Necromancer's Delusion-Homebrew

Gabriel, feeling distinctly out of place, takes a seat. His eyes wander around the atrium as he contemplates the flawless integration of nature into the structure.

Jinara, seeing the earth form itself into a seat, is intrigued by this method of arcana. The silver in his eyes shine a bit brighter as the seat comes to rest. Jinara sits next to Gabriel with his arms across his body and hands tucked inside the opposite sleeve of his cloak.  

About 5 minutes pass before Geo returns with a tall, slender elven female.  Her skin is a pale purpleish brown and her emerald green eyes seem to pierce through you as she meets each of your gazes.  She has long white hair and thin lavender lips.  "Hello.  Welcome to the Grove, I am Inara.  Please walk with me.  We have much to discuss."  Inara turns and begins to walk, her stride and steps so fluid it appears as though she is hovering above the ground.  As you get up to follow the roots and moss descend back into the stone floor.  Inara's voice sounds amplified in your mind but not in volume but rather clarity as if she is whispering softly in your ear.  Her voice is elegant and soothing, like the voice of a mother speaking to a child she dearly loves.  Moving through the large structure and exiting out the back you see a single small path that leads to a smaller structure that looks to be protected by a large garden.  

As you make your way towards the building Inara speaks, "I understand some if not all of you are unsettled by the thought of this mission.  It is not the will of the Elanaetas to interrupt the natural flow of life and death.  However when powerful enemies of all life arise it is our duty to ensure life endures.  The men we are sending you to kill have been sending children to  orphanages where foul magic is used to turn them into monsters and fanatics for Vaeril.  This corruption of the innocent cannot continue.  Our order has destroyed six orphanages but alas a druid was captured in our most recent assualt.  We've had druid killed in action but when captured a resourceful wizard or sorcerer can restrict our movement due to our bond."  She pauses for a moment to show a magical brand on each of her forearms.  "This is our binding.  This is what makes us Elanaetas.  Any who chose this life are given the ability to  bond with each of us in the order.  It is what makes us strong and what keeps us safe.   It allows us to see, hear and live through the vision of others from any distance but the same magic that binds us can also be used against us.  That is why we are unable to rescue our fellow druid.  When we reach the temple I will show you the letters we have captured and can even show you a recreation of the evil we have witnessed."  Inara continues to talk as your make your way closer. 

As you enter the garden your nostrils are filled with a myriad of smells and your eyes flooded with the beauty of countless colorful flowers and shrubs.  Approaching the center structure you notice the dark basalt pillars that have cracked partially from age and erosion.  The temple is small compared to the large building you came from but still large enough to comfortably fit 40-50 people. As you enter the inside of the temple is immaculate with the walls appearing opalescent like the inside of a shell.  In the center a large clear quartz pillar extrudes from the floor.  Balanced atop its tip is a large bowl made of amethyst. Within the bowl lies water so clear the bowl almost looks empty until a drop from the ceiling above lands in the middle of the bowl causing ripples to emanate out.  Looking up the ceiling has a framework of ivy or vines that spiral downwards a few feet to a single vine that drips water.

Inara walks towards the bowl and raising her hand a single drop of water rises out and hovers a few inches above her hand.  She approaches Gabriel and says, "Please, allow me to help" and immediately after saying this she floats the bead towards Gabriel's forehead.  The bead of water disappears into Gabriel's head and for a moment the bead illuminates a brilliant shade of blue from behind the skin before breaking into a multitude of streams of light that coarse through Gabriel's body illuminating all of his blood vessels.  As the effect fades you see Garbiel's form straighten back to its normal rigidity and the wrinkle on his brow disappear as if a weight has been lifted off his body.

Gabriel- you no longer have a point of exhaustion, your bones and injuries are completely healed. You feel as though you've just had the most amazing massage of your life. 

Gabriel watches suspiciously as the elf performs her magic and lurches backwards in alarm when the drop makes contact with his head. Then he emits a sigh of relief as the aching in his bones fades. "My thanks." He says, bowing stiffly.

Inara bows to Gabriel then straightens as she addresses the group.  "Here are the letters" she says as she pulls out a small stack of letters from her cloak and hands them to Geo.  "And here is what we have seen and experienced in dealing with this growing threat."  You watch as her hands twist and swirl causing a small dim bead of illumination to linger on the ground in front of you. 

