Paladirzt 20th, 951
- Journey received a Sending spell from her sister Kisya
- Looking into the Dark Orb, Journey spoke to Kisya about her home, the Dracohest, Xac’huranac, and her family
- Kisya seemed somewhat satisfied with her new lifestyle, having gained newfound power and station from the Dracohest’s occupation of the village
- Kisya implored Journey to return the orb, and expressed a desire to see her
- The communications were ended as the Dracohest could not sustain the connection any longer
- The party headed towards the Eastern Ward of Madrioc, passing through the Curtain on the way
- Wander was stopped on the streets by Vetraxu, who admonished him for leaving without a word last time
- The red tiefling invited the Peas to a private party being held at the Lumhand Estate, wishing to speak with Wander more about what happened to Etarus
- Wander was stopped on the streets by Vetraxu, who admonished him for leaving without a word last time
- The group continued on, dropping by the Golden Standard and meeting up with Stellys, who had not fixed the hole in her cellar
- Venturing down into the sewers, the party caught up with Todalis and Ketrup, and made an offering to the rats to summon Rodariost, speaking to him about the current events of the city and making an offering to Gulchax in the form of the Filthy Hat of Lies
- Ketrup presented the group with a circlet woven out of rat hair
- Arriving in the Eastern Ward, Wander and Tyerjon went to go check out the broken eastern wall
- The wall had been attacked by undead, and workers were breaking down a gargantuan corpse that had laid siege to the wall
- Venturing down into the sewers, the party caught up with Todalis and Ketrup, and made an offering to the rats to summon Rodariost, speaking to him about the current events of the city and making an offering to Gulchax in the form of the Filthy Hat of Lies
- The party visited the Temple of Tyrix and Onyr, meeting with a stoned dwarven priest on Tyrix’s side
- Phaelnah purchased an expensive crystal ball
- Leadbelly offered a prayer to Onyr, who told him curtly to kill the Nightseeker
- The group visited Feytouched in the Snake to purchase fancy clothes fitted to the group’s rather peculiar specifications
- Leadbelly and Seamus bought some feathered hats at What’s On Your Mind?
- The group eventually made their way to the Estates, entering the Lumhand Estate and handing over their weapons at the coat check
- As the guests began to filter in, Vetraxu took Wander aside and spoke to him about Etarus’ current situation, and her goals to dismantle his organizations in the Nightspell Moors
- She asked him to refer to her as Careful, for the time being
- Razodon eventually arrived, and began introducing the guests of the party to the Peas, naming:
- Hartegon Korefex, leader of the Traders Guild. Apprehensive about full blown war, would instead prefer to spend more resources on defense.
- Sanguinity, leader of the Warriors Guild and the commander of the Arterax. Currently has control over decisions made by the Circle of Merchants due to a clause in the city laws about Zahast the Vilespawn. Basically needs to convince Hartegon to back his cause, as the resources of the Traders Guild are needed to address many logistical issues.
- Anise Lumhand, owner of the Lumhand Boating Company, which services the trade vessels going up the Sanar River. Invented a type of rudder that allows easy travel upstream, leading to her fortune.
- Telsore Minstrio, leader of the Mercenaries Guild. Commands a considerable force but unsure about putting them towards the cause due to Hartegon’s caution.
- Kulgan Greysoot, leader of the Miners Guild. Here to drink, pledging support to Sanguinity, but needs Hartegon’s people to move his product.
- Bureden Holkest, leader of the Smiths Guild, currently unsure about supporting Sanguinity without Hartegon’s support. Knows of Leadbelly’s work.
- Phesto, leader of the Bankers Guild. In support of Sanguinity, but unsure about keeping funding coming without the support of the Traders Guild.
- Esleveyn Devae, leader of the Artisans Guild. She came for the company, and handled catering for the event.
- Felix Lumhand, the surly son of Anise. Has no desire to be at the party, and wishes to join the Warriors Guild to fight Zahast.
- Ieurdex Weleygo, leader of the Madrioc Commission. Not taking a stance, simply there to pledge the support of the Commission to whatever course of action is decided upon.
- Eitryll Windseeker, captain of the guard and Tyerjon’s old boss, for like 2 weeks. In charge of security at the event.
- Denadar Gravegeer. Influential voice in the city, his company handles road maintenance. Very loyal to Hartegon.
- Miriam Lowdell, a VERY well off woman who lives by herself, getting involved with politics as she pleases. Raised a fortune by some mysterious means in Atavar.
- Tellywig Nolmitty, a gnomish inventor who is working on magically infused portable siege weaponry to attack the dragon’s fortifications.
