Session Sixteen

Departing the Hearth of Zivaria for The Avail Academy

The Aftermath

Fith (9) of Bird Moon (9)   Wrapping up the events of the ambush of Ghytan clerics at the Hearth of Zivaria.

Something's Off

The eternal flame is out. Sending spells don't work. Even the air feels... empty.   No spells are able to be cast, no healing and no wards, and word quickly spreads throughout the tent city. Something with the attack has caused a massive anti-magic field centered on the Hearth.   Even on a long rest, the heroes are only able to regain hit points through spending hit dice - no spell slots or magical abilities are restored through resting here.

Newly Blind

Blind like baby kittens. Cheyanne does some examinations and notes that once out of the antimagic field, the whirling clouds in Lilvi and Minkara's eyes to settle into a still, opaque cloudy film.

A Tale of Two Clerics

Lilvi shares how she came to be at the Hearth. Her and her mentor, Varvis Byrrimin traveled to The Avail Academy for a guest lectureship. Lilvi recalls the unfortunate circumstance of Varvis not receiving Ghyta's vision.

Please Locate Your Nearest Exit

News of the ambush, coupled with the effects of the explosion and new antimagic field spreads panic like wildfire, and while the majority of those present recognize the party as heroes that stopped the cultists, there was still a lot of death, and everyone is on edge.   Caravans are going to want to leave the Hearth, and do it soon. They'll be understandably nervous about taking on any passengers not originally contracted, and so pricing will very quickly become extortionate, starting at 30 gp per passenger, easily double the going rate on a good day! Blackfin was able to haggle per-person passage down to 20 gp, but that is still notably expensive.   However, some familiar faces catch Vaurvan's eye, and he recognizes a caravan from his hometown of Aflan Settlement, led by Lezana Teneye and Breesa Quillboot - they'll take the party aboard for 10 gp each, and won't charge for the two blinded clerics. The caravan is bound for Aflan, but the party should be able to handle a short 3-day travel by foot to Avail Academy from there. Perhaps they could even obtain mounts in Aflan.

Caravan Travel

Popping the Bubble

Departing on Fith (9) of Bird Moon (9). Transitioning from the antimagic field to outside of it gives each person a tingling sensation like pins and needles - until finally, your ears pop and the magic seems to rush back into your very veins.   This day is otherwise uneventful.

The Riderless Horse

Gai (10) of Bird Moon (9)   The party comes across a fully tacked riding horse is grazing in the field unattended. Within its saddle bags are 10 days’ worth of rations, a bedroll, two full waterskins, and 30 gp. Its rider is nowhere to be seen, but the horse doesn't appear to have been on its own for more than an overnight.

Cinderbrush Howler

A hell-hound like creature with hooves, that cracks the very earth open to unleash multicolored, magical fire.   The party noticed fireflies following them after this encounter, and surrounding their camp this night.

The Centaur Who Dreamed You

Ghyt (11) of Bird Moon (9)   “I am Siloah of the Dreamward Tribe. I’ve waited here two days, unsure why. I didn’t know your faces until I saw them… in a dream. The wind carried it to me.” She was clearly watching for someone but she seems genuinely surprised to see you - while watching, she was truly not expecting to see anyone.

• Siloah claims the wind has been sending dreams to certain centaurs — dreams of people who don’t belong here yet, echoes of potential travelers or intruders. The party matches her dream exactly, down to the triton’s tattoo and the goblin’s odd steel dog.
• She had a dream last week where she rode beside these three figures, though she didn’t know their names. There were others, but they were indistinct to her.
• The dream changed every time she tried to ignore it. When she stopped to camp, the dream came again — clearer each time.
• The triton was looking over the lip of a fathomless trench as pale lights drifted from below, and something vast turned its eye upward.
• The cleric was standing on a mountain ledge, surrounded by flickering stars, but they were sinking, not rising.
• The goblin was kneeling and the ground beneath her hands split open, and glowing filaments emerged from the crack, tangling with her fingers.

  Harmony noticed that as they stood to converse with Siloah, the sun seemed to reverse slightly in the sky and then resume its descent, and the party’s shadows briefly faced the wrong direction.

Whispering Wind Calls a Name

Kidit (12) of Bird Moon (9)   A steady, magical wind blows over the hills—but it whispers in an unknown tongue. It says each of the party member’s names. Cheyanne, Blackfin and Harmony followed the wind, and it led to a strange spiral depression in the grass with shimmering air and a buried skeleton half-fused with crystal.

