Tales from Etheraz: 2/7/26 Adventure Day Recap
Greetings, dreamers, discoverers, and disagree-ers!
I, ATLAS THE BARD, bring news of the group of adventurers known as the PC Party, delivered through my extensive and very tight network of spies (three guys I bribed again)! This brave (though often chaotic) group of adventurers recently landed back in Arancis after an arcane vacation in the ancient, mysterious Vault of Karna, and were immediately tasked to travel towards the Gate of Hope (formerly the Blakka-controlled Southern Barricade) to confer with the leaders of the Coalition about where to strike next. Things are just beginning to heat up in Arancis, and the work waits for no adventurer! I have received messages from both the Coalition and my contact in the party (thank you Kyran): Here I report in full, with absolutely NO bard’s embellishment and with total journalistic integrity.
[Transcript: Hello Atlas,
When we got to Agarion’s fort Judge Sable told us he knew the location of the two remaining members of the original Cuprous Lodge, The Scribe and The Oar, and sent us after them. While we were going there we ran into someone standing next to a body. He said he was attacked and killed them in self defence, we told him to come with us to make a report but he didn’t want to, he said his fire was still going. He tried to run but we stopped him and convinced him to go to Agarion’s Fort with us. I felt bad but he was acting very suspicious. He seemed stressed so I gave him some plants, I think they helped.
He was accused of being The Scribe and was put on trial. Ez found letters in his house addressed to The Scribe and The Oar. He was executed by Judge Sable. I don’t know how to feel about that, no one deserves to die but Arancis is safer with him gone and I trust Sable’s judgement more than my own.
After the execution Duncan and Truett left. I’m glad they did, I didn’t like either of them. Duncan acts like Corvis is so awful when Luv isn’t any better.
We were sent by Judge Sable to reestablish contact with Niv, I don’t think he took us very seriously about The Heart but we already need to head that way to catch up with Valens and Sanari and we need Niv’s permission to go North anyway. I just hope we catch up to them in time.
Kyran Greyling]
Upon arriving at the Gate of Hope, the party found Judge Sable, leader of the Coalition, and his right hand, Agarion, awaiting them. The party reported everything they had learned in the Vault, and in return, Judge Sable tasked them with an urgent mission: the last two remaining members of the Cuprous Lodge (a nefarious, cloak-and-dagger organization that had been running cruel experiments on the people of the Bowers for years), were hiding out in the area. They needed to be brought to justice after all they had done, and now that the Cuprous Lodge was largely obliterated (due to the years-long efforts from the party to defeat them), the Coalition could strike the final blow.
The party ventured out into the snowy weather to find them. Instead of two ominous figures in masks, as the Cuprous Lodge members tended to appear, they found… a regular guy standing next to a corpse. That’s a suspicious scene, so the party questioned him. He said he was just a regular guy, and he killed the other guy in self-defense, and could he leave, please? The party was justly a little suspicious, and politely requested he come speak to Judge Sable, just in case. The guy was very reluctant to do that, and he actually left the fire going in his cabin, and if they wouldn’t mind just letting him go put that out please, that would be great… After the party RELEASED HIM ONCE, believing his incredible and convincing story, they figured out that this was likely the guy they needed to find, and dragged him back to Judge Sable.
Upon arrival back to the Gate of Hope, Judge Sable called together a trial. The man, revealed to be the Scribe of the Cuprous Lodge (and also named Leonard), would stand accused for his crimes against the people of Arancis. The party, having fought the Lodge many times, would act as witnesses in the case. Party members Ez, Kyran, and A.S.T.E. would act as notetakers (and agitators). Meanwhile, as the trial progressed, those who weren’t testifying (or annoying Leonard, or trying to “comfort” him with gifts of plants and money), trained and honed their skills in anticipation of the long days ahead. They had a moment of respite now, in the Gate of Hope, but soon they would have to be on the road again, slaying Hollowed and fighting forward to protect Arancis from the many threats that haunt it.
The training and the trial both progressed side-by-side. Agarion would call intermittently for assistance finding evidence in the area, calling upon members of the party to brave the snowy weather and find notes, documentation, and correspondences that would strengthen the Coalition’s case against the Scribe. Several party members, including Kuzo, Akela, and Ez, agreed to testify regarding their experiences with the Cuprous Lodge. Ultimately, the evidence was overwhelming against Leonard, and after some deliberation, Judge Sable decreed that he would be executed. The Scribe would face justice.
After the execution, Judge Sable received a report and told the party to go North, into Bradvlad Pass, and meet with Commander Niv of House Blakka to discuss making a move against the Lord Commander. What?? Meet with Blakka to move against Blakka?? Fear not, gentle reader: Commander Niv has been an ally of the Coalition, working as an insider against Lord Commander Blakka. Though she is working with the Coalition, her motivations are largely unknown, and so the party must proceed with caution…
Readers, here is where my report ends: with the party once again moving into unknown danger for the sake of Arancis. What dangers may befall when in Bradvlad? What information will Niv offer, and what will she ask for in return? It’s a dangerous world out there, but I, at least, can rest easier knowing there’s a group of people working together to make Arancis better. Remember: fight together, or die alone.
Signed,
Atlas the Bard
