Session 45: The Lord of Blades
General Summary
The party spends a moment recovering from their string of battles, with Karias Von Allmen's secret door hidden behind Celosia Senho's tower. Celosia reaches out to Hazel to request coordinates so they can teleport out, and while she tries, she cannot convince the House higher-ups to divulge such sensitive information. She and Toox try to find other ways out but the response is the same- there is no help until they are on the other side of the fog.
The next morning they find the door blocked by the destroyed tower. Toox sneaks outside and finds a few living spells wondering around. The party takes steps to distract the monsters, and beats a hasty retreat heading back out of the Mournland.
The party does well navigating the wilds, but the land itself moves in ways that defy comprehension. The party notices they are being watched from afar, but never approached. After another full day of travel they find themselves in rocky terrain. They set themselves up in a similar tower/hidden door scenario and bed down for the night.
The next morning the party finds the areas has been surrounded by a military camp. The group is almost exclusively Warforged, though there are 3 human slaves who, based on the tattered rags they wear, previously worked for Benne Rowich. The camp doesn't seemed surprised or concerned by their presence. Ripper, upon seeing the camp, immediately retreats for a quite moment to wildshape into a horse for the rest of the proceedings.
The Lord of Blades steps out of Celosia's tower, and invites them in. Inside the 9ft warforged invites them to sit, and introduces them to his senior advisors- Glyph, Fighter, and Whisper (Karias helped them workshop new names). The Lord of Blades explains that, while his initial plan was to simply kill the party, he has begun to consider alternatives. It seems he shares an acquaintance with the party, Lute, who insisted they were worth leaving alive. The Lord of Blades, then, asks the party a question: Why are they worth leaving alive? The Lord of Blades has developed a very specific reputation intentionally- crazy enough to be dangerous, but not so powerful so as to prompt powerful forces to move against him. His current level of sanity- while debatable- is certainly not what the public believes, and his people are both more numerous and more capable than is believed. The party points out they have amongst them several individuals who can help spread tales to support such claims to a much stronger degree than is currently possible. The Lord of Blades considers this, and agrees.
Glyph casts a geas on Karias to that effect- one that will last an entire year. A member of the party must present themselves to either the Lord of Blades or his contact in Sharn before the year is up to have the geas reapplied. Should he share anything to the contrary he would be seriously injured, and if any of them broke their word or fail to show up for the reapplication, he would find and injure or kill them and/or their loved ones. The Lord of Blades didn't seem concerned with asking them more about their backgrounds and loved ones. He said this would need to continue for 2-3 years, at which point it wouldn't matter any more.
With that out of the way, the Lord of Blades explained he would be helping them leave the Mournland. The party were given a choice of being deposited in the Mournland at the fog line anywhere they wished, or outside of the fog at a random location. The party chooses the later. Next, in order to protect their secret, the party will be magically given the ability to lie even under the magical influence. This, they are assured, will be painful. But they will wake up outside of the Mournland free to go.
Ripper, who has spent the entire time in equine form, realizes he must transform back into his natural state lest the pain cause him to transform outside of his control. He is concerned about how his less-than-traditional form will be received. He does so quietly, and then bundles himself up to obscure his appearance. Toox gives him Endinwel Cromelon 's cloak, and it settles onto Ripper with a tingle. Ripper has a brief moment with the mage assigned to him for memory wipe and transport, and with a gift and a careful conversation convinces him to not be concerned about his race.
The experience is as painful as promised, and almost the entire party passes out from the pain. The only exception is Karias, whose previous experience with torture gives him an endurance beyond the rest of the party. Concerned, the mage assigned to him calls Glyph over for assistance. Glyph simply repeats the process.
The party comes to outside of the Mournlands in the northwest corner of Valenar. They are in a tower similar to the kind Celosia creates. There is a bathroom downstairs and several beds upstairs. On a small table sits a card for a Mr. Dandy, with an address in one of the richest areas of Sharn. The party is suffering from exhaustion, Karias doubly so, their magic slots gone, and their hit points are depleted. Ripper provides a bit of healing (thanks to Hazel d'Orien), and Celosia uses as sending stone to contact Tarryn Rowntree to ask for help. He tells them to stay put, which is not an issue.
