Session #28: The Ritual Secrets

The party dusted themselves off from the battle, and decided to go out into the woods that surround Korth to make a copy of the ritual. Doing so took the better part of the day - Azeri did the copying while Edge and Taumir stood guard. As evening drew on, they returned to town and made plans to make their way to Fairhaven. They debated several methods, but in the end decided on the way that was fastest, and remarkably also the cheapest - lightning rail. They knew there was a price on their heads, but they also knew that the upheaval of the war and the House Deneith succession crisis provided enough cover noise that they could probably slip through town unnoticed. Still, they took no chances, and arrived and boarded seperately.

The three day journey to Fairhaven was for once, completely uneventful. They did however learn some important world news: Breland had attacked Droaam. The Eldeen Reaches responded by saying they will remain neutral. Some responded to this by saying it means they are cowards, hiding behind the Byeshk Mountains where Droaam can’t harass them. Zilargo started locking down its borders – it sees this conflict as a particularly bad omen, as Nymm is supposed to a month under the mark of hospitality and forgiveness.

On the 6th day of Nymm, the party arrived in Fairhaven. The University of Wynarn was closed already, so they found an inn and settled in for the night. The next morning, 7 Nymm, they followed Tselem onto campus to the office of Miri, a human woman who had been one of Tselem's teachers of magic. She was a sweet middle-aged lady who was happy to see her student again and to meet the newcomers.

After the pleasantries were aside, they showed the ritual to Miri. She was initially very skeptical that they had what they said they did, but after looking it over she realized to her astonishment that they had something extremely rare and valuable. Tselem asked if there was a way to create a counter-ritual, one that removes dragonmarks. Miri said through her shock that every ritual has its opposite, but it would require some very powerful magic, far beyond her knowledge. She said she might know where to look up some information on such things though - the restricted section of the library.

The party and Miri made their way to the library, then down several flights of stairs into a dusty, gloomy basement. As they made to enter the room at this level. they were suddenly attacked! Almost a dozen mummies emerged from the walls and set upon them! Miri was just as surprised, and joined in the fight, but she was no adventurer, and contributed very little, though she managed not to die. The party cut through their attackers and blasted them back into dust.

Rewards

• 4,750 XP each. Time to level up!

Session #27: The Uncertainty of the Victors

When the dawn came, the party deliberated for quite a while, trying to decide what to do next. Many different goals were proposed, and at times different party members were quite opposite in what they wanted to see happen with this ritual. In the end, they decided they needed more information than they had now, so they decided to travel to Fairhaven. Tselem wanted to know if there were ways to reverse the ritual and make it so they could remove dragonmarks, and believed his old teachers at the University of Wynarn could help. Taumir was less focused on the ritual's political uses and more interested in learning more about what his people had been seeking, but felt that Tselem was on the right track. Azeri had grown quite tired of politics and dragonmarks, but was interested in the Wynarn library, so agreed to come along. Edge felt this whole adventure was ill-advised, but was not ready to abandon the group.

As the party made ready to travel to Fairhaven, they were suddenly attacked by four human-looking individuals. The fight was intense, and vicious, and the party was thrown off balance by the fact that their enemies seemed almost to be swiping at them with claws more than attacking them with weapons. As the strangers began to falter at the party's tenacious counter-attack, however, these villains began to reveal themselves as Rakshasa, shape-changing tiger-like creatures. The battle left the party drained, but when it was done, the party remained standing, and their enemies all lay dead.

Rewards

• 4,800 XP each.
• 10,300 GP total.

Session #26: The Greed of the Mror Holds

The party had several hours to kill before the return portal opened up, so they settled in for the night. It was uneventful, and the next mid-morning (2 Nymm), they stepped through the portal and arrived back at the Goradra Gap. From there, Vondal invited them to come to his home in Frostmantle for a celebration dinner, which they accepted. He arranged for another portal, and they stepped through to arrive in his living room.

