Narrative

Day 44 began with a statue of Morgana being built as the party woke up, though none of them knew who it was. There was also an incomplete report, recorded only as “Report fr[unclear].”

Cardonald had a familiar give her a report that might help with the Howling Tombs. A group of adventurers had been tinkering around and found Hartwall’s old lab and a key that might help gain access to the tombs. Cardonald’s familiar was going with them and would report if anything else was discovered.

One of Geldrin’s scrolls was an arcane form of Draconic and extremely powerful, with a teleportation nature. It said “Addendum” in Draconic and might help the party understand where “they” went because it had a far-seeing aspect. The party teleported to Riversmeet, arriving on the outskirts in a meadow area. They found the ruins of a house that looked melted rather than naturally weathered. A gravestone stood to the left of the house. This was Ruby Eye’s house, where his wife had been killed.

The party headed into Riversmeet. On the way, Morgana bought a load of fruit and vegetables. The fruit was very tasty, and the seller said it was because he had a plot that seemed protected from the elements. When the party checked it, it seemed like Igraine’s blessing. Closer to town, they saw two oxen-horse crossbreeds pulling a sideless cart with a throne on it. A man wearing only his pants sat there with two women hanging on his sides. Children ran up, threw coins, and shouted, “yay it’s the dragon slayer.” He was muscly but not useful. Parents told the children to wait for the show; he was apparently a wrestler, with regular matches in Riversmeet.

The party asked where Lady Igraine of Riversmeet was. They learned that her manor house was on the central bridge, and the time was 10:00. Temples to Hydrun, the goddess Igraine, Lam, and Kasha stood in town; this was the first temple to Kasha the party had seen. Freeport guards were in Riversmeet. Lady Igraine was not at the manor but at the outpost set up at the Menagerie. A strong hedge surrounded the Menagerie. Lady Igraine sat with a black dragonborn and came out of the tent to see the party. They could not get in because of a wall of force or similar effect. A magician had come to repay a favour. About twenty wizards were inside. They had recently refused inspections and prevented the militia from entering.

The party tried to dispel the magic and get through. Geldrin used Mold Earth to get under the hedge and sent his familiar to look around the outside of the building. The building looked good, but many cages had signs that things had broken out, including griffon, dragon, wolf, and human cages, each with door handles. When the familiar tried to open one cage, it was frazzled. The party went through the hole Geldrin dug and entered the grounds. Invar looked into a window and disappeared. Geldrin disintegrated the door and had a vision of Valentinhide killing Emi’s wife. Dirk disappeared, apparently banished. Geldrin appeared to be enrolling in mage school. The names Acroneth, Crindler, Belocoose, and a sphinx on another plane were noted. After killing an acid beast, the party entered the building. They were hit by a fireball from an invisible foe. They knocked three times on the Divination wall and got stairs.

They ended up on the eighth floor of a tower, though they were not sure which tower or how it had happened. This was the apothecary. The nurse was Matron Cardonald; her daughter, Valenth Cardonald, was in Geldrin’s year. A gremlin-type janitor took the party to the head teacher. Pictures showed a pale-skinned man with white hair holding a sceptre, elven or human, named Torlish Hartwall and associated with a blue crystal, and an elderly man Geldrin had seen in a bed in Grand Towers, one of the college founders, named Humerous Torn. The office windows had views of the compass points. The chair showed dragons in gold, silver, copper, and a big white one behind them all.

The fourth-year students were causing issues. They were from Broken Bounds. Principal Grey had received a letter closing the school and transferring students to Grand Towers from Browning, dated 47 AD. A jade frog on the desk moved at points. Dirk spoke to it in Aquan. Dribble was in there and acted as if something was stealing his energy. Drawers opened with the head teacher’s necklace. A fresh water elemental was released and agreed to join the party for a while around the school. The infirmary and head teacher’s office seemed to be on a different plane. The door back to the school led to a different room.

Outside, a picture’s eyes kept opening and closing; it showed an elderly man. The party moved him aside and found a chest that could be pulled out of the picture. Invar tried the same on another picture and managed to get the sceptre from it, which was a key to the box. The party opened the box and found a glowing orb of alteration and a piece of paper. Geldrin removed the orb and became overwhelmed with emotion and regret for everyone killed and hurt, apparently empathy. The note read: “mine felt right here yours is under real.”

