Session 9/14/07

 

                The urgency of their mission and the need to research their foes’ origins and methods keeps the companions in the upper library tower throughout the night of the Feast of All Divine.  The king’s herald – the stunning orc lady Valthirok Wraithscorch – loyally and efficiently assists the party in its navigation of the library stacks.  As a former academic, Nathaniel needs little enough assistance, and he soon finds an untitled book of theoretical planar essays which contains a reference to “Chaal-Nathra, a city of writhing sorrow in the Far Realms where nightmares are devoured by the imagination of beings that were never borne.”  An unnamed wizard, “The Faceless One,” is credited for discovering the “9^th circle gates which must first be opened to glimpse the Far Realms.”  The city of Chaal-Nathra may be a demi-plane of its own, tucked into or adjacent to one of the Far Realms.

 

 

                As Nathaniel scribbles notes and the other adventurers move through the stacks searching for relevant books, the wizard hears a knock at the 4^th floor library door.  “Jayna Westhold with the King’s Wizard, may we enter?”  Nathaniel rushes to the door and gives Jayna a hug and an affectionate kiss on her rosy cheek.  Jayna returns his kiss and turns to introduce Kradoth Frosthorn, the crag-nosed ice mage of the Frosthorn tribe and trusted advisor to King Thaggha.  Kradoth is a kind and unassuming orc, and his eyes miss nothing as he welcomes the companions to the library and gestures at them to sit.

 

 

                “I have heard much of your work on behalf of my king and nation,” Kradoth says, unrolling a thick, embossed vellum scroll.  The scroll seems blank for a moment, until Kradoth mutters “urhor” (Orcish for “first frost”), at which point a beautiful ink rendering of the continent of Talirae appears on its surface.  Two faint, twinkling blue lines connect three stone circles, near Rachspire, Oberwald’s Valley of Obelisks, and R’haari Vale, respectively. 

 

 

“This is a ley-line map,” says Kradoth, leaning on his antler-adorned staff of aspen, “one of my own personal design.  Few attempts have been made to map the ley lines, being as they only came into visible appearance after the Convergence.”  He solemnly hands the map over to Nathaniel.  “I feel you should have the map, as your travels will likely take you places that my duties prevent me from visiting.”  He waves a hand over the map.  “It is now yours, attuned to automatically map any additional ley line paths you may encounter.  All I ask is that you return here from time to time and keep me informed of your progress.”  Nathaniel thanks Kradoth profusely for his generous gift, but the old orc wizard insists, “You will surely make better use of it than I.”  Kradoth then sets to work in the library, pulling out military journals that detail the days after the Convergence when the falling star was seen near Ijruk’s Blind.

 

 

Ley lines, Nathaniel recalls, appeared after the Convergence and can be seen on dark nights as paths of bluish-white motes of light.  Magic cast within ley lines, and especially at their intersections, tends to be more potent than usual.

 

 

                Jayna Westhold briefs the companions after Kradoth moves off into the stacks.  She received a message from President Weylorn on their behalf: he is proud of their service to the nation and all necessary aid will be provided.  After sharing a glass of wine and toasting the Feast of All Divine with her friends, she departs to her office in the diplomats’ wing.  “I do hope you all finish up in time to see the end of the festival,” she says, flashing her lovely smile.

 

 

                Kradoth returns with a stack of military journals – they detail the military patrols of the Krodath-Gaar in the months after the Convergence.  During the shifting, many in Malok-Gorthai had vision of Ijruk screaming, or of an elf screaming, or both.  A glowing purple mote of light was seen falling from the sky and striking the earth somewhere in the valley of Ijruk’s Blind… the same legendary location where Anilmathien Elfsire (Jenoic) allegedly put out Ijruk’s eye with an arrow.  A new crater in the valley – believed to be the meteor’s impact point – was spotted and mapped by orc patrols soon after the Convergence ended.  Ijruk’s Blind soon became plagued with undead, aberrations such as the flesh-dissolving Nothics, and cultists of Ethoar.  Due to excessive losses, patrols in the area were stopped in 4CR and have not resumed. 

 

 

                9-1-22CR: The midnight hour passes but the library search continues, with Nathaniel directing the others to look for more books on the Far Realms.  He feels there must be a connection between the infestation in Ijruk’s Blind and the other areas they have purged (Caladan Hollows and the To’jarak Quarry) and that the Far Realms must somehow be involved.  Another long hour of searching passes as the drumbeats in the streets of Thran-Gaar continue. 

 

 

                Nathaniel discovers a book called The Vanishing, written in 6262CG by a gnome named Pindlebent Fourtoes of the Ver-Shaon.  The gnome fancied himself a planar sailor, and claims that he built a ship capable of traversing the planes.  The ship was hidden deep beneath the Imperial City, but Pindlebent writes of sleepwalking to it one might and visiting a place called “The City of Writhing Sorrow,” where worms crawled in the walls and everywhere else… “The City itself looked back at me and marked me as its own.”

