Session 11: Bad Trip

General Summary

Session nr.11 02/03/2022
Wednesday, 2 March 2022 17:07
As Lucien, Dust and Guy regroup at the now broken down gate, they stand in a sea of corpses. As they're about to go see how the others are doing, a soldier covered in blood taps Lucién on the shoulder. He asks "why", as Lucién had cast a fireball upon his allies. Lucién doesnt understand, and the guard says fuck this town, and swears revenge. As he leaves, Lucien asks if what he did was wrong. Dust says sacrifices were needed. Luciens says he's right, and they begin to leave, but Guy is surprisingly not having any of it. Meanwhile on the other side, Ruyi instructs Finn as well as the surviving soldiers to turn to Haarin for medical aid. She had noticed during the battle that The Teacher was using Ho'ruushi scripts, and so ran up to him to ask about it. The Teacher asks her to meet up with him in an hour at his place, and he will tell her.
The party members group up and are glad they're all still alive. They have a little friendly banter comparing how many everyone killed, after which they head to May's location to check up on her. Once there, they find the children and caretakers still alive, however a few guards, the Elder, as well as Wubba, who had come to the children's aid after one of the Anrar had busted through the defences, were dead. Ruyi asks Helley what happened and she tells her the story, after which the party begins to assist the survivors to clean up the town somewhat. Dust and Finn are out talking to the guards, when Dust is approached by Mukrask, who hands him some herbs as a gift. Dust recognises it as "Star Fruit" (despite it not being a fruit at all). It is a drug that can help "connect" the people who use it closer to Joran, as well as each other's soul.
Guy has re-joined Dust and Finn as they begin to make their way back to the Tuhuru Bharisk, when Finn brings up how Dust's intuition of the Ho'Ruushi having two attackers was too accurate. Dust claims its simply his experience from when he was a member of The Glorious Hand, but Finn isn't buying it. Finn brings up how Dust has been getting looks from the townsfolk, his first interaction with The Elder, as well as the time he and the Teacher (who he also heard was using Ho'Ruushi scripture) were staring at one another after the Dojo fight. Finn asks Dust who he truly is, but Dust avoids this answer and tells Finn that if he has an issue with him, he should just come out forward and say so. This makes Guy speak up and ask Dust if he truly believes what he told Lucién about "necessary" sacrifices. Dust doubles down on it, claiming the boy did nothing wrong.
Meanwhile Ruyi had gone to the walls and after failing to communicate with one of the guards, chats with Fruska who *is* able to speak and understand common. After checking the bodies of the Ho'Ruushi casters, she makes her way to where she was set to meet The Teacher. Once there, she brings up how she was impressed with his arcane power, and wishes to learn from him. She brings up how her old mentor, The Headmistress, had dissapeared on her and ever since she has had trouble learning new spells to use. The Teacher asks her directly if she desires power. He explains that the Ho'Ruushi have gained their power from worshipping a warlord named Ukhbran. Not only the Ho'Ruushi though, as he shows her a jet-black book by the same name. He himself has not used it in a long time, and so she can keep it. He warns her however that it is not to be trifled with, and can only be used once she is in a stable state of mind.
He then asks a rather peculiar question, "what kind of creature are you?" Ruyi freezes for a moment, before beginning to explain. She brings up Helley's case, and uses it as a comparison. She is immortal, a Dhampir. She tells him despite that, she doesn't feel the need to feed upon blood all too often like dhampirs are expected to do. The Teacher walks to the back of the room and returns with an odd looking bottle containing an unfamiliar liquid. He gives it to her and tells her to drink it whenever her Dhampir urges arise. Ruyi thanks him, then asks if he's ever dealt with Dhampirs before. He says he has, but in a "different" way, whatever that means. Ruyi asks if she could ever call upon him if she needs him, and the Teacher says she may. Ruyi says shes very thankful and doesnt know how to repay him, however the Teacher tells her she doesn't need to as she's already helped save Treff.
