Session 20: Everyone's Got a MILC

General Summary

This session was basically a whole lot of aftercare after the DM dragged the party through the emotionally traumatizing ringer. But before that, however, we have one last bit of potentially traumatic drama to resolve.
Outside the Mill of the Gods, Kitanya Evermoon, Wynnie Bishop, and Khashayar Entezami lay on the ground, exhausted, staring up at the sky where the stars are back where they should be. Kitanya specifically is full of self-doubt and concern--did she do something wrong to make the moons mad and abandon her? Will it happen again? Are they still mad at her?
As she lays there, ruminating on this, however, our bewitching little satyr gets an answer. Entering a sort of semi-dreamlike state as she lies there, Kitanya hears a trio of voices in her head. They tell her that they were not at all mad at her and have never left her. They tell her that rather than being with her, they are actually inside her at any given point, in her blood. They tell her they're proud of her, she's one of their blessed chosen ones, and that there are others out there like her that she may meet some time. In this moment, Kitanya feels her blood alight with an intoxicating burn, power surging through her. In this moment, Kitanya shifts from a Circle of Stars Druid/Nature Cleric to....redacted.
As she stirs, Kitanya lets Wynnie and Zami know that she's better now, going from morose and sick to more happy than ever (though her wording on what just happened does leave the other two slightly uncomfortable).
The rest of the party rejoins this trio and they set off back to the Endeavour, shooting Gleddy Goodvine a generic "hey, we're not dead" sort of text along the way. The walk back is uneventful and the party is eager to return to Ann Naps in the Shade's Drifting Leaf inn to shower, nap, and maybe have a cathartic cry.

Taking Care of Emotionally Satisfying, Wholesome Business

In The Endeavour, the party splits to deal with their different psychological/emotional needs:

• Khashayar Entezami spends some time with Ann, rejoicing in being all right but also letting out a good cry about how scary the whole situation was. Ann asks xem how the party is going, which Zami initially gives a surface-level status report on before the Tabaxi mother figure chides them that she meant if they're nice to Zami, patient and kind and fun to be around. Zami answers this in a general affirmative but hems and haws about if they feel like they belong, especially given this was such a huge mission to start on. Xe laments that it's hard to know if they can trust the party, a million 'what ifs' - What if I mess up and they kick me out again? What if they turn on me? Ann lovingly shushes these concerns, telling Zami to focus on if they feel safe with the group; if they feel like xe can mess up, if xe feel like there's grace to make mistakes or be uncertain etc. This, Ann reminds the Alqurun, is the foundation of trust, of safety, of transparency. They give a very good tender hug and Ann lovingly shoves them out the door.

• L0L4 beelines back to the AHARRG Guild Hall of The Endeavour to return the Ring of Mind Shielding and give Miriel the spend arcane focus from the golem as a thank you for the loan. While there, Miriel seems especially excited to see the Warforged; though L0L4 initially plays it cool and safe, she gets a hella Insight roll to realize that Miriel is especially emotional to see someone come back to her...and not just anyone, especially our Rizzbot. It seems that what had initially come off as two Rizzers bantering with each other may have had a spark of something more. L0L4 recovers from her initial playing-it-too-cool and tells Miriel as she walks off that "I'd really like to get to know you better, Miriel. The real you."

• Amanita Guttata returns to their home sweet tree, accompanied by Wynnie Bishop. Along the way they share some notes about their theories on the gods, The Web etc. in light of everything that's happened. At the home of Caterina & Theophrastus Guttata, Amanita is embraced fully and tearfully as Very Much Not Dead. They fill their parents in on everything and Wynnie offers Theo a vial of the strange god-sand from the rift to analyze. Theo bustles off to do this, babbling excitedly to the Firbolg while Amanita and Cat go sit for the best cup of tea Amanita's had in years. Cat asks Amanita a similar set of questions, funny enough, to what Ann had asked Zami and Amanita is honest and candid with their mother about how they're happy, healthy, and fond of their party. They even name some specifics, like how they particulary enjoy Alek's company. The two banter for a while, doing your standard kid-back-from-college check-in, before giving a fond farewell, leaving the sand behind for the couple to research further.

