Episode 35
General Summary
Verana Mavros, held tight by Godric, pleads her case for the group to let her go. The woman claims that her leader, Morgana, is planning to enact a ritual that is for everyone's benefit. It it difficult to fully explain, but Verana believes that her mistress will "open everyone's third eye" and reveal a great truth to the world. Although Verana's explanation is missing a few things, the group ultimately decide to let her go, with the intention of speaking to Morgana themselves and getting to the bottom of this whole thing.
Before agreeing to let Verana leave, the woman hints at further Nakaban involvement in the adventurer's lives - as apparently she and her son, Godric, were the targets of their schemes many years ago.
Following the witch through the woods, the group come across a clearing - many trees have been cut down, and on the central tree stump, sits a large glowing seed.
The clearing is filled with Shadow Witches, who are chanting in unison - each facing a black-haired half-elf in the centre. The central figure seems to be shattering barriers on the seed, whilst dark veins pulse along her arms and face.
Coming to a crescendo, the woman approaches the party. This in undoubtedly Morgana, the leader of the Shadow Witches. Having been made aware of the party's arrival, Morgana calmly explains that she needs just a single shot from The Arkbow, in order to shatter the seed. At which point, she will consume its power for her own - raising her to something of a deity.
Atlas reveals that the party have seen "the truth", having realised that Morgana too must have seen it. With this barrier out of the way, Morgana explains her reasoning for doing all this. She has lived for many centuries, and witnessed the birth of Kureta City. Before this time, she lived in a thriving woodland - which became the Deddo Forest. She blames The Goddess for her father's death - killed when the Goddess of Magic fell; and Mortona for the death's of her remaining family - who withered away when the Seed of Mortona was planted.
Morgana believes that the goddesses care nothing for mortals, and that they are only using the races as playthings. She wishes to raise herself to godhood, in order to challenge the way of things and open everyone's eyes to the truth of it all.
The party are torn. For the longest time, it had been believed that the Shadow Witches were an evil organisation, who only sought to sow death. But now it seems that they have been acting for the benefit of others, although some of their methods have been questionable.
Enraged by these blasphemies, Godric tells Morgana to shut up. Up until this point, the Shadow Witch leader had been accepting of the group's presence, but her patience now worn thin, she insists they hand over the bow or die.
Morgana at this point seems too powerful for the group to fight. And so reluctantly for some, they hand it over.
The ritual continues, and one of the witches uses the Arkbow to shatter the seed. Now in pieces, Morgana proceeds to literally consume the item, chewing and swallowing each piece until it is no more. Her body convulses, and a moment of uncertainty washes over the clearing... but then she smiles.
It seems the ritual was successful. Morgana, now in a higher state of being it seems, explains her history a little further. She reveals that she and her family were once nature witches, who thrived in the pre-Deddo Forest. The Seed of Mortona corrupted them, killing most and warping those who remained. Morgana formed the Shadow Witches out of necessity, offering a home to woman who had been chastised and scorned, kicked aside and forgotten. She had to do much that she and the other witches didn't like to reach her goal, but to her mind, the ends justified the means.
With a final farewell to her coven, Morgana fades from view - moving on to whatever her next scheme may be.
Leaving Verana in charge.
Verana sits down with Godric and Leah, and explains the details around the tiefling's birth. She was originally from Nakaba, where she lived a difficult life - spending much time on the streets and occasionally working for very little in taverns. She fell pregnant with a man she thought she could trust, but he left as soon as he heard of the pregnancy. In her rage and anguish she cried out for anyone to save her - and was answered by the archdevil, Wrath.
She was taken in by a group who claimed to be working under The Goddess. They gave her shelter and food, and made sure she had a happy and healthy pregnancy. In her naivety, Verana fully trusted these people. They claimed that when the time came, a holy ritual would need to be enacted in order to save her child from Wrath's influence. The ritual had to be conducted in the Deddo Forest, a place of dark power.
When the time came, they travelled to the forest and began the ritual. As the child was born, the Nakabans were outraged. It seemed they were not interested in saving the child, but rather binding it and using it as some kind of weapon. This is what Morgana was able to discover, when speaking to their corpses after slaying them all.
Morgana had saved the woman and her child, and gave the new mother a chance to live with the Shadow Witches. But Godric could not come with her, as no men were allowed in the coven. Around this time, Leah arrived. Seeing that this elf was kind and loving, Verana made the difficult decision to leave her child - giving both of them a chance to survive.
Verana could not remember much else about the Nakabans, only that they were a mixture of humans and dwarves, and they kept her in a home near the Farmview Tavern. Verana is eager for revenge against this group, and will happily aid the party in their quest, but she has one last debt to pay on Morgana's behalf before she can do so. She should be ready in a week or two.
Rewards Granted
Report Date
13 Aug 2020
Primary Location
Comments