Session 6

Ghosts of Skad

Date: Wednesday, 8th of January, 2020
Attending Players: Ashara, Embra, Victalyassa
Time 3.75 Hours (Total: 19 Hours)

Game Time 2nd of Sowmeadow, 5:00 PM
To
2nd of Sowmeadow, 6:00 PM
Game Locations: Skad and Ruins North of Skad

"I've got a letter here for," the courier opened his back and pulled out several sealed letters. He grabbed one and held it up. "Embra Shimmerdew or care of Drosko Silvold. The letter has been forwarded from The Distinguished Ogre in-"

"Here here," the old dwarf waved as he pulled his head up from the book. "I'm Drosko Silvold and that's one of me troopers."

The courier walked up with the letter in hand but paused several feet back. "Thank you sir, but I'll need to request that you-"

Drosko pulled his cane up and hooked the couriers arm, yanking him forward, grabbing the letter before the courier could snap from his disblief.

"Sir, I cannot-"

"Shut it runner. It ain't like you are about to bleed for some girl ye never met. You're fine, now take your tip and go,"

The grizzled dwarf grabbed the couriers hand and dropped several Pips into it, potentially more than the man would earn all day. He bowed with some reluctance and left without another word.

Grabbing his ale, Drosko examined the letter's seal. Black, which is never good, but the seal itself was also a motto, not their family crest or simple press. Drosko knew relatively little of Embra's past, but this told volumes. First, her family knew of her and Drosko, despite whatever else she had, second, they must be astranged, but from at least modest wealth, but third and last, the most important, something was not right. Perhaps it was a death in the family, perhaps it was something worse. Drosko could not tell from the outside.

He slid the letter into the satchel, taking a deep drink and returning to the book before him. He would see Embra soon enough. For now, he would continue his part in the task.

Another chapter, another drawn out description of an entity that longed for their god-crown. Shieshou of the Topaz Fruit. Fey. Her Altar was a tree hollowed-

Slamming the book shut with frustration, Drosko leaned back and groaned. He promised his crew he would look into the shrine they found, but this was boring and tedious. He needed a break. He needed a stiffer drink.

Pulling his cane in, he got up and hobbled on his stiff knees to the bar, slidding next to a knock-off bard trying to win the barmaids affection.

"...but the best part is, their is a reward for every new bit of information brought about this cult. That means that yours truely will be practically swimming in high marks comes this time next month."

"Be sure ta drop some here then dear." the maid quickly took Drosko's request. The dwarf barely noted the exchange, listening to the man as he turned to the A'yap next to him.

"Why are you blabbing this? We aren't even suppose to know. You trying to lose us our headstart? By Gavathrak, you'll be the end of us."

"Relax ya brute. No one else knows and we already have our first juicy turn-in. The point is moot with the woman anyway. She's unimpressed. Lets take our seats,"

Drosko got his drink and watched fromt he corner of his eye while the two men sat with two other women. They wore matching blue garb, but were clearly either mercenaries or some other adventuring group. Two martial types, a bard, and one that is clearly a caster. Competition, and one that has a head-start like Drosko and his crew. He felt his jaw clench in irritiation, thinking about how he will handle it.

— Crazy Boat Inn; Valtaska Low Market - Evening of the 2nd of Sowmeadow.

Session Start

Due to family matters, the player for Ish'Mael was unable to attend the session. His PC was removed in the fashion he requested, with DM liberty on the specific narrative. The only presessions notes revolved around mechanical changes done within the bounds of the VTT used for the game and the rewording of the Runeseeker class to help clarify abilities.
As a note to readers not involved in the campaign, the Runeseeker class is a homebrew class with unique and inspired mechanics designed to mesh with a form of magic used in-world. It is still being tested.

