II.10: Hostel beyond the Endworld Mountains

Newthrone, Q’barra
Dravago 5, 997 YK

The party is travelling from Starilaskar, in Breland, to Newthrone, in the frontier region of Q’barra. It’s 1,000 miles as the crow flies, if the crow didn’t die in the magical waste of the Mournland that lies in between; so to get there, the party had to go south and then east, taking over 1,500 miles. That certainly triggers a move:

Undertake a Perilous Journey(party):

Navigate(Vaalyun): 2D6(3 6) +2 = 11 Success!
You make good time

I’m saying that the party does not need a scout as, although it is a long way, they are using established transit systems.

It takes 1 day to get to Korranberg (costing another 300gp) by lightning rail; 3 days from there to get to Newthrone by airship (3000gp, but paid for them by House Phiarlan due to an earlier move by Vaalyun). I rolled a d6-1 for the days to wait for a ship, and rolled a 1, so they got one immediately. Lucky.

I made adventure fronts for Q’barra as well. I decided not to include all the details in the write-up here, as it could spoil what is to come; but here are the names & types of the fronts:

• Our new friends from House Tharashk, human/orc mercenaries from the Shadow Marches. The closest thing to a mercenary House in the DungeonWorld rules is a Thieves Guild (Ambitious Organization).
• The Cult of the Dragon Below in Q’barra. It’s another Cult (Ambitious Organization).
• The blackscale lizardfolk. Their leader, Rhashaak, is a Chosen One (Arcane Enemies).

Of all the ways to arrive at Newthrone, airship was certainly the most stylish. After passing over Kraken Bay and the plains of Valenar on the first two days, dawn of the third day had found them over the coast of eastern Valenar, the Endworld Mountains to their north and The Dragonreach, that great expanse of ocean, to the south. By mid-morning they were over the jungles of Q’barra.

They had been fortunate, on arriving at Korranberg, to find an airship ready to depart that afternoon for Q’barra. Only House Lyrander, a half-elven dragonmarked House, could operate an airship, and the monopoly that gave them meant that the prices were high, but Vaalyun had arranged for his House to pay the fare.

Anaya and Vaalyun were at the front of the ship, looking out over the jungle and Adder Bay, as Newthorne came into sight.

Spout Lore(Vaalyun): 2D6(6 5) +2 = 13 Success!
Useful information

Vaalyun is an elf but knows about the history of this human civilisation, it seems. Also Show the Devastation of the Last War.

“Newthrone is the capital of Q’barra, but it only rules the human and halfling settlements,” said Vaalyun. “East of the Adder river, the jungle rules itself. Lizardfolk control most of it.

“Newthorne and Adderport are the only large human settlements east of the river; they are frontier towns, swelled by refugees from the Last War.”

“Are they recent settlements?” asked Anaya.

“Yes. They were established by refugees from the Last War—people fleeing beyond the mountains to escape the conflict—and grew quickly as a result. Only ten years ago did King Sebastes call himself King, and his realm a nation.”

As they drew close to the city, they could see that the city was largely wooden houses and docks. It was a small city compared to those that Anaya had seen in the Five Nations. The only tall tower was the airship tower towards which they were heading; it seemed to be a recent addition, contrasting with the older stone keep that, Anaya supposed, must be the seat of government here.

The sailors—if that was the correct term—threw out the docking lines, and the ship was soon secured to the airship tower. Looking back down the ship, past the great ring of turbulent air that encircled it—the trapped air elemental that kept the ship aloft—Anaya saw Esthana walking forwards to join them. She had been talking to the helmsman, a fellow half-elf, as she had for much of the journey.

“Do we know where we are going?” asked Esthana when she reached them.

Spout Lore(Anaya): 2D6(4 3) +1 = 8 Partial success.
Vague information

“The Flame is not much followed outside of the Nations,” said Anaya. “There may not be a church here.”

“Then we should look for the House Ghallanda hostel,” said Vaalyun. “They will accommodate us, and I should be able to learn the local news there.”

The gangplank was laid, and the trio left the ship and descended the airship tower. The entrance at the bottom of the tower was guarded by three well-armed orcs. Anaya noticed the golden dragonne painted on their shields.

Show signs of an approaching threat

Discern Realities(Vaalyun): 2D6(1 5) +0 = 6 Failure!
Front: Attack someone directly: Think offscreen: House Tharashk is pushing into the jungle.

“House Tharashk mercenaries,” said Vaalyun, once they were past the guards and on to the bustling street. “Hired by Lyrandar to protect the airship tower. They must also have an establishment here in town.”

Spout Lore(Vaalyun): 2D6(2 5) +2 = 9 Partial success.
Vague information

“Are we going to have a problem with them?” Esthana asked the question that Anaya was thinking.

Vaalyun shook his head uncertainly. “House Tharashk are a merger of a number of Marcher clans. Unless this group happens to be from the same clan as Haganur, there is no reason for them to trouble us in particular.”

---

By Hospitality Sustained(Vaalyun): When you enter a settlement, you can always find a place to feed yourself and rest

When I first read the Dragonmarked class (from the Eberron supplement), I did not realise how bard-like it would be. But Vaalyun has all the social moves.

The hostel was part of a large halfling enclave in the city, they found. While most of the city’s housing was wood, the House Ghallanda enclave consisted of small brick houses, some of them brightly painted in a variety of colours—though yellow seemed most common. While they had seen more humans on the streets in the rest of the city, here halflings outnumbered them, and the streets were busy with townsfolk and traders going to and fro.

At the centre of the enclave was a small public square, with larger buildings around it. There was a temple here, the statue of a young halfling under its front portico marking it as a temple to Ollandra. Next to it was the hostel, a large brick inn; outside were hung two signs, the painted sign of the hound and grapes of House Ghallanda, and below it a sign reading “The Dragon’s Bounty” depicted a halfling sitting atop a pile of treasure.

Anaya usually stayed at a town’s Silver Flame church when it had one, but she had stayed in Ghallanda hostels before in her travels. This one was larger than she had seen before: the entrance was a large hall with a long wooden bar being tended by several halflings; beyond it, doors stood open into an internal courtyard. Vaalyun removed his cloak, showing his green jacket with the red hydras’ heads.

“Greetings, sir!” The greeting was friendly, but the innkeeper looked at trio curiously.

“Good afternoon. I am Vaalyun d’Phiarlan.” Vaalyun showed a ring to the innkeeper. “I hope that you can provide us with accommodation during our stay.”

“Of course; we always welcome officials of the Houses. I am Bertram d’Ghallanda.” The halfling and elf shook hands; the floor behind the bar was raised, so the halfling could look the elf in the eye. Anaya would guess that he was in his eighties, a good age for a halfling; he had a number of tatoos of hounds and dragons on his arms.

Discern Realities(Anaya): 2D6(1 2) +2 = 5 Failure!
Front(Blackscale lizardfolk): Learn forbidden knowledge

Anaya is a cleric of the Flame, so she can manipulate it. Perhaps, if those seeking to free themselves from the Flame’s bonds could control her, she would aid their escape? Someone is now after Anaya.

This is where using DungeonWorld to drive things makes it interesting. I had no intention of having anyone abduct a party member before; but Anaya failed a roll, and I had to come up with a GM move that gave form to a threat against the party.

