Lightbearers
After the Titan Breakers left Tessera for the first time, the Church of the Reverence sent their own independent agents.
Ep. 1-1: The Lightbearers
Tuesday, Midfall 23, 1127 SF (Sep ?, 2017)
Party: Theri (Basil), Isha (Danana)
On Tessera, the Monastery of Lady Lerim lies in the Kingdom of Hozol. Hozol is on the eastern edge of the Neutral Zone. It's a relatively-new kingdom, founded by merchants and craftsmen. It has a constitutional monarchy, with a house of nobles and a house of commoners. Hozol has always been anti-slavery, and it was one of the founding nations of the Freelands Republic.
Theri and Isha resided at the Monastery. They had distinguished themselves in service to the Church, with excellence in in combat and in adventuring. Theri had demonstrated zeal as a quiet, proud paladin in the Crusaders of the Dawn. Isha had focused on her growth as a monk, and preparing for a leadership role in her order, the Balanced Wheel. The heroes had been on a few missions together, hunting monsters.
A senior priest, Father Ustan Harr, invited the heroes to his study. He asked after their recent adventures and their wellness. Then he brought in a special guest: the Hand of the Church, Patrick Carter. Carter explained that the heroes have been selected for a special task.
Church doctrine has been keeping Tessera isolated from the multiverse. But at the Council of Bitterseed, a group of heroes called the Titan Breakers revealed a major, hostile conspiracy involving agents from other planes. The conspiracy leads to a city called Sigil, at the center of the Outer Planes. Carter also revealed that Strain caused by bloodstones, and can only be undone by retrieving the stones the conspiracy has removed from Tessera. The Titan Breakers have departed for Sigil. The Church is sending their own independent party to retrieve bloodstones and learn more about the planes.
Each hero was given a small crystal pendant with faintly-glowing sand. Carter explained this sand is from the shores of the island of Sunholm, ancient home of the Church of the Reverence of the Eternals.
Theri and Isha said goodbye to friends and family. Then Carter used his divine magic to transport them to Bitterseed. In the basement of the mayor's house, he showed them a portal. Carter explained that on the far side they'll meet a Church sage, Eleor Elmswood. "He's not a warrior or adventurer, but he's the closest thing we have to an expert on Sigil and the planes."
The portal lead to Storm Top: a floating warehouse in the Outlands, guarded by goblins and bugbears. Here the Lightbearers met Eleor, who took them outside to look up at the impossible ring of Sigil, high above the mountain of Spire.
A second portal lead the party to Oneg's Exchange in the Lower Ward of Sigil: an underground arena converted into a portal station, and held by more goblins and bugbears, lead by hobgoblins. Eleor had made arrangements for the party's safe passage, and the Lightbearers stepped into the streets of Sigil.
Ep. 1-2: Claiming a New Home
Tuesday, Midfall 23, 1127 SF (Sep 18, 2017)
Party: Theri (Basil), Isha (Danana)
The Lightbearers are immersed in the endless diversity of Sigil: its esoteric architecture, its busy rabble, its paradoxical gravity. The thick smog of the Lower Ward leaves a bad taste in their mouth but isn't debilitating. As they follow Eleor through the crowd, he explains the ubiquitous Dabus' Blessing: when a being intends to be understood, their audience magically comprehends their language.
Eleor leads the Lightbearers to the Temple of Apollo in the Lower Ward. Once a gorgeous pinnacle of Greek construction, the marble is now streaked with soot and singed with acid rain. The temple's leader introduces himself: "Ghasul Flamebrush, Priest of Apollo and member of the Society of Sensation."
Eleor explains that he's made a deal with Ghasul. The Lightbearers may use the basement for their base, after they clear it out. Some adventurers battled a cult of necromancers in Sigil, then came here for healing. One of the surviving cultists tried to curse the temple. The curse didn't work in the temple proper. However, the temple was built on some underground crypts. Ghasul and his colleagues didn't disturb the crypt when they moved in, but now the curse has raised some undead.
The Lightbearers descend into the darkness, to battle skeletons and a zombie. Isha has a brush with death and needs healing from a cleric of Apollo. Then the heroes finish clearing out the crypt.
