C2 Session 24: The Interview Process Report
General Summary
2nd of Diesmir 1545 Continued
Brin brings down the last "deer" with a sickening crunch. The goo starting to ooze out of the creature as the ladies in the tent all look on in horror. Margaret and Ana quickly tend those who are injured and checking in to make sure everyone is okay. Eventually, the camp is calmed and tended to, which allows everyone to go back to watches and rest.
Ana and Stormfang take over for the next watch. They talk about the fight and the weapon she had bought him. They will look at getting it enchanted when they return to Shoufal. They talked about keeping abilities secret to give Ana an advantage should she be targeted by enemies in future. Some of the abilities she used in the fight were new and thankfully only friends know about it since the strange deer are all dead.
3rd of Diesmir 1545
The rest of the night was peaceful. Margaret and Brin are up first with Ana up not long after. The acolytes are up and making breakfast. This is had and the camp is packed up by 8am with the party back on the road. By 4pm the party had had a peaceful day of travel, they are approaching the cloister. From here, it looks like a single stone building with two stories and a nice stone archway around the entrance. As we get close, the rest of the compound will become visible, consisting of a few other similar buildings tucked into the hills behind it. There are large bushes and some simple gardens visible as well as a few fruit trees.
Young children spot the approaching caravan, alerting the adults to its return. They're delighted to see Margaret and want to show her the garden. She allows herself to be dragged away as Ana follows along. Brin and the others help with unloading and unpacking.
The kids want to point everything new to Margaret. New plants for the new season, what has fruited or sprouted since she left and all the things! Maragret is a good audience member for the kids and Ana follows along. The kids are disappointed to learn Ana isn't here to become a listener. Margaret does her best to help the kids get over the disappointment by distracting them with her personal mission from the moon herself and just some of the details about that. The kids, understanding how serious this is, take Margaret and Ana to the leaders.
The pair are taken through the building where many of the woman and few men here are happy to see Margaret and greet her as she passes them. The kids take them to the meditation space where the other leaders are. Inside are three figures that look up as Margaret enters.
There is a half elf named Nyelle, the Keeper of the Night Watch and Dream Rites. Nyelle wears layered indigo and silver robes that reflect starlight faintly. Her silver-white hair is braided with moonstones, and her eyes shimmer faintly when she looks at the stars. She speaks in soft, melodic tones, like a lullaby.
There is a Brecht man named Venzar. He's the Liturgist of the Moon and Renewal. Venzar is a lean man with tanned bronze skin, fiery amber eyes, and tattoos that glow faintly during rituals. His voice carries like song, and he wears robes trimmed with iridescent scales that catch the moonlight.
Finally a water Genasi named Temira, a much older female Genasi. She had spent time as the highest light previous but stepped down to be a guild of the next generation. Now she is the Lorekeeper, Archivist and Record Keeper. Temira glides rather than walks, her voice as soft as flowing water. Her pale blue skin is covered in constellations painted with pearl ink. Her staff is entwined with coral and moonglass. She takes a few moments to consider them before speaking.
The leaders each greet Ana and Margaret. Temira seems to realise their appearance means something significant has happened. With the knowledge of the carvan returning, thanks to the children that cheerful spread the news of visitors, this only confirms the Genasi's suspicions. Venzar volunteers to go with the children to collect Margaret's friends before discussions begin. Ana and Margaret make small talk with Nyelle and Temira. Ana sends a message to Hamsey to check in and ask what circle he belongs to upon Temira's question about how they're getting home and learning they have a druid friend. He's the circle of land.
About half an hour after the ladies had left, just as Brin and company has finished unloading the wagons, the children return but are leading a man towards them. He introduces himself to Brin and company and informs them that their company is requested. Venzar takes them to the meditation room.
Brin is led to the room to meet Temira and Nyelle. Vareth introduces himself with his last name Thorneveil and as a Warden of The Argent Aegis. With final introductions made, Margaret requests to look into the minds of each of the leaders to try and see if they have been influences by Bolorhamogg. They reluctantly agree after Margaret explains the reason for this. She briefly consults her shadow to see if there is anything strange, but only learns that Brin's shadow is unnaturally dark.
Temira's thoughts are questioning about picking Isla, the Highest Light, as her successor after she stepped down from the role herself. Venzar's thoughts are of the acolytes who returned and concern for their wellbeing with plans to go and check on them after the meeting. Nyelle's thoughts are full of questions as Maragret feels something trying to sooth Nyelle. Margaret pushes deeper to try and find the source of the soothing. A barrier tries to trap Margaret like it had before with the Highest Light but is able to evade it this time. It retreats, leaving Nyelle to her growing anxiety and uncertainty. She tells everyone about this before moving on to tell them more.
Margaret discloses Jamal's status as Champion, what they have achieved together and what they are continuing to work on. The Highest Light's work was distracting them as she tried to steal Jamal away from the group which caused them to come here to stop it, only to discover something more sinister at play. She tells them of what happened when they arrived at the camp and of Bolothamogg. The leaders are naturally concerned about this and make plans for a cleansing ritual to take place. Venzar would prefer it to be under the full moon, but given the party cannot wait, he agrees to do it in the morning.
Temira is able to tell everyone more about Bolothamogg. Bolothamogg is the deepest darkness. It is an elder being older them our plane or likely any plane. She agrees with doing the ritual to try and remove all trace of his presence even if it is hidden within people. They don't think it will restore what has been lost, but should cut off the attempt to do any further harm to those effected. It turns out the last time Bolothamogg was a threat was 40 years ago when Temira was the Highest Light. Conquencidentally this is roughly at the same time Margaret found her way to the temple as a child.
Afterwards Nyelle takes the group to the guest area with a few acolytes to help set it up. It's a bunk area with a table in the centre and a lounge area. It looks to be able to house 10 people. Brin checks in about his ability to wonder the grounds and Nyelle only says he should stay out of the ladies dorms. By 5pm everything is set up and they're left to rest before dinner.
The group has a brief discussion about Brin's shadow as Margaret asks him about it. He confirms he's aware of it and he didn't do it. Instead he changes the subject to be about Vareth. Is the moon different because Vareth knows nothing about it, or is it the same and he's just uninformed? After that most of the group rests until dinner while Brin goes for a walk.
Brin looks around for symbols, dates or marking but doesn't find much before heading back to the others for dinner.
