TLDR
Home to the capital with an orrery, a curse and a heresy. Two long debriefs with Ismad turn most of it into leads: Estelle is probably Phoenix, Benedicto Malipiero is the Most Holy’s own condemned younger brother, the Folly’s warp circle is Ritual Magic, and the Bethlen family was massacred in 1720 with Constanza officially among the dead. Titus is cured. At the Citadel of Gazra the party finally meets the two surviving Owl knights — and learns that the Owl’s last errand to Halwa was sending Isabel d’Allais, the daughter of its own knight commander, to Hazad in the hope she could find refuge there — her gift is heresy in the West. Then the party comes home to a heat wave, and the capital riots.
Key Developments
- Haroun told the party about the call. No longer a secret he’s carrying alone. (Wiki state change: that page is now party knowledge.)
- The orrery is a machine, not a relic. Not magic, not evil, likely dwarven — Clan Grum, whose clanhold is in far western Morrschatten. Only 10–20 years old, used, and maintained. Built from different metals so it keeps working across temperature changes — i.e. precision matters. Some of its bodies map to known stars and constellations. Initial settings recorded before anyone touched it.
- Uncle and Maajid suspect Estelle is Order of the Phoenix — suspicion only, no proof. Uncle recalls mention of the Phoenix using divination magic during the war, forty years ago. Play along, don’t get recruited, learn more.
- Maajid surfaces: Uncle’s eldest, his chosen successor, and the one focused on clandestine operations. Named in the wiki since S1; now a person.
- The Curse on Titus is lifted — Father Jamar, one night in the chapel. Resolved.
- Benedicto Malipiero is Pious III’s younger brother. Convicted of heresy and condemned by his own family ~1710, charged with dealing with the infernal. A very promising talent who had mastered both the divine and the logos arts. Officially executed — and Uncle and Ismad doubt it (GM). The surname is no longer a coincidence to be careful about.
- Ritual Magic named as a category: it comes in two flavors, Divine and Logos — there is no sorcerous version. The Kraus’s Folly teleportation circle is almost certainly a manifestation of it, and Ismad rates the circle itself “a huge deal.”
- The Bethlens were murdered in 1720 — the whole family, lords of Krenau, supposedly including Constanza, who would have been an infant. Two men attached to that story died about three years ago: Amalricht von-Haup, the Bethlens’ court magician, later in Matthias Melnich’s service — whom Uncle and Ismad speculate might have been capable of a warp-circle ritual, nothing confirms it (GM); and Kristof Gruben, the lord mayor who took Krenau after them.
- The two captured Owl knights, at last — Visenne de Tarrand and Isabel d’Allais, noble hostages on parole at the Citadel of Gazra under Captain Faqir.
- Why the Owl came back to Halwa in Fall 1734: to escort Isabel d’Allais into Hazad, for her protection — her father was sending her here in the hope she would find refuge, because her gift of beasts is considered heretical in the west. She is the daughter of Jehan Dalet, the Owl’s last knight commander, and he chose the escort personally. So the order’s final mission was its commander getting his child out of his own Church’s reach — which Visenne says was itself “somewhat heretical.”
- And he was right about the doctrine. Sister Alia confirmed to the party, Visenne and Isabel that the Eastern Church does not consider Isabel’s gift heretical. (GM) The plan was sound; only the road failed.
- Marin was a squire, not a knight — squire to Elysant Peppin — and her cousin was on the Fall 1732 party that killed the demon in southern Morrschatten, the kill that recovered On the Summoning of Guardian Spirits. (GM) The first traceable route to that party.
- Naqi al-Akram was not in the ruins with Awad. He was supposed to go, begged off because his sister had died, went to the family estate — and took ill and died there. Sadiq, the elf who squired for Naqi alongside Haroun, is holding something back.
- The capital riots. Heat, a summer of “elves brought the plague” talk, and a mob at the Ulpia estate gate with a battering ram. The party held the house with House Balventia’s guards; Farraj killed and wounded scores with lightning; two Ulpia guards went down. Snipers no one could ever locate shot the roof clear from long range, through Haroun’s wards. Seeing Ari made the mob worse.
