#session 29

It realized it was running, molten scorches left behind with every step. Pain burned through its entire body. Ichor spilled in endless torrents. The blood red sky hung low overhead as though watching its terror and misfortune with perverse enjoyment.

It had to reach the Hearthborns! Faster! It had to move faster!

Forfend set aside all the horrific, slicing pain throughout its body and put on a new burst of speed.

Acras's demon was still outpacing it, but it had to meet the beast as quickly as possible. It wouldn't leave the wretched monster to feast on the Hearthborns. It wouldn't leave its family to die.

The demon reached the village first. People screamed as it barreled through the streets. It howled and snapped its jowls.

"No!" Forfend panicked, a sound like a thousand swords clashing rang within its center.

The Hearthborns scattered. The horrid demon smashed through the village's defenses like they were nothing more than wet parchment.

Forfend skidded to a halt behind the monster and grasped for its magic. Pain answered. Deep, crushing pain.

The hound whipped around. It snarled, acidic drool spilling from its teeth and rotting the plantlife beneath it. Its disease-ridden hide and emaciated frame did nothing to hide the demonic power thrumming through it.

It stalked slowly around Forfend.

Forfend turned to watch it, never letting it out of sight.

The magic in Forfend's core flickered, then burst. It barely caught control of the flames in time, but they yielded as it slammed its mace against its shield. Rather than burning indiscriminately, the fire encircled the hellish monster in a towering Wall of Fire.

The demon wailed, thrashing and twisting as it tried to find any way to avoid the raging inferno.

Forfend doubled over as pain wracked through its body. It wasn't even sure what it was casting from. Its life essence?

The Hearthborns cheered as they recognized Forfend's magic, but their voices faltered as they saw its wounded form.

"Go!" it yelled to them. "Run! Protect each other! Protect yourselves!"

Not a second was wasted. The village spurred into action, moving together to clear everyone out of danger's gluttonous path.

Icy cold gripped Forfend's fingers. It had never felt such a freezing touch before. It looked down at its hands and realized with dawning horror that its magma musculature was cooling. Hardening. Becoming more and more difficult to move.

The sensation was crawling across its entire body, slowly but surely. It was on a timer. It had to subdue this demon before it permanently crystallized. Or it had to hope Fornax would defeat Acras and return in time.

The demon's scorpion-like stinger shot through the flames. Forfend couldn't get its shield up fast enough. The stinger pierced straight through its unprotected body, dangerously close to its core.

The sparse fur of the monster's tail caught alight in the magma, but the beast either didn't notice or didn't care.

Forfend crashed its mace into the tail, forcing it free and batting the venomous intrusion further away with its shield.

An earthquake shook the ground, nearly causing Forfend to lose its footing. A deafening clang crashed through the air with such force it threw aside the black clouds above.

Fornax and Acras, both now bigger than the adamantine mountains Fornax had formed, battled bitterly across the horizon.

The hound took the moment of distraction as an opportunity. It leapt through the flames, jaws open wide.

Forfend let it crash headfirst into the shield. It skidded backwards, but forced the beast's head down until it ground its maw into the dirt.

The monster's stinger swept around and buried into Forfend's back.

Forfend had only ever known pain muted by the protection of celestial iron. This raw agony ripped through it.

Still, it had to fight. Quickly.

It slammed its mace into the demon's nearest paw.

The hound reeled back with a snarl. Its tail dislodged.

It pounced again almost immediately.

Forfend fended off the blasphemous monster the best it could, kiting it away from the fleeing Hearthborns and trying to keep collateral damage to a minimum.

But the longer the fight wore on, the slower Forfend moved. Its fluidity and speed were robbed from it by the stone crawling across its freezing body.

Under harsh blows from the demon, the brittle stone shattered.

Forfend was all but completely blinded by sharp, icy pain.

The hound, spurred on by Forfend's flagging movements, only grew more aggressive.

It crashed its massive tail into Forfend's vulnerable body and sent it careening through the wall of someone's home.

A girl shrieked. Mithral. She'd been caught in the chaos and taken shelter here, but this wasn't a safe place.

Forfend forced itself up as the demon caught sight of Mithral.

"Run!" it yelled, slamming its mace over the demon's head.

The hound's tail whipped around, aiming not for the girl but for the walls of the home.

The structure shuddered, collapsing.

Forfend caught the ceiling.

Mithral dashed, tumbling out of a window and scrambling to safety.

Forfend didn't even have a second to feel relieved. The demon's tail knocked its legs from beneath it.

The house collapsed onto both of them.

Forfend was trapped beneath the weight, but the massive demon seemed unbothered.

The monster's teeth ripped through the debris until it had a clear view of Forfend again. Its barbed tail lifted.

Shit.

Forfend's now fully stone hands weren't quick enough to grasp its shield and bring it up.

The scorpion tail came down.

In the blink between the first blur of movement and the inevitable strike, Forfend knew it had lost. It only hoped it had bought the Hearthborns enough time to save themselves. It hoped Fornax could defeat Acras and dispatch his horrid hound.

An adamantine blur surged over Forfend, skewering the demon's tail just before it struck and pinning the beast to what remained of a rubble wall.

The demon howled.

The Hearthborns answered back with their own howls of righteous fury.

Forfend took in the awestriking sight of every able-bodied Hearthborn rushing to its aid.

More adamantine spears pelted the demon's hide.

The hound wailed. Its body split open, horrible jaws that ran down its throat, across its chest, and further still snapped violently at the Hearthborns.

Forfend and its family surged forth anyway.

The ensuing battle was a blur of pain and blood, fear and loss, rage and hope.

Too many brave Hearthborns fell around Forfend, but the survivors never faltered. They protected Forfend as it protected them. Together, they drove the demon back.

Weakened and desperate, the monster lunged forward with mouth agape.

Forfend wedged its shield into the beast's jaws and swung its mace downward, crushing the demon's maw shut.

The shield pierced through flesh and bone with a sickening crack.

Dark blood gushed and sharp teeth scattered as the shield broke through the top of the hound's jaw.

The monster's cry was muffled in its trapped shut mouth. It reeled backwards.

Forfend gripped the top of the shield and kicked the demon's face, ripping its weapon free.

The great beast lumbered and fell, breath heaving in its wound-studded chest. It was too weak to fight, but not quite dead.

The Hearthborns cheered, rallying around Forfend with their makeshift weapons raised.

Forfend staggered, dropping to one knee. One stone knee.

Most of its body was covered in stone now. It struggled to move. It could only shiver. The icy rocks felt like they were clawing their way deeper into its form.

Soon, it would be completely frozen.

A resounding thud shook the sky.

Forfend struggled to lift its head. Stone cracked and fell away as it made the motion.

Far in the distance, Fornax's hammer shattered Acras's face. Massive chunks of cartilage and bone sailed far over the horizon.

Fornax whirled, his eyes searching the village. He relaxed ever so slightly as he caught sight of Forfend and the other survivors.

Forfend forced itself to stand despite the pain it was in and how nigh immobile its body was becoming. Fornax would be here in only a moment. He could repair Forfend. It could heal the wounded. They'd survived. Despite it all, they'd survived.

Forfend raised its hand to wave.

Crack.

The sound was felt more than heard. Deep within Forfend's center. Its core couldn't withstand the temperature drop.

The chill overtaking it was nothing compared to the fuzzy blankness that shot through it now.

Forfend looked down at the gaping hole in its side where its metallic core stuttered and slowed, cracks webbing across the surface.

Its rigid body collapsed.

The demon slavered. It lifted its great head and crawled towards Forfend with its mouth open wide.

"NO!" Fornax shouted in a tone so rich with emotion it startled the Hearthborns.

He reached out and crushed his fist closed.

Metal jutted from the earth, twisting around the demon until it was chained into place.

The monster was lifted up, up, up into the sky.

Fornax crossed the expansive distance to the Hearthborn village in two strides.

Stone rose, coalescing around the massive demon and forming itself into proper masonry.

Very quickly, the hound was sealed away, encased in an enormous stone key.

A Mortal Bulwark.

The Bulwark was rushed, malformed, unfinished. But it was enough to contain the horrid demon.

Fornax gripped the beast's tomb in one giant hand and launched it into the distance. He dropped to his knee and nudged Forfend upright. "Forfend!"

Forfend couldn't move itself. Its dizzied mind struggled to focus. Its vision wavered, darkening around the edges. Freezing cold creeped throughout its entire body. Its core turned ever slower. It was dying.

"No, no, Forfend! I can... I can fix this." Fornax carefully looked Forfend over, taking in the extensive damage. His eyes lingered on the cracked core for just a moment too long.

He couldn't fix it. Not before it killed Forfend.

Forfend hissed steam, long and slow. Its fate was upon it much earlier than it had hoped.

"Fornax, please. I know that you have your limits. I know that you cannot do everything. But I beg of you, please, keep trying to help them the best that you are able," Forfend hummed. "You love them. You know that I love them. Please keep trying. For them. For me. For yourself."

Fornax wore sorrow plainly on his face. The display was far more emotional than anything it had ever seen from the deity before. All his stoicism had vanished. He nodded.

Forfend ground its head to the side at a painstakingly slow pace, stone cracking and scraping and aching so deeply it couldn't even fathom the hurt it was feeling anymore.

The Hearthborns gathered close. Worry creased all their brows. Several of them began to break down in tears. Kind, gentle hands touched Forfend's cooling body.

"Thank you," it spoke earnestly to them, "for making me family. For making us family."

The metallic baritone of its voice faltered and faded away. Its vision shrank inward, darkening further.

"No, I can do something," Fornax insisted. He hovered an enormous hand over Forfend, very carefully placing one finger on its forehead and a second on its shoulder. "I can fix this. Do not worry. You will be okay."

He sounded as though he were trying to convince himself more than Forfend.

Warmth flooded through Forfend, familiar and powerful. Divine.

"You will be gone for a time," Fornax lamented, his words nearly choked by the strength of the feeling in them, "but you did good."

He leaned in close, locking gazes with Forfend. He nodded approvingly. "You did good. You will live to see the fruits of your labor. This, I promise. I will not live to see the only living thing I have made die like this."

Celestial iron conjured directly from Fornax's fingertips slowly surrounded Forfend. The metal felt comforting, like a warm blanket. It pressed over Forfend's face and softly imprinted a new rune to replace the one ripped away by Acras.

Forfend relaxed. The warmth spreading over it chased the freezing cold away. Its vision continued to fade, but so did its pain.

"You will live," Fornax promised. "You deserve that much. And do not worry. I will do as requested, but you must do the same. Live."

