Chapter 5, Session 4: The Brazen Citadel
General Summary
The party took watches as they rested up. Sigholdt Sofiasson and Esmerae spotted The Merry Men also on watch. As night fell, Esmerae watched as the sliver of moon turned orange, and the sky rained ash while geysers of fire shot out from the water in the distance, another omen of The Long Night. It all faded by the morning. The party got breakfast and spoke with Man with Gunblade, learning his name was Chauris and he was an ex-member of The Honour Blades . He confirmed the satyr woman from the mansion in Bloomwilt was an active honourguard named Elaryan. Her role was shadowguard (spy/assassin business), though she was supposedly an honourable person. Chauris told the party that the reason he was no longer an honourguard was because he had failed his duty 6-7 months before when an assassin reached Emperor Honour (though the emperor supposedly killed them). The party realised this was the same time that Honour Blade Xanthier's oath was broken and suspected Chauris had failed more than he’d realised. After regrouping, the party decided on the next steps and checked in on Hermione of Vallea . After Peregrine told off the party for giving away their names to the public so often despite the majority of the group being hunted, the group decided to visit the Citadel of Brazen Knowledge , particularly as trying to hunt down Hermione’s ex-Woven Providence assassin wasn’t a good idea at that point.
Upon reaching the space, the party were met by four ink spirits of varying personalities. Sigholdt went to research Planar-Forges with Iron, Esmerae researched vampires with Darkness, Malus went with Cloudy to look at Fairy Tales, Hermione also went with a Cloudy to look at The Woven Providence, while Peregrine went with Bronze to look up Daphne.
Planar Forge: There are many origin stories, and they are like mini dungeons, with talk of madness and terror in diary entries. The centre has a well where a person can enter. Supposedly, it will grant your wishes but will take something from you - ignorance is punished. They work with dreams and nightmares, hence why The Waking can use them to some degree. They trick, mislead and assault senses. The nature of the journey depends on the Quori/Nocta Mori - but it is always deadly and trapped. There is one dead Forge on an island to the west. Sigholdt learned Iron and the other ink spirits were amalgamations of experiences made by Lux - Iron was Lux and Red, while Cloudy was Aliana and Cassius.
Vampires: Esmerae researched any vampire history from Thornden to Kaechaek, including how old Kae vampire lore is compared to Thornden lore. Most of the lore stems from Vallea, where a vampire known as The First resides. Due to the Chaining, not many were in Thornden, and now they’ve been thoroughly routed with Orcus. The last sighting of the First was in Caer Dathyl. There was a spike of vampire presence in Kaechaek in the last 100 years. In the lowest level of Caer Dathyl it is known as the Dread Level, where the First is a Dread Lord of vampires. They are supposedly on the search for one to take their mantle from them, and created the Teneted rules to unite vampires: survival of the fittest. Around 100-150 years ago, they sent the vampires to Kaechaek to find The Twin Peak Dawn .
Fairy Tales: Malus asked who was The Sleeping King, learning that there were lots of opinions on this: a King of Luyarnha who went to war against Dreams and Nightmares; a war of succession; the moon; a giant metaphor. Most opinions are negative, claiming he was a warmonger/aggressor or a tragic hero buried in blood and loss. Pronouns vary for the Sleeping King. Some say they will appear in Long Nights, some say that their appearance will signal the final Long Night. The Sleeping King is linked to the silvered Dream Woven. Luyarnhans were a moon-blessed people. Malus asked about tentacle monsters in a boy. Cloudy had no clue, though he believed many Luyarnhans became dreams and nightmares due to their experiences/proximity.
Hermione changed her mind and instead chose to look into The Hidden Isles, particularly their creation and the event leading to their secrecy. They were a hub/centre for wizarding prowess, where people could see and interact with 'Arc' magic - reaching and aspiring, both physically and literally. The wizards experimented to make cities that were self-sustaining and used this magic to try and reach the Arc, triggering an unnatural disaster.
Hermione also looked into the Woven Providence: Only hierarchy = the REader as the leader, no other structure. She brought in the rule that only one could claim a name - if killed by their target, no others could hunt the target unless their name appeared again, implying Fate wants them doubly dead.
Daphne: Cassius’ journal implied the Harbingers were too hasty in the Daphne contract. He believed they could have worked better with her/gotten through to her toward the end of his life. Before she was the Discarded, when she was an angelic advisor, she gifted a group of researchers in the Inkbowl a hell-touched stone for a spell of real potency. To speak to her, we either have to visit the 9th level of Hell or Contact Other Plane.
The party regrouped and shared their information before deciding to finish up the rest of their time in Varne Gate resting. When ready to travel again, they planned to head to the Nocta Mori Planar Forge nearby, then to Inkbowl, then North. Sigholdt brought up the book-soulcages from Sancturay that he still had, and on Bronze’s advisement, tore them up, possibly freeing the soul? As the party left the building, Peregrine used True Sight, spotting silver lines on the ground webbing across the street. As some of the lines whirled in a circle, the rest of the party watched the ground in the same space ‘breathe’, open, and swallow a halfling. It’s advancing!
Rewards Granted
Fucking SHITLOADS of lore.
Report Date
04 Mar 2025
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