Sunstone Properties

 Sunstone first appeared at the birth of Loneil at the beginning of the War of Seas (I have not been updating this blog frequently enough, the War of Seas is what the events of my first campaign in this world were all about). 

I spent a fair amount of time working with ChatGPT to make this summary of sunstone's properties. Enjoy, and let me know if you find any bad physics. Note that on Traia, gravitational acceleration is conveniently 10 m/s^2.

Summary written by ChatGPT:

**Sunstone:** In the world of Traia, sunstone is a unique mineral with extraordinary properties that defy conventional physics and challenge our understanding of the natural world.

**Charging Mechanism:** Sunstone becomes charged when exposed to sunlight, undergoing a transformation that imbues it with mystical energy. This process is governed by complex quantum interactions between photons and the atomic structure of the sunstone, resulting in the accumulation of magical charge within the mineral.

**Negative Gravitational Force:** When charged, sunstone exhibits a negative gravitational force, repelling other objects with a strength proportional to the mass of the sunstone and the intensity of its charge. This phenomenon can be quantified using Newton's law of universal gravitation and Coulomb's law of electrostatic force, which describe the interaction between charged particles and massive bodies.

**Mathematical Modeling:** The behavior of charged sunstone can be modeled using mathematical equations derived from classical mechanics and electromagnetic theory. By applying principles such as conservation of energy, momentum, and angular momentum, scientists can predict the trajectory and motion of sunstone in response to external forces and environmental conditions.

**Quantitative Analysis:** The charging rate of sunstone on Traia is approximately 0.1 C/m³ per ten minutes of sunlight exposure. This means that one cubic meter of sunstone reaches full charge in ten minutes, while six cubic meters of sunstone reach full charge in an hour. With a gravitational acceleration of 10 m/s² on Traia, these numerical values allow for precise calculations of sunstone behavior in various scenarios.

**Experimental Validation:** The scientific understanding of sunstone is further supported by experimental observations and empirical data collected through controlled laboratory experiments and field studies. By correlating theoretical predictions with real-world measurements, researchers can validate and refine their models of sunstone behavior, advancing our knowledge of this enigmatic mineral.

**Interdisciplinary Collaboration:** The study of sunstone spans multiple disciplines, including physics, chemistry, materials science, and engineering. Collaboration between experts in these fields is essential for unraveling the mysteries of sunstone and unlocking its full potential for scientific discovery and technological innovation.

**Conclusion:** In the world of Traia, sunstone is not just a magical curiosity—it's a scientific marvel that challenges the boundaries of human knowledge and imagination. By combining rigorous mathematical analysis with experimental investigation, scientists and scholars continue to uncover the secrets of sunstone and harness its power for the betterment of society and the advancement of civilization.

---

I hope this revised explanation better reflects the charging rate of sunstone in your world! Let me know if you need any further adjustments.

Thalia's Story—Part 2

 Thalia stalked and beat up Nolan

She got caught up on current events from Jafos and staked out the House of Raius. She discovered an Arcanist arriving at the House.

Thalia's Story-Session 1

 After convincing Levi O'Than to let her take Jacam with her, Thalia had Loniel send them just outside the gates of Nylana. They sneaked in, Jacam turning into a ladybug to avoid detection, and Thalia climbing the walls.

She went to investigate the home of her mentor, Orun Boask, and was caught unawares by an avian guarding the home. 

This session was done pretty late, so this was the whole thing.

Vovaenis—The Lost God of Life

The Hearkener's Prophecy

The Hearkener's Prophecy is a book written by the Hearkener of the God of Life, whose name was Vovaenis. The book contains the religion of Vovaenzol, and thus the history of the creation of the world and of mortal kind. Reading this enlightens Loneil, and he gains a higher level of knowledge of everything from it. Importantly to the party, it ends with the Prophecy, a clear statement of what needs to be done: "I shall build the Godly Tomb, though my God is not dead, but lost, and send them by this word to that Godly Tomb, where they shall restore him. I fear for the survival of the world; if their enemies should prevail at that day, and Traia lose either her power or destroy Shaefev's divinity, then the world, even the universe may fall from their discord—yet Traia's own limited power prevents my writing here the full solution. But as Vovaenis wishes, if they can bring their master to that Godly Tomb, and call him forth by his True Name, he will be restored."

The book is engraved on iron plates, and greatly rusted in many sections. It doesn't contain much more than the non-standard creation story and actual prophecy of the Hearkener.

Vovaenis has been missing since nearly the beginning of civilization. The Chaotic Cavaliers discovered all of what is now known about him, including that Luzak is his wife. Depictions of him nearly always include him embracing Luzak and grinning from ear to ear.

Session 28—Ambushed in the Mithril Hall

When night falls, the shade of Kasadek approaches, claiming that he means no further harm, but needs to take the King of Orosa with him. Kasadek is trying to fully break Jousus's hold on him, and if asked will say that he must finish his deal with Orosa if he is to beat back the God of Death. Secretly, Kasadek desires to take Jousus's place. If confronted about his intentions regarding Thalia, he will grin wickedly and say that he has fulfilled his duties there, each of the children of Nylana is either fallen from grace, enslaved, cursed, or killed now, and it should satisfy his deal with Orosa. Once that obligation is accepted by Orosa, Kasadek will be an unbound shade, free to do as he will without a master.

