January 4th, 2025

Vita, Custodia 5th, 1194 (Continued)

After killing the derro and gytillipedes, Greynor explore the next room. He finds a pool of water, but retreats after getting peppered with crossbow bolts by about 12 hidden derro.

Once everyone else arrives, we enter the room with the water. We dispatch many of them and the rest surrender. During the combat, Ralzer acts strangely and won’t enter the room.

According to the derro, Tolm has been gone many weeks. He’s been helping them to overcome their sunlight aversion, allegedly. The derro are here to trade with him and are waiting for his return. Our description of Tolm doesn’t match theirs. They describe him as looking like the portrait. They don’t interact with Kyzvyn, he’s crazy and the area is haunted.

Ralzer now appears for be afraid of bodies of water and Ishtar diagnoses him with a phobia, which will take some time to treat. Sigmund believes it could be a result of the strange sunken cityscape painting.

We being a deep search of the manor. We find nothing of note in the basement laboratory. The ground floor has lots of alchemical stuff and a box of wine from Jasper. The maps in the study are nice and there is space for one that appears to be missing. Each is a region of Moravia; the missing one is Vallyn. Behind a map we find a scroll of raise dead.

We search the painting room, careful to avoid the landscapes. Behind a painting is a trapped and locked safe containing gold and a book about cabal magic.

In the top room the patchwork things are skinstitch constructs and they housed swarms of hell wasps inside them. We find more alchemical paraphernalia. There is a brain in a jar with an ivory horn attached to it, we can hear lullabies from it. There is a jar labeled #61 with a cloth that floats in it like a drowned sheet caught in an unseen current. It responds and may be intelligent. We find a hidden ladder to the next floor.

The next floor is adorned with many curtains made from skin, taken whole, with faces of torment. There is a person sobbing on another ladder leading up. He looks like another hollow one. He’s clutching some paper and is upset that the master is gone “days ago”. He doesn’t know where the master went, but he does give us the note. It mentions the Mysterium, the otherworldly protector of the library, and a soul in an iron puzzle box. There are a number of pictures of angels with a caption, “swivel the heads in the right direction to delve further”. The handwriting matches the other Tolm documents we have.

While climbing up the ladder to the next floor, Ty has images in her head of a fungus rapidly growing, collapsing, then growing again. She also hears, “it reaches its tendrils through the minds of those who know of it. It reaches beyond the veil of dreams. Hurry.” Climbing up that ladder leads to an attic completely overgrown with vines and has the a scent of decay. There is some kind of large plant-like creature on the roof rafters.

Ty gets another message in her head as she approaches, “it sends its tendrils through their minds to gather its strength, but despite your knowledge you are clean. You can stop it. Don’t let it infect this world.” We engage the creature and kill it, it had many elemental and physical resistances.

There is a chest up top; it has some notes inside along with some diamonds and platinum. The notes are talk about pathways through stars, his remorse for using Ildan as a sacrifice to move forward, and a lot of mindless ranting.

We discuss the possibility of using scrying magic on Tolm.

We then try to talk to specimen #61. It is not Tolm, but it does know of him. Tolm went to the Mysterium, but it doesn’t know where that is. It doesn’t know of Gilarabrywn. It knows Ildan, Tolm’s apprentice, but not what happened to him. It then asks us to dump some chemicals into the jar and kill him—we do so.

Ty goes ethereal and this area and the cavern looks to be a little darker than normal.

We try scrying on Tolm twice, as the kidnapper of Ishtar and as the Tolm that we defeated long ago. Neither of the attempts work.

We search the caverns around here and find a secret tunnel that opens into a room with six magic circles etched into the ground. There is a central circle with five others surrounding it. They don’t look to be more than a few years old and all have summoning wards. There are lots of old crates and some more wine boxes from Jasper. This looks to be a hidden store room that was converted to a summoning chamber.

December 28th, 2024

Mors, Custodia 4th, 1194

We head into the passages to the Underdark and come to a four way intersection. Sigmund finds foot traffic in each direction; both humanoid and non-humanoid. We pick the left choice, for no particular reason.

We come upon a fungal forest that has biolumination in the area. We search it and start to feel our mental capacity diminish, so Sigmund suggests turning back.

We then take the middle path and it leads to many broken buildings. Ralzer believes the rubble to be several hundred years old. There’s one building that is a little better maintained, so we check that out. There is a damaged sign with three angels and the phrase “Give succor to the troubled”. The door is trapped and using the knocker triggers a minor acid spray. Not long afterwards, the door opens and a tall man greets us. He appears to be a servant to the master of the house, who is not in at the moment. He will be back tomorrow. The upon closer inspection, servant doesn’t seem to be human.

We then head back and go down the last tunnel. Down this one some of us hear many soft whispers from several sources and moving farther doesn’t make it louder. We find more ruined buildings and fungal growth. Sigmund, Ralzer, Ishtar, and Graynor feel some effect in the area.

