Session 90: Dark Destiny of a Death Dealer Report

General Summary

Shocked at the sudden violence, everyone reacted, but one of the criminals acted first, firing a cluster of five arrows into Jeeves, leaving him severely injured, and the large chirurgen would have fallen had Roisin not cried out to keep him alive. Roy warned everyone not to step or shoot through what he was about to conjure, and then magically manipulated the flow of time around them to slow and deflect any further arrows. Roisin ordered Boris to attack the thief at Jeeves feet. Boris swung his hammer, but the woman next to him produced a concealed rapier to knock his blow aside as she stabbed him in the chest, but his protective magic prevented injury. Another apparent bystander pulled a concealed rapier and struck savagely at Roisin, severely injuring the princess, and tried, but failed, to grapple the princess. Boris summoned spiritual guardians to begin dealing with the crowds around them. The deadly rapier wielding woman grunted as the gavels burned her soul, but the thief who originally stole from Jeeves died despite his best attempt to dodge the glowing items. Jeeves suddenly realized his feet were unshod as something magically seized his magical slippers. Jeeves then attacked the woman who was striking at Roisin, as the woman looked up and bantered with Jeeves in response, almost seeming to enjoy the injury. Some of the crowd nearby attempted to run, desperate to be anywhere other than in the middle of this melee. More assailants tried to shoot a crossbow through the magical barrier, only to see the bolts disappear and try to charge through the effect instead, one receiving a beating from the mystical gavels, and the other killed outright. Something magically stole Boris' spell component pouch, leaving the priest much aggrieved. Another volley of arrows from the rooftops left Roisin bleeding and unconscious, but Boris called upon a divine boon to instantly restore a small measure of health to the princess. Roy stepped past Jeeves, slapped the woman, binding her in magical chains; moved back, taking a slash from her rapier for his trouble; then warning others to move back. Boris used another divine boon to speed up Roy, so Roy also threw an arcane grenade at the enemy on the roof, impacting with enough force to cause significant injury and blast her off the roof. Roisin moved back behind Jeeves, used a divine boon to blind the chained woman, and hid behind Jeeves. The chained woman dodged most of Boris' radiant gavels, then stepped back, taking a swing from Boris in the process, tearing injury from her chains, then stumbling into the wall of temporal energy and broke free from the chains. Boris threw his hammer, striking her and knocking her down, then striking again on the return, and conjured a spiritual weapon to strike yet again. Another assailant called out to tell their allies that Roisin must be wealthy, then stepped closer. Jeeves did his best to heal Roisin, and prepared to sidestep any further attacks before suddenly beginning to glow brightly. More bystanders tried to flee, one getting caught and killed by one of the assailants as two more were shoved into view around a corner with garrote's on their necks as the assailants began ordering the party to surrender or the bystanders would die. The leader from the rooftops stood; shot, and presumably killed, four more bystanders; then walked into the protected circle. Roy fired two blasts of eldritch force at that woman, then teleported a short distance via mist before blasting two more beams at the criminals threatening bystanders, killing them; then teleported back and ordered the criminals to release the bystanders. Roisin ordered Roy to attack again, and Roy said "Not your day" before blasting a hole through the head of the one next to him, and also blasting the one next to Roisin into a bloody mist. The other savage woman, still blind, stood up and managed to move back before firing four arrows blindly, killing another bystander, a child, just as her vision cleared. Boris threw his hammer at the nearest woman, striking once, then struck again with his spiritual weapon. Jeeves conjured his pike, then stabbed the same savage woman Boris struck twice. Someone threw a couple daggers at one of the other bandits who had threatened the now deceased child, causing a slight injury, as the bandit began to run away. The savage woman next to Boris attacked the halfling, striking four times, the first two causing no harm, but the remainder significantly injuring him. Roy moved to the side, asked if Roisin wanted the woman dead, and fired a pair of eldritch blasts, striking with one next to Boris who screamed "I'll take you with me" as she stabbed herself in the chest and exploded, blasting Boris, Jeeves, and Roy. Boris' magical ward against death prevented his destruction as he lost control of his spirit guardians; Jeeves would have fallen, but remained standing thanks to his indomitable will; Roy also fell, but Roisin used a boon to prevent half the damage against Roy, saving the wizard from instant death. Roisin called out a rallying word to Boris and Jeeves, reviving their spirits, then read a magic script to summon a magical guardian adjacent to the remaining savage woman. The savage woman fired four arrows at Roisin, striking three times and leaving her unconscious and bleeding. Boris used a divine boon to keep Roisin alive as their enemy stepped back around the corner, and used his magic cape to teleport ahead of the criminal who stole his magic spell component holding pouch, drank a powerful healing potion, then walked around a corner to get closer to the fleeing bandit. Jeeves stood up, walked to Roy, and poured a potion down his throat to heal him slightly. The bandit facing Boris charged forward at the priest, and stabbed him, but Boris used magic to avoid grevious injury. Roy stood, said "Oh you dead bitch!" at the savage woman, and launched another arcane grenade, which struck forcefully, but she dodged the secondary explostion. Roy also fired off an eldritch blast, which struck and the woman stabbed herself in the chest causing her to explode, but nobody was injured; Roy then disappeared. Roisin chose to dodge any incoming attacks. Boris threw his hammer, and it hit the bandit point-first and the momentum opened the man's skull like a clam, killing him instantly.

