Hello Ahna and Goodbye Olin

 2024-10-03 - Session Notes

Characters

Harold - Viper / Orochi Vipernox / Yuan-Ti / Samurai - Viper

Alex - Jack / Kryodon / Pictomancer

Holden - Manson Black / Human / Warlock-Sorceror

EJ - Olin / Human / Wizard (Illusionist)

Jocelyn - Ahna Desai /Wood Elf / Wizard (Divination)

Ahna Desai by Joselyn

EJ you will be missed at the table. It was a pleasure to get to know you this summer and I wish you many happy adventures this winter and hope that you will rejoin us again next summer. 

I will admit that when Holden’s character asked an NPC, the possibility of bringing back a certain character of mine, it did throw me for a bit of a loop. As a result of thinking way too much about whether I really wanted to bring the character back or not - I probably missed a bunch of stuff that happened. When I made my choice, then I got too focused on what would happen and how to play him, that I know I missed a bunch of other stuff that was going on in the session. So, I will depend on you all to help me with the stuff I missed. Also, I am going to cut back on the dialogues in the recaps, attempting to capture all of the great things we say and then make it repeatable here is a difficult task at best. So unless it is an amazing one that I consider super important, I’m going to get a bit more general about what happened during the session.

Recap

I was outside talking with Raydon who had the gate guard duty with another of the guards, about some of the sparring we had been doing together and things that he had spotted that I needed to improve upon. When we saw what appeared to be a male elf suddenly appear and begin walking up to the house. Raydon sighed and mumbled something and walked towards him. 

The Elf attempted to flatter Raydon and I quickly got the sense this was no ordinary Elf and could be done with the three of us before we could even blink. But thankfully he seemed rather amused by Raydon stopping him and doing his duty. Though I could see that Raydon was shaking and clenched a hold of his spear to not let it be as noticeable that he was already scared of this Elf. He sent the other guard to find Lord Finvarra or Lady Isabella for further instructions, with the Elf’s name - Amanifus. Raydon is my friend, but at the same time would I throw my life away, if this obviously very powerful ArchFey decided to walk past and Raydon’s sense of honor mandated that he attempt to stop him.

As they were talking, I noticed that Pluck was walking down away from the mansion and watched as the one called Amanifus sniffed the air and then looked directly at her. Raydon noticed that as well, but didn’t look around and remained focused on Amanifus. 

I heard Amanifus mutter something like “those two smell of my granddaughter.” Then I watched as Pluck walked stiffly towards him, almost as if she was being compelled to do so. She stopped as she stood in front of the Elf. Amanifus asked their names and she responded “mine is Pluck, her’s is Renella”. He stopped and looked at her for what seemed an eternity, then asked “Are you content like that? Or would you two prefer some space?”

    

Amanifus leaned towards a very confused Pluck and I heard him whisper, “For a price, a body for each of you. One for you and one for her. It'll cost you, but you two would be apart and able to live your lives individually rather than taking turns at the wheel. The children I can sense you've recently birthed will still be your own and of her essence and of your mates as well. Would you be interested?"

I watched as Pluck's eyes widened as she looked at Amanifus and who’s true visage I could now see. “What would it cost?"

Suddenly Raydon cries out, “Hana... Don't.." 

Pluck looked up at Amanifus after he whispered his price for a moment. Then suddenly, I recognized the change of personality and Renella took over asking, "Is this possible to do to our daughter as well?" Amanifus nods "then I-" 

Out of the mansion Nalu came running out to greet Amanifus by yelling "Gigi!" He greets her kindly, asking of her mother. Before he says anything else, Amanifus turns to Pluck, "think on it," before walking between the two to embrace his grandchild.

Amanifus gently pats his granddaughter and turns to Raydon with a condescending smile, "Is that enough permission young knight?" Raydon bows and then I see Lord Finvarra come out to greet Amanifus and they banter, before they walk towards the mansion. I felt more tension between them than friendship, so I don’t know what that means for the household. Hopefully, I thought to myself, that it will be a quiet night. It turned out that it was anything but.

I looked at Raydon and we both smiled that smile you get when you know that death was but a heartbeat away and your’s is still beating. I waved to him as I walked back towards the back of the mansion, I had a feeling that I didn’t want to be noticed by the powers that be, that would soon walk around the lower floors of the mansion.

