It was in a decrepit dwarven fortress in Celestial Peak
Seliph is going to head to Novis Castle after acquiring the sword to intercept assassins from The Order of the Fish
They have studied forbidden magic similar to Nyarlathotep
We mend the letter back together, wax was sealed
Depressed atmosphere
See lots of guards, knights being led back and forth from the castle
Carrying several boxes, sealed but hear metal clanking (could be knights armor too)
Tense atmosphere
Hear ominous sentiment, people wondering where the queen is since she hasn’t been seen publicly in a couple days
We walk towards the Academy, we see a kind fellow, it’s the baker, he walks up to us, Hugo notified me to look for you
Baker: “I heard it’s going to be a long day, not informed of details, I provide you with some food, as some thanks, please do visit, I hear there are lots of rumors of people moving things around the castle, they’ve been doing this for a couple hours”
Baker: “Hugo wasn’t very descriptive, so…. happy birthday?”
Baker: “Not aware, only seen people transporting boxes out of the castle, prohibiting people from going near the drawbridge”
Baker: “Idk if we’re at war, I sure hope we’re not”
Baker: “These were paid in advance, by Hugo, and I threw in some extra loaves”
Baker: “I hope these are moral boosting”
More knights are walking past
Hear a guard say: “Halt, please wait here” as we pass by the drawbridge
Sarah: “What are y’all doing”
“Under order of the prime minister”
“We are going inside the castle and not told why”
“I need to speak to the manager”
Several platoons of ~20 soldiers
Made way to Academy, see a flustered group of students in courtyard, a bit of panic, hear more coordinated blasts of magic shooting into the sky
The students appear to be older
We make our way up to the tower, the door is locked, the sign says “please come in 2 hours”
The door to Horace’s office is locked, we knock, no response
Nim asks where Horace is to the grad students, “Oh professor Horace? We last saw him going into the castle, I apologize for any inconvenience, we’re a little misguided because he’s supposed to be teaching his class”
Sarah pretends to be a magic instructor substitute
Student: “I apologize for his disorganized nature”
Sarah: “What sorta stuff are you learning”
Student: “Just learning arcana and ancient texts”
“Just spamming teleport”
Sarah: “Do you know dimension door? Do you want to go near the castle?”
Student: “i’m not going to fall for that”
We get the student to cast Identify on the gauntlet
See weird aura around the entire gauntlet
The student flinches a little, a lot of things are happening
He looks like he is wincing in pain
The ritual is broken, the student snaps out of it, a shockwave near the gauntlet bursts out, feel a weird sensation of air, as if reality around the gauntlet
The student gets blown to the ground “What the hell was that”
Sarah uses Lay on Hands on the student
The gauntlet drops, in the pavement of the courtyard, Nim sinks as the gauntlet weighs down
Student: “Thank you pseudo-Seliph”
Sarah: “My dad is a fanboy”
Student: “Suree……..”
Sarah: “This appears to be an artifact”
Sarah starts lecturing
Nim investigates the gauntlet
Bloo slips away to get to the farmland to check on the yogurt business
Yul and Lyra walk out to stare at the castle
Bloo walks into the funny milk building, see lots of empty glass jars, see several people pouring pitchers of milk into these jars slowly, bottling the milk
A guy walks up to Bloo
Called up some friends at the academy to have a long distance chat with the yogurt guy
See two halflings standing next to each other with a giant weird contraption, they’re pressing a bunch of strawberries
Some guys who were trained, these two are actually the owner of this place
This guy is very profit motivated, he’s trying to figure out how to undercut me
Did some product testing
Invest a little in long term in higher rates of production
Bloo tries the strawberry yogurt, it tastes kind of metallic
Yul and Lyra see droves of guards, when a pair of guards approach them and say “what are you two doing loitering”
“Do you have any business?”
Yul: “I’m bored”
Yul goes to a tree in the side of the road
Guard: “Excuse me? But what is your business”
Yul: “People watching”
Guard: “Do not attempt to enter the castle, we will be keeping an eye on you, try to make sure she doesn’t do anything bad”
Sarah: “And that is why artificers are idiots”
Student: “Yeah that makes sense”
Nim can tell the gauntlet was man-made, three gem slots, each have a diff color, each correspond to a different school of magic, seem to be just plain crystals
The magic infused into it is more than just an artificer putting magic into it, some of the magic is from a warlock pact
Just see part of a severed hand in it
Hades energy
The gauntlet feels a little heavy, Nim pulls the hand out and chuck it away, all the students go “what the fuck?”
No blood and perfectly severed
Sarah: “Who’s hand is this”
Nim: “Jeice’s”
Students: “What the fuck”
A couple students sheepishly walk up, “you wouldn’t happen to be professor nim would you”
Nim: “I’m famous!?”
Students: “I’ve read your papers”
Sarah: “You can read??”
Nim: “Don’t insult my fans”
Students: want her autograph
Nim: “I’m gonna get free labor” (that’s what my professors do to me)
Nim asks students to do some research on Hades, N, Nyx, and Yddris, etc.
Bloo successfully avoids being scammed
In a couple days, check back and we’ll have some documents
Thoughts: trying to maximize profits and realizing can’t scam Bloo (Green)
Hugo: “Is seliph in town? I heard Seliph is subbing for a class”
Sarah: “Apparently the sub is named Seliph and her dad is a Seliph fanboy”
Hugo: “Did Horace tell you to lead? I heard that you like to pose as Seliph”
Nim: “I got some of your undergrads to do some research for me”
Hugo: “Where is everyone?”
