Chapter 3, Session 6: Nightmarish Reality
General Summary
The session started with Sigholdt Sofiasson asking Hermione of Vallea to identify the soul cage books to learn anything more about them. She learned that they were used by the most powerful witches of The Unwaking Coven and that the souls were being tortured inside, although she was unsure if they were still alive or not. Eventually, the party left to receive their rewards from Emperor Honour, stepping out into the pouring rain. As Peregrine reluctantly let Mallus Somnium stand under Esmerae's umbrella to keep dry, she paused to check her Dream Trinkets as she noticed just how hard the rain was and how empty the streets were. However, Peregrine realised it was missing, and after a quick check, so was Esmerae’s! Strangely though, Malus’ tattoos appeared as per usual. With the rain getting heavier, Peregrine dragged the party into a nearby shop to group up and figure out what was going on, only to discover they were now in a long, dark empty room. Far far away was a glint of red.
Unsure what to do, the party argued their next steps, with Esmerae betting Peregrine one favour that, if they left to go to Emperor Honour’s palace, they would find the exact same room there. However, Esmerae lost the bet as, when the party tried to leave, they found themselves unable to as the door had become hard wall. Water began to trickle under the door, burning Esmerae as it became running water. Malus kindly agreed to carry her, and seeing no other option, the party began to make their way down the long corridor. The water continued to rise, reaching knee height. Remembering suddenly her ability to spider climb, Esmerae hopped off Malus’ back to cling to the ceiling in an attempt to keep away from the running water. Swiftly, she reached the red light first - a door - and, with agreement from the rest of the party, pushed it open. Suddenly a torrent of water flooded from the entrance, filling the hall and rapidly killing Esmerae. Sigholdt looked through the door and saw a red sky with a yellow moon that held a massive mouth splitting the moon nearly in half. Two mountains reached up to the moon as red water poured through the door. Sigholdt sustained a point of madness as Hermione, realising resistance was futile, chose to drown, with Sigholdt following suit. As Malus scooped up Esmerae’s ashes in his waterskin, Peregrine stubbornly grabbed his hand, her refusing to give up, he unable to die from drowning. Together they swam through the door and swam up and up until Peregrine realised there was no end to the water. In an attempt to give him one last moment of comfort, Peregrine hugged Malus, before her lungs gave out and she drowned. Malus attempted to follow suit but was unable to. Looking down, he suddenly saw the tentacle monster from his dreams, calling out to him: “Look, Home”. Grabbed by the tentacle, Malus was made to look at the ground below, seeing a metropolis city the size of a country. The creature confirmed the city was its home, stating “The night was long” When asked what happened. Malus continued to watch as figures began to run through the streets, focusing on a man carrying a baby with blonde-white hair. They were chaste by a soman moving too fast in a navy dress and apron, with hands outstretched and splayed. Suddenly the woman seemed to throw them into the alley, and the sound of tearing and screaming could be heard. The creature then stated: “You, Your fault” before pulling Malus back from the scene. “I will help. Reforge this dream”. With those last words, the creature snapped his neck, and Malus woke in an alley. Peregrine and Esmerae spent the morning after the party woke up from a peaceful sleep to search for Malus, while Hermione and Sigholdt went to the Emperor’s palace. They found Malus on the other side of the city and, after dealing with some asshole guards and being briefed by Malus of his dream, the trio met up with Sigholdt and Hermione at the palace. After waiting in line behind other mercenaries, the party were met by Honour Blade Xanthier who was running the welcomings. He explained that some of the other mercenary groups had been aggressive murder-hobos (which explained the burned buildings Malus, Esmerae and Peregrine saw on their walk), and so were being given lesser rewards than promised. After a quick goodbye, the party finally received their loot! As Peregrine went to receive her magical item, she tried to ask the Arcane Master Ellarian Starweave about magical ways to share dreams/memories. Unfortunately, he took poorly to being asked about dreams and took very poorly to Peregrine. Moving on from him, she rejoined the party, who had a chat with Emperor Honour. Sigholdt asked if he knew of a woman named Sofia (Sigholdt’s mother) - Emperor Honour’s reaction made it clear he did and did not like her. Malus asked if Emperor Honour knew of a place called Luyarulia - the name of the city he saw in his strange dream. Emperor Honour confirmed that he did, saying it was the birthplace of The Quori and The Nocta Mori entering