Upon Brin's return, everyone but Jamal heads for the dining room. The dining hall is very large with many round tables for people to sit at. It looks to be a self serve meal with trays of food and plates on another table. Many of the acolytes are lined up to get their food. There is a potato and leek soup, bread, sausages, steamed veg. Also soft cider drinks available. Everyone gets something to eat.
Margaret sits with Evelyn and Ana to discuss a bit about how Evelyn knows Maragret and why she didn't leave with Margaret. Margaret does her best to get Evelyn to eat who has a very low appetite right now. Meanwhile Brin entertains several of the ladies with a tale about a horse named Majesty, a young colt he rescued from a band of marauding jabberwocks. It grew into a mighty stallion under his care. He lost it to the original owner when he came for his property, but the horse ran away and ran off into the plains after seeing Brin one more time. Ana adds to the story with some illusions before introducing Evelyn to the idea of Xeldarix and she is very persuasive.
After a bit more discussion about Shoufal, Margaret heads out to the garden, Ana heads back to the room and Brin goes for another walk.
Ana takes the moment to check in on Jamal when she gets back to the room, reminding him about the restoration ritual. Jamal is hopeful it will help with how he is feeling. He feels like a piece himself and his lady are missing, like a hole in his chest which is now empty. Jamal asks how Ana is coping with her own loss. She's frustrated with her loss of spell as she really liked that one. Jamal encourages Ana to talk to her Goddess about some of her questions about the situation.
Brin looks for locked or guarded doors to see what this crazy cult is hiding. He finds a few and upon looking in from a window, he identifies some filing cabinets. He shadow steps in before going through the files. This seems to be organised records of any purchases or sales the cloister has made. There are records of when people arrive to join the cloister. Brin takes some of it before leaving the room as he entered. He heads back to the room to relax.
Margaret goes to the gardens. Vareth and Evelyn join her as they have some relaxing time there before heading back to the guest quarters after an hour.
An hour after dinner brin returns to the room to find Ana, Jamal, Stormfang, and Ubek relaxing. Ana asks about his walk and Brin does say it was educational but nothing else yet. They relax and a short time later Margaret also returns to the room at 8:30pm. The party heads to bed not long after.
Ana quietly prays to Xeldarix for guidance in the face of the vast emptiness between the stars as she heads to bed.
Just before midnight Margaret gets up to watch the moon for a short time before heading back to bed. Her dreams send her to a beautiful rainforest to look for her Goddess. For a moment, Ana saw a dark fungi sneaking up a tree before blinking and saw it was gone. The sound of Xeldarix talking to someone is nearby. Xeldarix is sitting on a rock as she carefully cleans up a bird of some sort. It has a large shoe shaped bill. It has some feathers out of place that Xeldarix is either fixing or plucking as she gently comforts it.
Xeldarix ends up having to do something similar for Ana, though minus the feathers and more about the hole in her soul. Ana tells her what happened. Xeldarix is sad she can't returned to ripped away piece of soul, but she can patch it to return some new magic to her. She warns Ana against loosing too much. There are many forces like the void. All in the dark, but they have different desires and driving forces. The void collects to end all things. To bring a silence to everything and everywhere. This other entity might also take and take, but for other means and reasons.
It turns out Xeldarix has been able to learn a bit more about the moon. The moon is very old. To drain enity like that of it's power would throw things out of balance which is very dangerous. Azari is a good example of what can happen to a world when the balance is thrown off. This brings Ana to tell Xeldarix about the void dream Margaret had the other night. To fight the void Xeldarix says they stop the tainted becoming true anchors or killing them. Apparently her father is struggling to come to terms with this.
4th of Diesmir 1545
Brin is first up at 5am. He heads outside for a bit of exercise to start his morning. He returns at 6am to find Maragret getting up. They leave Ana to sleep while getting breakfast as Stormfang offers to get her something to eat. They hear whispers of the ceremony starting at 9am and hear encouragements about if people want to help prepare to head out to the courtyard. Then they head back to the room to get Ana up.
Ana is gently woken up with a gentle shake at 7am. There is the smell of pancakes, berries, hashbrowns, mushrooms and eggs. Stormfang gives her the food and they have a little chat while Ana eats. Jamal is here but quiet.
At 8am Maragret and brin return to the room as Ana finishes her breakfast in bed. Stormfang and Jamal are already here with Ubek and Vareth following Brin and Margaret back in. They tell Ana about the preparations that they intend to help with. Everyone quickly packs up their stuff and heads outside.
Venzar asks them to get meditation pads and to lay them out carefully when they ask him how they can help. Once all is set up, Jamal is pressured into giving a blessing to the ceremony which Ana helps with. Venzar unfurls some purple fabric on the arches around the courtyard before returning to the centre. He holds up a palm and the bonfire starts to light. A faint incense of star-anise, burnt rosemary, and crushed pearl wafts on the breeze. The flames of the bonfire glow with unusual blue-white light.
Brother Venzar raises both arms, his robes fluttering with heat and magical energy. His voice resonates with fiery conviction:
“In the name of the Moon, in the wax and waning of the month, we gather not in shadow of the recent new moon, but in courage. We have danced beneath veiled skies, whispered to false lights, and now… we burn the darkness away!” He voice booms magically as the fire flares dramatically.
He then leads the group through prayer. Everyone in the party, aside from Brin participate. Everyone is invited to offer something to the flames. It could be a trinket, scrap of clothing or a written thought. There is paper and charcoal available for the last option. As each member goes up, Venzar continues to lead everyone else through the chant.
Margaret offers her cuddly mascot, Ubek offers a scrap of clothing, Stromfang offers a trinket, and Ana, Jamal and Vareth takes paper and writes a prayer out before burning it. As the offerings burn, the bonfire changes colour with each token. Some are light green, some silver, purple for Maragret (becoming very large for a moment after the toy owl goes in), gold for Ana. For two people there was a terrifying moment where it went black, which caused panic whispers, for Jamal and Nyelle.
Ana writes out in Elvish:
“Hello ancient moon goddess!
Can you please go talk to Xeldarix?
She’s very nice and I think she could help. She’s not rude and stuffy like Ruornil.
And she knew Basaïa!
I will keep Jamal safe for you.”
