Brave New World • Chapter 03

## Unearthing the Past

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### Lavente*(17th of Thawne, 4E 776)*

Evendur is woken early in the morning by Giacomo Allesi announcing that the Signore Di Angeli would be returning to Lavente shortly, and had invited the group to dinner that night to discuss matters. Evendur accepts the invitation and also passes it on to the rest of the party, including Kalahan, who has been staying at the Dodici Tavoli, Marcella's inn.

While they wait for the evening, the group sets off around the city finishing up more errands. Lionel, Evendur, and Gaeldrim drop by the Bank to exchange some currency, and Lionel also sells off some of the shiftweave he had picked up previously to accrue some additional cash. They also purchase some weaponry and spellcasting supplies while heading back. Oondak in the meantime meets up discretely with Katrin who is also currently in the city, furthering her claims to fame.

That evening, they return to the Torre degli Angeli and to the dining hall, where they find Marsilio Di Angeli, head of the Di Angeli Family, as well has his bodyguard. Marsilio is very cordial, and first engages in some questions and small talk about their journeys so far, which the group is happy to answer. Before long however, talk turns to heavier matters. Firstly, he informs them that the town they had passed through, Portovere, where they had run into the revolution underway, had been summarily wiped out by the Vigil Inquisition and made an example of. He laments that the rebellion had come too early, and that violence such as what they had witnessed did nothing to further the cause.

He goes on to inform Evendur that the token he was carrying, which he had found all the way back in Rotherton after his family's death, was the seal of a particular order dedicated to the salvation of mankind from, as he puts it, the wanton chaos of the gods. Evendur's parents had been recruited decades prior by Marsilio's father, and they had in turn also recruited Evendur's siblings to the cause. Parts of the order, the Magisterial Court, were also working from inside the Church of the Vigil to reform it into something better.

"*Our world has become a battlefield for beings of a higher order, that care not for the likes of you or I.* "
 ― Marsilio Di Angeli

He continues to explain to the group the plight that the order believes faces Ygdren, which seems now to be locked in a divine struggle between bickering gods and others of their ilk. He talks of sahuagin being driven to the shore by fighting in the oceans. He talks of an eternal storm descending upon the north of Wyldcrown. He talks of dragon cultists in Almeras. All things linking back to the one central view that the gods were treating the world as a battleground, and that mortal kind would not long survive such a status quo.

"*The question you should be asking is: why? Why would beings of supposedly omnipresent power allow such things to be? Because of fate? Because of some divine plan? How many children die, every minute, because of that divine plan? How many people endure pain and torment for their entire lives, because of that divine plan?* "
 ― Marsilio Di Angeli

The order, which had been started by his father, sought to bring about the dominance of a singular god, a one true god that seems to be different from all the rest, and had only recently began exerting their influence upon Ygdren. Marsilio assures them that the ways of the order were entirely peaceful. They sought to convert people and thereby diminish the influence of the lesser gods while bolstering that of their own. The belief, ultimately, is that this new singular authority would serve as a guiding presence that erases all sin and evil from the world and create a perfect world: a kingdom of heaven.

"*Do you not see? Destiny is a lie. The universe is chaos. It is change without rhyme or reason. It is destruction for the sake of destruction. Without a guiding hand, we will always spiral into despair. We think perhaps our “gods” will save us. We hope they have a plan for us. But, they are as powerless as you or I.

No, the false pretenders cannot save us. But, there is one who can. One who is above them all, one who was there at the very beginning and will be there unto the very end. We can turn the chaos into order, make it pure, unchanging, watched over by one who cares for all life equally. Who will not allow us to fall to our baser instincts. A future that is predetermined to be good. No more evil, no more sin, no more death.*"
 ― Marsilio Di Angeli

The discussion is a long and heavy one, and involves a lot of back and forth. Though heavily doubtful, some of the group do recognise some truth in Marsilio's words. He offers them the chance of employment: to carry out jobs with him as their patron and in doing so further the betterment of Ygdren as a whole. Kalahan, believing rightfully that any job done for Marsilio or the order would undermine The Bannerlord, flat out refuses. The rest of the group is split, but decides to take some time to make up their minds.

"*History is a vicious circle. Time and time again it repeats itself. We suffer, we fight, we die. And for what? For the illusion of freedom? Humanity’s obsession with free will is its greatest weakness. When has mankind made the right choice? When have we not been fuelled by arrogant pride, relentless avarice, or sinful lusts of the flesh?* "
 ― Marsilio Di Angeli

Before going to bed, Marsilio invites Evendur on a short walk to the gardens, where the two have a further conversation about family. Marsilio presses upon Evendur the importance of keeping things close to chest, and to keep close those he trusted implicitly. Eventually, he leaves Evendur alone in the gardens, with one final warning to keep his friends close.

"*I will not lie to you, Evendur. The world has become very dangerous for you. Your parents kept this from you until you were older because it would keep you safe until you understood the danger, but that time is now over. It is in our own wits, skill, and strength of faith, that we must trust.*"
 ― Marsilio Di Angeli

Evendur, now alone with his thoughts, makes the decision to contact Calisca, who is understandably very confused by the sudden contact, having believed him dead. The two exchange a few messages, but the exchange ends with Calisca asking for time to process everything. In the meantime, Kalahan packs up his belongings and leaves the estate, exchanging some words with Lionel about the events of the night on his way out. He heads to the Dodici Tavoli, where he spends the night.

