Previously, the heroes repeatedly fought an undead monstrosity which came to collect dead bodies, and Chakuq went to find someone that could craft a tuning fork for him, while Quentin spoke to cardinal Roark to get advice.
Eighth Day, Second Ride, Autumn Twilight, 1262
(Silvermoon is waning, Bloodmoon is waxing, Darkmoon is in high sanction)The weather in Kingsport was foul, and the heroes were spread among several of the locations in the city. Quentin and Neamhan had just returned from their conversation with cardinal Roark, and had left the grave tranquility of the House of the Raven Queen only to discover the fight which had taken place on Steward’s Square after they saw the wounded guards of House Lys pass them by. Once on the square, they join Emrys and Luca and spoke briefly with Jan, who still seemed burdened by the wounds of lost arm, and the Epidemius’ curse that lay over the city. Jan rejected Quentin’s offer to help him heal his wounds; receiving such a blessing from the Raven Queen would not go over well in the eyes of the rest of the custodians. He placed his faith in Paladine’s divine light to see him through.
After Emrys spoke to father Devon he informed the rest of the heroes about “the gravekeeper”, the undead abomination that had been defeated three times in a short span of time, only to reemerge shortly after. It had appeared at the clinic attached to the Temple of Light, the house devoted to the worship of Pholtus, several times in order to retrieve one of the bodies of the deceased. It only threatened or attacked those who tried to stand in its way. Father Devon had suggested that the gravekeeper always came from the direction of Blackheath. Quentin said that it was possible that the gravekeeper had received one of the Raven Queen’s banes, something he did not quite understand the intracies of just yet, but something that could prevent one of the dead or defeated to pass on to their afterlife.
When the group at the square decided to all meet up at the Circle of Magi, Neamhan decided she was going to find Chakuq. After having some difficulty communicating that to the rest of the group due to her still being in raven form, it turned out that the faerie dragon that followed Luca around was able to communicate with her, and in turn could translate her intent to Luca and the rest of the group. She flew off to the Southside ward where Eustace the Jeweler had his workshop but unfortunately could not find Chakuq there. After some circling she found him as he observed Dagran and Kargath at work in the smithy. In the meantime, the rest had made their way to the Circle, once there, Emrys split from the group to go and visit Lord Andrew at the college.
Chakuq had explained his wish to Dagran of wanting a tuning fork that could strike the tone of his people’s song. In order for Dagran to know which note the tuning fork needed to strike Chakuq decided to sing the song of his people. He ate a handful of dried mushrooms and took a piece of coal from the forge to draw patterns on his skin as he did so. The three, Dagran, Kargath, and Chakuq all fell into a trance as the former two worked, and the latter sang. Eventually, Kargath, taken by the song, added his own voice to that of Chakuq, instinctively harmonising with him. A fourth, Neamhan, was observing quietly, making sure not to break the spell. Eventually, Dagran was done with the tuning fork, which hummed in perfect resonance to Chakuq and Kargath’s song. Dagran had showed a small, violet lyrium crystal which also seemed to hum, much like the tuning fork. Despite the work done on the tuning fork Dagran decided not to accept payment from Chakuq out of sheer astonishment of what he had laid witness to.
At the Circle of Magi the heroes are welcomed by Olafur while Emrys continues to the College of Bards. They are shown to the lab that was made available to them, but was not quite what Luca had expected; it was a floor in the interior of a windowless tower. A spiral staircase led along the inside of the tower until it terminated on a landing in front of creaky wooden door. The staircase would have continued down had it not collapsed from disrepair. Inside there were two beds, a forge that doubled as a hearth, a workbench containing endless alchemy equipment covered in a thick layer of dust, and an impressive bookcase that had long since been plundered by students and staff of any valuable texts. It was not immediately apparent how the heroes were to find aid in their search for a way to bind Epidemius to the moral plane.
After Quentin created a fire in the furnace, he helped Luca to create some order in the laboratory, and they were joined by Chakuq and Neamhan, who was still in her raven form. Chakuq immediately asked Luca whether he was in the possession of a violet lyrium crystal, which he was. Luca gave him one of the colourful, uncut lyrium crystals, and Chakuq kept it with him, explaining its significance. The heroes tested the tuning fork and confirmed that it resonated with the violet crystal, and did not resonate with the others.
Once he arrived at the College of Bards, Emrys quickly found his way to Lord Andrew’s chambers. There he found that Andrew was still recovering from the previous night, and that Aubrey had taken a place on one of the padde window sills. Aubrey explained to Emrys how foolish and naive she had felt, and how she felt lost. After paying her tuition, she only had a few coins left to her name which were intended to keep her fed while she found ways to earn. She was afraid that the only thing left for her to do was wait or the knives in the dark to find her. Emrys felt for Aubrey and got Andrew to pay attention. A deal was struck that Andrew would get Aubrey to his home in the Riverlands so that she could serve Lady Rowyn, Andrew’s lady-mother, for the remainder of the winter. She could then earn enough coin for her tuition and start again come spring.