Session 13 & 14: Brains Betrayal and Bathhouses Report

General Summary

After defending Toto from a zombie onslaught, the party awoke feeling a little worse for wear. The previous day had taken a toll, but there was little time to rest. The castle was abuzz with soldiers setting up barricades and fortifying the castle in case of a second attack.   Out in the town square where the previous night's blood still stained the roads, General Mak was talking with Officer Zhi. The party approached and the General explained what had happened while they were asleep.   The herbalist that Aien had encountered was being held under guard and would be interrogated by the daimyo himself later in the afternoon. This gave the party time to investigate the still-locked trap door in the herbalist's shop and interview the locals. Mak also suggested they visit the bath-house where the hordes had apparently come from to observe and report.   Around this time he introduced Officer Zhi, the woman seen drinking with Kit the night before. She was to be the party's commanding officer going forwards and presented each party member with a seal marking their role in the squad. Kit, Astrea's new friend, was overjoyed by this news.   After making their introductions our intrepid heroes made their way to the herbalist's shop, using their new rank to bypass the skeletal guards at the door. Once inside they found the place covered in a thick black ooze but soon found the trapdoor that they were looking for. The door was locked, however, and while Aien was taking care of shinobi business they had few options to get through it.    Before anyone even thought to look for a key, Astrea and Jerry unleashed divine magic and expert attacks to destroy the lock completely. Once the door was open, Astrea grabbed a broomstick, cast a light spell on it and dropped it into the darkness below. Once sure that it was relatively safe, the party descended.   Winding tunnels under the shop led the party to a secret workshop, hidden away beneath the castle. Inside was a passage containing three doors.   Behind the first door was a small library filled with mad scrawlings and notes by the herbalist. In one corner of the room was a glowing vat of green liquid, swirling like it was alive. On one of the shelves, Seto discovered something curious. A jar filled with the same green liquid and in it, floating happily, was a brain.    As Seto brought the brain to group to show them what he had found, a voice reverberated from the jar. This took Seto by surprise, but he managed to keep hold of it as the brain began complaining about its current predicament.    It introduced itself as Brian the Brain and explained that it had been kept alive by the madwoman posing as the town healer. She was researching ancient elven blood-magic and wanted to know his stories. He was one of the first elves in Kiga after all.   After much discussion, Brian revealed a prophecy passed down among elves for thousands of generations, though he claimed that it's true meaning had never been understood.     "There is a prophecy... One told by the elves, long before the empire and it's wars. Before the time of men, when dragons roamed these lands. Not men with dragons on their armour, no. Real dragons. Mightier than anything you could imagine and born of the same primordial fires that gave birth to the very ground beneath your feet. The fires of their queen mother.   It is said that the first elves to practice magik were created then as well, embued with the power of the weave by a one-eyed elf wearing a golden mask. In creating our kind she had angered the kami as well as the dragon queen, who unleashed an army of abashai to destroy us all.    This led to elves scattering across the world, eventually making a home here in Kiga. Before the wars, of course. But once the wars started, a prophecy began making it's way from elder to elder, warning them of the terrible times ahead. A prophecy supposedly told by the elves who witnessed the first war.   "When hearts of dragons join clans of old, ancient horrors from lands untold, shall bring about their fiery reign and on the sands shall man lie slain"   The first elves took "man" to refer to the devils wreaking havoc on the world. The elves who fought in the first wars of men believed that it would ensure their victory and is probably the reason they started the Arenian Games all the way out in Aeroas to begin with. Plenty of sand out there..."   After conversing with the brain and gathering all they could from the library, the party headed deeper into the secret workshop. In the second room they discovered the branches of a Gnomeroot Tree growing from the ceiling and clinging to the walls of the chamber.    At the ends of these branches grew the buds of 42 different 'medicinal' herbs which Seto and Zhi promptly began harvesting for themselves. Zhi's visible excitement seemed to soften Seto's attitude towards her somewhat as the others checked for vital information.   Finding nothing else of use other than herbalist's tools, the party opened the last room. Inside was a huge statue depicting two stars surrounded by planets and moons. A depiction that seemed strange to some based on their understanding of astronomy.   The walls of this chamber were lined with books, however in one corner stood a large stone telescope, pointing into the corner of the ceiling. Astrea recognized the runes carved along the side of it and activated the device, causing a blue glow to emanate from the lens and illuminate the room.    As Astrea peered through the telescope she saw what she could only assume to be a moon, however instead of a solid celestial object, she was looking at a swarm of lights moving like insects from within the sphere.   As she and Kit pondered the device and its usefulness, Zhi instructed them all to start searching the book-cases. During the search, one of the books clicked into position and activated a secret doorway, revealing a small ritual chamber.   Inside, the nurse that had reattached Jerry's hand stood with her long black hair covering her face and ropes binding her arms to her sides. Tied to the ropes were tiny golden bells that clattered out as she rose into the air, suspended by a tower of writhing bodies with gaping mouths. The creature lunged towards our heroes and the battle was begun.   Astrea and Kit sent arrows into the darkness, killing the zombies that were emerging alongside the giant undead centipede of human corpses. Jerry, Seto and Spike took positions on the front line and fought the beast back with unmatched skill, eventually killing the creature before it had the chance to hurt anyone else.   Inside the chamber they also found a myriad of useful items hidden away by the herbalist. Some more useful than others, but all hidden for good reason.   With that, our heroes left the secret chambers and headed back to the surface where they could plan their next move.   Thinking that they had some time to kill and wanting to forget the horrors they had just witnessed, Zhi, Jerry and Seto headed for the kitchens to try some of the herbs they had procured. Herbs that proved very useful indeed.   Meanwhile, Astrea took the opportunity to show Kit her magic dome. Kit was thoroughly impressed and jumped at the chance to take a private bath in the middle of a recent battlefield, however, this proved more of a distraction than Astrea may have hoped.   After realising that Kit was oblivious to her advances, Astrea finished her bath and the pair headed to the kitchens to rejoin the others. On the way, Astrea showed off some of her alchemy skills. When they arrived at the kitchens they were met with bleary eyed companions busy eating whatever food was most easily accessible.   Once finished with their lunch, the party headed for the bath-house. Astrea summoned Ken the hyena for her and Kit, Jerry mounted Spike, Zhi acquired a warhorse and Seto opted to get some exercise as they all approached the locked gates and talked their way out of the city. Some interesting information may have been learned in this interaction as well (but I can't remember exactly).   Outside, several peasants were waiting to be led into Toto, complaining about blood in the magic river and the safety of their families. The party took kindly to them, using magic to calm their nerves before moving on towards the mountain.   Once at the shrine marking the bathhouse at the base of Mt. Kougen, the party dismounted and cautiously made their way down the path. They were soon stopped by a pair of young samurai archers hiding nearby. The pair claimed that their entire squad had been wiped out and that they had spent the whole night in hiding. Astrea helped to calm them as well but allowed them to rest instead of having them tag along.   With that, the party readied their weapons and made their way to the front door of the bath-house, eliminating several undead wearing featureless masks on their way.   Now our heroes find themselves at the scene of something terrible. Will they find the ones responsible? Will they discover what happened here? Or will this be the last place they ever see?

Rewards Granted

Bunch o' drugs Some masks Some loot A cloak thingy You know what, just check your inventory... :P