Recaps

Renato entered the palace’s identity verification room and met Rafada, a young Royal Mage who was supposed to screen him. When Rafada accidentally gave him a page covered in Abyssal writing, Renato recognized several titles belonging to Orcus.

• Renato followed a guard through the palace, memorizing corridors and rooms to help map the grounds with Klauthsura.
• The guard brought Renato to an identity verification room and said a Royal Mage inside would handle his registration.
• Renato questioned Rafada’s authority because he looked like a child, but Rafada insisted he was the mage in charge.
• Rafada handed Renato the wrong parchment, and Renato noticed that its complex markings included Abyssal script.
• Renato deciphered several titles on the parchment and realized they referred to Orcus, a Demon Lord and one of the Five Pillar Gods of the Abyss.

Renato suspected Rafada of serving Orcus after finding Abyssal writing and strange patterns on his parchment, and interrogated him while pinning his hand to the table. Rafada denied being a cultist and claimed the writing was an analytical model copied from research by His Highness Pure White.

• Renato considered Orcus’s growing influence and wondered whether Rafada was one of his followers.
• Rafada tried to retrieve the parchment, but Renato pinned his hand to the table with his Mithral Gauntlet.
• Renato accused Rafada of hiding the meaning of the Abyssal writing and patterns, while Rafada protested that he did not understand the accusation.
• Renato said the parchment gave him reason to suspect Rafada worshipped an evil god of the Great Glacier.
• Rafada denied being a worshipper, said he had grown up in the Niter Kingdom, and claimed the writing was an analytical model copied from His Highness Pure White’s research.

Renato confronted Rafada about the Abyssal writing and learned that Soul-Loss Disease was a curse cast by the Demon Lord Orcus. Rafada explained that the curse stole its victims’ souls, leaving their bodies alive but empty.

• Renato hid his grip on Rafada’s wrist when a guard entered, then released him after the guard left.
• Renato apologized by explaining his hostility toward those who worshipped Demon Lords, and Rafada accepted his explanation.
• Renato asked why Her Highness Pure White had studied the Abyssal writing, and Rafada said she had spent months reconstructing the curse to understand it.
• Rafada said Soul-Loss Disease was an Abyssal curse cast by Orcus and explained that divine spells could not lift it.
• Rafada revealed that the curse gradually drew out its victims’ souls, leaving their bodies breathing and moving without them.

Renato questioned Rafada about Nittel Royal City's response to the Soul-Loss Disease and learned how Pure White took power amid famine, riots, and mass executions. Pure White restored order and food distribution, though the city remained under lockdown as the curse continued.

• Renato pressed Rafada for details about the Soul-Loss Disease, Pure White's research, and Nittel Royal City’s lockdown.
• Rafada explained that the disease was initially mistaken for a harmless magical plague, and neglect, hoarding, and food shortages led to widespread chaos across the southern kingdoms.
• Rafada recounted how Nittel III ordered sick refugees driven away, leading to violent clashes and mass executions outside the city.
• After nearly a thousand people died in riots and massacres, Nittel III fled, and Pure White seized control of the Niter Kingdom.
• Pure White restored order, punished commanders responsible for killings, and accepted refugees into Nittel Royal City despite the knights' objections.
• Rafada said Pure White's rationing and centralized management revived farming and ensured residents received daily food.

Renato pressed Rafada for the truth about Pure White and learned that the king had disappeared into the White Tower, unresponsive to the Royal Mage Corps for months. Rafada’s revelation triggered a quest offering Renato 10,000 experience points.

• Renato challenged Rafada’s explanation for why Pure White had not announced progress on curing Soul-Loss Disease.
• Renato bluffed that the Royal Mages had stripped Pure White of his authority, frightening Rafada into revealing that he knew the truth.
• Renato persuaded Rafada to confide in him by promising secrecy and offering friendship with the Fernando Family.
• Rafada said Pure White had not left the White Tower for months and had ignored every communication from the Royal Mage Corps.
• Renato saw a new quest from Rafada in the [Adventurer's Guide] and was stunned by its 10,000 experience-point reward.