The metal fully encased Forfend, closing it off from the world.

"Live," Fornax's final command reverberated in its mind as all of its awareness finally fell away.

And then there was nothing.

Nothing and nothing and nothing.

Suddenly, light filtered down onto Forfend's face. Warm. Bright. Different.

Forfend's vision slowly emerged from a sea of darkness into a sky of blue.

A sky... of blue. Blue. White clouds. Blue sky.

Forfend couldn't even grasp the enormity of the awe it felt well up within it.

It became vaguely aware that its body felt wrong, but it couldn't reach that concept beyond its amazement.

Birds chirped. The wind whistled through waves of grass. The ground beneath it was comfortably cool.

"Holy hells!" came a startled voice.

Forfend shifted its head down and the memory faded away from it as it locked eyes with the man that would rapidly become one of its dearest friends.

Now back in the present, Forfend lit its rune and carefully eased itself upright. It touched the brace on its chest.

Its core was cracked. Its core was still cracked. No wonder it hurt to use its demigod ability.

The thought startled Forfend. It realized all at once that its memories had corrected themselves. It didn't used to feel pain when it called upon the magic of its core. That was new, stemming from its ever-growing list of known damage.

It hummed to itself.

At least it knew now that it hadn't been abandoned. It hadn't been left behind or forgotten. It had been loved and cared for.

It had been saved. It had done good.

Wounded though it was, Fornax had ordered it to continue living and to continue chasing its chosen purpose. It had to try.

It would keep trying.

Forfend didn't think it had the ability to fight anymore. It lacked celestial steel. Its chest was not whole. Its cracked core sank low in its center.

It would keep trying. It had promised.

It could start now, early as it was. It did need to visit the Envema victims after all.

Wisteria's horn gently nudged Forfend's back.

It turned, startled. With its mind so deep in a vision of the past, it hadn't seen the adamantine beetle wander in.

"Good morning," it greeted. "When did you leave Kagoshi's side?"

Understandably, Wisteria didn't answer. Forfend guessed it hadn't been allowed to follow wherever they'd taken Kagoshi, which had left it no choice but to return to Forfend sometime shortly after it had laid down to rest.

The great beetle still carried Kairi's things upon its back.

With a heavy feeling in its core, it collected the items and removed the scraps of bloody fabric from Wisteria's carapace.

"I will be returning here before the end of the day," Forfend promised. "Wait and rest, if you do not mind. Mourn while you have the spare moment to do it. Most of us do not yet." It rubbed Wisteria's head gently.

The bug chittered and huffed, settling down to do as Forfend suggested.

"Thank you," it hummed.

Forfend lumbered outside. The chill still clinging to the desert morning shouldn't have been enough to pester it, but the memories of freezing were stark. It shuddered.

Around it, the city of Harmonia was in full swing already. People bustled through the streets. The marketplace overflowed.

Forfend tried to keep its bulk and the oversized arrows jammed in its back to itself.

Most people here paid it no mind at all.

It observed the busy streets. Harmonia was bigger than Cragwall. Much bigger. Better kempt too.

The streets were cleaner. Artful decorations dotted the pathways and served as centerpieces in small plazas. Several of them resembled fountains, but none of them held water.

Forfend meandered its way toward the Teleportation Hub.

It spotted the guard captain standing out front, giving orders to two of his subordinates. It approached.

"Ah, you are already awake." He sounded surprised. "I assume you want to..." he trailed off, tilting his head back and forth as he regarded Forfend.

He gestured to its back. "Is that part of you or..?"

"The arrows? No," it answered plainly.

"Do you want help with that? I could pull them out for you."

Forfend hummed to itself. "I will wait. I have friends who will be able to help me."

Melzaryn would likely be able to remove them with the least amount of damage. Possibly via magical means.

Kagoshi would certainly be able to rip them straight out, but Forfend feared his total lack of anything resembling gentleness. The new damage he may cause wouldn't necessarily be worth the removal of the painful intrusions.

"Alright," the head guard nodded. "Then I believe there was the matter of the two Envema members, yes? I believe you said you had the possible capability of curing them?"

"I will certainly try," it promised.

"Follow me." The head guard led the way through the crowded city streets.

Hot, dry wind carried across the desert sands. The sunlight had only just begun to peek over the horizon, but the sand wasted no time soaking up heat until it was scorching.

Forfend found the heat to be not only perfectly tolerable but exceptionally welcome after the turmoil of its vision.

The vast majority of Harmonia's citizens seemed entirely indifferent to the weather. They wore thin garments that covered them head to toe. The design kept the sun off their skin, but wouldn't cause them to overheat. Forfend imagined Rosie would think such clothing was simply ingenious. It imagined she was right.

Forfend followed the head guard past a message board in the middle of a packed plaza.

The vast majority of the notices on the board looked to be bounties. As it watched, someone nailed up a new one.

Almost immediately, a bystander checked the new notice, snatched it off the board, and stormed off with it.

Forfend hummed, confused. The board was covered in bounties regarding theft, murder, and various other heinous crimes, but the one this particular bounty hunter had gotten so immediately up in arms about had simply been for tax evasion. The man in the poster had been listed as wanted dead or alive.

Forfend guessed he must've hoarded away a draconian sum to be so despised and so harshly punished.

The head guard continued onward, unbothered.

Shortly, they arrived at a building that was definitely secure, but decidedly not a prison. At least, not like any prison Forfend had ever seen or heard of.

"The victims are being held in there. The guards will escort you down," the guard captain shared. "I have other matters of my own to attend to. Important business. You should be able to make your own way back, yes?"

Forfend nodded.

"Good. Then I take my leave." He turned and did exactly as he said, leaving Forfend alone.

It entered the building, ducking low and tucking its shoulders in to get through the doorway.

A guard met it right away and wordlessly led it down a flight of stairs into an area with large cells.

The two Envema victims were kept side by side, both having been granted much more comfortable accommodations than what Forfend and its allies had been given in Cragwall's cells.

Both of the victims seemed nervous and largely uncertain why they were here. They kept glancing about. Their brows were knit.

Forfend walked straight up to the cells and slipped its fingers through the bars of both. "Please come forward," it requested, kneeling to keep from towering over them.

The teenage boy approached first. He tentatively touched Forfend's hand.

The old man steeled his nerves and followed suit.

Forfend let magic course from the medallion on its chest. The energy flowed down its arms and into the pair of victims, lighting up beneath their skin in a gentle display of warmth.

Despot Falco's wretched demigod ability washed away beneath Forfend's healing aura.

The elderly man sputtered. "What? Where am I?"

The young boy blinked. He rubbed at his face. "What's going on?"

"We are in Harmonia," Forfend hummed.

"Where?" the old man asked.

Perhaps it could stand to generalize a bit more. "The Kuumedian Desert."

"Oh." There was a brief moment of silence. "Where's that?"

"Significantly north of Tyrwedia," Forfend answered.

"Oh. May I have some water?" he asked.

"Me too?" the boy piped up.

"Yes." Forfend turned to the guard at his side. "They are now safe to release. Please let me return them to the rest of the refugees."

"That is good to hear," the guard said. "But you are sure of this, yes? There are no lingering effects that may turn up later?"

"I am quite certain," Forfend nodded.

"Understood." The guard unlocked the cells and both people cautiously approached it.

Forfend nodded politely to them, standing up slowly. "I will escort you back to where the rest of the Cragwall citizens are staying. There is plenty of food and water there, as well as shelter and clothing. You will be cared for. On the way, I will explain how you came to be here. Does that sound alright?"

The boy shrugged, fidgety and anxious. "I guess so."

The elderly man pursed his lips. "Sure, sure. I'm feeling pretty lost."

"I am certain you are. I will do my best to remedy that," Forfend promised. "Follow me."

It led them slowly and carefully out of the jail and through the streets of Harmonia, explaining all the while everything that had transpired in Cragwall recently.

The overwhelming information was clearly startling and difficult for the two victims, but they did their best to handle themselves with tact. There was little other choice in a situation this dire.

At least they could rest easier knowing they'd get to see their families in the refuge center.

It escorted them inside and made certain they both grabbed food and water. The pair separated, both searching out people they knew.

Forfend watched them until it was sure they'd found who they were looking for.

A loud thud sounded behind Forfend, followed by Kagoshi's distinct voice shouting, "Dammit!"

Forfend turned to see Melzaryn and a purple tiefling standing to either side of Kagoshi, who was, for some reason, spilled across the floor in a mess of tangled limbs.

Kagoshi picked himself up, brushed himself off, and swore endlessly under his breath.

Forfend approached and knelt. "Melzaryn," it greeted. "Kagoshi." It extended its hand to the new tiefling. "I am Forfend. It is nice to meet you."

"Vesper Dysgeyma," The tiefling returned. "You have arrows in you."

Forfend nodded. "I do, yes. I need to get them out, but I cannot reach them on my own."

"Oh. Well, I am tall. I may be able to--" Vesper was promptly cut off by Kagoshi.

"I got it," Kagoshi asserted, stepping forward to seize the nearest arrow.

Forfend pressed a firm hand to Kagoshi's chest and pushed him back a step. Luckily, he didn't fight the motion.

"Not you," it said.

Kagoshi gruffed and rolled his eyes.

Melzaryn took in the size and placement of the arrows. "Given our afternoon activities, I'll need to conserve my magic and I'm not very strong otherwise. Sorry."

Forfend huffed steam. Maybe it would have to let Kagoshi pull them out.

Or, well, Vesper had been trying to offer before Kagoshi interrupted. He was tall enough to reach them without too much trouble as long as Forfend remained crouched. And he looked to have gentler hands than Kagoshi.

It angled its back toward the tiefling. "If you would like to give it a try, I would certainly appreciate it."

Vesper stepped up and reached for the nearest arrow. He paused, brows knit as he trailed his slender fingers over the shaft.

"Hawkeye Howell," he stated.

"Yes, he shot us," Forfend confirmed.

"He does magnificent work!" Vesper gushed. "Look at the skill! The craftsmanship! He--" Vesper's jaw audibly clicked shut. He cleared his throat. "I apologize, you are injured. Would you like help?"

A soft chuckle, almost inaudible, rumbled through Forfend. Howell had fans. It wondered if he'd be glad to meet one.

"I would," it answered the question. "Watch the golden ichor, though. It can be a bit warm to the touch."

The heat didn't tend to be enough to burn unless one reached into Forfend's form. The substance cooled and evaporated rather quickly. But just because the ichor didn't leave a burn didn't mean it couldn't still be hot enough to hurt.

