12/10/2021 - Multitudes of Messaging and Complicated Conversations

## Resting and messaging

We examine the weird now dead cat creatures whilst we short rest. Bayul gives them a good smell as Ves looks closely.

The smell is sour and acrid, but not rot. Ves recognises them as felines that should not be on this plane… They are two hellcats! These cats can steal souls, so Narko (who got stared down), was in more danger than he thought).

As we rest, Ves feels the bag start vibrating…. The magic stone from Dr T is lit up. A letter appears! It says…

* *Dear Silvestra*
* *Thank you for your frequent progress updates. It appears again we have sent you into a potential conflict zone. Thank the team on my behalf. Your updates have been most appreciated by Dr Martindale in particular, his map of the island and territories is becoming quite the work of art. How have engaging relations with the locals proceeded. The trip to Iysgarth provided many opportunities for the Guild, we are hopeful that this venture will be equally fruitful. In lieu of most of our prominent researchers being deployed, on leaves of absence or otherwise occupied, I have been researching some of your key points myself.*
* *My findings are thus:*
* *The Green Prismatic Pirate, as with their colleagues, is a title passed down from one to the next. The incumbent Green Pirate’s identity and operations are shrouded in mystery. As you reported, any trace of him he has only been identified by the mononym D’esterre. None of my contacts around the western Archipelago can recall any encounters with such a ship, with the exception of Merchendale. There are a several reports of the Emerald Flow being spotted in the reconstructed harbour. Amusingly, Dr. Wemble spotted that his reported name is an anagram of Deserter, which is most unusual for a ship’s Captain.*
* *We have had no further updates on new or different activities conducted by the Orange Prismatic Pirate, though the abductions and slaving activities sighted by the Ostaria away-team are continuing as previously observed.*
* *Further investigations into the ‘Memory Loss Event’, as it is now being referred to, have also turned no results. Master Quayl has noted several magical effects that can modify the memory of a person, or enact magical effects or illusions, though to sustainably maintain this effect for this apparent duration over such an area is lost to all of us. If anything, it highlights great potential for danger. Keep checking no each other to ensure it has not taken hold on you. In other news, I have recently taken delivery of a glass jar containing a somewhat viscous liquid which bears the visage of the entire night sky. It’s a most curious optical illusion, as the appearance of the stars and wisps of light do not appear to move, despite repeated inverting the jar and jostling the liquid. I look forward greatly to showing you, it makes quite the ornament.*
* *Kindest Regards*
* *Tatiana*

As Elyan sings a song of rest, he begins to hear voices in his head. “Careful how long you take. You’re on time, but Father needs you back, quickly. Riotous warfare is heading for our Fortress. In good faith. Cirrah’s” Elyan replies with a progress report of our timeline.

We briefly discuss whether we should get involved with this warfare – with consensus being that we probably don’t need to, though Bayul thinks we should if we could make a difference to Tupelo’s people.

Elyan messages Christo to ask what he knows about this and just generally what’s he’s up to. A very stressed sounding Christo replies, almost whispering… “the council voted unanimously, nothing I could do to persuade them, retaliation for the attack Isairne, I don’t know what to do.”
We discuss various theories about whats going on – the powerful dream dude is just stirring up shit? Causing a war to distract us and others from the tribunal? Either way, we agree the tribunal is the place for us to be.

Ves, sends a message back to Dr T asking her how she got hold of the blood sample – because we sue as heck didn’t send it!

## Walking and messaging

Gets colder as we ascend the mountain. Trek for a few hours, weather is good, our destination grows near!

After a few hours another letter appears from Dr T on the magic stone. This one says…

She got the bottle of blood from an anonymous “admirer”.

Elyan messages Tupelo…”confirmed war declared. Cirrah messaged saying hurry back. Was this your request? Supernatural being responsible, think manipulating Cirrah. Avoid fighting, working to prevent.”

Gets a reply… “Not a direct order but, my scouts have verified Cirrah’s claim. Retribution for their actions is at hand. They’re not home, but I’ll stand firm.”

As we get further up the mountain, Ves hears echoed roars. Unlike anything we have heard. Ves turns into a giant eagle and Lysandre telepathy links with her. She then flies off to take a look. She sees the Tribunal buildings nestled amongst the spires. Many many jagged rocks hiding the road, well disguised. She then spots things moving below, atop of weird big purple tendrils of blackened blight. Look like pack of three animals milling about, occasionally growling and snarling at each other. They are quadrupedal, covered in spines. One has a large square jaw, with very jagged teeth, way bigger than the other two. Ves recognises some of these creatures as being from the abyss and/or plane of pandemonium.
Belgaer recalls from the depths of her memories a book she read that talks about a shapeshifting beast from the planes of pandemonium that could take the shape of almost any creature, though in a deformed horrible way. This was called the “chaos beast”, and was almost impossible to capture. This beast is from a particular realm of pandemonium called Cocytus.

We conclude this is more evidence that creatures are somehow seeping through this rift that the Tribunal are supposedly guarding.
We manage to sneak past these weird creatures with the help of Belgaer’s pass without a trace spell.

After 20 ish more minutes we hear another horrific howl, off to the side, quite a way away. Even from this distance we can tell it would be terrifying to be closer to.

As we get closer, those with any form of magic feel very static-filled – almost uncomfortably so. Hairs standing fully on end (which for Narko is quite something).

## The Tribunal

We reach a black door, with no apparent handle. As Narko goes to knock it opens smoothly. Behind this is a single hooded figure.

