16.05.2021 - Thunder - Diplomacy and Doors

• Thunder attunes to the cursed dagger. Nothings happens (rolled wis save), but notices the dagger is always cold to the touch
• The sage apprentice S was talking to has been following him around
• Yomenië is the gathering of the paths to vote
• We go to talk to Glannon
• We see that people of different factions have started to gather.
• We can count at least 5 different factions
• they stick among themselves, and can be differentiated by colours and symbols etc.
• Glannon sits in conversation with a person wearing a completely grey mask
• The mask has no eyeholes, but Thunder can see that the front of the mask is made of cloth that the person can see through
• The grey's clothing is grey and non-descript
• S and T listen in / read Glannon's lips
• They are talking about what to expect tomorrow, what might come to pass, what possibilities there are etc.
• Glannon seems to have high respect for the grey, and trusts the info they give him
• S hears the grey answer that the paths seems to be spilt in the middle, most likely not irreversibly.
• The remaining three paths are unaccounted for
• There are possibilities if the Yomenië decides it is in their best interest to gather all the paths
• Glannon asks the grey who they will support, and they say they can find out but it is uncertain
• The grey leaves (T notices they didn't touch the tea, but was pretending to drink it to be polite)
• T tries to memorize their body language, to try to recognize them later, but they are good at hiding it
• Not that bulky, maybe average build. Probably not an elf, but the height of a normal human
• Their steps are certain, and they might have martial arts training. They walk with confidence
• We get to skip the queue to talk to Glannon because people recognize us
• S requests that we speak away from prying eyes
• Glannon casts a spell, creating a matte dome, muffling sounds from outside and blurring visual details
• There will most likely be seven factions, the sages say they ought to be ten, but there will most likely be seven
• "Together we are stronger, and we cannot afford to fracture"
• Glannon hopes that the Awarth will come up with a useful way to move forward bit by bit and gather all paths together under one leadership. Something that has not happened in centuries
• Must act causally and not risk losing everything again
• Some say the change happened with the calamity, some say it happened later, with the death of the heart tree
• The grey figure was the Archon of the Unknown. And is the leader of the path of the Unknown. Tasked with leaving the path, and finding out what people don't want to know, and what they can't be bothered to know
• If Glannon gets chosen as the leader of the Awarth, he would seek to gather all the paths. It is difficult but doable, there are three that have strayed far
• He wants to take the cautious and long term approach to convincing the citizens of Hugo Sha
• S says a long speech about how a slow approach can only work if every Awarth is united.
• He says this is unlikely, and instead suggests creating a calamity, and demonstrating to the people of Yin that only magic can save them, and showing them that magic can be used for good
• Glannon asks how risking the lives of everyone in Hugo Sha is any better than the bloodshed that Malagnim proposes
• The Archon is unsure whether Malagnim would respect the choice if he is not elected leader
• They are missing the path of restraint. Their presence would be helpful. They have not existed in their original form for a long time. They are twisted (?).
• T mentions that a speech to sway the Awarth should:
• remind the Awarth that if there is bloodshed, the people of Hugo Sha will have their fear of magic justified, and that the suffering of the Awarth might be made even worse
• remind them that their lives are good right now, with the heart tree being restored. Bloodshed/war might take that away. Better to hold on to what they have
• Glannon is hesitant to agree to S's plan for summoning a demon, as there are risks that it will make things worse, and put lives at risk
• T points out that the demon, being a magical creature, might instead enforce the fear of magic
• S suggests that it might be smart to figure out what caused the calamity
• Glannon agrees that the story of what caused the paths to split might help to unite them again
• The calamity was the reason that the paths diverged in the first place
• There are holes in the records, that suggests that parts were destroyed
• The records mention the First People, but not sure if that were what they called themselves
• S says that Glannon has his supports
• T says she has some stuff to look into, but it is likely that  she will support him
• V says he has no reason to not side with Glannon
• A prefers peace (If someone in our group has strong opinions about siding with Malagnim, he would listen to it)
• Coty goes with the group
• Glannon doesn't know how to help Cloud, but can at least try to look into it
• T goes on a walk with Cloud, to talk to Malagnim about his plan to get her powers back, and to see the sage that was looking into it
• We go to talk to the sage looking into how to help Cloud, Golineth
• We find him sitting by a desk stacked with ancient books
• There is an armed guard by his side
• Golineth keeps referring to Thunder as (the rank under apprentice sage)
• Golineth starts listing various books and dates erratically. Stuff that might have to do with curing 'the stilling'
• He has found:
• The path of the monks in Hugo Sha is one of the many diverging paths
• It is possibly the only surviving commonly surviving path in Hugo Sha.
• This path used to be called The path of restraint!!!