Renato accepted the quest to help Rafada reach the top of the White Tower, learning that Pure White had once reclaimed souls from Orcus at the cost of Nittel becoming a looping demiplane. Rafada explained that the kingdom was nearing collapse without its king, and Renato asked him to record everything he knew about the tower before they entered.

• Renato read the quest description and realized that Pure White's fate and Nittel's crisis were tied to the Gods and Orcus.
• Renato accepted the quest, reasoning that entering the White Tower was already part of his plan to find a way out.
• Renato warned Rafada that entering the tower without permission would expose them to lethal defenses.
• Rafada described worsening soul-loss disease, a growing rift between the Mage Corps and the knights, and a food shortage caused by the vacant throne.
• Renato agreed to help Rafada reach Pure White, then ordered him to write down everything he knew about the White Tower's entrance, layout, and defenses.

Renato returned from the Royal Palace with information and Rafada’s help for entering the White Tower, while Novak warned him to stay calm amid the kingdom’s troubles. At the Burning Wood Inn, Renato reunited with Klauthsura.

• Renato reviewed what he had learned about Pure White’s condition, the White Tower, and Rafada’s assistance.
• Novak told Renato that the mages might have taken control of Pure White and that his documents might never have reached the king.
• Novak urged Renato to avoid provoking further turmoil and to let the knights focus on threats outside the city.
• Renato assured Novak that he understood the need for restraint and stability.
• Renato reached the Burning Wood Inn and embraced Klauthsura as Novak rode on toward the city gate.

Renato reunited with Klauthsura at the Burning Wood Inn after his visit to the Royal Palace, and she explained how she had prepared the inn’s cellar as a hiding place for the night. With sunset still more than two hours away, Renato gave her Rafada’s copied notes about the White Tower, King Nittel, and the Legendary Mage “Pure White,” then began telling her about Rafada.

• Klauthsura told Renato that Novak had reached the city gate and could no longer hear them.
• Klauthsura explained that the Royal Palace’s magical defenses had kept her from following Renato inside, so she returned to the inn and hypnotized Matt into sleeping in his room.
• Klauthsura opened the cellar’s magically sealed door and described how its structure and their preparations would protect them from the undead that night.
• Renato and Klauthsura discussed the cellar’s risks, escape options, and backup plans, then agreed to spend the night there.
• Renato handed Klauthsura Rafada’s notes about the White Tower, King Nittel, and “Pure White,” and began telling her that he had met Rafada.

Renato and Klauthsura survived another night underground as Nittel Royal City changed from undead to living at dawn, and Renato sensed the transition was taking longer. As they left the cellar, Royal Mage Rafada arrived at the Burning Wood Inn asking for Renato.

• At dawn, Renato sensed the city's negative energy retreat and its residents and buildings return to life.
• Renato concluded that the daytime residents and nighttime undead were the same people, and that their actions as undead might follow their daytime intentions.
• Renato noticed that the city's change from death to life had taken nearly five seconds, longer than the previous dawn, and feared the Demiplane might be collapsing.
• Renato and Klauthsura packed away their equipment and left the cellar after confirming the inn had returned to its living state.
• Royal Mage Rafada knocked at the inn and asked whether Sir Renato was staying there.

Renato, Rafada, and Klauthsura prepared to infiltrate the Royal Palace and enter the White Tower to rescue a Legendary Mage. After Rafada accepted Klauthsura as a trusted companion, the trio approached the palace garden with a simple plan and assigned Renato to use his sword inside the Mage Tower.

• Innkeeper Matt panicked after learning Rafada was a Royal Mage and hurriedly brought him and Renato complimentary food and wine.
• Rafada told Renato that abuses by Royal Mages, including cruel human experiments, had made ordinary people fear them.
• Renato introduced Klauthsura to Rafada and vouched for her, and Rafada agreed to trust her because he trusted Renato.
• Rafada and Klauthsura devised a brief route through a small palace gate and garden toward the White Tower, while Renato wondered at their lack of backup plans.
• At the garden entrance, Rafada prepared to charm the guards and disable detection devices, while Klauthsura planned to camouflage herself and Renato; they told Renato he would need his sword inside the Mage Tower.

