Session 23: Part II - The Revenant

1 Ondatria 1356

After a time, Feliks‌ heads back to the hideout. On his way back, he hears the alarm go off in his head, and tips off Fina‌ and Nyandrea‌ with a Sending as he begins to hurry. They decide to hide and attack the intruder as they enter. Feliks‌ gets back and Star‌ reveals herself to him in the tunnel — it was her who set off the Alarm. Feliks‌ asks where she ran off to, but Star‌ is upset and asks if they can talk about it later, to which Feliks‌ agrees. She then asks if Feliks‌ remembers what happened “last time they were in Anabe” — he says he does, and they talk for a little about whether they should tell the others, but Feliks‌ isn’t sure if they can trust them, and they decide against it.   Feliks‌ remarks that he can’t believe he wasted a Sending to tell the others about an intruder when it was just Star‌. Star‌ suggests that he send another one to scare them, and he messages Fina‌, telling her it’s chaotic down in the tunnel and that he doesn’t see them… Fina‌ panics and tells Nyandrea‌, who tells Fina‌ to go check it out herself: she’ll stay with Alex.  

Nyandrea: I’ll stay with Alex. You go check it out.
Fina: You’re shitting me, right?
Nyandrea: Mmmm… no? Someone’s gotta stay with her.
Fina: *is obviously shaking*
Rory: The muscle says… “You do it.”
Grey: Yeah, you. The one who was just kidnapped after going off alone? Go off alone.
Rory: Nyandrea says, “I’m reading. You go do it.”

  Fina‌ storms off to go help Feliks‌.  

Nyandrea: Yell if you need help!
Fina: Just follow the trail of blood…

 

Feliks, seeing just Fina coming down: Well, shit. It doesn’t feel right to scare the person who was just tortured.
Star, eagerly: I cast Major Image!

  Star‌ creates an illusion of zombies and a crumbling wall, and Feliks‌ uses Prestidigitation to make it smell like rotting corpses. Fina‌ is terrified, but Star‌ falls over laughing almost immediately, making the zombies explode into a bunch of flowers. Angrily, Fina‌ tries to cast Swap Emotions on Star‌, but the spell fails.  

Rory:Also, fucking risky because I don’t know if I’d want Star‌’s emotions…
Grey: Yeah, I’m gonna be honest, you’re probably better off with that not working.
[...]
Grey: Honestly, it would reveal a lot if you got Star‌’s emotions.

  Star‌ continues laughing hysterically at Fina‌. Fina‌ just stares at them, tosses her arms up exasperatedly, and then storms back out of the tunnel.   Feliks‌ and Star‌ follow her back, and Feliks‌ remarks about Nyandrea‌ reading, since he’d been under the impression that she couldn’t.  

Star: No, remember the very first time we met, and I told you she helped Fina fill out the paperwork to get into the outpost?
Fina: *curses in Jej*

  They talk some more, and Nyandrea‌ explains Fina‌’s little shenanigans with the void venom, and what she believes she learned from it. They spend some time being shocked by Fina‌’s impulsiveness before moving on. They talk a little about Alex’s handler — temporarily dubbed “Sasha” — and Fina‌ sheepishly admits that she almost likes them: they were very straightforward and to the point, and seemingly sorry that Fina‌ had to be kidnapped. They’re definitely the vehement enemy of the Inquisition‌. Fina‌ also puts together that Sasha mentioned something about the Inquisition‌ killing their family — and given that Sasha was overall pretty honest, choosing to withhold information rather than outright lie, she thinks that Sasha must be telling the truth about that.   They discuss the deaths of Feliks‌’s family, and Star‌ says that it can’t have been the Inquisition‌ that was responsible — it must be whoever made the deal with the Dreamweaver to mind control Alex. Feliks‌ swears that he’ll destroy them.   They speculate a little bit about the nature of Alex’s mind control, and about whether it was Alex who answered Feliks‌’s Sendings. Feliks‌ also mentions that he’d like for them to find a different name for her than Sasha, as that was the name Feliks‌’s mom often called Alex by. They argue a bit about the spelling of “Oleksandra.” They decide to workshop it in the morning, and go to rest.  

Oliver: You can go ahead and get your spells back now, assuming no one is going to do anything nefarious during the rest.
Rory: I kill Star.

