Session 38 - The Shifting Caverns - Mafaldine's Notes

General Summary

We head out early morning towards the blowhole
I get a message from Terez. She’s eager for our meeting to discuss further offers. We proceed on without issue.
We go to make camp but Rakki and Shiv point out the area is unsafe, we head to a nicer place.
Maf falls asleep during guard duty and wakes to a creature eating a bird.
Around 6am Shiv gets a visit. Dahlia brings us some bread and fish for breakfast. Shiv is untrusting even though I checked it. Illalai chooses not to eat any.
We travel for a full second day without any issue. Apparently, we are at a beach 40 miles from the blowhole. Rakki likes the beaches width.
Everyone bar Maf and Deb are naked and swimming, she ain’t keen on this development.
After that we head off and begin to see some immense mountains
We’re about ½ day from the blowhole when the terrain become immense enough, we need to abandon the horses.
We see a low ring of stones that may have been a very old building.
Rakki makes sure the horses are saftely restrained.
Illalai makes us some phantom steeds and we continue.
After a nights rest we continue in the same fashion.
Ooohhh theres a wooden home with smoke coming from the chimney. We approach and knock, there doesn’t seem to be anyone home.
Ah! A very old drow man returns from spear fishing. I believe this is his home.
He questions shiv about the holy ground they are on. He seems delighted when Shiv tells him about revern
Sathem is his name. Apparently, no one has done the pilgrimage in seventy years. No Reverni on this island for two-hundred years. He was born on the mainland. HE HASN’T SEEN FIREBINDERS  IN 200 YEARS!!! He points out the entrance to us. Ravern will guide his own apparently. We can’t stop moving or we will be lost.
I chug a potion of hill giant strength, potion of waterbreathing and a potion of marching powder.
We all jump in. I bellyflop hard.
We immediately find a strong current dragging us towards a crack in a wall. We follow the current for a while and come to a new area.
Deborah makes her titty glow. The shiv makes dancing lights. We can see a ton of intricate, swirling symbols that have been worn away over time.
The water is getting drier? We find dry land and a large door. Inspecting the door there is no lock or handle. I find a palm pad on the door.
Rakki finds two basins with shapes made of clay in them.
Apparently we need to shape the figures and alter them so they can fit.
That was the correct choice. The door opens.
The tunnel continues for 40ft before ending in another pool of water.
A new current begins dragging us. We see a bioluminescent substance roughly lighting the path ahead.
The current is dragging us through a layer of silt. Yep we are getting split up. Everyone but Shiv do really well. Shiv does really bad.
We come to a fork in the passage, rakki, myself and illalai are together. Deborah and Shiv are no where to be seen.
Our chamber is around 40ft, there are 7 exits and the slime mold giving some light.
I pick a tunnel that had a red flash from it and walk down it. Rakki hears someone talk about his grandpa in one and goes down that. Illalai joins him.
Deborah’s having a bit of a freakout. She’s avoiding her reflection because she is ashamed of herself. She here’s herself say “It’s working father!” VISION QUEST MOTHERFUCKERS!!!!! She sees  an image of herself successfully casting a spell using a wand. Thanks to a good save she remains calm and becomes angry at the indignation of the illusion.
Shiv hears a voice echo in her chamber. A young male. “what happened to Shiv?” she doesn’t recognize it. “She killed some people, she had to live” it’s her mothers voice saying this. The first  voice was her youngest brother. She hears the first part again followed by “we executed her this morning, maybe it was for the best, she was never gonna fit in.” she hears sniffing from a left  tunnel.”they had it coming, not gonna let them take her, not gonna let them take her, she’ll be back again soon.”
My turn. I see flashes of colour, red orange and the blue of the cavern moss.
Rakki hears “Rakeen…” over and over. Illalai hears nothing. It seems round the bend and getting closer. He hears his grandfather teaching him about albatrosses. Rakki speeds up, chasing the  voice. Illalai sees an old face in the wall of water the pass. “I called but you never answered” the face vanishes as she blinks. Rakki hears more of grandpa’s memories. He sees a reflection of  himself 10 years younger for a moment. Rakki sprints away after telling illalai “sorry”. “stonespeaker who refuses to listen”, Illalai marches towards a new path she finds. “What are you now?”  she reponds “I am who I have always been, daughter to stonespeaker iltani and I have been given the most sacred of tasks. To watch over the people, the children of stone and make sure they  can find a home in peace.”
