Session 3

Burning the Heretics

Date: Friday, 6th of December, 2019
Attending Players: Ashara, Embra, I'shmael, Victalyasa
Time 4 Hours (Total: 11 Hours)

Game Time 1st of Sowmeadow, ~2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Game Locations: Enderfaso - The Shatters and Main Roads

"You see? All is Ash. All is Dead"
"Great! All that meat down there. We can feast!" "Yes, but first we should make sure. They killed Sizasikasu and Oufrisio, even with their great warrior."
"It smolders. The heat is dying. If they were still here, they have been waiting a long time for us." "Hmmm..."
"Besides. Do you not smell the vermin? They are already braving the heat. We should collect now." "You are right I believe."
"Wait wait! Look there!" "What is it?"
"Look there! It is one of those crazy believrs. He is looking for something." "Our food!"
"No no. They don't eat their kind. Just wait. Watch him. See? He wails over that one. I think it's his mate. She was a sick one, but now she is food." "Our Food..."
"Yes. Our Food. Wait until he leaves. See there? He pulls a trinket. What did he just say?" "Something about Finding 'Them'. I say goodluck. He will die like poor Sizasikasu and Oufrisio. Fool.
"Are they not all? Especially these ones. They call the ire of the Gods and Guardians. Fools." "Tasty Fools when cooked.
"Yes, tasty. He leaves! Let's go!"

-Conversation between two Ash Mephits - The Burned Temple of The Shatters

Pre-Game Notes

Technical difficulties, family concerns, and salesman all contributed to some difficulty in getting the session started. These issues continued to pop up, interrupting the natural momentum of the game. Despite this, it was a good night with a fun session.
After the interrupts, the pre-session notes were gone over, including how to handle changes to the party dynamic, the content that is added at the top of the session reports (see above), and additional notes on the player pages (which are, as of this report, under development). The pre-session was ended with the current and overall goals:

• The PC's were to head to Skad to find out what happened to the High King's Inquisitor
• They were to investigate any cult activity, which they began to do once they entered Enderfaso,
• In the [Reclamation District they found a barkeep worshippng a strange god who knew where a temple was in The Shatters,

Witnesses to the Congregation

The PC's began the session outside a temple to the strange gods while in the Deadzone known as The Shatters. They could clearly hear through the makeshift building the sound of the priest, who they knew to be Sayer Bayasha, giving an impassioned speech to the congregation.
"...and I tell you again my brothers and sisters that they abandoned them. What of our gods? Those Forsaken by the Embodied, forsaken by our peers. They did not turn a blind eye. The Deus of Change himself did revitalize their crops," echoed out, followed by a phrase in Celestial that the whole congregation repeated. Ashara understood this, and repeated it to the group: ""Praise be each of our Deus'. Praise be The Changer, his holy seat on Abraxion"
Embra and Victalyasa decided to scout the building before they make any decisions, while Ashara and Ish'Mael watched the front and went over the possible options they had for dealing with the cult and any potentially "innocent" people within. Around the sides, the women spotted a kitchen to the right, then a room filled with the sick on the left side. No exits other than the windows appeared to exist. They broke into the kitchen after looking around, Embra having no difficulty with the lock, then began searching for anything of use. Victalyasa began stuffing her bag with food while Embra approached the door. Before doing anything else, Embra has a moment of worry and turns to Victalyasa to request that she hold onto the destroyed shrine she has been carrying. Her fear that Ashara suspects her of carrying it, but still wanting to know more about it, makes her reach out to her guild mate, hoping she would understand. Victalyasa agrees, taking the debris from Embra, and they agree that, if caught, it would be pinned on Ish'Male. Turning back to the door, she could hear conversation and the approaching steps of people, causing the two get paranoid, jam the door with a chair, then flee.
Outside once more, they went back to the room of the sick and crept up close, examining inside. They saw it was filled with them, including one that was dead. They knew they were not going to go through this room, so they returned to the front of the building to find Is'Myael alone and watching Ashara inside.
After a few minutes of Embra and Victalyasa being gone, Ashara grew worried and restless, deciding to go inside and see what was happening. She took her Leather Armor off as to appear more like the rabble inside. She had Ish'Ma'El wait outside and walked in. Sayer Bayasha immediately offers Ashara a seat, saying he will be available afterwards if she, or any other, have questions. His speech goes on for a few minutes more before he wraps it up. He then pulls coverings off from the tables beside him, revealing 8 shrines. None looked like those of the Embodied Gods, though one resembled the one inside the Broken Boulder., the one they called the Deus of Change. Ashara watched in disbelief and anger as the congregation touched the shrines, at least half specifically touching this "Deus of Change" shrine. She stood up, following one of the blasphemers out, bringing him to a stop at the entrance, speaking quietly to him, handing him a dart, before leading him to her companions.
Once Ashara reaches her guild mates, she looks Ish'mael in the eyes and asks if he remembers Tortuluga. With a node, Ashara cuts the mans neck, dropping him before turning around. Is'Hmael sprints, tossing Ashara's armor at her before releasing a a trail of flame that erupts at the priest, burning the sayer.

