Ep 94: "Cannibal Run"

Fimaris 24, 1199

Morning

Lark checked on Kali early and Primeheart joined them to visit the Temple of the Dragon Mother. They were going to continue preparing it with paintings, calligraphy, and other decorum. Rosie performed at the Beer Forge.
Oisin talked with Pinbol about the recent frustrations involving the Fate Eater. They discussed what had happened and how Oisin was upset that Kalinda put the party in danger for a book. Pinbol showed concern that Oisin would disregard the group’s wishes, and even go so far as to stand aside, while the rest of the group was fighting.
Oisin insisted that, were the situation reversed, they would’ve given up the book without a second thought. This was why, when Kali handed off the book to Oisin, they had transferred it to the Fate Eater. Pinbol asked pointedly what Oisin thought Kali expected from them when this hand-off occurred, which flustered the firbolg. Pinbol requested that Oisin try to work with the group, not against them.

The Beer Forge

Primeheart, Kali, and Lark arrived first and settled in at the table. Primeheart proceeded to elegantly write everyone’s names on the inside of the “Rezerved” sign. Rosie retrieved her many earnings and joined the others. She gifted a necklace to Kali consisting of caramel corn and saltwater taffy.
Oisin entered and approached Ivy, asking where GB was and whether GB had other dog friends before he was awakened. Ivy was unsure and, when told this conversation was about awakening kittens, informed Oisin that doing so early was the better choice. She also suggested awakening both of the kittens instead of just one.
As the group gathered, Connor shared a story about a fight he had been part of back in the day, alongside the hero Lady Ennith. They had fought against a witch and Lady Ennith had killed the witch with her halberd. He also shared his findings from the letter by Cecily Gilgrim.

The letter read:

Connor,
I wish there were more years left, but with things in the city as they are and with my husband’s involvement, I don’t think things will go well from here on out. I’m locking all of this away in case you ever return and I hope I have someone to leave it with.
You can understand, through my notes, hopefully what is going on, but this is the most important thing I want to leave you with. I discovered this as part of one of their “holy books”. I hope it helps. I believe you are alive. I hope you are alive.
Cecily

A page, torn out of a book, was included with the letter. It read:

“The devourers come when day is night
a skip in the line will destroy the bright
moving a man through the weeds of fae
bring darkness above and ceasing day”

Several other pages of notes talked about a group called The Octogram, highlighted within the passages were notes and clues:

• “Always work in pairs?”
• “Seem to use magic, different than sorcerers, more like bards. Can cast anything?”

There were also notes about her tracking Connor:

• “Connor disappeared [a date]”
• “Clover House? Last place seen by [a name]”
• “Doing a job for Bezel”
• This was followed by pages of notes, some scratched off while others were underlined. Some were marked as false leads.
• “Was Bezel involved?” The answer “No.”, was circled.
• “Connor was not the person everyone seemed to think he was, but seems a good man over all. Glad I'm not doing this for nothing.”
• “Giving up... my health is failing. The city is getting worse. It's been years, I hope you are okay Connor, wherever you are.”

Connor also discussed changes he’d noticed within himself. He showed the others, when he touched a glass of whiskey and froze it solid. Oisin mentioned that this was similar to the abilities Trey, the cold-based construct from VKTR, had shown them before.
Primeheart asked Connor if he’d had any strange dreams. Connor responded by describing one that had recurred several times. It was of a snowy field with laughter and inhuman shrieking. The party considered whether this had any possible connection to the Winter Court. The party prepared to go and see Pinbol to find out if he had a connection with the Winter Court that could fill in the gap in Connor’s history. Before they left, Oisin apologized to Kali, also stating that they had both been in the wrong for their actions the other day.

Pinbol’s Tower

Pinbol knew little about the Winter Court and even less about Devourers or the Octogram. However, Pinbol agreed to research the verse listed in Cecily’s letter. The wizard also told Oisin that he had discovered Juveha was staying with Rydel and Stokes. The party left to inquire with Afra regarding the Octogram.

The Divine Foundry

Afra knew about the Octogram, which was the old name of the Cylinder. They had some kind of an end goal, but she was unsure what it actually was. Kali told Afra about the Fate Eaters and her book. Afra insisted that she could get copies of the book already translated, but it might be in scrolls instead. Kali was surprised by this, she had thought that her copy was the only one. Afra would need some time to find a contact who might have information. The party used this time to see Juveha.

