Penance & Purpose

"Penance & Purpose" is the eighteenth episode of Regolus: Dark Age. It is the third episode of Book 2: Courting the Divine. 
== Official Description ==
"When last we left our adventurers, the Sigilbearers had returned to Faleeria, a city engulfed by a vile fog emanating from the train they arrived on during the Sentinel incident. Now, cursed Witch-Breed entities stalk the streets as our heroes press toward the station, striving to save the city—and the survivors—as ruin looms near. Join us, brave wanderer, and take part in the mythweaving as this tale of darkness and redemption unfolds.”Penance & Purpose (Youtube).
== Plot ==
=== Part 1 ===
* The fog still lies heavy over the town of Faleeria, as Aelys feels a pull in 3 directions. They decide to follow the pull to the nearest one, just as a portal opens up in the sky, and out of it fall Theagus and Lenore.
Flashback I: The Day Before
* Theagus leaves the Commander’s tent and makes his way to Dr. Iridia’s tower, where Iridia is currently trying to find out more about the fog. He asks how much she knows about the concept of layered realities and explains that the world he comes from is built like that. Iridia is intrigued to hear more, especially after Theagus’ staff showed her the number five last time and he did not tell her more at that point. Iridia also knows that the group went to a Lighthouse, so Theagus tells her what he found out and more about the so-called iteration he thought he came from.
* When Theagus mentions that he died and was brought back, Iridia notices that they are not alone. With a flash from her, Theagus, Dr. Thane and Hope find themselves in a misty purple space. Iridia is wary of the situation and the fact that Hope is inhabiting „[her] wizard“ and wants answers. After an introduction and Hope assuring that they mean no harm, Theagus tells Iridia that it was a willing decision or she would have never seen him again. Dr. Iridia is grateful for that but wants her privacy, so with another flash, Theagus and herself are back in the tower, Hope nowhere to be seen and Theagus feeling disconnected from his magic. While they are here in this tower, Iridia made sure they can talk in private without another one listening. Spirits like Hope are tricky and Iridia has boundaries she intends to keep. With her people, there is a word to describe the connection Theagus and Iridia have, a sudden kinship of the mind. 
* They are both worried about what happens in the town, so Theagus tells her what he knows about the fog and that the Commander gave them the mission to go into town. Dr. Iridia wants to make sure they have a way to return quickly. With the help of Lenore, they might be able to find a way to do that, so she wants them to return in the morning.
* As soon as Theagus leaves the tower, he hears Hope speaking in his mind and telling him that she would prefer to not do something like that again, at least not very often. 
Flashback II: This Morning
* Theagus and Lenore return to Dr. Iridia’s tower. The doctor explains that she would like to try and mimic Lenore’s ability to shift from place to place. For that, she needs a sample of Lenore’s blood. Lenore agrees, as long as she can return to her sister quickly after that and get everyone out of town safely. After one of the crystals is filled with blood, Theagus lends some of his arcane energies to get them to work and activate them. Iridia asks if Lenore will stay after everything is done because she thinks Lenore is biologically changed by whatever her tattoo is and Iridia would like to examine it more to give her advice on the best medical procedures going forward as Lenore metamorphoses further. Iridia explains how traveling with the crystals should theoretically work but that something could go wrong nevertheless. They activate a portal and Theagus and Lenore step through.
Back to the normal timeline
* After Theagus and Lenore are back with the rest, they make their way through the desolated town. They hear different sounds in the distance, but decide to go to where they hear Krill sounds. As they turn the corner, they see one of the creatures they fought before attacking a Krill, one of the vendors in the city. Theagus protects himself with Mirror Images, but he doesn’t recognize the look of them. They are able to defeat the creature and save the Krill, who introduces himself as Myriad and just wants to save his wares, his livelihood, but JB tells him that his life is more important than the wares and he should get to safety. Myriad gives them a scroll of Telekinesis before Gold guides him back to the gate. 
* The group goes further into town and through a tunnel, as the voice appears again: “You cut them down and we plant more seeds. Join us in the garden and grow with us.”
=== Part 2 ===
* They reach a wall of fog. While some of them can hear a hum from behind it, Synnove can feel a pull in a nearby direction past the wall, and Aelys can hear the Xilyreon speak up in her head: “They challenge us. They challenge us. Time for a test, school girl.”
* They step through the fog and find themselves in front of the Exactionem Inquisitorio, where not only two Vanguard Knights are currently protecting the building with a magical barrier, but also Scribe Threnodius. He asks the group what they are doing here and if they are well, but as they don’t seem to need any help, the group asks what the Vanguard can tell them about the current state of the town. Threnodius tells them that it came from the train station and that there are others still in town. One of them, a newcomer in town, just left to defend the Trade Ministry, while another, High Minister Kirin Matawa, stayed there to make sure all of her colleagues got out first. Threnodius asks for any Lyrium they have, so Lenore gives them the Lyrium they got from Commander Bertrand. It will help them keep the magical barrier around the building up and stable for longer. 
