Session 14 - The Capital

01/05/5-10

The day began with the members, sleeping downstairs, being abruptly woken by the sound of a door slamming open. Walking in was a man in his 40-50s clad in full plate armour and carrying a sword and shield. He made his way to the bar and pulled out a piece of parchment from his bag, stabbing it into the nearby column, before turning around to reveal his grizzled face. As the man took his leave, people started reading the poster. As Otto read it he saw it depicted a one horned grey tiefling, he recognized as Blazh. The text below the image said:

"Blazh, criminal devil conjurer, extremely dangerous. Information leading to capture would be rewarded with up to 1000gp."

Otto headed outside to see if the knight had leaf and just managed to catch a glimpse of him mounting an enormous creature, that looked like a cross between a lion and an eagle - a Griffon. The man took off, flying to the north.

Soon, everyone made their way downstairs and Otto shared what had happened. The party discussed Blazh's escape and the possibility of Simona breaking him out with help. After breakfast, they resumed their travel, getting on the long bridge. On the way Sapphira asked Milivoj whether vampires could cross a bridge over water. Milivoj remarked that most of his knowledge of those comes from fairy tales, and was limited to knowing the sun hurts them. He did wonder why Sapphira asked and she explained it was because her home had many stories of vampires, so she wondered which ones were true. Valeyo then listed a few of the common tales of vampires and explained which ones are founded in truth.

The rest of the morning travel was largely uneventful. The bridge was still wet from last night and a couple of the sconces were broken, as if struck by lightning. Looking over the tranquil lake, it was eerie. Nearing the middle of the lake, the shores and bridge-ends too far to see, it was surreal, as if expanding forever. Gazing over the water, Milivoj saw a large shape almost break the surface. Soon after, it did finally crest over the water, revealing itself to be one of the large lizard creatures - the dinosaurs. A large bluish head, grabbing a fish in it's large jaws.

At around the midpoint of the bridge, other carts could be seen coming north. Many carts came and went, and eventually, the other end of the bridge could be seen. Near it, stood another large inn, called "Great Lake South", it's sign depicted a bridge over a body of water. THe group decided to enter for a rest. A tiefling woman was behind the bar and she welcomed the group to urging them to sit down. The party discussed the dinosaur, Valeyo wondering if this one was also part of a hunt, having come from a crack in the ground. Soon the tiefling woman was back with a jug of ale. The party booked 5 rooms, with Milivoj having a separate one. Shiek asked if storing the cargo in the room was possible and she said that as long as you can fit it was alright. The group talked about the engineer and his initial goal of creating a Telescope device. Shiek pointed out that he was more worried about the Unseelie, than about the ICM.

While the others headed to their rooms, Shiek remained in the tavern through the night. At one point a slender human human entered the establishment. The man wore long flowing green robes and had a rapier at his side. Shiek remembered going past the man on the bridge, as he had been heading north. The fact that he was back on the south side, made Shiek suspicious of the man and he kept a close eye one him. After having a look around, the man in green spoke to the barkeep and and headed upstairs to where the rooms were. Before he did, Shiek saw the tiefling woman hand him a key.

02/05/5-10

In the morning the people awoke in a very busy tavern, more travelers having arrived later in the day. Shiek shared his information about the man in green and chose to keep an eye out for him throughout the day. The group then set off, with Valeyo taking charge of the cart. A few hours into the travel, Shiek noticed the man had hitched a ride with another caravan heading south. He pointed him out and warned the rest of the party. What followed was a rather uneventful day of travel.

Eventually it was time to camp and Cassini setup his telescope. It was new moon, making the sky clear as it can be, perfect for stargazing. He noticed something peculiar - when using his glasses, some of the starts looked a little different. Cassini then rustled through his briefcase and after confirming nobody was around, pulled out a second telescope, different to the one he had shown the others. He set it up, using a different lens - the ones from his glasses. The stars seemed to possess a weird aura, one that is not normally visible. A faded glow surrounded them, similar to the one that could be seen when detecting magic. Cassini started looking closer an noticed and aura, one without a star. He soon realizing that is where the moon would be. Suddenly, in his mind he heard a voice.

