32 - 2/1/25 : Where Silence Has Lease

"This, unto all mortals who dare to defy the Frozen Prince! I shall rip out your wretched spines, climb their rungs to the Heavens, and beat the gods you love to death with them!"  

Mendrion, Paragon of Deceit

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  The party, enamored by the interior of the Hall of Weightless Wonder, discovered several skeletons floating throughout its interior. They realized that they all adopted the same posture, and took a moment to figure out what they were doing. They soon realized the corpses likely perished while meditating.   Alith tried imitating the actions of the corpses by meditating herself, and learned that the Hall could be used to cast the spell project image if one achieved inner focus within its confines. Realizing that such a boon could be used to contact people back in the Snowdrift Flatlands, Melfina followed suit and used the chamber to contact Tali back at Camp Daybreak.   Melfina appeared before Tali and broke the news of her imminent death to her paramour and peer in academics. Tali was hurt and worried, and regretted not coming along to stop something like that from happening. They demanded that the party do their best - Melfina included - to come back alive and enjoy the summer that they would help create.   Ragna went next, seeking to contact their sister Valdís, using their experiences during Grimskalle's trial of isolation to achieve inner quiet to do so. Valdís was in the middle of a hunt with the orcs of Storm's Call, and was surprised to see her sibling appear out of thin air and at such a staggering height. Ragna explained their method of contact, and talked about their plans to settle the area around Hollowfaust and Ythryn and build their new tribe there.   Ragna also informed Valdís of Cinderswift being nearby in Ythryn; Valdís encouraged their sibling to take revenge for the harm he caused, as was the way of their people. Ragna eagerly agreed, and the two parted..   With no one objecting, Ragna took additional time to contact his other remaining sister, Sóley. Sóley was in the middle of demonstrating her new three-axe-style to a crowd of very excited orc warriors. The gathering was shocked by Ranga's appearance, but quickly adjusted when they realized it was one of their heroes making contact. Thokgrim the Stormlord also joined the conversation, as he was nearby.   Ragna gave their sister encouragement in her pursuits, and told her to get ready for the rebuilding effort. Sóley promised to continue training, so that she would be ready to fight when they came into conflict with King Siegmar once again in the future.   Thokgrim celebrated the success of the Lonesome Few as if it were a foregone conclusion, and asked for Ragna's axe in the battles against the remaining Broken Blade barbarians to come. Ragna gladly agreed, and then left the two to their training.   Alith and Veszaltyrr had no one they wished to contact. Melfina, however, asked the party if they could leave her within the Hall of Weightless Wonder after she had froze, so that she might be able to use whatever last bits of awareness she might have to continue projecting images as long as was able.   The party chose to bypass the remaining spell school towers, instead electing to first investigate the large black obelisk, known as the Obelisk of Remembrance. They soon arrived at the obelisk, and noted the heavy amounts of chardalyn in the ground around the monument. They also realized the huge obelisk itself was made entirely out of chardalyn, although it was completely devoid of any sort of magical charge whatsoever. Veszaltyrr theorized that this may be due to being steeped in the negative energies of Ythryn for centuries, possibly inflicting an antimagic effect upon the obelisk after so long.   Melfina knelt to read the obelisk's memorial plaque, written in High Boros in the Draconic script, with her eyes of the rune keeper.  

"Upon this monument do we honor the sacrifices of all those whose lives have been consumed to give life to the great Mythallar, the gift that sustains our arcane ascendance. Upon these grounds is scattered the blood of the sacrificed, that they may become part of the foundation of our home, in accordance to the pact stricken with our benefactor. With your sacrifice, we shall not only reclaim the power of great Tsen; we shall surpass it."  

Adrian Iriolarthas, First Antecedent of Ythryn

The plaque's contents gave new, insidious meaning to the name "Blood of Ythryn", the name that any remaining residents of the old Hyperborean city used for chardalyn. An echo of Nevara soon appeared, confirming the party's suspicions.  

