Session 8

Normally, the narrative returns to our heroes days after each climactic event finishes, especially one  with such finality. But this time, our heroes are obstructed as soon as they escaped the collapsing cave. They emerged into the dark night only to be confronted with the serrated spear tips of elite Arkanite soldiers. Past the spearpoints and the spearmen, YFPB could see the dead body of Buzzblade, and the Justicar unceremoniously collapsed next to the bandit leader’s corpse. Next to the Justicar stood a tall, broad, blond man wearing yellow and red.

The tension did not last long, however, and the captain (for he introduced himself afterwards as Captain Flax) ordered his men to stand down. Recognizing that the motley crew before him were clearly allies with the Justicar, he congratulated them on a job well done. His soldiers hoisted the Justicar and Buzzblade onto gurneys and began transporting them away. The group began to suspect that the Captain was seeking to usurp their bounty, but he was explicit and adamant in his desire to see justice more than receive any reward. He invited the group to sleep amongst his war camp, and they, exhausted and near-death, agreed.

After some miles of travel, supported by several of Flax’s soldiers, the adventurers were healed by army medics. Harlan, for one, was lucky to have even made it to the camp conscious. They were treated incredibly well by military standards: given their own tent, left to walk around the war camp, and provided an officer-level meal. They collapsed late into the night, healed physically, but worn out mentally. Unfortunately, their sleep was not restful. They found themselves awakened in the same nightmarish realm that they had dreamed of together before their journey began at Attwen Manor. This time, though, they found that their bodies were corporeal. They could breathe. They could speak. And they could fight.

Venturing deeper into the dark mists of the dream, the party found that they were stepping out into nothing, the stars of eternity twinkling below them. They could see the mysterious prismatic women sitting sadly in a clearing of fog. As they approached, she seemed in slightly better spirits than the last time they’d seen her. She congratulated them on becoming so much stronger so quickly, and mused whether they’d actually be able to “save them all.” But, too soon, she disappeared like before as Mortholme emerged from the deeper shadows. She introduced herself the same way as before, and again attempted to swallow them all up in a large, black flower. Before that, though, Vireya and Lorien preempted her attack and attempted to counter. Lorien shot his rifle and Vireya summoned a cloud of daggers inside of the shadowy figure. Neither to have very much effect.

Because they had experienced the flower’s touch before, YFPB was more prepared to avoid it this time. Harlan, in his heavy armor and limited by his  muscled body, failed to escape the petal’s clutches and was whisked out of sight. The other three, however, managed to avoid capture and mounted an assault. It was here that the remaining members of YFPB noticed that they had more power at their fingertips than they did before. Perhaps it was the ethereal nature of the dream plane they were inhabiting. Perhaps it was due to the close contact they had with the arcane vortex that Alkamer had conjured. Perhaps they had simply grown from their experience fighting and being heroic. Whatever the case, each of the fighters (Harlan presumably included) had more options and more power flowing through their souls.

Irene cursed Mortholme before blasting her with magic. Lorien shot his rifle again while Vireya unveiled her own Faerie Fire to illuminate the Dark Queen. In response, Mortholme turned her attention fully to the tiefling. Vireya’s mind was unable to withstand the full weight of her gaze, and she was turned to mist. Lorien and Irene felt deep fear, and attacked again without effect. Mortholme turned her attention to Lorien, and he too faltered under her intense visage. He too turned to mist and dissipated. Irene was alone, and cripplingly daunted. But she remained aggressive, closing in to stab with her enhanced spear. She even managed to withstand a shadowy claw swipe from the Dark Queen. But her mind remained frail, and a wrathful gaze from the specter ended the team’s attempt to fight their nightmare.

