#he also gives her necrotic damage of course

[leavemetoplaythesims]

another fantasy villain au edit because i like it

before:

[grigori77]

Critical Role, Campaign 3 Episode 102

So, back to normal then, theoretically ... let's see ...

Sam is mimicking Matt ... this should be interesting ... "siggle", yeah ... XD ... "Magina Taintus, the Peenkeeper"? Oh dear ... an emu heair transplant"? Wow ... Marisha? O.O ... how could you?!!! Matt: "You're not me, Sam! You're not!" Sam: "Well in the eyes of the Law, I am!" Omar! Awwwwwww ... :3 He's so cuuuuuuuuute ...

Much as I expected, Omar's kind of stealing the show already ... I love it ...

Marisha: "Wife swap!" Liam: "New on Beacon!"

Oh yeah ... Braius Doomseed ... yeah ... almost forgot about Sam's new entirely harmless and totally heroic character ...

So ... after three weeks of THAT, how do we actually FEEL about the gods right now, people? Hmmm?

Fucking Ludinus ... still trying to be the hero in his own deeply fucked up twisted story ... can we just KILL this douchebag already?

Wow ... he really does go ON AND ON AND ON ...

Come on guys, there's no way you're gonna talk this ancient asshat down, just kill him already ...

Whispers? Already? Blimey ...

Ah Orym ... getting down to the meat of the matter ... thank you ...

The blue whale? Hmmmm ...

Marisha (to Laura): "Did you just make Ludinus cry?"

Why IS HE so mad? Oh, here we go ... The Motivation (TM) of Ludinus Da'leth ... which is a whole lot sound and fury, signifying nothing ... yup ...

Sounds like the truth is as much of a weapon as Predathos ... hmmm ...

Oh dear ... is Braius going to be a problem right now?

Third option? What? Bring the Betrayers back? Yeah ... no, I don't think so ...

Hunter's Bane? Really, Chet? He's an elf ... they just live A LONG LONG TIME ...

Fuck ... are we losing Ashton?

Yeah, Otohan was TOTALLY on Ludinus ... he's definitely got bloody hands in this shit ...

Braius: "Careful, every time you hold that up we have a three episode break." XD

Please don't try and spike the Orb like a volleyball, Laudna ...

Another Whispers ... this is getting interesting ...

"Join us ..." And there it is, of course. Join him or die ...

Wait ... demonic hot boi's just ... GONE?!!! Just like that? That's ... disconcerting ...

Oh yeah ... good point, Chet ... are we gonna be another Molaesmyr on a grander scale? "Blue whale us, like the krill we are." Yeah ...

Yes, I think it's safe to say that THAT is sarcasm, Braius ...

Delilah? Oh here we go ... is he gonna make THAT a problem? Yeah, no ... come on, Laudna, DO NOT fall for this shit ...

Somehow I don't think he's gonna so dumb enough to give away his WHOLE PLAN, Chet ...

Oh! Oh fuck yeah ... of course ... he DOES want Imogen, doesn't he? SHE'S the missing piece of his puzzle ...

What IS the rock?

Wow ... and now Fearne's trying to steal it from him. Bewcause OF COURSE she can pickpocket it right out of his hand from 15 feet away ... oh, Mage Hand? This should be interesting ... DEEPLY disadvantaged ... of course it is ... 18? HOW?!!!

Yeah, OF COURSE that didn't work ...

He CHUCKED it? Oh shit ... and Laudna catches it? OH SHIT!!! But Chetney catches it first, just in time ... phew ... but also NOT, definitely ... what the fuck is about to happen to him?

Hunger of the Shadow? SERIOUSLY, Laudna? Oh but that's right, it's definitely more Delilah right now ... O.O 21? Yeah, that definitely hits ... 14 points of Necrotic damage! Ouch ...

Laudna is DESPERATELY trying to claw her way back in charge ... oof ... this is getting scary already ...

Oh here we go, Roll for Initiative ...

Sam: "Ashley Johnson, dice that are UNREADABLE." Yup ...

Sam: "This dice HAS no numbers." Ashley: "I just decide?"

And POOF!!! He's gone, the bastard ... of course he is ...

Detect Thoughts ... yeah, that's a no. He is GONE ...

Oh shit ... fucking Delilah ... I had a feeling this was coming. Bitch DO NOT do this right now. None of us are in the mood right now ...

Come on guys ... pull her back ...

A Wisdome dave? Oh shit of shit oh shit ... please roll well, Marisha ... 18? Pease tell me that's enough, Matt ... oh fuck ... this is already sounding SO BAD ...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!! Fuck ... that's it, we're so fucked ... it's happening ... FUCK!!!

And we're going to break NOW?!!! Seriously? MATTHEW!!!

Straight into Rolling for Initiative ... great ... AND IT'S BATTLEMAP TIME!!! Ooooooh ... and it's FANCY ...

Holy shit Laudna is TERRIFYING right now ...

Multi-Rollies for the bottom spot ... okay, Boulder Parchment Shears instead ... yeah, that really WASN'T a good idea ...

Okay, so here we go ... Ashton's up first ... "Sit the fuck down, bitch!" Oh boy ... Rage! The rainbow sparkles? Oh goodie ... so he takes his first swing ... 23 to hit? SHIELD?!!! Seriously? Her current AC is STUPID ... fuck ... just one hit lands, then ... crap ... 22 poitns of damage ... oof ...

LEGENDARY ACTION?!!! Oh for fuck's sake ...

Orym takes stock of the situation before rolling under Ashton's legs to get into melee with her ... Insight Check! Oh, he's goingfor NON-LETHAL right now ... Goading Attack! 13 misses ... TWICE!!! Ow ... 18 ALSO misses ... crap ... so he just tries to BEG instead ... and DISARMS himself? SERIOUSLY, Wee Man?"

Delilah is ALREADY healing pretty much to full HP again ... fuck, that's not a good sign ...

Dorian plucks his mandolin and casts Invisibility on himself, then dashes for the cave, does some trickery and than rushes back ... I have NO IDEA what he's doing right now ... now he drops it and tries to give Laudna Bardic Inspiration ... Hmmmm ... does that go to Delilah or Laudna?

Fearne casts Aura of Life ... oh, that's pretty sweet! Roll a D20? Oh crap ... bloody Wild Magic! Oh, can they both get through to her? Hmmm ...

Imogen casts Calm Emotions at 3rd Level ... roll a D20 ... 15? Delilah rolls a Nat20! SHIT!!!

Essek reluctantly casts Hold Monster ... yeah, that's a fail ... and he has to roll for Wild Magic ... crap ...

Braius has NO FRAME OF REFERENCE in this ... so he just thinks she's an ENEMY ... so he charge and casts Sacred Flame on his Balls to hurl at the monstrosity ... Matt laments letting Sam create this character ... oh boy ... three D8 ... meanwhile he gives Dorian Bardic Inspiration ... and finally says: "Moo ..." in a mencaing way ...

Chetney flanks round, checking out what's left of the machinery, which is now useless ... hmmm ... then takes out the Harp of Valour ... three Magic Missiles! Nice ... 11 points of Thunder damage!

Now Matt's letting MARISHA take Laudna's turn ... hmmm ... can she break herself out of this mess? Success? That means SHE GETS TO TRY AND FIGHT this turn ... okay ... she looks up at Delilah and tries to get through to her ... oh, and she's trying something ... Wrestle From Within? Sounds promising ... also Quickens Phantasmal Force to asume Sylas' form? OH SHIT!!! O.O Yeah ... that was definitely worth a try ... but it just makes her angry ... so she just drags her right back into everybody's range ...

Lair Actions? Fuck's sake ... the temperature drops ... oof ...

Delilah casts Blade of Disaster ... CRAVEN FUCKING EDGE!!! Matt Mercer you EVIL FUCKER!!! That's brilliant in its awfulness! AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!

44 points of Force damage and Orym is DOWN?!!! NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

And now she's summoning undead shit to attack them all ... FUCK'S SAKE!!!

The undead attack Fearne! Balls ... but it tanks BADLY so she just shrugs it off ... wow, NONE of them manage to hurt her ... nor do the ones that attack Braius ... oh wow, they really are just kind of USELESS all round, actually ...

Ashton tries to flank her while avoiding the evil ghost sword ... oh nice, he finally lands a hit ... 21 points of dmage! Second is a NAT20!!! Sweet ... fuck, that's 48 points of damage this time! O.O

Legendary Action Wraith Claw at him ... ouch ...

Orym comes back to consciousness to a living nightmare, of course ... ooooh ... he retrieves his weapons as he struggles back up, then casts Hex. Sticking with non-lethal he starts battering her ... Goading Attack! 18 points! Another one, 15 points ... and a third ... another 16 ... Action Surge! Sweet ... he is REALLY WHALING ON HER right now ...

Another Wraith Claw ... and Orym is DOWN again ... FUCK!!!

Dorian rushes in to his boy's aid ... Cure Wounds! Yes! With the Mandolin that's pretty frickin' sweet ... 20 points right back! Yeah! Nice save! It's so cute! :3

Legendary Action ... and Delilah Shadow Steps away ...

Fearne rushes to where she is NOW and hurls a Flame Strike at her ... Column of Fire! HOT BLUE!!! Yeah ... O.O ... 8 D6 ... 19 Fire damage, but halved ... 16 Radiant damage, ALSO halved ... well, it's SOMETHING ...

Imogen turns around, lights up her fancy robe, tells her: "I love you." and twin spells Catapult at SIXTH LEVEL!!! Wow ... oh, that DEFINITELY hits ... BOTH of 'em ... 8 D8 x2 ... 45 points of Bludgeoning damage for the first, 32 for the second! Holy fuck ...

Oh dear ... it sees Chetney ... he screams for Essek's help ...

Essek glides his way, casting Haste on Chetney ... and gets buggered by the Wild Magic! Roll a D100 ... and now he's a goat ... oh my gods ... it's Sheepleb all over again! And it's floating! XD

Sweet fuck Sam Riegel WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING?!!! That is SO MUCH freakier than the gas can ...

Braius Misty Steps into range with Delilah ... Poison Pen! Nat20! Okay ... 35 points! Another one, this time with Divine Smite! Enhanced becaus she's undead ... 29 points of damage! Nice ...

Now Hastened, Chetney carves into himself and charges in to start slicing at her with his chisel ... 15 for the first plus 5 for Cold damage ... second is the same ... third one lands 5 more! Haste is so cool ... then he rushes off to hide, taking a glancing hit as he goes ... ow ...

Laudna gets to take her full round ... nice ... Animate Objects? Interesting ... oh, okay, living statue! Crazy ... meanwhile she sticks with Wrestle From Within ... finally she drags them towards Aashton ...

The living statue plods in and takes a big swing at Delilah ... 25 hits! Yeah! 11 damage? Hmmmmm ... it's okay, I suppose ...

Delilah goes for Ashton, gets a Nat20 with Craven Edge ... crap ... and Matt's STILL FUCKING ROLLING ... I don't like that at all ... 103 POINTS OF DAMAGE?!!! Shit ... yeah, Ashton is DOWN ...

Oh wait ... Relentless Rage? Hmmmmm ... maybe he can save himself ... OH MY GOD HE LIVES!!! Thank fuck ...

So Craven Edge goes for Fearne instead ... oh fuck ... crap, that's it for Aura of Life, then ...

Wow, he's just going to kill EVERYBODY now ...

Oh yeah, Orym is DOWN again ... fuck ...

Here come the undead again ... will they be any more effective this time? Wow ... looks like they're behaving about the same? Wow ... they are SO ineffective ... so fucking pitiful it's hilarious, really ...

Ashton slowly stalks towards her, gettign bigger as she does, turning into diamond form ... and that's ALL HE CAN DO ... bloody turn-devouring transformation ...

Orym fails his first Death Save ...

Dorian is OUT of spells to help from this range ... fuck ... Dimension Door ports Orym far away from danger ... then leaves him to return to the fight ... oh boy ...

Lergendary Action Shadow Steps them out of range again ... CRAP!!!

Fearne does another 6th Level Flame Strike on Delilah ... 17 Fire damage, 12 Radiant damage ...

Imogen shifts so she can line up to hit Delilah, Craven Edge AND the undead with a Lightning Strike ... nice ... 7th Level? Holy fuck ... Counterspell? Hmmmm ... Rollies, then ... gods Laura PLEASE blast it ... FUCK!!! Matthew, you git ... Delilah, we hate your fucking guts ...

But Wild Magic gets her back ... oh fuck ... Marisha rolls a D100 ... wait ... WHAT THE FUCK?!!! That CAN'T be right! Fuck, that just KILLED US ... that is going to be so fucking bad ...

Wait ... what's Essek doing? Go all in, seriously, do it, you have to ... I'm intrigued, what IS this? Reality Break? Holy shit ... oh damn it ... fucking Legendary Resistance ... NO!!! NOT FAIR!!! I HATE THIS!!!

Braius Misty Steps up to her and swings for the fences ... 27 definitely hits ... 498 points of damage! Holy shit ... second with Divine Smite ... 29 ...AND THE HDYWTDT!!!

Yeah ... SHOULD WE be cheering? I'm now concerned ... even though this is pretty cool ...

So ... is Delilah beaten? Like proper gone? Or just subdued? help ... and meanwhile Laudna's really messed up ... is SHE dying?

A Charisma save COULD help? Hmmm ... maybe risk it ... oh boy ... Strength of the Grave ... but Radiant Damage? Crap ...

Okay, so Fearne just Cure Wounds her instead ...

Meanwhile Ashton rushes over to Orym and gets a potion into him before the diamond form disappears and Ashton just COLLAPSES ...

So Laudna is awake ... is it all her? Seems like it ... hopefully that might take ... so she's still there, but VERY FAINT ... hmmm ...

So what IS this amulet thing? Fearne casts Identify ... "What the fuck is this?" XD

Ruidian glass ... an arcane battery ... nine spell slots? Nice ... that definitely seems useful.

The cloak is AWESOME ... so it kind of turns into a fancy armoured red scale catsuit? Fascinating ...

And the Soul Anchor ... oh, nice callback to Campaign 1 ... Thordak! Sweet ...

Oh ... wow ... yeah, they could use that ... yes ... yeah, maybe they could use it to finally GET RID OF FUCKING DELILAH ... yeah, definitely, try that ...

Fuck ... so this could actually REALLY WORK ... oh yes. Yes, definitely ... that's worth a shot ...

A little memorial moment for FCG ... oh man ... that's heartbreaking ... Braius: "The fuck is that?" Wow ...

So are they gonna keep this decidedly shady guy, then? I really don't know if they can actually TRUST this Doomseed guy ... LOL

Is Asmodeus actually gonna reply? O.O ... he is totally ridiculous, I love it ...

Aha, the lair of Essek Thellys ... AND CALEB WIDOGAST?!!! Sweet ... ah yes ... the Sex Room ... XD ... awwwww ... altogether it's a very sweet walk down memory lane for the Nein ... :3

DOES SHE need Delilah to survive? That's never really been established, has it?

Awwww ... Caleb's scarf ... :3

Imogen: "Who drew those dicks on the wall?" LOL

Oh yeah, they both have hooves ... XD

Wait ... is Braius trying to FLIRT with Fearne while he heals her? You sneaky litle shit ...

Yeah, there really are A LOT of dicks on the walls ...

Dorian is allergic to almonds? Oof ...

Ah, yes ... SHADOWGAST ... :3

Braius tries to work out everybody's names ... oh boy ... "Oprah"? Wow ...

Oh dear ... what is Essek going to do to him for THAT accidental insult? Ah ... so his armour is now FROZEN SOLID ... perfect ... XD

Okay, I guess this is it for the night then, the way Matt's clearly wrapping up ... ah yes, I was right ...

Thank fuck we survived THAT total nightmare ... this session almost got SO BAD ... but if they can get rid of Delilah next episode that would be SO HELPFUL ...

[thetradeway]

Session 48 14 Aug 2021: "Dhidth hwe huin?"

I’m late today. Ginger balls. Never admit you were wrong, and never apologise! Has anyone heard from Mina? She may or may not join us. Billy Corgan on a rollercoaster!

Matthew, wondering: “Does Billy Corgan have alopecia, or is that a choice?”

Duncan: “I don’t know, I’m not his mum.”

Matthew opens a 4% by volume Potion of Healing, and we get started. Everyone makes saving throws except Tarragon for their hangovers after the Midsummer festivities. Ahleqs is delicate but not too rough; he has however just discovered that he is no longer immune to alcohol. (He isn’t quite puking up pixies, so he’ll take it.) Gideon is bright as a button, as is Kessler, and Melaina. Ardvack complained that the sherry wasn’t up to snuff, so he didn’t drink much.

Gutpunch is snoring and emitting smells when the boys wake in their room. Tarragon returns as the sun rises. She returns to her chambers to find everyone else asleep; she joins them, and Mina joins us. The gnome bunked in with us is not emitting smells. There’s a bang on our door - it’s one of the Avowed, a runner.

“Your presence is requested in one of the Necessariums.” He’ll return for us in a few minutes.

Same thing happens for the boys; Ahleqs tries to wake Gutpunch, with no success. Ahleqs, blearily: “Necessari- what? What is this Hogwarts bullshit?”

Is Darkspire in with them? Yes. The Avowed asks if he behaved; yes, Ahleqs thinks so. Charity overhears this conversation, and butts in. He opens the door wide and tells Ahleqs to go back to bed; he does so. Charity peers at the Avowed’s face, the one who showed us to our rooms.

“Yes? What? Yes? I’m here. Everything’s fine, nothing occurred.” Assured that no crimes have been committed, the Avowed retreats.

Ahleqs asks Charity why there would be ‘incidents’. He says he has no idea.

We use our ten minutes to head to the Hearth for breakfast. Ahleqs has water. And a small pot of coffee. and one egg, and one bit of toast with some salt. “Is there any tabasco?”

Ardvack explains about the Necessariums. They are tall towers with lots of books; we can’t access them ourselves but the Avowed will get us anything we want. Kessler wants some books about tinkering and artificing.

The vegetarian menu is vast, and very good.

The runner returns as we are stuffing more food in our pockets to take with us.

Ahleqs is delighted to see Mr Pickles in the Necessarium; he’s talking to a green dragonborn. Ahleqs doesn’t want to interrupt so he hops from foot to foot until the Al Miraj spots him. He is bidden to go over so Mr Pickles can take a look at him.

Mr Pickles says Ahleqs looks a little green around the gills; did he not hear about the revels last night, Ahleqs asks? Mr. Pickles was in the library having discussions. Should he order some tea? Yes, Ahleqs will have a small bucket of tea. Mr Pickles summons an Avowed.

Mr Pickles says there are wards on this place to cut noise and prevent eavesdropping from outside; he has some news for us if we will gather around.

An Avowed brings Kessler the books she asked for. (Carl wants some books too; The Very Hungry Caterpillar, A Tiger Came to Tea, The Borrowers, that sort of thing.)

MP introduces us to Bookwyrm, the First Reader of Candlekeep - the dragonborn he was talking to. He is in charge of maintaining the collection and acquiring newbooks. We want access to books about the Shadow Weave?

The knowledge in there is dangerous, those books have been locked away. They don’t usually let people access them, but since Mr. Pickles is involved, he might be able to help - if we can do something for him in return.

Ardvack has a question; is this endeavour going to cut into our ten-day? No, since we will be out of the Candlekeep to do it. Bookwyrm can’t give us details until we agree to help, but Mr. Pickles believes it’s well within the limits of our skills to accomplish what he needs.

Tarragon agrees immediately, but mostly because Ardvack looks dubious. Ahleqs, assured by Mr. Pickles’s confidence that we can do whatever it is we’re being asked, also agrees.

Some time ago, Bookwyrm tells us, the keep was visited by a drow scholar who told them the location of a book the Keep have been seeking. Are we familiar with the caves below the Keep? No, but we’ve seen a picture.

They are beneath the catacombs, in the bedrock. They lead all the way to the Underdark. The book was supposed to be there. Someone went in search of it; a more than capable wizard, Olius Visk, but they were expecting him back a full ten-day ago and he has not been heard from. He is a young man, it is very out of character for him to miss the Midsummer Festival.

What was the title of the book he was after? Bookwyrm doesn’t know. When the wizard applied to go after it, he didn’t mention which one it was.

Where is the drow? He left, as you can only spend a tenday here. He did not book in another visit.

We just need to rescue the wizard, not necessarily complete his mission, Bookwyrm says. If we do locate the book then we could bring that too. It’s not the Underdark proper, it’s not that far down - it and the wizard will be in the Upper Dark.

