By: Thoril Chorster
September 17th 1021
We arrived in The Four Kingdoms in the early evening at the domain of the Avatar of the Breaking. It was my first time meeting him but at first glance he seemed like a genuine and decent man, friendly enough for a person with god-like power. Today apparently was a holiday of sorts, where typically the four courts had their seasons. This particular day was to honor the Avatar who keeps the breaking at bay. The King of Summer Nuhnook (I apologies if his name is spelled differently but I never saw it in writing or had him spell it for me.) and his Son. There were also several individuals from the Fall Court including an Ambassador. One such Gentleman was called Guy who was having people fill out Family Trees so that as per their customs they could call upon ancestral spirits to bless and watch over the festivities. I could not remember my family as those of mine before the realms are locked behind a mental door by my Goddess, Luna. Guy was able to look into my past with his rights and divined some of my ancestors names for me so I could fill it out still though which was mighty entertaining. There were two particular servants who were passing around some delicious cupcakes themed after night and day. I could not help but take part in both for...the sake of balance you understand.
I overheard them speaking that whoever got rid of the most cupcakes would be able to have a single gold and that they may even be able to afford socks with that money. This disheartened me a little to hear and before they disappeared for the night I tipped them both some gold each for the delicious treats. Nuhnook wanted to see how strong I was due to some goading of fellow adventurers and wanted to throw his boulder at me. I was not keen on this idea as I had some rather annoying things to fix if they broke but ever the people pleaser I made sure there was a healer nearby and gave my valuables to my friend Avendar and went outside. I remember the boulder hitting me in the chest and then waking up on my back looking up. I had apparently caught he boulder but then proceeded to fall and be crushed and died. Nuhnook and the Avatar were pleased all the same though and I retrieved my belongings.
The rest of the evening went smoothly, there was a gambling game we were taught involving cards and balancing seasons, elements, and night and day. People chatted and I signed up for trials to try and be the Champion of the Fall Court along with a few other people including James, Tempest, and Rillan. Things got interesting later in the evening when Guy had finished his ritual and called for the ancestral spirits and each adventurer became host to one, we were still ourselves but we were drawn to certain things and had specific tasks we felt like we had to do. We then went out and performed some tasks in little groups and retrieved boxes and chests, bringing them back up to the tavern. A lot of the items in them actually helped some of the spirits complete their tasks such as a wrench, some gauze, recipes, there was some jewelry that divided out to people. I waited for people to go through things before poking around myself. All there was that looked interesting at the time was a wrench which I gave to someone for their spirit task and a metal ingot with a vein of red through it which I pocketed to look into further later.
A little later after talking, feasting, and drinking someone suddenly grabbed Nuhnook and pulled him out of the hall’s doors. Adventurers and even the Avatar himself tried to pursue but were stopped by a barrier of magic that was equal to even the Avatar’s strength. We found out that apparently some of the ancestral spirits had played a part in this scheme and were tied to the barrier. After some deduction and regional magic we uncovered that it was the ancestral spirits inside of Karma, Elric, and Gray who through no fault of the adventurers themselves had poisoned Nuhnook and powered the barrier to make this scheme possible. After being identified as the culprits the spirits vacated those adventurer’s bodies and the barrier fell.
We made our way to an outpost guarded by some individuals dressed in grey which quickly escalated into combat. While combat was going on I felt my pouch tugging me into a certain direction so I grabbed James Swift and we went to where I was being led. We found a pit with chunks of metal inside of it, after some magic from the both of us we discovered the metal was strong but had a strange sense of evil to it, not like the normal malicious, corrupt your souls and possess your mind type of evil we are used to in the realms. This evil was more inert; it did not infect, possess, or corrupt; it was just innately evil in almost an elemental kind of way. I handed James the large chunk for safekeeping as we would try to see if we could not purify the metal of its evil nature later and we returned to the fighting. When we returned the fighters were trying to break down the door with armor piercing blows and even to see Little Tempest throwing Nuhnook’s boulder at the door but it held strong. It seemed likely we would need to use the metal chunk we found to break down the door. James was understandably unwilling to use the evil metal but understanding the metal would not infect, possess, or corrupt me I had no such issues with using it. James handed me the chunk and I wound up hurling it at the door and that cracked it deeply, I threw it two more times and the door shattered allowing us to rush in and clear out the outpost.
