Session 07

Date range of Session 07

“The snake that bites its own tail shall end up consuming itself from within”
— Balthazar, addressing the Greenheart Council

## **56th of Duoary**

We open in the moments following the death of Mornon, with Amanita and Electra watching the sundered body of their companion being pulled from the arena beneath the Obsidian Spire. While Amanita had been monitoring Xyanos the Lyre’s mind with a detect thoughts spell, the old raven chuckled, cast a spell, and dispelled her magic, excusing himself. Meanwhile, Electra spoke with Briar Brigand and slightly tipsy, she began oversharing about their experiences and her relationship with Mornon and the Court of Fire. Amanita was concerned and connecting mentally with Electra, she questioned her again about *The Heretic's Companion*. The Sister took control and led the pair of them to the healing chambers of the Spire to search for Mornon and the tome.

### Strange Awakenings

Meanwhile, Mornon felt strange – if this was death, it was not as he had expected. He heard a voice, though he could not recognise who it was, they simply said, “Oh my God. It’s working”. Soon, Mornon opened his eyes. But something felt wrong. As if he wasn’t himself. His mouth felt like it was filled with too many teeth, and he was wearing a strange, surgical-type gown. When he finally came to, he saw the figure of Archdruid Earyn over him before she collapsed, unconscious.

On the other side of the door, Amanita and Electra approached the guards on duty. Amanita tried at this point to persuade the guards, imploring them to let her in to provide healing or to perform the Sisterhood’s death rites, but they steadfastly refused. With no other options, she connected her spores to Electra and asked her to charm the guards. But Electra, tipsy from the champagne and canapes she had enjoyed earlier, seemed to only vaguely understand Amanita. She suddenly became overwhelmed with the urge to eat something. Without a word, she picked a mushroom from Amanita’s skin and began to eat it. Then, she approached the guards.

Her attempts to charm the pair failed. But something even stranger happened.  As she spoke with one of the guards, named “John,” and asked for canapés, they began almost to malfunction, repeating the same line over and over again: “There is no need for canapés, but you should leave.”

While the other guard was distracted by this weirdness, Amanita decided to survey the room behind them. Casting Arcane Eye, she conjured a sensor in the room. She saw a lizardfolk she recognised as Izzic Manytooth on an operating table and the unconscious body of the Archdruid on the ground. Approaching the guards, Amanita once again urged them to let her pass, saying, “I think you should check on your Archdruid”. With this, the other guard threw the doors open.

In the room, Mornon was confused, and seeing his strange limbs, he yelled at the Archdruid to give him his body back. Earyn seemed confused and explained that she did not know what had happened. She theorised that his old body was being kept somewhere or had been completely destroyed.

When Amanita and Electra entered, Amanita recognised and greeted Mornon as Izzic Manytooth. After a brief misunderstanding, Amanita realised that Izzic was, indeed, Mornon. Though, Electra remained unconvinced. To check that he was truly Mornon, Amanita tried to sporelink to his mind but found her own mind pierced with pain, not dissimilar to the pain she experienced in the Xeros mine. As she tried to access his mind, she saw a vision of a dryad-like figure: the Green Mother. Her mother spoke to her and said, “Do not venture into that place”. When they checked what should have been Mornon’s belongings, they found *The Heretic's Companion*, *Dawnbringer*, and the Iron Crown missing.

Around this time, Archdruid Earyn made to leave, worried that she would miss the council vote. Amanita was suspicious and tracked the Archdruid with an unseen sensor. As Earyn left the spire, Amanita spied Xyanos speaking with General Rex and noticed him passing a bag of gold to the fighter.

Pushed on by the urgency of the council meeting, the trio decided to head for the Greenheart Council. On their way out, Mornon approached Rex and congratulated him on the “good fight”. Rex, naturally, was confused and accused the tiefling-turned-lizardfolk of mocking him. Electra diffused the situation, asking Rex for his autograph.

### The Mayor Attempts to Secure Balthazar’s Vote

Meanwhile, in the Greenheart, Lord Mayor Eurand Arcus had approached Balthazar and attempted to blackmail the mouseling into aiding him in the upcoming council vote. He claimed that “they” had taken his wife and had forced him to vote for the reunification of the Shadowfen if he wanted to see her again. Arcus originally tried persuading Balthazar to vote “yes” in order to save Mornon’s life, but when he refused, the Lord Mayor offered him 10,000. When Balthazar again refused, Arcus resorted to other means of “persuasion,” and Ubass the Hunter approached the pair. The awakened troll seemed to be acting strange, as if under some kind of geas and had an iron crown fused to their head, bearing a glowing blue gem.

