Session 51: Something about a Diner and a Shadow?
General Summary
Late Afternoon Shenanigans
The session began with the strange bullfrog man vanishing shortly after the he saw the sun and said, "ah, finally, it's been so long." Hysteria tried to find him but was unsuccessful. They couldn't even seem to see anywhere that the bullfrog could've fallen or any tracks suggesting he ran away. They reported this to the rest of you, and began to return to the pit to help Namina out so she could scan the area for magic. Kaswink, however, found her own way out first and tried her own experiment. She channeled the energy of The Oni that had cursed her and filled the surrounding area with magical darkness. Nobody could see through it but her, and she was able to see a sizeable ordinary bullfrog sitting where the bullfrog man had likely fallen. She picked him up and assured him that it would be alright. She also noticed that he seemed rather sleepy. You all moved on to find Aotrom to see what she thought of all this. Kaswink stayed back to avoid casting too much darkness on the daytime Eadarlings, and Aotrom laughed at the sight. She seemed to agree that it would be best if Kaswink found someplace away from the village if she was going to be surrounded in a dark cloud as her people "adore the darkness". What would happen if they stepped into the magical darkness cloud was never revealed thanks to Kaswink avoiding the issue entirely. Aotrom seemed to still be completely unaware of the underground dungeon you had discovered. She also was unfamiliar with the bullfrog man that you described, but she was thankful that you restored her sky. The promised buildings for the tourist refugees were slowly being made from what seemed like nothingness on the outskirts of town.Agave took a moment of Aotrom's time to ask her about his Wooden Hand. She apparently, "Saw this hand being made by Him. He poured His sorrows, His despair, His Depression all into this one hand. It is a part of Him. I do not know what happened to it after that, but those that use it often meet a bitter end. His depression will be with you, always, but you can learn to use it to your advantage." Agave wanted to know the name of the child, but Aotrom needed more time to "meet with someone that would know." You all went your separate ways after this with intent to find something to do to pass the time. Hysteria and Namina chatted about their recent discoveries, personal issues and the like. Frode kept an eye out for anything suspicious or magical in nature. DAN went out into the farms to help the eadarlings that were busy farming, and Agave went to the library to see if he could find anything more about what Aotrom had said.
In the library, Agave found that there weren't many books in the small building. The history texts only went back a few years, same with logs and even fiction. Frode's eyes on the town were able to spot a disturbance in a nearby business. He first heard a glass break and the shouting of some eadarling woman who was later seen chasing a shadowy figure out of her shop. The shadow was of indeterminate race or gender, but they looked humanoid based on the arrangement of limbs, and they were running away from the town. Their posture was slouched which made their movements unusual, and Frode was able to easily catch up with them a short distance outside of town. As he chased after the strange shadow person, he noticed that chunks of their body were falling off and pooling on the ground in strange shadowy puddles that sizzled like acid or boiling hot water. When he finally tackled the miscreant, their arms and legs completeloy detached into more puddles of shadowy goop. Frode was able to see the creature's face at this point, and noticed that it was just blank shadows with chunks of white porcelain sticking out of it. The shadow spat in Frode's face as he lifted them up onto his back to be carried into town.
Despair
As Frode reentered town, some Eadarlings fainted while others cheered or whispered. This pattern continued as Frode paraded the person around town until arriving near the library. Agave waved at his friend and felt a strange coldness in his chest, but it was dismissed as he approached Frode to inspect the shadow torso and head. He found that the shadow torso appeared to still be breathing, but also that there was no heartbeat. It was a bit of a mix-and-match between different internal systems, but that the shadow was definitely moving as it spat at him many times. He learned from Frode the details involved during the chase and about the different eadarlings that apparently fainted. Agave turned his attention towards one of the nearby fainted eadarlings to medically inspect them. He was able to discern that they were still breathing, but as they leaned in for a closer inspection, the frog person opened their eyes to reveal they were not unconscious at all. Agave tried to see what was the matter with them, but they had no interest in moving or answering questions. They instead just repeated, "What's the point?"Agave and Frode moved on to go find their friends and see what could be learned about this strange spectre from any of them. The rest of you were off doing your own things, but the nearest available person was Hysteria who happened to still be talking with Namina. Kaswink was still watching from her isolation on the hill, however, and she was able to see that this strange shadow person was not giving off much in terms of resonance. Most of their body wasn't there, but the limbs that were missing still gave off a small amount like the rest of the body. She also noted that the chunks of porcelain sticking out of its face were far more solid than the rest of it. She moved to join with the group while Hysteria began inspecting the shadow. They heard a voice in their head as they resisted the strange cold feeling they felt in their chest, and their experience with this very being led them to conclude something secret:
Show spoiler
They instructed the rest of you to stay back while they got a closer look, and they began to remove pieces of the porcelain from this creatures "face". Kaswink wanted to get an inspection of the porcelain chunks herself, and Hysteria kept her back while handing her a bit to look over. Hysteria's examination of the being mostly involved asking it questions, but they didn't get much more than some spit on their shoes in response.
