Session 2 - "Buried Alive" Report
General Summary
Kona 19, 1246
The day wears on into night, and eventually the time comes to rest. An old bakery makes as good a spot as any to rest - particularly in the large kiln that can comfortably fit the entire party to sleep, warmed by the campfire that is insulated in the two-foot-thick brick walls of the kiln.
The party is not so foolish as to take their rest here without preparation, however, and Foenix first jams the lock to prevent any of them from being locked inside the kiln. Then he and Thais take the first watch.
As they sit on the porch of this place, on the few chairs still intact with Foenix's lantern sat in between them, angled away from the road so as to not alert anything else in this place as their location, Foenix finally speaks.
"I don't like having red in my ledger, you know. So I'll have your back."
He also tells her about Micaiah's deception - taking something from the library of Incenderre for himself. They debate confronting the tiefling, but decide to wait until at least after noon the next day.
Their watch passes in quiet, until eventually Ali and Olena take over. The fighter and barbarian take turns trying to teach each other card tricks and dice games, but unfortunately neither of them are in the right mindset (the adrenaline of the day and the grogginess of being up in the night). Instead, Olena makes some tea, which Ali "politely" drinks.
The rest of the night passes without incident, the two warriors falling into comfortable silence.
The next day, they pack quickly. Foenix takes some time to sweep away the marks of their trail, but it is rushed and perhaps not the best job one could do.
Still, they are quickly on their way, eventually coming to a bridge over a chasm, leading from one district of Havre-Ordure to the next. It would once have (and still is, technically) lined with buildings, but since the city has sunk underground, swallowed by the earth, the ceilings of stone and earth and the buildings almost touch, if one did not crush the other. This makes it a perfect nest for insectoids... such as spiders.
Indeed, the entire chasm is coated in spider webs - large and frightening in their complete subsummation of the entire chasm.
Olena is the one to notice a strange, bluish glow from below them in the chasm, and point it out to the others. They stop to investigate, with Foenix being lowered on a rope by Thais to check it out.
They find down there a little silver fox automaton, trying desperately to release... something... from a web cocoon.
Foenix takes out his blade, and begins to cut open the cocoon. Eventually, this allows the top half of Seraphine Ansellus to spill out. Catching her, Foenix uses another rope to tie her into a harness. He shoots rope, tied around an arrow, back towards the bridge. He nearly over shoots it, but Thais reaches out and catches it with her hand, leaving her palm bleeding. But the rope is captured, and Olena and Ali work to pull the half-drow up. The little fox animatronic jumps into Seraphine's bag, and together they tumble onto the bridge.
Thais, after making sure to pull Foenix back up safely, comes over to Seraphine. She uses her Lay on Hands to bring the young woman back to consciousness, where she expresses confusion for where she is, explaining that she was in Havre-Ordure doing research when she was attacked by the spiders. Beyond that, she has no idea how she got there. But she thanks them for their help all the same, introducing herself as Seraphine and her fox automaton as Chihiro.
Foenix suddenly raises a shout of alarm. The webs, which he tried his best not to jostle during his attempt to free Seraphine from her prison, are now vibrating wildly.
The party turns and flees, hearing the sound of hissing spiders behind them. Unfortunately, they are not faster than the arachnids, and soon find themselves in a narrow alley with the three large spiders closing in on them, and so the party chooses to turn and fight.
Thais takes the moment before the spiders are truly upon them to bless Olena, Seraphine, and Micaiah, before turning back and interposing herself between the spiders and Micaiah (the slowest of the party).
Foenix, at the front of the party and the furthest from danger, takes out his shortbow and nails one of the spiders crawling along the roofs with an arrow before wheeling around Ali and pressing himself against the side of the building.
The spiders advance, and as Thais raises her shield, bracing for the impact of its body against it, she is instead surprised as it leaps, sailing over her head and landing in between her and Seraphine, where it bites deep into Seraphine's leg. The same venom that left her lethargic and nigh unconscious does not take effect this time, however, and so Seraphine is left merely bleeding.
The spider on western side of the alley climbs down the side of the building, attempting to bite Ali. But Ali's battle reflexes kick in as they dodge to the side and swings downward, embedding their axe into the spider's abdomen and it lets out a horrific screeching cry as its guts are rent apart and it dies.
The final spider on the roofs - on the eastern side of the alley - crawls down the side of the wall, and bites into Olena's arm. Once again, its toxins do not slow down its opponent, but blood still gushes from the wound.
