Next Session Briefing Document

What Happened Last Session

We arrived in Thalas'Miriel after defeating the goblin warband and a close encounter with a female orc rider on a Frost Wolf, who warned us that someone called Zorn is coming for us. We drank ToooAh's tea (chaos ensued — see below), split up across town, and attended the cathedral morning service, where Lord Pompaduke led worship as "Brother Algrim" with a green Bane aura rising from his lute, and High Luminary Vaelorian turned the service into a Falcon faction political rally. ToooAh tried to steal from the collection basket, failed her Deception check, and was escorted to the Order of the Silver Lantern garrison by guards. The rest of us don't know this happened yet.

Our Current Mission: Figure out ToooAh is missing, get her out of the garrison without blowing our cover, and stop Vaelorian's delegation to Neverwinter before it leaves.

Our Party (Level 6)

Active Conditions We're Dealing With:

• ToooAh detained at the Order of the Silver Lantern garrison — the rest of the party are currently unaware
• Elvva's Bane corruption CRITICAL — Dragon's Breath now manifesting as green Bane flame (S36); will reflect spell damage on 3rd failed Wisdom save; spreading to innate draconic abilities
• Elik'r's curse — 3 psychic damage when he harms Elvva in combat
• Dormant Bane commands — ToooAh (kill Tessell), Odonia (kill Co'narr); trigger conditions unknown
• Tea effects may still be active depending on timing — Tessell's multiple personalities in particular could cause problems at the worst moment

What We're Trying to Do

1. Find and extract ToooAh — the party needs to realise she's missing first, then figure out how to get her out of a Falcon military garrison in a Falcon town without being identified as Eagle agents
2. Counter Vaelorian's delegation to Neverwinter — ticking clock; every day we delay is a day closer to Duke Alaric Thorne being lobbied to declare for Falcon
3. Investigate Lord Pompaduke — what is "Brother Algrim"? Why the Bane aura? Does he know we saw it? Whose side is he on?

Where We Are / Where We're Going

Thalas'Miriel — Elven cathedral town in the forest of Mirel'thiel. Fully and publicly Falcon-aligned (banners everywhere). Run by High Luminary Vaelorian who controls both the Cathedral and the Order of the Silver Lantern. Our cover as ordinary travellers is intact — for now. Elik'r (dragonborn) and ToooAh (Aarakocra) are conspicuous.

Order of the Silver Lantern Garrison — Blue plate armour, lantern crest. Has a smithy with three magic longswords Odonia couldn't afford. Currently holding ToooAh. Commander unknown.

Cathedral of Gentle Redemption — Sacred Archives kept by Canon Sylvaris Thalaniel (ToooAh wanted access before her arrest). Odonia's Primeval Awareness detected two unidentified creature types nearby during the service.

Magic Shop — Still in town if funds become available: Staff of the Ember Lord (2,000 gp, very rare, 15 charges, fire spells + resistance + retaliatory damage), Staff of Tidal Dominion (price unconfirmed), Wand of Verdant Lash (rare, living vine).

Neverwinter — Actual destination after this. Duke Alaric Thorne (ally) is there with both mercenary companies. Vaelorian's delegation is trying to flip him to Falcon before we arrive.

Important Things to Remember

Immediate Threats:

• Zorn — unknown identity, implied male, commands at least the orc wolf rider and possibly the goblin warbands; "He'll be coming for you all shortly" — we don't know when
• Vaelorian's delegation — a ticking clock; the longer we stay, the further ahead it gets
• Our cover — one wrong move in a Falcon town ends our ability to operate here quietly

Things That Feel Off:

• Lord Pompaduke is travelling with us but led Falcon cathedral worship as "Brother Algrim" without acknowledging us — green Bane aura visible from his lute during the service
• Odonia detected two creature types near the cathedral via Primeval Awareness — we don't know what or where
• The young blonde monk near Tessell during the service was audibly unhappy with Vaelorian's politics and dropped an herb pouch — possible dissident or contact

Useful Things We Have:

• Elik'r's Ethereal Traveller cloak — once per day, Mist Form + Misty Step + pass through solid objects (could help with a garrison extraction)
• Elvva's new Wand of Dusk Veil — Darkness, Silent Image, Disguise Self, and Veil Step (useful for stealth operations)

Questions for Next Session

Things we forgot to ask about:

• What are the two creature types Odonia sensed near the cathedral?
• What exactly are the conditions of ToooAh's detention — charged, questioned, or something worse?
• Did Lord Pompaduke see us in the congregation? Does he know we saw his Bane aura?

Decisions we need to make:

• How do we get ToooAh out — bribery, deception, Elik'r's cloak, force, or legal argument?
• Do we confront Pompaduke, surveil him, or wait for him to act?
• Do we try to stop the delegation from leaving, or race it to Neverwinter?
• Does anyone want to approach the young disgruntled monk?

Things to follow up on:

• Canon Sylvaris Thalaniel's Sacred Archives — ToooAh still hasn't accessed them
• The three magic longswords in the garrison smithy — worth revisiting when funds allow
• Bane Watcher Citadel — Elvva's corruption is now in her Dragon's Breath; this cannot wait much longer