As Ruyi enters the inn where the rest of the party had already gathered, she notices the mood is a little tense, especially between Dust and Finn. She tells the group about her meeting with The Teacher, her new book, and what he had told her about the Ho'Ruushi and the warlord. After that, the party begins to discuss what they should do with May, and wether they truly should leave her behind with the people of Treff to travel to Snowcake, or keep her with them until they find a different solution. Lucién brings up a possibility of taking her back with him to Gold, and despite Guy's hesitation, begins to explain how he actually managed to get across the border. They were helped by a man named Keltar. Where he is currently they do not know, however he is also their ticket out of Kinnorath. Lucién says all this conflict has made him grow weary, and that he's not too keen on continueing to travel with all these close calls. Guy notices Finn had stayed quiet and asks if he has any idea what to do with May, which makes him propose the idea of his own tribe. He doesn't remember them, however the fact they're still around with the Ho'Ruushi raiding every town imaginable must mean it is safely hidden away. Dust however brings up the chance they might be Ho'Ruushi themselves, which Finn can't deny as he has no memory of them.
They decide that May will stay with them for the time being, and if they come across Dust's original proposal of leaving her with The Everglade, which are located on the road between Klum and Furanei. That temporarely settled, Guy says he saw Mukrask hand some Starfruit over to Dust, and wishes to try it soon. Ruyi isn't too keen on trying it, especially with the child around. Dust claims they could do it, but only when they have time to spare, something they currently do not. Ruyi begins to prepare herself for rest, and says she will first be in her room to study this new book she was given. She asks if anyone else wishes to have a look at it with her. Finn surprisingly does, and so Ruyi promises plenty of refreshments to get them through the night. She takes her leave, followed eventually by Haarin, May, Lucién and Guy. As Finn gets ready to head up, Dust stops him and once again asks him to explain why he has a problem with him. Finn tells him he still finds it too coincidental that he'd know of the Ho'Ruushi's plans. Dust begins to speak more of how he still was a criminal until just a year ago, when he became part of The Everglade. Finn asks him to explain everything he knows about the Everglade, especially seeing as they're planning to leave May there. Dust tells him it is indeed a place for those who are lost, and helps them in finding themselves. It is there where he learned his new view on life. On the journey of life, one follows a pre-set path. This path is set in stone and any move that derails from it, will feel wrong to the person. A destiny, if you will. This path most likely will not be the one you'd wish to follow, but it is the one you must. Finn thinks for a second, then apologises to Dust for suspecting him. He tells him he's been a good ally through it all. With that he gets up, and wishes him a good night. Demise tells Dust he likes the philosophy. He says his father mentioned something similar, but about Benevolence. This makes Dust wonder if Ruyi had heard about it from the Teacher, and he begins to follow Finn upstairs.
As Finn knocks on Ruyi's door, Dust walks up next to him. Before Finn says anything, Ruyi opens up and greets the two. Dust immediatly asks her about Benevolence, but Ruyi says she doesn't know what he's talking about. He then leaves, and Finn enters Ruyi's room closing the door behind him. There are papers scattered everywhere. Ruyi opens the book and she gets a flood of images placed inside her head. She is now looking through the eyes of another, the commander of the entire Ho'Ruushi military, second only to the leader himself. She is ruthless, dispatching all who don't follow. Eventually she is sent to Snowcake with an invasion on the citizens and The Glaciers. She fails, returns, and is tortured, poured with flaming hot metal. Somehow, she survives and wanders for quite a while fuelled by revenge. She comes across a small town, enters it, restocks herself and then begins to killing everything she comes across, until she is met with a man. The elder. He helps her, and over the years, she find something new to fight for. Snapping back to reality, Ruyi feels a little dizzy. Finn asks her if shes okay. Ruyi says she's fine, and invites him over to have a closer look at the book. Finn says that before that, he wishes to act upon something she offered him a long time ago. He had yet another vision, similar to the one he had when they left Snowcake. Ruyi tells him she will give him a check-up next thing in the morning as she is currently exhausted still from the battle that took place the afternoon. She then begins to look through the book with Finn. After some time, Finn thanks her for her time and goes to rest. The moment he leaves, Ruyi is about to close the book when it begins to spout out smoke and speak to her. It is surprised that it has a new wielder. Its name is Ukhbran. However as quickly as the voice appeared, it dissapears.