Kaswink, however, bit one of the porcelain fragments and had a psychic journey through time and space. In her visions she was blind at first, but she felt force, pressure, and eventually her tongue being pulled from her mouth hundreds of times at once. She felt something being forced onto her face, a mask, and the "truth" about the world ingrained into her mind. She felt Despair, and she felt the need to remind people that there is no reason to resist her, that they will die, and there is no other way for things to go.
She felt that same despair as the victims of the people she inhabited in the earlier parts of her vision. Lying in bed and sensing that there is no other end than the one the Jester outside her window would cause. That there is no other way things can go.
She felt herself die again and again, but she knew that it was the way it must be, and it was liberating to experience their knife on her throat.
This was a jester. They were once Despair.
She was experiencing these visions as Hysteria continued to pull fragment after fragment of porcelain from this creature's "face". Then, as the last few pieces remained, the coldness in everyone's chest suddenly increased exponentially. A voice echoed in each of your heads, “This is your truth. This is your voice. This is your Despair. You have no way to win or escape. You have lost. Give up…” You all fell to our knees. Then, with exception to Namina, you each collapsed face first onto the dirt. There was no motivation, no reason to get up, and you were frozen there in this moment of Despair, but you each had something to get you moving again.
Agave chose a coping mechanism as he reached for a bottle of tequila. He felt the burning sensation of the alcohol pour down his throat, and he felt a bitter, though forgotten, reminder of why he drinks to begin with. He stood up, and he found that the alcohol was not in his hand but rather still in his pack. He could still taste it on his lips and mouth, but he had not drank it.
DAN's need to stand came from a drive to help the people of this village. "I still need to help them farm." were his words, but it went beyond that. The need to help others connected to bringing joy and unity wherever they went. The memories of doing so with someone that is still missing, and what truly dragged them to their feet was a pat on each of their backs from a small, familiar hand.
Frode remembered his family and the need to get back home to see them again. It was a simple goal, but it was enough to remind him of all the hardships he faced to find a cure for his family and his city. He felt the soft caress of his wife's hand on his cheek, and her hair gently brushing over his shoulder. However, where he felt this comfort he also felt pain as each strand caused his flesh to rot, and he was left with lines of necrosis. Despite this, he still rose to his feet.
Hysteria remembered their orders. It's unclear if these are their original orders or the orders received from Namina's message to their Patron, but they remembered what they needed to just the same. They felt themselves rubbing spell components together within their hand with a desire to become invisible and escape Despair's line of sight. They did so, but the spell components were not in their hand as they began to move, and they instead saw the fractured remains of the porcelain mask.
Kaswink felt as though she had already been through these feelings before. She knew how to move past them, she knew what it was like to experience this almost everyday as The Oni coveted her soul. She felt herself reaching for her knife and finally stabbing into the Oni's throat, but when she stabbed she instead felt the injury on herself. The shock from the stabbing and the blood dripping down her throat caused her to awaken and move again, but there was no cut or blood when she inspected herself.
Namina, however, only fell to her knees. She was still able to somewhat move as she began to slowly pull the fragments from this creature's face. She had the shadow held up by the hair as Hysteria did before they collapsed, and she was working her way through the last few pieces. Hysteria was able to move again, was invisible, and ran forward. They were able to kick the shadow's head free of their body, and in doing so they dislodged the remaining fragments. Hysteria collected the fragments from the ground and anyone else that helped pick them up, they even took the partially chewed one from Kaswink. The afternoon sun was setting somewhere over the horizon, and the day was coming to an end. Camp began to be set up, and Aotrom visited Agave once more before she too went to bed.