Sensing his life was in danger, Balthazar used his staff to boom his voice and yelled out that they were under attack. Ubass then attacked the mayor, and Balthazar offered some assistance, casting Enlarge Reduce on the Mayor before he ran into the bushes to hide. Before long, a group of guards arrived and wrestled Ubass to the ground. As Ubass was carried away, they seemed to be angry at Balthazar. Rather than incriminate Balthazar, the Mayor claimed that Balthazar was helping him and covered up any ill will between them.

Balthazar was still nervous and stayed in the council gardens, picking the petals off a daisy in an attempt to decide what to do. After almost an hour, he headed for the Obsidian Spire. Upon arriving at the Spire, Balthazar asked for his friends but quickly learned that they had left for the council meeting. He quickly met up with the trio on the road to the Greenheart Council.

### Mixing with High Society

In the antechambers of the council hall, the group mingled with several high-profile figures.

Notably absent were Archdruid Earyn, Ubass the Hunter, Baron Blaithe, and Torrak Brittlebone, as well as the High Priestess herself.

Balthazar noticed Baskar Rawhide and the toad Carson Thunderbane. Thunderbane approached the mouseling and introduced themselves. While they were unfamiliar with the Morozovas, as discussion turned to the vote, they noted their desire to see the Shadowfen unify to prevent the Divine Church from sending more missionaries into the region. He also spoke with Macra Karrow, one of the Karrow sisters - a crime family composed of six sisters who maintain control over docks and trade.

Many figures approached Mornon and, with a laugh, remarked that they were “Glad [he] got over [his] condition”. Xyanos the Lyre, on the other hand, addressed Mornon more directly and told him to vote for the centralisation of the Shadowfen to get his body back.

Much to Amanita’s horror, Alistair Blackthorn soon entered the antechamber and immediately approached Amanita and Balthazar. Greeting the former Sporeseer, he remarked that Amanita was “Looking greener than ever”. When she questioned why he was there, Blackthorn revealed that he was a personal guest of the High Priestess. Then, excusing himself, he took Balthazar aside and began extolling the good of the Ironclad Union and its “inventions”. He asked for Balthazar’s vote, but once again, the mouseling refused to forego voting. Having secured some more canapes from Briar Brigand, Electra approached the well-dressed Blackthorn and introduced herself. Amanita looked on, terrified of what the cleric would reveal to him.

Baskar Rawhide approached Mornon, noticing that Izzic was not acting “himself”. He clapped him over the head and remarked that the vote was “too important for one of [Izzic/Mornon’s] episodes”. Rawhide urged Mornon to vote against the unification of the Shadowfen. Electra tried to introduce herself to Rawhide, but he had little patience for her, leading to the greatest exchange in Stormbound’s short history: “You are Electra,” “And you are rude”.

Electra moved on to Macra Karrow and asked about her brother, Gus. Despite having been sent to stay with the Karrow sisters, Macra Karrow didn’t seem to have met him.

As the council approached, Amanita gave Mornon some tips on pretending to be Izzic, noting Izzic’s usual mannerisms, his populist tendencies, and his political position as a representative of the Westmarsh.

Amanita had largely avoided speaking with other council members, standing to the side of the room next to Elmwood. The two, united in their political positions and relationship with the Morozovas, shared a few words. When Amanita mentioned the events of the previous days, Elmwood respectfully suggested that the Sisterhood might have forgotten its own history. When she mentioned the fungal infestation of the Xeros Mine, they wondered whether the Sisterhood, as an embodiment of Wood and Corruption, may have lost control of that delicate balance that existed within all fungus.

Following Archdruid Earyn and Ubass the Hunter, who was required by law to cast the votes of those they had won in combat, the High Priestess Klaxi entered the antechamber. The group saw a powerful-looking white (?) raven wearing elaborate golden robe-like armour and wreathed in golden light. She made her rounds, speaking with every member of the council. She greeted Electra first, and when Electra attempted to cast *thaumaturgy* on herself to give herself a similar golden glow, her spell was instantly dispelled, and Electra felt sand in her clothes. Then she moved to Amanita, a figure religiously opposed to herself based on her worship of past memories. Sardonically, she asked about the state of the memories. Amanita informed her that the memories were restless but ready to accept the momentous vote. Klaxi greeted Balthazar and finally spoke with Mornon. Attempting to conceal his identity, he adopted an overly familiar tone with the raven. Klaxi saw straight through his act. Asking whether “it” worked, she enquired who he was. When he introduced himself as Mornon, she seemed not to know the tiefling and asked only that Mornon vote as they had agreed upon, for the unification of the Shadowfen.

### The Greenheart Council

With all relevant councillors accounted for, the session began. The congregation was invited from the antechamber into the main chambers of the Greenheart Council. The party members noted the large picture hanging from the walls of the council chamber, an archdruid not so distinct from Klaxi, wielding powerful magic atop a pile of bodies. They recognised this figure as the lich of wood who had seized control of the monarchy during the Mage Wars, a figure whose name had been stricken from all records and memory.

