Saralas: Session 72

22 Elient

Clothing Store

• We are in the clothing store
• Skant had just told us about the machine with the blood and that it made magic pets.
• I step onto the pedestal. As soon as I do so, what appears to be an illusion appears before me. It is an elegantly dressed male, Silksmith Mixel, and I have made a fantastic choice in deciding to get a new robe tailor made in the finest tailory in Ythryn.
• How much does this cost? He doesn't really know.
• I imagine a fine robe of deep purple with gold, with elven patterns. Phase spiders come down, take measurements, and weave a beautiful robe. Captured within the robe are dancing, almost animated patterns of finest quality. About 10 minutes later the work is complete and I have the robe.
• It is a silkspun robe with a merchant value of 250 gold and no magical properties. It is quite fine, and I'm worried the others will try to steal it. I clutch it close and look accusingly at them.
• Baerwin gets some snow-themed robes while we're at it.
• Resda looks for where to pay
• I drop 10 gold on the counter that looks likely and walk out
• I carefully pack the robe into my pack for a special occasion
• Karthos also buys a robe
• The others ask if maybe we want to go back to the machine
• Karthos thinks we should fight something, for the daggers.

Toppled Tower

• The remains of a tower lie scattered around us. The ruin is teeming with crawling gray hands. These are Crawling Claws, disembodied hands created through necromancy. I can't quite tell how many there are. They appear to be trying to excavate, but not making any progress.
• They look like they are trying to excavate the ruins. Skant agrees.
• Where is the clue? Do we dig? The others were up top. The tower has crumbled into rubble. We search for the top of the tower, and as we do we see what appaers to be a ghost, standing at the edge of the ruined foundation of the tower, looking down, sadly.
• "I think we should talk to the ghost," said Korag. "I think *you* should talk to the ghost," Baerwin replied.
• Baerwin is worried the ghost could be dangerous. Resda recalls the time Min stole from a ghost. I clutch my bag tighter and stare accusingly at Min.
• Baerwin goes up with Korag and Karthos. The ghost laments the fall of Ythryn. "What has become of my beautiful city." Trapped under the rubble is his corpse, and though his faithful servants have been digging, they still cannot reach him. The ghost sighs, and fades away.
• Korag tries to help the crawling claws dig out. Everyone else joins in. After a little while we see that due to the amount of rubble, it'll probably take us the rest of the day to clear the rubble by hand. Resda uses her abilities shaping earth and stone to move most of the earth. I'm still helping.
• Eventually after a couple hours we dig down towards the foundation we uncover a corpse, as well as an inscription "Seventh: trace a circle with the ashes of the dead"
• I suggest burning this corpse, but Korag is opposed. "Do you still have Min's ashes?" I ask. "That's weird... but yes I do" he replies carefully.
• While we talk Min robs the corpse for a Necklace of Fireballs.
• Resda makes a small tomb for the corpse. The ghost reappears, inspects the tomb, smiles, and fades from view.

Tower of Conjuration

• I see a scouting party of a dozen cultists and warn the others to cover
• The cultists look quite aggressive, but do not see us
• We approach the tower, engraved with interlocking circles of stone. Yellow light shines out the top of the tower, and the faint sound of brooms brushing on stonework drift through its broken doors. I feel like I've heard this story before, magical brooms.
• Bun looks droopy.
• I inspect the outside of the tower, wondering if the tower decoration conceals magic, but it appears to just ornate decoration. The doors open and are hanging open.
• I go through the broken doorway. Korag and Karthos follow. The interior is ruined but surprisingly clean, thanks to brooms guided by an invisible force that are endlessly sweeping the floor.
• I take the stairs up to the upper floor of the tower. Glowing orbs are set into the walls of this 30-foot diameter circular chamber. Four giant hands made of shimmering force hang in the center of the room guarding a tiny ornamental tower perched on a pedestal.
• I look for an engraving, but nothing is apparent.
• The hands are bigby's hands.
• Skant says the tiny tower is probably meant to conjure something. "You could try touching it."
• Karthos walks towards the tower, eyeing the hands. Which hover there, menacingly. He continues towards the tower, and says "definitely conjuration". He touches it.
• A doorway 8 feet tall, 4 feet wide appears in thin air about 5 feet away from the pedestal.
• Karthos says this is probably some sort of magical hut or sanctum. "Can we go in?" asks Resda.
• "Can we get out?" asks Korag.
• "Does anyone want to join me?" Karthos asks as he walks towards the door.
• "I will." Baerwin seems eager.
• "Do we want to send Skant with them?" I ask.
• "I can do without."
• Karthos and Baerwin walk through the door, disappearing from view.

