Chapter 3, Session 9: The Study Hall
General Summary
I will be with you when the time comes but please be patient, I need to kill any snakes in the weeds. Honour Blade Xanthier reacts to The Kaechaek Party telling him of Emperor Honour's death.Esmerae continued to pretend to be a Dusk Mother cleric as she convinced the guards to give her, Hermione of Vallea and Sigholdt Sofiasson some privacy so they could hand over the head. After successfully transferring the head, Esmerae went to rejoin Peregrine and Mallus Somnium , while Hermione and Sigholdt continued to the library. At the library, they found a vast room, and a guide who handed over a map, as the library is maze-like, with all the books being bound in red leather and seeming oddly ‘alive’. Magical lights travelled with the duo as they conducted their research and learned the following: Allsight: This is a Divination Epic cast requiring 1 week of uninterrupted casting. It is a touch spell with verbal, somatic and material components, the material being a crystal ball of True Seeing (the spell consumed in the casting), and the sight of a willing creature that would be permanently blinded. The duration of the spell is 500 years and can be cast by Bards, Clerics, Druids, Sorcerers and Wizards. When cast, the creature goes into a deep one-week sleep with vivid dreams of a future event sometime in the next 500 years (visions being along the lines of apocalyptic catastrophes, rise and falls of empires etc. - the vision is DM choice unless the spell is specifically curated). The creature retains all memory and cannot forget the vision unless it wishes to. Until the dreamed event occurs/is prevented, the creature gains Allsight and is aware of events, locations and people that will have an impact on that future event. The creature will always be 1st in initiative and cannot be surprised until the event occurs, and always has advantage on rolls linked to the event - all effects remain until the event, and cannot be removed early. Allsight can be learned by ascending to Godhood or going to a Quori forge (the God of the Quori first crafted the spell). Long Night: Often called the False Night. People in Inkbowl attempted a ritual that either caused the Long Night or was created to stop it. The people behind it messed up and killed the moon in trying to control it. 7 pieces of the crown link to a myth about the The Sleeping King (from Luyarnha ), and She Who Walks the Line/They Who Speak to the Rest (some believe it is the same entity or they are close enemies). The crown was forged to control the Quori and Nocta Mori, but it failed and instead created a third kind only the ‘King’ can control: The Dreamwoven, the same entity type as The Dreamwoven Adjudicator that the party fought. After the Long Night research, Ellarion stopped in to check on Sigholdt and Hermione, seeming impressed by their studiousness. Hermione asked if he had any books from the Hidden Isles, and he agreed to look. Sigholdt asked how long he’d known Emperor Honour - Ellarion pointed out it was hard to recall due to elf-years, but had been a friend/advisor to Emperor Honour for 32 years, and worked in a more official capacity for him for 5 years, although he gained the title of Master of Arcane Arts 6 months ago. Ellarion gave the impression he was not a traditional member of The Kae . Sigholdt asked if Emperor Honour had acted oddly lately, but Ellarion was still convinced Honour had the best wishes and intentions for Kaechaek, and was the best/longest-lasting Emperor, so would go back to normal soon. Luyarnha: Quori and Nocta Mori have separate planes, and people never come back from visiting there. The moon is believed to be the causer, precursor and main power of the Long Night. Luyarnha was around when the moon was, and the Long Night was most potent when both still existed. (Peregrine theory: Inkbowl WAS Luyarnha - people tried to harness magic from Luyarnha and the moon to stop the Long Night but messed up and destroyed both). After observing Ellarion for a bit, Sigholdt started to suspect Ellarion was not as magical as he pretended to be. Olde Magic: None deals with dreams as the Kae have only recently begun to accept magic in the last century or two. Before that, it was considered bad as it was linked to dreams. Peridot are the best researchers for magic linked to dreams. Arc is a name repeated in connection to The Hidden Isles - wizards there are called Arcanists and certain spells are from the school of Arc Magic. Myths of the Letter Assassin: There are many references, one being a diary buried in shelves as if disregarded by Ellarion. Someone who claimed to be a