"It won't bother me," Vesper assured. "I'm from the hells." He shrugged. "Well, no, that's not true, but you know what I mean. Fire resistance."

Forfend nodded, though it wasn't sure it understood in the slightest.

"You can keep the arrows when you're done," Melzaryn offered.

Vesper stifled an excitable exclamation. His tail swished under his long cloak. He nodded.

Vesper grasped the arrow with both hands. He carefully pulled and tugged at the enormous intrusion. He braced one foot against Forfend as he continued his efforts.

He was as gentle as Forfend had hoped, not twisting or angling the arrow as he removed it, but he was painstakingly slow and grunting with effort.

Finally, the arrowhead came free of the stone.

Vesper smiled slightly at the enormous arrow in his hands, his tail twitching. "I am keeping this."

Forfend nodded. "Alright."

"So, remind me why you didn't want me to do this?" Kagoshi grumbled.

"Um, sorry, I cannot remove them so easily, but if that one does it poorly," Vesper trailed off and nodded his head toward Kagoshi, "then I can heal you after."

Forfend sighed in a slow rush of steam. It begrudgingly angled its back toward Kagoshi. "Please just do not yank them back and forth when you pull them out."

It braced itself.

"Look, I'm not some cruel and sadistic bastard," Kagoshi began, holding his hands up.

"Oh, just a regular bastard then," Vesper quipped.

Forfend's chest sparked briefly with light. It rumbled softly.

Kagoshi pointed at Vesper. "Hey, no. I'm actually not a bastard by definition. At all. ...As far as I'm aware."

"Would you like to get the arrows out or not?" Vesper motioned impatiently. "Or would you like to just keep standing there talking about your own glory?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'll get them out," Kagoshi huffed.

Whatever dynamic these two had created was already an incredibly strange one. Kagoshi seemed to have a knack for creating strange dynamics though. Forfend shouldn't be surprised.

If Vesper could assume Kairi's role in keeping Kagoshi in check, that would be extraordinarily useful.

The thought reminded it that it had no idea why Vesper was here or how long he'd be sticking around.

"I do know one other person who might be able to help, but it would be a long walk and I think you've got other things you'd like to get to today, right?" Melzaryn assumed.

"I do, but--" Forfend was cut off by the feel of Kagoshi's boot landing on one of its stovepipes.

"I've got it," Kagoshi asserted. He climbed up another step or two and gripped one of the arrows. He ripped it free.

Forfend winced. It felt ichor gush from the open wound.

At least Kagoshi had done as it had asked and pulled the arrow straight out.

Kagoshi repeated the motion five more times, which was at least three more arrows than Forfend thought it had been hit with. Well, it hardly mattered now. They were out.

Ichor dribbled down its back before evaporating.

Kagoshi hopped down and dusted off his hands. "Easy." He gestured to the pile of massive arrows. "You want these too?"

"Yes," Vesper answered immediately. He gathered up the arrows as quickly as he could. "Thank you."

He stared, wide-eyed. His slit pupils expanded like an excited feline's until they were nearly perfectly round. He was nearly quaking under the weight of all the arrows he held, but that did nothing to curb his enthusiasm.

"So, are you an archer or something?" Kagoshi asked. "I don't see a bow on you."

"No, I am not." Vesper shook his head. "We had this conversation last night when you said, 'Are you a damn mage?! Because I keep running into mages in this place!' and I said, 'Yes, I am a mage specifically to spite you.' I was not lying."

Forfend tilted its head, another quiet rumble roving through it. That certainly sounded like a conversation with Kagoshi.

Melzaryn must've rushed to get Kagoshi out of trouble if they met last night though. It wondered if Vesper had helped.

"Right, right," Kagoshi recalled.

"Anyway, Forfend, my friend, do you need healing?" Vesper offered.

Forfend tugged a small pouch full of Jace's rocks off its belt and placed it in Vesper's hand. "If you would be so kind, please drop these into the wounds."

Vesper nodded. He circled Forfend, placing stone after stone into the injuries.

"They are only the finest river stones," Forfend hummed, its chest lighting up. "They were collected for me by a child in my home village."

"Ah." Vesper nodded sagely. "The wonder of a child is a very magical thing indeed. It does not surprise me that they can help you, but on that note... What are you?"

"Rocks," Kagoshi answered immediately.

Vesper shot a withering gaze at Kagoshi. "Shut up."

"I am something between a construct and your average flesh-and-blood mortal," Forfend answered for itself. "Fornaxian is the word I use."

"Oh." Vesper seemed to take a moment to consider this information. "Of Fornax then?"

"He's nothing like flesh or blood." Kagoshi rolled his eyes. "Don't mind him."

Forfend felt its shoulders droop. It started to argue, but Vesper got there first.

"I wasn't talking to you, Matchstick," Vesper snapped.

"Whatever you say, Fluffy," Kagoshi spat.

"Of course. Now do me a favor and shut up." Vesper turned his attention back to Forfend. "Of Fornax? Is that what you are?"

Forfend nodded. "A Fornaxian. A creature built by Fornax."

Vesper's long tail swished slowly under his cloak, ruffling the edges of it. His eyes unfocused briefly.

Forfend caught itself wondering why Vesper was wearing such a heavy cloak in such hot weather, but it looked to be lovingly handcrafted using a variety of materials. Perhaps he just wasn't willing to part with a garment he or someone he cared about had clearly put so much time and effort into.

"I will unpack that later," Vesper finally decided. "Thank you."

Forfend nodded once. "I will answer any questions you may have."

"Oh, I will have many," Vesper said quietly. "But first, I'm going to see if I survive." He flashed a quick thumbs-up. "I don't expect I will. I expect to die a terrible, gruesome death in the coming days, but at least I will die serving the greater good."

Forfend hummed grimly. It was remarkably familiar with that feeling. "Are you assisting us?" it hazarded a guess.

"Yeah, he's gonna come fight dickhead with us," Kagoshi nodded approvingly.

"Even though I have never fought anyone a day in my life," Vesper muttered very quickly, then turned his gaze directly to Forfend's rune and spoke much more clearly. "Do you know Hawkeye Howell?"

"Yes," Forfend said.

"That is magnificent." Vesper's eyes had gone circular again and his tail flicked rapidly.

"I actually need to find him," it hummed. It looked to Melzaryn who was presently weaving together a basket out of rope for some reason.

Vesper gasped, slapping his clawed hand to his chest.

"He's with some glass guys," Kagoshi said, nonsensical and unhelpful.

"He's doing some other work at the moment," Melzaryn answered more sensibly but no more helpful. "He's getting some other mercenaries together."

"I have to see him before we return to Tyrwedia, or we are going to lose him in that fight and probably get shot again," Forfend pressed.

"That's fair," Melzaryn placated. "He'll meet us where we all collect before we leave though. You'll have your chance."

Forfend relaxed slightly, but it couldn't help its worrying. It would prefer to see Howell sooner rather than later.

Vesper looked between the lot of them. "Apologies to you, Melzaryn. You are a darling. And fuck you, Kagoshi. But, Forfend, my friend, I'm going to be risking life and limb and, while that is something I've done a few times in my life, it was never voluntarily. This is the first time I'm doing it voluntarily and I'd like to know what the hells is going on."

"Ah." Forfend stood and ducked its head politely. "I will tell you all that I know. Would you walk with me?"

"Of course," Vesper immediately agreed.

"Here, take these." Melzaryn placed both the long, narrow basket and a small baggie into Vesper's outstretched hands. "The basket will help with the arrows. And the bag's full of food."

"Oh, well, thank you," Vesper cautiously accepted, his tail flicking.

He took a moment to load the arrows into the basket.

"I am planning to collect Ali and do as much forging as I can get done," Forfend hummed.

"Here, to help with that." Melzaryn dropped a pouch of platinum and gold into Forfend's hands. "If you don't use it all, bring back whatever's left."

Forfend added the bag to its belt. "Thank you. I greatly appreciate it."

Melzaryn pointed. "The smithy's that way. If you need more instruction than that, you can ask the guards." He tapped Kagoshi on the shoulder. "I've got someone I want you to meet. Let's go."

Melzaryn started walking.

"Okay?" Kagoshi started following because Melzaryn simply was not wasting any time.

Forfend turned to Vesper as the other two disappeared from sight. It hissed steam long and slow. "Alright, I will tell you everything we know about Cragwall and Despot Falco on the way to the smithy."

It explained in great detail all that it could regarding Falco's weapons, armor, demigod ability, nefarious plots, and everything else that seemed even vaguely relevant. Vesper needed all the context he could get for this situation.

Vesper absorbed the information with wide eyes and an increasingly concerned expression.

Forfend let him have a moment to process as it spotted Ali leaving a food stand just ahead.

She sauntered right over to it, a half-finished kebab in each hand. "Aw, are we working already?" she mumbled through a mouthful of food.

Forfend held a platinum piece out to her.

She shuffled both kebabs into one hand and snatched the coin. "Alright, fuck it! We're working!" she said with much more enthusiasm.

She dutifully followed along as Forfend continued walking and talking with Vesper.

Shortly, they arrived at a small smithy.

Forfend had been hoping for a larger workstation, but beggars can't be choosers and the place was still larger than Fletch's shop back home.

It stooped through the doorway.

"How can I help you?" asked a halfling man standing behind a low counter. He was taller than Erzor, but not by much. He stared up and up and up a little higher at Forfend. "You're tall."

"Yes." Forfend knelt to make itself less imposing.

"Okay, don't do that. That's rude," the halfling frowned.

Forfend tilted its head, confused. "What, kneeling?"

"Yes." The halfling tapped his foot impatiently.

"I do not like to feel as though I am looming over people."

"I know I'm small! You don't have to make it a point."

Forfend glanced sideways at Vesper and Ali. Both of them looked uncomfortable, but especially Vesper.

It hadn't meant any offense. It knelt to speak to anyone more than a foot or two shorter than it, and that was most people. Towering over them felt much more rude to it than kneeling. But the halfling had other opinions.

Forfend slowly stood.

"There it is!" The halfling nodded approvingly. "Thank you for being polite and acting like I'm any normal person. Now, how can I help you?"

"I need access to a forge," Forfend hummed, suddenly feeling much more nervous about this interaction.

"What?" the halfling cocked an eyebrow.

Forfend understood well the implications of going into someone else's workstation and handling their things, but this was an emergency. It didn't have anywhere else it could go.

"I will pay for this," it promised.

"So..." The halfling glanced over his shoulder at the forge proper. "You don't want me to make anything in it? You just want to use it? Like, what, you're trying to get me to rent it out?"

