Session 8.5

## Brig

At first he refused to sleep, wanting to stay guard against the wolves, but Equuleus nudges him to sleep and Davish advises him as well.

Before he sleeps, Brig decides to shoot an eldritch blast into the woods towards the sound of the howling. It splinters a tree with a crack that causes Davish to scowl and scold him, saying he’ll alert the wolves.

Brig looks to the others, Equuleus is fast asleep to his right, Reffins has entered a trance to his left.

Having battled for so long, your eyes get heavy. You lay your bedroll down as you lie down to rest. You blink a few times as they seem to open slower each time. Your eyes close for a moment and you open them again to see your Genassi homeland. The tall sleek structures elegantly tower over the populace. The majestic view of Genassi technology your people are so proud of.

You feel happy, something you didn’t think you’d feel about your hometown.

A few Genassi kids run past you giggling as they chase each other, and a woman accidentally bumps your shoulder from behind as she’s passing you, turns, apologizes, gives you a shy smile and continues on her way.

Allow brig to act

He crosses a translucent bridge with peace colored railings to get to town, walking alongside and passing other Genassi on the way to what he recognizes as the town square with an elegant fountain. In the center of the fountain is an elegant structural art piece of a genassi with water pouring out of a spout on its hand.

Brig makes his way down a street heading away from the town square and towards a less busy business district. Passing by toy and tinkering shops, He reaches the end of the street and find an intersection. Across the intersection on each corner are tall skyscraping buildings.

Brig decides to enter one and sees a lady receptionist to which she greets with calling her “smelly” prompting a disgusted response as she goes to kick him out.

Before she can, Greg departs and heads across to the other tower. He enters a lobby with many people sitting in a waiting room drinking and eating. He heads to the reception area where there’s three Genassi. Approaching he remembers his lesson from the previous building and calls this male Genassi good smelling.

A rather flamboyant mail Genassi response and begins lately flirting with Brig. Asking what he needs, Brig says he’s waiting for a client, when prompted, he convinces the receptionist it’s a real person and that they’d meet in the lobby. The receptionist allows brig to find a spot and enjoy drinks and condiments while his client arrives.

As he begins to enjoy some drinks, he hears some screams and sees green comments flying from the sky and crashing into Genassi buildings. One hits the building he is in causing rubble and dust and debris to fall down, with one piece of rubble crashing close enough to ricochet stones through the glass window that Brig is looking through that he casually manages to avoid and continues to drink.

Deciding to test the structural integrity of this building, he knocks in the wall and can’t discern anything, but pretends to inquisitively nod before going outside.

Surveying the surroundings, he sees people running around everywhere, the bustling city is now in chaos, people running and holding each other crying and screaming, people injured and caked in blood and dust. He scans over to see the receptionist from the tower across the street trapped under debris.

He sees her lower half is trapped under a pile of stone, as she’s reaching out and pleading to anybody passing by to help her. The security guards rush out from behind her and take a look at her in passing but continue to run. She manages to grab the pet legs of a passerby her and begs for help, but they pull away from her and continue as well.

Brig walks over and she spots him, asking for help. He tells her he’s looking for a particular response, to which she replied yes I am smelly please help. Brig goes “correct answer” and finally begins to help as a comet crashes into the building above him, to which Brig side steps and is pelted with pebbles and showered in dust.

Waving the dust away, he goes again to help the receptionist but sees she’s completely covered in debris now. As he reaches down to help, he hears a familiar cry for help down the street towards the market and town square, so he decides to yell into the rubble to see if she’s okay, to which he garners no response.

Leaving and finding the girl on the bridge trapped inside a storefront shop, he goes to rescue her by thunderclapping the rubble away, and manages to litter stone and glass into her, the light wind from that spell also causes a small gust which cause the flames at the back of the shop to ignite stronger and set part of her dress aflame. She rushes the storefront window again shocked that he managed to make the situation worse, to which he says he’ll begin levitating the rubble out of the way.

