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[theinsomniacsdnd]

Session 21: Threads

At the Greenleafs’ residence, No tried to teach his ducklings to use him as a slide into the bathtub, but they were a little confused so he just put them in the water and looked at them proudly as they swum around, and watching over his shoulder Salome shook her head fondly.

Downstairs, Rolen and Tris was were enjoying the Greenleafs’ hospitality and helping themselves to a hearty breakfast. Ireena was still asleep upstairs after her ordeal during the fight against the Leanansidhe, and Nikos and Minthe offered them the used of their personal Teleportation Circle to get them back to Comvos and spare Ireena two day’s travel. They would send word to The Citadel, where the circle lead, to give them a heads up since usually only they used it for official business. Tris and Rolen thanked them for their generosity and gathered their belongings up, as well as Tam Lin, who returned to the home Rolen’s clothes, which he gratefully gave back to him and said he had been scrounging through a local thrift shop for equipment. The combination, while serviceable, left him looking rather ragtag and he commented this was big step down from being Archfey, but he was just glad to be human again.

As they gathered around the Circle in Minthe’s office Meliae helped a still very shaky Ireena downstairs and said she was glad they had a chance to fight together, though hopefully Ireena wouldn’t end up bleeding out of her eyes the next time they had the chance. No thanked her for her help and apologized for leaving her with the Tam Lin-turned-Dragon back during the fight, but she shrugged and said at least she could add going one on one to a Dragon to her resume. No looked around and found a basket he could put on his back to keep the ducklings in and filled it with grass and hay.

As Minute prepared to activate the Circle No turned to Ireena and asked how much trouble she was in. Her grimace said more than words ever could as the magic sprung to life and they reappeared in the Citadel. No quickly counted his ducks and found that they were, in fact, all in a row and breathed a sigh of relief.

Standing just outside the Circle, Tamra took one look at Ireena and sighed, muttering “Not again” as she walked forward and effortlessly picked her up. As Tamra walked off to take her home Ireena assured that it really had been a dire situation this time and Tamra muttered that she wanted to slap Lathander for even giving her that boon in the first place. Tris watched them go and wondered out loud if they could do anything to help Ireena, but determined all she needed right now was rest.

As they stood around, Tam Lin turned to them and confided in them that he really wasn’t sure what to do with himself now, since he hadn’t planned beyond becoming human again. The last millennia or so had consisted of him sleeping and murdering his way up to the top and then continuing those to retain his position, but now that it was done with he felt directionless. And he didn’t even have a place to stay. Rolen and Tris offered to put him up in their suite at the Rosewood Inn until he figure out what he was doing in this life, and Rolen suggested that since he had been a Knight originally he might fit in with the Crownsguard. He nodded and said he would look into it as the rest put their heads together to figure out what to do with the rest of the day, since it was still before noon.

No suggested visiting Bella, since he had nearly been frozen solid by the Dragon’s breath and could use some repairs. Agreeding, the rest followed him to down the Smith District where he knocked on the gate and it was opened a moment later by Bella’s mother Leona. She greeted them and glanced curiously at the basket on No’s back, and he cheerily showed her the ducklings and she commented on their cuteness. As they made their way back to the forge they found Bella working on some wire jewelry, and she hugged No and squeed over the ducklings before she got to work on to repairing him, saying that she had figured out how to make his armor stronger while he was away. Rix started sniffing around the backyard, and seeing Mrs. Hammersley’s concerned look  Rolen explained that he was with them, Tris also introduced Tam Lin by calling him a former Fae God. He corrected her to say he was a former Archfey, but the distinction was mostly semantics.

As they spoke there was another knock at the gate, and Leona opened it to reveal Agravayne, now without a cast on his arm and carrying a bouquet of white lilies. He blinked in surprise at the sight of them and said he hoped they had been well, and as he walked off with Leona they heard her reassure him that he needn’t worry, because they were doing well even without the customers he sent to them. Agravayne replied with a sight that he knew, but he was a Paladin and saw it was his job to check up on them. Mostly he was here to visit Kaj, and Leona said that he was where he always was.

They watched as Agravayne walked over to a small stone monument in the yard and knelt in front of it, gently placing the bouquet down as he stared at it, deep in thought. Rolen and Rix observe but said nothing out of respect, though Tris discreetly approached Leona and asked about the monument. She explained that Kaj had been her husband, a member of the Crownsguard who had been killed 10 years ago in the line of duty. Tris offered her sympathies and said she had raised her children well as Rolen waited until Agravayne was done to walk over to the monument. It read in Dwarvish:

Kaj Hammersley

Devoted Husband, Father and Blade of the Crown

21st 10th Moon 1428 - 14th 3rd Moon 1483

He knelt down and said a silent prayer, and to help the family he discreetly put a platinum piece on the marker so Leona could find it later. Seeing him do this, Salome put a gold piece as well. Now done with his repairs, No approached Agravayne and asked how he was doing, in response he flexed his arm he was glad to have his shield arm back and not be stuck on desk duty. He usually had other people do paperwork for him, and was glad to back in the field after all that.

He sighed and asked what they had been up to since he had last seen them. They filled him in on the broad strokes of their latest adventures, adding that Ireena was currently laid up after their last fight. Shocked, he asked what had happened, and when they explained she had been bitten by some sort of half-Fae Fiend and activated some ability that made the monster regret it he looked genuinely sorry, and said while he was aware his relationship with Ireena was, at best, strained he might pay a visit Tamra as a fellow Council member to at least check up on them. Realizing that they may have said too much, No quickly pulled out his ducks as a distraction, and they got a rare smile out of the overly-serious Paladin as he sincerely advised No to take good care of them. No asked him if anything had happened, and scratching his head Agravayne mentioned strange rumors about people chasing children over rooftops offering them candy. No managed to convincingly lie and say he had no idea what he was talking about, despite very much knowing he was talking about their ill-fated attempted to recruit the Gnome girl as a Rogue.

Deciding he had taken up enough of their time, Agravayne said he would be off and wished them luck. Before he went they inquired about Dominic Wainwright, the former Crownsguard Commander, and while clearly puzzled by the inquiry Agravayne revealed that last he had heard he was living somewhere in the Equestrian District.

With at least a partial lead, they made their way into the Equestrian District and found an unassuming neighborhood and a building with a sign out from saying it was The Gentle Stars Bar. Since bartenders tended to know a lot, they made their way inside and found a Halfling man named Tobias behind the counter who looked up as they entered and asked what he could do for them. They inquired about Dominic and he nodded grimly, since he certainly knew the man, and if they waited long enough he’d probably be in around 6. He was also able to give them his address after some prodding, and as they spoke Rix admired the bar food and considered buying some until Rolen advised him that they this stuff was overpriced and they could get stuff that was just as good somewhere else. A moment of Bromance followed as the two vowed to look out for each other.

With address in hand, they made their way downtown, walking fast, faces pass but they weren’t quite yet homebound,  and they stopped by a pushcart on the way to get Rix some of the promised reasonably priced food.

They stopped in front of the house that matched the address Tobias had given them and found a two-story, slightly run down building that had clearly seen better days. While not dilapidated the yard needed trimming and unlike the other houses on the block there was no nameplate out front, only a number, suggesting whoever lived there didn’t want guests or to be found. Just to be safe, Rolen cast Detect Magic to see if he could pick up any booty traps, but when nothing was revealed No walked up to the door and knocked using the heavy brass piece bolted to the door. From somewhere inside a voiced cursed and said he’d been out in a minute, and after a shuffle out footsteps the door opened to reveal a somewhat unkempt human man in a housecoat who observed the motley crew as Rix wandered around the yard and managed to find some wild mint.

Dominic bluntly asked what they wanted and they brought out their Crownsguard badges, earning a skeptical glare as Tris brought up that they were looking into Ezra Carpates’ disappearance. He sighed “oh for fuck’s sake” as Tris asked him why he had refused to search for the missing boy.

Dominic planted his hands on both side of the door fame and said that in case they hadn’t noticed the Carpates had their own private army, while he had been in charge of the entire country and serving the people in it, not just the ruling family. What had they expected him to do, drop all of his active cases to look for one missing kid who had already been gone for a week by the time it was reported? Everyone in his line of work knew that if you didn’t get any leads in the first two days the case would likely never be solved, so even if he had ignored his better judgment and pulled his people in it wouldn’t have done anything, even before the Lady tried to pull rank on him and make him do it.

Tris asked if he had something against Lady Julia, and he snorted that her blood was bluer than the sky, promoting Rix and Rolen to glance skyward, while his father had been a ferrier and actually worked for a living. He’d tried to have as little to do with the Lady when he was Commander, and she had been just looking for an excuse to get rid of him and install her personal pet Paladin Agravayne, who had been gunning for his position ever since he joined the Crownsguard and was probably fucking the Lady on the down low since her husband died.

Shocked by the allegations but dismissing them as the ramblings of a bitter alcoholic, they asked him if he could recall any weird sightings or events around the time of the disappearance. Though his mind had been clouded with an alcoholic haze he admitted that there had been a few strange sightings in the mountains around that time. They looked at Tam Lin and asked how long the Leanansidhe had been around, and when he answered she was at least three centuries old they realized they were probably unrelated and instead asked about any Necromancers who had been active around that time. Through the alcoholic haze Dominic remember one whose name he couldn’t quite recall, but it started with an A causing trouble, and realizing he probably meant Tristan Arendt No commented they killed him and Dominic snorted that despite appearances they were actually useful for something. No then started inquiring about any connections to Old Cassia, and Dominic fixed him with a contemptuous stare as he said “Do I look like I paid attention in history class? What are you, stupid?”

A chill feel over the group nas No stood up to his full height and loomed over Dominic, trying to intimidate him, but even though Dominic was a washed up alcoholic he was still a Paladin and stared up at him unflinchingly. Wanting desperately to change the subject before violence broke out, Tris asked Dominic about his family, particularly if he had children and he bitterly said they no longer spoke to him. She stared to ask about his wife and if she was still around, but stopped short as he fixed her with a hate filled stare and slammed the door in their faces.

With a sigh, Tris suggested going back to the bar to talk to the bartender to see if he could fill in any of the pieces on Dominic, since he was evidently quite familiar with him. She turned to Tam Lin and asked him for his take on this, and he replied that Dominic clearly felt guilty about something and was trying to dull the pain with drink. He could relate, since he had gone from one of the most powerful men in Raetia to this, and from the top there was nowhere to go but down. Thinking about their conversation, Salome and Tris wondered if Dominic had ever been in a good place and if Ezra’s disappearance had been the tipping point.

As they returned to the bar Tobias looked up, saw their expressions and assumed it had gone poorly. Tris said he actually had talked to them, much to their surprise, but she hoped he could fill in some gaps. He agreed, adding he didn’t know much about Dominic on a personal level but he did have ears, though he was curious why they wanted to know. She explained about their search for Ezra and that he had reacted badly to a mention of his wife, causing him to flinch, and he reluctantly revealed that 9 years ago his wife Ella had killed herself. You could hear a pin drop as they processed this, and after further inquiry he said he didn’t know much about her on a personal level but he had seen her around, she had seemed to be kind of a homebody from what he remembered. With this new info in hand, Tris suggested going to The Raven Queen’s Temple to try and find out anything about Ella and the circumstances of her death. Rolen said they might have those records and it was worth a shot.

They made their way to the Temple and past the main entrance to the record keeping department. A Cleric behind the desk greeted them and they told her they were looking for the records of Ella Wainwright, she nodded and returned a few minutes later with a parchment that she read off to them. Her death had been recorded as a suicide by ingestion of poison at her home, unwitnessed, and a note had been found at the scene that suggested suicide. The actual note could be found in the Crownsguard records since they had investigated but determined that there had been no foul play. They then asked for anything about next of kin, and besides Dominic himself a Theresia Bartsch of Waterdeep and a Matthias Wainwright who lived in Comvos’ Noble District were listed as surviving family members. Thanking her, they moved out into the main Temple area and Rolen stopped to pay his respects at the statue of his patron, and was surprised to hear a familiar voice off in a corner.

Bakirian and Iskander stood with their backs to them as Bakirian said “I know what I’m asking, old friend” while Iskander retorted “I’m not sure you do, old friend.” Bakirian sighed and said he just wanted to know if it was possible, and Iskander replied with a sigh that he couldn’t make any promises on the outcome but he would make inquiries.

Tris, who had moved up to listen to them, made a motion that they should leave and give them some privacy before their presence was noticed. No then turned to Rolen and thanked him for talking to Kolero for him, and Rolen replied it was his pleasure to know he could have the ability to help people. No hugged him, and Rix joined in on the hug as No tried to comfort Tris on how she had handled Dominic, reassuring her that he was just an asshole who had called him stupid.

It was approaching sunset, and they decided to check up on Tamra and Ireena since they were in the area. They went in through the main Library, and No worried about his ducklings but was assured they would be fine and the Temple cats wouldn’t be able to get them in his basket. Tris pet the cats as she passed and saw Nicodemus doing his rounds, making sure to give him a scratch before they headed back to the Knowledge Keeper’s quarters.

They knocked on the door and a slightly harried looking Tamra emerged. They asked if this was a bad time and she said Ireena was resting, but if they wanted to talk they should go out into the garden so as not to wake her. She motioned to a garden bench and No was thrilled to see it actually fit him as Tris told her about the medallion the Leanansidhe had dropped and her promise that her father would kill them all.

Tam Lin stepped up and filled them in on the Leanansidhe’s background, explaining that her mother Nimue had been a conniving, treacherous Fae who made no secret of the fact she wanted to overthrow him someday and hated him for being the Archfey despite being born a human. One day three centuries ago she had gone off for a few years and returned with the girl in tow, saying her father was a powerful Wizard named Ovid. Tam Lin thought this was odd since usually crossing a Fae with a human resulted in weaker offspring, but as the girl grew older he realized something was terribly wrong and she wasn’t even a Fae but a fiend, because her father hadn’t been human, he had been a vampire, and the result was an incredibly powerful Fiend who inherited the worst aspects of both parents. And that was probably why Nimue had her in the first place, to use as a weapon in her power play, but it seemed the girl had taken Mommy Dearest’s lessons to heart and slew her mother when she came of age. When Tam Lin asked her why she did it, the Leanansidhe’s only reply was “She got in my way.”

Chilled by this description, Tamra asked if this Leanansidhe was the one who bit Ireena, and when it was confirmed she declared “What a cunt.” Surprised by her bluntness, Tris tried to refocus and said that this seemed to confirm Ovid was the vampire they were looking for and since the Leanansidhe used present tense to describe him he was probably still alive She then asked Tamra if  she knew Dominic, and she said she had interacted with him professionally back when she had been apprenticed to the previous Knowledge Keeper. She didn’t know much about his personal life or his wife Ella, but she had heard some of the other Clerics mention that she had been very sick towards the end.

No asked Tamra if she knew which healers, and said she it had been the Clerics of Ilmater. But she cautioned that they might not be able to tell them much since they had guidelines about how much they could reveal, even if the patient had since. No wondered out loud if her death wasn’t actually a suicide, but as much as an asshole as Dominic was he didn’t think he was responsible. Rolen added he didn’t think his wife was necessarily killed, but it was possible it was an assisted suicide of some sort.

With the sun setting fast, they decided they had enough leads to get them started tomorrow and decided to head back to their home base at the Inn. As they departed, Salome kissed one of the ducklings on the head and No squealed with delight.

[theinsomniacsdnd]

Session 20: Tam Lin Pt. II

At the entrance to the Feywild, the party found themselves standing in a clearing before a ring of mushrooms. Rix sniffed the mushrooms, but decided not to take them as Meliae explained that normally you did not want to step into in a fairy ring, this being the exception since they actually wanted to go there. Savana was still trying to figure out if she trusted her as Rix brazenly walked into the mushroom ring, disappearing with a pop, and everyone else decided to follow his lead, poofing out of sight.

They emerged in a forest where the trees loomed overhead. Insects and birds flew overhead in a dazzling array of colors, but despite the beauty they had the distinct sense of being watched. No grabbed Salome’s hand and she dropped it immediately, trying to pretend it hadn’t happened, as Savana asked Meliae about herself, including if her position as emissary was paid for with taxpayer dollars. Puzzled, Meliae said it wasn’t and wondered if this was some weird way of flirting, then said they should get moving. She led them up the trail for a bit until a figure stepped out of the bush, a man with a goat’s legs and horns.

