Session 049: Into the Reverie
General Summary
We begin at the end of the longest day, in a room at the Verdant Quarter.
Zenith Sends to Verity. We are- I am- going to where you are. Want me to bring anything?
Verity replies, You're coming here??? Are you just going to be stuck with me? Will you be teleporting directly to me??
Zenith hastily scrounges up a spell slot to reply, No, we're going to be able to leave afterward, I'm not quite that impulsive.
Oh okay cool, says Verity. Will I be leaving with you??
Zenith uses a higher spell slot to say, Duh.
Meanwhile, Talasea painstakingly makes four copies of the teleportation circle that will always bring him home.
Late that evening, once everyone has technically achieved a long rest, Alban comes along dressed for action.
They begin sketching the plane shift circle on the floor as they mutter, "Whew, been a long time since I've been to this plane, okay-"
Everyone: wait, you've been there??
Alban: Uh. Yes? Sort of an unofficial rite of passage for the Elders to make sure you can get there if necessary, kinda just scouting missions to find more information about what's going on. But it's dangerous over there, we're not just hanging out. We haven't found much information on it, especially since if you don't have a specific location to go to like we do now, there's a good chance you're going to just end up in the middle of vast expanses of ocean, so...
Zenith: Doesn't seem like a very good vacation spot.
Alban: We've come across people lost there, people living there, creatures that are native, but we've never actually been able to find the Fog Between operating there and we don't think the Dreamer resides there. At least. We haven't across any eldritch beings. I mean. We have, but like smaller ones, you know. Not. World-changing ones.
Talasea: Are there any geographical landmarks?
Alban: There are but they're few and far between. We're not super clear on the laws that govern the plane. We know that there's a degree to which it responds to the expectations of the people that are inhabiting the area but... there are some landmasses but they're small and they don't have much civilization on them or structures of any kind. Some strange plantlife but the vast majority of it is the sorta strange water-not-water-air-sky situation.
Everyone: Guess we'll learn the rest when we get there!
Alban finishes the circle and directs the party to circle up and hold hands. They warn them that it's going to feel even weirder than normal teleportation and to try holding their breath.
Then the world goes sideways they slip from reality.
The group emerges into the hold of a ship, their surroundings tossing and churning with the slam of water against the hull. Everything is strangely desaturated, as though cast in moonlight. Talasea in particular is disoriented, as typically this kind of movement of the ship is accompanied by the drumming of rain and the crack of thunder. But there is only the waves and the groaning of stressed wood.
Talasea is darting up the stairs in the blink of an eye.
The deck is in chaos, bodies rushing to and fro as the crew holds the ship together under the onslaught of this strange ocean. Nova the Empress is at the wheel of the ship, barking orders as she battles to hold it steady. The group immediately runs into Nahla, who curses in confusion but runs off to continue her duties.
Talas, calls a voice. And then Temperance is rushing down the stairs from the helm to throw their arms around Talasea.
Have you been eating?? asks Talasea.
Been rationing, says Temperance.
Guess I shoulda brought you some food instead of this plant that I stole from our hotel room, huh? says Talasea.
Temp: How long has it been?
Tal: Two months, how long has it been for you?
Temp: Feels like years. But honestly, it's hard to tell.
Temp: Oh look, a dragon.
The group turns to see the flash of bright eyes and dark curves just beneath the water, spines jutting above the surface before being swallowed by a wave. They struggle to see it through the star-speckled water. They're pretty sure its attention is fixed on the ship, but it's hard to tell if its behavior has changed since they arrived.
Temp: It has been following pretty close on our tail for... however long? Couple days? Its behavior hasn't really changed much, kinda just been following this whole time, every now and then it surfaces and roars for a bit and then goes back under.
Tal: Yeah looks pretty scary.
Temp: wait til you see it... so I told you not to come and you did... shoulda seen that coming really... but what's the plan here? You know the Empress is not going to be willing to leave the ship.
Tal: yeah so the plan is that we come and chat and maybe slay the dragon? So that you're safe? Oh, and this is Elder Alban.