Kaechaek and the first city. The Sleeping King and other key myths were born there, although he believed the place did not exist, or if it did, a very long time ago and no longer. Emperor Honour learned this information from the land itself, though had to give something up to learn it. Finally, Peregrine asked what the Inkbowl looked like, as he had visited it on his epic journey to become Emperor in the first place. He described a truly desolate place with the living existing on the edges. Finally, he added that Peregrine could find clerics in The Diamond or at Varne Gate to help with recovering memories (as she ignored the looks Ellarian Starweave was sending her). The party left, and Peregrine asked Xanthier about the location of auction houses she could pass on to Sigholdt for him to seek out bullets that Hermione could replicate for his gunblade. They decide to go to the Bladed Odyssey as the most likely location to possess them. Hermione and Esmerae chatted about contacting Esmerae’s family to try and stop them from looking for her. After a brief interrogation by Hermione, Esmerae crafted a letter and helped prepare Hermione for possible questions. Once done, all but Esmerae went to the home of the Celestes. Sigholdt went to train as Malus watched, while Hermione and Peregrine went to speak with Esmerae’s oldest brother Rolan Celeste. Going inside, Hermione handed over the letter, which Roland took badly. He began to poke holes in the story as he questioned Hermione, and Peregrine butted in to try and help keep the story going (something she later apologised for upon realising she’d talked over Hermione). Eventually, Roland chose to leave, telling his father he was going to track Esmerae down, starting at The Wheel . Grabbing some of his recruits, he bid farewell before leaving. Turning to some downtime, Hermione finished reading her book, learning a new spell. The party regrouped after a quick supply shop, and Sigholdt opened up about his concerns that Emperor Honour is going to destroy Kaechaek, referring to how he reacted to Sigholdt’s mother’s name and the vision Sigoldt had at the Spook’s home, where his mother spoke to an empty throne, calling it/the person “The Ruiner” and that it was drawing nightmares to it. Sigholdt let slip that changes had happened to Hero and Crumble, demonstrating the changes when Peregrine asked. Hero appeared much darker and pessimistic, while Crumble was unhinged. After some more prompting, Sigholdt opened up about his past and about his failure to protect someone, occurring recently (just before the party met him). He also mentioned how he didn’t know what he treasured anymore, after asking Peregrine what she treasured. Peregrine and Malus offered some advice, and eventually, Sigholdt admitted it was good for him to talk about things, ending with a hug from Peregrine. Finally, the party agreed a long rest was needed, and that they would scope out the tomb tomorrow/investigate the rumours of Emperor Honour the next night. For now, they rest!
Unsure what to do, the party argued their next steps, with Esmerae betting Peregrine one favour that, if they left to go to Emperor Honour’s palace, they would find the exact same room there. However, Esmerae lost the bet as, when the party tried to leave, they found themselves unable to as the door had become hard wall. Water began to trickle under the door, burning Esmerae as it became running water. Malus kindly agreed to carry her, and seeing no other option, the party began to make their way down the long corridor. The water continued to rise, reaching knee height. Remembering suddenly her ability to spider climb, Esmerae hopped off Malus’ back to cling to the ceiling in an attempt to keep away from the running water. Swiftly, she reached the red light first - a door - and, with agreement from the rest of the party, pushed it open. Suddenly a torrent of water flooded from the entrance, filling the hall and rapidly killing Esmerae. Sigholdt looked through the door and saw a red sky with a yellow moon that held a massive mouth splitting the moon nearly in half. Two mountains reached up to the moon as red water poured through the door. Sigholdt sustained a point of madness as Hermione, realising resistance was futile, chose to drown, with Sigholdt following suit. As Malus scooped up Esmerae’s ashes in his waterskin, Peregrine stubbornly grabbed his hand, her refusing to give up, he unable to die from drowning. Together they swam through the door and swam up and up until Peregrine realised there was no end to the water. In an attempt to give him one last moment of comfort, Peregrine hugged Malus, before her lungs gave out and she drowned. Malus attempted to follow suit but was unable to. Looking down, he suddenly saw the tentacle monster from his dreams, calling out to him: “Look, Home”. Grabbed by the tentacle, Malus was made to look at the ground below, seeing a metropolis city the size of a country. The creature confirmed the city was its home, stating “The night was long” When asked what happened. Malus continued to