 

 

  Nathaniel reads the passages over and over, searching more closely for hidden clues.  What he finds disturbs and excites him.  The book seems to be written in Common, but it hides a complex metaphorical and mathematical code beneath its surface meaning.  With Zara and Essedar watching over his shoulder Nathaniel plots a series of hidden coordinates on a spare sheet of paper.  The coordinates appear to be charting a journey through three-dimensional space, and he reckons they would be good enough to accurately travel by via plane shift.  Pindlebent’s book ends with him returning to the Imperial City to find that he and all the other gnomes are now ghosts.  It seems that he may have predicted the disappearance of the gnome race two years before it occurred during the Convergence.

 

 

                Nathaniel casts detect magic upon the book, and it radiates strong abjuration and conjuration magic.  Unable to determine more, he vows to research The Vanishing further, placing it into his haversack.  There is another quiet knock at the library door, and King Thaggha returns.  Though his breath smells of cider, the king seems sober enough for all the revelry in his city.  Nathaniel asks him where he found The Vanishing, and Thaggha answers that it was part of a lich’s hoard he found while exploring the ruins of the Imperial Palace in 7 CR.  Thaggha’s party was one of many groups of adventurers who explored the ruins in the wake of the Convergence, and he discovered the lich’s lair and defeated it before claiming the book.  “The Feast of All Divine will go on past dawn, if you wish to join the festival,” Thaggha offers, and they accept.  Zara suggests they meet again three days from now to review security arrangements in light of Prince Ralaevar’s upcoming visit, and Thaggha agrees.  When the five friends make their way back into the city, they part ways with the king and start moving through the crowds toward the sound of drumbeats. 

 

 

                Tel and Londario guard the party’s flanks and keep a careful watch as they pass the water sellers’ square at the Fountain of Ijruk.  Zara overhears some rumors from Falgenor: the strange necromantic effect known as “the Darkening” continues to plague Falgenburg intermittently, but the High Council is holding the city together with the help of a brave group of heroes called the Twin Falls Company.  Thran-Gaar is abuzz with excitement over Prince Ralaevar’s announced visit as well.  Relations with Moridar have been lukewarm at best since Thran-Gaar was once considered a Moridar protectorate, but the new prince (soon to be Dragon Emperor) has made kind diplomatic overtures to the orcs and may be ready to sign a mutual non-aggression treaty and a trade treaty.

 

 

                Ravenous from their long night of research, the friends stop by the Roasting Hog for some smoked pork sandwiches with pepper sauce. While munching their pre-dawn meal, they discuss some of the issues at hand regarding the prince’s visit.

 

·          Should they even discuss the possibility of an assassination attempt with the Moridarians, given that the information might leak to an untrustworthy source?

 

·          In light of the conspiracy of shape-shifters, should they disguise themselves as orcs or as human members of Royce’s own guard?

 

·          Do they trust Prince Ralaevar to even be what he appears?  What about those around him, his most trusted bodyguards and advisors?

 

 

                As they finish their succulent pork sandwiches, Essedar spots a familiar face in the crowd.  Franz Chelsea moves toward them, picking his way through a circle of dancing orcs and coming to a stop next to Zara.  He greets the party warmly and clasps his hand on Zara’s shoulder affectionately.  Already suspicious of Chelsea, Nathaniel watches the merchant closely and notices him casting a silent, stilled spell on Zara as he touches her shoulder.  He tried to leave an arcane glyph on her armor, but Zara’s divine resistance seems to have cancelled the effect. 

 

 

                Nathaniel shoots a look at Essedar and Zara, but they agree to keep things quiet for now.  After a few minutes of small talk with Franz Chelsea, he departs back into the crowd.  As he leaves, Nathaniel peers carefully at him again, his instincts telling him that what he just saw was probably another illusion.  Previously unware that Mr. Chelsea was an arcanist, Nathaniel convinces the others to seek out Kradoth Frosthorn for more discussion.

 

 

                They find the old orc wizard at a raucous costume ball at The Pit, where orcs cavort and stomp-dance with humans, elves, halflings and dwarves alike.  Kradoth is masked but easily recognizable by his staff and antler headdress.  “Most curious… Franz Chelsea is no wizard,” he says, “and you were probably witnessing a projected image.  Skilled mages can cast their spells directly through such an image, but in these days it is not so common due to the dearth of old fellows like myself.” 

