Lost Lore 16: Intrigue de l'Salaud
In which we are informed that people don't necessarily trust us, and we're being blackmailed for the lives of our friends.
General Summary
Returning to the Abbey, Ospher, Charity, and I were able to get a quick rest in before needing to get going on our weekend to determine what we could do for Tadlo, Lorgan, and Brightshine in addition to looking after the children. As I went to visit Charity's room, I heard that the kids were discussing putting together plans to "magic up" a pool on the grounds to escape the oppressive summer heat and that Giancarlo and Marike were in the lab working on researching something the Order had come across in the sewers. Charity explained that her research concluded that whomever made the Bodak had made it with a sort of leak in it, so it would specifically seek out manacite to continue fueling its hunger and rage with the insider knowledge of Adeley Kint. She was also able to determine that Ardus' fly spell persisted because of how close to death he was when it was cast, he had so little substance it was able to last for an extended period of time, channeled through the piece of manacite drawing leyline power even after his death.
Ospher went into the kitchen to prepare himself some energy-enriching foods and while there, saw a manifestation of Olivia behind him, staring into the surface of a reflective metal cabinet. After getting her attention, they talked for a bit about their connection and she explained that she had determined that she would be able to partially manifest herself over him as an Armor of Shadows, while inhabiting his body. Charity and I entered shortly thereafter, and discussed our plans for the day in order to determine if someone we knew could cast Dispel Magic at a stronger ability than me in order to free Tadlo from this form.
I appreciate you letting me in and letting me out from time to time. I wanted to give you something.
It's not up to me whether or not you come out, is it?
No, but I have have something for you. It's a gift, I can manifest a little bit.
Does using this require you to exert some part of yourself?
No, I don't think it does. I think that we're getting to connect more, I can feel more through you and you can definitely feel me, right?
I mean, if we're being honest, I feel tired.
What are they doing here anyway?
Researching something, I'm told.
I saw that they had a jar with something in it, I didn't follow or ask.
What room are they working in?
They're in the lab.
We don't keep books in there, what? *Adjenna leaves the kitchen immediately*
And so goes another quiet moment.Checking in at the lab, Marike and Giancarlo clarified that they don't have the ability to dispel magics and explained that they found pieces of the pudding in the sewers and wanted to use our lab equipment here to determine if they could learn anything useful about this Pudding. Ospher and my observations of it saw it attempting to replicate whatever was nearby, hands, devices, furniture, odd stuff. Marike further explained they've encountered this in sewers anytime they hear about it being somewhere, devouring flesh and leaving bones. Ospher's further observations revealed that the pudding seemed to use a sort of "blind-sight" based on sounds as occasionally it would replicate a heartbeat or things making noises within the lab. He then performed some experiments on the sample, separating it for long periods of time and determining what it could to living creatures, specifically a bug. It was able to sort of override the creatures' mind and direct to perform its bidding. Charity and I then went to our basement to make certain that the doors would seal properly and ascertain which doors were reinforced by Wagner's magics or not. The door to the sewers itself would seal very well but as it was not reinforced with magic, dedicated pressure to enter would allow some sort of liquid to eventually penetrate, be it sewage or a pudding, but the door leading to the grand hallway and the winery had the impenetrable protections of the magic surrounding the school.
Was the door open when you guys got here?
Yeah? Are we ok to be here..?
Yeah, you guys are fine, the door shouldn't be left unlocked though.
You have something quite interesting and potentially dangerous here.
Pffft, we know, that's why we're on it.
Right, but did you know?
I remember him, he's the guy that was in here, right?We then gathered the students to make sure that they could take care of one another for the day. Charity and I split them into three "houses", Sparrow, Affreux, and Spurshoe, and made the eldest of each responsible for watching out for the rest of their house. As this would leave them in charge of about 29 other students. They took it seriously enough, at least from what I was able to gauge, Alicia Colby, one of the elder girls from House Spurshoe, then brought up the hubub of the morning where the youth wanted to use magic to create a pool in the rear yard of the school, but ultimately outside of the building and beyond its protective magics. I attempted to productively counter that this would be a project each person would work on that day and we would judge that evening who came up with the best plan, and the reward would be a full piece of manacite which would serve as a very effective motivator for the students to remain at work within the confines of the building. Another older student, Chauncey Harmon, then asked if they should have some weapons in the school to protect themselves in case something gets in, but I explained that weapons in their hands would ultimately be much more dangerous than our plans to protect them.
Yeah.
I kinda remember him and his group, they all seemed a little shady when my grandpa hired them on. But, if you trust him.
Trust him well enough to do janitorial work, sure. He kept mentioning that he can manage the books, really pushy like.
There have been... excursions from the Abbey that we have been made aware of, and we cannot have each of you creating your own level of magical hell whilst we are indisposed ensuring the safety of the school from outside forces.
