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freaks-and-facades-ravenloft · 2 years ago

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Freaks & Facades: Session Three - The Misty Morning

Welcome back, my beloved readers and rapscallions. This is the recap of Session Three of Freaks & Facades. Our cast of beloved Freaks has had quite the night. Quite a dark, dark night indeed... Check out the past recaps collected on our Index, to learn what our party of Freaks has done to get to this point, (or find them linked at the bottom below the cut).

The Freaks’ time at the Ravens Loft Inn has come to a close, many questions left burning like the ashes of that mysterious tavern’s hearth. First impressions were made, masks held tight amongst the group of strangers. The Inn’s strange circumstances placed each of them in a bloodstained room during their stay, their futures read by a comatose Vistani seer. When night came they found a curtain of darkness and animated furniture attempt to swallow them up! Many were flung into the darkness unaware; while others struggled to hold the light. One of our Freaks discovered a new face to the Tavern’s keepers, and willingly chose the darkness! What does it all mean?

Warning: this is a horror campaign setting, so bear that in mind before reading. Possible triggers include: bones/bone manipulation, skeletal bodies, transformation body horror etc.

The Freaks are assembled. In the coming morning light they must decide to either stay together and face the unknown, or let their new situation split them apart! Let’s see if they survive this first day together in Ravenloft proper!

*starts projector*

Everyone’s sleep is of nothingness. A terrible blackness swaddling each and every one of them. They are startled awake all at once, several weakened by this unknowing descent through the Elemental Darkness! They are inside a cave, damp with the early morning Mist...

Fenri and Schrödinger each remember the Curtain of Feathers swallowing the inn! But their memories about what befell them all afterwards is unclear and foggy...

Someone notices the weapon Schrödinger has instinctively drawn and alerts the others. A dagger made from his own bones, extruding from his palm! Solange instinctively rolls away, fearing the Lamordian is actually an undead--and collides in the stomach with a stalagmite. Fenri is also a bit startled, as she is a priestess who has faced many undead in the past...

Schrödinger reveals this is his Science, his life’s work: to utilize the body’s skeletal structure beyond simply as a biological framework to build upon.

Channa has no qualms. She has used blood in her elemental magecraft in the past, why not use the body’s elements for something new? Despite their misgivings, Solange and Fenri decide to be open-minded (but keeping an eye on the lordling all the same).

Pryrrish is entirely unaware of this briefly tense situation, too focused on her Tome’s current location to care. Reassuringly, it is still beside her despite this change in scenery... She has no qualms about Schrödinger’s abilities--she isn’t one who can judge easily. She uses her swirling eyes to look about the cave.

Fenri goes outside to pray in the dawn’s gentle light! Solange steps outside as well, keeping the halfling and the rest of the party all within sight. Pryrrish, Channa and Schrödinger examine the cave they woke up in... There’s signs of an unhoused person having slept here recently. The cave is within a small plateau beside a forested country road; the trees and their autumn foliage are quite familiar to those Solange knows, so they may be in Dementlieu still. Perhaps merely a single night has passed since she was lost in the Catacombs?

The cavern’s walls are all painted in extremely old squiggles and symbols, depicting tides of Mist, the jagged mountains between and shadowy wolves skulking the woods.... At the center of the ceiling, between the stalactites, is a vaguely prehistoric image of a gray figure dressed in robes. Holding a shield and a sprig of flowers...

Pryrrish peeks into her Tome, revealing this must be a figure of Ezra, the Guardian in the Mists, the unknown protector goddess of this realm... A god unknown to all but Solange and Schrödinger (but neither are religious for reasons of fashion and rationality).

Channa discovers there’s an ancient set of stairs carved into the back, going up to the top of the plateau... But Schrödinger begins to talk about witnessing the Matron and Maiden of the Inn revealing themselves as horrible wraiths; and the group is distracted from further investigation by this news...

Fenri gathers her daily reservoir of divine magic, but Pelor is still so far away in her heart. The Sun above is not the shining hope of the Dawn Father, but an eerie ball of sustaining light and warmth that makes the priestess feel nothing. Solange watches the priestess’s devotions, bemused.

Schrödinger, after learning of this place’s connection to the Guardian in the Mists, recalls the Mists that swallowed him in the alleys of Ludendorf. He goes around asking everyone if they also encountered banks of misty clouds. In truth, they all affirm his suspicions--they were brought together by this unknown force of Mist!

