Skip to content

Dunmari Frontier - Session 35

Tokra Mysteries: in which the party investigates a puzzling disappearance

Featuring: Kenzo, Wellby, Delwath, Seeker
In Taelgar: Jul 01, 1748 DR
On Earth: Monday Dec 06, 2021
Tokra

The Dunmar Fellowship researches mystical lore, delves into puzzling local affairs in Tokra, and contemplates the enigma of lycanthropy as they plan their next move.

Session Info

Summary

  • The Dunmar Fellowship exits Elven ruins with Arborea energy, commissioning a Portable Hole from Basu.
  • They meet Kassi at the library discuss the Elves, gods, and Pandemonium.
  • In Tokra, they converse with Kirian about a Chardonian scholar Servius, and learn from Kaleha about local challenges and Saka’s whereabouts.
  • At the Archives, they uncover Govir’s research on divine interventions and letters detailing a mysterious cult with lycanthropy connections.
  • The session concludes with the party considering their next move under a full moon, surrounded by the enigma of lycanthropy.

Timeline

  • Jul 01, 1748 DR, midday: Speak with Basu, agree to exchange magical energy from ruins for a Portable Hole. Speak with Kassi, ask for informaiton.
  • Jul 01, 1748 DR, noon: Leave monastery and get rooms at Kirian’s
  • Jul 01, 1748 DR, afternoon: Speak with Kaleha, revealing Sura’s story. Speak with Ardan at the Archives, and learn more about recent events; Govir, the missing archivist; and Hada, the head scribe. Find clues in the form of records of Govir’s research.
  • Jul 01, 1748 DR, early evening: Have dinner at Kirian’s

Narrative

The session starts as the party emerges from the Elven ruins beneath the Lakan Monastery, charged vials full of the energy of the plane of Arborea in hand. Basu, eagerly waiting, takes the party to his workshop, where he describes various magical items he can construct with this energy, including a very fancy tent he once constructed that looked like just a small patch of canvas but could hold twenty people comfortably. The party decides they want a Portable Hole, and leaves with the promise that Basu will have it ready in two weeks.

After speaking with Basu, the party heads to the library where they meet Kassi. She has a map for them, now a bit late to be useful in their mission, but still of interest as the Elven runes decorating the pillars in the entrance hall are translated here. After some discussion of the elves, the conversation turns to questions. Kenzo asks about stories of Rai, and while Kassi knows of him she must search for more information that may be useful. Seeker asks about Pandemonium, and where the weak spot to that plane may be (“nearby, but not here,” Kassi says). Delwath asks of gods who have lost their followers, and again Kassi will look into it, although the name Anida, the First and the Last, is familiar to her, as the name among people of the north before Drankor for the creator gods referred to as Shurat and Sampa by the Dunmar, and Arha and Malik by the Drankorians. Finally, Wellby asks for maps. After some more conversation, the party departs for lunch and discussion, leaving Kassi to her tasks.

After lunch the party leaves for Tokra, taking rooms at Kirian’s, a major inn near the market square that is popular with merchants and traders. Here, the party converses briefly with Kirian, learning that a Chardonian Servius was here some time ago; he was studying in the Archives, and left a month or two ago for Darba, on the coast. Kirian also knew of Vola, who stayed for a bit at his inn. After discussion in their rooms, the party then leaves to speak with the head priestess and civil administrator of Tokra, Kaleha. 

After introductions, the party learns from Kaleha that Saka, the old master of the Bhishma Mystai who refused to travel east, travels with her family in the plans to the north of Tokra, herding horses. She is probably no more than a few days’ journey from the city. While talking to Kaleha, they also discuss the situation at the Archives, and the generally less than ideal situation in Tokra, where food is scarce and a sickness among the horses some weeks ago trapped many refugees in town who might have otherwise left to return to the plains. Finally, Wellby and Kenzo reveal that Nayan Sura has returned; Kaleha is initially suspicious, but perhaps swayed by Wellby’s exhortation to take the time to pray before deciding any course of action. 

Finally, the party heads to the Archives to speak with Ardan and learn more about what happened here. Ardan seems on the incompetent side, but shows the party material left behind: the notes from the archivist Govir, who was working on a book about the divine legitimacy of the Nayan Dynasty, and the last set of items the head scribe was copying when he disappearing. Govir’s notes focus on five events, all Dunmari victories that Govir claims would have been defeats but for the intervention of the gods: the Northern War, Exile of Fraternity of the Empty Moon from Tokra, the Battle of Shrevandurg, the Defeat of the Plague Trees, and the Summer of Red Storms. There is little information about any of these events, just lists of scribbled notes and ideas and references. 

The items the head scribe was copying when he went missing are a faded, crumbling sheaf of letters originally written on poor paper that is decaying and needs to be copied over. They are copies of letters from a Ila to Samraat Nayan Yarad. From context, Ila seems to have been the local garrison commander responsible for the defense of Tokra in the aftermath of the Northern War. There are about 50 letters, from the 21st-24th years of the reign of Samraat Nayan Yarad, in the 67th-69th years of the Nayan Dynasty. Many are already difficult to read, and most seem to concern raids against Hobgoblins of the Blackened Claw tribe. One describes the discovery of a strange cult that had set up a base of operations in an old Dunmari fort about 10 miles north of the city. The place was hard to find – those who approached seemed to grow confused, sometimes attacking their companions in madness. There was one approach that seemed safe, which I have carefully mapped and given to my troops, and somebody in handwritten annotations has written here, cf bundle 24, implying that bundle 24 contains another depiction of these events, and likely the map. 

According to Ardan, Govir kept to himself, mostly spending time with the head scribe (also missing) and the other two scribes who were killed, their throats ripped out as if by a mad beast. But, Ardan says he did occasionally go talk to the retired soldiers that frequent Darshana’s Caravanserai, as well as the Dwarves of the Hardstone clan who help maintain the building the Archives are in.

While discussing with Ardan further, the topic of conversation turns to Jinnik and the Mad One. Ardan reports a rumor (which Seeker also has remembered), that somehow Jinnik is connected to the curse of lycanthropy. Seeker, who is widely read, recalls that curing lycanthropy is not an easy proposition: you need powerful magic (the remove curse spell), plus a token of the person’s past life before they were cursed, something to pull them back. Or, you can substitute the blessing of a god for one of those two things. 

We end with the party having finished dinner and discussion back at Kirian’s, returning to the Archives as the sun sets and the full moon rises, but still undecided on the exact course of action to take.