Session 84 - You play a beautiful game... - 22/02/2025

TL;DR

The beginning and end of Velko

Full notes

We settle down for a long rest
Burzum is back in the room
Everyone watches, April, Hope, Coby, and then Burzum
April unattunes from the door knocker and attunes to the javelin of lightening
April hears something wet from the middle distance, she keeps her flametounge close and her eyes peeled, but nothing happens
Hope’s shift begins. She sees a large figure, she needs a source of light, she uses her flail, she can see something red and tall in the doorway
The figure claims it means no harm, Hope wakes Coby up
Coby looks at the figure, it seems to be walking around the perimeter of the room, it stops when it sees Coby
Coby cast produce flame, holding it as a warning
The creature insists it means no harm, and signals it wants home, pointing to a corridor we want to exit through
Coby is trying to communicate with the creature, there’s a language barrier
Coby understands it’s trying to pass without entering combat, but he’s reluctant to let them pass for the damage they’ll bring into the world
Hope asks for a name, they tell us they’re Mo
Hope asks if Mo has a family, it says no
Hope and Coby debate killing it, Mo is visibly upset and pleading
Coby gives Mo a choice, go back or die
Coby tells Mo it has 20 seconds to leave or die, it pleads
It attempts to leave to ‘home’, Coby strikes it down
As the creature dies, it’s mouth agape, it repeats the words that Hope said to Coby, ‘let it live’
Coby’s shift begins, it’s uneventful
Burzum’s shift… begins? He can feel the ground moving, crickets chirping. He’s in a cart, moonlight flowing in through a slit in the wall. He notices his hands are unbound, he tries to leave, but feels a hand on his shoulder, she tells him we’re nearly there. Burzum asks to be reminded where they’re going, she tells him it’s Rin Metsam. She’s concerned that he doesn’t seem to be 100% present. She tells him there was a skirmish, Furnace Knights, Eoghan, attacked the goldtrees, and the cart is on route to help clean up and help with the burial
As Burzum is processing everything going on, someone calls from the front of the cart to let them know they’re here. He can hear screams, calls requesting aid, people pleading for death, the smell is horrific
As Burzum attempts to leave, she wraps her hands around him, asking him if he still has it, he tells her he does, as she pulls her hand away, it’s like charcoal, it is charcoal, she begins to crumble
She asks him if he still believes it, he assures her he does
He’s struck by the smell, it drags his head back by his nostrils, everything fades to black
. . . . .
He awakes on a cold stone floor, his hands are bound, his eyes are swollen shut, a knight stands before him
The knight declares Burzum is no innocent, and should have the sins he committed brought against himself
The knight demands to know where she, Lilith, is
Burzum tries to remember, he remembers handling the dead, separating corpses, dedicating himself endlessly to a goddess
Burzum tells him, she’s everywhere, in a manner of speaking. The knight tightens a fist, his gauntlet glowing molten orange. Burzum does not remember the first blow
. . . . .
Burzum awakes, he’s standing in a courtyard
He’s surrounded by soldiers, excitedly whispering to one another, many people in the courtyard are looking at him
He’s dressed as one of the soldiers, bastard sword in hand
He understand he seems to be on some kind of raised platform, with someone giving a speech, a teenager
The speech tells the people that even lumberjacks that water the trees intend to down them
Three hooded individuals are brought onto the platform, two are kicked to their knees, the other one’s hood is removed. It’s the woman Burzum saw, Lilith. She gazes on the crowd with revulsion. She’s kicked to her knees, the executioner takes her place
The speaker gives a final word, the executioner raises her axe, Burzum must make a decision
Burzum takes sacred flame, aiming it at the executioner, he shouts as he strikes
The executioner bursts into flames, Lilith takes her chance, breaking her restrictions and freeing the others
Burzum runs to Lilith as the soldiers chase him down
Burzum is pulled down by the crowds, blacking out as the first rib snaps
. . . . .
He awakes, restrained. Lilith is restrained, a knife to her throat
An ecstatic rouge is mocking Burzum, demanding to know where ‘it’ is
Burzum mocks him, the rouge is threatening to kill both of them with a slow and painful death
Lilith it pleasing with Burzum not to hand it, her heart, over
Burzum unzips his pants, mockingly
A tear falls from Lilith’s eye, the knife slides across her throat, blood pours to the floor
. . . . .
Burzum awakes in a cold stone room, he’s laying down, oddly calm. What’s there to believe in? Why go on? Who should you be?
Burzum notices a sharp pain in his finger, his reaction is slow
. . . . .
Coby goes to wake up Burzum, and finds him wide awake already
As Burzum gets up, Coby notices a small patch of blood of where he’s been sleeping
