Arc 4 - A Grim Reminder (Unearthly Tether)

They return briefly to Nemaros and recruit Callien Felrasi to their cause. They help their friends that they brought with them from Ik'erik'gre set up shop and purchase a few things for them before linking back up with the Arcanum Scholar they helped before. They help him explore further into the tomb, but run into the doppelganger of Kew atop it. In the ensuing fight Yash is killed and the party find themselves face to face with the Painted God.

They escape, barely, and Yash is resurrected with the help of a new acquaintance called Damien. Jimi discovers a lead in his quest to revoke a devil contract in the form of Striva Vedmaryc and then they begin the trek towards Nulinvermark to get a boat towards the North Pole, where Imatulus' library is said to be.

Synopsis
Arc 4 covers session 40 through 45 and lasts 5 days.

Reconnections (Sessions 40 to 42)
We rejoin our heroes just before the dawn, as Adora speaks to Elessa of the grand adventures they could go on if they stay together and offers to stop anywhere that Elessa may wish to. They join the rest of the party for breakfast before heading out on the long walk to Leor, one of the settlements built on the roads leading out from Nemaros. They spend a night there, drinking and trying to figure out what has changed since they've been away, with Yash finding a wanted poster that seems to be for her.

They travel into Nemaros the next day, skipping the queue in thanks to a helpful orc guard. They split up with the Orivisili brothers, who head to the Vesper Inn, and the rest of them rush to find Felicia. Snelm and Korrig dive down into her hidden abode in the Barre Cotz, obscured by a small pond. They find her in a bad way and quickly use the stone given to them by Zhrakenshina to call for aid, Felicia thanking them in a weak voice before being taken to Ik'erik'gre. Korrig and Snelm talk this over for a while before returning, about how the situation feels and what it means for Snelm's own Tether.

To calm himself down, Snelm stays within the water of the pond and sings hymns of Vox, whilst Adora immerses her head in the pool that she may listen. As this is happening, an old friend of theirs by the name of Callien Felrasi hesitantly makes her way over. They talk of current objectives and Callien offers her help, even telling them that admittance to the Library of Imatulus requires an offering to the eponymous dragon.

From there, our heroes split into two groups: one to gather information from the Arcanum and one to do the same with the College. Adora, Jimi, Yash and Lucy head to the Arcanum and converse with the dean, Cattin, though he is little help and manages to frustrate Adora's attempts to prove that Lucy would be a great fit for the Arcanum due to just how talented she is. Meanwhile Callien, Korrig and Snelm head to the College. Callien visits the College stacks, discovering how few people have actually visited Imatulus' library, fewer still without a guide. She sends Korrig and Snelm to visit her old teacher, Cassius Almern, who is unwilling to discuss the specifics of Bondbreaker due to his fear of the thing, but is able to tell them that the original artist behind the portraits which make up the Painted World went missing shortly after their completion.

Having previously agreed to meet at the Broker's manor after their respective investigations, the groups make their way there. After Yash splits from the group Jimi, Adora and Lucy are confronted by members of the Bootstraps gang, who make threats about reporting Jimi's whereabouts to a man who wishes to find him, but Jimi and Adora do not baulk at the threats. They do baulk at Lucy loudly asking what the mafia is and what just happened as they walk down the street. Elsewhere, the other members of the party are harassed by the King's Guard, but this is interrupted by the city's steward, one Maedlyne Dener. After a brief conversation dominated by meaningless platitudes, they continue their trip, Snelm deducing that such a stunt was likely for the steward to gain some political capital.

The party reunite at the gates to the Broker's manor and Callien backs out, choosing to create some potions instead. The remainder of the party are greeted by the Broker's seneschal, a man calling himself Bard, who ushers them into a sitting room and sets up a ritual which will allow them to converse with the Broker. Similarly to their first meeting, the Broker is conjured of smoke from the room's fireplace and they bring him up to speed on what has happened with them. In return, he informs them of a few key things: that trouble brews near Korrig's home in the Caeldan woods, that two of the Hypocrites (a bandit operation Adora once ran with) are in town, that Veric Croseal (a friend in the Arcanum) has need of them clearing out the rest of the tomb they once helped him explore, and that he does know someone who can help guide them to the Library of Imatulus.

