Session 46: Stormy Travel and Meeting the Prince

General Summary

Summary: 3 points
Note: The party's course of action for the next several in-game days was loosely lined out in chat in the hopes of allowing speedy resolution of a few low-impact but necessary matters. While that timetable did not persist entirely unchanged, it proved useful to have and seemed effective at keeping the pace moving. Therefore, sections for events that occurred out of game will lead with a *.

*Woodday, 1st of Longharvest

The party is holding at the ruined trading post awaiting word from Sigmand about getting into Estimarth.

*Holding out for word

Sigmand takes til dusk of the first day to get into the city proper; seems he got into a fight with some undead. After that, attempts to Send to him generate this response:

Estimarth's Council of Five has initiated a protective curfew, preventing many magical effects on the city or those within it. The Council will lift the curfew once the issue causing it has been addressed - please refrain from entering the city until the curfew is lifted, as your safety is not guaranteed.

Moonday, 2nd of Longharvest

Holding out for word

The party agreed to remain for 48 hours in case the warforged returns once he realizes communications have stopped.

The guardian's errand

Towards the evening, the group hears rapid but heavy footsteps coming up the road, and the shield guardian Sigmand had with him strides into view. It approaches one of the larger standing walls, drops the item tied around its neck on the ground, and then starts pounding the wall with its metal fists.
Harb dashes over and grabs the item before it gets buried in rubble, and the shield guardian heads back out of town. The old sailor pulls out a few items (full summary). Leucis attempts to read the Draconic characters on them, but even Kolvonnin thinks they're nonsense words. Sunny takes a moment to Identify them (using the Gnomish Gnowledge Gnode and getting a little poisonous acid on himself, then recovering with his Unbearded Tankard and Amulet of the Drunkard (DnD Beyond) and a casting of Lesser Restoration (DnD Beyond) from Maya).

Bromancing the Stone

As a precaution, Kolvonnin approaches the Estimarth Border Stone to help Sunny with the save and Leucis Blesses Sunny, Maya and Saf. Sunny is able to resist the effect as he approaches and upcasts a Shatter that does significant damage but doesn't outright destroy the obelisk. He runs up with a battle cry and lands a hefty blow with Deep Rumble. The obelisk crumbles to rubble, arcing magical energy between the pieces as it collapses. Saf checks the area to make sure there's no linger effects and doesn't experience any.

Preparing to leave

The group leaves the Teleportation Circle (DnD Beyond) uncovered in case they have the means to use it later, then departs the trading post.

Travel to Sohmweyr

As the party leaves the trading post, there's a sudden squall that blusters and rains for a few minutes before blowing through. The group makes a little over an hour's progress before breaking for the evening. They anticipate arriving in Sohmweyr in about two and a half days.

Ironday, 3rd of Longharvest

Travel to Sohmweyr

Kol arranges a Sending to Cileskn with Leucis.
Another pair of brief but intense storms in the afternoon. They seem to come out of nowhere.

Starday, 4th of Longharvest

Travel to Sohmweyr

Another swift and unexpected storm in the morning. Notably, the head of the Skymaul seems to react to these storms; there's a low rumble of thunder from the weapon as the weather turns sour, as if in echo. Maya attempts to determine if there's something amiss in the natural order - he can't pinpoint a natural cause, but the reaction of the weapon is troubling.

Clothday, 5th of Longharvest

Travel to Sohmweyr

Leucis performs the scheduled Sending to/from Mia but the librarian has no news.
Leucis also casts Gentle Repose the gastrolith.
The continuing strange weather irks the druid, but he seems to have no means of answering the question it's posing.

Arriving in Sohmweyr

The party arrives in the late afternoon/early evening on the 5th of Longharvest.

While the group was away...

Word has gotten out about the party's exploits with the earthen keystones (secrets rarely keep in a town this curious). As a result:

• The members of the party are treated like local heroes by much of the townsfolk.
• A few people (mostly the more young and/or foolish) decided they needed to investigate these keystones for themselves and left to check them out. Blazing Zenith is not among them.