Amanita and Balthazar took their seats next to Elmwood, while Mornon sat apart from the pair. Electra, not permitted within the voting chamber, seated herself in the gallery next to Alistair Blackthorn. The two exchanged pleasantries, and Blackthorn proposed a friendly wager on the vote: Electra offered Colossus should unification occur, while Blackthorn offered his steel rose lapel pin and his left thumb for the current Tribes of Shadowfen to be maintained.

The official proceedings commenced. The presiding High Priestess and mayor took their places, and Riven Oathkeeper appeared wearing armour of pure light and bearing a sword of a similar light. Amanita recognised this sword as the “Sword of Truth,” a ceremonial weapon used to ensure the veracity of statements made within the Greenheart Council and to mark the beginning of a council session. According to the legend of the council, Riven Oathkeeper could not lie, and his sword allowed him to see through any falsehoods.

Klaxi took the stand and presented the order of the day, beginning with the vote for the unification of the Tribes of Shadowfen.

A number of councillors presented their arguments for or against unification, but none so passionately as Baskar Rawhide. Accompanied by Omnic Bloodbane and Mornon (Izzic Manytooth), the old war hero railed against the northern Shadowfen and any attempts at unification, upholding the independence of the Westmarsh. In a shocking twist, he declared that the Westmarsh would secede from the Tribes of Shadowfen if the vote for unification was passed. The war hero swore this intent on his name, with Omnic doing the same. Baskar turned to Mornon to do the same. The former tiefling yelled, “I am Izzic”. Despite the obvious lie, the Oathkeeper did not say a word.

With this treasonous declaration, the council chambers erupted in discord. Amidst the uproar; Amanita noticed that Xyanos seemed pleased with the proceedings. The discord was quelled only when a wand was produced, and a silence spell was cast on the council.

Once sanity had returned to the chambers, the proceedings continued. Amanita was next to take the stand. She adopted a diplomatic tone and pronounced the following on behalf of the Sisterhood.

> *Honoured members of the Greenheart Council, those both spoken and unspoken for, I, Amanita of the Celial Sisterhood and former Sporeseer of the Bellton Sanctum rise to speak on behalf of the Sisterhood. While our order believes in the need to organise, we are many, and our roots reach far. Centralisation is the domain of trees, not mycelium. The Sisterhood has survived through our independent network of Seers and our Sanctums, we cannot surrender our memories to the Shadowfen. Our sanctums are the only unification we require. On the heart of the First Spore and the memories of those past and present, the Sisterhood opposes the move to unify the Tribes of Shadowfen. May the network mark this decision in the memories forever.*
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Elmwood followed Amanita. The old Ent’s words were ambiguous and poetic as they declared, “*Of what do we name a forest with only half its trees? A forest without half of its trees is still a forest, but it is all the lesser for it.*” After detailing some history of the Shadowfen and the Lichenwood before it, Elmwood adopted a less impassioned stance and called for peace following the warmongering words of Baskar Rawhide. When asked to clarify their position, the Ent affirmed the Sisterhood’s position and claimed they would vote against unification.
After the councillors had presented their positions, the final call was made for speeches to be made. Balthazar raised his tiny hand and approached the Zone of Truth. Producing his councillor’s pendant from his pack, he addressed the crowd.

> *Welcome to all who have come today, it has been a great pleasure to meet most of you. Morozovas have been around for a very long time, we have seen many variants of this council and have chosen not to get involved. Unfortunately, "the snake that bites its own tail shall end up consuming itself from within." Our absence from politics has been due to a trust in the processes of those here in this room. This is a warning. This is a warning to those who seek to betray that trust. It will not end well. We fear a great darkness is coming, and we need to remain true to our values. Remember our history. As is tradition, we will continue to abstain from the vote. Vote with your hearts and not out of fear. Honor, Duty, Service.*
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When the Lord Mayor asked Balthazar to clarify his position, the mouseling simply remarked that he would be abstaining from the vote. When he returned to his seat, Mornon approached him and handed him a letter addressed to Deitrick, to be delivered “if things [went] badly”.

With this, the preliminary proceedings concluded, and the vote began. Balthazar indeed abstained from the vote, Amanita voted against it, and Mornon defied the Lord Mayor and Klaxi, voting against the centralisation of power. In the end, the “against” vote prevailed, with 61 votes, including those of the Archdruid, Makra Karrow, the Ent Elmwood, Baskar Rawhide, and Ubass the Hunter.

Surveying the faces of those around them, Balthazar noted an almost apathetic and relived expression on the mayor’s face and Mornon felt Klaxi’s eyes on him, his mind burning with the heat of the sun. He had the overwhelming sense that he had “wronged something beyond [him]”. When Amanita looked over to the stands, Blackthorn rose to leave, winked at the sister, and slipped a small piece of paper into Electra’s handbag. To Electra, Blackthorn politely conceded defeat and gifted her his steel rose despite his loss of the wager.

