Session 5 - December 6, 2022 - Journals

On third floor of 5 story building near University of Magic and Mysteries
- Dominique Beacamp
  - Large building
  - No windows on ground floor, but more and more the higher it goes
  - Building is rectangular, more offices the higher you go
  - 2nd floor 10 windows
  - 3rd floor 15
  - 4th and 5th - 20 or so windows
  - Stairs to reach upper floors
- Thistle contemplates using his “portable ram”
Receptionist on ground floor
- Wearing University colored robes
- Seems v boring
- Building is not high end - looks more industrial/institutional
  - Where they would stick post-grads
Party gets to 3rd floor
- Office doors about every 30’
  - Each door has a name plaque
  - No letters after names
  - No prestige type signs
Party knocks on the door
- Door opened, surprising Thistle that was trying to listen
Woman opens door
- Wearing typical clothing for mages at University of Magic and Mysteries
- “Can I help you?”
Thistle offers to show her something
- She starts to slam the door
Party tells her that they were told to come talk to her
- “Did Eric send you?”
Woman looks suspiciously at them
“Who sent you?”
Party produces the letter she sent
She invites them into the anteroom
- 15’x15’ room, doors on all 4 walls
Asks about how they got in touch w Mark
Thistle reveals that he’s a sleeper
- Relays story
  - Woke up in the temple
  - No idea how he got there
  - Has this mark on him that wasn’t there before
  - Know that it is somewhat magical
- Ourgal reveals that they all share the mark
  - Asks her if she knows anything about the sigil
Dominique runs them through what they remember before, asks them about their experiences, etc.
- Repetition of questions from Mark
Dominique asks how many of them are sleepers
- They confirm that all of them are sleepers
Any differences after they woke up?
- Party asks her not to talk to Mark about it
- She promises not to
OOG - Arnaud asks why trying to keep things secret
- Party relays that when he wasn’t there, they found out that whole city is trying to find out info on them
- They’re the biggest story in the city right now
  - No wars going on
  - Trade working as it should
  - No monsters/natural disasters/unnatural disasters, etc.
- Party wants to keep things close to the vest till they learn more
When Antoine revealed that there was a story about them, they decided to be quiet
- Don’t want to let Mark know that they lied
Recognition of their “accidental celebrity”
- Uncomfortable with it
Ourgal opens his shirt to reveal his scar
- As a bard, he’s less worried about being well known, more worried about anonymity
- Shows scar on his belly
- She takes a rubbing of it
Thistle shows identical mark on his arm
Dominique examines all the marks
“I’ve never seen a mark like this. I don’t understand, so I’ll have to investigate and get back to you”
Steveigh pipes in that it detects as magic - enchantment specifically
Ourgal takes time to look at scar again, and realizes that it looks similar to some symbols used to summon things
- Ourgal asks if there is a god of dreams
- Dominique tells him no
- Gnorth makes a crack about making up a new god
- Dominique says “Don’t go doing that. Bad things happen”
- Steveigh says something flippant about dedicating his life to the new god of dreams
- Dominique relays story about last person that tried to do something like that creating a sea, accidentally
  - Discussion about the actual pantheon - Unknown
  - Steveigh surprised that gods of forge, undeath, and balance all used to be mortal
Discussion about whether the party was dead while sleeping
- Party scars are magical, but their bodies do not appear to be magically animated
- Gnosena confirmed that they were not dead while “sleeping”
  - Just not independently active
  - Would respond to stimulus, but took no independent action
Kairn asks what would make warforged act that way and how high level the spells would be
- Dominique pleads ignorance of warforged
- Lots of spells that could do things similar to what party are describing
- Some relatively low level ones
  - The lower the level wizard casting them, the more obvious the evidence would be
- Given that some sleepers have been unresponsive since Jan, that indicates a v high level spellcaster
Ourgal asks if the spells could have been cast from a distance
- Dominique - I’m not sure, but scars were CARVED into you
  - Points at Kairn - that was GOUGED into metal, probably by hand
- Seems to be runic magic of some sort
Discussion about origin of the inland sea breaks out
- Ancient mage wanted to ascend to godhood
- Was opposed
- Final battle created the sea, killed many people
Ourgal asks if there’s anywhere that they might be able to find more info
Dominique - have you felt any strange sensations lately?
- Not really
- No one is glowing
- No visions
Thistle asks if anyone has sleep magic
- Idea - put someone to magical sleep, will they see visions?
- Trying to see if there’s something available in their subconscious
Party starts talking about how to do this safely, and Dominique begs off
- I have a class to teach, have to go
- I don’t want to lose my job
- Dean is a PITA
- Offers to meet them on Sept 14 after 5pm
Dominique tries to bring meeting to end, usher party out into the hallway
- Gnorth tries to sneak something
- Grabs a small container of paper clips
Party walks her down the stairs to the front door
Kairn gets a feeling that something is going on over at Unknown
- Kairn is in pain
- Gaze seems to be blank
- Tells party that the Temple of Lossounelyn is on fire
