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babybluesquid · 1 year

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Consequences of Karrnath Session 8

Fell Visions and Holy Blood

Our Players this week:

Dagne, Vengeance Paladin, an undead soldier with the curious property of acting like a living person. Trusts nobody and acts as the leader.

Nux, Pact of the Fathomless Warlock, a young teen Marcher who is far from the Kyrzin cult who wants to kill them. Personas are Murlo, a preteen orc girl, Orim, a young adult elf boy, and Vel, an adult tiefling enby. Party child.

Vaeren, Swarmkeeper Ranger, a Deathguard sent to investigate Dagne’s nature. They’re the quiet one who helps keep everyone in line.

Syv, Glamour Bard, a traveling performer turned traveling adventurer. Personas are Eshi, a sea elf, and Star, a shifter.

Faced with the wraith of Tazaera Mol, powerful enough to stop Ro with just two words, Dagne does not relent. They rush forwards and piece the ghost with their poleaxe, catching her right in the chest, leaving a gaping hole. As it refills, they crack the spirit on the backswing with the end of their weapon. Nux also redoubles their efforts, shooting an acidic eldritch blast at the ghost and commanding their ooze to strike it with its pseudopod. Neither attack eats much at her translucent body. Vaeren nocks another crystal arrow and fires, this time catching Tazaera’s shoulder. It sticks there as if she were made of flesh and bone. “This seems familiar,” the ghost Paeral comments to Vaeren as they cut across her chest with their double bladed scimitar. The Khoravar man slashes at Tazaera with his war scythe, as she reintegrates, she seems noticeably thinner, and flickers in and out of view. The shifter runs at her, but by now she’s regained her composure and avoids three dagger swings.

“All of you. Get out of here. Now.” Tazaera Mol growls, a wave of rage passing through the minds of everyone present. The psychic assault knocks Nux to the ground. Syv quickly uses a healing word to bring them back up, before turning her attention to the wraith, “your mom is a whore,” she says, but there’s no effect. Perhaps unable to understand the common trade tongue, perhaps startled by such a bizarre comment, Tazaera just appears momentarily confused by the mockery. She regathers her focus quickly, “see the fool who has doomed himself,” she grabs the Khoravar man’s shoulder and black Mabaran energy seeps into his body. He screams and staggers backwards.

Anger wells up in Dagne, unexplainable, “go to Dolurhh, bastard!” They shout words that are both a threat and a promise and slash downwards, smiting Tazaera. She’s cleaved in two lengthwise, flickers, trying to merge back together, and then vanishes. In the same instant, the Khoravar man wheels around and attacks the shifter! He surprises him with a gash across the ribs and another cut across his arm. Nux cries out and runs at the Khoravar, trying to distract him with their dagger. The attack doesn’t find any vulnerability in his armor. Vaeren grabs Nux by the shirt and tries to drag them away, but they dig in their heels and do not budge. “Sorry about this, but you chose your friends and your enemies when you chose to work for the Ministry,” the Khoravar states coldly before slashing at the shifter again, who manages to avoid the first strike. The second comes fast. It lands right on the top of his skull. Nux reels as they watch the war scythe cleave the shifter’s skull right next to them.

With hardly a thought, the Khoravar man yanks his weapon free and turns to the party, pointing and looking at each of them in turn. Nux shrinks back under his gaze. “Now who are you working for?” He asks. Dagne replies immediately, “we don’t work for anybody.” “Treasure hunters?” He scoffs. “Yes, treasure hunters,” Dagne replies calmly. He thinks about it for a moment, “Then let’s make a deal. You take all the treasure, I take just the staff, Sharashk.” He notices the party tense, and adds “I’m going to destroy it.” Finally brave enough to speak, Nux asks “who do you work for?” “I work for Karrnath,” he replies cryptically. “Why do you want to destroy it?” They press. “It has demonic powers over undeath. Such a thing should not be used.” “And you wouldn’t use it? You could be lying,” Nux accuses, feeling bold again. In response, the Khoravar man reaches into his bag and pulls out a symbol of a red eye from his bag, a symbol that the party recognizes from when they captured Inesa Yanova, a symbol of the Red Watchers. “Why would I?” He asks, even though the symbol is self-explanatory. “In that case, we want to watch you destroy it.” Dagne says, and the man nods, satisfied with this requirement.