### Lavente*(18th of Thawne, 4E 776)*

The following day is one rife with argument and heavy discussion. The group is split entirely down the middle. Jendora, Gaeldrim, and Yuli believe that no good could come out of working for Marsilio, and that they should simply use the boon they had from the Drowner Triads to make their way across the sea. Evendur, who wishes to continue in his parents' footsteps, thinks they would stand to gain a great deal from Marsilio's patronage, in wealth, influence, and purpose. Oondak also puts forward the point that if they were working from the inside it would be easier to ensure that Marsilio was being truthful, and that things truly remained peaceful. Lionel spends the day investigating this "New Church", and ultimately decides that he would stand with Evendur, believing there to be quite a few things to gain in the offer.

Throughout the day, the group has various conversations between themselves and with others. Jendora visits Admiral Stirling at La Signoria, where they have lunch together. Alastair informs her that Edraxis and the Commonwealth were likely on the verge of war, believing that the Church of the Vigil would seek to unite the people against a common enemy in the wake of continued unrest. Alastair himself was in Lavente for diplomatic reasons with "allies" within the country, but he does not disclose exactly who those allies were.

After a whole day of pondering their options, the group finally comes to an agreement. Gaeldrim and Yuli decide to take up Marsilio's offer for one job, and then use the promised reward to buy passage across the sea. Jendora sticks by her oath to help Yuli, and agrees to take the job as well. Only Kalahan remains adamant in his beliefs, knowing full well he would be working against his own convictions. Ultimately, realising they would never come to an agreement, the group has a heartfelt parting of ways with the northerner, before he leaves the Torre degli Angeli and the group.

The group goes to bed somewhat dejected, but resolved to accept Marsilio's offer in the morning.

### Lavente*(19th of Thawne, 4E 776)*

In the morning, the group convenes and heads to Marsilio's office, where they inform him they are accepting his offer. He seems pleased with the decision, and immediately provides them with more information about their task. Their objective is to travel to an abandoned chapel some days south of Lavente, where stories suggest an ancient relic of some sort is hidden. The chapel was currently being pillaged by, supposedly, a group of devils whose motive remained unknown.

"*I have reason to believe that what they seek may be of benefit to us. There are rumours that a relic is hidden somewhere in that chapel, and relics of this sort hold considerable interest to me. If you agree, I would have you retrieve this relic for me, if it does exist.*"
 ― Marsilio Di Angeli

Marsilio warns them that the retrieval of this relic would likely not be easy, but urges them to hurry lest the devils find what they were looking for first. Not wishing to waste time, the group sets off near immediately, following a map provided to them by Marsilio Di Angeli and taking a shorter road south that cut through the hills and gorges south of Lavente instead of going around.

### Edraxis Countryside*(19th of Thawne, 4E 776)*

In the late morning, they come across a collapsed tower that has fallen sideways across the road, blocking passage. The structure itself, though fallen, had remained surprisingly intact, at least on the exterior. The brickwork itself is of particular interest, as Evendur and Lionel note, as it seems to have been built entirely by arcane means, similar to some buildings at the Iron Academy.

Curious, but not wishing to spend too much time dallying, the party tries to find the shortest route through the ruin to the far side. The interior of the tower seems to have been burned long ago, and looted since then. Much of the rooms, though large, are empty. However, towards the end of the sideways rooms, in what would have been the final room before the roof of the tower, they spot a strange blue glow emanating from a double doorway.

Deciding to investigate, they crawl through the door and find a strange sight. The room they enter is the largest yet, encompassing nearly the entire storey of the tower. Engraved boldly into the floor, now a wall to their left, is the sigil of a snake wrapping around the stem of a rose. Like the rest of the tower, much of this room has been ransacked, and the rest has collapsed. Parts of what was once the outer walls of the tower have caved in and crumbled, leaving piles of rubble that make footing treacherous. Half-buried in one such pile of rubble, they see a strange statue, oddly decorated, with an exterior that seems metallic. The statue is constructed in such a way that one of its arms is crossed in front of it, clutching tightly against its chest what seems to be a large book, untouched by age, still resplendent in blue and gold.

Recognising the tome to be a spellbook, Lionel and Evendur cautiously approach, but before they can investigate further, the statue stirs thanks to a spark of magic from Oondak, who was also looking around the room with the aid of *detect magic*. What they thought to be a statue is revealed to in fact be an ancient warforged, that has clearly been dormant in this place for a long time.

The being, speaking in a raspy and distorted voice, refers to Oondak as "brother", and immediately upon activating retrieves its belongings from a hidden safe in the floor before positioning itself as a bodyguard to the very confused firbolg. Evendur, knowing some things about warforged from his time in Silverthorne, checks the back of the being's head for its identification code, which prompts it to identify itself as Ironstrong-4. Evendur explains this means the warforged was on its 4th reset, and had clearly been powered down without the means of rebooting.

With their new companion, the group presses on, having no time to lose. Some time later they come to a rope bridge across a gorge, where they are stopped by a group of condottieri upon crossing. The erstwhile bandits, proclaiming they are the bridge's "protection", demand payment, but are met instead by steel and fire and quickly put down. Only one of the bandits, more cowardly than the rest, manages to escape.

