Session 15
General Summary
After a brutal fight with a crazy, bloody clawed creature, the party made the decision to take a quick nap before returning to the prisons. Now illuminated by a torch, The Widow entered the room and a dwarven man immediately spit in his direction. Seething with anger, the man blamed The Widow for his situation. It appears that The Widow brought this bounty back to Ah'Shal and the man claims to then have been transported here sometime thereafter. It seems the laws themselves are already broken... if you trust the words of a man who had a bounty on his head.
Rani dove down and found some studded leather... but it seemed to be attached to another water snake. Rani immediately booked it out of there. As she was discussing the matter with Moira, the water snake surfaced nearby. Once Rani removed the armor, the water snake immediately swam off down the depths... leaving Rani with some (new?) wet studded leather.
The party was able to guide the prisoners - with help from the healthier ones - back to Port Oceana. Once there, Faumea was pleased to hear that the creature had been destroyed. She also inquired after additional information so that she can best determine the proper course of action: (1) send out a task force to hunt down anyone associated or (2) focus on rebuilding the port. She also inquired after how the party came into possession of a Valdove ship and then offered a free ship upgrade or the use of some of her naval fleet in the future, especially if the party wishes to further aid the Port.
Within the confines of her lavish "Fort", Countess Rhea met with the party in one of her many sitting rooms. Moira and Newt engaged in negotiations with the Countess while the Widow was forced into silence. Moira did not return the mind call (please leave a message at the beep). The Countess believed she was entitled to keeping the head... unless, of course, the party did something for her in return: sabotage one or more of her younger half-sisters (Circe, Calypso, or Serene Valdove). Shortly after nervously proclaiming that "Rani is my rock", Moira caved and greed, leaving the fort with the creature's head still in her possession and a threat from the Countess.
Portia filled the party in on the Valdove situation. High Lord Aedric Valdove had two wives, having two daughters with the first and three with the second. There appears to be drama between the two sets of daughters and this ire has only soured over the long lives of elves...
A missive also arrived from Carmenthia:
To whom it may concern: The project to uncover the Old Temple of Carmenthia has been unfortunately delayed by a transfer of leadership and a recent influx of patients to the hospital and rehabilitation center here on the island. All staff have been instructed to temporarily halt all unnecessary research projects - such as the one in your inquiry - until the optimal staff to patient ratio is restored. We can provide no estimate of when this ratio will be restored. However, inquiries regarding the search for the Old Temple may be sent to Dr. Conway in the Arcane and Historical Research Department at the Carment's Medical Institute or Dr. Corvinus, the Director at St. Carmen's Hospital and Rehabilitation Center.While returning to the city, The Widow asked Therarask if they knew Newt's father (they don't) and how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie pop... Apparently, it depends upon the person, the race and gender and- oh, you were talking about a candy? Huh. Therarask asked for The Widow's definition of beauty and for his opinions on fashion. When The Widow said he'd allow Therarsk to dress him, the god responded with a simple "don't tempt me" before the dream faded. The party booked a room in a seedy motel. Newt was very taken aback when Rani started making horrible sex noises as Moira prepared to speak with the head of the insane creature. After cackling for a moment, the creature claimed that he was sent to Varoona by The Doctor, provided no means of contacting said Doctor, and claimed that Olivantha was "under the sea" at this point. Rani and Moira both received MAIL! The Widow went and spoke with Erwin, asking him to repair the dagger. Rani invited Zephus to the theater and he seemed stoked about the art. Moira and Portia had a talk about religion - Caliban is a vague and distant god. Rani visited the theater, walking in during rehearsals. She managed to catch a bit of a large battle scene featuring the sword dancing company (with Ezra) and an actor dressed in full armor covered in blood. After the rehearsal had ended, Ezra invited Rani to a dance lesson, food, something else, or a chat, whatever she wished. Meanwhile, Oksha accompanied Newt for the afternoon. She is oddly fascinated by the number of spirits clinging to Newt; she gleefully noted that there are now more on him. She enjoyed experiencing flight and was more intrigued than disturbed by Newt's "appearance". When Callon arrived, she noticed spirits on Callon as well - and he seemed very alarmed. With Callon and Oksha in tow, the Deep End traveled to the Von'Della estate, arriving at midnight to see two spectral figures whispering in hushed tones to each other before climbing into a window on the side of the estate. After the figures had faded from view, Newt and Callon entered and saw the figures reappear. They removed their cloaks revealing a slightly younger Eirina Von'Della and a tiefling figure Eirina had referred to as Ravana. When Rani approached the bed - with the intent to investigate for any fiendish symbols underneath - a scream echoed from below. The two figures appeared again. The tiefling urged Eirina to hid and flee while he appraoched the door, thick black smoke now leaking from underneath it. He paused as his eyes seemed to land on the party. He smiled before passing through the door. On the other side, the black smoke covered the entire room and from the stairs, a dark spectral beast appeared with a shadowy form on its back; eyes narrowed and glowing, focused on the tiefling man. From the black smoke, six spirits forms accompanied by two pairs of ghoulish figures. As the tiefling boldly faced down the shadowy figure, his eyes seemed to glow and his adversary seemed to freeze. When the spectral figure finally fell (killed via baguette - the top killer in the party, clearly), a horrifying wail echoed and the black smog retreated until only the tiefling remained. He locked eyes with the party before vanishing, leaving behind a silver band reminiscent of a serpent with horns similar to his own. Oksha seemed incredibly distrubed. And when asked, she stated that she recognized the wail - a sound that was also familiar to Newt. Oksha was perplexed as to why Ah'Shal's avatar would have traveled here 23 years ago... Once outside, Oksha helped provide funeral rites to Sebastian as Portia released his body into the stream so that he could return to the sea. Newt helped Oksha cleanse the estate before the party finally left. As the party settled down to camp a couple miles away from the estate, Newt relived the events, but this time, the tiefling figure remained and mouthed something at him. The words seemed lost to him for a moment before they echoed in his mind: "Atu Szeme" When Newt asked "Who are you?", the tiefling responded with the same two words. Newt declared his intention to find the tiefling man. He simply grinned and said: "I hope".
Rewards Granted
Countess Rhea Valdove gave the party 2,000 gold pieces in exchange for killing the creature that has been plaguing the Port. Captain Faumea has also promised use of the naval fleet (for endeavors on behalf of the Port or Varoona Proper) and a free upgrade once her docks have been repaired.
Multiple seemingly magical items were acquired from the Von'Della Estate.
Missions/Quests Completed
The Deep End successfully completed the bounty for a "creature" and investigated the Von'Della estate.
Report Date
12 Aug 2021
Primary Location
Secondary Location
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