Session 40: A Deal with the Devil
General Summary
The chase for Benne Rowich continues. The Sun Chaser, having now slowed down, aimed directly for Marguul Pass in hopes of catching their quarry there. The captains make excellent time, and they close the gap considerably. They are less than a mile as they sail through the narrow mountain pass. The party elect to push their luck a bit and chance an aerial confrontation in the pass. The party make the maneuver over another airship, come into position directly in front of Benne's. The quarry goes invisible, but some quick thinking covers the airship in flour. However, just as the party is about to dimension door to the other ship there is a mysterious arcane surge. The party attempts the jump anyway, refusing to lose their chance.
Scholars afterward will determine the sudden manifest zone accumulated through a combination of bad luck, warring arcane energies, and the turbulent weather conditions present in the pass. That makes little difference to the party (or the people below).
The sudden manifest zone causes magic to fluctuate wildly in power. The three airships caught in the blast accelerate wildly, barely coming to stop just outside of the Mournland some 250 miles away a few minutes later. The dimension door's distance is altered, but not noticeably, as the more prevalent issue is the 800 foot drop. Karias Von Allmen casts featherfall on the party, which helps, though the speed with which the party falls becomes unstable. They still land safely. Other spells, presumably cast by Benne, explode at around 10 times their normal power, eventually causing a landslide.
After landing, Ripper and Celosia Senho leave immediately by air to pursue Benne. The rest of the group follows on foot and fielding questions from onlookers about how the airship battle overhead almost killed them. Their replies are varied.
After leaving the manifest zone Celosia hears from Cid Kevadirtinu. She learns all three airships are above a town very close to the Mournlands, and none are in good shape. He tells her to hurry. Hearing this, Ripper goes back to collect the others. Celosia is left on her own for around an hour. After around 15 minutes, a mansion is magically conjured against the rock wall of the pass a few hundred yards in front of her. The windows light warmly against the cold. Celosia suspects a trap.
At the end of the hour the rest of the party arrive. Cold and fried, some of the party pushes to go visit what they all acknowledge is clearly a trap. There is debate, but with confirmation the mansion also has horses they decide the detour is worth the risk.
Upon arriving they are greeted by a Dwarf, Generic Dwarf, who welcomes them as expected guests and shows them inside. The inside of the mansion is warm and well apportioned with a buffet of delicious food and drink waiting for them. Also waiting for them is Devan. Devan is up front- he is an evil devil bent on killing the demon he followed to this realm. He gives, as a gesture of goodwill, free horses and food to help them continue the chase. The first player to reply to the post in slack with their favorite pizza topping gets a basic potion of their choosing. He also gives them a summoning cube, in case they should desire to make a deal in the future. Devan explains any deal, once agreed upon, must be signed and honored by all involved. And while the party could choose not follow through on their obligation, Devan also makes it clear he will brutally murder their friends and family in retribution. After some debate and mathing, the party realize they are weeks away from Benne and decide to enter into negotiations.
The party receives teleportation as close to Benne as is reasonable, and the tracker for the ship is modified to track Benne (or, if necessary, the largest piece of her head). This tracker will continue working even if Benne is killed. In exchange Devan receives all information the party has on Tiranil Amastacia and 4 gold for processing fees. A document is created and signed to that effect. Devan then takes the gold and the notes, modifies the tracker, and sends the party (with their new horses) through portal.
It is worth noting the party could, instead, have chosen to deliver a small unremarkable black box to a specific place in Morgrave University, but they decided to do the info thing instead.
Scholars afterward will determine the sudden manifest zone accumulated through a combination of bad luck, warring arcane energies, and the turbulent weather conditions present in the pass. That makes little difference to the party (or the people below).
The sudden manifest zone causes magic to fluctuate wildly in power. The three airships caught in the blast accelerate wildly, barely coming to stop just outside of the Mournland some 250 miles away a few minutes later. The dimension door's distance is altered, but not noticeably, as the more prevalent issue is the 800 foot drop. Karias Von Allmen casts featherfall on the party, which helps, though the speed with which the party falls becomes unstable. They still land safely. Other spells, presumably cast by Benne, explode at around 10 times their normal power, eventually causing a landslide.
After landing, Ripper and Celosia Senho leave immediately by air to pursue Benne. The rest of the group follows on foot and fielding questions from onlookers about how the airship battle overhead almost killed them. Their replies are varied.
After leaving the manifest zone Celosia hears from Cid Kevadirtinu. She learns all three airships are above a town very close to the Mournlands, and none are in good shape. He tells her to hurry. Hearing this, Ripper goes back to collect the others. Celosia is left on her own for around an hour. After around 15 minutes, a mansion is magically conjured against the rock wall of the pass a few hundred yards in front of her. The windows light warmly against the cold. Celosia suspects a trap.
At the end of the hour the rest of the party arrive. Cold and fried, some of the party pushes to go visit what they all acknowledge is clearly a trap. There is debate, but with confirmation the mansion also has horses they decide the detour is worth the risk.
Upon arriving they are greeted by a Dwarf, Generic Dwarf, who welcomes them as expected guests and shows them inside. The inside of the mansion is warm and well apportioned with a buffet of delicious food and drink waiting for them. Also waiting for them is Devan. Devan is up front- he is an evil devil bent on killing the demon he followed to this realm. He gives, as a gesture of goodwill, free horses and food to help them continue the chase. The first player to reply to the post in slack with their favorite pizza topping gets a basic potion of their choosing. He also gives them a summoning cube, in case they should desire to make a deal in the future. Devan explains any deal, once agreed upon, must be signed and honored by all involved. And while the party could choose not follow through on their obligation, Devan also makes it clear he will brutally murder their friends and family in retribution. After some debate and mathing, the party realize they are weeks away from Benne and decide to enter into negotiations.
The party receives teleportation as close to Benne as is reasonable, and the tracker for the ship is modified to track Benne (or, if necessary, the largest piece of her head). This tracker will continue working even if Benne is killed. In exchange Devan receives all information the party has on Tiranil Amastacia and 4 gold for processing fees. A document is created and signed to that effect. Devan then takes the gold and the notes, modifies the tracker, and sends the party (with their new horses) through portal.
It is worth noting the party could, instead, have chosen to deliver a small unremarkable black box to a specific place in Morgrave University, but they decided to do the info thing instead.
Rewards Granted
5 horses
1 Nokia brand Benne Tracker (patent pending)
1 Nokia brand Benne Tracker (patent pending)
Report Date
21 Dec 2021
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