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- NOTE: If you’re just looking for Saturday’s plan, scroll down to page 5 (or use ctrl+f and search “THE PLAN”).
- Date: 13 Knewidi 715AR. Starring Angel, Charon, Fidelis, Seth, Storm, and Thomas.
- Seth rolls a 6 and gets his power back! Huge.
- Angel begins the downtime. Before gathering the party, they get some incense from Margaux and go to the temple. They go to the back where the high gods are, and kneel at the Twelfth’s altar, lighting the incense. They begin their prayer.
- “Hello, Twelfth. I hope I'm doing this right… I haven't prayed in a long time. I know it's a long shot reaching out to you, but Sin told me that you and he were the only ones who didn't take part in sealing me away. I don't know your reasons for it, but… I can only hope that means you might be listening now. My time in this body is running out, and though we're trying to find a solution, I'll probably be sent back to the Impure. I think I'll lose myself again. I won't ask you to save me – but please, I ask that you protect the Brigade from whatever happens after my deal ends. They're my friends, my family… and it's my fault they're away from their own friends and family. That so many of them won't ever see their friends and family again. I'm tired of people being hurt because of me. Because of my choices. If something bad happens to me, I can accept that. I know I deserve it. But these are good people, and they don't deserve to be punished on my behalf. Please, if you can… protect the Brigade. Protect them from me. That's all I ask.”
- As an offering, they leave their power stone. They receive 2 hero points, and leave to gather the other PCs. They tell everyone that Bob is ending their deal on the 16th – they ask for help finding a solution, because the ideas they have are too dangerous, and will either endanger the Brigade, or make Bob very angry at specific people.
- Charon says she wanted to talk to Magion about her ability to (intentionally) rewrite reality, and the party leaves to go harass him. He correctly assumes this isn’t a social visit. When Charon asks if it would be able to rewrite the deal, he asks, “Using the powers of Niorax?”
- “You don’t seem nearly skilled enough to rewrite on your own, nor are you from a bloodline, tradition, or order allowing such powers. Logically, I would say Niorax, or the small part of them in you, is the reason behind it.”
- Magion agrees to look through Charon’s book, but says the rewriting of the deal, or potentially Angel themself, would be incredibly dangerous. It’s a potential last resort, but as they’ve previously discussed, Charon has never intentionally rewritten reality before.
- Magion suggests we place the body and soul in an area it cannot escape and Bob cannot find – maybe hide Angel in the Sanctum and temporarily close it. Angel asks if it would be possible to separate the soul and the body, and bind the soul to some sort of vessel, so that Bloom could have his body back. He says it could cause problems if their soul is more powerful than intended and breaks free, but it could potentially be done. He advises us to consult Corania on the building of the vessel, and Lady Lavatera, who may have capabilities regarding souls. Charon might also be able to ease a soul into a vessel of some kind. He tells the group to investigate and tell him what they find. They leave, after Angel and Charon drop off Charon’s book with him.
- The party discusses their next move, and brings up that Anahi is the closest link to Bob – and that no one knows what she’s been up to since arriving. After a bit of back and forth, Anahi appears, dropping her invisibility. We realize she’s probably been following Angel the whole time.
- “All I want is to learn from Angel.”
- Anahi says she’s simply been learning from Angel and making deals with those who ask for them. When asked how many people, she says, “an exceptional amount,” and says that many would not have survived the battle if not for the generosity of her and her patron. Angel asks what they’ve been taking in exchange, and she says that’s confidential – but maybe they could make a deal to find out. Angel says they’re done making deals, and Anahi says they make deals all the time. They’re trying to make them right now.
- “But the people you’re making deals with, their consequences are far less explicit. But maybe you shouldn’t. The pain, the agony, that you’ll suffer, the despair… it will make you whole.”
- “The greatest thing Talisman ever did for me was truly allowing me to experience the truth of this world, that in despair, in that churning blissful destruction, we find sanctity and beauty. And now, for just the small price of your own despair, look at where you are now. Alive, here. For your price, Talisman lived, the Brigade survived, and you? Well, you’re in this body. But let's not argue over semantics. What do you need?”
- We ask if she knows a lot about Angel, and she says yes, Bob was very thorough in her education. We ask if she knows where they’ll be sent, and she says yes, back to their body – when asked where the body is, she says it could be moved, now, but that she’s willing to tell Charon if it could do just one thing for her. It says that if she asks it anything about the Maiden it will quite literally turn and walk away. Anahi says she was just going to ask for Charon to take some food from Lavatera, and give it to the people. When pressed further, she says whoever takes the deal would only need to take a meal’s worth.
