Session 19 - History Lessons
General Summary
38 of Planting - Cont.
Recovered from the anhkeg fight, Janora once again began leading the party in the direction of Foxhall. Jilken took tailguard and kept an eye out for new dangers, but it was Denye who let out an excited caw and pointed off to the south. For once, the excitement was not an enemy, but rather the remains of a ruined tower perched on an upthrust of rock.Intrigued, the party decided to take a small detour to explore. After winding their way among the rocks, they came to the base of the pillar and found the remains of several stone buildings that seemed to have survived in various states of disrepair. Two stories of a single tower was all that remained standing of a larger building, bisected when the Cataclysm had wracked the land. Several additional outbuildings stood as well, although several were missing roof or wall.
Denye quickly began ritual casting Detect Magic while the others took a quick look around. As the spell took effect, she immediately heard the deep bass note of evocation magic, as well as a softer ringing of illusion. within the tower. Running forward to the others, she shared this insight and moving quietly, Jilken and Denye stepped up to the tower and peered into the darkened interior.
A quick survey showed little other than a crumbling staircase leading up and a rotting wooden desk below an open window. There were also a number of thin, flexible, transparent sheets that lay scattered among the desiccated wood and across the rubble strewn floor. Seeing little of interest here, Jilken began making her way up the stairs, testing each with the butt of her lightning spear before trusting it with her weight. Surprisingly sound, she made her way up to the second level. Denye followed in her wake, mimicking the elf's movement and watching intently, clearly trying to understand what Jilken was doing.
Janora and Ell entered behind the other two, leaving Janora's enormous St. Bernard to stand watch. Ell quickly stepped over to the desk and cast Mage Hand to rummage around through the sheets. When nothing happened, the young noble used the hand to pick up several and bring them over so he could sate his curiosity.
The papers, for that was what they appeared to be although not a paper Ell had ever seen, proved to be reports in a Common so archaic even Ell with his blessing of language struggled to read. Without looking up he said, "This was a garrison of Kelveren's army, looks like maybe a resupply station or something. There are reports on troop movements, drills among the guard, requisitions, and even a few reports of the villages that they were 'overseeing.'"
Finally raising his head, he saw that everyone was already upstairs. Grabbing a few more handfuls of the sheets, Ell stuck them in his satchel before following. The late afternoon sun streamed in from the open roof of the tower. Glancing around, the room was half filled with rubble...and it was clear from the whiteish stains on some of the rocks that it was often visited by the local bird population.
Denye's Detect Magic had led them directly to the chest, half buried under a fallen slab, which the other three were studying when Ell approached. The warlock asked, "Has anyone touched it yet?"
"Not yet," replied Janora, "but give me just a second." Focusing their mind, they cast Find Traps. With a sigh, the witch opened their eyes and said, "Well, the lock is trapped, but everything else looks clean. I think we can touch it, but picking the lock might do something. Anybody know how to disarm traps?"
Denye danced a bit excitedly, "I do and it shouldn't trigger the trap." Pointing a talon at the lock, Denye chanted three words and the lock flipped open as a loud knock echoed out into the late afternoon sky. Ell and Jilken pulled it out of the rubble and using his Mage Hand, Ell pushed the lid up as Janora stepped up to look inside.
The case itself was of a dull grey metal and there was a ring of soft rubbery material around the inside of the lid. There was more, although stiffer, in the bottom of the case with series of depressions that held items. On top however was a set of papers, these more normal parchment, as well as an odd rectangular sheet of quartz, inlaid with silver runes across one end.
As Janora picked it up to examine, the quartz lit up and pages of text shimmered across its surface. Responsive to the touch, there appears to be several books worth of knowledge contained within the strange device. Handing the glowing quartz to Ell, the witch pulled out a bent metal rod. Made of a strange black/silver metal, it was about 8" long with one end curving down at a 30 degree angle. The straight end was open, although nothing could be seen inside. Two amethyst cabochons were set into the sides, just before the bend and a glowing red crystal fit into a socket on the end. Above the depression where the rod had lain were several smaller cradles that held four more of the glowing gems. Marveling at the strange magic devices that the ancients made and trying to figure out what they might do.