Rafada used charm magic to make a suspicious Royal Guard leave the garden, then dispelled its anti-invisibility barrier. He went alone to disable the palace’s alarm devices while Renato and Klauthsura waited, leaving them prepared to enter the White Tower if he did not return within thirty minutes.

• A Royal Guard questioned Rafada’s orders and reached toward an alarm buzzer, but Rafada charmed him into leaving the gate.
• Rafada broke the garden’s invisible warding barrier and warned that its maintainers might discover the breach within an hour.
• Rafada asked Klauthsura to keep Renato hidden in the garden while he dismantled the remaining alarm devices alone.
• Klauthsura set a thirty-minute limit before they would breach the Royal Palace and enter the White Tower.
• Rafada asked Renato to rescue Her Highness “Pure White” and save Nittel if something happened to him, then entered the garden alone.

Renato, Klauthsura, and Rafada infiltrated the Royal Palace, while Klauthsura grew suspicious of Rafada’s extraordinary magic and suspected he had deceived them. They reached the main hall’s entrance and prepared to proceed toward His Highness Pure White’s bedchamber and the White Tower.

• Rafada returned after disabling more than half of the garden’s Magic Devices, prompting Klauthsura to warn Renato that his spellcasting ability seemed abnormal.
• Klauthsura concluded Rafada had either misrepresented the garden’s defenses or concealed his true abilities, and Renato privately doubted she had the whole answer.
• Rafada led Renato and Klauthsura through a side hall, charming more than twenty royal guards so they fell asleep in their rooms.
• At the main hall, Rafada warned that dismantling its anti-invisibility Warding Barrier could alert the Royal Mages.
• Renato drank Oil of Speed and prepared an explanation for his presence, while Klauthsura disguised herself as a royal guard.
• Rafada said the route through the main hall led to His Highness Pure White’s bedchamber, where they could reach the White Tower and save the Niter Kingdom.

Renato, Klauthsura, and Rafada reached the king’s bedchamber while avoiding the palace patrols, but the door opened before Rafada could dispel its magic. The Chief Mage emerged and threatened to punish Rafada as a traitor.

• Renato saw a frightened Mage Apprentice drop parchment and reflected on the harsh treatment of apprentices.
• Rafada guided Renato and Klauthsura through side galleries and courtyards to the king’s bedchamber.
• Rafada dismissed the nearby maids and moved to dispel the magic on the door.
• Renato noticed the door’s spell patterns shifting and pulled Rafada back when he realized someone was opening it from inside.
• The Chief Mage stepped out, recognized Rafada, and demanded an explanation for bringing the others there.
• The Chief Mage threatened to turn Rafada into a stone statue and imprison him eternally.

Renato, Klauthsura, and Rafada entered the royal bedchamber to reach the White Tower and rescue the Pure White King. Renato and Klauthsura killed the suspicious Chief Mage, then Renato urged Rafada to help Klauthsura find the entrance while he guarded the door.

• Rafada tried to explain his presence by claiming he had lost an identity verification form, while Renato distracted the Chief Mage with an argument.
• The Chief Mage saw through their excuses and interrogated Rafada about how he knew the mage was in the royal bedchamber.
• Klauthsura struck the Chief Mage with lightning, but his Runestone absorbed the attack, and Renato then slashed through the mage's magical defenses and stone-hardened body.
• Renato crushed the Chief Mage's skull with his Mithral Gauntlet, and Klauthsura entered the bedchamber.
• Renato pulled Rafada into the room and told him to help Klauthsura find the White Tower's entrance while he guarded the door.

Renato and Klauthsura reached the sealed mirror entrance to Pure White’s tower, but their attempt to open it failed and Klauthsura warned that dispelling its defenses would take hours. Rafada unexpectedly entered the mirror with ease, revealing that the way into the White Tower was already open to him.