If he is given the knob, Orosa will be freed from it, and he will accept Kasadek's end of the deal. Upon doing so, he will begin to fade away, as if going to his afterlife. Before he can completely do so, a dark energy takes him and he becomes a demon and tries to attack, but is still bound to the doorknob and is unable to.

Loneil wants to get them to Asbouria, to have King Shathund make the Eye of Issald into the Okloroun, or Traveler's Sphere. On the way, they see the armies of Gods and Nations fighting Traia and the Liad, and it's looking bad. Ancient and famous cities are razed. On the way to Asbouria, they stopped at a ruin that Anira remembered was along the way. Loneil met them there and resuscitated their humming bird guardians.

When they arrived in at Kinzar in Asbouria, the dwarves received them well and brought them to the Mithril Hall, where they were to meet King Shathund. When they entered the hall, the Cult of Kathelia was waiting to ambush them, and promptly hit Loneil in the face with a bag, sending him into unconsciousness. 

The fight was long and brutal, the cultists had brought Minotaur Brutes with them, and used high level magic to avoid the party's attacks. Over the course of the battle, the Cultists teleported Loneil (and the Eye of Issald with him) out of the room, and nearly killed Levi, Anira, and Philip at different points.

In the end, the cultists lay defeated, and the party wounded and missing both a God and a King.

Session 27—The Temple of the God of Life

The temple is located in old Venrith, out in the ruins from when Saurians were the rulers of the region. Ahnrik's mother knows the exact location, however there is nothing there now but the faint trace of the old foundation, and a ridge outlining the long-gone outer walls. It has been this way since Ahnrik's mother was a young hatchling.

She was the keeper of the Temple Secret, which by now is nothing more than what she's already told Ahnrik, a Saurian Mage, descended from the Ancient Priests, would enter the temple and bring back their god. This has been passed down from generation to generation, and while there is a distinct likelihood information has been lost, she gets defensive and upset if anyone suggests as much.

When asked for anything else about it, she mentions how it used to be that mothers would tend their eggs here to hatch, when she was young, rather than hold them inside until they felt their child stirring for the hatching. (anyone who gets a raise on their smartsroll can determine that this practice of holding the egg is new, an adaptation to slavery and oppression to protect the young from enemies. A raise [or knowledge Saurian Biology check] gives the insight that this prevents Saurian mothers from having as many children, which limits the population and ability to resist)

When doing this, tripods would be built of stakes pounded deep into the ground, with a swinging basket suspended to hold the egg. Inscriptions would be gently etched into the egg shell each week by the father, with the mother's supervision, and the largest piece of shell on the hatching day would be used to name the child.

 There was almost no room to walk in the area, for how many tripods there were, except in a large square space in the center, which was left empty. Ahnrik's mother explains (if asked) that there is stone under the ground there, and the stakes could not be pounded deeply enough for the traditional child basket.

While the whole area is flat, this area is the flattest. Under 2-3 inches of packed earth is a great stone slab covering a tunnel entrance. The tunnel is pitch black, sun or torch light don't puncture it, but Ahnrik's Light spell burns it away. The main party goes down, leaving Kurik, Levi, Eli, and the Saurians with the ship.

The tunnel is lined with hieroglyphs, and further down pictographs of: Saurians fighting Liad; Saurians trading with, feasting with, and then being taught by Liad; a god creating Saurians; the same god creating Liad. The god is tall, smiling from ear to ear, fatherly and peaceful. A raise on smarts, knowledge linguistics, or knowledge archaeology will allow someone to begin learning the hieroglyphs based on the pictographs—a success will allow someone to understand the basic storyline of the pictographs.

At the end of the tunnel the darkness persists, but the room opens up into a vast hall, lined by pillars and alcoves in the sandstone. When Ahnrik enters, translucent, faint white figures appear in the corners of the eye, and occasionally faint glimpses of translucent white Saurians can be caught, staying hidden, but watching with anticipation. The closer Ahnrik gets to the end of the hall, the more this happens. There are no other rooms connected. At the end of the hall there is a twelve foot tall statue of the man from the pictographs, tall, smiling, and wearing a handsome but commonplace robe. The statue is painted, and shows the god has bright green eyes and average brown hair. He is laughing at Luzak, who is embracing him.

At the base of the statue there is a solid black book, with black pages as dark as the tangible darkness in the room. When Ahnrik picks it up, white letters appear on the cover that read My Memories of Vovaenis, My Only Love. A ghostly image of Luzak appears as he reads, and says aloud the first words in the book as he reads them. 

"Ahnrik, if you are reading this, then it is time to dispel this book, and return my memories to me. You must bring it to light, out in the open. " When he finishes, sauraian wraiths appear chanting in a forgotten language. One with features familiar to Ahnrik gestures for them to leave.

While most everyone was down in the temple, the cult of Kathelia arrived in a flying ship crewed by Velgan orcs. A few of the cultists have cast a barrier of fire around the section of ship that holds the infused sunstone, and are hacking it out, Eli, Levi, and Kiev fighting them off. Meanwhile there are others ready to fight the party that exits the temple. They also have Kurik and Yalwa forced to their knees by two burly orcs, each with a sword to her throat, and archers stand nearby with his greatbows ready to shoot her. The majority of the Saurians ran to a safe distance

Jacam demands the book, in exchange for her life, and they will let everyone go free, once the ship is sufficiently sabotaged, at least.

