SALT & Mist
Chapter
SORROW (1)
-From Where The Bell Tolled-
A ways ahead in the mists, is a sea stack, as the Torrent approaches Yskanda worries of the past, and their pasts future. As Nera tends to the panicking ravens, Ezi speaks to them, and with magic hears their warnings. Anna and Lucille use salt, honey, and sage to sanctify the ship, as everyone senses the unholy energy everywhere in this strange sea. The seastack appears to be some kind of island destination, a restaurant called Danny Diredears Diner. The away team find a can hanging from a string from far up the seastack. Speaking through it is Will Risen, who is seemingly trapped in the upper floors, scared of the staff. The party enter the diner to try and help, but quickly hear the sounds of trouble. Everyone hides, Ezi at a forward position, seeing a mechanical bull approaching, a fierce and indomitable juggernaut. Apparently the diner's security according to the children's drawings stuck to the walls. They also depicted an anthropomorphic mechanical deer character and a newly added feline robot. Lucille finds a pair of wheeled shoes. The party sneak to the upper floors and Ezi is ambushed by the feline creature that scratches at her, bursting out of a locker, before disappearing again. Shortly after, they find Will, barricaded into a security room with scrying orbs. The elven man says he can't leave until he finds his son, Benny. However, the way ahead is through the kitchen, where Danny Diredeer resides, the creature has a giant mechanical pizza cutter for a hand, which Dahlia tears off of the creature once it is felled. Heading up to the control station on the roof, they do not find Benny. They find Emily Risen, the owner of the establishment. She appears to have been practising binding souls into the mechanical abominations, and after an accident, has sealed Benny's soul within the feline creature. Will cannot bear this revelation and throws himself and what remains of his son off of the roof. At that Emily begins to scream and emanate dark energy as the sea stack begins to shake. The party narrowly make it out of the diner again before mists overcome it. After a moment, a can attached to a string falls down to hang near the entrance. A voice can be heard from it, Will Risen, though he has no memory of having met the party before, and he needs help. Dahlia reassures the man, though resigns, realising that the tragic events have somehow reset. The sisters have experienced their first domain of dread, one of many isles of terror.
SORROW (2)
-Misflame-
Yskanda hasn't eaten, and if the sea continues to be this barren, then it will quickly become an issue. Not since Rezmire has Yskanda partaken in brain matter. Dahlia talks to ovein about her past, her family, and the family bonds of a tribe. Dahlia feels that the children of the tribe were her own, and their loss is a great wound. The ship arrives at a small island, the ship seems unable to leave the vicinity, always remerging from mists nearby, so the party land. At first all there appears to be is a brazier burning with an illusionary flame, decorated with etchings of whales, however, there is also a descending staircase. Down and down they find a pantry, mess hall, and several observation windows, peering into the dark sea. On a deeper floor, they find a strange man hidden in a corner, smallfolk. He introduces himself as Captain Ridley Ahaz, and explains the island is called Misern. It was once an elven whaling station, but his crew moved in after it was abandoned. Allegedly, in order to leave, you need permission, a crystal idol that can turn the Misflame green allowing egress. This man wants to leave also, his dilemma, that the crystal was lost, eaten by a whale, and now lies in its grave on the seafloor. He doesn't have the equipment to survive the water pressure, only a remote controlled construct called Robit, which didn't have the dexterity to complete the mission, but would allow a spellcaster to remotely gain vision and farcast. Lucille takes up this mantle, as Dahlia, Yskanda, and Ezira prepare to dive with Robit. They delve into the abyssal depths, heading down a barren seafloor. There is little sign of life other than one unfriendly looking Sorrowfish, a small and unknown creature. Yskanda finds the red gem in the whale carcass, but Ezi is called deeper. There is something glowing, calling out to her, but she resists. All she makes out clearly is a vaguely familiar voice saying "You shouldn't be here Ezira". She pulls herself away and begins to ascend with the others, only to find the way ahead blocked by sorrowfish, not just the one anymore, but an entire swarm.