The group woke up physically restored, no worse for wear, but mentally worn. But the day had just begun and the sun waits for no man. Emerging from their tent, they were accosted by the sounds and movement of a war camp brimming with life. Metal pots and pans, the sounds of tents being broken down, drill sergeants drilling, even priests moving between the regiments. They were all hungry, but before they could flag someone down to ask about breakfast, an aide directed them to the Captain’s Tent, where Flax was waiting for them. The Captain congratulated them on a job well done and allowed them free access throughout the camp. He was also somewhat elucidating on the reason for the war camp this far north. The Arcane Collegium was, for some reason, sending a large battalion into the Verdant Eclipse even while the capital was about to be besieged.

Even more concerningly, the party noticed, many of the soldiers and banners bore the Eclipsian purple and not the Arkanite gold. When this discrepancy was brought up, the Captain only elaborated that their target was the headquarters of the Eclipse itself. He expressed that he was not undertaking this mission on his own volition, and was simply following orders from above. It was at this time that the group noticed an old, heavily adorned priest in the back of the tent. Harlan recognized that the old man was High Priest Sybil, an extremely important figure in the Cult of El and one of the top figures in the Arcane Collegium’s  government. The priest had said nothing at this point, and even after some prompting by the group, gave them only vague platitudes and general moral guidance.

Changing topics, the Captain placed a heavy sack clinking with gold on the  table in front of him. Inside was 500 Kois (the name for Seruelan gold pieces), half of the bounty YFPB had been promised for the killing and capture of Buzzblade. He promised that when the group meets back up with the war party, he would have the remaining gold. Lorien, who remembered how Vireya and Irene have treated every merchant they’ve come across, swiped the entire bag before anyone could touch it. He then split the gold with Harlan, denying either woman riches.

Flax then offered YFPB a special mission. While he was heading north on special orders, he was doing so against his better judgement and against his nationalist inclinations. He wanted the party to travel across Serulea, sneak behind enemy lines, and infiltrate the invaded town of Calloway on the other side of the Icy Desert. Hidden somewhere in Calloway was a Godshard. The Torvani Ascendency’s true aim was this Godshard. To accomplish this, they had split their army and were simultaneously assaulting Kalzaharn the capital and sending a force northwards into Calloway. The group was excited to go on an important mission, but they would never do so without an adequate reward. Luckily, they wouldn’t have to. Flax offered them a full, landed estate in Calloway that was once owned by his cousin before the invasion.

Before even hearing about the other missions they could go on, YFPB had pretty much decided to undertake this question. Lorien, either prudently or as a result of his severe distrust of authority, gave a noncommittal answer for his team and ushered them out of the tent. For a moment, he considered lashing spectral chains around the High Priest, but reconsidered. As they left the Captain’s Tent, Lorien decided that he wanted to check on the Justicar inside the medical tent. As the group moved through the camp, Vireya was sidetracked by the sounds of gambling. She ventured off alone as the other three entered the medical tent. Inside, the Justicar was recovering from his massive wounds. Healing magic in Serulea had been degrading for years, but even when it was stronger, magic alone could not have healed all of his injuries.

The Justicar managed to remain lucid long enough to have a conversation with Lorien and the others, where he expressed his gratitude and his hopes that Flax was treating them well. He then asked the group to investigate where Alkamer (and Dag’s Disciples) had disappeared through the massive portal. He gestured to an open letter on the table next to him, and explained that Glowkindle had sent a letter to Flax’s camp during the night after he noticed a massive energy anomaly up north. He (and the Justicar) suspected that the arcane portal was what was causing interference at Glowkindle’s Arcane Forge. At Rosewood, a fairly large settlement north of the Verdant Plains, the Justicar was confident the adventurers could find some leads. The group vacillated, but told the Justicar that they’d think about it. The Justicar also remarked that he would be heading far eastward, to the academy city of Avalon, to search for more information. Lorien gave Wargraves a kiss on the forehead and eased his pain with some of his own healing magic, and the group headed back outside.

There, they saw Vireya peeking over the shoulders of the gambling soldiers trying to learn their game. The game was called El’s Luck, and, rather than stand a test of skill or experience, the game appeared to be complete and genuine luck. They were simply rolling a die and guessing which side it would end up on. From a theological perspective, this made some sense, since everything has in theory been predetermined. But Vireya was determined to win, not just follow her destiny.

