August 17th, 2025

Forte, Custodia 29th, 1194

We discuss damaging the monolith. Ty tests out punching it and is able to do damage, but in doing so, she feels some pressure on her mind. Next, Ishtar hits it with a fireball, which works, and is now covered in Aklo glyphs. The glyphs mention how he’s done something bad and is cursed. They go away once he changes form back to a human.

Ty and Graynor stay behind and watch the area while the others go back to town. There are no animals or insects near the monolith now, unlike when we first approached; everything seems to keep a distance of about 200 ft. Ralzer copies a new spell, Sigmund plans his commune, and Ishtar reads the books about his past life.

Commune results:

1) Will destroying the monoliths separate them from their interactions from the leylines? — Yes.

2) Will damaging the monoliths cause immediate harm to us? — Unclear.

3) … Long-lasting repercussions to us? — Unclear.

4) Are the warnings and threats we have received directly from Special K? — No.

5) … From the creator of the monoliths? — Yes.

6) Will our magic and force of arms be sufficient to destroy the monoliths? — Yes.

7) Would you advise that we return to the inside of this monolith before acting to destroy it? — Unclear.

8) Is Ishtar the reincarnation of Khorzath? — Yes.

9) Does the water elemental sovereign Alun’Zharath still alive? — No.

10) Has Ishtar ever lived in a cave? — Yes.

11) Does Ty’s insecurities stem from a trauma of some sort? — Yes.

12) Will bringing parishioners to the flock help bring power back to you? — Yes.

Bellum, Custodia 30th, 1194

Overnight, Ishtar, Ralzer, and Graynor suffer a nightmare spell. It looks as if the whole town has been effect by nightmare and there have also been some fatalities (about 4.38% of level 1 commoners).

Via sending, Sigmund finds out that Ironwald Downs was also effected. Sigmund then confirms that it is happening in towns that are not near the monoliths. He then casts commune to confirm some things before we make any moves.

We confirm that attacking the monolith didn’t cause this, but using the tablets inside it did. The effect is not continuous and it is unclear if we can use the tablets to stop this from happening again. Tolm is also in a large city on this continent.

Graynor goes to help the wounded at the local Temple of Salvation and Ishtar casts commune with nature, stone tell and speak with waves around the monolith.

The water tells him that no one other than us was able to enter the monolith, but several groups of people did visit. One person is dead, trapped in the mud. Ishtar is able to find the body and bring it to the surface. It looks to be a human warrior that died by drowning. There is nothing identifying on him.

The monolith, via stone tell, refuses to talk to Ishtar.

Commune with nature tells him that the amount of wildlife is thinner than normal, but gets better farther away from the monolith. Animals are avoiding the area.

Ty ethereally observes the monolith site, but nothing is different. She reads more of her book and finds a passage on Harmonic Lattice. It sounds like a technology similar to the monoliths. Commune confirms that they are Harmonic Lattices.

Iustitia, Itinerantur 1st, 1194

We head back to the monolith. When Ishtar successfully disintegrates a portion of it, the hum gets much more violent, creating shock waves in the water. It also sucks a mythic point from him. The shock wave deals significant force damage and the portion that was dusted is now a rift sucking up the water. It stops after about a minute.

Ralzer then shoots it with disintegrate and the same shock wave effect occurs, but he avoids it. He then feels something hot on his mind and passes out. He has a vision of a giant hand the size of a hill bursting from the ground. Many glyphs start pouring out of the hand, and then he wakes up.

Ishtar can see that Ralzer’s red aura is much brighter on his forehead.

August 10th, 2025

Forte, Custodia 29th, 1194

We head to the sunken monolith, not entirely sure how we are going to get in. We decide to swim down to the highest point to try and enter. While approaching, Ty feels something request ki from her.  herShe allows it and time, for her, stops. She gets a vision of a massive library, the books have titles keyed to memories of Ty’s past. There is a figure with a featureless face, one eye open and one closed; a known Xhal’ith effigy. It speaks to her, “Threads tighten. The loom of fate trembles. You walk into a vessel that remembers the dark before the first dawn. They will tell you the path forward is straight—they will be wrong. Trust only the echoes that do not match your step. The child is gone, but the song remains. It will sing to you from behind the light. Do not hum along. There are doors in this place that do not open outward. Some will open into you. Choose which you leave ajar. The shadow between stars watches through borrowed eyes. Close enough to see your pulse. The truth you carry will not survive the crossing. Hide it where you cannot find it.” And then the vision ends.

We focus our energy and enter the monolith. Inside, the hum is much deeper. We are in a rotunda with 11 other passages leading out, each at differing heights.

We try the lowest passage, but it’s blocked by some unseen force. Beyond it, we can see a dark sky with stars flickering irregularly. There are three chimes at the entry way, a puzzle matching the flickering lights. We solve it and enter. Inside looks like a star chart chamber, but the stars shift often. In the middle is a giant telescope that is pointing down. Looking through it shows a black ocean with purple tentacles spread over it. The echoes that we make here seem to come from farther away. This room is very similar to the star chart room that we visited in the first monolith.