- Anahi continues to try to convince Charon to take the deal, but Charon says they’re not really a dealing type. She asks if Charon’s willing to sit with the thought of this choice dooming Angel, and says time is ticking.
- Seth uses an ability to find out if the consequence of taking the deal would be good, bad, or neutral – he calls even correctly, and finds that it’s neutral, having both good and bad consequences. The benefit is knowing exactly where the soul will go and gaining useful information, and the detriment would probably fall on Lavatera. Seth immediately refuses to take the deal.
- Anahi says that maybe if her old friend Fidelis asked for something, she could be much more lenient. Thomas glares at Fidelis, and Anahi asks why he’s being so hypocritical, after making a deal that almost killed the Maiden.
- “Philip and John, flung out across the universe... You could go back and get them. You’re in the good graces, Thomas.”
- “I can handle it, thank you.”
- “You’re trekking through despair and loss on your own? You are very wise, Thomas.”
- Anahi says Fidelis is the one who lit her pyre, and allowed her to be reborn. She thinks that counts for a lot. She says the cost for him would just be going on a mission, just him and her – old friends, just like the old days. Any mission he wants. He says he won’t be dealing with any more devils, and she asks if he’ll deal with a friend. He says no, and that he won’t give anything up; he made a promise to stop cavorting, and he intends to keep it. She says he made a promise to protect his friends, and he says there are other ways. She questions this, but eventually disappears when the group makes it clear they won’t be making a deal with her.
- Fidelis decides to take the group to Corania. He gives the lowdown about Angel’s situation. Corania spots the invisible Anahi and shoos her out, before asking if we knew about this. We say we found out about thirty minutes ago, and that it’s probably safest to assume she knows everything, though we know she was away sometimes to make deals. Corania says she knew that Anahi would need to be dealt with, but it seems like we’re shorter on time than she originally anticipated.
- Corania asks Fidelis what he deserves, and he says nothing good. She says to guess – if she was going to do him harm, she would have done it already. If she was going to berate him, she would have done that, too. He says he deserves the same he’s bestowed upon Anahi, and she says absolutely not, and asks if he knows why. He asks if it’s because it would aid the devils.
- “Because it’s wrong. Because I would not take such an action against any. It is inhumane. Much less, it was a transgression made against another member of your community, your church, and if reports are to be believed, your friend.”
- Corania says he still doesn’t have a firm grasp of her teachings, likely due to his lack of training. However, if Anahi is meant to be retrieved and restored, he must be significantly more than he is. Her restoration is his task – it has never been done before for a devil, but just like every building can be unmade, she has no doubt this can be done too with Anahi. Until Fidelis does such a thing, he will be excommunicated from the church. He will hold no station, cannot attend sermon nor ceremony, and cannot preach her word nor act in her name. However, due to the good he has done, she will still train him.
- She says she will need to be keeping an eye on him, and produces a platinum wristwatch from a drawer, presenting it to him as a gift. She says it will both give time and monitor his actions. On the side, near the dial, is a counter. It’s a point system – actions in line with the church will gain points, violations against their principles will lose them.
- “The farther you rise, the more you will learn. I am particularly interested in allowing you to flourish. I will teach you runes, I will give you sermons, I will build you. By the time I am finished, you will become my greatest cleric. Or you will fall.”
- Fidelis accepts, and she says that when there is time, she will teach him the rune for gold – the first thing they must do is get him to respect the value of things. Once he knows the value of gold, he can learn the value of other things.
- She goes back to the issue at hand, and says she can perhaps make a vessel for a soul, but she would argue that the vessel should be for Anahi’s soul – if she is truly roving about and has access to the entirety of our base, she’ll be able to easily lead Bob to Angel no matter what we do. Keeping their body in the Sanctum might work at a cursory glance, but if this is to work, Anahi cannot be allowed to stroll in and rip them out.
- Fidelis asks about going on the mission with Anahi, and his counter goes down to -1. Corania says that making the deal would be dangerous. Terrible things may happen, and she wouldn’t want devils to descend on Fidelis if he violated the deal.
- “However, she is open and willing to make a deal. That might allow you to draw her into an area where she might be properly contained, at least long enough for all of you to dispatch her and throw her soul in a containment vessel. Did she seem particularly interested in you, Fidelis?”
- THE PLAN: Fidelis will tell Anahi he changed his mind about making a deal, and invite her on a walk to the dry creekbed (that Angel, Bee, and Zey visited before) at noon sharp on the 15th. The rest of the party will stealthily follow behind them. Corania will create a hopefully high-quality containment vessel and bury it below the creekbed before the meeting, in the place where Angel’s wombat burrowed. We’ll weaken Anahi with an io cannon shot and beat the shit out of her. The vessel needs to be activated as she’s losing her form, so it needs to be dug up sometime before she loses the fight. From there, the party will need to stick Angel in the Sanctum and weather out the storm the devils will likely bring. Things may kick into action with the devils the moment Anahi disappears, but we’ll definitely have a devil knocking at our door the moment the 16th is upon us.
