Session 27

Session Date: 20th Dec 2024
Web Vault Link: https://www.ashencampaign.xyz/session-notes/season-4-ignatius-beckons/session-27/

Session Summary

The party took refuge within the magical protection of Halfbie's forcefield, attempting to recover from their ordeal. Drache opened up to Halfbie about Chenris' death, marking the first significant bonding moment between the two. Tensions arose when Korrigan and Mordecai discovered Halfbie’s worship of Aeloria, a connection that prompted conflicting emotions, particularly given Chenris' tragic dealings with the deity. Despite the mistrust, the group ascended the mountain to a ruined castle, where Mordecai's encounter with a cursed crown led to visions and temptation, sparking heated debates and emotional outbursts. Aidan ultimately stopped Mordecai from wearing the crown, diffusing the immediate danger.

At the castle's summit, they encountered Uti, the red dragon guarding the island. A tense confrontation escalated into a deadly battle when Uti declared the group a threat. The party unleashed their abilities in a coordinated assault, eventually slaying the dragon. However, their triumph was short-lived as Xekai arrived, freezing them with magic and expressing dismay over the consequences of their actions. The group pressed on, uncovering unsettling revelations about Ignatius, Mordecai's connection to the crown, and the broader implications of their journey.

In the aftermath, they used magic to question Uti's remains, learning critical details about Terathra, the Auditors, and the stakes of their mission. Visiting Uti's lair, they discovered a winged fox named Bit, who sought its dragon master. The party's morale hung by a thread as they grappled with the growing weight of their choices and the dire consequences of their path.

Full Session Notes

With the forcefield up and protecting The Party from the skeletons outside, everyone slowly fell asleep. Halfbie and Wurinn Fuuldrusch were the only ones left awake, and they all slowly drifted to sleep as the adrenaline left their bodies. Drache had been incredibly quiet for the last few days since it was taking him longer than usual to process Chenris Tallfellow ‡ 's death. Sitting in the wonderfully warm forcefield area, he finally found the time to introduce himself to Halfbie. He apologised for being rude and not speaking to anyone for the last few days. Halfbie shrugged off the apology, saying they understand that times are tough for everyone right now. Drache explains that they recently had a long-term member of The Party die tragically, and it's affecting everyone in strange ways. Drache also takes this time to apologise for Kal The Korrigan † and Mordecai Reverence's actions and for being so mean to Halfbie. Halfbie doesn't mind and wants to make sure everyone is happy. The effects of yesterday's battle took hold very soon, and they, too, fell into a deep sleep.

In the morning, Korrigan approaches Halfbie (Mordecai secretly keeps an eye out to listen to their conversation); Korrigan notably refuses to break eye contact with Halfbie, intently staring at their purple eyes. He takes the time to ask them if they worship a god like he worships Lorwyn. Halfbie excitedly explains that they worship Aeloria, which shocks Korrigan and Mordecai. They explain that Aeloria is the one who has helped them out the most that they can remember, so it only seemed right that they worship them. The two ask for some examples, to which Halfbie explains that Aeloria helped them learn new spells and help them find a friend. However, when Mordecai asks who their friend is, Halfbie cannot remember, blinking blankly as they become confused. Mordecai tries to explain how Aeloria isn't all good as they offer information, but it will often come at a cost. They tell how Chenris was tricked into exchanging their soul for information.

Halfbie jumps to Aeloria's defence by explaining that Chenris was in great distress when he made that deal and never asked what the god would get for this information. Korrigan began to agree with Halfbie, saying that people are usually made well aware of the consequences of each deal before making them. Before finishing their sentence, they paused and asked how Halfbie could know something like that. Halfbie, for their part, blinked blankly again before admitting they had no idea. The two studied the Eldarin for a moment before continuing their conversation. As the conversation ends, korrigan takes the time to thank Halfbie for being so helpful with the forcefield and in fights. Mordecai blows on both of them, saying, "Yeah, I know they're useful; they can do everything I can do but better!!" before storming off. Korrigan and Halfbie share a look before rejoining the rest of the party.

