The party prepare themselves for battle, facing off against Vasarus, the recently reanimated mage that once caused the Necrophage. Roman shouts to the party to help him, asking them to set aside any differences they may have with his intentions. The party roll for initiative.
As the party prepare to depart from Inkaran, Grae quickly runs back to the forge to speak with Ezan. She recalls him mentioning _Katria Clearseek_er, and wants to know about why her clan are so afraid of magic. Ezan provides some further context, explaining that he fled with Katria and Peta to her homeland, seeking to hide from Orson. Orson followed, bringing a large mercenary force, and in the ensuing chaos, the forest spirit guarding Katria's home intervened, splitting the artefact into two and enforcing a barrier of magical dampening to prevent the forest from being harmed again. Orson recovered the rod, while Ezan fled with the top-end (the sphere), and continued to move from place to place before returning to Inkaran. She thanks him and says her final goodbye.
Arth is back (for a short time!). We take a moment to briefly review what Arth has been up to, including meeting with Professor Deekah on Quandrix campus. She asks for his assistance with a special project, and directs him to review the contents of the room. She indicates it is very important he focuses on and remember the features of the room, as they will be important later on. The features of the room include:
The story continues with the party deciding to make camp in the outskirts of the dwarven settlement Inkaran. Trix wraps up collecting the carapaces required for trade with the mage Dorqen back in town, and the party find suitable (but a little cramped) accommodation in a nearby house. They decide on how should run camp watch over the night, with Trix taking the last watch.
Preparing to travel to Inkaran, an abandoned dwarven settlement, the party consider their resources. They ask Amelia for some snacks for the road, and realise they can detour via the city of Rutledge, which might be suitable to stock up on some other supplies. As they go to the carriage, they speak with Jhazaal and Yu Man, a short goblin who begins inspecting their pockets for something to steal. Thankfully, the party are alert enough to notice and he withdraws, leaving to find other work to do. Grae discusses a few more details about Inkaran with Roman. They depart on the road heading to Rutledge.
The story continues with the party in the city of Rutledge, talking with Jhazaal in Malthus Tavern. As Jhazaal steps away to grab drinks, Trix enquires on Grae's relationship with Jhazaal, finding out he is a trusted advisor and guard to Roman. When he returns, Grae asks about Roman's health, finding that his condition is somewhat stable, but he has become more reclusive, having relocated permanently to his castle in the north-west of Tehahmir. Jhazaal mentions that he needs some time to finalise business in town, but can take them back on his carriage. He recommends they visit another tavern for accommodation called the Groaning Goat, and agrees to meet them near the city gates tomorrow morning.
The party quickly move to review Khorvus' wounds, as he was left unconcious from the last battle. Arth (with Luke being absent, the GM takes over) casts Aid, granting Khorvus both temporary and restorative hit points. He wakes up, slightly disorientated and takes a moment to rest and heal. Trix tries to listen for other possible threats in Gondel Wing, and hears what sounds to be chittering from small creatures off in the distance. The party move off to inspect the locked display case on the other side of the main exhibit hall, finding a single gauntlet marked under the name Glove of the Aesterians. Trix attempts to use her thieving tools to open the case, but loses her focus and jams her lockpick. Edolkar elects to use force, smashing the hilt of his sword against the glass of the case. This frees up the case, but activates a glyph of warding, causing an alarm to sound throughout the room. Trix picks up and casts Identify on the item, understanding that it three charges a day, and is designed to have the hand extended with an open palm towards a target. Khorvus elects to hold onto it for now, and they proceed forward into the other parts of Gondel Wing.
Welcome to School's Out, an eight-part story arc featuring members of the Strixhaven series on another D&D adventure. This arc includes our first 'guest' on the podcast, a good friend of the group: Chris! If you haven't listened to the podcast before, not a problem. While the characters may reference some events from the school year, this arc is considered a standalone adventure, so you don't need to have listened to the previous season to enjoy it. Consider checking out some resources on the Schools Out page on our website for more information.
The party stand in the security office at Quandrix, with Vestan having just been plane shifted away by an unknown assailant. They wrap things up with Captain Annette Dawn, with her taking the 'tuning fork' for safekeeping and asking the party for their discretion on the events, to avoid a panic among the student body.
Recovering from their long night hunting down and capturing Vestan, the party travel back to their dorm and rest. Out of game, this presents an opportunity for the party to level up to level 4! The players discuss what this brings for each character. At level 4, players can usually choose between increasing character attributes, or taking on a feat, which can provide some benefit for certain situations, like a new spell or ability.