We head to the next room. There barrier here muffles our voices, and beyond it we can see a tall, thin-ish object of some kind. We also hear whispers in many voices, including our own. Ralzer believes that if we speak back our own voices something will happen. Remembering our warning, we do not proceed.

The next door is blocked by a crystal pane with pulses of light; there are six prisms on the frame. Ralzer rotates them to sync them with the light from the door and we enter. Inside is a giant crystal with a thundering storm within it. There are large claw marks on the ground and walls. There are puddles on the floor that show us slightly different reflections of ourselves. This is much like the crystal that Ralzer communed with at another monolith. We leave, but Ralzer sneaks away to go back to the crystal.

Ralzer divines the crystal and sees a similarly themed vision regarding choices and power. This one has a figure creating a night sky. He looks like an older Ralzer, wearing a crown of crystal shards. He says, “you have seen my heart, will you carry it?” Ralzer accepts.

He then finds himself before a cracked crystalline throne  with a crown of interlocking crystal shards set at its base, pulsating as if breathing. Behind him, he can hear foot steps approach, their echoes matching his own heart beat. He doesn’t reach for the crown.

He then finds himself standing next to a well filled with fragments of memory. There is another being reaching for a fragment that Ralzer feels is important, so he grabs it first. At this point, Ishtar and Graynor pull Ralzer away and break the link with the crystal.

Ralzer says he knows that Kaajh’Kaalbh is seeking to corrupt the leylines and the monoliths are part of that plan. We discuss what happened and Ralzer’s rationalizations for doing this without warning or consult. He thinks that this information is valuable and wants to reenter the commune, and it’s decided that he will do so under observation.

He has another vision of seeing someone with his face as the focal point of a parade. Then, in another, he is in a throne room surrounded by masks that say, “wear us and be everyone and all gods.” In another he is under raining cloudy sky, there is a bloody taste in the air. He hears, “the weave is watching. To open now is to invite its hand.” Then the vision ends without presenting him any choices.

The next door is barred with dense fog with runes scattered in it. Sigmund traces them to dispel the fog. We hear a lot of murmurs in many languages that become more distant the longer we walk down this tunnel. No matter how walk down it we can’t make progress, so we leave.

The next door is barred by a light curtain with shifting glyphs; three rotating glyph discs are on the frame. We solve the puzzle and enter. Inside is a large library. The titles and subjects matter of the books keeps changing as we read them. We decide to try and find a room that doesn’t resemble one from a previous monolith.

The next door has vertical beams of light with strange voices. On the frame are several runes that we rearrange into a coherent sentence to gain entry. Inside is a large spire with molten gold in it. There are 12 tablets, each with a different word on it in the same language as the door. Each tablet periodically gives off a projection; there are some of extremely large creatures and landscapes, nothing that we recognize.

Sigmund activates the tables Memory and Awaken. this triggers something in Ralzer. He remembers being very young in a lab and interfacing with things like this. The humming also gets very low.

Sigmund then activates Awakening Oversight. The humming becomes high and keening. Ty feels another tingling in her ki, she responds and a shadowy mantle envelops her, Graynor, Ishtar, and Ralzer. Xhal’ith addresses them, “son of Madri and Namas and … You (pointedly referring to Ralzer).” They all go ethereal and leave the monolith. Before leaving, Xhal’ith whispers to Ty that the Sleeper is losing power.

For Sigmund, it looks as if Ilythia herself appeared and warped him out.

July 20th, 2025

Vita, Custodia 26th, 1194 (Continued)

We pick up the magical gear on the fey. Virhilyth has a strange fragmented scroll of planeshift that has been modified in some manner. We use one of Ralzer’s flares and cast sending to alert the other group of our situation.

Mare, Custodia 27th, 1194

Graynor uses the special gloves to handle the Sword of Dawning Light. he then uses it to strike the cyst; it takes him several swings, but he does destroy it.

According to Caelia’s sending response, they found another cyst and “something else”.

We break our refuge items and go to Caelia. They are in a forest of pine trees, Ishtar thinks that it looks similar to the forest near his home. Quen the elf magus, has been life drained to death. Caelia says that it was arcane tentacles that did it and that they were encountered near the cyst. There is something else here, akin to a dryad, that is being drained and shackled here. We decide to head to the cyst first.

At the cyst, Graynor goes ham again. Afterwards we recuperate and then move to the dryad.

Caelia and company lead us to the dryad. She’s imprisoned in what may have been a tree at some point. Ishtar can see a blue aura on her. She has a collar on her that is similar to the one that Ishtar used to sport. Ty picks the lock and removes the collar, then Graynor heals her and she regains consciousness.