  Feliks‌ and Nyandrea‌ don’t really sleep; Fina‌ does, but wakes up and takes a shift watching Alex, and reads Alex’s dreams, finding that she dreams of Feliks‌ and Neco. Feliks‌ talks to Fina‌ a bit during her shift, and they talk about Fina‌’s decision to go after Alex herself, against Feliks‌’s wishes. Fina‌ admits that he’s right, and Feliks‌ reminds her that not everything is truly her fault, particularly what she was made into and what she was made to do in the aftermath. He does chastise her for drinking the void venom, but tells her he understands why she did it.   They have a heartfelt talk about their care for each other and the rest of the party, and Feliks‌’s feelings about everything that’s happened with Alex so far. Fina‌ asks Feliks‌ if he still wants to forget, and he tells her that he does, but he’s Star‌ting to realize that it’s not an option if he wants to protect the people he still cares about.   They throw a book at Star‌ to wake her up and ask if she has any leftover strudel. Star‌ is indignant and asks Fina‌ what she’s going to give Star‌ in exchange. She offers her one of Alex’s daggers. As they all hang out and chat — Nyandrea‌ still pretending to sleep — Feliks‌ and Star‌ begin to hear sloshing footsteps in the distance…  

2 Ondatria 1356

The two of them suddenly begin to panic, insisting to a confused Fina‌ that they need to go. Star‌ runs off and Feliks‌ runs after him, while Fina‌ unlocks Alex’s manacles to get her out of there, and Nyandrea‌ sticks with Fina‌. Feliks‌ and Star‌ try to hide, but they come face to face with a man they both recognize too well: The River Revenant, a servant of the Taiga who has been relentlessly pursuing Star‌ since she left Vibria‌. He reaches toward them, and Star‌ manages to shake off his influence, but with that, a fight begins.   Fina‌ hands Alex to Nyandrea‌, along with an antimagic device that she instructs her to use if Alex tries anything. Feliks‌ activates his bladesong and immediately targets the Revenant with lightning. Star‌ casts moonbeam on one of the Revenant’s Specter friends, and then runs back into the tunnel. Fina‌ charges forward, but falters when she sees Star‌ cowering, as it’s something she’s not used to seeing. She asks her what’s wrong, and Star‌ simply replies, in a small voice: “It’s the Man.” Fina‌ doesn’t really understand, but she keeps moving. The Revenant attacks Feliks‌, and ghostly hands reach out from beneath the ground like they’re trying to drag him down with them, leaving moisture wherever they touch Feliks‌’s skin. Feliks‌ begins screaming for the others to “wake up his water wife,” which Nyandrea‌ does. Alex shakily gets her bearings and then readies herself to join the fight.   Feliks‌ continues to body the Revenant with some offensive magic, and frantically screams at them to get Star‌ out of there. Hearing his panicked voice, Alex wrenches free of Nyandrea‌, and runs over to Star‌, and begins searching for her kidnapping implements — her bag of holding and her mask of endless breath. She tells Star‌ that she can get her out of there with those supplies, and Star‌ tells her that she knows exactly where they are: Fina‌ has them. She runs over to Fina‌, and Fina‌ points a dagger at her. Fina‌ doesn’t trust her and doesn’t tell her that she doesn’t have them, just says to stay with Star‌. Fina‌ just gives her one of Star‌’s daggers to use, then runs off and squeezes her way through the doorway, attacking one of the Specters. Nyandrea‌ emerges as well, attacking one of the specters with her ghost claws and killing it — it falls into a splash of water.   Alex runs back to Star‌, telling her she couldn’t get the supplies she needs to get her out of there, but she’ll protect her regardless, brandishing one of Star‌’s daggers (to Star‌’s indignation). Feliks‌ begins yelling for her to come out and fight, as he’s seen her manipulate water before, and he believes she could beat him with those abilities.   The group continues to focus down the Revenant, but not quickly enough for comfort. Star‌ runs out to help, but her fire spell doesn’t do much. Alex runs out and joins the fight, to a chorus of “Kill your dad!” from Feliks‌. Star‌ darts out and heals Fina‌, and Alex creates a second, icy dagger for herself out of water she draws from the Revenant. Fina‌, meanwhile, picks up a brick and smashes it into the Revenant’s head for 5d8 damage.   His eyes now focused on Star‌, the Revenant focuses his glare on her, and then makes a final, sweeping attack, targeting everyone within 20 feet of him with the Grasping Hands Beneath the River. Feliks‌ evades the attack, but Fina‌ and Nyandrea‌ are hit, and everyone looks on in horror as the hands overwhelm Alex, killing her and dragging her soul into the ground. Feliks‌ lets out an unnatural, bone-chilling scream. Nyandrea‌ gets off another hit, and a vengeful Feliks‌ lunges at the Revenant with an electrified sword, decapitating it, as its body dissipates into water and flows away.   Star‌ and Feliks‌ run up to the body. Feliks‌ is in denial, desperately trying to negotiate with her not to die; Star‌ repeatedly tries to cast her healing magic, although nothing seems to work. Fina‌ quietly puts a hand on Feliks‌’s shoulder. Star‌ sobs that this is all her fault, and Feliks‌ tries to comfort her. He desperately looks for Fina‌ or Nyandrea‌ to do something, and Fina‌’s anger rage seems to fade into calm. She tells Feliks‌ to take Star‌ inside, then bends down and, with Nyandrea‌’s help, puts Alex’s body in her bag of holding. Fina‌ tells Nyandrea‌ what Sasha said about why she couldn’t kill her — if she did, the Inquisition‌ could just resurrect her. Stands to reason they’d be able to resurrect Alex, as well. Inside, Feliks‌ continues to insist that this isn’t Star‌’s fault, and she pulls him into a hug. He cries.   Feliks‌ and Star‌ decide they need to get out of there, and come outside. Fina‌’s calming spell runs out and she screams, slamming her fist into the wall. They Star‌t heading to Feliks‌’s place, and he stops and asks what they did with the body; they tell him it’s in the bag of holding for now. They get to the ship, and Feliks‌ aimlessly rambles an explanation of the ship’s history to them. Then Star‌ takes his hand and tells the others they’ll be back. She leads him to the edge of the dock and shoves him in the water, then jumps in after him. He asks her if she wants to see the shipwreck where he and Alex first met, and she tells him she’s never leaving, and she’ll go wherever he goes. He takes her there, and it’s a wondrous place, full of unique corals and fish.  