Alban: Hi.
Tal: We're part of the Verdant Quarter now, they're gonna plane shift us back, gonna head to the Volokin next to get a Gate spell but we're gonna need a 5,000g diamond for that, but in the meantime gonna make sure y'all are safe.
Temp: Yeah that's a lot.
Tal: Also we can take like 1 person back with us, you could go?
Talasea attempts to say this stealthily, but looks up and oh the Arsonist is there staring down, holding a bomb for some reason.
Temp: eyebrow raise
Temp: Very subtle, great job, that's tempting but...
Tal: DON'T SAY YES OR NO YET, JUST THINK ABOUT IT
Temp: okay bud /placating
Temp: so you have this great plan and then the part where we deal with this giant ancient dragon was just kinda one bullet point, which feels like a very Talasea move, was there any more to that plan?
Tal: nah we were busy saving the Spring Kingdom and the Spring Goddess yesterday?
Temp: uh huh... okay time to talk to the Empress and talk strategy
Nova the Empress: is hot
Empress: whistles for Arcadia to step up and take the wheel
Arcadia: gay judgment
Empress: leaps over the railing
Empress: Assume you're here to save my ship?
Zenith: Mmm. Kinda gonna prioritize saving the people?
Jack: Uh. Gonna try?
Empress: eyebrow raise
The group follows the Empress into the captain's quarters along with Temperance. The quarters are spartan, with a bed shoved to one side and a table dominating the space. A cluttered network of images and documents and maps splays across one wall, which the Empress quickly tugs a plain cotton curtain over. Talasea does his best to look before it's covered. He sees portraits (some recognizable as former passengers, some strangers). He sees a document (titled "Targets" with a list of names beneath, some crossed off). He sees a collection of smaller documents grouped together which have notes in the Empress' handwriting (the largest is a question: "disappearances connected?")
The table that commands the room has a map of the four kingdoms painted upon it, the dagger that typically marks the ship's location currently stabbed off to the side in the middle of the ocean.
Empress: Report, Talasea. What resources do we have at our disposal?
Tal: we've got six powerful magicians and info about the dragon, fought a similar dragon that caused fear and void energy and could probably cast spells. Unfortunately, no weaknesses that we're aware of but resistant to mind-manipulating magic, mental damage, and fear. Also, it's their turf and they're more powerful on their turf, but also we've done it before, and also two of us are divine champions and that's cool.
Jack: I've got lemons and oranges, you want those? I've got a lot of irrational fears and scurvy is one of them.
Empress: I mean I won't say no to rations for my crew.
Alban: I'm an accomplished druid, have quite a bit of magic at my disposal, I can do plane shift to retreat with 9 people, but it requires quite a bit of energy, some of which I've already used today.
Tal: I can turn into a big huge giant crab. And I can fly.
Alban: I mean that's cool, but any of us could fly in this realm.
Everyone: wut?
Alban: Have none of you tried flying?
Empress: Why would we have tried to fly?
Alban: Fair.
Tal: Tries to fly, goes weightless for a moment as though underwater, then overthinks it and falls on his ass.
Tal: Don't think about it too hard guys.
Zenith: So don't think logically and you can fly. Interesting.
Alban: We don't completely understand how it works, but as I said earlier, this realm responds to what you expect to happen. So if you visualize it strongly enough, you can do all sorts of things.
Aphid: Like kill a dragon?
Alban: Uuuuh, that I don't know, we haven't really experimented with affecting other living things.
Zenith: Visualizing a weakness on a dragon?
Alban: Would be worth a shot? We've never been able to affect other living things, were able to manifest things sometimes if we tried super hard, but sometimes if we tried too hard we got backlashed. Flying was the simplest. In fact, the ship could probably fly if you wanted it to.
Zenith: Now, a flying ship.
Tal: Now, a FLYING SHIP.
Zenith: tries to manifest a pirate hat on Tal's head and feels pressure like straining a muscle but in his brain. He takes 2 points of psychic damage and gets the sense that he could keep pushing through to make this happen but it would cause more damage.
