Session 28: Mercy

Ospreay, Olin and Flick bedded down for the night, Flick helping Bryant with some food prep for the coming day in the kitchen, Olin talking with his mom for a little bit and looking at the puzzle box again. Ospreay--interested in the library accompanied Guen and Arden into the library where he was given a rune of recognition from the wards on the lab--due to prying eyes of the villagers to keep them safe--and this allowed him to go into the lab and the library.   Looking for anything that resembled prayer books, he stumbled across one that seemed more like the musings of a mad man, but few phrases stuck out to him. When he went to read more, he was distracted by a gold dragon like tail in the corner of his vision, and goes into the lab to investigate. A gold dragon (mushu sized) floats in and around the air, and makes like a cat pouncing on its prey jumping into the wall space next to that of the library. Confused, he looks at the wall--door? and hears a voice behind it talking. The spirit comes out and seems to treat Ospreay like they are playing before going back in the wall and the voice is heard again. Ospreay knocks, and the voice stops and knocks back. Saying something loudly, Olin is alerted, and goes to the edge of the lab to see if he can make out what is going on. Ospreay goes over and lets Olin in the lab with him, and they both see this spirit and it appears differently to the two of them. Investigating the door, Olin sees a rune, and draws a sketch on some paper and tries to appy it to their person/and the door and nothing happens. Ospreay lets Olin look at the patch that Arden had and Olin sees its a rune burned onto leather. Finding his old cowl, Olin cuts off a piece and uses metal to burn the rune into the leather. Going back into the lab, Olin tries and is met with some success, but when the spirit helps push his paw flat on the stone Olin falls in.   Zola had been trapped in this room for a lot of days. trapped in a room with a lot of traps, the stupid armor suit and a book across the way. She had thrown her shoes days ago in a desire to at least try to get the objects. She was hurt a lot, had no food and no water. The knock was initially thought to be Arden, until the Dream spirit came and told her it was not Arden, but an elf and a bunny. Then they tumbled in, and helped get her out. Ospreay tried to walk towards the armor, and stepped on a pressure plate, causing 5 darts to launch and imbedd in his flesh. Leaving it for the night, the group left the room, and was met by Matias who told them to stop being silly loud old people and go to sleep.   In the morning, they plotted how they would go about rescuing the 20 or so villagers likely still being held in the barn. Zola was able to offer aide, and Arden was mysteriously gone. Deciding on a stealthy route, the group got the aide of Olin's older brothers: Bryant, and Owen. As well as two of the patrol buddies of Owen's. Bryant was the best person to potentially make the magical ovens in the bakery explode to create a diversion to get the people to safety. In the plan, Bryant ran the numbers and said 5 min from a signal and the bakery would explode. Going in, it was decided that Owen and the 2 patrol guys would act as 'way stations' one near the pond, one in the forest, and Owen to help get folks out as a known trusted face in the town. Bryant and Zola went to the Bakery, and then Zola would help the folks at the barn. Olin, Ospreay, Pipus, and Owen would try to get all the folks out of the barn and headed off to safety.   Upon sending Ospreay's mouse to scout, they found a rotation of some vampires, and that there were at least 2 by the pond, but to avoid being stepped on and killed the mouse did not see much in the barn.   They made their approach, and with Pipus' ingenuity of trapping the two vampires in the barn and being the containment operator, the others headed up to the hayloft where they found 19 people. All are malnourished, and hadn't eaten or drank well for days, 2 were severely ill, and 2 were on the brink of death. Olin offered some healing to those on the brink of death, and then the captives were split into 4 groups of 5. Zola got the hayloft level doors open and using a rope she and Owen got a few groups down while Owen and Ospreay got the other two out and down. The bakery blew up shortly after the second group departed from the barn.   Pipus was eventually the head of 10 people to lead them to safety, as Zola reported she was in trouble with her group getting noticed by some vampires. Olin and Ospreay ran to go give aide, as the others were hopefully able to bring the villagers to safety. They fought with a few vampires, did some cool divine smites, some cool uv pulse, and sneak attacks. After the immediate danger was dead, Ospreay and Olin were confused when Zola addressed the space around them with questions--meant for the dead. And seemed to get answers?? Who is Marion Hileage? and what is Zola's beef with the Sundered Sole?   Olin sees the water of the pond as they make their way to the meeting point in the woods, and it is a very murky water--odd for it acts as the filter from the water from the mountains and flows into the river towards Stoney Glen. He takes a dip, and in it, it smells awful, going under the surface, he sees bloated corpses, some unrecognizable of the dead. Among them, he sees his sister, an air genasi, laying among the dead.   They get to the camp, and bed down for the night and make their way to Arden's home. Upon entering, there are a lot more people -- all of the ones they saved, and the companions -- except Olin's family -- are present. In looking for them, Olin finds Owen, and Owen takes Olin to a back room where inside, Beth (Olin's mom) kneels in front of a makeshift prayer stand to the Traveler, Andre (Olin's dad) sits holding Harry's hand (Olin's youngest sibling), and on a cot covered in massive burns and laying in a coma-state is Bryant. His once honey-brown fur singed black or burned away in places, and he is breathing. Seeing this Ospreay does step into the room and observes. Olin goes forward and cries on Bryant reaching out to their deity for aid, and uses a spell called Mercy's Tears. Olin, in using this spell feels his brothers thread as a tangible thing, and feels it fraying, and directs the power into the thread. This results in the thread breaking, but reamaining, for the lack of a better word, whole and intact in whatever place it goes to next. As Olin sees this, Bryant takes one last deep shuddering breath and leaves the world of the living.   Zola and Olin after a while when the family starts planning the death celebration, slink out of the villager area and go into the lab, where Arden is working. Zola confronts Arden about attacking her, and about the armor in the room she was locked in (and the book that Ospreay seemed to care about). Arden knows nothing, and tells Zola that she needs to leave since she cannot be trusted in the home. Arden is clearly not able to remember or see what they are talking about, and Zola brings out a paper--a poem that Olin reads and they have a small conversation about, before seeking out Pipus and ask a few questions to them about the god theh vampires worship, the enemy to that god, and what Pipus' opinions on it are. (Mind you, Pipus is more in tune with the natural spirits of the land than any god).   Ospreay takes the time to talk with Andre. And in this moment, Andre gives him papers and ink and stamps to write to him and Beth with. Offering to be a listening ear or friendly face if needed. (TLDR; Andre and Beth have all but officially adopted him, even though he is older than both of them, into the family if he chooses to have them as family in any sense of the word).   We left with Zola slinking out, Arden tinkering with a device to arm it for the coming task of dealing with the leader of the vampires, Marion Hileage, and whatever fae may bring with faer.