Session Date: 13th Aug 2025
Saga: 5th Saga - Freedom's Flame
Attendance: Sam Gallon,Rowan Hales,Tom Brothers,Caleb Hamlet,Jae Knight

Session Summary

Korrigan, Drache, and Aidan began the battle at Luminara’s gates, facing heavily armoured Guards whose defences grew stronger the more they were hurt. The fight was fierce—so much so that Drache was briefly knocked down, a rare sight that rattled Korrigan. Eventually, the trio emerged victorious, battered but alive, and pushed into the deserted city, looting an alchemy shop for healing and utility potions before pressing toward the palace. There, they encountered Malachi, who turned the noble crowd into solid gold before revealing his “surprise”: a hulking golden mech piloted by Sera, the tiefling Korrigan once knew. Mistaking Korrigan for an imposter wearing Kal’s skin, she vowed to kill him—only for a portal to open above, dropping Mordecai and Halfbie into the fray.

Halfbie and Mordecai’s day had started very differently—they awoke in a gilded chamber, their bodies almost entirely turned to gold. Malachi and Xekai entered, chatting casually, and Halfbie recognised the magic as a high-level alchemical transmutation. While Xekai appeared to ignore them, Mordecai taunted him into revealing his cover, prompting him to knock Malachi unconscious and portal the pair to the Healing Halfling, who restored them. After some terse conversation, Xekai returned their bodies to normal, armed them, and dropped them back into the battle with Korrigan’s group, warning that the mech’s crystal was the source of the antimagic field.

Reunited, the party engaged the golden mech in a brutal fight, struggling without their full magical abilities. Mordecai identified the crystal’s location behind thick plating, and with Slyva’s timely arrival to bolster their attacks, they finally destroyed it—restoring magic and defeating Sera in the process. Her death struck Korrigan hard, but he honoured her by forging a sword from her mechanical remains, renewing his vow to kill Malachi. With grim resolve, the party entered the palace together, ready for the confrontation to come.

Full Session Notes

Korrigan and Drache stood at the gates to Luminara, ready to start the battle. Suddenly, Aidan caught up with them, explaining he had supported the rest of the revolutionaries, but it seemed they could use some help. They both gladly accepted his help. Before they charged in, Korrigan made a discovery: Their magic was slowly returning. Upon realising this, Korrigan let out a slow, maniacal laugh. His purple eye glowed with Fey potential, and he drew his bow and fired his shot.

Their battle was long and difficult as the Lost Haven Guards stood firm; their strong armour and towering boards made it challenging to damage them. Even when they were able to hurt them, they somehow grew even stronger, absorbing damage better and better while their attacks hit harder. This battle was so harsh that Korrigan witnessed something he hadn't seen since the war for the OFC's freedom: Drache being knocked down. Although he got up, Korrigan had diverted some of his power to keep Drache alive, staining the fight further in the guards' favour.

Eventually] the group was victorious in their fight, and they stood bloodied and bruised; the guard's corpses lay on the ground in even worse condition, dead. They stood there in silence, trying to catch their breath. The moment was serene, as they stood to a backing track of a slave rebellion. The weight of their responsibility weighs especially heavily on Korrigan.

With the gates unguarded, Korrigan led the way to Luminara. Before crossing the threshold, he looked over his shoulder to check on Misty and Tish, who seemed fine, having stayed on the sidelines during the fight. Korrigan turned to Drache, "All right, Drache, what's the plan? We head straight to the palace? I think we have magic..."

His voice trailed off, and the antimagic field began to turn on again. Both looked at each other with concern. Drache suggested they get a move on and head for the palace, picking up some supplies along the way, gesturing to his numerous wounds left from the fight. They all agreed and crossed into Luminara. It was a ghost town with all the shops abandoned. Korrigan explained that many nobles run to the palace whenever there is danger. Aidan suggested they look for supplies in some shops.

They soon found an alchemy shop that looked to sell some health potions. Slowly opening the door, they found it empty apart from a regular-looking human who seemed to be a form of security for the shop, unrelated to the Lost Haven Guards. Thankfully, he was asleep. Nonetheless, they sent in Aidan to grab anything useful. He managed to catch two potions of greater and superior healing, two potions of cure disease, and a potion of invisibility.

They grabbed the potions before heading for the palace, drinking some to heal themselves before another inevitable fight with guards or worse. Reaching the gate, they found it full of nobles who, upon seeing them, began screaming in terror. Korrigan tried to calm them down by explaining they're ministers in another country, but it didn't work as they were dressed in slave clothes and covered in blood.

Malachi entered the court stand on a balcony above everyone's heads as their screams continued. His eyes surveyed the crowd, and he seemed calmed by his presence. His eyes meandered until they locked with Korrigan's. His disdain was evident even from a distance. Korrigan's face twisted into a mischievous smile as he mockingly greeted the king. Malachi returned the smirk, saying, "I wondered when you'd be back"

He then raised his golden arm to the Nobel crowd, and a brilliant golden light shot from his palm, turning everyone in the crowd to gold. Malachi explained that he refused to let his people get hurt again. Holding his gaze on Korrigan, he smirked before saying, "I do have a surprise for you, though..."