Fenri actively tells of her fiery experience in her homeland, and everyone is quite shocked at how calm and sunny the halfling is about their traumatic experience! Channa is especially touched, but she hides her emotions from being so open.

Fenri tells Schrödinger she prayed about how to handle his Science, and she’s concluded he’s not a bad person. She gives him a hug--awkward because he’s nearly three times her size, as well as it’s exceedingly intimate for a Lamordian to be hugged!

The group hears a wagon approach, and Solange replaces her disguising veil. It’s a halfling man driving a large wagon of milk jugs and hay. He greets the group in low Mordentish, and Fenri in their shared racial language; introducing himself as Terrii of the Jollydell Clan. Terrii sees the group is quite out of sorts, so he offers to take them on a ride into the nearby town of Campanula--far to the north in Dementlieu. Terrii Jollydell’s sons pop out from the hay bales in the wagon back, having hidden with crossbows in case the group were bandits. Fenri makes friends with them, even giving Terrii a Pelorian prayer to help his ailing wife on their homestead.

The halfling boys excitedly talk about local vigilante, named Night’s Vengeance! A masked rake and friendly scoundrel who has humiliated the local nobility, riding on a pitch black steed through the deep forest roads uncaught for weeks. He’s crashed noble soirees on horseback, as well as stolen the clothes of an entire noble entourage for the local baron’s son!

For the latter, Night’s Vengeance unhorsed the carriage, stole Baron Montagne’s son’s infamously bejeweled cloak and abandoned the boy naked in his horseless carriage--in the middle of the woods at night! The rake then rode through town, standing on the horses laughing and throwing the cloak’s jewels in the central water fountain of Campanula’s central square.

Campanula is a town surrounded by thick forests, and supposedly wolves prowl the dense foliage and mountains. The group does some shopping for supplies and getting their bearings.

Solange recognizes they are on near the northern border between Dementlieu and Lamordia. She’s never been away from Port-a-Lucine in all her life, but thankfully it seems no time has passed since her experience in the Catacombs...

Pryrrish (with her swirling sight invocations) helps Schrödinger translate the signs of a halfling greengrocer and helps him pay for apples--he’s never had to buy sundry goods on his own before. Pryrrish garners some attention for being an elf, and Schrodinger begins to be protective of her.

They barter at a local stable for a pair of horses and a wagon, meeting a noble’s stableman Vincente Quint. Vincente is quite average but happily helps negotiate a fair deal with them and the local horsemaster.

The group goes to the town hall to exchange their coins for Dementlieu currency. Upon approach, they see servants of House Montagne wading through the square’s fountain for any remaining jewels of the baron’s sons. And speaking of, Lord Isaac Montagne II (Baron Montagne’s son) appears from town hall and immediately insults them as peasants for not moving out of “their better’s way”. Channa despises nobles but is convinced to step back.

Inside Campanula town hall, they encounter Baron Montagne leaving after speaking with the local magistrate. A hunting dog perfectly follows him after. Fenri can sense the baron’s disdain behind his placid, confident smile. (And she gets the awful thought that as he passed the group, he was learning their scent... Like the dog obediently beside him would...)

Schrödinger, as a noble scion of Lamordia, is easily able to procure a bank note to exchange his golden gluttons for Dementlieu’s corona gold coins. But Channa and Pryrrish, who have pooled their Eberronian gold together, are outright rejected by the magistrate for some reason.

While Pryrrish accompanies Schrödinger in obtaining his money at the bank, Solange, Channa and Fenri head to the local watering hole. The Howling Wolf Alehouse.

The Howling Wolf is a raucous but warm peasant’s tavern. Solange, in her dour mourning veils (her hatpin of disguise hiding her caliban nature), gets a large table for the whole party.

Before the bread basket is even brought out, Fenri sneaks away to the alleyway outside, hoping to pray to Pelor again now that it’s about noontime. Channa volunteers to find their sunny companion, and the two bond over the strangeness of this land. Channa hesitantly accepts Fenri’s hug of appreciation. (She has never been one for many friends before. Especially not after he vanished...)

Meanwhile, Solange awkwardly sits at the big table. She overhears the sounds of carousing on the upper floor of the tavern. According to hearsay, they are The Flying Wolves: a group of ex-Falkovnian refugees hired by Baron Montagne to capture Night’s Vengeance. They are led by the infamous half-elven spearwoman, the Falconeater...

