Session 29: Downtime and Slaying Report
General Summary
Rewinding back to immediately after the hangings on the 42nd of Silver, Maria Primewater and others take The Leap in protest to the hangings. Typically, the people of Saltmarsh jump off of The Leap into the waters below when a relative is lost at sea, and then they swim to shore. Maria and her allies are doing this to protest what they see as an unjust executions.
Afterwards, during the two weeks leading up to the election Bubbles carouses and in the process makes one enemy contact. That contact is Hannah Rist's younger brother, Jame Rist, who thinks they are making the moves on his sister. Bubbles is not trying to flirt with the owner of The Snapping Line but Hannah thinks they are (and she's into it).
Bubbles also attends the last Primewater Banquet, hosted on the 49th of Silver, before the election to give Maria Primewater some soup for her ill brother (their banquet on the 56th is reserved as a victory party for whoever wins).
When Bubbles arives, they find themselves in the elaborate banquet hall of the Primewater Mansion. People mill all about, grouping in several tables. Bubbles is approached by the hostess, Maria Primewater, who thanks Bubbles for the heath hen-noodle soup and informs them that Tomas is still sick, and doctors from Seaton are struggling to treat him.
Bubbles then wanders about the party and tries some apple cider. They note that Eda Oweland is the only councilperson here, but instead of going to the council Bubbles approaches some fishermen and starts asking about Juan and the fishing incidents.
Gracia is a deep-voiced short fisherwoman who was friends with Juan and saved by Bubbles. She is thankful for Bubbles saving them and tells Bubbles that the sailor who died in the accident, Diego, had cut his hand open a week before and gone to Father Brinehanded. Garcia's wife is a tall and strong baker named Julia. Gracia recommends Bubbles try cornbread with salmonberry jam, which Bubbles finds to be a disturbing mixture of textures.
Bubbles then goes to Father Brinehanded and interviews him about whether or not Juan and Diego went in to get their injuries treaed. Diego had had a cut late at night earlier and gone home around 10 pm alone. Juan never came in; didn't come to church between the boat incident and the shooting. Brinehanded also mentions that Juan had a girlfriend, Gabriella, who is currently speaking with Councilwoman Oweland. Father Brinehanded further recommends Bubbles try anything pickled; and they find pickles to be quite odd.
Bubbles approaches Gabriella, and asks about the timeline of Juan's possession. Gabriella is freaking out and apologizing to Eda for Juan, and Eda is trying to reassure the young woman. Gabriella isn't sure what happened, but knows that Juan was really out of it at the time and seemed to want space after the fishing accident. Gabriella didn't see him much; she works for the Saltmarsh Carpenter's Guild and has been busy; the town is expanding.
Bubbles further speaks with Eda Oweland, and asks if she's noticed any other incidents or fatalities. Councilwoman Oweland says she isn't sure, but if it would be helpful for the investigation she'd be happy to put together a report and put in a good word for a Solmor report. They will meet at a later time to go over any boating incidents. Eda recommends trout and halibut, leading to Bubbles trying salted and cooked fish, which is bizarre and fascinating to them.
Following this, Bubbles speaks with with Hannah about the pecularities of human cuisine. They are quite stuck on salt being a rock that land-dwellers eat.
Meanwhile, Over the two weeks Virion is campaigning for election. He pays for canvassers, posters and renting out venues. After giving a speech, Captain Fireborn approaches Sir Sylvenne and gives him an endorsement, commenting on how Anders Solmor has become more and more radicalized in favor of Lankus Kurrid. Virion and Eliander agree that Lankus Kurrid would only cause unrest, preventing order. The best way to support security is to facilitate cooperation - not control.
At the same time, Virion is keeping a finger on the pulse of the rumors swirling around himself and Talon Co'oquilan Mystan. They have mostly died down, and when the rumor is brought up it is to say that Virion is "in bed with the empire" - either as a good or bad thing. For this reason, Virion has avoided Mystan's public endorsement.
At the same time, Uk-thin is visiting Keledek's Tower to see Dr. Cauce. On the desk that would normaly display magical miscellany, Dr. Cauce has covered the test in maps, charts, a rapier hilt, and a katchina mask.
The two end up discussing the curvature of the planet, and while Dr. Cauce explains how their is no curve Uk-thin fiddles with making a wind-up toy.
One of the things Dr. Cauce argues is that you must observe something for it to exist. To support this somewhat empiricist argument, he then shows Uk-thin the sword hilt. Speaking its command word, "luz", a gem in the hilt glows and a beam of orange light emits where the blade of the sword should be. Dr. Cauce explains that this is a dwarven magical item, a Sunblade. It banishes the darkness, and the ringshadow. Dispelling the darkness of ignorance, scienticsts like Cauce and Rolsar must carry the torch of truth to the world.