Could we use magic to make a pool while you're busy?We then set out to Curious Words, not far from Tucker Street Apothecary on the north end of City Center, after locking up the lab behind Marike and Giancarlo who left while we addressed the students. Tyrom was in the process of ringing up a customer when we walked in and then he greeted us and we got down to business in the back of the store. We briefly discussed our findings of last night, mentioning that we confirmed Frigi's death, the Bodak we put an end to, and the other dealer's reactions we observed. We discussed the school again, and I reiterated that if they met a student they wanted to "lure away" they should do so with caution and stealth, and Tyrom seemed to put down Neville's hopes of getting more people into the Order since he had worked hard to justify our neutrality amongst the factions, since the likely outcome of people knowing they could recruit students would be an all out brawl to bolster their numbers as quickly as possible with neophytes from Wagner. Ospher was curious if others even actually knew about us before we called the meeting and Tyrom clarified that between the Oracle of 8th street and the factions' lookout for magical power, there's not a lot of magic users that escape notice in Frial. We then explained what happened with Lorgan, Tadlo, and Ser Brightshine; Tyrom explained that a Polymorph spell shouldn't last this long. After I showed him a copy of the drawing we saw on the wall, he explained that they were likely transformed by The Rat King a secretive loner who has the ability to control vermin and preys on youths throughout town, abducting them for an unknown purpose. He set about doing some research based on his histories in Frial, and Tadlo's clockwork bat to see if using a Dispel Magic on the Rat-Tadlo would be worth casting.
You have permission to use school materials to design your ideas and when we're back at the end of the day, we'll pick out the best one and decide.
Are these puddings all like this?
We haven't had much luck capturing a sample, when they die, they break apart very quickly. That one was small and it seemed it was able to sustain itself. I thought your lab would be the perfect place to examine it further.
You weren't wrong.
My biggest worry is that some of the other magical factions would be looking into it as well, and they may not have as altruistic intentions as we do.
That wouldn't shock me.
For Slevin's part its either complete apathy, or completely nefarious.
Well so far, it's only been preying on the criminals that lurk in the sewer, the homeless looking for shelter. There's been enough for it to eat down there, that's where it has been content to remain. If it starts going after people on the streets of Frial, it's crossed into the next level of out of hand.
Good news on the Slevin front, since you mentioned him. I hope you have a good relationship with him, since he may have to be your next supplier.While Tyrom consulted some of his parent's books, we spoke with Norynor about the Dragon eggs we found and he said he was trying to hatch them but hadn't made any progress yet. We said we could try to talk to some pre-rebuke people we know and see if they could give any direction on dragon eggs, without specifying their race. He confirmed that he got the Candle of Invocation from Neville and mentioned he'd likely use it a lot in the sewers. We discussed why there hasn't been anything done about the The Rat King by officials of Frial in the past, Norynor explained he thought it was likely due to its stealth and low-profile, children don't go missing in large numbers ever due to him and associations to it beg to be dismissed as apocryphal, or worse, fanciful. Tyrom and Neville finished their research at this point and told us we would likely have zero success with Dispel Magic on Tadlo, the spell isn't powerful, in that it requires many charges of manacite to cast, but it functions as the strongest version of the polymorph spell line but focused to a single form, that of a rat, so it remains only a couple of valence levels above what we can pull from our books/god/the forest(?, I think I have less of an idea as to how druids work than any other sort of spell caster), and that in order to stop the magic, we would need the equivalent of the potions we've already used on Tadlo to transform him back from being a frog, of which we only have two now.
Well, Slevin's good enough to do business with I suppose. Better than no one.
That's The Rat King.
Of course it is.
One of many, singular threats in the city, a lone operator. Something the other circles would consider chaff, for sure, but potent.
How are the dragon eggs doing?
They're being taken care of. I want to see them hatch at least.
Nature vs. Nurture may not be a thing with Dragons.
You may be right, I would hate to raise them and learn that their wickedness is inherent.
Whatever was done to them, there's a spell called Polymorph, but there's also a spell called True Polymorph and this is some a variant of that that can only turn something into a Rat. Some aspects of their personality may remain, but they are truly a rat, but it is not your friend Tadlo in the form of a rat, but a rat.Tyrom then explained he thinks there's still a chance some of the other magical orders may have the ability to assist us with this problem and we then discussed plans for this evening, who would be leading the discussion and so forth. He warned us that not all of the people who show up may be sensible with regards to "not killing the messenger of ill tidings" but I frankly wasn't going to worry about it since there's evidently a monster on the loose in Bellhaven that can TURN PEOPLE INTO RATS FOREVER. He didn't think it would come to blows since as it was a planned neutral meeting, the meeting shouldn't come to blows. Before leaving, I asked if he knew of any magical items that could counteract magical curses and spells, and we didn't really come up with anything besides my original thought of a Wand of Dispel Magic which would require some research but would undoubtedly pay dividends untold at the school. We needed to check up on King Nimoy next, to determine if he and more of his subjects were swept up by the Rat King as well last night, and if his eyes had encountered any other havens of the rat king in order to begin tracking him down.
