Session 14: Eclipses and Revelations

General Summary

Our heroes crept closer to the wyverns, crouching through the tall grass until they reached a small ridge. Peeking over top, they watched as the wyverns tore at the gnoll corpses and devoured them greedily. In an attempt to close distance Faelyn crawled forward to the cover of some bushes but a loose rock underfoot and an ill-timed whinny of one of their horses alerted the wyverns. Spying Faelyn laying low in the tall grass, one of the hungry beasts began to stalk towards him and the battle was on.   The beasts attacked ferociously, snapping at them with powerful jaws and a wickedly barbed tail. After being knocked to the earth Faelyn was nearly impaled twice but managed to roll from one side to the next, avoiding its teeth and envenomed stinger. Laying underneath the beast he raised both middle fingers high before letting loose a blast of lightning from his mouth that felled the creature. Not far away, Keokan found himself in the toothy grasp of the wyvern’s maw but called on the strength of his people, shrugging the beast aside and eviscerating it with two clean swipes of his tabaxi blade.   In the battle’s aftermath, the heroes noticed something strange near the gnolls’ ravaged corpses. The ground beneath them was tilled up as if something large had burrowed underneath to assail them. Nearby they also found a large, four-toed, elephantine footprint and (broken off in one of the corpses) a large serrated tooth that did not belong to any wyvern. The wyverns had acted as scavengers… whatever had killed the gnolls was some other beast altogether.   As the others were inspecting the carnage, Aaura examined the dead wyverns. Remembering a lecture during her time with the Circle of Aquorra, she attempted the dangerous business of extracting a venom sample from the wyvern’s stinger. With a little trial and error, she was able to fill one vial with wyvern poison, a dangerous and valuable commodity.   Heeding Keokan’s suggestion not to camp near the strange marks in the ground the group once again trekked west. While they were setting up camp the next day, they witnessed a rare phenomenon in the sky. The red moon Piigon was making one of its two yearly transits across the sun. As the small moon moved towards eclipse Aatavi spoke up.   “Ah. The eye of Kullletto looks away. With Mysati people this is the time to unburden yourself. If we have wronged each other or if secrets weigh us down, it is on these days when we speak of things, while Kullletto’s gaze is elsewhere.”   Aatavi’s words hung in the air for a short while before Omori spoke up. “I still feel guilty. It was my mistake that brought you here. I caused the sacred flame to be extinguished. Now we all journey west to restore it and I’ve put all of you in danger. I’m very sorry. I’m glad that you are my friends, but it weighs on me still.”   Shadow patted him on the head to reassure him, telling him that he had nothing to worry about, that his actions since then had shown his desire to put things right again. The others soon joined in to assuage his guilt, and Shadow revealed a bit more about the night that had set everything into motion. She told the group how a malevolent spirit that her people called an “Oni" had taken over Omori’s mind, forcing him to quench the flame and allowing her homeland to become overrun with undead.   Whether it was coincidence or dark forces at work, that would not be the only time that evening the Oni’s shadow was felt.   In her dreams, Shadow of Fire was tormented by the Oni. It played tricks on her mind and blurred the lines between waking and sleeping. She saw its three baleful eyes reflecting in the blackness of the Blightstone Orb. She recoiled in horror as its spirit infected Omori. Shadow struggled to wake from the nightmare, eventually clawing her way consciousness and finding herself asleep on her feet, yowling into the darkness.   When her companions gathered around her in the light of the campfire, Shadow opened up even more. Visibly shaken she recalled how the Oni had caused Omori to extinguish the flame and also how the monster had drained the soul of her mentor Petal of the Breeze. Now she worried that the Oni was somehow tracking her across the continent, that it was using her connection to her mentor, that it was putting everyone in greater danger.   Again the Shore’s Light closed ranks, lending their strength and support to their shaken companion. As Shadow’s hairs relaxed and her breath deepened another silence settled over the group.   Standing near their campfire in the middle of the night, Aatavi motioned to the red moon overhead, now bathed in the darkness of the night. “Kullletto’s eye is still shut. Others have unburdened. If anyone else is to speak, now is good time.”   The quiet of night lengthened for a few moments before an unfamiliar voice broke the silence. “I have something to say.”   The party looked at Faelyn who continued, “I have been hiding something from you.”   As Faelyn spoke he did so with a strange accent that the heroes had never heard before. “I do this not burden you with dangerous knowledge, but to pledge myself again to The Shore’s Light, and to my friends. There has been much talk of the Ymmari lately, of their foul misdeeds, and destructive magics. You should all know that I am their descendant. I am of their blood. It flows in my veins and is the source of my power.”   As Faelyn spoke he pulled off his green gauntlets to reveal arms covered in glassy emerald dragon scales. “I feel no pull towards the misdeeds of my kin, yet still I am hunted. I have been hiding this secret because I did not know how you would take it. I certainly don’t want to anger or endanger you. These past months have been incredible. I think of you not only as my friends, but as my new family.”   He waited in silence as the news washed over his companions. Shadow was soon to speak up.   “We can’t choose where we come from… but we can choose what we become.”   As the other companions came closer and voiced their support Aatavi stood alone. Of all of his friends, Faelyn was most worried about Aatavi’s reaction. In the flickering firelight he could see the raw emotion on Aatavi’s brow, an internal thunderstorm playing within.   Finally, the barbarian spoke up. “I will watch what I say from now on. You are my companion. I know you. I trust you. I do not know the Ymmari. But I know you.” With a somewhat exasperated sigh he added, “I did not know Kullletto had a sense of humor.”   Overjoyed at this response, Faelyn leapt over the campfire and grabbed the hulking barbarian in an embrace. The half elf breathed deeply. It had felt good to finally reveal himself to his friends. To unburden himself to his new family.   With the difficult conversations over the heroes settled down once more, attempting to steal a last hour of sleep while the waxing crescent of the red moon slowly heralded a new morning.