The Pantheon War Campaign/Session 11

Last Time:
*No one has ever been cured from being "light-touched". Mostly because they do not try to cure you, they kill you.
*Gus fucked up and told everything to anyone who asked and now so many people are in jail a place for their own protection
Haruspex (and mercenaries) goes to fetch Humboldt:
*Haruspex finds Tome at the farm on the way to the frontier village.
*Farmhouse has lots of books which Tome has spent time studying.
**Tome doesn't make any progress, cannot recognize alphabet
**Tome takes books outside and shoots them, pinning several books to the trees.
*Warm glow descends over the farmhouse from the city in the area where Tome was shooting books.
**Tome goes out to investigate. Moment of dusk is taking much longer than usual. Sap is bubbling and pine trees start to curl. Light from the city emblazons text from the books which Tome can read.
**Tome approaches burning tree and reads the book until and beyond when the light from the city fades. Concentration is broken only when flames from the tree engulf book. Tome dodges pillar of flame from tree, does not try to rescue the book from the flames.
**Fire in the pines begins to spread and threatens the farmhouse. It does not burn the farmhouse, but everything else burns. This includes the barns and the animals. The contaminated pig goes out and looks upon the city until it can no longer do so. Once this happens, it suddenly realized what is happening to it and its screaming and wheezing sounds almost human-like.
**Afterwards Tome reflects on what he has learned - a first for D&D! - from reading the book. 
***The book contained the interactions between a farmer and an itinerant madman who prophesied the coming of the City. It also talks about the Preacher who went around offering people "a friendly death". It's not murder per se, but helping them off the mortal coil. 
***The writer was able to resist looking up, but he was becoming obsessed with the reflection of light and shadows off of his window.
***He entered into a half mad state, understanding what the city was and what it could have offered him. He appears to have headed to the mountains to get as high as he possibly could to witness the light better - or join it!
***He writes about the inversion of the cause and effect a circularity of time for him as events keep recurring for him, thematically. His mind has become divorced from reality as he becomes hyper-aware of patterns.
**Haruspex returns and shakes his head while muttering "Tome, Tome, Tome" under his breath. Tome explains what happened and directs Haruspex over to where the books were.
**Haruspex find a remnant of the book and asks Tome if he can read it. Tome possibly lies (Christophe was unclear), but notes that there is some of the City's light trapped in the book
**Haruspex holds the book down into some embers so that it will burn. Haruspex pulls his scythe away quickly enough so that the fight between the City's light and death. 
Party goes to the frontier camp:
*Campfires now exist in the mountains that were not there before.
*At dusk, Tome sees contours of the light sweeping the valley. Directs party to a very low gaze. Someone appears to have placed a mirror on a mountain and is sweeping the valley.
*Party decides to camp until next day to wait out the light. Party feels yearning during dusk. Haruspex sees the mirror light and blindfolds the party. Barabus protests and is knocked unconscious.
*Party moves up the valley, finds the garrison house has been burned. Large portion of valley has been buried by a rock slide. Refugees Upon entering valley, the mirror is blocked, party blindfolds are removed.
*Scouts looking into valley from Atarkia, they carry crossbows that are not from Atarkia or Amaranthia, likely not from either kingdom. Tome becomes convinced that scouts are off-worlders and possibly Kirvans.
*Haruspex detects life only from scouts on the ridge and near the mirror. Souls of the scouts appears to be dull (maybe not Kirvans). Scouts have likely spotted the party.
*Party approaches the scouts. Haruspex gets attention of scouts who stare back at party. Scouts want to know how the party has returned from Amaranthia. Haruspex ask about scouts who refuse to answer questions. Scouts have taken position in a crescent in the rockfall, around 12 scouts total.
*Humboldt is in the custody of the scouts. Scouts agree to meet in exchange for Humboldt. Tome senses that intentions are not hostile, but also not honest.
*Haruspex approaches scout to negotiate. Upon close inspection, scouts are off-worlders. Much taller than the local population. Haruspex shakes hands with scout and detects that soul of scout is under contract. Scouts work for the Queen.
*Humboldt is brought to the party, appears to be half-blind. Humboldt's soul appears to be blurred, could be causing physiological effects. Scouts interrupted Humboldt as he attempted to build a mirror. There were bodies around Humboldt when they found him. Mirror is separate from the first mirror seen by party. Would have been used to reflect light from the city into Atarkia.
*Six scouts join party to investigate mirror that was being constructed. Tome tells jokes to scouts. They laugh most at the ones about 'bankers'. May be under Valdosian soul contracts.
*Party reaches the mirror facing Amaranthia. It is made of the polished shields of the Queen's guard. Other mirrors visible from the mountaintop set up as a relay system.
*Party acquires Humboldt after destroying the shield mirror.
Category:Session Summaries