Session Thirty-Three: A Vengeance Fulfilled

General Summary

- 17 of solas -

Alabaster, Cyrus, and Yarrow looked at each other and the snail. Cyrus nodded. Alabaster looked at Yarrow and shrugged. Yarrow thought for a moment and then shook his head 'yes'. Alabaster ran back to one of the destroyed homes and asked one of the residents the fastest way out of the tunnels. After calming down they pointed him down the way that Yarrow had caused the tree to start growing. Cyrus prepared himself and yelled at the party to get into a either bag. Yarrow took the snail and got into the bag with Liamond's body and Flim while Alabaster got into his own bag with Lunestra.

Lunestra in the bag was short of breath. She felt weak and tired, almost broken by what had just happened. Alabaster didn't give her any time to rest, he demanded the dagger. Too weak to protest she handed it over to him. With rage Alabaster took the dagger and lined it up with the sheath he had. They fit together perfectly.

Cyrus began running down the tunnel. The brambles and roots did nothing to slow him down but he did see people trapped by the plants. A group of people in robes came into view and Cyrus, on the ceiling, started to run past them. One of the hooded figures shouted for Cyrus to stop but he did not. Suddenly a warm wave of energy came over Cyrus. The robed figure in the middle was casting a spell. "STOP!" He shouted. Cyrus felt compelled but broke free of the command and continued to run. Another figure lifted off the ground, now flying in the air with the intent to give chase. Yarrow, who had been looking through the bags opening, saw this and cast tidal wave. A torrent of water crashed down on the figure and they fell to the ground no longer flying.

Lunestra was dumbfounded by this and began shouting questions at Alabaster. "Why do you have that? What's going on? Where is Baldwin?" Alabaster heard the commotion outside the bag and saw another figure about to cast magic, so he cast Tasha's hideous laughter on him causing him to become incapacitated in the vines.

Cyrus reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bag with a gold thread. He grabbed a pinch of pink dust and poured it on himself. Cyrus and everyone in the bags became invisible and a small thunder cloud apparated in the tunnel. Cyrus then continued to run out the tunnel into the bright hollows and cast Fly on himself.

Cyrus flew out of Alderheart seeing a large caravan of people at the front door camping outside. He ignored this and continued to fly upward. He pushed himself dashing higher and higher into the air until it became thin. "This has to work!" He told himself as he reached the end of his spell. "Yarrow! Alabaster! Now!"

Yarrow popped out of his bag and threw the snail while Alabaster popped out and cast Feather Fall on them. 

The party slowly descended watching as the snail in the jar fell from far above the trees. The snail fell, going faster and faster, until it landed in the farmlands behind Alderheart. There was a moment of silence before a massive explosion of light and colour radiated into the air pushing the party back into the trees. Screams of countless people harmonized and shouted at once as light poured out of the ground and into the sky. The ground began to shake and a large rift formed opening the earth with a technicolour scar.

The group landed in the trees. They heard the screams and saw the lights in the distance. Also in the distance they heard the sounds of yelling coming from the capitol. They each ran towards the crater, tendrils of colour and light passing them by until they got to the clearing. Here they saw almost a dome of light surrounding the crater. They each passed through, visages and flashes of people passed by them, voices all at once in cacophony filled the space and small twinkling particles filled the air.

Yarrow grabbed a bottle from his bag and gathered some of the particles in the air for later. Cyrus and Lunestra walked through the area overwhelmed. The crater, the rift, in the earth had a glassy appearance that shown with the colours of the rainbow. Alabaster hopped down and looked around in a panic. He cast identify on the crater itself.

A torrent of voices, so many voices, hit his mind at once. The energy was the same. The sound was the same. These were gems. These were all gems. Alabaster fell to his knees and began to sob, his chest heaving, breathing in the particles of dust around him.

Yarrow hopped down into the crater and found, at its epicenter, large chunks of crystal shattered but reminiscent of a Vulpin body. Cyrus joined him and took the crystal head before Alabaster brought himself, still crying to the group. He dug through the crystal and found a tiara and a ring. Everything else destroyed.

Alabaster took the tiara and ring, opened his bag of holding, and crawled inside. Cyrus and Lunestra looked at each other.

"We should leave." Cyrus said in a serious tone. Lunestra shook her head and looked to the city. People were screaming and chaos could be seen all the way up the great tree.

"We can't. Not yet." Lunestra said with a grave tone.

"We committed a war crime! We have to leave now." Cyrus had panic in his voice as he spoke. Then Yarrow placed a paw on Cyrus's shoulder.

"People are in trouble," Lunestra said, "besides no one may know that we are responsible for this." Yarrow picked up Alabaster's bag and handed it to Cyrus. "Let's go to Gregor's and figure out what to do."