To prove the world is round, Uk-thin takes Dr. Cauce to the ocean and shows him how ships disappear behind the horizon, which Dr. Cauce dismissess as big waves. In retaliation, they push him into the ocean and then help him back up. Dr. Cauce is unfazed, saying that aftet the election he will be ready to investigate the caverns under the Tower of Zenopus. However, adventure archeaology (Dr. Cauce considers himself an Adventure Archaeologist - that's what his AA degree stands for) is a dangerous business. Dr. Cauce wants Uk-thin to get the party in on the investigation as muscle. Uk-thin is really against brining Virion (or Bubbles) in, and Dr. Cauce offers 1000 gp for each person. Uk-thin negotiates it up to 1500 gp for themself.
Dr. Cauce then goes out to Bubbles and Virion, visiting them at the Party House. They negotiate it up to 1100 gp each.
Following the hangings, Talon Mystan's presence is requested at Castle Feldren. They are greated by Colonel Runerage and the Captain of the Guard, who lead them to the dungeons, where Faeryn is restrained in an interrogation room. Mystan is greeted by (Senior) Talon Delmeriv and a peer, Talon Izel Serrano (a human knight of Raan who has been fighting in the Dreadwood). The three share a draught of the White Drink to commence their meeting, and Mystan casts Enhance Ability at 4th level, giving the Eagles Splendor buff.
As they enter the town, Faeryn is already being a smart ass, saying "Finally someone wants to talk to me. I thought I'd be rotting down here for the rest of eternity."
Talon Delmirev remarks that its only been a day, and Izel casts Zone of Truth. Several times; Faeryn succeeds against all of them. Delmirev then casts the spell, and Faeryn immediately fails. Then, the questioning begins.
Mystan begins, "The demon jellyfish, the Dybbuk that was controlling the bodies, I presume that was some sort of collaborator or boon from Zuggtmoy?"
Faeryn pauses, "Yes a boon. The Mistress of Rot and Decay can summon a great many things."
"Did the Mistress summon the demon?" Mystan asks.
"It was she who allowed it to be summoned into this world," Faeryn responds carefully.
"Who opened the portal initially?"
That question Faeryn awnsers easily, "I don't know who opened the portal."
Mystan tries to narrow in on the question, "What about that demon specifically?" "I didn’t bring that demon into the world," Faeryn answers plainly. The Talons are becoming exacerbated, "Do you know who did?" "I witnessed it," Faeryn responds, "I cannot say I know the one who did it." They then get a smug look on their burned face, "I mean what does it really mean to know someone." Mystan sighs, "Do you know their name"
"I cannot say I know their true name" Faeryn once again deflects.
"What name did you refer to them as?"
"They did not give me a name" is all Faeryn says.
"Did you refer to them by anything else?" Mystan asks.
"I referred to them by their species" Faeryn responds.
"Are there many of that species?"
Faeryn pauses, "Not many in the Drowned Forest, no."
Izel butts in, "this associate of yours, was it their footprints that were found in the woods."
Before Faeryn can answer, Delmirev expands on that "Was this the dwarf that was sighted by the woman before they died?"
All Faeryn respons with is "I couldn’t say."
"Were they a dwarf?" Delmirev asks. Faeryn is slient.
"Sometimes silence speaks volumes," Mystan remarks sagely.
Faeryn glares, "Yes they are a dwarf. They never gave me a name; they were just an associate of mine working towards the greater good. They were the one that summoned the demon."
Mystan surmizzes that this dwarf is probably connected to the summoning circle in the weird ruins in the drowned forest.
"So you were not the one to summon the demon?" The Talons ask.
Faeryn scowls, "Correct. I've only summoned one demon and you saw it, Mystan."
"However brief that was," Mystan remarks.
Faeryn rolls their eyes, "That's Sylvenne's fault, not mine."
"I'll need to thank him again for that," Mystan snarks. Faeryn sticks their tongue out at him.
Delmirev cuts the banter short, "so why did your Mistress have you burn villages?"
Faeryn looks at him with confusion, "What part of ending the world do you not understand?"
"She wanted to end the world in mushrooms," Mystan points out, "not falmes."
"That’s my Mistress," Faeryn says simply, "I like fire. Plus, it leaves stuff left behind to grow mushrooms."
"Like what you did with the bluesun bodies?" Talon Delmirev asks.
Once again, Faeryn remains silent for a moment beofre saying "That’s a different process."
