Session 49

The Fallen City

After two days and two nights since departing from the lighthouse, the party finally arrived at Diremound, though it was hardly the city it used to be. The scratched placard at the gate barely showed its name, and most buildings in sight had been razed to the ground. It looked as if it had been left to the undead until voices were heard in the distance.

At the end of the street from the entrance, a few civilians were running eastward towards the Silverport harbor. Cynic halted one of them, telling the man that he was safe with them. The man explained that a ship was leaving for Avalon to evacuate them, and he left soon after.

The group contemplated whether to follow, but Aragir had different plans; His familiar had found his brothers heading towards the Sea Spires district near the center of the city, and that is where he would go. Loxen and the others promptly followed.

When they reached the center they came upon an encampment of mainly dragonborn, equipped with heavy armor in typical draconic style that was covered with spikes, and a section of mixed races that mainly seemed to belong to the Conquest Chamber as could be gleaned from their typical leather armor with the golden adornments and CC logo on the chest.

Aragir’s brothers could be spotted in the corner of the encampment, but before he could reach them the dragonborn stopped the Feathers at the entrance. When shown the queen’s medal, their leader, an exceptionally large and well-built, dark-scaled dragonborn himself, led him and Loxen to the center of the encampment for consultation.

He introduced himself as Yando, and explained that they were there to reinforce the city. Immediately impressed by Loxen’s presence, he pointed at the maps at the table and continued to explain to her his plans for the assault they had planned for the following morning at the harbor, expressing his honour should she help them in this mission.

Instead of following Aragir and Loxen, Cynic had decided to scout the perimeters of the encampment. On his way he came across several flyers of the Conquest Chamber, stating that their ship would evacuate citizens to Avalon and that the last one was leaving soon. In the distance he could see figures donned in black and red cloaks floating above the city, attacking the city below every time they descended from the sky. Near him he could spot a building in surprisingly pristine condition compared to the ruined buildings around it. The logo on the front seemed to indicate that it was the library.

He pondered for a moment, muttering to himself as he wondered why the Rattlers would raid a city like this. They were mercenaries now, the kind of seafarers that had a code. Perhaps he would have to call upon this code again when he’d see them.

Unbeknownst to Cynic, Damakos had been following him silently. Upon hearing about his connections with the Rattlers, she saw fit to confront him. She was eager to know more about what he knew of them. When had he had seen them last? Was his knowledge actual or outdated? Did he know about those she had met in her past? He tried to tell her that the Rattlers weren’t as bad as she might have thought, though this did not yet convince her.

After finally being released by Yando, Aragir proceeded to approach his siblings. Druindar still looked haggard after the trials he had been through in Diremound so far. Erevan was in the midst of treating the elder brother’s wounds when he spotted the wizard approaching them. Excited he jumped up, going straight for an embrace, but before he could finish his arrangements for merriment to celebrate the occasion, his superior stopped them.

An imposing tiefling stood before them, asking what their business was. He introduced himself as Centurion Taz Undertow, and the other that was seated with the brothers as Garret Portbell; a large human male in his mid thirties with green glowing eyes. When Aragir and Loxen revealed why they were sent here and what their plans were, the Centurion seemed amused, and mockingly pointed where they should be going. He made it clear that Diremound was beyond saving and that it was to be abandoned soon. This didn’t sit right with Loxen, who pressed that they should be helping them instead of giving up. Tensions rose when the party, now joined by Cynic and Soul, made their position clear towards the Centurion and Garret. When told about the cooperation between the Rattlers and the Skullmasters, Cynic suggested that they take one of the Rattlers into custody to learn more. Though Undertow thought it a waste of time; Anything of import was either destroyed or removed. The city’s mayor was likely killed or taken to Elkenveil further North. With some help, however, Loxen had eventually managed to convince the group to assist them for the time being.

They set out from the encampment, aiming to stop by the Books of Intrigue on their way to the harbor. The building was indeed as pristine as described, as it was well-protected by the archivist that was stationed inside.

They would find this archivist, a cloaked earth-genasi, sitting at the counter when they entered the building; His brown, earthy skin looked like it glittered from mineral dust, and was seemingly cracked where those of age would have wrinkles. His eyes were a vibrant orange, and his grey hair looked somewhat stringy as it was tied back.

He put his rocky, elderly hands together when he spotted the group and immediately noticed the symbols on Aragir’s attire. Introducing himself as Darius, he asked what they needed from the library, though when the wizard mentioned the journal of Elrune Leonelis he told them he could only give it to them if they were able to withstand the protective spell that he himself was unable to break.

Accepting this challenge, the Feathers were lead downstairs to a hall where the journal was set on a pedestal in the middle, surrounded by a heap of scrolls and other papers and books. Cynic attempted to grab it with his Mage Hand, though this set off the spell and summoned a Golem from this surrounding parchment.

The group quickly made ready for battle, attacking it until Aragir’s familiar was able to take the journal from its pedestal. Now that they were in possession of the journal, Soul saw no reason for them to keep fighting the monster. When Darius told them that it would keep on following them if they tried to leave, the group quickly decided that they could use it against their enemies at the harbor instead.

Chaotically but ultimately succesfully, the Feathers managed to escape the library. Aragir originally suggested they remove the seal from the journal’s binding with Loxen’s Dispell Magic, though Soul suggested that they could simply cut it off the small tome instead. Deciding that this would be the more cost-effective and straightforward solution, Aragir let her make short work of it and then sent his familiar off to the harbor with the now cut-off seal with it.

So far, it seemed to have worked; The Golem passed them and followed its objective to the harbor. With what little time they had, the group, along with the Conquest Chamber members, decided what they should do next.

Aragir took a moment to go through the journal. Initially looking for any other signs of magic, a letter that almost fell out of its pages caught his attention; It was Elrune’s, addressed to Alduin, and spoke of the recent discovery he had made. It mentioned a creature that was halfway in and out of this plane of existence, though some of the crew of his ship, Mistbreaker, were badly affected and acting erratically. In what may have been his last words towards Aragir’s mentor, he asked him to speak with Garr Hylthe as he would gather people to look into all of it.

What could these revelations mean? Had the Rattlers truly changed? And would the Feathers’ plan at the harbor succeed? Time would tell…

Sep 14th, 2024

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