As Amanifus and the others made their way into the home he looked back to Pluck. "We can discuss this more once I've settled. Lest you have already made up your mind." She nodded and I could tell it was Renella who spoke up, "... I accept your terms. When do we start?" 

Amanifus smiles, "Give me a few hours and I'll come by and have you both back to how things should be. I won't do so in this household. Perhaps your airship will suffice once your mate has returned?" Pluck nods. "Very well. I'll be seeing you soon."

Pluck noticed me standing there and told me not to say anything to Manson or any of the others if I saw them. I simply nodded my head and walked a little faster towards the back of the mansion. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Pluck followed them. Eventually, I found a place to sit and ponder on what I had just witnessed and the deal that Pluck/Renella had just made with an ArchFey named Amanifus, who seemed to be Nalu’s grandfather. Though I got to see his true visage and that scared me more than anything I have seen in my short life. 

I am beginning to wonder how long Raydon will last in this place? I know that I will be glad to leave, there are too many webs being woven that I don’t understand nor will I probably ever understand. 

Though I watched them enter the main door and Lady Isabella greets Amanifus warmly or did she? There seemed a certain “tightness” to her words, even though the words were well spoken.

Manson and Olin Return with Jack

Later Olin would tell me that both he and Manson got a strange feeling in their chests, as the airship approached the Majini estate. One that they both knew something was wrong. I went out to stand beside Raydon who is pale and acting like he’d seen a ghost to greet them. He suddenly blurted out “Manson have you talked to Pluck yet?” Manson just looked at him like he had two heads and told him that they had just left the airship. Raydon tells him to grab a word with her. Manson immediately heads toward the mansion to search for Pluck and the rest of us follow along behind. Raydon gave me that look like “what to fuck do I do now?” I shrugged my shoulders and motioned that we needed to keep up. I was worried about what was happening and how things might go sideways, but also was nosy enough to want to see what happened too.

As we get closer to the mansion I see Manson stop behind someone sitting painting on the side of the walkway. I saw that it was Amanifus. He was painting Pluck as a Nezumi and even though I’d never seen her before the one I thought might be Renella as she was before she was killed. 

Looking pissed, Manson demanded, “Why are you painting my present wife as a Nezumi and my past wife who is dead.”

When Amanifus glares at Manson, I see a monstrous wolf skull that looked too much like Nalu’s fearsome form. He offers to paint Manson as well, when suddenly one I later learn was named Jack - a Kryodon jumps in between them and tells Amanifu he is a painter. Manson’s personal painter.

I can tell that Amanifus knows exactly what Jack is doing and plays along to defuse what could have been a disastrous situation for the party and asks him, “What kind of painting do you do?” They go on to talk a bit and agree to work together on a piece. Amanifus signs the painting of Pluck and Renella with a flourish of Z type signature. Olin quickly recognized the signature of a famous painter, who had a painting in the library at the magic college he attended. He droned on about how it creeped him out. Jack claimed that he hadn't heard of him. But wondered aloud what he used for the ingredients for the paints, when he painted Pluck and Renella’s painting. Amanifus told him 13 gallons of you know what and a little this or that.

Manson asked again, much more reservedly, “Why are you painting my wives?” Amanifus tells him, “Look closely at the painting and don’t let it burn.” Then he handed it to Manson. Manson continued to make several comments and when Amanifus asked his name and when Manson told him he started to walk away. Olin asks, "Why would such a great painter as yourself create a painting of Pluck and Renella?" Looking slightly pleased, Amanifus answers “I wanted an image of what they looked like before our agreement.” Manson turns and demands, “What deal did they make with you?” He responds sarcastically, “That is for them to tell you.” 

I noticed that there are smudges of blood on the edges of the painting, which I found rather revolting.

Manson looked angrily and said something directed at Raydon who got rather angry himself, “I told her not to. You’re… going to be mad at me..? Then Raydon hollers to Ana Desai and tells her that your group is here. She is a Wood Elf, and most likely a wizard of some sort, who introduces herself to the group with pure gold eyes, no shoes, a light colored dress, with brown hair and green streaks running through it. She tells us that Lady Isabella believes that she is a great fit for our adventuring party and that she had “seen” herself joining a group such as ours to thwart a great evil in the world.