"Before we apprehended you, why Eva?" Mystan asks, perplexed, "What was the reason for that?"
"What do you mean?" Faeryn asks carefully.
"What was the reason for her demise?" Mystan clairifies.
"Who?" Faeryn asks,
"Eva," Mystan repeats.
Faeryn grows uncomfortable, but eventually relents, "Sometimes you have to make sacrifices for the good of the whole. Eva wasn’t going to get out of their one way or the other, and she had a decanter. I didn’t have a choice."
"So it was to prevent us from reclaiming the decanter that killed her?" Mystan surmizes.
Faeryn seems to consider it, then speaks "My goal was to reclaim the decanters," they say slowly, "The prison break was to get assistance. Eva wasn’t going to be able to get away. I was. Killing Eva also rejuvenated me. I had to."
"What was the point of getting the decanters back?" Mystan asks.
"To continue their earlier purpose," Faeryn explains as if its obvious, "You took them from our shrine to our queen, so I had to retrieve them. We had to retrieve them."
"That purpose, I know that the Drowned Forest was drowned due to Zuggtmoy."
"Its important to her," Faeryn explains, "It facilitates growth; it facilitates death. It weakens the boundaries."
"Was your next steps to create that effect in a wider area?" Delmirev asks.
"Something like that." Faeryn remarks.
"Flooding the world?"
"No, that’s what the Cult of the Crushing Wave wants," the Warlock explains, "If we flood the world, fungi can’t grow at all. But saturating one forest helps."
"So turning the world into a swamp?" Mystan extrapolates.
"That’s a better description." Faeryn admits.
"Why work with the Crushing Wave, then?"
"We aren’t working with them;" faeryn explains, "The Cult of the Curshing Wave are useful idiots. We don’t want to end existence, we want to shape it anew; want to still have life and unity, not just water."
"To that point," Mystan begins, "with the Crushing Wave, as you put it, being useful idiots... at the time you encountered each other, they were very small in number."
"Yes, you were there as well," Faeryn scoffs.
"I'm recounting details, not asking a question yet," Mystan explains. "Normally they wouldn’t be much help. How many agents would you say your Mistress has compared to the Cult of the Curshing Wave?"
Faeryn grins madly, "Millions."
"How many humanoid agents?" Mystan asks, exacerbated.
"At least 2." Faeryn respons smartly.
Izel shifts the line of questioning, "Did you have any current missions or future missions?"
"My mission was to the acquire the decanters of endless waters." Faeryn states.
"What was their destination?" The Talons ask again.
"To bring them back to the church. I don't know after that. That isn't part of my concern."
"You mentioned this dwarven individual you have worked with-" Mystan begins. Faeryn interrupts.
"On occasion I've worked with him, yes."
"Where have your meetings been?"
"Various places," Faeryn starts, leaning forward and grinning, "They tend to find me."
"So would it be accurate to say that they are higher up than yourself?" Mystan asks.
"We don’t really have such hierarchy except when it comes to our queen," Faeryn says, trying to wave their hand despite their shackles, "All part of the same mycelium network."
"Seniority?"
"They’ve been at this much longer, yes. Longer than your empire has existed."
"When the demon controlled Juan and instigated the shooting at the trial, was that purely meant as a distraction, or is there another reason?" Mystan asks.
"Wouldn’t you like to know."
Mystan takes in a deep breath, "Yes, that’s why am aking you."
Faeryn considred Mystan's statement, "As far as you know its just a distraction."
Fed up with the non-awnsers, the Knights as "And as far as you know?"
"Its what my mistress instructed me to do." The warlock simply awnsered.
"That didn’t garner any new followers for you." Someone points out.
"If we wanted to do recruitment we’d have much better strategies for that" Faeryn retorts.
"I'd assume you aren’t that idiotic" Mystan smarms
"Whos to say we haven’t been recruiting people with lots of success? You can do a lot of damage with just one fisherman." Faeryn sneers, "Whos to say the last catches weren’t processed by possessed? Whos to say grains weren’t dusted with spores?"
They make eye contact with Talon Delmeriv and continue, "Ringshadow is coming."
Mystan, disgusted, pulls out copy of the map marked with Zuggtmoy's attacks and, lays it in front of Faeryn.
They look at it, "Your map is out of date, we’ve attacked Saltmarsh."
"We’re aware, also its not hard for us to remember saltmarsh." Mystan retorts.
"So these other towns aren’t important to you? Under Zuggtmoy all would be equal."
Mystan brushes it off, and offers advice on information gathering. "It's hard to gather info from burned corpses."
