Story So Far - Night, Day, and the Path Between
Session 12
We open in Nulakakaram. Flrqnbrg has cracked into the city and unleashed a mob of uncreated. The automatons have successfully prevented them breaching the library, but they can't hold forever. Luckily, Night, Day, and the Path Between have arrived to save the day.
Yuna creates illusions of Night to confuse the uncreated, while Sage summons ice and wind from the Sky to wipe out the monsters. The line of automatons advances to the crack to confront Flrqnbrg directly.
Meanwhile, Jac rushes to find the timeworn. They cower in their nest and curse the pantheon for leading Flrqnbrg to their hiding place, the very monster they have been running from. But Jac doesn't have time to debate blame and convinces them to fight for their lives. They all flood out to join the fight.
And what a battle it is. The might of Flrqnbrg overwhelms our heroes, sapping their strength and draining their effort. All seems lost when Jac falls to a mortal blow. But the celestial energy suffusing a godbound can not so easily be quenched, and in a burst of light Jac rises in a divine fury. With a final push they are able to vanquish Flrqnbrg once and for all.
Queen Rani is still quite upset at the beast being led here, and demands a blood payment for the all her children that died today. As the divine fury ends and Jac passes out, Rani siezes the moment and lunges. Luckily, Yuna's reactions are honed enough that she is able to keep Rani at bay long enough for Jac to recover. Sage's honeyed words convince the timeworn that it is over, everything is finally over. With few words, Rani gathers her hive and they leave this realm.
After recovering for a bit, our pantheon travels to Yuna's shrine to pick up her flock. Most of her Shadow Wolves wish to accompany the party to The Bleak Reach, as not much remains for them here in Raktia. Yuna drops off her followers in Sanctuary before travelling in search of The Buried Mother.
After travelling in the mountains for a bit, our heroes are greeted by Aman once more. He is delighted that Yuna has come home at last, come to be with Mother. We are led deep in the mountains to a towering woman buried to her waste. She is warm and welcoming, and tries to convince Yuna and the others to stay and be safe. She tells her story, of how she came to be in this state.
The more she talks, the more Sage realizes she is not being quite truthful and forthright. Yes, she believes that she wants to keep people safe from a broken world, but outright lies about not harming anyone... Eventually, our heroes deduce that a broken celestial engine caused this, and if they could find and repair the device then it might free this poor woman. This realization is followed by another: the Buried Mother has been slowly dragging the earth beneath the party towards the temple carved into her womb.
Sage quickly causes everyone to fly and no longer touch the earth, then our heroes rush into the temple to find the path to the celestial engine. The see a swirling road of blinding light, the exact opposite of a Night Road. Yuna passes her Endurance to everyone so they can survive the raw divine energy, and plunge into the stream.
The sight at the end of the road is beautiful and terrifying, far beyond anything mortals have created. Such a powerful device could be dismantled, its energy absorbed, and the pantheon grow exponentially in power. Think of the changes they could make in the world then.... But the cost to the Bleak Reach is too great, so our heroes use their combined abilities to repair this divine device.
Back in the mortal world, Aliente is now free and no longer the Buried Mother. She is overwhelmed with a rush of differing emotions, and far beyond grateful to the party. When asked why they would help her so, Yuna replies "In the Bleak Reach, no single person watches over everyone. We watch over each other, and that is how we have stayed alive".
Denouement
Obedience wakes up in the temple, now open to the sky above. He is alone, with no mother. Yuna finds a certain kinship with Aliente and their relationship grows and blossoms. They establish their home in the Bleak Reach, part of the new temple. Sanctuary is renamed to Twilight, as this is where Night and Day meet. It becomes the new home of the Shadow Wolves. Yuna spends a lot of time finding other celestial engines in need of repair. When she locates a new one, she contacts Sage and Jac to come and help with the repair. Sage frequently requests they dismantle just one, just a little snack of power, but always the decision is to repair. Most of the library of Nulakakaram is relocated to Fidenza, part of Jac's shrine. However, the tomes containing more dangerous knowledge are set aside and sent to Yuna's shrine for guarding. Jac does a lot of fixing and acquiring knowledge. He frequently struggles to not cross the line of making another war machine to invade heaven... Queen Rani leads her children in search for their god. They eventually track him to a ship landing on the north shore of Ancalia. Out steps an Ulstang draugr, one deadlier and more terrible than any that has ever existed. Sage spends most of his time repairing and defending Ancalia. Not as king, but instead a wandering god. He deals with the warlords, slowly but surely bringing an end to petty wars. He creates an elite group called the Sage Nights that stand in defense against the Ulstang incursion. The Patrian Empire formally declares war against Raktia and Vissio. Spies know there is a clear divide in the Senate, with only barely a majority in favor of continuing this campaign. The Oasis States rekindle their old alliance with Patria, and begin their support by having their Cinnabar Order strike against Sage's shrine in their mountains. Nezdohva allies with The Regency of Dulimbai against Patria, and The Bright Republic remains staunchly neutral and cuts off their supply of goods to both sides. The rest of the world is either too broken or too wrapped up in their own shit to care. But this is a story for another time.Session 11
Our Pantheon is in bad shape, still reeling from the attack by Flrqnbrg. With The Sage knocked unconscious, Jac feels a weariness seep in that he hasn't felt in a long time. Yuna hefts the body on her shoulders and they make haste down the created path.
