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[Spoilers Episode 3]

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Episode 3: Oathbreaker

We began at the summit of Mt Atria in the blighted palace of the Virtuous. The sky streaked with shimmering multicolored light.
Carviliius (dragonborn member of the Antiqua) lay in the center of the plaza, cradling the body of Aurum, their god. As the rest ot the Antiqua realized that they could not bring Aurum back, their thoughts turned to their own deities, and at once they dashed to the various towers that their gods had called home here on the highest peak of the world.
I followed Parvus (the kobold cleric) as they searched for the god Themself, though I observed that Parvus moved with less haste than his fellow Antiqua. Following the cleric across the narrow walkways and through ruined halls and temples, they arrived at the tower of Themself. Upon entering, it was immediately apparent that the god was not there, dead or alive.
I confronted Parvus about what he knew and why he had (against kobold culture) taken on a name. Parvus revealed that though he knew nothing of the death or disappearance of Themself, that he and the god had not seen eye to eye for a long time. He also told I that it had been hard for him to be alone and that the name Parvus had given him dignity.
Kelnys followed the elf Barabask, as they made their way towards the tower of Theolon, crying out in desperation as he neared the home of his goddess. The cleric did not have the strength to open the door to the door, so appealed to Kelnys for help, who was able to open it with ease because his stats are insane. As with the tower of Themself, nobody could be found.
The tower had been ransacked. A mural of a great tree towering over mountains defaced and scarred. Barabask dared to hope that Theolon's absence meant that she may have survived and disappeared to discover what more he could find out.
Dolly and Malakine (tiefling member of the Antiqua) rushed to the tower of Alakash, their deity, and discovered his lifeless body strewn on copies of his fables as his blood stained the parchment. Dolly asked the once-buoyant Malakine who could've done this and the Antiqua unthinkingly responded, "Only one of Them" before recovering to claim that she didn't know.
Hiding in the shadows, Raidion followed the dwarf Gronoth to Ullin's tower. Hearing the rageful sobs of the cleric, Raidion entered to see him holding the body of Ullin. Her platted red hair streaked with grey. Her skin just as Alakash's was; deeply-wrinkled by age. As Raidion revealed himself he asked Gronoth who could've done this. The dwarf replied that they could not speak of it here, but that they should journey to the city of Baruun to Gronoth's estate where he would return and explain it all.
Finally, Endellion and Morgan went after Genevieve (the human cleric of Ignas). On the way there, Endellion questioned Morgan on why the party had been brought here; why the Antiqua had needed guarding when their powers far exceeded those of their supposed guards. Morgan told her that it was due to the sacred nature of The Deference; that it was about maintaining the vows the Antiqua had made to forego much as they journey to commune with their gods. Satisfied for the moment, Endellion continued to follow Genevieve to the tallest tower in the palace, where the three of them found the body of Ignas. Her once fiery crown turned to the colors of spent coal. Morgan collapsed at the sight before Endellion and Genevieve (somehow sharpened by the adrenaline coursing through them) began to give instructions to shake him from his grief.
As the others left, Endellion hung back and looked out of an easterly facing window. Above the top of the Allanites (a mountain range at the very edge of the world) she could make out a shape. A shape beyond the mountains. She called Genevieve back to confirm it, but the cleric fixed her with a stare and told her that she couldn't see anything. Endellion, confident the cleric was lying to her, chose not to pursue the matter further.
I, Dolly, and Kelnys found magical items in the towers of their gods; a cloak, a ring, and a suit of mail, respectively. But Raidion's search proved fruitless. He did, however discover the source of magic that destroyed Ullin's tower and Ullin herself. Evocation, and the magic was either weak or the spells had not been recently cast.
As the Antiqua brought the bodies of the Virtuous to the first plaza, the parties gathered on the other side of the palace and discussed the discoveries before realizing that the light streaking across the sky originated from a small stone chamber. Within that chamber, you found the body of the elven goddess Theolon. Her hands across her chest, laid out at the base of a plinth.
Dolly recalled that Theolon had formerly been a god of The Wild who had changed sides in the Divine War, thus tipping balance in the favor of The Virtuous. Within the plinth, where the body lay, there were three orbs; one of pure white light, one of pure black with a flickering ring of blue, the last a kaleidoscope of ever-changing color. Raidion sensed great magical presence here, the greatest he had ever encountered, emanating from these orbs, that as you listened, seemed to whisper.
Raidion cast mage hand and touched the orb of white light and voices filled the chamber calling out from each orb with references being made to a child, the wild, the murk, the briar, and the destruction of Reliquiae itself. The voiced ended with the words "the shadow will flood". With this, the orbs dimmed and I looked out to the west, to a far away source of light. A great tree towering above the Allanites. A tree in a place that should not exist; that you have been told does not exist.
The party tried to make a plan, debating whether to tell the Antiqua, the Web, Morgan, or none of the above, what you'd heard and seen. Eventually you agreed you'd travel to Baruun, meet with Gronoth, and reveal nothing to the others. Once outside that small stone chamber, you heard raised voices as Parvus and Barabask attempted to justify their gods not being found in the palace. As Runa held Parvus by the throat, Kelnys brought forth the body of Theolon. Themself now became a target for all suspicion, with I interceding on behalf of Parvus, telling Runa (the orc cleric) that she and the others had turned Parvus into something that was not kobold. The tension rising, Gronoth acted as a peacemaker before Dolly, Endellion, and Kelnys and Morgan began to display symptoms of the same blight that had affected the wolves. The Antiqua were quietened by this and Barabask roused himself writing a letter for the party to give to Jasmee (a cleric of his order) to ensure the party would be saved from the blight. He warned you that you may not have long before the blight completely took hold. Genevieve told the party to say nothing of what you had seen, should panic grip the populace.
After leaving the palace, you returned to the plateau where you did battle with the blighted wolves, and discovered one so-marred by the blight it could barely move. Endellion put the beast out of its misery as Raidion spotted a vine wrapped around what appeared to be a creature. As the party approached, the vine attacked, revealing there to be nothing within its limbs as the plant life of the mountain seemed to become hostile to you. You quickly dispatched the vine and headed down into the cloud line, emerging into more blight. It was spreading.
The first snowflakes ever to fall on the Mountain of Perpetual Spring began to settle on the ground. As you picked your way down the mountain path, the ground shook and a landslide careened towards you. Through a combination of dashing and daring and tying yourselves together, you evaded the landslide, a corrupted, once-quizzical bear, and even managed to keep Morgan alive despite Endellion's best efforts.
At last you were clear of the blight, back in the spring sunshine, back among the lush greenery of the mountain. So the landslide has passed. The last loose stones are still skittering down the mountainside. The empty smell of the blighted earth begins to fade on the breeze and the light has started to dim, night is approaching. The scarlet sunset over the Allanites glows on the snow that carpets the ground on the base of the mountain.