Deciding that they would study them more later, Jilken disarmed the trap inside and closed the lid before shoving it in her pack. Everyone headed carefully down the stairs and back out into the open space between the buildings. Running over, Denye poked her head into the other large building that seemed to have mostly survived.
The largish room was filled with debris. Some the expected rubble and broken remains of ancient furniture. But also rotting food and piles of bone. In the light from the door, she could make out a large empty nest surrounded by bones against one wall, with a second nest of hides against the far wall.
As Denye was about to pull back, the teasing ring of charm magic caught her attention. Calling out to her friends, "Hold on, I think I found something else" the small wizard dashed into the room and toward the bone pile where the magic lay hidden.
With a sigh, Jilken stepped into the building just as Denye pulled a largish Cervan skull from the tangle. The skull still had one prong attached and wrapped around it was a bronze disk attached to a ribbon. It was the disc that held the spell and as Denye saw it, she knew exactly what it was, a token of homecoming from the Alderheart.
With a sad trill, Denye unwound the ribbon and slipped the charm in her pocket. Turning to Jilken she started to say, "All right, we can go," but was cut off by the sound of two deep, enraged bellows. Ell and Janora, who had been standing with the horses, looked up and saw two shaggy, whitish beasts, on the rock outcropping above. With a second roar of anger, both creatures jumped down, coming at the party from two sides.
Now that the beasts were closer, it was easier to make out a few details. The white shaggy fur covered a 9ft tall body. Largely gorilla shaped, with a wide flat nose and sharp tusks. It was the four arms however which seemed to catch everyone's attention. With another roar that shook the stones, both girallions began beating their fists against their chests.
Ell was the first to respond and tried to calm the beasts, promising to leave quickly. Getting no real response, he backed up toward the others. Denye ran out of the building and seeing the brutes, summoned up a cloud of tiny meteors that began whirling around her head. Pulling the token out of her pocket she shook it at the large beast and shouted, "Did you do this? Are you why they can't come HOME?"
Jilken stepped out of the door and leveled her heavy crossbow. "This isn't working, they just keep getting more aggressive. I don't think we are going to resolve this with words." With a grin she pulled a second crossbow bolt out and stuck it in her teeth. Prepared, she fired the first bolt and no sooner had it buried itself in the shoulder of the animal than the second bolt was flying at the creature. This one buried itself part way in one of the upper arms as the Aiel fighter ducked back out of sight behind the door.
The enraged girallion rushed at the party taking vicious swipes at both Denye and Ell. His companion flanked the party and attempted to bite in the St. Bernard's neck, but the large dog danced out of the way of the creature.
Janora darted forward and circled past Denye and the girallion. Lifting thier dogstaff, they attempted to cast Chill Touch, but the spectral paw fizzled out before it could even properly form. With a snarl, the witch called out to their mount, yelling "Speak!!" The dog's legs locked into the place and took a deep breath before letting out an earsplitting "WOOF." The monster behind it flew down the road and on to its back as a nearby corner of the building crumbling in on itself.
Ell raised both hands, which shook slightly although it was hard to tell if it from fear, anger, or the blow he'd just taken, and fired two Eldritch Blasts into the beast's face. One went wide, but the other struck it full in the face, sending the giant ape flying backwards. As it did so, Denye swung out with her quarterstaff and struck the beast across the chest. With an angry squawk, the Corvum wizard sent three magic missiles flying after it. The large beast landed against the wall of the building, more of the roof and walls falling from the impact.
Jilken dodged some of the fallen debris and leaned out of the doorway. Muttering something under her breath, she brought up her crossbow as the bolt began throbbing with an angry red light. Taking careful aim, the elf buried the bolt in the creatures ear and with a loud POP! the girallon's head exploded. Seeing this the second girallon turned and ran off. Jilken was all for giving chase, but the others talked her out of it.
