Session 25: The Sunhammer Ritual

General Summary

Miresen, Duscar 7, 835 PD
The party ended the previous session separated, with Enya exploring the General Magicks library, the Schumann Center for Intersectional Learning, and the rest of the party examining a campus map in the Verwaltungszentrum. They began this session by approaching the southern School of Transmutation residence hall. Eris cast locate object to locate the book Enchanting, Disenchanting, and How to Survive Both. Although her unfamiliarity with this specific book made interpreting the spell difficult, the magic tugged at the back of her mind, drawing her toward the northern residence hall. Enya joined them as they approached the second hall.
When they entered the building, they were greeted by Duvall, the disembodied voice of a sentient caretaker who possessed the building. Duvall wanted their help, as the Resident Director had hidden a knife from him before the city fell and he, having no hands, could not search for it. Eventually, Enya found the blade hidden inside a book and presented it to Duvall.
Immediately, Duvall slammed shut the windows and locked tight the doors, trapping the party in the common room. He demanded, as part of their game, that one of them kill another. He didn't care who died, only that they used the knife to kill someone. After much discussion, they politely declined.
This devastated Duvall, who had hoped that the dead body would attract a basilisk who lived on the campus. He wanted the basilisk to attack the party so they would kill it in self-defense. Upon hearing this, the party offered to kill the basilisk anyway in exchange for directions to the book they wanted. Duvall agreed.
They found the basilisk beneath the School of Necromancy mausoleum. Thanks to the clever use of the blindness spell by Eris and a series of very lucky rolls, the party completely avoided the effects of the basilisk's gaze. Eris harvested some blood and the creature's gullet, which could be used to create the cure to basilisk petrification. They then hauled the head to Duvall, who insisted they drop it outside while he used prestidigitation to clean up the blood. He told them where the book's borrower lived and informed Enya that if anyone could heal her injury, it would be the nurses at the Health Center.
Book in hand, the party quickly returned to the Sunhammer Forge, where they used the book, the smithing golem, and the blessed smith's tools from the previous session to conduct a ritual of purification. They removed the runes from the blade, captured the magic before it could disappate, and reapplied it according to its original intention. They then placed it on the altar in the sanctuary, where a red thread sprang forth, connecting it to Gharath. Unsure what to do next, Talia prayed for guidance, and as a single black feather fell to the axe she received a vision of cutting the tether. She did as instructed, and with a flash of radiance the curse was broken and vitality rushed back into Gharath's body.
When he saw that Gharath was safe, Thorri made his leave, taking the smithing tools with him. The party made camp upstairs once more, planning to visit the health center in the morning to search for a cure for Enya's ailment. During second watch, as Talia gazed into the darkness beyond the firelight, she heard the faint shuffling of feet against stone. Curious and wary, she crept onto the landing to investigate. As soon as she passed through a door, someone hit her with a sleep spell. She fell, unconscious, into their arms and they carried her away.

Rewards Granted

• Gharath's attunement to the Axe of the Bloodless was broken and his curse was lifted.
• Gharath obtained the Axe of the Earthen Spirits.
• Eris harvested 1 vial of basilisk blood and 1 basilisk gullet.
• The party reached level 5.

Character(s) interacted with

• Thorri Flinttongue
• Duvall, the disembodied caretaker of a School of Transmutation residence hall who possesses the building

Notes

• Will Furnberg was not able to attend this session, so he was played in combat by Christopher Browning.
• Erin Bunnell was late due to car trouble, so Enya did not get to finish exploring the library but rejoined the party as they entered Duvall's residence hall.

Report Date

20 Feb 2021

Primary Location

Aeor University of the Arcane

Secondary Location

Sunhammer Forge