Healing the Nightmare
The gang headed back to their home base of Thikip, monster-corpse in hand and allies made. But the Feywilds are a dangerous place to travel...
Early on in their journey home, the group heard strange sounds in the distance. The familiar gibbering of Feywild hounds and wolves, yes, but a different distorted human-like howling. The group stopped and spotted a most unusual war party in the distance: wolves and hounds running alongside ancient Feywild humanoids who were armed to the teeth, armored in tattered Desmian uniforms, and running like wolves or apes through the forest. This group was headed towards Getra - the village the squad had just saved, and was in the midst of victory celebrations.
Rather than allow Getra's feeble defenses to be tested yet again, the squad drove the cart at max speed to gain this war-party's attention. They got it all right, and soon they were being chased through the hills, tumbling through the wilds at full speed firing arrows. The crew took out the wolves and hounds, but the warped and elongated Desmian soldiers began leaping onto the cart in a blood rage. The cart went tumbling down the hill and, to save the mule from being flung down the rocky hillside, Savros tackled one of these strange warriors off the cart and down the hill. By luck and skill, Savros was able to avoid serious injury and could snap this warrior out of their frenzy. The squad was able to nonlethally incapacitate another warrior and bring them to their senses as well.
After slowly recovering and repairing the cart, the squad was able to get clearer answers out of the two feytouched warriors: they were soldiers from the Desmian invasion of the Feywilds nearly two hundred years ago, whose army collapsed after losing a battle. They crossed the Feyboundary uninvited and were trapped in that other space for many years. Feywild energies kept them from dying of old age and lowered the necessary food; when hungry, they learned to consume other wanderers as well as animals. Time and spatial distortion wore them away and left them just as monstrous as any predator. And recently they ran free and joined a wolf pack. They have no idea how they got free, but they expect a number of others did as well.
The crew had to abandon the monster corpse in order to get everyone back home safely and reliably. They brought these two old crusaders with them.
The crew returned to Thikip to rest and found a selkie ship in the river waiting for them. Rinn, Savros' sister, had guided Nema, her new girlfriend, to visit here, and the two were selling healing potions and foreign goods. The group had a shindig in Thikip, got to know the two old crusaders better, and caught up on old times. Jacob realized while healing that he had greatly strengthened his magical connection to his patron, Ishkibal. He was now capable of channeling Ishkibal's will into spells, and he immediately set about learning how. One of them was thrilling: a ward of spiritual protection, which could cast out possessing spirits. They now had the means to free Savros of the nightmares that had been plaguing him for over a year now.
The squad headed back to Kidon to gather some friendly faces and prepare their exorcism. They threw together everyone who was willing to fight, headed to Savros' childhood temple, and used the Profane Contact so that Iskibal's wisdom could guide them. They gave the Nightmare little time to flee or plan - it was time to finish this.
While the battle was tough, the expedition members had experience slaying this kind of creature. Ishkibal and Jacob were able to stop it from fleeing, and it was pinned down and slaughtered before the eyes of the Ancestors. Savros could walk in the darkness without panicking for the first time since the Feywilds Expedition. He could finally go home without anxiety. He only had to worry about the crushing threats of the distant darkness, not some personal tormentor.
Finally free, Savros and co. celebrated. It was time to spend some time in Kidon, perhaps to help the old crusaders ease into a new world.
The Freed Crusaders
Reclaiming Safety
Components
Goals
RUNNING GOALS:
- Investigate the Greater Demon Cult
- Get Arstam safely back to Adava so he can pay everyone
- Rescue Abet, the medic, from the Feywilds
- Protect the Fey Borderlands from the forces brewing in Nefka
- Protect Thikip
- Investigate instances of Ederstone monstrosities in the Borderlands
- Help Queen Atara avenge the town of Getra
- Get home safely
- Exorcise the Nightmare from Savros
- Find homes for the rescue Desmians
Relations
Allies
Rinn: Rinn is Savros' older sister. She is constantly torn between staying as a cobbler and leaving Kidon, and has been struggling in her professional life and relationships for it. She is protective of Savros and worried about his struggles - she had a near-death experience during her coming-of-age and knows how quickly things can go badly. Dating Nema, a Selkie.
Teva Fisher's-daughter: Teva is one of Savros' childhood best friends and squadmates. She only made it into the artisan district of Kidon through her family's long history in the city and a great deal of luck - otherwise she would be with her parents in the unsanitary dockside district. Teva is quiet and awkward, but perceptive and capable. She sees herself as a hero, and strives to protect as many people as possible from the traumas inflicted on her. This can lead her to act a bit brashly and violently towards those she perceives as evil, but she has a good heart.
Jacob Krivika: Most of Jacob's family lives in the Northern Palisades district - a part of town where Feywild merchants come to trade, city guards are often absent, and the citizens are unprotected from the great stone fortifications of the main city in the event of an attack. The Krivikas have connections to kin in the Feywilds that they trade with, and Jacob's parents used a lucky break from that trade to open a shop in the artisan district. Jacob is a bit of an outsider for this, but has become a bit of a social butterfly despite (or perhaps, because) of this. Jacob is kind, friendly, and gentle, preferring diplomacy to violence. He is not very skilled in the arts of war, but he is a capable outdoorsman and negotiator. Currently an Ishkibite paladin.
Torin: Torin is a fine fellow from the lands of the The Platinum Order, and a veteran of the wars against the Seruvians.
Priestess Vizura: Vizura is an old woman and a veteran of many battles. She enjoys spending her retirement training the children of Kidon, and she is happy to mentor Savros as a student and shrinekeeper. While easygoing and always a fan of humor, she is not lax in her focus or devotion. She channels her love into making her wards the best warriors and crusaders they can be, and spares nothing in inspiring (or perhaps scaring) them. Vizura is very well respected in the Orthodox Conclave of Kidon.
Neutrals/Bystanders
Luka of Kidon: A Desmian crusader who marched on Nefka centuries ago and was trapped in the Feywild border-plane when he crossed the threshold uninvited. He prefers to embrace normalcy and forget the past whenever possible.
Sarada of Esken: A Desmian crusader who marched on Nefka centuries ago and was trapped in the Feywild border-plane when he crossed the threshold uninvited. Deeply guilty about his actions and feels disconnected from the world.
Plot type
Session Summary
Parent Plot
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Related Locations
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