Four Fates Under the Southern Sun, 3.5, Session 21

Start: 7:30 pm, Foreautumn 4, 401 GA

Briefly taking inventory during the aftermath of the battle, the party spoke with Gueva II. She seemed dimwitted and impressionable. She did not seem to understand her mother was dead, and Pan told her she would be taken to a new home. She bought this wholesale and seemed cowed by nearly whatever he said.

Ryardynin collected the Meditations of Balvir from Baldwin's body.

Hearing sounds from the outside, they decided to investigate. There, they found Eaoric and Krystoz grappling, both of whom were wounded. Intervening, they slew Eaoric and assisted Krystoz.

He expressed dismay at how his squad were slain waiting for them, but expressed how there was honor in dying in battle, but how it would be shameful to explain this to Jucika. More importantly, it would look bad for the party.

During the struggle, Emilia collapsed a portion of the front wall of the castle.

Ryardynin and Pan helped Krystoz bury the dead. Krystoz mentioned one of the party is rightfully count or countess of South Drymire, and liege of Ft. Vendraal, and presumably, Orashire.

They decided to delay dealing with this. Krystoz implied this claim should be made quickly, before news of the fort's liberation was public knowledge, and the claim should be made to someone of equal or greater authority than Adriana Vatatzes. Furthermore, he implied there may be a bit of divisiveness in the claim, and it should be made carefully.

Alasdair paid Krystoz a weregild for his fallen men, including his brother. He accepted this and seemed grateful.

After Eaoric's death, Ryardynin felt the power of his scepter bolstered. While they were resting, he took the time to study the meditations of Balvir. One passage stuck out to him specifically.

"Not of four, but of three, they were, when another came to the fore. A nascent ally was he, full of emerald magesty. Unknown was he, tethered to the traitors legacy. He would seek clarity, and Yolrud would attune his fate to he."

"The final toll unseen for a time, unrevealed yet by rhyme, Eaoric's life would prove the key to unfurl the relic's third mystery. Bound to Tarmyra's power was he, a fragment of an evildoer's legacy."

While they pondered this, Emilia began to unearth the graves of Krystoz's men and reincarnating them. She managed to do this in completion, taking several days. Several of them were reborn as strange creatures, foreign to these lands, such as dwarves, gnomes, and half-orcs. Two of the dwarves were female, as well. They seemed unaccustomed to their strange new bodies. Krystoz seemed grateful but quite confused at her magic, and thanked her profusely.

During this time, Gueva followed Pan around like a duckling. He taught her basic hunting skills, as he realized her kind are obligate carnivores. She took to this surprisingly well, and demonstrated a great deal of instinct, despite her ease of trust and lack of critical thinking skills. Her behavior seemed, rather appropriately, somewhere between an animal's and a human's.

Ryardynin offered Ukurdiel's amulet of arachnidia to Pan, in response to the passage in the meditations. It has no reaction to him, which was notable in its neutrality, for it seemed to have a response to nearly everyone else.

They encamp for four days reincarnating Krystoz's squad. During this time, Alasdair and Ryardynin collect the loot from the castle, including the tea, wine, and darkwood trees, which Ryardynin hauled using discs of force.

After this is concluded, they depart the way they came and return to Orashire. There, they see the rescued Orasids and Aidyn are reunited. Aidyn approaches the party and speaks with them, evidently unconvinced of the paladins' account which paints them as genocidal maniacs as well as liberators.

He seems convinced of the party's account, and seems to think the paladins were simply mistaken.

Emilia spends some time casting stone shape, repairing some of Orashire.

The party plants a darkwood tree in the village, which seems to flourish in the soil. Furthermore, Emilia enhanced the planting with a plant growth spell. It appeared to work exactly as intended.

Pan speaks with Nathan, and holds him to his word. They have a tense situation, and Pan gets the impression Nathan indeed is honorbound to hold his word, but will always bear some resentment to Gueva and her kind for the crimes they committed against his people. He gritted his teeth and vowed to raise her as a paladin, and to 'set her down the virtuous path'. Pan explained to Gueva this was her new home and new family. The fledgling bought the story and seemed somewhat happy about this.

The party leaves Orashire and returns to Izzero.

There, they are met by an agent of Jucika's named Yunus. He seems nervous, and directs the party to the bathhouse to meet his mistress.

They do so. Alasdair explains the situation, and she seems impressed, referring to him as 'count' even before any formal acceptance was made. Alasdair makes his counteroffer. He details his view of how Iskhar-Yog is crumbling, and is a failed empire. He rightfully deduced Jucika is someone to side with the winning side, and made her an offer to side with him. She seemed to consider it, and was swayed with the proviso she would be given a title and power, and is able to bring her troops and Ashig. Additionally, she would need to discuss the arrangement with Adriana. She gave Alasdair a rod to communicate with her via Sending up to three times per day, and stressed he must contact her as soon as possible.

They exchanged a brief flirtatious glance, and she reiterated she only considered his offer because she was convinced of his strength and destiny, for her culture had their own legends about the age of upheaval and the Archons. She felt as if she was living through history being in his presence. As usual for her, she did not gush, and was as about as understated as she could be about this.

Jucika and Alasdair parted, for now, with their agreement struck.

XP: 3,000
End: 8 pm, Foreautumn 11, 401 GA