A book on the sphinx on the other plane had been written by serpans, all [uncertain: superous]. It described a place like the party’s world but different in many ways. The first chapter concerned sphinxes who teleported their city underground to protect it: a male, a female, and a goat-headed one who always spoke in rhymes.

The party went back down to the school and entered an auditorium-style transmutation classroom. One buggy was upright of where they came in, and time seemed to have passed as expected. In the study hall or book area, they saw four-armed vulture men who looked like they were melting a pot on a pottery wheel while two wizards observed. One looked mindflayer-like. The party attacked the “wizards,” and they died. The notes documented the pots the vulture man had been making: three weeks earlier he had been doing pottery, with other notes elsewhere. The pets were rudimentary Dunnen-style pots. The party bandaged his wounds, and he handed over a pot and some food. The poetry seemed to be about Dirk’s home. Time spent upstairs had not passed much time in the actual realm.

The party learned that Lord Hacethorn had been the last potion and herb teacher and had written the book on Ruby Eye. The founders of the college were dated 547 years before the dome, 2453 AC after cataclysm: the white-haired elven man Torlish Hartwall and the elderly man Humerous Torn. The party returned to the principal’s office and back out, emerging into the Divination classroom full of students, where Isobanne was teaching. It was Sereneday.

Isobanne told the party they were late. Eliana tried to keep the door open, was spotted, and was sent to detention on the fifth floor. An eighteen-year-old human man named Ennuyé, who had been called Thomas, was there, along with a girlfriend or first-year called Hannah. Joy was also noted. Dirk reached the infirmary and asked Nurse Cardonald for the date: the 3rd Sereneday of Hummeron, 2968 AC, or 32 BD. Mama Cardonald thought Ennuyé was a bad influence on her daughter because he was always in detention.

At the end of class, Bosh and Cardonald went to the study hall and pulled out a book. A dragon skull named Mr Moreley covered the study hall. Geldrin spoke to the dragon, a gold dragon. Geldrin showed him the ancient dragon scroll. Mr Moreley was confused because it was something still being worked on, and he said he would consult the Gold Dragon Council because he thought Hartwall was keeping things from them. Ruby Eye and Cardonald were eavesdropping and wanted to ask Geldrin something. Ruby Eye went to speak to him. His final project was to remove his eye. He asked Geldrin to join them. Everard, Thomas, and Valenth were named. A book about Grand Tower was written in god language; when the party tried to read it, they got a vision of the top of the tower. Cardonald was working on automations and wanted to do something for the head teacher, then a bird and a cat. They wanted to become famous. Ruby Eye’s parents wanted him to follow a priestly path. Mama Cardonald was good friends with some of the Thinglaens / Goliaths. They were currently in the automations. She could not speak to them, and they were not one of the four usual elementals; she thought they were light.

Valenth was in an extra enchantment lesson, and Ruby Eye was in necromancy. Geldrin and Morgana went to the necromancy lesson. The class was full and everyone seemed to have assigned seats, but nobody came to claim the seats the party used. Ruby Eye was drawing Mr Moreley and gave the same spell to reincarnate himself. Dirk and Invar spoke to a bald man, perhaps a [uncertain: Tory? teacher?], who tried to find them on the list and found their timetables at 14:00. They went to get robes. Dirk was Fire House Eltur as Frederick Sims. Invar was Earth House Intor. The robes also had a hammer and shield because the Hammerguards were patrons of the school, granting certain privileges, extra embroidery, and 10% off the tuck shop.

After detention, Eliana reappeared in the first-year rec room. A half-orc named Grisnak showed them to the cloakroom. Orcs were being relocated as part of the peace, as were gnolls and anyone considered uncivilised. The list had no record of Eliana because Eliana’s race did not exist yet. Eliana gave the name Evalina Hartwall. The robe did not fit because it was made for a human, so a new robe was requested. Miana / Evalina was assigned Air, with extra embroidery, [unclear], and a flag.

The party went to history. The teacher’s voice was familiar: an older man, Lord Bleakstorm. The lesson concerned sisters who fell out, one Far Grove city, Waterrose, and Great Farmouth, which was very private. Children were not told their histories. Admonishions came from their lots. A fortyish human said he had been travelling with a grove for hundreds of years, perhaps over one thousand years. A book, Tale of Two Sisters, and another, Lord of Bleakstorm and the Gnomes, were noted. Bleakstorm heard the whispers of holy Bright on the wind, helped his people, and Bright gave him the gift of everlasting.

