Decisions, Decisions... two-mini-session recap

After John Oldhamshire, the automaton, took his leave of the party, they had to figure out what to do next. As always, this turned into a two session discussion for some reason.

After a torturous conversation, the party decided to visit Vrisana Pajul and use her tower to stage a meeting between Orvalion and Caelebhan, the magister of Shandrapur. Orvalion said he would go along with the plan only because he needed the money, and only if they could ensure that Caelebhan didn't have time to prepare for the meeting.

While performing the ritual to teleport to Vrisana's tower, a pair of humans burst into the clearing, bloodied and out of breath. They said they were being pursued, and at that point an elf shaman entered the clearing. The shaman said that Boreas and Kylian could leave, and not be part of what was to come. Boreas balked at that, and the elf said, "So be it."

A quick fight erupted. Ander and Kylian defended Orvalion while he continued to perform the ritual, and the rest engaged the elves. The opposition consisted of a shaman with a spirit wolf and spirit warrior, a mage with an arcane wolf, archers hidden up in the trees, and a pack of about a dozen feral wolves. The archers did the most damage to the party, and Boreas was surrounded by wolves at one point, but eventually the elves were driven away.

The humans said that they had ventured into the forest in search of a tome of knowledge, supposedly written by Khadra himself. They had no further information about it, and turned down the offer of further help from the party. Once the teleportation ritual was complete, the party said farewell and stepped through.

Vrisana had moved her teleportation circle out of her tower, which was initially a bit disorienting for the party. An image of Vrisana appeared behind them and asked them to tell her something only they would know. They gave her a vague answer, and she asked to know the name of the dragon they had dealt with. This resulted in a ten minute search by the players for the name. Eventually they found it online, mispronounced it as usual, and Vrisana allowed them to enter her tower.

Upon hearing their plans, Vrisana told them that she would not consent to host a meeting with Caelebhan at her place of residence. Not only was he a little upset when she told him to go home two weeks ago, but she thought it was likely that he had already noticed his missing journal. Bringing him to her place for a meeting with the party would probably confirm not only his suspicions about the party, but also confirm her association with them as well. She reminded the party that she was still part of the network of magisters trying to restore order to the land, and if she were seen openly helping them, word would get around to him pretty soon.

Boreas and Xakoraki both chided Thoric for his attempt to press on with the double-crossing of Caelebhan (despite their prior acquiescence), and this caused him to change tack dramatically. He asked Orvalion if he was sure Kendrini was dead, and if so, how?

Orvalion finally relented, and told of how Kendrini had been an agent of another royal house that had been reporting on his master's movements. There was a lot of maneuvering and intrigue within the courts of the empire, and such things were common. When Orvalion's master discovered this fact, he ordered Orvalion to kill her and tear out her heart. He was compelled by the dragonstone to do so against his will. Because of her love for him, she did not resist.

Even knowing that he was not in control of himself, Orvalion still felt sullied by the act, and in need of atonement. After the rebellion freed him, he vowed that he would not attempt to raise her until he had made sure that neither of them would ever be enslaved again by the power of the dragonstones. Now that the last dragonstone has been destroyed, he seeks to find a temple that will resurrect her after all of these years. He knows of no ritual that will return her, but he knows that it will be costly should he find a priest capable of doing so.

After telling this tale, Thoric pledged himself to the quest with all of his heart. As a follower of love and beauty, attempting to reunite the lovers appealed greatly to him. Boreas and Xakoraki, however, focused on the need for more treasure in order to follow through with this goal. After more discussion, they decided to try their luck in the jungles of the southeast. They figured that they could find employment or adventure, and the means for reviving Kendrini, all in the same place. Once decided on that course of action, they settled in for their first comfortable night in at least a week.