Saf checks on Bursk

The rogue takes a little time to check in on the half orc since she was in town last. While Bursk still looks lean, he's lost some of the ragged edge of near-starvation after a few weeks of steady meals. Some of the pressure of the terrible experiences he's had has started to lift.
Bursk admits to no great talent for smithing but he reports that he has stayed out of trouble. A few townspeople have expressed interest in the party but none have come prying into his identity.
Saf passes the Clapper along to the half-orc in case he has need of it.

Sunday, 6th of Longharvest to Woodday, 7th of Longharvest: Sohmweyr

Decursing

In conferring with the townsfolk, it comes out that only a few people are still in town who went on the excursion to the ruins (most have left town after reaching adulthood, after all). Of those, there's 5 that live in or near town and could be easily reached/contacted, but the best bet is market day (Woodday), two days hence.

Gleaning details

The townsfolk all tell similar stories when the curse is removed (though the intervening years have muddied the water a bit for them). They recall seeing a large black stone with letters they couldn't make out, and then a weird sensation. The letters got wavy, and then became legible. Then for some reason they completely lost interest and wanted to go home. One woman (Shaded Forest) recalls that one of her cohorts (Shimmering Falls) was convinced the rest of their group had had some weird experience and was interested in going further on, but they group at large convinced him he must have been drunk and forgotten something. Shade feels awful about how the friend group sort of gaslit him into forgetting the truth she now remembers and declares her intent to apologize if she ever sees him again.

Market Day and Shopping

A few people buy items from the traders on market day or other shops in town. After shopping, Saf takes on the appearance of wearing finery despite being properly armored.
Good quality equipment sells for 80% of list price.

More unruly weather

Storms continue to emerge unexpectedly, and the Skymaul now has a prickle of static electricity to go with its grumbling thunder in answer to the weather.

Leaving Sohmweyr

Kolvonnin chats with Bursk

The paladin has a quick aside with the former bandit: "If you find yourself in need of different surroundings, and you remain of honest pursuits, present this letter to Einar of Hillfort or Cileskn of Stonebridge. They'll see that you find honest work." In Draconic the letter reads:

The man before you like so many we've known walks a difficult path. His past may be darkened, though one whom I trust has granted him a second chance. He's been true to the opportunity thus far... see that he continues to earn his place in a just society. -Kolvonnin

Choosing course

The group discusses how exactly they want to head towards the potion mark on the map. After some discussion, the group elects to follow the river out of the jungle and then strike out across the grassland towards the potion mark.
The party sets off and make a little progress before nightfall.

Moonday, 8th of Longharvest

Every few hours a storm seems to materialize from nowhere, bluster for half an hour and then dissipate completely. The Skymaul now seems to react strongly to this weather with a slight tug towards the sky.
Despite the weather, the group is making good progress and estimates they should get out of the jungle tomorrow.

Ironday, 9th of Longharvest

The day is intermittently interrupted by high winds and heavy rain, visibility significantly reduced in the deluge. They're able to get out of the jungle and across the river a short distance before deciding to make camp.

At the close of the day

As they're settling in to the spot they've chosen, the most intense sudden storm yet bursts overhead. While it was nearly nightfall, the cloud cover is so thick it's hard to tell where the sun would be. Rain pours down in heavy sheets and the lightning and thunder are nearly constant. Leucis lifts the Skymaul heavenward, and it seems to jump a bit in his grip, nearly leaping from his grasp toward the storm. The cleric feels that the maul isn't trying to escape or join the storm, but he can't riddle out its motives.
Unexpectedly, the rain in the immediate vicinity stops falling, parting like a curtain. While lightning still jumps from cloud to cloud above, the thunder seems a bit muted and far away. A voice calls out:

I would speak with you, travelers. I bear no weapon and mean you no harm – may I approach?

An Unexpected Meeting

Initial Thoughts

Each member of the group interprets this voice differently.