Class ended, and everyone left except a person at the back: Everard Browning. He asked a question about Bleakstorm living forever, and about gnomes and their devices. Dirk asked about travelling through time. Bright does not work in a linear way; the note trails off after “if we were to go back in.” Morgana was Earth, and Geldrin was Water. The party went to Enchanting, though Geldrin and Morgana thought they should be there but instead followed Ruby Eye. The Enchanting teacher was a bright-red-haired elf, Mr Cardonald. He called Eliana aside and asked whether it was true she was marrying Argathum while still seeing Hartwall’s childhood sweetheart. He warned that it was not good if she was seeing the prince behind Hartwall’s back. He said her form was interesting and he would not have recognised her if not for Truesight, which saw her as a dragon. He was concerned for her as a friend of his daughter and worried about breaking the Pact with the Gold dragons.

In Abjuration, the party went through a door and Ennuyé was there. Ruby Eye asked Ennuyé to show him the book, and Ennuyé asked who was with him. Ruby Eye said he was thinking of asking them to join, and that they would test them later. Ennuyé asked Geldrin for a moment and said Geldrin had been touched by a god, the “lady of destruction.” Ennuyé had been looking into some dark magic in a Divination classroom. Enchanting covered the dangers of cursed items: two healing potions, one cursed, and neither Identify nor Detect Magic could reveal which one. Students needed to be aware of mimics at all times. In Abjuration, no teacher appeared; the teacher should have been Mr Grey. Most people began leaving, but some stayed.

The remaining students gathered around a very dark-skinned elf with a bottle of green liquid. The elf did not know what it was. The liquid moved up the side of the bottle when poked. Morgana tried to speak to it and felt something reach out. It did not know its name but came from the desert. Morgana bought it, and it wanted to go back to the rest of itself in the desert. The party agreed to meet Ruby Eye at 10 in the Air room and regrouped in the first-year common room. The slime might be the blood of Noxia.

Dirk and Invar went to the library to get Lord of Bleakstorm and the Gnomes and Tale of Two Sisters around 17:00. Tale of Two Sisters was a very expensive book with a front picture of two women embracing, with Barbie-doll-type body features. Morgana and Eliana tried to open the secret door but failed. They went to the dining hall and ruined a classroom so the janitor would appear. They tried the knock pattern in a different classroom, but it did not work, and Eliana was sent to detention. Morgana returned to tell everyone what had happened.

Tale of Two Sisters described high-ranking queens of the elemental plane. They got on but were like oil and water and were never together. Bright was the low sky, while Valentenhule was the high sky. When lesser races were made, Bright grew close to them and enjoyed playing with them. Valentenhule was haughty and came to enjoy harming the beings. Both grew from their roles. Valentinhide’s position in the high or dark sky caused the void to open. Bright’s position in the low sky let her witness humans enslaved by ice elementals, and when they broke free she rewarded them.

Lord of Bleakstorm and the Gnomes said Bleakstorm thought the gnomes were cast-outs chosen to show anything but recently started showing off seas. The gnomes seemed to have an agreement with merfolk, because they always turned away from a port he knew existed: Great Farmouth. Bleakstorm thought Grand Towers was made with gnomish technology. Gnomes used random names to hide their family names.

Morgana tried to find detention and headed to the principal’s office on the map. Altith / Icefang tried to contact Eliana and said they had been meant to meet after Eliana met with Argathum. A man appeared, Icefang. He warned that everything would fall apart, that Dad would be mad, that humans were getting ideas above their station, and that the gods would take over Snowsorrow. The party needed the janitor’s broom to open the door. The note also says “T look silver with a hint of green,” with two green dragons named Emeraldus and another. Goliaths were meant to go and attack them and be one of [unclear]. Icefang tried to see the future. When asked what happened if Browning did, the vision showed broken tower fields, burning blue, black, green, and red dragons flying around, small settlements of people hiding, and elementals destroying things. Icefang said, “The future could be desperate, the people are not ready yet.” Cold Identify revealed that something had come with the party. Icefang suggested they go see Browning and ask him for the broom.

