure. She also asks her what she thinks about Kirasum, to which Melinoe responds that she is dependable. Astra, meanwhile, uses a Kaath Mirror to message Commander Gaius. He says he's been to the Plane of Moss, decades ago as a soldier. He also adds that the Plane of Moss is where the Fen Father originates from. If Astra wants, they could try to find him there -- though he was last located in Quirrach.
The party emerges in a ruined prison of some sort. They immediately see a venom troll nearby, gorging on humanoid corpses. They ambush the troll and quickly kill it before a second troll burrows its way through a nearby wall, roaring at the sight of the first troll's body. They clash with the second troll, and it proves harder to put down due to its regeneration. Flint finally sets it ablaze with a torch, burning it to cinders.
"Do we still want it? It appears to be Irish."AstraThe party digs out of the rubble with some effort. They emerge into a strange, vast forest covered in trees, massive fungi, and enormous flowers. Far in the distance, the southern trees span dozens of miles branch to branch. Looming over them from the west is an immeasurably vast shadow: a fourth tree so large that it has grown out of the plane's atmosphere itself, possibly thousands of miles away but still so large that it spans half of the horizon. It is a grot-tree, and the parent to the southern trees used by Elgroth. They have arrived in Thrahin.