Afterwards Venzar gets them to close their eyes to find strength in silence instead of fearing the unknown. Venzar finishes the ritual, calling on protection from other planar forces as he casts a spell on everyone participating. Everyone who participates receives the following Boon:
Moonfire Ward
On a check or save against mind-affecting spells or abilities you can reroll after knowing the result. Once used, it fades.
Margaret goes around to say her goodbyes while everyone comes to have one moment with the Champion of the Moon before he goes. A few come over to ask about her contribution to the blessing. When it's time to go Stormfang helps extract Jamal from the group and Ana contacts Hamsey before they're able to teleport back via trees. They run out into Shoufal outside of their guild where the warmth of the desert hits the party. Hamsey is standing next to a large mangrove that shrinks back into a staff when everyone is through.
They quickly tell Hamsey how it went before heading inside to see Oryn and get two new reports from him. A man had come by to see the party, but he didn't seem to know their names. Margaret quickly makes the connection off his description that this is the Druid Ankheset from Aris that was working for the serpent. She and the party rush out with Jamal, Stormfang and Hamsey while Oryn gets Vareth and Evelyn settled. Ana messages Fikra to see where Raillath is and learns he's out at the market with a new "friend". Alerted to the danger, Fikra and Kareem are now also on their way to the market.
As they get to the market, they quickly start looking around. Stormfang and Hamsey disappear as they do a quick run around the market in hopes of seeing the boy or at least a black cat. Brin catches concerned whispers about a child that had taken ill in the market not too long ago after eating at a pastry cart. They're considering reporting the cart and are worried others will get sick. He gets the group together and approaches the pastry cart. The man tries to sell them food, to try and prove to the public that his pastries did not make the boy ill.
Brin buys him out for the day. Instructing him to give it all out for free before reporting what happened to the guards. The man does his best to indicate where the boy and the adult he was with went. Ana updates Fikra and Kareems as she catches sight of them and they all start to head in the direction Raillath was taken. Jamal uses sending to communicate with Raillath, but its hard as the boy is very unwell. He's possibly a goat with goats. Ana tries to get owls to help her but they're unable to find anything helpful so she turns into an owl herself to go and look. As they continue, they ask people if they saw anything. The boy was taken South East and at the East gate preparations are being made for caravans with livestock to head out.
The group quickly heads there. The party sees several caravan companies gearing up for a day of travel to Aftane from the looks of things. They'll be leaving in the next half an hour. Though two of the companies seem to have goats. Some are leading them shepherd style while the other has them loaded into a wagon very tightly. Owl team spot a covered figure in desert garb giving coin and parchment to what looks to a young messenger. Ana swoops down and steals the message and the druid attacks her. When the owl survives the Ice Knife, he realises it is not a normal owl and gets ready for combat. Meanwhile Margaret detects magic and sees one of the wagons has something magical in it. Brin follows her.
Kareem and Fikra are unaware of the druid and continue to ask the crowd about their son. Jamal tries to sneak over to the druid through the crowds but ends up stepping on feet and having a lot of people mad at him. Ankheset, the druid of the Serpent, tries to dispel Ana's magic as he presumes it was Polymorph but is proven wrong. Brin approaches Ankheset and tries to shame him for attacking birds while Ana drops the message she stole to Margaret. Margaret quickly reads the note.
The Serpent sends his regards as we take in a wonderful new member to our family. The creature might be young but is full of potential. We promise to take good care of the young dragon. Perhaps you could visit us some time to see him.
She quickly runs over to the wagon with the magic in it. Meanwhile it's clear the riders are getting ready to start their journey. Ankheset whistles loudly to the caravans before complaining to Brin about the local wildlife being pests and thieves. He starts walking away, but Brin isn't having it. Brin runs after Ankheset, but the druid is ready, casting a wall of thorns around Brin as he gets too close. However, Brin refuses to let that stop him as he pushes through. He's hurt, pissed, but not done with this man as he still gets in Ankheset's face. Ana flies back over to Kareem and Fikra before turning into herself to tell them they believe Raillath is in the second wagon before she blesses herself, Kareem and Fikra with Xeldarix's aide.
Jamal bursts through the crowd and runs towards the fight. Fikra is enraged by the druid's gull and storms off in his direction. Kareem reminds her to mind her actions to avoid angering the Sultana as he runs after her. Margaret takes out a black feather, whispers something, and disappears, then climbs in through the bars. Meanwhile the wagons start to move off. Ankheset dismisses Brin with a thunderwave, sending him back into the wall of thorns, badly hurting the monk. With Brin out of his face, he turns into a bird and starts to fly away to the South. Brin comes out of the thorns once more and tells the druid to leave them alone and never return.
Realising that Raillath hasn't been found yet, Ana, Kareem, Fikra and Jamal are unwilling to let the druid go and start running off after the bird. Fikra barely resists the urge to become a dragon. As the caravans continue to move, Brin gets on the last one and tries to convince the driver to stop but without much luck. Ana has an idea and gets Fikra to return to her so she can turn invisible and become a dragon. Seeing the fight is out of his range, Jamal and Kareem go on a fact finding mission to learn about the caravans.
Meanwhile Margaret forces her way through the goats and finds one with two collars. The goat wearing the collar looks badly hurt and ill. It's laying on the floor, constantly getting stepped on by other goats. There is a second collar around its neck that connects it via a chain to the floor. This one is not magical. Margaret feeds the goat a potion which does help him a little and allow him to sit up instead of just lying down. The carts continue to head off down the road.
Brin gets tried of being nice and intimidates the driver, causing him to stop the caravan he's driving and run off. Fikra with Ana on her back give chase on the bird through the air. Inside the caravan that is still on the move, Margaret magically unlocks the magical collar. Raillath automatically tries to become a dragon but his throat is too large for the remaining collar and after just a moment become a cat instead, slipping out of the collar and scurrying over to Margaret as the goats panic and step on him some more. Margaret scoops him up and sets him where he can get out of the wagon, which he does.
Seeing the cat escape the wagon, the bird changes direction towards him, ready to swoop. Little does he realise that Fikra is above him, ready to do the same to him. With his wagon stopped, Brin also takes off running for the cat. Margaret's caravan continues to move and she currently can't get out. Suddenly, the bird snatches the cat up and tries to fly away. Brin throws a few darts and hits the bird once. Ana tells Fikra they have to kill this druid as he is too persistent. Fikra agrees as she grapples the bird, slamming him to the ground. She rends him once before scooping up Raillath and passing him to Ana.