Anaya looked around. The tavern was peaceful and busy. The patrons appeared to be a mix of locals, mostly halflings, and travellers. The travellers could be from all over Khorvaire; she saw foreign elves, probably from Valenar, dwarves, and even a couple of lizardfolk.

“Is there a Church of the Silver Flame in the city?” asked Anaya.

“No milady. We see a friar here occasionally, but why follow a flame when Lady Olladra watches over us? Is that why you are here, to set up a church?” The innkeeper looked wary at the mention of the Church.

Anaya had no time for Olladra, the goddess of gamblers and hedonists. “No. I am a Templar cleric; we travel with Vaalyun for now.”

The innkeeper seemed startled for a moment, but tried to cover it by turning back to Vaalyun. Vaalyun continued, “I would like to celebrate my arrival—it is my House’s way. Can you direct me to the best artists and entertainers in town?”

“Are you starting a Phiarlan presence here?” asked Bertram. “My house would like to know your plans.”

Anaya saw a flash of annoyance cross Vaalyun’s expression, but then it was friendly again. “I mean to hire the best to perform in your inn this evening. Make it known about town that a scion of House Phiarlan will be organising a night of fine performances.”

Vaalyun leaned closer, speaking quietly so that only Bertram and the group could hear. “And, if I ever do decide to set up here, I think I’ll do so on this side of town. I prefer the hound to the dragonne.”

“Ah yes.” Bertram responded in the same conspiratorial tone. “House Tharashk has had a presence here for decades, but they stepped up their operations here when the dragonshards were discovered.”

“Dragonshards?”

“Yes, Eberron dragonshards can be found in the jungles to the east. We provide the provisions for their expeditions.” The innkeeper beamed.

Soon it was settled between Vaalyun and Bertram; Vaalyun would pay for the night’s entertainments, and Bertram would make it known throughout the city and make sure he had the staff to provide for the crowd.

As they walked away from the bar, Anaya asked “Was it wise to draw so much attention?”

“I do my best work in plain sight,” said Vaalyun. “My House laying on entertainments draws attention, but no suspicion—except from the other Houses, perhaps. Hopefully I draw the attention away from you,” he said, looking at Anaya’s tabard pointedly. “And why trek across town, when the town will come to me?”

---

There were fewer rolls than you might have been expecting in that previous section because Vaalyun is invoking one of the DungeonWorld special moves, Carouse. He has an upgraded version of it that he took at the last level, because I anticipated that the party would be looking for a lead here. Vaalyun spends 300 gold to have a good chance of the best result.

Life of the Party(Vaalyun): 2D6(5 2) +2+2 = 11 Success!
You befriend a useful NPC. You gain useful information. You are not entangled, ensorcelled, or tricked.

Esthana has Cha 8, so she will not be much use here.

That evening, the Dragon’s Bounty was packed. Vaalyun had hired the best minstrels in town, and they played from a balcony while the patrons mingled in the courtyard below. And there were several conjurers, including one that sat on the roof of the tavern creating patterns of dancing lights that rushed and swooped over the crowd like a flock of birds.

Vaalyun had urged the two Templars to split up and mingle, to learn what they could. Esthana, who had spent the last year serving as a glorified town guard, was out of her depth here and soon turned to propping up the bar; but Anaya had been the daughter of a minor noble in Aundair, and had been brought up to handle society events such as these.

Vaalyun could be seen, with a glass of wine in hand, talking to nobles and travellers and merchants; talking of entertainments and parties that he had organised in the Five Nations to some, and of the politics of the Five to others. Halfling servers ran back and forth, below eye level, with trays of drinks, and you had to be careful when moving around to avoid running into one.

Parley(Anaya): 2D6(2 2) +1 = 5 Failure!
Show a downside to their class, race, or equipment: People in Newthorne don’t like the Church of the Silver Flame’s talk.

Anaya herself spoke to several minor nobles, but the topic of most interest to her was of little interest them. She would turn the topic to religion and they would turn from it just as fast. Anaya was patient however and continued to work the crowd.

Introduce a new faction or type of creature: Even more espionage.

She had just finished talking to a merchant, when she was approached by an elf in fine robes. “The Shadow and the Flame. You are an odd travelling party.”

Anaya turned to the newcomer, confused. “I serve the Flame. What shadow?”

The elf drew close, speaking confidentially now. “House Phiarlan has called its agents shadows for thousands of years. They carry the Mark of Shadow, you see.” His robes were blue and subtly embroidered with silver thread; formal but not ostentatious dress, Anaya thought. His age was hard to judge: Anaya would guess over two hundred, though he looked like he was in good health and might live hundreds more.

Anaya already knew that Vaalyun was a spy, though she had not known his title. “And who are you, sir?”

“Taleisin Neritoris, royal advisor. It is an honour to meet you, Templar.” He bowed his head, and Anaya returned the gesture. He continued, “What brings you to our fair city?”

“I travel, spread the word of the Flame, and seek out evils that lurk in the dark, to bring the light in their place.”

“It seems that it is you that brings the Shadow.” Taleisin smiled. “What do you think lurks in Q’barra?”

Discern Realities(Anaya): 2D6(6 2) +2 = 10 Success!
What here is not what it appears to be? What is about to happen? What here is useful or valuable to me?

Answers: he isn’t simply a royal advisor, or even an elf; he knows something and is willing to tell it; ask and receive.

Anaya knew nobles, and a little about the royal court, and this individual did not seem like he was acting merely in his official capacity: an advisor would have played down the suggestion of hidden dangers, or sought more information. It seemed to her that he might know something, and might be working out whether he should tell her.

“The Flame gave me a vision of a dragon stirring in the darkness. I find myself here, looking for cults that might be working in the shadows to undermine the work of the Flame. But, my apologies,” she said, a little louder to talk over some revellers nearby, “such things can take thousands of years, and I do not wish to spoil your evening.”

“And perhaps our actions this evening will change the outcome, thousands of years hence,” said Taliesin wistfully, swirling his drink and not even looking at her. “The lady that built this tavern claimed that she read a prophecy that told her to build in this exact location. Perhaps it exists only so that we can have this conversation?”

“Do you know of any Cults of the Dragon Below in the city?” Anaya had had enough circling the point; clearly this person knew something. She was even questioning whether he was really an elf now; his manner and way of speaking was strange.

Taliesin looked at her now. “Interesting, that you pursue that thread.” He seemed to collect his thoughts. “Count Zuokas used to dabble with the dragon cults; he is silent publically on the matter now, but in private he gathers followers. His coat of arms is three lizards and a dragon on a field of green, with the motto ‘Strength and perseverance’.

“It grows late, and I should be going. The Flame guide you, Templar.” Before Anaya could ask any more questions, he bowed his head again and departed, vanishing in the crowd.

That could be both the useful NPC and the information, but they did not really befriend him—at least, he gave them no way to contact him—so they get a friend as well. In fact, since I wanted to add another PC, I’ll give them their extra PC here.

Who should it be? I have some ideas but none that stands out, so let’s roll for it. My criteria are: not a class that we have, or anything like a bard that overlaps with Vaalyun; and something that can be bound to the party’s purpose.

• A Gatekeeper druid.
• Other druid.
• Lizardfolk ranger.
• Other ranger.
• Halfling thief.
• A wizard.
• Artificer.
• A warforged.

I am giving more chance to druid or ranger, as I see those as balancing the party best; while giving some chance of seeing some other classes and some Eberron-specific things.