New People Met
Captain Faqir (jailor of the Citadel of Gazra) · Visenne de Tarrand · Isabel d’Allais · Sister Alia (their spiritual advisor — not Sister Alasia) · Father Jamar · Sadiq · Maajid (discussed, not met)
Named but unseen: Amalricht von-Haup · Kristof Gruben · Charles de Tarrand · Jean-Marie · Marin of Clan Aggadum · Elysant Peppin · Rashida al-Sabri and her children Sajid and Rim
Notes
On the ship
- Starting the session still on the ship en route to The Capital
- We take this time to plan out next steps
- Haroun decides to tell the rest of us about feeling the pull of the alternate divine power he felt at the Temple of the Dawn → The Call at the Sanctum
- The Orrery
- It is not magic
- It is not evil
- History check
- Likely of dwarven make
- Clan Grum
- They specialize in metalworking and devices
- Their current major clanhold is in far western Morchatten
- Clan Grum
- Doesn’t look particularly old (probably no more than 10–20 years old). It has been used somewhat.
- It looks like it’s been maintained (oiled and polished)
- Likely of dwarven make
- Arcana Check
- Deliberately constructed of different metals so that it continues to operate across multiple temperatures.
- Aka, precision is important
- Some of the objects represented by the Orrery obviously align to known stars and constellations
- Deliberately constructed of different metals so that it continues to operate across multiple temperatures.
- We record the initial settings
- Ari starts investigating the orrery and how to use it
- It weighs about 5–10 pounds
- It has a little tripod stand for ease of use
- In general, the plan is to have a long conversation with Uncle, update him and see what information he has to offer. Though we will start with Ismad and see if he feels this is worth meeting Uncle directly
- Estelle
- Orrery
- The Six Voices
- Madeline
- Sanctums
- Lord of Kraus’s folly and potential relation to Contanza
- Red star
- Can we meet the captured Owl Knights?
- Haroun’s Temptation
- Someone to deal with Titus’s curse
Back in the Capital
- When we return to the Capital in the middle of summer
- We acquire basic materials for maintaining the Orrery
- It’s a muggy, gross, smelly mess
- The servants at the Ulpia estate are extra upset about Ari being here
- Checking up on local news
- Politically, little has changed
- People are speaking with more disgruntlement about elves → The Elf Scapegoating
- “Elves brought plague”
- “The elven seductress who got her fangs into Bahir tried to assassinate him”
- A secret elven cabal is controlling some of the nobles
Meeting with Ismad — day one
- Meeting with Ismad the next afternoon
- Estelle is both the strangest and the most normal thing that happened
- Aka, fairly standard agent to agent communications
- Ismad asked if Estelle had given any indication that she knew of our affiliation with Uncle
- Ismad is going to bring this up with Uncle and his brother, Majid
- Majid is apparently the chosen successor of Uncle, and more focused on clandestine operations
- Ismad suggests that we play along, avoid being recruited, mildly see if we can recruit her (unlikely) and learn more
- Ismad suggests that Estelle is part of some organization, and we want to know more about them
- He also points out that this sort of long distance communication is very powerful
- The Sanctums, Six Voices and the orrery
- Obscure topics
- We will need help on these
- In general, Ismad tells us to be quiet about all of this
- Order of the Dawn
- Ismad suggests meeting with House Balventia, as they have been involved with the church for centuries
- Ismad will provide a letter of introduction
- Uncle has been cultivating Lusia Balventia for years
- We should be careful about raising the topic of the sanctums and new cosmology with her, though it’s not totally off the table
- Madeline
- He’s not sure what to make of it
- It’s very bad
- They did inform the Eagle knights, but they haven’t dispatched anyone yet, as it seemed very dangerous
- Given that she departed, it may not be necessary to send Eagle Knights anymore
- These decisions are mostly up to the Eagle Knights, who Ismad will update
- Lord of Kraus’s Folly
- Keep Lindse as a servant
- The teleportation circle is a huge deal
- Almost certainly a manifestation of Ritual Magic (Ritual Magic comes in two flavors, Divine and Logos, there is no sorcerous version) → Magic and Casting Traditions
- The temptation of Haroun
- The Sanctums are dangerous in a metaphysical sense
- Don’t raise this with Lusia Balventia
- Meeting the captured Owl Knights
- Ismad thinks it’s doable and will provide an introduction
- There are two prisoners held at the Citadel of Gazra
- He doesn’t want to bias us with any information
- They have given us their parole and are behaving honorably
- They are considered noble hostages as well
- He will also give orders to Captain fakir, their jailor, that they can be released to our custody if we want
- Ismad will point us at someone who can help with Titus’s curse
- How is Bahir doing?
- “Bahir is Bahir”
- “He complained that Lusia Balventia was not pretty”
- Regarding Harim al-Faisil, he seems to just be “someone’s useful idiot”
- The assassination attempt did appear to have been thrown together hastily → The Attacks on Baahir
- Seems to have included three people
- Very professional
- We set up a follow up meeting for tomorrow
- Estelle is both the strangest and the most normal thing that happened
- We decide not to push for a direct conversation with Uncle
Errands in the city
- Gnaeus tasks the head servant of the estate with discreetly acquiring a small house to stash Ari in when we’re in the city.
