Session 143
General Summary
- Traveling back along the road again, Dwardazik started having a bad allergic reaction to something in his environment, and a steady stream of official-looking carts were seen heading towards The Alizarin Woods.
- When they reached an oasis — a popular area along the road to rest and refuel — they saw that the lake was completely dry.
- Some local officials here were investigating. They mentioned that there's been a barricade set up to keep people out of the Alizarin Woods while all this Turmoil stuff is going on. Dazki suggested that they move the barricade up because of their encounter in Heartworm Hills. They agreed.
- The officials claimed that the lake never dries up, even in the driest of seasons. On investigation, Dazki believes this is caused by Turmoil as well.
- The party probed the empty lake bed for a while, throwing some things in and experimenting with a rope, but ultimately moved on.
- When looking for somewhere to camp — getting closer to the aforementioned barricade — the party encountered some gold dwarves with ties to BFI.
- They mostly avoided the dwarves (...mostly...) and set up camp nearer to the road.
- Overnight, Theran spotted the dwarves doing something shady in a nearby farmhouse. Kesmet went to investigate, invisible.
- The dwarves were being shaken down by some tieflings from the House of Cards, demanding more money to get them past the barricade.
- Suddenly, an unnatural rain started to come down from a weird cloud, followed by some fish, and then a gigantic crocodile carcass cratered into the ground.
Full Recap
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Day 1
The party gets back on the road again, and Theran resumes reading The Book of the Mirage during the downtime. "Barf" is with them in the cart, and he doesn't like Theran all that much for some reason. Theran asks Dwardazik to help him negotiate better deals on goods the next time they get to a town ("what about my upbringing makes you think I have any idea how much anything actually costs?"). When discussing what resources Theran had on him, he brought up the "WINNER" diamond that the party had gotten earlier. He Checkity-Checks it for magic, and it doesn't ping back as anything magical. Nothing interesting happens during the first day of travel, and they make camp for the night.Night 1
Official-looking government carts are regularly seen traveling along the road throughout the night. Dwardazik starts feeling extra itchy, as he takes first watch alongside Dazki. The two have a heart-to-heart conversation about their relationship. Dazki also probes for more information about what Gemineye can / can't do, since he doesn't want to be caught off-guard again.Dwardazik: Gemineye is like an emotional extension of myself. I don't really understand the difference between what we learned to be the "manufactured" Turmoil, versus the "natural" Turmoil in The Phantasmagoria. But I can tell you this: Gemineye is not like the creatures and the horrible things we've been encountering. Those are corruptions of the natural order, whereas Gemineye is merely... Dwardazik (cont'd): Consider it an animal. A being. You asked specifically about those actions that happened when you had to stab me? I understand. Gemineye has weird requirements. Whereas a lot of times, you or I would have to eat food or drink in order to gain sustenance, it seems to me that Gemineye feeds upon something... different. Something more natural and chaotic. Like... you ever play a game of poker, or cards, or the dice, and there's a chance that something happens? It's that chance, the potential, the randomness that occurs. Almost like it's destiny. That's what Gemineye feeds on. And I get an inkling of what they want... and if I can't satisfy them in that way, they feel desperate. They have to feed, and they'll feel desperate. As if I couldn't provide. Dwardazik (cont'd): And they might take over my body, but it's never for a reason that's malicious! It's for — I guess, in their mind — survival. It's strange. It used to be every single day I had this feeling... but it's been taking longer and longer for this to appear, like they were hungry. So I like to think that, while I don't have a perfect one-on-one conversation with Gemineye now that we're out of the Phantasmagoria, they have been only interested in preserving themselves in the kindest way. You wouldn't hurt a cat for trying to eat something if it's starving. Dazki: I get it, I really do. I just don't have that direct connection. So, because I don't, it has me a little bit on-edge because I don't know what it is capable of. Dwardazik: Yeah, I hate this, because that's exactly the point! The point is, I had a feeling... if I had taken a stab wound, or a slash, something that would have caused that event to occur, then Gemineye would have been satisfied. And I have a feeling it wouldn't even have hurt me that much! And yet, if I had gone out of my way and willingly said, "Dazki, cut my arm", then it wouldn't have worked! I can't force it. By looking on destiny, you cause it to change. So frustrating, because I just get these feelings that something must happen. I know Gemineye isn't evil, it's just part of what I am. And that's why I need you to help me, because the last thing I want to do is make Gemineye become a raging berserker of anger and hate that this whole world has forced me to become. Dazki: You haven't become that, Dwardazik, you're better than that. And I never thought that that's who you were. I've always believe that you're better than that. Dwardazik: But you know what's bad? I haven't always felt that way. Dazki: Yeah, well, you saw how I acted with my dad around, right? We can all have some pretty deep-seated issues. Dwardazik: I don't want to drop the issue... I don't know how to describe to you what Gemineye might need, without it becoming no longer what it needs. Dazki: It's OK, I trust you. Dwardazik: But the thing is, if it can't get what it needs, it will reach out and try to do that, even though I know I can provide for it. It should know by now. I am trying. And I still wonder if I am doing something right or something wrong, ever since we left the Phantasmagoria. ...I've never done this before, I don't know what to say. Dazki: It's OK! It's OK. I was worried that there might be more that I didn't know, and that I wouldn't be able to help you if I didn't have the information. That's all. Dwardazik: But that's the thing! You won't have the information. I'll try my best. And if, for some reason, I feel like what it wants is too disastrous, too endangering for our lives, I will make sure that it understands that that's not allowed.