The next morning Ruyi wishes the book a good morning. As the group gets ready to leave for Zerafi at Dust's request, Fruska comes by to relay a message from Mukrask. Another settlement is in need of help called Heilos, located east of Treff. The adventuring group Wubba was part of is already there, and could use assistance. While the part converses with Fruska, Ruyi makes a sending to Alice her sister. "Alice, Claudia has taken over the Bloodworthe manor. I need you to meet with me so that we may protect each other. Where are you?" After a few seconds she gets her reply. "I'm sorry, Ruyi." Ruyi, distraught in the back of the party, takes out the drink The Teacher gave her and she sips 1/3rd of it. It... Calms her down quite nicely. She's still upset, but within her own body she feels satisfied. The party decide what to do, and some wish to simply go to Heilos, fix whats going on, and then continue to Klum. Finn says he doesnt actually wish to leave yet, and the rest ask why. Finn shares he's gotten bonded to the Red tiefling. The rest believe this is ridiculous, but Ruyi brings up how this is a result of Helley's aphrodisiac affect. This isn't her fault; Finn is under Helley's succubus powers. Lucien speaks to Helley who happens to be at the stables nearby. Ruyi runs after him to stop him from doing his Lucién thing, and talks in infernal warning Helley. lucién takes her around the corner (Which Finn sees and is not happy with) and then asks if she knows how to fix Finn. She doesnt, maybe the teacher does, but hes busy. Lucien says it'll be funny to pretend sth happened between them to peeve off Ruyi, and Helley goes along with it because its funny.
After that debacle, the party gets onto the cart, and begin to set off towards Heilos. Not too far onto their journey, a familiar face appears, stabbing a group of dead Ho'Ruushi. It is Frath, and he is surprised to see the group. They ask him if he wishes to come with them for a moment to calm down, and he does. Once inside the cart, he begins to explains some stuff. He met up with a shadowy lady who told him they could shed some insight on his situation for a small price. He has been told that his name isn't really Frath, and he's not from here. His name is Hiberean. The dreams he had were the truth, Telarus really is hunting him down. He says he used to be a god in another place, however something with a raven made him lose his powers. Now he is here, but Telarus is still hunting him and his ally down. There's only three of them now; Telarus, him and Mortem. He must go to Tharkos and kill Telarus.
After all that, he excuses himself and gets out of the cart. Haarin concludes the shadowy person must have been Pink. Dust explains he knows about this man, his old leader Realas was once hired to defeat him, but they all failed, leaving only Realas is alive. Ruyi convinces the group to stop and turn around to find Hiberean. They do, and once they catch up Ruyi calls out to him asking what he meant when he said "I'll try to leave Tharkos in tact". Ruyi tells him Tharkos is her home, and says that if he intents to kill innocents she will need to stop him. Ruyi gets very close to fighting him, but bails out at the last very second. That is, until he says if her family attacks him he'll fight them too. This ticks Ruyi off and she begins to attack, her allies assisting, but Hiberean is so strong, he literally makes one move and takes down Haarin. Ruyi gives in, which peeves off Lucién and Dust. After the party accepts defeat, Hiberean acts very calm about it. He even brings up how he still has some herb places left that he can mark on their map. In an odd turn of events, the party and Hiberean decide to use the Starfruit Guy wished to take earlier. Back at the cart, Ruyi goes outside with the kid in order to avoid its effects. In the cart the rest are sitting in a circle around an Incense. The incense is activated, but its effects are so strong that even Ruyi and May get hit by its fragrance, and everyone is knocked out.
The all wake up on what seems to be a beach. On a sofa nearby is Till, who is surprised to see everyone (including the child) in his starfruit trip. He explains that this is technically still his trip and thus is in control of the world, and they can leave once he himself decides to wake up. The party takes this opportunity to relax a little, building sandcastles and swimming. As Lucién and Dust are hanging out, they wonder what the "connection" thing the Starfruit should have activated was about. As they look at eachother, they suddenly begin sensing a strange feeling, gaining visions from one another's past. Dust sees Lucién as an introverted child reading books about adventuring, sometimes his older brother, father or Guy beside him. He enjoys their company, but doesnt show it. As Lucién got older, he began to get a rivalry with his brother, and eventually decided to go out adventuring. It seems he felt alone for a long time, and the only time he'd be happy was with his family.
