January 30, 2019 Session

Setup

Having received permission from the Archduchess Leylandra to head upstairs to the library tower, the party prepares for the ascent. Unfortunately, Yornan is pulled into an alcove by Severus, the tattooed would be paramour of Ser Shadow during the previous session. As Yornan protests, the party waves for him to stay at the party and Corliss even casts a Silence spell upon him.

Upstairs

The party peruses the books on the main floor of the library tower and talks to the librarian. After Corliss, Hurodash and Ser Shadow acquire library cards, the librarian informs them that they are free to take the staircase upstairs, but that there are anomalies on floors 3 and 6.

The party attempts to sneak up the staircase to the third floor but is quickly intercepted by Baby Sphinxes that pepper the party with riddles. Corliss answers each with astonishing ease and paves the way for them to effortlessly attain on audience with the mother Sphinx on level 3. She has punched a huge hole in the wall for access and has shredded all the books on the level in order to line her nest. When asked about information about the Convergence, she replies that she has repurposed that book but that thankfully she read it (and all the other first) and can still help them out. In exchange she wants to party to head up to the sixth floor and clear out a nuisance that she is afraid is attempting to snatch and harm her children. The party agrees and heads up the stairs.

The nuisance turns out to be three beautiful, young women that are innocently sitting cross-legged around a boiling cauldron chanting poetry. Much like the third floor, this floor is also in poor shape as the books and shelving have been broken down and used as fuel to heat the cauldron. Attempts to sneak onto the floor fail as both Rhagal and Ser Shadow trip over broken bits and each other on the way in.

The nice young ladies attempt to lure in the party with their wiles, but the party is having none of it and quickly launches an attack. The lovely lasses turn invisible and then reappear, raking the party with claws and spells and neutralizing Corliss and Hurodash. With the upper hand, these sweet, young women seem mere moments from victory when Ser Shadow proposes a bargain. The party will lure the baby sphinxes up to this floor in exchange for the lifting of the spells and curses on the party. The group of studious gals agrees and lifts the curses but Corliss pays no heed and instantly relaunches an attack.

However, this time, with their best spells already cast, the young women have a rougher time of it and the damage that they take not only injures them but also appears to make the age. At the end, the dead bodies on the ground are three leathery, almost lizard-like corpses. In their inimitable style, the party drags the carcasses back down to the third floor to show their prizes to show them to the Sphinx. She fishes a few pages out of her nest and gives them to the party before informing that there may be a way home for them amidst the mirrors on the fifth floor.

Going Home

The party finds the mirror on the fifth floor that will send them back to the outskirts of Highbridge. Cappen Varra arrives at the last moment and drops off Yornan so that the party does not forget him. Corliss and Cappen trade insults and Cappen reveals that they share a patron before the party leaps through the mirror.

When they return, things appear different than before. From their perch on a nearby hill, they see the city of Highbridge, but its tall, stone walls look heavily damaged and hastily repaired. The Polonian flag no longer flies over the city, instead Yornan recognizes a familiar brown banner sporting a glowing red sun. Overtown is missing altogether and the Farthing Yards look packed with temporary housing and refugees.

And, perhaps more ominously, the skies are a sooty gray and plumes of smoke emanate from peaks in the Badcrag Mountains.