I assume this meeting is going to be more us introducing you to them and then you taking it from there...?It was simple enough for me to find a couple of streets that had favorable air exchanges leading to tower that was benefiting from a very nice breeze on this hot day mid-Moradin's Ire. There, we found him and two of his "paladins" next to a garbage can fire, whispering to a pidgeon, of all things. In our exchange, we explained that we were glad to see him safe, two of our people were missing and the one we did have was still stuck as a rat; none of his people were caught up in the king's scheme and he wasn't aware of it being a hideout until Lorgen, Tadlo, and Brightshine didn't come out. He and his people had left because of a large monster that had made its way into Bellhaven, annihilating a straight line from the swamp through the kingdom. After Ospher and the King described it to me, I came up with a few thoughts to make use of this mutual problem he was having, the shell apparently has some strong anti-magical properties, so we may be able to use pieces of this thing to our immenint advantage against the Rat bastard.
Yes, it's going to be us delivering the bad news.
Good, it's going to be you delivering the news?
Oui.
Then I will consider this an introduction between you and them as well.
Often, the Rat King is known to transform allies of those he wishes to treat with, and exchange favors for a cure.
There's a flail snail that's come in from the marsh.We were then led off to a more remote section of the district, and as we traveled we perceived a loud a-rhythmic crash that was growing louder as we drew close. There, near a mill on the edge of the forest on the border of bellhaven, we saw the large creature, shell taller than some houses, with its flails repeatedly hammering on pieces of stone and wood of the mill as it sought the decaying grain within and devouring lots of the debris it created. We resolved to use only specific spells to attack it, and otherwise to use physical weapons against the creature. Nimoy also sent two veterans with the three of us, a human male named Fedor and an elf they kept calling "Elven" and he didn't appreciate the nickname, even from his king. Collectively, the three of us broke off from the veterans who went a much less debris strewn path to the snail, and it turned to face us as I closed on it while it used one of its tendrils to annihilate the last wall of the mill. Fedor and Elven flanked from the side with a few longsword hits, Ospher fired a couple crossbow bolts at it with one hitting successfully, I struck it with Creator Deflator, at which point it concentrated its blows on just "Elven", dealing him a strong blow and knocking him prone, coughing up blood, and Charity then threw the Skyriri boomerang at the snail, hitting it. We then went with a plan of Charity's to make it only attack me, and it landed two hits on me while "Elven" was able to get back to his feet without being smashed to pulp, and Fedor struck it again, while Ospher fired two more bolts into the rubbery flesh of the snail, stilling the flails and as the shimmering light of the shell began to fade, I closed with it and used Spare the Dying to preserve the shell for our purposes.
A what?
A flail snail.
A what?
If everybody stands still and doesn't move, maybe it will just go after whomever is moving. So one of us could be the decoy!We rendered brief aid to Elven, helping him close up his wounds and get him off his feet before a loose broken rib could damage his organs and Nimoy came to thank us. He wondered what he could do to show his appreciation for this at which we told him that supplying a cart to get this beast back to the Abbey would be sufficient, Ospher could likely use a lot of the meat for some interesting meals and the shell would be the thing we most desired from it. Ospher used Creator Deflator to butcher the creature on site to reduce the volume absolutely necessary to transport back. After some warnings from Nimoy about the supposed strength of this rarely seen monster, we set off back to the school to meet Nimoy's men hauling our spoils and set about taking some brief downtime before our evening meeting. The students then presented their designs to us, the best pool design was by a human boy named Rip Henley, a slide that goes into the big pool and a "hot pool" but I explained that we have hot tubs on site already. While we didn't have actual protected outdoor grounds, I said we would take the designs under consideration by the headmistress and awarded Rip the piece of manacite. While he joked that he wanted to use it for a casting of Fireball, in actuality, he wanted to use it always be able to cast his cantrip, Gust, while learning here. Charity at this point invited Ospher and I to relax in the hot tubs as well to attempt to get through the exhaustion of yesterday and the week of classes, since she had also forgotten about the hot tubs, I turned her down since I had a few things I needed to do to try and make their lives better for the coming week but wouldn't tell them about until after the weekend. I wrote out lesson plans, plans for group grading, class time shortening and split up the teaching areas throughout to allow for a little more rest between classes for the upcoming couple weeks instead of trying to keep ~20 kids per class on task for two 4 hours implements and figured at least with some distraction from these plans the two of them would handle the week's stress better, considering we spent a lot of the pre-class time getting the facility itself ready and repaired.
Then let's make sure this thing doesn't hurt anyone else!
You've done excellent work, my paladins. Is there anything I can do to repay you for saving Bellhaven?
I guess let us out of yesterday's arrangement and secure a cart to transport this back to Wagner.
If we come across the Rat King, I'm not going to hesitate to serve up justice, I don't like what he's been doing.
