27. The Faenrul Festival, Part 2
Scourge and Mages and Phylacteries, Oh My!
With the subsequent task in mind given by the Grand Magister, Kent, accompanied by the rest of the party, returned to the Grand Arcaneum the following day. With Andraste present, he, Kent, and Alexandre proceeded with a ritual to at last remove the curse gripping the body of the Scourge-mutated thief. The undertaking spanned hours of incantation between the three casters before at last the curse, appearing in a dark, cloudy physical manifestation, was at last sealed away in one of the phylacteries. The corpse now free of the curse, Andraste invoked a spell to speak with its departed spirit from which the adventurers learned more of the Daggers involvement with the Scourge and the naming of the cult associated with them, the Cult of the Blighted Fangs. Armed with this information, the group made to assess their situation; however, even the Grand Magister could provide little for their next step. With most of them exhausted, each party retreated for the night.
The following day, Varris searched the city for a branch of the Cloaks. Succeeding in her efforts, she met with the hood’s halfling manager, Priva Wulan, and reported her findings regarding the Daggers. Though her claims met with similar doubt from the manager, Priva assured the rogue that her reports would reach the ears of those whom it may concern. The adventurers continued with their slight reprieve by witnessing a showing of Lumos, at the end of the first week of Faenrul. However, the following day, Kent and Andraste were thrust into the process of creating an item from the base of the remaining phylactery. The Grand Magister explained that the refinement of the phylactery may allow it to be used to remove the curse of the Corruption without utterly relying on the time-consuming rituals they had previously conducted. Over the course of the next few days, the casters worked on forging the item. However, on the cusp of its completion, Alexandre released the group to their own devices, and he states that the next time they meet, they would not only complete the item but also utilize it to purify a creature gripped by the Corruption.
During this brief period, Kent participated in the magical duels hosted at the Aizur Convention. In his first duel, he bested his first opponent, a fellow diviner named Bo Gammet. However, in the following encounter, Kent fought a close match with Otis Karev, an abjurer who had placed in the finals of the previous year’s Convention’s savant bracket. After his defeat, Kent lounged with the rest of the group before reporting once again to the Grand Arcaneum. Andraste performed his portion of the ritual splendidly, though both Kent and the archmage seemed to have faltered in part. Yet, due to their combined efforts, they succeeded in refining the remaining phylactery derived from Bivarlane’s workshop. Leaving no time to waste, Alexandre had the specimen that would serve as their first test subject for the artifact rolled out from a nearby room. The creature, which possessed the shape of a humanoid, exhibited an obvious blemish on its chest that looked similar to the likes of the mutated thief and the assassins which had attacked the adventurers on the high seas.
The Grand Magister went ahead with the first usage of the phylactery. While the action seemed to have drained the mage extensively, the artifact seemed to have carried out its purpose with the affected individual surviving the process. As the group settled in the silence of the aftermath, one of the doors leading to the archmage’s laboratory burst open as Caedon, the elven paladin the party met in the Vonereux mountains, stormed into the room. His fury seemed directed at Alexandre, but he quenched it in lieu of looking after the recipient of the purification. When Caedon pulled the cloth away from the body, the adventurers, at last, saw the figure of Idan lying prostrate on the table. In his worn state, the Grand Magister deferred on clarifying the situation for the adventurers, citing as well that the elf would wish to be cognizant when he does. With the early hours of the morning creeping on them, each company once more parted ways, leaving the explanation for another day’s time.
Family Matters
Near the end of the first week of Faenrul, Jester sent a formal request for an audience with her father. However, she did not receive a response until the next week, setting the audience to just two days before her sister’s wedding. With a date set Jester purchased a fine dress to wear for her audience with her father. Come the day of the meeting, the rest of the party accompanied Jester, though she entered her home alone. Jester found herself ushered into the waiting room for nearly an hour before her mother, Emma, came to fetch her. Lady Emma reassured, and simultaneously warned, her daughter about the upcoming meeting before at last leading her to Lord Trow’s study.
Lord Beren Trow gave his daughter only a cool greeting before addressing her presence in the city. Jester answered her father candidly, explaining her reasons for what she had done. However, the lord ultimately deemed her incapable of handling the burden of nobility and, thus, unworthy of the Trow name. Beren dismissed her shortly after, to which Jester quietly proceeded. However, with Lady Emma having stayed in the vicinity of the study, even the stalwart paladin broke down when approached by her mother. Given time to calm down, Edna found Jester as the latter made to leave the mansion. The younger woman assured Jester as best she could before telling her that she must come to the wedding, bringing anyone she wished with her. Afterwards, Jester reunited with her friends, albeit more dejected. They provided her some time and space to gather herself. However, Tycus proffered her kebabs as well as some words of encouragement, before Jester reunited with the others to continue enjoying what the festival had to offer.
In the days leading up to the wedding, Kent also continued his snooping on Philip Roffeld through the usage of magic. The brief surveillance sessions continued to give the arcanist some more insight on Jester’s future brother-in-law. However, on the eve of the wedding and after Philip expressed particular frustration with his affairs, Kent contacted the young groom to meet at a pub called Bengi’s Row. With Varris in tow, he proceeded to the establishment where Philip had actually answered the invite. The man, perturbed by the disclosure of Kent’s snooping, questioned the mage about his actions. While taken aback, Philip did not seem necessarily outraged and instead took leave on about the same terms, if not slightly worse, with Kent as when they had met.
"What else can I say? I owe them much already, as does so many others. Though, I doubt they truly understand the magnitude of their actions thus far, especially for myself and my...associates. Though, I fear that this is hardly the end of what I may require of them. But perhaps they will still tolerate this mage's whims."
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