Seattle Campaign 4.0: Fortune Favors the Lucky

5/30/10 Training Time, A Favor from Loxias, Travel to Grand Takare

--experience is awarded
--the adventurers spend the better part of a couple of weeks in Loxian resting, training, and preparing for their next quest
--Tirdim turns over the books of Aquellon the Waterwise (which were taken from the old mage's house from back in Middern) to Lord Mayor Loxias; of course, Tirdim garned what magics and formulae he could from the books
--Lord Mayor Loxias eventually calls upon the adventurers to help out an old friend; Loxias tells the group that a priest of Jule by the name of Ixix has called upon Loxias for a favor; Loxias asks the group to travel to Grand Takare; there they will participate in formal ceremonies of Raising with their respective Orders or Halls, and they will meet up with Ixix Jule
--the adventurers decide on travel by ship; Wren secures passage aboard a small river boat named The Shining Fox captained by a man named Lurick (using the group's rumored infamy as motivation for the captain) to take them from Loxias to the coastal town of Floodern; from Floodern, Wren finds a small, fast ship The Wing captained by an Irain woman named Aleta Forward; The Wing seems to be a smuggling runner but none of the party cares; the ship takes them around the Takaran peninsula stopping once at Corotal and once at Tresta and finally reaching Grand Takare in about 8 days
--the party disembarks and heads to The Star and Laurel Inn; the innkeep Aretina greets them and says that Lord Mayor Loxias has already made arrangements for their stay; The Star and Laurel has expanded to an adjacent building, where Aretina has created a more upscale, private section of rooms and common room called the Wayhaven; the adventurers are given modest suites in the Wayhaven.
--the group spends about a week in Grand Takare waiting to be contacted by Ixix; in the meantime, the priests and the mage attend formal ceremonies for the Medianhood
--the priests are promoted and ordained as median; they spend much of a day in prayer and meditation; the power of augury overwhelms them as each of their gods impart new powers and prayers upon them
--eventually, one evening, Ixix Jule pays a visit to the group as they are having eveningmeal; he is a tall, slender, aging man with silver gray hair and bright gray eyes; he wears a subdued motley shirt, of fine make, dark pants, and different colored boots; he carries a short, narrow staff capped in silver; Jule acts as though he were meeting old friends, fully of smiles and cheerful laughter; he prays to protect the table with privacy and reveals what he wishes the group to help him with; all the while, Ixix, to passing observers, seems to be speaking of nothing serious or secretive
--the adventurers realize, after seeing Ixix's holy symbol, that they are speaking to the Sovereign Priest of Jule (something Loxias failed to mention)
--Ixix explains that since the War of the Nightsage (some several hundred years ago) and since the Great Reprieve, the Powers of Night have gained in strength, visibility, and number; that in of itself is of no concern to a "true" Priest of Twilight for Luck has no investments save for the balance of Fate, the balance of the Pattern, and the balance between order and chaos
--he explains that the Order of Jule, though small in number, has been slowly corrupted by the Powers of Night; there are some priests who claim to serve Dark Jule, claim to use the damning, cursing, vindictive side of Luck; Ixix does not believe Luck to be good nor evil, rather shades of fortune and misfortune
--he has dedicated much of his current energies to trying to bring those of Dark Jule back into balance and now wishes the help of Loxias's heroes
--he tells them that he will send them to the coastal town of Tanton, in the north of Reeor on the Reeor-Feth border; there they will meet another priest of Jule, a major-level priest named Minka; Minka will take them to a sanctuary of Jule (a very rare thing indeed) called the Pillars of Luck, which is located in the foothills of the western end of the Great Spine Mountains
--the power of the Pillars allows only those seeking the guidance of Luck, those worthy to enter the sanctuary to find the Pillars; once one has visited the sanctuary, they can never visit again; Ixix Jule has been to the Pillars in the past and cannot return
--therefore, he wishes to send the adventurers; there they will earn the favor, the gift of the Pillars, which bestows upon a worthy supplicant a moment of extraordinary luck; this moment of fortune can be used to know the incredible, to do the impossible (e.g. to gain knowledge of something lost, forgotten, or yet unknown, to perform a single incredible act, to abjure a unbreakable curse); much like the power of a wish, the moment of fortune has the power to alter fate and chance itself and must be used with extreme care
--Ixix Jule wishes the party to go to the Pillars of Luck to: 1) discover the greatest threat posed by the Order of Dark Jule, 2) to open a curious locked box (which he gives them), and 3) to use the Luck of the Pillars to send them to where the greatest threat to Jule will rise; they will send him a message and he will meet them there; the remaining opportunities at the pillar can be used at their discretion; he will recompense those who give up their moments of fortune
--Ixix also warns them that no blood may be shed in violence in the sanctuary lest Luck take a turn for the worst
--the party agrees to help Ixix Jule; they prepare for the trip (purchasing more potions of healing); they meet Ixix the next morning and he blesses them each with a dark horse prayer as well as gives them each a Temple Coin of Jule (grants +10% to Luck%), which should mark them as worthy of the Pillars; Ixix then uses a magical bracelet (which expands into a portal) to send them to Tanton (alas they must leave their horses behind in the care of the Inn of the Star and Laurel)
--in Tanton, the party trusts luck to direct them to finding Minka Jule; they seek out a place for a drink, a dockworker's tavern called The Brass Cup; there they are given something very strong and something very murky to drink; they fortunately also discover that Minka Jule is in the establishment overseeing a dice game, making sure it is played fairly
--Minka introduces herself (there is some jesting about her name being Minka Radinka) as a Priest of Jule, adventurer extraordinaire, and rider of dragons; she says she will take them to the Pillars of Luck; the party must (once again) buy horses
--the party sets out the next day; the travel is uneventful (perhaps due to their luckiness); within two days, they reach the foothills of the Great Spine Mountains; Minka Jule leads them to the rise upon which the sanctuary is built; she too cannot enter the Pillars and remains behind to watch the horses
--the adventurers make their way up the small mountain, to the top, to a clearing overlooking the plains of Reeor; the remains of ancient stone pillars dot the top of the mountain
--the heroes of Loxias also discover that they are not alone atop the mountain; their adversaries (the minions of Abraxas Rul) are also at the Pillars, including Rissa Ittar, Joven Iirago, the assassin Lamm, and a group of mercenaries
--can the adventurers deal with Rissa and her company without shedding blood at the Pillars of Luck?