- Gnaeus starts building a good disguise kit
- We check up on the portraits of the Cat Colony, which are proceeding, but slowly → Master Zumini
- Haroun checks up on the death of Naqi
- Or, he tries to, but can’t really find a good way to do it
- He sends a nice note of condolences
- Naqi had a wife (Rashida al-Sabri), son (Sajid) and daughter (Rim)
- They are not part of the main al-Akram line (Hazadi clans tend to be much larger than Imperial families)
- Sadiq (Elven quartermaster for the order of the eagle) might be willing to talk though
- Haroun sends a note to him who agrees to meet
Meeting with Ismad — day two
- Meeting Ismad the next day
- Uncle and Majid were very interested in the Constanza Bethlen involvement
- The Bethlens were the lords of Krenau until 1720, when the whole family was murdered, supposedly including Constanza
- Amalricht von-Haup comes up as a magician powerful enough to have created the teleportation circle
- (GM: Uncle and Ismad are only speculating here — nothing confirms von-Haup was capable of a warp-circle ritual, let alone that he built this one.)
- He had served as a court magician and tutor to the Betlens
- Then entered the service of Prince Mathias
- To the best of our knowledge, he died three years ago
- Kristof Gruben, the lord mayor of Krenau who took over after the Bethlens, also died about three years ago.
- Uncle and Majid suspect that Estelle may be from the Order of the Phoenix. No proof, just a suspicion though.
- Uncle remembered mention of the order of the Phoenix potentially using divination magic during the war, 40 years ago
- This is worth researching, discreetly, with Lusia Balventia or her scholars
- Uncle remembered mention of the order of the Phoenix potentially using divination magic during the war, 40 years ago
- Benedicto Malipiero is the younger brother of the current most holy → Baldessare Malipiero
- Convicted of heresy and condemned by his own family
- Charged with dealing with the infernal
- The Malipiero family is similar to the Balventia’s, involved with the church for centuries
- This happened five years before the fifth crusade (about 1710)
- He was a very promising talent, having mastered both the divine and logos arts
- He is presumed to be dead
- Convicted of heresy and condemned by his own family
- He points us at Father Jamar to help Titus
- We meet with him right after leaving Ismad
- Titus will have to stay in the chapel overnight
- Uncle and Majid were very interested in the Constanza Bethlen involvement
Haroun and Sadiq
- Haroun meets with Sadiq
- They meet at a winehouse
- Sadiq wears his order of the eagle tabard, to reduce issues with being an elf that are on the rise
- He’s in his 40’s
- Comes across as a clerk
- Has a minor gift, that boils down to small lights
- They reminisce about Naqir, who Sadiq also squired for
- Naqir was supposed to accompany Prince Awad to the dwarfhold, but had to beg off as his sister had passed. When he got to his family’s estate he took ill and passed
- Haroun gets the impression that Sadiq is holding back a bit, and gently pushes, but makes no progress
- His family is pushing him to marry some young elven lady
- Haroun mentions that he’ll be back in the city a few times over the next month and they agree to meet up
- Titus’s recovery worked → The Curse on Titus
The Citadel of Gazra
- We leave immediately for the Citadel of Gazra and travel for two days
- At the Citadel of Gazra
- It is an imposing castle, from the era right after Hakim the Great conquered Hazad
- It is in the personal estate of the Sultan
- Probably has room for a permanent garrison of at least 100, more in wartime
- We arrive, present our letter of introduction and are greeted by Captain Faqir
- Isabel d’Allais
- Young, been here since she was 13 (now in her later teens)
- Daughter of Jehan Dalet, the former knight commander of the order of the Owl before its dissolution
- Has the gift of beasts — can speak with animals and boost them
- (GM: the party, Visenne and Isabel have since had it confirmed by Sister Alia that the Eastern Church does not consider this gift heretical.)
