An Overview of Recent Events #4

Binding of Skelton

As we signed our names on the Pact, Elias arrived in the Bridge with a warning. The

Faustinos sought to disrupt the strengthening of the Seal and had bound Abindale to it

against his will. In order to conduct the original ritual and bind Skelton to the Seal as

planned, Abindale first had to be freed.

A small force went out to scout the field while the rest of the town signed the Pact

with Death, and returned with a number of ritual components. The town took to the

field in the dark and the rain to reclaim the ritual. Fortunately for the town, the enemy

ritualist was not on the field and was not able to undo the steps of the town’s ritual

once completed.

Lizabetta herself led the enemy charge along with the bound Abindale. As the ritual

turned in favor of Fortune’s Bend, she fled the field. Once the ritual was complete,

Dina was able to conduct a separate ritual to free Abindale and successfully completed

it. With Skelton bound and Abdindale released, the town had struck a significant blow

to the machinations of the Faustinos, and made a significant first step in honoring the

Pact with Death.

Assault on the Faustino Compound

Let it not be said, though, that the good heroes of Fortune’sBend are ever content with

“good enough.” The following night, a tinkerer arrived in the tavern with a precarious

box of explosives and led an assault on the Faustino’s factory where they arcaneer their

constructs. Eager to get ahead of one of our multiple enemies, the town leapt into

action and mobilized.

Directions regarding the explosives were very clear. They had to be carefully carried

by two individuals at all times and, once being placed upon the ground, had a

thirty-second delay before exploding. Heroes had to carry the explosives through the

field of constructs three times to deposit the explosives at the door of the factory.

Meanwhile, a smaller team worked to bring down the operations within the factory

itself.

Upon arrival at the factory, heroes of the town were met with an unexpectedly gruesome

sight: immense floating eyes trailing viscera that lined the sky. When they turned their gaze

onto the field, all who saw were struck by a crippling agony. Lizabetta Faustino also joined

the field, cheerfully singing for her constructs to, “Kill them!” Her cheerful demeanor

quickly turned into a more familiar aggression, though, once the first bomb went off.

Despite the horrific display presented, heroes were able to successfully set off each round of

explosives. Lizabetta fled the field once the tides had turned, only to arrive later at the Unlit

Halls and toast to the downfall of Fortune’s Bend.

Which does beg the question: if you have to resort to summoning gargantuan gory

unblinking eyeballs to defeat your enemy, haven’t you already lost?

The Vargoth Assault

After an evening in the Unlit Halls and a morning being pelted by snowballs, perhaps it

should come as no surprise that several conflicts came to a head the final morning of the

gather. Jon Erik Valetti and Zorander arrived at the tavern simultaneously with details about

rituals to be done forAlice Stormbow andKiernan Jowenys, respectively.

Jon Erik Valetti led a large portion of the town in a ritual to free Dina and Issi of the Red

Dreams obtained from investigating the disappearance ofAlice Stormbow using blood magic.

When complete, those gathered teleported to the last known location ofAlice Stormbow and

found a field of Vargoth waiting.

At the same time, Zorander took twelve or so individuals to conduct a ritual to delve into the

depths of General Kiernan Jowenys’ mind. Those in attendance watched as the Vargoth

within him consumed and corrupted his Purpose into a green, sickly facsimile of what it once

was. Attacking the non-hostile Vargoth figments did no damage, but once they turned to

attack, heroes were able to gather enough of the corrupted Purpose for Zorander to complete

the ritual. Unfortunately, that was the moment whenGeneralKiernan Jowenys succumbed to

the yearlong onslaught and transformed into a Vargoth–trapping those gathered in his mind.

Back in Aeledd, Stormbow and Jowenys presented a united–and deadly–front, leading the

Vargoth assault with their combined tactical prowess. The majority of the town mounted a

defense against the attack while simultaneously trying to assist in a ritual to release the

trapped heroes while those inside staved off increasingly powerful strikes. Through combined

effort and no small amount of determination, all heroes were pulled from the mind of General

Kiernan Jowenys.

Reports have said that Stormbow will be moving with her Vargoth through the Lattice and

into various countries across Aeledd. Despite the victories of last gather, we urge all to be

cautious as this new threat rises across the world.