"Effectively, yes," Forfend nodded. "Only for the day."

"What?" the halfling said almost under his breath. His face scrunched up.

Ali leaned forward, holding her hands out in a placating manner. "Now, I know it might seem like he thinks he's better than you..." She paused to think for a moment. "But he technically is and we're in the middle of trying to save a nation right now."

Forfend balked, startled. Its chest lit up deep reddish-orange. It shook its head and gesticulated rapidly with its hands. "Better is certainly not the word! Just..." Its chest lit up even brighter as it grew more embarrassed. It ducked its head. "S-supernaturally faster... is all..."

Ali cocked an eyebrow at it. "I'm right. We both know I am."

The halfling sputtered, angry and now confused. "How much money?" he finally forced out between indignant grumblings.

Ali crossed her arms and watched Forfend expectantly.

On its other side, Vesper seemed to be trying to make himself invisible.

"The audacity," the halfling quietly growled.

Forfend rifled through its coin pouch and dropped a handful of gold in his hands.

The halfling stared at the amount, still muttering to himself.

Forfend grabbed another handful of gold and added it to his outstretched hands.

The mutterings slowed.

Another handful.

And another.

One last handful of gold completely silenced the halfling's upset sputtering.

He nodded once. "Alright, I'll take it. Have a nice day."

With that, he left his shop entirely in Forfend's hands.

It hummed, wholly dissatisfied with that interaction but uncertain how it could've reached a better outcome.

"Alright, let's get cracking," Ali said. She stretched her hands and rolled her shoulders.

"I'll leave you to it then." Vesper politely ducked his head and scurried out of the shop before Forfend could stop him.

It peeked open the door and leaned out. "Do you have any magical weapons or armor? If not, would you like some?"

Vesper blinked. He shuffled his feet, always keeping more weight toward his right side.

Forfend had noticed that as they'd walked too. His left leg didn't seem to bear weight quite as well as it should. It wondered if he had an old injury.

Forfend was certainly no stranger to those, but it left the topic alone. If Vesper ever wanted to discuss it, he would.

"I have a stick that Melzaryn's sister gave me," Vesper started. "It explodes. And I have a ring that makes foggy clouds, also from his sister. And then I have this stick." He held out what appeared to be a completely mundane walking stick. "But that is all."

He paused briefly, glancing at the stick and then back to Forfend. "The stick is very important. If you touch it, I will kill you. I am sorry."

Forfend straightened its back and tilted its head, confused. A long, low hum ambled through its chest. It nodded slowly.

"Is the stick your primary weapon?" it hazarded a guess.

"Should I... have something else?" Vesper's tail flicked along the edges of his cloak and then curled itself in tight against his leg. "I have been surviving so far by clubbing animals to death with it. It is rather sturdy."

Forfend assumed the staff was as sturdy as Vesper claimed, but it wasn't likely to hold up against a demigod like Despot Falco.

"If you hit things enough times in the head with it, they stop moving," Vesper helpfully added.

"You do not have a blade or shield or armor?" Forfend asked.

Vesper stared into Forfend's face for a moment too long. "I am a mortician."

Forfend nodded, though it was only growing more confused. Why had Vesper agreed to help them?

It was glad to have any assistance it could get, but Vesper seemed woefully ill-prepared.

"I could enchant you something," it offered. "New quarterstaff? We may need it."

Vesper stared again. His ears tilted. He stared a bit longer.

"I will accept this in exchange for you listening to something," he suddenly blurted.

"Alright," Forfend agreed.

"You are not a failure and you have not been forgotten. Persist," Vesper spoke as though he'd rehearsed these lines.

Forfend froze as the words sank in.

"Also, I want a sword. I want to cut things," Vesper causally followed up.

"Where did that message come from?" Forfend needed to know.

"I am a mortician," Vesper provided. "Can I have a sword?"

Forfend tilted its broad head. It took a long moment to ponder Vesper's answer.

It was certainly true that morticians provided a number of incredibly important final rites. They were significant, performed an invaluable service, and were often religiously inclined.

Vesper made a stabbing motion with his staff. "I have a stick. It does not cut. It does not stab. Unless I really try, but then that erases the intent of the item."

He seemed to be rambling.

Forfend nodded once. "Mortician is clergy enough for me. I thank you for the message."

It pulled Kairi's sword from its belt. The weapon would be seeing no further use in the hands of anyone else in the group.

Forfend knew better than to hold sentimentality towards weapons and armor. They were important tools that needed to be passed on and used until they no longer served their purpose. Clinging to them out of a sense of loss helped no one.

"I do already have this," it hummed, offering the scabbard to Vesper. "It is called Heartflame."

"If you are willing to part with it, I could use it." Vesper accepted the weapon, drawing it part way out to inspect the blade. The runes near the hilt glinted with radiant energy. "Perhaps I could use it to help, you know, murder."

He paused, locking his eyes onto Forfend's runic face with a deadly serious expression. "It does not matter if you agree whether it's necessary or not, the killing of another person is still murder. So we will be murdering King Falco."

Forfend nodded. This was not something it could take lightly. Killing Despot Falco was almost certainly going to be necessary, but that didn't make it easier or any less of a murder. It understood precisely what Vesper meant.

Regardless of what his misdeeds were, they would still be taking Despot Falco's life. The single most valuable thing any one person held.

Forfend hummed grimly. "I hate that it may be necessary."

"I do not," Vesper responded immediately. "Fuck that guy."

Forfend straightened, taken slightly aback by the harsh tone change.

"He is what I've heard some people refer to as a... a..." Vesper squinted as he seeked out the phrase. "A little bitch," he settled.

Forfend couldn't wholly disagree with that.

"He is truly one of the single most awful mortals I have ever seen in my entire life," it agreed.

"How old are you?" Vesper tilted his head.

"Over eight-thousand years," it stated simply.

"Okay." Vesper turned away from Forfend and stared blankly into the middle distance.

"So am I getting paid by the hour?" Ali called. "Are we just going to sit around and do nothing?"

"Let us get to work," Forfend hummed.

"Alright, what are we making?" she asked.

Forfend started inside to explain, but Vesper's hand landed firmly on its shoulder. It turned to regard him, its head gently tilted.

"Do not let her take advantage of your generosity," Vesper's voice spoke only in its mind. His mouth didn't move. "She will try."

Vesper removed his hand and cast it a meaningful look.

It nodded seriously. It started to return inside, but a thought struck it. "You do not have to wait out here while we work. You are welcome inside."

"Nope," Vesper said firmly. "Enclosed space? Snore, no. Rocks?" He glanced over Forfend and suppressed a shiver. "No." He emphatically shook his head. "Certainly no rocks."

Forfend hissed steam, uncertain what to make of that opinion. It settled on slowly nodding and slinking back inside.

"We are making weapons and armor," Forfend told Ali as the door swung closed behind it. "As many of them as we can before the day is out."

Vesper cracked the door open once again. "Oh, can I also have armor? Light armor, preferably."

"Armor. Noted." Forfend let itself behind the counter and began familiarizing itself with the workspace.

The door shut.

"Would you like anything magical?" it asked Ali.

"You know," Ali mumbled through her last bite of kebab, "that would be pretty cool, but do I look like I want to fight?"

Forfend tilted its head, considering. "You are certainly good at fighting. You were doing an excellent job of it when I ran into you."

"Yeah, because they burnt my shop down. What else was I supposed to do?"

"Oh." Forfend hummed low in its chest and shook its head. "I am sorry. You just bought it."

"Eh, who cares?" Ali shrugged.

Forfend straightened its back and tilted its head.

"The place was coming down anyway," she said.

It nodded. "Then… g-good for you?"

Ali nonchalantly shrugged again.

"Let us get to work." It shook itself to clear its thoughts and began hauling out all of the supplies it thought it may need.

Ali followed its lead.

Within moments, Forfend felt the trance state settling over it.

It sank into the feeling, the world before it becoming a blur of fluid motion.

Mundane weapons and armor flew through its fingers and Ali's at impossible speeds.

Somewhere in the back of its mind, it registered that Ali had joined it in its moment of inspiration. The golden sparks that scattered from its back swirled around her steadfast form. She worked tirelessly, her eyes beyond focused.

Forfend slowed only slightly when it began work studding leather armor for Vesper. Magic surged through its fingers into the metal and leather before it.

Once the divine energy imbued itself fully, Forfend set aside the armor and continued its work.

Its mace, Gilthur's Inspiration, weighed heavily on its belt. It caught itself touching the weapon again and again as it smithed.

Eventually, Forfend gave in to the whim. It grasped the weapon and placed it onto the workstation. Immediately, it knew exactly what it wanted and exactly how to achieve the result.

Its trance pulled it ever deeper, smoke billowing black from the stovepipes along its back.

Before long, the weapon before it gleamed with a new enchantment to go alongside the first. Gilthur's Inspiration seemed to shine with a sense of righteous devastation, ready to destroy whatever evils may lie in its path.

Forfend slipped the mace back onto its belt as its trance faded.

The thick smoke dissipated and all the floating sparks slowly fizzled out.

"Forfend," Ali spoke. "What the fuck did you do?"

It turned to see her holding up two items: her forge hammer and a gauntlet. Both shimmered with magic.

"What do you mean, 'what did I do?'" it asked.

"I don't know what the fuck you did, but I made these just for shits and giggles, and they're both fucking magical. They're glowing right now." She shook them to indicate her point.

"Ah," Forfend hummed. "That would be inspiration."

"Fuck!" she swore loudly.

Forfend flinched. "What?"

"Godsdammit, I have to admit that you're cool!" She groaned, throwing her hands up into the air like this was the world's most disastrous predicament.

Forfend's chest lit up brilliant orange. "Thank you!"

"You never heard anything." She pointed at it. "Shut the fuck up."

Forfend nodded its agreement, but it couldn't put out the light in its chest. It was reminded of the way Byr always balked after giving or receiving compliments.

"Besides, you still owe me," Ali reminded it.

"Of course! Of course." Forfend pat its coin pouch and found it empty.

It hummed and turned to see its money piled into the halfling's altar to Fornax. It didn't recall doing that, but its abilities had a price that needed to be paid to the god that granted them. Forfend assumed it would be somewhere between distasteful and blasphemous to touch a single coin placed.

"How much you got?" Ali demanded.

Forfend inclined its head toward the altar. "Well, if you are willing to steal from a deity…"

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Ali frowned.

Forfend chuckled softly at her reaction. "I apologize."

Ali cast a sideways glance at the overfilled altar and back to Forfend. "Look. You said you'd pay me. Where is it?"