Previous Episode: The Shadow Will Flood

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  • by Chronokepts

    Kill Count Tracker PDF by Kenneth_Dies_2nd


    by DrWookie


    by DragonladyCH


    by Gabriel

  • ♪Episode Song References♪

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    Highlights

    • 00:12:48 Learning about the Exhaustion debuff.
    • 00:14:28 I:"They needs rest."
      Raidion:"So do I."
      I:"I is fine..."
    • 00:17:00 Kelnys:"I feel weird...Tingly."
    • 00:17:15 Dolly:"You know, back home, people used to tell me I could 'convince the sky it was red' and that I could 'argue a crow white', stuff like that. Up there on that mountain, that was the first time I really felt speechless seeing something. That was not good; didn't feel good."
      Morgan:"The world's changed."
      Dolly:"Yeah. It feels that way and now every time I think of that-- can't even call it a wolf anymore, up there, I don't wanna end up like that. Crawling along on its belly, barely able to say or feel anything. Is that what's in store for us?"
    • 00:20:43 Alex's first critical fail with a natural 1.
    • 00:21:20 A shared trait between Kobolds and Hobbits.
    • 00:27:50 Morgan:"You're never out. You're just in something else."
    • 00:28:40 Aoife rolls a 25 for persuasion
      Harry:"You wanna hear some Morgan lore?"
      Alex:"Some Lore-gan."
      Just like everyone else I suppose. The Web helped me do something I couldn't've done alone. It helped me hurt the people who needed to be hurt and that sometimes still feels right. Sometimes that still feels good. For the rest of the time, I don't know. I have nothing but The Web. I have no one but The Web anymore.
    • 00:31:27 Fan Art Moment I:"You is strong, Big Scale."
      Kelnys:"You is wily, little brother."
    • 00:33:33 Kelnys:"I think you're all neat."
      Morgan:"Cheers."
    • 00:34:22 Hollie cannot hide her doubts about Morgan taking first watch.
    • 00:39:05 Raidion reveals a mysterious deck of cards as the first item he found in his possession after awakening with no memory.
    • 00:40:50 Raidion's regret
    • 00:44:27 Morgan:"I will not take lessons in faith from you."
    • 00:46:54 Endellion:"I don't like the idea of being that weak."
      Ben's "Oh damn!" face is priceless. Alex's too.
    • 00:47:51 Ben:"Oh no...She Dead!"
    • 00:49:10 LEVEL 4
      Raidion rolls 6/6, adds 2 CON for +8HP to his total.
      Endellion rolls 6/10, adds 2 CON for +8HP to her total.
      Kelnys rolls 5/8, adds 3 CON for +8HP to his total.
      I rolls 4/8, adds 2 CON for +6HP to his total.
      Dolly rolls a 2/8, adds 0 CON for +2 HP to her total.
    • 00:56:15 Spoon shenanigans after completing a long rest.
    • 00:57:24 You start to make your way down the mountain pass. It takes you about half a day to get down that mountain.
    • 00:57:48 Doug:"I think, because we've seen the squishy one just get pummeled, I'd like to offer this wonderful magical mail that I found."
      Ben:"Do the voice."
      Kelnys:"Hey Dolly, you want my mail?" Alex breaks laughing
    • 00:59:35 As you descend, you have this sensation of leaving 'Spring' again and moving back into cold, but moving into a natural cold. The air begins to chill and Winter, as you reach the base of the mountain, has gripped the land. There's snow thick on the ground; more has fallen even since you first began your ascent. After the Eternal Spring of the mountain, this cold air is almost like falling into water and you're steps are sluggish in this powdery snow.
      Ahead of you is a collection of tents. Great vast tents that you saw from the top of the mountain. The bright colors of the Festival of Benediction, which are made more vibrant against the stark white of the snow.