The party went to the Air common room at 22:00. Its door was flanked by pictures of a dwarf with a bushy beard and a blue dragonborn. Four or five mages were present: Browning, Valenth, Brotor, Ennuyé, and Hannah. A featureless woman had her hands on Hannah’s shoulders. She thanked the party for bringing the broom because it was part of the plan. Everard thought he had found a way into the tower through the tunnels, and they needed the broom to get there. They wanted to see secrets of emotional elimination, memories, and automations, and to help defend the land because they did not think the elemental truce would last much longer. The party agreed to go with them. Tallith had not hired the janitor for nothing; he used to work with the elves. Valentinhide said her sister’s magic protected the party for now. Hannah, a priestess of Attabre, thought the elves had the same magic as the [unclear].

They opened a door to a dark corridor. Valentinhide said the party should not have seen this, that Bright had shown them too much, and that they should not even be able to see Hannah because she had been wiped from time and space. Everard entered, and the party followed into the corridor and closed the door. Valentinhide hovered over them and let go of Hannah. The corridor opened into a janitor’s closet. Reborn stone was noted. A coin thrown into Bright’s statue made the door disappear. Dirk’s group appeared in a bathhouse room with a human and the name Blackhold noted. The party tried to find everyone and succeeded.

When they tried to open the door back to the school, a silver dragon appeared. Earth flowed through, and a silver-green claw burst through. Geldrin forced it closed. A voice said, “Taken my form give it back” and connected this to Avalina, saying it had taken everything from her. The party managed to close the door and give Geldrin the broom; they could not give it to Ennuyé, Thomas, or Browning [uncertain].

They opened into an empty room with shelves and stacks of paper. It was a white room with blue viewing and gorgeous red desks, where young elven children sat at each desk for simple maths. Ennuyé said it was taking too long. The party gave the broom, and they ended up in a field. The next small room was made of brass: Brass City. Browning took the broom in the Air common room, then gave it back. The group went out, and the door slammed shut. It reopened to a dusky room like the Air common room, with black windows and cracking glass sounds. The party exited and seemed to return to their own time. They no longer remembered Hannah, except the image of her turning to dust in the cave; they did not even remember her name. The Noxia glob had some of the rest returned home, and magic doors now felt cold.

The party went through the door and saw shadows of Valentinhide’s face. They felt as if they were being pulled up. They got out through the door on the other side of the barrier, to the room above the Air common room. The door there was made of black crystal, nearly transparent and enchanted. They found a suit of armour sized for a Goliath or goblin, with a gnomish hole set up so someone could stand on it and put it on. Purple crystals were linked with copper wire to a hatch containing an automaton core. A rug showed a cityscape with buildings and walkways. A label said “Great Farmouth.” The armour was an enhanced suit with a world of magic missiles, a power suit, and a shield.

The party got Bosh out and went downstairs. In one set of quarters, the room had a homely farmhouse feel and no dust. It belonged to Professor Arnisimus Goldenfields. Papers on the desk were waterwheel blueprints for Goldenswell. A desk picture showed a bleach-blond halfling standing with a blonde human woman, probably family, inscribed “To my love Arnisimus.” There were seven cat collars. A bleach velvet box contained a golden chain with a symbol of a fireplace and a cat, the symbol of Larn. Lesson plans and other papers were present.

At 23:00, doors led to the first-year common room and the conjuration class. The conjuration classroom had a birdhouse type of setup and coloured things above the blackboard. Morgana took the green one, waking a pixie inside. The pixie thought it was 49 AD, not 1012 AD. They thought they were leaving for Grand Towers tomorrow with the others, Green, Red, and Blue. The teachers of conjuration were “the sisters.” They could not leave the classroom and were an elemental of Igraine. The party tried to get a new core using Treamon’s skull and succeeded. The pixie wondered whether Morgana worked for the Chorus because she was one of Igraine’s greatest executers. They thought Vita was also one, but became his own thing while working with Mr Bleakthorn. Mr Moreley could not leave the school either. Bynx, then known as a baby Attabre spirit, had been brought in. The sisters were excited to see him. He was going to the Goliaths as they were becoming Emeraldus’s line. The Goliaths killed the remaining two green dragons and created Wyrmdown.

The party went to Mr Moreley’s classroom via the second-year common room. Something left through the other door to the common room when they arrived. Mr Moreley’s room was fully painted as a mural of Snowsorrow. It had a large desk, a pedestal with a cushion, and a glass sphere with smoke inside. There was a powerful defence mechanism if someone lacked the password. The containment device was the same as Ennuyé’s. The mural showed gold, silver, copper, and white dragons. Dirk threw a javelin at the box, but it did nothing. One dragon head of each colour on the mural was a button. The party worked out the pattern, opening the gates of Snowsorrow to reveal an alcove with a draconic book for Ruby Eye. It had been left somewhere only Ruby Eye would find it. The writer was going to try to stop what they were doing here and used the plans for the dome once they had a [unclear] future for [unclear]. “Battery is the clue.” The book contained a picture of a baby sphinx, a sixth sphinx. It said a Mother hive for the “worm” had been created using the Attabre excellence.

