Session 01
General Summary
Camero secreted himself away in his library, studying long into the night for days and weeks on
end. When he came out he was changed. The change was subtle and only his close friends really
noted it, but it was there. There was now an aura about him if you looked carefully, and one which
his enemies would come to know close up soon enough. In his hand he held a small gem. This
gem was positively buzzing with power. It was his phylactery and he had successfully completed
the ritual to become a lich! He contacted the leader of the Cabal of Callindrill and handed the
phylactery over to him, for safe keeping. This meant Camero's phylactery would hopefully be
safe, but also that they trusted him more in his efforts to become a lich whilst still resisting the
temptations of the Demon Prince.
Camero returned to Cauldron where he petitioned Lord Mayor Harley for permission to build his
Institute of the Arcane. Harley of course agreed and gave him a sizable building in the city. The
two also had private words about Jil, Fenby and Shensen and what had passed between them and
an agreement was reached between them on the subject. Camero then showed Vortimax the site of
the new Institute and the old wizard said he would see to its construction. The two of them then
travelled to Endhome where they took ownership of the old Pulanti Mansion and spoke to Bragger
Bondhome and Stylus Kant about their intention to start an Institute of the Arcane in the city.
Bragger welcomed this move. Stylus did not. Governor Ranlan Poole was unavailable to be seen
as he was away in the capital city of the Empire, Lucar, where his sister was marrying the
Emperor of Lucarcia!
Camero returned to his library to conduct more research into the Shadowfell, the Raven Queen
and how one might find her. During this research the figure of the Demon Prince appeared to him
once again. This time it held in its hand an ancient and most powerful staff - the Staff of
Callindrill itself! The Demon Prince offered the staff to Camero if he would only bend the knee.
Again Camero refused saying he would take it from the Demon Prince in time. The Demon Prince
replied that he would return it to its current owner. Who was that Camero enquired? The ruler of
the White Kingdom, he was told. None other than Callindrill himself! Apparently the arch mage
now served as one of Orcus' most trusted generals, ruling a part of the realm of Thanatos - the
Demon Prince's layer of the Abyss. This was news indeed to Camero. He returned to the group in
Cauldron and told them of his news.
Meanwhile Harley had asked Fenby to be his best man in his upcoming marriage to Terry. His
cousin of course accepted. Harley spoke to Jil and Fenby asking them to find out all they could
about the assassination of the late king. He wanted all spare resources onto this project from both
his guilds. Separately Jil asked him what he wanted to discuss with the Dervishes in their
upcoming meeting. He said that since they had proposed the meeting he would wait and see what
they wanted. She was going to press on and organize the meet.
Back in Sasserine, King Morgan made a decision about how to deal with the Knights of the Sun
and their request for aid. He sent the envoy back to Albion with a message that Mochica would
send no direct aid but that King Morgan and his entourage would deal directly with the threat of
the Demon Prince themselves. The envoy was not hugely impressed but accepted the king's word
and returned home.
Back in Cauldron Braken got an unexpected visit from High Inquisitor Jenya. She said that
Cardinal Rasmus, the head of the Church of St. Cuthbert, worldwide, had contacted her and said
that he wanted to canonize Braken as a reward for his amazing work in saving the entire city of
Cauldron and in stopping the release of Larin Karr. This was an amazing honor. The ceremony
would take place in Braken's own church in Cauldron. His mother and father would be invited as
would his friends from Magma Force if he wanted them there, which he did. The ceremony would
be presided over by the Cardinal and by Jenya. Soon the day of the ceremony came. Braken got to
meet his mother and father again for the first time in a few years. They said they were very proud
of him and his achievements. Cardinal Rasmus arrived from Athena and began the ceremony to
make Braken a saint in his own lifetime. The ceremony was progressing along when suddenly
there was a massive explosion which ripped through the church. The explosion was caused by a
gate being ripped open from the Abyss. Stepping through the gate was a demon from the depths of
the Elemental Chaos - a balor!
Magma Force were thrown to the floor in the explosion and the pews in the church were splintered
and shattered. But the heroes sprung into action like a well-oiled machine. Within seconds the
balor was reeling from their onslaught. They quickly got Braken's parents away from the danger,
Jenya and Rasmus shepherding them deeper into the church and then they unleashed their own
brand of hell on the demon. It never stood a chance. This lieutenant of the depths of the Abyss was
ripped limb from limb by the fury of Magma Force, angry at its decision to interrupt the ceremony
to make Braken a saint. As it fought the balor told them it had been sent by the King of the White
Kingdom - Callindrill would make them suffer greatly before he turned them to undead.
The balor could not survive against the power of the heroes of Mochica and within just a few
seconds it was defeated. Just before laying the final blow on it though, Camero retrieved the Cube
of Xarthus from his pocket. Instead of killing the fell beast they trapped its soul deep in the
artifact. Their first such entrapment, the prison of Larin Karr was now one step more secure. The
fires were put out, the church patched up and the ceremony was completed. Braken was a saint.
His mother and father were taken home by Jenya, using the teleportation circle in the church and
Cardinal Rasmus likewise returned to Athena the same way. Magma force brushed themselves
down and stepped out into the city streets.
The streets were busy with the usual throngs of citizens going about their business. As the party
passed by a fountain nearby the sounds of ravens could be heard. Suddenly the statue in the
middle of the fountain changed shape into that of a messenger from the Raven Queen herself. The
messenger told them that they were summoned to an audience with the Raven Queen herself but to
do so they would need to pass the tests of Zvomarana. It handed Morgan a bone scroll tube. As it
did so it seemed to disappear and the statue was a statue once more. Almost simultaneously four
huge shadowclaw panthers rushed into view from all directions. On one rode the eladrin they had
seen riding a cloud back over on Manabas a few months earlier. The others were ridden by ebon
riders. Flying in behind them was a cambion magus.
The eladrin teleported into the midst of this heroes and started to blast necrotic and cold magic
everywhere. Braken recognized him as Ghovan Akri - an eladrin lich and high ranking member of
the Ebon Riders. The riders charged in but as they did so, they found their shadow panthers
collapsed under them - Camero's eyes were glowing red and the noticeable aura of power coming
from him was enough to kill the undead beasts! But soon they rose again as was their evil practice.
Magma Force, having just come from a massive fight with a balor, were not at their freshest, but
something had happened over the last few months. These heroes were no longer typical mortal
adventurers. The included a Lich, a King and a Saint in their numbers. They were on their way to
becoming immortal. And it showed.
The crowd of citizens fled screaming into the side streets as battle erupted in earnest. The cambion
demon flew to the top of a nearby building and fired soul fire down on the streets. Sora marked
this cambion and with a powerful spell turned her into a turtle. She would be no more trouble. The
others quickly burned down the soldiers who fought alongside the Lich until only the Lich and one
soldier remained. The soldier�s moral did not waver - he was a member of the Ebon Riders who
were an elite mercenary force. He would fight until his boss was slain. Unfortunately for him, this
was not long in coming. As the Lich was destroyed Camero pulled the Cube of Xarthus from his
pocket but unfortunately the Lich crumbed to dust before he could be trapped. Knowing full well
what that meant Camero explained that the Lich's soul would have returned to its phylactery
which could be anywhere.
Morgan opened the scroll case to discover it was a ritual which would transport the group directly
to the entrance to Zvomarana, the temple of the Raven Queen. It seemed that their questions about
how to get to visit Wee Jas (as she was called in Mochica) were answered, and in fact that they
had been summoned by the Lady of Fate herself.
Their destiny awaited...
Report Date
11 Apr 2024
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