Of course I rolled a 3, the lizardfolk ranger. That was my wildcard: something that ties in closely to the story here, but requires me to customize a class a little and takes some effort to introduce. I’m making things hard for myself, but it fits with the aim to Give everyone personhood.

Anaya moved back towards the front of the inn, hoping to catch another glimpse of Taliesin. Instead, walking through into the main room of the tavern, she found a commotion under way. A small space had formed in the crowd around a half-orc and a lizardfolk, who were in an argument over something.

“Duke Ven should never have treated with your kind.” The half-orc sneered; on her arm was a tattoo of a dragonne, the symbol of House Tharashk, Anaya noticed.

“Neverthelesss, we are permitted here. Let me be,” the lizardfolk retorted; their Common was slurred but easily understood.

The bar had a few armed halfling bouncers, but the half-orc and lizardfolk were both over 6 feet tall and armed. Esthana had left the bar and was moving towards them.

“If no-one else will remove this troglodyte, then I will,” said the half-orc. Spines on the lizardfolk’s neck bristled in anger.

Defy Danger(CHA)(Esthana): 2D6(4 3) -1 = 6 Failure!
Put someone in a spot

Who knows how genders work in a sentient lizard society. I’ll refer to the lizardfolk as “they”.

“Stop that,” said Esthana, pushing through into the space around the pair. “Separate or leave.”

Defy Danger(DEX)(Nyseris): 2D6(1 1) +1 = 3 Failure!
Deal damage: d6=4 damage Give an opportunity that fits a class’ abilities: Anaya can heal the injury

And Show a downside to their class, race, or equipment, bow and spear is a bad weapon combo in a bar brawl.

The half-orc drew her scimitar and slashed at the lizard, catching them completely off-guard and cutting a gash into their arm. The lizardfolk reached for a spear on their back, but they were too close to the half-orc to use it well.

Defy Danger(CON)(Esthana): 2D6(1 2) +0 = 3 Failure!
Turn Their Move Back On Them

Drawing a weapon in a bar fight may result in a larger & more serious bar fight. We learned something today: don’t get Esthana drunk. Out of nowhere, we’re in a big fight.

Esthana drew her sword, but had clearly had a little too much to drink and was not quick enough to get between the combatants. Anaya was pushing through the crowd to get to her, now; she saw five more humans and half-orcs drawing weapons also.

Hack and Slash(Nyseris): 2D6(5 4) +2 = 11 Success!
d8=7 damage

That’s two of the mercs down.

The half-orc lunged at the lizardfolk again, but this time they were ready and easily side-stepped. They grabbed the half-orc, lifting her up in the air, and then threw her into one of her companions; both collapsed in a tangle on the floor.

Hack and Slash(Esthana): 2D6(1 4) +2 = 7 Partial success.
Deals d10+2=6 damage, Put someone in a spot

Several more mercenaries moved towards the lizardfolk with weapons drawn, but Esthana blocked the way. The first slashed at her, but she sidestepped the blow, cutting at his arm, easily cutting through the leather bracer and injuring the assailant; he dropped his sword. But a half-orc grabbed her sword arm, while a human woman clad in chainmail moved close, wielding a dagger threateningly.

Defend(Nyseris): 2D6(6 2) +0 = 8 Partial success.
Halve damage to target

Defy Danger(DEX)(Esthana): 2D6(2 4) +2 = 8 Partial success.
Gets free, takes the hit: d6=4 damage, but halved.

There was a table between the lizardfolk and Esthana, abandoned by its occupants as they moved away from the fight. Anaya saw the lizardfolk turn and see Esthana in trouble; they grabbed the table and, with a show of strength, threw it towards the woman with the dagger, causing her to back up. She slashed at Esthana but the dagger scraped harmlessly off of her plate mail. Esthana used the moment to twist free of the half-orc’s grip.

Parley(Anaya): 2D6(2 1) +2 = 5 Failure!
Monster move(Bandit): Demand Tribute

No peaceful resolution available here.

“Give us the lizard, or die beside it.” It was an orc that spoke, apparently the commander of this squad of mercenaries; he was tall, wielding a long-bladed knife and wearing a good suit of leather armour, with the symbol of House Tharashk embossed on his metal bracers.

“They came here freely, as did you,” said Anaya. “They will leave the same way.” The bouncers had apparently decided that this fight was out of their league.

“Get them,” said the orc. He and his three remaining mercenaries spread out to encircle the group; Esthana kicked over another table to obstruct their approach.

Hack and Slash(Esthana): 2D6(4 3) +2 = 9 Partial success.
Deal d10+2=9 damage; takes b2d10 (1, 4) + 1 = 5 damage, -3 for armour

Esthana is at 24/26 HP; Nyseris is at 17/20 HP. The orc commander is at 4/12 HP.

The orc commander and the human woman circled around to approach Esthana. She had clearly been trying to disarm before, but the fight was clearly serious now and she was no longer holding back; with a quick stroke, she cut down into the woman’s leg, sending her to the floor bleeding. The orc struck quickly too, though, finding a gap under her left pauldron and drawing blood. Before he could get back out of reach, Esthana turned and made a swift cut into his side, the sword easily slicing through his leathers.

Hack and Slash(Nyseris): 2D6(6 6) +2 = 14 Success!
d8=6 damage

The other human and half-orc tried to close in on the lizardfolk, but now that there was enough space to use it, the lizardfolk showed their skill with that spear. One stab through the shoulder disarmed the human; the half-orc grabbed the spear, but the lizard used it to pull them in close and delivered a powerful punch to the face, sending the mercenary sprawling on the floor unconcious.

Anaya wants the fight to stop; the orc commander wants to get away alive.

Parley(Anaya): 2D6(6 5) +1 = 12 Success!

The commander was the only one still standing, and he had a hand held to his side to staunch some serious bleeding. “Sheathe your weapons, and you can go without further bloodshed,” said Anaya, seeing that the balance was with them now. “And I can heal those with serious injuries.” The orc frowned grimly, but after a moment he sheathed his knife and nodded.

Esthana turned, sword still in hand, silver flames still flickering along the blade. The lizardfolk, seeing the sword clearly for the first time, suddenly dropped their spear and exclaimed something in their own language, seemingly in shock.

Cast a Spell(Cure Moderate Wounds)(Anaya): 2D6(1 5) +2 = 8 Partial success.
-1 forward; 8 healed

Most of the mercenaries were not seriously injured; Esthana sheathed her sword and helped up the half-orc that the lizardfolk had knocked to the ground. Anaya knelt down and drew on the power of the Flame to heal the mercenary that Esthana had put down, the silver fire from her hand closing the cut in the woman’s leg. As she turned to rise after doing so, Anaya found the lizardfolk leaning over her, apparently watching closely and excitedly.

Cast a Spell(Cure Moderate Wounds)(Anaya): 2D6(4 1) +2-1 = 6 Failure!
Show signs of an approaching threat

“Do you want healing also?” Anaya asked the orc commander.

“No. Do not think that you can undo what is done, Templar. You have not heard the last of this.” The commander gestured to the other mercenaries, and they followed him out of the hostel.

And that can be the end of the scene. We can handle the fallout on the next day, in the next session. I’ll save the character sheet for Nyseris until next time as well.

End of Session(party): Vaalyun meets his alignment goal, as he used his House’s reputation to get things moving here; +1 XP. No other end-of-session XP to award.

