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The group does some studying in the University Library. Since the librarians see the high priestess robes of Evangeline, they pull books from all sections for their search. Each of them find information that they are looking for:
That evening, as the rest run their own errands, Evangeline visits Kilmoc’s office. She finds more information about Vilkaris. This is an ethereal realm where ghosts, banshees, and other similar creatures dwell. The ruling beings are the spirits. Though the realm is free, when rulings must take place, typically the spirits will banish the culprit to another realm. Evangeline also checks her book about the ancestors' names and discovers five names in relation: Curros, Hanakri, Devinkri, Valad, and Suzalad. She learns Curros was a leader in Idris and the 2nd Designer of the orreries, and Valad was a great warrior who fell in the Battle of Far Brohn. She then finds an amulet hidden among the books. She identifies it as a Life Stone. After a night’s rest, Kadath teleports the group to Astaria and finds themselves in the lower level of the main dock house. Through some exploration, they discover this houses the dockmaster’s office, a tavern for the crews, and some resting quarters for the captains of the ships in port. In the office, they found general ledgers, but hidden in a secret drawer was another logbook. This one contained names going back 80 years with the most recent entry only 5 days earlier. Evangeline noticed the correlation of the dates next to names as dates that The Feather was in port. Kadath also pointed out magical ink that Forsythe read to be values listed next to each name. Inside the main hall, they discovered a thriving tavern for the crews of the docked ships. Fix focused and found Andrew, the only member of the Jagged Dream present in the city. Andrew shared he was a crewman of the Blue Shark and later shared information on the ships and their captains with Fix:
The group also learned that The Feather and her crew ran into trouble on their last journey. They seemed to have encountered the giant sea beast that guards Salachia, a prison in the middle of one of the twin lakes. The group decides they must continue to the Twisted Spire and look into this further at a later time. They take an evening’s rest at the Blue Dolphin and head out of the city the next morning.
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At the Citadel of the Iron Saint Fix, with the aid of Evangeline, repairs the orrery and as he watches through the narrow entry he sees the web of energy begin to spread. Evangeline takes a moment to investigate the room and finds a panel where behind are three books.:
The group makes their way out of the orrery camber and across to the Ancestors just in time to find Retton Balen (aka Leoros) arriving. Evangeline talks with Retton who shares with her that he has always felt like part of him was missing. That fact led him to Hidden Naresh where he ran into trouble and then to the Order of Truth who aided in his recovery. Upon his joining he tells her he feels complete. The party discovers upon talking with the Ancestors and their hosts:
Fix and Evangeline spend much time in debate about the intent of the Ancestors after Evangeline views Kri entering an infant at birth. Kri and Zavarina, his host, confirm that Kri has bonded with the family and they have been his host for multiple generations. After much discussion the decision was made and agreed upon by all that the Ancestors would remain watching and let the party know if any other of their kind entered. The party headed to Qi to find a solution to getting to The Twisted Spire for the next orrery to be restarted. In Nihliesh, Evangeline picks up more ink from Gallago. He offers to pay for their evening at the Platinum Spoon in hopes to reconcile with Evangeline for manipulating her to speak with his daughter on their previous visit. Before bed, they all do their nightly routines. As they begin to lay down for sleep, a song begins to play. Through some investigation, they realize the sound is omnipresent.