The Party continues up the mountain with relative ease and reaches the top around midday. At the top, they encounter a ruined castle. Mordecai gestures for Halfbie to go ahead and investigate, especially as they are so bright, they sarcastically remark. While no one was looking, Mordecai sneakily wrote a quick note that said 'Fuck you' to try and throw off Halfbie's investigation. Unfortunately for Mordecai, Halfbie quickly found and discarded the note before returning to their investigation. They soon find a door into the castle that is heavily rotted, which grants them easy entrance into the castle. Inside, they were greeted with a small entranceway that had a small staircase to one side and a grand entrance into a large banquet hall. the hall was filled with large long tables with 100s of skeletons sat at them. A quick investigation informed them that skeletons belonged to a myriad of different species, but the majority belonged to Dragonborn. At the far side of the room was a table that lay horizontal to the room, presumably the King's table. In the middle of this table was Skeleton sitting on a throne wearing a sizeable ornate crown with a mote of fire burning above it. Upon seeing this, Halfbie becomes incredibly excited, asking if this could be a rare magical artefact before running over to it to get a closer look. Mordecai saw his chance and slyly asked Halfbie to pick up the crown. Halfbie didn't pick up the crown but got close enough to investigate further, unveiling that there was some form of magic on this crown, although it is unclear what type. The crown itself was incredibly ornate, with a large red ruby on the centre of the crown, which seemed to be the source of the flame. The crown also appeared to create a slight dark halo over the skeleton wearing it. Halfbie explained that a more thorough investigation would require them to pick up and touch the crown.

Korrigan looked to Mordecai, saying that if this crown involves fire, then Mordecai might be the best to investigate further as their Tiefling Heritage would give them an advantage in dealing with flame-based curses or effects. Turing to Halfbie, they ask if they have any way to deal with curses. The Eldarin quickly flicked through their spell book to check. Korrigan took the time to look at the book only to find it looked like a regular book, but whatever inks or magics were used in its creation caused it to have a peculiar energy, almost like it was returning Korrigan's stare with its very own. After a quick flick through the book's pages, Halfbie announced that they could remove curses, but it would take some time for them to become reacquainted with the spell before attempting to cast it. Mordecai walks over to the crown as dramatically as possible to outstage Halfbie and elegantly grabs the crown.

As soon as they did, their minds were filled with visions of war, anger, hate, death, and injustice throughout the world. A female voice began to narrate the rampant lies and hatred that infected this world and how it could also be solved with the power of a cleansing flame. As this happened, the island was shaken by a large earthquake that threatened to destroy the castle. Mordecai was about to pull away before what the voice said made sense, and they began agreeing. The voice started to talk about the people in their lives, like their father, Arwen Gryffon, who would wash away the beautiful flames of justice. Mordecai leaned against the table, using Prestidigitation to cause small flames to wrap and move through their fingers as one would with a coin; darkness seemed to cloud their face, obscuring their finer features. They mutter about how things could be better this way and give in to the irresistible urge to wear the crown. Halfbie began to weave a spell while Korrigan drew his bow, ready to stop Mordecai from picking it up. At the last moment, Korrigan stopped and let his bow down - curious to learn what might happen. Noticing this, Halfbie does the same, trusting that Korrigan might know something they don't. At the last moment, Aiden Knight used his slow-time ability to rush over and grab the crown. He knocked it out of Mordecai's hand, leaving it to roll and clatter on the cobblestone floors. Halfbie used [[Mage Hand|[Mage Hand]] to quickly grab it and lift it 35ft in the air.