He smiled and introduced himself as Puck, then held out his hand and asked for their names. Everyone except No and Ireena began planning to say their names all at once until Meliae stepped in and told Puck to stop screwing around since these were guests of the Archfey. He giggled and skipped off, and Meliae turned to them and said that he had been trying to get them to give him their names - literally. It was one of his favorite tricks when he met newcomers to the Feywild, and this was the sort of place where you couldn’t trust anyone so they should be on guard and not accept any gifts, because everything here came with massive strings attached.

They moved forward towards an area where enchanting music played, and they found themselves in a large clearing illuminated by hundreds of fireflies held in lamps that hung from the branches. Humanoid figures dressed in clothing that looked to be made of leaves and butterfly wings walked around, speaking in low voices to each other, and as they tried to focus on the figures they realized that while externally beautiful something about them was extremely off, and made the hair stand up on the backs of their necks, especially as the figures turned to look at the newcomers and they had the distinct feeling of being lambs among a pack of wolves.

As Savana saw the fireflies in the lamps her heart ached for them, and she backed against a tree and started trying to unscrew the top of a jar to let them out. Rolen spotted what she was doing and hissed that they shouldn’t mess with anything, but Savana countered that she was going to free them since that’s the entire reason they were here, undoing her contract, and he of all people should understand that as a Warlock. Rolen countered that he had entered into his contract willingly and with full knowledge of what he was getting into so it really wasn’t the same thing.

As the two squabbled Salome looked around and muttered that she had taken shrooms and had bad trips with them but this place was still more disturbing. A deep male voice commented that they seemed a little out of place, and they turned to see a shadowy horse with a figure seated on its back. The first thing they noticed as that the figure had no head, only a vague shadowy smoke coming out from the neck, and under its arm was tucked a skull with glowing eyes. He introduced himself as the Dullahan Embarr, like the word ember except you said the last part like you were a pirate, and his steed was named Llamrei. And that they should look at the skull when they talked since that seemed to confuse a lot of people. The fiery eyes turned towards Rolen as he asked how the Boss Lady was.

Surprised, Rolen realized he meant The Raven Queen and asked Embarr how things were in his neck of the woods, regretting his choice of words immediately as Embarr raised his eyebrows, if that was even possible for a skull, and laughed and said he took no offense. He explained that he hadn’t seen her much or done much reaping lately on account of being here representing the Unseelie Court. The Raven Queen was certainly an improvement over the last guy, Nerull, who was a prick, and they had all cheered when The Raven Queen slew his ass and took over. It was a big deal back then since mortals weren't supposed to be able to kill Gods, but eventually they got over it and realized she was much better than her predecessor.

Embarr looked around and said to flag him down if they needed anything, and to watch their backs while they were here. Especially when it came to the local honey trap. Puzzled, Rolen asked what he meant, then spotted an extremely beautiful female figure with long red hair in a green dress floating intently towards him. The woman smiled at him, asking seductively if he was new here and needed someone to show him around, and feeling a strange mix of arousal and panic Rolen looked at Embarr and mouthed “help me” as the woman draped herself over him.

Ireena squinted at the woman, her eyes flashing with magic, and then stepped forward, her holy symbol in hand. The woman stared at it and then shrank away, her lips peeling back to reveal as pair of fangs. Meliae stepped forward and warned her to leave them alone since they were guests of the Archfey, and the woman snarled and slunk away. Ireena looked at Meliae and asked what the hell the woman was, since her Divine Sense had indicated a Fiend. Meliae said that she didn’t know the full story but she’d heard this creature called a Leanansidhe, and according to the other Fae she was unique in some way.

As they spoke a human servant wearing a collar with a glyph on it walked up to them and offered them a tray of horderves and wine. Remembering Meliae’s warning to not take anything, Rix instead put some food from his bag on the tray, and No gave her an orange, much to her visible puzzlement.

Looking around the clearing, Savana spotted a large oak tree that had been fashioned into a throne, an upon it sat the familiar figure of a man with long dark hair wearing a horned headdress intertwined with flowers. Despite the extravagance around him the only expression on his face was one of pure boredom, and as the same servant who had approached them walked up to him and offered him the tray he started to wave her off until he spotted Rix’s food and No’s orange and mounted “What the fuck”. Realizing it was Tam Lin, Savana took out her mandolin and began to strum a tune as she walked towards him. He looked at the sound and met Savana’s eyes, and for the first time they saw some light enter his eyes as he got up from his throne and approached her, telling her that he was glad she was here and that they should go somewhere private where they could speak, glancing at the Leanansidhe as he added it would be away from prying eyes and ears.

As he ushered them out of the clearing the same servant walked by Rolen again and he reached out to grab the orange, just in case leaving things in the Feywild had negative effects too.

Tam Lin led them to a large oak tree with a wooden door in it, and opened it before motioning them inside. They followed and were shocked to find that the room inside was much bigger than the size of the tree would suggest, and the furniture inside all seemed to be made from the tree itself. As they stood looking around, awestruck, Tam Lin removed the horned headdress and rubbed his neck, muttering that he hated the thing for being so fucking heavy.

He sighed and looked at Savana, asking if she had told her friends why exactly they were here. Savana said she’d told them the basics, but she still wasn’t entirely sure she could trust him. Tam Lin nodded and said her caution was wise, but as he’d told her before he wasn’t proposing just simply swapping one pact for another. If what he planned worked it would help both of them.

He took a seat in a chair and said he hadn’t been born a Fae. Many centuries ago he had been an ordinary human man, a Knight serving a King and a Kingdom whose name was long forgotten, and as he traveled through the forest one day on a hunting trip he came across a Fae procession. Titania, the Fae Queen, saw him and hatched a plan to make her husband Oberon jealous, since they were in the midst of a petty squabble. She took him to the Feywild and transformed him into a Fae so he could be her consort, as a way of sticking it to Oberon and say she didn’t need him.

Tris asked if she’d asked him at all whether he wanted this, and he laughed bitterly, saying she clearly hadn’t dealt with the Fae enough if she thought his consent meant anything to Titania. After about a century she and Oberon made up and she had no further use for him, so he wandered for a time until he came to the Foloi Forest and eventually clawed his way up to the rank of Archfey.

But despite everything he had accomplished and all the power he had, he felt empty. He never changed, never grew old, and as the centuries wore on he realized he missed being human. Mortality wasn’t something people tended to miss until it was taken away from them against their will. And that was where they came in, and he rose and touched his chest, revealing a mark identical to the one she bore, which also began to glow softly. He explained that because Titania had empowered both of them they had a connection to her, and he could use his power to break her hold over Savana through their connection, but she would no doubt retaliate against him as soon as he did so. That was why he had asked Savana to bring powerful friends, since he didn’t know what Titania would do but they had to be prepared.

After hearing his plan, Salome asked would happen once he was gone as Archfey. He snorted and said it wasn’t his fucking problem, he’d had enough of the Fae and their petty squabbles so they could sort it out on their own. He had spent way too much time over the centuries dealing with their backstabbing and treachery and was absolutely sick of it, so he didn’t give the slightest shit about what they did once he was human again. The next most powerful Fae would fight everyone else and take over after he left, since that was how it usually went.

He looked between all of them and said he knew it was risky, but he’d spent centuries trying to figure out the best way to free himself and this was his best chance. And it would help Savana too by getting her out of her contract with Titania so they could both stick it to her.

Ireena looked at Savana and said that no matter what she decided she was behind her, and Savana looked at the others and asking them to help her, though she knew the risk they were taking. They all readily agreed and Tam Lin sighed with relief, telling them that they would have to act fast before Titania caught on to their plans since her spy would tell her soon that they were there if she hadn’t already. He looked briefly around the room and commented that hopefully this would be the last time he saw it, but honestly he wouldn’t miss it.

He led them out the door just as the full moon was starting to rise, and took them to a forested glen containing a stone altar, several stone pillars and a pond with a tree-lined ridge overlooking it. As No saw the pond he commented that he should have brought One, Two, Three and Five to teach them how to swim, but they were back with Meliae’s parents.

Savana cast Heroes’ Feast to help them in what was likely to be a fierce fight as they moved in and they settled around the altar to eat it. As Tam Lin tasted it he closed his eyes and said that it was the first real food he’d had in ages, since nothing in the Fae realm ever tasted right. No felt  bad for him and gave him an orange and a cabbage, and he happily took both and savored them.

When they had eaten all they could Tam Lin walked over the altar and asked Savana to join him. She stood in front of him and he apologized, promising he wasn’t trying to be fresh, and put his hand on her chest over her Warlock brand. He took a deep breath, saying he really hoped this would be worth it, and his hands and the mark on his chest began to glow until they were too bright to look at, causing everyone to shield their eyes.

The air around them filled with a sound like shattering glass, startling everyone, and Savana was thrown back by something like an explosion, landing hard on her back as she felt her chest burning. She looked down and saw that the front part of her shirt had been scorched, but beneath it her brand was no longer there. She smiled and yelled out to Tam Lin that it had worked, but as she looked up at him she saw him clutch his head as his outline seemed to distort and blur.

He looked at her and was only able to get out two words, “She knows” before the air ripped apart in a thunderous crash and a flash of light, and where Tam Lin had stood before was a massive warhorse.

On the ridge they heard a tut-tutting sound, and turned to see the Leanansidhe, flanked by four small flower Sprites. She said that Tam Lin had been a very naughty boy and Queen Titania didn’t like this at all, so they would all have to pay for it. She looked at Rix and cast her Charm over him, but Rix wasn’t exactly taken to soft-skins and it failed to have any effect, and instead he just held out some food to her. Annoyed, she tried to claw him but missed as the the Sprites swarmed Salome, No and Tris and bombarded them with razor sharp leaves. No charged one of the Sprites and raged, attacking Recklessly and missing on both swings.

Tris moved up to the Sprites and swung at them wit her sword, yelling they were adorable but she had to fight them. The warhorse charged Savana and knocked her down, but she managed to dodge its hooves as it struck at her. Realizing his offering of food had been rejected, Rix hit the Leanansidhe with a Sacred Flame and she hissed loudly, clearly not liking the Radiant energy. Ireena ran forward towards the horse to help Savana but missed the swing with her axe, instead nicking her finger on the blade, which caused her second attack to miss as well. She cursed instead cast a spell, and a rune flashed over the horse’s head as she marked it as her quarry.

Salome backed up as she fired a Fire Bolt at one of the Sprites while Rolen instead moved forward, yelling out “Hey… fucking… don’t!” as he cast an Eldritch Blast. The first blast backfired and hit him instead, and as his face was burning the second one also went wide.

Still somewhat inexperienced, Meliae figured she should help out and hit the horse with her glaive as it glowed brightly with Divine power, pushing it off Savana. Giddy, she looked at Ireena and said she was so happy they were getting to fight together, and Ireena yelled out that she could fangirl later. Rising to her feet, Savana cast Faerie Fire on the Sprites, illuminating them with magical light, and then ran behind one of the stone pillars for cover.

Now realizing he possessed magic that could really hurt her, the Leanansidhe moved away from Rix. He swung at her back and missed as she moved up to Ireena and tried her Charm on her instead, but Ireena just stared at her and flatly said she was taken, not even seeming to resist the effect. Unused to failing so thoroughly, the Leanansidhe snarled and swiped with her claws, scratching at her arm, as the Sprites bombarded Tris and No with their leaves as No swung wildly at them, managing to strike one of them.

The warhorse looked around for Savana, but not seeing her instead charged Tris, but she held her ground and avoided being knocked down and managed to dodge its hooves. Turning towards the pond, Rix cast Control Water and brought a column of water into the air, which he promptly dumped on the Leanansidhe. As she was engulfed by the water he tried to drag her away by moving the column, but she was able to break out of it and was now extremely pissed off and very very wet.

Cornering the horse, Ireena hit it with her axe and it exploded in a flash of light, changing instead into a huge direwolf. Meanwhile Salome targeted the same Sprite No had been wailing on with another Fire Bolt and it exploded in a cloud of spores that made her cough and hack, but but thanks to Savana’s Heroes Feast she was able to resist the poison. She went to step behind the pillar and saw Savana already there, and waved to her briefly. Spotting the now very wet Leanansidhe, Rolen cast a Hex on her to make her weaker and ran up to her, grappling her and throwing her the ground. She smirked and said that if that was what he wanted he should have just asked,  and his face flushed crimson. Meliae ran forward and hit her with a Thunderous Smite, and Savana tried to remember if Fiends were immune to Charm, but could not recall and instead prepared to cast Lightning Bolt when Rolen was clear, not wanting to hit him. She yelled out encouragement to Rolen to help him hold the Leanansidhe down, and he noticed that the wounds on the Fiend were beginning to regenerate.  

Before he could call out this new information Rolen noticed that Leanansidhe was regenerating, and she smirked and slipped out of his grasp and into the ethereal plane reappearing by the the pond. Savana saw her chance and released the held Lightning Bolt, which streaked towards her and electrocuted her, making her even more angry as it caused her hair to puff out. The Sprites disengaged and flew out over the pond to try and get some distance between them and the party as No complimented Savana for the spell as he ran up and hit the Leanansidhe with a swing of his axe. Turning towards the wolf, Tris hit it with her sword and yelled to Tam Lin that he had to fight Titania’s control and stop attacking since she knew he was still in there. She saw the wolf hesitate for a moment, but Titania's hold was too strong and it instead bit her as she yelled he was a bad dog.

Rix increased the size of the water column and moved it over the pond, dumping it over the Sprites and bludgeoning them with the water. Ireena hit the wolf twice with her axe, and it again exploded into light as a lion appeared. Salome turned towards it and cast Fire Bolt at the lion as Rolen moved up and said this reminded him of a song. He pulled out his Doss Lute and sang “Hey, it’s okay, you don’t have to hurt anyone anymore” and cast Animal Friendship. The music seemed to soothe the beast for a moment until Titania again asserted her control and it roared at them.  Meliae said she thought they had the lion under control so she was going to focus on the Fiend, and and took out her holy symbol as she whispered a prayer to Sylvanus. Vines sprung out of the ground and wrapped around the Leanansidhe, restraining her, and Savana took her lute and cast a Force Cage over the lion, but the creature noticed the cage as it began to form and was able to move quickly enough to avoid being trapped. Savana instead took out her rapier and struck at it as the Leanansidhe tried in vain to break out of the vines and one of the Sprites was crushed by the water and exploded into spores. No ran up and hit the restrained Leanansidhe, and Tris cast Magic Missile on her and the two remaining Sprites.

The lion ran by Savana and Meliae towards No, and Savana managed to get a swing on it as it pounced on No, trying to knock him down, but he managed to stay on his feet. Rix moved the column of water onto the Leanansidhe again as Ireena ran forward and cast a Sacred Flame on the lion, but the attack went wide and missed and she swore.

Salome and Rolen both fired spells at the Leanansidhe and the sprites and another one of the Sprites poofed into a cloud of spores as Meliae and forward and hit the sidhe with her glaive, empowering her weapon with Divine light so she couldn’t regenerate from the wound. Savana cast another Lightning Bolt and hit the both the Leanansidhe and the lion, causing another flash of light that left behind a giant snake. Tris yelled out “Oh come on!” and that this was getting ridiculous.

Wanting to inspire her allies, Savana turned to No and began to sing a song about oranges and cabbages. In the column of water, the Leanansidhe again stepped into the ethereal plane and emerged on the other side of the pillars, and smirked as she summoned up her own Lightning Bolt to give Savana a taste of her own medicine. But Savana saw what she was planning and managed to cast a Counterspell, so the spell fizzled in her hands as she cried out in frustration.

Realizing Rix was the source of the bludgeoning water, the one remaining Sprite fired its leaves at Rix and broke his concentration, causing the column of water to come apart and crash to the ground. No disengaged and ran to the other of the pillars, glaring at the sidhe who looked disturbed at the demonic looking Warforged. Tris ran up to the Leanansidhe and cast Tasha’s Hideous Laughter on her, but she resisted the effect. The snake slithered forward and wrapped itself around Savana, biting her. Trying to help, Rix attempted to dispel the transformation magic on Tam Lin, but Titania was too powerful and instead a bolt of lightning down on Rix.

