Episode 5 - Beyond the Crystal Cavern

Summary
The party find themselves away from a burning flagship in the middle of the sea. They are searching for a ship named the Pride of Nagaranda.

Rio thinks the mission went great! River and Arcturus agree it was a good mission as well. Ak'athla asks if anyone needs healing. River has some cuts and bruises, Arcturus had acid on his face from a rigged chest. Ak'athla takes some Intan and casts Heal Wounds on himself, in the mean time, Rio takes paper and smacks it across River and Arcturus' faces to bandage and heal them.

The current scenery is dark and it’s hard to tell the movement of the boats. Suddenly, there is a loud explosion and the party jumps into the water as a tidal wave pushes them 300 feet away from the other ships.

Mila asks if they should swim towards the docks, Arcturus agrees, saying they need to get to the Citadel. The heroes see a bright light of 3 boats parked at a dock with running lights. In the distance, what they think is Citadel are the tendrils of Kesamet the World Tree glow to the left.

Arcturus can’t exactly see the Pride of Nagaranda clearly, but he feels that there should be a boat in that position. He deduces it would have followed the same plan.

Ah'Beng and Ak'athla row the boat in a direction towards the Citadel and away from the blaze. Arcturus navigates and steers everyone towards the right bearing, heading towards the land, heading towards Citadel.

The burning flagship in the distance now burns less brightly either from being put out, or from burning all its consumables. The party find themselves moving towards the cliffs of Citadel as it looms over them. Waves slap the high cliffs in deep booms. The party have charts of the area from the flagship cabin, but they haven’t had the chance to review them. They eventually see a wide, long cove on their right, within which a small town and a huge set of steps and a ramp that lead up to that jagged fortress above. Rocks border the town as a sea wall. At anchor, are two lit ships, one of which appears to be the Pride of Nagaranda.

Arcturus isn’t pleased as he doesn't want to lift heavy crates up the ship. Ah'Beng pulls them alongside the ship so they can get help with all the items in the rowboat.

The captain of the Pride greets them and smiles “Well done! It’s perhaps more of a distraction than planned, but it worked very spectacularly”. The party are pulled on board the ship by deckhands. After drying themselves off, the ship eventually docks at the small town of Citadel.

River examines the wand Rio grabbed for her on the previous encounter with the Blood Empress flagship. She discovers it has three modes to it and gets the impression that the primary purpose of the wand is to work some kind of siege weaponry, like arcane cannons or other large mystical armaments. It appears to control the movement and firing of said mechanisms.

Ak'athla shares a pile of documents with his party and the Pride captain in and effort to see what else they can discover. Arcturus knows that some of the maps are of the straits around Citadel, as well as the Middle Darian Sea to the Northeast, and other Islands. There are more general maps, but the ones they have are of the immediate area. They appear to have maps of other cities or towns but the scales of the maps make it hard to determine. Some are small scale, of a particular place, some are of a large region, featuring many towns. One is of Damask, and one is of Port Somersby. There are no maps of Citadel.

Ak'athla finds he doesn’t appear to have any documents about local military activities or status, there are only maps.

Arcturus wants to examine some wands and bags of gold he grabbed from the flagship cabin. Ah'Beng wishes the gold is a bag of rocks as punishment for the chaos they caused. Arcturus finds he has about 400 gold from the 2 bags he grabbed, they are nicely minted gold pieces. One side has a picture of a female-presenting person holding a shield and spear with a creature as a pet; the other side has three or four different profiles. Arcturus gives River a wand that is the identical to hers but an opposite counterpart to the wand she has, as though its for right hand or left hand use. He gives her the simple wand which is an obsidian black, smooth, highly polished wand with a point. River knows it’s magical, but she needs to either attune or identify it some other way.

