Session 5 and 6

Side-Questing in Rowen - Twitch's Quest
As the group prepared to leave for the Siri Desert, they were approached by a man who was looking for Twitch. He introduced himself as Osmund, a fellow cleric and worshipper of Kord, and admitted that though they had never met, he knew much about Twitch's past. Osmund let the rest of the group in on his knowledge: as a young cleric, Twitch had attempted to use the "Raise Dead" ritual on his fallen friend, Willum Toliver, but did not have a ritual book and thus performed it incorrectly. The ritual failed, leaving Willum unable to be successfully raised and causing Twitch to lose part of his soul in the process. However, Osmund said that he had great news for Twitch - he was a messenger from Willum, who someone had found a way to revive, and he requested an audience with Twitch.

Osmund led the curious group to a once majestic but now abandoned temple of Kord a distance outside of Rowen. The building was large and elaborate, and while still structurally sound, was currently empty. The group entered through the heavy double doors in front, which then proceeded to seal shut behind them. Osmund vanished in front of them, and his disembodied voice was heard echoing through the halls: "If you wish to leave, you must pass the tests and prove your worth to Kord."

Through an unlocked door to the side, they entered a small room, empty except for a stone tablet in the middle. On the tablet rested a number of stone tiles with letters etched upon them. The door at the other end of the room was tightly locked. Twitch and Caraga quickly unscrambled the words symbolic of Kord (Kord, Storm, Battle, Bravery, Thunder, and Strength), and the door unlocked. They went through this door and found themselves in a nearly identical room. Upon the tablet in this room, there were piles of colored stones, and a grid to place them in. Caraga and Cora first placed the stones in the correct order, and the next door opened. The next room contained a slightly larger tablet with an opened book and a handful of carved runestones on top. Across from this were five locked doors, each with a letter above it. The book informed the group that Kord fathered five children, and each of them embodied one of the storm god's powers. It instructed them to take the symbol of Kord's favorite child to the correct door and to speak that child's name in order to move on to the next room. After much reasoning and discussion, using the clues provided within the book, the group brought the runestone with the symbol of lightning carved into it to door B, and spoke Karva's name. The door unlocked, and they passed safely into another room, this one much larger than the previous ones had been.

The adventurers, now eager to be leaving the temple, made their way to the door on the other side of the room, but unintentionally triggered a turret trap, and were soon being pelted with arrows. They were able to locate the turrets, and Fausto succeeded in disabling both turrets by firing two arrows at once. Thinking their way out was finally clear, the group was surprised when Osmund suddenly appeared in the room, along with a very dead-looking Willum Toliver. Osmund, having been hopeful that his traps would have killed Twitch, was angry and was prepared to finish the job himself. He revealed that Willum was his brother, and that he had spent years planning revenge against Twitch, whom he blamed for his brother's death. He thought it fitting for his now-zombie brother to take what was left of Twitch's soul.

The group wasted no time jumping into battle. Though he had plenty of tricks up his sleeve, Osmund was easily taken down by Taargus. Zombie Willum continued fighting even after he was killed for the second time - once knocked down, his corpse exploded, causing damage to some members of the group after the battle had ended. However, the door at the end of the room lead to the outside, and it was now unlocked. Twitch took Osmund's Goggles of Aura Sight, as Osmund would no longer be needing them, and Taargus took his Symbol of Battle before they headed back to Rowen.

The Road to the Siri Desert
Safely back in Rowen, the group was approached by potion-maker Tomas Tennon, who had heard they were headed to his former home. He warned them that the most populated place in the desert, Sardis City, was known for being very dangerous. Tomas had resided outside of the city with his former mentor, Azus Khurin, many years ago when Tomas had first been learning potions, and even then Sardis City had been known for its cult activity. Tomas had left due to the danger decades earlier, but he advised the group to seek out Azus before going to the city.

They decided to take Tomas' advice and set off for the desert. Both Fausto and Cora shared a suspicious feeling that they were being watched as they left the city, but were unable to determine the cause and reluctantly shrugged it off. Not far from Rowen, the group encountered a gang of three bandits. Cora and Caraga took them down easily; Cora found a potion of healing while Caraga was able to salvage 20gp and a piece of amber. She and Taargus decided to share the wealth, trading the amber and the holy symbol. Closer to the desert, a group of four hyenas sniffed out their trail, but Twitch, Cora, and Caraga ensured they were not deterred. Finally, upon approaching the city, they were spotted by two patrolling guards, both of which were stealthily removed by Fausto and Cora. The group was able to seek out Azus unhindered...

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