Session 3: Spies and Nightmares

General Summary

We start the session, with everyone having nightmares as such:   Trajan, you find yourself in a strange place, outdoors. You look about the deserted road, with heat caked landscape, sparse plots of cacti and and a single, dead tree in the glaring sun. The road is wide and covered in footprints and wagon lines, all seeming to go in the opposite direction. You look up and find one that looks like you, but not quite. A dragonborn, certainly, but a darker metallic coloring, eyes a deep dark blue and spines not matching yours in the least. You want to say something but you can't, not in full control of yourself. You look down and see your hands. "Why are they so small?" you think.... His voice brings you back to the moment, and you look up to him, so much taller and larger than you. "It will be alright, young sir" he says in draconic. "Here they are." he ends, looking ahead. You see two dragonborn silhouette in the distant road ahead, the heat of the sun distorting them like a mirage. Still, you want to run, you have to run... and your feet go. You rush forward and find two pairs of well dressed knees, clutching to one of them. Things blurr, for a moment, as though something forbids you to see. When your senses return, there is a loud series of crashing, booming sounds echoing in the distance, rolling in the empty air. You look to the horizon and reflection of crimson and rich yellows paint the sky... in mid day. Then you see it... a wall of smoke that never ends, rushing your way at incredible speed. "Quick..." you hear a male voice say with urgency. You clutch to the woman's knees. The voices are familiar, somehow. "No... we can't make it!" she says with desperation. Suddenly, you feel clawed hands grasp you, digging deep in your shoulder, then your thighs. The lights of day, the ground and the sky flash in a blurr, and you feel the air take great speed as the floor goes further and further... You were thrown! The floor comes back quick, until it's all darkness, flashes of light and deep pain. Something snaps with a crack. Despite this, fear takes over and you stand, turning around to see the silhouettes as the dust cloud reaches them. You go to run their way but the lady instantly reaches a hand out "TRAJAN NO!" and you stop. Their golden hands lace together and they smile your way. "He made it..." they say, in a gasp. Your eyes locked to hers, a tear dripping from her pink eyes. Unable to keep looking to her face, so beautiful, such love, you look down to their entertwined hands as the smoke covers them, turning their golden scales into black charcoal. Your vision fades to black and you surge up in your bed, covered in cold sweat.   You realize quickly that you weren't the only dreaming one, looking over to find Ehverit in a similar state.   Ehverit, in the night, you find yourself running in a place of undiscernable darkness. You can't tell where the ground and the floor starts and ends. But you recognize fear, and you can't stop running. In the darkness, a voice cackles "Come on dear... my delicious little morsel...... " more cackles "Come and see your Auntie... I just want to play.... don't you want to play a game with me?" You keep running, panting, completely out of breath. Suddenly, something is different on the ground, and it feels wet. You look down and a scream seems to find a way out of your lung before your mind even processes the dead version of yourself on the ground, as you lock on to the dead eyes looking up. More cackles. "All our friends are here to play!" She taunts some more, and the room spins and spins, as you realized you are in the middle of a body pile... and all of them, are you. Collapsing to your knees in deep panick, a pair of giant purtulant yellow eyes peer in the darkness. "There you are... *voice morphs deep* I found you!" and you jolt up with a gasp, just in time to spot Trajan's eyes jolting opened. Something must be in the air tonight... as soon after, you spy a rustle from the twin's bed and their eyes shoot opened.   Astara, Twig... perhaps it is a twin thing, even if fraternal, but in that night, you both have the same dream. You find yourselves in front of two elves, which could be described as two Morticia Adams, with long shiny black hair and pale, practically palid skin. One of the Morticias is more masculine than the other, and both are smiling down at the two of you. Their smile is eerie, and yet, you feel a sense of safety from them, and are drawn to their direction. Suddenly, their image flickers, with that of a female elf with green eyes and short sandy hair coiffed in a single peak to the top, and a male elf with long brown hair in a bun, violet eyes. Their stare is both loving and menacing in a strange contradiction. The Morticias and the other elves keep flickering back and forth over this dark wooden background until Astara, you can't take it anymore and find yourself screaming "Stop!" Your voice is oddly small, and you turn your head to look to Twig, and find a toddler version of your twin. Twig, you turn and see a toddler version of Astara. Somehow, this isn't all that surprising. The flickering stop, and you clasp each other's hand, comfort in the presence and touch of one another. The Morticias smile. "Sweethearts, we have a surprise for you." the lady adds, and you find the unsettling moment passes and gives way to excitment. You follow them outside, in the dead of night under a gorgeous starry sky, with a bright full moon gleaming down. An owl hoots in the trees, and Twig, your eyes find the bird just in time to see majestic wings unfurl, and smile to yourself as you watch the creature take off in the night sky. The two adults lead you to a massive bonfire and hand you each a stick with a marshmallow to the tip. You don't have time to roast it though, as they turn you, back to the fire, a mere foot away, clasping to your dessert. "Now remember, you must be careful with fire." "Yes," the other chimes in, as they both kneel down. "... because fire, burns." and on the word 'burns', both of them give you a solid, two hand shove right in the middle of the chest, and you both topple back into the bonfire. Both of you have your eyes snap open simultaneously, awake... and with a burning pain to each of your back.   