After having defeated the Bodythief and saved numerous villagers, the party helped them returning to the safety of the church.
Before leaving the battle field, Nix took various samples from the plant-monster, wanting to study better this enemy.
while returning to the village, the party noticed how of the rescued, the magic users were the most shocked, near insanity, for example Katarina. just less shocked were the most talentuos fighter, like Kjell.
Agatha though that the monster wanted to build an army of strong pod, sucking the energies and talents of the most skilled. They looked at Cordelia, no less shocked than the other magic users, even if she was captured just a few hours ago.
Nix left the group to return at the mayor's mansion to use an alchemic lab the party have found during exploration. He wanted to examine immediately some samples, but the alchemy lab was not so great and he found very little, deciding to wait for the much better lab of the Weathermay mansion (DM NOTES: Nix rolled an 8 in craft(alchemy) so he could not find much clues on the samples)
When he rejoined at the church, he insisted to test the blood of the kidnapped, and they resulted all real human.
Agatha feared some vicious sort of incubation, but they had no means to do a proper check. The villagers greeted the party like heroes and the group suggested to Franz to burn the plant's remainings, "just to be sure" as Agatha said.
The clerics took custody of the shocked men and womwn and promised that, if no improvemnts could be achieved, thay will bring the people to a mordentish sanatory, to receive proper cures (DM NOTES: i have put more sanatory on the Core, to avoid using so early the important ones).
With Laurie, the group took their horses and returned to Mordent, taking a little deviaton to the church of Ezra, to leave Cordelia to the local clerics' hands.
They arrived to the Weathermay mansion near 6pm, and they were greeted by Jennifer, with good news: Van Richten would return the next afternoon!
happy, but very tired, the group took a bath and some little rest, until the dinner.
Jules and George were very impressed by the group's actions, as Laurie had told. they asked many questions, expecially to Nix and Agatha. Nix's passion for alchemy and Agatha's faith in the Silver Flame and her membership in an inquisition order were the main topic discussed (DM NOTES: this interest could led on more quests for the mordentish aristocracy? maybe, I have planted seed and see what I could gain in future).
after the dinner, some chats and then a deserved full rest.
In the night, they all did a shared dream:
They were in their lost capital city, just while the usurper army fighted the loyalist one.
They couldn't do anything but see. they arrived to the king's palace, where they heard battle noises from inside, but the golden sphere they had found, now was blocking the entrace, surrounde by other six strange objects, covered in shadows and not recognizable. The golden sphere than started to shine, more and more bright, then the party woke up. it was morning.
During the morning, after breakfast, the party went to sell much of the treasures got on previous quests and did some shopping. after lunch, Van Richten arrived and the party met him.
He brought them in his study and talked to them. he understood very soon that they were "Visitors" and wanted to know their story. after a brief recap of their journey, Van Richten asked to see the sphere. they gave it to him and, without touching it, started to examine it.
Van Richten admitted he could not get much from it, but he felt its power and though it was a very powerful occult object. he explained that the gipsy boy could be someone who had the task to bring this object to some powerful indiviual, and no it is the task of the party, so this is the reason they had been brought to the Core.
The party asked who could want such object and Van Richten laughted.
Vlad Drakov from Falkovnia. Azalin Rex from Darkon. Those were two names he provided them, but the indivual could be anyone, "the Core and beyond it is full of evildoers" explained to the party.
He promises to think about a solution to know more about the golden sphere, and he would give more the next day.
leaving a worried Van Richten in the study, the party splitted. Ruben wanted to go to Geddar, since he wanted to do some works on his gun. Agatha and Nix, since the Weathermays had granted them fully use of both the alchemy lab and the library, went to the library. Nix want to the lab briefly, to check the samples again, and this time he could discover some uses for the vegetal fluids of the plant, obtaining some vials of a acidic liquid that could ruin locks and little metal works.
in the library Agatha studied the history and geography of the Core and beyond it. she had a bit of trouble with history, since she found some inconsistency between history of neighbor regions (DM NOTES: I have liked the confusion in my wife when I have described some events in a region and dating different when the events have been recorded in another region. My wife, and so Agatha, dismissed the confusion saying that the fault were of the historian).
Nix, after the alchemy lab, checked monster's books hoping to find that monster, but no luck for him.
After some hours, the three gathered for dinner (DM NOTES: Agatha would receive a +5 bonus on knowledge checks regarding anything about the world (history, religion, geography), Nix would receive +5 bonus to craft (alchemy) and +5 bonus to knowledge (alchemy), and Ruben, with Geddar's help, was able to make his gun masterwork).
At dinner, Van Richten explained to the group his plan. Tomorrow he would bring them to meet a friend at the Ezra's temple and then they will travel to Port-A-Lucine, to meet his friend Ottelie Farringer at the local university.
Rudolph left for the night, and so the Weathermay-Foxgrove. The group and the twins chatted before going to sleep.
The day after, after breakfast, the group went to the meeting at the temple, finding Van Richten with a dwarf, white haired and with a strange dog, which was translucent and ethereal. Nix was frightened by the see, since his bad relationship with dogs.
Van Richten greeted the group and introudce the dwarf to them: Karznak, spiritualist cleric of the Eternal Order. He was from Darkon, and a reasearch of the supernatural and the occult.
The gruoup discussed about provisions and plans for the travel then, after recovering the needs, the four left the safety of Mordent.
They travel towards Chateaunoir, planning to be there the day after. On the evening, the camped near a little wood. Karzank told some stories about his life and then asked the others for the same Nix started to speak, but suddenly no words came out from his mouth, even if he was talking.
alarmed, the party started to look around, noticing white hands searching their heavesacks.
The group saw small white figures running in the woods and after having taken thier equipment, started the hunt.
Karznak during the hunt, told them to have recognized the creature: Bakhna Rakhna, goblinoid creatures.
They followed them till a clearing, in which they found a little town. Karznak didn't recognized it, but without fear they entered it.
No signs of the Bakhna Rakhna, and no signs of the townsfolks. The place seemed deserted, even cosidering it was late evening.
This was a relax session, made to recover from the adventure, gathering equipment and meet Karznak, the Cordelia's substitute.
He is using the Shaman class from Pathfinder, renamed Spiritualist Cleric to fit my idea of the character's story and origin's region.
Now they are ready to jump in a little adventure, and I have to thank Gonzoron for the idea, since it is one of the adventure his party has faced at the beginning of his campaign. So...thanks Gonzoron
I am planning, before the next chapter, to add some details (and images) of the characters, just to give faces to a name