That night, after making camp, Oondak settles down to keep first watch with Ironstrong-4, who does not seem to need sleep. Oondak spends some time talking to the warforged, learning very little, but figuring out that healing magic still had some effect on it, seeming to accelerate the internal sounds of clockwork and mechanics and smoothen them out, indicating that it was at the very least improving things physically. Ironstrong-4's mind however still seems to be somewhat jumbled, speaking in short, out-of-context phrases that are more akin to half-remembered quotes than actual conversation at times.

Regardless, the party settles in for the night, which passes by uneventfully, with Ironstrong-4 keeping watch throughout.

### Edraxis Countryside*(20th of Thawne, 4E 776)*

The next day is an uneventful one. They continue travelling south, leaving the hills behind and descending back into woodland and fields. In the evening, they spot the town of Valegno up ahead, but decide it was best to camp outside so as to now draw any attention to themselves, particularly now that Ironstrong-4 was walking with them.

At camp, Gaeldrim prepares some food while Lionel and Evendur continue work on some spellcrafting. After everyone beds down for the night, Oondak once again takes first watch with Ironstrong-4, and continues to experiment with his healing magic. However, he pushes a bit too hard and pours in too much magic, which causes Ironstrong-4 to abruptly power down and remain unmoving for the night, though the internal clockwork remains active. Oondak panics, but does not know what to do to fix the problem. He spends the rest of the night anxiously awake, hoping he didn't permanently break their new companion.

In the meanwhile, the influx of magic triggers something in the warforged's personality core. Ironstrong-4's mind is bombarded with a flash of disjointed memory, and remains powered down for several hours. He awakens later on, close to morning, much to Oondak's relief. The warforged seems momentarily distressed, more confused than he was, searching desperately for his brother and not seeming to recognise Oondak, but calms down within a few seconds and reverts to his more stoic self, seeming no different than before...at least on the outside.

"*Built to serve. Built to protect.*"
 ― Ironstrong-4

Exhausted, Oondak wakes up Evendur to keep watch for the last few hours of the night, informing him of what had happened. Intrigued, Evendur tries to spark some recognition in Ironstrong-4 by showing him his spellbook, at which point the warforged seems to instinctively take it and begin copying a scroll he had tied around his belt into it. The writing is in some strange cipher, written purely out of muscle memory of some sort. Evendur immediately sets about trying to decipher the writing, completely neglecting the watch. Fortunately, the night passes relatively uneventfully, though some of the group's rations are discovered to have been eaten by rodents the following morning.

### Edraxis Countryside*(21st of Thawne, 4E 776)*

Leaving behind Valegno, they circle around the town and continue south, spending another largely uneventful day travelling towards their destination. They make camp in a small clearing with a view of La Spezia Bay, less than half a day away from the abandoned chapel according to their map.

There are no further developments with Ironstrong-4 that night, as everyone goes to sleep in preparation for the next day, under the cover of Evendur's magical dome. The warforged spends his night alone, wrestling with his own mind, trying to untangle the complicated web of memories and thoughts that pervade it.

### Ruined Chapel*(22nd of Thawne, 4E 776)*

Early the next morning, they carry on towards the chapel, leaving the main road and climbing up the sloping end of a seaward cliff. A few hours later, they catch sight of the chapel itself, a small stone structure that seems surprisingly intact given its apparent age. Scouting ahead stealthily, they catch glimpses of creatures inside digging through the ruins, which they assume to be the devils that Marsilio had mentioned.

Initially, the devils do not notice their arrival, but in a misguided attempt to negotiate with them, the group alerts them to their presence, and a fight ensues. The devils prove as dangerous as expected: they are organised, cunning, and deadly. Gaeldrim, beset by several of the creatures, succumbs to his wounds and falls, though fortunately Oondak manages to preserve his body in the hopes of future resurrection. The rest manage to fend off the remaining devils, thanks in no small part to Ironstrong-4's contributions, as he proves himself a steady bulwark in the face of overwhelming danger.

The remaining party members, Gaeldrim's body in tow, venture into the ruined chapel for shelter. They have little time to recover however, for they are greeted by another creature, presumably a devil of some kind but more humanoid in form, akin to a tiefling but with some aberrant features. He seems much more conversational than the previous devils, and seems intrigued by the party and their reasons for being here.

"*Quite the show! Very stirring...titillating, even. But it does leave me with quite the quandary...what do I do with you?*"
 ― Balthamos

The devil, who introduces himself as Balthamos, speaks privately to Lionel, who he deems to be "delightfully wicked". The two work out a deal over the course of their conversation: Lionel would get the relic (presumably the same one they had come to find) to Balthamos, and in exchange he would bring back Gaeldrim and provide some information about how to get the relic in the first place. If Lionel failed in his obligations, his soul would be forfeit.

"*Well...take a look around! Consider my predicament: there’s seven of you and only one of poor little me. Maybe you and I could...oh I don’t know… come to an agreement? I could make your little trip quite a bit easier. In exchange, all I would need from you is...a trinket. Nothing more.*"
 ― Balthamos

Lionel agrees to the terms, and Balthamos promptly fulfils his end of the bargain before disappearing. As Gaeldrim awakes, Lionel shares some of the news with the group (though he intentionally omits several key details). Gaeldrim is upset at being returned to life against his will, but in the midst of an angry back and forth Lionel blithely informs him that he had sworn several oaths, and that death would not free him from those oaths until he saw them fulfilled.