Vondal's home was no mansion, but very fine and spacious. Vondal invited them to make themselves at home, and said he would summon them when it was dinner time. The party explored the house, availed themselves of the generous library, and wondered what their next move would be.

When dinner came, Vondal had invited a few of his friends, but made no introductions. The party asked him what was to happen next, and it became clear that Vondal was cutting them out of the deal they had made. He had no intention of democratizing dragonmarks - he wanted to sell them to the highest bidder! The party left the dinner feeling annoyed and betrayed, and resolved to do something about it that evening.

Around midnight, while all the rest slept, the party awoke. Azeri made ready to cast a portal while the rest searched for where Vondal had hidden the ritual. After some doing, they found a locked box in a locked room in the basement that seemed the most likely culprit. As they headed back upstairs though, Vondal was alerted to their prescence and came after them. A short but intense battle ensued. It was cut short by Azeri casting the portal and bringing the party to Korth, and closing it before Vondal could follow them through.

The party, now in Korth in the very wee hours of the morning of 3 Nymm, found a inn and set to work opening the locked box. To their delight and relief, it contained the ritual they sought!

Rewards

• 1,000 XP each.
• 1,800 GP total (looted while searching)

Session #25: The Quest for more money

Vondal explained that to perform the Grant Dragonmark ritual that the Whisper Wood elves had developed, they would need moon slivers. Moon slivers are pieces of the seventh moon that fell to earth and burned into diamonds as they fell. They are actually not too hard to find because they fall with some regularity onto the northern island of Orthoss. However, a century ago, a group of Driders (evil spider centaurs) moved in and claimed the Stargrounds as their own, and now kill any who try to come and collect moon slivers.

The party was unintimidated, and said they were ready to leave anytime. Vondal led them to the House Orien teleportation station nearby. (There were no fixed portals on Orthoss, but Vondal's money had allowed him to buy a premium service where House Orien will try to return them from the spot they were 'dropped off'' until they either return or their bodies are recovered.)

Within moments of arriving in Orthoss, four Driders attacked. Vondal hid behind a tree and left the party to contend with the creatures. They didn't exactly make short work of them, but by the time evening fell on this 1st day of Nymm, the Driders were all dead, and the party was still alive.

Rewards

• 4,000 XP each. Time to level up!
• You collected approximately 1,000 moon slivers (total). They're worth about 5 GP each on the open market.

Session #24: The People of the Plains

The party wailed on the Lizardfolk - their numbers were intimidating, but the fight went in the party's favor. At one point, one of them attempted to attack Tselem, at which point Edge shielded his ally by stabbing the lizardfolk through the chest and slinging its corpse across the field! Needless to say, within just a few short minutes, the party stood victorious!

As the dust settled, they realized their victory was a little Pyrrhic - the lizardfolk had slaughtered all the crew of the ship. The party found themselves alone and unattended on the docks that evening. They decided to heck with their mission, and beat it out of town, spending the night in one of the the pleasant forests that surround Newthrone.

The next day (19 Dravago), the party decided that not only did they not want to have anything to do with Newthrone and/or Riedra annexing the Talenta Plains, they also weren't going to sit idly by while it happened. They decided to try and contact the leadership of the halfling clans that roamed the Plains, so they made their way through the forests and trails of Q'barra, and then though the passes of the Endworld Mountains, and arrived on the other side, at the edge of the Blade Desert, three days later, on the evening of 22 Dravago. The next day was spent wandering the Desert, trying to get in contact with one of the halfling clans. It would be another day however (mid morning on 24 Dravago) before they finally caught up to one,

The halfing caravan, which appeared to be a family of traders, was curious and cautious but friendly to the party. One of the first people they met was a girl named Shaena, who directed them to her father. From these two the party learned that a great gathering of the clans was taking place in just a day or two, and the leader of the clans would be meeting with his fellow chieftains. The party decided this was the perfect opportunity to give their warning, and asked if they could come along to the gathering, to which Shaena's clan agreed.