Youka, your dreams begin as you skip down the road, a road from a land familiar and distant, with rolling mountains and dark rocks, creeping vines and fruit-filled bushes. Caravans of merchants pass you, and when children are with them, you turn in them... goblins, humans, elves, tieflings... and each of them chuckles with glee at the sight of the mimickry, while the adults frown and mutter in anger. The kids ignore their care takers and wink, giving chuckles and thumbs up. You go for what feels like a day, and reach a town at night, until you see it in the distance, that familiar rickety wood apartment complex. The lower level is conveniently your aim and you stroll to one of the windows, seeing the flicker of candle light reflect on the glass. Inside, the table is covered with a feast, and you see your parents, clinking wine glasses. "Look at all we've gained since she's left!" your mother chimes, smiling broadly to your father. He replied "And I don't even miss her! What a blessing!" You feel a tap to your shoulders, a mix of feelings to your belly. They are seemingly less poor and better off... which was your aim, was it not? But the strange hatred and disdain take you for a loop... something you can't linger on as this large bugbear leans down low, smiling with busted teeth and a breath that nearly knocks you out. "You're not welcomed back, you plague. And to start with a theft, really?" he growls, much to your confusion. You find your voice echoing "I didn't steal anything, I just got here!" you plead. Yet, he grabs you by the wrist, and no amount of yanking, twisting or twirling helps and you escape this deadlock grip. *Chuckles* "Ah know - t'was me... but YOU'LL hang in my stead!" The scene twirls fast, blurring everything to point where you feel a deep sense of vertigo and when the scene steadies, you are at the gallows, atop a tall crate, hands bound behind your back and a rope around your neck. You barely have time to grasp where you are, with a crowd of varied people, all staring forward with not a single emotion to them, your family among them, when you hear the grating of wood on wood, the crate kicked from under your feet. The feeling of falling jolts you awake, also in a cold sweat... like the rest of your peers.   Nina, your sleep is one of strangeness for most... but familiarity for others. You find yourself in a cave, walking dark halls. Even your dark vision unable to fully assist, with swaying green lights in ceiling holes casting menacing shadows right, left and center. The sound of a deep, deep chant echoing from all sides. Two silhouettes walk ahead of you, paying you no mind, and yet, you follow, obediently. A feeling of failure sits deep in the pit of your stomach. Voices mixes with the chant, cruel and intent "abberation. Mistake. Unwanted. Go away. Your not wanted here. Living horror. Die. Suffer. Vanish. Be forgotten. You are nothing. You were never anything. You will never be anything." The silhouettes in front of you emerge in a large cave, with large craters filled with bubbling, steaming green liquid that cast an eerie glow, topped with puffs of blood red smoke. A crowd has formed in the cave, on cliff shelves and around the edges. As you enter, the chant turns to "Banish, the unwanted. Cast her in the shadow and leave her to starve. Banish, the unwanted. Cast her in the shadown and leave her to starve." After a minute of chanting, where you cower alone in the middle of the room, all of their visage contort as though their muscles has perished long ago, ashy grey with strips of flesh missing, their eyes bulging and large, their teeth all growing to point, as they raise silmultaneously clawed hands in the air, and with growls and gnashing, they all charge in unison, swallowing you in the crowd.... and your eyes jolt open, awake... like the rest of your mates. Except one.   Eeavan, you find yourself in a field of tall grass, collecting grasshoppers and crickets, watching twigs and branches rot into the ground. It is the middle of the night, constellations glisten above you, the moon is nowhere to be seen. There is a puff of fog, next to you, a vague humanoid shape, that follows you, watches you. Yet, you feel no worry from it. If anything, you enjoy the company. The cicada sings it's deafening song, toads croak in the horizon, owls hoot. You turn and see the fence of Stokedown in the distance, the glimmer torch light occasional as guards watches the town on shifts. You take a deep breath and take in the smell of grass and fresh air. A bat squeaks loudly as it passes by... and all sounds end. Complete and other silence. You look up, as the stars go out, one by own, casting a blinding shadow... and instead, you see eyes, not in pairs, but everywhere, open and stare in your direction, far in the night sky. You realize