The Astromancer's Armil

Among the many denizens that have been harassing Ember Shoals since the return of the Faedwyr, the scalor have been a particular nuisance to our seafarers. These fish-men, who live in the shallows along the coast, will often raid ships at anchor. And so it happened a couple of months ago, but this time there was a crucial difference. The leader of the raid carried a driftwood staff with a glowing spherical object on one end. The unfortunate crew identified it as an armillary sphere.

An armillary sphere

The survivors of the raid were rescued by members of the Ironheart Accord. I, Rufus, personally interviewed them. When they told me about the glowing sphere I immediately thought of magic. Could it be the Astromancer's Armil, one of the three Druidic relics that could defeat the Faedwyr? I decided to find out.

I organized an expedition and we set out for the site of the raid. From the coast, we could see the wreck of the victims' ship; It had settled into the shallows with the masts sticking above water like a monument to the tragedy. We used incantations that allowed us to move (albeit slowly) and breath underwater. We then ventured below the waves, and were immediately attacked.

The scalor were upon us like we were minnows. We fought as best as we could but were driven from the waters. But we would not give up. We strengthened our magics and returned to the fray. This time, we were more successful, and were able to make some progress to the scalor's lair. But their defenses stiffened and we reached a stalemate. Beyond the line of scalor, we could see their leader gesturing at us with his staff, the sphere still atop it. He grew so angry that he ripped the sphere from the staff and tried to throw it at us. Nevertheless, the scalor defenses were too strong and we were driven back to shore.

Or so I thought. As I stood dripping upon the beach, an object suddenly was flung from the depths and landed on the sands. I walked over and picked it up. As I touched it, I could feel the magic flow through me. I knew in an instant; this was the Astromancer's Armil. But who was the brave hero who retrieved it and tossed it ashore? I have not yet found that out.

We now have 2 of the relics in our hands. We just need to find the Gardener's Rod and then we can assemble the Faethorn!

OOC Notes

• This was the Lore scenario for April, organized by Xhorja (aka Robb).
• The scenario was essentially heavy object, but was set "underwater." The Ironheart Accord had movement restrictions and had to reach an air pocket to breath. This gave a decided advantage to the scalor.
• Xhorja told me that he (as the scalor leader) threw the sphere at us and it was recovered. I did not see that part as I already had been shattered. That's why I took so long to post this; because I did not witness it I was unsure how to portray it. Ultimately, though, I needed to write something because this was a very important Lore event.