Loquista Session 3 - “Brightest Candle, Longest Shadow.”

Session Recap – “Brightest Candle, Longest Shadow.”



Characters:
Vaina Moyen, Orcish mercenary.
Kavorous, Tiefling cloak-and-dagger man.
Noone, Gnome Revolutionary.
Aruk, Goliath Crusader.
Callie, Halfing Ranger and irresponsible pet-owner.
Rear Admiral Durlin, Gnomish Wizard and Pirate-King.
Eoighan, Dwarven Druid and Order fanatic.

At the start of this session, the players announced their intention to accept Lomorit’ offer to assassinate Radoslig, the corrupt, boorish Chancellor of Loquista. Lomorit had dangled a cache of magical weapons as renumeration, and there was the chance of destabilising the regime by assassinating a key figure.

Using the intimate knowledge of the city’s waterways supplied by Lomorit, the Heroes of North Corner covertly entered Radoslig’s pile through the sewers, quickly emerging into the grandiose dining hall that Radoslig’s corruption had won him. All around the players sensed a powerful aura of magic, especially in the darkness above them. Pawing through Radoslig’s silent house with the benefit of Pass Without Trace, they came across some minor treasures: an extravagant cape-and-tabard named The Sovereign’s Raiment and a magical dress-dagger. Hearing the moaning of a female figure, they further devlved into Radoslig’s Kunstkammer. There, they uncovered a living mosaic who strove to communicate with the party wordlessly, tempting them to walk across her surface despite the gaping mouth and nebulous intent. The party decided discretion was the greater part of valour, despite Noone’s attempts to use illusion magic to lure Kavorous into the Mosaic Mistress’ maw. Frustrated with his comrades’ inability to focus, Vaina surged upstairs, eager to slay Radoslig in his bed. The party followed suit.

On the upper floor were yet more baubles purchased by Radoslig in his long years of excess: suspended from the ceiling of the Grand Hall below was the enormous skeleton of a dragon, radiating a powerful aura of magic; covered in brass and clockwork. Understandably wary, the Heroes of North Corner continued their search for Radoslig’s bed, coming across an enchanted mirror that allowed a practioner of magick to contact another plane. Aruk, feeling this was a sign from his Patron and eager to light a candle in this darkest of places, contacted the Positive Energy plane.

An incandescence like the sun itself issued forth from the Mirror, and all the players were blinded. Fumbling in a pearl-white haze of purest Positive Energy, they heard the roar of a dragon and the whirring of titanic clockwork. It had awakened.

As the light dimmed, the players marshalled their resources to defy the dragon, which breathed burning steam and struck with jaws of bone and bronze, clawing its way through the home to devour the intruders. Vaina, mind ever set on the mission, strode into the bedroom, axe in hand, and saw Radoslig lying in bed with a quadruple amputee. With his honed reflexes, he brought the axe down on Chancellor and bedmate both, belonging only to his rage and his singular purpose. There could be no witnesses. Meanwhile, the Heroes of North Corner weathered the might of the clockwork dragon as guards streamed up the stairs. Masterful use of magic kept the guards at bay with Callie’s arrows slaying many. Eoighan cast Speak with Dead on the mechanical monstrosity: all then bore witness to its scream, with the force of a hurricane: W H A T    H A V E    Y O U    D O N E    T O   M E
Eoighan desperately tried to talk down the dragon’s spirit despite its roars of defiance and its rending of the mansion, but soon ascertained that the spirit was no longer guiding the bone: artifice, not animus, ruled this horror.

One by one, they fled. Vaina leapt from the window, impaling himself in the fence in his escape attempt, carrying with him the head or Radoslig. Kavorous polymorphed into a hawk and whisked the head away into the saturnine night for reasons unknown. Callie and Noone fled through the crowd, seeing a growing assembly of Loquistan soldiers, guards and marines assembling outside this glowing house as the skeletal dragon bellowed its fury across the night. Eoighan in the guise of a mouse, stole across the city to the docks. Across the city, Loquistans quaked in their beds at the scream and roars and strange lights.

In Radoslig’s  crumbling mansion, Aruk returned a bellow of pure defiance, trading blow-for-blow in the luminosity that poured forth from the Mirror. Durlin unloaded an inferno on bronze-scales and gears and smouldering bone to be found wanting; Aruk’s mighty hews glanced from unfeeling metal and long-dead bone.  Durlin fled first – skittish and spider-like he danced across the rooftops without a backwards glance.

Aruk stood alone before all the might of artifice and the arcane, arms shaking as he held his sword aloft. Aruk stood alone.

