Session 8
General Summary
Nightmarionettes
Your consciousnesses are flooded with emotions, voices, ideas, nightmares, all rushing forth impeding thought before the cacophony fades, and you all feel the presence of one another, though can’t find yourself within any space.The mists took hold in the graveyard of St. Andral's Church. Vicious images and visions took hold in each of the party's minds, each sensing the visions as if they were in each other's minds...
Idris: As the whispering voice behind you fades away, you lie in the open grave of the woman. She looks peaceful. In a flash her features decay, and a heavy *thump* is felt upon your back. Don, Sin, Grim, each partially decayed, bone peaking away from peeling skin and sloughing flesh. As the third corpse lays heavy on your back, a voice speaks to you from the opening of the grave, it sounds like your own. “Your friends, or should I say your family? Always doin’ right by them. Is that how you remember it?” At that moment, it starts to burn within the pit as the bodies are wrapped in orange and yellow flames licking at the exposed skin and flesh on the corpses. “You can’t run, Idris. You did this.” You feel dirt begin to pile on your back from above. Ahrieya: You pick your head up to find yourself in chains. They rattle as you move, and a shadow begins to peer over you. “What kind of sister tries to kill her own brother. Alas, you were weak. But I can make you strong… Submit to me.” You see each of your companions staring down at you with a crooked grin as the chains wrench you up to see a humanoid male, elven. His features seem a bit gaunt, and his skin is covered in scars; some look from battle, others seem to make out words. “Admit it, you WANTED me to find you…” Ariadne: You turn to see your mother, arms open wide for an embrace before she turns black as pitch, she rises, stretching unnaturally before her shadowy features become jagged. “Embrace what you know yourself to be, Ariadne. A Monster. Just. Like. Me…” The shadow twists around you like a snake. “Don’t you think you could be so. Much. More? Let the monster out, Ariadne? Slaughter them like sheep…” Gio and Nova: The image of the raven haired woman is clear now for the two of you. Slowly, the form bubbles as boils and cysts form throughout the body as metal plates emerge from the flesh as the woman grows. She stares with a pained, betrayed look on her face. “It’s her, Gio. She’s a monster. She’ll get you killed. Don’t you want to be with me again?” As she says that, heads begin to sprout out of the boils. “Don’t you miss us daddy?” Behind you a cloaked figure stands. Rahadin seemingly looming over you, holding another gnome male with one hand. “Savages all. Well, it's a shame really; but I can’t say I wont enjoy it.” As he speaks the gnome is gone, appears behind you, Nova, and speaks in Rahadin’s voice. “You should have perished with them. Is that why you’re here? You want to join them, don’t you?” The figure of Rahadin begins to move, and the face shifts. The visage of a gruff, older looking man takes hold. “Gio, you were only gonna get them killed anyway. You couldn’t even be like us if you tried. And if you tried, you’d just die. The familiar voice of The Gardener cries out once again at Nova. “GIVE IT BACK. RETURN MY ROOTS!” Ireena: You see dead bodies of each of your companions: Idris, Ariadne, Ahrieya, Gio, and Nova, skewered, beheaded, flayed, gutted, or consumed by wolves. Ahead, Ismark, Kolyan, and Indira, gaunt and pale, kneel before a man with sharp features and raven hair, fangs bared. “Just a pawn, a fool. Burden. Burden. BURDEN!” It screams. The figure approaches Ireena, lifts her head up by the chin, and caresses her face, running a hand through her hair. She looks up at him, frightened, afraid, as tears stream down her face. “Trapped…”As everyone's vision returned as they found themselves in a familiar graveyard, however it was very silent. Slowly, from the mist, images of each party member morphed from the shadow and began to assault the party, as a shadowy version of The Gardener formed with a shining shape resting within its cheat laughed in its typical wheezing. As fighting ensued, each shadow descended on a party member. Gio's shadow gave a wink before striking Ahrieya while her shadow shoots Viggo into a puff of smoke. Idris controls shadow Nova's actions, and as his shadow tries to do the same thing, he fails, possibly a portent for the remainder of the fight. Slowly, the party whittles down the shadows one by one. As the visage of the Gardener sank its claws within the party, Ahrieya tries to pry whatever is in its chest, which seemed like a book. Blowing away the haunting shadow with one last spell, Ahrieya managed to grab the tome without damaging it. With another troubling experience under their belt, the party decides to return to the Blue Water Inn for the evening.
Unexpected Author
The party returned to the inn and promptly split up. Nova and Ahrieya returned upstairs, Gio went to take a bath, and Idris decided to sit alone as Ireena and Ariadne discussed what they saw and how they felt about everything. Decided he shouldn't sit alone, the two decided to join Idris and talk a bit about their pasts. While Gio bathed, a radiant figure appeared next to him. Looking more humanoid, Gio asked if it knew anything else about itself, revealing that it came here to visit his brother, and knows of the inn and the area, but wasn't from here. Asking what the humanoid should be called, the voice responded by saying Gio could call them Dennis before claiming he can "feel her presence" before phasing out of existence. Ahrieya took a moment to look at the book, and through some careful reading of a very complex and magical cypher, revealed multiple sections and passages: War, Peace, Love, and Power. The sections "War & Peace" had a section that was deciphered, which read...I am the Ancient. I am the Land. My beginnings are lost in the darkness of the past. I was the warrior, I was good and just. I thundered across the land like the wrath of a just god, but the war years and the killing years wore down my soul as the wind wears stone into sand. All goodness slipped from my life. I found my youth and strength gone, and all I had left was death. My army settled in the valley, renamed for my father as we took power over the people in the name of a just god, but with none of a god’s grace or justice. I called for my family, long unseated from their ancient thrones, and brought them here to settle in the castle father and I built for them. Ravenloft. They came with a younger brother of mine, Sergei, nearly grown, and I had never known him. He was handsome and youthful. I hated him for both.Quickly closing the book, Ahrieya came to the conclusion that this was Strahd's journal, and frankly didn't want to deal with that right now.
Well-earned Camaraderie
As Gio went upstairs to check on Nova and Ahrieya, Nova went downstairs to join Idris, Ariadne, and Ireena and engage in some pranking. Idris went to talk with Lady Wachter's sons, who seem to be absolutely plastered. Idris left them a note to see if they could take the party to Lady Wachter's house once they sobered up. Meanwhile, Ariadne and Nova both played a prank on them, making an illusion of a rat as well as floating over a vampire puppet to the drunk men to both surprise and spook them. Ireena did not know how to follow up with another prank. Upstairs, Ahrieya told Gio about the book and who its author is, and both agreeing that perhaps right now we don't need to address it. A discussion of trust and judgement was had, and Ahrieya brought up the wink that Gio's shadow did during the fight earlier, with Gio having no idea why it happened. Resting for the evening, the party woke up the next day and went downstairs for breakfast. When everyone was collected, they began to have a bit of a lighthearted conversation. The party revealed each of their favorite colors, as well as their happiest memory: reading with her parents for Ahrieya, a seemingly mundane day with Gio and his family, time spent with a close friend with Ariadne, beating all the boys in her village for Nova, playing music with a close friend for Idris, and enjoying the company of friends for Ireena. The tone shifted as Ahrieya revealed the author of the journal, and Gio listed all the tasks they had to do. There is much that still needs to be done
Report Date
21 Sep 2022
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