Session 11: The Winter Nexus Report

General Summary

-Session 11 aka how to gaslight your party
-The mysterious priest of the Winter Nexus leads the party into the dark depths of the labyrinthine catacombs underneath the Nexus.
-The darkness within appears to be magical as none of your darkvision or light cantrips appeared to function correctly.
-The walls of the catacombs are lined floor to ceiling with Urns containing the ashes of those who have passed within Leviathalas.
-The priest leads you on a frustrating and confusing jaunt through the maze of tunnels. You become separated from each other, the priest appears to be everywhere yet nowhere all at once. You each begin to experience vivid, nightmarish hallucinations within the tunnels. Fabian has a vision of Hermynia rejecting him for another Bard, yelling at him to leave town and never return. Sealah has a vision of the Hydra attacking, only this time he is melting away, losing his sentience and physical form, unable to respond. Cogg has a vision of Maurena dying on the ground, he tries to fix her but he only knows how to tinker with machine parts while she begs and asks him "why can't you fix me?" Zephyra wanders into a corner tomb where she sees the body of her dead brother, he reaches for her ask her to save him, but she can't reach him as his body is swallowed up by the ground. Ellisandre wanders too far off course and finds herself back in a dingey cellar in Lyra with Jo'el comforting her after they murdered two people.
-Eventually you emerged into a dark tomb that appeared to have been broken into. Unnverved by your encounters in the darkness, you pressed forward to investigate the tomb.
-As you examined your surroundings and the interior of the tomb, you learned that it is the Tomb of Briseis. She and all her companions were killed during an ancient battle with the Nyxborn during something called "The Silence" and later interred here.
-As you move throughout the tomb, darkness envelopes you and when the light returns, you find the tomb has been subsumed by Nekroti infection. There is Nekroti blight growing over the floors and walls, writhing flesh tentacles crisscross the ceiling.
-Nekroti monsters begin swarming towards you, clicking and slurping. Combat ensues.
-Sealah turns the largest of the monsters into an Orca (which has no overland move speed, therefore rendering it essentially neutralized)
-The other five Nekroti continue to swarm forward, taking extreme amounts of punishment before going down. Grabbing and biting, trying to spread their infection. Ellisandre showcases a strange spore-like ability that she used to affect the Nekroti.
-As you begin to beat back the hoard of Nekroti, they seemingly disappear into black smoke as if they were never there. Similar to the creature you slew in the Summer Nexus (attack doreios) and the smoky Nekroti that Niketa appeared to summon in her stupor.
-When the fight ends, the damage you took and spells used remain in place. Only there are no physical wounds to speak of, only the post-combat feeling of aching and adrenaline.
-When the smoke clears you find that the tomb of Briseis itself has been cracked open. The skeleton of Briseis bedecked in ancient, corroded armor and weapons, clutches a strange metal box in her hands.
-The obsidian box has the same symbol on it as was found in Doreios' cell. On it, written in gold-inlaid Draconic script, "What is the nature of belief?"
-After holding onto the box for little while, Ellisandre feels...invigorated by it. Sealah holds onto for awhile too and feels the same thing.
-You decide to leave the Winter Nexus. Reluctantly you choose to go the same way you came in.

Campaign

The Leviathalas Campaign

Protagonists

Zephyra Haladiin

LN Eladrin Elf (Sage)
Wizard 14

80 / 86 HP

STR
8

DEX
18

CON
14

INT
22

WIS
10

CHA
8

Fabian Lavigne

Chaotic Good Satyr (Folk Hero)
Bard 14

115 / 115 HP

STR
8

DEX
16

CON
16

INT
8

WIS
10

CHA
20

Ellisandre Duskblossom

Chaotic Neutral Wood Elf (Urchin)
Druid 9
Rogue 5

40 / 101 HP

STR
8

DEX
20

CON
14

INT
10

WIS
18

CHA
10

Stratos Sealàh

Chaotic Good Naiad (Nymph)
Sorcerer 14

44 / 111 HP

STR
8

DEX
14

CON
18

INT
16

WIS
8

CHA
20

Report Date

27 Jan 2022