Session 45: A Long Morning of Plans and Preparation

General Summary

Busy Morning

The session began with Namina tending to Hysteria and Kaswink as they were still unconscious due to the combat from last time. Agave began replanting the seeds/nuts/whatever of the nearby trees with hopes of rebuilding some of the surrounding woods. DAN and eventually NAD began building workstations/ritual rooms to make crafting and performing rituals and stuff a bit easier while at the base. Frode planted some oblong and bumpy spores in the garden while also tending to the wounded by making Kaswink some tea. He began praying over her, and felt the energy flowing through his Hairshirt and Ilmater helped Kaswink heal. His own suffering seemed to draw forth portions of Torment as well, and he was able to heal most of Kaswink’s wounds with his own suffering. He prayed over her for several hours until interrogations began with the Myotling in the basement. While treating Hysteria, Namina also spent some time making sure that they were mentally/spiritually okay. She was able to observe that their aura had returned to normal though was on full display due to them being unconscious. She saw that, while in her trance that normally helps her communicate with spirits in combat or out in the wild…Hysteria’s mental or spiritual landscape was strangely empty. The primary thing that was visible was just Hysteria’s aura, and there wasn’t much evidence of another spirit ever being there. Hysteria seemed to be relatively the same, maybe some cracks or a little damage in their aura, but just the same old Hysteria. After a few hours, Hysteria finally woke up first. They were confused both due to Namina being in their room and due to their mask being removed. After spending a moment to recover and spit some water, they started asking Namina some questions. They seemed to need a spell to communicate over long distances with someone that she has seen before. Namina confirmed this was possible after a good night’s sleep. Namina also said “If you ever feel like something is trying to take over your body, please let me know.” before she left without further explanation. Hysteria seemed concerned and claimed that that hasn’t happened yet.

Back to Work

While Agave was out planting stuff, during the couple of hours before Kaswink woke up, one of the Uginot ec Mlet that was standing motionless suddenly began to walk away. Agave pursued, demanding the logger stop, but he just kept walking very deliberately to the east. Agave stopped them by removing the dirt out from underneath them. The creature fell into this newly dug pit, and he turned to Agave to say in a very mechanical, almost programmed sentence: “I. am. Sorry. I. must. Get. back. To. work.” Agave continued trying to get a human response from this person, and in the meantime the creature dug himself out of the pit before saying, still mechanically, “back. To. work.” Agave continued pursuing, getting much the same in terms of responses along the way. At one point he grabbed the saw out of the Uginot’s hands. The creature tried to get it back while continuing to speak mechanically, demanding its things back, but had some problems with depth perception. “Quit. playing. with. my. things, I’m. going. back. to. Work.” Agave then broke the handle of the saw and was able to watch as the metal turned black and flaked off into the air. He heard something unseen in the trees blow a childish raspberry at him as the logger began walking away again. Agave abandoned this quest to return to their work to restore the forest. Back at camp, NAD was able to see more of these loggers walk into the woods. They alerted the rest of you about this, and Namina was able to slow them down from a distance with a wall of water. The wall did indeed stop them for a moment, but they started to push through very slowly as NAD and Hysteria chased after them into the woods. Similarly with the one Agave was chasing, these loggers were determined to head east and would just repeat the same phrase if slowed down. Agave intercepted them as NAD was tying the loggers up and helped break their saws. A Myotling appeared as this was all happening as he tried to blind you all to take back the loggers, however, NAD resisted this blindness and was able to see the embarrassed -and now visible- myotling. The myotling was embarrassed, and begged you lot to let him go back to work. NAD was frustrated, and they demanded to know why this myotling, a creature of the forest, would want to cut it down. The myotling was relaxing a bit, seeing that conversation was being had instead of his death, and tried to explain that the trees are corrupted and need to be cut down. Agave claimed there is no corruption, that there is no reason to cut them down, but the myotling disagreed. NAD stated there is no visible corruption, but the myotling tried to explain that you have to be initiated to see the corruption. The myotling also referred to the loggers as “things” and was genuinely confused when you argued that they are people…saying that the loggers are just tools. He even explained that they are brainless, that their brains were replaced with “something better”.

