Session 57: So Long, Stinktown!

General Summary

A Quick Visit and Escape

The session began with you all still in The Rotting Gate, particularly the city of rot, Me'kiah'brem'or. You all had things you wanted to do like gather up bits of a Necromancer, visit a shark skeleton or teleport back home with the help of a mysterious fawn. The rest of you were sleepy, and rightfully so, but that didn't stop anyone else's wild ambition.
Kaswink left to go visit a shark skeleton while Frode was still around. During her absence, Frode spoke with his family briefly before asking Aeryn to take him back to the material plane, Taranel. There was some confusion, as it was rather apparent that these two bodies were in incredibly rough shape. They would likely cause a scene in a non-zombie city. Frode realized that the plan may not work, but still insisted that him and his family be taken back home.
Aeryn requested the assistance of one of her weirdo friends resulting in the arrival of a Wanderer.
Wanderer Description

A flash of light, a puff of smoke followed by a collection of billions of dire screams echoing beyond your hearing could be heard. A man appeared as though from thin air; he looked very ordinary: red hair, no facial hair, a canvas hat in his right hand wearing a black wool coat with a patch sewn in on his right shoulder (a religious symbol with no clear origin). He had old leather boots on and a pair of canvas pants (cargo, blackish, worn). His eyes were a deep blue surrounded by a tinged red white (as though he'd been crying or was just crying). No words were said as he stared at the group, and then looked to Aeryn, smiling.
Raising an eyebrow, a black, dense fog surrounded himself, Aeryn and Frode and then all that was seen by them was black. When the fog cleared, they found that they had been transported to a new location. The Wanderer was seen again as the fog cleared, talking quietly to Aeryn; an arm was around her shoulder as she smiled, sort of giggling. He then looked to the group, noticed Frode was staring. His hat was now on his head, he took it off and bowed, keeping eye contact, opening his mouth to speak, "Dear travelers, my apologies for such a rude introduction. My name is Arthur Alder, a dear friend of Aeryn here."
The two of them then vanished.

Frode's last words before leaving were, "Ja, this was literal hell!"

---

Kaswink, meanwhile, was visiting with a shark skeleton. This shark was eager to see Kaswink's return, and the two of them shared a brief moment. Kaswink could feel the strange warmth of this creature leaving its body little by little, and it left her with a few small tokens.
1) Kaswink was provided a new skeletal shark form as long as she was still undead.
2) Kaswink was provided a bit of wisdom in the form of a poem:
Weird Shark Poem

Forgotten, was her path
But a reminder, you provided
Long has she wandered
He has found her at last
Her fate: decided.
Be joyous in your victory
There is no going back
For you are now invited
Dream of times you had before
No more will you see this past
Its wisdom will not be confided
Death will knock but 7 times
Enjoy the time that you hath
He will come. Your soul: ignited.

3) Gave Kaswink one of its teeth which improved the lethality of everyone's melee weapon attacks.

---

Stability and an Eagerness to Leave

Sleep continued for some, but Kaswink and Bobcat stayed up to keep watch. Kaswink was able to spot someone peeping on you all as you slept in what was likely both an important and defiled garden, and she chased after this mysterious person as they scurried off down a street. Kaswink was able to catch up to them easily enough, and she bumped in to each other as she rounded a corner a bit too quickly. The L’huine zombie was out of breath, but he lept from the ground and into a defensive position upon getting their senses back.
Kaswink wanted to know why this person had run, and he managed to get out a staggered question of his own: "Where is she?" Kaswink explained that the Necromancer had died after losing her way. He explained that he is an attendant for the garden and wanted to know why The Necromancer was gone. Kaswink explained,
"She wanted to keep many people hostage by her own fear. It's impossible to think that no one would come to stop her. That no one would have an issue with what she was doing. She had lost your best interest and began an obsession with her own."
The fellow sighed and announced,
"This is not good. We will be gone soon. So will any way here or out of here. The city will ...I do not know, but it will not be here anymore."

---

As he explained this, the city began to crumble around the two of them. Kaswink thanked him for the warning and explained that, "Sometimes an ending in a story is a good thing."
Kaswink ran back to the garden to warn Bobcat and the others. Worry began to rise, especially over the abundance of Stability that had been popping up around the garden. Bobcat tried to interact with these creatures, but they seemed indifferent beyond acknowledging that they were being spoken to. It was time to get out, and people were waking up to jump into action.
As everyone began waking up, a familiar though different face appeared. Frode had returned to his friends as if through divine intervention, and he looked like he had been through hell.