Ireena ran up and dug her heels in, managing to pull the snake’s huge muscular body off Savana as she yelled for her to get away. Salome swung at the Leanansidhe and missed, then shrugged and said she tried. Rolen mopped up the last Sprite with an Eldritch Blast, and as it poofed he ran forward to help the others. Meliae yelled out to as what to do, and as Ireena yelled to concentrate on the snake she swung her glaive at it and after another flash of light she found herself face to face with an Adolescent White Dragon. As everyone panicked at the sight of it Savana turned to Ireena with a grin and said “like good old times?” and  as Ireena smiled back and nodded Savana conjured a Dimension Door and transported them behind the Leanansidhe. Now alone with the Dragon, Meliae sarcastically yelled out “thanks guys!” and squared up against it, trying not to shake too badly in fear.

Annoyed, the Leanansidhe whipped around to face Savana and Ireena, swiping at Savana with her claws and leaping at Ireena’s throat, digging her fangs into her neck as everyone gasped. Ireena’s eyes flashed as she yelled out that if she wanted her blood she could take it, and golden light began to pour out of her body as the the Leanansidhe shrieked, the blood burning her wherever it touched. No ran up to hit her from behind as Tris flanked her and laid into her as well. Meanwhile the the Dragon came up behind Tris, Salome and No and breathed out a cone of cold that nearly froze No solid before slashing at him with its claws. Rix cast a Prayer of Healing, which gave some health back health to six of them, and looking a little green around the gills Ireena stood up and and threw at handful of own glowing blood at the Leanansidhe, making her shriek as it struck.

Salome fired a Fire Bolt at the Leanansidhe as Rolen raged and brought out his scythe, hitting her twice as Meliae yelled out that she guessed she would would just take care of the Dragon on her own, hitting him with a Searing Smite. Hearing her, Savana cast Faerie Fire on the Dragon to help Meliae out as the Leanansidhe again stepped into the ethereal plane and reappeared over the boulders, trying to shelter behind the dragon. No t apologized to Tam Lin as he swung in a frenzied attack at the Dragon, hitting twice but missing on the third. but missed his third attack. Tris moved to get the Leanansidhe in her sights cast a Chromatic Orb at her, choosing Lightning damage since that had worked so well before, as as it struck her the Leanansidhe turned her hate filled eyes on them and promised that her father would kill all of them before she disappeared into a cloud of ash, leaving behind only a metal medallion that fell to the ground. Though she was gone the Dragon remained, and swiped at Tris, doing damage with his claws. Rix cast another Prayer of Healing and Ireena struggled to her feet, casting a Fireball on the Dragon as she coughed up blood. Rolen apologized to Tam Lin and aimed for the Dragon’s legs, intending to only incapacitate it, and Meliae hit hit with her glaive as Savana tried to persuade Tam Lin to stop attacking but again Titania’s control was too strong, and she reluctantly cast a Lightning Bolt that caused the Dragon to explode in a flash of light, this time leaving behind a hot coal on the grass.

They all surrounded the coal, wondering what they should do. Rolen tried to touch it, flinching as it burned him, and Savana picked it up and passed it from hand to hand like hot potato as Rix ran beside her, spamming Spare The Dying over it until she made it to the edge of the pond and gently placed the coal within. A cloud of steam exploded out from it as soon as it touched the water, and as it cleared they saw a very naked black haired man staring up at them as he felt his face and yelled out that it had worked. He jumped to his feet and embraced Savana, laughing joyously as Rolen took this cold weather gear out of his pack and gave it to him so he wouldn’t catch a cold.

Ireena hobbled over, blood dripping out of the corner of her mouth, and Savana embraced her, thanking her for her help, smiling and asking if this meant she was more powerful than an Archfey. Ireena warned her not to go too crazy and Savana joked that she felt so good that she might just sign another pact, and Ireena replied with a cough that if she did she would personally smite her.

As Tam Lin pulled on Rolen’s cold weather gear he advised them to get going before the other Fae realized what had happened to him, since it would probably get crazy as they all started vying for his position. Ireena walked over to where the Leanansidhe had dropped a medallion and picked it up, recognizing the inscription as Old Cassian as she translated it out loud:

Granted to Ovidius Naso Aurelius in recognition of his service to The Empire

Horrified, they all realized at once that the Leanansidhe’s father had been none other than Ovid, the mysterious Wizard they had been searching for. Tam Lin confirmed that the Leanansidhe’s father had been a vampire, accounting for why she was a Fiend instead of a Fae or Undead like either of her parents.

They decided to leave the medallion where it leay and quickly made their way back to the entrance to the Feywild, passing through the gate into the Foloi Forest without incident. Savana helped carry the extremely weak Ireena back to the Greenleaf’s house and the two halflings helped put her to bed, No was reunited with his babies and took them to Ireena to help her feel better. He also found a bathtub to teach them how to swim as Ireena asked Savana what she planned to do next. Savana wasn’t sure, and started to ask Ireena if she knew what sort of money Bards made in Comvos and what their unions were like. Ireena said she didn’t know and that was a question for Tamra, who knew everything.

They settled in for the night to prepare for the trip back to Comvos in the morning.

[theinsomniacsdnd]

Historical Figure: Camorra Carpates

Race: Human

Born: 510

Died: 682

Camorra Carpates, also known as The Lioness of Raetia, became the most powerful woman in Raetia and Queen in all but name through a combination of strategic power plays and patience.

She was originally a Human War Chief of the Carpates Tribe, one of many different groups vying for control of Raetia. She was born in and ruled from her ancestral home of Castle Carpates, built on the foundation of an ancient Giant fort. She fought off multiple incursions from the Goliath tribes in the surrounding mountains and made a name for herself as a shrewd tactician and charismatic leader even before inheriting rulership from her mother, Tasca Carpates, at the age of 29.

Little of Camorra’s personal correspondence survives to the present day, so much of her personality has been gleaned from secondhand accounts, especially those of her eventual husband who was an avid journal keeper. He describes her as a tall woman, solidly built and broad-shouldered with ash blonde hair and piercing grey eyes. She often trained with her army and was a skilled equestrian in addition to being trained in archery and the use of a spear. Besides her physical prowess she was also well-read, speaking multiple languages and being well versed in poetry, literature and dabbling in magic, though she is never recorded as having used it in a combat context. Her wit was so razor sharp that her insults were said to physically stun the recipient, but she did show a softer side to those she trusted intimately and expressed a desire to protect her people and better their lives.

In 542 when the Cassian Army lead by General Gaius Vindex invaded the other Warlords dug in their heels and prepared to repel the Invaders, but Camorra saw an opportunity. She personally rode to Gaius’ camp, unarmed, and offered him a deal. The Carpates would fight for Cassia, swear fealty to the Empire and help conquer the other tribes in exchange for Gaius’ hand in marriage. He would gain legitimacy within the area and she would benefit from his political connections within the Empire. She also extracted a promise that they could hold onto their tribal sovereignty and right to self governance on local matters, and after Gaius agreed the two married.

Now united under the same banner, Camorra and Gaius spent the next several years conquering the other tribes or absorbing them into the Empire peacefully. They established the City of Comvos in 546 and made it the regional seat of power and a major trade hub for the region. It's widely believed that Camorra's diplomatic skills prevented wide scale bloodshed during the invasion, and her insistence on retaining her people’s tribal sovereignty allowed Raetia to continue as an independent political entity even after the collapse of the Cassian Empire.

Though viewed positively by the majority of Raetians in the modern day, Camorra’s reputation during her lifetime was decidedly more mixed. Graffiti has been found depicting her that describes her as a harlot who sold out her people to invaders, and a (possibly apocryphal) account of her encounter with an unnamed Warlord on the battlefield depicts him calling her a traitorous whore and promptly having his head cleaved from his shoulders by her greatsword, whereupon she addresses the body and says he clearly wasn’t using his head so she would just take it.

Contemporary accounts of Camorra's relationship with Gaius paint her as the one firmly in control of the relationship, and that she reminded him of this at every opportunity, but she also described him as a dear companion and the father of her six children. She died in 582 at the age of 72, with her eldest daughter Julia Carpates I inheriting her mother's position. To this day, the Carpates family still rules Raetia and trace their lineage directly to Camorra, who they admire for her cunning and ambition.

[theinsomniacsdnd]

Historical Figure: Haitham ibn Rifat al Asima

Race: High Elf

Date of Birth: 1167

Date of Death: 1460

Haitham was an Elven Noble and self-proclaimed Ruler of the Empire of the Sand Sea. Born as the son of the ruling family of the affluent city-state of Asima on the eastern edge of the Sand Sea, he lived a pampered life until 1455, when the death of his father Rifat ibn Adeel al Asima saw him assume the mantle of leadership.

He began his rule by conquering several neighboring city states, but when he reached the City of Jadwal he was said to have become enraged by the sight of a large population of half-elves, believing them to be an example of elven bloodlines being diluted and weakened.

He declared that any half-elves would be killed and began a campaign of genocide against them, using his army to kill approximately 500 half-elves over a period of six months before he was betrayed and slain by his own bodyguard, Ghanem ibn Abdul al Asima. Ghanem’s exact motivation for killing Haitham has never been concreted established, since he committed suicide immediately afterwards, but he was rumored to have had a human lover and possible child by her.

Interestingly, despite his dislike of half-elves Haitham himself is rumored to have taken several human concubines, though it is uncertain if he ever had any half-elven offspring by them.

In the wake of his assassination Haitham’s self-proclaimed Empire dissolved, and the city states he had conquered returned to self-governance. But his attempted genocide of half-elves and the mass exodus of those who managed to escape from the City resulted in a diaspora to neighboring cities and regions that lingers to the present day.

[theinsomniacsdnd]

Extra Scene: Starlight

Vasco sat outside, his back to the light coming through the window, watching the smoke from his cigar drift up into the starry sky. It was early enough in the spring that it still got chilly, but it didn’t bother him. He slept outside most nights either by necessity or not wanting to throw down the coin for an inn.

There was a shuffle in the dark, and he looked over to where he’d hitched Jasmine next to Little Boy. They touched noses and sniffed to get each other's scent.

He chuckled and leaned back on the overturned barrel he was using as a seat.

“You know he ain’t a real horse, right?”

Little Boy lifted his head and snorted.

Vasco held up both hands. “Ey, I’m not the one pretending to be normal to get the ladies.”

Little Boy’s lips curled back to bare his teeth before he turned back to Jasmine, and Vasco shrugged and went back to staring up at the sky. Inside it was still quite lively, with Bakirian’s voice in particular often laughing uproariously.

But Vasco? Wasn’t his thing. He was the type to scope out the closest exit whenever he he went into a building. Plus, he was essentially a tag along, and knew no one in there all that well.

Well, almost no one. But she was otherwise occupied.

Then, as if summoned, the door swung open and Ireena stepped out into the dark, casting her gaze about until she spotted him by the window.

Radiant. That was the only word he could think of to describe her standing there, lit from behind so her hair glowed a fiery red. The last time he saw her she had been haunted, unanchored and unsure, and her eyes never quite focused.

He would never forget the look on her face when he woke her out of a nightmare and she clocked him in the jaw, thinking he was some ghostly assailant, and sent him ass over teakettle and almost into the campfire. Damn near broke his jaw, too, and she spent the next part of a week trying to apologize, though he insisted it was his fault and that he should have known better. Shortly after that they'd gone their separate ways, but they had kept in touch and his thoughts often wandered to her and how she was doing.

And, well, now she looked at him with absolute clarity, and broke into a wide smile as she approached.

“I was hoping I’d find you out here.”

He chuckled and flicked the ass of the end of his cigar.

“Well, you know me. Always predictable.”

She walked over and sat next to him, running her hands over her legs to smooth out her skirt. He could smell cinnamon, mint and some other spice he couldn’t identify, and he was suddenly aware of his own odor; mainly tobacco, horse and sweat.

“So,” he said. “This seems like an improvement.”

She looked at him cockeyed. “In what way?”

“Well, you got a roof over your head, for one. That already puts you ahead of me.” He motioned with his chin through the window. “And you’ve got that lot in there calling you their own.”

A smile tugged at her mouth. “They’ve been great to me. I was so afraid the first time I met them, but they don’t seem to care that I’m… I’m…”

“Human?”

She squeezed her hands together. “I was going to say ‘a mess.’”

He reached out to put his hand on her shoulder. She didn't flinch away, and sighed as she looked up at the night sky.

“Enough about me. How have you been?”

“Well, you know,” he took another long drag. “The usual. Nearly got myself killed a few times, but The Raven Queen doesn’t want me yet.”

She frowned.

“Sorry, bad joke. But I’ve been keeping busy. Go here, kill the thing, go there, kill the other thing. It is what it is. Meanwhile, you’re now a world famous author.”

She put her face in her hands. “I can’t believe that book got as big as it did…”

“Well, having sampled a bit of it myself, I can say that you explain it in a very accessible manner that allows people unfamiliar with the subject to understand and process it. And that’s about as academic as I get.”

She chuckled. “Well, I’m glad it’s done some good in the world.”

“‘Some’? That's like calling a hurricane ‘a little wind.’ What you’ve done is save people’s lives without even being there. That’s something to be proud of.”

She glanced up, a tear forming at the corner of her eye before she blinked it away.

“Sorry,” he said. “I have a bad habit of making pretty girls cry.”

“No, it’s okay,” she sniffed. “But that does mean a lot.”

She glanced through the window, the light catching her face. There were a few more lines from when he’d seen her last, but they just added to her overall… her. He wasn’t great with words. Never had been. That was why he ran around shooting monsters for a living.

“You should go back in,” he said. “They’re waiting for you.”

She nodded. “We’ll catch up later on business, okay?”

“Of course. You know where I’ll be.”

She smiled and stood up, making her way back inside and shutting the door. He watched through the window as she sat next to Tamra on the divan, putting her arm around her waist. Tamra pulled her closer and threaded a hand into her hair.

Across the courtyard Little Boy looked up and locked eyes with him. After a moment he dropped his head again and went back to the grass.

He glanced back up at the sky and sighed, releasing a plume of smoke into the air. An astrologer friend had told him once that the stars didn’t actually twinkle, it was just stuff in the atmosphere causing visual distortion. The stars themselves burned constantly and steadily, longer than any living thing on this planet or any of the rest of them. Longer than the Gods, even. But even the stars themselves died, lighting up the sky even in death as what had made them spread and made new stars.

Vasco wasn’t a praying man, never had been, but he found comfort in that.

[theinsomniacsdnd]

Session 18: Reunions

Staring up at the horned man in front of her, Savana overcame her shock and apologized, saying that she meant no offense but had previous experience with the Fae. Tam Lin smiled and said he understood, and that was actually the reason he had come to see him, though he was not physically there, and passed his hand through the window to demonstrate. Savana began to flirt with him, which seemed to startle him, but he regained his composure and explained the reason for his visit.

He knew she had contracted to the Archfey Titania and wanted out, he had his own history with her and he believed they could help each other. He assured her that what he was proposing was simply not swapping one contract for another, but he could not say much else since there was a high chance they were being observed. If she was interested she should come to the Foloi Forest and contact the Fae Emissary, who would be able to bring her to him where they could speak in confidence. He could tell her that what he was proposing would be dangerous, so he suggested bringing powerful friends to help. In fact, he had heard that one of her former companions named Ireena Kolyana was staying in Comvos and had connections that could help her.

Savana agreed to come to him and he bid her adieu, his form fading as the luna moth flapped its wings a few times and then flew off into the moonlit night.

Several weeks later, Savana rode into Comvos through the West Gate and took in the City of Crossroads in all its glory. A single one of its ten District across the seven hills within its walls was larger than all of Vallaki, the largest settlement in Barovia, and she was inundated by sights, smells and sounds from all sides. She passed species she had never seen before, including Baltra Lizardfolk, Sorek and an odd humanoid elephant dressed in fine silks lumbered past her.

Following the address from Yevgeny’s letter, she found herself in the Temple District and in front of a two story wooden building flanked by rose bushes. She stepped inside and smelled baking bread and roasting meats, and across the dining room spotted a familiar, slightly greyer head sitting at a table tucking into a stew. She grinned and decided to sneak up on him, weaving her way through the crowd until she was right behind him and put her hands over her eyes with a “Guess who.” He jolted, startled, and his spoon clattered to the table as he turned around and asked Savana what the Hell she was doing there. She smiled and said always she knew she was his favorite, and then looked around at the rest of the surprised faces around the table.

