Session Date: 1/21/2024
Where we left off: we were given a tent and we are expected to fall in line. Dia and Arythas definitely just make sure to stay out of the way and not impede their day to day, while Inky takes a lot of notes of everything going on. Iskra himself doesn’t particularly care. There’s a lot of discussion amongst the hobgoblins regarding us: they are curious, and are interested in figuring us out. In addition, they aren’t even sure what to do with Iskra, Arythas, or Inky because they are unused to Harengon and Dragonborn and Kobolds are less common.
Arythas, Rohan, and Iskra witnesses a trial of a soldier who had stolen something from another and the punishment is for his arm to be cut off and cauterized. Arythas knows that the arm to be regenerated in two weeks using high level magic. They typically use more alchemical-based magic, instead of divinity based magic. Alchemy is cheaper than real magic, though it takes more time. They are more inclined to use this for workplace accidents as well.
Arythas gets up very early to do his normal morning things, and when we are finally being collected by Hushul and Kal to go on our trip to Amoth Bridge. Arythas dumps Rohan in the snow to wake him up. Dia wakes up at the commotion and we all come together and get ready to go out. We are led out and on the way, with a handful of hobgoblins walking with us in case we all get separated.
Dia asks for a shield from a hobgoblin and makes a sled from it: she ties some rope through the handles and offers for Inky to ride, tying the sled off on Arythas’ pack so that he will not be left behind. We all continue on toward the bridge. There is a flash of a shadow just barely beyond the wolf’s vision that Iskra can see through their connection. It is just beyond Rohan and Dia, and Iskra recommends that Arythas cover Dia. Iskra discovers that we are being followed by three dire wolves. They seem to be hungry, so Iskra tosses his rations to them. Dia follows suit, and manages to pet the wolf, and somehow manages to semi-tame this wolf for this time.
We continue on and Dia speaks to the dire wolf as we continue. We eventually catch up and see that they are casing some sort of magic, and we see what was Amon Bridge: possibly a large city, in the past. There is a visible difference between the snow we’re on now, and there is greyer and more into the snow closer to Amon Bridge: the snow is visibly different. They are testing the snow on the other side. They comment that things don’t seem to be cursed, at least not any more. Iskra and Rohan speak, realizing something unknowable happened here.
Something exploded in the town, the radius going up to this border. The radius was perfectly circular and there were ruins left in the center. It is obvious that nobody could survive this and it is very strange that the landscape is still tainted by this. There was previously a curse, certainly, but not anymore. It’s possible that this was occult magic that exploded but it is hard to say. Taraaq doesn’t even know what has happened. On approach to the circle, Iskra scoops some of the grey snow to take a sample of it.
Dia readies herself to cast on herself, then steps over the threshold into the grey snow. The snow crunches under Dia’s snow and breaks almost like glass. This all has been here for a long time, undisturbed. Dia comments to watch where we all step, as it may be liable to fall out underneath you. The scribe casts on Dia and he can tell no curse, no background magic, no long term effects. The Archon commands that we march into the city, and we all proceed.
The dire wolf, now named Robin, is clearly uncomfortable here, whining as we keep going. Dia and Inky keep detect magic and they see echos of magic there — there was once powerful magic here, but it is only traces now. There is no magic anymore.
We all continue on and it occurs to us we are likely the first to disturb this place since the war. This may have been the largest city in the north, about the size of the City of Peace. It is now gone and what remains of the walls still stand. There are shadows of people who once were and we see that the direction of the explosion is from the center of the city. Dia looks for the remains of a church and it is near the point of origin. Dia carefully enters with Arythas joining her inside. She kneels at the altar and prays three prayers:
- The god of whoever this church had
- Pelor
- The Raven Queen
She begs for the souls to be guided home and to safety. Arythas prays beside her and he feels the furthest away from Bahamut than he has in a while, and Dia experiences something similar. There is a miasma there, and she isn’t fully sure who she’s praying to. The Raven Queen seems to respond with a brushing of feathers across Dia’s face — she acknowledges it, but does not open her eyes.