XP:
Anaya: 4 failures; at 8XP.
Esthana: 2 failures; now at 3XP.
Nyseris: 1 failure; at 1XP.
Vaalyun: 1 failure, alignment goal; at 4XP.

Anaya rolled quite badly, so is not far from levelling up again.

Make Camp(party): Heal

II.9: Khyber Stirring

Flamekeep
Eyre 28, 997 YK

Quick recap: our heroes are in Flamekeep, the capital of Thrane and home of the Church of the Silver Flame. Esthana, newly anointed as a Templar, has been given a mission by the Flame to seek out a Cult of the Dragon Below which is working to release some evil in Khyber.

Let’s start on a DungeonWorld Front representing this. Much of this session is about working out what the opposition is here.

Campaign Front: Khyber
Cast: Overlords, Daelkyr, Cults of the Dragon Below

Danger: Release of an Overlord
Type: Demon Prince (impulse: to open the games of Hell)
Impending Doom: The Overlord is freed, and Khorvaire’s civilisation is overthrown.

I will work out the path to that doom later.

Cardinal Baerdren’s council chamber was only a little less austere than the rest of the Templars’ part of the Tower. White stone walls contrasted with blue banners, hanging down on both sides of the room. In the centre of the room was a large round wooden table, with a large silver inlay in the shape of an arrowhead.

At the table sat the Cardinal and his senechal, as well as Rentis and another Templar commander. It was the day after Esthana’s acceptance as a Templar; she and Anaya had been called to this meeting, and Vaalyun accompanied them. Vaalyun had not met any of these people before this visit to Flamekeep, but his service for House Phiarlan in Thrane meant that he knew them by reputation.

To Vaalyun, the gathering had a touch of the absurd. Men and women wearing chainmail and plate to a meeting, just to show their dedication to the Church, struck him as pious foolishness. The Cardinal’s seneshal, a handsome woman in her fifties with silver hair, was the only other person present not in armour; she wore a grey dress with a large silver arrowhead pendant to denote her station, and Vaalyun wondered if she agreed with him. And everything here was so old; this table had probably stood here for a hundred years, there was no image projector, no Sivis speaking stone—the everbright lantern above was the only concession to modernity.

Vaalyun wants in on this meeting; the Cardinal wants not to have House Phiarlan spreading false information about the assassination attempt earlier.

Parley(Vaalyun): 2D6(1 4) +2 = 7 Partial success.
Worse outcome

Vaalyun missteps by sounding threatening, but bites his tongue and it allowed to stay.

“I do not think that anyone has used the Mark of Shadow in the Cathedral of Light before,” said the Cardinal to Vaalyun.

“I understand that the Keeper is often the target of assassination attempts,” said Vaalyun, “but one coming from a Templar would be a first. Even the report of such a thing would be bad for your order, I think.”

“The assassin was not a Templar. And if you cast a shadow in the Cathedral again, I will kill you myself. Am I quite clear?” His tone left no doubt that the threat was serious.

“Quite.” Vaalyun bit back a retort; it was futile to argue with pious people.

“On this occasion, your intervention was useful,” the Cardinal said. “And Anaya believes that you may be of assistance here, so we will permit you to join this meeting.” Vaalyun bowed his head respectfully.

Let the lore spouting begin.

Spout Lore(Anaya): 2D6(1 2) +1 = 4 Failure!
Reveal an unwelcome truth

Okay. The Templars know few specifics about the Overlords. That’s a bad start.

Anaya said “The Flame told Lady Esthana that a Cult of the Dragon Below was working to release the great evil trapped in Khyber. What do we know of this? How can a mere cult hope to achieve such a thing?”

The Cardinal looked grave as he replied. “The legends are true, together with their implications. Millions of years ago, Khyber’s fiends—demons, rakshasa and worse—overran the surface of Eberron. Eventually, the dragons and couatls allied to fight the demons and drove them back. Many couatls sacrificed themselves to the Flame to bind the greatest of the fiends, the Overlords, in the depths of Khyber.

“And that is how things stand today. The Overlords are bound, but their prisons are beneath us in Khyber. Their prisons are not infallible. Bel Shalor nearly escaped in 229 YK, and Tira Miron was the first mortal to be joined with the Flame when she resealed it in its prison—here, in the Eternal Flame in Flamekeep. But there are other Overlords, we know not how many, and we do not even know where most of them are held.”

The other Templar Commander spoke next. Tassis, a handsome man in his twenties with bronze-coloured hair, was responsible for the Church’s work outside of the Five Nations. “We know that at least one is imprisoned under Argonessen, and is watched by the dragons. They claim that it is the daughter of Khyber, and is the most powerful of the Overlords. We can only trust that they keep a good watch.”

Spout Lore(Vaalyun): 2D6(6 5) +2 = 13 Success!
Valuable information

“Do not the rakshasa still rule in the Demon Wastes?” interjected Vaalyun. “I have heard that the corruption there is thought to be due to the presence of Overlords imprisoned below.”

“Yes,” said the Cardinal. “The war against the rakshasa was won but not completed.” He got up and retrieved a map from a bookshelf, unrolling it on the table. Rentis, Anaya and Esthana leaned forward with interest.

Blur the lines between magic and technology

Vaalyun resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Allow me, Cardinal.” He retrieved a pouch from his pocket, and brought out an image projector, its Siberys dragonshard glittering blue in the light of the everbright lamp above. In a moment, he had the image of Eberron projected in the air above the table.

“These gadgets get more elaborate every year,” the Cardinal grumbled, talking to no-one in particular. Then he continued, “They were merely driven out of most of Khorvaire and Xen’drik, pushed to the edges, but in the Demon Wastes their rule continues. There they still plot to release their Overlords, and it is thought that several are imprisoned under the Wastes.” He pointed to the Wastes, in the north-west of Khorvaire, as he did so.

“So our enemy is active, and has unrestricted access to the prisons of several of the Overlords?” said Esthana.

Reveal an Unwelcome Truth
Show the Devastation of the Last War

“Yes.” Senechal Ofejjaia spoke for the first time. “The Five Nations spent the last hundred years developing the best military technology that Eberron has ever seen, and wasting it on killing each other. Meanwhile, no Templar has been able to set foot in the Demon Wastes for a hundred years; in the days before the War we could at least move across Galifar, but now we cannot even move in numbers as far west as Aundair.” She glanced at Rentis.

“But the Flame spoke of the Cults of the Dragon Below?” said Esthana.

Cults are a religious thing, so Anaya is the most relevant person to roll for lore here.

Spout Lore(Anaya): 2D6(5 5) +1 = 11 Success!
Valuable information

“Yes,” said Rentis. “The Flame guides us, and sees the greatest danger coming from that quarter.”

“And that is strange,” said Tassis. “The Cults are a fragmented groups of fanatics; doomsday cults bound by stories about how some dark force will one day rule all. They are concentrated primarily in the Shadow Marches, where many orcs believe this heresy.”

Vaalyun wondered how wrong the cults were, if the Overlords were as real a threat as the Templars seemed to believe. But he kept the thought to himself.

“But the cults of the Shadow Marches worship the aberrations of Khyber, not the Overlords,” said Anaya.

I was expecting the party to follow the obvious lead, to the Shadow Marches, because that is where the Cults are strongest. It would have been a red herring, but it would have been an interesting part of the setting to explore. Anaya got a good roll and avoided that the mistake, however. Side-quest averted!

