15 - 1/6/25 : Bad Blood
"We can live without the puppet strings of the divine forcing us to dance. We can be more than what we were made to be, more than just cattle to sustain the gods. I do not ask you to convert to Desna's faith; I would be worse than a hypocrite if I were to do so. Instead, I just ask that you rely on yourselves. The Underdark has made us strong by our own merit. We do not need the Spider Queen, but she needs us, and that gives us power over her."Vesper DeVir
The Wayfinders and their drow companions continued through the Underdark, seeking the city of Ulvyora. In a large cave crossing, the party encountered vile hook horrors; underground monstrosities with honed beaks and razor-sharp scythe-like hook arms. Deciding that battling the entire pack would be tantamount to suicide, the party decided to break the hook horrors up and pick them off in smaller groups. Arueshalae snuck up to the horrors and created a swirling hypnotic pattern that incapacitated many of the monstrosities. With this done, the party was able to slay the remaining horrors that came for them, faring much better than they likely would have against the entire pack. The party let the fleeing juvenile hook horrors go and continued on their way. Hours later in their journey, the party came across a dark chasm over which spanned a stone bridge. Vesper noted that she had developed an acute wariness of bridges following previous deadly encounters on such structures, but the party still had to cross it to make it over the chasm. As the group crossed the bridge, a trap was triggered that summoned two horrors; massive spectators, one on each end of the bridge which began to close in on them. The eye rays of the spectators proved debilitating, but the Wayfinders and Vesper were able to overcome them with tenacity and by focusing their attacks on the northern spectator, giving them room to maneuver once it was slain. The southern spectator fell to their assault soon after, allowing them to continue on. With Ulvyora now within sight, Vesper recommended setting up camp and resting up, for she suspected that any negotiations at Ulvyora had a very real chance to turn violent. At camp, the gathered travelers spoke with each other while Vesper prepared a soup using nightlight mushrooms, a species of bioluminescent fungi that possessed an unusual, highly spicy flavor that came from its slight but ultimately harmless toxicity. It was revealed through speaking to her that Qilue had very little comprehension of life outside of Lolthite society. When told by Raija that the servants of the Plane of Air Djinni were free to leave as they pleased and given comfortable lives, Qilue had trouble understanding. She was aghast at the very ideas of servants living not as slaves, not kept in line by fear and discipline. Vesper mentioned her former life as a priestess of Lolth, and how it had bestowed on her several physical benefits despite the mental scars it had burdened her with; namely that she was immune to most poison, having ingested many toxins in small quantities for years to build up a varied immunity. This was mentioned to be part of why many delicacies enjoyed by high-ranking Lolthite priestesses were laced with exotic and deadly poisons, a taste Vesper had not shaken. Meanwhile, Arueshalae pondered the situation revolving around Archweaver Nalfein, the supposed male cleric of Lolth that had taken power in the ruins of Ulvyora. She voiced a theory of hers; that he was not speaking to Lolth, but was instead being duped by a succubus preying on his desires and delusions. She recognized the modus operandi, and confessed that it was something she would have done in her less pleasant days. Raija asked Vesper about some of the friends that they had seen in Skaryn's Nightmare Vestibule, namely the golden-eyed human woman and the two-tone-skinned tiefling. Vesper spoke teasingly, but fondly of the two of them; her friends Contrast and Makoto, who through overbearing persistence and annoyance helped to set Vesper on the path she now walked. She described Makoto as a sharp-tongued but kind soul with 'friends in low places', and Connie as a sardonic yet unflinchingly loyal friend, whose abilities as an artist inspired her to pick up art herself. After sleeping for the night (or whatever time it was, given that the sun did not shine so deep into the Underdark), the Wayfinders and their companions made it to Ulvyora. Its sole entrance was noted by Vesper to be a combination of a gatehouse and an arena, where visitors or invaders would be herded into a sole route of approach and subjected to either interrogation or combat. It was, by her account, a common architectural feature of drow outposts and villages, though her home city of Menzoberranzan instead opted for massive obsidian walls and portcullises. Proceeding to the entry chamber, the party was indeed greeted by drow lying in wait. Archweaver Nalfein revealed himself, and attempted to lionize himself among his followers by lording his Lolth-given power over the 'traitor' Qilue and her associates. When doubted, he summoned a supposed avatar of Lolth; however, because of Arueshalae's suspicions, the party had doubts over the veracity of this claim. The supposed avatar exuded an inky darkness to embolden her presence, and she proclaimed Nalfein to be a prophet heralding a new era for the dark elves. She promised forgiveness for Ulvyora, a town that had fallen far out of favor with her, if they slew her enemies that came to depose her new prophet. Raija spoke out against the false Lolth, picking apart her promises by demanding displays of power and testing her knowledge of previous encounters with Vesper. When she could not meet these demands, Nalfein's faith was shaken, and the frustrated avatar revealed her true nature; that of a succubus named Meridania. Meridania admonished Nalfein for thinking himself a prophet, when he was in truth an unwitting warlock pacted to her. The succubus vowed revenge against the Wayfinders and Vesper, and then spirited herself away via the ethereal plane. With the succubus gone and the drow of Ulvyora at a loss, Vesper spoke to Nalfein and his followers. She urged them to rely on themselves and not dedicate their whole beings to seeking the approval and aid of divine powers; not even Desna. She urged them to seek another path free of Lolth's influence, even if it did not lead them to her starry goddess. Vesper then entrusted Ulvyora to Qilue, hoping that she would not succumb to a lust for power and become yet another drow matron mother. With their task completed and Ulvyora's situation pacified, the Wayfinders accompanied Vesper back to the surface. Their journey to nearby Foerdewaith city of Pentahs took only a few short days, and they gathered at the city's teleportation plaza to return home. Vesper revealed at the plaza that she would not be returning with them to the Frontier. Although she wanted to say farewell to her old friends and part with her new ones properly, she had training to see to in preparation for the upcoming The Virtuous Symposium. The party was surprised to hear that Vesper was competing in the Symposium; she confirmed that she would be representing the Knights of the Rose, along with two of her knightly sisters in the order. A bit of playful trash-talk from both sides followed, with Vesper showing a surprising degree of mischievous sass to her new friends. She stated that she hoped they could dance, which confused Korra, as she was not aware that dancing was involved. Vesper described the three stages of the Virtuous Symposium to clarify things for Korra; the Virtue of Reverence, the Virtue of Allure, and the Virtue of Gallantry.
- The Virtue of Reverence was a different illusory trial every year, concocted by the High Dragon of Revelmoore. Impossible to prepare for, the Virtue of Reverence served to thin the ranks of the competitors early on in the Symposium and allow the true potential champions to emerge. The only commonality between successive Virtues of Reverence was a theme of respect and honor for the heroes of the past, urging competitors to be aware of those who came before them, and learn from the mistakes and victories of yesterday's paragons.
- The Virtue of Allure was a grand ball thrown in the heart of Ilvastarr Palace, which would be transformed via illusion magic to that year's chosen theme. Far from a simple night of revelry, the Virtue of Allure served as a competition that measured the social magnetism and presence of the competitors. Judges hidden throughout the attendees of the gala would observe participants, evaluating their ability to stand out amongst their peers and put their talents on display.
- The final trial was the Virtue of Gallantry, which was more aligned with what Korra expected; a grand classical combat tournament, in which the remaining teams in the Symposium would prove their martial prowess against each other. Although magical safeguards were in place to prevent outright death and permanent injury, the combat would otherwise be entirely real; something that unnerved the Wayfinders, as they had borne witness to Vesper's terrifying destructive capabilities in combat.
The Wayfinders
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