6/6/10 The Pillars of Luck

--the adventurers ask Rissa and her party about why they are there; they respond that they are looking for Loxias's heroes; among Rissa's party is a Feth mage by the name of Mhitai, whom the group has never met before; there is something very strange, very unnerving about Mhitai
--Rissa's party is there to claim the power of the Stone of Thanuran from them
--it does not seem that Rissa and the others can see the Pillars of Luck (for they are not marked by Luck)
--Riseif gets in Joven's face, words are exchanged, threats are leveled, as Riseif tries to get the evil party to draw first blood
--Mhitai casts a hate spell on Riseif, causing him to attack Joven; Joven is commanded by Mhitai to stand his ground
--as the battle erupts, the party loses sight of the Pillars of Luck (they no longer can see it either); an extremely bloody battle is waged on top of the mountain; eventually Rissa calls a retreat; Joven is killed (possibly) but Mhitai manages to claim his body
--Tirdim realizes that Mhitai's spellcasting reminds him of the demon Abraxal's powers; it is possible that Abraxal Rul is possessing Mhitai
--after licking their wounds, the party tries to figure out how to complete Ixix's task; with the help of Minka Jule, they decided to use their dark horses in order to once again 'see' the Pillars of Luck
--the party uses the power of the Pillars:
--Galen learns the True Name of Abraxal Rul (approximately spelled Abaraghashuxsl); the power of the pillars allows Galen to reverses the magic of Rissa's medallion (the party discovers that Rissa's group has been tracking them via Rissa's medallion, which they took from one of her dupes way back in Gilal, Takare) allowing him to clairsentiently hear Rissa and the others; Abraxal Rul realizes that he is being spied upon and says, "You wish to know my True Name? Then I will tell you..." (why the demon lord would reveal his True Name is uncertain...)
--Telisa uses the Pillars to open Ixix's strange box; open the box reveals nothing inside
--Riseif uses the Pillars to learn of the greatest threat to Jule; he receives a vision of a group of volcanic islands to the northwest of the Third Continent, deep in the open ocean
--Wren uses the Pillars to learn how to discover items of power to help their cause; she recieves a vision of the Tower of Tomasur Abrill and his Books (located on the First Continent)
--Lanthorn uses the Pillars to ask for a permanent augmentation to the party's abilities; this is achieved via Paw (Ixix's familiar), who brings the party six powerful potions (of Academy make) via the hoop of traveling; where Paw got the potions or how he got them is uncertain...
--finally, Tirdim uses the Pillars to ask for transport to the islands Risief saw
--the transportation comes in the form of Jullux, a True Dragon, the Dragon of Luck, who takes them to their destination (Minka is very happy)