We found papers indicating that a ship would be leaving shortly with “cargo” and we assumed this would be where Nuhnook had been taken. We rushed to the shore to see a boat leaving with a man taunting us as they left and on the beach between us and them was a large Kraken. Now I am not sure when but sometime between A and B James found himself a harpoon gun which he was firing at the creature. We eventually killed it after some trial and error but it was too late and the boat was too far for us to get. However this did not stop Rillan who removed his clothing and took to the water like a salmon and swam after the boat until neither were in sight. Unable to retrieve the king or Rillan, we returned back to the hall and called it a night. We would continue tomorrow and try to pick up some leads.
September 18th 1021
The next day I am afraid I do not have the full details for as we were less grouped up over all but I will do my best to give what I recall. If I remember correctly we went to the Avatar’s hall in which a senate was called which consisted of the Avatar and the four leaders of the seasonal courts with Nuhnook’s queen acting in his place. It seemed that Guy, the individual summoning the spirits for the festivities the prior evening, was in chains and was taking blame for Nuhnook’s capture. However we were to go out as independent investigators to the other kingdoms and look for evidence either damning or clearing Guy’s name while looking for leads as to the whereabouts of Nuhnook.
After the Senate I was handed a token and told that the trials for the position of Fall Champion were to begin. The first task was to get the same token from another member of the trials whose name was given to each of us privately. Outside the hall I met a woman and her daughter selling potions. They told me they were made unhoused and now had to make money to try and buy their house back in an auction. This broke my heart to hear, I told them that when the auction was to occur to let me know and I would buy their home back for them. It would likely empty my coin pouch but I just could not in good conscience allow a mother and their child to become un-housed and homeless. I would later find out that the unhoused are essentially treated as currency and slaves which, a large portion if not all of which go to live in the Avatar’s domain as his personal servants. When asked about this he himself stated that as unpleasant as it was that the other kingdoms needed a lower class to push around and use as labor. That he could not directly intervene as he would not so as not to end up placing himself as a god king in the lands instead of its mediator. We will return to this topic later.
At some point in the day a bunch of us stumbled across a library in which I and a few others obtained a library card. Elric was working on a puzzle by a door in the library and with the help of some others unlocked the door to find a room scattered with books on the floor and what looked like some kind of Hag in the center skulking about. We carefully walked around the room, the hag keeping her distance but creeping closer here and there as we got closer to books. While its back was turned I looked through a book and found a notepad with titles and page numbers in it. I spoke out the numbers and titles and we found that there were specific words circled on those pages. We became more active in searching books as I read them out, however, the hag did not like this and immediately started attacking people. I will admit I did not expect her to shoot out lightning bolts and fireballs in a library.
My group died and were raised as undead minions. We disappeared from the area as another group came in and we found ourselves in a room called the Forbidden Library. Inside were what would be identified as a bunch of phylacteries containing the spirits of court stenographers. On a pedestal in the middle was a strange hat with multiple eyes on it, on top of a rotting head with a ball gag in its mouth. The hat wanted us to open the phylacteries and pour some of the contents into it Karma opened the first and it revealed the record of a minor hearing in which after the meeting the stenographer was killed and put into the phylactery, this is apparently a common practice of keeping court records. A lot of them were minor crimes and oddly enough Dinner plans between the Banorettes which are like lordly knights I suppose? Jack and Jericho also opened a jar for the hat and left taking the cipher I picked up and that had followed me after death to get it back to the party. I used some regional magic to learn the contents of the remaining jars to find one that had a different crime called the Treason of the Water Banorette that was all I got however since the records were sealed and only those of the stenographers house or those with a writ from the avatar could be privy to the information within.