Lunestra climbed into Alabaster's bag of holding and Yarrow climbed into his. Cyrus cast fly on himself and flew up the great tree to the top. There he cast invisibility on himself and began to walk down towards Gregor's house.

While in the bag Lunestra tried to console Alabaster who began to explain to her the gems and his history. As the realization began to hit her Lunestra became more and more horrified.

People in the capitol were panicking. People were running to and fro and the Perch Guard were mobilizing. As Cyrus walked around faint echoing voices could be heard here and there and streams of coloured lights filled the air. Cyrus entered the manor and let his party out of their respective bags and they began to discuss.

Alabaster was still beside himself. Yarrow asked if the bandits would start a revolution if this panic was part of the plan. Lunestra nodded her head. Cyrus wanted to go steal rubies during the chaos and Yarrow said they should check on the fake Flandal Steelskin. Lunestra tried to involve Alabaster but he grew aggravated and stormed off to his room. Yarrow began to head to the kitchen to make food while Lunestra and Cyrus decided to go to the barracks and get Emma and her group.

---

Lunestra and Cyrus met with Emma near the barracks where the entire Perch Guard was mobilizing. Lunestra begn to talk to Emma and tried to convince her to come with the group. Emma refused saying that she had a duty to protect the city and she would do so. Meanwhile Cyrus decided to use Sending and contact the queen.

"We met you a couple days ago, we need to meet you again. Come to Gregors, please."

"I need to know what has happened immediately come to the council plaza now!"

Emma walked off and Cyrus told Lunestra that he sent to the Queen. They then headed to the council were Bita waved them inside. At the council were Queen Silvertail, Sir Copperfeather, and Professor Revayne. The Queen silenced the commanders in the room and told Cyrus to tell her everything. Cyrus told the council everything with Lunestra filling in gaps. They got taken by bandits, fought someone, Baldwin fell in battle, disinitigrated by a strange weapon, Lunestra suggests it to be Jorn the bandit leader, the fight escalated. They then took the fight far away and when they hit the final blow Jorn exploded.

The Queen took this all in and then told the two that the bandits are all over the place and people are panicking. She is sending the Perch Guard to the lower levels to route the bandits and get them out of the city. She then asked the group to help the people on the ground level. Bita handed them Perch Guard Badges to wear. Queen Silvertail also addressed Cyrus's use of sending. He could send to her for the next 48 hours and after that he was not allowed to use that spell again with her without her express permission.

---

Alabaster meanwhile was sitting in his room with the dagger, tiara, and ring. After a long while of staring at the items he took a deep breath and cast identify on the dagger. A magical understanding filled his mind. The dagger took people's life force and crystallized it. These gems could be used in a myriad of ways. More history and information filled his mind but he had proof. His town, his family, they were killed by this vulpin. They were crystal gems. Gems that exploded when Jorn hit the ground. When they through him from the sky. A renewed wave of grief washed over Alabaster. He held the gems he had left and crawled into his closet were he sobbed.

Yarrow met with Gregor's wife who implored him to enter the secret bunker with her and her family. Yarrow ignored her plea, offered her some food, and began knitting in the study.

---

Lunestra and Cyrus came back and began to talk with Yarrow. Yarrow told them that Alabaster was in his room still crying. Cyrus told Yarrow of what was going on and Yarrow nodded and suggested getting Alderheart to help. Lunestra and Cyrus looked at him strangely. "The Tree?" They said confused. Yarrow nodded. After an awkward silence Lunestra suggested they get Alabaster.

They went to Alabaster's room but had to break in as Alabaster had the door blocked. After breaking in Lunestra handed Alabaster the coin she found off of Jorn's corpse. They asked Alabaster to identify the items. He reluctantly agreed and told them what the coin and tiara did. The tiara allowed the wearer to shapeshift using a gem made of someone's life force. The coin was a powerful artefact that made the wearer immune to and unable to cast enchantment magics. Cyrus became starry eyed at the idea of the tiara and suggested taking it. Alabaster took the ring, tiara, and dagger back into his bag and said that no one would get their hands on these items other than him.

Lunestra told the group to stop wasting time and that they had to go help people. Alabaster said no and the other two agreed. Cyrus told Lunestra that they were badly hurt. She was almost dead herself from one attack. Lunestra got up and began a rousing speech about bravery and about protecting the innocent people of Alderheart. As she finished she began to head out, Cyrus and Yarrow both followed. Still beaten and bruised they followed, leaving Alabaster in his room alone.

As they exited the manor a wave of pink light shown over them and Lunestra felt Gaspard's presence upon her. The light formed into a ribbon around her waist and tied her to Yarrow and Cyrus. Together they felt a surge of magic come over them and Lunestra heard Gaspard speak in her mind.

"You are my champion."

Report Date

23 Sep 2020