6/27/10 The Islands of Aktoh, Bara, Coh, Dumit, Ehvi

--on the back of Jullux, the adventurers make it to the islands in several hours time
--as they approach, they see an archipelago of six islands: one large and five smaller ones; they decide to land on the smallest island
--within about a mile of the island, Jullux suddenly loses consciousness for a moment, regains it, and then simply collapses midair; he transforms into human form and the party falls out of the sky; luckily, they are not too far above the ocean; Galen's belt of safefall fails
--the group manage to get to shore safely, set up a small camp, and decide to explore the island
--Jullux is comatose and nothing seems to wake the dragon
--Galen tries to contact Ixix via his medal of message; the message does not seem to get carried on the wind; Tirdim surmises that something about the islands prevents certain air magics such as flight or message
--over the next several days, the party builds a makeshift raft and explores the island
--on the first island, they discover an extremely disheveled, old, paranoid man (seems Midali-Feth or Midali-Elar) dressed in tattered Elar clothes, with wild graying hair and beard; his name is Aktoh; Aktoh has a worn sovereign coin of Jule with heads on both sides; he flips the coin in order to make decisions; Tirdim discovers via thought reading that Aktoh asks the coin over and over "Can I go?" and the answer is always no; Aktoh also bears platinum bracers, like manacles, on his wrists; the bracers seem to be connected to the coin and are part of how he is being restrained on the island; Aktoh also seems to be naturally telekinetic; the party puts Aktoh to sleep (Tirdim rolls a natural 2 on ESS vs. ESS); they take his coin, mark one side as tails, and return it to him; eventually he flips tails and his bracers fall off of his wrists and Aktoh vanishes into thin air
--whether or not they should of freed Aktoh is undetermined...
--on the next islands, they also discover strange hermits, each of them look exactly like Aktoh but are named differently and doing different things
--on the second island is Bara, who is searching for a lost ring by digging holes on the beach
--on the third island is Coh, who is throwing games of five dice; he always throws five ones
--on the fourth island is Dumit, who is looking for something in a house full of hundreds of books
--on the fifth island is Ehvi, who is trapped in a cave protected by a clockwork golem made of platinum, who according to Ehvi, never loses
--all of the men seem to be engaged in activities of luck and all of them seem to be aspects, perhaps, of the same person
--the party eventually uses the raft to take a couple of people out to sea far enough away from the islands to be able to message Ixix and revive Jullux; Ixix provides what help he can but fears that he cannot go to the islands (something about the islands restrains the power of Luck); he asks them to continue to investigate but to not free any more men; Jullux says he will remain in the area
--on the final largest island, the party discovers a set of rough steps that lead up into the low volcanic mountains; they reach a plateau where a model of the six islands has been raised in stone; encased in the stone of the largest island is the same man, asleep, held in a block of glass or crystal; they see signs that cracks in the plateau floor radiate out from the first, smallest island and reach and touch the largest island, which has caused part of the encasing stone to crumble
--Tirdim tries to thought read the man in the glass block and finds him completely thoughtless; they realize that freeing all of the strange men would probably release whoever was in the glass; that all of the strange men are probably parts of the entombed man's consciousness divided and kept busy; but for what purpose?
--as they try to figure out what to do, they notice on the other side of the island, there is a small ship anchored off shore