Party takes a cab to temple
- “Take us to the Temple of Lossounelyn “
- “Which one - in The Green, or in Windbrook?”
- “Windbrook”
- Cab takes off, uneventful trip, 10 min to get there
  - Costs 5sp
Temple is not on fire, but there is a great deal of activity
- Front doors are burst open - off the hinges
- Party arms themselves
- Party looks at the doors, seem to have been rammed open
- Dents about shoulder high on each door
  - Thistle points out that it wasn’t him
- Thistle runs in, charging
- Acolyte standing in entry room, holding a club
- Raises the club as Thistle charges in
  - Says “Don’t come any further you bastard!”
- Thistle responds, telling him that he’ll pay for the damage he did!
Acolytes are terrified, but challenge the party
- Look ready to defend temple w their lives
- Party says that they’re there to help
- Acolytes
  - “Lucas and Claudine are DEAD!!! The Temple was ATTACKED!”
  - V traumatized
    - Both in robes of laypersons of the temple
  - “They TOOK THE SLEEPERS!”
Steveigh eases in and negotiates
- Identifies himself as a fellow cleric
- Calms acolytes down
Acolytes tell them that it’s been 20 or 25 min since the kidnappers left
- Gnosena told them to hide and be safe, he’d protect them
- After 15 min of silence, they came out and G was not moving
- There were six attackers
- They disabled Gnosena first
- Killed Claudine and Lucas after that
Party is told to go to hospital wing and talk to Gnosena
- he is there and active again
  - Trying to help Claudine and Lucas
- Acolyte is really traumatized by this
- Thistle tries to reassure him, encourage him
  - Nat 20 on persuasion
  - Acolyte is very reassured, calms down
Steveigh stays to help guard the door
Party heads to hospital wing
- Debris in the lounge
Gnosena greets the party
- “What are you doing here?”
- Kairn reveals that he had a vision that there was trouble - they came as soon as they could
- Gnosena says they came into temple and attacked him
- He was rendered “not awake” - which is very confusing
- Two dead bodies in the room
  - Wearing cleric robes
  - Looks like they tried to fight off the attackers
    - Got killed
  - Lucas was killed by sword
  - Claudine killed by blunt object
- Party asks for info on attackers
  - Wearing grey robes
  - Covered faces
  - Two didn’t carry weapons but were able to disable a warforged
Party investigates the ward
Everyone rolls perception
- Ourgal gets a sense of being restrained, but no idea where it comes from
- Tells party
- Nobody else senses anything
“Maybe whatever they used to put us to sleep lets them manipulate us like puppets” Ourgal
Gnorth points out that attackers may not have been same people that put them to sleep
Gnosena casts cure light on himself
- Asks again how they knew to come
- Kairn repeats - I had a vision, thought it came from you
- Gnosena - Nope - no ability to do that
Gnorth enlisted to put bodies on beds
Gnosena casts cure light on both bodies
Both recover
- Claudine and Lucas talk about attack
  - Two attackers worked together to stun G into immobility
  - Didn’t see evidence of magic being used
  - Didn’t take long to disable him
Ourgal asks about color grey for gangs/societies, etc.
- Grey cloak is pretty utilitarian and ubiquitous in Neuville
Looks like the attackers fled same way they came in
- Path cleared through lounge
- Debris and dross in hallway
  - Blankets, single slipper, etc.
Party confirms that all sleepers have same marks
No idea who they were - no IDs
- Party finds that all the others' goods have been stolen
Gnosena implores party to find and return the sleepers
- They’re vulnerable, and they’re my responsibility
“Should we tell the watch?”
- “What if they’re in on it?”
Gnosena sends them out to find the sleepers
What do we do now?
- Ideas
  - Ask for help from contacts
    - corporal
    - journalist
    - Gang leader - Jimmy of the Ravens
    - Tavern Keeper @ Yellow Pig
  - Leaning toward asking corporal to meet them Unknown
  - Also wondering about asking gang in Trollsteps if they know anything about it
    - Go there, cause a ruckus, interrogate whoever comes to intervene
  - Idea - talk to Jimmy De Nattie re Trollsteps gang
    - Find out what they’re like, what they run, etc.
Decide to go to Unknownto talk to Jimmy
- Going to get cab and head over
Party checks outside temple
- Finds tracks of wagon pulled by two horses
  - Heavier when it left than when it arrived
- Tracks from two sets of bare feet
  - Human sized
Party starts following the wagon tracks
Gnorth talks to birds
- Summons a magpie
- Asks it if it has seen the wagon
  - “What’s in it for me?”
  - Bribes it w shiny bent wire (paperclip)
  - Bird flies off
  - Bird comes back w/o paperclip
- Bird whispers in Gnorth’s ear that “They came to the hard ground that goes over the water”
- Gnorth thanks it, tells it that they may want to talk to it again
  - “Do you have any more shinies?”
  - Steveigh gives it a shiny copper coin
    - It takes the coin and flies off again
Party decides to take a cab to the bridge
- Gets a new cab
- Driver wearing a tin crown
“Where to?” “Take us to the bridge!”
Get to bridge
- Look for the tracks
- Can’t find any
Hey - we’re near Raven’s Row!
- Let’s walk and try to find tracks again
- Everyone makes perception roll
  - Ourgal gets a strong sense of cooling and birdsong
    - Aka going into shade
  - Most buildings are 2 to 3 stories high
    - Not as much shade
    - 6pm in Sept
Party tries to figure out where there is shade and birdsong in city

Session 5 - December 6, 2022

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