Separating from each other to gather their thoughts, the group has various scattered conversations over the course of an hour, some angry, some heartfelt, and some asking questions that had no answer. Ultimately, they make the decision to press on after their rest, but Gaeldrim chooses to stay behind after his argument with Lionel. They find the hidden entrance beneath the altar, as shown to them by Balthamos, and venture downward into the crypt: a series of narrow claustrophobic tunnels, half-collapsed, seemingly abandoned for centuries.

### Beneath the Chapel*(22nd of Thawne, 4E 776)*

The crypts are of Edraxian design, though clearly from very ancient times. In one side room, they find a strange stone relief, akin in some ways to the painting they had seen at the Torre degli Angeli, but with several major differences.

"*A set of stairs leads you to a small room on the side, to your right. The room is completely empty, but the far wall has a single depiction carved into it; a somewhat familiar depiction, of a man tumbling downward, reaching up, but instead of a looming being reaching down, the entire background of the carving is this massive, intricate depiction of...what seems to be a woman, but covered entirely in veiled robes, head to toe, such that her form is vague and featureless, and her hands are cupped just below the falling man, as though to gently catch him. The carving is clearly very old. Ancient. If it weren’t so large it would be impossible to make out in the half-collapsed archway and rubble that surrounds it.*"
 ― The Storyteller

Venturing deeper into the crypt, unlocking sealed doors and lighting a series of braziers, they unwittingly awaken a swarm of Carrion Crawlers that emerges from the nearby tombs and tries to devour them. The echoing sounds of fighting lead Gaeldrim to rush down after them, unable to bear the thought of Yuli being in imminent danger. In their battered state, they narrowly escape the swarm with their lives. Ironstrong-4, seeing his "brother" in danger, seals one of the doors again and locks himself and Gaeldrim with the remainder of the swarm in an act of self-sacrifice. Fortunately, the two are able to kill the last of the worm-like creatures, and the crypt once again falls silent.

After regrouping, they manage to activate a third brazier that opens the door to the final chamber of these crypts. This room is more spacious, and has only a single tomb in it, on a raised dais flanked by two statues of figures in hooded robes that shroud their forms, hands clasped in front of them in prayer. The tomb is once again decorated with another stone relief, showing the same veiled figure, though this time holding a triumphant humanoid shape in its hands, with a single diamond embedded into the stone where the humanoid figure's heart would be.

Through some investigation, they discover that the tomb moves at the touch of certain individuals in the group (Oondak and Gaeldrim), much akin to the altar in the chapel above. It reveals another staircase, leading steeply down into the dark. They also find, in a side room of the chamber, an assortment of gold coins and gemstones, which they gather up.

After a brief respite, they continue down the stairs, which stretch on for a good 15 to 20 minutes, until finally stopping rather abruptly at the end of a tunnel. The tunnel is rough and winding, but definitely seems man-made, the sides showing ancient chip-marks where the rock was cut apart with picks or chisels.

Moving onward for several hours, they eventually begin to notice that the sides of the tunnel are encrusted with patches of bioluminescent moss, that glows faintly blue, white, purple, or green in vague fractal patterns. Touching the moss causes a spark of static electricity, and dulls the luminescence for a brief few moments. Shortly thereafter, the tunnel leads them onto the gravel shores of an underground lake, nestled in a massive sprawling cavern.

"*The water of the cave is alight with the same multi-coloured glow of the moss you’ve seen on your way here. The colours reflect and sparkle off salt crystals in the rock, and even those of you who cannot see in the dark are able to look upon this cavern in all its splendour. Stalactites hang like chandeliers in their multitudes above you, and water drips slowly at random from each of them; hundreds if not thousands of droplets, pitter-pattering at idle intervals into the bioluminescent water below.*"
 ― The Storyteller

The lake is deep, and they cannot see the bottom, nor can they see any way to safely cross without venturing into the water. Tired from the day's events, the group decides to rest here on the shores of this lake, and huddle up inside Evendur's protective dome to pass the night in relative safety.

### Beneath the Chapel*(23rd of Thawne, 4E 776)*

Upon waking from an uncomfortable night's sleep, they begin to try and figure out a way to get across the water. While wondering whether anything could dwell within, Gaeldrim throws a bellstone into the fathomless abyss, much to the dismay of the rest. The stone loudly rings out after hitting the bottom, and a few moments of silence pass before they are abruptly attacked by a number of slimy, pincered tentacles that erupt out of the water, accompanied shortly thereafter by the creature they belong too, a massive slimy squid-like monster that begins tearing and flinging members of the group into the water in frenzied attempts to eat them.

Though the battle is brief, and the group emerges ultimately victorious, they are left battered, bloody, and wet. The creature's mutilated corpse sinks back into the abyss, and Ironstrong-4 drops down after it, not needing to breathe. At the bottom, he finds a pile of ancient coins, as well as a single withered skeleton that collapses into fragments at the merest touch. The skeleton did have in its possession a magical ring and a war spear made of orichalcum, which Ironstrong-4 retrieves and returns to the surface. Along the way back, Ironstrong-4 seems to briefly malfunction, getting stuck in an unresponsive, frozen state and seeming unable to continue making decisions, though still very much conscious of his surroundings, reacting to movements in his immediate vicinity. This lasts for a few minutes, before Ironstrong-4 returns to his normal self as though nothing had happened.

With the aid of a spell from Oondak that lets them walk on water, they cross the lake and venture into the tunnels beyond that. The water moves idly at first, but rapidly grows in speed until all they can do is follow its momentum and try not to get smashed into the jagged walls of the tunnel. The underground river eventually deposits them into a small cave on the side of the tunnel, which opens into a half-collapsed room that is also clearly not natural.

