Session 11 "A Challenge and an Oath"

**Session**
11 Recap: *“A Challenge and an Oath”*

Riding out of Athkatmon, Dorn for the first time out
of the city, you made your way up the coast, past Golden Spires and the
Arbolist house, boardering vineyards and the sea to your left and the ranching
lands of the Golden Expanse to your right, all the while heading north towards
Mt. Speartop, and the headquarters of the Order of the Dawn, the Citadel of
Light carved into the very mountain itself. Once there, after stabling your
steeds, you were greeted by Mornmaster Gladwell in the great hall, an enormous
room with massive east facing windows that looked out over the treetops of
Hamlar Woods towards the sea. He told Muffy and Rhys to go see the professor,
he would keep your friends occupied to the best of his abilities.

The professor told Rhys more information about The
Phoenix, a being that had come to Rhys several times in dreams—then said he
should talk to Elizabeth about it… if he could get her to talk about it, that
was. That she might be able to provide more insight. He asked how Muffy was
progressing, and offered her a collection of spell scrolls to help her gain new
insight into ways she could manipulate magic, including one that he cautioned
was beyond her, but that he wanted her to have none the less. After identifying
your various items, you asked him if you could help him figure out what was
wrong with your friend, Dorn. He said he would take a look, but then turned the
subject to Rhys’ Oath, asking if he felt ready after your success finding (almost
all of) the missing nobles. Rhys said he was, and so the professor said he
would face his challenge at dawn and if he passed, he would be sworn in. He
then asked Muffy to excuse them who returned to the rest of the The Lucky.

Meanwhile, Gladwell did his best to keep the party
engaged with a speech about the history of the Order of the Dawn, but it was…
somewhat frustrating for him. Dorn grew board, and Dorn and Gram kept sneaking
off to look around. While this was happening, Quora pulled Bucket Girl aside.
She spoke to her of a fire she saw burning inside of Bucky, one that she felt
would undoubtedly consume her—cause her to wind up dead or in jail, two things
she had felt were near eminent in the less than a day she had known her. She
said she could help, teach her to use her fire as a weapon as opposed to having
her fire use her as a weapon. Bucky was seemingly offended, though Quora did
not seem surprised by this.

As the professor was walking Rhys out of his office
back to his friends, he stopped at a door and said there was something Rhys
needed to see. The room was dark, the professor told Rhys to use his sword to
light his path, and closed the door. As soon as Rhys lit his sword, he saw his
brother, beaten up and tied to a chair. His brother explained that his friends
at the Order must have caught wind that he was hunting Rhys. That they had
grabbed him, tied him up, and left him as a gift for Rhys. He demanded Rhys let
him go, all the while berating Rhys, and telling him that he was not going to
get away with what he had done. That Rhys must answer for his crimes, and that
as soon as he was free he was going to come back and arrest Rhys. Rhys told his
brother that he was strong now, that he wasn’t scared. He told his brother that
he would kill him, then be done with the whole thing, simply run his sword
through him. His brother taunted more saying Rhys didn’t have the balls, and
Rhys was torn with indecision. The thought of ending his brother and the hunt
for him was tempting, but as he raised his sword, he brought it down on his
brothers bonds, letting him go. And in that moment his brother vanished in a
puff of smoke. It hadn’t been real. The professor then walking in, apologized
for the subterfuge, but said Rhys had passed the challenge. His heart was pure,
the ceremony would take place in the morning.

After taking his oath, Rhys’s power growing, many
congratulated him. The professor informed Rhys, Muffy, and Bucket Girl who
happened to be curiously near by, that now that Rhys was a full fledged
Lightbearer, that he would like to give Rhys his first mission, and that he
would insist Muffy go with him as it might be dangerous. He spoke of an item
taken from the Order by a former member. A man named Pallon the Pious. A former
pirate who was given a second chance by the Order but who had ended up stealing
from them. This was years ago and the professor had only recently located the
object. It was on a remote island far north—weeks by boat, or a quick trip via
teleportation, something the professor could do for them, but it would require
the spell scroll he had given Muffy to get home. He spoke of weird whispers and
the location, but that was all he was really able to determine.

He then took a better look at Dorn after sleeping on
how he would assess the young man. Grabbing Dorn’s hand, he was able to
determine that Dorn was suffering from a terrible, very powerful curse. That
whoever had placed it on him was indeed very powerful and it would likewise
take someone very powerful to undo it. Bucky asked like a God? And then also
brought up the fairy lords, the Archfey. The professor supposed either would
certainly be able.  Dorn said he had
suffered in the same way since he was a baby, and so the professor conjectured
that whoever cursed him must have cursed him when he was a baby.

After discussing as a group, you told the professor
you’d be able to investigate this island for him, but first you needed to track
down Hazim Albikar, that you were in the middle of trying to find him and that
the matter was pressing. He understood and you returned to Athkatmon. You
discussed a few potential options, ultimately opting to return to the catacombs
beneath Kymall’s to search for answer, specifically determine if you could
piece anything together by investigating the tree that had sprung up seemingly
out of nowhere. As it was still bright day, Rensig needing some rest after
staying up all night watching Rhys sleep, and Dorn wanting to spend the day
putting out the word that he was looking for Marteen, you waited until night
and taking the same sewer down that you had two nights earlier, slipped into
the sewers unnoticed, but you did run into some trouble at the same waterfall….
Almost losing Rensig to it a second time. Again Rensig almost got sucked under,
and this time Rhys along with him, Rhys losing his new wig, however the quick
thinking and actions of the party saved them.

Continuing on, you investigated the areas you had been
in before, including the tree. Tanek said the area the tree was in, at some
point had been used for sacrifices, and Bucky could tell the tree was no normal
tree, unlike any she had seen. Muffy saw the roots and it appeared as this had
taken years to grow into this spot, yet Qoura assured you that there was no
tree here before. Unsure of what to make of all that, you continued into parts
of this labyrinth that none of you had been in, or at least none of you could
really speak to having been in. You found a few more rooms, signs that someone
had recently been living there, and a thriving little garden, again with no
sunlight.  That’s when Bucky spotted a
trip wire before a closed door, the first closed door you had really encountered
down here. Disarming it, a ruble strewn hallway laid before you on the other
side. Various sections broke off but were caved in allowing now passage.
Finally you came to what seemed a dead end. A clean wall. Dorn reached to feel
along the wall for a brick that might lead to a secret passage but his hand
went right through it. It was an illusion. You all took a breath, and Gram
volunteered to go through first, asking Dorn to hold onto the other end of his
pike. When he stepped through, a humanoid figure stood before him, the face
hidden under the skull of a stagg and the body hidden with furs and robes. The
figure spoke the words “You’ve returned” to Gram, and that’s where we pick up.