Forfend had an excellent solution to this. "Do me a favor, for both of our entertainment?"

Ali raised an eyebrow and waited, arms crossed.

"Ask Kagoshi."

"Alright, cool," Ali agreed. "So can I have that in writing?"

"Yes." Rumbling chuckles rolled through Forfend.

It quickly wrote out a note to Melzaryn stating its intention to have Kagoshi pay Ali for her assistance. Melzaryn seemed to love chaos and he also seemed to have a decent hold on Kagoshi. He'd see the humor in this, as well as be able to make sure Kagoshi's temper didn't hurt anyone.

"Great. Cool." Ali shoved the note into her pocket and tossed her reforged hammer over her shoulder as she started to tromp out of the shop. "Well, I'm out of here."

Just before it hit the ground, her hammer froze and reversed. It zipped backwards and settled itself into her hand again.

Ali blinked at it. "Hm. Guess I can't lose this one." She dropped it back onto her belt and promptly left.

Forfend bundled together all the weapons and armor they'd created and tidied up the shop until it was even cleaner than when they'd arrived. It didn't want to leave behind anything the halfling would have to deal with. It figured it had put him through enough.

It took its enormous bundle of loudly clanking supplies and met Vesper outside.

"Alright, we are done," Forfend informed him. "Where did Melzaryn and Kagoshi stay last night?"

"At the Collymore Estate," Vesper answered quietly.

"Ah, of course! Melzaryn's home." Forfend nodded. "That is probably where they will go back to them. We should go there."

"No!" Vesper nearly shouted. He cleared his throat and tried again, "No, let's just go back to the refugee center. They'll, uh, they'll meet us there."

"Alright," Forfend agreed easily enough. Vesper seemed awfully distressed about going to the Collymore household and it didn't want to upset him.

They meandered slowly but surely back toward the refugee center.

The pair arrived just in time to see Ali leaving with a grin on her face and a full coin pouch on her hip. She flashed it a thumbs-up.

Forfend's chest lit up. It waved to her and jauntily tromped inside.

"You!" Kagoshi yelled the second it entered, pointing one accusing finger at it. He looked absolutely incensed.

Forfend's chest brightened even further. It waved, a stifled chuckle still managing to rumble deep in its center.

"You did this!" Kagoshi growled. He held out his still very much full coin pouch.

"What did it cost you?" Forfend asked, genuinely curious.

"Two. Hundred. Gold." Kagoshi shook with rage. His teeth ground together.

"Oof, steep," it said without a hint of remorse.

"Yes!" Kagoshi griped, throwing his hands up.

Forfend couldn't get the light in its chest to so much as dim.

Next to it, Vesper chuckled.

A familiar cloaked figure suddenly darkened the doorway. "Hey, guys," Howell greeted. "Glad you're back. I was wondering where you all went."

Vesper stiffened head to toe. His eyes turned from slits to circles.

Forfend ducked its head politely to Howell. Already, magic warmed its palms in preparation to cast Remove Curse.

With his arrival, they were very nearly ready to try to face Despot Falco. Anticipation and fear sent pebbles tumbling in Forfend's chest.

> The session starts with a well-done summary done by ArkVeil instead of GalaxyKoi, which does a better job summarizing than Gala’s own S28 recap. 

> Uther, Wall, and Paddy search the next room to the east to find four small rooms. In the middle is one room with a chair, and the southern room has some interesting portraits of skeletons. 

> While this occurs, Cynthia asks Roth if he feels different after receiving the mark. He tells her that nothing has changed, and then he gets distracted by the chair in the next room. GalaxyKoi’s rp attempt gets shut down, and they check the other rooms with the others.

> Cynthia returns the shield to Paddy so he can have it in emergencies, bringing Cynthia’s AC back to its usual 20 AC and bringing Paddy’s up to 17 AC.

> The room in the north has eight shadows that turn into bugbears, and then the other room has four fire-spitting demons (the same that the guard transformed into in s15). Uther elects for the eight bugbears since he used to take many of them down years ago. 

> Cynthia also asks the group about the fiends and whose memories they belong to. Uther suggests that it might be Nur’s. Cynthia doubts that it could be Nur, as she still doesn’t know who Nur is. 

> They also find another note that reads “THERE ARE SAFE PLACES”. We already knew this the whole time.

> They move into the room into the north, and the initiative looks normal again. The bugbears at one point nearly take down Wall, and in response, Cynthia tries to break from being surrounded to help. She takes an opportunity attack that lands a critical hit, but she manages to make it over to help take it down. Other than that, the encounter was relatively okay. 

> The miasma save comes around… And goes. Everyone passes the save. A new room opens to the north.

> With the crew low on resources, they decide to take a short rest before heading to the new room.

> The new room has eight shadows, which transforms into two Plague Abominations and six Plague Victims. Similar to the last fight, not much occurs, although Cynthia fails a CON save and loses 3 max HP temporarily.

> The miasma save comes around… Cynthia and Paddy fail the save. Cynthia loses 1 CON, Paddy loses 1 DEX. 

(Additional details noted before we knock on Dima’s door.) We agree that at some point while we’re all in the room, Phi found a good time  to tell us about Averni being run by vampires. This will possibly get threaded into a previous notes session if I find a good place. Either way, it happened.

Phi would have also told us during fae deal planning that Dima is a follower of Selune the moon goddess and that he’s pretty much not very tolerant/caring about other religions/gods/goddesses

Together we all figure out what Selune’s about, slightly a trickster (but not really the aspect Dima follows), for sailors, the moon and the night, etc.

(The visit with Dima - ‘Waiting Room’)

Ixayl’anu walks up to the door, Alfred the butler opens the door and looks at our ragtag bunch, spotting Phi in the back. “Yes, can I help you?”

Phi: We were wanting to talk to Dima, something’s come up.

Butler: Mr. Lenkov is in a meeting with Aristin Pilwickin (cousin 2nd removed) currently, but you can certainly come in and wait until they are done.

Phi: Yes it’s that important, we can wait.

Rest of us: Yeah we’re okay with waiting.

Phi: How’s it going Alfred? 

Al: *steps back opens door, responds*

Phi continues making small talk.

As we walk past the doors down the long hallway, past the doubledoors Phi gets whispered what’s going on because she’s the only one with perception for it and on high alert.

The exterior walls are def stone, but interior walls are plastered wood slats (a note for Rana)

As we reach the room we’re ushered to we see a scholarly blue and white dragonborn and fucked up gnome chick, not related to Phi, def looks like she had a hard life, low London rough and tumble accent.

Phi parses this as odd because she doesn’t really ever see these two together and they were both doing whispery voiced arguing that clams up when we enter.

Gnome lady stays quiet

Payton (scholarly dragonborn): Ah, leaf pick, haven’t seen you in awhile.

Rana gives Phi a confused look because this is like name #15

He’s one of the more stable potion makers of the group (Payton) soooome minor enchantments

Phi: Hey! How ya doin, Payton?

Rana and Diem hug the wall together not feeling great about the group’s chances in this situation.

Phi and Payton have awkward chitchat.

Phi gives Bamfina Lockley (the rough and tumble London gnome) a nod: Hey.

Lockley gives her a cool look in response, something of a glare.

Payton glazes over that about how great it’s going, lots of shipments and good time for working on my projects.

Phi: Have you heard anything about the weird meteors we’ve been having, lots of sciencey people talking about that?

Payton: I have seen them but I’ve been really busy this past week so I haven’t been...why have you heard anything?

Phi: We were talking to some people at the university and it just sounded pretty crazy, right?

Payton: *quetioning look* I didn’t realize you were so interested in astronomy

Phi: New hobby of mine, been spending a lot of time outdoors looking up at the sky and it’s just become fascinating to me.

Neither Payton nor Bamfina look like they know what to do with that.

Payton takes interest in Phi’s friends, we briefly greet back.

Phi asks if they’re waiting to see Dima

No

Oh we’re just gonna go in then

Lockley stroms off

Rana: Bye!

Phi’s cousin walks out from a door in the side hall on the east wall. “Oh, Selphina! I haven’t seen you in forever!”

Phi: Oh, hey *nickname for level 2 familiarity* Small chitchat in the hall about wishing their loved ones well follows.

He gives the rest of us a wtf are these people doing here look as he goes by but Diem doesn’t even notice him until he’s already past them while Rana tries to start obviously awkward conversation with Payton after Phi dropped him like a hot potato. (The meeting with Dima)

Phi knocks on door where Dima is waiting.

Dima: Enter

Phi peeks in “I brought my friends with me this time, is it okay if they come in?”

Dima gives her a look: It’s better than having them in the hall.

It’s a cozy little office with french doors leading into a garden/well area. 20x30 office

Diem comes all the way in and crosses with Phi to the french door area to allow room for Rana and Ixayl’anu, then sits in the chair on that side of the office.

Dima thinks this is unusual that Phi’s brought people in, but she’s not in trouble for it. He casually closes his books and sets them aside as we come in.

Dima: Phi what is this about, I thought we’d spoken earlier?

Phi: Yeeeeah, but it turns out my friends realized they have something to talk to *you* about and so I brought them here to talk about it.

Dima: Interesting *makes go on hand gesture*

Ixayl’anu: (rolls a 10 on persuasion) and she says something to the effect of “I’m on a mission from Selune, and you have something she requires to complete my quest.” Dima is intrigued

Diem doesn’t think he looks intrigued enough and decides to use phantasmal force to convince Ixayl’anu Selune is now talking through her to tell this story, and hopefully Dima that it’s true/help really sell the story. Sleight of hand casting succeeds/Nobody notices Diem cast it, but Ixayl’anu makes her save enough to know what’s going on and let it happen.

Ixayl’anu then rolls a nat 20 on persuasion with the rest of the story, letting herself believe she’s possessed by Selune. Diem adds a little moonlight prestidigitation to Ixayl’anu’s eyes to really sell it. Both trickstery deities involved probably fully approved and thought this was great fun (Dima’s and Ixayl’anu’s)

Dima: Yes, Ixayl’anu, whatever you need, name it.

“Selune”: Ixayl’anu will know it when I see it through her eyes.

He leads us to the basement where there’s a sleeping black dragon it looks up and snorts.

Peace Antimony, (words I missed).

It hisses some toxic green gas and lays back down.

Dima leads us around. “This is just general storage, but I’ve got a vault down here.”

Rana and Phi have been flabbergasted. We all stand back and just act like we’re not interested in snooping. 

1st item: metal globe with protection runes “thaumaturge’s orb.”