The party begins to search the room. Nux begins a ritual to detect nearby magical effects. They feel the Khoravar man’s war scythe, the dead shifter’s daggers, Dagne’s poleaxe, and several auras in chests in the room. However, none of it feels very powerful. They send Syv and Vaeren to search the chests ask Dagne to loot the shifter’s daggers, they oblige. Nux then kneels down next to the shifter’s body, cringing as they look at his face. It’s a bloody ruin. Unable to bring themselves to touch it to coat their eyes in mud, they instead use it draw a mark of Kyrzin on his chest. Internally, they curse themselves for failing to mark the dead Emerald Claw soldier’s body, for being too afraid to approach the man they’d killed.

Syv and Vaeren open up the chests, finding a pair of goggles, some spectacles, an iron ring, some ink, a wand made of black iron, 4 Eberron dragonshards, 2 Khyber dragonshards, and 1 Siberys dragonshard. Syv also finds a small strongbox, but isn’t able to pry the lock open, so they take the thing without checking the contents. Meanwhile, the Khoravar man tears up the rest of the room, becoming increasingly agitated when he realizes what Nux already knew, “it’s not here!” Already uneasy about the man’s affiliation, Dagne leans in close to Vaeren and whispers, “we need to take this guy out.” “Noted,” they reply.

The whole group travels out together, the Khoravar clearly not trusting the party to hand over Sharashk if they find it. The next room is a barracks which doesn’t have anything of note in it. Vaeren grabs some various small trinkets, personal affects of the long dead inhabitants of this compound. The party opens a door to find dead bodies littering the floor, old armored corpses left strewn about a mess hall. They seem to be allies of the House of Vol, presumably killed by the Deathguard and left here in disrespect. Nearby is a kitchen, a path back to the storage room, and a common room. The common room also has long dead bodies left about, though they don’t seem to be fighters.

Having run out of paths, the group backtracks to the mess hall and enters a door there. A portcullis falls behind them, and they find themselves in a strange room. The portcullis is painted green, the black wall is red, and the ceiling is blue. Three buttons are on the wall, also red, green, and blue. Syv begins pressing buttons. Green, nothing. Red, nothing. Blue, nothing. Red, they hear a click. Blue, another click. Green, the portcullis opens and at the same time, sharp blades fall from the ceiling. They catch Dagne, Syv, and Nux, while Vaeren and the Khoravar man manage to dodge aside. Dagne’s armor protects them from the damage, but both Syv and Nux are left bleeding heavily. Gritting their teeth, Dagne uses the rest of their magic to heal the two of them, and it isn’t enough to bring them back to full vitality. Considering their remaining resources, they whisper to Vaeren again, “we’re gonna have to let him go.” There’s simply no way they’re up for a fight with Deathguard powerful enough that he was sent to gather the artifact solo. Vaeren nods slightly. There’s nothing for it. The party wanders around the dungeon a bit longer, but that was the last room. All remaining doors are just dead ends.

As they walk, Nux decides to break the silence, asking the Khoravar man “where are you gonna go after this?” “A safe house. I am sworn not to tell you where it is,” he replies. His earlier suspicious edge seems to be either gone or hidden. Nux thinks for a moment and asks another question, “do you know anything about the Killing Cold?” He’s taken aback for a second by the compete non sequitur, but thinks and gives an answer, “some kind of Risian demon, I think. L’m not a planar scholar.” “Oh,” Nux responds, trying not to show their apprehension. When the party exits the dungeon, they promptly part ways with the Khoravar.

The Seekers of Old and Fell Power adventure is complete. The party takes 1 XP.

The party soon takes a rest in the woods. Syv takes the opportunity to finally crack open the strongbox they grabbed, and finds it filled with gold coins, probably around 300 of them. She grins, because they’re probably worth even more than the face value, being so old. Nux tries to stay up all night, but succumbs to sleep eventually. Dagne is lost in their thoughts, remembering something. It’s as vivid as it’s brief, but it’s definitely back from when they were alive. As they stare into the fire, they feel equal parts excitement, dread, and frustration.