The next morning they find the door blocked by the destroyed tower. Toox sneaks outside and finds a few living spells wondering around. The party takes steps to distract the monsters, and beats a hasty retreat heading back out of the Mournland.
The party does well navigating the wilds, but the land itself moves in ways that defy comprehension. The party notices they are being watched from afar, but never approached. After another full day of travel they find themselves in rocky terrain. They set themselves up in a similar tower/hidden door scenario and bed down for the night.
The next morning the party finds the areas has been surrounded by a military camp. The group is almost exclusively Warforged, though there are 3 human slaves who, based on the tattered rags they wear, previously worked for Benne Rowich. The camp doesn't seemed surprised or concerned by their presence. Ripper, upon seeing the camp, immediately retreats for a quite moment to wildshape into a horse for the rest of the proceedings.
The Lord of Blades steps out of Celosia's tower, and invites them in. Inside the 9ft warforged invites them to sit, and introduces them to his senior advisors- Glyph, Fighter, and Whisper (Karias helped them workshop new names). The Lord of Blades explains that, while his initial plan was to simply kill the party, he has begun to consider alternatives. It seems he shares an acquaintance with the party, Lute, who insisted they were worth leaving alive. The Lord of Blades, then, asks the party a question: Why are they worth leaving alive? The Lord of Blades has developed a very specific reputation intentionally- crazy enough to be dangerous, but not so powerful so as to prompt powerful forces to move against him. His current level of sanity- while debatable- is certainly not what the public believes, and his people are both more numerous and more capable than is believed. The party points out they have amongst them several individuals who can help spread tales to support such claims to a much stronger degree than is currently possible. The Lord of Blades considers this, and agrees.
Glyph casts a geas on Karias to that effect- one that will last an entire year. A member of the party must present themselves to either the Lord of Blades or his contact in Sharn before the year is up to have the geas reapplied. Should he share anything to the contrary he would be seriously injured, and if any of them broke their word or fail to show up for the reapplication, he would find and injure or kill them and/or their loved ones. The Lord of Blades didn't seem concerned with asking them more about their backgrounds and loved ones. He said this would need to continue for 2-3 years, at which point it wouldn't matter any more.
With that out of the way, the Lord of Blades explained he would be helping them leave the Mournland. The party were given a choice of being deposited in the Mournland at the fog line anywhere they wished, or outside of the fog at a random location. The party chooses the later. Next, in order to protect their secret, the party will be magically given the ability to lie even under the magical influence. This, they are assured, will be painful. But they will wake up outside of the Mournland free to go.
Ripper, who has spent the entire time in equine form, realizes he must transform back into his natural state lest the pain cause him to transform outside of his control. He is concerned about how his less-than-traditional form will be received. He does so quietly, and then bundles himself up to obscure his appearance. Toox gives him Endinwel Cromelon 's cloak, and it settles onto Ripper with a tingle. Ripper has a brief moment with the mage assigned to him for memory wipe and transport, and with a gift and a careful conversation convinces him to not be concerned about his race.
The experience is as painful as promised, and almost the entire party passes out from the pain. The only exception is Karias, whose previous experience with torture gives him an endurance beyond the rest of the party. Concerned, the mage assigned to him calls Glyph over for assistance. Glyph simply repeats the process.
The party comes to outside of the Mournlands in the northwest corner of Valenar. They are in a tower similar to the kind Celosia creates. There is a bathroom downstairs and several beds upstairs. On a small table sits a card for a Mr. Dandy, with an address in one of the richest areas of Sharn. The party is suffering from exhaustion, Karias doubly so, their magic slots gone, and their hit points are depleted. Ripper provides a bit of healing (thanks to Hazel d'Orien), and Celosia uses as sending stone to contact Tarryn Rowntree to ask for help. He tells them to stay put, which is not an issue.
Rewards Granted
The party reached level 11.
Report Date
01 Mar 2022
Primary Location
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