The dim light expands into a large image showing the shapes of multiple druids walking through a forest as they approach a building.  You watch as the druids fight their way past the cultist and zombie guards to enter the orphanage.  Inside the fighting continues as evil hounds of hell and cultists battle against the force of the druids.  As they clear each room you see some housing cultists and others scared children ranging from 5 to 16.  As they approach a darkened stairway a druid is felled by a magical beam that slams into its chest.  two druids carry the injured comrade away while others press on.  Below is an ogre, a few cultists and two mages who hurl spells and curses at the druids.  As each enemy falls the grim sight of the basement becomes clearer.  Children with ripped and bloody clothing huddle in the corner of cells.  Bloody torture devices, tables and a stone altar show the brutality of the true nature of the orphanage.  The symbol of Vaeril is tattooed on each of the fallen enemies and branded into some of the older children.  The druids leave the building ensuring all the children are safely out before burning the structure to the ground.

The image dissipates and Inara nods to Geo who hands the letters over.  All of the letters are small and simple.  They each have the same insignia and basic message.   

Sample letter:

Zinmaer can't believe what he is seeing. "Thank you for showing us this...I have heard of evil doings in the past, but this is worse than anything I could imagine. Only true evil would hurt innocent children. I am here to help in any way I can." 

Mucor would have looked around in amazement as he made his way through the grove. His large shaggy head rotating quickly as he looks around at all of the sights. The last time he had been this deep in a forest, he was a young child trying to survive in a swamp... a swamp that was much less beautiful than this grove, The minotaur had never seen a place so beautiful. As the situation is further explained and Mucor watches the illusion of their assault on one of the orphanages, Mucor will begin breathing heavily. Snorting loudly through his nose and occasionally jerking his head and thrashing his horns around ever so slightly as he feels a rage build inside of him. Eventually the minotaur will speak as he squeezes his spear so tightly that the wooden shaft would creak under the power of his large hand. "I was an orphan... am an orphan... and the thought of them treating those unfortunate children that way.... it... makes me want to impale them on my horns and bathe in their blood as it drips down on to my head...." The minotaur would grown with an anger that has not shown itself up to this point.

Jinara walks behind the rest of the party while the illusion is displaying the battle, watching and processing every detail. He can feel the emotional response of Zinmaer and, as he passes behind Mucor shaking and snorting, Jinara gently places a hand above the shoulder blade of the minotaur as to offer a bit of support. Jinara typically holds a demeanor of stoicism, limiting the amount of external emotion he shows the world. This gesture to Mucor is one that, to Jinara, is somewhat involuntary. His realization of the outward expression he just made breaks his concentration of the illusion. After a moment, he removes his hand and slides it back into his cloak sleeve. 

"Thank you for showing us this Inara." Jinara says in Elvish before transitioning to Common. "Based on the responses thus far, you clearly have our support for the future. The images you should us was one orphanage and your success of ending its ability to harm children in the name of Vaeril. Do we have any idea of how many more orphanages are in operation? Additionally, can you tell us anymore about the 'contributions'? Have there been any surrounding cities reporting anything?" Jinara will try to recall any memory he has from his readings or conversations he may have overheard at the temple or on the battlefield about orphanages or reports of missing children. History Check 18

Gabriel's expression is as unreadable as ever. "How long has this operation been in progress? " 

Inara watches the responses and after a few moments responds.  "We know the location of four more orphanages in Telgun (eastern continent) and six in Zhora (western continent).  Beyond that we do not know how many more there may be.  Our druids have had to halt the destruction but not the observation of these orphanages due to recent events.  If you are able to rescue our druid we will resume our work of liberating these children and removing all the traces of Vaeril we can.  We discovered the first orphanage 5 years ago and have been able to fully destroy six so far.  While we aren't sure the full purpose of using these children we believe the ones that don't join the ranks of the cultists are sent elsewhere to be sacrificed to Vaeril.  The Duke uses his title and influence to boast of his benevolence in building and supporting orphanages.  The local villagers from the few towns he controls hold him in high regard.  Those that don't seem to move away and disappear suddenly under pretense of a distant loved one calling for aid or hearing about a new opportunity in another town.  In actuality the sheriff is kidnapping the families and transporting the children to orphanages and parents to torture houses."