“Lady Anaya remembers her studies well,” said Rentis. “Cults claiming to serve an Overlord are rarer. I fear that we have no information to suggest a particular one to pursue. I think, Anaya, that you must seek the guidance of the Flame; its light must guide you.”

“My House has some connections with the other Houses,” said Vaalyun. “I have made some enquiries that I hope may give us a definite lead to follow.”

“Very well,” said the Cardinal. “Anaya, Esthana, you now answer to Commander Tassis, as the Overlords fall within his domain. I will have the Commanders supply you with any information that we have about active Cults of Khyber. May the Flame light the way for you.”

---

Make Camp(party): Heal

Level Up(Esthana): Increase Con by 1; gains move Seeing Red: takes +1 to Discern Realities during combat

Now, the party needs to figure out where to go.

All in the Family(Vaalyun): 2D6(1 3) +2 = 6 Failure!
Offer Aid from an Enemy, or Opposition from an Ally

Discern Realities(Aided)(Anaya): 2D6(5 2) +2+1 = 10 Success!
Hold 3

Aid(Vaalyun): 2D6(3 4) +1 = 8 Partial success.
Expose yourself to danger

Okay, so Vaalyun came up with a bad lead. He also helps Anaya find some good information amongst that which the Templars supplied; but he sways her to follow his (bad) lead first.

The next stop is  500 miles south, 2sp/mi. for the heroes, so that costs 300gp.

Two days later, they were on a train heading south. The lightning rail south from Flamekeep ran the length of Thrane and into Breland to the south. Since the end of the War, House Orien had resumed a daily service between the main cities of Khorvaire—at least, where the lines had not been destroyed in the conflict—and it remained the fastest way to travel between the major cities.

Esthana spent much of the journey looking out of the window, watching the lightning arcing off of the locomotive. It was an impressive sight, but one that Vaalyun had seen before, so he spent most of the journey meditating.

Anaya continued to read through the papers provided by the Templar Commanders. She and Vaalyun had already spent some time on the previous day examining them.

After a few hours, Vaalyun asked, “Have you found anything else of interest?”

Spend hold(Anaya): What here is useful or valuable to me?

“The Cults seem very uncoordinated. If we pursue one, they are unlikely to receive support from others—even though they follow a common creed.”

Spend hold(Anaya): What here is useful or valuable to me?

Time to give Anaya her useful lead, and that means deciding where I really want the party to go. Once again, I will roll for it; I came up with a quick list of places that might make sense for Cults to form.

• Sharn, for dragonshards
• Sharn, for artefacts
• Wroat
• Korranberg
• Eldeen Reaches
• Passage
• Q’barra
• Cyrean refugees in Breland
• Come up with a new list

I rolled a 7. The party has a long journey ahead.

“I think the report from Q’barra is most interesting,” said Vaalyun. “The Templar’s report described the cult there as unusually secretive.”

“And revering demons,” added Anaya. “Most of these cults worship madness or aberrations in some form; but this report specifically mentions a demon claw as a sigil used by some of the cult.

I was not sure what third question to ask from the Discern Realities, so I rolled for it.

Spend hold(Anaya): What should I be on the lookout for?

“And it says also that some of the native lizardfolk of Q’barra are also worshippers of the Dragon Below. The cult might be connected to them.”

“We can get an airship to Newthrone from Korranberg,” said Vaalyun, “if my contact in Starilaskur does not give us a better lead to follow.”

Vaalyun will want passage to Q’barra. It would take most of his remaining money to get there in style; instead, he chooses to make a move.

Favoured in House(Vaalyun): Tell them the requirements or consequences and ask

This move has a long list of six potential consequences where the GM can choose up to 4. I decided to roll a d3 for each consequence, and on a 3 it would apply; I got only one 3 out of six dice rolled, for a simple precondition: “They need you to do/get something first”. I decided that the condition would be that he release Ievos and Imra, his hirelings, for other duties with his House; it is not clear that they will be useful to Vaalyun anyway in Q’barra, even if they were awesome in that jailbreak. We can always bring them back later.

---

Starilaskur was a smaller city that Thaliost or Flamekeep, and less grand, with more wooden buildings than stone ones. It seemed prosperous though: goods were being unloaded at the lightning rail station when they arrived, and re-loaded onto House Orien road wagons for distribution across eastern Breland.

It was dusk when they arrived, but the streets were well-lit with everbright lamps. The population here was more cosmopolitan than in Thrane; around half of the population was human, but there were warforged and ogre guards outside some of the warehouses near the station, and on the streets there were many gnomes, half-elves and elves.

Their destination was not too far from the station, and did not appear to be in the best part of town.

Introduce a new faction or type of creature: House Tharashk. Low-tech and brutal.

“House Tharashk mostly work as mercenaries,” explained Vaalyun. “Their Mark gives them an advantage as bounty hunters, so they are sometimes used to track down undesirables.”

The building they came to was a large hostel of some kind, a well-maintained wooden building in a district of labourers’ dwellings. There were two orcs, wearing leather armour and carrying scimitars, stationed at the entrance, and above them swung a painted wooden sign depicting a dragonne and a warhammer. Underneath was written “The Eyes of Eberron”. Vaalyun passed between the sentries and pushed open the front doors.

A dozen pairs of eyes turned to stare at them: half orcs, humans, orcs and a couple of gnolls, all well armed. The area looked like a barracks common room, with a large fire in the centre and long tables down either side. One of the humans got up and moved to meet them.

“I came to meet Haganur, by arrangement,” said Vaalyun. The human gestured to one of the seated mercenaries.

Haganur Aashtar was a half-orc, like many in House Tharashk. He was burly, but with an unusually small nose that made his face look almost human. Vaalyun judged that his leather armour, though it showed signs of wear, was of a high quality, and his bracers bore a silver inlay bearing the sigil of his House.

Vaalyun sat down on the bench opposite him. Anaya sat next to him, while Esthana stood behind. There was an orc sat beside Haganur, and some of the other humans and half-orcs were nearby; the conversation would not be a private one. “I am Vaalyun d’Phiarlan. I heard that you may have information that I can use,” he said.

Discern Realities(Vaalyun): 2D6(3 6) +0 = 9 Partial success.
What should I be on the lookout for?

“What do you seek?” said Haganur. He was watching Vaalyun closely, and Vaalyun immediately sensed that the conversation was in the wrong direction: the mercenary was trying to get information from him.

“Do you know of the activities of any Cults of the Dragon Below? One of your House said that you would have valuable information.”

“What do you know of the Dragon Below?”

“Not much, or I would not be asking you.” Sometimes you feign knowledge, and sometimes ignorance; ignorance seems the better plan here.

“And why do you seek these Cults.” The distaste as he used the word was meant to be heard, and the other mercenaries around them were openly watching for Vaalyun’s response. He heard Esthana shift behind him, no doubt readying to draw her sword if this went badly.

Defy Danger(CHA)(Vaalyun): 2D6(5 6) +2 = 13 Success!

The Tharashk group don’t want to murder a group of well-connected people like the party anyway, so really all Vaalyun has to do is not put his foot in it here. He’s doing much better than that.

Every faction in Eberron contains sub-groups with their own agenda. Past Conflict, Present Intrigue Use a threat from an existing faction or type of creature

“My Templar friends here are interested in demon worshippers in Thrane,” Vaalyun lied. “Such cults are banned there. I have a contract to help weed them out.”

