Session 105 - The Academy of Water Magic

General Summary

7^th to 17^th Halane (second Month of Autumn) 722TR

The story so far

Quazzy is a survivor of the Skull and Raven Cult with little or no memories of her life before finding herself the victim in some strange ceremony. The mysterious Cult Leaders, the Raven Lady, and the Golden Skull Masked Man have been trying to kill Quazzy for years. Now assisted by the Psionicist Wilcock Suddicke, Quazzy is at last on the verge of tracking down her antagonists.

Quazzy's investigations have led her to a mysterious Ancient Barrow, where the Heroes battled Cultists and have even captured one.

The continuation of Session 104 - The Mysterious Ancient Mound.

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Location - In the Hills in the Kingdom of Melderyn.

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Part 1 - Inscriptions of the Past

The Heroes investigated the wall relief carvings on the inside passages of the Barrow. They find five relatively intact inscriptions, recounting events during Melderyn's Eldritch Period around a thousand years ago.

Wall Carving 1

Shows a great King and Queen ruling over an adoring population. The King has a skull in his hand and the Queen a raven on her shoulder. Their faces scratched off.

Wall Carving 2

The ungrateful peasants rebel, driving the King and Queen away. They step through an obvious Godstone portal.

Wall Carving 3

The King and Queen enter a new land and become Priest and Priestess of adoring followers, one of which has a strange headband and a heart-shaped necklace.

The Heroes recognize this location; it is a crude representation of the Earthmaster site of Anisha. They are also familiar with the headband and necklace, the Heart and Soul of Tondran. At the start of their adventuring careers, they were hired to investigate these Artifacts. Refer Session 03 - Monsters in the Market.

Wall Carving 4

The ungrateful peasants rebel and drive the King and Queen away again. They return home though the Godstone.

Wall Carving 5

The King and Queen die of old age and are buried in the mound. The mourning peasants look on. However, in the crowd are two figures with their faces scratched off. Under these figures are more recent etching of Raven and Skull symbols.

Part 2 - Interrogation and a Recruit.

Arlette, art by Artbreeder

The Heroes have one captive, the cultist, Arlette Arie. She wakes from her magical slumber and is confronted by Quazzy and Athena. Athena, whose appearance was enhanced by Yureb's illusionary skills, is incredibly intimidating, and Arlette quickly cracks under pressure. As is often the case with cultists, she is susceptible to coercion and manipulation.

Arlette says she was inducted in this Barrow by the Skull Masked Man and the Raven Women six years ago. The Cultists believe that they have lived for hundreds of years, taking new identities after acquiring new bodies. They promised that if she were to serve well, she would be granted similar immortality.

The Skull Masked Man had recently claimed a new young body. He seemed to prefer to take the identity of a nobleman from one of the Kingdoms outside Melderyn. He had blonde hair and wielded an ancient Shortsword. He also wears a bronze breastplate, which is inscribed with magical runes. Wilcock uses his Psychometry and has a brief vision of his Coat of Arms; his colors are yellow and black with a beehive and white roses. Athena thinks she has seen this before; it is probably Kaldorian.

The Raven Woman was still in an older body; something had gone wrong with her soul transfer into a younger body six years ago. She prefers the company of wizards and lives in comfort in one of their magical Schools. Arlette believes some of the patterns on her clothing indicated something to do with Water Magic. Wilcock thinks the most likely location would be the Ancient Tower of the Eternal Flow of Life, at Chyrefal.

The party discusses what to do with the Prisoner. Athena thinks Arleette could be a potential recruit for either the Fighting Order of the Sisterhood of the Crimson Dancer or its companion Clerical Order of Kukshin. Athena decides to start the indoctrination process with the suspicious Lucia watching Arleette closely.

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Location - City of Cherafir in the Kingdom of Melderyn.

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Part 3 - Shopping and Arms

Returning to the City of Cherafir, the Heroes make plans to travel to Chyrefal via ship. First, they spend some time equipping themselves. Wilcock informs Athena that the Laranian Archbishop of Melderyn is usually based at Chyrefal. The last Inquisition Squad the Archbishop sent after the Heroes had to be silenced (refer Session 103 - The Massacre at St. Bergains).

Athena visits the Enclave of the Golden Orb, the region's primary College of Heralds. Researching Kaldorian Coat of Arms, she finds Clan Mallaber matches Wilcock's description. There is a note that the Clan head Jirex disappeared six years ago for a short period before reappearing to inherit his lordship. The Heroes suspect this Jirex Mallaber may well be the Skull Masked Man and plan to visit his manor in the Kingdom of Kaldor.

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Location - Castle of Chyrefal in the Kingdom of Melderyn.

