Written by: Kelly “Fern” Perfetto, Jay “Odd” Weil, & Travis “Elwin” Wilcox
A lot happened at Lostpeak. Odd and I have written one summary, and Elwin has shared his perspective. As a scholar, I would encourage everyone to read both articles. As a person who knows how busy saving the world can be, we have provided a quick summary. ~ Fern
Fern: After a group ritual of renewal Friday, Daekara was inducted into the Knights of the Eternal Flame. Grarr was sworn to Voraniss. Merrix became a Druid of Voraniss and Evie became the Archdruid. At Lostpeak, we traveled through many teleportation circles to finally reach the Aberrant Gate and the ghost of the former Knight Commander. With squire swords bestowed to four of us, we escaped the corrupted court, bringing the Knight Commander’s casket with us, upon his request.
Odd: Sunday, all of the allied groups we know assembled and took on students from the adventurers present. During our time with them, we learned new skills and what each of their orders were about. Irri was named the leader of the newly created Circle, and Fern was named Knight Commander of the new Knights of the Aberrant Gate, bestowing Benevolence to Pilpus.
Friday
Fern: As has become tradition, we gathered in Voraniss the night before we set out to deal with the Knights of the Aberrant Gate. Before dusk fell, we socialized and enjoyed the food everyone had brought. The Church of Aurora and the Church of Vandor had competing dishes of meatballs and pulled pork, while many others competed in an appetizer challenge. As it grew dark, Voraniss called all to court around a large fire.
Merrix opened with the Voranian springtime ritual of renewal, speaking of reinforcing beliefs in ones community and in oneself. After those who wished to do so spoke of renewed commitments, winners of competitions were announced. For appetizers, Odd took first place, and Guilliam won the Boar Pits.
Tony stood to announce his new position as the High Priest of the Church of Arius, and his commitment of bringing new life to the church.
Cronin announced the beginning of the Voranian Museum of Fine Arts, a traveling museum that will display the artistic culture of Voraniss.
The Knights of the Eternal Flame were called up next, to induct their newest member, Daekara. I wish I could repeat each and every one of the Knights’ speeches about Daekara’s commitments, convictions, and willingness to grow and improve. I think for now though, his place among peers and his own actions can speak for themselves and show why he deserves to stand with the Knights of the Eternal Flame.
Voraniss then had their own inductions to make. As of Friday, Grarr is an Oathsworn of Voraniss, and both Voraniss and I are glad he has found a home there.
Kindrianna called Merrix forward, and asked him to join the Druids of Voraniss. I think the aptness of the title Druid of the Old Ways can be illustrated by the fact that many of us already saw him as a Druid. Evie was also asked to be the Archdruid of the order, leading them all into the future of their nation.
After court, things turned a little more dire. Those who had become corrupted were finally able to be aided in overcoming Sir Edwyn Raincourt’s influence. Meanwhile, a demon who shall not be named set its sights on some of those present. Luckily, that being did not seem present after the spirits of Voraniss whisked us away to Lostpeak.
Saturday
Fern: We entered the lands of Lostpeak with the help of the spirits, and met up with our ally Percival, and his colleague Nerilynn. For those who do not know, Lostpeak is an ancient ruined city far to the west of the Realms. The lands are alive with magical energy. This is the site of the Aberrant Gate, which was physically destroyed by the Knights of the Aberrant Gate. We knew this threat could be awoken with magic at any time. To travel across the lands of Lostpeak we had to activate teleportation pads. Our ultimate goal was to reach the tomb of the Knight Commander of the Knights of the Aberrant Gate. There his spirit held tools to help us defeat the corrupted court that were his former siblings in arms.
Our first challenge was connecting massive wires to charge the focus of the teleportation system. After a few magical explosions we were able to charge it properly. In the process, we learned of the color coding system for the magics of the area. We teleported into a large area filled with local goblins and more of the blue magical creatures that we had already been fighting. A ghost moved about, asking what the most important virtue was, and saying wrong to every answer. I kept at it, as did many others, and after ‘virtues’ such as lust, proper nutrition, and extra dry socks were proposed, I suggested “me”. After I repeated a few times, the ghost said “you are learning” and left. I was not able to tell anyone at the time, but the deeper meaning to the question was about tenacity and perseverance. Personally I liked my first answer of confidence.
