Previously: Chapter 99: Shrouded in Fog
In the Meantime
Back to the day before Thistlethorn departed, Kal walks over to Thervan who is sitting with his spellorb, studying. She asks if he has a moment, to which he puts away his orb, and turns to her, asking how he can help her. Kal says that she wants to be useful, wondering if there are any key personnel that Thervan could think of that might be useful in the rebuilding of society. He ponders on the question for a moment, then says that there are several people who might need help. Ansgar is alive, but imprisoned, while Bertram hasn’t been heard from since the attack. Thervan worries that he might have been killed, but he might just as well be imprisoned and under an anti-magic field.
Ethalyn and Ash both were away from any city while Rexendell got attacked by the drow, so they’re safe, but Thervan has not thought about asking how Alexis, aka Enhana, who recruited Kal to The Veiled Protectors, is fairing. She decides to ask her if she’s safe, and gets a response that she’s still in Elvenroth, but the drow are occupying it. She would very much appreciate an extraction, and so Kal coordinates with Relic to bring as many as they can with them. Kal tells Alexis that they can bring 13 people in total back with them.
Thervan tells Kal about a few other contacts that might be worth saving, but they have either already fled or are needed where they currently are. Tempervale is still holding back the siege, with the drow being unable to burrow into the city proper, but they have entered the undercity. Khuzunzan is still standing strong, functioning mostly as normal.
Relic takes the opportunity to ask Thervan if he has any spells to teach him, getting a couple that might be useful for their inevitable journey into Carceri. Afterwards, they all rest up for the night, with Penny already feeling the effects of the studying of the book.
Rescue
The next morning, after breakfast, Penny returns to her studies, and Thistlethorn disappears shortly afterwards without a word. Kal goes to ask Brónach, whom she saw Thistlethorn speak to, and he tells her that Thistlethorn is on a quest, and should be back eventually. Kal is annoyed that she left without saying anything to her friends, but she has more important things to worry about, namely the rescue of Enhana and her allies. Relic casts seeming on him and Kal to disguise them as normal citizens.
Kal tells Alexis that they should meet near a shrine in Elvenroth at noon, and then teleports with Relic to the city. He first tries to cast a sending to Sess, one of Vrendol’s children, so that they can teleport directly there, out of view from anyone, but he is told that the drow has taken over the shop and “relocated” her and her siblings. Annoyed, Relic tries to teleport to the park outside Vrendol’s in Elvenroth instead, but a mishap happens, causing them to land close to the castle. They hear the drow approaching, so Relic quickly dimension doors him and Kal to a back alley, away from danger.
They make their way through the busy streets, which has drow patrols on every corner, as well as some of the large brutish drows walking through the crowd, everyone giving it a good clearing as they pass. To their dismay, they also spots Royal Incinerators patrolling, clearly being controlled by the drow forces. One drow patrol is breaking down a door, pulling out its inhabitants, beating them. Kal stops herself from intervening, realizing there is little she can do for them.
As they reach the inn where Alexis works, they spot her and a few others walking out. She signals to a few people outside to follow, people she’s clearly told about the rescue who are coming along, and to Kal’s great annoyance, the last Doppelganger Tim is one of them. Kal makes her way over to Alexis, making herself known, asking if there is a back alley they can be more incognito, as the drow will clearly react poorly to the rest of the crowd if a bunch of them suddenly disappears. Alexis tells Kal about a nearby back alley next to the shrine, then goes around telling the others in the group that they should go to the disguised Relic and the disguised Kal.
When they reach the shrine, dedicated to Nuesis, they see that it has been broken by the drow occupiers, but people are still giving offerings, much to the entertainment of the drow patrols that pass by. Alexis points towards an alley, gesturing for the group to follow. As soon as they are in the back alley, Relic teleports himself and eight other people with him, while Kal gathers Alexis, Tim and the three others to her. She looks at Tim, thinking to herself that she’s looking forward to finishing what they started. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to Kal, doppelgangers can naturally read surface thoughts, and is shocked when he realizes what situation he is in, so he resists coming with her. Kal kicks herself mentally, but realizes it’s probably for the best.
