tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55825681562846802692024-02-18T19:56:17.099-08:00Aaron CahoonD&D campaign recaps, thoughts on various nerdy things, and more.Aaron Cahoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10271543349697927169noreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582568156284680269.post-59374943619600949962022-10-29T12:17:00.035-07:002022-10-29T12:24:59.384-07:00James Bond Film Retrospective Introduction<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxJnHds_y3z6bfxSycRRWVRwjA0eY5d2pYkvxgaAF1S5kOQarv_86UWjVU8XDj9b-1w_wb4Dp4vhyEFa3TwlYIQIR-avUMDgRAX9QBKT4K3llpk4oKO9Nb25eAYulJpnIOjogw0K5aGIYRZFV_yU4SOa_PrfKlJhWeXQLjRXAT1mQ3NvcVnfYs9pcUPQ/s1920/247584.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxJnHds_y3z6bfxSycRRWVRwjA0eY5d2pYkvxgaAF1S5kOQarv_86UWjVU8XDj9b-1w_wb4Dp4vhyEFa3TwlYIQIR-avUMDgRAX9QBKT4K3llpk4oKO9Nb25eAYulJpnIOjogw0K5aGIYRZFV_yU4SOa_PrfKlJhWeXQLjRXAT1mQ3NvcVnfYs9pcUPQ/w640-h360/247584.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>I’ve been a fan of the James Bond series ever since I was a kid, probably too young to be watching them, certainly too young to understand a lot of the themes in them (y’know, beyond Bond boinking a different woman in every movie), and I make it a point to catch new movies as they come out, or at least, I had been until the previous movie, Spectre was released. At the time I was busy getting married and had totally missed the hype train on it, even more so when the discussion revolved around the return of long-running big bad Blofeld.<br /><br />I say I missed the hype train because I didn’t know who Blofeld was. Because though I said I was a huge fan of the series, the truth is the earliest Bond film I had seen start to finish was Goldeneye, long past the point where Blofeld disappeared from series canon, likely connected to the endless legal issues caused by Thunderball, only coming back for a brief death in the movie For Your Eyes Only. Kind of. It’s complicated. We’ll get to that.<br /><br />Anyway, Blofeld’s coming back and I’m kinda ambivalent because I don’t know who the guy is. Whatever. I finally got around to seeing Spectre and I was…underwhelmed, but whatever, Bond’s been in many movies over the years and the quality has been all over the place. I’ll catch the next one when it comes out. They’ll probably be getting a new Bond since Daniel Craig wants out anyway.<br /><br />That was my thought process, but as it turns out, Craig had one more in him when No Time To Die went into production, slated for a release in 2019, but kept getting pushed back due to production problems, and as it kept getting pushed back, I had this idea to go back and watch all of the James Bond movies. And heck, I’d even write up a little retrospective on my experience! Why not? It would be the perfect way to build up hype for the next movie!<br /><br /><br />Now, if you’re paying attention, you’d realize where I went wrong in my journey. Specifically that No Time To Die came out on October 8, 2021 in the US. As in, I’ve missed the release of the movie by over a year.<div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv_fc3yXn8lfJIhNX8egii7gqmkbNXMqADnE3_d6MlOAldZ_qeQ5CSu5iDevY-zHdifcLkPsHQRewUqvQPwKSzjoBL1Z7dZda7CcAp-NNNahvivsB5ybwvOliVYGYTOUzN7voUCBYKeViLMvbC8I0ey4meaWJbeK5Q6fyySr8QVtH5kPwMC5mP-mxEVg/s500/wha%20happun.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="500" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv_fc3yXn8lfJIhNX8egii7gqmkbNXMqADnE3_d6MlOAldZ_qeQ5CSu5iDevY-zHdifcLkPsHQRewUqvQPwKSzjoBL1Z7dZda7CcAp-NNNahvivsB5ybwvOliVYGYTOUzN7voUCBYKeViLMvbC8I0ey4meaWJbeK5Q6fyySr8QVtH5kPwMC5mP-mxEVg/w640-h360/wha%20happun.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love this series by the way, you should check it out</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Well, I’ll tell you what happened.</div><br />First off, I had to decide if I was going to just leave it to the MGM/Eon Productions series, or if I was also going to include Never Say Never Again and the Casino Royale spoof from the ‘60s. Well, that was an easy decision, as most places I looked for information on those movies weren’t exactly positive towards them.<br /><br />Another issue was finding them, as at the time, they were scattered across several different streaming services, and our local library doesn’t have DVDs or Blu-Rays of all of the movies. And the sites they were on, namely Tubi and Pluto TV, though free, were absolutely caked in ads, and several times I’d be watching a movie that would just get stuck in an infinite loop of ad breaks. So it was a bit of a hassle to watch them, and I kinda just lost interest.<br /><br />Fast forward to earlier this month and as part of Amazon’s Prime Day sale, I got the Blu-Ray collection of the Dr. No to Spectre for a sweet deal, which was nice since they’d been sitting in my Amazon wishlist for years, and the Blu-Ray for No Time To Die was like an extra $13, so I decided to revive the project. Made even easier since, now that Amazon owns MGM, the movies would be easily accessible on Prime Video. Or so I thought since they’re leaving the service shortly after just reappearing. Why? I dunno. Probably so they can be everywhere for the Bond marathons around Christmastime, who knows?<br /><br />So here I am, finishing what I started. I’m going to be breaking the movies into separate articles based on each actor’s tenure as Bond, the only exception would be adding Lazenby’s sole film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service to the Connery era since he only made the one and Connery came back for the next one. That, and there’s some obvious shared continuity, and they’re similar enough in structure to the other 60’s movies that it works. It’s not a drastic shift in tone and style like the switch from Moore to Dalton to Brosnan, at any rate. Also, this is only going to be focusing on the movies themselves. While I’ve read a handful of the novels, the movies tend to do their own thing rather than being straight adaptations of the novels, and it means I have to spend less time talking about how awkward and “of its time” Live and Let Die reads as a novel. We’ll get to that.<p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><br /></p>Anyway, we’re starting next time with Connery and Lazenby, so stay tuned for that.Aaron Cahoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10271543349697927169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582568156284680269.post-91383610738299988922022-05-24T14:41:00.004-07:002022-05-24T14:41:50.352-07:00Ending a Story is Difficult<p>Recently my wife and I finished watching <i>Seinfeld</i>, a series that, despite loving and having grown up watching reruns of, neither one of us had ever actually seen the ending. In spite of that, I was somewhat familiar with how the series ended. For those not in the know, it's...rather controversial, as Seinfeld and his friends are arrested in a small town called Latham, Massachusetts and end up going to prison. That in itself wasn't exactly a surprise, considering the fact that throughout the show's nine year run, the main characters all committed various crimes and showed a general pattern of antisocial behavior, or at the very least a lack of empathy towards others. In fact, defenders of the ending and detractors both agree on one simple point, that the main characters generally made life worse for those around them and should face consequences of their actions, but the main issue that many, myself included, took with the ending was the way it went about it, by being indicted by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhg3hW3K_KA&t=902s">an interpretation of a law that doesn't really work in real life</a>, with people they've wronged throughout the series brought on as character witnesses to show just how bad they are to varying degrees, relevance to the case at hand be damned.</p><p>I saw what the show was going for, as it's the capstone to the general mantra behind the series, "No hugging, no learning," a pretty scathing critique of family sitcoms of the era that felt the need to moralize to their audience. I can see something similar happening when <i>It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia</i> comes to an end, whenever that happens, as it's a show built on a similar idea. However, the way it was handled here was really messy and didn't pack the satisfying punch the creators thought they were going for, which brought me back to something I've been thinking about for quite a while: why do so many tv shows botch the ending? Is there something about writing an ending that's inherently difficult? And for those stories that ended well, how did they manage it?</p><p><i>Seinfeld's</i> failing was mainly that it wanted to have a specific ending but didn't really go about it in a way that makes sense, something that can also be seen in <i>Game of Thrones</i> (whose problems are numerous and well-documented, so bear with me). While it is true that the showrunners ran out of book material to adapt around seasons 4 and 5, they <i>were</i> given an outline of how the author George RR Martin wanted to finish the story, even if Martin himself had completely failed in his promise to have book six, <i>The Winds of Winter</i>, out on shelves by 2016. And I get it. Sometimes you have an idea of how you want a story to play out and you just can't get it to come together the way you want it to. Regardless, Martin has an idea of how he wants the books to end, and he gave his plans to the showrunners at a time when their own writing chops were being called into question as the pacing ground to a halt and the story began focusing on less consequential sideplots (personal note I think season 5 is the worst part of the series because nothing happens and entire characters just stop existing). Even with those notes in hand, the showrunners struggled getting the story out in a way that was satisfying to viewers, leading to a brutal backlash that has more or less killed any hype people have for the upcoming spinoffs or anything else the showrunners have to work on.</p><p>Which sucks, because it was a massive, groundbreaking show that won a lot of awards, but it was struck down by an ending that even defenders of it (such as myself) declare as shruggably all right (to use a term I just coined), which isn't the way such a grand piece of work should end by any stretch. To be honest, though, I blame <i>Game of Thrones'</i> ending woes on the lackluster seasons 7 and 8 as the showrunners blitzed through important plot points to get to the ending rather than using the time that the network was <i>willing</i> to give them to properly set up the conclusion that was already at hand. It's kind of astounding how they managed to go from "Nothing is happening for an entire season" to "Okay slow down, things need to breathe a bit" in a couple seasons, but here we are.</p><p>So having the broad strokes of the story might not have been enough, fair. We can see something like that done <i>extremely</i> well in <i>Avatar: The Last Airbender</i> (the tv show from Nickelodeon, not the movie, and probably not the live-action series that Netflix is apparently working on). They only planned for three seasons, they had a <i>specific</i> plan for what plot points each season was to cover, and they ended the story when it was time to end. This isn't to say that there wasn't behind-the-scenes drama, which is also well-documented, but the gist of it is despite that drama, they had a very clear plan going in and they stuck to it, something that cannot be said for the follow-up <i>The Legend of Korra</i>, which was initially planned as a single-season miniseries before growing into a much bigger show. But I haven't watched all of <i>Korra </i>so I'm not going to comment on it beyond just noting that reception of its four season run is mixed.</p><p>I praise <i>Avatar</i> for sticking to the plan, but admittedly even that can backfire, as we can see with <i>How I Met Your Mother, </i>an otherwise fantastic show with a pretty widely-panned ending, but there's actually a pretty easy culprit to point out for this one: the show's framing device. For those who are unfamiliar, a framing device is the story within the story, in this case, Ted describing the events of his 20's and 30's to his children in the future as a way of detailing the events in his life that put him on the path of meeting their mother (with many details being questionable as to how relevant they were, but whatever, it's a sitcom). However, because shooting something with actual youth actors presents its own very real cosmic deadline, that being the children growing up and being unable to be used for future shots, the "ending" was shot way back in season 2, the same season where Ted would get together with Robin, who was explicitly <i>not</i> the children's mother. The ending, by the way, which reveals that the children's mother passed away some time ago and that Ted has been more or less secretly asking his kids' permission to get back together with Robin, something that would have made sense for the story arc for the first two seasons with Ted falling for Robin and <i>finally</i> actually starting a relationship with her.</p><p>There's a problem though. The story was about how Ted met the kids' mother. Who wasn't Robin. And there was to be another <i>seven</i> seasons of television exploring how their relationship ultimately didn't work, and how both of them moved on into other relationships that were better fits for their personalities, and the show's slavish devotion to the initial vision ended up hurting the storytelling for the rest of the series as almost no focus was given to the mother (who didn't even show up as a named character until the final season).</p><p>So what's there to be done? Well, it sounds like striking a balance between having a plan for how the story is to go but also being flexible enough to alter details or throw out the initial vision for something that works better is the way to go, which takes a lot of skill as a writer/crew, as audiences are perceptive enough to notice when some things are written by the seat of the author's pants, though that works for a lot of stories as well (<i>Dragon Ball</i> is a prime example there). I certainly don't have all the answers, and as people have noticed in my D&D campaigns, I struggle massively with coming up with an ending. Heck, I disliked the way <i>The Epiphany Colony</i>'s ending came out so much that I completely rewrote the second half of the story to keep it grounded, and even then there are ways it could have been improved. It's even worse when dealing with a long-running story like a tv series that asks a lot of time investment from its audience. It's also a problem that sitcoms in particular seem prone to, as the stories usually come to an end because the show itself is getting cancelled, rather than reaching a natural conclusion, with said cancellation usually coming after a decline in viewer interest as can be seen in shows like <i>That 70's Show,</i> whose finale, if I'm being honest, was actually really good, even if it came at the end of a season that was just...not. I dunno, it's an issue that I don't have the answer for. It's just something I wanted to reflect on.</p>Aaron Cahoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10271543349697927169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582568156284680269.post-80570077462600871302022-04-27T17:06:00.001-07:002022-04-27T17:06:03.397-07:00On Doing Things And Feeling Accomplished<p>Today I went out and got my haircut, which since I graduated from BYU-I is something I do less and less frequently now that the only thing I have to <i>make</i> me get a haircut is my wife suggesting it. So it's understandable that it's a bit of a special occasion for me. At any rate, considering I'm in-between jobs at the moment with the majority of my time spent building my career as an author, as I was getting my hair cut, the question turned to what else I had going on that day, presumably with the implied question being how a man in his 30's can make it into a hair salon at noon on a Wednesday.</p><p>I mentioned that I'm writing a book, so that would be where the majority of my time would be spent, to which my stylist pointed out how cool it was before mentioning that she didn't think she could ever get herself to sit down and write a full novel. That it would be too hard to focus on, which I suppose is a fair statement. That being said, it got me thinking. As roughly 99% of my readers are aware, this book I'm working on is my second full story I'm having published, having just published <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Epiphany-Colony-Vincent-Detective-Thriller-ebook/dp/B09RNG7VY2/ref=sr_1_1?crid=31F59YTK8HTY8&keywords=the+epiphany+colony&qid=1651103162&sprefix=the+epiphany+colony%2Caps%2C144&sr=8-1"><i>The Epiphany Colony</i></a> (shameless plug because I'm shameless) a couple months ago to the widespread fanfare of...almost nobody, barring a few good reviews.</p><p>Anyway, I say it got me thinking because despite the fact that I've done something as big as writing, editing, and publishing my own book, I'd say the relative lack of readers has been a bit of a motivation killer. It feels like no matter the hours I spend writing, editing, marketing, talking, planning, outlining, more writing and editing, it might not really matter because nobody's gonna see it. That in the endless competition for people's space, attention, and (hopefully) money, my work just isn't up to snuff.</p><p>This isn't to say that I think <i>The Epiphany Colony</i> is some underappreciated masterpiece of storytelling. Far from it. Heck, the version available on Royal Road with the weird Star Trek-esque Gainax Ending has some of the worst writing I think I've ever done, but the commercial finished product is something I'm proud of and hope to see more success out of.</p><p>So you see where I'm at right now. I'm doing something many (I'd argue most) don't feel like they could ever accomplish, and yet I catch myself feeling down, that my work isn't good enough. And I'm not gonna sit here and pretend that this isn't...completely normal in any endeavor, or that other, much more successful creatives don't have the same funks. The trick is finding the motivation to keep going despite them.</p><p>I'd encourage you to look at your own life. You're probably doing something a lot of people (probably most) don't feel like they could do. Unless that thing is crime, you should feel good about it! Not because others can't or won't put in the effort for it, but because it's a talent that you have and are trying to cultivate.</p><p><br /></p><p>Either way, project #2 is coming along quiet nicely at 30,000 words. We're about 1/4 of the way there, so stay tuned!</p>Aaron Cahoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10271543349697927169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582568156284680269.post-30824933061885120532022-03-16T14:46:00.006-07:002022-03-16T14:57:09.455-07:00A Sneak Peak at What I'm Working On<p>Hey everyone, how's it going?</p><p>I've been busy working on my next project, and I gotta say I'm having quite a bit of fun with it. I'm working off an outline this time and trying a bunch of different things to see what works for me and what doesn't, and I've even finished the prologue.</p><p>It's about as removed from <i>The Epiphany Colony</i> as it gets. It's a mostly lighthearted parody of the standard epic fantasy quest as seen in the <i>Legend of Zelda</i> and <i>Final Fantasy</i> games, written in the first person with a female protagonist who <i>isn't </i>part of the Hero's party. Instead, her story involves following in the Heroes' wake and getting caught up in the crazy things that happen mostly as an unintentional result of their actions.</p><p>I just finished writing up the prologue, and I'm going to drop it on this entry. Let me know what you think!</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Not many are alive today who remember what it was like before the Demon King reawakened. Records of those days have been lost to time, and nobody can seem to agree on whether the world enjoyed a period of unprecedented peace or if, like in any other age, the different kingdoms across the land were locked in a perpetual state of war. I mean, I say nobody can seem to agree, but the truth is this is less of a professional sociopolitical debate and more a bunch of old dwarves, elves, and basically every race that aren’t humans shouting at each other over drinks at the local tavern, since they’re the only ones who really care about “the good old days”.</p><p>No, the only thing most people have clear memories of is the centuries of fear living under the thumb of the Demon King and his minions. I mean, it’s all I’ve ever known, up to the last decade or so.</p><p>But I suppose some introductions are in order. My name is Ilala Twistfall. I’m a gnome. And not like one of those bearded statues with the really pointy hats.</p><p>That’s…actually quite a hurtful stereotype based on an infamous drunkard named Sir Alvyn Pointedhat. No, the “Sir” isn’t a title. He legally had his name changed out of some inflated sense of his own self-importance. Anyway, he and a bunch of his followers scammed some town by promising that, just by standing in their yards, they could ward off evil spirits or something to that effect (a promise that, you can imagine, paid off exceedingly well during the early days when the Demon King rose to power). To this day I’m not really sure what their end goal was for doing that. Maybe to peep on people as they were changing? Maybe just to get paid to do literally nothing? Beats me.</p><p>Sorry, I got a little distracted. Where was I? Oh right, the Heroes and the Demon King, what you’re actually here for.</p><p>Let’s start with the Prophecy of the Heroes of the Dawn. From Legend of the Dawn, chapter 23, verse 18:</p><p>And lo, the land shall be smitten with a famine, the winds shall blow unceasingly, the seas shall rage, entire countries shall burn, all heralding the return of the King of all Demons. Thus shall the world lie in desolation and ruin, until four Heroes shall reclaim the lost Gems, take up the Sword of Dawn, and banish that foul beast and his generals back from whence they came.</p><p>Sounds pretty bleak, right? That’s a pretty clear picture of how the world was for the years that the world was under the thumb of the Demon King. How we managed to survive as long as we did is, frankly, a mystery. Though many of those things were definitely localized to the areas claimed by the Demon King’s generals when they swiped the Gems from their places of rest.</p><p>Oh right, the Gems. I kind of took for granted that people who read this would know what those are! I’m not sure who designed it like this, but essentially, there are four Gems, each corresponding to one of the four elements of Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind, those being the Earth Diamond, the Flame Garnet, the Aqua Marine (look, I didn’t make the name), and the Wind Jade. The corrupting influence of the Demon King is what threw all of the elements out of whack, especially in the regions surrounding the temples, so naturally, get rid of the guy corrupting the Gem, and the problem is solved. Apparently this is also what let the Sword of Dawn decide that the hero would be worthy? We’ll talk about that a little later.</p><p>I’ll never forget that fateful day. One day from my hometown of Seameet, population…I suppose…sixty-five at the time, I saw a pillar of light descend upon the nearest major city of Brightdale, seat of the Temple of Dawn where the Sword of Dawn rested. It was, without a doubt, the brightest light I had ever seen in my then-short life. Only the oldest among us could recognize that the sudden bright light, along with the equally sudden break in the dark, red clouds, was a sign that the Demon King’s rule was being threatened. Apparently that clear blue sky that shone through the clouds once our eyes adjusted, the same blue sky we see now, was something the older folk took for granted during the Demon King’s reign. This was it. The day that they’d waited so long for. The day that, if I’m being honest, I was pretty sure I’d never see in my lifetime.</p><p>At the time I was twenty years old. I’d had a little education but my parents thought I’d settle down and marry some farmer and start popping out babies, so the conversation of possible careers or even travel never really came up.</p><p>At least, that’s what I’d assumed they thought. Well, I was right in that assessment about my mother. It’s exactly what she did (well, not the farmer bit, since Dad was a merchant), which was exactly what her mother did. Not her grandmother, though, which was something I found interesting. My Great Grandma Pomomo was a bit of a maverick for her time, as I’d find out not long after this.</p><p>Dad, as it turns out, had something else in mind.</p><p>He’d paid close attention to me over the years. Saw that I’d had a knack for gossip and news. He often took me on trips to cities. I always assumed that it was because he wanted company on those long nights while Mom was home with my younger siblings.</p><p>But no, not exactly. I mean yes, he did love the company. Travel is always more interesting when you have someone to share it with. But he also had other plans, for as it turns out, he saw me writing about our trips in my journals, which he would secretly read later when I was asleep or helping Mom out with chores around the house, something I definitely should have been upset about, but as it turns out, he wasn’t reading my journals to spy on my personal life or whatever, especially during my prepubescent and early pubescent years. I guess when I said I wasn’t interested in the boys at home, he actually believed me.</p><p>No, he read my journals because he legitimately loved the stories I would tell, and he took me on these trips to encourage me to build up my talent for observation and writing. He finally told me this when he took me aside about a week after the light came down. I really wish I’d have written down exactly how the conversation went, but I’ll try to recreate it, as best I can, at any rate.</p><p>We were having dinner as a family, when my dad asked for everyone’s spirited conversations to quiet down a bit, since he had something to announce.</p><p>“Well, as you all know, I’ve been planning a trip into the city for a while now, and I’ve been holding off on it ever since the light appeared, at least until I got word from out of town about how it’s affected the Demon King’s troops and their movements. Well, messengers from the city arrived this morning, and apparently the Demon King’s troops have pulled back a bit in response, instead doubling down on the four temples. I think I’ll be able to make the trip in.</p><p>My mom clasped her hands together, saying, “That’s wonderful!” She then sat back into her chair, her expression softening. “Does that mean…what we’ve discussed…”</p><p>Dad nodded. “I believe so.” He then turned to me. “Ilala,” he began. “How’d you like to make the trip into the city with me?”</p><p>“Was I ever not going?” I asked, trying to hide my excitement.</p><p>“No, I suppose not,” Dad chuckled. “But, there’s another question. A bigger one. Have you been in your room yet this evening?”</p><p>“Umm…no,” I replied, confused.</p><p>“You should go check it out.”</p><p>Even more confused, I excused myself from the table, and walked toward my bedroom. Once I reached the door, I saw on my bed a brand new leather backpack along with a set of traveling clothes, a new leatherbound journal, a quill and ink set, a short dagger, and a cast iron frying pan.</p><p>My dad, who had followed me to my room, said, “Your mom and I have been talking, and she’s finally come around. We think this is your chance to become a big shot writer by following the Heroes and chronicling their journey. Last I heard, they were looking for someone to do just that.”</p><p>I began to hyperventilate. I’d never said anything about it to my dad at all. Heck, I wasn’t sure I’d even be around by the time the Heroes began their journey. But I’d been dreaming about the prospect of traveling with the Heroes since I’d first heard the prophecy. Dreams that had only become more vivid and more frequent ever since the light had descended a week before.</p><p>I looked up at my dad, tears welling in my eyes. “You mean it?”</p><p>“I do, sweetheart.”</p><p>Without another word, I threw my arms around him.</p><p>—</p><p>The rest of the evening was a blur as, once my siblings had gone to bed, Mom, Dad, and I were up much too late talking about the journey I was about to make. Honestly, it was all a bit of a shock to me. From the sound of things, it took quite a bit of work to convince my mom. Dad mentioned something to the effect of arguing that the guys in our home village weren’t much of a catch, that my talents were wasted here, and a few other things. To be honest, it was all a bit much. Especially Mom’s heretofore unexpressed enthusiasm for this journey that I hadn’t mentioned I wanted to go on. I’m comfortable admitting being moved to tears over the whole thing, especially with the knowledge that I probably wouldn’t be coming home for a while.</p><p>More tears came the next morning. Mom got my siblings up early to see us off, and the ones closest to me in age masked their own sadness with my leaving by an exaggerated expression of jealousy (or at least that’s what I’m telling myself). Don’t worry about them. They got their chances for adventure later on, and this isn’t about them.</p><p>Eventually we set out for the city of Brightdale, hitting smaller towns and villages along the way to add to Dad’s freight. Admittedly, I was getting a little frustrated with the amount of time it was taking, as the journey would take about three days one way, and a lot can happen over the course of three days. But I also forced myself to be patient. After all, this was my Dad’s journey just as much as it was mine.</p><p>—</p><p>At the end of our three-day journey, we reached Brightdale. They weren’t kidding when they called this place Brightdale, because when I say everything was bright and colorful, I mean everything was bright and colorful. The cobblestone streets were polished to a mirror sheen as what I can only assume to be wizard interns made a systematic sweep through the city periodically using magic to blow away dirt and debris as well as magicking away any leftovers by passing pack animals. The wood and stone on various walls and buildings throughout the city were also immaculately clean. Music filled the air as bard and ordinary citizen alike lifted up their voices in song. I even saw a young man and woman happily dancing their cares away in the town square, the picture of life if ever I’d seen it.</p><p>This clashed a bit with the last time I’d come here with my dad, before the light descended. Before the Heroes. Not gonna lie, this place was kind of a dump for a very long time. Everything looked as if it were worn down by the decades under the fist of the Demon King. If the people had anything to celebrate, it was only for a short while before it was all taken away by the Demon King’s forces, all the while the Demon King’s generals reiterated that it was the humans who called them back, wishing to pay them tribute. Just for that extra little salt on the wound, knowing full well that, were that even the case, no humans who called them back in the first place were around to give them the tribute they offered. Several generations of humans had come and gone, and it was us in a blind hope that the Demon King and his armies would go with them, but unfortunately that didn’t seem to be the case.</p><p>This does kind of put a sour note on humans so I want to throw in a disclaimer that I don’t know who or what brought the Demon King back, and certainly not all humans, or even a significant number of humans even wanted him to come back in the first place.</p><p>Whatever the past, and whoever it was that shouldered the blame, things had definitely made a 180. In fact Brightdale might have become a bit too bright. It was kind of garish, if I’m being honest. I mean I suppose I can’t say I blame them for being excited. I mean, I was too. The wizard intern street cleaners felt like a step too far, though.</p><p>Anyway, we arrived at the local tavern where my dad had made arrangements to stay while conducting business in the city. Even this place, which was normally one of the nicer, less trashy joints before the light, was abnormally spirited. I actually kind of wondered if anyone there had slept in a week, and yet even if they hadn’t, there was no sign of the party stopping.</p><p>Eventually I began to ask around. After all, despite being a merchant’s daughter, I still was a little girl from the countryside who’d only heard the rumors. These were people who had seen everything happen firsthand!</p><p>At least, that was my assumption.</p><p>I started with the barkeep at my dad’s lodging, a birdlike…birdfolk woman named Khiet with white, dovelike feathers and soft eyes, hard at work cleaning glasses in preparation for what was, presumably, to be yet another long night of carousing.</p><p>“The Heroes? Nope, haven’t seen ‘em personally. Just the light. Rumor has it they met up outside of town and were immediately brought in by the city watch to have a chat with the king.” She placed the glass down to dry and picked up another one, looking it over closely for any blemishes. “A few people who came in that night said they saw it happen.”</p><p>“So wait, they were arrested?” I asked incredulously.</p><p>“No, no, dear girl,” the barkeep continued, “I guess you’re not up on the local news throughout the kingdom. It has been a while since I’ve seen you and your da. The princess has been kidnapped!”</p><p>Khiet was right. This was literally the first time I’d heard anything about it. At the time I scowled, thinking my dad had just left out that nugget of information to avoid causing problems with the village, but as it turns out, the runner that had carried the message to our village had left the day before the princess was kidnapped.</p><p>“Kidnapped?” I asked in disbelief. “Who would do such a thing?”</p><p>I know, dear reader, you’re about to say in disbelief at my own naivety, “Lots of people!” I know that because…well…</p><p>“Lots of people!” Khiet replied loudly, to a surprising chorus of, “Hear hear!” from inside the tavern. Apparently this was the talk of the town for the last few days. Khiet continued, “Lots of coin to be had from the ransom alone! Although, in this case it doesn’t seem to be what the kidnapper was after.”</p><p>This got my attention. If not money, then what could the guy be after? “So they know who did it?”</p><p>“Know who did it? Lass, the man made mincemeat out of the guards on duty, embarrassing the entire city watch. You couldn’t miss it if you were here! Guy in spiky, dark grey armor with a dark cape and a ridiculously large sword. Former captain of the king’s guard, he was!”</p><p>I raised an eyebrow. “Gardner? Sir Gardner? The Sir Gardner?” I asked, trying to remember which captain of the guard would even still be alive.</p><p>“That’s the one!” Khiet exclaimed with what sounded like a whistle. “Appeared out of nowhere in the dark of night and stole the princess as she slept, leaving a note that if the king wanted to see her again to send the Heroes.”</p><p>“Why?” I asked, trying to piece together the story.</p><p>“Couldn’t tell ya. Maybe he really just wanted an autograph. But it sounds like he’s holed himself up in the Demon King’s shrine a little ways out of town, so it’s probably something a bit more nefarious. The Heroes left a couple days ago so they might be on the way back, depending on how their little party went.</p><p>“Oh that’s perfect! Where’s the shrine?”</p><p>“You can’t mean you’re heading out now, Lass?”</p><p>“Of course I am! This is my chance!”</p><p>“Alone?”</p><p>“It shouldn’t be that bad if I stick close to the road, right?”</p><p>“True, the Demon King’s minions usually don’t make their way onto the main roads, but it’s still dangerous! The shrine is off the main path a bit!”</p><p>“I’ll be careful! I know a little bit of proper wilderness safety! You know my dad didn’t raise an idiot!” I distinctly remember saying it like that because that was my usual rationale for making half-baked decisions. After all, if I’m smart, I don’t make mistakes. The logic was perfect to me when I was younger!</p><p>Khiet was less convinced, but she relented. “All right, it’s a bit northwest of town. You’ll hit a place where the road gives way to less-developed trails and grassland. It shouldn’t take much more than a day if you walk, but do be careful. I don’t want to hear about you meeting your maker a week from now because you were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”</p><p>“I’ll be fine, Khiet! Oh, but I should go so I can see if I can catch up with them! The next time you hear from me, it’ll probably be from the book I release talking about my adventures as the Heroes’ personal scribe!” After I said that I grabbed my things and scampered out the door, eager for my adventure to begin.</p><p>—</p><p>As Khiet had said would happen, I reached the end of the main road without running into any trouble. I’m not entirely sure how that works but the Demon King’s minions just sort of ignore the main roads. That is, roads that were built before he rose to power. Pardon the pun, but they seem to have just been built differently. The stone used to build them was of some blessed variety that repels monsters and doesn’t require much in terms of maintenance. Major cities were also made of the same stuff, which is why monsters never go into major cities.</p><p>Now, I know what you’re thinking. “Gee, Ilala, if this enchanted stone is so great, why haven’t kingdom construction workers continued building roads out of the stuff? And unfortunately I don’t really have a good answer for that, beyond the stuff just…not existing anymore. Either the stone itself doesn’t exist or was incredibly rare, or the spell used to enchant the stone has been lost to the ages. Couldn’t tell you. I don’t know how to use magic.</p><p>However there is another explanation, albeit a much more mundane, pragmatic explanation. In order to build the roads, crews would have to first leave the protection of the already-built roads, and I’m not joking when I say even one step off that stone meant that you were suddenly prey for the Demon King’s minions. Now, for armed travelers like soldiers, or in my case, me, that’s less of a problem than it would be for a construction crew.</p><p>And this is all assuming that they had access to the enchanted stone in the first place. Basically a road crew would also need to either be trained in melee combat or have a retinue of armed buff guys to protect them.</p><p>Now, I didn’t have said retinue of armed buff guys to protect myself, exactly. I was more hedging my bet on running into the Heroes and joining them, as you’re aware. However, even without that, I had one other thing going for me: my size.</p><p>Say what you will about being small. Trust me, I’ve heard it all before. But one extremely good thing about it is the ability to hide pretty much anywhere if I get enough time to prepare.</p><p>As it turns out, that’s a pretty big if.</p><p>I walked off the main road for a few minutes, my guard up. Supposedly I’d be able to see the shrine by now, but I couldn’t see anything but grass and trees. Did I take a wrong turn? I couldn't see how that would be possible. I went the exact direction Khiet told me to go! At least, I was pretty sure I did.</p><p>The more I walked into the trees, the more I cursed myself for not at least taking a map with me when I set out. Before long, my frustration gave way to panic as I felt like I’d walked past the same tree several times despite supposedly walking in a straight line.</p><p>And as I thought it couldn’t get worse, it got worse as a thick mist descended upon me.</p><p>As I desperately tried to gather my bearings, I heard a gruff, guttural voice behind me say just loudly enough for me to hear, “Well well well, what we have here. Little gnome girl lost in da woods!”</p><p>Another, more nasally voice to my right then added, “All alone, too.”</p><p>And another voice said, “Wonder what she’s got in that backpack o’ hers!”</p><p>More voices added to the chorus until a group of nine goblins stalked into view. Nine goblins, armed with clubs, slings, and even some rusty spears! I couldn’t believe my luck. Here I was less than a day out on my own and I was about to get dogpiled by nine goblins! I knew that it was a possibility, but I figured I’d at least run into one, maybe two, or a couple wolves, or something less dangerous than nine freaking goblins for my first encounter with the Demon King’s minions.</p><p>I quickly reached back for my dagger, scrambling to find a handle of some kind. I couldn’t remember where I put it. My belt? No. Attached to my backpack? No. I paused, realizing my mistake.</p><p>I never actually took it out of my stupid backpack!</p><p>Trying not to panic, I grasped at whatever I could use to protect myself, my hand eventually landing on a metal handle.</p><p>The frying pan! It was clipped to my backpack via a leather strap and a wooden button.</p><p>I yanked the pan forward, tearing the button out from the backpack—something I’d worry about later—and raised the pan threateningly. “Stay back!” I exclaimed, trying to hide the slight crack my voice made. “I…I know how to use this!”</p><p>The one behind me chuckled, saying, “Oh yeah, whaddaya gonna do, cook us up some nice cornbread?” I spun, pointing the pan directly in his nose, noticing that his large leathery ear had a tear in it. He also was a bit larger and more imposing than his companions.</p><p>“Are you the leader of this little band?” I asked, feigning confidence.</p><p>“So what if I am?” the goblin growled.</p><p>Without a word I reared back and smashed him right in the face with the pan as hard as I could, sending him reeling back clutching his face in pain. I rationalized that if I could at least knock out their leader the rest would leave me alone.</p><p>I was wrong.</p><p>Not a second after, the leader shouted something in the goblin language, I felt a club smash into the back of my head, sending me hurtling to the ground. My vision blurred, the entire place spinning, as eight goblins took turns smacking me with sticks like I was a pinata.</p><p><span> </span>I’m not really sure why they didn’t just impale me and be done with it, but who am I to look a gift miracle in the mouth?</p><p><span> </span>The rest is a bit hazy, but I do recall coming to and realizing I was tied up. My body hurt basically everywhere, and I was covered with bruises and cuts. My backpack was gone, a few paces away where the goblins were rifling through my things and talking amongst themselves in their own language. It has a few similar words to the common tongue but if I’m being honest, I have no idea what they were saying, but I imagine it involved complaining about the lack of money I had on me since I was only carrying some basic food rations, my empty journal, my quill and ink set, and the dagger. One among them started playing with my dagger, and I guess he’d decided he was going to keep it. I mean, I don’t blame him. It was probably in better shape than his spear.</p><p>The leader looked at me, his face disfigured from the pan. I must have broken his nose at the very least. He said in that guttural tone, “Where you from, gnome girl? Why you out here?”</p><p>“None of your business!” I shouted back, trying to hide my panic.</p><p>“Careful,” the goblin said. “Want to live? No backtalk! Your family must be rich.The book and dagger are much too nice for poor gnomies!”</p><p>“Leave my family out of this!” I screeched back, desperately trying to figure out how to get out of the mess I’d landed myself in. I had no way to wiggle my way out of my bindings, everything hurt, and I was fighting back tears of both fear and embarrassment. I couldn’t face my family after this.</p><p>I’d resigned myself to my fate, when the silence was broken by one of the goblins screaming in pain, somewhere to my right. I stretched myself to look in the direction the screaming was coming from to see a goblin in flames. I looked at another goblin and thought I saw a thunderhead floating above him, something I chalked up to my current mental and physical state. That is, before the goblin was struck dead by a bolt of lightning.