Session 22

Every Nook & Cranny

The Fated Eight searched around the chamber a short while, before the majority of them back-tracked to explore any other pathways in the cave system. Aurevald stayed behind to speak with Eytri Forgefist - who was tending to the strange stones embedded into the walls of the chamber.

What Are These Strange Symbols?

Aurevald asked Eytri about the familiar yet intelligible symbols etched into the handle and blade of Fimbul - The Edge Of Winter. The Dwarf admitted that he also could not read them - and that his Brother had added them despite his own protest.

Aurevald thanked Eytri and wished him a peaceful rest before the rest of The Fated Eight returned.

Regrouping With Varg’s Valiants

Realizing that the path they had come from was now

Somewhere Else In Vaelorys - Part One

Whilst The Fated Eight climbed the stairs - an important event was taking place somewhere else in Vaelorys.

“Three hooded figures - one brutish, one lithe, and one clinical - blink into an oddly shaped chamber. The chamber is dimly lit before one of them illuminates it through Arcane means.

There is a large Arcane contraption in the centre of the chamber - and on the outer wall are four tunnels leading away in each of the cardinal directions. Whatever this contraption had been used for, seems to have damaged it permanently - with runic cables torn, Arcane glyphs scorched, and metal gears shorn into multiple pieces.

The brutish figure turns to say - ‘The Boss isn’t gonna’ be happy if we’re too late.’ before searching the room for something.

The Clinical figure retorts ‘You worry about finding what we’re looking for AND leave worrying about The Boss to me & our frien-’

The Lithe figure interjects before the Clinical one could finish ‘Whilst you two were blathering - look what I found’ before presenting a torn piece of cloth with dried blood on it.

The trio rapidly worked to study the blood and confirm it’s likely source.

‘Will it work? Is it hers?’ the Lithe one said eagerly
’I bet The Boss will give us a huge payout if we get this right…’ the Brutish one chimed in
’I believe; my dear colleagues, we have indeed found a sample of her blood’ the Clinical one confirmed as a grin split across their face.

The Brutish one thought to themselves for a second before counting with their hands for a bit
’Only 7 more to go then!’ the brutish one said as the other two figures let out a pained sigh.
‘Only SIX more to go’ the Lithe one quips back before turning to search the rest of the chamber.
‘I don’t get it - why would they name themselves that if they weren’t being truthful’ the Brutish one said sheepishly before shuffling to a different part of the chamber than the other two. ‘Found more! We’re equal now!’ he said childishly.”

Setting Up Camp

The Fated Eight made their way through the winding stairwell to find themselves atop a large hill - with Varg’s Valiants, Carmen, and Keith Sail preparing a small shelter and tending to their wounds/resources whilst they waited.

Aurevald took some time to summon an Oxen creature named Kjott who made it’s presence known by eagerly licking Lady’s face. Graxious summoned Lenny to give Kjott a friend whilst they continued setting up the shelter.

The Snake Invites You…

Carmen and Keith headed off to collect some essentials and discuss their options for getting back to civilization as quick as possible. Keith noticed a note fall from his jacket pocket as he took it off.

Keith read the letter before Graxious shouted at him to share the letter, which he did by sheepishly handing it to Lady. The letter read as follows:

“Dear Plight,

The Snake invites you to bring the Phoenix in return for a considerable donation to your benefactor. He believes it is in your best interest to capture her alive before there is any chance she crosses paths with the Stones.

Be wary; our intel says she is travelling with company and has already repelled an assault from Vito’s assassins.

Strings will act as the middle-man once you have her captive. Ensure that the bracers are with her when you do.

Failure is not an option - just think what Carmen would do if she learned the truth…

Kind Regards, Ether”
- Lady reading the letter aloud…

The Fated Eight were undecided what to make of the letter - confused whether it meant they could trust Carmen or not. There were also questions about who was and how Caesar Plight came to be. Eventually they came to an agreement to be careful around her - but not to outwardly distrust her.

Stargazing Before A Sudden Warning

As night fell, SHAI and GRAY made their way to the top of the hill to look at the stars. SHAI and GRAY were able to combine their skills to interpret Elon Musk’s Assassination - normally in the shape of a stylized ‘T’ - as an ornate dagger with a curved cross-guard. After a short while - SHAI felt BLUE’s voice urgently enter his mind.

“Something’s not right - I’m being hunted. Fleeing for safety in Fortune Markets. Follow the Huskerdust… but do not let them catch you.”
- BLUE’s message to SHAI

SHAI relayed the plea to GRAY and the pair; concerned about their childhood friend, made plans on what to do when they made it back to Roan. The pair re-joined the group shortly afterwards - sharing the situation regarding BLUE.

