As the crier stepped down from his platform, the people in the plaza began chattering about the news. One man, a noble wearing puffy clothes and trailed by an equally well-dressed servant, approached the party with his own idle thoughts. “Soul Sickness! Here in Wayport! Can you believe it? It’s one thing when it’s a bunch of Valish peasants falling ill, but a Duke!” However, the brief conversation that followed was strained and awkward for all, and the man quickly moved on.
But Ardwyn still wanted to hear more, and she ran to catch up to the nobleman. She apologized and proceeded to charm him with skillful flattery. The man turned out to be a minor noble named Ocean Talash, and he was happy to answer her questions. He informed her that, although the Duke’s audience was restricted to nobility, “nobility in Wayport could be bought for, oh, about a hundred pieces of gold.”
The rogue returned to her companions and they discussed the news. Ralnur speculated that, if Baldric was responsible for the Soul Sickness, perhaps he had intentionally caused the death of the old Duke. Perhaps the new Duke was different? Tessel decided to investigate this theory by approaching some of the merchants chatting nearby in the plaza. She asked them about the current and former Dukes of Wayport, but they told her that they didn’t expect much to change, implying that the main focus was always on business and wealth. “New Duke, same as the old Duke.” The party set aside the barbarian's theory for the time being.
Ralnur also put forward a plan: “We could go to this party thing, and then beat up everyone! Or steal from them!” Ardwyn decided to teach him a lesson by nimbly snatching his coin purse from his belt. “Yeah, just like that!” he responded enthusiastically. But ultimately, the party talked him down and collectively decided that meeting the Duke of Wayport was not their highest priority.
Instead, they decided to head to the Gold Tower, since they might get answers about the Soul Sickness (and since it was relatively nearby). They tried to figure out a cover story to use when they arrived, but Adamir suggested that they could simply (but carefully) be honest about the fact that they knew victims of the Soul Sickness and wanted to learn more. They set off on the road to the south.
After two days of travel, they stopped at an inn and spoke for a while with the innkeeper. Despite being somewhat hostile toward the half-orc in the party, he was happy to chat. He told the party a bit about the Gold Tower, including the fact that the Sage had not left his quarters at the top of the Tower in generations, and that the Tower was mostly being run by a mage who called himself “Golden Galen”. The innkeeper rolled his eyes a bit when he mentioned the name. He also informed the party that a Seraph had recently passed through, also heading toward the Gold Tower. He described her as a big woman who showed little interest in talking. The next morning, they set off on the road with a bit more trepidation.
The reached the Gold Tower later that day. It was unmistakable: a 12-story square tower made of yellow stone with a magical illusion causing it to glitter in the sunlight. On the lawn were dozens of students practicing simple cantrips, while several teachers strode between them, correcting their spells and giving advice.
The party was able to walk straight into the Tower itself before being greeted in the lobby by Galen Allidale (“Golden Galen”). He, too, was unmistakable. He wore richly decorated robes, bright spiked blonde hair, and a huge toothy grin. “Welcome! WELCOME to the Gold Tower!” he said, nearly shouting. He inquired as to their purpose, and was quick to advertise the variety of instructional courses and spellcasting services available at the school.
While he pitched, Valra decided to look around the lobby and noticed two portraits on opposite sides of the wall. One depicted Galen, while the other portrait showed the face of a rather ugly elf. Ardwyn noticed the portraits as well and spoke up: “Wow, Galen, that portrait of you is AMAZING! But who’s that in the other one?”
“Ah, yes,” he said somewhat grudgingly, “that is our... illustrious Sage, Zeno Caridove.” He explained that the Sage was happy to speak with visiting adventurers, but also suggested that such a meeting would be fruitless, and again began pitching the Tower’s various magical services. While Ardwyn continued to distract him, Tessel began marching up the stairs, and the rest of the party followed. Galen quickly noticed them leaving and showed a hint of dismay, but reassured them that he would be happy to discuss things further when they returned.
After twelve long flights of stairs, they entered a room filled with scattered books, scrolls, and bits of paper. In the center was the Sage of the Gold Tower, Zeno, an elf with stringy white hair and short, squat features. “Adventurers?” he asked brusquely, seemingly annoyed at the interruption. He grabbed a quill and paper. “Very well. Sit down! Answer my questions and let’s get this over with quickly.” There was only one chair in the room, but they made do as best they could. He proceeded to ask each of them for their name, their trade, and their “purpose in life”. The answers ranged from lies (“Arlav”) to truths (“I’m a Paladin”) to nothing at all (“pass”). Simmering with annoyance, the elf proceeded to ask the party how they had come to Rakos (“boats”), how they met (“boats”), what battles they had fought together, et cetera.
Ralnur’s excitement initially got the better of him. “These are the heroes!” he exclaimed. The others were quick to shut him up, but his attempts at covering his mistake (“erm... boats?”) were unconvincing to the suddenly-interested Zeno. Once it was mentioned that the party had fought a demon, his attitude began to change. It quickly became apparent that Zeno had deduced the party’s true identities. “Promising, promising!” he muttered to himself, “but... potentially dangerous...”
“Very well,” Zeno announced, concluding his interrogation. “You came to me for advice, I presume? I will help you. But on one condition: you must agree that when we are finished talking, you will leave this place and never seek me out or speak to me again!” They agreed. And with that, he awaited the party’s questions.
Valra began by inquiring into the nature of his research. “I study echoes,” he replied. “You know, patterns, repetitions, resonances!” He spoke grandiosely about the common threads that could be detected in history, in people, in societies, and in the structure of the multiverse itself. He further implied that some rare adventurers (perhaps including the party) seemed to leave “unusually clear echoes, as if they were marked by fate”, which made them especially interesting to study and especially dangerous to have personal contact with.