Mordecai screams in frustration, exclaiming that no one understands; they could make everything better with the power from that crown. Aidan tries to remind them of the pond in Session 21, how evil curses can be, and how they can warp people's understanding and senses. Seeing that Halfbie was holding the crown out of their reach, Mordecai used the Message spell to demand them to drop it, as they especially didn't understand. Halfbies don't respond out loud, instead opting to shake their head and ask what they don't understand. Mordecai brushes them off, saying it's too complicated to explain. Halfbie smiles and says, "Then make it simple". Mordecai eyes them but refuses to elaborate. After a moment of silence, Korrigan tries to break the tension by saying they had come here to meet a dragon and they should try to focus on that. He also states that dragons are hoarders, so there would be some more interesting - and maybe less cursed items there than this crown. Dragons are also intelligent and might have some answers for why things are happening to them.

Halfbie asks why drache isn't smart or doesn't have a hoard if they're Dragonborn. Korrigan reasons this is because he is only half dragon, and those traits must've been lost a while ago. Drache was about to take offence to this before realising that it was probably true. While this conversation continues, the voice in Mordecai's head says they could quickly get rid of the dragon and this stupid Dragonborn. Grabbing their head, Mordecai shouts out loud for the voice to get out of their head. The voice says they'll be quiet for now. Halfbie offers to cast Identify on the crown so they can figure out what is going on. Mordecai reveals he knows exactly what is happening, and Halfbie would have no chance of knowing since their memory is terrible. The Eldarin looks quite hurt by this but doesn't say anything. Mordecai explains what they saw when they touched the crown and that they were very reminiscent of the vision and ideals belonging to Ignatius. They explain that while they don't agree with everything God says, some of it hits a cord with them, and they have been thinking about it for a while now. This crown might be an artefact of Ignatius.

Drache steps back and nervously says they absolutely cannot be here and should bury the crown and leave as soon as possible. Korrigan stands in front of Mordecai and asks them what about the teachings of Ignatius they like and points out how these 'cleansing flames' killed their mother and burned their house to the ground. Before they can finish the sentence, Mordecai slaps him. Korrigan sees the slap coming and lets it land, never breaking eye contact with the Teifling. Suddenly the damn broke, and korrigan started shouting that Mordecai had watched them all slowly become puppets of the gods and was meant to remain free of all that. Mordecai fires back, saying everyone, even the gods, has abandoned them. This power would allow them to clean the slate and start fresh finally. Korrigan's eyes narrowed as he said, "Do you know why the smartest people end up working for the worst people? It's because they are better at rationalising the wrong things they do". Korrigan lets Mordecai through to get to the crown before saying that Mordecai was the one who taught him that. Mordecai begins to say something before the voice in their head speaks again, saying that their power can make everything ok again. Mordecai grabs their head again, shouting and screaming for the voice to get out of their head. They begin to break down as they exclaim how alone they are and want to be loved.

Korrigan and Drache look at each other and give Mordecai an enormous hug. They did their best to comfort him and explain that they would always be there for them and might not be family; they are a new family Mordecai could choose. Korrigan states that Mordecai is a genuinely good person and will always be there for them. Mordecai pulls away and exclaims that isn't true; they're just as selfish as Chenris Tallfellow ‡ it's just they're better at hiding it. This only causes the two to hug tighter and Aidan to join in on the hug. Halfbie isn't sure if they should join and stands to the side until they are done. Recovering from the emotional moment, Mordecai sarcastically says that the crown obviously can't be burnt, so what should they do with it? They ask if Halfbie can remove the curse. Halfbie explains that they could, but it might not work, and the only way to tell is with identity, which needs a physical touch to work, which is a considerable risk in case the crown can affect multiple people. As they talk, another earthquake shakes the island, and a vast roar can be heard outside. Korrigan dashes to the door to see what's happening, trying their best to remain hidden. Outside is a large adult red dragon, who instantly spots them and says, "Found you, young one", as it flies past.