Sage comes to as the party reenters the mortal realm in Hadiya. People are availing themselves of the entertainment created by Jac and having a general good time, an air of hope maybe creeping in. While Yuna and Jac go to find some rest, Sage seek out Winta Dega to share the good news regarding the defeat of The Dried Lord and end to this hollowing plague. However, the people are not out of danger yet, as necromantic energy still permeats the land ready to be harnessed. To the surprise of everyone, Sage does not claim the throne despite having the right to do so. The people of Ancalia must find their own path.
Present at this meeting is a new face, Aman. A perfectly chiseled jaw and sculpted physique, he is delighted to finally meet the ones he has been searching for. Sage leads Aman to where Yuna and Jac are resting, away from the public, prying eyes. Aman explains he is an emissary for The Buried Mother, sent here to try and convince Yuna to join them back home in The Bleak Reach. Sage realizes Aman is sprinkling his words with Passion, and makes sure Yuna is immune to such mental trickery. His mission failed, Aman immediately turns hostile and negative. He warns that Mother is not patient, and the party will not like what she sends next. He disappears into the ground, and the party is finally able to get some rest.
The next day, Sage opens a path to Fidenza. Flrqnbrg probes the path, trying to find some weakness. He deduces that the pantheon must have learned how to make this from somewhere, and maybe that is where you have been travelling to. Time to pay a visit to this lost, forgotten mote of the shattered world.
In Fidenza, everything seems "fine". The people are working with a smile on their faces to tear apart the defenses, readying to welcome the approaching Patrian army. They rejoice seeing the party and talk how wonderful they are here to meet the prophet and finally learn the errors of their ways. However, it is evident their minds are being pulled between two divine manipulations, and it is not difficult to break whatever hold is on them. A quick burst of Passion from Sage makes them all flee in terror from the coming battle.
We arive where Jac's shrine used to be, currently replaced with ongoing construction to a temple to the One True God. Yuna takes up a sniper post on a nearby rooftop while Jac and Sage enter. Inside they find The Golden General personally overseeing the construction. She seems under considerable mental strain with the effort to keep this many thralls as she welcomes the party to the purified grounds. Witness the false gods, after days of cowardice, finally coming to repent and bask in the glory of the One True God.
Taking none of this shit a fight breaks out. The General summons minions to her aid, Patrian soldiers who suddenly walk in at the right time. But even with this support the battle is not going in her favor. She notices Yuna on the roof and suddenly leaps through the air and slashes. The General bolts down an ally, using innocent civilians for cover and as victims to cover more ground. But Yuna's arrow cares not for walls or doors or other people in the way, it finds its mark and strikes true.
The people are confused. Our heroes spend more divine power to set things right and rebuild the defenses and shrine. They pray for forgiveness and mercy, knowing not what they were doing. The party bears no ill will to their flock, even going so far as to commit further divine power to halt the oncomming army yet again.
Planning their next move, Yuna reaches out to Akos Benes regarding her plans for her Shadow Wolves. The Raktine Confederacy being cleaned of monsters, their next challenge lies in The Bleak Reach. Gather those who wish to take up the call and meet at the shrine. And just to hammer the point home, as Akos is spreading the word to others, Yuna blocks out the sun for a bit.
Whispers from the library. The automatons reach out that something is happening in the city. Their work never done, our pantheon rests the evening and opens a new path at dawn.
Session 10
Voices whisper their pleas to Night, Day, and the Path Between. Pathists have lost contact with the remaining enemies in The Black Academies. Shadow Wolves have mysteriously run out of monsters to hunt. And Order of the Sun have learned that The Patrian Empire is sending The Golden General to Fidenza.
Dire times are upon our heroes as they find themselves in an idyllic valley. Jember is rambling on about nothing important when a couple guards stop the party. Word of Samson's presence has reached their leader Winta Dega, and she demands their presence. The party goes to her modest office and assure her they are not here to cause trouble. They are here to help, and concerned only with the safety of Ancalia's people. Winta is not convinced, stuck in her preconception of the Butcher of Binai, but nonetheless allows everyone to stay. Many people have a past, this refuge is a place of peace and putting all that behind us.
Back in Jember's lab, he continues to ramble. Growing impatient, Sage uses his Knowledge to know all that Jember knows without having to wait for the explanation. There is a black ooze permeating the land everywhere but this valley. If can find the source and destroy it, the land might start to heal itself. And while Jember can sniff out the source, he is not able to get through the vast zombie hoards on his own. And so the mission becomes clear.
Before heading out, Jac creates some music boxes and carnival games to help alleviate the villagers' tedium. Maybe this small glimmer of hope will help push them to a brand new day.
