Narrative

Day 26 was Saturday, 10th Tan 101, with 8 days to Arrynoon and 5 days to Autumn. The notes begin at Coalment with a series of dreams.

Invar dreamed of a meeting hall filled with red-bearded dwarves. He arrived at a large platinum chair, where a concerned dwarf sat while a smaller [unclear] person told him something. They strode out to an Ironforge-type building where magma was held back by a dome. A dire crab with multiple heads seemed to be trying to get through, and magma was coming through the dome until the king chanted and the dome closed up.

Dirk dreamed of an obsidian city where black Dragonborn strode around as if they owned the place. The scene was animated and included a town-hall-style building. Two black Dragonborn stood beside an archway with mosquitoes on the shield. Beyond the archway, Infestus spoke to Garadul. Infestus looked cross, then stabbed a coin into the portal and Garadul went through.

Eliana dreamed of a barren desert, stepping back and falling into a hole containing the dragon in Garadul’s prison. They landed on the dragon, which flew out to the edge. Another abnormal dragon appeared, with two heads, extra wings of some kind, and an arm. The two dragons nuzzled and cackled. The ground opened next to them, then went vertical, and a void voice said, “where is he I know you know”.

Geldrin dreamed through someone else’s perspective in a plush human bedchamber, rich but without style. The viewer walked out through a long corridor with old, similar pictures of the guild, then entered a large stone chamber that felt like a different place. Eight statues stood around the room with runes. The route continued down another corridor to a teleport circle, then turned left 10 times, through another room and corridor, and a couple more left turns. In a room with an old withered man in bed, the person Geldrin was seeing through took a box from the pillow and replaced it. The person did not look like Browning.

Dogs were waiting for the party. They headed toward the hunting tents on the sled through very stormy weather. At 06:45, about 10 minutes away, the dogs veered off toward a body in a snowdrift: a Humein in robes, dead for a few days. The robes looked like monk or priest garb, possibly of the Norian God.

Dark grey clouds burst out from over a hill, apparently above the prison. The effect looked like a geyser through a crack in the ground. Some tents had been blown over. The party found a purple crack where digging seemed to have taken place. A snow haunt had settled in the middle over a barrier, reaching more toward the snow than the normal barrier, and had apparently been there for a few years. The tents looked torn by claws, perhaps bird talons.

A satchel contained six copper orbs with runes, like those seen in Seaward, though these seemed empty. Pale blue rocks had been there for around 3 months. When an orb was thrown at the floor barrier, it went through. Five normal rocks had been laid in a circle with smooth rocks in the middle, around dwarf size and hollow-sounding, possibly eggs. A bird screech announced an ice-white eagle, which attacked. The bird killed Grubins, and Atom fell, with no reviving him. Five babies were noted. The sled was secured by or with Grubins and the dead robe-wearer by one of the tents near the prison entrance. Visibility was very poor, and the entrance seemed burst open.

There was no chance of getting through the door. At 15:00, the party used a teleport scroll to Cardenald’s place. Cardenald could fix the prison in person, but Envi’s was the prison that needed to be fixed first. The robed dead man had pooling blood and full-injury talon marks, and had been dead a few days. He wore a necklace: a holy symbol of Noxia with a lightning bolt, a small offshoot of Noxia, [unclear: psyons] of the hidden Prince, who worship thunder and storms.

The spheres were containment devices for elementals. The party used speak with dead on the robed man. His name was Anrasurall. He had come to try to free him, had been given the runes, and said he did not miss: he got into the circle and fired out of the front, then was ravaged by the bird. He had not taken elementals with him. His home was Baytail Accord.

At 18:00, the party headed to the life prison. The room had once been stone but had become flesh, pulsating across the whole room with eyes, veins, and other features everywhere. It was high-level Carnamancy to craft this fleshy thing, perhaps created by “The Mother”. Dispel magic turned it into 14 fleshy parts of [unclear]. Isabella noted humans, dwarves, elves, and others, but no bones or teeth. Through the doors was a golem made entirely of teeth.

A message said, “Sorry Couldn’t be here, gone fishing with a friend!” and “Hopefully we’ll catch some big ones”. The note asks whether to kill it. The party advanced to the prison room, where Mother threatened them. They believed she was in Baytail Accord with Garadul.

Limusvita was dying. Too much energy had been siphoned from him. Mother had tried to absorb him, but he was too much for her, and he was holding on to keep the barrier up. His barrier had a copper pipe in the top where Mother siphoned energy. The party moved the pipe to the floor to try to heal him, then poured a pouch of White Rose powder on it, restoring some health. If the prison were fully closed, the elemental would be in stasis; removing pylons would slow it down.

The party went to Envi’s lab. The door was shattered, and bits of automaton were scattered around the room and across the lab. Garadul had been in the Blackscale yesterday and was now back in the dome. Baytail Accord had “kicked off” in the last hour. Blackscale was using the party’s kings as servants. The boss liked the barrier because it kept his head in one place, and had told Garadul not to bring down the barrier. The party levelled up.

