This page is read only. You can view the source, but not change it. Ask your administrator if you think this is wrong. ====== Session 18: Convergence at Mossville, Illusion of Blackreef ====== ===== Return to Mossville ===== **Gimbol** and **Durim** arrive at **Mossville** after confirming the location via message. **Durim** reveals that **Parsons**, the first anchor, was a flawed experiment; he was not tied to a particular deity, which limited his power. Rumors suggest that while **Parsons** still possesses the **Mantle of the Silent Judge** and **Scepter of Oaths**, he may have passed the **Scepter of Oaths** to **JB**. Seeking **Kaelen**, **Solara** asks **Durim** to take her to **Blackreef**. **Durim** teleports **Solara**, **Vesper**, and **Gimbol** to the city. ==== The Plan for the Mantle ==== Back at **Mossville**, **Durim** warns **Moss** and **Jin** that while they can now sense **Parsons**' location, **Parsons** can also sense the party's proximity. **Durim** hatches a plan to reclaim the 🗝️ **Mantle of the Silent Judge** from the high mage. He proposes using **Moss** as bait to lure **Parsons** into an encounter. While the two are engaged, **Gimbol** will use his expertise to sneak up and steal the cloak. **Durim** will then be ready to teleport the entire group away as soon as the artifact is secured. Meanwhile, left to govern his new town, **Moss** immediately signs "No Pants Thursday" into law. ===== The Illusion of Blackreef ===== Upon arrival in **Blackreef**, the party finds the city unnervingly clean and organized. The citizens are dressed uniformly in grey and black. **Kaelen Cross** meets them, and the party notices that children in the streets seem to "shimmer" and move with unnatural speed. **Gimbol** uses //Detect Magic// and discovers the entire city is saturated with powerful enchantment magic. The buildings, the people, and even the air glow. The citizens behave robotically, following fixed routines. A woman sweeping the steps addresses **Solara** as "Princess Solara," claiming **Kaelen** commanded it. She demonstrates terrifying strength by lifting a massive stone chair with one hand, then catches a dragonfly out of the air and squishes it, disturbing **Solara**. **Sol** expresses her displeasure, and the woman somehow "revives" the insect, that then flies off at her command. **Vesper** find the changes to the city pleasing, while **Gimbol** and **Sol** feel otherwise. At **Kaelen**'s manor, servants attend to the party—a new addition since their last visit. **Vesper** and **Gimbol** watch the town from the porch, noting the mechanical nature of the population. During dinner, **Kaelen** talks to **Solara**, admitting he "improved" the town for her. **Vesper** compliments and approves of **Kaelen**'s changes. **Kaelen** takes **Solara** aside to discuss the changes further, and **Kaelen** presents a beautiful red and black dress to **Solara**, afterwards returning to dinner. **Vesper** compliments **Solara**'s new clothes, and **Kaelen** offers some to **Vesper** as well. As night falls, **Solara** and **Kaelen** both transform into mist and vanish into the town, discussing how "less useful people" are now primarily used for their blood. ===== The Assembly of Factions ===== The next morning, **Durim** returns to collect **Gimbol** and take him back to **Mossville**. Before leaving, **Moss** asks **Durim** to help find the cat, revealing that the cat is actually a god and was a friend of **Cantor**. The various factions begin to arrive at **Mossville** for the summit: * **Regency Council:** Led by **Chancellor Verena Lys**. * **Stormcall Clans:** Led by **Lysander Stormborn**, accompanied by a massive, unnamed female Goliath. * **Veiled Compact:** Representatives arrive and take their places. * **The Red Oracle:** Led by **Valera**. * **The Sea League:** Led by **Nyla Tideglass**. **Lysander** greets **Gimbol** with a sarcastic remark about his survival before the meeting begins. A representative of the **Red Oracle** informs **Moss** they are there for protection. The party addresses the gathered leaders, informing them that **Parsons** is the true villain and that the **Ashen Coven** has returned under his leadership. Suddenly, **Parsons** appears at the meeting as an astral projection, accompanied by an orange cat with heterochromatic eyes. He denies the accusations and offers to let the leaders see the artifacts, though he hands over illusions instead. The **Red Oracle** guarantees **Parsons**' safety to convince him to appear in person. **Parsons** eventually manifests physically and places the real artifacts on the table, pushing for the immediate selection of a new emperor. **Gimbol** counters, revealing that the **Ashen Coven**—not the Flame—was responsible for the emperor's death. ===== The Truth of the Flame ===== As the argument intensifies, **The Flame** itself appears. It is revealed that **The Flame** is actually **Parsons**' son. It is revealed **Chancellor Verena Lys** had placed the entire assembly under a //Zone of Truth//, confirming the party's claims. An old woman with a cane, identified as **Alora Voss**, enters the tent. The faction leaders bow to her in silence. She reveals herself as the **Bronze Sage**, a gold dragon and the ancient protector of **Lunaris**. She explains the tragic history of the anchors: to become an anchor, one must make a sacrifice similar to the gods. **Parsons**' ritual went wrong when he sacrificed his own son; the ritual failed, and his son became the entity known as **The Flame**. **The Flame** speaks to **Solara**, confirming its mortal past. It points to **Gimbol**, recalling how they used to play together while **Durim** and **Parsons** worked. **The Flame** reveals that it wants **Parsons** dead, although his death would also end the Flame's existence. It was the Flame that scattered the artifacts upon the emperor's death to prevent **Parsons** from claiming them. **Alora Voss** suggests there may be a way to save the son even if **Parsons** is killed. The party begins planning a daring strike to retrieve the **Mantle of the Silent Judge** (the cloak) from **Parsons**: **Moss** will draw his attention, while **Jin**—transformed into a **Giant Ape**—will be dropped from the back of the gold dragon to crush the opposition. {{tag>session}}