2nd item: A staff with a golden hand at the end with one finger extended “Staff of Midas”

3rd item: Multi-faced star-shaped cut glass/shimmery crystal reflecting light in prismy way “The sky crystal focus” about the size of a basketball.

4th item: Beautiful finely made silver circlet with a large multi-faceted, mostly purple gemstone in the middle with 3 little motes of light that float around it in diff shifting colors “Arcanist’s Circlet”

5th item: A tiny hummingbird out of enamel or jade, in flight “Valonte’s vitalium”

6th item: Another orb, jet black with 2 copper bands runes carved into the orb. “Orb of passage”

7th item: A sword longsword with kind of twisted metal and hilt is standard wrapped hilt that merges into the base of the blade like grasping vines, cross blade is thorny “constrictor blade”

8th item: Just looks like a deck of fine playing cards, kinda plain. “The Deck of Many Things”

9th item: Amulet on a jeweler’s bust, inside is a beautiful topaz (yellow), large cut to shine brilliant, around it 2 sphinx’s and a four winged angel on top with sunrays behind it. It looks very ornate. “The Sunheart medallion.”

If Rana was looking she might be able to say more about it, but she isn’t.

Dima: I did just acquire this as well. 

*shows wine decanter sized crystal vial with a metallic, shimmering in all the colors kaleidoscopic liquid, I’m not exactly sure what this does yet, I haven’t had it identified, but it may also be what you seek.

Arcana check of 22 to see if I know any stories about the item names: Enough to Cross off staff of midas, volantes vitaleum, and constrictor blade.

Diem manages to sleight of hand cast message to share not these 3, but my patron said you would know it when you see it, so maybe...communicate with your god in front of each one or something? “You can respond to this message”

Ixie: Maaaybe.

Rolling a d6 at a 5 (for where she’s drawn): Ixie narrows it down to the skycrystal focus, the arcanist circlet, and the deck of many things.

Ixayl’anu tries to use divine sense in front of the 3. It doesn’t tell her any more.

She’s doing the slow loop around the room kinda thing, holding a hand out, dowsing rod kinda passing each one. Loops back around to the deck, decisively points at the deck “That one.”

Dima: Yeah, that completely makes sense, let me unlock that for you.

Phi rolls investigation to see if there’s a magic component to these keys or anything. As he puts in the key and turns it there’s a faint puff of coloured magic smoke that comes out, and she knows it’s just like a simple alarm spell - it would make a noise to alert something or someone elsewhere. Takes out the deck and hands it to Ixayl’anu.

Phi notices the back of these cards is an exact match to the card she’s been carrying. Dima’s deck is complete, Phi got it within a year, but not from Dima. Meta info none of us realize: Vizier: At any time you choose within one year of drawing this card, you can ask a question in meditation and mentally receive a truthful answer to that question. Besides information, the answer helps you solve a puzzling problem or other dilemma. In other words, the knowledge comes with Wisdom on how to apply it.

Ixayl’anu tries to give him a good faith I know it’s not enough token of 100gold

Dima: No, this is between us and the deities. (but he appreciates the gesture)

Ixayl’anu: May her light shine on you.

Dima: And you as well.

We don’t linger and follow Phi out.

He invites us to a drink after with some chitchat. With as little detail as possible and as much truth as possible (not sure what I meant by this statement lol). We get very good bourbon.

Charisma check for how Dima views each of us moving forward: Rana 15, Ixayl’anu 15, Diem: 10, Phi: nat 20 (22 total).

Level up!

We go back to the inn and Rana buys us dinner.

We talk about when we’re doing the professor meeting and will they meet us at night.

We both are like as soon as possible, but we’ll say it’s an emergency.

Rana exchanges a look with Phi.

Diem: What? Wait did you guys get message while I wasn’t paying attention?

Rana: Yes. Phi tells Diem the truth though (no, we didn’t)

Diem talks about maybe appearing on the boat after it’s already set sail - they don’t know how these things work.

Rana: Won’t the captain have questions?

Diem: Well we’re already paid for so it’s not like we’d be stowaways.

Rana and Phi talk about how mad her mentor might be, they talk about not knowing it wasn’t an actual message from Selune and what if Dima finds out. Rana doesn’t for a moment believe Selune was involved. 

Phi: That won’t be explained until the future either and if a catastrophe was averted by then it could make him less mad.

Rana: Let’s hope it was worth it.

Phi: Yeah, let’s take it one day at a time. Cross that bridge when we come to it.

Rana: Let’s just hope we don’t burn that bridge.

*cut to Diem and Ixayl’anu for a deal’s a deal scenes*

Diem does as last time, with the sense Ahrune heard.

Ahrune pops in “That was fast, what have you brought for me?”

Diem: We may have convinced him it was ordained by his goddess.

Ahrune: More interesting than what I had in mind.

Ixayl’anu *huffy*: It wasn’t exactly clear, but I brought you these.

Ahrune: *examines them* Yes, these will do quite nicely *hands them over to Diem* Why don’t you hold on to these for me.

Diem: *thanks in shock*

Ahrune makes us a door directly to the guy, and hands Diem a return portal orb to the inn when we’re done. “Forgive me if I don’t want to stick around for this part.” *disappears*

*Diem tucks the cards into their inner suit pocket before following Ixayl’anu through the door.*

As soon as we walk in he looks up: Oh! Hello I didn’t...office hours are closed!

Ixayl’anu: Forgive the intrusion but I need to talk to you.

Whitskey: You don’t look like one of my students…?

Ixayl’anu: No we haven’t met before, I have an unusual question...well...maybe *looks at all the vials of fungus and thinking maybe not* Wondering if maybe you can identify something for me.

I’m given to understand you’re professor Whitskey?

Whitskey: Yep that’s me.

Ixayl’anu: Do you...I think this question is self evident but do you happen to study lichen and fungus and things?

Whitskey: That is my specialty

Ixayl’anu: I have a substance that I - well a group of us found recently and I was hoping you’d know more about it.

Magical lichen - you understand magical lichen very well?

Whitskey: Yes do you have one you want me to identify?

Ixayl’anu digs in her pack and pulls out the vial to hand over

Diem: before you open this you should know *tells about it briefly and where it was sampled from*

Whitskey: Yeah I recognized it so I wasn’t going to throw magic at it but thanks for the warning.

You said you found this in the shadowood? You’re quite far from home.

One of us: We spoke to professor Leonis he wasn’t sure if it was native here or if they came with the meteors, he kind of led us to think it was native

Whitskey: Professor Leonis, I can’t say that I’m too familiar with him but I don’t get out much. I have heard all this hullabaloo about these meteors but I didn’t realize it would have anything to do with my work.

We talk about it growing directly on the meteor.

Diem illustrates it for him.

Whitskey: Hmmm *adjusts glasses* (has very large eyes behind the glasses)

Ixayl’anu brings up the dwarf too.

Whitskey: There was a dwarf? Tell me more about this.

Diem does a 22 on telling the story again and all the details they can remember.

Whitskey looks at the lichen in the jar and studies it. His excitement continues to grow as he looks up things in books and compares, etc. 

He keeps it in the jar and he brings the mage light closer to the vial. *Diem steps back*

The lichen grows toward the source of the magic with quite a speed, spindly bits and deeper colored. Whitskey quickly separates it out again.

Whitskey: This is quite a find! This is a very...I haven’t actually seen this before!

Diem would let him know what officials in Miova know, what little they don’t, or even the local Miovan professors about this fungus and that he might want to put a team together to stress the importance of this to his local magistrates/officials/etc, asks whether it might be wise to take a protected sample back there as well.

Whitskey: If I’m correct this line is very aggressive. Transporting it could be quite problematic, we’d have to set up a containment field, quite frankly I’m surprised it stayed in this method of containment.

Diem agrees on the point of transporting it back through another, different magical door and that it’s probably best to leave the whole sample with Whitskey after all.

Diem and Ixayl’anu talk about her mission and what they can do if they encounter more of it. Whitskey gets excited about the possibility of more samples then and happily gives us containers of his own.

Tips for future encounters: Bring someone who can create a null field, anti-magic area to contain it, and it is best you get the samples when they’re small, when they’re large they have a self-fulfilling mist about them and they become quite difficult to contain. At that point it can do certain things, take over other living organisms.

Diem: Like that dwarf - oh and maybe those gnolls.

*tells him about the gnolls now too*

Whitskey: Oh yeah some cults do use them to infect themselves with various forms of these lichens to become part of their deities. Usually those cults get found and irradicated. Some small discussion about that. We find out it’s common though with known species and not necessarily tied to this new one.

Diem asks about the care of the vessels

The containers are inert until you open them and put something inside, and once you shut them they become their magical versions and he wouldn’t recommend putting them in magic holding things like bags of holding or anything like that, but near those bags is fine.

(Rana:This guy is totally going to turn out to be evil

Leonis: "I can't just hand out University materials, I'd have to get permission."

This guy: "Take my personal vials.")

We get 3 containment units.

He goes around to the other side of his table and give us a small book of sending so we can keep in touch and we can coordinate how to get samples and such back and forth.

We verify we can send warnings through and not just notes, and he will contact us too about things he learns.

How durable are the contaminants?

More durable than glass, they can break, handle them with care, don’t smash them on the floor or throw them at things. They’re made of magical pyrex. Thick enough to drop from waist height and they’ll be fine.

Whitskey: You’ve made my whole night, my whole year, I have so many things to do!

Ixayl’anu has something else she wanted to ask but can’t think of it right now.

Diem makes sure it’s okay to ask him a question in the book later if she thinks of it.

Whitskey: Oh yes, so long as it pertains to all of this.

Diem: Can this book be stored in a bag of holding?

Whitskey: Yes absolutely.

Ixayl’anu: Anything else you can think of?

Diem: Nope I think we did a pretty good job.

Ixayl’anu smashes the portal and we go back to the room we were in, taking 45 minutes total.

Rana and Ixayl’anu played with their rats. *rewind a little (to prevent potential disaster lol)*

Before we left, Phi brought up that she had a similar card to the deck we got and she tells us it’s a deck of many things that have wildly varying effects that could be really good or really bad and she knows you have to declare how many cards you want to draw and select them. She has an enchanted card to be whatever card she needs and now that she knows this it’s revealed its true nature to her so now it probably doesn’t work as intended.

Phi asks if she can see the deck and Ixayl’anu hands it over (in the velvet bag Dima had tucked them in).

She puts them face down on the table “I have one of these cards that I thought was just a trick card. I use this to turn into a different card *she tells it to change by illustration* the fact my boss had cards like this tucked in his treasure room tells me this is more than just a simple trick.”

