Session 109 (4/14)

[cinaed]

Session 109: Day 21 of Veksdan (4/14)

Yolov can feel Dailiir squeezing him tightly before she pulls back and says that she is a distraction. She and Kaspian were meant to delay the group from going upstairs, after Greenheart and Marion realized they wouldn’t get anything from their prisoners.

Yolov says he understands, though if they hadn’t wanted them to continue, they wouldn’t have kidnapped Adrin. Dailiir seems momentarily confused, looking around at the group and clearly belatedly remembering they’re there, until he explains that Adrin is Diana’s sister, the drake.

He suggests that she allows Hava to heal her, but she tells them to save their magic. Yolov says that she probably shouldn’t accompany them, and she agrees and tells them that she doesn’t have her spellbook.

When Yolov asks for any information she’s gathered during her captivity, Dailiir tells them about Doctor Greenheart, who she didn’t think would be jealous of not having magic, though she did try to get into the Colma twice and was rejected. Dailiir says that Margo is reckless with her new magic, clearly not having had training. She’ll injure herself and her allies with her recklessness.

Dailiir says she’s never understood people who make those types of bargains to gain magic, and then apologizes to a slightly irritated Az, adding that he clearly has trained and learned to control his magic.

Yolov says that he wondered when he realized it was Doctor Greenheart, if she originally started working with Marion trying to figure out Movia’s mysterious illness. Dailiir seems surprised that this might be related to Movia. Yolov speculates that when magic healing failed to answer questions about Movia’s illness and death, Marion went looking down other avenues.

When Dailiir asks him if she thinks Marion started all this for honorable reasons, Yolov says slowly that he doesn’t think it matters now. Even if Marion did, and even if people should be investigating this illness that even Juniper couldn’t stop, he doesn’t care who he hurts for his goals. He sent Iceclaw to Radiscune and killed so many people.

Dailiir is quiet for a moment, and Yolov cannot read her expression. Then she says she’s glad that he sees that the end doesn’t justify the means, that he might understand why Marion started down this path but won’t let him continue on it.

She tells the party that she didn’t hear Margo mention Movia and hasn’t even seen Marion during her imprisonment, but she remembers Margo saying something strange, that they will usurp those who think they have the power. She says Margo didn’t seem to understand her own words and was repeating something she had been told.

Dailiir adds that she shouldn’t stay here. If they come and discover her there without Kaspian, they will kill her. Yolov asks if he should Banish her and she tells him not to waste his magic. He tells her about the hoard and the exit to where the shade is waiting, with the rest of the party assuring her the shade is an ally. He gives her the Rope Trick scroll in case of an emergency.

Hava takes hold of her prayer beads that Navier gave her and asks Dailiir for her hand. Then she squeezes one bead and casts Cure Wounds on her. It repairs Daillir’s broken wrist, resetting the bone.

Dailiir sighs and says that it feels much better already. She adds that they should take this, and reaches to her bicep where there is a thin golden chain with rubies wrapped around it. She unclips it and instructs one of them to hold out their hands.

Hava grabs Yolov’s hands and holds them out.

Dailiir says that it is very potent. There are five little rubies on the chain. She closes his hands around it and says if they are surrounded and his friends are injured to break one. He can also throw it. When Hava says to eat it, Dailiir hastily says not to do that.

When Hava looks at Galowen as the one most likely to try, Dailiir puts her hand on Galowen’s breastplate, hooking her fingers to potentially drag him down to her eye level, and says he will die if he eats it in a way that even his friends cannot revive him. Galowen says no promises, and Dailiir holds her head as she says this is why she didn’t teach younger students. Galowen says he never went to school, and she says that’s not surprising, before Galowen remembers he did go to bard college.

Yolov says they’re teasing her before Audacity reminds them they need to go. Yolov assures her that they’ll get out of the fortress and leave the Shadowfell as soon as possible.

Dailiir cradles his head in her hands and says she’ll be waiting and that she has an apology to make to him. She should have told him all of her plans and certain secrets long before now, but they will have to discuss that later.

Yolov says they will have time.

She says that she’s sorry he had to deal with Ivaesian for so long before she heads towards the hoard and the exit. He watches her go down the staircase until she disappears from view, and only then refocuses on the rest of the party.

Yolov asks if they should use Invisibility now or later. The party agrees on using it later, and quietly make their way up the stairs. While everyone is looking for signs of life, Yolov looks for signs of magic and knows that people have traveled here dripping with magic, which makes their lack of presence and the smell of rot unnerving.

Audacity listens at the first doorway they come across, which is a very plain looking arc that leads into a hallway with sconces and chandeliers, all full of decaying candles. He can hear in the far distance the faintest sound of whispering.