The travelers arrived at the gathering place late that evening. Some of the party decided to get a feel of the camp, and wandered around, listening for gossip and news. As they were doing so, they ran into a dwarf named Travok. He was amiable, and told the party how he was there to try and make a business deal with the clans. In the course of conversation, Taumir asked if he knew anything about the 13th moon. Travok tried to hide his interest and even outright astonishment, but the party could tell they'd hit a nerve. Travok said his employer, one Vondal, would be extremely interested in meeting the party, and would they like to accompany him once the gathering was over? The party agreed, then went to bed.

The gathering the next day was a sight to behold. It was a bustling bazaar, a grand festival, a political rally, and a family reunion all rolled into one. The party was able to gain an audience with the 'president' of the clans, and gave their warning that Q'barra might attempt to invade. He thanked them for their warning and promised to take it seriously.

The next morning (26 Dravago), as the clans were beginning to pack up and depart, Travok approached them and asked if they still wanted to travel with him to meet Vondal. They said they did, and they all departed for the Ironroot Mountains. The journey took a few days, and they did not arrive at the Goradra Gap until 1 Nymm. A trading post sat there, nestled under the intimidating peaks that guarded the way to the Mror Holds, the dwarven lands. There they were met by Vondal.

Vondal was in fact extremely excited to see them. It turned out that he had at one point been very involved with the work of the Whisper Wood elves. He knew as the party did that they had developed a way to give dragonmarks to any person. Vondal saw this is a big opportunity, a way to shift the balance of power in this world in a serious way, to end the monopoly the Draongmarked had over the rest of the people of the world. He persuaded the party to join him in his goal of making the Whisper Wood elves' technique available to everyone. The party was naturally a little cautious, but they felt Vondal was being honest with them, and Taumir especially was excited to be reconnecting with his past after all this time.

There were still some things that had to be done before they could truly begin though, as Vondal began to explain...

Rewards

• 3,500 XP each.
• 4,400 GP total.
• You found an Amulet of Protection +4 (p. 249 PHB).

Session #23: The Arrogance of the Strangers

Lanamelk led the party through the bustling streets of Dar Reinoth to the Palace of the Three, the Inspired god-queens of the Reidra. As they walked, the party kept their eyes and ears sharp for the news of Khorvaire that was circulating. They learned that just a day or two ago, House Deneith had learned of Zelian's death in Droaam. They'd tried to keep in quiet, but within 24 hours everyone knew, and now tensions were escalating extremely rapidly. Everyone was blaming Droaam for the assassination, thinking this land of monsters was trying to undermine the Five Kingdoms. Breland, Droaam's neighbor, was especially incensed and on the warpath. Meanwhile, House Deneith itself has been thrown into turmoil, as Zelian had deliberately hoarded power and not groomed any heir, so now his lieutenants were squabbling amongst themselves, trying to gain control.

With these matters weighing heavily on their minds, the party entered the Palace of the Three. They had a lot of time to mull them over, as there were a lot of formality and ceremonies that they were required to pass through before they were admitted into the presence of the Three.

In the grand throne room, the Three sat impassive on their dais, while an Inspired male stood at the foot of the dais, announcing himself as the Voice of the Three, and translating between Common and Quori (which was all the Three would speak, and never directly to the party, which they couldn't understand anyway). The Voice relayed a message of great arrogance and condescension, and a order. The Three wanted the party to return to Khorvaire and persuade the king of New Galifar (part of the nation of Q'barra) to use the current turmoil as a platform to expand his influence, particularly over the neighboring Talenta Plains. Their stated reason was that this would bring greater stability and civilization to Khorvaire - privately, the party was aware that Redira had significant ties to Q'barra that were certainly driving this course of action.

