Chapter 7, Session 6: The Wakefield Project Finale
General Summary
You see, this body, this power... I think when I'm in control... I could take him...Kodo, bursting through the doors of the estate of Batten-Willsh, took the initiative as Persicorum watched on and dashed with the halflings form down the nearest alleyways he could find... fast pursued by The Inquisitors and The Crownsguard assigned to protect the mayor of Wakefield. The chase encounter started! Kodo's speed and mobility immediately gave him a headstart in this race as he was assisted by Mimsi and Fen (still invisible), Mimsi set to work causing chaos by pushing over barrels and causing complications in the street; slowing the pursuers down and allowing Kodo to build a significant distance with Batten-Willsh still stunned in his arms. Meanwhile, Fen decided to take to the skies with his owl Barallas and give Mimsi support from above... also allowing him to remain invisible for the time being and avoiding the interest of the Inquisitors. With the chase in motion, Anastasia, Thordak and Olympia fought a number of Crownsguard and Inquisitors in the hope of thinning the numbers chasing Kodo as Ardeth vanished from the fight. The party continued running and navigating the snaking alleyways throughout Wakefield, soon enough Batten-Willsh began to struggle and scream against Kodo who proceeded to muffle him to avoid drawing attention and continued running with the halfling tightly tucked in his arms, making escape exceptionally difficult for them. With another Mimsi-made complication, the pursuing group split up with the Magus Inquisitor using Dimension Door to teleport next to Mimsi and he proceeded to overtake her. In the thin alleyway, a space which gave Mimsi all the advantages as a monk, she attempted to grapple the Magus... 3 times... failing at each attempt before using a roundhouse kick to slam the mages head into one of the alley walls, stunning him for a round. Mimsi soon ran off to catch up with Kodo instead of finishing off the mage, sensing the approach of the rest of the pursuers. With Mimsi and Kodo making a greater and greater distance, but the pursuing group seemingly not being able to give up (thanks to one of the Inquisitors being unnaturally skilled as a tracker, being of the analyser subtype). In an attempt to dissuade the pursuers and give them another threat to consider, Fen dropped his invisibility and threw down a high level fireball, drawing on his bond with the Reaper to force the analyser to become vulnerable and take massive damage. However, in this moment of power, Fen reached his limit with Reaper influence and the hound revealed the downside of the pact they had made months back as Fen felt the mask summoned over his face and he felt his consciousness and psyche pushed down and away from his body as something else, the personality of the Reaper hound, took control of Fen and puppeteer his form to use for itself as Fen felt himself enter a feral rage and the reaper hound failed to identify friend from foe... an assault that started with him brutally killing his giant owl and turning it back into a discarded statue. Mimsi and Kodo continued to build distance, avoiding the falling debris of a nearby crumbling home (with Kodo using it as a stepping ladder whilst Mimsi was forced to spend time powering through the falling rubble, taking bludgeoning damage as she did). However, disaster very nearly struck as Batten-Willsh managed to finally break free of Kodo's grip and wriggled free, managing to avoid being stunned by Kodo, he made it down the street at a sprint, screaming for help and summoning a nearby set of Crownsguard to join the chase. However, he then proceeded to run straight into Mimsi, who spent 7 ki points trying to stun Batten-Willsh before becoming frustrated and instead breaking his ribs with a punch, killing the mayor of Wakefield in the streets, with that, Kodo picked up the corpse and, with a new plan. Started running towards the Church of the gods with Mimsi at his side. Meanwhile, Fen, in his arcane rage, chased down a group of 8 Crownsguard and with demonic flame, destroyed their group before firing off a black lance of lightning at the Magus Inquisitor, burning through his spell slots as the hound ran rabid. Fen internally raged against the demon, insulting it's trickery and lack of battle tactics, fighting hard to regain control of his body. Eventually, after a relentless chase against a Magus Inquisitor, torturously assaulting him at every turn. Fen found the willpower to reach his hand to his face and tear the mask away in time to dash down an alleyway and angrily promise the reaper that he will not get an opportunity to inhabit Fen's form again. Kodo and Mimsi had finally reached the stairs of the church and, after instructing Bazzle Strum-Strum, a quickly returning Ardeth and The Talented goblins in the temple to stand with him and Mimsi. Kodo waited for The Crownsguard and The Inquisitors to turn the corner and, holding the body of Batten-Willsh aloft and with the nearby children and poverty stricken families in the homes around the church, he