Feliks:The first time I met her, I was running away from the responsibility that I had at home… I used to come to this shipwreck because… it’s really beautiful. There’s so much stuff here. Every time you come, there’s a different animal, there’s a different creature, there’s a new piece of coral, it’s a new color… I would come here and I would… I would just sit for hours, not breathing.
Feliks: And… one… one day, when… when I was sitting, I… I felt this presence… and I didn’t know what it was, but then out of nowhere this… this… person, was just there, and… and she had a dagger in her hand and… I thought she was going to kill me, but… she looked at me and she grabbed me by the shirt and she dragged me up to the surface like we are now. And she looked me in the face and she said…
Feliks: “I’ve never seen an air genasi down here. What are you doing? This is the water, what… There’s no air down here.”
Feliks: And… I looked at her and I said, “I don’t really need to breathe, ‘cause… it’s so quiet, and everything is so perfect.
Feliks: And then she said, “Yeah I agree, give me all your fucking money.”
Feliks: And I… I gave her all of my money. I didn’t stop coming here, and she robbed me three more times…
Feliks: And then on the fourth time, she said, “I think you’re doing this on purpose.”
Feliks: And I said, “Yeah, it took you long enough.”
Feliks: And after that, she showed me all the spots that she liked, and… I showed her all the spots that I liked to swim in, and eventually… Eventually she would follow my mom, she would follow our ships out to the open ocean and… I would sneak her on board, and… We would play pranks on the crew. She would help me rescue them when there were fights… When people were thrown overboard, she would make sure they got back…
Feliks: Eventually my mom figured out that something was going on and she… she spotted the weird water lady that was following us, and she invited her onto the ship, and… We… I never left her side until… until the… [he sighs] Until the funeral when I told her that I didn’t want to go with her, or that I couldn’t…
Feliks: And I let her leave, and I shouldn’t have let her leave… I thought this whole thing was her fault at first. I didn’t… Star, I didn’t know… I didn’t know there were fucking magical spiders that could make you do things. She didn’t… Alex was a good person. She… She wouldn’t have done this. And everyone thinks she’s bad, but she’s not… She’s a thief, but she’s not a murderer.
Star You’re right.
Feliks: After we got… When we got married, and… She… Everyone was like, “This rich dude marrying this literal thief with nothing?” Everyone judged her, everyone acted like she wasn’t… Like she wasn’t worth being around, but she was. She spent most of her time when she wasn’t working with my mom at orphanages, at schools, helping people… That’s how we ended up with Neco, because she would go and she would meet all of these kids and she would… She just wanted to help all of them, because she knew what it was like, not to have… To be on her own, and… She was a good person. And I don’t know how to make other people know that.
Star: We could figure it out. We could find a way.
Feliks: It’s a good shipwreck. There’s still a lot of gold down there.
Star: Let’s… Let’s leave it for her.