The First Reader gives us a book about the Underdark. Tarragon gets excited about the fungus that could be down there, and the potions she could make with them.

Will we need any further resources? Healing potions, at the very least.

When we are ready we’ll be teleported to the caves. We can get past the myconids that way, the ones that moved in and live off the mushrooms they grow on the refuse from the keep; they keep the drow and duergar away.

He gives us an orb to follow; Ardvack suggests giving Gideon the ring the activate the thing. While following Olius’ tracks, it will glow brightly to show us we are going the right way. Gideon blusters about the ring; “A fine piece of brass work! That will fit on my finger nicely.”

How many potions will we need? Tarragon, immediately: “All of them.”

They can spare a GHP and two RHPs - each. Oooo! They will give us twenty days’ of rations as well.

Can Carl come? We need Carl, probably more than Ardvack. Ardvack consults his book of manners, then laughs; “Ahahah, very droll.”

We decide to leave Popcorn in the stables while we go; he doesn’t like dark and scary places.

Tarragon is excited to be going into danger again; Ahleqs less so.

Ardvack, resignedly: “To almost certain death?”

Tarragon, far too excited: “To almost certain death!”

Ahleqs does a very shaky sigh.

A runner approaches with our Healing Potions, and we spend ten minutes farting about with our inventories.

Ardvack, bored, pulls a book from his pocket and begins to read; Ahleqs wants to know what it is.

Matthew, OOC: “What languages do you speak?”

Duncan: “Common, Elvish, Infernal and Light Crossbow.”

Are we all ready? Various themes on ‘yeah’, some more excited than others. Ahleqs casts Mage Armour.

Carl is brought from the Hearth (holding a book called ‘Ye Olde Very Hungry Caterpillar’), and we are teleported.

It takes a moment for our eyes to adjust when we arrive in the dark, wet caves. We head deeper underground, and of course someone (Mina) starts singing Jamiroquai. Well, someone had to.

Tarragon looks out for mushrooms for use in her recipes. There are lots, of various sizes. Some have bits that look like they’ve been cut off; as if someone has been eating or harvesting them.

Tarragon takes a bit of mushroom and eats it; it’s tasty. Ahleqs will watch her for about 45 minutes before he eats any himself. Ardvack stands as far as physically possible from all of the fungus.

Joe waits for his computer before telling us what has befallen Ardvack, who has gone ahead; Tarragon starts cackling. (She doesn't do subtly devastating insults, she does this.)

Matthew rolls a d4; he gets a 3. Does 16 hit him? “I think the 8 might do it.” The 16 does hit as he backs away from one mushroom into a violet fungus, for 8 Necrotic damage.

We roll initiative!

Melaina kills the fungus, but we don’t feel as though we’re alone. Tarragon holds a Thorn Whip in case she sees something within 30 feet of her that she doesn’t like, and warns Ardvack that this includes him.

We hear something shuffling towards us. Ahleqs is trying to hide when it attacks him twice for ten necrotic damage, and Tarragon gets it with her Thorn Whip. Ahleqs does Burning Hands at it.

Joe, laughing: “Really? You’re going to make a mushroom do a Dex save??”

He misses the one he was aiming at but hits the one he didn’t know was there, so… a win?

More turn up; Gideon does an Acid Splash, complete with quavery wizard voice as he announces it.

Ahleqs and Ardvack are closest and get a horrible, acrid stench as the acid burns the violet fungi.

A fungus aims at Ahleqs but only manages to sort of caress his face with its tentacles, leaving a slimy residue; he sicks up all the water he drank.

Kessler gets one with her crossbow. “Remove your grubby bits from the Ahleqs!”

Tarragon, yelling “Danger and excitement!”, takes out her quarterstaff and runs at one; she hits, and is pleased when it doesn’t die just yet.

Does Ardvack want to chomp on a tentacle with someone else, do a sort of lady and the tramp manoeuvre?

Duncan, disgusted: “No tentacle sucking, this is not that kind of show!”

Mina, disconcertingly matter-of-fact about it: “Some people would pay good money for that.”

Ardvack chooses to hit the thing with his shillgjakjsgaklghjkghhhjbblhh instead. It crumbles into bits, but is also ‘a little bit on fire’.

Ahleqs spots some little orbs somewhere ahead up the path. He thinks they are probably magic, but has no idea what they are or what they do.

Carl does a ‘friendly yet violent pat’ on one of the violet fungi and does 5 splatting damage. It wraps its tentacles around him - and then lets go, shuddering. Carl goes in for a bonus action grapple-slash-fatal-hug. The fungus loses the grapple. “High point in Carl’s life.”

Sophie, OOC: “Are you going to give it a noogie?”

Ahleqs takes aim at the grappled fungus. Matthew, OOC, singing: “Now that’s fuckin’ teamwork!”

“If I move away they’ll get a tickle of opportunity won’t they?” Ahleqs stays where he is. “I do not consent to this.”

Gideon gets one with Magic Missile.

Joe: “How de do dis?”

Sophie, OOC: “With gusto!”

Carl maintains his grip on the fungus.

Melaina is feeling arrogant so she goes Sharpshooter. “Urgh, five, that’s not going to work is it?” But to her amazement, it does. 29 damage; a little bit overkill. It explodes into truffle oil, which showers Ardvack but completely avoids Tarragon.

Tarragon offers Carl her old quarterstaff, since he doesn’t have a weapon. He rolls an INT check to try and reply to thank her, but gets a 0. He accepts the staff with a nod of thanks; she smiles at him.

We have killed all the Violet Fungi! We have solved Joe’s Underdark puzzle, yay!

Yeah, nah.

The drift globe leads us around the next corner. Tarragon and Carl chase it, and see three little huts made of fungus and dried grass. Two look abandoned, but the third has light inside. The orbs Ahleqs saw seem to be drifting around it. Ahleqs rolls 19 Arcana; the orbs are warding or protection magic.

We decide to approach, because the inhabitants might know something about the missing wizard.

Kessler, approaching: “Helloooooo? Avon calling?” Tarragon casts Guidance on her as she goes by.

A bell sounds; Kessler recognises the Alarm spell. She calls out to say she doesn’t mean any harm. “Ignore the mech armour, and the idiots with me…”

Duncan OOC: “I want to know what happens if we find the ‘How not to be a goblin’ book and Kessler turns out to be a six foot five valkyrie warrior. Ardvack’s not going to know where to put himself, is he?”

An Unknown Woman appears from the hut:

“What on earth are you doing down here?”

Kessler explains about the wizard and the book. Are we from the Keep?

Yeah…

So is she, it turns out. Will we be going back? Yes, unless we’re killed horribly.

Do we have a way to get back in past the myconids and such? (uh oh.) She says she was a speaker for the keep and was looking for some books, and got lost down here and got stuck.

Kessler rolls Insight with Guidance - 13. She seems convinced. We can pick her up on the way back? That would be amazing, she says. She’s smiling especially at Ardvack.

She has some warding magic up here if we want to rest? Ardvack tenses up. He makes an Insight check as well. He rolls a 9, but uses his Inspiration to re-roll - a 12. He feels a kind of kinship with her, as though her magic might have a similar source. He eases a little bit, and ventures a half smile, even though she’s wearing a 'very low-born outfit'.

Ahleqs, scandalised: “She can’t even afford a middle bit on her top!”

We don’t need a rest, do we? Ahleqs got hit a bit. Melaina doesn’t trust her, and doesn’t want to stop.

Tarragon asks the woman’s name. It’s Ava.

We could take a short rest, roll some hit dice? Have a sandwich? Get to know the locals?

Melaina: “Alright, but I’m not going to sleep.”

Ava points out the orbs. Anything on this side of them is safe.

This seems a bit too good to be true. Does Ahleqs get a sense of magic, other than the protective field? A nine; “She seems legit.”

She was looking for a book that the Keep wouldn’t exactly approve of when she got stuck here. She’s been living off the mushrooms. She was fleeing undead when she was chased into the myconid hives? A ghost or wraith or something.

She brings us some tea, apologising that it’s not quite as fresh as she would like. Something is definitely fucky; Tarragon takes watch, on Ava as much as for other dangers. Tarragon rolls 24 Perception, so she can see the colonies of ants coming to get us.

She sees that no-one’s quite at ease. Suddenly Ava’s skin sloughs off, peeling in big chunks, and a blood hag reveals herself.

Me, horrified: “Blood hag?? JOE!” Tarragon Thorn Whips her.

A writhing mass of hair bursts from the hag, and reaches out toward Ahleqs. She reaches out with her claws to Ardvack and Kessler, and hits both. 23 slashing to Ardvack - and 35 slashing to Kessler.

We roll initiative!

Melaina gets in amongst the mushrooms and tries to hide. “And now I’m going to shoot her in the face. Shit. No I’m not, with a ten.” She cowers behind her mushroom.

Gideon Thunderwaves her and hits, and retreats.

Tarragon casts Greater Shillsdghksdfkhsdg, and crit-misses. The quarterstaff bounces off and hits her in the face - she takes half the weapon’s damage and has Disadvantage on her next attack.

Carl hits her with his new quarterstaff and hits!

Ahleqs casts Mage Armour on Ardvack and Carl, using Sorcery Points to twin the spell.

Kessler bonus action slams her Greater Healing Potion. She uses her Thunder Gauntlets and forces Disadvantage on attacks not against her.

The Blood Hag uses something called Call the Blood, to do a Blood Choke Curse on Ardvack - his mouth fills with blood, preventing speech and verbal spell casting components for one minute. She uses her bonus action to Misty Step to Melaina and do another blood drinking hair, and a claw attack on her.

Ardvack’s turn; he riffles through his spells but they all have a verbal component. Matthew OOC, cross: “I needed that to be effective.”

Joe, pleased: “She’s charming, isn’t she? I thought you’d like her. But at least all the blood vessels in your mouth and throat have burst and you’ll keep having to spit blood for the next minute, so that’s something.”

Ardvack clubs her instead, and hits. He somehow manages to do 0 damage.

Duncan, OOC: “If you say ‘good girl’ or something while you attack, you could do some psychic damage…?”

Matthew: “If only I could speak!”

Melaina gets sneak attack plus Sharpshooter with her rapier - 31 points of damage. All of us, fanning ourselves: “… Damn.”

Gideon will cast Scorching Ray - all three bolts hit, for 21 damage total. The blood hag is pissed off, now, we are told. Gideon bravely retreats.

Tarragon misses again, and begrudgingly heals Ardvack. “Come on, it’s not that bad. Get up.”

Carl was going to use his Raging Cadaver ability, but Tarragon is now in the square he was going to rage to. He can probably navigate through the mushrooms. He does that, and then a slam attack. He does a zombie grab as well. He rolls 17 to her 14, so she’s grappled!

Ahleqs casts Shatter right in the huddle of Carl, Charity, Tarragon and the blood hag. But he would hit Carl, so he doesn’t. He does Eldritch Blast with Tides of Chaos and hits both times for 7 total Force damage.

55: His hair falls out again. “Oh… this again. Okay. I mean I was growing that, but whatever.”

Kessler wants to know if the mushrooms are difficult terrain; she can push through them. “I haven’t finished with you yet!” 16 with the Thunder Gauntlets hits for 12 Thunder damage, then 19 to hit for 11 more. The hag has Disadvantage on attacks versus anyone but Kessler.

Carl is surprised when the hag Misty Steps out of his grip. “He is very perplexed.”

Does 26 hit Ardvack? Er… Yes. He takes 24 piercing damage, and is grappled; her hair worms dig into his flesh and start to suck his blood. He makes a Dex save - or he would, but he might be dead…? No, he’s at 1HP. His lucky hit point.

Matthew is fighting his computer. “Dex save… Any minute now… It’s coming… I’ve pressed the button… It’s asked me if I want to make it public… seven.”

Joe has devastating news for him. The hag has reached out and torn his face off.

…

Holy Fuck.

What the fuck???

“I wanted the pretty elf, but this will have to do!”

The hag makes good her escape as Ardvack goes down. Tarragon uses a free action to vomit.

Ardvack has an ability that brings him back with 8HP. “Dhidth hwe huin?”

Melaina shoots the hag in the back but misses; Gideon does a Scorching Ray.

There’s discussion about the face and the fact that it has Ardvack’s memories and personality; Mina, OOC: “Give it a few minutes, she’ll bring it back.”

Duncan, as the hag: “‘Can you take this back, it’s kinda bumming me out’.”

Tarragon does Cure Wounds at the highest slot available to her; Ardvack’s face is now a mass of scar tissue. She uses her bonus action to throw up again.

This is worse than when Wee Jock got Disintegrated. This is worse than the time we were all zombies, and we started off dead.

Joe, put out: “You’re so ungrateful. It took me ages to find this monster.”

Carl can reach the nasty lady. He can Dash, but he can’t do anything when he gets there. He holds out his hand for Ardvack’s face. She ignores him.

Ahleqs: “Okay… Okay… I cast Fireball. Oooh, it’s big!” He casts it at level 4, and places it so he’ll get the hag, but not Carl. The hag must make a Dex save. She gets a 22.

Duncan, OOC: “Well… Yes, she does and she doesn’t.” She takes half the damage, and is really pissed off.

Kessler: “Oi! Come back with that!” She pulls out her crossbow and shoots. First shot is a miss, and so is the second - a crit fail. Booh. Off target: You deal half damage for 1d4+1 rounds (3). She tries to intimidate the hag, who is unimpressed.

“Let me leave, or I’ll cast Cloudkill.” The bitch uses Invisibility.

Ardvack’s turn; he is now un-stunned, and remembers the sensation of having no face. He’s also still spitting blood. He takes out the mirror that Amelia gave him, and looks in it to see the horrible-ness that is his face, still drooling blood. He puts the mirror away. He gives Tarragon a pat of thanks on the shoulder as he turns away so no-one can see him and crawls toward the hut, “Because this is where I live now.” Even Tarragon feels a little sorry for him.

Before we go, Ardvack is crawling into one of the huts, yes? Yes. "I do not wish to take tea with guests." The most complete hut is the hag’s one; he sees some stones on the floor as if she’s been scrying. Next to them is a pebble with a purple ring on it.

He makes an Arcana check on it to make sure it’s not a bum-stealing stone. 21; he knows the mark as the symbol of Shar. He may remember Shar from such activities as fighting a giant scorpion and an assassin, or raising an army of scarecrows to harass a halfling village.

We decide to leave it on that cliffhanger...

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms Side Story 1: Tohno Akiha

Recently a user on Reddit, Magical-Biche, said that they were inspired by what I’ve been doing for FGO on Fate and Phantasms, and they wanted to do something similar with Tsukihime characters, and they were nice enough to let me post their work here! As always, there’s a spreadsheet for the build here, and a level-by-level breakdown below the cut. Everything past this point comes from Magical-Biche, because I am useless when it comes to Tsukihime.

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Today, on Fate & Phantasms’ special crossover episode, we’ll cover Tsukihime’s objectively best girl, Akiha. Obviously, there will be quite a lot of spoilers in this text, as you don’t know until pretty much her own route that Akiha can actually fight. For this build, I will use what we see from Tsukihime, Kagetsu Tohya and Melty Blood to create a character that plays like Akiha Tohno, Shiki’s little sister. 

Akiha is a Half-Demon, but that doesn’t make her a Tiefling. She has a human appearance at all times, but her ancestors did unholy things with filthy demons, so her family members all have some kind of power. While SHIKI can control his own blood and just… not die when he is killed, Akiha’s thing is stealing. Stealing heat. For that, she uses her own hair, which is her main way of using her powers. They can be used in various ways, as she can extend them, wrap them around people and channel her powers through it. 

We’re going to focus on three things for our build:

We want to deal lots of damage, preferably temperature related. We’re getting a lot of fire spells, but the least possible amount that creates actual fire, unless it has some niche effect, like delayed fireball or bonfire. Also, we want offensive spells that can be used as traps, like Delayed fireball or bonfire.

We want to steal and give life force. We will get a few necromancy spells to be able to share and steal life force to our allies and from our enemies.

We want to have some control of the battlefield. Our hair is a powerful weapon that can imprison foes, and we’re gonna need spells to do it.

Race and Background

Not-so-obviously, because of her demonic ancestry, we’re going to play as a variant human. We get to put one point in Charisma, our main stat, and one in Constitution, which will help keep our concentration, and get some more HP. We are going to take the Elemental Adept (Fire) feat, because as you probably already guessed, we will be using a lot of fire. We’re taking the Noble background, because well, we ARE a high-class lady. This gives us proficiency in History and Persuasion. 

Stats

Going with the standard array, we should get our Charisma as high as possible. It’s our main way of dealing damage, not really a choice here. Besides, it does fit our character very as well, as we’re used to ordering people around, to get what we want and more importantly, scold our beloved brother. Next, we’re taking our Constitution as high as possible, because we might not look like it, but we’re pretty damn tough. We lived for two person for 8 years, possibly more depending on the route, after all. It will also tremendously help with all our concentration spells, and our HP pool. Next up, we’ll of course go with Dexterity, for the AC, but also because we’re nimble and pretty agile, as a young lady in her prime. We don’t really want to dump Wisdom and Intelligence, as we’re pretty smart and wise, but we can’t just build a character as perfect as we should be, sadly. Finally, dump strength. We’re not here to flex our muscles. 

Class Levels

1. Akiha is a pure sorcerer. The Tohno blood as a dangerous one, prompt to going wild at any time. Your sorcerous origin is logically going to have to be the wild magic. 

At level one, sorcerers get their Spellcasting, their Wild Magic surge and the tide of chaos. The tide of chaos won’t be really useful, but it can help you with some pesky checks once in a while, so it’s always an alright perk. The wild magic surge is the wild magic surge, as always; we could very well cheese our way through the first levels, or die at our first spell. Such is the way of the wild. Or something like that. 

For your spells, we will go grab our first fire spells : Firebolt, a cantrip, and Burning hands, a level 1 spell. Keep in mind that our power is NOT to set fire to things - we are stealing their heat, which causes pain and burning sensations, but the least we use actual fire to burn things, the more lore-friendly we are. If possible, we’ll want to flavor our spells to not ignite things, with all the pros and the cons it brings, with the DM’s approbation. Next up, we’ll take Absorb Element OR Mage Armor. While Akiha doesn’t have much defensive capabilities in the visual novels or the games, it won’t hurt to get a bit of bulk right off the bat. Mage armor is strictly better on most situations, but absorb element might prove more useful if you have a solid party to tank for you. To complete our cantrip selection, we’re getting minor illusion, to make our hair red when we get angry, Frostbite, because cold is also part of stealing heat, I guess, and dancing lights, as our red hair can emit some light when we’re using our powers.

2.  Next, we get our font of magic, which lets us create new spell slots. It’ll be the only use for our sorcery points until next level.  We can grab False life as our third lvl 1 spell, as we have the ability to give ourselves a bit of bonus HP with it, which fits our build.

3.  We get our first 2 metamagic at level 3. We’re going to go with Careful spell, because of the huge amount of AOE effect we’re going to have, and empowered spell, because of the huge amount of damaging spells we will have. We already have usage for both of those, with Burning hands. For our first level 2 spell, we get another one that looks a bit like strands of hair doing heat-related damage, Scorching Ray!

4.  At level 4, we get our first Ability score improvement. We’re pumping all of that in Charisma, because we don’t need much more than our Elemental Adept until later. We can also grab Create bonfire, which allow us to create extremely simple traps, as our fifth cantrip, and Mage armor or Absorb element, depending on which you chose at level one.

5.  Nothing interesting but new spells at level 5. We take counterspell as our first level 3 spell, pretty much completing our defensive spells roster.

6.  At level 6, we get our new subclass ability, Bend luck. It’s a useful tool that can be both used for attack or support, and for 2 sorcery points, it acts like a powerful low level spell, which is nice. For our next spell, we’re taking Hold person, our first means of entangling things with our hair.

7.  No new ability for level 7, but we do get our first fourth level spell. We’re taking an unusual spell : Sickening radiance. It might deal radiant damage, but it’s pretty much our first real “trap” move, as we can fill a room with it and weaken our foes as they come. And radiant is a bit like fire right? We can cheat a bit on this one.

8.  Level 8, new ASI! We’re finally getting our Charisma to its peak, at 20. Our new spell will be Wall of Fire, which is, yes, fire, but we’re using it as a trap, and only a trap. It can effectively block escape paths and such, making it a great control tool.