According to Aotrom, "There wasn't much to see here, just light, but a child came and began to cast shadows. She loved Him, and She kept Him safe. They built this world together, but something happened to Him and now She is alone. She cries out for Him, She screams His name and weeps. Her tears stain Her rays of light with darkness, and She cries for Vsevolodrik." These words are reminiscent of what Namina's god told her in part of her Guidance. A God's Guidance (portion)
Half cries out again for Her love is lost
This time curled up in Anguish, in Despair, Fatigued
By the Hope that is drowned, Her tears, like ink and oil
Will stain the rays of sunlight.
This time curled up in Anguish, in Despair, Fatigued
By the Hope that is drowned, Her tears, like ink and oil
Will stain the rays of sunlight.
Agave had yet to relay this information to the rest of you by the time the night sky had covered the land. Kaswink was able to see through her magical darkness and saw the bullfrog stretching out into a bullfrog man. She lowered her spell at last, and the rest of you began to interrogate the poor torture victim. Kaswink through some water on Croak as he seemed to be incredibly thirsty, and she continued to demand information from him. Croak, however, had no idea who the rest of you were. She calmed down at this, apologized, and asked for as much information as he could give about the Oni. Croak agreed as long as it was over a Patty Melt and som Coffee.
DINER
You all met up at the famous dining experience, DINER, located in The Night City of Dorchar. Croak ordered his coffee and food as promised, but the rest of you seemed skeptical about the bug-themed menu. The waitress was quick to bring the coffee and other beverages that you ordered, and continued to stare at you from behind the counter likely due to your unusual appearances and how slow it was that evening. Croak began to explain after some more prodding from Kaswink. "Long, long ago I was a journalist in this city. I traveled the world and catalogued everything I saw for Dorcha since she couldn't see the world herself. She loved me for it, and I continued my research with the utmost bravery. That being said, I did have dreams of my own, and I was acutely aware of a world beyond my own: The Daytime. My longing must have been noticed because I was approached by a spirit. I think it took the form of a woman that kinda looked like you (he points at Frode), but wrapped in chains and floating through the air. She offered me the opportunity to see both skies and I accepted. It soon became apparent that the deal I accepted was laced with trickery. I was sealed in that underground dungeon unable to see either sky I held so dear. What's worse is that Dorcha couldn't see me. The Oni would visit from time to time and take different forms. Sometimes it was the same chained woman, sometimes it was my family dying over and over in front of me, but it often took the form of a large, strong figure with a mask on its face." He turned to look at Hysteria as he said this, then continued. "I felt everything that the other me he created felt as long as it was painful. I felt all the wounds, illnesses, everything, but I never got to see from its eyes. All of my scars are not my own, I did not earn them, but still they cover my body."The lot of you were quiet, somber, respectful of Croak's story, but eyes soon turned to Hysteria and questions needed to be asked. Particularly about the Oni and if it is connected to Hysteria's people. Hysteria stumbled over the information a little bit due to it being forcibly given to them after dying, but the gist of it all was that the Oni was once some super ancient elven ancestor (L’huine) but betrayed his people for more power. He gained power by spending it, creating madness, curses, and so on and preventing the elven people from learning the truth about their past. Hysteria's History Lessen (Extended)
"My people do not know hope, it's a foreign concept for us as we are aware that the universe does have an end. We are aware that having hope leads to problems as hopeful pursuits can lead to discoveries that could be the death of our race, and that having hope long ago nearly caused that very thing.
I, like many of my people, were led to believe that we were betrayed in this hopeful pursuit of knowledge and to be closer to the spirits that we believe govern our lives. Though, I have recently come to understand that this is not the case. The "fae" that we were told betrayed us actually provided the knowledge without issue, but one of my genetic ancestors used that knowledge to betray these not-elf people and lead their descendents to believe the lie we have been taught for thousands of years.
Long ago there were these not-elves that I mentioned. Like the elves of today, they believed in the ten Smrtohnya that govern our daily lives. These Smrtohnya are like forces of nature, beings that may have created us or our world or are merely pieces of the world, but they don't guarantee an afterlife or anything hopeful really beyond the one life we are given.
