Session 19: Having Danger Noodle for Dinner
Bag of Holding
By end of session:500 silver pieces, 250 gold pieces, a mage armor scroll, a summon construct scroll, a sleep scroll, and a restore senses scroll (from the moon painting void hole)
150g (session 18)
captured inferno (session 18)
Color fruit (session 17)
Azlanti book (The title, translated: Never to have loved at all) (session 19)
From Rutana's notes, need to be verified: (Sprit'e's notes in parentheses)
Fairy fire potion x20
Plate mail (from the ghosts? Fancy and expensive)
Magic transmutation book
Magic color apples in a bowl (Wrapped safely in a towel!!!)
5 scrolls
book
key (moon door)
Hydra candelabra
Magnifying glass (comprehend languages)
Ball of fire orb (bird's lamp)
Session Notes
Rejuvenated by Sartorii's masterful piano performance, the party heads downstairs, walks to the other side of the manor, goes upstairs, and gathers beneath the attic trap door.The Sprite mage hands the trap door open. Foldable stairs clatter down, the bottom step landing at Clarence's feet.
Rutana spots movement within the attic. A small humanoid, though it's tough to make out.
Sartorii, still invisible and boasting the best dark vision in the group, climbs the attic stairs.
Sitting up there on a chair is what appears to be a short human woman holding a skull and looking anxiously at the trap door.
With the whole party staring at him expectantly, Clarence raises his shield and shuffles up the stairs.
As he walks in the woman flinches. Some moments pass and Clarence doesn't pounce, and she relaxes slightly.
"Are you...are you those 'nosy adventurers'?"
Clarence nods.
"He told me to give you this, and then I can see my son."
Clarence asks her name.
"Desmona Cartwright. People call me Mona."
Clarence informs her that her husband sent the party to find her and her children.
She's a wreck. She doesn't know how long she's been here, or even where here is, but that it has her children, and if the party takes the skull, she can see them.
Clarence asks about the door.
She looked in there once, but it's just trash. Just stuff.
Clarence calls down that it's safe. Rutana and the Sprite enter the attic.
After some discussion regarding whether the party will take Desmona with them, Desmona stresses that she needs to stay in this room so she can see her children.
Rutana takes the skull.
Desmona lets go and her fingers audibly pop, like she's been in the same position for hours. She starts wringing her hands.
Nothing happens.
She prepares to stand. A bunch of paper lines the chair beneath her. It peels away from the chair and flies under the door. Desmona too forms creases, then dissolves into paper and flies under the door. The papers bore images of her life, like the memories stolen from the people who entered.
The Sprite mage hands the door open.
Within is just a pile of stuff, both occult and mundane in nature.
Sartorii can very clearly see the papers flying to the other end of the room.
Between images of Desmona's formative memories, Sartorii also sees fingers wrapped around the memories, or an eye peeking out from behind one, afraid.
Sartorii steps into the room, and crit succeeds a will save. She feels something strike her but she shrugs it off. She relays that to the party.
While Sartorii explores, the Sprite cautiously plucks a random item from the nearest pile with Mage Hand. He grabs a cloudy chunk of glass that seems to contain a flash of lightning at specific angles when held up to the light.
The Sprite gets bored of waiting and enters, also passing his will save.
He casts Infectious Enthusiasm to encourage the others in, giving them +1 to their will saves also. Everyone makes it in!
At the end of the hall is a door different to all the others, an oak door inlaid with metallic silver inlaid in the shape of a very ostentatious moon.
Rolls for searching piles:
Sprite: 57
Sartorii: 11 (stim toy cube)
Rutana: 91 (bottle of wizards wine, stupidly expensive)
Clarence: 25 (brass orb etched with odd runes)
Clarence rolls religion on his orb. He recognizes writing typical to a prayer strip.
Rutana tries occultisming it. There are some stylized Common letters in there. Rutana societies the orb.
When held up to the light, they notice the words are very delicately engraved in the shape of the continents of Galarion. "To protect my whole world," the worlds say. There is a seam in the center.
There is a keyhole on the door. Sartorii peers in the hole, but it is just black inside.
Clarence, Rutana, and the Sprite head down to the dining room. Sartorii waits inside.
The painting at the head of the room depicts a full moon.
The skulls each depict a phase of the moon.
The party arranges the skulls on the headless skeletons in the order of the phases of the moon.
The skulls start chattering their jaws. The skeletons then lean back in their seats. The candelabra in the center of the room shoots a magic missile at each person in the room, dealing 4 damage each.
The Sprite shooshes everyone out of the room, mage hands the skull into another order, then shuts the door real quick.
The skulls start chattering again, then ease into a harmonious hymn.
The party re-enters the room.
Where the moon last graced the painting, a circular hole, 10 by 10, now gapes.
Within is 500 silver pieces, 250 gold pieces, an incredibly ornate silver key, a healing potion (lesser), a mage armor scroll, a summon construct scroll, a sleep scroll, and a restore senses scroll.
The party grabs the loot and returns to the attic.
While they were gone, Sartorii observed nothing of note happening to the door.
The party calls the acolytes in. Arwel and Susanna walk in just fine, but Alin, Egoron, and Xalvador all appear to move in slow motion. After about a minute it wears off. The party then gets in formation and prepares to enter the door!
Clarence puts the key in the door and unlocks it with an audible kachunk.
After he pockets the key, the door swings open almost weightlessly.
Within the room is a robed figure, leaning over a table and writing in a book.
Sartorii sneaks into the corner, but the robed figure hears the movement. It is aware someone invisible is about.