• ALEK51 and Num Erik Al both take some time to decompress in their rooms, alone for a rare respite to bond with their respective pets, maybe have a good cry, and get a good nap in.

• Kitanya Evermoon bounds off to go shop for new gear for her new class, thinking nothing of the party in her excitement, clip-clopping away to show up later with new gear.

Home Again, Home Again

After the party has done what it needs to in the Storysprawl, they reconvene and give Gleddy a speakerphone call to see next steps. Gleddy is very eager to see them home and hear updates, arranging for someone to help portal them back to the Cities of Mercy and Wrath. (They have to walk a bit outside the city to get past all the magical 'interference' to do so - it's not something they can always pull off, or Gleddy would have just zooped them to the Mill earlier.)
Back at the AHARRG Guild Hall, everyone gets a very long, very warm, very needed hug from Gleddy before they settle in for a debrief. She brings in Norville Aurabithin and they take copious notes on what the party says, with the group opting to share every detail. They tell our adventurers that they'll need to take some time to parse through all of this and while Gleddy strongly advises everyone go check with One Who Smiles For the Dark for their mental health, she also has a little bit of fun news she thinks would do the party good.

Settlement Building Minigame: Unlocked!

It seems that Ourelios Heia Eefissa has come into some land in the Rowa River area of southern Ostelliach that she has no time to spare revitalizing and instead thought of our adventuring party as a good place to invest the land. Gleddy hands the party a shiny new deed to the land, home to a long-abandoned settlement ruin, along with a teleport plate that is calibrated to take them between the settlement and the AHARRG Guild Hall. She nudges the party to at least go take a look at the property, decide if they have any interest in taking on the responsibility and reward of the place.

Gleddy/The DM note that something like this happening is not uncommon in the guild; wealthier patrons often tend to "adopt" a specific adventuring party as their favorite and sponsor them, offering them financial support or even a deed to land to establish their own homebase. (This usually is in exchange for being on retainer should the patron need an adventuring party or something. In this case, Ourelios notes in her letter that the base may be a useful stop for trade routes including her own if the party wants to make the settlement more of a publicly open town, but she leaves that up to the group. Rich people, man.)

The group zoops their way down to the temperate Rowa River banks, where they find the rocky ruins of a settlement abandoned some years ago. Wynnie Bishop is noticeably uncomfortable, given that her family is just a stone's throw over the river near Carrier's Crest, mentioning that it's been nearly a decade since she's been back home. Kitanya Evermoon is the primary person to notice her reticence and consoles her, Shroud Sisters holding hands for a moment.
Wynnie also remembers a fair amount about this specific property, namely that it was abandoned after a bout of....some sort of Web-borne madness made everyone destroy things and flee in different directions. The group sees no reason that the settlement should stay abandoned, as the curse/disease/whatever was not actually localized to this spot (though superstition as such is why the land has not been grabbed up before).
The party does a quick assessment of the general area, noting the wild plant growth (including Alek's favorite, Rockroot) along the bank of the river, the stone foundation from some of the previous buildings, and the fact that it doesn't seem like the Rowa River is a flood risk anywhere near here. All in all, it's a pretty groovy pad.
The party is otherwise filled with excitement at the prospects of this land, babbling about taverns or mushroom farms or lab space or visiting each other for tea. They nominate Num Erik Al to oversee the first project - a large building of personal spaces for each of them - as the gnome is overcome with emotion at the prospect of setting up a homestead again...one that he will never let fall like last time. In this moment, the party is aware that each of them has been without the stability of a home in some time, and though they all feel different about their various departures, the prospect of something secure and safe is too much to pass up.
The session ends after a primer on Settlement Building mechanics and we plan for exciting yet relaxing downtime to make this place into a home.

Report Date

21 Aug 2024

Primary Location

Cities of Mercy and Wrath

Secondary Location

The Endeavour

Related Characters

• Ann Naps in the Shade
• Gleddy Goodvine