 

 

                Nathaniel considers this, and then asks if a shape-changer would project an image of Franz Chelsea if it first changed shape into a facsimile of the merchant.  “Surely, that is what would happen,” says Kradoth.  “Were I to take trollshape and then project my image, I would appear as a great, green troll.”  Zara, Nathaniel and Essedar are all eager to explore Franz Chelsea’s shop, given their encounter with him tonight and the previous ambush near there on Auborean 26.  Thanking Kradoth again for his help, they make haste to the southeast streets of Thran-Gaar and to Chelsea’s Fine Wines, Liquors and Imports.

 

 

                Telenvor easily picks the double lock mechanism on the front door and gains entrance to the store.  The upper level appears as it normally does – bottles of wine, mead and liquor neatly stacked and catalogued next to a display of pipes, papers and smokeables.  The locked door to the back room opens easily under the ministrations of Tel’s thieves’ tools, and it appears to have been hastily cleared out.  A trapdoor hidden beneath an old wool carpet reveals a glyph of warding which immediately goes off, blasting Essedar with a jolt of force and knocking him backwards.  Nathaniel hastily dispels the glyph, allowing the party to open the trapdoor to the basement below.

 

 

                The basement level also appears to be recently cleaned out, but before they can explore it thoroughly, a lurking humanoid tiger attacks Zara with a feral snarl, appearing behind her from nowhere.  Nathaniel identifies their previously invisible assailant as a Zakya rakshasa, a warrior breed of rakshasa who often serve as mercenaries to evil forces.  This rakshasa has a glowing glyph on its right shoulder which seems to bind it to this basement.

 

 

The area seems to also have been cloaked in an invisibility sphere, because a totem horror – a wood and metal construct resembling an orc in a suit of black plate mail – joins the attack with a horrible whirring and clanking sound.  Zara takes a long look at the totem horror and recognizes it as the same construct from the ambush on Auborean 26.  With anger in her eyes Zara sets her spear in motion against it, punching through its armor over and over as it returns the favor with its fiery sword.  Londario and Telenvor move into flanking positions as Essedar fires arrows into the Zakya at point blank range.               

 

After several rounds of tense battle, Nathaniel sends a lesser orb of cold directly into the heart of the totem horror’s gear housing.  The construct shudders, halts, grinds and then shatters apart into thousands of shards of wood and metal, leaving behind only a glowing elemental heart of fire.  Zara, whose spear proves more effective against the rakshasa than the totem horror, skewers her foe and ends its life.  As it dies, the Zakya gives her a look akin to the respect due a worthy foe.

 

 

As Nathaniel examines the elemental heart of fire, he meditates on the possibility of creating an item capable of throwing holy fire.  Cereborn flares to life for a moment and speaks into his mind: “Dream on this holy fire, and we together shall make it manifest.”  Cereborn offers an additional insight: “Totem horrors… constructs of Orcish make.  To control a totem horror, first weaken it and then attempt to cast a spell of its complementary element upon it.  The degree of control depends on the power of the spell one casts.”

 

 

The party collects the fallen Zakya’s valuable gear and scours Chelsea’s basement for any clues, of which there are none save the presence of the two former guardians.  By the time they finish their search, the light of pre-dawn has cloaked Thran-Gaar in a blue haze, but the drums all over the city are still going strong.  They seek out Captain Madok Wolfbrother at the City Guard headquarters and report their findings on Franz Chelsea’s shop and the rest of their investigation into the conspiracy of shapechangers.  The guard captain nods gravely and suggests they return to King Thaggha at once.

 

 

The companions arrive back at the castle just as the sun begins to show itself along the eastern shore.  After announcing themselves to a bleary-eyed Valthirok (who has yet to sleep), they are permitted entrance to Thaggha’s dining hall where the king is eating his morning meal.

 

 

Upon hearing the party’s retelling of the night’s events, Thaggha orders Valthirok to make the castle’s sending stone available to them immediately.  He thanks them again for their service to the city and his nation, and suggests they communicate with Hathorae as soon as possible.  Valthirok leads them into a secure room adjacent to the throne room, where the massive, milky-white sending stone lies inset in a 5’ diameter cylinder of carved stone.  Nathaniel, Zara and Essedar each use the stone to report their progress through proper Hathoraen intelligence channels.  They receive appropriate acknowledgement and code words in return, and feel confident that the President and Vice President have received all the pertinent information.

 

 

Exhausted by their long night, the friends pack up their belongings and begin the walk across town to the Fanged Spear.  The all-night drumming for the Feast of All Divine finally reaches a crescendo as the sun rises over the mithroak walls of the city, and the revelers begin to return to their homes and hostels.  As the crowds thin, Nathaniel is quite certain he sees another familiar face in the crowd… this time, it is Zara’s face and figure he sees from a block away, staring back at him and smiling with dark malice.  He moves toward the figure, but then its form shifts into that of a nondescript orc and it fades away into the crowd…

 

 

Falling Stars, Rising Hope