  Feliks‌ suggests they go back, but Star‌ wants to spend a little more time with the shipwreck. Feliks‌ doesn’t want to go back alone, so he waits up by the surface for a few hours until Star‌ emerges.   Meanwhile, Nyandrea‌ asks Fina‌ how she’s doing and what happened during her interrogation. Fina‌ calms herself down with Calm Emotions, and then gives a brief description. She says that Sasha mentioned something called the “Soul-Eater”, which “does exactly what it sounds like,” but that she “didn’t want to make an alliance with Jejun‌ just to get rid of me.”   After a while, Fina‌ turns the questions on Nyandrea‌, asking who she is. Nyandrea‌ gives her a noncommittal answer, saying simply that she’s a traveler and a Worshipper. Fina‌ casts Detect Thoughts on Nyandrea‌, but doesn’t learn much. Fina‌ asks why Nyandrea‌ lied about being able to read, and Nyandrea‌ simply replies that she thought it was funny — which her thoughts confirm. They talk a bit about why the  

Fina: You know what the most frustrating part about all of this is? I’ve been saying from the beginning that Star shouldn’t be trusted.
Nyandrea: And?
Fina: What do you think just happened?
Nyandrea: I think two thousand years come with a complicated history with the many beings that inhabit our continent.
Fina: If people would stop holding secrets back… These things wouldn’t keep catching us off guard. And yeah, I know it’s rich coming from me.
Nyandrea: Yeah, and imagine how many secrets you’d have with a lifespan a hundred times longer.
Fina: Well, not all secrets kill Feliks’s wife.

  Nyandrea‌ continues to defend Star‌, to Fina‌’s frustration.  

Fina: What do you think, honestly?
Nyandrea: What do I think about… Star?
Fina: Star, Feliks. All of this.
Nyandrea: Um… I think Feliks is dealing with a lot of grief. Probably looking for… a new way to live, without letting go of his past completely? And Star… I think Star thinks they’re a lot smarter and more in control than they actually are. I think spending so much time around people who don’t live as long and don’t know as many powerful beings has eaten away at their sense of perspective on how small, weak, and vulnerable we all are individually. And I think that’s dangerous for all of us.

  Fina‌ mentions wanting to talk with them about it further, but Nyandrea‌ cautions her not to push them too hard, that it won’t be helpful at this point. Fina‌ asks her to keep an eye out for them and goes to update her journal. Nyandrea‌ keeps a loose lookout, flitting in and out of consciousness.   Feliks‌ and Star‌ return. Feliks‌ asks Nyandrea‌ where Alex is, and she tells him she’s in a “bag of wifeholding” — Fina‌’s bag of holding. She asks him if he wants to see her. He tells her that he thinks she should be with the waves, not in a bag. She yells for Fina‌, letting her know that “Feliks‌ wants his wife back.” Feliks‌ asks her to get Alex out of her bag, and she hesitates, asking whether it’s possible to bring her back. She tells him that the Inquisition‌ can do it, so someone must be able to.   Feliks‌ asks again if she can take her out. She does so, and Feliks‌ takes out his spellbook, taking deep breaths to steady himself, but it doesn’t really help. He pulls her into his lap, and then takes out his spellbook, flipping to Gentle Repose. He’s shaking, trying to cast the spell, which he hasn’t cast since his daughter died. He finishes the spell and kisses her on the forehead.

Feliks: I don’t know if this is going to work. I don’t think I could have ever helped you, and I’m sorry. I should have tried harder from the beginning. You were a good person who just liked to take things. It’s not your fault. You were just a kid when your parents died and you had to fend for yourself. And sometimes you just have to take things to survive. And you only took from people who didn’t need the things that you took.
Feliks: I love you and I’m sorry that this happened. I’m sorry that people think you’re a monster when you’re not. You’re a good woman and I will make sure I can do everything I [he sobs]... I will do everything I can to fix that and ruin the people who did this to you. And… I hope that whatever… I hope the gods are real because you deserve to wander around the dreamlands with Neco and my mother. And Fen would be blessed to have you at his side. And I hope I get to tell you that one day, where you can actually hear me.

  Feliks‌ puts his spellbook away, and hands Alex back to Fina‌ to return to her bag. He promises not to keep her in the bag forever if they can’t help her.   Feliks‌ climbs up to the crow’s nest to grieve.