- Irlaye Gargell, elven widow of the late great William Gargell who has long outlasted him. Considered an expert on dragons
- Bartrum the Blue, leader of the Thieves Guild (commonly known as the Dark Ring) chapter in Madrioc. Placing his informational network at the disposal of the city.
- After the party mingled for a bit, they watched as the various members voiced their concerns, mainly becoming a matter of Hartegon vs. Sanguinity, defense vs. attack.
- Phesto voiced concern over the attacks by undead, stating that the dragon wasn’t previously capable of commanding the dead, and it might have outside help
- Renbedar eventually showed up and gave a presentation on his plans to attack the dragon, using a special magically conjured spear that would strike the dragon’s mind itself.
- Tellywig also presented her invention, which could be strapped onto the backs of less talented individuals to drastically increase their usefulness in a siege scenario.
- As the guests began to filter in, Vetraxu took Wander aside and spoke to him about Etarus’ current situation, and her goals to dismantle his organizations in the Nightspell Moors
- A short break was scheduled, and the party guests mulled around uncomfortably due to the tension between Hartegon and Sanguinity.
- Journey picked up some conversation with Irlaye, learning a bit about a black dragon’s abilities, and specifically confirming that he would not be able to command the dead.
- This cited concern from Tyerjon, who excused himself from the room and began to cast Commune with Nature
- The presentations began again, but while Denadar was voicing his support for Hartegon, Tyerjon’s ritual finished, and he learned that the area was filled with undead.
- As Tyerjon rushed in to warn the group, one of the undead Madrioc Commission guards stopped him, claiming that she felt strange and was losing control
- Tyerjon told her to wait as he entered the hall and tried to warn Sanguinity
- Shortly after, an arrow pierced the neck of Denadar, fired by one of the Commission guards. He convulsed and exploded into gore as a floating, shadowy man emerged from the pulp, raising the guard as well as Miriam into zombies and summoning a giant man with large purple crystals on his back, arcing electricity
- The party at the party with the partygoers began to party with the party boys Rhast Kraal and the necromancer Baharal, the Defiler of Vestkrain.
- Baharal began to slaughter the guests as the party ran for their weapons, with Seamus, Leadbelly and Sanguinity breaking open some bottles to fight with as makeshift weapons
- Baharal killed Esleveyn and Phesto right off the bat, raising them into zombies as he pulled skeletons from out of the ground
- Renbedar attempted to protect the citizens by putting himself at risk, soon leading to himself and Eitryll falling, with Rhast Kraal ripping out the former’s arm
- Wander wielded his Ashen Talon and jumped into the fray, encouraging Felix to do the same
- Felix engaged a zombie, punching it and weaving around its attacks
- A large bonework skeleton appeared in the back hall, but Leadbelly blocked it from advancing towards the citizens, who began to run into a side room
- Razodon launched firebolts as Seamus and Vetraxu finally got their weapons and Sanguinity ran out of a surrounded position after fighting using only his bottle
- Tyerjon took some crazy damage from Baharal as Rhast Kraal continued to cause destruction
- Phaelnah healed Renbedar, who hurled Eitryll out of harm’s way and engaged Rhast once again
- By the grace of some twisted god of benevolence, Felix continued to hold his own against the zombies, stealing one of the daggers embedded into a zombie’s chest from Vetraxu
- Tellywig, however, was not so lucky, getting killed by a zombie and raised herself
- Leadbelly left the bonework skeleton to Seamus as he entered the hall again, burning zombies to cinders with his lightning so that they could not be raised again
- Journey launched critical spells at Rhast Kraal and Baharal as Tyerjon sponged their hits, falling unconscious and dying but managing to survive until Phaelnah’s Channel Divinity
- Felix finally bit it, but was given a down state due to popular demand as the struggling soldier Jade fought against the influence of Baharal and aided the unconscious boy
- A skeleton dealt the killing blow, ending this man’s new career
- Tyerjon finally sliced through the necromancer as Seamus finished up the bonework skeleton, and all the weaker undead crumbled to dust
- Lucky Felix
- With everyone focusing their attacks against Rhast Kraal, Leadbelly dealt the final blow, offering some choice words about Onyr as the lightning from his axe fried the abomination to death
- In the aftermath, Anise rushed to her dead son, weeping over his dead body as Phaelnah stopped, waited a minute, filled a cup and put some liquor in it (along with the rest of the party)
- Oh no I can’t use Revivify anymore
- Wander tried to ask the grieving mother for diamonds worth more than 500 gold
- Phaelnah eventually brought Felix back with a Raise Dead spell, saving this man’s career
- The party had some drinks and chatted with some of the citizens as they convened for another quick meeting, where they finally convinced Hartegon to aid the fight against Zahast
- The party was asked to assist with the war effort, helping to train soldiers and apply their expertise
- Anise offered to help pay for the party’s future expenses in their fight against the dragon
- The party walked with Razodon back to his manor, and he offered them rooms for the night
- Down in his cellar, Razodon informed the group about the destinations of some of the cellar doors; one leading to Astrilaine, one on a boat to Fusalis, one in Falderheim, and one on the Kaldadrigm Isles. He told the party not to enter the others.
