Chapter 9 - The Library of Last Resort

[DangerBoy]

Three days after the Prince's gala, a plain carriage arrives for the heroes at the Tipsy Nymph, arriving at 2am. The driver is a pale, gaunt half-orc in a tophat. He regards the adventurers with a detached look, as if barely noticing them. The carriage drives to Mistwall Manor, Lashonna's estate, where they are escorted through a luxurious courtyard of fountains and topiaries, into the front parlor, and are then led up a spiraling marble staircase to Lashonna’s private study and reading room.

Title

The walls of this spacious, tastefully decorated study are filled with shelves of leatherbound tomes on a wide variety of topics. A large desk sits against the far wall, its surface empty save for a stack of tattered pieces of yellowed paper. The carpet is a deep shade of crimson, and arrayed on it in a semicircle before the desk are several high-backed chairs fitted with velvet cushions.

Lashonna waits here, wrapped in a gold-trimmed gown of the very latest fashion and cut to accentuate her near-perfect figure. As the heroes enter, a delighted smile dances upon her scarlet lips before she dismisses her manservant. “You won’t be needed any longer Kelgorn, I’m sure I’ll be quite well attended to, with such pleasing guests to keep me company. Good night.” The half-orc withdraws with a stiff bow as Lashonna gestures to the chairs before her desk. "Please, have a seat. There is much to discuss."

The elf waits until the heroes sit and then takes a seat behind the desk in a way that very much makes this feel like a business meeting.

[Omegang]

Aranaias removes his Hat of Disguise. Thinking back on his lessons on deportment and etiquette, he begins.

”My most esteemed and gracious lady, most high power of the Silver Flight, please allow me to introduce myself and my companions. I am Aranaias of House Aladhen of Whiterook, son of the High Priestess and the Sword of Solev. I bring you their salutations and blessings. My companions are the honorable Duncan Szordrin, paladin of Solev, Master James Blackmoor and Master Kendrick Willowsong, both of Diamond Lake and members of the Rabbits of Caerbannog.”

”We bring greetings and expressions of concern and requests for information from the Archmage Naros of Magepoint.”

Edited August 10, 2023 by Omegang
Change Edmund to James (see edit history)

[DangerBoy]

Lashonna nods politely but perhaps a bit impatiently. "Yes, thank you Aranaias, I am well aware of you and your deeds. Time is of the essence; I know you're working to stop Kyuss from being released from his prison and I can share critical information that will aid your quest. This may go quickest if you tell me what you already know and I'll fill in gaps for you and answer any questions you might have."

[Lycar]

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Edmund de Vries Edmund de Vries HP: 152/152 - AC: 32 (19) [26] Conditions: Hero Points: 0

James just nods politely and lets the scholars do the talking for now.

[thesloth]

Kendrick Willowsong

Kendrick swallowed hard, it was different talking to someone you knew was a dragon. Even a benevolent dragon.

"I think we should spare you the tedious historical details of our early investigation. The facts are this: before being sent here we visited Kuluth-Mar. This ziggurat is a very close copy of the ziggurat used in Kuluth-Mar by Kyuss to attempt his ascension. When we visited the city we were affected by strange visions, as if the moment of his ascension is continuously being relived inside the magic shell covering the city. His ascension was not perfectly completed thus trapping him in his demi-god state. It will sacrifice every soul in the city. It will turn them into the undead Kyuss worms. The top most portion of the ziggurat is likely a cell or seat where Kyuss would need to stand or sit, to absorb the sacrificial energy.

 

My suspicion, based on the above facts, is that Kyuss has sent the demons to Zeech to ensure that this sacrifice is completed. I presume they have not informed Zeech of the real function of the ziggurat. Zeech seems to tied to his earthly pleasures to desire an undead life. Presumably, Kyuss will appear at the final moment and take his place in the cell to complete the ascension fully.

 

Edited August 10, 2023 by thesloth (see edit history)

[DangerBoy]

Lashonna purses her lips. "The Great Project isn't the problem. The problem is Dragotha. I assume you know who he is but in case you don't, I will give you the full history.