The journey is easy enough with the sheer power of our pantheon. Swathes of undead are wiped out through the mountains, as the paths steadily become more familiar to Sage. The inevitable destination, his home. The castle is covered in a seething mass of undead as the sun crests the horizon. Jember smells the source within the castle, so Yuna creates an opening in the hoard. The party dashes down the halls, mowing down zombies and protecting Jember, until they finally reach the throne room. Sage unfortunately recognizes some of the hoard, casualties lost to the cruel war.
The middle of the floor has collapsed into an ooze-filled pit. Magical runes line the outside - clearly the source of this plague. The Dried Lord sits upon the throne, waiting for the day when his rival Samson would return. Harsh words are exchanged, and it becomes clear that Eadwulf no longer cares about anything other than destruction.
As the powerful corpse rises to fight, Jac suddenly gets a powerful influx of prayers from his cult. The Golden General has reached Fidenza much earlier than anticipated, and she is attacking the shrine. Jac focuses his attention on his place of power and sees an imposing figure clad in golden plate armor. She commands the citizens to tear down this "abomination to the One True God", and much to Jac's surprise he sees some of his own flock obeying the commands. He does what he can to free their minds, but the general thralls more.
Eadwulf begins by sucking all the life out of the room. Our pantheon can weather the attack, but Jember passes out near the pool he was studying. Sage treats the mage while Yuna just... goes to town fucking up oh so much....
Jac blasts the General with his power, causing her to search frantically for him. She screams out to the "coward", demanding that he come face her. She will be right here, waiting.
As Sage and Yuna take out the Dread Lord he lets out a rasping chuckle that echoes off the walls. Knowing they don't have much time, Sage quickly gets to work sealing the pit and forcing his divine will to hold in the curse. We see the Dread Lord about to rise from the ooze when the lid is slammed shut and he is buried in the ground. As Jember comes to, he is not at all bitter that the party was able to solve in a day what he had been working on for seven months...
Sage uses his staff to open a path back to Hadiya. On this journey he feels something is off, and suddenly they come across hooded figures. The missing Black Academics have been found, though they are clearly traumatized from having been drug through raw uncreated night. Flrqnbrg demands they break down the walls of this false night road and let him in. He hungers... But before anyone can blink our heroes pink mist these cultists. Foiled yet again, a tentacle wildly flails about and knocks out Sage before it screams in pain and rage and runs away again.
Session 9
We open with the Pantheon hearing prayers of their faithful.
- Yuna hears prayers of vengeance from the masses, while her Shadow Wolves speak of the apparent dispanding of Curse-Eaters in The Raktine Confederacy. There are too few of them hunting down what they can, but it is hard to do without the full support of the nation.
- Sage's Pathists mostly seek guidance. Those from the prior Black Academies feel without purpose, while the layperson simply wants to know what to do with their life. As well, there are rumors of the hold-out Black Academics planning something big. Sage recommends to his faithful that if they can't find their own path to follow the example he has given. Seek knowledge, do good, do not hoard, and do not hide away.
- Jac's newly founded Order of the Sun mostly send prayers of revelry. The core spies, though, have uncovered information that The Patrian Empire is planning something big, some new weapon to make an example of these small places that have dared to oppose them.
Session 8
"Welcome to the Great Library of Nulakakaram. May I see the identification for the two of you?"
An automaton of some kind approaches Sage and Jac, while Yuna hides in the shadows. Sage replies that their party seeks knowledge, and hope to bring what is here back to Arcem. The metal person seems annoyed with their lack of documentation proving them to be Master Theotechnicians, and takes our heroes to see the Keeper of Records, leader of this place.
Along the way the attendant apologizes for the mess at the entrance; recently some unknown person blew through the halls, causing such a ruckus as they made their way down. The attendant leads the party down stairs into the dark basement. Doors line the corridor, behind them the remnants of research labs and workstations long out of use. The attendant again apologizes, as their new guests that have made this basement their home aren't exactly the tidiest.
The Keeper's office, normally the cleanest and best maintained of the facility, looks like an explosion went off. Furniture in pieces, holes in the walls and cieling, and debris piled haphazardly. The Keeper themself, an automaton quite larger than the attendants, is ripped almost in half and leans against a column for support. After the attendant explains the situation, the Keeper begins to explain that only master theotechnicians are allowed to study here. However, they only get partyway through their statement before a glazed look comes over their eyes and they speak of no longer requiring such approval (almost as if there is new programming dictating their actions).
In any case, Jac fixes the room in the blink of an eye. Furniture rights itself, the debris goes back into the wall, and every surface looks as it did before the Shattering. Buried under debris the party sees a Celestial Shard, but only briefly before the restoration puts it back into its safe (which then slams shut). Jac then turns his attention to the Keeper and brings them back to shape. The Keeper is massively grateful and in awe; not even the most knowledgeable of theotechnicians could perform such wondrous magics. Perhaps Jac could finish the task their master started, and build a worthy occupant for Heaven's throne! ...maybe another time...
