The session began as the group met Tiadora again, who had teleported into the Cathedral of Lathander-Made-Manifest, which the Ninth Knot is now delving through. Tiadora introduced the ninth to Slavoj Zizek, a luskanite merchant of ill repute, who would be the knot's newest member.
After having added Slavoj to the party, the knot began delving further into the cathedral and its catacombs. Here, they found a bunch of tombs hiding oceans of secrets. They found magical objects, an artifact Harrow deck that they promised to find for the Harrower of Thesk, as well as records of the cathedral's history and more.
Having done this amount of dungeon delving, the Ninth Knot finally found out that the cathedral's lord-abbot, Earnan MacCathlain, is planning to ressurect all good-aligned creatures that have ever died in the valley of Valtaerna. With this army of souls at his command, he would be unstoppable. Pressured by this new knowledge, the Ninth Knot resisted the urge to get some rest and pressed on through the catacombs. Earnan MacCathlain was not the only headache the ninth had to deal with, however, as many of the secrets they found in the catacombs mentioned a being named 'Ara Mathra' as someone with the capability to slay all evil.
Further into the catacombs, the knot found a steel door with a lock the like of which Durlar had never seen. The knot decided to visit again later. The knot also defeated She-Who-Is-Forever-Silent, a high ranking deva child. Viktor ate her brain and cast the spell 'Absorb Mind' to recall the angel's memories. This partially succeeded, and among other things, Viktor found out that:
- The phoenix ressurects when it dies, unless the knot can figure out the ritual to making it stay dead.
- Earnan MacCathlain is praying further into the catacombs.
- She-Who-Is-Forever-Silent was apparantly convinced that the knot would ultimately fall to the being known as 'Ara Mathra'.
- The key to the locked steel door can be found in the catacombs.
At this point, we must take a break from the trials of the Ninth Knot, as the city of Sanctum came under attack! The storm giant Anteus along with two Rocs and a horde of hippogriffs charged into the town to take it back from the clutches of evil. The Ninth Knot's cohorts:
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had to fight for their lives along with Shagoroth Nightmane. The battle was hard and bestial, and the lieutenants had to expend nearly all of their resouces to fight the invaders. They finally manage to fend off Anteus and his army after they succesfully Charm one of the Rocs, but not without Shagoroth spending his 3 scrolls of
Raise Dead with accompanying components of ridiculous worth. After this expenditure, the cohorts barely killed Anetus before he permanently slew Grumblejack, Raiju and the others.
Back in the cathedral, the knot was met by three trials, which members of the cathedral's priesthood had to complete in order to become full members of the clergy. These trials now stopped the knot from progression further. The knot found the following clues to progressing:
1: “Give not into greed for it rots the soul and withers the vine. Amongst the humble shall ye find the worthy.”
2: “Despair ye mighty! For by your power and arrogance have ye fallen into darkness. Not amongst the lords of the earth but amongst the servants shall ye find the worthy.”
3: “Beware thy enemy for he stalks you like a wicked serpent ready to consume ye with fire. The worthy knows his foe – his ways and tongues. Amongst those unafraid to speak the enemy’s name shall ye find the worthy.”
After this, the knot faced each trial:
I) First Trial of the Worthy. The knot entered a room with murals of everything from peasants to kings. Tempting the knot was an amulet of high value, which Jandar reached for without consideration. Nearly dying from having his soul sucked out by the amulent, Jandar staggered to his feet. The force of the spell in the amulet would have killed any other member of the party. After a LONG time, Halvard finally solved the first trial by using the records of the cathedral to track down the bones of some apprentice carpenters and bringing them to the room. A hidden door opened as a result.
II) Second Trial of the Worthy. A painting of a grand king stood in this room, underneath which this text was written: "Attend my servants! Who is a greater lord than I?" The knot stated 'Lathander' in the Celestial tongue, and a hidden door opened.
III) Third Trial of the Worthy. In this dark room, white letters were written upon the walls: "Who is thy enemy? Who is the lord of the nine? Know him as he knows himself or be consumed with fire." The knot knew the answer: Asmodeus. Before anyone stated this name, however, Halvard rushed and shouted 'Asmodai' - Asmodeus' name in Infernal. Having answered the riddle correctly, Halvard saved the knot from the fiery death that would have resulted from naming Asmodeus in the wrong tongue.
Following this, the knot moved deeper into the catacombs and found a great ritual room. Here, they finally faced the lord-abbot of the Cathedral of Lathander-Made-Manifest: Earnan MacCathlain. Looking as though he had been expecting the ninth, Earnan readied himself for combat.
And that's how the next session will begin!