A crazed derro with bulging white eyes jumps out and tells us to keep quiet in a very strange way. Then he walks away and we follow him. He refers to the whispers as leylines and the Watchers want to unravel the leylines. His name is Kyzvyn and he appears to have multiple personalities. He’ll take us to a leyline in exchange for some gems.

We hand him one of the gems that we got from the Citadel. He then leads us to a central area with a chalk circle on the ground that Kyzvyn drew himself from intuition—Ralzer does see some magical runes within it. When asked about the circle and symbols Kyzvyn mutters, “keys to unlock life’s secrets and peel back its skin”. He’s waiting for the Great Awakening. He then skips away.

We continue to investigate this area. Ty goes ethereal, but sees nothing different. Ishtar can feel that a leyline is close. He turns into an earth elemental and looks around through the ground. When Kyzvyn sees him do this, he gets really upsets and warns about smudging the lines and causing Cosmic Retribution. Ishtar is able to find the leyline nexus and thinks that he can access it from the “surface”.

We head back to the middle tunnel and camp.

Vita, Custodia 5th, 1194

When Ty approaches the master’s door she hears in her head, “The blot quivers. The lake ripples. His stain is here”, along with a clicking noise and some whispering.

The master is not home, his name is Tolm Barolo. We then engage this thing in combat, killing it swiftly. Turns out that it was a hollow one, a kind of construct used to resemble humans and have a spark of intelligence.

The portrait inside is made by a famous artist, still alive, in Jasper and could be worth something.

The second floor has some unnerving paintings; an underwater cityscape, a landscape, a portrait, and a theatre. Looking at the cityscape made Ralzer and Sigmund feel ill.

The third floor is full of books and colorful jars. There are two large patchwork constructs attending to the tables; they are not aggressive and we leave without searching. Judging by the height of the manor, there should be at least one more full floor, but we cannot find access to it at the moment.

We take the elevator to the basement and there is some strange glass construct there that utilizes fire bombs. It has magic resistance, so it could be a golem. In the corner is a vat of liquid holding an ochre jelly. In The Sepulchrum of Exquisance, Investigator Vale confronts a cabal that uses the jellies, split many times, as stencils to create intricate tattoos and as a torture method in larger quantities.

There is another option on the elevator to go to another, deeper, floor. Graynor and Sigmund squeeze in and take it down. It goes down pretty deep and on the floor below are two derro and two large, chitinous creatures, cytillipedes.

December 15th, 2024

Terra, Artis 30th, 1194 (Continued)

We attend our evening meeting—Thauglorauthamiir leads us west to the designated area. We walk through some fog and suddenly we’re on a mountain top. We head to a cave with a large room that is warded with runes, then the council arrives.

They address us and speak of the urgency of the situation. Thauglorauthamiir was tasked with guarding the citadel and the council is upset that he didn’t bring this to their attention earlier, “as soon as he realized the power of the Achitects lingered there”.

Their leader then addresses us and asks what we know of the Celestial Attendants. They believe the gilarabrywn may be something that they summoned. It’s presences suggests that there is something tethering the creature to the area, as if on guard. If this one was made long ago, then something must have triggered its reactivation. If it was made recently, that could be worse.

Gilarabrywn are magical beasts of war created by powerful spellcasters. A sacrifice of a loved one is required to make it. If you know what soul was used to create it, you can determine how to destroy it. Their creation is now forbidden, due to how difficult they are to destroy.

The council wants us to either destroy it or seal it away. They will reward us, but failure would result in death.

Graynor asks for some information on the black dragon that has the set item he’s been looking for. It’s name is Nightscale and the council assures his cooperation.

Forte, Custodia 1st, 1194

Graynor asks his church about gilarabrywn, but they don’t know anything. A Valiant will be in tomorrow and may know more.

Sigmund and Ralzer visit Lairn. He will try and get in touch with an Archmage and get back to us.

Ty and Ishtar meet with Mikhail. He knows of gilarabrywn, but not by that name. The Parish may have some information and he’ll look into it.

Ty meets with Judge Balefrost. He accepts the Orrery of Infinite Spheres, but does not know very much about gilarabrywn. Ty catches him up on what has happened since the last meeting.

Bellum, Custodia 2nd, 1194

While waiting for information, we will try and secure Graynor’s item from Nightscale. We travel to Khundrukar via plants, where we manage to find the underground lake and Nightscale. Graynor purchases the cloak from the dragon and Nightscale is surprised to receive money in the transaction, as he was instructed to give it to Graynor. He also gives him a bonus Obsidian Scale Amulet.

We make camp outside.

