Session 110

The group continues their fight with the undead Aubron, who continues to use the vines on the wall to protect himself, and the Shadows continue draining the party's strength. However, they manage to turn the tide of battle and deal a couple of devastating blows to Aubron, taking him down for good. After finishing off the remaining Shadows, which fell quickly after Aubron was no longer there to distract the party, they shifted their attention to the large fungal growth in the room. They used several methods to attempt to destroy it, but it proved resistant, even immune, to most of their attacks. However, Moonshadow's bow tipped them off to the fact that the fungus seemed to have an extreme aversion to light, so they began to assault it with radiant magic until eventually, Merrick called down a radiant flame that burnt the fungus away, causing it to shrivel and die. As its glow faded, the room went dark, and the party gathered themselves. With the fungus dead, they moved to exit the Obelisk -- however, Valdor commented that if the magic lingering in the tower was able to create the monstrosity they faced outside and the fungus, they should make sure the tower is dealt with permanently this time. Dain agreed and created a stack of stones near the entrance of the tower, placing a single Flow Cell on top. He backed off to as far as he could before unleashing a Lightning Bolt, which ruptured the Flow Cell, creating a massive explosion which temporarily blinded the party from the release of energy. They heard a cacophonous rumbling sound as the tower began to collapse from the missing structural supports. As the dust settled, they decided to finally settle down for the night, with Merrick creating a sanctuary for them to rest within. When they awoke in the morning, Valdor used his magic to remove the lingering infection Aubron had afflicted Dain and Summer with, and Merrick noticed that the fungus on the trees appeared to be falling off and blackening, with some color returning to the trees. They packed up camp and began to head back to the region of the forest where they encountered Azizi, and after a few days managed to locate her, whereupon she thanked them for their intervention and then led them to the Elthenbloom tree -- a massive twisted tree with white bark and placid blue leaves. She produced a silver spigot and tapped the tree, dispensing a small amount of blue sap that smelled of lavender into a vial, then gave it to Dain. Dain then gave the sap to Valdor, who decided to immediately mix it with the moss, grinding them into a paste and putting them in a separate container before handing it to Dain, who put it in his Bag of Holding. Azizi thanked the party again, telling them to guard the sap with their lives, and they set off.

Along the return trip to Thenaphor, Valdor spoke to Dain, saying that he had neglected to mention something important early on that would be required before they could distribute the cure, that it had slipped his mind. Valdor asked Dain if he knew anything about something called 'Wellspring-Touched', which caused Dain to sigh deeply, knowing where this was going. Valdor picked up on this and asked what Dain knew, and Dain said that he knew who it was and told Valdor, and asked why he needed to know. Valdor explained that though the cure would be the salvation of those already afflicted and provide an immunity to it, it would not purify the Wellspring itself, and that to do so, they would need the assistance of the Wellspring-Touched. Dain seemed agitated, perhaps because he did not want to involve Sabine, but he explained her condition, which worried Valdor. He asked Dain to bring him to her at once, and Dain seemed reluctant, questioning Valdor and even seeming hostile toward him, but eventually relented. However, not wanting to forget that they still needed the Flow of an awakened Forgeborn, he decided to contact Chandira to see if she might perhaps have a spindle they could use to extract the filament. However, upon contacting her with the Sending Stone to confirm whether she was currently in Eldham, Chandira responded in the affirmative before telling Dain that the Sorcerer's Cabal had recently discovered Carados Iliathor was dead, but had been so for months, even before the attack on Archmage Kyran's tower where they had encountered him, and that if he contacted them, to inform her immediately. With that, the party set out for Eldham.

Arriving in Eldham weeks later, Dain immediately set out to see if Chandira was still in town, checking the side of the Messy Cushion for her hole-in-the-wall. Seeing that it was indeed there, he head inside, where Chandira greeted him and said she wasn't sure how long to expect he would be and asked what he had been up to. He filled her in briefly about his current activities. Chandira explains that the Sorcerer's Cabal hadn't thought to check in with Carados since they last encountered him, or who they thought was him, at Kyran's tower on the day of his death, but that noone had heard from him recently so they went to his home, where they found his skeletal remains. She said that the person they met at the tower was clearly an impostor, which Dain immediately understood the implications of. He shifted topics to ask her if she perhaps had a Filament Spindle available he could use. Chandira went about searching through her things while they talked, and she eventually dug up a small unassuming spindle which she handed over to Dain, asking what he needed it for. However, Dain seemed to be reluctant to tell her the reason, so she dropped it. Chandira bid Dain to be careful and wished him good luck. After buying some diamonds to replace the ones they had consumed to purge the various infections they had been afflicted with, the group set out the next day to Fort Elden.