Deborah time again. She hears the same conversation as before but added on her father saying “well don, im so, so proud of you.” She marches forward, the angriest she has been since coming  to the island. Her reflection shifts to see herself casting levitate or fly on herself. “there you go you’ve got it. I’m already up in the sky I’ll race you home.” From her mother’s voice. She outright  challenges Revarn. She finds a tunnel behind the waterfall. How cliché. In the waterfall she sees herself well dressed, smiling, back straight as her father’s smiling face says “it must have been so  hard telling us about your problems. But im so glad you did look at you know we just had to get you the right teachers. You’re already mastering third circle spells. And in months you really are  my daughter. Deborah replies “you are not me”. The illusion responds “but I could have been.”
Shiv hears the same thig echoed. Her mothers continued reply. A different voice, she never saw the coup coming, she never left mothers side. They’re both dead now. She follows the fork to the  right and hears more. “what do you mean silly shes out hunting she’ll be back later.” She sees a reflection of herself smiling a flicker, bloodied and beaten, another flicker and it’s her rotting sull,  another flicker and it’s her wolf form, insane and covered in blood. “what happened to Shiv” “why did you save me that day? Why was I worth it?” “You weren’t, but you could be.” From a low  rumbling voice “we all change.” She sees a squeezable crack similar to mine.
Me again. The fountain water is savory and rich like a perfect mushroom gravy.
Shiv joins me in the fountain room.
Illalai. “What are you now? What are you worth to anyone?” “I’m able to do some things, and keep some people alive, and I’ll do what it takes, cause I don’t break my promises.” “You speak and  call and demand, but never do you listen.” A stone gash seems to enlarge until a head shape hole appears in a wall. “ I have tried listenting, I have tried longer than most other child, yet not a  single wshipser, not one. SO instead, I looked to try and see what I could. And I saw it there written plain as day. So I found who I am, I am a stonespeaker who can’t listen, and if all I can do is  speak, then fine.” Illalai walks into the space “LISTEN!” Illalai hears sobs and screams and a voice in primordial saying “Save me”. The sobbing disappears and she is in a new tunnel. She falls to  her knees. Thinks ot herself “Alright. One more promise then.”
Deborah. “so proud of you, you really were born this” she steps through and sees the rest of us.
Rakki. “Rakki, Rakki, Rakki” a new voice. It’s familiar “I don’t kow if you’re following instructions correctly, when you work with house vidalis animals they are owned by the house. You need to  follow our instructions in their care and disposal. It’s the old supervisor he had when he was working for the house. There’s been some concerns raised about your shifting on the job, were gonna  have to ask you to stop that permanently. You cant overffed the animals no matter what they ask, theyre just property, stop this. Youre throwing away a career, you cant keep doing this.” He  mumbles to himself, black wolf this isn’t a fun game anymore. He hears his grandfather again through a new crack in a wall. He follows the voice through the gash and finds the rest of us.
He tackles Deborah to try and tell we are real. We are.


*description of final reflections and what they say/hear* Maf sees all of deborah’s choices.
Deborah gets a warm sense of approval as she passes through, she thinks this is disapproval worthy bullshit “hehehe” chuckle in her head.
Ilalai as a druid, "You can still get back on the right path, where you were born to be. Just sit down, listen, and go back to your roots", actually kind of nice?
Rakki the Sellout, "Rikeen would understand! The world's changing, gotta be on the winning side. Here's an advance - the house would looove to see that jungle eagle, or the snake jaguar... get  some nets, get them to us, whaddya say?"
Deborah as a competant wizard - "It finally works, I don't believe it! I was so anxious over nothing, and all those crutches were just holding me back! I should have thrown those tools away  years ago, they're worthless! Like mother says, not even real magic! We can still do this properly like we should have, let me show you how!"
Mafaldine sees himself taller, handsome, well dressed. His nose wrinkles, "Father gave you everything, and this is how you turned out? You really fucked that up, didn't you? Here, just take this  and leave us be, I really can't be seen with you"
Shiv, a multitude, laughing friend, caring daughter, bloodthirsty beast, "What happened to Shiv?" they all ask.


Rusheme needs help
Sathem says he’ll act as our witness and comes with us.

Report Date

03 Mar 2020