Session 120: To Fold or to be Bold

General Summary

28th Brussendar 836 PD   As the chanting continues in the backroom, Enessa leaps down the stairwell to join what remains of her Unbroken hunting pack.   Arthur momentary stasis’s the Chosen, she fails and is locked in place, although this doesn’t stop the other cultist from unleashing his readied circle of death on all of the party. But in their stubbornness and repetitive exposure to the corrupted magic of those in service to Tharizdun, they all resist the necrotic magic.   Raven moves to get a shot and conjure his crescent volley down in return upon the cultists and hirelings, but likewise they avoid the worst of the damage.   Simeon finds himself in the domain of the Raven Queen, her sharp fingers plucking at the thread of his life. Before she can cut it, Simeon pleas with her to wait and to ask for his Lady, the Moonweaver, if she can intervene on his behalf.   Unfortunately, the Moonweaver’s power cannot reach Simeon in this domain, the Raven Queen laments that she finds him here despite the dangers to come with the Oblivion. The Matron of Ravens states she can not deny death and the passing of a soul, but acknowledges there are those in the mortal realm that may make an intervention.   In the meantime, she invites Simeon to stay and talk a while.   Enessa volleys with Death’s Whisper into the Chosen, joining in with the retributive round of fire, but the woozy Chosen still clings to this world. Orlando tries to knock her unconscious with his dagger, but the mundane metal skirts off whatever protective magic infuses her body.   Arthur exhausts himself converging the futures to keep the Chosen in stasis, whilst Enessa fends off the surviving Rivermaw Brawler that seeks to intervene. The Dark Eyes cultist creates a Phantasmal Killer from Enessa’s deepest fears, but Raven soon knocks the Cultist’s concentration on the illusion, freeing her to cut down the brawler with the sharp edges of her scimitar-bow.   Orlando decides to leave the momentarily incapacitated Chosen and chase down the remaining hirelings, he viscously guns down the sneaking Clasp Cutthroat. The last standing Northwood Veteran drops his weapons in surrender at the sight of the gnome’s guns pointing towards him.   Enessa misty steps behind the last Cultist that tried to scare her with the illusion, and skewers him dead with a thrust of her arrow. Arthur fells the last hireling with the painful psychic lash of his mind whip.   Raven steps up to the woman that killed his fellow friend of faith, he pulls his Luck Blade Rapier ready to settle the score with a life for a life, but the operative regains his professionalism and instead pummels her unconscious, the target is needed alive for now…   With the active threats taken care of, Orlando hands the surrendered Veteran over to the others as he rushes to Simeon. He blesses himself to enhance his ability to perform the reviving ritual and call to the fading spirit of his Cleric comrade. The Chosen of Moradin channels the radiant powers of creation, his metal arm glows in holy runes and the diamond component melts in the heat of his hand. “You know the work is never done amigo, may the All Spark start you up again”, the liquid diamond pours over Simeon’s body, successfully repairing and reviving him.   Relieved at the sight of their downed Cleric up again, and the comforting if ever mischievous wry smile on his bruised face, the group take a moment to catch their breath and question the captured Veteran.   The mercenary from Northwood is tight lipped at first, but with the good manners and healing hands of Orlando, he starts to open up to them. His name is Dann Holton, he reveals that the Northwood mercenaries were paid simply to guard the warehouse, although he doesn’t know what is the plan or details on the deal. He is also genuinely shocked at the revelation that they’ve been employed by cultists of the Betrayer God, Tharizdun.   And it seems that the rest of the mercenaries and their Captain, Jeremiah Northwood were also not aware or just wilfully ignorant of whom has employed them. Dann shares his views on the Captain, and if he could likewise be similarly persuaded to pull his support. The Captain was a former member of the Golden Chain, a vicious ‘ends justifies the means’ organisation, but left when an order just went too far morally for him.   As Orlando questions the veteran, Arthur and Raven find a secret door in the back of the basement that leads to the cargo of the caravan, several thousands worth of gold, residuum and arms, securely stored.   With Dann’s limited information, the party prepare to question the Chosen, taking all precautions to remove her ability to cast and influence them by chaining her. Knowing that there would be some time before both the unconscious cultists wake up, the party formulate their next steps and their overall plan to question the Chosen. Simeon had taken some time to recover, and had enough energy to dominate the Chosen’s mind, and even modify it if needed. Arthur loops them all into his telepathic bond, and Raven wakes the chained Chosen up with a small healing draft, as she stirs Simeon dominates her mind.   Under the magical charm, the Chosen of the Dark Eyes reveals that there are two other Leaders and cults involved in the arms deal, the Chained Souls and the Oblivions. She was inducted into the cult by the Lock-Breaker ‘Palmer Cooke’. She reveals further information of her fellow Dark Eyes cultists, their abilities, resources and that the Aspect, her Master, is growing in power.   The deal to pay for hired forces will happen in the Grey Valley, north of the Umbra Hills, a 3-week journey from Kymal. The cults all keep each other in secret and separate, but she is the one who will instigate the deal through sending’s to the other Leaders. However, they will all be checked and spied upon, ready to break off the meeting if something happens to any of them.   The party telepathically converse as they are faced with a choice, do they kill off the Chosen and loot or redistribute the captured gold, delaying the Chained Oblivion’s material machinations. Or do they risk letting her live and allowing the deal to proceed, providing an opportunity to strike against all of the cults, dealing a greater but mutually deadly blow?   Despite their initial hesitancy at the prospect of letting the Chosen go, and having to battle her again as well as other Chosen cultists, Kymal’s gambling influence seems to steer them to the higher risk and reward of the later option.   With the decision to let her go alive, the group with Dann come up with the most apt modification to her memory to account for her chained, wounded situation and the devastation that she will see around her.   Simeon tells her through the domination, to send the signal to the other Cults to set the meeting of minds in motion. With her magic spent, he releases the domination and refreshes her dark mind with what has just happened.   That the party had through connections with Northwood been recruited onto the job of providing additional security in the run up to the starting the journey to the deal. When one of them went to fix the cart, they noticed that the break was an obvious sabotage. Sensing they had been found out, the Rivermaw bandits and Clasp, unsurprisingly for cutthroats, attempted to betray the cultists and mercenaries. The party helped to defeat the betrayers, with this Simeon keeps the memories of the real battle, but switches the places of the Unbroken and the hirelings in the fight, furthering the image of them as allies.   Whilst they triumphed, the betrayal meant that the Chosen’s plans must be accelerated if there was further threat from rest of the hirelings in Kymal. Seeking guidance of her ‘Master’, she bound herself in closeness to her Chained God in commune, she felt his dominating presence and followed his instructions to set the plans in motion. She was just telling the group to help her out of her commune, and to get everything ready with the cargo and Northwood’s escort for later today.   As these tales and memories flow, Arthur exhaust himself to converge the future to one where this magic and its modification take hold.