#keep being bird for like a day while search parties fail to find you wizard finally notices and is like ah oops my cursed trap hit a Child

[chisatowo]

Yknow, technically I could fit this idea into the sci fantasy au, but I think it'd be funnier if I didn't and just made it it's own thing. It's one thing for your friend to secretly be a weird bird thing when you live in a world where everyone involved more or less knows of the existence of magic in some form, with some of them even being able to directly wield it, but it's another thing for that to happen in a world where magic super isn't a commonly known thing. Idk I just think it could be fun to have a more simple small scale au for once

[kaiju-z]

Seon Adventures Episode 14: Hot News, Cold Blood

Following the news of Gexum’s fall, the party meet back up in the temple of Bellinas, where they come to an agreement to find Samson, back at the Lawyers’ Guild.

The Lawyers’ Guild, where they had first left him be. The party, together, arrive at the  guild, a stone building with a large tower in the back. Though it looks like a temple, the large amounts of windows and the all around back structure of it, leading to several floors above dissuades that notion pretty quickly.

Inside, we meet with a Golliath receptionist and inform her of our intentions, giving details on Samson’s appearance to corroborate our story. Understanding our situation, the shy Golliath points the party to an fireplace-esque spot at the side of the room. 

Following an action by her (I can’t quite remember, I think she used a wand???), the Cultbusters get sent levitating up to the Office of the current head of the guild, the Gnome Wizard Jayne.

Once up, we are first met with a white rat, who gives us a quick look, before sneaking under the door of the office. After approaching and knocking on it, the door opens on it’s own, as though by magic (which, of course it was magic) and we take in the inside of the room.

Sitting behind a large oak desk, too big for it’s current occupant, is Jayne, the Gnome Wizard and her trusty sidekick, the white ratty boy. Entering inside, we introduce ourselves and explain we are in search for Samson... only to learn that by now he has gone on his way, back home to Menum, which somewhat deflates the party’s expectations.

Following Luctan’s request to touch the ball, Jayne questions our allieship and loyalties... Once we make it a point to state that we are friends of Savon, Guild Master of The Forestheart Bretheren, the air around us loses it’s tense nature.

We discuss the mantra of The Death Cult that we had taken out about two weeks prior to this day, which corroborates the event in Gexum:

"When the Western Fields lie sundered, blackened with ash.

When Lake Stren turns red with the blood of your allies

When brother turns against brother in the North

When the Giants of the East flee from demons bigger than they

When the Council lie with their throats slit

That is when I will come for you. And it will be the End."

With the first part of that mantra coming true, it becomes quickly evident that we must do something regarding the lake in the west. And calling the Darksbane Army for aid is an option, raised.

We discuss plans over a few cups of coffee (Mournimar downing a couple like whiskey shots) and Luctan asks Jayne if she can send Savon a message to send some of his people to Gexum. The idea being they heal the fields with their druidic capabilities, seeing as Gexum is a main source of food for the whole continent.

Though assured that Savon had certainly thought of this at the news of Gexum, Jayne does agree to message him, regarding the party’s wish. And through a few choice words, Belli learns the use of Send Message from Jayne (much to Ficus’ distant frustrations).

(We also learn the name of Jayne’s rat buddy.  Jayne’s rat is called Atticus. He’s great. He’s very friendly.)

Following a persuasion from Luctan, he gets to touch the ball a second time. Though she warns him of how the visions will become more personal after further uses, he persists. Jayne unlocks it from it’s hiding place and places it atop a quadpod. Reaching his hand out, Luctan gets the visions...

Luctan’s thrusted at lightspeed to the West, he feels the wind past his hair, he’s hovering above a blackened field. He sees a devil, impaling civilians. He watches the attack as it happened. Chaos all around, mothers fleeing with their children, everything burns, magma spewing out of the volcano. He reaches out to help, before he’s ripped away again.

He goes back, in time to see robed figures lining Lake Stren. It’s unnerving as he feels himself amongst them. Amongst the people, he sees a changeling man, the Priest of Fornas, Dak. Blood comes from their mouths and they fall from the lake.

