3. Ongoing Chronicle: Calligraphy of the Sky

Ongoing Chronicle: Calligraphy of the Sky


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    Inciting Incident & Motivation

    A meteorite has landed in the North. Within the misty crater was found a most rare element, the coalesced aether, an object of great power and potential. Capable of remedying the most grievous of wounds, of piecing back together broken souls, of curing lycanthropy, of piercing the foggiest of arcane veils, of granting the clearest divine sight, and more. It is considered by healers, mages, bards, naturalists and rangers alike as desideratum, a coveted object and a resource of great desire, sought after by many. It is also, incidentally, an object that throws into the mist of uncertainty all manners of divination and prediction.

    Dramatis Personae / Cast of Seekers

    Thus were and are the various factions of the north drawn to the the coalesced aether -- i.e. the aetherite -- each for their own reasons and motivations:

    • The Golden Geese, who were on diplomatic mission to Moonreach Keep, venture forth. They seek to remedy their King, themselves, another, or perhaps an altogether different purpose. Each may yet have their own reasons for seeking the aetherite.

    • The Locus Operandi, who live in Moonreach Keep, some in the service of the Order of the Hidden Moon, and others in the name of the Cleimant Council. Yet again, each may have their own reasons for seeking the aetherite.

    • The Geese were beckoned by Horgrim Blackweave, the ogre magi and necromancer and member of the so-called Deepwood Court. His exact purposes are currently unclear.

    • The Locus Operandi were beckoned by Astrologer Farian to recover the aetherite. His intentions are unknown, though he is a known diviner and fortune teller.

    • The Calderan Lord and Cambion Sorcerer Kzagoth desires the aether, no doubt for his own private purposes. Some rumor the half-fiend intends to use it to become something else, entirely.

    • The Gloaming Witch, Rheya, and her family of familiars, i.e. her wolves, rats, spiders, and myconids, likewise seek the aetherite for an as of yet known objective.

    • The nereid moonfey Estuara has commanded her enchanted legion of kuo-toa to find the aetherite and bring it back to her as tribute.

    • The independent mage Adan Whisperwick is currently rumored to possess the aetherite, having been the one to emerge victorious following an immediate scramble and battle for it. He perhaps seeks to add it to his collection of artifacts, tomes, and scrolls, and of potent and rare magic.

    • The rogue Cleimant and noblewoman Olivia Gor has betrayed Moonreach Keep to throw her forces behind Adan Whisperwick, in an alliance to secure the aetherite for the completion of an as yet unidentified objective.

    • The renegeade Defender Lt. Rixx has similarly betrayed Moonreach Keep, having followed Olivia Gor into the service of Adan Whisperwick, for his own private motivations that remain for now unknown.

    Record of Strife

    The meteorite was detected early. Following the meteorite's landing, the Golden Geese received word from Horgrim Blackweave requesting they retrieve the material for him. Likewise, the Locus Operandi received word from Astrologer Farian, who requested much the same. Neither party knew of the other's involvement until later in the scramble.

    Both saw firsthand the war. On more than one front, and between multiple factions, each seeking the claim the aetherite for themselves. Goblin fungalmancers allied with the Gloaming Witch waged war with their kin who serve Emberhold, and each of the foregoing also held the beaches against crashing tides and invading kuo-toa under the command of the Nereid Moonfey Estuara. That is not to mention the pyromancers, exiled knights, independent lycans and all the rest who howled at the chance for the aetherite -- which seemed to call any and all who sense the arcane, are one with the divine, or otherwise touched by the moon.

    The Golden Geese found the crater first. Followed only a few moments later by the Locus Operandi. And a few moments after that by Adan Whisperwick, Olivia Gor, and Lt. Rixx, and their forces, who made quick work of the foregoing two parties. Their ambush saw the majority of the Locus Operandi caught in a blast, and the majority of the Golden Geese tumbling freefall into split earth. Both parties were presumed dead, as Adan Whisperwick made first claim of the aetherite.

    [DM Xanatos Gambit]


  • Sebrienne sends a consolation letter from High Hold regarding George’s death to Rey, Isolde, Aoth, Cormac and Perom. A separate letter goes to George’s fiancee aboard the Wisp. If she’s notified when and where, she attends the funeral.

    After the funeral, Meadow joins Captain Hrresh’s legion .

    Lia is heard to say, “Well that sucks. He was a nice guy”, and crosses his name from a list.

    Octavia doesn’t really know George, and unless word makes it to Moonreach, there’s no comment from her.


  • Laura, who's spent the time since the meteorite's impact on researching the coalesced aether in the libraries of both Moonreach and Peltarch, intends to attempt a casting of Legend Lore focused on similar instances hinted to have occurred in the region in the past - such as the aetherite being employed as a weapon by the Aurealites, for instance. While she fully expects the results to be vague, her hope is to find some form of recurring pattern through studying past impacts of a similar nature.

    As for finding Whisperwick, Gor and Rixx, Farian's confirmed that divination is unreliable throughout the area and so legwork, exploration, keen eyes, ears and noses will be more important than ever in her estimation. Though it's possible Whisperwick's secluded in a pocket plane, the same might not be true for the eloped Cleimants. A Sending to Olivia Gor, urging her to rethink, is currently considered, though Laura doesn't deem herself the best suited to sway anyone's heart.

    To make matters worse still, the fey now possessing Lokelani's name has reappeared, with a demand for the aetherite as the first item on 'errands' for Nameless to earn back her name by. And soon after her unwelcome visit came another, that by a looming ogre mage in a black robe and cowl - Horgrim Blackweave.