The figure says “welcome, we have been expecting you”. Beckons us in with a green scaled hand, and then returns to their post at the door.
Walk into a surprisingly bright corridor, lit with torches on white marble walls. As the outer door closes behind us, the magical tension we had felt suddenly dissipates.

Half a dozen robed people are mulling about beyond the corridor. One of them waves us over and asks if we have brought the supplies. Welcomes us to the Sanctum. Says he is here to collect the supplies from us. His people wheel the cart away from us.
They seem to expect us to leave at this point. But Bayul says we have more to deliver…

He asks what… Narko says information and questions, Ves pulls out the canvas. The guy says we need to speak to the lore master.

Apparently, the lore master is with the grand master and both are busy teaching acolytes. Will be available within the hour. Tell us to wait down there and not make a mess.

We go where we’re told. Most people seem to be lizardfolk, with the odd dragonborn. Also see a single human.

A pale lizard folk approaches us… says we can wait in the acolyte common room. Ves asks if we can sit in on the class. But apparently it is very perilous. Bayul asks what they are doing. Apparently, they are trying to learn how to commune. Narko asks who they’re communing with… everyone and everything.

Bayul asks why there are so many creatures outside? The hellcats and chaos beasts are less common than the shoosuva.

Hear panicked shouts from down the corridor, further into the Tribunal buildings where the communing lesson would be taking place. The pale lizardfolk looks concerned. The shouts are saying “danger” in draconic.

A crowd of lizardfolk have gathered around the door. We watch as a figure is pulled from the room, arms limp. Three senior looking figures come out, the shorter of these shakes their head and then re-enter the room as the body is carried away.

Ves asks the pale dude if that happens often? … it is always a risk. They might not be dead, just relieved of their soul (which sounds like death to us!).

The pale lizardfolk departs, leaving us alone.

We discuss what we should and shouldn’t tell the Tribunal. Particularly whether we should say that Kunai temporarily died.

Will ask / tell the Tribunal about Asmodeus / the canvas we found, the grey-skull guy, the islands memory loss, Niendra, and Kunai.

## All the questions

We get introduced to an elder called Ocuirarref. It’s Kunai’s brother. Leads us into an office-esque chamber.

We have a big old chat with Kunai’s brother…

Ask him many questions about Asmodeus. He tells us nothing we don’t already know.

We have to say about Kunai. His brother is unhappy he told us about the Tribunal. Ves strongly defends him (yassss Ves!).

An older lizardfolk arrives at this point. Kunai’s father.

The Dark Eye of Mystra is what they call the rift. The tribunals duties are to observe and protect the Dark Eye. They have been here for hundreds of years. Mystra is the goddess of magic. This is the point where her influence enters this realm. It’s the source of magic in this plane. The influence of the Gods bursts forth from this point. For their own protection, they have actually enacted an anti-magic field within the entire sanctum. The Dark eye links to every plane of existence.

We move onto point 2! The grey-skull guy. Explain about Galdors dreams, Elyan/Galdor/Narko’s shared dreams, the dragons that we asked about this but didn’t know much, that this grey-skull had said he wanted war on the island, and that he wanted something to do with the Tribunal.

We show him the letters and the grey-skull symbol. He looks immediately concerned. Tells his son to go and get their mother (who is in charge of this whole place). He asks where we found the letters / symbols. We explain that they appeared within out inter-dimensional house. He hasn’t seen this symbol for millennium. It is the sigil of a being that is meant to have been locked up for 2000 years –in a realm within a realm, within a castle within pandemonium. The sigil of the God of conflict, lies, illusion and deceit. A being known as Cyrik.

At this point Kunais mum appears, the grand master of the Tribunal. She asks us to describe what we saw in our dream – which Elyan does. She says we were summoned to the supreme thrown – a prison, a realm sealed in the pandemonium to seal away possibly the most powerful God that has ever lived. Cyrik is linked to Mystra somehow. Cyrik allegedly caused the spell plague. Then was imprisoned for his actions. This chaos – inducing spell-plague thing happens in cycles every few millennia.

The Dark Eye is a two-way flow of magic. Entropy is growing. Hence why the creatures outside are growing in number. The suggestion is that the next cycle of chaos – inducing spell-plague is beginning again. That Cyrik has managed to start communing through his prison, that he has managed to start gaining followers again, and thus start to gain power again. Seems like he’s using his influence to stir war on the island, perhaps in the hopes of using the chaos to make a move on the Dark eye and thus escape. The grand master looks sad that she had missed this all happening.
Narko suggests cutting of heads. We quickly realise this is a terrible idea. Need to think about how to stop Cyrik…

Ves moves onto the memory loss thing and the weird blood we found on some of the Echs soldiers. Cyrik could have done the memory loss thing. It’s a reasonable assumption that Cyriks influence is just leaking out on Echs at the moment, may not have spread beyond, yet.

We discuss how we could probably stop it spreading… can’t think of it. Somehow counter his chaos with peace? Stopping the war? Or by cutting off heads.

Then briefly mention Niendra – they basically tell us a bit about her history, but nothing Belgaer didn’t already know from the diaries she has.
The Tribunal ask us for three specific questions they can ask during their next commune. We give them these [out of character we still need to think of them!].

They ask us if we want to watch their commune. We do. In the communing chamber, the magical folk feel much power. See a large Dark rift. Powerful and terrifying. Belgear’s patron thinks she is cheating on him.
There is a pedestal in the centre. The grand lore master kneels by it, many green and blue lights appear within the Dark Eye. We stare into the void, and the void stares back! Watch as Elyan’s eyes black over and he collapses. And one by one we all collapse into unconsciousness….