Then I watched Amanifus. Yes, I kept a pretty close eye on what he was doing, as he got up and walked a short ways away and stopped as a little girl in a cloak came toward the group. Manson stops everything and just stares at the little girl as she walks toward him. I saw tears streaking down his face as this became one of the most emotional moments that I’ve watched unfurl. As she comes closer, he drops to one knee and holds his arms out and she cries “Daddy”. She lunges into his arms. I look up and see Raydon sadly looking at another little girl running back towards the mansion.

Manson slowly stands picking up the little girl and holding her in his arms and looks at Amanifus and hoarsely whispers. “How?”

He smiles, “I took her appearance and personality from the memories of her mother and what memories were left to her spirit.”

“What did her mother have to promise you?” Manson asks. Amanifus just shakes her head and tells him that is between her and him, and that if Renella choses to tell Manson what the price was, that is up to her, he will get no further information from him, other than “if you are willing to alter a deal to make things better for all of your family’s sake, they can as well.”

Then Amanifus asked us all if we wanted to watch as he split Pluck and Renella into separate beings, then Starflower into a living being from the Oni. I know that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to see something that I would never see again. We see Pluck walking out of the mansion with Starflower and we all go to the airship to witness the miracle.

In the captain’s quarters, we watch Amanifus growing into his true form, a large wolf-like monster. Though I do not feel the prickle of fright that started earlier when I met him for the first time. He begins the ceremony, a dark and unsettling experience for me, then I watch in awe and horror as Pluck and Renella split apart. As Renella begins to form, she begins screaming and Amanifus tells us that she must experience her death again to become alive. He continues talking about what he has done and casts a silence spell on Renella who Manson covered with a blanket. Amanifus tells us that Renella is a carbon copy of who she was the day before she died. The soul is still intact, so she is not an undead. She eventually stopped screaming and seemed to fall into an exhausted sleep.

Pluck seems okay, but tired and confused by Manson’s look and actions towards Renella

Then Amanifus performs the same ceremony on Starflower and as she is screaming behind the Silence spell, I ask him if she will remember all of the things that happened to her the day she died. He looks at her sadly and tells us that she will carry the memories of that day with her for as long as she lives, but that she is alive and has a second chance at life.

Manson seems confused and lost in thought as he holds his daughter. 

Manson then looks at Amanifus and asks him what it would cost to resurrect a friend of his and explains that he was disintegrated, but that he has the ashes of one called Raven? Raydon adds that his spirit is intact as he spent several hours speaking with him to get the story of what happened before Guillermo killed him. Amanifus looked at them with a startled glance and just said that he will have to think on it and rest before he can do so.

He tells Manson that as part of the agreement was that he would take a room of his choice on the airship. That he was leaving to find that room and rest. As Amanifus starts to leave, Manson asks again, What is the debt my family has to you? He simply points at Renella and tells him that she has to tell you.

Olin discussed the invitation he had received from his father and played it for us. "Hey there Olin kiddo, it's your dad Meerkan. Listen, I've got a very special meeting to get to tonight and was sincerely hoping you would make it there. It'll be at the Magistrates Tower in Gardenia this evening. Bring your “guards” just in case haha. Just make sure they don't do anything stupid like last time. But hey there's also a few people very important to your future that'll be there who are VERY eager to meet you. I'd be very disappointed if you chose not to attend so I'll see ya there."

He asks that we attend with him tonight, as his “guards” and made sure that we understand we are to behave ourselves with nothing like last time happening. Since there will be too many high level people from around Tiberias and Dalazon there and he had a feeling that his father was attempting to make a match for his future marriage. One that he didn’t want anything to do with.

Pluck takes Starflower from the room and she seems lost in thought as well when she shuts the door behind her. Raydon starts to follow, but I put out a hand on his arm and shake my head. He deflates a little and then nods his head as Manson starts to glare at him. He goes over to a porthole and looks out.

Renella stands up with the blanket wrapped around her and tells Manson that they’ll talk later and for him not to be mad at Pluck, it was her that made the deal with Amanifus. At that point I left to go to my room and found all of my stuff outside the door. When I knocked, Amanifus looked out at me and told me he had decided that this room was the one he wanted and closed the door. I simply nodded and picked the empty room across the hallway. I put my stuff inside, I figured that I wouldn’t argue with an ArchFey, if he wanted my old room, this other one would do just fine. There was a lot still going on around the ship, so I thought I’d wander around and keep up on the happenings instead of hiding out in my new room.