The party headed up to astronomy. There was a big telescope and blackboards showing what the moons actually look like. The telescope showed a full moon even though the moon was currently only half. The room moved when the telescope moved. Constellations were named; one was called Bell / Squall. Scrying spells on the telescopes could home in on certain points. Pri-moon had many “meteor” impacts. The second moon was a very perfect seasonal stone with a chunk missing. Tri-moon was deep purple.

Dirk put his head into a missing door hole and heard a voice that wanted to know whether he was Brotor. It had a gift for Brotor. Mr Moreley had taken the void, and the gift was part of the void. Squall’s Belt did not look like a constellation, but like a dark eclipse shape darker than the rest of the sky. There was writing on it, though the party was unsure what it was beyond a dark patch in the sky. Geldrin put the hockey puck into the void, and it said, “it’s its lord!” The party said they had Brotor’s eye. The void tried to enter Dirk’s mind, confirmed it was free, and disappeared, leaving an orb of void behind like the smoke orb in Mr Moreley’s room. The party needed eight spheres in total.

Back in Mr Moreley’s room, after breaking the void out, the dragon on the wall said they had found it but still needed to be discreet. The next one was in Ruby Eye’s old stomping ground; they would need to contain it and meet him there, in the Air common room. A paper on the desk read, “The window like your paintings.” The party got an empty glass orb and instructions for filling it with dust: gather it all, take it to the Aurises who put it in the ball, and go back to the Air room. The source was from the head of a dragon. They had found it. The next one was obvious: the “seasoning” was kept where it should be, in the kitchen.

People, Factions, and Places Mentioned

People and name-like figures mentioned include Morgana, Cardonald / Matron Cardonald / Nurse Cardonald, Hartwall, Geldrin, Ruby Eye / Rubyeye, Ruby Eye’s wife, Lady Igraine of Riversmeet, Hydrun, the goddess Igraine, Lam, Kasha / Kashe, the dragon slayer wrestler, the two women on the wrestler’s cart, Freeport guards, the black dragonborn with Lady Igraine, Invar, Dirk, Valentinhide / Valentinhide / Valentenhule / Valentinhide, Emi, Acroneth, Crindler, Belocoose, the sphinx on another plane, Valenth Cardonald, the gremlin janitor, Torlish Hartwall, Humerous Torn, Principal Grey / Mr Grey, Browning / Everard Browning, Dribble, the head teacher, Isobanne, Ennuyé / Thomas, Hannah, Joy, Bosh, Mr Moreley, the Gold Dragon Council, Everard, Valenth, Thinglaens / Goliaths, Ruby Eye’s parents, [uncertain: Tory? teacher?], Frederick Sims, Grisnak, Evalina Hartwall / Avalina / Miana, Lord Bleakstorm, Bright, Argathum / Argenthum, Mr Cardonald, the lady of destruction, the very dark-skinned elf with green liquid, Altith / Icefang, Emeraldus, Brotor / Brutor, Tallith, Blackhold, Professor Arnisimus Goldenfields, Arnisimus’s love, Treamon / Tremaion, Vita, Mr Bleakthorn, Attabre, the sisters, Aurises, and Brotor as the intended recipient of the void gift.

Groups and factions mentioned include the party, adventurers who found Hartwall’s old lab, Cardonald’s familiar, Riversmeet townsfolk, children watching the wrestler, parents at the show, Freeport guards, about twenty wizards inside the Menagerie, militia barred from inspection, griffon / dragon / wolf / human cage subjects, fourth-year students from Broken Bounds, students of the old mage school, Gold Dragon Council, Hammerguards as school patrons, orcs and gnolls being relocated as part of the peace, Far Grove cities, humans enslaved by ice elementals, gnomes, merfolk, mages in the Air common room, elves connected to the janitor, automations, elemental truce parties, young elven children in the white classroom, conjuration teachers called the sisters, Igraine elementals, the Chorus, Goliaths becoming Emeraldus’s line, remaining two green dragons, and the Aurises.