SORROW (3)
-Blood in the Water-
Dahlia feels a new property awaken in the lantern from the negative energy of this realm. Instead of inviting the Dawn's challenge, she takes the Dawn's gambit, making the current situation better, for something worse to happen later. The light of the lantern scares some of the swarm away, but not enough to be all that comforting as they begin their attack. They ravage the party, and even with Robit, Lucille feels powerless. Ezi loses the protection of her Coral Clathrus Ruber spore shape and is subjected to the pressure, which bursts her eardrums and causes her to deeply scratch into her ears, drawing blood. Just as things look impossibly dire, a great shape emerges from the abyss. A horrific, giant, malformed whale, the Misern Beast, swallows the majority of the swarm, sending the rest scattering. The party quickly take the opportunity to rush to the door, but find it locked. Lucille and Nera see that Captain Ahaz is sealing the door in ice muttering about sacrificing the party to the beast. he emanates a similar darkness to that exhibited by Emily Risen. the Misern Beast circles around and begins to charge the party. Dahlia manages to break the door off of its hinges, causing the outside party to be washed in, and Captain Ahaz to be thrown out into the jaws of the monster whale. As the station begins to flood, Lucille bangs her head and it concussed. The party evacuate. Returning to the surface, the flame turns green, and the Torrent is able to leave the viscinity.
SORROW (4)
-Floorboards-
Yskanda decides the party needs time to rest and recover, particularly Ezira and Lucille, so when they come across a wooded island, under Lady's advise, he sends the home team away for reconnaissance. Even after being healed, Ezira's hearing is impaired, and her ears are scarred from her scratching. She has enough hearing to be able to listen to the ravens caws however, they warn of a thief, and Ezira realizes some of her mushrooms have been stolen. After some investigation, she finds that many of the food rations, in particular cheese, are missing from the kitchen, and there are holes in the floorboards. Ezi takes on the diminutive sporerat shape and investigates, finding a collective of cranium rats hiding just under their feet, they take her to 'the big cheese', who bargains with Ezi for food scraps and discretion. They have some grand scheme that requires their survival and secrecy. The collective amalgamate and refer to themself as Ratskanda. The away team return and report bestial screaming, the sounds of a hunt, crying and crawling shadows. Branches tried to lure them deeper. There was the calling of 'My Lord'. They decide not to investigate further and take the opportunity to leave those waters. During the late shift, Lucille walks into the crew quarters to find the two off-duty crew, Nera, and Ovein, sharing a bunk, and producing hushed noises of lovers. Lucille tries to sneak past, but after Nera leaves, it is discovered that Ovein saw her. Lucille struggles to handle the subject but promises to be discreet. She the heads up to talk to the unaware Nera, who complains of not being able to sleep, feeling disconnected from her astral self. She also implies that her connection to Ovein is more casual to her than it is to Ovein. Lucille doesn't believe she has time for love, but Nera tells her she does deserve to make time.
SORROW (5)
-The Mistwalker-
Dahlia is woken by Lady, who tells her of the expedition, and that they didn't tell her before so she would be forced to rest. Yskanda has a twitch they are struggling to control, related to their hunger, which they raise with the crew. Nera shares her dream struggles, saying she feels like she's already in a nightmare. The crew hear singing from the mists, and soon a different ship pulls up alongside them. The Gallant Flame. The singer is vaguely familiar, an esoterics merchant from Jamaidre, Dayo B. At the helm is a spectral, skeletal captain, Admiral Tharmut Rogart, which Dayo introduces as the 'Darklord' of this domain, the boat. Dayo claims to have family nearby he's looking to visit, he's a mistwalker, one who walks between the domains of dread. Dark realms that seal away a dark lord and endlessly subject them to relive the tragic events of their greatest defeats. He calls this sea, the sea of sorrows. He tells them of the dark powers. A divine force greater than gods that control the domains of dread, the darklords below them, the dark apostles who occupy the domains, and the half-life inhabitants of larger domains with no real soul. Dayo sells items from domains knowing that in time, all things taken from domains will find their way back there, allowing them to be recollected. They claim that to do trade in gold here is meaningless, as silver is rarer, and needed to silver weapons. The party trade for a sage's rest candle, and receive a complimentary tarot reading of bespoke fates. Yskanda receives an omen of an end, an omen of obedience, an omen of gluttony, and the salamander elemental promising them rewards in either a log pile, or silver fire. Dahlia receives omens of weakness, fear, temptation, and the sylph elemental promising her rewards from an armoury or a light in the sky. Lucille draws omens of reflection, kinship, distractions, and the nymph elemental, promising rewards from one of two lakes. Ezira draws omens of negation, renewal, resilience, and rewards in an earthen tomb, or an enchanters cave. Nera draws the spirit keystone, all will be offered dark gifts, which they can take instead of their rewards. Dayo promises to lead the party to safety if they first help him retrieve an item from an isle of terror. To which they agree.
