After a good night’s rest in very comfortable beds, the party descends to the tavern and eats a hearty breakfast of mushroom and bacon stew. Hedra, the innkeeper, recommends that the party leaves the horses behind as the trek up the mountain to the tower is treacherous and narrow, promising to take good care of them until they return. As they get up to head towards the tower, they spot a well dressed elf sitting reading a broadsheet, but they leave him alone.
On the way through the town, passing through a group of citizens, Quill suddenly feels something loosen on her belt, and as she turns around she spots a thief with a couple of bags of her gold in his hand, tucking them inside his cloak. She immediately runs after him, jumping onto his legs, causing him to faceplant onto the stone pavement, breaking his nose. He tries to proclaim his innocence, but as Gaia steps up next to Quill to intimidate him, he admits that he took some of their coin. Raenerys, who’s standing in the back with Miryks, also notices that some of her gold is missing, so goes off on the thief, forcing him to give back everything he took from them.
After throwing their gold back to them, they release the thief, who takes off running into a side alleyway. The crowd around them, who had been watching the events unfold, suddenly realize that a few of them are missing some gold as well, so they take off running after the thief. Not wanting to waste time, the party lets the mob chase their justice, and heads off into the woods, following a path that some locals pointed out to them.
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After walking for a short while through the forest, they come across a cliff face, with a narrow and dangerous looking path up towards the tower at the top. With two people who can fly, most of the climb is rather painless and straightforward, but as Gaia scouts ahead a path for Quill and Raenerys, she spots a couple of goats standing on top of what looks to be a loose rock, directly above the pair. One of the goats looks straight up at Gaia, then kicks hard against the rock, causing it to loosen and tumble down.
Gaia shouts to warn them, giving them a chance to get out of the way. Quill quickly opens up a portal just as the boulder is about to strike her, allowing her to escape to a higher plateau, while Raenerys jumps to the side, grabbing hold of a root to stop her from falling. The others help her up to the top, and as they pass the goats, they all give them a glare, figuring that Legion might be watching.
Safely by the tower, they see that the wall around it is guarded by two elves in armor, who nod at them as they arrive. They tell them that they have been expected, so one of the guards leads them into the large courtyard, to the entrance, a large door which is barred by several branching veins of metal. He knocks on the door, causing the branches to retreat, unlocking the door, before he returns to his post by the gate. Inside, a heavily tattooed elf with green hair stands casually next to a pedestal in the center of a large chamber. She greets them, introducing herself as Elara Shadowfoot, inviting them inside.
Elara gestures to a small cozy nook in the chamber with a fireplace and some couches, inviting them to sit down with her, as she has tea brought out. Gaia doesn’t sit down, opting to stand above, keeping watch of everything, just in case. The tower is busy, with several wizards and attendants walking around talking and discussing, none giving them as much as a glance.
The archmage tells the party that their letter disturbed her, because she had been told by a colleague of hers that something like this was happening, but she was unwilling to believe him until a few nights ago, when someone broke into her tower to steal something important to her. She caught the thief, and to her great frustration, the thief claims that they know nothing about why they were in her chambers and where they are, saying that they don’t remember what has happened. Elara had the thief, a halfling named Finneas, supposedly from Fallbrook, imprisoned in the dungeons below, until she knew what to do with them. She invites the party to speak to Finneas to discern if they are lying or actually under the influence of this entity they speak of.
The party is led to the dungeons below, and they come up with a plan of having Quill change appearance to pretend that she too has been taken over by Legion or is a part of their cult, hoping to learn something from Finneas. Elara thinks this is a good idea, and has the guards put handcuffs on Quill, who takes on the appearance of the thief they encountered in the town, broken nose and all, before taking them to the cell. Miryks takes on the form of a spider to join her in the cell, while Raenerys and Gaia stand ready just outside.
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Finneas is immediately spooked by the door suddenly opening, and another halfling being tossed inside. He ask where they are and why they are doing this to them. Quill responds that she doesn’t know, introducing herself as Ferb. They talk a bit about Finneas’ situation, in which he tells her that the last thing he remembers is walking home from the town to his wife with his shopping, when everything went dark. The next thing he remembers is standing in a strange chamber with a mysterious sphere in his hand, when a green haired elf woman suddenly attacked him with magic. He then woke up in this cell, and the guards don’t believe him when he tells them that he has no idea how he got to the woman’s chambers.
