Hello God, it's me, Eorin

We awake in the morning to find that Orias had disappeared. He left a note saying that he needed to pursue something in Absalom. The note failed to say what. The party asked the Crows if they needed any assistance in apprehending Keeper Krove. They assured us that they could handle bringing him in on their own.

We traveled south to Caliphas, Zelara's home town in the south of Ustalaav. We went to the temple of Pharasma there and spoke to the high priest. Eorin inquired about his strange affinity for the necromantic school of magic, only to find out that the high priest was already aware of him - apparently all the temples to Pharasma had been warned about him. The priesthood had learned of Eorin's necromantic heritage back in Virisia, and they had sent him on his year and a day pilgrimage, hoping that he would never discover his abilities and choose another path. They were always watching him to make sure he didn't turn into undead or a necromancer or something. The high priest told Eorin that none of his divine magics come from Pharasma. Eorin asked where they came from then, and the priest couldn't give him an answer. He suggested (in a poorly veiled attempt to get rid of Eorin) that Eorin travel to Absalom and ask the philosophers and scholars there.

Eorin decided to write a letter home to ask about how they knew about his heritage. When he gives the letter to an acolyte to deliver, he is handed a school sealed with black wax. It is a letter from home, and the black seal denotes that the high priest from his monastery in Virisia, Father Ezra, is dead. Apparently, copies of this letter had been sent out to all the temples in case Eorin wrote home.

The letter is written by Father Ezra, who knew he was dying and wanted to come clean to Eorin. They learned of Eorin's abilities when he was 7. There was a cookie jar that was on a shelf too high for him to reach, even though he was the tallest of the children at the time. Eorin felt so dejected at failing the other children, that he acquired help from the graveyard. A man walked in from the graveyard, fetched the cookies, and then went back to his grave. The priests wiped Eorin's memory of the event, and informed the rest of the priesthood. Father Ezra felt that Eorin's bloodline didn't matter compared to his actions, but the rest of the priesthood didn't agree and remain convinced that he is not to be trusted. Father Ezra asked for forgiveness for lying to Eorin and hoped Eorin will find his own path and find who he truly wants to be. There is also a note from the old woman who takes care of the place, saying that Eorin was left on the temple steps as an infant by a knight.

The party decides to go to the Library of Ustalaav. The librarian is very excited to see Eorin (once he shows her his library card) and chatters on and on about this history of the library. She shows the group a portrait of Emlarah BinRomad, the founder of the library. She then shows them to Emlarah's office, which has been kept exactly as she left it when she passed away shortly after founding the library's main branch 40 years ago. The librarian tells Eorin that Emlarah was his great, great, grandmother. She shows them another portrait of Emlarah and a young girl, the first librarian that Emlarah recruited. They met while studying at the Forae Logas, the library in Absalom. Eorin recognizes the girl as the sister of the necromancer who caused the Day of the Red Ribbon.

Eorin sought out a geneology of the BinRomad family. Everything from Emlarah's birth to the present appears to be forged. It's as if they wanted to make it seem as though she was around much longer to make the library an Ustalaav tradition much older than it's 40 years. Eorin leaves an anonymous note about the discrepancy.

The party then goes to the tavern to drink the wine Caliphas is known for. Zelara decides she wants to see if her family is in town, and the whole party tags along. Her brother is around, her mother and father are off traveling like good Virisians. Her brother is named Marduzi, and is the drunk of the family. He works at the winery and gifts Kyle with a bottle of nice old wine when he learns that ze is a paladin of Cayden Cailen.

Evening arrives, and we hear singing from the tavern. We return there and encounter the local "undead hunters" who are loud and have probably never actually killed anything in their lives. They brag loudly about their exploits, so Zelara suggests they have an undead hunting contest. They disparage Zelara's capability as a fighter, since she's a woman, and refuse the contest since they've been drinking. Eorin casts delay poison on the leader to sober him up and make him fit to compete. The leader admits there really haven't been undead around for the past 10 years, and Eorin dismisses the effects of his spell. The party proceeds to get drunk, and Illythan casts unnatural lust on Eorin, who proceeds to make out with a book.

The next morning, we return to the Library of Ustalaav to utilize their teleportation circle to travel to Absalom. We arrive in the Forae Logas (the library) in the Wise Quarter. We are greeted by a man who tells us the five laws of Absalom:

1. Do not interfere with trade
2. Slaves can only be bought and sold within 3/4 of a mile from the shore
3. Destructive magic is not allowed within the city except in self defense. There will be fines for collateral damage
4. If you attempt toe sell anything within the city, you must do so through proper channels - there are fees and taxes
5. Badgers and otters cannot be killed, harmed, or exported on the island.

