Session 112

The party continued to question the four defendants, though they quickly began to struggle to decide what information to ask of them. They decided to delve into each defendant's past after a comment from Killian let the party know that Eva had apparently killed her best friend when she was a child. Curious, they questioned her and heard the story that she had been near a steep ridge with her friend and her friend had made a rude comment about her appearance, so she pushed her out of anger, sending her off the ridge to her death, and that after her parents were forced to pay a fine to the city, Eva was abandoned and left on the street. She eventually managed to get an apprenticeship with her mistress Talara, whom she said had been dead for a few years now -- clarifying that she had died from natural causes. The party also learned that Tal'arin had been selling shoddy goods around town because he didn't have the initial money required to obtain proper goods to sell, and had even sold stolen goods. They then learned that Miren had once attempted to join the Spellscar Crusade, but wasn't cut out for that kind of word and on his journey to town, he was robbed by a man attempting to steal his gems, and killed him in self-defense. Miren's recounting of these events made the party a bit suspicious, due to his mention of several others he had stabbed to death over attempted robberies, but Killian confirmed he had heard of these events and there was nothing suspicious about them. After Sabine asked a few poignant questions of the defendants, a comment from Eva as she was gushing over Tal'arin, revealing a crush she had on the Letheni nearly twice her age, revealed that Killian apparently aged very well. After realizing that Killian seemed to be the only one without a "skeleton in his closet", and being suspicious about Eva's comment, they questioned him further, which seemed to anger him. He professed his innocence, asking why they were so certain that he needed to have a "skeleton in his closet" and that they were obsessing over something stupid. However, something the Adjudicator had told them stuck out -- she had said that all the defendants were guilty of something, but only one was guilty of the crime for which they were accused. Suspicious about his deflection and seeming lack of "dirt" on him, and after Dain noticed a suspicious socket on Killian's sword's pommel, they told Sabine that they believed Killian was the murderer. After some hesitation, Sabine summoned the Adjudicator and delivered her judgment. The Adjudicator seemed pleased and told Sabine she had chosen wisely, and recounter the story of what really happened. She said that Killian had killed a woman and devoured her soul, and that there had been witnesses, so he had attempted to kill them all to prevent his secret from spreading. However, the four defendants were all caught in compromising positions and executed by stoning. After the reveal, Killian spoke, telling the party that he had been so fearful of death that he sought any method he could to avoid it, apprenticing to a Soulbinder named Chuma who had a warped world view that saw murder as a form of worship to Estrea, and that those not strong enough to defend themselves deserved to die and were food for them. Killian lamented that searching for a way to cheat death had ultimately sealed the very fate he was trying to avoid, and that if he had simply done nothing, he would be reunited with his family in the afterlife, but now he was forever damned. At that, the swirling green portal to what the players recognized as The Vortex opened above, and a screaming Killian was dragged into its wake before being cut off and the Vortex disappeared. The Adjudicator told Sabine to proceed to the final trial. As she approached the door and unsealed it, the text hovering in the air read "Responsibility".

Proceeding down the stairs to the room of the final trial, Merrick heard a voice in his head saying "Disappointing…" He attempted to question what the Deep One meant, but was ignored. At the bottom of the stairs, there was a large room with three wall segments blocking a set of stairs and two smaller rooms. There was some manner of dome in the center of the room. As they drew closer, the Adjudicator made her appearance and the wall segments lowered to show two platforms on either side of the stairs. On top of one was a random old man that neither the group, nor Sabine had ever met, and on the other… Sabine's parents. Sabine seemed frantic and called out to them, distressed. The Adjudicator waved her hand and a tube appeared at the end of the dome oriented at Sabine's parents and a crackling ball of lightning began to charge at the end. A sand timer appeared and began to count down as the Adjudicator explained that after one minute, the device would activate and obliterate everything in the tube's path, and that there was a panel on the dome that Sabine could use to reorient the dome to instead point the other way. The Adjudicator simply told her that she needed to choose and disappeared. Sabine began to panic and frantically asked Samira what to do, and was told that she must choose. Running to her parents, they tried to comfort her, and the party also encouraged her, telling her that she needed to make her choice. As the crackling ball of lightning got louder and more powerful, Sabine dejectedly turned away from the dome as it fired, obliterating her parents. Sobbing, she collapsed, and the Adjudicator reappeared, telling her that she had completed the final trial, and that it was a test of her ability to make the right decisions, even when they're difficult, and to not be manipulated by others. She told Sabine that she had completed the trials, and must now descend the stairs to the final room and enter the pool to Ascend. As she wept, Sabine's parents reappeared and comforted her, telling her they were proud of her, before saying goodbye and vanishing again. Depressed, but determined, Sabine arose and proceeded toward the stairs to the final room. However, as the group moved to follow her, Merrick had a sudden shiver rush up his spine and a feeling of dread overwhelmed him, and he was compelled to turn around. Looking behind them, he saw a dark tear in the fabric of reality, and horrible sounds began to emerge from the hole as a large beast stepped through, unleashing a horrible screech. Several Deep Spawn then appeared beside the terrifying creature, and charged after Sabine. Dain told Sabine and Samira to run towards the final room, and the party began to fight.

The creatures emerging from the portal were horrifying. Almost immediately, the large one unleashed a chattering sound that wracked the minds of those in the room, causing Dain and Summer to begin to hallucinate. Dain saw visions of the Chief Enforcer of Nenthafiaran, as well as his uncle Glondor, taunting him, while Summer was plagued by visions of Adamar reaching out as if to hug her saying "GRANDDAUGHTER!" Merrick attempted to unleash his most devastating attack, centering a Maddening Darkness spell in the corner of the room, catching all of the Deep Spawn as well as the Deepwalker. However, the Deep Spawn moved in and one of them managed to leap onto Merrick, digging their spines into his body. Meanwhile, Dain managed to dodge one of them, but was surprised by a second behind him who did the same. As Summer's hallucinations became worse, she mistook Merrick for Adamar and moved to attack, cutting an already overwhelmed Merrick. Dain attempted to escape, but was compelled by his nightmares to simply stand in place. The Deepwalker moved in to lash out at Moonshadow, who was shooting at him, and Moonshadow narrowly dodged. Merrick managed to escape the grips of the Deep Spawn assaulting him by using Misty Step to teleport away, but Dain was not so lucky, as the Deep Spawn atop him unleashed jets of hot steam through its spines, injecting it directly into Dain's body, causing his skin to rupture and causing him great pain. He chose to teleport away as Merrick had and pursued the Deepwalker, dealing it some heavy damage before the Deepwalker turned around and lashed out with its tongue, ensnaring and constricting Dain. It then pulled him in and bit him hard, causing him to fall to the ground dying in a bloody mess. Merrick managed to cast Banishment on the Deepwalker and heal Dain, and the rest of the Deep Spawn began to team up against Summer and Merrick. Things were not looking good for them…