Mila goes to Ak'athla and asks how could they get to the World Tree. Ak'athla suggest they rest while they can before they make haste. Mila disagrees, saying the navy will notice the boat and spot them. Ak'athla agrees, and says they should gather their things and go on foot. Mila wants to know what they’re supposed to gather from the Tree. Arcturus thinks his face will tingle when they get to the Tree, and he’ll know what to grab. He proposes finding a place to rest in Citadel. Rio whines that he’s almost as bitchy as his sister, River if he is tired and sleepy, and he really wants a place to sleep. Mila and Ak'athla also agree.

The party gather their belongings and head to a tavern in Citadel. Arcturus distributes the gold evenly, Ah'Beng feels bad about it being blood money since it was previously owned by the Blood Company. Ak'athla unpacks his secret journal and hides it in his bed. Ah'Beng worries about the bodies floating in the water - their deaths plague his soul. It’s around 4am. It’s very dark, not even predawn.

It is the next morning. The party can’t see if the ship is still burning due to the headland blocking their view. They can see other ships moored, a few lights of the nearby town, a few guard towers in the sea wall to protect the docks. They approach a small contingent of guards by the gate, but they don’t feel any tingle on their marks from the Lady. the guard politely asks them to halt and identify themselves. The party don’t know much about Citadel. Ak'athla is not familiar with a polite greeting of the local area. Arcturus sees that the guards are wearing deep amber-orange cloaks with armor breastplate and leather with plated areas. The armor style is not something he’s seen before. It has a feeling of not fitting in somehow. The style and the cut and the weapons feel wrong somehow, as though they don’t match the world they’ve seen so far. It feels like a McDonalds plopped into the middle of some fabulous part of the world.

Ak'athla greets the guards, saying they were camped down the shore, but they saw an attack and fire and decided to come to the city for safety. The guard cautions that because of the blockade, they aren’t letting them them into the city without some token of fealty. Ah'Beng hands the guard his share of the gold, while the other 4 guards around him watch. The guard says “um ah I see, very well” and claps his hand twice.

As the guard claps, about 15 people with spears come out and threaten them. The guard says he doesn’t want to start a fight, but they just offered a guard of the Citadel a bribe with Darnise money, which is suspicious indeed. Ak'athla hastily protests that Ah'Beng is slow and is just a cook. The guard says they should go see a priest at 'The Zone of Truth' to determine if they are inept Darnise spies. River says that they’re not, they’re the ones who set the boat on fire. Arcturus agrees and says they’re just really inept adventurers. Mila asks if they don’t want to go into the city, will they not be attacked. The guard agrees that they will not be attacked, but they will have to leave. Ak'athla apologizes for their behavior, and uses his tail to shove Ah'Beng behind them.

Mila clarifies with the guard that the Darnise boats in the water are trying to stop aid from reaching this city. River asks if they could prove they disrupted the blockade to allow a boat through, would that be good enough to prove they are not spies. The guard agrees, and they gesture to the Pride of Nagaranda. The guard does allow the Pride as it has been here before and seems to have made it through the blockade, but they still did try to bribe him. Arcturus sighs and says “Just take us to the Zone of Truth then”.

The guard looks at them as though they might believe him, but he’s more than happy to push this issue up the chain of command. After about 5 mins of walking through the city they enter what appears to be a wooden building raised about 5 feet off the ground. The guard goes ahead of them and then beckons them in. The room is pleasant. There are some pools of light, a nice table with an elderly gentleman in an orange cloak with glasses, some decorations on the walls. The man asks them to explain who they are and why they are here. He promises to restrict his Zone of Truth questions to those pertaining to the security of Citadel.

Arcturus looks petulant that he hasn’t even been roughed up and he’s expected to tell the truth. He crosses his arms and curls his lips. Ah'Beng and Ak'athla agree to the examination. The old man accepts the two interviewees as sufficient for the security of the town. Ah'Beng explains they are here to visit the Tree at the bidding of their patron, they set the Blood Company flagship on fire and grabbed a bunch of coins and made it to the docks. Ak'athla says they’ve been employed to investigate around the World Tree for a rumor about a holy relic for his patron. He heard they hadn’t gotten aid due to the blockade, so they broke the blockade to bring aid to the town.

