Latest revision as of 15:34, 15 December 2017

Date Tracker

The party arrived in Londolond on the first third-day of Earth, year 176. The solar eclipse - a rare celestial occurrence that comes with the possibility of demonic incursion - took place on the first fourth-day of Songs, year 176.

Objectives

Active

• ☐ Defeat Ryka via the Ritual of Return
• ☐ Find 5 Travelled persons to use with the Ritual of Return
• ☐ Identify and Investigate Forthring's hideout (Chosen lieutenant)
• ☐ Excavate and Investigate the deeper part of X-HA, Neither Nor project
• ☐ Find out what happened to the Zhentarim Boss
• ☐ Locate and return Petra's sword, lost somewhere under the city
• ☐ (Artemis) Retrieve some Chodionis, a rare herb, for one of Tarn's projects

Completed

• ☑ Escape the guardhouse (Session 1)
• ☑ Subdue a Silver Twilight Mage and Interrogate his summoned Imp (Session 2)
• ☑ Retrieve the heart of a Sylvan (Session 3)
• ☑ Spy on the Silver Twilight Lodge (Session 3)
• ☑ End the Dustmen threat
• ☑ Prevent the Demonic Incursion
• ☑ Steal the Augur of Onimat from the Silver Twilight Lodge
• ☑ Recover documents from Neither Nor's destroyed safehouse
• ☑ Abduct the fuck out of Markus
• ☑ Defeat Forthring and Alessa
• ☑ Investigate Neither Nor's Turris Solaris
• ☑ Investigate Neither Nor's X-M lab
• ☑ Invoke the Demonic Bargain for Yoaral and North
• ☑ Acquire Pthumerian Longblood for Erthwin, local cleric
• ☑ Aid Fosco by rescuing his companions in the underground
• ☑ Identify and Investigate Lemma, Chosen supplier - stakeout or infiltration
• ☑ Visit Aethen and Silver in the far north-lands at their request for aid
• ☑ Investigate the Chosen secret project in the north-lands
• ☑ (Gwent) Pick up your package from Beglund at Master Metalworks when it's ready
• more forthcoming

Failed

• ☒ Get training in Fighting Styles from Alem
• more forthcoming

Session History

Act One: Barathrum

Tarot reading: The Priestess

Session 1 (Sep. 24th, 2016)

41 days until the solar eclipse - first third-day of Earth

The party arrives in Londolond by being Travelled directly into the center of a guard post at sundown. Arrested peaceably, the party is charged with using sorcery to disrupt city services and placed in a communal cell pending trial. The sergeant-at-arms that imprisons them tells the party a cleric will be by in the morning to identify any demonic taint, and explains that the level of paranoia regarding demonic influences in the city is at an all-time high. To pass the time, Merrodis and Gwent lose a game of gwent to Sa-Matra, the winnings of which are immediately pickpocketed by Merrodis. After the game, the party collectively discovers they have been branded with the Mark of the Traveller.

One of the guards explains that the line between actual true demonic activity and rumors and paranoia is indistinct, as well as briefly recounting how 30 years ago, Londolond was beset by a demonic incursion that ended a brief golden age. A twin-tailed comet last year evidently heralds the coming of a second incursion, as well. Worst of all, a coming solar eclipse in about five weeks time will shepard in a new incursion. Magic is generally distrusted in the city, especially wielders that are capable of summoning.

Biding their time, the party is rescued by Neither Nor who knocks out the guards and identifies the party as Travelled by the Mark. Breaking them out with a magic device and a portable hole, leading them through back alleys as the guards discover their escape. Neither Nor explains the Silver Twilight Lodge, a magical college, would likely brand them as heretics and try to have them executed. Avoiding the guards and bringing them to the Temple of the Traveller, she explains the last two Travelled persons were executed, and that the five party members all being travelled at once is particularly auspicious. Furthermore, Neither Nor explains she is convinced the Silver Twilight Lodge is behind a looming demonic incursion themselves.

The party is introduced to Alem Nitor - not yet convinced of the threat of the incursion himself - who explains the owner, Millne de Tempestus, runs the place in honor of his adopted Travelled daughter. Neither Nor offers to teach the party the Process which she uses to invent and engineer solutions. Neither Nor mentions the signs of a celestial event and an increased amount of Travelled arriving as being the same as signs before the prior incursion 30 years earlier. Noting that there have been several lesser demons summoned into the city recently, she asks the party to begin aiding her by capturing and interrogating an imp that the Silver Twilight Lodge has been using as a conduit for information. The party then completes some initial training with Neither Nor's Process.