Religious leaders for the different Smrtohnya also existed. They took on titles and masks that stripped them of their identity. The Necromancer, for example, served Skorumpovaný and had followers that did the same. The Collector had followers that served Chamtivost, The Psychic had followers that served Voda and so on. These ancient people, according to the information forced upon me, built a city that existed in multiple different worlds at once, and it was their gate to the land of these Smrtohnya.
They entered this Spirit World and sought out their respective spirits that they prayed to. In order to navigate this land, however, they needed guidance. This guidance came from different sources: The first was a being made of shadow that warned them not to trust anything they found here, and the other was a being referred to as "the Chittering Spirit" a massive centipede that agreed to part with crucial knowledge in exchange for information from their own world. The ancestral not-elves agreed to this deal. Their religious leaders began work on constructing Gates with this new knowledge that led to different layers of the spirit world which embodied the different Smrtohnya. They named these Gates after concepts related to their Spirits: The Rotting Gate, The Untethered Gate, The Burning Gate, The Coiling Gate and so on. Within these different layers of the Spirit World, they were able to feel a much closer connection to the Smrtohnya that they worshipped. One of these religious leaders was a bit different than the others. He apparently went by the name of The Oni and wanted more from the Chittering Spirit. He saw his own Smrtohnya, Cievka, within this Spirit and would learn that he was correct. This spirit was, thematically enough, a convolusion of location (layer in the spirit world), entrance (The Coiling Gate), and spirit (The Oni believed them to be Cievka). His followers struck a new deal with the Chittering Spirit, which the spirit accepted, and they made their way into their own layer of the spirit world.
The truth that was revealed to me is that this Oni was the one that truly betrayed these ancient people, not the spirit. His desire for power was what began to change these people into something different, and why my ancestors had to escape the Spirit World looking the way we do today. Their freedom was guaranteed by the shadow that they first met in this land, and they were able to escape back to the material plane thanks to it. The Oni desired more. More Power, more Knowledge, more Madness... more Tricks and Pain. He gained power by spending it: reaching out into the material plane to give pieces of himself to mortals. Their madness was his wisdom, their suffering was his strength, and on and on... His lies would strengthen and weaken the Elves for millennia to come. His propaganda would slow our progress but "keep us safe". His orders would prevent the truth from being gained."
They entered this Spirit World and sought out their respective spirits that they prayed to. In order to navigate this land, however, they needed guidance. This guidance came from different sources: The first was a being made of shadow that warned them not to trust anything they found here, and the other was a being referred to as "the Chittering Spirit" a massive centipede that agreed to part with crucial knowledge in exchange for information from their own world. The ancestral not-elves agreed to this deal. Their religious leaders began work on constructing Gates with this new knowledge that led to different layers of the spirit world which embodied the different Smrtohnya. They named these Gates after concepts related to their Spirits: The Rotting Gate, The Untethered Gate, The Burning Gate, The Coiling Gate and so on. Within these different layers of the Spirit World, they were able to feel a much closer connection to the Smrtohnya that they worshipped. One of these religious leaders was a bit different than the others. He apparently went by the name of The Oni and wanted more from the Chittering Spirit. He saw his own Smrtohnya, Cievka, within this Spirit and would learn that he was correct. This spirit was, thematically enough, a convolusion of location (layer in the spirit world), entrance (The Coiling Gate), and spirit (The Oni believed them to be Cievka). His followers struck a new deal with the Chittering Spirit, which the spirit accepted, and they made their way into their own layer of the spirit world.
The truth that was revealed to me is that this Oni was the one that truly betrayed these ancient people, not the spirit. His desire for power was what began to change these people into something different, and why my ancestors had to escape the Spirit World looking the way we do today. Their freedom was guaranteed by the shadow that they first met in this land, and they were able to escape back to the material plane thanks to it. The Oni desired more. More Power, more Knowledge, more Madness... more Tricks and Pain. He gained power by spending it: reaching out into the material plane to give pieces of himself to mortals. Their madness was his wisdom, their suffering was his strength, and on and on... His lies would strengthen and weaken the Elves for millennia to come. His propaganda would slow our progress but "keep us safe". His orders would prevent the truth from being gained."
In-game Date
Daulok 07, 308
Daulok 07, 308
Report Date
14 Nov 2022
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