Session 43: Death and Destruction Report

General Summary

The session started where the last one, Session 42: Those who sow darkness Report left of, as the party had been exploring the Temple of Depraved Devotion in order to find Maro Rei 'Sky''s parents, Cathrine De Clair Antebellius had gotten a sending from Kilrias Sandovaal, headmaster of the Qulian Academy saying "Where are you right now? We need to speak. As quickly as possible."
Cathrine responded that they did not know the name of the place they were at, and asked what he wanted to speak about. Kilrias returned that it was not something that would fit the 25-word limit of the sending spell and that they could meet at the nearest Teleportation Circle that they knew, except the one in Velámón. The party then agreed to say that they would meet him in Oritsu.
The party finished checking everything in the temple and promptly left. As they teleported, Baradin Godchosen was "interrupted" in between the leaving and arrival of the teleportation. There, a woman grabbed him from behind and told him: "I answered your call. Now, a wound to never heal. Pain to ever linger... You're too late."
As the party arrived in Oritsu, they met up with Kilrias outside of the Skywatch Castle. There, Kilrias told them that Velámón had been attacked by the cult that the party was hunting, the Union of Love. Kilrias had been able to escape thanks to the sacrifice of another of the teachers of the school, and he predicted that the cult would likely be able to gain control over the entire town shortly. The cult had attacked the city during the Creation's Eve, a celebration of the end of The Great Collapse, and the fall of Altoron. They had used purple worms to easily circumnavigate the defenses and had brought an ancient dragon with them. The cult also seemed to have some control of part of the Corelus Legion, as Kilrias had seen in-fighting between the guards.
Some of the characters recognized the dragon as Balaur, a dragon they had seen, but not engaged with during their earlier adventures, and who was the leader of the Sunless Horde, an army of Duergar. Kilrias also denoted that the dragon had called himself "The Destroyer", which was one of the titles of the leaders of the Union, that the party had defeated previously. the party then discussed the possibility that the union had recruited the dragon as a new "Destroyer".
Once they had learned this information, they discussed options for their next course of action. Multiple options were discussed but these are the main ones that seemed plausible:

• Head to Velámón to either attempt to evacuate some civilians, or to scout for enemy forces.
• Try to get allies from the southern city-states.
• Warn other towns of Eshiesal, most prominently the larger city of Merlegos.
• Try to unite the warring orc-tribes of the Puri Plains.
• Possibly gather allies from other continents.
• Ask the Elemental Dragons, that the minotaurs of Letiteria prayed to, for aid.

Kilrias also posed the possibility to ask the Shards of Ethio for aid, as well as talk to Golthaarius, who the party had previously been told might know something about the artifacts that the Union was looking for. The characters decided that the current best course of action was to rest and make a decision on what to do the following day.
Before going to sleep, Baradin went to speak with Sky as they both watched the festivities in Oritsu from a balcony and told him that when he used Divine Intervention some days earlier, which allowed them to find the Temple of Depraved Devotion, it was Algea, The Bringer of Pain who had answered, and as return, she might've cursed his mother. Sky thanked Baradin for letting him know but told him that he thought perhaps living in pain might be better than being dead, at least for the time being.
The following day, the party continued their discussions and decided to go with Kilrias to both ask questions to Golthaarius and ask the Shards for aid. Before going, however, Eldon attempted to contact Cathrine's parents and fiancee with Sending, however, they were only able to reach Josephine, the middle sister of the Antebellius family. After some short talks about what questions to ask Golthaarius, Kilrias brought them, with the help of Plane Shift, to the Astral Sea, more specifically Siness'Elena. Before the characters entered the palace, Kilrias conducted a ritual to bring Golthaarius to them so they could ask him questions.
Golthaarius was a silver dragon with stretched features and scales that shimmered with a rainbow-like pearlescent. The party first asked about their experience with the black Rukh. Golthaarius responded that black rukh had existed for a long time, however, he had never seen it be used and didn't know what they were or meant. Next, the characters asked about the artifacts that the Union was after, and described how they look and where they had seen them. Golthaarius then found an ancient journal containing the following poem:
The gate that seals the Endless world. To be unlocked with six parts curled.

Each key was sent beyond, to a unique plane they correspond.

First, was sent to white shores. Home for a scarlet hero of forgotten wars.

Second, became hidden in an emerald sea. In a temple of lost gods is the key.

Third, could be seen. In pearly fields of green.

Fourth, took quite the trip. Frozen into a traitor's grip.

Fifth, lies hidden within a tomb of obscurity. Near a town without purity.