Finally Margaret gets out of the cart and takes a tumble but starts to run back to the group. Fikra changes back into her human form. A few of the crowd saw, but Kareem uses his magic to make a street performance with Jamal's help to try and make it seem like it was him that made the dragon appear and disappear. Everyone around the druid attack him until he goes down and Brin ensures he stays down. This causes a blood burst that hits Brin, Fikra, Ana, Margaret and Raillath.
Fikra's temper softens as she carefully takes Raillath and just holds him. Ana gives Fikra a quick hug and the dragon in human form carefully hugs Ana, using a bit more of her strength but not so much she's hurting Ana. The party searches the corpse as Fikra goes to find Kareem. They find:
- An incredibly life-like snake carved out of wood.
- He has a choker with a red gem on it.
- A claw on a necklace.
- A coin pouch.
- 1 jar of fireflies.
- 2 keys (for collars)
They turn the druid's corpse invisible. Brin takes it and carefully makes his way to the necropolis to dump it while Ana and Margaret offer their own act as a diversion by tacking onto the end of Kareem's performance. Afterwards the party regroups with Kareem, Fikra and Raillath. The family will be having discussions and decisions about this at the temple. However, Brin choses this moment to remind Fikra she will not be there next time for her son. He insists Raillath needs to know that his parents will fail him as they can't be there every time. Fikra is enraged with this, but tempers it with gratitude towards the help Brin offered in getting Raillath back. She scolds his timing for such a conversation and leaves it at that. After that the family leaves.
Ana takes Brin with her to the market. She needs a disguise kit. Meanwhile Margaret heads back to the guild alone.
Ana checks in with Brin, but he brushes her off and she allows it for now. It takes three hours to finally get a disguise kit wihout being reported to the guards for being suspicious. The guard patrols have really picked up in the last three hours in the market. The pair worry it is because of what happened at the gate. They decide to leave getting into the necropolis until evening for now. They head back to the guild.
At 11:30am Margaret returns to the guild. She checks in on Vareth and Evelyn, seeing they haven't had a chance to get new clothes yet. Vareth is talking with Oryn as he's trying to get a gauge on his abilities and trying to reinforce modern speak patterns without getting a headache. Evelyn is on the balcony trying to meditate but seems restless. Margaret takes Evelyn with her to go and work on the eye gems and give her some purpose as a distraction.
Ana and Brin get back at 4pm. They check in on Oryn and Vareth. Oryn is enrolling Vareth in speech etiquette classes it seems due to his current headache. They also check in with Hamsey and Stormfang. The pair are sorry they got lost in the market and were not able to help. They're happy the little guy got back to his family. Afterwards Ana heads to her room and Brin heads to his shop.
Brin finds Darvin working and does a check in before heading up to see Margaret at 4:30pm. Brin isn't sure about following up with the druid and decides Ana can just go with Stormfang to deal with it. Margaret adds her thoughts on the matter before Brin heads downstairs to get a snack.
Ana spends half an hour trying to do her makeup but is failing horribly. Eventually she admits defeats and goes up to see Margaret for help at 5pm. Margaret and Evelyn work together work together to disguise Ana. Margaret gives her a dark skin tone with shadows and highlights to suggest slight wrinkling and sun damage. She actually cleans some of Ana’s hair dye out, enough to suggest a hint of orangey brown instead of straight black. And she applies thin tinted lenses on each eye, selected to combine with her normal eye colors to bring her eye colors closer to matching at a brown hue.
Ana thanks them for their help before heading off to look for Brin, leaving Margaret and Evelyn to go back to their work.
Sitting and thinking on his snack, Brin decided that he wants to go to the fighting pit for a bit of training. Try and get back into good habits. He heads off just after 5pm.
Ana is disappointed to find Brin isn't around to go with her and didn't leave word. Instead she goes to Hamsey and Stormfang to ask them for help with the Necropolis. They talk a bit about what happened today and what Ana wants to find out from the body with her disguise. They head out to get dinner, Stormfang's treat, before heading into the Necropolis.
At 6pm, Brin arrives at the training area and gets some time in his with trainer. He's also looking into understanding the underground element of Shoufal. During training, he gets the general idea during the training that everyone is happy to see Brin's back. They're curious about his absence. The trainers definitely answer directly to Magha. He sees some other familiar fighters and some new ones.
After he chats with Magha about getting back into it. She was glad the undead plague hadn't killed him. She gives him the training tonight for free as a welcome back gift. Brin gets a snack before heading over with the others to prepare to participate in the fights.
At 7pm, Margaret and Evelyn finish their work and head downstairs to get some dinner and have a moment to rest. She waits, hoping to see Ana before she heads to bed.
Ana turns the three of them invisible after Hamsey shapechanges into a giant spider. Hamsey kneels down and starts to grow brown in colour, his green hue only staying on his back in a long strip from head to spinneret on his back. His new form as a giant spider looks like one at a time he could carry the group over the wall. They sneak together, going over the wall with SpiderHamsey's help. There they find the body and Ana starts her questioning magically with the mask.
Q: "How long have you been a part of the serpent's family?"
A: "Always. I was born in his family and will always be apart of the family."
Q: "How does one join the serpent's family?"
A: "Make a blood oath to him for eternal loyal service. Depending on your purity will depend on your placement in the family."
Q: "How did you find out about the dragon?"
A: "Accident. Got it to a quiet place and it changed to try and fight me. What a glorious servant he would have been. Forgive me, my lord."
Q: "Why did you take him in the first place?"
A: "He knew and seemed precious to the meddling adventurers. It would hurt them and either they would lose him or die trying to get him back."
Q: "What did the Serpent tell you to do with the meddling adventurers?"
A: "Either eliminate them or bring them into the family."
Ana considers the bad and good news from the questioning. They try to take the head to hide for future. Using acid to remove the flesh, they accidently destroy the jaw and end up melting the whole corpse. Another round spellcasting for invisibility allows them to escape back towards the guild.
Brin participates in a KO style match, winning himself 10 gold in the process before relaxing and watching the rest of the events play out, curious as to how late it goes with curfew and such. He has a chat with the fighter he bet. A Loxodon named. Jassa "Ironbite" Rhazeen. They know Magha but not on any personal level. Just spoken once or twice.
At 9pm Ana arrives back and rides SpiderHamsey up the side of the guild to the balcony while Stormfang takes the front door.