SORROW (6)
-The Promise-
Ezi continues to donate to Ratskanda, Lucille helps Lady with her physiotherapy, Dahlia watches over Kay, and Yskanda worries as there tremors have been manifesting as psionic quakes. Ezira is greatly worried by how outmatched the Sisters have been against these domains of dread, and begs Dayo to get them somewhere safe, as she doesn't want to lose anyone. Dayo promises to get them to sanctuary cave. The ship arrives at Isla Formillica, as luminous waves crash against the beach, the away team see a pack of Compsognathus that have stripped a body down to the bones. They find signs pointing to different attractions, apparently this is Rezmiric Park. The party doesn't dally however, and heads straight to the laboratory to search for their quarry, beast eggs. Entering just the control room is enough for Yskanda to sense foul forbidden magic here, necromantic. The lab is filled with machines, incubators that are funnelling dark energy into these beasts to make them more fearsome. However the largest clutch of eggs is guarded, they see a zombie Tyrannosaurus guarding their goal. Though it delivers one devastating bite, with the use of the pizza cutter, Dahlia is able to fell the beast, as Ezira, as a Salance, has collected the eggs. They quickly leave before they can find out if the monstrosity was dead for good. Back on the boat, Dayo is grateful and promises to honour his word, directing the ship for a much larger land mass. A true domain of dread. As distant cliffs emerge from an unfolding mist front, he welcomes the Sisters to the Dread Domain of Tenebris.
Sanctuary
Chapter
SORROW (7)
-The Gift-
On the far away shores of Karkinos, Jospehina Adriff releases Caker onto the front lines from the Band of the Lion's beachside camp. She does not notice the approach of lights from behind her. Nera wakes from a dream, having slept in Lucille's bed. She tried to watch Kay's dreams again, but saw the same thing she always sees. Tentacles wrapping around the crew and dragging them down. Nera makes some awkward comments about Lucille's floral scent before leaving her and Kay. Lucille notices Kay is hiding something, it's a steak knife from her dinner. She signs that Yskanda is going to kill Lucille and she has to protect her, Lucille tries to reassure her that all is okay and they are both safe, but Kay cannot be consoled. Ezira makes a fish brain martini for Yskanda to help ease the psionic quakes that are reaching a tipping point. Yskanda fears they are in their final hours and ponders their orbs for their memories, in particular, one of soaring through the skies of Dorun. Dahlia repairs some damage with Anna and Dolly, sharing the stories of how they got their trades. Dolly and Dahlia get eachother flustered, and Ovein sends Lady (under the guise of physiotherapy) to deliver a spliff to Dahlia to calm her down. Later Ovein goes off shift and visits Ezira, who is trying to toughen up, she is shortly after joined by Nera, and Dayo. The latter invites Ezira to a game of goblin snap and loses poorly to Ezira's champion level skill. The next game is interrupted by Ennana saying they have travelled up the cove, but there is something on land the crew should see. The away team embark and find a small parcel and a letter. The letter welcomes the crew to the domain and offers them advise, but asks in return that the party rebuke the company of any mistwalkers, inside the parcel is a rat brain which temporarily sates Yskanda and provides the memory of the rat being killed by the dark lord, Gregor Tenovich.