Empress: If the ship were to fly, not as though we could outrun the dragon that way, but it would make things much easier for us to not have to be at the mercy of the waves and would give us more maneuverability to use the cannons to help.
Jack: What if a bunch of people thought about it real hard?
Alban: Yes, I believe that the pooling of mental energy would help.
Tal: What if we try to talk to it??
Aphid: Don't suppose anyone speaks the dead language of dragons?
Everyone looks at the druid.
Alban: Don't look at me, we get our draconic translations from the Winterians.
Everyone looks at Mohr.
Mohr: Uh. No.
Tal: What if I summon a dragonnel and ask it to try to speak telepathically talk to the big dragon?
DM: Uh. No.
Temp: Spell slots, my guy.
Empress: Temperance, can you run and get Alcathis, see what they have at their disposal?
Enter Alcathis, who looks uncannily similar to Verity but is not, in fact, Verity.
Tal: Anything you can do to talk to dragons?
Alcathis: pulls out spellbook, how bout Tongues?
Tal: just an option, since we're not really sure what it's trying to do.
Temp: Never read anything about this particular kind of dragon, but the ancient texts talk about some dragons LIKING stalk their prey prior to attacking, partially power play, partially entertainment.
Empress: Seems to me that option 1 is to attempt diplomacy, which if it fails, may mean the dragon attacks us first, or you have a pre-determined signal for us to attack, option 2 is to simply attack in which case the question is whether we attempt to destroy the creature or simply to escape. If the dragon is following because it wants a meal, there may be little we can do to dissuade it unless we offer an easier meal than us which I don't know where we would get that, but if there are things it wants other than sustenance then talking would be good.
Tal: We could draft a letter.
Jack: Dear dragon, please leave us alone, here are some oranges.
Tal: Could make the biggest orange ever.
Jack: What's a better fruit than an orange?
Aphid: Casserole.
The group continues to discuss their options until they manage to agree on a plan, summarized by the Empress: We're going to slow the ship down, Alcathis will cast Tongues on one of you, Tal and Zenith are gonna fly out 500 ft from the ship. While they are parlaying with the dragon, we'll be back here working on getting the ship to fly, but hold off on taking off until we have the verdict on the parlay. If we receive a signal from Tal and Zenith, we will take off and attack.
They decide to have Zenith take Mohr's magic item, "Life Alert by SAFE-T" and have him alert Mohr to trigger attack, one beep for things are going poorly, two beeps for attack now. They craft a message for the dragon: To ask what the purpose of tailing the ship is, offer to get out of the dragon's hair, suggesting a peaceful parting on both sides. (Decide not to bring up the deceased relative and hope that doesn't come up, but the Empress suggests that if it comes up they could possibly offer information about the child as a bargaining chip.) Tal and Zenith discuss signals between each other to communicate about how the parlay is going.
Everyone works on flying while Zenith attunes to Life Alert.
The group finally heads back out to the deck. The Empress gathers the crew and coaches them through visualizing the ship into slowing. They successfully manage to slow the ship down, its motion still tossing, but in a strange kind of jerky slow motion. The Empress warns the crew that they're preparing to engage the dragon and sends them to battle stations.
Empress: But hold fire until signaled, we don't want a repeat of Vivaria, Arsonist.
Arsonist: eyebrow raise
Empress: Good luck, Talasea and Zenith. We're depending on you.
Tal: We won't let you down!
Temp: Be careful :(
Tal: Scared!
Temp: If there's anyone who can talk a dragon into standing down, it's certainly you. A little bit of luck.
With a kiss to his forehead, Temperance gives Talasea a touch of eagle's splendor as they cast Enhance Ability.
Temp: Enough, Talasea. You've got this.
With a tap on the head from Alcathis, Talasea gains Tongues as part of his magical bouquet. Talasea and Zenith step into the open air and soar into the dark empty sky, approaching a shape in the depths. As they near, a large head breaches the water, eyes shining like the stars it swims through. Tal and Zenith approach, with no concept of how willing it is to eat them.
Report Date
02 Sep 2023
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