The ruins they enter now are strange, completely unlike the crypts they had travelled through the day before. The walls and floor are made of carefully stacked hexagonal bricks, of a smooth dark-grey ballast like stone. The bricks have weathered and decayed with time, but the pattern is still clearly there. Three passageways lead out of the first room, each blocked by stone doors made out of even more of these hexagonal bricks.

Through experimentation, they manage to open the doors by touching them with magic, the hexagonal bricks moving and shifting independently and folding seamlessly into the sides of the corridors, leaving no trace that a door had once blocked the way. Further in, they find evidence of magical wards in the centres of certain rooms, that they identify as possible traps and avoid.

Eventually, they come to a less-flooded room with a dais on which stand two strange constructs. They have the vague resemblance of a torso and head, in two separate blocks of some dull blue crystalline material, encased in a layer of metallic plating that looks as though it were splashed around the gemstones in an elegant artistic swirl. The head of each statue seems attached to the torso via a magnetic pull of some sort, and floats a few inches above at all times, resisting any attempts to pull it away from the torso.

The statues flank yet another depiction of the veiled woman, this time with arms spread apart, palms held low and facing forward in a welcoming nature, and head held high beneath the veil. The relief, instead of being carved into the stone, is instead made of an incredibly complex mosaic of the same hexagonal bricks that make up the walls of this place, but varying in size and placed further in or out to provide a three-dimensional effect. In the very centre of the mosaic, just beneath the ribcage, is a single empty slot that looks like it could precisely fit the key that Balthamos had given them.

Around the outside of the hexagonal relief is a string of letters from an alphabet none of the group have ever seen before. Both Ironstrong-4 and Lionel translate the text magically before trying to open the door.

"*Atonement not given but earned. Heavens fallen, gods spurned. Search for The Truth, but do not forget The Lie.*"
 ― Ancient Lettering

Resolving to continue onward despite their battered state, they slot the key into the opening and watch as the relief immediately flattens and shifts open into a hexagonal archway, that leads into a tunnel beyond. The lettering also rearranges itself into another phrase that surrounds the outside of the archway.

"*Lessons are learned when judgement is faced. May it extend eternally.*"
 ― Ancient Lettering

Perplexed, but undeniably curious, the group enters the tunnel and moves forward, following it for quite some time until it comes to an abrupt end, stopping at the base of a stone ramp, made of the same ballast-like stone that formed the walls of the tunnel and the flooded rooms before that. It's dark still, but ahead they can make out a faint glow over the lip of the slope, that casts a soft grey, flickering luminescence over the stone.

They climb the ramp and emerge into a massive stone hall, the ceiling so far above that it disappears into the gloom, held up by massive hexagonal ballast stone pillars. The grey stone floor is inlaid with strange spirals and shapes, concentric circles of gold inlay that arch and reach in seemingly random patterns across the entire room. Empty basins around the entire room light up with arcane flame as they enter, setting the hall awash with pale light, and illuminating the centrepiece of this place, a massive statue in the centre of the hall which draws all their attention.

"*Faintly glowing, seemingly made of the same stone as the rest of the room, is a statue of a humanoid figure, easily fifteen to twenty feet high. Hands held low, palms facing outward in a welcoming manner, draped in a veil of stone, you see the same female figure you’ve seen depictions of all throughout this place. This time, as a statue with no seams nor no signs of workmanship; incredibly detailed and carefully delicate in its design, dominating this hall with its presence. And the stone veil that covers it, impossibly thin, enough that light seems to pass through it...is slowly shifting, as though in a gentle breeze.*"
 ― The Storyteller

Approaching the statue in curious awe, they note a circular metal plate embedded into the statue's chest, made of a silvery metal inlaid with a precise maze of blue gemstone. The statue, Oondak notes, is abuzz with consecrated power, a divine energy unlike any he has felt before. Determining that the metal plate was the relic they sought, the group sets about trying to extract it, and ultimately manage to do so.

"*You rotate the circular metal plate in its alcove, slowly and carefully, and it clicks evenly with the motion. Once, twice, six times in total, until on the last click it shifts slightly outward; enough for you to get some purchase underneath the edges, and to try and pry it cautiously out. As carefully as you can, holding your breath, you dig fingernails underneath the lip of the disk and pull, and at last there is another faint click, and the disk falls out of its alcove into your waiting hands; the metal cool to the touch, the blue crystal reflecting the light of the braziers and the statue that looms in front of you.

You haven’t finished breathing out a sigh of relief yet, when there is a loud rush of air, and all the magic in the massive hall is sucked into the artefact in an instant. Every spell you have running, gone. Every brazier, every light, extinguished. The pale glow of the statue, immediately dull. You are cast into sudden pitch blackness, and from the artefact a blast of energy tears outward; an impossibly loud, high-pitched static that drives into your mind, brushing away all sentient thought and sense, replacing it with overwhelming feelings of agony, anguish, and sheer indescribable terror.

Your vision loses focus, your brain shutting down under the assault, and all you can see are scattered flashes of images barraging your thoughts. A monolith of black stone, towering into the sky. Veiled figures in a circle around it. A storm of magic descending from the heavens to slam against it, and then an eruption. A blistering explosion of unfathomable power, that turns everything to ash. Every living creature, every tree, every blade of grass; gone, in a moment. A wave of energy that cascades outward, unstoppable, miles-wide in seconds, growing and growing until all is gone in blinding white light.*"
 ― The Storyteller

The entire group is slammed by this pyschic assault, unable to resist its effects or recover enough of their mental faculties to act. Only Yuli manages to push through, through sheer mental effort, and she sees through the growing gloom of the room two shapes emerge from the columns that flank the central statue.