Interrogation

NAD swatted at it with Namina also hitting it with a sickening ray of magic, hoping to knock it unconscious. The first hit was met with a reactionary spell that made the Myotling and a logger he was touching turn invisible. NAD continued trying to hit them, and with their last swing was able to grapple this myotling. However, the myotling had another trick up his sleeve and tried to teleport. The teleportation was only partially successful, and the two people the myotling was touching ended up just a hundred feet away in the nearby forest. NAD knocked the myotling out, causing it to become visible again. Hysteria, NAD and Namina worked on bringing the loggers and this myotling into the underground farm to be stored and interrogated. Agave, meanwhile, went back to planting trees. Frode joined Hysteria and Namina with their interrogation efforts while NAD went back to building, but apparently moved their project down to the underground. Frode began his efforts with the humanoid and motionless loggers. They didn’t respond to any of Frode’s questions, and NAD began answering Frode’s question about who these people are working for with some logical connections, explaining that it was Ilven as they seem to always be talking about her. They even used some metaphors to help Frode, “The bad guy king is having his knights control peasants to do stuff. Asking the peasants and not the knight will accomplish nothing. We need to talk to the knights and get the knights to explain stuff. This myotling in particular said something concerning, he called the logger people tools…but people are people, not tools.” Namina stepped in and put her Serpentine Owl Figurine in his pocket before she slapped the Myotling awake. The interrogation began with Frode accusing this myotling of not being very neighborly. He claimed that what he was doing was actually incredibly neighborly as he was helping rid the area of corruption. Frode retorted that it ought to be illegal somewhere to cut down this many trees, but this myotling countered by claiming it isn’t. He also accused you all of being not very neighborly yourselves considering you attacked him and broke all his stuff. The corruption was brought up again, and Namina wanted to know why they don’t just use magic to fix it, but this myotling tried to explain that they are incapable of doing so or cutting them down. Namina wanted to know what happens after the trees are cut down, and this myotling claimed that new ones would be planted. He also stated that the mothlight trees are the most corrupted of all as they spread light. He seemed to be unwilling to see your side of the argument, just constantly spouting about corruption and how things are out of balance, too much light apparently. He had an “argument” for anything you said, and seemed unconvinced at first that Ilven had “become darkness”.

His version of how Ilven disappeared was because the Outsiders took her away, but she broke free and returned to help the myotlings take care of the outsiders and stop the corruption through this new logging tactic. It soon became apparent as Namina and this Myotling argued that each side would be seeing things as the truth due to their sources being so trustworthy…especially for this myotling who gets his information from his creator. Namina also wanted to know what was logging when “the outsiders” first arrived. She wanted to know if it was these myotlings or Ilven that was responsible, but the Myotling provided a different explanation. Apparently there are stories of creatures and spirits that make noises capable of luring in unsuspecting travelers. “When you wake up or wander into a place that you are unfamiliar with, all alone, you’ll end up going in the direction of a sound that is familiar to you.” Frode wanted to know how they can be so certain that they are right, it seemed like they were on some sort of crusade. The myotling replied by stating that their cause is just because they are waging war against the corruption, there’s nothing worse than the corruption…so you have to believe it is just. He also explained that having faith is essential when the orders are coming from the person that literally created your existence... though Frode disagreed. Namina, on the other hand, seemed a bit humbled. Frode wanted this myotling to submit and work for you all instead of for his Queen, and the myotling was both offended and confused. How can he possibly work against his creator? Namina seemed to understand this and tried to explain it to Frode that he can't go against Ilven. Frode wanted to just throw him in prison, and the myotling tried to explain that "Even if I die, I'll just come back in like a year or two."

Namina was curious how the myotling's ability to return to life works. He explained that "if we get to the point that we can't go on then we turn to dust. Our flowers wilt until the seed grows a new one and then we pop out as 'little guys' as we go through the stages of life." Namina compared this to a Cycle, a Cycle of Life even and asked what would happen if the Cycle was broken...the myotling began to get incredibly concerned especially when Namina pointed out that his dead friends aren't coming back. "Would you rather die or go against your creator?" Frode compounded this, asking the Myotling if he remembers his past lives. He was...quiet, looking down and thinking as he admitted that he doesn't remember his past lives but that he has no reason to believe the cycle is damaged. "If you killed my friends and they don't come back, then I would have even less of a reason to help you." Frode countered, asking who sent his friends here to die... The myotling tried to sum up the situation, stating that "You chose to kill my friends, they were just ordered to cut down some trees." Frode argued that the trees have a will... Namina then posited, "Our choice was to protect this forest, to protect the people you call tools. That escalated into your friends attacking us...and we had to defend ourselves. If we didn't fight over tools and trees with violence then no one would've died, and we didn't get a chance to talk."

