Session 3: Star Souls Awaken

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Summary

The adventurers reunited at the docks of Lirensk, heading north through the sleeping town to the Calimshite estate of Galdren Murendar. Escorted by his apprentice Neribion, they entered a lead-lined reception room where Galdren explained his role as a leader of a Thayan rebellion, to remake the nation in a more egalitarian image.

His plan involves acquiring a grand sensory stone from the Society of Sensation in Sigil. After a quick lesson in planar cartography, he and Neribion barely managed to cast as Astral Projection spell on the party. The proposed travel path (gleaned from a tiefling named Ember) is to find a turquoise color pool, which will lead to The Outlands. Then from there, find a gate to Sigil.

Once arriving at the Astral Plane, the party encountered an ancient mathematician, and in exchange for a missing variable that had been taken by an astral entity, he taught the group how to properly navigate the Astral Plane. Finally at the turquoise color pool, the party was greeted by two Githyanki who were more than pleased to meet them.

XP Award

  • 80 XP for reaching Galdren safely
  • 50 XP for succeeding in various skill checks
  • 100 XP for a peaceful resolution with the Astral Maw
  • Total: 230 XP
  • Current XP: 300 XP -> 530 XP (Level 2)

Things That Happened

Reunion at Lirensk

Lirensk (Inspiration)
  • Date: 3rd of Tarsakh (The Claw of the Storms, April), 1372 DR
  • Most of the party (sans Chai) rowed through the night on Lake Mulsantir, due north. Selune shone brightly.
  • They spotted a wooden bastion (two towers connected by a bridge) with lit braziers. The town of Lirensk was finally in sight.
  • The town is composed of dozens of wooden structures with stone foundations, surrounded by a pine redwood forest.
  • Two guards Dorogar and Voromir began walking down the towers to meet with them.
  • At 3 AM, after fifteen hours of travel, they arrived exhausted at the port. Next to their rowboat was an ornately decorated boat with no visible oars and mooring. It stood still in the lake. Cove poked it. It did not move.
  • The guards jokingly interrogated the party, until finally bidding the bard Chai show herself and confirmed that Imzel's raven had told them of their arrival.
  • They directed the party north through a sleeping Lirensk.
  • Chai returned the witchboat to its owner by speaking the command word: Golosumer.
  • As the party traveled, they noted a trading outpost, a bakery, a Rashemi Berserker Lodge with a red anvil in its yard, and a large hut with a shrine to the Telthor of Lake Mulsantir in its yard.
  • Cove washed her face with the waters from the shrine's basin -- denying entry to others.
  • After clearing the town, an hour in the woods (followed by sightings of flying squirrels and the hoot of ordinary owls), they arrived at the estate.

Arrival at the Calimshite Estate

The Rebel Estate
  • Its honey-colored sandstone walls and open pavilions topped azure and turquoise domed spires are paradoxically juxtaposed with the untamed Rashemi wilds.
  • The palace looks large enough to have two dozen rooms.
  • It has an ordinary stables with a water channel dug nearby.
  • The party approached a grand main entrance, with intricate blue and gold carvings — camels and birds and deserts.
  • A plaque there reads: "To Galdren, a jewel — from my home, to your rough." -Azhar Al-Farid
  • As Cedani was about to knock on the door, it opened a crack to reveal Neribion, a tense young man.
    • He wore sage green robes and gripped a short sword tightly. He also had a silver amulet of Mielikki.
    • Scars on his neck marked him as a former slave.
    • He relaxed once he saw Octavius and Glenn, embarrassingly trying to use his amulet to communicate with them via a Speak With Animals spell.
  • He bid them inside, saying that Galdren was waiting.
  • The party passed a Reception Hall depicting tapestries of Calimshan, kingdoms of the Sword Coast, Cormanthor, and Thay.
    • A large brazier burned with mint leaves.
  • The Reception Hall led to a Reception Room.

