New Allies and Old Enemies

Political event

While in Harwood Citadel to spy on Lord Daemon and what he's doing, the party nearly becomes embroiled in an assassination attempt on the life of Manoa Douglas and her wife.

A meeting of religious leaders in the castle has turned into a full blown religious festival outside it. The normally quaint settlement has become a bustling hub of bodies. In an attempt to lie low, Cyrus locates room and board for the party with one of their smuggling contacts. While walking around the town, Cyrus also discovers their brother Anton has made the journey across the Allanora sea to be here. He invites the party to a dinner in the castle.

During the dinner the party, disguised, eat across from Lord Daemon as well as Darren's hated Great Uncle Gulrig Brawnbeard. Darren manages to keep his cool the entire time. After the dinner, while people are dancing, Joi Douglas begins choking, shortly after Lord Daemon had left the room. She had been poisoned! With some clever tricks the party manages to slip out after Lord Daemon and track him down to the library where they fight and defeat him for the second time.

Before the guards arrive and discover them in the burning Library, an elf woman named Valvaris arrives and leads them through a back door and into her private greenhouse; a pocket dimension attached to the castle.

The Beacons of Sunlight rest here, and they learn that Lord Daemon was after a book: Vampires of the Material Plane. Seemingly he had hoped to destroy it but Valvaris had thought something was amiss and had hidden it away. The party graciously thanks her for the help. In a discussion with Darren, before the party leaves, Valvaris all but confirms a shocking piece of information: she is the being known only as The Lover. Once lifted to godhood to be with The Mother, now stripped of her powers which she used to fix the Cataclysm.

The Beacons of Sunlight, backed by Valvaris, bring all the information they have to Manoa Douglas. She is shocked to learn of what's been happening in her lands under her watch and promises to send out soldiers to reinforce the larger settlements while searching through her ranks for any signs of treachery.

With all their cards on the table, the party departs for Beachguard and takes a ship to land on the coast near Daemon Keep. The journey into the forest is short, and before long they find themselves standing on the borders of the village.