• Kolvonnin: You’re called back to one of the caravan masters you’ve worked with before. The guy had that air about him of someone who had seen everything and thus was never surprised, always cool and levelheaded even in the pinch.
• Harb: You get the sense of a few of the captains you’ve crewed for. Jaxazat and Yok both have a bit of this vibe standing at the helm – competent and capable in their position, demanding respect and inspiring trust.
• Saf: You hear in this voice the tone of someone with some kind of power. Town elders, high priests, the wealthy... they all have some hints of it, but this is on a higher level. It doesn’t so much demand respect as inspire it.
• Leucis: You’re reminded, eerily, of your experience in the lake beneath the mountains of the moon.. Selune, vastly powerful and yet distant; your faith made her familiar despite that. This is that same kind of undercurrent of power, much closer and unfamiliar, not like Selune at all, yet not explicitly threatening.
• Maya: This voice has a resonance of authority and power worthy of respect. If Chief Wolf heard this person speak, he’d spend the rest of his life trying to imitate it.
• Sunny: Something about this speaker reminds you a bit of Whistler running the circus. A bit deeper in tone, and not cast to carry to the crowd, but strong and bold in the way that Whistler can reach out and grasp the audience.

At the sound of the voice, the group's eyes are drawn to the speaker. He stands just outside the area where the rain has parted, about 60’ away. They can immediately discern:

• A humanoid in heavy plate armor.
• His hands are empty and held at about eye level, but his visor is down.
• The armor he wears is neither dingy nor especially shiny. The breastplate has a smooth, featureless center section where one would expect to see a sigil or a holy symbol.

The druid is unsure how someone would have been able to get that close unheard in armor this bulky, storm or otherwise. Leucis calls to the figure, "Who are you?" and Maya follows up with. "Reveal yourself, stranger."
A note of amusement enters the speaker's voice when he replies, "I have said I mean you no harm, and I will explain who I am, but I must approach to do that, and you have not bid me do so."
Taking a moment to try and assess the situation, the party tries to sense the stranger's motives or gather any details that might shed light on that.

• Saf in particular notes that the armor shows signs of long use but no loss of quality for all that, so it was likely well made at the start.
• Assessing the claim to mean no harm, Sunny and Saf note no scabbard, sheath, pouch, pack, or anything else that seems like somewhere the stranger could keep weapons or supplies.
• Maya notices that despite the stranger standing in the rain, he doesn't appear to be wet.
• Leucis does not detect any attempt at deception, but doesn't know what to make of this visitor under the circumstances.

The cleric bids the stranger approach. Maya, on his guard, casts Shillelagh in case it comes to blows. Saf, untroubled, uses her pair of Immovable Rod (DnD Beyond) to make a chair. Sunny begins strumming a tune. As the stranger approaches, he raises his visor:

• He is indeed human in appearance.
• His face shows a few signs of age, but it would be difficult to properly guess – something about him gives you the sense that he’s seen more than the years would tell.
• Kolvonnin notes from the movement of the stranger in his armor that he's likely been in many fights, and won most of them - the confident air of someone who does not fear what might happen.
• He has a rugged look to him, as though he’s been long in the field. There's some stubble on his face.
• There’s a small roundish scar above his left eye that looks to have been from a burn.
• There’s another scar along the right side of his jawline, and this one looks like it didn’t heal quite as cleanly.
• Saf interprets the leanness of his features and extends that to the stranger's character; he gives the impression that all the inconsequential parts of him as a person are gone and only the essence remains.

Ending his approach near the group but not directly among them (allowing him to look on them all in the same direction). There's a brief moment where his gaze meets each member of the party in a sweep from one side to the other, and each one feels assessed, with a particular focus on each character's weapons - as though he's making a snap determination about how each of them is dangerous.
Having made his determinations, the stranger speaks again:

Hail, travelers. I will not pretend this is a chance meeting, as I have sought you for some weeks. You called me, not knowing that you did, or how. And I have come, barely knowing how, not knowing who called, or why, only to discover that I must leave again. But you need not continue on in ignorance, and I will not leave you unaided.

The Stranger's Story

He gingerly takes a seat on the ground without crashing down in his heavy armor. With an eye towards the paladin and cleric, he begins to speak:

I was sworn to Tempus, lord of War and Storm. His legions were feared on the battlefield and for good reason – you could not ask for more ferocious warriors. The power of Tempus waxed for centuries; slaughter and spoils made us rich in goods and arms, and the ranks of the legions swelled.

The armored man gives out a weary sigh.