"You were initially opposed to my plan to stop the Mythallar and the sacrifices that sustained it. This all changed in an instant when we discovered the truth of the mysterious crystal growing in the earth beneath our feet. We can try to suppress our memories of the sacrificed, try to absolve ourselves of what we did to them in the name of power... but their blood has forever stained the very ground itself, turning black with our sins and freezing to a metal-like hardness. A reminder of what we did. A stain on the very world. How could anyone look upon this miscarriage of arcanima, and feel pride?"

  Ragna pondered the implications of their heart being forged of a material that arose from the blood of those sacrificed to the Mythallar. Veszaltyrr assured her that the souls of the sacrificed had already been used up or were still raging in the Mythallar, and thus Ragna wouldn't have to worry about any extra 'passengers' in their soul due to the chardalyn heart beating in her chest.   The party then turned to the three remaining spell school towers that remained unexplored. The nearest to the Obelisk of Remembrance was the Tower of Evocation, which was once the domain of High Evoker Nevara herself.   While ascending the stairs of the Tower of Evocation, the party came across the echoes of Nevara of Minerva, frozen in the midst of embracing each other during a romantic moment. Nevara fondly recalled their midnight trysts, speaking of her tower as the one place she felt at home when she shared it with Minerva.  

"High Evoker Nevara. I could scarcely believe it when I received the title. The pinnacle of destruction, first in the art of unmaking. I was given my tower, all the resources I could demand, and servants to perform whatever menial tasks I did not see fit to tend to. I could have felt like a queen, lording over all that my title and tower brought to me... but nothing brought me more joy than your secret visits in the night, my crafty raven. An oasis in this den of sorrow, for just the two of us. What could be more beautiful?"

  The party ascended to the uppermost chamber, which appeared to be a small demiplane in which Nevara once tested her mighty evocation magic. The strange place was affected by multiple simultaneous weather conditions; it paradoxically rained, snowed, and stormed all at once in the chamber, and small embers wafted through the air as if a fire was blazing nearby. What's more, the ceiling - where the needed inscription likely was - was covered with a thick layer of ice, rendering anything on it unreadable.   In the center of a chamber was a brazier, a flame burning atop it yet frozen still in time. The party surmised that this was some sort of security measure, and tried placing various objects in the frozen flame. When a lit torch was placed into it, the flames in the brazier began to once again follow the flow of time, and burned a bright blue. The icy ceiling began to melt slowly, and so the party tried to accelerate this by striking the brazier with the shocking grasp spell. This had the desired effect; the combination of two elemental forces of evocation accelerated the flame's burning, eventually melting a hole in the ice and revealing the inscription of Nevara's tower.  

"Fifth, quench the flame in thy palm with ice."

  With their business concluded, the Lonesome Few proceeded to the next tower; that of Illusion.   The Tower of Illusion, once home to High Illusionist Ajamar, was enshrouded in a fine gossamer mist. Within the entirely empty uppermost chamber, the party immediately spotted an inscription on the ceiling. However, given that they were in the Tower of Illusion, the party had reason to doubt that the easily spotted inscription was genuine.  

"Sixth, show thy face to the sky."

  Using her ability to see beyond the weave, Melfina observed the room as it truly was; filled with broken furniture and decaying bookshelves, both of which were being attended to by a mummy. The party realized that the mummy was the same one they had previously freed from the Caves of Hunger. The party asked the mummy if he was High Illusionist Ajamar; the mummy nodded an affirmative, and then returned to his futile attempts to fix his tower's furnishings.   With the illusion dispelled, the party was able to spot the true inscription, which was written in floating arcane letters superimposed over its false counterpart.  

"Sixth, hide thyself behind a mask."

  One step of the Arcane Octad remained, and so the party departed the Tower of Illusion to make their way to the Tower of Enchantment, which rested on the far eastern section of the city. As they departed, another echo of Nevara spoke to them.  

"High Illusionist Ajamar. A man of many jests. As an evoker, he and I were destined to be rivals at best, mortal enemies at worst. I suppose I should be thankful he was the former. Of all our colleagues, he was the one I detested the least... but even still, he was a product of Ythryn's madness. A relic of a lost city that should stay forgotten and buried. He can craft as many phantasmal images of Tsen to inspire the apprentices to some grand purpose, but they are still just that; illusions. Lies not to be believed."

