Session 14

Session date	?, 2018
Players	Al, Dan, Jordan, Zac
Audio file	Running time: 4 hours, 16 minutes

Highlights

• Dealing with the aftermath of Dior's death
• Met up with Sari's settlers
• Went to Dahrinmoor to analyze Dior's remains

What really happened

After their first encounter with the Black Spider, Dior was infected with the rotworm spores and subsequently died. Then came back but not quite undead. They could see through his eyes that he was in there, but his body was beyond control.

As the team rushes him to the nearest major town for medical assistance, in a lovely rented cart, and Dior turns Anima runs him through. Cold, and beyond the pain the situation causes her she runs the family scimitar through Dior to end his misery. The team discusses where/how to bury him, and resolves to go to Dahrinmoor to use the larger city's facilities. Anima lays the sword on her lap, unsheathed, and stays with her father's body for the rest of the ride.

As they travel, they make sure to safely preserve the body (did they just invent rubber?).

Meeting up with Sari's settlers

Riding the Triboar trail, the wagon comes across a large group of people. It's the caravan that was rescued from the gnoll attack. Since the groups split on mixed terms, the crew waves tentatively. Sari approaches with a friendly smile on her face.

They start chatting, mentioning that the crew convinced them to return for more supplies before heading back to Faladun. Jared, the group member who was/is possessed by the evil god Yeonogu, wants to go to the desert instead. They'll be going to Luftvaffendale after Dahrinmoor to re-supply and head off. Wymar remembers that we've got the evil magic skull and suggests we move on. Instead, he notices a new girl in the crowd, named Olia. After a mediocre Insight check (10 by Jordan), we determine she's on the level.

Zoop offers to use a newly learned spell, Create Food and Water. She plans to feed the crowd a blandly nutritious meal, which coincidentally has a mild aphrodisiac effect, which Wymar can then use Prestidigitation to properly season. Sari gathers people, they put together some tables and start the feast. Zoop adds a quick blessing and everyone tucks in.

Bellack challenges Jared to arm-wrestle, and loses the first round. They switch to left arms and several rolls later, wins the round. Everyone cheers!

Zoop offers to host a wake for Dior. Anima recalls how she doesn't know her own people's death and memorial customs. They recount the last week or two of knowing him.

Wymar - "He was always an asshole for the right reason. He was racist, for real, against Drow. Because he cared, he cared about his people." Zoop - "I was always impressed with the things he could do. He did not care about the Geneva convention." Bellack - "I've only known him for maybe a week."

Anima recalls her time growing up among the Drow. It was harsh, hostile and aggressive and very different from life on the surface. The rest of the team appreciate that she's not fully indoctrinated.

Olia joins the group for some chat. Wymar mentions revenge, and asks around how the team feels about it. Specifically, getting revenge on the Spider. He wonders what they could have done differently during the fight with the Spider. More chatting.

The group sets up for the night, and establishes a watch schedule. Anima takes first watch, Zoop stays near Dior's remains, and Bellack keeps an eye on Jared. Wymar holds onto the team's bag of holding. Bellack tries to convince Jared to stay up drinking (Persuasion of 5), fails then heads to bed. Wymar sets up his tent on the edge of the clearing, and is soon joined by Olia. Seeing this from a distance, Anima tries to Detect Thoughts (rolls a 1) while Zoop Thaumaturgies the songs Let's get it on and Business time. For flavour, Wymar may have cast Silence to get his freak on without waking/disturbing anyone.

The next morning, the crew tries to cook up a plan to deal with the Spider. They come up with nothing. Folks start packing up, mildly hung over but feeling good. The crew parts ways with Sari and her settlers, smiling and waving.

Anima asks Bellack for a sword lesson. Bellack asks Wymar to be the test dummy. He defers, and Anima gets her lesson by sparring.

Fun times in Dahrinmoor

The crew heads to town by wagon. Zoop leads them to the local temple of Arawai. They stop in, looking for Abbess Miller but she's out. They talk to some of the attendants about handling the remains of Dior, how he died and how to diagnose what happened. They head off to the Divine Temple for more answers.

Bellack leaves to go visit a Drow friend of his and Anima joins, while Wymar and Zoop take the body to the Temple. Anima casts Disguise Self to appear Drow and blend in with Bellack's friends. A healthy discussion of female body imagery and self-esteem pops up, leaving Anima confused.

At the temple of the Divine Order, Wymar and Zoop head to the quarters for the priests of the Talona, God poison and death. It's on the 4th sub-basement floor, so logistic shenanigans are discussed. It turns out they can rent a handcart/wheelbarrow and solve the issue. Zoop takes Dior's remains to the Talona priests, while Wymar goes to see the priests of Oghma, Goddess of knowledge.

Bellack goes to a tavern and greets some old acquaintences. He speaks with someone about possible poisons, anything that would work like the rotworm spores that the Black Spider used on Dior. He gets offered a variety of poisons but none matching what he's looking for.

Zoop takes the service entrance to the Talona staff, and meets a dwarf named Albarec Fireforge, who helps out. They discover a tiny worm, and keep poking around to find more.

Wymar heads to the branch of Oghma. Finds a halfling playing a piano, asks him about Yog Sothoth. Can a connection to an Old God be severed? The answer is unclear. This is also the first mention of a flavour of magic, particularly the Bind. The connection would be very hard to mess with. There is some brief history of the Bind. Wymar reveals how Yog came to him, asked him to do things in exchange for power. His bond to Yog may be severed by another diety, maybe Tritherion, or other high-level magic.

Bellack and Anima seek out another friend, someone named Sabro. It turns out he's a male Drow elf at the tavern. They start talking, and Bellack openly asks about the rotworm poison. Anima joins the chat, asking if this person knows about the Black Spider. He doesn't say much but offers them discreet work as mercenaries. Maybe he can get them work with the Black Spider. He shares that the Black Spider's actual name is Nezznar.

Zoop and Albarec begin Dior's autopsy. They are both fully sealed up in hazmat gear, this is full-on CSI:Dahrinmoor. More worms are found, especially in the brain. Neither of them has seen anything like this before. Albarec recalls that certain fungi can zombie-fy creatures but this is different. They cast Detect Magic and come back positive, that there is Necromancy, Abjuration, Enchantment, and Transmutation magic. Detect Curse comes back with nothing. Detect Good and Evil comes back with nothing. Detect Poison and Disease comes back with nothing. They seem to be a natural thing that's been magically mutated. Dispel Magic changes the worms slightly but doesn't stop or kill them. We call in for more help, bringing in a robed female elf. She casts Greater Restoration and it kills the worms. We leave some worms behind for further experimentation. Zoop takes the body away with her for burial, finds Wymar on her way out.

They all meet up at the Orange Locust tavern. Zoop shares her learnings. There's a big chat about magic and the Bind, with lots of lore being shared based on Wymar's sidestory. There's a person named Lazan who shares a buttload of lore, and tells them if they go to Travanik or Vitherin they could learn more. Wymar reveals that Vanessa Armitage is his mother, and has heaps of connections.

They decide to bury Dior out in the woods.

Bellack shares some backstory.

Dior's funeral

They talk about Dior's post-mortem plans. Do they Raise the dead? do they want to Talk to the Dead? No, he died horribly so a resurrection would be expensive and painful.

They head an hour and a half outside of town, roughly southwest. They dig an unmarked grave in a pretty location. His gear is divided out, and he is interred.