Iustitia, Custodia 3rd, 1194

We arrive back in Ironwald Downs, via plants, and Graynor meets with Valiant Morvant. He knows of gilarabrywn as being raw magic and are immune to most things and they are guided by their wielder.

We head to our meeting with the Magic Circle at the Temple of Enchantment and meet with Archmage Sandoval about gilarabrywn.

One way to destroy one is to learn it’s name, as in the person whose soul was used to create it. Then, engrave a weapon with that name and pierce its heart. One such weapon is always created when making a gilarabrywn.

Another way might be to overwhelm it with magic energy. Using leylines would probably work for this.

Sandoval is able to see our mythic auras and comments that Ralzer’s looks different. He tells her about his experience talking with the giant crystal in the Silverdale obelisk and she asks that he let her know if he starts to feel different.

After the meeting, Ralzer goes shopping for magic ingredients. The Umbral Bazaar, a store he’s visited before, is much different now. Inside, it’s much bigger than it should be and the shadows in here do not operate normally. The proprietor is much different too, not human. Ralzer asks him about gilarabrywn and he says he will look into it if Ralzer allows him to read his memories. Ralzer agrees.

Mors, Custodia 4th, 1194

We head to the Citadel, greet the kobolds and head to the basement. We check our collapsed tunnel and it’s been broken through with brute force.

We revisit the dragon altar that we could never figure out. Casting fire on the tray causes 4 red gems to fall out of the dragon. Touching them gives a sensation of fire power.

We spot the gilarabrywn in the area of Tolm’s star map. We leave it alone and discuss what to do. Our best option is to venture into the Underdark tunnel that the gilarabrywn came from.

November 30th, 2024

Vita, Artis 28th, 1194 (Continued)

We transport via plants to Silverdale, arrive without issue and head towards the obelisk. Sigmund channels mythic energy into it and sinks into it. The rest of us follow suit. Ralzer and Graynor feel as if someone is watching them; everyone else has a minor headache.

Inside, it looks like a strange garden, full of plants not native to our plane; Ralzer identifies some as veilshrubs and fractal bloomers. The terrain keeps shifting, making it hard to see far.

Past the garden is a chamber of obsidian full of floating shelves. Ishtar reads the Codex of Eternal Spirals, which alters it’s written language until Ishtar can read it. It’s about time manipulation, and while reading it, he doesn’t realize how long he spends on it.

Sigmund skims through a book of blank pages. While handling it, he sees a shadowy figure watching him in reflections of the glass in the room, but can’t see it anywhere else.

Ralzer opens a book with a cover of a broken mask. While looking through it he feels a surge of arcane energy and hears faint whispers, which sound like a bunch of names. Saying a name out loud makes him feel bad. The pages are just full of names and he takes it with him.

Sigmund examines another book, the Mournful Canticle. Picking it up fills the room with a strange choir noise. It’s cover looks like it’s made of skin, and flipping the pages generate a faint, mournful wail. It contains songs of mourning.

Ralzer looks at the Manual of Perfect Silence, which contains strategies on using silence as a weapon. He then finds one, Starbinders’ Ledger, about star maps and weaving star light into constructs.

Ty checks a book about using light and illusion, the Prismatic Codex, and then finds a more interesting book, the Infinite Descent. Picking it up reorients the room to a slight slant and it chronicles the adventure of a group of people exploring a dungeon that rearranges itself.

Sigmund looks in the Book of Dying Stars; picking it up suppresses magical effects. It touches on harnessing cosmic energy to create nasty stuff.

We leave the library and continue exploring.

The hallway leads to a seemingly void-like area and we hear a faint melody and see tiny pin pricks of light. Eventually we come to a large crystal, about 80ft. tall, and there is a rhythmic beating sound in the area. Ty touches the crystal and gets a strange sensation as if traveling through a kaleidoscope. Touching it creates a strange gravity effect in the room and Sigmund bull rushes Ty away from the crystal to end the effect.

We discuss our next moves and decided to leave after Ralzer casts identify on the crystal. When he does so, he hears a voice in his head.

“A seeker of power faces the abyss, how deep will you descend?”

“All the way,” he responds. He then gets a vision of himself standing on a battlefield, holding a staff. He feels a sense of dominance over the battle and victory. Then, the vision cracks and he’s alone and weary, pursued by the unseen.

He again hears a voice in his head, “Step forward seeker, the path to kingship lies before you. Grasp it and the stars will kneel. Will you dare to wield the unyielding, few can grasp the weight of eternity.”

Ralzer steps forward and Sigmund restrains him, breaking him from the trance. We then leave.

We use phantom chariot and then transport via plants to get to Ironwald Downs.

We arrive in Ironwald Downs and Graynor visits his temple and updates them on his business. He gets promoted to Guardian. Sigmund visits Mikhail, catches him up and gives him the Robes of the Architect to hide. Ishtar finds some immigration records related to his old hometown. About 300 years ago the entire village of Silverpine dispersed and the families settled in Aldtown Crossing, Brendencrest, Ironwald Downs, Westermoor, and possibly others.