SORROW (8)
-The Timberplant-
The party decide they cannot dismiss the opportunity to be on the good side of a dark lord, and decide they will head to the timberplant, after stopping for supplies in nearby Loham. Dayo graciously accepts this, but in keeping with his promise, provides the crew with a map to Sanctuary Cave before departing. Ezi disagrees with this decision and is sad to see her new friend go. The town of Loham is a flooded ruin, occupied by mutant forms with simple intelligence and unintelligible vocalisations of 'Gabba Goobey'. The party find a man without his mind, Yskov, and a sorrowful half orc, Aasta. The half-orc says whatever happened to the town happened while he was away a week. Lady comments he is probably a half-life. The party find only enough supplies for a couple extra days. Also in the town are giant shellfish monstrosities the party do not know what to make of. Back at the boat, the party take a week to rest and prepare, but notice during that time that the temperature has notably dropped since their arrival. They head through the Venvirag Forest, and find the timberplant infested with Salamanders, and not obvious sign of a stash of supplies. Yskanda uses Dayo's prophesy to guide themself to a log pile in which they find a collection of small brain jars and a red foetal statuette, however they are soon set upon by a sodden giant fire salamander that unleashes a coldfire breath weapon that instantly knocks Lucille, Lady, and Anna down. Yskanda carries Lucille to safety, Dahlia rushes to get to the others, firing her bow as she goes, and Ezira takes on a greater myconid form and flanks the creature with Nera. Lucille revives and begins a rapid flurry of healing ablities as the creature is weakened. Yskanda is knocked down but quickly revived, and Ezira loses her spore shape. Yskanda attacks the creature with their tentacles, triggering a focuses psionic blast that kills the Salamander. Yskanda is empowered by their statuette. The party decide to spend a night resting at the timberplant, before heading back the way they came to Loham, to head north, following their spiral markings.
SORROW (9)
-The Cold Approach-
Ovein pulls Nera away from Lady Morroe to unstealthily canoodle. Ezira, Dolly, and Dahlia make bets about whats up with the spiral markings. Ezira thinks it has something to do with an outsider god, Dolly thinks Kay has something to do with it, and Dahlia throws her suspicions at Yskanda. Lucille tries to comfort Anna, who mourns the loss of the sun, and fears they have come too far. Anna wants to go home, and is done with adventuring. The next morning, the party leave the timberplant. On the road, Ovein mutters to herself about being lost, as the party blindly follow the markings, which appears to summon creatures from the mists, lost sorrowsworn. The party hide and allow the creatures to amble around, hauntingly repeating the same doubts Ovein had just expressed. Once the creatures pass, it becomes clear that the dread domain has got to Ovein, as she has changed season, into a somber blue winter. The party continue to head north up the black woods, until the path cuts near the edge of Lucid Lake. Lucille considers her prophecies, and judges the lake to be all too quiet for the path she seeks, and spurns fate. Further north, the party head for a path through the mountains, Ten Post Pass, and find a carriage crash along the way. The site seems old, and the corpses of two horses suggest the travellers succumbed to the elements, which continue to get colder. As Ezi inspects one horse, the snow half-covering it forms into a ball and is thrown at Ezi's face, it burns a lot. The snow covering the horse is actually a pale ooze called a white pudding. Dahlia comes to attack it but finds her stingrapier and herself get damaged with each close range attack. Dahlia pops the creature with a javelin, but it simply splits into four smaller oozes. Yskanda uses their psychic abilities to destroy a few more iterations of increasingly smaller oozes, but ultimatley allows the tiny oozes to flee due to their numbers. During camp that night, Ezi tries to cheer up Ovein, and Nera, who fears Ovein doesn't feel the same about her anymore. Yskanda asks how Lady is doing, she is struggling. Lucille confides in Yskanda her reason for spurning the lake, seeking new knowledge instead of self assurance, before the captain goes to make faces at Kay, then train with Dahlia. The next morning the party make it through the pass and reach a trail that leads to a fortress to the north, Castle Tenovich.