• Renato surveyed the abandoned royal bedchamber after killing the Chief Mage, while Klauthsura examined the mirror that served as the White Tower’s entrance.
• Klauthsura tried to open the mirror with psionic power, but its defenses blasted her backward and resisted her efforts.
• Klauthsura estimated that her instruments would need six to eight hours to dispel the entrance’s protective spells.
• Renato prepared to leave and attack the palace forces while Klauthsura continued working on the mirror.
• Rafada put his arm through the mirror, said the entrance was already open, and stepped inside.

Renato and Klauthsura entered the White Tower and found it in ruins, with its equipment and protective magic worn away by age. Rafada appeared on the staircase and urged them to climb to the top, where the tower’s master had conducted experiments.

• Renato passed through the mirror into the White Tower and cautiously surveyed its dilapidated interior.
• Klauthsura entered after Renato, and her Psionics Beacon Eye confirmed they had reached the tower at the center of Nittel Royal City.
• Klauthsura noted that the tower’s human-made structure and equipment had deteriorated as its protective magic failed.
• Renato wondered whether Pure White had died long ago and the demiplane was being sustained only by lingering magic.
• Rafada appeared on the staircase and told Renato and Klauthsura to climb toward the top of the tower, warning them about gaps in the stairs.

Renato and Klauthsura found Rafada restoring a ruined Magic Door and confronted him about his extraordinary powers and knowledge of the Mage Tower. The chapter ended with Renato asking Rafada to explain himself and trust them.

• Renato and Klauthsura climbed the cracked stairs to the next floor of the Mage Tower.
• Rafada repaired a corroded Magic Door, restoring its materials and enchantments, and proposed a shortcut through the tower.
• Renato grew alarmed at Rafada's abilities and wondered whether they were connected to the Royal City's cycles of day and night and life and death.
• Klauthsura accused Rafada of using power unlike human spellcasting and questioned how he had opened the tower's defenses without verification.
• Renato pointed out that Rafada had claimed not to know the tower's layout, then urged him to explain his secrets.

Renato questioned Rafada about how he opened the Mage Tower, and Rafada explained that touching a magic mirror had brought back strange, familiar fragments of memory. The group remained uncertain about the cause but decided to follow Rafada toward the tower’s top and the Spatial Node.

• Rafada pleaded with Renato to believe that he had opened the entrance without knowing how, after memories surfaced when he touched the magic mirror.
• Klauthsura rejected Rafada’s explanation, arguing that the mirror concealed powerful defenses that could not be bypassed by accident.
• Renato told Rafada that he believed him, then asked him to describe the memories that had returned.
• Rafada said the tower’s rooms, stonework, and magical patterns felt familiar, as though he had visited many times, and guessed that Pure White had sent him information.
• Renato ended the questioning and asked Rafada to lead them through the Magic Door toward the tower’s top.

Renato and Klauthsura followed Rafada up the outside of the Tower of Pure White through deadly winds and clouds of negative energy. Rafada explained the tower's emergency escape stairs and admitted that fragmented, dreamlike memories left him unsure what was real as they neared the Art Gallery.

• Renato, Klauthsura, and Rafada walked along transparent magical steps outside the tower while its damaged warding barrier struggled against the death wind.
• Renato asked Rafada whether the strange surroundings were an illusion or a separate space, and Rafada explained that the Tower of Pure White stood above the Royal Palace.
• Rafada said he had restored the tower's Emergency Escape Route, a staircase of pure force designed to let apprentices escape if the tower's structure or spells failed.
• Rafada admitted to Renato that fragmented images filled his mind and that he could not tell whether they were real memories or illusions.
• Rafada led them onward, saying the Art Gallery was close and the summit was only a little farther beyond it.

Renato, Rafada, and Klauthsura prepared to enter the Art Gallery, where bound spirits and incorporeal creatures had to be avoided. After the White Tower shook and Rafada warned that it was toppling, Klauthsura said their target was close and urged them onward.

