Amherth Diaries, Sessions VII/VIII/IX: Curses

After the disaster in the previous session, the group tries to get back the ropes of their lives.

That's what happened...

- the three "hags" (Lanathiel, Celemor and Garlene) reunite at the Greystone Manor. Lanathiel, matron of the family and mother of Alowar and Elowen decides to accuse Elowen and her friends to have hidden the misteryous murder in the city, something that could bring a war. They say that the reason why they hid it was... to avoid a guild war. But Lady Greystone is not happy with this version. Furthermore, accuse Celemor (her sister) and Morgane Harrow (you should know their story at this point...) for the same reason: hiding a secret (the map, and so forth)... 

Lanathiel asks Gillian the Witch Hunter to arrest them! 

Note that in the house, the Greystones host a mysterious inquisitor coming from the Kingdom of Tyr (you'll know a lot about this side-story very soon in another campaign... ;) )

Right before this meeting, they talked with Celemor and her old assistant Silda, an old but still intelligent Elven woman. Silda gave a black book to Gillian, telling him he would have made great use of it...

That's the book Gillian used to avoid Lanathiel's request: it is a book containing old rules and laws about the relationship between witch hunter and common law. Gillian discovers to have a week to demonstrate that the accusation is unfair!

Lanathiel uses a city's law to declare that her arm master sister Garlene "leader" of the Witch Hunters until the trial!

They leave. 

- During the night, they receive a mysterious letter, left by a figure resembling a "wolf" in each one's garden... that is Celemor, saying "goodbye" and promising to look for more informations about the map. She didn't want Morgane to get no more involved, since she really feels a true friendship for him and want to help him... She writes she will stay at the academy for a while. 

If you followed this diary, you should know "how" Celemor became a wolf and, probably, the ratio behind this choice...

In the letter, she points at Diane Garret (the helpful messenger of Randal Brymm, the dwarf banker) as one of her suspects (I cannot write down the whole intuition here, but that's a net sum of Celemor's instinct and the fellowship investigations, leading to "someone who can easily travel in the city, being it to chase or escape). 

Furthermore, writes that Silda is not a "simple old elven woman", but she's the most powerful Fae Mage (playing with the Fantastic Heroes & Witchery  classes now) in the world, probably a lot more than the undying emperor Xanne or its black wizards. 

Problem is that Silda is Celemor's maester too and what nobody knows, is that being a Fae Mage means that they have "inner powers", something not likable for other elves or Amherth people, since the only mages they accept with no much trouble are the ones using Grey Magic (Wizards, basically). 

More secret to unfold, then... More pieces of the puzzles...

- The group goes to the Rangeth's Temple (Church of Law and Order) to communicate that their beloved Beatryce (cleric AND Adventurer's Guild leader) died in the Matroni mission... Winfried, which reveals being her natural father doesn't take this well, especially when they specify that "May I?" (the enormous bodygourd of Beatryce) decided to ask for help at the academy in order to "resurrect her", something definitely wrong for their religion.

He sends a letter to the accademy. If in 3 days they won't bring Beatryce's body to the temple in Tradeport they will declare "war" on the academy. 

No good news.

- Same bad news have to be told to the adventurer's guild's regent, the young feminin and diabolical Fynch, which seems not to take Beatryce death that bad... before destrotying everything in its first demonstration of actual feelings since the beginning of the journey....

- Lanathiel asks again for a meeting with her two twin girls and the others, obviously to speak about Celemor's disappearence. She starts torturing the poor Silda while asking the group for informations.

With them, now stands a mysterious emissary of the Assassin's Guild. 

NOTE: if you remember, the Assassins discovered that one of the "brothers" accepted the licence to kill the old merchant without actually taking it as an "assassin" but as a "private" assassin (you should know what I'm talkin' about). The assassin guild, which is in contact with the group through Fynch and the mysterious masked man, sends a man from the far Corrland (imagine Scotland) to redeem himself from a mistake and prove useful in the city's empasse. 

All of them are at the Greystone manor... When, for unknown reasons, the Assassin hits lanathiel with a small poisoned dart to make her sleep... But the real twist happens when, on top of this, Alowar (twin to Elowen, the group's archer) stabs her mother on her throat!!!

Chaos. 

Cirice Harrow saves Lanathiel's life with prayers, while the others take care of the guards. Guards die. Lanathiel is taken away and while they try to escape the manor with her asleep body, the Assassin goes to the Celemor's tower and saves Silda from her torturers... (that's the place where the good celemor and her old maester use to live). 

- They investigate in Diane Garret's apartment. They notice weird flowers with a very strong porfume and a small black sphere which will be later identified a stone which was mined in the imperial's lands and has the ability to let who looks through it to recognize who's actually tainted by black magic.
Diane is. And, not only... When the group uses it spying the girl while at work at the Tradeport's Bank, they feel wicked whispers...

Once outside the manor, they enter a wood and there Silda casts a "Forget" spell to cancel the Assassin's attempt to make her sleep, so that everything Lanathiel remembers is that she fell asleep and woke up while escaping in her two twins arms, helpless.

She wants to see more further, but she accuses the guards for treason and, for now, everything seems fine (even if the Lady will obviously investigate further). 

- The group is exhausted.

Gillian finds Garlene giving orders at the Witch Hunter's guildhall, while his only collegue Arthyr (Cirice's brother) seems to have an idea: kill the three "hags" before the trial. He hates the elves and believes that at least Lanathiel should die, since he "feels" she is somewhat involved in every drahmatic affair in the city. 

Anyway, he promises to wait until the trial, so that Gillian will have the right time to "win" through the "lawful" way. 

- While they try to get a bit of repose, something more happens...

Both alowar and elowen start to... change... They start becoming two... WOLVES!!!

Why?

Wait for more...