At 9pm, Margaret hears something climb the building and the front door open. She is greeted by Stormfang before they head up to go and talk to Ana.
A few minutes after Ana arrives at the top of the balcony with SpiderHamsey, Stormfang and Margaret come out to the Balcony as well. Ana tells Margaret a bit about what she learned from the corpse. Margaret requests help with the pyramid spirit and the ritual tonight. Ana agrees and has a short rest before they head off. Margaret makes herself invisible while Ana takes care of the rest of the group.
As they head out into the desert, they see a patrol of Ogres and avoid them. They walk for about an hour before they stop. They summon the figure from the pyramid to behind the ritual. Items are placed in a circle around Margaret. An hour is taken for Margaret to clear of mind and focus it in preparation for the ritual.
5th of Diesmir 1545
At midnight Margaret trades one of her own secrets or memories to the sand where it will be wiped from her mind. She offers up a personal truth about her feelings for a friend. As Margaret speaks, blue magic seems to come out of her mouth and flow into the hourglass. Over half an hour the memory of the secret fades from Margaret and she now can no longer recall ever having such feelings for Evelyn. At the end of half an hour the hourglass disappears into the sand.
Ana is asked to come and place spices and incenses in fire before using the ask to smear them on Margaret's eyes and mouth as a representative of Basaia. Ana leaves the circle as a mirror made out of sand rises up before Margaret and she is instructed to look into it, but to be prepared to see every truth they've ever denied reflected back at them. For a moment, Margaret was almost mentally strained and stunned but what she saw, but she is able to push through. The mirror darkens, accepting the initiate’s gaze, according to the figure. Margaret's reflection no longer matches their present self. It shows a future version marked by the burden of secrets. The mirror and the items offered in the circle are drawn into the sand and disappear. A scroll appears before Margaret and she is instructed to pick it up and read it. Margaret does and the scroll burns away in blue flame as the final words are spoken.
She is officially now the Keeper of Secrets and Guardian of the Eternal Sands.
With that finished, they start heading back to Shoufal, but after walking for an hour they realise they are very lost. At 1:30am they stop, put up the tiny hut and look to try and get some rest, hoping the morning will bring them clarity on their location.
At 2:30am Brin leaves the fighting pit. It takes him an hour to reach the guild before heading to bed.
At 9:30am Margaret and Ana get up with Hamsey and Stormfang, sending Luna up to get an idea of their surroundings. It takes them 2 hours, but they're eventually able to make it back to Shoufal.
At 11:30am Brin gets up and has breakfast while checking in with Jamal about the caravan status. He learns that Jamal is finalising new recruits as their background checks came back yesterday since he was not here to get it while they were in Muden and they had left the day he did the interviews. Thistle is out at the farm, but should be back by 4pm today. Brin was considering heading to the farms but sours when he learns its four hours away.
They look over the list of candidates before Brin goes to try and find Margaret.
At 11:30am Ana and Margaret return to Shoufal. Oryn has a note for Ana that he gives her.
Tonight Raillath is returning to Muden. We're having a family day but extend an invite to you for dinner. Meet us at the Hall of Blessed Rebirth for 5pm please in the reception.
Ana heads up to the baths after spending the night in the desert while Margaret goes to find Evelyn and Vareth to take them shopping.
Margaret finds Evelyn first in the study. Her friend had been hard work on their project while Margaret was missing this morning. Brin finds them there before they can go look for Vareth at noon. They have a quick chat about the gems they had been working on before asking Margaret to see Jamal to look over the candidate list. Afterwards Margaret gets Vareth and goes shopping with him and Margaret while Brin goes looking for Ana.
After hunting around, Brin discovers Ana is not at the guild and learns she had left just before he talked to Margaret. He asks Oryn to tell Ana to check in with Jamal about the candidate list. Afterwards he heads out to the market to check on the pastry seller.
At 1:30pm he arrives in the market. He strikes up a conversation with the man before buying some pastries and making a deal to have the man act as his ears in the market place. He hears about an amazing troupe that can be hired through the Tooth and Hookah. Wanting to learn more, he heads there to check it out.
Ana returns to the guild at 2pm. Oryn directs her to see Jamal on arrival about the candidate list for recruiting. Heading to his room, they look over the list together. Ana's concern is if the Serpent has snuck a candidate in. Jamal points out the three concerns that Brin had with a spy, ex-pirate and an ex-spy. Ana decides to see the ex-pirate tonight to ensure he is not a concern to her or a threat.
While talking, Jamal learns that Ana and Margaret were lost in the desert last night. This frustrates him, especially as Ana never told anyone and assumed Margaret had. After a back and forth over the issue, they move on to looking over the items from Ankheset. Jamal can no longer identify, but he can still detect magic. They do this in Ana's room.
The incredible life like wooden snake, is enchanted to curl around someone's arm if they ask it to. It is also has the ability to be scried through (as a focus and allow the wearer to be scried on). The choker is a amulet of health and the necklace is Insignia of Claws. Ana immediately takes the snake to their lead lined safe and stores it there before heading back to her room with Jamal.
At 2pm, Brin arrives at the Tooth and Hookah. He talks to Farhaad and learns that the troupe will be unavailable due to a family emergency, but messages can still be left for them here. Afterwards Brin heads back to the guild.
Margaret, Vareth and Evelyn return at 2pm. Vareth heads off to his own business while the girls go to finish of the magical gem eyes.
At 3pm, when Brin returns to the guild he goes looking for Ana and runs into Stormfang and Hamsey. They have a small conversation and reassure one another if things don't go well with Ana, that they won't hold it against Brin.
Afterwards, checking Ana's room, he finds her and Jamal as they finish with their identification process. They talk about the troupe rumour, but Brin quickly focuses on Fikra and his concerns for how her parenting will impact Raillath. They have a back and forth, neither side agreeing with the other on their view points on the matter.
They change the subject to discuss the ex-pirate Ana will go see tonight, while Jamal tells Brin that half their leadership went missing last night and were lost in the desert. They discuss this before dicussing the candidates and decide to go and look for Margaret.
At 3:30pm, 1.5 hours into Margaret and Evelyn's work, Ana, Brin and Jamal come up to her study. The party discusses the applicants. They try to sort them but decide they need to be part of the interview process. They want a minimum of five people for the caravan or to take place of people here while other more established members go on the caravan. Jamal will arrange for the candidates to come back tomorrow at 11:30am for interviews.
