Reply With QuoteIn no particular order, here are important tidbits from the paper-search in the Magus' room, after the fight.
One is from Umi, attributed to Akaysha:
After a few minutes of sorting, Akaysha looks up, and announces to the group at large, "It would take a day to work out the details, but I can tell from this much that these are notes for a magical working that's as much a contract as it is a spell. She was trying for something far beyond her measure of power over the arcane, and needed the assistance of others not of this world to make it happen. Those that she called out to, I imagine," she licks her dry lips, "if so, it could be a calamity she's brought down on us. They are not to be dealt with, under any circumstance." She speaks the last sentence as though she was reciting a rote lesson from childhood.
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And this is Yrisz's translation of the papers:
As Ariellana gets more passionate in her discourse, Yrisz wilts a little and even accidentally backs into the stone table at one point. Seeing this Ariellana offers a quick apology, which Yrisz gladly accepts.
Reclining a bit on the stone table she explains, "I honestly don't know if the Twilight's Tryst was cast or why it was cast here. If Erszebet is to be believed then it was done with perhaps a day ago. I can't be of help on what day it was when Polon brought me here as I haven't been marking the days in general during travels. Bieiriz saw to those kind of practical things I'm afraid." Yrisz blushes at such a confession.
"As for what ritual Polon was working on," her mouth twists as she tries to remember, "he told me it was agricultural in nature and had to be completed before the passing of the Path of Storms. It very well could have been the Twilight's Tryst, or at least part of it, as he seemed unhappy with its direction. That's partly why he wanted me to look at it. I didn't get the feeling that he was a dodgy sort of fellow at all, though Bieiriz has pointed out that I've been wrong on that count before, like that awful lord who wasn't."
On hearing Tanglar's unhappy grunt, Yrisz moves to where the homunculus fell and carefully rips strips of cloth off its already ruined skirt. "She was quite a beauty, oh, that's Saint Avandra's," she says pointing to the doll's left cheek.
[some stuff omitted]
she settles down next to where Akaysha has laid out the Magus's papers offering her some of the contents of Rogur's water skin. Quickly her face begins to contort in confusion and stays that way as she painstakingly translates the Primordial passages for Akaysha.
Occasionally Yrisz stops her translating to blurts out questions. "Does Eirin Tuwi sound fey to you?" That question aimed at Ariellana. "I think E had to kill an elf or eladrin to make her new fey ally (Eirin Tuwin?) happy. E didn't want to kill Duvek because Polon would be quite wroth with her really. Does "Blood of the Moon" mean anything to anybody? E says that will work, for the sacrifice maybe?" Yrisz looks down to her own Lady's symbol almost in question.
"Does anybody know where Lake Izzmarg can be found? It definitely seems on everybody's mind. Something about an expedition that might head that way." That question to nobody in particular.
To Akaysha, "Who do you suppose this Cresta is E keeps mentioning? Perhaps a friend or rival, both maybe? I think that E thought C had already made a Doll like Rose," she says indicating towards the ruined doll. "I named her Rose because of her inlay, you see. Perhaps the Twilight's Tryst was a bargain to make something better than Rose, but I don't understand why E would kill so many people for some THING. I must be reading too far into things; Bieiriz says I do that a lot."
Sighing she says as she slowly translates the Primordial text for Akaysha, "All these names that mean naught to me."
"Look," she says pointing at one particular passage. "E says, this awful, she says 'or just kill them all, bring up Waselawaya and let all those disgusting people drown' What could she mean by that!" Yrisz gives the passage time to sink in before translating on.
Thoughtfully after some more translating, "If I had to guess this Master Nemzpan, who wanted to the Izzmarg Expedition so badly, was actually the High Priest of the Church of Saint Avandra? Do you know that E had Polon looking for relics of that very church, or at least what was left of it. I met him doing exactly that in ruined edge of town, you see." Laughing, "Oh look, here's some Hieromonk Krushevx telling Nemzpan that he can't go on the the Izzmarg Expedition. What is this scandal that happened on the Vodlaian Archipelago that affected people here?" Yrisz frowns at Akaysha.
Pointing to one Primordial journal page, "Here's something about an Imareska that "she" obsessed with. I think the "she" is actually C as E seems to be quite obsessed with what C thinks of things...I think."