Coby asks Burzum if he’s ok, and if he needs bandages
Burzum puts his hand on Coby’s shoulder, assuring him he’s fine, but when Burzum removes his hand, some blood is on Coby’s shoulder
Coby is alarmed, looking closely at Burzum’s hand, where he notices the bleeding seems to be coming from a ring Burzum is wearing
Coby is questioning where this ring came from, Burzum says his wife, but he’s not sure if he ever got married
Coby tries to cure the bleeding using healing word, it doesn’t work
They all awake, they share a meal of rations and goodberries
April tells Burzum he should stick by her, as the flametounge will help him see
We strategise, fighters up front, others provide support
Potions and healing resources are divided among the party
We proceed through the corridor, it’s humid, we’re already sweating
We follow some stairs up to some double doors, we hear something within, a churning noise like a waterfall, Coby opens the door, a faint red light fills the room
Four ascending stone platforms fill the room, tiered like a wedding cake, a hooded figure rests at the very peak
Velko tells us of this plan to erase this meaningless world
Velko tells us we are of much use to him and his lord
Velko asks us what we think he is, a person, or a monster
We can rot, or we can embrace the rot
Velko tells us he’s already won, dead or alive
April shouts to Velko ‘we take no pleasure in this Velko, we weren't born to this either, but we didn't choose this, don't make this harder than it has to be’ as she’s walking towards him
Hope sprints towards Velko, a husk clambers up from the rot about 20 feet in front of Hope up the stairs
Coby charges towards Velko, teleporting Burzum with him
Coby unleashes a shot at the husk, it falls straight down
Burzum runs, smacking a lever as he goes past, the outer ring rotates. Hope is on the outer ring, the ring moves at fast speeds, Hope falls over
Burzum casts hunter’s mark on Velko
Velko summons five husks to block us from climbing up the stairs
Velko announces he will enjoy this battle, April runs towards him, igniting her flametounge, she stands within 10 feet of the husks standing guard, she warns Burzum not to do it again
Hope flicks a lever nearby her, the second innermost ring rotates
More rot emerges from between the platforms, leaving a pool of rot on the floor, covering an entire quarter of the stage
Coby flicks a lever, the second innermost ring rotates, taking the rot with it
Coby uses firebeam to obliterate three of the five rot
Burzum rotates the outermost ring back, Hope is close to the party again
Burzum clambers up the stairs, activating a readied attack, he is badly wounded
April sprints around the rot by Burzum, telling him to get back, she slashes the ground rot, she attempts to hit the husk but misses
Hope climbs up the stairs, she gets bitten but the same creature that struck Burzum, she reacts by smacking it with her flail, taking a chunk out of it
Velko strikes against April, sending a beam of red energy, she yelps in pain, clutching her chest
Another creature emerges from the rot, it reassembles a dragon, build from parts of many surface animals, it’s a drake
The drake punches Burzum
Coby heals Burzum
Cinder attacks the husk in front of April
Burzum attempts to hit the drake, but misses, he runs up the stairs
Velko launches an attack on Hope but misses
April charges into the drake with her flametounge, she misses, but brings her sword back up, hitting the drake, it screams
She steps through the rot as she gets up the stairs, she can tell something is wrong
Burzum is struck by Velko
The rot rotates, no one is caught out by it though
The drake follows up April, smacking her and biting her
Cinder and Burzum teleport to Velko, Coby uses hold person to incapacitate him
A husk lunges towards Coby, punching him
Burzum misty steps towards Velko
Velko summons some more husks
Burzum takes an attack of opportunity on Velko
Some pillars are placed, we need to investigate them to know how to disable them
April tries to run to investigate the pillars, the husk and drake get an attack of opportunity and knock her out
Velko takes aim at Coby, and summons some more husks
The drake gags, and vomits bile, April and Coby are caught in the fire
Coby revives April, and teleports them both to the next platform
Burzum knocks out the pillar on the central platform
April downs a potion of health, she tries to figure out how to knock out the pillar, but isn’t able to
Hope lashes out at the husks
The drake takes flight, attacking Burzum and Coby but Coby avoids it
Coby goes after Velko, attacking him
April opens fire on the drake and husks with flame arrows
Velko tells us his god says ‘something stirs above the surface more beautiful than anything I could summon down here’
Rot engulfs a quarter of the stage, Burzum gets caught in the crossfire
The drake descends on Coby and Burzum, striking them
Coby gets struck again by Velko, he’s not looking well
The center platform we stand on is rotated
The outermost ring is activated, the rings are rotated to be aligned, one pillar remains to be activated