9.  At level 9, we get our first fifth level spell, which is going to be Enervation, probably the single spell that fits the most in our build. It does deal necrotic damage, but it’s a spell that stays on your enemy for as long as you wish, just like if we had a connection with them with some sort of magic rope (wink wink), and steals it’s life force each time it deals damage (wink wink). Yeah, that’s exactly OUR spell.

10.  At level 10, we get a new metamagic, and we’re getting twinned spell. With this and our new spell Hold Monster, we can hold more humanoids and monsters, and a lot of other shenanigans, like with enervation. We also take Prestidigitation, for the giggles really, no other cantrip really fits our build.

11.  The new thing we get with level 11 is our first (and only) sixth level spell, Eyebite. As an anime character, the look in our eyes becomes frightening when we’re fighting our sworn enemy. We’ll mostly use this spell with it’s fear effect, as we don’t want our powerful and worthy opponents to just go to sleep when we look them in the eyes, duh.

12.  At this point, we stop getting a new spell each level. We do get to have a new feature every 2 levels though, and at level 12, we get our third ASI, which we’ll spend getting the resilient (Dexterity) feat, which should get our dex to 14.

13.  Next level, we get our biggest damaging spell, Delayed blast fireball. We’ll want to use it as, as for a lot of our previous spells, a trapping move, throwing it near doors or in narrow corridors to detonate it when enemies are coming. Too flashy for our character, but a girl’s gotta get the job done at one point, and this spell’s damage can be pretty absurd.

14.  Level 14 is our next subclass feature, Control Chaos. Finally, we get something to influence our Wild magic surges, and that means we have double the chances of getting a nice effect that is not a fireball on self! Which is great fun, I swear.

15.  Next up, we have our first level… wait, none of those spells fit our character at all. So we’ll grab fear, which gives us an option cheaper than Eyebite to cause fear among our enemies.

16.  We get our fourth ASI, and with it, the last stats we’ll gain though normal ways. We’re choosing to put all that into Constitution, getting ourselves to a nice 18, and our HP should go up quite a bit with it. Also, we’re even better at keeping our cool even when enemies hit us.

17.  At level 17, we get our last metamagic, and we’re grabbing Distant spell. We might need to cast spells from far away, but it’s more situational than other metamagics. Also, we get our final spell, the only level 9 spell we’ll ever be able to cast. None of those fit our build, so we might as well go for something funny : Time stop. I mean, hey, we’re almost a vampire, we might not be blonde and voiced by Takehito Koyasu, our precious Nii-san IS our world.

18.  Now is where things get serious, on the damage side. Our Wild magic gives us access to spell bombardment, which is a pretty strong feature that increases our damage output by possibly a lot, depending on the rolls.

19.  For our level 19, we’re having a new ASI, and we’re finally getting War Caster, making us an immovable spellcasting machine. We’ll actually have some use of our decent HP and alright-ish AC (with mage armor on, never forget it), as we’ll be able to hit anyone that moves near us. And no one will break our legendary focus, with our advantage and proficiency on con saves and our high con stat.

20.  Finally, there isn’t much to be said about the final level. We get Sorcerous Restoration, a very useful way to get back our sorcery points. It’s useful, but doesn’t necessarily push our build further. It’s still a powerful tool, though.

Pros: We’re a damage dealing machine, with several options to burn our opponents, as well as ways to steal their life force and paralyse them. We’re doing 3 things, and we’re doing them great. We have high damage output, decent HP and AC (With Mage armor on, always), and we can actually do things when we’re in the middle of a pack of enemies. 

Cons: Some things have fire immunity. Which means we can only hurt those with our one necromancy spell and our frostbite, which aren’t the best damage output we have. Also, we’re still a caster and being in melee for too long isn’t good for our health. We also don’t have much of the utility we could have had, because we have to stick to what Akiha really can do. We already stretched it a bit by taking mage Armor and Counterspell. 

[bloodyshadow1]

so since the vestiges were mentioned in the fireside chat I dug up an old meta essay I wrote months ago on what vestiges should go with the nein 

The Mighty Nein and who I think should get what Vestige. Please note this is entirely for fun, and there are Vestiges that haven’t been discovered by Vox Machina, I’m using the whole list found on the critical role wiki. 

Also be aware, there are certain Vestiges that are just good in general that everyone could use that has an open attunement slot, Cabal’s Ruin, and Kiss of the Changebringer since they aren’t weapon or armor, just item so they could work with anyone despite not being specialized so I’m leaving them out for the most part.  The Titanstone Knuckles and Deathwalker’s Ward are kind of like this in their exalted form, but the other benefits are more focused on certain classes so they aren’t as universal.  Also note I’m using all the Vestiges in their Exalted states which are obviously at their best.  Also I tried to limit the number of Vestiges to 2-3, I think Yasha got 5 because as a Barbarian she could use a lot of weapons that others can’t, but that’s it. 

Caleb- Spire of Conflux, Whisper

This is kind of a no brainer, I mean he’s a wizard, he can’t use most weapons, any armor, or shields so it limits a lot he can use on the list.  Not to mention that the Spire was kind of made for him with his use/obsession with fire magic. Not to mention it would be kind of cute for Liam to use the Spire, Keyleth’s Vestige, with his new character

The only problem is that the Spire can only be used by a spellcaster, so it can be used by a lot of the party, while Caleb would be good with it he already has a lot of spells that can do the things the Spire can already and another of the parties Casters might be a better fit in the name of spreading power around.

Whisper is kind of strange, because it’s a weapon and Caleb doesn’t have the best dex for it, not to mention it was one of Liam’s Vestiges last game.  But wizards can use daggers and while it wouldn’t be the best method for Caleb to attack, it would be helpful for him to get away from people by bamfing out without needing to risk attacks of opportunity.  Also Whisper is was used in dark rituals, kind of like Caleb was being forged into a weapon by Trent, it would be nice for them both to kind of find redemption together.

Cadeuces- Deathwalker’s Ward, Spire of Conflux,

Cad was harder than Caleb, he’s a grave cleric so he can only use simple weapons which most of the Vestiges aren’t and medium armor and shields which aren’t that restricting, but he’d probably be really good with the Plate of the Dawnmartyr or something that could keep him up.  Most choices for him I picked for thematic roleplay reasons rather than pure functionality. I think Deathwalker’s Ward is just good in general with its ability to give resistance to one of pretty much all magical damages you choose at the start of each day. The wings in the exalted state don’t do much for him but in the air he’s away from melee attacks by most things and I think Cad would just enjoy flying. However, it kind of fits him being a grave cleric, I know he doesn’t worship the Raven Queen, but they are associated with each other and it would be cool to have two goddesses associated with death and the grave in his corner. 

The Spire is obvious, as I said in Caleb’s part, is just good in a caster’s hand, it’s free powerful spells that Cadeuces can’t normally cast to boost his utility.  But the real draw is that the Spire is Melora’s Vestige born from her very breathe and Cad is a worshiper of Melora, the biggest one we’ve seen in either campaign, it would be nice to see one of her worshipers wield her gift.  I think Caleb would be a better fit but Cad fits it pretty well

 Jester- Honor’s Last Stand, Deathwalker’s Ward

Honor’s Last Stand is one that Vox Machina never found, which they didn’t really need since none of them used shields, other than maybe Pike, at least they never brought it up if anyone had a shield.  Jester though does reference her shield a lot, with Laura and Matt attributing near hits to Jester being deflected because of her shield.  The bonus to AC is generally good but Jester is normally in the back with the other Casters so the exalted form that lets her boost her squishier friends.  Plus I think it would be funny for Jester to use the Vestige of the Platinum Dragon whose shrine she defaced. 

I’ll admit that Deathwalker’s Ward is more for Laura then for Jester.  Overall Deathwalker’s is just a good item, but Laura loves being able to fly, it’s why she stole the broom and got jealous/annoyed that she gave Vax the Ward last game since he could fly.  It is also the one of Vax’s Vestiges, you know her brother last game, even if Jester doesn’t know the significance it’s nice to know that Laura’s character is being protected by Vax’s Vestige. Also, like Cad, I think Jester would just really like the idea of flying.

The Spire is of course as I’ve said an option because Jester’s a caster, but Jester doesn’t have Caleb’s fire theme going on or Cad’s goddess connection, so… it would be good, just not emotionally satisfying.

 Fjord- Armor of the Valiant Soul, Honor’s Last Stand

Fjord’s really annoying to figure out since as a Hexblade warlock he can use martial weapons, but he’s also kind of stuck with his Falchion I think since it’s his pact weapon.  You can change your pact weapon, but since Fjord’s a warlock for more than just mechanic reasons and it’s a story thing. I’m not even sure he can attune something like a Vestige since his patron is a demigod not a full god and I’m unsure if he could absorb a Vestige made by a true god.  However, as a Hexblade he can use medium armor and shields.

There’s Honor’s Last Stand like with Jester is a shield that is really good, you can’t be knocked prone and on misses you can shove enemies away.  Not to mention that due to being a Hexblade, pact of the blade warlock, with high con, Fjord tends to mix it up more than most regular casters, so the shield can help him but also front line fighters if he’s close to them like Beau and Yasha who are strong but don’t have a lot of AC or hp.  While I’m not sure if I believe Travis when he says Fjord is Lawful Good, I also don’t think that Fjord is evil, I think he could attune to this Vestige.

Armor of the Valiant Soul is another Vestige that Vox Machina didn’t recover, not sure why, maybe it was just a time thing and they didn’t need it.  Regardless it’s a good set of armor, I think Scale is medium, so Fjord can wear it, he’s like the only one who can use it to its full potential.  A free use of the spell Command is useful for anyone, even if it doesn’t recharge off a short rest like the rest of Fjord’s spells. Fjord with his low number of spells slots would likely be grateful for any free spells he could get.  Command isn’t a great spell (have since changed my mind), but it’s free and Fjord seems to like enchantment spells or at least he did so it would fit that theme.  The rest of the bonuses of the Armor of the Valiant Soul are good, but in a general sense because it is a Vestige.

The Spire is of course as I’ve said an option because Fjords a caster, but Fjord doesn’t have Caleb’s fire theme going on or Cad’s goddess connection, so… it would be good, just not emotionally satisfying. And as I said weapons are kind of a grey area for Fjord, especially special weapons like the Vestiges.  I’m sure they would be tasty for him though.

 Yasha- Titanstone Knuckles, Agony/Pyremaul, Cabal’s Ruin, Deathwalker’s Ward

I mean I know it’s Grog’s Vestige from the last campaign, and I don’t want to say that only Barbarian’s can use the Titanstone Knuckles, but they do kind of benefit most from its abilities.  The pure boost to strength is amazng for barbarians no matter what state it’s in, I mean it breaks the 20 ability score limit and enlarged is just a great spells for a barbarian.  But what really makes the Titanstone Knuckles op a Barbarian’s hands is that a raging barbarian with the exalted Knuckles will be resistant to almost anything since the range makes you resistant to all physical damage and the Knuckles make you resistant to Fire, Cold and Lightning damage, which leaves Necrotic, Radiant, Acid, Poison, psychic, thunder, and Force, as an aasimar she’s naturally resistant to necrotic and radiant which leaves only 5 types of damage that can do normal damage against her, and thunder, force, and psychic are the rarest kinds in most campaigns.  Plus, Ashley rolled a barbarian because of how awesome Grog was and Pike and Grog’s relationship was just the cutest thing. It would be nice for Ashley’s new character to show off how big of a monster she could be with her old best friend’s Vestige.  The Knuckles also see to have something to do with Kord, Yasha’s god, since beating Groon was what got them exalted, but I’m not sure if it’s a confirmed thing or it just happened because it was badass.

Agony is a Vestige that Vox Machina go, and it’s a creepy one, Pyremaul was also not found, but not as creepy.  Both of these are fine weapons, though not swords that Yasha seems to favor, they’re both really good at damaging people, the Pyremaul dealing fire while Agony deals piercing.  I’d choose the Pyremaul for her over Agony seeing as it’s a twohanded weapon that Yasha seems to favor, the elemental damage increases it’s utility and it can knock people prone.  That said Agony can let you keep attacking if you kill something which Barbarians are good at and frightens enemies on criticals so it’s a bit of a tossup.

Cabal’s Ruin is one of those Vestiges that since it’s not a weapon or armor it’s just good for everyone and its abilities are fantastic for anyone in any class. That being said for Yasha, she’s a barbarian, people are going to target her will spells, the Ruin’s ability to swallow spells and give her resistance against the type of damage is fantastic for her.  The charges that let her deal an extra certain number of d6’s in lightning damage is also great and fits her zealot of the Stormlord thing she has going on.

Deathwalker’s Ward is of course a great all around Vestige, since it’s light armor Yasha could wear it and if she wore an Exalted Deathwalker’s Ward right now she’d have an AC of 17, which is what Grog had at the end of the campaign.  Look, I love Yasha, but she has piss poor ability scores for a barbarian, she wears medium armor I believe because her con and dex aren’t high enough to have the barbarian’s unarmored defense be higher than what she’s getting with medium armor (she should try to get a breastplate though instead of what she has now which is likely hide, but that’s not for this post is about).  With Deathwalker’s, which is light armor, Yasha could keep growing her dex if she wants to increase her AC because unlike medium armor light just adds your whole dex modifier. it doesn’t cap at +2.  Of course there’s also the fact that as a barbarian, any extra elemental resistance is good, and you can prepare which one you’ll need.  It might not give you as many passive resistances as the Titanstone Knuckles, but it gives more options of resistance.  

The big bonus the Deathwalker’s Ward would give Yasha is of course the wings, wings that allow her to fly for an hour and move 60 feet.  If you watched Campaign 1 (which I hope you did because if not you must be confused at this point) you know that Grog, Vox Machina’s killing machine, was unstoppable…, except that midway through the campaign they kept fighting things that could fly and get away from him leaving him useless for a good portion of the fights until they could ground their enemy.  It’s kind of a weakness with frontline battler classes since you have to get up close to your enemy and your enemies can just move away from you to where you can’t get them.  If Yasha had wings that allowed her to fly then it wouldn’t be a problem and she could keep destroying her enemies, not to mention that with her sentinel feat she could keep even flying dragons on her rather than any of the squishy members of the party.

Also... , I’m not going to lie, I think it would be cute from an rp stance for Yasha to get herself armor that allowed her to fly.  We know that her own wings don’t let her fly and she’s tried in the past, so if she got something that actually let her fly it would be really nice.

Beau- Wraps of Dyamak, Whisper

Beau is a bit weird, seeing as shes a monk and doesn’t use a lot of weapons other than her staff, or armor, but she’s also not a caster.  To be honest, I think she’d love the Titanstone Knuckles just because she loves being big Beau and the resistances it gives are great for any character, but seeing as she doesn’t use her strength score at all, it would be pretty much a waste having her wield them as a good item as opposed to someone like Yasha who would be an unstoppable monster.  She could use her str in place of her dex, but it would get her +3 more to her attack and damage rolls which while good doesn’t matter if she has the wraps which in their exalted form will match with other bonuses made for monks

Obviously, being a monk, the Wraps of Dyamak would be perfect for Beau like they’d be perfect for any monk since only a monk can attune to them.  Going by their Exalted State, the Wraps,  +3 to attack and damage rolls for your unarmed strikes would be amazing for her like they’d be amazing for any monk, her attack bonus to her unarmed right now for her punches would be +10 to hit at level 7 which is crazy and her damage would be a 1d6 +7 for damage.  As a monk, Beau can get 3 unarmed strikes with her basic round, and 4 if she wants to do fury of blows/Beaus, all of those with a +10 to hit, and +7 damage.  Of course all Vestiges give a +3 in their Exalted form so that isn’t much to gawk at, but seeing as Beau is a monk and doesn’t really get fancy weapon effects it’s extra to her attack and damage rolls would really help her out compared to the others who have abilities to compensate.  I mean truthfully, Beau can use weapons, not a lot and they’ll eventually get outpaced by her unarmed strikes and she seems to enjoy just using her staff as a weapon when she isn’t punching people, but she can, which is why Whisper is on her list.

In the Awakened state the Wraps of Dyamak give her the ability to cast Misty Step as a bonus action that recharges on rests or when she hits with a critical with her unarmed strikes.  Beau has the most criticals out of the Nein because she attacks so much so while it shouldn’t be counted on, it isn’t insane for her to get critical hits after Misty Stepping to an enemy.  Not to mention that she can Misty Step to an enemy in the air, wail on them and then Sentinel if they try to get away, which even if they did, as a monk she has slow fall which would let her negate the 3d6 of the fall damage as her reaction, which as a Cobalt Soul monk she can burn a ki point to get another reaction meaning she could still get Sentinel as an attack of opportunity.  And of course in the Exalted state the Wraps give monks the ability to use Ravenous Strike once per rest, long or short.  On a hit it allows monks to do an additional 6d6 of necrotic damage and then gain hit points equal to the necrotic damage.  Monks while they can hit hard and a lot of times, have notoriously low hp, having a d8 as their hit die, the lowest of a frontline battler character, which is why they can move so quickly and can take Patient Defense.  We see this when Beau tends to have low health if not be knocked out somewhere during the fight.  Ravenous Strike would keep her up and at decent levels of health in the middle of the fight so that Jester and Cad wouldn’t have to constantly use their spells to keep her up and since it recharges during short rests like her ki points she can always get at least 6 hit points back (as long as they’re not resistant to necrotic) going into a fight that they rest before hand, though hopefully more.

Whisper is a weird thing that I didn’t think of until I looked at all the Vestiges and class lists and saw that Monks are proficient with daggers.  Beau and other monks are so punchy that I forget that they can use weapons at all, even though Beau uses her staff quite a bit.  Whisper is surprisingly good for her seeing as she’s a dex battler and daggers are dex and while it won’t do a lot of base damage with it’s extra d8 of psychic damage +the 3 it gets for being an Exalted Vestige  +her dex mod it will do more than enough to compensate for having a d4 as it’s damage die.  The frighten condition is decent, not great, but could always make it harder for your enemy to hit either Beau or her friends if she’s close to it.  And of course the most important part is the fact that Whisper can bamf her to an enemy or away from an enemy if she needs to get out of a scrap.  Monks have high mobility but doesn’t mean that they can always get to their opponents, normally they have to burn a ki point to do Step of the Wind like Beau did in the second Lorenzo fight.  She used her second to last Ki point to get to him because she was prone and her last to stun him so they could wail on him to kill him.  It turned out okay, but because they were lucky Lorenzo failed his con save, if he didn’t then Beau would be out of Ki.  If she had Whisper she could have moved her speed thrown her blade, shadow bamf over to Lorenzo, hit him with her fist to try and stun and if that didn’t work hit him with her bonus to try and stun him again.  This is one example but there are others where monks are just short the distance barely or the enemy is in the air and you can’t get to them.  Like Misty Step with the Wraps you can get to your enemy, though Whisper is an attack action rather than a bonus but close enough.  Also, rp wise, with other Vestige swaps on the list, Marisha is Keyleth’s player who was in love with Vax, it would be nice for her new character to use his favorite weapon in a symbolic gesture.

Nott Circlet of Barbed Vision, Spire of Conflux, Deathwalker’s Ward

Nott’s a bit weird since a lot of the Vestiges that would be good for her aren’t because of different reasons.  Like Condemner would be perfect for her since it’s an assassin’s weapon…, but it’s a heavy crossbow which she doesn’t have proficiency in.  I mean she could find ways to get proficiency for a heavy Crossbow, but this is just how the Nein are now, not if they wanted to focus their character in a way to being able to use a Vestige.  Whisper is good for a rogue, extra damage and can bamf you around to whatever your throw it at someone or something.  However Nott isn’t a dagger person like Vax, she’s a mostly range person daggering to teleport to someone isn’t in her best interest. 

I think I see the Circlet of Barbed Vision, another one of Vestiges that Vox Machina didn’t get, would work well for Nott.  The hit to Charisma isn’t exactly going to hurt Nott unless they do charisma damage to get her ability score to 0 but I can’t see that happening.  The bonus to attack is good for her because bonus to attack is good for everyone, but especially good for sneak attacking rogues.  Poison resistance/immunity is good for everyone but the fact that she can see invisible objects and people would be good for her, as a ranged damage dealer she could snip someone who turns invisible and runs away and Nott is good at investigation checks so finding invisible items or traps would be great for her.  I’m gonna level with you though I picked this one because it was one that doesn’t really fit the others and when I started this I was trying to figure out how to separate the Vestiges so everyone could get one without overlapping. I think this is a fine item, but kind of weak compared to other Vestiges.