It’s def a trickster element to it. Diem realizes they know stories about these cards (21 arcana check), gives some examples of people dying, being lost, become more powerful or rich, getting wishes granted.

Rana makes a face when the wish spell is mentioned.

Phi: Sounds super dangerous but also kind of fun

Diem: Yeah, but also the epitome of fey fun, so it makes sense why you picked that one, Ixayl’anu.

Phi: *tucks her card away and talks about getting it identified*

*Phi and Rana time while Ixayl’anu and Diem are at Whitskey’s*

Rana: So how do you and Dima know each other?

Phi: He’s the head of an organization I used to be a part of.

My family is very involved still so I kinda don’t talk about being involved with it anymore so I kinda just go off and do my own thing but Dima is one of the people who knows I don’t wanna be a part of it anymore. He makes sure I don’t get any heat from not wanting to be part of it now.

Rana: Well your sister seems nice and he seems nice

Phi: He’s NOT nice, but my sister doesn’t know much about it, she’s just a family person, focuses on that. Her job’s not so intense (I have a lot of sisters though).

Rana: What do your other siblings do? *confused*

Phi: You know

Rana: No, I don’t.

Phi: Just stuff that isn’t necessarily on the up and up, you know, like...below the law things that you may not wanna do if you have kids you gotta feed. I don’t know, she’s just a different person.

Rana: Is that why she had so many kids?

Phi: Oh no that’s just normal and they’re not all hers.

Rana: Dima did help us. Well, we tricked him into it but he really did help us.

Phi: Yeah I was actually a little surprised by that. I think he’s just very devout so I don’t think he saw an option to not help if that makes any sense?

Rana: Either way if he’s been supporting you and he’s willing to help us out, he can’t be that bad right?

Phi: Sure. I mean he’s not supporting me out of the niceness of his heart, we made a deal.

*I missed Rana’s response, sorry*

Phi: It wasn’t like a favor it was a trade

Rana: At least we’re not making deals with the fae

Phi: That’s some crazy shit right? I’d never do something like that.

*Back to the present*

Diem stores coffee can sized containers in their bag with a tight fit and takes the sending book downstairs to meet the others after we decide to tell them about the deck in addition to the meeting with the prof.

They are cuddling very fat very happy rats right now when we find them.

Diem: Good news and...interesting news.

*we tell them*

*we go over our primary goal*

We decide to let the local lawmaster know our statement too and told the front desk lady. Rana didn’t come along, she went to bed.

Diem mentioned meeting them again for breakfast because they have last night of potential company.

Phi asks about that on the way and Diem dishes about the sexy librarian with his dark teal skin. 

Ixayl’anu got a 13 on her insight check to the first story she overheard.

Contested against 23, she believed it all, but it was definitely just singing the praises of Teagan and nothing revealing at all about Diem themselves. (Insight checks were arranged after, Phi’s is yet to be determined)

(Getting on the boat)

Next day Diem doesn’t make it to breakfast but they do make it just in time.

Rana on stone: I have your stuff and bringing it with me to the boat, be there.

Diem: I’m already on my way I promise, I’ll be there soon *flying clothes on totally not already on the way*  Diem also manages to get a pearl on the way for their new identify spell.

Rana is a bit grumpy as she eats her breakfast taco

Ixayl’anu tells Rana she has something that might help, even though she seems to have a handle on water forms now *hands over water walking ring*

Rana: If you don’t mind I would like to hold on to this for the journey.

Ixayl’anu: Sure

*brusquely nods*

Diem: Oh my pack is making up, you guys <3

Rana spent all night preparing all the water spells.

Ixayl’anu dumps 4 shark teeth

Phi: What’s with that?

Ixayl’anu: It’s so we have a safe trip?

Diem: What? What’s what about?

Ixayl’anu: Don’t you have anything to give too?

Phi and Diem: No, do we need to?

Ixayl’anu looks worried and gives us shark teeth and tells us to throw them in too.

We do so and I’m totally interested in the story behind it. Tell me Ixayl’anu, pretty please!

Ixayl’anu: You just do it for safe passage from the spirits.

Clearly the guardian spirits of the ocean are the sharks. This just insures nothing that’s beyond the sailors skills will happen on this journey.

Diem talks about that being fair - no shark teeth is probably why they ended up overboard in a barrel their last trip to sea.

*Ixayl’anu hands Diem a small bag of shark teeth just in case.*

Diem: Do I dump all these in now or for later?

Ixayl’anu: Later, you shipwrecked seems you’ll need them. Diem gives a fair point shrug and happily holds on to them.

During all this talk, Rana has tossed in one of the prettier stones from her pocket and while stressing out, is looking to spot it in the water. Rana manages to spot her offering.

Phi tries to distract by asking Rana about her homeland.

Diem internally pouts over not hearing Ixayl’anu’s story about how she lost her body guards the first time around that didn’t go so well, but is also interested in stories about Rana’s homeland (and distracting her). (I think I missed some of the initial talk)

Rana: Don’t wanna be caught out in the desert without protection either from the sun, cold at night, etc.

Phi: Well you just have to trust the experts that know about the place we’re in, like we trust these experts in the ship we’re in.

Rana looks over like “I know what you’re doing” Yes we do don’t we, let’s get on this boat before I change my mind. *Throws in all her shark teeth too*

When we get on, we mostly get ignored by the crew.

(Aboard the ship, talking about Anesh, Rana sees a new animal form!)

Phi does 14 perception, few new faces, mostly the same crew. “Hey how many shark teeth did you throw in the water today?” to the one she knows to be the nicest/most tolerant.

Person looks at her with sheer incredulity “what are you talking about?” and walks away.

Phi 11 retro-active perception checks superstitious stuff among this crew, but hasn’t noticed any.

When shown their rooms, Diem asks Rana if she wants to share a room since there are only 3.

Ixayl’anu attempts to bring her elk aboard and gets a few looks from the crew, but they don’t deny her. The captain is nowhere to be seen. It can roam around 9 or put it in 12 (the actual hold). She bought elk supplies bedding/food for the trip.

On their rush to the boat, I did manage to buy a pearl because my patron tipped me off to check my spell book.

We all hang out on deck, Diem tries and fails to come up with positive ship stories to distract Rana.

Ixayl’anu asks Rana about where they’re going.

Rana rolls 14 history check: She knows it’s a port town (Farford), they do a lot of the trade that comes in from Petarus rather than overland - specialty seeds, various animals (not the metals which come from Bouldergap). She didn’t stick around too much. Before she met us she didn’t stick around anywhere very much, sold her goods and moved on.

Ixayl’anu: What’s it like in Anesh?

Rana: It’s pretty dry, it’s a desert - most of it, near the mountains you have more brushy cover. You don’t wanna go to Lake Nitron.

Phi: Why not?

Diem: What’s wrong with Lake Nitron?

Rana: It’s pretty deadly, only a few birds can survive out there it’s not really a place that you’d want to live. Sunhame is right in the middle of it all but most of the towns are either on the coastline or nearer the mountains where there’s cover.

Ixayl’anu: And that’s where your home is, up in the mountains?

Rana: Yeah, that’s where I learned all my druid craft at too

Ixayl’anu: What do your parents do?

Rana: It’s just my mom, she’s a tailor. My dad died before I was born so I can’t really tell you much about him. My brother is a blacksmith.

Sunhame is not as large as Miova but the rest of the towns are about the size of Budelia.

I’ve been to Sunhame a few times, it’s heavily religious. I spent a lot of time traveling between them all between my mom’s business and my brother’s blacksmithing. We don’t have anything like the shadowood where we’re from though, that’s a you guys thing.

Ixayl’anu: Do you have trees?

Rana: Some, a few up in the mountains scattered near them, but not a lot of them. It’s not as green, you guys have a very green country

Diem: Do you prefer it that way?

Rana: I like both places, nature exists (I missed the rest of this) yeah it’s not as green as Rethwellian but I think you guys will like it, it’s a nice place.

Ixayl’anu: I get the impression it’s really hot though

Rana: Yeah, it’s warm. It’s a desert.

(Established that Rana’s staff is made of hazel, found in the mountains.)

(I may have missed some more things. You’ve probably guessed but even when I don’t note this, it’s probably true even for conversations that seem whole.)

Rana talks until someone stops her, but we’re all on team distract Rana, so we encourage it.

We have occasionally seen the captain if we notice.

Calm sailing so far.

Ixayl’anu rolls a d20 for us for mysterious reasons.

About 3 hours into the day, noonish, we see a pod of killer whales hanging out with the boat. 

Rana ventures closer to the rail by then and adds it to her animals seen list.

Diem asks how her animal form hunting went.

Rana: I found a loud seal.

Diem: Did you try swimming?

Rana: No I just transformed into one so I know I can do it and watched them swimming so I’m sure they can. It’ll be fine.

Diem: Yeah, I’m sure it’ll be just fine. (As text this sounds like sarcasm but it wasn’t lol)

Rana: Yeah we’ll be okay.

Diem: We will absolutely be okay. (Also not sarcasm, but let’s not point out she didn’t try swimming in that form)

(Aboard the ship, Diem has identify now!) 

Before the end of the day, Diem picks a time when everyone’s near enough to hear them to tell Phi “guess what I learned how to do?”

Phi: What?

Diem: *brandishes pearl* I can identify things now!

Phi: And what’s that?

Diem: Oh the pearl I need to cast it.

Phi: So does that mean you could find out what this card can do?

Diem: Maybe, wanna try?

Phi: Yeah *hands it over*

Diem starts trying 

Phi: Oh but I also wanted to ask you how your night went.

Diem: *tries to concentrate on ritual but gives up to just answer the question* do you want to know that now or after I cast the ritual?

Phi: Oh later is fine.

Phi leaves so they can concentrate.

Diem finds it out after 15 minutes instead of just 10 and tells Phi it is the vizier and what it does.

Phi looks disappointed (I think because the card also lost its ability to be any card she wanted at a thought but all I literally wrote here is “Phi looks disappointed scene” and then failed to remember details I was so sure I could fill in later :P) (Aboard the ship: Keeping company with spiderwalking elks, Phi and Diem have a talk)

Ixyal’anu goes to keep her elk company after awhile.

Before the end of the night, Diem and Phi go to Phi’s room to dish the details on Diem’s last night with Teagan. By the time they get there, however, Diem has a more serious, related topic on their mind that alters this discussion (Sorry at the time I was stuck in the “no live awkward rated R details” mode and forgot something happened that would give Diem pause over the “after hours” story time).

