The Age of Worms/ The Spire of Long Shadows pt. 5 / Bris the 28th through the 30th, 3593 CE / 8-20-23

Not By Choice have arrived in the village of Magepoint, and now await the return of the city's patron, the arch-mage Manzorian, for the purpose of gaining an audience to discuss the looming threat of the Age of Worms. While Lulu and Taavi are content to take in the hospitality of the All-Seeing Eye, the local inn at which the party has been granted room and board by Manzorian's right hand, Cymria of Celadon, Rados passes the time by conversing with locals in the village, and Nari tries to uncover any intrigue with which she might be able to assist. On a whim she has started her investigations into the village with the house of a gnome she had met the day prior while trying to determine to origins and meaning of the enigmatic yet elusive phrase “everygnome knows everygnome." While she does meet the wife of the local sheriff who resides there, as well as their ward, a charming young girl who admires Adventurers after having been rescued by Adrienne's party on a previous visit, all-told Nari finds the conversation less than fruitful. Her inquiries lead her next to seek out the sheriff himself, Werner Jacks, at the town council-hall. There she encounters an argument between Cymria and an elven petitioner pleading with her to return to Greenwood and assist in slaying a dragon known as Raupp the Dreamer which has recently roused from a long, magical slumber, and which the elves fear will begin terrorizing them much the same way Brazzermal the Burning terrorized the dwarves to the north hundreds of years ago. Cymria's choice to remain with Manzorian over her own people has left the petitioner, Cannorial Elatharian, agitated, who then turns to the newcomer Nari as a possible hireling, but leaves in a huff when her own questions about the affair try his patience, after which Nari finally makes the acquaintance of Werner Jacks. However, the sheriff and Cymria both stress that Nari and her company should wait patiently for Manzorian rather than seek out other adventurers during their visit. Within two days Cymria and Celeste, Eligos the Sage's former assistant, return to the All-Seeing Eye to fetch the party for their audience with Manzorian. After crossing the mile long bridge across the lake to the Fortress of Unknown Depths, the party is greeted by a gnome introducing himself as Elmo Jacks, the same name given by the previous gnome Nari encountered. Little does she realize the two foundling brothers are fond of playing tricks, and that her previous encounter was actually with Elmo's brother, Otis. Elmo serves as Manzorian's assistant, and after announcing the party's presence, a portal opens which allows the party to instantly travel to Manzorian's study high up within the towering fortress. After introductions are exchanged with the powerful mage, information regarding the Age of Worms is soon shared. Manzorian regrets the passing of both his apprentices and informs Not By Choice that an old colleague of his, Dalamir the Half-Elf, may also have fallen victim to the machinations of Caius, the evil mastermind behind the coming apocalypse. Manzorian relays that several prophecies related to the Age of Worms have already come to pass, including ones Rados is intimately familiar with, such as the fall of Brazzermal the Burning and the reassembling of the Keys of Telku. Manzorian believes that only three of the prophecies that herald the coming Age of Worms have not yet been fulfilled: the burning of the city of Cauldron, the success of the Ebon Triad in creating their gestalt deity, and Loris Raknian succeeding in feeding the ulgurstasta in Kedesh. However, Manzorian is not convinced that all the prophecies must be fulfilled in order for the age of worms to come to pass, and advises the party they should travel to the ancient ruins of Kuluth-Mar, the city in which Caius founded his evil cult, far to the south in the jungles of Taresh. Manzorian also reveals his terrible secret, that because of his many adventures defending their planet from dangers throughout the multiverse, he can never leave the Fortress of Unknown depths when he is on the material plane, for it shields his presence from many powerful beings who are looking for him to seek revenge. The party will be on their own in their journey to Kuluth-Mar. However, the arch-mage offers assistance in other ways. He borrows some of the artifacts Lulu previously acquired during her previous investigations into the Age of Worms for further study, though he leaves the Rod of Law with Rados, knowing it could be a powerful weapon against Caius's forces. He also offers Rados a handsome sum for taking the Key of Telku off his hands, reasoning there can be no safer place for it than the Fortress of Unknown Depths. Manzorian then speaks of a curious power deep within the depths of the Fortress, a fountain of magical waters which grants fortune, folly, or both to any that drink of it. The party decides to trust fate and partake of the fountain's waters, though they suffer as many curses as they do blessings. Not by Choice spends that night in the fortress, being waited on by one of Manzorian's unseen servants. The next morning the arch-mage directs them to one of the many life-like paintings of landscapes which adorn his study, depicting far-off settings in exquisite detail. He reveals that these paintings actually hold the magical property of being able to transport a viewer to the location depicted. Directing them to the painting of Kuluth-Mar, the city where Caius may have ascended to godhood, Manzorian asks the party to seek out any clues to unraveling the mystery of the Age of Worms. He also hopes that perhaps they will locate some clue to the fate of Dalamir. Giving them a scroll which will return them to the Fortress of Unknown Depths when they are done, Manzorian shows the parrty how to use the painting to travevl by concentrating on the images within, and soon Not by Choice find themselves standing in the buzzing, hot jungles of Taresh, looking out over the ancient ruins of Kuluth Mar.