Session 13: Aunty Mora & Madness

General Summary

Session Recap - Part One The party began their day amongst the smell of sweet pastries and happiness in Minroe, as Aunty Mora and her marvellous cafe provided sweet treats and deals. Colmir couldn't help but note, with a druids eye, how no plants grew up the walls, in fact, almost as if the large hut was dropped upon an empty space. To the amusement of all villagers nearby - Aunty Mora is and was.. always... here... whenever she is needed.. Mora will be there. Lucky continued his streak of deal making with the delightful Mora, promising nothing other than a favour in the future that he'll have no mind doing. Outside, Goodboy wagged his happy little dog tail waiting for his friends to come back out the hut, unaware of how his bestest friends in the whole world suspected him to be a harbinger! Returning to potentially sever the link between the Helm of Destruction and Maeve, Queen of Thorns, they chatted along with Keeper Corvus, currently building over the hold at the rear of the Chapel of Helm, and convincing him to have a trapdoor to the depths below once the work is finished. Nearby Goodboy wagged his waggy golden tail. He said Woof. However, the summer breeze, and long time underground, the party decided instead, to go get some well deserved sleep, they couldn't help but note, flowers on the windows, bunting between the buildings, in the mid-afternoon sun as the Village of Minroe prepares to celebrate Greengrass the day after. Several entertainments are planned, the party showing some interest even in attending a puppet show by the marvellous Guiseppe. The improvements to the village enacted by the party are perhaps no more apparant than the bustling marketplace - once drab and with a few vegetable stalls, the place is now bustling with traders providing goods from around the realms, leatherworkers, magical items, beekeepers wax and honey and exotic goods. However, the party, stood and pondered the information laid upon them between the chrono-clones of Melkerech and the dearest Aunty Mora (whom some had the insensitive gall to call a Hag!). Followed as always by the faithful Goodboy, the party brazenly discussed how if this dog was the Harbinger of Madness they could maybe kill it! Colmir shook his head, this seems extreme. So.. maybe they could put Goodboy in a cell! They could ask Kreskur to arrest a dog! That is bound to go down well. But alas, they realised, a dog possibly walks between the jail bars - and .. if Madness is a being of no body - surely he would just hop to another being. But if anything was clear, Madness was compelled to follow them. Tired and confused by their moral dilemma, the party went to rest - however, the entry chamber of the manor house was full of merchants and politicians. Baroness Krell and Lord Humboldt chairing a discussion of whom should become primary trading partner to manage the trade route for the town through the pass - as the Seven Suns Trading Coster have for some unknown reason, turned tail and left the town, leaving a power vacuum behind, and to the shocked surprise of the throng, the party entered the hall - tales of their demise greatly embellished.

