Session 6 Report

General Summary

On the morning of the 23rd, Selia Roselyn Maxwell spoke to the rest of the party about an idea she has to play matchmaker between the morning bartender, Gellir, and the evening waitress, Astri, who they all know has a crush on Gellir. Most of the party liked the idea and they discussed several ways to encourage a social gathering where the two could meet and talk, or ways they could set up a date between them. Mogi Delvin, unsurprisingly, was opposed to the idea, as it has also become apparent to the party that he has a crush on Astri. After breakfast the party took to the town on their first day off after a week of work. They went to the market and stopped by a gypsy fortuneteller who offered to read their fortune for a noble. Most of the party paid for this and were told cryptic “fortunes” that they could interpret in their own ways. Before they left the fortuneteller, Sinjin Fairchild came up with the idea of paying her to go to the Home Away From Home the next morning to “experience” a psychic vision in the presence of Gellir, suggesting a love that is meant to be just under his nose, heavily suggesting Astri as the target of this potential romance. Again, most of the party liked the idea, and collectively they paid the fortuneteller five nobles in advance for her service the next day. They party then went to the bookstore and read some, paying the hourly fee of one noble they had worked out with the owner, Thomas Harven, when they had first visited Books, Tomes, and Scrolls. Most read while some just killed time for about three hours. Then as their time was about up and they were considering going to lunch, Mogi fell off his seat collapsing to his knees with a scream of pain. The rest of the party watched his form morph into that of an old man in brown robes wearing a symbol of Mundus, God of Nature. In a moment, Mogi was suddenly covered in flames that instantly burned away the visage of the old man, leaving a stunned Mogi on the floor to catch his breath. When he could speak, Mogi explained how he had felt a sharp stabbing pain in his chest and back during this episode. Based on their description of what they saw, Mogi surmised that the visage he became was that of his mentor, Anakis. After much speculation, and discussion, the party went to the Glade of Life, the temple of Vita, Goddess of Life, which was just down the road. They spoke to a young cleric named Joy, explaining what had happened to Mogi. Eventually, Joy offered to cast a Detect Magic spell upon him to see if there was a residual aura that could help her divine some explanation as to what had occurred. What she found, to all of the party’s surprise, was that both Mogi and Ladigo Farthon possessed magically enchanted items. Mogi’s ring, which came from his father, according to Anakis, revealed a faint transmutation aura. When its magic was detected, an image of the four elemental symbols underneath a fifth, unknown, symbol appeared on the ring’s head momentarily. Ladigo’s amulet of Vita, given to him from his mother, was indeed a Healer’s Amulet, a common magic item used by the faithful of Vita, according to Joy. Joy asked Ladigo to submerge the amulet in a bowl of holy water which caused the amulet to activate, allowing Ladigo to now use its magical properties.

Next, the party went Quelkin’s to speak to the mage who ran the apothecary and alchemist shop. After explaining to him what had happened, Quelkin pulled out a monocle which he used to examine Mogi’s ring. According to Quelkin, the ring resisted his attempt to Identify it. All he could discern was that the ring was linked to Mogi, perhaps by blood, and that some kind of blood ritual was required to unlock the ring’s true properties. Titta Morco quickly pulled out her hunting knife, and after some coaxing, got Mogi to allow her to cut his hand open so he could bleed on the ring. Nothing seemed to happen. Ladigo then used the Healer’s Amulet for the first time to heal Mogi’s hand. Haymin’s Heroes went back to the fortuneteller and ask her to reread Mogi’s fortune. She asked why and eventually acquiesced, but after attempting a reread said she could divine nothing further. Later, at the Home Away From Home, the party discussed Mogi’s ring and the day’s events. In the middle of their discussion, Jenivar Albyn interjected as she overheard Sinjin mention “blood ritual,” catching them all by surprise as they did not realize she was walking near. She questioned them and after learning about the symbol on the ring warned them against attempting any blood ritual, urging them to drop the matter, at least for now. Of course, later that evening, after the sun set and the full moon was out, Haymin’s Heroes went into the forest to attempt such a ritual. They gathered some dirt and water and put it in an iron pot, setting it on an open fire. As the steam rose, Titta cut Mogi’s hand again so it could bleed on the ring. He then dropped the ring in the pot, hoping the mixture of air, earth, fire, and water, plus his blood would complete the ritual. Mogi fished the ring out of the pot with a stick and waited for it to cool. But when he put it on, nothing happened. In the middle of this ritual, Pyzar Zim and Auren Sylynn stood a safe distance away, quietly heckling. Pyzar made a wolf sound in jest at one point, and shortly thereafter, the sound was returned by a wolf howl off in the distance. After the ritual, the party cleaned up the area and hurried back into town. That night the boys continued to watch the back of the inn for any signs of trouble, while the girls slept in Jenivar’s apartment downstairs due to a lack of rooms. Just before his turn for watch, Mogi was awakened by a horrific dream in which he saw Anakis standing near a stone wall somewhere outdoors. He witnessed from a distance what appeared like himself approach a staggered Anakis, He then saw himself draw his sword and run Anakis through. Afterwards, he saw himself reach down and pick up an apple from the ground and take a bite. After the boys discussed this, Mogi surmised that it could not be him, but rather an impersonator of some kind, because in the dream, he never looked through the killer’s eyes, but was always a spectator. They then speculated that this might have been a glimpse of what had actually happened earlier that day when Mogi collapsed in the bookstore. The next morning, the fortuneteller came to the Home Away From Home and performed her psychic reading of Gellir, strongly suggesting he was fated for an amorous connection with Astri. Haymin’s Heroes enjoyed her performance as they ate breakfast and held in their laughter. For most of the day, they rested and relaxed, hesitant to do anything. Plus Mogi and Pyzar were tired from little sleep the night before. Mogi could not get any solid sleep after the dream, and Pyzar awoke immediately afterwards and offered to watch with Mogi and then continue alone on his own watch. They discussed Mogi’s dream and Titta speculated about the location of the scene, citing that her father’s farm, Applewind Homestead contained many apple trees. She also added that since her father’s death, half of the land was purchased by someone who built a stone wall around that portion of the property. The next evening, a party calling themselves the Natural Order came to the inn in a celebratory mood. Haymin’s Heroes learned that the Natural Order had disrupted a Hollow Moon Hunt on the first night of the full moon, the night of Nature’s Blessing. A Hollow Moon Hunt is a horrible practice by a group of lycanthropes known as the Hollow Moon Pack in which they hunt innocent victims in the middle of the wilderness for their own twisted entertainment and bloodlust. One of the party, the fighter, Max, had been infected with lycanthropy, but his teammates managed to get him back to town in time to have him cured by a cleric in the temple of Vita. They talked with the Natural Order for a while as the two parties got to know each other. Then Titta showed them a sketch of the symbol she had made and asked them if they recognized it. They said that they believed the symbol belonged to an evil cult and asked them where they had found this symbol so they could go out and attempt to eradicate it. Titta changed the subject and they shortly ended the conversation, citing how Haymin’s Heroes needed to get some sleep for work the next day.

Campaign

The Heart of Embril

Protagonists