Recap

Previously, the heroes discovered that Falka had found the Book of Woe in the library of the Newport vault. While searching for the books Neamhan found an interesting text burnt on a piece of bark, Chakuq found a compelling book made of horse hide, and Luca discovered the spellbook of Maltorius, Blackstar’s archnemesis who the staff wanted to vanquish in return for his obedience. When the heroes returned to the Careless Wanderer they found that Ser Croy was waiting for them bearing an invitation, and they were visited by Epidemius, in the disguise of father Devon, once again.

Seventh Day, Second Ride, Autumn Twilight, 1262

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

Epidemius sat at the same table as the heroes, cloaked in the disguise of father Devon, as he had done before. It was clear that he was aware the heroes had found and retrieved the Book of Woe, and he was willing to trade with them in order to reacquire it. It did not take long for Quentin to realise that he was dreaming, and soon after the other heroes realised the same; he was once again utilising Pazuzu’s dreamweb to visit them.

Epidemius promised the heroes many things in return for the book; one boon, one question, a promise to not influence the material plane, and to not use the Book of Woe on any mortal. He repeatedly mentioned that the only thing that mattered was “the great desolation” in which everything was consumed, and that demons were his “only adversary.” Luca entertained the idea of striking a deal, emboldened by his recent success in outwitting a minor fiend, but Quentin and Neamhan opposed that musing immediately.

Frustrated, Epidemius stated that waiting for his return on Second Day, Third Ride, Autumn Twilight, 1262 would only bring about hundreds of deaths and ultimately accomplish nothing. Chakuq suppressed his very real fear and walked Epidemius to the door, saw him out, and closed the door behind him.

Once Epidemius had left, Quentin immediately challenged Luca about his willingness to negotiate with the fiend, but the young warlock claimed only to want to keep Epidemius talking in order to gain more information. Chakuq shared a saying from his people that roughly translated to Epidemius being the equivalent of spoiled food; his words were corrupted and offered nothing.

Venting her frustration, Neamhan questioned why the gods would ignore the prayers of their followers and not interfere. Quentin claimed that the gods did intervene in mortal matters, and that his being in Kingsport was a sign of their intervention. Quentin claimed that a small part of the gods could be found in everyone, and they exercised their will through them. Neamhan rejected that idea, and asserted that her magic was her own and not fuelled by the divine.

Neamhan was the first to awaken and found that Ser Croy was asleep in a big chair close to one of the hearths. Epidemius’ dream had already taken them when Quentin had sent the old knight upstairs to sleep in his room it seemed. Lauryn was already awake and preparing the tavern for the day, and Neamhan decided to help out.

Around dawn, all except Emrys woke up. Astrid strolled in, covered in snow, fresh from a trip up the river, ready for breakfast. The banquet that was being organised in Quentin’s honour came up, as did Dame Pauline’s investigations into Quentin’s background. When Quentin suggested that Dame Pauline might only be loyal to his lord father rather than to him, Astrid tried to divorce him of that notion.

“I hope Heimdall graced you with a big cock, Quentin, because he certainly was not generous when he gave you brains.”
– Astrid Sigurðardóttir

By the time that Emrys finally awoke at ninth bell, everyone joined him in his room to discuss the plan to deal with Epidemius. Falka joined for that conversation. Neamhan explained to the others that she was possibly able to bind Epidemius to the mortal plane. Luca suggested that her attempt could be boosted by using one of the lyrium crystals that the heroes still had. Neamhan picked a blue crystal, which would help abjuration magic, and she was keen to grab a dark violet one.

The topic of names came up when Luca suggested knowing Epidemius’ true name would give the heroes power over him. The heroes had learned that Epidemius used to go by the name Epidemiel, before he fell from grace, but they were sceptical that it might actually be his true name. Luca stated that a true name was bestowed upon a being upon drawing its first breath, and that it could not be changed once given. Without that name it was beyond the abilities of the heroes to summon Epidemius.

Previously, the heroes searched through the library of the Newport vault looking for the Book of Woe, convinced Garven and Brandomiir to build them some compartments to store Muirgheal and Lash, and Neamhan made some friends among the plants growing around the painting frames in the gallery. Falka revealed that she had located the Book of Woe, but had a hard time admitting to it because she no longer trusted Luca like she once did.

Sixth Day, Second Ride, Autumn Twilight, 1262

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

After Falka revealed that she was in the possession of the Book of Woe and the heroes learned that the black, leather spell book belonged to Blackstar’s rival, a Senhadrim wizard by the name of Maltorius, Luca decided to engage the staff about its insistence that the heroes pursue the spell book. It was as if Luca had finally made the breakthrough in his communication with Blackstar that he was searching for and the staff quickly revealed that he would submit himself to the young warlock if his goal vanquishing his rival would be addressed. Moreover, Blackstar alluded that the scarlet rain the heroes had heard rumours about, which was falling from the skies in Silesia, had something to do with Maltorius. In pledging himself to the staff’s cause, Luca felt the tension between them, which had been steadily increasing for many months, drop and be replaced with a tentative peace.