Part Two Wanting nothing more than to simply go to bed, the party frustratingly got collared by the bids of each merchant coster to become the official trading coster of Minroe. Felicia - red haired leader of House Glanend made her case with her typical demands that strength, violence, and dick jokes made her house the only choice, with a tacit undertone that only she could keep bandits away. But, the two other camps in town, whom had not been visited thus far, were led by two gentleman. First the measured Farmaster Fyndral of Trueshield Trading Priakos - an elderly Elf - whose measured.... and gentle... tones, were of, serious.. danger ... of ... putting the .... party .. to sleep, but promised stability whilst Felicia mocked him. Finally, a more boisterous and friendly Dwarf, represented House Skatterhawk, introduced as Darion, and flanked by a surly Holfast glaring at lucky - but apparantly silenced in the presence of his superior. He promised collaboration, friendship and work to the greater good rather than profit. Clearly frustrated and tired, the party offered a blind bidding process, and the merchants were mollified and asked to leave, under The Watchful Eye of Swordcaptain Kreskur Harrow. A long, uneventful peaceful sleep, the party reconvened early morning for breakfast, assisted by mother and daughter halflings Ula and Mira Tumblebrook. After further doggy death discussion, Colmir communed with the dog directly, its broken english relayed pain and suffering as madness held its consciousness down. Madness mocked them by taking over the younger Tumblebrook servant, and the dog ran around barking crazily, reminding Shadow of how the dog would act when the possessed villagers defending Keeper Marek, indicating that Madness had left the dog, the dog was normally naturally excitable. After taking in the evidence, and communing with with Oberon, the party surmised a few things - that Madness required 100ft to travel to another living being - and if no living being were alive, it had five breathes to live. Thinking of the silence of a graveyard, the local graveyard isn't in Minroe itself, but down a hill from the mines to the northwest. Approaching the graveyard, the party couldn't help but notice, that graveyards are remarkably alive, squirrels in the trees, mice in the grass, and worried this wouldn't be a place to take action. Thinking finally of Madness's seal in the mines, and of the silent room in Melkerech's citadel dome buried beneath the ground, the party began their deception. Claiming loudly to deal with the link between Destruction and the Queen - his seal within Melkerech's ritual chamber - the party returned to town and descended into the depths. Lucky locked the secret door shut and pinned it so it couldn't be opened again, and they moved west into the ritual chambers, avoiding the traps previously found. Setting up for the ritual - ensuring those damn silver skeletal minotaurs were retied the party enacted the ritual with an artifact of the queens, an artifact of the harbinger and the words "Eluain Thaernor Kalastai". The ritual didn't quite work as Lucky was still holding the sword and launched his surprise attack on the dog. Swining wildly the dog hopped out of the way to avoid Lucky's thrust, but reluctantly, but aware of the dogs pain, Colmir launched a flaming sphere into Lucky and the Dog. The dog was incinerated, burnt fur and an anguished howl. The air was silent, no breath of life remained - the party reliant on the protections of Oberon and Helm. From the corpse a vicious and angry shadow rises.

The battle ensued, and it became immediately apparent, that Madness was capable of massive area damage, exploding with darkness and blasting the party apart, only Colmir was fast enough to hit the ground dodging it. Utilising Thornbrand - Lucky wielded the Queens Bastard Sword, absurd at his size, spell and blasts, the party tore into Madness, barely inflicting any hurt on the shadowy ethereal figure floating over them, intent on finding a host within five breathes - an unconscious one will do. The bites and rakes of claws were strong, but the party held, as the shadow dived away from the bright light of moonbeam and flaming spheres and into a jail cell - where it was able to teleport to another shadow in the room. Spotted behind .. shadow beyond a Shadow, it flew out of the jail cell with fury and slashed into the unfortunate Warlock and Bard, bringing them low and pursued the Druid to finish the party once. and finally. Drawing upon the power of the Queen of Thorns sword, Lucky didn't fall - held only by power of the Queen, Lucky slashed away only to be brought down again by the mammoth strikes of the harbinger. Colmir summoned a horder of wolves to slow the harbingers advance - and whilst they bit and tore the ethereal being, its ability to explode recharged once more, thankfully half the party were already prone and the druid dodged again, but less so his wolves, torn apart and finished by bite and claw. With only two breathes remaining the shadow pursued the druid once again, but holding the Queens artifact, Verdant Embrace aloft, Colmir turned into bear, along with a shimmering veil of natures energy protecting from the powerful artifact. Frustrated and Stymied, Madness desperately looked to inhabit the body unconcious upon the ground, Shadow - whose will to live was enough to stabilise himself. Not so much for Lucky, down on the ground, it attempted to take Luckys body for its own. In a 50/50 odds - Luckys essence felt the claws of madness tear into his psyche - to tear it apart and claim his soul and body - something held fast in Lucky - a resolve, and a tenacity rarely shown - he denied the Harbinger, whose time was up - with no body to possess - the spirit wailed and collapsed, leaving behind a starry cloak upon the ground. Madness was vanquished at the cost of an innocent pet dog - but far less than what could have been. With the Harbingers of Minroe vanquished, that who remain.. Despair, Famine, Pestilence, Fury and Entropy remain. But why did Keeper Marek's infernal contract mention a Harbinger of Betrayal... (I think I got most details - but this fight had to happen in a hurry! - also also - how was this session our longest recap - but there was a LOT to take in now that I thought about it)