“Demons, elf?” said Haganur. “Are you sure?”

“Demons are dead. They are nothing compared to the Lord of Eyes!” exclaimed the orc next to him; his Common was clear enough, if accented.

“He is watching! Watching you now!” cried one of the gnolls, from further down the table, pointing at Vaalyun excitedly.

“Who in Khyber is the Lord of Eyes?” asked Esthana.

Vaalyun had no idea, and made no attempt to conceal it. But he noted that the orc beside Haganur had tatoos of eyes on the sides of his neck and shoulders.

There was a pause. Haganur looked at one of the mercenaries behind Vaalyun, sneering. That one broke into a chuckle, and in a few moment all the mercenaries except Haganur were laughing.

“Some Xoriat... entity, I suppose,” said Anaya, leaning close to Vaalyun, talking under the laughter.

“Doesn’t know of the Lord of Eyes!” cried the same gnoll, in broken Common. Apparently that was the best joke the barracks had heard all day.

Vaalyun calmly waited for the laughter to die down. As it did, Haganur leaned forward. “Be certain, elf. If you hunt the followers of the all-seeing, it will go badly for you.”

“Rujat Auga” snarled the orc beside him, leaning forwards threateningly.

“I have no interested in your Lord of Eyes,” said Vaalyun.

“If you ever develop such an interest, keep a close watch, elf. Because I will hunt you through all Eberron.”

Coming from an heir of the House with the Mark of Finding, that was no idle threat. “Your warning is heard. And if you make false offers of information to House Phiarlan again, there will be consequences, Haganur. It would be unwise to make enemies of us.” Vaalyun rose to leave.

The mercenaries glared, but no-one made a move, and Vaalyun, Esthana and Anaya were soon back outside.

“What was that all about?” asked Esthana. “I thought they were going to attack us.”

Spout Lore(Anaya): 2D6(3 5) +1 = 9 Partial success.
Vague information

“Xoriat madness,” said Anaya. “I suppose it is a cult that worships a beholder—or some similar aberration. The orcs and half-orcs follow the faiths of the Shadow Marches, I assume.”

“Yes,” said Vaalyun. In retrospect, he might have guessed that Tharashk would have information coming from that quarter. “There was little real danger; they wanted to warn us off, and would only have killed us if they thought we were really a threat.”

Amusingly, the Lord of Eyes is quite real. But that’s another story.

End of Session(party): Vaalyun fulfilled his alignment goal, Use your house’s reputation to help yourself, so +1 XP; we learned something important about the world, +1 XP for everyone.

XP: Anaya: 1 failure; at 4XP.
Esthana: 0 failures; now at 1XP.
Vaalyun: 1 failure, alignment goal; at 11XP.

Make Camp(party): Heal

Level Up(Vaalyun): +1 Dex; Life of the Party: roll Carouse with +CHA

II.8: The Keeper of the Flame

Flamekeep
Eyre 27, 997 YK

We have some DungeonWorld stakes questions for this session:

• Will Esthana join the Templars?
• Will Anaya convince the Church to reconsider their approach in Thaliost?

Then there is the overarching goal for the party to pursue: figure out how to track down the Cult of the Dragon Below.

From the rail of the ship, Esthana looked out over the calm waters of Scion’s Sound. To the west, the coastline had just come into sight from the deck here, though she had been able to see the white towers of Flamekeep for the last quarter hour.

It was certainly a refreshing change from Thaliost; that city was generally considered in Thrane’s army to be the worst place to be assigned in peacetime, even before the recent riots. Esthana and Anaya had had no difficulty in leaving the city, though: while the army was struggling to maintain order, House Deneith’s merceneries were keeping the docks and lightning rail station secure, and the mob’s anger was not directed against them. Once they had made it to the dock, the danger was behind them.

The ship’s navigator is a half-elf, can Esthana get a conversation going?

Parley(Esthana): 2D6(1 2) -1 = 2 Failure!
Use up their resources: Esthana is sea-sick

Blur the lines between magic and technology

No sail powered this vessel; amidships, where the mast might have been, there were wooden beams attached to a great arc of water, which circled above and below the vessel. This water churned as the water elemental, bound within it, drove the ship forwards regardless of the weather. Esthana had never been on such a vessel before, and the way that the vessel ploughed forward through the water made her queasy. But it had carried them the 120 miles to Flamekeep in just one day.

Parley(Vaalyun): 2D6(4 3) +2 = 9 Partial success.
Worse outcome

As a member of a dragonmarked house, Vaalyun tried to use his influence to get a cheaper fare on this ship operated by another house. Instead he just gets normal rate. Looking up Eberron transport prices, that is 5sp/mile, so 150 miles for 5 people costs  380gp.

The ship had not been taking general passengers, but Vaalyun’s status in House Phiarlan—and some hundreds of gold pieces—had secured passage. The other passengers were mostly high-status merchants and other representatives of the Houses who, like Vaalyun, were leaving behind the troubled city.

Vaalyun joined her at the rail. “Still feeling sick?”

“This ship moves unlike any I have ever been on.” Esthana had only been on a ship twice before.

“I have travelled often by House Lyrandar’s galleons. A quicker journey is a safer one, in my experience.”

“Aren’t you going to be in trouble in Flamekeep? The Commander will surely send a dispatch to the army in the city here, informing them of our jailbreak.”

“Provided Lady Anaya can persuade the Templars of your story, then the local authorities will let it drop. If not, then the next few days could be interesting for both of us. But if they do hold me, my House will likely arrange for my release.”

“Like you arranged mine?”

Spout Lore(Vaalyun): 2D6(3 4) +2 = 9 Partial success.
Less sure, worse outcome

“It’s unlikely,” said Vaalyun. “The Five Nations are weak after years of war; they cannot afford to anger the Twelve over minor local matters. House Phiarlan would likely be able to plead my release; though it would greatly harm my standing within the House.”

Esthana looked away from him, towards the white towers slowly growing on the horizon. “Flamekeep is a source of hope—so I hope it holds something better in store for us.”

---

Flamekeep sat on an island in a large bay. Even from outside the main wall, they could see the Cathedral, its central tower and flying buttresses sitting atop the tower at the centre of the island and visible out across the Sound to the east and the dense farmland of Thrane to the west. Like the Cathedral, the outer wall was made from alabaster stone, gleaming in the noon sunlight. To Esthana, who had never seen Flamekeep before, it was an inspiring sight.

Anaya insisted on going to the Cathedral immediately, so Ievos and Imra departed to the House Phiarlan enclave, while Anaya, Esthana and Vaalyun walked up into the city. They made a strange party: Anaya wearing her templar’s armour and tabard, Vaalyun in fine elven robes, and Esthana still wearing her army gambeson under a cloak.

They passed through one of the gates into the inner city. Here, the houses too were alabaster, built in long terraces running around the island. The city was a sharp contrast with Thaliost: there was more activity on the streets, and the people here did not avoid Anaya like passersby had in Thaliost. There were occasional patrols of city guards, but rarely more than three or four guards together and clearly moving through the crowds without hostility.

Cities in Eberron are sometimes tiered. I think that came about after Thrane became a theocracy, so let’s say the Cathedral tower is the only tier in the city.

