Session 42: Visiting Simol, The Hag Empress!

General Summary

Morning Recaps

The session began with the sun rising after an early bedtime and teleportation back home from the Gate Camp. Basil was hangin out doin his notetaking, Frode began cooking up a hearty meal, and everyone was busy with their own tasks or discussing the recent events. During the meal, Frode did not bring up that he forgot the entire tea party but somehow has new information, it is something he doesn't want to remember. Agave attempted to give his usual toast when drinking with Basil, but couldn't remember exactly what it was. This is due to the price paid to the Chittering Spirit being a month (strangely only 33 Days, rather than the usual Taranel 42 day month), and the memory that was lost was of the reason he began drinking. It wasn't revealed, as it really couldn't be due to being forgotten, but Agave has lost a memory of his Coming of Age ritual which apparently involved a journey through the desert and the deaths of some friends. Kaswink started to pack away all of her stuff and any decorations she put up around the camp were also packed away. She seemed to be getting ready to go somewhere, and Agave approached her with curiosity.

"Planning on going somewhere, Kaswink? We just got back!" His question was met with some confusion, but also a confession that she feels as though "something is coming" despite there being no evidence regarding it. Agave assured her that there are times he feels that way, and Hysteria picked up on the conversation...noticing that there is something up with Kaswink. They looked into her eyes and noticed that they were definitely different than the last time they were observed. They were a different color (Grey, losing color) and a different shape (pupil was starting to spiral). Hysteria snapped their fingers at Agave and Namina, instructing them to dispel whatever supposedly has a hold of Kaswink. Namina used her ability to see magic, but there wasn't much magically different about her, just the usual magic items. While there was no magical difference, there was a surprising difference in not only HER aura, but Agave's as well. Her aura was darker around the edges, and there was a strange "shape" almost etched into her aura that looked to be disconnected from her and forming into a jaw. Agave's aura was also changed, it looked to be both his normal aura as well as a new, second aura tie-dyed into it. The discussion suddenly shifted to Agave and whatever the heck was goin on with him.

Agave explained, "I've been feeling a bit odd since yesterday. I had some very vivid dreams last night. It's almost as if...I don't know, it's almost as if they're my own memories. I'm not really sure." Namina suspected that this might have to do with the payment the Chittering Spirit asked for, and had Agave clarify what he asked for. Agave provided this information, stating that he asked for the memories of the Murid body he had found awhile back. Namina seemed to understand, and explained that the guest from the tea party is capable of consuming the memories of people that are to be forgotten, and it gave Agave the memories of this person. She also confirmed that the other aura might be this other Murid. This made sense to Agave as the Spirit claimed to store the memories of entire worlds. Namina also warned Agave that he could forget himself if he has the memories of someone else inside him. She suggested he get an anchor to help deal with this, and Agave agreed stating that he would use his Journals for this purpose. The conversation started to shift back to Kaswink.

Namina wanted to know if these changes were after the meeting with the Spirit, and Kaswink seemed to think that that was likely as it showed up shortly after waking up this morning. NAD started to work their way over to the conversation happening around Kaswink while giving Namina the "stink eye". They commented on the differences that were being addressed, agreeing that Kaswink seemed a bit different. Kaswink said that she thinks she'll be okay, and that she feels the same and different, but it's hard to tell fully. She also mentioned needing to "hurry up" as she doesn't know how much time she has. She seemed worried that something is coming for her, and whatever it is might put the whole group in danger if it comes to the Home Base. She also felt that Agave's hand was lost due to this same thing that is hunting Kaswink...something is playing games with her. Namina was confused, as it seemed The Oni should already "have Kaswink", why would it need to "hunt her"...? This led to Kaswink disclosing some more information about her past, particularly that her grandfather was twisted into causing more and more harm to the people and things around him before he finally fell to the curse fully. Also, any mention of going to visit the Hags seemed to cause Kaswink some additional level of concern. She admitted that she isn't sure if she can trust Simol despite knowing that she can get information from her. Kaswink even claimed that "Simol might be a part of it" before grasping her head in pain.