I don't think he'll return to his old den, but he'll definitely be seeking you out. The school is quite difficult to get into, so you and the students should be safe there from him.As I wrapped up the planning, Ospher and Charity, dropped back by to point out that as dusk settled into early evening, there seemed to be a large gathering of rats in the alleys and courtyard in front of the Abbey. The three of us went out front to see what's going on, since it looked like their undulating mass was carrying something sort of large up to the doors. We then were able to discern that it was a corpse of one of Nimoy's eyes, ragged and ripped to shreds by rat bites and sort of propped up and then it spoke from it's distended hanging jaw in a hoarse sort of whisper. He explained that he wanted one student per month and he would give us back Tadlo, Lorgan and Brightshine, as well as protecting us from other things that would threaten us. It was made clear that the rat king needs more transformed people in order to learn from their memories and expand his power base. The swarm then offered a "gesture of goodwill", sending forth another rat of our friends, but whether it was Lorgan or Brightshine, we couldn't say, nor would communicating with the rat yield information if Tyrom's explanation of the spell at play here was correct. He then made it clear we would need to meet his offer in 4 days with the coming moon. They then dispersed and took the ragged corpse with them. Ospher and Charity deduced based on his "desires" he wanted young children because it would be easier to cast his transformation spell on them and the younger the target, the longer he would potentially have them in his service as a rat, since rats in general are fairly short lived. Nisaba thought the idea was very loathesome, viscerally, and that people who worship nature would be easy allies in combatting this threat, followers of Atel The Beast or Druids.
Yeah, we have 80 youths that we need to keep safe from the outside world.
So happy to have new neighbors in Bellhaven.
gesturing to Tadlo, still a rat, in a cageSo this is how you greet neighbors?
You have one of mine, it seems.
You have two of mine, you mean.
We're here to make an offer. We need our ranks to protect our dens and our warrens to swell. We need what you have. if you share with us, your... resources, we will give back to you your warriors. We only ask for one, per moon.
What happens if we find this disagreeable?
We are here. We're everywhere, leave your house, we are there. Your students venture out, we'll take what we choose. We offer you peace. Don't make us become predators and you the prey.
Our alliance doesn't come with no benefit at all. You become one of us. Our resource becomes your resource. We would guard you from the things below and the things in the night.
What happens when we run out of kids?
You'll find more.
They get the gift of claw and tooth and I get the gift of their memories.
What do you need of those?
They're mine to have.
I know each of my children, this is not one of them, it's yours. In 4 days, there will be a moon; give me mine, and I will give to you yours. We will either have an alliance, or I will become your predator.
We still have to go talk to a bunch of weird wizards tonight too? There's so much going on in this city, so much!
Alright so here me out, we take the kids to the Grand Order. We come back here, plug in the keys, and re-engage the corridor. We leave town shortly thereafter.
So what, do we dress up Ospher with some little kid clothes and we parade him out before we jump him?We went back indoors to get dressed and ready for the evening's meeting. I donned my robes of Jedha The Magistrate , Charity donned something professional looking from the Diplomat's Pack. We met up with Tyrom and he explained with the help of the Oracle of 8th street, they were getting the leaders of each magical faction gathered to meet with us, and all at once, CONTRARY to my expectations. We understood from all this that Tyrom has very strong clout in town, likely from his age and advanced capabilities from his parent's notes. As we walked up, Tyrom introduced all of them (notes below) and I put on my best Ghal Pelori accent.
No pun intended here, but he's transformed how many thousands of people? He's gonna sniff me out immediately.
What is a kid? Someone who is a child at heart? Does Giancarlo or Marike count?
Greetings all of you, thank you for accepting Tyrom's request to meet us tonight and here. It was at the Order of the Basilisk's direction that we asked to meet with all of you and it was at their direction that we were informed of the events in the city. Yesterday, it was brought to our awareness that manacite dealers were being hunted, and initially we were unaware of what this had to do with anything. Eventually we came to the conclusion that somebody had engineered the dealers to cast suspicions upon one another and conspired to let loose a being known as a Bodak. The Bodak was created in such a way to infuse the former body of Ms Adeley Kint, she was murdered in her house and set loose upon those she knew in life. It was created in a fashion that drove it to be fueled for more power as it sought to sustain it's unlife. I believe the person did this did it in her residence after the "instructions" were carved into her did this in her residence, as her entire stock of manacite was missing. It then moved onto Friggi Mathison's house, entered, didn't activate any of his traps, and repeated the process. It then moved onto Mr. Gallow's apartment.
Well who's left, who can we get manacite from?
The remaining dealers are yet alive and still, as far as I am aware, operating out of their usual haunts.
Who are you to be investigating this? What is your place in this tragedy? How do you fit?
We were asked, nothing more.
Well who you represent? Are you Tyrom's?
As I am nascent in my understanding of the orders within the city, I believe you would consider us Chaff.
I know Chaff when I see Chaff, but I think you're connected to Tyrom. I think you're one of his. You wanna call yourselves on your own and you wanna enjoy that neutrality that he's been talking about. I think you're his agent and I think you're training a whole school of Basilisks, is what I think.