On Kesmet's and Theran's watch, Kesmet seems antsy. He casts Fire Bolt on a nearby tuft of tall grass. Theran asks what's wrong, and he explains that he hasn't been feeling all right ever since Grogery died.
Kesmet: And then this whole damn demon business show up, and that it was a MAJOR inconvenience! Also, a lot of people died! It was kind-of shit that that happened! And if my psyche was a bit more fragile, I'd probably blame ourselves. Because, like, "oh man, if we hadn't walked through the town, then that demon would still be in there, and probably no one would have died, and they would have kept on believing that the demon wasn't in the thing, and then things would have been kinda fine!". Nope. We walked through, and people died. But that's OK, because they might have died anyway at some later point, and the demon might've escaped if whoever else got caught up in the thing didn't stop 'im. Theran: What do you think you need in order to be OK? Kesmet: You know, I haven't had any good food in a while. Theran: We had good food back at the house...? Kesmet: No, I mean, like, fancy food! Theran: We did have fancy food back at the house. Kesmet: I want, specifically, a strawberry cheesecake. That would be fantastic. Real strawberries. And, like, a very fluffy croissant drizzled with chocolate. That would be fantastic. Theran: You were once a baker, right? Do you know how to make those things? Kesmet: That was a long time ago. And I haven't made the cheesecake. The croissant, though. Theran: Look, I know how upsetting it was to hear that my brother died. I can't imagine what it must have been like for you to hear that your family died. I don't have all the details, but it sounds like someone named Dennis killed your entire family, and then you spent years in revenge against him? Kesmet: More-or-less. Tried to get revenge, but I was too weak, and then spent a lot of time hiding and running from his organization..., then we eventually caught up to him in the Phantasmagoria where you found us, and we took him out. But, in the process, some stuff happened. And then Grogery, you know... Theran: It's OK if you're still not OK... Kesmet: Yeah, I'm still not OK. Theran: If you want, I can try to help you be more OK? Kesmet: Do you... have a... cheesecake? Theran: No, but it's becoming more and more apparent to me that Grogery did more to you guys than just heal your physical ails. I mean, did you see how quickly Dwardazik and Dazki went at each other's throats over all of the fallout from what happened? I have a feeling that he was doing his best to mediate between those two. Kesmet: Probably. Theran: And probably similar things with you and going after Dennis. And probably something with Marvin too, I don't know. Kesmet: Just his mere presence was kind-of enough. He was the one person from us who was actually good. The rest of us are kinda shit, if you haven't noticed. Theran: Well, I mean, I want to help fill the shoes he left, so, if there's anything you need from me, let me know. Kesmet: I wonder if those goodberries would be good in a cheesecake, instead of the strawberries... Theran: Well, they only last a day, so cooking with them is hard, I think? But let's find a place to make cheesecake, wherever we're going! Kesmet: Aw, man, I haven't actually baked anything in quite a long time. Theran: Do you know the recipe for cheesecake? Kesmet: Of course I know it! I know the recipe for many things. Theran: Then I will be your sous-chef! Kesmet: ...you do realize, I'm just using this to sort-of cope with the massive amounts of trauma and shit that we've gone through, right? Theran: I know, but everybody needs to cope in different ways. And sometimes, people need time to heal. Kesmet: Like, I was mostly fine for many — well, I wasn't fine-fine, but I was, like, together — for many years while I was chasing Dennis to try to get my revenge. The last couple of weeks have really been fucking with me, because there's no longer that whole, like, "revenge!", and, y'know, that straightforward singular focus that will get me through whatever nonsense is usually thrown at us. But, honestly, before the last two weeks, a LOT more nonsense happened. Like, a LOT. But I've always been focusing down, keep walking towards my goal of Dennis. But, now he's dead, so... that focus is gone. Theran: So, it's an allegory that came up in some religious scriptures that my parents kept making me read but didn't make a lot of sense until I had personal experience: imagine that you're a tree. And you just grow throughout your life. Every time you make a connection with somebody, it's like a tree growing additional branches to help it spread out and get more light and support and love and what not. When somebody dies, it's like someone