CHAPTER XXIV
in which not attuned fighters reveal their secrets and Glad finally electrocutes himself...
Previously (09/03)
The group:
Restocked their stores and attended to Eierryn, Glad, and Sly's wounds
Accompanied Malokai to his meeting with King Cyax's council
Discussed taking preemptive measures to put down LeShrac
Fought valiantly to defend the palace where the meeting occurred from an underground incursion of Tusker warriors
Sentinel Tiersa
After helping defend the School of Thought Main from the Tusker underground incursion, the Silver Foxes return to the surface for medical attention. While being healed, the most damaged of the group, Krom and Glad, receive the Stoneheart and Honorary Stoneheart medals from High Commander Ricotta who makes a quick appearance. Everyone else receives a coin called the Sentinel's Favor from Sentinel Tiersa. Krom still sustains wounds from being incinerated but the rest of the group is fully healed of all injuries, including Glad and Sly's poison from the Jhora Plains visit. The group makes use of this opportunity to ply Tiersa for some tips in increasing their battle readiness. Given that they're potentially facing more numbers and better trained fighters in their Leshrac hunt, the Silver Foxes want whatever edge they can get. Tiersa strengthens the enchantment on Kroms brittle-ing hammer, suggests that Eierryn and Glad use boost their kinetic powers by using them in concert, and mentions that magical effects can be maximized through a process called staging, which is the ability to store quasith in a container.
Tiersa doesn't offer up any help, though, in taking down Leshrac. She thinks Haas' shapeshifting may be able to draw Leshrac out, but her own suggestion of dismantling Leshrac's army piece by piece is both impractical for a small band of mercenaries and runs counter to the leaderships desire to minimize casualties in the misled centaur army. They also find her demeanor to be surprisingly disinterested in Haas' suggestions to leverage political connections for reaper mercs and she reveals that she never before considered the Tuskers dwelling beneath her city a threat, showing no knowledge of the Tusker city the Silver Foxes encountered in their own journey. The only other help Tiersa offers is access to the Brenthian armory.
Ra'jira wonders off halfway though this meeting to explore the school, joined by Haas after Tiersa's counsel disappoints her. Together they look through a few classrooms, quitting after they discover two Brenthians "wrestling" on a bed.
When they regroup with the others, Sovelus arrives. He catches up on current happenings, criticizes the Brenthian scouts, and introduces a desert ascetic attuned to Vormyll, Maud'dib, who joins the party. Maud'dib, aka Mouse, is on a "search for truth" and is, like Haas, interested in pillars. He also searches for excitement and new experiences, so it doesn't take much to convince him to join the Silver Foxes mission. Haas also speaks with Sovelus and is surprised to discover she can whisper the previously unmentionable existence of Duke Ockmark's null soldiers. She believes they could be an asset in taking down Leshrac.
Meanwhile, Glad challenges Tiersa to a sparring match. Tiersa bets a date with her against one of Glad's obsidian daggers and the two set terms for the brawl. The fight takes place on the roof of a nearby building to avoid collateral damage. Glad is allowed, per the rules, kinetic assistance from Eierryn, but all their assaults are countered by Tiersa changing the matter thrown at her-sand, nail, and projectiles-to water. She also strips Glad of his armor and weapons with the same magic, which he can only occasionally counter with revocation. Glad has electricity left, but Tiersa literally dodges lightning. She pulls out her brittl-ing hammer and knocks Glad to the ground. Ribs crunch. Eierryn attempts confusion to no avail. Glad kinetics the hammer away but Tiersa doesn't let it leave her grip and brings it back down. So Glad uses their close distance to electrocute the shit out of her. Haas joins in too and instills Tiersa with fear. Tiersa grabs Glad's ankle, creating a closed loop, but Glad persists in electrocuting them both until he passes out from damage sustained in the fight.
Tiersa collects her prize but gives Glad a replica near as good that should last a month and the conciliation that he can ask for a date again maybe when the war ends.
