Arc 11 - Leaving Trouble Behind (Unearthly Tether)

The Fresh Coats wrap up their time in the Library and wait for Yash, who was in the clutches of Imatulus for some unknown experiment, before moving on to Gell. Publicly dealing with a Painted Doppelganger and causing quite a stir.

Korrig departs the party, but they find a new and unexpected ally in Vin, Maggot Knight of the Crypt Keeper. With Callien's goals growing ever closer, they must choose how they wish to proceed.

Synopsis
This arc covers sessions 101 to 105

The Night of Cleansing Rain
The party wait for Yash to be loosed from Imatulus' grasp and do not wait well. When they are given a timescale however, they decide to use the rest of the time to research, with Carlo going ahead to Gell. The party wait for Yash to be loosed from Imatulus' grasp and do not wait well. When they are given a timescale however, they decide to use the rest of the time to research, with Carlo going ahead to Gell.

When they arrive in Gell, an unfortunate encounter with a Painted Being leads to riots in the street and impressive displays of magic from one they simply know as "The Lady of Gell" as she attempts to calm the situation. During this time the Fresh Coats hide out in the Toil, an inn they stayed in previously, finding out that a hag named Esmere has been awaiting the group's arrival. Callien and Adora speak to her separately, relating to former deals and ties of blood. In the wake of this is a night of fear and death, as the Lady's white-garbed assassins make their way into houses all over the city and leave many without family members.

Meetings and Departures
There is some strife within the party, as Korrig makes his decision to leave, hurting Snelm immensely. Adora and Yash meet a strange fellow by the name of Vin whilst helping out with the bereaved at the Cinis Chapel. Vin reveals himself as the Maggot Knight of the Crypt Keeper and informs the duo that his deity has need of the Fresh Coats presence and knowledge of the Painting. Meanwhile, Callien is making preparations to act upon the information that Esmere has given her, though her subtle machinations do not go unnoticed.

During this time, the Fresh Coats get to know Vin better whilst attempting to refill their coinpurses post their run ins in Nulinvermark by taking on a job to reunite the emasculated Calver Trodden with his true love. Adora and Yash take charge of his love life and arrange a performance which would allow Calver to show himself at his most masculine. It seems to go without a hitch and even though Cal's beloved seems to see through the ruse, she accepts him wholeheartedly.

Her Goal Within Reach
Callien finds her research difficult to complete, calling upon the fates to do so and being confronted with the fact that her goal may signify the end of her journey. She rendezvous with Adora to consult her of the plan she has made to steal a golden flame from beneath the College of Gell. Callien notes that the College is drawing life from the people of Gell to maintain this flame, in a manner that Adora recognises as the Pale Hounds that she hunted last time she was in the city.

They grab Snelm and get to hunting, cornering them in a small alley and using an ice wall to box them in, the trio manage to keep the Pale Hounds contained for quite some time before one nearly escapes, but Callien teleports Adora next to it and the swashbuckler promptly bisects it. Meanwhile, the other half of the group visit Vin's office to spend some quality time after being left in the lurch. They discuss Vin's knowledge sources and the various artefacts of the office itself and altogether have an enjoyable time.

As most of the party prepare to move out, Adora and Callien instead head to the college, Callien taking upon the visage of Grüblemire to help them avoid arousing suspicion as they move down into the lower levels. Knowing that it would be more suspicious if the disguise was dropped, they voluntarily remove the disguise to deal with the various constructs that guard the laboratory levels. As they move through, they become thrown by the layout and how Callien's instinctive knowledge of the flame's location clashes with it, before being distracted by coming across and ongoing discussion as Professor Eizann Ephran berates two of his lab workers, implicating him in the nastier side of the Flame's maintenance. They talk to him directly and Callien says they are there to discuss an experimental idea they have, using this to get him alone, where they promptly kill him and bury his body beneath the floor.

They search the freshly vacated laboratories and find a secret door, locked by a magical seal. Whilst Callien manages to circumvent it, it sets off and alarm and activates the construct guards. They fight past them into the Flame's holding chamber and as more constructs continue to arrive, as well as indications that the mages of the College are responding to alarm too, Callien takes Adora and grasps the flame, escaping into the plane of Hacirous.

Player Characters:
Non-Player Companions
 * Korrig
 * Snelm Brightstone
 * Yasheritska
 * Adora Hawkinsight
 * Callien Felrasi
 * Carlo
 * Vin
 * Elessa Alcroft

Non-Player Characters:

 * Qhalnaryv, of the Library
 * Imatulus One-Eye, Lord of the Grand Library and Warder of the Northern Frosts
 * Keagan
 * Albert Kroening, Director of Gell College
 * Iger Hest, College Master of Materials
 * The Witches of the Toil (Bridget, Garda, etc.)
 * Alaric Gaufrid
 * The Lady of Gell
 * Ilvic Proda, priest of the Crypt Keeper and head priest of Cinis Chapel
 * The Acolytes of Cinis Chapel (Kail Broderic, etc.)
 * "Fionnegan"
 * Calver Trodden
 * Professor Eizann Ephran

Significant Adversaries:

 * The Pale Hounds

Locations

 * The Library of Imatulus One-Eye


 * Caelda
 * Gell
 * The College of Gell
 * Edwin's Plaza
 * Oedwig Road
 * The Toil (inn)
 * Cinis Chapel
 * Hacirous