Luca’s Truth

Luca begins to explain more about his family and the keep. Veil walks through the house looking around. Veil is unable to tell if there is a specific deity that Luca follows. Luca speaks about his son, Sergio. He says that Sergio is doing what he needs to do and working exactly as he should. Luca and Sergio stay in touch while he is away performing duties for the country. Loyalty comes first to the crown. Violet explains her own parental situation, and that she believes that her grandmother is still alive and her laris tree is below the keep.

Violet is allowed to go to Luca’s library, and along the way he introduces the party to the servants and workers of his estate. All guards appear to be humans from Isild. In the library there is a detailed schematic of the keep. The schematic shows that the regular top floors and the bottom was a small barrack, with standard rooms for the family, but the basement is missing. Further investigation of the library uncovers books with information about the history of the mining operation, including average output, quality, and location. The mine appears to be beneath the keep. Production had fallen in recent years and hit a big sway about a decade before the zodi’ite incident that created the hole in the center of the keep.

A guard is making small talk with Veil, and she notices that he starts asking her pointed questions about the keep. Hove checks the guy out, and they tell Violet and Luca through telepathic link that he’s asking too many questions. This is the guard’s typical questioning process to make sure those near Luca will not spill secrets.

The party wraps up with Luca and head into town for a few items before continuing on their adventure.

Maps with Mazie

Violet returns to visit Mazie and see if there are any additional maps they may have previously overlooked. Mazie begins to talk about a man she recently went on a date with and mentions that he asked a lot of questions and Mazie had mentioned Violet. He then asked where Violet is and what she is doing. Mazie has a picture of the man and hands it to Violet. He is a mid-aged human with blonde hair and blue eyes wearing a tailored black suit and is wearing a necklace with Matron’s holy symbol. The man said he and Violet were old friends that met in Dagger and I left him with a debt. The man is staying at the Ivory Mirror on the top floor. Mazie also states Luca left town about a week ago.

Poppa Raziel

While in Anchorage, Raziel looks for owlbear books to help him better bond with his owlbears. He finds a book that details how owlbears often kill their master. An owlbear training book written by Otto Waters gives Raziel a +2 to the animal handling skill when working with owlbears.

Dewdrop and the party leader!

The party decides to travel to Dewdrop before returning to the keep. Dewdrop is about 100 miles north of Anchorage. Due to the difficult terrain, it will take ten days to get there and back. The party purchases mounts to help speed up their journey. While the girls all find fitting horses, and Hove a ram, Raziel is the real winner, finding their new party leader – Araznad. The party encounters no difficulties traveling to Dewdrop. They believe this is because Araznad kept them safe.

Upon arrival at Dewdrop the party can see that in the center of the town there is a crater that is about 500 feet across. They are unable to see the bottom. Throughout town there are several small craters, it looks like a battlefield. Many buildings are intact or built around the craters. The farmland is also pockmarked with craters and the docks appear to be burned down. There are roughly 200-300 townsfolk.

At the center of the crater is a stone tower reaching 100 feet into the air. The tower looks constructed. It’s ornate and twisted in shape. It is not outwardly magical. The tower looks significant and there is a single 10 foot stone bridge that leads over the chasm and to the tower. The party is unsure of the stone the tower is constructed from.

As the party approaches townsfolk they shy away from the group and go into buildings and houses. Upon further inspection, the town looks as if it was constructed around a large building that was obliterated. People peak from their hiding places at the party. They find an old man that suggests the party goes to Silverlake Inn. Upon arrival at the inn, the party sees that the front door is off of one hinge and it’s empty aside from the furniture that is still in place. The party also learns that the resident of the tower is Master Riordan, and he’s lived here for fifty years. He is a farmer like everyone else.

In the inn there is a lot of eldric technology, but none of it works due to the lack of a nearby Resonance Tower. There is a large bay window on the bottom floor. The party decides to rest for the evening and they take watches. During the second watch Ana notices that people have been watching the inn the whole time they’ve been there. About an hour into the third shift, Veil notices that people are no longer watching the inn and every inhabitant is standing around the white tower. Alarmed, Veil wakes the party.

The tower seems to be giving off a weird glow. The townsfolk stand around the tower unwavering as snow falls upon them. They form a perfect ring around the tower and all appear to be asleep. There is magic here, and it’s emanating in all directions. Then, as if nothing ever happened, the townsfolk start to walk away while still appearing to be asleep. They all return home.

The party approaches the bridge. Snow is melting as the hits the stone. Hove steps onto the bridge. From this viewpoint he is able to see the bottom of the crater, which is about 100 feet deep, and the base is coated with snow. Raziel flies into the air roughly 20 feet away from the tower, and with a look of terror he falls to the ground and takes damage. The top of the tower houses a black crystal that is spinning slowly. The small crystal is on a white pedestal. Raziel recalls hearing a voice saying, “It’s been a long time, Raziel.”

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Loot:

• Owlbear handling book, giving Raziel +2 to animal handling when working with owlbears.