- Visenne de Tarrand
- An older Owl knight (mid 30s)
- Face with burn scars and limp
- Daughter of Comte Charles de Tarrand, current knight commander of the Swan
- The Tarrand family supported Guillaume de Fausseflammes during the war
- The house gift of Tarrand is Skill at Arms
- We meet Sister Alia, the spiritual advisor assigned to the two: older lady, grey hair, stern vibe
- Subtly checked us with some sort of divination ability
- We meet the two women and Visenne is taking the lead. She is obviously polished and educated
- They have no knowledge of the first visit the Order of the Owl made to Halwa
- The goal of the second visit to Halwa was to escort Isabel to Hazad for the purpose of protecting Isabel, as her gift is considered heretical in the west
- Visenne is harboring some anger about that peaceful trip winding up violent
- Unfortunately, the one person who might have had the most information, Jean-Marie, was slain in Halwa. Jean-Marie was closest to Jehan Dalet
- While Visenne never encountered Constanza, she is aware of her. She appealed for help from some Owl Knights, was taken from Morschatten to Avenoing, charged with witchcraft and taken by the order of the Phoenix
- Regarding the night of the Owl knight massacre → The Night in the Royal Castle
- The previous Knight Commander of the Owl knights, when declared the regent of Marie Celeste, he gathered Owl knights to him in anticipation of potential issues
- Marc (Owl knight commander) was a powerful and wise Knight Commander
- She remembers Madeline
- Rumored to be the paramour of Marc Abayante, the Knight Commander who died in the massacre
- Madeline also tutored Marie Celeste when she was legitimized
- (GM: she was appointed in anticipation of the legitimization. Marie-Celeste had been raised in a monastery previously.)
- Her party was
- Jean-marie, the leader of the group (deceased in the capture)
- Marin of clan Aggadum, a dwarf (deceased in the capture)
- (GM: squire to Elysant Peppin, and younger cousin of another Aggadum dwarf who was among the group that dispatched the demon in Morrschatten in Fall 1732.)
- Elysant peppin (deceased in the capture)
- Visenne
- Isabel
- We spend another day or two at the Citadel, chatting casually with Isabel and Visenne
- Isabel opens up more while riding
- She repeatedly stresses her disbelief that her father could have been a heretic
- Privately, Visenne points out that while she respected Jehanne and all he did to restore the order of the owl, attempting to hide his daughter from the church was somewhat heretical
- Jehan specifically chose the escort (Aaron)
- When Ari appears, Visenne doesn’t bat an eye, though Isabel is surprised and perhaps put off?
- We also spend some time sparring, Visenne is incredibly good, far better than Titus even
- Isabel opens up more while riding
- After staying two nights, we head back to the capital without Visenne and Isabel — Ismad’s offer to release them into the party’s custody stands unused
Corrected by the GM
The player’s original notes said “Marc” here. The GM’s corrected copy says “Jehanne” — i.e. Jehanne d’Allais, Isabel’s father, not Marc Abayante, who was dead before any restoration. The wiki had already recorded it that way on Aaron’s confirmation; the source now agrees.
The riot
- It’s even hotter in the capital now, everyone is crabby
- The night we return, a riot starts → The Riot at the Ulpia Estate
- We fortify the estate
- And send runners to the neighboring estates to consolidate defenses and protect people
- House Balventia guards and servants join us
- We try to dissuade the mob, but it keeps growing
- When they try to break down the front door of the estate with an improvised battering ram Farraj blasts them.
- A long battle ensues
- We initially try and blast the mob from the roof, but snipers almost take us out so we wind up teleporting inside
- We’re not sure, but the snipers may be professionals taking advantage of the situation. We’re never able to locate any of the snipers
- We suspect they are professionals because they appear to be attacking from long range, and manage to do significant damage when they hit, despite Haroun’s magical protections.
- A score of angry people from the mob batter their way in through side windows and the back door
- We manage to fight them off, only losing two guards (who may still be alive, Gnaeus teleported them out and attempted to heal them, we just don’t know if it was successful or not)
- Farraj killed and wounded scores of them outside the Ulpia estate with his electrical blasts
- When members of the mob saw Ari, they became even more enraged at finding an elf
- Session ends as the fight ends. Whether the riots are over is unknown.
Loose Threads
- Are the riots over? The session ended with the estate held and the mob broken at this house. Nobody knows whether the city is done. See The Riot at the Ulpia Estate.
- The snipers. Long range, real damage through Haroun’s protections, never located, never identified. A mob does not bring marksmen.
- Farraj killed scores of Hazadi commoners in the capital with lightning. Legally defensible, politically radioactive. Nobody has dealt with the aftermath yet.
- The two wounded Ulpia guards — Gnaeus teleported them out and tried to heal them. Find out whether they lived.
- Sadiq is holding something back about Naqi. He agreed to meet again within the month.
- Naqi’s sister died first, and then Naqi died, and the trip he’d have been on killed the Crown Prince. Three deaths, one household, one season. See The Death of Naqi al-Akram.
- Isabel d’Allais and Visenne de Tarrand are still at the Citadel of Gazra and can be taken into the party’s custody on request.
- Nobody asked the Owl knights about the sanctums — the reason the party wanted them in the first place. Neither knows about the Summer 1733 expedition, but Isabel’s father commanded the order that ran it.