7/5/10 The Wave Rose, Dark Jule Cometh

--the party sets out to find out as much as they can about the ship; using Riseif's spyglass, Wren recognizes the ship as The Wave Rose
--Wren is extremely uncomfortable about the arrival of the Wave Rose, but says that the ship should not be a threat per se; the ship is a "trade" ship
--the party tries to spy on the ship; a long boat is sent ashore from the ship
--Galen tries to sneak up to see who has arrived ashore; while trying to stealth his way down the beach, he triggers the retribution of the dark horse hanging over him; he trips, crashing into a nearby coconut tree causing several laden coconuts to strike him on the head knocking him unconscious
--luckily, Tirdim realizes Galen's plight because of the telepathic link he has with him; they assist Galen and get him back on his feet
--the adventurers discover that some twist of luck and fate has brought together people from some of the party's past including Captain Jacob Jill (who commands the Wave Rose and is somehow married to Wren), Vemed Roathe (priest of Occus, who Wren has been hunting), and Arasha D'rivian (a fire mage hunted by Riseif)
--the group from the ship is led by a priest of Dark Jule named Sindian and also includes a priestess of Ittar named Eddara
--they decide that Sindian Jule must be at the islands for some nefarious purpose connected to the strange presences bound to the islands
--the party ambushes Dark Jule and others; the battle is intense as they learn that tangling with a priest of Jule is extremely dangerous; they managed to kill all of Sindian's group save for Jule himself and the Captain
--Sindian Jule flees

7/18/10 & 8/1/10: The Return of Sindian Jule

--the party sets to dispose of the bodies of their foes, but since several of the adventurers are gravely wounded, they seek refuge on the ship; they manage to build a pyre and burn the body of the Priest of Occus Vemed Roathe
--upon returning to the beach the next day, they discover that the bodies of Eddara Ittar and Arasha D'rivian are missing; there is evidence that they have been revivified
--while the party ponders what to do, Sindian Jule releases the being named Dumit and then Coh
--the party decides to intervene at the island of Bara; they decide to look for the ring that Bara is searching for in order to get it before Sindian and to hide it permanently
--while searching the beach, they discover other magical rings (seeming decoys) of various properties
--Telisa augurs the location of Bara's ring and receives a message from Mannan Aia in the form of a small bird that has regained the power of flight; the bird discovers a ring in the branches of a tree
--the party gets into another combat with Sindian, Arasha, and Eddara (with Bara also causing trouble); Sindian tricks via illusion Bara into thinking that the party has his ring
--the party defeats Arasha and Eddara again but they suffer some mortal wounds; Sindian pins Telisa with a hold and threatens to instantly kill Telisa if the party does not let him and his companions go; the party decides to release three dark priests
--they hide the ring in a stone outside of Bara's house and return to the ship to recover

8/22/10 & 9/26/10: The Final Showdown, The Rise of Mallux

--(my memory of these last few sessions is a little fuzzy)
--the party is tricked by Sindian via insanity magics to reveal the location of the ring
--Bara is released and the party fights Dark Jule again; there is no easy victor; Sindian uses darker prayers and curses to thwart the party
--they contact Ixix, who believes that the presence on the island is Mallux, an elder true dragon of Luck; Mallux must have been trapped upon the islands by Jule and Dark Jule hopes to release him
--the party is left with two choices: stop Sindian Jule and try to assure that the last visage of Mallux is not released or to release Mallux themselves hoping to exact a boon from the freed dragon (binding him to not interfere in the Realm for a year and day giving Ixix and Jullux time to prepare)
--Ixix gives the party the blessing of dark horse again
--the adventurers regain their strength and decide to lay an ambush at the island of Ehvi, where the magical golem guards one of the presences of Mallux
--they decide they will use their dark horses in order to insure that Sindian cannot previal
--Wren calls upon Possos to shroud the island in a thick fog (so Sindian cannot see the golem and simply invoke something like malfunction upon it) that they can see through but not their enemies; Possos brings storm into the area
--when the battle is engaged, they are met by Sindian, Eddara, and Arasha (all flying)
--Lanthorn calls upon the dark horse to hold person Sindian; Galen goes up to Sindian in order to remove the relic of Jule that allows him to use his powers on the island
--Tirdim uses his dark horse to cancel Sindian's flight
--but once again, an illusion tricks the party: Sindian is actually Eddara disguised and Eddara is Sindian disguised
--Sindian moves up to the golem in order to end its magic; Riseif uses his dark horse to throw a dagger into the back of Sindian's head to kill him instantly (and because of the magic of karma is also killed instantly as well)
--Eddara is quickly dispatched (while held)
--Arasha moves in toward the golem and begins to cast spontaneously; Lanthorn interrupts him and the party realizes that the magics that are about to be loosed because of a spell gone awry will be devestating; Telisa uses her dark horse to instantly dispel the magic; the magic is turned against itself and Arasha is consumed by his own magic and is disintegrated
--some sort of magical rift is produced as a result of the dispellation/disintegration
--the party returns to the ship to rest
--in the middle of the night, Tirdim sense some magical disturbance coming from the island; the party returns to the island to discover the rift is growing and is attracted to sources of powerful magic (like the golem)
--Ixix is called in for help, who asks for Loxias's help as well
--eventually, the rift is contained; Ixix decides that it would be best if the party released Mallux to take the boon
--the party release Ehvi and head the main island where the crystal prison of Mallux is finally fully revealed; a simple speaking of the word "freedom" breaks the prison and Mallux wakes
--though weak, Mallux is still a threat but the party invokes the boon and asks for Mallux to not interfere in the Realm for a year and a day; Mallux abides by the old laws, the old ways and leaves
--the party is returned to Loxian for much needed rest and recovery