"If we can't trust Simol, then who can we trust? What can we do?" Namina suddenly remembered some texts from her travels and from her studies in different religions and occultic information. Particularly, she recalled a way to help Kaswink "look inward" and to "follow the leash". The ingredients were things that you had already collected some of and were aware of how to get more, especially the Moonleaf Tea, a very important ingredient in the process. The Ritual involved many steps and the help of everyone to Identify plants, to create incense, candles and other mixtures from those plants, and to brew tea from these mixtures. Lastly, Namina would need to lead the ritual and to ensure that Kaswink is calm and safe during the entire process. Some discussion was had after this regarding whether or not Simol would even be needed, but it was eventually decided to go and visit her just to be safe. Also, Namina was suddenly proclaimed the leader by Kaswink. NAD said that "You don't question the White Mage." while nodding in approval of her leadership, and Hysteria even knelt before her... wow! Seems Namina is the leader now, can't be helped.

Onward to the Hag Village!

The journey to the hag village involved about 3ish hours of travel after arriving at a nearby Mothlight Tree. Before the Mothlight travel, you did get to go beneath your camp to see the underground day sky courtesy of Aotrom. The sky was clear, blue, and some nice natural lighting made the entire farm, zen garden and other delightful things underground to be extra pretty. While traveling through the forest, some delightful culinary mushrooms were found by Frode along with a new mushroom which was identified, thanks to The Field Guide as Glowers. These mushrooms were first poked by Frode's spear, and it was at this time that he learned they produce light when disturbed. With some of Namina's help they were able to harvest several of the mushrooms for later use. Namina and Agave found several bugs during their travels through this area of the forest. Agave needed them for a spell while Namina just wanted a snack, shame Hysteria ate all the bugs she found. Namina also located some of the ingredients for the ritual for Kaswink, particularly some lavender and other such flowers. No Moonleaf Tea, though, too sunny.

Kaswink found several of the strange mud-like creatures that the Hags tend to in the village. These creatures have the appearance of a pile of dirt or mud, but when they awaken they reveal eyes, stubby arms, and thick legs. Their mouths take up most of their bodies, and they are capable of surprisingly fast movement. They seemed to trust Kaswink for some reason and allowed her to approach them and pet them with ease. She also happened to find what initially appeared to be a sleeping, horse-sized dragon covered in moss, dirt and general forest detritus. She dropped some leftovers off with the dragon -as well as one big, stone-like egg- and, upon approaching it, she discovered that it wasn't breathing. She brushed her hands over the dragon, feeling no movement from any internal organs, and seeing no breaths coming from its mouth at all. She began to perform a small ritual to respect this dragon, connect with the spirit that was once there... she felt something move, something that isn't physical. She also saw one of the wings suddenly rise up into the air, though the rest of you were unable to see this event. Its claws started to swipe through the air, it looked like a dog having a bad dream or perhaps like it was running in its sleep. The other wing unfurled next, and it began to stretch as it stood up, yawning like a cat and roaring out some fetid, rotten air from its lungs. It flapped its wings, rising into the air and flying away. She felt a strange pressure, something similar to what she had experienced from the other animals she had respected in this land. Like a transformation was attempting to take hold, but something was keeping it from doing what it needed, something was keeping it from moving on. She decided to hold a funeral for this dragon with the help of Agave. The body of this dragon disintegrated as it was buried. With each bit of dirt that covered its frame, that same part of the body would be transformed into more dirt and more rancid air would be released into the world. As its spirit "moved on", she felt a pair of very loose, cloth-like wings drape over her shoulders similar to a cloak or a cape. The wings were mossy, like the dragon that was just buried, and had some of the feel of a dragon membrane beneath that moss.

Meet Simol, The Hag Empress!

In the outskirts of this village, more of those strange dirt piles could be seen, and Namina suggested sticking together as a group. Despite this, DAN immediately attempted to leave but was stopped by Kaswink. As the village was maneuvered through, Hags approached you and offered many different fruits and vegetables. They were all incredibly vibrant, and most of you rejected the offers. Kaswink did accept some of these offers, but didn't eat any of them and just put them in her bag. These hags seemed to be fine with you not taking their produce, not being pushy at all, but they did seem to get a little sad each time they were rejected. At the center of the village was a rather imposing and menacing hut which seemed like the ideal place to meet a Hag Empress. Tusks, horns, bones, skulls and all sorts of trophies covered the outside of the structure. Two massive tusks on either side of the entrance and an equally large horn above the same entrance seemed to match the three horns of Simol's own headdress which was seen upon entering her hut. She also had bone chimes and other creepy things hanging from the rag-like outfit she was dressed in. She was hunched over a table and staring at several paintings.

