Session 84: The Tears of the Gods
General Summary
As the Wildcards recover from the battle beneath the mountain, Skulk makes a surprising discovery about himself. The Wildcards prepare to depart the village and make their way to Elsmidja, the mountain forge.
Session Commenced:
The 7th day of Cyr, 1622 TER
(Day 560 of the campaign) Session Concluded:
The 7th day of Cyr, 1622 TER
(Day 560 of the campaign)
10 days since Departing Tor Sionis.
As Skulk watched the others sleep, he heard the familiar voice of Mylla. She had used her growing magical prowess to reach out and connect their minds though their dreams. Her mentor had thought this might not be possible, as Skulk in particular did not dream, but she had succeeded through stubborn determination nevertheless. Skulk and Mylla caught up briefly, for as long as the connection would last, before bidding each other farewell with the pending promise to speak again soon. As the spell ended, Skulk found himself in an unfamiliar place. His dreams, previously inaccessbile to him, now unlocked, he found himself falling in a void of darkness even his blessed eyes could not pierce. The sound of feathers enveloped him, and his descent slowed until he landed, still surrounded by the dark. He could only see a robed figure of slender fame. As this figure pulled his hood back, it was revealed to be the familiar elfin-featured cleric of the Raven Queen that Skulk had encountered twice before, once in Old Phandal, and once in Sullisport. The figure pointed up, and Skulk’s attention followed. Above in the depths of the darkness a shape took hold. An enormous woman's face, eyes bound, trickles of blood the size of rivers seeping from underneath. The Raven Queen, who weeps for what was lost, and for that which will be. As Skulk clutches the black book he had been given so long ago, it too begins to run with blood from between its silver-edged pages. The blood seeps over his fingers, and he uses that blood to mark his own face to mirror that of the goddess. The Cleric asks Skulk about the shadow-hounds. At first Skulk believes they come to ferry the souls of the dying, but when pressed for more Skulk comes to the revelation that they’ve always there ... not just when Skulk was dying, but ever since the time when they should have died! It was then that he had reached out to the Raven Queen that first time. Then that he had been sent back to serve. The purpose of his vision is then revealed. His friend Sofia is coming dangerously close to learning knowledge forbidden to the mortal realms. The First Rite of Sinu Endak. It is too dangerous to ever be permitted to return. Skulk's skills may be required to prevent that knowledge from returning. Skulk fears for his friend, who is currently researching the Second Rite of Sinu Endak to try and aid her ailing sister. Skulk pressed the cleric on whether Sofia's sister might be saved before Sofia was doomed, but no answer was forthcoming. Skulk came to realise through his time with the cleric that the life he was living was not, in fact, his first life. The cleric offered Skulk the return of one of the memories of his first life; he need only ask for which. With no knowledge of that which was forgotten, he turned to the one moment he knew had happened. Skulk asked for what purpose it was that he had died. In the blink of an eye the Cleric is upon him, and grasping his head, the cleric catches one of the sanguine tears trickling from the face of their goddess, which splashes into a burst of silvery threads. A single thread is caught and woven back into Skulk’s mind and he remembers… Unfamiliar senses assaulting the mind. The scent of alpine on the air. The cold leeching through dark feathers and winter furs into the slight Kenku frame. The burning of muscles with exhaustion. Heart pounding against their chest in a cage of flesh and bone. Fleeing through the forest, arrows landing all around. The swell of magic deep within, and the surge of releasing a bolt of lightning at the goblin hunting party. Fighting with every last piece of strength until an arrow cut them down. Goblins and Hobgoblins surrounding them, but no… that Hobgoblin was not right. There was more there, beneath the surface. A shapeshifter. It wanted to know what had happened "on the island". It demanded to know, but the kenku would not reveal what it wanted. No matter how it tortured her. As her death approached, the changeling sneered. "No matter how many times you resist, I will just bring you back here. Again, and again..." In desperation, the kenku reached up, grabbed the blade buried in her chest, and pulled it deeper. As her vision faded, Skulk heard the voice of the cleric once again. "Few worship her in life... but all call out to her in the end." The dream-memory faded, and the sound of a world waking upon the morn returned Skulks senses to the now, weary from a restless night. The others were stirring, breakfast was being prepared and the group rose for the day. Skulk touching his cheeks, noting a pair of grooves burned down his cheeks in the fashuon of the trail of tears be had drawn in his vision. The morning conversation was tense. Sofia and Phaes had unresolved issues with regards to Sofia's actions the night before, and Morthak’s intuitive nature noted both that and Skulk’s unease of the morning. Further conversations were cut short with the arrival of the Seidrmage, Asfrid. Asfrid had come to remind us that the caravan that Orest Starolfsson was leaving this morning if we wished to join them for the trip up into the mountains. Skulk ran off to catch them while the others finished their breakfast. After some humble introductions the Caravan agreed to meet with the group and negotiated a reward for safe escort.
