We rejoin our heroes immediately after they have defeated the cultists. All but one of the purple-and-green-robed figures are lifeless; the sole living cultist is breathing shallowly and still unconscious. The party ties him to a pillar while they search the bodies and cavern.
The cultist who led the ritual holds a horn of some sort—later revealed to be from another plane and intrinsically harmful. In his pocket is a page with instructions for the ritual. The cultists were attempting to reform a being known as "The Stranger", "The Nameless One", "The Shadow Without Body", and "The Mind Beyond". (The party believes these refer to a dead god, Eltheodir.) The note also mentions multiple rituals at "places near extinguished light", presumably each to contribute a different part; this ritual was meant to add the horn.
The party also finds a bag of holding, a dagger +1, a vial of perfume, a bag of gems and jewelry, and assorted coins. Along one wall are the corpses of a lighthouse keeper and several guards. There is a standing portal/ritual stone with many carvings, dated approximately by Kodrak: some were carved only days before (by the cultists), some hundreds of years old, some a thousand or more years old. One set of carvings is a prank: "Thorvald was here". Others reference the cavern as a place of shelter—the term "Scymrelde" is used. The party notices that some of the runes resemble those on pages they've found recently.
Barclay slaps the bound cultist awake for telepathic interrogation. The man, Hune, confirms many details from the found note. When asked about Eltheodir, however, the man's head caves in. Barclay suffers a spike of psychic feedback.
The live lighthouse keeper and bodies—cultists, dead lighthouse keeper, and guards—are returned to Lyrum. Our heroes explain what happened to the alder and his council of sheriffs.
Sentie visits Whirsyllir and helps prepare a variety of potions and other remedies.
Bartholomew's ship can finally dock and diverse groups of people disembark: elves, soldiers, and several scholars.
Renn meets with Nimbri, an ancient elf, priestess of Currend and Lioris, and scholar of ancient languages. She spoke with Decius and his assistant (and Renn's sister) Liliani three years ago. They were inquiring about some runes and were advised to seek out Khainandr Wildwander, a scholar of magical history. Khainandr was last seen in the Leyan River valley in southern Loril.
Raehendra meets with Saba'idum, a Stoneling/goblin, and scholar of literature and specialist in folklore. He gives Raehendra a duplicate of a volume on obscure pets hand-written by Valyric Paega. Chapter 17 of the book is on Greebles, a mysterious creature that Raehendra is searching for.
Barclay overhears a third passenger mentioning that she is descended from a member of the Longdays Society.
Our heroes intend to speak sternly with Bartholomew—next week!
Soundtrack:
Might and Delight, Book of Travels Soundtrack (2021)
The Main Cast, our player characters:
- Barclay Stone (he/him), human bard (college of eloquence)
- Aevyr, his imp familiar
- Kodrak Kukkerlun (he/him), dwarven fighter (battle master)
- Raehendra Tiddlybumpkin (she/her), gnomish ranger (hunter)
- Renn Summerstar (he/him), elven cleric of Lioris (twilight domain)
- Sentie Rancis (they/them), human wizard (school of transmutation)
The Supporting Cast, non-player characters:
- Hane Selley, alder of Lyrum
- Nimbri, elf, priestess of Currend and Lioris, researcher/scholar of ancient languages, specialist in Eastern languages
- Saba'idum, Stoneling/goblin, researcher/scholar of literature, specialist in folklore
- Sivela "Siv", regional manager of Bartholomew & Company in the Reeves
- Whirsyllir, owner of Whir's Worts in Lyrum
- [name not revealed], human, descendant of a member of the Longdays Society
See the full cast list at Campaigns in Elsemorn—now with photos of the miniatures used in the game!
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