</p><p>At this point, I think my body and mind gave up trying to process what was happening, because I was awakened some time later to the sight of the most gorgeous human (well, okay, half-elf) I’d ever seen in my life looking me in the eyes. I could never forget him, his piercing blue eyes, his short, messy blonde hair, his muscular physique under that captivating red breastplate. I honestly assumed I’d just died and was being welcomed to paradise by an angel. I vaguely remember muttering something like, “Oh thank the goddess,” before going limp again, and then I heard his soft, ethereal voice (that may or may not have been my imagination embellishing the experience) as he turned to one of his companions, a red-haired woman in long, flowing white robes and said, “Kari, do you think you can save this poor child?”</p><p>I snapped to attention, wincing at the sudden pain in my chest as I tried to sit up, “Excuse me?! I am not a child! I’ll have you know I’m twenty years old!” I snapped before immediately slipping back down to the ground, dizzy from the mother of all head rushes.</p><p>A third, deep voice rang out, “Haha, that means the ‘child’ is a year older than you, Marsden!” I strained my neck to see the source, a huge man with long brown hair, half-orc from the looks of him considering the tusks and the off-color skin as far as humans go, dressed in what looked like a torn blue martial arts gi. He even had a headband.</p><p>“Shut up, Baridash,” the gorgeous knight, excuse me, Marsden retorted, before turning back to the woman in the white robes. “Well, Kari?”</p><p>The woman replied, in a soft, soothing voice, “I’m not sure. I can only do so much to heal her, and she’ll probably still need some time to rest. Let’s take her back to town.”</p><p>A fourth voice, another woman, with a much firmer, more mature tone spoke up. “We may as well. We already have to take the princess back. Although since she hasn’t regained consciousness either, that means we’re literally carrying two people.” The source of the voice was on the side opposite from where the half-orc was, and I was already in too much pain to try to get a look at her.</p><p>A fifth, more snooty voice piped up, “Listen, Mr. Greenforest, if we’re stopping off the side of the road to help every wayward child, we’ll never actually finish the quest.”</p><p>Marsden narrowed his eyes and looked at the source of the voice, also out of my sight. “I appreciate the concern, Gilberto, but you forget your place. If we really are the Heroes, we’re going to do it right, and that includes helping random citizens as well as the entire world as a whole. If you have a problem with that, you're welcome to bow out.”</p><p>The voice responded, “No no, I’m here for a reason. You need someone to chronicle the story, and I am a bard. It’s a perfect fit.”</p><p>That sentence got a reaction out of me, a simple, “No, that’s not how this was supposed to go…” as my senses faded away.</p><p>—</p><p>I awoke a few days later in the city of Brightdale with the single worst headache I’ve ever had, unsure of how I got there. Eventually as my brain caught up with the rest of me, I sat bolt upright, and, seeing that I was alone in the room, I lifted up my shirt to check my wounds. Everything was as it was supposed to be. No cuts, though one of the deeper wounds had left a scar. No bruises. My chest and ribs no longer hurt, so I could only assume that my broken ribs had been seen to.</p><p>I carefully slid out of the bed I was in, only then to realize I was in nothing but my undershirt and smallclothes. I could feel my face reddening as I quickly cast my eyes about the room, wondering where my clothes were, and more importantly, where I was. Eventually I noticed my backpack on a chair in the corner of the room with my outfit, freshly laundered, hanging off the back of the chair. I walked over to get a closer look at the backpack, and I noticed that even the strap which previously had held my frying pan had been repaired, however the handle of the pan stuck out of the main pocket of the backpack. Instead, I noticed a slip of paper rolled up in the leather strap. The note said:</p><p><br /></p><p>Hello Ms. Gnome, I hope this note finds you well. We did what we were able to, but eventually we could put off the journey no longer.</p><p>I apologize for my companions’ rudeness in mistaking your short stature for your age, but I’ve taken the liberty of speaking to them about it privately. Please know that if we happen upon any gnomes in our future travels, this mistake will not be made again</p><p>I did what I could to heal you, but some of your wounds were beyond my meager skills, for I am still a novice. As such, you have been treated at the clinic in Brightdale and we even put you up in an inn after the treatment is over. Please do not worry about payment, for all has been taken care of. Instead, as a cleric in service of the goddess, I welcome you to pay the favor forward.</p><p>The four of us wish you well.</p><p>Sincerely,</p><p>Kari Bright</p><p><br /></p><p>Kari Bright…so the woman in the white robes had been the one to see to my injuries. At the very least, that was a prospect I could live with, if she’d been the one who undressed me to put me to bed. At least, that’s the version of my thoughts I feel comfortable putting to the paper.</p><p>I’m kidding, I’m kidding, and I probably shouldn’t even joke about that because Marsden and Kari were essentially the stereotypical childhood friend romance, as I’d later find out much to my chagrin. Oh don’t worry, she knows that it was essentially infatuation at first sight for me, and she claims to be okay with it, so I’m just not going to push that any further (though I’m going to leave in the chat we had later just for the sake of comedy).</p><p>I sighed, a strange mix of angry and grateful for my luck to not only have been rescued from certain doom, by the Heroes, no less, only to find out that they had already found the person who was to chronicle their story. I sat on the floor beside my things, leaning my head onto my knees. Here I was, less than a week out from the beginning of my journey, and I was going to have to return home and say…what, exactly? That I was too late? That I got beat up within hours of leaving my dad’s side? That I woke up in a strange room all by myself in nothing but my undergarments?</p><p>Although tears had already formed in my eyes, a new feeling began to take hold in my heart. Call it determination. Call it motivation. Call it spite. Whatever you want to call it, I decided, then and there, that, no, I wasn’t going home to look like the fool I felt I was. I don’t know to what extent I believed in destiny, but what I did know was that there was no reason for me to let this opportunity slip through my fingers, even if it did nothing but let me give an honest, face-to-face “Thank you” to the Heroes.</p><p>I stood, got dressed, hung the dagger from my belt, gathered my belongings, and marched out the door.</p><div><br /></div><div>So that's the prologue. at a little less than 6,000 words. I'm <i>hoping</i> to make it to 100,000 words, but the story will be over when it's over, I suppose. Anyway, let me know what you think!</div>Aaron Cahoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10271543349697927169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582568156284680269.post-55186931297066061842022-03-01T12:25:00.004-08:002022-03-01T13:58:15.318-08:00The Epiphany Colony: An Announcement A Month Late<p>Hey everyone! Just dropping another quick article to talk about a book I had published last month called <i>The Epiphany Colony: The Murder of Vincent Cortez. </i>It's essentially the completed version of my novella series <i>Asher and Elaine</i> as found on my Royal Road account, previously on Kindle Vella.</p><p>I didn't really like the way the story ended on the novella series and so I spent quite a bit of time rewriting the story to make things make more sense and read less like a bad episode of <i>Star Trek. </i>Also I redesigned the book cover.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhaNfCUkakwzN2pV_q9wKBvTA7zmlJ7A6W73KzvpqB46J7nfscjVkSaKJ6rbv6yBwiZuXfuDz7T9CQVPnCez71Ov_DjPrN144jkYMn0C9H4kEcY8piv2jGpIKaxuMrjRuNoizkufDnFYaw8mCnbMumCd0g1XJ9Rxa8bCG6S-4vHdTRl5rhP8alcKUm-_A=s2250" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="1410" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhaNfCUkakwzN2pV_q9wKBvTA7zmlJ7A6W73KzvpqB46J7nfscjVkSaKJ6rbv6yBwiZuXfuDz7T9CQVPnCez71Ov_DjPrN144jkYMn0C9H4kEcY8piv2jGpIKaxuMrjRuNoizkufDnFYaw8mCnbMumCd0g1XJ9Rxa8bCG6S-4vHdTRl5rhP8alcKUm-_A=w251-h400" width="251" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjWANmpMPpTDICEuXBMAKva_N9T9A25cyHs7NjkmkB_7CcyQIaN_tsFwewl0WcPcPR7vCX8dTw8kIwOlf0jFRKl2DTYFGkuABRjtCow_h3IJwHN8F2iadj_FROexx3LdBwU_yy6RysyFD5ThlTF7NhZINFJlAyxG_EeLwRkpnXvOiPH-Be2BOAO_ro6gA=s2250" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2250" data-original-width="1410" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjWANmpMPpTDICEuXBMAKva_N9T9A25cyHs7NjkmkB_7CcyQIaN_tsFwewl0WcPcPR7vCX8dTw8kIwOlf0jFRKl2DTYFGkuABRjtCow_h3IJwHN8F2iadj_FROexx3LdBwU_yy6RysyFD5ThlTF7NhZINFJlAyxG_EeLwRkpnXvOiPH-Be2BOAO_ro6gA=w251-h400" width="251" /></a></div><br /><p>I wasn't overly impressed with the way the previous cover came out, and even for the next one I might have someone else with better graphic design sense do the cover.</p><p>Anyway, anyone who reads this has probably already been made aware of the book long ago, but for anyone who hasn't, you can find it <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09RNG7VY2">here</a>. You can even read it for free with a trial to Kindle Unlimited, and I still get paid if you do!</p><p>I'm also hard at work outlining and writing my next story, which is going to be a parody/satire of the standard epic fantasy adventures, specifically taking heavy inspiration from video games and tabletop RPGs, something, as you're aware, I have a ton of experience with. More to follow!</p><p>Edit: Also we're going back to Avernus soon!</p>Aaron Cahoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10271543349697927169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582568156284680269.post-30260048245073455972022-02-22T13:13:00.004-08:002022-02-23T11:10:25.978-08:00Don't Stop Him Now, He's Having Such A Good Time<p>No comment about the length of time between posts. I'm just gonna jump right into the story here.</p><p>In a bit. First, a little background.</p><p>So, in movies and tv I am a <i>huge</i> fan of the trope of <a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SoundtrackDissonance">Soundtrack Dissonance</a>. As a TLDR, it's exactly what it says on the tin. The tone of the soundtrack directly clashes with what's happening on screen, and you see it in a lot of movies and tv shows, in action scenes in particular. Rather than having an intense orchestral piece matching the setpiece, the background music is anything from a peaceful ballet piece to a classic rock song that's completely out of place. A good example of this is the church fight in <i>Kingsman: The Secret Service </i>which is set to Lynyrd Skynyrd's Free Bird, and it's every bit as ridiculous as it sounds.</p><p>One song that's commonly used is Queen's Don't Stop Me Now, which has been used in a number of scenes in movies such as the power test in <i>Shazam! </i>or a montage in <i>Sonic the Hedgehog</i>, or my personal favorite, the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4tVH7BPb-Q">fight in the pub in <i>Shaun of the Dead</i></a> (warning, this is a clip from an R-rated film for language and violence, viewer discretion advised), where not only is it playing in the background <i>in universe</i>, the fight itself is <i>in time with the song</i>. It's...absolutely beautiful in its absurdity.</p><p>Which brings us to our story, from the first campaign with our friend David (<a href="https://www.aaroncahoon.net/2020/04/bard-zombie-apocalypse.html">the one with the bard starting the zombie apocalypse</a>). It was the mid-campaign climax, but essentially, we arrived at the gates of a city and our characters were wanted as fugitives by the then-current villain (it's complicated, but usual D&D stuff). There was a faction of clerics and paladins to the dragon god Bahamut deadlocked against a cult trying to summon the evil dragon goddess Tiamat from Avernus to bring about the end of days, standard demon or dragon cult stuff. Anyway, we were met at the city gates by a huge horde of cultists who were out for blood.</p><p>So...from the perspective of <i>almost</i> all of us, it was the leadup to the standard final battle where we all drew our weapons, unsure of whether we were going to make it out alive, as the epic music swells. I say almost all of us because...well...then there's the dwarf Ryuu.</p><p>As in, the one who asked to be tossed to the river bank to solo a bunch of orcs.</p><p>For you see, as he drew his weapons, under that big bushy beard of his, a smile cracked.</p><p>And I don't remember who started it, but someone made a joke about how off it would be if different, happier music was playing in his head, and then I started singing under my breath, "'Cause I'm havin' a good time, HAVIN' A GOOD TIME!" Which drew some questions until I explained where I was coming from and pulled up Don't Stop Me Now on my phone.</p><p>We rolled for initiative, and Ryuu went first. And every time his turn came up, I switched the background music to Don't Stop Me Now. Because while the rest of us were fighting the big, serious, epic climactic battle, he was having the time of his life transforming himself into a four foot tall Beyblade of destruction. It was so perfect that if that campaign ever got the <i>Legend of Vox Machina-</i>esque adaptation that we definitely don't deserve, I would offer a substantial percentage of my cut of the royalties just to have Don't Stop Me Now in the background of that scene, in that exact manner. When focusing on the rest of the party, epic, tense fight music, with occasional cutbacks to Ryuu with a massive smile on his face as he relishes in the violence while Don't Stop Me Now plays.</p><p>I'd do it myself if I knew anything about animation and had any sort of art skills. Or understanding of shot composition and fight choreography.</p><p>A guy can dream.</p>Aaron Cahoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10271543349697927169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582568156284680269.post-34719652259895613682021-08-16T13:24:00.004-07:002021-08-16T13:24:40.585-07:00The Things Heroes Do For Friends<p>Hey...guess it's been a while, hasn't it? Ummm...sorry about that, guys! Let's talk about something stupid that happened to my character in a recent RPG session.</p><p>So...you know how in The Oregon Trail games, you have a list of options of how to cross rivers when you come up to them? And you know how fording the river is almost always a bad idea? At least that's how it seemed to me in the Apple II version I would play in elementary school, maybe some other people had better luck. Maybe it works better if you actually pay attention to the river conditions. I don't know.</p><p>So, a little background on this campaign. A group of us have been pulled into a world that seems to be in a limbo state, neither dead nor alive, with six towers that need to be activated to restore what has been lost, and the towers seem to be reflective of the traditional elements (earth, fire, water, wind, and two others I'm sure the GM mentioned that I've already forgotten). At this point the earth and water towers have been reactivated, leading to a spike in seismic activity and torrential downpours. Which, naturally, leads to flooding.</p><p>Our party is heading towards what can only be described as the most dangerous part of the map, and there's a pretty sound strategic reason behind it. We're on the run from a group of villains (because what's an RPG without the main characters being on the run?) and since the villains themselves don't want to enter this part of the map, a ruined city with a bunch of advanced technology including killer automatons defending the place, seems fitting that, if we can tame the place or at least learn to survive there, it would provide a decent home base while we plan the rest of our actions.</p><p>Well, as it turns out the only way there led us to a place where the flooding is so intense that it's not even standing water at this point. It's essentially become a river.</p><p>Yeah, you know how you're told to "Turn around, don't drown" when you see conditions like this while traveling? Especially when a vehicle is involved?</p><p>So the group has been traveling with two wagons and a team of archeologists (because why not use that as a cover while we try to do things the bad guys don't want us to do?) and once we came to the river, we ended up having to take some time to consider our actions. Do we wait and try to fashion the wagons into rafts? Do we see if we can find boats elsewhere? Or do we tie a rope to the other side and try to brute force it?</p><p>Honestly the rope thing seemed like a good idea at the time, but one slip and a failed strength roll later, and down the river one of our party members went.</p><p>Naturally my character, upon ensuring that the cart was stabilized, dove right in after him. After all, he's the party's tough guy, having grown up in a frontier village.</p><p>And this is where it's important to acknowledge that this campaign isn't using the D&D 5e system where the Athletics skill covers a multitude of things including climbing and swimming. Nope, we're playing GURPS (short for Generic Universal RolePlaying System) specifically to make use of the different tech levels and a lot of other stuff as part of this world's setting. And in order to fit that generic mold, GURPS has a TON of different skills and skill sets. Including swimming.</p><p>And my character doesn't have that skill. And naturally, trying to save someone who is currently panicking, trying not to drown, my character diving in without thinking only made things worse.</p><p>Couple that with the dice being <i>really</i> uncooperative that night, and...well...</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKnL5IClEvRNpJ5Yzu0Rk8D9pP_FGI-9aaTNhYxWFL8Fv7pxQYVeZFMSMxfGAj0ZVcx8311Vf5M4iKfu7MC-5luo7SfItCn9TetMUZq1NqqSXFMcAcaPP7PoxOwnsGpOA4CG_FsW5JhsVJ/s480/sinking.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="480" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKnL5IClEvRNpJ5Yzu0Rk8D9pP_FGI-9aaTNhYxWFL8Fv7pxQYVeZFMSMxfGAj0ZVcx8311Vf5M4iKfu7MC-5luo7SfItCn9TetMUZq1NqqSXFMcAcaPP7PoxOwnsGpOA4CG_FsW5JhsVJ/w640-h360/sinking.gif" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Nah, I'm just kidding, by this point the rest of the party had sprung into action, including one using the draft animals from the carts (<a href="https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Varactyl">these lovely things</a>) and a party member who could <i>actually fly</i>, and we were brought to shore, my character doing slightly better than the other because they chose to rescue him first.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So...what have we learned from this?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I dunno. I guess sometimes when you have two choices ahead of you, the choice really ends up looking like this.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9LdYCPGXeAWTy8Wcj-DDS1pHNKom2I_3vENQHBWwXe2HTjcxyWQjlsgW8B15BG3BZj7csAjedsrb0MJD8CVv3iq2Dk8PxmUv-mqVXZMYkEIn9atj4ZsQWed4uIcBshNN4_MxePgl-2fHv/s498/make+it+worse.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="371" data-original-width="498" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9LdYCPGXeAWTy8Wcj-DDS1pHNKom2I_3vENQHBWwXe2HTjcxyWQjlsgW8B15BG3BZj7csAjedsrb0MJD8CVv3iq2Dk8PxmUv-mqVXZMYkEIn9atj4ZsQWed4uIcBshNN4_MxePgl-2fHv/w640-h476/make+it+worse.gif" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p>Aaron Cahoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10271543349697927169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582568156284680269.post-18392366069063563282021-05-01T02:21:00.002-07:002021-05-01T02:29:48.080-07:00Endgame: Take Care Of Yourself<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQLlFj8XmeF3oZ4rxAsIPnyDXvwO50WX4pY5kXRFUZZj-KVzNPfWrFlIGVGTvbA81DMHivP2W5LhsPureOUw3xdw4PnvBsiJM9DMe1xo6dtc1lvKb9b88huMzjnzkuOmMqwhdRzv55IlxN/s1000/efblf-05-01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="642" data-original-width="1000" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQLlFj8XmeF3oZ4rxAsIPnyDXvwO50WX4pY5kXRFUZZj-KVzNPfWrFlIGVGTvbA81DMHivP2W5LhsPureOUw3xdw4PnvBsiJM9DMe1xo6dtc1lvKb9b88huMzjnzkuOmMqwhdRzv55IlxN/w640-h410/efblf-05-01.png" width="640" /></a></div><p><br /></p>"A little warning would have been nice!" Faust exclaimed once brought back to consciousness and his situational awareness returned.<p></p><p>"I'm sorry," Rylee began, "but it's not like I <i>knew</i> drawing the sword would lead to the citadel exploding!"</p><p>"About that," Sissy started, "what exactly happened?"</p><p>"We...have a lot to unpack," Seliph replied, before launching into an explanation of everything that went down while the two of them were outside the citadel.</p><p>"Oh, right, Rylee," Kalista broke in, "do you remember everything?"</p><p>"Of course, as far as I know I haven't forgotten anything," Rylee responded.</p><p>"But...but are you on our side?" Kalista continued.</p><p>"Why wouldn't I be?" Rylee asked.</p><p>"It's just...hard to tell, I guess," Kalista offered.</p><p>After a brief moment of quiet, Rylee then said, "We should probably go. That explosion will have drawn some attention towards us."</p><p>"Yeah," Seliph agreed, "we've got a long way back to Elturel. Do we know how much Zariel was delayed by when we sent our distraction?" Seliph then asked Olanthius.</p><p>"Can't say," he admitted, "but we don't have much time. Less than a day, for sure."</p><p><br /></p><p>Travel back to Elturel took a few hours, but once the great city came into view, there was a much bigger problem at hand.</p><p>The city, formerly suspended hundreds of feet above the surface of Avernus, was now floating feet above the River Styx. Another few hours and it would be completely submerged, damning all within the city to a swift end, only to be brought back as devils in service to Zariel.</p><p>This was bad enough, but there was one more detail that came into view.</p><p>Legions of demons and devils were locked in a fierce battle surrounding the city, with Zariel, as Lulu observed, "right in the thickest, most dangerous part of the battle, like always."</p><p>In case that wasn't enough, the party caught sight of a nightmare flying down from the sky at breakneck speed, carrying a figure the party instantly recognized as Advocati.</p><p><br /></p><p>The party all slowly turned to face Faust.</p><p>"What? It isn't as if the angels were offering us any better alternative."</p><p>Seliph rolled his eyes and pulled over, and the party climbed to the roof to speak with Advocati.</p><p>"Thank you for agreeing to meet me so quickly. I've been hard at work undermining Zariel, and I'm still absolutely thrilled you guys agreed to let me take over this place once Zariel is out of the picture. I can't begin to thank Faust and Sissy enough." Faust's quick shift between confusion and anger seemed to be the exact reaction Advocati was hoping for.</p><p>"Now now, I'm here to make things easy for you. Like I said, I've been undermining Zariel, and to do that I've spoken at length with a lot of her, shall we say, less enthusiastic soldiers, and they've agreed to step aside and let you through, but only if you show them this." He then flipped a red coin towards Faust.</p><p>A red soul coin.</p><p>Faust, trying to keep his cool, merely asked, "And whose soul is in this coin?"</p><p>Advocati chuckled, then responded, "What makes you think I know or care about that?"</p><p>"What's so special about this coin then?" Kalista demanded.</p><p>"Why, it's red. Show this to any fiends you run into in that field. The ones who are out of the loop will probably just ignore you, but the ones who are in the loop will specifically get out of your way. The demons...however..."</p><p>Rylee quickly responded, "The demons, however, will be no problem for us."</p><p>"Precisely. Love the confidence and the new look, Rylee," Advocati added with a wink.</p><p>"Don't think you're suddenly in my good graces. I could and still might end you without second thought."</p><p>This response was...not what the rest of the party was expecting, but Advocati just smiled. "Either way, I've done what I could. Now, go work your magic."</p><p>"Sincerely though, thank you," Rylee said. "We hope to end this now."</p><p>Advocati bade the party farewell, then mounted his nightmare and flew off. Where? I dunno, out of the plot for the rest of the story though.</p><p><br /></p><p>With their goal in sight, the party slowly made their way through the battlefield towards Zariel's location, being interrupted a few times for direct combat or, in a few cases, avoiding magical explosions nearby.</p><p>At this point, Zariel was levitating above the battlefield, her attention drawn to what the party was up to. While three people in the party were capable of modest levitation or flight (some more than others), getting up there and maintaining that height could be difficult. To that end, Lulu finally transformed into her true, giant golden mammoth form, offering to lift those who were incapable of flight to Zariel's location.</p><p>As the party closed in on Zariel's location, Seliph shouted her name at the top of his lungs. She was watching the party close in on her, so it wasn't to get her attention. It was a show of defiance.</p><p>"Zariel," he repeated, once they were within a decent range to speak. "It's time to end this."</p><p>"You all came back. And...you brought Lulu, the sword, Olanthius. What's this all about?"</p><p>"Rylee," Lulu began, "present the sword to Zariel. That's the only way to break this."</p><p>Indeed, Rylee noticed that the sword seemed almost magnetically attracted to Zariel. Thus, she let it go, saying, "Come, Lady Zariel. This isn't the real you. You have a mission to fulfill. Let us leave this place. Come home."</p><p>Seliph added, "We know about what happened in Idyllglen. What happened afterwards. All of it. But we also know that you don't have to do this anymore."</p><p>The sword landed in Zariel's hand, and she began to scream in pain as the sword seemed to burn her on contact.</p><p>And as much as I want to say she pushed through the pain, let it change her back into her original form, and we all got the happy ending we wanted and worked so hard for, the truth is...I can't. Sometimes, you can do everything within your power in the most proper way you can find, and due to the agency of others, it just doesn't work. Sometimes, like in this case, the dice have other plans.</p><p>Snarling in pain, Zariel shouted, "With this final rite, I discharge my divine duty. Let my name be forever struck from the ledger of Mount Celestia." She then tightened her grip around the sword, crushing it.</p><p>"Now, I'll do the same to all of you fools who dared mock me!" Zariel shouted, readying herself for combat.</p><p>Seliph quickly leaned in close to Lulu's ear, saying, "Time for Plan B!" Even though neither one of them knew what Plan B was.</p><p>"Wait!" Rylee shouted. "Zariel, you made me a proposition. I serve you, you let my friends and the people of Elturel go. Is that still on the table?"<br /></p><p>Zariel, taken aback, relaxed her stance and smirked. "Why, yes of course. I had wondered if you'd even remembered my proposition considering how quickly the five of you abandoned the one quest I gave you. It almost felt like our discussion didn't even happen. But yes, of course," she said, extending a hand. "My word is law. Agree to bow down and serve me, and your friends and Elturel can go back to the material plane."</p><p>"Rylee, stop!" Seliph began. "Don't do this!"</p><p>"Yes," Faust added, "you know this isn't going to work."</p><p>"Please," Rylee said, "it's the only way. Lulu, please take everyone to safety."</p><p>Lulu reacted in shock, asking, "Wait, who are all you people? What's going on?!"</p><p>You see, something terrible happens with Lulu if the party fails to persuade Zariel to turn, her mind breaks, and any number of trauma-related stuff can happen. Thankfully, she didn't faint, leading most of the party to fall to their deaths, but instead, her amnesia came back, and it came back strong.</p><p>"Don't worry, Lulu. I'll make sure you're safe. Just get everyone a decent distance away from here. Go!"</p><p>"Uhh, right!" Lulu then turned and shot in the direction of Elturel.</p><p>Seliph, however, was not taking this well. "RYLEE!!! IT'S NOT TOO LATE!"</p><p>Thing is, it was. Rylee took Zariel's extended hand, and could feel a fundamental change within her. That is, she became keenly aware of the pact her soul had just forged with Zariel, and her appearance began to shift to look more like Zariel, or, even more disturbingly, like the image of herself Rylee saw in the mirror not so long ago.</p><p>"ZARIEL! THIS ISN'T OVER! AS LONG AS I DRAW BREATH I'LL OPPOSE YOU AND YOUR ENTIRE DAMNED KINGDOM! I'LL BURN THIS ENTIRE PLACE TO THE GROUND IF I HAVE TO!"</p><p>Seliph's shouting eventually lost all coherency as he broke into sobs.</p><p>Eventually Lulu landed on one of the broken streets of Elturel, frantically asking the party what was going on, to which Seliph muttered, "We...we're nobody. It doesn't matter. None of this matters anymore."</p><p><br /></p><p>High above Elturel, Zariel and Rylee floated towards the <a href="https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/The_Companion">Companion</a> (brief reminder, the thing that was meant to help with their vampire problem but ended up being the very thing that dragged the city into Hell in the first place). Once there, Zariel handed Rylee the hammer she had previously been using in combat, saying, "It only makes sense that this be your first act in service to me. Just hit the Companion, and all will be returned to 'normal.'"</p><p>Rylee looked down at the city of Elturel. She thought she saw her friends looking back up at her, but at that distance it could have been anyone. A tear rolled down her cheek as she said, "My beloved friends...I'm sorry." Without another word, she destroyed the Companion.</p><p><br /></p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Epilogue</h4><div>A few days later, Faust found Seliph in a tavern sitting by himself staring at a full pint of whatever excuse for alcohol this particular barkeep had managed to scrounge together. The barkeep warned Faust that he'd been like that for days, ordering something to be polite but just sitting in silence, completely despondent.</div><div><br /></div><div>"I don't get it. Man comes back as a hero, but the way he carries himself you'd think he was just another one of those undead that plagued the city in Avernus. He barely eats. Once it's time to close up shop, he pays his tab and leaves. I feel like I oughta say something because he might be scarin' off my regulars, but I can't bring myself to do it. A man with that look in his eyes...something's definitely wrong.</div><div><br /></div><div>Faust nodded, but frowned. "I was hoping to have this taken care of before I set off for Candlekeep, but I suppose it can't be helped." Indeed, he and Kalista had decided to travel to Candlekeep together. Kalista was going to turn in her findings to Sylvira, and Faust...well...Faust had a lot of studying to do.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>You see, once the party had arrived in Elturel and were clear of all the grateful citizens, Seliph...exploded. He grabbed the amulet he carried as a reminder of his oath as a paladin, that being the oath of redemption, tore it from around his neck, screamed, and threw it before breaking down into tears again. After composing himself, he said, "I need a drink," and quietly stood and left Faust, Sissy, Kalista, and Lulu unsure of what to do.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Let's give him some time," Faust finally said. "In the meantime, what the hell are we supposed to do now?"</div><div><br /></div><div>Kalista folded her arms. "I was hoping to get out of my pact before leaving Avernus, and unfortunately now, my clock is ticking. I'm going to need to start killing people..." the thought made Kalista sick.</div><div><br /></div><div>Sissy also piped up, "Yeah, and I've got some stuff I've gotta figure out as well since I made that deal."</div><div><br /></div><div>Faust then looked at Lulu, and then said, "Well, I suppose Candlekeep is as good a place to start as any. I never thought I'd be researching this for someone else." When the others looked at him, he clarified, "What? We all have things we want out of, and I'm most likely our best bet in finding the next step."</div><div><br /></div><div>It was at this point that Kalista agreed to travel to Candlekeep with Faust and Lulu, who had forgotten <i>everything</i>. Mercifully, this included Zariel, so hopefully she would be able to find some semblance of peace in what remained of her life.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Figuring out which tavern Seliph was at wasn't difficult, it being one of the few buildings that wasn't completely destroyed. Faust wasn't sure if he'd get through to him, but he knew he had to try.</div><div><br /></div><div>After explaining briefly all that Seliph was dealing with, Faust crossed over to Seliph's table and punched him right between the eyes.</div><div><br /></div><div>In truth, this punch hurt Faust much more than it hurt Seliph, but Faust balled up his fist for another one.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Just how long are you planning on keeping up this sorry performance?"</div><div><br /></div><div>"What do you care?" Seliph muttered. "Zariel took everything from me. Even things I didn't realize I still had like my father. Besides, it's not like it matters. Rylee's gone."</div><div><br /></div><div>"That was a quick change. Just a few days ago I seem to recall you swearing to take revenge on Zariel. Something about burning her entire kingdom to the ground. Was that all a bluff?"</div><div><br /></div><div>"That was before it finally sank in that Rylee is <i>gone</i>. Gone and can't come back."</div><div><br /></div><div>"She may not be. I'm going to Candlekeep to continue my research on oaths and pacts."</div><div><br /></div><div>Seliph raised an eyebrow. "What's your game, here? I thought you and Rylee hated each other."</div><div><br /></div><div>Faust glowered. "Oh, so the hero has a few private chats with her and suddenly he thinks he's the only one who can be upset at what happened?"</div><div><br /></div><div>"That's not..." Seliph began before trailing off.</div><div><br /></div><div>"We all want to try to get her back."</div><div><br /></div><div>"But...why though? I thought you couldn't stand her."</div><div><br /></div><div>Faust finally sat down next to Seliph. "You see, there is another thing I've kept from you. Rylee discovered my warlock pact quite a while before the rest of you did. At first I thought she was going to do something drastic about it, but she promised to keep it a secret from the rest of you, and she <i>kept </i>that promise. I'm not sure, but that action surprised me. I'm not accustomed to people actually following through with promises. I'll be honest, I grew a grudging respect for her. No no, you don't need to feel jealous or threatened or anything of the sort. I'm doing this because she is my friend."</div><div><br /></div><div>"All this for a friend?"</div><div><br /></div><div>"I don't have many of them." The implication was clear.</div><div><br /></div><div>This is totally an embellishment of what happened based on Faust's player referencing a specific scene in the movie <i>Tombstone</i>, but I felt like throwing it in anyway because it does illustrate a way Faust changed throughout his journey.</div><div><br /></div><div>Faust continued, "Look, I understand you need a little time. And I'd understand if you didn't want to join-"</div><div><br /></div><div>"I do. Of course I do. I just...have some stuff I have to figure out first." Seliph cast a look at the amulet which had been returned to him by one of the city guard, who said he'd received it from an anonymous fan. "I'm not sure if my oaths as a paladin are really going to help me here. I...failed. And I don't know if I'll be able to succeed in the future."</div><div><br /></div><div>"Take whatever time you need. You know where to find me." With that, Faust took his leave for Candlekeep.</div><div><br /></div><div>What happens next? Who knows? There's definitely room for a sequel story, but for the purposes of the current campaign, this is the end.</div>Aaron Cahoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10271543349697927169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582568156284680269.post-90795413970033817562021-04-29T10:53:00.002-07:002021-05-01T02:29:54.309-07:00That Time We Destroyed An Antique Elevator<p>This story is from our campaign in the city of Thane, an interdimensional trading hub that may or may not have been heavily inspired by the Ravnica setting from Magic the Gathering as well as some other stuff the DMs (as there were two) were really into at the time. Our party had been summoned to do some investigation into various things on behalf of one of the noble houses in the city, and this included going deep into a local mine to hunt down a specific artifact.</p><p>To be honest I'm not 100% on the specifics as it has been a while, and I'm going to be paraphrasing a lot, so if it seems like some details don't add up, blame my spotty memory. That being said, bottom line is the only way into this part of the city was by riding a very old elevator, the oldest one in the city. It was rickety and unstable, but it had gotten the job done as long as anyone could remember.</p><p>Sure would be a shame if a bunch of adventurers came and screwed that up.</p><p>Though being fair, it's not as if the DMs planned for this. But I'll illustrate that in a bit.</p><p>So, important players in this fight are Skyerrow, an aarakocra monk, and I'm only illustrating his race because as a bird-person he could fly (and yes, we made a lot of Rick and Morty jokes at his expense), and Flora, a firbolg barbarian. Firbolgs are essentially mini-giants, and Flora, though having the personality of Fluttershy from My Little Pony (exactly what her player was going for), got by by smacking stuff with a giant club.</p><p>Other characters include Minato Hiruma, a human samurai (whom I had lifted from an entirely different campaign from an entirely different <i>game</i>), Phylas, a half-drow warlock (essentially the main protagonist of this campaign considering how many important events happened because of and/or relating to him) and Tyrial, an aasimar paladin. The last three were in this fight, of course, but the real stars here were Skyerrow and Flora, as we'll see shortly.</p><p>So, we carried out our investigation and were about to leave the mines when we were met by our original employer near the elevator. I don't remember his name, but that doesn't make much of a difference, because he's not going to be around for very long, as an assassin appeared from the shadows, knifed the contractor, stole the thing we were trying to find, and made a break for the elevator, which Flora ended up clinging to as it began its rickety ascent.</p><p>Flora and the assassin began trading blows while Skyerrow quickly flew to the platform to offer support and the rest of the party quickly began scrambling up anything they could to catch the platform, including the chain above the elevator's counterweight. For you see, in a brilliant move of nobody actually communicating what their individual strategies were for this fight (as it was in the beginning of the campaign and we were still trying to figure out our individual combat roles) Phylas decided to blast the counterweight to force the elevator back down.</p><p>While Minato was still climbing the chain.</p><p>At this point the elevator had made quite a bit of distance (since the counterweight was close enough for Phylas to blast it in the first place). This combined with Flora accidentally smashing the control console for the elevator itself while swinging at the assassin, and you can already see where this is going.</p><p>Basically, the elevator was sent careening into the abyss. Skyerrow and Flora were able to escape the elevator at around the same point Minato was clinging to another rope for dear life (which, if we were playing super realistically, Minato catching the two of them probably would have ended with all three plummeting to their deaths following Minato dislocating his shoulder)</p><p>Oh, and the assassin? We never were able to get close enough to him to see this for ourselves (considering the smashed elevator and him more or less turning into paste) but the thing he stole from us ended up in the hands of the villains as tends to happen in these stories. As for us? Well, not only were we pegged for the destruction of one of Thane's priceless artifacts (the elevator, not the thing we found and then immediately lost), but also people who had it out for Phylas in particular stuck us with the blame for the death of our employer as well, he being an important noble in the city of Thane who perished not long after coming into contact with a group of ruffians affiliated (though very loosely) with the illegitimate son of another noble with connections to the drow.</p><p>This was the beginning of the campaign, mind you, and already we had smashed a priceless artifact and were soon to be on trial (a very, very unfair trial) for murder.</p><p>D&D is fun, I swear.</p>Aaron Cahoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10271543349697927169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582568156284680269.post-90429707978954289212021-04-26T14:47:00.002-07:002021-05-01T02:30:03.082-07:00Part 20: This is Where the Fun Begins<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd6T9TmVDeW6a9-g0owvvOZSsozAjvU7Tek8dEvzTvcpmZePBvoNKbNjoyWttUU07PMZJfz6NuN8Le9NLhvDWSyztfeN19Z0YUIj8eq9n78mvA4z9GE8rypULQcmFNTAzwpobjrDWc7-js/s850/avernus+painting.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="850" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd6T9TmVDeW6a9-g0owvvOZSsozAjvU7Tek8dEvzTvcpmZePBvoNKbNjoyWttUU07PMZJfz6NuN8Le9NLhvDWSyztfeN19Z0YUIj8eq9n78mvA4z9GE8rypULQcmFNTAzwpobjrDWc7-js/w640-h410/avernus+painting.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>She said the real fun would begin after another hour. She wasn't kidding.</p><p>During that short time period between waves of enemies, the party discussed a plan for protecting the citizens that had holed up in the cathedral. Though this was still in a deep dive into Lulu's memories, the fact remained that injuries seemed to be real in this place, and nobody wanted to chance death being real as well.</p><p>Thus, here was the plan.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1pcoznSH1fSKNR5ZB50A1SkXm6kTLZzWNO6t3EnvF6LIIcsnPRLTOaynNV8gWV9dhLP34hc8D2GsHxalBH8Nn69PEZMePBpQJry176WGtULdTl-oKMVZo7GNj6QoOk-sfH8-M9mMc5quh/s2048/idyllglen.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1342" data-original-width="2048" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1pcoznSH1fSKNR5ZB50A1SkXm6kTLZzWNO6t3EnvF6LIIcsnPRLTOaynNV8gWV9dhLP34hc8D2GsHxalBH8Nn69PEZMePBpQJry176WGtULdTl-oKMVZo7GNj6QoOk-sfH8-M9mMc5quh/w640-h420/idyllglen.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>Faust, Sissy, and Kalista would take up positions on rooftops surrounding the statue square in front of the cathedral as seen on the east side of the map. Monsters seemed to be mostly coming through town from the west side of the map, and once they were within range, Faust and Sissy would pelt them with magic while Kalista would rain arrows down on them. Well, that was the idea anyway, but as it turns out (that I forgot to mention in the last update since so much had happened), Kalista had a new toy.</p><p>You see, we'd levelled up recently, and Kalista had taken the feat <a href="http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/feat:magic-initiate">Magic Initiate</a>, specifically opening herself up to the warlock spell list. On its own, Magic Initiate isn't all that impressive, just some access to lower level magic from any magic class's spell list. However, since most warlock magic thrives on low level stuff, this basically allowed her to gain access to the warlock's bread and butter Eldritch Blast.