On Aiqasóma 8th [DOY 148], heavy pollen floods the Matten Hills, and the party is recovered from, not just the battle, but also a few days of experimentation and success with the Branch of Palendis. Cyndra's goal- and that of the Ember Remnant- was to free Azarellen, a primal efreeti who had been caged by the Branch of Palendis a few years prior. This empowered the branch beyond its normal capability, as it could draw power from an ancient force, and it was totally impenetrable to her denizens in the Primal Fire and Earth, and the results of that are covered in the previous post. Azarellen decided to thank her benefactors, and to accomplish this she called in some favors from Dysilret. Here's the summary from the perspective of an emerald dragon from the races document ("Nondragons of Nylsanna's Stone"):
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Dysilret
Though it is not legal to say so in almost any land ruled by the Dragonborn (and most lands ruled by Humans), Dysilret is pretty difficult to name an archdemon, and many refuse to. His realm, Carbon Seed, is tiny and harmless, and the rare portal to there that appears never fails to remain open for a return trip. He has created no new races, pronounced no edicts about how the universe should be. Dysilret himself helped the smaller races against the four archdemons that moved against them, even though his aid may have been minor. In the second war, Dysilret, like all archdemons except Aemel, had been bound to his realm by Nylsanna. While the others relied on their constructs and created beings to accomplish their bidding, Dysilret, who had no such things, instead created arms and armor for Aemel, who physically fought alongside Humans and Dragonborn.
Dysilret agreed but with the condition of entertainment, and Azarellen told the party of this situation, assuring them that they couldn't actually lose. Which turned out to be a rather needless concern, given that everyone simply smashed through any combat obstacle instantly. Cyndra partially succeeded at moving blocks in a well lit and comfortable room that, she was told, was a tiny section of Carbon Seed (Dysilret's small realm). Disco was placed directly outside a contemplative crystal sphere (with a peaceful inside probably full of spellbooks and stuff), on an island floating near the very top of Carbon Seed, where he circle kited a very large and cute snake to death. After that, he found himself answering a summoning spell from Caligo, which definitely shouldn't be possible, and it was a quick encounter because he actually had the two copper pieces required.
Geddreng, was sent to an uncomfortable cave system with no exit, and was told he was in a small section of Carbon Seed that was effectively inside the Primal Shadow- definitely not a good place!
There he met one of the two victims of a powerful imprisonment spell- the ex-familiar of a long self-dissipated wizard, trapped for hundreds of years. Calrytalandres Nithenador ("Calry") was a member of an artificial subspecies of pseudodragon, bred and magically modified by mages of the Gemstone Spires (an arcane college in Podanebeus). After his early death, his spirit was used by wizards as a familiar, until his unlucky imprisonment along with his master. Calry is pretty thrilled to be able to show up on Nylsanna's Stone again!
Skattebo found himself in what appeared to be a liminal space with corrupted totem animals, a river of lava that slowly corrupted the forest he found himself in, and a voice telling him this was "...at the lower edge of Carbon Seed, near the realm of 'Improper Metal'", which cleared things up totally. I don't think he told anyone later, but if he ever does, he will learn that this is the primary epithet for Rynathemat, and that his lava forest was right near the Primal Earth and Fire. Each corrupted totem animal he slew was purified before him, and as he finished a projection of Xivatox- a blue-skinned orc who called for a return to what he claims is the primal purpose of the orcs, made what counts as a real effort to try to convince Skattebo, and expressed strong dissatisfaction of Skattebo removing the influence he had painstakingly placed on the visions of the totem animals- which he had used magic to place where he believed his actions would attract no notice. While Xivatox's intentions were to instantiate and ritually corrupt the totem animals, helping him recruit from their normally non-warlike tribes, it's likely that this was not his only plan.
