Session 13 - Blood & Flame

General Summary

Ionessa and Xanthos bring the idea of a jailbreak forward to the rest of the party. Ionessa explains her captain were sent to scavenge a ship but didn’t, and he was charged for trespass and imprisoned. Hired by Dorien, the author of the “bought” scroll, but she didn’t know it was going to be an ancient relic at the bottom of the ocean. Ionessa knew what that scroll was all along but lied about it because of her promise! Aga whips out the shrunken head and Xanthos freaks out a bit but whaddayagonnado.
Ionessa met with Dorien once but doesn’t know anything about her. It seems as though the captain, Mikola Leos, has been imprisoned by Parmenion, maybe looking for info on what Dorien is up to. Used to be a war veteran but took up sailing later to live a quieter life, an honorable human and a good time. Xanthos keeps bringing up the head, he’s such a nervous boy. Aga starts pulling out his treasures and a mummified finger, which tips Kestor off that the head had been mummified too.
South of Koss over the ocean there are cultures that mummify their dead, a process to keep souls bound to the mortal plane rather than turn them to shades in the afterlife. Aga found the finger on the southern coast of the Merchant Republics, working with his wizard archaeologist friend, Lavrentios. But why does this mummified head have knowledge of the fragment of Fytanke? Why are there mummified remains on Koss? Who is Dorien’s master? Is she trying to bring them back using the fragment? WHAT’S GOING ON? A mystery for another time but probably soontime.
We keep sailing through the strait, we sail through fragments of shipwrecks and ink. The kraken came this way… Signs point to the ships being destroyed fairly recently, these might be the vessels from Iroa sent after the kraken? Aga notices different grains of wood, implying multiple ships were lost here. It looks like Iros was not wholly successful in his glorious hunt.
The following day we pass by a beautiful shimmering school of rainbow coloured fish! They’re beautiful, small but strong together, just like us! Neo reveals that he is afraid of water, which inspires the idea of swimming lessons (especially as we may have to go underwater soon). We’re passing by that strange island with an “X marks the spot” we found floating in a bottle, we can post up there and maybe do lessons! Along the way Kestor reads the poem he wrote for the crew of the Evlogimenos, he intends to spread their fame. We get to the island early, it looks like not much is going on there but Aga has a shovel and is ready to start digging! Ionessa holds Neo’s hand because he’s scared, n’awww (can’t fireball a water phobia).
We reach the island and Aga immediately zeroes in on the treasure. Xanthos digs and finds a buried spear driven into a large rectangular box made of old petrified wood with the words: “Here lies Gluttony, blinded by thirst sated on wine forbidden, untaken by Nypoloita, unwanted by dread Ptourge. Wake not from this tomb of sand or be hunted forever more.” Sounds Xanthos related, so we decide to crack it open! What could go wrong?
Xanthos brings the box up out of the hole, but thinks whatever is in there may be starving. He tells us all to back up in case it’s crazed. He starts opening the box and finds the spear is embedded all the way through (probably staking the vampire but we don’t know that). He pulls the spear free, it’s made from ancient wood and stone or bone; when it comes free the lower third is covered in dried blood, it was surely impaling something. He opens it fully, within is a desiccated humanoid corpse, a gaping hole in its chest where the spear was. The corpse begins to catch fire in the sunlight; Xanthos begins trying to put out the fire with a blanket and finds that as long as the body is covering the body, the fire stops.
Aga suggests building a tent over the body, so we do it! We tie up the creature before feeding them blood, trying to bring them back to life. Neo feeds them his blood, and they seem to be having an effect on the creature; the wounds are closing and some semblance of life is returning but it is very slight and gradual. It looks like it will take a lot of blood. Neo identifies that the creature is probably undead, which means he would need to eliminate them per Fytanke’s doctrine - however confronted with the reality of that decision, he is torn between doctrine and his own feelings.
Xanthos opens a wound in his arm and brings it to the mouth of the creature, they do not stir and he notices he is not enticed by the blood on the spear, so they will not be enticed by Xanthos’. Neo continues to be conflicted, he asks Fytanke for guidance, and they say burn that corpse. Neo and Xanthhos are thus at odds. Aga identifies the spear as a BLOOD SPEAR, he also finds that the corpse has not been there for very long, then the corpse GRABS HIS WRIST. They’re waking up, it’s time to make a decision.
Neo and Xanthos come to an impasse. The corpse sits up! Aga tries feeding it water with a mage hand but it doesn’t drink it and instead starts trying to get out of the box. Xanthos grapples the vampire while Ionessa feeds them some of her own blood. The vampire is unable to speak, we want to give it enough to let it speak. Unfortunately they break free of Xanthos’ grapple and lunges at Ionessa, who manages to get out of the way. Xanthos asks if they can understand, they nod their head! He asks if they can control themselves, it croaks out “thirsty”.