Boris, in thanks, used another divine boon to mystically donate a massive quantity of wealth to the nearest temple of The Source. Boris searched the body, finding both Jeeves slippers and his own component pouch, three vials of liquids, and a very fancy screwdriver; then returned to his friends, and gave the slippers and vials to Jeeves. Boris used dinination to try to locate Roy, but could not detect their friend as Jeeves patched Boris wounds. Boris tried to reach Roy via their magic earrings, but received no response. A woman peeked around the corner "Are you going to kill everyone?". Roisin answered "No?" as the woman continued "You aren't going to kill everyone? People as powerful as you always kill everyone...". Roisin asked "Who rules here?" and the woman answered "Princess you should know, it's Queen Siobahn". The woman leaned her head to the side, pulled her hair aside, and asked "Do you wish the sacrifice?" and seemed very confused when Roisin said "No". Jeeves noticed that the woman's neck held a series of paired puncture marks, so Jeeves said "What does the leadership here want, we were here not too long ago and I remember better." "I know not, sir Ogre", so she knelt before Roisin and held out her wrist with a knife "Do you prefer this method?" Roisin answered "No, we're not doing that, just go and go about your business". Jeeves added "Before you do, who's the vampire". "What's a vampire" "A creature that bites and drains blood from people" "I don't understand". The woman crawled over to Roisin, and cut her own throat, trying to bleed on Roisin as she died. Boris used divine magic to heal everyone nearby, and the woman, even more confused, cut her own throat again, and Boris magically stabilized her before taking the knife, seeing it was an awkward sacrificial knige. A man stepped around the corner nearby and demanded "What are you doing!" "Stopping her from killing herself?" "Why would you do that? She's trying to save her family by offering herself. I thought you didn't want to kill more people?" Roisin and Jeeves responded "We don't" "Well who is she sacrificing to"; "The Princess, have you not been around for a while?" "My liege, Princess, I'm terribly sorry, allow me to sacrifice myself on her behalf". The man pulled out a similar knife and tried to cut his own throat; Boris knocked the man down and stood on the knife hand. The man cried out "Priest, what are you doing! Let me save our families." "There is nothing about The Source that demands blood sacrifice." "It's not The Source, it's the Princess! Princess, I'm sorry, I'm trying, I'm trying, please, please don't take our families!" Roisin responded "We won't, there is no need for sacrifice right now". The man began to whimper, "No, oh no. Please no, I'm so sorry." Boris again asked "Who's threatening your families" Roisin added "My family is threatening their families, it's complicated". The man stopped struggling, dropped the knife, and began to weep. Boris took the knife as Roisin said "Let's just go". Boris walked over to the river, and threw the knifes into the water. Boris shoes were suddenly wet as the knives appeared on his belt. Boris used divine magic to remove a curse, and the knives flared brightly, blinding Boris. Boris also tried to cure his blindness, but the magic did not work. Jeeves asked the man "How do you know she's the princess" "What? Her mother's the dark queen, how could you not know that." Roisin, now very flustered, just started trying to drag her friends away from the scene. All three headed off to the south, and took refuge in an abandoned building nearby. Roisin ordered Jeeves to be silent and not speak unless absolutely necessary. Roisin told Jeeves "My family has a thing about sacrifices and letting blood, not vampires, that I know of." A discussion followed, as everyone tried to figure out what was going on. About five minutes later they heard from Roy. "Sorry I couldn't answer, but I was trying to talk my way out of getting killed." Jeeves asked "Where are you?" "I don't know, but give me an hour and I can get back to you." "But do you know where you are?" "I don't need to" "Then how will you get back?" "I can teleport to the circle, idiot!" "Oh, I guess I wasn't paying attention." Roisin interjected "Jeeves, be quiet. Roy, get back to us when you can, we're a block south of where we were. Be careful as things are weird." Roy replied "Ok, give me an hour to rest and I'll be there as soon after that as I can.".

