Episode Sixty-eight - The Eyes of Death

General Summary

It was the 29th of Kythorn and the Timebells had just struck six. Annabelle, Arion, and Sol entered the clothier of one, Piatran of Thay. Arion knew the shop well and knew it was likely that he would find a great assortment of magic items within. Just inside, he was greeted happily by Piatran and delivered a bit of news. Piatran told Arion that he had expected Arion's return, as had the Most Excellent Order of Weavers and Dyers of Waterdeep. He then presented a banner adorned with a crest for Arion's review for the noble house Deepwinter and a letter along with it. The letter read: To the Grand Lord Arion of the House Deepwinter, We have, so long as you bless it, reimagined your house's crest. Once a snowcapped mountain with a large, stylized snowflake above and to the left of the mountain peak, the Deepwinter Crest was reimagined by the Most Excellent Order of Weavers and Dyers of Waterdeep. The reimagined crest holds a per bend sinister, embattled white and sable. In the first quarter there is a snowflake of sable and in the fourth quarter a tree blasted and eradicated white. The meanings of the crest are as deep as the reforged Deepwinter House itself. The per bend sinister represents the division of the old house and the replacement of the new one. Its embattled stylization represents the toil of warring houses that will come to define the early house. The snowflake in the first quarter both reflects the old house and the new by holding to the old design and representing the new house's emergence in late winter, 1479 Dale Reckoning. The fourth quarter represents the first lord of the new house by replacing the snowcapped mountain and substituting it for a tree but not just any tree. The tree represents the badge of the lord's home that he bears on his armor but does not reflect it. Instead it represents the great oak behind the Deepwinter Estate and is blasted to symbolize the future growth of the house. In that theme, sable was chosen to reflect the lord and his home world's colored histories where as white was chosen to represent the house's deep connection to winter and purity of morality. So my Lord Arion, we hope that you will accept this gift as a token of our hope for your house and find it as pleasing as befits a true and worthy lord of Waterdeep. Though the enemies of good are many, we do not stand with them and offer as many banners as need be made, be done so for free. Likewise, our dyers second well as painters and can paint shields with ease. Our weavers await words from your house and find ourselves excited to meet your servants. Blessings to you and your house, The Most Excellent Order of Weavers and Dyers Piatran then suggested that Arion make a healthy donation to the guild that he could then bundle in fine silks, with the silks being free of charge for a friend. Arion agreed with the encouragement of Annabelle and Piatran was please. Together they shopped and learned of several new powerful and magical things that they would buy. More then two hundred thousand gold would be promised there and as they prepared to leave with their loot in tow, trouble would brew. Outside two Bodaks approached and a battle started but so did others elsewhere. Aldrich had been approached by Baern and called a friend of Dwarves and given the Axe of Dwarvish Lords. He then rode north and was approached by a Bodak himself, a great threat alone. As Aldrich then slew the monster with two powerful strikes from his new axe; so too did Sol cast Haste, below the thaumaturgical voice that swore the heroes would never betray a Masked Lord again. As Arion was empowered, he bore down upon the beasts before him and killed them swiftly, forsaking the challenge that they once were. Then, Weird Maggie showed Arion his companions in need and Arion chose Kelaryn, knowing a knight's nature. All the while, Kelaryn had been in her cell. Locked away for her crimes against a citizen of Waterdeep, a poor guard desperate to make a wage. She spoke there to a guard whom she'd met before, who's name slipped her then. They spoke about their walk and how they both hoped to walk together again. They talked of Lord Crawley and she told him that he was an agent for a very bad entity just before his throat was slit. She then looked into the mask of a Masked Lord as he mocked her and then the face of a Bodak. Kelaryn then prayed: sweet Siem, please see that my young friend here, whom I really like, is brought to his best final reward. He is a good man and did not deserve to die in this manner. I know you sent me here because I can take care of myself and gave me great magics but I think I might need a wee bit of your help with this one. I have neither weapon nor magics and am locked in a cell unable to escape the unnatural being coming to claim me. In reply she then heard: what will be is already done my child. Find solace in you friends. In another moment, as the cell opened, Annabelle, Arion, and Sol arrived, delivered by the magics of Weird Maggie. Annabelle was the first to act and cast her divine magic at the monster but it failed and in that moment Sol rewound time but the bolt still slightly missed. Kelaryn saw the bolt and then blasted eldritch might at the beast but she too missed. As she ran out of her cell and toward her friends, the monster gazed into Arion's eyes but its dark nature was repulsed by Arion's shield device. Sol shielded his eyes and blind fired Decay at the monster and then slid the injured guard with his mind. Arion then diced the monster and soon after the guard arrived. Down the hall a soft spoken magister released Kelaryn for her aid in defending the guardsman. Outside the heroes rode a hired coach, driven by a mad man, to get to Arion. Aldrich met then just inside the North Gate however and went with the others to get their horses. There, Kelaryn said hello to Piatran and then they all went and paid Kelaryn's new debt. Back at the estate, the groom exchanged smiles with Annabelle before he took the horses into his care. In the study the heroes discussed what to do next. Sol Astair's staff stands upright next to his seat and his hat lifted off his head, coming to rest atop the staff, twirling gently. Sol mostly listened along with Aldrich as the group exchanged idea. Edwin Farnsworth kept Aldrich well fed and deep of cup as he fought a severe hunger and thirst. Well into their talk, Weird Maggie payed them a visit and offered riddles and an answer to their Bodak visitor's patron to one among them, fearing his death as he had a role to play involving the future's Cult of Dragons. She then told them that Than, the Last Titan of Urgrund, was trapped on Faerûn. She told them that the gods asked a grand god to trap him south of the river he found himself by, not to cross it, and never to get to forest behind it. Her last riddle was offering that Arion and Kelaryn reminded her of some people in the future, a soldier and a tinkerer who fought for freedom, but they did not know whom. She then left stating that she tired of the Stellar Gateway and the Cybertronian's staring eyes. Arion, with the aid of suggestions then had grievances filed with the captain of Waterdeep Castle all the Masked Lord by their individual boxes with Arion's signature upon them. After dinner and a night's rest, they set out upon the 30th and purchased some spell scrolls, supplies, and hired a cleric and a wizard. The wizard would transport them the next morning to Olostin's Hold via a Teleportation Circle spell and the cleric would meet them at the estate later. That very cleric preformed a strange ceremony as they watched. He freed the four Dryads one by one from their petrification, the legs Arion took from Thessalar's desk, and they watch as one by one they either assaulted him, healed him, or assaulted each other. They then strung him up, tore off his flesh, and watched him die. There after he was reborn to flesh and crawled away. As the Dryads teleported away, he thanked the heroes for the chance to aid the creatures and, naked, left not wanting clothes and mentioning that he only ate Goodberries. After shaking off the strange encounter, the party returned to the mansion and did their best to get some rest.