Arriving at Fort Elden, Dain took Valdor into the keep to meet Sabine. After introducing him to Samira, there was a tense standoff where Valdor explained he was there to "read Sabine's Flow", which tipped Samira off, who explained that only a few are capable of such a thing, and that if he was what she suspected he was, he would not touch her. Dain tried to vouch for Valdor, but Valdor took a moment to explain how he obtained his power, contrary to what he expected she had been told by the Sorcerer's Cabal. He explained that long ago, after having failed his apprenticeship and having been expelled from the Cabal for spending too much time sneaking into the restricted section of their libraries, he had sought that forbidden knowledge elsewhere, where he by chance encountered another Bloodmarker who dangled that forbidden knowledge in front of Valdor. However, he was deceived, and this Bloodmarker tortured him for a time before the Sorcerer's Cabal Bloodsealers located the Bloodmarker, whom they took into custody. Valdor explained that he managed to steal the Bloodmarker's journal, where he put together enough context information from his notes to learn the basics of Ruxor, after which he decided to use it to heal, rather than to harm. Samira was suspicious, saying that his story sounded practiced, and was still unwilling to budge, but Valdor clarified he had no intention of using his Ruxor to cure Sabine, merely to read her Flow to attempt to discover the cause of her condition. He told another story, explaining this was not the first Wellspring-Touched he had encountered, telling a story of one that had been kind to him in his youth, but lamenting his fate, mentioning a poor decision leading to the death of thousands just to stop one woman. Samira seemed incredulous, saying this was impossible, as there was only Wellspring-Touched he could be speaking of -- Trent Coldshore, whom she claimed was born at the beginning of the Age of Darkness, more than 5,000 years ago. Samira begrudgingly agreed after Dain promised to assist Samira in destroying Valdor if he did anything out of line. With that, Valdor moved to Sabine's side and placed his hand on her forehead and spent some minutes examining her. After he finished, he explained that Sabine's connection to the Wellsprings had caused her to bond to Maven when the eruption happened due to Maven's corruption of the Wellspring itself. He said that she was trapped inside her own mind, and that Maven was tormenting her. Samira was frantic, as was Dain. Valdor explained that it was beyond his power to do anything for her, and that they needed to seek the aid of the Sentinels, saying that the Primarch may be able to expel Maven from her. However, the Sentinels' base of operations was in Valensir, which they had already passed through months earlier. Dain asked Samira if she would be able to teleport them there. She explained that she had a single scroll she could use, so they gathered their things and went outside, filling in the party, and gathering into a small circle, whereupon Samira used her scroll to teleport herself, the group, and Sabine to the gates of Valensir.

As the group materialized outside of Valensir, they noticed something strange… the city no longer appeared to be a ghost town, and was lively and active, with Letheni Enforcers manning the gates. They proceeded into the city, where they saw a large number of smiths lining the city streets, as Valensir was the city of smiths. Dain saw a few things of interest, such as shackles made of an unknown golden-looking metal, and weapons made of a green-hued metal he had never seen before with a nearby lantern alight with a blue flame. Additionally, Dain witnessed a smith working with a Forgeborn assistant, whom he repeatedly berated for making small mistakes. Dain, interested, approached and berated the shop owner for his treatment of the Forgeborn, before using his Runesmith abilities to open up the Forgeborn's chest plate and examining him, noticing he hadn't been calibrated properly, and quickly fixing the error. The shop owner seemed annoyed by his intrusion and talking to the Forgeborn, who thanked Dain for his repair. Dain seemed offended by the man's treatment of the Forgeborn as property, which the churlish man dismissed and likened Dain to the idiot protesters down the street. Dain inquired further and was told there were some "idiots" protesting usage of Forgeborn in the city as assistants without pay, which Dain agreed with. Summer also launched a short quip at the man, which angered him and caused him to throw his hammer at her and tell them all to get out of his shop. The group then proceeded to the large tower-like building known as the Astralon, which Valdor confirmed was the home of the Sentinels. As they arrived, the Luminari guards outside the Astralon barred their entry, questioning their motives. Dain explained that they wished to speak to the Primarch, and the Sentinels denied their entry until Valdor explained that they had the Wellspring-Touched with them and needed the Primarch's assistance due to Maven's influence. At the mention of Maven, the Luminari narrowed their eyes and agreed to speak to the Primarch, and they went inside to ask for an audience, returning minutes later to tell the party to ascend the tower. When they reached the top, they entered a room giving off a bright light, which they realized was coming not from the window, but from a figure sitting by it.