Though they are rushed out after this talk, Jimi makes a request of Bard to find Lucy's father. Only being able to give the barest of descriptions, but Bard accepts regardless. They go about their separate shopping activities, splitting into three groups to do so. Jimi borrows some money from Adora and makes good on his promise to buy a monkey goblin from Evorr in the Vesper before heading out with her and Yash to a gnommish tinkerer called Dryll. As they discover the gnome, he is conversing with two self-proclaimed nobles that call themselves as Fareen and Esma (though Adora recognises them as Castor and Darshee Vitally of the Hypocrites) and in disguising her own identity, she shocks the nearby area by identifying herself as Arabella. This prompts the two Hypocrites to inform the party of the Dread Necromancer, Arabella the Mist Gatherer.

As the duo of Hypocrites finalise their transaction with Dryll, Jimi and Yash decide to conduct some business of their own, but Adora decides to tail the duo back to where they are staying. She attempts to deepen her bond with Elessa Alcroft and allow the spirit direct control of her hand, separating it from her arm and sending it in to scout their room. Darshee quickly spots the strange source of movement in the room, heavily damaging the limb as it moved back out the window. Adora flees, unable to reattach her incredibly damaged hand.

Elsewhere, Korrig and Callien requisition some magical items and scrolls from various places, hearing about a woman's missing son as they go about their business. They also accompany Caryll as he researches setting up his own shop in the city. Snelm and Lucy head to the southern side of Nemaros to a shop called Pause for Paws to pick her up a canine companion, eventually settling on a St. Bernard called Sanders.

Whilst Korrig heads off to the find a fence to sell on some of the goods from their recent delve into the Buried Keep of Ik'erik'gre, the Snelm and Lucy find Adora near the Chapel of Saint Numida. Snelm is initially distraught upon seeing the state of Adora's hand but fixes it up with little issue. They each complete their tasks and meet back at the Vesper to discuss the next steps of their adventure, specifically how to go about travelling to the Library of Imatulus. During this time, Adora decides to tell them about the Vitallys and the group. They inform the guard of the two Hypocrites and the inn they are staying with, but the guard are too late to catch them.

The group decide to chase the partners out of the city after a few failed leads, hearing that they had been spotted nearby the eastern gate. They find a cart that they realise the couple had been using, but it seems long abandoned and they are unable to pick up a trail. Unfortunately, the city gate has been closed for the evening when they try and move through, but Snelm is able to convince the guard to let Adora through a side passage to go look after Lucy, who has been babysat by Caryll. It seems like she and her new companions, Avery and Sanders, were a bit too much for the extraplanar craftsman.

Player Characters:
Non-Player Party Members
 * Jimi Jostar
 * Korrig
 * Snelm Brightstone
 * Yasheritska
 * Adora Hawkinsight
 * Callien Felrasi
 * Lucirialla Imeroth, or Lucy
 * Elessa Alcroft
 * Avery
 * Sanders

Non-Player Characters:

 * Bard, the Broker's seneschal
 * Dlago Orivisili
 * Caryll Orivisili
 * Droog Daz, Orcish guard
 * Felicia
 * Cattin, Dean of the Nemaros Arcanum
 * Cassius Almern, Collegiate Scholar of Planes
 * Maedlyne Dener, Steward of Nemaros
 * Evorr, Owner of the Vesper
 * Dryll, Gnommish Inventor
 * Darshee Vitally
 * Castor Vitally
 * Veric Croseal, Arcanum Scholar
 * Zulf, the Covorri Bouncer
 * Damien
 * Ingran Ausiric, High Priest of Luma

Locations

 * Leor
 * The Threshold Greeting Inn
 * Nemaros
 * Barre Cotz, a nice park
 * The Vesper Inn
 * Nemaros College
 * Nemaros Arcanum
 * Angsvide's Arcane Assistance
 * Enchanter's Espresso
 * The Tapped Tortoise tavern
 * Bilge Water Inn
 * The Chapel of Saint Numida
 * Pause for Paws, pet shop.
 * The Uralter Burial Spire

Session Titles

 * Session 40: Only Four Days?
 * Session 41: Night on the Town
 * Session 42: Don't Attack Furniture
 * Session 43: Unearthed Enemies
 * Session 44: Blood and Pigment
 * Session 45: Debt