Session 13 - The Hanged Man
General Summary
Irina, Ivan, Lada, Nogat and Vashti find themselves in front of the slain snakes, not sure what to make of what transpired in front of them. Vashti, Ivan, and Irina continue progress deeper into the cave but Lada is distracted by the voice, and eventually ghostly image of her grandmother. No one else seems to hear or see her and Lada is overcome with sadness and longing to be reunited with her grandmother once again. She speaks to Lada about regrets that she was not able to tell her more about the ways of others like them and shares that there are others like her that can be found in the woods, where regular folk don’t tend to wander. After a few minutes she slowly vanishes, still only seen by Lada.
The party continues to explore the cave, guided by Irina's light and Vashti's ability to see in the dark. They come across a large five-legged dog resting beneath a 20-foot heap of snow. As he emerges from it he shares a vision of Aleksandrovka where the people of the town are fighting one another with and appear to have lost any sense of self control. The nuns are absent from this vision. He says this is what is to come in his lifetime. Irina insists these are fear tactics and encourages everyone to keep looking for Khoma. Before pressing on to another part of the cave they see a vision of a tide of blood through their hometown, before that, too disappears.
Not too long after they notice a person hanging upside down from the ceiling of the cave, gagged with an apple. As they approach the person, they notice he has a striking resemblance to Khoma. After some investigation, they remove that apple and Khoma immediately ask for a drink of water. Lada hesitates, but with Irina's blessing gives him some water in exchange for answers about how he got there and his relationship with the volkhvy. Khoma admits to killing Gavrilo at the behest of the volkhvy. Seeming to know what the five-legged dog showed them, he says that what's coming to the village is the consequence for its people's actions, and that the Mother Superior had broken her sacraments. Khoma offers to convince the Volkhvy to allow the group to leave as he continue to insist that he is thirsty. Lada complies for a second time but is told by Vashti to be careful and not give him a third drink of water for he may break free from his chains once his thirst is satiated. The group resorts to withholding the third drink and taking Khoma down, keeping him tied up. Vashti sees something horrible and many-limbed in the shadows of one part of the cave as they continue to venture onward.
Report Date
21 Aug 2022
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