Previously, the heroes returned to the Newport Vault for the first time since the defeat of Xarrombus. For some it was an eerie return, for others a sad and emotional one. And for Neamhan and Chakuq it was their first time inside. They found Brandomiir and Garvan excavating the vault, and Falka researching the library, and turned to the library to find the Liber Bubonicus, the Book of Woe.
Sixth Day, Second Ride, Autumn Twilight, 1262
(Silvermoon is waning, Bloodmoon is in low sanction, Darkmoon is waxing)
The presence of Xarrombus lay over the vault like a cloud. This was most evident by the enormous, calcified tentacles which lay wrapped around the underground structure, and sometimes punched through a ceilings, floors, and walls to make it clear just how large Xarrombus was.
The heroes headed towards the reliquary. Garvan and Brandomiir were hard at work at destroying the tentacles that held the vault in its grip. They used blasting powder and thunder sticks, which were a speciality of Brando, and then large blocks of masonry and mortar to secure the holes left in the walls.
Neamhan asked about Xarrombus; neither her, nor Chakuq, had been present during the defeat of the aberration, yet both their lives had been unpleasantly impacted by it. Luca tapped into his obedience to Aurion and conjured up an image of Xarrombus during the fight with the heroes, complete with floating eyes in its orbit, and giant tentacles tipped with a maw of razor sharp teeth. Luca recounted how Astrid had been swallowed by one of the giant tentacles only to carve her way out of its stomach and burst out through its side.
Falka mentioned that Xarrombus also had agents called the aberrant lords who were tentacle-faced humanoids with terrifying power. Chakuq asked whether these agents were still around, but Luca thought it impossible. Emrys claimed that as Xarrombus was defeated, all of its agents and people under its influence died.
Though he tried to hide it, this topic caused Luca anguish. When Neamhan tried to offer some support, in the form of words, and a conjured black lily, he turned away and went back to the library, claiming he was fine. Neamhan, confused, turned to Emrys and asked him why Luca was lying to her. Emrys explained that the death of Hamish caused him a lot of pain.
Luca and Falk went back to the library to continue their research. Luca was eager to identify the magical nature of the books they had found, and Falka went to assist. It would mean performing a ritual and making a careful selection of the available books to perform it on. Luca’s obedience to Aurion meant he would have to triage which books to inspect. He decided on the bookwheel, the wand retrieved from Sadwick, and two books, which would be the extent.
Before starting, Luca convinced Falka to write down her real name in his grimoire, which she does, so that he may help revive her if anything were to happen to her. It was clear that the warlock was determined not lose another friend again.
In the reliquary, Chakuq managed to convince Garvan and Brando to take a break so that the heroes could climb through one of the holes in the wall left by the tentacles and explore the spaces behind it. There was a foul smell emanating from one of them that lead Chakuq to wonder whether they could be coming from the Book of Woe.
The space behind the wall seemed to serve a ventilation purpose, and went straight down. Chakuq climbed down careful, and Neamhan followed. Unfortunately, she was not as careful, slipped and almost plummeted to her death but managed to transfigure into a fly at the last second. Chakuq, having missed her transfiguration, thought that Neamhan displayed a spectacular feat of acrobatics. Emrys, ever the gentleman, decided to use Toruviel to slowly descend down the shaft.
Once the three of them started to explore the corridors at the bottom of the shaft, they recognised that they appeared to be private quarters that were part of a dormitory of sorts. Emrys recognised that these were likely the Halls of the Senhadrim, the living quarters that seemed to always accompany a vault. The foul smell seemed to come from stale air and rotting matter of old roots and other natural decay. They decided not to proceed much further and return back to the vault’s reliquary.
In his ritual, Luca identified that the bookwheel was enchanted to magically aid any research done at it. Sadwick’s wand was a broken Wondrous Wand which could produce a multitude of different effects when used. The two books he had picked out were Archeros’ Manuscripts, a book which provided the ability to learn certain martial polearm techniques at an accelerated rate, and the Demonic Articles of Golnaz, which caused all nearby magical items to cease functioning when opened.
Somewhat disappointed that he did not find the Book of Woe, Luca turned to the book of spells he had found, which contained several spells of the dark school of Necromancy. Luca tried and failed to convince Blackstar to help him understand the spells within but despite the staff’s reluctance, it was clear that it was interested in the book. Blackstar claimed that it would brim him closer to him, but it was unclear who he was. It was clear that there was something here that required further investigation.