Meeting the Rebel Red Wizard

Neribion
Galdren Murendar
  • The room exuded opulence and comfort, with a floor covered in lush rugs and dozens of fine cushions inspired by Calimshite design.
  • Instead of traditional Western furniture, the room had featured low ornate wooden tables:
    • Tables were adorned with intricate carvings and inlaid with gemstones.
    • Displayed artifacts had included exotic stones, a gilded scale, a blue crystal orb (on a famed "orb holder"), and a sextant, signifying the Red Wizard's prowess in trade and diplomacy.
  • The ceiling had showcased a vast mural of matte gray metal:
    • Depicted animals and mythical beasts from Faerûn, such as dragons and cheetahs.
    • The material was lead, and those who succeeded in arcana realized it was used to block scrying spells. Divination wizards had an advantage.
  • A large, open fireplace had dominated one wall:
    • Seated facing the roaring fire, on an opulent cushion, had been a towering man wearing faded sage robes with red filigree on its sleeves.
    • He was gaunt and thin, with Red Wizard's tattoos going up his neck and forehead.
    • Nightfeather, Imzel's giant raven, sat on the mantle of the fireplace, gorging on some meat from a silver plate.
    • He introduced himself as Galdren Murendar.
  • The players were then tortured with a monologue.
    • Galdren asked each PC what they thought of Thay.
    • He shared his vision for a brighter Thay, one without slavery and positive relations with its neighbors.
    • He hinted that there is something dark at play, and that the rulers in power are not the real rulers.
    • He urged the party to be more than an aimless adventuring band, and to help him with a real cause with real consequences.
    • He offered the party 300g, promising there was a lot more coming.
  • Once the party agreed, he asked what they knew of the Astral Plane.

Planar Cartography

  • He described meeting a tiefling girl named Ember who was from Sigil, The City of Doors and an expert on planar travel.
    • With this information, Neribion showed a projection and gave a "layers of the onion" lesson on the Inner Planes, The Ethereal Plane, The Prime Material Plane, The Astral Plane, and The Outer Planes, with Sigil at its center in The Outlands.
  • Octavius and Cedani revealed they had both lived in Sigil. Galdren was floored, asking where their entry points were.
    • Cedani's was an outhouse near Ironjaw's Mirth.
    • Octavius's was a troll encampment in the Troll Hills near the Sword Coast. He may have been the first one to escape unharmed since cookpots were nearby.
  • The tiefling girl was a Sensate, a member of the Society of Sensation faction in Sigil, and she traded to Galdren a sensory stone.
    • That one has the sensation of falling backwards into icy water and being swarmed by eels.
  • The tiefling girl spoke of grander stones that could hold an entire lifetime of memories and experiences.
  • "It is such a stone that we are in pursuit of. With it, we can set the stage for Thay's downfall."
  • He described himself as a High Necromancer, specializing in the study of the soul and its binding to the body -- not of low necromancy, like puppeteers of corpses.
  • He stated that he acquired Mulhorandi scrolls at great personal cost -- and that with their power, he would project their souls to the Astral Plane.
  • From there, they would search for a turquoise color pool to reach The Outlands, and from there find a portal to Sigil to acquire a grand sensory stone.
  • Neribion brought in blankets and the party rested, sleeping in the protective shelter of the lead-lined ceiling.

The Ritual

  • Neribion was fetched from the yard while practicing a metamagic ability to cast a Burning Hands spell without verbal or somatic components.
    • Six cats watched and cheered him on.
    • They walked single-file back into the kitchen at his command, each lying on a cushion. Two cats fought over a sunny spot.
  • Galdren revealed that Neribion ("Ilmater here") refused the apprenticeship unless his cats were allowed to live in the estate -- and that his amulet had been earned by druids who were grateful for him bringing them an injured cat to heal.
  • Neribion and Galdren cleared the reception hall, placing candles in a circle.
  • Galdren explained that their bodies would be left behind in suspended animation, with their souls connected via a silver cord behind their necks.
  • The party lied down in a 70s circle with blankets placed on them.
  • Galdren and Neribion were clearly nervous, discussing pronunciation specifics. They had never done this before.
  • As the ritual was about to begin, Galdren shared The Three Truths every planar traveler should know (from the tiefling)
    • Center of All
    • Unity of Rings
    • Rule of Threes
  • Cedani asked for a boon from Galdren -- the location of fey creatures.
    • He said The Endless Wastes, and he would say more once they returned.
  • While Neribion held the scroll, Galdren read:
  • Astrixxan solthorium "Star-souls awaken"
    • The candles began to flicker.
  • Veldriikar kirinth "Journey to the void"
    • The air began to vibrate, the words becoming resonant and loud.
  • Melikthar durnaara'an "Bind to distant echoes"
    • A roaring gale, the candle flames turned silver. Some began to float. All of the objects in the room began flying off their tables, spinning in a spiral. Galdren struggled to maintain his footing. The sextant scraped his forehead, drawing blood. Neribion knelt to brace himself.
  • Thalxian'aar tiivak! "By astral winds, be carried."
  • The scroll crumbled to ash as the Prime Material Plane was ripped away and everyone was drawn into themselves.

