Session 016: Crashing the Party

Having left off at a mysterious sound on the roof, the North Wind begins with some hasty coordination followed by a chaotic game of cat and Aphid mouse. Mohr and Zenith find a half-elf and a gnome trying to enter through a window on the roof above the ballroom. Talasea and Aphid interrupt a human and Kauma the Betrayed in their violent descent through one of the guard towers. Jack brings up the rear to help mop up the scattered combatants..   Zenith charms the gnome into revealing there are six members of their party attempting to enter the building, led by Prach and Kauma. Kauma comes at Tal and Aphid with fang and claw, momentarily knocking Tal unconscious. But the half-elf and the human are both brought down as Kauma flees through the manor. She attempts to fool Zenith into believing she is in need of protection, but he notes the burns surrounding her metallic jewelry. They manage to take her down in a smoke filled hallway.   Still missing two enemies, the group splits once again. Zenith going to investigate the fire, Jack follows the slinking black mist that is all that remains of Kauma the Betrayed, Mohr and Aphid go to warn Swallow and keep an eye on the party, and Tal goes poking around for fire and foes. In adjacent chambers, Zenith finds a raging magical fire that he attacks with his chromatic orb set to ice, while Tal enters a room lined with black marble statues and finds Somphone bleeding out at the feet of Prach the Betrayer.   The group slowly reconvenes in this chamber, one by one slipping in to help the rest of the party while Zenith takes care of the fire. Prach attempts to stop the Wind by threatening to murder Somphone, but a touch of healing magic turns Somphone’s life into a game of tug of war that Prach loses. Prach ends up tangled in a net while Somphone is healed by Tal, Aphid, and Mohr. Prach, rather than facing down the whole group on his own, suddenly pulls on the sword of the statue behind him and disappears down a hidden exit beneath him.   Tal, Aphid, and Mohr head down the stairs after the fleeing Prach into a dark but lavish sitting room. Jack and Swallow accompany Somphone to the ballroom to distract the party from the lack of music and protect Lady Vongvilay from whatever other plots are in motion. We end with half the party upstairs holding the party together with their fingertips, half of them facing an ornate door leading onwards after the remaining villain.   And the gnome still on the roof looking with growing impatience at a children’s book.   And a final member of the group unaccounted for...