He is briefly tempted to light the candles but doesn’t. There is a moldering silver and gray rug that seems to decay more under their feet as they walk over it. There are dead plants in planters and windows with rotted broken panes.

It is eerie even with darkvision. The only semblance of light is the purple light from outside that occasionally washes over the group in a faint lavender glow. As they all keep walking, they can hear the whispers. It sounds vaguely similar to Infernal to Audacity’s ears, though no one understands it.

They all move towards the whispers, trying to be careful and stealthy.

The edge of Hava’s foot nudges a plant, not knocking it over but making a thud. The voices stop and then whisper to each other and she realizes they’re busted. Yolov asks if they should go invisible, and the party all agrees, drawing on Evie’s gift and casting Invisibility on themselves.

The two voices shift to a new language, something that sounds almost Elvish, and seem to call out a question as two people round the corner wearing black armor that is pristine, very elven in nature but with white hair and red eyes. They are Shadar Kai, denizens of the Shadowfell. They look around before one waves a hand through the air and punches the other in the arm and the other one complains.

One casts a purple sigil in the air, his eyes glowing bright, and then looks at the entire group directly, obviously seeing them. Galowen gives him a middle finger and Hava asks where the bathroom is as the Shadar Kai who can’t see them looks confused.

The spellcaster says in Elvish they’re not supposed to be here, and Yolov says they weren’t supposed to take their friend’s sister either. The spellcaster says that nothing is here that wasn’t given. The party says Adrin wasn’t given, she was stolen and that they’re not leaving without her. The spellcaster explains that they aren’t allowed to let anyone pass, due to the new lord of the manor. He doesn’t seem to like Marion, sounding slightly sarcastic at the title.

At first it seems like they might have to fight before Yolov explains that they’re here to deal with Marion and Greenheart, whom the two Shadar Kai consider planar interlopers. When the two seem doubtful that the party can deal with Marion, Yolov points at Galowen and says that he killed the previous dragon

Impressed, the spellcaster shakes Galowen’s hand and introduces himself and his friend as Vizon and Zoni.

When Yolov tells them that they plan to deal with Marion and Greenheart and close the portal between the Shadowfell and the material plane, the two Shadar Kai offer up a bargain. They’ll stand aside if they can go with the party to the material plane.

They agree to meet the party at the hoard and describe the way to Doctor Greenheart’s lab: third floor, stinks like death, end of the hallway, two right turns, there will be another stairwell that goes only down, they take it down, go to the end, then up stairs to the fourth floor.

Vizon and Zoni head off to gather their things as the party continues onward, still invisible. There’s once gilded portraits and art hung on the wall that seem to depict Doctor Greenheart with a man whose face is composed entirely of shadow. In a few of them, Greenheart isn’t entirely veiled but has black lace over her face.

Audacity looks at Yolov and says this is Daveena’s vibe, which Yolov says he isn’t sure that’s true, but Daveena might be interested in hearing about it.

At the end of the hall, there is a set of double doors, with doors on either side of them.

The party listens in at the doors. There aren't clear sounds of talking or dismemberment, but they hear through the right door the sound of dripping. From the door on the left, they hear a very soft distant hum, not musical. Audacity sniffs but it doesn’t smell like water.

Yolov can hear that the dripping sounds are too thick to be water. The party debates quietly and decides to open that door first. When Galowen starts towards the door, Hava catches the faintest glint reflecting off his armor and realizes there is a trip wire. She tells him to stop and says it’s trapped before she begins to dismantle the trap. She realizes there’s a complex latch and manages to keep it rigged while allowing them to open the door unimpeded.

She remarks that it was fun as Galowen opens the door.

His stomach twists, though he manages not to vomit as he looks at the horror. Lining the wall across from him and the two walls on either side of it, shaped almost like a hexagon, is corpse upon corpse upon corpse. Their bodies have been flayed and dissected and pinned like in an anatomy lesson. There are notebooks filled with experiments and bloody handprints on the pages.

Galowen closes the door and says not that room. When Diana asks if Adrin’s inside, Galowen says no and then stops Hava from looking inside. He holds out an arm and wards her away as she protests and Audacity says they can look afterwards.

Yolov walks over to the door where the humming was and doesn’t see any traps. He does discern that the humming is arcane in nature and warns the group before Audacity opens the door and reveals a bedroom. There is a queen-sized bed, a little vanity, some jewelry, and a very nice canopy. Nothing here is molding or rotting. Above the bed is a painting covered in a gauzy black curtain.

Yolov casts Detect Magic and spies a pulsing magic presence in one of the vanity drawers. He walks over to the vanity, checking again for traps and finding none. When he opens up the drawer, there is a stone that is a dark, deep rusty red the size of a person’s palm. He tucks it away in his bag to study later.

