Session 446 – Religious Machinations

 

The Story So Far

Ash - An expert in the occult and a skilled monster hunter. Ash uses his talents and budding alchemical expertise to battle what people fear most for a price.

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Ryobi - A monk of the embattled Order of the Warriors of Mameka. Ryobi is given an important mission: retrieve the holy blades containing the souls of his brother knights, which were lost in the recent Rethemi civil war.

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They are joined by Vinzent, a bard with a morbid demeanor and a haunted past.

This is the continuation of Session 442 - The Karkanos.

20^th of Larane (Summer) 729TR

After a botched mission, the heroes become outlaws, wanted for mass murder, robbery, and blasphemy. They have escaped to the distant, enigmatic Karejian Islands.

The heroes have defeated the mighty Aegesir, the Karkanos. This epic feat was aided by Vinzent sounding the legendary Horn of Tarcines, which drained his energy and nearly killed him. He spends months recovering his strength.

The Horn was recovered from a cavern beneath the City of Perstrona, where the heroes stole it from the Varani temple at the Mausoleum of Tarcine and replaced it with a fake (Refer to Session 431– The Divine Deception). What will they do with this artifact?

Location: City-sate of Trikal in the Karjeria Islands.

Part 1 – The fate of the Horn of Tarcines

Bishop Grigoris, art by Magic Studios

Bishop Grigoris is impressed; acquiring the real artifact will bring great prestige to his church, his holy order, and the city-state. Even better, it will upset the worshipers of the rival goddess Varani, who have a claim to this artifact. Soon, a diplomatic rift forms between the city-states of Perstrona and Trikal as it becomes clear that the Horn on display at the Mausoleum of Tarcine in Perstrona is a forgery. Perstrona and the church of Varani are profoundly embarrassed.

Part 2 – The Screaming Vinyards

After months of bed rest, Vinzent finally feels well enough to join the heroes’ adventures again. The noble Palamaraki Clan has hired the trio to investigate their vineyard. Their workers have been frightened by strange, screaming sounds emanating from their vines, typically at night, but more recently during the day as well. The heroes investigate.

Ash’s careful inspection reveals hundreds of tiny holes in the soil beneath the vines; these extend deep underground. Ash decides to start digging eagerly and hits something soft and moving. Suddenly, hundreds of tiny roots resembling monsters emerge. This is a swarm of Mandrakes, semi-humanoid, worm-like plant creatures. They engulf the heroes, and their inhuman screeches cause the ears of anyone nearby to start bleeding. They seem quite happy to bite and feed on the adventurers’ blood, and worse, they deliver a sickening venom as a nasty surprise. The heroes quickly respond, and Ash recalls that plant material can burn, then throws a series of volleys of Alchemist Fire. Sharing his knowledge of their opponents' mortal weakness with the rest of the party, the tiny, malicious army is soon destroyed.

Fortunately, the fire damage was contained, and only a small part of the vineyard was torched. Ash continues digging and finds an ancient pottery shard, followed by a hard stone. When cleared away, an ancient stone shrine to a long-lost nature or plant god is revealed. Ash pacifies the hostile spirits, so hopefully, there will be no other strange occurrences. The heroes are well rewarded for their efforts, including several barrels of high-quality wine.

Part 3 – A Change in Leadership

Months later, Bishop Grigoris calls Ryobi to the temple. He has received a message from the Apalankh of Hârn, the Agrikian Primate of Harn. Ryobi has been recalled; his exile is over.

Sir Klyrdes Bisidril, the former Apalankh, has died, and been succeeded by Apalankh Andraz Enald. He has instructed Ryobi to return to Rethem and present himself to the new Apalankh. The message states that he has been pardoned of all his crimes (Refer to Session 422 - The Fallen Warlord for the events leading up to the overthrow of the former Apalankh).

Ryobi is suspicious and believes this is a trap. The former Apalankh was the head of the Order of Mamaka, Master of Steel, the clerical order sponsoring his fighting order, the Order of the Warriors of Mameka. Apalankh Andraz Enald is a member of a powerful rival order, the Order of Hepra the Mace, which currently has strong support from the crown. Furthermore, during a failed robbery, Ryobi murdered one of their priests and hung his corpse from a tree as an intimidating display. The Order of Herpra the Mace and its sponsored fighting order, the Red Shadows of Hepra, would not have forgotten that grave insult.

Nevertheless, Ryobi has been called home and will leave the Kajerian Islands. Whether he presents himself to the Apalankh will be decided later.

Created Content

Nothing this week.

Related Reports

Session 438 - Destruction of Knight of Death for the event leading up to Sir Klyrdes Bisidril over throw

City of Trikal - Map updated.

City of Perstrona - Updated.

Sir Klyrdes Bisidril, Apalankh of Hârn - Updated.

Player Characters

Ryobi - Human - L15 Monk

Background - Temple Guard.

Archetypes - Barbarian/Fighter.

Ash - Human - L15 Thaumaturge

Background - Weaponcrafter.

Archetypes - Alchemist/Vestige Hunter.

NPC Companion

Vinzent - Human - L15 Bard

Background - Cursed.

Archetypes - Blessed/Disciple of Thalia.

Next Session

Session 448 - The Tidal Reaver.