Cleaning Up and Doing Some Pruning

Characters

Harold - Raven – Kalashtar - Samurai/Ninja

Alex - Terentus – Garlean - Barbarian

Holden - Manson – Warlock/Sorcerer

Jocelyn - Ahna - Wizard (Divination)

Session Notes - 2024-10-24

The battle on the ship has ended, Manson completed his word to the Oni Blade and it drank from all three of the runebearers who invaded the ship. The girl is in Amanifus’ cabin awaiting his return and the party is winding down from the adrenaline of battle.

I watch as Manson pulls Morgan’s head out of his bag of holding, held it up for Pluck to see. She gets steely eyed and I hear her say, ”I want Cassia to see this... That way she will know that the monster that Morgan was is dead.“ As much as it might disgust others, I agree with Pluck’s sentiment and the girl herself told Manson that she wanted to see Morgan dead. It will stop a few of the nightmares, not all, but some of them. She will know without any doubt that Manson kept his word to her, to ensure that Morgan will never hurt her again.

We were all sitting and talking on the mess deck when Magnus came in to give us news on the children.

Magnus told us that Cassia was taken to the Majini estate to collect a few items from her dead father, while the others are being brought back to the ship. Manson asks if there will be something for Raydon by the Majini’s and we were told that since he was a member of the Dragoons that they are doing a private ceremony that others may not attend. I could tell we were all a little disappointed, but understood. Manson and I talked about how he got his wish that Raydon would be dead, he told me that it still didn’t feel right. Raydon attempted to change his life at the end when he realized what path he had been on. Manson admitted that Raydon was an alright guy and that he deserved better.

Then Magnus walked over to Terentus, “That was a good show young man. I wouldn’t mind taking you out for a drink once we get over to Dalazon. Gaspar was still in Werewolf state and seems to be having difficulty shifting back, but he’s not a threat to anyone on the ship.

Dividing Up the Prizes

We decided to go down below and salvage whatever we could from the two ships that Amanifus had taken down. We negotiated with the leaders of the Town and we took what we wanted from the ship, any salvageable cannons that Pluck could re-purpose to help us defend our ship or anything else she found from them that she would need as spare parts for ours. They got the rest. 

Then we got to splitting up the stuff that we had found.

• Manson - Instant Fortress, 

• Ahna - Crystalline Spell book, Arcane Grimoire, Barrier Tattoo (Very Rare), Illusionist Bracers

• Raven - Ring of Telekinesis, Horn of Valhalla (Bronze)

• Terentus - Robe of Scintillating Colors, Staff of Healing

• Pluck - Amulet of the Shield Guardian, All Purpose Tool +3

• 2k gp per player

An Invitation

After we get done with all that Magnus has a letter, which he hands to Pluck. It is an invitation from the Nastad family ruling family of Tiberias - Underworld family. It seems we have been given recommendations from someone very important and they would like to set up a meeting for potential job offers. The letter lists the names of most everyone on the ship. It seemed like one of those invitations we couldn’t refuse, but we were still on Crannog and wanted to see if we could find one of the ones that Amanifus had set as a condition of my resurrection to Manson.

Gaspar shows back up and the rest of the kids and nannies are with him. We teased him a little about being back in human form. He takes it with a smile and a growl, we all laughed. He tells us that something really important happened at the Majini estate and Kenzo had to go there immediately. He will tell you more when he returns.

Cassia's Gift

As we are standing on the mess deck talking, we notice Cassia holding her father’s spear and wearing his helmet. She walks over to Manson, gets on her knees with her forehead on the floor and presents the spear to Manson. She says, “Mr. Black. You didn’t leave and you make mom happy. Then you took care of the monster that took me away from her. I might not be your’s from birth, but I want to know what it's like to have a real father and I’m choosing you if you’ll have me.”

Manson chokes up more than a little, “I’ll be there for the rest of your life.”

As Cassie kneels there, she is almost crying, “I don’t want you to leave us like he did!”

Manson kneels down towards her, “I am not going anywhere as long as I have something to say about it.”

Cassie gives him the spear and we quietly tell him this is very significant in Kalanese culture, as an apology for something that a family member did.