Roisin and Jeeves discussed vampires, her family's strange practices, and what might be going on. Roisin also recalled that Siobahn never seemed to have mirrors around, and Roisin never saw her aunt (now step-mother) in sunlight. Jeeves also questioned how Siobahn could have borne a child recently according to what they were told by The Cold Heart of Justice, if she was a vampire. Roisin also recalled that her half-siblings, and 6 now-dead cousins were all Siobahn's children, the youngest being about 20 years old (all dead, except Rian who sacrificed their sister Aoife and was betrothed to Roisin). It also came out that Roisin was hoping Rian was gone, as the magic of their dark binding would compel Roisin to accept any physical advances Rian might make. It was all quite confusing.

Realizing that Boris vision was not recovering, Jeeves asked Boris if he had ideas for curing blindness. Boris suddenly remembered he had a divine boon, and used that to cure himself of all negative conditions. A burst of magic in the process caused Jeeves to begin ending every sentence with "Blurple". The group, at a loss for what to do next, rested while they waited for Roy to return. About 45 minutes into their rest, there was a knock on the back door. They found a halfling standing there, clad in dark leather, carrying some weapons. "Sir Boris, can I come in and talk to me niece?". Boris said "Ok, but stand over here; I don't quite trust you yet." Jeeves aked "Who are you Blurple?" "I'm not Blurple. Your father named me a criminal before I ever met you." Boris used a blue gorse berry to detect extra planar creatures, but detected none. The man introduced himself "Pardon me, child, I am Paeddyr, the 'horrible criminal'."

More discussion followed between the two.