"You're not burned." Faeryn points out.
"I don’t have to talk to you"
The other Talon cuts in, "We can tell the trail roughly that you’ve been taking, however its interesting how random your little demon friend seems to be. Is there a reason other than just spending chaos?"
"Who said its to spread chaos?" Faeryn asks, "Like I said youre going into ringshadow, do your major cities have enough agriculture? Half your land just got burned to the ground."
Delmeriv cuts off their threats, asking, "Do you know where the dwarf is now?"
Faeryn smiles, "I don’t know where they are now; they could be anywhere."
Mystan clarifies, "where was the last place you saw them?"
"At the church before you guys raided it." Faeryn respons truthfully.
"Have you had any other contact with them since?" Mystan asks.
"No, they were given a separate mission than I."
"Do you know the mission?"
"I don’t know the details," Faeryn explains, "Just that they were going somewhere I didn’t want to go. I was more useful on the surface."
"So they went underground?" Mystan inferrs.
"They are a dwarf," Faeryn responds, but backpedals, "Also I just refer to the surface as the surface, im from the underdark."
"Are you implying your dwarf’s mission took them to the underdark?" Mystan asks.
"Or the water, or the air, theres a lot of places not the surface." Faeryn respons coily.
"I doubt theyre in the air." One of the Talons scoffs.
"I don’t know. Zuggetmoy may know." Faeryn non-awnsers.
There's then a discussion of gods/leaders, and their grand scheme end plans.
"All become one," Faeryn begins, "No war. No exile. No suffering. No family betraying."
"Imposing the will of the world." They finish.
The debate continues, but ultimately nothing more is gleaned from Faeryn. As they leave the chamber, Mystan turns to Delmeriv and Serana.
"I think as a precautonary mesaure we should investigate food stores, take measures to protect the food."
It is decided that Members of the Order as well as any clerics that can be found will be casting Purify Food and Water. Furthermore, the Salmon Runs will be coming soon - which will help Seaton, but not Saltmarsh; the Silverstand maintains treaty rights to the salmon.
Thankfully, the Cult of the Crushing Wave from the Isle of the Abbey is all arrested or dead - except Lillian, who is still at large.
Later, Mystan is approached by Dr. Cauce, who offers 1000 gold to join the party and explore the Tower of Zenopus. Mystan agrees.
On the First of Slaying, the day after the election, Dr. Cauce gathers everyone together and they cross the Silverstream River to the Tower of Zenopus. The party walks single file across a massive, sturdy, and expensive rope bridge spanning the chasm. It is fastened to the ceiling every ten feet as well as the far side, which is an eerily flat but concave limestone wall.
The Doctor then explains his plan; he will use horns of gunpowder strapped to the wall to blow a hole through the rock, requesting Sir Sylvenne cast Firebolt to tlight the charges. There are harnesses as a safety plan so nobody will fall.
Everybody protests, and Dr. Cauce admits he has no clue how thick the wall is. Uk-thin then gets into an arguement about who has the property rights over the region, Virion protests the damage, but the Doctor insists that he is an (adventure) archaeologist and knows what he is doing.
Uk-thin grabs onto Cauce who tells him to let go. Uk-thin then ignores him, asking Mystan to cast Sending to Keledeck to see if he approves of the explosives. Dr. Cauce insists Keledeck said "by any means necessary", and the sending is unclear; there's magical interference, and The Unspoken may have requested it be blown up, or may have asked for it not to be.
Dr. Cauce then casts Firebolt. but Virion counters it. Bubbles argues in support of the Archeologist, who insists Uk-thin lets him go. They don't, and Uk-thin challenges him. Doctor Cuace whispers "Luz" and cuts the rope bridge and harness ropes with his Sunblade, meaning the while party is dangling from the far side of the bridge. Uk-thin uses a dagger to cut Dr. Cauce's rope, who is now dangling in Uk-thin's grasp. If someone lets go, everyone will fall.
Uk-thin and Cauce continue, and they punch the man who threatens to light the gunpowder with his sword. Mystan suggests using Stone Shape to form a hole in the wall, while Uk-thin says they ought to tie Dr. Cauce up. The arguments continue, and the session ends on a literal cliffhanger.
Afterwards, during the two weeks leading up to the election Bubbles carouses and in the process makes one enemy contact. That contact is Hannah Rist's younger brother, Jame Rist, who thinks they are making the moves on his sister. Bubbles is not trying to flirt with the owner of The Snapping Line but Hannah thinks they are (and she's into it).
Bubbles also attends the last Primewater Banquet, hosted on the 49th of Silver, before the election to give Maria Primewater some soup for her ill brother (their banquet on the 56th is reserved as a victory party for whoever wins).