The 7th day of Cyr, 1622 TER
(Day 560 of the campaign) Session Concluded:
The 7th day of Cyr, 1622 TER
(Day 560 of the campaign)
10 days since Departing Tor Sionis.
As Skulk watched the others sleep, he heard the familiar voice of Mylla. She had used her growing magical prowess to reach out and connect their minds though their dreams. Her mentor had thought this might not be possible, as Skulk in particular did not dream, but she had succeeded through stubborn determination nevertheless. Skulk and Mylla caught up briefly, for as long as the connection would last, before bidding each other farewell with the pending promise to speak again soon. As the spell ended, Skulk found himself in an unfamiliar place. His dreams, previously inaccessbile to him, now unlocked, he found himself falling in a void of darkness even his blessed eyes could not pierce. The sound of feathers enveloped him, and his descent slowed until he landed, still surrounded by the dark. He could only see a robed figure of slender fame. As this figure pulled his hood back, it was revealed to be the familiar elfin-featured cleric of the Raven Queen that Skulk had encountered twice before, once in Old Phandal, and once in Sullisport. The figure pointed up, and Skulk’s attention followed. Above in the depths of the darkness a shape took hold. An enormous woman's face, eyes bound, trickles of blood the size of rivers seeping from underneath. The Raven Queen, who weeps for what was lost, and for that which will be. As Skulk clutches the black book he had been given so long ago, it too begins to run with blood from between its silver-edged pages. The blood seeps over his fingers, and he uses that blood to mark his own face to mirror that of the goddess. The Cleric asks Skulk about the shadow-hounds. At first Skulk believes they come to ferry the souls of the dying, but when pressed for more Skulk comes to the revelation that they’ve always there ... not just when Skulk was dying, but ever since the time when they should have died! It was then that he had reached out to the Raven Queen that first time. Then that he had been sent back to serve. The purpose of his vision is then revealed. His friend Sofia is coming dangerously close to learning knowledge forbidden to the mortal realms. The First Rite of Sinu Endak. It is too dangerous to ever be permitted to return. Skulk's skills may be required to prevent that knowledge from returning. Skulk fears for his friend, who is currently researching the Second Rite of Sinu Endak to try and aid her ailing sister. Skulk pressed the cleric on whether Sofia's sister might be saved before Sofia was doomed, but no answer was forthcoming. Skulk came to realise through his time with the cleric that the life he was living was not, in fact, his first life. The cleric offered Skulk the return of one of the memories of his first life; he need only ask for which. With no knowledge of that which was forgotten, he turned to the one moment he knew had happened. Skulk asked for what purpose it was that he had died. In the blink of an eye the Cleric is upon him, and grasping his head, the cleric catches one of the sanguine tears trickling from the face of their goddess, which splashes into a burst of silvery threads. A single thread is caught and woven back into Skulk’s mind and he remembers… Unfamiliar senses assaulting the mind. The scent of alpine on the air. The cold leeching through dark feathers and winter furs into the slight Kenku frame. The burning of muscles with exhaustion. Heart pounding against their chest in a cage of flesh and bone. Fleeing through the forest, arrows landing all around. The swell of magic deep within, and the surge of releasing a bolt of lightning at the goblin hunting party. Fighting with every last piece of strength until an arrow cut them down. Goblins and Hobgoblins surrounding them, but no… that Hobgoblin was not right. There was more there, beneath the surface. A shapeshifter. It wanted to know what had happened "on the island". It demanded to know, but the kenku would not reveal what it wanted. No matter how it tortured her. As her death approached, the changeling sneered. "No matter how many times you resist, I will just bring you back here. Again, and again..." In desperation, the kenku reached up, grabbed the blade buried in her chest, and pulled it deeper. As her vision faded, Skulk heard the voice of the cleric once again. "Few worship her in life... but all call out to her in the end." The dream-memory faded, and the sound of a world waking upon the morn returned Skulks senses to the now, weary from a restless night. The others were stirring, breakfast was being prepared and the group rose for the day. Skulk touching his cheeks, noting a pair of grooves burned down his cheeks in the fashuon of the trail of tears be had drawn in his vision. The morning conversation was tense. Sofia and Phaes had unresolved issues with regards to Sofia's actions the night before, and Morthak’s intuitive nature noted both that and Skulk’s unease of the morning. Further conversations were cut short with the arrival of the Seidrmage, Asfrid. Asfrid had come to remind us that the caravan that Orest Starolfsson was leaving this morning if we wished to join them for the trip up into the mountains. Skulk ran off to catch them while the others finished their breakfast. After some humble introductions the Caravan agreed to meet with the group and negotiated a reward for safe escort.
Missions/Quests Completed
Escort the Starolfsson Expedition to Elsmidja (200GP per person)
Character(s) interacted with
- Asfrid
- Orest Starolfsson
- Authun Starolfsson
Report Date
14 Jul 2022
Primary Location
Related Characters
