Episode VIII: Veils of Deception

Veils of Deception is the eight episode of the Trials of the Forgotten Relics campaign. Getting out of the basement of the Golden Gryphon with new information, the group makes his way to the Enchanted Chalice Tavern where they make a surprising discovery.

Synopsis

Recap

In the previous session, you continued on your quest to find Chloe Rowen, the young wizard, helped by Captain Grendar Ironkith, her adoptive father. Your investigation of Chloe's whereabouts led you to the sewers at Wintson's suggestion, in an attempt to reach the undercroft of the Golden Gryphon tavern. After a bit of adventure in the slime and grime of the sewers, you found yourselves in what appeared to be the basement of the tavern where you fought several mimics, a fight that did not go unnoticed. During the fighting you seem to have attracted the attention of certain individuals in the adjoining room, but Ed the idea to temporarily block the door with Mother's magical shield just before it opened.

The barrier, however, did not hold too much to the attacks of the people on the other side, revealing on the other side what seemed to be a torture chamber where a torturer and his mutated friend where holding people. After dispatching the big guy, the torturer, cornered in the room, used several vials to create an explosion, killing himself and injuring some of you. You then started to question and interrogate the three people in the room, getting very few answers. Alerted by movement upstairs you started to make plans to leave with your findings, taking two of the corpses with you. And that's where we left off.

The aftermath of the battle

In the basement of the Golden Gryphon Tavern’s basement, the adventurers are preparing to leave the way they came with the new information at hand and with two new people on board: the unconscious prisoner and the torturer. Sarya, with ears attuned to the secrets that lay just beyond their reach, listened intently at the door, catching fragments of a conversation laced with ominous intent. Lady Althea Starheaven’s voice, cool and calculated, spoke of ancient rituals, a precious book and lost artifacts, her words intertwining with Master Thorne’s trying to justify his failures. The adventurers, then emerged from the sewers to find the the Golden Gryphon Tavern consumed by flames and people in street running towards the commotion.

Planning what to do with the bodies, they headed towards the central park where Ed brought the dying prisoner to life. Questioning him about his involvement, they found out that his name is Caelum Windstride, a book collector in the city, apprehended by the cult for his information about a book previously in his collection. After thanking them for their timely rescue, Caelum leaves for his home.

Seeking refuge and counsel, they ventured to the Enchanted Chalice Tavern, carrying the body of the torturer with them, pretending they are all drunk. At the tavern, Sarya presented the eagle badge to Madame Elara Mistral, asking for a more private place to discuss important matters. Elara, looking a bit distressed, led them into the bowels of the tavern, where her incantations together with an arcane contraption built within, caught the party in a psychic trap laying bare the thoughts and fears of the adventurers . Despite Ed’s brash defiance and Wintson’s silent reservations, Elara discerned their hearts’ true intent, finding no malice within.

Yet trust is a fragile thing, and Wintson and Ed, wary of Elara, chose the comfort of the unknown over the promises of a hidden ally. Elara, undeterred, unveiled a tapestry of conspiracy that entwined the highest echelons of Sagemont with the serpentine coils of the Cult of the Serpent. Her words, a beacon in the gloom, offered a path forward—a puzzle that beckoned to the heart of darkness.

As the night deepened, a spell woven across the miles brought Draella’s voice to Elinor, a plea that tugged at the very fabric of their bond. In the Hollow’s shadowed embrace, Draella’s home emerged as a beacon of despair. Within its walls, Freya’s life hung by a thread, her fate sealed within a glass coffin. Draella’s desperate gambit, a mixture infused with the Light of Caeth and her own blood, faltered at the precipice of hope.

In the face of unspeakable loss, Draella’s plea for Elinor’s blood was a testament to the bonds that tie family together, a bond that Elinor honored with a heavy heart. The miracle that unfolded, wrought from sacrifice and love, was a beacon of light in the deepest darkness, yet it was a light that cast long shadows.

Draella’s betrayal, as swift as it was cruel, left scars that would not soon heal. The theft of the Light of Caeth was a wound that went beyond the physical, a betrayal of trust that shattered the fragile peace they had fought so hard to preserve. Gwaindir’s rage, a tempest unleashed, was a force of nature unto itself, his grief manifesting in a storm of destruction that awakened the lab’s dormant guardians.

As mechanical serpents descended from the shadows, their coils a promise of death, the adventurers stood united against the tide of darkness that threatened to engulf them. This was not the end of their journey, but a new chapter in a saga that spanned the breadth of courage and the depths of despair. In the heart of Sagemont, amid flames and shadows, their story continued—forged in the crucible of betrayal, bound by the unbreakable will to endure.

Featured characters

The adventurers

• Ed
• Dago
• Wintson
• Elinor
• Sarya

Other characters

• Lady Althea Starheaven: revealed to be part of the cult.
• Master Thorne: a spymaster of the cult.
• Master Alendar: part of the cult.
• Maerek: a torturer of the cult.
• Caelum Windstride: a book collector, captured by the cult.
• Madame Elara Mistral: the proprietor of the Enchanted Chalice Tavern.
• Draella Khassad: an half elf female alchemist, cousin of Elinor.
• Freya Khassad: Draella's daughter.