Places mentioned include the location of Morgana’s statue, Howling Tombs, Hartwall’s old lab, Riversmeet, the meadow outskirts, Ruby Eye’s melted house ruins and gravestone, the central bridge manor house, the temples of Hydrun, Igraine, Lam, and Kasha, the Menagerie, the outpost at the Menagerie, the strong hedge, the Menagerie grounds, the tower eighth floor, the apothecary, infirmary, head teacher’s office, Broken Bounds, Grand Towers, Divination wall and classroom, the different plane holding infirmary and office, transmutation classroom, study hall, the actual realm, the principal’s office, fifth-floor detention, first-year rec room / common room, necromancy lesson, Fire House Eltur, Earth House Intor, tuck shop, cloakroom, history class, Far Grove, Waterrose, Great Farmouth, Air common room, Abjuration classroom, Enchanting classroom, dining hall, the principal’s office map, Snowsorrow, tower tunnels, dark corridor, janitor’s closet, bathhouse room, Blackhold, empty white classroom, Brass City, the room above the Air common room, first-year common room, conjuration classroom, Mr Moreley’s classroom, second-year common room, astronomy room, Pri-moon, the second moon, Tri-moon, Squall’s Belt, Ruby Eye’s old stomping ground, the kitchen, Goldenswell, Wyrmdown / Wyrmdoom, and the desert where the green liquid wanted to return.

Creatures and creature-like beings mentioned include oxen-horse crossbreeds, griffon, dragon, wolf, human cage subjects, the acid beast, water elemental Dribble, the fresh water elemental released by the party, four-armed vulture men, mindflayer-like wizard, gold dragon skull Mr Moreley, automations containing Thinglaens / light entities, a half-orc, orcs, gnolls, Bright and Valentenhule as elemental-plane queens, ice elementals, two green dragons including Emeraldus, the featureless woman holding Hannah, a silver dragon, the silver-green claw, Noxia-blood slime / green liquid, pixie in the green classroom object, Igraine elemental, Bynx as a baby Attabre spirit, gold / silver / copper / white dragons in the mural, baby sphinx / sixth sphinx, Mother hive for the worm, and the void entity / void orb.

Items, Rewards, and Resources

Items, documents, and physical resources mentioned include Morgana’s statue, Cardonald’s familiar’s report, Hartwall’s old lab key for the Howling Tombs, Geldrin’s powerful arcane Draconic teleportation scroll with far-seeing aspect, Morgana’s fruit and vegetables, the wrestler’s coin-collecting throne cart, the strong Menagerie hedge, cages for griffon / dragon / wolf / human, the head teacher pictures, the blue crystal, the dragon chair, Principal Grey’s 47 AD letter transferring students to Grand Towers, the jade frog containing Dribble, the head teacher’s necklace, the picture chest, the sceptre key, the glowing alteration orb, the note reading “mine felt right here yours is under real,” the book on the sphinx on the other plane, Dunnen-style pots, the pot and food given by the vulture man, the poetry about Dirk’s home, the ancient dragon scroll shown to Mr Moreley, Ruby Eye’s self-reincarnation spell, student robes, Hammerguard embroidery, 10% tuck shop privilege, Tale of Two Sisters, Lord of Bleakstorm and the Gnomes, the janitor’s broom, the bottle of green liquid / possible Noxia blood, the cursed and uncursed healing potions from Enchanting, the coin thrown into Bright’s statue, Reborn stone, the black crystal door, the Goliath / goblin-sized power armour, purple crystals, copper wire, automaton core, Great Farmouth rug, world of magic missiles, shield, waterwheel blueprints for Goldenswell, Arnisimus’s desk picture, seven cat collars, bleach velvet box, golden chain with fireplace-and-cat Larn symbol, lesson plans, coloured conjuration objects, Treamon’s skull, the new core made with Treamon’s skull, Mr Moreley’s glass sphere with smoke, the Snowsorrow mural, the draconic book for Ruby Eye, baby sphinx picture, big telescope, astronomy blackboards, telescope scrying spells, hockey puck, Brotor’s eye, orb of void, empty glass orb, dust-filling instructions, and the “seasoning” in the kitchen.