We reconvene back at Ralzers and discuss our next steps. Sigmund does a sending to Queen Mozdrog about the Council of the Empyrean.

Mare, Artis 29th, 1194

We visit the Courts of Inequity; Sigmund will talk with the Kobolds and Ty will deliver an artifact. Ty schedules an appointment with Judge Balefrost in two days.

While we are being taken to a meeting room to see Queen Mozdrog, Ishtar notices an intricate flail on display that he remembers seeing depictions of at the Assembly of the Four Corners in Jasper. It’s called the Flail of Infinite Cycles and each head is a divine focus of Namas.

Queen Mozdrog is eagerly awaiting the arrival of the other dragons. Something has broken into the lower levels of the citadel; a powerful spirit, sort of like a shadow. Thauglorauthamiir joins us and describes this creature. It’s a Gilarabrywn, a kind of magical beast that resembles a dragon made of energy. They can be quite powerful and this could be a legit problem.

Later, we meet with Advocate Greatbear, who was Mozdrog’s liaison in the temple, to get a better feel about the situation. He confirms that several dragons have RSVP’d and they should arrive tomorrow in the western field.  Greatbear has spoken to a dragon named Codagh and the Council of the Empyrean is like a governing body among dragonkind.

We enter the Ironwald Downs obelisk again and find it to be the same inside and the blank bodies still remain. Sigmund uses one of the new star map books we found in the Silverdale obelisk to see if it has any bearing with the star maps here, and it does appear that way. He’s able to find a constellation called the Blade of Eternity from the Star Binders’ Ledger.

Ishtar visits the local Assembly of the Four Corners to inquire about the flail he saw earlier. They confirm that the flail is a relic of the church, but do not suggest any action be taken.

Terra, Artis 30th, 1194

We head to the western fields an wait for the dragon arrivals. They start to arrive after about two hours. They are big, and according to Ralzer, all evil, except for maybe the brown and orange.

The first one we see is a huge sized orange with a dagger-like tail end, a rare kind that has some psychic abilities. The rest arrive in the following order:

Brown, huge, dagger tail
Red, gargantuan, sword tail
Green, gargantuan, normal tail
Blue, colossal, dagger tail
Orange, gargantuan, scorpion tail
Brown, huge, club tail
Black, colossal plus, sword tail — largest of them all
Black, colossal, morning star tail — seems to be in charge

We watch the meeting from afar. The green dragon breathes fire at Thauglorauthamiir—green ones don’t usually breathe fire. At one point the morning star dragon looks in our direction for a while. A few minutes after that they begin to fly off, with the morning star being the last to leave, but not before slamming his tail into the ground.

Thauglorauthamiir then visits us and lets us know that we are to attend another meeting tonight. He says the council is angry.

November 23rd, 2024

Mare, Artis 22nd, 1194 (Continued)

We give Olaf the mirror and the spheres to hide. Taking the artifacts out of the portable hole doesn’t create an unveiling sensation and we discuss the implications of this finding. We take all of the artifacts out of the portable hole and still don’t feel it. When we leave the room with one of the artifact, the feeling returns. Placing the artifact down while outside of the room also removes the effect. As Olaf says, just because we don’t feel an effect, doesn’t mean that it’s not there.

When we return to the Winking Wyvern, Ty has a message waiting: a meeting with Chamberlain Raithe on the 24th.

Terra, Artis 23rd, 1194

Sigmund contacts Mikhail trying to get access to the Obsidian Library. He then spends time gathering info on the obelisks that fell from the sky. There isn’t much interest in them anymore, since they are now inert stone. There also has been no news of anyone approaching them.

Ishtar visits the druids to find out about plants for traveling to Derth, Oakfield, and Silverdale; finding a route to Silverdale.

We meet with Olaf and he casts legend lore twice more. The Scepter of Temporal Mastery can be destroyed by performing a ritual of undoing at the site that it was originally made, by striking it with a weapon forged with temporal crystals in the Null Forge, or by using it to rewind time on an event that has already been rewound. The Mantle of the Architect can be destroyed by throwing it into a collapsing dimensional rift, unweaving it at the Loom of Creation, or by completing the design that it was meant for.

Forte, Artis 24th, 1194

Ty attends her meeting with Chamberlain Gloria Raithe. It sounds more like the message had nothing to do with our situation. Ty explains a little bit about the outer god summoning and the Celestial Attendants, but Gloria doesn’t know about them. If Bethany is interested in more, she will let us know.

