Author: Dennis

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.

Previously, Chakuq gifted the heroes with talismans carved from the tooth of Epidemius’ mount, the heroes discussed the value of lyrium crystals, and Emrys and Chakuq confronted the same undead monstrosity that the heroes had confronted at the College of Bards. After they defeated the monstrosity it returned, this time to be confronted by Luca and Emrys.

Eighth Day, Second Ride, Autumn Twilight, 1262

(Silvermoon is waning, Bloodmoon is waxing, Darkmoon is in high sanction)

Chakuq found his way to Dagran Forgewright’s smithy after having spoken to Eustace about getting a silver tuning fork made. The open face of the smithy was completely clear of snow due to the heat that the forge produced. Dagran was there, bare-chested except for a leather apron that he was wearing. Kargath stood in the back, diligently working at the anvil, his ragged shirt soaked through with sweat.

This was not the first time Chakuq had come to the smithy to have something silver made, and Dagran had noticed. When Chakuq explained that silvered weapons helped against supernatural creatures that the heroes often faced lately, the gruff dwarf proposed that he could start perfecting incorporating silver into the design of weapons provided Chakuq bring him the silver. It would allow him to improve his craft, and it would keep Chakuq armed against the threats he faced.

Dagran said that he could make a silver tuning fork if required, but that it would take a few days and it might require more silver as he worked through the intricacies of striking the right tone. He confessed that it would be much easier to make a fork that could strike a pure tone if twas made of steel. Chakuq agreed and suggested he stay to observe Dagran craft the fork together with “his son”, meaning Kargath. Dagran was struck by mixed emotions, but allowed Chakuq to stay.

Luca and Emrys were at Steward’s Square and had just seen the undead monstrosity enter the square again and head towards the Temple of Light. Only a short while ago Chakuq and Emrys had defeated that very same monstrosity, at the very same place. Emrys noted that this was the very same monstrosity due to the damage he had left behind on the creature’s clothing by disloging and hurling icicles from the side of the building.

A group of crownsguard and custodians, lead by Jan, the one-armed custodian, entered the square while Luca and Emrys engaged the monstrosity with the help of the Lys guards, who had been inside the Temple of Light. The fight took a lot of effort, but ultimately lead to the defeat and whithering of the undead monstrosity.

After the fight, Emrys and Luca spoke to Jan, who had, reluctantly been thrust in a position of leadership of the custodians while still suffering the effects of losing his arm, which was disintegrated in the fight against Xarrombus. He claimed he was suffering the ill effects of the curse that Epidemius had blanketed the city with. Luca reassured him that the heroes would be there for him should he ever have a need of them.

Quentin took some time to make use of the Gauntlets of the Malakim, a set of beautifully decorated gauntlets the heroes found in the hoard of Kalauranthalasis, which was like a part of a bigger set, together with the Armour of the Malakim, which the heroes had also discovered in that same treasure hoard. He found that the gauntlets fit him perfectly, and that after a period of careful reflection, they granted Quentin extraordinary strength, like the relics of old.

When he came back downstairs to the tavern room of the Careless Wanderer he explained to Falka and Neamhan that he had the intention of visiting the House of the Raven Queen. Falka thought it was a good idea to get spiritual guidance on the undead monstrosity, as well as on Rigoletta, who seemed to have an unnatural control over the dead. Quentin asked if Neamhan could come along, and she agreed on the condition that she could join as a raven. Once she transfigured, they headed out into the cold together.

The House of the Raven Queen was solemn, somber, and empty apart from the silent sisters that tended to the grand interior. When Quentin finally found the cardinal, they decided to sit together and talk in one of the pews. Neamhan’s presence in the guise of the raven did not seem to bother cardinal Roark.

Quentin asked the cardinal to give him guidance on the the opposition the heroes had faced over the past day. This proved to be more difficult than Quentin had hoped, finding the cardinal’s words elusive and forcing him to realise that there was much of the Raven Queen’s scripture and teachings that he had not contemplated and fully understood.

