Beiinors Campaign/Session 19

**Transcription Notes from Paavo’s Recording Library, RecallBox #1.01.0187**

*…I don’t think I can tell you everything about this one.*

**(“Yes, we get it, your two best friends who you thought were dead weren’t. Is that the only hangup here?”)**

*No, but… Listen, I know I’ve been cooperative so far, but juggling the job we had and finding out multiple beliefs I held on to for over a decade, about some of the closest people to me at the time, were a lie? This trip is kind of hard to bring up, ok?*

**(“I’m not a therapist, Pete, I’m an author. Slow down the pace if you want, but I need the details.”)**

*I don’t know why I agreed to do this shit. At least promise to keep the snark to yourself for now.*

**(No answer, the visitor must have simply nodded. About three minutes of silence pass.)**

*Ok then, from the top. We arrived at the Aspar Monastery that evening. The town was a bit busier than when we talked to Faireln since people were coming back to settle in for the night.*

**(“This place is old, right? Some kind of run-down dump, I would assume?”)**

*The exact opposite. Everything was just as I remembered it: the sturdy exterior, littered with stained glass windows and metal framing that must have been magically enhanced to keep from rusting. The heft of the doors, being both a symbol of security and secrecy. The roaring inferno in the middle of the church, leaving us feeling as though we’d stepped into a furnace. The workshops, clanking and clattering 24/5. Constant maintenance on the windows to keep the heat from escaping. The peeling imperfections on the Adrian symbol they constantly touched up. The—*

**(“Ok, I know I said details, but can you take this from a 10 to… I don’t know, a 6, maybe?”)**

*Just doing as you asked, pal. Think of the place as a small community. The workshops are on one side, the church is in the middle, and there are lodgings on the other side. This place is its own separate community, split into two factions: the Church of Adrian, and the Hypox Hunters’ Order.*

**(“Blood hunters? Strange partnership, but alright.”)**

*Long story short, they make good use of the flora and have some strong local remedies. The relationship within the monastery seemed tenuous, but beneficial as far as I remember when I lived there.*

**(“And who runs the place?”)**

*The church was still being run by my mentor, Ekesstron, but everyone just called him X. The Order was run by a woman named Maxine when I was a kid, but I don’t remember seeing her there.*

**(“So, you all crashed the place. I can only imagine how awkward it was when people recognized you.”)**

*No one did at first. It was getting late, so the shifts were changing, and people were packing up to go to sleep. I wanted to see if I could find Moira, but she wasn’t there. Her parents were, though, and so was X. Kithri broke the ice and introduced the group, singling my name out.*

**(“And that’s when shit hit the fan.”)**

*Not necessarily that bad. A lot of gossip, some surprise and disbelief, and I’m sure you can figure out why Moira’s parents hated seeing me there. X seemed to be happy though, but that’s not surprising since he basically raised me. He gave me hell about my project being stalled and invited us all to his office. Moira’s folks were pissed that he was being so friendly, but for some reason the father seemed to be afraid of something when he looked at us. I didn’t think to ask any of them why two pious members of the clergy were toiling away in the workshops, but we would find out soon enough anyway.*

**(“So, you all went into the office— “)**

*Not all.*

**(“…Ozy?”)**

*Ozy.*

**(“What’s his deal this time?”)**

*He went to chat up the gossipers in the church. This was the height of his “torment Paavo” arc he seemed to be on, so I guess he wanted some dirt on what I was like as a kid and what happened the night of the fire. Apparently, they didn’t give him much before I found him, so he gave up and we rejoined the group.*

**(“Ok… so NOW you’re all there. What does he ask you?”)**

*He wants to know why we’re here, obviously. I told him everything I knew about the trafficking ring we were chasing, and how they may be using the monastery as a drop-off point.*

**(“Isn’t that dangerous without knowing you can trust him?”)**

*If I can’t trust the only father figure I’ve ever known, my sense of trust is fucked, so at that point, why wouldn’t I have trusted him?*

