another good session, we chose to go later than normal and were able to get in a combat encounter though I still felt it was lacking, the other stuff was fun especially Eioua, probably my favorite part.
The party showed up in the forest, finding it full of Templars of the Balance and some Nuns without borders all gathered by Richard and numbering around 35,000 strong, they were then organized by Godfrey to begin scouring the forest for the location of the The Black Hand hideout.
As they arrived in the forest black spots appeared on their hands, exactly like the one that appeared on Freya's hand before she died during the Red Reunion
The Templars also captured some Cultists of Martius who were led by a man named Len who have been fighting against the Black Hand for several years and were willing to help the Templars get rid of their black spots and fight the Black Hand. The party eventually followed them back to their hideout, finding around 2 dozen cultists living in a spider coocoon where the spiderwebs were made of teeth from a terrible fey spider creature that "ate" vowels, it would turn these vowels from names into teeth, then into silk and could get rid of the mark by removing a vowel and thereby making the person a whole new person
The party met with Senator Altin, a green dragonborn who rules over the Black Forest area for Republic of Rommaco , he was hosting a party in which many small cities and islands were talking about each declaring independence from the Republic to more properly govern themselves, to leave the past behind and forge new friendships with Astrasan through trade and reap the rewards of free commerce without heavy taxation for military spending and such, instead relying on friendly neighbors for protection.
The party was being held now because Isla was away in the Carpathian mountains, speaking with the Kaiser of Junta of Saxony about returning Rommacoan lands to the Republic in a show of goodwill between nations. The Templars attempted to arrest the treasonous senators but Ariange stopped them and asked they send a message to Isla instead and aks her what to do since its her nation.
The party learned that Altin's family was taken out to the Meadric sea by the Black Hand to be held hostage so the Templars couldnt sawy him into giving up any information, however the party agreed to help find his family if he helped them escape Noctolith, the secret city of the Black Hand hidden somewhere in the forest. He plans to accomplish this by staking out the warehouse where he imports supplies for the city.
They also spoke with Correspondence again, who offered Ariange her old rod of the pact keeper and attempted to get the party to join her in Noctolith, saying that she wanted to lead them down there so they could see for themselves the Black Hand does good work and that Bernard deserves his capture. The party initally refused as they met with her in an elven Gypsy camp, the gypsies returning from a bloody "Day of Vonaya" celebration in Castonne. With the eldest elf giving each party member a vision of their future (you can find these pinned in your private channels)
The party and Templars were attacked by strange bleeding skeletons wearing black armor and wielding executioners blades who killed only non-humans, 6 of them attacked the Templars in a distraction while 1 appeared at the main tent as if searching for something. The party was able to stop it from finding whatever it was looking for and as it died it melted away into nothing. Also in the attack was a mist that flowed into and from the trees and a beautiful singing voice that lulled some Templars to sleep.
The party then met with Correspondence again and accepted her invitation into Noctolith, arriving in a strangely advanced city (think a 18th century city) hidden underground with the entrance being a passphrase of "Who do you belong to" with the answer being "Myself" spoken in your native tongue. The entrance is covered by an illuision that is revelead when the passphrase is spoken, although Correspondence informed them the entrance works more like a portal, and its location changes daily. The city is hidden in a ravine deep below the ground, and has tens of thousands of inhabitants, Correspondence led them to a quiet tavern known as the "Withered Widow" where they can whole up while they explore the city.