Seattle Campaign 1.2: "The Ring of Fi'an" (Burnbeard)

1/2/10

--experience is awarded
--the adventuring party leaves Gilal (after securing horses for everyone), crossing west across Takare, and head to Grand Takare, the Sovereign Capital of the Second Continent
--about a week or so later, they arrive in Grand Takare
--they seek out a reasonably nice inn settling on the Inn of the Star and Laurel; the innkeep Aretina (Takaran, sturdy though not fat, friendly in a stern sort of way, dark brown hair) welcomes them
--the party seeks out the help of the Temple District and the Academy Hall
--the Academy reveals a little bit more about the Ring on Tirdim's hand; it is a ring of Magic Talent, dedicated to Lor, and is of Elar make; it is an antique; it also has had other magics imprinted upon it, magics that prevent accurate identification; the "curse" that binds the ring does not seem to be a true or evil curse
--Wren sets about translating a journal of Burnbeard's they found in one of the magic boxes; the journal is about the ring
--eventually, the party heads to the Guild of the Eleventhed Star (particularly after Galen is snubbed by the Academy mage, who called him Tirdim's "manservant")
--at the Guild, they make a contact with a median mage named Magda(Takaran, short, sturdy, long light brown hair, friendly)
--Magda reveals that Burnbeard has left a message and a package for anyone that produces the Ring
--the package has a slip of paper that says, "Seek these hands."
--the package also has two items: a sealed glass phial containing a twig with small delicate leaves and tiny silvery-green berries suspended in clear liquid, and a piece of pottery that is an intricate bit of clay ropework, glazing, and firing
--"Seek these hands." means to find those who made these items
--they seek out an herbalist named Laryth Greenwealth, who knew Burnbeard; Laryth gives them a magical rootball; something small is magical inside the rootball
--they seek out a potter named Tomias Handworth, who also knew Burnbeard; Tomias gives them a sealed clay jar filled with some liquid; something small clunks around inside
--Telisa uses the magic of shape earth to open the ball revealing a second ring
--the clay jar has been enchanted to be nearly unbreakable; the party decide to throw it out of the highest inn window possible; the jar shatters and a gelatinous, slippery, extremely bouncy sphere of greasing is released; inside the ball is a third ring
--once the rings are gotten, they are identified; like the first ring, they have beneficial powers but also seem to be "cursed"
--Riseif wears the ring that grants strength
--a small disagreement breaks out in the party about the third ring, which hastens the wearer's reactions, but eventually the ring is worn by Galen
--Wren's translation of the journal reveals that the ring was given to Burnbeard by an Elar mage named Fi'an, who had visited Burnbeard many years ago; the mage and Burnbeard were fond of each other; the Elar mage passed away and bequeathed the ring to Burnbeard (an unusual act for an Elar mage and for a ring of such value); Burnbeard wanted the ring to be a source of curiosity and inspiration for adventure
--speaking the name "Fi'an" to the ring releases it from Tirdim's hand
--another illusory message is triggered saying, "To seek knowledge is the greatest of all curses. To know wisdom is the greatest of all cures."
--at the release of the ring's curse, a tiny shimmer of light seems to escape the ring and fly away through the walls and out of sight; the party surmises it might have been a message of some sort (but do not know to whom or what it said)

