Session 10 (2025-01-24) - Brian

Bikke wants to murder Mother Verduna and burn down [[Port Mariasa]]. Hugh wants to destroy Amnian Sapphire Syndicate, but looks to Kira.

[[Kira]] wants to head back to the Lazaretto and murder Mother Verduna, and Hugh looks to Kira for direction. We all agree as we think she is the hag that the shadow elemental talked about.

Bad Doric

We’ll stop at Bad Doric on the way. On the way, we find [[MickMuck]] and the slave humans we freed. They’re heading west, even though they aren’t familiar with the West. They follow us to Bad Doric, which takes a couple of days. It’s exactly as we left it.

Kira turns into a fish to talk to the shadow elemental we found there previously, under the temple in Bad Doric. She finds it again and it with additional context, now tells that the binding is not physical - it is not shackled here - elements of how it is bound are physical, but those aren’t really holding it. Even if it left this physical space, the bindings would not be broken. It is bound to this area.

Kira asks it if it can talk. It can talk with emotion and image exchange, not really words.

It says “yes”.

Kira: The other two sent me to free you. How can I do that? Do you know what bound you here?

It responds sluggishly, with emotion, not rational speech. It is being drained, tapped by this place, siphoned away. Kira understands that it has been violated. It is self loathing b/c it is showing emotion.

Kira: Does the name Verduna mean anything to you?

(reacting to mental projection of Kira’s mental image) Rage

Kira: How about Nightsong?

Nothing.

Kira: Understood. Maybe I’ll return, maybe you’ll find me after this, but hopefully soon we can get you out.

It feels hopeful (but also sickened by that hope)

Kira leaves.

Radovan was told to figure out what happened at Bad Doric, where spring has been fouled and occupied by orcs (previously killed by us). We scalp them - 20 more scalps. Radovan wants to purify the spring and restore the Order in Bad Doric.

The Lazaretto

Going through the Mirefen, the emotional drain is no longer present. 2 days pass in travel. It’s been two weeks since we left Port Maraisa. It is not overcast and shrouded in fog. The Lazaretto seems active, unusually - no longer just the sick and the few healers. Clear skies. The atmosphere is different.

As we make our way in, we see Nightsong mask less. She sees us, then looks joyful at the sight of us. The rot is gone, the sickness is gone. She calls us miracle workers.

Mother Verduna left with Albrecht Moray and Lepett back to Port Maraisa. She is supposedly off to talk with the Mayor. Lepett is much better; his disease was arrested.

They have a boat waiting for us. We head back to Port Maraisa, escorted to the boat by Sister Nightsong and some wretches of the camp. We are being adored and celebrated.

When Kira asks, they tell us that 4 days ago (3 days after when we killed [[Viola Laguna]], when we looted her corpse and cut off her head) the fog lifted over the Mirefen and the sun came out, uniquely beautiful. One of the terminal patients who Nightsong thought was going to die, disease arrested, recovered miraculously. Other patients also started recovering too. Mother Verduna then developed a poltice that put the disease into remission, adding to this affect, [[Ilmater]] faith.

Port Maraisa

As we cross, many folks come to meet us, happy that we’ve healed their friends and family. No Halfings in the group. We go to buy sausages from the [[Sausage Vendor]].

It’s almost a parade, and we are celebrated. We celebrate with sausages and beer. We head toward Mayor Dominico Falcone. He’s thrilled to see us, and tells us he can’t repay us for what we’ve done for the town. We’re celebrities.

Town Hall

He leads us back to the Town Hall. He takes a seat, offers drinks and food. He offers us expensive liquor. Bikke drinks then Barrick follows. Falcone drinks as well and with Radovan too. He admits that when we left, he wasn’t sure if this threat mattered and if he would be able to pay. He now says he was wrong, and this mattered. He wants to hear everything and learn how this happened. We intuit that he is a politician, and that the winds have changed, making him particularly gracious. He sees us as being the favored people.

Barrick asks for debts to be forgiven and additional credit with the merchants and is very persuasive. Falcone arranges to celebrate us, freedom from rot, freedom from white skull. Barrick insists on 1000gp of credit on top of payment for skulls. He insists that we take rooms, on the house. Meet him at Night Market at dusk for celebration. Barrick is insistent - we don’t want us to leave empty handed. He makes extravengt promises, but really gives us nothing immediately in the moment.

