The journal came with a strange, magicked map. I told the players that the black lines and names floated just above the map's surface and could be moved.
If the players took the time to read the journal (they did indeed!) they would learn where each of their teacher's friends hailed from. The line from the journal says "The Eye has been stolen by the Pact of the Lich and hidden away in the library near the place my loved ones' paths cross." So if the players moved the name markers over the corresponding hometown, the lines would cross in one spot.
I set this up by making an actual map page in Roll20, and then setting the little named tower markers with the lines as tokens on the token layer, and presented them as simply lying on a sidebar. Then I gave all the players permissions on the token so they could move them themselves. It was a little twitchy, specifically because the tokens were big and my players weren't used to grabbing tokens layered over each other, but with a little help from me in grabbing and moving them, they were able to work the puzzle just fine.
Erris’s Party:
Erris Dawnforge
Kay Palantir (half elven bard, who incidentally, is still alive in Riverport and who lost part of his memory of this.)
Ingot Stonebottom (a dwarven battle cleric, who is the same dwarf that stumbled dying into the pub in the Tomb of Crossed Swords)
Rufus Setter (a human Lore bard and swordsman, now a lich guarding the Tomb)
*Axellia of Daggerford, a human Wizard.
*Roscoe Stoutfoot, a halfling rogue
*Elahir Oakenheel, an Elven Ranger
Eyenafer of Tyr, a dragonborn Paladin
1441 The Claw of Winter, 15
Axella has determined that the Eye of Death is in the possession of a cult of Vecna known as the Pact of the LIch. The artifact is a Lesser Eye, thank goodness, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less dangerous. We had feared that it was, in fact, the dreaded Eye of Vecna, but that is no longer thought to be the case.
The Eye has been stolen by the Pact of the Lich and hidden away in the library near Gillian’s Hill. What the cult is doing with the library is anyone’s guess. But we knew we had to get it away from them, because we knew great evil would come of allowing such a corrupt sect access to such a powerful artifact.
1441 The Claw of Winter, 16
The library, long a haven for scholars and scribes for centuries, is in ruin, the scrolls and tomes therein ruined by foul magic. I thought Axella and Rufus were going to be sick when they saw the defilement. Such knowledge gone and ruined. For Axella, being a great scholar of Wizardry, and Rufus, of the Bardic College of Lore, it is all too much. It’s here where we make our stand.
1441 The Claw of Winter, 17
Axellia and Elahir are dead, and Eyenhafer, always the hero even to the end, died trying to shield them. There wasn’t much left of her. May she rest in peace. The Cult took great pleasure in finishing her off. Dear, valiant Elahir made a heroic last stand, even shot with arrows and clearly breathing his last. He made our people proud. His last arrow found its mark in the heart of one of the foul necromancers.
I must get word back to Waterdeep about poor Axellia. She will be missed, and Waterdeep will be bereft of their finest wizard.
1441 The Claw of Winter, 18
Thank Mystra for dear Roscoe’s nimble halfling fingers. Our quest would have been for naught if not for him. It was he who got the Eye out of the library, with Kay shielding him with what magic he had left. It cost them both their lives, alas. I only hope their sacrifices were not in vain. The sight of Kay’s shattered lute, crushed on the blood-stained stones beside their still bodies, broke me.
1441 The Claw of the Sunsets, 1
I am told that Ingot somehow managed to get back to Gillian’s Hill and died shortly after arriving there. I never imagined that stout Dwarven heart would ever stop beating. I suspect he carried me there as well, as I awoke back in the hamlet, with no knowledge of how I got there, and Ingot dead. My memory of what happened is strangely dim, like bits are missing.
And as for my poor, dear friend Rufus, so proud and reliable. I know he died in the library. I saw his body, torn and pierced beyond all hope. My heart is broken for him. I cannot say what had happened to him before that dreadful end overtook him. He was the rare sort of human one doesn’t mind following into battle. But something about the place got to him. Something about him...I don’t know what. Some look in his eyes I’d never seen before. Something about him made me afraid.
1441 The Claw of the Sunsets 10
Alas, my attempts to retrieve the bodies of my beloved companions have been for naught. The only one of us I was able to honor with a civilized burial is dear Ingot. My one comfort is that I was able to return his body to his dwarven brethren. I fear Roscoe and Kay were defiled by scavengers, and as for those who met their end inside the library, all that was left was their blood staining the stones. Clearly, they were dragged off by whatever fell beings still inhabit that cursed place.
1481 The Feast of Midsummer
What a delightful festival this year. I admit, the presence of students to attend it with me has been a wonderful reprieve from my loneliness. While I would never admit to favorites, I will confess to myself that this summer’s students have pleased me beyond all others. They very much remind me of my own lost chosen family.
1489 Summertide 1
I have been contacted by one Brother Connor, a priest of Deneir, about the library. I have mixed feelings about it. I have long wanted to cleanse it. The Pact of the LIch has abandoned the place, but their defilement remains. It certainly follows that a Deneirian Brother should have a vested interest in recovering the library. I would like that, too. It would honor the blood of my fallen brethren. I shall endeavor to get a party of trustworthy comrades in order. Truth be told, it’s all I have thought about of late. I could rest easy if I could accomplish this last goal.
1489 Summertide 5
I fear that the Pact of LIch has tracked me to the Vale in search of the Eye. I will have to be on my guard. I have very few allies here, and that is by design. The fewer people know the truth of my identity, the better. However, they are determined, and the possibility that they will catch up to me must be considered.
1489 Highsun 20
Damn, but it’s hot. The summer heat shimmers on the water like a fever-dream.
I have scouted out what will likely be one of my final adventures, and while doing so have hidden that which must remain hidden in the very wake of the Enemy’s passage. We have come full circle, it seems, as I doubt they will check their own pockets. The Guardian will keep close watch, as it has always done. And the Pact will come here to the Vale, looking for me.
The thought gives me a great deal of perverse pleasure.
1490 The Feast of the Moon
They come.
I am ready.
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