Spells, visions, and magical effects mentioned include the teleportation to Riversmeet, Igraine’s apparent element-protection blessing on a plot, wall of force around the Menagerie, attempted dispel, Mold Earth under the hedge, Geldrin’s familiar being frazzled by a cage, Invar disappearing through a window, Geldrin disintegrating a door, Geldrin’s vision of Valentinhide killing Emi’s wife, Dirk’s banishment, the mage-school enrollment effect, the invisible foe’s fireball, the three-knock Divination-wall stair trigger, the infirmary and office being on a different plane, the water elemental joining the party, the picture chest and sceptre extraction, the alteration orb overwhelming Geldrin with empathy, unusual time passage between planes, the old-school date of 3rd Sereneday of Hummeron, 2968 AC / 32 BD, god-language Grand Tower book vision, Ruby Eye’s planned eye removal, automations containing light-like entities, Ruby Eye’s reincarnation spell, Truesight revealing Eliana as a dragon, Ennuyé recognising Geldrin as touched by the lady of destruction, Identify and Detect Magic failing to distinguish cursed potions, Morgana speaking to the green liquid, Icefang’s future vision, Cold Identify revealing something came with the party, Bright’s non-linear time, the featureless woman manipulating Hannah, Bright’s statue erasing a door, Geldrin closing the silver-dragon door, the party losing memory of Hannah after returning, magic doors feeling cold, shadows of Valentinhide’s face, the door pulling the party up beyond the barrier, the pixie being out of time by 963 years, the sisters unable to leave the classroom, Mr Moreley’s password defence, the colour-dragon mural button pattern, telescope scrying, the void trying to enter Dirk’s mind, and containment of void dust in glass orbs.

Strategic resources and plans mentioned include the Howling Tombs lead through Hartwall’s old lab and key, the Draconic teleport / seeing scroll as a way to understand where someone went, the investigation of Ruby Eye’s house, Lady Igraine of Riversmeet’s Menagerie siege, the water elemental’s temporary school aid, the alteration / empathy orb and note hinting at another location, the book on sphinxes and underground city, the student schedules and disguises, Ruby Eye recruiting Geldrin into the old student group, Browning’s plan to reach the tower through tunnels using the janitor’s broom, the old group’s search for emotional elimination, memories, and automations, Icefang’s warning about a desperate future if Browning acts, the party reaching the room above the Air common room beyond the barrier, the enhanced armour and automaton core, the conjuration-room core replacement, Mr Moreley’s draconic book clue that “Battery is the clue,” the discovery that eight spheres are needed, and the next sphere leads: Ruby Eye’s old stomping ground / Air common room and the kitchen seasoning.

Clues, Mysteries, and Open Threads

The statue of Morgana being built at the start of the day suggests her healing of the Goliath children has already become legend, but the party did not know who the statue represented.

The incomplete “Report fr[unclear]” remains unresolved.

Cardonald’s familiar reported that other adventurers found Hartwall’s old lab and a key for the Howling Tombs. The tomb access, the lab’s contents, and the adventurers’ identities are open threads.

Geldrin’s powerful arcane Draconic teleport / seeing scroll may reveal where “they” went, but who “they” are and how to use it remain unclear.

Ruby Eye’s melted house and his wife’s grave are tied directly to Valentinhide killing Emi’s wife. The exact sequence of Ruby Eye, Emi, wife, house, and Valentinhide remains important.

Riversmeet contains temples to Hydrun, Igraine, Lam, and Kasha; the Kasha temple is the first the party has seen, making it notable.

The Menagerie was locked down by about twenty wizards who refused inspection. The wall of force, magician repaying a favour, broken cages for griffon / dragon / wolf / human, and invisible fireball attacker suggest active containment failures or deliberate concealment.

Invar and Dirk disappeared separately during the entry, Geldrin experienced old-school enrollment, and the party entered the former mage school’s time or plane. The rules governing this displacement remain unclear.

The names Acroneth, Crindler, Belocoose, and the sphinx on another plane appear during Geldrin’s enrollment effect and should be preserved, but their identities are unclear.

Matron Cardonald, Valenth Cardonald, Torlish Hartwall, Humerous Torn, Principal Grey, and Browning all appear in the old school structure. Their relationships and exact historical dates matter for the Grand Towers / mage school history.

The fresh water elemental Dribble was trapped in a jade frog and felt as if something was stealing his energy. The source of the energy theft and Dribble’s longer-term role are unknown.

The alteration orb overwhelmed Geldrin with empathy and regret. The note “mine felt right here yours is under real” implies another emotion-orb location, but the meaning of “under real” is uncertain.