took a hacksaw to one of those branches. It's going to leave a scar, and the tree is impacted for having had that branch, and now the branch is absent, and it's going to grow differently from now on. But that doesn't mean that it won't continue to grow and branch out and grow more additional branches. Kesmet: ...k...? Theran: Does that make sense? Kesmet: ...so, do we then chop the tree down for firewood? Theran: No!, it's like... you had your family, and they got chopped off. Kesmet: whoa. Theran: And perhaps you thought, "I'll focus on trying to make right what once went wrong", but along the way, you got more branches. You got Dazki, you got Dwardazik, you got Grogery. And Grogery was really good at providing that love and support you needed. And then he got chopped off, and now you don't really know what to do. Kesmet: Wow, now I feel even worse about losing him! Theran: But that doesn't mean that you can't keep growing. He was there, and he helped you, and you're a better tree for it. But that doesn't mean it's the end. There's always more branches. Kesmet: I wish we could get 'im back. Theran: And I'm going to be fighting as hard as I can to get him back. Kesmet: Or at least save his soul from whatever weird demon-thing has him. Theran: But, I mean, you need light too. So, if the light you need to keep going is cheesecake, then I'm going to get some cream cheese at the next town we're at! Kesmet: Well, it's not specifically the cheesecake. It's making goofy remarks on situations that are inappropriate, in order to ignore my dark feelings about the actual subject matter. Such as talking about getting cheesecake in the middle of buttfuck-nowhere, where there's no way we can get it to here. Instead of, y'know, confronting the issue of, y'know, "I'm emotionally damaged because of losing my friend". Theran: I mean, like, I think adults are trying to be serious too much of the time. There's a place for goofing off. There's a reason why kids do it before being told it's something they're not supposed to do. I don't see any problem with it. ...except... you should probably stop calling me "not-the-Grogery"... because that hurts my feelings. Kesmet: To be very honest, I haven't even noticed that I was doing that. But I will try. Theran: At the same time, I like that you remind me about him every once in a while, because I don't want there to be a day that goes by when I don't think about him. Kesmet: It's mostly because your name was hard to remember. And then I looked at you, and I'm like... "Grogery, but not... OK, I'm too emotionally drained right now to worry if I'm hurting someone else's feelings, so, 'Not-the-Grogery'", and that's how it worked. Theran: OK. Well, my name is Theran. In case you needed a reminder. Kesmet: No, I've got that now, we've been traveling together a while. But it was kind-of hard to remember at first. Because, again, you know, lots of emotions muted, can't really think straight. But getting possessed by that demon was kind-of like a snort of cocaine to refocus things. I hope I didn't use up all the cocaine blowing up the demon. Theran: So, if absolute despair is like a "10", and feeling like a regular normal person is a "1", ... where are you feeling right now? Kesmet: I dunno, I'm bad with scales! Higher number bad? Theran: Higher number is worse. Kesmet: I dunno. Right now, I'm feeling kinda sleepy. Theran: All right, just, let me know if you're feeling more than about a "6" and I will try to cheer you up. Kesmet: You know... I was talking about the cheesecake, and now I actually want some food or something.Theran makes some goodberries and hands him one. Kesmet thinks he sees something moving in another tuft of grass, and he throws another Fire Bolt at it. At the end of Kesmet's watch, he wakes Marvin, who awakes to notice that "Barf" had curled up next to him overnight.
During Marvin's watch, Theran and Marvin discuss a little about where they're going, but Theran can't help but ignore that "Barf" just really doesn't like him. He tries to lean on what he knows about dogs, having grown up with one in the family himself, but (Animal Handling 23) no matter what he does, the most he can get from "Barf" is to get him to stop being outwardly aggressive... the dog still clearly distrusts him. Theran tries to engage again, but the dog melts into a puddle of goo. Theran probes Marvin for what it might mean that the dog was being used to "smuggle in" Turmoil — since Turmoil is traditionally known as a force of nature rather than something that can manifest itself as a physical thing — but Marvin is just as confused as he is. Theran leaves a goodberry next to the puddle of dog; a black spider leg comes out of the goo and impales the goodberry, dragging it into the pile of goo.