Arasys Estate

As they travelled to the Arasys Estate, they saw Mo outside of his tower, cleaning and preparing to paint it hot pink on the accents. Rosie invited him to a sleepover the next night, which he agreed to attend. Mo asked Oisin about the “broken and melty thing in the closet.” Oisin made his way inside and into the closet, where he found what was left of Trey, who was created along with the Nocturne and was dealt the same fate when the portal closed.
Stokes answered the door at the Arasys Estate wearing comfortable house clothes. Juveha was avoiding visitors, but Stokes went to check. As he came back, he informed them that, when asked, she responded by covering her head with a pillow and groaning. He interpreted that as a welcome. On the second floor, the group got to her room and she was inside, fully covered under blankets. Kali ran in and leapt onto the bed, beginning to tickle her to little effect. Connor offered her whiskey, which she came out to accept, but he stopped as the group informed him that she was only fifteen. He responded by running away with the whiskey before she could grab it.
Rosie invited her to the sleepover and insisted that she would only invite people who Juveha was willing to see. Lark said he wanted to hire her to guard Jastra, which she agreed to consider. As the party was getting ready to leave, they heard her munching on cookies under her blanket. Rosie went into mom-mode and took away her cookies, insisting that she needed to eat real food.

The Divine Foundry

On the road to the Divine Foundry, Rosie used a Sending to contact Afra, who invited them back to get the information. The contact was still alive and holed up in a house, built like fortress, in the Graywall District. He was an ex-member of Cylinder named Finn Tanglemane.

Graywall

They arrived at the same house where some of the party had received a magic hammer in exchange for a favor owed to Pinbol. Lark knocked and asked for a drink, to little effect. Kali said she was sent by an old associate who designed weapons, which piqued Finn’s interest. He inquired if it was someone named Wendle.
He didn’t recognize Connor’s name, but knew of the Devourers, foretold to devour Vayl “if a problem was worked out.” Multiple poems described a different plane for a ritual summoning of the Devourers. Connor’s part in this ritual was most likely a fluke. This didn’t take the blame off of those responsible for sending him forward a hundred years however.
When asked about the processes within the Octogram, he answered that an unseen benefactor provided the weapons and they always worked out of their own homes, being given jobs through Sending spells. Connor asked if he could come back another time to drink and reminisce of the past. As long as they didn’t talk about his old job, Finn agreed. He mentioned on parting that the Devourers were also called “cannibals.”

The Skyroot Forest

The party concluded the day at Primeheart’s Skyroot Estate, to see whether Connor could use the strange gun they had gotten from Bezel. Through a winding path in the snow, and past a 10 ft high stone wall, they entered into a courtyard. There were training dummies and archery targets strategically placed. The chicken coop was large and full of clucking residents.
The was a wooden tower stood where his campfire used to sit. The bottom floor was open air with a stone chimney that seemed to move up through the center of the structure and out the top. Glass panes covered the roof on a slant to prevent snow build-up.
Primeheart went to a large banyan tree nearby and then beneath it, through a trapdoor. He soon popped back up with the box, containing the strange gun from the Cylinder. Connor fired it twice, the first time to no effect. On the second attempt, it destroyed the target, but also all of Connor’s clothes and personal effects (with one or two exceptions). The code on the gun after this effect was 272.
Lark offered his picnic blanket for the sake of Connor’s non-existent modesty, then Primeheart provided a change of clothes and weapons.The party, except for Oisin who went home, had a dinner party to blow off some steam. Everyone was invited to the sleepover, with Jastra being a maybe depending on how Juveha felt. Connor mused that he might finally need to confront Bezel, whom he blamed despite Cecily’s belief that the faerie dragon was not involved.

Full Episode

Broadcast Date

December 28, 2018

Party

Primeheart , Kali , Lark , Rosie , Connor , Oisin

NPCs

• Ivy Gilgrim
• Pinbòl
• Vasafra
• Mo the Modron
• Trey
• Stokes
• Juveha
• Finn Tanglemane
Mentioned:
• Cecily Gilgrim
• Lady Ennith
• Bezel

Locations

• The Beer Forge
• Pinbòl 's Tower
• Mo the Modron 's Tower
• The Divine Foundry
• Arasys Estate
• Graywall
• The Skyroot Forest
• Primeheart's Estate