Manson tells her "Everything will be okay…the last of the monsters will be dealt with before we know it and we’ll all live happily ever after” and puts the spear in his bag of holding. Cassia lifts herself up and goes to embrace Manson, who quickly embraces her.

I watched the rest of the party as they were finishing, Terentus had a sad smile and a big sigh at the mention of happily ever after and Ahna attempted to hide her feelings, but seemed to know what it was like to not have parents not caring, and I might have seen a tear or two come down her cheek. 

For me it dredged up feelings I had of the Oshiro clan and the treatment I received growing up and how they had made my father commit Seppuku, then cast me out like I was never a part of their family. The memories hurt and I have to admit that more than a few tears ran down my face. It doesn’t mean that I’m weak, it just means that I have feelings and when Manson did the correct thing with Cassia, it was a big deal to all of us.

Pluck was affected by this more than any of us and I could hear her whisper to herself, “He wasn’t there for mine.”

Starting a New House?

Then Manson started talking about creating a new House in Tiberias. And we got off on more than a couple of tangents for a little bit. It would be an honor to become part of a new house, but I’m thinking that the House of Black might not be the best name for it. Though it has to be something that Manson wants as the probable first Head of the House. But before we get too far down that path, first we have a bunch of debts to Amanifus to take care of and a small thing, called saving the world from Guillermo’s plans to create war and havoc throughout to make its people tougher.

Magnus and Gaspar get back on duty to protect the children and we had no doubt that they would lay down their lives for those children. They were well protected and as safe as they would be with those two guarding them. 

Kenzo's Note

Suddenly Cassia remembers something and pulls out an envelope and hands it to Pluck. It was something that Kenzo asked her to give to her mom. 

“I made some observations while you were away and were keeping the children safe. I’m sorry I couldn’t be there, a family tragedy (sigh). At the rate twins are growing from their exposure to Intime Verhalen, from the static I get when touching Hazel I can see her having a Sorcerer’s lineage in 4-5 years and probably will be able to use magic on her own then. Chika is starting to transform to look more like Pluck and has developed a Spark, Rose is incredibly intelligent and is already exhibiting leadership and sword skills. I suggest that you continue her sword training asap. With Cassia there’s a bit of darkness forming in her heart, don’t let it fester too much. I gave Rose and Cassia 400 gp as well and am asking you to take them shopping. I will return when what’s been going on at the household has been dealt with. 

We wondered at his words and what had happened at the Majini estate, but neither Magnus or Gaspar would say anything other than it had been dealt with. Cryptic indeed.

The Myst Woods

Then we get back to reality and retell Amanifus’ clue on the one we need to find on Crannog.

Crannog - in a land veiled with mist, one who has become one with the land, lives a life that is no longer theirs, seek out the man, who lives amongst the trees, be wary of the thorns from which they call patronage.

Donkey and Theren talk about their experiences in the Myst Woods, which is what this place sounds like. However, the Myst Woods are on the other side of Crannog and we will need to find a portal. Theren tells us that probably the closest one would be in Inverness and then it would be a short flight to the woods from there.

We decided to go to a city called Inverness to find a portal to the other side of Crannog. It was going to take at least eight hours. I’ve been training to fly the airship, so I head towards the bridge with Pluck. We are up there piloting the ship and talking about everything that has happened since I came back. A lot to say the least. 

Ahna's Vision

Ahna has a vision

While Pluck and I were flying the ship towards Inverness Ahna comes onto the bridge and tells Pluck she has had a vision

Looks like the woodlands covered in a dense fog, a humanoid figure holding hands and a bunch of viney thorns on the ground coming from underneath the cloak. It stops and slowly turns towards Ahna and says “I see you.” As they do that the vines become creatures as they open mouths scraping screams and continue to point at her. He closes his hands, and she’s back on the ship.

Pluck tells her that might be our guy…sounds like a pretty messed up Druid type. Ahna tells us that he is not a good person… Pluck chuckles, “Best case, one less bad person on the map.” I take over the controls while Pluck talks to the security in front of Inverness. We have Honorabai come up to the bridge and take over and we take Ahna down and call a meeting of everyone. 

