Episode 57: The Empty Night
General Summary
| Quest | fin | What's up with that? | fin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gather the Divine Raiments | 5 of 9 | Veritas Immortalis | |
| Empower the Raiments | 2 of 9 | The Voices |
Clocks
| Event | Segments |
|---|---|
| Marx designs system for dropping and pulling up | 19 of 40 |
| Vlask's network uncovers a lead on a spelljamming helm (days) | 26 of 35 |
| Pharos' Goblin Lessons (days) | 36 of 63 |
| Valan's smithing proficiency (days) |
Recap
Greenbloom 25 to Highsun 14, 3033: Year of Darkness
There are no moons in the sky. The Aurora is quiet, it's shimmer dimmed to the lowest it can be. It is an Empty Night; a celestial event occurring approximately once a month that sees Felicitis and Faustus each in their new moon phase, and the Aurora shifting beyond the Horizon. It is the one night Andali is truly dark.
This is the night on which the Flamebringers found themselves fleeing the Fulminarian capital. A storm raged overhead as sturmdren, heavily armored troop carriers of Red Mountain design, patrolled in low search patterns, looking for the Flamebringers. Rushed out of the city by Dyvin, a druid of the Green Nest who was once a bandit the party saved on their journey to track down the Vagabond, they took to the woods along the Synphiria River. Dodging searchlights and natural hindrances, they returned to the ship with minimal issue; though Valan did get winded and twist his ankle, but we can blame that on his reuniting with his estranged partner Aisha. Current Aisha is much less affectionate with Valan than future Aisha.
The ship was surrounded by Wraiths, and Valan sought to distract them for a moment with an illusion so the party could sneak aboard. But in that moment, they learned that the Wraiths have truesight. Because of course they do. The illusion didn't distract them, but it did put them on alert, and the party had to rush past them onto the ship, aided by Charles' thunderous arrival. The party quickly took to the sky, Vanderlith guiding the Sunstrider above the clouds, followed by the Moonbreaker, to escape detection.
Inevitable War Comes Again
Fleeing the borders of the Fulminarian Empire, the Flamebringers came across a contingent of warforged, foot soldiers on the ground, a sturmdren above them. They were spotted, and the sturmdren moved into an attack position. Charles and Pharos flew to intercept, Pharos banishing a warforged that moved to attack them when they landed on the ship's covered roof. Below, the sturmdren's cannons fired, two main and two auxiliary. Tyra launched two fireballs at the iron clad in response, tearing it open and revealing the human captain inside, as well as racks of warforged. The ship began to fall from the sky, but as it did, Pharos grabbed the local Compendium from the captain as Charles killed him (as well as every warforged on the ship with Clap & Flash). Crushing the Compendium, Pharos freed the warforged attached to it.
They took a moment to regroup, speaking with the now freed warforged. One, Diulta, was on their ship with his companion. The Flamebringers learned that the main guns on the sturmdren fire warforged; a payload and boarding party all in one. On the ground, warforged were tearing their Fulminarian patches off of their sleeves, replacing them with Flamebringer patches that Tyra ran to the Hollow Mountain to fetch. The group of Ironborn talked about calling themselves the Stormborn, and traveling across the empire to free others like them. While the Flamebringers discouraged them from doing anything rash... it wouldn't be so bad if a few supply lines were disrupted, if Fulminaria truly was mobilizing against Aurelia.
Downtime
The Flamebringers have 19 days of downtime as they travel over the Rumbling Plains of Fulminaria.
The Silent Soliloquy Downtime
The City of the Sun
Every time the Flamebringers returned to Helorix, the city is in even more of a state of lockdown. Now, with open war on the horizon, it is even more so. Citizens scurried from shop to shop, spending as little time out in the open as they could. Instead of lone guards, full squads of soldiers patrolled the walls. More battalions come in from Aegos every day. The harbor is filled with naval vessels bristling with weaponry. And Leonidas leads training exercises near the airfields.
The Stormfront is coming.
Homestead 24, 3032Arcanus is a beautiful city. I am always impressed with the resilience of the Andalian people, regardless of what empire they belong to. I would say I am proud of my people, the wood elves, for what they have become, but I don't think I can call them my people anymore. They have grown into something far more. It has been almost two hundred years since the Night of Tears, and in that time the drow have created their own culture, their own art. Though confined in one city, they have found ways to flourish.
But I still echoes of what they were. Their metal gardens are woven into patterns handed down through generations of groves. The reaching skyscrapers share architectural notes with the treant conclaves. Their cuisine uses the same spices.
I have avoided this city since the Fall, but something about this visit has given me some resolution. Not absolution, but peace. Maybe it gives me hope because I can see I didn't destroy my peoples' spirit. Maybe it gives me hope because I see myself in this city.
Missions/Quests Completed
Valan's smithing proficiency. Congratulations! At long last, you are a smith of the Hollow Mountain.
Notes
Valan Sildurflame
Charles Aurus Valoric
Tyra Dawnbreaker
Olette Etienne
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