Vaeren is also lost in thought, but their concerns are immediate, and they decide to voice them. When Nux wakes up, they ask them about their dreams. Nux scowls at them, “why should I tell you? What you you gonna do for me that’s gonna fix this?” Vaeren lowers their head and removes their mask, momentarily stunning Nux. However, they regain their composure and ask again, “what are you gonna do against a fucking demon?” Dagne cuts in, “so you’ve been dreaming of demons?” “Yeah.” “And what have the demons shown you?” Nux takes a moment, gathering their disparate thoughts, “ice, ice and the bad stuff.” “What do you mean by ‘the bad stuff?’” Vaeren asks. “Typical omens, it’s gonna kill you, how you’re gonna die,” Nux’s voice grows fearful, “Why is it coming after me? Why can’t it leave me alone? Is there any way to get rid of something that can’t actually touch you?”

“Yes,” Dagne quickly responds, “I know someone who I think can help you. Last I heard, they’re in Atur.” Nux goes quiet, considering their words, and Vaeren takes the chance to ask them what exactly their dreams were. Nux reveals they’ve had four dreams, one after Minroy’s death, one while in Coldport, the third while they were unconscious during the fight with the Emerald Claw “before I killed that man,” and the fourth, technically not a dream, viewed inside the crystal ball. They share their second dream first. No ship, just water, incomprehensible voices coming from everywhere, screaming, then darkness as they are dragged beneath the water. Vaeren and Dagne listen quietly as they then backtrack to describe the first dream. The party is in the forest, and then Great Icefang comes into view, only instead of roaring, it speaks, and says that something is coming that will eventually kill and destroy anything and there is nothing we can do about it. Their third dream contains figures made of ice, horns on their heads and weapons in hands. They do nothing except stare at Nux. The image in the crystal ball is a sea of glaciers, present for only a moment before vanishing. Having listened to all this, Dagne promises to take Nux to Nenad Rukavina, their friend in Atur who they’re now sure will be able to help.

Dagne, Vaeren, Murlo, and Eshi return to Coldport. Strangely, the party attracts a different sort of stare than last time, and then someone yells “Masked Menace!” This happens two more times before Eshi goes to pick up some newspapers. The Korranberg Chronicle has run a story on Inesa Yanova, “Terrorist Inesa Yanova Finally Captured” featuring a statement from House Tharashk concerning the death of Minroy d’Tharashk and listing her scheduled execution date as the 20th of Olarune, tomorrow. The Voice of Karrnath loudly proclaims “MASKED MENACE! Unlawful vigilantes should NOT do the job of wolves,” and focuses heavily on the party, as a group of changelings and foreigners. They then describe each member of the party, including describing Eshi and Orim as personas, and describing Dagne as a seeker warrior and priest wearing the (likely stolen) armor of a Rekkanmark graduate, and urge readers to report their movements to the paper so they can follow the story.

As the party take turns reading through the papers, they’re approached by a gnome who introduces himself as Darin Caris Amondis, chronicler. They wish to interview the party. Vaeren and Murlo turn down interview, but Dagne and Syv, changing back to true form since their persona is compromised anyway, agree. Darin wants to hear the party’s side of the story, and interview Syv first, who tells about growing up as a traveler, what it is to be nationless, and what it is to be mistrusted just because they’re a changeling. They can’t walk around in true form because people would be suspicious, but if someone finds out they’re in persona, they often feel deceived. It’s a double standard the single skins don’t have to deal with. Dagne is much less forthcoming, choosing to speak about Inesa Yanova’s capture. They detail how they met Minroy d’Tharashk in Burnfrost and encountered Inesa Yanova, Valtis Redeyes, and Donata of Burnfrost in the Ice Woods, where Inesa killed Minroy. Then how the party went after Inesa and her accomplices in vengeance and managed to capture Inesa and Donata, turning them in to the Coldport wolves. Darin is confused, he didn’t know that Inesa had accomplices. He asks if Dagne has anything personal to share, and Dagne just says that their armor isn’t stolen, as the Voice of Karrnath speculated. He asks if they’re a Rekkanmark graduate, and they say they are not.

