Chapter 5, Session 1: Mothers, Grandmothers and Olympia's LOOONNNGGGG rest
General Summary
I'LL BE BACK TO DEFEAT YOU ONE DAY BOX!Persicorum woke up the following morning feeling sore, sensitive and exhausted (both physically and mentally) from the events of the previous day. They were slow to rise, with Kodo getting up to attempt to make pancakes for the party and remove the distinctive gloom that hung over them while Olympia continued to sleep, unable to shake off her injury. Thordak woke up and attempted to meditate outside and try to think of a solution for the party's problems... especially the problem of where to go next... Mimsi checked her injury in the mirror, just to see that she had still lost an eye and that there was a small shard of sapphire growing there in it's place. She wondered about this for a time before Fen checked on her and discovered the shard was growing VERY slowly in her eye, as though it was organic, Fen and Mimsi also learned the extent of Olympia's injuries, if they were not patient and VERY careful there was a high chance she would lose her leg entirely. After learning of this, they reflected on the events the previous day before the scent of pancakes lured them downstairs to join Kodo for breakfast. As Thordak was outside, he saw slivers of smoke leaving one of the upper floor windows and rushed upstairs, concerned about a fire, when he reached the room he found Amrys' belongings were on the bed with a letter and the form of Amrys was nowhere to be seen. The note read:
- Persicorum are brutally defeated by a box floating in stasis.
Hello Persicorum,
We are sorry but we could not hold the Hunter back any longer and he killed us. We needed to claim Amrys in order to survive. Dashilla the Dark Queen and Proto have almost found a way to escape the fog and we can't hold them back any longer and survive.
We have warned you. Signed,
Us.
After reading this, Thordak joined the party and brought Amrys' stuff with him to tell them what happened to Amrys and about the note that was written by The Thin Man and so Persicorum began to discuss where they should go next. Seemingly deciding to go to King's Bay to hopefully find Ardeth and receive healing for Olympia, a BUNCH of therapy and assistance with the threat of the Hunter and Dashilla.
During this period, the party heard a knock at the door and were greeted by The Man , the former feral Gnome who ran the town of Lakefort and he brought Eliza Crasswell with him, a High Elf lawmaster from King's Bay.
Firstly, the Man read the will of Nirya Moonbrook(person:7c2fac9a-b9ba-4092-8fc8-2728628265a6) to the group and explained that Thordak had inherited @[Moonbrook Wares from her and also that she refused to give her wealth to the state to give to Thordak lest they tax it and instead she advised him to visit their oak tree one last time, the man left after telling Kodo that his apprentice was doing excellent work in The Monkey's Paw in Aria.
After the Man left, Eliza stepped forward and explained that she came on behalf of The Inquisitors and was sent specifically by Xan Prayerkeep and Temptation to offer the party a deal. She read their charges out which were met with disgust (specifically as Kodo learned he was being charged for assaulting Magus Erolith Undergaige despite the fact he was thanked at the time for subduing an Aist Mage), upon reading the party's charges out Eliza explained that the Inquisitors were willing to offer them a deal, if they came to King's Bay peacefully and handed Fen and Olympia over to Xan Prayerkeep then the rest of the party would have their records scrubbed clean of wrongdoing and Thordak would be given the opportunity to become an Inquisitor and serve as an advisor to Temptation.
The party questioned Eliza for a time and, though she wasn't especially forthcoming, they learned that Xan Prayerkeep had taken aist mages in this manner before and that it was a deeply corrupt way to act but that no one had the power to oppose him as Xan had the ruler of the elected states ear. They also learned that the individuals Xan had delivered to him all carried The Grimoires and were never seen again. After divulging this information, Eliza left the party to make their choice by stating that, for now, Prayerkeeps own personal inquisitors would be pursuing them but that their bounties would go public in one month if they did not make a choice in time.
The party discussed what to do for a time, especially Thordak as he revealed he was deeply interested in Temptation's offer both for a chance to work with her and to change the Inquisitors from the inside. Though Fen admitted he did not believe the Inquisitors could be changed whilst men like Arch Inquisitor Prayerkeep continued to live to which the party talked of possibly exposing him for who he truly is in the future rather than murdering him and ultimately martyring him for the worse which Fen shockingly agreed with, citing the potential power Prayerkeep possessed with the amount of Grimoire's he'd collected.
So, with the party agreeing that they needed to leave they agreed to travel to King's Bay after Thordak investigated the old oak tree. When they reached the tree, Thordak had an emotional moment thinking of all he had done with Nirya here before he saw a shovel and freshly moved dirt. Deciding to dig, Thordak found a chest from Nirya addressed to him that contained 5,000gp and, strangely, a scroll of Speak with dead. Thordak decided to distribute his inheritance amongst the party and they decided that buying horses was a good course of action for their travel.
