15.3 Stand Unbroken

SESSION DATE: August 30, 2025
PRESENT: Rory, Calanthia, Kemurial, Freya

Deep Dive

![[Rory - 15_3 Stand Unbroken.mp4]]
![[Rory - 15_3 Stand Unbroken.m4a]]

Adventure Photos

Adventure Song & Lyrics

![[Stand Unbroken.mp3]]

[Verse 1]
The Duke demands we draw the serpent out
We weigh the risks, consumed by fear and doubt
The talk then turns to legends and their keys
A sleeping goddess carried on the breeze
A careless word, a misunderstanding's sting
A history her deep gnome memories bring
She feels a power buried in the stone
A growing sense that she is not alone

[Chorus]
A message flies on winter's frozen breath
A whispered hope to save this town from death
The answer comes, a promise has been spoken
Tonight, we're told we have to stand unbroken

[Verse 2]
She holds her head, her eyes are shut so tight
She whispers "Two or four?" into the light
Then falls and gasps, "The number must be four!"
A desperate cry to settle an old score
She'd go alone, a reckless, hurried flight
While arcane power gathers in the night
A party split, a friendship starts to fray
As different duties pull us all away

[Bridge]
But Freya's magic cuts the tension deep
A secret word the northern leaders keep
She sends the plea, a message takes to air
To break the silence of our own despair

[Chorus]
A message flies on winter's frozen breath
A whispered hope to save this town from death
The answer comes, a promise has been spoken
Tonight, we're told we have to stand unbroken

[Solo]

[Verse 3]
The answer comes, a voice of ice and might
"The prophecy's confirmed, you see the light"
The path is clear, our purpose now is one
Until this final, desperate battle's won
For winter herself now marches to the fight
To help us hold the gate with all her might
Our fractured purpose now is knit again
To stop the siege and put an end to pain

[Chorus]
A message flies on winter's frozen breath
A whispered hope to save this town from death
The answer comes, a promise has been spoken
Tonight, we're told we have to stand unbroken

[Chorus]
The Kislev heart beats strong within these walls
We'll face the fire, answering the calls
The western gate will see our promise spoken
And in the darkness, we will stand unbroken

World Anvil Journal

sooo... we tawked with the dook abowt a pwan to dwaw owt awek demoncwaw. we talked abowt the powtaw in the tent but we dunno how to get in thewe. we decided that findin the cwythtaw keyth fow awianka ith the betht idea. we awweady have one key.

kimiweel athked cawanthia if she had any undewgwound fwendth to hewp uth. she got weawwy mad but he jutht meant wike wogueth not cuz shes a deep nome. it wath a mithundewthtandin. the dook thed he dothnt no much abowt thieveth guiwdth but the athathin attack on uth showth they awe hewe.

cawanthia fewt thtwongwy that awianka ithnt ded an we need to fwee hew. she got weawwy quiet an put hew handth on hew head. she whithpewed two keyth ow fow. thin she feww down onto the fwoow an wath thweatin a wot an owt of bweath. she wooked up an thed FOW KEYTH. WE NEED FOW KEYTH. WE NEED TO GET ON THITH NOW. she thed she thinkth it wath awianka tawkin to hew but i wath a wittow wewy it mite be a twik.

thewe wath awtho the attack on the wetht gate that viwwem wawnd uth abowt tonite. cawanthia weawwy wanted to weave wite now to find the ithe qween. she thed she wud go awone if we wint to the battow fiwtht. that thownded wike a tewwibow idea to me. goin awone ith weckweth.

fwaya had a gwate idea. she thed she cud catht a thendin thpeww to tawk to the ithe qween. the dook gave uth a thecwet wowd to uthe tho she wud no ith wath uth. the wowd wath zimvow.

fwaya thent the methaje an the ithe qween anthewowed. she thed THAND UNBWOKEN. WEINFOWCEMENTH WIDE THWIFT. PWOFETHY CONFIWMED. KEYTH GUIDE PUWPUTHE. WINTEW HEWTHEWF MAWCHETH WITH YOU. HOWD WETHT GATE. KITHWEVTH HAWT BEATTH STWONG WITHIN PWAAG. tho it wookth wike we awe goin to the wetht gate aftew aww.

we wint shoppin befowe we weft.

dwaugnir pweethe pwotect uth at the wetht gate. an pweethe keep my pawenth thafe whewevew they awe.

