Session 122

The party sat around a large table with Tyllaetha, Nashar, Anael, Chandira, Vargas, Mahani, and Sindri. Tyllaetha led the conversation, saying that the Sorcerer's Cabal was stretched thin due to all the chaos since Kyran's death, and Anael was the only one free to help them. She told the group that the Antiquarians' Guild had agreed to permit the expedition to Thalassarion under the condition that one of their own accompany them. As Dain was about to interject to let Tyllaetha know that they knew someone who could join them, Tyllaetha said that someone had already planned to join them for their discussion and should arrive shortly. As she said this, Evaryan walked through the door, with a sheepish young Human man trailing behind him. Evaryan greeted the group and introduced his new apprentice, Quinn Coldshore, explaining morbidly that his previous apprentice had "fallen down a hole" while continuing the excavation at the Catacombs of Blackfrost. Tyllaetha asked Evaryan to tell the group what he knew of Thalassarion, and he explained that only so much information remains, as the city had vanished approximately 4,000 years ago. He told them that the city was once known for being the sole supply of a strange metal called Skiantine, which had the property of producing prophetic visions and revealing secrets of the past to those in close proximity to it, and that there were fortune tellers in the city that interpreted these visions for the residents. The city thrived for many years selling this metal and offering their fortune telling services until one day, communication suddenly halted, noting that while there had been a Wellspring Eruption precisely around the time that the city went dark, the Sorcerer's Cabal had definitively shown that this eruption produced the anomaly known as the Glasstorm in the Yzerid Desert. Caravans were sent to the city to investigate, but never returned, and after the Antiquarians mounted an expedition that discovered the region had been completely decimated and was barren and lifeless, they quarantined the Dreaming Wastes and forbid travel there. Upon hearing that none had reportedly ever returned from this place, Skinner chimed in to say that his tribe had gone to the city in search of Skiantine somewhat recently and his entire family had perished due to a deadly trap in the creature's lair. He described his experience and what he encountered, and told of statues holding crystals that produced light which turned his family members against each other, and also of crystals lining the walls which had glowed and burst when his family went near them, killing his family and tearing half of Skinner's face off. He woke to find his family dead and left, barely clinging to life. Upon hearing Skinner's story, Vargas said that the material Skinner had described sounded like Kevite, a dangerous crystalline material found in the Deephollow that had killed many miners in Dolenna, and that it functioned by resonating in the presence of animate Flow, building a powerful charge as the source grew closer, and would explode violently if a living creature got too close to it. Tyllaetha was astonished and thanked Skinner and Vargas for the information, saying they would need to find a way to deal with that when they get there, but commenting that the statues that turned his family against each other sounded as if they employed enchantment magic, suggesting they would need a way to counter that. She also mentioned the conspirators that had accompanied the creature to Kyran's tower the day he died, suggesting he may have conspirators whom were under his control.

The group then began to discuss battle plans, with Tyllaetha saying that it would be best for Nashar to go after the creature, as he was the most powerful among them all, and that Anael could handle the enchanted minions, while Tyllaetha herself would channel fate to turn the tides of the battle. She suggested that the three recruits from Artus would likely not be very useful in combat and would be best suited to support the rest, and said that the party should focus on the creature along with Nashar. They all agreed, and Tyllaetha then mentioned the crystal, Lod'exenter, saying that they should try to find a way to separate the creature from it before engaging him if possible, as if he used it against them, they would stand no chance. Dain then suggested a possible way to destroy the crystal, showing them a Flow Cell and explaining how it worked and the power it possessed. Tyllaetha was skeptical but said she was willing to try. Nashar then asked a very important question, wondering what they were to do if with so many spellcasters in the expedition, they dried up the supply of Flow in the creature's lair. Tyllaetha suggested that the creature would be similarly helpless should that happen and that the party had more than magical might on their side, but that perhaps Dain's Flow Cells could be an option if that were to happen. Tyllaetha then said that since the creature's lair appears to be within the Deephollow, they should procure some delving gear if they needed it and that they would reconvene at the city gates the following morning to set out on their journey. Chandira said that she would continue working with Medril to gather information and contact them if she discovered anything, parting from the group.