- The group went through their door and met with Inglis and Arghan (and by extension Gresely and Gruggly), finding new people half-buried vertically, apparently a funerary tradition from Arghan’s home
- Arghan explained that when the rigor mortis ends and the legs touch the ground, the soul has departed on to the next plane and the body is just flesh
- Seamus gave the goliath 5 silver after the latter threw a rock further than the former
- Some of the party stepped into the Roomy Chest as Journey used the Hag’s Finger to teleport Arghan, the twins, and Inglis to Rest Assured, surprising the crap out of Quiet and Whisper.
- The group spent some time chatting at the tavern while Arghan made a fool of himself
- Journey told Arghan to patrol the city walls for undead, and he eventually set off after being given 2 gold coins
- The group eventually made their way back to Razodon’s, and took a nice, long rest
Paladirzt 21st – Ancine 1st
- The party began helping with the war effort, spending their days training troops, helping smiths, and studying their foes
- Leadbelly worked with the Smiths Guild, training its members in various forging techniques and making many weapons to be used by the soldiers
- He investigated Mardyth’s core, discerning that he would need to slay the Nightseeker to utilize it and complete his weapon
- He lead the party to the old Darkheart base, not discovering too much other than a Mardyth bomb
- In his free time, he used the platinum from the oversized greatsword to forge daggers for Journey and Wander, infused with Onyr’s power. He made a beautiful longsword for Phaelnah as well, but due to the Aeltran imagery and inscriptions on the sword, Onyr refused to give it strength.
- Additionally, he got Avelos to remove the curse on his Bounding Boots, allowing him to use them again.
- Journey worked with the casters of the Spiral Ward, offering her knowledge of arcana and experience in battle to aid those who were not used to combat scenarios, as well as assisting Renbedar with his spellcrafting
- In her free time, she chose to study up about dragons using the book from the Divine Branch.
- Journey could not find any mention of crystal dragons in her text
- Seamus trained with the Mercenaries Guild, giving advice about unorthodox fighting styles
- In his free time, he studied up on his family lineage, and began tutoring Wander in Elvish.
- Tyerjon trained with the Warrior’s Guild, educating them about his “slice ‘em” philosophy and “I’m gonna kill ‘em” fighting style
- In his free time,
- Wander worked with the devils under Vetraxu’s command, educating them in stealth techniques and some limited magical tutoring
- Wander read through the necromancer’s tome, learning a ritual about how to create enghasts, and managed to get some new rituals from the large devil’s spellbook
- He spoke with Vetraxu about Etarus
- Wander learned some basic Elvish from Seamus in his free time
- Additionally, he sold all the component pouches he looted of the corpses of the Divine Branch
- Phaelnah (and Inglis) helped to teach the healers of the city, both magical and nonmagical in nature
- In her free time, Phaelnah messaged various individuals on the party’s behalf, and engaged in some scrying as well.
- She successfully scryed on the Nightseeker, learning she was with the Rain Knight, Yyk Sen, and the Twisted Knight, walking down a cavernous underground pass.
- She later scryed on Mange, learning that he was currently in Hymathel with Yoxxel, who she found reading a book.
- An attempt to scry on Balnar showed the Twisted Knight, confirming the party’s suspicions of his fate
- After allowing Dragastir to enter her mind, she learned of the nature of the Nightblight in that it could never be truly eradicated in the world; it would always need to intersect with the Material Plane in some capacity. Dragastir suggested a few approaches in dealing with it; sacrificing herself to absorb the Nightblight plaguing her forest, or finding another forest to infect instead.
- In the event that she became a vessel for the Nightblight, Dragastir stated that he would be capable of protecting her mind, as she had already been to the edge of corruption
- Aided by Inglis, Phaelnah successfully fought off the Nightblight twice in a row.
- In her free time, Phaelnah messaged various individuals on the party’s behalf, and engaged in some scrying as well.
- Leadbelly worked with the Smiths Guild, training its members in various forging techniques and making many weapons to be used by the soldiers
- As the two weeks of preparation came to an end, the party learned of their role in the attack
- In order to magnify Renbedar’s spell to a point of effectiveness against Zahast, certain beacons would need to be set up at points with high ley energy concentrations around the Nightspell Marches
- The party is to venture out on their own beside the main attack and set up their beacon in order to launch a spell to rip the dragon down out of the sky