Micaiah, now on the outside of the action, takes the opportunity to completely remove himself from it. He walks as far away as he can, waiting to see what happens but not putting himself in danger. Foenix notices, but at the moment cannot do much about it.
Ali pulls their axe free from the dead spider, and swings for the fences on the one clinging to the wall of the alleyway, cutting through three legs and clanging off the stonework. The spider hisses and tries to scuttle backwards, as five feet away Seraphine raises her fist, the entirety of her hand becoming coated with snow and rime, and then brings it downward in a burst of freezing cold, a ray of frost scorching across the spider-who-bit-her's abdomen, leaving it sluggish and much less mobile.
Olena takes Ali's distraction and rages, using her maul to absolutely obliterate the spider that bit her, spraying guts and fluid in all directions.
Thais runs up to the last remaining spider, and uses her sword to attempt to bisect and kill it as Ali did. Unfortunately, she overextends, and the opening gives the spider the chance to bite into a soft part of her armor: the inner elbow, where she needs to be able to bend her arm easily. The toxin does not take effect, thankfully, but it is still a nasty bite.
The attack on Thais does give Foenix an opportunity, and so he dashes out from under cover, sliding in between Olena's legs and right next to Thais, with the spider's fangs still in her arm, and continuing on until he's right underneath the arachnid. The blade of his dagger pierces the spider's body, as he begins to eviscerate it.
The death throes and the eventually stilling of the body, legs curling up, would have killed Foenix with its weight if it were a heavier (or larger creature). But instead he is simply able to cut his way out from underneath it.
Micaiah comes out from hiding, which infuriates Foenix. He marches over to Micaiah, grabbing him by the face and positioning the tip of his dagger at Micaiah's throat.
"We're all a team," he grits out. "You need to start pulling your weight."
Then he lets the tiefling go, stomping away in disgust.
Meanwhile, Seraphine, Thais, and Olena are trying to harvest from the spiders what they can - but all attempts fail, and they are forced to march on.
As they walk, Thais uncovers her arm to take a look at the spider bite. It's nasty, but it can heal in time. Seraphine notices and asks if she can help.
Thais, curious to see what she does, agrees, and Seraphine's eyes glow warm and orange as she puts a hand over the wound, calling forth the healing rays of the sun to cure Thais's wounds.
Olena also takes the opportunity to thank Thais and Ali for their help with the spiders, but Thais is distracted.
Not by Seraphine, but instead by the graveyard that they are walking past: rows upon rows of crypts, some guarded by stone statues. The one specifically that catches her eye is a crypt that is guarded by what at first seems to be an angel - but on closer inspection is shrouded by eagle wings. Harsher, more angular than the dove's feathers, and the "angel" has two sets of wings. Indeed, instead of an angel, it is an effigy of the god Syria. That is not unusual for a graveyard in and of itself - she is, after all, the goddess of honorable death.
But she is not holding her signature net and shield. Instead they are laid at her feet, and she stands upon a stone with a plaque that reads: "Bring to me the greatest weapon, that kings covet, puts warriors to ruin, and ends all battles."
Her hands are outstretched in front of her, as if to hold a weapon with tip (if it were a sword) braced against the ground.
Thais walks around the tomb until she discovers six square holes cut into the crypt, where she can see the handles of various weapons just barely visible.
Each is labeled with a name in Common: Lorekeeper, Vengeance, Talisman, Peacemaker, Massacre, and Penance.
To everyone there, Peacemaker seems to be the correct option, and so Thais draws it. Peacemaker, it turns out, is a longsword covered in rust and with an olive branch wrapped around the handle.
When she tries fitting it into the statue's hands, the weapon comes to life on its own, cutting her across the face diagonally (from forehead to cheek and across the nose). As Thais stands there, letting the blood drip down her face, Micaiah rushes forward and tries to blot the wound.
Since Peacemaker is still whirling about, getting ready to swing again, Foenix takes a shot and his arrow dings off the blade, denting it badly. Seraphine leaps forward and grabs onto the sword's handle, trying to keep it still, but as Olena swings down upon the sword's blade with her maul in an attempt to cause it to cease attacking them (and not intending to destroy it), her weapon catches Peacemaker at just the right angle to demolish it completely, leaving only the olive branch behind.
Olena stands for a moment in shocked disbelief (and a bit of shame), but there is no need to fret, as Foenix picks the olive branch off the ground and places it in the statue's hands. The statue clicks, and slides aside to allow them entrance into the crypt of Arsène Léon, a paladin of Syria from centuries ago.