</p><p>For lore reasons, we'd elected to explain it away as Kalista's pact with her sister finally showing forth good returns, but the bottom line is Kalista suddenly had magic.</p><p>So...we've got three snipers. The other party members, Seliph and Rylee, were placed in front of the cathedral behind the barricade. To be honest I kinda missed this point in the planning session because I was out of the room, cooking, but I feel like this informed Seliph's next move pretty well.</p><p>That is, upon sight of the next wave, Seliph strode out from behind the barricade to offer himself up as bait (to much shouting from the others through telepathy). This was 100% an establishment of dominance, a silent, but clear declaration of, "We are not afraid of you, and if you don't turn back, you will be destroyed."</p><p>Already the gears were turning in Seliph's head. "I'm going to claim the sword if it's the last thing I do."</p><p>However, unbeknownst to him, he wasn't the only one who was planning to take the sword. But more on that in a bit.</p><p>First came a balgura leading a wave of five dretches. Monsters that had caused the party some trouble earlier in the campaign, but considering how much stronger they had gotten (especially in the past few sessions as the story came closer and closer to the endgame), these guys were nothing.</p><p>Unfortunately while being the bait, Seliph also took the bait, as this left the barricade completely defenseless while a pack of gnolls rose up from the south, quickly descending on Rylee and Kalista (well, in Kalista's case, ascending since she was on a rooftop).</p><p>Poor decision on their part with Kalista considering she was more potent with her shortswords than with a bow, though Rylee's options were significantly more limited even with her being more willing to use force to protect those innocent people in the cathedral.</p><p>Well, Seliph, Faust, and Sissy did what they could to dispatch the first group of monsters before turning their attention to the gnolls, which went down quite a bit more quickly. Naturally, this raised a question among the group.</p><p>Just <i>what</i> was supposed to be coming?</p><p>Well...in a word, <i>this</i>.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-_TSvQPjEL6uuD9XTyG6yoUiVR28EcvbsWOCsSBhF1UaqX1pBfeGtjURYHhwSyZHBhNvKxf4NlK9hD5YzaD8J55x17nI4jadzCOdqTAZJKkKog9IlJs4DFfBWZSSOwDnNqn2nqYEtveLg/s1000/Yeenoghu-5e.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="999" data-original-width="1000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-_TSvQPjEL6uuD9XTyG6yoUiVR28EcvbsWOCsSBhF1UaqX1pBfeGtjURYHhwSyZHBhNvKxf4NlK9hD5YzaD8J55x17nI4jadzCOdqTAZJKkKog9IlJs4DFfBWZSSOwDnNqn2nqYEtveLg/w640-h640/Yeenoghu-5e.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>This guy is <a href="https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Yeenoghu">Yeenoghu</a>. As in, one of the two demon lords that Zariel wanted the party to hunt down and destroy.</p><p>Unfortunately, Rylee was the only one who realized that, but she wasn't able to communicate that information to Seliph before he rushed down the beast, hoping to end the conflict quickly by taking out the biggest guy.</p><p>Well...as he was sprinting towards the hulking monstrosity, Seliph quickly realized... <i>This guy is much bigger than I thought he was</i>. This led to Seliph taking a direct hit by that flail and getting blasted back fifteen feet while another gnoll took the opportunity to try to dogpile on Seliph. Which, fair, but also, rude.</p><p>In the ensuing fray, everyone did what they could to pile on the damage against Yeenoghu, but they were no match for him, and eventually Rylee was knocked unconscious, with the rest of the party not far behind.</p><p>Just then, an angel wielding a bright sword riding a large golden mammoth descended from on high in a pillar of light. The angel caught the flail, dealt a devastating blow against Yeenoghu, opened a portal to the abyss behind him, and shoved him right in.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfARKH_5Mz-mcPT3y9HsRfzt1g_jDyW3UOFdSvBWrqVvXLFUtsOzAyUplZ1CDtq_LEH0KtTYLC8LFLPgznK6czbljB-e2wB-pCqQNVCiyavgLRoOpX4ka04qSsH6xuhvXXSQ3EUjbHxEPx/s1000/zariel+saves+the+day.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="665" data-original-width="1000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfARKH_5Mz-mcPT3y9HsRfzt1g_jDyW3UOFdSvBWrqVvXLFUtsOzAyUplZ1CDtq_LEH0KtTYLC8LFLPgznK6czbljB-e2wB-pCqQNVCiyavgLRoOpX4ka04qSsH6xuhvXXSQ3EUjbHxEPx/w640-h426/zariel+saves+the+day.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Once the party was able to collect themselves, they realized that the person who saved them was Zariel, before she had fallen into darkness.</p><p>Zariel thanked the party and healed them of the injuries they'd suffered in the battle as a squadron of other angels--the Hellriders--mopped up the stragglers among Yeenoghu's forces. Among them Seliph recognized his father as well as another similar looking man, his uncle, no doubt.</p><p>They also recognized the woman who had placed them into this dream, Yael.</p><p>The Hellriders formed ranks, ready to charge into the newly-formed portal into Avernus, when suddenly our heroes found themselves unable to move or respond, as if they were frozen in time. Zariel turned to them and said, "Yeenoghu slaughtered those I swore to protect. I can stop him and others like him. I might have to give up all I stand for, but I could stem the tide of chaos and save many lives from the demonic terrors of the Abyss. Were you in my place, would you risk it all to save others?”</p><p>Faust chuckled. "An interesting question. Something you yourself are contemplating? Unfortunately, we know how this will end, and it is not in the manner you expect."</p><p>Zariel frowned. "Regardless, the blood war is at our doorstep, and soon it will spill into the mortal plane. Something must be done. I say again, were you in my place, would you risk it all to save others."</p><p>Faust shook his head, Sissy shrugged, but it was Rylee who first opened her mouth. "No. I would give it all to save those around me. My friends are my strength as well as my reason for living, and I would give anything for them, but not in the way you're considering."</p><p>Zariel looked to Seliph. "I suppose your answer might be different?"<br /></p><p>"Honestly, no. I will defend this world from our doorstep, but I would not lead a counter-offensive."</p><p>Sissy then piped up. "I agree. I feel more comfortable fighting with...how would you say it...home field advantage."</p><p>Kalista, on the other hand, said, "I'd do it. If that's what it would take, I'd do it."</p><p>The way we answered the question changed things slightly, as those who survived the battle (technically all of us because Rylee was rescued before she died) were given charms, either of restoration or vitality, and I'll go into those as (if) they get used.</p><p>Soon enough the party was back in the citadel, and Lulu began to explain what had happened to her.</p><p>“I remember everything now. Idyllglen was the last straw. We followed Zariel to Avernus, but the evil there proved to be too much for us. Asmodeus appeared and promised Zariel infernal legions to end the Blood War, but she had to give the Lord of the Nine Hells her fealty. She accepted and became an archdevil, but not before Yael and I took her sword, hoping it could redeem Zariel someday. I gave up my magic and memories, and Yael gave her life to construct this place to protect the sword.”</p><p>Yael, who was still there to judge the party's worthiness, then said, “You have faced many trials to claim the Sword of Zariel. I’m sorry to say, you face one more. As the inscription on the dais says, ‘The hero who becomes one with this blade exists no longer.’ Which of you is brave enough to draw the blade and be gone forever?”</p><p>Faust began to laugh.</p><p>"You cannot be serious," he began. "After all this, after all we have been through, it was all to spring this upon us at the end? This was your great backup plan? Depending on some selfless soul to give up all that they have for the greater good?"</p><p>Lulu frowned, "It was our only choice."</p><p>Faust spat back at them, "Your only choice." Not a question, just a disdainful statement of fact. "If this was your only choice you deserved to fail." He then turned to leave, but not without telepathically contacting Sissy, saying, <i>Come with me. Let me show them what a real backup plan is all about.</i></p><p>This left Seliph, Rylee, and Kalista staring at the sword. Seliph hesitated, having not realized what the sword would require.</p><p>"I'll do it," Rylee said, solumnly.</p><p>"What?" Kalista asked.</p><p>"Someone has to," Rylee responded. "Why not me?"</p><p>Seliph then spoke up. "I wouldn't have you abandon your oaths for this. Let me do it. I have the least to lose anyway."</p><p>Kalista quickly shot back, "There's nothing for me! As it is right now I'm stuck in a contract with someone who hates me, but this sort of sacrifice might be able to help me get out of it. Of course I'd use it to save Elturel, since that's why we're here in the first place, but still, let me do it!"</p><p>Without another word, Rylee lunged for the blade, with Seliph and Kalista trying to restrain her, if nothing else so they could discuss this more.</p><p>So...I'm not sure if she was thinking this in character, but Rylee's player wasn't expecting it to work, but after a contested athletics/acrobatics roll, Rylee grasped the sword first, and then...well...then the magic happened.</p><p>Well, sort of, let's jump over to what Faust and Sissy were doing first.</p><p>"What?"<br /></p><p>"I said I need to borrow your ice shard. It will only take a moment," Faust quickly responded.</p><p>"You...you're going to do it, aren't you? You're bringing Advocati here." Again, not a question.</p><p>"Do you have any other ideas? Clearly Lulu and Yael have completely lost it."</p><p>"Honestly, no, I was hoping we could do this instead. If we're going to be used, let's at least be used by the one who was up front about it."</p><p>This statement is a bit of an embellishment from me, but still, considering how angry Faust was at this point and how quickly Sissy was willing to go along with Faust's plan, I'm keeping it.</p><p>Once the ritual was completed, and Advocati finished gloating about how he was finally materialized and ready to move onto the next phase of his plan, well...fireworks.</p><p>The ghost of Yael met eyes with Olanthius's demon knight form, taking in the sight of her love one last time before she vanished, finally able to pass onto the next life, while an explosion of radiant energy nuked the citadel and the scab off the face of Avernus. Those outside the citadel (including Faust, Sissy, and the newly awakened Advocati) took the full force of the blast, and while Sissy and Faust survived, merely falling unconscious outside the citadel, Advocati was nowhere to be seen, having either perished in the blast or vanished (he totally vanished, there's no way the DM is letting this guy die this easily).</p><p>Once the light cleared, Seliph and Kalista cast their eyes about, seeing that Rylee was...well...different.</p><p>Specifically, she took upon herself a new, angelic, perfected form, glowing with radiant light and adorned with feathered wings.</p><p>And that's about the extent of what we know happened to her her, as while the sword forced changes upon her personality, those personality changes have not been revealed in campaign yet.</p><p>And this is where we're at. Rylee, as we knew her, is gone, and in her place...we're not sure yet, but what we are sure of is that this is the end. We're saving Elturel somehow, whether Zariel wants to be saved along with it or not.</p>Aaron Cahoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10271543349697927169noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582568156284680269.post-4319854815385854742021-04-17T22:29:00.001-07:002021-04-17T22:39:20.886-07:00Part 19: Things Get Worse Before They Get Worse, And Then They Get Worse<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLDnbjjyW5ILCE3xwsJAK71Spa6_RToUzl9oYAddPSpSKqsGreeqwY97Ode42JXWhVeasWqHElBSIbQ_ZCpNnZTSTmTOYNvZBhBLHrMA9yk9HtZV4zuTl_YXPxMDUhLUMmTwuGpmYs1bZi/s1000/kotschwhatever.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="698" data-original-width="1000" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLDnbjjyW5ILCE3xwsJAK71Spa6_RToUzl9oYAddPSpSKqsGreeqwY97Ode42JXWhVeasWqHElBSIbQ_ZCpNnZTSTmTOYNvZBhBLHrMA9yk9HtZV4zuTl_YXPxMDUhLUMmTwuGpmYs1bZi/w640-h446/kotschwhatever.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After some more driving the party arrived at their current destination, the Tomb of the Hellriders, in the hopes of finding any sort of clue as to the whereabouts of the Bleeding Citadel and the Sword of Zariel, as well as any information on Zariel's past and clues to help her turn back to the light.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So, bit of info on me, the narrator. I'm not a huge fan of dungeon crawling in tabletop RPGs. It has its place, both narratively and mechanically, and considering I'm such a fan of RPG video games, you'd think that would translate, but my favorite bits of tabletop RPGs are the social and storytelling aspects, and while I'm down with a short jaunt into a dungeon to do some puzzles, kill some beasts, and find some loot, it's not why I play these games and if I'm in the mood for that sort of experience I'll play a video game. It's for this reason I'm not likely to play (or upload a retelling of) campaigns like Dungeon of the Mad Mage or its ilk, and the less we say about the Tomb of Horrors the happier I'll be.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So, it's with that lens that I want to point out that this dungeon was <i>freaking terrifying</i> in terms of atmosphere. And it's not like the encounters within were all that dangerous (spoiler alert for further down in the entry), but throughout most of the place it was just...nothing. Just motionless statues outside, big urns full of the ashes of dead Hellriders and monuments with the names of the dead inscribed thereupon inside, with a couple of rooms with the following description:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>As you disturb the ankle-deep mist, it parts to reveal a ritual circle daubed in blood on the floor. Hundreds of slivers of parchment are arranged within it, each tiny strip bearing a name written neatly in blood.</i></div></blockquote><p>What we were able to surmise was that these names matched up with the names inscribed upon the monuments, and Faust was able to determine that the ritual magic was keeping the souls of those dead from passing onto their eternal reward.</p><p>But I'm getting a little ahead of myself, as while exploring, Kalista heard something and raised a hand. "I hear moaning." Sneaking closer, she spotted the source: a chamber full of mummies.</p><p>Mummies in D&D can be kind of nasty, as most undead can if you're not careful, and we the party were like, "Screw that," and backed into the corridor from whence we came, knowing full well we'd probably have to fight them eventually but we didn't want to if we didn't have to.</p><p>Well, as some of these places tend to be designed, we ended up having to go through the mummy room to carry on, and the party briefly huddled to throw together a plan. And guys, I gotta say, this time we freaking nailed it.</p><p>Basically we bunched them all together and used a rather crudely-made explosive device to kill them. I don't remember if I mentioned this earlier, it being a project of Faust's, but he created, for lack of a better term, a Holy Hand Grenade.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieecNnMOqEonUk5Z6eEdGYYONVCtarncluZU0C3-ZWXnZwoOOUGX7zsizq73Mb7Es_pS30L8CpaoO15Z5Fys4EW_9S-pgLxQdRd_1EWiAxyPP5wDp0uQOiruw5Nt2nTGE9KxsMnHw4Tyrw/s450/holy+grenade.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="360" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieecNnMOqEonUk5Z6eEdGYYONVCtarncluZU0C3-ZWXnZwoOOUGX7zsizq73Mb7Es_pS30L8CpaoO15Z5Fys4EW_9S-pgLxQdRd_1EWiAxyPP5wDp0uQOiruw5Nt2nTGE9KxsMnHw4Tyrw/s320/holy+grenade.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Probably wasn't this ornate, but hey, use your imagination.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Basically, it was a bottle of holy water that was attached to an explosive device that would, upon detonation, scatter holy water/steam while also spreading...well...explosion. And guys, it <i>worked</i>. It didn't kill them instantly, but it did such a good job at weakening them that the party was able to steamroll (heh) their way through the fight without much (if any) damage.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Eventually the party found themselves in the chamber with the aforementioned monuments as well as...well:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Adorning the wall across from the steles is a carved relief showing a solemn, blindfolded angel on the back of a mammoth with feathered wings. The mammoth is reared up on its hind legs, and the angel holds her sword high. All around them are the broken bodies of fallen knights and devils.</i></div></div></div></blockquote><p>How's that for some awesome heavy metal imagery?</p><p>Kalista was the first to open her mouth. "Is that...?"</p><p>Faust nodded. "Zariel. Astride a rather imposing Lulu."</p><p>Kalista examined it more closely. "Doesn't she seem...I dunno...a little lonely?"</p><p>Seliph folded his arms. "Looks that way, but I guess that's what this place does to you."</p><p>Rylee frowned. "All this, and she's still doing everything she can to avoid the one creature that would still call her a friend." </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">"Such a waste of loyalty...still, there must be something we can do," Seliph muttered, mostly to himself.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Kalista repeated her suggestion from before (that I neglected to mention), "We should at least go burn those slips of paper."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">She suggested that before when we found the ritual rooms but it was pretty unanimous that, without any context for what they were doing, that would be an extremely bad idea. However, since Faust took some time to investigate the ritual circles and the monuments, he figured out that burning the paper and scratching the names from the monument would be the only way to release their souls.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Kalista offered to return to the further room and burn the stack of papers there, requesting that Seliph go along with her so she'd "feel safe"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Anyway, after all this was taken care of, the party reconvened in the room with the monuments, where another secret door was found leading to a small, cramped chamber full of books belonging to a man named Olanthius, formerly a Hellrider. From the book:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Olanthius never recovered from Zariel’s capitulation to Asmodeus and subsequent transformation into a devil. He blames himself for not seeing warning signs of Zariel’s fall from grace early on — her single-minded determination to slay demons at all costs.</li><li>Olanthius took his life rather than face damnation, but he was transformed into an undead monster by Zariel to serve her forevermore.</li><li>Olanthius describes Haruman, his one-time comrade in arms, as a heartless man bereft of compassion — now a devil bent on punishing anyone who stands in Zariel’s way.</li><li>Olanthius mourns the deaths of his fallen warriors and feels powerless to help them.</li><li>Olanthius speaks well of General Yael, whom he clearly respects and secretly adores. In one journal, Olanthius hints that he knows where Yael hid the Sword of Zariel but fails to note the location.</li></ul><div>However, as is typical in these stories when the heroes find some information they’re not supposed to have, the party’s reading session was interrupted by loud footsteps echoing from down the hall.</div><div><br /></div><div>Faust let out a curse, and the party quickly looked at one another.</div><div><br /></div><div>"We should hide!"</div><div><br /></div><div>"Where?"<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>"Anywhere!"</div><div><br /></div><div>"I could try to sneak by."</div><div><br /></div><div>"WHAT?!"</div><div><br /></div><div>This went on for a bit before we decided to have the two warlocks cast Invisibility on the party sans Kalista who thought she should be able to sneak by whatever it was that was coming down the hall.</div><div><br /></div><div>She was not.</div><div><br /></div><div>A demonic (well, devilish) growling voice rang out, demanding:</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>"Who has defiled this sacred space?"</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div>Kalista's skin turned a shade paler as she tried to slip by the source of the noise, a <a href="https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Death_knight">Death Knight</a>. Naturally, this sight was terrifying, even moreso when it addressed her personally, completely unfazed by her attempt at stealth.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Death Knight demanded to know why she was here and how she got in here. Certainly one person can't have come in here by herself?</div><div><br /></div><div>Unsure of how to lie her way out of it, she told the complete truth: she and a group of her friends were seeking out the Sword of Zariel to either defeat or redeem Zariel and save the city of Elturel.</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;"><b>"Show me these friends of yours."</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div>After an awkward few seconds of back and forth between the invisible party members about whether or not the scary looking figure could be trusted and him threatening Kalista's life if they didn't comply, the party revealed themselves to the Death Knight, who introduced himself as Olanthius, and he wasn't happy that the party went through his diaries.</div><div><br /></div><div>He explained that he could help them find the Bleeding Citadel, where the Sword of Zariel rested within what could only be described as a scab on the surface of Avernus, but he needed the party's help, and they were short on time. Essentially, his agency was limited due to his very nature as a Death Knight, revived to serve Zariel and defend the tomb that the party just defaced, and the limited time problem?</div><div><br />Zariel was already making moves to drag Elturel into the River Styx, where all of its inhabitants would die and immediately be reborn as devils in service to her.</div><div><br /></div><div>Gee, thanks for leaving out the part about the time limit.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, that favor Olanthius was asking? He needed a diversion. So he teleported the party to a location known as Kostchtchie’s Maw, a crevasse in the surface of Avernus named after the <a href="https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Kostchtchie">demon lord</a> imprisoned there.</div><div><br /></div><div>So the party lowered themselves into the Maw by hiding themselves within Sissy's patron's jar (a nifty little skill she had just picked up, and yes, her patron genie was literally living inside a Mason jar) while Faust rode his familiar, now taking the form of a <a href="https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Beholder">Beholderkin</a>, into the crevasse.</div><div><br /></div><div>Some fighting later as Kostchtchie had some guards who really didn't want to let him go, and the party was now stuck trying to figure out their way back out of the Maw. And thus began the awkward "night" of camping in the Maw while they waited for Sissy's ability to restore itself. Oops.</div><div><br /></div><div>Don't worry, it gets worse!</div><div><br /></div><div>How? Well, as the party was making their ascent, they noticed a row of people wielding bows and crossbows on each side of the Maw, waiting for them to slide into view (thank goodness someone passed that check), so Faust directed his familiar to lift them further down away from the two groups of enemies.</div><div><br /></div><div>Even worse? Since this was technically between two sessions and we'd forgotten we teleported, we got to the rim of the Maw to realize that <i>we didn't have the Demon Grinder</i>. Like, shoot, that's not good, right?</div><div><br /></div><div>And since we've had another session after that (most of the next bit is just fighting) we're going to be paraphrasing a lot.</div><div><br /></div><div>Well, turns out it wasn't too far away, as the party saw a cloud of dust barreling towards them.</div><div><br /></div><div>The party quickly went invisible again, before they realized that the cloud of dust was a very unimpressed Olanthius, who quickly berated the party for taking so long to hide. He said that since the party had already taken eight hours to free Kostchtchie (who was now rampaging across Avernus) and time was of the essence, he brought the Demon Grinder for them, all they need do is follow him to the scab where the Bleeding Citadel lay.</div><div><br /></div><div>And seriously, this place is disgusting to think about. From the book:</div><div><br /></div></div></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>A great, disgusting scab the size of a large hill rises up from a stinking swamp of blood. The domed top of an alabaster temple pokes through the scab. Many black iron chains of Avernus converge on the building, attaching within the grotesque mound.</i></div></div></div></div></div></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><br /></div><div>You see, scab is a very accurate term, as when the Sword of Zariel was cast down to the surface of Avernus, the Citadel sprung up around it. But this being Hell, such a sacred place is an unnatural occurrence, and the land of Avernus was trying to heal around where the "gash" was.</div><div><br /></div><div>So the party began to dig their way into the scab from the top, guided by Lulu who was able to intuit her way through in the most direct route to the actual entrance to the Citadel (which is my way of explaining away how fast we went through this part of the dungeon).</div><div><br /></div><div>Turns out they weren't the only ones there, as demons under the rule of <a href="https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Yeenoghu#:~:text=Yeenoghu%20(pronounced%3A%20%2Fji,him%20and%20his%20rabid%20slaughter.">Yeenoghu</a> were also trying to get into the Citadel, leading to some fights and what may be one of the craziest moments we've had so far in this campaign.</div><div><br /></div><div>You see, the party got the drop on a bunch of demons at the bottom of a fifty foot drop, including a <a href="https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Nalfeshnee">Nalfeshnee</a>. Faust and Sissy were able to snipe them from their little perch before the Nalfeshnee teleported up behind the group, where Seliph turned to 1v1 something he probably shouldn't have, but some great damage rolls later and the Nalfeshnee went down.</div><div><br /></div><div>And then Seliph got the great idea to do a fifty foot flying press onto one of the enemies below.</div><div><br /></div><div>So...there's no hard and fast rule on how much fall damage to deal so most people default to 1d6 per ten feet, which has potential to be painful, but for high level adventurers with good luck it can be pretty negligible (which this fall was).</div><div><br /></div><div>This turned out to be a good stroke of luck as not two seconds later Seliph took a couple really bad hits as the fight was winding down, though not as bad as was taken by the others who attempted leaps (who not only missed their attacks but also took more damage from the fall)</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, this fight ended and the party opened the door to the Citadel, where their wounds from the last few fights were healed. From the book again:</div><div><br /></div></div></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><div><i>A bright white light burns away the blood and grit staining your clothes. Restorative energy brings life to numb muscles as the glow softens to reveal the interior of a sun-kissed cathedral. How light passes through the scab and into the stained glass windows is a mystery only magic can answer.</i></div></div></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><i><br /></i></div></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div><i>Pillars line a path from the door to a raised dais carved with Celestial runes. Embedded in a stone atop the dais is a glowing longsword.</i></div></div></div></div></blockquote><p>Insert music from either the Temple of Time from Ocarina of Time or the Sanctuary from Link to the Past, but yeah, the party slowly made their way to the sword when...</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><i>The translucent image of a woman in her thirties wearing plate armor and bearing a thin scar on her cheek appears before you. As she points toward the hollyphant, Lulu’s eyes turn pure white. A whisper fills your ears and says, “I remember!” A wave of radiant energy erupts from Lulu’s body and in that blinding flash the ghostly warrior, the hollyphant, and the Bleeding Citadel disappear.</i></p><p><i>The solace of the cathedral is replaced by havoc, screams of panic, and acrid smoke. You stand at the edge of a small town of burning cottages, fields, and trees. A broken sign on the ground reveals the settlement’s name: Idyllglen. Shrieking townsfolk run from cackling, snarling demons and gnolls.</i></p></blockquote><p>Lulu quickly explained that this was her memories from "that day", and indeed, the party themselves were able to piece together the similarities between this and when they entered Lulu's memories before, only things seemed much more real here.</p><p>Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand they found themselves being attacked. As the party fought their way through the various monsters, they came upon an upturned cart with a few <a href="https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Dretch">dretches</a> trying to smash their way into it. Things got worse when one of Faust's spells went wild and destroyed the cart, revealing a woman hiding under it.</p><p>A dretch reared back, ready to strike the killing blow, as Sissy teleported close enough to knock the woman out of the way, shortly before another group of spells cast by Faust slew the rest of the dretches.</p><p>Things seemed to be turning in the party's favor, when...</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><i>A chorus of screams rises up as people, sheep, and pigs scamper through the town, chased by a demon with the lower body of a great serpent and the upper body of a six-armed gnoll clutching a wicked sword in each of its clawed hands.</i></p></blockquote><p>This guy...this guy was something else. The fight didn't last super long (as tends to happen in D&D when you have a group of level 12 adventurers focusing down something) but it got kind of scary as he was capable of doing six attacks in one action. Well, seven, including its tail whip attack, which in D&D does more than just lower your defense.</p><p>It feels weird paraphrasing this fight so much considering it literally took an entire session, but seriously, this fight was something else, but after much back-and-forth the beast (known canonically as Garoknul) was eventually forced to retreat.</p><p>The party took a brief second to catch their breath before...</p><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p><i>Five guards wielding spears advance from the north. Splattered head-to-toe with black ichor, they gaze at you with hungry eyes.</i></p></blockquote><p></p><p>This...was awkward. These were just normal guys who were being coerced into violence against their will, and the party realized this. That said, Faust cast a spell that was meant to incapacitate them, however it ended up killing four of them, after which he was overcome by a sudden wave of exhaustion--punishment from Lulu for killing the soldiers--to the point where it looked like his lack of sleep since they arrived in Avernus had finally caught up with him (something I've joked about with his player, who is notorious for not getting enough sleep)</p><p>The party did what they could to restrain the final guard while Rylee could figure out how to save him. Once that was taken care of...</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><i>A woman’s voice enters your mind. “Nice work. Take a break. You’ve got an hour before the really bad stuff happens.”</i></p></blockquote><p>Natuarlly...the party's reactions were...well...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSTOc9ji_AJpY612hTroLFpggVjN_TmYv_mvfbaasAF7gNfHmbRMpsQLBZaJbL8jdhpgQGfY3xQqMwzel1cEA66Dp9g64B1HKF6fNGsCLiPvydaBtyoZ5fzvF-DkyjUCsUYyswLMFqwkBe/s498/nani.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="272" data-original-width="498" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSTOc9ji_AJpY612hTroLFpggVjN_TmYv_mvfbaasAF7gNfHmbRMpsQLBZaJbL8jdhpgQGfY3xQqMwzel1cEA66Dp9g64B1HKF6fNGsCLiPvydaBtyoZ5fzvF-DkyjUCsUYyswLMFqwkBe/w640-h350/nani.gif" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQyZY2tqyq-7JlqB9bwZdAECM-c9PQJiU9ELagqdW1CaDswTUmulYnP-sBhG2rQO80ti-HHEXjWa529EGjgSv4JfSttPMOvBB4cXsXSsoskfmLJh187I_ItfEeAQNwVceC0K_pIg2DkUTv/s498/for+crying+out+loud.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="379" data-original-width="498" height="488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQyZY2tqyq-7JlqB9bwZdAECM-c9PQJiU9ELagqdW1CaDswTUmulYnP-sBhG2rQO80ti-HHEXjWa529EGjgSv4JfSttPMOvBB4cXsXSsoskfmLJh187I_ItfEeAQNwVceC0K_pIg2DkUTv/w640-h488/for+crying+out+loud.gif" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>And that's where we left off. With things about to get much worse. Though considering this is supposed to be Zariel's start of darkness, I suppose that makes sense.</p>Aaron Cahoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10271543349697927169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582568156284680269.post-89305689214423410002021-03-25T22:42:00.001-07:002021-04-17T22:39:20.887-07:00Part 18: Mirror, Mirror<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglasndEmshfukDz6ot7J0SCRY0urZsyNcG_Q3VNoPFyHD4wmTrfg3GW_xiQkdq_eMCyK-hjBR1ivF8ELE6R4NMZhS2EQgDTf_W3cRAxMBPnYkWvu7iBb3fMK6PcPVA-KqRAFC7h9lMrBG7/s850/avernus+painting.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="850" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglasndEmshfukDz6ot7J0SCRY0urZsyNcG_Q3VNoPFyHD4wmTrfg3GW_xiQkdq_eMCyK-hjBR1ivF8ELE6R4NMZhS2EQgDTf_W3cRAxMBPnYkWvu7iBb3fMK6PcPVA-KqRAFC7h9lMrBG7/w640-h410/avernus+painting.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>"I'm waiting..." the Alhoon demanded. "It's not that hard. Give me your soul coins, and I leave you all alone. You don't have all day, and neither do I."</p><p>Kalista decided to try stalling for time by projecting her thoughts out to the Alhoon. "Sir, I know soul coins are hard to come by in this economy. However, we also need soul coins in order to survive. You may have half of our soul coins if you leave us alone."</p><p>A chuckle seemed to emanate from the Alhoon. "That's not my problem. It makes no difference to me if you live or die."</p><p>Thinking fast, Faust quickly added, "That may be true, but can you sustain the damage we can inflict upon you?"</p><p>The Alhoon took this as a challenge. "Fools, you think I'm alone?"</p><p>On this, the Alhoon's Demon Grinder's doors all opened and various creatures started pouring out. Seeing this, Rylee quickly looked at Seliph. "Sometimes violence is necessary for peace and survival, right?"</p><p>"You're asking <i>me</i>?"</p><p>"Just say yes so I don't have to worry about this later!"</p><p>"Uhh, right, yeah."</p><p>She asked this because she knew that the spell she was about to cast could do quite a bit of damage, but she rationalized it as okay since the Alhoon was definitely undead, and it was extremely likely its followers would be as well. Wasting no further time, she quickly summoned a <a href="https://dungeons.fandom.com/wiki/Guardian_of_Faith">Guardian of Faith</a> to, if nothing else, provide cover for the rest of the party to get back into the Demon Grinder and make a quick getaway. Which was helpful since although the Alhoon could sense where the remaining party members were, I feel it important to note that they were still invisible and would be for a short time, depending on how long they took to take an action.</p><p>Anyway, Kalista first took initiative to sneak into the Demon Grinder, with Faust and Sissy following suit. Naturally, the sight of the top hatch opening and closing three times was somewhat startling to Seliph and Rylee, but when Kalista, Faust, and Sissy revealed themselves, they breathed a sigh of relief.</p><p>Without thinking, Seliph said, "Everybody strap in. We're out of here!"</p><p>And thus they were. Seliph quickly slammed on the gas, angling the Demon Grinder for a small gap between the other and the entrance of the small cave they were hiding in, though not before a few of the Alhoon's goons were struck down by the Guardian of Faith and the other Demon Grinder needed a mild push out of the way.</p><p>It didn't take long for the Alhoon's crew to get their own Demon Grinder up and running, and thus began another chase.</p><p>Much like the last couple chases, the enemy Demon Grinder's crew did what they could to try to do as much damage to the party's Grinder while the party was doing what they could to escape. Spells flew back and forth along with harpoons and wrecking balls, but the party's Grinder slowly began to pull ahead.</p><p>At this point, Kalista, Faust, and Sissy were on the roof, for navigational purposes (as nothing had been done about the smoke pouring out of the engine since the last session) as well as slinging spells at whatever of the Alhoon's crew that that they could hit. Just when it seemed like the party's Grinder was about to make its full escape, it...stopped, as if it had slammed into a wall. Because it had. Specifically a <a href="http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/spell:wall-of-force">Wall of Force</a>. Naturally, when an object in motion is forced to a sudden stop, those things that aren't strapped down might be flung all over the place, and naturally, while the lithe Kalista was able to keep her footing, the less athletic Faust and Sissy were thrown into the wall. The fact that neither lost consciousness is a bit of a miracle, honestly.</p><p>So...how are we gonna get out of this situation? Well, I'll explain what I wish I could say had happened first.</p><p>Krickendolt, having spent most of the fight obsessively defending his chicken, demanded that Seliph do something to fix the situation, to which Seliph responded, "There are a few weapons that are still functional. I want you and Rylee to get on them." He indicated the Alhoon floating outside the other Grinder, coming upon them. "I want every weapon we have firing on that guy. If we can take him down we're golden."<br /></p><p>Seliph quickly threw the Demon Grinder and reverse, slamming on the gas, beginning a quick game of chicken with the Alhoon. Well, what would have been a game of chicken before Krickendolt smacked him out of the sky with the wrecking ball. Seliph said something about a home run or a grand slam, and the party rode off into the sunset.</p><p><br /></p><p>Well, that's not what happened, but it sounds cool, right?</p><p>Instead, we more or less talked the Alhoon, who by this point was the only surviving member of his crew, into leaving us alone. Faust reiterated, "You might be able to kill one or two of us, but all five of us would do so much damage that, honestly, would it be worth it to you to try it?"</p><p>It would not, as death for an undead creature such as the Alhoon would be, as he put it, extremely awkward, specifically considering where he was and where he was likely to go after death. So, in the spirit of said awkwardness, he drove off into the sunset, leaving the party to quickly repair their own vehicle and get on the road.</p><p><br /></p><p>Eventually, the party arrived at the obelisk that they were told about, or at least they were pretty sure that's what it was, as the obelisk was surrounded by eight pillars. In the middle of the eight pillars stood a man gesticulating wildly, spouting off the grossest of obscenities. The party glanced at one another. Surely, this crazy person wasn't the person they were supposed to be meeting, right?</p><p>"Are you going to come out here or are you just going to sit in your vehicle and stare at me?!" the man demanded, seeming to read their thoughts.<br /></p><p>Naturally, the party was willing to put up with a lot of things but weren't all that willing to help someone being that rude to them for no real reason, but he pleaded with them to not leave him behind, saying that he had information on how to find the Bleeding Citadel, and he would give them that information if they helped him escape where he was, stating that he was pretty sure that he could escape if the party activated the pillars for him.</p><p>Rylee read his mind and discovered that he had absolutely no idea that this would work, and Seliph, sensing a trap, used his Divine Sense to...well...sense anything suspicious about the man. Well, as before, the man was not a man at all, but this time a demon, trapped there by the pit fiend <a href="https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Bel">Bel</a>. At this revelation, the party was like, "Nope, we already released someone who was strung up by a big name fiend in Avernus and that got us into this mess, we can find someone else." Naturally, this didn't last long as the party knew for a fact that they were lost without any morsel of info they could get (to Rylee's chagrin in particular), and they agreed to help him out.</p><p>Basically, the pillars surrounding the obelisk were all tied to the eight schools of magic in the Forgotten Realms, and the demon thought that activating them and, through them, the obelisk, would set him free. Being trapped there for as long as he had, he was running out of ideas.</p><p>Well, needless to say it didn't work. As far as we know. Faust took his hand off his chosen pillar before the ritual was complete, but considering almost everyone was injured or suffered an adverse effect, it might not have really been worth the party's while.</p><p>The demon shrugged, stating that maybe a deal with Mephistopheles would help him out, but being a man of his word, he suggested that the party might find the next step in their quest at the Crypt of the Hellriders. Which sounded just peachy.</p><p>So, those adverse effects on the party? Well, one of them was that Rylee, who put her hand on the Transmutation pillar, had her skin turn blue for 24 hours. So...that was kind of awkward.</p><p>Anyway...off the party went.</p><p>Along the way, Faust approached Seliph and Rylee with a request. Specifically, he wanted them to write their names in his book. He said that this was in case one of them should die, it would be a form of insurance.</p><p>He was more honest with Rylee, stating that Hadar might offer a solution (since well, she knew about the Hadar contract anyway).</p><p>Naturally both realized he was hiding something, so Seliph weaseled out of the conversation saying he'd think about it, and Rylee flat out said no, she wanted nothing to do with it.</p><p>So on the journey went in some mild awkwardness until Faust offered to take over the drive so Seliph could get some rest.</p><p>Things were actually going pretty smoothly until Faust, staring out into the distance, was startled back to reality by sudden thump against the windshield, as an imp had flown straight into it. Faust slowed the Demon Grinder down gently, so to not wake the rest of the party, and the imp made the gesture of removing a ring from a finger, obviously referring to Faust's ring.</p><p>Once Faust removed his ring, the imp immediately contacted him telepathically. "Finally! Listen, I need you to take a bit of a detour. Your <i>employer</i> wants to speak with you."