What we don't need in the city is untrained magicians trying to run a small army of children. We appreciate your effort, but I think when I speak for everyone when I say we don't need you here.I then mentioned that we had an unfavorable encounter with the Rat King, and I noticed that Red Claw and Auntie Shae both had strong reactions to mention of him, for obvious reasons for Shae's little ones and Red Claw due to the Rat King disrupting the "Forces of Harmony" as I understand it? The leader of the Prismatic Order then asked if we would hunt the rat king on our own, even if no one else helps, to which I eventually replied yes. Tywin then said this was our trial and if we survive, we will be rewarded and if we fail, it proves we're chaff. Mr Basilocke and the leader of the Savages said he'd also offer assistance for us to counteract this threat. We left without anything else to saw to the various and sundry orders. We had a brief conversation with Rowna (noted below) afterwards and the Adamantite Order and Savages said they'd appraise us to the results of their investigation. Here's hoping for some success. Two of our friends back in our grasp, two vials of Greater Restoration. Do we act now and spare them further torture? Or do we hang onto these because our battle with the Rat King could harm myself, Charity or Ospher as well and require these? Does my potential to be able to heal everyone justify holding one of these until the dust settles? This is truly a crisis of faith. The flail snail will arm us with a surprise for the Rat King. Will it be enough to protect a student or do we turn our duplicitous aims elsewhere? Our investigation into the Bodak has left us with the means to imprison the Rat King, albeit temporarily. Our investigation into the ruined farm has given us the insight into runes of long lasting preservation. Sheperd's ill intentioned quest to see the Grace of Sandor has armed us with the knowledge to trap spirits for ages and the rituals necessary to do so. It seems we'll be calling Crisnos to get more information out of that book, presuming he still has it. Now we just need to determine what exactly we'll need to do to defeat the Rat King's swarms of plague rats and abominations. Nisaba guide us through this harrowing journey.
You don't speak for everyone, they are here, the school is here and it should be allowed to exist.
Character(s) interacted with
The Rat King - The Oracle says he is a spirit, a predatory contaigion. It moves to a new host when one is detroyed or withers. Fighting back the hordes will lay it low for a long will, but it will rise again. It must be peeled from its host and swarm, locked into a soul cage and left to wither and be forgotten.
Andre Lurtz of the Black Hammer - A very large man whom I've seen in the temple of Sandor before as a deacon. His titular hammer seems to have consistent wispy haze about it. He haaaates us.
Renneth Crown of the Ebon Orchestra - Dressed in funerary clothes, very prim and proper, sallow of features, sickly and "armed" with a conductor's wand. He was kinda enjoying that someone could create a bodak, until he found out that it wasn't free willed and sought raw mana.
Frennan Valshae of The Harvest Children - Smoking something like cinnamon and chocolate, looks like a halfling but dressed as a Satyr.
Mr. Brick of the Lords of Trentpoole - Very imposing, wears tattered clothing that may have once been very fine. He appears that he could be of frostmerite origin, with most of his exposed skin very scarred.
Lord Solar Tyrwin of The Prismatic Order - He wears a mask of a golden sun and is in robes of gold and blue, symbolism akin to Sandor.
Auntie Shae of the Lilly Street Youth Club "Slashers" - A younger woman possibly around the age of Marike, wears a bandolier of knives, and has a retinue of small children equally equipped.
Rowna, The Oracle of 8th Street - She's blind, her eyes have no iris and singularly is one of the most important people in magical Frial.
Red Claw of The Savage - He is like Mr. Brick, but is covered in tattoos and ritual scarification and his right hand is either painted or tattooed red and his fingernails are very long, akin to a claw.
Joriah Basilocke of The Adamantite Order - An unassuming older gentleman, sitting smoking a pipe. A clear animositiy between him and Andre Lutz. Very polite and open towards us.
Tyrom and Neville of The Order of the Basilisk - You know these guys, why are you reading this? They identified the variant spell on Tadlo and Lorgan and in the meeting we were forced to publicly denounce our ties with them as friendship only. Neither of them really had a problem with that and understood we were rejecting Mr. Brick's suggestion.
Andre Lurtz of the Black Hammer - A very large man whom I've seen in the temple of Sandor before as a deacon. His titular hammer seems to have consistent wispy haze about it. He haaaates us.
Renneth Crown of the Ebon Orchestra - Dressed in funerary clothes, very prim and proper, sallow of features, sickly and "armed" with a conductor's wand. He was kinda enjoying that someone could create a bodak, until he found out that it wasn't free willed and sought raw mana.
Frennan Valshae of The Harvest Children - Smoking something like cinnamon and chocolate, looks like a halfling but dressed as a Satyr.
Mr. Brick of the Lords of Trentpoole - Very imposing, wears tattered clothing that may have once been very fine. He appears that he could be of frostmerite origin, with most of his exposed skin very scarred.
Lord Solar Tyrwin of The Prismatic Order - He wears a mask of a golden sun and is in robes of gold and blue, symbolism akin to Sandor.
Auntie Shae of the Lilly Street Youth Club "Slashers" - A younger woman possibly around the age of Marike, wears a bandolier of knives, and has a retinue of small children equally equipped.
Rowna, The Oracle of 8th Street - She's blind, her eyes have no iris and singularly is one of the most important people in magical Frial.
Red Claw of The Savage - He is like Mr. Brick, but is covered in tattoos and ritual scarification and his right hand is either painted or tattooed red and his fingernails are very long, akin to a claw.