Efforts to keep Stability away from the exits were put into effect, but more and more were popping into existence to investigate the garden, the city and especially the roots of the Black Pear Tree. Some of them would wrap around these roots and begin closing them, but Kaswink kept them away with force while DAN distracted them with juggling. Your efforts paid off, and Frode was even able to somehow banish one of them with some newfound, unexplained powers. The spirit returned to the spot that it left after a short while though, and Frode seemed upset by this.

---

The journey through the roots was kinda a bit weirder than what usually happens when you walk through giant roots.
Darkness surrounded you, as it often does, but you could tell that there was definitely something to travel towards up ahead. A light flashed. It appeared, but then it was gone just as quickly, and you felt as though it could’ve been just a trick of your eyes trying to compensate for this dark reality. The air around you felt fluid, you could feel the darkness washing over you like a viscous fluid, but you were still dry, of course.
It was rather hard to explain, but each of you could feel your limbs almost melting the further forward you traveled. The light flashed again, this time staying a bit longer as if teasing you, and you felt your limbs becoming a bit more solid again. The ground began to shake, an intense grinding sound like stone sliding against stone, and you each seemed to understand words within this activity. Kaswink could normally understand this to some degree, but now for some reason you all understood it the same way. Kaswink in particular recognized it to be the words of Giants.

"A Mountain Moves, but not for you. A joy only we can feel, Movement is our own free will. See the light that was taken, and think on who was Mistaken. The journey has ended, then why even start? Why are you here? Why ever part?"

---

The Cliff

The words lost meaning again amidst the noise, and the light flashed one more time. This time, it lasted much longer, and details began to appear within the pulsating light as you all ran as fast as you could to catch this light before it was gone again. Mountains on either side of you, the occasional rare pine, and a small bit of tundra speckled with dead trees and tangled branches. A cliff was up ahead, beige pink clouds could be seen beneath it, and a glowing orb swirling with light and darkness was suspended in the air near the cliff. You weren’t you in this moment, though, you were a different you: You were the combined consciousness of Tympi and her dear sister, Ilven.
You knew that you came here for a reason: Investigate the strange light that had been compelling Tympi. She had felt a connection to it for years, decades even, and you made a longer journey north using her unusual directions. You didn't know why this light had been beckoning you or why you had this connection, but you reckoned you could theorize or even ask about it.
There was some hesitation and confusion in the moment. Ilven had concerns over whether or not this really needed to happen, and Tympi questioned if there was a choice at all. Ilven disagreed, suggesting that there is always a choice and that some things are better left unanswered. They slowly approached the orb which Ilven recognized as something she had heard called Ulunor, The World, the very land they stood on. This was affirmed by the strange feeling that you were looking down at yourself as you looked towards this orb.
Like moths to a flame, Tympi and Ilven flew forward towards the orb. You chose to touch it, to reach out towards it, and doing so caused you to be pulled through the entirety of this being before landing back at the edge of the cliff. While traveling through this ...thing, you seemed to hear crying and grew an understanding for a being and a name you had never really heard before as these people. Ar'en'el, a name that you maybe heard attributed to a special root in your normal forms, it was a strange name and She was incredibly upset about something.

---

Tympi, unsure of what to do, felt as though this orb was waiting to receive something or perhaps waiting to give something away. She chose to give the only thing she really had in that moment: her words. She asked this orb why She weeps, and she received a response within each pulse of light that was emitted from it.
"Because he is gone. He has been taken. I miss him so much."
Tympi asked what took this person away from Her. The information was delivered not with words, but with thoughts that were implanted again with each pulse of light. A hulking figure, strong, tall, not thick like a bugbear but lithe and with a face covered with a mask. Three horns protruded from this mask's forehead. Tympi was unsure of what this was, and she seemed to understand that this face didn't even really know what it was that took Him. It was just a face that appeared and took Him away.
Tympi tried to get more information by asking the name of whoever was taken. The orb answered.
"Vsevolodrik. He had nothing. Now he is everything. Why are you here?"