As near as Quentin could tell the cardinal tried to explain to him that the Raven Queen judges the recently deceased, and adjudicates where they will spend eternity, and that this is the biggest boon the goddess bestows; passage to a deserved afterlife. On the turnside of that medallion, the Raven Queen sometimes decides to deny that boon, and grant a bane; denying one passage to a deserved afterlife. From that perspective, the Raven Queen’s does not look unfavourably on all undead creatures, though it is rare that it happens with her consent.

In light of this, the cardinal suggested that if the heroes were looking for a way to keep Epidemius from being reconstituted on the plane of the Nine Hells, that perhaps searching out the Raven Queen’s bane might help; to prevent him from moving on to a deserved afterlife upon defeat.

“Judge fairly those I send to thee.”
– Liturgy of the Grave Knight

The cardinal granted Quentin’s request of holy water, and Quentin observed the ritual in order to make it himself in the future. And both Quentin and Neamhan received the Raven Queen’s blessing before departure.

Previously, the Heroes of the White Eye attended a soiree at the College of Bards, witnessed Andrew Selkirk trade barbs with a crowd as he was locked in a pillory, met a Novice of Echoes from Beauclair named Aubrey who got herself in some hot water by unwittingly take sides with House Morvrayne, and listened to a mesmerising song performed by Rigoletta, a szygani bard who filled Neamhan with a sense of foreboding. The climax came when the heroes who had stayed late fought off an undead monstrosity that was collecting a corpse.

Eighth Day, Second Ride, Autumn Twilight, 1262

(Silvermoon is waning, Bloodmoon is waxing, Darkmoon is in high sanction)

The Careless Wanderer was busier than the previous few days. The worsening weather had locked the few travellers that still called at Kingsport locked down. The snow of the past few days had turned to icy, and the wind had picked up.

The heroes were in the tavern going about their business; Luca was finalising the ritual he had been designing, Falka was reading in front of the hearth, and Quentin was discussing a visit to cardinal Roark to discuss the undead monstrosity the heroes had faced the previous night. Chakuq was unwrapping the beautifully carved talismans he had commissioned from Eustace. He had brought a tooth – a tusk more like – of Epidemius’ mount to the jeweller and had asked for some specific carvings, one for each of his newfound companions.

To Astrid he gifted a talisman of a falcon in flight, the symbol of Freya, one of the Æsir, and the goddess of love, fertility, and motherhood. Astrid wore it on a necklace of teeth she had collected over time. Inspired by Astrid, Chakuq had one made for himself as well. Emrys was gifted a talisman of a crescent moon, the symbol of Sehanine Moonbow, the elven mistress of dreams, death, and travel. Emrys promised to wear the talisman. Quentin got a swan volant, the symbol of his family. Luca got a sword across a triangle, the symbol for Saint Aurius the Golden One. And Neamhan got a twig of mistletoe, to represent her nature. Chakuq explained that he had them made as a token of his appreciation, and symbolising their friendship.

While the heroes were thanking Chakuq for the thoughtful gifts, Quentin noticed a group of guards, on horseback, sporting the colours of House Lys, making their way through the terrible weather towards Steward’s Square. One of the horses pulled a cart along through the icy snow. Feeling weary, Quentin decided to ignore the guards and stay with his companions in the tavern. When Chakuq offered to follow the guards, Quentin declined, not wanting to have anything to do with them. He reckoned he would have enough interaction with them at the feast which was organised in his honour in three days time, on the First Day, Third Ride, Autumn Twilight, 1262.

Luca decided he would visit the Circle in order to progress his work on the ritual, Emrys decided he would go to the College to check on Aubrey and possibly look for a drum, and Chakuq would return to Eustace to see if he could acquire a silver tuning fork.

