Session 56 - Paldae or High Water

This is the 56th session of the game Ashes.

## Summary

The party continued towards the city of Paldae on the trail of Eva Druifuss and whatever remained of Emeran's father. During the several days on the boat the party had some conversations.

Emeran spoke about his past, his experiences with Van, and his father and how he always tried to stay positive. Emeran did not stay positive, and spoke about he was forced to torture his father. When the slave camp that they were in was breaking up, Van broke himself and Emeran free and Emeran ran without helping Van.

Elias spoke with the Stonespeaker via Commune and learned a few things. For one thing, Eva Druifuss was in some ways connected with the Beast of Calamity that Elias and Autumn witnessed at the Ruins of the Allmother. The Stonespeaker had originally advised the party visit the city of Kaen Caelore before proceeding to the island, and so when asked it was advised that they could go, but it made no difference. He also learned that the planting of the trees was important in what comes next.

Acaelus and Elias sent to the following people warning them about their venture to Paldae: Nikita (Acaelus), Amelia (Elias) who turns out to be Elias's wife from the past that he reglected to mention until now, Virdiana Craysin (Acaelus) he informed her about what the Lodge truely was.

Elias srcy'ed on Hugo, Emeran's father, discovering him as a head attached to barely breathing flesh, following alongside Eva as they walk through the desert. They see a dark tower and an all encompassing red light. Acaelus informs Emeran that his father might have been turned into a Flesh Golem and that they may have to fight him.

The next morning, when the party is expected to arrive in Paldae, the party wakes to a massive thunderstorm. The sea is dark, and visibility is low. Elias begins to hear distant screaming grow louder, and the party begins to see angusihed faces form within the clouds. The boat is rattled by screaming lightning and begins to tear apart, despite the party best efforts. Remembering something Othen mentioned the day previous of sacrificing something in order to cross, Emeran throws away his pendant that he crafted for the party, and Elias draws his own blood and offers it. After the rest of the party has sunk and submurged, Elias and Emeran wake up on the beach together. Nobody else in sight.

They have arrived on Paldae and see the blasted black sand, brittle crag hills and mountains, and the omnipresent red light. Elias sent to the Themus who was alive but didn't want to open his eyes. After sending to Themus a strange creature call Sunshine, seemingly draw to the beach by the magic used to cast the spell, arrived and tried to explain what was going on.

Sunshine tried to decived the party by bargining for the souls of the party members who didn't make it to the beach, but Emeran saw through this and shouted, compelling his trapped party members to give up something dear to them to come back. This infuriated Sunshine, who stormed off, as the other party members began to reemerge. Autumn gave up his harmonica to bring himself back, as well as his Mask of the Marked and Drums to bring back Elm and Vivas respecitvely. Acaelus gave up his symbol to the Teacher. Themus gave up his letter he recieved from Odette. The party realized they could only draw back people with who they formed a connection with, and as a result could not save the rest of the crew.

Hoping to discover the city within Paldae, they decided to follow the path Sunshine left behind. The party found Sunshine's body laying beside a Palanquin. The palanquin was being dragged by two strange horse-like creatures, and trailing it were two dozen white big cockroach-like creatures. Some of the party members stayed back while others approached and spoke with the figure within the palanquin.

They met Callixtus the Centepede a powerful sorcerer who like many sorcerers on Paldae were interested in outsiders. The Centepede took some time to explain how the island of Paldae functioned. The powerful magic users live at "The City" Paldae and are in contant proxy wars over the collection of magical items/influence and use outsiders to effectively aid them. When a powerful magic user vouches for a group, usual after a trial mission, they cannot be killed or attacked by other magic users or the other vouched outsiders. Outsiders are very coveted, and the Centepede offer the party a job to become vouched by him.

They discovered that Eva Druifuss is being vouched for by an entity called The Black Toed Priest, and that she is throwing a "party" in the coming days. The bugs following the Centepede were revealed to be his students, and one was transformed back into an Elven man to prove that they were okay with this. They were turned into bugs in order for them to survive in certain places on Paldae.

The Centepede offered them to retrieve for him the Tome of Trial. The Tome was within the Tomb of the Wicker King, which could be found by passing into The Gloom an omnipresent cursed area surrounding the old domain of the wizard of yore Pegason. Pass the House of Tranfiguration, considered the Heart of the Storm of a Thousand Screams. Find their way to the city of Varog, and upon the Blackstone Hills they find a withered tree called the Thorn. Beneath the Thorn is the Tomb. He also warned the party about holding the Crown of Bitter King Kaligar, as he could easily sense it on them.

The party tenetively agreed and followed the Centepede.