Chakuq had gone back to the entrance to the vault and retrieved a burlap sack from among the provisions that Garven and Brandomiir had brought down, emptied it of turnips, and used it to collect the Book of Woe from Falka, making sure not to physically touch the book.

Now that the Book of Woe had been secured, it seemed like the perfect time to depart the vault and leave Garven and Brandomiir to finish their renovations and add the two vaults for Muirgheal and Lash. Falka decided to join the heroes on their return journey, using the ropes to climb back up to the entrance with practiced precision. Emrys offered to use his sorcery to make everyone fly, but Falka declined and continued to climb, and was quickly followed by Chakuq.

As all of them ascended, the heroes were all given a glimpse of one of Falka’s memories. Falka was a young girl, fishing the waters between Dunagore and the Jagged Shore, close to the causeway, as a storm rolled in. Falka fell overboard and was taken by the waves, and the dark depths swallowed her. The pressure of the depths reminded the heroes of the feeling of descending into the vault.

With Falka’s help the heroes found a keyhole that fitted a lyrium crystal, which opened up the portal to the landing in the ancient waterways where she left her little rowboat. Emrys went last and collapsed the portal behind him. Chakuq and Falka took the boat, while the rest remained in flight on their way back to the Silver Cross. Once there, they ascended the ladder back into the basement of the establishment, and Chakuq changed back from the old boots he had found into his own, having successfully avoided getting his boots dirty with muck.

When they entered the common room of the Silver Cross they saw a quiet group of the people working at the Silver Cross sitting at a bar, winding down after a long day of providing companionship. Besides the courtesans, the people at the bar were Samuel, the stout and swarthy Càrcerian doorman, and a elegant and flamboyantly dressed Madame Brécourt, the owner. Samuel warned the heroes to be careful on the streets, as it was well past curfew. The heroes heard the cathedral strike first bell when they departed the Silver Cross.

Neamhan decided to evade detection by turning into a barn owl and fly to the Careless Wanderer, while Emrys used his sorcery to obfuscate their journey with fog. As his magic was unleashed he felt his control slip and something happening that he did not intend, though it did not immediately become clear what that was.

At the Careless Wanderer a sleep Durham opened the door for the heroes, and they found that Ser Croy was asleep at one of the tables. It struck Quentin that he had asked the old knight to come and find him that evening, and that he had completely lost track of time in the Newport Vault. Ser Croy delivered a letter, bound in a ring of iron, engraved with the Fleur de Lys, and it read:

Ser Quentin, Lord and Heir of House Morvrayne, Comte de Monts d’Arée

A feast has been organised in your honour, to take place at sundown on the First Day, Third Ride, Autumn Twilight, 1262 at the Black Alder Farm. From sunrise to sundown, we will gather, hold games, and raise our cups in honour of you and your successes. After the banquet, we will proceed in concluding your quest for marriage and arrange a date for our houses to be joined in oath and blood.

Sincerely,

Highlord Gauthier, Lord of House Lys, [followed by a string of titles]

Ser Croy could tell Quentin and the heroes of Lord Gauthier’s injuries, and the way Lord Dorian had been thrust into a position that he may not have been ready for, leading to the other lords circling Lord Dorian in jealousy. Quentin believed that his father was out of his depth and was in danger of being manipulated and used.

Quentin was also the talk of the camp at Black Alder Farm, according to Ser Croy, and it had not gone unnoticed that he and his betrothed had given each other a wide berth during his visit to the camp. Ser Croy also hesitated to tell Quentin that Dame Pauline had been asking questions about him; in particular about Quentin’s exploits, and trying to get more information in order to validate some of the claims that were made about the Heroes of the White Eye.

The old knight also believed that the Blood of Alban was something to be cherished and nurtured, rather than dismissed, like Lord Dorian dismissed it. Neamhan got very excited about that, and joined her voice to Ser Croy’s in claiming that Quentin’s bloodline was special.

Suddenly there came a rapping…

When the door to the Careless Wanderer was opened, Father Devon stood there, bare foot, clad in a simple robe, in the deep of night, frost covering his balding head. It was Epidemius in disguise. Once inside they sat down at the table and spoke about the Book of Woe.

Epidemius was still adamant the Book of Woe be returned to him now that the heroes had discovered it. He said that he felt he had few opportunities left to him to use Pazuzu’s dreamweb to come and visit the heroes so they could work out a deal. If a deal could not be struck, Epidemius would have no other option than to continue to intensify his siege of Kingsport.

He was prepared to come back to Kingsport and keep tightening the thumbscrews until his book was returned. Epidemius had found a way to get across the veil, and the sacrifices he had to make to do so were worth it. As a warning, a threat, and possibly an enticement, he mentioned that Emrys’ mentor could be found beyond that veil, Chakuq’s song could be found beyond that veil, and the source of Neamhan’s magic could be found beyond that veil.

Previously, the heroes made their way into the Newport Vault in order to search the library, convinced that the Book of Woe, which Epidemius had charged them to find, could be found there.