  Most of the eastern section of Ythryn was buried in ice and snow, but the Tower of Enchantment itself was accessible after a brief hike.   Immediately after entering the Tower of Enchantment, the Lonesome Few found its interior walls to be lined with repeated scrawlings of the same message: "All work and no play make Ivira a dull girl". They surmised that this referred to High Enchanter Ivira, whom they had seen named in Ythryn's museum.   Further up the tower, they began to encounter a new message written over and over again in old wine stains; "I am Ivira. Ivira is my name."   At the doors leading to the highest chamber of the tower, the party encountered a final message, painted once in blood above the entrance to the next room; "The crown knows all". The group braced themselves and opened the doors, finding the decayed corpse of a woman sitting in a throne. Atop her head rested an iron crown, and behind her throne was the partially obscured inscription needed to complete the Rite of the Arcane Octad.   As the group approached the throne to peek around it at the inscription, the corpse suddenly gasped for air and came to. High Enchanter Ivira, somehow still alive after thousands of years, begged the party in a raspy voice her final request; "Destroy the crown and free my memories… let me have peace".   Ragna reached down and pried the crown from the High Enchanter's brow, and found himself immediately compelled to place it upon his own head. As the crown grew to fit the gigantic barbarian's cranium, Ragna felt their memories slowly but surely being siphoned by the foul artifact.   Ragna was unable to remove the crown, and Alith was unable to damage it even with her powerful sword. Even a remove curse spell laid upon Ragna by Veszaltyrr was unable to break the affliction; the only thing to stop its ill effects was Veszaltyrr willingly removing it from Ragna's head and resisting the compulsion to wear it himself.   With the crown in hand, the party looked at the inscription behind the throne, but found it to be illegible and obscured by a powerful enchantment. They knew they would have to find some way to destroy the seemingly indestructible crown, and after some brief consideration, they recalled that the Tower of Abjuration held a magic anvil created for the express purpose of destroying magic items.   Returning to the first Tower they had encountered, the party laid the crown on the anvil and allowed Melfina to strike it with the accompanying hammer. The crown shattered to dust, and all the memories sealed within it were released, returning Ragna's mind to normal. With this task done, the Lonesome Few doubled back and returned to the Tower of Enchantment.   With the crown destroyed, the party found the High Enchanter's body as it crumbled into dust, bringing her peace at last. The inscription was now readable, giving the Lonesome Few the final step of the Rite of the Arcane Octad.  

"Fourth, coax a secret from another."

  With all eight steps at hand, the party was now able to finally enter the Spire of Iriolarthas, and thus they departed from the Tower of Enchantment immediately. As was typical, an echo of Nevara spoke of the Tower's occupant in rather unkind terms.  

"High Enchanter Ivira was such a curious case, even among the eclectic personalities of the Arcane Octad. Many of the uneducated fear necromancy for its superfluous evil applications and negative connotations, but few realize the sinister art of enchantment's capability for cruelty. Ivira's pet elder brain will surely become a problem someday, once her wards fail and the illithids pick up the creature's presence from across the stars. Yet another casualty of our plan to sabotage the Mythallar, yes? What a foul crusade we have dedicated ourselves to."