Through the Door

• Karthos and Baerwin find themselves in a cluttered den, occupied by three hags, one of which is stirring a cauldron. The other two are looking upon the interlopers with gleaming eyes.
• "What do we have here?!" they cackle, laughing.
• "Fuck," Karthos says quietly. Baerwin looks around for danger.
• He also sees an inscription on the wall in draconic.
• Baerwin sees this and tries to sketch the words. One of the hags approaches, saying "oh aren't you a cutie," and pinches his cheek. "I can read draconic."
• "Do you want to tell me what it says?"
• "What will you give me?" She asks for a kiss. Baerwin obliges, saying some nonsense.
• He tries to kiss her, holding back his bile. She cackles, and tells him it reads "Second, summon a flame in the palm of your hand." All the hags laugh again.
• "Will you be having dinner, or being dinner, or something in between?"
• "Can we just leave?" Karthos asks.
• "I think so..." says one. But ask for something before they leave.
• The hags asks for one memory from each of them.
• Baerwin obliges, and a hag teases a thread of silver from his forehead, and swallows it.
• Karthos reluctantly agrees. It appears to be an important one.
• The sisters re-open the doorway and Karthos and Baerwin leave.

Meanwhile

• The others disappered, and it's been a couple minutes
• Korag looks to be counting in his head
• After a couple minutes they reappear from the doorway. Baerwin throws up.
• They recount the story.

• They got the inscription but Baerwin doesn't remember it well given the hag's repulsiveness. He collects himself a bit and shakily recites what he sort of remembers.

The Library

• It is getting quite late in the day and we're feeling tired
• We debate going to the next tower or the grove. Bearwin suggests checking out the big building we see up the road.
• This collosal building has many lofty turrets in a state of disrepair. The ground below is littered with rubble. A giant door at the base of the structure stands slightly ajar
• I poke my head in. I see a library.
• The others don't think this is the library Wodna was looking for.
• I suggest sending her a message describing briefly the library.
• I enter the library, wondering if we can find the kind of book that would meet Wodna's need.
• While we argue, a strange figure comes into view, followed by a large penguin.
• The figure is a bespectacled jackle-headed humanoid. An eyeless 5-foot tall penguin follows behind it, dragging a cart of books. "Ah, you must be the librarians. Scrivenskry has need of your assistance."
• He says he is seeking a Book of Keeping. While Karthos and Scrivenskry talk, the penguin shuffles to Resda and hands her a note scratched into a piece of leather. She reads the words "help me". Resda shows Min the note as well.
• Some go searching the library for these books, and learn a few key details about Netheril and Ythryn
  • Ythryn was under the command of a lich named Ireo Larthas, and was obsessed with finding artifacts of faerun's past
  • The city used giant mimics as beasts of burden
  • The people enjoyed the game of chain lightning
  • They do not find the book he is looking for.
• Also while we are searching I collect a couple likely candidates for Wodna's need.
• Scrivenskry is disappointed that we don't find the book, and says he is going to search elsewhere, and retreats from the party. Then penguin remains.
• The penguin's name is Kingsport. He was promised a life of enlightenment, but instead he has been enslaved by Scrivenskry. He lives in constant fear of his cruel, unpredictable master.
• They don't know much about Ythryn, they entered the city only a day before using plane shift. They came from faerun, but came in by way of plane shifting. Kingsport is from the far, far south.
• He is terrified of what Scrivenskry might do and is afraid to simply leave him.
• We talk about what we could do to help. Karthos offers to protect him. He says Scrivenskry is a Yugoloth, and they are dangerous, potent spellcasters.
• Skant says they are evil, all of them, and from another plane. Kingsport says he can also teleport freely, and is telepathic.
• I suggest banishing him, since he is from another plane. If we could get the scroll from him he wouldn't be able to return, at least not for a while, but otherwise he probably could. The scroll is kept in his pack, along with other things he looted from the library.
• Resda asks what angle she might take to ask to see the scroll or his pack. Kingsport says he has spent his life seeking arcane knowledge. He would be most flattered by recognition of his wisdom and knowledge.
• He comes back, and Resda starts talking him up, asking to see the scroll. He is very flattered. She must be a great sorceress to recognize his genius on how he found his way into Ythryn. He gives it to Resda, who says she must study this. And then she banishes him.
• Kingsport says he would like to return to his homeland, and asks if Resda will give him the scroll to allow him to do so.
• Resda suggests waiting until we accomplish our goal, then all leave together. "Yeah until you decide to leave us behind in another plane."
• We debate calling Wodna, but I worry that if she gets the book she wants she may just leave, rather than fulfill the full deal. I suggest waiting until we can be sure we can open the barrier.
• We settle in to rest. I don't feel any different.

23 Elient, Morning

• I wake up, still not trusting anyone
• Karthos looks like hell. So do Min and Korag.
• Karthos realizes that the magic of Ythryn is turning the party into nothics by the horrible magic field that pervades this city. If it completes, nothing short of a Wish can save them.