Jamal also requests alerting someone if anyone is leaving the city or might be back very late. Just in case people go missing again. At 4pm, the group finishes it's meeting and goes on their separate ways for the afternoon.
Margaret finishes up her work with Evelyn. Afterwards they go find Vareth and head out to dinner. Margaret ensures they're settling in well.
Ana heads to the Hall of Blessed Rebirth and arrives at 4:30pm. She meets Kareem, Raillath and Fikra there. She also picks up Margaret's divination scroll and pays off the remaining amount owed. They have a short conversation before heading to a restaurant called "The Desert Jewel".
Brin heads off to training at the fitting pit centre and arrives at 5pm.
Ana and the family arrive at the restaurant at 5:30pm. The host greets Kareem and Fikra warmly before escorting them to a small side room that is clearly for private parties. They're shown how to summon service and have Katarina as their personal server for the night who stands outside the door unless required. Kareem double checks the rooms wards before they speak freely. They talk about what happened, and what Kareem and Raillath will be doing when they head back to Muden. Starting with attending the school out of the temple of Xeldarix in Brechlen for a year before deciding what to do after that. Either attending Brechlen's university or Poden's. They will have a way to communicate as a family with a magical box and scrying system. Ana is invited to write to Raillath.
Ana also hears the Sultana is suspicious of what happened at the front gate and has been looking into it. She tells the family about what the dead body had to say after she went back to see him the other night. She also tells them about what the guild is up to with recruiting. They also talk about the upcoming trip to Tephu. Afterwards, they part ways and Ana heads to the Tooth and Hookah.
At 6pm, Margaret, Evelyn and Vareth return to the guild. Jamal is arranging shares from their trip East. Margaret helps him with this and hands out the eyes now they're done.
- Ana - 12167 gold, 8 silver, 3 copper.
- Brin - 10667 gold, 8 silver, 3 copper, Wind Fan.
- Jamal - 9167 gold, 8 silver, 3 copper, monocle of secrets.
- Margaret - 6967 gold, 8 silver, 3 copper, Elven Armour, staff of birdcalls, feather token (swan boat), scarab, mystery egg.
- Ubek - 10087 gold, 8 silver, 3 copper, ring of water walking, Witch Honey.
- Guild - 3117 gold, 8 silver, 3 copper, bag of holding, ersatz eye, immovable rod.
Afterwards she meditates, pondering her mystery egg. She journals and heads to bed at 9pm.
At 8:30pm, Ana arrives at the Tooth and Hookah. She locates Marik and has a conversation with him to learn he's from the Great Bay, but he was only ever a low level pirate. She deems him not to be a threat and extends the invite to the interviews instead of killing him. She heads back to the guild afterwards. She uses her owl form to get back.
She arrived back at 9:30pm and heads to bed.
Brin wins his fight against a female Dwarf named Korga "The Flint" Durnstahl. They don't mince words but overall have a good conversation. She does bodyguard work and comes to the fights for extra coin, though it's a gamble. He stays late into the night after the conversation.
6th of Diesmir 1545
At 2am, Brin heads home, arriving at 3am. He was nearly caught, but some quick thinking with a Darkness spell allowed him to get away.
Margaret gets up at 6am, taking the egg with her to breakfast. She contemplates it while eating. She hypothesizes:
- The egg seems to have a star or astral sea aura to it.
- A faint hope is that maybe this is a constallation waiting to be born based on the reading she has done.
- It responds to intention, harmony, and purpose. If the one tending it has a clear vision or destiny, the creature inside will mirror or enhance that purpose.
- The being inside is not complete. It could draw on the soul and choices of its hatcher, becoming a companion of some sorts to them.
At 7am, Ana gets up and finds Margaret in the kitchen muttering theories to herself. After questioning Margaret talking to eggs so early in the morning, she gives her the divination scroll. After Ana eats, the give Vareth and Evelyn a tour of the city. They stop by the markets and pick up a few magical items:
- Warding Threat - Able to give +1 to AC for 10 minutes. Single Use.
- Whispershell - Stores up to 25 words of recorded speech. Playback only. Great for spies or lovers.
- Soap mimic - Wants to eat grime and follow people around.
- Coin of Desert Echoes - Whisper a name into it, flip the coin, and if it lands on the chosen side, the named person hears your message in their dreams. Once a day use.
Afterwards they head back to the guild.
Brin gets up at 11am and after freshening up, he goes looking for Jamal. He finds him on the balcony, organising the interviewees. He checks in before getting breakfast. He has a short conversation with Tavi before the others arrive.
Just before noon, Ana, Margaret, Evelyn and Vareth return to the guild. They'll find Brin and Jamal mingling amount the candidates on the balcony. Jamal has set up a table on the roof for interviews. They discuss a bit about what they're looking for and some pre-set questions they have.
- They want to know their ambitions and goals
- They want to know how they would tackle an emergency situation
- They want to know if they have any other commitments.
Applicant details:
1. Elvanra Moonsong
- Race: Moon Elf
- Class: Bard (College of Spirits) – Level 5
- **Background:** Haunted One – Elvanra once wandered too deep into the Shadow World and came back changed. Her performances are said to draw whispers from the dead.
- Personality: Dreamy, cryptic, speaks in half-prophecies.
2. Thalos Brune
- Race: Human (Rjurik)
- Class: Ranger (Swarmkeeper) – Level 4
- **Background:** Outlander – Raised among the pine-forests of the Hjarringfjell Mountains. A lone survivor of a ruined village.
- Personality: Blunt and survival-focused; hates cities.
3. Revi Tumblespark
- Race: Rock Gnome
- Class: Artificer (Battle Smith) – Level 3
- **Background:** Guild Artisan – Former apprentice at the Clockmaker’s Union in Ariya. Left when her inventions started talking back.
- Personality: Bubbly, excitable, talks to machines.
4. Ozhek Bonefang
- Race: Orc
- Class: Fighter (Rune Knight) – Level 6
- **Background:** Soldier – Former shieldbearer in a mercenary company that was wiped out in a cursed battle.
- Personality: Stern, honor-bound, protective.
5. Lyra al-Muhari
- Race: Human (Khinasi)
- Class: Sorcerer (Aberrant Mind) – Level 2
- **Background:** Sage – Studied ancient desert ruins before she began to hear whispers from beneath the sands.