The Urgent Way Back To Roan

Carmen and Keith made their way back to the group as well as the former announced that she might have a more immediate way back to Roan. Varg had reached out to her via telepathic means and had the capability to return them the city - should they all wish to go there. After a short discussion - the group of 12 adventurers agreed to head that way.

They all watched as Carmen pulled a strange firearm from her right-side holster and fired it high into the air. As it reached it’s apex a flare ignited and lit up the night-time sky for a short moment; as the sparks fell towards the ground and collected in a small pile. The pile grew and grew before blowing with the wind to reveal Varg.

“I keep that one for special emergencies.”
- Carmen flaunting her summoning of Varg…

Varg told everyone to prepare to leave as soon as possible - before speaking to himself whilst holding an earring on his right side. A portal opened in a nearby tree as the 12 adventurers, Carmen, Keith Sail, Varg, as well as Kjott and Lenny rushed through barely making it before it closed

Separate Ways

Everyone shortly found themselves in the outskirts of The Ratways - near where they had seen Varg leave Roan over a week ago. Varg’s Valiants; aside from GRAY, left with the members of The Homestead - who headed towards one of the many Taverns in The Ratways. The Fated Eight and GRAY - made their way towards Fortune Markets in search of clues about BLUE.

Following The Huskerdust

With Aurevald’s sensitive nose and the experience of both Changelings with Huskerdust - they were able to find a trail leading up one of the main thoroughfares of the Fortune Markets after only a short while. Their attention was caught by movement atop the rooftops of the nearby buildings.

Three Hooded Figures

Those with good vision caught three cloaked figures acrobatically; and in once case Arcanically, between the rooftops. The trio seemed to be searching for someone or something.

The trail lead to a dead end street - where they found a dark red liquid decorating the parts of the walls. It was clear to GRAY and SHAI that this was Changeling blood. They hurriedly backtracked and followed the trail past the dead end - leading to a small courtyard within a block of buildings.

Failure

They immediately noticed BLUE attempting to scale the wall of the building - as those with Darkvision noticed two figures materialize atop the building and grab BLUE by the arms. A third figure was noticed by some atop the buildings behind them - who attempted to Counterspell SHAI casting Slow on the other two figures.

Before anyone could react however, the pair vanished into thin air; taking BLUE with them. The third figure also vanished the following moment. Not much could be gleamed from the scene - aside from a small metal containing Huskerdust and a polished Blue crystal. The two Changelings recognizing this as a Journal Stone - a device used to record recent memories - although it required a special device to decode; and it was unclear if the Material Plane had such equipment.

A dejected SHAI, GRAY, and the rest of The Fated Eight - made their way back to Cynthia’s abode to rest, recover and regroup the following day. The others; especially Aurevald, attempted to make GRAY feel welcome before heading to bed themselves.

Mulled Wine…

Jin; unable to sleep, snuck out to visit Dae’hya and update him of the situation. Dae’hya was in the middle of a late night meal; enjoying a mulled wine, before apologising on behalf of Storm Corps. He offered to inform Jin of any information he could gleam from his channels and asked the Human Fighter to do the same.

A New Day

The morning of 26th Of Vaelorn, 920 PD came - a gloomy day ahead of them. The Fated Eight and GRAY made their way to Veiled Visage University to speak with Thelnyron for their reward before visiting The Salty Barrel for Morgyn and Jin.

Thelnyron Dose applauded the group for their efforts in besting Caesar Plight whilst remaining discrete. He awarded them a sum of gold and a gave a Magical Artefact from his personal collection - making it one that benefitted Spellcasters predominantly.

The Salty Barrel

The Salty Barrel was a seedy pub in The Ratways that both Morgyn and Jin had business at. The pair showed their tokens and were discretely shown to an underground pathway, which eventually lead to a tavern built into a cave system. Here, Morgyn and Jin met Gruff Tankard - a Goliath bartender who welcomed them to The Hidden Eye. The two Humans waited as they were taken to speak with their contacts - Sir Layton Riddle & a man named Vincent Stone, respectively. SHAI and GRAY - who had tagged along - were informed that someone would speak with them soon about BLUE’s kidnapping.

