Session 19: A Shadow in the South

General Summary

After going over the idea of going to the wake once again, some stating going might give them an opportunity to see The Glorious Hand up close without the danger of battle, others claiming they only wish to fight them, not converse. They settle on first checking out a town that is near Khanharans crater, the asteroid crater where the wake is being held. The crater, despite having formed years and years ago, is still hot. It is the only place in Kinnorath where its actually warm. People have attempted to settle there, however despite the warmth, plants do not grow in the soil around it.
Finn asks Sylveras what was up with the undead, and why he is chasing them in the first place as this was never brought up beforehand. Sylveras claims it is his personal duty aside from the work he does alongside Nariko. Finn then asks why Nariko and him travel together, to which Nariko says she was drawn to the strange behaviours Sylveras has. Plus she says having a healer with her is very useful. Finn notes that her like for weirdos must be why she likes Ukhbran so much. The book then speaks up and in passing mentions he recalls the crater existing in his past as well, and that he didn't pay much attention to it until something crawled out of it and fought him.
As the party travels, a rustle is heard from a nearby bush. As the party gets ready to fight, a familiar creature emerges from the bushes. It is the beast Finn and Elthé saw back in the Cavern of the Queen when they scaled Suuth'Kallos. Finn tells the party its friendly, and the creature moves over the Elthé. The Queen's Beast is carrying a satchel, and within is a bag of holding containing the 20.000 gold pieces she was promised. After the Queen's familiar hands emerge from the dark carapace of the Queen's Beast and pinch Elthé cheeks, she hands over the bag and bids farewell, giving Finn an up nod. Elthé immediately casts sending to Neut the Merchant, who appears in a flash. Elthé opens the bag and holds it upside down, making all the gold pieces flood the counter and the stall, then keeping the bag. In addition she pays with her soul, Zula speaking up asking if thats even worth what she is doing, however Elthé ignores her and gets the box she wished for. As Neut disappears, she decides to open the box, and receives a number of high value items, as well as things like a jar of pickles, which she shares with everyone.
As Elthé is identifying all the items (and Nariko is told to identify the jar of pickles) Finn speaks up to Demise, asking about him and Dust's bond, why despite knowing the horrors Dust had committed as the butcher revealed to them by Sol's golden scale, he still stayed loyal to him. Demise explains he does not judge someone by their past, but more by what they currently are doing. Finn then asks who wielded him before Dust did. The blade explains he had no true wielder, only that he was in the hands of the Frostbite. He does add however that his sister, now being wielded by Till, wanted him to be his weapon as well.
Once all items are identified, Elthé hands out the items she does not need to the rest. After that is all settled, Nariko brings up Doctor Hasnar, and asks what everyone knows about him. Elthé says shes aware he created some sort of spray for eliminating pests. Finn says that although he hasn't seen the man in person for a long time, he has run into his soldiers Michael and Holly, as well as one of his mechanised subjects, subject 23. When asked why she asked that question, she claims it was pure curiosity.
That evening Nariko accompanies Elthé in reading her Tome of Leadership, while Finn and Zula speak of the many revelations Zula has had to endure these past few days. Most importantly the reveal that her son Liam still lives. Finn asks her if she has considered asking a magic caster to use the sending spell so she can contact him. After considering a lot of people, they're suddenly reminded Elthé has said spell. Seeing as she is busy at the moment, they don't bother asking her yet.
Then, Ukhbran lets of a bit of smoke of himself, and floats over to Finn. He tells him he sees Finn as the only person who takes him seriously, and brings up the being in the crater again. He notes how powerful it was, and they might be able to use it during the wake to attack the Glorious Hand, maybe wiping them all away in the process. Finn claims it'd be disrespectful to attack them during a time of mourning, however eventually he settles on a condition. If the town near the wake is in a similar state as what The Hand had done to Pyeerest, he will go to the wake and awaken the crater's monster. If it is not, he will let it be. Ukhbran understands, and returns to the book in Nariko's hands, who was eavesdropping. She notes she takes Ukhbran very seriously in a mocking tone, and after some banter Elthé calls out to her to pay attention.
The next day, the party is moving through an open field until Demise warns Finn he senses his sister nearby. Zula sees a group approaching them from afar. It is Till, alongside a group of Frostbite soldiers, one of whom is carrying Dust's old hat on his back. Surprisingly Finn and Till have a relatively normal talk. Till mentions they just returning from a scouting mission, and that he too was invited to the wake, however he isn't sure about going yet. Finn brings up how Red isn't with him this time. Sylveras notices Till flinching for a split second, and points it out. Till doesn't really say what happened to her exactly, despite Sylveras' attempts for him to open up. Then Till brings up how he wishes to have a little spar, looking a bit more eager and excited than he should. After Finn explains Till's hallucination powers to the party, they tell them they have no interest in fighting them as they must keep themselves in top shape in case the town ahead is in peril. With that Till and Finn say their goodbyes, Till being a little annoyed but hiding it well, mentioning they will meet again very soon.