We head to the Ascendant Court to see Cailen's Hall. We then go to see the Star Stone and get our picture taken in front of it. Eorin goes to the temple to Desna to ask them about his encounter with the grave knight. The priests are baffled and help Eorin burn the warped holy symbol.

The party then visits the Shrine of the Failed and leave gold there to assist with its upkeep. We then go visit the Statues of Nethys. Eorin decides to return to the Forae Logas to see if they have a more accurate genealogy. After a twenty minute wait, he is presented with several scrolls. The genealogy in these scrolls do appear accurate, and, weirdly enough, he is in them. He learns that Emlarah is actually his great aunt, and that he has an older brother who is a knight of some kind. His brother was already an adult when Eorin was born. A librarian appears and is angry that Eorin has these scrolls and takes them away. He recognizes her as the girl from the portrait with Emlarah. They have a glaring match and Eorin crawls off to a corner to write mean things about her in his journal and have a hissy fit (though it is a quiet and polite hissy fit, because this is a library after all). The librarian returns later with tea. Eorin writes slightly less mean things about her.

Meanwhile, everyone else is getting drunk. They eventually decide to find Eorin, deducing that he's probably at the library. They make a bit of a scene about how they need Eorin to come out to take Kyle's belt off so they can go take a bath. Eorin is mortified and casts remove curse on Kyle's belt. It promptly turned back into the oni and jumps on Kyle's back. We go to the baths and find out, at long last, that Kyle is a girl. The oni takes a bath too and is generally adorable.

The oni wants to go back to the Wise Quarter, so we do and find the only kite store in 1000 miles. There are people playing battle kites on the roof.

Then we go off to The Coins for shopping! Illythan is keen on getting a new suit of cloths. A local hotspur (guide/bodyguard) named Donnica Myclene Ia-tep wants us to hire her at a fee of a gold a day. She has a silver sword pin and has won 10 fights in the arena to prove she's that good. She tells us all about the city and its districts at great length, and Eorin takes copious notes.

We decide to find an inn in the foreign quarter, since our carriage is way back at the library. We pass as hop bearing the name of Al-Azrad. Illythan inquires about the owner of the shop, and Donnica tells us it's owned by some guy named Hakim. This throws Illythan because that's his father's name, who supposedly died 20 years past, though he keeps this information to himself. We go to a Tienzi style inn, and a guard takes the oni away from Kyle, thinking she has kidnapped the oni child. The guard is an oni himself.

While the party decides to sleep, Eorin still wants answers. He decides to ask after his ability to cast divine magic without a goddess from various philosophers and scholars. He is told that divine magic can be cast without a patron deity if the casters belief in an idea or code is strong enough. His inquiries as to why a goddess would choose to not accept the prayers of a follower go unanswered. He eventually comes across a man who offers him the chance to speak to Pharasma. Eorin is suspicious, thinking this man is scamming him and asks what precisely he has to do. The man says Eorin must only enter the building behind him, which is made of obsidian. Eorin wracks his memory and vast knowledge about the local area and draws a complete and utter blank as to what this building is. Eorin asks what the catch is, because merely entering a building seems too easy. The man merely says that Eorin risks everything by entering. Feeling desperate, Eorin enters the building anyway, despite his severe misgivings.

Inside the building is a dark room, with a couch and two chairs. Eorin sits in one of the chairs, but feels as though he shouldn't, and moves to the couch. Soon, a woman and a man appear in the chairs. The woman looks like Eorin imagined Pharasma would, and the man is Father Ezra. Eorin feels like there's something flittering just out of his vision, like a moth or something, but every time he turns to look, it's gone. There is a shadowy figure in the corner as well, but whenever Eorin tries to look at it, he experiences a similar effect as with the flittering thing. Eorin offers a prayer to Pharasma, who sadly declines the offering. She tells Eorin, that the necromancy is in his blood, and so she cannot ever except his prayers. Through the course of the conversation, Eorin learns that when he dies, he is doomed to rise again as undead. He learns the cause of this is a tragic accident involving his great aunt, Emlarah, becoming a vampire. Another accident caused the rest of the family to be turned as well, though Emlarah found a way to reverse the transformation, she found she could not go near them or else they would become thralls to her will. Pharasma says there are things he can do to remove the necromancy from his blood (reincarnation is not one of them), but says that Eorin would never do what is necessary. Though she does give him a name: Prince Suri, who lives in Little Geb, and says that he might be able to help.

