Session 34: The Assembly
General Summary
The party began their session tending to their unconscious companion Tinky De Brave, who had fallen into a deep sleep after they removed a cursed bracelet from him. Despite their efforts to wake him, including Shei giving him a gentle kiss on the forehead and tucking him into bed with care, Tinky remained unresponsive. With an important Magi Assembly meeting scheduled, the party decided to leave Tinky to rest and made their way to the Colosseum on horseback, choosing speed over the hour-long walk.
At the Colosseum, they found approximately fifty mages gathered around a central dais where three archmages sat in stone chairs. The assembly represented various magical orders, including the armored Order of Voyagers and the scholarly Order of Sages. Palitus Armranzo , the human Archmage of the Order of Sages, greeted the party and introduced them to his fellow archmages. The first was Emerald, a tall elven woman known as the Far Traveler, who stood over six feet tall with flowing blonde hair and gray eyes that sparkled with excitement. The second was Grenda, a pale, bald Tenedris Dwarf with red eyes and a black beard, who made comments about the party's ability to fix their mistakes.
When called upon to address the assembly, the party recounted their tale of accidentally unleashing the ogres from their mountain prison. Shei attempted to lighten the mood with humor about having a tail, which earned mixed reactions from the different orders. They explained how they had been deceived by Mika, a shape-changing ogre who had infiltrated their group and led them astray on what they believed was a quest for treasure. The revelation that ogres could change form and teleport shocked many of the assembled mages, as did the news that the party had fought a projection of the Ogre King on the island itself.
The party provided crucial intelligence about the ogre threat, including a stolen map of their underground capital city and evidence of their involvement in the recent war between Crook Crag and Sutharon. They revealed that the ogres sought the enslavement and subjugation of all other races, and had already begun recruiting efforts with promises of rewards after their conquest. Most disturbing was their mention of a vampiric ogre among the leadership, which caused all three archmages to visibly pale with concern.
In a surprising turn, the party also revealed their discovery of the Silverwave clan - ancient elves from the Age of Spirits who had been petrified for centuries and were recently freed. This news particularly excited Emerald, who wanted to immediately investigate these prehistoric elves. The party explained that these elves possessed knowledge from before recorded history, potentially holding answers to questions that had puzzled scholars for hundreds of years.
The assembly discussed their response to the ogre threat, with plans to investigate the underground city, examine connections to Crook Crag, and track down the missing Voidheart, who had been kidnapped by the shape-changing ogre Mika. The party volunteered to pursue the Voidheart situation, believing they had a responsibility to their former companion, who was connected to seven ancient seals and powerful magic. The mages would handle raising armies and researching methods to potentially re-seal the ogres, though this would require significantly weakening them first.
To ensure loyalty and prevent further betrayal, Tak proposed binding the party members with geas spells. Despite some tension over trust issues, particularly regarding Shei's connection to the spirit Shurani, all three party members agreed to the magical binding. The geas would cause psychic damage if they betrayed the group or worked with the ogres, lasting for thirty days with the possibility of renewal. Grenda cast the spell on Tak, while Palitus handled Garuman and Shei's bindings.
Following the magical oaths, Grenda distributed powerful magical equipment to aid in their mission. Tak received gleaming plate armor, crafted from silver and gold. Shei was given a Rod of the Pact Keeper plus one, an iron rod with curved ridges designed for those who were "not quite wizards but close to it." Garuman received a Helm of Telepathy, a silver circlet with arcane writing that had originally belonged to an elf. The archmages explained these items would prove more trustworthy companions than their previous allies.
The assembly concluded with plans for the party's next mission. Palitus offered to teleport them wherever they needed to investigate, establishing communication protocols with safe words - Kumquat and Kiwi - to ensure secure contact. The party would focus on tracking down Voidheart and the ogre queen Mika, while the various mage orders would handle different aspects of the larger threat: the Sages would investigate Crook Crag connections, the Voyagers would track ogre movements, and the Creationists would work on building armies and studying magical artifacts.
After returning to the Toasted Scholar, the party placed a Bracelet of the Many on the still-unconscious Tinky. Following a long rest that allowed them to recover and advance their abilities, they visited a local armory where Shei sold his old equipment for significant gold, including plate armor, a chain shirt, chainmail, and even a chunk of ogre flesh. Tak purchased a magical shield plus one, trading in his historically significant original shield that had fought ogres and demons.
The next morning, Palitus arrived to teleport the party to their destination in the Northern Hills. The magical transport brought them to Passan, a small town situated on the edge of a massive cliff at high altitude. The town served as an entrance to the Passage of Caverns, a labyrinthine network of underground tunnels used by caravans for travel. After Palitus departed with promises to check in within days, the party made their way to the magistrate's manor to investigate reports of a massacre at a local homestead.
The magistrate's manor was an impressive two-story building surrounded by rose bushes with an unusually sweet scent. Jebediah Hopkins, the magistrate's manservant, greeted them and served refreshments while they waited in a comfortable study. Magistrate Deontorin, a tall half-elf wearing well-used leather armor and carrying a combat-tested sword, explained the situation at the Raquel family homestead. A week prior, the family and their guests had been brutally massacred by a strange creature that could change its form. The bodies had been "torn asunder" with no apparent pattern, and only one person had escaped the carnage.
The session reached its climax when the survivor was brought to meet them - a woman with ivory skin, vibrant red hair, and a green dress, who bore two distinctive moles beneath her right eye, looking exactly like Lady Torreal Fealrik As she offered to speak with them about the massacre, the party realized with growing alarm that this might be connected to their previous encounters with shape-changing ogres. The revelation left them questioning whether this was the real survivor or another imposter, and wondering what had happened to any previous version they might have encountered. The session ended on this note of uncertainty and potential danger, with the party facing the possibility that their enemies had once again infiltrated their investigation.