Mornon rushed from the council chambers, Electra chased after him.

Mornon came close – so close – to escaping, but as he approached the outer wall of the city, a figure silhouetted by a halo of golden light appeared before him. It was High Priestess Klaxi. Yelling, “DO NOT DEFY ME,” she blasted him with a beam of holy light. Any attempt to fight back was futile. Within seconds he was near death. Holding his head in her hand, she said, “Keep concentrating, I don’t want them to find the body,” before smashing the tiefling’s head against a wall. Mornon was dead. For good, this time.

### The (Mushroom) Lady doth Protest too Much, Methinks

With the vote concluded, the council moved to a second motion: the appointment of Alistair Blackthorn as a member of the Greenheart Council. As the call was made for objections to be voiced, Amanita could not restrain herself and rose as the single voice of dissent against Blackthorn’s appointment.

Meanwhile, standing in the zone of truth, Amanita seemed unnaturally shaken, speaking with an emotion rarely seen from the stoic sister. She began,

> *Honoured members of the Greenheart Council, I come bearing an accusation against the proposed councillor, Alistair Blackthorn.*
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> *Many weeks ago, the Sisterhood felt something stirring at the heart of Stormbound; the memories were restless, and the network itself was in pain. All memories led us to Morozova Manor.*
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> *While at this Manor, we witnessed the theft of an object of great power to the Morozova family. An artefact of Wood known as Root and Stem, an artefact entrusted to the family to hold back a dark and ancient evil. It was Alistair Balckthorn who ordered the theft of this object through a thief known as Van Kan Danz. The details of this theft are contained within this ledger, along with contracts for the thefts of a councilling pendant and a lantern, an artefact of fire. I, along with Balthazar of the Morozovas, Mornon of the Court of Fire, and Electra Shimbleshanks, can corroborate this account and the thief’s confession.*
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> *It is my recommendation that the council launch a full investigation into the theft of this artefact and Blackthorn’s criminality before any appointment be made to this esteemed body.*
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The accusation sent discord throughout the council, quelled only when the Lord Mayor called for the restoration of order. The Mayor then called for Amanita’s corroborating sources to come forth, but without Mornon or Electra, she was left with few allies. Balthazar remained her only source. When called into questioning, he vaguely corroborated Amanita’s account but avoided fully committing to accusing Blackthorn. When asked whether Blackthorn was responsible for the theft of the book, Balthazar agreed. But his cross-examination was cut short. Riven Oathkeeper spoke for the first time. “The mouse lies,” he declared.

With Balthazar’s testimony dismissed and neither of her other companions present, Amanita was left alone, without friends or allies to support her. By this point, Amanita was visibly distressed. Turning to the chamber, she pleaded for the council to accept her accusation, yelling, “Alistair Blackthorn is a thorn in the side of the Shadowfen. He works with darkness, and he led to the destruction of one of the Sisterhood’s sanctums –”. With this, Amanita’s world filled with blinding light, and she fell blind, deaf, and stunned.

At this point, Electra returned, and seeing Amanita seemingly unconscious and the council in disarray, she raced to the aid of the Sister. The Archdruid stood over Amanita, performing some healing magic. Electra spoke directly to the Lord Mayor and Klaxi, who informed her that Amanita had been silenced due to her “hysteria”. According to Klaxi, her spell could “have that effect on those prone to hysteria”. Electra. Was. Pissed.

Electra was furious and defended the Sister, calling her the most calm mushroom lady person she knew. She only stopped arguing when the Lord Mayor reminded her of her station, and Klaxi suggested that Electra might be getting “emotional”. Electra backed down as she recognised in Klaxi the same unyielding power as she had known in Deuteronomy.

As Archdruid Earyn took Amanita from the council, she remarked that she was “in the mind” to vote against Blackthorn’s appointment. Electra followed closely after, not trusting the druid after seeing what happened to Mornon.

Despite the drama surrounding the vote, the motion passed with only eleven votes against (including Amanita’s, Elmwood’s, Earyn’s, and a number of smaller houses), and Alistair Blackthorn was accepted as a member of the Greenheart Council with six votes.

In a medic’s ward, Earyn pulled a thread of glowing light from Amanita’s head, and the Sporeseer sat up, no longer blinded or deafened. She was still panicked and only cared about Blackthorn and the vote. Earyn seized this moment of vulnerability and trust with the Sister, asking her about the object of power that the Morozovas had possessed. When Amanita mentioned the tome, she asked to see it. Amanita handed her the book, placing her complete trust in the druid. But her faith was misplaced. Earyn took the book in her hands, and vanished.

We end our session with our small party in shambles - dead or hysterical, their artefacts stolen, their enemies appointed to power, and the future looking bleak.