Harmony Session 17: The Hole That Sucked The Six
General Summary
We last left our heroes in the rugged safety of Echwink's Landing, the home base for the exploration of Vardura. They had just finished the individual interviews with Amintolous "Minty" Xallanich and Walden Echwink, and kept a solid lock on some of the more interesting details of their time in Swango Swamp. With that finished, the rest of the camp was open for their mandatory tenday of downtime.
Hey Campers
Returning to the camp meant meeting old friends and handling business. Gorr and Pilgrim started the day by visiting the newly built Echwink Tabernacle. The incense burning within reminded Pilgrim of home, and he was warmly greeted by the resident Elder Revalor. The old man expressed his relief that they were alright while also mourning the losses suffered by Byzix and Pestus, but quickly changed the subject to Pilgrim's attendant, Whisper Darren. The young man was caring for the still-unconscious First Expedition survivor found in the cockatrice cave and refused to move himself and his charge into the better-equipped-for-care Tabernacle. Pilgrim agreed with the old man and, after Gorr made a faux pas about the Elder's missing eyes and apologized for his "curiosity from a tangled mind" (while also warning Revalor to stay outta the swamp), headed over to tell Whisper Darren to move. Zoran went looking for a person to spar with (preferably Byzix), but was instead drawn toward the sonorous tones of the Singing Bay. He pulled out his bone flute but couldn't find the mojo with the music. When he opened his eyes though, Byzix was there at the pier with Pestus, both wathing a large ship decorated in the colors of The Reconstitution sail into the bay. They were not eager to spar.Sew Where the Wind Blows
It was then that Ivin Ivinson ran down to the pier to begin gathering up the present members of The Windblown to perform a very sacred Funeral Rite for their lost guild brethren. Pestus and Byzix, the only surviving members of the day's mourned, were in attendance, but did little more than watch the newly arrived Alerki ship as its unloaded itself in the bay. Ivin Ivinson led the procession, highlighting the great deeds of the lost and ritualistically letting loose a fistful of soil and seed into the wind. He held a strange contradiction in his tone, both reverent and insistent on performing the ritual, but wearing an almost too-casual grin and wasting little time with comfort or compassion. He then closed the logbook with a snap and left the small outcropping positioned above the Singing Bay. The rest stood in awkward reverence for a bit before they all went down to greet the incoming ship.A Squad Reconstituted
The Foundation of Faith was not just any Alerki Ascendancy ship, but of The Reconstitution. In addition to food, supplies, and materials, the ship brought soldiers, all dressed in the gleaming plate and flowing tabards of the Reconstitution. A large bald human, taller even than the imposing Byzix, strode forward with a smile on his face and embraced the leonin like old friends. Gorr and Zoran took this moment to help unload some of the gear and introduce themselves to the newcomers, but they were accidentally mistaken for the help. After clearing up the miscommunication, the large man introduced himself as Captain Njord Baldwin. He greeted his fellow adventurers more in line with their status and invited them to share in some hee-haw with them later around the fire. They agreed, but after Njord and his soldiers left the dock, Malachai tossed up and whipped a swango out of the air as if it was Captain Njord's head. Whether it be caution or conflict with the Alerki, our heroes will certainly have to keep an eye on them. After all, that squad's entire roster now consisted of zealous believers in The Reconstitution and their goals in Vardura were anything but clear.An Occasion to Party
After the excitement of the ship's arrival, our heroes attended to a few more pieces of business. Zoran and Gorr met with Rieta and, although she did seem aware of Zoran's strange Evervoice message sent all those weeks ago, she did not overtly acknowledge it. She did recognize that many people sought and found solace in the maps of Deneir's Refuge, including other adventurers. Deceased adventurers. Recently deceased adventurers who may have had something to hide. The odd couple then went to see Shogo vu Chullat, Gorr's contact from The Icehost and Zoran's once-promised flute student. Encouraged by their survival but mostly nonplussed, the druid asked if Gorr got him that swango he asked for and told Zoran he was no longer interested in flute lessons. Shogo had traded his flute away to Pyotr for some apples. Later, Zoran would give the dockmaster his spare flute as some cryptic offer of flute lessons. We'll see how that pans out. Evening fell and the fire rose as the residents of Echwink's Landing enjoyed the novel liveliness. Our heroes took the occasion to finally announce themselves as The Suckhole Six and received a lukewarm reception in return. Malachai led everyone in a toast to the lost adventurers and was delighted to see many fellow campers pour their hee-haw into the dirt at their feet. A new tradition had been born. Our heroes closed the night by perusing the updated quest board and considering their next moves.Rewards Granted
- A Varduran tech divining disc
- A name
Character(s) interacted with
- All of em!
Created Content
Our heroes spent their tenday of downtime doing the following:
- Enoch continued his work on The Woodsman. He was delighted to find that his work had not stopped with his departure -- a gnomish woman named Fran Zetlevik had continued to study the ancient artifact. Together, they discovered that, with some appropriate infrastructure, The Woodsman could be repaired to a functional degree. Additionally, they could use its automated functions to follow it "back home", allowing them to potentially discover a lost treasure trove of ancient Varduran wonders. Fran also gave Enoch a "resonance disc" she attuned to The Woodsman. This disc would "sing" if it ever came within 100 feet of similar Varduran technology.
- Malachai went to work divining the properties of the mushrooms he recovered from the flail snail cave. He discovered that one mushroom had an energetic response to heat and thrived in the warm cave. Using his alchemist's kit, he constructed two vials of alchemist's fire from the fungus.
- Zoran started putting together some training dummies so he could keep his weapon arm warm while at camp. He built two pretty solid ones, but had trouble with the third. Thankfully, several of the newly arrived Alerki soldiers became interested in the project and helped Zoran out.
- Pilgrim spent his time in religious service at Elder Revalor's newly built Echwink Tabernacle. There, he learned more about the key differences between the goals of the Reconstitution and the Messengers of the True Sovereign. As a follower of the Faraway Voice, Pilgrim followed rumors to Vardura in search of proof of the Alerki Ascendancy's legitimacy. Revalor and his ilk followed the will of the Sovereign Reborn, though what they sought on Vardura was not revealed to Pilgrim.
- Gorr worked on his garden with Shogo vu Chullat, expanding it and planting new growth. They planted a swango donated from Malachai and, when Shogo asked about the white flower in his pack, Gorr ended up revealing a few more details about his adventures in Swango Swamp. He still declined to share just how personal it all was for him.
Notes
Among the fallen of the Windblown included:
- Juut Jeskaari, the skeleton in a cube of goo, brought unrivaled, and often undisciplined, fury to the battlefield. He probably shouldn't have left The Ill Tide.
- Grorjinax “Ken” Fenkenkabranixar, a dragonborn who grew up on the streets of Leechport, overcame his personal struggles and persevered, ultimately fighting (and falling) for good.
- Soddle Lightstep, a halfling short of stature but brave of heart, was known for fighting off 10, nay 12, giant half-elves.
- Yarg The Unbowed, the orc cleric who knew only peace, survived being beheaded for a few minutes.
- Scott Screegullbeard, a human from Charhyan Federation, was often seen with a screegull perched on his shoulder, and had trained a murder of screegulls to set them upon his enemy.
- Volthen Arkkaradson, a mysterious gentleman in the flowing robes of a diplomat with something to hide, silently killed a bunch of spiders once.
Report Date
02 Jan 2025
Primary Location
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