Relic, who teleported back before Kal, sees the drow camps outside the grove, further away this time than before. They gesture wildly to each other as they see him again, knowing what is to come. He wastes no time, sending another meteor storm their way, killing a few, but not as many as last time, as they began to scatter the moment they saw him. Kal and the others teleport in next to Relic’s group in the middle of the barrage. Kal, slightly annoyed, summons another rainstorm to suppress the forest fire, as they all make their way into the barrier, and safety.
Thervan is there to greet them, welcoming the new group, and is introduced to Alexis, who apparently haven’t met Thervan before. They walk away together, ready to work on how to fight back, while Fargas Tosscobble, the innkeeper, looks around for something to do, deciding to begin a census of the grove to make sure that everyone is accounted for. Penny takes a break from the studying to see the new arrivals, but makes sure not to speak to anyone in fear of accidentally committing a good act.
Kal, seeing the people are safe, sends a sending to the kobold children, asking where they are and if they want rescue. Sess tells her that they’re being kept in a prison near the wall of the city. Sess sends a couple of sendings as well, telling Kal that the drow didn’t realize what they were capable of, and after a few sendings, another one of the kobold children, Scurry, asks Kal about their father, Vrendol, whom they haven’t heard from. Kal wonders why they don’t just send a sending to Vrendol, but when she doesn’t get a response, she worries that he might be dead or under an anti-magic field, hence why he isn’t answering. In either case, the kobold children could be useful for the effort, and either way, they should be rescued.
Kal goes over to Thervan who is already discussing further plans with Alexis, telling him about the Kobold children and their potential use. Thervan agrees, offering to send Kal to their cell. He tries to scry on the children, managing to find them, and feels bad for them being stuck in such a poor state, looking around at their cell. Kal says she’s ready, wanting to be sent alone, so Thervan sends her off with a teleport spell.
The teleport has a slight mishap, causing some arcane feedback, but in the end she manages to appear in the middle of the kobold cell. The kobold children are all undressed, with their clothes scattered around the room. Kal tells them to hurriedly gather their things, which they do, and then surround her, as Kal casts another word of recall, bringing them all out of prison, back to the grove.
When they appear, the kobolds get dressed, and when asked why they took their clothes off, they reply that they wanted the cell to feel homely, and asks Kal why she doesn't take off her clothes when she gets home. Kal doesn’t have a good response for that, so she looks around at the drow forces overseeing the grove, finding them even further away than before, clearly terrified of the meteor storms that seem to happen whenever someone appears outside the barrier. Kal leads all the kobolds into the grove, holding their hands until they are through.
The kobolds scatter as they emerge from the barrier, looking around curiously at their new temporary home. They ask about their father, but Kal doesn't know what has happened, but the children seem to be taking it in stride, hoping he’s all right. Relic comes over to greet Kal, telling her that she did good. He then wonders if Zeerith and the other drow might also need a rescue, and so they try to scry on them, finding them hiding in a forest, all ten of them, plus two elven guards. Kal casts a few sendings, learning that they managed to escape as the drow forces invaded, escaping into the forest. They coordinate a meeting point at the mouth of a river, promising to come get them the next day.
Late in the evening, a giant eagle emerges from a tree in the outskirts of the grove, carrying a badger on its back. Thistlethorn lands next to the party, and emerges from wild shape, telling them all that she was on a quest sent by Faunus, and managed to unlock her shard fully. Kal is annoyed that she didn’t tell anyone about what happened, but is glad she’s okay. When Thistlethorn describes the view she saw as she flew to the top of the mountain, Relic recognizes the place as a valley in the middle of Krawdoth, the continent to the south. Penny, who has taken a break from the study, comes over to say hello to Thistlethorn, and they all remark how tired she looks, realizing that the book is having a bad effect on her. They hope she’s okay, and look forward to her being done, so that she can return to her usual self.
