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parasite-core · 2 years

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Damn last night’s Pathfinder session was a doozy. Lots of revelations of our amnesiac characters’ backgrounds as we explored the estate of Count Lowls.

We started the day with a shopping episode, Ileark updated his style casting masterwork transformation on his armored coat to make it fancier and more protective, we did some other prep work, and went to head back to the fort to place the grate we’d bought and consecrate the bodies to keep the ghost from returning.

On the way we were ambushed by an eyeless man with his throat ripped out. A revenant seeking revenge. Revenge for his murder. Revenge for his murder at Berin’s hands. As we fought we had flashes of memory. Berin had been starved by the count and then went on this mission to scare a man who’d stolen food from the Iris Estate. The the other three members of the party had gone with him. Jo and Ileark because they could tell something was wrong with Berin, and Igil out of curiosity, because he didn’t usually go on these kinds of missions with us for Lowls.

Berin snapped. His frustration at his situation and his hunger and anger all bled out into him losing control and he latched onto the man’s neck and wouldn’t let go, greedily drinking his blood while the three of us tried to get him off his victim. He only stopped when Igil thought to put him to sleep, but by then it was too late, the damage had been done, and the victim died.

It was in that moment that Ileark decided that he had to get out of here, and he had to get Berin out with him. Because this wasn’t Berin, this wasn’t normal, and this had to stop. And it was then that Igil began to have nagging doubts about what Lowls was doing to the three people before him, because he also knew that this wasn’t normal and this was wrong.

In the present, however, the victim was back as an undead seeking vengeance. He grabbed Berin by the neck and wouldn’t let go. The revenant’s shieks caused Igil and Jo to start cowering, although Ileark was able to snap Jo out of it with Unbreakable Heart, and as luck would have it Jo was able to finish the tragic story off and save Berin.

We decided to take his body and consecrate and bury him with the others at the fort, in hopes that a proper burial would act as at least something of an apology for what our past selves had caused.

After burial rites were done we headed for Iris Estate. However halfway there Ileark whispered to the group that they were being shadowed. The party played it cool, and Igil began reading their minds.

They were counting down.

We readied our weapons just in time as two rogue cultists of Hastur stepped out of the walls in front of us, causing the strange graffiti we’d been seeing all over town to appear where they’d stepped out. We were ready and weren’t caught off guard since we’d spotted their companions and heard their countdown, so we were able to meet them on even ground, and we overpowered them and took the last man standing alive with Igil’s help as he put the man to sleep. We dragged him back to the fort and locked him up, then Jo worked the mundane magic of intimidation and bargaining to get some answers from him about the defenses of Iris Manor. Afterwards despite Jo’s promise to let him go if he answered her questions, due to him being dodgy and in compliant the entire time and also being a cultist to a group who were kidnapping and sacrificing innocent people, she went back on her word and left him locked up. Ileark and Igil had no issue with this, Berin felt bad but told himself maybe they could have him properly jailed with the town and give him a reduced sentence. Maybe reduce a life sentence to fifty years.

Afterwards we decided with some of the information we had that maybe some of the creatures in the manor would be preferable to face at night, because in the daytime they could disguise themselves as regular people and trick us. So we decided to go back to the Silver Wagon until sunset and then headed back out to Iris Hill Manor.

We discussed how to get in. There was only one entrance, a guard station in the front. Ileark wanted to have them stealth over the bushes to the side because the direct frontal approach seemed reckless, while Jo wanted to smash in the door and just do this. Stealth won out in the end, but bad rolls meant it didn’t matter as the guards caught Jo and Berin the moment the landed on the other side of the bushes (leading to Jo yelling over the bushes to Ileark that this wouldn’t have happened if they’d just smashed open the front door, and Ileark telling Jo to shove it.) A very fancy, snobby, rude cultist came out leading the cannibalistic underlings. Ileark flew Igil over the bushes with his fly spell, giving Igil a good angle to mind thrust the rude little man who insulted our fancy clothes as so last season, deeply insulting both Ileark and Igil.