The myotling stared at the ground, silent, trying to hide his face as tears started to hit the ground as they fell from his face. Namina changed the subject, asking the myotling what he likes to eat or drink. She learned of their basic diet and offered some silk while she dabbed his eyes. The myotling tried to lean forward and move his arms as she did so before he remembered he was bound. He was heaving, having a hard time keeping his breath, and as he looked to both his arms in frustration he fell to the ground. He tried to stifle his tears...but was unable to hold back the torrent of sadness that rained down his face before crying out and asking "Why!? Why is she doing that?! She wasn't always like this. Why are we here?" Namina then freed the myotling before handing him some silk to munch on. She explained her plan to free Ilven, and the myotling embraced her as he cried into her shoulder. It was agreed that the myotling would be "imprisoned" for a time along with the loggers until there was a chance to heal them and see just how truthful this "refugee's" emotions were.

Kaswink Wakes Up

Kaswink woke up, asked Namina if a smaller body part could be attached, and then immediately declared that it was time to kill Ilven. Namina, as plans to go deal with Ilven were being made, suggested that you stop killing all Myotlings indiscriminately as some of them might be doing what they're doing out of fear of Ilven. NAD, looking at the situation and the construction that they'd been doing at this base began to realize something... "You know, now that I think about it, what we're doing isn't so great if you look at it from their perspective. We coral a bunch of people, keep them from doing what they're supposed to be doing, kidnapping and murdering people after we just showed up in their world imposing whatever the heck we were told by the first person we chose to believe. Doesn't it make it seem like we're the bad guys in this situation?" Kaswink replied to NAD's worries with a bit of a speech.

"From their perspective, sure, we can look like villains, but we are on the side that protects the most people. They are on the side that will lead to the death of the forest and to the death of everyone. We just saw it in that vision that the Whendigo sent us on. Do you remember what it said? 'Indecision is going to get her killed.' And we can't afford to find out which her that is. We can't afford it. We just have to be decisive and go. Now."

Frode agreed, "We've been going in circles. We have a great burden to bear here, that's why Ilmater brought us here and we are meant to bring some sort of justice. This place is cursed, and, as Kaswink said, if we just sit and wait more disaster will follow. Ilmater will guide us, that's all I need to know. No sitting and waiting. Thinking about all these things like "Good and evil" won't bring us any closer to our goal." Namina also agreed, "I have found that spending too much time questioning the intricacies and moralities of your choices just leads to more death, more destruction and more disappointment. We are all tools to something, and I think that that is what is important. We are tools and we must do what we do."

And then Kaswink went off the deep end and lost like 10,000 followers by claiming that she's gonna start cutting off body parts starting with her eye. She planned to replace it with a magic spider eye to spot invisible creatures, particularly these darn Myotlings. Plans were made to begin moving while those that needed to rest rested, and Kaswink would also be hunting for Spiders with Hysteria. Agave provided his travel notes before beginning to meditate with the other sleepy-heads. After everyone is rested, then you would teleport in and do the killing. Namina objected to just killing Ilven, unless necessary, and brought up the Talisman that she had made: Abyssal Redemption. Kaswink was a bit confused about how this talisman is supposed to work, and Namina explained the process:

Get to Ilven
Enter a trance to communicate with her and make her corporeal enough to equip the talisman
Equip the talisman on Ilven
Continue communicating with Ilven while separating her from The Unblinking Sein

Additional steps include Having a Tea Party and including some Anti-fear treats and Ilven Favorites to help her remember who she is while fighting this fear. Namina will need to be kept alive, and Ilven will also need to be kept safe as well. Despite this, Ilven may also need to be attacked to some degree to prevent her from stopping Namina, and several Myotlings along with the Unblinking Sein will be involved as well. It'll be a tricky situation.

Kaswink and Hysteria were able to find a Resonating Wolf Spider while the rest of you slept. With Hysteria's help she was able to remove the eyes from this creature without damaging them, then remove her own eye and place the new Spider Eye in her empty socket. Hysteria did exceptionally well with this surgery thanks to Kaswink's instructions and some paralysis poison. Kaswink's new eye seems to sometimes randomly shift into another layer of reality though she is learning how to control it better by "attuning to people's resonance." The layer that her other eye sees appears to be a realm made entirely of glass. This glass is...moving in a way that makes it look like it is making sound despite Kaswink being unable to hear anything she can see this sound coming from these glass objects, creatures and terrain. She was able to see a field with livestock that were moving about despite also being made of glass. In her visions she also saw three incredibly large bells floating in the sky. The resonance they created seemed to line up with everything in this realm in such a way that they were in harmony with each other, the world and ...to some degree, the area seemed to even be reliant on these bells in order to exist.

To Ilven? Maybe?