Ahna tells the rest about what she saw.

It seems like our guy is in the Myst Woods.

Inverness

A few hours later we arrived in Inverness. The usual security checks and stuff, all routine stuff and then Terentus starts up about how we should be rewarded for taking care of invaders to Crannog and there was a LOT of back and forth between the two of them. Finally, after security finished checking the ship the lead officer tells Terentus that he does keep track of the number of “stoopid comments” from incoming ships and he has added several of Terentus’ to the lists. Also, he has sent a bird out to the city guard house and authorized 2,000 gp a piece for our saving them from having to go and take care of those ships. Then the Guard Captain looked at Pluck and told her she could go. I heard Terentus mutter, “Boring Guards.” Then the Captain told him the best bar is the Devil’s Tongue in response to one of his many questions.

I will say that time with Terentus is never boring and while he may sound like he’s challenging authority at times, he actually knows what he’s up to and usually has us come out on the other side in fine style. He is a great shipmate and someone that I do call friend. Even if I might grimace once in a while when he starts up on some of the authority figures and the way he talks to them. I guess it is a cultural thing where I was raised in Kalana, that it bothers me like it does. 

I did talk to him while we were landing and he told me that Donkey had introduced himself to Terentus a little earlier as Kane. Which confused me as well. He went on to say that evidently Kane was injured in a battle and became the one we know as Donkey. Sometimes when Donkey sleeps, Kane is the one to wake up, works the other way around too. He’s two personalities in one bull. Kane is a very powerful warrior and noble of a Minotaur clan that was wiped out. Terentus told me he didn’t get to talk with him for very long before we had to get ready to land, but that it would be interesting to see how long Kane stuck around.

After landing and getting prepared, we stopped by the Guard Headquarters and received our gold that Terentus had arranged for us. Then we headed for the shops that we were directed towards 

The first shop we all bought various potions to help us with the upcoming battles that we knew were coming. I got an Oil of Sharpness and Potion of Speed. While we were in the shop we met this quite odd Gythyanki who no one seemed to want to be around, and the owner of the shop treated him poorly. Which he just ignored saying my gold will get me into places even when they don’t want me here. He in my opinion was a bit of a pompous arse, but seemed to be a fairly powerful mage, so I didn’t bother him. Though Terentus engaged in some verbal sparring with him before he left in a huff.

I asked about a Ring of Free Action, since my experience during that last battle had shown a weakness in my defenses that I couldn’t overcome by simply training differently. She told me about a Mandrogora Garden shop and thought that the owner there had one and did a bigger business than she did in trading or buying magic items.

At the Mandrogora Shop, Manson and Pluck considered buying Mandrogoran guys and taking them back to the ship. It was after a bunch of salesmanship on the part of the owner that convinced Manson so far. He described to him how you gotta have the complete set. Manson thought the price was steep and paused. I asked about the Ring of Free Action and after a bit of back and forth, it was included in the price of the complete set of Mandrogora’s that Manson was buying to sweeten the pot. It was 22,000 gold, so I gave him 4,000 for the ring.

Doing Some Pruning

After finishing up there, we headed to the Myst Woods to find the person in Ahna’s vision. 

Our first battle was more feeling out what kind of opponents we were up against and figuring out how to defeat them quickly. Manson used one of the gems from his Helm of Brilliance and once we figured out that the Vine Blight was the key, we quickly got rid of him and mopped up the remainder of the Thornes and Blights.

The next one was a lot tougher with four Shambling Mounds, a Vine Blight, and the biggest creature there called, “Rafflesia.” I made it my job to get rid of the Vine Blight with a fireball. Terentus did amazing grappling Rafflesia and a shambling mound, then using his flying boots went up almost out of sight. He dropped them both and when he saw that he hadn’t quite killed the Rafflesia, he turned off the magic of his boots and dropped down on it. That killed it - barely. He got up laughing and shaking off the damage the fall caused him and used the staff of healing to get back up. Crazy shit. Since he came back to the party, he is a complete beast and barbarian who just totally kicks arse.

We headed towards whatever it is that is waiting for us…