Entering, they noticed a map made of light being projected on the table. After a moment of awkward silence, she stands with a start and reaches over to a panel on the table, and a red dot appears on the map somewhere in Myr. The party hears a klaxon-like sound echoing throughout the tower and several heavily armed Sentinels rush in, including one who did a double take looking at Dain and Summer. The Sentinel, they realized, was Neldena, a woman whom had assisted them during a fight with a Voidspawn at Fort Elden and whom had come too late to their aid in the fight against Haldir. The Primarch took notice of this and questioned how she knew them, and she explained their past involvement and Dain and Summer's assistance in getting rid of "that idiot" Haldir who was conjuring Voidspawn to attack Humans. This piqued the Primarch's interest, and she introduced herself as Primarch Eollel. She then dismissed the Sentinels, barking orders at them in a language all but Merrick did not understand, telling them the location of a Voidspawn threat in Myr, before they ran out of an archway which led to an airborne platform that they used to launch themselves into the air and fly off at incredibly speed, presumably toward Myr. The Primarch then addressed the party and questioned them on their business there. Dain briefly explained the issue, before Primarch Eollel turned to Valdor and commented "And what is your involvement in this, Bloodmarker?", which startled Valdor. Valdor explained that he was attempting to create a cure for the Ferroplague and that they needed Sabine to purify the Wellspring so that they could expel Maven from it. Eollel agreed to help Sabine and set her on the table, where she examined Sabine in a similar way that Valdor had before conjuring a light so incredibly bright that any in the city looking at the tower would have been blinded for a moment. After the light faded, Eollel told the group that Sabine would recover within a day or so. They thanked her before leaving to go seek an inn to rest at. While awaiting Sabine to awaken, Valdor spoke to Samira, asking how far Sabine had progressed, asking if she had "ascended" yet. Samira said that she was far too young for that, but Valdor seemed to think she wouldn't be powerful enough to purify the Wellspring without ascending first. Dain asked for clarification, and Samira explained that Ascension was the final phase of the development of the Wellspring-Touched, whereupon they gained access to the memories of their predecessors and gained total control over the Wellsprings, and that they would have the power to directly manipulate its Flow, being capable of increasing the Flow to saturate the atmosphere, leading to more volatile magic, or reducing it to nothing and leaving all who practiced it powerless -- but that it would also grant her the ability to purify the Flow of Maven's taint. She explained that Ascension would require Sabine go to a place known as Seldain Ithael, a Letheni name meaning 'Temple of the One', which was dedicated to Aellor, and she would undergo a trial to determine whether she was worthy to possess this power. Dain seemed overwhelmed by all that was facing them and wondered how they would find such a place, which Samira commented on saying that she had shepherded the previous Wellspring-Touched and helped him to ascend, and that the location of Seldain Ithael was within the Blasted Lands. Dain seemed shocked, thinking it no coincidence that the temple be located in the very place where they found the Chronicle of the Dead, which started this whole mess. Valdor said that while this was necessary, it needed to be Sabine's choice. After she finally awoke, they told her of what was happening, and Dain filled her in on the Ferroplague and told her of her need to Ascend. Sabine seemed unsure, saying that Samira had already told her of the dangers, but Samira said that she was strong. Sabine agreed to undergo the trial.

After giving Sabine some time to rest, the party packed up their things. As they went to leave the city, Dain passed by the shop with the green-hued weapons again, noticing Valdor's aversion of the place. Interested, he spoke to the shopkeep and questioned him about the weapons. The shopkeep informed him that the green metal was known as Akronite, and explained that it had a strange property of attracting spirits, hence the lantern to keep them away, and said that it seemed to sap the life force of those it cut. He said that a fellow enchanter would place enchantments on the weapons to repurpose the life force drained from those it cut to heal the wielder. He explained that a particular branch of the Sorcerer's Cabal in particular gave him a good deal of business, but that occasionally he'd get some "weirdo" claiming to be a "vampire hunter" who would request one of his weapons. Dain seemed fascinated, but decided not to purchase anything. After leaving the city, the party set out for Odracanath.