I saw Kenzo talking with Jack about the deal that they had made and that Jack wanted essences of both Lord Finvarra and Lady Isabella to be the basis for paint that he needed to mix together. I’m not so sure that is a great idea or one that either of them would want Kenzo to give to Jack. They went back and forth on that for a while. It seems that Kenzo is a bit on the outs with his family still and feels more comfortable on the airship for now.

Then I headed for the bridge for some fresh air and stopped when I heard Pluck talking to the new party member, the one called Anai. I stopped to listen in. They were talking about how Pluck was feeling now that Renella was back and was worried what would happen between Manson and her. He had been married to Renella for over six years and that they had only been together for a short time, even though they had twins together. It was evident that Pluck loved Manson and wanted to be with him, but was worried about how she was now back in her original form and how Manson would react to her being a Nezumi. How she had accepted the human form to please him. They talked for a while and Pluck asked Ana to do a divination for her.

Ana was reluctant to try, but pulled out her Harrow Cards and began to do a three card spread and gave Pluck a reading of the cards she drew. It was patently vague and about what I expect from most magic users who attempt to “see” the future. I really didn’t listen to what she said and decided I’d wander to get some fresh air someplace else.

Olin’s Conundrum

As we left for the “meeting, Olin reminded us that we needed to behave and looked directly at Manson and warned him not to drink while we were there. I heard a few chuckles from Pluck at that. Then I watched Jack assume the form of a guard and Olin just looked at me and sighed. Then he saw that Ana didn’t have any shoes on and asked if she could find some. She glared at him for a moment, but produced a pair and put them on.

When we arrive Meerkan is waiting for Olin outside. He told Olin that he was glad he made it and that he expected the “guards to be appropriate.” He went on to say that several important Archmages are inside. Along with Guillermo and his employer as well. She is higher on the totem pole than I am, so I am warning you and your friends to be on your best behavior. Also Victoria and her daughter are here, she also does hallucinations, err illusions like you do. 

Olin tells his father that he isn’t quite ready to get married yet and that doesn’t really seem to deter Meerkan from telling him how beneficial this union could be to their family and to improving the relations between Tiberias and Dalazon. That he can’t insult Victoria or her daughter tonight and needs to at least pretend to be interested. I hear Meerkan tell Olin if someone makes him any offers or deals to defer them to him.

Then he points to where we see an elven woman who Meerkan identifies as Victoria and her daughter Emilia. Who really looks about as thrilled as Olin to be here. She is obviously a half elf who is dressed informally (at a formal function) in sweater dress, with pants and boots on underneath. The pants are soiled and the boots worn. Her mother is talking to her and the look on the girl’s face says it all.

Meeting Emilia

Victoria brings her daughter over and Meerkan introduces the two of them to Olin. From the background I watch as Jack positions himself so that only Emilia can see him and quickly shows his real face. She smirks a little at that and I grin making eye contact with her. She just shakes her head as she smiles politely while Meerkan drones on to her about Olin’s background.

Finally Olin’s father stops yakking and walks off with Victoria. Olin looks at Emilia and tells her he is part of an adventuring group and not interested in getting married right now. That he doesn’t really know her at all and that any arrangement that would happen would simply be about politics not for love. She nodded and told him pretty much the same thing. The two of them agreed that it came down to they might not have a lot of choice in the matter and that it would be more what are we going to do and what we can do.

Emilia asks if anyone would be interested in some wine that she made. Manson and Ana both said yes and she pulled a small flask out and told them to only sip it, because it was pretty strong. They both took a sip and I could tell they had an instant buzz. Emilia chuckled a little at that. We made eye contact again and she smiled and seemed to be more interested in getting to know me than Olin. Even though I know it would not be anything long lasting or anything, it might be fun for a while. Then I noticed her looking at a woman in military attire standing beside Guillermo and he was pointing in our direction.

Emilia noticed as well and said the one beside Guillermo was Miss Hullus. That she was somehow closely related to the former King of Tiberias, who had stopped the civil war that was happening with reforms he had implemented. At that point Emilia walked back over to be beside her mother and Olin seemed to relax and be thinking of what just happened. 