She introduces herself as She Who Sheds the Autumn Light in Druidic while addressing Ishtar. She is the Queen of Ravens, a Hamadryad. She thought that she was still on the Prime Material. Ishtar told her about how Kaajh’Kaalbh is corrupting this place. She recognizes that name, but hasn’t heard it in over 1,000 years. She doesn’t know how she was captured, she’s been gone about a year. She’s not familiar with the Oracle that Virhilyth mentioned. Her mythic powers were a gift from Dorylis.

We planeshift and then word of recall back to Ironwald Downs.

Graynor takes the collar to his church for research. We go meet Jarveth and get Ralzer resurrected. We debrief Jarveth on what happened in the fey realm. The sword has the ability to erase people from existence, make them forgotten—what if we use this on Kaajh’Kaalbh? It’s also intelligent.

We then head back to Ralzer’s to identify our items. Virhilyth’s staff is an artifact and overwhelming evil. His sword has a stronger evil aura than it’s magical property would normally have.

We discuss our next moves and decide on going to the last monolith. But first, we will have someone look at these items from Virhilyth.

At the Parish of Everlasting Knowledge we meet with Mikhail and he helps us get the sword identified with legend lore. It is Tir’vahl Drazekh, one of the Baleful Blades. It’s strike can splinter the mind. It was first wielded by a warlock king, Zaakhereth the Pale Flame; his kingdom was vanished. It was later glimpsed by scholars during a ritual that turned them mad, and then lastly wielded by Virhilyth. It was forged in the Null Forge, along with the other Baleful Blades.

Terra, Custodia 28th, 1194

We go back to the Parish of Everlasting Knowledge to get the staff looked at. It’s the Staff of the Chrysalis Tempest, Moladraeyn-Ae Seed of the Second Birth. It’s a prototype made by the Architects to control evolution. It’s a +3 quarterstaff containing the spells flesh to stone, baleful polymorph, and feeblemind. It creates random evolutions in those it hits.Taking too many strikes will change someone into a Spawn of Chaos. The architects abandoned it after a subject “gave birth to themselves”. It can be destroyed in the Null Forge by sacrificing a being that was reshaped by it, or by performing the Ritual of Stasis involving a mythic spellcaster and a person who’s form has never been altered.

Ishtar is visiting the Assembly of the Four Corners (Namas). He tells Thelessa about how he found out via commune that he is a reincarnated fire elemental lord. She is intrigued and gets Morvath for more consul. Khorzath is a fire lord that was reincarnated by Namas. They provide him with some literature on the subject. It is believed that Khorzath did something bad and was reincarnated by Namas as a second chance. It’s possible that Ishtar is that reincarnation.

Graynor and Sigmund visit Jarveth about the two items that we found on Virhilyth. He will see what he can do about recompense and if they can destroy the staff. He will also try to gather information on Tolm.

We go to Derth via several tree strides. We cannot see the monolith. Ty secures a room at the Gilded Reed. Apparently the monolith suddenly sank about 4 days ago, around the time that we took Luka out of the Oakfield monolith. Ishtar scouts it out via earth elemental and notices some cracks at the bottom of it.

July 13th, 2025

Vita, Custodia 26th, 1194 (Continued)

Sigmund is guiding us to the cyst via find the path. While traveling on this path, Ishtar notices the strange time movement. He estimates that our 50 minutes of travel has actually taken about 4 hours. Ralzer flies high and follows to try and see if he can notice any difference in our travel, but finds nothing unusual.

Graynor sees a flash of golden light in the direction that we are traveling.

During travel, we are ambushed by fey eaters (fey that plant spores in you that later explode) and blighted satyrs (they rejuvenate after death due to the blight, and share pain through thorns and disease through their blood).

Eventually we make our way to the cyst. Virhilyth is there along with his entourage; a medium-sized crystalized figure, Ilenar of the Glass Branch (uses abilities with light and illusion), a large creature with dark bark, Sylthari, the Thorned Vow (conjures a barrier of very sharp leaves), and a huge stag, Corvenn, the Briar Stag (can summon spectral beasts). Ishtar can see that each of them has a blue mythic aura.

The battle is intense. Virhilyth taunts us several times during the fight—he seems to know a lot about us and our situation, somehow. He also does appear to be carrying, but not wielding, the Sword of Dawning Light. Ralzer gets disintegrated into a pile of dust. We eventually defeat each fey. Upon his death, Virhilyth says, “You cut me down, but you do not understand what you’ve severed. The song continues. The discord deepens. The void is not done dancing. Keep your sword, paladin. Let it sing in your hands… until it burns your name from memory. Tell the Oracle… I saw it, too. Before I fell.” Does he refer to the Thornveil?

June 7th, 2025

Vita, Custodia 26th, 1194 (Continued)

There is an unveiling sensation in here and Graynor’s holy symbols feel warmer. Ishtar and Ralzer go skyward to get a better view of our area. They see a couple of black bark, huge creatures that are tree-shaped with skeletal looking arms and glowing runes on them. They could be enigmatic arbors (resist fire, make people sick by being near them). Sigmund uses a spell to communicate with them. They’re not aggressive and would like us to remove the “ink”, as they refer to the outer planes encroachment; a stain on the land. It gives us a direction to a settlement.