Neamhan raised the topic of the ghost orchid with Luca, saying that upon reflection the flower might be a good substitute for the sacrifice which will be necessary to power the ritual. She also believes that lyrium crystals could be used. The conversation turned to the crystals that the heroes had, and how valuable they were. A memory returned of watching the dwarves of Ard Thoradun outbid the elves of the Worthwild at the Landsdowne auction house in Bournemouth. The dwarves paid a kingly sum of sixteenhundredandfifty gold crowns for one lyrium crystals, which they would use to “seal their gates” in time for the next Age of Fear to arrive. Luca noted that each time the heroes used to go into one of the Senhadrim vaults they required a lyrium crystal which then was spent. Falka showed a crystal that she had used in such a way whose inner radiance had gone dull after it was spent.

Emrys and Chakuq departed and headed towards Steward’s Square through the terrible snow. Once at the square they noticed there was a commotion coming from behind the Cathedral of the Platinum Father, from the clinic at the Temple of Light. They saw several horses and a cart in front of the clinic, and the horses, which were bread for war, seemed uneasy and stratled. Emrys and Chakuq neared the clinic and went inside only to stand face to face with the hulking monstrosity the heroes had already defeated the night before. It was holding its oversized shovel in one hand and a deceased guard in another, having been run through with a sabre. Behind the brute stood the Beauclair guards, one of which foolishly tried to intervene and paid for it by having his leg crushed by a blow from the shovel.

Chakuq and Emrys drew the monsterous brute outside and managed to defeat it, again, but not before Emrys’ completely lost control of his magic and became a conduit for all the tension that had been building in the air, shooting lightning in many directions. Afterwards, father Devon tended to Emrys’ wounds while Chakuq searched for and retrieved the frightened horses.

Back at the Careless Wanderer the conversation about lyrium crystals continued. Neamhan was keen on understanding the different colours, which she understood to correspond to schools of magic. She inquired about whether there were black crystals, since she recalled seeing one, and Luca said that besides black there were also golden crystals, shadow and radiance. He knew this from Blackstar, who had become more talkative since they reached an understanding. Neamhan wanted to understand the nature of the black crystal, and Quentin suggested that perhaps it could indicate good or evil intent. When Neamhan suggested it could be like the seelie and unseelie courts of the shidhe Blackstar whispered to Luca that she had the right of it.

Chakuq continued from Steward’s Square to Eustace, but the jeweller said he could not help him with an instrument that delicate and precisely callibrated. He suggested that Chakuq might have more luck at the Forgewright Arms in getting a steel tuning fork.

When Luca plowed his way through the snow to get to the Circle and bumped into Emrys at Steward’s Square, they were just in time to see the undead monstrosity once again step out into the square, smashing aside a group of crownsguard and custodians that were standing in its way. How many times would the heroes have to defeat the monster before it stayed dead!?

Previously, the heroes attended a soiree at the College of Bards and spoke to Le Papillon, the headmaster of the college, about the Arms of the Senhadrim, as well as the legends and myths about capturing and imprisoning souls. The headmaster offered access to the college’s archives. A Beauclairois trobairitz introduced herself to Quentin as Aubrey, who wanted to know more about him in order to compose a song in celebration of his betrothal. And bard by the name of Rigoletta caught the heroes’ attention because there was something strange about her.

Eighth Day, Second Ride, Autumn Twilight, 1262

(Silvermoon is waning, Bloodmoon is waxing, Darkmoon is in high sanction)

The heroes found themselves listening to the enchanting song of Rigoletta, the enigmatic bard that had so unnerved Neamhan. Emrys found himself somewhat lost in the song and forgot everything around him, including Neamhan who had turned back to her trueshape and was trying to warn her companions of the danger she believed the bard posed. Even Wynn came back and urged the others to leave because he had stumbled upon a corpse in the corridors of the college, and he wanted to be safe under the accords of the Careless Wanderer.