Session 2 (Oct. 1st, 2016)

40 days until the solar eclipse - first fourth-day of Earth

Alem praises the party's progression with Neither Nor's Process, expresses surprise that she'd choose to teach the five members of the party the Process, having taught it to no one else until now. He details some of Neither Nor's public works, including the water and sewage systems she's put in place, and explains some of his own adventuring history and renown in the city to Sa-Matra. Thoma teaches some alchemy fundamentals to Artemis, and tells the story of how she rehabilitated others at the temple, including Neither Nor when she first arrived. Neither Nor assists Gwent in building crossbow mechanisms, and talks about some of her suspicions regarding the Silver Twilight Lodge.

Merrodis overhears Millne lamenting the lack of alchemical supplies, notably quicksliver, in large quantities for medicines. The general problem is that the supply in the city has greatly dimished, not for slowing production, but because demand has increased. Merrodis agrees to keep an eye out for additional supply. Tarn and Dox talk about magic, and how Tarn's magic originally worked by siphoning off of technology and order. Tarn notes his casting ability has improved since Neither Nor's societal improvements, and how he now specializes in defensive wards on important buildings and the like, after having been an apprentice of the prior archmage of the Silver Twilight Lodge. Tarn also mentions the soul-bargaining aspect of demonic pacts, and how he shied away from trying it himself, not knowing if a Travelled soul has the same properties as a native one.

Neither Nor attempts to test an grey-gem periapt of her own design that can immediately teach her how to cast any spell that targets her directly, but it fails and duplicates the deleterous effects of Dox's sacred flame spell instead, and breaks. She then goes on to explain her plan for getting more information about the plans the Silver Twilight Lodge are doing: breaking into an older mage's house outside the wall in the Stacks, and she's arranged the recovery of their confiscated gear and a carriage to transport them. Their objective is to subdue the mage, and capture or interrogate an imp he has summoned. This is necessary as the party is currently still wanted for breaking out of jail. She explains that she'll be probing the wards around the Lodge itself in the meantime.

The party manages to sneak out of the city and infiltrate the mage's house. Gwent finds a shrine to Usphon the Purifier. Dox convinces a servant that he's here to check the place for demons, and the servant nervously explains the darker recent actions of his master. Sa-Matra accidentally alerts several Manes in the house to his presence and initiates combat. After defeating them, they proceed to eavesdrop on the mage speaking to an imp about infernal army structure. They ambush the mage, who summons mephits to his defense, but they are soon defeated as well.

The mage dead, the imp is willing to say that the mage was asking about if demons would be so inclined so as to invade the mortal realm. After clearing out and looting the rest of the house, the imp reveals the Lodge has been summoning more demons lately, and that the solar eclipse is the best time for a demonic invasion. However, the demons can't break through on their own: a hellstone is needed to open a latent hell rift. Hundreds of hellstones - actual chunks of rock from hell - exist on the mortal plane, but many are lost or otherwise inaccessible, so the Lodge has been seeking to secure one, knowing that one is present somewhere under the city. A hellstone can also be used to seal rifts - open or latent - by anyone, though opening it requires a fairly powerful caster. A hell rift is also required, a magical wound in the fabric of the world where the barrier to hell is weakest. The party slays the imp to return him to hell, not having an easy way to transport him back to Neither Nor.

Successfully sneaking back to the Temple of the Traveller, the party and NPCs resolve to find both the rift (Neither Nor) and the hellstone (Alem). They then continue on their individual research projects for the rest of the night, with Merrodis looking to establish contact with any black market traders in Londolond.

Session 3 (Oct. 8th, 2016)

39 days until the solar eclipse - first fifth-day of Earth

Merrodis meets the Zhentarim at a tavern named the Red Pulpit and is tasked with retrieving the heart of a Slyvan through Fennik. Alem reports that the city's main water/sewer pumping station has collapsed, possibly caused by the Silver Twilight Lodge, and suggests spying on the Lodge since many of them are otherwise preoccupied. Neither Nor has also started working on a device to locate hell rifts, with the intent of closing it with a hellstone before the eclipse happens. Alem suggets spying on the Lodge guildhall from the city walls, explaining their history: Roughly a thousand years ago, a city with many layers of walls existed where Londolond is now, and it was only brought low from an event called the Sundering. This event corrupted a lot of the area around the city - hence why there are dangerous aberrations outside Londolond still - and when Londolond was founded, the outermost wall was magically raised to provide the first foothold for the fledgling settlement, about 180 years ago. Most other settlements in Namicor are a good distance away, since the (un)natural dangers in the surrounding area are so great, and so Londolond has become a hub for trade and adventurers, tackling issues around and underneath the city.