 

"Two thousand years ago, the human known as Kyuss ascended to godhood. During the ritual, a mystical warrior from another world known as Argenti was able to disrupt the flow of power by puncturing one of the ley lines and diverting it into the obelisk at the peak of the Spire of Long Shadows. While Kyuss did become a god, he was trapped in the obelisk. Unfortunately, some of Kyuss's minions and creations were able to escape into the world and so Argenti created the Knights of the Silver Flame hunt down Kyuss's followers. Shortly after the ritual, an ambitious black dragon named Dragotha found a way to Kuluth-Mar swiped Kyuss's prison.

"Communing with the god, the dragon began to resurrect Kyuss's power. After five hundred years, Dragotha - who had been raised as a dracolich - raised an army and was on the verge of releasing Kyuss from his prison. The Knights of the Silver Flame fought valiantly and were able to prevent the god from being released. The Knights were also able to capture the dracolich's phylactery, the source of his power. Weakened, Dragotha took the obelisk and fled. It was a pyrrhic vicory though as the Knights were nearly entirely wiped out and Argenti was killed in the process.

The Order of the Silver Flame was established to hunt down and destroy every piece of knowledge used in Kyuss's and Dragotha's rituals. What was left of Kyuss's forces were marshaled back to Kulth-Mar and trapped within an Obsidian Ring."

The sage pauses for a moment. "Now, 1,500 years later Dragotha is one the verge of bringing about the Age of Worms. If you destroy this Great Project, another will be built elsewhere. To truly stop the Age of Worms, you must stop its architect. Dragotha must be eliminated."

[thesloth]

Kendrick Willowsong

Kendrick's face dropped at the realization that the ziggurat was indeed only a temporary problem.

"Yes, I see your point. If I may inquire as to the nature of dragonkind for a moment. Since Dragotha has eschewed a natural life for an undead existence, is her primary motivation still likely to be the accumulation of power?

How does Kyuss ascension feed that motivation? If Dragotha were a living dragon I would suggest a raid on its lair, to threaten it's horde and delay its plan. But I don't know if a Dracolich would even care.

What about the missing philactery? That must surely be something we could could use against her."

 

 

 

[Omegang]

Aranaias clears his throat, and begins to interrupt.

"I, too wonder about the missing phylactery. At the Spire of Long Shadows, we saw a vision of Dragotha making off with the Kyuss obelisk. You may already know that we have dispatched with Dragotha's progeny, Ilthane, in the swamps of the Lizardfolk, and her brood here in Alhaster. During our encounter with the brood, they disclosed that a maralith was in Ilthane's lair, searching for the secret to an elixir that a marid was making for her.

We have experienced a corruption of the ley lines you speak of, a literal Darkwell, and we have been encountering the Ebon Triad ever since our company assembled in Diamond Lake. They are searching for an artifact named the Apostolic Scrolls. The ley line was corrupted by aaques that had leaked from a container holding a shard of the Darkstar Dagger, a shard now in my possession.

We found Icosiel's tomb with direction from Izenfen the Occluded of the Twilight Monastery, whose most holy time is the coming of darkness. From that tomb, we were able to extract a part of the Rod of Law as well as a pewter box, marked with runes in Aklo, that Master James was able to interpret as "curse", 'damnation" and "paw". Izenfen was very familiar with the prophecies about Kyuss, and told us that many of the precursors to his return have already manifested.

In Clearwater, we encountered an associate of the Ebon Triad, one Orokal, who we suspect corrupted Raknian in his attempt to sacrifice the city populace and who killed the sage Eligos and his protege, Polly. This Orokal is now here in Alhaster, serving Prince Zeech.

Here in Alhaster, we encountered an aboleth who took the name of Alchor the Fleshweaver. It is now dead.

Also, Finally, Naros has tasked us with contacting you and with searching for his associate, a mage named Perylorn. This mage had left a note for Naros describing his interest in Alhaster:

Edited August 11, 2023 by Omegang (see edit history)

[DangerBoy]

Lashonna answers the heroes' questions.