I could also see the Spire of Conflux being a surprisingly good fit for Nott, I think as an Arcane Trickster she counts as a spellcaster even if her default class isn’t so she should be able to use it.  While not the best fit I could see the benefits to Nott having the Spire.  I mean she’s sneaky so she can get around to enemies good points and strike when they least suspect it or summon an elemental in their midst and hide so she doesn’t have to break concentration.  Plus it has the Spire spells have are spells that she isn’t going to get for free so it’s not a bad choice. Also I could imagine all the casters fighting over the Spire, and Nott being like ‘until my children can get along I’m making sure no one can use this but me’ sort of thing.

And of course Deathwalker’s Ward which again is an amazing Vestige for anyone, light armor, can choose a resistance at the start of the day, and the flying would be great for Nott.  Maybe she wouldn't be able to hide as well in the sky but she’s also not likely to get attacked by melee and she can focus on whoever is engaged with one of her friends to sneak attack each round.  At first I didn’t think Deathwalker’s would be good for Nott, because I thought it was medium armor which means it’s not for Rogues, I though Vax could wear it without issue because of his levels in paladin, but because it’s light armor it works fine for Nott.

 Mollymauk-  Kiss of the Changebringer, Mythcarver

Yes, I included Molly in this because he’s still a member of the Mighty Nein damn it.  He’s also pretty hard to pick out a Vestige for since I don’t know much about Bloodhunters.  Thinking of Molly as a person not just a class though I think Kiss of the Changebringer or surprisingly Mythcarver would work for him.

This Kiss of the Changebringer is a great all round Vestige since it isn’t a weapon or armor and the bonuses are great, +3 to all saves in its exalted form, can’t be restrained, paralyzed, grappled, and a free luck point.  I think that despite being a worshipper of the Moonweaver Molly seemed to believe an awful lot in luck, even if it cost him in the end. 

As for Mythcarver, I know that Molly not being a bard loses the big advantages of inspiration giving advantage and cutting words giving disadvantage to your enemy, but it is still a really good sword and Molly uses swords.  Not to mention an extra d6 of force damage is great for Molly who could add his own cold or radiant damage with his rites.  The exalted form is crazy for someone who already adds an extra d6 like Molly could do some crazy amount of attacks.  Molly already gets 3 attacks, (2 for his action and 1 for his off hand) with an exalted Mythcarver he could do 4 attacks with his action and an additional with his bonus for 5 attacks, 4 of those with his rite damage and an extra d6 of force, would be incredible.  

That’s why I want Molly to have Mythcarver mechanically, but to be honest, I just think the sword and him would fit together perfectly.  Molly might not have the charisma and class of a bard, but he has the heart and soul of a showman and a storyteller.  Mechanically, Molly wasn’t a good bloodhunter, stat wise, he was unbalanced, he didn’t have the right ability scores in the right area to sustain himself, and two weapon fighting is crazy for someone who literally drains their health to use most of their abilities and is a front line fighter.  That’s why I think a sword that he can’t use all the benefits of would be perfect and so in character for Molly, because Molly didn’t care about what was best or smart, he cared about being happy and being an odd piece that still fit with other odd pieces.

So this is it, just so you know I make no claims to be an expert, just doing this for fun and when I can see on the wiki’s.  I hope you enjoyed reading this, do you agree, disagree, I’d be glad to hear any feedback.

[kaiju-z]

In the past couple of episodes, 8 teams have been fighting for supremacy. Each trying to be more fficient, each trying to do what they do better, faster, harder and stronger than their opponent to reach and win the finale of the Spring Welcoming Tournament.

We’ve seen explosions, we’ve seen dinosaurs and we’ve seen the steady rise of two teams.

Today, these two teams go up against one another. The winner takes 20,000 gold and a mansion. And for someone among them, there is something personal as well...

Seon Adventures Episode 28: “The Cultbusters vs The Traveling Gentlefolk”

The Day of the Tournament’s finale has arrived and each member of the Cultbusters deals with things in their own way. Humor, a precautionary spell set in place, stretching and words to go by. Sweets. Psyching one’s self under a silent gaze, never leaving the direction of the Echosmith Hall, the Colliseum, wherein the battle shall be held.

The party head out and make an easy entrance, with Malak casting Aid on Belli, Amelia and Mournimar. Entering, we are greeted by two figures. One, River, recovered from the 1st round and back in work attire, waiting her turn as our gnome business partner, Peppery Pete comes forth.

Pep talk aside, the aged gnome reveals another motive for his presence in the waiting room for our party, which is to give us an open offer for a job of some sort. A job to map out some part of the continent, under the request of one of Pete’s investors. A high paying job, to be sure from one Lucius Bennett.

As Belli hands Orion and the remainder of her Blueberry Muffins for Pete to take care of (the muffins clearly there to appease the fey creature’s eternal hunger), River comes up next and informs the party of a job offer of her own.

A mostly hush-hush work, River’s offer is the retrieval of a valuable artifact lost for quite a while. She appears to trust us with the details for later talks, should we come to her as well, after having successfully brought the crystal ball from our Cultbusting escapade.

Despite Belli’s best efforst, we do not receive any spoilers on the mission, beyond the surface level stuff. River congratulates the party on how far the Cultbusters have come in the tournament, appreciating the initiative of it all and suggests they go for the Wizard first..

“Go for the wizard’s knees!” which turns everyone’s heads in Amelia’s direction, given that, after all, Sabrina is her sister. She does agree, to some extent. Taking out Sabrina first would be the most logical move to make. However she opposes any scarring and long lasting injuries.

“I’m here. And I’m watching your every. Fucking. Move!”

As Malak casts Anti-Life on himself, which causes black lines to temporarily cover his body, the horn blows, signaling the beginning of the finale.

The Trial of the Betrayed.

Both teams step out. The Cultbusters from the South Side, The Traveling Gentlefolk from the North, right from under the VIP seats.

As the man, sitting in the middle raises and then quickly lowers his hands, the battle begins.

Initiative is rolled and Malak takes point.

And casts Guardian Of Faith in the middle of the five. It takes the form of a Seviper (you know, from Pokémon)! One move out of it’s range and the victim will take the appropriate damage.

With this, Belli takes action and focuses on the promised goal. Taking out the wizard first. Thus, she looks to Sabrina and focuses a spell she had been holding onto for a while to use: Enemies Abound.

Sabrina tries to fight through it. But fails, perceiving everyone around her as a hostile target. As a bonus to all this, she inspires Amelia, given the situation they find themselves in.

With all that happens, Landis calls for his Crusdaer’s Mantle and charges towards Malak, right after getting bitten for his troubles by Sammy, the Seviper Guardian Of Faith.

Standing before the Cleric, he glares, aching from the damage he took from his clever first cast of the match, while the old man that appears with some similar features to him, Jeffry Ramsey tries to knock Belli out of her concentration.

But she easily avoids both his arrows.

Seeing all this, a determined Luctan takes his action, pulling the Greatsword off his back, chanting a word and suddenly... teleporting out of sight from the rest!

Only to reappear right in front of Dink Jawbone, Griffin Tallywork and Sabrina, herself. Three strikes delivered. A Slash on Griffin, a Slash on Dink and a Bonk with the flat side of his major weapon on the wizard in an attempt to stop her in her tracks.

Yes. Luck has truly become... Anime.

With Sabrina down, Dink messed up badly and Griffin not looking so hot, the Halfling pulls out a mace and axe in each hand, attacking Luctan as he teleports again, this time within his reach. He hits twice with the mace, barely doing any notable damage to the magic fighter, right before missing with the axe.

Luctan, seeing this display, and seeing Landis ready to attack Malak, leaves, offended at the insult of Griffin’s weak attacks. And gets hurt some from Landis’Mantle as he draws within range.

But the halfling has no time to process all this as Amelia charges in, right when Mournimar first misses, then critically hits Dink, knocking him out for a microsecond.

Amelia cocks her fists and swings in fast motion against the dual wielding Halfling. Brutalizing him with that good ol’ Dope Ass Monk Shit.

As Luck approaches, Malak attacks the Paladin, unloading blow after powerful blow. First, his Executioner’s Axe Spiritual Weapon strikes from the back, then he comes for the man with his actual axe, followed up with a couple of channeled divine attacks. Each strike is fueled with Necrotic Damage as what Landis essentially goes through in six seconds is essentially the touch of Death Itself. 

Her avatar, Malak, the Death Cleric.

By the time he’s done, Landis does not look happy at all over this situation. Truly did not expect such initiative from a man of faith. But One does not simply underestimate a Death Cleric.

This opening gives Belli the chance to initiate the second part of her plan. The plucky Bard focuses her magic and music onto the brutalized Dink and Griffin aaaand...

Puts them to bed with her signature Sleep spell.  Doctor Sleep in the house.

And for all of Malak’s efforts, she quickly gives him inspiration. Given Landis’ actions that come, following this, the cleric may as well need that.

Slash, followed by a second. Divine Smite implemented and Malak gets rocked in retaliation for all that happened mere moments prior.

With the focus shifting away from the Folk’s archer, Ramsey dashes over to Sabrina, resucitating her with a healing touch. And takes a bite for his troubles from the Guardian Of Faith.

As Luck approaches Landis, he attempts to hit him from behind with a Guiding Bolt, but that misses. The frustration of that misaction drives him to fight on, however as Luck Surges into Action. 

One slash. It hits. Second slash, also hits!

Mournimar tries to help with taking on the Paladin. But the armored avenger dodges out of the way and the arrows fly through Amelia’s hair as she makes a dramatic bullet time dodge.

Regaining her posture, she turns to the slept men before her, right as Sabrina starts getting up again. And she starts stomping on them, flurry of blows upon flurry of blows Dink and Griffin.

The horrific display that follows knocks out the two men, which brings Sabrina to an internal monologue, in which she decides it best to prepare a spell for her lover, Landis.

As this happens, Jeffrey takes a Spiritual Axe to the chest from Malak, who ducks and dodges a swing from Landis’ sword, making a run for the Ranger across the field. While Belli sticks true to character and sends Sabrina into a dreamland of her own with another Sleep Spell.

Upon reaching Griffin and Dink, he touches each with the Spare The Dying spell, stabilizing them in the process from slipping beyond unconsciousness. 

With the Paladin distracted, Belli uses the acting skills to good use to copy Sabrina’s voice and goes “LOOK OUT BEHIND YOU!” at Landis. Which gets him to, of course, look behind his back to see a Sleeping Sabrina, causing him to scream out in surprise.

Landis gets played like a fiddle. Again.

Enraged and entering desperation mode with two of his allies unconscious, a third fallen asleep and forth barely holding it together and casting, Landis strikes Luctan with his longsword, drawing blood and knocking the helmet off his head with the spin of his footing.

Luctan, as though by his titular alias or a twist of fate, avoids what clearly would have then become a Smiting attack, saving himself from the kinda damage that even his parents would have felt.

Lucky indeed, as Jeffrey Ramsey casts Conjure Animal, from his grounded position, summoning a pair of Giant Spiders. One next to Luctan and another next to Belli.

Fun. Or not so much for Mournimar, who releases a girly scream, as the tiefling has to watch as one bites onto Belli, who luckily fights through the poison and keeps the sleep spell a-going.

Surprisingly, the other spider goes for Malak. A mistake as it’s web misses the cleric. And for that mistake, Ramsey pays with a blue blur that charges him from the side, while Luck dodges a sword slash from the Paladin as he dashes to Belli.

In reaching distance of her, Luctan casts Flight on the Bard, in order to give her some distance from the large arachnid.

Angry that she can’t get to Landis, Amelia opts to finish things off with knocking out Jeffrey Ramsey. And that she does in spectacular fashion as each of her blows strikes true and hard on the long range combatant’s body.

True to form, Amelia knocks his ass out, using all her strength, speed and inspiration for this task, right as Mournimar critically wounds and then finishes off one of Ramsey’s spiders. As Ramsey loses consciousness, the other Spider vanishes.

And thus, the two stop the menace that is the Spiders man.

Gagging over the spider doing it’s spidery-death thing aside, Mournimar hears the horn blow. The crowd erupting in cheers and chants as the battle comes to an end. And with it, the Spring Welcoming Tournament!

Celebrations begin as Amelia takes to her sister, before she gets escorted out of the arena with the rest of The Traveling Gentlemen. Luctan has no time to follow them with a gaze as Malak calls for Sammy to wrap himself around the lot of them and bring them into a Celebratory Group Hug, wherein compliments start flying from the refocused Tiefling in disguise.

An announcer joins The Cultbusters in the arena and, using a Thaumaturgical purple rock, declares them the winners, before handing them a golden key, which Mournimar accepts. This. This is the key to their new home.

Someone in the audience goes “Why didn’t you make her a T-Rex again?!” Amelia questions this too, but Belli assures her she just has to ask.

Fireworks blast overhead and Belli uses what time she has left under Luck’s spell to fly about, just overhead Mournimar to be the “taller one”.

As the high from the battle starts to go down, the party are given the address for the ball that will take place later on, which is funny, ‘cause it’s in the arena, ya know? The ball will be this evening and the victors are expected to wear their best wear. Which means, of course... Shopping time!

And shop they do. Right after they visit their new home, of course!

It is an enormous place, fitting for 5 people and guests in mind.

A stoney structure with a wooden fill in set between the rocks.

5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 3 study rooms, kitchen and a dining area. There is a large greenery in the back that is their yard, perfect for gardening!

Each gets an outfit fitting their style, with the nuance of every party member spending their cut of ther 20,000 gold (4,000 each) in different ways.

Malak hands coin to the people around the area of their new home, near the Crematorium. His kindness brings many a smiles on people’s faces that day.

Belli, with the aid of Ficus, buys and delivers a ton of toys and money to the Orphanage, where she shakes Doreen, the Firbolg, to her knees with the display of kindness. With all this money... all kids will be able to go through school! And if anyone needs anything, Belli would gladly give more. Which brings Doreen to tears.

Santa Belli teaches kids the true meaning of D&D.

Amelia visits a couple of places. Harper’s Treats and later, her favorite flower shop in the city (which for some reason I didn’t write down in this session. Because I am dummy.) And from Lissandra, the Eladrin, she buys one of every baked good in the store.  Lissandra’s shooketh.

Mournimar, meanwhile, visits Dyunificus’ Temple and gives a large number of money, much to the awe of a halfling fellow, who winks at the praying tiefling. “Bless yoouuuuuu!”

All the while everyone spends their cash, Luck remains at their new home, in the room he picked for himself. There, he sits, half undressed and staring at the bag of coinage splayed on a fancy chair before him. He sits. And he ponders. Because that’s a lot of money and he has a lot of thoughts going through his fatigued mind.

As the night comes and people gather and enter the Echosmith once more, the party make their arrival. Fancy. As. Fuck.

Archers set up on top, to guard the area in case someone comes to wreck the festivities, the Cultbusters take notice of Idarys from Crystalgate’s Finest, who was placed as the lone guard on door duty.

Looking inside, there’s a grand buffet table and food and drink abound. Anything we can want? It’s there! For the pickings!!!

Aside from Idarys and most members of the Forest Hearted Bretheren, the second of whom opted out due to this fancy-schmancy stuff not being their thing, pretty much everyone is here from the different teams, even Gutrot from Miniature Mayhem! Though, his charges aren’t in sight. Oddly enough.

Ye Olde Ska music catches Belli’s attention and she points out the Kobold band “Less Than Drake” to everyone. Mostly playing horn instruments, there is a drummer among them.

Pete waves at the five from among the crowd, dressed in his finest tux, which makes him look even smaller. His work clothes having some bulk to them, apparently.

Without even saying a word, like their minds are in sync, Amelia and Luck grab large plates of fried chicken and bottles of Alcohol and bring them out to Idarys.

Who. Um. Yeah. “Confiscates” the contraband.

While Belli approaches the Band and Luck searches for Ficus, Malak takes heed of the people that have arrived at the celebration, while having himself a good nom.

Pretty soon Luck finds the Roguish Narah steals him away from Lord Arwen, with whom he had been having a conversation at the time. And then. They dance. With Belli, who convinced the Kobolds, to join them for a performance, using her clout as a Narah, herself.

And the boys dance. Going full Carameldancen on the dancefloor.

While this goes on, Mournimar and Samson meet up and catch up on old times. Samson admits that he hadn’t seen that much action before and after meeting the party and was genuinely glad to see them again. He missed adventuring with the lot of them.

Mournimar, suddenly, asks for a favor. He hands Samson 30 gold to split between himself, Savon and the guild. Which, Samson takes seriously as he writes the instructions on his hand. With blood. Go big or go home, huh?

The tiefling ranger then would help Samson with a request of his own, helping him to find a secluded area where he could just. Chill out from all the noise.Samson winds up on a balcony, where he relaxes and takes a puff from his pipe.

He congratulates Mourni on the win and then... well. Awkward nature lads fuck off to do their own things. Which leads Mournimar to Sabrina.

And Landis.

And they talk about the fight earlier in the day. “Good fight.” Mournimar feels apologetic for bruising Griffin’s ego, but Sabrina waves that off, saying that he needed to be taken down a peg.  “You know how men can be!” she jokes. But it flies over the poor tief’s head.

Looking to the dance floor, he tries to add mood lighting for the oblivious Luck and Ficus, but the anti-magic field around them prevents such usage.

Then, in an act of kindness that was not forseen, or maybe it was??? Mournimar hands 1,000 gold to Sabrina and Landis. Which just floors the wizard and Paladin, who admit that they were going to re-enter the tournament the following year.

Asked if he wanted anything in return for this exess of money, Mournimar declines. As it is a gift! To FRIENDS OF THE PARTY!!! Alas, Mourni is not good with handling money, it seemed...

This whole thing prods  Amelia to wander over soon enough, extra nervous over the situation at hand.  She worries if tieflings are just like that. Handing out money whenever, given Luck’s own track record with giving money out of kindness in the past.

Sabrina is just. Amazed. They could buy a house with this much money.  Pay off the schooling. Taking the money, she opts to head home and put it somewhere safe, while Landis follows soon enough after her. Confused and doesn’t know what to do with himself. It’s been a weird few days.

What follows is an... awkward talk. Mournimar tries to apologize for past behavior, not being good with words and general manners... But! But Mournimar wants to do better. By her, by everyone and aplogizes for any trouble caused in the past.

On her end... Amelia speaks as well.

She doesn’t hold it against Mournimar. But she cares a lot, really and is hurt, but “it’s ok” as she puts it.

Mournimar offers to talk with her, if she ever wants to  to talk or chat, but Amelia doesn’t seem to easily be reciprocating the comraderie with Mournimar.  If anything changes, just let me know.” – Mournimar states. And in turn,  Amelia suggests she’s too sober and she’s not in the mood for feelings. Normally any other day she’d be so happy, but it’s been a few days.

Looking about, they do see a variety of alcohols. Top shelf stuff. And Mournimar jokes about the Centaur Moonshine. Amelia, countering of course, that she was on a ship for 9 years. Worrying about her wouldn’t be necessary.

Um. Good talk there.

In the meanwhile, Belli would get herself into shenanigans with the Guards, revolving around Orion, his size and his very presence at the festivities, as animals weren’t allowed.

Half a table. Half of it! Cleared out by the chunky cat familiar. Shock and awe!

Eventually she and Mournimar join up again and play “Hot or Not”, judging the fancy people’s looks. It’s wild.

All the while, Malak keeps an eye out for anyone evil vibey.

He seems some people, who are high off their tits, no one malicious. With the high investigation check, he sees a gentleman, who wasn’t in any of the tournaments. He’s high elven, red haired, clearly getting on a lot in years, though. He gives off very low-key evil vibes. Like in the rich man billionaire evil kinda way. His vibes are fucking rancid, bro. That special kind of evil. You know? I can’t be evil, I give to charity” kinda evil.

Self rightcheous-morally corrupt vibes. His face seems familiar, but he’s unsure from where. He can’t quite recall him, sadly. Dude’s pale and has a tattoo on his ring finger of a snake eating it’s own tail. So maybe he’s a follower of Keemis, as well? Odd that such a person would, however.

He’s talking with Salvador, the Aasimar from the Crystalgate’s Finest.

Luck and Amelia each try to learn first hand from the man.

What Luctan learns is that this man is:

- Ingram Bretannen, one of the vigilants of the guard. Oldest and longest of them. Trained with the captain.

- The guy is bragadocious as fuck.

