The Game of Love

*The Game of Love* is the title of the twelfth episode of the first season of S.H.A.D.O.W. and the twelfth session of the entire game.

This Session was played on August 20th, 2017

## The Game of Love

### Writer

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

## Plot

Phylyco finishes the job, Mordecai goes home, and Aguero make the biggest decision of his life.

## Synopsis

*At some unknown point before the present there is a distant whistling that is immediately overpowered by someone's cries for help. the whistle becomes a song as Phylyco appears dragging a screaming Jamven.*

Psaro has just informed Aguero and Mathite that the last person he spoke to was Phylyco. Mathite, in a rage storms out of the Anaskafon. Aguero asks him to elaborate and the spirit explains the situation...

*The night Phylyco walked in, he and the dragon master discuss the many issues Psaro has caused S.H.A.D.O.W. by being so accepting of new members including Di-Syl, Aguero, and Aragi. When the man brings up Mathite the dragon shows a hint of anger but returns to his calm state, tired of this life. He leans his head back and asks Phylyco to make a promise which he cannot, he then slits the dragons throat and his aura shifts from his body to his staff.*

Psaro asks that Aguero not blame Phylyco for the outcome who responds that he is tired too. he leaves as the old master puts his soul to rest. Aragi and Phylyco arrive back in Perona. before they enter the walls they talk about the playing card they found on the bodies. Phylyco suggests they drop it but Aragi is persistent. Mordecai wakes up in Milea. He searches the town square for a builder and once he does he hires the man and his crew to build a fortress on the coast of the Gladelake. Back in Perona, Phylyco confirms his plans with Gregory while Aragi goes to Lara and shows her the card but she forcibly tells him to NEVER show that to the Saint. Aragi goes back to Phylyco who gives him the proof and the half-elf mentions Lara freaked out when he showed her the card which doesn't surprise Phyl at all. Aragi then brings the proof to Hylophagous who doesn't care because he spots the extra arrows Aragi has. He attempts to sway the conversation elsewhere and slips that someone else beat them to the target. The Saint is not pleased and brings Aragi back to the STG House to grab Phylyco. They go into a side room and Phylyco lets the Saint know Mordecai gave Aragi the arrows and Aragi shows him the card which causes the Saint to go into a frenzy a release a psychic shout, informing everyone in his care he is pissed.

Everyone hears this, Aguero, Mordecai, Di-Syl...everyone. Mort assumes it was Di-Syl's fault and blames him but the Monk ignores him. The Saint calls a full meeting. back in Prin, Aguero climbs a nearby mountain and reaches the first peak. He takes off his blindfold and sings his farewell to S.H.A.D.O.W. as he drops it into the wind. The meeting begins. The Saint offers an intense reward to whoever can kill the man that assassinated Verbin Redthorn. Everyone becomes invested in this task including Mal and even Lara herself. Aragi looks at the list of potential names and the one that sticks out to him the most is Wilnan Soundinghorn. He brings it up to Mal who ignores then asks Di-Syl what he thinks who also ignores him. He gives up and tries to find Phylyco who has left. at The STG House, Phylyco enters a room with a man strapped to a table. it is Jamven. They talk about what led them to this. Phylyco forces Jamven to eat a Kreen larva which slowly eats away at his insides. Before he leaves, he mentions that he'll "Take care" of Rava and Jamven slowly and painfully dies as Phylyco listens on. Aguero is rushing towards the camps as a massive beast of unknown power is heading down the mountain. He makes it to Giantes and Mathite and prepares to fight with what little men they have left. Aguero has a riveting speech and Giantes sends a few scouts to see what is about to kill them. Mordecai leaves the builder to his task and continues his journey. He kills a dretch then leaves a silver coin for the tree people and moves on. Badass.

Phylyco heads back to the circus to speak with Di-Syl. The dwarf shows him his busted hand and the dagger master asks if their deal has a time limit since he has more important shit to do. Di-Syl just wishes for something to do. He leaves and is stopped by Aragi who has a hunch to go after this Wilnan guy and he agrees because why the hell not? Aragi also grabs Boris, who hasn't had a lot of action the past few weeks and they head to Eastmaer. Back in Prin they find out a Mountain Golem was passing by and they are no longer in danger. The next morning Mathite promises Aguero she will kill Phylyco and Saint Hylophagous and he just doesn't want to be apart of it so he requests to train under Giantes in the ways of dragon magic. He denies him but gives him an oathbow as a thank you for helping them defeat the Vomenos tribe. He returns to Mathite to tell her he's returning to the Ruins of Dawnrise to end his curse and she decides to join him. That day Aragi arrives in Eastmaer and goes to the bar where he run into Phylyco and they discuss their plan which should be foolproof. The bartender, Gennyfur, flirts uncomfortably with Aragi and Phylyco moves away. As they leave, They hear a whistle which alerts Aragi. They investigate the sound and Phylyco chases after the man on the rooftops and it is revealed that it is in fact Soundinghorn and he is hunting a student in town. He catches up to him and manages to knock him into a state for Aragi to get him unconscious and they decide to bring him back to the Saint for questioning.

The next day, as the sun rises, Mordecai arrives at the House of Snowfield. He is not recognized at the gates so he sneaks in and reappears directly next to Quivyre Snowfield on her throne as she is in the midst of a meeting. She looks over at him, immediately knows it's him, and goes back to her duties as if he's been there for the past century. Phylyco and Aragi bring Wilnan to the Saint who briefly interrogates him, then gives Phylyco the go ahead, as the man drags the elf over to a bucket, and drowns him. As everyone prepares for the performance that evening, Lara enters Di-Syl's cage and paints his face yet again. As she leaves, Phylyco approaches him and promises he'll get his scroll after the show. The Performance is a success, despite Aragi shooting an arrow through Di-Syl's good hand. As Aguero and Mathite are leaving for Dawnrise, they decide to climb the mountain once more to look upon the city before they depart. However they are surrounded by hundreds of men, all different races and the Mountain Golem appears. It leans down towards the two friends and a female tiefling steps off it, intrigued by their presence.

*A brief finale montage begins as Mordecai returns to his quarters and finds all his old gear. Phylyco hands a small notebook to Di-Syl, who in turn whispers something in his ear. Lara, Mal, and the Gnomes are all packing up, ready for the circus to move on. Hylophagous is sitting at his desk, talking to what appears to be nothing. Aragi returns to Aethel (City) and puts a deck of cards on the bar in front of Copperbeard. Credits roll.*

## Cast

### Main

* Aragi Maxul
* Phylyco Brokenwhisper
* Aguero Cryhawk
* Mathite'Vomenos
* Di-Syl
* Mordecai Silvergleam
* Saint Hylophagous

### Supporting

* Lara Youngheart
* Boris the Cat
* Mal Bloodjaw
* Mort Soulspark
* Vida Soulspark
* Psaro'Kokkalo
* Copperbeard
* Gregory
* Jamven Darksbane
* Giantes'Kokkalo
* Wilnan Soundinghorn

### Guest

* Gennyfur
* Quivyre Snowfield
* Ohm
* Saint Opia

## Trivia

* The Season 1 finale of S.H.A.D.O.W.
* Wilnan Soundinghorn is the first target to appear in more than one session.
* Mathite'Vomenos is the only NPC to appear in every session of Season 1.