Session XIII - The Grip Tightens
8th-9th of Tororima, 560 AL
Exiting the cave of the Norns, the party heaves a weary sigh and begins to discuss their various prophecies. Melinoe breaks down and explains what happened to make the Norns say what they did about her.
Melinoe had a brother once. He was the golden child of the family -- the one spellcaster among them. He was their hope and was even said to be the reincarnation of a god of hope. One day, their family was attacked by assassins. Melinoe and her brother were trapped by them. In a moment of desperation, she used her brother as a diversion to escape from the killers. Her brother was killed in her place.
Flint retorts that at no point in the story did she kill her brother. The rest of the party speaks words of support for Melinoe. As she laments, Melinoe lashes out at Strattora as she tries to reassure her fellow cleric.
In delving into her past, Melinoe finishes by telling the party that her entire motivation for becoming a cleric was to save people to atone for her brother's death. That each life saved would somehow balance the scales.
After silence settles over the group for some time, they decide to explore the shantytown surrounding the cave of the Norns. They split up to cover more ground. Strattora finds a strange red leather journal in an old saloon with a screaming demon engraved into the lock's clasp. The book does not open. Astra flies into the air and immediately spots an approaching battalion of goblins and lizardfolk with advanced weaponry that they had seen before. They jet off towards the group to warn them. Flint confirms the suspicion by tracking down footprints headed south toward the town of Kalina. They are in enemy territory. When Astra returns, the party springs into action. They gather the giant bats and take flight to escape the enclosing goblins. As they fly, they notice that more forces are concentrated down south in the direction that they were originally heading. They veer off course before realizing that they have been spotted. A strange flying detachment of imp-like demons ridden by scouts is careening towards them. Unable to escape the riders, they attempt to hide but are noticed by the extraordinarily perceptive scouts. The riders rush to them and attempt to capture the party. In a flurry of combat, the party is dismounted from their bats by massive nets thrown by the enemy flyers. One of the grot-bats perishes in the fall. Unfortunately for the attackers, the party proves to be more than a match for them. One by one, they take out each rider until the remaining combatants flee from battle. A force of goblins is rapidly approaching from the south, nearly upon the party. Cornelius withdraws Herod, his staff of fire, and lets loose an enormous wall of flame to cut off the southern path through the forest. Several goblins are caught in the blaze, their technology catching fire and igniting a massive explosion in the forest below as the party narrowly escapes into the sky.
After the fight, they are contacted via a sending spell by Nasos Valumin, their benefactor from the Zivil military who assigned them the mission in the first place. He asks for an update and tells them that there are 7 days remaining until the army marches on Thrahin. They tell him of their situation, carefully censoring some of their experiences in Thrahin thus far. He thanks them and bids them a tense farewell. The party recollects themselves and flees westward. They hide in the boughs of a massive oak tree and rest for a short while. Astra takes the opportunity to fly north to survey the concentration of enemies that have formed there. They see a strange, six-armed demon woman with the lower body of a snake. She wears segmented plate armor and carries the authority of some kind of general. Astra watches as the snake creature leads a force of goblins and demons to parlay with a separate army that now comes into view. The second force approaches from the south and is composed of elves and water genasi equipped with glowing golden armor that glitters with crystalline light. Large constructs tower over their army as stalwart bodyguards. A stately half-elf meets of that army meets with the demonic snake woman. Astra cannot glean much of the conversation, as the two appear to have a telepathic conversation for the better part of the hour. Their negotiations seem to fail, however, as the snake general shouts a curse at the half-elf. His calm demeanor is broken by a twitch of fear before he leaves to rejoin his army. It seems that more diplomatic talks are to come. Astra returns to the party in the oak tree to the south. After their rest, the party travels until nightfall and shelters in a cave atop the Valley of Denouement. In the morning, they fly over the now rain-soaked valley. They reach the village of Lausang once more and meet Chieftain Grogli. They tell him everything except their prophecies. They need to reach Attjandi to figure out their next steps. Grogli shows them a portal in his cellar that leads to the city proper. They thank him and he wishes them well. One by one, the party steps through the portal's wall into the new city beyond. Six days remain until the invasion.
"A life for a life, Strattora." Melinoe
After silence settles over the group for some time, they decide to explore the shantytown surrounding the cave of the Norns. They split up to cover more ground. Strattora finds a strange red leather journal in an old saloon with a screaming demon engraved into the lock's clasp. The book does not open. Astra flies into the air and immediately spots an approaching battalion of goblins and lizardfolk with advanced weaponry that they had seen before. They jet off towards the group to warn them. Flint confirms the suspicion by tracking down footprints headed south toward the town of Kalina. They are in enemy territory. When Astra returns, the party springs into action. They gather the giant bats and take flight to escape the enclosing goblins. As they fly, they notice that more forces are concentrated down south in the direction that they were originally heading. They veer off course before realizing that they have been spotted. A strange flying detachment of imp-like demons ridden by scouts is careening towards them. Unable to escape the riders, they attempt to hide but are noticed by the extraordinarily perceptive scouts. The riders rush to them and attempt to capture the party. In a flurry of combat, the party is dismounted from their bats by massive nets thrown by the enemy flyers. One of the grot-bats perishes in the fall. Unfortunately for the attackers, the party proves to be more than a match for them. One by one, they take out each rider until the remaining combatants flee from battle. A force of goblins is rapidly approaching from the south, nearly upon the party. Cornelius withdraws Herod, his staff of fire, and lets loose an enormous wall of flame to cut off the southern path through the forest. Several goblins are caught in the blaze, their technology catching fire and igniting a massive explosion in the forest below as the party narrowly escapes into the sky.
After the fight, they are contacted via a sending spell by Nasos Valumin, their benefactor from the Zivil military who assigned them the mission in the first place. He asks for an update and tells them that there are 7 days remaining until the army marches on Thrahin. They tell him of their situation, carefully censoring some of their experiences in Thrahin thus far. He thanks them and bids them a tense farewell. The party recollects themselves and flees westward. They hide in the boughs of a massive oak tree and rest for a short while. Astra takes the opportunity to fly north to survey the concentration of enemies that have formed there. They see a strange, six-armed demon woman with the lower body of a snake. She wears segmented plate armor and carries the authority of some kind of general. Astra watches as the snake creature leads a force of goblins and demons to parlay with a separate army that now comes into view. The second force approaches from the south and is composed of elves and water genasi equipped with glowing golden armor that glitters with crystalline light. Large constructs tower over their army as stalwart bodyguards. A stately half-elf meets of that army meets with the demonic snake woman. Astra cannot glean much of the conversation, as the two appear to have a telepathic conversation for the better part of the hour. Their negotiations seem to fail, however, as the snake general shouts a curse at the half-elf. His calm demeanor is broken by a twitch of fear before he leaves to rejoin his army. It seems that more diplomatic talks are to come. Astra returns to the party in the oak tree to the south. After their rest, the party travels until nightfall and shelters in a cave atop the Valley of Denouement. In the morning, they fly over the now rain-soaked valley. They reach the village of Lausang once more and meet Chieftain Grogli. They tell him everything except their prophecies. They need to reach Attjandi to figure out their next steps. Grogli shows them a portal in his cellar that leads to the city proper. They thank him and he wishes them well. One by one, the party steps through the portal's wall into the new city beyond. Six days remain until the invasion.