Final Preparations
With Thistlethorn’s help, they are easily able to rescue the escaped drows, bringing them to the grove and safety. Zeerith is grateful for the help, and helps the drow make some makeshift tents for protection. With that, they have saved those who can be saved and who might be of use, especially Zeerith who might bring valuable information to Thervan for resisting the occupation, Kal is content that she has done what could be done.
Over the next few days, Penny keeps studying the book, while Thervan teaches Thistlethorn and Kal a technique that can allow them to change their prepared spells once per day, the same one Bimble Sparkspinner taught Relic. Morgan and Trixie both return from Khuzunzan, having taken a couple of days to just relax and catch up with people they know, just to get a few days of normalcy.
After six total days of study, Thislethorn notices that Penny is just sitting there with the book in her lap, staring out into the air. She realizes that she is finished, and has learned the name, so she walks over to Penny, asking if she’s okay. Penny says she feels like shit, and wants to be rid of the book as soon as possible. Thistlethorn suggests giving a motivating speech to the people of the grove, but Penny has a better idea.
Penny picks up Harmony, sitting down in the center of the grove, playing a song. The performance draws everyone in the grove to her, as she sings a song about how the night is darkest just before dawn. Kal helps out by casting a daylight spell to give the people a taste of what they are bringing back. As the song finishes, they all see that the Liber Obscurum, which is lying next to Penny, begins to crumble into dust, as it is blown away by the wind. Penny is freed.
Relic and Kal both join Thislethorn and Penny to ask about what she learned. Relic casts telepathic bond on them so that they don’t say the name out loud. Penny relays the name, Shal'zar Khalazza. As they hear the name in their head, a shiver runs down all of their spines. They now have the last thing they need to kill Vuthul once and for all. Afterwards, Penny immediately runs over to Morgan and tackles him to the ground in a hug, which he reciprocates.
Thervan asks them what they know about Carceri, with Relic having done extensive studies about the plane. It comprises six layers, with the lowest layer Agathys being the coldest and darkest. The party figures that if Vuthul is trapped in Carceri, that’s probably where he is. The titans that roamed the material plane before the elves and humans were made were banished to Carceri after trying to kill the gods, with the head titan Cronus resting on top of a mountain on the first layer. Devils and demons often use Carceri as a battlefield, and an ancient race of fiendish creatures called the Demodands are the de facto jailers of Carceri. The fifth layer, which they might need to pass through, is a vast, acidic ocean that covers the entire layer. No matter what they do, they should trust nobody, as the whole plane is filled with people who lied and cheated their way in there.
The party takes the next few days to travel to Tempervale, one of the last remaining bastions of Rexendell, to pick up whatever supplies and help they can find. The city is covered by a magical barrier, and people seem to be walking around normally, trying to distract themselves from the siege happening outside. An artificial sun gives them all a sense of normalcy, letting them go around their business as usual, but the city is much more crowded than usual, due to the refugees and displaced people from outside making their way into the safety of the walls.
The group decides to get a bunch of helpful tattoos from Deacon Ember, who is more than happy to help out. Kal suggests that he should come to the grove, but he tells her that he is useful in the city, providing helpful tattoos to the city guard who are working on repelling the invaders. Kal gets a tattoo granting her acid resistance, Relic gets a boost to his dexterity, while Thistlethorn increases her intelligence. They also get a bunch of spell tattoos.
Penny goes to Hamil Fatrabbit, picking up a few healing potions for the party, while also taking another Spirit Potion, as well as a bunch of potions of acid resistance. Hamil repeats his gratitude for testing out the Spirit Potion, offering Penny a job after she’s done with her secret business. Penny says that she will think about it, and then leaves.
Relic thinks they should find a spell in order to rest safely in Carceri, as the magnificent mansion won’t function on the prison plane. They all head to the Fey Factory to see if they might have a spell that could function. When they enter, they see the scroll of wish still hanging above the counter, dripping liquid gold on the floor. Relic asks about Mighty Fortress, which could be exactly what the party is looking for. The owner, Dain Stoutale, begins looking through a ledger of his stock.