* The group reaches the now ruined Trade Ministry. Around and in front of it are a series of runes in isskarin script, that say “Speak from the book. Turn the page. Cast a shadow.” Near them is an unfamiliar figure, bold head and hands covered in golden paint, that Synnove immediately feels a connection to - another Carrier of Light. At the door of the Ministry is a bruised High Minister Kirin Matawa, and they both are currently fending away more of those creatures and wayward children. The party splits up and gets separated through a magical barrier and the fog. JB runs to help Matawa fight against creatures, while the rest of them help the Carrier to fight against more of the creatures.  
** Before they can reach them, the Carrier is attacked again and falls unconscious. 
** Lenore tries to hit one of the creatures, as the book on Synnove’s hip flares up and directs the tip of Lenore’s whip straight into her own ribcage. Synnove, who didn’t notice that, just hears “Do not worry, I will take care of it” from Stella. 
** After Synnove heals the unconscious person, Lucen, Carrier of Light, is back in action. 
** Lenore uses Blood Magic for the first time, after Sethius showed her how to do it when they met. When she is doing that, Theagus hears a warning from Hope, as things are thinning and he should be wary. In that rage Lenore feels, she has a moment of clarity. She decides to take a step back and slow down and not finish the job V gave her at this moment. 
* When the monsters are defeated and they can see each other again, JB checks in on the High Minister, who has rivulets of black under her skin from being attacked. She refuses any help, but wants to get to the Vanguard for a safe space. Lucen asks Synnove what she wants them to do. They dissipate the shield they created with the help of the runes and will bring the High Minister to safety. Before they go, Aelys absorbs the ichor out of the High Minister’s wound, taking away what was taken from her and the Xilyreon. Matawa thanks them and she and Lucen make their way back to the Exactionem Inquisitorio. 
* The second they disappear into the fog, the voice rumbles through to them again. “Your doubts betray your arrival. Come meet us, we wish to know our makers.” The fog parts and down the street they see the train station. They hear more noises in the distance but behind them, so they hurry up to get to the station. After a bit of healing from Lenore, which Synnove accepts, the book vibrates. Stella leaves the symbol of a broken crescent moon in there. The others notice that Synnove clutches her book, but Synnove just tells them that she and Stella are worried about Lucen. They ask about Lucen, but when Synnove mentions that they are a person like Sol who follows the teachings of the one true God, Stella adds two words next to the broken moons: „Do you?“. The others notice that there is something wrong between Synnove and Stella, but decide that now is not the right time to talk about it. 
* They reach the train station, the garden the voice told them about. Inside the train, they see a glint of rusted metal that welcomes them. They make their way inside the now changed train when they realize their mental connection is suppressed. 
* Awaiting them is a creature called Penance, made out of a mixture of skin and metal from the train. „Welcome to the garden. Come and see what you have wrought.“. Aelys steps forward, the others follow her. Penance continues: "You wrought us and left us alone. Now you wish to tear us from the ground. This is our home and we will keep it."
* The fight starts. Hope tells Theagus that she recognizes the creature, it is one of them, their kind, or at least it was once. It has become something new, just like Theagus and Hope it has somehow merged.
** “Made and born anew we found our meaning in the metal. You will be made to know what you have done. We are your penance“, Penance says before it attacks and Theagus, Lenore and Katari get infected with the first stack of Torment and get restrained. They are able to free themselves and get rid of it later.
** The Xilyreon wants Aelys to keep fighting and absorbing the negative energy.
** After what he saw today and these last few days, Alewjin is not able to control himself and falls into a madness-like rage. He can‘t differentiate between enemy and friend and attacks Katari before he can snap out of it. Gold arrives at the train station right after that.
** Sometime into the fight, pieces of Penance start to fall off of it and the negative energy wraps around it instead. „Penance to Purpose“, it says as both them and Aelys, the laugh of the Xilyreon on her lips, feel the need to duel each other. 
** Theagus is able to slow the creature down. Penance tries to bargain with the group but the group does not accept and keeps fighting. 
* Aelys absorbs all of its negative energy, increasing her physical abilities. But JB, fueled by guilt and shame for what he just did, takes a risk to try to stop that. He gets caught in between the negative energy stream. An intense cold racks through his body, as the aura seeps into him. „We grow“, Penance says as JB feels a heaviness setting into himself that takes the place where his focus should be.
Note: After being caught in the negative energy, JB‘s constitution is reduced by 3. 
== Characters ==
=== Player Characters ===
* Aelys Sa’Viraan
* Theagus SOT
* Jean-Baptiste
* Lenore
* Synnove Oleander
=== NPCs ===
* Katari
* Dr. Iridia Thane
* Myriad, the Krill
* Stella
* Xilyreon
* Hope
* Gold
* High Minister Matawa
* High Scribe Threnodius
* Lucen (Carrier of Light) 
* V
* Penance
===Mentioned===
* Sol
* Sethius
== Locations and Organizations ==
=== Locations ===
* Faleeria
* Mobiaux (mentioned)
=== Organizations ===
* Vanguard
* The Seekers (mentioned)
== Tarot Card and RP Warmup==
The tarot card for the episode was The Devil, drawn by Dan.
The roleplay warmup question was: "What is a relationship dealbreaker (romantic or platonic) for your character?"
==References==