Chapter 5, Session 3: Pursuit
General Summary
Peregrine and Esmerae headed to the baths, getting a little fucked up on wine as they went. Afterwards, the pair headed downstairs to try and get free drinks. Meanwhile, Mallus Somnium looked at the slot machines, swiping money dropped on the floor. An old lady took pity on him, giving him a gold coin before letting him continue his search. Peregrine and Esmerae targeted a tiefling and a hobgoblin at the bar, learning they were traders from Peridot dealing in Runic Dust as well as crafting materials, though the men said the real money was in the powders, and they had a good deal with Nomtai. The pair got a few free drinks, learning the merchants had fought off pirates between Thornden and Nefil while transporting holy relics for a holy gathering, before they left for the cage fight, meeting up with Malus, who had found 2 whole gold coins.
Meanwhile, Hermione went to investigate the gravity crystal. After failing to walk smoothly in, she started asking questions, learning the last guy to deal with the upkeep of the crystal was Bellow-Broom Xanat. With pure confidence, she looked at the crystal, noticing a weird smell she recognised before suddenly remembering it smelled like the graphomancy in the sewers of Sanctuary. She also saw the crystal explode from the inside like something was placed inside - a controlled blast. Finally, she found a note in one of the cracks of the crystal:
“Princess of Vallea, if you are reading this, know this: My punishment at the hands of my superiors was brutal because of you. Not only did you force me to deviate from my target, but you also led me to ripping through my forms. They stripped me of my blade, took my sight of the wall and banished me from fates’ care… Straight into the dark of this land. A gift to redeem myself by any and all means. The Persecution will not stop. I will not be pulled from duty and no punishment will take me away from my purpose. I will ensure it is my hand you fall to princess. Even if it means making more and more deals with more and more who deserve deaths almost as gruesome as yours.”
After confirming with Merry Man Maverick Trunade that no one else had touched the crystal, Hermione rebuilt Joly and sent a message with him to the party, telling them she was investigating the Persecutor and not to wait up. Back with the others, they settled in to watch the fight! Esmerae tricekd a guy to leave his front row seat by telling him someone called him a dick - the party then stole his space. Void entered the arena to do the introductions, stating that Random Woman was an adventurer. And Man with Sword was an ex-honourblade and had one! Random Woman saw the party in the crowd and became tenser than when she saw her opponent. Esmerae bet on the woman, and the party agreed to talk to both after the fight. It was a riveting match, but Random Woman won! Malus recognised she was a Black Blooded. She approached the party and said she meant no harm and just wanted to talk. The party made no promises, so she said she would wait at the bar in 30 minutes. The party left and discussed what to do. Malus didn’t want to talk to her but did want to listen in, so he went into the bag which Peregrine carried to the meeting. They picked up Joly on the way.
Meanwhile, with Hermione, she rocked up to Engineer Xanat’s house. A neighbour, Thenis, called out from his window to ask her to drop off a basket of ‘get better’ stuff. She knocked and got no response, the door was unlocked. Hermione realised she was the token black guy in a horror movie after giving no information for the party to come and help her in time. She entered anyway, triggering a trap inside the room - an Alarm spell. She tried to message and call to Xanat but got no answer. After seeing no more traps and getting no more replies, Hermione left ot speak with Thenis, who mentioned Xanat was a little odd. The pair had gone on a date, and it didn’t go too well a week ago. Xanat fell ill the next day and hadn’t been seen since. Hermione paid Thenis to send a message to the party to let them know what she was doing - 5g now, and 5g if she came out alive after 30 minutes. She went back inside, finding a study filled with charcoal sketches of different people: The party in different situations. All the pictures with Hermione had her eyes scratched/stabbed out. Under the cupboard, she found a letter. The place looked ransacked, somewhat recently. The letter was from an ancient, supposedly extinct group: The Stop (the possible killers of Emperor Honour). It gave instructions regarding the crystal. After taking some of the pictures, Hermione crept upstairs.
Esmerae, Peregrine and Malus waited at the bar for the strange woman to appear. When she did, they saw she was a half-wood elf, normal-looking despite her bestial nature in combat. She said she was here to give a message and would answer any questions except for what her name was. She admitted to being a Black Blooded Hunter but wasn’t one anymore, having left recently due to what they were doing in Mezatli, becoming more zealous and nightmarish - this included Malus’s treatment. She was now with a group of others like her, less monster hunting and more science and research, hiding in an alcove outside Mezatli. On their behalf, she offered a safe haven for the party when they planned to head up north. She also said the Black Blooded were aware of what Esmerae and Malus were, having brought a vampire hunter on their side (Victor’s killer) and put a bounty on Malus - apparently if he’s seen it’s open season. The woman made it clear she disapproved of the tests on children. She had no sob story and nothing more to say, though she did compliment Esmerae’s fighting before going.
Malus asked the party to ask her if she knew about his dreams. Peregrine does so, and it was clear the woman doesn’t like her. She did say, however, that Malus’ pearl that he wore controlled what he dreamed - without it, he would dream of other things, which scared the Black Blooded. The tests on Malus (who was dropped off by parents?) were to help with the dreams he’d had before the Black Blooded, but the tests changed on his blood.
Back to Hermione, she found the halfling Xanat dead in bed with their throat slit. She left and called out to Thenis, only to get no reply. The same happened when she called to another neighbour. Suddenly, Hermione realised there was a Silence spell around Xanat’s home and moved out of it, relieved to find once she could be heard that Thenis was still alive. But Thenis said Hermione had left the house a couple of minutes ago to tell him Xanat was dead - this was NOT Hermione! Someone was in the house with her. They came out, told Thenis the news, then walked off into the dark. Thenis agreed to report this all to the Merry Men with Hermione and agreed to escort Hermione back to the Casino. They told the Merry Men everything, including the Woven Providence involvement - the Merry Men seemed excited by this and agreed to guard Hermione while she was in Varne Gate.
Upon returning, Hermione relayed everything to the party, asking not to be alone. The party went to the communal baths, convincing Malus to let them help clean him up as Hermione got a chance to rest, and the party finally had a long rest.
Report Date
18 Mar 2025
Primary Location
Related Characters
Comments