I'll put Rogur's tale in another post.
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Here are the skill check results about what everything above might mean:
Here's a master list of knowledge, based on the various rolls so far. Anyone who makes the appropriate numbers gets the relevant information. I noted Ariellana's results here, since they weren't rolled in the forum.
Eirin Tuwi
(History, Nature DC 15)
Eirin Tuwi does sound like it might be a name from the Deep Woods.
(Ariellana - History DC 20)
Eirin Tuwi is a naming style in Elven that means "the gibbous-shaped dark portion of an orb that is illuminated as a crescent." It seems to have an ill aspect to it, and doesn't sound like a name that would normally be given.
Lake Izzmarg
(Dungeoneering DC 15)
You have heard in passing the name "Izzmarg Fortress," now ruins that rest on an island in a lake of the same name.
(Ariellana - History DC 20)
"Izzmarg Fortress" is a regional nickname given to a box of tools or objects that is placed somewhere obscure, and because its owner never has a need for it, eventually forgotten about. Izzmarg Fortress is also the name given to ruins that lie somewhere up in the mountains, but even if those ruins are from the time before when Aucothia expanded into the east, why build so far from any pass or inhabited region? What would it protect, and where would it threaten? Are those ruins really of a fortress?
(Nature DC 20)
You have heard of this large lake in the barren highlands north of Beilston. A river from the lake, the Izzmarg Flow, joins the Yu River as a tributary a few miles to the east.
Master Nemzpan
(History, Religion Check under 10)
You do not know this person.
(Ariellana - History DC 20)
Master Nemzpan was the chief priest of the Church of Saint Avandra in Beilston Mound. When the Edict of Evocation was presented and the Church was pulled down last autumn, he went missing and has not been found since.
Radimoth
(Streetwise Check under 15)
You would not recognize this name.
(Streetwise DC 15)
Radimoth is Beilston's current Vogt, a tiefling said to be a devout adherent of Torog, the King that Crawls. He is very diligent in the imprisonment and interrogation of any that disturb the peace, most of the time. The current outbreak of uncontrolled violence is rumored to be a source of great personal frustration to him, frustration he readily shares with any who come into his sphere of influence.
Seelie/Unseelie
(Ariellana - Arcana DC 15)
In the Sealed Lands of the Feywild, the Seelie Court is said uphold the rule of civilization, while rebels and criminals gather under the banner of the Unseelie Court, its twisted mockery.
Waselawaya (History Check under 20)
You do not know this word.
(Ariellana - History DC 20)
Waselawaya is the ghost of a bard that haunts the woerd. She usually appears to herald various events that affect Beilston. It is said she sings a song without words that represents Beilston's fate, and the city will end when she finishes it. It is further stated that if she appears four times in one day to sing all four movements of the song, it will be complete.
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Yrisiz has not heard of Acrod or Krushevx.
A montane is a region of alpine forest. Krushevx' letter made clear he was referring to a specific location with that name, but Yrisz doesn't know where that is.
Imareska is the largest city of the east, lying at the mouth of the Yu River. Among its other qualities, it is home to the Vulysen Sisterhood's Aucothian headquarters. Yrisz has never been east of the mountains, but she would know this; presumably the writing's reference to "the Imareska" threw her off.
"Blood of the moon" does not refer to any particular, known phenomenon. There are any number of interpretations Yrisz could think of. For example, Yrisz is a Vulysen Sister, and the Magus was trying to cut her open. That would be one possible way to construe "blood of the moon."
The vellum paper with the repetitive writing is too simplistic to be part of any ritual Yrisz can think of.
Yrisz was not previously aware of any scandal involving the Vodlaian Archipelago.
Based on the intersection between what Yrisz said and the palimpsest fragment revealed, it sounds to Ariellana that Polon was tricked into believing Twilight's Tryst to be a ritual to help in the local harvest, perhaps to bring a good amount of rainfall to the valley.
Ariellana isn't aware of any scandals from the Archipelago making their way as far as here.
For the "blood of the moon," it's the same issue that I described to Yrisz above; Ariellana does not know of any particularly fitting reference for that phrase.
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I realize that the above is rather long, but it's all connected to one set of items, namely, the papers found in the Magus' study.
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Originally Posted by yukonhorror
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