Thalia confronted him, but I don't remember anything she said, except the stinging remark "You would say that, seeing how much you care about your own family," which Jacam bristled at but didn't respond to.

At this point the fight started in earnest. Ahnrik immediately cast a dome of darkness over himself and destroyed the book with a jet of light, and Anisha, Anira, and Akari meanwhile successfully resisted a sleep spell cast by Jacam.

Various members of the group sustained injuries from the Velgan archers, and both Philip and Gretsa were incapacitated. Anira used her summon ally potion from the witches convention, and her summoned sentinel took out a couple orcs.

There was some trouble casting spells on both sides, but Akari managed to play her telekinesis spell, lifting Jacam to throw, but not before Thalia had gotten him into a headlock, preventing Akari from injuring Jacam.

More injuries were sustained from Velgan greatbows, and Eli finally managed to cast his growth spell on Levi. Now the size of a leviathan, Levi grabs the flying ship and scrapes its deck across the ground, killing half the cultists on the ground.

Kiev takes an arrow to the shoulder and goes berserk, taking out half the cultists on board the ship, but outside the barrier. 

Thalia finally managed to force enough poison down Jacam's throat to knock him out.

Levi gave the remaining enemies a chance to surrender, but they responded with further attacks.

Eli took out the remaining cultists, and Akari launched the final Orc down the entire set of stars to the temple.

More things happened, but it was very late IRL, so I'll reinclude/revamp them at the beginning of next time.

Sessions 24-26 Recap

Do I remember exactly what happened, and when?

No.

No, I do not. So here's the update, as best as I recall.

The party decided that the best place to find answers about Ahnrik's family would be in the city's castle, where they learned on the streets is where records about slaves are kept. As they arrived, they say a group of Kathelians entering. Thalia snuck in with them, and eavesdropped on their conversation, where she learned that the Cult of Kathelia knows that they're here, and are determined to kill them. In Drodrugh, however, the cult is rather weak. 

Everyone else, meanwhile, also got in to look for records. I don't remember how, but I believe it involved bribing the guard.

They found their way to the slave records and asked about information on Saurian slaves, Ahnrik acting as the group's slave, and translating for them. The record keeper was quite suspicious of them, and Ahnrik was sure that he knew who he was, so after looking through the records and learning that all the Saurians had been sold to the temple of Traia, the party kidnapped him. 

Using a spell to shrink the keeper, the party got outside and interrogated the record keeper, who it turned out knew nothing, but was just suspicious.

Thalia met back up with everyone, and they went to infiltrate the temple. 

They entered through a ventilation grate, that let them in on a blood canal. They searched the place as well as they could, and after a bit of wandering, the Eye of Issald began to grant Anira an ongoing Reveal Arcana effect, which allowed her to see all sources of power within the temple. This allowed them to avoid unwanted confrontations, and they soon found a group of slaves with a fair number of saurians. A fight with the priests of Traia guarding the slaves turned out to be a challenge, as it turned out that the slavers had a puppetry spell on them, forcing the slaves to fight the party as well. In the end, the slavers were killed and the slaves freed. During the fight, Amisha's token cried out at the deaths of all the other Priests of Mocaeis, its lights going out until only hers remained. They informed the group that Ahnrik's family had been taken up to the Hearkener's room, near the top of the temple.

Before any investigations could take place, Anira saw the aura of Mocaeis come in, surrounded by auras linked to Traia. The party decided that this needed to take priority over Ahnrik's family for now, and followed the god's aura down to the base of the temple, where the head priests and even the Hearkener of Traia were gathered, preparing to sacrifice Mocaeis to bring Traia fully into the world. The party intervened, with the help of the slaves, and took out the priesthood before they could accomplish anything.

They then went up to the top of the tower to rescue Ahnrik's family. They found them trapped in an earthen room, encased in small stubby trees. Thalia poisoned the trees using her bone-blade poison, and the trees withered enough to get the family members out. Ahnrik's mother indicated that the preisthood of Traia was after Ahnrik specifically to prevent him from doing something, saying that their family had been the keepers of the lost temple of the Saurian God, the god of life, and that Ahnrik would be able to do something important there.

A Summary of Drodrugh

Drodrugh

While not the capitol, Drodrugh has been home to the "court" of Velg for several years. There are two prominent factions: Nogrum's Horde, and the Liad, with Nogrum having a slight advantage in power, thanks to the priesthood of Traia. Nogrum himself is away at war with Rocg, and doing well judging by the spoils his armies are sending back. While he is away, the city is being ruled by General Luroz and Silok the High Priestess.

Slave Trading

Luroz oversees the policing and civil projects, primarily slave management, including the auctioning of imported slaves. Slave traders are required to show their Mark of Rights, a tattoo of a chained fist, gained by defeating a gladiator one on one. The mark is made from the blood of the gladiator, should the slaver win, and would-be slavers without one are typically sold as slaves themselves. The current slaver's mark fights feature Saurian Gladiators that have been blinded. 

