KwN.0.1 The Old Ways

Session Preface:

Silence. Porous and poignant. Peaceful in practice, but buffeted by waves of restlessness as you prepare for the the task before you, your first assignment in the official capacity as the Inquisitor Potenia. Decades of training and sacrifice leading to this precipice, the journey which extends beyond to the horizon of potentials undiscovered.
The change of the wind's direction further interrupts your focus as the roaring gust swirls around you, crashing against the surrounding peaks like waves on the shore. Even as you should be deep in meditation, your senses continue to reach beyond your physical form, bombarding your mind with the tangible expressions of the world beyond. Your nostrils fill with the dense musk of the soaked deadwood from the evening prior's downpour. Your tongue tastes the smoke slowly rising from ashes of the campfire. With a single sharp inhale of the brisk air through your nose, you hold this weight and tension within you before slowly releasing the pressure and exhaling gradually, and in doing so draw yourself back deeper into reflection, leaving the external stimuli behind.
Within yourself, you consider what the next days will bring. Still a two day's march from your destination, the journey will surely include the treacherous descent necessary to avoid the greater, more unpredictable threats of these sparsely populated Nether Mountains. And once past the mountains, another day's travel to the city itself. Then finding the contact. The docket appears in your mind's eye effortlessly. Name: Dormas Battlefang. Race: Human Male. Age: Approximately 30 years. Location: Avraathe, Barracks. Title: Battalion Leader of the Platinum Order. Physical: Bald. Green Eyes. Personality: Brass and rash. Mission's Goal: Acquire Assurance of Future Assistance.
A familiarly emotionless yet direct voice invades your mind, breaking the silence abruptly.
"Return at once. Follow The Old Ways."
Your eyes jolt open instinctively, the purple dawn greets you warmly, a deceptive welcome from this dangerous region.
"Well, you heard her," calls Inquisitor Ellisar from his resting spot near the campfire. "Guess I'll be finishing out this mission on my own." The elf stands, sheathes a pair of daggers on his hip and leans against his gleaming greatsword.
"Must be important business if she's calling you back from one of your first jobs out of training. Don't worry about me," the Inquisitor says with a chuckle, "I can handle a meeting with a young paladin in broad daylight. You, on the other hand, the Old Ways? Can't imagine what's filled those tunnels since they were last used. Mind your surroundings. Shieldmaster won't like her newest asset returning in more than one piece, especially if she has work for you."

Session Summary:

Aethuriel descends the Nether Mountains once more and after being waylaid by a particularly nasty storm, returns to Sundabar. Taking the Old Ways, Aethuriel descends into a hidden door in the mausoleum beyond the walls of the city. Among the tombs and hallways, he encounters poisonous snakes and other relatively minor threats, clearing the way for whatever Shieldmaster's purpose may be. Finally he arrives in a large chamber with a giant stone statue of the previous Shieldmaster with a pair of portcullis shut, barring his entry into the Halls of Everlasting Justice.
The statue speaks, warning Aethuriel that the matters at hand are worse than his Shieldmaster knows. He threatens of alliances formed in darkness and wisdom of the past. Finally, the statue demands Aethuriel prove himself worthy and moves to strike the Agent. Eventually besting the stone golem, Aethuriel watches as the shattered stone disintegrates, only to reappear as the intact and stagnant statue he originally encountered. The portcullis then opens and Aethuriel ascends into the Halls in search of his superior.
After briefly speaking with Agent Ymir in the courtyard, Aethuriel proceeds to the Shieldmaster's public office where he reveals the message he received. For the first time in more than a century, Aethuriel watches the Shieldmaster drop her professional veneer. Speaking candidly, Shieldmaster reminisces about when the gods were more active and clear, rather than the vague visions she receives now. She explains the looming orcish threat she is aware of and that she has seen Sundabar burning under dark skies. With all of these visions having come true at some point, and with the grave tidings she received, the Shieldmaster sends Aethuriel to gather the Shields while she goes to speak to the High Council.
Before going their separate ways, the Shieldmaster promotes Aethuriel to the rank of Shield, having completed his first mission in clearing out the Old Ways. She also speaks to him of an investigation he must take on in the journey which will soon unfold.
"The Hellriders. Currently, they are a order of Knights, not so different from us. They primarily worship Torm, but their devotion extends to Helm and Tyr as well. They operate in Elturgard, the righteous nation east of Baldur's Gate and north of the roads to Amn. But it's not their current operations that interest me. Their origins have, unfortunately, been lost to the shifting sands of time and changing winds of history. I have seen glimpses of insights, crumbles of truth, potential secrets unraveling like a spool of parchment in a terrible storm, but the ink is smeared and blotted.
There is a revelation to be brought to light regarding these Hellriders. I believe Helm wishes us to rediscover this knowledge. And I believe the Triad will soon place you upon a path that leads to this secret's source. So as you go forth, keep this in mind and learn all you can. Take careful note of any potential threads you unwind in your travels. Which reminds me, you'll need this."
Presenting Aethuriel his own copy of the Shield's Standard, she sends him on his way to warn the others. The first Shield Aethuriel bumps into happens to be Avri and her dog companion, Fen. Stepping into a closet to speak privately of the matters at hand, the conversation is interrupted by confusion and chaos in the courtyard.
A dense, impenetrable magical darkness spreads over the city like a massive dome. Somewhere above, a draconic shriek tears through the sky like lightning strike. Boulders penetrate the dark barrier, crashing into Sundabar's inner city. One lands nearby, bursting through one of the Hall's spires in its descent. Shattered stained glass, crumbled stone, and twisted metal fly through the sky like falling stars.

Session Overview

Date Played:
September 22, 2020
Party:

• Aethuriel

Time Passed:
Flamerule 7, 1493
NPCs:

• Shield Ellisar
• Ver Makrursk
• Squire Marthen
• Agent Ymir
• Shieldmaster
• Shield Avri

Loot:

• The Shield's Standard