Session 28 - Another Confession to Make

Abbit spends 24 hours casting Hallow on the Brandywine Chateau, giving the party time to recover from the Naydra Heist and the near-catastrophe of Sarael falling from grace.   

Meera's Confession

While most of the party winds down with drinks, Meera pulls Rhys aside to one of the tables and begins explaining her true nature. That she is not actually his sister. The real Meera Cairthel really did die in Hatena two years ago. She is simply a spirit cursed to reincarnate in corpses. Specifically the spirit of someone who was originally Chikara Nadir. It is not her choice. And she means the Cairthels no ill will. She has every intention of fixing the curse and bringing the "real" Meera back from the dead.   Rhys is very quiet at first. He processes things quickly. He is not angry with her for possessing his sister's body, as she had no choice in the matter. He is angry, however, that she pretended to be the Real Meera despite fully knowing that she was not, thus giving them false hope. He does not want to deceive them and will tell them the truth on his own -- since Meri Cairthel would probably react poorly.   And if she really is Chikara Nadir, then maybe after she gets everything sorted out, she can have the decency to send the Cairthel family a generous gift for letting her "borrow" his deceased sister's body. She agrees and doesn't press any further.   Kai is informed of her true nature as well, but the party asks him to keep it a secret from the other domains. Don't wanna ruffle any feathers or cause political upheaval. The party doesn't need an even bigger target on their back, after all. He agrees to keep it quiet.  

Abbit's First Confession

Abbit suggests that they lay low for a while -- the Hegemony will probably be hot on their heels after Naydra. To say nothing of Sarael knowing about Meera. What if she told other people in the government? He suggests they teleport up to the Lost Woods and free Hoo'Ax'Dyuu. He reveals the true nature of his god. Hoo'Ax'Dyuu was originally one of the sentient hex weapons created by Lazu, and through some twist of fate ended up becoming a newborn god through Abbit's coincidental/accidental worship of his name!    He's currently lodged in the back of some guy named Gabe, and needs Abbit to free him to complete his ascendance to true deity. He could be a great ally in the battles to come. The party agrees it's a good plan.  

Talitha's Confession

A bit later, Talitha slides up to Rhys -- who is still a bit shellshocked by everything -- and asks if he'd like to go on a date. To her surprise, he snaps back to reality and shows great excitement. He happily accepts! He'll have a plan put together by tomorrow.  

Nôx's Confession

Nôx has managed to incur the suspicion of Biscus, who sees that his pal "Farvis" has arcane skills. Nôx relents and reveals his true self since Piers mentioned it was essential to be honest. Biscus reacts by casting Heat Metal on Nôx's nose ring. Piers is able to talk Biscus down from a state of pure rage and the spell is dropped.   Nôx explains the situation -- that Farvis died at the hand of bandits and Nôx subsequently impersonated him in order to get a lead into Naydra. He was not an aggressor, and he is confident that they were too far away from aid to actually keep Farvis from dying no matter what he did. The deception wasn't intended to be malicious. He's sorry. He hopes that his aid to the party is proof that he's not a threat and means well.   Nôx also briefly describes his patron. Who had bright orange eyes and a mysterious nature. It was like he wanted to play with Nôx. Childlike but terrifying. It gave him a new hand after his former peers cut it off. He has no idea what his patron wants, if anything, as it has not come calling yet.   Biscus is not happy, but decides not to engage in further conflict. Just keep the party safe.  

The Late Hours

The party goes to sleep, except for Nôx, who stays up late with Rhiannon after she offers to help him copy some of her ritual spells into his own spellbook. Her spell book is purple leather with gold trim and is extensively bedazzled. Nôx is now broke after spending a ton of money on spell materials.    Krud and Malikathar eat cookies on the couch in the guest sitting room.   Nôx returns to the room that Meera said he could share. Meera begins a conversation about how she sympathizes with Nôx's plight -- being bound to a strange patron with mysterious goals and purpose. Nôx is here to help the party in any way he can, and demonstrates some of his talent by using Words of Terror on Meera. This apparently gets her motor running, and the two spend the evening together.   In the morning, Abbit begins his 24 hour casting of Hallow, with Krud, Nôx, and Edmund keeping him company.    

Abbit's Second Confession

In the morning when the party gathers together, Abbit decides he should reveal a little more of his story. Just to be fair. He says that he has been adventuring to become strong enough to save a Zora woman named Cassia -- the sister of Lady Isana. His tribe on Windfall Island used to make sacrifices to their fiendish god, Gal'Rek, who he was once a servant of. He originally thought nothing of it. But she was so kind to him, and treated him like a person, and he began to have second thoughts. He spared her from the sacrifice and broke his divine bond with Gal'Rek.    They escaped from the tribe and made it to the beach, but warriors from the tribe caught up with them. He no longer had his powers due to betraying Gal'Rek, and was thus unable to save her when the warriors shot her with poison darts. She died in his arms. He was briefly imprisoned by the Zora and escaped with Hoo'Ax'Dyuu's power, accidentally establishing a connection with him due to a bad pun.    He'd like the party to help him get vengeance. To kill Gal'Rek and resurrect Cassia. The party is very moved by this story and wholeheartedly agrees to help. Abbit is a bit touched. Also, he speaks in his real accent, which startles them. This prompts...  

Hart's Confession

...Hart to start speaking in his real voice! Which is softer and less intense. Texas is not part of Verden, or anywhere in this world. It's a whole different plane of existence. And there are only humans there. The party finds that part especially weird. Only humans?!   He says that when he first arrived, he played up the role of his "character" in the business. Which leads to a discussion on whether wrestling is real or not. This is heavy. They agree that wrestling is real in the sense that it's a very athletic entertainment career. Hart would very much like to go back one day, but has no idea how that would even be possible. Maybe some higher level magic. The party agrees to help him as well, and he doesn't have to "be in character" all the time if he doesn't want to.   The party is so wholesome, willing to help each other.  

Date: Piers and Kai

Piers remembers that Kai asked him out to coffee next time he was in town, and so they plan to do so! What could go wrong?!    Kai arrives dressed in a nice frock coat and invites him to Sanctuary Park, where he has paid for parkside catering from a local cafe. Coffee and tea and pastries are all available. Piers chooses water. Kai makes pleasant chit chat for a bit and then asks Kai if he'd be interested in a relationship. Kai thinks he's pretty wonderful, after all. Piers responds by saying that the party has such close relationships. Kai thinks this means the party has a group romance dynamic and he doesn't wanna go there.    Kai quickly realizes that Piers has no idea he's on a date and simply isn't interested, so Kai dies a little inside and politely says they can watch the local wildlife as friends for the rest of the afternoon. Oh, buddy.  

Date: Talitha and Rhys

  Going much better is the date between Talitha and Rhys. Rhys arrives wearing a nice suit and escorts Talitha into the city. He picks up an order from a cafe and presents it to her -- a big carton of giant cinnamon rolls! They spend the evening at a dance hall, because Rhys is a great dancer too! They entertain the entire hall with their brilliant displays of athleticism.    And then they come home to the chateau and demonstrate their athleticism to each other in more intimate ways.         In the morning, Abbit has finished casting Hallow and the chateau is protected from celestials and fiends. Malikathar is even allowed in as an exception. The party prepares for their journey to the Lost Woods!