• The records are hazy/missing
• They were trusted with containment/controlling of magic and anything that was erratic and uncontrollable
• There are no records of erasing magic, only controlling and restraining it
• -> There might be hope that the rituals they use now doesn't erase the ability to use magic, only restraining it or limiting it enough that anyone who isn't powerful enough will be unable to detect that she has magic at all
• There are no trustworthy records of rituals that remove magic completely
• If the myths are to be believed, the First People were a high-magic society
• There are tales of incredible ___
• If T finds any remnants of the First People, those could be researched
• The most popular opinion (without much proof) is that the calamity caused a volcanic eruption
• There might be items buried around Yin
• He casts a spell on an ink well and dips his pen in it. He then hands T the well. He can use it to contact T
• He gives some pointers as to where T might search, including wells, tunnels etc.
• T mentions the place we restored the heart tree, including the door and the room with the golem. She offers to take him there, and he enthusiastically agrees
• We stop by the others to ask if they want to come, they join
• We reach the room with the door
• Golineth is alarmed that such an important place, which can cut of magic from the Awarth, is not being guarded. Wants to tell people, but T warns him to be careful who to tell.
• We investigate the door
• It is made out of dark metal and is 15(?) ft. tall
• S knows that the metal is the same metal as his new shield
• Adamantine
• Different runes glow when different elvish words is spoken
• The runes are in ancient elvish, and imply that this is a vault door (we don't understand anything else)
• The door is warm to the touch (?), and some parts of the door light up when Golineth touches it (this did not happen when void touched it)
• S tries to press the adamantine shield against the door
• Right before he touches the shield against it parts of the door lights up
• When they touch, the runes morph and change into new runes(?)
• The shield sinks slightly into the door
• To the left of him a spirit of a sonolinor appears. The elf from before (?)
• She smiles at S and knocks a spiritual hammer against the door, making it ring
• Humming builds up, while the runes change, until it finishes and goes still
• There is still elvish, but now also ancient dwarvish
• Mentions a vault, a door and a ram/horn
• (Rolls bad on investigation, but gets adv from T helping, and crits!)
• It says something about protection from the outside and from the inside
• There is an artisan's signature: There is a name, but more importantly the symbol of a single, slightly twisted ram's horn (T remembers the symbol as the same that is on S's signet ring)
• There is a slight groove there
• S reminds T that he believes in destiny, and put his signet ring into the groove
• The door vibrates and sings a tune similar to that of the heart tree/seed
• The whole door lights up, and the structure that appeared from the runes when pressing the shield in
• A path appears on the structure, leading towards a guiding star
• Light flashes from the star (everyone manages to turn away in time except S, who is blinded)
• The door gives an audible sigh, as if releasing tension, and the light dims
• A small crack appears, and is slowly growing bigger. The door is opening outwards, very slowly
• The shield is loose, but the ring is stuck
• After 20 mins, the crack is big enough to see through
------- Void and Thunder peek through, seeing a large room 50 ft. to the opposite wall ------- Against the wall is a large mostly metal statue. 10 ft. tall at least -------- It seems decayed, and old. Not stood the test of time that well -------- It holds a decaying sword ------- The insides as the room doesn't have the same architecture -------- More angular, the floor is covered in big stone tiles ------- We can't see any movement ------- The air inside is stale and dry ------- We can hear clanking of faint footsteps, but we can't see the whole room ------- S recognizes the architecture as dwarven
• T brings out her cat statue and tells/shows it what is happening
• S has always had the ring, but doesn't know where he got it. The one who took him in off the streets said it was the only thing he had left from his birth mother
• Golineth says there is a path called Path of the Horn, that looks similar. There might be a dwarven clan that has something similar
------- The path of the horn are heralds, and serve as advisors. They are tasked with counsel and supporting the leader. They are mentioned in the records as standardbearers(??) and leaders when called upon in conflict ------- He tells us some stories of people who follow the path of the horn ------- They were known for carrying around actual horns that they would blow -------- Legends about this: bl.a. the horn of Velleir(?) from The Great Hunt. (the hunt happens every century, and there is not allowed to be any major conflict during the year people are searching. It has been a hunt recently, but no one found the horn. Erivale was looking for the horn before we found her)
• It will take about a day for it to open completely, and about 6 hours for it to open about 50 cm
• Void has a spell to open a portal for 10 min (Arcane Gate), but we don't have a way back out except waiting
• Void casts Arcane Gate, one portal on each side of the door, and we step through
• The room is 90 ft. wide, and 50 ft. in depth
• There are three statues, all decaying
• There are one path to the left, and one to the right
• A piece of armour off one of the statues, making a loud clank
• Another piece falls of one of the other statues
• T notices an arm start moving
• ROLL INITIATIVE

Plan: survive the fight with the animated armours. Explore the hidden chambers. Make it back in time for the Yomenië. T wants to talk to Malagnim but might not have time before the Yomenië.