We killed both of the cannibals but Igil put the rude cultist to sleep. Before we could take advantage of this, however, the topiary bushes on the grounds came to life and attacked us. Ileark handed off an alchemist’s fire to Igil since his mind tricks wouldn’t work on a plant, then went to attack one—but got himself surrounded by all three as they reshaped themselves into twisted hag-like forms to mirror the creature he most fears. Berin swooped in to help, getting the attention of one, which reshaped itself into a more volatile vampiric looking version of Berin. Jo took the other side, which became Jo herself, but weak and cowering, the way she was against the Tatterman or the revenant earlier. This pissed Jo off. Igil threw the fire bomb but missed and splashed fire over Berin and Ileark as well as two of the bushes. This caught the attention of one bush, which reshaped itself into a woman, one Igil didn’t consciously recognize, but who brought up a deep sense of childhood terror.

We managed to destroy the bushes, and returned our focus to our still sleeping prisoner. Igil used his dream tricks to work his way into the man’s mind and intimidate him through his dreams, thoroughly scaring him into giving us the information we desired when he woke. He smacked the cultist awake, and suddenly the rude little man was a lot more compliant now that he was pants shittingly scared of Igil. We learned everything we could from him about the creatures within the manor and where his boss would be located, then we locked him up in the guard house.

We dealt with a haunt, which caused an invisible horse to kick Ileark halfway across the courtyard. We found a hole where two alien creatures were living, but they seemed non hostile and we couldn’t currently communicate with them so we left them be. Upstairs we found a strange plant, which spat out hallucinogenic spores. Igil was affected first and thought his ring of sustenance was a viper, taking it off and yeeting it across the room—resetting his time to attune to it for the week—then pushing past the rest of the party to flee down the stairs. Jo and Berin were fine, and started attacking the plant to be rid of it. Ileark went to join them, but the moment he stepped into the room he started hallucinating that it summoned a swarm of imps and began swatting at the air with his claws like a cat on catnip.

Afterwards we found a bookkeeping room. We looked through and found a ledger. When Igil went to read it, a Sepia Snake Sigil was activated and he failed his reflex save, trapping him in amber. We panicked for a moment before trying a couple of time to dispel it. Finally Berin managed to dispel the trap, freeing Igil from his Amber stasis. We decided maybe we should be paranoid of books from now on, just in case. The book didn’t even had particularly good information in it, a list of books bought and the fact a person named Weiralai had laid off all the previous staff right before Lowls left and hired new servants, but we already knew that from people in town talking.

After that we decided it was time to quit wasting resources keeping things from coming up behind us, and time to storm the manor proper. We entered the front and were immediately met with a monstrosity called the Hound of Tindalos. We fought it until it was cornered and fled by using its ability to warp through angles to disappear to somewhere else. We expect it to reappear at the most inconvenient time.

Afterwards we dealt with some cultists which got the jump on us because of a failed perception check, and then a weird flying undead thing. We found some books written by Lowls that were just…terrible. Just awful. Conspiracy theorist pretentious douchebag level awful. There was a whole crate of them because they didn’t sell. We also found a trap door leading down to the basement, so we did the obvious thing and put the crate of terrible books on the trap door until we were ready to come back so no one could come up.

We also found something horrible.

There was another crate. It was full of bags of what looked like blood, and vials of a purple liquid. We’d found a ledger in another room that talked about a ‘consanguineous concoction’, and from the labels on this, this was it. Jo opened one of the vials to test its viscosity and try to figure out anything about it. When she did, we each smelled it, and it smelled different to each of us. To Jo it was like molten rock. I…honestly forget what it was for Igil u_u. For Ileark it was a campfire and the smell of fear, which smelled incredibly sweet and appealing. For Berin it simply smelled like blood. And when Berin smelled it, he remembered what Count Lowls had done to him. How he’d been starved to the brink of death, and then forced to drink the drugged substance. How he couldn’t stop himself once he started, he was so hungry, how stopping would have been like trying to willingly drown, he simply couldn’t. And once the drug took hold, his vampiric side came out in full force, he became cruel and manipulative, and he craved blood constantly. And that’s how Lowls controlled him for three years.

