Campaign Diary

## Session 1-10

The first ten sessions of the campaign got off to a fast paced start, with the party of Gideon, Mauna, Scrimshaw, Rittok and Vondal which came to be known as The Clive Five meeting at the Corsair's Crossroad, an inn owned by the war hero Deo Vallier. They discovered a tomb underneath the inn, which had recently been raided by a man named Pietro Da Acolti, leaving behind a strange blue liquid which seemed to have been causing havok to a population of rats, corrupting them and creating a hive-conciousness which went by 'The Rat King.' Upon putting down this threat, the party discovered evidence of a secret base which used to be lived in by someone named 'Velos'.

The party left the Corsair's Crossroad after a couple of magisters from the Arcanum in Lavarr attempted to kidnap Gideon. On their travels, they stopped at the town of Pessa, where they were caught up in a heap of trouble at a carnival where a Froghemoth escaped after killing a couple of carnies. Talking to the owner of the carnival, a man (who the party later discovered to be a vampire) Fyodor Bosch and his right hand man the werewolf Lou Garou, the party tracked down and killed the froghemoth before any more harm could come to the town. They soon discovered the cause of such a calamity, namely a mage named Mereth Akure, who loosely can be tied to The Black Hand. Confronting her, she told the party of her aspirations to work for herself, and to kill an inquisitor of The Tempus Brand to draw attention away from Borrathan. Vondal flew into a rage, attempting to strike her, but Mereth teleported away just before the blow connected.

The Clive Five decided to warn The Tempus Brand of such a plot, and began travelling away from Pessa. On the road they met the inquisitor Ezekiel Kane, who seemed confident and sure that he could survive an assassination attempt. Thanking the party for their warning, he sent them on their way. The party then made the decision to head away from Pessa, hoping that Fyodor and his carnival could get away without being punished.

The party arrived at the town of Phikaden, where they delivered a letter to a washerwoman from her father. Looking for jobs, The Clive Five went to a farm owned by a lady named 'Old Cathy', where they discovered an infestation of massive, hungry insects who had been preying on the cattle of the farm. The Clive Five heard that something strange must be causing the insects to leave their usual home in the Lashnear Heights to stray this far towards human territory. They then decided to hit the road once again, and head towards the town of Borrathan, to deliver a letter to The Strangers, given to them by Johann Bund.

On their arrival in Borrathan, The Clive Five headed straight for the Green Hills district, in an attempt to find 'The Oak Bull', the home of The Strangers. There, the locals seemed scared of the mentioning of such a thing, and hesitantly led the party towards a dark side alley. Before their eyes the party watched as a small wooden shack found down the alley transformed into a large tall tower, piercing the skies as they approached. They handed the letter in, and afterwards looked for an inn to spend the night.

The Clive Five that night stayed in The May Helm, a large traditional working-class inn deep in the Canal District. Gideon's spellbook had a mention of the inn inside one of the inner pages, so he was curious to see what secrets he could discover within. Scrimshaw had a vision during the night of a floating, pale girl with clammy skin and jet black hair, flanked by a shadow which seemed to have a mind of its own. The girl spoke to Scrimshaw, telling him his 'Gift' wasn't 'free'. Later that night, Gideon snuck into the basement of the may helm, overhearing the leader of the black hand Caya Calco talking with two mages from the Arcanum, hearing references to an 'Elder Box', 'Neruzatar', and other things.

The next day, the party split up looking for things to do. Vondal and Rittok ran into Vondal's old quartermaster Burman, who he had not seen in at least 20 years. Burman told Vondal about his parents deaths in a power struggle back in Uzul Danar, giving the dwarf his father's ancestral sword, Avenger. Burman said that he had business in the city, but would catch up with him soon.

During this time, Gideon, Scrimshaw and Mauna decided to head to the Magisterium in an attempt to go to the archives. There, they met the spoilt and insufferable Boris Blackfire, the eldest son of Lord Blackfire. It was clear that he was rude, capricious, and spiteful, and when Mauna stood up to him he seemed to back down. He let the party into the archives, giving them a candle to see in the dark. As the party walked around, they were arrested by clerics in the archives who accosted them for carrying an open flame in a library. They were brought to Grand Magister Castien Gilperos, who banned them from the magisterium for life, telling them that while Boris was a dick, he was also the son of a lord. The group left the magisterium where they were confronted by Boris, who asked them to do something for him in return for having the ban overturned. The party declined, and told him to go away.

Vondal and Rittok later discovered that people within the Canal District were regularly going missing, and after meeting up with the party once more a boy who had attempted to steal their horse said that his father, a prominent engineer, had also gone missing. The party decided to check out the sewers, where they linked many of the disappearances to. While fronting the party, Mauna was attacked by an Intellect Devourer, who paralysed Mauna and left her unconcious. The party dragged her to an apothecary, who managed to regain her consciousness.

Vondal and Rittok went afterwards to check out the father's workshop, finding it abandoned, with only a half-constructed clockwork watchman and a massive pile of reciepts inside. After accidentally animating the automaton and fighting for their survival, Vondal and Rittok took the papers with them back to their room in The May Helm, where Scrimshaw read them throughout the night. The party discovered through these receipts that Lord Blackfire had been paying for an army of these clockwork machines to be built.

During these deliberations, the party heard a banging on their door. Answering, they found a piece of paper with the symbol of The Strangers on it. The party rushed back to where they had found the Oak Bull the first time, where they met the small girl, later known as Sha'ii. She dropped a note before running off which hinted to the party that discovering what happened to a figure named Aren Methrik's amulet would help them understand what is happening to the people disappearing in the Canal District. The party after searching the professor's house, finding an arrow of abberation slaying, were led to a graveyard, and to Aren's grave. Sensing something magical in the gravestone, Gideon pointed it out to Rittok who smashed it open. Inside, the amulet lay.

As the party prepared to leave, a group of thugs asked the party to hand it over, claiming it was theirs and offering 20 gold for it. The Clive Five stood their ground, and a fight broke out. Bloody and almost broken, the party just about finished off the thugs without losing any members, and realised that the amulet had a snapshot of the professor's mind imprint on the day he went missing. The party were also reunited with Sha'ii, who led them into the woods where they discovered the Oak Bull. Inside, the party were introduced once more with Johann Bund, and with Masa Mantha, and also the still-alive Aren Methrik.