Each of the heroes was experiencing the song, and its meaning, in a slightly different way. For some it was pieced together of fragments they could understand of the archaic Lyrian, while for others it was translated by their Senhadrim weapon, either verbally or innately.

“When the scarlet rain falls,
and our ancestors rise again,
the tyrant king will take his throne,
and liberate us all from death.”

As heard by Neamhan

Quentin had noticed that his raven feather talisman had been humming underneath his shirt, and he took Emrys’ hand and put it on his chest, just as the song hit its climax. This seemed to shake Emrys from his reverie, but it took quite some convincing to disengage from Rigoletta. The heroes started moving towards the exit while the crowd was still applauding.

When the heroes left the ballroom there was a deep darkness which hung over the hallway beyond. A sound of heavy footsteps and a grating sound of iron upon stone could be heard coming from down the hallway. Not sparing it a second thought, Neamhan connected to the power of sunlight and filled the hallway with daylight, instantly revealing a hulking figure dressed in dark robes. The hood of the robes held a featureless face of flesh which shook the heroes. He held an oversized shovel in one hand, and the leg of a corpse in the other, both of which he casually dragged behind him. Wynn confirmed that the body the hulking brute was dragging was the dead body he had encountered.

“Beneath the scarlet rain’s descent,
Old voices stir, their strength unspent.
From silent graves our kin arise,
Their echoes burning in the skies.
Upon his throne, the tyrant stands,
Crowned not by love, but iron hands.
Yet through his reign, death’s grip will cease;
A bitter rule, a promised peace.”

As heard by Emrys

Weapons were drawn, spells unleashed, and Neamhan transfigured into the fearsome bulk of a long-toothed cat which hunted in the high reaches of her mountain home. Emrys summoned an abomination, conjured from the rubble of masonry, tiles, and glass which had been knocked loose in the fight. Momentarily, Emrys could not contain his intuition and his magic slipped out of control, leading to a surge of magic which summoned an apparition of a tall, statuesque woman he had seen before. She vowed not to let Emrys fall that night, and he felt immediately bolstered and reinvigorated.

The brute left through the hole in the wall and entered the courtyard, but the heroes managed to defeat it. As the heroes made their way across the courtyard, they noticed Rigoletta, who raised her hand and a body who had been crushed beneath the rubble obeyed her command rose again to stand at her side.

“And it shall come to pass in the latter days,
when the rain is turned to scarlet,
and the bones of the fathers are stirred from the dust.
Lo, they shall rise and walk upon the earth again.
Behold, the Tyrant King shall ascend his throne;
his sceptre forged in shadow, his crown forged in fire.
And by his hand the gates of death shall be broken,
and the captives shall be delivered from the grave.”

As heard by Quentin

By the time the heroes got to the Careless Wanderer, the bells struck twice. Durham grumpily opened the door and let the heroes in. It was late, and it was decided to have the debrief in the morning. Before departing for his nightly rest, Wynn claimed that he had seen a dead body which had been killed by a snake.

During the night the weather turned colder and stormier, leading to a blizzard in the morning. Strong gusts of wind and flurries of snow battered the coastal city of Kingsport. Despite the weather, Chakuq decided to pick up the talismans he had made from the teeth of Epidemius’ mount. Falka was studying several of her books, and did not seem to have any intention of leaving the hearthside that day. Luca was also studying, but he was meticulously drawing out arcane diagrams in the process. Neamhan, waking up only at the eighth bell — particularly late for her — decided to do the same, and sat with them to study the barkskin she had found in the library of the Newport vault.

When Emrys and Quentin finally joined the rest just after the tenth bell struck, the heroes decided to explain what had occurred at the College of Bards after Chakuq and Luca left. Neamhan was quite concerned for having wildshaped in front of strangers, and Quentin was keen on informing Cardinal Roark of the incident; he felt the behemoth was interfering with life and death. Rigoletta’s song also came up, and it became clear that each of the ones that overheard it had a slightly different interpretation of the lyrics.