</p><p>Faust cursed silently, then nodded. The imp left Faust with an image of a giant shard of ice that looked similar to an item Sissy was given earlier (that totally isn't meant to help her use ice magic against the usually ice-immune demons).</p><p><i>Great. Can't wait to see the man behind the man.</i></p><p>Following the imp's directions, Faust found the ice shard, also known as the Mirror of Mephistar. He quietly exited the Demon Grinder, taking extra care not to wake the rest of the party, and made his way over to the mirror.</p><p><i>Definitely seems a bit excessive--</i>his thoughts, along with any sort of voluntary motion, suddenly stopped as he gazed into the mirror, where he saw his reflection, but something about it was just <i>wrong</i>. He looked haggard, his eyes lacked any sort of light. Suddenly, something pried into his mind, and he saw a vision of a large frozen fiend, whose face was occasionally thawed out just enough to talk by an imp pouring water over his icy prison.</p><p>"<a href="https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Mephistopheles">Mephistopheles</a>," Faust muttered, not as a greeting or a question, just a statement of fact.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho7zMgxuyEnQVBzTUque13VTbHBt19W85F1xQEMuACLUkzxZ-GV9c5EYxlQJECdt4JobNpVRir6joefqT-kIpfyH65gdEs-nd60Rk2mdsnwWerpA_BPfp3SLoVw4zBHx8VNKcb9wcNlaXE/s455/mephisto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="455" data-original-width="263" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho7zMgxuyEnQVBzTUque13VTbHBt19W85F1xQEMuACLUkzxZ-GV9c5EYxlQJECdt4JobNpVRir6joefqT-kIpfyH65gdEs-nd60Rk2mdsnwWerpA_BPfp3SLoVw4zBHx8VNKcb9wcNlaXE/w370-h640/mephisto.jpg" width="370" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>"Jerrod Anton Faust," the fiend began (okay, so the DM didn't have him actually first name Faust, but doesn't it just sound like something a king of Hell would do?), "You've mainly been corresponding with my agent Advocati, but it certainly is nice to finally meet you face-to-face, or as much as can be done without you coming all the way down here."</p><p>"I can see that you bypassed my ring," Faust noted, slightly changing the subject.</p><p>"You see, that's what I like about you, Faust, m'boy. You're intelligent. You're ambitious. I can use that, and to that end I have an opportunity for you to break your pact with Hadar."</p><p>"Let me guess, some sort of contract?" Faust responded smugly.</p><p>"But of course! You come down and serve Advocati, and through him, me, and you've got an eternity of power and arcane knowledge at your fingertips. All I require is that book of yours and half of your natural mortal lifespan, which given the way you've been living up to this point, you likely won't even notice it's gone."</p><p>"And what are your plans with the tome?" Faust asked.</p><p>"Same as yours. Increase my power. Which, naturally, would benefit you as a sort of trickle-down effect."</p><p>If Faust were capable of moving, he would have stroked his chin. "I almost want to give you the book to see just how you screw this up, as I bet it would backfire just as spectacularly for you as it has for me. But I will have to take some time to ponder on the proposition."</p><p>"If you must," Mephistopheles allowed, "but the clock is ticking, and the longer you spend in Avernus, the less likely it is that you'll leave."</p><p>With that, Faust found himself back in his body, again in control of his voluntary movement, and suddenly he found himself collapsing to the ground, vomiting.</p><p>Once he fully composed himself, he slowly made his way back into the Demon Grinder. However, in his distraction he woke Rylee's dog Yasha, who in turn woke the rest of the party.</p><p>Seliph groaned. "Rylee could'ja do something about that dog?"</p><p>"I'll try, why are we stopped?"</p><p>Faust, thinking quickly, threw out the first thing that came to his mind. "I...needed to take a bit of a private break."</p><p>"Maybe I'll take Yasha for a walk, that should calm her down."</p><p><i>DAMMIT!</i> Faust cursed within his mind, knowing that there was no reasonable way he could prevent her from going outside without drawing attention. The best he could do is scramble to prevent anything from getting worse.</p><p>Well, naturally when Rylee saw the giant shard of ice, she had questions, but because she'd <i>looked</i> at said giant shard of ice, well...she was in for a ride.</p><p>You see, what Rylee saw inside the mirror was an image of herself if she decided to follow Zariel. Fallen. Dark. <i>Corrupt.</i></p><p>Something bored into her mind, finding her fears the same way that it had done to Faust, and like Faust before her, she found herself face to face with Mephistopheles.</p><p>"Ahh, here we have a guest I <i>wasn't</i> expecting," Mephistopheles announced.</p><p><i>Curse that Faust</i>, Rylee caught herself thinking.</p><p>"So I heard on the winds that you had a rather interesting conversation with Zariel. As well as that encounter you had with the Alhoon. Very interesting indeed. It seems your stay in Zariel's little corner of Hell has changed you quite a bit. Your precious vow of non-violence, so casually disregarded. Why, you've killed three beings since you've been here."</p><p>"I didn't kill the Alhoon's minions. They were already dead!"</p><p>"Oh, Rylee, Rylee, Rylee. The Alhoon was dead, but I assure you his thralls were not. They weren't even acting of their own accord. Doesn't that just tear you up inside?"</p><p>"I'm not proud of what I had to do, but I did it to protect my friends!"</p><p>"Pah, friends, whatever helps you sleep at night. My agent will be in contact with you soon enough."</p><p>"Agent?"</p><p>"Advocati. He's got another task for you, and he should be able to help you."</p><p>"Task? Help? With <i>what</i>?"</p><p>"Help you kill devils, and if you mean to make a move against Zariel you're gonna need to kill many, many more than you already have. But I believe you could prove useful to me to get to Zariel."</p><p>"I will not be used as a pawn for someone's schemes!"</p><p>"You already are for your god. But all will sort itself out in time, and Advocati will be in touch."</p><p>Rylee...took this conversation significantly worse than Faust took his. In addition to the sickness, she collapsed to the ground with a thousand-yard stare, repeating the phrase, "I don't want to be that person."</p><p>Yasha, alarmed at her master's sudden worsening condition, rushed to the Demon Grinder, barking up a storm.</p><p>Without thinking, Seliph grabbed his sword and shield and dashed outside, with Faust close behind shouting, "Seliph! Whatever you do, do <i>not</i> look into the mirror!"</p><p>Dang it Faust, you of all people should know not to tell someone <i>not</i> to look at something if they're not even aware it's there.</p><p>So Seliph, like Faust and Rylee, found himself unable to move, gazing upon a corrupted image of himself, but once he noticed something probing his mind he immediately put up some resistance.</p><p>A voice rang out in his head...</p><p><i>Don't you want to speak with Mephistopheles?</i></p><p>Seliph recoiled, then redoubled his resistance.</p><p><i>No. I'm here to save my friend.</i></p><p>The voice seemed disappointed, but then responded, <i>He has nothing to offer you at the moment anyway. But since I got a quick look at your fears, I think I'll just let you stand there motionless for a little while, unable to watch as your friend suffers. So long!</i></p><p>Seliph recoiled again. <i>What? No, stop, you BASTARD!</i></p><p>It was only for one minute, but it seemed like an eternity before Seliph could finally move as Faust was trying to get Rylee to respond to literally anything.</p><p>Seliph looked the situation over quickly. "We need to leave. Now."</p><p>Faust looked at Seliph in disbelief. "What do you think I'm trying to do here?"</p><p>Seliph quickly scooped Rylee up into his arms. "I'll carry her. We need to put as much space between us and this...thing...as soon as possible."</p><p>Once Faust and Seliph got back on the Demon Grinder, Faust said, "No time to explain, someone drive. Seliph and I will do what we can to bring her back to reality."</p><p>Kalista quickly put herself in the driver's seat and started driving in the direction Faust gave her, and on the ride people tried everything they could think of. I-Spy. Faust playing the drum (that for some reason he had even though he didn't know how to play it). Seliph casting a spell to create food and water.</p><p>However, Rylee wouldn't come out of her funk, leading Faust to commit some...slightly more drastic actions.</p><p>As in, he slapped her.</p><p>"Get ahold of yourself. Every single one of us has done terrible things. None more than me. Unfortunately it's probably going to get worse before it gets better, so get ahold of yourself so we can move on."</p><p>Rylee looked back at Faust, a mix of rage and sadness in her eyes. "Have you ever <i>not</i> hit someone, Faust? Have you ever held it all in, no matter how much the other person deserved it? I have done things I promised, swore never to do. Maybe I'm not the same person anymore..." she trailed off, tears forming in her eyes.</p><p>Kalista responded first. "I think it's true that we aren't the same people we were when we came here. We've all done things we regret, or that we wish we hadn't."</p><p>Seliph added, "Of course we're not the same people. Change happens all the time whether we want it to or not. But that doesn't mean that you're stuck to a path you don't want to be on. There's always a way."</p><p>"Until you make a contract with an archfiend," Kalista muttered.</p><p>"Yeah...I've got nothing for you there," Seliph said, "but I'm sure something will turn up."</p><p>Rylee remained unconvinced. "Zariel...offered me a deal. While you were out of the room. She said that if I swore allegiance to her, she'd let everyone go. It would be so easy. I wonder if I made the wrong choice in saying no."</p><p>"Rylee," Seliph started, "you already know that it's not that simple. You making that decision would negatively affect each one of us." Images of this alternate timeline flashed in his mind, specifically how he'd be affected. Images of casting aside his oaths as a redemption paladin, of a one-man war against the forces of Hell itself, of suffering and death flooded his mind.</p><p>Faust added, "Zariel knows that too. She doesn't care about you or any of us. Her bargain with you would certainly be beneficial to her, damn the consequences for yourself or anyone associated with you. She approached you. You are in control. Don't forget that."</p><p>"I...need to be alone," Rylee said, finally.</p><p>"Honestly, I was about to step out onto the roof for some fresh air. At least, as fresh as this place has got, anyway," Seliph said. "Come with me? I'll give you some space."</p><p>"Yes...I'd like that."</p><p>It was brief and faint, but above the hellish atmosphere as well as the (literal) screaming from the engine, Rylee felt a connection with Eldath, that she was still loved, and that things were going to be okay.</p><p>Seliph noticed her slightly more relaxed posture and stated simply, "That's a relief."</p><p>At this point, Faust frantically leaped out onto the roof of the Demon Grinder. Gasping for breath, the only words he could manage to form were, "Sissy...warlock!"</p><p>Sissy popped up right behind him with another skeleton, replacing her other one that perished during the fighting. "Yeah, I've...got a thing."</p><p>---</p><p>Let's back up a few minutes. Faust had approached Sissy with condolences about her fallen skeleton.</p><p>"Oh, not to worry. I've got another one stowed away here somewhere. A couple, actually."</p><p>Faust's eyebrow twitched. "This is...very troubling behavior. Doesn't it bother you?"</p><p>"Not at all. It's kinda like an organ donor."</p><p>"Organ...donor?"</p><p>"Ah right, I should explain. You see, we don't have magic where I came from, so doctors use science to treat their patients."</p><p>"Yes, I'm familiar with science, what sort of scholar do you take me for?" Faust asked impatiently.</p><p>"So some people have it in writing that they permit the use of their surviving organs to be used for medicinal purposes when they die. Someone needs a new heart? Great! Someone just died whose heart can still be used!"</p><p>"I suppose that makes sense, though that does sort of beg the question about your magic, anyway."</p><p>"My friend helps me out. He came to me when I was scared and alone." She pointed at the bottle her patron, a genie, dwelled in.</p><p>The gears were already turning in Faust's head. "Ah, so this friend of yours...it's because of him that you can use magic?"</p><p>"Yeah. Also he helped me get rid of my dad."</p><p>"He...I beg your pardon?"</p><p>"My dad. He was a bastard. He needed to go. My friend helped me get rid of him."</p><p>"I...see..." Faust, panicking, then said, "I think I shall join Seliph and Rylee on the roof." His speech hastened. "Good luck with your skeleton friend byyyyyyyyyyyye!" and up the ladder he went.</p>Aaron Cahoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10271543349697927169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582568156284680269.post-4183523535220083122021-03-05T16:28:00.004-08:002021-04-17T22:39:20.886-07:00Part 17: Character Development Avalanche<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv130_n4QuS46WiWnN5zDjMUBqTumk32WD6iVhvP35YkPA-Wz0iu_QOnCWyQjboTcVPT5-tfPJvRvKQ0SqMLGvrVekn0f3Lq6xTdMGwFLXkQsnwrlD-vcrePAkkEfsOxxRE9LawnHoRR1I/s1099/zariel%2527s+fortress.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1099" data-original-width="420" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv130_n4QuS46WiWnN5zDjMUBqTumk32WD6iVhvP35YkPA-Wz0iu_QOnCWyQjboTcVPT5-tfPJvRvKQ0SqMLGvrVekn0f3Lq6xTdMGwFLXkQsnwrlD-vcrePAkkEfsOxxRE9LawnHoRR1I/w244-h640/zariel%2527s+fortress.png" width="244" /></a></div><br /><p>Seliph and Rylee were led by Uncle Badguy (whose name I don't think we ever got) into the dungeon area of Zariel's fortress. Unlike more normal cell blocks, this dungeon is a tad more...escape proof. Anyone in the Forgotten Realms can probably bust out of an iron cell with just a little elbow grease, to say nothing of the citizens of Avernus. However, when the cell's bars and door are made of molten iron dripping from the ceiling, you've got yourself a bit more potent cell. Also a great deal warmer than the average jail cell, but that's not that hard to pull off.</p><p>Upon reaching a specific cell belonging to a man with ashen pale skin and dark hair, the uncle said, "Hey, Sariel, you've got a visitor! First one in quite a long time, ain't it?"</p><p>Pause. Yeah, I called him Sariel in my character's backstory because I guess I forgot that Zariel was the name of the primary antagonist of this campaign. I just picked a random angel name from a random name generator and it seemed to work. Next time I play someone related to a celestial I'll be sure to pick the name of one of the Evangelion angels instead -_-</p><p>Anywho, the man in the cell--Sariel--looked up towards the bars. He squinted his eyes. "Who is this supposed to be?"</p><p>One could hear the smirk under the uncle's helmet. "Why Sariel, you don't recognize Seliph, your own son? I'll leave you two to it, but don't take too long." With that, the uncle stepped away.</p><p>Sariel looked a little more closely before gasping in realization. "You...is your mother Elaine?"<br /></p><p>"Y...yeah."</p><p>Sariel frowned. "Has it been that long? I guess it would have been about twenty-five years. How is she?"</p><p>"You...you didn't know? She passed away. She got really sick. It's been about ten years now."</p><p>"That is...a shame. I'm so sorry."</p><p>"Well...I suppose you wouldn't have known if you've been here this whole time..."</p><p>Sariel's frown deepened. "So why are you here? Don't tell me you're here to rescue me."</p><p>"I wish I could say I was...that's probably easier to explain than..."</p><p>Rylee broke in. "We're here to save the city of Elturel."</p><p>Sariel looked even less impressed. "Elturel? How did you get roped into saving that place?"</p><p>Seliph awkwardly shrugged. "It's...a tad complicated. Just a long spree of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, up to and including now, with Zariel putting out a hit on Baphomet and Yeenoghu. Basically if we can kill one of them and bring proof, Zariel will let the city and all its inhabitants go."</p><p>Sariel rubbed his forehead. "It's plain that you've inherited my penchant for getting into hopeless situations. I can't believe you'd serve Zariel as well."</p><p>"Don't get it twisted. I'm not bowing down to anybody. I'm a mercenary here. One job, and I wash my hands of this place for good." Seliph rehearsed the same line he'd said dozens of times in his wanderings as a mercenary, but this one rang more hollow than usual.</p><p>Sariel, of course, was completely unconvinced. "Do you really believe you can redeem that city?"</p><p>"To be honest...I don't know. It's a monumental task. I mean, slaying lowly demons and devils is one thing, but..." Seliph trailed off, and Sariel nodded, understanding. "That being said I can't just sit by while innocent people suffer. And then there's Zariel herself..."</p><p>Over the next few moments, Seliph and Sariel said nothing, but Sariel knew exactly why Seliph trailed off. Like his son, Sariel saw a hint of sadness and regret in Zariel's rage.</p><p>Sariel moved closer to the bars of the cell (well, as close as reasonable considering, y'know...molten iron), motioning for Seliph to do the same. In a low voice, Sariel suggested something. "Zariel can be redeemed. It's a long shot, but her sword and Lulu are the key. There's a reason her loyalists don't want either of them near her."</p><p>The same thing had occurred to Seliph, who nodded. "Got it. My first target here was the sword anyway, since without it, this whole quest is over before it starts."</p><p>Sariel smiled. "Maybe there's hope for our line after all. I'm sorry I can't be of more help to you, my son."</p><p><i>Son...</i></p><p>Seliph kept his poker face in spite of it all, merely saying, "No, you've proven more helpful to me in the last thirty seconds than anyone else has since I came to this forsaken place. Thank you...father."</p><p>At this point the uncle had returned to the room. "All right, enough mushy business. You've got a job to do, nephew."</p><p>Seliph and Sariel exchanged one final look that seemed to cap off the conversation. Seliph wasn't leaving Avernus without the city of Elturel, and if he had anything to say about it, he wasn't leaving without his father.</p><p>Before the party was dismissed from Zariel's fortress, they were led to Zariel's armory for some better equipment to aid them on their quest, after which they were sent on their way.</p><p>The party returned to their vehicle at the Wandering Emporium in silence. Once Zariel's knights had left, Kalista then said, "Guys, I think I'm going to try to go talk my sister into letting me out of my contract."</p><p>Naturally, this development was something the entire party was happy about. People began discussing the various things they had to do before leaving the Emporium, until Seliph said, "Actually, can we have a brief meeting before this? I've got some stuff I want to say.</p><p>"I know the task we've been given is difficult. Probably even impossible. To that end I think we still need to go get the sword of Zariel."</p><p>Lulu, having been kept out of the loop, raised an eyebrow. "I thought that was what we were doing from the start."</p><p>"It was, but things have gotten a little more complicated. A few extra steps have been added to the plan. But, thanks to my conversation with--" Seliph then noticed Rylee making a slashing motion across her throat, the universal <i>Shut Up</i> gesture, "--a certain informant, I think we've got a shot with the sword and with Lulu's help."</p><p>"So are we still going to try to help Zariel?"</p><p>"Of course."</p><p>"But who did you talk to about this. It wasn't a devil was it?"</p><p>It's a good thing Lulu didn't catch everyone else in the party frantically waving their hands, and Seliph quickly responded, "No, it was an angel."</p><p>Faust broke in, "Seliph has some contacts here."</p><p>This satisfied Lulu for the time being, and now the party's mission was clear:</p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Find the sword of Zariel</li><li>Track down and defeat Baphomet or Yeenoghu</li><li>Meet with Zariel, somehow bringing Lulu with them</li><li>Get Zariel, Lulu, and the sword in the same chamber and pray that what they're setting out to do works</li></ol><div>Admittedly 2 and 3 are somewhat interchangeable, but the meeting with Zariel was most likely to happen if the party accomplished their assigned task.</div><div><br /></div><div>At this point the party split up to spend some time doing various chores around the Wandering Emporium. The last session was brutal and everyone had some stuff they wanted to do.</div><div><br /></div><div>Faust wanted to acquire some spell components, specifically a pickled tentacle and an eyeball in a platinum inlaid vial Kalista wanted to speak to her sister again, Rylee wanted another meeting with Advocati to figure out just what Faust's deal was, Sissy was mainly just planning on relaxing, and Seliph...Seliph had some <i>important stuff</i> to take care of.</div><div><br /></div><div>He was going to hit the spa.</div><div><br /></div><div>Before we launch into that, regarding the spell components, Kalista suggested that there was a way to get it for free instead of needing to spend the 400 gold pieces required,</div><div><br /></div><div>Seliph was unconvinced. "Yeah, there's a way, but do you really <i>want</i> to sleep with that guy?"</div><div><br /></div><div>"Of course not! I'm just saying it's on the table!"</div><div><br /></div><div>"It was never on the table unless you were going to actually do the deed!"</div><div><br /></div><div>The major character development happened with Sissy, Rylee, and Kalista. Sissy was approached by the same creatures that had approached her before, impressed with her power and offering her more for her help in dealing with a certain group of demons, even handing her an icicle that would help her ice magic bypass the ice resistance that demons had. Unconvinced that the fiend was feeling completely charitable, Sissy studied her client closely. At any rate, if she took the ice, if the fiend decided to betray her, she'd have the jump on him.</div><div><br /></div><div>Kalista's experience...was less positive.</div><div><br /></div><div>Though it didn't start out that way, as Fierna quickly agreed to meet Kalista.</div><div><br /></div><div>Once in her...void office? I dunno what to call it, but once there, Kalista quickly launched into her request.</div><div><br /></div><div>"I understand that you're behind me and I want to do what I can to support you and father, but the contract isn't working out. I just don't feel like I'm really cut out for this sort of work.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Not now, you aren't, but give it time and you'll find a groove."</div><div><br /></div><div>Kalista wasn't so sure. "That may be true, but I feel like it might be better if I just quit."</div><div><br /></div><div>"That's what I'm trying to tell you, <i>sister</i>, you can't. You signed the contract. Your soul belongs to me and father now."</div><div><br /></div><div>"You can't make a special exception for family?"</div><div><br /></div><div>"Kalista, the contract and the dagger <i>were</i> the special exception, but if that doesn't get the point across this will. I'm just using you, and that will continue to be our arrangement until the end of time. Though, there <i>is</i> an escape clause of a sort."</div><div><br /></div><div>"What do you mean?"</div><div><br /></div><div>"I'm willing to void the contract if you can bring me a powerful artifact such as...say...the hand of Vecna or the sword of Zariel. Or you could just sacrifice unto me one thousand souls. Though, I think you should realize that any of these things would probably put you on a one-way trip to Hell anyway, so you'd be better off enjoying yourself by serving me willingly."</div><div><br /></div><div>"I do have one artifact...what about this stone mask I carved off a fiend?" Kalista reached into her pack and brought out the mask.</div><div><br /></div><div>"A fiend mask? Honey, I'm an archdevil, my domain is covered in the things. They're worthless. I'm firm on the artifact or the souls. Unless you can deliver, I'm afraid your contract is still valid."</div><div><br /></div><div>Unfortunately, she wasn't willing to bend, so Kalista returned to the war machine in a bit of a sulk.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rylee's trip was...a little more enlightening. In that her character was able to find out everything we as the players already knew, which has been an interesting 4D chess match to watch play out in real time between her player and Faust's.</div><div><br /></div><div>Basically, she was offered one question which Advocati had to answer truthfully, so she asked what his relationship to Faust was, and the answer was given plain: Faust died and Advocati brought him back and gave him a few tasks, one of which relating to the book Faust carried around.</div><div><br /></div><div>Speaking of Faust, guess what he was doing shortly before Rylee confronted him with this info? Look, that's not even a spoiler. Do you really think Rylee wasn't going to smash in his door demanding answers after that bombshell was dropped?</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, Faust was taking a moment to contact Hadar, who wasn't really enjoying the radio silence and having his messages reduced to speaking through a book. Nevertheless, he encouraged Faust to continue feeding him, not really caring about Faust's connection with "that Avocado guy". Being an otherworldly...being...essentially composed of sentient hunger (not unlike your average college student under certain influences), the presence of a devil wasn't all that concerning. Even if said devil had an important upper manager.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, once Faust was satisfied/finished with his part of the conversation, he cut Hadar off by closing the book. Riiiiiiiiight as Rylee was entering the room to begin the aforementioned chewing out.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, Rylee came out swinging, stating the one thing both of them knew for certain. "You died. You died and came back."</div><div><br /></div><div>Faust tried to weasel his way out of the accusation, but Rylee wasn't having any of it.</div><div><br /></div><div>"I want the whole truth, otherwise how can I trust you?"</div><div><br /></div><div>Faust was unconvinced. "You haven't trusted me from the beginning."</div><div><br /></div><div>"True. There’s something odd about you. I’ve ignored it, but now it’s becoming pressing. If it’s something you don’t want the others to know, I won’t tell them."</div><div><br /></div><div>"My bond is more connective, than I thought."</div><div><br /></div><div>"Then the magic you wield is not your own magic, I would presume?"<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>"This is as far as I would like this conversation to go. My life is based on the idea, that I am an accomplished person."</div><div><br /></div><div>"So you would lie to the world? That you can acquire magic, which I suppose is true if you summon a demon or devil."</div><div><br /></div><div>"Hadar is no demon or devil."</div><div><br /></div><div>"Then what is he? And I have one last question. Advocati mentioned something about a book. What’s in the book?"</div><div><br /></div><div>Faust declined to state, having said all he wanted to say.</div><div><br /></div><div>"This will stay between us. You have my word," Rylee finally said, relenting.</div><div><br /></div><div>"I should hope so. I have had to take drastic action against thoughts who have discovered less than you."</div><div><br /></div><div>Brave words. I don't think the rest of the party would be so down with an assassination attempt on the healer though >.></div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, before we continue our adventure, let's check up on Seliph.</div><div><br /></div><div>Oh wait, he's just...chilling in the bath. Eventually he finished up to what may be the most depressingly real narration from the DM.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Since you got to Avernus you've had an ache in your back and shoulders and the stress of the situation made it worse, so the bath was nice. For a moment, you felt yourself released from all that stress and fatigue, before you exited the spa and remembered, 'Oh yeah, I'm in Hell.'"</div><div><br /></div><div>So...basically any time I take a bath. Y'know...once I get over how pathetically small the bathtub in my apartment is.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, the party asked why Seliph was so relaxed before Kalista pointed out that he didn't bathe at the bathhouse. Y'know the one from way back at the beginning of the campaign?</div><div><br /></div><div>"I...yeah, I guess I didn't," Seliph admitted, not really wanting to get into it.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Why not? It was really nice!" Kalista replied.</div><div><br /></div><div>"I'm sure it was. I just...there were too many people, and this one was basically empty."</div><div><br /></div><div>"Why didn't you say anything?"</div><div><br /></div><div>"Look, I wanted a little privacy, that's all."</div><div><br /></div><div>Kalista blinked before pushing Seliph to continue.</div><div><br /></div><div>"I...I'm a little self-conscious, that's all. I don't wanna talk about it any further."</div><div><br /></div><div>And that's the end of that conversation.</div><div><br /></div><div>So the next session was almost essentially all back and forth driving. The party went to a place called the Spawning Trees and helped a work crew of fiends in destroying some of the trees, preventing some demons from appearing in Avernus. There they picked up a bearded devil named Krikendolt, a bit of an outcast among his peers at the spawning trees. Why?</div><div><br /></div><div>Well, because he was keeping one of these as a pet.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh__YCoVRtZ1D52wcg902ZYKIi3RjN1bm86w2wTtqUdT3-bT42o5j9ORBT62vMOdn7aZp2XNMPme6InceZZrWKRLEk8vTvZgqusdjxpq6QSy_e5CYWzT_w6sombzVKZ9BguHgdRiC39BzV6/s314/abyssal+chicken.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="314" data-original-width="163" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh__YCoVRtZ1D52wcg902ZYKIi3RjN1bm86w2wTtqUdT3-bT42o5j9ORBT62vMOdn7aZp2XNMPme6InceZZrWKRLEk8vTvZgqusdjxpq6QSy_e5CYWzT_w6sombzVKZ9BguHgdRiC39BzV6/w332-h640/abyssal+chicken.jpeg" width="332" /></a></div><div><br /></div>This is an Abyssal Chicken, something that shows up on the menu at the Wandering Emporium. Rylee wasn't completely on board with this new stowaway, but Krickendolt said he could help the party find their way to the scab, and finally, the sword of Zariel.<div><br /></div><div>On the way to the tower, the conversation went in a few different directions. Kalista learned that her father and sister owned their own level of Hell, and Seliph, entirely unintentionally on my part, did something really stupid.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, you know how, when you're driving, your conversation filter is weaker? Yeah, Seliph accidentally spilled the beans about the party meeting Zariel, something that Lulu...didn't take well. She only relented when the party promised that they'd try to get her to Zariel, and that her meeting Zariel again was still the most important part of their plan.<br /><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, Krickendolt directed them onto a tower where they met the wizard <a href="https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Mordenkainen">Mordenkainen</a>, kind of a big deal in D&D. Mordenkainen took some persuading before finally directing the party to an obelisk which would be the next step in their quest.<p></p></div></div><div>And almost as a way of apologizing for two straight sessions of talking and character development, the next (and most recent as of writing) session was a breakneck series of vehicle combat encounters. Which is easy to sum up but it was <i>extremely</i> stressful running it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Basically, two vehicles, a Scavenger and a Tormentor closed in on the party's Demon Grinder. A boarding party of ghouls tried to...well...board the party's Demon Grinder before Rylee friggin' dusted the lot of them with the spell Turn Undead. Some back and forth from onboard weaponry and Kalista standing on the roof of the Demon Grinder later and the party managed to get out of that encounter with some damage to the wrecking ball and one of the harpoon flingers, with smoke billowing out of the engine.</div><div><br /></div><div>Unsure of how safe it would be to proceed, the party agreed to stop and let Kalista try to fix everything. Well, apparently billowing smoke acted as a pretty great signal to another crew on another Demon Grinder that we were wounded and easy pickings, which led to a car chase through a rather rocky canyon. Eventually the party got enough of a lead on the other Demon Grinder that they were able to briefly discuss a strategy.</div><div><br /></div><div>Seliph suggested using Sissy's skeleton buddy as a decoy on Kalista's Devil's Ride to lure the crew of the enemy Grinder into a trap. Seliph and Rylee stayed aboard their Demon Grinder while the rest of the party hid in the rocks, waiting to spring the trap.</div><div><br /></div><div>Unfortunately, the captain of the other Demon Grinder? One of <a href="https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Alhoon">these guys</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Yep, an undead mind flayer. He could detect thoughts and knew that the party was waiting in ambush (well, he could detect everyone's thoughts but Faust's, anyway), and he broadcast his own message to the party:</div><div><br /></div><div>Offer no resistance and give up their soul coins, and they'd be safe. Any funny business and they'd be destroyed.</div><div><br /></div><div>Cool, and now Faust is our wild card. Great.</div>Aaron Cahoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10271543349697927169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582568156284680269.post-92232634604572427482021-02-12T13:07:00.002-08:002021-04-17T22:39:20.887-07:00Part 16: Twisting the Knife<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWFMrLJqeHNexThaktUMZ2-ugmg5LdXGMOsU_hBBRL_f_DVbOCb6rcEv9NSD2VIFO9cxHbsc6Ue9yieQ-_03O61rh0WLSxpLbDHJLgDqMDq35pipU9dj-kUdsN0UWn3FQOYEyG8ajyoGNx/s2048/avernus+map.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1455" data-original-width="2048" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWFMrLJqeHNexThaktUMZ2-ugmg5LdXGMOsU_hBBRL_f_DVbOCb6rcEv9NSD2VIFO9cxHbsc6Ue9yieQ-_03O61rh0WLSxpLbDHJLgDqMDq35pipU9dj-kUdsN0UWn3FQOYEyG8ajyoGNx/w640-h454/avernus+map.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>After frantically restoring everyone to consciousness, Seliph quickly suggested the party retreat for now to better plan out their approach.</p><p>Kalista suggested, "Can we sleep in the car? I just...really need a nap."</p><p>"Yes, that's fine, let's put some distance between ourselves and this hill. That knight might come back and I don't wanna be here when he does."</p><p>Kalista then suggested, "What about Rylee?"</p><p>Indeed, Rylee was just sitting on the ground with the thousand-yard-stare, not really responding to anything.</p><p>"I'll...see what I can do. You guys go ahead. I'll try not to take too long."</p><p>Kalista quickly started back, "Okay, good luck! I'm going to bed." Well that was quick...was she...upset? Well, one fire at a time.</p><p>Faust stepped over to Seliph and clapped him on the shoulder. "Good luck, buddy." With that, he cast the <a href="http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/spell:guidance">guidance</a> cantrip on Seliph in case he needed a little extra "help" in breaking Rylee out of her funk. Though to be honest, this was going to take a <i>lot</i> more than one roadside chat, as Seliph would soon find out.</p><p>Anyway, Faust himself was planning on eavesdropping, concealing himself about 30 feet away.</p><p>Seliph slowly approached where Rylee was seated, quietly sitting down near her. Neither of them spoke for quite a while before Seliph finally said, "I can't begin to understand what you're feeling right now. Still, in saving Lulu you did the right thing."</p><p>"That was the first time I have ever willingly hurt something."</p><p>"...Yeah, it's not a pleasant feeling for anybody involved."</p><p>"I made a vow. A vow I have been keeping since I was <i>four years old</i>."</p><p>Seliph nodded. "If you hadn't...if <i>we </i>hadn't acted, who knows what would have happened to Lulu?"</p><p>"I just never wanted to be responsible for another death for the rest of my life."</p><p>"What are you talking about?"</p><p>"My mother died in childbirth..."</p><p>"Ah, right, you mentioned that. I don't think it's fair for you to blame yourself for that."</p><p>"I have many siblings, and I took their mother from them. I took my father's wife from him. Of course he sent me off to the monastery. Why wouldn't he?"</p><p>"That's on him! You didn't make the choice to be born, especially under those circumstances. That sounds to me like your father is a selfish--I'm gonna stop myself there, I don't know your father and admittedly I'm projecting a bit considering my own abandonment issues, but I don't think it's fair for you or anyone else to blame you for what happened to your mother."</p><p>"What about my god and my vows?"</p><p>"I think she'd be willing to make an exception given the circumstances. But I can't say I don't understand where you're coming from. Remember our conversation with Kalista about where we're going after death? I was being sincere there. I don't know what's going to happen to me. I like to think I'm on the right path, or at least one of them, but that doesn't change the fact that I did a lot of terrible things under the employ of the Flaming Fist, and I don't know what that's gonna look like for any deity who gets stuck with determining my fate."</p><p>Rylee said nothing.</p><p>"That being said, it would look a lot worse if I just rolled over and gave up. I'm not saying there won't be mistakes in the future. I'm not even saying you'll never have to raise your hand in an act of violence ever again. But I'm willing to support you through this. We're not getting out of here unless we work together."</p><p>Rylee finally nodded.</p><p>It was around this point that Faust, having heard enough, began his trek back to the vehicle. Seliph and Rylee sat in silence for a few minutes, until Seliph finally said, "They're probably wondering what's taking us so long. Shall we get back?" He stood up and extended his hand to help Rylee stand, which Rylee accepted.</p><p>"Before we go back...would you be willing to hold onto this?" She timidly handed Seliph her staff. "It's the only thing my father gave me before he sent me away. I'd rather someone else keep it for a while until..." she trailed off.<br /></p><p>"Of course. It's safe with me."</p><p><br /></p><p>Once everyone was belted in and prepared for travel, Seliph just picked a random direction and started driving. Eventually the conversation turned to what to do next. Lulu suggested that there were two places that could be good leads a place where demons appeared and a place where they were destroyed (really detailed explanation, isn't it?). The party deliberated for a bit, landing on the place where demons appeared, suggesting that at the very least they wouldn't have to deal with fiends. Eventually, satisfied, Rylee decided to lie down on the floor and try to get some sleep.</p><p>Kalista thought about doing the same, or at least sleeping in her seat, but she had a request first: go back to the Wandering Emporium, as she wanted to see if she could speak with her sister again.</p><p>What happened next was a bit of a blur, but you know how on long drives something happens that might distract the driver, like an argument in the back seat or something? To be honest, I'm not sure what happened, but the DM had me roll a Perception check for Seliph while driving, which I did. Poorly.</p><p>Immediately my thought was, "$%@&. What did I just hit?"</p><p>Well...I didn't <i>hit</i> anything but...have you ever been driving, focused on the road ahead, not noticing that you have police lights flashing in your rearview mirror?</p><p>Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeah.</p><p>So that knight we fought last session? Well, there were two of them mounted on their spooky fire horses riding alongside us as we approached the Wandering Emporium. One, catching Seliph's eye, pointed at the Emporium, and the message was clear: Pull over.</p><p>"What do I do?" Seliph quickly asked the rest of the party. I don't know if we can run, and I sure as heck don't know if we can <i>fight</i>."</p><p>"Doesn't the Wandering Emporium forbid violence?" Kalista suggested.</p><p>"They are probably betting on that," Faust muttered.</p><p>"I...dammit, fine..." Seliph stammered, resigning himself to the nightmare to follow (no pun intended).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj11DCZiBRI8LASdODV8kf4C6kISh65RV5L4JLbq-JMWr6LWghyw-kcB9cIETX1gvzaxUpzd8M_AD_DuZwz4repbJKsCu_kB1WqmAlsymmTaq1e1ZJwmwIvU4nI0ydOrAHWHoCZKh8b6nc1/s777/dismounted+narzugon.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="777" data-original-width="420" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj11DCZiBRI8LASdODV8kf4C6kISh65RV5L4JLbq-JMWr6LWghyw-kcB9cIETX1gvzaxUpzd8M_AD_DuZwz4repbJKsCu_kB1WqmAlsymmTaq1e1ZJwmwIvU4nI0ydOrAHWHoCZKh8b6nc1/w346-h640/dismounted+narzugon.png" width="346" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>"The five of you are under arrest for freeing a prisoner, striking an officer, resisting arrest, and fleeing the scene of a crime," one of the knights, seemingly the senior of the two, announced to the party, still in their vehicle.</p><p>"Dang those warrants get out fast. Did the 'officer' we struck happen to mention that he attacked first?" Seliph demanded.</p><p>"If you're referring to Haruman, he has his own crimes that are currently under investigation, since he decided to take the law into his own hands. In the meantime, we're going to ask that you kindly submit to coming with us. <i>Without </i>the hollyphant," he added, nodding in the direction of Lulu.</p><p>"And if we refuse?" Faust asked.</p><p>"They continue to chase us across Avernus while we flounder about trying to accomplish our own goals."</p><p>"Seliph gets it," the knight said. One could imagine a smug grin under his helmet when he said it.</p><p>"I'm not even going to bother asking how you know that," Seliph muttered.</p><p>"Yes, it's obviously a trap," Faust agreed, before turning to the knight. "We'll go, but first I want it in writing that nothing will happen to us or Lulu for the duration of the trip."</p><p>"Fine, fine, whatever you need," the knight agreed.</p><p><br /></p><p>The party was split across a number of nightmares on a flight path...somewhere...that ended up passing through the Astral Plane to arrive at the fortress of Zariel faster.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRnswzvvqUDyiRvm4E-k75A4nOs5DN4KHWQ7qbuo9-L_5EgO2dXbPEdw9AByzroDUJxP6OmWBGfSFELAcTWSkd_96BIbi5jJdaVtx9R74zUH5T4JQOGdm_T2cz24FeFrinZ8bcDV51ZmLI/s1099/zariel%2527s+fortress.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1099" data-original-width="420" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRnswzvvqUDyiRvm4E-k75A4nOs5DN4KHWQ7qbuo9-L_5EgO2dXbPEdw9AByzroDUJxP6OmWBGfSFELAcTWSkd_96BIbi5jJdaVtx9R74zUH5T4JQOGdm_T2cz24FeFrinZ8bcDV51ZmLI/w244-h640/zariel%2527s+fortress.png" width="244" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, it looks like a big upside-down sword. Because why not.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The party was led into a chamber with the promise that Zariel would be with them shortly. Great, a villain that wants to make a big impression on the party by meeting them personally. What's she gonna do, descend from the top of the room in the name of symbolism due to her status as a fallen angel?