Chapter 3-6
NOTE: WINDY ANA JONES EXISTS - Hazel would like to meet her lol
Hazel falls unconscious after the heart falls to the floor. Excalibur and Vaelyn try to wake her up together. Hazel is clearly wrestling with something in her mind but is alive and breathing.
The rest of the party begins to look at their new mark on their left finger. The energy that came off the stone burned into the finger - leaving a notable black mark.
Jasiri picks up Hazel’s unconscious body and Schmead reminds the party he put the scientists to sleep during the encounter but no one truly knows how long everyone has been unconscious. Vaelyn lights a torch for Excalibur to exit the lab.
While Hazel is unconscious.. Her mind is immediately overwhelmed with images. She sees flashes from the Titan’s perspective in its final battle. A portal opening up with ships attacking them. Cutting away at its flesh from the protectorate. As the battle rages on, she sees those who are revered for their accomplishment in the fight. In the last moments, the Dawnbringer lifts his sword - the eyes of the titan hone in on the sword and feel it plunge into the heart, something is pulled from it.. While something else enters. Something about that sword has sealed away in Gigas. Hazel sees the same sword hung on the stone wall in a mantle.
Goes through the window - looks to be someone’s study and goes out the window and sees a tall white tower. In the middle of a glistening city. Magical technology surrounding the city beyond anything she has ever seen before. She gets an aerial view of Caius.
Hazel wakes up - They party agrees they need to talk about what happened but not here.
Rounding the corner, they see the scientists and see Bolan… They demand an explanation. Bolan got the same experience as the party in the field but the Titan was unsatisfied…
As a group, including the scientists head outside. Everything is all it was when they left originally.
All the giants are watching the entrance of the lab, Elise is pacing but sees the party and hugs Schmead. She comments on how brave Schmead has become <3
Jasiri asks Elise to ask the Giants if they feel anything different. They feel different now like a release has lifted on them. Hazel now speaks Giant She understands there is a back and forth between the giants and Elise. Jasiri goes back in and grabs a piece of the heart for the titans to take. But handing it to Elise, she raises it above her head and everyone cheers in triumph. She thanks the party and begins to pack their things, including releasing the scientists. Schmead asks where she’s going to go now and offers to join her. Schmead politely declines and wants to go home. When he finds it, he’ll come find her. She informs the party she’s north east of Oldcrest… She missed him. She misses all of them…
Schmead demands they keep her safe and they shake his hand in agreement.. <3
[Talking with Bolan] Jasiri tells the scientists to go ahead, except Bolan. Ensure to inform the Justicar everything is fine. Excalibur gets out the paperwork for the contract on the bone. He skims it over and he signs it. Bolan did figure out how things worked. He was being held hostage by a village of giants… he thought the Titanspawn might help him out of it. The stone comes from the earth - it resonates with the energy of the earth. He got it from the Arcanus - they oversee all wizards and magic in the world. Torren retrieves the rock and tries to give it to Hazel who declines and offers to Excalibur to hang on to it. Bolan agrees to lie to the Church and say the stone was lost in the conflict. https://www.dndbeyond.com/magic-items/4941-ioun-stone-of-reserve Hilda’s brother used to work with Bolan - he passed - he was working with chemicals and ended up being overexposed to what he was working on. He got sick and passed. He was working on a strength potion but wanted to make a Titan strength potion. He got addicted to the medicine, killing him in the process. Bolan is unaware of Captain Luther and the Mercurial Ship being in the area.
[Returning to the Protectorate] Tania - Justicar Barbara - Park Administrator Auto Thorne - Leader of the Oldcrest Protectorate Lazirus - Owner of the park They are speaking with the scientists who returned from the camp. Tania greets the party along with Barbara and thanks them for their efforts. She suggests getting some rest… Tania says nothing. Tania is disappointed/annoyed the party sorted out the situation in a different way…
They can talk about their reward with Lazirus, the owner of the park. Auto Thorne gets acquainted with the party and introductions. Torren: “Giants are very understanding.” Auto: “Oh, you speak Giant?” Torren: “No.” He made the suggestion to send someone in first before the bloodshed option. He didn’t want there to be bloodshed. Returning to the Protectorate, everyone is still waiting for news. Auto informs them the giant situation has been dealt with and they will still be compensated for their time.
Linda - Receptionist of the Protectorate She received a letter addressed to Torren… “Thanks for the warning, we’ve arranged for local construction carriers to obtain the bone.”