We meet with Olaf and he casts legend lore twice more. The Chrono-Wheel of Destinies can be destroyed by spinning it in reverse at the heart of a collapsing time stream or by performing a ritual to sever its link to the temporal planes at the Null Forge. The Glyphstone Tablet can be destroyed by having a powerful arcane entity, such as an elemental lord of magic, consume it. It can also be rendered inert by destroying the specific leyline that is it linked to.

Sigmund gets a sending from Mikhail about meeting with Venerable Towlson at the Order of Death regarding access to the Obsidian Library.

Bellum, Artis 25th, 1194

Sigmund meets with Towlson and is able to obtain a writ for two days access to the Obsidian Library. Ishtar talks to the druids about leylines. They are not aware of any that have been destroyed, but point him in the direction of strong leylines in Vallyn, Halbrook, and Blackstone.

We meet with Olaf and he casts legend lore twice more. The Prism of the Cosmic Spectrum can be destroyed by exposing it to concentrated light of immense power or taking it to a place of absolute darkness. The Architects’ Codex can be destroyed by submerging it in the essence of the void, putting it in a fire of Creation (like flames from a dying star), or by taking it to the plane of Unmaking.

Iustitia, Artis 26th, 1194

We all head to the Obsidian Library. The topics that we research are the Null Forge, leylines, the Silence in Heaven, chronomancy, space travel, Architect history, Kaajh’Kaalbh and his herald, and whatever kind of stuff the government bans people from knowing.

The Null Forge’s original purpose was not destruction, but perfection. It was used to refine divine objects, but can also return things to their primal essence. It was lost during an ancient cataclysm and some say that it could be sentient, is hiding from those who would misuse it, and may deny those trying to use it. It was on the Wastes of Aetherium within a massive obsidian mountain. A keystone of Aetherium is needed to access that plane through a planar gate. There is references of a society that protected the forge from misuse.

Leylines may be destabilized by overloading them with magical energy. Chaotic necromancy via a blightstone will poison a leyline, bloodmagic and sacrificial rites can effect them, and divine intervention can sever one. Such acts will be felt by arcane casters in the vicinity and elementals or fey may weaken, die or mutate. The Silent Wastes, which is now a desert, used to be lush and fertile before a mage collapsed a leyline. Leylines can be repaired with divine intervention, primal magic, or the original metals of creation.

The banned materials are mostly just information that is dangerous to the public, and there is nothing here about Kaajh’Kaalbh or the Silence in Heaven that is new to us.

The information here about the Architects is very different from what we have encountered before. They are said to be divine beings that were tasked by the gods to create mountains, rivers, and such. The Leyline nexus and arcane forges are hallmarks of their design. They created resonance stones, which amplify energy, and runic spires, which serve as protective beacons. They also created the Celestial Map, which is etched into the heavens and can be used to locate their significant creations.

We find some theories on chronomancy. The Spiral Continuum Theory suggests that there are anchor point events that can be altered to change history. The Temporal Weave Theory says that time is woven like a tapestry where each thread is a life, but altering too much will have grave consequences. Some of the documents on the subject are heavily redacted. A chrono-loom can stabilize anomalies. The Clockwork Lexicon, a tome about controlling time, was stolen centuries ago while on it’s way to this library.

Leyline convergences can act as portals to other celestial bodies. An old text, called the Veil of Stars, suggests that the constellations are glyphs left by an advanced race to help guide travelers through the cosmos. The Voidstone is a gem that can open gateways between worlds, and astral seals can stabilize travel through the void.

We meet with Olaf and he casts legend lore twice more. The Convergence Staff can be destroyed by performing a ritual with a shard of planar crystal, the essence of a dead archmarge, and threads from the fabric of space, or by casting time stop as you are using it’s arcane convergence ability. Legend lore works on Ty’s book, but Olaf gets no information. It’s not as if there isn’t information, but like it failed to get any of it. He just gets a feeling as if he’s being watched the whole time.

Back at the Winking Wyvern there is a message for Ty from Gloria Raithe—Bethany is unable to meet with us.

Mors,  Artis 27th, 1194

We do more research at the Obsidian Library.

Graynor has a meeting with a Gallant from his church about hiding an artifact. He will pass along the information to Valiant Sharpe.

Vita, Artis 28th, 1194

Valiant Sharpe messages that she will be willing to hold on to the Architect’s Codex.

November 16th, 2024

Mors, Artis 20th, 1194 (Continued)

Ty visits the Blackstone Monastery and finds information on Hoarse’s research on mythic monsters. She tells them there about her mythic ability and does some sparring to practice the style she’s developing.

Ralzer hits the library looking for history on our current situation or anything interesting. He finds something about a mysterious illness that came through about 180 years ago that was blamed on a cursed artifact.

Sigmund discovers some details about the government hierarchy and social order in the city along with the names of its districts. We secure lodgings at the Winking Wyvern and then head back to the Black Oak Barrel for our meeting.

