volara: session 4 notes
After the battle the party looted the cultist's bodies and searched ruined town of Jorsa. An altar of the goddess Kai-Ralara in town held some significance to me so I left a handful of gold as an offering.
The party solved a puzzle and found a secret room. The town's mayor (now dead) seems to have built it recently. We traveled down a dark staircase where a woman named Vanya jumped out swinging a cast iron frying pan around. She was scared. She was hiding in the secret room with a few children to protect them from the cultists. We calmed her down and assured her we meant no harm.
Within the room was another puzzle leading to a hidden hatch with a chest. The puzzles were no match for our combined powers and skills; And the treasure was glorious.
Back outside Vanya settled the children into bed in one of the standing houses. Then we woke and questioned Iniza. She was uncooperative, but we learned that she is not really "with" the cultists, but just an opportunist and an asshole.
The whole while Iniza was talking, Vanya was getting angrier and angrier. The two of them were like family. Vanya had taken in and raised Iniza as one of her own and the betrayal was not something she could accept. When the party was done with the questioning we unanimously agreed Iniza should be killed. Vanya wanted to perform the killing blow. One blow became 5...became 10, and Curie had to pull her away. It was a mess. But the deed was done.
Meanwhile Rivers was nursing a wound he had suffered during the battle. The wound was unnatural and would not respond to usual healing methods. While on watch that night Rivers began hallucinating and hearing sounds of hissing.
At some point Vasher, the Kinkajou, appeared out of the woods and Rivers believed it was a demon or something. But no, it's just Vasher sitting on Rivers head. I suppose Vasher will be tagging along since we did just kill Iniza, his previous companion. He seemed harmless enough.
That night Rivers had the following fever dream:
As you sleep you dream. Its raining heavily you’re standing atop a tower overlooking two landmasses mountains and blizzards to your right. To your left sand dunes swallowing the storm as it grows ever fiercer and jungles a strange white light emitting from its center fleeing from the the large body of water separating the two land masses like prey fleeing a hungry predator. Lava bleeding from a volcano like a deep wound to the heart of the earth. The tower made of some kind of foreign alloy bearing the fierce winds with ease, you look up to see the the three moons(Nomad most akin to our regular normal, Rho emits a gentle blue green light, and Savu shedding a comforting violent) come into alignment. As you watch you feel an anxious pit make its way into your stomach, your heartbeat quickens the lighting and thunder keeping time. You look behind to see a man behind you wearing a drab grey cloak with a porcelain white mask contoured into harsh angles with strange markings looking up to the sky ”I will hold us together, even if it tears me apart.
The next day the party made way for Mirona. Vanya and the children traveled with us since they would be heading there anyway. Vanya's sister lives there. And there was nothing left for them in Jorsa.
Our travels were hurried for River's sake. His hallucinations grew worse everyday. Thankfully, there was a root that looked like ginger that grew along the road. This seemed to at least dull River's symptoms a bit.
A few nights into our travels Curie was on watch when something monstrous and unnatural attacked us. It seemed to know Curie. And it seemed to want him dead the most. I will try to describe the creature, but it was unlike anything I had ever seen. Imagine a girl with slimy dark hair, dead pasty skin, a spine twisted completely around, quickly moving on hands and feet, and screaming. The creature was simply grotesque. It seemed like it should have been an inch near death, but it would not die after many hits. Finally after a skirmish in the dark a hallucinating Rivers, drenched in sweat, felled the creature with an arrow.
(By the way, Kilfras got in a nat 20 smite during this battle so you know this thing was tough.)
The monstrosity did repeat something when asked questions during the fight. It said, "You took from me that which was not yours to take." This statement seemed to be directed at Curie, but he did not know what it was referring to.
During the remainder of the night Curie had a dream: "Do you see now what your actions have brought?" said a strange woman, symbol of the choir on her arm. Curie said "I would let it burn to forget it all." A flame is transferred from the woman's hand to Curie's. He feels a burning sensation in his hand and wakes up.
That morning as the party prepared for another day of travel, Curie burned the body of the monstrosity we had killed in the night.
Finally we found ourselves on the outskirts of Mirona. There should have been relief. Relief that River's could get the help he needed. Relief that Vanya and the children would be safe. Relief that we could resupply and be out of the darkness and the wilderness. But yet again, something strange happened.
Nearby, fire erupted from a small boys hands. The fire streamed toward a wagon, but a woman on the wagon deflected it. The firebolt was sent straight back to the child and it hit him. The boy was killed. The woman then stopped and pulled his body up into her wagon.
What kind of place have we come to?!?
Footnotes:
According to Master Adrie, Kai-Ralara is the goddess associated with the House of Radiance, though there is talk of the god Sentry having been the patron god in the past
During the cultist's ritual it was Verena acting the performance part and Roshone absorbing the energy...so...now we have that cleared up...
At some point towards the end of the session River's started seeing me (Zori) as the most terrible, disgusting thing in the world. I know it is just part of his hallucinations so rather then get angry I just try to avoid Rivers. Still, once he is better I'm going to slap him in the mouth for the things he has been saying.