The Keeper explains why the room was in such a state. An intruder popped out of the ground, blew a hole through the guards, destroyed this workshop, grabbed most of the shards, then ran off. Despite this room no longer having any clues, Yuna is able to track this person's route through the dead city. It seems while the party was taking the safest route entering the city, this other person made a direct path to the Night Road. And so our heroes venture once more into the night, determined to reclaim the shards. During this brief venture, Yuna feels a presence reaching out from the depths. Far away, but clearly has taken notice of Yuna. Just a fleeting, glancing presence, but still worrisome.
Back in Arcem, the party catches up with this other person rather quickly. It seems they still require a mortal's rest. There is a combat of sorts, with Yuna fucking this guy up quite a bit despite all their tricks to try and escape. Eventually, Sage uses their Passion to make a friend, and we learn this Godbound's name is Obedience Wright. He stole the shards to bring back to The Buried Mother, and he is terrified of returning empty handed. The pantheon debates a while what to do with him, and eventually decide to keep him with the group until they can think of something better. But don't trust the guy, he is opportunistic to a fault.
Back in the Night Road, Yuna again feels the presence. But this time, closer. "Oh, you survived... this will be more fun than I thought...." The voice of Flrqnbrg. Our pantheon hurries through the Night, arriving back in Nulakakaram without incident. Sage and Jac get to work on the travel artifact, converting Sage's staff into a powerful device to manufacture new Night Roads with a modicum of safety.
Meanwhile, Yuna consumes the remaining shard and sends divine energy to her Shadow Wolves. To her friend Akos Benes Yuna sends a special bow, a gift to overcome the hides of that which they fight. As well, all who follow her teachings are gifted with night sight, so what they seek can not hide in shadow.
That work done, Yuna spends some time with Queen Rani, leader of the Timeworn in Nulakakaram. We learn of the destruction of her world by a Made God, their difficult time hiding here initially while being at odds with the automatons, and then their god Zurvan manifesting the Night to protect this realm.
Yuna also notices that Obedience is having fitfull sleep. She steps into his dreams and has a brief encounter with The Buried Mother. Yuna is invited to return home to The Bleak Reach, where Mother is waiting.
The artifact complete, Sage uses it for the first time to go back to Arcem. Finally ready to return to Ancalia, his home, Sage slams the staff into the ground to open the path between worlds. Yuna feels the presence again, finding her, drawing closer and closer. As the pantheon reaches the end of the road, tentacles burst out from the Uncreated Night. The party hears a terrible shriek as the defenses built into the road push back the monster, and we emerge back into the light and life of Arcem.
While they were away, The Raktine Confederacy split into 2 factions: those who ally themselves with Night, Day, and the Path Between, and those who ally with The Patrian Empire. Various political maneuverings happened between all the factions, culminating in the remnants of the Curse-Eaters and Black Academies attacking Yuna's and Sage's cults. While unsuccessful, it is cause for concern, and Sage's Pathists counter with an attack of their own.
Session 7
Our Pantheon has quite a few roads before them, and we open on them figuring out the best path forward. Do they go to Ancalia, meet with the curse-eater archmage and liberate some people? Should they go to this library they recently learned of? All good things, but first The Patrian Empire needs to be driven out of Vissio.
On the way back to Fidenza the party sees massive war machines on the horizon. They decide to clear the city of the troops before those machines get here in a few days, and head to the central Patrian command to start. Sage creates a distraction so Yuna and Jac can sneak in, and Yuna decides to use the loudest gun possible to kick off the fight.
While Yuna is a whir of death and carnage, Jac rushes up the stairs in a blink to confront the general. The skies open up and a beam of sunlight pierces through the ceiling to disintigrate the general, while a sea of blood floods the lobby.
The next few days contain multiple scenes similar to this. The soldiers are steadily killed or driven out from all over the city, while the party exerts their divine will to encourage the Vissio citizens to join in. One problem are the ships bringing supplies... that is until Sage makes everyone fly, and Yuna and Jac lay waste to the Patrian fleet. But no time for celebration, as fresh soldiers approach with their machines of war. Our heroes lead the people in shoring up the defenses and preparing for what lays before, Yuna ensuring everyone has the energy they need.
Dawn. The machines are at the gates. But the Patrian army did not account for an Artifice-bound godling, and Jac with but a thought takes command of one of the machines. As he steers the machine towards the others we see Finwe lift another of the massive constructs and hurl it away. A battle of epic proportions ensues between Jac's machine and the one remaining, with both being destroyed. As the smoke clears we see full retreat of the Patrian army. The day is saved!
Her issue solved, Finwe tells the party how to get to the Library and the Celestial Shards she found. Yuna expresses some concern about travelling a Night Road since her recent encounter, but the pantheon decides to journey forth anyways. They find the black-rock entrance to the uncreated night and journey within. The party is accosted by some uncreated, but prevail and continue the dangerous journey.
At the end of this Night Road stands another fragment of the shattered world. Unlike Arcem, this place seems cold and lifeless, abandoned to decay in the void. Shadows cling to the party as they intrude in this realm, familiar and comforting to fellow Night-bound Yuna. However, Sage and Jac begin to feel fatigue from the divine energy protecting this realm, so Yuna miracles some defenses across the team. Creatures are heard in the distance, but Sage is able to get everyone to the center of the city without incident.
