Amherth Diaries, Session X / XI / XII: Inner Journey

I come back after a looong stop, but the story is still alive and we'll go back in Amherth pretty soon!

Here you'll find what's new for Sessions IX/X!!!

After discovering the "curse" upon the Greystones (lycanhtropy?), they start traveling twards the Academy, as already planned to help out Celemor's and Morgan's research.

Along the way, they meet a mysterious guy which is, with no doubt for the old Silda (traveling with them), is a Fateweaver. Fateweavers (homebrewed class/story) are members of an old and secretive order of people with a signle, but unnerving power: see and alter future actions through advice and intervention. They don't have the power to alter time itself, but to "bend" fate, so that some outcomes might be more or less likely, depending on what they feel more appropriate (following their own moral code, which is unknown). 

The guy confirms the suspects.

He handles them a bag cointaining colored potions, which are obivously "Weavings", as identified by Silda. Potions that, if drinked, can show past or future events, which can or cannot be true, but helping the "traveller" to understand hidden connections. 

They accept the bag, talk a bit with the guy and leave. They need to reach the Academy as soon as possible...

Once at the school, they talk a bit. Celemor and Master Jansen meet again. They talk about their rsearch, reporting any new discovered in the previous two chapters. They talk with Silda about the Greystone "curse", she said it's not an actual "curse" as commonly intended, more of a wild gift, but the old elf doesn't tell anything more.

They decide that the next step is the mysterious Orphanage, mentioned by Jansen as one of the most corrupted places in the area some chapters ago (see the first dialogue with Jansen in the first few sessions). Celemor states that the map (the godmap the story is about) has been given to Morgan Harrow by a man coming from that Orphanage, confirming the connections!

During the night, they are strongly tempted to drink the potions... Everyone chooses the color which feels more appropriate with their "fate" or interests... Don't know if they are right, but, they drink...

What's... this... desert?

They wake up as completely different persons. They are conscious to be part of a past event: the travel of spies from the next to become powerful kingdom of Tyr in the last few weeks of the Battle of Hope against Xanne, the returning undead emperor!

Elowen is now Ilusia, an assassin.

Cirice is now Djeserit, a Magic-User.

Gillian The Grim is now Winfried, Priest of Rangeth... Yes! If you have followed the story, Winfried is the Tradeport's Priest, father of Beatryce, the cleric who died, possessed by the "hag" at the beginning of the story!

They know they are headed to some "haven". They know that they cannot "change" future directly, but they still now that they can still make choices which might have an impact on their life. The point seems to have the awesome possibility given by the fateweaver for unknown reasons to discover secret kept untold! 

A messenger rushes to them and hand them out a letter: "Go to Honor. New infos ahead."

Honor is a military/city at that point patrolled by imperial legions. There they meet a weird guy which should be a counter-spy, someone who works within the empire legions as the players, but actually refers to his superiors! The true messenger and spy they are looking for is called Farah, who manages to contact them during night. 

She warns them that someone (now dead) was waiting for them along the road to the Black Mages haven, the place where they seem are pointing to (note: Black Mage is a term born during the Xannen Empire's golden age, to describe mysterious wizards summoning a rotten tower from nowhere in the middle of the capital and releasing dark rituals on the enemy armies). 

They need some time to elude confusion and finally get what their new "alter egos" are going to do: reaching the black mage hidden haven as messegner and steal whatever information they have to prevent Xanne from releasing a deadly attack! So...will they actually be able to prevent some future events like the deadly plague coming along the emperor's army???

Soon to answer. 

The travel is long, they'll need to traverse the desert south of Honor and go south again in harsh environments where moon tribes (ferocious barbarians and hunters born in the desert) and the deadly and reknown beasts like giant scorpions, incredibly cunning and stealthy.

A trusted sentinel named Najla working for Farah, will wait for them a couple of days ahead, so that she will gain some insights on the journey and possibly prevent some ambushes. 

In the meanwhile, Farah will try to spot more "counter-spies" in Honor, to avoid total sabotage.

They agree to meet again in Honor 14 days later. Enough time to go south, bringin a letter to the Black Mages as imperial messengers, slain some of them and capture their leader, so to unveil the secret plan which can prevent tons of deaths during the upcoming  and final showdown.

After a weird meeting with a Chimera speaking about prophecies, their difficult journey stops when a Sphynx appears  through the desert sands.
She has Celemor's face!!!

The story unfolds... but the webs seem to get thicker and thicker... Who's the enemy? What's the connection among the god map. the fateweavers and the black mages? Why the Orphanage is so important? Who was the man who gave the god map to Morgan Harrow?


EDIT: At this point in time, october 13th, I'm going back to this campaign connecting it to a... Blue Rose campaign! The beautiful world of Aldis should lie far beyond the oceans of Amherth.
Fateweavers spotted a connection between young students and our protagonists. A subtle webbing with a common goal (for completely different reasons: THE map).
The events of such a spin off are beyond our interest, but you might now about Lili, Morgan and the others around here in Amherth one day, who knows?