Arythas begins to reflect if he feels further away from Bahamut because of his changes to work with Bane, or if perhaps it is this place. He realizes that there is an almost anti-divinity field here, something very antithetical to Bahamut.
Dia asks Arythas if he felt two things, and then she explains that she felt feathers and that her connection to Pelor feels tenuous here. Arythas explains that he did not feel the Raven Queen, and then explains that he also feels further from Bahamut here. He explains that there is something antithetical to divine energy here, suppressing our connections. They agree that this is somehow worse than if we were abandoned by our deities, for there is something here that is still lingering from the war.
The rest of the party continues on to the point of origin. The closer they get to the origin, the darker the snow. The snow disappears as they come across the origin, cobblestone cracked with force and power being revealed instead. Iskra and Rohan recognizes humans and dwarves, hobgoblins, and even at least one ice troll as after images here. Inky sees an afterimage of a creature that was possibly something like a werewolf shifting, or a druid mid-shift, but everything about this doesn’t fit that. What Inky sees in this particular spot is an actual, genuine, ghoul. It wasn’t alone. Now that he sees this one, he sees pieces of them strewn about. It is almost as if they were going at these people and were caught in whatever happened here before their images could be left. Inky quietly points this out to Iskra and Rohan, careful not to let the hobgoblins know.
Rohan quietly asks if the explosion caused the undead, or if the explosion was to stop the undead and quell the ghoul attack. Inky thinks that the explosion was a desperate attempt to stop the undead, and Rohan is hit with the fact that the undead has been here longer than we imagined. Inky asks if we should warn the hobgoblins about this. He realizes that they are going to want to try to make undead crossbreeds with this, and he’s concerned of the implications and he is very worried about whatever it is actually controlling the undead. It may be that they can successfully merge these, and then they lose control because of Nerull.
Arythas and Dia come up as Inky is explaining that there are ghouls here, undeath. Inky says that there is a death god that is pulling the strings, and that the undead are a problem. Ilxavar explains that they have been trying to find research on a weapon that was made and used by a taskforce led by an elf. Soldos was the elf that led a taskforce that used a weapon. The weapon was used once, and never again because of here. The hobgoblins were trying to figure out why it was deployed here and not the capital — usage would destroy the entire capital, and cripple the empire’s everything in minutes, but it was never used there.
Dia explains that undeath poses more of a threat to everything than any single thing such as a warring nation, political faction, or anything else. Dia explains how we met and how we know about undeath. We continue to discuss, and eventually the Archon admits that he cannot give us an escort or anything else, but after we are done dealing with the Amos Bridge what do we plan to do? Dia explains we plan to go further north, and he requests that we find him once we come back down from the north and he would be our most gracious ally.
Dia warns that we may be more delayed than expected, and he says this is fine. He raises his right hand and there is some magic there. He asks for someone to pick a representative for them, and Arythas automatically steps forth. He puts his hand on Arythas’ heart and Arythas can feel magic twine around his heart and bind through him. He is now marked as an ally to the goblin empire. When necessary, he can proclaim it and everyone who serves The Archon or his father will know. He isn’t sure how helpful this may be further north, but it is still hopefully enough.
We ask for some rations because some people gave their rations to a wolf, and then they also give us a map of this area and mark a city we should visit.
Rohan comments that the Archon is familiar with undeath in a way — in a way, he confirms — and Rohan asks how it is the Archon knows about this. He explains that there are stories from ages past of undead wandering around, and he’s surprised that chronicles haven’t been kept. The Archon explains that they haven’t been an issue for ages and he knows of their power. He says that if the undeath fell into his hands he would study them, but only after they were made inanimate. He understands that undead creates more undead, which he cannot allow with his forces or to an extent that they would threaten his forces.
Dia explains that holy light or fire are the best ways to deal with the undead. He explains that old parts of the empire need to be reactivated with the looming threat.
We excuse ourselves and head out.