Session 15: Vows Renewed

General Summary

Silently gliding across the waters of Lake Medainne, Ki’tor couldn’t help but to experiment with the shadow planestone. As the stone lacked a physical form, it only moved when acted upon by a mage. Luckily the sorcerer managed to put the stone into his magical bag, in which it could be carried easily. This would make it easy for them to carry the stone with them. At length they reached the shore again, but found that the homes of the hunters were empty. After a quick investigation they found that four wolflike tracks had left the small village, but none returned. There were also a group of fresh humanoid tracks leaving, towards the Silveryard cemetery. 

When they reached the cemetery they were met by a mass of freshly mangled corpses, and a funeral. It turned out that during the werewolves’ defence of the graveyard, James had fallen. Sirion and Remi seemed to blame Peter, who at the start of the fight had left. At first it seemed to be out of fear, but Sirion told Jane that during the fight they faced a vampire. His memory had been a bit fuzzy due to his affliction, but the vampire had spoken of a master and a plan. Although it seemed that the light of the tower suddenly being put out had ruined this plan. After showing their respect to James, they moved on back to the de Paramont Residence. 

Well back at the de Paramont Residence, they were met as heroes. All along the way they were hailed for their great deed. Lady Esteme de Paramont even invited them to celebrate the Day of Last Light. A holiday celebrated in honor of the noble goddess Ezariah, the Lady of Valour herself. As custom they would feast and in the morning they would light candles at dawn. The group accepted, but Zalia left the feast early, with the name in her book still left to deal with. 

In her room Zalia used a magical ritual to get information about her quarry. She found out about the Lady’s hidden grove in the gardens of the vineyard. That’s where she’d do it. She left to prepare her ambush. Meanwhile, Jane noticed that Zalia was missing. Knowing that Esteme was on the witch's hitlist, she went to do what she did best. Investigate. Jane found Zalia’s room empty, but she did find an open window through which she could follow down into the garden. Tracking the witch, she eventually found the hidden grove and a peculiar tree with footprints beneath it. Given their long companionship, Jane managed to talk Zalia down and promised that they’d face whatever came together. 

At the same time, Ki'tor managed to swoon Lady de Paramont, who brought him out into the garden. There they met Jane and Zalia, who managed to fool the lady that Zalia was ill and just needed some fresh air. They parted ways. Zalia and Jane both went to Jane’s room where they would both sleep. Meanwhile, Volodomyr and Geneviève noticed that Jane and Zalia were missing. Not trusting the witch, they stayed in her room and eventually went to knock on Jane’s door. Jane shooed them away by telling them that Zalia was sick. Then they all went to sleep. Even Ki’tor, after a kiss on the cheek from the lady. 

During the night, Zalia woke up in a fiery landscape once again. But something was different. She was alone, hanging off of the edge of a high tower. The shadowy figure of her patron approached as her restraints spread and tightened. The figure told her that it was disappointed and that it didn’t give third chances. Then it stepped into the light. A muscled devil with grey skin, short horns and a clubbed tail. It then revealed itself to be Zalia’s father, right before stripping her of her power and dropping her into the flames below. In the material world Zalia took on her real form and began to scream. Jane tried to help but realised that her soul was in another realm. There was nothing she could do. The rest of the party came running as well. But there was nothing to be done as Zalia screamed in agony for several minutes.

For Zalia, more than minutes passed as she fell through flame for six days. Until she reached ground again. She found herself in total darkness. There an androgynous figure appeared. It introduced itself as Androz, a former servant of the witch’s father Lord Zal. It was tall with purple skinShe offered her a deal. Her servitude, free of obligations to take lives, in exchange for her power’s back, as well as vengeance against her father. Zalia agreed. In her own blood she signed a contract. Then she woke up. 

Surrounded by her worried companions, she became sick. Horribly sick. Then something began to crawl out of her throat as she gagged. An imp. Ki’tor, acting on instinct, ended the beast's life swiftly by pulling its clean skeleton out of its body. This only reset the process. Yet again the imp was slain, and instead a bat flew out of Zalia’s mouth. As she continued to protest, Ki’tor ended the devil again. Finally an owl crawled out of Zalia’s throat and Jane managed to calm the situation. Zalia got to explain herself. Despite some protest as to the wisdom of her decision, at least now she would be forced to murder anymore. Then they all went back to bed, to deal with this in the morning.

Rewards Granted

• Imp Familiar

Missions/Quests Completed

• Lady Esteme de Paramont spared
• Identity of Zalia's patron revealed
• Contract signed with Androz the Devil