Session Eleven: The forest is a shady place

General Summary

The group settled in for a long rest in the woods about an hour south east from Windshire. Corvus and Jenny Corvus and Jenny had first watch. She sets up a perimeter of brambles around the camp while Corvus sends a message to Jonathan Small Fry: “Jonathan, you have a chance to still save your town. Bring as many people as you can save one hour south east and be rewarded” Corvus then identified the blades he picked up. Two are Moontouched Daggers and another is a Double Bladed Scimitar. Corvus asks Jenny how she’s doing. She’s frustrated, annoyed, disgusted and worried. She doesn’t understand why Nesza is there, frustrated that she was holed up with Ethan all this time and that she was stuck in this dingy town. She’s also worried about the completion of her task in two weeks. Corvus then asks what she knows about Nesza. Has he ever been known to suddenly turn on people? Corvus is confused as Nesza, up until that point, was the most reliable of the group. Jenny explains that she doesn’t know Nesza THAT well. They are both Wardens but Nesza went to war when she was still very young. After that, she got her own task and hasn’t really seen Nesza. But she is shocked by what Nesza did and she knows that his parents will be horrified too. From what she recalls he was very reliable. As Jenny wasn’t sure WHY Nesza did what he did, she suggested he talk with Nesza about it. Corvus then asks about Silmer and April. She groans inwardly at the mention of their names. She explains she only worked with them because she HAD to. But whenever they sailed to the island, she would stay in her cabin as she was not up for “hanging out”. Corvus then asked about the demon Jenny‘s supposed to bind to Scotch Island. She explains that she knows the Comedor Infantil is very dangerous but she’s actually too young to fully know just how much. It’s not really shared with the younger generation. Dreas Greenthorn (Nesza’s dad) banished it there and since then, druids were trained and assigned as the Keepers to ensure it stays there. Jenny is the current Keeper and needs to be back at the island within two weeks to ensure the binding spell is recast. They then discuss the group a bit. Shade was cast. A lot. During their conversation, a hawk flies overhead and Jenny weaves brambles over the campsite to obscure them. April and Ethan (and Jenny) Next up are April and Ethan. Jenny doesn’t go to sleep. She’s too much on edge, so goes about checking the perimeter. April is happy to be reunited with her dad but is very shaken by everything that has happened. She starts to spiral, talking about all the innocents that might have died because of them. What’s going to happen to the town now?! Ethan first hugs her tightly, then takes her by the shoulders and looks her in the eyes. He explains that he knows it’s not fair to expect this from her but right now she can’t afford to lose herself. The group needs her to be ready for anything. April then breaks down into tears and tells Ethan she killed a man. She didn’t even think twice when she did it. She just left the body where she killed him. She doesn’t even know who she killed. Ethan explains she did it in self defense. But, to retain her humanity, she should still take responsibility for it. Once it’s possible, the two of them will look for the body and identify it. Then they will ensure the person’s family is informed. This calms April down as she agrees this is the best course of action. She mentions that she’ll remain smiling for the group, which Ethan explains is not quite the healthiest way to handle it. She should show that she’s taking this seriously. Smiling might actually give the wrong impression. April talks about the group a bit and mentions Malak, in particular, as someone who has been watching over her. She then asks if Valarie was “illegal”, which confused Ethan. Of course she’s not an illegal immigrant. She’s a citizen of Aundair? April then fills him in on the promises made with Juliona Godfried. She then asks him to come with her. Ethan‘s not sure what he’s going to do yet. He would prefer to stay in Windshire but it might be too dangerous. Nesza and Jenny (and Vence) Vence gets up to go to the “restroom”. Once he’s out of the brambles, he shifts his vocal chords to mimic Cissa’s and sends Corvus a Message: “She” tells him something along the lines of how whiny his puppy is being. Corvus heard the message but ignored it. Vence then goes back to the camping site and pretends to sleep. Nesza and Jenny sit by the campfire. She immediately starts off with a “What the HECK were you thinking?!” She tells him this whole thing is happening because of that arrow and that he seems to just be shrugging it off. Nesza starts with talking about how he didn’t agree with how some members of the team handled situations. They killed animals and Oalian would not have condoned that. But Jenny told him to stop deflecting his own mistake because Oalian would not have condoned him killing people in cold blood either. Nesza expresses that he’s already been chastised repeatedly and doesn’t need another person to do it. Jenny retorts with that he’s chastised because he’s not taking responsibility and keeps talking around it. A whole town is in ruins and he doesn’t seem to care. Nesza then explains that he just hasn’t been the same since the war. She asks why but he tries to talk around it. Jenny bites down and insists that he tell her what happened during the war because keeping it bottled up could make the situation worse. As Nesza is about to explain, Vence casts “read thoughts” to see what Nesza’s surface level thoughts are. He sees flashbacks to the war: A man coming face to face with Nesza. Nesza ready to shoot him when a bear suddenly emerges from the bushes to attack the man. The man talking the bear down. Nesza and the man putting their weapons down, shaking hands. Nesza killing the man. Nesza looking at his crossbow. Blackness. Nesza going home. As this goes on, Nesza explains that during the Flight of the Silver Bird, he met a soldier of the opposing forces: Robert. He was so much like Nesza’s grandfather in many ways. Nesza once saw him even talk kindly to a rampaging