Nyxara was told that she was in the section of Carbon Seed nearest the ethereal plane, where Azarellen's summoning powers were greater- a hint as to later. She found herself faced with a puzzle that was easily solved when she used her tail, followed by an encounter that was totally possible to stealth through and apparently not any kind of challenge at all, at which point she found herself in an observatory room over a portion of the ethereal plan that overlays open space. There she found none other than her ex-classmate from The Nocturnal Sgail and concerned co-ninja, Saintillane Maiges. Both of them had recieved some hints as to the actions of Master Iliphar, and while Saint was willing to share that Master Iliphar had been asked to investigate something to the north of both Memories by the Unbreakable Promise- an organization he had belonged to in his youth, dedicated to preserving the borders of eastern Aykaiton, for years in the past a source of disputes and even wars. While the Unbreakable Promise is a known organization, their list of members and activities are never revealed. Saint and Nyx discovered relatively quickly that they had no way of actually being sure that each was, in fact, who they appeared to be, and as such Saint simply asked that Nyx buy a sending spell, or that she would do so herself at her earliest opportunity.
Once the group woke up, they found that Tivuren had also been given a vision, but it was much lesser. He learned that a wish cast in a certain way could undo the effects of the Serum of Aolsen that reduced him to his current state. He left the details under a tree and told Cyndra the location of the tree- his immediate concern is that, if the serum were known to be reversible by any means, that those treated with it may never be released after their "rehabilitation", and would simply be killed if captured by Assembled Councils of Ghelmidais- and of course, he knows at least a few people whom he would not wish that fate upon, as he spent time in prison with several who were so treated.
Since the Branch of Palendis can open a portal to Lamenciron, the party decided to open said portal and see where it lead. It lead to the landmass of Lamenciron (they knew that already), in the state of Bairnenmel (no surprise, as they lay claim to all five "dogs"- the nickname for the five islands of Lamenciron), in the small city of Courageous Cape, a relatively short journey from Unity, the capital city of Bairnenmel (and also the first city on Nylsanna's Stone). They found themselves in a mysterious room full of a dozen mostly identical machines, each several feet wide and tall, made of materials both familiar and unfamiliar- and the materials smoothly blended from metal, to something glasslike, to something that was not in the experiences of anyone in the room. Each machine has a base, five legs going upwards from the base to a middle sphere, with seven square metal "rings" around them, mounted so as to be able to rotate around the sphere- which, for the most part, they were doing. Two of the machines were entirely out of service, and a third appeared lethargic at its duty. Many mysterious parts were around, along with something that appeared to be a testing device for mechanical precision. Skattebo helped himself to a spare sphere, which he discovered he could throw upwards gently and it would lose speed at a very slow rate rate, peak, stop, and then plummet down much faster than normally expected. The party determined that these machines were meant to push back the "bane of reason" locally- they seemed intended to allow for at least some technology to function. Further explorations revealed that the lower room was filled with poisonous chemical, which seared the lungs of Skattebo, but not of Dis'Kolandir, because one of these is much better at Constitution saving throws than the other. They closed that door, and then went upstairs, eventually discovering that they were underneath the church of Nylsanna In Her Optimistic Vengeance- a church of the Rationalist Church of Nyslanna, the smaller of the two largest churches (the other is the Twinned Church, which combines worship of Aomm and Nylsanna). More interesting than that was the fact that the door appears a seamless wall when closed, and more interesting than THAT was what Imali Tanut, an alchemist, had to say- that she had been investigating magical etheric cages, and had asked a priest (Elsnar Wamse) for help, and he told her to go to a specific church at a specific time and wait for people she should meet. She immediately asked if they had any experience with such devices (the Branch of Palendis had until recently been functioning as one), and then immediately asked for help retrieving a specific device from a vault- one whose inside is larger than its outside, and that is capable of keeping magical impressions of any large planar disturbances around Nylsanna's Stone. Sadly, the device is dangerous and can cause a pretty large explosion, so it is kept in a vault ("Tistro Vault") north of Unity. Her first plan is to enlist the party to help break into the vault (she's sure it's guarded only by constructs), and her second plan is to ask for permission, as she judges the first plan to be much more likely to succeed. Any experimentation will be done in an unpopulated area on the off chance everything blows up.
Right now, Imali Tanut's assignment is to teach alchemy, but a few years ago she was on an assignment to try to discern magical disturbances, which is when strange impressions were made- the timing seems to line up with when Azarellen was first imprisoned, probably, or at least it seems too close an event to not investigate. She's an artificer from the Department of Reclamation of Legacy Physics and Reason, and her specialty is alchemy.
It is Aiqasóma 9th [DOY 149], and the solution to the heavy pollen in eastern Aykaiton was to take a portal to a place that is, at least today, warm and humid. Also the party members are all level 5 now.
