Picking up the pieces after the adventures in the tomb / attack by the cultists, the party and elves survey the scene. The dead Elf is buried with a modicum of pomp and ritual, spells are exchanged between mages, and our merry band of adventurers decides to escort the Elves to Joven.
Everywhere the Elves go they get looks - they tower over humans, being on average seven feet tall (the commander is pushing 8 feet), and have a willowy, otherworldly look to them. Being accompanied by some guardsmen - even such rough customers as our band of heroes - more than likely helps it from only being quizzical looks - but they're firmly in the uncanny valley for most humans, so maybe it's just seen as part of the general fuck-up-ed-ness of everything these days.
And the fuck-up-ed-ness has been ramped up recently, with the death of all the priests of Joven (well, except for a few) - the Militia is holding on, but just barely.
In Penumbria they hear of changes to the Empire - martial
law has been declared as Sal tries to keep things together, and the priest in town - trained by Darbauw at the asylum - appears to think he is at least half dog. In Applo
the elves take a quick look through the tomb, and state they'd like to
spend more time there, after diplomatic ties are established. Then on to Joven!
Sal is glad, as far as he gets glad, to see the party, and had supper sent in for everyone. Chit chat chit chat and the party finds some things out about the world - the cultists appear to be mutating into a service organization, helping to heal the sick and wounded now that the Empire has no priests of its own. They're still attacking settlements - around all three towns the party travels into/through are refugee camps - but they seem to be targeting infrastructure, and replacing it with themselves.
AofEk learns some spells and makes some shit and generally fucks around in a lab, as mages do. Horace gets wasted and finds trouble, as rogues do. Cimbri, after being a horrible motivational speaker in Penumbria, tries again - but this time his message is intended to rally the homeless to join the militia, at which he is significantly more successful - overall, from his speech and actions, a good four hundred people sign up for the Empire (that's almost half as many people as serve in Joven - quite a sizable increase!)
Somewhere along the way Tara freaks out and sets fire to the Mage Academy, as well. The party shrugs and moves on.
Moves on to the third tomb - up north, near the border between Atlea and Zendea. Again, a group of pilgrims guards the entrance to this tomb - a hole in the ground, this time - but the leader of the group greets the party by saying "Asheloiataur's blessing upon you". Which really is kind of a strange thing to say to our group - but whatevs, they think, as they grimly enter the tomb. Shit's pretty fucked up, after all, and maybe this too is part of the fuckupedness of the world.
The party descends, finds corridors, and has a fight with some spiders - some big and nasty beasts! The battle is pitched and furious, but the party emerges victorious, and....
The curtain falls, for now. What will happen next!
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