"Fine, but let's check out the other two buildings quickly." suggested Jilken. "We've found treasure in both of the places we've looked. There might be more."
Janora sigh, "Make it quick, I want to get out of here in case he comes back with friends."
The first building appeared to have been a blacksmith of some kind, but part of the back wall has collapsed into the forge. A number of stone shelves stand empty, but in one corner Jilken found a medium sized chest mostly covered by falling rock. Digging it free, she examined the lock for a moment before turning to Denye, "Can you do that knock again?"
The young wizard shook her head. "Between the fight earlier and this one, I'm out of spells for the day."
Nodding, the fighter turned to Ell, "How bout you? Maybe you could pick the lock with your Mage Hand so you don't have to get too close in case it's trapped."
Looking a bit spooked at the word trapped, Ell cautiously agreed to give it a go and send the invisible hand over with a few of the tools. A few moments later and with a click, the lock flipped open. Jilken pushed open the lid. Inside she found scale mail tunic, made of small, black ceramic disks. Picking it up the armor proved to be much lighter than expected, and the dark elf let a small cry of surprise...which quickly turned into a feral grin.
Under the armor was a second item, a blood red cloak of heavy velvet with soft black fur around the collar. A small eclipsed star, Kelveren's sigil, was embroidered over the heart. A second, much larger star covered the back of the cloak.
Bundling the armor in the cloak, Jilken stuffed both into her pack and darted over to the other building. It looked like it had perhaps been a stable once, but the roof had caved in and only two walls were left standing. Shaking her head Jilken started heading back toward the others as Janora and their mount started walking toward Foxhall
Several hours later, not too long after sunset, found the party pushing open the door of the Glittering Cup, the local inn. Run by a stocky dwarf by the name of Haveral Glimmerdust, the tavern is overwhelmingly comfortable, with lush cushioning on every surface that could potentially be used as a seat. The large bar is stocked with a wide array of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
Negotiating room and board, the party found themselves a table and quickly devoured bowls of fish stew. Sated, the party began asking around about local rumors. Ell made the first move, wandering over to the stage where an elven woman with long dark curls was setting up several instruments. The bard, who introduced herself as Dara, confirmed the rumor that all the rats and mice had vanished, as well as several cats and dogs. Beyond that the only thing she was able to share was that there was some sort of weird energy on the southern side of town. Satisfied, Ell flipped her several gold for her time.
Meanwhile back at the table, Janora picked up their tankard and slid into a seat at a table full of sailors with a subtle, "Buy me a drink, sailor?" That got a hearty laugh from the half-dozen sailors.
The beefy human man next to them turned to look at Janora and ask, "Ain't that a drink in your hand?"
Without breaking eye contact, Janora quaffed the ale and slammed the tankard down on the table. "Not anymore," the witch replied with a broad grin.
The grizzly sailor let out another guffaw and slapped Janora across the back, "I like you." Raising the hand in the air, he directed his next words to the bartender, "'Nother round for the table."
Janora asked about strange goings on in the town, but it seemed this group had only come in this afternoon. The ship was delivering some trade goods and picking up supplies before heading to Dreford. Undissuaded, Janora began trading tales and joined them round for round.
Jilken and Ell slipped up to their rooms and Denye was about to follow when Janora stumbled over and throwing an arm around the wizard, drunkenly said, "Don't leave yet, they asked me to sing...so I'm gonna. You should stay and listen." With that the tipsy witch marched up to the stage and began a healthy rendition of 'A Hedgehog Can Never Be Buggered'.
Denye just shook her head in puzzlement and headed up to the room she was sharing with Jilken. Before bed she spent some time examining the magical pipe and crystals that the party had found. Using her arcane knowledge she was able to puzzle out that the pipe was a force pistol and the glowing crystals held charges. Satisfied and intrigued, she climbed into bed just in time for the blinding headache to hit her.