Alem also mentions Neither Nor was thinking of searching a ruin out west of the city. Using Millne's personal carriage to avoid the guards about the city, the party proceeds to the city wall, trick some guards into thinking they're affilated with the Silver Twilight Lodge, and spot a Slyvan outside the city while walking along the wall. Though Merrodis spooks it, the party minus Dox is able to follow its tracks to an old dilapitated mill. While searching it and discovering it's apparently someone's hideout, they are ambushed by and eventually defeat a Shalock. Slaying the Slyvan and taking its heart, and finding a city guard outfit and some gems in the mill, the party returns to the city. Meanwhile, Dox notices a large amount of foot traffic in and out of the Silver Twilight Lodge, and ascertains that robe color corresponds to rank. The party regroups on the wall in time to observe a magical airship arriving from the east to park over the Lodge. Dox assumes the face of a guard and puts on the city guard outfit, passing close enough to the Lodge itself to scout some of the finer details of their compound. He also notices a brief glimpse of a piece of parchment with the mark of the Traveller being passed around.

Returning to Millne's estate and then the Temple of the Traveller, the group reports their findings to Neither Nor, who in turn reports she was muscled out of fixing the water/sewer issue by Lodge members. She also reports success in locating the loose location of a latent hell rift - below the city - although the device to pinpoint it is not yet finished.

While the party otherwise has downtime, late that night, Merrodis sneaks back to the Red Pulpit to deliver the Slyvan heart. Invited to meet the Zhentarim Boss, the Boss immediately accepts and eats the heart, paying Merrodis in the form of a crate of mercury vials. The Boss tells Merrodis he'll have another job and mercury reward shipment lined up soon, and Merrodis delivers the first crate to Neither Nor, who approves of Merrodis's criminal networking.

Session 4 (Oct. 15th, 2016)

38 days until the solar eclipse - first sixth-day of Earth

Following a brief description of some areas under Londolond and being provided with a hellrift compass made by Neither Nor, the party sets forth to attempt to locate the hellrift down a location known as The Pit. Identifying which passage leads further downward by the drafts rising from below, they pass through an area with thinner air before entering a larger tunnel with bioluminescent lichens. Encountering several shasalqu, Sa-Matra frightens several away with his horn and the party then dispatches the rest in combat. Continuing on, the party approaches a giant plinth with an entry door atop it, deducing from their detector that the hellrift is somewhere inside. Fending off another group of shasalqus just inside, the party locates the hellrift itself, protected by an intelligent, snake-like humanoid guardian. Defeating the guardian, the party approaches the hellrift, invisible that it is, only to notice via the detector that it slowly begins to move upwards towards the city. Communicating this to the Temple via sending stone, the party makes their way out of the underground the way they came and arrive back at the temple.

Neither Nor is surprised the hellrift was moved - saying she attempted to and did not find any method by which to do so herself - and calculates the hellrift will arrive on the surface level of the city after a day. Given the necessary conditions to open a rift, Neither Nor suspects the rift is going to be moved to a heavily-defended location, where the culprits may already have a hellstone ready and only need wait until the solar eclipse to open it. A saving grace discovered by Tarn is that a hellstone isn't just used to open a hellrift, but can also be used to seal a hellrift permanently after it has been opened. Tarn was able to learn this by discreetly extracting a book at the Silver Twilight Lodge. Neither Nor and Tarn reveal the location of one hellstone: the Abbey of Broken Worlds, a ruined temple far to the west, alluded to be in the possession of Usphon the Purifier. Gwent mentions the shrine to Usphone in the mage's house that the party previously raided, and Neither Nor speculates they may have been trying to communicate with Usphon to learn more about or acquire his hellstone. Neither Nor goes on to explain that the major issue (besides any other dangers the ruins may hold) may be convincing Usphon to let them leave with the hellstone at all.

