16th of Flamerule of the year 1492
With the afternoon coming to an end, the party left the inn since they had not rented rooms again and started to go outside of Womford. About half an hour in their trip they were able to spot the ever-present hippogriff riders circle around them and then fly off to the north. They used this opportunity to move forward a bit faster and then off the road to hide in a small grove of trees. Once hidden, they completed their planning of the clandestine invasion of Warehouse #3. Dancer was able to decipher the note from Whisper and he and Fwoosh planned to meet her at midnight as instructed. The rest would wait a couple of hours for the two sneaky members of the team to go back on top of the roof of Warehouse #3 and remove a large enough area of traps for the cumbersome members to be able to be transported to the roof without setting off the alarm.
17th of Flamerule of the year 1492
Leaving the group early enough to get to the Temple of Chauntea and Valkur by midnight. ISAC sent Kieren to follow them invisibly. The temple, while bright and cheery during the day, at night it turned into something slightly frightening. The lights all extinguished and shadows playing over all the walls, and the two statues of Chauntea and Valkur had changed considerably looking like they were looming into the space malevolently. The generous expressions had vanished in the shadows of the temple. In the middle of the temple Whisper sat in a shadowy throne. Her eyes glowing slightly in the darkness. As Dancer and Fwoosh approached, she lifted her hand and pointed.
Whisper Autumn
“What is that?”
Oh, that’s um… So, we didn’t lose him in the woods, that’s good. That means we did not lose one of our spotters for our party. He’s with us.”
“He needs to look elsewhere.”
“Can he just wait here?”
“Outside the temple.”
“Kieren, you need to wait in the graveyard.”
“I don’t want to see you moving. I don’t want to see you at all.”
“So how do you spot him? I’ve never been able to spot him.”
“Sometimes hiding in the dark isn’t. You have a choice. Whatever his name is. Leave, or I’ll push him out.”
With Kieren having left, she led them to the statue of Valkur. She operated a hidden mechanism which caused the statue to slide aside revealing a dark staircase leading downward. She warned the two of them not to touch anything if they valued their lives. Down they went and ended up in a room without exits. There she went to the northwest corner and cone again operated a mechanism which opened up the wall leading down a short corridor and finally to an opulent room decorated with rare woods and gilding. The room was dominated by two large bookcases on the east and west walls. There were numerous large heavily built chests. She directed them to sit, and she also sat at the head of the large red oak table. On the opposite wall was an intricate and Masterworked painting of a jester making mischief on some sort of powerful being. When Fwoosh looked closely, he realized that it was the same figure that represented the Fool in his deck of cards.
The two negotiated for some poison, both gas and of the injury type as well as smoke bombs. After laying out the thousands of golds she opened up two of the chests and handed over the requested merchandise.
“Feston Bargewright has deeper ties than you think; his allegiance isn’t just to his town. There are whispers of a binding oath with the Fire Cult.”
“The Crushing Wave has operatives planted in Womford. They use the river to communicate, and transport forbidden relics.”
“Look for the sign of the Twisted Dagger on buildings. It marks those who have been swayed by promises of power.”
As she looked at the two, she made an offer to them since they had included a 100gp offering to her god Mask. Dancer was not one to seek more and only Fwoosh followed her to another chamber. She explained a little about Mask to Fwoosh who seemed to be enamored and excited about the god. Mask, the god of shadows, thieves, assassins, and intrigue. One who plays pranks on the other gods themselves, yet somehow always manages to escape their clutches. The new chamber was huge, with 30-foot ceilings and a statue at the end of the room that stretch the majority the distance between floor and the intricately carved ceiling. The room while lit seemed to be the domain of shadows as they moved and danced around the room revealing and hiding everything within. Almost immediately in front of the entrance, there was a magnificent table that was at least ten feet wide and 15 feet long. At the table were eight masked people, their gender undetermined. They were feasting and drinking while murmuring to each other. They were openly and secretly poisoning each other’s dishes and drinks that seemed to have no effect.
Whisper gestured to the east and west walls where there were two sets of images and cravings on each wall. She told Fwoosh to pick one and see if he would be lucky or smart enough to collect a boon from it. Fwoosh chose one on the west wall.
“As you step up to the intricate carving of Mask and Lathander, you notice Mask depicted with a dark cloak, enveloping the rising sun, symbolizing the theft of the dawn’s first light. The artistry captures the essence of Mask’s deception and Lathander’s radiant morning light.
The detailed craftsmanship draws your attention to Mask’s cloak, which seems almost tangible in its depiction. The carving of the sun is slightly recessed, creating an impression of depth and shadow. You sense that this imagery holds a clue to unlocking a secret within the carving.
As you examine the cloak and the sun more closely, you notice a faint suggestion of movement in the way the shadows play across the stone.”
After a couple of false starts, Fwoosh took his pillow and covered the exposed sun as his answer. The sun flared up destroying the pillow, but also giving him a boon from Mask at the same time. Taking his boon, he was escorted back into the room with Dancer, and back out of the temple. Their meeting was completed, and now it was time for them to get busy with their breaking and entering. They were both able to sneak up to the top of the roof on Warehouse #3 without too much difficulty. With Dancer pointing out the traps, Fwoosh worked to clear a space large enough to hold the majority of the party. With a couple hours effort, they were successful. Signaling Kieren to go back and let the rest know that they needed to ascend to the roof of the adjacent warehouse and get ready for transporting across. Scaling the ladder to the roof on the warehouse next door proved to be fairly simple until Angelica attempted to make her run. Her armor jingled and jangled loud enough to alert the wary guards at Warehouse #3 causing them to run toward her. A quick silent spell from Yllanys allowed Angelica to climb the ladder without any additional noise. The guards search around for anything that might have made that noise but found nothing and went back to their normal posts, more alert and ready for action.