While he’s looking, Penny asks if he knows of a woman called Lempi Stoutale. He stops reading, looking curiously up at the party, wondering where they heard that name. They tell him they found her in an ancient temple in the underdark, and that they have a medallion that might belong to his family. He tearfully tells them that it was his grandmother, and that she disappeared when his father was very young. Penny gives him the medallion, which he accepts with gratitude, saying that it will be placed in the family crypt where it belongs. He then walks over to a crate filled with scrolls, taking out one, and gives it to Relic, asking for no payment, saying the party “has already done more than enough.” The party thanks him for his generosity, and takes their leave.
Before they leave Tempervale, Thislethorn walks over to the arena where they have set up a refugee camp for the displaced citizens. She asks who is in charge, and a young man in white robes says he can help her. She takes out a large pouch, filled to the brim with platinum pieces, asking him to put it to good use. Flabbergasted, he puts it in the collection chest, writing down the contents, asking who shall be listed as the donor. Thistlethorn simply says it’s a “gift from Faunus” and then retreats into the crowd before the man gets a chance to reply. She then heads to one of the available magic shops to get a new shield, while the others in the party stock up on material components. Relic makes sure to go to the temple of Adea, picking up a golden symbol belonging to her, to place on his staff, just to shove it into the face of Vuthul as they kill him.
Back in the grove, the party takes one final heroes’ feast, and then goes to sleep. In the morning, they all have a communal breakfast, and then say their goodbyes to their families and friends. Thistlethorn gets gifts from her tribe, wishing her luck. Brónach wishes her luck, saying that she’s about to finish what he and his party started. He tells her a saying Lirael used to say, that “everything will be okay in the end. If everything is not okay, this is not the end.”
Kal is embraced by her family, and for the first time in a long while, lets her emotions show, as she sheds a single tear, hoping to see them again, before she regains her composure. She tells the family that if she were to fall, her soul will go to Udall, who she is devoted to.
Relic is approached by Thervan, who asks if there are any more spells he might need, but Relic says he’s as prepared as he can be. Thervan asks what he will do after they’re finished, with Relic saying that he might go traveling, and then maybe find a position as an Elder Archmage. Thervan laughs, saying they should be able to find a position for the most powerful wizard in the world.
Penny has a quiet moment with her mother and father, Morgan, Trixie and Perry. They all give her a good hug, and Penny makes her mother promise to think about taking up the throne if Penny doesn't return. Layla promises. Penny is then approached by Valthrae, who gives her a hug, and then Silver, who gives Penny a dose of the drugs she gave, saying that she’ll probably have more use for it. Thistlethorn sees this, asking if it is going to be a problem, but Penny promises that it can only help. Silver gives Thistlethorn a silver piece, with her giving him back a gold piece, much to his enjoyment and awe. He proclaims himself as Gold going forward, eyeing the coin as he joins the rest of the tribe.
Finally, Argus, Ira and Berry come to Thistlethorn, and solemnly wish they could come along, but Thistlethorn doesn’t want them to be put in harm's way. She gives them each a scratch, and then they look at her solemnly as she joins the rest of her party around Relic.
The party gestures for Morgan, Brónach and Thervan to come closer, casting a Telepathic bond on all of them. They tell them Vuthul’s real name, and if the party somehow fails, they need to have the information as a backup. Relic tells them not to say it out loud, as he worries that it might have severe consequences if they do. The trio promises to keep it safe, but is confident that they won’t need to use it, and then retreat, looking at the party with the rest of the grove.
Relic holds out the symbol of Vuthul, hearing the whispering emanating from it, but resists any attempts at reaching out to control him. He casts the plane shift spell, causing the entire party to fall through the world, emerging in the red, bog-filled landscape that is Othrys, the first layer of Carceri.
Next: Chapter 101: Carceri