Rolen introduced himself and she playfully flirted with him, joking about how all half-elves had telepathy with each other, and then turned to Tris and tried to convince her that she was half-drow. Salome looked grumpy as always and muttered “Hi” while Savana craned her neck to look up at No, who signed something at her. When she clearly didn’t understand he looked at Tris who translated his greeting as he reached into his bag and gave her an orange. She started eating it to No’s delight, while she glanced at Rix and saw that he was wolfing down food and had his mace buried in a roast turkey, and used it to tear it apart. He looked up briefly and said it was a pleasure to meet her. Impressed, Savana said she would write a song about him and how much he eats.

With introductions out of the way Yevgeny got back to business, mainly what in the Hell she was doing there. She briefly explained her pact to Titania and how she was looking to break it, and Rolen recognized her as a fellow Warlock and showed her his brand, saying he had pledged to The Raven Queen. Over his shoulder, Yevgeny made an obscene gesture to indicate he was trying to get with her in the Biblical sense as an oblivious Rolen tried to recall what he knew about Warlocks breaking their pacts. He didn’t know much, but he recalled that it was risky, and Savana simply replied with a smirk that “Risky” was her middle name, and No piped up to say that Risky was a weird middle name.

Rolen then turned back to Savana and asked where she was headed, and if she wanted company. Curious about their new guest, Salome asked where Savana was from, and she replied that she was a wonderful land called Barovia full of Dusk Elves, even passed out business cards. She explained it used to be a shitty place but they turned it around, Salome asked if it was single-handedly and Savana’s eye twitched a bit, but she shrugged it off and said were also trying to rename it but there was a lot of steps to do that. A lot of paperwork, you know, but they had successfully passed a ban on chaining children in basements. No added that he was cool with chains as long as everyone was willing, while Rolen looked at Yevgeny and remembered that he too was from Barovia and asked how he and Savana knew each other. For reasons known only to herself Savana decided to lie and said they were only passing acquaintances, and Yevgeny looked at her with a cocked eyebrow, wondering what he game was but deciding to see where she was going with it. Rolen, of course, believed her completely.

No then suggested that they go to see Ireena up at the Temple, and their group, now one more strong, departed from the Inn. No paused briefly at the rose bushes out front and gathered a few flowers for later, and as they walked up the Temple steps Tris turned to Savana excitedly and asked if she liked cats.Savana said yes, as long as they weren’t little girls, and let the statement hang there without elaboration. As they walked into the main hall no No picked up the smallest kitten he could find to pet it and Savana pulled out her lute to play some songs for them. A loud, baritone meow met her ears and she turned around to see the giant form of Nicodemus sauntering towards her. She meowed back and pet him, and he seemed pleased as No joined in on the pettings too. As this was happening Rix was sniffing the cats to get their various odors out of curiosity, and No tapped Rix on the shoulder and handed him a flower crown made out of roses. Rix put it on and thanked No, looking a little confused by this strange ritual, and No happily signed “Now you’re one of us!”

At the desk, Dimitrius spotted them and asked if they were looking for the boss, and if so she was out back in her quarters. As they made their way into the back courtyard Savana recognized the red horse grazing there, and went up and put out her hand. Little Boy lipped at and snorted as No went up to the door and knocked the “shave and a haircut, two bits” rhythm. A moment later Tamra opened the door and gently chided No that she was supposed to supply the “two bits” part, then looked at Savana and asked who she was. Again for reasons known only to herself Savana said she was just a traveling bard, while No happily said out loud “this is our friend Savana!”

From inside, Ireena’s voice called out to say she’d be out in a moment. Savana hung back, as if she was trying to hide, but since there wasn’t really any place to hide out in the open Ireena spotted her as soon as she stepped into the doorway, her eyes going wide as she saw Savana for the first time in almost ten years. Ireena ran out and hugged her with tears streaming down her face, and Savana tried to comfort her but saying she completely understood why she had left Barovia and was sorry she hadn’t written. Pulling back to look at her, a tearful Ireena asked what the hell she was apologizing for, because she was the one who had left without saying a word. It had broken her heart to do so, but she just couldn’t handle it anymore and thought she would go crazy if she stayed any longer. Savana reassured her that she held no ill feelings about it and that she was simply glad to see her again. Wiping away tears, Ireena introduced Savana to Tamra, explaining that she was her lover, and Tamra smiled and said this must be the famous Savana, who she had heard so much about. It was good to meet someone from Ireena’s, for lack of a better word, previous life, and Savana replied with a smile that she was glad to be able to meet someone from her current life. Ireena then frowned and asked how she even knew where she was, and looked accusingly at Yevgeny who just shrugged. Savana again lied and pretended to have just noticed Yevgeny but was thoroughly unconvincing.

As they caught up, Tris and Salome continued to pet the cats sunning themselves in the courtyard and Tris declared she was the Cat Master. Rix looked at the large red horse and noticed that he didn’t smell like a regular horse, and went up to him to investigate. Little Boy reached over and lipped at him, just as curious as he was, and No gave him a cabbage that he happily ate. Ireena then asked how she even knew she was there and looked at Yevgeny accusingly. He just shrugged and Savana again lied and pretended to just notice Yevgeny but was thoroughly unconvincing, and Yevgeny just glared at her.

Ireena, now suspicious, asked Savana if she had just come to see her. Savana started explaining about the forest but was vague, and Ireena’s eyes narrowed as she asked what she did this time. Savana said that she needed help to get out of her contract and Ireena agreed immediately, but after Savana revealed that she had been told to contact the Fae Emissary Ireena visibly cringed but still agreed to come. Savana asked why Ireena reacted that way and Ireena explained with the a sigh that the Fae Emissary was a fan of hers, and she had actually had to talk the girl out of taking an Oath of Vengeance because she wanted to be just like her but couldn’t think of anything she wanted to avenge. No overheard and suggested they all go together. The rest of the party agreed, Salome adding that she was down as long as it didn’t involve making deals with fae, and Savana assured them that it wasn’t like that at all, managing a convincing lie because she was Just That Good.

Later that day they loaded up and headed down the road to the Foloi Forest, after a day of travel passing the grave marker of the orc warchief they had helped bury the last time they came through. No left a silver on the marker and Rolen said a prayer to The Raven Queen. No looked at the distant Altan Mountains and sighed, saying that he missed Anan and hoped he was doing well.

After two days of travel they entered the Foloi Forest, and Savana craned her neck to look at the massive trees and the houses of Ariadne’s Rest tucked among the branches. As they walked to the Greenleafs’ house a skunky odor reached their noses as well as a loud “DUUUUUUDE!” and tottling towards them came Brennan, their perpetually baked Tortle friend from Lake Alcmene, with a second, twitcher Tortle in tow. He greeted them and said he was glad to see them again, since things had been going great in Lake Alcmene ever since Okilo and her two assistant golems started cleaning the place up. In fact, business was going so well that he was here to rebalance his chakras, and he’d even brought on his brother Coco to help with the bookkeeping. He gestured to the second Tortle, whose eye twitched noticeably as he muttered that he couldn’t relax because he had too much work to do. Just for fun, Rolen offered Brennan one of his mushrooms and he happily accepted, but as soon as he took it he began to hallucinate that his knife was turning into a snake and freaked out, trying to throw it away from him as he screamed for Okilo to come and kill it. Sighing, Ireena bopped him on the head and using her Lay on Hands ended the drug’s effect, and he sobered up instantly, declaring that was a bad trip and he should just stick to the weed. He said it had been great to see them again and walked off with Coco in tow so they could chill out a bit.

As the smell of smoke faded away, No heard a loud peeping behind him and turned to see four small ducklings running towards him. They stopped at his feet and peeped up insistently at him. Rix knelt down to investigate and quickly reassured the others that he had no intention to eat them, as No picked one up and asked where its mother was, noticing that it still had a bit of eggshell on its head. No tried to walk away from them, but they quickly followed him, and Tris suggested they had imprinted on him. Rolen said, completely deadpan, “congratulations, you are a father” and the bird-hating Warforged felt his heart grow three sizes as he saw how small and helpless they were. He immediately began thinking of names and Savana suggested One, Two Three and Five, and No picked One up to show to Salome and said he couldn’t hate this. Salome took one in her hands and began petting it secretly, while No said they reminded him of Holy Shitballs the Kenku in the Spyte of Darkness, who had gotten his name because after he popped out of his egg that was the first thing Kolero had said and the first thing he learned to mimic.

As everyone cooed over the ducks Rix looked around for medicinal herbs and found some St. John’s Wort, Tansy and Valerian, which he put into his pouch for later use.

As they reached the Greenleafs’ residence Ireena sighed and went up to the door, reluctantly knocking a few times. Minthe answered and greeted them, looking first at Rix and then Savana. They both introduced themselves and Savana complimented Minthe on her name. Minthe chuckled and thanked her, explaining it had been her mother’s favorite herb, and then asked what she could do for them. They explained they were looking for the fae emissary and Minthe went to fetch her daughter, and after a flurry of footsteps the large form of Meliae appeared in the doorway and clasped her hands together as she spotted Ireena, spouting off a long string of fangirling as Ireena stood there with a stoic expression, clearly having dealt with this before. Rix offered her a duckling in this trying time and she gratefully took it to pat as Meliae continued to prattle on about how awesome Ireena was and how awesome it was to see her again. Eventually she snapped out of her excitement and looked at the rest of them, seeing a few new faces.

Rix started to introduce himself and stared up at Meliae, asking if she was of Dragon descent. Meliae looked at her mother and said yes, though she had been adopted by the Greenleafs, and misinterpreted his stare and reached up to touch the flowering branches tied to her horns, asking if there were bees in there again. Rix just said it was an honor to meet her, and after a very long moment of awkward silence Savana cleared her throat and introduced herself and offered to sing her a song, and proceeded to do so to Meliae’s delight. Meliae then asked Savana why they needed her services as Fae Emissary, and Savana explained that she needed to go into the Feywild. Startled, Meliae asked why on earth she needed to do that since most of the time her job involved getting people out of the Feywild, not going into it, but Savana decided to be cagey and only give half-answers to her questions. With a sigh Ireena explained that she had made a pact with Titania, and Meliae, shocked, asked if she knew what she was doing because Tam Lin hated Titania. Savana explained Tam Lin himself had invited her here, and still puzzled, Meliae said she could guide them there and she had a good track record, since so far she had only lost two of a few dozen, though even those two were a bit murky since for all she knew they had only been turned into a plant or something.

Now with his ducks sitting on his head, No asked Minthe if they had seen any mother ducks around since they had found these little ones. She explained that earlier that morning she had actually found a mother duck out back who had been killed by a pine marten, and they had probably been attracted to him since their species grew up to have red and black plumage.

As they spoke about matters both Fae and avian Rix tapped Rolen on the shoulder and asked him what his mushrooms tasted like. Rolen did his best to describe it and handed on to Rix for his own use, but Rix instead took it and added it to his medicine pouch along with the ingredients he had gathered earlier, which he had brewed into a Vial of Musical Breath that made the user say everything in song as magic music followed them in the air. He turned to Minthe and asked if she had a saucepan he might borrow, then went to the hearth and boiled down the mushroom in some water which he added to the potion in order to spike it.

As the sun began to set, they began preparations for their trip into the Feywild and the dangers within.

[theinsomniacsdnd]

Session 17: Old & New Faces

Yevgeny ran downstairs with Chi’ome, who was now shivering and sweating profusely, cradled in his arms. He went into the common room, where the inn’s guests who had been awoken by their rooftop shenanigans were all gathered around, wondering what was going on. He called out to ask if anyone was a Cleric, and by the fireplace a Baltra Lizardfolk, strangely clad in armor, stood up and asked if his services were needed. They explained they had a girl who was very ill and needed help while No signed something about “evil goddamn bird things.”

They lay Chi’ome down on one of the large tables as the Baltra began to look her over. Rolen asked for his name, he replied it was Rix. He was able to identify the poison and knew the antidote, which he concocted up from several pouches strapped across his chest and carefully administered it to her. Hassan hovered over his shoulder asking if she’d be okay, and Rix said she was out of immediate danger but she would still need some time to recover, since it was a nasty poison. Herbert and Barry came downstairs to see what was happening, and seeing offered Hassan a room to get her out of the dining room. Hassan pulled out some coins from a pouch that he tried to give them, but the two dwarves refused and insisted it was on the house.

After Rix carried Chi’ome upstairs and settled her in a room, they they all decided to try to get some rest after that excitement. Hassan stayed with Chi’ome, and whenever he showed genuine concern Rix looked at him curiously. Rolen stuck his head in the room to thank Rix, then asked him what his story was and how he had gotten here. Rix said he was on a mission trying to find other Lizardfolk. Rolen said they knew of the Baltra and had traveled with one, and Rix replied he knew, he was one of them. Feeling a little foolish, Rolen offered to let Rix travel with them and gave him a gold coin for his help, and while Rix tried to refuse it Rolen flipped it in his face and insisted. Taking it and putting it in his pouch, Rix said he would be happy to join them since his people always felt the itch of travel. He then asked Rolen for his name, and with introductions out of the way he went into a cool corner for the night.

No went back to bed while Salome went to sulk as usual, and Rolen and Tris both went to bed in their own rooms. The rest of the night passed without incident, and as the sun rose and Rix went out to bask. No came out of Salome’s room, but Yevgeny didn’t notice for once because he had been woken up out of his beauty sleep and muttered something about getting too old for this shit.

As they all around the table for breakfast they mulled over their plans, and Rolen explained their ongoing investigation of Ezra’s disappearance to Rix. while No mentioned that they still needed to go see Dominic, the former Crownsguard commander, and that at some point he needed to pay Bella a visit to get himself fixed. As they talked Hassan came downstairs, looking like he hadn’t slept all night. He thanked them for all their help the previous night in saving Chi’ome. They had just been on the roof as usual when the creature swooped down and attacked them, and Chi’ome had been stung in the process. Salome smirked and asked if they had been doing something that distracted them at the time and Hassan’s tail puffed out as he stuttered and demanded to know what she was implying, but his reaction alone confirmed their suspicions. Salome then asked if it was official and if he was her boy toy… or would that be cat toy?

Embarrassed, he confirmed it was official and it had just kind of happened as they’d been hanging out together. And that was actually where the problem was. Intrigued, they pressed him for more, and he said that eventually their conversations had turned to Chi’ome’s family back in the Underdark and they had talked about going to visit them once this mission was over. They asked if he had any family and he muttered it was “no one worth mentioning” but before it had been just kind of a vague idea. Now that she’d been hurt he’d made up his mind and needed to take care of her, but he still had his responsibilities to Terrasyn. She had recruited him when he was 19 and had him sign a 5 year contract to serve her organization, but he was only 2 years into it. In the past he’d heard that she would release people from their contracts early if they could find a replacement, but he couldn’t really do that since he wanted to stay with Chi’ome and take care of her. He knew it was a lot to ask but he didn’t know who else to turn to, and they agreed to help him.

They figured their first stop should be Terrasyn, and Rolen asked if Rix was coming. He replied that he would go where he was needed and then curiously walked up to No, realizing there was no soft skin anywhere on his body. He poked No’s chest experimentally and No banged on it with a solid clang. Tris then turned to Rix and thanked him for his help with Chi’ome, since she was a member of her household even if she had technically been uninvited. No turned to Tris and asked if they should tell Syn about Hassan and Chi’ome. Tris didn’t think she would hold it against her if they brought it up.

As they walked Rix realized he didn’t actually know where they were going and who this “Syn” was, having not spent much time in the city or among the underworld. Out in front of the White Oleander Rix saw the building’s namesake flowers out front and remembered that they could be poisonous. As he went up to inspect them and an older human lady with a watering can who was tending to them asked him if he liked them, he said he did and asked if he could take one. She replied that he could and he put it in his medicine pouch. He then followed the rest of them inside, noticing how no one was so much as batting an eye at him even though he was a Baltra. If anything his armor got more attention since his people were not known for wearing it. He saw Terrasyn in her usual the back and looked closely at the burns on her face, though he wasn't sure how those could have come about.

He then sniffed the air and picked up the scent of and bread, stews and some roasting vegetables. He approached an orc who was about to take a bite out of a roast and sniffed it, and quickly Rolen pulled him away and said he couldn’t eat other people’s food and tried to explain the concept of personal space. To prevent any more mishaps Rolen ordered the same thing the orc had from the elderly Tiefling man behind the counter and Rix started eating it right off the bone.