Soon the questions turned to their main focus: how to cure the Soul Sickness. Zeno initially professed ignorance, but he mentioned that he had a “pet theory” to which he had not given much credence in the past. “But if you are here asking about it... perhaps it’s possible?” he mused.
“Well... I think it sounds like the Mantella!” This proclamation was met by stares and silence from all members of the party. “Oh, nobody reads their history anymore,” the Sage complained. Valra was quick with a retort: “We are history.”
Zeno told the party that “in ancient days” Rakos was home to a group of powerful wizards who were working on a device or machine of some sort, which they believed would grant them a kind of godhood. As they neared their goal, they realized that they would need a source of energy, and they created the Mantella: a stone that would absorb the life force of creatures from a great distance and channel that power to the mages’ great project. Some time after that, they all disappeared. Nobody knew whether that meant they had failed utterly or succeeded beyond their wildest dreams.
The Sage apologized for the uncertain translations of some of the terms. Tessel was curious about one particular detail. Zeno had mentioned that the ancient wizards had been inspired to begin this project by the guidance of a demigod (“or some sort of extraplanar entitity”) named Corvax. He explained that the name Corvax translated to “crow” or “raven”, but he had assumed it was merely a name, since they never talked about this entity as if it were truly a bird.
The paladin turned to Ralnur. “Don’t you have a crow?” The half-orc enthusiastically showed off his totem. Tessel began to ask more about where he had found the crow talisman, how it spoke to him, and what it spoke about. Soon, Zeno was sitting very stiffly in his chair. Before long, he interrupted the conversation. “Well... if it’s all right with you, I would very much like you to leave now,” he said, obviously in great discomfort. The party agreed, though Tessel had to forcefully pull Ralnur along.
They were able to make it out the main door before running into Galen again. This time he stood alongside a tall, broad-shouldered woman wearing ornate plate armor trimmed in white. “Ah, I hope you weren't too disappointed with the Sage. But you’re in luck! There’s no safer way to travel the roads than alongside a Seraph! Isabel, you wouldn’t mind walking with them, would you?” Isabel looked them over with a thin smile. She politely responded that, although she could travel with the party for a day or so, she was not allowed to make camp with strangers.
Ardwyn, recognizing the name “Isabel” as the commander of the troops they had killed a few days ago, decided to overwhelm the Seraph with annoying flattery. It was not difficult to persuade Isabel that traveling alongside the party would be undesirable, and she abruptly mentioned that she would prefer to rest a bit longer at the Gold Tower before setting off. The party hit the road, leaving Isabel behind.
They did not, however, return to Wayport. Instead, they took a turn to the east, following a road that would lead them toward Lake Balen, where they had heard there was an island that was home to a mysterious “Red Monastery”. It was best to investigate it while they were already in the area, they figured.
After about a half day of walking, Tessel stopped to confront Ralnur once more about his crow totem. The half-orc agreed to try to speak to the crow to get more information about it. Valra prepared an Entangle spell in case things went wrong. Ralnur began asking questions to the mysterious crow spirit, and at first he received no answers. But, after a few tries, it began to answer him, replying directly into his mind. Tessel asked him what he was hearing. “Oh, it says everything’s fine!” said Ralnur. “It says our goals are aligned. It just wants us to get really powerful!”
Although this did not fully reassure the party, it was enough for now. Coincidentally, Ardwyn spotted a crow nearby, and she called out to it using her Mouthbeast. The clever bird was happy to inform the party that nobody was following them, and it mentioned that there was a village and a stretch of jungle between them and the lake.
They pushed on, reaching the village a few evenings later. It was a pleasant and quiet spot, humid and shaded by the dense forest that grew to its edge. The innkeeper identified it as Westwend, and he chatted amiably with the party. He warned them that the jungle beyond was not easy to travel through, and he didn’t know of any ferries or other means of crossing to the island.
The next morning they set off into the forest, which rapidly turned into a true jungle, almost too thick to navigate. Ralnur happily pulled out his greataxe and began chopping a path through the foliage. Following this narrow alley, they made fairly good time. Ardwyn, however, figured that she could do better by going up into the treetops and climbing along the branches. She climbed nimbly up the nearest tree. Seeing this, Adamir decided to prove his own climbing ability, and swung effortlessly into the canopy as well. He moved with such dexterity that he was able to spot the Giant Constrictor Snake before it began its attack on Ardwyn.
Drawing his swords, Adamir unleashed a flurry of blows, but the snake retaliated by coiling itself around the ranger and biting him over and over with its sharp fangs. They struck at each other again and again, each sustaining gruesome injuries. But by this time, the others were starting to enter the fight. Ralnur, down on the ground below, turned his axe upon the trunk of the tree on which the battle was taking place, nearly felling it in a couple of swift chops.
Valra took a different tactic, casting a Speak with Animals spell and asking the snake (through a series of short hisses) why it was attacking them. It hissed back at her: “They came right into my tree! Die die die die die!!!” Valra attempted to placate it, telling it that they meant no harm and would be happy to just move on. The agitated serpent did not stop its assault, but it noticeably relaxed its grip on Adamir.
Ardwyn, however, was not privy to the conversation, and ran forward to save her ally. With one swift swing of her battleaxe, she cut the injured snake in two. It slid off of the ranger's body, falling down from the tree with a muffled thump.
Ralnur nonetheless swung his axe one last time, causing the tree to come crashing down and giving the rogue a painful bump. Tessel took a moment to heal some of Adamir’s wounds once they were all safely on the ground, and they pressed on further into the jungle...
