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Dunmari Frontier - Session 124

Rumors and Riots: in which the party catches up on news and heads for Chardon

Featuring: Delwath, Kenzo, Wellby, Riswynn, Seeker
In Taelgar: Jun 14, 1749 DR to Jun 27, 1749 DR
On Earth: Tuesday May 13, 2025
Location: Traveling from Eastern Dunmar to Chardon

Returning to Vindristjarna, the Dunmar Fellowship enjoys a rare respite, bids farewell to Riswynn and her companions, and learns of turmoil brewing in Chardon en route to the city.

Session Info

Summary

Timeline

The Mirror of the Past

Narrative

Our session begins as the party returns to Vindristjarna, drifting over Pava and Avaras’ House on the edge of the Garamjala Desert, after weeks of adventuring in the strange light and twisted hours of the Feywild. The party spends the day at ease: for the first time in months, no shadow pressed the group, no urgent mission required immediate action. Wellby watched as Baxter raced after desert lizards; Kenzo mediated and reconnected with his teachers, Pava and Avaras, and his student, Amil; Delwath relaxed and looked to provisions for an evening feast; Seeker disappeared below decks, eager to pore over his recovered tomes on the Plane of Fire and plot a path to find his lost brother.

Riswynn, newly whole, donned the once-troubled crown without strain; its discordant magic had quieted, allowing her fresh clarity. She spoke with Kethra and the orc sisters, Nuzkar and Aygul, inviting discussion about their aims for liberating orcs from Thark, the conversation marking the beginning of a broader campaign and the start of her quest to use the powers of the Crown of Purity for a noble purpose.

Only news from Sura, via the Sending Stone, broke the ease of the day. Sura reported on troubling events: following General Cusico’s abrupt surrender and withdrawal, many soldiers of the Chardonian Legion retreated, but bands of unruly looters – deserters seeking booty – descended on the region until Havdar’s Warband scattered them. While shadow assassins had threatened Tokra, Sura reported that the timely intervention of Stoneborn warriors led by Drikod stabilized matters there. Regarding the larger political situation, she reported that correspondence and diplomatic messages from Chardon had ceased, deepening her suspicion that something unusual was happening there.

With no immediate danger pressing, Delwath organized an evening feast, urging the party and their followers to enjoy a rare respite from the pressures of adventuring. As sunset approached, Kenzo took time for meditation. As he sat, his form began to shimmer, and before the eyes of his companions, he shifted, turning into a ghostly version of himself as he slipped partially into the Plane of Consciousness. Avaras, an elder of Kenzo’s order, watched on with approval, recognizing the significance of this newfound spiritual mastery. The evening drifted into celebration, music, and shared stories, as followers and friends relaxed together. For the first time in memory, the threat of crisis did not loom overhead, and the group savored a rare moment of peace.

That night, under the influence of Delwath’s Dream spell, Kenzo reached out to his childhood friend, Xavier, in Chardon. In their shared vision, the setting was an alley behind the old market—a place they once hid as children to eat pilfered sweets. Xavier, battered from a recent brawl and bearing fresh scars, greeted Kenzo with a mixture of confusion and nostalgia.

Kenzo learned that unrest had swept across Chardon. A faction called the Eightfold Flame was stirring riots against the chalyte refineries. The riots had started when bureaucrats within the chalyte trade, under some mysterious compulsion, had exposed their own corruption, igniting public outrage. For a brief time, the Eightfold Flame and its followers took control of large parts of north bank. But as order swiftly broke down and fires raged across the chalyte refineries in the Basin, the Magistros declared martial law and ordered legions into the city to blockade the bridge. Stranger, according to Xavier, was the sudden disappearance of many of the leaders of the Eightfold Flame the previous day. Though Xavier claimed momentum remained with the chalyte workers still rioting, he admitted that he was not particularly well connected among the Eightfold Flame (serving mostly as muscle when asked), mentioning his friend Andros might know more. Before the dream ended, Kenzo urged Xavier to keep this contact secret, and made plans to meet at Xavier’s apartment near the Foundry Market.

After several days provisioning supplies and making preparations, the party prepared to part ways. Riswynn, supported by Kethra, Nuzkar, and Aygul, teleported to Uzgukhar, where she would begin her quest to save more Orcs from Thark. The rest of the party gathered aboard Vindristjarna, plotting a course for Chardon via a roundabout route, hoping to approach in secrecy. During the nearly two-week journey, which takes the ship across Dunmar, the Chataan Mountains, and Apporia before reaching the Gulf of Chardon and approaching Chardon from the west, the party made plans for their arrival in Chardon, and began to release the prisoners trapped in the Mirror of Soul Trapping, now freed from the magical binding of The Cleansed by Riswynn’s reorientation of the magic of the Crown of Purity to helping the Orcs.

The first person the party frees is Vola. She is disoriented, confused, and angry at her captivity, and distraught to be treated with suspicion and questioned, with no clear memories of her time under the control of Fausto. She tells the party of her last memory: receiving their letter from Arendum, bringing it to her mentor Agon to discuss, and then being taken by Agon to Fausto’s Tower, after which she remembers nothing clearly. Over time, she became gradually convinced by Kenzo and the others that she had been manipulated, along with many others, by Fausto and his allies. Offered hospitality or a place to disembark, she remained uncertain of her future, opting to rest and consider her options on Vindristjarna. Kenzo supported her, inviting her to meditate beneath the elven tree at the heart of the ship, and offering space to recover from her ordeal.

Next, the party frees Valius (who was never magically controlled, but blackmailed by Fausto) and his twin brother Vargus (now freed from control). As they share a cell in the Mirror of Soul Trapping, Vargus has had some ability to adjust, despite the strange time-altering effects of the mirror. Grateful, and eager to put all memory of Fausto’s plots behind them, they wish to be let off somewhere outside the Chardonian Empire, seeking quieter lives.

That afternoon, the party conferred about Hektor, who had spent years as Fausto’s silent enforcer. Speaking to Marcella via Dream that evening, they learn he must have been controlled by Fausto for years, and even Marcella did not know him well before his transformation. But she did speak of his background as a sailor, and his beautiful singing voice. Without a better idea, the party devised a gentle approach to restoring Hektor: Wellby would sing old sailors’ songs and tell stories to him each morning, hopefully helping to anchor his identity before releasing him.

The next day, as the party traveled over Tokra, Vindristjarna made a brief stop to leave Valius and Vargus, who liked the idea of a fresh start in Dunmar. Carrying some coin and a letter of introduction from the Dunmar Fellowship, they departed.

With these matters settled, the party continued on their careful course, steering Vindristjarna in a wide arc to approach Chardon from the Gulf of Chardon to the west. Our session ends as morning dawns over the ocean and the party prepares to teleport to Chardon.