Observing this entire interaction with amusement, Terrasyn asked where they picked Rix up and they explained. She nodded, saying she had heard about the commotion the previous night and No signed something about “goddamn birds” and she blinked, confused. Tris explained the situation with Chi’ome and Hassan, and how she knew he had been caught stealing -- only for Terrasyn to correct her that he had tried to steal from her, before motioning for her to continue. Tris resumed her explanation and that they knew they were asking a lot to release Hassan from his contract but he and Chi’ome really seemed to care for one another. Terrasyn leaned back in her chair, taking a long drag on her cigar, and said that she would allow them to try and recruit another Rogue to take his place in the organization. Rolen asked if they had to recruit a spy to follow them and she just looked at him long and hard through the smoke until it hit him and he said he was an idiot. Meanwhile Rix finished the roast and even started munching on the bone marrow.

Tris asked Terrasyn where they should start their search and she motioned out the door, telling them that they were in The Insula, so it was as good a place to start as any. She would leave the rest up to them.

They went into a square nearby and Rix ran up to the fruit stand and threw down ten silver and got a bushel of all sorts of fruits, some of which he couldn't identify. He bought all the fruits he couldn’t identify and No brought out an orange that he gave to Rix. Rix picked up an interesting looking spiky fruit that smelled like garbage. No asked what the oranges cost and the lady at the fruit stand recognized him as the mysterious tall creature that had been giving oranges away and throwing cabbages, and she flatly refused to give him any more. Rix asked No for a cabbage and then ran up to the butcher and asked for a long piece of meat he could wrap a fruit in. He was given a pork belly that he wrapped around the durian and then tried to take a bite. He managed to get it down though the spikiness of the durian and the fat of the bacon were an interesting combination. He then walked back with his interesting sandwiches while No went over to the weaver with Salome.

No suddenly realized his bag of holding was gone and everyone started looking around. Rolen spotted a gnome trying to get away, which proved difficult as the bag was almost as large as she was, and yelled out “freeze!” Looming over the diminutive thief will all seven feet of his height, No told her she really wanted to give it back. Like a kestrel staring up at a harris hawk whose dinner it had been caught trying to steal she realized how sorely, sorely outmatched she was and threw it at him, then made a break for the fruit stand. Rolen aimed his heavy crossbow at her and said they could turn her over to the authorities or she could make some money. Not off them though, because that wasn’t their bag. With the dual threats now directed at her she was less than convinced, and as she ran Rix tried to cast Hold Person on her but she managed to break out of it and scampered up to the roof of the fruit stand and out of sight.

Salome decided to follow and scaled the wall, finding the Rogue lying prone to try and stay out of sight, and she again tried to persuade but the salt on her words was palpable and it came off as them telling her they had candy in their van and the girl was clearly disturbed at this point. Salome yelled down to the others that the she didn’t think it was working and Tris, shaking her head, decided to jump up there as well. Like a broken record she again tried to persuade the girl but she was too freaked out by this and clearly just wanted to get away from these crazy people. Deciding to cut their losses, Tris told her they were staying at the Rosewood Inn and she could think about it and come to see them if she wanted. With that the girl scampered away across the rooftops.

Meanwhile, Rix stood down on the street and watched the shenanigans on the rooftops, not noticing as a large figure came up behind him and whacked him on the head. He saw stars for a moment but managed to remain conscious and felt something start to try and drag him away as he muttered “ow you’re not getting a bite then!” He managed to break out of the grapple and aggressively shove the rest of the “sandwich” in his mouth as he wheeled around and faced a very surprised half-orc man, who was used to his targets being knocked out after one hit.

In front of the fruit stand No was completely oblivious to what was happening and decided to get up on top and next to Salome and Tris. Unfortunately that resulted in a combined weight of over 600 pounds on the old wooden awning, which gave a loud groan and then cracked in half, sending all three of them down to the ground. Salome and Tris managed to roll out of the way, flipping Rolen off just because on the way down, while No landed face first right in the center of the fruit vendor’s trough, sending juices and pulp everywhere. The fruit vendor shrieked that they had destroyed her property and cost her a day’s profit, and No quickly extracted himself from the fruity mess and gave her 20 gold for repairs and replacing the product that was now covering him, which calmed her down.

In the midst of this chaos Rolen got a vague sense something was happening over where Rix was and walked over to check on him, and saw Rix holding the top of his head. He quickly asked what was going on and Rix mumbled something inaudible, since he still had food in his mouth, but Rolen spotted the half-orc over his shoulder and quickly put two and two together. He stalked over and demanded to know if he’d hit his friend, and put on the spot the half-orc lied unconvincingly. In response Rolen punched him in the face, and following his lead Rix decided to throw down his mace and tried to punch him as well, but he was too distracted by the food half hanging out of his mouth and swung wide.

Over by the apoplectic fruit vendor Salome noticed the commotion and saw her two idiot party members engaged in attempted fisticuffs with the half-orc. Salome fired a Fire Bolt at him, singeing the front of his tunic, and shook her head disapprovingly. Tris sighed and asked out loud if she could go home now, but, resigned to her fate, she walked over and demanded to know what the hell was going on. Rix dropped the food out of his mouth and said he was hit, which again the half-orc denied, badly, at which point the entire thing devolved into a playground fight of “You hit him!” “N-No I didn’t!”

Tris walked right up to the half-orc and shamed him for hitting people, an amusing sight considering she was 5 foot nothing and he was a good foot and then some taller. He looked embarrassed and said he was sorry. Sensing he was genuine, Tris asked if he was interested in a job, since he might not be the stealthiest but he clearly had muscle. He seemed contrite and muttered that he had never been offered a job before, but he would give it a try.

At this was happening, a few Crownsguard had heard the commotion from the collapse of the awning and ran over, demanding to know what was going on. Tris shot them a huge smile and lied that they were just screwing around, with their friend, the half-orc, and No had worked something out with the fruit vendor to fix the awning. The half-orc just stared at the guards until  Rix stepped on his foot, making him wince and nod his head vigorously and apologized for the disruption. The two guards were convinced that they were harmless and warned them not to screw around in the market, and then left them alone again.

In the midst of all a young human was girl playing a flute for money in the corner by the weaver’s shop had been watching this, and commented once the guards were gone that they clearly lived interesting lives. Rolen felt something crawl up his leg, and startled, he glanced down and found a weasel trying climb up his pants. No managed to grab it and tried to pet it, but it just bit him and hung off his finger, puzzled that its teeth wasn’t going through the metal. No turned to the girl asked if it was her weasel and, seeming unconcerned, she said it wasn’t. Salome called bullshit and Rix asked if could eat the weasel. Without missing  a beat the girl said it didn’t matter to her. No handed it to Rix and he put a small sack over its head to keep it from biting and put it in his bag for later, but sensing something was up Rolen cast a Detect Magic and found it emanated a conjuration magic aura Rix took it back of out and tried to eat it, but it poofed away as soon as his teeth touched it. He stared down at his empty hands and muttered something about fake weasels and Salome turned to the girl and accused her of trying to trick them.

A smile on her face, the girl stood up and jumped up to the roof, and when she landed the same weasel scampered up onto her shoulder. Salome cursed that she didn't want to this shit again as Tris stepped forward and said they could offer her the same deal they had given the half-orc. The girl thought for a moment, glanced at the weasel and then shrugged, deciding it was worth a shot, then jumped down to join them. They asked her for her name and she told them it Briar, while her weasel familiar was Potoo. Rolen then looked at the half-orc and asked his name and he gave it as Ramzan, and with two Rogues gathered they decided to head back to The White Oleander to show Syn what they had found.

Back at the inn, Terrasyn looked up as the entered with the two Rogues in tow and laughed, saying they were overachieving as usual since she had only asked for one. Tris introduced Ramzan, saying that he hit people and did pretty damn well, and Briar had some magic and a little weasel fuck. Potoo squeaked what was pretty clearly the weasel equivalent of an insult, probably something about your mother, and Terrasyn smiled, saying that they had kept up their end of the bargain so she would honors hers and release Hassan from his contract.

Rolen thanked her and said they would be going, and then just because popped one of the hallucinogenic mushrooms he had picked up back in The Suburra and went complete Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. Salome decided to follow his lead, but when she took one she instead suffered complete ego death and curled into a fetal position. Terrasyn glanced at her two new Rogues and said this shit didn’t happen in her organization, since they had to stay sober on the clock. The two nodded while No pet Salome’s hair and picked her up. Now stone out of his mind, Rolen offered Rix a mushroom, and having dealt with this sort of thing before Rix tied a rope to Rolen’s wrist to lead him around and make sure he didn’t get lost.

Tris sighed, saying that since they now had a few high idiots they should probably get back to the Inn and tell Hassan the good news. No reminded them that he still had to go to Bella to get repaired and hopefully get some of the fruit juice off him, so they could just take Rolen and Salome to keep an eye on them. They made their way over to Hamersley Ironworks in the Smith District and No knocked on the door. Mrs. Hammersley answered and welcomed him, then glanced at Salome cradled in his arms and asked if she was okay. No insisted she was fine as Rolen danced around behind them like a child on a leash and again offered Rix a mushroom. Rix took it and put it in his medicine pouch for later as Tris facepalmed.

Mrs. Hammersley led them inside to the forge, where they found Bella working on an axe. She looked up and smiling, saying it was good to see him again and asking what he needed. No pointed to the scuffs from their latest battles and took off a piece with a jagged edge, which he handed it to her. He asked her to smooth it out and put a hole in it, and puzzled, she agreed to it. She said it would take about an hour to get him fixed up and she unfortunately wasn’t able to improve his armor class right now, but she could fix the damage and at least get him cleaned up.

As she worked on him Rolen and Salome came out of their trip, and Rolen was puzzled as to why he was leashed to Rix. As Salome came back to herself No asked Bella for a small rope, and she managed to scrounge up some twine from a hay bale. He threaded the rope through the little piece she had taken off and made a necklace that he gave it to Salome. Blushing, she took it as he explained that now wherever she went someone would always be with her. She put it on and muttered “let’s not talk about this.”

Tris thanked Bella for putting up with the high idiots and repairing the other idiot, and No thanked her as well. Now that the idiots were sober Tris wondered if their invitations to the wedding extended to Rix, and No pulled his out of his bag and confirmed that they said they could bring a plus one. Now starry-eyed, Tris told Rix about the wedding. Rix nodded, saying it was bound to be interesting, and Tris happily took his hand and said they needed to get him properly outfitted and pick up their orders from Torben.

In the Weaver District, they entered Torben’s Treasures and found their diminutive designer measuring an elegant elven lady. He glanced up and said he would be with them in a moment. After he finished up he kissed the lady’s hand and told Violet he would call her when her order was read, and she giggled, calling him a charmer as always as she flitted out the door. Rolen commented that he certainly had a golden tongue. No said he was known for one as well and opened his mouth, showing his notable appendage, and Torben replied “Oh my.” He then went out back and returned carrying their outfits, a difficult task for a tiny gnome. Rolen and No insisted on helping him carry them out, and as Tris and No tried on their outfits to make sure they fit Torben looked at Rix and asked if he wanted anything made as well. Rix wasn’t sure what he wanted, since clothing and decoration seemed superfluous to him, but taking some inspiration and measurements Torben sketched out a tasteful jacket with a kilt and Rix approved. Torben said he would make it for them it for 150 gold, since they were good customers, and Tris stuck her head out of the changing room offered to pay for Rix’s outfit since she had literally dragged him into this.

As they all stepped out of the changing rooms to look over their outfits Rolen stared at Tris in her elegant aubergine evening gown. She looked at him and asked if his outfit was uncomfortable due to the color of his face, but he stuttered that it was fine. No said out loud “come on Tris I think he finds you attractive” and you could hear a pin drop -- literally, as Torben apologized and fetched one that had fallen out of his kit onto the floor. Tris’ face flushed as she said she was going to change back into her regular clothes, while Salome stepped out in her elegant suit and the flames in No’s eyes formed into hearts. With their business done they thanked Torben and left with their new clothes carefully packed in protective sacks.

They went back to the Inn to drop their new clothes off, and as they walked in the door Herbert and Barry said a visitor had come to see them while they were out. They pointed to a table in the corner where a bespectacled Firbolg man in the green and tan robes of a Cleric of Oghma as enjoying a cup of tea. He looked up and introduced himself as Luan Feargus, and explained that Tamra had sent him to tell them what he had found in his research into the incident at the Library. He unfurled a scroll and said he had found multiple references to his Ovidius Aurelius in the old Cassian histories, and he had been the court mage to the last King, Pentius. Ovid was a powerful spellcaster who was said to dabble in necromancy, something that made people fear his influence on the King. He gestured to an illustration of a bearded human man hovering behind the throne of the seated King, clearly whispering something in his ear, but what caught their attention most was the black pseudodragon perched on his shoulder. They asked Luan about it and he said the creature’s name was recorded as Nero, and it had been Ovid’s familiar. Rolen quickly ran upstairs and fetched the headless skeleton of the creature that had attacked them the previous night, and he was relieved when it didn’t come back to life. As he placed it on the table in front of Luan Rix looked it over for any meat, but it was long long dead and now just dry bones. No looked at the bones and pulled out Inisitina’s skull from his bag to compare them, and Luan was clearly disturbed but Salome and Tris reassured him that Inistina had it coming.

Luan cleared his throat and continued, telling them that Ovid vanished from the records after the attempted coup to depose Pentius that ultimately led to the destruction of the Empire, but the name Ovid Codru occasionally appeared in the spellbooks of other Wizards, referring to a powerful and very ancient mage who was said to take on students who could prove themselves. It might be the same Ovid, but he would be close to a thousand years old if so. Luan has been trying to find out where he was said to live, but that was part of the “challenge” for potential students, to find him.

Tris asked about when Ovid Codru’s last recorded mention was, and he said an Earth Genasi Wizard named Asma had referenced him in her spellbook, which she had donated to the Temple of Mystra. Unfortunately she had passed away a few years ago, but she possibly had family or other colleagues who were still around, and he offered to look into it. Tris turned to the others and suggested asking Bakirian if he’d known this Ovid, since had had definitely been around back then. With some new clues in hand, they settled in after a long day.

In a land once cloaked by mists, at midnight a luna moth landed on a windowsill and moved its wings a few times. A soft golden light like sunshine through a canopy began to emanate from the moth, and the form of a man wearing an elaborate green silk robe with horns on his head and a crown of flowers stepped through. He held out his hands in the universal “I mean you no harm” gesture and addressed a white-haired half-elven woman who stared at him, awestruck.

“Greetings, Savana Velikova. My name is Tam Lin, and I have a proposal for you. Something that I believe can help us both.”

[theinsomniacsdnd]

Session 16: Loose Ends

As they made their way the way back to Comvos and wondered what they should do, Rolen suggested paying a visit to The Suburra and seeing if there were any Goliath strippers. As they walked Bakirian cradled his daughter’s tooth, looking lost in thought, and No asked him some questions about what Aykut had been like. He smiled sadly and said she had taken a lot after him and was very curious and loved to follow him around, and that he had been her primary caretaker since her mother had decided to go elsewhere after the egg hatched, but Bakirian hadn’t minded since he loved being a parent. No asked him what his favorite memories of her were and he replied that as a wyrmling she had once she stuck her head in a Lepus burrow and then been chased out by a group of them, which resulted in the amusing sight of the small Dragon struggling to fly away pursued by some very angry rabbitfolk. He smiled at No and thanked him for letting him talk and finding him in the first place, and when they got to the city he just hoped his surviving family wasn’t angry at him for disappearing. They tried to reassure him by saying they were worried about him and just wanted to know he was okay, and Salome added that good families were like that. She thought.

No then asked Bakirian how many children he had, and he said that when it came to the full dragons he had 14, 10 of whom were still alive. When it came to his mortal descendants it was harder to track, but besides the Copperscales a good portion of the Dragonblood Sorcerers in Raetia were thanks to him and his misadventures when he was younger.

Several hours later, they got back to the city and entered through the East Gate, which deposited them right into The Insula. Realizing they were on her turf, Salome whispered to the others as they tried to figure out what to do about Terrasyn. Bakirian piped up that he could hear them and Vasco leaned in to ask what was going on. They explained that Bakirian needed to visit someone, and Hassan poked his head down from where he was watching them from the roof and advised them that Terrasyn already knew they were in the city, but for the record he hadn’t told her. They thanked him and he ducked back behind the roof as no called out to him to say hi to Chi’ome, and when Hassan yelled back that he would they heard Chi’ome hiss “shut up!”