When Bubbles arives, they find themselves in the elaborate banquet hall of the Primewater Mansion. People mill all about, grouping in several tables. Bubbles is approached by the hostess, Maria Primewater, who thanks Bubbles for the heath hen-noodle soup and informs them that Tomas is still sick, and doctors from Seaton are struggling to treat him.
Bubbles then wanders about the party and tries some apple cider. They note that Eda Oweland is the only councilperson here, but instead of going to the council Bubbles approaches some fishermen and starts asking about Juan and the fishing incidents.
Gracia is a deep-voiced short fisherwoman who was friends with Juan and saved by Bubbles. She is thankful for Bubbles saving them and tells Bubbles that the sailor who died in the accident, Diego, had cut his hand open a week before and gone to Father Brinehanded. Garcia's wife is a tall and strong baker named Julia. Gracia recommends Bubbles try cornbread with salmonberry jam, which Bubbles finds to be a disturbing mixture of textures.
Bubbles then goes to Father Brinehanded and interviews him about whether or not Juan and Diego went in to get their injuries treaed. Diego had had a cut late at night earlier and gone home around 10 pm alone. Juan never came in; didn't come to church between the boat incident and the shooting. Brinehanded also mentions that Juan had a girlfriend, Gabriella, who is currently speaking with Councilwoman Oweland. Father Brinehanded further recommends Bubbles try anything pickled; and they find pickles to be quite odd.
Bubbles approaches Gabriella, and asks about the timeline of Juan's possession. Gabriella is freaking out and apologizing to Eda for Juan, and Eda is trying to reassure the young woman. Gabriella isn't sure what happened, but knows that Juan was really out of it at the time and seemed to want space after the fishing accident. Gabriella didn't see him much; she works for the Saltmarsh Carpenter's Guild and has been busy; the town is expanding.
Bubbles further speaks with Eda Oweland, and asks if she's noticed any other incidents or fatalities. Councilwoman Oweland says she isn't sure, but if it would be helpful for the investigation she'd be happy to put together a report and put in a good word for a Solmor report. They will meet at a later time to go over any boating incidents. Eda recommends trout and halibut, leading to Bubbles trying salted and cooked fish, which is bizarre and fascinating to them.
Following this, Bubbles speaks with with Hannah about the pecularities of human cuisine. They are quite stuck on salt being a rock that land-dwellers eat.
Meanwhile, Over the two weeks Virion is campaigning for election. He pays for canvassers, posters and renting out venues. After giving a speech, Captain Fireborn approaches Sir Sylvenne and gives him an endorsement, commenting on how Anders Solmor has become more and more radicalized in favor of Lankus Kurrid. Virion and Eliander agree that Lankus Kurrid would only cause unrest, preventing order. The best way to support security is to facilitate cooperation - not control.
At the same time, Virion is keeping a finger on the pulse of the rumors swirling around himself and Talon Co'oquilan Mystan. They have mostly died down, and when the rumor is brought up it is to say that Virion is "in bed with the empire" - either as a good or bad thing. For this reason, Virion has avoided Mystan's public endorsement.
At the same time, Uk-thin is visiting Keledek's Tower to see Dr. Cauce. On the desk that would normaly display magical miscellany, Dr. Cauce has covered the test in maps, charts, a rapier hilt, and a katchina mask.
The two end up discussing the curvature of the planet, and while Dr. Cauce explains how their is no curve Uk-thin fiddles with making a wind-up toy.
One of the things Dr. Cauce argues is that you must observe something for it to exist. To support this somewhat empiricist argument, he then shows Uk-thin the sword hilt. Speaking its command word, "luz", a gem in the hilt glows and a beam of orange light emits where the blade of the sword should be. Dr. Cauce explains that this is a dwarven magical item, a Sunblade. It banishes the darkness, and the ringshadow. Dispelling the darkness of ignorance, scienticsts like Cauce and Rolsar must carry the torch of truth to the world.
To prove the world is round, Uk-thin takes Dr. Cauce to the ocean and shows him how ships disappear behind the horizon, which Dr. Cauce dismissess as big waves. In retaliation, they push him into the ocean and then help him back up. Dr. Cauce is unfazed, saying that aftet the election he will be ready to investigate the caverns under the Tower of Zenopus. However, adventure archeaology (Dr. Cauce considers himself an Adventure Archaeologist - that's what his AA degree stands for) is a dangerous business. Dr. Cauce wants Uk-thin to get the party in on the investigation as muscle. Uk-thin is really against brining Virion (or Bubbles) in, and Dr. Cauce offers 1000 gp for each person. Uk-thin negotiates it up to 1500 gp for themself.