Hugh asks for message for us, Falcone gives it to us and says he hasn’t looked at it yet. We kick Falcone out of his own office so we can read the note in private. Barrick looks for letterhead and seals we can use to forge a letter of credit. The paper looks official but Barrick misspelled his own name, the name of the city, Falcone’s name and title. It made Gavin laugh.

The letter is short because it came on a magpie-type bird from Armitage. He’s on his way to Riatavin, traveling incognito and gives us the name of an Inn in the trade quarter. Have news - won’t share by bird. Want a meeting with Falcone. Discreet. if Port Maraisa can change hands.

Big Tree Inn

We go to the Small Brothers at Big Tree Inn. As we enter the halfling quarter, the humans fall off, and the halfling reception is lesser. We meet Delridge who sarcastically greets us as heros. Tells us that the orphan halfling children are doing well - they found their cousins and are with family outside the town / in a small village. Gavin asks about Mother Verduna. She came through recently. DelRidge says that Verduna has been a rose, but reeks of bullshit. He’s not accusing anyone of anything, but thinks it is a little too convenient how things have went around here. We share that we’re suspicious of all the attention. Everyone is getting along way too much. It’s strange.

We ask where Verduna was - he doesn’t know. When she was here, she checked in on the orphans, offered medicine and food. She shared the good news and said it would be easier to explore the southern shores of the river. She said that she was leaving for good. That was this morning, thinks she is still in town.

Halfings live quietly in network of trees - easy to miss - outside the town two miles. He shows us where that is and says that’s where the children are staying. He asks that we don’t betray that place.

We suspect that Verduna is on her way to collect the children and take them to Riatavin. Mother Verduna doesn’t know about the trees - non-halflings don’t know about the trees.

Gavin can use a spell to check in with Delridge magically.

Delridge suspects that the sunset celebration will turn into an invitation for us to take our reward and take it somewhere else.

Heard that she’s at the Merchant Consortium. We head there.

Merchant Consortium

The building looks closed, and Barrick knocks on the door. Assertively. With his mace.

Lepett opens the door. His wounds are not festering, not rotting, just heavily scarred. Barrick greats him exuberantly. Lepett smiles(ish). We’re friendly with each other - he seems genuine. Verduna is not here. Verduna advocated for the merchants to take care of us. She’s doing the rounds, talking to everyone. Albrecht is at the Gold Coin. Albrecht miraculously recovered, Verduna found way to aid the sick. Albrecht is almost entirely recovered. Lepett serves the Hesse again, and had to abandon our deal to watch Albrecht for us, but says we have no reason to be concerned as Albrecht is interested in our positions - aligned with our goals. His first loyalty is to the Hesse.

Isabel Verduna released him from her service. Gavin asks how Isabel Verduna has seemed over the last few days. Lepett says she seems like someone ready to put down her burden. She spent her life running the Lazaretto and to cure this disease, and that work seems done. She seems ready to stop & retire. She seems joyful, but not fully trusting that the problem solved in a few short days after decades.

We head to the inn for prep for the celebration and find Albrecht.

Gold Coin

We go into the Inn.

Gavin starts playing the magic Lute of Calm Winds. Hugh and Barrick grab a beer and listen. Bikke takes a point of exhaustion as he asks about Albrecht. He rented a room earlier. Third floor second door. Bikke buys a bottle of wine. We head to Albrecht’s room.

We knock, no answer. Door opens, we find Albrecht just out the bath. He finishes shaving and invites us to share our drink. We tell him what Lepett told us about our goals being aligned. He’s confused. We tell him telepathically that Armitage sent us.

Recap: Etienne Auttencort has been moving slaves into Riatavin for unknown reason and is our common enemy. Albrecht pulled two slaves out of that process, poison pills, to be reintroduced into the slave supply. We’re unsure why Armitage sent us on this mission.

Our guidance, politically from Armitage, is to find out what is happening and why. This guy seems to be an enemy of Etienne.

Says Verduna is arranging out payoff, wants us to leave. He says he wants to fuck up Etienne Auttencort. He sees Verduna as a wildcard, she’s an influential cleric. We tell him we think that Verduna is a fey night hag and she was causing the sickness.

His response: so what? He doesn’t care about the disease. It’s not a current threat and not his current priority.

Barrick flatters his plan about the poison, attempting him to spill the bean about the final goal.

Albrecht tells us Etienne Auttencort is betrothed to the Ottillie Rhindaun of the royal the Rhinduan of Tethyr. Rich prick - he was the target of the poison children slaves. Auttencourt family family are vampires, he would suck the blood of poisoned slave children, go crazy, and then Etienne Auttencort would go crazy and murder Ottillie.

