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Present
Secrets and Shadows of Palanthas
Date: June 17, 2026
Summary
At Bindings and Whispers, Brittany told the party she now had the power to send them straight to Palanthas — the Tower of High Sorcery had relocated there ahead of Brynnan’s Test. Before sending them off, she opened up in a way she never had before: she was created before the Cataclysm by a bard named Braydin, brought into being through his grief and his magic. Not exactly his dead wife, she said, but a distorted memory of her, written onto a page and given life — a truth she’d pieced together herself while reading Astinus’ Chronicles in Palanthas’ great library. She showed them a bracelet marked with a “B” that keeps her from being erased, so long as it’s never sealed inside a book, and trusted the party with the secret. She’s traveled the world and through time since, but can’t make another being like herself — by her own account, she was a one-time accident of grief and power. She warned Brynnan that stories about the wizard Tests aren’t reliable: each one is unique to the candidate, judged as much on character as ability, and can end in death.
Jack answered her openness with some of his own — his time with the Black Wolves mercenary company near Frosthaven, hired for what looked like a routine job by a red-robed man bearing a draconian symbol, only for Frosthaven to vanish the next day. The man turned out to be tied to the Red Dragon Army, and the Black Wolves were branded traitors and scattered; Aemon helped Jack start over afterward. Bimmi, meanwhile, went looking for a stronger hammer from Borin Ironhand, came up empty, and bought a Ring of Protection from the gemologist Simon Napier instead.
Brittany cast her spell, and the party dropped through a starless void before landing hard on a cobblestone street in Palanthas — Titus was sick into a trash can, to the locals’ complete indifference. Brynnan spotted the Tower of High Sorcery roughly three miles off, standing out sharply against the city’s white marble. A gray-robed street wizard, spotted performing tricks for children just as guards approached, quietly pulled the party aside — unlicensed magic is against Conclave law here, and he’d know, having failed his own Test years back. He led them to a private room at an inn called the Rose, the Sword, and the Crown, and explained that the tower in the old city — a six-hundred-foot ruin of black glass — wasn’t the roaming tower for Brynnan’s Test at all. It had been white marble once, until a jumper died on its iron fence and a curse turned it black, emptying the neighborhoods around it. He said Brynnan could bring one companion to the Test’s waiting area, that death was a real risk, and passed along a rumor that a White Robe named Ashwin — who “smiles because she means it” — would be the one to escort him in.
At the Great Library of Palanthas, Brynnan confirmed Ashwin’s record (a first-try Test success, noble family, on staff at the tower) and found records proving the gray-robed wizard really had failed his own attempt. Jack turned up nothing on the Red Dragon Army. Bimmi tried to get into a restricted cooking text called The Flesh Pots, got bounced to the Senate, and ended up pitching his Thunderbrew gummies to Senator Jessup at the Committee on Edibles — Jessup signed off on restricted access, personally intrigued by the product.
Afterward, the party walked to the black tower itself. Fear and nausea built the closer they got; they saw the spot where the jumper had been impaled on the fence, and Sir Jangle studied runes on the glass that shifted mid-story before he could finish reading them. They chose to pull back rather than press further — the sickness eased the moment they retreated. That evening they split up at the inn: Jack and Brynnan took rooms, Bimmi paid for the best private room and turned in early, and Sir Jangle went out to the Golden Cow Tavern.
Short
Brittany finally opened up about herself — a bard’s creation, a distorted memory given life, and a bracelet that keeps her from being erased — before teleporting the party to Palanthas for Brynnan’s Test. There they found a second Tower of High Sorcery, cursed and made of black glass, a mysterious escort waiting for Brynnan, and enough library research and side deals to fill an evening before anyone got near the tower itself.
Classic
Last time, the party had ten days on the clock and a harmonica that wouldn’t stop asking questions. This time the clock ran out early — Brittany found a faster way to Palanthas, and used the trip to finally answer a few questions about herself. What waited on the other end was a second Tower of High Sorcery nobody expected, cursed black glass instead of white marble, and a city’s worth of leads to chase before Brynnan’s Test can even begin.