Korrigan turns to the rest of The Party and tells them to stay put before confronting the dragon. Mordecai and drache ignore him and run out to join him. Mordecai exclaims that they both did stupid things in the past to face this together. The dragon lands in front of them and commands them to explain why they would want to travel to such a remote island. Mordecai replies in Draconic, saying that they wanted to come and speak to it. Korrigan explains that they know Terathra and know that Uti † was the last person to talk to Terathra. Uti stares at them before narrowing their eyes at Mordecai. "You touched the crown, didn't you?" it said question. Mordecai apologises for doing so, as they had no idea. Uti explains that they can not let anyone leave the island because of that. Shocked, Mordecai tries to sacrifice himself to allow the others to leave. The rest refuse to let this happen, with Korrigan exclaiming that Uti will kill one; they must destroy all of them as if they were a meal deal. Before anything else can happen, Xekai appears from a portal and uses some strange magic to freeze everyone but Mordecai on the spot with a large sigh. Uti explains that everyone here has to die, as coming onto this island is enough of a threat to the world. Mordecai claims they have enough audacity that they can't get through this, and nothing terrible will happen and swears on everyone's life. Uti exclaims that swearing on these lives means everyone must fight them to the death, and either way - the Gods do not work like that. Xekai unfreezes everyone before going back through the portal.

Korrigan exclaims that if they die anyway, Uti may as well answer some of their burning questions. The dragon allows this to happen and asks what their first question is. He asks if they still must be killed if they decide to stay on the island. Uti says no. They had signed a contract that said no one could enter or leave the island, or they would die. Korrigan then asks why about Sword of Whispers and what they're doing on the island. Uti explains that their primary purpose is to defend the sword, which has a terrifying power. This leads Halfbie to make the connection between the sword and Firesoul Greatsword. They next talk about Terathra and the pillars, and Uti explains that their name is Niaross † and that they had to sell their dear friend with the pillars to make sure that the Gods were stopped. They also confirm that Terathra is slowly dying. Halfbie asks how they know Xekai. Uti reveals it's through The Auditors and that they have been working together for quite a while. Korrigan asks if Ebis Daro and Akin Netch ‡ are related. Uti has no idea who Ebis is but knows Akin from working together for a long time. Mordecai asks that if Xekai knew they were going to be killed, then why didn't he warn them of coming here? Uti reveals that Xekai has been incredibly busy of late and wasn't aware that they were on their way - Uti refuses to elaborate on what he has been doing. Korrigan asks if Uti has killed Master Enel Cubus; the dragon confirms that Cubus is dead. With this, Uti grows tired of asking questions and tells them to get ready for a fight.

The battle with Uti was short but decisive. Drache began by activating his Axe and began to hack and cleave at the dragon. Korrigan set up his healing spirit before shooting his bow. Halfbie took this time to cast Haste on Drache, causing the barbarian to move even faster than usual and hit with even more ferocity than before. Aidan tried out his new magic and cast Hex on Uti to Debuff them some more. Finally, Mordecai threw a firebolt at the dragon, only to realise that fire did not affect Uti. Letting out a huge roar, Uti sprang into action and unleashed a massive barrage of flames that engulfed many party]] members. Everyone managed to survive, but Mordecai was severely injured. The fight wasn't over as The Party attacked again, with drache doing a lot of damage as he found he could hit harder and faster. Mordecai used their Metamagic to make two strong Lightning Chromatic Orb that dealt much damage to Uti, leaving its breath ragged. Korrigan was able to finish it off with some well-placed shots from his bow. Uti † fell to the ground dead.

As this happened, a golden portal opened next to Uti's body. A man wearing a golden mask, accompanied by a golden dragon, appeared through it. They looked at Uti's body, their expressions unintelligible, before sadly shaking their heads, then left. Halfbie ran to Mordecai, whose injuries had gotten the better of them, and healed them back to consciousness. Mordecai suddenly awoke confused and asked why Halfbie would be so kind to them after everything they had done and said. Halfbie exclaims that Mordecai was in need and that it is right to help people and is confused at the idea that someone would help those in need. Mordecai is grateful but aware that this isn't the whole story and there is something more. He used the message spell to ask if they knew Halfbie wasn't being entirely truthful, but they were off the hook because they healed him. They give Mordecai a smile as Korrigan and Aiden Knight come to heal Mordecai some more. At the same time, drache can't understand why Uti had to die. With Halfbie no longer concentrating on Haste, exhaustion hit Drache like a train as he leaned against a nearby wall to steady himself.

