#altara

The party fight the strange shadow creatures, finding that Lillian’s radiant power is the most effective against the monsters. Lydia tries to hold their own but when they try to use their magic it surges wildly, summoning a unicorn instead of the spell they wanted. Lydia rolls with it, trying to get the unicorn, who declares themselves as Gwain, to work with them to fight the creatures. It begrudgingly obliges,much to Lillian’s delight as the unicorn takes a shining to her. Lydia locates the source of the disturbance—a shadow stone in a well— and with the stone nullified the party is able to defeat the remaining shadows.

When the party compares the stone to the one Lumivarax found in the Sassaran ruins it’s remarkably similar— almost identical— and when Aknadin takes one to inspect it he surprises the party by turning its powers on them. He is surprised when the party is seemingly unaffected, until they all realize Buberry’s eyes are glowing a sickening purple as he turns his bow on them. Aknadin uses the distraction to escape, holding the stone and producing a strange dark portal that whisks him away. With Aknadin gone, Buberry returns to normal, with no memories of what happened. 

The party, hoping to somehow pursue Aknadin, investigate the remaining stone. They are unable to discern its nature, determining it is neither arcane nor divine, but discover that channeling magic into it causes it to teleport the user an undetermined amount of space in any direction, as Lydia and Victor test it on land, and Vanth and Lillian test it in the sky. They learn that it seems to work through shadows as the further they teleport, the more they glimpse a strange darkness enveloping them.  The tests come to an end when Buberry and Lydia try to teleport thinking of home, the astral plane, instead winding up in a shadow dimension and catching sight of a strange creature they can’t identify.

They quickly teleport back and Victor wonders if this strange stone is related to rumors he heard of the Sessaran Empire and their ability to appear and disappear armies. He concludes it’s almost certainly the reason for the disturbances in Trost, with accounts describing the same shadows.

They are gearing up to leave as Robert returns, having been lost in the tunnels as they tried to escape the guards. He was able to smuggle their things out of the city, notably their cart, and is shocked to learn that Aknadin betrayed them and escaped. They gather up whatever animals and supplies they find in the abandoned village, leaving a warning of the shadow creatures for any travelers who happen upon the place.  Lillian finds a small altar of Sol and prays over the lost souls, while Victor sets up a headstone for the lives lost to the uncontained magic of the stone.

Disguising themselves as peasants to avoid attention the party takes to the road heading to Augustine, setting up camp off the path in the tree line as Lydia uses their magic on the earth to conceal them and their carts from passerby. As the rest of the party settles down, preparing their gear and hunting for food, Vanth quietly slips away, spotting her silver raven returning with a message from Corvus noting they will meet in person. 

During the night, the party spots a caravan of knights and a carriage bearing the emblem of the royal house. Captain of the Guard, Vinick, is surprised when they approach, admitting the King has been searching for them.The King himself emerges from the carriage and inquires about Aknadin, expressing concern but not surprise at his betrayal.

Vanth, Lydia, Lumivarax, Victor, and Robert enter the King’s carriage to discuss what transpired in Dito as the rest of the party keep watch— wary of another betrayal. The party explains the situation, and the King explains the Lumber permits that caused him to be cursed by the fey were signed with Aknadin’s name. 

The King mentions bringing this information to the Arbiter Council, but Victor refuses, telling the King he shouldn’t trust the guilds. He and the party explain their suspicions about Reynard, the warning from Jace, and the King reveals that it was Aknadin that pushed the idea to start excavating the Sessaran ruins in Trost. When the King brings up the long-ago death of the crown prince, drowned at the tender age of eight in one of the castle ponds, the party speculates that perhaps Aknadin has always been working against the crown. Victor wonders if Aknadin also had a hand in the death of Jace and the Istirian ambassador. 

 He asks the party what he can do to help them get to the bottom of this, and they express interest in records on the Filodaxi's history. Vanth gives the King her silver raven statue so he can send them what he finds. He also mentions an inert stone on Aknadin’s desk, dark and crystalline, and the party asks the King to look into it as well.

The king promises to give them what he can, and with that they exit the carriage and the King returns to Augustine with his retinue.

Back in Augustine, the city is on high alert, so the party uses forged documents to pass as merchants. Robert sets up his ship, and Lydia accompanies him while Buberry scouts the city. Meanwhile Victor visits the church to seek information about Filodaxi from a priest named Christopher.

With his mule safely aboard the ship Lydia leaves Robert to his work and tracks down Lillian and Vanth, while Buberry meets up with Lumivarax to find a seedier market to pawn off the remaining spoils from their mission in Trost.