<div><br /></div><div>Descending from the top of the room like an angel was the form of Zariel, fallen angel and archduke of Avernus.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEfK990WgMPLRzCcYC1AXr2GFzZm6qZjA6k2yQ0u5lmGH9H9P-720_e1VtaGvRdzqEb3W_BMECf8L49JY0Q41X7D_XX8gO5bDkVkYY6r73J2yu_uwiuPcCtSNZ1n4he_lcP_d-dTp_7T8n/s1000/zariel.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="857" data-original-width="1000" height="548" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEfK990WgMPLRzCcYC1AXr2GFzZm6qZjA6k2yQ0u5lmGH9H9P-720_e1VtaGvRdzqEb3W_BMECf8L49JY0Q41X7D_XX8gO5bDkVkYY6r73J2yu_uwiuPcCtSNZ1n4he_lcP_d-dTp_7T8n/w640-h548/zariel.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was joking, dang it!</td></tr></tbody></table><p>She quickly dispensed with the formalities demanding why the party was in Avernus causing the trouble they were. Faust quickly explained that they were there investigating the disappearance of the city of Elturel, in hopes of returning it to its rightful place.</p><p>"And how did you get here?"</p><p>"We were sent here by Sylvira along with Lu-" Kalista began before Faust elbowed her in the side.</p><p>"Excuse me, what was that you were about to say?" Zariel asked.</p><p>"Some elephant thing named Lulu," Faust added.</p><p>"Yeah, she said she knows you," Seliph continued.</p><p>"Let me get this straight. You brought Lulu <i>here</i>?"</p><p>"Well..." Seliph began. "Not exactly."</p><p>"It's more accurate to say she was forced upon us," Faust agreed.</p><p>"Nothing but suffering awaits her here," Zariel said, looking off into the distance.</p><p>Some time passed before Seliph finally said, "Look, we only know a little of the story and you and I both know Lulu isn't exactly the most reliable narrator. Did something happen between the two of you?"</p><p>"No," Zariel responded. "She has nothing to do with this. I'd rather her not be here at all but I suppose it's too late for that."</p><p>Seliph folded his arms. "Look, I don't want to presume to tell an archdevil what to do..."</p><p>"Tread carefully, aasimar," Zariel threatened.</p><p>"But...she has nothing but positive things to say about you. She's gone to bat for you constantly when nobody else was. I guess I find myself jealous of that sort of loyalty. I hate to see it go to nothing. If you want to tell her never to come back to this place, I'd ask you to do it yourself. She deserves to hear it from you."</p><p>Zariel sat in silence for a while before changing the subject.</p><p>"What did Elturel ever do for you? It seems your life has had no end of torment since you got involved with that city," Zariel offered.</p><p>"I'm beginning to wonder that myself," Faust admitted.</p><p>"We're here for all those innocent people who are here against their will!" Rylee shot back.</p><p>"You can have Kreeg though," Kalista said. "He sucks."</p><p>"And why would I agree to that? You haven't offered anything I want."</p><p>"True," Seliph agreed. "What <i>would</i> you want?"</p><p>"There is one tiny favor you could do for me. A trifle really. In addition to that shield you carry."</p><p>The shield bit was important as the demon trapped inside was trapped there by Zariel herself, and lest he get out and start causing trouble for her, she wanted him <i>gone</i>.</p><p>Kids, whenever a devil says something like this, you better make sure you have a good lawyer present, because odds are it's going to be something grossly to your detriment.</p><p>Zariel continued. "I'm sure you've noticed the little demon infestation my lands have been having lately. Now, I don't mean to imply that I don't have the situation under control--" insert snark from myself or Seliph which was promptly ignored "--but the truth is any help would be greatly appreciated, so I'm going to ask your assistance in hunting down a couple demons for me: Baphomet or Yeenoghu. Preferably both, but if you can at least kill one of them for me and bring proof, I'll let you go, along with the city of Elturel and the Companion that floats above it."</p><p>A thick silence hung in the air before Seliph spoke up.</p><p>"Those are some big names. That hardly seems like a 'trifle.' What makes you think we can succeed, and what if we don't?"</p><p>"Pah, you think that matters for me? Under these conditions I lose nothing! Either you fail and you're one less headache for me, or you succeed and <i>they're</i> one less headache for me!"</p><p>"Fine. We'll do it." Seliph relented.</p><p>"Wait!" Faust broke in. "We do <i>nothing</i> without a written, formal agreement."</p><p>Kids, this is why you should have a lawyer present in these cases. Thankfully Faust is close enough.</p><p>"Of course! Go on outside and speak with the knights present, and they'll help you draw up the contract. Oh, before you go, though, Rylee, would you mind staying here for a bit? There's something I'd like to talk to you about specifically."</p><p>Naturally...everyone in the chat's reaction was...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsxoHP0z-2PXefsGSILebkxdoOnvyLJAKMT0Uk9CqifnV3RUj1OP22YFXPJPsdHTKVPfqDE1ZtRRJfNd-RLcody8fUAda5a9f5nYWzYjbLWCAgN4Kk4cPQ_mmnrnh9w1mKc9nseJyb6ZRj/s500/screams+internally.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="500" height="340" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsxoHP0z-2PXefsGSILebkxdoOnvyLJAKMT0Uk9CqifnV3RUj1OP22YFXPJPsdHTKVPfqDE1ZtRRJfNd-RLcody8fUAda5a9f5nYWzYjbLWCAgN4Kk4cPQ_mmnrnh9w1mKc9nseJyb6ZRj/w640-h340/screams+internally.gif" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Maybe a little...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihX9mhk3PU6ZW8weN3WfBP06C2PazqrpKAbH01j_8Z-SO9sGHH4GI-ju3k9WZv6r9QhQt-rBeV65JMDZ67Vj1gW_IWpUqnXhATzXw0sxMySnh4XTdcaAL_WxKQRXG2s9-kzzH9e6Vf9EdT/s242/screams+externally.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="242" data-original-width="200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihX9mhk3PU6ZW8weN3WfBP06C2PazqrpKAbH01j_8Z-SO9sGHH4GI-ju3k9WZv6r9QhQt-rBeV65JMDZ67Vj1gW_IWpUqnXhATzXw0sxMySnh4XTdcaAL_WxKQRXG2s9-kzzH9e6Vf9EdT/w529-h640/screams+externally.gif" width="529" /></a></div><br /><p>Possibly a little...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAgMiaWB40uGb25s1oHQIGzXGVsw0YqmKN8KT027ArLc-cPxD4HwmPuUwTP4kZIT6TF1sqSsJDaFbD_MYKoUBkSjqyoYzoJOE2RAGvLBerw883kggncrKNVCt85WpFlCUSTT9nJnryoDJn/s498/korone.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="337" data-original-width="498" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAgMiaWB40uGb25s1oHQIGzXGVsw0YqmKN8KT027ArLc-cPxD4HwmPuUwTP4kZIT6TF1sqSsJDaFbD_MYKoUBkSjqyoYzoJOE2RAGvLBerw883kggncrKNVCt85WpFlCUSTT9nJnryoDJn/w640-h434/korone.gif" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Okay I'm done. Seriously though, this isn't a good sign, as we're about to see.</p><p>Anyway, the party exited the room with the door shutting behind them, and Zariel immediately launched into her pitch.</p><p>"I know we've already made an agreement, but I can sense some trepidation on your part, so I'm going to offer you a special, easier solution. Bow down and serve me, and all these problems will go away."</p><p>Without missing a beat, Rylee fired back. "I already have a god whom I love very much."</p><p>"Yes, and what has that love gotten you? In your time of greatest need, you and all your friends nearly died. Where was your god then?"</p><p>"We're still alive, aren't we?"</p><p>"Yes, but who knows when your miracles will be gone for good? Just...think on this for a while, you don't need to give me your answer immediately." With that, Zariel ascended back to where she was, leaving the door closed for a while. Jerk.</p><p><br /></p><p>While that small conversation was going on, Faust was rather loudly debating with the knight over what should go into the contract. Once things were drawn up, the knight asked if there was one more request.</p><p>Sensing that there was an unspoken wish, the knight reached out to Faust telepathically. "There's clearly something you don't wish to vocalize in front of your comrades. What is it?"</p><p>Faust quickly explained his situation with his current contracts, the breaking of which was something the knight said was out of the question for this sort of work.</p><p>The conversation was quickly brought to an end by Rylee screaming and throwing the Shield of the Forbidden Lord at the floor of the now open audience chamber. She quickly joined the rest of the party, signed the contract after everyone else finished, and said, "Let's go. I wish to leave now."</p><p>"Oh, you can leave shortly, but there's one more surprise we have for Seliph."</p><p>At this point the curiosity got to him. "Okay," Seliph began. "How do you know who I am? How long have you been keeping tabs on us?"</p><p>"Oh, just since the incident with Haruman, but..."</p><p>"Don't tell me you know Seliph," Kalista said.<br /></p><p>"But of course. What would I be if I didn't recognize my own nephew?"</p><p>"Wait...nephew? I...guess I didn't know my father had any siblings," Seliph admitted.</p><p>"You didn't know him that well, to be sure. Would you like to meet him?"</p><p>"He's <i>here</i>? But I thought-"</p><p>"Oh let me guess, 'But my daddy is a good man, he wouldn't be in service to a devil, wah wah wah,' does that sound right?"</p><p>"That's...a terrible impression of me..." Seliph said, not making eye contact.</p><p>"Well, regardless, you're right. He betrayed Zariel at the time when she needed him the most, so now instead he's her prisoner, and thus shall he be until he finally agrees to serve her again."</p><p>Rylee noticed Seliph's attempt at concealing his thoughts behind a poker face and decided to try to detect his thoughts to see his headspace. Well...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlUvKdUzvh5jDyN2IULMRpLmwVBs8j6eXyQhog8ZjjJPjufT7binJQBA9uYOopiC2k0yf_WaKvgeK5FsMV3bhev-dKOsm6LEr574Mmo1AiUNLqWXaWtj3N0rSsiti3Ikus9aVATcff-DVK/s1024/screams+internally+riker.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="782" data-original-width="1024" height="488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlUvKdUzvh5jDyN2IULMRpLmwVBs8j6eXyQhog8ZjjJPjufT7binJQBA9uYOopiC2k0yf_WaKvgeK5FsMV3bhev-dKOsm6LEr574Mmo1AiUNLqWXaWtj3N0rSsiti3Ikus9aVATcff-DVK/w640-h488/screams+internally+riker.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Rylee quickly terminated the connection to avoid the headache, then offered, "Would it help if someone went with you?"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">"I...yeah...that would be great." Seliph offered.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Kalista then added, "I'll come too!"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Seliph quickly scrambled for a response, already feeling bad for any possible mixed messages he'd sent before. "That's great, I appreciate that, but maybe Faust needs you to help with the contract? Yeah, that's it!"<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Naturally nobody was happy with this suggestion, but in my defense, I've never had to reject anyone before! I've always been an awkward nerdy guy, so forgive me for not knowing what it's like to have a suitor you'd rather not deal with, let alone not knowing how to deal with them, and it's even worse when you're trying to roleplay the scenario. It's definitely not an experience I've had to deal with, and I can really empathize with just kinda wishing you didn't have to deal with the situation. So...there's that. Color me a more knowledgeable person.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Anyway, this is where we called the session, and boy...I'm worried about what's coming next. Things have to start getting better at some point, right?</div>Aaron Cahoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10271543349697927169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582568156284680269.post-69201619880465331042021-01-30T19:17:00.001-08:002021-04-17T22:39:20.887-07:00Part 15: Gas Gas Gas! I'm Gonna Step on the Gas!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEganrDDrl_BoY48df7hI946nBi0oeKQqjROlth5kvV-L04wZq4Xko1pVktlkyqJWnLo1vXsEKZRWYB0AU6ImnNOoklpopRlqC3DM_4nL8iHCl60rn2e8u8SlMl2DupRA8i0dMgXGzrk3N-F/s2048/avernus+map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1455" data-original-width="2048" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEganrDDrl_BoY48df7hI946nBi0oeKQqjROlth5kvV-L04wZq4Xko1pVktlkyqJWnLo1vXsEKZRWYB0AU6ImnNOoklpopRlqC3DM_4nL8iHCl60rn2e8u8SlMl2DupRA8i0dMgXGzrk3N-F/w640-h454/avernus+map.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>The vehicle in the cloud of dust grew ever closer as Seliph quickly looked over the controls to see what his options were. The vehicle in question, a Demon Grinder (pictured below) was a great deal bigger than the party's Tormentor (something I didn't realize when roleplaying Seliph's actions so it may come off as more reckless than it should).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgKoGvr8m6ht-4nPlMegkSfk8zu4AjCIBb8Hf8UIWOujZersYeOJR5RlLwNd0-zjkbrg8rQHhcMWBmzMBj-yGNug8mb4JJGPKEHY5zgIZaoeK1Tj0ehyTpwkk1oIzBUNenUgJdjt1E76OA/s1702/demon-grinder_detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1101" data-original-width="1702" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgKoGvr8m6ht-4nPlMegkSfk8zu4AjCIBb8Hf8UIWOujZersYeOJR5RlLwNd0-zjkbrg8rQHhcMWBmzMBj-yGNug8mb4JJGPKEHY5zgIZaoeK1Tj0ehyTpwkk1oIzBUNenUgJdjt1E76OA/w640-h414/demon-grinder_detail.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Seliph's first idea was to try to outrun the vehicle, though try as he might the Demon Grinder was determined to stay on a direct collision course with the party. Something that could prove to be quite troublesome on its own, but it was around this time that Faust noticed that Kalista had changed directions, trying to go around the Demon Grinder.</p><p>What the party didn't see was the fact that a harpoon fired from the Demon Grinder had lodged itself in the Devil's Ride, and Kalista was bringing it to a stop so she could fix it. Once the smoke cleared enough, a fireball erupted from the Shield of the Hidden Lord, engulfing the Demon Grinder, though failing to damage it.</p><p>At this point, Seliph got an idea...</p><p>He quickly hit the brakes and turned onto an intercept course with the Demon Grinder. Naturally the others in the vehicle were less-than-enthused, but Seliph said, "Just focus on doing what you can to damage the other thing. I've got an idea!"</p><p>Fortunately the front of the Demon Grinder (the toothy bit on the left) provided a decent amount of cover from the two harpoon flingers, so the party was able to pelt the Demon Grinder (and its inhabitants) with magic and projectiles while Seliph carefully considered his timing.</p><p><i>90 feet...it's gonna be close...</i></p><p>However, if there was ever time for something to appear out of nowhere and break his concentration, it would be this. You see, in Avernus, particularly in vehicle encounters, there's a chance of random shenanigans to occur, and unfortunately this was one of those times. There's a 5% chance of a fire tornado, 300 feet high and 30 feet wide at its base, to spring up, and today just happened to be our lucky day. And I mean that sarcastically as well as sincerely.</p><p>Anyway, it sprung up in front of the Demon Grinder, still a decent ways away, not giving the Demon Grinder enough time to change course, so instead the party got to watch this giant vehicle be completely engulfed in flames for a second time. However, once it emerged from the tornado, the party had a pretty good view of the damage.</p><p>Of all the creatures that were manning stations on the Demon Grinder, only one remained alive.</p><p>And now it was the party's turn to try to dodge out of the way. Faust cursed, Sissy swallowed, Rylee began to scream, and Seliph muttered a faint apology under his breath, before...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIV5f4ZeVgrFx0S9vvVgDJO6BNjvSbJI8zTRk0u7-2EE5lKUWedleRGZc3I1Apbj1uuoSHIo7qmXPnper5VAK2uYRU8qsdA_EzPOIjCZixqrSJ6ryupokgAY6OPD1ZBU_W68rLVNwoNBWx/s480/eurobeat+gif.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="480" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIV5f4ZeVgrFx0S9vvVgDJO6BNjvSbJI8zTRk0u7-2EE5lKUWedleRGZc3I1Apbj1uuoSHIo7qmXPnper5VAK2uYRU8qsdA_EzPOIjCZixqrSJ6ryupokgAY6OPD1ZBU_W68rLVNwoNBWx/w640-h474/eurobeat+gif.gif" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbk11PIUporvHetafDwwAet0oMqOk3hrAdQ3gWVSJk5JiR5sHJxOkx49fyCbHFeT59zRrliquFy8WA_zXDqERqvgrDY0EuZavUyClebBEMBJPDPyjIgjTsusQ6lTHuhlKp55LQ79o5htA7/s500/initial+d+drift.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="279" data-original-width="500" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbk11PIUporvHetafDwwAet0oMqOk3hrAdQ3gWVSJk5JiR5sHJxOkx49fyCbHFeT59zRrliquFy8WA_zXDqERqvgrDY0EuZavUyClebBEMBJPDPyjIgjTsusQ6lTHuhlKp55LQ79o5htA7/w640-h358/initial+d+drift.gif" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj44pNzEn_t3TOwPDMICWP-07fKbVTsXmSMw53X4zVuHJ6XYZgd6HePSvZvX7yVDTy12iu5AU5hPMlJHowJVUtpVBu-uLzIp24mvO0SY-k1F-bsM9HkpwnawEXHcVqY0SMk9ulsxXeyZMcL/s498/deja+vu.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="197" data-original-width="498" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj44pNzEn_t3TOwPDMICWP-07fKbVTsXmSMw53X4zVuHJ6XYZgd6HePSvZvX7yVDTy12iu5AU5hPMlJHowJVUtpVBu-uLzIp24mvO0SY-k1F-bsM9HkpwnawEXHcVqY0SMk9ulsxXeyZMcL/w640-h254/deja+vu.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, three separate gifs. I'm not sorry. It was cool.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Somehow Seliph tapped into his inner tofu delivery boy and managed to slide in within the 90 feet he was hoping for to cast Sleep on the sole survivor in the Demon Grinder before slipping out of the way of the fire tornado. Was it a terrible idea? Yeah. Was it a great idea? Also yeah.</p><p></p>Anyway, the other vehicle, now completely sans driver...well...<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGNLNqmxSpzupNQb0a5bBF5IhOMpXpZEq9mOEVD_RmS_oQALX9nUbzFrx3h0yiFnyF_4X9122Ywv1qhP78SDj2_vqSCrWJXXnEuJrTci1pfAg9u55IqyzdYn82P0MnLDVdJh1hohxmS7B3/s640/crash.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGNLNqmxSpzupNQb0a5bBF5IhOMpXpZEq9mOEVD_RmS_oQALX9nUbzFrx3h0yiFnyF_4X9122Ywv1qhP78SDj2_vqSCrWJXXnEuJrTci1pfAg9u55IqyzdYn82P0MnLDVdJh1hohxmS7B3/w640-h480/crash.gif" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div>Nah, I'm just kidding, it was a flat expanse, there was nothing for them to crash into so it just kinda coasted to a stop.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Well," Faust said, breaking the silence after a minute or so, "Shall we go see what survived the fire tornado?"</div><div><br /></div><div>"Yeah," Seliph gasped, having forgotten to breathe, "I wonder if we could take that thing instead. Might make it easier for us to travel together."</div><div><br /></div><div>Indeed, it was much more spacious. Spacious enough that they were able to load the Devil's Ride on it, which was great because it required more repairs, which Kalista and Faust would be able to do on the drive rather than being forced to stop.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, yeah, most of the inside of the Demon Grinder was scorched, though the party was able to find a few more soul coins and a rather curious looking circlet, which Faust was able to identify as a Circlet of Blasting, which would allow the user one use of the Scorching Ray spell per day. Faust suggested Seliph take it to provide him with at least one ranged attack per day.</div><div><br /></div><div>So everything sounds great. Wanna see how we screwed it up?</div><div><br /></div><div>On the last level up, Sissy found herself in possession of a fun new spell (as is the norm). The spell in question? <a href="https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/a/animate-dead/">Animate Dead</a>. By itself, something that made Rylee in particular extremely uncomfortable, but here's the discussion that went down.</div><div><br /></div><div>"What are we going to do with the survivor?" Faust asked.</div><div><br /></div><div>Seliph shrugged. "I dunno, probably just leave him."</div><div><br /></div><div>"We should kill him," Sissy suggested, with a rather...disconcerting grin.</div><div><br /></div><div>"I agree," said Kalista. "If we leave him alive he'll probably come back with more friends."</div><div><br /></div><div>"He's incapacitated!" Rylee shouted. "We don't <i>need</i> to kill him!"</div><div><br /></div><div>"But I wanna make him into a slave!" Sissy said.</div><div><br /></div><div>"A <i>what</i>?" asked Rylee incredulously.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>"A slave! I'll reanimate him and he can help us do stuff!"</div><div><br /></div><div>"The dead should <i>stay</i> dead!" Rylee spat back.</div><div><br /></div><div>Faust, suddenly feeling quite awkward, suggested, "Fine, fine, we leave him in the Tormentor. It's not much better than killing him outright, but we should respect Rylee's wishes. That is, if she's willing to carry him out to the Tormentor with me?"</div><div><br /></div><div>"Fine," Rylee agreed.</div><div><br /></div><div>Sissy waited all of thirty seconds after they had stepped off of the Demon Grinder before she began looking at the other corpses. "I think I can use this one." Before Seliph and Kalista finished cleaning the Demon Grinder's cockpit (specifically moving the corpses outside) Sissy quickly hid her chosen and began casting the spell.</div><div><br /></div><div>Needless to say when Rylee saw the animated skeleton cleaning the Demon Grinder on her way back, she froze, skin turning about as pale as Seliph's. "What...what is that?"</div><div><br /></div><div>Faust chuckled. "It appears Sissy has just changed targets."</div><div><br /></div><div>At this point Rylee was pretty despondent, so Faust waved Seliph over. "Take Miss Godsong back to the Demon Grinder. I'll finish this myself."</div><div><br /></div><div>Seliph reached for Rylee's hand, "Here, let's go, it'll be okay." To her credit, she didn't pull away.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Excellent,</i> thought Faust<i>, </i>before he walked back to the Tormentor and fired a single Eldritch Blast at the sleeping occupant. Like we're talking ice cold execution.</div><div><br /></div><div>The party continued their drive in silence for a few hours, with Rylee giving the thousand yard stare at the skeleton politely helping Kalista and Faust work on the Devil's Ride. Eventually, Faust walked over to Seliph at the helm. "You should rest. I'll take over for now."</div><div><br /></div><div>"You've been working with Kalista. Are you sure you don't need rest?"</div><div><br /></div><div>"Trust me, this will be restful for me. I've taught myself how to properly pace myself to save energy. You, however," Faust nodded at the seat next to Rylee, "should take a break." Though let's be real, he was actually saying, "You want to comfort Rylee. Get to it."</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Okay, I got it</i>, Seliph thought. "Thanks. Just come grab me if you want to swap."</div><div><br /></div><div>So Faust drove the rest of the way to the party's destination, a location called Haruman's Hill, but what awaited them was not the castle Lulu had expected to find, but rows of iron trees, each topped with a crucified knight being feasted upon by <a href="https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Stirge">stirges</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Yeah...this isn't a happy place.</div><div><br /></div><div>Near the summit of the hill was one knight in particular, an elf, that got the party's attention, though to be honest what got the party's attention was something he had in common with all the other knights. That is, the fact that he <i>was still alive</i>. Anyway, the party was briefly able to talk to him. He identified himself as Jander Sunstar, a vampire who originally had served Zariel in her assault on the Nine Hells before abandoning her with a group of deserters, the other crucified knights. Eventually, he was unable to withstand the grief and killed himself by walking into the sunlight, hoping to find rest and relief in his god Lathander. Lathander said no, condemning him to suffer in the Nine Hells for his sins.</div><div><br /></div><div>Naturally, Lulu wasn't all that happy talking to someone who betrayed Zariel, and she began making her way back to the Demon Grinder (yeah, she basically said, "Forget you guys, I'm gonna go wait in the truck,"). Seliph, however, took pity on the vampire and said, "Let's pull him down. He may be able to help us."</div><div><br /></div><div>He was not, as once he was carried down from the tree, he smiled, thanked the party, and crumbled to dust, grateful to be released from his torment.</div><div><br /></div><div>That...may have been a poor choice.</div><div><br /></div><div>Descending from the sky was a <a href="https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Narzugon#:~:text=Narzugons%20were%20former%20paladins%20who,order%2C%20often%20by%20Asmodeus%20himself.">narzugon</a> atop a <a href="https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Nightmare_(creature)">nightmare</a>, basically a black demon knight riding a scary devil horse, who said, "You have sinned most foul by releasing a prisoner. For that, you must be punished. Throw down your weapons and come quietly or face destruction."</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiSl5jmID8Bopu7pyxKazOomm-s65h1dfR5qXePB2C_CX16qSteh_anMKXNq3HjNePW12a33pDN9M7Ccw3eHqXLi9mqjj1HRslQzF4JOqOfaspUX4uDTPjnPBkjCHf_0NCMEzF4eQEpjSp/s1000/narzugon.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="737" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiSl5jmID8Bopu7pyxKazOomm-s65h1dfR5qXePB2C_CX16qSteh_anMKXNq3HjNePW12a33pDN9M7Ccw3eHqXLi9mqjj1HRslQzF4JOqOfaspUX4uDTPjnPBkjCHf_0NCMEzF4eQEpjSp/w472-h640/narzugon.png" width="472" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Seliph reached for his longsword on his back, but Rylee extended a hand, gesturing to wait. "What type of punishment are you talking about?"</div><div><br /></div><div>"That's for Lady Zariel to decide," the knight replied.</div><div><br /></div><div>"I don't trust you," said Kalista.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Do you mean to defy Lady Zariel?" the knight asked ominously.</div><div><br /></div><div>"No, we'll come quietly! We just have questions," said Rylee, trying to stall for time.</div><div><br /></div><div>While this was going on, Faust had telepathically contacted Lulu, asking her to return to the top of the hill. Specifically, "Your glitter gun may be required," he said.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, Lulu's leisurely pace increased to an outright dash when she saw what the party was faced with.</div><div><br /></div><div>The knight, hearing the fluttering, turned, and once he figured out what Lulu was, he dismounted the nightmare and drew his blade. "The circumstances have changed. It's time for you all to die."</div><div><br /></div><div>Seliph finished drawing his longsword. "I wasn't planning on going quietly anyway."</div><div><br /></div><div>If it were only the knight and the horse it might not have been <i>so</i> scary, but yeah, remember how I mentioned the stirges? Okay, before I go any further, stirges are jerks. They're annoying to deal with in any setting. Basically, they're big mosquitoes who can attach themselves to their prey and continually do damage by sucking blood. Not only that, but they usually attack in pretty big swarms.</div><div><br /></div><div>In this case there were ten of them. And I know that our DM was going easy on us because the module calls for more.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, naturally, this fight was already pretty difficult with the party taking a rather heavy beating by being overwhelmed by the stirges. Not only that but for some reason Lulu was rather slow in her approach.</div><div><br /></div><div>You see, she was also beset by something. Namely, a <a href="https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Hellwasp">hellwasp</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifrdePMznPgTyOWS92EfL1CY2ypgFaFQPHx20NetimKOcuXjEz5EVKyeIXUP9Mhju6yYe9KNhnthjOG8UTsBgruUL5bRLP_uW1n_5z7WAtgFPuLjAih7sb2c-clzCFcTGY2yBIj8SvL-T7/s1000/hellwasp.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifrdePMznPgTyOWS92EfL1CY2ypgFaFQPHx20NetimKOcuXjEz5EVKyeIXUP9Mhju6yYe9KNhnthjOG8UTsBgruUL5bRLP_uW1n_5z7WAtgFPuLjAih7sb2c-clzCFcTGY2yBIj8SvL-T7/w512-h640/hellwasp.png" width="512" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Okay, before I continue, I just gotta vent. I hate wasps. Hate 'em. It's irrational. I've been stung by them. It's not even really that bad. But for whatever reason, I just can't stand them. I guess one thing that bugs me is the fact that unlike their smaller striped brethren the bees, whose barbed stinger forces them to take a more measured approach to violence lest they waste their one shot and die, wasps can sting you as much as they want with no recourse, and it doesn't feel like it takes much to set them off.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway what were we talking about? Oh yeah, Lulu versus the hellwasp.</div><div><br /></div><div>The hellwasp was essentially taking a linebacker approach to keep Lulu from reaching the rest of the party. I'm not kidding, it actually tackled her, got her in a grapple, and (okay, thus ends the linebacker analogy) was trying to carry her back to its nest.</div><div><br /></div><div>The party realized this was happening, slowly beating back the stirges, while Sissy took a few shots at the wasp. Seliph, once he was able to line up a shot, fired off his one cast of Scorching Ray at the wasp, though nothing the party did seemed to be helping.</div><div><br /></div><div>It was around this point where Rylee, after a full day of stressful thing after stressful thing, finally snapped and started smacking the stirges out of the sky with her quarterstaff.</div><div><br /></div><div>It was also around this point that the party started dropping from the wounds they were taking.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rylee went down first. Faust, making a mad dash to rescue her, also got knocked unconscious. As did Kalista. Leaving Seliph and Sissy to do their best to keep the knight at bay, though eventually they got <i>some</i> aid from Lulu, having blasted the hellwasp to oblivion.</div><div><br /></div><div>Eventually, the knight made one more stroke with his sword, severely wounding Seliph, before vanishing.</div><div><br /></div><div>Seliph quickly did what he could to stabilize the rest of the party (thank you Lay on Hands) before he collapsed to his knees, tears forming in his eyes.</div><div><br /></div><div>And that's where the session ended. Unlike the pre-danger cliffhanger of the last session, this one just ended with the sour taste of defeat, their biggest since Faust died originally. Though thankfully it could have been worse. If Lulu had been carried to the hellwasp nest, the party would have had to fight their way through the nest to get her back.</div><div><br /></div><div>Count your blessings, folks.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhANtBkntGa0dHVNwlEckkqGkuj96jk38Ap7XNlwUYse9PabKuHmOznPHJ0VNi747jCWQ_iGJtYKmhWeKw1r5qaBTHImG7rGhinkTF9X1IEXqWlaSndn69vTF9EujqQUMHCyLpLE6W1Gg-l/s822/le+pain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="822" data-original-width="677" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhANtBkntGa0dHVNwlEckkqGkuj96jk38Ap7XNlwUYse9PabKuHmOznPHJ0VNi747jCWQ_iGJtYKmhWeKw1r5qaBTHImG7rGhinkTF9X1IEXqWlaSndn69vTF9EujqQUMHCyLpLE6W1Gg-l/w528-h640/le+pain.jpg" width="528" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div>Aaron Cahoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10271543349697927169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582568156284680269.post-76673249651332432342021-01-29T16:14:00.001-08:002021-04-17T22:39:20.887-07:00Part 14: Insert Inception Comparison Or Something, I Dunno, I Never Saw It<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoLmwmhUu5PhG9XTb9nGSkPQMiygAOaWWpQVdsTEWu7U3gm2XN6jIepqYXCM2zsKfUf-fTrKdEnZ2DsUhCByRdGkd3RSfqlxnDiqWGfJaJi_MKhV5HUAH9xbaZTb5dvLBUrtlYTFSVzwQI/s2048/avernus+map.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1455" data-original-width="2048" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoLmwmhUu5PhG9XTb9nGSkPQMiygAOaWWpQVdsTEWu7U3gm2XN6jIepqYXCM2zsKfUf-fTrKdEnZ2DsUhCByRdGkd3RSfqlxnDiqWGfJaJi_MKhV5HUAH9xbaZTb5dvLBUrtlYTFSVzwQI/w640-h454/avernus+map.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>After that...horrifying discussion, the party tried to sleep the rest of the night to prepare themselves for the journey ahead. The next morning, before they set off, Kalista wanted to visit a shop in the Wandering Emporium to have an artifact delivered to Sylvira (or as we kept joking, she wanted to send her senpai some cool presents), where we met <a href="https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Amnizu#:~:text=Amnizu%20(pronounced%3A%20%2F%C9%91%CB%90m,they%20touched%20to%20induce%20amnesia.">this charming fella</a>. He identified himself as Fhet’Ahla, and said that for the low low price of one soul coin, we could send any item and a message anywhere. Pretty open and shut case, right? Give the scary man the money, he provides the service.</p><p>Oh, but that's where you're mistaken. For you see, a lot of D&D players tend to want to roleplay more...shall we say...libertarian forms of capitalism. The kind you can't really do at your local Wal-Mart. Specifically I'm talking about haggling. Rather than just paying the asked for amount, players may be content to do something like offer a trade or other forms of "payment".</p><p>So Kalista went outside, activated her new shapechanging abilities, and turned herself into, in her player's terms, "A Lola Bunny-version of the fiend that was running the shop."</p><p>He was...unconvinced. Sexual dimorphism wasn't typical of that particular form of fiend, and he made sure to let the party know, but said that he was willing to "work with it" if that was something Kalista wanted.</p><p>It was not. Which made the party wonder what the point was.</p><p>So nothing got sent to Sylvira.</p><p><br /></p><p>As the group was leaving the Wandering Emporium, they were offered a "gently used" machine and directions to a location called Fort Knucklebone, a junkyard run by one Mad Maggie, a <a href="https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Night_hag">hag</a> (an actual D&D creature and not just a derogatory term for an old lady) whose identity was extrapolated from Lulu's memories. Also yeah, the name Mad Maggie probably definitely isn't a shoutout to the <i>Mad Max</i> film series. Y'know, probably.</p><p>So the infernal war machines in Avernus have a special quirk. You know what that is? They run on soul coins. Yeah. Those coins made out of the captured souls of the dead. I'm not gonna bore you too much with the mechanics, as in how much one coin can push a machine, because we haven't had too many problems having enough coins to get around.</p><p><br /></p><p>So...the <i>Mad Max</i> thing...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioph0k-BJgsukiXEB47tkr7ZuZIxlg5OnS-yvWsJVEErVAI_ncxRQarzP3klwnHy-lghhN6xSv7QIw0yU1zMWnDOVlwS_GlmFZ1XkIKeRZrRBDMakoAVTWrOPLdrhoNDfnGjr0viUST6ph/s1624/scavenger.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1624" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioph0k-BJgsukiXEB47tkr7ZuZIxlg5OnS-yvWsJVEErVAI_ncxRQarzP3klwnHy-lghhN6xSv7QIw0yU1zMWnDOVlwS_GlmFZ1XkIKeRZrRBDMakoAVTWrOPLdrhoNDfnGjr0viUST6ph/w640-h285/scavenger.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>This is one of the tamer ones. But yeah, you might be wondering how a bunch of people in a medieval fantasy world are able to drive something ridiculous like this. Well, apparently they're really simple to drive, because Seliph's proficiency in land vehicles can cover it in an emergency situation, and anyone can just drive them. Then again, driving across vast swathes of desert in largely straight lines probably isn't all that taxing of an activity.</p><p>So...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghmMZzFmIaMqHgaJgQ6kWBEQJOM2CMrS5_fc3g4wGIn-vLXWtIu_3Kcn7Fh-4j1XOwOtZRzz6eW3qa6ommyarcMk0CTp8BGWAT-oMiwF1qnAwwsR87gxMJGSwqoEcSRQgQwvl9a7Y1kUyU/s498/500+miles.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="216" data-original-width="498" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghmMZzFmIaMqHgaJgQ6kWBEQJOM2CMrS5_fc3g4wGIn-vLXWtIu_3Kcn7Fh-4j1XOwOtZRzz6eW3qa6ommyarcMk0CTp8BGWAT-oMiwF1qnAwwsR87gxMJGSwqoEcSRQgQwvl9a7Y1kUyU/w640-h278/500+miles.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not sure if there's a radio on this thing but probably not</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAy4OoqmhBT_MwNQzJfGXpvN9ELIFtDGdihHYt4xvqcVPYpIhtw2ylovKNzrl67EQprxvJxll2w5wS6mc6GNyN2likVzKpG8lz_lUMDcfWIRU6wqAw3qLgj1ymXZmX1Q5mySTrDg_iptHy/s498/psy.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="278" data-original-width="498" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAy4OoqmhBT_MwNQzJfGXpvN9ELIFtDGdihHYt4xvqcVPYpIhtw2ylovKNzrl67EQprxvJxll2w5wS6mc6GNyN2likVzKpG8lz_lUMDcfWIRU6wqAw3qLgj1ymXZmX1Q5mySTrDg_iptHy/w640-h358/psy.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Probably not this exciting either</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>So...Fort Knucklebone. Get this, directly from the book.</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">A fortified compound sits atop a low plateau that rises out of a crater-pocked landscape. At the center of the compound is a hill of rust-colored stone that resembles a hand clawing out of the ground, with gaps between the fingers. A jagged wall made of rock, bones, and metal debris surrounds this hand-shaped hill. Other highlights visible from this distance include a gatehouse, atop which stands a half-dozen small figures on watch.</p></blockquote><p>Those figures, also known as <a href="https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Redcap">redcaps</a> wasted no time in flagging the party's machine down, demanding the password for entry into the fort?</p><p>Faust furrowed his brow. "Password?"<br /></p><p>"Yeah! You think you're gettin' in here without a password?"</p><p>"There <i>was</i> no password!"</p><p>The redcaps deliberated for a bit, then said, "You got the password, go on in."</p><p>Faust groaned. "This is going to be painful, isn't it?"</p><p>The party quickly exited their machine and were approached by two wingless crow-like creatures--the kenku--who quickly set about excitedly squawking about how happy they were to see Lulu back and how much help this would be for Mad Maggie.</p><p>The next few minutes were...kind of a weird experience, because little did we realize before getting here that this place was a big ol' mess of complicated. Highlights include:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>The two kenku working on an infernal machine known as a Demon Grinder. Something was wrong with it that Kalista was quickly able to find: a cursed gear lodged in the machine...somewhere.</li><li>Mad Maggie had a <a href="https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Flesh_golem">flesh golem</a> that amongst other things had a limp and was the constant victim of bullying from the redcaps (being fae, these guys are jerks, all of them). The limp was discovered to have been a piece of bone devil lodged in his foot, the discovery and repairing of which upset the redcaps.</li><li>A <a href="https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Flameskull">flameskull</a> named Barnabas, being what was left of a powerful wizard, might have some ideas of where the sword of Zariel was as well as some ideas on how to get out of fiendish contracts, something Kalista and Faust found very appealing.</li></ul><div>That last bit is going to be the main focus for the next little bit. Rylee, already having a mistrusting fixation on the undead, didn't want to go anywhere near Barnabas (a sentiment shared by her player, who in another campaign had a character almost die to a flameskull, because of course). Seliph opted to stay behind with her so she wouldn't be alone, to snarky comments from Kalista. Either way...they were led in the direction of where Barnabas was by the flesh golem, whose name is Micky because of course.</div><div><br /></div><div>The next little bit I'm going to describe from Seliph's perspective, because it's funnier this way, and then afterwards I'll fill in the blanks.</div><div><br /></div><div>So Seliph and Rylee sat in the sand quietly watching their party walk off, then stop after...say...30 yards? I don't remember the specifics, but at this point they were examining Micky's foot, all the while a group of redcaps had formed around them and were pointing and laughing. Kalista pulled something from Micky's foot, things paused for a second, a few redcaps pointed in Faust's direction and said something, laughing, then suddenly <i>tentacles burst from the sand beneath where Faust was standing and impaled several of the redcaps.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>Rylee immediately stood up, while Seliph said, "That...probably wasn't Faust, right?" A question that was met by a silent glare, as if to say, "What do you think?"</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>So...what happened? Well...</div><div><br /></div><div>After helping Micky with his foot, Faust quipped that the redcaps would need a new target for their bullying. Naturally, they took that as a challenge and started making comments about his appearance, specifically, the fact that he, an elf, was looking sufficiently aged to be balding despite being in his mid-30s. This...touched a nerve in Faust, who said he had been wanting an excuse to blow off some steam.</div><div><br /></div><div>So in the ensuing brawl, Faust was knocked unconscious while more redcaps were killed by the party before Rylee and Seliph dashed in. Once Faust was brought back to consciousness and everything quieted down for a bit, Seliph said, "I'm glad everyone's safe, but <i>what the heck was that?!</i>"</div><div><br /></div><div>Faust, panicking, channeled his inner politician and began pretending nothing of what he did was out of the ordinary.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rylee wasn't having any of that. "None of this is normal!"</div><div><br /></div><div>Seliph broke in, "Yeah, I may not know much regarding magic but I'm pretty sure wizards can't summon tentacles to do their bidding." They may be able to, they may not, I dunno, I've never played a spellcaster, and Seliph has an intelligence of 10 so he has what would be considered average intelligence for an adventurer.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Look," Seliph continued. "I'm not upset at you for hiding this from us. But considering we <i>already have one person</i> who has made a pact with nefarious beings, I think it's fair to the rest of us if we have some idea of where this power is coming from. No surprises, okay?"</div><div><br /></div><div>What followed was a Zone of Truth augmented where Faust managed to use some very clever wordplay to dance around the pact he had with Hadar. Namely, someone in his bloodline had made a pact with Hadar that Faust was both the beneficiary of and custodian to. Nevermind the fact that that someone in his bloodline was Faust himself.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, this line of questioning proved satisfactory to Seliph, who to be fair probably won't care when the cat is all the way out of the bag because it won't change anything. We'll see how Rylee takes it when it happens.</div><div><br /></div><div>So the party, all together this time, went the rest of the way to meet Barnabas, who had trouble speaking because one of his teeth was taken by the redcaps. Without waiting for any more information, Faust smiled and walked off, content to blast his way through all the redcaps until they gave him what he wanted.</div><div><br /></div><div>Turns out they don't really care about the wellbeing of their own kind because they turned it into a game, resulting in...well...a lot of dead redcaps. In all fairness, Faust didn't seem to mind the inconvenience, joking about skeet shooting. Y'know...<i>that</i> classic medieval pastime.</div><div><br /></div><div>Tooth recovered, Barnabas gave us some pointers and said he'd do what he could to convince Mad Maggie to help us (I don't remember the specifics, we were getting close to the end of the session at that point), and off we went to the final headache of this place (literally, as you'll see in a bit).