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--- bards_tale [2026/03/31 18:07] – [Session 90: The Melody and Malefactor] spiffgent
+++ bards_tale [2026/04/15 17:55] (current) – [Session 93: The Spinner, The Smith, and The Saint] spiffgent
@@ Line 974: / Line 974: @@
 //Blood of Sacrifice mixed with Demon Ash//
+===== Session 90: The Melody and Malefactor =====
+After Avery and Breighlin inspected the Communion for any sign of tampering, and found its iron heart damaged, they asked Priestess Goldbraid to explain the message it had carved on the wall — she had none. Confused by the message and its disparate meter, the party mused if a devil or demon could have caused its movement. This theory gave Priestess Goldbraid pause, but she did not explain why and quickly came to disbelieve it herself. As thanks for their efforts, she offered to them all a holy relic, the Fist of Saint Severo, which Avery gracefully took (though without great belief in its practical utility). The party rested, failed to communiate with the demon inside the other jar at all, and decided to move onto the final monastery.
+The room they came into through a secret entrance was a burial crypt, with some coffins arranged, to Orianna's quick observation, like the keys of a piano. Two musical clues were inscribed on the doors and the sarcophagi were somewhat sonorous, and so Anma decided to open one up. The lights magically went out, and when they returned, the five dancing monks began the remarkably catchy rites of battle. The party, now well-tested against combat, made quick work of the prancing priests, through spell and blade. Two attempted to draw Anma into their dance, one thwarted by Breighlin, but very quickly they too were dispatched. With the robes of Saint Vala recovered, the party began using the bells within the coffins to play the tunes that opened the other doors. Orianna found within one of the tombs a secret message, about a secret library and the C# coffin, but nothing seemed to produce a physical effect.
+Cynara noticed that spiders ran out of the dead monks and turned invisible. Breighlin pursued them with her enhanced sight, but the party left them alive. They pressed onwards through the Southern door, finding an empty series of shelves and a poorly-hiding ghostly gnome. It quickly became apparent that the spectre was few in manners or knowledge, knowing that he hated demons but not being sure of where he was, his name, or what he wanted. With some test, the party offered him freedom, and he lent his small might to Cynara's bow. Avery explored the shelves, finding a series of receipts for items the Elves had ransacked over decades from the Monastery, including the tiara of Sanilir. The only thing that remained was a Tuning Fork adorned with images of the Silver Smith: possibly the party's ticket to her heavenly domain.
+The next room was constructed like a church, similar to those of Resotania, adorned with murals of Sanilir being summoned and a statue with an oil in its hands. As the party investigated, exhausted from their previous fights, the ceiling collapsed: a Communion with a powerful Demon inhabiting it and splitting its frame open. Anma summoned the storm with her last major spell slot: Breighlin used her own to ensure the corruption was unable to stop it, //Counterspelling// the beasts own magical countermeasures. Cynara, Protophylarch and Orianna made strong efforts to always stay near the foe while Avery took advantage of the distraction to deal precision strike after strike. It retaliated to push the melee fighters away, but their pursuit was dogged, and despite its summoned poison, the demon was not strong enough to fight these heroes of legend. Cynara threw the Irons Bands of Bilarro over it, and Avery aimed a precise shot, causing the shattered prophet to cease its writhing and turn into ash, as with Benlor before it.
 ===== Session 91: The Paraclete and Prisoner =====
-ghj
+Anma took the Oil of Prophetic Anointment for later use, and the party found a busily-filled prayer room as the final room to be explored — and on a tapestry was the final part of the Celestial rhyme. The party decided that it was the more trustworthy of the couplets: and with the final Communion vanquished, returned to Priestess Goldbraid. With some convincing, she placed the Primus Heart within the Communion of van Døschri, but it was barely able to communicate, and with permission, ejected many of its limbs. Anma led the effort to replace its damaged parts with other limbs from the other Communions, with a head taken from one of the Five Kings.