Once out of the and back to the group I disclosed what I found to the party and once the book cypher was completed we all headed out from the library to our own ends. In particular James, Gordon , and myself went to the Avatar to get the information required as we felt it necessary for the investigation. I can not disclose what we found out from the phylactery as we swore secrecy to keep the information protected. I then asked him about the strange metal we found and he really didn't like it, wanting us to get rid of it and either destroy it or put it somewhere hidden and safe. I put it away for the time as I had a feeling we would need it or it would come in use later.
I left the conversation after my inquiry and walked around. It turned out a bunch of people either lost their tokens for the champion trials or dropped out and after some barter and diplomacy with James who was my target and dropping out himself it was just me and Rillan left, who had shown back up soaking wet finding out that the ship headed towards the lands of the winter kingdom. Our next task was to find two teammates for our task. Rillan got a couple people who, I apologize, I did not recognize and I got Avendar and Elwin on mine. I thought it would be a fight between us but we ended up needing to fight particular specific monsters. We each successfully beat all three monsters set before us so we tied that task. During this I saw a large group of adventurers going with the mother and daughter who were selling potions and after asking it turned out the adventures were going to help get her house back, I could not leave mid trial but I knew that knowing the realms they were getting that house back one way or another and they did, with violence but that is par for the course really isn't it?
Because we tied me and Rillain both had to do the next task; it was a battle of endurance in which we had to fight an opponent until either us or the opponent caved in and admitted defeat. Both me and Rillan fought past the five minute marker in which the opponent surrendered and then we fought each other. The fight between the both of us lasted about 9 minutes of straight swinging our weapons and calling where they landed. It was a rush to hear the other adventurers cheering for us but I just could not hold out or catch my breath and I just raised my hands in defeat and collapsed where I stood and fell on my knees. It was the hardest I ever fought and I will definitely challenge Rillan next year to a rematch to see if I improve but he won and was granted the title of Champion of Fall.
Later another Senate meeting was called and with the information gathered it was decided that Guy was free and was released from his chains and made a prompt exit from the hall. One of the court attendants then told us that there was reason to suspect the Water Banorette and that we should go to their keep to investigate. We did as such immediately and when we got there we were met with suspicion and hostility by the Banorette and her people which then broke down into violence. As we made our way to the keep we saw a very familiar Kraken creeping over the castle walls which only confirmed our suspicions in our mind and egged us on. Once we took out the Kraken once more the Banorette herself and her guards came out to do combat The guards were easy enough to handle but the Banorette was understandably tough, they were a skilled fighter and every time they died everything in an area around them died and they would rise back to their feet only to repeat the process with the area of effect getting bigger each time.
I watched as the Banorette made her way each resurrection to our back lines with our healers and nothing the others did would keep her down so I did what I thought I had to at the time and used the chunk of metal I had and hit the Banorette with it once and it seemed to affect her unlike anything else that was tried and so without thought I hit them again and again until they went down and this time they stayed down.
We found papers talking about our deeds throughout the day in which we came into conflict with members of other kingdoms and how we were not to be trusted. James and Gordon said something to each other about the Avatar and went running off at a near sprint towards the Avatar’s hall in which I quickly followed them. We found the Avatar shuddering and angry, at me in particular as it turned out one of the bits of information he had not mentioned was that the Banoretts are imbued with pieces of his soul and that the metal existed as a counter to himself thus using the metal on the Banorette irrevocably destroyed that piece of his soul weakening him and making him unable of declaring a new water Banorette. I was told to leave his presence and I did. Though I still listened in when I could, though it seemed we had been deceived and played by the enemy who was a group called the Silenced.
I came back from gathering and having some dinner to find out I apparently was going on Trial, luckily my Lawyer Dresden O’leary was with us on this quest and defended me in court. I avoided Imprisonment or execution via, as the Avatar liked to put it, “Organs on the Outside.” Dresden is worth every gold I spend to keep him on as my lawyer and if you are reading this Dresden you will be getting something nice for Yule this year. My punishment was to continue with the adventurers and finish the job before us to bring those who tricked us to justice and to hand over that large hunk of metal over to the King of the Winter Court which I did without argument.