We head in that direction. During travel, we see several dead fey. The causes of death range from constitution drain, to combat damage, to implosion. Eventually we find the remains of a tower.

A nearby cave looks to have been recently occupied within the last few weeks and an ominous hole in the ground goes very deep; we leave it alone.

The tower is in poor condition. Within the tower is a gaunt woman with ink-stained robes. She goes by the Thornveil. She is not surprised at our presence and knows that we are not from here.

She asks if our shadows have spoken to us yet. We tell her of our mission and she knows where a cyst is located and says that we must take care not to step where the mushrooms weep. A fey of great power, Virhilyth, resides there and is likely corrupted and he is attracting others to him.

She is familiar with the Sword of Dawning Light and tells Graynor, “The blade remembers you, even if you don’t remember it”. The warming feeling that Graynor is experiencing is the blade calling for him, as a member of Madri’s faith.

There is a larger settlement nearby that has been destroyed, and we get directions to it.

The creatures she describes as killing fey around here are the Kaajh’gor, and the pink horrors and archer Kaajh’gor that we fought in Halzer’s lab.

We send a sending to Caelia’s group about our next bearing to catch up.

On the way to the cyst, we are ambushed by several arcane tentacles. There are two new varieties that we haven’t yet encountered; a huge transparent one with red veins and two smaller tentacles, and a large one with four smaller tentacles. Ishtar can see a red aura, like the extra one on Ralzer, on each tentacle. We kill them and continue out travel.

During travel, we get a sending from Caelia asking where are are and that they’ve been waiting at the rendezvous point for hours, which doesn’t match up at all with the current time.

Sigmund will cast find the path to get us to our destination.

May 31st, 2024

Iustitia, Custodia 24th, 1194 (Continued)

Ty visits the Temple of Expeditions (Kel’Quey) about her vision. The priestess there listens to Ty’s description and is certain that it’s not the city of St. Serena. She thinks that it could be one of the earlier versions of Crestfall. Back when it was a major entry point to the region, the city grew around the Temple of Expeditions there.

Sigmund and Ishtar visit the Temple of Enchantment (Adira) to talk with Archmage Sandoval. Ishtar describes his aura sight and Sandoval knows this to be the ability to see mythic auras. She has has this ability and is what made her concerned about Ralzer originally.

Ishtar also confides about how he is from another time and was kidnapped by cultists of Kaajh’Kaalbh. Sandoval wants to investigate the area where Ishtar emerged in this time.

Sigmund notices that he cannot hear any thoughts from Sandoval and asks about that. With training he can learn to tune out the noise.

Sandoval is interested in meeting the others regarding their experiences with their “new powers”.

Back at Ralzer’s, we discuss out next moves.

Two people hired by the Temple of Salvation  (Madri) arrive and ask Ralzer about the statue that has been commissioned to commemorate the killing of the Gilarabrywn.

Mors, Custodia 25th, 1194

Overnight Commune confirms that the powers came from Kaajh’Kaalbh and that Crestfall is not involved.

Do these new powers we have inherited come from Kaajh’Kaalbh? — Yes.

Is the entity that is watching Graynor Kaajh’Kaalbh? — No.

Is the cathedral of Kel’Quay that once stood within the city of Crestfall still exist within the depths of the city? — No.

Is there an active cult dedicated to the worship of Special K within Crestfall? — No.

Is the city of Crestfall important to Kaajh’Kaalbh? — No.

Is Ral’s red aura the result of multiple spiritual individuals (himself representing the blue aura, and the other representing the red aura)? — Unclear.

Ty, Ralzer, and Ishtar go visit Sandoval. Ty and Ralzer tell her about their abilities and ask her about Graynor’s as well. She doesn’t believe that these seem dangerous to us, but can help us remove them, if we are interested.

Ralzer tells her about his lineage as a clone. She thinks that could be a factor if there is another soul trapped within him. There could also be a brand on his soul, someone else that is claiming it.

Graynor heads to his meeting with Jarveth. Jarveth takes him to the basement archives and leads Graynor to a side room; his feeling of being watched dissipates in here. Jarveth also stops acting like a feeble old man. After Graynor tells Jarveth that he has felt like he was being watch, Jarveth retrieves a staff and casts a spell to confirm that Graynor is not cursed. He explains that this room protects against divinations.

The obfuscation is designed to make it difficult to gauge the power of leadership and who they really are, which is why this department appears like a dead-end for promotions. This is also probably the reason that Ralzer is getting a statue and not Graynor; they need him to attract less attention.

Jarveth says that the fey realm has been compromised and it is related to Kaajh’Kaalbh. The city has been contacted by fey, who came from a portal near Short Rock Pass, who are asking for help. Not long ago, the Sword of Dawning Light was found to be active again and determined to be within the fey realm. The sword is a relic of the church that has been lost for many years. There is an inscription about it on the Veilstone, beneath the Temple of Salvation:

“One shall come from the light but not return to it. In the last hour before unbeing, they shall wield the sword that remembers the first dawn. By its edge shall truth be revealed, by its radiance, the lie undone. And when the blade sings no more, the world will forget the name that saved it.”