  The revelation that the Elder Brain in the Caves of Hunger was once a pet project of the High Enchanter came as something of a shock, but the party was able to take comfort in knowing that it would no longer threaten anyone ever again.   Standing before the great Spire of Iriolarthas, the party debated whether or not they should rest before ascending the spire and confronting whatever laid within. Melfina's time was still running out, but at her insistence the group risked one night's rest in a nearby abandoned residence. Out of curiosity, Ragna planted one of the beans from their bag of beans before resting.   The bean would sprout into a large winterberry tree, bearing dozens of mundane winterberries in addition to a few magical ones, as well as one that was poisonous. This worked to the group's advantage, as the poison berry would work for the eighth step of the Rite of the Arcane Octad (and bypass Veszaltyrr's aversion to consuming alcohol).   As time passed, the effects of the water from the goblet housed in the House of the Arcane faded, only to be replaced by surprising new effects. Although most were rather mundane (with Veszaltyrr briefly transforming into a common bat, much to his frustration and indignance), Ragna was bestowed with a resistance to necrotic energy, a sure boon when preparing to face a lich in her lair.   Once their strength had returned and Melfina's continued survival was assured, the party discussed who would perform the Rite of the Arcane Octad.   Although he was loath to divulge any secrets of his, Veszaltyrr eventually relented when the others decided that he would be the ideal candidate to perform the Rite. Since Melfina was unable to consume anything (including the poison outlined in the Rite), only the magic-capable Alith and the brass-handed sorcerer himself were left as candidates. Alith volunteered to speak of a secret for the fourth step, and Veszaltyrr would handle the rest.  

"First, hold a wand crafted from the Nether Oak over your heart."

  For the first step, Veszaltyrr placed the wand of the nether oak across his heart.  

"Second, summon a flame in the palm of your hand."

  For the second step, Veszaltyrr summoned a small flame in his other hand.  

"Third, a burnt palm loosens the tongue. Shed a secret about yourself for all to hear."

  For the third step, Veszaltyrr confessed a secret of his; that he still had nightmares of, and lived in fear of the Mad Mage Halaster, the almighty ruler of the Undermountain who had grievously injured Veszaltyrr in the past and banished him to the plane of Mechanus, where he would acquire his brass left arm and his brass right leg.  

"Fourth, coax a secret from another."

  For the fourth step, Alithkav volunteered a secret of her own; the crash of the Zerthimon's Arrow that brought her to the Taiga in the first place had been her own fault. In her desperation to help her ship and crewmates escape the pursuit of the nautiloid Id Ascendant, Alith tried to tinker with the ship's engine while under pressure, resulting in the machinery collapsing and the spelljammer plummeting from the sky as it made its final jump into the Material Plane.  

"Fifth, quench the flame in thy palm with ice."

  For the fifth step, Veszaltyrr summoned a burst of magical ice to quench the flame in his palm.  

"Sixth, hide thyself behind a mask."

  For the sixth step, Veszaltyrr took the confiscated mask of Orizana, the firbolg frost druid that once served as La Saia's most powerful servant, and placed it upon his face.  

"Seventh, trace a circle with the ashes of the dead."

  For the seventh step, Veszaltyrr took the ground-up dust of High Necromancer Cadavix's finger bone and traced a circle around himself with it.  

"Eighth, stand firm in thy circle of death and consume poison."