We kept the remaining concoctions to have an alchemist look into further at a later date, but for now we stashed them away where Berin wouldn’t have to see—or smell—them again.

After that we headed upstairs. There was a strange alien creature but Igil kinda sorta smashed it with his brain and the power of a hag goddess. She’s pleased with his work. So that’s foreboding.

We fought a high ranking cultist woman who we caught off guard while she was trying to catch us off guard because she was invisible but didn’t know Jo had see invisibility. We cornered her and knocked her out. She wanted death, so we kept her alive to live out the rest of her days in jail. We killed her underlings though.

Then we explored the room next door that her underlings had come out of.

It was Jo, Berin, and Ileark’s room.

They didn’t find any personal belongings. Except under one of the beds Igil found a broken slave collar, and shackles of compliance. He remembered them, because he broke the slave collar…removing it from Ileark. He tossed the collar and shackles to Ileark, he quickly put two and two together about the ‘golden necklace and bracelets’ everyone in town kept saying he used to always wear. They hadn’t realized. He’d been shackled here, his mind weakened and enslaved by the shackles and his location always known by the collar. If Igil hadn’t removed them, he’d still be at Lowls’ mercy, even now. He owed Igil a debt that could never be repaid, for saving him from a lifetime of being bound to that man. For now, he simply thanked him, because what else could he do right now? But he has a lot to think about.

After that we went across the hall and fought another awful flying undead which was also a bard and it was throwing glitter everywhere and dancing with its organs out above us and just generally being very perky-but-unsettling while trying to kill us. Berin pincushioned her to the ceiling with a longbow he doesn’t use frequently.

We explored this room, which was the master bedroom—Lowls’ room. Igil found a number of fine clothes with his own signature stitching—things he’d apparently made for Lowls. Then he found a bottle of cologne, scented like autumn leaves. The scent brought back a memory. He and Lowls were in this room. He had been at the manor for five years—not three. He had been helping Lowls with his research into dreams. Willingly. As a partner. Lowls gifted him his unholy symbol of Alazhra, the one with a compartment for a potion that he still uses to this day. Lowls touched his arm as they talked, and it felt comforting to Igil.

Igil dropped the bottle and it shattered, getting our attention. He told us what he remembered, that he’d been a willing participant and had been here for two years longer than the rest of us. He assured us that no matter who he used to be, no matter what he’d done to us in the past, that he was all in with us now. No matter who Lowls had been to him, he’d ended up in that Asylum right along with the rest of us. He wanted that man dead just as much as we did for all he’d done, to all of us.

The rest of us comforted Igil, assuring him that we didn’t think any differently of who he was now for what he remembered of himself before, and that he could choose to do what he wanted with himself going forward.

Afterwards we explored further and found Lowls’ study. Having learned from the Snake Sigil, we used detect magic, and could tell there was an explosive rune hidden somewhere within the mess of papers strewn across the desk—but we couldn’t pinpoint exactly where. We decided we’d come back tomorrow with more uses of dispel magic and try again.

We checked the next door but found it led to the attic, so we left it for after we cleared the rest of this floor.

After that we checked the room next to our room, and found it was Igil’s old room. Once again there were no personal affects, and in fact they’d moved the bodies of the undead creatures into here to rest while their heads and upper torsos flew around at night.

Jo, however, found some notes that mentioned us by name. It was about how Lowls was going to ‘sacrifice our minds’ to a man called the Mad Poet in order to gain access to the dream city where he could access three more Star Stella.