Private Notes

• Last we left off, the duke suggested we make a plan to draw out the "head of the snake", who we believe to be Arek Daemonclaw. We spend some time discussing how we might do that.
• We recall the portal we believe to be in the tent north of the city's walls. But after discussing how to gain entry to the tent, we're unsure how we'd do that with all the forces surrounding it and the city. Then we talk about finding Arianka and the crystal keys. We believe this to be our next best step. We already have one key, and we were told that we should perhaps seek out the Ice Queen as it's believe she has another of the keys.
• Kemurial asks Calanthia if she can put out any feelers using her underground connections. She gets defensive as it clearly hits a nerve. But Kemurial meant "underground" to me things like rogue connections, not her Deep Gnome ancestry, and cools off. Simple misunderstanding. Calanthia asks about thieves guilds around Praag, but the Duke is unsure. Calanthia reiterates that while her methods might be seen as uncouth by many, she uses them for the good of the city and the whole area. The Duke explains that he has his own assassins and they've pretty much rooted out those that are/were known. He says she's likely to know more than him about these types of groups. He tells her everything he knows. There are obvious signs of guild activity in the city, the biggest being the assassination attempt on us earlier on. It's unsure if there's a structured guild still surviving in the city, though. Kemurial suggests we'll have to investigate it ourselves. Calanthia says she also believes going after the crystal keys is the right answer.
• Calanthia believes the goddess Arianka is not dead, and we need to release her. Calanthia holds her hands up to her head, squinting as if concentrating deeply. She whispers "Two keys or four?" Rory asks her who she's talking to, but she doesn't answer. Calanthia has to make a Wisdom Saving Throw, and rolls high. Calanthia suddenly collapses to the floor, sweating profusely and out of breath. She looks up and says "Four keys. We need four keys. We need to get on this NOW." We ask her again how she knows this and who she was talking to, and she says "I think it was Arianka speaking directly to me. She sounds weak." Rory's weary that the entity she spoke to might be attempting to fool us.
• There's also the arcane attack Villem warned us about happening tonight, so there's also that we might need to deal with. Lots of things are happening all of a sudden.
• We all roll an Insight check on the message Calanthia received from "Arianka". Seems legit, and we take her at her word.
• Rory suggests attending the battle at the west gate to at least get information on tactics used, particularly if Arek Daemonclawshows up, and maybe even joining in if it looks like there's an opportunity. Then we could go to speak with the Ice Queen. Calanthia is adamant about searching RIGHT NOW for these keys, and that if we were to go to the battle first, she'd leave and pursue it on her own. That doesn't sounds like a good idea to Rory. He knows she's a capable and sneaky rogue, but going after a goddess with all the dangers that are present, ALONE, is a terrible idea anyway.
• Calanthia wants nothing more than to move NOW to meet the Ice Queen, even though she's not even here yet, and trying to make our way through the many thousands of forces surrounding the city just seems reckless, even to Rory, which is saying something!
• We have three leads currently. We can go to the defense of the wall now and see what we're up against. We can wait for the Ice Queen to seek out more information. Or we can pursue Arianka's location.
• Freya says she can cast Sending to try to contact the Ice Queen. Great idea! The Duke gives us a word to use to verify the voracity of our inquiry, that being "Zimvol", which loosely translates to "Winter's Will". It's a codeword used by the Kislev leaders in official messaging so they can authenticate themselves. Good to know for future use.
• Kemurial asks Calanthia her intentions. Will she follow us, or go on her own? Calanthia seems to come around for the time being, acknowledging Kemurial as the group's leader.
• Calanthia carefully crafts a message for Freya to send: "Zimvol. Praag is in desperate straights. Help Needed ASAP. Prophecy Confirmed. Keys Needed. Seek Kemurial upon arrival. Chaos Forces Attacking with Magic at West Gate." Freya casts the spell, and receives a response: "Stand unbroken. Reinforcements ride swift. Prophecy confirmed. Keys guide purpose. Winter herself marches with you. Hold West Gate. Kislev’s heart beats strong within Praag."
• We take some time to do some shopping as Kemurial needs to buy some potions before heading to the western gate.

That's it for this session!

Adventure Loot

Loose Gold Found

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• Gold has been split