The last session began late in the evening on the 19th day of the 2nd Trigon of Elok’s Influence. The party continued to search the Githyanki stronghold for the portal so they could destroy it, as High Commander Dragana Skyshield requested.
General Varimoc turned to the party, telling them that he had much to update them on since they had parted ways in the Timeless Temple, but first, they needed to clear the stronghold of any remaining Githyanki.
To this end, the party, along with Addie and the General, entered the stronghold’s barracks, where they fought against what turned out to be the four remaining Githyanki. The stronghold was secure for now.
General Varimoc asked Addie to keep watch in the main corridor as he turned to address the party. He proceeded to tell the party that he had been held prisoner at the stronghold by Githyanki Colonel Sassath Paamrel so she could torture him.
Sassath had taken much pleasure in telling Varimoc the status of the Githyanki successes as a way of torturing him since the Githinthor had failed to stop them. Now that the general was free, this would work against her and the Githyanki.
The Githyanki had succeeded in destroying all the other Gith clans and taking control of the seven portals to Emathan, but it had come at a significant cost. Now, fewer than two thousand Githyanki remained.
Most of the remaining were stationed in the Wilds, Protected Lands, Easterly and Black Mire strongholds. The Black Mire stronghold had become the headquarters of the Githyanki. These four portals were being converted to new portals that could connect to Emathan and were interconnected. This would allow the Githyanki to move troops quickly and easily throughout Emathan. The Easterly and Black Mire portals were complete, with work on the other two in progress.
The General believed that if he could get back to the Between, he could rally those that remained of the defeated Gith clans against the Githyanki. He told the party that the portal found on the Shattered Lands’ western slopes was partially open due to the chaotic magic found there. He asked for the party’s assistance in getting back into the Between, and they agreed to help.
Approaching Douglan and Kogaan, the General told them that Emathan had a great battle ahead. For this battle to be won, Emathan would need great heroes. He believed that they would be amongst those heroes. But, in the Gith culture, you require a great weapon to be a great hero. The General told the party that in exchange for their help getting him back to the Between, he would take them to one of the locations where Gith must pass the test to receive their silvered great sword. He believed that if they could pass the test, they would receive a great weapon of their own.
Finally, he asked that all the portals be left working so they could be used against the Githyanki once a combined army of Gith and Vanguard could be assembled. The party agreed and asked Addie to communicate the reasoning to High Commander Dragana of the Vanguard.
The party departed the Githyanki stronghold and travelled to Thasan to see if the person asking questions about the Dooms and Githyanki was Nightingale.
The party searched the city for anyone who may have heard of any of Nightingale’s aliases. At a tavern called the Ugly Horse, the owner told them that he believed that Brafas Belfor was the director of a comedic musical called “Are We All Doomed?!?” playing at Pinnacle Hall.
The party travelled to the hall, and sure enough, Nightingale was there with a large contingent of Penumbra trying to learn all they could about Onyx and the Darkness. Nightingale asked that the party not interfere as the Penumbra hoped their investigation would lead to a new understanding of the Prophet’s inner circle. He promised to keep them updated on their progress.
Before the party departed, Nightingale informed the party that Easterly’s fight against the Iceborn Orcs was not going well. The far easter capital city of Xamore was about to fall to the advancing orcs. When it did, most believed that the orcs would focus on Xanthrum and the Step. This was not good news for the Protected Lands.
The party departed Thasan and began the three-and-a-half-day voyage to the western slopes of the Shattered Lands. During the voyage, Captain Merfiz and General Varimoc worked to pinpoint a drop-off location. It was determined that the Stargazer could get no closer than two days’ travel by foot from the portal’s location. Merfiz asked that while the party was in the Between, he be allowed to give the skyship’s crew some downtime in Praddlepoint in Gnome, which was less than a day away. The party agreed.
After arriving on the western slopes of the Shattered Lands, the party spent two long, cold, wintery days trekking through the mountains to reach the portal. General Varimoc informed the party that, back before the God’s Anger, there were great temples of Nool on the Emathan side of each portal. The one they were about to enter had never been occupied as a stronghold due to its proximity to the Shattered Lands and the chaotic magic of the area.
As the party ventured into the old temple, they immediately encountered a hideous creature. A creature that appeared to be a troll disfigured with multiple heads and arms. The beast tore into Douglan with a flurry of biting and claw attacks. Kogaan moved forward and invoked his runic magic to subdue the beast, allowing the party to cut it down before it could recover.
Carrying on into the old temple, the party found the portal, which was partly open as the General had promised. Looking inside, the party could see a dark, empty room on the other side.
As today’s session begins, it is late afternoon on the 26th day of the 2nd Trigon of Elok’s Influence. The party is preparing to crawl through the opening in the portal to the room beyond. A room that resides in the Between.