The High Priestess

Silok manages the "Church" of Traia, primarily by conferring the priesthood on willing officers and sacrificing slaves and prisoners. Those who hold the priesthood of Traia are in various states of transformation, between their native race and being a form of earth elemental. The newest initiates have dry cracking skin, leaking blood particularly around the eyes and mouth. Silok herself is little more than an orcess skeleton shrouded in a form of flowing sand. Despite rumors in other nations claiming that Nogrum is Traia's Hearkener, Silok fulfills that role personally. There are rumors that she is working on restoring Traia's power to full strength, however anyone suggesting that Traia is not already the supreme goddess in the presence of a priest is purged, sometimes on the spot, and sometimes as a "volunteer".

Religion of Traia

The doctrine of Traia is straightforward: Shaefev is a liar and a thief, and all traces of him must be purged. As mortals require his influence (water) to survive, they must be purged of him. This is the only, all-important commandment.

The priests also teach those who will listen the "true" history of the gods, that Traia and Shaefev were once the perfect parents of all creation, until Shaefev stole back his heart by infidelity, destroying her at the same time. They teach that his touch ruined Zaerel their daughter, turning her against Traia, and all her children joined the conflict against her.

The Royal Family of Nylana

Jamus Nylana

Nylana's succession tradition of having the royal children compete for the right to the throne is ancient; the tradition of them murdering each other before the competition to ensure their gaining the throne is less so, with many even believing that it began with Jamus Nylana. All that's really known is that when his father Rabin Nylana decreed that the heirs should return and compete, no one returned but Jamus and frightening rumors.

Now that the world is ending, rumors are that he is hunting down his children the way he once hunted his brothers and sisters.

Children of Nylana

Jamus had two wives, an elf-woman named Nyanath, and a human woman named Lealla. Between the two of them, he had seventeen children, with all of them fifteen and older being away on their pilgrimage,

Nyanath's Children:

1. Doaval, 40
2. Jacam, 38
3. Erid, 36
4. Tamah, 33
5. Isimrell, 30
6. Aeraeth, 29
7. Hannavel, 21
8. Enylan, 16

Lealla's Children:

1. Orenna, 33
2. Arull, 33
3. Ren, 30
4. Layla, 28
5. Adelyn, (Thalia) 23?
6. Janell, 16
7. Rysh, 7
8. Sylva,7
9. Alvek, 5

Thalia--In Castle Nylana, A One-Shot

The Guard

The Guard has minimal access to the castle--they can get in no further than the castle barracks and battlements. If Thalia tries to speak with them, they will be friendly, and open to a simple persuasion attempt to help take the city back. Being either caught or revealing herself, she will be brought to General Adul Anameras. If caught, she will meet the general in the dungeon, or if she reveals herself, in the general's quarters.

The Guard has been separate from the main bulk of the castle for three years, though Adul has been in contact with Queen Nyanath (the elf queen) for most of that time. Adul does not know what has been going on there, except that Nyanath assures her they have adequate protection. The castle staff, including cooks and cleaners, has been inside the castle for as long, without any contact with anyone outside the castle itself. The estimated staff is around 40 people, and as far as Adul has been able to tell, none of them are native to Nylana, or at the very least they seem to have no family in the city.

The Castle

The castle is eerily quiet. The halls and rooms are empty, and aside from lit candles and lanterns, any signs of life are dusty, as though they were dropped months or years ago in the middle of things. The age of the abandonment varies from room to room. 

The royalty quarters are the only place of interest. There is a single maid standing outside the royal chambers, but her skin is ashen, and her hair gray, frayed, and lifeless. She attacks Thalia on sight.

The room on the right is Thalia's mother's room, Queen Lealla, the left Queen Nyanath's, and the Center King Jamus's.

In Lealla's room, her corpse lays on the bed, slightly shriveled, as if mummifying rapidly. She has been laid out peacefully, and there is a hole through her chest over her heart, about the size of a large coin. In her hands is a dagger with an inscription on the blade that reads "For Thalia". (This blade is the blade of Lealla and when held by a mortal has an incorporeal blade, and when held by a ghost or elemental, has a physical blade).

Nyanath's room is ransacked. There are letters everywhere, mostly discussing discoveries about the cult of Kathelia. One letter is left neatly on the nightstand, unopened, and addressed to Joehva from Jamus. It mentions discusses his fear for her, as she has already given her soul up, that he cannot save her as he is saving the rest of the family.

Jamus's room is empty. No furniture, no rugs, no carpet. A secret passage through the fireplace is wide open, and leads down steep steps to a dungeon-like place. There is a chamber at the bottom, lit by a  single torch, and the shade of Kasadek guards it.

Through the chamber, there is another outfitted as an infirmary. A girl lies in the bed, with green hair, and firm, yet supple, blue skin, similar to a ripe grape. After a moment, Thalia recognizes her as Hannavel Nylana.

As for the orb, it is a Liad seed, and thanks to the spells Kasadek placed on her, rather than a new Liad growing and feeding off her body, she will become a Liad in 1d12 (9) days.

Session 23--The Trial of the Slaver's Mark

Fixing the Rudder

After the fight with the demons, the rudder needed fixing, so the party landed the ship, fortunately right on the bank of the river in the village Largra. The chieftain required a fee of 1000 gold for the party to have their ship landed and request repairs. Thalia paid it up, and in his surprise the chieftain personally escorted them through the village to his fishermen, who (with the chieftain's prompting) charged 4500 gold for the repair. The party members were amused by the whole thing, and were quickly on their way.

