Session 77: To Palen
General Summary
After the Trial of Strength, we wake in our safe house to the sound of a bustling city. The guard at the door has changed. Liv wishes to see Gea'har to deliver her gift, but we're not sure visiting the palace is possible; he had much to attend to and the expectation was we would leave the city in the morning.
A visitor arrives while we're discussing this: Aran'ia, presumably a mage from her attire and a name we had heard from the magic user who said that she had the ability to dispel magic. She said the city wishes to express gratitude and gives us a box of currency containing differen coins.
400 Ank: small bronze rectangles
100 Obol: cobalt coloured
10 Baracs: Silver discs
Dhaer thanks her as we don't have that currency so it will be useful.
Liv asks to speak to Aran'ia privately about her heritage and magic, explaining she had recently found her magic was linked to the god of storms, Ogrim. Aran'ia is aware of the elemental lords but not very knowledgeable on them; very little knowledge of what's "up there" since the Cataclysm, and that most drow aren't fond of brighter environments. She says Palen has an impressive library that may help, and archives but the archives are more restricted to high ranking officials.
Rel asked about the guard she saw outside her door, that it didn't look like a guard at all. Aran'ia explained it was a crystal construct; they do understand common but don't speak.
She also asked if any outsides had come through; none that Aran'ia is aware of.
We leave the city, taking the track to the right, following the curve of the rock and path upwards. Dhaer summons dancing lights. Around the middle of the day, Dhaer stops and holds a hand up to gesture for us to do the same, dismissing dancing lights. We hide behind a rock and he uses Pass Without A Trace.
Everyone except Robyn sees a large creature moving under the water. After a few minutes, it breaks the water with a splash, and there's a sound unlike anything we've ever heard. Peni sees an immense wyrm with no eyes that he can see, a maw full of teeth, scaled armour plating all the way down and a tentacle like growth out of its side.
After it leaves, we continue in darkness until the cavern goes into a tunnel and the water ends. Further up this tunnel, we find a spot to take a break.
Rel asks if we're expecting patrols for Palen; Dhaer answers maybe some, but less likely with the incursions as their forces are stretched, and patrols towards Daegoth are less concerning.
What was the thing in the river? "Potential death."
Talk a bit of Haven; Dhaer says that he's been there as long as Haven has, but not clear how long that was (Rel and Liv don't know how long Haven has been around).
Dhaer notes Peni's talents with magic; Peni said it's more that he knows what he wants to do and it comes out in a magical way. He knew he wanted to help, but also that he's vulnerable, so his wishes manifested as the spawn. Dhaer says that it is exciting to find new power, but sometimes its better the devil you know.
When asked about his powers, Dhaer reminds us that his are divine gifts of Vekata, a demon queen of the Abyssal plane, but they are normally only gifted to females. As a male with divine gifts, by decree he should have been killed. To his knowledge he's the only one that got out alive. Drow as a populace generally follow Vekata, though it seems the Night Mother has gone a different way.
Liv asks if Dhaer can talk to Vekata; he can, if he wished, using commune. Peni's magic is definitely not the same as what he and Liv can do.
Rel asks what the goal is when we get to Palen: to help them deal with their incursions so Daegoth and Palen can mount a joint assault on Karlaith. Dhaer is unsure if it was unfortunate or planned what happened to Daegoth.
The incursions in Palen have broken through the cavern system on the western side where all agriculture is housed. Some agriculture systems have been lost, and simply sealing the caversn would cut off a third of the agricultural supply.
Robyn asks if Vekata could help find a demon on her plane; he explains to kill a demon you have to go to their plane. Rel warns against bargaining with a god.
Peni notices a faint green tear, like the one where he first found the section of the sceptre where he went on a journey through time. He has similar flashbacks of green fields and strange creatures, but touching the tear hurts. Liv usings detect magic but its no school that she knows.
Rel notices a figure sat in the tunnel further down, still and silent like they blend into shadow, around fifty feet away. He approaches, wearing dark plate and a helmet that goes over his eyes. He's carrying two scimitars with longer handles than normal.
