1.27: Arcana Finale

General Summary

Epilogue

Tristian

Tristian spoke with Captain Sultana and was politely rejected, as the aasimar apparently had some religious and personal matters that were more important to him.
He spent the next ten months staying at his apartment above the previous site of The Unopened Box while not traveling with the Baron's entourage, encouraging rich nobles to visit. He even wrote a masterful jingle for Creedence's distillery. He also got to know Klaus a bit more on these journeys.

Without being in use, The Lost Miner's Pickaxe, Luja Saed disappeared, leaving a topaz with an Instant Summons in it. It returned to Lient'roc, to be found by the next person who needed it.

Creedence

Creedence's distillery was reasonable successful in the coming months. By the end of ten months, he had begun selling a barrel-aged liquor based on Ibsen-cha, the invigorating liqueur of the Chelu-kaan. His small-batch concoctions were often shared at The Lodge among his friends, and with the Baron giving out samples to noblemen and Tristian's catchy jingle, his name was reaching more people than ever...

Coris

Coris worked with both the Bush and the Wayside Divisions of the City Guard. He went undercover to gain the trust of the crew of The Silver Current, the ship he suspects is involved with the missing Waterdavian girls. He worked with Caydense to learn more about Chelu-kaan culture and know his way around the forest. After some time, Caydense even gave him permission to use a Chelu-kaan identity in certain circumstances. He gained a closer relationship with the higher ranking members of the City Guard, especially Gherd.

Coris also suggested the party (namely himself, Tristian, Creedence, Cheni, and Sultana) each get pins or pendants (or, in Creedence's case, cufflinks) to signify their friendship and the adventure they had. Each had a custom symbol emblazoned before a greatsword. Coris in particular wears his so his friends always know who he is, no matter what face he wears.

Cheni

Cheni became closer friends with Terin and Gerry, as they are some of the only people she could speak frankly with about what happened. She worked with him and Khalog to help revitalize the Chelu-kaan arts of forging.

She found a more tangible and more openly spoken about presence of Chelor in the coming months. Small groups have even begun worshipping in public.

Port Shimmerly

The city grew significantly over the next months. Houses were built and the party settled in and watched as the Tenements filled with young immigrants and their families. Street vendors and artisans sold their wares in streetside booths while more buildings were raised. Wealthy visitors brought predictable influxes of cash during holidays, and some of them built there.

Henrietta built an outdoor biergarten, and many nights were spent enjoying the salty sea air among good friends and good food. Sometimes it got a bit rowdy — the men of the Brick Division are sometimes volatile, but generally things are handled well enough. Mother Featherton did her part to fill the gap Lord Understone left, arranging clandestine meetings in her room (although she was careful and never indulged people’s worst appetites).

Most of you saw somewhat little of Sultana. Following the trial, he took about a month off to settle “some matters of faith”, traveling through Lient’roc on his own (with permission of the Chelu-kaan Council). Cheni likely ran into him several times on this sojourn in the forest. You witnessed him meditating in remote cenotes near Kraalo, and once noticed a large platinum coin identical to the one you got from Akarael in the basin in Senot Tik. Otherwise, he left no trace of his passing. When he returned to town, he looked sickly, as if he had been underground for an extended amount of time, but his eyes burned a brighter orange-gold than you had seen them before. He quickly returned to full strength, but the otherworldly glow stayed with him.

The End of Murder at the Lodge!

See you next time in... The Ascension of Chelor*!

Title subject to change ;)

The Trial

Rhotel's trial began about a tenday after the party returns to Port Shimmerly. The trial was presided over by the Baron's court and a jury of seven randomly selected Port Shimmerly citizens (two nobles, two business owners, two laborers, and one gaurd). All ranking members of the guard attended, as well as Sulphier, Henrietta, and Henry Harrison. The sentencing was to be decided by Baron Ivan Iverfort and General Fiona Stoneshard, with advice from John Rhosos (who once served in a legal firm in Waterdeep) and Altunc, the most prominent member of the Chelu-kaan Council.
Tristian testified, attempting to persuade the jury by reminding them that Corker was not a good person, and that his removal is more likely to help the community than hurt it. Coris testified that Rhotel should be held less responsible due to the influence of Nai'ral. The party was almost able to sway the decision, but ultimately Rhotel was found guilty.
To resolve the question of Rhotel's escape the night after his verdict before his sentencing, we worked together to craft a story using tarot cards as inspiration.

The Escape

1. The Fool (Reversed) -- A world-weary traveler faces a challenging and risk-laden journey...
   Rhotel got out of his bindings and exited the cellar in Castle Iverfort where he had been imprisoned, not knowing what dangers lay ahead.
   
2. The Emperor -- A masculine prescence could present a danger or an opportunity...
   With a roll of the dice, it was not the potential ally Altunc, but the Baron who discovered Rhotel's escape as he searched for a midnight bottle of wine. Rhotel managed to escape the house, but the alarm had been raised; they were looking for him.
3. The Hermit -- The power of solitude lends him strength...
   Rhotel finds the streets empty as he passes from shadow to shadow. He avoids even the Temple of Kraa'thom, where he might have found shelter, instead heading straight out of town toward Lient'roc.
4. Strength -- Intelligence and resourcefulness are a man's strongest attributes...
   Rhotel strategically avoids the roads as he traverses the open clear-cut area between the edge of Port Shimmerly and the relative safety of the woods. His confidence in his resourcefulness gives him an edge over the brute strength of the city guards who look for him in all the wrong places.
5. Wheel of Fortune -- The wheel of fortune turns and a man's ill-luck is broken...
   Rhotel's fortunes turn as misfortune befalls the guardsmen as they search for the fugitive. The Chelu-kaan Captain Caydense, a person who might have fallen on either side of the issue, sympathizes with Rhotel and doesn't send the Bush division out with as much vigor as he might have. Rhotel's travel through Lient'roc is uneventful as his expertise on wilderness survival hides him from danger. He makes it to Chelu-ka in one piece.

Report Date

11 Aug 2021

Primary Location

Port Shimmerly: Town