session twenty

Events:

Jaro 30-

Ex Umbra teleported to Havencroft, Tanalor with the help of Pathe. The city was not as Caelen and Shadoe remembered it. Caelen left Havencroft with Pathe almost 11 months ago, and in this time the city has become riddled with drugs, fear, and near poverty. They appeared outside the Holy Sanctum and noticed a large chain lock on the door. The team split up to get a lay of the land. Caelen and Zane went to the courthouse in search of Caelen's old boss Warren Forn the Lieutenant of The Court. Shadoe, Katrina, and Artemis walked around the Holy Sanctum looking for a way in. Vethra and Pathe stayed where they arrived with the cart and had a short conversation. Caelen and Zane found Delilah Bix, the new Lieutenant of The Court, who informed Caelen that Warren had overdosed on nightmare a couple months ago. Caelen questioned her about the drug dealers and what had happened to the city. He and Zane learned that a drug syndicate known as The Dreamweaver Syndicate was producing the nightmare. The city began to decline under the combined weight of drugs, economic struggles, and a loss of hope after the death of the green and blue wizards. Meanwhile, Shadoe, Katrina, and Artemis found a backdoor to the sanctum. It was a simple door with a simple lock, so Katrina used her magic to reshape the stone around the handle of the door causing it to recede rendering the lock useless. Shadoe and Katrina made their way inside but Kat asked Artemis to keep watch and growl if anyone came. Shadoe made her way to the kitchen and found a trap door. She made her way down through this trap door and found the cellar. The cellar was barren, like the kitchen, showing that this building hasn't been used in some time, but their was one thing to note in this cellar. There were faint traces of black powder in the corner of the room. Katrina had made her way upstairs and found herself in complete darkness. She lit a torch and made her way to the first room in the hall to her left. It had an old faint smell of spice and she quickly realized this room was intended for the green wizard, Ted Wildgrass. She found two green robes bearing his initials and she took them. By now Shadoe had made her way upstairs and she went into the next room belonging to Rydon Skull, the red wizard. She found a red robe bearing his initials that was covered in blood, but unlike Kat, she chose to leave it. Kat made her way to Magus Cane, the blue wizard's room, and Shadoe made her way to Gilman Rook, the white wizard's room. In the white wizard's room Shadoe found a map table with a map of the lands of Valoria. This map had a circle drawn in the middle of the Equadis Ocean with question marks around it. On this map table there was also a compass with a letter under it. Shadoe read the letter and realized it had been written by Gilman Rook. The letter said, "Dear Slayer, I hope you return soon. When you do, know that I have gone in to hiding. You will see me where you once saw freedom." Shadoe took the letter. In the other room, Katrina began to investigate the blue wizard's room and noticed one of the panels of his desk seemed separated, yet locked. She took a crowbar from her bag and set to work trying to pry open the panel. When Shadoe joined her in this room she was still struggling with the crowbar. Shadoe grabbed the crowbar as well and they worked together to pry it open... and failed. They drew their swords and started hacking away at the wooden desk. After an embarrassing amount of time, they finally broke through. Inside this compartment they found a book entitled "Explorer's Guide to The Fire Realm". Inside the cover of this book there was a piece of paper that seemed to have been ripped from a journal saying, "another Arcane Artifact has been located, The Cloak of Fire Resistance." While Katrina investigated this book, Shadoe became curious about the large bookshelves overflowing with dozens of texts. She used a spell to detect traces of magic in the area. This spell led her to find a book called "The Power of Understanding", which contained instructions for a special ritual that would allow someone to comprehend languages for an hour. During this time outside, Vethra and Pathe had a conversation. Pathe told Vethra that she hadn't been back to Havencroft in a long time. She hasn't even been to Tanalor in a few months. She had searched for Blaid and Aroe after their disappearance, but after finding no leads she returned to the Bounty Guild HQ in Redbank, Elbria when she then found the letter from Ajax. She hadn't come back until now. Vethra asked exactly how much this town had changed and Pathe told her that the difference is a dramatic difference from the once busy streets of Havencroft. Pathe wished her luck and asked Vethra to keep an eye out for her sisters before she teleported away. Caelen was able to receive a sealed letter from Delilah indicating he has permission to access the evidence lockup where nightmare and syndicate related evidence is held. He and Zane made their way outside when suddenly all of Ex Umbra heard a loud growl coming from the city center where the Holy Sanctum is. It was very clear that this was from Artemis. Vethra flew up on her broom over the building to get a birds eye view of Artemis. Zane and Caelen quickly made their way toward the sound as Caelen made himself invisible. Shadoe and Katrina wanted to investigate the other rooms of the sanctum, but when hearing Artemis roar, they made their way downstairs and toward the side door, exiting on a different side of the building than they had entered. A city guardsman was standing before Artemis, looking a bit frightened of her. His eyes darted back and forth between the large sabertooth tiger and the strange hole in the wall that rendered the door unlocked. Zane approached and spoke to the guard. As the guard turned toward Zane, facing away from the door, Caelen entered the building. The guard asked Zane what was going on here, but Zane honestly had no idea. He told the guard that Artemis was his pet and before she could say a word, Vethra used her magic to telepathically communicate with Artemis telling her to play along and not speak. Artemis begrudgingly played along. The guard decided to take a look in the building now that the doorway was free of tigers. Caelen was watching through the hole in the wall and saw the guard approaching. He hadn't paid attention to the guard before, but now looking at his face as he made his way to the door, Caelen realized he knew this guard. He had once met him nearly 4 years ago. Luckily Caelen was invisible, so the guard walked right past him as he began to search the building. Caelen slipped back out and rejoined the others as he dropped his invisibility. By now Katrina and Shadoe had reached Zane and Vethra flew down as well. As Ex Umbra discussed what happened to the door, Shadoe gave Caelen the letter she had found in the white wizard's room. Zane was confused why he would leave the letter there and Caelen explained that there was once a time loop cast on the inner city involving a bomb and a cultist that was torturing the wizards one by one. When he finally stopped the time loop he defused the bomb, saved the red wizard, and killed the cultist. This was the day he had met the guard, who had been standing watch in the Holy Sanctum that day. Zane didn't believe him at first but Shadoe then told them all about the black powder residue and the bloody red wizard robe. With these pieces of evidence and the fact that Shadoe was sent to kill Caelen after the death of that cultist, she was able to confirm his rather unbelievable story. This conversation was interrupted as a young boy, roughly 16, walked over to them. He wore dirty clothes and a dark cloak. He tried to sell them nightmare, and Caelen took advantage of this opportunity. He bought one pre-roll of nightmare, and pulled the kid in close