Something rises.

Up in the north, it’s chaotic. He doesn’t have a form here. There’s a battle and he feels tiny. This is a battlefield. He sees what appears to be a man with long blond hair and golden armor and he’s healing people as he goes, while defending. Every time he knocks someone down, it’s with the hilt of the sword.

Further east, beyond the mountains, giants are running from Deemons and Devils and they are twice-three times Luck’s size and terrified. Mothers carrying children, bigger than him.

Then, back to the center in Crystalgate, he sees three twisting, spiral towers and he’s brought down to one, where he sees the same three people, dead, surrounded by no one.

He feels himself injured. His eyes are drawn west of the city. And he is then snapped back in the room. Falling back on his ass.

Helped up, he reiterates the message, elaborating the new information that bothers him greatly. After a long discussion, with many back and forths, where the party struggle to reach a consensus on the level of their involvement, they ultimately agree that at the very least, they need to involve the Darksbane Army in this quest.

As plans are made, we split up, half the party (Belli, Luctan and Mournimar) go to get Ficus and the other half go to Nash, the cleric of Temple Bellinas.

The talk is quick and to the point, with Ficus agreeing to come along, as per a previous conversation that Belli had had with her brother, seeing as he wanted to see the after effects of his family’s transformation.

Reuniting at the temple, we elaborate our reasoning and thank Nash for her hospitality, these past few days. Though she tries to hide it, she fails to cover up that she is relieved she doesn’t have to clean after Rimefang again. which sets off another hilarious discourse on Mourni blaming.

Before they go, Luctan asks Nash to keep an eye out on Dak, seeing as he appeared in his vision as one of the robed figures at Stren. She agrees and points them to the local branch of the DBA, where they could make arrangements to be expected in Crystalgate. “Say hello to Ashlana for me.”

The human and “human” compliment each other, regarding Bellinas’ smiling upon them (And we get the line  “Of course she smiles upon me. I’m her main bitch.”) and we leave, with Nash reminding Amelia that she owes her a drink after this is done with.

The meeting in the branch office is quick, to the point. Ashlana is a red tiefling with beautiful green eyes and a bow. She takes us to Owen, the leader here, and exposit on the happenings. Arrangements are made and we take our leave, ready to be welcomed, once we get to Crystalgate.

The first day of travel almost flies by, with Beli and Ficus coaching the shit out of the position behind the reigns.

We spend a night in the town of Bonis (many jokes are made). Population in Bonis is mostly half-elven. Some changelings, lizard folk??? This is Hickville. Everyone but Luctan taking rooms.

The red tiefling, in human disguise, meditates for what feels like half an hour, before shifting to sleep.

The following day, everyone, but Belli and Luctan can hear a crow. One, who only Burk can hear speak to him in common, using the words “ I will come for you. I will!”

Not taking any of the bird’s shit, Burk pierces it with a javelin, but doesn’t kill it. The wounded predator flies off, cawing. Much to most of the party’s protest t his action. Burk defends himself based on the animal’s words to him and we eventually drop the topic as we carry on.

We stop upon seeing a goose with a hat. He’s walking here. Mournimar tries to cast “Speak With Animals”, but the Goose speaks directly to him, in common, a Jersey accent evident in the tone of voice. He’s walking ‘ere.

The goose shifts into a gnome after Mournimar asks if the goose was polymorphed and needs help. No. He doesn’t need help, because nobody fucks with geese. Jokes get made about goslings. And at one point the we mention bird stabbing, confounding the gnome.  “What kind of a man stabs a bird?!” And we wonder that too (ooc side eyeing Burk)

Later on after the goosident, Burk hears “I’ll come for you, I will.” again, but he cannot see the bird.

As the night comes, we camp close to the road, taking shifts. Burk and Mournimar on first, Luctan on second, Belli on last, so as to prepare breakfast.

