Session 89 Report

General Summary

Haymin’s Heroes spent some time reading some of the holy books in the Temple of Truth. Kyrie Eleison Thatcher-Stone learned about a pantheon called the Greek Gods. She found old tomes with exceptionally thin pages and perfectly uniform text. It even contained pictures in color and of a very high quality for a book. Kyrie Eleison Thatcher-Stone studied Bahamut, God of Good Dragons and Tiamat, Goddess of Evil Dragons. When they were done there, they visited the Grand Cathedral of the Trinity and then the Holy Ground. Kyrie, Titta Morco, and Ladigo Farthon gave donations at the temples to their respective gods and prayed. The party then booked rooms and an inn named the Holy Rest. On the morning of May 14, 499 AV, Kyrie, Titta, and Ladigo got into a Bag of Holding while Selia Roselyn Maxwell cast Teleport to take them to West Andaria. They arrived at the gate of a large city, but noted they were on the east side of the river, looking at another grand city on the western shore. A sign near them read: Welcome to East Andaria. Selia quickly cast Teleport again and they appeared across the river at their intended destination. They went into the city and headed straight for the Legacy Theater. They asked for Merrywind Onyx, who greeted them warmly. Merrywind and his cast were busy rehearsing and conducting final preparations for the show. He told them he would visit them at the Glass Dragon later if he could, but if not, he would certainly see them at the pre-party. Titta asked Merrywind if Traegandar could see the show with them and Merrywind told them he could and that his private box had plenty of seats. Haymin’s Heroes booked their rooms at the Glass Dragon. They settled in and had a fine lunch. Then they went shopping. They started with Kelvor’s Mystic Curiosities, a magic shop Merrywind had recommended. A few of the party purchased some new magic items. Kelvor, the owner of the shop also informed them that if he did not have something they were looking for in stock, he could get it for them. This could take a few days to a couple weeks, depending on how rare the item was. Afterwards, Haymin’s Heroes went to the Northwind Library, but by the time they got there it was already well into the afternoon. They decided to do some sightseeing before heading back to the inn. They would return to the library to do some research the next day. They spent nearly all of May 15, 499 AV, in the Northwind Library. They researched several topics, Eridus the Righteous, shadow dragons, Clades’ Wrath, doppelgangers, and devils. They learned some interesting things. Of particular note, they learned about half-doppelgangers. They are born from the union of a human parent and a doppelganger parent. But their natural form is that of a human, so divination spells could not discern their heritage when in their natural form. Half-doppelgangers had the ability to shape change into humanoid forms, but it was quite limited compared to full doppelgangers. They could only turn into a handful of forms. And only into someone with which they shared some familiarity. When they returned to the Glass Dragon, they were reunited with Aldon Dein. He was performing at the Glass Dragon that night. When he learned that they were there for “A Bard’s Tale” and that they were going to the pre-party, he became excited. Titta offered to take him to the pre-party and he was overjoyed. On May 16, 499 AV, Jenivar Albyn and Dyora Albyn arrived at the Glass Dragon with Durik and Naltruum. Merrywind arrived as well and they spoke briefly before Haymin’s Heroes left to do some shopping. They went to a tailor he recommended, the Goldthread. There they spent a couple of hours chosing outfits for tonight and tomorrow night. That evening, the weather suddenly turned from rainy to clear and dry, seeminly instantaneously. Haymin’s Heroes got dressed and read then went to the party with Jenivar, Dyora, the half-orcs, and Aldon Dein. They enjoyed and evening with West Andaria’s high society. Merrywind introduced all the guests to the cast and they speculated as to their roles in the show. A few times throughout the night, guests pleaded with the cast for a song, hoping for a preview of tomorrow’s performance. The cast did oblige them with a song or two, but from previous shows so as not to spoil “A Bard’s Tale.” Saturday, May 17, 499 AV, Haymin’s Heroes went out to do some shopping, searching for a gift for Merrywind. Today was his birthday. That evening, they got dressed and ready and then headed to the Legacy Theater. Auren Sylynn had a single kukri hidden on his person. At the door, they were checking for weapons. He ended up checking his in at the front desk and received a ticket to pick it up after the performance. When they presented their tickets, the attendant called over a steward and said, “Idarin, please take Mr. Onyx’s guests to his private box. Idarin Black took Haymin’s Heroes to their seats. The door to the next box over was guarded by several armed guards. When Haymin’s Heroes sat down, Kyrie noticed King Haerodian Ormyr was in the box next door, with some other dignitaries and noble ladies. Haymin’s Heroes did not see Jenivar and Dyora yet. They realized they had not seen them all day. With the king of Kainan next to them and the Albyn sisters missing, they began to get nervous. The show began. It started with a young boy being picked on by other children. His last name was Blackstone and the children called him a Dinius. As the story progressed, it was revealed that the boy, Merilius Blackstone was a half-doppelganger. His doppelganger mother was killed then he and his father moved from West Andaria to Rowadin. After his father died, Merilius began training as a bard and took the name Merrywind, the Mellifluous. He then met Haymin Stone, Jenivar, Dyora, and Edmar Maratino. They formed the Emerald Striders. The show continued to depict how Merrywind transformed into all four of his friends and tried to live pieces of their lives, sharing an empathic link with each. This led to him taking on some of their personalities and conflicting him emotionally. Throughout the show, the audience saw how Merrywind created reverie, hired the green dragon, Rybierith, who killed Edmar, and eventually returned to West Andaria after the Emerald Striders split. During the intermission, Kyrie sat quietly stunned after she had learned that Brother Lu had taught the song Kyrie to Merrywind under one condition. He must name his first born after the song. Though Merrywind said in an aside to the audience he never intended to have children, there was a scene where he entered a tavern singing the song while disguised as Haymin. Merrywind formed the Unseen and took the name Mr. King, in honor of his lineage as a Blackstone and a descendant of King Dinius. He learned about the Heart of Embril, the Sacred Rings and the Sacred Map. He put plans in place to locate these things. The Unseen, aided by Haymin found the rings and the map. Then when Haymin learned the Unseen were doppelgangers, he stole the artifacts and ran off. Merrywind, disguised as Dyora confronted him in Rowadin and poisoned Haymin with black lotus extract. Haymin died, but did not reveal the location of the artifacts. Merrywind knew he had to wait for Haymin’s proteges, Haymin’s Heroes to recover them. As the final act of the show neared its conclusion, Merrywind captured the Albyn sisters and sent Haymin’s Heroes an ultimatum: hand over the Sacred Rings and the map or the sisters will die. Idarin Black then arrived at their private box and summoned Haymin’s Heroes to the stage. Kyrie called out to the king’s advisor in the next box over to warn them they were not safe. From his confused reaction, she could not be sure he heard her over Merrywind’s solo performance where he sang about his impending triumph. Idarin and several stewards led the party backstage and to a door. “Through there,” he said. When Titta opened the door, they saw two large iron golems inside the room near the door on the opposite end. Pyzar Zim asked Titta, “What are we doing?”

Campaign

The Heart of Embril

Protagonists