Korrigan calls out to Xekai, furious that something like this had to happen and could have been avoided if the man wasn't so cryptic. Xekai appears and freezes them in place with the same magic as before. He looks at Uti and then The Party in dismay and exclaims that they better know what they are doing before stepping back into his portal. Behind him, they can see inside where a black dragon (possibly Kazzin) alongside the Healing Halfling and numerous other people hugely talking over papers. The portal soon closes, leaving Korrigan fuming.

Halfbie, Aidan, and Korrigan go to see the crown left in the ruined castle when Uti † arrives. Looking at it now, there is no longer a flame from the ruby, and it seems like a regular crown. Korrigan wants to bury it. However, Halfbie wants to cast Identify on it so they know exactly what it does and see if they can learn how to reverse its effects. As they discuss their next steps, they hear faint chanting coming from a nearby staircase, and Korrigan rushes to grab Mordecai and Drache so they can investigate further. The voice tells Mordecai to destroy the crown as it means nothing to them anymore. Mordecai becomes concerned and thinks this is a trick by the voice to free it.

The voice explains that this isn't the case as Mordecai is now her vessel and The Crown of the Lost is now no more than a good-looking piece of jewellery, although apparently, it would be nice to see Mordecai wear the crown as they command their own Ash Spawn legion. Hearing all this from Mordecai, Halfbie uses Mage Hand to grab the crown and cast their spell on it. Exclaiming, "You only live once," and touching it. They learn that nothing is interesting about the crown apart from some magical residue left from precession magic. They smile and tell them the news as they hand them the crown. With the crown now understood, they descend the stairs and investigate the chanting. They continue down into the earth for ages, becoming very steep after a while. After several thousand steps, the chanting became incredibly loud as a large stone door confronted them. Remembering the last stone door to Iron Forge, Korrigan tells Drache to make sure he pulls it open and not push it. Drache quietly opens the door, a small crack to peer inside. Inside is a large room with many Red robes surrounding a sword in the centre.

Drache opens the door a little further and finds that the red cloaks don't have bodies; they are just large motes of flames. Many more floating flames were hovering around the room, keeping it bright. The Firesoul Greatsword was floating a few feet off the ground in the middle. Mordecai is highly tempted to grab the blade as the voice tells them to claim their prize. Mordecai resists the urea but becomes irritated when the voice mocks him for not figuring out who they're being possessed by. Korrigan says "Hi Ebis" on a whim to the voice. The voice laughs as it exclaims that she is way better than that pretender. Halfbie asks if the voice is High Priest Lyrion; she says she is much better than that fool, saying, "They are nought but a twinkle in my eye". The voice begins to tease them that being in Mordecai's mind is very fun as they get to know so much about his past, including that letter to their father and Claribelle's death. Mordecai tells the voice to get out of their head that they don't need an army and they don't need any help. The voice laughs manically as they explain that all of their efforts are pitiful compared to the power of Ignatius. Mordecai was also told not to worry about it, as although they can't control Mordecai's body yet, soon they will, and it won't matter.

Korrigan whispers to Drache and asks if they can quickly cast Detect Good and Evil and see what they learn. Drache does just then and, to his horror, detects a considerable amount of undead energy emanating from Mordecai. Drache hurriedly explains what he feels to Korrigan, who claims he'll cast his protection spell on Mordecai so they can ensure that Mordecai does not lose control over his body. The voice retorts that if they do that, they will make sure that when she leaves, she will make sure there will be nothing left of Mordecai's brain to function. Suddenly, it clicks with Halfbie. Ignatius doesn't have any family, but they did recall that in The Sundering - As told by The Ashen Cult, there was a female war general called Seifer Willow ‡. Willow confirms that Halfbie is correct and says that if they've read their bible, they know what can happen when too much of Ignatius' power is channelled through someone, and she can do that if anyone makes any wrong moves.