Alas, Tempus was capricious. He fought any who would shed blood and thought but little of whether his foes were worthy of the blade. His rage was mighty, but careless, and that carelessness made enemies. Some aligned to oppose him, and of course many were slain. But there were rumors of some great clash to come, that the gods themselves had arrayed in opposition to the Lord of War and Lord of Death. Tempus had no great love of Nerull, but looked forward to the coming battle just the same.
There was no assault, nor even a declaration – some arcane and otherworldly power tried to cast Tempus and Nerull from the world. And whatever it was seems to have succeeded.

He gestures to the smooth space on his breastplate.

I was cast out as well, as one of Tempus’s faithful. For a time, I floated in the nothingness. I drifted but did not sleep. Much of what I was dissolved away – I remember little of the time before beyond my faith.
Some time ago I realized I had returned from the void, but my mind was not… whole. I could neither focus nor move. Strange new senses buzzed in my skull, and I felt my mind was not my own. Many times the sun and moon danced their dance in the sky, and I did not count their passings.
A roll of distant thunder, more inside my own head than from the surroundings, called out to me. I felt something in me stir and answer, and with a sudden rush I was once again aware.
I started a prayer of thanks to the Lord of War that I had been spared. All I heard were echoes of my own words, in my mind but not my ears.
I am all the god I have left.

There's a moment of silence before he continues on.

Here the tale turns.
While I was truly sworn to the Lord of War, my order held to an older path, in the manner of Tyr before Tempus assumed his domain. Righteous battle in the cause of justice - honorable combat, not senseless slaughter. Tempus was the god of War, and in that he earned our faith - but his path could have been so much nobler.
My order could not sway the larger body of the faith. We were few - and now I believe we are exactly one. Since it seems that one is all that remains of the Church, however - it can be forged anew of purer metal. Tempus may not have deserved his fate, but neither was it completely unearned. I will become… better than he was, in his stead.
What is left of the power of Tempus heeds my call, to some degree. A sense of his domains are mine. But I do not wear the Iron Crown, and I am not King of Battles. Perhaps, someday, I shall be. In the meanwhile, I suppose I am a Prince.

The Prince's eyes again sweep across the group as he continues.

But why here? Why now? Why this group of adventurers?
The roll of thunder that called me back to my senses – it came from that hammer you bear. It echoes with the power of the Warcaller, a fragment of his essence. Given how thoroughly he was torn from the world, there are likely to be few such shards. I must gather and master them.
I assumed I would have to wrest the Skymaul from the unworthy. But I see I am the unworthy one – nothing I can offer you would equal its value. I will find you a suitable trade, servant of the Silver Queen, and when I have it I will seek you out again.
In the meanwhile – I must find allies amongst the divines who do not hold my predecessor's actions against me.

Leucis speaks his willingness to trade with the Prince, and muses about how a recently formed god might seek out such things. The Prince, again amused, replies "I was in many ways a priest before, and while that is one of the things that remains of me... I was not instructed in how to do this."
Maya attempts to sum up the situation: "So... you came looking for us because the hammer called you. And then... you want the maul, but you're not going to take the maul, you're going to trade for the maul, so you have to find something to trade for the maul, but you don't know where to start looking for something trade." Harb snarks back, "I do believe that is what he said."

Audience with the Prince

Where to go next

Maya, attempting to be helpful, suggests starting with the faithful. The Prince cocks his head, as though listening to some distance murmer none of the party can detect, and admits that he can hear the distant clinking of coins. The group clarifies that Waukeen has a Temple in Grayhill. If the Prince is going to Grayhill, the party requests that he take a Borrowers' Satchel to the Frosted Library for Mia (underlined section denotes a retcon).
Not completely satisfied by this suggestion, the Prince turns to Leucis and asks how he would speak to the Silver Lady. The cleric misunderstands initially (suggesting that the Prince be reverent and truthful), and the Prince responds that he's "never been gifted in the art of deception, even on the battlefield it is difficult."
This earns a polite snort from Saf.
The Prince clarifies that he's asking how to contact Selune, at which point Leucis suggests during the full moon, either at one of her temples or in a place of the moon's power (such as Llyrian Moon Facility). The party at large suggests that Waukeen may also know where valuable items would be. The Prince admits that Waukeen was known for her neutrality and willingness to deal with anyone, but he expresses some concerns about the price of her aid.

But why though?