The most shocking revelation comes when he asks what day it is, and is surprised to find that he has been blacked out for close to two and a half years. He grows more and more agitated by the situation, prompting Quill to put her hand on his shoulders, trying to calm him down, but this awakens something in him, as he suddenly looks up at her, smiling, before trying to choke her with his bare hands. Quill lets out a “hello Legion” before she loses her breath.
Miryks jumps on top of Finneas in her spider form, making webs to try to restrain him, while Raenerys and Gaia both open the cell door to help. Gaia has to use all her strength to pull him away from Quill, who gasps for air. Safely restrained by the spider web, they interrogate Legion, who says that they were watching them as they ascended, trying to stop them from getting to the tower, but was unsuccessful, confirming the goat was under Legion’s control.
The try to negotiate with Legion, letting Finneas go, but Legion is unwilling to show mercy, and doesn’t want to tell the party why they wanted the orb that Finneas was holding. Legion says that they will have to show the party that they mean business, implying that they will kill Finneas, but the party manages to bluff that they are willing to make the sacrifice to stop Legion at any cost. This causes Legion to let Finneas regain consciousness, revealing that they allowed Finneas to hear everything that was said. He begs for his life, so the party tells him to reveal if anything weird happened before he blacked out. He tells them that he was assaulted, where a few men held him down while another cut their hand, dripping blood into his mouth. Legion then wrangles back control from Finneas, taking over again, getting ready to kill the halfling.
But the party continues on with their charade, saying they won’t compromise the rest of the world to save one life, saying that they won’t budge, and vow to stop Legion, no matter what happens to Finneas. Quill, Gaia and Miryks are bluffing, but Raenerys is willing to let Finneas die, having even taken out her book, writing down the last words Finneas said. Legion however, is surprised, and says that they too only wish to save the world, and are willing to sacrifice some to do it. They let the party have their win, retreating from Finneas, who regains consciousness.
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Finneas, still strung up on the web as a precaution, tells the party that something is different. There was a ringing noise in the back of his mind that has disappeared, implying that Legion actually has released him. They are cautious however, and are unwilling to vouch for his release, but tells him that they will ask that his accommodations are improved with a bed and some reading material, as long as he remains patient until they find a way to stop Legion for good. Finneas seems to be resigned to his current situation, only asking one favor of the party; to be allowed to write his wife Brenda a letter to explain what happened, in case she is still waiting for him. Quill hands him a piece of parchment and a pen to write, and then takes it with them, returning to Elara who is still waiting up above.
The guards who were watching the encounter from the shadows relay their observations to her, before the party is allowed to approach. She asks for more details, so the party tells her about all that happened, down to the last detail, and asks that he be allowed some better accommodations. She agrees to this, but asks if the entity, Legion, used any powers when they took control, but other than being insanely strong, he exhibited no magical prowess. Elara theorizes that Legion can remove the mental inhibitions, allowing one to use their full strength if needed, but it is something that can be contained, so she doesn’t think Finneas is a danger to herself or the guards, as long as he is watched.
They all ascend up the stairs, where Elara relays their requests for Finneas, and shortly after they see a few guards carry down a bed and some books for him. The party is thankful, asking Elara what they should do now. She says that she will have someone sent to the valley they described to her, telling them that it seems like Legion is seeking an Elder Brain, the core of an illithid hivemind, which would most likely amplify their power. The party asks if an Elder Brain has any particular weakness, with Elara explaining that the brain itself is vulnerable, so if one gets close enough, it should be fairly easy to destroy. But Elara then says that in their quest to grow stronger, Legion might have given them an opening to stop them, since if they focus their attention to the hivemind, taking out the Elder Brain might be enough to stop Legion permanently.
As for what the party should do, Elara suggests heading towards Starfall Basin, a place where there have been an uptick in disappearances as of late, so there might be some leads there that could help them learn more. She gestures for them to follow her up to the top of the tower, where she gives them some items to help on their journey. A recipe for healing potions, a couple of Varik leaves each, a journal for Gaia to write her own story, and some old glasses for Miryks, who requests it.