Burning the Infidels

Enraged, Sayer Bayahsa screams out for power from the "Deus of Dragons". A few of the men with him, declaring that they will protect their priest, rush forward to attack, but the commoners, despite their zealous faith, cannot land a hit. Embra, rushing in beside Ish'Ma El, [tooltip: She cast Burning Hands]released a gout of flame on the men. The Sayer urges those not fighting to rush to safety before summoning a spectral dragonclaw, though this too fails to connect with I'shmal, who strikes back. With a second casting of his scorcher, he focuses his natural talents into it, bursting the damage, killing the Sayer in a torrent of flame.
Victalyasa rushes in at this point, grasping the heads of the two faithful men and smashing them together. Embra attempts to finish the last one off, doing so in despite tripping and nearly colliding with Victalyasa and sliding across the floor from the force of her strike. Ashara, seeing the other faithful running, dash to them, summoning up a twister of debris that kills the two that tried to rush away. A third man emerges from the eastern room and rushes forward to attack I's'h Mael, only to witness the sorcerer release a fully loaded magic missile point-blank into his immediate target's chest, nearly dropping him.
Seeing the new target, Victalyasa quickly kills the weakened man next to her then twirls in a rush to attack the other, but is thrown off balance by her swing, missing him. Luckily, the man misses her in response, then tries to rush away. Ashara, who had rushed over to help the fallen Embra, pauses, noting that the Sayer's body was burnt too much for any decent recognition. When she turns back to the group, he sees Victalyasa striking the man hard into the head, with the man seeming to wobble in place. Satisfied that her friends will secure the kill, she turns her hatred on the Shrine to the Deus of Change, jumping up and falling down onto it in a devastatingly destructive blow.
The rest of the party see, in disbelief, as the man still stands. He disengages and tries to rush away, narrowly avoiding Ish'malk's Lighting Whip and a bolt from Embra's hand crossbow. Unfortunately, Victalyasa is too fleet of foot, and rushes behind him in a few steps, dropping him with her battleaxe to the back of his head.

Proof Under Fire

After the last of the enemies were dispatched, the group began looking at what they could find before the building burned down, a consequence of the fire magic used in the fight. They noted that the shrines of the eight had placard under them that directly named each god:

• Deus of Dreams
• Deus of Festivities
• Deus of Change
• Deus of Honor
• Deus of Coin
• Deus of Power
• Deus of Exuberence
• Deus of Calm

They noted that the god the Sayer had called out, Deus of Dragons, was not listed. Esh'Mal took the burned book the Sayer was preaching from as well as his head, with Ashara's help, and joined Embra and Victalyasa who questioned if they should do anything about the sick men they had seen earlier. They debate for a moment, but decide that it wasn't worth the risk to aid them.
Leaving the temple, Ashara pulls out the Vocal Orb and contacts Drosko, relaying to him the events of what happen. He takes note of what they saw and said he will look into it while they are off toward Skad. He then relay's to them that a runner informed him that their guildhall in Manlee's Stop was burned down accidentally while an arson attempted to burn down the repairs being performed at The Distinguished Ogre Tavern. He remarks that they may need to break a few knees when they are there next.
With their task at hand completed, the group head back into the civilized part of town. Ashara, recalling her path into The Shatters, leads the group out quickly and without incident. They went to collect their horse, Ish-meal attempting to give over the head of Sayer Bayasha, though the guard refused it. They took the head and their horse, heading northward to the Queen Yilavra's Gate & Keep. They gain access, using the Seal of the King to gain room and board for the night. With their night secured, the session ended.