- Jean-Marie was the one who knew, and she died in the Halwa fight. The Eagle killed the Owl’s best witness five years before anyone came looking.
- Was Madeline Marc Abayante’s paramour? Rumor, per Visenne — and Madeline has never mentioned Marc, Marie-Celeste, or any of it.
- Amalricht von-Haup and Kristof Gruben both died about three years ago — ~1736, the year the Owl was dissolved and executed. Two Krenau men, one year.
- The Order of the Dawn, via House Balventia and Ismad’s letter of introduction. Careful what you tell Lusia Balventia.
- Is Estelle Phoenix? And if the Phoenix has had divination this good for forty years, what else have they found with it?
- Benedicto Malipiero was officially executed — and Uncle’s Men don’t believe it. What made Uncle and Ismad doubt an official execution thirty years old? Nobody asked.
Assumptions & Open Readings
For Aaron — two minutes, and it saves a session's worth of rework
Everything below is something the notes did not say and the wiki now assumes. Notes taken during play are lossy, so filling gaps is expected — but each fill is listed here so a one-word correction lands before anything gets built on it. Strike what’s wrong; the rest hardens into fact.
| # | The assumption | Where it shows up |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Father Jamar is an Eastern Church priest. The notes say only that Ismad pointed the party at him and Titus stayed in “the chapel.” Overwhelmingly likely in Hazad — but it’s an assignment nobody made. | His faction: field; the framing on The Curse on Titus |
| 2 | Captain Faqir commands the Citadel of Gazra. The notes give “Captain” and “their jailor.” Whether he runs the fortress or just the prisoners is unstated. | His page’s opening line |
| 3 | Maajid ibn-Salmaan’s page title. Every source says only “Maajid”/“Majid.” I built the patronymic by analogy with Ismad ibn-Salmaan. It is a constructed name form. | The page title itself, and all links to it |
| 4 | Sister Alia and Sister Alasia are different women. Asserted flatly, with a collision warning on both pages. Strongly implied (different city, different church, different rite) — never stated. | Both pages; People Index |
| 5 | Ismad’s “Order of the Dawn” = the monastic order of the Monastery of the Dawn. The obvious reading, and the whole House Balventia research errand is pointed at it. If he meant something else — a living order, a church body — the errand changes. | The Monastery of the Dawn and the Orrery; House Balventia; Home action items |
| 6 | Isabel d’Allais was born ~1721 and is ~18. Arithmetic from “here since she was 13” + the GM’s Fall 1734 capture + “now in her later teens.” | Her page; Timeline |
| 7 | Who actually produced the Bethlen / von-Haup material. The notes say Uncle and Maajid; the GM’s correction says Uncle and Ismad. I used the GM’s pairing on von-Haup’s page and the notes’ pairing elsewhere. One of them is wrong. | Amalricht von-Haup; Maajid ibn-Salmaan; Salmaan ayd-Bara |
| 8 | The mob was at the Ulpia estate specifically, rather than a general riot the estate happened to be in the path of. The notes say “a riot starts,” then the party fortifies. I built the “steered here” theory on the targeted reading. | The Riot at the Ulpia Estate — the theory is marked as a theory, but the framing assumes targeting |
| 9 | Clan Grum would have records of the orrery commission. The “checkable lead” rests on dwarven instrument-makers keeping books. Nothing establishes that they do, or that the clanhold survived the war. | Clan Grum; the orrery next-steps |
| 10 | Visenne de Tarrand’s burn scars and limp came from the Halwa fight. Flagged as speculation, but it is doing work — it’s the basis for reading her lingering anger. A one-word yes/no settles it. | Her page, Speculation callout |
| 11 | The orrery is an instrument for finding sanctums. The notes establish a precision astronomical device; “sanctum-finder” is the party’s leap, repeated across several pages. | The Monastery of the Dawn and the Orrery; The Sanctum Investigation |
Already caught and corrected — kept as a record of what this list is for: Jehan Dalet = Jehanne d’Allais and “Marc” → Jehanne (Aaron, then confirmed by the GM’s corrected notes) · Prince Mathias = Matthias Melnich (Aaron) · Isabel’s surname (GM) · Jean-Marie is a woman, and so was the whole escort (Aaron) · Jehan chose the escort himself (Aaron) · von-Haup as the Kraus’s Folly circle-builder — retracted, Uncle and Ismad were only speculating (GM) · Benedicto Malipiero “presumed dead” — he was officially executed; the doubt is Uncle’s and Ismad’s (GM) · Marin was a squire, not a knight (GM).