asking him who the leader of The Dreamweavers is. The kid was so distracted by this that he didn't notice Vethra swipe the other 4 pre-rolls he had. The kid resisted at first until Zane slowly stepped behind Caelen, intimidating the boy. He told them that all he knows is a street name, Slumbr. Caelen then let him go, just in time. The guard, Steve, returned and took notice of the kid. He called him Junior and asked if he was trying to deal to these people. Junior felt his cloak and realized all his drugs were gone. He hid his frustration and opened his cloak telling Steve that he was clean. Steve told Junior to leave and to stop pushing drugs around the Holy Sanctum. Junior walked away and Steve turned his attention back to Ex Umbra. He asked if they knew anything about the hole in the wall, but the more Caelen and Zane spoke, the more suspicious he became. Eventually he told them that he didn't really care, he just wants someone to fix the hole. Katrina refused to use her magic, afraid of incriminating herself, so Vethra used an illusion to make the wall appear to be fixed, satisfying the guard. The quickly left before Steve could realize that the wall wasn't actually fixed. Caelen suspected that perhaps Gilman's letter was referring to his old home, though he couldn't figure out how he knew his identity. He led Ex umbra to the west side of the city where he once lived. As they walked down the road, Shadoe began to recognize the area, not from her memories of Tanalor, but rather she remembered following Caelen down this street when she first entered his dreamscape. When they finally arrived where his childhood home once was, they found an empty plot of grass and flowers. There was no sign of the white wizard, nor any remaining evidence of the home that once stood here. Caelen, Shadoe, and Zane began discussing what the letter could be referring too. Zane suggested that perhaps it's not Caelen that was freed. He mentioned that Pathe had once said Caelen freed her from a cage. Caelen and Shadoe looked at one another, and Shadoe said, "The Tower of Flame". She explained that this is where the cult had raised and trained her and her sisters on the other side of Tanalor. This conversation was interrupted as Vethra and Katrina heard shuffling in a nearby alley. Katrina gestured for Artemis to pursue. Artemis knocked over a barrel, tackling the person who had been watching them from behind it, but as quickly as she had tackled the figure, she backed away, hanging her head in shame. It was a little girl. The entire group looked over at this scene and Shadoe froze as the girl looked directly at her and said "help". Shadoe made her way over to the girl and stood her up, dusting her off. She assured the girl that Artemis wouldn't hurt her. The girl calmed down a bit and said to Shadoe, "You're friends with my daddy right?" Shadoe asked the girl what her name was, but the truth is deep down she already knew. The girl said, "My name's Melinda, but my friends call me Millie." A chill travelled down Shadoe's spine. Millie continued, "My daddy used to draw you!" Shadoe asked where her father was, and Millie told her he passed away a few years ago. Millie, her father, and her father's friend Bryn moved to Havencroft years ago. She said one day daddy and Bryn left late at night wearing their armor, but daddy never came back. Millie was raised in the orphanage after that, but recently the woman that ran the orphanage got very sick and died. People from the city and a few guardsmen stop by the orphanage to check on the kids, but no one has decided to take on the responsibility full time. Zane asked if she had eaten yet today and Millie said no, none of the kids at the orphanage had eaten yet that day. At this time it was almost mid day so they took Millie to the market. It was mostly empty, but there were still a few vendors around. Vethra bought food, not only for Millie, but also for all the kids at the orphanage. They walked Millie back to the orphanage and gave the food to the children, but Shadoe didn't want to leave her here. No conversation was needed, Caelen handed the key to his house over to Shadoe and said, "Here. My house is east of the city center. She can stay there." They walked Millie to her new home and Katrina created enough magical berries for her to stay nourished for a while. Caelen had to go inside to be sure his basement, the slayer's layer, was locked up, and then he welcomed Millie inside. Before Shadoe left, Millie asked one final question. "Do you know Bryn?" Shadoe said that she did and Millie said, "I hope she's ok. I haven't seen her in forever." She then offered Shadoe a gift, a necklace Millie's father had given her. This thin golden chain had a small gold pendant on it bearing the crest of The Sova Sect. Shadoe told her to stay safe and they began to walk back toward their cart. Once they were far enough away from Caelen's house, Zane stopped Shadoe and asked the question on everyone's minds. "So who was that? And who is her father?" Shadoe paused for a moment, and then told her story. Many years ago, before Caelen had freed her from The Cult of The Dragon, Shadoe was sent on a mission. Over the years, The cult had sent her and her sisters on many missions, but this one was different for Shadoe. When they were sent, the cult would place a charm on the girls, forcing them to obey orders. These orders always ended with a command to return to their cell before the charm ended, so the girls never had a chance to escape. This mission was a simple assassination. A man had been spotted in the woods near The Tower of Flame. He fled into the woods dropping loose papers as he ran. The cult had seen the direction the man ran and knew their was a small village in that direction, Valleycroft. Shadoe's orders were to retrieve any evidence of their location, and to ensure no more watchful eyes would endanger the cult. She tracked him to his small cottage and saw him enter. Knowing he had made the long journey to The Tower of Flame and lived in such a small house made things simple for Shadoe. This typically indicated that he had no kids or family in his home, and thus her mission would be easy. She waited until it was very late, knowing her target would be asleep. She made her way into the small cottage and saw scattered papers on the table. They were drawings. Drawings of their base, the cultists, the sisters, and even Shadoe herself. He wasn't just someone who had seen too much. He was actively watching them and studying them. Shadoe was now more prepared than ever to take out her target. She slowly and quietly cracked open the bedroom door and got low to the ground as she crawled to the bed. She stood up, dagger in hand, ready to strike. She froze. There was a little girl cuddled up in the man's arms. Shadoe's assessment was incorrect. On the nightstands she saw two drawings. One was a simple and messy drawing of three figures labeled Dad, Mom, and Millie, with a halo over mom's head. The other drawing, closer to the man, was of a beautiful castle entitled Millie's Castle and signed by Edwin. Shadoe couldn't bring herself to complete this mission, but it wasn't an easy situation. The charm prevented her from trying to disobey her orders, and the lashes on her back were a stark reminder of what failure would bring. Luckily the cult made a mistake. The orders were vague. She was not told to kill him. She was told to ensure no more watchful eyes. Edwin had glasses on his nightstand. Shadoe took his glasses and the drawings of the cult and fled into the night. The cult took this evidence and believed that Shadoe had done what they wanted. Not too long after that came the day she was sent to kill Caelen Vale. This was also the reason Edwin had decided to move so suddenly. After telling Ex Umbra her story, they all decided to head to the Easton Ruins, once home to The Tower of Flame, with haste.