- People tried taking his money, but that was rumor and heresay. He offers us a job at Lucious Beckett’s. (Pete gave us his card).

- He’s been bullshitting a few of the stories, he’s been in the city for a while, something about the 30 years ago seems dishonest.

And while Luck would go off to find Malak and inform him of what knowledge he had gathered...

Amelia approaches, after talking with Malak as well about the guy, while Mournimar and Belli accidentally commit microaggressions against elven workers.

What she learns is...

- Ingram is high up in the guard. Old, snooty and also has a normal wedding ring, as well as the tattoo of the Keemis ring. In honor of one of his late wives.

- She creeps him out.

- His 3rd wife’s name is Arabella and he has 3 kids.  Gilme and twins Luanda and Ellis.

- His sister sails on the “Yellow Tail”.

- This Fuckmothering Shit looks a bit like NEL!

- He totally has had kids out of wedlock, based on his behavior!

(20 minutes of fantasy Billy Mays jokes follow as Belli makes acquaintances with one, Bardy Scott. Lauren kills us with laughter. It’s. It’s so good, ok?! You had to be there.)

Still on the search for Malak, who had already left for the Keemis Temple, Luctan winds up being passed by The Traveling Gentlefolk.Which he only really notices after getting patted on the shoulder by a passing Landis, arm in arm with Sabrina and the money.

He gets the feeling, from this gesture, that Landis was being friendly.

And as he watches them go... Luctan feels himself in turmoil...

As the night and festivities carry on, the four remaining decide to crash the night at Nel’s place. But before that, they agree to go over to the temple and bring Malak with them. He is, after all, a Cultbuster.

Small talk is had along the way over getting the cats kitty toys and bonding is had over the whole thing.

All the while Malak would talk with Mother Destine, discussing the man he was unnerved by at the familiar looking elven man (WHO IS DEFINITELY NOT NEL’S DAD! NO SIREE, BOB!)

After a short discussion (I really wish I could record the sessions for better summaries ; u ;;;; ), Malak walks out of the temple and is greeted by the party, happily taking them up on their offer to head to Nel’s.

Seriously. We need so much Guidance as a party. it’s ridicilous.

Nel welcomes the party, in pajamas. The good kind. Silk and pink. She’s got class, damn it! She congratulates the five on the achievement and she even made sweets for the occasion!

Zone Of Truth shenanigans happen after Nel jokes about being with Belli’s dad.

“Did you fuck my dad, Nel?!”

She didn’t, of course.

And then... wlel, the bombshell not so much drops, as it reaches the final stage of the explosion as Amelia admits to the rest of the party that she is retiring from her adventuring life.

After everything they had been through, Amelia was in a different place as a person. She had Archie. She had Nelatha? And now? Now she had even her sister back!

The party takes this in their own way. With Belli being the most vocal one as she enters a panic mode over how to break the news to the animals. With Morgan vibing at the new mannor the party have, what are they to do with this info?!

Amelia is certain in her decision. And though Luctan keeps quiet and focuses as much of a brave face as he can, on the inside it’s a whole different story.

All this and there is so much work to do too.

Jobs from River and Pete. A revisit to Lake Stren? Going back to Menum to see if anything can be done for Luck’s body?!.

Luck’s body... Oh, now there was a story that needed more elaboration, eh?

As though on a whim, maybe more to it, of course, Luck removed the ring from his right middle finger and his form would change into his true body. And the glamour he had put his festive suit under faded, showing the deep gold color, instead of the fresh mint vibe that was there for hours on end.

He does so. and elaborates as much as he can brave to Malak and Nel. Why the ring. Why the vendetta. Why the everything that he can tell them, except what he had confided in Amelia.

And as the revelation of Luck’s appearance hits the last two members of the party, the new Malak and the honorary Nelatha, this episode comes to an end...

Previous Episode / Next Episode

[cupcakecoterie]

@true0neutral - Hazel, half-elf cleric

@fauxfire76 - Darvin, human bard

@miaaoi - Froseth, dragonborn monk

@hyperewok1 - Remi, human paladin

@sfwarlock - Nai/Eryn, elf ranger

Marion - Ava, human ranger

I didn’t mean to stay up, but I hit ‘too tired to sleep’ so I thought I would get things done. Unfortunately @noctumsolis could not be with us tonight owing to illness and misfortune. Please send him and his family good wishes and all the hugs; they deserve them. I had to pilot Riswynn. Apparently I have Riswynn’s cadence down quite well. I guess that’s something.

There was an argument right at the outset because Remi was minded to shake Bethrynna until a portal came out and Bethrynna had to explain that it wasn’t so much that she could create a portal as it was that she could tell where Ava’s half-sister had Plane Shifted to - the Shadowfell - and thankfully knew a thin spot nearby that they could use to get there. Darvin, meanwhile, said that they couldn’t do the rescue right away because those who had been hit by chain lightning were in no shape for combat. Of course, those who were hit with the chain lightning actively denied this, and Remi brought up Hazel’s Staff of Healing, which Hazel used to top up people’s health with Mass Cure Wounds. Darvin insisted they needed to at least pause long enough to make a plan as long as it wasn’t him making the plan ... in tones that were clearly made of self-recrimination ... and Bethrynna took him to task for it before they left the palace proper.

Other thing they did before they left the palace proper was ... well, Riswynn of the insane passive perception noticed that Butterscotch, still in the room in which they’d stuffed Ava, was butting at the window overlooking the throne room trying to get at His Person. Bethrynna broke a window and Ava caught the falling Butterscotch with a nat 20, even though it wouldn’t have damaged him if he’d hit the floor.

There were also some changes of clothes once they got their cart and stuff - Ava and Darvin needed their armour, and Froseth (upon hearing the description of the Shadowfell and being wise enough to reason that someplace described as a realm of death, misery, madness, and despair was going to be heavy on necrotic energy and changed out of his pretty robes and into his necrotic-resistance gi.

They went to the wood elf encampment because the thin place between the Prime Material Plane and the Shadowfell was in their graveyard. Hazel tried to ask Pelor for guidance via Divination but asked a question that had no sensible answer so that didn’t work. Remi, on the other hand, turned to her celestial patron Ziriel, going, “Look, I know what I have to do but Hunter’s Mark won’t last long; can you help me?” Ziriel was willing to double the time Hunter’s Mark would last - from one hour, out to two.

Eryn asked Bethrynna his name, just in case one or both of them didn’t come back from this. Beth told him that his name could no longer be spoken because of a geas cast by their clan after his disappearance; apparently when they heard how he went missing, they decided that something powerful wanted him and, to propitiate whatever the Something was, they gave up all claim to him by stripping his name from the world. There’s more to this, but it needs to be discussed later - Bethrynna, who made a bargain with Nerull (God of Death, the Soul-Shepherd) so that she could not die until she found her cousin again, can only help with this one last boon and have maybe an hour conversation with Eryn before she will be obliged to fulfill her end of that by going to serve Nerull directly, likely as a psychopomp.

Once in the Shadowfell, they followed Remi’s Hunter’s Mark and their own tracking skills, piecing together what had happened between Alisaie and the half-dragon on the way. It appeared that upon reaching the Shadowfell, Alisaie kicked the half-dragon in the face, managed to pop her wing tattoo, and flew away; while the half-dragon followed on her own wings, Flight spell trumps dragon-blood sorcerer wings for speed and Alisaie managed to lose her. She also managed to break the manacles, after a great deal of effort. So, while her situation wasn’t as dire as it could have been, she was still alone in the Shadowfell with only her little cleavage-dagger as a weapon.

At which point, Remi botched Stealth, twice - at which point I was obliged to throw my quasi-backup Sorrowsworn at them. I’d been toying with the idea of throwing a few of the Wretched in but decided against it, but I really just had no choice. So basically lampreys with feet, which chomped on Darvin and Froseth both. At least Bethrynna has Steel Wind Strike, so half of the pack just evaporated, but there was still enough to give them advantage on all attacks. Riswynn and Ava made very good showing (Ava killed two; Riswynn, three), and Darvin did most of one pack some significant damage with Thunderwave. (They should be glad of the driftglobe, though; without it, they would have been resistant to eeeeeeeeeeverything damage-related.)

They gave up on stealth at that point and continued on, only to find Alisaie being mauled by one of the Hungry (more Sorrowsworn). It was too busy chewing on Alisaie to bother with them (the Hungry aren’t very bright) so they whaled on it for awhile, and got Alisaie knocked out at least twice. There was a failed Stunning Strike, Alisaie refused to let Ava’s Arrow of Switching work (Ava may be Ride or Die, but so is Alisaie by her very nature and anyway, she didn’t know what would happen when that happened with the Hungry’s claws embedded in her arms), and Riswynn ‘borrowed’ Hazel’s crossbow because the melee zone was too crowded. Eryn charged in swinging the pactblade, and nearly got the killing blow; it was down to 2HP before Remi chopped it to very small pieces. They got Alisaie healed enough to allow for mobility and headed back to the Prime Material Plane as fast as they could, thankfully without triggering another encounter.

So next session looks like a talking sort of session, and they try to figure out what exactly they’re going to do about the mess in both Baronsvere and the Elvenwild, and maybe salvage something from said mess.

[hartsgold]

𝐝𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫, 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬, 𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧. 𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐥, 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐯𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧, 𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐦-𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭. ☽

the legends of queen titania and her the summer court trace back over the course of millennia. she’s renown as the height of archfey, the love and envy of many eladrin across fódlan and beyond. the elders of desert and forest villages spin tales of a fae queen whose smile could revitalize entire fields of decayed wildlife, and whose mood swings might set the forest ablaze. the lesser known king oberon, her first husband, was more a man of the people. although a loyal leader and decent king, his power paled in comparison to titania’s. eventually, his tendency to play among his human followers and associate with others outside the seelie court  came to a tremendous consequence, and he was ambushed and killed by a number of those who slither in the dark –– a group of magicians whose goal is currently unknown.

in her grief, the forest where oberon was killed fell to fire and decay. titania unseated the summer court’s place in the forest and relocated with many other officials and the local community. in her leaving, she spread all kinds of seeds, that way the area may begin again with the help of the local fauna that may rejuvenate the area in oberon’s memory.

titania built a kingdom and community at the center of a desert valley, where the edges blended into forests and few humans could even see past the thick brush of, much less the fathomless amount of sands. however, it took some time to recreate her court, and titania found comfort through giving new life in her time of grief. she thrived in the desert, where she found a great of new beauty and the blistering sun began to restore her. 

it was in her attempts to leave the throne of her court and kingdom that titania met a traveler by the name of makram. devastatingly handsome and bighearted, titania appeared mostly as a human to makram, who seemed to be a merchant and wonderful chef who introduced her to countless human recipes and magic without magic. across the course of her return visits, she found herself endeared to and courted by makram, who she believed thought her little more than a weary traveler. however, he was both cleverer and more well-aware than she anticipated. 

he soon disclosed to her that he was the heir to a nearby kingdom, who was well-aware of her poor attempts at playing human. she spoke nothing human, and seemed nothing human. soon, she relented and showed him the summer court she had built in that time from a distance. of course, he could not enter and he did not expect to. the boundaries between the feywild and humans were too great –– but they could not help what had become of them –– they had fallen in love. and soon, titania would bear a child with both the blood of an archfey and a human man. the king of almyra was away in attempts to see more of the world and strengthen him in battle, and what he found instead was an undiscovered world and a privilege like none other. still, he knew his son’s life would not be easy. titania understood it the same way. 

brokenhearted by the knowledge that her son would hardly be accepted in the summer court for his lack of pure-blood, she allowed him to grow up in makram’s kingdom apart from her –– often, she appeared to visit him both in person and in dreams. she gifted him with all sorts of fae knowledge, tricks of the trade and taught him to hone great magics while his father taught him his way around wyverns and the bow. enamored with their dragon traditions, among the several other adventures she took him on, titania took claude out into the desert forest and united him with a rare, white wyvern. rumored to refuse all her riders, claude naturally bonded with her and the rest between him and faiza is history. 

[between the real-world racism and the magical racism on top of that, you can imagine what claude endures spending time in his home kingdom and near his mother, who has countless followers and advisors that suggest she steer clear of humanity while she’s able.] 

but he tires of his time in almyra, and soon convinces his mother to bear a few years in the summer court as the heir. most of the other eladrin distrust and scorn him, but he plays the game and tricks them all into making fools of themselves. somehow, he slips well into both skins and finds himself researching all sorts of new things. mostly, he gets to know his mother more and she eventually opens up somewhat about oberon and what happened to him. although claude knows he doesn’t deserve the resentment or severe mistreatment that the other fae have pinned on him in the aftermath of that incident, he also doesn’t trust the fact that those who slither in the dark are still out there. he means to unite his mother and father’s kingdoms in a distant relation to one another, as far as humans and fae can coexist without hurting each other any longer. 

and who knows how many battles and political powerhouse moves later, he does just that. he and a few battalions and forces gather and unveil the mystery of those who slither in the dark, conquering the majority of them as he pries deeper and deeper. 

as claude’s father is perfectly well and remains seated on the throne, he comes into his place as the new king of the summer court, where he finally commands the respect and admiration he deserves. it’s not perfect, but he makes a difference. 

claude knows his fight is far from over. 

he is always moving forward. 

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬:

claude takes after his mother’s connection to nature. he’s deeply familiar and in touch with the earth, the flowers and herbs and wildlife that surrounds him in most warm climates. he’s especially content in dry autumn and blistering summer, but tropic and cool forests suit him just as well, as per his mother’s forest proclivities. 

titania taught claude elemental magic, and he’s well-versed in fey spellcasting, such as but is not limited to: charm person, detect magic, dispel magic, invisibility, modify memory, mass suggestion and once a solstice, he can cast wish. he has magical resistance, as well as immunities to necrotic and poison damage –– he cannot be charmed, paralyzed, or poison either. he can also speak with beasts and plants! 

it was makram who passed failnaught down to claude, who now has express and magical mastery over all forms of bows. 

as claude has the capacity to pass through human lands and fae courts, he also has some fae traits. his ears are longer and pointed, pierced with gold rings of course. he also has great antlers that curl outwardly from the crown of his head, that he can make invisible at will. 

as he is the son of an archfey who is revered as a deity who can grant divine abilities to their worshipper, he has great power. he’s not afraid to use it! 

[duraxxor]

The Dreamscar Part IV

[[ Warning: This entry contains graphic violence and imagery as well as language. You’ve been warned. ]]

Now you know your name has been echoed through many possibilities, Dura. And those are not the only occurrences either. There are many other worlds out there. But that's not what this is about is it? No. This is about the thread you exist upon. Like helpless prey you are entangled within the web of an arachnid. Azeroth has not never been kind or merciful to you though, has it? Never. Her bite is necrotic and you find yourself drained one death after another. Thrice-damned indeed. 

Not everything became hell because of the world around you. In fact, you've made quite a few interesting choices as of late. Isolation is such a common trait within your bleeding heart, is it not? Oh yes, I have tasted your bittersweet wine on many occasion. It seems to only get better with age, as it should. Your friends and family have always been in question, even when you thought you possessed the will to trust. Alliances are forged under circumstance and self-benefit. The Alliance. The Horde. The Scourge. Even now, those you hold dear claw at your flesh only to tear it from the bone, like ravenous vultures. There's only so much one can lose before they become nothing more than bone and eventually dust. 

Does that pull upon the sewing thread within your head? Then perhapssss… it is time we've properly introduced in a different reality...

The chittering of the nightly wings was the first thing that fell upon his ears after the familiar voice went dead silent. The scent of blood inhaled through his nostrils as sight returned to his right eye. His left, however, possessed next to no sight at all. But before the undead elf could take notice to that amongst other things, his senses were ensnared by crimson environment in more ways than one. The earth beneath him appeared tainted by some form of decay while the grass that protruded spoke otherwise. The skies reflected in comparison with a brighter tone of scarlet that was only altered by the haze of what appeared to be smoky mist. The confirmation of the chittering was given as the bat children fluttered by this strange platform he found himself upon. " Platform? " He thought to himself. Indeed, he was upon what appeared to be one of many floating landmasses. It was at that moment that he realized he was truly ensnared with a strange sensation to follow. Why couldn't he see out of his left eye? Why couldn't he feel even a needle-like sensation that occasionally irritated his left arm? 

" Because those are the shards of your flesh that were picked from the bone... " A young sounding voice replied to his silent question. That voice was different from the narration he had grown accustomed to yet once more it possessed the same familiarity. " … Your eye was burned out then snuffed by the void... while your arm was torn completely from you twice, the second being a false limb, of course. " It was when the youth revealed himself from the crimson dark that Dura would realize just who this entity was. White hair that protruded in a mess with the gleam of red that reflected off the world around them. The entity appeared truly young judging from height and the build that reflected the growth. He was male and wore torn clothing while also clutching something that set Dura's mind a spiral. 

" That dagger... " He quietly spoke as the object in the boy's hand was stained with the blood of old, curving only slightly due to it's purpose being to skin wild game. " …Where did you get it? "

The child may have appeared elven but the twin jewels of blood spoke otherwise. A faint smile curled upon his face from the humor within the question. " You already know the answer to that... It's the only thing we ever had left of father. For all the rage we for him leaving mother and us just like that, don't you look back and think that sullying it with blood was the perfect use for it? Blood of a murderer sacrificed to guide our fortuitous path. " The boy presented it in the direction of the missing limb.

" How are you... " His eye looked towards the same direction and realized what was missing was actually unraveled into a crimson silk that bound him to a crystalline formation. This set Dura in a state of alert, earning the false child a few choice words. " What in the hells is this? Who the bloody fuck are you? Get me down from this bullshit! " He snarled with a viciousness that only distorted his half face worse. 

" Oh my... didn't mother teach you not to speak in such a tongue around children? " The child chuckled while playfully twirling the dagger around his fingertips, an old habit that only confused Dura even more. " I'm you, silly. And you are me... " The boyish form began to twist and turn, crimson flames erupted from his form as if the youth had spontaneously combusted. The laughter never abated but rather, it deepened in tone. The billowing flame increased in height and volume before twirling into a tempest of hellish properties with the cacophonous chatter of bat children thrown into the mixture. The flames and avian creatures quickly dispersed, showing that the tattered clothing had transformed into a black coat. It shrouded the majority of the beings form aside from the arms and head. Ghostly threads that were stained by blood cascaded down from the top of the beings scalp that was slowly lifting in return to look back at the damaged man. " ... Or at least, I am what you could become if you would just listen carefully. " While the pitch of the voice perfectly matched his, there was confidence and allure that burst forth from every single word that could reel many in easily. 

" What in the bloody fuck... " Dura replied to this strange doppelganger who seemed in far better shape than ever had. "... You're me? You don't look torn all to hell and you most certainly aren't glued to a damnable crystal. Why the hell am I here? I am suppose to be in my slumber. " Duraxxor's tone may have been quite irritable but he was reluctant to cooperate and listen at the very least. 

" As I said before, I am you yet I am not you. " Clawed nails tapped the old artifact of butchery before he turned it backwards, using it as a nail file. " Of course I'm not torn or whatever you think you should be. Because I found a way around all of that. As for why you are infused with that crystal like that, well.... " The doppelganger's eyes illuminated with a sinister glow before the man moved for only a split second to be within Dura's face so that he may speak to him closely. The smile was fiendish as ever and possessed many sharp teeth much like the other. However, there was something truly destructive about that stare of his that even brought the half Faceless to be at unease. "... You're here so I can fix you. To put you on the right path. " That relic of a dagger was brought to graze across the cheek of the ensnared Daevara as he spoke with such malevolence. 

" Right path you say. Pffft. Give me a break. " The sleeper replied with a broken crescent forming upon his face. " Let me guess, the truth is you are some creature from the void or some other damnation here to take over my body? Or perhaps you are the Sorceress' test? I mean really... how can you truly be what I could be? What makes you any better than what I already am? " 

Dura suddenly found himself cut off by this abnormal twin's fingertips silencing his lips with a idle shush. " No void. No tests. No demons. There is only blood and shadows here. As for your late inquiry, well... " The fiend pulled his fingers away to tap along his own petals of flesh in thought before continuing his answers. " I am you once you have become enlightened. Unchained by the previous burdens and instead possess the ability to eradicate that which has taken from you. The Beast. Lindeara. They will all be consumed... " The final word was uttered in a hellish accent that rumbled with a terrifying melody. " All you need to do issss… let me take over. " 

" Let you take over? But then how exactly would it be me who destroys them if you are the one taking control, huh? " Dura retaliated with a stilling fact. How exactly could this entity of similarities not understand that Duraxxor Daevara does not allow anyone to take his glory away from him without proper reasoning. Perhaps this being was lying to him after all? The bindings suddenly released him from the crystal, leaving the broken puzzle to tumble into the soil below with a rough landing.

