Session 41: Rise of Orcus

General Summary

The Wrong Town

32nd of Wintercrest 22nd year of the Second Era
As The Regulators escaped the exploding temple, ranks of the Cerulean Guard rushed into the area from every direction. Enyon Argall was leading one of the groups and questioned the party about the destruction of the temple. Malcolm explained that the temple was the source of the attack. 
Enyon admitted he never trusted the religion and he wasn't entirely surprised that they were a cover for an evil cult. Malcolm then asked about the state of the town, and Enyon assured him that they had handled the attack with few civilian or guard casualties. "They picked the wrong town to mess with." Enyon then wondered out loud why they had chosen to attack Boheim at all. Malcolm mentioned that the man they had just buried, Alaric, had foiled the plans of the cult and the attack may have been retribution. He then gave a share of the loot from the temple to Enyon telling him it was some of the offering made to the priests. Enyon was taken aback by the unexpected gesture of honesty and generosity, but promised it would be put to appropriate use. 
On the way out of town they noticed the Cerulean guards were already aware of the need to burn the undead cultists to prevent them rising again. They returned to Alaric's old ranch house and spent the night there. 

The Truth About Vampires

33rd of Wintercrest 22nd year of the Second Era
During the night, Malcolm played a prank on Zuko by using the Mask of Many Faces to appear as Alaric standing over his bed; (Zuko having expressed concerns about the house being haunted.) Zuko quickly realized what was going on and attempted to strike Malcolm, but was not fast enough. 
First thing in the morning Malcolm rode back into town realizing that he should inform Enyon that Boheim was not the only place that experienced the attack. Enyon seemed relieved that his town wasn't singled out. 
Malcolm then returned to Serenity and began pouring over the map they took from Ardun Aaryanfar with the magnifying glass that came with it. He found that when the magnifying glass was put over a marking made by Ardun, invisible arcane ink began to appear including both notes and drawing on the map. He checked several rectangle markings which revealed the locations of the tablets along with notes about the party themselves taking them. Some of the notes were clearly before he knew for certain that they were heirs to the original champions. He also highlighted three separate dagger markings, each giving approximate locations of the champions' weapons. One was said to be located somewhere in the Palhas/Frielos region in a temple to Gedia. As they debated which ones to go after first, they also realized they should do some research on the Vampire problem they may soon be dealing with. 

The Archives

The party returned to Palhas City and visited the Archives of Udal. When they arrived, they found the temple was unusually loud and buzzing with frantic activity. Malcolm whistled to get someone's attention, and they were greeted by the scribe that had helped them research the pact Alaric made with Orcus. When he recognized them, he mentioned that he had more information on Orcus as well as many other things since the opening of the Ark of Forbidden Knowledge. They explained that Alaric had been killed, but they managed to get him out of his pact before he died.  
He seemed relieved but warned them he wouldn't be able to do much more than point them in the direction of any information they were looking for. They aske dfor information on Vampires, specific information on the oldest vampires, and rifts to the Realm of the Dead. He pointed them to the right sections and sent them on their way.  
Zuko researched Vampire anatomy, weaknesses and strengths, finding some strategies to assist them in fighting vampires. Meara researched planar rifts, finding that Sinsol Vale was one of the most consistent rifts to the Realm of the Dead.  
Malcolm researched the original vampires, finding information on the three original vampire clans: Rivnaerat, Silas, and Cronzun. The research indicated that vampires turned by them were particularly powerful and dangerous. The eldest were defeated by Hellige Riddere  and entombed in the land of the dead in a parallel version of a temple to Gedia  somewhere on the west coast of Acreomond. The description brought to Zuko's mind the temple where he had lost his connection to the Cormanthor Gisiae. It was located in the Twilight Forest just north of Palhas City. They realized this is also likely the same location where the nearest Champion's weapon is. 

Family Reunion

The party prepared for a possible encounter with vampire's and took Serenity to Hunter's Shade before proceeding into the forest. 
When they had nearly reached the ancient temple, they were surrounded by cloaked figures carrying bows. Zuko caught a glimpse of the leader's face and recognized his adopted father, Myrin. When he called his father's name, Myrin, lowered his bow and was struck speechless. Zuko heard his brother Eroan's voice and was tackled in a bone crushing hug. 
Myrin finally approached, making a comment about Zuko falling in with a bad crowd. He had seen Zuko and the rest of the party leaving the temple in Toresia with the 3rd tablet. He then invited them to talk with him at their camp nearby. They were walked a few minutes away where one of the Cormanthor Gisiae members revealed a hidden rope ladder and brought them into a series of platforms in the tree's above. 
They were given food and drink, and then Zuko explained to his father that he and the other's were Champion's of the Fyra. The only reason they were able to take the tablet was because of their heritage. Myrin apologized for his assumptions, and expressed relief that Zuko had found a worthy calling after being forced to leave the Cormanthor Gisiae. He admitted he always feared Zuko would resent him for sending him off on his own, but Zuko said "Looking back, I think you made the right choice. Myrin told the party that they were in the area because they sensed a disturbance in the temple, possibly from another plane.  
The party filled him in on the Vampire resurrection ritual that may be occurring there. Myrin said that while he and his group could not enter the temple, he would be happy to hold a perimeter around the temple to make sure nothing escapes. Zuko had Malcolm give Myrin a piece of the Scroll of Message, and they proceeded toward the temple. 

Temple of Gedia

As described, the temple was an pentagon shaped cathedral style structure made entirely of ancient trees chapped into walls without killing the trees themselves. Inside, they found a large round room with a stone floor. On the floor was a large ornate seal containing the symbols of the four goddesses of the Fyra. THe symbols were made of a smooth translucent stone. A round balcony overlooked the first floor and contained four arcane  lamps, as well as four colored mirror like devices on tracks. The colors of the mirrors matched the colors the amulets they were given when they became champions of the pantheon. Meara lit the lamps and they discovered that the mirrors were transparent on one side. They lined the mirrors up near the matching symbol on the floors and focused the light into the symbols. 
The center of the seal began to descend into the floor and the party jumped on to ride it below. They found themselves in a dark room so large they couldn't see the walls. The translucent stone that they had lit above continued to carry the light into four pillars that surrounded them, and emitted the light horizontally in random directions. As Zuko prepared to see if the pillars would move, they heard the sound of shattering stone around them, and glowing blue eyes peering out from the dark.  
To Be Continued...

Report Date

20 Dec 2020