# [[029_20211207 They can't be innocent]] ## Session Summary > [!abstract] [[029_20211207 They can't be innocent]] > The tiefling took some time to attune to The Evening Moon. We explored the second floor of the observatory and found the full-sized orrery - it was in a locked box in the mechanism that was turning the telescope. Xenia found some notes from Nihana with coordinates, some research about Catha and Ruidus, and a mention of an Archivist Sunlash in the Zadash archive that might have been onto something. > > We explored the temple and found the three severed hands of the victims. The hands looked like they belonged to people that had been imprisoned, and also had a "J" tattoo on the back of the hands. > > I cast Speak with Dead for the first time, on the cultist behind the tapestry. He said that they needed three *innocents* to be sacrificed, and that Ilbane (whom we had previously heard being referred to as Mesa) had paid slavers from the north. He said that he hadn't taken any tiefling with dark pink skin and white hair. > > On the third floor of the temple, we also found a wall that had a brass moon and sun on it. When Reya pushed and pulled them together, she found out that the moon and sun were both on a railing that moved towards each other, the sun fitting perfectly into the inner crescent of the moon. This triggered a door to appear before us, revealing the last unexplored room of the temple. ^summary ## Recap of last session ![[028_20211130 Not vigilant enough#^summary]] --- ## Log Christmas schedule? - Wally would prefer not to be here on the 28th - Tiefling can't be here on the week of the 21st - Reya, Xenia, and I are down for everything. Reya teaches the tiefling how to use [[The Evening Moon]]. The tiefling seems to have a special bond with it. %% A dream? message? from [[Sehanine]]: ```ad-info title: From the DM In your meditation, the sweet incense filling your nostrils, reminding you immediately of home. It's at once comforting, but terribly saddening. Thoughts of Music and of Selussa flood your mind while tears roll down your cheeks. Angry and confused, you look to the sky and see Catha among the stars. Then the twilight of the moon shines through the space and you feel the calming presence of Sehanine. A slight wind stirs up outside and a breeze swirls the smoke of the incense. A voice? Or is it the wind outside? It's difficult to tell. You think you hear words in the sounds of nature. Looking up at the stars, you have a clear thought, that despite their apparent randomness in the night sky, all these stars are connected in constellations and their orbits often cross and re-cross each other. Your life that seemed so separate from where you now find yourself is perhaps more entwined in a pattern than you can currently discern. This thought evolves into a deep meditation for several hours, before you come to, refreshed and with the anger replaced by curiosity. ``` I am reminded of home. Thoughts of Music and Selussa fill my mind. Catha among the stars - Stars - Sehanine's presence - Smoke of incense - Her words in the sounds of nature: Despite their randomness, the stars are connected in constellations. They cross and recross each other. I thought paths were separate, but they're all connected. This thought is transmitted from the sky or from the moon. Orbits of planets and how interconnected we all are. - Anger replaced by curiosity and renewed sense of purpose. %% ^4eb4a4 Long rest, long rest, woot! ![[observatory-ground_full.png]] We go up to the first floor of the observatory. ![[observatory-first.png]] Xenia examines the telescope. Comfy, gnome-sized chair sitting next to the telescope. There is a book with coordinates. Catha and Ruidus. Note: `Archivist Sunlash may have been onto something. Zadash archive?` Chains and gears beneath the telescope turn it, but there is something jammed in the mechanism. ^bb8462 Aid: Tiefling, Scura, Xenia Vigilant blessing: Wally Something is jammed into the telescope. There is a locked box, and Wally manages to pick it! Inside it are parts of the [[Orrery]]. Flat bars of metal with screw holes. At the bottom is a bag of small balls made of gems. Wally wants the tiefling to go back to the temple and fix the statue. The victims were just kneeling submissively in front of the cultists. Each of them had a hand cut off. [[Lebenda Swamp]] is beneath us and in the distance, at the edge of the swamp, is the top of houses that are higher than the ground. In the distance, I can see a city which I would presume is [[ttrpgs/Temporary White Circle/Zadash|Zadash]] the sacrificial chamber is on the other side of the observatory from the rope bridge/entrance of the observatory. I don't look for her body. We go back to the [[Temple of the Sun and Moon]]. ![[temple-04.png]] ```leaflet id: temple-04.png image: temple-04.png height: 450px minZoom: 6 maxZoom: 10 defaultZoom: 7 zoomDelta: 1 unit: feet scale: 1 ``` - steps lead up to back entrance - Polished marble defiled. it is of a woman with a crescent moon on her head. - Reya finds Sehanine's nose (broken off from the statue) ![[Pasted image 20211207220938.png]] temple third floor, [[Temple of the Sun and Moon#Altar of the Severed Hands]] - on the altar, 3 severed hands: human, orc, pale elf -- in a circle. Nailed to the altar. "J" tattoo on the back of the hand. The hands have cuts and bruises on them - they look like hands belonging to people that have been imprisoned. - 2 black candles on either side - 4 statues of Raei Speak with dead on the cultist: 1. What were you trying to accomplish with the ritual?: _3 innocents must be sacrificed_ 2. Where did you get the victims?: _Ilbane paid... from the North. Slavers ...._ 3. Why are you trying to destroy the moon weapon: _Bring darkness to the world. With Torog_ 4. Where is [[Mesa|Ilbane]]? *At the sky door.* 5. Did you take a tiefling with dark pink skin and white hair?: _No, no tiefling._ 3 innocents ![[Pasted image 20211207223501.png]] ![[torog-symbol.png]] ![[temple-L02-02.png]] ```leaflet id: temple-L02-02 image: temple-L02-02.png height: 450px minZoom: 6 maxZoom: 10 defaultZoom: 7 zoomDelta: 1 unit: feet scale: 1 ``` ![[Pasted image 20211207224726.png]] - 4 beds in the upper left. [[Temple of the Sun and Moon#Cultists' Dorm]] - Reya finds a vial of liquid and some gold. It's poisonous! ![[Pasted image 20211207225211.png]] - Shackles where prisoners were kept. Window is barred. [[Temple of the Sun and Moon#Jail Cell]] ![[temple-L02-03.png]] ```leaflet id: temple-L02-full image: temple-L02-full.png height: 450px minZoom: 6 maxZoom: 10 defaultZoom: 7 zoomDelta: 1 unit: feet scale: 1 ``` Third floor - Space between towers - Large statue of Raei that has been defaced, but not as much. - Door to the south - Other tower: on the wall there is a flat brass moon and sun that are attached to the wall, some kind of sculpture. Sun is smaller than the moon. Sun is as large as the inner crescent of the moon. They are both on a rail. They push together and the sun goes into the crescent of the moon. It's like an eclipse. A door opens! [[Temple of the Sun and Moon#Secret room of the eclipse]] ```leaflet id: temple-L03-almost_full image: temple-L03-almost_full.png height: 450px minZoom: 6 maxZoom: 10 defaultZoom: 7 zoomDelta: 1 unit: feet scale: 1 ``` - South: training dummies -