" I had a feeling you would reject the idea of even yourself controlling your husk like a puppet. I'll give you that much, you are just as precise as ever. " His arms began move in circular motions, weaving the very air around him to precipitate a flow of crimson liquid to form into a globe that was continuing to twist and turn into something less spherical. " Since you won't cooperate, I guess that leaves the sheer force option, doesn't it? But don't worry... you won't remember anything I have shown you. " 

Duraxxor attempted to pull himself from the ground, growling with wrathful intent in the precise. The torn fabric of his left arms slowly began to dribble with the same crimson substance as the bloodied mist. His eye stared at that conjured ability as it took the shape of a spike of crystalline properties. " You intend to kill me?! What the bloody fuck! " The broken monster hurled himself towards the demon that was attempting such a forceful possession of his mind and likely his body. 

" It is the only way for you to evolve and continue... make this easier on us both! " Once more the final word billowed, shaking the levitating earth they stood upon. With being said, the scarlet spike was launched as swift as a bullet, landing it's mark directly into the monster's chest dead center. Duraxxor had been impaled all the way through, causing the angered creature to drop onto his knees and hold at the very cavity that had been invaded by such a deadly fast attack. " Ssssshhhhh… just give up and let yourself go... " The doppelganger requested this to ease the creature that was said to fade because of this. 

Slowly, Duraxxor's movements began to cease as the substance that protruded both sides of his body began to mingle and infuse with his flesh. Vibrant hues of red seeped into his blackened veins as he truly felt a sensation much like when the Sorceress had brought him back a third time. Was this it? Was this the end of the original Duraxxor? Not even the Sorceress could stop this so how could he? Could he? 

The winner of this short trade of words and actions stepped forward to completely claim his prize, reaching forth and placing a hand upon the scalp of his previous monstrosity. " This chapter has ended for you... a new book will be wrote in your imagery, Duraxxor. " The hand brushed along the skull of this individual much like a parent did to ease a child who was the in the need of comfort. Something that both appeared to be familiar with. It was the least this strange double could give due to the circumstances of their meeting and their farewell. " … A fatal mistake... even for you... " The words were whispered into the wind which caught the ears of the being, bringing a surprised expression to his sharp features. " What?! " 

But the double was too late as he felt the entire right half of his body was being ripped into by something unfamiliar. The seeping wound from Duraxxor's left shoulder now possessed what appeared to be a pair of twisted jaws which possessed many gnarling teeth that were closed completely around this individual with only one intent in mind. " You expect me to kill myself... when have you ever known me to do such a thing?! " The ragged breath shifted into the voice of a ravenous beast. The jaws pulled the second Dura further and further into his maw. The lips of the original twisted forth into a shark-like set that lunged forth to vice grip the other's neck, tearing into him bit by bit. 

The doppelganger posed no fight for freedom. In fact, he openly welcomed the consumption of his own flesh. Happily, he rejoiced as the outcome had turned into quite the opposite of what was presented on the table. " ... That's the way... My flesh I give to you to... mend and empower... consume me and become who you are... truly meant to... " The final words fell flat once the snarling jaws completely consumed the other, leaving nothing more than a puddle of gore to stain the earth below.

Duraxxor had become the true victor of this endeavor. In doing so, his being had metamorphosed into something far more vicious in nature. The hungering limb slowly shrunk down and reformed into a hand that oozed and dribbled with the mixed essences that gave the claws a filmed imagery. The other half of his face slowly began to regenerate from the devouring he had commenced. And soon after, the animal roared to the bloodstained heavens a battle cry that shook his entirety. So much so that even in the waking world the bellowing noise shook the room that surrounded his steel coffin. Then there was silence. Perhaps there was nothing to it at all but a sleepless noise in reaction to the dreaming state he had placed himself in? 

Pow! . . . Pow! . . . POW!

The coffin's lid was launched into the air, crashing into the ceiling with a descent onto the metal floor, dented completely outward by the blows provided. A tangled mess of ghostly locks rose from within the vampiric bed that flowed with a sinister fog that veiled the floor around him. Both arms grasped the edges of the steel lining with the tapping of several sharp digits which had grown. To which, the next sound to be heard was the sudden opening of a door that crashed into the wall. Seven geists leapt into the room to surround the perimeter while a crimson haired woman in a dress sashayed into the room with haste. " Master! You have awakened! " Her voice spoke of the relief she felt knowing it was only he who had risen rather than someone to disturb his sleep. The geists spoke with muffled tones and raised their hands in rejoice that the Faceless had indeed returned to the waking world. 

" Tiramina… " The name was spoke with that jovial allure he possessed when he was in a good mood, pausing only briefly to allow her to acknowledge she was being addressed. " … How long have I been asleep? " He didn't even need to look at her as she knew he was seeing with sight. 

" Seven months, twenty-two days, twelve hours, thirty-six minutes, and seven seconds. " She answered such with complete accuracy. She had been keeping track of every single moment since he laid within the metallic enclosure. " Did anyone beckon or summon me in my absence? " Duraxxor inquired in an attempt to double check his options as the his half-nude form rose even further to reveal his chiseled shoulder blades which were revealed to possessed a emanating rune formation upon his back. It was as if the white snow that cascaded down his back was parted much like the seas of ancient legends. " None, Master. No one dared to intrude on your sanctum and all has been accounted for. " Her answer was not only satisfying but was also met with a optimistic expression. 

" Gooooood… Then everything will proceed. Phase two of Myotis will commence. But first... I have some work to do... " Slowly he turned to face his loyal servant with most glorious of expressions. A smile that trumped all the happiness he had ever shown to the world. And this joy was also rewarded with the orchestra of laughter that echoed throughout the sanctum and eventually outside of the cavernous home. Lord Duraxxor Daevara had awakened, arisen, and was now renewed. 

[ tags for mentions: @sanguinesorceress and @horridpoppet ]

[was-that-a-fanfic]

Disclosed Secrets

Also On Ao3 under Wasthatafanfic

What if Wesker found out about Project W much MUCH earlier in the series,  and what if because of that Wesker were to become the sort of person who doesn’t betray his team in the mansion?

:Part Six - Epilogue:

There was no meeting in the days following the nightmare at the Spencer Estate.

After being treated for their injuries they faced a gauntlet made up of submitting reports, questionings, disbelief, and outright interrogation. They were under such intense scrutiny from every direction that outside of a single formal recorded debrief in which they all carefully danced around the topic of the 'deceased' Alpha team captain, It was just short of two weeks before the true debriefing could be held at the Burton residence.

Chris had been woefully late to their clandestine meeting and last to arrive. The round-about path he'd taken from his apartment had taken longer then he'd expected. The abandoned street had made him feel exposed and vulnerable. But driving had seemed too conspicuous, too easy to track. And while Chris knew he was being paranoid, he also knew that the paranoia was very very justified.

He wasn't the only one either. He'd by chance recognized Jill's car parked at a bar a few blocks away, one crowded enough to get lost in the crowd and easy enough to sneak out the back unnoticed, and he was mildly amused to find Rebecca's bike tucked carefully out of site on Barry's front porch as the front door was pulled open before he'd taken to steps onto it.

Barry's living room was cluttered but comfortable, the coffee table covered with newspaper articles, files, and photo's they'd collected over the week.

Barry would be leaving soon to join his family, currently safe visiting Kathy's parents in Florida, to finish moving her and the kids into their new home in Canada. Well out of Umbrella's grasp.

Of the eight surviving STARS member's only six were present. Wesker among them, despite Jill's predictions and how long he'd had to stay hidden.

Brad 'Chickenheart' Vickers, however, had run. Left town within hours of being released from the hospital. Considering what they were apparently up against they couldn't exactly blame him, but that didn't stop the sting of being abandoned by a teammate yet again.

It was Richard who had them all really worried. The COMM's officer had been in and out of surgeries the entire last week, doctors frantically working to try and counter the damage done by Yawn's necrotic poison and bite as well as the damage from Neptune's razor sharp teeth. Unfortunately they'd finally had to admit defeat, the arm had to go, and he'd gone in for the procedure to have it amputated only hours ago.

The mood around that messy coffee table was uncomfortable, tense, and somber.

The papers were already running wild with tales of drug use and gross negligence, almost gleefully spreading rumors of impending suspensions that was looking more and more likely to be true by the day. Even the investigation of the 'mysterious' fire had already been handed over to Umbrella, making the whole mess feel all the more hopeless.

They owned Racoon city, and Wesker laid out a list of every official, officer, and agent he knew of that were on their payroll. The number of STARS on the list was especially distressing, many people they knew and trusted as friends.

Albert explained the full scope of what the so-called pharmaceutical company did; the viral research that had been the source of so much terror in recent weeks, The dangerous bioweapons they created, illegal human testing and experimentation, and of course project W. It seemed no one was off-limits now on the staff just as likely to end up his experiments is anyone else.

There were some things he wasn't quite ready to share and some things that, with the trauma still so fresh, they weren't ready to hear. But he did give them the folder he collected on himself and his new 'condition'. 

The sparse couple of pages it had begun as had grown over the near decade-and-a-half since Wesker had first discovered project W, though it was still severely lacking. He hadn't had access to the equipment needed to get a good idea of what the prototype virus had done to him.

What he could ascertain at least was that there had been no further visible mutations beyond his eyes and no obvious deterioration, by now he was at least certain he wasn't going to 'go zombie' as Chris semi-jokingly referred to it at one point.

Enrico's plan was to ferret out the trustworthy and still uncorrupted among STARS ranks and use them to start pushing out the rest and taking the evidence they had of what they'd done, using Wesker as not just a key witness but exhibit A up the chain of the u.s. government.

Wesker had no interest in that particular course of action.

Begrudgingly he admitted it wasn't until he'd joined STARS and was exposed to their (naïve, arguably childish) morality that it occurred to him to bring them just justice, instead of simply causing its destruction through their competitors. So when he'd had access to what could have served as the hard evidence they needed he'd only been interested in what he could sell off to the highest bidder.

That meant that not only was his list likely just a fraction of those actually influenced by the company but the evidence he had on hand was only enough to implicate Umbrella on a local level.

Even with himself as evidence he knew exactly what would happen if he went along with Enrico's plan.

Imprisonment, interrogation, testing, and most likely forced service.

He'd just slipped one leash, he wasn't especially interested in immediately trading it for another.

So, in spite of vocal protests and debate, he would shortly be leaving the country to track down Umbrella's head office, the true location of which even he hadn't been privy to, and destroy them there. Feeding information and evidence back to them as he collected it so they could strengthen their side of the mission.

Enrico would have the key witness he so wanted soon anyway, with William (the only person outside their team who knew of his survival) already taking steps for his own defection. But William was almost, if not more obsessive in his research than Wesker himself and wouldn't abandon his work on the G virus until it had reach completion. Once it did though he had no problem handing it over to the government to seal Umbrellas fate. All they needed to do was keep attention elsewhere and the most damming evidence would be delivered with a bow and a gleeful middle finger toward their former employers.

As they finished their plan Wesker was surprised to be pulled aside not once but twice for a final word.

First by Rebecca who stopped him just before he stood

"I, uh…"

"I've sort of been spreading rumors that Richard agreed with the story the papers are running and told him to say he couldn't remember what happened if he was asked. To make it sound like trauma-induced amnesia."

She received a nod of approval from Wesker, and a disbelieving laugh from Jill just behind them at finally knowing where those rumors had started.

That would improve his chances, and he told her as much, they would most likely approach him with a pay off and, despite Enrico scoffing at the idea, it was probably a good idea for him to accept the bribe, then use the grace period it would provide him to get somewhere safe while he finished recovering. Even if they assumed he wasn't a risk they wouldn't leave that loose end dangling for long.

The second was even more a surprise. He planned to use the tree line of the bordering park as cover, the dark wasn't nearly as much of an impediment now, his night vision much improved since his infection, along with his hearing. Which meant As he slipped out Barry's back door into the dark yard he heard the soft *tump* of the door being gently stopped by a palm.

"When do you leave?"

He didn't even pause before answering.

"Immediately, I should have been gone as soon as we cleared the mansion. What do you want Chris?"

The smirk he found on his point mans face when he turned was unexpected.

"How about two days?"

Orange eyes narrowed behind dark lensed sunglasses Wesker wore even now.

"And why would you need that?"

"To have enough time to get suspended. So no one'll bat an eye when I take a 'vacation' to 'clear my head'. I hear Europe is nice this time of year."

The silence was enough the crickets started up their song.

"You must be joking."

Behind the smile it was clear in Chris's gaze how serious hours conviction was.

"This isn't over yet, and I wouldn't mind taking the fight to them. So?"

Amusement twitched his own lip into a smirk of his own, the prospect an unexpected and intriguing one. Considering Irons had had it out for Chris almost from the very start it was doubtful he'd need the full forty-eight hours to stage an actionable offence.

But he supposed they would need time to pack.

[punishandenslavesuckers]

Crackship: Magnus/Ithuriel if you have some inspiration about them.

YOU ARE TESTING MEEEEEE: 

This is it. This is how he’s going to die. Eight-hundred years and change from the heart of Indonesia. To the shore of Alicante, this is where he’s going to die. It’s Magnus’ first thought when the world cracks open a nova of starblaze beneath the ancient canopy. The effect is like a bomb going off. It blinds him so completely he can feel the inside of his retinas flare and die, leaving oily spot of darkness in this vision. The shockwave hits him like a truck and he hits the ground rolling, end over end and smashes into the foot of a cliff-face. 

His skull slams into a jag of rock so hard his body rebounds like a thrown doll and he hits the ground finally and lies still. For a moment, there’s nothing but the black and the earth pulsing beneath him. Gravity spinning on a tether around him.

Dammit, Biscuit, he thinks, dizzy, blood sliding from somewhere above his hairline.  You can’t call on angels while the demonic are still among you.

He’d be angrier but he can’t feel his extremities and, frankly, when being chased by a legion of hellspawn impervious even to the most vicious of Magnus’ combat spells, there is something to be said for pulling an ace. And, really, the only reason she held off this long was for his sake. Magnus knows without seeing that the hellspawn are burning. Incinerated to dust in that single holy detonation and he, delirious, can’t help but wonder if he’s next. If the burning he feels in his nerves is the necrotic interlude to his inside liquifying, his entire body shaking apart at a quantum level because somewhere close by the angel Ithuriel has heeded the call of Clary Fray.

His ears are ringing. He can hear someone talking. Someone is shaking him, their fingers skating wildly cross his shoulders, his ribs, the bloody-sticky split at the top of his head and, oh, it must be a lot of blood because his rescuer starts to cry. Magnus is fading in and out, reality slipping into focus then slipping away. Clary Fray is pulling him into her arms, hooking her elbow behind him, pressing her palm against his skull.

She says, “Magnus? Magnus, please?” Her voice is shuddering and cracked. “No, no, no. We did it.  They’re gone. We did it. Everyone is safe. Magnus?”

Briefly, he can see her face, pale above him and framed by her unlikely red hair. She seems afraid.

He tries to tell her not to be, but the sound that catches in his throat tells him his skull is definitely cracked. Something is wrong. He tries to lift his hand, to just tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, but he misjudges the distance entirely, his fingers bumping her collarbone, gripping nerveless at her jacket before falling. There is something, some damage somewhere and he can’t… he can’t…

“Please,” Clary is begging. “Please, he’s my friend.”

There’s a sonic boom, a roar like a thousand claxons sounding and he cries out, his teeth aching in his skull, his entire skeleton throbbing until the speaker (because it was a voice) is splitting his already split skull like there’s prybar in his brain. Clary is screaming, curled over him, shielding him with her body, like that will do anything. The sound stops. Silence aches in the aftermath and there is nothing but the sound of Clary weeping, gently, into his hair.

“Please,” she sobs.

Again, someone speaks, but this time the frequency of their speech doesn’t rip at Magnus like atomic wind. It’s not even a sound, but a… understanding, pressed to the inside of his head in the shape of words.

“It is not my providence to heal your injured, my child, particularly not those of the downworld.”

Clary sobs.

“But this one…” There is a pause and Magnus feels something, a light, soft and warm, like sunshine rising through his bedroom window. Like someone is brushing fingers made of starlight against his temple. There is a sigh so deep the valley breathes with him. “I know him as I know his father. We once stood together in the silver city. I owed the one who fell when he fell beyond reaching and that debt lies between us still and into eternity unpaid. So it lies between Magnus and I.”

“I don’t understand,” Clary whispers.

“Magnus Bane is an aspect of one that I loved. And so, as I loved him, I also love the shadow.” Magnus feels the smile like you feel a wave break over your shoulders. “I will repay the debt, Clary Fray. Just this once, for him and not for you.”

“You… you won’t hurt him?”

“No. I love him, Clary, as I said. So, I cannot.”

Magnus feels something hot touch his cheek, so hot it burns but in the same moment it burns it heals and traps him in a strange unending cycle somewhere between pain and relief. Clary is uncurling from him, letting a canopy of light close around him instead. Someone else is cradling his neck, carefully, like you hold an eggshell in your palm, and Magnus can hear a rustle of one thousands wings, the weight of ten-thousand flaming eyes bearing down on him. He doesn’t dare look. If he sees the angel with his cat’s eyes, they’ll be burned out of his skull.

“Be not afraid,” says Ithurial. “Remember: those that fell were once angels. You are closer and yet farther from heaven than any nephilim.” There’s a sudden heat, like a coal against Magnus’ mouth and it hurts so much he can’t bear it, but in the same instant he would give anything for it to never end. “Know that you and your kind are awaited, one day, each of you, at the gates.”

Magnus can’t speak. He can’t move. There’s starlight on his tongue and humming in his soul.

And then it’s over.

The world goes dark and Magnus falls back into a fragrant patch of earth, the grass growing up from the dirt as if suffused with borrowed spring. Magnus breathes, steady, lying on his back while his body slowly, slowly ceases to resonate with the same frequency as the being that healed him. His skin still burns, not painfully, but it burns. When he presses his fingers to his lips he can feel the throb of heat still aching there in the skin, on his tongue when he brushes his fingertips against the inside of his mouth. He feels drunk, dizzy still. It takes him a minute to register that Clary is shaking him.

“Magnus!?” She has tears on her cheeks. “Magnus are you okay?!”

He tucks that bit of her hair behind her ear with one finger. “Of course, Biscuit. Don’t I look fine?”

She makes a strangled laugh/sob noise and collapses against his chest, full on sobbing now. “I thought I killed you!”

“No such luck,” he whispers. “Clary?”

“Yes?”

“Did… did you see what –?”

“I think he kissed you. I think that’s what healed you.”

“Huh,” Magnus says. He feels exhausted and not at all like he’s going to get up from this patch of grass for a while. “Everyone always said… I’d die if an angel just looked at me. Heh. How about… how about them apples? Psh.”

“Magnus? Wait! Don’t fall a—!”

He doesn’t recall anything beyond that.

[dawnshadowlegacies]

Ambrose Dawnshadow

Face Reference: Paul Wesley Vergil from the Devil May Cry series, Tom Ellis, and Kate Beckinsale mix

Name: Ambrose Dawnshadow

Race: Sin’dorei

Gender: Male

Age: Adult

Class: Death Knight (Second Gen)/Warlock

Height: 6’1 

Weight: 180 lbs

Body Shape: Athletic

Occupation: Death Knight, Relic Seeker, Former Magister, Enchanter

Nicknames: n/a

Titles: Magister of House Dawnshadow (formerly)  Herident Arch Lord (Formerly)

Alignment:  Lawful Evil

Appearance: 

Ambrose is an athletic toned elf with a near death like pale complection and long silver hair pushed and pulled back.  He keeps a clean shaven face that one may consider handsome with a strong jawline.He appears He keeps a normally stoic expression on his face. He has deep discerning eyes which are highlighted by the lich fire that runs through them now.  His body bares minor scarring from various battles over the years.  His body also bares the Dawnshadow sigil on his left arm as well as other runic tattoos along his body some infused by arcane or fel magics.

Ambrose Typically wears dark blue with hints of white robes and clothing over his fusion of saronite and Azerite armor.  His armor isn’t too bulky and seems more fitting for a battle mage than a death knight that rest easily over his white shirt, black pants and boots..  Two hilts rest at his side, one a rune blade known as Blackrazor and another a broken hilt.  At his side is a what could only be described as a fusion of a glaive and a polearm.