  For the eighth and final step, Veszaltyrr consumed the poison winterberry, suffering from its effects but completing the Rite all the same.   With the Rite of the Arcane Octad completed, the door of the spire's entrance opened for them. The Lonesome Few gathered themselves and entered the spire, and were lifted into its far heights by an arcane elevator.   The party found themselves at the base of a long stairwell. As they ascended it, they were spotted by a hypnos magen standing on guard from behind a peephole in the nearby wall. The magen telepathically demanded that the party leave immediately, as the antecedent was not receiving guests, but the party refused to comply and continued forward.   The spire opened into a grand foyer; shockingly, it was filled with a crowd of finely-dressed courtiers and socialites, dancing and enjoying each other's company as if nothing had happened to Ythryn in the first place. The courtiers seemed real enough, both solid in appearance and able to be touched, which further confused the party.   The courtiers were soon joined by the echoes of Nevara and Minerva, who danced with each other throughout the ballroom to a routine they had surely repeated dozens of times before. The courtiers, however, paid the echoes no mind.   When talked to, the party attendees seemed blissfully unaware that anything had happened to Ythryn at all, and were convinced that the city was still in the prime of its power. They all considered themselves lucky attendees of a gala held by Antecedent Iriolarthas, and appeared to perceive the party as similarly invited guests. One attendee was even shown to not recognize Ragna's staggering height, believing the barbarian to be even shorter than her.   Deciding not to antagonize the strange revelers, the party split up to investigate their surroundings. While Melfina and Veszaltyrr checked the west wing, they discovered a preserved missive that described an artifact known as the Spindle. Detailing it only as a strange rock of great arcane power and unknown purpose, the Spindle had been placed in the spire's stasis chamber for further study.   Alithkav discovered a closet full of magical staves. Melfina soon joined her and found herself drawn to a staff made of chardalyn. While holding this staff, Melfina felt her soul to be entirely free of fear.   In a room on the northern end of the east wing, Alith encountered a strange creature; a brain in a jar, which had been placed on top the armored body of a helmed horror. The brain seemed only mildly perturbed by the party's arrival, and asked them to leave and not interfere with her experiments.   When questioned, the brain introduced herself as Veneranda, a mage of old Ythryn who had shed her mortal form for the one she held in the present. Veneranda stated that she was an alchemist of renown, and was trying to discover a formula for a potion or concoction that could reverse time for either applied objects or for the imbiber. With this potion, she intended to turn back the clock on Ythryn's fall, and stop the Antecedent before she and her beloved could sabotage the city's Mythallar. However, Veneranda had yet to stumble upon her desired formula.   When asked about the gala attendees, Veneranda only spoke cryptically of them. She invited the party to attack the guests should they wish to unveil their true natures.   Veneranda asked the party, whom she suspected were soon to come into conflict with the lichified Antecedent, to recover Iriolarthas' staff of power. With this staff, Veneranda hoped to make use of its power to help with her temporal pursuits; to say nothing of the authority the staff would bestow upon her. The group did not promise anything, as the brain did not promise any meaningful reward or give any compelling motivation, and left her to her lab work.   In a relaxation chamber, the party found several guests around some sort of smoking apparatus, sharing in the joys of some exotic narcotic housed within it. The party also found an interesting chest lined with a velvet interior; after realizing the box was magical, it was identified as a rare abracadabrus; a magical chest that could spontaneously create materials, food, and other objects in small quantities.   Proceeding north, the party discovered an open-air chamber that was separated from the entry level by a forty-foot long chasm, which promised a deadly free-fall descent to the grounds of Ythryn hundreds of feet below. Calling upon her powerful psionics, Alithkav crossed the gap with ease and urged the party to follow suit.   Using her lingering drow high magic, Melfina gave Ragna and herself the ability to levitate. As Ragna gently hovered over the chasm, her gigantic foot made contact with an invisible presence. The party soon realized that an invisible bridge of force had been constructed over the chasm, which they quickly used to join Alith in the distant chamber.   As they gathered in the room, which was split into eight pointed alcoves illuminated by purple light, a figure appeared before the party. Although similar to the magen they had encountered previously, this being seemed far more elaborately dressed, and even capable of speech. The figure identified himself as Everlast, the steward of the Spire of Iriolarthas and personal servant of the Antecedent. Everlast had been given two directives the last time he had received orders; to assist in Ythryn's restoration, and to not reveal the city's secrets to outsiders.   The Lonesome Few quickly realized that Everlast had grown profoundly bored after centuries of tending to the dead spire, and wished to see what trouble the party could stir up. He did not believe that they could possibly challenge the Antecedent, but relished the possibility that they might try.   When asked if any others had entered the tower, Everlast confirmed that other visitors had arrived. He described an alabaster-skinned tiefling wizard accompanied by two gargoyles, a black-feathered devil, a human man dressed in piratical attire, and a large icy insectoid. Ragna and Melfina knew that the tiefling was likely Avarice, the wizard who served Levistus that they had encountered in Vrath Keep while Alith was away from the party. The remaining three were almost certainly the erinyes Mendrion, Captain Ardyn Cinderswift, and an Ice Devil in service to Levistus.   The party asked Everlast to give them passage to the top of the tower, to which the sentient magen gladly agreed. A magic sigil appeared beneath the feet of the party that lifted them upwards, ascending up to the spire's High Court.   The lift from Everlast terminated in a circular chamber, and the party found themselves surrounded by a sphere of frost that encompassed the entirety of the entrance, blocking further passage. Outside of the bubble sat Touche, Avarice's imp familiar that took the form of a black cat with glowing orange eyes, as well as two living blades of disaster that appeared as sword-shaped voids in the very fabric of reality. Touche taunted the party for their predicament and assured them that they would never advance past him nor trouble his master.   Ragna tried to attack the sphere, but found that the attempt only shook some of the frost free from what they realized was an invisible, spherical wall of force. Melfina, knowing just how to counter such an obstacle, used the spell disintegrate to obliterate the sphere, striking fear into a surprised Touche. Before the cat could scramble away, Ragna grasped him and tightened his grip, sending Touche back to the Nine Hells.   The black blades of disaster remained present and guarded the door leading further into the level. When approached, they attacked the party, inflicting grievous damage on both Ragna and Alith as the reality-defying blades tore through their mortal flesh. However, the party was able to stand their ground and defeat the blades before they could be critically wounded.   The next chamber contained a large black wall, in which was set eight doors. Above the doors was written an inscription that read "Speak thy master's name and enter".   The party proceeded to the door marked with the symbol of evocation and spoke High Evoker Nevara's name, and the door opened into the grand chamber of the High Court. Waiting within were their expected foes; Avarice, Mendrion, and Captain Cinderswift, all ready to receive their guests.   Avarice mocked her old peer Veszaltyrr and his 'minions', and made one last offer to join her and help turn over the souls of the Mythallar to Prince Levistus - and in doing so, finally ending the Eternal Winter.  