The party had questions, and reservations, but it quickly became apparent they were not being asked. Unwilling to get into a fight at this time, they decided to accept, believing they could slip away from the Three's influence once they were back home. They then retired to the chambers that the Three had provided for them. The night passed uneventfully. (Taumir sent along a question about the Thirteenth Moon, and got a curt brush-off the next morning.)

The next morning, 13 Dravago, Lanamelk and some of her fellow Inspired Guardians came and escorted the party down to the docks, where they promptly set sail for Khorvaire! The trip was long, five days in the making. In their boredom, the party considered going to Xen'dirk instead, and seeking fame and fortune there, but decided they'd rather get home instead.

It was evening on 18 Dravago when they docked at Newthrone. Almost as soon as they disembarked, Lizardfolk began to swarm out of the sea around them and attacked! A huge crowd of them rushed the party, pinning them down in a swamp of bodies. Little did the lizardfolk know that this just made it easier for the party to hit more of them at once!

Rewards
XP and GP will be awarded when the battle is over.

Session #22: The Unintentional Heretics

As the forest fell silent, the party decided to try and find some sort of civilization in this strange land. They easily found a well-used but humble road, and followed it north for an hour or two. They found a tiny farming village, but decided not to risk any entanglements with the locals that evening. They camped outside of town and rested after the fight.

The next morning, 10 Dravago, they were awakened by the sounds of the farmers getting up to go about their daily labors. (The farmer's fields were to the west of the village, so the party had to actively go into town to meet someone.) They hailed a farmer who called himself Zara - he was surprised to see them, and a little perplexed by the sight of Edge, but he seemed unafraid. He said the name of this village was Tranor, in the empire of Reidra. When asked questions about this land and this nation, he seemed both uninterested and unaware of much of anything beyond his village and his fields. He did suggest they travel to the capital city of Dar Reinoth, saying individuals of their mettle and skills would be valued by the Inspired, the mysterious rulers of his country. He then bid them farewell and headed off to his day of honest labor.

The party couldn't think of much else to pursue, so they decided to take Zara's advice. First though, they decided to head back to the clearing where they'd left the dragon's corpse and harvest the skin and scales. It was messy work, especially for Edge. The trip there and back and the time butchering the dead beast cost them most of the morning.

By mid-afternoon, the party had traveled a dozen miles or so north of Tranor when they saw three figures approaching from a distance. They were wary, but didn't see many places or reasons to hide themselves, so they decided to meet the strangers as they came. This proved to be a bad decision, as the three strangers, who were all kalashtar women, were servants of a race called the Inspired, who rule Riedra and had outlawed all worship of anything but the Path of the Inspired. Azeri, cleric of Ioun, was clearly not a follower of such. The women attacked with almost no warning, determined to bring her  and the rest of the party down. However, they quickly found themselves outmatched - the party slew two and was able to intimate the last into surrendering.

The remaining woman's name was Lanamelk. When she learned that the party was from Khorvaire, she softened her stance, and like Zara, said her masters would be greatly interested in meeting them. She offered to travel with them to  Dar Reinoth and make introductions there. The party agreed, feeling that they could escape from or kill Lanamelk relatively easily should the need arise.

The party and Lanamelk traveled north and west for the rest of the day, and camped overnight. The next day, 11 Dravago, they traveled for a few more hours before reaching a mid-sized city around mid-day. The party entertained the notion of slipping away from her while there, and Azeri did manage to sneak away long enough to buy some spell components, but in the end party decided to see their journey to the capital through. The afternoon and early evening passed uneventfully, and they all spent the night in an obscure country inn along the highway.

Around noon the next day (12 Dravago), the travelers arrived in Dar Reinoth, a great bustling metropolis. As they journeyed towards the center of town with Lanamelk, they listened to the crowds around them. It didn't take them long to discover that the big news, even here, was that Khorvaire was on the brink of war!

Rewards

• 2,500 XP each. Time to level up!
• 4,000 GP total.