The party made their way to the stables of Lakefort owned by a centaur named Farrah, on the way they decided to change their plans and instead travel to Eastbourne to find Bazzle Strum-Strum and get him back on their side before assessing what to do from there.
The party purchased four riding horses from Farrah and bought a carriage to ensure they could travel comfortably and not aggravate Olympia's injuries, to make the carriage recognisable they insisted Farrah write 'T-Jortz' on the side of the carriage in the language of horses.
As Kodo and Mimsi went to prepare food and alcohol for the trip, Thordak and Fen stayed to bring the horses for the trip. While they waited, Fen used sending to attempt to reach Magus Erolith Undergaige and learned that his father still despised Olympia and was being kept in an inquisitor holding cell. Fen's sadness turned to rage when he learned that the Inquisitors had taken his fathers hands away in order to stop him casting spells and he promised he would save his father somehow. Thordak tried to console Fen as he watched the wizard promise he would lay waste to every corrupt Inquisitor there was and, when he had the chance, he'd kill Xan Prayerkeeper with his bare hands. Thordak promised Fen he'd support him when the chance arose.
On the way to the gates, Thordak stopped to thank Momma for her help in Lakefort and she expressed her usual selling point, she is perfect and he should have prosthetic which (to the DM'S shock) Thordak agreed with and purchased a concealed weapon prosthetic to replace his current prosthetic arm on the condition that she make the concealed weapon Amrys' former longsword 'he who grins'. Momma explained that it was to be a 12-hour operation to ensure it was successful and so Thordak told the party they would need to wait another day before leaving with him entering surgery and Mimsi there to morally support him (with questionable effectiveness). During the surgery, Momma offered to remove the gem from her eye but Mimsi did not take her up on the offer.
During an unexpected day off, Kodo and Fen decided to have a day of training with eachother as Kodo attempted to teach Fen unarme fighting and learning that the Elf had a surprising resilience and knack for fighting despite his less than impressive physical form (though much of Fen's resilience came from the fact he attuned to an amulet of health that day).
That evening, Olympia received a private surgery to remove her destroyed leg and replace it with a spell focus prosthetic that allowed her to cast an additional spell per day without needing to spend a spell slot, though it would cost an attunement slot for her to do it, however, the surgery left her exhausted and again needing to recover for a day.
The next morning, the party FINALLY set out towards Eastbourne in the morning but were met by grim tidings as the weather turned into a gorgeous emotional light to a snaked grey sky with heavy rain that represented the emotional echoes of sorrow for them. Thordak and Fen did not feel the effect as their will was strong enough to withstand the influence but Kodo and Mimsi found themselves effected by it which led to Kodo becoming snappy and frustratedly trying to hide his emotions whilst Mimsi broke down sobbing over Ophelia's body and expressing her feelings of guilt for harming her friend.
During this tense travel, Fen spied a chest hanging 30ft in the air in stasis and decided to fly up and investigate it. Upon touching the chest he was struck by a layered Symbol spell that caused him massive damage, failed to drive him insane and banished him. The party panicked for a short while and tried to find a solution until 5 minutes passed and Fen fell from the sky having re-appeared... luckily he was caught by Kodo...
The party decided to leave the chest and it's obvious danger behind but not before Fen dispelled the symbol spell on it, though it remained hanging in stasis despite this and Fen felt there were multiple layers to dispel. The party left with Fen declaring revenge on the box that had humbled them as Mimsi continued to sob over Olympia.
The effect of sorrow soon wore off and the party made camp in a nearby forest where they kept watches. During the first four hours (Fen's watches) Fen reflected on the beauty of the night and the forest before he was shaken from his daydreaming by the sound of Kodo seemingly choking and stuttering words followed by the sound of flesh ripping and saliva dripping onto the floor in the main party camp.Rewards Granted
- He Who Grins (claimed and attuned to by Thordak who had it placed into a prosthetic after Amrys disappeared)
- 5,385gp (claimed by the party by selling Amrys' unwanted belongings and Thordak's inheritance from Nirya Moonbrook's life savings)
- Moonbrook Wares (the shop was left to Thordak Moonbrook in Nirya's will)
- An arm prosthetic upgrade for Thordak.
- A leg prosthetic for Olympia.
Missions/Quests Completed
- The party left Laketown for their new task. Bring Bazzle Strum-Strum back into their group.
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