Dr. Cauce then goes out to Bubbles and Virion, visiting them at the Party House. They negotiate it up to 1100 gp each.
Following the hangings, Talon Mystan's presence is requested at Castle Feldren. They are greated by Colonel Runerage and the Captain of the Guard, who lead them to the dungeons, where Faeryn is restrained in an interrogation room. Mystan is greeted by (Senior) Talon Delmeriv and a peer, Talon Izel Serrano (a human knight of Raan who has been fighting in the Dreadwood). The three share a draught of the White Drink to commence their meeting, and Mystan casts Enhance Ability at 4th level, giving the Eagles Splendor buff.
As they enter the town, Faeryn is already being a smart ass, saying "Finally someone wants to talk to me. I thought I'd be rotting down here for the rest of eternity."
Talon Delmirev remarks that its only been a day, and Izel casts Zone of Truth. Several times; Faeryn succeeds against all of them. Delmirev then casts the spell, and Faeryn immediately fails. Then, the questioning begins.
Mystan begins, "The demon jellyfish, the Dybbuk that was controlling the bodies, I presume that was some sort of collaborator or boon from Zuggtmoy?"
Faeryn pauses, "Yes a boon. The Mistress of Rot and Decay can summon a great many things."
"Did the Mistress summon the demon?" Mystan asks.
"It was she who allowed it to be summoned into this world," Faeryn responds carefully.
"Who opened the portal initially?"
That question Faeryn awnsers easily, "I don't know who opened the portal."
Mystan tries to narrow in on the question, "What about that demon specifically?" "I didn’t bring that demon into the world," Faeryn answers plainly. The Talons are becoming exacerbated, "Do you know who did?" "I witnessed it," Faeryn responds, "I cannot say I know the one who did it." They then get a smug look on their burned face, "I mean what does it really mean to know someone." Mystan sighs, "Do you know their name"
"I cannot say I know their true name" Faeryn once again deflects.
"What name did you refer to them as?"
"They did not give me a name" is all Faeryn says.
"Did you refer to them by anything else?" Mystan asks.
"I referred to them by their species" Faeryn responds.
"Are there many of that species?"
Faeryn pauses, "Not many in the Drowned Forest, no."
Izel butts in, "this associate of yours, was it their footprints that were found in the woods."
Before Faeryn can answer, Delmirev expands on that "Was this the dwarf that was sighted by the woman before they died?"
All Faeryn respons with is "I couldn’t say."
"Were they a dwarf?" Delmirev asks. Faeryn is slient.
"Sometimes silence speaks volumes," Mystan remarks sagely.
Faeryn glares, "Yes they are a dwarf. They never gave me a name; they were just an associate of mine working towards the greater good. They were the one that summoned the demon."
Mystan surmizzes that this dwarf is probably connected to the summoning circle in the weird ruins in the drowned forest.
"So you were not the one to summon the demon?" The Talons ask.
Faeryn scowls, "Correct. I've only summoned one demon and you saw it, Mystan."
"However brief that was," Mystan remarks.
Faeryn rolls their eyes, "That's Sylvenne's fault, not mine."
"I'll need to thank him again for that," Mystan snarks. Faeryn sticks their tongue out at him.
Delmirev cuts the banter short, "so why did your Mistress have you burn villages?"
Faeryn looks at him with confusion, "What part of ending the world do you not understand?"
"She wanted to end the world in mushrooms," Mystan points out, "not falmes."
"That’s my Mistress," Faeryn says simply, "I like fire. Plus, it leaves stuff left behind to grow mushrooms."
"Like what you did with the bluesun bodies?" Talon Delmirev asks.
Once again, Faeryn remains silent for a moment beofre saying "That’s a different process."
"Before we apprehended you, why Eva?" Mystan asks, perplexed, "What was the reason for that?"
"What do you mean?" Faeryn asks carefully.
"What was the reason for her demise?" Mystan clairifies.
"Who?" Faeryn asks,
"Eva," Mystan repeats.
Faeryn grows uncomfortable, but eventually relents, "Sometimes you have to make sacrifices for the good of the whole. Eva wasn’t going to get out of their one way or the other, and she had a decanter. I didn’t have a choice."
"So it was to prevent us from reclaiming the decanter that killed her?" Mystan surmizes.
Faeryn seems to consider it, then speaks "My goal was to reclaim the decanters," they say slowly, "The prison break was to get assistance. Eva wasn’t going to be able to get away. I was. Killing Eva also rejuvenated me. I had to."