The challenge to connect the next portal increased as we found out more about the area. The magic creatures would absorb magic we were casting to heal themselves, the goblins started stealing magic items, and then the Revenants appeared. Pilpus was attacked by one of the beings, but Blackwood brought him back after the Revenant finally left.
The next teleportation circle split our group. The area I was in was an enclosed space with a bottomless pit. Only by killing the magical creations did we manage to traverse the area, by essentially walking across puddles of floating magic. I do not know much about what happened to the other group, but I think our bottomless pit that put us back at the beginning if we fell in was more pleasant than the mud pit they described.
Odd: The rest of the party was teleported to a site that seemed to be some kind of ancient laboratory underneath the mud. In the center was a massive automaton that had a space on its arm to input a command code. While the automaton was currently unresponsive and violent, strewn about the lab were ancient sheets of paper detailing breakthroughs made for the creation and controlling of it. Along with the massive automaton were more of the blue magical creatures and a new creature that functioned as a sort of ‘mana leech’, stealing circles of magic from those who had it. While able to be warded and enfeebled, this creature proved enough of an annoyance to be remembered beyond the laboratory.
While the more combat inclined members of our group fought to keep the monsters at bay, myself and a few others began attempting to find a way to control the automaton. The bottoms of the aforementioned pages had messages written in an unfamiliar set of runes. After a look at Hedda’s rune book, it was determined that these were runes none of us had ever seen. After a Séance to the original creator of the automaton, the rune set was revealed and we were able to input the code needed for control.
During the fighting and puzzling, more of the spirits of the KotAG asked some difficult questions. One was inquiring about the people we were traveling with, who they were and what they meant to those that were asked. The second was asking us to bring forth the individual we most disliked, and speak three good things about them. While I did not have a good answer - I spoke on the nasty weather - I have heard talk that Lord Sir Elwin’s was particularly funny. The third ghost asked whether the word of the law or the good of the people was most important. Most I spoke to answered the good of the people. Though the ghost gave no indication, I believe we were all correct.
With the puzzle completed, we were able to power up another teleportation pad, and rejoin the rest of the party.
Fern: We all converged once again in the same spot. A horrible teleportation box mimic taunted many of us as we struggled for a while to retrieve important documents from inside of its toothy maw. Somehow it was finally defeated so that we could teleport away. Meanwhile, ghosts of the squires of the Knights of the Aberrant Gate asked challenging questions, trying to determine who might be worthy to wield their swords.
Most of our group teleported away, though I and some others stayed behind to deal with other matters. Apparently there was a two headed ettin that had been collecting the magic items the goblins had stolen. Everyone looked a little singed after that.
Odd: I stayed behind working on other matters as well - namely the pages retrieved from the mimic, which turned out to be pages of a spell book. Learning these runes proved invaluable for the oncoming location. I plan to share the script with as many as I can.
Fern: I caught up as the others were teleporting… and I found myself in a small prison cell with about ten other people. As we shouted to the others, we saw the lovely familiar faces of Dame Carrion - followed by new cultists - and Rev as they came to speak to us. Apparently the teleportation had been set up centuries ago by one of their order, and they had rerouted us into a prison above the Aberrant Gate. In my cell, Saegan, Irri, Liana, and Liselle worked to solve our way out and coordinate with the others. I heard Elizah and Hedda doing a lot of the solving and coordinating as well. I am glad they were all there. We ran deeper into the catacombs, pursued mainly by Dame Carrion’s… I’m not sure if it was sobs or laughter.
Next we encountered another pit, this time only seventy feet deep. I believe in my last View article I wrote about the virtues of bringing rope on a quest and never regretting it. Friends, bring rope. Incredible tool.