warrior of The Stop talked about efforts to hunt the assassin who is a creature desperate for chaos, and goes out of his way to cause it via the brutality of his murders. The diary writer never achieved his goal of killing the assassin. This diary conflicts with the clearly targeted manner of the murders the party had discovered, all targeting some form of nobility. Some reports were found from witnesses, stating the letters were always found with a deceased figure of prominence (the first letter the party found was in the eye of Xandiss Hardbreeze who had been running for Bloomwilt mayor). Some claim they’ve hired the assassin but there is no proof. Most weaker nobles behave out of fear of death. The first accounted murder was 60 years ago at an unnamed orphanage in Sanctuary , the victim unknown. The means of assassination are usually strangulation/garotting - although some victims are marked with magic it’s usually not the killing blow. Secret Exits: There’s a perma teleport circle in the basement of the Diamond Boat Tavern. If one were to use a Meld with Stone spell scroll on the east wall of Ellarion’s library, one would drop 20ft into a crawl space leading out of the city - Sigholdt found a note scrawled in red: “In case anyone knows” - potential evidence confirming Ellarion’s lack of magic. 60ft from the Eastern end of the Celeste manor there’s a hole in the wall illusioned to remain hidden that acts as an escape out of the city. MEANWHILE, Esmerae reunited with Peregrine and Malus. The trio discussed how to tell Xanthier the truth about Emperor Honour. Peregrine proceeded to have an existential crisis as she realised she might have actual feelings for Xanthier. Malus and Esmerae recognised Xanthier as a very honourable man, but he would need an honest, gentle approach to being told the information, as a too-harsh manner would remind him of his greatest fear/nightmare: to be a failure. Malus and Esmerae comforted Peregrine just as a tiefling named Nautilus Swain (Brag for short)arrived telling them to go to room 17. The trio went to the room and found Xanthier relaxing, with the room filled with rose petals, champagne and chocolate - Malus quickly reminded Peregrine to breathe. Xanthier stated he had news, and the trio let him go first. Xanthier had received a promotion, and was now Second to the Baron Stone-Tearer of Homestead, and was working closely with Mezzatli, so would soon be travelling North. Peregrine knelt beside him and, taking his hand, with help from Esmerae and Malus, gently told Xanthier about the truth of Emperor Honour, and why his oath had broken. To show evidence that they were being absolutely honest, Esmerae revealed her true identity as Malus confessed he dreamed, and Peregrine revealed Emperor Honour’s head. Xanthier was clearly overwhelmed, but he confirmed the head was real, mentioning the imposter had red eyes, not Honour’s usual blue, but he had thought it was just a tiefling thing. With a careful approach, the party were successful in convincing Xanthier not to confront the imposter straight away, and instead, he agreed to go North to gain strength and allies. Xanthier also agreed to a promise Peregrine requested that he would try to contact the party before making any moves on the imposter. The trio also told Xanthier about Allsight and Ellarion, explaining why they had taken the head. Xanthier responded: “Even in death Emperor Honour protects his people”. Before bidding farewell, Xanthier recommended the party destroy the head to prevent tracking. As he went to leave, Peregrine slipped him one of the rings Madame Precision had given her, and an insight check revealed Xanthier was a broken man clinging to routine to not give in to the grief and loss he was suffering. He still managed to leave Peregrine flustered. Alone again, the trio went to return to the party’s room, as Peregrine’s anxiety began to grow as the last few weeks hit all at once. Malus and Esmerae were good supportive friends and let her eat a lot of chocolate, even going to buy more for her (she did make sure to share it and her blood to show her thanks). As Hermione and Sigholdt returned, the party agreed to settle down and discuss their next moves, particularly what to do with the head of Emperor Honour.
Notes
The party reached Level 6 after this session due to the many milestones they had reached through learning of Allsight, learning the truth of Emperor Honour, reaching Sanctuary, dealing a blow to The Dream Veil, killing a member of The Venator and building alliances with 'Honour', Ellarion and Xanthier.
Report Date
25 Apr 2024
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