There will be an excursion into the realm and he wants our group to join it. Agents have already returned from the fey realm and reported the presence of Kaajh’Kaalbh and it’s focal point around cysts that have formed. Jarveth wants the sword retrieved and says that it’s dangerous, but will provide some gear to make it safer to handle. He also says something is exerting influence on Ralzer and that he may not be entirely trustworthy. He wants us to leave tomorrow.

We all reconvene and discuss our options. We decide to go on the expedition and to visit the local monolith today.

As we approach the monolith there is a very subtle sound that only Ishtar notices. Once we are closer, we can all feel the bass. Ishtar checks it out underground and finds nothing interesting. We then enter and do not hear the hum inside. Everything looks just how we left it.

Vita, Custodia 26th, 1194

Overnight Commune:

Is Ralzer missing part of his soul? — No.

Does another entity have claim over Ralzer’s soul? — No.

Will the Sword of Dawning Light hurt Graynor if he touches it? — Yes.

… Carries it? — Yes.

… Uses it in combat? — Yes.

We meet with the expedition force in the morning. Jarveth introduces us to the following members:

Protector Lt. Durnan Keldross, dwarf inquisitor. Worships both Barnabas and Madri. Enforcer and interrogator.

Guardian Caelia Varn, human oracle. Magical researcher and investigator.

Defender Solen Thorne, half-elf warpriest. Front-line defense and craftsman.

Purifier Lys Elandra, aasimar cleric. Support and spiritual guidance.

Defender Quenral “Quen” Veyne, elf magus. Arcane support and mental warfare.

Jarveth then explains our mission—Destroy the cysts and find the sword. The sword acts as a beacon, and something may be using it to attract things. He gives each group a different type of refuge item to break in case of emergency. Our group has items keyed to Caelia, while her group has items keyed to Graynor. He also gives Sigmund the fork for the material plane to use with plane shift.

We then disembark for the portal near Short Rock Pass to enter first and take point.

At the portal, the plants around here are very vibrant. We find the strange goat-like creatures that we fought on the Plane Out of Time coming out of the portal, 19 in total. We kill them and enter the portal.

The sky is bruised.

May 18th, 2024

Forte, Custodia 22nd, 1194

We plan to go to the Oakfield monolith. It’s getting late, so we tree-port to Oakfield and spend the night there before heading out in the morning.

We get an room at the Shaded Bough, their largest inn towards the center of the city, and gather information about the monolith. It arrived at the same time as the others and also had a repulsion effect. A group from the Temple of Enchantment came later and quarantined it. They left a few weeks ago and now there is no repulsion effect. We didn’t hear anything about anyone going in to or out of it.

Bellum, Custodia 23rd, 1194

We enter the monolith. The floor has a mirror finish that reflects a younger version of the viewer. The ceiling is too high to see and the walls have indistinct faces, as if pressed against it. With each step we take, we hear a chime.

Ralzer hears his own voice tell him:

“I opened the gate because no one else would. What came through… was not mine to command.”

“Burn the stars. Bury the sky. Only then will the veil thin.”

“Why do they still trust me? Can’t they smell the rot on my soul?”

And other unsettling musing.

We follow the long hallway to a circular room with no floor; it has spiraling stone platforms that descend. Between the stones are semi-transparent maps of places that we do not recognize. There is an underwater city, an underground city, a star-shaped prison, and many more. The stones are within step distance, so we follow it all the way down to a dim, silent garden of strange trees.

The bark on the trees have celestial and infernal runes carved into them. Instead of fruit, all of the trees have strange liquid-filled orbs. Ishtar plucks one and receives a vision of a grey sandy area with impossible geometry on the sandstone tile floor. Graynor says that it sounds very familiar to the void realm he visited.

Sigmund plucks a fruit from a different tree and he sees a small village of people walking around in a daze. Ty tries one and sees a very large city in grayscale that is completely absent of life. The plant life hasn’t taken over, so the absence of people has not been long. There is a church of Kel’Quey present, which is unusual for the God of Travel.

Ishtar tries another fruit and gets a vision of a dungeon with a mind flayer jailer. Ishtar then bites in to one of the “fruits” and forgets why he ever became a druid.

Ralzer plucks a fruit and forgets most of his relationships outside of the party and sees a vision of an insane asylum. He then bites in to it and gets no vision.

We continue down the path to a room with a large stone heart suspended above a dark pit, rhythmically pulsing. There are large gouges in the walls, like something was trapped in here.

Ty wants to throw one of the fruits at the heart, but doesn’t think she can do it hard enough to break, so se hands it to Ishtar. When he takes it, he gets a vision of a dusty plains and a pillar of fire. He also forgets a feat that he knows. throwing it on the heart doesn’t seem to do anything.

