Session: Jan. 29th, 2024

Zun is a bit of a mystery to me. He's mentioned off-handedly a couple times that Courmivoun used to make him fight in what sounded essentially like gladiator rings, which would have made me assume he wouldn't like brawl-type fighting anymore, but the man really seeks it out. He is not one to shy away from any kind of competitive fighting, and the tavern brawl (planned, luckily) was no exception. It was actually quite fun to watch. Whatever Sessalie puts in her alcohol - it's potent. Magic wasn't allowed, so obviously I didn't participate. Not that brawls are really my thing either...I don't really see the need. But regardless, Zun made it all the way to the end, and made a lady friend (*wink wink*) I assume he had a very good time with overnight.
 
It actually worked to my advantage, because that was one less person to catch me as I was leaving. I tried very specifically to wait until Saanes had to trance, and Zun returned rather...tired, and both Mud and Elegant were already sleeping. It was surprisingly easy to sneak out over the city wall. I was really hoping that someone was going to try to kill me while I was out there, but no luck. However, two interesting things did manage to happen. One - I talked with Norav. THE Norav, the one that Dan'or'avil still has trapped inside his head. It was strange though...every time I tried to explain something and he got agitated, the dream reset itself. Dan'or'avil has some kind of spell set up in there that's going to make things a little difficult for us. Two - I managed to get some practice in with Mortalis. We went after a deer this time, since there was sadly no one with murderous intent, but it was fascinating (if not a little disturbing). Mortalis actually manifested himself outside the khopesh first, THEN went after the deer and sucked the life from it. Usually I had to give him blood/life force first to give him the energy to get outside the weapon. But not this time. He just went for it. Which implies to me that in the future, perhaps at Mother's, I can just let Mortalis loose and he can just drain people dry, nothing required from me. That's everything I hoped setting him free could do. I want him to be able to essentially have his own turns in combat so we can work together as a team in a way that still retains my own autonomy.
 
I managed to sneak back inside, no questions asked, and by the time the morning rolled around, no one was any the wiser. We headed down into the tunnels, hopped on our boats, and "set sail" into the darkness. It was...an odd experience. Not really anything to do but chat and plan. But plan we did, on a few fronts.
 
1. We want to see if Saanes can dispel whatever enchantment/spell is on Norav in his weird dream state. I'm thinking the plan would be I cast Dream into the blood shard. Then I cast Dream on Dan'or'avil, in the hopes that I can distract him while we try to free Norav. Then Elegant will cast Dream on Saanes, and Saanes will go in and cast Dispel Magic. It would probably end the Dream spell too, so I don't know that we'd get to see the fruits of our labour, but it's really worth a shot. We want to try testing it first, and Mud actually volunteered for testing, which shocked me. He's gone from the half-orc who was terrified of magic, to a half-orc using magic runes, magic weapons, and volunteering for magic testing. It's fascinating.
 
2. We have the crazy alcohol that Sessalie made - 24 bottles. Apparently it essentially puts the drinker into a blind rage and makes them take half damage. We originally thought about giving it to the guards, but making them stronger seems like a bad idea. Maybe Zun and Mud could take some?
 
3. We still have vials of Fool's Love. If we could sneak them into some cups, we might be able to take a few people out of the picture. I'm wondering if we could get them into my mother and a random man's cups, and it would be an easy way to get Mother alone in her room. Well, plus one random man.
 
4. Saanes has Mass Suggestion, which would be able to work on up to 24 people, which is amazing. If there are party guests there, which we imagine there will be, he might be able to just get them all to leave and go to safety.
 
5. We want to have me try casting Dream to either Chompy's wife, or any servants I know that I was close-ish with, to try to get some idea of what we're working with. Where the hostages are, where Father is, if there's been any mention of the crystal rod, etc.
 
6. Mud suggested outing myself to Mother as a way to get her alone. I'm not sure that I love that idea, but it's certainly on the table.
 
On top of that, we did try Scrying on Dan'or'avil and casting Sending to Father, but both of those met some kind of barrier, which is infuriating. It would be extremely helpful to know where Dan'or'avil is right now, so we know if we have to prepare for him or not. I'm hoping talking to SOMEONE who's already at the house could give us some insight there.
 
When we finally left the dark tunnels, we emerged into a house that had obviously been long-abandoned. Which would have just fine if it weren't for the picture we found - it was Chaedove's family. Her, her husband, her son, all smiling and looking happy. It killed me inside a little. The amount of guilt I carry at knowing that Father and I were responsible for her family dying...it's heavy. And I know it's not my fault - it's Mother's. She's the one that sent them after us. She knew there would be risks with that. She's the reason we had to fight back in the first place. But I still can't help but feel that twinge of guilt that twists up inside me. It also has me asking why. Why is Chaedove's house my mother's escape route? Just how connected was she with Mother? Or did this happen after they died and Chaedove left? I've got to know. Maybe the answer would help relieve the guilt.
 
We're less than 48 hours away now. I don't know if my nerves can handle it.