Side Session - Val's Past
Flashback Episode: Shadows of the Past
This episode delves into Valenthe’s past, offering the players a glimpse into her days as an OSS contract assassin and her partnership with Reka, the fellow killer she ultimately abandoned. The session explores the themes of duty, trust, and betrayal, leading to the moment that shattered their alliance.
Encounter 1: The Contract
Location: OSS Headquarters, a dimly lit war room filled with intelligence reports and wanted posters.
Val and Reka are summoned by Kael Draeven, their commander, for a new assignment. He presents them with a target:
- Target: A high-value magic user in hiding, believed to be organizing an underground resistance.
- Details: The target is suspected of possessing forbidden knowledge that could incite rebellion.
- Complication: The target is heavily guarded and reportedly travels with innocents—family, followers, or students.
- Deadline: The contract must be executed before the next dawn.
Draeven speaks, his voice measured and unwavering.
"Your next contract has been identified. A nobleman turned traitor, Lord Audric Meriven, has been found hiding among the lower districts. Once a scholar of the court, now he peddles dangerous ideals, whispering rebellion in the ears of commoners. He has delved into forbidden magics - runes and rituals the Crown has long outlawed. His existence undermines the Order, and his knowledge is a threat we cannot allow to spread."
He slides a vellum dossier across the table. On it is a sketched portrait of Lord Audric Meriven, a man once regal, now worn by exile. His sharp features are shadowed by age, and his eyes - piercing even in the drawing - suggest a mind that has seen too much.
Draeven continues.
"We believe he has taken refuge in an abandoned manor on the outskirts of the city. He is not alone. He has gathered students - disciples, even. Perhaps his old household staff. We do not yet know how deeply they are entrenched in his treason, but we do know this:"
His gloved hand presses the parchment firmly against the table.
"None leave alive."
A moment of silence lingers before he leans back, eyes narrowing slightly.
"I trust there are no questions."
If pushed for more details, Draeven answers only what he deems necessary, dismissing anything sentimental.
“Why does it matter? He was once useful. Now he is not.”
He hands them a wax-sealed OSS insignia - their proof of authority - before dismissing them.
“You have until dawn. Don’t disappoint me.”
As they leave the war room, the echoes of their boots against the stone floor serve as a quiet reminder: the OSS does not tolerate failure.
Encounter 2: The Hunt
Location: A quiet, unassuming village at the outskirts of the kingdom.
The target is hiding in a secluded manor, guarded by loyal followers. The village is filled with fearful whispers, hinting that some locals may be protecting the magic user.
Possible Approaches:
- Stealth & Espionage: Infiltrate the manor under the cover of darkness. (major success... fuck you, Val)
- Interrogation: Shake down villagers for intel. (the team of course, chose this option; I guess its not really kidnapping if he never leaves his home....?)
Ambush:Wait for the target to leave their safehouse.
Challenges:
- Moral Conflict: The target is not what they expected—perhaps an elderly scholar or a healer rather than a revolutionary. (They didn't care).
- Civilian Resistance: Not all in the village support the OSS.
Encounter 3: The Execution
Location: The hidden sanctuary beneath the manor—a candlelit chamber filled with ancient tomes.
The target pleads for their life, revealing a devastating truth:
- The OSS is not just hunting rogue mages; they are erasing history, destroying any records of past magical civilizations. (again, indifferent)
The target has evidence that could expose the OSS’s corruption.
Player Choice:
- Kill the target and stay loyal to the OSS.
- Spare them and consider defecting.
- Betray Reka—if Val hesitates, Reka may complete the contract herself. (or vice versa )
Encounter 4: The Betrayal
Challenges & Moral Conflicts
1. The Target is Not What They Expected
Meriven is no warlord, no insurrectionist—he is a man of knowledge, not violence. His crime was not treason, but seeking truth where the Crown forbade it.
- His “rebellion” was teaching magic in secret, preserving knowledge that the kingdom sought to erase.
- His “followers” are students, children, and the sick who sought his aid.
When confronted, he does not beg for his life. He simply speaks:
"If you strike me down, know that you do the bidding of men too afraid to see beyond their own power. But if you let me speak, you may yet remember why you started down this path at all."
Loot Found in the Hidden Sanctuary
If Val and Reka kill Lord Audric Meriven and search the hidden chamber before making their escape, they will find a mix of valuable relics, magical items, and practical supplies.
1. Magical Items
- Bracers of Subtlety – +2 bonus to Sleight of Hand and Stealth checks. Black leather with golden filigree that fades into shadow.
- Scroll of Nondetection – A single-use spell scroll. Makes a person, item, or location immune to divination magic for 8 hours.