At the entrance to the Library the see a gun turret in a broken heap on the floor. Inside they see a disheveled library, with bookshelves and pages and pieces of metal automaton scattered about. Deeper inside seems meticulously cared for, but something recently blew through here. Other automatons are cleaning up, but before they spot the party Jac and Sage begin to absorb the knowledge around them.
This library was once a major research hub for Theotech, fundamental to mortals learning how to siege Heaven and create the made gods that shattered the world. The answers our heroes seek is surely contained here, as is the key to unlocking horrors beyond imagining.
They have but a moment to process and ponder this before noticed by a librarian. This episode ends as the pantheon is asked for their library cards.
Session 6
We open on the war room in Finwe's stronghold with Finwe explaining the current situation to our pantheon. Apparently, Fiora Barbarigo had aspirations to rule over both Lavello and Fidenza, so made some kind of deal with The Patrian Empire and hired the Order of Redactors to take out the leadership in Fidenza. However, since The Light of Ottavio was no longer protecting Fidenza (having been given to Zurvan) Patria decided to renege on part of their deal and just take over the city. Finwe has been fighting back for the last week and has succeeded in taking out the Patrian leadership, but has made no progress in freeing the city.
Jac has the idea to recruit the Razors to the cause and begins to exert his divine will on the world. However, he feels some resistance to the change, and the party realizes there must be a Mundus Ward somewhere. Sage uses his Knowledge power to seek anyone who knows of the device and is not actively keeping it secret, and as luck would have it Head Artificer Cosimo Malapietra would have had to tell Lyceecia about the ward in order to help build her artifact. Sage gets a vision of deep in a cellar, zooming out to a nondescript house in the middle of Lavello. Yuna surrounds the party with the shadows of Night so they can slip past the Patrian army and leave Fidenza.
The party sees a Patrian presence in Lavello, but nothing like the occupation of Fidenza. They arrive at the house on a quiet street, easily missed if they didn't know exactly where to go. Yuna walks through the shadows throughout the house and discovers this base of operations for the Razors to be crawling with armed assassins. Sage opens the way for the party to get down to the cellar, with Yuna putting most everyone to sleep with the most surreal dreams.
Deep in the back sits an ancient device built into the foundation. The original tech has been updated and maintained through the centuries, resulting in a blend of artistic styles. Jac uses his Artificing to understand those who made this device and learn that everyone involved has been long dead, and their institutions long forgotten to dust. However, the flow of celestial energy does give one place still standing, the Great Library of Nulakakaram. Jac notes this and begins working on the key to the mundus ward, while Yuna and Sage stand guard.
Meanwhile, the guildmaster for the Redactors was not affected by Yuna's sleep and has been waiting to strike whomever is infiltrating his stronghold. After a while with no incursion coming upstairs, the guildmaster goes off to check everywhere. He eventually makes his way down to the cellar with some of his Razors and sees our heroes messing with the ward. Sage uses Passion to make everyone terrified while Yuna uses her stealth and knives to distract from Jac. They buy just enough time for Jac to finish his work, and after turning off the machine the party takes out some of the assassins here (including the guildmaster). The rest flee while Jac speaks some nice words and commits dominion to make those present into his worshippers.
Taking a breather, Sage and Yuna check in with their factions. Both of them invest a bit more into growing their flock, with Yuna learning that the Curse-Eater Archmage is interested in meeting her once she can make her way to Ancalia. Sage thinks more on his goal of making stable fast-travel travel technology and wonders if this ancient library that Jac learned about might have more information.
Session 5
We open on our Pantheon standing on a hill, staring out over the front lines of the Patrian army. Sun Boy and The Darkness do some kind of visual effect. To make their presence more ominous Yuna darkens the sky to night while Jac shines as a beacon. A small contingent rides out to greet our heroes led by one in resplendent armor, General Than. Sage pulls out the megaphone made for him by Jac and introduces the godlings. He uses Passion to instill fear on all who can hear him, declaring that "The Raktine Confederacy is not [their's] to conquer". The party expends some divine Influence to make this change more long-lasting.
The heroes then return to Felek with the Raktia soldiers, partying the entire march back. The gates swing open and the citizens join in the celebration, gearing up for a night of revelry. Jac begins to orchestrate the endeavors, but Sage and Yuna decide to call it a night relatively early.
A stranger approaches Yuna while she is away from the group. A member of the local Curse-Eaters, he requests Yuna's assistance with something. Suspicious of this person, Yuna remembers Sage's advice to be more involved with the people and so decided to go with this person. Yuna's suspicions are confirmed as she is ambushed in a house by both Curse-Eaters and members of The Black Academies. Yuna is initially able to hold off the mob with relative ease but decides to investigate the ominous chanting coming from the basement. Academy members finish their ritual and open a portal to a Night Road, releasing tentacles from a vast beast to reach in and grab Yuna. She barely has a chance to reach into Sage's dreams before being dragged into the darkness. The last thing Yuna hears are praises and worships of this writhing mass as Flrqnbrg begins to feed.