"What was the point of getting the decanters back?" Mystan asks.
"To continue their earlier purpose," Faeryn explains as if its obvious, "You took them from our shrine to our queen, so I had to retrieve them. We had to retrieve them."
"That purpose, I know that the Drowned Forest was drowned due to Zuggtmoy."
"Its important to her," Faeryn explains, "It facilitates growth; it facilitates death. It weakens the boundaries."
"Was your next steps to create that effect in a wider area?" Delmirev asks.
"Something like that." Faeryn remarks.
"Flooding the world?"
"No, that’s what the Cult of the Crushing Wave wants," the Warlock explains, "If we flood the world, fungi can’t grow at all. But saturating one forest helps."
"So turning the world into a swamp?" Mystan extrapolates.
"That’s a better description." Faeryn admits.
"Why work with the Crushing Wave, then?"
"We aren’t working with them;" faeryn explains, "The Cult of the Curshing Wave are useful idiots. We don’t want to end existence, we want to shape it anew; want to still have life and unity, not just water."
"To that point," Mystan begins, "with the Crushing Wave, as you put it, being useful idiots... at the time you encountered each other, they were very small in number."
"Yes, you were there as well," Faeryn scoffs.
"I'm recounting details, not asking a question yet," Mystan explains. "Normally they wouldn’t be much help. How many agents would you say your Mistress has compared to the Cult of the Curshing Wave?"
Faeryn grins madly, "Millions."
"How many humanoid agents?" Mystan asks, exacerbated.
"At least 2." Faeryn respons smartly.
Izel shifts the line of questioning, "Did you have any current missions or future missions?"
"My mission was to the acquire the decanters of endless waters." Faeryn states.
"What was their destination?" The Talons ask again.
"To bring them back to the church. I don't know after that. That isn't part of my concern."
"You mentioned this dwarven individual you have worked with-" Mystan begins. Faeryn interrupts.
"On occasion I've worked with him, yes."
"Where have your meetings been?"
"Various places," Faeryn starts, leaning forward and grinning, "They tend to find me."
"So would it be accurate to say that they are higher up than yourself?" Mystan asks.
"We don’t really have such hierarchy except when it comes to our queen," Faeryn says, trying to wave their hand despite their shackles, "All part of the same mycelium network."
"Seniority?"
"They’ve been at this much longer, yes. Longer than your empire has existed."
"When the demon controlled Juan and instigated the shooting at the trial, was that purely meant as a distraction, or is there another reason?" Mystan asks.
"Wouldn’t you like to know."
Mystan takes in a deep breath, "Yes, that’s why am aking you."
Faeryn considred Mystan's statement, "As far as you know its just a distraction."
Fed up with the non-awnsers, the Knights as "And as far as you know?"
"Its what my mistress instructed me to do." The warlock simply awnsered.
"That didn’t garner any new followers for you." Someone points out.
"If we wanted to do recruitment we’d have much better strategies for that" Faeryn retorts.
"I'd assume you aren’t that idiotic" Mystan smarms
"Whos to say we haven’t been recruiting people with lots of success? You can do a lot of damage with just one fisherman." Faeryn sneers, "Whos to say the last catches weren’t processed by possessed? Whos to say grains weren’t dusted with spores?"
They make eye contact with Talon Delmeriv and continue, "Ringshadow is coming."
Mystan, disgusted, pulls out copy of the map marked with Zuggtmoy's attacks and, lays it in front of Faeryn.
They look at it, "Your map is out of date, we’ve attacked Saltmarsh."
"We’re aware, also its not hard for us to remember saltmarsh." Mystan retorts.
"So these other towns aren’t important to you? Under Zuggtmoy all would be equal."
Mystan brushes it off, and offers advice on information gathering. "It's hard to gather info from burned corpses."
"You're not burned." Faeryn points out.
"I don’t have to talk to you"
The other Talon cuts in, "We can tell the trail roughly that you’ve been taking, however its interesting how random your little demon friend seems to be. Is there a reason other than just spending chaos?"
"Who said its to spread chaos?" Faeryn asks, "Like I said youre going into ringshadow, do your major cities have enough agriculture? Half your land just got burned to the ground."
Delmeriv cuts off their threats, asking, "Do you know where the dwarf is now?"
Faeryn smiles, "I don’t know where they are now; they could be anywhere."
Mystan clarifies, "where was the last place you saw them?"
"At the church before you guys raided it." Faeryn respons truthfully.
"Have you had any other contact with them since?" Mystan asks.
"No, they were given a separate mission than I."
"Do you know the mission?"
