Assault on the Feldsparks

General Summary

After discussing their next steps at the Large Tankard, the group decides to head to the Dwarven Archive, to collect answers on each of their pasts and current circumstances. Before heading out, Kushala asks for a brief respite, so he could finish a new concoction he was working on. Amelia and Fionna decide to pay a visit to Clarissa Zoeller, while Trygve, uninterested by silly letters, heads out in search of Lyssele.   It takes the orc a relatively short amount of time to find his friend. After an emotional conversation, Lyssele agrees to follow Trygve to his room, rather than avoiding him like she had been doing during the better part of the morning.   Meanwhile Amelia and Fionna arrive at the Inns and Outs, where they find the place less rowdy, if not less crowded, than in the prior night. They knock on Clarissa's room and invite the woman to a drink. As per Trygve' s suggestion, the girls lie to their employer, confessing they found no leads on Aire's innocence. Clarissa is saddened by the news, but rewards the team a pair of silver pieces regardless. As Fionna leaves the brooding woman behind, she confides Amelia she felt horrible lying to the woman, despite doing it to keep them safe from would-be assailants.   As they return to the inn, Corvino casually mentions Lyssele sneaked with Trygve into his room. Kushala and Hallie meet up with the group in the commonspace. Before heading out, the naga forces Corvino to consume his latest brew, which almost immediately brings a wave of much needed energy to the human's body.   The five friends make their way through the Gold District, eventually reaching the Dwarven Archive. Inside, they meet Seeker Elmera, member of the Tome Keepers, who briefly explains the rules of the library and the layout of its volumes. Armed with lightstones to aid their research, the group splits, each member heading to distinct sections of the school, each attempting to optimize the little time they have available.   Perhaps the simpler to please, Hallie heads to the art section, where she spends most of the afternoon skimming through the pages of various tomes filled with sketches. Amelia, on the other hand, struggles to find an article related to her interests, eventually settling on a tome titled "Songs of Another Age", rewarding her with more questions, rather than answers. Fionna decides to dwell both on her magical abilities, as well as the nature of Fionn: she finds that few people are capable of mastering Time-magic, especially in Aetheos, and finds an odd connection between her companion and the school of Invocation, as described in "The Art of Invocation in Esas".   Intent on finding the identity of Tesla and the source for the changes taking shape within his body, Corvino searches for Seeker Galkom, who eventually leads the young man to a massive tome called Primal Failure. As he does, the scholar admits he finds the fact that Primals have no soul truly fascinating, a declaration that shakes the very foundations of Corvino.   The curious and inventive Kushala borrows a handful of different titles. He skims through the "Principles of Magic", hoping to help Hallie develop her newfound magical capabilities, and quickly browses the "Essentials of Alteration" in hopes of improving his own art. In the "Vengeful Return", Kushala learns about revenants and their origin, a condition from which he suspects Corvino might be suffering, and in "Strange Conditions" he finds strange similarities between the ogre they had fought days prior and the Fomor.   As their time runs out, Amelia inquires Seeker Elmera about the location of tomes related to Lilin, to which the scholar replies such volumes are stored in the Forbidden Section. Meanwhile, Kushala takes little Hallie to meet Keeper Hjulmor, headmaster of the Tome Keepers. After a brief debate, the dwarf tests Hallie's newfound magical abilities, but cancels the experiment as soon as he notices the faun's exhaustion. The professor warns Kushala that magic does not come to other species as easily as to nagas, reminding him that heedless pursuit of the arcane could have problematic side-effects, as shown in the little girl. However, Keeper Hjulmor admits he'd be willing to train the faun, provided someone payed the tuition fee.   As they meet outside, the group notices Hallie's apparent exhaustion and Kushala admits to having found innate magical potential dwelling within the faun. They briefly discuss having Hallie take private lessons from Keeper Hjulmor before making their way back to The Large Tankard, whilst Hallie rides on Corvino's shoulders.   With the exception of Trygve and Lyssele, the party dines in the inn's common room. Amelia provides some entertainment for the crowds, while Fionna and Corvino decide to take a stroll through the Gold District. As they reach a seemingly abandoned place of worship, Corvino asks his newfound companion for privacy, a request to which Fionna complies. As she hopped between beautiful rooftops while heading towards the marvelous Niswin's Light, where dozens of faithful paid their respects to the defunct Seer, Corvino discharges his magical energy onto his blade, offering an honest prayer to Tesla: if he knew being brought back from the brink would rob him from the chance of meeting his friend in the afterlife, he'd rather have stayed on the ground. Eventually, both friends head back for the day, each crashing in their respective rooms.   As each of our heroes falls asleep, Corvino slowly drifts away into the now-familiar scenario in which Tesla dwells. She playfully pokes at him, commenting there was no need for such strange rituals to contact her, as he needed only to call. When he asks the Primal about his accumulated fatigue, she casually dismisses the issue, mentioning that's a side-effect of him not having energy. Corvino retells the concerns he had expressed in his prayer, to which Tesla assures him he had nothing to worry about.   In a different chamber, Amelia and Fionna are startled awake by a new cryptic message. This time around, the girls decide to write a reply in the piece of papyrus, which is promptly acknowledged by an entity who identifies itself as Nur'zi. Nur'zi attempts to persuade the group to return to Kor Doguhm, to retrieve a "key" from the obelisk they had uncovered. Despite the girls reluctance in accepting the task, Nur'zi shows interest in meeting them in person, revealing he/she'd be awaiting them in Novaria at the Stepping Stones Orphanage, following the 20th of Nua.   With the dawn of a new day, the group heads to the Black Sanctum, leaving both Hallie and Lyssele at the Large Tankard. Upon reaching the fortification, they meet Thornyl, member of the Blackguard, who takes them to meet Hubrim. At the commander's office, Hubrim reveals he handed the ledger the group had found near the Great Waterworks to House Ironeye, for safekeeping. The dwarf also appears to have obtained a search warrant from Heiress Lyesri, which would allow the group to search the Feldspark's clan grounds. The seven fighters then head towards the Clan Mound, forcing security to let them through and approaching the Feldspark Manor directly.   Hubrim brashly demands an audience with Ebdam Feldspark, a demand to which the two posted guards are forced to comply. After brief instants, Ebdam himself meets the group, accompanied by half a dozen men. The blackguard's leader gets straight to the point: he informs the man that he stands accused of smuggling darklings into the city proper. Despite the group's attempts to reach a peaceful resolution, the Feldspark proves to be hotheaded and reckless, refusing to listen to reasonable arguments and solely focused on the allegations he perceived as an insult on his family's honor, going as far as calling Hubrim a senile old fool who spent too much time away from the front line.   A fierce battle breaks out. One member of Hubrim's guard blasts the group with a series of arcane blasts, severely injuring the heroes as Ebdam himself charges into the frey, wielding his mighty battle hammer. Corvino is gravely injured, but manages to disarm Ebdam impairing the offensive power of the Feldspark force while Trygve and Hubrim swiftly dealt with the man's lackeys. Eventually, the rival forces are defeated and Ebdam surrenders, ordering his remaining men to lay down their weapons and bracing himself for the interrogation that would soon follow.