The Aberrant Gate is… abrupt. I rounded a corner, avoiding vicious undead, and was overcome with nausea as my eyes landed on it. The stone gate appeared suspended in the moment it was destroyed, massive boulders floating in the air as if weightless, green energy emanating from the center. It felt as if any moment the pieces could continue in their trajectory, impaling us all with shrapnel. What’s more, I could see our negative energy and our magic flowing into it and empowering it. I began moving throughout the area, asking people to share their positive emotions and share calm with others. Meanwhile, some among our group approached Sir Edwyn’s sword. Upon touching it, they would be transported to a fight with Edwyn himself. Even as more of our friends appeared destroyed after their battles, I could see calm radiating outward. I was not alone in the work. Every single person who I spoke to spoke with others to calm and bolster them. Two people stood out to me especially. Swift used angelic powers to ease fears, and Irri… well, was Irri. I could see the path she traced as well, and I could see others feeling better and being prepared to share after talking with her.
Odd: While some worked on how to remove Edwyn’s sword - named Absolution as we would soon learn - from its resting place, others began working in parallel with Fern to downpower the gate. Aelias, Mistral, Liselle, Swift and a few others worked a ritual bolstered by Divine favor that waned the gate’s energy, further aiding our escape. The ritual completed just as Elwin emerged victorious from Absolution, claiming the sword as his own. I feel that both the ritual and the claiming of Absolution were instrumental in allowing us to reach Sir Wilmot’s resting place.
Fern: We left, Elwin with Edwyn’s sword in hand, and the Gate diminishing in power. One of our more time-aligned mages informed us it was just after one in the morning.
Finally, finally, we approached the resting place of Sir Wilmot. His casket was there, covered in symbols of his order and candles. And his spirit was there, to ask four of us to become sword bearers and guide his order into the future. Valiance, for Vesper. Conviction, for Tony. Exaltation, for Gordon. And Benevolence, for me.
As soon as the last sword was given, I saw Dame Carrion entering my periphery. As instructed, some of us got Sir Wilmot’s casket out of the tomb immediately. I do not know all of what happened, but as I ran back I saw most people exiting, and Roman throwing Pilpus out of the tomb. From what I hear, it was total chaos the instant Sir Edwyn and his corrupted court entered.
Still, we escaped with everyone we had entered with. We now had an additional body within a casket, which was declared the Triumph of Saint Wilmot. Six swords of the order were now with us, one still in Sir Wilmot’s hands. We rested.
Sunday
Odd: After awakening from our rest, those of us remaining were greeted by Angelique of the Order of the Saintly Shadow, Percival of the Enlightened Quill Society, Squire Raelynn of the Silverwing Justicar and Sir Wilmot. Sir Wilmot (Saint Wilmot now? I am not sure how best to refer to him) thanked us for keeping his final resting place out of Edwyn’s hands, and Angelique stated that despite the Saintly Shadow’s desire to finish things on their own, other groups allied to our cause would be needed. It was upon this statement that a group of bards rolled up beside the pavilion we were sheltered in, playing loud music from the back of their ‘tour bus’. They introduced themselves as ‘Crossbows and Roses’, a group which I’d had a brief correspondence with. Once introductions had been completed, and Grimpaw - the leader of the Circle of Crows - arrived, each of the groups chose students to take on, teaching them valuable new skills that would aid us in the coming battles. Sir Magus Kara and I were taken on by Crossbows and Roses, where we learned how to harness the power of song in order to give boons to our allies.
Once all of the students had been taught and tasked with how to advance their knowledge, a final meeting was called. Each group shared what had been learned, and several made further announcements. Irri was named the leader of the circle that had just been formed, and announced the discovery of Group Prophecy. Next, those who carried the Squires’ Swords and Sir Wilmot spoke. Wilmot stated that he wished for the Knights of the Aberrant Gate to be made anew, and that to do so, a new Knight Commander would have to be named. Fern was chosen to lead, and bestowed their Squire Sword, Benevolence, to Sir Pilpus of Blackwood.
There is hope in the air, I can feel it. This was a victory unlike any other in this journey to defeat Edwyn. Our efforts will continue. They will not be in vain.
