The Last Storme: Session 9 - Subject Three
Missions/Quests Completed
24th Skrabarjeń 269 5E
Lokanth Wursor, barely conscious and struggling with fading vision, watches in helplessness as Sir Bellinor carves out his brother's heart. In his dazed state, Lokanth's mind plays tricks on him, morphing the face of Sir Bellinor into Russell Tideborn, then Doctor Walmdas, followed by Sister Prudence, Doctor Ada, and even his own family. The guards around them seem to chant prayers to Solenoir, fueling Lokanth's rage and thirst for vengeance.
Meanwhile, Russell Tideborn takes a risk by leaping from the Penitentiary roof and turning himself invisible. He plans to escape The Radana Storme Institute by swimming upriver.
Sister Prudence seeks refuge in her chapel as chaos erupts in the cell blocks. Patients hammer on doors while guards scramble for security. Prudence retreats to her chamber and loses herself in prayer to Dalli.
In the infirmary, Doctor Ada promises to take care of two restrained patients. She brews a sedative, mixing it with a lethal dose of deadly Nightshade. The patients panic amidst the commotion, and Doctor Ada soothes them before administering the poison. One patient simply collapses, with little room to argue his fate. The other patient, horrified, looks at Doctor Ada with condemnation, struggling to break free before collapsing unconscious and likewise being killed.
When Lokanth regains consciousness, he resolves to find and confront Sir Bellinor for his revenge. His first stop is the Botanical Gardens, where he searches for plants to create a deadly poison. Inside the once beautiful garden, now decayed, he discovers a small patch of Nightshade flowers. As he starts to produce the poison, he encounters Nadia Storme, who becomes curious about his intentions. Upon hearing his plan, she offers to accompany him on his mission, and he agrees. Together, they leave the Botanical Gardens.
Russell moves stealthily across the grounds, passing Storme Manor and the graveyard. He is so absorbed in the sight of Dolores Simm's grave that he accidentally bumps into a tree, only to realise it's actually the red-eyed Groundskeeper.
Sister Prudence finds Sir Bellinor's abandoned short sword in her chapel and decides to use it to confront Doctor Ada. As she leaves, she witnesses patients breaking into the Wild Magic Cells to free the trapped inmates. She then crosses the grounds and enters the office of Doctor Ada, hoping to ambush her when she returns. Whilst there she finds papers etched with the symbol of the murderer.
Doctor Ada does not return to her office, she goes to the office of Doctor Walmdas and there she stumbles upon Doctor Walmdas' research notes. As she reads through them, she uncovers the dark truth of the Doctor's research. Doctor Walmdas had sought to understand the power to completely rewire a person's mind to warp their primary motivation in life and also sought to understand if such a power could be reversed. In order to achieve this goal he had constructed an enchanted mirror and meant to use it on a series of subjects, before lobotomising them to understand how the power affected them and how it could be undone.
Subject One had proven to be too volatile and violent and so had not been exposed to the mirror, but instead referred to Doctor Wosow for his research into weaponised Lycanthropy. Subject Two had been chosen from among Doctor Walmdas' own psychiatrists and was exposed to the mirror. She went on to kill multiple patients and faculty whilst being carefully monitored by Doctor Walmdas. Subject Three had been chosen from among the Groundskeepers, however, it is unclear what happened to him as his reports are incomplete.
Lokanth, in bear form, charges into Storme Manor, where he finds Warden Petro Storme conversing with zombies strapped to the chairs of his dining room. His servant Sylwester lies dying on the floor beside him, unnoticed by his master. Nadia watches the Warden with pity and shame. The two move on and eventually reach the library, finding Sir Bellinor's cult followers dead, and Sir Bellinor himself dying from vampiric puncture wounds on his neck. Lokanth kills him, tearing out his heart with his claws, and Doctor Walmdas observes the scene with mixed emotions.
