Chapter 4, Session 10: Making Appointments
General Summary
Peregrine stopped by the temple to update the clerics on the new tavern the party were staying in. While there, she learned [Whispering Light was awake but fully unresponsive. After being given permission, she took over feeding him, and tried to get a response, but got nothing out of him. Before leaving, Peregrine spoke to the cleric who had tried to help her with her memories earlier. She learned she had been asleep when Detect Thoughts was cast.
After returning to the tavern the group decide to have a long rest. When Peregrine was asleep, with her permission, Hermione of Vallea cast Detect Thoughts and found herself in a vision: She was in a ghostly form outside a large warehouse with a crescent and full moon image on the doors. Suddenly Hermione was shunted inside, seeing a large clockwork machine. It was working perfectly, with many cogs turning. Hermione called out but got no response. When she moved to look around the machine, however, she saw people of all kinds tied to the cogs. All of them were split in half vertically - one half being a known race, the other being a silvery metallic/fog appearance (like The Dreamwoven ). Hermione approached one and saw her to be a half-human woman, pallid with blonde hair and a long jagged horn sticking 4ft up. The woman looked to have been trapped for a while and, when Hermione leaned closer, she could hear her whimpering:
“Shouldn’t have trusted them, shouldn’t have gone out there, should never have cast it, it will never end, we must put it back together”.
Hermione realised all the bodies on the cogs were muttering similar things, though all said specifically “Should never have cast it”. There were too many people and cogs for her to count.
Hermione woke from the vision before going back to proper sleep. The next day a guard arrived to take the party to speak with Stretched Ink. On arrival, they had to set aside all magical items before entering the prison proper. Stretched Ink was brought in, clearly lucid. She denied her crime, claiming to have no memory of it. She recalled travelling to The Wheel and leaving there to follow and protect Whisper. She hid under his cart while travelling, and did everything to keep him safe, but had no memory of him getting hurt, reaching the city, or admitting to trying to kill him. Stretched Ink added that a lawyer - Mystan Taldren - had taken on her case, and she reassured Peregrine she would be ok. Esmerae however could see through the reassurances and took a moment to tell Peregrine that Stretched Ink’s situation wasn’t great. After hugs, and a promise from Peregrine she would help, the meeting ended. Before the party left, Peregrine was able to persuade the guards to expedite Hermione’s meeting with Wraith through the use of a Dream spell Sigholdt’s mother could theoretically cast when she arrived in 2 days' time.
From here, the party split up. Sigholdt Sofiasson , Esmerae and Hermione went to check out the Sand Speeders job. They learned that a delivery had broken down in The Eyed Shade Forest, east of The Diamond. If the party went to collect and return the goods, they could get two free Sandspeeder upgrades! The trio agreed and headed back to the tavern.
Meanwhile Peregrine and Mallus Somnium went to find Mystan Taldren’s office (despite Peregrine’s insistence that she was ok and didn’t need the others to come with her as it was a personal task and didn’t want to impede on their time, Malus insisted on coming with her). After bonding a little in the waiting room, the pair met Mystan Taldren, learning that he believed Stretched Ink’s best chance was for an insanity plea, to be sent to an asylum in Peridot, as it was clear to him she definitely wasn’t possessed. Peregrine offered to go under Zone of Truth about the attack on the Cirque Arcadia, and the change in Stretched Ink due to the strange Nocta Mori present at the attack. Mystan Taldren agreed to teleport the party in for the trial in a month’s time - Peregrine would send him a message to let him know where they were by that point.
Once Peregrine and Malus left, they could hear Mystan Taldren sounding much more animated and hopeful about the case. The party went on to reunite at the tavern, where they discussed their future plans. It was agreed they would continue to Varne Gate as it might help Malus and his visions of the mists around Thornden, and could reveal information on the Arch-Devil Daphne and how she might be linked to The Long Night. The party also discussed Sigholdt’s mother’s arrival. Sigholdt was clearly not super excited and rejected the party’s ideas for welcoming her. He did agree that the party shouldn’t keep information from her (such as the Fake Emperor discovery). The party agreed the immediate plans would be to do the Sandspeeder job the next day, then the day after deal with Sigholdt’s mum’s arrival and help Hermione with Wraith.
Finally, as the party settled into sleep, Hermione cast Detect Thoughts on Peregrine as she slept again. This time, Hermione was able to push through the strange barrier (she’d failed to push through the first time) and felt lucid and cold. She found herself sitting in a dark, dank prison cell with a cold wind outside. She was in a cloth tunic and trousers, in a male/androgynous body. She felt achy as if she’d been running and stressed, and had taken a beating lately. She also noticed she had no items, only a tiny spark of innate magic. As the vision ended, Hermione stated Peregrine was fucked up. The party long rested in preparation for the day ahead.
Report Date
15 Oct 2024
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