On the Road
The first few days of their journey across
Mauren passed without incident, although Lizzie had several strange dreams featuring
Master Sorrell, a hedge maze, and an unfamiliar woman.
In the
Unclaimed Borders they met a travelling artist,
Andreas Duvave, who drew them a group portrait in exchange for time by their campfire.
On the road from
Dornie they were attacked by bugbear bandits, who attempted to take Clover hostage, a distressing experience for all.
Finally making it within the borders of
Cannis, they stopped at
Dalwin where they took rooms at The Silver Chalice, with the owner Rem Valer revealing that
Saremar was originally from the town. Saremar explains that he and
Hosk left to travel when they were young and hadn't returned since. They learned from a travelling bard, Zen Quicksilver, that there had been disappearances of farm workers in the outer edges of the town, and decided to investigate.
They discovered that a nergaliid was residing in the river and murdering the farm workers, which were then rising as undead creatures. They killed it, and reported the situation to the local guard before moving on.
In
Cannis City they arranged to meet
Zella Snowpeak, then joined Saremar and Clover at the Lean Inn for a night of drinking.
Invitation From The King
With hangovers cured by lesser restoration, the Folly headed out to meet Zella, who had informed them that
King Aden II had requested they see him after the impromptu end of the
Inter-College Games. They also discussed
Master Sorrell, with Zella encouraging them to tell someone at the College what they know.
At the
Ember Palace they explained what had happened at the Games to the Royal Council of Cannis. The King seemed satisfied with their explanations, but invited them to stay in the palace so he could speak to them privately at a later time.
That evening they were called to a private chamber with the King and Queen, where the King described a series of unusual events which had occurred in
Cannis in recent months, and revealed that their names had come up in connection with several of these events. They agreed to investigate the source of the events, and if they were somehow connected, while keeping his patronage of them secret.
With
Saremar choosing to wait for them in Cannis, they made their way north to follow up on their concerns about
Master Sorrell, who had revealed when contacted that he was staying near
Ochar.
Ochar and the Sumaire Mansion
They took a room in the only inn in the village, and began their investigations. The priest at the local temple to
Oghma gave them some history of the area, and warned that because of the events in the Nathair Wood thirty years ago Lizzie - being a tiefling - may encounter suspicion from some residents.
They sneaked into the mansion north of the village, speaking to
Master Sorrell and finding him under what appeared to be a charm spell. After freeing him with a lesser restoration spell, he explained that he had followed
Alric Kota to the mansion, and that the owner,
Sumaire, a vampire, intended to complete a ritual to bring
Pharika/Fierna into the Material Plane.
The next day they headed into the Nathair Wood to locate the clearing Agnes saw in her dream about the cult ritual. Digging into the earth they discovered a deep line of strange ashy dirt, and several tiefling skeletons, which they surmised to include Lizzie's birth family.
They jumped to the
Ethereal Plane in order to explore the layout of the mansion without detection, but returned to the Material Plane to steal some books, revealing their presence to Sumaire. They escaped capture, but later entered the mansion voluntarily after Sumaire invited them as guests.
They discovered that a masquerade party was held each night for the residents of the mansion, most of whom appeared to be people from normal walks of life, and many of whom appeared to be held under a charm. The Folly dressed in the clothes and masks provided for them, and continued their investigations from within the mansion. They discovered that
Master Sorrell was once again charmed, but that
Alric Kota was not, and formed an alliance with him. He explained that he could not leave the mansion, as Sumaire was holding an important item of his.
Lizzie recognised
Eilidh, the elf who had visited
Holmir when he was a child and who had promised to cast a powerful enchantment on his lute if he found her as an adult. She revealed that she had been tasked to find him after the ritual in the Nathair Wood failed, and that once he had told Sumaire what she wished to know, her task would be complete.
Taking them aside, Sumaire explained that she wanted Lizzie's memories of the ritual, and he agreed to allow an oblex to pull them from his mind. Sumaire also offered Lizzie the opportunity to view his lost memories, which he did. Sumaire then told them they had until dawn to decide whether they wanted to be part of the ritual.
They decided to take as many residents as they could to the
Ethereal Plane in the hope of delaying the ritual, and blackmailing Sumaire into giving Alric back his item. Having done this Agnes messaged Sumaire, who would not be blackmailed, hinting that Alric was more important to the ritual than they realised.
After providing food and water for their hostages, the Folly returned to the mansion. They found it now filled with traps and obstacles that hindered their movement, along with the aggressive remaining residents. They eventually made their way to the attic where they freed
Alric Kota from
Shen, who they pursued and eventually killed.
They reunited with
Master Sorrell and freed him again from Sumaire's charm, then made their way to the centre of the hedge maze where Sumaire was still attempting to go ahead with the ritual. Disrupting the ritual and chasing Sumaire to her bedroom where she had fled to heal, they used the oblex to retrieve the location of Alric's stolen item.
Agnes then cut off Sumaire's head with a spiritual weapon, causing her to crumble to dust.
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