((OOC: Thank you so much to the Voraniss Questing team for another great event! I had a wonderful time and am super excited for the next installment. The amount of work that goes into every combat, puzzle, prop, and NPC is evident, and it is always incredible to participate in such an engaging story. Can’t wait for next time! - Jay))
Travis: Greetings friends, I would like to just put this OOC piece in here before the whole, what-you-missed-part. I can’t say enough good things about this staff and I would like to personally thank each one of them for providing an amazing time for us through all the challenges that we faced. I will give you a hint, it was the weather, and the special effects that they apparently went overboard on last year and needed to use up some more supplies this year. First, Renee, I would like to say thank you for the wonderful story that has been written here. You did an amazing job as always and I look forward to more to come. It was compelling and moving. Derek, your props were absolutely on point. From the commissioned 3D printed crystals to the absolutely amazing gate I can’t imagine how you are going to top this but I am really looking forward to it. Josh, the sound set up was great as usual and seeing the hard work you put into your scrolls, runes and all the random paperwork we could find was on point as usual. To the rest of the staff, I wish I could take the time to sing your praises individually but I fear that this would get far too long as an intro. So thank you NPC’s for your great fighting, amazing RP and hilarious antics. Thank you behind the scenes staff for the beautifully made weapons, and the hard work put into getting everything set up and torn down between areas. Thank you Shandar/Josh for reminding me I am old as hell and can’t run anywhere close to the way I used to. Thank you all. Another great event on the books and something people should aspire to compete with.
Post-Outing Field report by Lord Sir Elwin O’Bearikin of Stonewood
We arrived in Voraniss for their Ritual of Renewal. Members of their nation spoke of what they were proud of for themselves and invited others to do the same. It was wonderful to hear people able to see the good within and share it with others. This was not done in arrogance but instead in affirmation.
In addition to that Squire Grarr Seawoods was added to the list of Oathswarn in Voraniss. He placed his mark and swore his oath at the Oathstone. It was good to see him enter as a full member of their ranks.
Three other orders of business came up within the Voraniss ranks. Merrix Oreryn was given the name Druid of the Old Ways and Evitta Jainrose Blackthorne was promoted to the rank of Archdruid. Finally Warlord Cronin Barbara was returned the sword Azurewrath after some time apart from it.
Also, Squire Anthony Warder of Stonewood, took up the mantle of High Priest of Arius with hopes of spreading the word of truth and growing the church. I wish him the best of luck in this endeavor.
The Knights of the Eternal Flame had two orders of business. The first was to award Tulkhan a Fireball. After hearing the kind words from Shandar, all of which were true in my opinion, Tulkhan turned down the Fireball. I quote his statement here: ((This is also OOC)) “While I appreciate the recognition and acknowledgement for my work I could not accept. I have grown up in the realms, looking up to the Knights of the Eternal Flame and watching the knighthood grow as I have. Yet through the years I have seen faults in the knighthood. Achievements earned yet then the fire to strive for better no longer there. It's these faults that I do not want to happen to me, and my fear is that if I said yes they would. So until I can see a change in the knighthood to ensure that it won't, I had to politely decline. With respect, Adam”
Next they inducted a new Knight into their ranks. With many heartfelt words and praise Daekara was given his belt and the honors that come with it.
In addition to all this we can not forget that Evie’s Tavern was open for business, providing drinks for all. They had a couple of interesting bubbly drinks and one, special drink that had people raving about it, whether they wanted to or not.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the whole of the group came together to cleanse the horrible corruption that has been plaguing Sir Bones and Sir Elizah. In a great ritual the two of them had the corruption removed. It was an act of unity with nearly everyone present that was able to purge them. It has been a long time coming and I can say I am relieved to know they are both well and sound of mind again.
The night wound down and we settled in knowing that in the morning the true challenges would begin.
In the morning we woke and had breakfast. The Wyvern College provided food for those in need and it was a good fare. I strapped on my armor and weapons and prepared to face our day, rain or shine. It was rain. With our first venture out we found a strange large crystal and a bunch of cables. A scholarly lady by the name of Nerilynn was already at the site when we got there. We deduced that we needed to string the cables from individual power points and then connect them to the crystal itself. From there we had to cast a spell at the power point of the correct type to power up the crystal so that we could activate the control pad that controlled a teleporter. I won’t lie, I didn’t understand half of what was going on beyond connecting the crystal. I did have my helmet on after all. What I do remember is needing to be the bridge between the cable and the crystal while sending a lightning bolt through it. After some mishaps we got the crystal working and that drew the attention of some unwanted guests. While we fought off what I can only describe as mana constructs, the others worked on getting the control panel working. From my understanding after much work on the panel Aelias called out for Divine Intervention to Luna for aid. In frenzy it seemed like a craze surged through him and he began tearing the panel apart finally revealing our first teleporter pad. We all began to pass through the teleporter to travel to another area of Lostpeak.