**(“I… don’t have an answer for that. Just move on.”)**

*Sure, everyone else has the right to have suspicions, but they were welcome to speak up and stop me from talking. He took some time to take everything in. I guess he had some suspicions about the Order, I don’t ever remember him implicitly trusting them. After that, I asked him to keep us in mind if he had any information, and if he could ask Moira to meet us at the inn once she got back to town. I still had to get her story about that night.*

**(“We keep coming back to that night. It sounds like your past is becoming a distraction for the job.”)**

*And the plot to kill Getheron’s cousin wasn’t?*

**(“Fair point.”)**

*We left after that. Katamira hung back to scope the place out for possible “basement entrances” we could stake out come time for the planned delivery. Maria had some interesting questions about Adrian and whether people could do evil, corrupt things under his banner. Which… it’s technically true that an action regarded as evil can lead to progress if there’s purpose behind it, but I didn’t have a good answer for her. I don’t know if she resented me for my beliefs, but I’m not well-versed in the religious aspects, you know?*

**(“Says the paladin.”)**

*My oath has nothing to do with religious study, it’s a reminder to me to help others even if it’s to my detriment.*

**(“I’ve seen your handiwork with these recording devices, don’t tell me your clumsy ass is making that progress through technology.”)**

*These? These are a prototype, a means to an end. Once the godsforsaken book is written I’m going to redesign them to be sturdier and more practical, because they sure as hell can be more useful than sending stones.*

**(“I don’t believe you, but whatever, just tell me what else happened that night.”)**

*Sure. I got peppered with questions about my past, and what my “project” was that X mentioned. I told them what I could, but I couldn’t remember the events leading up to the fire. I know I SHOULD know what happened, but I just… blanked. All I remembered was something going up in flames, losing track of my friends, assuming the worst, and leaving with the blame.*

**(“Many holes in your memory that would be filled in due time, I assume.”)**

*Not for a while, but eventually, yes. Patience is a virtue and all that. We didn’t have time to dwell on the memory loss though, once we got back to the inn there was some performance going on. Say what you want about Getheron’s cousin as a person, but he does play a mean banjo.*

**(“Don’t lie, you didn’t join in on the fun.”)**

*No, I was busy trying to work out why I couldn’t remember anything. I didn’t notice anything going on with them… or how many drinks I ordered.*

**(“You can’t even get drunk, why did you order anything?”)**

*I wanted to hang around and listen out for anything odd or interesting, but you can probably tell how well that went after paying for 24 of Ox’s famously disgusting special shots.*

**(“Hard to imagine anyone being that out of it, especially not you, Mr. High and Mighty.”)**

*Everyone has their share of bad days. Ozy, in comparison to his efforts in Qendra, had a great day. He really found his true calling once he started embracing his performer side. He got himself in the good graces of Jeremiah and his whole crew—though it cost him a pretty penny and potential poisoning.*

**(“Poisoning? From another one of Hypox’s weird and wild plants? Perish the thought.”)**

*You know, even though I didn’t pay attention to—or respect—Ozy at the time, he really showed his strengths that night. He can be pretty slick with gathering information and putting people at ease… provided he’s not focused on making someone else miserable out of sheer boredom.*

**(“…Right. Ignoring the flip-flopping on Ozy’s character, what did you learn about Jeremiah’s group?”)**

*So, they’re called the Cat’s Meow.*

**(Snickering, followed by laughter.)**

*…Not my cup of tea either, but they had a name and a theme going at least, something we still lacked. They seemed to have a decent dynamic. Of course, there was Jeremiah—and we finally understood why he called himself Jer-Bear—apparently the newbie. There was the married couple, who we only knew as A and Z. The drummer, who went by Wolf, gave off wild vibes all around, literally playing to her own beat. Finally, the captain of the group, Sheepy, looked more like a lion or tiger than their name would suggest. Knowing how long they were in town, and what rooms they were in, would prove to be valuable information for—*

**(“Slow down, Pete. My time’s up for today. Let me take these notes back to the publisher and I’ll set up the next meeting with you in a week or two, ok? We’ll keep going from the next morning then.”)**

*Sure, man. I’ll see you around.*

**(The visitor leaves. Around five minutes of silence pass.)**

*…Thank Adrian he left. I hate thinking about this next part.*