bear, saving many. When the Silver Bird told the soldiers to stop fighting, Nesza and Robert did so and became friends. They exchanged stories and drinks. But the next day, when the Silver Bird was gone, he got the orders to continue the fight. He came face to face with Robert again and killed him. Pain As Nesza says this, his Necrotic Shroud is unleashed. His bone wings sprout and his eyes go dark, streaking his cheeks with black tears. Jenny screams, waking the most of the campsite. Nesza tries to turn back but the shroud stays. He starts to panic and backs away. Corvus puts a hand on her shoulder, explaining that this isn’t something to be feared. He’s just different. Vence tries to cast Suggestion on Nesza to calm him down. It fails, making Nesza even more distressed. Malak then walks into the Necrotic Shroud, holds Nesza by the shoulders and tells him that he shouldn’t lose himself. They’ll find a way to make him better. His voice reaches Nesza and Nesza calms down. Corvus checks if Jenny’s ok now. She nods. Malak then walks to Vence and, in a burst of rage that makes his eyes flicker gold, tells him to NEVER do something like that again. Jenny is DONE with the group and their drama so she leaves the bramble perimeter. Nesza tries to say how much he regrets what happened. Mia gives him a drink in response, saying that we all make mistakes. The return of Jonathan Small Fry Jenny comes back and explains there are Sicklemen in the forest. Corvus tells the group this might be Jonathan Small Fry bringing some innocents. The rest go back to sleep while Jenny takes Malak, Mia and Corvus to the place where she saw the Sicklemen. Corvus casts Enhance Ability on Malak and insists he do the talking this time. It’s indeed Jonathan Graywater. He meets them in a small path, explaining that he had sent a hawk, Cherry Pie, ahead but it didn’t see anything so he just kinda headed in an approximate direction. Malak sends a Message to Corvus, asking if they are coming completely clean about their intentions. Corvus replies by telling Jonathan that the Lyrandars would like to help the town. They need the wine to ensure there is a cure to the Sporing. Corvus gestures to Mia, who immediately starts the conversation being snide. It almost starts to escalate before Corvus interjects again. He explains that perhaps Malak might be a bit more articulate on their goals. Malak explains the Lyrandars have an airship that could help them out and that Wrogar has been alerted. He is sending soldiers to help that will be there in a day. They all want to help the town. Malak apologises for the lives that have been lost and for the wayward arrow. They do not condone the action. He explains they have already spoken with the individual in question and will ensure justice will be served after all this is over. Malak then asks Jonathan if he can help them by giving more information on the situation in Windshire. Jonathon explains that the hooded figures have disappeared. There are still some people in the town. Malak asks if anyone from Jonathan‘s side is still in there and Jonathan explains that his little sister is. Malak swears to find her and Jonathan gratefully explains that he won’t be alone in the search. Upon recalling that Malak’s last name is Ishim, Jonathan smiles and says at least we know where she got her morals from. The group lead Jonathan and the others back to camp, where he is asked about Valarie. He explains that she was taken to the Town Hall and never seen again. Mia then asks about the teleportation circle in the Town Hall and where it leads to. Jonathan didn’t know about the teleportation circle. But it does explain why nothing ever comes out. Mia starts jabbing at the man again but Corvus and Malak split them up. Corvus establishes that neither group likes each other very much but they need each other right now. A Glimmer of Hope Malak decides to clear his head and goes out of the bramble perimeter with his bow and arrows for some meditation. Corvus takes Mia aside and asks her to consider that Malak has been very gracious this whole time. They both know that Mia has information that can be very important to Malak. She agrees and Corvus calls Malak back. Malak wasn’t too far away so he comes right back. Corvus explains that Mia wanted to tell him something and walks away. Malak and Mia awkwardly stare at each other for a moment. Mia then starts by explaining that Corvus wasn’t expecting them to apologise to each other (so don’t worry). She then explains that she knows Malak is looking into the Sickness. But she thinks he might have drawn some incorrect conclusions. He thinks it’s only linked to people who have the Soldier’s Mark. But she had the Sickness as a child. She doesn’t have this mark… and also, she recovered. Malak takes a moment to process this. He then says that he’s so happy she survived as that means there’s a chance to help others too. He asks when this took place. Mia explains that all she remembers is that they flew over Metrol not long after the Final Battle. She got sick and only recalls flickers of her mother’s face and music played by a bard named Luscinia. Others had fallen ill too. But only Mia survived. Mia explains that her mother and Luscinia are looking for a cure. And, like Malak, they also suspect it was created by someone. Mia then also adds that she has a clue on how to find them. She didn’t act on it because she felt that helping April’s family and town had priority. Malak explains that he greatly appreciates her candor and that he misjudged her. He then goes on to say that, as a token of his appreciation, he’ll tell her something even Corvus doesn’t know. He tells Mia that when he says his daughter is alive and that he knows where she is, he’s telling the truth. However, the fact is that when Myranna came home from the war, she collapsed with a fever while she was freshening up. Knowing what this was, Malak found a means to keep her in stasis, frozen in time, until he found a cure. He then thanks Mia, saying that he hopes to meet Luscinia and Illyria soon. …… And that Mia’s thunderbolt was really cool. Mia: “I know, right?!” With that, the long rest came to an end, along with the session.

Campaign

Sickle Moon

Protagonists