The Adventures of the Big HELP, Session 24

General Summary

• Note: Missed covering this in Session 23. Hest received a Sending spell message from Oten. He was concerned about her arriving at Cathedra given her Wild Magic. Hest steamed at him, saying that they didn't come here of their own volition. He offered to quell the storm inside her and hold off any of her Wild Magic Surges.

• The session resumed with the semifinals of the Church of Gorthag's Champions' Tournament. Bigwig fought Zorvin. Bigwig had brought Zorvin so close to defeat, he flew into a rage and knocked her out before she could land a final blow on him. He rellished in his victory and showboated the audience before coming to his senses and healing Bigwig.
• Archbishop Darvus called Bigwig to him and rewarded her strength. An orange crystal erupted from the ground, generated by Darvus's magic. Bigwig smashed it and the shards took the form of a Nightcrystal Rapier for her.
• Zorvin and Punch fought in the Championship finals. Punch would get in one big blow with her axe while Zorvin responded with a couple quicker blows. Punch broke through Zorvin's Earthen Grasp spell before he could grab her. Zorvin looked like he had Punch on the ropes until she raged, picked up one of the massive stone pillars, and slammed it down on him. Pinned, Zorvin was forced to use his Earth Eruption to free himself and knock Punch out. He thought she was down, but Punch managed to get up and land one final hit, knocking him out and claiming the champion's title.
• Following the tourney, The Big HELP had their Earth Faithful proving battle. The HELP fought Dust Devils and Dust Mephits in the arena. Bigwig speared a mephit, but got caught and blinded in its death throws. She spent most of the battle slashing blindly and managed to kill all the mephits that way. Larka and Hest were swarmed by the Dust Devils. Still, the HELP managed to complete their trial without much effort. Bigwig, Petrichor, and Larka were awarded the Boon of the Earth God for their display in the tourney. Zorvin went off to sulk.
• After the battles, the HELP went to celebrate Punch's victory. She was already quaffing drinks and told the HELP drinks were on her (after the barkeeper already said she drinks for free). Larka ordered a simple drink and sat in the corner. Hest and Bigwig went to drink with Punch. She offered Hest a funnel to drink as much as possible, but Hest declined. Bigwig was interested, though. Punch realized she didn't actually have a funnel so broke off a chair leg and made a small funnel out of that. She and Bigwig chugged as much ale as they could while Hest sipped on a couple of drinks, despite Hest being magically sober for the next 16 days.
• While Larka was alone, Zinnia approached her in disguise. Zinnia, trusting in King Hespiro's estimation of Larka, revealed that his army would attack Cathedra just before dawn. She asked Larka and the HELP to disable some security wards while she eliminated the night's watch. Larka started vomiting and ran into the bathroom. She had not been ready to make this decision.
• Hest saw Larka and followed her into the bathroom. Larka, vomiting, explained Zinnia's request. Hest thought Larka was just drunk until she saw how serious she was. Hest went to grab Bigwig and bring her into the bathroom despite growing concern about what rumors might come from them all hiding in the bathroom. Punch winked and asked that they stop by her room later that night to continue celebrating. Bigwig and Hest thought she was suggesting an orgy, but she really just meant any one of them.
• In the bathroom, the HELP debated whether to help Zinnia let in Hespiro's army or whether to alert the Church to Zinnia's presence. Larka wasn't ready to align with Hespiro, but did want to meet him to understand his goal. Bigwig wasn't ready to betray the church, having been swayed by the Earth God's boon and Punch's thighs. Larka suggested that Bigwig could try to keep Punch out of the battle and that she didn't exactly come across as loyal to Gorthag. She couldn't help but point out Bigwig also had Helena to think about, but Bigwig claimed they hadn't decided to be exclusive yet since they'd basically only known each other a week.
• The HELP returned to Zinnia and agreed to help her if she gave them more information. Zinnia explained that Hespiro would teach Larka everything she needed to know about herself if they met. To help disarm the wards, she provided the HELP with a device to dispel magic. Before leaving, Zinnia impressed upon Larka the importance of Hespiro's mission, that together they would save the world from something cataclysmic.
• Larka decided to meditate before going to bed. Like she had so many times in her youth, she reached out to her ancestors for advice. With her psionic powers developing, Larka genuinely felt she was able to tap into their knowledge and experience. Her vision quest soon guided her beyond her ancestors to the experiences of all those who had lived before. Within this mass of memories, she was shown an image of her and Hespiro fighting back against a universal force of darkness controlled by a malevolent entity. Larka had never encountered a consciousness so evil, warped by hatred in a desire for destruction and freedom. The shock snapped her out of her vision and she began to realize why Hespiro felt the need to speak with her.
• Bigwig decided to meet up with Punch in her dorm. Punch greeted her by the door attempting to act suave, but fell over in a mix of awkwardness and intoxication. Before they initiated romance, Bigwig tried to convince Punch to leave Cathedra for some time. Bigwig made up a story about her god warning her about bad omens. She looked away from Punch for a moment and saw an apparition of Arazid, the figure in her dreams, appear and grin a wicked grin. He was slowly becoming stronger and suggested to Bigwig that she could channel some of his power to lull her to sleep later. Punch would sleep away the battle and be safe, assuming Hespiro's army really did want to spare the innocent. Bigwig agreed. Scales began to form on Bigwig's arms. Punch noticed this and said it was kind of hot.
• Hest went to bed in the barracks and found a Cape of the Mountebank sitting on her bed, a note in flowery handwriting pinned to it. The writer of the note seemed to indicate they thought Hest deserved a reward for her skills in battle despite what the Archbishop said. Hest asked some other people in the barracks if they saw who dropped it off, but the cape was already lying on her bed when the others got here. She went to ask Punch if it was from her, interrupting her and Bigwig in the throes of passion.
• Punch looked at the note and embarrasedly admitted she could not write or read. Hest went to leave when she realized the gift couldn't have from her when Punch asked what it said. Hest read the note aloud and Punch proudly told her she agreed. Hest is strong and deserves praise.

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Report Date

28 Jul 2024