Session 5: The Catacombs and Visions of the Anchor

• The party continues through the catacombs beneath the church.
• They encounter a shimmering door with a handprint; it only opens when Selene's hand is used.
• The Courtroom: Inside, they meet three spectral judges. The party is questioned about their burdens and secrets:
  • Solara reveals her sacrifices for her patron.
  • The Betrayal: The judges ask who betrayed someone unknowingly. The party guesses incorrectly and takes psychic damage.
  • The Truth: It was Solara killing the man Joyboy had spared in the sewers.
• The Scepter: The party convinces the judges they are worthy. They receive the Scepter of Oaths, which identifies lies by making the liar glow (similar to a Zone of Truth).
• Moss takes custody of the scepter, it does not vibe with anyone in the party.

The court adjourns, and the party blacks out, experiencing a series of shared visions.

• Vesper’s Vision:
  • A dim, flickering lantern and tents with drained color.
  • A masked performer (wearing Vesper’s mask, presumably past Vesper) drags a child into a main tent toward a circular well of pale fire.
  • The crowd points at Vesper (Vesper the viewer)
  • ‘You were part of this’
  • “The Anchor feeds on what you abandoned.”
  • Reveal: The child is an anchor.
• Solara’s Vision:
  • The night of her pact in a large cathedral.
  • A figure of pale white fire—not Glasya—claims the souls from her sacrifices.
  • Sees her nanny crying and her own beauty rotting on the Ember Throne.
  • “When the fourth anchor breaks, your true form will be revealed.”
  • See Solara's true face smiling from the throne
  • Reveal: Solara’s Nanny is an anchor.
• Moss’s Vision:
  • A rotting forest where a lantern flickers in the distance, revealed to belong to Bartholomew.
  • Moss follows footprints into the grove where cloth, rope, and gear hangs from branches.
  • Bartholomew is found coiled in roots in a silent grove.
  • “The forest does not forget who was abandoned.”
  • Bartholomew is pulled under with a silent scream.
  • Reveal: Bartholomew is an anchor.
• Gimbol’s Vision:
  • Durim’s workshop, where the anvil is cracked open like a ribcage by pale fire.
  • Parsons, wrapped in white flame, reveals he manipulated Gimbol’s absence.
  • Parsons: ‘He waited for you but you weren't here, you were somewhere else’
  • Gimbol is on errand on a street full of decay, a pale white figure blocking an alley, a merchant that wasn't really there calls out to Gimbol.
  • Parsons: ‘You think you chose to leave him alone but I needed you gone.’ * Durim is pulled beneath the stone with pale fire. * Reveal: Durim is an anchor. ===== Aftermath and the Emissary ===== * Moss appeals to the scepter, scepter says it will help him if he feels it is just. * The party returns to the tavern and finds Jin (a man with notably large hands) being harassed by guards. Solara invites him to drink. * Stormcall Emissary: An emissary from Lysander arrives with a note for Gimbol regarding missing hunters near the observatory. * Gimbol informs him that Joyboy is dead. He embellishes the story, causing the Scepter of Oaths to make him glow. The emissary arranges to recover the body. ===== The Patron's Fury ===== * Back at the mansion, Glasya possesses one of Solara’s maids. * She demands Solara sacrifice her favorite maid; Solara complies, but Glasya is unable to claim the soul—the white flame figure already has it. * Glasya attempts to fix Solara’s scar but fails. She seems happy that Solara will be hideous because without her the beauty will fade, but enraged that she no longer holds the pact, she leaves through a hell gate. * Solara’s lover returns with news: the Sea League is aware of the artifact. * The party decides to head into Sea League territory to investigate the Shadowsong family and the Nanny. * The party agrees Moss should take the bag of holding and the Scepter. * Solara and Moss bang for thee minutes crazy style. ===== The Barracks Incident ===== * At the guard barracks to retrieve Jin’s belongings, and to steal some armor, Jin is ambushed in the armory by three men. * Moss (in spider form) heals Jin during the struggle. * The Arrest: The Commander arrives. Jin attempts to lie about his presence, but the Scepter reveals the lie. Jin attempts to flee but is captured and dragged away.

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