Date(s): 17-18 Mistfall 983
Location(s): On Talereth: Highwater on Alyndra Isle, Aboard the Starlight, Starleech Inlet and Hollowshade Thicket on Durashan
Overview
After settling affairs in Highwater, the crew splits their focus between arcane insight and fragile alliances. Rynerm's latest dream sets the tone: a spiritual choice veiled in celestial fire and mercy. Maeglim Zindlewick's cryptic readings shed light on the Dreamer, Finn's origins, and the shape of omens yet to come. Meanwhile, a visit to the Gardenhand reveals a link between Donny's past and Sylvari Coren of the Verdant Sky. When a sacred glade on Durashan falls ill, the crew accepts a quiet mission of restoration, risking unknown corruption to earn a deeper trust.
Key Events
-
Rynerm Dreams (Again)
- Asleep aboard Starlight in Highwater, Rynerm dreams of a cosmic scale seemingly wrapped in Mandate symbolism.
- Facing a choice between a flaming sword (likely symbolizing Valthren) and a representation of mercy or awakening (possibly related to Serentha), he chooses the latter.
- While this choice runs counter to current Mandate doctrine, it's not like Rynerm is a Radiant Mandate Paladin or anyth... um... This might get awkward.
-
Coffin Pickup
- Runek Thorpe arrives at the ship to pick up the Transport Coffin that is supposed to contain Corenthia Avae.
- He seems satisfied after a brief external inspection, so he pays the crew the arranged 200gp fee and departs.
- The crew breathes a collective sigh of relief, yet they suspect this particular story will eventually have another chapter.
-
Astrology Reading at the Tumbled Orrery
- Seeking Gnomish insight into Rynerm's ties to Myrren and the mysterious “Dreamer”, the group visits the Tumbled Orrery.
- Eccentric proprietor Maeglim Zindlewick has plenty to say, but his words are a swirl of riddles, fragments, and peculiar truths.
- Maeglim never speaks plainly, but he reveals an avalanche of
information:
- On Rynerm, Myrren, and the Dreamer
- Rynerm's fate is bound to Myrren, and to the Dreamer that slumbers there. “That’s where the Dreamer lays. Or lies. Hard to say, when memory is the one dreaming.”
- He forgot something important on the last expedition, though he believes he was unaffected. “You think yourself untouched... but the unmarked are often the most handled.”
- That forgotten memory may have been erased by “someone holy.”
- He will return to Myrren, and he will not go alone. “Moons love an audience.”
- A confrontation or pivotal moment awaits. “You don’t need to believe in omens. They believe in you just fine.”
- Of the factions currently on the sidelines, some might be persuaded to help. Others might interfere. “They don’t know the part you play, not yet. But they’re reserving seats, just in case.”
- A three-fold choice will shape what follows: “One soft, one
silent, one... new.” Later, he refines this: “One path remembers, one severs, one sings.”
- On Finn
- Maeglim recognizes Finn's spark of sentience, remarking on how ancient it is. “We used to know, but the quill broke. The ink ran dry when Kharos fell.”
- He muses further, “Still... for you to be humming along, something out there must remember how to build a spark... Even if they’ve forgotten what it’s for.”
- Later, he asks if Autognomes dream. “Because something dreams of
you, I think.”
- On the Order of Gnomish Astrologers
- “We watch the tide. We don’t steer the ship.”
- “We were builders, before we were watchers. I think we are still
afraid of what we once knew.”
- On the Awakened Cult (or perhaps regarding other factions who
might claim to have superior or divine insight)
- “One wobble in the third harmonic, and suddenly everyone’s a prophet.”
- “Every hand that tries to stop the wheel just gets caught in the
spokes.”
- On Cake
- “Beware the violet festival cake. Not for omens. Just
indigestion. Utterly treacherous, that one.”
- “Beware the violet festival cake. Not for omens. Just
indigestion. Utterly treacherous, that one.”
- On Rynerm, Myrren, and the Dreamer
-
Visiting the Gardenhand
- Based on a tip from Evan Orlin, the party pays a visit to the Gardenhand, a local apothecary and plant shop.
- The proprietor, an elven woman named Sylvari Coren, seems likely to be a druid. When she recognizes Donny's rare Firbolg heritage, the party suspects that she's also affiliated with the Verdant Sky.
- The crew inquires about potential aid for memory recovery, and Sylvari confides that more "complex or resource-intensive" services are typically reserved for trusted allies, not strangers.
- It's clear to her that they are likely part of a spelljammer crew, so she asks directly about their ship.
-
Once the
Starlight is mentioned, things shift:
- She knew Captain Marris, and is surprised and saddened that he's gone.
- She also realizes that Donny isn't just a rare Firbolg; she actually met him once, long ago, when he was still a child.
- After consulting with Donny's snake familiar, Sylvari offers the party an opportunity to prove they can be trusted.
-
A Favor for the Verdant Sky
- Sylvari explains that Hollowshade Thicket, a forest on the nearby continent of Durashan, is suffering from some sort of illness. A sacred glade, normally vibrant and teeming with life, has begun to fester.
- The Verdant Sky itself cannot intervene due to a prior territorial agreement with the Hollowshade Assembly, a local druidic faction. They suspect that the local druidic caretakers have been overwhelmed, and they need the party to investigate.
- Their charge: discover the source of corruption and restore the forest's balance... without destroying the grove. They further urge that any corrupted druids they encounter be saved, if possible.
- Restoring Hollowshade Thicket
- The party navigates the Starlight to the coast of Durashan, anchoring in Starleech Inlet under the Sky's protection.
- They journey inland to Hollowshade Thicket, finding it corrupted by fungal spores, diseased beasts, and blackened vegetation.
- At the sacred grove itself, they are confronted by a mixture of hostile plant creatures and corrupted druids.
- They manage to defeat the creatures, incapacitating the two druids that seem like they might yet be saved.
- Through a mix of purification magic, they manage to remove the rot infesting the grove, and they return to Highwater with the corrupted druids, hoping Sylvari can help them.
Clues & Discoveries
- Rynerm's ties to the Dreamer of Myrren seem headed towards confrontation and a consequential choice.
- Captain Marris had prior dealings with the Verdant Sky. Is this connection related to Donny's origin?
- Finn's spark seems ancient, but Maeglim implies that the lost knowledge must still exist.
Final Notes
- As the crew returns from their successful venture to Hollowshade Thicket, they arrive near Highwater well after nightfall, anchoring the Starlight offshore.
- The party seems poised to gain at least provisional trust from Sylvari Coren and the Verdant Sky.
- How much do the other factions know about Myrren, the Dreamer, and the party's current activities? What might these others do next?
- Rynerm's choice in the dream may echo the triad Maeglim described, but which path will he walk: “remembrance, severance, or song?”
- If Maeglim is correct that the knowledge of Finn's spark still exists, could it be used to “awaken” other Autognomes?
- Conversely, if the knowledge becomes truly lost, could that affect Finn's existing sentience?
- And what of Prim's friend Nabere? Is he tied up in all of this somehow, or is he just another inadvertent victim of Myrren?