As they walked up towards the centre of the city, the former royal palace sat on a hilltop to their right. But it was the tower ahead that dominated the city. Originally, the Cathedral had just been a church built at the high point of the island; but in the hundreds of years since, a vast tower had been constructed around the site. The tower was not as tall as the Tower of Judgement, but it was far larger—a quarter of a mile across, white stone walls rising hundreds of feet above the streets below, meaning that the Cathedral atop the tower could be seen for many miles in every direction. The Church wanted its light to be visible far and wide.

They came to one of the tower gates. Anaya took the lead, and they were quickly admitted. After passing through the outer wall, the passage opened out into the interior of the tower, which was almost as impressive as the outside: a vast chamber of white stone, the roof hundreds of feet above them containing large openings to let in natural light. At its centre stood a thick central stone column; and through windows in the stone could be seen the flickering divine fire of the eternal Flame, running up to the Cathedral above.

As they walked across the vast hall, Anaya said “The Tower is given over entirely to the Church and the administration of Thrane. The Templars have their offices on the north side.” Indeed, Esthana saw that more than half of the people that they passed were wearing tabards bearing the symbol of the Flame, though most were worn over civilian clothes.

They arrived at the north side of the tower, where a large silver arrowhead symbol high on the wall marked the gateway to the home of the Templars.

---

“I am glad to see you returned, Anaya. I was pleased by reports of your work in Aundair.” Commander Raptis was a stern woman in her fifties, and spoke with a tone of grave authority.

Her uniform, chainmail and Templar tabard, mirrored Anaya’s, and only a white sash embroidered with silver thread marked her rank as a Templar Commander. Her desk had a pile of scrolls, sealed with red wax impressed with the arrowhead of Templars, on one side. Behind the Commander was a bookcase, with windows looking out over the city to either side.

Spout Lore(Anaya): 2D6(1 1) +1 = 3 Partial success.
Reveal an unwelcome truth

“So I was disturbed to receive this report this morning from one of the army staff.” She picked up an opened scroll from the side of her desk. “Commander Stamos is apparently furious over an incident in Thaliost two days ago. Is this the woman in question?” she said, turning to Esthana. Esthana was concious under the gaze, aware that she was hardly in the best condition: she was still recovering from her wounds, and from her sickness on the ship.

“Yes, it is,” said Anaya. Esthana thought she detected a little disappointment in the cleric’s voice; it could not bode well that Stamos’ version of events had travelled here ahead of them.

“So you did have a hand in her escape?”

Discern Realities(Anaya): 2D6(1 5) +2 = 8 Partial success.
What here is useful to me?

Well, you didn’t kill anyone, or expose the garrison to danger; and you brought the prisoner straight to the Templars rather than releasing her. As always with Discern Realities, Anaya gets +1 forward acting on the answer.

“Yes, Commander. Of course, there was no harm to the garrison, and I have brought her directly here.”

“That is true. I hope it was with good reason.” Rentis’ questioning was civil and direct, but there was no mistaking where the power lay here: if she did not like the answers given, Anaya or Esthana, or both, were not going to like how the conversation ended.

“Esthana wishes to join the Templars. She was nearly killed fighting a vampire in Thaliost; while she was unconcious, she received a vision from the Flame.”

“Killing a vampire is no small thing. You had experience in the Last War?” she asked Esthana.

“I served for Cyre for ten years,” Esthana answered.

“We mourn with you.” Rentis kept her eyes fixed on Esthana. “And now you have had a vision of the Flame? I could go out into the streets here, or up to the Cathedral, and half the pilgrims I spoke to would say that they saw the Flame in their dreams and it brought them here.”

Aid(Anaya): 2D6(4 1) +1+1 = 7 Partial success.
Put yourself in danger

That is +1 for bonds, +1 from her Discern Realities.

Defy Danger(CHA)(Aided)(Esthana): 2D6(4 6) -1+1 = 10 Success!

That was a tough roll to make. I was expecting this to be a tough argument, but Esthana got a good roll there.

“Tira Miron spoke to me. I was called to serve the Flame, to pursue the cults of Khyber.” Esthana did not flinch under the Commander’s gaze.

“And I saw a vision the same night,” said Anaya. “The Flame showed me an image of Khyber stirring. I have no doubt that Esthana was called.”

“Then tell me what you both saw.” The air of authority was gone from the Commander’s tone; she was now intrigued by their story.

And so the tale was told, again. Rentis gave only passing interest to Anaya’s brief account of her vision, but she wanted every detail of Esthana’s brush with death.

When Esthana finished, Rentis spoke again. “What you experienced is very rare. In the history of our order, only a few dozen Templars have been given so clear a purpose by the Flame. Most, like Anaya and myself, are touched by the Flame, but we serve merely to spread the Flame’s Light.” She sighed, then looked at Esthana. “But you are truly called by the Flame.

“As for you, Anaya, I find you actions supported in the circumstances. But let there be no more such incidents. Templars are granted broad discretion in how they bring the Light to the world, but be careful how you use it. We are fortunate to have the cooperation of the army in Thrane; openly defying senior army commanders jeopardises that cooperation for all Templars.”

“Of course, Commander.” Anaya bowed her head.

She turned back to Esthana. “I will speak to the registrar immediately; you will be admitted to the Templars tomorrow morning. In light of your military experience and existing history of service for Thrane, we will waive the normal months of training by our sergeant-at-arms. And, respecting the Flame’s choice, I assign Anaya to assist you on your quest.”

---

Defy Danger(CHA)(Anaya): 2D6(1 6) +1 = 8 Partial success.
Worse outcome

Let’s just resolve this off-screen, as I think there’s enough talking already this episode. Anaya tries to convince the (Templar) Commander of Thrane to intervene in Thaliost, and he merely agrees to raise it with the Council. No harm done but probably no benefit either. It was important to Anaya to try.

Make Camp(party): Heal

---

The nave of the Cathedral of the Silver Flame was lined with pillars, stretching upwards to the vaulted ceiling above. The style was asthetic, with undecorated alabaster stone throughout, and high windows giving it a bright and airy appearance. The same windows let in fresh sea air, and silken banners in white and silver and blue hanging from above waved gently in the breeze from outside. And at the centre, surrounded by a low stone wall, the Eternal Flame emerged from below and rose thirty feet into the air under the great dome, its blue and silver light vying with the sunlight from above.

As Esthana walked up the nave, her eyes were on the Flame, and it seemed to draw her forwards for what was about to happen. Esthana was dressed in steel plate mail, polished to a fine shine, with a longbow and a quiver of Flametouched arrows on her back: the garb of a Templar. Pilgrims praying in the aisles turned to stare as she passed.

She walked around the Flame. Beyond it was a shorter nave, and a smaller crowd of Church officials was gathered before the throne. Esthana saw Anaya and Vaalyun amongst them, and Commander Rentis. Anaya smiled encouragingly as Esthana came into sight.

Sat upon a dais of white marble, the throne itself was a polished steel chair with the back shaped like a candle flame. At the foot of the dais stood two Templar knights, in proud uniform. Upon the throne, looking small against the tall throne and towering stone pillars behind her, sat a girl with auburn hair, wearing a white dress richly embroidered with a pattern of blue and silver flames. She looked around ten years old.

Esthana stopped before the throne and dropped to one knee, looking down at the foot of the dais.

“Keeper,” said Commander Rentis. “I bring before you one who is Purified. Esthana Ilitumal, do you leave your former life behind you, and submit to the service of the Flame?”

“I do.” Esthana could have said did; she had been spared only to serve.

