Session XV - Reunion
9th of Tororima, 560 AL
After defeating the Doctor and combing through the dungeon, the party surveys their discoveries. They've found a letter to someone called "Sisarath" that mentions a collusion between the Raja of Attjandi and the Doctor. The Doctor says that they will discuss further collaboration at the upcoming "Gala" in several days. Near the correspondence, the party also discovers shipping manifestos detailing large volumes of plant matter being sent to Saxuna. The coastal city lies on the northern end of the Valley of Denouement and seems to be a possible second base of operations for the Doctor.
In a tightly secured lockbox within the Doctor's study, a grotesque spell reagent is found by Astra. A large chunk of flesh is dried and wrapped in butcher's paper. Alongside it is an infernal scroll detailing the means of casting the clone spell. It becomes clear that the Doctor's death may not have been the end after all.
The party quickly realizes that they will not be able to bring back the faces of the Doctor's prisoners quickly enough despite the insistence from Herodine, a genasi prisoner that Strattora communicates with by detecting his thoughts. The commotion upstairs suggests that the city's guard has come to investigate the disturbance. The party frantically organizes an escape from the tower.
Flint melts the outer stone wall of the tower and Strattora bashes it open with her hammer. It reveals a dizzying drop into the Crystal Ward below. Cornelius and Demesia cast fly on their band of allies and the group jettisons themselves out of the tower. The mists below obscure them as they fly eastward, landing on a beachhead far below the Sojourn Tower. Demesia bids the party farewell for now and uses her flight to descend back into the city, leaving the prisoners with the party. Slowly, they fly their way down the cliffsides on Attjandi's outskirts. The prisoners, lacking faces, are guided the entire way by the party.
Eventually, the party and their charges can make their way back to the Rolling Moon Inn. The innkeeper Tarog'Thul gives them the entire upper floor for the night as a gesture of kindness to the friends of his friend Grogli. The party shuttles the faceless rescues into the inn's upper suite before taking a moment to breathe, relax, and bathe themselves.
After refreshing in the washrooms, Cornelius and Strattora head down into the taproom. Demesia flags them down to a corner table. She is scoping out a Rajukas as the evening clientele grows plenty, biding her time as he grows more and more intoxicated. Two water genasi courtesans accompany the nobleman. Strattora takes the initiative to approach the group's table, applying a quick dash of magical makeup to blend in.
Strattora chums up to the Rajukas, plying him for information with drinks and flattery. He tells her that an invasion is happening in several days but is unconcerned, saying that "the golems would fight for them" and "take care of it". At this point, one of the courtesans of the Rajukas pipes in to chide Strattora and passive-aggressively suggests that she leave. The Rajukas is her target tonight, mandated by whomever she works for. Strattora exchanges barbs with one of them, eventually resulting in her standing up and leaving the bar with the Rajukas in tow. The other water genasi remains at the table -- her hair is long, elegant, and icy as frozen blades of grass. She wears a flowing blue dress that evokes translucent jellyfish and sea life.
Strattora invites the remaining courtesan up to a private room for the night. Intrigued, the woman accepts the proposition.
They leave for a long while and Strattora returns to the party with a flowing jellyfish dress in hand.
Back in the party's room, Astra lockpicks the remaining lockboxes from the Doctor's dungeon. They discover coins, personal effects, spell focuses, and various other magic items. Astra takes a black forked rod from one of the boxes and communes with it. Infernal whispers are forced into their head as they hold it. Astra chants the words as they come to them, channeling the rod's power. A rushing cascade of energy is emitted from the rod. The door outside bangs as whipping wind can be heard from the other side. Astra tentatively opens the door. A collection of wispy, energetic beings is outside. They carry on their amorphous forms the faces of the faceless prisoners. With the door open, the energies flood inside and slam into the heads of the prisoners. One by one, the prisoners regain their faces as the magic fades. They are whole again. The genasi and the wood-elven prisoners burst out into celebration. Denogus Erinyes, Melinoe's father, seems strangely angry and acts entitled towards her. He demands that the party sends him home immediately without so much as a "thank you". As he approaches angrily, Flint slams him against the doorframe with his war hammer. Unrepentant, Denogus deliriously demands an exit to return to Zivilon. He pays Melinoe almost no mind whatsoever from then on. Flint shoves a Returner into his hands with the knowledge that the Dial's barrier may interfere with his travel to Zivilon. He may even be deposited into some random location in Chorus. Denogus greedily and immediately uses the Returner, vanishing without a trace. Still processing the attitude of Melinoe's father, the party rejoins the rejoicing prisoners. Striking up a conversation with the wood elves, the party is told that a factory called the "Sonapailes" produces the war golems and elementals used to fight against Zivilon, as well as to perform labor for the people of Attjandi. They learn that the wood elves are the missing Accipiters that Nasos had previously told them about. They had their mortars taken from them weeks ago when they were captured at their posts. They were snuck up on and incapacitated before they could react. One of them remarks, "Oh, I'm getting fired…". As the night wears on, Argus and Demesia return to the sight of their companions freed and healed. They join the celebrations and Argus fetches wine and ale from the inn below. The party and their new friends make merry late into the night.