The frescoes on the wall tell of his legacy serving as her champion, including the story of his siege and deposition of a lich that brought forth an army of undead. This wasa desecration of the dead, and therefore an anathema to Syria, Zelentium, Laravelle, and Bellatan. It lead to a banding together of their champions against Skatr, Reka, Iros-est, Angoi'suppice, and Engenii's champions.
Above the wall where the stone sarcophagus lies is an etched prayer:
Syria, Angel of Mercy, grant me the strength and courage to bear the burdens of others, so they may not suffer, but die with honor and dignity in my embrace, and therefore yours.
There are also a pair of bottles sitting on the steps leading up to the sarcophagus, which Foenix and Thais both recognize (after opening the bottles to look inside and smell the contents) as Zelentium's Breath: a powerful toxin meant to induce quick, painless death.
They take the bottles, and while Foenix studies the effigy of Léon on the lid of the sarcophagus - especially the fact that he is grasping a sword - and determines to open it, Thais glances at the frescoes, taking in the story of this great knight.
Olena helps Foenix get the lid off the sarcophagus, which does indeed house Léon's corpse - what little is left of it. It is dressed in resplendent armor and holding a sword in its grasp, as the effigy depicted, and is surrounded by long dead-and-dusted flower petals.
Foenix encourages Thais to take the sword, which she eventually does, but only after taking some of the blood from the wound across her face and smearing it across the corpse's forehead, anointing and honoring the champion. Upon taking his blade, Thais leaves her own in its place: a gift from her father, made by his own two hands, and one of the last things she still has from home.
It is as Foenix determines that they might as well take his armor too - and Seraphine, Ali, and Olena have an animated discussion about the ethics of taking holy relics and grave robbing - that Thais takes a moment to silently ask Syria if she is truly calling her. If this is a sign that she is to follow the Angel of Mercy.
The silent meditation is broken when she notices in the coffin, amongst the blackened, dead flowers that crumble to dust at a touch, a spark of brilliant color.
Reaching into the casket, she pulls out a bright, fresh marigold blossom - just like the ones that grew back home. She nearly cries as she takes the flower and tucks it against her chest, next to heart, and then stands to work with Foenix on taking Léon's armor. Her own, she leaves as an offering to Syria, and the six continue on into the dark once Foenix resets the lock into the paladin's tomb - once Olena takes a moment to speak to the plaque, the one that speaks of peace and weapons and ending war, to tell it that it is wrong. That peace does not come when her friends died.
The party eventually comes to a split in the path. One is barred by a locked iron gate, but Foenix knows that it's a more straight shot to the surface if they can figure out another way through. The other way is a staircase leading down another level deeper, but is unbarred if they can survive the longer journey.
As they are trying to figure out what to do, Foenix spots someone on the other side of the gate. He immediately slips into the shadows, and while the rest of the party attempts to stay back and out of sight, the figure notices Olena, and calls out to her.
The figure, upon approaching the gate, is dressed in dark green with a cloak to hide her form and a mirrored mask to hide her face. The odd thing about this mask is that it seems to take on the appearance of whoever she last looked at, so as her gaze turns from Olena to Micaiah and back to Olena, it is always the face of whomever she is NOT talking to at the moment. It's very distracting and off putting.
She introduces herself as Wickett, one of the Glowbugs that traverse the undercity's sealed areas and even brave the sunny streets of Brillante for secrets and information. She is rather chipper and self important, refusing to give the party access to her keys to get through the gate unless they do something for her: steal a writ of passage from the daughter of a diplomat from the country of Ilatros, south of Karasi and across a vast desert.
Seraphine is immediately against this plan, knowing that the writ is keeping this girl safe from harassment of the awful rich Brillantan, and she can't sign off on causing anyone harm.
Meanwhile, Micaiah and Thais have used not only their own knowledge of their own infernal kind and their divine cousins (Micaiah) and their divine senses (Thais) to deduce that Wickett is actually an aasimar - a descendent of a heavenly creature. When they point this out, however, she gets hostile immediately, and seems even less likely to want to help them than before.
Foenix, still cloaked, sets out the bottle with the Glowbug symbol on the threshold of the gate, right at Wickett's feet, and when she notices it and starts, having not noticed him previously, he grimly hands her the arcane armament that they found, and comments that they don't need to mark all their traps with their calling card.
Thais is out of patience, and stalks forward, grabbing Wickett by the throat and letting her eyes flare with thaumaturgy as she threatens to snap the woman's neck right then and there.