1/10/10

--the next morning, after the discovery of the ring's purpose and name, Aretina awakens the party very early saying a messenger was at the inn for them
--the messenger turns out to be brown-black owl, who turns into a druid named Brela (short, Takaran, weathered tanned skin, beakish, ill-mannered)
--Brela tells the party that she has a message to deliver (which was prearranged by Burnbeard just shortly before his death); she gives them a scroll case and leaves
--the scroll case contains another letter, a final letter from Burnbeard:

To my esteemed friends,

Many apologies — it seems that I have been needing to say that as of late — for resorting to such an impersonal medium to express my thanks, my amazement, and my respect for you all. (And apologies for asking so much of you, for asking you to humor the wooly and nettling wishes of an old, old man.) If I have learned anything in all of my years in this world it is that all life is a game and that some games are very serious. Praise be to Luck! However, I shall not wax philosophical. My time is short. And my plans, as they are wont to be, long in the making.

You have accomplished so much. And whether you are an old friend or a new acquaintance, something of you has charmed this old fool’s heart, and I see in you the very germs of myself at your age. I hope to grow those sometimes fickle, sometimes brilliant, sometimes adventurous bits of myself in you. And if you have come by this final letter then you have my utmost commendation and my utmost pride. There is one last thing I must beg of you.

Help me. Help this old man. Help this fool on an important errand. You have recovered the Ring of Fi’an. You have gained two other things, which I had hoped would be further adventures to the lands to the north and south. But as with all plans and some lives, they sometimes must be curtailed. So, you have the two rings: the Ring of Ogrummum and the Ring of Fleeting. The keys to their would-be curses are now yours as well. It was arrogant of me to think that I could trick you, I could teach you, and most of all, I could instill in you some great truth about the world. I relinquish that arrogance now. But I cling to the hope that you will continue reading and continue seeking.

But I get ahead of myself, as usual. My hope that the adventures I had laid out would provide for you the fortitude, the experience, and the resources to take you to even greater adventures and challenges. My hope was that you would be ready given time and wisdom gained. I hope you are ready now. I know you must be. I do trust in you, my friends.

What I have to reveal to you I cannot do so here. It would be too much, and it would be unsafe. There are many eyes and hands that would go to extraordinary lengths to discover my secrets, no matter how silly. But what I would tell you is that I ask you for one final favor. Two things. Enclosed is a coin. It is a clue. Another test, I am afraid. I sometimes laugh at my own presumptuousness. I beg your leave in this. The coin can only be used in Gilal. Also, please do not sigh, enclosed is a map. Yes, I test you again. But I cannot chance that those undeserving gain any of this. There is a place, there is a power that even now works to undo this letter, this knowledge. I cling to the memories as best as I can. But time works against me. This life is also being undone. Oh, my friends. But the map. Yes, the map will take you to the next part of this summons.

I have left you what I can and what I have been able to prepare. But there are not enough days. Not enough hours. But you are strong, young, resourceful, and more than capable. I have never had an apprentice — for too long anyway — who would study with a cantankerous hermit that prefers the company of plants and wilderness to the company of civilized people? — but I hope that you would find a small place in your heart for me. You are my adopted family, truly. And I hope I have been a good, albeit long-winded and at times boorish, uncle.

The light grows dim. And I wish I could explain more. But to the south is my last wish. I cannot forget it. It cannot be forgotten. The gods have blessed me and cursed me.

I thank you.

Lorhest Burnbeard

--along with the letter is a blank piece of thick paper, which the party guesses has the map secreted upon in; they try to reveal the map with normal means (heating the paper) to no avail; they decide to leave it till they get to Gilal
--also along with the letter is a Sovereign coin stamped with the symbol of Anurl, the God of Death; the coin is a ceremonial coin often used as a tithe or a proof or a message
--the adventurers decide they must head back to Gilal and discover what Burnbeard's big secret is
--on the road to Gilal, while camping in the wildernss, they are attacked in the middle of the night by would-be seekers of Burnbeard's secrets
--the attacking party had a greater darkling with them, two mages (one of them a necromancer)
--the adventurers (with difficulty and some comedy) defeat the attacking party; all are killed save for the necromancer who escapes
--Riseif is badly injured during the fight
--the party must tarry until Riseif is able to be magically healed and travel
--they return to Gilal, surprising Hyuster Moll
--they seek out the Priest of Anurl, who is the caretaker of Gilal's main cemetery; his name is Cobren (thin, sallow-skinned, quiet, dark-haired)
--Cobren Anurl tells them, after being presented with the coin, that Burnbeard made provisions for his death and burial; Burnbeard also left instructions to give anyone who produced the coin three scrolls of speak with dead and access to his mausoleum
--the party contemplates what questions could be asked of Burnbeard's spirit