- Tome of the Forgotten Veil – A mysterious book containing notes about erased magical civilizations. Studying it for 7 days grants proficiency in History (Arcane Civilizations).
- Amulet of the Watchful Eye – A silver chain with a blue gem that vibrates when a scrying spell is active nearby.
2. Weapons & Armor
- Moonlit Dagger (Rare, Finesse, 1d4+1 Psychic Damage) – A dagger that phases silently through armor.
- Shadowwoven Cloak – Grants advantage on Stealth checks in dim light or darkness.
3. Potions & Utility Items
- 2 Potions of Greater Healing (4d4+4 HP)
- 1 Potion of Invisibility (Lasts 1 hour or until the user attacks)
- 2 Smoke Bombs (Obscures vision in a 10ft radius for 1 minute)
- 1 Vial of Oil of Silence (Applied to weapons, suppresses all noise for 10 minutes)
4. Evidence & Intelligence
- OSS Execution Orders – A sealed letter confirming that the OSS is eliminating scholars, not just rogue mages.
- List of Future Targets – Contains coded names of more high-profile magic users being hunted.
- Reka’s Name on the List – Proof that her own people see her as disposable.
Location: OSS Headquarters – The War Room
The Order of the Sworn Swords' war room is a stark, imposing chamber. A long wooden table is scarred with old blade marks from years of planning battles, and iron sconces flicker with dim torchlight. On the stone walls, tattered maps of the kingdom and aged parchments bearing the names of executed traitors serve as grim reminders of the OSS’s duty. The air smells of wax and ink, mixed with the lingering scent of oiled steel.
Valenthe and Reka stand before Kael Draeven, the commander who has dictated their lives for years. His armor is polished but battle-worn, his presence commanding yet unreadable. He fixes them with his signature cold, assessing stare, the kind that weighs loyalty like a blacksmith testing a blade for weakness.
A meeting between Reka and Kael Draven. Val is here, but you can't see her.... as usual.
The Briefing
Encounter 2: The Hunt
Location: The Outskirts – A Sleeping Village at Twilight
A chill lingers in the air as Valenthe and Reka arrive at Wetherbrook, a quiet hamlet nestled against the kingdom’s border. The scent of damp earth and woodsmoke drifts through the narrow streets, where houses slump beneath thickly thatched roofs, their lanterns dimmed early. This is not a place of soldiers or rebels—this is a place of farmers, weavers, and quiet prayers.
And yet, fear seeps through its foundations.
As they pass the villagers in the fading daylight, eyes dart away, voices hush, doors close a little too quickly. Something about this place is wrong—not just in the way it avoids them, but in the way it knows them (OSS).
They were expected.
At the far end of the village, beyond an old orchard, looms Meriven Manor—once a noble estate, now a sanctuary for something else. Vines creep over its aged stone walls, its towering iron gate locked and unmoving. Torchlight flickers inside, illuminating silhouettes that move cautiously beyond the curtained windows.
Somewhere inside, Lord Audric Meriven waits.
Encounter 3: The Execution
Location: The Hidden Sanctuary Beneath Meriven Manor
A hidden passage—concealed beneath an ornate bookshelf—leads Valenthe and Reka into the depths of Meriven Manor. The air shifts as they descend, the scent of aged parchment and candle wax thick in the enclosed space.
At the base of the stairs, they find themselves in a vast subterranean chamber—a hidden sanctuary, untouched by the outside world. The walls are lined with ancient tomes and crumbling scrolls, some older than the kingdom itself. Strange glyphs flicker with residual magic, illuminating passages written in lost languages.
At the chamber’s center, Lord Audric Meriven kneels.
He is unarmed, wounded, but unafraid. His hands, stained with ink rather than blood, rest on the stone floor beside an open chest filled with documents, letters, and maps.
With a calm yet urgent voice, he speaks.
The Target’s Plea – The Truth Revealed
Meriven does not beg for his life. Instead, he offers the truth.
“You think you are hunting rogue mages. That you are preserving order. But the OSS… they are not just executing heretics. They are erasing history.”
He gestures toward the archives around him—fragments of a world long forgotten.
“Magic did not begin with this kingdom, nor will it end with it. There were civilizations before this one, whose power rivaled even the gods… and the OSS has made it their mission to bury every last trace of them.”
The chamber whispers with unseen power, the weight of lost knowledge pressing in.
“I have proof. Letters from the highest ranks of the OSS, signed orders, ancient texts they have stolen and destroyed. Everything they don’t want the world to remember is here.”
He pulls a single parchment from the chest—an execution list.
- Some names have already been crossed out.
- Others remain, their fates hanging in the balance.
- Among them… Reka’s name.
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