Micaiah uses the distraction to reach through the gate, grab Wickett's keys, and unlock the gate. It screeches open as Thais continues to hold Wickett up by the throat, dragging her along the outside of the gate before finally letting go as they step through.
Wickett, gasping and coughing and thoroughly spooked, reluctantly leads all of them to the exit to the undercity - into a garden of a mansion in Brillante.
Foenix tells her that they'll think about doing the job she asked of them, but that she'll need to pay them for the service now. She begrudgingly tells the party that the Glowbugs have a contact at the White Lace Tea Room if they ever need to get back in contact with her.
Then they're all gone, scrabbling out into the fresh air and bright sunlight of Brillante.
Having successfully navigated Havre-Ordure, Micaiah suggests they celebrate. He takes out the leather pouch he found in the library of Incenderre, and dumps the coins into his hand. He distributes it evenly amongst everyone there, and offers to show them a spot he enjoys in Brillante for food and lodging.
Not having another guide, they follow him to a restaurant and inn known as Filigree's Folly. Their presence is odd, and many give them strange looks, but between Thais's new armor and Micaiah's instructions on how to blend in, they are not stopped or questions.
As they sit down and begin to order, it turns out to be a very interesting experience. Seraphine, having shifted into a cat and riding on Ali's shoulders, points out the menu options she wants with her paw and they order for her.
Foenix knows nothing about what to order, and so points randomly at the menu, getting a roast peacock for his troubles (which deeply upsets him). The coffee, however, is quite good and helps soothe his anxieties about the food, price, and overall environment of this place.
One moment that does not soothe him, however, is dessert. The pastries are not nearly as good as the ones he makes himself, and so Foenix takes out his own baked goods that he brought with him to enjoy.
Micaiah is appalled by this breech of etiquette, and commands Foenix to stop at once.
The spell works, and Foenix is frozen briefly. He does not take it well, however, and immediately presses a blade in between Micaiah's ribs, threatening that he will use it if Micaiah ever does something like that again.
Still, the meal fills well, and eventually the party gets the keys to their cabins from Briannon, the waitress that has been tending their table. Taking the iron keys, they exit out into the garden with its bleached white gravel walkways, small fountain, and immaculate hedges and bushes, and find their way to each of their cabins: 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, and 9.
Each cabin has a tiny porch, with a wrought iron table and two chairs upon it. Inside, there is a small sitting room area with a partition into the bedroom with a large bed and open archway into the bathroom, with a bathtub seated right underneath a window into the gardens. The walls are painted with scenes of play and frolicking - animal and humanoid - and the bathrooms have floral wallpapers or paintings, with only one having a scene of a beach or a lake.
Thais and Foenix both choose to bathe immediately, using the bell chords at the front entrance to get fresh hot water brought to them. But everyone soon heads to bed (Thais placing the marigold over her chest before falling asleep). Except for Foenix, who hears Seraphine crying in the next cabin over.
Reluctantly, he heads over to speak to and comfort her. He explains that he knows what she's going through, but also that Brillante is filled with bad people, and that no matter how much she cares about them, they wouldn't for a SECOND spare a thought for her. He shows her the scars on his back from when he was caught stealing - even after all these years they haven't faded - but tells her that she's a good person, and shouldn't need anyone's approval of her.
The conversation seems to improve her spirits, and both of them eventually return to their beds to rest in the best comfort either have felt in quite a while.
Rewards Granted
- 2 bottles of Zelentium's Breath
- The Léon Blade
- 7 gp and 5 sp (from the leather pouch found in "Drip, Drip, Drip" )
- FOR THAIS ONLY: Access to the spell heart to heart, which can be cast by reciting the prayer in Léon's tomb and does not count against her total list of spells she can prepare.
Character(s) interacted with
- Wickett, aasimar Glowbug
- Briannon, a waitress at Filigree's Folly
Notes
Quotes of the Session
Olena: "I've had bark soup!"
Ali: "Oh my god, are you okay? Do you need a real meal?"
Thais: "Alright, is anyone dead?"
Seraphine: "Why do you ask if anyone is dead? If you were dead, you couldn't answer."
Seraphine: "There's a lot of unnecessary violence in this group...."
Rachel (about Wickett's mask): "What if it shows you the face of your one true love?!"
Foenix (to Seraphine): "We're stuck together now, for better or worse - you're the better, I'm the worse."
Thais Argyri
Paladin (Oath of Redemption) 7
18
13
16
10
11
18
Foenix Stolnent
Rogue 3
Arcane Trickster 4
14
18
19
18
13
13
Micaiah Louvre
Warlock 7
7
18
14
12
15
20
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