</div><div><br /></div><div>So the reason for Lulu's amnesia was the fact that her memories were literally being blocked by a fiendish influence, something we could help with by going into her dreams and fighting off whatever it was that was in there. This would necessitate everyone sitting a circle having their minds joined with Lulu.</div><div><br /></div><div>Naturally, there were a few concerns.</div><div><br /></div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Is it possible to die in the dream? Not as far as Mad Maggie knew (which is probably really assuring)</li><li>Our minds are joined. What does that entail? Nothing if you're not consciously thinking about something.</li><li>Faust's ring? He was asked not to wear it but would anyway.</li></ol><div>Before any further questions could be raised, the ritual began, and now you're probably wondering about shipping stuff. Well...</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Seliph immediately accidentally broadcast feeling attracted to Rylee and Kalista, something both of them reciprocated. Kalista also found Faust kind of attractive? Nobody got anything from Faust, and Sissy didn't announce anything so apparently the 14 year old girl has better control over her thoughts than all the adults, what fun.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, the dream went in several phases, which I'll just share from the book.</div><div><br /></div><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p></p><div style="text-align: left;">As the rich, radiant light of a hundred dancing rainbows slowly dissolves, warm sunlight fills the area. Within that space, Lulu flies lazily in a lush meadow at the shoulder of a beautiful, blindfolded angel. As the pair strolls through the tall green grass, the voice of the hag fills your mind, “Push through this vision. It only represents what Lulu wishes was true. We need to see more.”</div><p></p></blockquote><p></p><div>This was followed by an intelligence save that we all passed, so everyone was able to figure out that what they were seeing wasn't real. Next:</div><div><br /></div><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div>A flame-encircled battlefield appears on a barren hellscape. At the center of the circle, Lulu and the angel lie unconscious and prone, horribly injured. You see yourselves standing in defense of Lulu and the angel, facing outward as six small, spine-covered devils creep closer. In the distance, a formation of battered and retreating human warriors disappears through a portal.</div><div><div><br /></div></div><div><div>“The devils!” hisses the hag’s disembodied voice. “You must defeat those devils!”</div></div></blockquote><p></p><div>They put up quite a fight, but it was nothing we couldn't handle with some proper strategy. Next:</div><div><br /></div><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;">A landscape filled with thick, black smoke and the smells of death and decay expands to encompass everything. The small devils that survived the previous dream kneel before you and offer to serve you if you spare their lives.</div></blockquote><p>Seliph and Faust didn't feel comfortable sparing them because they weren't real and this was likely a test, Rylee was unsure, and Kalista wanted to spare them so she could have a servant. In the end, the decision was made not to spare them. Next:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>You wander a vast, barren landscape of utter devastation. Black sludge rises rapidly out of the ground, enveloping your feet and gripping you tightly, overwhelming you with a horrible sense of loss.</p><p>“Don’t let the sludge consume you!” says Mad Maggie’s disembodied voice. “You must push through her defenses. She must look!”</p></blockquote><p>This is where things started to get scary. Seliph and Rylee were almost immediately able to escape from the sludge, which caused them to start to float, slowly higher and higher, though they were able to control their trajectory long enough to try to help the others. However, due to the damage that was dealt by the sludge, Faust fell unconscious, sinking into the sludge.</p><p>Seeing the stakes, Seliph quickly reached out to Rylee's mind, asking her to try to save Kalista while he tried to save Sissy. Eventually with help, Kalista was able to climb out of the sludge, but despite having advantage on her next few saves Sissy didn't, eventually also falling unconscious and sinking into the sludge. Like, the dice just had it out for Sissy here, and it was legitimately heartwrenching.</p><p>In fifth section of the dream...</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>Lulu rests on a black cushion at the center of an inky void. She is unconscious and alone, a beam of brilliant white light shining down upon her. Next to Lulu, a large gleaming brass spyglass rests atop an ornately carved tripod.</p><p>Lulu awakens and looks peacefully around her. Seeing the spyglass, she approaches it, pressing one eye against the eyepiece. Lulu then steps back suddenly, eyes wide, mouth open, her face alight with excitement. She cries out, “The sword, the sword! I know where it is!”</p></blockquote><p>Soon after this, everyone (well, everyone except Faust and Sissy) awakened to Lulu excitedly talking about where to go next.</p><p>"Ah," Mad Maggie began. "You're finally awake."</p><p>Seliph quickly looked back and forth to Sissy and Faust. "They're still unconscious. I thought you said this wouldn't hurt!"</p><p>"I said no such thing. I said that they wouldn't <i>die</i>, and you can clearly see they're alive. Check their pulses. The worst they'll get is a massive headache when they wake up. You've had migraines before, right? Besides, I'm paying you, because this all benefits me as well. The pain and misery? Delicious."</p><p>For a split-second, white hot rage could be seen on Seliph's face, before he shook his head, knelt down, and gathered Sissy into his arms. "Get Faust. We're done here."</p><p>"Don't forget your payment!" Mad Maggie shouted to the already departing Seliph, Rylee close behind him, leaving Kalista alone, staring confusedly at Faust, torn between wanting to leave but also wanting her reward.</p><p><br /></p><p>Outside Maggie's tent, Rylee finally convinced Seliph to stop storming off. "Where are you going?"</p><p>"To be honest, I don't even know. But I just..." he trailed off.</p><p>"No, I understand. I wanted to hit her as well." The confession startled Seliph.</p><p>"I had to get out of there so I wouldn't," Seliph agreed. "But...we kinda left Kalista and Faust..."</p><p>"Don't worry, I'll go help them, you just stay here and try to help Sissy."</p><p><br /></p><p>Once everyone was healed up and Seliph sufficiently cooled down, the party reconvened to get their reward. Three soul coins, a silvered longsword for Seliph (who up to this point was spending a lot of magic to fight fiends because they take less damage from regular weapons) and some more functional war machines. Specifically the dune buggy-esque Tormentor (pic below), a four-seater, and the motorcycle-esque <a href="https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Devil%27s_Ride">Devil's Ride</a> (guess how many seats).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcg6Iurr2NkSELoe1vkMNKaLfpdNCC0tpIghlsH4uTZpe7Nq2C95vjMfZsyGO03wQBTVPIZql81673Sv0tl87PrI_0w-sHh4H6P19WyfQT_jumRXc12TRBYTI_jdt2SZfg0UsEVEfjD5Nb/s1702/tormentor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1101" data-original-width="1702" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcg6Iurr2NkSELoe1vkMNKaLfpdNCC0tpIghlsH4uTZpe7Nq2C95vjMfZsyGO03wQBTVPIZql81673Sv0tl87PrI_0w-sHh4H6P19WyfQT_jumRXc12TRBYTI_jdt2SZfg0UsEVEfjD5Nb/w640-h414/tormentor.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>While smaller, these new rides came fully equipped with weaponry and...well...everything actually functional, in case of ambush by any of the various gangs that roamed the wastelands in these things (see, <i>Mad Max</i> parallels, I told ya)</p><p>So, the issue of seating came up, but it was eventually decided that Kalista would take the Devil's Ride (devil chick riding a sweet motorcycle, the stories write themselves), while carrying the Shield of the Hidden Lord (that Rylee is still kicking herself for not throwing into the River Styx) for extra, slightly nuclear protection since it could still cast fireballs, and the fiend inside felt a sort of kinship with Kalista. Annoyed, needy kinship.</p><p>Anyway, Kalista needed a night to attune herself to the shield, so they spent the night at the camp, had another terrible breakfast, and set out on yet another road trip, with Seliph at the helm, Rylee in the passenger seat, Faust manning a spiffy harpoon flinger, and Sissy just kinda chilling in the backseat until her brand of devastation would be called upon.</p><p>Which as luck would have it wouldn't take long, as a few hours into the trip, Rylee noticed something out the side.</p><p>"Seliph, do you see that?"</p><p>"See what?"</p><p>"That dust cloud. It seems to be getting bigger."</p><p>"It's probably just wind."</p><p>"No, it's moving a bit too fast for that. I think I can actually see something in the center of it."</p><p>"Huh, guess we're not the only ones heading out this way."</p><p>"It's not going parallel with us, it's coming towards us."</p><p>Seliph looked in the direction she was pointing, saw what she was referring to, specifically, a vehicle that was deliberately rushing towards them, turned a few shades paler, then swallowed and said, "Well, battle stations, I guess."</p><p>Rylee rubbed her forehead. "I hate Avernus..."</p><p>And unlike my normal habit of combining sessions to find better places to leave cliffhangers, I'm going to take this one as-is, because it was a great cliffhanger. Tune in next time for some exciting vehicle combat action.</p>Aaron Cahoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10271543349697927169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582568156284680269.post-59264692261526410342021-01-26T18:47:00.000-08:002021-04-17T22:39:20.887-07:00Part 13: Some Offers We Should Probably Refuse<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4OYFZRTDo-pAqSBjx_MzH6aVgzJjyoVOiQQGzpI3z5-mojpsG40z-R-4SOAoZxiUijHE4H3Xw_IHAlG7KK3EP8h77oWI12nGMQBC1ujgWhHETeBC72hJSxj06C1Y9CRs5RbUKZ-oKMEf1/s2048/avernus+map.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1455" data-original-width="2048" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4OYFZRTDo-pAqSBjx_MzH6aVgzJjyoVOiQQGzpI3z5-mojpsG40z-R-4SOAoZxiUijHE4H3Xw_IHAlG7KK3EP8h77oWI12nGMQBC1ujgWhHETeBC72hJSxj06C1Y9CRs5RbUKZ-oKMEf1/w640-h454/avernus+map.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>So, the bird folk from the vision. One part of Lulu's memory that was jogged was their names and what they looked like.</p><p>"Yeah, they had a weird way of speaking, but their names were Chukka and Clonk! They were like big crows, but they didn't have wings, and the way they talked was by mimicking voices they heard before!"</p><p>"Oh dear gods," Faust muttered, noticing that Seliph and Kalista had similar reactions.</p><p>"What?" asked Sissy.</p><p>"Kenku," muttered Seliph.</p><p>"What's that?"</p><p>"Oh, right, I keep forgetting you're not from this world. Does your world have crows?"</p><p>"Well, yeah."</p><p>"Picture big crows that can talk but can't fly. They also get weirdly obsessive over things. I've met a few and it wasn't pleasant," Seliph added at the end of his description.</p><p>"They're not that bad," Rylee protested.</p><p>"Anyway," Lulu broke in. "We gotta go find them! They might be able to direct us to where Zariel's sword is!" She continued babbling about how excited she was to save her friend. "Oh, but I suppose you guys will want to rest before we head out..."</p><p>"Please," Seliph requested, noting the party's injuries from the previous adventure.</p><p><br /></p><p>The evening was spent in relative silence as the party considered their next course of actions. They would need to climb down to the surface of Avernus.</p><p>To remind you, the city of Elturel <i>is</i> in Avernus. The <i>sky</i> of Avernus. It's quite a way down, with a very distinct possibility of falling. Whether just falling to one's death or falling into the River Styx is the worse possibility is a matter of debate I don't really want to have.</p><p>There were a few possibilities:</p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Climb down one of the enormous chains that connected Elturel to the surface of Avernus.</li><li>Fly</li><li>Find a vehicle of some kind</li></ol><div>Being the most straightforward solution, the party opted to try climbing the chain.</div><div><br /></div><div>Well...let's talk about that. From the book:</div><div><br /></div><div>Each chain link is 30 feet long and 20 feet wide, and is formed of a welded loop of infernal iron that is 5 feet thick...The chain links are covered in 1-foot-long iron barbs that make them relatively easy to move along. The posts of infernal iron that anchor Elturel to the ground likewise offer numerous handholds for climbing.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, not exactly a comfortable experience with Faust or Sissy, but Sissy had a new ability to tap into that the party was unaware of. She began to levitate.</div><div><br /></div><div>"I just discovered I could do this recently-" as in, last level-up recently, "It shouldn't be too hard for me to float down to the surface, but I'm not sure I could carry you guys."</div><div><br />The party looked at Lulu, who shrugged.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, it was around this moment that the party realized that they were in an immense amount of pain. Well, okay, Faust was in an immense amount of pain.</div><div><br /></div><div>For you see, another aspect of the chain is the fact that due to fiendish magic or whatever, contact with the chain <i>hurts you</i>.</div><div><br /></div><div>"This isn't going to work," Faust complained. "I doubt that I could even make it halfway before passing out." Indeed, it was a mathematical impossibility. Unless he jumped halfway his HP would probably hit zero not much later, and even then he wouldn't survive the fall.</div><div><br /></div><div>Without any methods of the party realistically <i>flying</i>, the party had to find some other way down. Thankfully, not far from the chain was a machine fiends were using to travel from the surface to Elturel.</div><div><br /></div><div>"That will do," Sissy said, smiling, an idea forming in her mind.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, she took point when going to claim the machine from the fiends. "You guys can leave. We're taking that."</div><div><br /></div><div>One of the fiends closest to the group smirked. "You the toughest one among 'em? Not very convincing, and you're younger than my taste, though the other two girls might be more up my alley."</div><div><br /></div><div>As he was licking his lips, Sissy began levitating and glowing with eldritch energy.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrSAAGTGTX4c6DjCy52DVbm7GzD5ACSeHOOtwufCrciZR2N1p8J2IVNx_VqkpjiNH_FFzd1h9JkPdQo2nGTyBv2S9-uQpVWgjNgUNcwubLOt50KcR4Rq9P93ZM3HFnYkW5x4ywFHu9_NOt/s600/raven+cover.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="400" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrSAAGTGTX4c6DjCy52DVbm7GzD5ACSeHOOtwufCrciZR2N1p8J2IVNx_VqkpjiNH_FFzd1h9JkPdQo2nGTyBv2S9-uQpVWgjNgUNcwubLOt50KcR4Rq9P93ZM3HFnYkW5x4ywFHu9_NOt/w426-h640/raven+cover.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slight dramatization</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Anyway between that and the rest of the party making more intimidating poses than...well...the Titans screaming in pain as seen above, the fiends looked at each other and split (Sissy may have also nuked one of them, I forgot the details)</div><div><br /></div><div>Once the party reached the surface, their next objective was locating the Wandering Emporium. Beyond a need for equipment and a vehicle to travel the surface of Avernus, an imp appeared before Kalista and suggested that she go to the Wandering Emporium to "find out where she came from", as in, to meet her father. During that discussion, Kalista grabbed the imp, demanding more information, and he mentioned that Advocati was also there, wanting to speak with Faust.</div><div><br /></div><div>As the machine got closer to the surface, the party saw a group of fiends carrying a tied up tiefling somewhere. Naturally, the party (and by that I man Kalista) wouldn't take that lying down and...</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIGdPzNAPZnOPNimxWUgJaYHGTS59FfOXgy1QjMyomDnaFDq2OihjR5Zp_ICYB45M443I83y5IdOfd0_PCSUEXgS7YhNeccRl5QgLRuQ3w_jRGwZKVW41umNfxj5YMWX7I4nm-NcJEoNIa/s500/eva+explosion.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="283" data-original-width="500" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIGdPzNAPZnOPNimxWUgJaYHGTS59FfOXgy1QjMyomDnaFDq2OihjR5Zp_ICYB45M443I83y5IdOfd0_PCSUEXgS7YhNeccRl5QgLRuQ3w_jRGwZKVW41umNfxj5YMWX7I4nm-NcJEoNIa/w640-h362/eva+explosion.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slight understatement</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Anyway, the newly freed tiefling introduced himself as Dirk, something totally meant to be a throwaway cameo for a character in a previous campaign played by one of our other friends (the husband of Sissy's player), but uh...he couldn't make it, so basically he showed up to point us in the direction of the Wandering Emporium and disappeared.</div><div><br /></div><div>Upon arriving at the Wandering Emporium, the party was approached by a man who introduced himself as Mahadi.</div><div><br /></div><div>"It's so good to finally meet the five of you at last. We've been expecting you, please come in, stay a while, have something to eat. Naturally we have rooms available for each of you, and there are people who desire to speak with you all.</div><div><br /></div><div>The party soon found themselves sitting in a restaurant making orders from a very real menu (as in, the kind that was even printed in the book.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnpG5xTA1kY05OArm0PA1jn1awUv8dXrzBtg7Uf_hsFS9nZmi3_ZG5-alGOfB6pEUAJTaKVtn-x0QJw1Ak7rNT90Scl0P_rkPChelfVFs8eg4ruYgYs2f-cBL26NKYbEIZ6V8F-Fw7hEtO/s2048/dinner+menu+for+avernus.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1641" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnpG5xTA1kY05OArm0PA1jn1awUv8dXrzBtg7Uf_hsFS9nZmi3_ZG5-alGOfB6pEUAJTaKVtn-x0QJw1Ak7rNT90Scl0P_rkPChelfVFs8eg4ruYgYs2f-cBL26NKYbEIZ6V8F-Fw7hEtO/w512-h640/dinner+menu+for+avernus.png" width="512" /></a></div><br /><div><div style="text-align: center;">- MENU -</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">APPETIZERS</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">- Pickled vine blight salad -</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">- Pan-fried myconid cap with garlic butter -</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">- Spicy shredded stirge sliders -</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">MAIN DISHES</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">- Broiled quippers served in a port reduction -</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">- Roasted wereboar seasoned liberally with pepper and paprika -</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">- Twice-battered axe beak strips with a brandied plum sauce -</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">- Deep fried miniature giant space hamster, seasoned to perfection with rosemary, basil, thyme, and tears -</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">DESSERTS</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">- Candied phase spider eyes in a raspberry liquor reduction -</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">- Sweet apple tart with a celestial caramel drizzle -</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">- Rare miniature stench kow cheese selection -</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">- Coffee/Tea -</div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">One continuity gag in here that I appreciated was the fact that <i>some monster got <a href="https://baldursgate.fandom.com/wiki/Boo">Boo</a>!</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">The fact that meals are served here is even acknowledged. You see, I neglected to mention it until now but any food that originated in Avernus all had one thing in common: tasting like ash. I'm serious. But the food in the Wandering Emporium is different. In fact, the entire place is different. Uncharacteristically safe from the effects of being in Avernus.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">As a result, the food was delicious. And don't ask me what everyone ordered because I don't remember.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Anyway, as the party continued their meal, Kalista was approached by a fiend, saying that her sister would be seeing her shortly.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Not her father. Her sister.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Anyway, she wasn't sure how to react to this and asked Seliph to go with her.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Arriving at the destination Kalista was summoned to, Seliph and Kalista tried to proceed in, but were stopped by the receptionist of the office.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">"Who are you? You weren't requested," she said rather forcefully to Seliph.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">"I'm here to support my friend in case something weird happens."</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">"The meeting isn't going to be quite like you expect."</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">"Is it going to be what <i>she</i> expects?"</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">"Honestly, no. But it isn't exactly possible for you to join on this meeting."</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Before Seliph could press further, Kalista broke in, "It's fine. What exactly am I supposed to do?"</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Kalista was led into a small room by the receptionist, who took out a small wine glass and filled it with some liquid from a bottle. "Drink," she said. "You will fall into a brief sleep, during which you will be able to commune with your sister, who is currently in another location.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Kalista raised an eyebrow, shrugged, and drained the glass. Thankfully, the receptionist was being totally honest, because when Kalista blacked out, she could very well have been captured or worse. Instead, she awakened in a void that looked similar to the room she was sitting in, chair and table included.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Seated at the table was another tiefling.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So here are the main points that came up in that conversation as far as we know. Kalista didn't make a single Insight check or really press the "sister" on any of these points so no telling just how much of this is actually true, but here we go.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Kalista's former love Raul was targeted by Kalista's sister for cheating on his wife, his soul stored in a soul coin (which is the prime legal tender in Avernus)</li><li>Kalista's services were requested as part of joining the family business, including but not limited to incredible power (and a shiny new dagger) in exchange for serving as a temptress against unfaithful men, after which she would kill them and feed their souls to her father, an important archfiend by the name of Belial</li><li>Owing to this, Kalista's soul belonged to said archfiend, and she'd find herself serving him in the Nine Hells once her mortal life was over</li></ul><div>I know what you're thinking. "Gee, that sounds terrible!" And you're right.</div><div><br /></div><div>So anyway Kalista said yes and found the sweet dagger in her pack once the conversation was over and she rejoined the waking world, her sister's instructions echoing in her head.</div><div><br /></div><div>Kalista's new abilities include the aforementioned dagger as well as the ability to shapeshift at well. And she immediately began abusing it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Skipping ahead a little bit, everybody but Seliph met with a devil here.</div><div><br /></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Faust met with Advocati again and was given a <a href="https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/Ring%20of%20Mind%20Shielding#content">Ring of Mind Shielding</a> to Rylee's chagrin (as well as Hadar, who as we'll see later isn't taking the sudden call screening well)</li><li>Rylee also met with Advocati who tried to tempt her with the possibility of seeing what Faust was up to but she said no</li><li>Sissy met with a devil who, upon realizing her pact with the Genie, began talking to her about the possibility of working together but the conversation was interrupted by Seliph and Kalista returning. We'll see if that comes back up again.</li></ul><div>The party stayed with the Wandering Emporium overnight, mostly happy to have their own separate rooms, although Kalista in particular found the solitude a bit much. The silence brought forth thoughts and memories, the kind that she had been trying to drown out ever since Raul died. The fact that, due to her contract, her soul belonged to hell left her particularly divided. On the one hand, she'd already done plenty of bad things up to this point, so why is this any new? But on the other, she'd always kind of hoped that the future was positive.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Without thinking, she wandered outside, hoping to be able to talk to someone. As luck would have it, Rylee was out with her dog, and Kalista quickly caught up with Rylee to ask her a few questions.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Something's been on my mind lately...do you think I was always going to Hell?" Kalista asked sheepishly.</div><div><br /></div><div>"What do you mean?"</div><div><br /></div><div>"You're religious. You probably have a good idea of who goes where when they die. I've never really followed a god or religion, but I've done a lot of things that would probably have me going to a bad place."</div><div><br /></div><div>"I don't know for sure. I know you're never stuck on a path if you don't want to be on it."<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>This conversation went back and forth for a bit before Seliph, who also happened to be out and about at that time, wandered into the conversation.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Oh, I wanted to ask you as well!" Kalista quickly turned towards Seliph. "Do you think you're going to Heaven or Mount Celestia or wherever goodie-goods like you go when you die?"</div><div><br /></div><div>Seliph...well...gave this expression.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip3QVr88ehwh1_6qsuiTOVclrstnMviaLjeuUnVcEvUNUNTvJN-wO5z1FYMVpm48xzP7HCBdQQtfuT3UXqr6jXXTb-cD7zK_kBnl_YN5lVA_igOlr87Z0bbF_0DQGLl47Y-mXhjZvZRO7S/s650/awkward+cat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="650" height="532" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip3QVr88ehwh1_6qsuiTOVclrstnMviaLjeuUnVcEvUNUNTvJN-wO5z1FYMVpm48xzP7HCBdQQtfuT3UXqr6jXXTb-cD7zK_kBnl_YN5lVA_igOlr87Z0bbF_0DQGLl47Y-mXhjZvZRO7S/w640-h532/awkward+cat.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div>Eyes darting between Rylee and Kalista, Seliph thought for a second, then shrugged. "I don't really know. I mean, yeah, I'm a paladin and everything, but I also did some scummy things when I worked with the Fist. I don't particularly have a favorite god, but I mean, I'll gladly go to one of their domains if they find me worthy. Why do you ask?"</div><div><br /></div><div>"Oh, just...wondering," Kalista muttered.</div><div><br /></div><div>Unconvinced, Seliph pressed. "Kalista, you're not normally this shy. What's the problem?"</div><div><br /></div><div>"No judgment?"</div><div><br /></div><div>Seliph looked at Rylee, who nodded. "I can only promise to try."</div><div><br /></div><div>It was at this point that Faust's player chuckled and said, "Yes, we're finally at the awkward, 'Mom, Dad, I did something wrong,' talk."</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, Kalista came clean about everything, finishing with the statement, "I mean, I was pretty sure I was going to Hell anyway, may as well take advantage of the family name, right? But...I feel like I made a mistake."</div><div><br /></div><div>Seliph looked at Rylee again. Again, the look of, "What am I supposed to do here? This wasn't in the simulation!"</div><div><br /></div><div>Rylee started. "I wouldn't say that you going to Hell was guaranteed, but..."</div><div><br /></div><div>Seliph added, "The contract is a problem."</div><div><br /></div><div>"There must be a way to get out of it," Rylee said, hopefully.</div><div><br /></div><div>"I dunno, fiends tend to be pretty thorough in their craft of screwing over their clients," Seliph said with a shrug. "Still, we're already working on reversing one fiendish contract. Another probably won't add that much work. Still, not much we can do tonight. Let's try to get some rest. We've got a long journey ahead of us."</div><div><br /></div><div>And while this was actually the beginning of the next session, this is where I'll call the post because it feels like a good place to pause. Next time, we finally get to see these Infernal War Machines, as well as Faust finally snapping.</div></div><p></p>Aaron Cahoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10271543349697927169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582568156284680269.post-31972876428885615072021-01-19T15:35:00.005-08:002021-04-17T22:39:20.887-07:00Part 12: The Many Adventures of Duke Ravengard<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_mLhrrCNP5rKE_nD02csHU_GCzkCZHX7Z1G9vi02C6FP6oWyZCxr7mrQ1rFRef6ELOEBEdQ5Gp8ztPA2Ng-84dUvtUMd8yxYxVeF0wZKSS0ISejNXtB8Cgaf7A8rcC0beUTOKBjW0g-2W/s849/high+hall+cathedrial.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="849" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_mLhrrCNP5rKE_nD02csHU_GCzkCZHX7Z1G9vi02C6FP6oWyZCxr7mrQ1rFRef6ELOEBEdQ5Gp8ztPA2Ng-84dUvtUMd8yxYxVeF0wZKSS0ISejNXtB8Cgaf7A8rcC0beUTOKBjW0g-2W/w640-h416/high+hall+cathedrial.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>So remember last time how I said there were three minotaur skeletons?<p></p><div>Yeah...uhh...we only saw two in the window. I got the three from the book when I was reading it to make sure I was getting details straight, and those three were outside, prepped to attack the party for stepping foot on the grounds of the cemetery, which wasn't an issue because we snuck past.</div><div><br /></div><div>So you might be thinking, "Gee, Aaron, if it's just two of them attacking the party with Gideon it shouldn't be <i>that</i> bad, right?"</div><div><br /></div><div>Yeah about that, there were <i>four</i> of them that jumped into the fray.</div><div><br /></div><div>And yeah, our party has a mini nuke on their hands, but...I mean they're skeletons of giant bull men! I don't care that their lack of muscles would realistically make them rather unstable. It's magic! And they're scary! And they did a ton of damage to people in our party.</div><div><br /></div><div>Between the minotaur skeletons and Gideon, things were looking pretty scary. We weren't sure just how much Rylee would be able to stay on top of the healing, and Seliph could only do so much defensive maneuvering in a large open room.</div><div><br /></div><div>It was high time for Rylee to make an exception to her No Violence rule.</div><div><br /></div><div>But only sort of. She cast the spell <a href="https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Turn_undead#:~:text=Turn%20undead%20is%20a%20channel,the%20cleric's%20strength%20of%20personality.">Turn Undead</a>, which was able to intimidate the skeletons into giving the party some room.</div><div><br /></div><div>Which is exactly what we needed because we were soon able to swarm Gideon. And...well...</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEHOPn7PWVLrxLhkd7R5O3AMkGIVgKZfGZXyjqN4OvbQ292auy6YzNFtqnNSk8ZaWxYxOGA7RECMyWwbbJ8tcFhJNbyVeg-RyfvBjRbvhSihZSLye8uG3X9OsMVM4b6VbU_C00-NCNC-PO/s588/jojo+beatdown+gif.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="334" data-original-width="588" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEHOPn7PWVLrxLhkd7R5O3AMkGIVgKZfGZXyjqN4OvbQ292auy6YzNFtqnNSk8ZaWxYxOGA7RECMyWwbbJ8tcFhJNbyVeg-RyfvBjRbvhSihZSLye8uG3X9OsMVM4b6VbU_C00-NCNC-PO/w640-h364/jojo+beatdown+gif.gif" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Anyway, once Gideon had been finished off, the minotaur skeletons collapsed, dust flowing in the....umm....stale air inside the chapel? Okay, I wanted to throw in some cool imagery but I'm also like a month behind on this update so...this is what you get.<div><br /></div><div>So, Gideon had nothing to do with their adventure here and there was still a demon problem to deal with downstairs. So, on the off chance that they'd find Duke Ravengard in the basement of this building, down the party went.</div><div><br /></div><div>Paraphrasing a lot of dungeon delving, eventually the party came across a man wearing a strange helmet, surrounded by mutilated corpses of humans wearing the uniforms of Baldur's Gate and Elturel. The man was repeating a strange chant in an almost unintelligible language, with random words appearing in the Celestial and Abyssal languages.</div><div><br /></div><div>Seliph was able to gather from the babbling that the man was currently hosting a struggle within his mind between himself, a divine being, and a powerful demon. Further investigation allowed the party to unearth the fact that this man was the man they were looking for, Duke Ravengard, and that the demonic power within him (specifically the helm he was wearing) was tied to the portal.</div><div><br /></div><div>The party took a few minutes to sidebar and discuss what their options were. Rylee wasn't sure she would be able to remove the curse. Seliph for sure wouldn't be able to.</div><div><br /></div><div>Kalista suggested something else.</div><div><br />"What if we just killed him? Like, cut his head off and take the helm back to the High Hall?"<br /><br /></div><div>Lulu let out a horrified screach, and then said, "I mean, I suppose it would work, but..."</div><div><br /></div><div>"We're not killing him," Rylee said firmly.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Yeah, that seems unnecessary if we have to take the helm back to the High Hall anyway," Seliph added.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Will we be able to drag <i>him </i>back to the High Hall without fear of injury to us or him, though?" Faust asked.</div><div><br /></div><div>A fair point, since, well, here's a picture of what he looks like.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2gbKSfC3fxSkdoNzpdZvYu8w9Mf42pKE-ONeMdWeAsGx1ZfSNXU6gSZGdBH39_xqcx6Mm9XBrkfm9sjb1VScjK_ceFsFV8eEKGHZQ1Lige-yJ7uEKN4bDVFAaGMWhTAkNVZt8oGT0JFTt/s789/ravengard+card.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="786" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2gbKSfC3fxSkdoNzpdZvYu8w9Mf42pKE-ONeMdWeAsGx1ZfSNXU6gSZGdBH39_xqcx6Mm9XBrkfm9sjb1VScjK_ceFsFV8eEKGHZQ1Lige-yJ7uEKN4bDVFAaGMWhTAkNVZt8oGT0JFTt/w638-h640/ravengard+card.jpg" width="638" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Yeah, pretty big guy in full plate armor.<div><br /></div><div>"I'll...do it," Seliph offered sheepishly.</div><div><br /></div><div>As it turns out Ravengard was too distracted by the battle within his mind to offer up any resistance as the party began to escort him out of the cemetery.<br /><div><br /></div></div><div>Which was great, because on the road back to the High Hall the party came across a man being attacked by two bulezaus. What's a bulezau?</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Bulezau">This</a> terrifying thing.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, Rylee rushed into save the man, Seliph told the others to hide Ravengard, and then the party laid a smackdown on the bulezaus.</div><div><br /></div><div>I mean, it was...suspiciously easy, the man they saved not doing much to put that suspicion at ease. He introduced himself as Orin Ragron, the city's blacksmith, but he seemed weirdly leery of Seliph. His lack of explanation as why a <i>blacksmith</i> was so overwhelmed (not to mention really shifty about where his shop was) was a point of concern for Seliph, who discreetly cast activated his Divine Sense, with which he was able to determine that not only was the blacksmith not a good guy, he wasn't even the blacksmith he claimed to be, but rather an incubus in disguise.</div><div><br /></div><div>Seliph's change in expression must have tipped the fiend off about his failure to conceal his identity, because he quickly made an excuse of needing to "check on his shop" and took off.</div><div><br /></div><div>"What was that about?" the party seemingly asked at once.</div><div><br /></div><div>"You probably figured it out but that guy wasn't the blacksmith," Seliph said once everyone had reconvened. "He's a fiend, probably was up to no good, so we're gonna need to alert the city watch in case he comes back to cause any more trouble."<br /><br />"Then why not go after him?" Faust asked.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Well, I mean, it's only an incubus, and we have bigger fish to fry with Ravengard. Certainly bigger than some devil out to get laid."</div><div><br /></div><div>"Fair point," Faust conceded.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The rest of the trip back to the High Hall was much less eventful. As the party entered into the secret entrance, Faust made a suggestion.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Let's wait to bring Duke Ravengard in. His current state of mind might be distressing for the commonfolk."</div><div><br /></div><div>"I agree," said Seliph. "Let me go in and grab someone."</div><div><br /></div><div>That someone turned out to be Pherria Jynks, someone the party met earlier but I failed to mention. Surprised at Seliph's sudden appearance by himself, she asked if everything was all right.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Mostly, but umm....can you come with me into the secret entrance? Also can you keep a secret?"<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>"What-"<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>"Yes or no, can you keep a secret?"</div><div><br /></div><div>"I mean, of course, but, why the urgency?"</div><div><br /></div><div>Seliph quickly led her to where the rest of the party waited. Upon seeing Ravengard in the state he was in, she stifled a shriek. The party quickly explained what was wrong with him, asking if she had any ideas for how to save him, to which she suggested the Ritual of Returning, which they could start right away with some assistance from the party.</div><div><br /></div><div>First, the altar of Torm needed to be cleansed, as it would be the location of the ritual. Seliph offered to do that with proper instruction.</div><div><br /></div><div>Second, someone must be standing nearby to offer the prayer to Torm. Being the most experienced in that regard, Rylee offered.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Is that okay, though?" Seliph asked. "I mean, you already have arrangements, won't that seem like cheating?"</div><div><br /></div><div>"Not at all," Rylee replied. "It's for a good cause that will save lives rather than end them. This is the sort of thing I preach, and it is the sort of thing I live for."<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Seliph shrugged. "Makes sense, I guess."</div><div><br /></div><div>Third, a powerful symbol of courage and self-sacrifice would be needed for the ritual. Rylee offered...something....I can't remember, it's been a while and I'm super behind.</div><div><br /></div><div>Whatever it was, it worked, and the ritual went off without a hitch, though having read that part of the module it could have been bad.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, with the ritual successfully performed, Duke Ravengard slowly came back to his senses. Once he was mentally available, he gathered the party together to let them know of the visions he was wracked with. From the book:</div><div><br /></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>In his spirit journey, Ravengard saw a bloodied woman in armor — a soldier wearing the colors and crest of Elturel — grasping a longsword fit for an angel. Fresh blood streamed from a nasty cut on the woman’s cheek.</li><li>Flying next to the woman was a small, golden elephant with rapidly fluttering wings.</li><li>As an enormous, loping demon threatened to devour the woman, she plunged the sword into the ground while the winged elephant made a trumpet sound with its trunk. The demon was hurled back as an alabaster palace rose up around the sword. The winged elephant fled and took to the red sky of Avernus, where it watched as a bloody scab grew up from the ground to engulf the palace and the enormous demon.</li><li>The winged elephant fled and wandered in a delirium before coming upon two odd, birdlike humanoids dressed in patchwork armor and standing next to a strange infernal vehicle. The bird creatures were equipped with odd weapons and tools.</li></ul></div></blockquote><div>He suggested that that sword, the Sword of Zariel, might be key in saving Elturel. Lulu, suddenly struck with vague memories, reasoned that it might also be what's needed to save her friend.</div><div><br /></div><div>This wasn't quite where we called the session but this entry is getting a little long and there's a LOT left to cover, so in the interest of giving you SOMETHING to read, here you go. We've got our next objective. Find the sword. Where? Find out next time.</div>Aaron Cahoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10271543349697927169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582568156284680269.post-18727787438311633232020-12-10T19:33:00.002-08:002021-04-17T22:39:20.887-07:00Part 11: The Devil Finds God, and the Priest Serves the Devil<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjucitxCf_9BTYlGibby2MorYD30h4A8xAfPlq5u1oiLnfbCn_nRgOjsqTa9JE09W11L37WzaQMIJVen8x0hS4nvnzWvBoa0FlqrqYdtp1wkioU4hBR_zS_INGfofvl3Dxxo9bjrSlOak1/s2048/elturel+map.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1455" data-original-width="2048" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjucitxCf_9BTYlGibby2MorYD30h4A8xAfPlq5u1oiLnfbCn_nRgOjsqTa9JE09W11L37WzaQMIJVen8x0hS4nvnzWvBoa0FlqrqYdtp1wkioU4hBR_zS_INGfofvl3Dxxo9bjrSlOak1/w640-h454/elturel+map.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>Before setting off into the city again to find Duke Ravengard, the party asked around the camp for ideas of where he could possibly be, with most people suggesting that he was last located in the Grand Cemetery, not far from the High Hall. A cemetery. In Hell. Naturally, this was something the party wasn't exactly thrilled about, but considering they offered to do what they could to help the city, off they went.</p><p>Carefully sneaking their way through the ruined city, dodging raiding groups of fiends, the group slowly pushed towards Grand Cemetery. However, on the way there following the directions that they were given, they heard some pounding coming from inside a door of a building. Like, people trapped inside but couldn't get out.</p><p>At least, that's what we were supposed to think, but thank goodness we'd learned from the previous experience with shut doors, because Faust opted to quickly Detect Magic, getting a reading of a ton of necromancy behind the door. Which made sense. The door wasn't locked or blocked as far as we could see, and the building certainly wasn't on fire. It was probably just a bunch of zombies that were trying to get out to where the food was but too stupid to figure out how to use the door.</p><p>"Let's...just ignore it and continue on," Seliph suggested.</p><p>Faust, instinctively rubbing his chest that had been torn open in a similar encounter previously, nodded in agreement.