We were told that the enemy’s hideout was tracked to the lands of the Winter court. We headed out and eventually found our way to six statues who told us their stories. After hearing them out we realized they were all people who spoke out against the way things were in the 4 kingdoms only to be made unhoused which I remind you makes them nothing more than slaves or currency or outright killed. These statues were placed here as a warning to others who would think to do the same. After reading parts of a paper we found earlier to the statues Tempest and Avendar disappeared in a puff of smoke which sped off and we followed. This led us to the Leader of the Silenced, to each of his sides stood Tempest and Avendar. His name was John and he told us that The Silence was his house. They were a rebellion trying to overturn the corrupt system in which his people, the unhoused, were sold and traded, with little to no rights and no say in their lot in life. Choosing who I felt it was more just to fight for I stood next to Avendar next to John. Avendar spoke to the other Adventurers proclaiming how this was the side we should fight for, that the powers that be had not convinced us they were in the right and even having Vandor proclaim that John was not evil.
More Adventurers took to the side of John at the very least willing to fight for his cause. Myself and a couple of other adventurers as a sign of conviction took the oath of the Silenced to join John’s house and to aid him and his rebellion in any way we could. In return for our aid John was willing to give us Nuhnook and let us destroy a maliciously evil weapon he had been making to aid his cause. It would turn out that the Silenced took Nuhnook because as the Avatar himself had mentioned to a few of us earlier that The King of Summer’s powe is the only power in the Four Kingdoms that his does not understand and that makes it useful to fight against the Avatar and his Banoretts. We entered through a large door to find a large twisted clone of Nuhnook which hit like a runaway cart to only see another Nuhnook who we thought was the real one floating in a tank. While Elric and others worked on ways to free him from the tank, a portion of us fought the large monstrosity and other minor creatures of flesh and bone. It took time and coordination but we finally “Slayed” the beast by removing its large head and putting it into a furnace, breaking the furnace in the process. It did not get back up but I am unsure if we will have to fight that thing again, something was off. John told us that the Nuhnook in the tank was just a clone as well, that the Spring court had taken him. It was the Spring court that had hired them to take the king, and gave John the cloning devices. So next time we are in those lands we go after the Spring Kingdom to retrieve our friend Nuhnook and we begin our revolution. The Avatar seeing us pick our side snapped us out of the Four Kingdoms and put us in Blackwood once more.
September 19th 1021
The next day back in Blackwood we had the feast, I particularly enjoyed the little quiches and the steak tips. There was gambling WHICH contrary to what Tao said I lost more money then I normally do. There was a lovely shop selling all sorts of knick knacks in which, surprise surprise, a piece of the staff of the wheel showed up and I purchased it. It is no longer in my personal possession and is in safe hands. The main thing about court that I remembered is that Pilpus became a Knight of Blackwood. I do apologize again. At this point my mind was rather frazzled and buzzing with other thoughts. Then there was the raffle in which I won a few things and immediately handed most of those things to other people. Keeping a lovely book for myself and then headed out for the long trip back home.
Closing Statement
If you have read this far I would like to thank you. I know this was rather lengthy. I would also like to say that I know there is no clear-cut bad guy in this endeavor like we adventurers are so used to and the Avatar of The Breaking is a decent man he has done what he can to keep balance and to not fall into the Divine Tyrant god King Role. But he refuses to step in and fix the system he stands above and I can not stand by as people become property and treated like trash and those who would speak out against it are turned into currency or slaves or killed by those corrupt and in power. It is my personal belief that the God Change put his hand in the intertwining of our planes because he knew of the corruption and stagnation within the Four Kingdoms so that we can bring change and hope for a better tomorrow and grant a voice to those downtrodden and forgotten in their society. I would ask those of you who are willing to stand against this corruption to help in any way you can. There is much we still need to learn and prepare for. Let us be the change that these Kingdoms need in order to put an end to these heinous crimes.
Until next time I am Thoril Chorster and I am a voice for the Silenced.