With the knowledge that Eshi and Orim are compromised, especially in Coldport, Syv changes to Star, and Nux decides it’s about time to make a new persona. They settle on the form of a red-skinned tiefling with uneven horns and curly hair falling to their mid-back, appearing somewhere in their mid-twenties, and name the persona Vel. With time to kill, Dagne suggests the party return to The Hidden Hammer and spend the night socializing. There’s an unspoken understanding in the group that tomorrow, they’re going to watch Inesa Yanova’s execution, and it’s making everyone uneasy.

When Bartender Vas of the Hidden Hammer spots the returning customers, she grins and greets them warmly, “brought some new friends?” It seems that some people aren’t swayed by the Voice of Karrnath. Star buys herself a cheap margarita while Dagne opts for a pint of the top shelf vodka. Vel, having never tried alcohol, tries to buy a jar of the alchemically treated cherries, and Vas actually sells them to them. Vaeren gets nothing. The bar is full of locals and Denieth mercenaries tonight. Curious about the mercenaries, Vel sits down by them and listens their conversation. They’re discussing their last mission, taking down an Emerald Claw safehouse, a mission complicated because the whole village it was based in were sympathetic to the terrorists. One of the mercenaries notices Vel and asks them why they’re eavesdropping, and they claim they haven’t been. Fortunately, the mercenaries shrug it off when Vel walks away, deciding it’s not worth dealing with.

Dagne, Vaeren, and Star sit in a booth in the back, where Dagne is able to remove their helmet without being seen by the other patrons of the Hidden Hammer. They chat briefly about their last adventure, the failed search for Sarashk. Nobody brings up Inesa Yanova. Soon, the table grows silent, and Vel wanders back to the group. Suddenly, Dagne downs the rest of their drink and begins to talk. Their skeletal features give no indication where they’re looking, but it seems like their gaze falls past their party members sitting across the table from them. They recall The Last War, knowing nothing except following orders, the horrible things they did just because they were told to. How one time, they and the Odakyr Rites undead massacred a whole village in Cyre, and to this day they do not know why. How the Odakyr Rites undead would always request permission to use lethal force, and how they would whisper to each other at night in words Dagne did not understand. How they were perfectly aware that Dagne was not one of them, but they never said a word about it. The words spill from Dagne slowly, and the rest of the party is silent as they tell their story. They recall how over time, it began to be too much to handle, and then The Mourning happened. That was what finally pushed them to stop. Their commander was dead. There was nobody left to take orders from, except themselves. They stole their commander’s armor, sword, and shield, and they left. The Odakyr Rites undead just… let them go. They’re probably still out there in The Mournland, killing, now that nobody can order them not to. Nobody knows how to respond to that.

The next day, the party heads over to watch the execution of Inesa Yanova. The square is packed with people, and they need to push past the throng to get a good look. She’s tied to a post, her arms lashed to other posts, spread wide. Standing nearby are the ruinbound dwarf commander of the Coldport garrison, and an undead soldier holding two swords, an Odakyr Rites undead. The commander introduces Inesa and her crime, though it’s hardly necessary in such a high profile case, then asks if Inesa has anything to say for herself. She’s silent. He then turns to his undead companion, “what is the punishment for traitors, Rattles?” Even though there’s no outward indication, Dagne feels that the undead is smiling as it responds, “the penalty for traitors outlined in the Code of Kaius is as follows: the traitor’s eyes shall be gouged out, then their hands shall be cut off, then they shall be impaled through the stomach and left to die.” The commander nods, “you may proceed, as outlined in the laws of our land. Karrnath suffers no traitors. Some may claim that our laws are too harsh, but we must make examples of those who would do harm in our country. We cannot allow others to be emboldened to acts of terrorism.” Inesa, impassive until the end, begins to scream only after the undead begins its work. Dagne, adverting their gaze, notices Darin Caris Amondis, chronicler, standing among the crowd, dutifully scribbling down notes with a horrified look on his face.