The party teleported to Baytail Accord, leaving Cardenald behind at the life prison. At 19:00, they arrived in a temple half on land and half in the sea. A hammerhead shark-man god was shown on the wall. A glowing parchment lay inside a glass dome under the water. Sickly green flames rose from buildings in town, and many townsfolk were dead while Garadul hovered above. There was an unnatural amount of rat poo on the harbour, and the Mermaid of the city was in trouble.

The party contacted the void elemental, who was on his way. Garadul tried to find something. A 15-foot square in front of Garadul was unnaturally empty of debris. A monstrosity was attacking the hatchery. The void elemental appeared and was trapped by a dome. Geldrin tried to dispel magic; it seemed to do something, but the dome remained. The party managed to kick the runes away and let the void elemental out.

A horrible boob-covered form appeared, apparently The Mother. The party sent a message for help to The Basilisk. He appeared with a tabaxi and his boss. Garadul teleported out, and the void elemental also disappeared. The Mother died.

The party needed to check on the Hatchery. The Basilisk returned to other important things. Everyone was thanking the merfolk for saving them, and the rest of the town seemed all right. The party checked Mother’s corpse, which had fallen apart. Geldrin found a spellbook on her with the same cipher as Envi’s and the same spells as Envi’s.

The party collected visitor shells and headed to the Hatchery, where dead gilled ghouls lay under the water. Pact keeper Inara and seven other Pact leaders sat around the table. Four had been met before, and three others were present. Guardfree brought out chairs so the party could sit and join them. The leaders named included Visca of Fairshore, Hanna of Fishbait’s Edge, Lana or Alana of Azureside, and Aquena outside the barrier, a princess.

All pointed toward the glowing parchment, saying “on our hooper preserve the pact”. The party became known as “Saviours of the Pact”. A baby girl had been born, the first in 20 years. She had no name yet because they needed to consult the records. Princess Aquana came in with the baby. Three younger girls were in training to become Pact Leaders.

The Pact had a route outside the barrier. Those not serving as Pact leaders tended to leave. Outside the barrier, one birth in 100 years was typical; inside, there had been a few each year until recently. They believed there was a curse and that the barrier protected them from it. The party told them Cardenald was back.

Azureside records said the Goliaths were wiped out by the Green Dragons. Travelers did not appear to have returned from an area with lots of green-dragon-type creatures. Perodita’s new mate was Lortesh, also her son. He attails the boons, wears a metal helmet lined with finger bones, and wears metal hooks with trophies from his kills attached. Azureside generally calls him “The Twisted”. At least five features or creatures were noted: two heads, weeping pores, an alien head, and no lips.

Azureside had called for help from Grand Towers but received none. A Justicar had recently headed to Hearthmoor to check the plague. The last contact with the Goliaths was approximately 900 years ago. Lady Aquena would stay for a while and leave her offspring.

Hanna of Fishbait’s Edge had little to report beyond colder weather and a few storms. Dine Springs had lost a few loggers. Visca of Fairshore reported the Baron attacking her people, issues with tracking, nefarious shipments from Seaward, and threats involving gnoll attacks that stopped after a raiding group was cleared out. The Fuse Swords and Invar were mentioned. The party believed that was Brother Fracture, and that the people were rescued.

Alana reported a break-in at the menagerie. Many things had been stolen, and the Magisters had issued fines for black-market animals. Geldrin thought of the farmer in Everchard.

The merfolk had a messenger bird named Terry. Terry carried messages: one said there was an unprecedented amount of instability and forces were out enforcing city-states with no cause for concern. Another said all were required at the noble council meeting on the next Trimoon. Another said Dunensend State was uncompliant because it had not sent troops to fight giants. Another said the Seaward barriers had been fixed by the gushiers; two were seen, plus an unknown one called Gendrin, which made Geldrin furious. There are five dukes on the noble council: Duchess Lauleriere of Freeport State, Duke Humbersinthesand of Dunensend State, Duchess Hartwall of Hartwall State, Duke Norman Goldenswell of Goldenswell State, and Duke Torrain Freefellow of Snowsorrow State. Azureside may be on the edge of Dunensend State.

Terry received a message from Erroll, establishing two-way communication. Valenth was present and reported something going on: the place was lit up like a Christmas tree, the barrier was flickering, and an energy surge had started about half an hour earlier. The Mother had repurposed Envi’s clone in Envi’s lab. Valenth planned to investigate, then decided not to go. He heard a noise and saw Joy heading away, not to a specific circle.

What The Mother had done seemed impossible, since a clone should be a clone of yourself. They did not think it was possible to set another clone outside the 120 days, and did not think The Mother knew Valenth was there. There were no records of the mages’ laboratories; all were thought to live in Grand Towers. Errol and Terry were linked now, but not connecting the others. The party requested that Tiana look after their items in Freeport.

Dreams were discussed: over many years they could be saved, and many recent dreams showed who the party are. The plan was to go to the Salinus Statue to fix that. The party stayed in a tavern called Bounty of the Sea.