Rana casts spider climb on the elk again to make herself feel better.

Ixayl’anu, confused, asks it “did you do this? How do you do this?”

Elk: I’m on the ceiling, it’s great!

Unfortunately realizes he can’t swallow upside down so comes down to swallow his food.

Ixayl’anu: You need to teach me this trick

Elk: I don’t know how I do it, it just happens.

Ixayl’anu insight checks 18 *stares down the elk*

Elk: Sometimes when your friend comes around I can do this.

Ixayl’anu: Which One?

Elk: The copper one

(Aboard the ship - next day shenanigans, I think? Day 3 shenanigans? I didn’t make the timeline very clear in these notes) At some point during the day, Diem snuck in Phi’s room to take back the doll from her packs, then tried to sneak it into her arms that night 20 stealth vs 25 perception, Phi wakes to see Diem looming over her, reaching out. 

Diem quickly hides doll behind their back and is very awkward about this. Rana doesn’t cuddle and I wanted to see if you would.

Phi wants to know what they were doing, why they were reaching out for her face though.

They awkwardly try to explain that there was something on her face.

Phi tells them they’re being creepy. Diem: Oh, and who snuck into my room in Budelia just sitting on the end of my bed watching me? That wasn’t creepy? Deflection fails so Diem shows her the doll and pretends they were trying to get rid of it for her before she woke up and freaked out.  This backfires as Phi gets really really freaked out and Diem decides they can’t go through with that either and admits that they did it, they were actually trying to *leave the doll in her arms* to find later and it’s just one of those normal dolls of the queen they were handing out at the festival.

Phi: I changed my mind, you’re not getting cuddles tonight.

Diem *crushed to lose cuddles*: I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were that scared of it - What if I throw it overboard right now - an offering to the sharks?

Phi agrees to cuddle after all if Diem throws the doll overboard. We do so and then go sleep in the same room with Rana. Note: I think I forgot to note the passage of some uneventful days mixed up in this trip somewhere because otherwise we’d have only 2 full days out to sea, arriving in the morning of day 3. As such, I went back through the notes to note when an (the?) uneventful day(s?) might’ve occurred. (Ocean Voyage Day ?: What happened to Kelly?)

By the time the rest of us wake up, Rana is probably already on deck sitting miserably.

Diem tries to cheer her up but it’s mostly cause she’s not feeling well.

Ixayl’anu begins to notice how weird it is that this crew is quiet and antisocial

Diem doesn’t really notice but tries to encourage sea shanties. A few look my way (19 persuasion) and catch themselves humming before quickly cutting off and going silent again.

Ixayl’anu starts talking to phi about how strange this is

Diem agrees, noting how the ships they’ve been on always sing shanties and clearly some of this crew knows them…

Ixayl’anu: and they’re usually shouting back and forth about things they’re doing/seeing.

Phi: Maybe they don’t need to communicate like that?

Diem: Yeah maybe they all follow old ones...? Wait that sounded way more ominous out loud than in my head.

Rana is glaring at us.

Ixayl’anu: *Grumbling* it’s usually more lively than this, I just don’t like it.

Phi realizes something about something Tel whispered her: Wait a second guys, I wanna go ask somebody something *goes to find the guy who thought the whole shark teeth thing was weird*

Phi makes a 17 investigation roll, she does not see the person she was looking for, but she had seen him since launch.

Phi returns and tells us she can’t find the guy she spoke to yesterday when we set out.

Diem: Are all the little boats still here?

Ixayl’anu casts divine sense but doesn’t sense any celestial, fiends, or undead: Do you know his name? Maybe you could ask about him?

Phi doesn’t know why we’re worried, but she knows his name (Sean something I missed) and could go asking even though she’s not worried.

Diem messages: Are you really not worried or are you saying that for Rana’s benefit, you can respond to this message.

Phi: Well I’m not worried but I’m getting worried that you’re worried. You can respond to this message.

Phi goes off to ask the captain and knocks, hears sigh.

Cpn: What can I do for you Selphina?

Phi: I was gonna ask Kelly a question but I can’t find him, do you know where he is?

Peter gets quiet and then says “Oh no, Mr Kelly had other engagements and didn’t join us this go around.”

Phi: But I saw him yesterday…?

Cpn: You must’ve been mistaken.

Insight check 10. She knows he’s lying but doesn’t know anything else about it, only that something about this is not right. It’s also suddenly degrees colder in this room.

Phi: I guess I was mistaken.

Cpn: No worries it happens to everyone

Phi: How’s the trip going, are we on schedule?

Cpn: Oh we’re making excellent time, we should be there by morning.

Phi: Excellent

Upon returning to us, Phi: Guys I don’t think we should be talking near the captain’s door in the future, but I was clearly mistaken

Phi actively tries to get out of the conversation and drop it.

Diem suggests maybe it’s this crew’s own superstitions like “quiet passage for quiet passage.”

Ixayl’anu says maybe she’ll be be less worried about it then. (Aboard the ship: Ambergris!)

At some point during the day we see a lump of grey goo overboard about the size of 2 milk crates. Definitely smaller than a chair.

Ixayl’anu notices it first, rolls a 12 on nature check, it’s not something her culture uses but it’s whale vomit and worth its weight in gold.

She points it out, gives fancy ambergris name to us and looks for a bucket, Phi tries to help.

We found a bucket, it’s probably not big enough for this. Ixayl’anu hits the thing, but realizes the bucket is too small.

Rana casts control water to keep it with the ship. Diem runs to get their special rope. 

When they return with rope, it ties off successfully and Ixayl’anu manages to get it up to the boat, with all four of us pulling we successfully get it on board (mostly Rana’s 21 and no thanks to my 2 lol).

It smells not great.

Diem: Oh that’s awful *prestidigitations it to smell like flowers* (Except it’s old enough to be hard and not smell too awful anymore)

We talk about getting it in the black of holding and breaking it in pieces so we don’t rip our bag.

Rana asks about what it’s for, is it part of the meteor?

Ixie: No, it’s...well it’s whale vomit.

Diem: Oh, gross... *looks at their hands and casts prestidigitation*

Rana goes back over to sit where she was before like oh my god as the rest of us talk about it being valuable. She leaves the bag of holding with us to break it and stick it in the bag.

Phi: This is awesome, the best day ever, I’m going to throw shark teeth in the water every time!

Ixayl’anu: *excited* yeah the teeth just show up on the beach it’s so easy to find them. (not knowing if that’s true everywhere).

Diem: Or maybe the whale just saw that doll (as an aside to Phi)? 

Phi laughs.

We have a pleasant evening, no plans.

Ixayl’anu gives a heads up to the elk: Watch listen tonight so you can stay up. Keep your ears open.

Evening perception checks: me (literal 0), Ixayl’anu: (nat 20), Rana: 21, Selphina: 10. (Ancient Whalesong Magic!)

Rana can’t sleep tonight. She hears a low wailing that goes into a series of clicks. She hears it all night long.

Rana goes to Ixayl’anu’s room and asks “What is that?” It sounds like they’re following the boat or just all around us.  A lot of them and very close.

Ixayl’anu: It’s whale song

Rana: Why are they so loud?

Ixayl’anu: Well it’s...I don’t know what they use it for, but it’s communication

Rana: But why are they so loud?

Ixayl’anu: I don’t know *both go above deck to check it out*

Rana makes 7 perception, Ixayl’anu a 14. She knows what to look for - occasionally she sees a spout but they’re not hanging out at the surface, only coming up to breathe and going back down, unlike what she’s used to.

Looking out over the water for a little bit they speak with animals at about the same time. About 10-14 whales.

Rana or Ixayl’anu: What are you singing about?

A whale: We’re working

Another whale: We’re busy

Now that they can hear what they’re saying, it doesn’t make sense at first, it has a weird strange poetic cadence to it, it kinda sounds like chanting or a ritual spell.

Ixayl’anu makes an 8 on arcana check

Rana wants to see if this is natural and rolls an 18 nature check. It seems like a natural thing, these are natural whales.

Ixayl’anu: What’s the song about?

There are words they can recognize, but she didn’t pre-arrange the song (Bless you if you know what I meant at the end of this statement).

19 perception from Ixayl’anu to get the meaning through the overlapping song. It’s about wrapping something around things and tying things together and binding something, repetitive in the round song way (row row row your boat lol) about keeping something together, apart from everything else.

Rana is leaning over the railing intrigued by all this.

Ixayl’anu is looking for any visual signs, 14, little waves, but not enough to disturb the pretty view of moonlight on the water. She doesn’t hear any birds or any other splashing. Very quiet other than the whale song.

Rana excitedly runs below deck to wake Phi and Diem up to experience the whales too! Diem actually does manage to perceive whales. It is very cool.

Rana (to whales): Are you coming with us?

A Whale: No we have our own business to attend to

Rana: Where are you going?

Whale: Here

Ixayl’anu: Are you hunting?

Whale: No, we are not hunting. We are very busy.

Rana: Do you need help?

One of the whales spy hops, large whale between humpback and blue whale (fin whale).

Diem: Wow that is so cool.

Rana gets the sense it’s looking at her and comes back down with a snort: I don’t think you could.

Rana: You’d be surprised. I might be able to help if you need help, but what’re you doing?

Whale: It is old magic for our kind.

Ixayl’anu and Rana ask them more about it, find out they’re doing some kind of binding ritual.

Rana casts locate object looking for pieces of the meteor.

She does not sense anything within a thousand feet of her. 

Rana: Is it about a rock?

Whale: It is about the project

Rana looks at Ixayl’anu with an unspoken question.

Ixayl’anu shrugs.

Whale clarifies: The Great Project

Rana: Good luck!

One whale acknowledges with a little fin wave

Rana: They clarified it wasn’t about a rock

Diem knows of sailors telling a few tales of whales helping shipwrecked people and other species and some people say the whales seem to be very benevolent forces, not really heard of magic, just weird sailor tales.

Diem suggests maybe the great project has to do with the sharks teeth thing.

Eventually over the next half hour we get out of immediate range, but we hear them for the rest of the night.

Phi dozed off leaning against something.

We go back to bed and the whole thing puts us at a later rising time. (Farford on the horizon!)

When we wake up we see Farford in the distance.

We’re gonna get 30k platinum for the amber gris (7500 each)

Next session: Jan 14th 5pm. (But really...tomorrow, it’s tomorrow!)

We don’t need to rp out selling whale vomit.

Phi kept a little jar of amber gris for future trade options.

Ixayl’anu tries to find more shark teeth.

(Omitted notes to self with note of omission so I remember to reference them for establishing some previous details)