Father Ezra asks Eorin what he truly wants to be. Eorin replies that he wants to continue doing good works, to heal the sick, protect people, help undead move on, in Pharasma's name. What he was raised to do. Father Ezra suggests that Eorin find his own path, unbound by the will of a deity or the priest hood. Eorin also learns that Desna has always watched over his family. He then asks Pharasma if there is anything he could ever do to be deemed worthy in her eyes. The shadowy figure comes up behind Eorin and asks him why he cares so much. What has Pharasma ever done for him? It's Father Ezra to whom Eorin owes his loyalty and life, not a goddess. "I am tired of riddles!" Eorin laments. He is told he can either go to one corner of the room and be free of riddles, or he can go to the other corner and be with his friends once more.

Eorin stands to leave, turning toward the corner that will take him back to his friends, when a butterfly flitters in front of him. Its voice feels like moonbeams. It offered Eorin three questions that will be answered truthfully without riddles, and that he would then still be free to return to his friends. Eorin thanks the butterfly, and turns to go to the other corner. There he finds Cayden Cailean sitting on a stool, drinking coffee. Over the course of Eorin's three questions, Cayden Cailen reveals to him a lot about his history. Eorin's mother and father died, and returned as blood thirsty vampires, driven mad by hunger (though this was not due to their bloodline, but rather due to a stone they purchased off a man falsely pretending to be in need of aid). Eorin was saved by his brother, who took the infant to a temple of Pharasma, and then left to go send their parents into final death. Eorin was left at a temple of Pharasma, rather than Desna, because his brother felt Eorin would be better protected from rabid vampires (should he fail) in a temple to Pharasma. Eorin figures out that the grave knight they encountered earlier was probably his brother. Cayden Cailen reassures Eorin that he will most likely still have his mind and wits when he becomes undead upon his death, but that the god cannot foresee Eorin's death and therefore cannot tell him anything certain. He does tell Eorin that the librarian he spoke to earlier might be a better lead to finding a cure for the necromancy in his blood than the prince Pharasma suggested.

Eorin returns to his friends feeling dejected and alone - his entire world being turned upside down. He exacts vows from his friends that should he rise as undead upon his death, that they would put him down. They attempt to comfort him in their various ways. They eventually get him talking about the Firebird comics they purchased him.

Eorin makes the connection that the firebird action figure he was given is of Prince Suri, the one Pharasma told Eorin to seek in Little Geb. He is the eldest of three siblings that ruled Geb for exactly 24 hours - the Day of the Red Ribbon. The sister is Loreli, the librarian he met earlier, and the youngest brother is Jedah, the necromancer who cast the Red Ribbon spell and then vanished. There is rumor that the Firebirds got funding from the three siblings.

Carrion Hill Pt. 3

The representative from Ustalaav gets in his carriage and leaves. A circle appears on the street where there is suddenly no rain. A creature appears in the middle of the circle - it looks pale and jellyfish like with eye stalks and a wide mouth. It's a Flumph, which is an aberration. It makes bad smells and injects you with acid, we must be cautious.

 The Flumph greets the party in common and apologizes for it's tardiness. It says it came to warn us about the creatures from beyond. "I came to assist. I may be able to slow the creature down. Our people come to these worlds and are unprepared." The Flumph confirms that he'd rather the monster in this town just be destroyed. The Flumph suggests that we use the souls from the victims to make a bone golem to fight the monster. He has a scroll that can do this, and allows Eorin to examine it - it is the version of the spell that doesn't use necromancy. The souls aren't bound to the bone golem, they just help create it. The golem will cease to exist once the monster we're fighting has been defeated and the bones that make it up will fall into a heap on the ground, which we'll have to clean up. The Flumph hands Eorin the scroll and leaves, the circle of non-rain closing.

We make the bone golem from the piles of bones in the subterranean cavern. It books it towards the docks, and we follow along after it. It bursts into Rupman's Vats, leaving a hole in the wall. It immediately attacked the invisible aberration, somehow knowing exactly where it is. There is also a necromancer with a horde of zombies. We enter the building and engage in a melee with the zombies. Keeper Myre, the necromancer, shouts "Not us! Them!" and casts black tentacles at the aberration. Orias throws some dust of appearance at the invisible monster, and it becomes visible. Illythan cast scorching ray at it, and it had no effect. Eorin has no idea what the aberration is, and decides to continue killing the zombies instead and murders all of them, sending their souls to Pharasma to be judged. Keeper Myre casts acid arrow at the aberration, and it appears to affect the creature! The bone golem is engaged in a grapple with the aberration and continues to attack. Illythan casts an electric version of scorching ray and it also affects the aberration.

Eorin casts doom, and while it has no effect on the creature, the room becomes noticably colder and his eyes glow. Zelara's ghost version of spidey-sense triggers, and her eyes flicker when this occurs. Then some soldiers from the Army of Exploration appear. One soldier attacks Keeper Meyre, and severely wounds him. He created something more powerful than an acidic burst, and it had nothing to do with the sword he used to attack with, rather it's something inherent about this knight. Eorin notices that the knight that attacked the necromancer isn't dressed like a traditional member of the Army of Exploration. He is also undead - there is an area of desecration around him.