Joriah Basilocke of The Adamantite Order - An unassuming older gentleman, sitting smoking a pipe. A clear animositiy between him and Andre Lutz. Very polite and open towards us.
Tyrom and Neville of The Order of the Basilisk - You know these guys, why are you reading this? They identified the variant spell on Tadlo and Lorgan and in the meeting we were forced to publicly denounce our ties with them as friendship only. Neither of them really had a problem with that and understood we were rejecting Mr. Brick's suggestion.
Created Content
From the email-
The Magic Orders of Frial Order of the Basilisk- Already know them. They are a very small organization compared to the others and largely not considered to be anything more than another of the dozens of tiny groups of little consequence. Their leader, Tyrom, is the only thing that lends them credence among the others. He's well respected, talented, and tries to maintain good relations with all the others. He also tries to mediate disputes and keep peace. As such, the other groups consider him, his fellow members, and the block his book store is on as untouchable. Not because of the direct threat they pose, but because of the multiple angles of potential retaliation. The Black Hammer - Formed by Locklanders and made up of them and local Frialites that believe in the twisted ideology of Lockland. It is led by a fanatic named Andre Lurtz, who is a priest in the temple of Sandor in Frial. The are named after a weapon that Lurtz carries and that is sacred to them, a warhammer that deals fatal damage to non-humans. Their primary area of expertise is evocation and especially fire spells Ebon Orchestra - A cult that believes in the philosophy of the Embracers and that the way forward can only come through undeath. They're obsessed with finding a means of undead immortality. They also believe they can hear a song in the leylines and that it speaks prophecy and omens of the future to them. Their leader, a human named Renneth Crown , is an accomplished organist and conductor who records what he hears into playable music. Necromancy is their specialty and many members are trained bards in the school of whispers The Harvest Children - A group of eccentric, passionate, individuals who believe that the Fae were the way to salvation and that it was a great mistake for the world to turn on them. They try to maintain their traditions and even worship them in a way. Their leader is a halfling named Frennan Valshae (a fae name. His true name is Klem Fallowgert) who dressed as a satyr with a mask, false horns and a furry coat. Enchantment is the primary area of study for many of these members Lords of Trentpoole (The Lot) -Trentpoole is a district of Frial just west of City Center and is known as a lower middleclass, largely residential area. They Lords are violent, often resorting to physical attacks instead of magic. They operate as a gang involved in illicit activities mostly around robbery, kidnapping, and extreme acts of protest. They often clash with the Black Thorn Society, which considers them the one of several key sources of opposition. Their leader is a human male named "Lord" Brick or Mr. Brick. He's often dressed in what might have been a nice outfit if not for the street wear and grime. He's tall, fond of extravagant hats and canes, and known for murdering people with a piece of masonry. They have no specific specialty The Prismatic Order - A group of scholarly, secretive, individuals that believe magic was vital for Tairos' survival. All magic. They seek to study the lore of the old world and find ways to restore the flow of magic somehow. They all wear masks that are symbols of the sun and their leader wears a blazing golden mask and is known as Lord Solar and his name is Tyrwin. He's a very strong, tall, and well built man wearing armor and a cloak of gleaming gold. He carries a warhammer as well. They have no specialty Lily Street Youth Club - Also known as the Lily street gang or Lily street Slashers. They're a group of mostly younger homeless youth and street urchins who specialize in burglary, fencing, robbery, and killings. They are led by a younger woman whom they call Auntie Shae. Shae is not even 20, she's very aggressive when it comes to keeping her kids safe. They have no specialty in magic but are known for fashioning small knives which they hide in their clothes and use to slash and slice people. She is being pressured to ally with the Black Thorn Society The Oracle of 8th Street - This is a single magic user with a few associates, attendants, and allies capable of magic. She is an extremely skilled diviner and reader of prophecy who operates as a simple, humble, fortune teller in a small shop on 8th street in City Center. Her name is Rowna. She's older than most human wizards (in her late 70s/early 80s) and is very well respected by most who consider her and the few blocks around her shop as neutral territory. The Savage- This is a chaotic and motley crew of individuals that prefer to lurk in the abandoned areas of the city and the nearby wilderness. They devotees of the god Atel and pay homage to the totem spirits as well. They're known for brutal acts of robbery and destruction against other magic groups and even non-magical caravans to get the manacite or supplies they need. They seem to consist of nature-magic practitioners such as Rangers and Druids. There is a cleric of Atel who leads them and he's known only as Red Claw. While nature magic is their specialty they are all well trained combatants and also employ the help of forest creatures in their efforts The Adamantite Order- Another group with close ties to the old empire of Balmoral. They believe the old Adamantite Kings were enlightened beings possessing a willpower and knowledge that has long been lost. They study the treaties, teachings, and history of these ancient heroes, fragmented as they are, with the hopes of reaching the same level of enlightenment. Many of the order fall into the category of Monk, Eldritch Knight, or wizard. They're led by a monk named Joriah Basilocke. They clash frequently with the Black Hammer and even the Kreastos and the Grand Order of the Lion, seeing both as being very wishy-washy in regards to truly adhering to the legacy of Balmoral. The Chaff- Not a group but the bottom-barrel leftover that doesn't fit in one of the above listed groups. This can be one-off magic users barely able to cast a spell all the way up to rather infamous individuals like the Rat King, Hadley, and Pudding Speaker. It can also be small families, groups, and teams who share a common goal but even together have little influence. The Order of the Basilisk would perfectly fit what it means for a group to be part of the chaff if not for the respect others have for their leader. Chaff of any true skill are generally absorbed into one of the larger groups or become an enemy of them. Chaff also fall victim to the many threats that face spell casters today such as being abducted by Locklanders looking for magi to experiment on, becoming feed for the Crimson Circle and their master Cladius LeRoche, or simple fall victim to the Queen's Rebuke as their small manacite reserves dwindle.
