Session Report 43

General Summary

After an epic battle against Nephris, the Muskrats delved farther into the dungeon and found Nephris’s living quarters and his study. There the Muskrats discovered research notes, letters, and other documents that described the subject of Nephris’s work in the Shore of Dusk. These writings detailed the research into golems, fiends, and aberrations that Nephris was conducting, and that Tritemeus had begun to increase his research endeavors in Ashenfall. The notes that Nephris kept described a deep sense of jealously towards Tritemeus. This jealously stemmed from Tritemeus acquiring the Cursed Arm of Asmes. In an attempt to match the might of Tritemeus, Nephris implanted a stem from the Tree of Serenity, but had begun to struggle against the will of a new being fighting for control of his body. The Muskrats also discovered Selus Glig, who agreed to restore Sauvek’s humanity. The party finished their looting and set off for Wulkan to meet with Zorron.
Cambio’s investigation into Tritemeus yields some significant information. The first piece of information Cambio finds is that Tritemeus had a lab on the northern side of Kingdom of Tortoi on the outskirts of a town called Tortuga. This was the first lab that Tritemeus had created and it was devoted to the creation of golems and research into the Astral Plane. The former was to create defenses for the lab and the second purpose was intended to result in a map of the Astral Plane. Tritemeus would create golems here but his attempts to map the Astral Plane failed due to the way the plane functions, therefore making the goal of mapping it impossible. Cambio also learned in Tortuga that Tritemeus took a liking to a certain Tortle child in the area and began a remedial instruction of magic for the child. No one remembers the name of the child. What people in the town do remember is that Tritemeus took a lover in Tortuga. One of the few human women in Tortuga became entangled with Tritemeus in a love filled summer. Her name was Mazapal Zuhe. At some point Mazapal and Tritemeus had a falling out and he killed her. He and his associates fled the island and left the lab behind in a haste. They attempted to destroy whatever they could but some evidence was left behind.
Cambio was also able to the piece the following information together from Mazapal's sister Lethi, who learned secrets of Tritemeus from Mazapal before her death, and the evidence that Lethi collected from the lab after Mazapal's death. Lethi told Cambio that Tritemeus had plans to build labs and expand his network beyond Tortoi. His primary plans were to construct labs in the Pradera (where Cambio was held) and Ashenfall because of their remote locations. Perhaps most importantly Cambio learned that Tritemeus is a bastard child of Emperor Vaxidor Xestra of the Eltenweiss Empire. The Emperor had denied Tritemeus the benefit of his recognition of him as his child. The Emperor would fund Tritemeus' education, but Tritemeus grew resentful of the true royal children and began to plot for vengeance. As a young adult he attempted to create his first golem by using his mother. The attempt would fail and Tritemeus was forced to flee from Eltenweiss to Tortoi. Zonraven was gifted a ruined temple by Lord Zorron, and tasked with establishing a center for the worship of Helm. Slowly, Zonraven began the process of reconstructing and spreading the influence of Helm to new worshippers. One of the benefactors of Zonraven’s new Temple of Helm was an adult Bronze Dragon, Homner the Hungry, who had come from a destroyed world to discover that his new found home was a dangerous location for a dragon to exist. Zonraven and Homner forged a pact to work together for their goals.
Sauvek spent his time away from the Muskrats transitioning from being an undead to once again living and breathing as a truly alive being. Furthermore, Sauvek began to attract followers and established a barbarian camp known as the Eldurians. Sauvek would deploy his men to the civil war in the Morrand Alliance to fight on the side of the rebels. Shade was gifted a large tract of land in the Fire Forest to maintain as a warden. To maintain the pristine quality of the land, Shade constructed a lodge, and individuals drawn by his renown began to pour in. Not all of these followers were living, however, and there are rumors that a ghost now haunts the woods of Shade’s domain. Lord Zorron favored Tev the most, and presented named him a Baron and awarded him a keep between Vladdingmore, and the Morrand Alliance. The keep falling in disputed territories between the countries meant that Tev was to establish the dominance of Vladdingmore, and House Vassa in the region. Tev’s goal of amassing an army has been forestalled by a flood of ambassadors from various locations who seek favors, trade, and military support. Rather than forming his own army, Tev now has foreign troops under his command.
After fourteen months of time spent apart, the Muskrats gathered in Wulkan to continue their work. They met with Lord Zorron, and determined that their next course of action was to continue their pursuit of Tritemeus. This would draw the Muskrats to Ashenfall. Obtaining passage to the region proved to be difficult however, as few captains were willing to ferry anyone to the island. Rowdy passengers, fears of dragons, and increased earthquakes and volcanic eruptions scared any captain away. The Muskrats did find two Halfling captains willing to ferry the party across the Aqu Strait.
The journey would prove to be far from safe. As the party was nearly halfway across the Strait, rough waves and currents began to rock the small keel boats. Figures deep below the water could be seen. Suddenly, tridents began to pierce the bottom of the boats, and a Triton appeared. Introducing himself as Jhilis from House Zuvaloth. He had come to issue a warning that the Muskrats should not continue their journey to Ashenfall. The Triton offered to ferry the Muskrats back to Ashenfall should they decide to turn back. Being defiant as ever the Muskrats chose to push on in great part due to the fiery nature of Tev.
The journey would take many more hours than expected as the Muskrats battled sinking ships and raising water. They would feebly dock in Port Varme, a small settlement on Ashenfall. They had finally reached the charred and desolate landscape that is Ashenfall. Seeking rest, food, and drink, the Muskrats headed to the Ash House, a tavern in the settlement. There they would meet a Fire Genasi named Ember. Ember had significant experience as a guide in the valleys and offered to provide her service free of charge to the Muskrats in exchange for helping her find Embry, a Dwarven engineer that she was assisting with a mapmaking project. He had gone missing recently, and Ember had not been able to track him down. Taking a night for rest, the Muskrats set out the following morning and began their treacherous journey to the valleys of Ashenfall. The Muskrats began to approach the final Black Blades outpost before reaching the interior of Ashenfall in a place called the Gates to Ashenfall. As the outpost came into sight, it was apparent that it had been destroyed in an attack. A magma flow cut through the small valley that the outpost sat in and as the Muskrats neared, they saw a hulking figure begin to rise from the lava.

Report Date

06 Feb 2022