Session 25

* Crescent Tower (Headquarters of the Silver Crescent in the region)

### PCs:

Dandy, Goldie, Tivram, Arik. (Gar is absent while he deals with 'family business')

### NPCs:

* Thun (A young - about 16 years old - Orc and recent acolyte of the Silver Crescent. Fascinated by Magic)
* Garxil (Gnomish Mage and Scholar. The leader of the local branch of the Silver Crescent)
* Rola (Wife of Garxil. A fellow scholar. Exceptionally devoted)
* Iblis (One of Garxil's Sons. A Gnome Warrior. Mistrusts the PCs)
* Avigale (Female cultist, acts as a 'face' and liaison for the Silver Crescent)
* Doshen (Young, male red-haired member of the Cult. Has a degree of Bardic Training. Seems sympathetic to the party)
* Waiquir (The dreaded ancient lich-tyrant and ruler over the Mistlands to the North)
* Chance Wonderway (Dandy's father. A renowned Gnome Adventurer. Unfortunately, recent events have left him in a semi-vegetative state)

**Previously...**

## And Now...

   At Silver Crescent Keep, the Characters spend some time considering their options, but don’t settle on a definitive plan. Thun, a Young orc (perhaps 16?) and a recent acolyte of the Order, comes to pass on an Invite to ‘Supper’ with the Cult leaders. Before this, however, they take the opportunity to go back into the personal library and do some more investigation. While there, Dandy collects the Diary she had hidden earlier and stashes it among her possessions. They also discover a book about an infamous mage who dabbled in mind control and possession, however, none of these references describes the artifact affecting Chance. They now strongly doubt the artifact exists - at least not in the form in which it was described. They also access several books on prophecy and long distance communication spells. Talking with Thun reveals that he has a deep interest in learning magic, which is what led him to the Order. The characters explain that there are all sorts of places to learn magic. He is impressed by some small shows of magic from Goldie.

   Later, in Garxil's personal quarters, the characters attend supper with Garxil, his wife Rola, his son Iblis, the guard who had seemed unwilling to let them in, Avigale and red-haired Cult Member named Doshen. Supper is pleasant and Tivram entertains the company with a grand tale. Doshen seems very impressed, but he is given subtle signals of discouragement by the other Order members present. Doshen reveals himself to be something of a bard himself, and regales everyone with a tale of his own. Dandy recognizes his accent, and correctly identifies not only his town of origin, but the particular neighbourhood. Doshen is highly impressed by this.

    After Supper, they return to the quarters and Goldie instructs Thun in how to cast a simple cantrip, which he is able to do. They set up beds for the night and discuss leaving the next morning. Arik chooses to sleep in the common room with the rest of the Cult Members. This is fortunate as, during the night, he overhears a conversation in an adjoining room between Doshen and Iblis. Doshen seemed keen to speak to Arik about something but Iblis cuts him off, becoming angry and forbidding Doshen from speaking with any of the Party. Arik is spooked by this, and finds the others to warn them ‘something fishy’ going on, they start making plans to leave asap. Before they can get much done, there is a knock at the door and Thun hands them a small note. It reads "Dragon's Heart is coming" and is signed by Doshen. The party offer Thun the chance to come with them and he accepts. He tells them he knows of a ‘quick’ way out and gives them directions. They agree to meet there in 10 minutes.

They go to collect Chance in order to take him with them, but he’s not in his room. They check Garxil's personal quarters and,finding it locked, decide to break in. Once inside, they can hear chanting from an adjoining room. The door is magically warded, but Goldie is easily able to dispel it. Inside, they discover a ritual chamber and altar. Garxil is communicating with a ghostly manifestation of Waiquir himself. Doshen lies dead upon the altar, and Chance, terrified, cowers in a corner. Waves of unnatural terror wash over everyone, but while shaken, they all manage to stand their ground.

A fight ensues. Garxil attempts a spell, but Arik disrupts his focus with a sudden attack. Goldie manages to dispel the manifestation of Waiquir before turning their attention to Garxil, while Dandy tries to recover her father. Under the combined attacks of Arik and Goldie, Garxil dies as his body bursts into eldritch flame. Iblis enters in time to see his father die and charges Tivram, wielding a mace with a malignant glow. He tries several times to get past Tiv's defense but his enraged strikes are no match for zir deft and effortless skill until he speaks a word and unleashes the magic of the mace. This bursts forth, knocking Tivram back and almost out, however, by the time he reaches his father, it's too late. Rola, mad with grief, charges past all of them and throws herself atop her husband's flaming corpse, catching fire herself.

Dandy manages to get Chance and lead him to the exit tunnel. Unfortunately, with Iblis rousing more cult members and the sounds of angry pursuit close behind them, they cannot wait the ten minutes for Thun to join them. As they emerge from the exit of the tunnel, they hear the howl of a wolf, an animal unheard of in the deep marsh. Tivram mutters that this feels like a bad omen, and that a greater danger almost certainly awaits them in the marsh.