Cleaning Out the Ruins

As the session started, Ashara and Ish'null sat in the rotted out cabin in the ruins, being looked over by Victalyassa on the second floor of the tower. While they tended their wounds, a deep cut into Ishie'poos chest and a cracked ribs for Ashara, Is'a'seal began to experience a deep-set pain in his chest. Before there was a chance for Ashara to examine Stick'n'Peel, a bolt of lightning, much like the one that emporewed the mage, struck into Ish'my'al. As the light subsided, where the sorcerer sat, was nothing but a stone carving in the likeness of the half-elf, still smoking and warm to the touch.
From above, Victalyassa saw the blast and ran down the stairs to see what happened. Seeing her comrade worried and running, Embra followed behind, arriving to see Ashara casually examining the remains of her friend. They argued over what happened for a moment, turning to concern on how to restore Stoned'meal to normal. Concluding that it was the act of Bom of the Tongue, and fearing that Bom would do the same to them if they intervened, they decided to simply hold the idol of their friend and wait for whatever work Bom had planned for him to conclude. They then argued over who would carry him, playing hot-potatoe and dropping him several times before Ashara begrudgingly took him.
The business of Ish'mael concluded, they decided to split up and investigate the ruins. Ashara went into the basement, having not looked herself. Seeing the vacant minded prisoners, and getting no response from her presence, she used the ethereal chains from her runed katana to create leverage, rolling well and busting the door down. The prisoners did not react to this, nor did they react as Ashara stepped in and drew her Katana...
Embra explores the ruined tower further, moving into the upper floor and investigating the tents. She was able to find several potions, but more importantly, she found a note penned by the one of the cultist. It described how the potions were nearly complete, but they still need more subjects to test thm on, preferrably true believers, as it was key. She took the note and moved back downstairs just in time to see Ashara coming upstairs...
Victalyassa, staying behind in the cabin whene everyone left, moved to the back of the cabin and pulled her bag off. She still held the shrine that Embra gave to her. Taking it out now in her privacy, she examined it, hoping to see more about the god or gods this group worships. Unfortunately, with the shrine being destroyed into pieces, she couldn't discover anything more. She instead moved back to the main ruins just as a dark figure, with blood spattered on her boots, rose from the basement...
Ashara, blade drawn, stood before the prisoners. She told them that they lacked purpose and only existed to suffer. She would end it for them. She slayed the first, geting no response from the rest, so continued on, cutting down each prisoner in a quick and efficent manner. Her job done, she got a sense of divine pleasure from her work, so she cleaned her blade and walked back upstairs.
As the group rejoined, they discussed the note that Embra found. They discussed if the prisoners below were the "true believers" or if they were simply test subjects. They were unable to determine it at the moment, deciding to continue exploring the ruins.
The last section of the ruins, the northwestern building, was standing well, but still had many areas of broken, including the room. The rain, still coming down lightly, pooled in areas as the group entered the room. They immediatly spotted a half-elven man stripped naked and held by chains above a glowing rune, pulsing slowly below him. Next to him, in a cage, was a sand abomination.
Ashara prepared to slay them where they were bound, but Embra wished to speak to them first. They wake the man bound above the runes and speak to him. The learn his name is Vanier, a Paladin of Yurona of the Eye, a part of the Cobalt Shields. When he came to investigate the ongoings of Skad on behalf of his god, he was captured by the cult. By his tale, he was being cut into and tortured, then regenerated above the rune. It has been a week.
They decided to save him. Victalyassa breaks him down with her axe, but before she can help him up, Ashara grabs the chains that he was bound to and pulled him up. She makes sure he understands that if they cross her, there will be consequences. She released him, then began studying the rune on the ground, attempting to understand it while Victalyassa and Embra continue to talk to Vanier. He asks to be taken to any Cobalt Shield Hall, promising a reward when Victalyassa presses for one.
While they speak with Vanier, the Sand Abomination is getting more and more agitated. It finally strikes out towards Victalyassa. The group decided to kill it, taking turns as they strike at it. The abomination is finished when a Nat 1 by Ashara results in her getting her arm grabbed and slamming into the bars. This was followed by her striking awkwardly but lethally, killing it. The body dissolves into a pile of sand, cloth, and ichor. Within this mess however, Victalyassa spots, and quickly snatches, a badge. After a moment of teasing the group, she announces that they found the Inquisitor, and have proof in his badge.
The group decide they are going to head to Skad. They collect Vanier and help him into the Wagon, with Ashara reminding him of the consequences of betrayal. With the paladin in the wagon, they head downstairs to collect the prisoners. Before they step around the corner of the wall, they can already see the blood pooling out of the doorway. Victalyassa sees it and decides to nope out of there, while Embra stares in stupor. Ashara turns away, whispering to Embra "tsk tsk..." before heading upstairs. The half-elf follows in disbelief. As a whole, the group chooses not to talk about it as they head toward Skad.

