Title: **
Date: 11-30-2025
Locations: Shai
Characters:
Groups:
Session Summary
- Arriving at The Second Sunset, we find a crowd around the boat
- Pushing our way to the front, we see that our boat has been totally ransacked
- A single stool sits on the deck with a note, sealed in silver wax; a single pebble sits on the stool (the skeletons, Nos, and Athelia are gone)
- God damn Montez
- The note says to come to the silver palace, and that our friends will not be harmed if we come to the palace in the next day
- We take a long rest on the boat
- In the morning, Etron casts Identify on the pebble - itâs nonmagical, but appears to have a little silver lodestone inside. When Adder tosses it in the air and thinks of Montez, it pulls in the direction of the city
- Heading to The Silver Palace, we feel like weâre being watched
- Coming upon the gates, weâre escorted inside by an unusually large number of guards
- Entering the throne room, there are seven chairs, only three of which are filled. A robed figure in a silver mask sits in one - The Overseer of Shai
- The guards stand surprisingly far behind us, to the extent that one of us could run to the overseer and attack before they caught us
- The Overseer of Shai tells us:
- After we killed The Lord of Beauty, Carcosa sent out a missive calling for The Blackstars to be captured and brought to Carcosa, or killed
- A mysterious illness has befallen Shai, and The Overseer of Shai has reason to believe itâs cause by something in the water.
- He presents us a deal - either he turns us in to The King in Yellow, or he locks us in the Aqueduct to figure out the cause of this illness and tells The King in Yellow that heâs captured us. If we solve the problem and escape, he wonât pursue us to our boat and will owe us a debt.
- Gino follows his compass
- The path winds through Shai
- It leads to a large, strange building - each little segment of the building looks like itâs in a completely different architectural style. Itâs a cathedral, built of churches from all over the world (The Cathedra of Glass)
- Inside the cathedra, the compass is really starting to swing around - it leads to a yellow corner dedicated to the zealots of The King in Yellow
- Specifically, it points to one bald, middle-aged man in a white robe
- Phari talks to him (Phari doesnât have the kingâs mark)
- Heâs very zealous, and does nothing but sell his religion - Phari upsets him and he says âyour curiosity is like a black star that blocks the golden lightâ. When he says this, his pupils morph into crosses for just a moment.
- Phari talks to him (Phari doesnât have the kingâs mark)
- Specifically, it points to one bald, middle-aged man in a white robe
- Inside the cathedra, the compass is really starting to swing around - it leads to a yellow corner dedicated to the zealots of The King in Yellow
- We head to The House of Veins
- Stepping inside, the place is a mess. There are bloodied bandages everywhere, and patients covered in bleeding sores and retching blood are in beds all over
- The person in charge tells us that for months, people have been succumbing to this strange illness. Theyâve determined itâs in the water, and after Etron cast Identify, weâve determined there to be some sort of magic going on in the water. Casting destroy water, a tiny amount of liquid like spoiled blood remains.
- We head back to The Second Sunset and take a rest
- We head back to The Silver Palace, ready to delve into The Aqueducts of Shai
- The Overseer of Shai leads us up some stairs to a balcony. From here, we can see snowy plains ~40 miles north. This is odd - itâs about 70 degrees here. Adder recalls that this is actually not snow, but ash, that has been falling since The Age of Apostasy
- Weâre led further, to a giant stone door controlled with two chains. Inside, numerous cells full of prisoners line the walls. Adder recalls that Shai uses The Aqueduct Prison for its worst criminals; the door closes behind us.