King Cyax the Dragon
Haas manages to track down Cyax and gain a private meeting joined by the rest of her merc squad. She once again pulls out the mysterious object she keeps pocketed in her pouch and it looks at King Cyax as it did at the meeting earlier. Observing this, Haas accuses Cyax of being a dragon, an assertion he laughs off. Whittling down what concept of dragons that Haas holds, and thus the object, which identifies dragons, uses, Haas deduces that Cyax is dragon-like in that he draws power from no pillar and can theoretically create one of his own. He doesn't know how he came across this ability himself, though there multiple rumors abound. Nor does he know if he can be attuned to, though some of his more curious friends have tried.
It is precisely for this reason that Cyax was such a force during the war and able to directly do battle with Shul in an abstract contest of wills that saw the black dragon turned back. King Cyax, having witnessed Leshrac's strength, theorizes that someone of his ability would have been capable of defeating a less powerful dragon like Equinos and subsuming its power for his own. He feels in his gut that Leshrac is no true Archon, but an usurper who has stolen the pillar's strength. Yet despite the personal factors at play, he doesn't want to directly engage himself in taking Leshrac down because he believes there are others, like himself and Leshrac, who possess power though not attuned to any pillars and that this third party has questionable motives. So he asks the Silver Foxes to do their best against Leshrac while he investigates the third in secret.
Cyax offers some counsel on their battle preparations and leaves the Silver Foxes with:
A ring that can create a permanent 50 yard nullification field around the wielder when removed, which is currently being worn by Glad.
A gem that can identify the quasith of unencountered pillars for Haas to use in her search for the Green Dragon.
A magical healing of all their health which is bolstered to greater limits than before.
Then Cyax takes his leave.
Mikolai's Secret and Mikolai's Plan
The group reconnects with Mikolai where Haas shares what she's learned of Cyax and the Silver Foxes discovers that Mikolai is similarly not attuned, though he uses Vormyll as his cover. The revelation of many such individuals leads the group to believe that practically any Archon, Sentinel, or high ranking authority can be an unattuned person drawing power from themselves, hiding in plain sight where it would not be unusual for a powerful person to reside. He also shares his plan on action, which he won't be able to take part in now that the Tuskers have distracted the Brenthians. He believes that a powerful and targeted version of the Dream Wraith Liquor can lull Leshrac into a dream sating his lust for power long enough to devise a prison or way to strip his power from him while he sleeps. He may be intangible while sleeping, but if he wakes into a nullification field surrounded by physical countermeasures, he should be easier to subdue. However, the amount of liquor possessed could only knock him out for a day at most if all of it was poured in him. And besides the dose potency, a way to tailor the dream to suit Leshrac needs to be discerned.
To this end, Kai lends Zojak to the group so they can travel quickly between the many places they'll need to visit in their investigation. The Silver Foxes have a new plan, but need to make a few arrangements first, such as rearming from the Brenthian armory, letting Jormie know his services aren't needed anymore, and meeting with Gorbie who provided the liquor.
Post-Game Summary
The group:
Was commendated by Tiersa and Ricotta for protecting the School of Thought Main
Sought counsel with Tiersa
Gained a new member, Maud'Dib
Watched Glad get his ass handed to him by Tiersa in a sparring match
Sought counsel with Cyax and Mikolai
Were tasked with finding either the source of the wraith blood alcohol or a way to control its effect.
Important information learned:
The Brenthians have not until now considered the Tuskers much of a threat and seem woefully ignorant of their culture and ill prepared to deal with their threat.
Sentinel Tiersa is exceptionally skilled at using transformation, brittle-ing, and structure restoring magic.
King Cyax is not attuned to any pillar. Nor is Malokai.
They draw power from themselves and thus are similar to dragons in this regard and in their potential to create pillars based upon themselves.
Leshrac likely defeated Equinos to subsume its power for himself.
There are likely other such individuals hidden outright or hidden in plain sight in positions of power. Perhaps as Archons or Sentinels.
It's not known how such aberrant individuals come into their power...aside from Leshrac.
Malokai gained an audience because he had devised a basic plan for how to deal with Leshrac.
It revolves around dosing Leshrac with wraith blood, trapping him in an inviting dream, and imprisoning him while he is not of the physical world.