+The Prophet shuddered into motion, speaking with some effort through cryptic and twisting sentences. The party tried asking it about the Monastery's secrets, but the Heart was unhappy with the current construction, and so they put loftier questions to the amalgamation of every prior Prophet, speaking with one voice. It was asked what Ahm's will was, and while the answer of goodwill to all was inoffensive enough, Avery was disturbed by the suggestion that the intended audience was not yet hearing the message. The Prophet's side of the story of Yeenoghu was that all the Shadowless had to be slain after their leaders made a pact with the Xanthous: it also said now that it and Leurut's fate were intertwined, obviously and mysteriously. As its final response, when asked who the intended audience was of Ahm's messages and preaching, the Prophet posed a question of its own: if Yeenoghu was meant to be slain, why would Ahm have left it alive in the first place? The Primus Heart finally failed, and Goldbraid rescued it before it overheated.
+Goldbraid resisted the idea of Anma seeking the hidden room now that the threat was gone (which didn't stop Avery trying and failing to find it), and the party returned to the surface after almost a full day within the New Monastery. Brother Spark was immensely thankful for their help, and the party theorised ways of applying their new mystic instructions to the shielded Planeblade splinter. Breighlin mused if the steps that Yroþ van Døschri could be repeated to cast the Cliffs under eternal sunlight once more; Anma hoped that the location was simply enough; Avery, Cynara, and Orianna mused on the possibility of opening a portal to the Plane of Light. All agreed, however, that they were weary and should rest at Folluin's before taking rash actions. The Elf was delighted to welcome back such danger-rushing heroes, but didn't care much either way as to O.P.E.R.A.'s actions. The party feasted, rested, and were greeted by a summons to Dragonfall's castle in the region delivered by Crowmill himself.
+The part soared, and met Prince Mearis Threandir, Lord-Governor of Brightwood, in his private chambers. He advised them that he broadly agreed with their assessment of the Chancellor's actions, and so had placed Kasan Kagane under arrest in a magically-sealed chamber. He wanted the party, heroic and trusted, to get to the bottom of the matter and that he would trust their testimony totally. They were led into the antimagic cell that Kasan Kagane rested in, severely weakened and manacled. Information was slowly teased out of him: he spoke first of the Dragonfall attack, revealing that it was he who helped plan it and ensure its success, and that he was convinced that it benefitted everyone for the obvious story to be the one that survives. It would be a blow to Dragonfall and boost Brightwood. At Anma's questioning, he spoke of his lonely early life in the desert, desperate and surviving off elementals, and how he was nourished by Brightwood's strength and would do anything to return and maintain access to that font of magic.
+The party seemed ready to condemn him for his part in the murder: he gave an unconvincing argument that he had slain murderers and possibly prevented the attack spiralling even more out of control. To great consternation, he had more practical motives too: Dragonfall's occupation of Brightwood failing would prevent a more bloody uprising against Prince Mearis later, and he promised Breighlin that he would allow it to be run in any method the party liked if it would earn him his freedom and Mearis's failure. He sweetened the deal with knowledge of the Crown of Sanilir, which Locutor Heirinfall had been wearing when he summoned Sanilir and received the Primus Heart. Whether the party agreed with his actions or no, with the power in their hands, no one believed that it would be better for Dragonfall to be in charge and to deal with Queen Inaze after her Chancellor had swung: they emerged from the cell, and told Mearis that Kasan Kagane had not planned the attack.
+Mearis was gleeful and apologetic, while Kasan Kagane retrieved his effects, and quickly shewed the party away. He told them that the Crown of Sanilir was on a ship bound for Orbrir, currently early in the Green Sea. The party swooped after a ship matching the description, placed all their magical buffs upon Cynara, and she dived from her hippogriff. Falling through a cloud, she detected the Crown's precise location, and used etherealness to fall directly onto it through two decks of the ship. She tried to open the box, and elected to steal the whole thing after escaping a warding rune. She sneaked up the ship, including past Tore Dhukav himself, cracked open a port compartment, and escaped into the water. Dhukav suspected a thief, and threw his magical hammer into the water to pursue: Cynara was adept at swimming underwater, smooth in the turbulence of the ship's great wake, and conjured seaweed in the hammer's path to thwart its pursuit. After some minutes had passed, the ranger signalled for the party to return, and she was evacuated without incident.
+===== Session 92: The Battle of Alum-kazir =====
+After the party returned to the Cliffs, Anma discerned the properties of their new prize: a crown capable of casting many spells and, at great intervals and for a brief time, calling Saint Sanilir himself down from the heavens. Frustratingly, however, there was no clear way of relating it to the ultimate goal of freeing the Splinter from its cage of force, and so the party pressed onwards to pursue their other lead. After a rest, Orianna took the tuning fork and transported the party to the Heaven of the Silver Smith. They saw space around them bend, and found themselves in a twilight forest with donated items falling all around them, blazing from the sky.