Jack the Entertainer

Jack took off his hat and walked up on to the stage and began working the crowd. I thought to myself this could be really great or get us thrown in jail pretty quickly. I look at Olin and ask if he minds if I go talk to Emilia and just chuckles and tells me to go for it. I go over to speak with Emilie and we hit it off pretty well, but I pretend to be a messenger from Olin, and she gives me a slip of paper with how to contact her and gives me another flask of that wine. While her mother is giving me disapproving looks, but doesn’t kill me there and then. Then Emilie gave me a packet and quietly told me it would come in handy if the big one talking to Guillermo becomes an issue.

Miss Hullus’ Offer

I left and moved close enough to listen in as Guillermo walked over to the group with Miss Hullus. Olin shakes her hand but purposely ignores Guillermo. She begins talking with Olin and Guillermo becomes concerned about the direction of the conversation and attempts to end it. She looks at him and tells him to leave, she has business to attend to. Guillermo starts to say something and she looks at him imperiously and told him if there is a problem and that he will leave now. 

She suggested that perhaps he should find a table and talk to that one pointing at Manson, to deal with the situation that is becoming more of a problem each day for him. Guillermo quickly backs down and motions for Manson to follow him. Surprisingly he does.

Knowing that Manson still has a bit of buzz going, I am worried he will do something stupid with Guillermo, so I position myself so that I can quickly be at either place if trouble starts and have the packet ready to use.

Miss Hullus looked at Olin and pointed at Meerkan who was looking over the two of them, but not coming over to interfere. She asked him if he wanted to stay in his shadow, or get out on his own. They talk back and forth for a while and Olin turns down the offer to join her on the Stargazer at this time and that he will seriously think about the offer and what it means that she continues to employ Guillermo despite the methods he used to achieve the goal of finding the two Dharmic survivors that were in Manson’s village. She reminds him of the possibilities for growth as a mage that he would have as a member of her crew.

Then she points over to the Feroxian who is the Kayde look-a-like and says, coming towards them. They talk about Kayde for a moment and tell Olin that AJ would like to see him if possible.

While that is going on, I was splitting my attention to what Guillermo and Manson were up to.

Manson and Guillermo

Manson goes with Guillermo and sits down across from him at a table close by. Guillermo makes no apology for what he did to Manson’s village, but tells him that this revenge plot Manson has against him, he needs to let go. Guillermo makes it clear that if he doesn’t things might happen to his family. Then tells Manson that he needs to let bygones be bygones. At that comment I stepped a little closer, worrying that Manson was going to leap across the table and attempt to choke the shit out of Guillermo. He surprised me and maintained his cool. 

I hear Manson swear an oath as a paladin, that I will not continue down this path against you. With a grin on his face. Guillermo just shook his head, “I saw it in your eyes the moment you sat down, you‘ve already made up your mind.”

I move closer to Manson and Guillermo, but Manson just gets up from the table and tells Guillermo that he’ll be seeing him soon.

AJ and the Flask of Wine

Thinking quickly, I grabbed AJ and started talking to him about his brother. I had noticed that he had wanted some of the flask Emilie had given to Ana and Manson. So, I gave him my flask and he downed the whole thing. Knowing how powerful it was, I planted the suggestion in him to “take care of Guillermo for me.” AJ looks at Guillermo and nods his head several times. 

Then I tell everyone that we need to get to hell out of here. We leave for the airship and as we were taking off, we hear explosions going off in the building. Most of us rush back to the fantail and see smoke coming out of the building. We quickly talk amongst ourselves and know that we have to turn around and go back or be blamed for yet another attack on the higher up in Tiberias. 

We head for the bridge where Pluck is piloting the ship toward Ixada to get things for Amanifus that are part of the agreement they had reached.

Pluck and Manson’s “Talk”

Manson asks Pluck to turn the ship around and the reasons why we needed to do so. She does so, and then they begin to talk and Pluck tells Manson that she was afraid that she would lose him. That she knows he is the monogamous type and that he had been with Renella for six years and with him for only a short time. Plus she ran her hands down her side and said look at me, I no longer am a human either. I can’t compete with her for your affection. 