Sage awakens with a start. He runs to find Jac and rallies everyone he can find to scour the city. Just under an hour of searching they are greeted by several hooded figures in the middle of the road. Making no attempt to hide their actions, they throw Yuna's head at Sage's feet and then begin their monologue. "Your little group is ruining everything, putting people out of business and upsetting the cultural order", blah blah, etc etc. They explain they took out the warrior first as a warning. If Sage removes whatever ensorcellments he has placed on the other Academy members and Curse-Eaters, then he and Jac will be allowed to leave Raktia with their lives and the country will go back to how things were.
Sage initially wants to walk away. Death only begets more death, but if he wants to truly change the world he can't turn his back this time. "You have made several errors tonight. First, you assume the changes we make to the world are temporary. Second, you assume Yuna was our only warrior. And third, you really pissed me off". With a swing of his broadsword a few of them are immediately cut down. Jac burns with the fire of a thousand suns and the remaining hooded figures are reduced to ash.
As the dust settles, Yuna's body shoots out from her head and grows back. Everyone jumps back in surprise, and Sage uses some Knowledge to understand what is going on. We learn that unless struck down by a divine-enhanced attack, Yuna can not be killed (and also learn a bit that Yuna might be low-key romantically interested in Sage....) Jac quickly makes some new clothes for Yuna and they all head to sleep.
The next morning the party goes to investigate the house. Everything has been packed up in a hurry, leaving behind the bodies from Yuna's daggers and only a few odds and ends. It seems this house was built on the opening to a natural cave, with this Night Road opening older than Felek itself. Jac uses his Artifice to learn that those who built the altar were the founders of the Black Academies. Here is the initial source of their knowledge, an ancient being found on the other side of this portal. Sage puts a robust seal on the portal to make it harder for anyone else to open. As punishment Yuna decides to curse any local Curse-Eaters that don't worship her with damned eyes and weekly nightmares. The party ends their adventures in Felek with a quick visit to Lady Aniko Sarkozky, explaining all that has happened and seeding another political alliance.
On to Fidenza in Vissio, to have a chat with Jac's cousin Razor Lavinia Rossi. Along the way the party sees the Patrian army occupying a significant chunk of Vissio, a worrying development in the world what with the empire's penchant for slavery. Reaching the port city we see a war zone under occupation by Patria, save for a single seiged stronghold. It is easy enough for Sage to Journey them inside, finding a hidden path through the sewers.
The pantheon is greeted by soldiers pointing weapons their way, clearly knowing they had been inflitrated. While Yuna removes the ability of the soldiers to see the party, one person is unaffected. Finwe demands to know why they are here, and how. After some brief conversations and mentions of Lavinia, Finwe allows the party to talk to her on the condition that if they kill her they will not leave these halls alive.
Jac speaks to Lavinia through a closed door, the latter fearing Jac's intentions. They initially banter around the conversation before diving in. Lavinia does not deny ruining her aunt and uncle (Jac's parents) but claims the target was not her choice. She says she regrets what she has done, which Sage knows to be a lie. Jac thanks her, having already forgiven her. With closure at last, Jac thinks ahead to the future, to changes he knows must be made in the world. This Order of Redactors would probably be a good focus...
But first, this Patrian occupation must get resolved. Our godlings will stay and help, at least for a little bit.
Session 4
Our Pantheon has time in the aftermath of their most recent exploits. Jac travels to Fidenza to follow up on the lead with his cousin, only to find she has holed herself up in a new stronghold in the midst of The Patrian Empire annexing some of Vissio. A task for a later time. Meanwhile, Yuna and Sage spend time founding their cults. Outside influences take an interest in these budding new organizations.
Lady Ivyanov calls our heroes back together. There have been some issues in Felek. With word of The Black Academies lessening in power, the Patrian Empire has decided to push their borders a bit outward. Our heroes accept this favor for Raktia, further cementing their alliance.
A few days travel through farmland leads the party to a small city of no more than 10,000. They are required to leave their weapons at the gate, allowing the audience to see for the first time Sage's intricate and ancient family blade. Despite more poking and prodding, no more is learned of Sage's past. Meanwhile, Yuna continues to pull out more and more daggers.
Lady Aniko Sarkozky recognizes these "heroes" from the council meeting and is skeptical about them being able to help. Her only idea is to get the Black Academies to open their doors again and insists that Sage use his influence for that. However, Sage wants to avoid as much loss of life as possible and is concerned what the Academies would do. Instead, they decide to go join the front lines and see how they can help there.
The farms on the path are abandoned, their owners having evacuated to the walled safety of Felek. Turning a corner they are stopped by a scouting party. After showing the writ from Lady Sarkozky, they are led to a camp of 20 or so Raktian soldiers who all seem like they haven't slept in days. Captain Tamas Nagy talks about the Patrian troops. While most seem like fodder, there is an elite squad moving about this side of the line and taking out Raktian soldiers. Those here have heard stories of Night, Day, and the Path Between taking out the Panther, and Sage uses this with his Passion to cement the party's influence over this group.