Olaf listens to our plight and we give him details on some of our artifacts. He casts legend lore on the Rings of Cosmic Resonance and is able to find two ways to destroy them. One would involve a self sacrifice at a dimensional nexus and the other is unmaking it at the Null Forge, whatever that is. Over the next several days we will have him cast this spell on the rest of the items. We give him the rings to try and hide now.

Ty writes a letter to Bethany Swan trying to arrange a meeting:
“I would like the opportunity to meet with you regarding a sending that was delivered to me, from you on Tempus 30th. Your advice on that day did lead to the uncovering of vital information. I am staying at the Winking Wyvern in town.”

Vita, Artis 21st, 1194

Graynor visits his temple to see if he can learn more about Bethany Swan. He also asks about securing the artifacts that we have. A Valiant, their top tier priest, would have to be consulted on this and there is not one in town at the moment. He then spends time at the Gilded Griffon trying to learn what a good gift for Bethany would be as a sign of good faith. He learns that donating a week of volunteering in the community would help.

Sigmund spends time gaining the favor of a clerk in the citadel so that Ty’s message can get delivered quickly, and Ralzer works on upgrading his gun.

Ishtar visits the druid’s grove and looks for other druids that specialize in wild shape combat, like him, but finds no one close to his skill.

Ty tries to research the Null Forge at a library; the two libraries that might have the best knowledge do not offer public access—the Vault of Ages and the Obsidian Library. She is able to find some general information on it, spoken of like a myth. It’s made from the original metals of creation and is fueled by the Furnace of Origins, which burns with the essence of stars. It could be in a pocket dimension or a plane that has been forgotten. It has the power to unmake artifacts, but using it requires lifeforce and/or a gift of equal value.

We meet with Olaf in the evening and he casts legend lore twice more. The Aetherium Vial can be taken to the plane where it was created/harvested and perform a ritual to overfill and break it. It can also be destroyed if placed in an anti-magic field that crosses multiple planes at once. The Pillars of Celestial Insight can be destroyed by an immensely powerful celestial being, at least as powerful as a solar, by channeling divine energy into it. Olaf say’s it’s unclear how that is done though.

Upon returning to the inn, there is a letter waiting for Ty from the Citadel.

Mare, Artis 22nd, 1194

Ty delivers her response, then trains at the monastery. Ralzer begins research on a new spell.

Sigmund looks into gaining access to the special libraries. You need royal approval for the Vault of Ages, but a writ from a number of various sources should be enough for the Obsidian Library. He then goes to donate his time at the Home Foundation (Cassilda). He ends up getting sent to the same place that Graynor is helping out at.

We have our evening meeting with Olaf, who casts legend lore twice. To destroy the Orrery of Infinite Spheres we can use its’ dimensional shift and time twist abilities at the same time in a wild magic area or a chaotic planar anomaly. We could also attune it to a plane of pure stasis, where time does not flow. We can use the Architect’s Mirror to summon an alternate version of the user, or of the person who created it, and convince them to sacrifice themselves to destroy it. Olaf advises caution about destroying any of the artifacts that deal with time and space, as their backlash could have dangerous consequences.

November 2nd, 2024

Terra, Artis 16th, 1195 (Continued)

We discuss our next moves with Morgra and Ralzer returns the soul trapping dagger to her. According to Morgra we are still on the same plane, not a demiplane, and are still somewhere in the swamp that we were exploring.

This complex sounds like the one mentioned in the Architect history documents. Ty’s book is back to being completely in the Architect’s language and Sigmund takes a look at it. Ty’s theory about it being the Tome of Sharean seems to be correct. Sigmund focuses on details about mythic power theory and finds names of individuals known to possess it. It states that Kaajh’Kaalbh can grant mythic power, but it not the only source. Beings may have this spark, but no way to ignite it, so to speak.

We’re going to spend a few days waiting here to see if the Cabalis Nocturnum visits.

Forte, Artis 17th, 1194

We discuss our options for dealing with the artifacts. With each item that we pick up, the unveiling gets stronger; putting one back decreases the effect. We pick them all up and nothing extra triggers. Splitting up and moving in other directions does not decrease the effect. It seems that the act of us, mythic entities, picking them up creates the effect.

Ralzer makes a concoction of Eldritch Insight.

Bellum, Artis 18th, 1194

We are able to leave the complex without incident and stop by Rowan’s hole on the way back to Hallendren’s Deep.

In Hallendren’s Deep we sell some things. As soon as we arrive in the city, Sigmund suggests that Ishtar leave to find some flower that he thinks he saw back in Ironwald Downs that may, or may not, be around here. Godspeed, Ishtar.