When we arrived at our new destination there were goblins everywhere. For the most part they were just normal scavenging goblins but that would turn bad very quickly. While they were possessive of everything around they were particularly interested in magic. Unfortunately we let our guard down far lower than we should have around goblins and I was killed and robbed by one of the little buggers. The goblins proved to be trickier than most of the ones we have faced in the past and took true advantage of our distractions of trying to activate the next teleport pad and fighting off the mana constructs. They killed several more of our allies and stole more magic items from them. It was alarming how many they acquired. With some divination cast we found that they were being delivered to their boss. After some light interrogation I found out that their boss was a two headed ogre mage. It was during this time that we faced the spirits of the Squires of the Aberrant Gate. They asked many of us questions and I could tell we were being tested. Little did I know how deep the tests would actually be. All the while we had mana constructs and goblins. When we finally assembled the teleporter pad we jumped to our next location.
Arriving at our location we found that the party had been split. I honestly can’t say what happened on the other side but we found ourselves looking down a massive pit. There were goblins with hats that let them fly as well as more mana constructs. We found that if we killed the mana constructs over the pit they would form a sort of a tile of force that we could stand on. In true adventurer fashion we began slaughtering them to make our walkway across the pit. This went swimmingly until we found out that the goblins could steal the magic away and drop us down into the very deep pit. We eventually made our way across the pit with a few mishaps. On the other side was another control panel that we had to activate to teleport out again.
When we arrived at our new destination we found a Mimic. It held several treasures within but would only part with them at a trade for, “food.” We also discovered that it was the next teleporter pad. Needless to say, deals were made and in the end we were able to convince the Mimic to let us pass.
I was running behind the rest of the group when it came to making this transition. I was in need of food so I took a couple minutes to grab a snack. When I arrived on the other side of the teleporter I found a bunch of dead adventurers, magic items that were previously taken strewn everywhere, and a two-headed ogre mage summoning fireballs from all directions. The ogre mage was also absorbing magic every time it was hit with it. When it filled up, it released its “ULTIMATE POWER!!!!” and had swirling death around it and even more fireballs flying around. The loss of life to this creature was staggering to say the least. The fight was very tough but in the end we felled the beast and recovered all of the items that the goblins had stolen from us.
Now, at this point I would love to say that things got better and we downed the great beast that tormented the area, but that would be a lie. We managed to open another teleporter and things just went from bad to worse. Little did we know that the creator of these teleporter pads was also sitting on the Corrupted Court. When we passed through the teleporter we all found ourselves in jail cells. I found myself in a jail cell with Grarr, Percival and one other from Creathrone whose name escapes me, I apologize for that. In our room we found a single red crystal and a stack of weird papers. After a moment we deduced that they were the runes we have been seeing around. Fortunately for us, I remember a very important thing. I am terrible at runes and was going to be absolutely no help here. I am however very good at barking orders loudly. I also remembered that Odd knows this runeset by heart. We started calling out what we had in the most crude way I think is possible and like a champion Odd was able to interpret my babble and give me good solid answers. This went on for a good long time until we had all of our runes decoded. To make things more difficult of course we had to contend with Dame Carrion and her broken madness. In addition to that Rev had been present as well. He proved to be useful to some, and as I hear, detrimental to others. I will cut this section of the report a bit short as some hijinks ensued with Vesper running around and helping people as well as others hiding when they escaped. When all was said and done we decoded the runes, said our word and the bars unlocked. When all of them unlocked we found an escape route out the back and took it.