At the end of Burk’s shift,  Burk sees a shape in the tree and hears the crow.  No words in his head this time. He feels like he’s being watched. He sees a black shape go northward. And that’s that for his watch.

... when he goes to sleep, though, a dream overtakes him. - He’s running from something. It’s completely dark around him, he’s only wearing a loin cloth in this darkness.  In his dream, something swoops at him and he takes 2 points of psychic damage. Succeeding on a wisdom save, Burk awakes, just in time to see  A dark figure, much bigger than the bird drop from above. A pile of  beaks and claws, deformed, corrupted.

Mournimar joins Burk as a battle begins After critting with his weapon of choice, Mournimar kicks Amelia awake from her pleasant sleep.

A frustrated Amelia punts the bird and it drops on it’s back.

Then, the monster bird shrieks and wakes the rest of them up.

Instantly, Amelia, Mournimar and Luctan become terrified, with Ficus joining in the fear jam to some explicit additions;;; (yeah, he shits himself).

The bird goes for Burk, Amelia misses. Burk takes 6 damage. Then he moves out of the way, the bird missing a second attack. The bird tries to fly upward, but Burk does not let it get in an advantageous position and cleaves one of it’s legs off with his axe.

As it goes 15ft up in the air, he pulls out a second javelin and pierces the beast, dropping it.

Upon impact with the ground, the abomination pops like a baloon, sludge and gore flying everywhere.

We investigate it and Belli remembers something she had learned, during her homeschooling days.

She learned to pay attention on the lesson on animals. That was something she could pay attention to. And she can tell that this was once a Kenku... But based on the distorted features, it was influenced by some kind of interaction by the plane of the Abyss.

A plane of monstrocities that make up the bedtime stories of warning that parents tell their kids to make them behave.  Even followers of Potencia are afraid of that shit. Not even they fuck with it.

After some shenanigans involving cleaning up after “looting” the creature, we learn a bit more.

The abyss was created during a feud between Qo’rin and Potencia.

The party agree to move onward to the next town as a preferred resting spot. Luctan takes the reigns, as it’s his turn to watch out and Ficus joins him, keeping it fairly quiet in the front of the carriage.

The trip to Morum is peaceful, comparatively to their last incursion and once they reach the town, Luctan goes to get some shut eye in the back. Belli has to be dissuaded from shaving his beard off (visible or not).

While Luctan sleeps, the rest agree to carry onward...

Luctan gets woken up by the time they reach something horrifying (It’s ok, he had his long rest, guys!).

On the road ahead of them, Mournimar sees an overturned carriage. One body, two bodies, three bodies if you count the horse. A woman, before them, a man close to the dead horse. There is blood everywhere.

Peeking from the side, Luctan can see the back of a very large person around a right corner from the victims’ carriage...

As Mournimar casts Pass Without A Trace and Belli goes invisible, we sneak ahead. Luctan stops at the woman, Burk and Belli go to the cart, where Belli loots some coin from the dead body. Mournimar and Ficus go for the trees on the right of the road, behind the creatures that quickly can be identified as Ogres.

Checking the woman’s body, Luctan is horrified to learn that she is a young mother, elf, with graying hair, surely of stress. The horror, naturally, comes in the revelation of the bundle she holds onto, a baby boy with brunette hair and purple-ish blue eyes.

A shaky Luctan manages to hold his composure as he takes the child and brings him to their carriage, placing him in the back, making faces to try and ensure some calmness to it.

Then he walks in the forest, drawing his shortswords, East Ender and West Wounder, Redrum in his eyes.

Mournimar and Ficus kick things off with long distance attacks, surprising and wounding the Ogres. Amelia bounces gracefully towards the two, a Blue and Gray one respectively, but her strikes do nothing, having not enough strength to cause any damage. Something she will remember for later on.

A roar is let loose from the green fury known as Burk as he jumps atop the turned over cart. Drawing one axe, Burk charges to battle and swings, striking the blue one.

The impact is harsh nad brutal as Burk cuts his gut open, his guts beginning to spill out..