The older man asks who the patron is, Ak'athla says his patron is The Lady, which the old fellow says he should have known. The guard leans back and smiles. “Thank you, I’m convinced that you’ve come here in a most odd and yet reasonable manner. You are here on a mission from your patron which is partially aligned with this city, and you have brought us aid and caused trouble for that rabble out there”. He gives the gold pieces back, and tells them that the Gold Cloaks are known for their adherence to the truth, and if they see one in the city, they should leave them be, as they will be less gentle than the dock guard.

Ak'athla notes that they are looking for a place to rest, and they are directed to the Bloody Boarhound, or the lower part of the city with the Aging Goose. Surprisingly, the older guard even offers a guide to the tavern of their choice. As he holds out the gold, Ah'Beng doesn’t reach for it. Arcturus snatches it up, exclaiming it’s spoils of war, which the older guard agrees with.

Their junior guard guide leads them to the Aging Goose. He’s a very young half-elf man, about 19. He’s nervous and wary of them, but also curious about their obvious scars and battle wounds. Ak'athla tells the young lad “I’m surprised that they let such a great warrior as you guide us tonight”, which the youngster seems to believe. Mila touches his face and asks what he does at the Tree. The guard says “protecting the tree is our service and honor”. Mila is confused, because why would someone guard a tree. “Each of the World Trees need to join with this plane, sometimes it goes wrong, creating an Age of Strife.

The Golden Order was formed to ensure that another Blighting doesn’t happen again and that the Trees are nurtured and are able to come to safe contact with the Prime Material Plane”. Arcturus asks if there’s money in it, and the guide tells him that he gets a salary, and the safety of the people in a few hundred miles is ensured. Mila inquires about the blighting. An explanation about the Tree called Kisamet. The guide gestures to the slightly glowing roots dangling from the sky but it is not yet connected to the earth. The party presses him for more information about the blight and Kisamet, and the kid gets flustered. “If you’re really curious, you can ask a justiciar or even a priest of the Tree”, but he really doesn’t know a great deal more than he’s said. Ak'athla asks for the guide's name, he is Hariaka, but everyone calls him Hari. Ak'athla asks if they could impose on him after a rest to guide them to one of these justiciars or priests of the Tree. Hari thinks he could probably do that tomorrow.

The party heads through giant stone tunnels that make up the wall of the Citadel itself. They emerge into a large cavern, the south entry of the Lower City. There are houses and some lights. Hari says they should meet in this spot in about 9 hours so he can guide them to a priest. Goldrudder is the innkeeper at the Aging Goose, and is awoken by Hariaka to lodge these “impressive people who have done impressive stuff!”. Goldrudder tosses a small coin to the boy and Hari takes his leave, after staring somewhat adoringly at Mila and Ak'athla, who he seems incredibly dazzled by. Ak'athla bows deeply and wishes him a good evening. Hariaka rushes off, tripping over his sword, stumbling a bit, trying to look overly professional, and then double-times it out of the inn. Arcturus looks incredulous and asks Ak'athla (after Hari is gone) “some guide, do you think he can find his shoes?”.

The Aging Goose has granite walls, a nice wooden floor, a bar that is not currently open. An older man, about 45 years of age, is behind the bar, yawning and stretching. The party asks for 6 separate rooms for the night. Goldrudder explains that there are no private toilet facilities and they can settle their bill in the morning. He clutches his head in pain, and smells strongly of liquor. Ak'athla tosses him a gold coin, and Goldrudder says he’ll get them their change in the morning, and staggers off.

Mila pulls Ak'athla and Arcturus aside as they head upstairs. She has concerns that they came to find a piece of The Lady in the Tree, but the entire community guards the Tree. Ak'athla knows there’s a fragment of The Lady here in this area, either the city or the Tree, and he is trying to locate it before the mysterious Them who are after the fragment can get it. Mila is worried that they don’t know where to go or what to do, and Arcturus points out that they have compasses burned into them with The Lady’s mark. Ak'athla promises to meditate on it and try to get further clarity, and informs them that the last great awful event of their world happened around a World Tree, and he wouldn’t like to have that happen again.