Kendrick

"Yes, I see your point. If I may inquire as to the nature of dragonkind for a moment. Since Dragotha has eschewed a natural life for an undead existence, is her primary motivation still likely to be the accumulation of power?

How does Kyuss ascension feed that motivation? If Dragotha were a living dragon I would suggest a raid on its lair, to threaten it's horde and delay its plan. But I don't know if a Dracolich would even care.

What about the missing philactery? That must surely be something we could could use against her."

"No, Dragotha is rabidly determined to free Kyuss because he believes the wormgod will grant him even more dominion over the living. While yes, Dragotha does have an unimaginably large horde of wealth, the only thing it cares about more than freeing Kyuss is its own survival. You are quite right about the phylactery; that is the key to defeating Kyuss. A king without his commander is powerless. It’s taken Dragotha nearly 1,500 years to reach this point. Remove him now, and it will certainly be centuries before anything has a chance to release the Wormgod again.

“Of course, one cannot simply waltz into a lich’s lair, kill him, and be done with it. Dragotha may not know where his phylactery is, but that doesn’t mean it’s useless to him. Destroying him before you destroy his phylactery is as good as finding it and handing it over to him since he will regenerate close to the phylactery.

"So your first order of business should be to fi nd his phylactery and destroy it. And that’s where it gets complicated. I have no idea where it may be hidden. Obviously, neither does Dragotha, and that’s a good thing. Certainly, his doubt to its location is the main reason he hasn’t tried to simply destroy himself as a desperate way to discover its location."

The silver sorceress turns to Aranaias. "I don't know anything about a maralith, although if one is after Ilthane's alchemy it is probably dangerous. As for the ley lines, it seems you have uncovered a bit of lore. You see, when Argenti punctured the ley line they used a powerful silver dagger imbued with magic unlike any seen before. After Argenti fell, the dagger fell into the hands of their enemy, another otherwordly warrior called Umbrecht. How it ended up in Darkstar's hands is anyone's guess. If you have a shard, keep it. It could be useful to you."

At the mention of Icosiel's tomb, Lashonna leans forward. "You made it to the tomb? So you found the final resting place of Icosiel? Where is the box now?" Lashonna waves dismissively at the rest of the information. "None of that is important now. What matters is finding the phylactery.

 

"Perylorne was here, seeking advice. When I told him that Dragotha's lair was a reft in the land called the Wormcrawl Fissure, he left against my advice, intending to learn more about Dragotha. He never returned, but at least he had the foresight to leave his journal fragments with me. His journal and his disappearance have become something of a minor obsession of mine, I must confess. And while I haven’t managed to determine where Dragotha’s phylactery is hidden, I do believe I know where that information might be found. But he did leave behind some pages of his journal; they are your if you'd like them." She gestures to the pages scattered on the desk.

“The Age of Worms and Kyuss’ resurrection were stopped fifteen centuries ago by the Order of the Silver Flame. Now, some historians believe that the Order died out not long after this victory, hunted down and destroyed by the last surviving members of the cult of Kyuss. These records are incorrect. The last remaining members of the Order retreated to their stronghold on a remote island called Tilagos.

“On this island there is a library of sorts, a repository of the Order’s lore. It has been sought for centuries by wizards, scholars, and explorers, for it is said to be filled with hundreds of years of history, memories, dreams, and of course secrets. And secrets, as you know, have a power. Seems the longer they are kept, the more they’re worth. The sages of the Order will know what happened to Dragotha’s phylactery.
 

“Of course, there are complications— there always are, right? Before they built this library, the Order of the Silver Flame drove a lasting bargain with powerful divine forces. They sacrificed their lives to whisk the island’s interior off the Material Plane. In its place is a barren rock surrounded by an ever-raging storm of such intensity that ships that approach within ten miles are invariably lost. The island itself appears on no maps, but the stories hint that the Order left a way for those in need to reach their secrets while at the same time warding the place away from the prying eyes of Kyuss’ undead fanatics. The same magic, unfortunately...or perhaps fortunately, prevents powerful creatures such as outsiders - or dragons - from entering."