When she read this she remembered a conversation she’d had with Igil in this same room. She’d had an argument with him, not long after Berin had killed his victim in the streets. She told Igil that after this next mission from Lowls, Ileark and Berin were leaving. She wanted Igil to go with them. She saw something in Igil, she saw how he interacted with Berin and Ileark, how he looked when Lowls struck either of them or berated them, she knows he was having his doubts, and that he wasn’t as bad as he tried to appear. Igil tried to deflect, told her that his image was immaculately crafted and called her a peasant who wouldn’t understand and who didn’t know anything about him. Jo agreed, maybe he was right and she didn’t know anything about him. But she was pretty sure she knew he’d try to help them. Because they needed his help. Because one thing she did know about him was that he was weirdly good at picking locks for a noble, and Ileark wasn’t getting far with that collar on. Igil argued that Lowls would notice right away, but Jo deflected that Igil could convince him that it would help with the mission and he’d listen to Igil. She went to leave, telling him to actually do something for once instead of standing by looking guilty over watching things happen. Igil stopped her and asked why she wasn’t leaving with them. He knew for a fact she was strong enough to take Lowls on herself. Why did she stay? The two of them needed her more than they needed him. Jo was cagey, just saying there was stuff she still needed to do. Igil told Jo he couldn’t promise he’d leave, but he passed her his Ioun Stone, saying if nothing else it might help Ileark and Berin, it was worth a lot of money, they could sell it for funds for their escape.

Jo didn’t immediately tell the party about her memory, but did walk over to Igil and gave him a big hug, saying thank you, much to his confusion. Then she stormed off, telling them all that nothing just happened and to forget about it. Berin analyzed that she’s bad at emotions and this is how she handles big feelings so we should just let her process whatever it was for a bit.

We went through the last remaining door on this floor. Inside was a strange tittering noise, but we couldn’t see anything. Igil from the sound and the strange circumstances concluded we might be in the presence of a Star Vampire, much to Berin’s displeasure.

Jo stepped forward. She took out one of the Consanguineous Concoctions and doused the room in the direction of the noise we heard. Since it wasn’t real blood the creature couldn’t absorb it, but it was covered in the sticky red liquid so we saw the starfish-like body and sharp gaping maw.

We went on the offensive. The creature began striking everyone who got close, drawing blood and sucking it out of each of us. Everyone but Igil began taking bleed damage. Then it grabbed Ileark in its jaws and flew up into the air to get out of range of our usual attacks.

Unfortunately for it, Berin really does not like anything vampiric. A crit from his bow later, and Ileark was dropped to the ground as the creature crumpled and died. Ileark expended one of his last channels for the day to stop their bleeding. He suggested they try to find a place where they could barricade themselves, because he was almost completely out of healing and spells, and Igil was also just about out of spells, and we still had the entire basement to contend with.

We decided to check the attic, and if it was just one room we’d clear it and hole up there, since it was supposed to be off limits to the regular guards anyways.

What we found was Lowls’ mother.

See…we’d met her once before. At night as an incorporeal spirit creature she’d attacked us demanding to know where her boy was. Now here she was corporeal and she seemed much more stable. We talked to her, careful to be respectful as she seemed to have a thin temper and we wanted to remain in her good graces and not start a fight if possible.

We learned that she did this to herself, she caused the affliction she currently had. And then Lowls locked her in the attic because he was ashamed of the monstrous creature his mother had become. Until his disappearance he brought her food and didn’t allow anyone else up here to see her, but did not really talk to her himself. She hadn’t even heard of us, not even Igil. She was bitter and unhappy. She had achieved what she set out to do, but now she was alone and monstrous and unloved. The man she’d had as a lover was murdered by her husband, and her husband was rightfully dead as well. Her son hated her. She had no one. She just wanted death. She told us that she couldn’t promise she wouldn’t fight back, because she was so very quick to anger these days and it sent her into a fury outside her control, even if it’s what she desperately desired.