While trying to use the Mothlight Tree to teleport to Pluarsh ec Relovut, you found that it did not seem to work...it seems that that tree had been cut down. This didn't create much of a problem though as Agave has the ability to just teleport with a fancy hat. The plan being to get into the prison, which was void of any guards last time, and then to head up to the surface directly to Ilven. Some last minute prep was brought up including Namina's talisman and some food. Namina grabbed the talisman from around your camp to give to each person as they are intended to provide some minor protection against rude spirits. Frode also cooked a hearty meal of butternut soup, roasted vegetables with heartslug glaze and a tasty looking cake. You each were stacking up advantages against the fear effects from this Unblinking Sein, and the total effect of doing so is still not clear besides a great deal of confidence and bravery. Plans were also made for after fighting Ilven. This included checking in on Namina's brother, Nori, and to check with the Mothlings to see if there are consequences to "taking out" Ilven. Namina also wanted to look into the Strange Gem and the Gate that it was involved with per the Folded Map. This Gate is the same as the one in the Gate Camp, but you had yet to see if the Gem does anything yet. Namina also wanted Frode to make some treats for a tea party she wanted to have with Ilven as part of the attempt to connect with her. She suggested some of the foods that the Myotling mentioned being made into teacakes and things, this included leaves, silk and so forth...Kaswink suggested including blood, though this made Namina a bit uncomfortable. She also suggested putting some goop into any meals that are made as it is made from Giant Heart Slug which provides anti-fear benefits. The Euphoria Jar was also mentioned for the first time in almost a year.

At this time, Namina also brought up some guidance she received from a Spirit she met at one of her Tea Parties. She described the spirit: "Her robe is made of silk, similar in style to a kimono and the pattern on it is abstract but reminiscent of a pond full of different fish and plant life. She’s holding a large glass bell in one hand as she leans comfortably as if on an unseen sofa. Her other hand is positioned daintily beneath her chin. She speaks and each word feels as if it is coming from her, the bell and from you. One speaking slowly, gently, with great care and compassion, the other ringing out in time and the last strangely confident, insightful, intuitive. It all matches in harmony, and as she begins to answer your questions, the wax dripping from the still lit candles is notably darker than the soft yellow-white wax or animal fat they were made of." And she quoted what the spirit told her: “The spirit we speak of was once part of a much larger picture. It sat in harmony with the darkness of the world, another shadow that watches and listens, created only when the light happens to want it to exist. It was neither content nor upset about its existence, it had no desires or wants…and we think it still doesn’t, but it crawled out. It broke free. It is but a fraction of a being beyond anyone’s comprehension, though we all know and understand them as the land we walk upon.” “We think some of it is scared. It is a frightening creature itself, but we think that it is separated and doing things it is not used to. If we had a way to return it to its whole, then it would stop bothering us, and maybe it would even leave behind some people it took? Though, to be safe, we’d recommend separating them from it first.” “They are in harmony now. They are as much each other as they are a new creation and themselves. Separating them will take a great amount of effort, though if we can communicate with us in this way maybe we can meditate and commune with the Unblinking Sein as it were? Perhaps keep it separated from the rest of itself while finding a way to get the talisman we are making on Ilven would be the way. Though, then we would need to perhaps communicate with Ilven as well to remind her of herself. We believe in us, that we can do what we have set out to do. Have faith, our new friend.”

The groups of Three, the Bell, and some other clues connected what she said to what Kaswink was seeing in this other realm. Because of this, Kaswink tried to "attune" to the bell that Namina was describing. In doing so her eye vanished again, and she saw a slightly different portion of the realm she had been viewing. This time she seemed to be in a field, similarly made of glass, and as she rotated she was able to see an entire city with swooping architecture, elegant spires and such that culminated with a palace at its center. Her rotation seemed to move her closer to this palace to the point she was able to see a woman that seemed to match the description of the spirit that Namina described. This woman was indeed wearing a very similar silk robe, and she was holding a bell. She seemed to just be standing on her balcony ringing this bell, and its resonance was in perfect harmony with the world around her. She also had a porcelain mask on the side of her head, which Kaswink described as "connected to Hysteria somehow, she had a funny mask."

Teleportation Errors

With plans to give Hysteria the new Talisman for Ilven since they're the quickest, plans to have a tea party and try to communicate with and separate Ilven from the darkness...teleportation time had come at last. You all finished your hearty meal, you got your own personal talisman on to fight against the rude spirit, oh, and NAD swapped form to become AND, :P Agave did a teleport. However, there was a problem. While Agave had an item from the prison, and an intent to teleport there...it didn't seem to exist anymore as rather than showing up underground you instead showed up on the surface just outside of Thera Relovut. The gate was locked, Kaswink put a nearby and invisible myotling to sleep, and Hysteria opened the door for you. Combat has begun...and it is unclear what horrors are about to greet you on the other side of this gate.

September 19, 2022 Monday D&D