Day 2
Dwardazik is still very itchy. (Medicine 19) Checking on his skin, he seems to be breaking out into hives. Theran looks at it: (Medicine 28) it's some kind of ongoing allergic reaction to something in his environment, and it's getting worse. An "Ultimate Sneeze-Stopper" spell makes the hives and itching away, though it comes back not too long after. He decides to power through it — as long as it doesn't get completely unmanageable — and hope it goes away. They travel forth, stopping at what should have been a popular resting area, an oasis with a lake... but where the lake would be, there is actually just a large pit in the sand. Some armored individuals are staring into it. According to the officers, this lake "never empties, even during the driest of seasons", and there "certainly wasn't a big hole at the bottom of it". The party decide to go down closer towards the pit to investigate. On their way down, Dwardazik cautions that the others that they have seen so far had tried to be secretive and fly under the radar, so it's disturbing that these Turmoil incidents are so public, out in the open. Despite the water having disappeared, the sand is completely dry. (Turmoil Knowledge 22) And despite being completely dry, there aren't any marks to indicate that the water has evaporated. Instead, it seems to have drained into the center... which is also dry. And it's drained in an odd, fractalesque pattern; water wouldn't flow in that pattern if it were just draining downward. With permission, Dazki takes a stick of dynamite from Kesmet, lights it, and throws it down the hole. It sinks, disappearing from view below the quicksand. No explosion. Dwardazik:
Night 2
The area where the party stops to camp is full of quaint-looking farmhouses. It's not quite a town, as the houses are very far apart from one another. Most of them have already been very heavily harvested. (Survival 15) There's an area off to the side of the road where a few very large caravan carts have stopped; nobody seems to be home there, but a trail leads off past a hill, where they head. There are a few small farm buildings on the other side, though it doesn't look like this farm has been actively worked. While discussing what might be the best option for setting up camp, Dazki suggests that the rest of the party should start doing the same meditation routine that they had in the Phantasmagoria, since there's Turmoil in the area; he says that he has been doing this for a little while as well. There are a few large carts in this area, mostly without too many people by them, though not completely abandoned. There's a big ogre in a yellow vest, a pack of goblinoid figures arguing over a barrel of dried fruit, and a couple of gold dwarves. Dazki approaches them and asks if it's safe to camp around there for the night; they're not very keen on the idea of camping near strangers and rudely make their position on that clear. Kesmet doesn't much appreciate the rudeness, and he uses a (permanent-level) Major Image spell to put a large sign in the sky above the dwarves' campsite, calling attention to it, saying "Free Campsite / Shady Dwarf Merchants / (arrow pointing down)". The dwarves protest, but the party scurries away, even as the dwarves have started barking orders at their workers to pack up their camp to move. They revisit a nearby abandoned farmhouse: while it seems abandoned, it's not particularly poorly well-kept. Dazki also recognizes some markings around it as Thieves' Cant: this is a safehouse masquerading as a farm. They take up camp closer to the road; Kesmet moves his sign to the dwarves' new location, but he changes it a little.During Dwardazik's and Dazki's watch, Dwardazik accidentally discovers that his allergic reaction goes away when he walks away from camp to fetch a bucket of water. It comes back as soon as he returns to camp, though. On a hunch, Dazki tries walking away from Dwardazik, which does clear it up (only for it to return when he comes back). Dwardazik finds Kesmet and dumps the bucket of water onto him, waking him up and earning him a Fire Bolt to the chest. Dwardazik runs away, and Dazki explains to Kesmet that this might have been Gemineye's doing. Kesmet rolls a Flaming Sphere around the edges of his tent to dry it off and goes back to sleep. Dwardazik gets to sleep as Dazki keeps watch across the camp from him. Dazki wakes Kesmet and Theran up for their watch, explaining what he believes Gemineye made Dwardazik do, and starts his own rest.
During Theran's and Kesmet's watch, Theran announces to Kesmet that he sees a shady deal going on at the farmhouse. That the two dwarves are speaking with taller, shadier folks. Kesmet offers to sneak over there while invisible, leaving Theran behind to keep watch over the rest of the party. (Stealth 23) He spots the two gold dwarves and their ogre, meeting up with a blue-skinned tiefling alongside a second fully armored tiefling — "the only thing giving away that this is a tiefling as well is a pair of horns sticking out of the helmet". It sounds like the dwarves had paid off this group to help get around the barricade, but the tieflings want more. The unarmored one refers to the armored one as "Seven", who fires a warning shot with their crossbow right between the two dwarves, pinning a locust against the trunk of a tree behind them. This is enough to rattle the dwarves, one of whom leaves to pick up the extra funds from their camp. As they wait, the area becomes humid, and it begins to rain (during the dry season). Theran notices the rain starting over there, which he finds odd, as it's not raining where he is. (Nature 27) These are definitely not the right clouds for rain... in fact, it seems to be coming from one very small cloud. A fish falls from the sky, landing next to Kesmet. Another fish, landing on the roof and then tumbling. Then — Theran spots it first — a large object falling from the sky like a meteor. The object slams into the field and slides through the farm. It's a very large crocodile carcass. Kesmet speedwalks away back towards the now-woken party.