Ospher's Conversation with Rowna: The Oracle is certainly a lofty title and her position with the magical community seems to be one of great respect but in her presence Ospher feels only the nurturing aura a beloved grandmother could offer. She's kind with her smile and with her empty eyes, managing to be the most welcoming of those assembled here. "Cutting through the veil of possibilities is very taxing and because of it I do ask for compensation but... how could I charge you for a veil I've already pulled aside. This creature that calls itself Rat King is no man. It's a spirit, a predatory contagion, and it only wears the mask of a man. It chooses a new host when the previous one is destroyed or withers. I know you've seen this process yourself, yes? The rat that wears a man? It's paroxysm upon this city, one that's lingered here for longer than most know. It was here when the old Balmorans laid the first bricks and it fed then as it does now on the children of those that came to settle. It ate its fill as rats do, on scraps. And even in those early days there were scraps aplenty. Orphans. Broken homes. The poor. The forgotten. During the war with the fae it glutted itself upon the children left behind by both sides before settling in to slumber. It's only recently that it awoke again, maybe from hunger or maybe called to dine by someone else. That I cannot see. But, it can be fought. A direct battle, with enough force and with enough persistence to see through the destruction of its swarm will certainly lay it low for a while. Buy time. Save some lives. But it will rise again and with a deep hunger from pulling itself back together. It needs to be locked away and left to starve. Peel it from its host and its swarm. Then force it into a soul cage of some kind, then hide it away somewhere dark and forgotten where Rat King can wait out eternity. Tortured by his hunger and the ghosts of those he's devoured." "For those already taken and transformed there is little hope. First you'd have to find the rat they've become and even then you'd have to act quickly for this monster nibbles away at their essence every day till nothing is left of echoes of soul. To return them you'd need the sort of magic that only the gods used to wield (the spell, Greater Restoration) i'm afraid. With their absences... well... it is better that you set their spirit free before the Rat King eats his fill."
The Magic Orders of Frial Order of the Basilisk- Already know them. They are a very small organization compared to the others and largely not considered to be anything more than another of the dozens of tiny groups of little consequence. Their leader, Tyrom, is the only thing that lends them credence among the others. He's well respected, talented, and tries to maintain good relations with all the others. He also tries to mediate disputes and keep peace. As such, the other groups consider him, his fellow members, and the block his book store is on as untouchable. Not because of the direct threat they pose, but because of the multiple angles of potential retaliation. The Black Hammer - Formed by Locklanders and made up of them and local Frialites that believe in the twisted ideology of Lockland. It is led by a fanatic named Andre Lurtz, who is a priest in the temple of Sandor in Frial. The are named after a weapon that Lurtz carries and that is sacred to them, a warhammer that deals fatal damage to non-humans. Their primary area of expertise is evocation and especially fire spells Ebon Orchestra - A cult that believes in the philosophy of the Embracers and that the way forward can only come through undeath. They're obsessed with finding a means of undead immortality. They also believe they can hear a song in the leylines and that it speaks prophecy and omens of the future to them. Their leader, a human named Renneth Crown , is an accomplished organist and conductor who records what he hears into playable music. Necromancy is their specialty and many members are trained bards in the school of whispers The Harvest Children - A group of eccentric, passionate, individuals who believe that the Fae were the way to salvation and that it was a great mistake for the world to turn on them. They try to maintain their traditions and even worship them in a way. Their leader is a halfling named Frennan Valshae (a fae name. His true name is Klem Fallowgert) who dressed as a satyr with a mask, false horns and a furry coat. Enchantment is the primary area of study for many of these members Lords of Trentpoole (The Lot) -Trentpoole is a district of Frial just west of City Center and is known as a lower middleclass, largely residential area. They Lords are violent, often resorting to physical attacks instead of magic. They operate as a gang involved in illicit activities mostly around robbery, kidnapping, and extreme acts of protest. They often clash with the Black Thorn Society, which considers them the one of several key sources of opposition. Their leader is a human male named "Lord" Brick or Mr. Brick. He's often dressed in what might have been a nice outfit if not for the street wear and grime. He's tall, fond of extravagant hats and canes, and known for murdering people with a piece of masonry. They have no specific specialty The Prismatic Order - A group of scholarly, secretive, individuals that believe magic was vital for Tairos' survival. All magic. They seek to study the lore of the old world and find ways to restore the flow of magic somehow. They all wear masks that are symbols of the sun and their leader wears a blazing golden mask and is known as Lord Solar and his name is Tyrwin. He's a very strong, tall, and well built man wearing armor and a cloak of gleaming gold. He carries a