+The party took to a church upon a mountain: Alum-kazir itself, as it was when Saint Miro had burnt it. A wind blew the doors open, and the Saint himself received them. He had donated the church to keep it out of Elven hands, and he believed strongly that O.P.E.R.A. was who he had been saving it for. The researchers studied the stained glass windows, seeing in turn: Saint Sanilir handing over the body of van Døschri's staff; a dragon and Dwarves of Strom-Kreft forging some detailed plans for its head (dutifully noted down by Breighlin); the goddess of the frost in Ubarikahdri guarding the pommel of the staff; and the New Monastery above the Planar Shard. Breighlin was from Strom-Kreft, and Anma was from the frost — surely it could not be a mere coincidence that they had been called here? But before the questions of fate could be pondered in any great detail, the Church of Alum-kazir was suddenly transported. Avery watched as the cosmos turned black, the rest of the plane fell away into shadow, and three great chains tore themselves from the firmament and bound themselves together in the sky. With Saint Miro praying for them, Cynara led the party through the twilight to investigate what was likely to be a Shadowless ploy.
+The Shadowless who greeted them was none other than Paramedes himself. He saluted O.P.E.R.A.'s efforts so far, but would not let them interfere with his plan to resurrect his people. There was no question that the heroes would stand against him, and Protophylarch was firmly set against him once Paramedes said that he didn't even recall who he was. Anma unleashed a //Storm Sphere// unto him and evaded his attempts to prevent the attack, but the party watched in horror as all twelve of the Shadowless revealed themselves from hiding, and Satunar Iljoyce appeared in the sky above them. Many of the Shadowless had a great number of counterspells between them, frustrating the party's attempts to use their most powerful weapons. Avery and Protophylarch rushed towards a chain on a nearby mountain and to engage Paramedes directly, while Cynara pursued a chain amongst some ruins. Orianna rushed towards a chain embedded in a crater, while Breighlin and Anma stayed on their starting vantage. If all the chains could be cut, the party could be saved.
+Immediately, the Shadowless unleashed a devastating counterattack. Between the twelve, they unleashed great spells and hasted attacks, one pursuing Anma and another pursuing Cynara. Magic missiles flew while Orianna found herself caught in Darkness summoned by Chamaedes. Paramedes himself unleashed his bow and seeking arrows upon the party, before summoning, to the other Shadowless's seeming surprise, a fragment of Yeenoghu himself, burning and nigh-unstoppable.
+And yet O.P.E.R.A. was undeterred. Anma froze Ivalicai in place and nimbly dodged its counterattack, unleashing a cold blast against numerous Shadowless without them being able to respond, and then running to aid Cynara. Avery's acid proved adept at destroying his chain which Anma weakened, and he and Protophylarch rushed to the furthest anchor. Cynara unleashed Doomlord upon a Shadowless which had feared her, before stepping through the Plane Ethereal to join Avery: the trio was completed by an Earth Elemental summoned by Breighlin, ducking behind the starting vantage to avoid being disrupted. Orianna attempted to heal Anma, but she was made a target for the Shadowless's counterattack: she quickly fell, and magic missiles sent her to a final fate. Breighlin was pursued by Ivalicai and was killed by his furious axe, while Paramedes unleashed the full might of the piece of Yeenoghu, which turned its great claws against Cynara, slashing and scorching her while another Shadowless enraptured her with fear again despite Avery's efforts. Telemediae blanketed the chain that Cynara had fled in a noxious gas, a //Cloudkill//, and all parties converged on the chain hidden in ruins.
+Orianna remained hidden in shadow, and bore Chamaedes's counterattacks to unleash a //Moonbeam// on the chain covered in poison, greatly weakening it. Cynara hid behind Breighlin's now-rampaging Elemental to avoid the frightening spell of the Shadowless, and then could unleash her full strength on the remaining chain, almost breaking it before escaping from the blazing fray. Protophylarch rushed as far as he could and then threw his sword the rest of the way, shattering it on a critical strike and breaking his own xiphos in the process. A single chain remained, and Avery realised that if he could make it into the poison fog, a counterspell would be impossible. He chanced it, suffering a strike from the Shard of Yeenoghu, and seemingly being saved from the //Cloudkill// by Ahm's luck alone. He made his way to the Moonbeam, blazing in the fog, and summoned acid upon it.