Forsythe takes to the air and discovers it only reaches so far. He then begins to look around for possible sources and finds an invisible stone. He takes the stone to Kadath that sees additional enchantment magic. Believing this to be a source, they wake Evangeline and travel to what appears to be the governmental building. A guard answers the door and informs them their leader is currently sleeping and he has no intention of waking her. After some convincing, the group is allowed in where they question the guard. He discloses that the song was enacted by Mada-liviss to ease tensions and fighting. The guard concedes to let her know of a breakfast appointment with the group and sends them off. Most of the group wait for the song to end at midnight before returning to bed. In the morning, the group met with Mada-liviss to learn the song was enacted also to stop any night time ritual that may be performed by the Fahat. To aid in Fix’s understanding, she shares her peace talk schedule with the religious group and through some compromise, agrees to have this matter resolved in three weeks time and to cease using the stones. As they leave, they talk with several townsfolk to discover many of them are okay with it as a temporary law and have discovered benefits to this sleep. The group then travels to the Citadel of the Iron Saint and discovers four people sitting around a sphere of energy meditating. Forsythe makes contact with them through telepathy and they agree to meet him at their home. Once they arrive, they are surprised to see others waiting there as well. Through several questions, the group learns the four are part of what they call the Soul Court and they are looking for a fifth to join them. Their ancestors built the home in the fourth age and they have been watching people ever since. Those they watch are chosen depending on their lives, interests, influence and influencers. When asked about the group, they share that they were seen at a distance and were protected. As Evangeline writes in her book about these watchers, the youngest, Zavakri, watches and is able to read the book. At times, Zavakri seems to communicate with the others telepathically about what she sees. Further questions reveal they are hosts to their ancestral spirits or souls. Some accept this willingly, one was born with the ancestor being passed from their mother. When asked about the orrery, they teleport them back to the stone they were meditating on. The group discovers the hole beneath the sphere and with the aid of magic, get themselves into the large room holding the orrery of this ancient city. The group begin to head back to Thriest and witness what looked like something tearing through the land. Through Forsythe’s flight, they realize the extent of this new “scar” being over 100 miles long and at least 15 miles at its widest point. We they arrive in Thriest, at the temple, Tatra meets them at the stairs saying:
Across the land devastation spreads Second to be the city of four heads Shield the land by orreries old Activate one new into the fold Tatra then hands Kadath a star sapphire. Tatra leaves as the group discusses the possible implications of the new riddle. Many ideas come up about the identification of the city of four heads with no definite conclusion. As they begin to realize the city is in commotion, they find out the river was disrupted and there is damage to the city. Forsythe quickly jumps in to attempt to create a spillway for the river, now flowing in the wrong direction. Kadath and Fix are sent to Ephremon to collect Zybella and ten druids she was able to gather on short notice. Evangeline heads to the Amber Pope to discover that he and Meus were already getting the merchant ships and the fleet of the City of Bridges underway to aid in however was needed for those traveling the river. By the time evening arrives there is a good start at mitigating much of the damage that could affect the economy of Thriest. Kadath heads to the pool of blood and enters to commune with the Raven Queen. She confirms that the cities without shields could be in danger of Velsharoon’s new approach to the material plane. She also shared that all the gods contributed to the cards, but it was Ao that determined what would be revealed and many of the gods do not agree with this course of action. She warns that the group may be called to a reckoning. Evangeline also communes to receive direction. She lays out all the cards as well as her book and crystal ball opening up her commune to any of the gods willing to share. When she asks about their presence, all the cards give a brief flash. Evangeline sees within the orb the shields that cover the Steadfast and the Beyond, toward the center is Rarmon. The cards flip over except for the Library and he shows her that the order does not matter but that they all need to be activated. During the night, Fix has a dream of being pulled above the land by Gond. He can see the network of the shields that create a circle around most of the Steadfast and the Beyond. Watching, the center begins to fill from Rarmon, and Shaji joins. Filled with a sense of pride, he hears Gond whisper, “My greatest work.” In the morning, the group heads to Rarmon knowing the orrery there can shield the city. When they arrive, Garrot leads them to the lower level under the orrery where they find an unpowered machine that could be designed to be part of the network of shields for the land. They place the sapphire into the machine and it begins to emit energy. When they go outside, they can see the iridescent network above the city and that it seems to stretch further south toward the Foundation Stones. As they prepare to leave Thriest, they also begin to notice the shield stretching toward the north as well. Philethis contacts Fix to let him know that his task is complete and he is going home. The group travels as clouds to the city of Nihliesh. |
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