The town is more bustling since we were here last (Artis 2nd). a new adventurer’s guild has reopened in town, the Wayfarer’s League. They used to be popular here when doing swamp exploration, but left about 80 years ago. they’re holding a big feast tonight and everyone’s invited. Bruce, the one in charge, was really determined to start it here and he arrived in town about a week ago. He’s from Harvest Glen, a fighter, and likes to hunt strange being and cook them.

Ishtar is successful in finding some of the correct flora.

We go attend the party; the feast is delicious and the town is happy. Bruce is very approachable. he came here to hunt the color out of space. Graynor talks to Bruce about set items and it turns out he has the gauntlets of might and will sell them to Graynor. He says that he heard the last piece is in a black dragon’s horde in Kundrukar. We heard of this dragon while exploring the dwarven ruins near the Gannet Mountains.

Later that evening, Sigmund will cast raise dead on the Cabalis wizard that assisted us. It works and his name is Theron. The Cabalis was originally here because of the rumor of Architect artifacts hidden in the compound in the area. He doesn’t suggest giving all of the artifacts to Sabrina and Olaf, as it might be too many.

We then discuss about whom we should hide these artifacts with:

• The Courts of Inequity (Sarama)
• The Temple of Salvation (Madri)
• The Inevitable Order (Nissa)
• The Parish of Everlasting Knowledge (Avarra)
• The Cabalis Nocturnum

the best course of action may be to destroy them, but we don’t know how. The Cabalis Nocturnum might be our best change to learn how.

Iustitia, Artis 19th, 1194

We prepare for our trip to Jasper. We want to meet with Olaf of the Cabalis and maybe Bethany Swan. Our first plan is to destroy the artifacts and consult the Cabalis in Jasper on how to do this. We start travel after Ishtar gets his magic item finished,

Mors, Artis 20th, 1194

We travel some more and then arrive at Jasper.

The first stop is the Black Oak Barrel for Olaf, but we’ll have to come back later this evening.

In the mean time, Sigmund will gather general information on the city with hopes of getting a lead to Bethany Swan. Ty visits the Blackstone Monastery.

Graynor checks out the local Temple of Salvation. He asks about the pillars and they’re hesitant to release information. After he mentions breaching two of them, they’re a bit more open, but still don’t have much to tell him. They’re a little surprised at how much he’s accomplished.

Ishtar is looking for either a druid grove or a temple of Namas. He finds the Assembly of the Four Corners (Namas) and asks about details from his year, 4719, and finds someone knowledgeable. There were nasty storms in the area during that time. Silverpine, his town, is a known small thorpe.

Ishtar asks about the strange storms. There is a little bit known; bad electrical storms and rumors about the dead rising. Ishtar didn’t see the dead rise though. The calendar reset in 6280, due to a governmental change. This change was also around the time of the Silence in Heaven.

Ishtar tells him a bit about his time travel situation and is given some references at other temples.

October 26th, 2024

Mare, Artis 15th, 1194 (Continued)

While searching, we hear a scream from the south and head that direction. We find Morgra choking someone to death; they are aging rapidly in her grasp. She mentions some of the wizards here are from the Cabalis Nocturnum and that they would not be an enemy should we encounter them. One of them reported seeing the Celestial Attendants’ High Magus with a mythic troll bodyguard. She gives us two potions to restore some mythic power and asks that we use a dagger that she loans us to kill their High Magus, to “make sure he’s dead” the dagger will bind his soul. She thinks he’s in the southwest.

We continue on towards the southwest and encounter another group of monks and spellcasters. After killing the monks, one of the spellcasters plane shifts the other one. He then identifies himself as one of the Cabalis Nocturnum. He tells us the rest of his order has retreated and gives us better directions to the High Magus.

Following the directions, we encounter the High Magus and his troll. He is holding a beaten, unconscious Morgra.

During the battle, the Cabalis wizard from earlier makes an appearance and slams a piece of broken metal into the group while incanting something in the Architect language. The only word that a few of us recognize is Stharras, an old dead god. Upon finishing, chains erupt from the plate and tether the room. The High Magus doesn’t look happy about this. After dropping both of them, Ralzer uses the dagger that Morgra loaned us to coup de grave the High Magus. The dagger gets warm afterwards.

Ishtar checks on Morgra—she has reduced strength from poison and is immobile. He also thinks that there is something affecting her mind, probably feeblemind. Sigmund finds a cache of hidden items in the room where we fought the High Magus. Touching any of them creates a strong unveiling sensation.

We begin to search the rest of the complex and find evidence of battles; blood, limbs, etc. Once we finish exploring the rest of the area, we go back to the High Magus’s chamber. Ralzer identifies several of the items we found here and they are all immensely powerful. Ty posits that the collection of these items is the beacon that we are looking for. We spend time reading some of the material that we found.

Terra, Artis 16th, 1194

Morgra is no longer paralyzed, but her mind still seems addled and distant. We spend more time searching interesting rooms, but find nothing of note. We once again try dislodging the floating stone, but it won’t budge.