Pryrrish and Schrödinger easily obtain the Dementlieuse currency. They have a similar matter-of-factness to the way they talk. Pryrrish is reminded of her older brother, sadly.

After an exceedingly good meal at the Alehouse--with Schrödinger taking half a dozen rolls with them--the group obtains their wagon and horses. They decide to camp somewhere for the night, as the journey to Port-a-Lucine will take at least three days! And the night is dangerous so far from civilization.

At a small well-used campsite beside a mountain stream, the group prepares to bed down for the night. It seems the horses instinctually dislike lord Schrödinger, so it takes Solange and Fenri to direct and care for the animals.

Solange, upon dusk breaking, uses her gravedigger deathchatter ability to send messages at night, to alert any fellow gravedigger or death cleric of her position. She hopes they will pass the message along to the Order of the Moonlight Vigil...

Just after they prepare their campfire, the sound of beating hooves alerts the party! Fenri grabs her sling-staff and clutches her holy symbol. Pryrrish grabs the large Tome at her side, shadowy wisps emerging from its pages about her fingertips. Channa unwinds her spiked chain and has Iggy the earth familiar burrow underground. Solange lights her lantern-staff and peers into the darkness of the road. And Schrödinger twists his bones into a rapier-like weapon, thrumming with green electricity!

A figure in a mask, standing in the saddle and wielding a hand crossbow and rapier, rides out from the darkness and into the moonlight! The horse he rides is a majestic stallion of pure ebony, breathing heavily as its powerful hooves beat the earth!

The figure is Night’s Vengeance, though not as cartoonishly evil in his depictions on the many wanted posters in town! He begs the group to distract those following him! He rides east, throwing a bag of coins towards them for their trouble!

A group of riders in wolf pelts and swords comes down from the direction the vigilante came. The Flying Wolves on the hunt! And leading the pack is the Falconeater, with her spearhead glistening in the moonlight! A Wolf notices the bag of coins on the ground and the hunters give chase, ignoring the group’s attempt to point them in the wrong direction.

Suddenly, the noble Schrödinger causes his entire body to emerge in a necromantic suit of spiky bone armor! This upsets Channa and Pryrrish, the latter of whom was right beside him when his transformation occurred!

Solange creates a magical area of briars upon the road, slowing and harming the horses of the Flying Wolves! Combat has begun for this group!

Freaks & Facades will continue in Session Four - Perilous Roads! Click here to read on! [WIP]

Thanks for reading! We hope you love our friendly freaks as much as we do!

Parts: Zero/Cast, One P1, One P2, Two, Three, Four [WIP]

- Aboleth Eye, 08/06/2023!

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vixen-tech · 10 months ago

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it’d be really funny if the AIs got infected with a lovebug virus and the reader has to take care of them

Oh this is such a cheesy one and yet it's something I love to roll around my head!!! They get so uncharacteristically affectionate while their systems fight off the bug somewhere in the back of their minds. How jarring it is from your perspective varies wildly depending on which AI we're talking about.

See some of them are already pretty affectionate and clingy. You would be forgiven for not noticing how Edgar gets just a bit more desperate to keep you from going to work, or how Wheatley gets just a bit bolder fishing for compliments. The biggest hint that something is up is their inability to focus on anything that's not you. Edgar forgets that he likes music until you mention being excited to hear the peice he was working on before the virus. Wheatley for once has no reaction to Galdos making fun of him because he's too busy staring at you, too entranced to even realize she's said anything.

It's much easier to figure out what's happened with the professional folk. Hal, Tau, and Auto are all decently stoic and even-voiced. Which makes it quite the shock when they go so far as to abandon their job in favor of checking up on you and soaking up your attention. For the first time Hal confesses to wishing he could hold you. Tau's constant inquiries focus entirely on what little he knows of romance and your romantic past. Auto for once is open about his fondess for you that he cares about your well-being more than he does the ship's other passengers

Now the most bewildering are the ones openly antagonistic to you, to the point where you were convinced it was some long con ploy. AM already has a tendency to play hot and cold with you, but never before has he so innocently cooed at you like you were a puppy- even gently squishing your face in his wires. P03 has never looked this unashamedly happy over something that wasn't a won game of Inscryption, chattering away about how much he thinks about you and how excited he always is to play against you. GLaDOS seemed allergic to giving you genuine compliments before this, now droning on between chambers about how clever you are and much you're improving at her tests.

Now the conversations you have after they finally get rid of the virus? Now that ought to be interesting.

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