Manson to his credit said all the right things and professed that he still loved her for who she was. They talked about how he foresaw his relationship with Renella changing and that the three of them needed to sit down and discuss what their family’s future was to be and how to best ensure that the children were taken care of.

Turn the Airship Back

As they were talking we were headed back to the Magistrate’s Tower and were stopped by the guards from getting back inside. We do learn that it was an assassination attempt on Emilia and Victoria. Victoria is okay, but Emilia was seriously injured. We continued to attempt to convince the guards to let us back inside. Ana changes the senior guard’s mind and they allow us to return inside.

We go back in and Meerkan sees Olin and pulls him aside, we go over to see if there is anything we can do to help Emilia. They tell us that she will be fine, but that it will take a while for the healing to be complete. I look at AJ who’s Zonarian arm is bloodied and is still in the Feroxian revelation form, but see that Guillermo seems fine. He looks at me and tells me that he took good care of Guillermo. He asks me to tell Kayde that he wants to see him.

Olin and Meerkan have a good talk and Olin goes over and talks quietly with Emilia for a few minutes. Then rejoined us as we were leaving to head back to the airship.

Manson and Renella “Talk”

Renella - is waiting for Manson by the entryway to the ship and tells him they have to talk before anyone goes anywhere. That she accepted patronage from Amanifus and will become a Warlock and will ensure that the three of us are taken care. She told him that he is not the only one who can make sacrifices and that he is not alone. That Pluck, him and her were on a different path that’s all. One that they needed to take.

Olin’s Decision

After that we all sat down on the mess deck and talked about what had happened there tonight. We had a long discussion with Olin about his future and how this arranged marriage between him and Emilia could be worked out to both their advantages. Did he have to take service with Miss Hullus or could they simply arrange transportation somewhere where the two of them could start a new life without interference from their families. He asked to “see” if she could see any of his future.

Ana did a three card draw of her Harrow Deck. She drew:

• The Midwife: If you don’t marry, the girl will come to you

• The vision. Something will come to you in next 2 years and a vision that will completely change your perception of what was the best choice - regret if you don’t marry her

• The Theater - Whichever choice you make might have unexpected and chaotic choices. Those decisions will make a huge choice, and might essentially take your life.

Looking at Olin’s face I pulled out the slip of paper that had Emilia’s contact information on it. He smiled, chuckled a little, took it, and then walked away to talk to her privately. 

After his conversation with Emilia, Olin then contacted Meerkan and told him he is agreeing to marry Emilia. I listen in as they talk for a while and it ends with Meerkan telling Olin that he is proud of him. At that point I walk away and give him some privacy.

New Family Dynamics

The ship is back on course to Ixada to pick up the items that Amanifus wanted as part of the agreements that Pluck and Renella made with him. Something was said about picking up a 600 year old paint brush while there from someone who might not be wanting to give up the brush willingly.

Pluck flinched when Manson starts to speaks to her again. She told him, “I’m just doing this, Renella is the one that made the choice, not me.” She looks at Manson with a look that borders on a frightened mouse looking at a cat stalking it and asks him, “Are you going to be ok with this new arrangement?”

Manson slipped his arm around her waist and kissed her. Then looking into her eyes said, “So far so good, the whole family is here together, and while there have been some scary pacts made, that I don’t know all of the specifics of yet, I know that we will work things out together.”

Goodbye to Olin

After finishing his conversation with his father Olin, tells us that he is leaving the party and moving back in with his father for a time as the preparations are made for his and Emilia’s wedding. During the conversation evidently Meerkan contacted Victoria and told her that Olin was willing and Victoria said that after the attempt on their lives that Emilia had agreed to the marriage as well. I have a feeling more to spite whomever was behind the attempt than any feelings for Olin, though I imagine that will quickly change once she gets to know the real Olin. Someone that I could call my friend if I had gotten to know him better.

We said our goodbyes and he packed up his stuff and walked down the plank of the airship. At the bottom, Meerkan was waiting for him and they hugged briefly, waved to us, then disappeared together. 

Manson visits Amanifus

A little later, as I was sitting down writing up this journal entry, I heard someone knocking on Amanifus’ door. Then I heard Amanifus “I thought I’d be seeing you soon.” Manson said, “I have Raven’s ashes here, what will the cost be to resurrect him? I hear Amanifus say, "Come in."