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Part 4 - Invisible Bumbling

The Heroes arrive that Chyrefal by ship. Given the strong possibility of encountering Priests of Larani or Lady of Paladin Knights and being recognized, the spellcasters turn the Heroes invisible.

The Ancient Tower of the Eternal Flow of Life is a seven-story tower capped with a large water-filled dome. The Party enters the building and quickly causes chaos. Being invisible they bump into each other and the tower occupants and make suspicious noises when they try to find each other and communicate. Luckily the wizards attribute this to Apprentices fooling around or Water Sprites. This is a magical institute, and strange things happen. The Heroes leave the building before being discovered, hiding behind the nearby trees, except for Yureb, who sneaks into one of the Mages Chambers.

Part 6 - Following the Seneschal

Firden Uru, art by Artbreeder

Water Wizard, art by Artbreeder

Quazzy identities the man in charge of running the Chantry, Firden Uru, and sends her Familiar, in spider form, to observe him. After scolding the innocent Apprentices for misbehaving, he then arranges chores for the towers servants. As the sun begins to set, he speaks with the towers Mages but shows some particular deference to a friendly-looking Older Women. Quazzy instructs her Familiar to follow her when she retires for the night.

Meanwhile, Yureb sneaks outside onto a balcony and skillfully climbs around the building peering into the windows of the Masters. Most are not acting suspiciously until he reaches the chamber in which Quazzy' s familiar is hiding. Suddenly the friendly older woman transforms.

Part 7 - Ambush

Raven Woman art by Artbreeder

The woman's appearance changes into a pale, bitter older woman, very much like Quazzy, only 50 years older. The room also changes, becoming darker, and the trappings become more sinister. She uses an expensive mirror to Scry and talk to someone in an ancient language (likely a dialect of ancient Jarinese). Then she leaves the chamber to talk with the Ravens flocking to her balcony.

While she instructs the ravens to seek out Quazzy, the Heroes launch their attack. However, she is not taken by surprise. Some Premonition puts her on guard. Yureb dodges a Disintegrate, but his attempt at a charm is easily avoided. Quazzy and Lucia Dimension Door into the chamber, followed by Athena and Wilcock on to the balcony. Arlette, who is not fully trusted, is left behind. The old woman counter attacks with multiple spells wreaking havoc on the Heroes blasting Coldballs, Cloudkills, and other potent magics, while easily battering away Quazzy's spells. She freezes Athena's muscles and joints, reducing her mobility and making her an easy target for a barrage of devastating Disintegrate spells. However, both Athena and Yureb hit back very hard. The battle is in the balance with all the Heroes suffering significant injuries. Although the Raven Lady could potentially win, she instead decides to flee. After living for over a thousand years, she does not take unnecessary risks, particularly when caught unprepared.

The brief conflict was not especially noisy but attracted attention from some of the tower's occupants. However, Quazzy was able to replicate the Raven Lady's voice and assure the concerned Wizards that nothing was wrong. Now Quazzy has an opportunity to explore her room, what dark secrets are within.

To be continued...

NPC Interactions

Wilcock - A Psionic Wizard.

Arlette Arie - Former Raven and Skull Cultist now a Crimson Dancer Initiate.

Firden Uru - Seneschal of the Chantry.

The Raven Lady.

Challenges

Learned the likely location of the Raven Woman and Skull Masked Man.

Investigated the Wizards Tower.

Battled and "defeated" the Raven Woman.

Rewards

One possible recruit for the Sisterhood of the Crimson Dancer.

It looks like Quazzy new has the Raven Woman's Spellbook and treasures.

Created Content

Enclave of the Golden Orb.

Castle of Chyrefal.

Odivshe Chantry - Ancient Tower of the Eternal Flow of Life.

Related Reports

Wilcock Suddicke - Wizard and Psionicist.

Melderyn's Eldritch Period.

Session 03 - Monsters in the Market.

City of Cherafir - Updated.

Hârnic Wizards - Updated.

Earthmaster Sites.

Players Character Status

Athena the Banshee - Level 17 Paladin of Vengeance.

Yureb - Level 17 Arcane Trickster.

Quazzy - Level 5 Necromancer and Level 12 Warlock Disciple of Desridaen.

Campaign

The Uncivil War - Campaign Complete

Protagonists

Quazzy

Athena

Yureb

Report Date

04 Oct 2020

Primary Location

Castle of Chyrefal

Secondary Location

City of Cherafir

NPCs Companions

Dame Lucia Kalormar, Athena's Squire

Lucia Kalomar, art by Artbreeder

Wilcock Suddicke, Wizard and Psionicist

Wilcock Suddicke, art by Attacus

Clan Mallaber Coat of Arms

Clan Mallaber, art by Attacus

The Raven Lady

Raven Woman, from festivalclaca

Heart of the Tondran

by Stock Image

Soul of the Tondran

by Stock Image