The sphinx book by serpans describes a parallel place and sphinxes who moved their city underground. This may connect to Trixus, Benu, Garadul, the sixth sphinx, or Grincray, but the exact connection is not established.

The four-armed vulture men making pots, the mindflayer-like observer, Dunnen-style pots, and poetry about Dirk’s home remain unexplained.

The party entered the date 3rd Sereneday of Hummeron, 2968 AC / 32 BD. The relationship between this historical visit, current 1012 AD references, and the school planes remains unresolved.

Mr Moreley saw Geldrin’s ancient dragon scroll as still being worked on and suspected Hartwall was hiding things from the Gold Dragon Council. This suggests the party brought future knowledge into the past.

Ruby Eye’s final project was to remove his eye, and he asked Geldrin to join a group including Everard, Thomas / Ennuyé, and Valenth. This appears to be a key origin point for later events.

Cardonald’s automations contained Thinglaens / Goliaths or light-like entities, not one of the four usual elementals. The ethical and magical nature of these automations remains unresolved.

Eliana’s assumed identity as Evalina Hartwall / Miana / Avalina, seen by Truesight as a dragon, triggered concern about Argathum, Hartwall’s childhood sweetheart, and the Gold Dragon Pact. Whether this is a past-life, disguise, stolen form, or time paradox is unresolved.

Lord Bleakstorm’s lesson and the books Tale of Two Sisters and Lord of Bleakstorm and the Gnomes preserve history about Bright, Valentenhule / Valentinhide, Great Farmouth, gnomes, merfolk, Grand Towers technology, and everlasting life. These are major lore threads.

Ennuyé recognised Geldrin as touched by the lady of destruction and was researching dark magic. Hannah was later described as wiped from time and space. Their role in the tower expedition is critical.

The green liquid / possible Noxia blood came from the desert, wanted to return to the rest of itself, and may have partially returned home after the time-door events. It remains dangerous and unresolved.

Icefang warned that humans were getting above their station, the gods would take over Snowsorrow, and a Browning future involved broken tower fields, burning chromatic dragons, hidden settlements, and destructive elementals. Something came with the party.

The janitor’s broom was required to open the tower route, and Tallith had hired the janitor because he used to work with elves. The janitor’s identity, broom’s mechanics, and Tallith’s motives remain unclear.

The featureless woman / Valentinhide held Hannah and said Bright had shown the party too much. Hannah should not have been visible because she was wiped from time and space. After returning, the party remembered only Hannah turning to dust in a cave and not her name.

The silver dragon / silver-green claw demanded its form back from Avalina, saying she had taken everything. This is a major unresolved identity and form-theft clue.

The party passed through rooms showing young elven children, Brass City, the Air common room, and a dusky cracking-window version before returning. The sequence may reveal old tower or planar routes.

The black crystal door, enhanced power armour, automaton core, Great Farmouth rug, and gnomish hole setup point to gnome or Grand Towers technology. The armour’s owner and use are not stated.

Professor Arnisimus Goldenfields’s quarters contain Goldenswell waterwheel blueprints, Larn cat symbolism, seven cat collars, and family imagery. His role in the school and later events remains open.

The pixie in the conjuration room thought it was 49 AD, named the sisters as conjuration teachers, said they could not leave, and identified them as an elemental of Igraine. The party created or replaced a core with Treamon’s skull.

Bynx as the baby Attabre spirit, Goliaths becoming Emeraldus’s line, remaining two green dragons being killed by Goliaths, and creation of Wyrmdown are major historical clues.

Mr Moreley’s room hid a draconic book for Ruby Eye. Its message says the writer tried to stop what they were doing, used dome plans after a [unclear] future for [unclear], and that “Battery is the clue.” It also mentions a sixth sphinx and a Mother hive for the worm using Attabre excellence.

The astronomy room’s telescope shows lunar truth different from visible reality: Pri-moon has many impacts, the second moon is a perfect seasonal stone with a missing chunk, and Tri-moon is deep purple. Squall’s Belt is a dark eclipse-like patch with writing rather than a normal constellation.

The void entity had a gift for Brotor, recognised Brotor’s eye, tried to enter Dirk’s mind, declared itself free, and left an orb of void. The party now knows they need eight spheres total.

The next containment leads are Ruby Eye’s old stomping ground / Air common room and the kitchen, where the next obvious “seasoning” sphere is kept.