MERCY

The image that inspired the oneshot's premise

### Results

Gant recovers the Seed of AbbathorJimmy Buffet turns the others in to the Thunderfleet

### Involved Parties

The BrigadeThe Glitterati / the Thunderfleet

### Connected Events

Halintar: Respite of the Gods // Breakneck Breakout (arc)

## IRL Data

### PCs

Avagantamous OkarthelRaccoon-Mask

Balmer

Jimmy/James & Buff(et)

**MERCY** was a oneshot transitioning Avagantamous Okarthel from a state of stasis (*IRL- returning from a real-world hiatus taken for school reasons*) to returning to the as-of-yet unnamed Knights of Nadir. After awakening from his catatonic state he discovers the party of Halintar: Respite of the Gods has left on their next mission, and is given a quest from the current Brigade leader Gustave Theldirk to retrieve one of the Artifacts of Abbathor. He went with the aid of several of Mr Curse's contacts, and though they were successful in finding the tree they were betrayed by Jimmy Buffet, who gave the others to the Thunderfleet in exchange for joining their ranks.

## Prompt

### Gant Prompt

After falling into a psionic coma for an entire week, you wake up to discover that your trusted party has left without you- sent on an incredibly time-sensitive mission to rescue the dragon named Shards. Not one to let able bodies go to waste, Gustav has already found another mission for you to embark on while you wait for your friends to return.

When he had been part of the Glitterati, Gustav had taken care of a very peculiar magical tree in the privacy of his own territory. While he hesitates to give you the details, he states quite plainly to you that if Curunthsh or his subordinates were to get their hands on this tree’s resources it would become an invaluable tool in their mission to assassinate the remaining Dragon-Gods. Mortals who approach the tree may fall for its thrall, and those who do die a painful death.

The ancient dragon reiterates- if you don’t treat this tree, and this mission, with the utmost seriousness, there’s an incredibly high chance you could die. But you and your party are the strongest people the Brigade have, and if you refuse this mission then no one in the Brigade can do it.

Your mission is to reach this tree, the Tree of Eternal Solstice, and obtain a single seed from it. Once the seed has been secured, destroy the rest of the tree to prevent those who would abuse its power from finding it. Don’t worry about the plant going extinct- as long as you bring back the seed, Gustav can plant it and grow a new one in a safer place.

In addition, Gustav had Mr Curse get in touch with a few contacts from the Twilight Loch and surrounding swamp/river towns. There are a few people to travel with you on this mission. While you are taking care of business, keep a close eye on these people and, if you deem them trustworthy and powerful enough, invite them to join the Brigade when things are said and done.

### Curse's Contacts Prompt

You are, or were, an adventurer in the southern territories of Halintar. Though it’s rough making a living in the more dangerous lands of the dragon-ruled continent, you’ve been able to scrape by with your own luck and skill. However, you never remember things being this chaotic. After the Betrayal, the event where the Dragon-God Tephra razed her own capitol and disappeared into the sky, hysteria overcame the southern countryside. Entire villages’ worth of people have been packing up their lives and migrating north to avoid the insanity, only to be picked off by bandits, like vultures to carrion. And even then, those who stay are at risk of being attacked by roaming monsters or other opportunistic thieves.

Back in your younger days, or in your caregivers’ youth, you/caregiver found yourself weary and poor in the corrupt capitol city of the Southwestern Fringe, called the Twilight Loch. To pick yourself up, you took a favor from a pale, fanged man who you only knew by the name of Mr Curse. He offered you or your family wealth, or land, or even a simple wish of good luck- and without his aide you most certainly wouldn’t have been here today.

Sometime after the events of the Betrayal, you received swift contact from Mr Curse. He wrote to you offering a means of repayment for your favor- accompanying one of his allies on a trip to the Southwestern Fringe. On top of that, if your journey was successful, he offers you and your loved ones refuge in a place “safer than anywhere else in the whole Stretch”, though he doesn’t specify where or how it’s safe.

He requests that you meet his contact, a man named Avagantamous, at an abandoned shack on the outskirts of the Twilight Loch. From there, you will travel west, traversing the swamplands till you reach the edge of the mountains. You’ll complete a task that will be disclosed by the contact when you meet with him, then follow whatever orders he may give you when the task is complete. If you fail to complete this task or put Mr Curse’s contact at risk, your favor will be considered Unpaid… and given how easily Mr Curse was able to track you down despite years of no contact, you fear what may happen to you and those who care for if you fail to repay your debt.

### Curse's Contact Prompt (Betrayer Addendum)

…however, things have changed since you last spoke with Mr Curse. You’ve joined the Tyrian Society for the Glitterati Elite, bowing your head in loyalty to their new leader, the terrifying and mysterious creature known as Curunthsh. You also know his name and the “Unpaid” curse are nothing more than a gimmick he uses to make sure he gets repaid for his kindness. Hearing that you’ve been contacted by an elusive group of rebels, the Glitterati Director and head of the Daggerhart Family, Mickey “Monkee” Daggerhart has ordered you to “repay your debt, with change to spare”

Your goal is to complete this unknown task, not letting any suspicion arise regarding your connections to the Glitterati. Glean as much information as you possibly can from the contact and the other favor-repayers. If possible, use the favor-payers spite in your favor to turn them against the contact, obtaining whatever resources they might be after. Offer the favor-repayers more than what the contact and Mr Curse offer, in secret. When the contact is killed and the resources are obtained, get rid of anyone who may be a liability. Return to Fort Breakneck, where another Director will provide you with a dragon escort back to home base. A promotion awaits you if you return with success.

## Character Developments

* First appearances for
	+ Player Characters
		- Raccoon-Mask
		- Balmer
		- Jimmy Buffet (masquerading as twins Jimmy and Buffet)
* Gant & Balmer are taken prisoner and brought to Fort Breakneck, while Raccoon-Mask is able to escape the dragon's claw and flee into the forest.

## Session Summary

Gant met up with Curse's contacts on the outskirts of the Twilight Loch, traveling with them over the course of a week through the swamps and mountains of the Fringe. There was a trust/friendship mechanic involved, for after which each day the party would increase or lower the amount of trust they had in each other by 3-6 points depending on the conversations they had or the events that happened in combat.

Upon reaching their destination, Gant was able to resist the thrall of the Tree of Eternal Solstice and speak to the soul within- a woman named Pythia Flammarion, who had similar psychic powers in life but sacrificed her soul to be used for constructing the Seed of Abbathor.

Seemingly successful in their mission, the party prepared to return to Nadir's Zenith to claim their reward- however, Jimmy Buffet revealed his duplicity, summoning purple dragons to claim the party and the seed. Gant and Balmer were taken away to be kept prisoner in Fort Breakneck, but Raccoon-Mask was able to narrowly escape their clutches.