It’s at this moment he sees a fiery comet heading straight for them, and as she reaches out to hold Brig, he braces for an impact that doesn’t come. He looks and realizes his body passes through the debris.

As he touches the fiery green comet, it pushes back against him though. Looking around he sees more and more rock fall, closing the path around him. It creates a barricaded wall towards the business district and more crash into the shops.

Being forced to the town square, he looks and scans the surrounding chaos.

Eventually brig will hear a scream, suddenly there are explosions and fire. As green fiery comet crashes into a building above you, sending that beautiful architecture crumbling to the ground around him.Dust debris and glass come crashing down.

Dex check, pass = he moves and it smashes some civilians next to him

As he passes through the city have civilians reach out bloody hands and have face caked in fresh blood ask for help, and more dex checks

Have him fail 3rd or 4th

The rubble/green fiery comet comes crashing down onto you, you brace for an impact that never comes. You open your eyes and see the rubble that was meant to crush you passed through you.

⁃ He should be in the town square here.

If he touches it, his hand is incorporeal.

You look around, death, destruction, despair.

“Beautiful isn’t it?”

You hear a voice come from behind you.

show full body Dagoth

You turn and see your patron, Dagoth tower over you, looking onwards at your hometown. A crown of fire billow from his head. Ash colored exoskeleton cover most of his body. He stands with his hands resting on his hips, as he grins a hideous smile and bears long jagged teeth.

“And in the wake of all this destruction we will have the perfect world long sought for. A clean slate, borne like a darkened phoenix, clear of any impurity.”

“Tis but a vision of what’s to be, as you grow and hone my power we will make this an eventuality.”

“Not convinced? I saw what you did within that cursed house. Did bringing redemption by fire not feel right? Did slaying the monsters who cannibalized all those innocents not feel right?”

“DON’T LIE TO ME!”

He turns and faces you, the billowing fires now erupting with intensity.

“This here is not a mere parlor trick and me a penniless magician! I have lived for millennia, I know your kind, I know your ways.”

After a while have Daggoth imbue him with whatever subclass stuff

“A little gift, more motivation to do my bidding. Maybe you’ll be more convinced should this act as a motivator to you. And now our time comes short. I will visit again shortly.”

A small flame appears in the air and as it twirls a small imo unwinds itself and lands onto his shoulder.

He smiles and twists his hand into a fist, and the the world begins to condense and coalesce at his fist until the fiery vision of your home world is replaced with the dark and dreary woods outside the burning Durst Manor.

He notices everyone is in the same position as when he left, but notices the imp is still resting on his shoulder.

## Equuleus

As you try to sleep you feel the heaviness of slumber, but something is different. You feel the weight of your body leave you as you stand. But you notice you aren’t standing, you look down and you see yourself asleep on the floor.

\*\*allow jax to move and do what she wants, the walls of Barovia won’t let her get too far out of the realm. Her companions can’t hear her. After awhile move on.

She moves up to the top of the tree tops, then up to the clouds above, they push against her, and she decides to see if she can push through somewhere.

As she travels along the top, she feels a tug from behind her, she’s tethered to her body.

She investigates the length of it and anywhere she goes she’s maxed out the length of cord away from her body.

As you return close to your body, you look down to see your physical form resting peacefully.

Perception check.

Your eyes are moving behind their eyelids. You hear a chirping of birds and sound of rushing waterfalls behind you.

What do you do?

You turn and look to see Ado Vandor, your home monastery once again. This time you are in the lotus sanctum, it’s a sacred training ground further up in the temple near the walls and waterfalls, a place you know to be where the more elite students are allowed to hone their unique skills once they’ve mastered the basics.

You turn back around and see you are no longer in Barovia, the burning Durst Manor is gone, the bleak dreariness of the dark woods feel like a figment of your imagination. You see your body is still asleep, but on a small patch of flowers.

“It’s okay, you are safe.” You hear from behind you.

Kane sits before you with his legs folded and eyes closed in a clear patch in front of a pool of water and a waterfall behind emptying into it.

What do you do?

If spoken to he says shhh and says come closer.