“Bloo just disappeared”
Hugo: “I haven’t seen Astrid all day, Horace is stuck in a meeting”
Hugo takes out a slip of paper, it grants access to castle, has your names on it, don’t lose it, I’m going to head back now, times are not good right now
Horace and supposedly Astrid have been in meetings about the impending attacks, the Queen isn’t in the castle, I don’t know where she is, she’s in a secret safehold
Hugo: “If you see Astrid, she might go back to her castle on her own, she insists we just get in the way, we have until sundown, be in the castle no later than 1 hour from now”
It’s not noon yet, still early morning, about 10am
Sarah and Nim walk over to Yul and Lyra, Bloo also meets up with Yul and Lyra
Lyra: “TWERK”
Yul: “NO, I’m gonna fall out of the tree”
Twerk or no twerk, that is the question
Yul climbs down from the tree
Nim carves “The Twerking Tree” into the tree as Bloo covers with the tortle body
The guard lets us in, “OPEN THE GATES”
As we walk into the castle, see massive structure, painted nice blue that shimmers, see pristine golden doorknobs, Nim hands severed hand to Yul
Pristine marble floor, gigantic chandelier, guards are taking paintings down, ordered to vacate the castle
See Hugo, “we have about 45 min before Horace gets out of his meeting”
Sarah is trying to convince Hugo that we went to a theater production (lol jk), and Jeice and Drake tried to kill us
Hugo: reports of dragons flying across the country, we are preparing, come with us, there is someone we need you to meet, the dragons aren’t coming here to Parli, we’re going to them
Derrick’s sister is waiting, she is going to take you somewhere in the castle, Horace mentioned that us five should be allowed into, idk, the vault?
We follow Hugo, show papers, see Derrick talking to someone, go down some flights of stairs, greeted by Derrick and Fae, “oh it’s you guys, thank you so much for taking you here, I wasn’t exactly grateful but now I am”
Fae: “I’m well aware my brother is a dumbass”
Fae: pulls the real key out “this is the real key to the vault, I have been the keeper of this for several years, it’s been passed along by several families”
“I believe you, Sorean as Astrid said, and Yul, should see this”
“Astrid mentioned someone you may have known, are you sure you want to go in and see (to Sarah)”
Sarah: “What”
Fae: “There’s a whole sanctum under the castle”
Fae: “I’m trying to warn you about what you’ll encounter, I am merely the guardian, there are some traps set”
The vault was created with the castle
King Jacques, first king of Fusilla, wanted to safeguard
There’s a treasure we need you to retrieve, Astrid is nowhere to be seen, the treasure is known as Aqua’s Teardrop
Other than the shard, if there are any other remnants and treasures, you may keep it
Nim: “Oh fuck yeah I’m incentivized”
Astrid told me about someone named Allie, (Alley?), Allie’s mother is the one that fired the bow,
Sarah: “I’m not discussing it”
You might see some of Violet, might see some of Violet’s stuff, if we find any of it it’s going to you Sarah (is 27 years old, born in 320)
Sarah: “Well the good news is, I trust her now. The bad news is, I trust her now.”
It’s Dungeon Time
Massive staircase, each step is massive
Bloo mage hands a glowing orange in a spiral, it gets shot by an arrow, we mend it
Arrows left to right, it’s getting shot, the inside of the orange is a little dissolved, it’s acid-tipped arrow, bloo pulls the orange back
See some small staggered holes on the wall where arrows are coming out
There is some mesh that is catching the arrows
Nim peeks into the mesh hole, very thin arrows, see target mesh so the arrow sticks into it
Sarah takes Nim’s pickaxe to try to break the wall
Cylinder of toughed target material, a pocket beside the mesh pocket
Bloo mage hands the orange slowly 1/3 of the way in, nothing happens
Mage hands quickly 1/3 of the way in, only one side of the arrows shoot
An arrow almost hits Sarah as she walks across slowly and jitters a bit
She keeps going, and then an arrow hits her arm
Sarah takes spell cleaver and, while sheathed, bonks herself with it, and backwards long jumps with it, bonks herself to the other end of the arrow hallway
Then there is a turn in the hallway
notices a slightly protruding piece of stone, Sarah presses it, hear it slide and a click, and all of a sudden there are arrows constantly firing, Sarah unclicks it, the arrows stop
Nim walks across slowly and makes it highway, but then Nim gets a little confident and trips a bit, an arrow fires
Yul and Lyra push a Bloo, withdrawn into her shell, down the stairs, and spin down and across the hallway
Yul and Lyra hide behind a shield, slowly walk across, Lyra makes it across, then they mess up and get shot a bit
Sarah heals everyone and Yul heals herself
Turned a corner, and then a square room, with no apparent exits, a pedestal with a scripture inside in the middle, very tattered and weathered and old, symbols across the walls
See the sigil of order, sky on wall across from entrance
On the right wall of the scripture pedestal, see nature then ocean
On left wall see stars and chaos
On the ceiling is sun on the floor is moon
The scripture in the center says “from all that is holy, we see the origin, within the absence of life and death, we have the natural world around us, nothing but the sun the moon and the stars to guide us, but the sky is falling down, through all that is material and all that is chaotic, we must look towards the greater order”
They’re all glowing white
Bloo looks at the order symbol
Nim touches the nature symbol, it glows red, when you let go it goes back to white
After you press the first button, hear a loud rumble, the ceiling is falling down
Under parchment is sigils of life and death
When you press life and death, originally glow green, we hold it down
Then hold natural gods (ocean sky nature), sun, moon, stars, chaos, order
We press order, glows yellow
We stare at it, glows green
The pedestal sinks into the ground, the ceiling is now petal opening
The life and death sigils swirl open, and is a hole, reveals something