There was an expectant pause. No-one spoke, but she heard the guard Templars shift stance; as a warrior herself, she sensed their sudden readiness. She had not been nervous before, but now something was wrong. But she kept her gaze downwards, as she had been instructed.

Discern Realities(Esthana): 2D6(1 2) +1 = 4 Failure!
Introduce a new faction or type of creature

There’s a front in Flamekeep that opposes their mission. Perhaps envy by other Church officials of Esthana’s apparent divine mission will hinder her progress here? I’ll figure it out later.

Then the girl stepped before her. Surprised, Esthana looked up, and met her gaze. Jaela Daran, Keeper of the Flame, had left her throne and descended the dais, and was now looking at Esthana calmly. Behind, one Templar knight stepped closer, a hand on his sword.

“You have been through much to get here,” said the Keeper.

“Yes.” Esthana had no idea how one was meant to address the Keeper; she had been told the rote answers to give, but the Keeper was not following the script.

“Where is your sword?”

Esthana was confused, but reached for her weapon. The armoury had given her a new bow, and offered her a longsword, but Anaya had recovered Esthana’s shortsword from the crypt, so she had chosen to keep that instead. Is the Keeper chastising me for keeping it? As she put a hand to her sword, the Templar guard behind the Keeper stepped closer, sword now half drawn.

Oh wait, this is even better. Past Conflict, Present Intrigue. Anaya has been through this ceremony, a few years ago; she knows something strange is going on.

Discern Realities(Anaya): 2D6(4 3) +2 = 9 Partial success.
What is about to happen?

I was not sure which question to have Anaya choose from the list for Discern Realities, so I rolled for it: 1 for “What is about to happen? / What should I be on the lookout for?”, 2 for “Who’s really in control here? / What here is not what it appears to be?”. I got a 1.

Answer: the Keeper is about to be killed; while everyone’s watching Esthana in case she is about to attack, someone else it about to seize the moment. If Anaya had asked the other question, she would know who...

“Look out!” shouted Anaya.

Anaya has +1 forward acting on that information, but Esthana is the one in place to do something here. Anaya’s warning had better help her.

Aid(Anaya): 2D6(4 3) +1+1 = 9 Partial success.
Expose yourself to danger, retribution, or cost

Defy Danger(DEX)(Aided)(Esthana): 2D6(1 6) +2+1 = 10 Success!

Esthana succeeds, so she gets to intercept here. Who is the attacker? Let’s roll for it: 1 for the Templar guard, 2 for an assassin at the windows, 3 for someone in the crowd with a magical gizmo. I get a 1.

Note that Esthana has the Armoured trait, so she can wear that plate mail without incurring the Clumsy penalty. Esthana is unusual in being a fighter with decent Dex, but it comes in handy here.

Esthana drew her sword, pushing herself up and past Jaela. The Templar’s sword was drawn now, and swinging towards the Keeper. The clash of blades rang out like a clear chime in the vaulted chamber, and for a moment all was still, the Templar’s stroke halted only two feet from the girl’s head by Esthana’s blade. From under his helmet, the would-be assassin angrily met Esthana’s gaze.

Defy Danger(DEX)(Esthana): 2D6(6 4) +2 = 12 Success!

Dragonmark(Vaalyun): 2D6(6 2) +2 = 10 Success!

The party are really hitting those important rolls right now. Esthana is disarming the assassin. And Vaalyun is thinking politically, as he always does: the Templars don’t want an assassination attempt to be public.

Then everyone was in motion. The assassin reversed his stroke, cutting at Esthana’s exposed head, but she kept her blade against his, ducking the blow and pushing his blade down. Commander Rentis and the other Templar guard rushed in from either side, swords drawn. The assassin had no space to run, and had to release his blade.

A veil of shadow had appeared between them and the Eternal Flame, screening them from the rest of the Cathedral. Another Templar, a man in his sixties wearing a Commanders’ sash, stepped up to Vaalyun and pointed a sword at his throat.

“What is the meaning of this?” the older Templar asked.

“Easy, Cardinal,” said Vaalyun, in a hushed voice. “I assume the Church would rather not let those pilgrims see a Templar in uniform being arrested for attacking the Keeper? I will drop the shadow in a moment, once you have him out of sight.” After a moment, the Cardinal nodded stiffly.

“Take off your helmet,” said Rentis to the assassin. He removed it; underneath he looked like a human man in his fourties, with brown hair and a beard; he met Rentis’ stare defiantly. Rentis said, quietly, “It is a changeling. I know Fedor; it is a good likeness, but this is not him. I will take it to the prison immediately.”

Rentis left with the assassin, now prisoner, and two other Templars as escort. As they departed, Vaalyun dispersed the veil of shadow between them and the Flame, revealing a number of gawking pilgrims come to see what was going on. The Cardinal turned in their direction and said loudly, “Return to your prayers. The initiation of a Templar is a ceremony for Church officials only.”

Esthana turned back to the Keeper. The girl seemed unruffled by the assassination attempt, and was still watching Esthana closely.

“Perhaps this one should join your personal guard, Keeper,” said the Cardinal.

“No, the Flame wants her for something else,” said Jaela. “May I see your sword?”

We established that the Flame told the Keeper that it had made Esthana its servant. In the setting, the Flame only directly talks to and through the Keeper, which is why she is head of the Church. But it understands people poorly, so it didn’t identify Esthana the way a person would, by description; I imagined that it identified Esthana in some other way.

Esthana has the Signature Weapon and Weapon of the Exorcist moves, and I’m establishing those fully in the fiction now.

Esthana knelt once more before the Keeper, meeting her gaze. She had not had an occasion to draw her sword since Anaya returned it to her. As she held it before her, she noticed that the blade seemed different. There was no mistaking that it was her own weapon: Flametouched short swords were rare, and one with the crown and bell sigil of Cyre embossed on the pommel might now be unique in Khorvaire. But Esthana had used this weapon for years, yet the blade showed no signs of age—seemed better than new, flawlessly forged, its smooth surface reflecting the light of the Flame flickering in the centre of the Cathedral.

She put the blade into the Keeper’s hands. Jaela held the blade for a moment, then said, “Yes, I thought so. Take your sword, our servant Esthana.”

As Esthana took the hilt, the light on the blade—which had seemed just reflected from the Eternal Flame—flared into life, and the blade was suddently wreathed in silver flame. Several of the onlookers gasped, but Jaela did not flinch; she released her grip on the blade, her hands unburned.

“Remember, Templar, that the Flame burns only that which it cannot cleanse.”

End of Session(party): Esthana met her alignment goal, +1 XP

Time to update Esthana and Anaya’s bonds.

Anaya’s bonds:
Lady Esthana is a fellow Templar of the Flame.
Lady Esthana works for the Flame against a great evil; I aid her holy purpose.
Though not Purified, Vaalyun is a resourceful ally.

Esthana’s bonds:
Lady Anaya is a fellow Templar of the Flame.
Vaalyun rescued me when I was unjustly imprisoned.

Esthana’s bond with Anaya is resolved and replaced by a stronger one—their relationship is now differently defined—so she gains 1 XP. Although Anaya gained a new bond to Esthana, and so I reworded her existing bond to be more distinct, that is not really a change of the existing bond so no XP for that.

Anaya: 0 failures; at 2XP.
Esthana: 2 failures, alignment goal, one bond resolved; now at 9XP.
Vaalyun: 0 failures; at 8XP.