Dhaer remarks that its one incredible patrol he has sent, and introduces Commander Illai'han of House Palen. He says he can hear the tear, but doesn't know what it is. Peni pokes it again but only gets the same pain and same push and pull feeling; speculates that he can't do anything more without the sceptre. He tries words in Abyssal and Infernal and no response from either.
While discusing it, the Commander kills one of the creatures that hug the wall that was behind Robyn and tells us to stop messing around.
We travel a bit further before finding a suitable cave to rest in, with the door stone-shaped shut. Rel asks Dhaer if the Commander is always that terse; Dhaer says he doesn't know him well as he has limited dealings with him in the city. He's always masked, and as high as anyone can get in Palen without being a noble. He's lost a lot of people to these incursions and wants to get them sorted, so his frustration is understandable. He leads the military in Palen, which shows how seriously they're taking their assistance - and the safety of the envoy of House Palen.
In the morning we continue towards House Palen with the Commander 30-40ft ahead. The stone changes from dirty brown rock to a lighter sand colour. At the crest of the tunnel we see an archway with guards either side wearing similar but less elaborate armour than the commander.
Through the archway, we can see the city spanning beyond, similar in enormity as Daegoth but sprawling and flat by comparison. Some buildings dominate the skyline to the east and west; the palace and temple respectively.
The Commander speaks to Dhaer in undercommon before heading off into the city. Dhaer explains that he has been requested to give a briefing as to what happened in House Daegoth. He can send us a message when he needs us.
The city is split into 3 districts; Temple, Oasis and Palace.
Each has a tavern with the Oasis district being the cheapest. All the area directly in front of us and northwards is Oasis. The Palace is to the east, and Temple to the west. The city is dimly lit with torches.
Walking around there are no signs of other humans, but there are tieflings of varying skin tones, shapes and sizes - about 1 in 20 seem to be Tiefling. Peni is excited to ask about them and find out more.
In the centre of the Oasis distrct we find where the main thoroughfare of shops are, and the taven, The Sand's Heart. Inside the two rooms are merged together with curved roofs, looking like the top of a heart. In the corner is a small stage.
The drow behind the bar has mainly grey skin with white patches on his neck and face, one red eye and one purple, black hair and a partial blonde patch. He introduces himself as Istodor, the proprietor of The Sand's Heart, and home to the finest meals in the oasis district. The Oasis is right below the Shifting Sands of the surface, hence the name Sand's Heart.
We take two of the three rooms available, for three nights. He also offers companionship should we wish it.
Peni asks about Tieflings, and Istodor asks his chef, Wrath, to join them. Wrath has dark blue skin, filed down horns and yellow eyes. Peni explains he's just learned that he's not the only one of his kind, and has some basic questions.
Wrath is taken aback at first and asks if he's joking, but does answer some of his questions. There's a few hundred in the city but he's not sure exactly; he just works in the kitchen. He was born from tieflings, and his parents passed a few years back. The only colours of tiefling he hasn't really seen before are green or yellow.
Peni asks if there are tieflings in other drow cities; mainly just in Palen where they are welcome, but that wasn't always the case. A few centuries ago, they were seen as second class, but that's changed since the Warden came into power a couple of hundred years ago. He suggests Peni visit the library or archive to learn more.
Rel and Liv enjoy a hot bath and discuss whether they should ask about Elirith or Xun; if putting the name Elirith out will flush them out or scare them off. One for when we've dealt with the incursions.
The band arrive, and while they're singing in undercommon, the music is enjoyable and it's nice to have a restful night :D
11-12th Proviso
DRAFT
We left House Daegoth
Avoided something death-wyrm-lyke with lots of teeth
Found another mystery tear in reality but Peni didn't have his stick so looks like it didn't do anything
Met Commander Illidan
Dhaer left us to our own devices at the entrance to Palen
Peni found out he's not the only tiefling in the plane
Had a good chat with Istador and got lodgings at the Sands Heart
The band had a hurdy-gurdy <3
Report Date
11 Mar 2021
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