Audacity peels the curtain back and looks at the painting. This painting is different from the others. Doctor Greenheart isn’t in her usual black, green or purple dresses. She’s sitting very carefully as though in a portrait sitting, her hair down around her shoulders and a soft smile on her face. One of her hands is holding the hand of a dark-haired man whose face Audacity can now make out perfectly, wearing a gold-embroidered waistcoat and expensive tailored suit.

What’s notable is that Greenheart’s dress is long and lacy and embroidered and perfectly made and white. Audacity realizes this is a wedding portrait as Yolov notices that they’re holding the gemstone between their hands. The gemstone in his bag seems to almost be beating, with a small ebb and flow to it.

He realizes that this stone is tied to their bond, a physical and magical bond between them. Greenheart is a warlock, she had to get her magic somewhere. The party debates trying to destroy it, but Yolov says that they might not be able to easily and would eliminate their element of surprise, they can destroy it later. First they need to get Adrin.

There are the final double doors. Everyone listens and hears whispering and wet, heavy thuds, but Diana is listening for something different. She hears the scratching of claws on the stone and a distinct whine from her sister’s throat.

A voice inside the room says coaxingly, “Eat it. It’ll speed up the process. I know you don’t want to. It’s okay, you can eat it.”

Diana immediately kicks the door open with powerful force. The doors fly open, shattering the relative silence as wood chips spray everywhere. The scene in front of them is table upon table of gore, eviscerated Shadar Kai taken apart and stitched together into strange, fleshy creatures.

Kneeling in front of Adrin, who has a thick metal cuff around her neck, legs, her tail restrained, her wings trapped against her sides, is Greenheart. Greenheart has a bowl of messy green entrails she is offering Adrin.

Greenheart turns and tells them they’re not supposed to be here, they’re interrupting a medical procedure. When Galowen says this isn’t medical at all, Greenheart argues that of course it is.

Diana fiercely tells her she’s going to rip her heart out. Greenheart says that isn’t part of the agreement as everyone begins to move towards her.

Audacity rushes into the room and punches her with a fist made of air, making Greenheart drop her bowl and scolding him for making her drop it. Now she’ll have to gather more and it won’t be pleasant for the people involved.

Diana rushes directly at Greenheart. Her sword glows with a searing, fiery light as she stabs Greenheart through the shoulder and Greenheart shrieks a high, pained scream and asks why she’s doing this to her. Diana gives her a blank look before stabbing her again.

Greenheart begins to cry and says that she was trying to do her work. She won’t die, he won’t let her die, he promised. She wants to make them. She says it doesn’t have to hurt, she can make it not hurt. She places her hand onto Diana’s cheek and stuns her before retreating to the furthest wall and fumbling in her pocket and wondering where it is. She calls out that she needs a little help.

The stitched together, monstrous corpses near Audacity begin to move. Two rise to their feet. One rushes towards Az and Yolov and slams two fists down on Yolov. The first one hits him, and the second one Yolov narrowly avoids by casting Shield.

Meanwhile the other flesh golem attacks Audacity, slamming fists into him as well.

Galowen moves around the golem. He uses his Ring of Shooting Stars and creates two spheres of lightning, one in front of the doctor and one in behind the golem that hit Yolov. For a second, Greenheart’s feet seem tangled in chains before the bracelet glows at her wrist and she is suddenly out of the chains and away from the sphere. The golem seems completely unaffected by lightning.

Yolov tells her that she’s not healing anything, she’s making monstrosities. Greenheart says happily that he understands what she’s trying to do. Then she frowns, looking at him, and sounds disappointed as she says he doesn’t. He tells her that she’s hurting people and when she asks, “So?” he tells her that she has to stop and casts Psychic Lance, incapacitating her.

Hava moves closer to Adrin and casts her Twilight Sanctuary before she casts Mass Healing Word on the party, healing some of their wounds.

Az looks at Yolov and then the flesh golem and offers to get them over to Adrin. Yolov hesitates, not wanting Az to use one of his spells until Az says he’s going either way. Az teleports them both to Adrin, unnerved by the black smoke that appears instead of his usual Fey magic shade. He tries to unlock one of the chains and fails.

Audacity strikes out at the golem in front of him, hitting both times. It is like striking flesh, but feels like hitting pure muscle as the golem makes pained groans. He punches it for good measure, damaging some of the stitches.

Diana stands there, stunned.

Greenheart also stands there as her bracelet glows, her hand hanging at her side. Everyone except Audacity takes psychic damage as a low, angry howl escapes the bracelet and roars that only he is allowed to kill her. The voice says to keep their hands off her.