====== Session 16: The Corrupted Chalice and the Red Oracle ======

===== The Fall of Lord Marrow =====

==== The Battle in the Cathedral ====

Inside the cathedral of **House Marrow**, the party confronts **Lord Corvin Marrow**. Despite their efforts to talk him down, **Corvin**'s paranoia and madness, fueled by the presence of the 🗝️ **Chalice of Concord**, lead to a violent struggle. The party defeats him, and in his final moments, a flicker of sanity returns to his eyes. He looks at **Vesper** and whispers:

> Do good.

==== The Taint of the Chalice ====

**Moss** picks up the 🗝️ **Chalice of Concord**, but its influence is immediate. **Vesper** is overcome by a sudden, intense jealousy and a dark desire for destruction. **Moss** hands the artifact to **Vesper**, as they were the one to land the final blow on **Corvin**. As **Vesper** holds the chalice, the shadow of their past as a soul reaper begins to resurface.

===== The Ambush and the Crimson Tears =====

==== Parsons' Ultimatum ====

As the party prepares to leave, **Parsons** appears, backed by a small army. He holds two captives: **Cantor** and the "cat god." He offers a trade: the artifacts for the lives of the prisoners. To prove his ruthlessness, **Parsons** murders **Cantor**, turning him into a pile of ash before ordering his troops to fire.

==== Intervention of the Red Oracle ====

Just as the situation turns dire, four "Crimson Tears" tear open in the air. Four mysterious figures from **The Red Oracle** step through:

  * **Valera**: The leader, wearing flowing crimson robes and a smooth, expressionless mask inscribed with glowing red bone runes.
  * A broad-shouldered warrior with crimson wraps and jagged, shifting tattoo runes.
  * A slender, unsettling woman with a mask featuring a single vertical eye.
  * A ceremonial figure in heavy robes with a mask shaped like a closed book.

The figure with the book mask creates a powerful shield, effortlessly blocking the magic of **Parsons**' army. **Valera** addresses the High Mage:

> You will not take these tonight, or ever.

**Valera** and her companions dismiss **Parsons**, noting his failures and his hubris. **Parsons**, sensing he is outmatched, issues a final challenge before retreating with his army:

> If you want to trade, I'm in my new home town, called **Lunaris**.

===== Prophecy and Corruption =====

==== The Truth of the Anchors ====

**Valera** introduces herself as the leader of **The Red Oracle**. The warrior among them warns the party that they were saved only because of their importance to prophecy, not their strength. The oracles reveal that **Parsons** was the original **Anchor**, but he failed, as he had attempted to anchor himself to all the gods. **Durim** had previously attempted to fix things, but couldn't.

==== The Seed of the Grand Tree ====

**Valera** points to **Vesper**, identifying them as corrupted. The 🗝️ **Chalice of Concord** is tainted, and its corruption is beginning to spread to the other artifacts. To cleanse it, the party must return to **Moss**'s grove. **Moss** realizes the item they need: the 🗝️ **Seed of the Grand Tree**, which has been protected at the heart of the grove.

==== A Troubled Rest ====

The party takes shelter to rest, but the influence of the corrupted artifacts makes sleep difficult for **Moss** and **Sol**. The weight of the items and the spreading taint cast a shadow over their upcoming journey.


{{tag>session}}