---

Tympi was confused but explained that she was called here, presumably by Ar'en'el. Tympi offered her help, and Ar'en'el asked how she could possibly help. Ilven confirmed that Tympi had a caring personality constantly looking out for lost travelers. She offered to bring this lost person back home if this orb is His home. Ar'en'el confirmed that this is the case.
"This is the only home He has ever known. If you can shine my light on Him, then I can bring Him home."
Tympi asked how she could shine this light. It was met with a small orb of light, slowly lowered towards her, and she accepted this gift before leaving the Cliff. Ilven recognized the importance of the orb they were speaking to. She recognized it as the very world you were standing on, Ulunor, but had not heard the name Ar'en'el until that day. The orb provided the two of them with instructions to

"Find him. Illuminate the World. Leave no darkness unchecked."

---

Unexpected Oasis

You found yourselves exiting a pit of darkness into a bunch of sand and clay-like ground. You had arrived in the badlands next to a pit of darkness which was slowly closing itself behind you. The walls of a massive crater rised up all around you, tunnels could be seen in the walls, and a cart was rolling in your general direction. A small village was also visible nearby.
You spent some time discussing what you had just seen. Kaswink summarized some key points, particularly that the light in Tympi's Lantern is likely taken from Ar'en'el and that The Oni had kidnapped this Vsevolodrik person. She explained to Bobcat that Vsevolodrik is likely The Chained Man much to Frode's surprise.
Kaswink hailed the cart as it got closer and offered some gold up along with a variety of strange items. The Beetlefolk at the reins had an appearance similar to that of a Stenocara. He introduced himself as Jeremiah, and Bobcat noticed several valuable items as you all boarded the vehicle. He explained that he is a salvager of sorts, goes out into the desert, finds stuff, brings it back, sells it.

---

Several comedic exchanges eventually led to Frode, Kaswink and Jeremiah having a brief discussion about religion.
Frode: "Do you believe in a higher purpose?"
"Oh man, you gotta, oh, lemme tell ya. We got this Light thing. It's crazy. We're not supposed to go near it, but sometimes the king'll put on his hat and he'll say things like 'the Light has appeared once again!' or 'we have to see what the hell that thing is!' People will go out to see, and they come back, but usually they get hurt. We still love that Light."
Kaswink: "You wouldn't happen to call that Light Ar'en'el, would you?"
"No, we just call it 'The Mysterious Light'!"
Kaswink: "That's very ominous."
Frode: "Ja, that cannot be good."
"Why not?"
Frode: "I've seen things. The land of Rot is not a happy place. A place without Death. I have thought for a long time about how this place is, and it seems that is only a single aspect of this place, but what is The Light? Many things can be said about The Light, but a Light that is not inherently good may not be Light at all."
"Wait, are you religious? Like, a bookman?"
Frode: "No, I am not a man of the book. These are just tools for my focus."
"You should talk to the King. He's supposed to reward us if we find out what The Light is."
Frode: "No, no, no more kings! I served a king once, they sent me here to die. Why would I talk to another?"
"Well, this king does sometimes send people to die, but that's just cause they aren't good enough. We gotta know what the Light is so that we can be happy."
Kaswink: "I think we might know what the light is."
Well you should talk to our King. If you can prove it and tell him what it is for sure...not what you think it is. Then you might get a big reward, and everyone else- well, life's supposed to be better when you know what The Light is, that's what we always say."
Frode: "Ja, perhaps it's best that you don't ask questions that you aren't prepared for what the answer for."
Kaswink: "We know what the Light is, do we look like we've had a good time recently?"

---

Shortly after this conversation, you finally arrived in the central town of The Lost Oasis. Jeremiah began unloading his cart near a store, and you were able to see several more tunnels leading to other villages. One tunnel looked like it probably led to The Endless City of Greed.
You started to unload the cart with Jeremiah as a loud thumping echoed through the streets. Trumpets blared out and a booming voice announced,
"Calling all volunteers! Calling all volunteers! The Great Mystery has been lit once again!"

16 January 2023 D&D

In-game Date
Daulok 22, 308

Report Date

16 Jan 2023

Primary Location

Me'kiah'brem'or

Secondary Location

The Lost Oasis

Related Plots

• Of a Patron, a King and a Lost Child
• Unanswered Questions

Related Characters

• Ar'en'el, The Crying Star
• Ilven, The Misguided High Priestess
• Ohrsecte, The Beetle King
• Tympi, The Lost Magician
• Vsevolodrik

Encountered Deities/Myths
Ulunor
Giants