Maya pulls out his map with some misgivings about giving directions in what are decidedly suspicious circumstances. Saf gently suggests that if the Prince wanted the group dead, they likely would be, and Sunny chimes in with agreement. The Prince, for his part, wears an expression that clearly says the rogue is correct but such actions would be beneath him.
The party speculates a bit about the Prince's potential harm to the world and his motives. They consider that Tempus (at least as described by the Prince himself) was not the sort of power they'd want loose in the world. The older god the Prince mentioned as his more direct philosophical predecessor, Tyr, seems less problematic, but is not well known to the group. He is mentioned in Domains and Pantheons as part of the War domain but not as a "current" faith.

Clarification on the call

Saf inquires how exactly the group "called" the Prince, and he explains that the Skymaul (as he understands it) was a gift to the Sky Pantheon at some point when they got along, and it served only that pantheon. The touch of "one of their servitors" (meaning Leucis) woke it up. The cleric recalls how the weapon "recognized" him as one of Selune's faithful (see Session 35)

Points of interest and the date

Still concerned but somewhat mollified, Maya points out several potential points of interest on the map for temples and the Llyrian facility. The Prince seems a bit confused, as this map doesn't look familiar to his memory of what the world looked like before.
Harb inquires if the Prince knows the current date. The faraway look of intent concentration on his divine senses passes across the Prince's face, and he admits that he can tell it's been a long time, nearly three centuries, since he walked the earth. Harb nods slowly. At this, the Prince considers the old sailor a bit more fully, giving him a long look, not dissimilar from the assessing glance before but more considered. The Prince, a bit confused, asks:

You have the scent of the other world about you. Are you recently returned from the nether as well? What do you know of that place that is no place?

Confusion spreads to the party at large, so the Prince attempts to clarify:

When Tempus and his faithful were cast from the world, we went into some... void. And it seems I have returned, and if there were other I do not know of them.

Harb says he's not familiar with what the Prince speaks of, but that he's only been out in the world for the last few years. The Prince accepts this but is unsettled by it.
Maya resumes pointing out places on the map ("Dangerous lycanthropes here, but you can probably handle it..."). Harb probes a bit further, asking if the Prince knows of Nogos. The Prince knows nothing of the name, but admits he has forgotten much. The druid jibes that based on what he's said, Maya hopes the Prince doesn't remember too much. The Prince sighs wearily and says:

All we can do is strive to be better.

The Prince departs

The Prince rises to his feet and takes his leave of the group, saying:

I thank you for your kind attention, and for waking the Skymaul. As I said, I can offer but little in return for your deeds, but what I have I offer freely, as a gift.

The characters have a moment to accept or reject his blessing (see below). The Prince places his right fist on his left shoulder in salute, gives a slight bow and speaks specifically to Kolvonnin:

Commend me to the Dawnbringer.

The Prince then turns to Leucis and bows without the salute, saying:

My kindest regards to the Lady of the Moonlit Vale.

The Prince lowers his visor, bids the group at large farewell, and strides back into the surrounding storm. As soon as he reaches the storm itself, the Prince disappears and the weather clears off as well.

The Prince's Blessing (Moral Challenge)

A meta discussion of the mechanics):

• Each character is faced with the snap decision to accept(10) or reject(1) the Prince's blessing.
• To keep things moving, characters are allotted up to two skill/knowledge rolls each to gather information or consider their options.
• Players are allowed to discuss among themselves but the characters won't have time to confer.
• Players have the option of informing the DM in a side chat what their character's position is, if they do not want it to be obvious to the party.
• As DM, it is made explicit that there is no punishment for not accepting.
• Outcomes will depend on both the individual choices and the party as a whole.

