The Nomads Session 4 - Beyond Dreams

### Events

The party is pulled from their sleep into a dream world.They meet Lady Orchid and Akros Halcaster.

Akros shows them three possible futures where they see the Dragon Purist hideout, an assassination at Dawnhold, and a Nor prison.

Morta meets Eon, who explains Horizon Walker powers.

Akros awakens untapped power in the party and then wakes them up.

### Places Visited

RangeaLady Orchid's Temple (dream)

The Skull River (dream)

Dawnhold (dream)

Redhold (dream)

### Characters Introduced

Lady OrchidAkros Halcaster

Majin (vision)

Isika Han (vision)

Eon

### Next

MARS 5 - The Dripping Cavern

The party began at rest at the Cerulean Cyclops after their long battle at the Dragon Purist Chapel. While they were sleeping, several items begin to glow. Gran’s hourglass, Aegon’s hand tattoo, the old book Thiala got from the Dragon Purists, and Morta’s whole body.

They are pulled from their dreams and find themselves in a beautiful garden surrounded by cherry blossom trees. They are surprised by a stone golem but before combat begins Lady Orchid appears and tells the golem to stand down. She introduces herself as a primordial and tells them that they are in a dream world. She brings them over to her temple and introduces Akros Halcaster, a powerful divination wizard and the ruler of Halcaster's Autocracy.

Akros tells them that he brought them there so he could advise them for what is coming. He tells them that they are standing at a crossroads in time and they have several options before them. He spoke very cryptically and Lady Orchid explained that his powerful divination abilities combined with his extremely old age made staying grounded in the present difficult. He explained that they could choose to attack the Dragon Purists immediately since they learned where their stronghold was; or they could travel to the island nation of Gron to seek assistance. If they went to Gron they could go to Dawnhold and take an airship, travel to Halcaster’s Autocracy and take a ship, or travel south through Nor and take a ship from there. They had four choices before them and Akros offered to show them possible futures for each of these options. As they were being pulled through a portal Akros created, they heard a voice echo behind them saying "Lilithe wait!".

The first future they wanted to see was what would happen if they went straight to the hideout. They were transported to The Skull River, the route through the mountains that could lead to the hideout's secret entrance. When they arrived they were attacked by specters and zombies. Thiala pulled a card from the Deck of Many Magics and summoned two dire wolves. After a successful animal handling check the wolves joined in the fight to assist the party. After a long fight they they came out battered, but victorious. Knowing that this was just the first step before entering the hideout itself, they all agreed that this might not be the best option.

Next they asked to see what would happen if they went to Dawnhold. They saw the enormous city and found themselves in a deserted market square. They saw two different versions of the city: one normal and full of life, the other desolate and eerie. While they were wondering what this meant three humanoid shadows appeared. They recognized one as Isika Han, the president of Desocra. One of the shadows wandered away before they could examine it further. The last shadow drew a blade and cut the president down with it. The group decided this meant the president would be assassinated if they didn't do anything. When moving on to the next vision a portal opened and they heard the same voice calling out for Lilithe.

The next vision had the party travel through Nor. Akros strongly cautioned against this approach and it soon became clear why. They appeared on a bridge surrounded by soldiers ordering them to surrender. Unsure if they could take on all the soldiers they complied and were taken to the capital city of Nor, Redhold. There they were stripped of their things and thrown in individual jail cells. Being stuck in one place allowed the mysterious stranger who was calling for Lilithe to finally catch up to her. Warping into her cell, the man introduced himself as Eon, a tabaxi horizon walker ranger. He had a device that sensed Lilithe awakening her powers and had come to offer his mentorship. The device that told him about her is also how he knew her true name. After discussing what her new powers meant he told her that he would come as soon as he could if she ever needed him, then left the way he came. Shortly after Akros pulled them from the vision back to Lady Orchid's garden.

The party decided they didn't need to see the last vision, as walking to Halcaster's Autocracy seemed like the least practical path. They decided they would go to Dawnhold. Both because the airship seemed easier, and because they might be able to stop the assassination of Desocra's president. Akros sowed them one more vision, this time of the distant future. They saw flames, shadows, and war. He told them these are three possible futures that their actions can help prevent. He also told them they needed each other for the battles ahead. Without each other, they would likely parish, and Thiala would surely parish. Akros offered one last gift before sending them home. He awakened some untapped power in each of them, then told them he would see them again.

Then they all woke up back in Rangea.