Missions/Quests Completed

Quest of Fate Continued, Subquest Forging Fate Continued

Notes

Notable Party Damage:

Aldrich has a horrible burn scar on the left side of his neck in front of the ear from a azure fire elemental summoned by Seldra Tylmarande. His armor and shield are extremely claw marked from many Lizardfolk. His shield has a large fist shaped dent in it and the knees of his pants were torn out by his bones when he was crushed by a Sacred Statue.
Noted Effects: Horrible Scar (Neck). You are disfigured to the extent that the wound can't be easily concealed. You have disadvantage on Charisma (Persuasion) checks and advantage on Charisma (Intimidation) checks. Magical healing of 6th level or higher, such as heal and regenerate, removes the scar.
Annabelle has a noticeable bend in her scale armor about the stomach where she was crushed by a Sacred Statue.
Noted Effects: None
Arion came from Arda with a scar that won't seem to heal.
Noted Effects: Minor Scar (Head). The scar doesn't have any adverse effect. Magical healing of 6th level or higher, such as heal and regenerate, removes the scar.
Kelaryn has two faint hand-print shaped scars on her left arm. She has a scar from the stab of a spear that she received valiantly fighting an ice devil on her stomach. She has a scar that emanates infernal essences from a horned devil's tail above her right breast. Kelaryn has a large scar that runs down over her left breast, across the center of her chest, and then down to her right abdomen where the large axe of a minotaur split her open. She has two large gore hole scars from a minotaur on the left side of her stomach. Her back is also tweaked from the hard battering she took from the minotaur. The scales of her Khuzdûl armor are dented above the left breast from a hit she took from a lizardfolk. Her left pant leg is torn above the ankle after having it bit open by a lizardfolk.
Noted Effects: Minor Scars (Left Arm, Right Chest, Torso, and Stomach). The scar doesn't have any adverse effect. Magical healing of 6th level or higher, such as heal and regenerate, removes the scar. Mild Limp. Your speed on foot is reduced by 5 feet. You must make a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw after using the Dash action. If you fail the save, you fall prone. Magical healing removes the limp.
Sol has tear marks across the back and chest of his shirt, as well as down the sleeve, from the claws of lizardfolk. He has a small tear in the knee of his trouser where once his bone tore though them after he was crushed.
Noted Effects: None