March 1st, 2025
Iustitia, Custodia 10th, 1194 (Continued)
We visit Tolm’s manor. Ishtar scouts it as a bird and spots human servants inside. We then discuss various plans: delivering the portrait as a ruse to gain entry, staking out the building to gain more info, and checking out possible sewer access.
Ishtar and Ty stake out the manor during the night. On Ty’s shift, Ishtar looks for sewer entrances as an earth elemental. There is no sewer, or other, entrances to the basement of the manor.
Mors Custodia 11th, 1194
Sigmund uses locate gate around the area of the manor, to detect any teleportation circles, but finds nothing. Ty gets a floor plan of the manor by going ethereal, finding nothing alarming.
Sigmund then gathers some information and confirms that the servants leave to pick up supplies rather than have them delivered. We settle on Sigmund and Graynor visiting the house and trying to get information by talking to a servant. They confirm that he left for Vallyn 4 days ago.
We then purchase the spellcasting services of teleportation from the Magic Circle to get to Vallyn. During the teleportation effect, Ralzer again feels like someone was probing his mind, albeit unsuccessfully.
We arrive in Vallyn. Ty goes to the Mysterium to watch the entrance while ready; it’s currently closed to the public. Sigmund and Graynor gather information on Tolm and both hear absolutely nothing. Ralzer checks out the magical markets and doesn’t find anything of note. Ishtar visits the local druid’s grove and hears rumors of a halcyon druid that went bad in the northern forests.
Sigmund casts commune to get some bearing on our situation; the answers take longer than normal to receive.
Is (a) Tolm in Vallyn? – No
Are there multi-Tolms? – Yes
Are they all working together? – No
Are there multi-Tolms on this plane? -Yes
Are they parallel versions from another dimension? – Yes
Is the Tolm that made the Gilarabrywn still alive? – Yes
Did Tolm sacrifice Ildan to make the Gilarabrywn? – Yes
Is the Magic Circle investigating Ralzer? – No
Is the Raven Queen holding the storms as bay? – Unclear
Is the Raven Queen real? – Yes
Is Avara Sigmund’s patron deity? – No
Is it possible for Ishtar to return to his original time? – Yes
Are the sky pillars related to Kaajh’Kaalbh? – Yes
We then go to the park to test of Ralzer casting dimension door will trigger that strange sensation of being watched. Ralzer comes back catatonic—he did not resist so that we can test in a controlled environment, per Ishtar’s advice. Meanwhile, Ralzer sees the starry sky shatter and a meteor drop from the sky into a desert, pulsating energy. He feels something off him great power, which he is willing to accept. Next, he’s on a precipice looking at a world he knows is his. There are some figures bowing in reverence, while others are fleeing. Then, another scene is a figure with burning eyes stating, “I was the first, you are the last.” He comes out of his catatonia about 10 minutes later.
He then casts dimension door again, to test. He is, again, catatonic. He receives more strange imagery, different from before. A voice asks him, “Which path do you walk and which path walks you?” Then, there is a river showing many different reflections of himself, a garden full of “breathing” flora, and a tree with a black staircase at it’s base. Finally, he has a sensation of being sculpted, like clay, by many hands and hears, “We have been sculpting you, and now you are nearly finished.” These visions have him more like an observer than a participant.
The testing indicates that arcane forms of teleportation trigger this effect. Transport via plants from Ishtar and plane shift from Ziggs, both divine teleportation effects, were safe. The teleportation circle from the Magic Circle and Ralzer’s own dimension door, both arcane, were not safe. We may want to tell Archmage Sandoval about this.
We discuss our plans and thoughts on the current events and Ishtar tries to scry on Tolm, which doesn’t work.
Vita, Custodia 12th, 1194
Ty and Ishtar visit the Mysterium, which is still closed. The guards direct them to Elder Thyrr. She confirms that Tolm was in town; he triggered the Myterium’s defenses and she thinks that he stole something. They keep dangerous magic items here, she thinks that he stole “The Keening Runes of the Architect Kings”. It’s a book bound in obsidian and contains blueprints for anchors to attract outer gods. There are still some people trapped inside by the defenses and she would appreciate it if we could rescue them.
Sigmund and Graynor gather more information. Rumor is that some thieves broke into the Mysterium and triggered the defenses. Now the guards are trying to keep something in rather than keep others out.