"I'll be with you in a moment. I've got a promise to fulfill."
He runs his finger down the seam one last time then slams it shut. The book floats over to a bookshelf to the left of his desk and nestles next to two books bearing the initials of Gregor's children.
"So, how can I help you?"
As he speaks, it becomes apparent that there is nothing in the robe, just a black void.
"I was hoping you would realize how lucky it is to be collected, safe forever. I heard of the disaster you averted just in Greenwall. Imagine the great pangs of loss New Stetven would feel when their new shiny heroes disappear without a trace."
The robe sees the party gearing up to fight and takes the initiative.
He raises his arm, and from the sleeve hole, a reptilian appendage emerges to slap the shit out of Clarence. The appendage bounces uselessly off of Clarence's shield with a crit fail. He loses the rest of his actions this turn.
Egoron rushes in and swings at the robe with his greatsword, dealing 12 damage.
The robe tears away, revealing a reptilian creature.
Sartorii draws her bow and takes aim at the weird noodle.
She then strides forward and stabs it with her rapier for another 5 damage.
Susanna then runs in to swing at the creature, missing two hits.
With an arrow through its chest, a viscous, green substance drips from its mouth.
Rutana casts Exploit Vulnerability, now able to deal Lawful damage. She strides around to the other side of the creature, flanking with Susanna. She strikes with her short sword, but misses.
Clarence walks up to the creature, claws at it for minimal damage, then raises his shield.
Arwel approaches, but can't land a hit.
Alin joins the flanking party and manages to land one hit, but on the second hit her axe sails out of her hand and over Sartorii and Arwel's heads.
Xalvador hops up on a table and shoots at the creature, missing each time.
The Sprite casts Infectious Enthusiasm to cheer on the flanking party!
The creature then misty steps over to the Sprite.
It casts Mocking Touch on the Sprite. The Sprite stares. Excuse you, sir, I'm busy cheering here!
Egoron and Sartorii reposition and attack, both missing.
Susanna repositions and smashes the creature, who's now looking a bit shit.
Rutana repositions to flank the creature and strikes with her short sword. Her Lawfully-charged sword flashes across the creatures neck, cleanly severing its head.
It collapses into its constituent pieces, and as it dies, it reaches for its collection. Its hand calcifies into crystal and collapses.
As it dies a wave of motion sickness washes over all present. The party feels as if they are falling.
Solid ground meets their feet within the barn of Cartwright Farm.
Not only is the party present, but so are around 40 people, all sitting around the barn, surrounded by a whole bunch of stuff.
The clay box starts to crack and crumbles to dust seconds later. In the middle of the dust is a book.
Rutana looks at the book. The air around it is cold, and Rutana can't help but feel lonely despite being surrounded by people as she gazes at it. The cover bears Azlanti script. Into the bag it goes.
One man stands up. He wears a silk skirt, and in place of a shirt he wears gold medallions. He is dark-skinned with long, flowing dark hair.
The rest of the gathered crowd comes from all walks of life and a broad smattering of nations. Mostly human, a goblin or two.
To communicate with the fancy man, the party brings out a piece of paper and a pen, holding up the magnifying glass to translate.
"Look through this glass to read. Can you tell us your name?"
The man inspects the glass, inspects the pen, then takes the pen and writes in a script matching the book...
"I am the prince Eitan of the Azlanti Empire. What in the name of Eroden (the god of man) is going on here?"
The current year is 4720.
The Azlanti Empire was shattered by the Earthfall in -5293.
This man is almost 10,000 years old.
Rutana writes:
"I am very sorry but you have been gone a very long time, as in we may need to drag out an entire library worth of history books amount of time."
Eitan reads this over silently.
"How long?"
"At least 10,000 years. Sorry."
Eitan drops the notepad and the magnifying glass and backs against the wall. He speaks very quickly in a language none understand.
The Sprite goes around passing out water and whatever rations he has to the gathered people.
Clarence tries to organize the gathered people who speak Common, making sure no one is panicking.
Rutana tries to calm the prince.
Sartorii finds Mona and her children tucked in a corner, Mona clinging to the boys. Sartorii leaves her there and goes to find Gregor.
Meanwhile, a shockwave of existential crises sweeps across the city of people remembering that Cartwright Farm had a whole family this whole time, and realizing they thought the family didn't exist.
Rutana sends Cortez out to take the news to Astrafel and Naialah.
Xalvador walks up to the party. "We never would have made it out of there without you. Thank you."
"We wouldn't have been able to make it through that without you, either. Thank you."
"You'll be commended for this. We'll talk to the High Judge. Not just for this, but for Greenwall and Fort First, too."
Heroes of Greenwall, Friends of Blackiron, Exorcists of Cartwright Farm.
The party earns 250xp!
Looking outside, only about 12 minutes seem to have passed.
Quest: Gone but Not Forgotten complete!
Loot this session:
Sprite:
Lightning-storm Glass (from the junk room)
Rutana:
bottle of wizards wine, stupidly expensive (from the junk room)
healing potion (lesser) (from the moon painting void hole)
an incredibly ornate silver key (from the moon painting void hole)
Sartorii:
stim toy cube (from the junk room)
Clarence:
brass orb etched with odd runes, prayer to protect the whole world, has a seam (from the junk room)
Into the bag of holding:
500 silver pieces, 250 gold pieces, a mage armor scroll, a summon construct scroll, a sleep scroll, and a restore senses scroll (from the moon painting void hole)
Homework from this session:
Brainstorm one positive encounter and one negative encounter to add to the encounters table, things you would like to see or that would advance your character's story.