Returning to the Dead Goose Inn, Summer decided to ask Icarus to borrow Aronim, the Bow of Sunlight, to use against the creature. Icarus said with a cringed face that he had misplaced it. Dain, incredulous, did not believe this and began to aggressively ask Icarus where it was, but Icarus did not budge in spite of Dain's implication that he was lying. Dain then cast Detect Magic to seek out the bow within the inn, but did not see it anywhere until he looked down and noticed it below the inn. He initially thought it was underneath the floorboards and began tearing them up, angering Icarus, but they found nothing but dirt. Dain began to aggressively ask Icarus if there was a cellar, but Icarus denied it. Dain and Summer then went to Icarus' quarters behind the kitchen and looked around, with Summer quickly noticing some small, muddy footprints leading to the window. Summer and Skinner followed them outside, with Skinner following the tracks to a small foxhole down a hill behind the inn. The group gathered and went inside, barely squeezing into the tight hole, and proceeded down a cave tunnel where Dain began to hear what were clearly Goblin noises, and accidentally tripped a trigger for a large swinging claw, which he narrowly dodged. Proceeding into a cave opening ahead, he looked around, but saw nothing. Summer, however, saw a small yellow Goblin peeking at them from a nook in the wall and threw a dagger at it, but embarrassingly missed. The Goblin came out and fired off a crossbow bolt at Dain and missed. Dain argued with the Goblin, telling it to give him the bow back, as he could see its aura in the nook behind it, but the obstinate creature refused, producing a small club. It then threw Lightning in a Bottle at them that it had stolen from above, shocking the party. Annoyed, Dain simply cast Magic Missile, creating several new holes in the Goblin's body, including its head, killing it. He then went around the corner and found the bow, collecting it. The party returned to the inn, where Icarus thanked them, but told them that if they wanted the bow, they would need to pay him. Dain groaned, but he and Summer handed over 500 gp each. Dain then went to his room, where he attempted to cast Sending to contact Sabine in an attempt to apologize and ask for forgiveness, but instead of a reply, he received some sort of psychic feedback which caused him to double over in pain. When this happened, he saw a brief flash of a dark cave and a figure standing in the darkness. Not knowing what to make of this, he retired for the night.

The following day, the group set out with Tyllaetha on the road running along the west side of the Great Divide toward Geledon. Along the way, they had several strange encounters. One night while setting up camp, Mahani went into the woods to relieve herself and the party heard her screaming shortly after. They found her looking horrified at what appeared to be statues, but what the group shortly thereafter realized were the metallized remains of Ferroplague victims. They solemnly explained to Mahani about the plague, as it never spread far enough for the victims in Myr to progress fully through the range of symptoms. Merrick then communed with Estrea to ask if there was anything the party could do for the victims' remains. Estrea suggested that Mahani could transmute their remains back to flesh so that they could be buried or burned. Not having the time to stop and deal with this properly, the group decided with sadness to simply leave the bodies there. Proceeding down the main road for some time, they eventually came upon the village of Aramore. As they approached the village, the villagers seemed to almost put on a performance for them, playing crude instruments, singing, and dancing. Some villagers went about their business, but Summer noted that some stern-looking villagers in the back of the crowd were armed and glaring at the other villagers. Tyllaetha said that the vibe felt off and suggested that if they need any provisions, they simply gather them now and then continue without stopping. Along the path through the village, they saw a large building with a number of unkempt armed men standing guard outside. Not wanting to get involved with whatever was going on here, they proceeded toward Geledon. Shortly outside town, a frantic woman stopped them to tell them she had seen a monster in the woods near the city peering at her, and that it had red scales, predatory yellow eyes, and a long snout, and that it wore weapons and armor. The group was confused by this, and didn't quite agree with the woman's assertion that it might be some sort of goblin. They heeded her warning and proceeded to the city, where Tyllaetha suggested that they rest before proceeding and check out the local amenities, including the harbor market. The three Cabal sorcerers split from the party and the group made their way along the road through the city looking for something to do to pass the time.

Along the road to the harbor, the party was suddenly attacked as a blanket of darkness engulfed the group and Summer was stabbed several times while a net of force was dropped over Merrick. Dain teleported out of the darkness and was quickly set upon by a large man in heavy armor with a solid black blade. After taking a couple of hits from the blade, a nearby spellcaster afflicted Dain with Horrid Wilting, bringing him down. Sindri managed to dispel the darkness over the group, and the group saw Summer's assailant, a man with a blade made of shadows, attack her again before fading back into the shadows and reappearing behind Vargas. Merrick attempted to teleport out of the net, but it seemed to prevent his teleportation, and Skinner had to rip it off of him. Vargas panicked and tried to throw a conjured boulder at the man, but missed. Mahani also panicked, using her most powerful magic right away by throwing Disintegration at him, but he dodged out of the way. The man with the shadow blade severely wounded Mahani before she managed to teleport away from him, and shortly afterward polymorphed the man into a sheep. After Dain's Steel Defender produced a potion and got him back on his feet, the large man quickly put him back down again with a swipe of his dark blade which seemed to stop Dain's healing. The Steel Defender managed to produce a spark which shocked Dain back to life, and Skinner went after the shadow blade man, but fumbled and fell on his face. Seeing the situation devolve, Sindri used his most powerful magic, transforming into a hulking man with magical armor surrounding him and took out his blade, charging the large man harassing Dain. They began to overwhelm the large man, and Vargas landed a powerful blow on the spellcaster. Merrick then used one of his invocations to forcibly teleport the three assailants they could still see into the area he had placed his Sickening Radiance, and then Mahani hit all three with a Lightning Bolt.