      You can see in the joints of these canvas tents, where they overlap. Little curls of smoke drifting up towards the sky. You can smell (when the breeze blows in the right direction) you can smell roasted meat. You can hear, every now and then, across the wind, the sound of a flute or the beat of a drum. You feel like you're moving towards life after so long in this sort of stasis and darkness of the mountain. These preparations, by the time you get closer, are well underway and there's dozens of workers. They're wearing these robes of rich blue and they're constructing a wooden stage under the first of these tents that you reach. They're bell tents, and they're supported by these huge poles, some of these tents are hundreds of yards in diameter. They've been specifically erected, to house and shelter from the elements, the thousands of people who've made their way here for the Festival of Benediction.
      Just to remind you, this is the festival that marks the true beginning of Winter on the second moon of Winter. It's the time when the Antiqua descend from Mt Atria with instructions from The Virtuous and give the teachings that the gods are going to want acted upon this year.
    • 01:05:30 Harry:"Maybe not sexy concubines, but...if religiosity is sexy, Wooo!"
    • 01:13:00 Doug's grunt of disapproval at the mention of children in Harry's description.
    • 01:13:16 Harry busts out several vendor NPC voices.
    • 01:15:45 The group finds "Sister of the Earth" Jasmee
    • 01:22:42 Dolly:"Thank you!"
      INTERMISSION
      Jasmee has just said "Get behind me, I need space." She looks at the six of you and she says "I'm sorry."
      BATTLE MAP!
    • 01:40:45 Ben:"Camera three is getting one helluva show."
    • 01:45:00 "Let's trust Aoife's dice"
    • 01:49:10 Negotiations make a breakthrough
    • 01:52:24 Doug's epic pop-up face.
    • 01:55:21 [censored]
    • 01:58:06 Morgan busts out an epic use of Dreadful Aspect. "There is no god. There is no light. You think I'm afraid of you?!"
    Dreadful Aspect (click to reveal)

    Dreadful Aspect (Recharges after a Short or Long Rest): You exude magical menace. Each enemy within 30 feet of him must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened of you.

    • 01:59:22 Ben gets hyped for ya boi Morgan and nudges Hollie like a fan of the rival team at a football (soccer?) match.
      "Can I just say, that was very narratively satisfying."
      Harry:"Namastae."
    • 02:08:44 Raidion busts out his brand new Hypnotic Gaze spell. Unfortunately Jasmee rolls a critical on the save and Harry makes it clear "That went badly." Ben is clearly loving this and makes human tippy taps.
    • 02:10:44 "You have a guard all up in your grill."
    • 02:15:28 Ben:"What's in the box?
    • 02:16:48 Aoife finally gets the scroll out and gives a look of "Christ, mate!" to the props person responsible.
    • 02:19:10 I uses the Beg ability in the middle of the fray, confusing the guards into disadvantage for the turn.
    • 02:24:33 Morgan decapitates a guard and "a little hand-painted portrait of the most beautiful litter of kittens you've ever seen, falls from his robes."
    • 02:29:13 Hollie:"Twat him!"
    • 02:29:33 Harry:"Morgan nearly died so many times and I make up some puppies and suddenly I'm the baddie."
    • 02:30:58 Fan Art Moment Jasmee's spell reflecting off Raidion's Shield.
      "You have no power here."
      "Yes I do. Nice trick."
    • 02:31:27 Obligatory direct camera stare from Ben in the style of The Office after Harry's song reference. Then he switches back to giddy smack talking mode.
    • 02:33:33 Raidion's clutch cast of Minor Illusion to recreate the final portion of the message from the orbs in the Temple of the Gods.
    • 02:38:52 Dolly rolls a 24 on Persuasion to convince Jasmee of their innocence.
    • 02:41:12 Harry:"In many ways, The Quizzical Bear lives on."
    • 02:42:00 I retrieves the arrow from the guard he shot it with.
    • 02:43:55 Jasmee explains that she will spread word that the team as deceased to enable their escape from whatever nefarious forces seek their demise.
    • 02:44:50 Blight cured!
    • 02:48:27 Jasmee:"Your lives weren't mine to take."