Nothing detects as magical in here, so we move to the next room.

The next room looks like a library with floating blank books that leak dust. There are hourglasses on desks where the sand flows in reverse. Flipping one gives Ty the sensation that a recent decision in the last few hours she made has been reversed.

At the end of the hallway is a door that everyone except Ralzer is able to walk through. Graynor is able to pull him through.

The next room is like a giant void, we feel as if we are in an enclosed room, but see nothing except the door we came from and the inky stars around us. Walking farther in, we see another structure that looks like a monolith. It has an overwhelming magical aura. In front of the monolith is a crystal cradle with a root-like metal cage. Ishtar, Graynor, and Sigmund hear a strange hum while approaching it.

Within the cradle is a baby; we can’t determine it’s race or gender, nor does it detect as evil. It seems to be alive. Sigmund repositions the cradle so that the monolith doesn’t interfere; the kid and cradle are non-magical. While moving the cradle, he can hear everyone’s inner thoughts. Whenever someone looks at the child, they see a collage of their past decisions and how they could have made better choices.

Sigmund picks up the kid and Ty searches the crib. Ty gets the feeling that she can now read the Architect writing.

Ishtar examines the baby, which seems to be fine, then is able to see a light blue glowing aura on everyone. Except for Ralzer, who has a blue and red aura; the baby has no aura.

Ty goes ethereal. Nothing seems different; it looks exactly like the material plane. She can touch people, but they don’t notice. There is nothing of note about the baby.

Sigmund tries to “feed” the baby mythic energy. It tries to take more, but Sigmund denies it.

Ralzer feeds mythic energy into the mini-monolith. It tries to take more and then ejects him outside the obelisk. He then makes his way back to us.

Ralzer then gives the rest of his mythic energy to the kid and nothing happens. He now occasionally sees himself in the corner of his eye, as if nearby. Now that he can’t leave the monolith, he comes up with the idea of being smuggled out via the portable hole.

Ty takes the kid through each room in the complex. It doesn’t have a reflection in the first room and it doesn’t react to anything.

Ishtar searches each room as an air elemental. He doesn’t find anything of note, except that the final room doesn’t have a ceiling that he can approach.

Graynor holds the baby and he feels a little stronger as a paladin, but also gets the sensation of being watched.

Sigmund cast sending to the baby asking it to open it’s eyes and it’s name and gets a brief jump scare as an image of a tentacle jumps from the baby to his face. Then, it opens it’s eyes.

We leave the monolith. Once the baby is outside the monolith, the structure begins to hum.

On the way back, we find out that Ralzer has lost his memories of all people that are not us. He remembers deities, locations, and events.

Ty reads the Architect portions of her book.

Iustitia, Custodia 24th, 1194

We plan a trip to Derth, then Granyor gets a sending from Dora asking for a visit. So we first word of recall to Ironwald Downs. Ishtar will travel via plants since Luca (the baby) takes an extra spot.

Graynor and Ty visit Dora. He’s getting a promotion to Research and Acquisitions, which is a dead end job, sort of like a punishment, and is unusual for someone of his rank. This was at the request of Valiant Sharpe of Jasper. His new officer is Jarveth. Dora is apologetic regarding the situation. We then go to met Jarveth and he asks that Graynor return tomorrow for a job.

Sigmund and Ralzer go to the market to get some needed items and maybe jog Ralzer’s memory. They also get some paperwork for renovation work at Ralzer’s home.

Graynor and Ty visit Nadal at the Inevitable Order. Nadal is reasonably panicked about Luca and insists we deposit it into the containment receptacle in their basement.

We then get the rest of the party together and deposit the cradle and fruit that we took from the monolith, as well as the books that we took from another one. Ty asks Nadal about the vision she saw with the Kel’Quey temple. He doesn’t know where that would be, but suggests asking a local priest. He also suggests inquiring at the Temple of Enchantment for info on the auras that Ishtar is seeing.

The maladies afflicting Ishtar and Ralzer could be curses. It’s difficult to remove, but are eventually removed.

April 19th, 2025

Vita, Custodia 19th, 1194 (Continued)

Ty goes ethereal in front of the altar to Xhal’ith and she hears a booming voice ask what she wants to know. She replies with the following, and is given visions in response to each:

“I want insight into the machinations of Tolm’s plan.” — He is tricking Kaajh’Kaalbh’s church to create a ritual that will summon and bind him into a collection of effigies. With the goal of killing and ascending himself.

“What is exerting influence on Ralzer?” — Difficult to comprehend. Seems to be related to his lineage and it’s very important that it does not take control.

“What are the beacons summoning Kaajh’Kaalbh?” — The monoliths outside of the five cities.

Ty also learns that Kaajh’Kaalbh is the entity that gave Tolm the idea of binding and killing him, unbeknownst to Tolm. It is the god’s trickery that Tolm will summon him to this location and be devoured by him.