As you approach, he remains still, you see a slow gentle breath enter and leave his body.

“Welcome home.”

/where am I, what is happening?

“You are in the Ether. You can think of this as the soul homeworld. It is a place where your spirit or soul wanders freely, detached from time and your physical earthly body. This surrounding I chose for myself as it is most comfortable to me, and easiest for you too I’m sure, especially being the first time here in Ether.”

“I brought you here because I sensed a change in your ki. It felt stronger, more mature. I thought your spirit might be ready and able to finally commune with me properly, and it would seem I was right. I want to teach you to harness your ki, just because I’m gone physically doesn’t mean I’m not still with you spiritually. Your lessons are far from over.”

“As we grow in our life, we must seek our own path. Unfortunately it is not a path I can choose for you, though I can help guide you on your journey on whatever path you take. But it is your path and yours alone.”

“Come.”

He stands and turns, and begins to walk towards the pool of water. He begins to make a martial stance. You see his muscles tense and his eyes widen, as he punches the air towards the waterfall with a deep grunt

“HHMMMM!”

The air ripples as a shockwave is sent forth, parting the waterfall that was pouring down, the waterfall is seemingly still from the impact and water droplets suspended in the air. You notice a cave behind where the water once was falling and you see him rush forth in one quick jump and land on the rocks in front of the cave before the water begins to fall again.

What do you do?

She tries a couple of times to imitate the same body motion , And the second time she manages to perfectly copy it but can’t seem to draw out the same kind of power he did.

You make your way towards your master, stepping into the water, and as you enter the pool, the water quickly submerges your legs as you’re soon waist deep. Your movement is slowed as you approach the waterfall. Soon you are neck deep in water as you loon up towards the waterfall, It’s thundering momentum creating a wall of cascading water.

You dive under, swimming against the current, roll athletics check of 12

If pass, you struggle against the raging current, it’s stronger than you anticipated. Pushing with all your might, you manage to pass into a spot where the torrent of water isn’t so resistant, and manage to pass through. As you clear the wall you breach the surface of water and gasp with a deep inhale <inhale sound>

“Good, now make your way to me, I have something to show you.”

Nudge that it’s Jax’s turn to make an action

As you swim towards Kane, you see he’s standing next to the entrance to a cave you’ve never seen before.

Perception check, have her fail

Its unusually dark, where usually your dark vision allows you to see in dim and dark light, your vision doesn’t penetrate this cave area. You’re distracted by the sight of this unknown cave you’ve never thought would be in the temple and you don’t notice a sharp jagged rock as you’re walking forward as it cuts into your shoulder, it starts to bleed.

Kane speaks up,

“Careful now, there are tougher things ahead of us than walking.”

“This is the path of the seekers, all the students who need to find themselves or find their path, eventually make their way here. Walk the path, find who you are, and come back when you know yourself.”

He steps aside and ushers you forward.

As you step into the cave, it’s dark, even with your elvish dark vision you can see only what’s illuminated from the outside passing through the waterfall and into the mouth of this cave. Stepping further in, eventually you are lost in the blackness. It’s pitch black all around.

What do you do?

You look back and see nothing

Anywhere she walks will be an endless path until she sits and meditates.

Here you sit finally, and as you close your eyes you feel the pull of energy from around you begin to envelope you.

You feel a pull from something out of the darkness, your attention is drawn to a small light tendril that’s beginning to sprout from the earth. As it grows and lengthens, you notice a few more breach the dirt and follow a similar pattern, then a handful more, and even still more until you are bathed in this soft glowing green light that surrounds you.

As the original tendril continues to grow, it sways towards you and brushes against your shoulder and your recently formed cut reseals itself and you feel this relief of pain. It circles you, forming a cradle like loop around you and stops within reach in front of your face. Other tendrils are doing the same and a few stop within arm reach.

What do you do?