"*Humanoid in shape, but tall, nine-foot at the least. Muscular male figures, naked but for the merest cloth around their waist, and a thick silken veil draped across their heads and shoulders that obscures any facial features. Their skin is the colour of dull bronze, glimmering as though actually laced with metal, and behind their backs unfurl manifold pairs of broad, feathered wings, coiling and folding as they stretch into the cold air of the chamber. They fall to their knees, struggling to rise, and even as the images of the monolith fade away in your head, you are all slammed again by raw emotion, poured directly into your thoughts in its purest form. Confusion, doubt, uncertainty; then strength, determination, resolve, and at last...cold fury, as their attention turns to you.*"
 ― The Storyteller

In the pitch darkness of the ensuing battle, the glowing angelic figures seem solely intent on retrieving the artefact and removing any threat from the chamber. They are immensely powerful, striking with radiant weapons that bring down several of the group. However, through united effort, the party manage to kill one of the creatures, with Lionel striking the final blow. When this happens, they are beset with intense feelings of pain, anguish, and loss from the remaining guardian of the chamber. It immediately strikes down Lionel in its anger, pulls the artefact from his unconscious body, and places a hand against the veiled statue in the middle of the hall. In doing so, a teleportation spell of some sort is activated, unleashing a pillar of magic that begins to collapse the chamber. The angelic being disappears, still holding on to the artefact, and the group (with several of them still unconscious) realise they have no hopes of escaping the way they had come. In desperation, they place their hands on the statue as well and teleport after the creature.

### Ruined Chapel*(23rd of Thawne, 4E 776)*

They emerge, seconds later, in the middle of the ruined chapel they had first come to investigate, battered and beaten. There is no sign of the angelic creature or the artefact it now possessed. The danger having passed for the moment, they take a little time to breathe, utterly exhausted from the day's struggles.

In the midst of the fighting, Ironstrong-4 seems to have experienced a jolt of memory, speaking now in a strong Edraxian accent and introducing himself as Nicolaus Julius Varus Thresce. This causes some confusion amongst the group, especially once they realise that Nicolaus seems to have been born over 600 years prior to the current date. Deciding to go for a walk to clear his head, Ironstrong-4 heads to the door, but is interrupted by a crossbow bolt thudding into the wood as soon as he opens it. From outside, the familiar voice of Charles Morgan rings out. He informs the group that he had come to retrieve something they had taken from him, the Broken Blade that Jendora now carries.

"*Maybe you remember it. A little trinket you picked up in Stillwater. Rusty old thing, but still sharp I would think. Toss out the sword, you walk away with your lives. Never have to see me again. That’s all; just a broken sword, and we all go our separate ways.*"
 ― Charles Morgan

With three of their party down, and most of their resources spent, the group realises they have very little means of fighting back, and they decide to give in to Morgan's demands. Ironstrong-4, who seems to have suddenly shifted into a whole new persona in which he identifies Oondak as "ambassador", takes charge of the negotiation. They place the sword outside the chapel, and moments later it is retrieved and disappears. By the time they walk outside to scan the area, there is no sign of Myriad activity.

In the next few hours until dark, tempers flare between several of the party members. Evendur berates Gaeldrim for his reckless actions by the underground lake which nearly got all of them killed. Ironstrong-4, who seems to have returned to the persona of Nicolaus, and Oondak go for a long walk, talking about various matters. When they return, Oondak also has an argument with Gaeldrim about his recklessness, which drives Oondak to frustrated tears. Jendora yells at Evendur for giving away her sword while she was unconcious, to which he promptly responds that it was the only course of action that ended with them alive.

Lionel, once he has woken up, realises that the artefact is gone and has a panic attack, sitting outside the chapel for hours trying to decide on what to do next. When he does return, he spots a strange spectral apparition that only he can see floating thirty or so feet away, seeming to follow him with its movements, always lingering at the very edge of that radius. There is no indication of magic, divine energy, or even any sign that the apparition is anything more than a hallucination in Lionel's troubled mind.

"*You see, floating maybe thirty feet away from you, a ghostly figure floating in mid-air. Slightly translucent, a deep red and black colour, its features blurry and indistinct, and its limbs fragmenting into nothing at the edge, like frayed cloth that has withered and been torn away. It floats there, unmoving: its shoulders slumped, its head hanging lifelessly, like a puppet whose strings have been cut.*"
 ― The Storyteller

With tensions still high, and Lionel even more unnerved, the group eventually succumbs to exhaustion in different areas of the chapel. Lionel and Evendur have a brief conversation before they sleep, where Lionel unloads his frustrations and stress with the rest of the group, and expresses his concern that things would inevitably end in disaster if they kept going as they did. He expresses his leaning towards leaving and striking out on his own, to which Evendur convinces him to wait until the morning before making a decision on a tired mind.

That night, Lionel's sleep is restless. He sees once more the same visions of the black monolith surrounded by veiled figures, the wind that tore away life as it swept over it, and small flashes of a dark library, a flash of red and white between the aisles, and a book whispering secrets into his mind.