- Personality: Curious, polite, asks too many questions.
6. Durn Blackmaw
- Race: Duergar
- Class: Cleric (Grave Domain) – Level 5
- **Background:** Acolyte – Keeper of the Hall of Silence beneath the Five Peaks. Holds last rites for those forgotten.
- Personality: Morbid but deeply compassionate.
7. Quessa Fletchroot
- Race: Harengon (Rabbitfolk)
- Class: Monk (Way of Mercy) – Level 4
- **Background:** Hermit – Lived in seclusion among fey shrines and learned strange healing techniques from spirits.
- Personality: Gentle, calm, but unafraid to break bones.
8. Kael Darrow
- Race: Human (Anuirean)
- Class: Paladin (Oath of the Watchers) – Level 5
- **Background:** Noble – From a lesser house loyal to Avanil, Kael trained to protect the realm from extraplanar threats.
- Personality: Noble, skeptical of magic, formal.
9. Tavi Flickwhistle
- Race: Halfling (Ghostwise)
- Class: Rogue (Mastermind) – Level 3
- **Background:** Charlatan – Used to impersonate guild officials before deciding to go “legit.”
- Personality: Nosey, clever, charming.
10. Bronek Vartai
- Race: Human (Vos)
- Class: Barbarian (Ancestral Guardian) – Level 6
- **Background:** Folk Hero – Protected a village from undead incursions until his tribe exiled him for questioning the shamans.
- Personality: Laconic, protective, haunted.
11. Nyssendra the Pale
- Race: Shadar-Kai Elf
- Class: Warlock (Hexblade) – Level 4
- **Background:** Urchin – Raised in the slums of a shadow-touched city, bonded to a blade found in the corpse of a shade.
- Personality: Quiet, deliberate, observant.
12. Revik Tarnshield
- Race: Dwarf (Mountain)
- Class: Fighter (Battlemaster) – Level 5
- **Background:** Guild Artisan – Master of siege weaponry, recently blacklisted by the Iron Guild.
- Personality: Disciplined, grim, strategic.
13. Hesa Nadir
- Race: Human (Khinasi)
- Class: Wizard (Chronurgy) – Level 3
- **Background:** Sage – Time-mage from a desert observatory, banished for breaking protocol.
- Personality: Precise, time-obsessed, a bit frantic.
14. Grelhuz the Flame
- Race: Tiefling (Feral variant)
- Class: Sorcerer (Draconic – Red) – Level 4
- **Background:** Entertainer – Traveling fire dancer who burned down a theatre accidentally… or not.
- Personality: Arrogant, flamboyant, loyal if respected.
15. Marik Aelros
- Race: Human (Brecht)
- Class: Rogue (Swashbuckler) – Level 5
- **Background:** Sailor (Pirate) – Ran with a pirate crew off the Zweilunds until he stole their map.
- Personality: Witty, romantic, dangerously charming.
16. Sora Dustfeather
- Race: Kenku
- Class: Druid (Circle of Stars) – Level 3
- **Background:** Cloistered Scholar – Studied celestial omens at a forgotten tower.
- Personality: Speaks only in quotations; eerily wise.
17. Jandor Fellblade
- Race: Half-Orc
- Class: Fighter (Echo Knight – UA) – Level 6
- **Background:** Soldier – Black banner veteran; lost his entire unit in the Shadow World.
- Personality: Soft-spoken, eerie, stoic.
18. Ryllin Maernessa
- Race: Human (Andu)
- Class: Cleric (Peace Domain) – Level 4
- **Background:** Acolyte – Former healer of Milen's Rest, now wanders seeking harmony.
- Personality: Kind, forgiving, never raises their voice.
19. Vaesha Narenthiel
- Race: Half-Elf (Drow/Anuirean)
- Class: Rogue (Soulknife – UA) – Level 5
- **Background:** Spy – Once embedded in a Khinasi noble house for the Crown of Aerenwe.
- Personality: Cool, cryptic, dark-humored.
20. Torkel Firetug
- Race: Goliath
- Class: Barbarian (Zealot) – Level 4
- **Background:** Clan Crafter – Forger of ceremonial weapons in his mountain stronghold before visions led him to wander.
- Personality: Loud, jolly, religious.
| # | Applicant | Interaction Notes | Ambitions/Goals | Emergency Reactions | Commitments? | God/faith? | Recruit? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elvanra Moonsong | Elvanra glides instead of walking. She is softly spoken and very polite. Her clan of moon elves are planar refugees from a few generations back. | Researching the Shadow world Saving money for personal journey's and missions. | Consults spirits for creative and supernatural solutions to problems. | She has a lost lover in the shadow world and wishes to get them back. She also owes help and assistance to a coven of spirits that require her from time to time to take a short break from the guild. | Laerme mainly | Yes |
| 2 | Thalos Brune | A faint humming (insectoid) is coming from the Rjurik man. He speaks plainly and of action. He prefers travel but understands the need to be in a city. He wants to know if anyone experiences strange dreams, as a wolf will stalk dreams before making the kill. He will protect other on caravan even if he does not get along with them. | He is on a hunt for a dream wolf. It is spiritual in nature. | He will destroy the threat. Protect the clan. Allies count as clan. | Elder spirits wait on news of the hunt. | Follows Erik, hates Kriesha and Belinik | Yes |
| 3 | Revi Tumblespark | Has a mechanical dog named Bopper. | Looking for her Master who has disappeared. He was working with void-forged steel. | She defaults to tinkering. | Looking for master. Will stay 6 months to see if this place helps before moving on. | NA | Yes - But Solo Interview another time |
| 4 | Ozhek Bonfang | Very tall for an orc and very well spoken. Previously worked for Oath-Bound mercenary company. | Looking to clear a fallen companion accused of wrong doing. Many claim they were working with an unsavoury group but this not true and he wishes to prove it. He is focusing on building up reputation in the city to give his words more power in Khinasi culture (sayim) | Focuses on defence and ensure he knows where the more squishy members are who need protection. | To old mercenary company but will put present commitments of new guild first. | Khirdai | Yes |
| 5 | Lyra al-Muhari | Ana notes signs of magic with glowing eyes, and blue veins of an unusual shade. She is very chatty and constantly distracts herself by asking questions. Margaret does detect thoughts and learns how hyperactive this woman's mind is and that she started to notice her powers when she was on a family trip to study ruins. Then she started to hear the sand speak to her. She is willing to pay be an apprentice if they can't take her on as a guild member. | She wants to learn magic and Mistress Everhand recommended the guild as she could learn on the job and no obvious school is available in Shoufal. | She makes a snap decision after a brief moment of freezing from overwhelming thoughts. | Someone from Ariya is looking for her. She suspects they are looking for her to take the oaths and is hiding from them. | Likes the idea of Avani and Ruornil but not active about it | Yes - Will be Margaret's apprentice |