The characters consider the following:

• Maya tries to get a bead on the Prince's motive - is he really trying to put the god of War as a fixture on a better path? The druid determines that the Prince's motives are pure enough, but senses some doubts in the Prince about his ability to change the course of the ship without becoming corrupted.
• Harb attempts to glean whether the Prince's plan is something that might work, and calls on his knowledge of History and his past life. The old sailor recalls folks having a dislike of Tempus, so that rings true. The Prince's plan to remake the god in a new image is not impossible, as faiths tend to slide over time and the gods at the head of them follow the faith. But usually this is a long, slow process, and the Prince's plan is neither - most of the time when it's a rapid shift, it's one god subsuming or subverting another.
  Additionally, Harb recalls seeing the holy symbol of Tyr: scales of justice hanging from a warhammer.
  Harb feels like putting the shards of Tempus back together is a bad idea, though.
• Saf attempts to determine if this deal involves any kind of exclusivity. Based on the Prince's presentation of it being offered "freely, as a gift" she figures it doesn't involve anything that would limits her options down the road. She's not suspicious of the Prince as he's not given her reason to be, other than his stated goals being both tough and somewhat crazy.
• Sunny, somewhat enamored of the Prince's general vibe, is pretty on board from the start and doesn't consider it all that much. He's going to do it for the band.
• Kolvonnin's holy symbol glimmers a bit and he gives the group at large a solid nod.

Characters make their decisions:

Accepting
• 10: Kolvonnin, Saf
• 9: Leucis
• 8: Sunny
• 7: Maya
• 1: Harb
Rejecting

The party reached the threshold necessary to gain a war-centric feat each, detailed below. A couple have specific interactions with the Prince that are not apparent to the others:

• Kolvonnin hears the Prince's voice in his mind:

  Every weapon forged and every blow struck is a prayer to the Lord of War.

  Kolvonnin's morningstar grows warm, and he realizes that now, when it shines with the light of Pelor, it will deal radiant damage.
• Saf hears the same words from the Prince in her own mind:

  Every weapon forged and every blow struck is a prayer to the Lord of War.

  The shortswords Saf carries are transfigured into rapiers in line with her new martial prowess.

Session End

We leave the party preparing for a long rest after their meeting with the Prince. PCs will start next session at level 7.

Next steps:

Overall Next Steps

1. Scheduled:
   • Next Wisdom of the Elders is in three in-game days
   • Next Sending to Mia in two in-game days
2. Between session tasks:
   • Players: Consider the recent lore dumps
   • Players: Wishlist updates (remove acquired items, possibly add new ones)
   • Jeremy: Compose some Sendings
   • Party: Sending(s) to folks you just sent the Prince towards?
   • DM: Retcon the satchel to Mia
   • DM: Settle the rapier transmutation question
   • DM: Summarize the 1-2 lore punch
3. Out of Character tasks:
   • New toys
     • PCs to level 7 - confer with the DM if you need anything beyond the next level in your current class.
     • The Prince's Blessing - let me know what you picked and/or if you need a ruling about whether something is allowed.