That night, while the others rest in preparation for the morrow's fight, Yuna walks through shadow to find her prey. One moment she is by a stream, the next just beyond the light of another Raktian squad, then in a small cave. Finally, she comes to a farmhouse that is uncharacteristically lively. Heavily armored soldiers avail themselves of the food stores, not caring the state they leave the house in. The hunt can begin.
Sage dreams of a beach, an uncaring ocean crashing against the shore. In the distance a city burns to the backdrop of a beautiful sunset. Sage refuses to look at the city, as he is all too aware of the horrors that await him in this memory. Yuna's message is a welcome reprieve, a return to the present and the new life.
The next morning the party leads the soldiers to the farmhouse. They track the footprints of the death squad through the hills until it reaches an obvious ambush spot. The soldiers are directed to keep their distance while the godlings go to take care of this. As expected, the Patrian soldiers are waiting, ready to ambush those following them and drag them back to empire to serve as slaves in the mines. Before they even have a chance to understand what is happening Yuna's daggers have already been released and cut down half of the mortal squad. Those that remain surrender in terror.
"Tremble mortals. Look at how the day and night reject you from these lands."
Session 3
The Council of the Raktine Lords approaches. Yuna meets with the Curse-Eaters to warn them of potential monster problems. However, she receives nothing but suspicion and push-back from Akos Benes, worried about Yuna's honeyed words distracting the monster hunters from what they need to do.
The day of the meeting, Bianka Meszaros approaches Sage with a proposition to go tour a The Black Academy right now. Sage uses Knowledge to learn they plan to watch the council meeting and respond from the safety of their walls. Sage and Jac decide to travel to the Academy, while Yuna stays here in Drenkova to deal with the threat that will show up. We see Yuna get in position at a skylight on The Boyardom, a direct line of sight to the council.
Sage, Jac, and Bianka travel for a couple hours into the Awras Mountains, so far that Sage suspects they have gone beyond the borders of Raktia and are actually in the neighboring Oasis States... Nestled in the mountains is a black fortress, accessible only by a narrow and treacherous path. Entering the imposing doors the party sees a massive one-room warehouse, with grotesque and troubling experiments every direction they turn. It is explained that while the other Black Academies focus on maintaining the Night Gate and controlling the flow of monsters, this particular facility researches new and exciting ways to harnass the powers of the Uncreated Night. Their goal is for Raktia to take its place in the world as equal to other nations, not just people to be enslaved and fought over, given scraps of pity when the other nations are done with them. Eventually, the arcanists gather around a large green gem to watch the council proceedings.
The first thing any observer will notice about the council proceedings is the sheer amount of pomp and ceremony. The most outdated and unnecessary customs one could imagine. However, the arcanists seem rapt with this display, their patriotism pulling their attention. The meeting eventually moves to the task at hand, what to do about the Black Academies. A few agree that the monsters roaming the land inhibits trade and diplomatic relations with other nations, while other lords argue that without the monsters their people would be taken over again and enslaved. After long deliberations, those against the Academies win out, and it is decided to begin restricting their activities.
The arcanists begin their response, drawing runes and chanting. They plan to walk the paths of darkness and join the lords in The Boyardom. And so Sage has come to a dilemma. Does he let this spell go off so that they can swoop in and publicly save the lords? Or does he minimize the loss of life and collateral damage, despite no one knowing how their lives were saved? In the end, he decides no more collateral damage in his rise to power. That was the past, and the Sage does things differently now. Sage declares the way to be shut and channels his Journeying to dissipate the magical energy. Ever so faintly, an alien scream is heard from the other side as some creature cries out in frustration. A short fight breaks out, but Jac and Sage are able to take out enough and convince the others to back down. Sage spends Dominion to form the foundations of his cult here.
Meanwhile, Bianka sends a message through the green gem that the plan didn't work. She then tries the ritual herself, but being not-great at magic fucks something up. Jac and Sage come in just as black tendrils shoot out of the ground, drag a screaming Bianka into a black void, then vanish.
Back on the roof, Yuna sees one of the patrols up there talking into a green gem. He then throws the other guards off the roof with magic and bursts down the skylight into the Lords' Chamber. We see Yuna have the same dilemma, whether to minimize collateral damage or whether as many as possible to know they were saved from danger. Yuna decides to watch and wait for the right moment. The arcanist pontificates and postures before the lords, expressing how Raktia needs the Academies and they will not remain silent. Others start to approach the roof, but Yuna quickly fucks them up. As the one in the chamber starts taking action against the lords, Yuna fires a couple shots and silences him. Yuna makes sure the Lords look up and see her before stalking away.
As Jac and Sage return, the city is in chaos in the aftermath of the attack. Yuna meets up and the full pantheon easily gets into the Boyardom and down to the panic room where the Lords are hiding. The three make their presence known and cement their alliance with Lady Stefania Ivyanov. Yuna goes to the Curse-Eaters, spending Dominion to found her cult among their members. We end with Jac spreading the good word to the people of Night, Day, and the Path Between.
