Beware the Contrarian

*Beware the Contrarian* is the title of the tenth episode of the fourth season of S.H.A.D.O.W. and the forty sixth session of the entire game.

This session was played on February 24th, 2019

## Beware the Contrarian

### Writer

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

## Plot

Some true colors begin to show amongst the Circus.

## Synopsis

Phylyco tells Grekkus to cut the cord and send Vin to his doom. The Paladin asks if he has to die and the man just gives him a look. Grekkus understands and cuts the rope. Darrow and Amelia attempt to explain to his brother that They have no connection to what they just witnessed and Darrow begins to babble but Arcos cuts him off, calling his words childish and telling him he has to figure out who stole his Anvil. Darrow takes serious offence to this and tells Amelia they are leaving and they will not help him. The two leave to try and catch up with their allies. The remainder of team Phylyco are on their way home. Locus wants to Keep the Kanon but Phylyco is fully against it. While they are arguing the semantics of stealing a public transport Grekkus notices they are being tailed by Three other Kanons with Paladins aboard. AIR BATTLE. Phylyco specifically tells his men to not aim for the Kanons, only the men. Of course, immediately Grekkus hits one of the birds with a javelin. They are more careful in the remainder of their attacks and they end up taking out all the men.

Aguero is having flashes of the Vale and the horror it is. Black ash, no life, hell. He hears the voice of Sachayoj mocking him and he jolts back to the present. Locus attempts to calm down the attacking Kanons since he can speak with the avian races. They all land at the warp stone to handle the situation. Grekkus apologizes to the one he hit and Locus in fact handles the situation. They also learn the names of the four winged beasts and Locus attempts to have them join the circus to no avail. They do agree to find the others and bring them back. Darrow and Amelia arrive at a location known only as “The Silver Throne” and attempt to enter the sanctuary but they can’t gain access. Luckily, two of the Kanons arrive with a message from Locus. They tentatively get on the birds and are brought to the rest of the team. The reunion is brief as they depart for the circus. Aguero is gliding his hand over a closed book, appreciating the symbols. He imagines the Vale as it should be and he walks through the serene forest. He stops and sees a tree in the distance, destroying the forest around it. He is startled back to reality by Pachosis and he senses another person with the doctor. It is Ravela.

Aguero is once again paralyzed. Ravela begins to speak to him as Sachayoj takes over. He steps over to Pachosis and slaps him. The mask falls off to reveal no face. The man splits into two beings, Thoen Dagarkin and Darrin Pacsis. Sachayoj steps over to Echo and begins to choke the puppy. She vanishes before their eyes in a blink. He sighs and looks at Pacsis to begin. The frail man begins to draw runes on the ground. The three horsemen stand in specific spots, Ravela leaving Ela’s corpse in the fourth location. A ritual begins as Sachayoj fully takes over Aguero’s body once again. Darrow is upset that his allies stole from his brother. Locus tries to convince him that it technically belongs to him since he is of Emberstorm blood but Darrow explains that that’s not how his family works. They arrive back at the circus and bid farewell to their feathered friends. Mal steps up to ask what the hell they are doing and they get into a small argument before an ear-piercing scream is heard. They all rush to the Med tent to find Vida losing her shit while Mort and Ximer attempt to calm her. She exclaims that her baby is gone and the crowd immediately starts looking for the infant. Meanwhile at the ritual, they also hear the screams and Rava returns to Ravela before “getting back to work”. Thoen also forces Pacsis to re-fuse. As the Doctor leaves the tent Hylophagous enters. The Saint sighs and asks what the endgame is of the spriggan. He answers with “Ruin” and the Saint reminds him that he will fail but he can’t do anything about it. Sachayoj promises he will take Aguero back to his turf and the Saint is not okay with that but they are at a standstill. Hylophagous turns to leave and asks where the baby is. The Demon does not know but he assumes it is one of his horsemen. Darrow is on his search when he spots a gorgeous Elvan woman. He approaches and she begins her seduction. She leads him back to the anvil, where Grekkus has been keeping guard and She convinces the barbarian that the paladin killed Sera. He tackles the man immediately and a fight begins.

Sachayoj has left the city and arrives at a familiar mausoleum. He enters and asks the trapped man in his mind why he cares so much for these dead beings with no audible response. The demon steps over to where Aguero was resting originally. He carves something into his chest as he begins to chrysalis once again. Locus is hot on a trail. He follows it far out of the city. Darrow and Grekkus battle. They are pretty well matched and are each drawing blood. At one-point Grekkus nicks Darrow enough that his blood drips right onto the anvil. They are both paralyzed as a black cloud surrounds Darrow and Ravela. She then shows him his sister’s death, with some slight modifications. She takes the place of Phylyco in the story and makes it appear that the people there were working for her. She then asks Darrow if he knows what the Anvil does. He can’t respond so she shows him. She takes Grekkus’ sword and places it on the Anvil as Pachosis steps up. He places the deck of war next to it. She hits the anvil as the deck falls to the ground and the sword glows red for a second. She then takes Darrow’s cloak and does the same with the deck of famine. It glows green for a second as the deck falls. She throws the cloak on and sheaths the sword on her back before smiling at Pachosis and leaves. Phylyco is watching from a distance and takes a step to follow her.

## Cast

### Main

* Phylyco Brokenwhisper
* Lara Youngheart
* Aguero Cryhawk
* Mal Bloodjaw
* Ravela
* Sirobe
* Locus Fochuckl
* Darrow Emberstorm
* Amelia Retter
* Saint Hylophagous

### Supporting

* Pachosis
* Thoen Dagarkin
* Hayvard Ximer
* Mort Soulspark
* Vida Soulspark
* Echo
* The Demon Sachayoj
* Zia
* Arcos Emberstorm
* Grekkus Raisir
* Darrin Pacsis

### Guest

* Vin Dulog
* Irk
* Gruf
* Yi
* Cae

## Trivia

* This session reveals that the Horsemen are actually pawns of Sachayoj.
* This session reveals that Pachosis was in fact also a fusion, similarly to Ravela.
* The title of this session is a reference to the song "The Contrarian" by *A Perfect Circle*.