Winedark, Chapter Thirty-One
General Summary
Wherein the doctor returns to the Blasters, all the components of Instrument are gathered, and a plan to fight back against Vo'ku'a emerges
The Shroud and a Reunion
The Vastblasters, a bit dazed after their trail conducted by Kotiki the Custodian, took a moment to regroup in the now quiet Temple of the Moment. Whew. Been though a lot, huh? Kharlo Chondricht then took up the object of their endeavor--the binding shroud of Instrument. He was buffeted by disconcertingly violent--even for Kharlo--visions. As he struggled to make sense of the haze of blood lust and gore-drenched waves that battered his psyche, one thing became clear--after using Instrument to vanquish Vo'ku'a, it needs to be dismantled and secreted away once again. Such a weapon is too powerful to let linger. He mentioned as much to his fellow Blasters as they made their weary way back to Torokawa. Waiting for them in the Bragaki capital was none other than Kasula Neristina, returned from her adventures beneath the waves. Having dealt with a pesky "DreadFog," she is now ready to rejoin her shipmates and take the fight to the DreadSquid. And, courtesy of Ralph the Reef, she's got some fancy new healing gloves to help with that. Just don't stare too hard at her hands as she enacts her healing arts. With the Blasters now at full complement, and with the remaining two pieces of Instrument aboard the VastBlaster, the only thing left to do was to set sail for Awa Harbor. So they did just that.Dripping Goo and the Grandmother
Unfortunately, life on The Vast is often beset by complications, exponentially so if you happen to be a Blasters. Complications this time involved some sort of DreadAboleth, made of tentacle, bone, and rancor. It attacked, of course, in the wee hours of the morning. It was a tough fight, with Kasula becoming charmed by the creature and uttering its foul words to her fellow crew, and Kharlo becoming riddled with a strange disease that caused him to Drip Purple Goo. The DreadAboleth was vanquished. The disease it seeded in Kharlo, however, remained. Beset by Dripping Goo, Kharlo needed to remain moist at all times, or suffer terrible acid damage. So, he hung out in a dingy for the rest of the journey to Awa. It got pretty funky. Meanwhile, Captain Pitch felt the unmistakable call of his patron and, returning to her cabin, was greeted by Grandmother Neremyn, Swallower of Flies and the strongest hag in Pitch's Coven. She thanked Pitch for their good work thus far and warned Pitch that, eventually, they will need to make a choice--to continue life as Pitch, favored of the Hags, or take back up the mantle of Envoy, Ascendency diplomat. This choice will likely need to be made soon, as the "Ghosthair," or Wilreth Elvalor, will likely make contact soon, and it is becoming increasingly hard to serve two "patrons." With that warning, she left Pitch alone with her thoughts.A Return to Scaraval?
Pulling back into Awa Harbor found the crew eager for a bit of rest before undertaking whatever is next. First, though, there was Kharlo's disease to deal with. Strong potion was required, and luckily, Kasula knew just who to contact about that. She sought out Milik, of Milik's Ocean, a herbalist who can hopefully provide a potion strong enough to rid Kharlo of this contagion. Turns out, he can, but he needs Kasula's help--and gold--to prepare the distillate while he gathers ingredients. Eventually, Kharlo has his cure and drips significantly less goo. After securing the last two components of Instrument--the foreshaft and the shroud--a "war council" was held aboard the VastBlaster, with Sea Sibyl Loshi Saltbloom sharing with the Blasters their current plan, which is to return to Scaraval to gather more information about Vo'ku'a and, hopefully, how to locate and defeat it before it swallows the Vast. Every report coming out of that doomed settlement indicated a distinct lack of chaos centered around Northern Sun, the estate of the well-to-do merchant Rothen Suncaller, almost like it served as a kind of HQ for the invasion itself. The sea sibyl is of the opinion that information could be available within that manor that would be invaluable to this fight, so they need to get it. To do so, they will send a "diversion fleet" to attack the infested town and allow the Blasters to sneakily make landfall and infiltrate Northern Sun and discover what they can. A spirited back and forth about the feasibility of this plan versus other options occurred. But, frustratingly, it seems like the only way forward for now is for the Blasters to go back to a place they fled. With mixed emotions, they prepared themselves.And That's Where We Left It
We'll see what the Blasters get up to as the "diversion fleet" assembles during our next session.Various & Sundry Details
- Kharlo felt compelled to wear the Battle Mask of Balar Dhusti. He received visions of the great warrior battling an iteration of Vo'ku'a before the mask detached from his face. What other secrets might this mask reveal?
- During a bit of downtime, Water shredded some sweet skateboard tricks on the Awa Harbor docks. They attracted the attention of Osorin and Thodath Horncook Vuma-Thatake, representatives of Pink Sheep Elixer, who seem interested in a future sponsorship deal with them.
- A huge piece of driftwood was pulled out of the Vast during the Blasters' voyage to Awa Harbor. It turned out to be a club of Sothos. Irk was transfixed by the weapon and placed his hands upon it, causing a direct communion with the goddess of the Churn. He awoke the next morning to find a new sigil in his polytheistic pantheon--a dark blue whirlpool.
Rewards Granted
Level 9!
Character(s) interacted with
- Grandmother Neremyn, Swallower of Flies, first among the Coven
- Milik, of Milik's Ocean, herbalist
- Osorin and Thodath Horncook Vuma-Thatake, representatives of Pink Sheep Elixer
- Loshi Saltbloom, sea sibyl
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