The Zaragamba Gambit

*The Zaragamba Gambit* is the title of the seventh episode of the fifth season of S.H.A.D.O.W. and the fifty fifth session of the entire game.

This session was played on July 21st, 2019

## The Zaragamba Gambit

### Writer

Jonny Christie, Matt Christie, Richie Maynard, Eric Rios, Corey Sexton

## Plot

Aguero leads a team into Santis to follow a trail of unmatched magical potential.

## Synopsis

Ravela in a panic is sprinting through the night. She is covered in numerous people’s blood and arrives at the anvil. She throws down the sword, cloak, and two decks and begins punching the items into the anvil creating a mesh of energy. She absorbs it and begins to cackle as she is slammed down onto the anvil a beaten profusely. It’s Phylyco. He slams into her relentlessly creating a glowing orb of some sort. Grekkus and Locus are on the trail of Aguero, having picked up a tip from Grekkus’ brother. Locus, in his persona “Bob Zaragamba”, spends a majority of the trip attempting to sell the Paladin a carpet. Eventually the man caves and trades the “merchant” a javelin for one. He gains one sweat rag. Stormcaller screams for his fallen friend and gets bolted away, leaving Darrow and Lara alone to witness the body hit the bay. Lara attempts to lean on Darrow to mourn but the man stops her and tells her to not cry. Ever. She asks him how and why any of this happened. He is unsure but he knows they have work to do. She leads him to their base of operations in town so he can rest and they can “regroup”. Grekkus and Bob arrive at the abandoned city of Starame. Grekkus briefly mentions that everyone here just one day vanished. No indications of movement, just gone. This will help them find Aguero easier since his tracks will be the only ones for miles. They enter the ghost town.

Phylyco is examining this item. He rushes to the library and enters the STG section to find anything about what this could be but finds nothing. He asks Gregory about it and that’s not helpful until he has to raise his voice. Gregory tells him it’s just a theory but it could be the apocalypse stone, unfathomable dark energy. He decides to go test it out in the forest. He finds a rabbit and just… thinks. It drains him mentally but the creature vanishes. Aguero is close to his target. Grekkus and Bob catch up and the blind man immediately greets them and continues forward. They don’t bother to argue and follow. But Locus cannot resist. He breaks character and branches off, beginning to loot the town. Aguero and Grekkus arrive at a small temple of Illithid, God of the mind. The energy Aguero has been seeking this entire time is present within so he enters, stops him for a moment and steps in first, sword drawn.

Darrow awakens a few days later, finally rested from his long journey. He gets up to shower unaware that Lara is already in there. He walks in and they come face-to-face. She covers up for a moment but then Darrow makes a move and she doesn’t outright deny him. They begin to pack up and Lara asks Darrow if that was Aragi he was with and he mentions they called themselves “Stormcaller” which summons the man back to them. He is jolted but gets to his feet. It’s awkward for a moment and they catch up as quickly as they can. Aguero and Grekkus enter the tomb and the archer gets a throbbing headache. Grekkus suggests they leave but Aguero keeps pushing forward. He doesn’t make it very far before both of them are paralyzed in place and a prophet emerges from the shadows. Aguero quickly uses Sending to message Locus for back up as he breaks the paralysis with a counter spell to fight the monster. He gets a few picks on it and hits something farther down the crypt before Locus swoops down and saves the day, destroying it with his many knives. Grekkus is broken free and the malicious magic vanishes, leaving only the energy. They move in.

Lara, Darrow, and Stormcaller are following Ravela’s trail, unaware they are heading back to Aethel city and the archer scouts ahead, leaving the other two in an awkward silence before Darrow breaks the tension. They don’t need to talk about it, but they can’t be weird about it anymore. She agrees. He stops. She asks what he’s doing and he tells her he can’t go back. He’s stronger now. She tries to understand his logic and counters that if he’s as strong as he says, they need him in this fight. He requests to have another night with her if he helps slay this beast. She tentatively agrees. Phylyco enters the Death Wood. For a moment, he pauses and gets an urge to use the stone again but he resists and keeps moving. Stormcaller arrives at Aethel City, disgusted by what he sees. He cannot comprehend what happened here as he enters the walls. He reaches the Anvil where her trail goes cold. He curses at the sky before getting onto another trail and finds Echo. He’s relieved she is safe but cautious that Ravela may be around. He finds it within him to speak to her and gets some sort of information, anything. He determines the best bet is to follow her and she leads him to the STG House. He has no way of entering so he starts shouting. Who answers but Saint Hylophagous. The tiefling sighs and invites him in. Back in Santis, Team Aguero head into the crypt, much more cautious. They hesitantly find what can best be described as an hourglass or a harness with a glass orb in the center. There is a crack in the glass from Aguero’s arrow from before. Aguero steps up to touch it and Grekkus holds him back. The blind man mentions it reminds him of the totem he gained his curse from. Grekkus strikes it and Aguero begs him to stop it could be what’s stopping the Demon from entering this plain. Grekkus argues it could be what’s tethering him to this world and if they destroy it, it could send him back. Aguero doesn’t know what to do so Grekkus takes the initiative and strikes it again. Three or four times before the glass shatters and a cloud of dust erupts from the center. They don’t feel any different but realize Locus has vanished along with the energy. Aguero has Grekkus grab the harness and leave, knowing They may have in fact screwed up again.

## Cast

### Main

* Aragi Maxul
* Phylyco Brokenwhisper
* Lara Youngheart
* Aguero Cryhawk
* Ravela
* Locus Fochuckl
* Darrow Emberstorm
* Grekkus Raisir
* Saint Hylophagous

### Supporting

* Gregory
* Echo

## Trivia

* Final session of Corey Sexton, as he moved out of state the following week. Fortunately, if he were to return, Locus Fochuckl is still out there, somewhere.
* With the death of Ravela, there are currently no Horsemen.