Session 20: Forges and Fireworks Report

General Summary

As our session began, Mary, Jerry, and Astrea were making their way into the Dwarven forge marked on Jerry's map. Inside, they found dusty display cases, cobweb filled corners and a Go board seemingly abandoned mid-game.   Though the forge seemed long forgotten, the old bedrooms contained a wealth of treasure and magic items. Astrea quickly got to work identifying them (after missile drop-kicking down an unlocked door and smashing an armour display-case in the process) while Jerry was across the hall, reading through the old forge masters' notes.    The scrolls contained blueprints and concepts for inventions only a dwarf and a gnome could have come up with together, as evidenced by the languages used. Struggling to read Dwarvish, Astrea helped him translate as Mary gave context about the rare materials used. She had seen some similar designs during her time with the Bizerian Dwarves. _____________________________________   Meanwhile, back at the monastery, Seto was wandering the temple grounds, unsuccessfully looking for something or someone to learn from. Zhi approached, chuckling at his lost expression before suggesting a nightcap at the tea house. Seto agreed and the pair made their way inside, sneaking past the Daimyo and the other funeral-goers to talk in private.   As Zhi lit up her pipe, the pair spoke about the events of the past few days, their goals and failures, before eventually turning to the matter of leadership. Zhi insisted that Seto would make the better leader, offering him her position. Seto was reluctant, trying to refuse the offer when a monk approached and knocked Zhi into the pond as he took her pipe. He seemed upset about the smoking, challenging Seto to a fight as well. Seto refused, allowing himself to be kicked into the pond before a noise from inside intervened.   Hearing the commotion, General Mak stormed out onto the deck. He scolded the monk for overreacting and Seto helped Zhi out of the pond. Mak then took the pipe from the monk, shooed him away and proceeded to puff on it himself. The three shared a solemn laugh before Zhi and Seto eventually made their way to their separate rooms for the night.   ______________________________   Further down the mountain, Sakura was just catching up to Aien as they made their way back to the city. It was a long hike back down in the dark and Sakura was still feeling the effects of her duel. A good night's rest was desperately in order.   As the pair descended the mountain, a sudden booming voice echoed from the treeline saying, "YOUR WISH HAS BEEN GRANTED" followed by the cackling laughter of a goblin and a bright flash of red light. Seconds later a green and red dragon shot into the sky, rising through the clouds and into the night. The dragon had come from the same place as the light and sound, daring Aien and Sakura to investigate.   As they drew close, Aien took cover and turned invisible. Sakura was not far behind and the ninja guided her to join him behind a large tree. Nearby, a goblin had set up camp and was dancing around his fire holding a glowing red lantern. Creeping ever closer, our heroes approached the goblin. As they got just close enough to smell his never-washed loincloth, the lantern began to glow brighter and brighter. The goblin got excited and then, there was a blinding red flash.   As Aien opened his eyes again he caught a glimpse of Sakura darting back behind a tree. In his hand was a red lantern and for some reason, he felt a lot shorter all of a sudden. Quickly putting two and two together he shouted, "WHAT THE FUCK?! I'M A GOBLIN!??" before charging towards the spot where his body had previously been standing. The invisible ninja - now home to a goblin's soul - cackled out with laughter, as did Sakura when she realised what had happened.   Goblin Aien then dove through the air, successfully spear-tackling his old body to the ground as the pair wrestled and argued. Sakura, unable to see her target, cast a spell to make the ninja glow. The spell created a glowing sphere of sickening radiance which, while having it's desired effect, also began turning the weak goblin body that Aien was in, into unrecognisable mulch.   As the goblin whithered away, Sakura realised her mistake and tried desperately to reshape the weave, rewinding time only to watch the goblin be killed and dissolved over and over again. Screaming out in pain and fury each time he did so, Aien died an agonizing death.   ___________   Back at the forge, our trio of intrepid explorers was opening an ornate set of double doors which led them into the main forge area. In the middle of the room stood a massive statue of an ogre in full samurai armour, the statue's face broken off completely. In one corner of the rubble-filled room stood a statue of a gnome. In the other stood a barrel which Mary discovered to be an "Apparatus of the Crab" - an advanced piece of technology created for the Crab Clan long ago. Details on its creation and operation could be found in the scrolls that Jerry had found.   As the heroes and their trusty blink dog explored the unlit forge with its massive anvils and myriad of tools, Jerry and Mary simultaneously rounded separate corners and were faced with two angry basilisks. A battle ensued as the creatures began pouring from holes in the walls and using their petrifying gaze to try and turn the party to stone.   Jerry and Spike entered the battle with ferocity, splashing purple blood all over the room as they carved through the creatures. Mary had trouble finding her mark as she unleashed a barrage of bullets at the basilisks, tearing holes in the walls as she fired. Her rifle and turret were not enough, however, and the monsters managed to corner her as their magic took hold.   Astrea unleashed a series of eldritch blasts, but after feeling the effects of their gaze start to take effect, she used her misty step to try and draw the creatures away. Mary called after her in anger as she left, assuming that she had been abandoned. Astrea had no time to respond, however, using everything at her disposal to try and outmanoeuvre the creature as her body slowly turned to stone. Running into the moonlight only seemed to accelerate the process, forcing Astrea to misty step back into the forge just as she succumbed to the petrification.   White lotus petals landed at her feet in a wreathe as she smiled towards Jerry, fighting in the next room. With that, Astrea was frozen in time, locked away in a prison of stone.   Jerry continued his onslaught with Spike at his side, rounding the corner just as the remaining basilisks managed to knock Mary unconscious. Killing them in quick succession, he used his holy healing to wake her before rushing off in Astrea's direction. As he left, Mary glanced down at her hands and watched the bloodstains turn to stone along with her flesh. Seconds later, she too was petrified, locked in her final moments of fear.   Jerry managed to defeat the remaining basilisk without feeling the effects of any of their magic and when his rage eventually faded he found himself in a bloodstained forge with only Spike to keep him company. The resources gained here had essentially made him rich, giving him the ability to craft anything he desired once he got the forge lit. His dreams were closer than ever, along with a nest of basilisk eggs and two rocky relationships that could probably use some work.   __________   Aien's body was now scrambling to its feet and running for cover in the cold, dark forest. Sakura watched the glowing silhouette dart into the treeline, then tracked his blood trail to the base of a giant tree. Summoning her familiar, she sent the pseudodragon searching up and through the branches.    Meanwhile, the goblin in Aien's body was sneaking up on her and about to finish her off with his katanas. Noticing movement at the last second, Sakura managed to dodge the first blow, however, she suffered a painful stab wound from the second. Reacting with her own blade, she cut the ninja down in one clean strike.   As his body fell, Sakura too found herself alone, in a dark forest, on the side of a mountain. Before her, the body of her new friend lay slain and the goblin body which contained his soul was nothing more than a pile of rotten bones.   She placed Aien's sword on his chest and as she knelt, covered in blood (not all of it her own) she tried to take in what she had just done. She had never killed anyone before... What was she supposed to do now?