In the other room, Ell was likewise examining the magic slate. It seemed to contain two books as well as several collection of notes and documents, including a folder of REALLY bad poetry. One of the books appeared to be a tome on alchemy, the other was much more interesting, a copy of the army handbook.
Physically it is a quartz rectangle, roughly 8"x4" and perhaps 1/2" thick. A band of silver runs along the sides and at one end is a thicker silver plate with several ruins etched into the surface. Along the bottom was a small depression that looked like it could hold something...similar to the socket on the pistol. Upon examination the runes proved to mostly be navigation controls. There was one however that seems unresponsive. Translated as SCAN, it did not glow softly when touched like all the others. Frustrated, Ell stowed it away and was asleep well before Janora sought their bed.
39th of Planting
The next morning over breakfast, the party shared what information they had picked up from the night before. Unfortunately there wasn't much, just confirmation of small animals disappearing and a weird vibe on the south side of town. Janora suggested that they start with Panna over at the library and meal finished, the four adventurers headed that way.Arriving at the surprisingly large three-story building, the group pushed their way inside and stood in entry for a moment, allowing their eyes to adjust to the much dimmer light. As they did, a slim elven woman stepped out of a nearby office to greet them. Introducing herself as Panna, she looked almost identical to her twin sister, except where Dara's hair was a riot of curls, Panna's was straight as a waterfall.
Recognizing Janora, the two spent a moment catching up but Panna was quite concerned about getting a letter delivered to Mosshall. The elf didn't really say what was in the letter, only that if it wasn't delivered soon there would be 'consequences.' When asked why she couldn't deliver it herself, Panna got a bit evasive and would only say that she couldn't leave town right now.
Janora, running out of patience with her, grabbed her by the hand and said, "Look, I'm sure whatever this is important but it won't be hurt by taking twenty minutes to speak in private. We aren't just here by chance and I was hoping that you would have some information on the matter."
With a sigh the elf said, "I suppose you are right, I will try to focus. Come into my office."
After everyone had taken seats, Janora started, "It sounds a bit dramatic, but we've been sent on a quest. Something supernatural is happening or will be happening...the person who gave us the information wasn't very specific. So we are supposed to stop it, whatever it is. But what's going on with you? You are all flustered and what do you mean you can't leave the village?"
Panna just shook her head and waved one hand languidly, "It isn't that big of a problem, no need to trouble yourself." With a low chuckle, she went on, "Sounds like you have enough troubles of your own. I have heard that there was something odd going on in town but I haven't looked into it. No one has seen anything either, so whatever it is is sneaky and probably has a portal or something hidden in town. If you can find it, I do know a spell that could reveal it if it is hidden."
"Your sister seemed to think that there was some weird energy on the south side of town," said Jilken. "Is that enough or do you need a more specific target?"
Panna shook her head, "The spell has a somewhat limited range and I can only cast it once every seven days. If you can identify a building or space, I'd feel much more confident."
Jilken nodded, "So we'll prowl around the area and see what we can find."
The librarian's eyes narrowed in thought for a moment, "Actually now that I recall, perhaps there was one person in town who might have seen something. Old Zardok was in here five or six days ago ranting about a monster killing his pet rat and giving chase. I had just assumed that he was drunk as usual."
Ell leaned forward and asked, "And where can we find this person, Zardok did you say?"
"Yes, Zardok Truwater," was Panna's reply, "he's probably down by the docks 'looking for work'?"
Ell smiled, "Thank you. Now you said nothing has happened for a couple of days, but that implies that something happened before. Can you tell us about what you've heard?"
The elf shrugged, "I haven't heard much I'm afraid, I've been engrossed in some critical research. It was about two weeks ago that folks began noticing the mice and rats had vanished. Some on the council thought this was great, but since then all the squirrels and treehare are gone as well. There have also been reports of missing cats and dogs. No missing people...but you say this will get worse?"
"Seems likely," Denye responded, "Our contact called it antithetical to life. It seems like it's starting small and working its way up to larger creatures."