We then ask Blitzcrank some follow-up questions. He gives mostly short answers, with the general gist being that his god is not threatened.

We discuss our options, then head back to where we fought the Gilarabrywn. Sigmund and Ralzer re-investigate the star map on the ceiling. They find some coordinates in the ceiling, each with a speck of material similar to the monoliths, corresponding to their locations.

Ishtar searches the area for anything hidden and finds a notebook hidden amongst the rubble. It details some strange research notes, is older than Tolm’s journal, and is written in a much different manner.

Sigmund tells Thauglorauthamiir, via sending, that we have killed the Gilarabrywn. Thauglorauthamiir informs him that he will personally inspect the site shortly. He is pleased with our success and Sigmund’s groveling.

Sigmund also sends a sending to Advocate Greatbear about the mission.

We spend one night here to see if anything else happens in the area, but nothing does.

Mare, Custodia 20th, 1194

Through commune, we learn that Ralzer is Scion A-117, as referenced in the notebook that Ishtar found; however, the book is much older than he is. Perhaps the focus is his bloodline.

We word of recall back to Ironwald Downs. Graynor and Ty update the Temple of Salvation on our victory, while Sigmund and Ishtar visit the Courts of Inequity. Advocate Greatbear gives us our payment on behalf of the church and the council. We then put in some purchase orders after getting paid; two days worth of crafting.

Terra, Custodia 21st, 1194

We learn through commune that Ralzer is a clone of Scion A-117 and that Ishtar’s previous life was as an elemental.

Forte, Custodia 22nd, 1194

We learn through commune that Ishtar was a unique fire elemental that was reincarnated by Namas, that Ralzer was cloned in a lab and his blood can be traced back to the Architects.

After our gear is done, we teleport via plants to Khundrukar, as there is another star map ceiling there that we want to re-investigate. We don’t find any hidden caches, but in the map they find the phrase, “Five lights awaken, one heart exhales the hush.” Hush is one of the nine elements of resonance, AKA Null.

April 13th, 2025

Iustitia, Custodia 17th, 1194

Sigmund communes overnight:

Is Ralzer being controlled by a god? — No.

Is Ralzer being controlled by a powerful, non-god outsider? — No.

Is Ralzer’s Influence a threat to his existence? — No.

Did Ralzer gain this influence upon touching the crystal? — No.

Is Ralzer a product of Kaajh’Kaalbh? — No.

Ralzer works on his spell and Sigmund buys new clothes to match his deity.

Ty visits Archmage Sandoval and catches her up on Ralzer’s teleportation experiment. She suggests tracing his lineage for clues; maybe there was some kind of bargain done at his birth.

Ishtar visits the Assembly of the Four Corners (Namas) for his appointment. Thelessa is a Guardian of the Earth that will assist him. She performs the commune and suggests that the Well of Knowledge in Delanshire may be another method of investigation.

Is Ishtar a son of the Grand Incinerator? — Yes.

Was Ishtar truly reincarnated? — Yes.

Is Ishtar’s current life a punishment? — No.

Is there a way for Ishtar to recall his past life? — Yes.

Should Ishtar recall his past life? — Unclear.

In Ishtar’s previous life, did he have power over the element of fire? — Yes.

Should Ishtar continue to strengthen his connection to fire? — Yes.

Does Ishtar need to return to his own time? — No.

Graynor is looking for a horse “worthy of Madri”; something with colors similar to theirs.

Mors, Custodia 18th, 1194

Sigmund communes overnight:

Is Ralzer being influenced by a powerful outside force at all? — No.

Does Ralzer own his own soul? — Yes.

Is Ilythia good aligned? — Yes.

Is Ilythia evil aligned? — No.

IS Ilythia lawful? — No.

Is Ilythia chaotic? — No.

Is Ilythia morally neutral? — No.

Is Ilythia ethically neutral? — Yes.

Does Ilythia have a favored animal? — Yes.

Is there an extant formal church with hierarchy dedicated to Ilythia? — Yes.

Vita, Custodia 19th, 1194

Sigmund communes overnight to see what kind of energy the Gilarabrywn uses: It uses all of the elements, except for sonic and cold.

The swords are finished and we head off to battle. When we enter the citadel, we feel an unveiling effect that was not present before. Near the Gilarabrywn is Blitzcrank, a herald of Kaajh’Kaalbh—he watches, but not not engage.

During the fight, some arcane tentacles emerge. A large black variety with icy-blue suction cups; a tentacle of the void. They have an aura of slow, can cast reverse gravity, wall of blindness, slay living, and phantasmal affliction. They lace their spells with madness to cause confusion. There is also an incorporeal version called a shadow tentacle. It inflicts a nightmare curse that can be cured with dispel evil, dream, and remove curse. It can cast wall of ice and the cold version of fire shield. In The Illuminated Shadow Investigator Vale encounters these creatures after being framed for the murder of Archangel Lathiel by Artorious Balen. Vale is sent to the outer plane prison of Malak Seres. There he must forge an alliance of planar criminals to escape the Gaol of the Void. The tentacles are part of the prison’s defense system and Vale must destroy the hive mind controlling them in order for his escape plan to work.