He traded blow for blow – steam reddening his skin, claws rending his flesh, spraying scarlet life-blood on the pure-white light that still poured forth from the window. He fell once, and rose again: a gift from his glimmering patron. Still, the engine and gears turned, willing dead bone against Aruk, who fell back to the mirror. At the last moment, facing thankless death crushed by insensate jaws, he swan-dived through the mirror, utterly serene, into the Positive Energy Plane.

The Clockwork Dragon screamed defiance that shook windows and pierced ear-drums, and smashed the mirror to a thousand pieces.

Days later, our players regroup at the Broken Fang Inn and compare scars. The Loquistan army had vanquished the bone-dragon as it rampaged through the city that night, and confusion and discord reigned supreme in the Council of Nine.

Kavorous enquired at the Loquistan Collegiate about Interplanar Travel, to be told that a great Magi can manage it – perhaps one of the Deans, the Council of Ten, a Zunian Shaman or one of the Court-Magi of the Eternal Throne of Damesht. There were artefacts that could grant interplanar travel, but their location was unknown.

Lomorit, true to his word, granted the party three weapons of considerable power.  These were Voidwalker, Whisper and Yilidrim.

Callie claimed Yilidrim, due to her mastery of the bow.
Kavorous claimed Whisper, due to his mastery of subterfuge.
Vaina Moyen claimed Voidwalker, due to the machinations of terrible intelligences beyond mortal comprehension.  
To bond with the sword, Vaina asked Durlin’s help with the ritual. As Durlin chanted, Vaina dreamt he was in a world of perfect and complete darkness. He wandered for a time, sensing shapes prowling at the proximity of his vision and flashes of sudden vision: a dragon coiled around a Titan’s Heart with thousands bowing before him, a shaven-haired human child crying in her hands, a tall Elf fall to his knees in despair, burying Voidwalker in the dirt; a dark-skinned man caged and whipped bloody above a teeming throng of fiends, and always: a dark figure, so dark as to be visible in the darkness all around who mirrored Vaina’s every move. He eventually came across the sword, reached out to touch it, and finally met hands with the figure. He was The Wielder now.

Miles across the city, in a rose-scented chamber within his harem, Teshei meditates before a strange device: seven orbs over around him. Five lifeless as bone; one an incandescent gold, a second a baleful red. As one orb is suddenly wreathed in cold, jet-black flames – Teshei’s eyes open, glinting with the faintest suggestion of panic.


“Subtlety may deceive you; integrity never will.“ - Oliver Cromwell.

Villains Vanquished: 13
Players Lost In The Positive Energy plane: 1
Dragons Definitely Not Humbled: 1.
Sex Worker Death Toll: 1.
Magic Items claimed: 5
Ancient Dread Prophecies Unknowingly Fulfilled: 1.

Items:

Voidwalker
Greatsword * 2d6
The sword is a single hilt of bone. The blade is not visible. When held aloft in darkness, a series of glowing runes are visible on the blade. In Infernal, they read: THE GREATEST WARRIOR FIGHTS AS THOUGH ALREADY DEAD.

Powers:
Stillness: Once per day, the wielder of Voidwalker may use his move action to make an additional attack with Voidwalker.
Brightest Candle, Longest Shadow:  If the wielder of Voidwalker hits 0 hit-points, they may instead choose to stay standing at 1hp and gain a random curse.

Secrets:
An Arcana check could reveal…

A History (25) will reveal Voidwalker to have been the sword of Musashi, who founded the Dameshti Swordfighting college that offers the swan-pendant for excellence in combat. Musashi was gifted Voidwalker by Dispater after triumphing in 66 duels to the death. A great reward would be offered if it was returned to the College.

A History check will reveal Voidwalker….

A Religion check could reveal…


Yilidrim
This bow is made of springy ash-white wood, and is intricately carved with an Aarakocra creation story, featuring the first male Aarakocra being born from a thunderbolt striking a man. The second image features him wearing a crown of thunderbolts and roaring. The third shows him prostrating before an unseen figure.

It grants the ability to fire an arrow once per day which functions as the Thunderbolt spell, as an attack action.

A History (22) will reveal that this bow…..


Whisper
Rapier * Finesse Weapon
d8
Whisper is an enchanted sword cane. As such, it can be concealed as a walking stick. The pommel and hand-guard resemble the mouth of a serpent.
Bonuses: Even if drawn - and pressed against the throat of a foe – opponents will not recognise Whisper as a weapon unless actually attacked.
Once per day, Whisper can inflict the Paralysis condition on an opponent (DC 15 CON save. Save ends.)

Sovereign’s Raiment
This is an enormously pompous cloak and tabard. It cannot be worn with armour. You may cast Suggestion and Command once per day. You have advantage on any attempts to deceive others of your authority.