People, Factions, and Places Mentioned

Coalment, Invar, Dirk, Geldrin, Browning, Garadul, Infestus, Blackscale, the void voice, red-bearded dwarves, the concerned dwarf, the smaller [unclear] person, the king, the guild, the old withered man, Cardenald, Envi, Anrasurall, Noxia, [unclear: psyons] of the hidden Prince, Baytail Accord, Limusvita, The Mother, Isabella, Grubins, Atom, Humein, Norian God, the ice-white eagle, elementals, Seaward, Garadul’s prison, the life prison, Envi’s lab, The Basilisk, the tabaxi, the boss, the void elemental, the Mermaid of Baytail Accord, the Hatchery, Pact keeper Inara, Guardfree, Visca of Fairshore, Hanna of Fishbait’s Edge, Lana/Alana of Azureside, Aquena/Aquana, Princess Aquana, Pact Leaders, merfolk, gilled ghouls, Grand Towers, Green Dragons, Goliaths, Perodita, Lortesh, The Twisted, Justicar, Hearthmoor, Lady Aquena, Dine Springs, the Baron, Seaward, gnolls, Fuse Swords, Invar, Brother Fracture, Magisters, Everchard, Terry, Erroll/Errol, Valenth, Joy, Tiana, Freeport, Salinus Statue, Bounty of the Sea, Duchess Lauleriere, Duke Humbersinthesand, Duchess Hartwall, Duke Norman Goldenswell, Duke Torrain Freefellow, Freeport State, Dunensend State, Hartwall State, Goldenswell State, and Snowsorrow State were all mentioned.

Items, Rewards, and Resources

The party noted a large platinum chair, the portal coin Infestus stabbed into the portal, a box taken from and replaced by a pillow, the sled and dogs, six empty-seeming copper rune orbs like those from Seaward, pale blue rocks present for around 3 months, five hollow smooth rocks or possible eggs, visitor shells, a holy symbol of Noxia with a lightning bolt, elemental containment spheres, the runes given to Anrasurall, a golem made of teeth, a copper pipe siphoning energy from Limusvita, a pouch of White Rose powder, pylons, automaton fragments in Envi’s lab, a glowing parchment under a glass dome, runes used to trap the void elemental, Mother’s spellbook in the same cipher as Envi’s and containing the same spells, Pact chairs brought by Guardfree, Azureside records, Terry the merfolk messenger bird, Erroll/Errol’s linked communication, and the party’s items in Freeport under Tiana’s care.

The party gained the title “Saviours of the Pact” and levelled up. The new baby girl in Baytail Accord was the first born there in 20 years, though she had not yet been named.

Clues, Mysteries, and Open Threads

The dreams pointed to multiple unresolved threats: a magma dome and multi-headed dire crab in a dwarf or Ironforge-like place, Infestus sending Garadul through a portal with a coin, Garadul’s prison and abnormal dragons, the void voice asking “where is he I know you know”, and Geldrin’s vision of someone replacing a box near an old withered man after passing through guild imagery, statues, runes, and teleport circles. The identity of the smaller [unclear] person, the box, the old man, and the viewer in Geldrin’s dream remains uncertain.

The prison near the hunting tents had burst open, with a snow haunt, claw-torn tents, pale blue rocks, hollow rocks or possible eggs, and an ice-white eagle guarding or attacking the site. Anrasurall had tried to free someone using given runes, claimed he did not miss, and was killed by the bird; who gave him the runes and exactly whom he tried to free remain open.

The life prison had been converted into flesh by high-level Carnamancy, possibly by The Mother. Limusvita was only holding on to keep the barrier up after Mother siphoned him. The prison mechanics remain important: a fully closed prison puts the elemental in stasis, while removing pylons slows it down.

Garadul’s movement through Blackscale, the dome, and Baytail Accord remains unresolved. Blackscale was using the party’s kings as servants, and the boss wanted the barrier maintained because it kept his head in one place. The meaning of that head and the boss’s relationship to Garadul remain open.

The Mother died at Baytail Accord, but her ability to repurpose Envi’s clone seemed impossible under known clone rules, especially outside the 120 days. Her spellbook matched Envi’s cipher and spells. Valenth saw Joy during the barrier energy surge, but she was not headed to a specific circle.

Baytail Accord believes a curse affects births outside or around the barrier: outside the barrier, one birth in 100 years was typical, while inside there had been several a year until recently. The first baby girl in 20 years, the glowing parchment, the Pact, and the route outside the barrier all remain significant.

Azureside records say the Goliaths were wiped out by Green Dragons, with no contact for about 900 years. Perodita’s new mate Lortesh, also her son and called The Twisted, appears linked to monstrous green-dragon activity. Grand Towers did not respond to Azureside’s call for help, and a Justicar had recently gone to Hearthmoor to check the plague.

Reports from the Pact leaders point to wider instability: colder weather and storms near Fishbait’s Edge, lost loggers at Dine Springs, Baron attacks and nefarious Seaward shipments near Fairshore, a menagerie break-in and black-market animal fines, Dunensend not sending troops against giants, and unusual Seaward barrier repairs by gushiers including an unknown “Gendrin”. The noble council meeting on the next Trimoon remains pending.

The party planned to go to the Salinus Statue to fix that, while Cardenald was back and the party’s Freeport items were entrusted to Tiana. Dreams may have been saved over many years, with many recent dreams showing who the party are.