On their way again, Ahnrik "remembered" (he knew the whole time, but I hadn't informed Ryan about the newly invented lore yet,) that they would need a designated slaver, someone who earned the right to sell slaves by winning an unarmed one-on-one fight to the death. After some discussion, it was decided that Amisha would play the role of lead slaver, and they would send Akari in to earn the slaver's mark.

Drodrugh

The temple is a black monolith, a long thorn that bends light around itself to appear pierce the sky, draining a power from it. Clouds for miles are drawn into it, and the sun's light is harsh and dimming at the same time near it. Statues of Traia depict her in the form of a Liad woman, crying tears of anger, and either mauling Shaefev with her wrist blades or weeping over a decayed heart in her hands.

The party flew in close, circling to get a look at the city before they landed. They saw the population was mostly a mix of orcs and liad, with an occasional slave of another race dotted in. There were also strange skeletons shrouded in sand mixed in, and orcs with dried skin, cracked and bleeding around the eyes and mouth.

Having done some reconnaissance, and seeing that the city's army was gathering and following beneath the ship, they landed in an empty slaver's field. 

General Luroz met them at the head of the army, and Amisha introduced herself as a haughty self-important slaver, requesting a slaver's trial. Luroz was unimpressed, and forced a search of the ship. After the search, he declared them as allowed to enter as slaver's but he would be taking the ship.

Amisha made a fuss about how it would take a lot of resources and expert knowledge to pilot, but Luroz just smirked and boasted of Velg's bounteous loot and enslaved researchers pouring in daily.

At Ahnrik's suggestion, Amisha tried a more humble angle of how their ship was actually rather crude and poorly made, and that they would be better off using their resources to make a better ship.

Luroz conceded that they would rather have better ships, and would allow the party to keep the vessel on the conditions that his people would have free run of the ship, and that Amisha herself competed to earn the slaver's mark, to which Amisha agreed.

The Trial of the Slaver's Mark

As soon as the deal was made, General Luroz ordered for a gladiator to be brought in, and the fight would commence immediately. This allowed Amisha about five minutes to make a plan, as her expertise is in trickery and not unarmed hand-to-hand combat.

Akari cast Quickness on her, and Ahnrik cast Conceal Arcana on all of them to allow for secret spellcasting during the fight. 

Luroz's gladiator was a grizzled seven foot tall rakashan with a Snow Tiger pattern, his fang chipped and a scar running down his neck.

Amisha struck first, subtly changing her form to have claws instead of nails and striking at him, but didn't land the hit.  Akari quickly Cursed his fighting, before he could respond, and he wasn't quite able to land a blow. Amisha struck again, and the hit was good, but he didn't even flinch at the cut on his chest. He lashed out to slash her throat and she dodged, but he followed up with a fistful of sand at her eyes, blinding her momentarily.

Angered at the trick (as it is minor sin for a priestess of Mocaeis to fall for a trick), she ground her own fistful of dirt into her eyes, screeching at him. Shaken by the ferocity of it, the Rakashan failed to dodge Amisha's following strike at his arm, which tore through the muscles and a tendon, and the pain sent him into unconsciousness.

Everyone was amazed at the victory, particularly the orcs that had bet against her with Anira, and Luroz upheld his end of the bargain, sending the Tattooist to Amisha, who got the chained fist tattooed on her lower rib.

Session 22

Loneil left to do important god things, and demons sent by Jousus attacked the ship, appearing suddenly. The party fought them off, and Loneil returned to give a gift of protection to the party after having sensed their fight.

Liad--Race

Liad—The Lost Race

Little is currently known about the Liad, but those who work with them (Orcs and slaves mostly,) have heard them refer to themselves as the Lost People, and speak of their desires to take back the 'wet' or 'lit' world.

Retractable Blades

The Liad have two blade-like bones that they can retract and conceal into their wrists. These deal Str+d6 damage.

Natural Venom

Liad's wrist-blades are lubricated by a toxic oil produced by glands in the wrist pouch, causing victims to make a vigor roll or be paralyzed for 2d6 rounds. If the vigor roll is a critical failure, they roll on the injury table for a permanent wound (reversible by a successful Greater Healing spell, if otherwise unwounded at the time the spell is cast).

Lost Race/Enemy Race

Since the dawn of mortality, the Liad have lived hunted and alone in the Woaden world of Traia. Even with Traia's help, most can barely speak the languages of the Sky-lit lands. During the War of Traia, Liad suffer a -6 to charisma due to language barriers and being the enemies of literally everyone. After the war ends, they have a -2 due to their being the "Evil Race".

Session 21

 The Temple of the God of Life

The final morning of travel to the temple, Amisha hears a sharp cry of pain from her pocket, and a light from her coin is missing. The face of Mocaeis grimaces, and tells her that one of her fellow priests has perished at the hands of the Liad, and she must hurry. It does not respond to anything she says, and soon the god's face returns to its typical ear-to-ear grin.

Cult of Kathelia

The cult of Kathelia are here before the party. At the entrance to the temple there are two (hidden) Khazoks, which attack when the party closes in. Once the fight begins, assassins leave stealth to join the fight. The entrance to the temple is in a wild, once-maintained garden. Near the main doors is a pit, with the carcass of a dog hung over it. The temple is built from a strange calming yellow sandstone that doesn't match any of the nearby geology.