declared that the town of Wakefield is now under new management, Batten-Willsh has been removed and, in his place, Ardeth will now become the mayor of the town. With that, Kodo instructed the Crownsguard and Inquisitors to leave and tell their superiors that the town of Wakefield belonged to Ardeth now and, if they wanted a chance at trade, they would have to deal with Ardeth in the politics of the town. With that, Kodo stepped back and asked Ardeth if she would like to address the increasingly growing crowd. To which Ardeth stepped down and promised the people of Wakefield that they would have a future of change and progress to make their lives worth more than they ever were before and, above all else, she promised she would treat Wakefield the same way she treated her entire life... she would put the love of others before all else. The Crownsguard scattered, sufficiently terrified, The Inquisitor analyser however, did not seem as intimidated and simply stated he would tell Xan Prayerkeep in due course of what has transpired before leaving the way he had chased. Kodo and Mimsi took a moment to breathe and reflect, in shock, on the fact that they had just changed this town forever. However, as they took a moment to think about the Inquisitors reaction to their statement the pair realised the inquisitor was retracing his steps towards another valuable piece of quarry; Fen. Fen went back through the alleyways in an effort to find his lost owl statue and recovered it... slightly damaged but otherwise in good condition. As he searched, Fen heard a sniffing near him and realised he was being pursued by the Inquisitor. After a botched disguise self, Fen was forced to enter battle with this Inquisitor who fought with a crazed level of confidence. Slashing at and assaulting Fen despite both of them being weak and exhausted during this fight. The Inquisitor expressed that Xan Prayerkeep desired Fen's grimoire due to how full of knowledge it is... but that he also desired to learn of how Fen gained such powerful fire spells, something Fen was quick to laugh off and not comment on further. They continued to fight, with both becoming more and more injured as Fen continually shouted for his allies to find him. Eventually, as the two foes were both badly injured, Kodo and Mimsi arrived and managed to kill the Inquisitor before any more damage could be done. With that, Kodo escorted an injured Fen and an exhausted Mimsi out of the alleyways and towards the estate of Batten-Willsh, now the estate of Ardeth, they saw that Ardeth had made use of Batten-Willsh's body as it was now hanging from the upper pillars of his estate and the town had entered a period of shock and celebration as the factories rapidly began to empty and people destroyed the worker tokens that had controlled their lives for so long. Ardeth offered Persicorum the estate to rest and recuperate in and, after the party accepted their offer, she explained that she had spoken to Bazzle about turning this estate into a library and that she sought for this to become something more than simply an overtly expensive politicians home, with that, she offered Kodo and Mimsi free reign to help themselves to the house and it's supplies while Fen asked if she could give him more information about the pact he had made with the Reaper. Ardeth told Fen the information the party had not yet discovered, the Reaper hound is not a species but, rather, one of only 3 in existence after a group of 3 brothers created a cult of ego known as The Trine designed to gather enough power to become deities and unseat and replace the Lady of Pain. She became wise to this however and sent Drahz Grymhook to enact her punishment. The three brothers were captured and imprisoned in the Abyss and, to add further shame to their deeds, they were transformed into hounds... the ultimate creature of servitude. After divining into Fen's situation, Ardeth revealed that the pact acted like a parasite, infecting Fen's body as the reaper hound slowly gains influence. According to Ardeth, that means the day will come one day where the mask will appear on Fen's face and he will no longer be the owner of his body. Fen asked for solutions and he and Ardeth came up with four options:
- The Reaper flexes the power of his taken form.
- Fen could complete research of his own and see if there is a solution for a pact to be broken and the virus to be removed through other spellcasters and knowledge in the world.
- Fen could reach out to other patrons and see if a pact with another creature would replace the one with the reaper hound.
- Fen could attempt to reach out to either Drahz Grymhook or the Lady of Pain with his issue and hope they would be willing to help him be free of the reaper... though that came with the huge risk of them possibly choosing to imprison Fen in the reaper's place.
- Fen could make the most of the time he has left and live in the knowledge that one day he will no longer be and instead the reaper hound will be unleashed on the world with Fen's abilities.
Report Date
09 Oct 2022
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