| 6 | Durn Blackmaw | He's from a Dwarven clan called the Blackmaw in the Five Peaks area. The clan had dark origins and that's where the name comes from. If not hired for the guild, he is still happy to work with them to help his friend and share what he knows about dark entities. He is interested in the shadow world as it has a lot of things to explore to help his friend. | He's not intending to leave, but not sure how long he'll be in the city as shit happens. Wants to help his friend. | NA | His friend's soul is inside a cursed relic and want to help set the soul free. Knows necromancy is frowned on, so took a risk telling the guild. | Has no issue with gods. Has issues with entities that play god though. Knows Bolo and the void and thinks they're bad. | Mixed - Share Resources? |
| 7 | Quessa Fletchroot | Very bouncy and wearing very little. Has a wooden mask on her hip. She's from the feywild. She is here exploring the world and herself. She uses her fighting style to hinder or help, depending on the person. She can kill them or heal them. She is staying with Aunty Anjet, helping her out while she looks for work. Brin and Quessa have a clash over fey and fey characteristics. | To learn and explore the plane further. | She tried for a non-lethal approach and to focus on protecting innocents. Dead bodies don't answer questions, so she would prefer not to actively kill people. | No commitments | New to plane, so no for now. | Yes |
| 8 | Kael Darrow | A knight with military training. Has concerns about interplane incursions that could negatively impact the realm. He had questioned his leaders who were summoning celestials and causing Shadow World breeches. They disagreed with this. He can help with Shadow World issues and with more training he could have an aura to give more protection. | NA | NA | NA | Connected to Avani | Yes |
| 9 | Tavi Flintwhistle | Detect Thoughts is used on the gender neutral Halfling. Giving Jamal stink eye. Detect Thoughts reveals they know Jamal as Hassan. Very good impersonator. They are also looking to get information out of this interview as well. They have Date Palm follow Tavi after the interview. | NA | Hide or turn enemies against one another to avoid fighting. | NA | NA | Kill |
| 10 | Bronek Vartai | Very reluctant to talk. He is looking carefully at each person for something is seems hopeful he might have found something. | Here on behalf of ancestors. Willing to discuss later but not now about his goals. | Focus on protecting others, even to his detriment. | NA | NA | Yes |
| 11 | Nyssendra the Pale | Very uncomfortable with her current predicament. | She wants to reclaim her true name and free herself from a night hag (her patron). Due to her pact, she might vanish from time to time. Normally back within a day. | She defaults to killing threats and removing them with precision. | Hag/Patron | NA | Yes |
| 12 | Revik Tarnshield | Very disciplined and strategic. He doesn't believe his issues with the Iron Guild will become an issue for the guild. Detect Thoughts is used. Iron guild was dealing with dark magic to make themselves successful (Bolo). When the group brings it up, he goes off. He apparently left the guild as he didn't believe it to be right and doesn't want to deal with such forces. They reveal they used detect thoughts on him and Brin lies to him. As a result he withdraws his interest in the guild and leaves. | He wants to work and show he can work. | With a high degree of strategy. | NA | NA | No? |
| 13 | Hesa Nadir | Has OCD, answering in 10 second intervals. Has a broken hourglass on his belt. He is worried a temporal society is watching him. He doesn't know if they want to help him with the time malfunction or stop him. | Wants to research magical time phenomenon. He found a space where it is broken and is worried about it expanding. | He will panic and freeze time to give himself time to try and work it out. | NA | NA | Yes |
| 14 | Grelhuz the Flame | So much fire and ash. Very flamboyant. He was branded by a fire elemental as a child. This caused his theatre to burn down, not him. | NA | NA | NA | NA | No |
| 15 | Marik Aelros | Clearly likes Ana and wants to date her, but doesn't know who she really is. He's an ex-pirate. Worked in the great bay to the North. Low level pirate. Went South to try and move up in the pirate world and escape some debts, but found it scarier so left the career for something new. | Time with Ana. <3 | NA | NA | NA | Mixed - No |
| 16 | Sora Dustfeather | Only speaks in quotes. "Rude stars! Rude stars!" | They want to chart the constellations that move without warning. | When faced with chaos, they match energy and become chaos. Also acts in consultation with the stars. | Selwood Star Watcher - Need to send regular reports. | Stars? | Yes |
| 17 | Jandor Fellblade | Brin is very distracted by the left eye that glows that has a rune inside of it. | He wants to discover the nature of his echo. He believes it to a twin he ate/absorbed in the womb or himself from another timeline. | Will take controlled, measured responses. | NA | NA | Yes |
| 18 | Rylin Maernessa | Look Anurian but something off. Maybe off content. | Has noticed that faith in the areas has dwindled and wants to help towns rebuild this diversity. | Heal and protect | NA | Haelyn | Yes |
| 19 | Vesha Narenthiel | Half Drow | Has dreams that are not her own. Suspects the fey court of dreams to be behind it. | NA | NA | NA | Yes |
| 20 | Torkel Firefug | Super happy. Just here to shake hands, make friends and have a good time. Will be here even if they don't hire him as a vagrant on the stoop. | Is here to fulfil a fire prophecy and protect the chosen. They believe them to be here at this guild. | NA | NA | NA | Yes |
The party discusses the candidates and if they are willing to offer them work. As they finish up they get Jamal to contact Date Palm to see how he is going. Jamal reveals to the party Date Palm was discovered by Tavi and now has been taken by them. Date Palm is very injured and doesn't know where he is.
The party starts to take action. Brin will head to the Tooth and Hookah to see about contacting them there as that is where all their contact messages are going.
Margaret speaks to Lyra to welcome her aboard and to give her an apprenticeship under her before going to get some rest before heading out to help search.
Ana stays with Ubek for the moment, ensure Marik leaves while she considers what to do aside from being the person at home base.