watch as figures began to run through the streets, focusing on a man carrying a baby with blonde-white hair. They were chaste by a soman moving too fast in a navy dress and apron, with hands outstretched and splayed. Suddenly the woman seemed to throw them into the alley, and the sound of tearing and screaming could be heard. The creature then stated: “You, Your fault” before pulling Malus back from the scene. “I will help. Reforge this dream”. With those last words, the creature snapped his neck, and Malus woke in an alley. Peregrine and Esmerae spent the morning after the party woke up from a peaceful sleep to search for Malus, while Hermione and Sigholdt went to the Emperor’s palace. They found Malus on the other side of the city and, after dealing with some asshole guards and being briefed by Malus of his dream, the trio met up with Sigholdt and Hermione at the palace. After waiting in line behind other mercenaries, the party were met by Honour Blade Xanthier who was running the welcomings. He explained that some of the other mercenary groups had been aggressive murder-hobos (which explained the burned buildings Malus, Esmerae and Peregrine saw on their walk), and so were being given lesser rewards than promised. After a quick goodbye, the party finally received their loot! As Peregrine went to receive her magical item, she tried to ask the Arcane Master Ellarian Starweave about magical ways to share dreams/memories. Unfortunately, he took poorly to being asked about dreams and took very poorly to Peregrine. Moving on from him, she rejoined the party, who had a chat with Emperor Honour. Sigholdt asked if he knew of a woman named Sofia (Sigholdt’s mother) - Emperor Honour’s reaction made it clear he did and did not like her. Malus asked if Emperor Honour knew of a place called Luyarulia - the name of the city he saw in his strange dream. Emperor Honour confirmed that he did, saying it was the birthplace of The Quori and The Nocta Mori entering Kaechaek and the first city. The Sleeping King and other key myths were born there, although he believed the place did not exist, or if it did, a very long time ago and no longer. Emperor Honour learned this information from the land itself, though had to give something up to learn it. Finally, Peregrine asked what the Inkbowl looked like, as he had visited it on his epic journey to become Emperor in the first place. He described a truly desolate place with the living existing on the edges. Finally, he added that Peregrine could find clerics in The Diamond or at Varne Gate to help with recovering memories (as she ignored the looks Ellarian Starweave was sending her). The party left, and Peregrine asked Xanthier about the location of auction houses she could pass on to Sigholdt for him to seek out bullets that Hermione could replicate for his gunblade. They decide to go to the Bladed Odyssey as the most likely location to possess them. Hermione and Esmerae chatted about contacting Esmerae’s family to try and stop them from looking for her. After a brief interrogation by Hermione, Esmerae crafted a letter and helped prepare Hermione for possible questions. Once done, all but Esmerae went to the home of the Celestes. Sigholdt went to train as Malus watched, while Hermione and Peregrine went to speak with Esmerae’s oldest brother Rolan Celeste. Going inside, Hermione handed over the letter, which Roland took badly. He began to poke holes in the story as he questioned Hermione, and Peregrine butted in to try and help keep the story going (something she later apologised for upon realising she’d talked over Hermione). Eventually, Roland chose to leave, telling his father he was going to track Esmerae down, starting at The Wheel . Grabbing some of his recruits, he bid farewell before leaving. Turning to some downtime, Hermione finished reading her book, learning a new spell. The party regrouped after a quick supply shop, and Sigholdt opened up about his concerns that Emperor Honour is going to destroy Kaechaek, referring to how he reacted to Sigholdt’s mother’s name and the vision Sigoldt had at the Spook’s home, where his mother spoke to an empty throne, calling it/the person “The Ruiner” and that it was drawing nightmares to it. Sigholdt let slip that changes had happened to Hero and Crumble, demonstrating the changes when Peregrine asked. Hero appeared much darker and pessimistic, while Crumble was unhinged. After some more prompting, Sigholdt opened up about his past and about his failure to protect someone, occurring recently (just before the party met him). He also mentioned how he didn’t know what he treasured anymore, after asking Peregrine what she treasured. Peregrine and Malus offered some advice, and eventually, Sigholdt admitted it was good for him to talk about things, ending with a hug from Peregrine. Finally, the party agreed a long rest was needed, and that they would scope out the tomb tomorrow/investigate the rumours of Emperor Honour the next night. For now, they rest!
Report Date
26 Mar 2024
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