Jilken nodded and stood up, "Well, let's go speak to Zardok and then maybe have a look around." Turning to Panna, she added, "If we can get this taken care of quickly, then maybe we can see about getting your letter where it needs to go."
Stepping out into the late morning sun, dimmed by gathering clouds, Jilken began making her way to the docks. Ell and Denye began to follow but Janora stopped them for a moment. "I think I'm going to stay here and work on figuring out this ring Esk gave us. And if it's just me, she might tell me what has her so worked up." Agreeing that this sounded like a good plan, Ell and Denye headed off to catch up with Jilken and Janora stepped back inside.
The wizard and the warlock caught up with Jilken just as they approached the docks and easily found the man they were looking for. He was crouched in a corner surrounded by a half-dozen street kids, none older than 15, who were jeering and throwing stones.
Ell quickly got their attention, but it was Jilken's special brand of persuasion that send the boys running. Turning to the old gnome she asked, "Did they hurt you? I can chase after them if you want."
The old man shook his small bristly head and waved a hand, "Oh no, I be fine. They are kids and I am the same size so I'm easy prey. But thank you for chasing them off."
Ell asked, "Are you Zardok Truwater? Panna over at the library said you might have a story we should hear."
The gnome nodded and straighten his coat, "I am and who would you be besides my champions?" Squinting at Ell, he added, "I don't owe ya money does I?"
The young noble laughed, "Not at all, but I might have a few coins if you can help us. We're investigating something going on in town and we heard you might have seen something unnatural lately."
Zardok began to cry at that and his hand stole into his pocket and pulled out a bottle. After a few hard pulls he said, "Now don't make fun of me, but some kinda magical creature killed my poor mouse. Stepped on her head and squashed her. It looked like a tall man in armor, but armor covered in treebark and vines." He stopped for several more drinks before continuing, "When it lifted up the foot little Pixie was gone, blood and bone. I was only half-awake you see, but I threw a bottle at it. The thing didn't even seem to notice, just turned and started walking off. I chased it, but I lost the monster in the alley behind the blacksmith shop. Damn thing vanished into a brick wall!!"
"The blacksmith you say," asked Jilken, "would that be on the south side of town?"
The old gnome nodded, "That be right, the Sword in the Forge, just south of the central park."
Jilken smiled, "Think you can show us?"
Zardok looked confused, "Why y'all askin so many questions?"
With a deadpan expression Ell replied, "Because we heard the mice were dying. I happen to love mice and think that is a crime that should be stopped."
The old man grunted and scratched his head, "Well for Pixie I suppose I can."
As the gruff old man led the party back across the park, Ell asked, "Your last name is Truwater, correct? Any relation to Lonlos Truwater?"
Zardok squinted his eyes in thought and reflexively took a pull off his bottle. His face brightened and smiled a wide, mostly toothless grin, "Aye, that would be my sister's husband's nephew's boy."
"We recently took a trip on his ship down the river," responded Ell. "It was, let's just say eventful, but otherwise quite pleasant. His wife Cladniss is an amazing cook and the children are adorable."
Zardok barked a laugh, "Didn't even know the lad had married. Good on him."
The sound of the blacksmith hammering on his anvil was clear and Zardok, led them around back and waved at a section of the wall. "It was round about here. I did try to follow him that night, I did. But all I got for it was a bloody nose."
Denye quickly began laying out her ritual tools to cast Detect Magic. Ell smiled broadly and held out a hand to Zardok, "Well thank you, you have been quite helpful. I'm sure you have things to do and we have taken up enough of your day. Here's a few coins for your time."
As the gnome turned and disappeared in the street, Ell turned back to the others and asked, "Well did we find anything?" Denye, only halfway through her ritual, didn't respond. A few minutes later she stood up and faced the wall, her eyes pinning with a soft gold glow.
"There is something here," Denye said, before cocking her head to the side, "It's strange. It seems to be both conjuration and abjuration...bound together with notes of wild magic." Shaking her head she concluded, "It keeps fluxing as well, I don't think it's stable."
