Session 30 - Letting Go

General Summary

We’re waiting on people to come meet us at Sideris, so it’s time to work on personal projects. Xanthos is pale and thirsty so he talks to Neo and asks him if he can drink his blood, which Neo is fine with. He checks with the rest of the party too, Ionessa asks why he’s doing it, he’s not feeling very alive and needs the blood to get his heart going again. She feels weird about it, but says it’s not really her decision in the end. Xanthos asks if he can have the illusion necklace for talking to his mother. Ionessa helps Kovu look for coins and gets the necklace, Kestor finds some cushions and is able to mend and de-mold them for Rhene.
Xanthos bites Neo, he’s delicious. Kestor plants the banner of Pola and uses its power to give its blessing to all residents of Sideris. Ionessa keeps working on the farm, and we make plans to start tearing down some of the buildings. Xanthos goes to plant the seed granted to him by Vasithari. Kestor helps him find a good spot and tells him to sing to the seed as he plants it, which Xanthos says is ridiculous but he secretly does it anyway. He guards the seed!
At nightfall, Xanthos puts on the necklace and retrieves his family portrait to help convince his mother’s ghost that it’s him. He sneaks past his sleeping uncle and brings it back to us, we suggest we could get it fixed and Kestor helps fix it up a little with mending, then we go ghost hunting. Ionessa finds the ghost, she’s headed for the forest! She tries to bring her back, but the ghost is unresponsive so Kovu comes to get us. Xanthos tries to talk with her and tells her that he’s okay, she doesn’t have to worry and keep looking for him, he has people that care about him. She seems to look at him for the first time, there’s recognition in her eyes. He’s gotten old, she asks how long it’s been, it was all like a dream.
She tells us once upon a time her family would go to where the oldest Sidero tree was, they’d have picnics and that is where Xanthos took his first steps. That is her favorite place, so we promise to make it a place of remembrance for her. We tell her that Arsenios is here too, she knows what he did and doesn’t know how to feel about it. She’s more interested in talking to Xanthos, and we talk with her for quite some time. It’s bittersweet, but she’s happy, she’s proud, and they will see each other again. She disappears. Xanthos and Kestor find her grave and pray for her to be guided to the underworld. In the sky they see five stars, one brighter than the others, and four more set up around it, the symbol of Nypoloita.
The next morning we tell Arsenios what has happened. Initially he is upset, he believes the underworld is a horrible place where people become twisted and tortured, though he did learn this from devils who may not have been very honest. He seems somewhat calmed to hear that she was happy and content, though, so maybe he’ll be okay. We also plan to travel to Iroa on the way back from the situation with the ember.
Ionessa goes to talk to Arsenios. She wants to get to know who he is now, not just who he was and what he’s done. She asks what his plans are with Sideris, he saw it as a grave, not something that could be rebuilt, but now he will help Xanthos. He tries not to think about the future, his plans in the past have always resulted in failure, his attempts to undo his actions have come to nothing. He felt he owed Xandra to try to bring her back, he tried to warn her about Keos but he wasn’t insistent enough. Ionessa tells him that she tried to warn him against his actions, he just couldn’t hear her. He’s still too hung up on her passing to really hear that though, he’s too focused on her absence to remember her, but Ionessa points out he still has his child.
SOMETHING HAPPENS AND XANTHOS AND IONESSA ARE SAYING THEY LOVE EACH OTHER AND KISSING???
Xanthos and Ionessa talk about the blood drinking, Ionessa was uncomfortable because it reminded her of Nikaya but says it's clearly not the same. Xanthos admits it's odd and says he would have asked her but Neo had already offered. Xanthos tells Ionessa that without her he'd be much worse off. Ionessa tells him he's stronger than he thinks. Xanthos says he hopes Ionessa knows she can put her foot down if he's doing something she thinks is wrong, because it feels like she relented on the blood drinking just to make him feel better. Xanthos says he realized there were things he wouldn't give up to bring his mother back, and he loves Ionessa enough to see that now. This shocks Ionessa, and Xanthos says he knows his mother would understand. They smooch! Gross!
Neo is working in town when Helia appears and notices he is avoiding her, he tries to pass it off but she’s too insightful! Kestor overhears and asks Neo if he needs help, but when he tries to distract her he disassociates and believes Helia is Arachnos. He starts talking to her and she gets confused, she offers to help but Neo waves her off and walks Kestor out of there. As they leave, a piercing scream from Rhene alerts them. They run to her and find she has partially transformed, destroyed a cart and pillow, and terrified Dinan the mercenary. Kestor hides her with a major image and calms her down, finding that she has scrawled a page from the play in her blood. He takes the page from her and heals her wound, then threatens Dinan not to talk about what he saw. Rhene says she was dreaming, she was someone else… is it a coincidence that happened right as Kestor has a vision about Arachnos?
Xanthos suggests talking to Arsenios about demon knowledge, because it’s going to be hard to leave her here without anyone to look after her. Ionessa suggests talking to the Tripecaller as well… but that will have to wait. Kestor reads the page:
[The supplicants rise and approach the throne, the chorus chants]
Came they in wretched sleep,
Mired in filth and fetid gold.
No lock nor guard to block them from their grisly work,
For they are expected.
Clad in curse they waste not time,
For moments spent dreaming are surely squandered.
Alas, and go forth, killers, priests,
Wilted beings all.
And by cursed hand and cursed knife,
Do thine withering work.
He waits.
[The chorus fade, a supplicant becomes more than his fellows]
Come, fellows, wet your daggers hence.
[He draws his blade, the others follow]
Lay low the gods!
And chain their heavens to the earth!
[They cut]
The end.

Notes

ヽ(°〇°)ﾉ

Report Date

18 May 2023