Personality:

Some would say Ambrose is stoic, hardly showing his emotions to an outsider.  Well learned and well read he keeps his emotions in check giving off a colder icy personality.  When around someone he cares for he still keeps his emotions in check but is likely to open up to those he considers close.  Ambrose can be blunt and to the point and follows his own sense of honor while seeking power and knowledge in his personal quest.  Ambrose is more cautious than impulsive and is likely to think and plan out a situation two to five moves in advance.

He likes poetry. dragon riding. researching new spells or relics, and the occasional duel.  He dislikes his twin brother, people who seek power for in his mind unworthy uses, the light, and being forced into a magical servitude.

Gear:

Blackrazor: A curved void corrupted titan forged Blade.  Blackrazor is a sentient being bent on dominating its wielder and push them to serve the void.  Only a being of iron will can hope to defeat this blades ego and wield it into battle for any length of time.  The blade was thought to have been vanquished by Gwen Dawnshadow.  Recently it’s shards were reforged with Ambrose’ runeblade to be reforged anew.

Blackrazor’s blade has a keen edge able to cut through armor like hot butter through ice.  It’s black blade also drains the life force from any whose blood it drinks from as well as deal a hint of frost damage in its wake.  Ambrose can summon Blackrazor to his hand due to his connection to the rune blade.

Clothing and Armor: Ambrose normally wears blue and white clothing with black boots which  are enchanted to self repair and remain clean on most occasions.  His armor adds an extra layer of defense from both mundane and magical attacks.  His inch thick armor is made from saronite and azerite and enchanted to weigh nothing as well as be flexible.  He also wears a dark hood from time to time that is enchanted to withstand mind based attacks and compulsion.  He wears dark blue nearly black robe over his attire that provides the same enchantments as his clothes.

Jewelry:  Ambrose wears two rings made of silver with the right containing a sapphire gem in it and the left which he wears on his middle finger contains an emerald that also doubles as a soulsone.  His ring on the right helps augment his shadowfrost magics.

Miscellaneous: Items: Ambrose keeps an elegant silk coin purse on his fine leather belt.  Also attached to his belt is a scroll case and a bag of holding.  His bag of holding carries various spell components for rituals and what not as well as rations should he feel the need to eat.  A tent and bedroll also rest in his bag.

Armaments and Trinkets: Resting in a scabbard on his belt Ambrose keeps a magical saronite dagger for rituals and defense should he ever be disarmed.  It has a faint necrotic aura around it.

Ambrose also carries a glaive for mounted and ground combat.  It has a dark silver sheen to it with runes covering the blade as well as the shaft which is made from blackwood oak.  It’s bite is deadly and the blade is keen enough to tear or pierce through most mundane armor.

Abilities:

Ambrose comes from the Second Generation of Death Knights.  He is careful enough with his necromantic powers to maintain his living status but only just barely.  Due to the necrotic energy running through his veins as well as the fel energy from undergoing a ritual similar to what a Demon Hunter endures he is stronger and faster than most elves.  He has a higher stamina threshold to boot as well as a healing factor.

Before the fall of Quel’thalas Ambrose was trained to be a skilled Spellblade and eventually rose to the rank of Magister.  He had mastered the forces of arcane frost in his rise while secretly trained and learned the fel arts from his time around some of the more rebellious students, namely in how to manipulate life energies and curses.  After becoming a second generation Death Knight Ambrose combined his new found knowledge of necromancy with both his knowledge as a warlock and spellblade.  Able to create new ways to use his magics together on the fly Ambrose has tamed and learned to control his increased life draining capabilities as well as mastered the use of Shadowfrost.  He can also summon his old demons to his side as undead monstrosities as well as raise the dead into undeath.

Though not as skilled with a blade compared to his brother Ambrose is no slouch with one either as well as a glaive or staff.  He is skilled enough to fight from horseback as well.  Being well learned he is adept at researching and solving magical mysteries or rituals.  He has also learned to become a dragonrider.

History:

Ambroseas born a bastard into the Dawnshadow family along with his twin Ambrose to their mother Lana’thel.  Despite his status him and his brother were never treated as such within the family.  Ambrose under his Grandfather Avendeth’s tutelage would learn how to use a sword though he didn’t take to it as well as his brother.  With a suggestion from his Grandmother Kayleen and his mother’s blessing Ambrose began to study the arcane and even performed his first spell a humble frost bolt at the age of six, though his twin seemed unimpressed by saying “Neat” before running off to wack a tree with his wooden training sword.  Ambrose would never forget the slight nor his family seemingly more impressed with how Dem’s training with a blade was coming.

Once he became a young adult he left his home and went to Quel’thalas to further his studies and secret desires to gain more power as well as to best his twin in every way possible.  In time he would become an uncle and though he was jealous of Dem he would not blame his new bride and daughter and secretly approved of his niece Melissande’s desire to use magic over the sword.

In time the scourge lead by Arthas would attack Quel’thalas.  Ambrose had become a magister at this point but even with the power he amassed he was eventually rendered helpless by the Death Knight William Sloan a former Knight of the Silverhand turned Death Knight.  Impressed by Ambrose’s aptitude and cruel beyond measure he forced upon Ambrose and his mother a choice.  One would live and become like him, the other would die.  He tossed the pair each a runeblade.  Ambrose and Lana’thel would each pick them up with Lana telling her son it would be alright and ran herself through Ambrose’s cursed sword to save his life so that he may find a way to live and be free of the scourge.  Ambrose was devastated by what happened, blaming himself and his lack of power for not saving his mother as well as blaming his twin who was always the hero for not being there.  Subjected to the Lich King’s dominance these were the only feelings Ambrose carried with him for some time.

Eventually he would encounter Demetrius years later.  Spiteful of his twin and angered by the power Dem gained by becoming a Demon Hunter he lashed out at Dem and nearly killed his twin by stabbing him in the chest just missing his heart.  Ordered to bring his broken brother to Icecrown for conversion into the scourge, Ambrose’s jealousy and hate for Dem only grew.  He would gain some sembalance of happiness though seeing the San’layn torture his brother as well as nearly breaking Dem by telling his twin that he was the one to kill their mother, a partial lie of course, but one meant to break Dem as well as end Dem’s foolish quest to turn Ambrose from his new existence.  Eventually the Lich King would fall and Ambrose would gain his own free will back.  He sought to gain more power so he would never be a slave again and he could do what he and his brother failed to do, save their family.  Alas Deme in cold vengance at the hands of the torture he underwent fought Ambrose again in Icecrown and slew him.  The last thoughts on his mind were of his failure to save his mother and of course his regret for not telling Aelrin how he felt before he only saw darkness.

A few years later Ambrose suddenly found himself pulled back to Azeroth’s world of the living.  Before him stood the man he knew to be his father; Antheleos.  Antheleos explained to Ambrose all that transpired before sending him away to fulfill his promise to himself, to seek power to protect his family save his twin.  Ambrose would watch from a distance as Antheleos and Demetrius fought and son killed father trapping the mostly demonic elf in a soul stone.  Ambrose knew what he had to do.  He sought the Legions power and joined a group of former allies of his twin who had become fallen Demon Hunters known as the Heridents.  He undertook the demon hunter ritual but feigned actually ingesting the demon’s heart but still took the blood.  He would use this power and the knowledge gained to further his studies while being a throne in Dem’s side.  Though he hated his brother he also wanted Dem to grow in power now as well so that he may also serve to protect their shared family.  The twins would again clash on Argus before Deme proved to be the victor again and seemly kill Ambrose.  Yet Ambrose saw this as a possibility and placed his own soul into a soul stone and returned from the dead once more.  

Ambrose began to work with Sylvanas using her as a tool to further his own agenda.  E knew what he had to do.  He wanted a legacy of his own now and much more.  Ambrose vowed to find and accumulate power to change the world for the better to suit his own interests.  Sylvanas’s war would prove to be a great distraction of course though he was sickened in her killing innocent lives when Teldrassil burned.  Nevertheless he needed this distraction to find a book of fel secrets the Illidari kept hidden.  With it he would learn new rituals.  During his time out there he would encounter his Great Great Grandfather Demetrius Starshadow and fight him before being forced to retreat from Darkshore with the rest of the Horde army.  Luckily Ambrose found his book before the battle.  Next on his list was the blade known as Blackrazor.  Though destroyed by his sister in law it’s remnant power was faint.  He found where the blade was seemingly vanquished and gathered the shards before forcefully binding them to his runeblade and dominating Blackrazor’s will. Now he had a blade to rival Dragonkin, a blade that also despised his brother as much as he did.  A new plan began to form and though with his regrets and failures still haunting him he planned to form a truce with Dem and reveal the truth of their mother’s fall.  Once Ash became a full fledged member of the family Ambrose began his true path of redemption through her and Dem’s children.  As of now his soul is being reforged with the foresworn portion captured by Dem during his odyssey into the Shadowlands.

[animalsoffarmsanctuary]

Willow: From Cougar Attack to Safety & Sanctuary

One fateful night in July, a mother sheep, Buffy, and her triplets, Willow, Xander, and Angel, were not brought into their barn at night — their caretaker couldn’t find them. Left on their own outside overnight, the family was vulnerable to predation, and they did not fare well. Unfortunately for the sheep family, the threat of predation turned into a reality: They were attacked by a mountain lion.

Sadly, Buffy and Angel were found dead the next morning. The other two lambs, Xander and Willow, had survived the night, but not unscathed; both were found with significant open wounds. Xander’s injuries were more extensive than Willow’s. He “was literally being eaten alive,” his caregiver recalled. More than 40 percent of his body was exposed, with “an open chest wound all the way to the bone.” Willow’s wounds also proved to be significant.

After treating the wounds twice daily for four days, the family contacted us for help. They realized that the lambs’ treatment was going to take months, would be time consuming, and would require constant vigilance. We were happy to undertake the task to give Willow and Xander the best chance at recovery.

Sweet Xander.

Staff members from our Northern California Shelter drove 8 hours roundtrip to pick up Willow and Xander and bring them back to the sanctuary to spend the night. First thing the next morning, both lambs were taken to a large-animal veterinary hospital to receive the care they needed. To fully examine the wounds and damage, Willow and Xander had to be put under general anesthesia. Sadly, Xander’s wounds proved to be too profound, his body too wracked with infection, for him to recover. Because the wounds were down to the bones in some areas, the infection had entered his bones. His lungs were also badly damaged. A leg with extreme infection in the bones would have needed to be amputated. (And, although a three-legged lamb can live a happy, healthy life — as another member of the Farm Sanctuary family, Regina lamb, demonstrates every day — Xander would have had to lie prone following the amputation surgery on the open wounds that covered his chest, a daunting and painful prospect that would lead to exacerbation, not healing, of his wounds.) 

The best large-animal veterinarians in the state advised us that Xander had a very low chance of recovery, even with an extended stay in the hospital. Upon unanimous recommendation of the veterinary staff, we agreed to let Xander go. He had been eating, active, and alert after the attack, but that behavior can be deceiving. Prey animals mask pain and injuries well; they must mask any signs of vulnerability as a protective mechanism because any sign of weakness can make them a target for a predator. Despite Xander’s triumphant spirit, his injuries were much more significant (with secondary infections in his bones) and his pain much greater than he let on.

Rest in peace, sweet Xander who fought off a lion.  

Willow at Farm Sanctuary.

Willow’s wounds also were profound — much more than we were first told. She had two large open wounds, one on her chest and one exceptionally deep one on her rump. The chest wound was the size of a large navel orange — and both wounds were open, raw, and filled with bacteria and pus. But despite the severity of her wounds, the veterinarians remained cautiously optimistic that she would be able to make a full recovery.

Willow stayed at the hospital for more than three weeks. The beginning of her journey was touch and go. She was given intravenous antibiotics and pain medication. Her fever spiked and stayed high, as her body fought off the bacteria and infection. Her wounds were flushed and treated daily (with her under sedation). The veterinarians and hospital staffers kept a careful eye on Willow. Her temperature eventually stabilized after she was shorn, though it still runs high, which is to be expected with the giant open wounds on her chest. After a week, the wound-flushing and debridement decreased to every other day; later, the amount of sedative was decreased by half; and eventually, the wound-cleaning and debridement was occurring without any need for sedative.  

The wound on Willow’s rump was fully healed by the end of her extended hospital stay. The wound on her chest is a different story altogether. About a week before she was released from the hospital, she underwent surgery to have some of the skin on that wound removed because there were huge pockets of pus hiding behind the skin. Cultures from that wound revealed some virulent, resistant strains of bacteria, so the wound remains open. Though it was initially dressed with bandages, it is currently being left open because some of the bacteria are anaerobic, meaning that exposure to oxygen is useful in killing the bacteria. An anaerobic organism is any organism that does not require oxygen for growth, which may react negatively or even die if oxygen is present. Since not all bacteria respond the same to a wound being dressed, it is essential that cultures and tests are run on the bacteria so a veterinarian can determine the most effective wound-management course.

Willow headed for happier times.

After more than three weeks in the hospital, it was finally time for Willow to come home to our Southern California Shelter. Here, she has a nice comfortable bed in the shelter office and spends her days outside in the sun, though she’s most likely to be found laying the shady corner of her stall with her favorite stuffed animal friends — absent other sheep family, stuffed animals have become her family. Until her wound is completely healed, she will remain separated from the rest of the flock for her own safety. 

Willow with her stuffed-animal “roommates”.

Though she currently lacks sheep friends, she has an abundance of human ones. Every day, some of her beloved human pals spend time visiting with her, lavishing attention on her, and cleaning and debriding her wound. Willow is a perfect patient — sitting still for an uncomfortable treatment, and very patiently waiting for it to be over.  

Willow’s friends Jessica and Dara provide treatment.

Wound management is a tedious and long process. Sometimes open wounds take months and months to heal. All of the necrotic tissue and pus have to be cleaned away daily to allow the healthy tissue to flourish. Having an open wound poked at, picked at, and prodded is not a painless process, so Willow will continue to have her pain managed with medication until her chest wound is finally healed. 

Willow’s friend Brooke offers medication. (Photo by Kerrie Wooten.)

After a week of wound management at the sanctuary, we are noticing improvement, though to the naked eye, it is still gruesome. But progress is progress, and it is gladly welcomed! Though the wound needs air to kill the bacteria, we keep a T-shirt on Willow during the day, loosely around her body to keep the flies away (along with other fly preventatives).

Willow advocates for other farm animals like her with her T-shirt collection; these read “Peace Begins On Your Plate” and “#VEGAN.”

At night, Willow sleeps safely in the office, free from the possibility of any future predator attacks. The importance of having a safe, predator-proof environment to sleep in every night cannot be overstated for small domestic farm animals: sheep, goats, calves, chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, and others. They are completely vulnerable to attack from predators such as mountain lions, coyotes, and foxes. They have no way to defend themselves, no means of fending off an attack. Leaving them out alone for just one night (even inadvertently, as in this situation) can lead to dire consequences. One minute is all it takes for a predator to attack. One minute is all it takes for a predator to take a life or severely wound their prey. And, although Willow survived the attack, complete recovery will take months of costly veterinary care and time-consuming wound management. Most farmers cannot afford the exorbitant cost of care for an individual animal and do not have the time to properly treat them for months.

Dara and Jessica help Willow recover from injury.

Thankfully for Willow, she is safe at Farm Sanctuary, and we will continue to provide her with all of the care she needs throughout her life, no matter what.

Willow running in her enclosure. (Photo by Kim Kaspari.)

[light-spires]

— the story so far…(03/09/17)

The dungeons of Wave Echo Cave were cold, damp and dark, five small cells lining the walls on both sides, prisoners in every last one of them. The group quickly looked through all the cells, finding two human women; Brilde Kirksdottir and Bruna Eifrahim in the first cell, a human boy  named Gyles Parre, two elves; Darén and Halim and two more human women; May and Sophie in the second cell, a lone human woman named Aynswyth Glaston in the third. They were all broken and dirty, fear in their eyes and torn souls. In the fourth cell there was the motionless body of a half orc, surrounded by rats on the floor. His cell was connected to another with a heavy metal grate, through which Bran spotted his younger sister, lying on the cold floor of the last cell.

Caitriona Dunbar was alive and found. She refused to let her brother go as the group started discussing what to do next. Bree, Rurik and Eddie seemed to want to eave the prisoners behind, still locked up in the cells where they believed they’d be more safe, seeing as they wanted to go back out into the mine itself to find more information. Overhearing this conversation, Aynswyth protested. It seemed she was determined not to be left behind. After a short while, Bree decided to sneak ahead and check the exit, to see if they might be able to send the prisoners out by themselves as the group continued. Bran said that no matter what, he wouldn’t leave Caitriona like that, but the group still wanted to check if this was an option. Bree did find out that the way out wasn’t in any way blocked, but right by the last stretch of hallway, she found two dead guards, shot by arrows through their necks. Confused and slightly creeped out by this, she returned to her friends in the dungeons. They heard, once more, about Bran’s contact, the friend who was helping him find his sister, that they used a bow and might be in the mine somewhere.

After discussing some more, they at least decide to let the prisoners out and help them get out of the mine, to then return inside and look for more information, with or without Bran who was still uncertain of leaving the prisoners alone in the wild. Caitriona convinced them to also bring the half orc, as he had been experimented on by the Black Spider himself and had also protected the other prisoners at the cost of his own health since he’d been put in that cell next to her’s. As they made it toward the way out, though, they were suddenly stopped at the waters edge, by The Black Spider himself.

Now, the Black Spider seemed almost amused at your presence in his mine, but suggested that they return his property, otherwise he couldn’t let them go. When the group refused, the Black Spider had them attacked by some goons. The long battle that ensued was tiering and seemingly hopeless at times. The water was magical and rejuvenating, but there were many enemies. After Rurik sent a whole bunch of undead running away from the group, the Black Spider, declared that he could let them have Bran’s sister, if they left the rest of the prisoners behind. Eddie thought this sounded like an alright idea, Bran refused. 

As more bugbears, orcs and an undead ogre entered into the room, the prisoner Aynswyth had had enough of the Black Spider trying to barter with them as bargaining chips so she grabbed Caitriona, who was still not letting Bran out of her sight, and said they were going to leave no matter if the Black Spider tried to stop them or not. The spider didn’t seem very enthusiastic about this but joked that no one seemed to care what he wanted in all of this, before having his goons engage again. Before the ogre could attack them though, Bran’s friend, a half elf druid named Rosemary, showed up and made sure to get some good shots into the ogre before joining the fight on the floor of the cave with the group.

Eventually, after giving her brother a final hug, Caitriona left the chamber with the other prisoners, closely followed by Rosemary, who promised to see them out safely. By now, the ogre was dead and the Black Spider seemed less calm about this than he’d been before. He joined the fight, asking if Eddie was truly forgettable or just tried hard to be, making Bran call out in reply: “Don’t speak about my friend that way”. The Black Spider answered this by paralyzing Bran with fear and visions of his sister’s dead body and sending giant spiders raining from the ceiling of the cave.

It didn’t look good. The spiders kept coming, their powers were running out, stamina on an all time low and as one of them falls to the ground, near death, time is running out. It was the Black Spider that stopped the fight, sending a wave of necrotic energy coursing through the room, effectively killing most of his own spiders but also severely damaging the friends in the process.

He posed an ultimatum. If Bran stayed behind, the Black Spider would let everyone else go, including all prisoners. If he didn’t stay, the Black Spider promised he’d hunt every last one of them down and rip Caitriona’s heart out of her chest with his bare hands. At this, Bran turned to his friends one last time, a smile on his face as he slowly dropped his pack to the ground, handed his shield to Rurik, his dagger with the Dunbar family crest to Bree, his pouch with money to Eddie and promised he’d follow them when he could, saying they had to trust him, before he turned back to the Black Spider, accepting his offer.

The friends were in shock. Had it not been for Rosemary returning, maybe they would have protested this decision, but Rosemary made them follow Bran’s instruction to get out, keep his sister safe, survive.

The last thing they saw of their friend, before they ran for their lives, was Bran’s strong back, hiding three fire flasks, which he ignited with a flick of his fingers. As the group passed over the bridge, which would take them out of the mine itself, they saw the opening in the wall leading back into the cave, saw a fiery explosion sending bodies of spiders and orcs into the water, as Bran finalized the plan which allowed them all to escape, except him.

He sacrificed himself so that they could live.