Jilken ran her hands along the wall, but even with Denye's help was unable to feel anything. "Let's go around and see if there is anything unusual about this smith," suggested the elf.
Making their way back around to the front of the building, it was clear that this was a busy forge. Two anvils on either side of the main furnace were in use, the blows falling in rhythm with each other. Several display tables were set up at the front with a variety of armament and armor.
As Jilken stepped toward the table, the older man looked up and over the sound of his hammer called, "Welcome to the Sword in the Forge, we'll be with you in just a moment." Turning to look at an open doorway he added, "Oy Ollie, we got customers. You can work on your fletching later."
In response, a young boy of about 12 bolted out of the side room and up to the party, "Hi there, looking for anything in particular or just looking?"
Jilken asked about a few weapons, but most of what they had were swords. At the same time Ell started asking questions about the boy, trying to befriend him, before asking the loaded question, "You seem like a smart boy, have you seen anything strange or unusual?"
The boy's wide-eyed silence was confirmation, but he soon found his tongue again, "How'd you know mister? About 10 days ago I did! I was cleaning out the forge and was taking the ash bins out back and I swear I saw a monster walk out of the wall. Korag didn't believe me, said it was my imagination."
"Huh," replied Ell, "I don't know about that. We heard from someone else about a monster that walked into that wall. What did your monster look like?"
Ollie shuddered, "It was big, more an twice my size. Looked like a suit of armor, but covered in vines and bark. I couldn't see no metal, but still armor shaped ya know. I was scared and hid behind the big bin out back."
Ell chuckled, "Hiding was probably the best idea. Thank you for being so helpful. I don't think any of my friends are buying anything, but here's a tip for you." Passing the boy a gold piece, Ell added, "Keep those eyes and ears open." Turning to the others, he gave a head bob and "Back to the library? See what Janora has found."
While their friends had been out asking questions, Janora had been investigating the strange ring and the cypher Eskarina had handed them along with the mission. The code seemed to need three different keys, probably names. But who was the lorekeeper or the voice of a nightengale?
The ring itself gave of an aura of magic and was warm to the touch. The thin silver ring was a braid of three wires against a solid back. The interior of the ring had runes and strange geometric shapes carved into the silver. The braid also spun freely, but did not see to have any effect.
Unable to decipher any more about the ring Janora was fairly frustrated by the time the rest of the party returned. Ell caught their look and frowned, "No luck?" Janora just shook their head, lips pursed tightly. "Have you asked Panna about it?"
The witch let out a long sigh, "No. Panna didn't want to talk and insisted she needed to get back to work. So I started playing with this stupid thing and wracking my brain. But without the key words I don't know how to decipher it."
Turning to look in the direction of Panna's office, they saw that she was speaking with her sister and a youngish human man. Waving to get Panna's attention, the elf waved back before continuing the whispered huddle. A minute or two later and she was walking toward the table, wearing a much relieved look.
"How goes the investigation? Dara suggested that Jonas could take my letter and he agreed. I feel much more relieved now. Speaking of letters, I believe I have one for you Janora...it's here somewhere."
"That's great," replied Janora, "But can you look at something for me? We were told it was a key, but not told how to use it." Picking up the ring, the witch handed it to Panna who examined it closely.
Eventually she said, "It certainly is pretty and quite magical. Did you notice that while it is a braid of three, it is a single strand of wire? Look, follow it with your finger." Handing it back to Janora, the librarian shrugged and said, "Not much more I could tell you, I'm afraid...although it does remind me of something. Let me think on it a moment and I'll go find your letter." With that Panna disappeared into her office once more.
While the two of them had been talking, Ell and Denye were examining the cypher and figured out that the keys were the names PANNA, ZARDOK, and DARA. Denye had already pulled out several sheets of parchment and quill and was feverishly translating. With an excited caw, she dropped the quill and picked up the parchment to read it out loud.
Report Date
12 Mar 2021
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