Sixth, is found in a place harsh. Under a chained city in a vile endless marsh.
The characters realized that the last two lines referred to the places where they had seen the two artifacts they knew of, one being in Hades, near a town called Death of Innocence and the other being in Minauros, under the city of Jangling Hiter.
They then asked what this meant, and Golthaarius told them that the first line likely meant that these were the keys to reopen the leak into The Abyss that was sealed at the end of . The characters then wondered why anyone would wish to do this, but could not find a specific reason.
The following questions regarded some other quests of theirs. First, they asked where to find the lake of mind, body, and spirit, but Golthaarius did not know. Second, they asked if he knew the locations of the Artifacts of Silvanus, and he told them that he wished not to interact with a god's artifact, since he was not a follower. The third and final question regarded the Cube of Thávma, which the characters had found early on in their adventure. Golthaarius identified it and stated that it was a cage, while at the same time being the key.
With their questions finished, Golthaarius left and Kilrias guided the characters inside the palace. Before meeting the rest of the shards, the party was allowed some time to discuss amongst themselves while Kilrias gathered the other members. During this time, the characters discussed the meanings of the lines in the poem. One mentioned a scarlet soldier, and they thought perhaps they could try and contact Ogun, The Red Knight, who Arten was a follower of, and perhaps warn them. In the meantime, the party could try to gather other keys to either protect them or hide them. One idea for this was to send one to the Summer Court of the Feywild.
They were then introduced and spoke with the shards (see character interacted with). Ayaan stated that he could not divert his forces to aid the characters, and Llewellyn did not wish to aid them, since her people were not directly in danger. Eldon managed to persuade her and she was willing to lend some of her pupils to aid in the battle to come. Morai could not directly aid in the battle but could lend magical items. Kilrias would remain in Oritsu and attempt to lead the forces against the Union, while Feight simply said he would help. Ryeley had no response.
After this, the characters spoke some with Feight regarding the outer planes and what they could find there, as well as where the keys might be. The first line might mean Lunia, the first layer of Mount Celestia or Thalasia, the fourth layer of Elysium. The second line probably meant Aquallor, the second layer of Arborea. The third line is likely Venya, the third layer of Mount Celestia, probably Green Fields, the home of the halfling pantheon. The fourth line could mean either Stygia, the fifth layer or Cania, the eighth layer of Baator, or Agathys, the sixth layer of Carceri. They concluded that the last two lines were the keys that they had already seen.

Character(s) interacted with

Golthaarius - Traveller of the Silver Mist (Silver Dragon)
Shards of Ethio:

• Morai - Master of Spacial Manipulation and Pocket Dimensions
• Llewellyn Gwaeddan - Master of Natural Powers and Folk History
• Ayaan Waazir - Master of Curses, Dreams, and Magical Influences
• Kilrias Sandovaal - Master of History, Literature, and Magical Creatures
• Feight - Master of Planes and Planar Travel
• Ryeley - Master of Architecture, Magical Items, and the Far Realm

Related Reports

Session 42: Those who sow darkness Report.

Notes

Velámón was mostly destroyed as a consequence of the Union of Love's attack on the city.

Campaign

The Excursionists

Protagonists

Nitt

Neutral Vedalkan ()
Wizard 17
Rouge 2

92 / 92 HP

STR
8

DEX
16

CON
10

INT
20

WIS
14

CHA
14

Maro Rei 'Sky'

Chaotic Good Air Genasi (Aspirant)
Fighter 8
Monk 4

92 / 92 HP

STR
12

DEX
18

CON
16

INT
13

WIS
12

CHA
10

Cathrine De Clair Antebellius

Lawful Neutral Human (Noble)
Artificer 14

67 / 101 HP

STR
10

DEX
18

CON
14

INT
20

WIS
14

CHA
16

Omen ei' Taure

Chaotic Good Tabaxi (Temple Guard)
Monk 16
Cleric 2

172 / 172 HP

STR
23

DEX
20

CON
18

INT
8

WIS
20

CHA
8

Arten Veronica Lagurdo

Lawful Neutral Fallen Aasimar (Mercenary Veteran)
Paladin 14

113 / 113 HP

STR
8

DEX
18

CON
16

INT
10

WIS
14

CHA
20

Eldon Caufield

Neutral good Halfling (Fisherman)
Bard 15

77 / 77 HP

STR
9

DEX
16

CON
10

INT
10

WIS
16

CHA
20

Baradin Godchosen

Neutral Good Hill Dwarf (Far traveler)
Cleric 14

150 / 150 HP

STR
8

DEX
14

CON
20

INT
10

WIS
20

CHA
8

Report Date

12 Jun 2022

Primary Location

Temple of Depraved Devotion

Secondary Location

Oritsu

Related Characters

• Adam Bauffremont
• Algea, The Bringer of Pain
• Arten Veronica Lagurdo
• Baradin Godchosen
• Cathrine De Clair Antebellius
• Eldon Caufield
• Maro Rei 'Sky'
• Nitt
• Omen ei' Taure