Fero 1-19

Ex Umbra ventured across Tanalor, passing through Cinderville. They didn't stop in the city but they saw that it was actually decently clean for a city at the base of a volcano. It was ever so slightly cleaner than Havencroft. During their travels Caelen and Shadoe took time to distil the components of Nightmare using the pre-roll Caelen had purchased from Junior. It seems to simply be a combination of spice and dreamberry extract. Caelen knew that dreamberries only grow in The Thornwood Forest in Tanalor. Many cities boarder this forest, including Havencroft, but now they have a lead. Caelen also knew that no one ventures too far in to the forest because it is rumored to be haunted by a dark spirit, but there are always conflicting stories regarding this spirit, so it's hard to say what's really going on.

Fero 20-

They arrived in the Easton Ruins and Shadoe led Ex Umbra to the hidden entrance to the underground Tower of Flame. Outside this entrance they approached the graves of Shadoe's fallen sisters. Two, Vethra's ghostly cat, began to act strangely. For the first time he walked away from Vethra and toward Shadoe, but he wasn't looking at her. He was looking in front of her. Vethra used an illusion spell to make the alphabet and the words "yes" and "no" appear on the ground in front of two. She began to ask him questions such as "Do you see something?" "Is it a person?" and "Is it one of the sisters?". He hovered his ghostly paw over yes for the first two questions and then between yes and no for the third. Vethra interpreted that as a "maybe". Shadoe asked if it was a little girl and he moved his paw to "yes" again. Shadoe fell to her knees sobbing, asked Caelen for a dreamberry, and used it in an attempt to contact this ghost, but someone else responded. As Shadoe lifted her head she did not see the girl, she saw The Harbinger. None of the others could see him, but it seemed as though Two could. He asked her if she was ready to bear the weight of what she sought and she nodded her head while still crying. The harbinger took her by the hand and then reached out as if he was taking someone else by the hand as well. He brought his hands together and this other hand he had been holding was placed in Shadoe's hand. The Harbinger disappeared as Shadoe looked in to the eyes of a young girl she knew as Iris. Still the others saw nothing. The girl spoke, "Shadoe. You came back."