the shadows blocking the stars are their bodies... and yet, you feel calm. "What are they" you ask, calmly, as you sense their aggression start. A pound breaks the silence, and you see the dark shapes push forward, as though an invisible dome surround the skies. A roar echoes, and more pounding resound. The smoke being next to you, your Quori in its own body, responds "It's them, those that hunted us long ago. They want to swallow the world in fear and violence." it answers, calmly. A louder pound, and a loud crack happens in the dome. You feel a frown upon you, not of anger, but of concern, unsettled... but still far from panicked. *give control to Eevan. The Quori eventually tells him to "Call out her name... we can ask her to help. Il Yannah... her light can stop them. We need to bring the light in. The nightmares are here. Now wake up Eeavan, and shine her light to for your friends."   Recovering difficultly, the group gathered and helped one another. Twig went to his twin, Nina lit the room. Ehverit huddled with Youka and Eavan checked on Trajan. After a bit, Astara also went to ensure Maverick was ok, but found a deeply sleeping teenager. After a time, they gathered their wit back and found Maverick bringing them gifts, backpacks, bedrolls and a lute for Youka. Then he informed them that the law contact, Nivellan, was coming to talk to the group.   Time skip 6 months BACK: the groups effort provided enough for a large arrest in the Smuggler's Way, and activities stopped for a time, but have resumed recently.   They meet Nivellan in the main hub, and are offered one last task... one that should end the mission. They need to find the source, where the goods come in. He explains that it goes down at the train station, and they will all go, and take Maverick with them.   GAME BREAK   Maverick has a role for everyone:   Eavan will distract Armand, the supervising guard on site. Youka and Trajan, will distract the other main guard, Malika. Youka happens to know both of them, and provides that Armand enjoys philosophy, which Eavan then uses to trap him in a big thoughts conversation... and the other two distract Malika through games and gambling.   Twig sets to the roof for spying and lookout, but notices nothing at first, but, however, is able to locate everyone in the group.   Astara is sent to the registration to identify those that looked "fishy". She first tried to stealth over but was spotted pretty quick, so changed tactic and pretended to be a child with too many question to the automaton-type host. He rejected her, but it was sufficient to convince everyone else here and she was ignore, permitting her to spy and spot an strange looking Karen, with dark skin and curly black hair, registering crates with a logo: A swish with a thistle, covered by a spilled coin pouch. She tried to talk to the Karen but discovered the wrath of such a vile woman. She found herself rejected.   Nina and Ehverit got closer, as the aim was to initially, search the warehouses once they knew which to look into. Waiting for a signal, they kept an eye to Astara. Seing the "distress" Maverick told Nina and Ehverit to wait here, and joined Astara. Sadly, got himself arrested intead. Astara then tried to tail the crate, but was spotted by Malika. Trajan and Youka prevented Malika from arresting Astara by coming clean, and persuaded her to side with them.   Twig, loosing sight of his sister, got closer to the middle of the scene and spotted people hiding in crates and barrels.   Inside the warehouse, Astara found the stack of crates with the symbol and was able to remove the cover of the crate and look inside. There she found tools and crafting gear, but noticed the bottom was too high, noting a false bottom. It would be loud to open, especially alone, but they saw an herb sticking out to the bottom and took it... then tasted it. It was foul, and made her heart race, and adrenaline high, granting incredible reflexes.   Outside, Nina hid in a barrel and collected a crowbar. Ehverit took opportunity of the staff being busy with Maverick to investigate the record, and found a name: Omeera Desaani. Nina then tried to sneak to the warehouse where Astara is, but was spotted by Malika, and called to join Youka, Trajan and her. They quickly debriefed.   Armand after a time, decided it was too long, and went to see Malika, Eavan with him. They regrouped and talked. Not able to wait, Armand charged to the inside of the warehouse and called for the kids. By this point, Twig had been done waiting for Astara and went inside to join his sister. The noise and distraction of Armand gave them an opening to empty the crate and together, pry the bottom open. They saw herbs, poisons and such items. They were able to snatch a vial of Torpor (Astara) and herbs (Twig) before the rest arrived. Ehverit had doubled back and joined around. This was enough to set the record with the guard supervisor, and he led the charge for an arrest. He dropped the kids off at the cave and went on his way. Eavan collected Maverick at the prison, using his connection with the jailers there and they regrouped. Each was paid 2 gp and the mission concluded. Omeera and Dante Desaani were arresting, and the smuggling, ended.   END OF GAME   Post game: people shopped and exchanged their gold for some gear.

Rewards Granted

2gp each for a successful mission

Missions/Quests Completed

Smuggler's Way Spy Mission, which lead to the arrest of Omeera & Dante

Notes

Fun notes: Astara and Youka today rolled like beasts, and pulled out some nat 20s (plural!)