[Omegang]

“And where might we take the first steps along the path to Teligos?”

Might we be returning to Naros, or perhaps the libraries in Clearwater - whether it be that of the sage Eligos or the Seeker Uluvant?”

Edited August 11, 2023 by Omegang (see edit history)

[DangerBoy]

Something flares around Lashonna, like a silver halo of fire, faintly visible just beyond your sight. She places her hands on her desk and for a moment, scales seem to ripple across the backs of her hands. Then she closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and leans back. The dragon holds her breath for a moment and then lets it out in one long, slow exhalation. You notice that her breath steams as if it were cold outside.

"First things first," she says slowly. "Tell me where the box is. It contains a powerful artifact that Icosiel's tomb was supposed to guard. In the wrong hands, it could cause enormous pain. I have a bad feeling that you're not going to have time to reach out to friends."

[Omegang]

“The box is in the possession of Izenfen the Occluded, leader of the Twilight Monastery, which is south of Diamond Lake.”

[DangerBoy]

Lashonna looks confused for a moment. "Izenfen the Occluded? Who is that?" The elf-shaped dragon reaches into her desk drawer and produces a small silver bell which she rings delicately.

An ancient looking elf in a starched waistcoat appears at the door. "Yes, ma'am?" he asks, pronouncing 'ma'am' like 'mum.'

"Bring me the book on Diamond Lake," Lashonna commands. The old elf gives a stiff bow and exits, returning a few minutes later with a dusty leather-bound tome. Lashonna takes the book and pages through it. The book seems to be an encyclopedia of some sort - with lists of people, places, and areas around Diamond Lake. Some of the entries contain drawings - there's Balabar Smenk, Ellival Moonmeadow, the Whispering Cairn, and even Command Trask. The entry for the Twilight Monastery is short and the drawing of Izenfen is shadowed, as if the woman is cloaked in darkness.

"Damnable Vecnans," Lashonna spits. "We can't track her by magic. But perhaps we can find her companions. Did you see anyone else at the monastery, or talk to them?" The heroes do remember the gatekeeper, perhaps a description of him will suffice?

[Lycar]

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Edmund de Vries Edmund de Vries HP: 157/157 - AC: 32 (19) [26] Conditions: Hero Points: 0

18 hours ago, DangerBoy said:

“Of course, there are complications— there always are, right? Before they built this library, the Order of the Silver Flame drove a lasting bargain with powerful divine forces. They sacrificed their lives to whisk the island’s interior off the Material Plane. In its place is a barren rock surrounded by an ever-raging storm of such intensity that ships that approach within ten miles are invariably lost. The island itself appears on no maps, but the stories hint that the Order left a way for those in need to reach their secrets while at the same time warding the place away from the prying eyes of Kyuss’ undead fanatics. The same magic, unfortunately...or perhaps fortunately, prevents powerful creatures such as outsiders - or dragons - from entering."

(... Right. Perpetual, ship eating storm. Shouldn't be that hard to find. After all, people have a vital interest in knowing where not to sail...), Edmund ponders. But the hard part would be to get through the storm then.

Of course Edmund's fingers twitch for a moment when he realises the nature of Lashonna's little 'book on Diamond Lake'. Now to spend but a few minutes alone with that... *sigh*

Of course, when Vecnans are mentioned,"Did you say 'Vecnans'? Why, in certain circles even knowing of Vecna can get you accused of heresy. Are you saying that the monastery is a stronghold of worshippers of a dark god?", Edmund interjects suddenly.

Edited August 12, 2023 by Lycar (see edit history)

[thesloth]

Kendrick Willowsong

"I suppose it makes a certain sense for the monks to be Vecnans. They wanted the hand badly enough, and seemed rather unconcerned about the passing of the world. And they did love their secrets. So of course Izenfen would have some sort of protection against the various scrying disciplines.

But, there was the old gatekeeper. I suspect he might be easier to find."

 

Kendrick provided what details he could remember about the gatekeeper.