"I am sorry I could do nothing for you while you resided with your father. I am relieved to see that you have escaped relatively unscathed."
"Physically I'm OK, mentally..."
"Mentally, your mind is your own, that is more than I had hoped for. Your putative siblings, do you know the truth of your father and Siobahn?"
"No?"
"Ah child, I must tell you a terrible truth. The woman you called mother, Riona, is not your mother, she had no children."
"I know these things."
"Oh, I thought you did not know that your mother and father are brother and sister."
"No. No. Siobahn is not my mother."
"Child, she is, she is mother of all your siblings as well."
"No, My mother is someone else. Sir Boris here is my uncle."
"Roisin, He is not one of my brothers."
"Correct, My mother is not Siobahn."
"Have you confirmed this with anyone outside your father's control?"
"Yes, multiple individuals have confirmed it."
"Any being greater than a man, perhaps a good dragon, or an angel?"
"The Pale Queen herself informed me of the truth."
Paeddyr's eyes went very wide. "You met the Pale Queen? Then you have died?"
"Yes."
"I am so sorry, I hoped you would be spared such things. My brother has been dead for many centuries. The corpse you knew as father, not truly a corpse but neither alive."
"Yes, he is puppeted."
"So you know this as well. Good."
"Since I left, I found out many things, and me and my friends are going to stop him."
"I have not seen your sister Aoife more than 20 yea..."
"Dead."
"Oh. my."
"Rian, I don't know his status, I wish he was dead."
"Rian is not living."
Boris: "Is he unliving?"
"Rian is among the Undying."
Roisin: "Good, at least I can't marry him anymore, since you can't marry the undying."
"So that is what they meant, yes you can, and from what I have overheard that is exactly what they intend."
Jeeves: "Somehow I'm not surprised, Blurple."
Roisin: "Wild magic, I think, maybe hit on the head one too many times."
Jeeves: "I feel fine, Blurple."
Roisin: "Since I left I and these people..."
Paeddyr: "Do you know that Shay has been sacrificed?"
"Yes. I found that out."
"Shay was very special to me, he was taken from his mother when he was but a month old. She herself was murdered hours later."
"What?"
"Shay was my son."
"Wait, I thought he was Alathius son, but he's your son?"
"Yes, his mother was the only woman I had ever met who could see past the lies, and see me for who I was. Then my brother, actually my sister, took her from me. I had not known they could find such things, or I never would have alowed her to talk me into marrying her."
"I'm sorry, our family is really messed up."
"Our family is wonderful, my brother is a monster."
"Yes, I have met many members of the family who are not mesesd up, many are lovely people."
"Most are, but the ones closest to him... That is how my sister carries an abomination. My sister is truly dead, Siobahn has become a creature of the night. Ten years ago a horror was captured in this city, an undying thing feeding off the life force of the living. Siobahn deceived the guards and entered its cell, where she committed an unspeakable act, a perverse act intended to create life but corrupted in betrayal to enable her to drain the creature's curse and power without first dying herself. She is now a terrible combination of undying and corruption. They are doing terrible things here, they are building a *nest* in this city."
Paeddyr looked at Roisin in equal measures fear, loathing, horror, and desperation. "You are stronger than I, and your companions equally so. I hate myself for asking this. Will you please destroy my sister."
"Yes"
"She is not alone, the abomination she carries is not Alathius, it is Rian's. Obtained from him before she killed him and passed on her curse, a curse she acquired and embraced eagerly. Rian is a Vampire, a full strength thing with all the capabilities. Siobahn is a daywalker, far far worse. They have created many spawn, every servant in the castle and more, weaker forms of vampire, but no less dangerous."
"I know that if Rian asks me to do something, I have to do it."
"It is not just if he tells you to do something. If he asks... Intimacy... of you, you cannot refuse. That is all."
"Is it vocally, mentally, through signals?"
"You need him destroyed. If you can see him..."
"Then he will call"
"You will. This may be an advantage for you."
"Ok, how?"
"He can no more refuse you than you can refuse him. If you arrive with your friends, he will set aside all else to engage in these acts. You can thus distract him so your friends can destroy Siobahn."
"Cat and mouse."
"It is a sacrifice play. You allow a terrible thing to be done, that your friends can more easily destroy the horror. This can be prevented, and if prevented you can try to destroy them both together."
"This is messed up!"
"Yes, it is, as you say, messed up. Your friends have great power. I am sure one could protect your mind, if you chose. It is up to you which path you choose; I and my men will support you regardless."
He turned to Boris.
"Sir Boris, I would ask of you a valuable gift. If I or any of my men fall in the battle, ensure that we do not rise as their foul spawn."
Roisin: "Kill them before she kills them!"
"No, that is a myth, and with a daywalker, the curse is so strong it could not work. What I ask, Sir Boris, is that you call upon the blessings of The Source, bury them in hallowed ground, or better yet, burn the body to ash. I know that you, yourself, may fall, but if you survive, do this for me, destroy their corpses and do not allow their souls to be imprisoned in this hell of the Undying."
"I will"
"If you will to this, then we will do all we can to help you. We will throw ourselves before them to protect you. Every one of us will die to protect you. When you reach the center of the nest, however, we will not be able to stand. Every one of us will die then, throwing ourselves before them to buy you, perhaps, a few moments to act."
Paeddyr looked to Roisin.
"I had originally planned to follow you, and when you face the horror that controlls your father, I was going to sacrifice myself to buy you a brief distraction so you might kill it. I regret that I cannot be there for your then. I will have to pay that price now to destroy my sister instead. Live, Little Rose. I will meet you on the parade grounds outside the keep, one hour after sundown, three days hence. The keep is never open during the day, as you might suspect."
Roisin heard in an earring, "I've been listening. Tell them to meet us at dawn, instead; I can open a short-range doorway."
Roisin: "My friend who is distant, says to meet us at dawn instead. He can teleport us."
Boris: "I can look for secret entrances as well"
Paeddyr: "There are two, we know of them. They are guarded by three of my own men. Three of the six that I have lost since she came into the castle and killed the man you had installed. Very well, three, no four, days hence, at dawn, we will meet you at the parade grounds. I hope your friend knows what he is doing. There are magical protections around the castle, so we shall see."
Jeeves: "What kind Blurple?"
Paeddyr: "The kind that prevent you arriving magically without walking through the door."
"I see, Blurple."
"Your friend is a very strange Ogre."
"I am not an Ogre."
"Did you use magic to become large?"
"Yes, Blurple."
"Ah, I have seen such things, one of my best friends became invisible due to an admixture of potions. He used to be great fun at parties. Now he guards one of the secret doors, still invisible but now a spawn of vampires."
There was more conversation, but in the end Paeddyr took his leave and disappeared into the maze of streets and alleyways.
Roisin moved to a corner of the room and vomited violently.
A short time later, Roy said, through the earrings "Almost there." A moment later, after some directions, Roy knocked on the back door after flying low to the ground to find them.
They began discussing what to do about the issues with Rian and Siobahn, and ways they might be able to get into the "nest".