With a variety of magic, the party was teleported across to the pirate’s warehouse, with ISAC and Ace teleporting directly inside after the hatch was opened. The inside was dark and if not for all the goggles of the night the group had, it would have been difficult. Dancer moved to the two visible doors to listen hoping to find the remaining guards asleep behind one of them, but it was to no avail. Either the doors were too thick, or the excitement prevented him from being able to hear anything. Near the area where they came down was a stack of heavily reinforced chests. When Fwoosh attempted to open on, the chest lit up with runes covering it. ISAC was able to determine that there must be some form of magical lock on the chests. Vladimir was insistent that they take them at some point since they had heard that the cultists had been transporting relics and other items. Inside the warehouse was also a well-made and ornate wagon. Leaving it to be investigated later, the group moved to the northern side of the warehouse where Kieren had found another door.
Behind this door was a stone staircase leading down. The smell of the ocean was strong and seemed to be coming from the area down below. Sneaking down they came to an open hall with several sets of doors. Fwoosh heard some murmuring of voices from the south door. Unlocking it and heading south another door blocked their way, but this one they were not able to unlock. Not wanting to take chances, they backed out, had Yllanys cast another silence spell and Dancer spiked the door shut in the silence. The next door they opened to the east proved to be another staircase downward. Leaving the other set of doors ignored on this level, they continued to head down.
This new area smelled even stronger of sea water. There was a cold mist that filled the air, making it difficult to see very far. Heading out they came to a room with a huge summoning circle. ISAC was able to determine that it was closely tied to the Elemental Plane of Water, and any summoning here would be at advantage. To their east was a hall and when investigate proved to be a series of chambers, each one with a imprisoning circle, of which several held water elementals and water mephits. The water creatures struggled against the barriers when the party walked by, but none of them were able to escape.
North of the summoning room was some sort of strategic war room. The walls were covered with diagrams, maps, and other pieces of interesting information. Many of the annotated maps were in some sort of cypher, or language that none of them recognized. Grabbing what papers and maps they could, it was all shoved into Vladimir’s backpack. To the east of this room was a long corridor which finally led to a pool of water that did not cast any reflections when anyone looked into it. Taking a chance on what it might be, Vladimir dipped the tip of his Broken Sword of Possibilities, which proved to be either correct or maybe not. He was immediately thrown into a vision.
In the deep beyond where the oceans end,
A gateway shimmers, an ethereal rend.
Beyond its veil, where no mortal treads,
Lies the boundless realm where the water spreads.
Behold the Plane, where the currents sway,
In a liquid sky of endless day.
A realm of depths, both dark and bright,
Where the seas are alive with their own soft light.
The waters pulse with a sapphire hue,
In waves of azure and emerald too.
Mountains of coral, towering and grand,
Guarding treasures lost in this endless land.
Glimpse the leviathans, ancient and wise,
Their scales like mirrors, reflecting the skies.
They glide through the waters, silent and still,
As if time itself bends to their will.
The kelp forests whisper, their voices low,
Tales of the currents that eternally flow.
And the shoals of silver, like stars in the night,
Dance in patterns of shimmering light.
From the depths, the krakens rise,
With tentacles reaching toward the skies.
Their eyes like lanterns, glowing bright,
In this deep, unfathomable night.
But in this realm of fluid grace,
There’s no horizon, no fixed place.
Just endless water, cold and vast,
A vision of eternity, both present and past.
Here, the ocean’s heart beats strong,
In rhythms ancient, a primal song.
A hymn to the depths, to the ceaseless tide,
In the Plane of Water, where secrets reside.
So gaze, oh mortal, and be awed,
By the wonders that the deep has stored.
For in this plane, where waters reign,
Lies the mystery of life’s endless chain.
Realizing that the pool was some sort of scrying pool, Dancer was insistent that they somehow damage it to prevent the cultists from using it against them. He kept coming back to mayonnaise that Ace’s magic jug could produce, and while arguing the details of mayonnaise, ISAC cast a dispel magic. Whatever powered the pool was much more powerful than ISAC’s magic and the backlash effected the whole party as ice filled the walls, floors, and ceilings causing damage to all of them. Deciding that this might be too much for them, they moved north from the war room which was a humongous cavern with a waterfall that started above their heads and fell at least 100 feet downward. Looking at it, Yllanys and ISAC using their arcane knowledge thought that this might be a place where the barrier between planes was thin. That it would not take much to breach the planar wall and reach the Elemental Plane of Water from here. While the two discussed the more arcane topics of this, Vladimir walked to the edge of the cliff, took a brief look down, and pulled out the golden statue.
All the cold mist that had been swirling in all the rooms of this floor suddenly started moving to the statue, as if there was a vacuum that only affected the mist. Within a few seconds the mist was gone, and the feeling of otherworldliness was gone. The statue had once again locked a potential portal to somewhere. With nothing else, the party started to head back to the stairs and when in the war room, they noticed that the previous glowing summoning circle was now dim, as if someone had turned off the lights in it. Continuing to move forward they approached that room, and it was then that they also found out that when the magical power was locked, all the circles were shut off, including all the ones holding the water elementals who were now waiting for them in the summoning ready to attack.
And this is where the session ended.
