Episode 7: The Scholar of Nightstone Abbey

Fahima loses a friend, Siv drops his rapier, Lily starts drinking, Uggo breaks a bank, and James returns home. More importantly, the team visits their first big city of the campaign, in search of information from The Scholar, and finds trouble on various fronts. A fight in a library, a contest in a tavern, and a confrontation in a marketplace all lead to one of the most entertaining episodes yet!

### **GM/DM Intro**

*It started as a simple Dungeon Run…*

*But it has turned into a epic quest.  When these 5*
adventurers looted the Secret Keeper’s Amulet from an abandoned Dragon’s Lair,
they knew they found something special, but they did not realize they held a
centerpiece of Ain’s history in their hands.  It allows them to
communicate with you, the watchers of the time stream, and gain the benefits
and challenges you bestow upon them. And it also seems to be a key to finding
and helping the Wardens, Ain’s legendary protectors.

*Our team has already found one such Warden, a Storm Warden with*
the electrical power of lightning.  They freed it from a prison in the
sky, where it was being used by a mad tinker to power his incredible
inventions.

*Unfortunately, the 100-foot tall Warden came falling out of the*
sky and crashed at an Orc encampment, where a contingent from the Orcish city
of Ook Duun was constructing - or transporting - a massive cannon. Our Orc,
Uggo, challenged their captain to single combat for control of the unit - and
seemed to be winning, when Lily somehow made a connection with the catatonic
Warden, triggering a massive amount of energy to be released through the amulet
- and through the team - casting them into the Warden’s unconscious mind.

*What they witnessed there was a memory of what seemed to be the*
final battle of the War of Ideas - the great war that shattered Ain, hundreds
of years ago. Our team lived through the experience of 5 ancient heroes, who
gave up their lives to become the Wardens.  After a titanic battle, these
heroes’ minds - and identities - were wiped clean by none other than Lord
Arraban himself, who locked their memories away, along with secrets about the
War and the glittering Aureate Age that preceded it.

*When our team returned to their own time and place, they were*
greeted by their ally, Torvalt the Timid, a member of the Natural Order - a
group of wizards who had been investigating the disappearance of the Wardens
for some time. Torvalt informed the team that their connection to the Wardens,
and their ability to unlock the memories trapped inside each, made them the
most important people in all of Ain.

*Their quest was clear.  Find the Wardens. Free them and*
witness their memories.  Find out if the threat that shattered the Realms
of Ain hundreds of years ago is coming back - and if so, what can be done to stop
it.

*Torvalt told the team that members of the Natural Order were*
working on multiple fronts.  He offered to transport them to a wizard who
had a lead on the location of another Warden, or to The Scholar, a researcher
who may shed more light on the history they witnessed.  The team chose to
head to Nightstone Abbey in the bustling city of Terlis, the location of the
Scholar, and the former residence of James Quillus, librarian.

*And so, as we ended last week, Torvalt opened a portal, and the*
team stepped through...'