As they approached the White Oleander No and Rolen offered to go in first, and they went straight to the back corner where Terrasyn was in her usual spot. She looked up as they approached, and as they explained that Bakirian was outside, and she pleasantly said she knew already and that he could come in. Rolen went to fetch Bakirian and found him admiring the bushes out front, declaring that the flowers were lovely.

Somewhat reluctantly they lead him inside, and Bakirian stopped in front of Terrasyn, his eyes scanning her face and especially the scarred side. He cleared his throat and said he was sorry he had done that to her and that he hadn’t meant to hurt her. Terrasyn looked placidly at him and asked what he was apologizing for, she had been the one who broke into his home and was trying to steal from him. And considering the standards she held her own people to she would be a massive hypocrite for blaming him for defending himself, since she hadn’t been a good enough thief to avoid detection. Bakirian offered to heal her face, but she declined, saying the scars had become something of a calling card of hers and it told anyone who wanted to mess with her that she had survived worse. Bakirian called her a very woman and she nodded respectfully, and he said he was glad they had reached an understanding. As he wandered off to admire some of the artwork Rolen and No told Terrasyn that was a very forgiving attitude, and she replied that she’d had 14 years to get over it and took it as a lesson. Besides, she knew firsthand how bad an idea it was to mess with an ancient Dragon and didn’t intend to repeat the mistake.

Moving on to other matters, she asked how the rest of them are doing. They introduced her to Vasco, who tipped his hat in her direction, and with a chuckle she asked where they’d dug him up. Rolen said he was another vampire hunter like Ireena, and Vasco corrected him and said he was a monster hunter, Salome chuckled at this but Vasco insisted there was a substantial difference. Ireena was the best in the field when it came to vampires but he was more of an all rounder. His expertise included vampires but extended to other monstrous threats including werewolves, aberrations, fae and undead. But he wouldn’t bore them with the details and instead asked Terrasyn about how she’d wound up in her position.

She leaned back and said that she’d taken over the position of The Rogue like all who held the title did, by getting rid of her predecessor. His name had been Gaspard and he’d been a bastard who exploited the people he was supposed to protect for his own gain, a complete reversal of what The Rogue was supposed to be. She had no illusions about what she was when it came to her position in the underworld, but The Rogue was supposed to stand up for the people who didn’t usually have a voice and work to take down those in high positions who exploited the weak and vulnerable. Gaspard had instead become an exploiter, and by the time she decided to take him out he’d made enough enemies that she barely had to lift a finger to get his court to turn on him. She’d been there when he died, but she hadn’t actually held the knife as she told him exactly how he’d been brought here and brought down by years of careful planning.

Feeling like the air had becoming noticeably colder, they decided to change the subject and instead told her about their encounter with the giant zombie, in particular how Bakirian had taken it out in his full dragon form. As they spoke an unmistakable “Wow I got lucky” look crossed Terrasyn’s face, and Salome decided to ask if she had ever dealt with any vampires in the city. She shook her head and said that Comvos was actually not a hospitable environment for them, and Vasco agreed, explaining that due to the large number of Temples containing holy ground and Clerics in the city a vampire would find their movements extremely restricted and be very likely to be detected. Which wasn’t to say it couldnl’t happen, but most undead avoided the place since even a Cleric of Sharess could do a decent amount of damage to any undead they came across.

Noticing that it was close to sunset, they decided to head to the Library to get Bakirian to his family. They thanked Terrasyn for her time and arrived just as the sun was dipping below the horizon. In the main entrance of the Library No picked up the smallest cat he could find and Salome sat down to let them climb over her as Nicodemus sauntered over to inspect the new arrivals to his domain. Rolen gave him some trail rations and he seemed to approve, and when Salome gave some as well he began to purr. Following their example, No gave him an orange which he looked at, puzzled, and then swatted and chased across the floor as it rolled away. After watching him for a moment Rolen walked up and burned a Detect Magic on the large cat, and while he could tell that he was magical that in and of itself didn’t tell him much. A voice from the desk told him not to bother since people had been trying for years to figure out what Nicodemus was to no avail, and he looked up and found Dimitrius, Tamra’s half-orc second in command, filing papers. He said he was glad to see them back and then looked up at Bakirian and blinked, realizing who it must be. Bakirian introduced himself and Dimitrius babbled that it was an honor to meet him, and said that Tamra would be in her quarters. Rolen wondered if they should just barge in since her and Ireena might be in the middle of, shall we say, couple’s activities, but Dimitrius snorted and said he doubted that since Tamra’s parents and the entire Copperscale clan were there as well and expecting them.

They thanked him and made their way out back, where they found Little Boy Little Boy munching on the grass, but as they approached he looked up and inclined his head towards them. No went up to pet him with a huge smile on his face while Rolen regarded him respectfully. Salome walked up and knocked on the door and Tamra opened it eagerly, her eyes immediately going to Bakirian. He put his hands in front of him and awkwardly greeted her, and she rushed out to embrace him and led him inside, insisting everyone else come too since they had brought him there. Inside Tamra introduced her parents, her mother Reshmi and her father Kishen, and Yasin, the uncle they had met previously, as well as his wife Zephyra and daughter Zohra. Tamra’s brother Rajiv was also there, and floating by his shoulder was a curious looking woman with blue skin and wispy white hair, who she introduced as his wife Tahira. Bakirian stepped forward and looked between all of them, telling them that he wanted to apologize for his absence and being a terrible patriarch, but seeing them all there made him incredibly proud. They all rushed forward to embrace him, and as they spoke No noticed Tahira using drow sign to communicate with Rajiv. Excited, he walked up to her and started signing, saying he was thrilled to see someone else who knew it.

As all this was happening, Rolen spotted Ireena in the corner, watching the family reunion with a wistful look on her face. He sat down beside her and asked how she was doing, and she said she was glad to see Tamra so happy to finally met her ancestor, and it gave her a chance to meet Tamra’s extended family. She knew her parents already and they were great to her, but she hadn’t met some of the more far flung members. Rolen told her about their encounter in Carpates with the vampiric Tristan and she said she was sorry she couldn’t have been there to help, but there was no way she could have made it in time. She was glad to hear Camilla was okay, especially since being charmed was an incredibly traumatic experience, but it sounded like Barca would be able to help her through it. When it came to Tristan that was a bit harder for her to discern, especially his final statement that he had just wanted to make “him” happy. It would definitely require some more research on her part.

Rolen nodded and said he was glad Vasco had been there to help, and Ireena glanced around, wondering where he was. Out the window they spotted the flowing ember of Vasco’s lit cigar, and Ireena decided to go outside to say hello to him. She stood up and a moment later Rolen saw her appear out the window, speaking to Vasco and laughing for a moment until she returned and sat down next to Tamra on the divan, and the two put their arms around each other’s waists.

As everyone got settled in Rajiv stood up with Tahira and said he had an announcement to make. Smiling, Tahira guided his hand over to rest on her abdomen, and everyone practically fell on their chairs as they realized what this meant. Tamra smirked at her brother and said “Rajiv, you dog! You knocked her up!” and Rajiv laughed awkwardly.

No was puzzled by the entire thing, wondering how it was possible, and as Rajiv stepped forward to attempt to explain it he caught his foot on the rug and fell down face first onto the floor. Tahira facepalmed and Rolen helped Rajiv up, asking if he was okay. Rajiv thanked him and said he was fine, while No asked Tahira where she was from and how she’d come to Comvos. She explained she had been born in the Elemental Plane of Air but had been taken by an explorer named Maryam Khadar back to this Plane and been adopted by a Genasi Wizard named Sadik, and had lived with him until their home in the Library of Ma’rifah, at the edge of the Sand Sea, had an unfortunate incident involving an Elder God that teleported the whole building to another dimension, and Tahira had been the only survivor since she had been in her bottle at the time of the incident. A few years ago an adventuring party had come and rescued her from there, and then she had met up with Rajiv and the rest was history. Finding the story familiar, Salome asked if the party had included a Tiefling named Kallista, and when Rajiv confirmed it Salome’s eyes went wide.

With the evening started to wind down they decided to head back to the Inn, leaving a grateful Bakirian with his family, as they arrived at their unofficial home Herbert greeted them and said he had reserved their rooms for them. They inquired about Yevgeny and were told he had already turned in for the night, but he would be glad to see them in the morning. Rolen decided to have a nightcap before turning in himself and they all made their way up to their rooms afterwards, settling in for the night.

Around two in the morning, they were startled by a cry outside on the roof, and recognized the voice as Chi’ome’s. Running out to the balcony, Rolen took out his Doss Lute and used it to fly up to the roof, where he found Chi’ome grappling with with a skeletal creature as Hassan tried to pull it off her. It wrapped its tail around her and threw her off it towards the edge of the roof, but Rolen was able to grab hold of her and prevent her from falling. Clammering up beside Hassan, No was the winged creature and immediately assumed it was a bird of some sort, and snarled at it to try and intimidate it. It hissed back at him and turned to fly away, but Rolen managed to hook it with his scythe and dragged it back towards the roof. Hissing, it turned towards him and lashed out at him with a scorpion-like stinger and claws, hitting him with the stinger. Rolen felt poison start to course threw his blood and cursed as No raged and tried to swing at it twice, but a magical shield sprung up in front of it that stopped his axe. Rolen dismissed the scythe and raged and tried to grapple it to keep it from flying away, but it managed to slip away and Rolen pursued it. Rolen felt the poison sapping at him again but he managed to shake it off, but the creature, seeing Rolen pursuing him, tried to sting him again. Running below them on the roof, No tossed two javelins at it and hit it once, while Salome ran alongside him and hit it with a Fire Bolt and nearly lost her balance on the slippery roof, but she caught herself and turned it into an elegant flip that would make Xena jealous.

Rolen again tried to grab it but couldn’t get purchase, so he tried to maneuver in front of it. It tried to fly around him and he managed to hit it with his fists as it dashed by him. No dashed forward and also found the roof slippery, and landed on his face in recently reconstituted bird droppings. Salome, seeing this, shook her head and ran forward, startling a flock of birds who fluttered around her. She John Woo’d her way through them as No was covered in bird feathers, and Salome shook her head disapprovingly.

Rolen flew up to try and cut it off again, but it flew down into the gap between the buildings. Now humiliated, No stood up and jumped across to another roof, but when he landed he triggered a Glyph of Warding meant to deter burglars. Luckily he was able to shake off the effect and avoid falling down laughing and was now very, very angry. Salome moved closer and again cast Fire Bolt to try and hit it but it didn’t hit as Rolen again tried to grapple it and dragged it down. It screeched at him and hit him with the stinger, but was unable to break out again. No pulled out his greataxe and sliced its head clean off, and the skull fell down into an alley below.

Rolen floated the body back over to the rooftop and put down what remained of the body. All around them windows opened up and people looked out and yelling at them to keep it down. Someone asked if they had to call the Crownsguard, but Salome said they had it all under control. No hopped over to a clothesline and wiped off his face on some laundry as an old lady yelled out that she had just watched it. In the alley down below a small crowd had formed to look at the skull and a kid grabbed it, holding it up and asking they if they wanted it. Rolen yelled that he could keep it and the kid smiled, saying he was going to put it on his mantle.

Salome looked at the rest of skeleton to see if she could recognize what it was, but she had no idea besides that it was bones but guessed it was an extra dead zombie owl bear. One the roof of the Inn, Hassan cried out that he needed help, and they made their way back over and found him cradling Chi’ome, who definitely looked green around the gills. Hassan said the thing had managed to sting her and she seemed to be getting worse. They rushed her inside and found Yevgeny among the patrons who had gathered outside their rooms to see what the commotion was. He looked between all of them and asked what trouble they had gotten themselves into now, and Salome held up the skeleton. Yevgeny looked it over and said it a pseudodragon, essentially to Dragons what a domestic cat was to a tiger. Hassan hastily explained that it had stun Chi’ome, and Yevgeny asked to have a look. They brought her to his room and laid her down on the bed, but Yevgeny was unable to remove the poison from her body. He said that if they wanted to save her they would need to find a Cleric, and fast.  

[theinsomniacsdnd]

[Letter from Yevgeny Pavlovich, addressed to the remaining members of The Fellowship of the Raven]

Bсе,

Holy shit I found her. Was not easy. You would think a petite redhead on an equally red horse with a huge axe would be easier to find but it took me over a year. But I digress and ink is expensive.

She's in this country called Raetia, in a city called Comvos. Staying in the Temple of a God called Deneir which is also a huge library because he's the God of Libraries. I don't know. They have Gods for everything here. Not even kidding. They have a God of Tits and Wine and a whole district for her.

Anyway I keep getting distracted. Long story short, she's here, she's safe, and doing as well as we could have hoped. I'm going to stick around for a bit to help her and see some of the rest of the world before I croak.

дядя Евгений

[theinsomniacsdnd]

Session 15: All That Remains

Now having an idea who the vampire really was, the group, along with Vasco, Camilla and Barca, headed to the Temple of Deneir in the center of Carpates at Vasco’s suggestion. As they approached they saw a smaller version of the main building in Comvos, and using his Eldritch Sight Rolen saw that the Library had various runes around it and in the bricks themselves, some of which were probably fire deterrents like they had run into in the main branch. Never one for subtlety, as they walked inside No mentioned that the last time they’d been in a similar building all the air had been sucked out on them, which earned curious glances from a few of the other patrons.  

Inside they saw more cats roaming around, and No tried to pet all of them as they approached the man desk. At the desk a halfling man looked up and asked Camilla how he could help her. She thanked Lauritz and explained what had happened, much to his shock. He said he was glad she was okay and he would do whatever he could to help. Vasco suggested trying to Scry the vampire since they knew his name, and while Lauritz agreed he cautioned them that it would be difficult with only a name to go on, and he would need a small donation of 50 gold to cover the costs of supplies.

After splitting the cost among themselves he led them into a back room where a large mirror sat. He gathered a few components and told them it would take a few moments to cast the spell, and opened a tome as he started the preparations. After 10 minutes he was ready to go and spoke the name Tristan Aredt as the mirror’s surface formed into a swirling vortex of clouds until it settled on the face of the vampire, eyes closed as if he were asleep. The invisible eye of the spell then looked upwards and through packed earth, and they saw that Tristan was surrounded by huge bones, with what seemed to be leg bones the size of an adult human. As the vision ended they tried to make sense of it, and Tris turned to Bakirian and asked if he knew of any places that contained dragon bones. Before she could correct herself to say “giant bones” a very odd look crossed his face, and after shaking it off Bakirian said that while Giants had once been the dominant species they had all died out centuries ago. His own dealings with Alcmene aside, no one was quite sure what had led to their extinction. Lauritz piped up that despite the Giants themselves being gone their descendants, the Goliaths, still lived in the Carpates Mountains and would know about any ancient burial sites where Tristan might be hiding.

Clapping her hands together, Camilla happily declared that now she was definitely going with them, since her family had formed a treaty with the Goliaths and they would need her to negotiate. Barca reluctantly agreed and they set off to gather their things for the trip into the mountains and several guards to accompany them and carry House Carpates’ banner of a golden lion on a red field to make their identities known.

Unlike the Altan Mountains, the Carpates were very lush and green, and as they made their way higher the clouds crew thicker. As they walked No realized that they hadn’t been able to make any snowmen while they were in the Altans, and Rolen asked if he wanted to construct a snow humanoid the next time they had the chance. Vasco rode his horse (who did in fact have name, Jasmine) and No pet her with his permission, though Vasco declined letting No give her any cabbages since they gave her gas.

Once they were high enough that they’d lost sight of the city they started looking for signs of the Goliaths, but an initial glance didn’t show anything. Barca explained that they were a nomadic people and didn’t tend to stay in one place for long. Bakirian offered to fly up to see if he could spot anything, and after they agreed to let him try he flew up into the air until he was only a tiny dot. After a few minutes Rolen wondered aloud if he was coming back, only to notice that the dot was getting larger… and larger… and larger. Everyone scattered as the fully dragon Bakirian landed in front of them with a thud and excitedly said he had spotted at something, blinking at everyone’s startled reactions until he realized he had reverted to his full dragon form by accident. Shifting back down to his Dragonborn form, he said he had spotted some a few clicks off, but when No suggested they jump on his back and fly to them he shook his head, seeing as he had history with the giants and his presence might be taken the wrong way and jeopardize their mission. He also asked them to call him “Grandpa” instead of his name. They agreed and headed in the direction Bakirian indicated until they were along the coast, the Great Shoal out in front of them. Bakirian explained it was a very fertile part of the ocean and major fishing area, and also home to a number of whales. No squinted to try and see some of the massive creatures but the fog proved to be too thick for him to make anything out.