Feedback

Eddy: I believe pacing for the most part was done pretty well. Especially when we spent so much time a ways out of Estimarth. The pacing out of that was really cool. How quickly we went through Sohmweyr, it didn't feel like a footnote but not a whole lot of time. Since we'd spent so much time there before, it was easy to check back in and then leave. Meeting the NPC Prince was cool. If someone disliked the old god enough to get rid of him, I don't know if that should be undone. Interested to see what comes out of that down the road. I want to make sure that making silly suggestions isn't a problem. If you want to, in advance of a dramatic moment, tell me to shut the fuck up, that's cool.
Heather: That was a lot of really fun character moments for Sunny. I liked destroying the obelisk, that was great. He's going to ride high on that accomplishment for a while. The two-punch was also interesting - this is the kind of stuff that Sunny froths over, the whole "might and magic and gods" type power metal stuff is perfect for him. Sunny is inclined to trust the Prince because he's been fantasizing about this kind of guy in the form of song lyrics for years.
James: Yay we're out of the trading post at long last! I am thrilled that we're moving in a direction, and we've traveled so far across the land. So glad we skimmed over a lot of stuff, good speeding through the obelisk and Sohmweyr, as I didn't want to spend a ton of time on those. Not that I didn't want them to happen, but still. I'm excited to get near potions. We got to meet a fledgling god, and I'm amused that folks were less suspicious than I thought. It's not like Maya was going to pick a fight with him, but if it came to a fight he'd go down swinging. Leucis and Kol were less concerned so Maya went along with the benefit of the doubt. I feel like the session went really well.
Jeremy: I really liked the monologue, that was really well put together, good job, that was really cool. I'll echo how nice it was to move things along, definitely helped us to get more out of the time we have. Let's keep it going. I'm looking forward to what comes next. A free feat, wow. No real cons or negatives, pretty productive. Nice to see another run through of the marketplace to see what we can get our hands on.
Matt: Maya comes from a more isolationist society, so it makes sense that Maya would be more distrustful, especially in meeting a stranger in the middle of nowhere who's manipulating nature. I basically pulled up a chair for the monologue, so I feel like it was clear I was cooperating. I don't think I've ever had an issue with any character teasing, only the "charing into too much danger" way back. I got to wing your character right in the eye, it was great. As for the session itself, I will echo what everyone else said, in that I thought pacing was good, it's good to be moving, and so on. We got a lot done. As far as mechanics, the feat means I would change to rapier, so I'd like to work out how to make that work. I didn't want to bring it up in the moment for flow and tone reasons. Interested to see what we get into if things go this smoothly going forward. The reason Saf is more suspicious of Nogos and Sigmand than the Prince is that Nogos is mortal, or at least can act as a mortal. He won't try to conquer the realm, so he's less likely to get involved in the things Saf thinks are important.
Meg: Yay, the two-punch. I'm glad I lifted my maul. I'm looking forward to getting to the potion place and really looking forward to eventually getting to Sunhaven. It was a beautiful monologue.
John: Meg just picked a good moment to raise the maul. I'm glad the monologue wasn't a huge turnoff. I don't know how glad people are about being out of the trading post, but I know I am gladder. A whole week of time covered in this session, which is way faster than we usually go. I am trying to hit the gas in the places where it makes sense to.
I sort of knew Maya would be a hard sell for the Prince, there was just no way it would be easy, with him being responsible for the wonky weather and from the Concepts pantheon. I wanted people to feel like their character had a spectrum of response to the Prince's blessing, not strictly black and white.
If silly suggestions are a problem, this is a whole problem group. I'm not above a silly suggestion, but try not to do it in a dramatic moment, as we have few of those and they're hard to generate. I admit I was very close to telling the party at large to shut it and let me get the monologue out. I feel like, knowing that I have a lore dump planned and have been trying to get to it, starting a scene with "a guy steps out of a storm under weird circumstances and asks to tell you his story" sent a pretty clear message.
There is a world where you guys tried to pick a fight with this guy, and I'm not saying it would be a TPK, but it would be a possibility. I thought about mentioning that I broke the seal on using legendary abilities and resistances, but I thought that might be underselling the Prince to the extent that it would feel like a lie.
I spent a lot of time working on the scene with the Prince, and it's changed significantly several times. I am glad to hear that the pacing was good, I had concerns about how far down I was pressing the pedal trying to get through things without giving them too short shrift. You guys spent enough time in that town that I could have very quick interactions with NPCs without having to introduce them.
I'm really interested to see where things go from here too. If I have my druthers, you guys will hit the potion mark before the end of the year. You might even be done with it before the end of the year, depends on how things go.
Each character got an individual "vibe check" when the Prince started speaking that called back to what that character knows and understands. Those were sent in side channels, so you can share them if you like.

Rewards Granted

Level up

PCs will start next session at level 7.

Blessings

The blessing of the Prince gifted the following:

• Kolvonnin: Sentinel
• Saf: Dodgy Dual Wielder and transformation of weapons into rapiers
• Leucis: War Caster
• Sunny: Bulwarked Balladeer and a shield
• Maya: War Caster
• Harb: Mobile and Boundless Aggression

Unclaimed

• One Borrowers' Satchel (DnD Beyond)

Claims

Claimed by Leucis Darkstar

• The orange end of the Linked Chalk (DnD Beyond)

Purchases

Purchased by Sunny

• A glass eye worth 100gp (spell component)
• Horn of Silent Alarm (DnD Beyond)
• a crossbow

Purchased by Harb

• One packet of Glittergums (DnD Beyond)

Purchased by Leucis Darkstar

• Two sets of chain/cuffs for prisoners (manacles)

Purchased by Saf

• Glamoured Studded Leather (DnD Beyond)
• One packet of Glittergums (DnD Beyond)

Purchased by Maya

• One packet of Glittergums (DnD Beyond)