warhammer as well. They have no specialty Lily Street Youth Club - Also known as the Lily street gang or Lily street Slashers. They're a group of mostly younger homeless youth and street urchins who specialize in burglary, fencing, robbery, and killings. They are led by a younger woman whom they call Auntie Shae. Shae is not even 20, she's very aggressive when it comes to keeping her kids safe. They have no specialty in magic but are known for fashioning small knives which they hide in their clothes and use to slash and slice people. She is being pressured to ally with the Black Thorn Society The Oracle of 8th Street - This is a single magic user with a few associates, attendants, and allies capable of magic. She is an extremely skilled diviner and reader of prophecy who operates as a simple, humble, fortune teller in a small shop on 8th street in City Center. Her name is Rowna. She's older than most human wizards (in her late 70s/early 80s) and is very well respected by most who consider her and the few blocks around her shop as neutral territory. The Savage- This is a chaotic and motley crew of individuals that prefer to lurk in the abandoned areas of the city and the nearby wilderness. They devotees of the god Atel and pay homage to the totem spirits as well. They're known for brutal acts of robbery and destruction against other magic groups and even non-magical caravans to get the manacite or supplies they need. They seem to consist of nature-magic practitioners such as Rangers and Druids. There is a cleric of Atel who leads them and he's known only as Red Claw. While nature magic is their specialty they are all well trained combatants and also employ the help of forest creatures in their efforts The Adamantite Order- Another group with close ties to the old empire of Balmoral. They believe the old Adamantite Kings were enlightened beings possessing a willpower and knowledge that has long been lost. They study the treaties, teachings, and history of these ancient heroes, fragmented as they are, with the hopes of reaching the same level of enlightenment. Many of the order fall into the category of Monk, Eldritch Knight, or wizard. They're led by a monk named Joriah Basilocke. They clash frequently with the Black Hammer and even the Kreastos and the Grand Order of the Lion, seeing both as being very wishy-washy in regards to truly adhering to the legacy of Balmoral. The Chaff- Not a group but the bottom-barrel leftover that doesn't fit in one of the above listed groups. This can be one-off magic users barely able to cast a spell all the way up to rather infamous individuals like the Rat King, Hadley, and Pudding Speaker. It can also be small families, groups, and teams who share a common goal but even together have little influence. The Order of the Basilisk would perfectly fit what it means for a group to be part of the chaff if not for the respect others have for their leader. Chaff of any true skill are generally absorbed into one of the larger groups or become an enemy of them. Chaff also fall victim to the many threats that face spell casters today such as being abducted by Locklanders looking for magi to experiment on, becoming feed for the Crimson Circle and their master Cladius LeRoche, or simple fall victim to the Queen's Rebuke as their small manacite reserves dwindle.
Ospher's Conversation with Rowna: The Oracle is certainly a lofty title and her position with the magical community seems to be one of great respect but in her presence Ospher feels only the nurturing aura a beloved grandmother could offer. She's kind with her smile and with her empty eyes, managing to be the most welcoming of those assembled here. "Cutting through the veil of possibilities is very taxing and because of it I do ask for compensation but... how could I charge you for a veil I've already pulled aside. This creature that calls itself Rat King is no man. It's a spirit, a predatory contagion, and it only wears the mask of a man. It chooses a new host when the previous one is destroyed or withers. I know you've seen this process yourself, yes? The rat that wears a man? It's paroxysm upon this city, one that's lingered here for longer than most know. It was here when the old Balmorans laid the first bricks and it fed then as it does now on the children of those that came to settle. It ate its fill as rats do, on scraps. And even in those early days there were scraps aplenty. Orphans. Broken homes. The poor. The forgotten. During the war with the fae it glutted itself upon the children left behind by both sides before settling in to slumber. It's only recently that it awoke again, maybe from hunger or maybe called to dine by someone else. That I cannot see. But, it can be fought. A direct battle, with enough force and with enough persistence to see through the destruction of its swarm will certainly lay it low for a while. Buy time. Save some lives. But it will rise again and with a deep hunger from pulling itself back together. It needs to be locked away and left to starve. Peel it from its host and its swarm. Then force it into a soul cage of some kind, then hide it away somewhere dark and forgotten where Rat King can wait out eternity. Tortured by his hunger and the ghosts of those he's devoured." "For those already taken and transformed there is little hope. First you'd have to find the rat they've become and even then you'd have to act quickly for this monster nibbles away at their essence every day till nothing is left of echoes of soul. To return them you'd need the sort of magic that only the gods used to wield (the spell, Greater Restoration) i'm afraid. With their absences... well... it is better that you set their spirit free before the Rat King eats his fill."