One of Camilla’s guards called out that he had spotted something, and following his gaze they saw a group of grey figures moving on the horizon. Rolen could see that they were humanoid and asked Bakirian if they were Goliaths, which the old dragon confirmed as being likely. Camilla said they since already had their flags and banners up they needed to get closer to catch their attention. After about half an hour at a brisk pace one of the Goliaths at the back turned and saw them and signaled for the other members of the herd to stop. They turned and looked as Camilla, Barca by her side, stepped forward and gave her name and title as she reminded them of her family’s treaty with the Goliath herds. One of the Goliaths, a large male with a tattoo across his eyes in the form of a black stripe, stepped forward and introduced himself as Alcaeus, the leader of the herd. As he spoke Bakirian’s eyes drifted to a large tooth on a necklace around Alcaeus’ neck, and Tris saw this eyes narrow into slits as he took a sharp breath. Tris linked arms with him and No put a hand on his shoulder as Camilla explained the situation and that they were looking for a vampire necromancer who appeared to be camping out among their ancestors’ remains. Alcaeus was troubled to hear this and agreed to lead them to the burial grounds, since he definitely didn’t want a necromancer anywhere near there. No added that not only was Tristan a real dick, he could turn into mist, which earned a confused nod from the Goliaths. Rolen showed them his brand of The Raven Queen and promised to rid the burial grounds of this pest, since he respected remains and their sanctity. As he spoke Bakirian’s eye twitched noticeably, but he kept his mouth shut as the others looked at him, concerned by his uncharacteristic quietness.

Tris and No debated in drow sign whether to ask Bakirian what was going on, but they decided to wait until later when they had some privacy. Alcaeus led them along the coast until they reached a beach covered with interlocking, hexagonal basalt stones that led out into the water like a walkway. Alcaeus explained that a Giant had built this in an an attempt to cross the sea to Chult, but he had only gotten so far by the time he died.  Along the edge they found a cave that Alcaeus said was the entrance, but he would go no further since the space was sacred and they only entered to perform rituals on holy days, and he pointed to a shrine covered in offerings over a carving a raven head. Thanking him, the group, Vasco, Camilla, Barca and their guards entered into the cave and immediately felt the temperature drop several degrees, and as they walked further the sound of the surf faded until they heard only their footsteps and the dripping of water from stalactites. Turning to them, Vasco handed them all wooden stakes and said that if they had the chance they should try to drive it into Tristan’s heart, since a vampire could only be killed in its “resting place” and it appeared this was where he had been making his lair.

Once they were out of earshot of the Goliaths they fell back from Camilla and Barca and pulled Bakirian aside, asking what had happened. He sadly explained that the story about him and Alcmene left out a very important part, that he wasn’t the first dragon to fight her. When she had begun her rampage his daughter Aykut had been watching over a group of humans on the edge of the lake and tried to protect them, but since she was only a young dragon at the time she stood no chance. As she was overpowered by the giant she cried out psychically to him for help and he rushed to her, but by the time he got there was too late and she was dead. In his rage he had attacked Alcmene and killed her, but one of his daughter’s teeth must have been taken by the Goliaths since he had recognized it on Alcaeus’ necklace.

Horrified by this, they tried to comfort Bakirian over the loss of his daughter and debated asking the Goliaths for the tooth in exchange for getting the vampire out of the cave, or possibly having Camilla negotiate for it. Bakirian thanked them but said they had more important things to worry about at the moment as they moved into a large cavern covered in enormous skeletons, including some even larger than the others that Vasco speculated belonged to the ancient Titans, who had been even larger than their Giant kin.

As they moved further into the cavern, Rolen cried out as an arrow struck him in the arm. Turning towards the source of the attack, Tris cast Dancing Lights towards it and illuminated three skeleton archers on a ledge. Bakiran cast a Fire Bolt at a zombie and hit it, while Rolen tried to used an Eldritch Blast, but only succeeded in giving himself a nosebleed from the psychic strain. No took out a javelin and tossed it at the zombie who had attacked Rolen, yelling at it to eat shit as he raged. Camilla took out her crossbow and fired, and when it connected she jumped up and down with joy and looked at Barca, who nodded in approval as the fires in No’s eyes formed heart shapes. She then loaded the crossbow again and fired another shot, killing it. From under his cloak Vasco drew two hand crossbows and cast a spell on one of the bolts, unloading them into the closest skeleton, and Barca followed this up with another bolt that scattered the bones on the cavern floor. Salome and Tris both launched Fire Bolts at the remaining skeleton, who ducked behind the ledge for cover and fired at Vasco, but the shot went wide and bounced harmlessly off the floor.

Further back in the cavern, out of a patch of disturbed earth Tristan rose up and glared at them, and in a raspy voice told them that they shouldn’t have come here, but at least their final resting place would be interesting. He held out his hand and the giant skeleton in front of them rose to its feet, and they realized with horror he had reanimated one of the dead Giants.

Seeing an opening, Bakirian tried to stun him, but as he spoke the command word a cloud of Grease instead formed above him and dropped down onto him. No tried to pat his shoulder, but just got grease all over his hands and tried to rub it off on something. Rolen dashed forward and summoned his Hexblade as No ran beside him, yelling “on your left!” as he passed and got his greataxe ready. Camilla took cover behind a stalactite and fired two bolts at the zombie giant as Vasco ran up and again used his two hand crossbows. Asking if anyone else intended to take care of it, Barca hit the remaining zombie with a crossbow bolt and then turned back to the zombie as Salome debated which monster to target, finally deciding on Tristan since he seemed like a fuckboy and hitting him with a Fire Bolt.

Smarting slightly, Tristan smiled and vanished from sight, much the frustration of No and Rolen. Tris ran forward towards the zombie giant, and seeing her as its target it  ran by Vasco, who took a swing at it and managed to hit a leg. It swung its club at Tris and hit her once, but she ducked and managed to avoid the second swing. Still covered in grease and frustrated, Bakirian muttered “Screw it” and transformed into his full dragon form, causing the invisible Tristan to yell out “Son of a bitch!” as he realized the elderly Dragonborn Wizard was, in fact, a full fledged Dragon.

Using this tracking skills, Rolen was able to tell where Tristan was by his outburst, and he turned to No and told him to get far away. As No complied Rolen turned in the direction the voice had come from and cast Arms of Hadar, and a circle of darkness appeared filled with tentacles. Camilla looked over her shoulder at Bakirian with her mouth agape, missing her first shot with the crossbow untils he could pull herself together and landed the second. Barca ran next to Tris and yelled for her to stay behind his shield as he hit the giant skeleton twice with his longsword, while Salome cast a Scorching Ray on the giant zombie and all three bolts hit.

Now visible, half frozen and covered in tentacles, Tristan launched himself out of the darkness and slashed at Rolen with his claws. He then tried to bite at his neck, but Rolen was able to throw him off and prevent his teeth from connecting, and he noticed that some of the damage inflicted the tentacles was fading away. Under the Dragon’s feet, Tris turned to Barca and advised them to get out of Bakirian’s way and the two of them ran up beside Rolen to help fight Tristan.

The zombie giant swung at Rolen and No and hit both of them with the greatclub, and Bakirian charged forward and knocked the giant flat, hitting Rolen as he and No  he tried to scamper out of the way. Bakirian bit it three times with his massive jaws as Rolen used his Hexblade Curse on the vampire and swung his scythe, hitting him right in the ribcage as No backed him up and swung with his greataxe. Camilla dashed around Bakiran to join the others as Vasco cast a spell on one of his bolts and yelled to the others that if they had any attacks that did radiant damage now was the time to use it, since it would stop the vampire from regenerating. Barca then hit Tristan with his longsword as Salome fired a Fire Bolt at him, and seeing that he was thoroughly flanked Tristan Misty Stepped over to the other side of Bakirian and smirked, extending his hand towards the Dragon and draining life energy from him that began to mend his wounds. Enraged to see him hurting Bakirian, Tris cast Tasha’s Hideous Laughter at him, and unable to resist the spell he found to the ground, laughing hysterically, as Tris closed in on him. Meanwhile the giant skeleton tried to throw Bakirian off, but it lacked the strength and instead swung its greatclub, smacking Bakirian on the side of the head with a crack. Snarling, Bakirian bit into the skeleton until it crumbled under him and then turned towards Tristan, clawing and biting him as Rolen ran up and tried to stake Tristan, but the wooden merely bounced on his chest armor.

Seeing an opportunity, No ran over and tried to grapple the vampire, but Tristan thrashed around too much for him to get a solid hold. No took out his stake and tried to drive it into his chest, but he was unable to get the right angle. As Camilla ran over to them Rolen handed her his stake and told her to give it a shot, and using all her strength she drove it right into his heart. Tristan coughed, black blood oozing out of his chest, and looked between all of them for a moment as he muttered that he “Just wanted him to be happy.” Before they could ask anything else his body disintegrated into dust, leaving only the stake on the floor behind.

Behind the something clattered to the floor, and they turned to see Alcaeus standing there, staring up wide eyed at Bakirian, who sheepishly shifted back into his humanoid form. Tris and Rolen stammered that Bakiran had helped them fight off the vampire and he meant no harm, and then explained that the tooth he wore belonged to Bakirian’s daughter and he merely wanted it back so he could properly bury her. Horrified, Alcaeus looked down at it and explained that the tooth had been passed down for generations and he had not known its true origin. Alcaeus approached Bakirian and removed it from his neck, gently handed it to Bakirian, who blinked away tears as he thanked him and said that he didn’t hold it against him, since he had fought Alcmene over 2000 years ago and much of the history had been lost in that time.

With the problem of the tooth settled, they looked over Tristan’s belongings and found several tomes and notebooks on necromancy. Tristan’s handwriting was atrocious, but they could discern that he had been working for months trying to reanimate the giant skeleton. In the margins they also found some disparaging references to someone referred to as O, and a few more positive references to an L. Salome recognized that O could refer to Ovid, whose spellbook was stolen from the library.

With the burial grounds now safe again, they decided to head back to Carpates, and Rolen handed Camilla the stake that had killed Tristan as a momento. Camilla turned to Alcaeus and thanked him for his cooperation, and he thanked her for protecting his ancestors’ remains. As headed down the mountain No tried to comfort Bakirian as he clutched the tooth to him, and he pledged to be better to his living family.

Before departing for Comvos, Camilla asked if Rolen would be at the wedding in a few months and he said he would, tipping his flower crown as she smiled. They headed off on the road again with Vasco leading the way, saying he was eager to see how Ireena was doing.

[theinsomniacsdnd]

NPC Profile: Julia Carpates III

Age: 52

Height: 5′4″

Relationship Status: Widowed

Favorite Food: Lemon Cake

Favorite Color: Blue

Lady Julia Carpates III is the current ruler of Raetia and Queen in all but name, though her family chooses not to use that title due to the region once existing under Cassian rule. She’s ruled for 34 years after inheriting the title from her father, Luther Carpates, and married Immanuel Humthall, a scion of a noble house. With him she had four children; Julia IV (known as “Lia” or “Julia the Younger”) Ezra, Marcus and Camilla. Immanuel died in 1478 from an illness while Ezra disappeared two years later under mysterious circumstances, and the combined losses left Lady Julia emotionally shattered. Considered a fair and kind ruler, few people in Raetia truly know the Lady due to her need to maintain a dignified image, though most have sympathy for her because of the tragedies that have befallen her.

(headshot by @jentrevellan)

[theinsomniacsdnd]

Bestiary: Giants

Once the dominant species in the region, the Giants of Raetia now exist only in memories and the massive structures they left behind. When humanoids first moved into the region millennia ago the Giants were already there, and they claimed to have been “the children of the Gods” and as old as the planet itself.

The relationships between the Giants and the “smallfolk”, their term for other species, were as varied as the Giants themselves. Some took on protective roles over villages and towns while others sought to conquer and enslave the smallfolk, forcing them to build for them. Many of these structures remain in the present day, including the base of Castle Carpates, which is built on the ruin of a Giant fortress carved out of the mountain itself.

The Giants often fought each other in brutal conflicts that scarred the landscape itself, and some Giants created mortal descendants in the Goliath race to serve as foot soldiers for their wars. Others were said to have created the Goliaths for more benevolent reasons, with the origin stories varying among Goliath tribes, who often trace their lineage to particularly famous Giants and honor them through ancestor worship.

One of the most famous Giants in Raetian history was Alcmene, a Stone Giant from the Carpates Mountains. She sought to drive out the smallfolk near her home, believing them to be pests, and began a rampage that resulted in hundreds of lives being lost until the Copper Dragon Bakirian fought and killed her at what is now Lake Alcmene, which bears her name and is the final resting place of her remains.

For unknown reasons the Giant population began a sharp decline around one thousand years ago. While often attributed to the Cassian invasion, records show that this had begun even before the Empire moved into the area. The last known Giant, Promethea, died in 1161, with her last words being “At last, I return to the great mother.”

All that remains of the Giants now are their Goliath descendants, and while some have integrated into other tribes and species others choose to uphold the ancient ways and isolate themselves in the mountains, guarding their ancestors’ legacies.

[theinsomniacsdnd]

NPC Profile: Bakirian

Age: 12,748

Height: 12′6″ (Dragon form) 6′6″ (Dragonborn form)

Class: Wizard (Dragonborn form)

Relationship Status: Well, Dragons don’t really marry…

Favorite Food: Tea, especially Jasmine

Favorite Color: Gold

Bakirian is an Ancient Copper Dragon who has been the protector of Raetia for millennia and is the ancestor of the Copperscale family. He’s seen Empires come and go and watched the mortal races develop with interest, lending a hand when he feels inclined to do so. One of his most famous exploits is fighting and winning against the Giant Alcmene when she attacked a human settlement, and her bones still exist in the lake that bears her name. His humanoid form resembles an elderly Copper Dragonborn Wizard, but Bakirian’s extremely long lifespan means that his attempts at spellcasting can be equally a help and a hazard as he’s liable to forget how to cast it correctly.

(headshot by @humblegoatart, full body from the 5e Monster Manual)

[theinsomniacsdnd]

Session 14: Carpates

As they awoke the next morning at the Black Magpie Inn, Tris came down with same laryngitis that had befallen Rolen the day before. Making his way downstairs, Rolen ordered some breakfast and wondered what their next destination would be as the rest came down to join him. No treated Salome to pancakes and she thanked him as she tucked in, and as Bakirian came downstairs he yawned loudly, a little bit of acid coming out his mouth. Surprised, he looked around to see if anyone had noticed and Rolen assured him no one had. Sitting down at the table, Bakirian suggested that they go through Carpates on the way back to Comvos, because Ezra had been born and raised there and they might be able to find some clues about his disappearance. That and it had been ages since Bakirian had been in the ancient city and he wanted to see how it was doing.

While they were still in Bephyra, Rolen suggested hitting a weapon shop where they could stock up, and after the others agreed they gathered their things and sought out a smithy in the town square. Rolen traded 12 daggers and his light crossbow for a heavy crossbow, and then mournfully parted from his greataxe. No and Salome grabbed a few health potions and they headed off on the road again as Bakirian talked nonstop about the agriculture, geography, and anything else he could think of. No and Salome listened intently while Rolen half paid attention with the occasional “uh huh” every now and then to keep him going.

After a few hours, the path began to wind along the edge of the Carpates mountains, and they caught sight of a stone gate up ahead. As they approached a pair of guards dressed in red and gold tabards asked their business. Bakirian tried to talk their way in using his true identity but only left the guards puzzled, and sensing they were getting nowhere Rolen instead showed the badge from Agravayne. One of the guards complained that it was too far away for him to see, so Rolen tossed it up to him and after confirming its authenticity tossed it back. Convinced of their good intentions, the heavy stone gates swung open and they entered the ancient city of Carpates.

The orderly, cobblestone streets ran between the sturdy stone buildings leading to the castle at the end of a long boulevard, and the ancient structure was carved out of the rock of the mountains itself. Above the castle a red and gold flag depicting a lioness rampant, the symbol of House Carpates, fluttered in the breeze as they walked up the stone steps and came face to face with an enormous pair of bronze statues, a man and a woman, standing with their hands clasped together and raised towards the sky.