Unlit Halls:

It would be remiss of the newspaper not tofirst mention that Pru’s Unlit Halls made an

appearance at this gather. Attendees included Pru,The Masquerade, the Rake, Lizabetta

Faustino and Cinnabar, the latter of whom was collecting surveys gauging the interests

of the townspeople in various sorts of magic .As always, the evening proved equal parts

enlightening and mysterious.

Neidinau Equipment Recovery:

Heroes traveled alongside an equipment recovery expedition to protect it from bandits

and found themselves in Konnigstrava. What was to be a simple mission turned into a

battle with the Plagued undead indigenous to that area. Along with the

successfully-recovered goods, heroes discovered a series of clues and codes that revealed

desperate notes from a previous group.

Banner Retrieval:

The town sent off a small force to brave the rain to recover artifacts from the Howling

Gates. After picking off some Vargoth Husks, the crew was able to successfully recover

and abscond with the banner of a field hospital from the original Valarmore effort just as

the howls of a Vargoth force began to approach.

All That Glitters:

A few people accompanied Duckie on a mission to retrieve the periapt of the fallen Eltiel

ambassador. After trading shiny trinkets with a murder of crows (and successful bluffs

in pretending to remove the crystals from a Shade-aspected hero’s face), it was realized

that there was no periapt. Instead, heroes gained access to components of a device to

communicate with spirits of Eltiel. Some information about smuggled narcotics was

obtained, but further inquiries into the other bits of information received are needed.

Wayfinder’sVisit:

A blind Wayfinder visited the tavern the first night and shared the consequences of the

past gather, where Wayfinder donated their sight to aid the town. Wayfinder shared that

they typically use their sight to watch the Seeress’ visions and guide her into seeing

visions that are the most likely. Without Wayfinder’s guidance, the Seeress was led

astray. A more thorough record of the trouble with the Seeress can be found on page 8.

In the meantime, the town once again thanks Wayfinder for their sacrifice.

In Pursuit of Loot:

Heroes raided an abandoned manner filled with hostile beasts.People grouped in teams

of three to, one at a time, try to solve the puzzles and riddles of the house. Through an

immense amount of teamwork (and a wonderful visit from a friendly cat), heroes successfully exited with a wealth of coin and rare components.

Basilisk Eggs:

In order to escape the rain, several townspeople went along on a mission withCallum

from the Heroics Guild into the caves to hunt for stone basilisk eggs.By themselves,

they’ll hatch deadly stone basilisks. However, combining stone basilisk eggs creates

metal eggs, and combining metal eggs creates crystal eggs. Both metal and crystal

eggs serve as powerful lures attracting valuable metals and crystals for use in

crafting in alchemy. Perhaps unsurprisingly, such a dangerous mission did nearly

result in several trips to Death, but was prevented by Loxley’s superb bartering

skills.

A Great Game Afoot:

Artists and craftsmen of the town were invited to travel to Merrigor to meet with

Marius Dragen, a wealthy patron of the arts. He expressed interest in commissioning

a cutting edge, avant garde work from Fortune’s Bend, something that would make

his rivals in the Great Game jealous. In an effort to learn more about his rivals for

potential reference in this piece of art, heroes suggested that he hold a dinner party

and allow Fortune’sBend to attend.

Before the Flood:

Members of the town went out to find raiders attacking Aluvair and encountered a

spirit of a Duchess from Aluvair who remembered the first flood. She shared how

they tried in vain to stop the flooding and eventually tried to evacuate citizens as

possible. Those who stayed behind are likely the ancestors of the current population

of Aluvair. She recounted that eventually, she watched thefloods swallow the region.

She did ask if those gathered were with the “Eternal Vigil” and upon receiving the

confirmation that they were not said that she was unable to share more.The heroes

finally released her spirit by touching two relic candle holders originally owned by

her.

Stormy Waters:

The town was called to defend the expedition to Avrillis as the ship was waylaid by

storms and sea monsters.The captain of the ship called our strongest arms to sail us

through the storm, while others, rooted in place by the storm’s gales, held off the sea

monsters. One angler fish monster, in particular, drew the ire of all, eliciting cheers

when it was frozen midair and shattered on the deck. Sushi was on the menu after

that fight!

Inquiries of Winter:

Heroes hiding out from the thunder and hail were treated with a visit from the

Shade being Winter, who joined us in the tavern to ask those gathered about the

foods and cuisines from their culture. As a thank you to the town for sharing, they

supplied the town with delicious (and very appreciated!) hot cider.

Brought to you by The Fortune Teller Staff

(Recap of March 2024 Event)