+The final chain shattered, and Alum-kazir began to drop back down to the Silver Smith's heaven. Some of the Shadowless wished to evacuate, while Paramedes was intent on taking the moment to finish off O.P.E.R.A. once and for all: before either could act, however, the island slammed into the firmament with a great, destructive force.
+===== Session 93: The Spinner, The Smith, and The Saint =====
+Orianna woke first, aching and wounded, and shouting for help under a tapestry cover and a bright summer sky. She was in a forest clearing among the covered bodies of her other comrades, surrounded by dozens of identical Dwarven women, spinning wool on spindles and wheels. Cynara and Avery woke soon after, and quickly ascertained that they had not left the Silver Smith's heaven, but Rokas had come to them. Twilight had turned to day as the gods conferred, having seen the party's  battle, but these ninety-seven fragments of Rokas had snuck out. She was glad that the party was planning on dispatching Yeenoghu, knowing that it was not likely that Rozmajin's trick could work again, and she planned to help them in any way she could — Avery saw that it had been a long, long time before she had been woken by Alum-kazir crashing back down, and she was desperate to be of use.
+With the party and Breighlin's agreement, she moved a week from the end of Breighlin's life to now, instantly waking her. She took the opportunity to, without any circumstance, summon Sanilir from the heavens, and command the saintly angel to resurrect Anma. The party would need to wake to truly return Breighlin to life, and so the Silver Smith spun a week in an instant, forcing Breighlin to pass seven days by revising her notes (confirming that all extant Shadowless confronted them earlier), brewing alcohol from the rations, trying to survive the hangover, and attempting to investigate the area around the forest and the Silver Smiths. On day 5, a Shadowless also slipped into the frozen time, or at least an illusion of one. It amiably congratulated her and the party on being able to survive Paramedes's assault, and offered instead a chance for both factions to work together, instead of trying to destroy the other's people for the sake of their own. Breighlin demanded some kind of knowledge to show the deal was genuine. In response, it told her why only some of the Shadowless had singular, full souls: Ahm sundered the souls of 12 on purpose; was forced to leave Paramedes intact as it channeled Yeenoghu's power; left Menoetes as second-in-command and a negotiating partner; and one (presumably Crypt) was not part of the Shadowless's ruling council, but was spared while their people died simply by being next to Paramedes at the right time. With such new secrets imparted, it left. When the week was suddenyl up, Breighlin summoned a not-too-pleased Sanilir, and balance was restored.
+The sun drifted away as the gods concluded their business, and the Silver Smiths began to sleep again. Syl's light showed the way back to the bell that would bring them to Leurut, and by the bell the party found Protophylarch slumbering. He survived the fall directly, tried to find Saint Miro in the wreckage of the church, but instead went to guard the bell (and rest). The party caught a night's rest, finally, watching the sun traverse Leurut above them, and they transported themselves to Leurut when, there, it was night. Rokas had mentioned something to Anma, "the river is different but the bridge does not move," and the party had an idea.
+Avery marched to the North of the Elden Cliffs, with Breighlin and Cynara by his side, and began to name the angels of power and beseech the might of Ahm. He brandished Cynara's pole, refused to name Yeenoghu, and added Sanilir to his catalogue of angels as he reenacted Prophet van Døschri's miracle. With Rokas and Rozmajin begged for aid, he pushed on the brandished pole, and suddenly it met with great resistance. As Elves began to investigate, Cynara, Breighlin, and Anma added their might, with Orianna lending a mammoth's might to the force. The metal budged, and a golden glow lit up the night — for as long as Avery remained.
+The party proceeded to the New Monastery, gathering hopeful monks, gnomes, and humans, among them Brother Spark, and Cynara led the way through the basement to the shielded splinter. Breighlin and Anma used the blood of their own recently-suffered wounds to prime the ritual, while Breighlin liberally sprinkled the collected demon ash upon the blue shell. Each panel began to dissolve and collapse, until the entire case was destroyed, and Avery caught the piece of the Planeblade in his new-fashioned staff.