SORROW (10)
50th
-The Eye of the Storm-
The approach to the castle is full of anticipation, only broken when the party cross the bridge to the main gate, ande are welcomed by a figure emerging from smoke. Lord Gregor Tenovich welcomes the party, emitting a comforting warm aura, and bringing them into his home. There are no servants, for the path to the castle is too perilous for wagons to pass anymore. Once shown to their quarters, the party are welcomed to make use of the castle's armoury or the Onchegari Chapel. Beneath the armoury, Dahlia finds a secret cellar, in which is stashed grain and alcohol. Lucille detects an enchanted item behind the cupboards, but when she investigates, she alerts and is attacked by an air elemental. Once the creature is slain, the passage it came from is revealed, and Dahlia collects a powerful weapon, The Sister's Spear, which empowers her. When the party return to their chambers, they find it is time for dinner, and Lord Tenovich welcomes them into a dining hall, which is magically filled with a feast. During the dinner he reveals that he is acting hospitably, as the party have a friend who has paid their debt. The lands of tenebris have been growing ever colder due to a 'failing', the 'friend' removed some of the source of the problem, which improved conditions for a time. The party ask who this friend is, and Tenovich says he would have thought the party knew, but went to go get them for dinner, as they were late. The 'friend' returned alone, locking the door behind them. They began to levitate and said that they had tried to invoke an ancient and ruinous power, but failed, needing to become more than they were. They said they caused the sun to flare which caused a series of disasters. Just as a butterfly flaps its wings and on the other side of the world there is rain instead of sun. They say powers put in place to stand against the dark arose, and they and those who were touched by their actions were marked. They reveal themselves to be Wskanda, a creature that was once Yskanda, but with their unique (for illithids) emotional range, embraced hatred of their origins, the colony of Izwyll, instead of their empathy. They do not know how there are two continuities of their life playing out adversarially, but they wish for it to stop. They began by targeting Nera, but Ovein pushed her aside, and was herself hit with a crushing psionic attack that reduced her to a pile of meat. In the ensuing chaos, the creature used abilities that were necromantic and arcane, Wskanda has become an Alhoon. They also appear to be able to somehow rapidly cast spells. Everyone but Nera and Kay are felled. Tenovich barges into the hall, furious with Wskanda. Tenovich says they wont allow Wskanda to leave, but they respond that they have already found a way to leave without the dark lord's say so. Wskanda begins to fly away and Tenovich errupts with flame, making chase. Kay feels that Lucille's throat has been cut and stabilises her saving her, contrary to her vision that Lucille would die here, so when given the chance to kill Yskanda, she relents. The party awaken at Itton Vistani, a mistwalker camp nearby, and begin to mourn Ovein. It is currently unclear how the party were discovered and retrieved. Yskanda wonders how much of Wskanda's power they could take for themself.
GhoriviA
Chapter
SORROW (11)
-Itton Vistani-
After a rest, in which Ezira takes comfort from her nightmares with Lady Morroe, Dayo B joins the party. He explains that he found the party because Ezira manifested the great blue mast again. He also procures a severed Alhoon tentacle. He explains to the party that souls cannot move on from a domain of dread unless the dread lord allows it. Dayo wants the party to challenge or gain favour with Tenovich in order to get him to free some mistwalker souls, aswell as releasing Ovein's soul so she can reform in the feywild. Yskanda decides they should perform the same service Wskanda did to serve the dark lord. Nera attempts to contact Ovein's soul, but finds another entity, she concludes something is haunting the camp. Ezira asks Yskanda to explain what they know about Wskanda. Yskanda explains that Wskanda appears to be an Illithid Lich, an Alhoon. They also explain their genocidal past as an admiral in the Fleet of Izwyll, something they forsook, and a past Wskanda seems to resent. The party put together that at some point Wskanda was created, they sought to become an Alhoon, then tried to invoke an ancient ruinous power against Izwyll, but in a counterstroke, powers intended to stand against the dark arose, aswell as the markings on the sisters, and the pale markings on Wskanda. Then they consumed some darkness from the land, becoming an even more powerful dark creature. Lucille, still mostly mute from her injuries, divines the location of the haunting in the camp to be in the crown of a tiger doll held by a vistani girl Meigi, who is distracted by Dahlia and her father, Markess, into allowing the crown to be investigated. Dahlia reads an inscription in the crown aloud which summons a black shadowcat queen, Gluumi. She is proud and hungry, but tethered to her summoner. She has connections on the Other side and can provide information and advise. The party ask her to find out about the darkness and rot afflicting the land. In the meantime they get some information from Markess. He says Tenovich broke into a darkness that corrupted the lands in search of power. He says Tenstadt is a sorrowful place, that Toham is overrun by undead, but that Ghorivia is hospitable other than disappearances. The party note some contacts, Codora, a landlord, and the reverend Demetrius, in Ghorivia and plan their departure.