One of the soldiers, who is out of breath and chubby, tells the other soldiers to get a sample of the aberration. The soldiers have little jars in their buckler hands. They do not seem happy to be here.

Kyle wakes up (aka the player finally arrived) and decides to smite evil and proceeds to wreck shit (aka shooting the aberration full of arrows). Eorin casts deathwatch to keep track of the party to make sure they don't all die, but once again, his eyes glow and the air turns cold around him. Keeper Myre turns around to face the undead knight, cursing his fate as his attempts to harm the soldier fail. The undead knight kills him and moves toward the aberration. The black tentacles disappear, and two Army of Exploration soldiers move in to attack the aberration. Illythan uses an electric version of burning hands at the aberration and the Army of Exploration guys (who are unaffected). Eorin whiffs with his shovel, despite feeling stronger in the presence of the undead knight, and he is very sad. Zelara moves in to attack with the aberration bane sword and kills the aberration good, preventing the Army of Exploration soldiers from retrieving a sample in time.

The Army of Exploration soldiers run away, and the undead knight calmly walks away. Kyle uses detect evil on him, and sees that while he does radiate evil, it comes from the armor rather than the knight himself. However, seeing as how Zelara and Eorin have a moral imperative to kill undead, the combat cannot cease despite the rest of the party thinking he's kinda cool. Eorin attempts to channel positive energy at the undead knight, and is horrified to realize he just channeled negative energy instead. Zelara charges after him and attacks, but it does very little. Kyle yells at Zelara for attacking, and Eorin hits him with the shovel, but it bounces off his armor. Zelara realizes the knight is too powerful a foe and stands down. The knight reaches out and takes hold of Eorin's holy symbol of Pharasma - even though it begins to burn the knight's hand. He pulls it off Eorin's neck and begins to mold and re-shapes the holy symbol. Eorin attempts to stop him, but his efforts fail. Zelara comes to Eorin's aid with a disrupt undead, but it does nothing. The knight holds out the holy symbol to Eorin, who continues to flail at him ineffectually with the shovel. The knight takes hold of Eorin's hand, drops the symbol into it, then summons a skeletal steed and rides off. The holy symbol is now in the shape of a butterfly - the symbol for Desna.

The party loots the bodies and searches the Vats, and find a journal of Keeper Myre where he was clearly very excited to have learned how to summon this aberration. The rain has lessened, and the crows (the birds) that we saw lots and lots of when we came to town have landed. The party proceeds to scrutinize Eorin uncomfortably, and Illythan figures out that Eorin has undeath/necromancy in his blood.

The royal ambassador from Ustalaav and his butler are at the Mayor's when the party goes to tell the Mayor that the aberration is defeated. His name is Lord Vorik. He's been one of the more powerful lords in Ustalaav for the pat 40 years. People think he might have some elf in his blood. Random undead attacks have gone down seriously since he came to power, but undead sightings have increased.   He rewards the party with a Cloak of the Bat for each person.

Kyle pays Illythan 10 gold in exchange for what he learned about Eorin.

Eorin decodes to go and pray in the graveyard, and Zelara decides to accompany him and lends Eorin her holy symbol of Pharasma. Kyle comes along to help the local watch dig graves for the dead in the city. There is a woman in the graveyard with parasol, and she seems to be waiting for Eorin to finish praying. Zelara offers comforting words when he finishes praying, and they go to assist with the graves. The rain kicks up again, and they all go to bed.

In the morning, Eorin wakes up and finds an umbrella in his room. There's a ribbon with an envelope attached to it. Inside the envelope there's a library card from the Library of Ustalaav, but it's different. There isn't a needle to pin-prick your finger to feed blood to it. The umbrella is black with an eye a the end of the handle. He brings the umbrella downstairs to have Orias look at is, and they find that it's enchanted to hold itself up, and will protect anyone in a 10 ft radius from the elements. They also notice that the library card has a last name for Eorin on it - BinRomad. Orias and Zelara recognize the name as belonging to a famous circus family, and it is rumored that someone from that family founded the Library of Ustalaav.

Eorin is in shock at learning who his family is, and promptly faints. Kyle revives him with smelling salts. The realize that someone had to come into the magic caravan in order to deliver this umbrella. They go outside and see Chubby Baby has been washed and has a ribbon around its neck. Chubby Baby looks very unhappy with this new development. Eorin attempts to test out his channeling, and it once again comes out positive energy.

(Eorin Casting Necromancy)