Ionessa decides to feed it more blood. She takes quite a bit of damage but the vampire does not lunge at her again, it is about half-way sated. Kestor gives blood, the vampire starts to take form. She looks like a fairly young woman, and she can speak! Her name is Nikaia, she lived in her father’s domain, he has many castles. She was hunted by those who do not believe in her family’s divinity. Born as royalty but became divine. Her father is Kymenon, we recognize the name as that of a king of the great West, from an area that the Great Wildfire burned over 20 years ago (not where the Fytanke worshipers came from). Xanthos has heard the name before, it was spoken by Phaedra in the context of enemies she had fought in the past.
She was traveling, fire was coming, she was ambushed. She keeps angling for more blood, but it’s something of a ruse. The last year she remembers is 727, now it’s 748, she’s been in the box for 21 years. Xanthos asks if she has an elixir that could make someone like her. She says “father has the ichor, the godblood.” She was sent ahead of her family when fleeing the Wildfire. Xanthos explains that this sort of elixir is what kept him alive. Ionessa says they need assurance Nikaia will not hurt anyone, Nikaia claims she gets by on sacrifices and donations. She thinks her home and kingdom is still intact. She was going east to another of her father’s holdings (he has many holdings).
Ionessa convinces her that her home has been destroyed, she pleads with Xanthos, believing he must know her father. The godblood that Phaedra used to resurrect Xanthos must have come from her family. They believe they are gods. She has three brothers, father, mother. She tells Xanthos that he is changing, his transformation is not yet complete, he could become a true vampire if he undergoes a painless ritual. She admits that some people die to give blood to her family. She says she is more than the gods.
We come back to the question of whether she should live. She seems pretty delusional, unrepentant, but Xanthos feels like he’s condemning himself. Ionessa and Xanthos want to give her a chance, Neo wants to kill her, Kestor is on the fence but isn’t sure if she wants to be rehabilitated. The sun starts setting and Neo forces the issue before we’re in great danger. Nikaia uses her vampiric gaze and mind controls him into not harming her, which alarms Kestor into flinging a shatter spell to bring the tent down, hurting Nikaia and Neo, which frees him from the mind control. A fight ensues.
Ionessa is almost killed and Xanthos saves her, killing Nikaia! Neo speaks with a god’s voice, condemning the vampire and comforting Ionessa: “Do not mourn, this creature returns to its cycle anew. It will be born again.” Neo burns the body. It’s a bittersweet victory. We return to the ship, Xanthos carries Ionessa and the STATUE OF ISADORA carries Kestor. Kestor has a heart to heart with Ionessa and Xanthos, he regrets how it turned out. Ionessa wishes we didn’t keep solving problems by executing defenseless creatures. The words of gods give no comfort, it is not up to her to take a life. Kestor offers his sympathies, and later sings a soothing song.
Xanthos goes to find Neo, he’s repeating “I am a good son” over and over. He’s distraught that he almost hurt everyone when Nikaia had control of him. He feels that he failed, that things came to violence because he was unable to articulate his views and convince the party that his decision was the right one. He has to be better, it is expected of his heritage, his role as a cleric, of someone with his abilities.
When Neo was growing up, he did not have parents in his life. There were clues, omens, and when it came time to take his vows he felt his abilities were already with him, the ease with which he speaks to the gods. There was one thing they never told him about the gods; sometimes mortals and gods can have a child. Is Neo the child of a god!? He doesn’t know his parents, but he has to be a good son for them. He thinks Fytanke might be furious he didn’t act faster and that he has driven a wedge between him and the party. Xanthos tells him he was just doing what he thought was right, he cannot fault him for that. He has looked for his parents but has not found them, he asked the Oracle but received troubling answers. Xanthos continues to comfort and support, they seem to be on good ground despite everything.
We cut to a stinger, back on land a cart is being driven and surrounded by guards. A spear sails from the underbrush, striking a guard who tanks it like a champ. Red eyes glow from the underbrush. Blue clad soldiers stream out of the underbrush and enter battle until a blow of a warhorn heralds another figure, taller, more decorated, who rushes forward with a blade that sings, slicing through a guard like butter who turns to dust, it was a vampire! The cart door opens and the figure inside flees, it’s Nikaia! WE’RE IN THE PAST! The tall figure pursues but is charmed. A hand clamps down on Nikaia’s shoulder, she turns in time for a spear to lodge itself on her chest. Another figure stands over her now, Phaedra! She turns to the other soldier, who is revealed to be Isadora!

Rewards Granted

Blood Spear

Missions/Quests Completed

X Marks the Spot (Investigate the island off the coast of Asinisos).

Character(s) interacted with

Nikaia

Report Date

22 Aug 2022