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SORROW (12)
-Ghorivia-
The party say farewell to the mistwalkers and launch the ship from Satin Bay. As they do so, they find the salt lines along the edges of the ship have a break in them. Dahlia suggests it could be the spirit of Ovein trying to come home. Nera uses her powers to draw out the spirit, and a memory of Ovein dancing and singing Lucille's song plays out. Ennana gets tired at her post, so Ezira gives her a break and feeds her. Lucille finds Nera has sleeping in the bathroom, so offers to let her sleep in the surgery to avoid the crew quarters. Dahlia and Dolly get ready for bed and talk of their homes, Dolly explaining the events of the crusade and the giant invasions of Lohic, and Dahlia expressing her loneliness after the loss of the Ulykke Tribe. Dolly says that Dahlia carries the memory of her people with her and has a larger than life aura because of the importance of what she holds within her. The two comfort eachother. Yskanda relives Ennana of the rest of her shift, and insists she sit down at the helm going forwards for her wellbeing. In the night, Ezira wakes up and goes to find Lucille. She asks if Lucille would break her oaths to save the party, and Lucille says she would protect the party no matter what, but is troubled by the uncertainty within herself. In the morning, the party are at Ghorivia. The town seems to be having problems that they learn from a noticeboard and are clarified by the landlord of the Bodak's Jowls, Codora. These include people going missing and having their brains liquified at the Mad Caves, a mage occupying a cave beneath Murk Grotto, the closing of Mansked Mine by Pterschol University, and the loss of crops to a rot. The party find an abandoned vistani camp, but do not understand it. They find the local fence, Meg's Stuff (and things), and the eccentric Megain Rowley who runs it. Dahlia buys oil of sharpness, but the party lack the silver for anything else that interests them. They head to the Ghorivia Church of the Iruni, where Lucille writes herself into a conversation with the Reverend Demetrius, who is a maniacle scarecrow, in denial of the land's rot. They also insist that no one should enter the Healing Hall. The party then, per the notices, go to speak to the mayor to ask about rewards, however Mayor Henret Ghorislav is reluctant, and on top of an award for 'adequate service' the party are only able to barter for a dedicated bench. The party decide that the Mad Caves be there first destination as they suspect the signs around around it point to Wskanda's involvement, perhaps even where they were staying.