The party asks her what Finneas was trying to steal, with Elara explaining that he had taken her sending stone that is connected to all the other elder archmages. Seems like Legion wanted to cut her off from the others, hindering their ability to respond to the threat. She thinks a bit, then gives the party a sending stone that connects to one she has, allowing them to keep in touch should she or they learn anything useful.
After Elara draws up a basic map of how to get to Starfall Basin, they take their leave, being told that the path directly south is through a gnoll-tribe territory, but if they are courteous and bring an offering, they should be led straight through without issue. They depart the tower, as the metal branches seal the door once more, being let out through the main gate. The guards suggest they take the long way around that would take a few hours, but the party opts to return the same way they came up, as the descent would probably be easier.
They weren’t wrong, as the way down is much easier, with the only danger being a couple of hunters who mistake Miryks for a regular owl, causing her to almost be struck down by their arrows. She descends to the others, annoyed at the hunters, as they trek back towards Kestrel’s Roots.
𐡸
Back in the town, they head straight back towards the inn, as it’s getting late in the day. They are suddenly cut off by a few boys rolling a barrel of something liquid past them. The boys gestures for them to keep quiet, but a short while after, a shopkeeper in an apron is running frenzied from where the boys came from, asking if the party has seen some boys pushing a barrel. The party points to where the boys went, causing the shopkeeper to run in that direction, saying they have stolen a barrel of alchemist’s fire, a dangerous combustible. The party groans, running after the shopkeeper to find the boys before they blow up the town.
Miryks and Gaia take to the skies, as they all search for the boys, but Raenerys hears a sort of banging sound coming from a nearby yard. Through the gates and from above, they see the boys trying to hammer a tap into the barrel to drink, having mistaken the barrel for alcohol. Quill makes an illusion of the barrel being on fire, while Raenerys uses her voice of dread to whisper into the mind of one of the boys to run, causing them to be spooked and escape. The shopkeeper dived to the floor as soon as he saw the illusionist fire, thinking that they were too late, but was happy to learn that all is well. He tosses the party some gold and rolls the barrel back up the road he came from.
The party finally returns to the inn, greeting their horses with apples. Just as Raenerys pats her horse, time stops again, with her patron chiding her for writing down the words of Finneas in the book, as he didn’t perish. Raenerys says that she is not happy with her assignment, as she doesn’t like going around killing people, but the patron reminds her that she doesn’t have to kill anyone, death will find her in time. She still doesn’t like it, as her powers don't appear to be coming from a good entity, but the patron reminds her that she is uniquely qualified for this task and her gifts, considering her “unique experience with death”. She eventually reluctantly thanks the patron for helping her stay alive, crossing out the last entry in her book, which vanishes as she does.
Surprisingly, as time returns, the others get a short glimpse of the patron, who vanishes in a heartbeat. Quill takes out her book to sketch them while they are still fresh in her mind, before going to a nearby blacksmith, selling off her old armor and rapier, before returning to the inn with the others.
They sit down to eat dinner, with the distinctive elf still sitting in the inn. Raenerys gets a glass of wine and heads over to talk to him, while he is speaking to an elderly halfling. Apparently his name is Lysanthir, and he used to be an innkeeper in Jasperset, but sold it to go out and see the world while he was still able, wanting to taste the finer things in life, drinks, food, men and women, looking over at Quill as he says the last part. He apparently boasts about having once known the legendary Kal, who was a cook for him a long time ago. Raenerys thanks him for the talk, then tells Quill about him, and Kal, but warns her to be careful, as he seems to want to bed Quill. She is undeterred, walking straight over, learning more about the old heroes from the elf.
Raenerys eventually retreats to their room, where Miryks is tinkering with some of her stuff, sitting down to ponder what the future holds. Gaia remains in the tavern, keeping Quill company as she takes to the stage for another night of storytelling. A goblin, who introduces himself as Blit Fixbang, is intrigued by Gaia's physiology, and offers to do some experiments on her if she comes to visit his workshop in his village some miles south of Kestrel's Roots. Just as she takes the stage and introduces herself, they all hear the distinct sound of a woman shrieking from outside in the night.