Session 29 (27. 02. 2019)

Telum Veritas had found themselves in a pickle: Dal Zarma, one of the most powerful and terrifying Primal Fiends, had been waiting for them and lured them straight into the inner sanctum of her lair. She offered to release Carthigan, who had proven utterly useless to her, but not Violet, whom she was torturing in order to force her to sell her soul. She was open to deals, however. One by one, she talked with each party member. Gunter offered his own soul, to which Carthigan vehemently objected, but it wasn’t enough. Kim’s soul interested the Serpent Empress far more, but Hikashi’s earlier warning made her quite a bit more reluctant. Vincent was offered a deal as well - destroy the Ironwood of Astea, which one of his ancestors had stolen from Dal Zarma. Some tense negotiations got her to bring out Violet, who was on death’s door after the horrible torture she’d endured. Gunter quickly healed her, while Vincent pretended to be looking through the contract. Lia realized that the immovable rod she’d gotten from Nyx could be used to secure Mama Nanzi’s silk thread and open a portal. As the portal opened and Vincent tore up the contract, the party rushed through. In a rage, Dal Zarma attacked and snatched Carthigan; however, the others made it through, with Aella pulling Gunter along and carrying Carthigan’s hat, the last thing left of him. They arrived at the clearing where they’d tied the other end of the silk 4 days before, shell-shocked. Quickly untying the silk, they closed the portal, but reeled from losing the one they’d tried so hard to save. They went to camp in a somber mood. However, as they were setting up, Aella noticed something strange - Carthigan’s hat was vibrating. This magical effect puzzled both Lia and Vincent, but moments later, Carthigan himself materialized. A rather ghostly, translucent version of him, that is. As it turned out, his contract with Dal Zarma had a clause: if he were to die, she’d get his soul - except if she killed him herself. Thus, he was dead, but in death, his soul was freed. Carth expressed his gratitude to the others for coming for him, and his wish to linger a while, helping them along their journey and just being among friends. Aside from Vincent, who appeared to have some serious issues with keeping a ghost around, the party was glad to have him back.