Lucién sees Dust, or, Tendrin, as a happy young potato farmer boy, with many friends. However one night, he sees two people outside his home having an argument with his father. He witnesses his father getting stabbed. His mother comes out to cast something, but is struck in the neck, killing her. Tendrin is then seen carving their names in a headstone. For a year, Tendrin swears vengeance. He wishes to become a hero, but as a child it's difficult. A very idealised version of someone Lucién can't make out enters his town as the head of a large group of people in gleaming armour. Tendrin begs to join them, and the one at the head eventually accepts him in. For 40 years, Tendrin grows to become stronger and stronger, however over time they begin to do more and more horrible things to people. Tendrin is slowly twisted into a heartless killer. He meets a half elven woman, a random goblin with blue fingers, and eventually he is leading a bunch of men on horses up a hill, but before Lucién can see what is beyond, it cuts off.
Dust and Lucién both see something else. A girl and a boy playing around with wooden swords, sparring. Their father shows a clear favour towards them over all the other siblings. Near the father is someone alike him, referred to as a brother. As the boy gets older, he grows up to be a soldier. Eventually he clashes with the true armies of his "uncle". In the battle he falls, but his father revives him and praises him a great deal. Over time the father says he wishes never to lose him, and along with his sister he will be immortalised. They then feel a shock, and are pulled out of one another's minds.
Further down the shore, Finn is swimming with May clinging onto his back like she's surfing. Ruyi is talking to Haarin, upset she was dragged into the drug trip. Haarin apologises. Ruyi's mind within the trip, begins to change her surroundings, turning it into her own room. Ruyi is a bit surprised, but Haarin explains you can think of anything and it shall appear. Haarin summons a bowl of noodles in his lap. Ruyi gets one too.
Realising what the connection does, Lucién walks up to Guy to try and "connect" with him. He succeeds, and sees a young boy, a nobody working for a noble man. He secretly trained the boy to become his dancing monkey to show off to the other noblemen, forcing him to do tasks like cooking. When making mistakes he gets severely punished through beatings, one time even had a dog sent after him, which the boy managed to kill. Over the years, the only solace the boy got would be through the daughter of the nobleman. This elven girl was always kind to him, taught him how to read, speak, etc. At the age of 10, the boy took a knife the cook had left out in the open and when the old noble came in and turned his back after another beating, he stabbed him to death. Shortly after when the elven girl came, the boy showed her what he had done. She was mortified, but the boy asked she'd help him escape. She did, and as he wandered the land, he eventually joined up with a criminal group. He became a member at 12, showing early progress. After 3 years, he ventured out to kill all the nobles that did him wrong. He did so for a long time, the only one that took him a while was a certain Darryn. He visited the elven lady often, but it'd be less and less frequent as the days went by. He became stronger and stronger, and helped people. He dressed up in costumes to hide his identity, eventually becoming "the Wraith". He later got a better business opportunity; sailor, visiting islands of Gold. He did so and it worked well, had many encounters with a particular pirate and beating him. When he returned and continued patrolling as the wraith, he found a noble in distress. He saved him despite his prejudice against nobles. They began to talk, and the noble offered him another business opportunity. Thus so began Guy's joint with the Velisk. He didnt stop being the wraith until Lucién grew older and became a larger priority.
After some time, the group wishes to return to normal and approach Till, however his head has been cut off. Everything turns dark, and when the party opens their eyes again they find themselves within a kitchen. Dust, Ruyi and Lucién are once again children. The rest however, are still the same. The knocking sound and familiar voice is heard once again, as the children cower in fear. Finn wishes to open the door right away to find out this threat, however Guy stops him, worried about the "kids". After some back and forth, child Dust (Tendrin) opens the door, and the party advances through the hallway. Skipping the stairs this time, they delve from room to room. Finn is lost to a bathroom, his head split open by the monster. Guy and Hiberean go off to face the creature's approaching footsteps as Haarin leaves with the kids. It doesn't last long however, as he too is eventually captured and killed by the being as the children try to swim to the depths of a pool. As they go from room to room, they are guided by Demise, Tendrin's cursed sword, who is capable of speaking to all of them. As they travel, the creature taunts them, blaming their crying for the deaths of their allies, and showing off their decapitated heads. The rooms begin to make less and less sense, as this house that once was familiar to them is now an odd puzzle to traverse. Tendrin begins to panic more and more, Demise trying to reach him. Lucién sacrifices himself to throw demise towards the others to help them escape. May, Ruyi and Tendrin run on. Guided by Demise, they run through hallways, up staircases and through room after room. They push through, until they all wake up.

Report Date

27 Mar 2022