Session 85: The Last Resting Place

Prism of Truth, Snapdragon, and Blazer Oprheus choose to go north to seek out the last resting place of the fallen twenty-three, the bastion known only as the Hidden Fortress. They choose to ask an old friend to accompany them—White Bone Sinner, who wants to help them in order to save his master, the Walker in Darkness. Calling on Snapdragon’s ties to the Cult of the Illuminated, they also recruit a friendly Sidereal to aid them, a Chosen of Secrets called May Blossom.

The five Exalted travel northward, past the edges of the Hundred Kingdoms, until they reach the borders of the nation of Halta. They decide to stop in Halta’s capital, Chanta, to pick up winter supplies and food for the journey. While there, they are guided by an ata-pard—an intelligent tree leopard—by the name of Myler. They marvel at Halta’s strange culture and customs before moving on.

Their last stop at anything resembling civilization in the North is a small town called Wangler’s Knob. Currently, the town is surrounded by a vast tent city of treasure hunters, drawn by the rumors of First Age wealth hidden in the surrounding mountains. A small-time con man tries to cheat them out of their money with a bait-and-switch involving an enchanted knife, but May Blossom uses her feminine charms to get him to hand over the real knife.

Unfortunately, the thief has also angered a visiting Dragon-Blooded dignitary. Rather than deal with it the long way, White Bone Sinner just knocks the guy’s teeth out and sends his men packing. May Blossom realizes that this could wind up being a problem and uses her Sidereal powers to blank their memories of the incident.

Between the large crowd, the unusual aura of the town, and its presence in a dangerous wilderness with virtually no defenses, Blazer realizes that something is seriously wrong with Wangler’s Knob. He intends to get to the bottom of it all, even though his heart keeps calling him north…