Both Bree and Eddie were stoic and realistic about Bran’s prospects. He might have made it, but it was foolish to cling to that hope. Rurik was in denial, insisting they wait by the exit for Bran, Caitriona was beyond grief.

By the time the group, friends and freed prisoners alike, made it back to Phandalin, they were exhausted and hungry. Sildar was devastated by the news of Bran’s death, admitting that he was actually Bran and Caitriona’s uncle, which of course meant he felt the death of his nephew deeply. He promised the group that they still had a safe haven in his home, and that they could always stay in his home. After this, he left them by the table.

There, they sat for a moment in silence, until Rurik got up to leave the room without a word. It was then that the half orc they’d rescued, Caitriona’s friend Yakiv, stepped through the door. He stood there for a moment, looking apologetic but determined, as he finally said: “I want to help you”.

[linguasexual]

Dudes. Today was the culmination of so much in one of my D&D campaigns. Like, it was so great. One of the best sessions I’ve played in a while.

So, quick update on where we are. After the Material Plane was destroyed by the activation of an Amulet of Ultimate Evil, we were sent on a quest to craft an Amulet of Pure Good in hopes of activating it on the Material Plane and restoring the balance of things. To do this, we had to travel between several good-aligned planes to gather artifacts of power to contribute to the crafting of the Amulet.

One of the artifacts we needed was the Fountain of Life. Now, obtaining each of the artifacts was always a big quest in itself. Understandably, the denizens of each plane didn’t want to give up their ancient artifacts. But, for the Fountain of Life, things went a little differently. In this plane, we had to prove ourselves worthy of receiving a vial of the Fountain and, if we passed, could be on our way. We went through the trial and in the last room, for what we thought was the last part of the trial, there was a test of intuition. Three vats of lava sat in the room. Two would kill us if we drank from it, but one would have us pass the test. There were no discernible differences between the three. After too much time spent bickering about what to do, my character stepped forward and drank from one of the vats, choosing at random. She chose correctly, by chance. Little did she know that made her into the Vial of the Fountain of Life.

What does that mean? Essentially, in order to craft the Amulet of Pure Good, she would have to sacrifice herself. This made for a lot of interesting character development because my character, a cleric of the Red Knight, now recognizes herself as a pawn in her deity’s plan to fix things. She must come to terms with the fact that she will not face the big bad to take back the plane. Her job is dying.

Ever since discovering her purpose in the Red Knight’s plan, my cleric has been praying every night alongside the party’s Wizard, also a follower of the Red Knight, that she might in some way be spared so she can see the quest through to the end. Though she’s very confident nothing will come of it, she and the wizard have been becoming much closer, probably the two best friends in the party. He’s been helping her sort out what she wants so that he can help provide her a peaceful and satisfying death, as much as possible.

So, this week, we finally got the last of the ingredients needed to make the Amulet. We returned to the material plane to craft the thing in a specific, designated forge. I knew, of course, this meant my character’s impending doom. In fact, I became even more sure of it once we arrived on the Material Plane when my magic began feeling more draining and we felt that our prayers were not reaching our deities. Instantly, I knew there was no way the Red Knight was helping me out of this one.

So, I said my goodbyes. Did my preparations. Gave away my items. Prayed one last time. Just before I stepped into the forge, I cast Death Ward on our Wizard. And then I died.

Now, here’s what I was worried about happening: Our DM, when describing my character’s merging with the Vial of Life, said that she became the Vial. Body and soul, together. So, I was afraid once the amulet was made, her soul would be eternally stuck inside, no escape to a peaceful afterlife. Again, this fear seemed confirmed when our DM described the Amulet as being imbued with my character’s sentience, sharing her personality and ideals.

BUT! Her soul was described as escaping, somehow. It made its way to be at the Red Knight’s side, where she was greeted with a massive celebration and reassurance of doing her Lady’s work while in life. Which was huge for her. A good death.

Now, what seems like forever ago, our previous party made a failsafe for death. We once had a druid with a Ring of Spell Storing. She cast Reincarnate into the spell. Then, we gathered various pieces of DNA from the party and created a sort of resurrection kit, just in case our healer (me!) couldn’t do it, for some reason. Well... lo and behold, my soul is free/willing and we have what we need to bring her back.

So our Wizard immediately snatches the ring (first taking an hour to attune to it) and one of her scales (she’s a dragonborn) and starts casting the spell. After a short conversation between me and the DM as my character and her deity, my cleric is given permission to return and finish her quest. So back she goes.

As both my dragonborn and the Wizard casting the spell are followers of the Red Knight, the DM uses this opportunity to have Her guide the Reincarnate spell. My cleric comes back as an Aasimar/Dragonborn hybrid. Wearing the Red Knight’s armor. With radiant and necrotic damage resistance.

HOLY SHIT.

Unfortunately, that’s where we had to stop the session, but next week we face the big bad to try and eliminate him from our plane so we can activate the Amulet of Good and restore the Material Plane’s balance. We’ve already had a couple people rearrange their work schedules so they can make it to this thing on time.

Dudes. I’m so psyched!

[delightfulpersonwombat]

8.24.20 -- Alana

Dear Vivi,

Do you remember when you first met me on the island? After I had already been unfrozen, of course. It was later in the evening that you and I actually sat down together. It seemed like something you had been avoiding. I knew why; your mission had been to originally kill Westra. You blamed her for what happened to your family, as she also blamed herself.

It wasn’t until everyone had fallen asleep that you approached me, quiet as Westra had described you. You offered a blunt and a chance to clear my mind, and I knew that you weren’t the awful person you think of yourself to be. Yeah. You’re rude and you can come off as callous and uncaring, but that’s always an act. Sure. You’re a criminal. I wouldn’t disagree with that. You steal whatever isn’t bolted down and you would rather do something illegally and risk getting caught than doing something the legal way. You consider yourself to be a murderer, but that’s where I disagree. That even if the list of people is longer than you are tall, I don’t think that you could actually kill someone just to kill them. It’s always been self defense for you.

We talked that night, you and I. With words and with silences. You could read me from a glance, but your reading didn’t hold judgement. As I’ve said before. We have similarities and ghosts in our pasts that are painful and things we both blame ourselves heavily before. You didn’t castigate me for who I am, as I couldn’t do that to you either. 

You and Volanti prove that just because someone is a criminal, that doesn’t make them evil or a bad person.

Scarlet proves that just because she’s a vampire, that doesn’t mean that she’s going to turn around and kill innocents or further traumatise someone who had been under the control of a vampire for months at a time.

Zealous proves that just because she used to be a cultist, that doesn’t mean that people can’t reform or turn to a path of light.

These are not just things I am telling you to sound preachy. You’re working on healing and I’m sure you’re going to hear advice and I hope that you’re finding a peace out there instead of throwing yourself from mission to mission to try and drown yourself in work so you don’t have to think. Don’t think that I don’t know that Westra did just that.

Rather, I’m telling you these things because these are things that I have to remind myself while we are back here in Chult and while we are dealing with members of the Crimson Carnivale. I don’t want to black out and kill innocents.

I did enough of that under Strahd’s control.

I know I called you out hard in the last letter that I sent you. I needed to say those things and you needed to hear them. I’m not going to apologize for it. But I also know your tendency just shut out anyone who is trying to help you, no matter what. I don’t want to have to chase after you to hear you’re still alive, Vivi. I care about you as a person and as a friend. Write back when you’re ready, but please send me something. Even if it is a colorful letter full of every swear word you can think of. it’s something.

We woke up after resting at the camp--it’s guarded well enough that we didn’t have to take watches. Zealous had taken one of the golden dragon masks she had found, and wanted to study it. She was sitting next to me while doing so, and I was able to help point out some of the things she was obviously missing in terms of magic. The group wasn’t sure what to do with it, and was considering leaving it with Elindreda’s father, but I knew that wasn’t going to be the best of ideas. It wasn’t because I was worried about cultists trying to track down the mask and attacking the elven encampment--the elves could have easily taken on all of the cultists who are already dead, thanks to god killer--but more I was planning ahead. We need magical items that would attract a magic user to come out to an auction. This is a magic item. We could potentially trade this magic item for something more valuable, therefore, driving up the desire to come and participate in the auction.

The group agreed, and Kelliear joined us not long after as we worked on our own breakfasts. She had a raft that she’d take us all on, as jungle traveling was not recommended; the sheer number of zombies we would get bogged down by on our journey was not worth it, and while the river was slow and lazy, it would be faster than walking on land.

Zealous told me something interesting before we met with Elimindreda’s father to say goodbye. She told me that you gave her one of the beads of aether that you wear on your bracelet, and she told me how she talks to it to try and talk to you. She is respecting that you need your space--as is Mim, though I can tell she misses you terribly--but I know that she wants her friend back, too.

Let yourself be loved, Vivi. You have a party that I am a placeholder in. Said party just wants their friend to heal and to come back to them. They just want the best for you.

After speaking with Elmindreda’s father--who gave us a map of the island--,Captain ‘I need a brick to the face’ Faraday approached us. He blathered on about how we needed to take care of the Crimson Carnivale and that if we did, we needed to prove to him that we did. But, he’d make it worth our while. Even I couldn’t muster up the diplomacy and false demeanor to deal with him, but luckily Elmindreda could. She assured James that if we happened to run across the Crimson Carnivale, we would deal with them. She didn’t give any further information, nor did she give any further promises to the man who desperately needed to be dropped off the side of a mountain.

Hallda, being perfection incarnate, gave James a final goodbye for all of us and for her dwarven people; she kicked him straight in the dick for him being a misogynistic chauvanist. As he limped away, Charlotte joined us, laughing only as James was out of earshot, and thanked us all. She gave to us a stone that provided luck to her in the past. We accepted it, studying it as she left us to leave. I’ve been trying to study it further, as it gives off this magical pulse that I can’t quite put my finger on yet. It does something other than the affect that Hallda figured out, but we haven’t been able to work it out yet. I’ve been studying it further, as Hallda gave it to me to hold onto.

For the record, you would have been the original intended for this stone, according to Hallda, as you are the least lucky person she knows. I think it’s her weird way of saying that she misses you as well. Again, I’m not rushing you to come back or to staunch your healing process in any sort of way. I’m just letting you know what your party is doing and how they all keep showing signs of missing you.

We took the raft upriver, the majority of us standing as lookouts. I kept my eyes on the sky and before us, wishing I had some of my old maps. I found myself glancing over Kelliear’s shoulder multiple times, studying the map as she was. Not that I don’t trust her; I am a sea captain. I generally am the one who is doing navigation and even cartography when there is no available map. 

There were some clouds in the sky, but it was generally a blue sky. I am not sure if me being there was keeping any storms from brewing or if my storm magic was being suppressed so that I wouldn’t accidentally summon a storm, but there wasn’t rain on the horizon in any case. I also noticed one, solitary black bird flying high above us. Before us, back down on the ground, there was a huge shape under the water. Lichen looked like it had been purposely removed from the rocks that jutted out from under the water. And while the water did look mostly calm, there were areas of bubbling, like whatever that huge shape was, and whatever else was under the surface, was alive and breathing. 

A dragon turtle surfaced from the bubbling after Zealous whapped it on the nose with her club. It turns out, the dragon turtle was merely looking for food as Zealous was. But, something kept eating the dragon turtle’s food. As he was talking, we kept hearing croaking. It wasn’t from the plants, nor was it from the zombies in the jungles. Not even the zombie dinosaurs make the croaking sounds we were hearing. The dragon turtle asked us--really, he asked Zealous as she was the only one speaking in Draconic to him--if we could take care of the problem that keeps eating all his fish. That seemed to be the catalyst that made the next event trigger. A giant froghemoth, a zombie froghemoth to be more accurate, rose from the water and proceeded to attack us to try and eat us.

I haven’t personally encountered these myself yet, but I’d heard about them. In studying them while aboard the raft, I figured out that they wouldn’t take much in the way of any lighting or fire damage I could do, which are really the brunt of my magical damage. They’re the cornerstone. I literally summon storms, of course I’m going to have mostly lightning spells. I took a breath. I knew that I could hasten Zealous but after that? What could I do in the way of damage against these things?

The whispers started again in my mind as the zombie froghemoth began to attack. I couldn’t recognize the words or the voices but it was constant and I could feel the black mana racing through my veins. My vision was filled with this zombie froghemoth croaking from the sheer blast of soul damage that I could deliver. Just one spell. Just one time. I would stop after that.

As the necrotic energy ripped its claws into my soul, I saw faces from Barovia I hadn’t seen in so long. I watched as I slaughtered families to the name and the cause of Strahd and Baba Lysaga. Their screams filled my ears and their blood covered my hands. The blast hit the monster and I found myself coughing up blood and black mana, the substances coagulating on my arm as I coughed into it.

The blood of the innocents still coated my hands. I tried blinking. It was still there.

Another zombie froghemoth joined the first and tried to take me, but I happened to just be far enough away. It consumed Zealous as it managed to grab onto Hallda. I didn’t think twice; I ripped more of my soul away to get them to die right on the spot, not caring what was going to befall me as I closed my eyes. 

Remember when I said that you and I share similarities and atrocities that no one person should ever have to endure? 

Bodies pressed over mine. Mouths and hands where they should never be, especially on someone who never said yes or wanted them there. Being told that I’m a princess and I am here to lie back and let the men take what they need. Each and every action played out before my eyes as I altered my magic so that it would hit both of the froghemoths in front of me. 

As the radiance left my fingers, the tears fell from my eyes and wouldn’t stop. The visions, just as before, kept replaying over and over, and I couldn’t breathe. I found myself hovering in the air, trying to keep some semblance of sanity and clarity as the fight still kept going on.

I don’t remember most of it, if I’m being honest.

At some point, a cloud of poison that I made found its way over to the remaining froghemoth. I didn’t kill either of them; Hallda turned one into a cow, and the other was killed by either Zealous or Elmindreda. Like I said. I don’t remember a lot.

I do remember a point where Zealous did a running leap--a move you would have been proud of--and made her way to the top of the froghemoth. She is not quite as agile or acrobatic as you are, as her armour does seem to limit her a bit, but she still managed to get atop of it. I could see you doing a similar move. Or that move that you were practicing with the shadar-kai with the orange hair. Where you would feint left or right, constantly dodging and bouncing around so it was much harder to try and hit you. I could see you doing that while you stood atop the froghemoth, mocking it in some ridiculous way. 

There was another point in the battle when Zealous was falling into the water, but the same dragon turtle who tasked us to kill the froghemoth was there to catch her before she fell into the water completely. 

We finished the battle, and the dragon turtle that Zealous made friends with not only took care of the remaining cowhemoth--he unhinged his jaw and swallowed it whole--but also warned us of not friendly dragon turtles ahead.

We formed a plan. Hallda turned Zealous into a young dragon turtle and I aided Zealous by boosting her strength to that of a bull. We covered ourselves in paint and mud and foliage and made ourselves look like scales. Kelliear stowed her raft and did the same. We plastered ourselves to Zealous’ back and Zealous swam through the lazy river, past the dragon turtles who barely reacted as she went past. We made it to safety, and pulled off to the side so that Zealous could turn back into the dragonborn we all know and love.

It was going to be a few days journey to get to where we were going. We were heading to the Crimson Carnivale, but I don’t think it was really on any of our minds to kill them. Not even me, even though I am personally terrified of vampires. I just have to keep reminding myself that every vampire is different, and I’m not going to run into Strahd or ones like him. I just have to make sure that the wounds are covered and that I am not actively bleeding.

They are not Strahd. They’re not going to capture me against my will and do what he did.

We decided we needed to sleep for the night. But, I’m a princess. I don’t sleep in a tent. The last time I slept in a tent, I was traveling with my party. After that, it was always in a shelter of some sort, usually one that Westra could conjure. It was shortly before she passed that I learned of a spell that we both wound up enjoying; I could make a mansion appear from nothing, fully run by a ghost staff who only wanted the best for all of us.

It doesn’t hurt that they’re paid and taken care of by the materials of the spell.

Hallda was floored by the mansion. After I set the alarms on the outside--only those who know me very well would know the password--she ran inside to explore. Zealous instantly went down to the basement, and I went to go and have a long bath and a lot of smoking.

I also wrote a letter to Scarlet. Because, if I tell you that you need to reach out to others, I should be able to do the same thing as well. 

Elmindreda called a meeting after I was out of the bath and informed all of us that the Raven Queen came to visit her. Zealous confirmed that she was also visited by the Raven Queen, and after I had checked the alarms on the outside, I found that they had been dispelled by her. They both seemed to confirm that she was there to make sure that they were still going to follow up on what they promised, as she had given them both help. I also sent out a mechanical wren that Westra had made for me after the black bird I saw in the sky.

If the Raven Queen was lurking, I wanted to know. I know that I do not have anything she could really want; sure, I have memories and I was married to Westra. But I have not seen ravens following me personally as of yet, nor are there any shadar-kai who seem to follow my every step.

The night itself was mostly uneventful, other than that. Hallda found me before I went to sleep and asked if I could show her my favorite room in the mansion. Personally, I have two. The first being the library, which Westra is everywhere in. Books still have her notes written in the margins, and I am still finding scrolls that she had written. There are mechanical pieces everywhere, as well as so many blueprints. 

The second is an alchemy lab that still has an open book full of recipes that Westra had written down and some of her supplies still sitting on the alchemy tables. It was like she was still there, working on eight projects at once while she chatted up a storm.

Hallda and I talked for a bit. She asked me about Westra and then she asked how I was doing. It was...it was good to be able to connect with a woman I really would like to consider a friend. Something I wish that you could do. I know you can make friends. I’ve seen it. I’ve experienced it. You just have to find a way to trust and let people in more than you are.

But I understand fully why you don’t. Why you can’t. I mean, I can barely get you to write a letter to me, and I’m someone you actually like.

It wasn’t until morning that Zealous decided to inform me of just why the Raven Queen was there, and seemed a bit perturbed on why I was upset. But, that is something that you would understand. I didn’t get angry at her or Elmindreda for taking on the deal. I think I was more angry at the fact that she waited so long to tell me that was a thing they were contending with. It didn’t matter that you had angrily told me about it; I needed to hear it from them.

I also know you’re still angry at them for accepting the deal. Vivi, I know they didn’t do it to anger you, and I know they did it because they thought it was the best thing at the time. Yes. You have made your point on why it wasn’t and what could happen because of it.

But, none of that matters right now. The deal is done. The act is done. Now we as a group are going to deal with the repercussions of that. We’re going to work together, because that’s what groups do when someone messes up. We all fix the problem. Not that I’m chastising you for being angry; you have the right to be. What I am calling you out on is the fact that you would have tried to take on their punishments on your own shoulders so they wouldn’t have to deal with it.

You’ve been through enough. Give yourself a break. Let them and all of us deal with the mistakes and fix the mistakes made.

Hallda didn’t want to leave the mansion, we discovered. I knew that the spell would end eventually, and I merely sipped my coffee as Elimindreda carried her out kicking and screaming the entire time. She began to hide in the mornings following, and I never joined in the hunt to try and find her. I merely held onto my coffee mug, sipping from it as the mansion expelled her each and every time, Hallda begging and screaming to stay and that she wanted to forever be a part of it. But, she knew that we had work to do. That we have work to do.

I still can’t divulge much about that. Perhaps if we meet in person, that would work. 

We made it to the Crimson Carnivale encampment and the group decided to just saunter ahead without taking any precautions to look around. Which, I know you don’t either. But, out of everyone, you would be able to sneak through without setting off all the bear traps and alarms that they had set up around the perimeter. You would have been the only one to be able to. I stopped Hallda from moving forward and reminded them all that they have renown with the Crimson Carnivale. I personally don’t, but you and your party does. I have my own renown with vampires, but that is not something I’m going to advertise. 

Keeping that in mind, Hallda began to strum on her instrument and burst into a blood shanty that I personally had to tune out as flashbacks started to play before my eyes. Strahd. His staff and his minions. All of their hands and mouths and their /hunger/.

The sentries that were set up around on the inside of the encampment all stood up and pointed their weapons at us, demanding who we were and why we were there.

Please write back. It doesn’t have to be a full letter, even though I know you have a lot to say. Even if it’s just one word. You’ve been quiet for a while, and I need to see something from you, Vivi. Please. 

Love, 

Captain Stormwood-Diminski

PS: As far as I know, Old Pete still has the aether bead that you had put onto Hallda’s person. He respects your privacy, though, and won’t bother you. I won’t either, but that doesn’t mean I still don’t want to hear from you.