What she didn’t know was that Jo had come into the room with us invisible, and had been sneaking around behind her while we talked to her. So once she said she desired death, and we confirmed what kind of burial—or in her case lack of burial because she wanted to simply rot under the stars—Jo struck while she was still unawares. In a single clean stroke she smacked the back of her head, and ended Lowls’ mother’s life. She never had to get angry.

After that we barricaded the stairs and decided to take watch, with Igil taking first watch. Each of us had a dream-memory before we woke for our watch, or Igil before he woke for the morning.

Ileark remembered when he first met Igil. It was after three months in Lowls’ manor. Things had been strangely quiet—his hag-mother hadn’t come after him despite him being in one place for so long, so he was trying to count his small blessings despite being more miserable than he’d ever been in his life. Today he was organizing Lowls’ library, when Lowls’ right hand man came in. He said hello, to which Ileark only shot him as scathing a look as he felt he could get away with. He tried again, introducing himself as Igil Molot. Ileark snipped that he knew who he was, what did he want? Igil noted that since Lowls had him organizing the library he figured he was probably learned. Not that he assumed otherwise before, he’d heard he’s a world traveler. “I was a world traveler” Ileark corrected bitterly. Igil sheepishly conceded the point. He offered to help with organizing the books, to which Ileark once again asked what Igil wanted, not seeing any reason why Lowls’ right hand man would come down here to make small talk and help a fucking slave with work. Igil noted that he’d heard that Ileark was a Desnan. He said he was a scholar of dreams himself, and he was interested in hearing about the more theological side of the conversation. So, he’d like to help with organizing these books and talk a bit about dreams. Ileark decided fuck it, why not, it looked like he wasn’t going to go away. And Igil actually made good on his word and legitimately helped Ileark while they talked. And their talk was the most engaging Ileark had ever had on the subject, he’d never met someone else who he could have such a deep conversation on the subject of dreams and his theology before. And he decided…maybe he didn’t like Igil Molot, but he could find him tolerable for the foreseeable future.

Jo remembered taking a moment to herself, alone at the manor. She couldn’t get close to anyone, because any bonds she made here were just lies. But for a moment she dropped her guard and was just herself. She set down the rapier—didn’t throw it incase anyone was watching but just set it down. And she took out her spyglass. The last gift she’d gotten from her mentor at the temple before leaving on her mission, one that would have long reaching consequences. She looked into the sky, finding the star she knew hung over her temple, then found the star she knew hung over her hometown, and she said a prayer.

Berin remembered how he was captured by the slavers. His troop had been helping to protect a settlement from these beings who were snatching up people, but they were outmanned and overpowered. They had holed up in the local temple, but it was only a matter of time until they got through.

There was only one chance. If someone distracted them, the rest might be able to make it.

Berin realized it had to be him. He was different, unique. He would be the most compelling target to get their attention. He promised his husband, Stefan, that he’d run as fast as he could and he wouldn’t get caught. He promised he’d meet their troop at the river bend in three days time. He promised everything would be alright.

They kissed goodbye, and Stefan joked that he had to come back, because Berin still had his favorite writing quill, so he had to return it. Berin lamented that he couldn’t think of a pun for quill, and said he’d think of one by the time he gets back.

He never got back. He never saw Stefan again. He broke his promise. He just wasn’t fast enough. They caught him. And he ended up captured and drugged in Iris Hill Manor for the last three years, with his husband having no idea where he might be or what might have happened to him…

Igil dreamed about being in a manor. Not his own manor, he was here because he knew the family was secretive, and he thought they had a great treasure—and he wanted to know what it was. He met the head of the house, and then his daughter. A beautiful half-elven woman with silver hair who laughed at Igil’s flustered low bow and asked if he liked reading. When he confirmed, she said she thought they were going to get along splendidly, because he wasn’t someone who bored her, and that was rare.

#pathfinder #PF weekly

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