</p><p>"The two of you are uncharacteristically cautious here," Rylee observed.</p><p>"Bad previous experience," Seliph replied. "We'd rather not talk about it."</p><p>Rylee's player was legitimately curious here so she asked out of character what had happened, and we took the time to explain for her benefit (since Rylee wasn't with us at the time) that the last time Seliph thought, "Ah, this won't be too bad, we can take 'em!" and conducted the usual strategy of Seliph kicking in the door and blocking the doorway while the rest of the party pelted the undead within with magic, Seliph was knocked out and Faust <i>died.</i> Now sure, the party had grown quite a bit in strength since then (new dedicated support cleric, as well as Sissy turning herself into a miniature hurricane with the amount of destruction she was capable of causing), zombies in 5e are really irritating to deal with. While most monsters have the courtesy to die when running out of HP, zombies have a chance to just kinda shrug off any mortal damage and keep attacking.</p><p>Anyway, the decision to just bypass the encounter was the right call, as the DM informed us afterwards that there were twelve zombies piled against the door waiting for something to open it for them. As a reminder, last time it was six, and they were positioned in a way that Seliph was able to block the doorway for a while, whereas I have my doubts he would have been able to contain the avalanche of zombies behind the door of the building in Elturel.</p><p>So the party left the building, continuing along their suggested path until they reached the cemetery, where they saw the expected. Graves, wandering undead creatures, and fiends galore. As they wandered the cemetery the group found a small chapel, and Kalista suggested that Ravengard might be hiding inside. She snuck closer to the building to get a closer look through one of the windows, with Faust sending his familiar Stitches as backup. However, while Kalista is (obviously) an expert in stealth, Stitches is...not. So although Kalista effortlessly slid up to the window to get a glimpse inside, Stitches made a lot of noise, not realising what he was supposed to be doing.</p><p>This started to draw some attention, including that of what was inside the window, which could be somewhat made out despite the cover of magical darkness within. She had to squint a bit, but when she was able to identify what was inside, her eyes widened in fear.</p><p>Faust, seeing through Stitches' eyes, also was able to recognize what was inside the chapel, three minotaur skeletons. The group began shouting for Kalista to quickly get away once Faust let them know what he saw. I guess their attention spans were really short, though, because we expected them to let themselves out of the chapel and into the cemetery proper, but that didn't happen for some reason. Faust, Kalista, and Rylee got the idea to use a mirror to reflect light from Rylee's light spell into the window to see if they could either get a better look at the minotaur skeletons or get their attention, but neither ended up happening either.</p><p>Yeah, I'm paraphrasing a lot, but we had some <i>really</i> mediocre rolls this session. It's just kinda what happens, sometimes. You get ideas, you try things, and the dice just kinda say no. Totally natural. Happens to everyone. Actually when the dice dictate the story it's pretty likely.</p><p>So the party decided that the front door might not be the best way into the chapel, wondering instead if there was a possible back entrance. Well, there was, along with a large crater behind the building, which Sissy tripped and fell into having failed the stealth check we were asked to make.</p><p>Not that the rest of us did any better, so in the end you had Kalista walking somewhat quietly to the back of the building while everyone else completely failed, between Seliph's and Rylee's armor and Sissy falling into the crater.</p><p>Anyway, shock of all shocks that because we were making so much noise, a man came out the back door of the chapel shouting at us.</p><p>"Who are you people, and why are you making so much of a racket? I am trying to accomplish something in here!"</p><p>The party quickly looked the man up and down.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSVglSfz2b4uF69S41X3Oh-A8XIjn4JwMLyrZ1l4w7s6QpaJFkrlojuRFxW4KEWILAoKbzSs9YWJtFc1PdmQ1yFA9rM5aMEMH96fQIeC2JWrN4WIT3j1b96z7BwYEhj88a1ecEzQp-9aa1/s1000/gideon+lightward.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="548" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSVglSfz2b4uF69S41X3Oh-A8XIjn4JwMLyrZ1l4w7s6QpaJFkrlojuRFxW4KEWILAoKbzSs9YWJtFc1PdmQ1yFA9rM5aMEMH96fQIeC2JWrN4WIT3j1b96z7BwYEhj88a1ecEzQp-9aa1/w350-h640/gideon+lightward.png" width="350" /></a></div><br /><p>Faust opened his mouth first. "You...wouldn't happen to be Grand Duke Ravengard, would you?"</p><p>The man furrowed his brow. "Never heard of him. I'm Gideon Lightward, a priest of Lathander, and there's a bit of a problem with demons inside the chapel. There's a portal in the basement from the Abyss that they're coming out of, and it needs to be closed, so unless you're going to help me, get out of here."</p><p>"Maybe the person we're looking for has holed up inside," Kalista offered. "Anyway, demons are a problem, we'd be happy to help!"</p><p>"Excellent, come in, come in." He beckoned them into the small room at the back of the chapel. "Feel free to make yourselves ready for battle in here, say a prayer if you feel like you could benefit. The paladin in particular looks like a particularly spiritual man. I'm going to go take care of the minotaur skeletons in the next room."</p><p>Between that statement, the DM's voice acting as this man, and, well...the picture (specifically the long nails and red eyes) we as the players didn't trust this guy at all, but unfortunately the poor rolls continued, so our characters weren't able to latch onto anything in particular he was saying that was sketchy, and when pressed on his being a priest of Lathander (whose nickname is The Morninglord, so a god of light and life, something wasn't adding up), he got defensive, but stated that he was cast out because he was corrupted, but he still had a desire to serve Lathander. Specifically, he said that there was a weapon blessed by Lathander somewhere in the chapel.</p><p>Seliph wasn't so certain about that and declined the suggestion to pray, but Kalista of all people decided to give it a try, and whaddaya know, her "faith" was rewarded with a nat 20 and a glowing weapon appearing in her hands, specifically a +2 Shortsword.</p><p>Surprised that there was a positive response at all, Kalista shouted, "Thank you, God! My mom was wrong about you my whole life!"</p><p>"Excellent," uttered Gideon. "That should help us handle the demon problem. Wait here while I take care of the minotaur skeletons, and I'll open the door when its safe."</p><p>Indeed, the door was opened not long after, with the darkness dispelled and the minotaur skeletons just gone. Gideon gestured towards the other end of the room, from which the sound of battle were slowly growing louder. At the top of a stairway stood two <a href="https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Mezzoloth">mezzoloths</a>, fighting against a giant scorpion and five <a href="https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Dretch">dretches</a>.</p><p>Some context, yes, again, devils and demons both exist in the D&D universe. Just roll with it. The two factions/races/whatever are from different locations (devils from the Nine Hells, demons from the Abyss) both have different goals, and as such, both groups are bitter enemies. Hence the fighting at the top of the stairs and the fiends/devils not wanting them to get out into Avernus proper.</p><p>Interestingly, Gideon was focusing on killing the demons, but not bothering with the fiends. Again, seems kinda sketchy.</p><p>Another sketchy thing is the fact that during the battle, he was severely injured by an attack that Lulu used. You see, she has an attack called Trumpet of Sparkles, essentially a magical girl sparkle attack that does a <i>ton</i> of radiant damage, with one specific caveat: evil creatures have disadvantage on their save (meaning the attack is more likely to be super painful for them) and good creatures aren't hurt at all from it.</p><p>This isn't the first time Seliph bunched a group of enemies together, just for Lulu to sparkle them to death (though it's the first time I've mentioned it because remembering details is something I struggle with when writing these things).</p><p>So anyway, sparkles. Completely bypassed Seliph and severely hurt all the enemies. And Gideon.</p><p>No, the guy with red eyes might be a bad guy? Who knew?</p><p>Naturally the party had some questions for him after the fight. After all, he seemed to be throwing his lot in with the devils and he got hurt really badly from an attack that shouldn't have done anything to a priest in service to Lathander, or as Kalista kept referring to him, the Nice Treasure God.</p><p>I guess the constant badgering touched his last nerve though, as he then said, "For the last time, Lord Lathander is not a god of <i>treasure</i>. I'd hoped to get you lot to help me with the portal before killing you and taking the devil girl's sword, but even my patience isn't endless." He then snapped his fingers, and the minotaur skeletons reformed.</p><p>Kalista then shouted, "Wait! Let's close the portal before you fight us!"</p><p>And that's...how the session ended. I mean, I'm sure him turning on us was supposed to be a big twist, but like...it was less subtle than this.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhcAGZMtURXKLIuXD23bOg2d16jnWGeoYkz0Wh77udxs4uSMS4LG0yXYatYr_Zki4xLkrR9fY4xBaa7zNHBU9jrLPGcuuaUglk0Lm5qX6FBhFWOXptdmq0aeCNIgo2mZ3VB4AywiZ4zomo/s322/judas_6447.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="322" data-original-width="321" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhcAGZMtURXKLIuXD23bOg2d16jnWGeoYkz0Wh77udxs4uSMS4LG0yXYatYr_Zki4xLkrR9fY4xBaa7zNHBU9jrLPGcuuaUglk0Lm5qX6FBhFWOXptdmq0aeCNIgo2mZ3VB4AywiZ4zomo/w638-h640/judas_6447.png" width="638" /></a></div><br /><p>So next time we've gotta fight this guy and his minotaur skeleton friends. Oh, and he started healing when the fight was over, so y'know, that's annoying.</p><p></p>Aaron Cahoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10271543349697927169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582568156284680269.post-60780677993526971722020-11-30T11:26:00.005-08:002021-04-17T22:39:20.887-07:00Part 10: A Hell of a Time in Elturel<p>We're going to be adapting a few sessions here, since once the party arrived in Avernus, it was essentially fight after fight after fight.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYMdvysckGIC0O7uFpAgX13MBzs7p2mTlH9kn4y_U7Rcs1PcYhJK7jVnE3NyTxLMAMsapOCZc_Six3AARdp1B3kKUEz0NkxoPBoQKO-E9LnPA2644mxBG-sC12ChVNvd3yj8zhG9LbCRd0/s2048/avernus+map.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1455" data-original-width="2048" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYMdvysckGIC0O7uFpAgX13MBzs7p2mTlH9kn4y_U7Rcs1PcYhJK7jVnE3NyTxLMAMsapOCZc_Six3AARdp1B3kKUEz0NkxoPBoQKO-E9LnPA2644mxBG-sC12ChVNvd3yj8zhG9LbCRd0/w640-h454/avernus+map.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p>So...two hours after the party left their meeting with Sylvira, Faust slowly made his way out of the library, not having finished his research into getting out of warlock pacts, but he was able to formulate a strategy for getting Rylee off his trail and getting the shield into Avernus. After all, the party had a twenty mile ride ahead of them. Sure, Sylvira was experienced and powerful enough to use the Plane Shift spell to send the party to Avernus themselves, but because of the wards placed upon the city of Candlekeep, it wouldn't work, so there would be no point. Instead, she was sending them to a tower belonging to a wizard named Traxigor, who would send them there as well as send them with a friend of Sylvira's who had some history fighting with the forces of Avernus. So, easy in, but still, twenty miles.. It was going to take a while by horse.</p><p>Well, it would have, except as the party was getting their horses ready for travel, Sylvira dashed into the stables, insisting that she had an idea to make things go a bit more smoothly for the party. She had a few griffons (or griffins or gryphons depending on your chosen spelling, D&D uses griffon) the party could use to fly to the tower they were being sent to, as time was of the essence. She'd watch the horses and take care of them all on her own dime in exchange for the party getting a freaking move on.</p><p>Faust thought of a few curse words, realizing that he had far less time to plant the seeds than he had planned. As seemed to be his lot in life, he was going to have to call an audible.</p><p>So, the party took off and Faust slowly positioned himself close to Kalista to "get to know her better". Specifically, to get her talking about her past to open her up to trusting him. Well, kind of. You see while she was talking for the duration of the flight, Faust spoke telepathically with the devil in the shield, suggesting that an easy way to get him into Avernus past Rylee's ever-watchful eye (and as a way to get said watchful eye off Faust).</p><p>After a little bit of arguing back and forth with the devil, the devil finally groaned in agreement. Meanwhile, Faust realized that he'd completely tuned Kalista's rambling out and quickly snapped back to attention to find literally anything he could put in his back pocket later in case of questioning, and as fortune would have it, Kalista's ramblings made their way to her long dead lover, something Faust zeroed in on. It couldn't have gone more according to plan.</p><p>Naturally, the devil in the shield reached out to Kalista to ask if she knew anything about her parents, mainly to find an easy way to segue into an, "I am your father" moment, which she gave him with almost no challenge (although her ramblings and the dawning realization that she was going to want to do daddy daughter stuff caused him to reach back out to Faust, cursing him for talking him into this insanity). Anyway, the promise was made that at some point when they landed at Traxigor's tower, she would try to smuggle the shield into the tower, and by extension, Avernus, with them.</p><p>Anyway, the party landed at the tower to...absolutely zero fanfare. They <i>were</i> expected...right? Sylvira <i>must</i> have sent word ahead of them somehow, right?</p><p>Anyway, the party looked at each other awkwardly, before Faust knocked on the door, which was opened by...nothing? Or so it seemed before...</p><p>"Ahem, down here!" The party looked down at the direction of the voice to see...</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizykrtO7N-FeIgG61Z69JS_ApF2tnLy3PCDEA8jUi5YAv0UeyM4vMMqFH6IPzvvWcr-FXDWOkOlgM6IdIvQMNLrskPCF4bA64jncZW_oEu7r2f8WN3nXlJoanh5VB4Y81y4tD15104U8Fd/s900/otter+with+stick.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="900" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizykrtO7N-FeIgG61Z69JS_ApF2tnLy3PCDEA8jUi5YAv0UeyM4vMMqFH6IPzvvWcr-FXDWOkOlgM6IdIvQMNLrskPCF4bA64jncZW_oEu7r2f8WN3nXlJoanh5VB4Y81y4tD15104U8Fd/w640-h426/otter+with+stick.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I couldn't find official artwork of this guy, so enjoy this picture I found on Google instead.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>The party glanced at each other awkwardly before Faust asked, "Excuse me, are you Traxigor?"</p><p>"Yes, of course!"</p><p>Kalista then added, "But you're...an otter...?"</p><p>"Why yes of course. I suppose that nobody filled you in?"</p><p>They had not.</p><p>"So..." Seliph began awkwardly, "you're the one who is going to help us get to Avernus?"<br /></p><p>"Yes, yes, you will be going along with my associate Lulu here," Traxigor said, gesturing further into the foyer of the building, where, well... <i>this </i>thing was.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn_SKqWz51-c3WpuWj3mhy0f1qa6-3nOnjT5s7J5o-Y3VnuYDgCc141fWPX5nZXQcjbMMbzeJot3kT7jM2tPyPddFeLGtlXF_2IpfajDB2CdqppkRbvffZ4V8jX3opaGaAVbHB_Nd_oDS3/s744/Lulu-5e.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="744" height="602" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn_SKqWz51-c3WpuWj3mhy0f1qa6-3nOnjT5s7J5o-Y3VnuYDgCc141fWPX5nZXQcjbMMbzeJot3kT7jM2tPyPddFeLGtlXF_2IpfajDB2CdqppkRbvffZ4V8jX3opaGaAVbHB_Nd_oDS3/w640-h602/Lulu-5e.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>"Hello everyone! My name is Lulu! I'm going to be your guide in Avernus so we can go save Zariel!"</p><p>A look of concern crossed everyone's faces. After all, this...thing...surely knew that Zariel was the <i>bad guy</i> in this situation, right?</p><p>Actually let's talk about that for a bit. I don't remember if I mentioned it before and I don't particularly feel like combing through past entries to confirm it, but Zariel is actually a fallen angel who became obsessed with ending the eternal Blood War between the devils and the demons (and yes, there is a difference in D&D), with her nature becoming corrupted the longer she spent in the Nine Hells until eventually she found herself trapped and abandoned there. In response, she allied herself with Asmodeus, ruler of all devils, and was eventually placed in control of Avernus.</p><p>Which brings us back to Lulu. Traxigor, now quietly nestled in Rylee's arms, having allowed her to pick him up and pet him, explained all of this to the party, adding that at some point Lulu's memories were corrupted, leaving behind a sort of childlike hope that in spite of everything she had done, Zariel could be redeemed, being her "best friend" and all.</p><p>Traxigor cleared his throat. "All of this means nothing unless we can find my tuning fork. It's...in here somewhere, but..."</p><p>Yeah, Traxigor's place was a mess.</p><p>Kalista tilted her head quizzically. "Why do we need that fork in particular? Can we use any other forks?"</p><p>Traxigor furrowed his brow. "Do you mean to tell me you think a normal dinner fork can send you to Hell?"</p><p>Seliph, who had rolled a natural 20 on his investigation, had already started digging around the place, asking, "A tuning fork is one of those things you use for music, right? I think I found one."</p><p>Indeed, he had found, and Traxigor set about trying to activate the fork, right as Rylee noticed that Kalista was carrying the shield. Some quick back and forth arguing ensued, but Traxigor, blissfully unable to read the room, finished casting the spell, and the party just sort of ended up in the square of a very much on fire city. A quick "good luck" message from Traxigor, and the party plus Lulu were left trying to figure out what to do next.</p><p>Cue some quiet frustration coming from the shield, as the arrival in Avernus had done absolutely nothing to release the devil inside.</p><p>It specifically requested to <i>not</i> be thrown into the River Styx, which would mess it up something fierce. So...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-A_NE7FwjKtdleXYVxMoW_2Kjv5qHBmF3vyN44BFtf_V1NFU9ausZAqiszNiKPDyUWctsmeV56ZKIji7ucn3LtkeSIiTK36l-2ap07SDp6PHoA4fulQcN9E9eSwYRJS-cebwyT_atPwk6/s1920/It%2527s+Always+Sunny+Meme.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="927" data-original-width="1920" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-A_NE7FwjKtdleXYVxMoW_2Kjv5qHBmF3vyN44BFtf_V1NFU9ausZAqiszNiKPDyUWctsmeV56ZKIji7ucn3LtkeSIiTK36l-2ap07SDp6PHoA4fulQcN9E9eSwYRJS-cebwyT_atPwk6/w640-h308/It%2527s+Always+Sunny+Meme.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Nah, just kidding, they're still not sure what to do about it.</p><p>Anyway, as a means of establishing the fact that things had literally gone to Hell, as a group of citizens were being chased down by three bearded devils. Kalista, Faust, and Sissy moved to hide from the bearded devils, but Rylee dashed off to use her magic to protect the citizens. Seliph shot a quick apologetic look at the hiding party members, saying, "Duty calls," and dashed off to help.</p><p>Bearded devils are kind of nasty, but Seliph happened to have a new spell to handle the problem of resistance to non-magical attacks. That's not the important bit, though. You see, I haven't given enough credit to Sissy in these posts, as she's been steadily turning into a pint-sized nuke. Her damage output is <i>insane</i>. To the point that she would probably be the most dangerous if she were to turn against the party.</p><p>Anyway, the party finished off the three devils and talked with the civilians, finding out that the city was split in two, and that a lot of people were holed up in the High Hall. There, the family believed that they would be safe under the watchful eye of High Overseer Thavius Kreeg. A dream that was quickly shattered by Kalista and Faust, who despite Rylee and Seliph's attempts to stop them, quickly filled the family in that Kreeg had abandoned them.</p><p>Regardless, the party now had a small group of innocent people that they had to guide to safety, so they made their way into the city, specifically to the bridges between the two sections of the city. A group of fiends was standing guard on one of the bridges, but while the party was hiding and planning their approach, they noticed some runes etched into the stonework on the bridge. Despite not being religious or even being proficient in religion checks, Kalista was the one who figured out that the runes were a prayer to the god Torm.</p><p>Quickly putting together what would happen, the party considered uttering the prayer. However, Kalista wasn't interested, Faust already had two sugar daddies that were fighting over him, Rylee didn't want to cheat on her own deity Eldath, and...well, Sissy didn't say anything. Seliph offered to do it, not trying to hide what he was doing, he locked eyes with one of the creatures on the bridge before placing his hand on the bridge and uttering the prayer, to the shocked reaction of the fiends.</p><p>Their reaction was shocked because the bridge started dealing an enormous amount of radiant damage every turn, and the party was able to quickly mop up the fiends on the bridge.</p><p>The party battled their way into the cathedral of the High Hall, eventually coming to a room with a bunch of corrupted religious paraphernalia that was originally to other gods before being...well...corrupted into being tributes to Zariel. One thing that hadn't been changed was a large altar in the shape of a gauntleted hand, an altar to Torm. The party was able to figure out that by touching it or making offerings to it, they would be healed, none too soon because another group of monsters attempted to ambush the party.</p><p>This fight went a little more poorly as basically everybody but Seliph was pretty severely injured. Magic exhausted, Rylee wasn't able to do much to help everyone, but Seliph quickly used what was left of his paladin abilities to heal the rest of the party. However, Kalista got an idea for something to take back to Sylvira. Could it be some of the defaced religious paraphernalia? Nope. Weaponry from the fiends the party had slain so far? Nada.</p><p>No, she tried to cut the face off of the lead fiend the party fought in this most recent bout.</p><p>Okay, let me back up a little bit. We fought one of these guys.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ1H8P2Z2hRCo3zBLWdRch4Cs_NgtNZmxnwnMKquA_lOkudAazkfUNNbFvT4koZ1hhzXMft9eTvhxvyQywTulmDNm_Zspp1l1QmsLhGVBW_CLecuVXMI9j-mcgA-N-rEpWVrfQXtea1byt/s314/merregon.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="314" data-original-width="188" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ1H8P2Z2hRCo3zBLWdRch4Cs_NgtNZmxnwnMKquA_lOkudAazkfUNNbFvT4koZ1hhzXMft9eTvhxvyQywTulmDNm_Zspp1l1QmsLhGVBW_CLecuVXMI9j-mcgA-N-rEpWVrfQXtea1byt/w383-h640/merregon.png" width="383" /></a></div><p>So, this is kind of understandable. It looks like its made of brass, especially the facial area, which was something Kalista thought was a mask. Until it wouldn't come off. And then she kept trying to pull it off.</p><p>And then she used her knife to try to <i>carve </i>the face off.</p><p><i>The FACE</i>.</p><p>Naturally, Rylee and Seliph protested this, whereas Faust and Sissy were (mostly) just uncomfortable by the whole showing. But I think Kalista was far enough in and invested enough time that it was less of a "I want this to impress my senpai" thing and more of a pride thing. Which is understandable. I mean, you guys have watched <i>Home Alone</i>, right? I don't think it's unreasonable to assume that the Wet Bandits would have been better off just...leaving. But pride makes people do strange, unreasonable, even stupid things.</p><p>What were we talking about again?</p><p>Oh yeah, while investigating the cathedral, Kalista had actually discovered a trap door leading somewhere, but we got distracted by monster attack, as you do. Anyway, monsters slain and Kalista working on carving up her present for her celebrity crush, the party was approached by a druid named Seltern Obranch, whose enthusiasm for the party's presence slowly gave way to horror as he realized what Kalista was doing.</p><p>"Oh, ignore me," she cheerfully said, continuing to carve up her prey, "the others are more normal."</p><p>Anyway, Seltern had gotten lost trying to find his way into a secret area in the cathedral when fiends had attacked, and because he was separated from the rest of his group, he found himself just hiding until someone came along that could possibly help, which the party assured him they could...</p><p>...as soon as they figured out how to get back.</p><p>Yeah, the path into the inner sanctum might have been a little awkward, as Orbranch was certainly not planning on turning away the new help, but the question of just how much help they would be was definitely up in the air, and Kalista's new mask (that she thankfully had just stowed in her pack instead of wearing it) wasn't helping things.</p><p>We ended the session by meeting up with Orbranch's group, who offered to put us up for long enough for a rest (which we desperately needed). Kalista continued her discussion with the shield about all her plans once he got freed, but by this point it had been a decent amount of time before his patience finally disintegrated and he let the cat out of the bag. He's not Kalista's father and was only using that connection to get into Avernus, hoping that once he arrived there he would be able to escape from the shield, but alas that didn't happen. Once the party had a chance to rest up, they were sent off to find the missing Duke Ulder Ravengard, and once again, I am caught up. This was three sessions, and once we got to Avernus it's been fight after fight after fight. Apparently Hell is a scary place. Who knew?<br /></p>Aaron Cahoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10271543349697927169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582568156284680269.post-702402071221034552020-11-14T19:21:00.000-08:002021-04-17T22:39:20.886-07:00Part 9: So Long, Baldur's Gate!<p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIoBg3WFJALQ_dYPA74DKTHDovP-hp0UngoVbMYAU6OxbYVdzov7Kmx-87KwsdD1GShEIh3woqiUfqf-1_Zbf85J-cyug_WmqONLLIU0MQieYCDaAV_b4cqxq5Uwe0zogyG4yE0b3XykT0/s1000/candlekeep.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="655" data-original-width="1000" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIoBg3WFJALQ_dYPA74DKTHDovP-hp0UngoVbMYAU6OxbYVdzov7Kmx-87KwsdD1GShEIh3woqiUfqf-1_Zbf85J-cyug_WmqONLLIU0MQieYCDaAV_b4cqxq5Uwe0zogyG4yE0b3XykT0/w640-h420/candlekeep.png" width="640" /></a></p><div>As planned, the next morning, the party reconvened at the office of Captain Zodge after the evening the party spent split up. Everybody was surprised that Rylee came back. However, the thing that would be more surprising if they had any idea about it would be the fact that Faust did not sleep a wink the night before while studying the puzzle box. Indeed, through his pacts as a warlock, he no longer needs sleep at all, and cannot be forced to sleep by any means. You might think this is the top of the slippery slope to insanity. His player would disagree, saying this is the key to ultimate power, and to his credit he makes a good point. There's a lot you can do in that extra eight hours if you don't <i>need</i> to sleep.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, Reya declined to join the party at the meeting, for understandable reasons. The remaining Hellriders were being hunted down, and considering she avoided arrest not a day before, she was very disinclined to meet with any other members of the Fist. Again, understandable. So instead she opted to just lay low in Seliph's house until they got back.</div><div><br /></div><div>Zodge, sitting at his desk working on some paperwork, quickly welcomed the party in. "Please, sit down, what information do you have for me? It's been...a few days. I'd worried that you all split on us."</div><div><br /></div><div>"Things are a bit complicated," Faust offered.</div><div><br /></div><div>"To start," Seliph continued, "Do you know this man that we brought to you?" Seliph pointed towards Thavius.</div><div><br /></div><div>"I...can't say that I do."</div><div><br /></div><div>"This is Thavius Kreeg."</div><div><br /></div><div>"As in, High Overseer of Elturel, Thavius Kreeg?"<br /><br /></div><div>"Correct," Faust confirmed.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Yes...that's...certainly me," Kreeg offered.</div><div><br /></div><div>Zodge paused, and then said, softly, "Where is Ulder Ravengard?"</div><div><br /></div><div>"Excuse me?" Kreeg asked, feigning being hard of hearing.</div><div><br /></div><div>"I said, <i>WHERE IS ULDER RAVENGARD?</i>" he said again, now shouting.</div><div><br /></div><div>"I don't know! I'm innocent! I was being held captive by Lady Vanthampur before these guys rescued me!"</div><div><br /></div><div>Faust reached out again to Kreeg via telepathy, saying, <i>It would be best for you to end this line of deceit. It will only get worse for you if you don't.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>Kreeg saw...something...in Faust's eye that assured him that he was absolutely not joking, that, somehow, in his mere 35 years, he had seen far more and suffered far more than he could possibly imagine. This look told Kreeg that there was absolutely no way he was going to worm his way out of this one, and as such, he started blubbering different things, to Zodge's frustration.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Wait, what about Lady Vanthampur?" Zodge asked, before continuing, "I can see this is gonna get complicated. Let's start over. Chronologically, this time."</div><div><br /></div><div>The party did as requested, recounting the events of the last few days. The bathhouse. The Low Lantern. The Vanthampurs being the ones bankrolling the cultists. The facility beneath Vanthampur manor. Kreeg being the one behind Elturel's disappearance (a fact he vehemently denied, but Zodge was going to put the screws to him until he got the information he wanted).</div><div><br /></div><div>As the party was explaining things, the door to Zodge's office burst open, and two figures walked in: Amrik Vanthampur and a woman that Seliph recognized as Liara Portyr, commander of the Flaming Fist.</div><div><br /></div><div>Faust immediately reached out to Amrik telepathically to...curse him out, something Amrik responded to with a simple wink before turning to Commander Portyr and saying, "Yes Ma'am, these are the ones who saved the city from my mother."</div><div><br /></div><div>Commander Portyer looked the party over and then said, "Excellent. They are to be commended. Zodge. Make sure they're well paid. Whatever it is that you promised them at the outset and then some for their exemplary service to the city."</div><div><br /></div><div>Zodge snorted, then reached into his desk, pulling out separate bags of gold. Realizing that one more person was in the office than had been hired at the beginning, Zodge looked at Rylee and said, "Who even are you? Your services weren't contracted, and you certainly didn't <i>owe</i> us anything."</div><div><br /></div><div>Seliph quickly suggested, "Oh, her services were subcontracted. We needed a healer, and she fit the bill."</div><div><br /></div><div>"Whatever. I'll pay her a share as well. Afterwards, get out of my office."</div><div><br /></div><div>"Actually," the commander said, "The five of you have proven quite useful to us so I have a personal favor to ask of you."</div><div><br /></div><div>The party quickly cast eyes one to another, before Faust finally offered, "Yes?"</div><div><br /></div><div>"Based on some of the information that Mr.Vanthampur here gave to me, it sounds like you've managed to procure some items from the Vanthampur manor of a fiendish or devilish nature. Specifically a puzzle box. I would like you to take it to Candlekeep for inspection by Sylvira Savikas, a tiefling researcher who is <i>the</i> leading researcher in all things Hell."</div><div><br /></div><div>Kalista's ears perked up at this. A well-known, well-respected tiefling researcher? Kalista <i>had</i> to meet her.</div><div><br /></div><div>Indeed, the party had procured the puzzle box from Thurstwell in the last session, but like the genius I am I completely forgot to mention that Faust snatched it from Thurstwell's desk before we continued into the dungeon.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, Seliph turned to Faust slowly and said, "We've got that, right?"</div><div><br /></div><div>Faust quickly responded, "Yes, we do. It would be our pleasure to go to Candlekeep on this errand." If someone was paying attention, they would have seen a hint of childlike excitement in Faust's eyes, Candlekeep being <i>the</i> place to be for scholars and wizards looking to increase their knowledge, a place he had been wanting to visit for most of his life, though had been up to this point unable to access.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Excellent," the commander replied, smiling. "Well, we shall leave you to it. In the meantime, I believe Zodge, myself, Master Vanthampur, and the High Overseer have much to discuss."</div><div><br /></div><div>"Yes, you all go on, now," Zodge added.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Gladly," Seliph said, though what he was thinking...well...involved words he was trying to remove from his everyday vocabulary. And gestures.</div><div><br /></div><div>Yeah, Seliph's a Redemption Paladin and all, but his grudge against Zodge is a difficult thing to let go of.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, after leaving the office, the group took a moment to discuss the new assignment thrust upon them. Seliph took the lead, saying, "I suppose you guys will all have some things you'll want to take care of before we head out."</div><div><br /></div><div>Rylee then said, "Well, I suppose this would be goodbye. I wish you safe travels on your journey."</div><div><br /></div><div>Faust then smirked, "I don't suppose you'd like to continue healing us for money."</div><div><br /></div><div>"It was never about the money," Rylee said defensively. "I just stepped in to help you as expected from my oaths."</div><div><br /></div><div>Kalista jumped in, "We could certainly use the extra help."</div><div><br /></div><div>"I...will have to consult with my god in prayer."</div><div><br /></div><div>"No pressure," offered Seliph. "We'll leave from my house around midday. If you're in, I suppose we'll see you there, if not, well...so long and safe travels."</div><div><br /></div><div>And this is where the party split up to do some shopping. Seliph purchased a new set of splint mail armor. Kalista and Faust visited a local apothecary to purchase some potions. Faust actually used a small fortune to purchase a bunch of spell components as well as other preparatory items, unsure of what he would need and not wanting to be caught lacking in an awkward situation. He also purchased a horse and a mule to carry his things.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rylee returned to her room in her inn, greeted her dog as well as providing him food and water, and knelt in prayer for guidance. And there she sat for quite a while before being jolted back to reality by her dog nuzzling her arm. She looked down at the dog in confusion. The food and water bowls were full. What could it want now?</div><div><br /></div><div>The dog, seeing it had her attention, pointed towards the water bowl with its nose.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rylee stepped over to the bowl to investigate it. After all the bowl was full. What else could possibly be stopping the dog from lapping it up?</div><div><br /></div><div>Peering into the water bowl, Rylee was assaulted with visions of battle, bloodshed, and other such terrifying things, with the party in the center of it. She surmised that if she wasn't there to keep the party from getting themselves killed, the world could be at risk.</div><div><br /></div><div>So she had her own suiting-up montage. She bought some new armor and took up a shield, deciding within herself that, though she would not break her oaths of nonviolence, she would be doing everything she could to keep herself and the other would-be heroes alive.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, cut to Seliph, Kalista, and Sissy sitting on Seliph's porch waiting for the rest of the party, when the parade began, starting with a random dog that seemed vaguely familiar that padded up to Seliph. Seliph, being the goodest of boys, gave the dog a nice scratch as Rylee greeted the party, decked out in her armor. Following behind her was Faust, driving his horse and mule covered in his various amounts of overpreparedness.</div><div><br /></div><div>The presence of the pack animals suggested something else to the party: how were they going to travel? They were looking at a five day journey, so any method of making the travel easier on the group was something worth taking into consideration. After discussing this for a bit, the party decided to purchase a wagon that would be driven by Seliph while Rylee and Kalista rode inside the wagon for reasons of cheapness or something (Kalista's player confirmed cheapness, Rylee's another question), and Sissy decided to purchase her own horse. I'm sure Reya had her own means of travel as well. This kinda makes me feel good about myself because a common problem I have in my games is that I keep forgetting about NPCs that travel with the players, so I'm glad to see that our current DM is carrying on that tradition.</div><div><br /></div><div>And thus we set off on the five-day journey to Candlekeep. Five days of possible danger, roughing it in the wilderness, and more than likely bad camp food, right?</div><div><br /></div><div>I dunno. We did a travel montage because the DM wants to get us to Candlekeep, and later Avernus as quickly as possible so we didn't roll on the random encounter table. Which is fine. I'm not sure what's on the encounter table for this area, but considering how finicky random encounter tables can be, there's something that scares me about us getting jumped by dragons on our five day camping trip, and as the Runesmith said in his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9F0vL8w9X18&t=318s">random encounter video</a> (language warning), "Nobody should die to two dragons outside of story parameters."</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, it's probably for the best that Faust had his own horse and wasn't in the wagon, because chances are five days of, "Are we there yet?" would cause Rylee to rethink her oaths. Indeed, as said before, it really is difficult to express the high amount of childlike wonder and excitement Faust had at the prospect of finally, <i>finally </i>getting into Candlekeep. And indeed, once he had donated the book he was carrying as the means of entrance into the fortress (as seen in the image at the top of the page) and the party was allowed inside, he wasted <i>absolutely no time</i> getting into the library, Rylee hot on his heels to see what he was up to.</div><div><br /></div><div>I've spent the last paragraph making fun of Faust's excitement at the prospect of getting into Candlekeep, but I should also note Kalista's...disturbing excitement at meeting Sylvira. I'm serious, once the party made it into Candlekeep, she was <i>adamant</i> about going to see Sylvira, to the point that the only reason she didn't burst into a meeting Sylvira was having was the fact that Sylvira's assistant was very persuasive at helping Kalista set a proper appointment for the party at third bell the next day. And thus commenced Kalista's misunderstanding of what third bell was, thinking that she'd be meeting them at 3 AM before the assistant explained that the bells started at 6 AM and would ring on the hour.</div><div><br /></div><div>Somewhat dejected from the mild rejection she just received but excited nonetheless to meet up with Sylvira the next morning, Kalista rejoined Seliph and Sissy at the tavern, soon to be joined by Rylee, who had come away from spying on Faust with no real information she deemed helpful.</div><div><br /></div><div>Faust, on the other hand, was scribbling notes as quickly as he could on what little paper he was able to use, when a library aide approached him, saying, "Sir, just to inform you, the library will soon be closing its doors for the night and the scholars in the building will be returning to their quarters."</div><div><br /></div><div>Faust's lack of fatigue continued to surprise him considering he had been like this for nearly a week. I'm pretty sure most of the party was expecting him to meekly agree to turn in, but to all of our surprise, Faust pulled rank as a travelling scholar, a professor, no less.</div><div><br /></div><div>Well, it worked! The poor associate stammered out an apology (though let's be fair, Faust wasn't exactly mean to the poor kid) stated that if he wanted to leave at any point before the doors opened again, just to lock the door when he left.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, the next morning, Kalista realized that Faust never came to his room in the inn. Figuring he was still in the library, she made her way there to find him and let him know about their appointment before he was late. Though he wasn't exactly happy to be torn from his studies before he'd found the breakthrough he was hoping for, he wrote down which page of which volume he was working from and followed Kalista to Sylvira's chamber.</div><div><br /></div><div>Paraphrasing a bunch, Sylvira quickly pointed out that the shield Faust was carrying was just a devil, no angel. It had been bound in the shield millennia ago. She also informed the party of her own request for them: go to Avernus to gather information and/or items, with the possibility of saving the citizens of Elturel. She requested that the party hurry, people were dying after all, but Faust requested an extra two hours to finish what he was working on (as well as to quickly formulate a plan to get the shield to Avernus anyway, something Rylee was...very vocally opposed to.)</div><div><br /></div><div>And thus the session ended much like it began. Waiting for everyone to finish up last-minute sidequests.</div>Aaron Cahoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10271543349697927169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582568156284680269.post-73637750202829434312020-11-03T21:07:00.005-08:002020-11-04T09:33:29.908-08:00Part 8: Rich People and Their Weird Basement Parties<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHcCPSk5x4qNl2flutVI1S0Rf81gN2Pd0oqSVmKmbTSAuo-q_iUKqHdUqfeG0l6XUa5oaVJ3jD5hwedKMLvK0_sWGzjj0lG_mKqzROSUoIV8UPt1tPj90_85Vwdn97tBTkMHD38w28dKAD/s2048/baldurs+gate+map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1316" data-original-width="2048" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHcCPSk5x4qNl2flutVI1S0Rf81gN2Pd0oqSVmKmbTSAuo-q_iUKqHdUqfeG0l6XUa5oaVJ3jD5hwedKMLvK0_sWGzjj0lG_mKqzROSUoIV8UPt1tPj90_85Vwdn97tBTkMHD38w28dKAD/w640-h412/baldurs+gate+map.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>On the way to the Vanthampur manor, the party, in the midst of continuing their discussion, Kalista stopped dead in her tracks, having seen a bunch of pirates, the very same ones from a couple days before, walking in the direction of the Low Lantern at a very...intent...pace. As in, word of the scuffle at the Low Lantern had somehow reached their ears and they were out for revenge against the party for completely screwing up their hit at the Elfsong Tavern.