Bakirian explained that the depicted figures were Lady Camorra Carpates and General Gaius Vindex, and their marriage had officially brought Raetia into the Cassian Empire’s fold as a vassal state. Camorra, who had already been a warlord in her own right before the invasion, had been a wily one and figured that voluntarily joining the Empire was a better option than fighting what would ultimately be a losing battle if only by virtue of sheer numbers, and doing so allowed her to retain much of her power and get rid of many of her rival in the region when they refused to bend the knee. She also never let Gaius forget that he was only in his position because he had married her, and that he had simply been a general tasked with bringing the region under their yoke before she came along. As he looked up at the statue, Bakirian tilted his head and commented that it was rather flattering to Gaius, who hadn’t been bad looking, sure, but wasn’t exactly the Adonis depicted in the statue, especially as he got older and developed a bit of a gut. Camorra, on the other hand, was pretty accurate to how she had actually looked, and Rolen took a moment to appreciate her bronze countenance.

Across the courtyard, the sound of clanging metal reached their ears and they turned to see a pair of figures dressed in face-concealing dueling gear. The smaller figure was very agile and struck repeatedly at the larger one with a fencing foil, until after a particularly good hit on the chest the referee called out a winning point. The larger figure chuckled as he stepped back and removed his helmet, revealing a half-orc man who told Camilla that she was getting much quicker. The smaller figure then removed her helmet, revealing a young human woman with golden blonde hair and blue eyes, and she thanked Barca with a smile and said she was still no match for him. No clapped for her and she turned towards the group and blinked, surprised they had an audience, and introduced herself as Camilla Carpates, the youngest daughter of Lady Julia. They went around and gave their names until they got to Bakirian, and upon saying his named Camilla frowned and glanced at the rest of them, asking if this was some sort of joke. Her eyes went wide when they explained that no, this really was the Bakirian. As he spoke, Barca looked suspiciously between all of them, clearly sizing them up, and Camilla explained he was her bodyguard.

With introductions out of the way, Barca asked them what brought them to Carpates, since usually anyone with business for the family just went to Comvos because the Lady Julia spent most of her time there anyway, especially with the wedding coming up. At the mention of it No mentioned that they had received invitations from Lady Julia herself and Camilla sighed. Probing a little deeper, they found out from her that it had been all anyone had been talking about lately and she was clearly sick of hearing about it.

She sighed and asked if they wanted to stay for dinner after coming all this way, Bakirian happily agreed, saying that he was glad to see Camorra’s family was still thriving, and that Camilla was a near dead ringer for her ancestor. Surprised, Camilla glanced at the statue to confirm they were talking about the same person, and Bakirian assured her that he had known Camorra personally and he could attest for the resemblance. Unsure how to react, Camilla thanked him and said that she was used to hearing that she looked like her late father instead of any of the famous members of the family.

With a thoughtful glance at the statue she and Barca led them inside the main part of the castle, and the in the foyer they saw a large portrait depicting a younger Lady Julia standing beside a smiling man, who Camorra explained was her father Immanuel. Seated in front of them was Julia the Younger, a boy with dirty-blonde hair, a much younger Camilla and a boy with the same ash blond hair as their mother with glasses. Camilla explained the boy with glasses was Ezra, and this portrait was painted a few years before he disappeared while their father had still been alive. No gently asked what had happened and Camilla explained he had gotten sick and died, then two years later Ezra had vanished. Salome told her that they had  been looking into Ezra’s disappearance, and intrigued, Camilla offered to show them Ezra’s old room to see if they might find anything that could help.

She guided them up to the second story of the castle to a closed wooden door and carefully opened it, knocking some dust off the handle as she did so as she explained that they had left his room just as it had been when he disappeared. Inside, they found a modest bedroom with wall to wall bookshelves and maps marked with colored tacks, including a green tack right at Ariadne’s Rest, a white one right in the center of Lake Alcmene, and a cluster of red tacks on a map of Old Cassia. They glanced through the books and found mostly histories on the Cassian Empire and accounts from archeologists about the ruins they had uncovered, as well as a series of spellbooks.

Curious, Rolen lifted up the mattress and found 6 gold, which he immediately gave to Camilla, and then checked the garderobe as No checked the nightstand and found a slightly saucy novel by one Varric Tethras. It was an interesting look at the young man and his interests but didn’t offer much in terms of clues, and so they turned back to Camilla and asked what she remembered from when he disappeared. She sighed and said she had only been 8 years old and remembered Ezra being extremely excited to get started on his expedition to Old Cassia, but not much else beyond that. She was sure she had been asked at the time but with so many years having gone by the memories had faded and she didn’t think she would be of any use now.

She sighed and said she should get ready for dinner, and told them she was going to get changed out of her dueling gear. As she left down the hall Barca stayed behind with them, and once Camilla was out of earshot he thanked them for coming to visit since Camilla often got lonely with most of her family being elsewhere. Curious about him, they asked Barca about his background and how he had wound up here. He told them he had once been a member of a mercenary group called The Black Fang, a named No recognized, and years ago they had been hired to transport a piece of “cargo” that turned out to contain the kidnapped daughter of a noble. After discovering this Barca had immediately freed the girl and returned her to her family, and vowed to take out the kidnappers, pro bono. After succeeding in his mission word of his deeds spread, and Lady Julia had been impressed by his sense of honor and hired him to protect her daughter in the wake of Ezra’s disappearance. As he spoke, it was clear that Camilla was like a daughter to him, and he seemed conflicted about the Lady Julia’s tendency to stay away from Carpates and leave the care of the castle to her. He understood that the place was filled with painful memories, but he definitely didn’t like how she had essentially abandoned Camilla.

As he finished Camilla came back down the hall towards them, now in a flowing red dress that took Rolen’s breath away as he stammered that she looked very nice. Glancing around, they realized they had lost Bakirian, and after some searching found him in a library on the first floor floating about five off the ground in a cross legged position. He looked up as they approached sand said he had found a book on himself and was quite tickled by it. It was mostly accurate, he was glad to say. He floated back down and followed them into the large dining room, where a table large enough to seat several dozen had only a few places set at the far end. Camilla sat down at the head of the table and motioned for them to sit as servants appeared with plates laden with delicacies. The head servant, a gnomish man, asked what they wanted to drink and Salome requested an entire bottle of wine, just for her. He blinked in surprise and Rolen asked for a single glass, while No requested a barrel to drink out of. Bakirian meanwhile named a fine whiskey and was brought a bottle shaped like a dragon’s head, and with a wink he took a sip of it and then breathed out of a stream of fire. Camilla laughed at his antics and as they tucked in to the lavish spread they asked her what it was like running the castle by herself. She frowned and said she wasn’t completely alone, she had Barca after all, but it was tradition that the youngest child in the family take care of the homestead. Her brother Marcus had been there with her but he had left last year to study in Waterdeep, something her mother hadn't been happy about but hadn't been able to do anything about.

So Camilla wasn't exactly trapped there, but until her older sister had a child the castle was her responsibility. Sensing that she wanted more out of life, Rolen tried to convince her to go with them on their adventures but she deferred, saying she had duty to her home and family. Still, it was an intriguing offer and she would consider it for the future.

With the meal finished, Camilla asked the servants to show them to the guest quarters as she went to retire for the night with Barca in tow. As they settled into their rooms for the night Bakirian’s draconic snores shook the halls and they realized with dismay that the sound didn’t scale to his current form. Rolen decided to trance for a few hours while No debated sneaking around, but instead took a nap as Salome read. Tris went to bed early with her sore throat and fell into a deep sleep.

After midnight, Rolen was snapped out of his trance by the sound of cawing and scratching at the window. He walked over to it and found his raven friend frantically clawing at it. He opened it and asked him what was wrong, then watched as he flew down the hall in the direction of the front courtyard. Rolen quickly grabbed Salome and roused No and Bakirian, but he was unable to wake Tris. With Nawat still cawing at them he led them outside and they encountered the strange sight of Camilla, clad in a nightgown and looking dazed, standing with several guards and a dark-haired man.

Sensing something was terribly amiss, Rolen asked Nawat to go fetch Barca, and the bird flew off back into the castle. Rolen and Salome both crept forward to observe and saw that the guards too seemed to be acting odd. Deciding to take matters into their own hands, they fired crossbows at the dark-haired man and Bakirian cast three Scorching Rays that hit their target. The dark-haired man turned towards them and snarled, baring inhuman fangs, and raised his arms as four zombies burst out of the ground beside him, and both they and the charmed guards made a beeline towards them.

No ran forward and began to rage as Rolen summoned his spectral scythe and then stood up to reload his crossbow, casting a quick spell on it before firing another bolt at the vampire and doing lightning damage as it struck. The guards advanced and started firing on No, with two of them hitting with crossbows as Salome tried to hit the vampire with her Scorching Rays but all three missed. Bakirian tried to cast Witch Bolt on the vampire, but the lightning forked and electrocuted Rolen, No and Salome. He cried out an apology as the vampire spread his hands out and a cloud of sickly black energy coursed towards Rolen and hit him square in the chest, but Rolen was able to shake off the effect and avoid falling seriously ill.

The zombies walked forward and one fired at Rolen, but the shot went wide and hit the wall instead. Its comrade did manage to hit No, but a particularly dumb zombie literally shot itself in the chest and stared down at the bolt, perplexed. No used a Reckless attack on the charmed guard in front of him, apologizing for what he was about to do as he hit him with his axe. Rolen rushed through the guards to the bottom of the stairs as the two guards he ran through swung at him, but only one hit. The guard in front of No tried to hit him but the charm made him woozy and he missed and the second hit himself in the foot with a crossbow bolt. Salome again tried to Scorching Ray on the vampire and two of them hit, making the vampire snarl as he grabbed Camilla and rose into the air near the statue of Camorra and Gaius, then pointed a clawed finger at Bakirian as thick, sickly black energy coarsed out and towards him. The spell hit Bakirian in the chest and he brushed it off, looking only moderately annoyed by it, and the vampire’s eyes went wide as he realized he was dealing with no ordinary dragonborn. Wanting to slow some of them down, Bakirian breathed out a cloud of gas that slowed the zombies and one of the guards.

Cawing reached their ears as Nawat returned, Barca in tow. He took one look at Camilla next to the vampire and yelled her name, and when she didn’t respond he sprinted towards the statue, climbing up it so he was beside them. Seeing his mad dash for the statue, the zombies fired at him and hit him in the shoulder as No ran forward to support him.. Rolen cast his Hexblade curse on the vampire and shot the heavy crossbow at the him while shouting “Leave grandpa alone!” but missed terribly. Deciding to abort this plan, he ran past the guards on the steps, taking a hit from one of their spears as he did so as another guard pursued him but wasn’t able to land any hits on him.

Salome fired a Fire Bolt at the vampire and hit him, and Bakirian grasped the vampire with Bigby’s Hand and crushed him, but the vampire managed to hold onto Camilla. Turning towards Barca, the vampire tried to bite him but  tried to bite him but Barca was able to dodge, so instead he slashed at Barca with his claws and raked them down his arm. In retaliation, Barca swung his sword and hit him once, but on the backswing his sword bent. Annoyed, he threw it aside and instead bashed the vampire his shield, forcing him back. Before Camilla could fall to the ground Barca reached out and grabbed her and was able to pull her to safety.

The zombies got in an attack on No while the other two went for Bakirian, but they failed to hit him, to his consternation. No put his axe away and took out a javelin and threw it at the vampire and it hit, then he threw another one which hit him as No screamed “Fuck you!” Rolen moved up and fired his crossbow at the vampire, hitting him in the arm. The charmed guards held position and fired on No, hitting once, as well as on Rolen, but both of those shots missed. Salome fired a Fire Bolt at the vampire again and hit as Bakirian used the Hand to help Barca and Camilla off the statue and deposited them near the door. Sensing he was losing, the vampire looked between all of them and Rolen noticed that he had a mark across his neck, as if it had been cut. The vampire began to pulse with energy as he tried to shapeshift, but Bakirian was able to Counterspell his attempt. Back on the ground, Barca checked Camilla over and was relieved to see that she hadn’t been bitten, but his attempts to snap her out of her trance failed as she continued to stare blankly ahead.

The zombies attacked No and Bakirian but were again unable to hie tiehr of them. Unconcerned by the small fries, No continued trying to toss javelins at the vampire and hit both times. Rolen considered firing the crossbow again, but said “screw it” and instead fired and Eldritch Blast. Salome again fired a Fire Bolt but it missed as Bakirian conjured up several Magic Missiles. As the bolts struck the vampire his body burst into mist that started flying towards the mountains. Glancing between each other, they realized he was probably not dead and they still had the guards and zombies to deal with. With their master gone they were able to dispatch the zombies and knock out the charmed guards and ran over to where Barca was still trying to snap Camilla out of her daze without success. Just then Tris appeared at the door and blearily asked what happened, and was shocked to hear that a vampire had been trying to take Camilla away.

Unsure what to do with the guards, Barca suggested putting them in a cell in the brig for now and he would keep an eye on Camilla in her room. He sighed and Barca he wished he knew someone who had expertise in this, and they remembered Ireena’s Sending Stone and quickly brought it out. She answered it sleepily but perked up immediately as she heard about the attack and asked if they were all okay. Hearing about Camilla’s state, she cursed that she would be at a minimum several days away, but she knew of a fellow monster hunter in the area named Abraham who could help them. She would contact him right away and try to have him get there by the morning. With little else they could do at the moment, they went back to bed to await the arrival of Abraham.

In the morning, a figure on a bay horse approached the gate outside the city and was ushered inside. Hearing that he had arrived, the party went to the courtyard and met him as he dismounted. He was human man in his 30s with brown hair and a beard and wearing a splendid hat. He dismounted and introduced himself as Abraham Vasco, Monster Hunter. HE asked to be taken to Camilla immediately to see what could be done, and they led him upstairs to Camilla’s room where she sat quietly in a chair, staring straight ahead. He knelt beside her and took out some powered silver and a medallion with the symbol of a sun on it. He muttered that he hoped this would work as he began reciting a spell and pressed the holy symbol into her forehead. Light flared for a moment and then faded, and Camilla blinked rapidly, glancing between them all and asking what had happened. When they told her a vampire had tried to abduct her she rose to her feet and vowed to hunt him down, but Barca guided her back down and warned her against rash action.

Vasco turned to them and asked what they had seen of this vampire that might help them determine who he was. As they described him Rolen told him about the mark on his neck Vasco frowned and said that sounded like Tristan Aredt, a necromancer who had been a problem some years back but had since disappeared. He had once picked a fight with a band of mercenaries and gotten his ass kicked, with one cutting his throat and leaving him for dead. He had survived the injury but his vocal cords had been damaged and he could only speak in a quiet, raspy voice afterwards. If he had indeed been turned into a vampire that would explain his disappearance.

Now with a possible lead on the vampire’s identity, they put their heads together to plan their next move.

[theinsomniacsdnd]

Player 1: Would I bang the statue?

DM: Yeah.

[theinsomniacsdnd]

NPC Profile: Farai Okeke

Age: 42

Height: 6′2″

Class: Barbarian

Relationship Status: Married

Favorite Food: Sweet Potatoes

Favorite Color: Red

Farai is the elected representative of the Barbarian tribes on the regional council, and is a member of the Kilele Tribe of the Altan Mounatins. Unbeknownst to most, he is also a Leopard Man, one of his people’s guardians using the gift of lycanthropy from the God Nobanion. Because of the violence committed by the Leopard Men of old he’s conflicted about the legacy he’s inherited.

(headshot by SixOfClovers, fullbody edited from an image by yang qi917)

[theinsomniacsdnd]

NPC Profile: Tamra Copperscale

Age: 33

Height: 6′6″

Class: Cleric (Knowledge Domain)

Relationship Status: Committed

Favorite Food: Naan

Favorite Color: Yellow

Tamra Copperscale is the Knowledge Keeper at the Temple of Deneir in Raetia. A descendant of the great Copper Dragon Bakirian, she’s the youngest Knowledge Keeper in history, having ascended to the position at the age of 24, and was the apprentice of the previous Knowledge Keeper, a gnome named Theopolous. Tamra is a walking encyclopedia and sits on the region’s High Council, and lives in the Knowledge Keeper’s quarters at the Temple with Ireena Kolyana, her lover.

(image by @noiraa-draws)