"I don’t know the details," Faeryn explains, "Just that they were going somewhere I didn’t want to go. I was more useful on the surface."
"So they went underground?" Mystan inferrs.
"They are a dwarf," Faeryn responds, but backpedals, "Also I just refer to the surface as the surface, im from the underdark."
"Are you implying your dwarf’s mission took them to the underdark?" Mystan asks.
"Or the water, or the air, theres a lot of places not the surface." Faeryn respons coily.
"I doubt theyre in the air." One of the Talons scoffs.
"I don’t know. Zuggetmoy may know." Faeryn non-awnsers.
There's then a discussion of gods/leaders, and their grand scheme end plans.
"All become one," Faeryn begins, "No war. No exile. No suffering. No family betraying."
"Imposing the will of the world." They finish.
The debate continues, but ultimately nothing more is gleaned from Faeryn. As they leave the chamber, Mystan turns to Delmeriv and Serana.
"I think as a precautonary mesaure we should investigate food stores, take measures to protect the food."
It is decided that Members of the Order as well as any clerics that can be found will be casting Purify Food and Water. Furthermore, the Salmon Runs will be coming soon - which will help Seaton, but not Saltmarsh; the Silverstand maintains treaty rights to the salmon.
Thankfully, the Cult of the Crushing Wave from the Isle of the Abbey is all arrested or dead - except Lillian, who is still at large.
Later, Mystan is approached by Dr. Cauce, who offers 1000 gold to join the party and explore the Tower of Zenopus. Mystan agrees.
On the First of Slaying, the day after the election, Dr. Cauce gathers everyone together and they cross the Silverstream River to the Tower of Zenopus. The party walks single file across a massive, sturdy, and expensive rope bridge spanning the chasm. It is fastened to the ceiling every ten feet as well as the far side, which is an eerily flat but concave limestone wall.
The Doctor then explains his plan; he will use horns of gunpowder strapped to the wall to blow a hole through the rock, requesting Sir Sylvenne cast Firebolt to tlight the charges. There are harnesses as a safety plan so nobody will fall.
Everybody protests, and Dr. Cauce admits he has no clue how thick the wall is. Uk-thin then gets into an arguement about who has the property rights over the region, Virion protests the damage, but the Doctor insists that he is an (adventure) archaeologist and knows what he is doing.
Uk-thin grabs onto Cauce who tells him to let go. Uk-thin then ignores him, asking Mystan to cast Sending to Keledeck to see if he approves of the explosives. Dr. Cauce insists Keledeck said "by any means necessary", and the sending is unclear; there's magical interference, and The Unspoken may have requested it be blown up, or may have asked for it not to be.
Dr. Cauce then casts Firebolt. but Virion counters it. Bubbles argues in support of the Archeologist, who insists Uk-thin lets him go. They don't, and Uk-thin challenges him. Doctor Cuace whispers "Luz" and cuts the rope bridge and harness ropes with his Sunblade, meaning the while party is dangling from the far side of the bridge. Uk-thin uses a dagger to cut Dr. Cauce's rope, who is now dangling in Uk-thin's grasp. If someone lets go, everyone will fall.
Uk-thin and Cauce continue, and they punch the man who threatens to light the gunpowder with his sword. Mystan suggests using Stone Shape to form a hole in the wall, while Uk-thin says they ought to tie Dr. Cauce up. The arguments continue, and the session ends on a literal cliffhanger.
Character(s) interacted with
- Maria Primewater
- Hannah Rist
- James Rist
- Senior Councilwoman Eda Oweland
- Garcia
- Julia
- Father Wellgar Brinehanded
- Gabriella
- Captain Eliander Fireborn
- "Doctor" @Jen
- Senior Talon Delmirev Adrex
- Talon Izel Serrano
- Faeryn
Uk-thin Rolsar
Lawful Good Gensai (Guild Artisan)
artificer 4
artificer 4
31 / 31 HP
STR
16
16
DEX
13
13
CON
14
14
INT
17
17
WIS
12
12
CHA
11
11
Bubbles
Virion Sylvenne
C/N Wood Elf (Noble)
Wizard 2
Wizard 2
7 / 12 HP
STR
12
12
DEX
16
16
CON
13
13
INT
16
16
WIS
14
14
CHA
14
14
Co'oquilan Mystan
Bronze Dragonborn (Acolyte)
Cleric 3
Cleric 3
10 / 24 HP
STR
14
14
DEX
11
11
CON
14
14
INT
13
13
WIS
16
16
CHA
13
13
Report Date
30 Oct 2022
Primary Location
Secondary Location
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