Sixth Day, Second Ride, Autumn Twilight, 1262

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

The heroes had found more than a dozen books that were either magical, or of other interest. Neamhan had found a piece of bark which had symbols burnt into it which was an archaic version of druidic. She was convinced it held knowledge of a connection she had not established yet. And Chakuq had found a white leather tome, fashioned from horse hide with velum pages painted in gold. He sensed that the book had some significance to him and his tribe.

Luca went to task on the magical books, using a ritual to be able to identify a handful of them. Even though it would reveal the properties and abilities of the chosen books, the ritual could not establish the provenance of them, but, the young warlock reasoned, at least it would be something that could lead them to the Book of Woe.

The Demonic Articles of Golnaz was one of the books which Luca identified, a libram written in red ink, bound by monstrous, red hide, trimmed with bone. Whenever it was opened, other magical items worn by the reader would cease to function. Another book was Archeros’ Manuscript, a compendium bound in thick, cream-coloured hide, which contained the instructions to help anyone achieve mastery over polearms, provided they dedicated time to read the book.

Blackstar was singularly focussed on another book, a simple, unadorned, black leather book, and it urged Luca to focus his attentions on it, too. It became so insistent that Luca took that to mean that this was the book the heroes had come down to the vault to find. To Luca’s mind, the book appeared to be a spell book containing several necromantic spells, meticulously documented, and was nothing like what he expected the Book of Woe to be like. He suspected there was another reason why Blackstar was so insistent.

In the meantime, Quentin was inspired by Garven and Brandomiir’s work and he managed to convince the pair to create a hidden compartment inside one of the walls they were repairing which could hide not just Muirgheal, but Lash as well. Brandomiir, who was helping the heroes in the catacombs underneath Lynnecombe, remembered that the heroes had found Muirgheal, Blackstar, and Toruviel there, understood what the intent was. A price was agreed and Quentin handsomely overpaid the pair with the help of some of the gems that Emrys still had in his possession, lifted from the Atilesceon’s treasure after his defeat. The last request the heroes put in was to inform Emma once the vaults had been completed and the weapons were stored.

Neamhan became increasingly uncomfortable with being this far underground as the conversation between Quentin, Emrys and the two builders continued. The thick walls all around her, and the knowledge of all that earth and stone bearing down on her was making her itching to get to the surface. She wondered how the dwarves of Ard Thoradun endured living like that.

Both Emrys and Quentin picked up on Neamhan’s discomfort and they, together with Chakuq, moved to go back to the library to see how Luca was faring. When they passed the entrance, Neamhan spotted a warm, golden light call to her from down the other corridor which lead to the gallery and she headed there, accompanied by Quentin, while Emrys and Chakuq continued to the library.

While Quentin had seen the gallery before, the site was new to Neamhan. There were rows upon rows of paintings framed by wooden frames from which different types of plants grew that sprouted flowers which glowed with scintillating colours. Small crystals were wrought into the wood of each frame, and each of the paintings depicted a different verdant scene.

Between the entrance and the paintings stood two sets of tall statues, both depicting three women; the maiden, the mother, the crone. They were holding up their hands and in their palms rested a coloured fire; one set of three carried a golden green flame, while the other set of three carried an icy blue flame.

It started to dawn on Neamhan that the gallery would allow for natural growth, though she could not quite discern how it did so. It gave her the idea to communicate with one of the plants sprouting from a frame. Neamhan found that each of the frames was a living plant, and that their roots grew very deep. They did not have names, but they had “made a connection” with another whose name was Bláthnaid, who was responsible for the spring that fed the royal palace. The roots of each of them came forth “from the past”, and each guarded a different “doorway”.

Learning that the plants did not have names, Neamhan took the time to give each of them a name. She named the one she spoke to Sadhbh, and in their joy Sadhbh encouraged her to name the others. Sadhbh also shared that Bláthnaid had shared that the mood inside the palace was sullen, and that the queen had turned angry, and was “beholden to another”, someone who was responsible for “a scarlet rain in the east.”

Back in the library, Chakuq and Emrys find Luca sitting in a cricle of magic, while Falka stands at a distance looking on. Chakuq wanted to get a move on and grabbed a burlap sack from the provisions stacked up at the entrance, emptied the contents of cabbages, and started to load up the books which were of interest. When prodded to help, Falka did not react, and Emrys noticed her hesitation.

Falka requested that Quentin and Neamhan join the rest of the group, and she revealed that she had found the Book of Woe. The book looked as if it was made of skin that had been inflicted by a bad burn wound. A crystal which seemed to have trapped a foul liquid was embedded into the front of the book. Falka had been hesitant to reveal the book to the heroes because she was fearful that they would hand the book back to Epidemius. She felt she had lost touch with the friend she had made while corresponding with Luca, and was not sure who had Luca had become since then.

Falka had chosen to be cautious and had already sent word to the Order of the Shield to report that she had found the book. She felt that the book was best returned to the Apothecaries of Photus, who had been guarding the book for centuries, but she was unsure on what to do. Eventually, Falka put the book back into her bag until it was clear what the heroes were intending to do with it.