Khazoks

Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6(A), Spirit d6, Strength d8, Vigor d6 

Skills: Fighting d6, Notice d6, Stealth d10 

Pace: 6

Parry: 5

Toughness: 7 (2)

Treasure: Meager, per every 5 khazoks

Special Abilities: 

Armor +2 Rocky shell 

Bite: Str+d6

Camouflage: While not moving, khazoks resemble small boulders. Characters actively searching for danger suffer –4 to their Notice rolls. Khazoks which aren’t detected strike with surprise, getting the Drop on their unsuspecting foes.

Assassin 

Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, Strength d6, Vigor d6 

Skills: Climbing d8, Fighting d8, Intimidation d6, Notice d8, Stealth d8, Shooting d6, Streetwise d6, Throwing d6 

Pace: 6

Parry: 6

Toughness: 6 (1) 

Various Edges: Alertness, First Strike, Thief 

Treasure: Meager 

Gear: Leather armor (+1), short sword (Str+d6), throwing knives (Range: 3/6/12, Damage: Str+d4)

Special Abilities: 

Poison: The quickest way to kill someone is with poison. A typical poison requires a Vigor roll at –2 or take an automatic wound.

Inside the temple are various monsters, cultists, and traps.

Items to be discovered:

• Any NON-story altering rando loot
• Journal of a cultist (Annaya Lest)
• Explains what they're up to, in some small detail: "The would-be saviors of the gods are supposed to be arriving sometime this week, Holvalda says Kathelia told him herself; though I have my doubts, it is also written in Volume 24583 of Our Lady's Visions. While I couldn't bear the consequences I would face if it should happen, I still almost wish us to lose, just to see them wipe that superior look off his pointy face. Perhaps if I were to kill him in the fight, no one would notice it was me and not self-fancied heroes who did it... In any event, I'm glad I got to create the Khazoks. As hard as it was to kill the poor puppy, it was such a thrill to finally get to use my bone flute!"
• Reveals that the cult uses bone flutes and the blood of animal or intelligent beings to infuse power into something else--the air for visions, though it is limited to events connected to the blood of the sacrifice; inanimate objects to enchant or animate; people to enhance. The cult initially gained power and influence due to its ability to grant actual knowledge and inherent power to its members.
• The Hearkener's Prophecy
• A book written by the Hearkener of the God of Life, whose name was Vovaenis, which contains the history of Vovaenzol, and thus the history of the creation of the world and of mortal kind. Reading this enlightens Loneil, and he gains a higher level of knowledge of everything from it. Importantly to the party, it ends with the Prophecy, a clear statement of what needs to be done: "I shall build the Godly Tomb, though my God is not dead, but lost, and send them by this word to that Godly Tomb, where they shall restore him. I fear for the survival of the world; if their enemies should prevail at that day, and Traia lose either her power or destroy Shaefev's divinity, then the world, even the universe may fall from their discord—yet Traia's own limited power prevents my writing here the full solution. But as Vovaenis wishes, if they can bring their master to that Godly Tomb, and call him forth by his True Name, he will be restored."

The cultists' primary objective is to retrieve the Eye of Issald, and will make called shots for the eye as often as possible. Each cultist wants the honor of retrieving it themselves.

Session 20

So this time I'm being even more lazy! I am only adding the barest notes, the ones I feel are important, instead of racking my brain to remember every detail from last time. IF THERE IS A DETAIL YOU THINK IS IMPORTANT AND I MISSED IT, POST IT AS A COMMENT! These session posts are literally just my planning notes with important game details added, and important things you missed removed, but THEY ARE WHERE I CHECK TO BE SURE I DIDN'T MISS IMPORTANT THINGS! COMMENT WITH YOUR IMPORTANT DETAILS!!! 

Highpeak

The Avion Bandit

In town, Amisha, Akari, and Anneara stop at an inn/tavern. An avion is bragging about a time that he was involved with a questionable troup, and how he had this one musical cat girl who played the theorbo awestruck by him. He says quite a lot of rude and inappropriate (made up) things about Akari, and in return, she used telekinesis to embarrass (and nearly kill) him.

The Slaver's Den

In High peak, there is rumor of the great and dark temple built by the horde of Velg. A successful streetwise check will lead the party to a den of thieves who've helped with the slave trade into Velg. While slavery is widely legal, kidnapping people to use as slaves is not. In Rocg, and most places, forced slavery is punishable by death, however a person (or their parent/guardian) may sell themselves into slavery to pay a debt. These thieves are kidnappers, and they deal with Velg. The beggar who reveals the den to the party shares a codephrase—"revenge comes"—which he heard a month ago and that they can use to gain entry to the hideout. When Thalia showed kindness to the beggar, he asked that she both find out what happened to his daughter (whom they kidnapped), and kill Thadeo, who he believes was the specific kidnapper, and is definitely running the operation in this part of Rocg.

The party entered the den through the roof, killed Thadeo and his men, and released the prisoners (among which was Gene Erica). While this was happening, Loneil sent Thadeo's mother on a pilgrimage/quest to Khalkazar. They found directions to the slaver's drop-off point in Velg.