Doctor Walmdas admits his experiment's failure to Lokanth and expresses remorse for what happened. Lokanth charges at him in anger, but Doctor Walmdas easily evades his attacks. When their eyes meet, Lokanth sees a reflection of his failures and transforms back into his Half-Giant form.
Lokanth attacks again but is once more blocked by the fast-moving Doctor Walmdas. He sees the Doctor's eyes flash red before he is blinded, and left at the mercy of the Doctor. He says a final apology, and moves to strike a mortal blow before Nadia Storme moves to intervene. She calls him father and tells him to stop and then the two fight.
Russell uses his invisibility to escape the Groundskeeper and heads for the water. As he swims away, he hears an explosion from the penitentiary.
Sister Prudence confronts Doctor Ada about her intentional murders, realising that Ada is not in control of her actions. Ada hands over the research papers, and Sister Prudence deduces that Ada's mind was altered by a magical mirror. She considers breaking the mirror to free Ada from the enchantment.
Sister Prudence binds Doctor Ada and takes a knife and poison from her. After the Sister leaves, Doctor Ada breaks free of her bonds and returns to the office of Doctor Walmdas, lighting the oil on fire and watching it burn.
Sister Prudence rushes to Storme Manor, she uses the poison on herself, joining Doctor Walmdas in the library. She pretends to be interested in his research, but her true intention is to trick him into biting her with his vampiric fangs, to drain her of her poisoned blood.
She arrives to find Doctor Walmdas in a brutal fight with his daughter. Both of their appearances are changed, both now have sleek black hair, crimson eyes, and pale skin. As Doctor Walmdas falls for Sister Prudence's trap, he succumbs to her poison. Doctor Ada arrives and witnesses his disappearance into the shadows. With this victory, Sister Prudence collapses, the poison and the loss of blood claiming her life.
The Days Beyond
Before the sun would rise, Doctor Ada Arztin and Lokanth Wursor would locate the enchanted mirror used by Doctor Walmdas and destroy it, seemingly lifting Doctor Ada's curse.
The Konstat arrive the next day to find The Radana Storme Institute in ruins. The Wild Magic Cells were opened in the penitentiary, and those patients within lost control of their powers and caused an explosion that consumed the building. Countless patients and faculty were obliterated in the inferno.
The psychiatric building was destroyed as well, as Doctor Ada's fire had spread to encompass the entire building. Some escaped but many more were trapped by the flames and suffocated in the smoke.
Many of those who remained on the grounds suffered a similar fate, though there were those few who endeavoured to escape by swimming the river. Most drowned, though some were able to push free of the current and make their way to freedom. Those few who stayed on the grounds and survived the fire and the smoke were rounded up by the Konstat and taken to safety. The faculty was taken care of by the Brothers and Sisters of the Temple whilst the patients were thrown into the Deep, the underground mass prison of Arkeluw.
Russell Tideborn's fate remains unknown, however, rumours abound of a cult growing in the forests of Lower Mastoria, led by a strange and enigmatic fish person.
Sister Prudence is laid to rest in the Temple of the Seventh Acolyte, and there she remains at peace and the crypts for seven days and seven nights until her crimson eyes open. She awakens to find the individuals who she once thought to be Doctor Walmdas and Nadia Storme standing over her. In the days to come, she would discover that their true identities were Wlad Mulkwast, and his daughter Walerija Mulkwast.
Doctor Ada believed for a time that she was free of her curse, but in time the compulsion to kill returned and she began to take the lives of those living within Arkeluw. In time she would venture north, determined to find a means by which to cure her curse, but taking countless lives along the way.
Lokanth Wursor would refuse to return to Lidiavale, wracked by guilt and unable to face his family, he would find solace in an isolated grotto in the forests of Lower Mastoria. Eventually, however, he would be consumed by the same violent compulsions as Doctor Ada, and Subject Three would return to civilisation to begin his killing spree.
Report Date
24 Jul 2023
Primary Location
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