Kira tells him about the shadow elemental and the ties to Verduna and the Shadow elemental in Bad Doric.

Barrick thinks that Albrecht’s plan was stupid, and heads down to drink with Radovan.

The rest of the party continues to try to figure out what to do next. Albrecht proposes murdering all the Auttencourt family vampires who murder children. Bikke asks about Falcone’s role - he’s not nobility, was appointed by guilds. His connection to Auttencourt family is loose, they give him title and position. River Guild is Auttencourt. Merchant Consortium is

Elena Delphino gave Albrecht the disease; she had it too. Elena Delphino has connection to Verduna through the disease.

Everyone leaves to get baths.

The sun is coming down, we head to the event.

We meet Lepett at the inn as we come down. He tells us everyone is waiting for us and we head to the Night market for the ceremony. There are some halflings in the crowd.

There is a stage and a dias, and a crowd - most of the town is there. Standing center position is Dominico Falcone with Isabel Verduna, Lorenzo from the River Guild, there is Elena Delphino from the Merchant Consortium. Lepett leads us forward up on stage.

Dominico Falcone addresses the crowd, welcomes us and thanks the crowd for showing up. Invaluable service to Port Maraisa. River Guild praises us for relighiting southern beacon; Lorenzo talks about us as his best and dearest friends. Elena Delphino talks about how important and valuable that we ended threat of raiders, White Skull menace, removed threat to Tethyr.

Isabel Verduna talks then, less political, and she turns to us saying, “you’re going to hear a lot of praise, about everything we’ve done for the city and the people here. It is all well earned. I’m going to thank you personally. I am an old woman, and I’ve been trying to do soemthing for this disease. We haven’t been able to cure . Challenging work of my life. Through your work, I feel like I can lay this burden down. Lazaretto folks can reintegrate - through your work, not mine. I’m ready for that. As Port Mariazi thanks you, I thank you for crating opportunity to leave and pursue my own interests for rest of my years. I will be leaving. You are not abandoned - you no longer need us and will thrive without us. So thank you my frineds for bringing that to fruition and making this moment happen”

Gavin asks Radovan to cast Good / Evil. Hugh casts Divine Sense. Under guise of prayer. She kneels in front of Radovan in position of humble penitence. Both cast.

Hugh and Radovan each see that her physical body of an old woman. Octogenarian. Radovan sees a vortex of evil, with tendrils of evil snaking out in dozens of directions. Hugh sees image of fiend, but not fiendish energy. Elements of fey, hell, shadow. Not clear what she is from. She’s from dark, evil, wide spread. She looks up with glint in her eye, she knows what we know. Gavin hugs her, and she whispers “fuck with me and you die screaming”.

Dominico Falcone says he wants to reward us. Verduna goes back to her seat right next to us. In exchange for services rendered, fee doubled; merchants and guild will give us 3000gp; titled as [[Guaritore del Port Mariasa]] (healers of Port Mariasa). Symbols given - gold daggers - ceremonial (200gp value). We graciously accept.

Drinks flow, Barrick asks where gold is - it’s in his office. We could leave tonight.

We keep an eye on Verduna and wait for crowd to thin out before making our move. Kira eye-fucks Bad Doric, seeing all the evil that Verduna has caused. Hundreds of years of terror.

On the dias, we have a dozen. In crowd, hundreds. Bikke mentions to Albrecht and Lepett that it is time for these people to leave. Albrecht - she’s got you. The crowd is too big. If you move against her ([[Night Hag]]), you become murdering monsters.

We have not seen Rosharandan Savelli yet. Odd that he isn’t here.

For us to consider:

• Can we get her alone?
• Could Falcone get her to go into one of the buildings?
• Is it worth attacking her in the open?
• Can we disperse the crowd without looking like monsters?
• Can we turn the crowd against her? Expose her?
• We could stay to the end and follow her
• Hidden attacks on her to provoke her? Subtle spell? Attacks from the shadows?
• Kira shouts into people’s minds: “run” until everyone leaves.
• Could hire someone to attack her, drag her away into a murder shack, and we run to “help”
• Try to convince Dominico Falcone she’s an evil hag
• Tell Lepett about her, convince him she’s evil with evidence
• Convince Lepett to rejoin her so we can locate her later
• “Zone of Truth” her
• Just let her go, and find her later. Collect our money and run.
• Kira is obligated to kill Mother Verduna as a Warlock.
• Could hire an army with the ~4000gp the party earned