The Astral Plane

Astral Plane - The Silver Void
Aristeus Aionios
Astral Maw
  • The players arrived into the Astral Plane, silver cords sticking out a foot out of their necks. Each hid it with their cloaks.
    • Glenn's true human form was revealed.
    • Chai's true changeling form was revealed, although she was able to switch back to her human form.
  • The party had a long conversation, each drifting into random orientations.
  • The party saw a silent silver void, with an Astral Conduit whipping in the distance, cloud-like lattices, and a large shell of a long-dead god, spiraling in a fractal pattern into itself.
  • They heard the soft clinks of a man chiseling.
  • They learned they could just will themselves to move in a direction.
  • Aristeus Aionios, an elderly man in a white toga, greeted them.
    • He's a mathematician from a Greek-themed world with benevolent water elementals and hydraulics-based technology.
    • When his people are near death, they reside in a temple and are sent to the timeless Astral Plane to spend decades or even centuries perfecting a work of art or science before returning to face their death.
    • He's been working on a formula that describes "everything", including how to create new stars, but a benign entity stole a variable from him.
    • He tells the party he can teach them how to find a turquoise pool if they help him.
  • The party found their way to the Astral Maw, a giant luminescent jellyfish -- and communed with it, each party member seeing memories of each other.
    • The druid spoke directly to it with the Speak With Animals spell.
    • The memories:
      • Octavius: As you look up, studying the coppery, razor-sharp vines forming an ancient archway, an unexpected rush of wind ensnares you. In but a fleeting moment, the world distorts, thrusting you onto the cobblestones of a strange city, with its eerie spires and serpentine archways drenched in an otherworldly glow.
      • Cedani: Beneath a canopy of ethereal lights, you listen as poetic verses fill the air. But a scoffing laughter, unexpected and jarring, interrupts the performance, casting a cold shadow over the assembly. A quiet resolve takes root within you, the beginning of a quest that spans realms and time.
      • Cove: Submerged in the chilling embrace of the sea, you desperately swim against the powerful current. With every strained stroke, the silhouette of a foreboding island fortress fades further into the distance, its darkened walls receding like a haunting memory. The weight of loss, secrets, and longing pulls at your heart, urging you onward, but the place that once confined your spirit disappears from view.
      • Glenn: Flames dance around you, their voracious hunger consuming the very heart of your ancestral home. The scent of burning wood and memories intertwines, suffocating your senses. Amidst this fiery chaos, the likeness of your cherished mentor is immortalized in stone as dark magic overcomes you.
      • Soks/Chai: As you weave through the bustling market, every reflection in merchants' mirrors is a stranger's face, a mask you've worn so often you barely recall your own. Evading pursuers becomes a haunting dance, a blend of thrill and trepidation. Yet each time you step into the amber warmth of another tavern, the weight of countless stories and faces fades, replaced by melodies that hint at a truth you're forever chasing.
  • The creature reached into itself and pulled out the variable (the number Pi), handing it to Cove.
  • It was delivered back to the mathematician, who explained that you just had to focus on what you were looking for to reach your destination, just as they had with the creature. There really is no direction or distance in this realm of thought.
  • 20 hours of boring travel later, they found their color pool -- a two dimensional object that can only be viewed from a specific angle, 30 feet in size.

Githyanki Training Session

  • A silver skiff with two githyanki (one old, one young), an impaled mind flayer head on its bow, and a silver chest drifted in front of the color pool.
  • Kith'rak Gaath, referring to the party as kainyanks and istiks, introduced his trainee, Viran -- and how happy they were to have found them.
  • This is because the ghaik they killed posed no real challenge, and Viran's training would be better if he faced them instead. He would judge the strategy.
  • Gaath emphasized there's no point in killing them because they were likely astral projections -- the hoods are a dead giveaway.
  • Viran moved forward in a blur as the party tried to stammer a response.

Maps

Map - Session 3
Map - Session 3 - Astral Plane

NPCs Encountered

Memes

  • Orb holder
  • Shidding and farding (what?)
  • Ahoy hoy!
  • Describing things without naming them -- happened like five times.

DM Thoughts

  • I was worried about too much exposition and lore, but the response seemed positive.
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