As she saw her group arrive, Vireya immediately pulled Irene and Lorien aside to conspire. She attempted to cajole Harlan, but he had had enough of his god being blasphemed. He refused to take part in the cheating. Chagrined, Vireya returned to her partners and schemed. Lorien immediately placed a lucky bonus of Bardic Inspiration, and Irene prepared to distract the group of soldiers so that Vireya could cast an illusion over the die if or when it rolled against her. She returned to soldiers and proclaimed her intent to win. After haggling over the entry fee of 20gp, she paid the gold and prepared herself. She had to roll a d20 5 times in a row from 11-20, and not 1-10. Amazingly, she rolled four times in a row, landing on 19, 15, 17, and 18. It was only on the 5th roll that she rolled an 8, which appeared to stand still for the briefest moment before rolling over to a 13.

She had done it! Amazingly, she had actually done it with arguably zero cheating. The soldiers swarmed her, and for a second she was afraid that they were angry at her win. But all was well; the soldiers were in fact inflamed with glorious joy. They lifted her into the air and deemed her the Queen of Luck. She summoned her scythe and scooped her prize off the ground: a small golden ring with a sun and sword carved into it. The group had ostensibly tried to win the ring for Harlan, him being a clear Paladin of El, but Vireya remained offended that Harlan had rejected her gambling. She kept the ring, and wearing it she felt soft warmth emanating from the gold. Rather than identify it, she sauntered off to harass a young man wearing El priest clothing.

The young man was indeed a priest of El (officially called a Voice of El), and he was moving between groups of soldiers, greeting and blessing them. Vireya approached and began harassing the Voice, asking him about gambling and the ring and the best way to live one’s life. Irene approached as well, but both women fell silent as the young Voice described an ideal life, one without causing pain to others. Lorien and Harlan approached to see the pair sheepishly reconsidering whether or not they should feel shame for their actions. Unfortunately for the Voice, they decided that they did not. As Harlan and Lorien struck up a friendly conversation with the Voice, and received a small blessing to their Wisdom, Irene snuck behind a tent and Disguised herself as another Voice.

She returned to prank the young man, but he was so trusting and naive that at no point did he even consider that she was anything but genuine. He asked after her health and agreed to meet her in the woods at dawn the next day (an appointment Irene had no intention of fulfilling). The group then sat around a midday fire to discuss their plans over lunch. As they did so, Harlan felt a slight vibration come from somewhere on his body, but it dissipated before he could locate it. Lorien also felt a strange sensation, and felt more than heard the sounds of writing coming from inside his bag. He retreated from the group a small ways once he realized that the writing was coming from Astrid’s journal. Upon opening it, he saw three lines of wavy, cursive writing that he knew belonged to his friend. They said:

GO AHEAD OF THE DRAGON

WHAT YOU SEEK IS WITH WHO YOU SEEK
BOTH ARE IN AVALON

Upon returning to his group, Harlan asked if everything was all right. In the moment of decision, Lorien erred on the side of caution, and kept his journal and its contents secret. As a result, YFPB had only two choices: Calloway or Rosewood. Although they felt some flickering loyalty to Justicar Wargreaves, the lack of a concrete goal and the complete lack of obvious reward made the choice easy. Team YFPB would be heading westward to Calloway. They left immediately, stopping only to tell the Justicar that they were not taking his mission, and to tell Captain Flax that they were taking his mission. The Captain gave the group a small stone sun with an embedded sapphire, claiming that it would allow him to transmit messages across great distances. Irene and Vireya were smug, but did not mention their superior Echo Earrings.

The group planned to travel back south to Tomara, southwest to Kalzaharn, travel through the warzone outside the city, then north to Calloway. They managed to move without incident back to the church town and another day southward, curving along the coast towards the capital. As they camped out on the road together that night, a little more than a day away from Kalzaharn, they admired the stars. Serulea was beautiful tonight.