Snarky
Brittany picked tonight, of all nights, to explain her entire life story — bard, grief, distorted memory, a bracelet doing a lot of heavy lifting — right before flinging the party through a void and dropping them in a new city. Said city has its own Tower of High Sorcery, except this one is cursed, made of glass, and actively unpleasant to stand near, which the party discovered by walking toward it until they felt bad enough to stop. Also: a wizard who failed his own Test is now the party’s tour guide, and a senator got personally invested in gummy candy. Tuesday, basically.
Memorable Moments
Brittany explains, unprompted, exactly what she is — a bard’s grief given form, and a memory that isn’t quite anyone’s.
She’s had that bracelet the whole time. Nobody asked about the bracelet.
The party finds a second Tower of High Sorcery, and it’s black glass instead of white marble for reasons nobody’s going to like.
A jumper, an iron fence, and a curse. Cheerful stuff.
Bimmi pitches gummy candy to a sitting senator and walks out with restricted library access.
Democracy, but make it Thunderbrew.
Scenes
A Bard’s Grief, Given Form
Brittany finally explains where she came from.
- She revealed she was created before the Cataclysm by a bard named Braydin.
- Not his dead wife exactly, she said — a distorted memory of her, written and brought to life.
- She learned the truth herself from Astinus’ Chronicles in Palanthas’ great library.
- She showed the party her bracelet, marked with a “B,” which keeps her from being erased unless it’s sealed inside a book.
- She warned that the wizard Tests are unpredictable and can end in death.
Arrival in Palanthas
A teleport through the void drops the party in a new city.
- The party landed hard on a cobblestone street; Titus was sick into a trash can.
- Brynnan spotted the Tower of High Sorcery roughly three miles off.
- A gray-robed street wizard pulled them aside after nearly being caught performing unlicensed magic.
- He explained the tower in the old city is a separate, cursed structure — not the one Brynnan needs.
The Black Tower
Six hundred feet of cursed glass, and a history to match.
- Once white marble, the tower turned black after a jumper died on its iron fence and a curse took hold.
- Fear and nausea built the closer the party got; Sir Jangle read shifting runes he couldn’t finish.
- The party chose to retreat rather than press further.
Research and Restricted Access
A day at the library turns up answers — and a new connection.
- Brynnan confirmed Ashwin Wineberry’s record as a successful, well-regarded Test graduate.
- Records also confirmed the gray-robed wizard’s own failed Test.
- Bimmi was denied access to a restricted text, then talked his way into it by way of the Senate — and Senator Jessup’s interest in Thunderbrew gummies.
NPCs
Brittany Marginsong
Opened up about her own origins for the first time — created by a bard, carrying a memory that isn’t quite anyone’s, and protected by a bracelet she’s never explained before now.
Gray-Robed Street Wizard
A failed Test-taker himself, he pulled the party out of trouble with the city guard and filled them in on the cursed tower and Brynnan’s coming ordeal.
Ashwin Wineberry
A White Robe wizard, rumored to be Brynnan’s escort for his Test — records confirm a strong reputation and a successful Test of her own.
Senator Jessup
Presiding over the Committee on Edibles, personally intrigued enough by Bimmi’s Thunderbrew gummies to grant him restricted library access.
Locations
Palanthas
The party’s new destination — wheel-patterned streets, white marble districts, and a Tower of High Sorcery of its own.
Tower of High Sorcery (Palanthas)
A six-hundred-foot ruin of black glass, cursed and actively hostile to anyone who approaches. Not the tower Brynnan needs.
The Rose, the Sword, and the Crown
The inn where the party settled in for the night.
The Great Library of Palanthas
Where the party researched Ashwin, the gray-robed wizard’s history, and the Red Dragon Army.
Items
Ring of Protection
Bought by Bimmi from the gemologist Simon Napier.
Bracelet Marked With A B
Brittany’s own — shown to the party for the first time, it keeps her from being erased so long as it’s never sealed inside a book.