Inara pauses looking up at the still fuming minotaur and walks over to Mucor and places a hand on his shoulder saying, "Peace brother.  This evil will soon pass."  then turning to face the whole group, "Thank you for your willingness to help.  I will have two of our druids escort you to your quarters momentarily.  Eat, drink and familiarize yourself with our grove.  You will need this time to calm your emotions.  In the evening we will take you to the Duke's home so that you can plan for tomorrow night's mission.  We cannot afford a preemptive strike based on rage.  We must be patient and wait until we are sure our quarry is all present.  Before we depart is there anything else you wish to know?"

JInara- you recall during your brief stay at Riverwood, when the army was traveling to the front, the town hall board having a request regarding finding missing villagers.  You can't recall the name of the town though.

"What can you tell us about the Duke and the type of patrons we can expect at this celebratory event tomorrow night?"

"The Duke is a crafty and persuasive man name Ramsay.  He likes to torture his enemies slowly with daggers.  His right hand the Sheriff named Renn is a stout swordsman who uses his strength to intimidate others while Ramsay's left hand the Maester named Quyrel is a cunning sorcerer wielding many forms of magic.  The patrons will all be nobles and wealthy townsfolk who are  may or may not be ignorant of the evil of their host.  Many innocent women and some children will be present so we'd prefer that you not go the scorched earth approach but we do understand that in order to preserve life for all, some sacrifice is typically required.  However the bulk of the party will most likely be contained within a section of the house as Ramsay is somewhat of a recluse.  Ramsay will make an appearance before spending a small amount of time to eat or converse before retreating to the more private confines of his house." Inara responds.  

(It appears we may have suffered some casualties.)

Hearing no other questions Inara bids you farewell for the moment.  You are taken to an earthen structure with 7 small rooms that will serve as your resting quarters for the night.  You make your way around the grove speaking with a few passers by.  Many are intrigued to see new faces and recommend you to different places of the grove to enjoy.  You congregate at a large open area where a few bonfires are being setup.  Animal carcasses, vegetables and fruits are brought out and roasted or stewed.  The smell of the succulent food draws a larger crowd and soon you begin to watch as person after person passes by, soup kitchen style, receiving various foods by preference.  You join in the line and are treated to the best food you've ever tasted.  The meats are tender, flavored by natural herbs and perfectly cooked.  Vegetables and fruits are sweet and savory.  Finishing your meals you make your way back to your quarters and gather your things preparing for your recon mission.  

You make your way back to the mother tree and find Inara, Geo and three other druids waiting for you.  "I hope you enjoyed the food and have prepared for this trip.  Remember we are only here to observe and plan.  Stealth is of the upmost importance."  As she finishes she looks over to each of the group members wearing metal armor. "It would be wise to leave your armor here.  We have very fine armor that will still protect but not rattle when moving."  She motions to a nearby druid who rushes off to a distance structure and returns with another druid carrying armor sized for each of you.  "Try these on and get used to them.  They will aid in keeping your presence unknown."  The bone studded leather armor given to you feels sturdy but pliant.  Putting it on the leather feels as smooth as suede and hugs your body.  Interwoven into the leather are small circles of thin wood.  Lifting them slightly reveals a second layer behind the first. Inara watching the interaction says, "Ironbark wood.  It provides nearly the same protection as plate but allows for easier and quieter movement. Are you ready to go?"   Inara asks

(Hopefully just gone for the weekend)

Gabriel inspects the armor with interest, chewing on a piece of meat. "Your help is appreciated. Vaeril willing, your friend will be returned to you unharmed."

Mucor would Thank the druids before removing his metal armor. Already showing new signs of rust and mold forming along the inside, the minotaur would look it over before exhaling a loud snort and tossing it aside. "Perhapse... one such as myself was not meant to wear metal armor anyway... It seems as though my link to mold and decay actively tries to destroy the armor any time I wear it" The large minotaur would say as he takes the replacement and puts it on with a large smile. "The armor... and indeed... this whole grove is simply amazing.... easily the most beautiful thing i have ever seen." Mucor would say leaning heavy on his spear as he looks around at his surroundings. 

(Sorry all. Had a funeral to attend this weekend. I am back and will chime in with formal responses in a bit.)

(Retroactively) Jinara would graciously thank Inara for the details about the Duke, the Sheriff, and the Maester. 

Jinara would bow his head in thanks for the armor. "Thank you for the kind gesture, but might you have any items of protection other than armor? Armor tends to limit my capabilities" he says in Elvish with the most respectful tone. 

"Ah,... yes" Inara says removing her own cloak and handing it towards you. "Here take this.  It should suffice for what we are doing."   Jinara receives: Cloak of Protection