After another bit of travelling, Elthé comes up with the idea of scouting out the town ahead using her new flying abilities granted by one of the items she got from the box. She says she'll be too high up for anyone to see, so its totally safe. The group agrees its a good idea, and Finn hands Elthé his Chieftain's Ring, the very same founder relic that held his people. In addition to that power, it also protects one from the cold, as the winds up above are freezing. Elthé takes the ring (its a little big for her fingers so she puts it around a necklace) then flies up and ahead for a little bit, before she is swung off-course by the powerful gusts around her. Sooner or later she loses all sense of direction, and casts sending towards Finn telling him she's lost. Finn tells her not to panic and to look around for an upcoming sign, then fly towards it and directly down. He turns to the party and asks if they have anything that can shoot up in the air, but not draw too much attention to their location in case enemies are around. They settle on Ukhbran's skywrite spell. Elthé sees it, very close to her in fact, and returns to the group within a few minutes. Realising she hadn't even gone all that far, Finn takes his ring back and the group head on towards the town.
They arrive and see two guards, who begin to speak to them in an unknown dialect. As one guard heads off, the other holds out his hand signalling the part to wait. A woman, the towns representative, eventually shows up and in somewhat broken common, ask who the group is affiliated with. Once Finn mentions he has come from Snowcake, the gate is opened and they are let in. The woman explains they know them as saviours, and that they are already making preparations to leave their town and head to Snowcake, going straight down south. Finn points out to Sylveras that down south from their location, his second undead resides. He then asks the lady if they've had any run ins lately, and the lady explains they have had a group of Ho'ruushi come in and order the townsfolk to join them, however a black angel showed up and helped them. Having an idea who she May be talking about, he asks what weapon the angel used. After a brief explanation (A chained weapon much like a yo-yo), Finn says he knows the black angel she speaks of. Thats when he hears the familiar Goldian accent, and as the group turns around Kelthar approaches them.
Finn greets him and introduces the rest of the party. As they talk, Kelthar reveals that Lucién, Guy, Ruyi and Haarin have not made it to Goldland but are instead currently with him and his men, one of whom is Finn's missing brother, Yfirge'Taham. Kelthar explains what doctor Hasnar had done to Finn's brother. He brings up how he himself too was invited to the wake, as well as Doctor Hasnar. Finn asks what kind of connection the doctor had to Dust, which caused Kelthar to raise an eyebrow. "you don't know what is really going on here, do you?" Kelthar asks. Finn tells him that despite droplets of information being spilled here and there, no one has actually told him exactly whats going on. Kelthar takes the party into a nearby hut, and tells them what he knows.
Doctor Hasnar is working for Telarus, the king of Tharkos to the south. Hasnar has been tasked with causing inner turmoil and conflict within Kinnorath, so that Telarus' forces could easily take over once that time has come. Hasnar now employs not just the Ho'Ruushi, but also the Frostbite and the Glorious Hand, in addition to his own mechanised soldiers. Finn says he now understands what Kemmis told him about the fear of southern invaders. Nariko asks about the group Kelthar has formed, and if they pay well. Kelthar explains one can't really join them all that easily as they are a group of specialised Goldians. Nariko speaks telepathically to Ukhbran, asking him to inform her dad on what they just heard from Kelthar, and if he was aware. Finn then explains to Kelthar their current plan. They will not attend the wake, instead they will head south to take out Sylveras' secondary undead target so these villagers can travel more safely to Snowcake. Kelthar asks if he can temporarely tag along, and the party accepts.
As they bid farewell to the townsfolk and cut their visit very short, they begin their journey southward through the snowy hills east of Khanharans crater. The party notes how Elthé is very quiet. When asked about it, she very slowly, almost as if very deep in thought, asks Kelthar if he'd rather kill one hundred chicken sized elephants, or five elephant sized chickens with a dagger. Kelthar states his opinion, but Elthé shoots it down as the wrong one. He begins walking closer and closer to Finn, noting how absurd his new party members are. Finn agrees, but claims they'll have their back in a fight and are to be counted upon. As they travel on and enter the hills, Finn claims they should be wary as they are in enemy territory now. The party points out that If they run into the Hand, they'd simply lie and tell them they were on their way to the wake.
Nariko gets a reply from her dad through Ukhbran. Her dad was unaware of all the stuff that was happening exactly. Nariko replies and says she will seek out as much info on Hasnar as she possibly can. If she meets him, she will ask him about the Greystone. Ukhbran sends the message, and after thanking him, Nariko proposes they should meet with her dad so she can introduce Ukhbran to him. She tries to convince the book by telling him her dad has two cool Anrars. Meanwhile Finn speaks telepathically to Demise about their run in with Till. Demise has spoken to his sister while Finn and him were talking. His sis wants Demise to return to them, or convince Finn to join the Frostbite. Finn says that wont ever happen, and asks if Demise knows how powerful his sister currently is. He explains she is not yet at full bonding level with Till, but they are nearing it.
Kelthar approaches Elthé, noticing the tome of Leadership and asking what she's reading. She pulls the book towards her and gives him a sneer, telling him he is not allowed to look at it. After some persuasion from the Goldian, Elthé says he can read it when she's done. However she fears he may steal it, and this will keep her eye on him. Kelthar once again notes how weird Elthé is, then walks over to Sylveras who is sitting on the side prepared to keep watch. He asks the young one how he ended up with the party. Sylveras tells him he simply went with Nariko, who was hired by The Glaciers and later sent to assist Finn with the task from Snowcake. Kelthar notes how he sees Nariko as a bit strange due to the odd remarks she had been making ever since they met, what with the doctor, his own group and the book she is talking to. Sylveras shakes his head and tells him Elthé is the crazy one. Kelthar agrees with that as well, and then takes off his helmet. He relaxes his posture and takes a moment of rest. Sylveras asks how long hes been in Kinnorath, and Kelthar tells him he has been on this mission for around five months. Sylveras asks what Goldland is like, and Kelthar explains its quite nice, and that maybe he'll take him there some day if he wants to.

Report Date

14 May 2022