  • Cormac, who had said he'd meet Isolde and the others at Moonreach and head out early - has yet to arrive, there are even suggestions he never left the city at all...


  • Isolde departs Peltarch following George's death - leaving so early, or perhaps late, that the sun has yet to rise over the rooftops of the city. A note on the door of the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency's simply reads: 'Closed' - though those close to the bardess would know her intended destination's once again Moonreach Keep. Here, she intends to seek out Jonni, assuming he's still at work in the tower, as well as Flamekeeper Ereda, though she also ensures to reply to Horgrim Blackweave's Sending with one of her own, as the ferry glides through the mist-shrouded waters:

    "Horgrim - Whisperwick got George. Abducted, dissected, dead, cannot locate soul to resurrect. Don't go after him alone. Find me at Moonreach Keep. Please. ~Isolde~"


  • Newspaper - The Peltarch Times
    Eleint 03/11/25 (Three nights following impact event.)
    By: Lorelai Phinkwell
    In: The City of Peltarch

    Headline: LONGCLOAK DEAD, LEGION MOBILIZED

    Longtime Golden Goose and Defender Captain George Longcloak is dead.

    He was abducted and killed, it seems -- for whatever insane reason -- by a mage that has been publicly identified as Adan Whisperwick, who apparently resides somewhere in the Province of Moonreach or beyond.

    Dowager Queen Martha Fisher has offered a reward of 500,000 gold coins -- apparently the near entirety of her personal coffers -- and her royal favour to anyone who brings back Adan Whisperwick's head.

    Former Defender Captain Renius Hrresh has apparently come out of retirement and rallied soldiers, mercenaries, adventurers, former or retired soldiers as well as mages -- indeed, anyone with a sword or spellbook -- who would join his cause to bring about the Queen's will and revenge for Longcloak's death. Roughly 100 men and women have flocked to his cause, forming a new legion that now prepares to hunt down the killer mage.

    The Peltarch Times wishes them well, with high hopes of success, though cautions them to take care against the mage who it seems is no stranger to making enemies.

    Godspeed then, in the name of the Jewel.

    -- Lorelai Phinkwell / The Peltarch Times.

    [DM Xanatos Gambit]


  • Public Circular - The Fabled Quill
    Eleint 03/11/25 (Three nights following impact event.)
    By: Lysander Pendrake
    In: The City of Peltarch

    It is now widely known that Peltarch Defender Captain George Longcloak was abducted from the Peltarch Commons yesterday through arcane means, namely a baleful teleportation spell. He was then killed at the destination. The Golden Geese have since recovered his body.

    The Lighthouse Temple has confirmed it.

    The body is not responding to resurrection.

    Longcloak was a respected Captain, and indeed, for a long time, the most popular. Not among the current ranks -- that would be Captain Jorino -- but among independent military observers. Retired soldiers, attentive nobles, and diarizing Bards pointed to him as the most level-headed. One who, at least on the surface, did not play politics or seek to aggrandize himself. That is despite his affiliation with the Dowager Queen.

    Yet there were also darker rumors. Those which stemmed from his association with the Golden Geese, that seemingly ageless band of adventurers of reputed arcane and esoteric power. There are unsettled whispers across the North of those who reported seeing Longcloak in flames. In their campfires, their hearths, and torches. Of those who say he made a bargain with a demon. That he may even be possessed or worse.

    For my part, I doubt the veracity of such rumors. I judge George Longcloak not by such mere allegations but by his real actions. Longcloak was a tempering force behind the more hot-headed and impulsive members of the Golden Geese. He was - in this author's opinion - both just and pragmatic, reasonable and careful in his approach. Qualities which are sorely lacking among the more famous adventurers.

    And now he is dead.

    All you adventurers who do read my circular, take note. The important part now follows.

    I have the identity of his killer on good authority. The one who balefully teleported George Longcloak -- indeed, the one who murdered him -- is none other than the mage Adan Whisperwick. A man devoid of conscience, whose actions are guided exclusively by self-interest and deception. A morally deprived mage who hides behind servants, agents, pocket planes, and magical veils. With any luck, none of these will be enough to hide him. Not from the Golden Geese, or any other who would avenge the death of one of Peltarch's most honest, earnest, and purposeful heroes.

    Sincerely,

    -- Lysander Pendrake.

    [DM Xanatos Gambit]


  • Magic Message (Via Sending)
    Eleint 02/11/25 (Two nights following impact event.)
    From: Horgrim Blackweave
    To: Members of the Golden Geese

    Golden Geese,

    It is I, Horgrim Blackweave.

    You have failed to acquire the anomaly and subject it to arcane controls.

    The anomaly is a critical threat to the realm's order.

    Note that predictive divination magic on the subject is now impossible due to its effects.

    If you cannot acquire and control it, I shall.

    -- Horgrim Blackweave.

    [DM Xanatos Gambit]


  • Personal Correspondence
    Eleint 02/11/25 (Two nights following impact event.)
    From: Astrologer Farian
    To: Members of the Locus Operandi

    Locus Operandi,

    I can confirm Adan Whisperwick currently possesses the aetherite.

    Unfortunately, the aetherite's presence has hushed all future murmurs and cast a veil over all premonition.

    Its current possessor is no doubt equally blind.

    I trust you will use this to your advantage in ridding him of the aetherite.

    In the absence of either your confirmation or your success, I will address this matter myself.

    -- Farian.

    [DM Xanatos Gambit]