You reach out and touch the tendril, a burst of green blinding light envelopes you, you feel this sensation of warmth as an alien energy begins to coarse through you. As the light slowly subsides, the tendril comes back into view and slowly begins to retreat back into the earth as the darkness returns in place of the soft green glow. You also notice that your other hand was also outstretched, either reflexively or unconsciously, touching a smaller tendril and it begins to decay and shrivel up, losing it’s shimmer, as particles of green glow float off of it and disappear within the dark.

Darkness returns to the cave, though it’s not quite the same darkness, as behind you you can see dim light from the sun penetrate from the cave. It lights up the immediate vicinity and you notice the tendrils have all retreated back into the earth, leaving a small glowing sapling on one side of the cave against the far wall.

What do you do?

You exit the cave, returning to the brightness of the sun. Kane turns to look at you.

“You are different. What did you see?”

“Ahh that is the life force of the land. It deems you a worthy vessel to channel the earth’s life force. This path is full of difficult choices, as this power is control over manipulating life as it is.”

He kneels and puts his hand on a rock with moss on it, his hand shimmers slightly, the same soft green color as the tendrils from within the cave.

“To take life-“

You see the moss begin to blacken and decay under his touch. He removes his hand.

“And to give it.”

He puts it back on and as he does, it rejuvenates, growing wildly under his hand and between his fingers.

“Come now, let’s begin.”

He extends his hand.

You take his hand and you open your eyes to the woods outside the Durst Manor.

## Reffins

You sit down to get comfortable into trance position, Laila curls up at the foot of your bedroll.

You begin to close your eyes and fall into the depths of your mind in your trancestate.

Being so physiologically tested the last couple of days, you’re so mentally exhausted that you start seeing things immediately as you enter this space.

You see cloudy darkness and as your body moves forward you see passing images of distant memories. You see glimpses of your travels after leaving your elf hometown. You see the taverns you performed at to spread your music. You recognize the taverns within Krum’s kingdom.

Eventually The images stop coming and it seems like you’re walking an endless dark path. Out of the distance a small white dots slowly comes into view and as it grows and approaches you, it glows with increasing intensity and begins to obscure your vision.

When the light dies down, you open your eyes to see yourself within the long halls of a castle. There’s knightly armor suits that align the hallway perfectly symmetrically, between them are framed portrait paintings of the royal family and such, and some with crests and swords and shields and such.

A hooded figure lightly hits you on the shoulder.

“Hey sleepy wake up, we need to go.”

It’s Krum, and with a soft smile he turns and heads down the hall with light foot steps. Another hooded figure is following closely behind him, this one is taller and stands very straight as he walks. Every few steps he hunches again and begins to walk with bent knees, stepping with his heels. Try as he might, the clunk clunk of a well polished suit of armor doesn’t do much to hide his steps. After a few more steps he slowly straightens to a tall proud march before he repeats the same hunched postured process.

\*Insight check

You realize that’s Taric, he’s the proud bodyguard to Krum, the crown prince and your love. He seems to be trying to be stealthy, but is habitually returning to his proud tall posture. It’s almost comical how awkward this is to him.

\*\*Allow Logan to act\*\*

—- this is a long hallway with doors within, he can peer in to see servants bedchambers, supply rooms, doors to other hallways that will lead to training areas and such.

Krum will help direct and nudge Reffins.

The plan is to escape - leaving through the food pantry, which is connected to the kitchen past it’s is the dining hall, and past that is the side entrance that’s the least heavily guarded.

Have plenty of stealth checks and guards passing by, to which the group can Persuasion Check

Stealth Check

Intimidate Check

\*

As you walk down the hall - you see a light becoming brighter, a pair of voices approach as you notice two guards reaching the intersection up ahead.

Stealth check/Persuasion check

Roll for Taric and Krum too

Stealth +4 on Krum

Stealth -2 on Taric

First stealth pass as they hide from guards

Second stealth fail

—- fail stealth — Taric can step forward and announce he’s heading to check on the royal family if stealth fails

Taric pulls back his hood and steps forward

“Hail King Rehcnup! How goes the patrol men?”

“Ahh is that you Sir Taric? What are you doing up at this hour? Aren’t you supposed to be guarding the prince?”