We continued down into the structure in which we were captured with hopes that we could get to the Aberrant Gate, as well as find the remains of Sir Wilmot, before Sir Edwyn arrived. We came upon a large drop off and with the combined efforts of every circle caster available and probably more, they linked their ropes together so we could repel down. When we made it to the bottom we had found our first goal as well as a dear friend. Standing before us was a sight I have never seen in such spectacular and horrifying detail, the remains of the Aberrant Gate. Standing opposite it was the Spirit of Sir Wilmot and at his feet, Absolution, the blade of Sir Edwyn. With the gate sucking in our magic and causing all sorts of chaos as well as the threat of it opening we set to power down the gate. Sir Aelias Softshadow led a group in a ritual of faith to remove power from the gate and allow us a respite in our fear of it opening. He was joined by Liselle Silvermaple, Magus Prime James Swift, Squire Anthony Warder and Mistril. With their ritual it drove back the power of the gate and saved us from a most horrible fate. The fear of the gate opening was real and it was with them that we ensured we didn’t let that happen. On the other side was Sir Wilmot. He stood in front of Absolution, formerly Sir Edwyn’s sword before he fell to the darkness. By the time we got there however we found Hedda and Sir Makhta dead and soulfired on the ground. After a long conversation with Sir Wilmot we found that the sword was a challenge. Ser Gordon Lightfoot took up the challenge and touched the sword, he was asked to choose one. He chose me. With, I’m sure, a look of shock on my face, we were teleported spiritually into the sword where we faced off against an imprint of Sir Edwyn. With short work he dispatched us and chewed up parts of our soul. The words he said stuck with me though. “Who are you, that I should listen to you?” After recovering thanks to the grace of Seraphym, I thought on the situation. “Choose one. Who are you, that I should listen to you?” I waited for Sir Wilmot to have a break with the conversations he was having to ask him, “If I do this challenge, will you go with me?” He agreed and we faced the imprint of Sir Edwyn together. It saddened me to see the disappointment on Sir Wilmot’s face and the sadness of his words when he spoke to Sir Edwyn. A fight broke out, and the two clashed. I waited for the opportunity and struck true, vanquishing the image. In a flash I was standing back out in the hall, Sir Wilmot gone, and my hand grasping the handle of Absolution. The blade flared to life and the exit from the room opened. I was in shock. Shaking out of the daze I made my exit after everyone else had left.
After our hasty retreat we knew Sir Edwyn was on our tail. We had to ensure the safety of Sir Wilmot’s body. We returned to the building that we had escaped and continued further down. Entering, we saw Sir Wilmot standing over his Ark in a beautifully decorated room. He welcomed us and I was relieved to see he was unharmed, well as unharmed as a disembodied spirit of a man slain long ago by horrible aberrations from beyond a dark portal can be. After speaking with him, heartfelt words were exchanged and he began to name those who had shined during the challenges faced throughout the day. Those who stood out were gifted the blades of the Squires. Fern, Tony, Vesper, and Gordon each received a blade. Shortly after the ceremony, Sir Edwyn arrived. I hadn’t noticed at the time but Liselle and a handful of others grabbed the Ark and made a swift retreat. We stood our ground against Sir Edwyn and his Corrupted Court and for the first time, we dealt damage. We were still no match for them at the time and many of us fell. I am told that we were allowed to leave due to some bargain being struck by Sir Pilpus. I am not exactly sure what deal was made but we are thankful it was.
After we returned back to the encampment, Sir Wilmot revived the dead, and restored the very dead. We all took some much needed rest for the night and prepared for what the next day would bring.
As we all gathered in the morning we found that some of the allied orders had formed. The Order of the Saintly Shadow, The Silver Wing Justicars, The Enlightened Quill Society, the Circle of Crows, and the newly come, Crossbows and Roses were all gathered and were taking members in. I took time to speak with Sir Wilmot when the other orders were off learning and practicing. Those who had Squire Blades were given the task to choose a new Knight Commander of the Knights of the Aberrant Gate and after much hard discussion they chose Knight Commander Fern. Fern handed their blade off to Sir Pilpus when they took up Sir Wilmot’s blade, Officium. With that final act and warm goodbyes we departed the lands and made our ways home.
This concludes my field report. I am sure there are details that were missed and for that I apologize. I am sure there are others who have their own accounts and will fill in the gaps that I may have missed. Be well all and may your adventures always lead you home.