Session 2
The road stretches ahead. Our Pantheon is travelling again, on to Drenkova, the capital of Raktia. Though they travel relentlessly through the night they show no sign of wear. A decently-sized city looms on the horizon as dawn breaks. The godlings make their way to The Boyardom hoping to find records of Giovanni Malatesta. Jac uses his Alacrity to get to the front of the long line, only to be met with impenetrable bureaucracy. Sage decides to use his Knowledge to fing Giovanni instead. Peering into the streams of time and causality and all the collective consciousness of all beings, the best course of action is to go drink at a bar.
The party finds a decently nice pub, orders some Vissian wine, and within short order Giovanni comes in. There is some mild banter before Giovanni slips them a note and walks out. The note leads to an abandoned warehouse near the docks. A paranoid Giovanni talks to the party from the shadow, trying to figure out how they found him and what they want. Between talking to the paranoid git and Sage using more Knowledge, we learn that Jac's family was financially ruined as part of initiating a new member, Jac's cousin Lavinia. Everyone goes their separate ways with promises to leave each other alone.
The rest of the evening is spent schmoozing with the bureaucrats. They seem to overemphasize decorum and pomp, but Sage is still able to learn that most consider Lady Stefania Ivyanov a competent ruler and Andras Meszaros is corrupt.
As Sage and Jac turn in for the evening, Yuna goes to the office of the Curse-Eaters. She exchanges small talk with one of the the Tome-Keepers, and ends up helping immensely with research for a current hunt. Suddenly, Yuna feels her connection to Jac's dreams sever. Jac snaps awake just as a knife is coming down, and faster than thought gets out of the way. Jac easily dodges the wild slashes from Giovanni, and Sage comes in and convinces the poor man to run. As Giovanni bolts out of the room, an arrow lodges itself into the bedpost where he was just moments before. Yuna, still on the other side of town at the Curse-Eaters office, puts away her bow and resumes her work.
The next morning our heroes go to visit Lady Ivyanov as she holds court in her castle. They are there for an alliance, offerring what services they can. Neither side truly wants anything yet, but bonds begin to bud. When asked about The Black Academies Lady Ivyanov mentions how they are a plague on the land and the Sage would be better off seeking help elsewhere. But if one must meet with them, their representative Bianka Meszaros can probably be found in some decadence somewhere in the city. As the meeting wraps up, Sage uses some more Knowledge to learn that soon will be a meeting of the Lords of Raktia to discuss just this issue of the academies.
Sage and Jac find Bianka at The Release, while Yuna waits across the street at a tea shop. Playful banter dominates the conversation at first, until Sage takes a bump of Spice and becomes massively overconfident. He claims he can lead the Black Academies better than their current leadership into a brighter path. From there words turn a bit harsh, but Sage is still able to use Knowledge to learn that the Academies are aware of the council meeting about to happen. They are ready to respond with violence if necessary. The encounter ends with Sage exerting Influence over Bianka to convince her that maybe Sage can offer something.
Meanwhile, Yuna deals with some punk kid over at the tea shop. Apparently he frequently causes trouble and gets his way, and no one touches him because his father is local head of The Church. So Yuna sets him straight, throws him out, and that's that.
We end with the party making preparations for the Boyardom and figuring out how to stop whatever the Academies have planned.
Session 1
We open on three travelers on the road, only one on horseback. While one might assume them to be weary, they are well rested and refreshed despite days of constant travel without sleep. This is Our Pantheon, recently crossing the border into The Raktine Confederacy.
Jac is following a lead on Giovanni Malatesta, a retired Vissian Razor who might have information on the downfall of Jac's family.
Yuna believes Raktia might be the perfect place to rebuild her Shadow Wolves. Perhaps start with the Curse-Eaters and go from there.
Sage is mostly here to help Jac and Yuna. However, if an opportunity presents itself, the theurgists of The Black Academies might be able to help with the Night Road problem in Ancalia.
Our godlings arrive in the town of Berzova, a bustling crossroads village. Through various conversations and townsfolk interactions, we learn that Giovanni passed through on their way to Drenkova, generally people are positive about their life, and that the Curse-Eaters frequently come through to collect on bounties from the clerk Klara Benes.
Almost on cue, an armored band strolls into town, dragging a monstrous beast behind them. They are a bit of assholes in their interactions with the crowd, but people seem relatively receptive to them. The party interacts with Laszlo Molnar and Aniko Nagy, posturing and sizing each other up.
Our heroes offer to take care of a monster that has vexed these hunters and learn of "The Panther". Aniko is amused by the idea of watching these greenhorns get utterly destroyed by this living shadow and agrees to lead them to its lair (after her men get a night of drinking, of course). On the way to the "beast"'s lair, Sage talks up Yuna and puts her on a pedastal for these mortals. Steadily building the legend before seeing the action.
The actual fight does not last long. Jac lights up like a beacon to lure and distract the creature, as well as provide good lighting for Yuri's arrows of death. There are some tense moments when the being of pure uncreated night eats the divine gifts, but nothing our heroes can't handle.
The session ends with these mortals being converted to the first official followers of Night, Day, and the Path Between.