World Trees are one of the sources of stability - when a World Tree lands in an area, an age of stability emerges as long as the World Tree blooms. It takes a long time to calm the preceding chaos, during which time the World Trees are weak. Ak'athla also knows stories about how gods themselves consider World Tress to be pathways used to project and shape their divine magic. The Trees have a group pantheon, and possession of a Tree by a group of gods allows the gods to project their power based on the percentage of Tree owned. In history a dark pantheon gained control of a tree and caused a blight upon their world, and the Orange Cloaks were formed in response. It’s not only a pathway for the gods, but it may also be a pathway home for our heroes. Ak'athla knows that it takes Time for a Tree to land safely, and Kisamet has been in the process of being born for 45 years, but he doesn’t share this with the Mila and Arcturus. Arcturus asks to sleep on the floor in Mila’s room, and she agrees.

Mila takes some time before sleep to clean off the blood on Arcturus’s face.

Rio spends some time repairing his marionette of River. River spends time with her spell book and investigating the Obsidian Wand. She attunes to the wand and realizes that the glass comes from a volcano formation and this turns into an effective device to capture lightning, and River has a Wand of Lightning Bolts.

At some point in the night, Rio wakes up in fear and runs to her brother, River’s room and knocks on her door twice and then barges in.

''“River this can’t happen again. If there’s another idiotic plan, we have to leave, you have a life to live. I can’t lose you. If I say it’s time to go, we go and leave these idiots. We can find another group and do this again, but I can’t lose you.”'' River puts her arms around him and comforts him as he breathes raggedly, trying not to show his fear.

''“River, I mean it, if it gets bad, we leave. Say it.”''

River says it, and Rio leaves, but not before lightly smacking her. River tosses a pillow at him in response.

Ak'athla sits cross legged on the bed, with his armor and undershirt removed so his mark of The Lady is exposed on his right rib cage. He places one hand on it, and with his index and middle finger resting on his forehead he says “I have followed you since the moment I woke up. When I clawed from my egg, you spoke to me, I sought you out. From you I learned much, but this isn’t how it’s supposed to happen. I’m grateful for the opportunity for adventure and for everything I’m given. I’m grateful for this body. I am lost, and afraid, and I don’t think anyone likes me. I don’t know what to do”.

The act of meditation calms some of his frustrations and he is in a clearer mind and calmer heart. The thoughts racing in his head become slower and more crisp. He hears the sound of tea being made and the rattle of cups, and hears a gentle voice.

''“Part of the problem is that what we have is a shit show. You’re right, this isn’t what was meant to happen, it’s not we prepared for, but it’s what we have. I appreciate you and I appreciate what you’re doing. The people you’re with, they’re not necessarily good people and they’re not necessarily wrong to be angry. But in this world we have a series of problems, and as you know I’m trying to get across a lot of them. I’m going to ask you to manage as best you can, and I’m going to send you as many signs as I can. Don’t be afraid to check in with Auntie Agatha now and again. I’ve been able to determine a little more about the face of our enemy”.''

The image of a red-faced, single eyed flayed skull with sharpened teeth appears in his mind.

''“This creature belongs to a sect that one of my other teams has determined is called The Deathless. They’re some kind of believers of escape from the wheel of life. They think that by staying here, they can evade their dharma. They stay far from Mine and my Brother’s gaze. I have one word: Zargon. Perhaps this is the one you seek, the one who is trying to harm the World Tree, and has the shard of my life."''

"As for people not liking you, you’re young kid, after a while you stop giving a fuck”.

Ak'athla brags about the party taking down a ship, and Agatha cheers him on “yeah I saw you, good job! You’re a badass”. Ak'athla smiles, exposing his Dragonborn teeth, and curls up and goes to sleep, content in his patron’s favor.

END OF SESSION

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