We manage to kill the Gilarabrywn—with Ralzer delivering the final blow to it’s arcane knot, ensuring it will not reanimate later. Blitzcrank then kills the last remaining tentacle and begins to leave. He states that he was only there to observe and confirms that he still works for Kaajh’Kaalbh.

We follow him as he heads towards the underdark mushroom forest and goes to the altar of Xhal’ith. Ty asks if Xhal’ith and Kaajh’Kaalbh are the same, Blitzcrank says they are not.

April 6th, 2025

Terra, Custodia 14th, 1194 (Continued)

We perform a thorough search of the floor and find no secret doors. We find some strange items in the clockwork mage room and leave them.

We proceed to the next floor down. This room is holding the iron cube that Thyrr told us about. There are a lot of statues here—according to Thyrr, we must find the statue with the empty eyes to deactivate the defenses. The iron cube has a combination of symbols and words in multiple languages; they all have a theme of creation and destruction. Setting the rings in a certain order will unlock it.

Ralzer, with Sigmund’s assistance, is able to decipher the puzzle. It opens a small hole that looks like an extra dimensional space, and we enter it.

This area has a cool, crisp scent. We enter from the ceiling and float gently down. There are several large podiums with books on them and there are also some books that are suspended by chains from the ceiling. One chain is missing it’s book.

The guardian then attacks us. When we finally kill it, many purple-black tentacles emerge from the ground and take it.

Ralzer begins a list of the books that are here, so we can figure out what was taken with Thyrr. We then head back up and deactivate the defenses. We alert the hiding group of guards, then gather the bodies and bring them all to the first floor—there are about 70 total bodies. Ty stays behind to make sure that no one else enters, while the others alert Thyrr of our success.

We then take Thyrr on a tour to see if there is anything else distorted that shouldn’t be there. None of the haunts, the hounds of Tindalos, the oozes, the dread wraith, or the spawn of the dark tapestry are supposed to be here. She also confirms that the only book missing is the Keening Runes of the Architect Kings. She gives us the coin purse that Tolm had paid with as evidence.

Sigmund uses sending to Olaf to ask for some castings of legend lore. Olaf suggests that we contact Morvin Threll, here in Vallyn, for this service and he will be at a local tavern tomorrow.

Ty practices for her oblivion training in the meditation room.

Forte, Custodia 15th, 1194

Ty continues to meditate and Ralzer works on his spell.

The other three visit the Lantern’s Wager to meet with Morvin. In a smoky back room they find him; a gaunt, pallid-fleshed man with black stained fingers, a stark contrast to his skin, holding a pipe billowing a gentle smoke. He agrees to assist us with legend lore at the Mysterium.

They head to the library and the spell is first performed in the room with the iron cube. He sees a taint that recently went through here. Tolm worked on the puzzle box and then disappeared. He did not return. There was no vision of Garrick or Brad.

Then gain permission to take Morvin into the Soul to cast legend lore and Elder Lythlin opens the box for them. Morvin sees Tolm meet with the guardian, changed something about him, and steal something from the ceiling. He left via some kind of magic. The taint that is with him is quick acting, Morvin’s never seen anything like it before.

Bellum, Custodia 16th, 1194

Ty’s oblivion meditation is successful and a return to Xhal’ith‘s shrine will reveal more.

Through commune, Sigmund learns Gilarabrywn are constructs, immune to fire, and have supernatural, but not spell-like, abilities.

We teleport back to Ironwald Downs. the swords that we commissioned will be ready in three days.

Sigmund and Ty visit Mikhail and fill him in about Tolm’s break-in at the Mysterium. We ask him if he’s heard of the book that Tolm stole, the Keening Runes of the Architect Kings. He’s heard a little bit about it; one thing that it has to do with is bridging gaps between emptiness.

Sigmund asks about his confirmed patron, Ilythia. He doesn’t know much, but will look into it. There is supposed to be some worshipers in the city.

On the topic of Xhal’ith, Mikhail has similar advice as the Madri Gallant had—he advises against any contracts.

Ty and Mikhail then chat about Investigator Vale and Mikhail directs Ty to a book club in town.

Sigmund then gathers information on the Ilythia worshipers in town and Ty tags along. He gets a lead on a fortune telling lady known as the Dreamer, who works out of a place called the Rivenspire. Her building has very strange architecture and looks very unstable. She introduces herself as Aurelia and welcomes us.

Sigmund asks about strengthening the bond to his deity and she suggests burning dream lotus incense and reciting lullabies before sleeping. There is also seam-speaking, a kind of meditation that bridges the gap between the dream realm and the waking world.

Ishtar visits the temple of Namas and speaks with Morvathe. Ishtar is interested in his past, from before he was reincarnated as an infant. Morvathe will find him a spiritual advisor to commune on his behalf.