1/17/10

--Galen has stupid disease
--the adventurers mull over what questions they might ask the spirit of Burnbeard; they must wait till nightfall before they can return to the graveyard and seek out the Priest of Anurl; the party discusses different possible questions
--meanwhile, they also try to tackle the problem of the map (or currently the empty piece of paper); Tirdim says the paper might be affected by illusion magics, which require the proper trigger to reveal
--Tirdim attempts a more detailed identification spell; he fails the first time; he gets it the second time and reveals that the paper has been affected by illusion magic (most likely some sort of invisibility) and strangely body magic
--the party decides that perhaps blood is needed either as ink or some sort of catalyst; Tirdim pricks his finger and tries a drop of blood, which reveals momentarily a little area of the map; eventually, Riseif volunteers to cut his hand and smear the paper with more blood
--the map is revealed showing an area of Takare, southern Takare, the Javelin Mountains; notes are marked where an arm of the mountain extends into the Takaran forest (called Jeweltooth's Arm); locations of two tribes of darklings also marked (the Morning Fire Fire clan and the Winter Ash clan); the names of "wise ones" for each clan are named include Togro (Winter Ash) and Obreth (Morning Fire Fire); some sort of valley is marked on the map; notes about seeking out the clans and finding a Stone
--the adventurers seek out Cobren Anurl, who opens the mausoleum of Burnbeard
--they use the three scrolls of speak with dead
--meanwhile, Wren, who is fearful of undead and superstitious about messing with the dead, stays at the gate of the graveyard and thinks someone might be lurking about, spying on the group
--first question: What did you want to tell us before you died?
--Burnbeard's spirit responds in fragments: something about a Valley, to the south, great power, forgetting what to say, very important, darklings can help, go find the Valley
--second question: What can you tell us about the stone?
--Burnbeard's spirit responds: the Stone is needed, the Stone will protect you, the Stone has been left for the party, it will keep back the darkness, it will offer some comfort, hopefully
--third question: ???
--the party discovers Burnbeard has a necklace on, a egg-shaped locket, which contains within it a sunstone
--the party packs for a long trip to the south, to find the darkling clans, to find the Valley; before they make it out of Gilal, Cobren tells them of an augury he has about their quest; he says that they will meet "Death and Undeath"
--the party makes it to Deshelen, Takare on the Jeweling River; they hear of some rumors of another party of adventurers who came and left the town just before them
--while in town, Telisa contacts the local druid, named Rathkin; she tells Rathkin Mannan Aia some of what they look for (e.g. the valley, undead, Burnbeard); Rathkin asks her to report to him as soon as she discovers anything
--on the road toward the mountains, during lunch, they catch someone magically spying upon them; they ride to catch the spy and discover it is the necromancer from the earlier brigand attack; the party attacks and the mage puts up a good fight; the mage tries to bargain his way out of the situation but the party refuses; sleep spells abound; in the end, the mage with his dying breath attempts spontaneous magic, which is interrupted by Riseif
--Riseif and Telisa and the dead mage are trapped in a magical sphere of force; Tirdim phases into the sphere but also gets trapped; Tirdim must depend on spontaneous magic to teleport each of them from the sphere
--the leave the magical "disaster" and hope it resolves itself
--they head to the mountains and are approached by a group of darklings from the Morning Fire Fire clan; they arrange to meet with Obreth, the wise one; Obreth looks older than she is; in a ritual, she shows the party what she knows about the Valley; something about the magic of the Valley causes forgetfulness and remembering the Valley causes rapid age; Obreth dies in order to show them where she thinks the Valley is
--they meet a young wise one named Arata, who takes Obreth's place; Arata takes them to meet the Winter Ash clan
--Togro, the Winter Ash wise one, also shows the party in a similar fashion what he knows of the Valley; he dies in passing on the information
--Arata will take the party to where she thinks the path into the mountains is; the party will have to go the rest of the way on their own