The Juggernaut of Crowta

See their page. It has more information than you guys discovered in game, you lucky sons of guns.

Traveling to the Temple of the God of Life

Ran in to the Leviathan's Breath, which had been commandeered and reconstructed by the Ship's Skank to be a flying ship, which the Skank renamed The Flying Bale

A flying ship arrives, throwing burning bale's of hay through a hole bored out the bottom.

The Children of Crowta

Mythology of Crowta

The legend of Crowta has spread rapidly in Rocg, thanks to Taerik Fousthle, the elf man that Amisha first tricked into believing in Crowta. The arising mythology says that after he was shipwrecked on the Day of Woad, Crowta herself saved him from the Woaden Sea, taking him back to the temple where she first revealed herself to him. There, she instructed him to gather all who would be saved by her compassion, and build the walking fortress from the fallen Mocaeis' ruined temple. 

The Children of Crowta did so, and called the walking fortress Juggernaut, as Crowta wills that they never cease their motion. Men, women, and children all take their turn pushing the temple across the plains and savannahs. They have trampled farms, crushed homes, and taken in all refugees.

Where exactly they are going is not a concern, as they follow 'Crowta', and what will happen when they get wherever Crowta is leading them is simplified to "being saved".

Juggernaut

The Juggernaut is an unstoppable refuge for all who would enter. It is a massive, pyramidal, mostly wooden structure, featuring a stone building at the top. It is painted a splotchy black, with plain wood visible in some places, and black banners covering others. Crow feathers and crow symbols are abundant, as is the number of crows that follow the Juggernaut. There are windows in many places, and arrows and scorch marks on the sides. The wheels can be heard as far off as the chanting can, as they groan under the weight of the Juggernaut, but they and the walkers are hidden from view behind and beneath the Juggernaut walls. There are blood stains on the front walls of it.

It is also being pulled by five elephants, and several camps with other elephants are ahead of it. The Juggernaut has a pace of 3, and any difficulty of terrain brings it to a 1.

The chanting of the walkers can be heard for miles, repeating over and over: "Crowta save us, Crowta by your Mercy! Crowta wilt thou ever guide us and those who join our everlasting crusade."

Crowta's Children

The Children are not hostile towards anyone, however they follow 'Crowta', which happens to be whatever crow Taerik is pretty sure is Crowta, and they don't stop for anything. There are a number of warriors who have taken up the faith, and they protect the juggernaut with their lives. Twenty guard each elephant, and two hundred walk along the outside of the Juggernaut, chanting as loud as they can. Archers and wizards are ready at the windows as well, for if Crowta wills them through a village, then they will go, and the ungrateful children of those homes tend to fight back. 

This also happens to be how the Juggernaut stays fed, however. Refugees will bring whatever they have, and their belongings are added to the community share, but there aren't enough joining. The warriors (who also call themselves Juggernauts, as they hold strongly to the ideal of moving forward unstopped) tend to pillage whatever towns or villages they trample.

Those who have less faith and more desire to belong to a strong community may share that they feel that this is more a bandit party in disguise than a religion, but not in the presence of the devout. Some of the slightly less devout, but still faithful, Children of Crowta argue back that if this were true, there wouldn't be such a large number of people sent out to hunt and forage for the Children.

The Vigil

Despite their belief that they are being led by Crowta, it is still vital to the Children that a coin be left at the top of the tallest structure. Whenever they come to a new town, the most devoted race to climb the tallest structure to leave their 'Vigil Coin'. Whoever manages it first is honored for a time, and given a larger share of the goods taken. There are usually many who go to the slightly shorter buildings (or trees), as the Juggernaut has occasionally destroyed the tallest building.

Session 19--(Please excuse my switching between past and present tense)

End of the Day

Session 18 ended with a coming together of the party and their friends sharing information and resting after a lot of shopping. Loneil suggests that they enjoy their last night (for the forseeable future) in nice soft beds, and leave early the next day. Since these are high class rooms, there are nice baths drawn up for them in their rooms. When Thalia undresses for her nightly bath, she sees a purple bulge in her lower right abdomen. Seven light blue tendrils extend outwards, moving like a growing root across her, and her full memories from Nylana come back.

As Ahnrik falls asleep, he is visited in a dream by Luzak. She greets him with a pout, saying "Ahnrik, my pretty little Saurian boy, why haven't you told me what you learned about Kathelia? I asked you so nicely..."

Arrival of Mocaeis

In the morning, Mocaeis arrives at the inn, out of breath and in a rush to speak to Amisha. He bursts in on her, and gives her a token in his colors, with five glowing segments on the edge of it and one dull segment. He explains that he has been on the run since the Day of Woad, and his priests are in mortal danger from anyone tied to another god, should they know their identity. The segments signify his last priests, and should they die, the world is doomed. He needs his True Secret to be discovered by his priest before then, or he is powerless to stop it. The only clue he offers are to find The Godly Tomb, and to trust Yaalasar for advice.

A screech is heard in the distance, and Mocaeis runs, pure terror in his eyes. The assault begins right after.

Assault of Audrock

The Liad assault happens without warning, as a war tree throws a boulder that smashes a nearby building, and the party runs out into the streets crammed with other people who also want to get out.

The Liad attack with an army consisting of 400 Liad Soldiers, 2 War trees, and 20 earth elementals. Mixed among them are priests of Jousus.