As the crowd disperses, Vel approaches. The undead soldier stops them, informing them that it is its duty to guard the traitor until she is dead, and that they cannot approach. Vel ignores it and directs words to Inesa, “I’m glad you got what you deserved,” they tell the dying woman. The undead soldier tells them to leave again, more firmly, nobody is allowed to speak to the traitor. Right before Vel leaves, they notice something odd, Inesa’s tongue was removed prior to the execution. They never intended to allow her to speak.

After that ordeal is finished, the party heads to the lightning rail station, purchases tickets to Atur from the helpful warforged clerk, and hops on the lightning rail. The trip takes a day a a half, and they arrive in the City of Night at 6:00 PM, it’s misty out and already dark. The city is transitioning to its night life, people getting off work and hustling through the frigid streets to socialize at feast halls and bars. Several undead laborers are also out and about, their work continuing into the night. Dagne points out a large pyramid of red brick, The Crimson Monastery, and the group follows them there. Once inside, Dagne locates a guide and asks him if he knows where Nenad Rukavina is. He does, and is actually able to send someone to show the party to his house once Dagne tells him their name, then asks if they’ll be attending the Sacrament of Blood later in the night. Dagne promises they will.

Dagne knocks confidently on Nenad’s door, and he soon answers. He looks human, but his features are perfectly symmetrical, and more telling, his eyes are just empty black pits. Assuming he’s just a changeling with eccentric tastes, Star changes back to Syv, passing a quick skin cant message, and Vel follows suit, becoming Nux. However, Nenad misses the message completely and seems unbothered by the changelings, inviting the party inside. Dagne removes their helmet once the door is closed behind them. Right away, they inform Nenad that Sarashk, the necromantic artifact from the Age of Demons, was missing from Tazaera Mol’s tomb, and it doesn’t seem like any other interested party has it. Nenad replies that hopefully, it was taken from the tomb and lost long ago. Next, Nux asks Nenad about Daelkyr, specifically the prospect of being separated from one’s influence. He admits he’s unable to perform such a feat, and honestly doesn’t know much about the Daelkyr. However, he knows that the Gatekeeper druids have a long tradition of fighting aberrations, and they might be able to help. Nux resists the idea of returning to the Shadow Marches, even for that reason, and Nenad tells of rumors of Gatekeepers among House Tharashk, even as far away as Karrnath, and that he’s also heard of a Gatekeeper circle right outside Greenheart in the Eldeen Reaches.

Dagne, bothered that Nux is omitting information, asks Nenad about the Killing Cold. He knows almost nothing, saying it’s probably a malevolent force from Risia. A few silent moments pass, then Dagne tells Nenad that they remember something. They were a child, and a smaller khoravar boy ran up to them, shouting “Almante!” The boy handed them a rock, and they inspected it before returning it to him. Nenad suggests that Almante could’ve been their name in life, but Dagne resists the idea. Their name, Dagne, was the only thing they could remember when they awoke fifty-seven years ago. Their name is Dagne. They also recall being older, training to fight with Deneith mercenaries. Nenad comments that doesn’t add up, mercenaries weren’t raised as undead soldiers during the war.

With nothing left to discuss, the party sets out, Dagne going to the Sacrament of Blood and Nux deciding to join them, while Vaeren and Syv want nothing to do with that and instead looking for lodging. However, before partying ways, the party comes across a pair of familiar faces. Nik and Wagon stand by their cart, calling to passers-by to buy their wares. When she sees the party, Nik’s eyes light up and she calls them over. This time, Nik has restocked with new items he believes the party will be interested in, and of course, he’s always buying. Their shop boasts five C1 and 2 C2 potions, some poison, which they whisper about to Vaeren because it’s still very much illegal, some unfinished shiftweave which only has one set outfit: a suit, the pipes which cause fear from last time which she still tries to convince Syv to buy, some alchemist’s fire, evening tea from the Shadow Marches which he offers Nux, and a Khyber dragonshard on a string which is apparently some kind of magical item, but not in the traditional way. Nik also has unbreakable arrows, and has Wagon demonstrate by trying and failing to snap them by hitting them with their sledgehammer.