### Edraxis Countryside*(24th of Thawne, 4E 776)*

Immediately the next morning, Lionel wakes and tells Evendur they needed to return to Lavente immediately. He sets off as fast as he can, ignoring the floating black and red shadow that is still following thirty feet behind. The others scramble to follow, and the group sets off northward at a fast pace.

Once they hit the main road and come close again to Valegno, they begin to see groups of what seem to be refugees, heading in the same direction as they. Stopping to question one of them, Oondak discovers that an army of sea creatures, sahuagin chief amongst them, had attacked two villages a few days south of here and burnt them to the ground. They had come in greater numbers than ever before, and attacked much larger targets.

Choosing to waste no time, they press on longer than normal past Valegno and make camp by the roadside. Lionel, still being followed by the black and red shadow, is unable to find any rest, and spends the night feverishly writing in his spellbook. For the rest, the night passes by largely uneventfully, except for Yuli.

During the last watch, she catches sight of a ghostly woman walking between the trees, wearing a long wispy white dress that seems to twist and turn in the air even despite the lack of any breeze. The figure's skin is frost white, and vaguely luminescent, lined with impossibly precise scars arranged carefully into curving lines that accentuate the features of her face. The woman holds out a palm towards Yuli, on which she sees that the scars end in perfect circles precisely the same as the markings she herself had on her own hands.

As the ghostly woman begins to walk away into the forest, Yuli frantically follows, and in a moment finds herself standing on a strange landscape, the flat surface of an endless, motionless sea of black unreflective water. In front of her are two massive hands, seemingly carved of black crystal or stone, slightly submerged in the water with palms facing upward. The same ghostly woman she had seen appears behind her, introducing herself as Ynalthed.

"*You must survive. There is no other outcome I will accept. What you found beneath the earth is only the beginning. Things are now in motion that can upset this delicate balance we find ourselves in. You are at the very centre. Your journey must take you east, across the water, to the desolation. This is what you were made for.*"
 ― Ynalthed

### Edraxis Countryside*(25th of Thawne, 4E 776)*

The next morning, the group continues towards Lavente, taking the same road through the hills as they had previously. Along the way, Ironstrong-4 informs them that he plans to stay a while at the ruined tower where they had found him, in the hopes of finding more clues into his past. Those clues come earlier than expected, when just past noon their walk through one of the gorges is interrupted by a line of sand that appears floating in the air in front of them, quickly turning into a doorway through which step three figures.

The first of the figures is dressed in elaborate clerical dress, with a face masked in gold and a tall headdress. She introduces herself as Lifebinder Amira bin'Moussa, of the Malevistari. She is flanked by two strange creatures, very tall, with hunched shoulders and strange jackal-like heads. Their skin seems to be withered and brown, almost as though it had been completely dehydrated and dried. Through the vague translucence of the exposed pieces of skin, they can see tar-like liquid flowing through the veins and arteries of the bodies.

"*It has come to our attention that you are in possession of an object of great sentimental value to the High Priest. He has sent me to retrieve it. You will of course be aware of the object I am speaking of?*"
 ― Lifebinder Amira bin'Moussa

The priestess informs them that she is looking for a book of spells, one that she divines via a quick spell is hanging around Ironstrong-4's belt. After some negotiation, she contacts the person that had sent her to retrieve it, High Priest Suleiman, who in turn invites the group to come speak with him directly, at the Temple of Sút in Ain'alaard, the capital of the Domari Sovereignty. Ironstrong-4 accepts, though he later reveals to the group that he has no idea how to get there.

"*When you arrive, it is best to ask directly for me. The High Priest is a busy man. Please, do not delay.*"
 ― Lifebinder Amira bin'Moussa

Discussing this rather odd encounter, the group carries on. They leave Ironstrong-4 at the ruined tower, where he spends the rest of the day poking around trying to unearth some clues as to his own jumbled past, but finds little of import. In the meantime, the remainder of the group reaches Lavente, finding it under the firm control of the Vigil Inquisition.

"*In the twilight hours approaching last light, as you’re coming down from the hills and gorges towards the gate that you left through, you note several things right off the bat. The first thing that catches your attention is the distant ringing of bells. A cacophony of them, echoing all over the city, the noise stretching all the way to where you are now.

Secondly, coming within eyesight of the gate itself you note that when you left this gate wasn’t particularly busy, even in the middle of the day. Now, there’s a considerable cluster of people at the gate, clamouring to get in. Many look similar to the refugees you had encountered along the road here. You note that there is a line of guards across the gateway, and they are slowly allowing people to trickle in, checking each individual’s passes.*"
 ― The Storyteller

### Lavente*(25th of Thawne, 4E 776)*

While the group tries to figure out how they can make it past the gate without passes, they are approached by a short, mousy-haired man sent by Marsilio Di Angeli. He takes the party away from the road to the waterside, and smuggles them into the city via gondola. While moving through the city canals, they note that the city is in a state of urgency, with patrols of soldiers marching through the streets and even sky ships circling above the city.

When they reach the Torre degli Angeli, they are greeted with cheer by Marsilio who greets them with a lie about them being on holiday in Corlantis. Though initially confused, the group quickly realises Marsilio was lying for a reason, and play along. He introduces them to his wife, Elena von Emreis, a Radenian noblewoman, and then leads them up to his office to talk.