This is when Luctan strikes. “MURDERERS!” he shouts as he charges the blue one. He swings once, he swings twice, three times after an action surge. FOUR TIMES HE ATTACKS! “YOU ORPHANED A CHILD!” he yells. And as the blue one looks ready to be finished off, Luctan crosses his blades, reverse grip, and decapitates him, blood spurting everywhere.

Decapitation jokes a plenty from Burk, Luctan finishes his action with a crossbow shot to the face of the other Ogre. Grieving, raging for his buddy, he attacks Luctan, who rolls out of the way of the attack.

The second attack goes for Burk, the one, who spilled Blue’s guts to begin with. And thugh he does hit Burk, the barbarian tanks that shit, like it’s nothing. You don’t fuck with the Burk.

With Mournimar marking the remaining ogre for the hunt, he strikes succesffully, embedding his coarse body with the pointy projectiles.

Belli fails a sleep spell, becoming visible. She proceeds to inspire Burk, while Ficus applies his skills as a rogue to stab the big lummacks that now stood over the body of his fallen comrade.

Opportunity presenting itself, Amelia strikes.

Blow after blow, she swings lefts and rights, beating the living hell out of the club wielding fucker, shattering not only his bones, but any chances he will live to see dinner. Amelia physically destroys this fucker.

Taking the last Finish for the day, Amelia strikes a hard fist, punching his brains in.

As things die down, Luctan checks the bodies. Being ogres, as naked as Tarzan, he doesn’t find much on them, beyond their clubs. Which he takes and puts in the back of their carriage.

Then he takes their heads and places them in the back.

They check with the kid as the bloodlust drops from the magenta monster slayer.

A cruel end for cruel beings.

Amelia takes the baby and checks if he’s alright. He’s alive, just passed out from crying, having evidently been spooked from all the noise of combat.

As they consider what to do next, Luctan finds a bracelet on the woman. A  bracelet with a bright blue bead on it. One, which he returns to the baby with, placing it on the little one, before he cleans himself from the giants’ gore.

They agree to bring the baby with them, for as long as they have to nd find a safe space to house him. In the next town, Pollum, they will ask people to send someone to retrieve the remains of the family and the carriage...

Somewhere, along the way, the baby gets passed back to Luctan, who holds the youngin’ close to himself, making sure he’s safe.

Over the next hour, Mournimar and Amelia take notice of a small white fox running in and out of the forest, trying to evidently get their attention.

After a while, Mournimar casts Speak with Animals on it and the fox ask them, in the sweetest voice ever, to follow it, past the trees.

While Ficus and Burk stay to guard the carriage, the rest of the party go along with the little fox, which eventually leads them to a small peaceful grove with a giant white willow tree in the center. Investigations show it’s a normal tree.

There are small red berries under the brushes. The white fox is curled up under the tree. “Safe place!” it says when asked. It talks of a gift. The berries. Basically, the little fox offers them a place to rest for the night, which is fast approaching.

Accepting, Amelia pets the little creature, while Belli calls for the others to come join them with the best boys.

The direwolf, Morgan, is evidently jealous and nuzzles onto Mournimar as the ranger tiefling pats his buddy.

Belli then summons her familiar, Orion, in the form of a orange fat cat.

And Orion bleps.

Upon a nature check, Belli guesses that these berries are known by a specific name “Goodberries”.  Druids and certain Rangers can produce these. And they cure ailments, like paralysis, blindness, and the like.

As they take enough for the road to come, the party take positions around the tree, to rest up.

And Luck sings a little song he knows, for the baby...

“Hush little baby, Luctan’s here with you,

gonna watch and shield you with steel,

gonna protect from many and few…

Sleep now, little baby, you’ll be safe with me,

the wilds won’t scare you any more, do believe, believe.

Rest now, little one, the greatsword at my back.

Rest now, little sweetheart, I will protecc and attacc.”

The party take a long rest and gain 5 temporary hit points. All but Burk are rejuviated by their sleep.

Burk is exhausted.

End of Session.

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