Eventually, Demesia pulls Strattora aside to talk to her with Argus. They ask her several probing questions about her childhood. She tells them that she was left at the Logos Temple in Zivilon several decades ago. Demesia reveals to Strattora that she and Argus left a daughter in the same place at the same time all those years ago. They are her biological parents. Strattora asks them why they left. Why did they never think to return to the city to see her? Argus tells her that during that time, the Zivil government was cracking down on dissidents and consolidating power in an authoritarian purge. They tried to speak out and were jailed on multiple occasions. Eventually, they resorted to drastic measures. They attempted a coup by trying to assassinate the Warlady Glamene the Stormfallen, leader of Zivilon's military. They failed, evidently, and were forced to flee the plane. The two of them are forbidden from entering the plane itself. The Dial itself prevents them from doing so. Strattora asks for space and time to think. Demesia gives her a small crystalline sending stone with which to contact her. The young Mith'Missos returns to the party and, exhausted, they all bed down for the night.
Eventually, the party and their charges can make their way back to the Rolling Moon Inn. The innkeeper Tarog'Thul gives them the entire upper floor for the night as a gesture of kindness to the friends of his friend Grogli. The party shuttles the faceless rescues into the inn's upper suite before taking a moment to breathe, relax, and bathe themselves.
Back in the party's room, Astra lockpicks the remaining lockboxes from the Doctor's dungeon. They discover coins, personal effects, spell focuses, and various other magic items. Astra takes a black forked rod from one of the boxes and communes with it. Infernal whispers are forced into their head as they hold it. Astra chants the words as they come to them, channeling the rod's power. A rushing cascade of energy is emitted from the rod. The door outside bangs as whipping wind can be heard from the other side. Astra tentatively opens the door. A collection of wispy, energetic beings is outside. They carry on their amorphous forms the faces of the faceless prisoners. With the door open, the energies flood inside and slam into the heads of the prisoners. One by one, the prisoners regain their faces as the magic fades. They are whole again. The genasi and the wood-elven prisoners burst out into celebration. Denogus Erinyes, Melinoe's father, seems strangely angry and acts entitled towards her. He demands that the party sends him home immediately without so much as a "thank you". As he approaches angrily, Flint slams him against the doorframe with his war hammer. Unrepentant, Denogus deliriously demands an exit to return to Zivilon. He pays Melinoe almost no mind whatsoever from then on. Flint shoves a Returner into his hands with the knowledge that the Dial's barrier may interfere with his travel to Zivilon. He may even be deposited into some random location in Chorus. Denogus greedily and immediately uses the Returner, vanishing without a trace. Still processing the attitude of Melinoe's father, the party rejoins the rejoicing prisoners. Striking up a conversation with the wood elves, the party is told that a factory called the "Sonapailes" produces the war golems and elementals used to fight against Zivilon, as well as to perform labor for the people of Attjandi. They learn that the wood elves are the missing Accipiters that Nasos had previously told them about. They had their mortars taken from them weeks ago when they were captured at their posts. They were snuck up on and incapacitated before they could react. One of them remarks, "Oh, I'm getting fired…". As the night wears on, Argus and Demesia return to the sight of their companions freed and healed. They join the celebrations and Argus fetches wine and ale from the inn below. The party and their new friends make merry late into the night.
Eventually, Demesia pulls Strattora aside to talk to her with Argus. They ask her several probing questions about her childhood. She tells them that she was left at the Logos Temple in Zivilon several decades ago. Demesia reveals to Strattora that she and Argus left a daughter in the same place at the same time all those years ago. They are her biological parents. Strattora asks them why they left. Why did they never think to return to the city to see her? Argus tells her that during that time, the Zivil government was cracking down on dissidents and consolidating power in an authoritarian purge. They tried to speak out and were jailed on multiple occasions. Eventually, they resorted to drastic measures. They attempted a coup by trying to assassinate the Warlady Glamene the Stormfallen, leader of Zivilon's military. They failed, evidently, and were forced to flee the plane. The two of them are forbidden from entering the plane itself. The Dial itself prevents them from doing so. Strattora asks for space and time to think. Demesia gives her a small crystalline sending stone with which to contact her. The young Mith'Missos returns to the party and, exhausted, they all bed down for the night.