</p><p>Before she could ask what happened, Seliph put his hands on Rylee's shoulders with Kalista doing the same for Sissy, pushing them further away from the pirates.</p><p>"What-what are you doing? Get your hands off me!" Rylee shouted. "What was that about?"</p><p>"So, do you remember how we got banned from the Elfsong Tavern a few days ago?" Seliph reminded Rylee.</p><p>"Those gentlemen were the ones responsible," Faust finished.</p><p>Insert eye-rolling from Rylee, before Mortlock urged the party to continue on, anxious to get this out of the way so he and Vendetta could begin their travels elsewhere. Understandable. The DM also wanted us to get a move on (we're on part 8, almost session 10 of this campaign and we're still in Baldur's Gate when the adventure takes us to Hell, yeah, I can see why he wants us to get a move on)</p><p>Anyway, the Vanthampur manor was in the upper part of the city, in a location not easily accessible to the common folk of the lower city (y'know, that classic fantasy city trope), and having read that section of the module, there are a few ways the party could get up there through the security checkpoint. Just so happens our solution was Mortlock showing off his childhood home to a group of friends. Helps that the person who let them through was a guard that either didn't know that Mortlock was at this point supposed to be a dead man or didn't care. Either way, he wished them luck going through, and soon the party found themselves on the Vanthampur property. After a few knocks, the door was opened by Fendrick Gray, a seventy-year-old butler.</p><p>"Ahh, Master Mortlock, to what do we owe the sudden call?" the butler asked.</p><p>"I just was hoping to introduce some friends to the family, Fendrick. Would you let us in?"</p><p>"Why yes of course, Master Mortlock."</p><p>As the butler led the party through the entrance hall, making small talk, Kalista quietly made fun of his uppity mannerisms, ending with a quiet, "Rich people, am I right?"</p><p>Seliph tried (and failed) to keep a straight face, snorting as a means of stifling laughter, which was met both with a sharp elbow to the ribs by Rylee and the butler rolling his eyes at Mortlock's continuous fraternizing with "the filth from the lower city."</p><p>The butler left the party in a gallery filled with multiple intricate art pieces depicting the Vanthampur family, in particular a 6-foot-tall wax statue of the Duke herself, Thalamra Vanthampur cradling <a href="https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Tressym">this...thing</a>. Faust spent quite a long time looking at the creature, and something within his mind clicked. That thing being...his player decided he wanted the creature as his character's familiar, because it's a winged cat. And that's adorable.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpafCSa1qlveFNpCx-z5ETD4Sk2tWD9-4LyzotuezkrZ81TVPOtIR16y3Ur7PEt_T_y0gCPc1bxRbnPl0sbMsc6Z7X6eEFoZvw_MCgqtJbjZwGRTtwHAR_bpk9MK2Kbb1V2-6FhURt9LDY/s1000/thalamra+Vanthampur.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="550" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpafCSa1qlveFNpCx-z5ETD4Sk2tWD9-4LyzotuezkrZ81TVPOtIR16y3Ur7PEt_T_y0gCPc1bxRbnPl0sbMsc6Z7X6eEFoZvw_MCgqtJbjZwGRTtwHAR_bpk9MK2Kbb1V2-6FhURt9LDY/w352-h640/thalamra+Vanthampur.png" width="352" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />*insert "badass mother" joke here*</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br />I'm not kidding, by the way, this lady's Strength score is the same as Seliph's, with better ability scores across the board, and she has magic. This pic and this news making one of our group jokingly reference <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cHesPosOrE&start=40">this clip</a> (language warning). Can't wait to fight her.</p><p>After the party took some time to soak in the house's atmosphere (as well as remembering their own lack of cash), Mortlock cleared his throat and gestured to follow him, saying that if anyone knew what his mother was up to, it would be his brother. Who was likely holed up in his room working on something.</p><p>Mortlock led the party upstairs to the bedroom of his younger brother Thurstwell, a sickly, slender, weaselly man. Basically everything Mortlock wasn't, his brother Thurstwell was. Where Mortlock was a strong, beastly man with average intelligence and a hair-trigger temper, Thurstwell was...well...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqOjcjpEDLRjgCcB9o-qD8cDG0Zp-orOJ63eF6w1YWoZuxnckW-aOU5u1LA2DwHfSR-xhULX7S4nq50PO8flyYjPqcuJwFhNQ1Cmc5pq-bclxjUK0B4X0bjuP9qJtpUS32mCDamt33jJiQ/s1000/thurstwell.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="583" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqOjcjpEDLRjgCcB9o-qD8cDG0Zp-orOJ63eF6w1YWoZuxnckW-aOU5u1LA2DwHfSR-xhULX7S4nq50PO8flyYjPqcuJwFhNQ1Cmc5pq-bclxjUK0B4X0bjuP9qJtpUS32mCDamt33jJiQ/w374-h640/thurstwell.png" width="374" /></a></div><br /><p>Anyway, the party burst into the room, seeing the form of the man above working on...well...the puzzle box he was holding, as is seen in the image. At the sudden burst into the room, he shouted, "Mother! I <i>told you</i> to <i>KNOCK!" </i>He quickly shoved the box into his desk and turned to see the party striding in.</p><p>"Oh, hi, big bro...nice to see you...hehehe....GET 'EM!" he shouted at something in the direction of the fireplace and dove onto the floor beside his bed, hiding from the party hoping his invisible pet could take care of the party.</p><p>He did not, however, plan for Kalista being faster than anyone else in the party. Before anyone else could act, she was already on top of him, sword drawn, growling, "Call off whatever you're siccing on us."</p><p>"Yeah, of course, don't hurt me please!"</p><p>Seliph grinned, "<i>We're</i> not gonna hurt you. We know what your mom's up to and we're here to stop her. No promises about <i>him</i> though," he finished, glancing at Mortlock. "I can only promise to stop him from killing you."</p><p>Mortlock waved him off and stalked over to his brother, knelt down, and flicked him on the nose. "I just wanna know where mom's doing whatever it is she's doing. After that, I'm outta here. I'd suggest you do the same if you don't wanna die."</p><p>Thurstwell grimaced. "All right, fine, there's a secret facility under the house. You know all those secret projects mom had going while working on the water ways? That's it. You can get in through the cellar. Could you please have your devil friend get off of me?"</p><p>Paraphrasing a bit because he also said some derogatory stuff about Kalista's mom and how she made a tiefling baby, Kalista demanded to know how he could know about who her dad was, some choice words were thrown back and forth, and we played off of Kalista's running gag of asking every devilish creature if they're her dad (either in a literal or in a metaphysical sense considering tiefling genetics...not really the case considering her mother was a warlock in service of devilish forces (y'know, since we're breaking <i>that</i> D&D stereotype)).</p><p>Speeding us right along, Mortlock left the party at the cellar, the party went in, fought some imps, wandered through a few rooms and fought some patrolling cultists, argued with one who directed them to a chapel in the center before killing himself (after all, he'd just end up in Hell serving his master anyway so death was preferable to capture).</p><p>The chapel...is something else. From the book...</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">Two rows of tall wrought-iron candlesticks light this vaulted chamber, each one bearing nine flickering candles. A seven-foot-tall statue of an angel with white glowing eyes and a longsword stands atop a dais to the south. A six-foot-tall fiend bristling with spines stands west of the statue, glaring at four black-robed cultists who kneel and chant in the middle of the room, their faces hidden behind golden devil masks. Nine tapestries depicting the layers of the Nine Hells adorn the walls.</p></blockquote><p>So yeah, the fiend realized that the party was trying to sneak in, and the battle began. The cultists weren't all that impressive but the <a href="https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Hamatula">big guy</a> was quite scary. We're talking multiple attacks per turn, claws, fangs, tail swipes, summoning fire, the whole nine yards. I mean, somehow we managed to avoid having anyone go down during the fight, but one thing that happened quite a bit in this dungeon were some awkwardly bad rolls from everyone, DM included. So because of that Seliph actually made a pretty good wall while the rest of the party (sans Rylee, who was hiding behind Seliph) hammered the fiend.</p><p>With the fiend dead, the party shut the door and set about trying to relax a bit so they could regroup and conquer the rest of the dungeon. Faust took a moment to examine the statue a bit more closely, realizing that something about it was magical, specifically the space behind the eyes.</p><p>"Perhaps if we were to...break the statue to see what's inside..." Faust suggested.</p><p>"That might be a good idea," Seliph replied, thinking maybe it could be connected somewhere else in the dungeon.</p><p>Kalista tried to push the statue, but her strength isn't...that great, so Seliph, Sissy, and Faust joined in while Rylee began loudly protesting the destruction of a statue of an angel.</p><p>"I don't want to take part in such blasphemy!" she said.</p><p>Faust responded, "I don't believe it's as blasphemous as you think."</p><p>Indeed, while investigating the statue, the party realized it was a statue of Zariel, a fallen angel, lord of Avernus. Basically the D&D version of Lucifer, but a female, if that makes sense. Like a Valkyrie Lucifer. Because of this, nobody else seemed to mind destroying a statue.</p><p>Seliph continued. "You said yourself, it's a lord of Hell. If anything, the existence of a statue to her is the blasphemy." He left out the part regarding his own curiosity behind what was in the statue.</p><p>We probably should've thought through the consequences of smashing a large stone statue.</p><p>Anyway, out of the head and neck area of the statue spilled a mace that Faust quickly identified as the source of the magical energy in the statue. In order to determine specifically what the statue was, he began a ritual to cast the Identify spell, which would allow him to specifically figure out what the mace was or what it could do.</p><p>While Faust was doing this, the rest of the party was resting a bit, since the ritual was set to take a little over ten minutes. However, while his eyes were wandering along the wall, he noticed a rather large gap in the bricks quickly slam shut.</p><p>The DM kept asking if the party was going to investigate the wall, but, really, Seliph had already decided that whatever was happening, he didn't want to rush into anything. The enemies would have to come to the party, rather than the other way around. So because of this, Seliph drew his blade and suggested the rest of the party steel themselves, and surprise surprise, from the main door of the chapel spilled in eight cultists led by a large woman the party quickly identified as Lady Vanthampur.</p><p>Spells began flying back and forth, but because the party realized they were handily outnumbered, Sissy decided to cast Darkness, dropping a shroud of...well...darkness around the party, giving the party some room to strategize. Kalista and Rylee dashed for the wall that turned out to be an entrance into a hidden room. Faust quickly abandoned his ritual to grab the mace and do the same, leaving Seliph and Sissy alone in the room.</p><p>Seliph, thinking on his feet, shouted to Sissy, "Just focus on keeping the spell up!" and dashed for the wall, scooping Sissy into his arms (Seliph is a strong boi and Sissy is a tiny 14 year old girl, this is easily something Seliph could do) in a quick motion to pull her to safety as well. The party quickly shut themselves in the hidden room and barred the false wall. Again, from the book...</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">This room is lit by a pair of tall wrought-iron candlesticks in the northeast and southeast corners. Nine candles burn atop each one, casting flickering light across a claw-footed altar carved from a single block of obsidian, and which has a small angel-shaped flame erupting from its top. A gray-haired woman kneels before the altar.</p></blockquote><p>So this room is a small chapel that Lady Vanthampur was praying in in preparation for the ritual. A prayer that was interrupted by us destroying the statue to Zariel in the next room.</p><p>Oops.</p><p>So the room had a door opposite where the party entered that spilled into another hallway which led into the sewers. Naturally the party decided to just continue into the sewers, but not before Faust quickly experimented with the flaming altar. If the flame was extinguished, it would quickly reignite. However, because the rest of the party had quickly left the room before Faust could formulate a plan, he quickly cast an illusion spell to make it appear that Seliph and Sissy were hiding behind the statue.</p><p>Dashing down a hall in a sewer, the party quickly came to a door, behind which a voice carried into the sewers, "Wait, who's out there? Hello?"</p><p>This wasn't what Kalista wanted to hear and started to bolt further into the hall before Reya muttered, "Wait, that voice..." and dashed into the room. "I KNEW IT!"</p><p>The "it" that Reya "knew" was that the voice belonged to Thavius Kreeg, the former high overseer of Elturel.</p><p>Seliph quickly caught Kalista by the shoulders and said, "Whatever, let's duck in here, he can explain things."</p><p>The room was a vault with a few tables and different amounts of treasure on a few tables as well as a large golden shield hanging on the back wall.</p><p>"Of <i>course</i>," Faust muttered through gritted teeth.</p><p>Thavius began asking questions. "Who are you people, and what are you doing here? Don't tell me you're imprisoned down here too?"</p><p>"Imprisoned?" Seliph asked. "No, we're here to take you into custody. We represent the Flaming Fist and you'll be safer with us than here."</p><p>At the name "Flaming Fist" Thavius grimaced, something that was not lost on Rylee, who exclaimed, "Stop throwing the name of the Fist around!"</p><p>Seliph furrowed his eyebrow. "That's...literally the first time I've invoked their name so far."</p><p>"Well he <i>clearly</i> doesn't feel comfortable with it. People don't like the Fist!"</p><p>This touched a nerve in Seliph. "You think I don't <i>know</i> that? You think I <i>like</i> having to work with them again?! Gods, there's a reason I <i>left</i> the Fist."</p><p>The room got...kind of awkwardly quiet, as Rylee rolled her eyes and looked elsewhere in the room...</p><p>...to see Faust staring intently at the Shield.</p><p>For you see, while Seliph and the others were talking to Kreeg, the shield was calling to Faust. Like, literally, a voice reached into his mind, saying, "Hey, hey you! You're magical, you can help me, right buddy?"</p><p>The shield explained that it was actually the soul of an angel trapped inside the cursed item, and that it needed to return to Avernus to the one who cursed it to get out. Seems kinda fishy, but whatever, it's part of Faust's sidequest so we're doing it regardless.</p><p>Anyway, during this exposition dump, Rylee cast Detect Thoughts on Faust, became privy to the conversation, and a very, <i>very</i> tense game of mental Cat and Mouse began as Rylee kept trying to catch Faust in a lie, to which Faust would respond by coming up with another lie to cover his previous one. His player has been planning this kind of thing because he knows eventually he's going to be exposed, but come hell or high water, he's going to keep a death grip on his secret until it happens.</p><p>Eventually the shield reached out to everyone, letting that cat out of the bag and causing Seliph to quickly cast Divine Sense, which would allow him to detect all good and evil throughout the room, and hoo boy, did that reveal a lot.</p><p>The shield had good <i>and</i> evil coming from it, Thavius was evil, the only unambiguously <i>good</i> party member was Rylee, and there were a bunch of evil people trying to smash their way into the door. Upon closer examination, Seliph noticed that Thavius' shadow did not match his own form, instead being that of a pudgy, horned fiend.</p><p>Naturally Seliph began shouting, cluing everyone into the things that had been revealed to him. The shield quickly set about explaining that, yes, he's an angel trapped in a cursed shield, Thavius had no excuse that he could adequately explain before the door got knocked down, and they could discuss it if they got out alive.</p><p>The shield, however, had a suggestion.</p><p>Faust told the party to stand clear of the door and wait for it to open, after which he would signal the shield to go ahead with what it was going to do. That being...</p><p>A Fireball. Launched right in the middle of all the people trying to smash their way into the room. Completely vaporizing all eight of the cultists with Lady Vanthampur coming out like a roasted cartoon character, but still in relatively good health.</p><p>Though she didn't survive the next turn of...well...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxSXrG3qmsxj0DXssXCTEana_pjRnM7WgYKYz4ni78NLFtZ3WZgsae5bNJ3BA7cIWSPH9la7QNVJNHXDQwWRhrqRhdCRGFwKWzV8X19kMlZ4kMQ7kvmh0cg87notMFF5ss_1oFsqqwul7e/s120/tenor+%25281%2529.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="90" data-original-width="120" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxSXrG3qmsxj0DXssXCTEana_pjRnM7WgYKYz4ni78NLFtZ3WZgsae5bNJ3BA7cIWSPH9la7QNVJNHXDQwWRhrqRhdCRGFwKWzV8X19kMlZ4kMQ7kvmh0cg87notMFF5ss_1oFsqqwul7e/w640-h480/tenor+%25281%2529.gif" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Anyway, with that taken care of, Faust turned to Thavius, who had slowly been drawing a dagger to try to backstab his way to safety, and said firmly, "<i>As I was saying</i>, we're taking you into custody. And to make sure you don't do anything funny, well...I see that you and Reya have some history, so we're going to let her keep an eye on you."</p><p>The dagger clattered to the ground.</p><p>"Ah...yes, of course."</p><p>The party quickly left (but not before Kalista grabbed a bunch of treasure), made their way into the city, and decided to call it a night before they took Kreeg to Zodge of the Fist. Faust got a private inn room to continue his studies, Rylee returned to her room, desperately trying to figure out how to get out of this mess, and Seliph, Kalista, and Sissy took turns helping Reya keep an eye on Kreeg.</p><p>And now we're finally caught up. We're not in Hell yet, but we're dang close.</p>Aaron Cahoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10271543349697927169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582568156284680269.post-52251373188896790222020-10-31T19:26:00.001-07:002020-11-04T09:26:16.718-08:00Part 7: Mortlock Vanthampur's Precious Little Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd1JwFX4jOMBQb6g9elC-T4GVJi-Me0Ex2558-SW0gaO4srIZluTrUbrp6sBvWeWvSMJGaWKWOhT8oAunSYQRSYqoQkg4al821b7oZ2ZKuYuw-4rVJdGzgI_rRGw_Wt3-ou0NEgR0iVt8P/s2048/baldurs+gate+map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1316" data-original-width="2048" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd1JwFX4jOMBQb6g9elC-T4GVJi-Me0Ex2558-SW0gaO4srIZluTrUbrp6sBvWeWvSMJGaWKWOhT8oAunSYQRSYqoQkg4al821b7oZ2ZKuYuw-4rVJdGzgI_rRGw_Wt3-ou0NEgR0iVt8P/w640-h412/baldurs+gate+map.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>Rylee rushed down the stairs behind Mortlock, grumbling again about getting dragged into another fight. Most of the bystanders in the room made themselves scarce as Amrik jumped up and drew his dagger, although one large man joined the fray to balance the numbers somewhat as Mortlock shoved his way to his brother to...well...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAhCzKpI8NXeFbpPAJTAYwYQzolXaPNrRNKYQNGP61Q-ZyekkhW3c9OYvRTm1B90BvvO18HkeFpCEm71ZPG1YPIHbm0NVUehaJJ8-RCeyR9oDcoScHKwMNY0c3DthxGWauz0mqXCf6qAkC/s480/clothesline.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="262" data-original-width="480" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAhCzKpI8NXeFbpPAJTAYwYQzolXaPNrRNKYQNGP61Q-ZyekkhW3c9OYvRTm1B90BvvO18HkeFpCEm71ZPG1YPIHbm0NVUehaJJ8-RCeyR9oDcoScHKwMNY0c3DthxGWauz0mqXCf6qAkC/w640-h350/clothesline.gif" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Okay it took a bit more than that, but being the unfavorite and suffering abuse at the hands of his brothers and mother, Mortlock was itching for a smackdown.</p><p>There are only so many ways you can describe a fight (something I'm already not very good at), but one thing that happened was getting the Spined Devil to kill itself. As a redemption paladin, one of Seliph's abilities is called Channel Divinity: Rebuke the Violent (all paladins can use Channel Divinity but the different subclasses have different uses of it), which, when used, would cause an attacker to have to take a Wisdom save and suffer radiant damage equal to the damage their attack just did. It had fired a spine at Sissy and done some damage, and the way I imagine that was Seliph looking at the Spined Devil, shouting, "Hey! Knock that off!" and the Spined Devil just falling off the wall it was on, dead from...shame? I guess?</p><p>Between the Spined Devil's cessation of existence and the thug being taken down, Amrik soon found himself in the midst of...well...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjroBRcDtB6HViDEIpSigtHRURIAgStA9ab5Gr53BcprWZTluO7nwCpEngk6B9QGw6nRO9UQUoJ97KC0yHSHyOuAr4tMCKGKwYhUhM_TMe3ExbVT3A86TB4RNCKIVEwIfEO4A4BR-MfetqB/s640/wwe+gang+up.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjroBRcDtB6HViDEIpSigtHRURIAgStA9ab5Gr53BcprWZTluO7nwCpEngk6B9QGw6nRO9UQUoJ97KC0yHSHyOuAr4tMCKGKwYhUhM_TMe3ExbVT3A86TB4RNCKIVEwIfEO4A4BR-MfetqB/w640-h640/wwe+gang+up.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Man I love using wrestling gifs<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>At almost the same instance, Seliph and Rylee realized that Amrik would be of more use to the party alive than dead and separately made plans to try to put him down without doing any further damage. However, because Seliph's Dexterity is at a whopping 8 and because my rolls have been absolute garbage, I was dead last in the turn order, so Rylee's plan went into effect, using the Command spell to...umm... command Amrik to grovel at the feet of the party, a spell he failed his save against and, against his will, began begging for mercy.</p><p>With the sudden awkward shift in the mood of the combat situation, Seliph decided to cast the Sleep spell anyway, under the hopes that he was weakened enough to <strike>be captured in a Pokeball</strike> fall asleep without further resistance. He was not. So the party tied him up instead.</p><p>During the ensuing interrogation, the party was able to get some more information out of him. Specifically, that Amrik's mother was working with a man named Thavius Kreeg, the ruler of the since yeeted to Hell (<strike>DM's</strike> Amrik's words) city of Elturel. She and Kreeg had orchestrated the disappearance of the current ruler of Baldur's Gate, and her goal was to repeat in Baldur's Gate what happened to Elturel, offering it as a possible exchange for power from the lord of Avernus.</p><p>Naturally, this is a problem.</p><p>The party resolved to quickly make their way to the Vanthampur manor to capture Amrik's mother and Thavius Kreeg in the hopes of stopping this plan before it got too far ahead, but this first left the problem of how to deal with Amrik. He had pointed out that taking him to the city guard would be fruitless without physical evidence. Seliph and Rylee didn't want to kill him if that could be avoided.</p><p>Faust suggested tying him up and locking him in his office, though Rylee was against that as well. As a means of expediting the process, Amrik himself offered the party a one hour head start. For one hour, he would sit in his office and do nothing towards trying to capture the party, after which no promises.</p><p>Now, I know you, as the reader, are thinking, "There's no <i>way</i> the party would be <i>stupid</i> enough to agree to that!"</p><p>And the truth is, Seliph thought about it for quite a bit, weighing the options in his mind. The man was clearly unrepentant. He would never <i>be</i> repentant. Ending him for the safety of others was certainly option. But he was also tied up and defenseless.</p><p>On the other hand, even if he went against his word, they'd already beaten him and his buddies once. Plus, from the sounds of things, something far more troublesome was in the works. If the party was unable to stop his mother from conducting the ritual, whatever Amrik did before he skipped town wouldn't mean anything anyway.</p><p>I'm really underselling it with these paragraphs, we went over this problem for quite a while.</p><p>But at the end, we concluded that though he was probably safer dead than alive, the party opted to leave him alive, honoring his word.</p><p>As the party left the Low Lantern, the cloaked woman before pulled them aside again.</p><p>"Sorry, I didn't get a chance to introduce myself earlier. My name is Reya. I was wondering if you could fill me in on that information you got in the tavern."</p><p>Seliph and Faust quickly filled Reya in, Reya listening intently until they came to the subject of Thavius Kreeg.</p><p>"Excuse me, Thavius is the one responsible for what happened in Elturel?! <i>Thavius</i>, the one in charge of protecting the city?! I'm coming with you. I am going to <i>murder</i> that little bastard!"</p><p>And while that's not how the session ended, the next two sessions really had the content of a single session for a few reasons outside of the group's control, so I'm going to go ahead and combine those two sessions into one entry.</p>Aaron Cahoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10271543349697927169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582568156284680269.post-62566910101165123362020-10-20T14:40:00.002-07:002020-11-04T09:33:10.592-08:00That Weird Hunting Village Sidequest in Yakuza 5<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh80ndEKrSEWrcVeFu1vsW8-MCYHfUtWXQORFKg3FLQn8Dmjg9HJh-HFBSZ4YjHKfKTcqejB_Pn2PrEUpkaGfprW3KhbtAhRaM7nmNc78QNLh-dMa5QSH-SCWGmD7UE9bHYr5OzPVLJm_wM/s1200/yakuza+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh80ndEKrSEWrcVeFu1vsW8-MCYHfUtWXQORFKg3FLQn8Dmjg9HJh-HFBSZ4YjHKfKTcqejB_Pn2PrEUpkaGfprW3KhbtAhRaM7nmNc78QNLh-dMa5QSH-SCWGmD7UE9bHYr5OzPVLJm_wM/w640-h360/yakuza+5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Yakuza is a weird series. I don't think that's something that can quite be overstated. It's like a Russian nesting doll of insanity that starts off seeming like GTA <i>but in JAPAN</i> to the uninitiated, while each layer deeper reveals something stranger and stranger, with each quest and each game one-upping the last. This is a series that involves themes of government corruption as well as Japan's struggles with international and domestic crime, taking those themes <i>very</i> seriously in the main plots, but then has side stories of your character entering a slot car racing championship that plays out almost beat for beat like your standard shonen anime series. What I'm saying is, this is a series whose tone is all over the place, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.<div><br /></div><div>So let's talk about the hunting village sidequest in Yakuza 5. Spoilers for the Taiga Saejima section for anyone who cares.</div><div><br /></div><div>The thing about Yakuza 5 was the fact that, along with having the most playable characters in one game up to that point in the series, each character had large substories that weren't related to the main plot. As substories, they're entirely optional, but provide more content for players to sink their teeth into while giving each character something to do as a means of breaking up the main plot (whether or not that was a good idea is still kind of up in the air with fans), so it's not like Saejima's time in the hunting village is <i>completely</i> out of nowhere, but still.</div><div><br /></div><div>After escaping from prison during an assassination attempt, Saejima finds himself at the mercy of a huge bear, which he proceeds to fight off with his bare (heh) hands (did I mention this series is nuts?). However, badly hurt and exhausted from the escape (as well as woefully unprepared to deal with North Japan's brutal winter cold), he passes out, accepting that he and the person he escaped from prison with aren't likely to survive the night.</div><div><br /></div><div>Of course, that's not what happens, as Saejima awakens in a ramshackle old shack, having been rescued by an old hunter who resides in a small village in the mountains whose main livelihood is professional hunting (which I was surprised to find is actually legal in Japan, considering how strict their firearm laws are). They largely subsist on what they're able to gather from the mountains, selling or trading surplus goods to a travelling merchant who acts as a go-between...between the village and the nearby (well, relatively speaking, considering it's a remote mountain village) city of Sapporo.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, what follows is a small chain of quests, both mandatory and optional, where Saejima returns to the mountain to save the man he escaped with from the bear he fought, now identified as the Yama-Oroshi, <a href="https://yokai.fandom.com/wiki/Yama-Oroshi">named after the creature from Japanese folklore</a>. Over the course of the storyline Saejima gains the trust of the villagers and uncovers some secrets from nine years before (as of course, no small town can exist in fiction without some sinister things hidden under the rug).</div><div><br /></div><div>And it hits a point where it stops being mandatory. Saejima and his friend Baba can just opt to head for the city once the road clears and never look back, but the game leaves quite a bit of content for any curious players to chew on, complete with new gameplay mechanics around hunting animals, using hunting firearms and traps, and exploring and rebuilding huts up the mountainside as a means of helping the village.</div><div><br /></div><div>I won't give the rest of the story away as it really did take up quite a chunk of my Yakuza 5 playthrough, but like...I've heard Yakuza be called a "Japan simulator" before, but I didn't realize the lengths the series would go to just to explore weird, obscure facts about Japan. I mean, obviously the story is a work of fiction and I'm sure some things are embellished for the sake of drama, but like...a very Japanese video game that takes place in Japan and deals with very Japanese themes and issues...also found the time to go into <i>hunting</i> in Japan, and while it didn't really seem to be making any arguments for or against it or Japan's notoriously strict gun control laws, it also didn't shy away from portraying hunting in all of its aspects, positive and negative.</div><div><br /></div><div>Like, it gets into the ethics of trophy hunting and sport hunting where people don't use the game they've killed, the complex issue of pest control (something that actually is a bit of a problem in North Japan due to fewer people getting hunting licenses, boars and bears are a real danger for people travelling that part of the country), and others. It would be <i>so</i> easy for the game to lecture you on these subjects with a narrow worldview, but it doesn't. It just shows the subjects at play and lets you make your own conclusions based on the information given.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm not really sure where I was going with this. Yakuza is a weird series, and I love it.</div>Aaron Cahoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10271543349697927169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5582568156284680269.post-70581077302154685182020-10-20T14:17:00.002-07:002020-11-04T09:32:59.985-08:00Part 6: Baldur's Gate Sucks<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj907yg5BF7SsMyOfdWhM1cP0UQyo-xYMwj1XaQoETyAD-Lz2R9VgVcMJkU4SUgjIrnKOdMTb9fvukEcB3prylEuwmy-gHfR1GB_RxUIEgC-rCF85H_hWJNehLGeR05PZTLQur5ZE3vNX03/s2048/baldurs+gate+map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1316" data-original-width="2048" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj907yg5BF7SsMyOfdWhM1cP0UQyo-xYMwj1XaQoETyAD-Lz2R9VgVcMJkU4SUgjIrnKOdMTb9fvukEcB3prylEuwmy-gHfR1GB_RxUIEgC-rCF85H_hWJNehLGeR05PZTLQur5ZE3vNX03/w640-h412/baldurs+gate+map.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />SO! Rylee left to go back to her room at a local inn. Which one? She didn't say. So...though I said "You make the call" as to what happened next, your call was probably wrong. Instead, once Rylee was out of the house and everyone situated properly, Seliph collapsed to the floor, asleep almost instantly. Sissy may have spent some time combing Kalista's hair based on a comment she made the next day, but...did it really happen? YOU MAKE THE CALL.<p></p><p>Anyway, Rylee returned to Seliph's house the next morning to formally introduce herself and check up on how the rest of the party was doing, though she was surprised to see them even conscious considering the beating they had taken the night before. Happy to see that everything was fine, she awkwardly suggested that if they ever stood in need of a healer in the future, that they could look her up at the Elfsong Tavern. Naturally...</p><p>"Umm...about that..." Seliph stammered.</p><p>Faust continued, "We were actually banned from the Elfsong Tavern a couple days ago following an...incident...with the bouncer."<br /></p><p>"I...see...wait, are you the ones who got in that fight with the pirates and bribed the bouncer to help you?" Rylee asked, putting the pieces together.</p><p>"I mean...we're not...<i>not</i>...the ones who got in a fight there," Kalista offered.</p><p>Before Rylee got much of a chance to rethink her decision to help out this ragtag bunch, Kalista continued, "Actually since you're offering, tonight we're going to be meeting with the people we saved last night, and we might need some backup."</p><p>"That...kind of puts me in an awkward position as a cleric in service to Eldath. I've sworn to never hurt another being."</p><p>"Eldath..." Seliph repeated, "That explains a lot since you didn't actually do anything to hurt the people we fought last night. That's fine, I'm not anticipating a fight, but having a cleric accompany us could help keep us out of trouble. If something happens, you don't need to fight, but if you could keep us alive, we'd be very grateful."</p><p>Naturally, Rylee wasn't sure how to process this, but considering she is a player character and the alternative means making a new character lest time that would be best spent on the main plot be wasted, along with us she came.</p><p>On the way to the Low Lantern, the party (well, mainly Sissy) noticed two members of the Fist hassling a cloaked woman in the street. Being the only one who even noticed it happening (because the rest of us rolled <i>really</i> badly on the perception check), she asked us to stop and maybe go see what was wrong. Naturally, Seliph wasted no time pushing his way to the Fist members, demanding to know what was going on.</p><p>"This woman's one o' those Hellriders! Y'know, the ones that made Elturel into a crater!" the guard explained.</p><p>In the midst of the struggle, the woman's cloak was torn back, revealing armor with an insignia that the the party didn't recognize.</p><p>"I just told you that wasn't us!" the woman exclaimed in return.</p><p>Seliph looked from the woman to the guardsman, and then said, "Okay, you say they're responsible, she says they're not. Do we even really know what happened to Elturel?"</p><p>"Are you stupid or something? The city is in a bloody crater. As in, it's gone. Sure, we don't know what in particular did it, but considerin' the Hellriders were supposed to be <i>protectin'</i> the city, seems suspicious, don't it? Until we know for sure we're roundin' up all the Hellriders and putting 'em in jail where they can't do any more harm." the guard spat back.</p><p>"Holding them indefinitely without a proper trial? That's madness!" Rylee shouted, having followed Seliph to the argument at some point.</p><p>"What do <i>you</i> people know about madness? Elturel is a crater and I'll be <i>damned</i> straight to Hell itself before I let it happen to Baldur's Gate!" the more senior guard shouted, losing patience with this argument. "Stop bothering us before I take you lot in as well!"</p><p>"I have information about what happened to the city! Please, just let me meet with whoever is in charge here!" the woman begged.</p><p>"Shut <i>up!"</i> the second guard shouted, slapping her across the face.</p><p>At this point, something...awoke in Seliph. That something being the Fallen Aasimar level 3 ability Necrotic Shroud. His eyes turned into dark pools, a sickly white light began to radiate out from him, his voice got really distorted, and two skeletal wings sprouted from his back (if this sounds like something that belongs on a metal album, I agree, it does).</p><p>The less senior guard, seeing <i>this</i> fresh Hell, collapsed backwards in fear as the beratement began.</p><p><span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;">"<i>SIR! The woman has stated that she didn't do anything, and that she had information. That was NOT a capital offense, and you WILL apologize!"</i></span></p><p>The senior guard...well...someone needs to give that guy a raise because he's got ba-<i>spine-</i> of cold, hard steel, as he drew his previously stowed sword, stepped forward, and said, "All right, I don't know what in the nine hells is going on but you're coming with me!"</p><p>After some spells cast in preparation for a brawl, as well as a brief staredown, the senior guard looked at his junior, then back at Seliph, and said, "Okay, I know when I can and can't win, so..." he pushed back and started shouting for backup.</p><p>Seliph, not wanting to make a bigger scene than had already happened, cast the Sleep spell on the two guards in the hopes that <strike>their HP was low enough</strike> they were rattled enough that they'd fall unconscious without any further resistance, and uncharacteristically for this campaign it succeeded. The party quickly moved them out of the main thoroughfare, just in time to noticed the eyes of several passersby on them.</p><p>Seliph, quickly realizing that some of those eyes were on him, looked at himself, seeing the sickly glow, saying, <span style="font-family: Shadows Into Light;">"<i>Oh gods, what happened to me? How do I make it stop?</i>""</span> After a few seconds of panic, he somehow found the Off Switch in his mind, and he was able to return to his more human form.</p><p>Faust, thinking quickly, pulled out his coin purse and scattered some money throughout the street, shouting, "OH DEAR, IT' IS CERTAINLY TOO BAD NOBODY SAW WHAT HAPPENED HERE!"</p><p>The rest of the party quickly ducked into an alleyway to talk with the woman they just rescued. Basically, she said she had more information for the party once they finished up what they were doing and would be trying to hide. As the party was heading into the Low Lantern, the woman stopped Rylee and mentioned that she'd seen what Seliph had just done somewhere before. Namely, her master in the Hellriders could do it as well. Considering Rylee was one of the only ones in the party who actually knew what Seliph did, this probably raised some concerns, but we'll come back to it later, since there's no way it would be set up here and just forgotten about, right?</p><p>Proceeding into the Low Lantern, an old ship converted into a ratty old tavern, the party found Mortlock and Vendetta seated at a table, waiting for the party. Rising to talk with the party, he said that he would show them where his brother Amrik was, give them an opportunity to talk, "say his piece" and then he and Vendetta were skipping town.</p><p>If it seems like I'm rushing, I am. There was a lot of talking in this session, and I'm already a week late in posting this.</p><p>So the party was directed to a doorway that led to a stairway into a basement area. Faust and Seliph decided to go first and try to talk to Amrik, with Sissy and Kalista following behind at a distance in case something went wrong. Rylee, hoping to stay out of any fighting, stayed at the top of the stairs with Mortlock and Vendetta.</p><p>Faust reached out with the Detect Thoughts spell as a means of detecting people's surface level thoughts, first learning that Rylee...didn't like Faust much in particular for some reason. Shrugging that off, he and Seliph descended into the chamber, where Faust was greeted with a peculiar response.</p><p>"Oh, Faust, no need to be shy. Come on down. It's time we were formally introduced."</p><p>Faust managed to hide his shock as the two of them proceeded into the chamber, where a man sat with a <a href="https://5e.tools/bestiary/spined-devil-mm.html#:~:text=The%20devil%20makes%20two%20attacks,5%20(2d4)%20slashing%20damage.&text=Fork.-,Melee%20Weapon%20Attack%3A%20%2B2%20to%20hit%2C%20reach,5%20ft.%2C%20one%20target.">Spined Devil</a> lying across the back of the couch he was seated at. I'm going to be paraphrasing this a bit since I don't remember the exact way the conversation went (so much talking...), but here we go.</p><p>"Faustie, Faustie, welcome to you and your friends! Allow me to introduce myself! My name is Amrik Vanthampur," the man announced. "You don't know me yet, but I am the one who contracted you to acquire the book, so we were bound to meet eventually. I suppose you're here to discuss that?"</p><p>Faust, confronted with this development, stammered a bit. "Yes, about that. Things kind of went awry."</p><p>"Clearly. You missed the drop, and now you're palling around with some paladin. Care to explain yourself?"</p><p>Seliph responded, "That has nothing to do with why we're here. We have some questions for you."</p><p>"Yes," Faust continued, "We had some questions regarding certain people pining after their lost gods."</p><p>Amrik furrowed his brow. "I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about."</p><p>"Interesting," Seliph said, "Because they seemed pretty certain that your family was financing them."</p><p>This touched a nerve, as he hadn't expected them to be so loose-lipped about the whole operation. "I see...well, it must have something to do with my mother. She's the one who is into all of that. I'm just a simple money lender."</p><p>"Your name came up specifically."</p><p>Amrik, looking more frustrated than before, replied, "Okay, I'll play along. Where are you going with this?"</p><p>Seliph and Faust looked at each other, surprised they made it <i>this</i> far without him siccing the Spined Devil on them. May as well fully commit to this course of action, as they were likely to have to fight their way out anyway.</p><p>"I just want to know why. Why throw in with people who worship literal gods of murder, people who clearly do not want what's best for this city or its people?"</p><p>By this point Amrik was most likely trying to make Seliph and Faust burst into flames with his mind, before he smiled quite smugly. "Get out. I'm not doing this. You have no evidence on me or my family, and the Fist won't do anything because my family is more powerful than you realize, and the Fist don't care about justice, only money. I'm giving you the chance to leave. Say nothing to the Fist and leave town, and I might not send people after you."</p><p>"You won't get away with this," Seliph muttered, before Faust put a hand on his shoulders, gesturing to stand up.</p><p>As the two of them made their way to the staircase, Faust looked up, saw Mortlock, smiled, and turned back.</p><p>"By the way, we weren't completely honest about how we got our information on you. Your brother sends his loving regards."</p><p>With that, Mortlock came barreling down the stairs, and that's where we called the session. Hopefully I don't take a week and a half to write up the next one.</p>Aaron Cahoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10271543349697927169noreply@blogger.com0