The Crooked Orchard

Ia (13) of Bird Moon (9)   The party explored the orchard's house, barn and orchard.   In the house, Harmony found a journal with the last entry dated (10) of Bird Moon (9), the day after the eclipse. The last entries become increasingly nonsensical, but she noted mentions of "the soil souring," "shadows at noon," "the river whispering," and something about "eclipse waking them."   The well reeks of rot, and any water drawn is terribly bitter.   At the crest of a low hill in the center of the orchard, where a few benches lie - previously a beautiful place for a picnic, the party encounters two tree blights which throw rotting, poisonous fruit, and emit a death burst of poisonous fumes when slain.

Arrival in Aflan

The Fields of Silence

On Trix (14) of Bird Moon (9), the party arrives at the outskirts of Aflan Settlement, to an unexpected sight.      

Quest Log

Race for the Rails

• Figure out who's behind the sabotage of the Rusty Rails rail line.
• High Noon Shootout: Survive the Vipers gang attack on Copper Ridge. Completed: Session One.
• Wanted: Dead or Alive: Hunt down Fang, the leader of the Vipers bandit gang. Completed: Session Three.
• The Big Bang: Survive the rockslide triggered by the explosion at The Cut, and save as many townsfolk as possible. Completed: Session Four - WIP.
• Under the Light of the Moon: Investigate the large object discovered at the blast site near the Cut. Completed: Session Five - WIP.
• "H.": Follow up on the lead in Z'Veena about the mysterious "H." who hired the Vipers to disrupt the Rusty Rails construction project. Letter found in Session Three.

The Vipers

• Find out where the money went. Get it back.
• Red Rock Ridge: Clear out the Vipers bandit gang from their hideout/stronghold near Copper Ridge. Completed: Session Three
• As the Crow Flies: Track down "Crow", the mage who sold Sage, the snake with a hundred mage hands to Fang, leader of the Vipers bandit gang. Completed:Session Eleven
• The Mysterious S.V.: Find where the stolen money went by tracking down "S.V.", per a letter from Fang's boot, received in Session Three. S.V. likely captains the Nightscream, a sky-pirate dirigible airship, last seen traveling south along Readmuse Range.
• Sage, the Snake with a Hundred Mage Hands: Track down the snake used in the Copper Ridge heist. Calicrysta Byrch says it is probably seeking its mother - search for a large, darkly iridescent scale similar to the one Crysta used to create Sage. Perhaps in Z'Veena?

Uncovering the Past

• Work with the Trill Society to uncover and identify the mysterious object unearthed by the explosion outside Copper Ridge.
• The Trill Society: Visit the headquarters of the Trill Society, an archaeological guild. Completed: Session Nine Report
• The Vault of Shadows: Locate and explore the Vault of Shadows, returning to the Council of Matrons in Tarana when finished. Completed: Session Fourteen )
• Primordial Remains: Follow up with Field Crew Callithrix after they've had time to excavate the site near Copper Ridge.

A Curious Wreckage:

• Investigate the airship wreckage and learn what happened to the vehicle.
• Dearest Renegade: Investigate the crashed airship, Dear Renegade, its wreckage located outside of Copper Ridge. Completed: Session Two
• Repair the Black Box: Repair the glass orb recovered from the crashed airship. Lew's notes at Rainwood Hall indicate the Lascari twins in Nova Excelsium were the creators of the orb.

The Blinded Seers:

• The Hearth of Zivaria: Travel to and explore the Hearth of Zivaria (Completed Session Fifteen)
• The Sole Survivors: Stop the cultists from eliminating all of the Ghytan clerics assembled. Escort them to safety.
• A Prophecy Spoken: Decipher the prophecy spoken by the surviving Ghytan clerics.

Other Missions:

• Assorted and unoffiliated missions (for now...)
• Restore Zeb's Memories: Zeb, who runs the Copper Tubs bathhouse in Copper Ridge appears to have serious amnesia.
• Haunting Blueprints: Follow up on the airship tower blueprints found at Lew's workshop at Rainwood Hall, as found in Session Nine Report.
• The Genesis Cube: Escort the Cube to the Pillars of the Aesnii, Viena's shrine in Z'Veena.
• Back to School: Investigate the missing and ill students at The Avail Academy.