Phraenon

History & Truths

Phraenon is a highly advanced magical creation that may be Athonu’s crowning achievement. Knowing that his days of seeking out treasures and knowledge were quickly approaching their end, he magically conjured an entity that could do it for him so that he could vicariously pursue his passions while still maintaining his vitality. Athonu spent many weeks perfecting the exact magical framework needed to allow his creation to act independently but within a precise directive. Once he was satisfied, he sacrificed one of his scales and imbued it with the astral essence of the well to call his homunculus into existence. He imprinted the creature with a number of spells, allowing it to carry out its tasks on its own but made sure it was disallowed from taking any hostile action.

While Athonu did maintain a subconscious link, Phraenon was no puppet. He was completely capable of acting on his own and learning from the world around him so long as he stayed within the parameters he was created with: “Preserve the memory of the world, acquire what was lost, and hide your truth.” As Phraenon interacted with the world and curated the vault’s collection, Athonu’s dreams were filled with the borrowed warmth of a world he could no longer touch.

Plot Hooks

Local Plot:

• Phraenon has been spending large sums of coin to buy out obscure historical artifacts and relics from local shops. A merchant [Culturally Appropriate Merchant Name], who has done business with him on several occasions, has grown highly suspicious of his bottomless funding and strange habits.
• The Trigger: While browsing or negotiating in a local curiosity or antiquity shop, the shopkeeper casually laments or brags about their “most bizarre, bottomless client” named Phraenon. They point out a massive haul of obscure historical items such as old pottery, faded maps, and non-magical relics that he recently purchased for an astronomical sum of gold.
• The Objective: If the players push for details, the merchant notes that Phraenon pays using gold coins that have been out of circulation for millennia. He also reveals that despite Phraenon’s claims of representing an anonymous lord, he carries hundreds of pounds of gold alone and often avoids the major trade roads, instead favoring the small footpaths into the woods toward the Spine mountains (The Airspire and The Stonespire). The party must carefully track his atypical route through the wilderness to uncover where he is transporting his collection.

Regional Plot:

• A criminal gang has noticed a lone, seemingly defenseless scholar carrying many artifacts through the region without any visible guards. While they have attempted to ambush him, he has managed to give them the slip every time. They’ve taken to keeping track of his travel patterns and escape methods to improve their odds.
• The Trigger: The party clears out a bandit hideout on Monsherba and intercepts a smuggler’s cache. Among the recovered loot, they find a heavy iron lockbox containing a private journal.
• The Objective: Upon examining the book, the party finds the bandit leader’s personal notes tracking a traveling scholar. The text reads: “Cornered the curator outside of K’utu. No weapons, no guards. But when my boys lunged, he didn’t even flinch. He just blinked out of thin air like a ghost. We have seen him traveling in the direction of Maslova and Zhaan as well. He always returns toward the same area, The Spires Basin.” A small crudely drawn map details his observed paths. The party must use these notes and the map to navigate the wilderness and find whatever lies at Phraenon’s destination.

Plot Progression

Local Plot:

• Timeline: Triggers upon first speaking with the antiquity merchant | Limit: 21 days after the trigger event.
• If Investigating Phraenon’s Trail: If the party attempts to follow or intercept Phraenon, they must succeed on three successive skill checks to overcome his unnatural efficiency:
  • First Check (DC 13 Intelligence/Investigation): To follow his route, realizing there is a complete lack of camp sites and the bypassing of water sources.
  • Second Check (DC 13 Wisdom/Survival): To find physical signs of his perfectly uniform footprints.
  • Third Check (DC 13 Constitution/Athletics): To match his pace over a grueling multi-day trek, as his lack of sleep or exhaustion means he travels at a relentless speed through the night.

  On a success, they catch up to him and can speak with him about his purchasing habits and to have a chance at uncovering more about his true nature (see the Investigation Table in the Roleplaying Guide). By demonstrating an active interest in preserving history rather than exploiting it, Phraenon will offer to buy historical oddities or artifacts at 120% market value.

• If Phraenon is Ignored: If the time limit expires and the party chooses not to take action on the lead, Phraenon finishes his collection protocols in the area undisturbed and the trail goes cold.
• If Phraenon is Robbed: His strict self-defense protocols trigger and he uses every ability at his disposal to permanently sever contact and vanish from the region. He will actively avoid and will no longer willingly speak with the party members that were present for the interaction.

Regional Plot:

• Timeline: Triggers upon discovering the bandit leader’s journal on Monsherba | Limit: 14 days after the initial discovery.
• If Navigating to the Destination: Should the party utilize the crude map to cross-reference his paths between K’utu, Maslova, and Zhaan, they successfully track Phraenon back to his destination before he changes his trade routes and locate the entrance to the vault within The Spires Basin. Should they confront Phraenon peacefully regarding what they know, he will offer them a single gold coin and explain that it grants the ability to communicate with him over long distances. When held against a magical object, the coin vibrates slightly and sends information about the item to Phraenon. He identifies the item for them within 1 hour, reveals its forgotten historical lore, and details its exact mechanical quirks, curses, or hidden properties.
• If the Timeline Expires: If the party chooses to ignore the information or fails to investigate the trail within the time limit, Phraenon moves on to other opportunities and the trail goes cold.