Syv starts by showing Nik her 300 or so old gold coins, to which Nik exclaims that to collectors, he could probably sell them for 700 galifars before hurriedly offering 500. Syv accepts before realizing she just agreed to a massive reduction in value, but the transaction is over and Nik is a friend anyway. With her newly acquired 500 golden galifars, she purchases the shiftweave, along with the amulet and evening tea for Nux because they obviously want them. Vaeren purchases a couple emergency C1 potions for them and Nux to keep on hand. Nik then leans over to Dagne and offhandedly happens to mention that she’s totally aware of their true nature, then continues to business. Nux pulls out the skull with embedded emerald that they got off the Emerald Claw commander, and Nik agrees that the gem is probably worth 300 galifars and buys it off them.

With the shopping over, the party parts ways. Syv and Vaeren find a hotel to stay at while Dagne and Nux head to The Crimson Monastery and the Sacrament of Blood. When they arrive, Nux is a bit surprised. The room is packed, of course, but people are split off into smaller groups discussing community issues, events, and some focus on religion and philosophy. The two of them hang back, waiting for it to start. Soon, one guide goes to the center of the room and stands beside a huge basin, and the crowd hushes in anticipation. They organize the room in a couple lines, approaching the center, where the guide thanks and gives each seeker a small cut, allowing some blood to drip into the basin, and another guide bandages them and sends them on their way. Entranced by the foreign ritual, Nux walks towards the line, but Dagne holds them back, “you are not allowed to contribute.” “Why not?” An edge of annoyance enters Nux’s voice. “You’re too young.”

Dagne and Nux watch the remainder of the Sacrament of Blood from the sidelines, neither able to contribute to the blood pool. Finally, every contributor has had their turn at the front, and the guide speaks. They give a brief speech about finding divinity within, as well as doing all one can to help the living, those who also possess divinity within. With that, the seekers disperse into the City of Night, reinvigorated with a sense of community and eager to go out and celebrate. Dagne and Nux wait until the room is mostly empty, at which point Dagne approaches the guide and asks for some of the blood. They let them take some in their waterskin.

On the way back to the hotel, the two are silent for a while, until Dagne finally speaks. “I want to help you with your Kyrizn problem.” “Why?” They respond immediately and naturally, “because you’re alive and you’re worth protecting.” Nux shakes their head, “as if. What are you getting out of helping me?” “I don’t need to get anything out of it,” Dagne says, “I just want to keep you safe.” Nux frowns, their eyes staring to water, but then they slap themselves in the face and rush ahead, walking several paces ahead of Dagne for the rest of the walk back to the hotel. Upon arriving, Nux purchases a separate room instead of rooming with the rest of the party.

——————

Highlights:

Hi. Can we talk about Nik for a second? What the heck. Nik just casually told Dagne he knows they’re undead. Nik knows more than she has any right to and I do not like it.

Now this was a Nux plot session! Heck yes! Let’s get this warlock unbound from Kyrizn. Also, a whole new persona to play with? An adult persona? Nux is feeling more grown up and I’m here for it.

As much as this was a Nux plot session, this was a Dagne characterization session. The way they just traumadumped in the bar was amazing, seriously, the whole party was quiet in-character and out of character while I spoke. The DM gave me a d8 inspiration die for that. Mmmmm. Plus, “because you’re alive and you’re worth protecting.” Mwah. Dagne is a seeker paragon.

Sometimes it’s the little things though, like how Vaeren stayed in the bar with the party instead of waiting outside, or how they were the one to confront Nux about their dreams.

Syv’s interview with the Chronicle was super fun, because obviously we were supposed to talk a bit about the actual news story and instead she just angrily goes off about changeling discrimination. Icon.

Nenad Rukavina is a Mabar aasimar, fun fact.

Masked Menaces is the party name now. It’s what we’re going with. Nice.

Session 9.

#shit gets real #oh boy oh man #love the character drama though #dnd #d&d #dnd campaign #d&d campaign #dnd story #d&d story #dungeons and dragons #my post #my writing #consequences of karrnath #eberron #dagne #nux #vaeren #syv #session 8

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