- Those of significant power cannot be around, or else Anahi may hide, or call for help. This means Corania and Magion cannot be there. Lavatera being positioned in the sky above us to help is a possibility, but Corania suggests streamlining this by having as few moving parts as possible.
- Corania writes a few things down in her notebook, and gives pieces of paper to Storm, Thomas, Seth, and Charon, telling them to give the note to anyone they would like to join in the operation – they will have to be silent and careful, but all of them should have the least attention from Anahi. Otherwise, not a word of this to anybody until the day comes.
- Thomas asks if using his Torvian would be inadvisable. She says the amount of energy he had it output when he did what he did would be inadvisable in most circumstances, but for smaller matters, it would likely be fine detection-wise within the Mistheart and the wards of the Sanctum.
- Charon goes back to Magion, waking him up to ask about its book. He says the book is filled with different rituals and incantations, many different codes. A hodgepodge of different things with perhaps underlying messages inside them. Intermixed with these secrets might be an even greater one – perhaps a way to reform Niorax. Charon says that when Varuz had her book, he said she was putting something out on everybody.
- “Yes. The message. There is energy being expelled from your book now. It would do us no service in trying to worry about it, as it’s already been done, but your book has the capability of breaking things down at an aetheric level. Niorax, Baron of Destruction, likely got his name from his ability to do just that – destroy. And you being a Nyx, capable of wielding magics as well as also being particularly attuned to this particular energy, it’s the reformation, and, well, I believe, Charon, that given the correct signal or sequence, you may be able to turn to dust any who have ever interacted with you and reform them in your own image. I would likely say this has happened before.”
- Charon says it doesn’t remember this happening, but was told that some of the Brigade, including itself, came across a second Charon that was convinced it was Charon. Magion guesses that that was a trial run, and assumes the ability has been used in very recent days. Charon says it probably wasn’t good the big man had her body for so long, unless it was just her that did that, and Magion says that he would hope Balek or the Maiden or any of the others would have noticed if Charon was close to them and copied itself more than a few dozen times.
- Charon asks where Balek/Zetian got her book, and Magion says it was an operation they were undertaking about a year ago – during a battle, they ran across the Banker of Bones, and many other Titanic forces. In the aftermath of the battle they found her book. His assumption is that if things went poorly, Charon was going to be used. Charon asks if Magion knows anything about her from before, and Magion says there were stories provided to them by Raymond Shivo that he believes may be in reference to it, dating back a few hundred years. The reports provided by the Library were likely not processed by Raymond himself, but they knew the grimoire was of import, just not stories about the summoner of Death. He says one might be mistaken due to her scythe, but… hm.
- “The stories regard an entity that, when summoned, has the capacity to bring ruin onto others, and those with the book who can properly understand it can utilize the spirit within. I believe that I have found one of the codes within, and with this particular device, one would be able to summon and direct the spirit Niorax at a target. But of course, if the incantation or ritual is flawed and you do not dismiss the spirit, my assumption is Niorax kills the summoner.”
- Charon agrees to leave the book with Magion to be explored further, and asks about its scythe – specifically, if using it is going to be a problem. Magion says that’s harder to say, but his intuition is that the scythe is a replication of a great Titan.
- “I just can’t get away from it, can I?”
- It’s not necessarily a terrible thing. The original scythe now belongs to the high god Death. It is a tool, one that you must use with care and caution, restraint yet without fear. It is a weapon we must use against our enemies, and judging by its look, a powerful one.”
- Magion asks if Charon has fully awakened the power within it yet, and Charon says no, she was nervous to use it the first time. Magion leans down, and explains what the scythe does at full power.
- Here, we fade out and go somewhere else, across a more craggy and broken-down landscape. Watching a village from a hilltop is a little imp – Scuttletongue. He declares he will find the Brigade, and rise to be king. He’s grinning down at the village, perhaps having found something of interest to him. What he doesn’t see is the large hand that sneaks up behind him and grabs him by the throat. Helmuth Von Grayz lifts up the little devil, whose eyes are beginning to bulge out of his head.
- The devil attempts to wriggle out of his grasp, and says he won’t work with him. Helmuth squeezes tighter.
- “I am done with devils. I make war on you now. Open portal.”
- Scuttletongue pulls a claw across reality, opening a portal. Helmuth smiles and walks into Hell, and it’s here where we end the session.
- Everyone gains 3 hero points.
