Adventure 56

**Real World Date: 3/29/2020**

**In Game Dates: January 1st, 5002 M.E. - January 1st, 5002 M.E.**

**XP: 8,200 (Total: 255,618)**

## NPCs Met This Adventure

* Zapharel - Solar Angel that is the descendent of Zorna
* Hadari Velmillios - elder Elf and head of the **Teleportation Hub** in Almonte
* Josiah Weevil - member of the Almonte Conclave, head of 3rd Precinct
* Alathar - proprietor of the **Red Dragon Inn**

## Summary

### Morning Errands

Wrax receives communications from the Mystic Directorate regarding their prior arrangement. He is receiving the ritual for traveling across the planes but also an ingredient list of material components required for the ritual. They can be replaced with Pieces of Ovmar but that would make the ritual more unstable.

Dhamon meets with Zorna in her cell and debriefs her on what they have discovered so far. She then details a separate side project she has had on her mind regarding her lineage. After she discovered she was an **Aasimar** she began to delve into her ancestry. She eventually discovered that her long lost ancestor mated with a **Solar Angel** but due to the gods of the Higher Planes making it so, no one can read the names of such beings when recorded in written word, unless they are an angel themselves. However, Zorna can read the name of Zapharel, most likely because of her lineage with the angel themself. Though when Dhamon writes it down, it cannot be deciphered like normal, Wrax can read the name with his "Eyes of the Rune Keeper" ability. She thinks knowing this Solar Angel's name is key to why her father adopted her and raised her.

Aust travels to the **Teleportation Hub** and inquires about getting any teleportation circles for other cities, specifically Kulnaur. He meets Hadari Velmillios, the leader of the Hub. He is told that to get access to a city's teleportation circle costs 20S, which he gladly pays and copies down so the party can teleport there after they have finished in the city.

### What is Dragon's Blood?

The party head to interview Josiah Weevil next, as he presides over the University District where the sales of Dragon’s Blood first spread and he voted yes for Almonte to send troops to Seldarindor and try to stabilize the region. They go to his home first, but are told he is currently at the offices. The party head there and find they are expected. Josiah Weevil and Tevra Felheim are the only members of the Almonte Conclave there, but they had just voted to reveal some secret information to them. Only taking Wrax, Aust, and Dhamon, Josiah takes them through a secret door and down below into a secret chamber.

Josiah then begins to reveal a massive underground complex holding a **Tarrasque**, which they have been holding for millenia. The blood and flesh of the creature have potent magic properties that the city has been utilizing for magic item creation and arcane domination of the civilized world. The Dragon’s Blood is actually the blood of this **Tarrasque** that someone is siphoning off and selling to the general public without the Almonte Conclave's knowledge. They are revealing this secret because they believe the at least one of the 46 people with knowledge of this complex is the traitor, and they need an outsider to suss them out. They request that they gather all the Almonte Conclave together to interview them. Josiah agrees and leaves them to interview and observe the guards currently down there.

### Frenemies and Memories

As the party have eliminated the guards as suspects they leave the underground complex to come into contact with General Cornelius. He has been tied to a chair and forced to drink a lot of Dragon’s Blood. He goes mad and has a surge of power which makes him fight the party. They fight him but manage to take him alive and bring him unconscious and invisible to their inn to figure out who is responsible.

After Rabbit removes some of the Dragon’s Blood by removing the poisoned condition, they heal him a bit and ask him if he remembers anything. He seems completely confused. Dhamon repurposes the **Modify Memory** spell to repair his memories and it's partially successful. He remembers that the person who tied him up and fed him the Dragon’s Blood was the Premier, or at least someone pretending to be her. The party then looks into finding her and determining how she is involved.

### Looking for Miranda

The party first sneak into the residence of the Premier. They discover a maid cooking, apparently meal prepping for the Premier. They sneak upstairs to find a secret compartment in her desk with letters from **The Matriarch**, which they eventually decode with an weather almanac as a cypher key. They discover they **The Matriarch** ordered her to spare Zorna, but actually discredit her instead. The letters are all addressed to "B." which they aren't sure what it stands for.

The party also head to the **Red Dragon Inn** before they must head back to the Almonte Conclave meeting. The Premier is known for coming here daily for dinner so they stay and wait for signs of her. As they wait they notice that the bartender of the inn has an illusion on his appearance, but that his appearance underneath is the same as the illusion. Wrax makes a point to grab him and cast dispel magic on him, removing the illusion revealing there is also a shapechange underneath that. This allows Aust to see his true form: shorter elf, pale skin, purple eyes, bare feet. He realizes that they can see his true form and he introduces himself as Alathar. He agrees to buy them a drink the next time they are in, but they leave to head to meet with the Almonte Conclave.

### The Big Reveal

The party arrives to find that the Premier is the only member of the Almonte Conclave not to show up. They reveal to the rest that they believe that she is under suspicion and may not be who she claims to be. The Conclave call in two archmages to scry for the Premier's location. They discover their location, and through the use of a portable hole, discover her body is underneath the the platform the Almonte Conclave sits on. **Miranda Guggenheim** has been dead this whole time. An impostor has been pretending to be her.

One of the council members turns to an archmage.

"Lock the city down!"