Session 14 - The Center Cannot Hold

General Summary

On Sunnontag - the day of the Sabbath, Narcissa is alone in the citadel. She seems to be being watched by the men-at-arms of the castle. Her familiar sees several people leaving the city, and some fires being set. Narcissa and Baeleb talk about the necessity of following “people, not money” to get ahead.
Sigisar is blindfolded and led by Heinrich Stürmer. He is given a torch and told to march somewhere, likely underground. He arrives in a hexagon chapel, with stairs leading up to a gallery with wind chimes. He takes off his blindfold. He touches a “pristine” altar, then observes illustrative panels around in the chapel. He reads them in reverse, but, presented in correct order, these include: depiction of Gaal’s Last Supper, depiction of Gaal taken down from the cross, depiction of Gaal risen from the tomb, depiction of Gaal with a woman follower, Layla the Gavurite, holding hands on a ship, depiction of armed soldiers descending underground, depiction of penitent people kneeling before cathedrals in cities which seem to feature local construction. Sigisar kneels at the altar and prays to the Creator, before going upstairs and observing the wind chimes. He concludes this is a test by the knights of Heinrich’s order he must complete before his induction.
Manfred and Edmon follow some drunks out of the city towards the wood gathering. Edmon takes a drink offered by the drunks, and Manfred attempts to entertain them by making a wineskin glow pink. Eventually, after some wandering, Manfred and Edmon find the camp with Kaleb and Winifred (the latter, much to Manfred’s chagrin). After the group reconvenes, they make plans to return to the city. Boss Reinhard seems skeptical of such plans, but after failing to convince Winifred and Kaleb to stay, tries a different tact, offering a gift. The “gift” is revealed to be another fox. Kaleb takes the fox and pets it. Winifred is afraid of the fox. A struggle of Kaleb against Edmon and Winifred ensues, in which the pair try to take the fox from Kaleb, and eventually succeed. The fox then is revealed to be Boss Reinhard. He once again asks Winifred to stay, but still she refuses, and begins to leave. At this Boss Reinhard commands Edmon with a spell to make her stay, and he does, grabbing her and carrying her. While held, Winifred sends a bolt of fire at Boss Reinhard, who crumples. Winifred goes to check on the burned Reinhard after being released, and finds he appears dead. Manfred refuses to offer any attempt at medical aid, reasoning he will just attempt another kidnapping on Winifred if revived. The group leaves the campsite, being yelled after by the drunks. Once some ways away, Winifred begins crying over Reinhard, who she did not mean to kill.
At the citadel, Narcissa goes again to spy on the rectory. She pesters the father and disciples, who offer her communion bread. Upon touching it, she has a bad reaction, and the holy men attempt to seize her. Narcissa summons a thunderous clap, and kills several of the disciples. She then places a spectral crown of thorns on the priest’s head and hits him with a bolt of force, whiplashing him across the room and sending him crashing into a column. Some of the surviving acolytes take her to the priest’s living cell - where she finds the anatomy book Manfred previously read, as well as a book of demonology. Afterwards, she executes these acolytes with another thunderous clap. She checks the priest’s body for anything interesting, then returns to her room to pack her things.
The four from the woods return to the gate of the city, going in the opposite direction as many people flow out. The people coming out of the city warn of a “rat plague”. There are gatekeepers here, who block the way in. When the group tries to leverage a connection to Sigisar, the gatekeepers say they want an audience with him, and demand a return to Brillig’s previous form of self-governance. In short order, the two sides came to blows. Manfred put several of the exiting passers by to sleep by mistake. Winifred turned invisible, then snuck into the city. The gatekeepers transformed into wererats. Edmon slashed one, but it seemed to resist a blade more than a mortal man. Manfred cursed the wererats, calling them “rat bastards”. Edmon continued to fight the wererats. Thinking better of going ahead, Winifred changed into her hybrid fox form, then attempted to bite one of the wererats, suddenly turning visible as she pounced. Edmon felled one of the wererats. The other changed into a rat and fled. Winifred changed into a fox and gave chase. Manfred made sure the felled wererat was dead, slitting its throat. The group followed the rat to a building, and Edmon broke down the door. As the building had an ominous dark cellar, the group hesitated. Manfred suggested they had originally entered the combat to enter the city, which they had accomplished. Agreeing, the group went to the citadel.
Narcissa, needing to cover her tracks on her murders, slashed herself and began to scream, trying to cause a panic. She coordinates with Baeleb, the two agreeing they should probably work on leaving the citadel. He carries some of her belongings in the flight, but expresses exhaustion. She follows a guard up into one of the citadel’s gatehouse parapets, where she smites him with a bolt of force. She then takes his sword and jams it into the gate mechanism, preventing the gate of the citadel from being lowered.
Meanwhile, in the hexagon chapel, Sigisar continues to try to find a way to free himself. There are statues of Gaal and Layla the Gavurite here as well - Sigisar pushes the Layla statue, revealing a hole which contains a silver hammer, which he retrieves. He examines the panels more deeply, seeing a demonic figure in some. He begins tapping the demonic figures, and then the wind chimes with the hammer. Examining the statues further, he finds an inscription on one that reads in Valland, “In Arcadia, I am also.” He examines the altar further and finds a golden chalice. Further taps of the hammer on the panel reveal nothing. There is a grate on the floor which smells of vinegar, which he tries to pull up, but fails. Sigisar racks his brain to find a way to escape the chapel, but is unable.

Rewards Granted

• An anatomy and a demonology textbook (for Narcissa)

Report Date

10 Aug 2023

Primary Location

Brillig