"*Now we can speak freely. My apologies, things have become very complicated very quickly. The church has taken this invasion of sea creatures as an opportunity to occupy Lavente. For defensive purposes, or so they say. The magisterial court is working to re-assert some control within the city, but, for now, the eyes and ears of the church are everywhere. We must tread very carefully.*"
 ― Marsilio Di Angeli

The group takes Marsilio through the events of their journey, and the discoveries they had made. He seems particularly interested in the ancient ruins they had found deep beneath the surface, especially the depictions and statue of the veiled woman. Though naturally not pleased by their failure to retrieve the artefact, he nonetheless does not dwell on the matter, and immediately launches into making preparations for tracking down the angelic creature that had escaped with it.

"*This situation may yet prove to our benefit. Wherever this creature is going, it is clear that this artefact is important. If we can follow it, we may unearth more than what we could have accomplished by simply retrieving it.*"
 ― Marsilio Di Angeli

He tells the group to rest and consider his offer for employment anew, while his own people tried to scry on the creature and decipher its location (and the location of the artefact in its possession). The group, grateful for the reprieve, returns to their rooms and discusses their next steps.

Yuli in particular is keen to cross the ocean, as Ynalthed had instructed her to do, but realises that doing so without first getting rid of the curse that plagued her and Gaeldrim would be difficult, if not impossible. She brings this up to Marsilio, who tells her he will endeavour to find a solution for her if she takes on his offer of employment, and she therefore agrees.

Before going to bed, Lionel visits Marsilio and with complete honesty divulges the truth of his situation: the deal he had made with Balthamos and the spectre that was now haunting him. Marsilio, whom he expected to be angry, is certainly not pleased, but thanks him for his honesty and sets to thinking of ways out of the tangle.

Lionel returns to his room and, still fretting about the many complications he was facing, tries again to enter the library that he had seen during his failed ritual all those years ago. This time, much more in control of his arcane capabilities than he was then, and with more power readily available to him, he is successful.

### The Library*(25th of Thawne, 4E 776)*

He finds himself in a crossroad of familiar aisles, bookshelves towering on either side of the four corridors that stretch out in front of, behind, and to either side of him. He begins to walk, taking a corridor at random, taking in his surroundings. He notes that the library had a weird mismatched architecture to it, as though two differing styles were in direct opposition, yet seamlessly mixed together at random. One style was all elegant wood and marble, the other wrought stone in gothic styles.

Following the corridor, he comes to another crossroads, that looks identical to the last. He follows another corridor, and again comes to a similar crossroads. Beginning to suspect he was stuck in a loop, he leaves a scratch on one of the bookshelves and follows the corridor again, but when he next comes to the crossroads the scratch is not there.

Flummoxed, yet deeply curious, he tries to open one of the books, only to find the tome empty with blank pages from start to finish. He tries to write into one of the pages, but the ink simply gets soaked into the paper, without leaving a mark. Growing more curious by the second, he leaves a ribbon in the book and walks down the corridor. When he comes to the crossroads, the ribbon is where he left it, leading him to believe that there was definitely some kind of looping structure to this place.

Next, he tries to climb one of of the shelves. Minutes of hard climbing later, he looks down only to find himself mere inches up from the floor, as though he had not moved. At last, he notices that the pattern inscribed into the marble flooring seemed to shimmer strangely when looked at from a certain angle. Focusing on it, he notes that if he focused just so, the corridors were replaced by staircases leading up, and at a different angle, leading down.

"*You lift a foot, preparing for it to fall through the stairway that cannot exist, thinking perhaps it is some illusion, but when the foot descends, it steps instead onto solid marble, and you climb the first step...and snap back to reality, a wave of exhaustion washing over you, mingled with the thrill of what you have accomplished.*"
 ― The Storyteller

### Lavente*(26th of Thawne, 4E 776)*

The next morning, the group gathers at Marsilio's office to find out what his people had managed to discover, and to accept his offer of employment for the time being. He informs him that the target was proving difficult to scry upon, seemingly more resistant than most to the spell. As a potential solution, he suggests that it would improve the chances of success if they were to possess an artefact of similar origin to the one they had found, potentially tying the spell closer to the creature they were seeking.

"*An associate of mine, an archaeologist, recovered a relic of a certain similarity to the one you found, from an old tomb in Samarkhet. The Samarkhesians, understandably, do not take kindly to tomb raiders, and my associate was forced to escape into Maruk with very few of the resources I had provided him surviving. Fortunately, my contacts in Maruk were able to smuggle him through to the border, but he is now trapped south of here, in Decime, carrying a relic that could very well be considered heretical while the entire countryside around him is turning into a warzone.*"
 ― Marsilio Di Angeli

He asks the group if they would be willing to track down this archaeologist and return the artefact themselves, to which they agree. He also informs Yuli and Gaeldrim that he may have found a way for them to solve their problem. He informs them of an oracle, in Thyr near the capital, that was known to deal with such things. If they retrieved the item from Decime, they could travel across the border into Thyr and hit two birds with one stone. Eager to get going, each for their own reasons, the group agrees to do so the following morning.

They spend the rest of the day resting and recovering. Oondak arranges for Ironstrong-4 to be smuggled into the city, which he is successfully. Yuli visits Viktor Kowalczyk, the artificer, and has the Amplifying Crystal embedded and attuned, a gruelling and bloody process that takes hours. The rest of the group remain within the tower, with Marsilio arranging for any supplies they needed to be delivered by the next morning.

At the end of the night, Lionel attempts once more to visit the library, and is successful, this time taking Evendur with him into the unknown.

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