"At last. My scholarly peer, and his minions. Your aid in unmaking the glacier was appreciated, meddlers. It saved us the trouble of storming the Frostmaiden's lost lair ourselves. Now we find ourselves here, at the pinnacle of this ancient city, afforded entrance by the grace of our master, with the solution to all of our problems beating like a heart below our feet. What a fine tale we have penned. I wonder, does this end in blood? Do you wish to struggle as you pursue the Mythallar? As you throw yourselves against the iron gates of Ythryn? Or do you want to put aside your mortal grievances and face the remaining obstacles together?"

  Ragna refused outright, saying that the moment Levistus and Cinderswift threatened her family, no alliance would ever be possible. The barbarian challenged Cinderswift for his misdeeds, but Cinderswift stood his ground and defended his actions. He stated that he did what he had to, and will always do so, in order to survive.  

"What can I say? The Taiga has been a losing gamble since I arrived. I've fallen far from Castorhage, I admit. But I don't intend to let this place be my tomb. No tale worth penning if there is no fortune at the end, I believe."

  Mendrion claimed that he held no ill will towards the party, and that inevitable conflict with them was merely business, not personal.  

"I serve the Frozen Prince in all things. You must realize, I did naught to you through malice. It was only business. Had I reserved any wrath for you, I assure you... you would already be dead, and begging for forgiveness at the foot of the frozen tomb."

  With no potential for cooperation, battle soon commenced between the Lonesome Few and the servants of Levistus, the Black Prince of Stygia. Avarice wielded the frozen darkness of Stygia, while Mendrion made attempts to inflict and exploit vulnerabilities upon the party. All the while, Cinderswift attempted to use his powerful enchantment magic to befuddle his foes, only to have it rebuked and turned around against him by Melfina's counterspell expertise.   While her companions waded into the fray, Melfina unleashed a devastating blast of chain lightning, weathering the arcane defenses of Stygia's chosen. Alith engaged Avarice's gargoyle minions Gurgle and Gargle, tearing them to pieces after they dared to harm Peanut & Blamo. Ragna sounded the Gjallarhorn, summoning the spirit of a mighty cloud giant to join them in the fight.   As the fight began to tip in the party's favor, Alith maneuvered about the battlefield and found a small chamber. Within it was a stone obelisk, its surface engraved with glowing runes that emitted massive arcane power. She surmised this to be the Spindle spoken of in the missive discovered by Veszaltyrr earlier, but elected to focus on the fight at hand instead of investigating in the heat of battle.