Around the fire, the others could see Cassini looking through his telescope, before suddenly stopping. Three pale ghostly apparitions began appearing around Cassini. They looked like people, but with an undead quality to them. Milivoj sprang into action, attacking one of them them, but his attack was rather ineffective against their spectral forms. Cassini looked at the ghosts, noticing they all bore a symbol on a talisman around their necks, one similar to that of Sehanine, but slightly different. In the midst of combat all of ghosts looked at Cassini and called out in unison "Not worthy!", before attacking him, knocking him out. As Otto defeated one of the ghosts, it screamed out "Arvandor". When Cassini was brought to consciousness, he could still see auras surrounding the starts and could almost make connections between them. Suddenly Cassini erupted in radiant energy, a red moonlit glow surrounded him, with dots akin so stars floating around him. On his back emblazoned in red starlight, were a number of dots connected to form the sign of the archer. His let loose an arrow of starlight, swiftly defeating one of the ghosts, before being assaulted by the other, once more screaming "You are not worthy. When the final one was put to rest, it once more screamed "Arvandor".

With combat over, everyone began questioning Cassini, who was saying he didn't know anything about this. They pointed out the second telescope and that it could be cursed. Valeyo asked about the connection between the second telescope and the lens in his glasses. Seeing that he wouldn't get out of this without and explanation, Cassini began relaying his story.

In the ruins of an old temple, along the river Grum, he had found an old abandoned temple. He didn't know who it was dedicated to, but decided to explore the old ruin. There he had stumbled across a sealed chamber, inside of which he had found the telescope. After he looked through it everything changed, he passed out and over the following days he began exhibiting magical powers. Afterwards he had met a druid who gave some basic guidance as to how to use his powers. He explained that he is still quite new to this, which is why he had a rather lackluster control over his abilities.

Valeyo asked to see these lenses and could tell that they were a dark purple natural crystal, containing a starscape inside. They had next to no magnification, more of a filter. Cassini said he had spoken with a druid, but this wasn't something he could help with. He then proceeded to turn off this new form of his, now able to somewhat control it. With that everyone went to bed. In his dream, Cassini head a faint directionless voice say "I see you now!".

03/05/5-10-08/05/5-10

What followed were 6 days of quiet travel.

09/05/5-10

On this day, the party finally reached Dragomir. The city was large, with the railway coming along the east and the Grand Palace in the river. Built on a floodplane, it was a large city made of stone and wood. Entering through the east gate, the party came across a residential district. A tower could be seen, standing second only to the palace - the library of the Conclave of Arcanists. The party wondered where to go and Valeyo suggested finding the Temorans, by asking around. They decided to start at a Temple and Tavern nearby, just north of the east gate. The approached the temple, dedicated to Pelor and Erathis. It was a quiet building, with only some clerics around. A human woman stood nearby, wearing a yellow pearl around her neck. When the group inquired about the Temorans, the woman explained that they don't have a temple, instead hanging around in parks or by the riverside, often along Dragonmir's path, near the Fort. Shiek asked if they are a real religion and the priestess said they are like a cult. Valeyo was quick to ask what the difference is, to which the woman took offence. She remarked that they can't be a religion as they didn't even have a temple, to which Valeyo said that this would make the only difference between religion and cults wealth. After some more back and forth, the party took their leave.

Before continuing into the town, Milivoj took the time to take off any clothes bearing symbols of his clan, option to travel more incognito. He told the others that his mother's family had an estate within the city, as this is where they are from. His father had one not far from here, but it is more of a token one. Shiek asked if they could expect support, but Milivoj said that his father's influence here is low. His mother was is a Dragomir noble and many of them think those of the provinces are "less so". His status as a wandering knight may be more useful than that as a Yuzhen scion. Shiek was worried about attracting attention, but Valeyo and Milivoj let him know that he would be fine, even suggesting he got a mask similar to that of the Face.

The party made their way through one of the affluent neighborhoods. Shiek remarked that this is the type of place Valeyo would like to be, where those with power live. Valeyo retorted saying that few of those here possess true powers, most are simply born into wealth, but hold little power to control what happens. He then pointed at the palace with his cane, saying that that is where those who hold the reigns of power live. The party noticed that there was a heavy Sila, in neighborhood, even more so over the bridge near the palace. Reaching the end of the bridge, the Fort was across from them.

It's large shadow, loomed over a park, on the far side of which was a tavern called "Dragomir's Heart". From the patrons outside, it appeared to be the guards and soldiers' drinking establishment. In one of the corners of the park were people satting down, in front of a stage. There, a tall, slender woman with jet black hair was preaching. Guards looked down at them from the fort walls and the tavern. The party started walking towards her.