• Renato confirmed with Rafada that they needed to cross the Art Gallery quietly and enter the guardroom through the third magic mirror on the right.
• Rafada explained that the gallery was part of His Highness's failed experiment, The Revel That Never Ends.
• The White Tower shook violently, but Rafada remained standing in place.
• Rafada warned that the tower was gradually toppling and said they could not wait any longer.
• Klauthsura rose and told Renato that their target was nearby as they prepared to enter the Art Gallery.

Renato, Rafada, and Klauthsura entered the banquet hall in the White Tower, where disguised astral creatures gathered under magical bonds. To escape the demiplane, Renato led Klauthsura into the dangerous revel, heading for the entrance to the Guard Room.

• Renato reasoned that Pure White's Mage Tower was the core of a ritual that preserved Nittel Royal City and kept Orcus's negative energy at bay.
• Rafada opened the ornate doors, revealing a brightly lit banquet hall filled with finely dressed guests, food, and music.
• The master of ceremonies transformed into an insectoid monster after Renato introduced himself, then returned to human form and announced him to the hall.
• The guests stopped and stared at Renato before resuming their celebration, and Klauthsura told him they were dangerous incorporeal astral creatures disguised as humans.
• Renato led Klauthsura into the Never-Ending Revel to cross the hall and reach the Guard Room.

Renato and Klauthsura navigated the Art Gallery’s enchanted banquet while carefully acting like noble guests to avoid provoking its hidden monsters. A knight stopped them with Baron Morlock’s invitation, and Klauthsura identified the knight as a powerful fiend.

• Renato politely refused a maid’s caviar and continued playing the part of a noble guest to avoid the Art Gallery’s punishment mechanism.
• Renato and Klauthsura proceeded toward the far end of the hall while Rafada went off alone in another direction.
• Renato turned aside several banquet guests with fitting excuses as he made his way through the crowd.
• A huge armored knight blocked Renato and Klauthsura and repeated Baron Morlock’s invitation to a private box.
• Klauthsura told Renato telepathically that the knight was a powerful fiend, not a spirit or Astral Plane creature.

At the banquet, Renato and Klauthsura faced a powerful fiend who insisted that they meet Baron Morlock. With the other guests becoming increasingly threatening, Renato agreed, and the fiend used a runestone to transport them away.

• Renato tried several excuses to get past the fat knight, but it kept repeating Baron Morlock’s invitation.
• The banquet guests revealed glimpses of their monstrous forms as Renato realized the Astral Plane aberrations were waiting for him to break character.
• Klauthsura warned Renato that the hall could turn dangerous and advised him to meet Baron Morlock.
• Renato accepted the invitation in an offended aristocratic tone, but the knight summoned a runestone instead of leading them to a room.
• The runestone shattered and transported Renato, Klauthsura, and the fiend away as the guests resumed their revel.

Renato and Klauthsura encountered the mysterious noble Morlock in a private room within the White Tower's Art Gallery. Morlock revealed himself as a Barbazu Devil and claimed he might be their friend, enemy, or savior.

• A spatial structure shifted Renato and Klauthsura from the banquet hall to a private sitting room in the Art Gallery.
• Morlock appeared and cryptically addressed Renato, who demanded to know who he was and why he had brought them there.
• Klauthsura recognized Morlock as a Barbazu Devil and warned Renato to be careful.
• Morlock transformed into his devil form and told Renato he could be his friend, enemy, or savior.

Baron Morlock Scorching Heart revealed himself as a pit fiend and silenced Klauthsura while seeking a private conversation with Renato. After Renato inferred that Morlock had limited freedom in the Never-Ending Revel, the devil proposed working together to end its twisted cycle.

• Morlock partially revealed his devil form, and Klauthsura warned Renato that he was a powerful pit fiend.
• Morlock magically silenced Klauthsura, then released the spell after Renato threatened him.
• Renato challenged Morlock’s claim to have come in peace and deduced that the devil could not act freely in the Never-Ending Revel.
• Morlock introduced himself as Baron Morlock Scorching Heart, a Baatezu noble from Phlegethos, and identified Renato as Dakoul’s chosen.
• Morlock proposed that he and Renato work together to end the Never-Ending Revel’s twisted cycle.