The party agrees to talk about what happened. They request a private room in the protectorate. Hazel informs them of the vision she saw of Gigas dying. They talk about Vaelyn - he pulls off his fingerless gloves - on the back of his left hand is a sigil painted in a glowing lavender colour. Connected to other runes that lead up his arm and under his sleeve. There is a chunk of black crystal and black veins running down his chest. More sigils, runes, etc. in the same glowing purple colour colour. He doesn’t really know what he is. He was a half elf that changed when he was murdered/sacrificed and given to the greater good. Ultimately, he died and never fully came back. All of his abilities have been a result of it. He remembers waking up, tied to a stone table with sigils painted all over his body and then getting stabbed in the chest. They believe it was an attempt to break the curse on the elves. After getting stabbed, he woke up a second time to desolation. The structure in which the ritual took place was flattened and everyone was dead. Vaelyn saw no one else alive and went to get Torren. Vaelyn assumes the destruction was caused by whatever happened to him. Jasiri has a sense of odd things - the first day they met and believes he is undead. Absorbing the titanspawn was able to close his wounds but Torren can only really give him sustenance and vitality - as his hetro-sexual life partner. Torren figured out Vaelyn absorbs psychic energy. If he slays something with that magic type, feed him. Torren’s shadow blade allows him to feed more. Vaelyn lost his ability to feel - his emotions are dampened. He lost many things when he was brought back.
[Torren, Schmead, and Vaelyn head to the Library.] They need to pass through the center of town and eventually find the library. It’s not a huge building - it’s a relatively new building. There’s a few books on display about the history of Oldcrest and Torren grabs everything to bring back to the ship. Dedra - librarian - greets them. Torren inquires about any other resources. Abigail Breakinridge published first hand account of the battle. One of the individuals in the fight. High Arc Mage of the Arcanus. Skims through the biography, journalistic references from survivors and witnesses. There are no references to the name he’s looking for at all. Lucas Ralleigh is non-existent… But…In one of the childrens’ books, a human man with blonde hair and a beard stands among those who fought the titan. He’s wearing lighter armor in the images. It was written very shortly after the events by John Lampton. Anything on runic symbols? Their collection is lacking in that particular study but there are a few books in the back. There are notes and references to magic circles but none of them look like what Vaelyn has. Schmead requests an Atlas and books on special stones. Unfortunately he does not find anything on Ion stones. Goods News and Bad News… Bad News = Schmead didn’t do a lot of sailing in his islands in the past. He’s familiar enough with the layout based on the stories. There is nothing on this map similar to his knowledge. Good News = Schmead is 100% confident his home is not on any published map.
[The rest of the party go back to the inn to rest - the Jaded Lady.] Jasiri tries to make his magic work. Hazel goes to bed. Excalibur investigates the stone.
LONG REST ACHIEVED
Barbara enters the inn and she approaches the party. She has an invite to Mr. Lazarus’s home for dinner along with inviting a few others interested in the research. Auto Thorne, Doctor Bolan, Perry Alfort, Tania Stone, Darlene Broom (Assistant).
A woman with bright red frizzy hair catches up to Jasiri - Harriot Milford - Protectorate Gazette. A journalist from the situation and relays the heroic details of their work. Afterwards, the party agrees to be careful with the information they relay regarding the situation. They also agree they need clothes for the dinner tonight.
Returning back to the Protectorate - the party is rewarded with 100g each Returning to the Library The first book following the events of the titan attack came out a few months after. They have no books in their collection published around the same time as the children’s book. John Lampton is still around - the publishing house is based in the holy city of Ciaus. The elves came to an arrangement of the invaders - it offered them a place above everyone else if they succeeded in their task for power. [Hilda Reunites with the Party] She’s flanked by members of the Stormbreaker.
She notices the Mercurial ship in the port and wonders what they’re looking for.
The party takes her back to the conference room in the Protectorate to relay the events of what happened. Bolan falsified his research. He’s directly responsible about her brother’s addictions - sold the information to the press during a parliamentary election for her father. He must have had something to do with it. Hazel - during the period when we were all talking to Bolan - images of Bolan working together with a dwarf who looks a lot like Hilda (brother) working side by side in the lab. He feels jealous towards Maxum. He was working on the potion of titan strength. It gained a lot of interest from the university. Components of the potion were addictive and deadly in nature. In a vision, Bolan spikes Maxum’s addiction. Bolan takes his notes and makes it seem bad and he’s lied the entire time.