She greeted you, recognizing Agave from the last time he was here, and wanted to get straight to the point asking if you "have things for Simol". Kaswink started the exchange off by offering some tea, and Simol seemed eager to have some, but it was soon discovered that you used all of your tea up on the last Tea Party. Simol was visibly frustrated by this, but produced an already hot tea kettle from her robe along with several cups before she started pouring a cup for each of you. She dodged the paintings on her table, and Kaswink was able to peep at them as she gathered them into a pile. They were all solid black, except the one at the top of the stack. The final (or first) painting seemed to be similarly dark, but there was a noticeable woodgrain texture on it. The painting also featured several eyes and mouths and things that were reminiscent of a certain Spirit. Kaswink asked, immediately, if that was Ilven, and the conversation quickly grew awkward as Simol dodged questions before Namina chimed in to help.

Namina wanted advice on the ritual she wanted to perform, explaining the situation regarding Kaswink and being as genuine as possible. Simol had some followup questions, and understood the ritual Namina was speaking of...she specifically wanted to know if Kaswink was willing to do what it takes... She agreed to provide the information Namina seeks, but she "needs things in exchange", and asking what you all had to offer seemed to cause her to smile for the first time. She was rather excited about the deal she was about to make. Namina offered her a painting of Simol's Aura, and Simol was willing to accept this for some information but with the caveat that it must be painted using Kaswink's blood. She even offered Namina a paintbrush capable of changing the blood into other colors. Namina agreed to these terms and began painting the Hag's Aura...strangely enough the horn portion of the headdress appeared to be a part of her natural form as her silhouette included them. Her aura's colors were Magenta, dark green, dark cyan and dark/murky violet which suggested some high level of ego, jealousy, arrogance, envy, strong-willed and so forth. Her aura was also darker, closed off, less opaque almost like she was concentrating on something else while speaking with you all. Simol accepted the painting, spinning it at the tip of a finger before it vanished and reappeared on a nearby wall. In exchange for this she provided the following information. While she spoke her voice became lower from Kaswink's perspective, and from the rest of your perspective it was the same pitch while being in a completely random order, hard to interpret what it could mean. The First Trade

“Watch your back, not much time left for you, best be on your way.
It’s not one to dawdle when it’s time to collect
You will fall to its curse, much like he did long ago.
Your soul is lost, just as lost as the creature you seek”

Kaswink offered to give up more blood for more information, but Simol wanted something else...she claimed to already have enough of Kaswink's blood. She suggested several things including "lives, limbs, experiences..." Kaswink explained to the group that she cannot give up anything else, and that Simol apparently "already has everything"...this caused her to grasp her head in pain yet again. There's something going on with Simol and Kaswink...and Cursed Knowledge, apparently. Hysteria picked up on this, and positioned themselves so that they could communicate without Simol seeing. They signed that "We can give her life, or we can give her death. She wants more, and frankly these things don't really go away until you give them one of those things. I lean more towards death." Kaswink countered this, suggesting that Simol was Tympi's friend, and that it might be difficult to take her on with all the other hags also being involved. Frode offered a meal made "with love". Simol seemed very keen on acquiring such a thing, and smelled the food declaring that there's no "Love" in the meal. She asked Frode for some of the "Love" that was put inside it, and there was much confusion. DAN offered an amusing pun, Simol did not seem very interested, and actually asked for more things just for the existence of the pun. Namina offered up a finger, but Hysteria talked her out of it. While they did so, Kaswink stole all of Hysteria's arrows to discourage any violence.

Some more arguing was had as to what would make a good trade, but Agave eventually chose to give up the hand he had already lost. He also told the story of everything it's ever done for him. As he told this story, the hand slowly dissolved into the air and Simol graciously accepted it while providing some more knowledge: The Second Trade

“Sometimes the best way to find the one controlling you
Is to follow the leash it has firmly attached to you.
Looking inward, then looking out, the path will be clear
Accepting that it is attached and walking toward the hand
That has been guiding you, though you must remember
This hand is powerful...and to be ready to face it, is to be out of time”

Simol provided one last helpful bit of advice: "It will not accept you until you are ready, but I will help you find it when the time comes." Kaswink seemed upset by this information and began to leave. Simol offered the rest of you answers to any questions, and recommended paying her a visit if you ever do.

We ended the session there! We'll pick up again next time in Hagsville, IL.

August 22, 2022