Session LXI: A Needed Respite

General Summary

Following Rorvux's death and Vivrah's subsequent threat, the party gets a much needed rest.

Notes

With everyone having successfully exfiltrated from Setax Hold, Gaunter arrived promptly, freezing time for everyone but Ren. She repeated attempted to challenge him to a game, as they had learned so long ago was a way to break his contract, but he refused to accept, instead taking her ability to reproduce and extending the full payment until Vivrah was slain. When time was unfrozen, the party rushed to her aid, as she was badly wounded, and they gathered with Yamma to head back to Kaer Nyssen. Once there, they agreed with Khiale to rest for an hour, then discuss damage reports and their path forward.
Going their separate ways, the party took their hour rest. Ulric, tending to Ren in the infirmary, told her that he planned to leave in a few months, to go on a voyage to find anything on their planet that could help them fight Vivrah when He came. He told her that he was telling her first to gauge how the rest of the party might react, but she was understanding, and had one request: he return when Vivrah arrived. Ulric told her that that had been the plan all along, and Ren reminded him of the sending stone she had given him in Valdura, and he said he would bring a scroll of teleport with him so as to be able to come back anytime they need him.
Back in his monastery, and absolutely exhausted, Yamma found Celrih, who had been waiting for him. She helped him to his bed, and congratulated him on his victory, joking about how splendid the mana bomb's fireworks had been. She noted it had devastated nearly half the planet, and Yamma repeatedly said he wished he had seen it, to which Celrih repeatedly informed him that he would've been vaporized had he stayed. She then told him about the League's plan going forward, and how they were designing something called the "Vindicem Mundis," an uber advanced scrying sensor array to scan the entire solar system, and warn of any extrasolar threats approaching. It would allow Emaxus at least some warning before Vivrah's arrival, which could be the difference between victory or defeat, and they intended to place several receiving arrays planetside at key locations, such as Kaer Nyssen and Khiale's tower, to receive the warning signal. Yamma then passed out, and Celrih joined him.
After an hour passed, the Silver Dawn, joined by Riktor, Kyra, Ulric, and eventually Xarreus and Khiale, regrouped in the war room. Once there, Khiale noted that, on planetside there had been little to no casualties, as the Vindicaars had kept most all forces from landing at all. Meanwhile, on Setax-side, all but Khiale, Ulric, and Xarreus had been slain. She then noted that all of the High Vindicators had been prepared to lay down their lives for Emaxus, and it was a small price to pay for the massive blow they had inflicted. Xarreus did note the reckless abandon with which the terrible creatures they had faced fought, and sorrowfully joked that he did not look forward to fighting more.
After this, the makeshift war council agreed that they needed some magical expertise to help plan their step forward, which prompted Riktor, by means of sending, to reach out to his friend in the League. Archmage Caiphine then teleported to them, and the council referred to him for arcane insight. He told them of the resounding success the mana bomb had been, and how the League estimated no more than .1% of the total population of Setax Hold had survived, but then shared that the League had also heard what Vivrah had said, considering they were watching the fight. Khiale nodded in agreement, having heard it as well. Caiphine explained that the League had been monitoring Vivrah for a long time, and how His forces had been in a four year war with some great alien empire, but no more than an hour after His threat to the Dawn, his entire fleet had vanished, literally disappearing from the face of the universe. Caiphine then shared that the League had essentially settled on the fact that the Silver Dawn was the only true hope to stop Vivrah Himself, as it didn't matter how many of His forces were destroyed if He remained, and how they were going all-in to aid the Dawn in any manner they could. And along this vein, Caiphine then shared the plans about the Vindicem Mundis, telling the rest of the council what Celrih had already told Yamma.
After this, Khiale echoed Caiphine and the League's sentiment, and explained that she would lay down the life of every single Lotorian if it meant saving countless other worlds from suffering the same fate. Caiphine and Khiale were in agreement that, if Emaxus was to become a divine battleground, they would at least win, no matter the cost. Caiphine also shared that, should the need arise, the League was devising plans based on what they had gathered about Vivrah's flagship for an end-all-be-all omega strike into the heart of His throne. Yamma questioned why they couldn't simply go to it, to which Caiphine briefly explained the paracausal nature of the flagship, and how it frankly defied all known functions of the universe and the Weave. Caiphine then excused himself, noting that, should they need any help, they knew where to reach the League, before teleporting away.
Before they departed as well, Xarreus shared something he and Khiale had been discussing: him becoming an Exarch again. He explained that, with the fall of the Court, literally every single Exarch aside from Khiale was dead, and Khiale had offered him the position of the Exarch of Peace, to supercede the rest of the Exarch system. He also explained that he had agreed, and would be leaving for Valdura immediately. He went around the council, giving the party hugs and saying his farewells, and moved to leave, before Ren stopped him and reminded him to not be a stranger. He said he would never, and that this would give them a good reason to visit Valdura, before leaving. The party then took a much needed, nearly twenty four hour rest, and the next day, Riktor approached with a proposition.
He had drafted a contract allowing for the Silver Dawn to give him a huge amount of gold (around fifty thousand) so he could construct his own tower for arcane study, and invest in a large amount of spells to improve the defensive capabilities of Kaer Nyssen, as well as some quality of life features, such as a teleportation circle. The contract also had a clause allowing Riktor to join the Dawn after one year time, and pay them back seventy five thousand gold over the course of twenty years. The party slightly mocked him for the contract, instead giving him instant membership, to which he was pleasantly surprised, and immediately set about his work.
Kyra also joined in a fashion she will RP at the beginning of next session.
Nine months passed, with each member hanging around Kaer Nyssen, for the most part. Jared oversaw the investment in and development of docks in Kaer Nyssen's bay, and then the construction of three full-sized warships to the song of seventy five thousand gold pieces. Over the nine months, the party invested their lump sum of over two hundred thousand gold in huge upgrades across the board at Kaer Nyssen, renovating their various artisan shops, as well as their own structures, causing huge changes in Kaer Nyssen proper and the rapidly growing village surrounding it (see: Kaer Nyssen). Yamma spent most of his time training in his monastery, while Ren went out and developed a connection with the Unknown Syndicate, successfully establishing a contact. Jared and Riktor spent the overwhelming majority of their time in their respective places of magical affinity, researching spells, though the former did eventually begin tutoring his retainer, Yoranise, in the ways of druidism. Jory spent a significant portion of the time with his family near Newbury, and when he was in Kaer Nyssen, he began experimenting further with his advanced methods of potion distribution.
What awaits the party in Ahura? And how long do they have until Vivrah arrives?

Report Date

02 Feb 2020