Session 5 (Oct. 29th, 2016)

37 days until the solar eclipse - first seventh-day of Earth

Overnight, Neither Nor has prepared a teleportation circle to send the party to the Abbey of Broken Worlds to retrieve the hellstone. Even with Tarn and Thoma's help, she only has enough power to send the five of them, so she plans to use the same circle to recall them after a variable amount of time. Neither Nor's hope is that the party will be able to summon an avatar of Usphon to inquire about or outright acquire the hellstone. Preparing carefully by making some gadgets, the party arrives off-target twenty minutes away, but have two hours and forty minutes to explore the temple. Approaching the temple, the party is ambushed by a displacer beast that followed them through the forest, retreating inside the abbey. Following a scouting run by Merrodis using a potion of etherealness, the party fights through modrons and ambush drakes, eventually deducing which of seven sacred chambers corresponds to Usphon. Successfully making contact with Usphon, the god initially mistakes the party's intent thinking they want to safeguard and not use the hellstone. Reluctant, he questions the party's purity, and asks for tales of the party's deeds from their home planes, noting their Travelled status. Stating it is not his will to do so, though refraining from speaking of which power(s) are actively preventing him from denying the party, Usphon's avatar bequeaths them the hellstone. Fighting their way out and finally defeating the displacer beast, the party returns through the forest to the teleportation circle in time to be recalled.

Session 6 (Nov. 5th, 2016)

36 days until the solar eclipse - first eighth-day of Earth

Neither Nor advises that the time has come for the party to need to travel throughout the city, and offers to vouch for the party and go down with them to a guard post to attempt to clear their name from their escape. Negotiating with the guard captain, they end up paying 1500 gold - a thousand for the damage to the guard post and a hundred each for the entry fee into the city. The guard goes on to explain how the city council governance works, the basic tenants of city law, and sends a messenger to the city administration to register the party and report their amnesty. (This information is collated in the Government of Londolond page). During downtime crafting later, Gwent begins invention of the Stake Ballista device. The next morning, Neither Nor announces the hellrift has come to rest at surface level inside the walls of the Silver Twilight Lodge's compound.

Session 7 (Nov. 12th, 2016)

35 days until the solar eclipse - first king's-day of Earth

Neither Nor is in the process of developing a plan to assault the Silver Twilight Lodge, and is personally going to gather most of the necessary components to cast a spell to break the most potent of their wards around their guild's compound. However, she needs two additional things. First, for the party to retrieve a rare component - which she cannot be connected to, as it uniquely identifies the spell being cast - and for the party to scout out a route through and a location underground beneath the Silver Twilight Lodge itself to cast the spell over time discreetly. Moving through the underground using the hellrift compass as a guide to know where the Silver Twilight Lodge is above them, the party walks into a botched goblin ambush, unintentionally alerting a termite nest, the soldiers of which immediately join the fray. Combat ends with some of the goblins with termites in pursuit fleeing down a broken section of the cave that leads into another tunnel. Following carefully, the party finds the goblin camp, but no sign of the surviving combatants. Continuing, they enter into another large chamber with an underground river and putrid air. Exploring ruins in this area, they encounter a colony of neutral tsaalgrends and defeat and a decaying leukodaemon. Recovering the daemon's skull for a bounty, the party also finds several magical items and the entrance to an empty domed chamber - one that is directly below the Silver Twilight Lodge. Returning the way they came and marking their route, the party informs the Temple of the Traveller group of their findings and continue to work on their research projects.

Session 8 (Dec. 3rd, 2016)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 9 (Dec. 10th, 2016)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 10 (Dec. 17th, 2016)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 11 (Dec. 24th, 2016)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 12 (Dec. 31st, 2016)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 13 (Jan. 14th, 2017)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 14 (Jan. 28th, 2017)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 15 (Feb. 11th, 2017)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 16 (Feb. 18th, 2017)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 17 (Mar. 4th, 2017)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 18 (Mar. 11th, 2017)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 19 (Mar. 18th, 2017)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 20 (Mar. 25th, 2017)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 21 (Apr. 8th, 2017)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 22 (Apr. 22nd, 2017)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 23 (May 13th, 2017)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 24 (May 20th, 2017)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 25 (Jun. 11th, 2017)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 26 (Jun. 17th, 2017)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 27 (Jun. 24th, 2017)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 28 (Jul. 1st, 2017)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 29 (Jul. 8th, 2017)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 30 (Jul. 15th, 2017)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 31 (Jul. 22nd, 2017)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 32 (Jul. 29th, 2017)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 33 (Aug. 5th, 2017)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 34 (Aug. 12th, 2017)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 35 (Aug. 19th, 2017)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 36 (Aug. 26th, 2017)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 37 (Sep. 3rd, 2017)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 38 (Sep. 9th, 2017)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 39 (Sep. 17th, 2017)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 40 (Sep. 23rd, 2017)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 41 (Sept. 30th, 2017)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 42 (Oct. 7th, 2017)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 43 (Oct. 14th, 2017)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 44 (Oct. 21st, 2017)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 45 (Nov. 5th, 2017)

Transcript forthcoming

Session 46 (Nov. 18th, 2017)

Transcript forthcoming