The Village of Skad

Getting into town, they see that it had been busy somewhat recently, but was currently empty. A broken wagon sits outside the city hall with several boxes of rations unloaded, several empty. They can see further down a temple for the Embodied Gods, with rubble outside of it, as well as several buildings that look to be devoted to commerical activities for the town. A tavern on the southern side of town draws Victalyassa, who goes there for a drink.
Inside the Tavern, they see it had been busy days before, but it sat empty. The bar has boxes on it with liquor, strangely marked "for the priest" that was in the process of being unloaded. The stairwell to the rooms upstairs was chained off with a sign on the side saying "Closed to Heal, See City Council." Victalyassa and Embra take the chance and pull liquor from the boxes, drinking some and stashing others. Ashara, not wanting to be part of the petty theft, steps back out into the evening rain, and observes the ghost town. She steps toward the town center, where a single well sits, and leans over, seeing it strangely dry despite the green forest and the rain.
Upstairs, Victalyassa finds a sick man in one of the rooms, yelling for Embra immediatly. Ashara, hearing her comrade from outside, rushes up, getting there behind Ashara. They try to wake the man, who responds by vomiting and choking on it. After saving him, they talk about what to do, with a small altercation between Victal and Ashara before Ashara moves to put the person out of their misery. When Victalyassa examines the next room, they see more sick people. At this, they say that maybe they should heed the sign and go to the City Hall to see what is going on.
Heading to City Hall, Ashara pauses at the well, pulling Victalyassa up short as well. She is curious about the well and asks for her help in getting to the bottom. Embra continues forward to the city hall to investigate while the two use a rope to get down. Victal holds the rope and Ashara climbs all the way down, only to find that there is nothing unusual at the bottom. She knows that the well should have water, for its depth, but she can't see a reason why it's drained. She climbs back up embarassed by having nothing to show. As they climb out, a loud bang from city hall grabs their attention and they rush inside.
Embra, who had discovered little of use in the city hall save the unusually high amount of sand in the main room, had gone into a side room and promptly dropped a bookcase on herself, taking some damage and getting pinned. Ashara and Victalyassa rushed in, ready for combat, finding Embra only slightly worse for wear. They help her up and ask what she was doing. She says she's looking for information, then finds the council meeting minutes and a letter addressed to the town on the desk. She reads them both allowed to the group.
It appeared, based on the notes, that the Rann Family, a prominent family from Valtaska, and known throughout Tanaviak, was helping this small farming hamlet by sending food (Embra then mentions that the Rations outside are stamped with an Eagle grasping the Sun, the symbol of the Rann Family) and also sent a man who was there to "show them the light". The town seemed to have embraced the "New Gods" as well as turning down aid from Enderfaso by refusing to let their guards stay in town. The last point of note was mentioning a man from the High King, the Inquisitor, being in town.
With the mention of embracing the new gods and rennovating the temple, they decided to walk there next. As soon as they approach, they see the debris of the old shrines outside and a sign over the front door saying it is under construction and for anyone seeking reason to see the City Council. Stepping inside, they see just as described, the temple is mostly barren with a few boxes of supplies, food, and most important, a shrine to the mysterious god in the back temple. No other shrines are seen. As they walk toward the shrine, they note that a barrel, stamped by the local tavern, has some leftover meal on it, with the cloth in the colors of black and yellow, the colors of Enderfaso.
Victalyassa doesn't want the shrine destroyed, but says she wont stop Ashara. She hangs back at the door as her friend steps forward. Embra follows behind at a slight distance, watching as Ashara steps up and draws her sword. She lifts it high, then brings it down hard, smashing the shrine in a single strike. An invisible shockwave bursts out, striking Ashara and Embra. Ashara, feeling the foreign influence resists it. She feels the alien presence of anger and wrath slamming against a sense of content joy from Gavathrak of the Teeth. She turns as Victalyassa calls out to Embra, seeing her friend falling backwards.
Embra, unable to resist the overwhelming divine presence, blacks out. Her body falls, but she sees a flash of an immense entity encaged in a biege crystal. A sense of peace seems to be coming from it. Somewhere around her, anger and wrath floods down. She feels another entity around her, then she wakes to her friends checking over. Shes physically fine, describing to them what she has experienced. Shaken but otherwise alright, she gets up. They decide to continue looking into the town.
Leaving the templed, they split up to examine the town. Victalyassa goes into the tailors, finding some clothing for the naked Vanier and a cashbox she was struggling to open while Embra enters the elders apartments, finding a small lockbox, breaking it open, and finding some cash and a pearl. They meet up at the general shop next door and go in to collect stuff. They are surprised to find a dead elven woman on the floor. She had vomited up bile filled with gritty sand, nearby was a empty bottle reminiscent of the ones found in the ruins. Embra enters the backroom, finding a lockbox that is a bit too difficult in the moment, and returns with it, they go to join Ashara, who had been speaking to Ick'mael in private until the others join her.
They turn back toward the tavern, deciding to go back with the falling night. Here, the session ends.