Halfbie Messages Korrigan and tells him that he has a plan for the sword, they have a Bag of Devouring that they could put the sword in, in the worst case, they could put the sword in there, and the bag eats it, and the sword is gone. As this is happening, Mordecai makes a mad dash for the Sword. Before anyone can do anything, Halfbie teleports into the room ahead of Mordecai, but before they can do anything else, a red portal appears. Out of the portal, a tall Elvin man appears and uses his magic to knock everyone to the ground, immobilising everyone. He then calmly walked to the sword and picked it up before returning to his portal and said, "Thank you for bringing this to me. That dragon was the one thing keeping me away!" before dipping back into the portal and causing everyone to pass out.

They all wake up on the beaches of Itone a few days later when the captain and Obeus Yelris travel up the mountain to find them. Obeus doesn't hear anything from them. The Party all decided it would be best to go back up their mountain and check Uti's body and cave to see if they could find or learn anything about what happened or what might happen now that Ebis has the Firesoul Greatsword. Travelling up the mountain again, they find Uti's body fully decomposed and the one made out of solid gold. Concerned about the abnormality of the body decomposition rate and the gold skeleton, they decided to investigate. Mordecai suddenly remembers that they used Speak With Dead from a wild magic surge from a fight a while back. They use it to learn more while Aidan figures out how to return the body to the OFC to add to the nation's funds. The spell gave them five questions to ask the dragon.

They began by asking, 'How can we stop what is coming?'. Uti's body slowly came to life as it explained that there isn't a chance to stop what will happen now that it is in effect, especially with towers falling and the sword free. Their second question: 'How did you learn to seal Terathra?'. Uti explained that it was a method theory by the Dwarves long ago. Their third question: 'What are there options to seal Gods?'. Uti explains that the only other way was through The Ancient Pillars. However, they weren't powerful enough to contain the full power of the Gods. Their fourth question: 'Can we trust Xekai?'. Uti explains, "Xekai does more for you than you will ever know. Why do we think The Ethertwist Haunter has left you alone for so long? Why haven't you had as much trouble? Maybe someone has been going ahead and dealing with big threats. Xekai cares for you like a farmer cares for a lamb being sent to the slaughter; he sees you as his best shot at winning. Xekai has a lot on his plate, and you are at the top of his priorities. The Auditors don't think this should be so." Finally, the fifth question: 'Where is The Auditor's Headquarters?'. Uti explains they had a tower south of The Great Wall in The Desert. With that, Uti's corpse becomes quiet.

Everyone is left devastated as they realise the gravity of the situation they are in. korrigan is the first to break the silence, saying it would be good to see Uti's cave, while the voice is just glad that the dragon is dead, laughing manically as they say so. They soon reach the cave and are confronted by a large, primarily empty cave. There was a huge rug in the middle that presumably Uti slept on at night and a large fireplace with the below painting on it:

Auditors_-_Sepia.png

The person on the left seemed to be Xekai, and the dragon on the left seemed familiar, but The Party weren't sure where from. The man in the middle was presumably Akin Netch ‡. the dragon on the right is Uti, and the Harengon also looks familiar, but no one was sure where from. Near the fireplace was a large grate with holes and bars on it. In the box was a large fox with wings cowering in the corner. Korrigan immediately left the creatures out, leading to it rushing out and doing circles around the room like it was looking for someone. Korrigan asks who they're looking for. The fox explained that they were searching for their master: a large red dragon. Korrigan then asks what the fey creature is doing here, all locked up from the world. The fox says it wasn't being held there against its will; it's just nice and warm at the fireplace, and they're prone to getting lost. The fox introduces itself as Bit and lands on Korrigan's horns to perch there.

Trivia & Notes