Sir Layton Riddle spoken much more openly about his feelings regarding the Vaena Kingdom - suggesting someone close to King Terick II was responsible for framing himself, Morgyn, and many other members of the court in order to consolidate power for themselves. Prince Dannick Vaena was presented as a likely suspect and Riddle asked if Morgyn & The Fated Eight would be willing to use their newfound proximity to those in power to gather evidence of such crimes.

At the same time, Jin spoke with a man who seemingly had the power to transform himself into a stone statue. Vincent Stone as he would come to be known seemed to recognize Jin and the sword he wielded - Watatsumi - but spoke in cryptic vaguities whilst challenging Ryujin to withstand the increasing heat of a sauna.

At some stage - The rest of The Fated Eight were summoned to The Hidden Eye as the 7 adventurers and GRAY regrouped to discuss their intel and the requests of Sir Layton Riddle. Jin showed the others the once-again statue form of Vincent Stone - who re-animated and; much to everyone’s surprise, revealed that he also recognized Lady Snowblood somehow. He returned to his statue form without saying much else however, and the attention of the group was instead captured by the familiar voice of Davison Theros.

Davison Theros Arrives

Davison; still wounded but in much better shape than he had been days earlier, invited the group to a lower section of the cave that opened into an underground pool/spring. He gestured to SHAI and GRAY that he’d like to speak with them privately if he could.

Davison inquired with the pair about their recent run-in with the cloaked figures, before revealing that he too was searching for them. He elaborated that his sister - Niara Theros - had been taken by these figures when they were still young. He asked that the pair share any information that they found about the figures and in return he would do the same.

The Last Of The Stone Family

Whilst relaxing in the springs - Lady’s attention was caught by the sudden appearance of Vincent Stone. The older Monk revealed to Lady his connection to Ignis Snowblood - and revealed that he too was the last of his bloodline; having fled from Stahn out of fear for his safety. He also conferred to her that the bracers were indeed a family heirloom and that they had seemingly been dormant for a short while, but were now correctly recharging the energy they had depleted weeks earlier.

”Thanks, Cutie”

As their business with The Hidden Eye closed - the group returned to their abode but not before passing through the Roan Chapel first, hoping to check on the Amnesic Halfling Woman. Upon visiting however, they learned that she had suddenly awoken and bolted without saying as much as a word - only leaving behind a small note and a coin purse. Axton noticed the note had a poorly drawn Tiefling on one side and on the other it read saying “Thanks cutie. Name’s Liana

High Quarterfest Arrives

A few days passed as The Fated Eight appreciated some rest and recovery, tending to any small errands they had and preparing for High Quarterfest.

As the day arrived - they each enjoyed the festivities hosted around the city of Roan with carnival games, festive foods & drinks, and other enjoyable passtimes. As the sun began to set - they each returned to their abode and prepared for the High Quarterfest Ball at the Beck Family’s estate - and whatever that would hold for them.

Somewhere Else In Vaelorys - Part 2

Whilst The Fated Eight were preparing for the evening’s event - a devious scheme was being put into motion somewhere else in Vaelorys.

“Three hooded figures - one Brutish, one Lithe, and one Clinical - blink into a dark laboratory. They seem familiar with the space and move in-time with each other towards the back of the room.

They approach an illuminated table and stand around it. The Lithe figure pulls a cloth off the table revealing a automaton with a humanoid structure - the mechanisms of which are covered by dimly glowing white panels.

Silently - the Brutish figure hands over a vial of blood to the Clinical figure; who proceeds to charge it with some Arcane power before loading it into a nearby device.

‘Everyone… Step back - this part’s the risky part; never know what kinda quality Moretti’s hardware is gonna be’ they say before gesturing to the other two to follow them.
‘Just in case…’ the Lithe one chimed in as they cast a protective barrier around the three of them.

The Clinical one turns and rotates a glyph with their right hand as the device whirs to life. Gears turn, glyphs activate, and runic cables crackle as the automaton’s eyes alight bright yellow. The device containing the blood spins around faster and faster before coming to a sudden stop. Tubes suck the blood up and into the automaton; still stationary on the table.

‘I’m going to kill Vito myself if he blue-balls us this hard for nothing’ the Lithe one says as the three figures watch the automaton glow brighter and brighter before a blinding flash takes the room.

Moments later… The figures look at the table where the automaton had been - only to see a Half-Elf woman, a toned muscular body, with jet-black hair that ends in blood red tips.

‘It worked, good. Go and finish the other 6 samples. I’m going to take this one to meet The Boss.’ the Clinical one commands as the Brutish figure lays an identical automaton to the first onto the table, whilst the Lithe figure prepared the next sample of blood. ”