An Overview of Recent Events #3

The Spirits of Avrillus

The Gather started off with hardly a moment for composure as heroes were tossed yet again into the tides of fate. The hours spent together all seemed to come back to one central point: the town’s stability and its Pact with Death. The first clash of steel and magic came as the town faced down echoes from Avrillus, a past iteration of the town that fell eons ago. These echoes did not succumb easily. Even after the town’s victory, it became clear that Avrillus was not ready to retreat to the background.

Later that evening, a small band went to the old cairn of Avrillus where spirits wandered. The original task was to seek those carrying a blue flame and bring it from the old cairn to the new one of Fortune’s Bend, allowing the wandering spirits to rest. It was here that Heroes first interacted with four powerful spirits from the old town, each holding the aforementioned flame: the Angel of the War Horse, the Angel of the Black Eagle, Abindale (embodying the Mantle of the Councillor), and Skelton (a man from Avrillus at the time of its fall). While heroes did not put much stock in the words of the two angels (who served the Endless Armada), heroes did spend quite some time listening to the stories of both Abindale and Skelton.

The Pact with Death

In discussions with the two spirits, it was discovered that the town would select one of the four

to empower a Seal. There are four needed Seals, and each Seal will provide the Gate of Death with needed definition, strengthening the town’s Pact with Death. The longer the town remains without these four Seals and strengthened Pact, the more vulnerable it is. Within a year, four spirits must be chosen and enshrined in the cairn as these Seals.

The choice in the spirits to empower the Seals allows the People of the Pact to select what

aspects of history will define the Gate. The stories and memories of those chosen will serve as the foundation for the Gate of Moths and will be anchored using memory stones. Each spirit will be able to grant different wisdom and experience to the town.

Skelton was selected through a majority town consensus to imbue the first Seal of the Pact. He

describes him as a “man who knows a little about a lot” and brings the ability to help us detect traitors within our ranks. This first Sealing may occur during this Gather.

Mending the Oracle Gate

Heroes may know of the Oracle Gate as a wellspring of power for the town, so it’s no surprise

that a key element of this Gather was to strengthen and mend it. The echoes of Avrillus fought earlier had carried shards necessary to repair it and with these in hand, the town’s forces split in two. Half of the town traveled to take the shards and mediate upon them whilst beset by combatants. The remainder of the town crafted symbols to represent Convocations, identified as holding important values for the town. Once the shards had been restored, the Oracle Gate was charged and powered by each Convocation’s symbol.

Battle of Honor

At the end of the Gather, the Tyrant and their forces approached the town with an offer: engage in an honorable battle where the prize was the victory’s choice of ally from three powerful beings. The Tyrant proposed a battle of honor where both sides would refrain from murder; instead, three rounds would be fought with generals declared for each side. The rounds ended when a general was struck down.

Fortune’s Bend is proud to have been defended by Jasmine, Billamina, and Artanis, all of whom held their ground bravely. Upon the town’s victory, a choice was made of an ally from the Knight (the Gallant and the Rake), theAsp, or the Dread. The town selected the Knight.

This was not the first, nor it is presumed to be the last, interaction between the town and the

Tyrant. The Tyrant is a genderless celestial being bearing the aspects of the Small Petty Tyrant

(Spring), the Tyrant Rising (Summer), the Tyrant Surrounded (Autumn), and the Tyrant’s Head

(Winter). Their Glorious Majesty, as referred to by their subjects, rules a kingdom in the Shade known as the Barred Comets.

Kismet Consortium Tea Party: Who says town gathers are only filled with bloodshed and dashing heroics? This one was also filled with tea and delicious baked goods, courtesy of the party hosted by the Kismet Consortium at their pavilion!

The Spice of Life: The flavor-inclined heroes of the town lent their aid to a kind old woman looking to gather spice that falls from a certain species of moth. The adventure

eventually turned to violence as the moths reacted aggressively to being shaken.

Mushrooms Hunting and Grotto Geodes: Claire and Trent took a small team to hunt for components, securing mushrooms protected by poison-spitting bullfrogs and geodes

defended by hoards. Additional research is needed on the alchemical properties of mushrooms, and individuals must be

trained on how to break geodes.

Silver Frost Owl Saviors: Callum of the Guild of Heroics arrived in town with a new challenge: lure corrupted silver frosted owls by acting as prey, and put them to rest. After a successful mission, hunters were given the title Owl Savior.

Tempest Dueling School: The leader of a local dueling school challenged his miscreant students to a duel, but they poisoned him beforehand in an act of cowardice. The heroes of the town dueled on his behalf with swords, arrows, magic, and wit, besting the students. Upon being given the offer to accept defeat and rejoin his school as underlings or reject the terms and die by the sword, they (unsurprisingly) chose the former.

Life Imitates Art: Marshall Dalca of the Revenant Legion requested help conducting a wellness check on an artist that went up into the woods a little too early during Ilfraic season. Upon arrival, the artist emerged raving and terrified that his statues were trying to hurt him–which was alarmingly accurate! Heroes shepherded the artist around his home away from

the following statues trying to grab him while a desperate hunt for his manuscript began. Once the manuscript was safely in (non-statued) hand, all but the statues escaped the

house.

The Walk of Lights: The Storyteller invited the town to participate in the Walk of Lights as shades. Participants were turned to ghosts and walked blindly down a path, seeking the

light of a guiding candle. Straying from the path caused agony. After the conclusion of the ritual, heroes left with Purpose and a greater empathy for the wandering souls

traversing the world.

The Seeress, Captured: Fortune Tellers and Oracles were charged with assisting the Seeress, who had been captured as the subject of a ritual to remove her free will. While those

gathered fought valiantly to halt and reverse the ritual, the opposing forces proved to be too strong. As the Seeress’ last act of freedom, she sent everyone back to the town, saving

the lives of all present. Please contact the newspaper staff if you have any information regarding this, particularly as the High Priestess tarot card exhibits such turmoil.

Fortune’s Fortune Found!: Some townsfolk experienced a bend of misfortune as they hunted for the town’s fortune. Kernels of magic encapsulated fortunes that impacted whoever

opened them, and predictably, not all were pleasant. Despite the struggles, the fortune of Fortune’s Bend has been recovered! Soon, the Knave of Clovers will guide the town into

the Shade where they may shape the reclaimed fortune. Want to be fortunate enough to get involved? Talk to Loxley or Daimyo! (The editor apparently got paid a drakar for every

time they said the word “fortune” in this paragraph.)

Homeward Bound: The voice of Millicent Hurst was successfully rescued as heroes sang the song retrieved from last gather’s soiree–Homeward Bound. However, in unlocking the

voice box and freeing the Bardess’ voice, heroes alerted LordGraves to their whereabouts. The mage appeared in a shadowy projection and branded everyone present as Accomplice.

Future clashes with LordGraves are to be expected, to which we ask–what’s one more enemy?

Updates on General Kiernan: The town received word that General Kiernan’s condition was worsening. Though held in stasis by the Gift of Jade group, he remained plagued by

some inner torment. Heroes participated in a ritual to enter his mind. There, they witnessed his anguish as the Vargoth whispered doubt into his mind, attempting to convince him

to succumb to the pain and surrender his hope. Those gathered from Fortune’s Bend spoke words of encouragement and resolve, argued with the Vargoth, and sang words of hope.

Elora struck the final blow against the Vargoth with her emotional plea forKiernan to remember Valarmore.

Brought to you by The Fortune Teller Staff

(Recap of Nov 2023 Event)