“Hmm yes you see, he said he had a stomach ache and wanted me to grab food from the pantry, a small snack should satiate his majesty.”

“Right, just don’t take too much, we won’t hear the end of it from the cooks, even for the prince.”

Krum can convince if stealth fails

Eventually they reach a large pantry area and exit through to an empty kitchen, well polished and well-kept utensils lined the border of this room. In the center are cooking stations. At the far end of the room is another door they had to exit out into a large dining room.

\*\*As they enter this room they will be confronted by Rekcil

You step through the kitchen door and open up into a dining hall. A long elegant table sit in the middle on top of a massive red rug. Properly assorted tablewear sits on top of the table. On the far side of the room is a giant door.

“There.” Krum says, he points at the large door. “Our life awaits my love.”

A voice from behind you breaks the silence of the room.

“The only life leaving this room tonight is mine dear brother.”

You turn to see a young slender man in full royal attire, in front of him are several knights and several more behind him.

Taric speaks up

“That is no way to speak to the crown prince.”

Rekcil “Ahhh the royal butler. You really ought to know your place. Speaking of which, You know, soon I’ll have an opening in my roster for someone of your caliber, your talents shouldn’t go to waste on one who is about to die.”

Taric steps in front of you and Krum

Taric “My loyalty lies with Krum, I protect him from any and all threats, even you my lord Rekcil. Once the king hears of this, your life will be forfeit.”

Rekcil “Ha, they will hear nothing but my account. Let me paint you a picture. That the poor penniless elf musician, out of pity and love is invited to be the royal bard. Then jealous of the royal lifestyle, he charms Krum out with his guilish ways and murders him in cold blood, while I, Rekcil, tried as I might to stop the bandit, as he fled into the night. I will be named crown prince and you will be in quote unquote exile.”

——- If questioned why not just leave them

“I couldn’t leave you to go, the kingdom would not stop searching, and I would remain second in line to the throne for the rest of my years.”

Eventually have them fight, Taric steps forward to intercept,

“I bore of this, guards, kill them.”

Taric unsheathes his great sword and steps forward toward the men. They pause.

“I don’t wish to fight, but any further steps towards my lord I will consider a hostile action against his majesty.”

Rekcil slaps the shoulder of one of the knights next to him.

“Fire.”

A few of the knights look at each other and shakily raise their crossbows as they launch bolts towards you guys. Taric deflects a few but one manages to graze your cheek.

“Run my liege!”

Taric yells as he runs towards the knights.

Krum pulls you and tearily says “we must go!”

You hear from behind you as the pantry door closes the clashing of swords and a few death cries and twangs of arrows and bolts.

Krum and Reffins make a run for it, you sprint with all your might towards the large door at the end of the dining hall. You hear the door open and more twangs as bolts and arrows pass you. You feel a shot of pain as two bolts bite deep into your calf causing you to stumble and land hard on your knee.

“My love!”

You look up as Krum reaches to you and grabs your arm to pull you up as more arrows are flying. You reach out and as you hold on to him you see an arrows bite into his chest, followed by two more, and it’s like slow motion as he looks to you, confused and full of concern as his body gives and he falls back.

You crawl to him,

He lays dying, says a few words to Reffins

“My love. I’m sorry I couldn’t give you the freedom we sought. Promise me, promise me you’ll live a long happy life. I shall be with you forever. I’ll remain in your songs that I love so dear.”

You hear foot steps approaching.

Rekcil comes up, “Touching.”

And fires one more shot, impaling Krum into the porcelain floor.

“Goodbye brother. I always resented you.”

“And you, I originally intended for you to die and hide your body, pretending you fled, but I think having you flee and remain hunted till your dying days is a more fun course, Krum would approve wouldn’t you?”

He kneels down and plays with Krum’s mouth “yes, yes that is more fun brother!”

——

If asked where they are and what they’re doing

“We’re leaving the palace tonight to pursue our life together, away from this cage, remember?”

He grabs your hands in his

“You okay in there?”

A look of concern paints his face, his brows raise and eyes searching inquisitively.

——