SORROW (13)
-The Mad Caves-
The party are led by a trail of bones to the mouth of a strange purple stone formation. There was an obelisk with six grooves, that then Yskanda ran their tentacles over, opened into Wskanda's Lair. A bioengineered laboratory. There were mutomorphs plugged into the walls, generating the shield on the obelisk doors, and even kept in storage, used like batteries. More concerning was the chamber featuring a brine pool of embryonic nautiloids. In that chamber Yskanda found and viewed three memory orbs of Wskanda. The first memory was in the skies above Vrith, in the astral sea. Yskanda was Izwyll then, and battled with Islo Ekru and Af Itatha, but couldnt win on their own, or with their captive psionic batteries, so they exploded their ship, the Kithrak Adlishar and her mate escaped. The second memory was in the Palace on Noctezran in Vrith. Izwyll was stretching themselves thin, so took a rare moment to disconnect from the Ulitharid Yskanda, and allow them independence. Drones began to seize the pyramid, while Yskanda sort curios they caught glimpses of in the assimilated memories of githyanki. However when they found a chamber of light that warned not to enter with uncertainty, Yskanda took one step in before doubt and caution overwhelmed them and they left. Yskanda does not recognise the third memory, of entering the vault of light, and finding Kaincha, an oracle who had her tongue cut and visions blocked for her misfortunate readings. Her visions were blocked by the light of the room, coming from a lantern that allowed for divergences in causality. This version of Yskanda took the lantern, and the gith as their slave, but found they were abandoned by Izwyll. In the third chamber, they found an alien fungus growing, and research notes that indicated it was a genetic catalyst for the mutomorphisation, an alhoon's poor substitute for ceremorphosis. When the party returned to the ship, they were visited by Gluumi, who brought information from three spirits. One said there was a Murloc Megafin in the waters. One, a mistwalker, said they never made it to Ghorivia because of Tenovich. The last was a miner who said the darkenss began in the mines. Ezira then treated Gluumi and tried to befriend the spirit, though she bashfully left. Ezira also spoke with Ratskanda, who apologised because they had been controlled by Wskanda to spy on the party. Apparently they wish for independence, but it makes them vulnerable to compulsion, so they think they should reintegrate with Yskanda. Ezi allows them some time to be free. Returning to Ghorivia, the party found Reverend Demtrius, Perent's Farm, and The Healing Hall, all burning, and guarded by metal automata the people call 'Uild's Gift'. The party are able to negotiate a hunters fee with the mayor for the mage beneath Murk Grotto, but decide to first head for Mansked Mine.
SORROW (14)
-Mansked Mine-
The party find a passage into the mines and are immediately beset upon by wraiths, Yskanda is attacked and dies, while the party fend kill two of the wraiths, with the last being turned away by Lucille's divine magic. The party don't have long to mourn though, as despite having no soul, Yskanda is brought back to life, perhaps the only place in the multiverse such a thing is possible. They seem unchanged, for now, but insist they lost their claim to captaincy, and names Ezira 'Field Team Leader'. Lucille finds a shipping notice ordered from Tenovich, to send something called 'scar stone' from this mine to Pterschol. Exploring the mines, the party find a Kolnoric shrine, where headlight have been left on an alter. In a vault Dahlia breaks open, the party find a ring that will allow Ezi to talk to rodents, and a runestone of the veil, which Dahlia uses to create The Sister's Greatspear of the Veil. The party then find a massive underground lake, and Lucille sees a scroll down the bank, she goes to retrieve it, but is attacked by the wraith from earlier, before it is quickly dispatched by Yskanda empowering Ezira's quickdraw crossbow. Lucille's scroll contains information about different waters of the body and offers knowledge of empowered healing techniques. At another embankment, the party find an augmented bag of devouring, connected to a telescopic hose. It was a 'sucksack' a useful item for clearing water, sand, or excising incorporeal undead. The party find a final excavated chamber that contains a large boulder of a black vacuous stone, dark as void. They assume this is scar stone, and from its dark energy, assume its the reason the mines were closed. Dahlia tries to break some off and a tendril of darkness envelops her taking her to a dark plane outside of time where she is haunted by the visions of one of her tribe's children, Rosia, and a glowing Dire Boar that gets away. Only the light of the first light lantern causes the darkness to recede and visions to fade. Dahlia holds tightly to Ezi as she had Rosia, before letting go, she says 'I thought you were someone else'. The party return to the ship where Yskanda confides in Lady that they are worried about their resurrection and what powers they are a puppet for now. Lady agrees with Yskandas decision to step down, temporarily, and concurs that Ezira has the heart of a leader, in that she doesn't want to lead, but everyone trusts her. Ennana tries to cheer up Dahlia, hinting she may have lost children herself. She then shows Dahlia that the horizon is the end of the journey, where she will be reunited with the lost ones.
SORROW (15)
-Murk Grotto-
COMING SOON