On the body of the Cabalis wizard that assisted us we find a ciphered note, which seems to be orders on keeping watch, and some random, mundane trinkets.

Sigmund sends a message to Rowan and Mikhail, inquiring about contacting the Cabalis. Mikhail doesn’t know anyone in it, but informs us that a bunch of kobolds and a black dragon are there looking for us. Rowan doesn’t know anyone either, but suggests that we try the Magic Circle.

We know that Laern is in the Magic Circle, so Sigmund sends to him. His reply is, “They are in St. Serena, find Sabrina Jask at the Wild Boar. In Jasper, find Olaf Narsk at the Black Oak Barrel. Mention me.”

Sigmund then sends to the kobolds to see what they need. The response is, “Dragonfriend Sigmund! Bad things have happened! We need to call a council of the Empyrean! Human town is not helping!”

Ralzer brews a potion of Eldritch Restoration, a recipe he found in one of the books we researched, in a laboratory we found with ingredients the Celestial Attendants had on hand. He administers it to Morgra and she recovers.

October 12th, 2024

Mare, Artis 15th, 1194 (Continued)

We reenter the giant statue room and find it unoccupied. While walking down the next hallway we begin to feel an unveiling effect. At the end of the hallway is a large room with a gate. A single skum is here and he dies swiftly. During the brief combat he chanted something in a language we don’t understand and he stabbed himself.

Afterwards, in an enormous basin, the shul’thar’queth emerges. It retreats after only a few rounds, but not before giving Ty some affliction that is similar to an aboleth’s curse, turning her skin jelly-like. The large basin is actually a portal and we take it to a new, non-aquatic area.

In this area the unveiling effect is stronger and none of our magic functions; after walking about 300ft. down the entry hallway, the magic returns. The ceiling is decorated with a starry motif and the area seems to stay magically clean as well. One of the rooms has a lot of new runes carved onto the walls, this is probably the work of the shul’thar’queth.

As we explore deeper, the runes show up less and there is more Architect writing. Ty’s book is now completely in the Architect language. Farther in the writing disperses and more the motifs are of portals, gates, and water. There is a turquoise stone floating above a basin in a room. It’s pretty large, about the size of a person. Ishtar can tell it is covered in engravings that look like more of the Architect language; the script is so small that it’s probably not meant to be read. We attempt to dislodge is with no success.

While exploring, Sigmund gets a sending from Morgra letting us know she disabled the traps here and to let her know if we plan on resting in this area. We take a short rest with Morgra’s protection (miracle)—She makes a temporary demiplane for us to recuperate.

This used to be the main research facility for the Architects. Originally the they were not evil and more of a gathering of powerful spellcasters. Eventually, some off shoot members started to get into the evil stuff that we know them for.

During our exploration we encounter a group of monks and one wizard. The wizard manages to escape, via invisibility and maybe teleportation effects. There are lots of books and documents in here. We can’t spend the time to peruse them now and will have to return.

September 21st, 2024

Mors, Artis 13th, 1194 (Continued)

We make camp about 15 minutes from the shore. At night, a larger than normal marsh giant assaults us. It’s very powerful, has a form of regeneration, and he warns us to stay away from the temple. During the fight, everyone but Ty begins to hear a voice in their head asking if we want assistance. This being, Morgra, eventually shows up and convinces the giant to leave, stating that she’ll take care of us. She is a swamp hag and had been following the giant and used telepathy to talk to us. She tells us that the giant has a mythic spark and that his name is Gormungarth. He was sent by the temple to persuade us to leave and we can use fire to overcome his regeneration.

Morgra used to work with the Architects, but they no longer exist. Now she doesn’t want the outer god to show up, because she enjoys not being dead. She’s willing to help us, but to do so we must pretend to not know her and act like we haven’t seen her before when she assists us in the temple. She’s currently pretending to follow the Celestial Attendants’ dogma. She asks for one of Graynor’s spare holy symbols as proof that she dealt with us.

Morgra tells us there is a Shul’thar’queth working for them. It’s an ancient race of outsiders from the void; gargantuan aquatic creature with a breath weapon that causes confusion. He’s adept at runic magic, like symbol spells, and she will be deactivating these for us.

We transport via plants to Rowan’s and spend the rest of the night there.

Vita, Artis 14th, 1194

Ralzer notices that Rowan casts spells in an arcane-like manner that is not typical of a druid. When he asks about this, Rowan doesn’t give a straight answer—explains it is just how he’s always done it.

We spend the rest of the day healing.

Mare, Artis 15th, 1194

We head back to the temple. We must endeavor to get to the location where Morgra can assist us, as Ishtar points out, if the Celestial Attendants realize that we are not dead it may compromise Morgra.

We encounter an arcane tradition spellcaster merrow; his skin appears rotting.