As the party flees, the ground begins to quake, and arrows fall from the sky. Phillip took one in the arm, and was downed (but not killed!) by it. Enicha soon also was hit, and while she was still able to keep going, she was quite hurt.

After a while of fighting the Avions sent out several clunky flying ships to pour burning oil on the war trees, which deals them 3d8 fire damage, with a chance to catch fire. When they reached the gate, Anira threw all her ingredients together into the biggest possible batch of teleportation potion, and got the whole party through the gate, just as the city tears away from the earth, flying upwards until it's stopped by a giant chain tethering it to the ground.

The Liad army was encircling the city at this point, and noticing the party trying to escape made a run to cut them off, but unsuccessfully. Once they got far enough to rest for a minute, Loneil and Ahnrik set to healing people, and got the whole party back to full health.

The Trail to Highpeak

Fortunately for travelers brave enough to risk the road by foot from Audrock to Highpeak, thunderbirds are visible from the path, but rarely come close enough to be a concern. Eli gets  There is a shelter on the path, about halfway through the trail. It's cold up there and some of the party members were uncomfortable. They passed the shelter and made camp much closer to Highpeak.

Near to morning, Akari noticed three orc scouts coming up the trail from Highpeak, and woke everyone. They turned out to be from the Rocg Tribes, and were surprised and disappointed to hear about Audrock. One of them turned back to tell the news to his tribe, and the others continued on their trail to deliver a message to Audrock.

The Liad-An epistle from General Estvein

The Liad are a people recognizable by their light blue skin and green hair.  They seem to be plant people made in the age of the other races—they are male and female and they nurse their babies as the other races, but they wilt and die if locked in the dark, and they have a sweet sap-like nectar instead of blood. It is rumored that this nectar is what Liad mothers nurse their children with, rather than milk, though no one has found proof of this.

In combat they are fierce opponents, as capable as our own soldiers, and possessing a retractable, thorny spine on their forearms which they can administer a paralyzing venom with. They seem to greatly fear fire, however, and use of flaming arrows has proven effective in skirmishes with them.

Shades

Shades are dead souls brought back to the world either by very powerful necromancers or by Jousus himself, and are bound to whoever summoned them. They look as they did in life, though darker, as if black pigment was mixed into their skin and clothes. The most telling cue is their eyes, which are black where they should be white.

They return to the world of the living with all the skills and knowledge they had in life, as well as with newfound sorcery.

They are not truly ethereal, but can remove their physical presence to the ethereal realm at will, and while still visible, are invulnerable to physical attacks, which simply pass through them. A young shade may not be able to fully go incorporeal, and may be somewhat affected these attacks.

Shades can be forced to remain fully in the physical realm if they are dusted with salt.

Session 18

Having gotten the Eye of Issald, the party decided to go to Velg, and to pass through Cloudholle to save time, rather than going around the mountain range. Audrock being the first city in the mountain pass, they headed there.

On the first day of travel, they found an abandoned church being reclaimed by nature. After a quick search, Amisha found a rotting and rusted chest with bound steel plates. From what was legible of it, it turned out to be a cross of scripture and the ancient priest's journal. The journal revealed that it had been a church of the God of Life, and the last plates were filled with despair about the disappearance of his god.

The day after that, they met a young hermit and his pig. He was excited to see them, and invited them to come in and eat his honey barley portage. he introduced himself as Phillip, and his pig as Gretsa. After a some conversation, he decided to come with them to experience a party and a city.

Audrock is being overrun with elven refugees, mainly farmers, hunters, and miners.

Audrock is a military base, where Cloudhollen scouts and spies are especially prevalent, due to the city's access to other nations.

 Avions have an empirical attitude, with a large, disciplined military, and a classist attitude, evident in their clothing. Avions wear a tightly wound strip cloth, which wraps around the torso and individual legs. The higher classes wear longer, thinner cloths that are embroidered and decorated with beads, multiple colors, or other embellishments, while the lowest class wears simple wide and undyed cloths. These cloths are called teipen, and to not wear one in public is seen as indecent and an indication of being below the lowest of society.

Refugees were lined up to get into town when the party arrived. They sent Enicha into town to investigate, and she quickly returned with teipen for everyone. She informed them that refugees were being put to work mining out the ground on all sides of the town, and a goblin blacksmith had been hired to make a massive chain.

Akari told a bunch of refugees all about everything. Most of them were from Theretsa and Thelsinosa, and those who were close enough to see Enicha with her stolen crown believed it. That night, an elven man attempted to steal the crown, which Enicha had given to Gretsa to guard. The party (and refugees) were awakened by the combined screams of Gretsa and the elfin man, whose arm the pig was chomping down on. 

With some persuasion from Amisha and some healing from Ahnrik (along with a bribe,) everything got cleared up.

A few minutes later, an Avion patrol come to investigate, and as the party was wearing their stolen teipen, they were invited to skip the refugee line and come in the city. They directed to an inn, and the evening adventures were ended.

The following morning, Thalia got Enicha to take all the teipen back in exchange for a really expensive one, and she did. 

Loneil did some talking to learn about the mysterious goddess Traia, and came up with nothing, except that Nogrum has been established as her hearkener, and his generals and military men established as priests.