Session 12: The Riddle and the Library

Last we left off, the group had begun to make their way towards The Scar, believing it to be the source of the riddle that Ray's sister Liora Cyst had provided him with. The group searched around the putrid environment, avoiding poisoned creatures and utilizing Claude Minie's amazing Ranger capabilities that will surely come in handy in the future. Eventually, they stumbled upon the source of the riddle, stone blocks with the symbols of nature in them. Disgusting for this area. An affront to Bhita Goddess of Art, Commerce, and the Modern World herself. Regardless, as the group activated the plates, sending a charge of energy one-by-one into the bog, Boots aka Ghost decided that it was time for a swim, where the fumes of the bog started playing with her head. With a daring rescue and all four of the plates now activated, the poisoned lake split in two, revealing a long staircase that delved down into the darkness under the lake. As the group made their way down the stairwell they came upon a large underground chamber, with most of the remains of a gigantic library, decorated with arcane symbols. They had found Hydall's Library.

Entering the library, the arcane life stream took effect, small books and quills of ink hovered and floated up as each member approached, copying down their journey of knowledge. Then they met The Index. Intimidating at first (and partially not working), but he was able to point them in the direction of what their queries and hearts desired. Each member had their own wants and needs and information to be gathered and so the group split apart, searching for their own answers, but also revealing more questions. They eventually found a path to the Scepter of Seasons which was the item that they more than likely needed to retrieve from here as well as learned that the coins they had could unlock a restricted area into Hydall's study.

A rundown of what everyone learned:

• Ray Cyst learned that years ago there were twins in his family, and one suddenly went missing thanks to Hydall chronicling normal lives utilizing the leylines as a type of security camera system. Ray also pulled two language books for Infernal and Celestial.
• Amahri Rhea utilizing the same chronicling system, found that his father had been shunned and basically banished due to the fact that the child he'd had with a "savage" had tainted his bloodline, but learned that his dad had never gave up on him and blamed no one for the situation that he was in.
• Boots aka Ghost managed to get a fairly decent map of the passages of Lindorthell, showing streets and most underground tunnels, while getting a good layout of the library itself.
• Claude Minie dug around and managed to find a map of the leylines across the entire continent, showing that they all crossed here and ran deeply in some territories and were almost non-existant in others. Claude also developed a taste for spicy contnent, reading a book called "Fur and Folly" outloud, giving a show for all those around him until one of the custodians was able to remove the curse that the book had placed upon him.
• Aeren Grimvein searched for information regarding his patron Sythra and found information regarding demons themselves. During his searches, he also stumbled across The Tome of Nyxiren where information regarding the first lich, The Scar, and the Sterile Fields as well as uncovering some information regarding The Under Plane.

Giving up one of their Tithes of Aurethiel and Malrath, the group entered the study of Hydall to try and research even more of the world and acquire more knowledge.

• The group learned that Elydris was the son of Felotl God of Light and that Hydall had saved the abomination child from being removed by the god of destruction. After the Celestial War, Hydall sent the (now a man) off to the lands of Nocturnis to become the star smith.
• The group read a touching story about the Goddess of War, a Memoir of War of a former god living in a mortal shell.
• The group learned about Hydall's opinions and feelings about Big K and Big B in The Tome of Krorone and The Tome of Bhita. Learning that Big K wasn't one to be messed with and most of the other gods simply avoid her and that Bhita was a true child of the destruction god and a thot.
• The group learned of the Tithes of Aurethiel and Malrath were actually fragments of Morveth (the god of undeath) that fell down from the heavens during the celestial war.
• The group learned how the world had evolved and Hydall's eventual disgust of how it all happened in The Tome of the Abericlase.
• The group learned some of the history in The Celestial Accord where Hydall documented the agreement(s) between dragons, man, and God.
• Thanks to Ghost not giving up in her search trying to find secrets, she found a false drawer in one of Hydall's desks where she pulled out a torn sheet of paper, describing how The Creation of the Feywild happened, but there was a name that none of them recognized in it as well. Tyshala.
• The group also learned that Claude likes to touch things, and he investigated a dark, ominous, evil-looking, (insert other synonyms for evil, bad, dangerous, sketchy, etc...) here circular object. Claude discovered the Phylactery of the First Lich.

Welp, it seems the group ran out of time in the study! So, they made great plans to retrieve the scepter of seasons. The rest of the group made their way towards the exit while Ghost prepared to do rogue things. Claude, feeling unsure and unsafe regarding the plan decided that he was going to get as far away from the library as he possibly could. Meanwhile, Ghost was doing rogue things...at least she started too before she noticed that Claude's image rather than the original Index's was now projecting. She went back and discussed with Ray, but decided they'd deal with that after this heist. She was able to get the scepter and avoid some of the custodians who attempted to take it away from her. The library's defense system kicked in as well, shifting and moving bookshelves in an attempt to trap her; however, she was just too good and was able to exit. With the scepter in hand, the group exited as they looked back and watched the giant doors of the library close and seal shut. Coming back up to the surface, they followed Claude's footprints for a while before they just...disappeared. Claude apparently had other business to attend to and decided to leave the group.

On the road again, the group made their way back towards the Great City of Trealing where Ray wanted to visit with his mother for a bit. To their surprise, in the office of the head of medicine they found none other than Thalvek Draewyn who Ray's mother had brought back to assist her with understanding the technology. After some banter between the two and the full moon elf asserting his dominance over the abomination moon elf in the group, Ray went back down into the underground laboratory where Seraphine Virelle was still hooked up to the machine, drawing out her divine essence to power the hospital in the blood transfusion system. Ray told his mother of his adventures and what all he'd learned about their family and the knowledge he'd obtained from within the library. His mother also told him that Maerla Ironfist had been gifted a blessing and was carrying a child of Bhita, was already showing, and she believed that this divine child was being fast-tracked into the world for some reason. Ray tried explaining that it was his child and his mother simply hugged him and eventually shuffled him off to where the group began making their way towards the Vault of Screams which led them through the edges of Grenbel Woods. As they moved around the edges of the forest, their cart came to a sudden stop as an arrow landed in front of them. Some elves clad in leather, leaves, and war paint stepped out and had prepared to attack until they noticed Ray. Speaking in their native tongue, it seemed all but Ray could understand them, so utilizing the group as an interpreter, apparently, they had confused him for his brother Narci Cyst and were wanting him to take accountability for his actions as a young, beautiful elf stepped out placing her hand on her stomach with a smile on her face. Fortunately for Narci, this child wasn't divine, and she was nowhere near showing and looked towards the group with hope in her eyes still unaware that Narci had just performed the first form of Fatherless Breathing: Milk Run.