Phil's Contact at White Lantern Shrine

Stub-class article · First seen: s15 · Last seen: s19

Phil’s Contact at White Lantern Shrine is the lead Phil Flowerforge gave the party in session 15: take his note to Hett Varn, a red-haired dwarf with goggles on his forehead, at the half-ruined White Lantern Shrine on the freight road to Aurelia, and “tell him that Phil sent you” [9][8]. The party sailed for the shrine at the end of session 16 and landed on the Aurelian coast in session 18, but never reached it: Mike was executed by a patrol on the road, and in session 19 the party chose not to push on into Aurelia for now [6][31]. The lead is deferred, not closed.

Overview

Phil gave the party the lead in the Eldwythe sewers in session 15, just before parting ways with them. He wrote a short note for Hett Varn, told them to meet him at the White Lantern, “a half-ruined way shrine on the freight road, a few miles from Aurelia’s outer approaches” [8], and added, “Give him this note and tell him that Phil sent you.” [9].

The party has not met Hett. The lead was meant to be their way into Aurelia to find out how to recover the Egg [10]. After the landing in session 18 and Mike’s death on the road, the party chose in session 19 not to press on into Aurelia for now, and the contact stayed unvisited.

Contact and meeting place

  • Hett Varn. A dwarf with red hair and goggles on his forehead, whom Phil calls a tinkerer [1][9]. He has a small safe house in Ashward, on the side of Aurelia where the dock workers and tanners live [11][12]. Phil warned that he could do nothing about the party’s magic, which would be severely limited in Aurelia [11].
  • The White Lantern Shrine. A half-ruined wayshrine on the freight road, where labour wagons and supply carts sometimes stop before entering the city and where Hett tends to stop by [1][8]. It is “a shrine” and not a pub, as Caelumn first thought [13], a bit north towards the coast from Aurelia [14], on the freight road at the outskirts of Aurelia’s north entrance [15].
  • Does Hett expect them? No. The party was redeeming a favour he owes Phil, and he does not know they are coming [16][17].

History in the campaign

Session 15: The Death of Ruin and Althea Joins

Main article: Session 15

In the sewers, Terry asked about Phil’s contact. Phil named Hett Varn, said he kept a safe house in Ashward, and warned that he could do nothing about the party’s magic and that the friend with the horns would have a bad time in Aurelia [18]. As he turned back he wrote a note, named the White Lantern as the place to meet Hett, described him as a red-haired dwarf with goggles, and told them to say that Phil sent them [19]. Caelumn had him repeat the name and the place [20].

Session 16: Through the Sewers, Onto the Skiff

Main article: Session 16

Leaving the sewer mouth on the skiff, the party was offered four courses: seek out Phil’s contact and “walk into the mouth of the lion”, follow Maelis’s trail to Velkris, go back to Umbrafall, or gather strength elsewhere [21]. Caelumn took the White Lantern for a pub until the DM corrected him [13]. A History check gave “a bit north towards the coast from Aurelia”, roughly three days’ sailing [14], and the DM asked whether the plan was to go for the shrine and the table agreed [22]. The session closed as they set sail for Aurelia [23].

Session 17: New Hands, the Black Mask’s Renegotiation, and the Rimeclaw

Main article: Session 17

At sea with the new arrivals Mike and Steven, the party sighted land to the west and an Aurelian tower to the south, and steered away from the tower [24]. Terry and Hugo reminded one another that they were looking for the White Lantern Shrine, on the freight road at the north entrance of Aurelia’s outskirts [25]. The DM said they were still two days from being near it, and the party kept sailing [26].

Session 18: The Wyrm Falls, the Catfish Escapes, and Mike Dies on the Road

Main article: Session 18

After the swim ashore, the DM put the White Lantern Shrine half a day to a day’s travel inland [27][28]. Terry read out his notes: a dwarf with red hair and goggles named Hett Varn, and the phrase “Phil sent us”, which Caelumn said was not a code phrase but what Phil had told them to say [5]. An Aurelian patrol on the road beheaded Mike [29], and the party buried him and moved on towards the shrine [30].

Session 19: A Penitent Priest, an Unmade Leash, and the Pixie in the Dark

Main article: Session 19

The DM opened by saying the party had decided to abandon its quest in Aurelia for now, and Caelumn’s summary was that they were not strong enough and that all magical equipment there needs a permit [6][31][32]. Asked whether to visit Hett first, Hugo noted that Hett did not know they were coming and that they had no obligation to go to him [16][17]. Later the goblin Gristleback offered a dwarf contact of his own, and Hugo recognised Hett: “we know someone else who knows him who’s told us to meet him” [7].

Status

As of session 23. Deferred and unvisited. Hett Varn and the shrine have not come up at the table since session 19 [7].

See also

References

  1. ^ Session 15, line 693: Phil writes the note and names the White Lantern Shrine as the meeting point, "a half-ruined way shrine on the freight road, a few miles from Aurelia's outer approaches".
  2. ^ Session 16, line 1709-1717: The shrine is corrected from a pub to a shrine; a History check puts it roughly three days' sail away; the party chooses it.
  3. ^ Session 17, line 1543-1558: The party recalls the shrine as Aurelia's north entrance and keeps sailing, two days from it.
  4. ^ Session 18, line 1619-1633: Landfall; the shrine is half a day to a day's travel inland.
  5. ^ Session 18, line 1832-1845: Terry reads out his notes on the contact and the "Phil sent us" phrase.
  6. ^ Session 19, line 229: The party abandons its quest in Aurelia "for now".
  7. ^ Session 19, line 645-648: The goblin Gristleback offers his own contact, a dwarf; Hugo names Hett Varn.
  8. ^ Session 15, line 700: Inline citation.
  9. ^ Session 15, line 695: Inline citation.
  10. ^ Session 16, line 1637: Inline citation.
  11. ^ Session 15, line 655: Inline citation.
  12. ^ Session 15, line 660: Inline citation.
  13. ^ Session 16, line 1709-1711: Inline citation.
  14. ^ Session 16, line 1717: Inline citation.
  15. ^ Session 17, line 1544-1545: Inline citation.
  16. ^ Session 19, line 251: Inline citation.
  17. ^ Session 19, line 379: Inline citation.
  18. ^ Session 15, line 649-660: Inline citation.
  19. ^ Session 15, line 693-695: Inline citation.
  20. ^ Session 15, line 697-700: Inline citation.
  21. ^ Session 16, line 1626: Inline citation.
  22. ^ Session 16, line 1735-1741: Inline citation.
  23. ^ Session 16, line 1753: Inline citation.
  24. ^ Session 17, line 1538-1541: Inline citation.
  25. ^ Session 17, line 1543-1545: Inline citation.
  26. ^ Session 17, line 1556-1560: Inline citation.
  27. ^ Session 18, line 1619: Inline citation.
  28. ^ Session 18, line 1633: Inline citation.
  29. ^ Session 18, line 2274-2276: Inline citation.
  30. ^ Session 18, line 2413: Inline citation.
  31. ^ Session 19, line 235: Inline citation.
  32. ^ Session 19, line 242-244: Inline citation.
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