"You know what? I'm not into Mad Kings. I'm sorry. It's not my style. I do like playing catch, though. And he shoots an arrow," replied Korrigan, and quickly drew his bow and fired an arrow square at Malachi. He did not react to the arrow's feel on his golden skin.

"Pathetic", he said, his voice dripping with spite. "No class, AND you're about to die. I almost feel sorry for you... almost."

With a click of his fingers, a pair of side doors swung open as Sara's hulking, golden form entered the courtyard. Korrigan froze, his jaw gaping, as a singular tear ran over his cheek. Another then followed. His legs gave out as he fell to the floor, unable to hold back the torrent of tears and emotions. Satisfied, Malachi turned on the spot and returned inside the palace, the doors clanging shut behind him.

Korrigan regained some of his composure when Drache touched his shoulder reassuringly. "Sara... Sara, it's me, Kal," he managed to call out.

He watched in horror as Sara's face was downcast in tears, her robotic voice screamed, "You're wearing his skin. I will kill you!!". Underneath the modulated voice, Korrigan could hear the voice of his friend apologising and telling him to run.

The robot was about to begin its charge when a familiar purple portal opened above them, and two figures dropped to the floor next to them.

Halfbie & Mordecai's POV

Halfbie and Mordecai slowly awoke to find themselves in an exquisite room filled with gold and brilliant white marble furnishings. The room was filled with incredibly lifelike statues of people in various states of fear, tears, and pain. Halfbie commented on how little taste Malachi has. However, no words left their mouths. Mordecai found the same was true for them. They both looked down, and to their horror, their bodies, up to their eyes, were made completely out of gold.

Before the two could even begin to panic, a grand door opened, and two figures walked in. One was covered in his usual robes, which the party had recognised instantly, and the other bore the crown of Lost Haven. A flicker of hope crossed Mordecai's eyes as they recognised Xekai.

Both confidently entered the room, engaging in friendly chatter. Upon entering, Xekai instantly locked eyes with Mordecai and Halfbie, but quickly moved on to the rest of the room, commenting, "I see you've got a few more since last time."

Malachi replied with an enthralled smile, excitedly pointing to some of his new favourites in the collection. He gestured at a few, including Slyva, who seemed to have a defiant look on her face. Mordecai tried to use the dispel magic spell by subtly spelling it; however, the antimagic field appeared already active. In fact, from their vantage point, it seemed like Xekai was actively trying to ignore them, whether he could hear them or not.

Deep within Halfbie, knowledge of a past life bubbled to the surface. At Strixhaven, many studied Alchemy. Many of the higher-ranking scholars could transmute metals into other metals, like iron into gold. It was theorised that you could turn living matter to gold, but no one worked it out in Strixhaven. Halfbie was filled with scientific intrigue, seemingly the only thing keeping Halfbie from falling into panic.

Xekai and Malachi sat at a grand table in the heart of the room. It was, too, made of solid gold. Malchai poured him a cup of tea. Genturing to Halfbie and Mordecai, he explained that they were the most recent ones; he caught them a few hours ago messing with Sara.

Mordecai suddenly realised that while the antimagic field was active, it hadn't been for long enough to be at full power, allowing them to use the message spell. They tried to message Xekai, but still refused to reply or even react ^[1]. The two talked about a range of topics around politics until the topic eventually turned to the rebellion, where Xekai said, "We'll have to quell this rebellion as soon as possible. I recommend sending all your guards straight into the quarters." Malachi nodded in approval, and once they finished their team, they began leaving the room.

Mordecai's anger had reached a boiling point watching the two be so friendly and then get up to leave. Even though they knew none could hear them, they still sneered, "you're a coward Xekai"

Malachi stopped in his tracks, the air around him becoming very tense. He turned to Xekai and asked, "How does the Tiefling know your name?" The silence was deafening in the room before it was broken with a long, exasperated sigh from Xekai. Before anyone could react, he turned on the spot and punched Malachi in the stomach. The force was enough to make the king vomit before passing out.

He then slammed the doors shut and marched over to Mordecai and Halfbie. "For fucks sake, my cover has been blown in another place." Mordecai timidly asked for help, and Xekai scratched his neck as he inspected their golden forms. He muttered that there wasn't much he could do here, opened a portal beneath them, and jumped in after them.

Halfbie and Mordecai awoke in an ornate-looking room filled with paper and books in stacks that reached the ceiling. The Healing Halfling stood over them, doing her best to fix their golden bodies. It seemed she had already fixed their heads, allowing them to look around and talk. Xekai sat in the corner watching the scene with a clumb expression. Mordecai awkwardly said, "I thought we were goners. Um, thank you. Sorry about earlier...Nice digs."

The Healing Halfling glanced at him as she tried to focus on the magic. Halfbie excitedly watched, trying to figure out how the magic worked, before quickly pestering the halfling to explain it. She frowned at the young wizard for being quiet while they worked. Halfbie apologised, but their stars made by prestidigitation remained like a dog wagging its tail.

Xekai finally spoke up, "We don't have much time. You've got to go back down there in a sec."

The two nodded. "What are we going to do if we don't have our magic? We can't really do much, " Halfbie asked.

Xekai simply stated that they had to return and help the rest of the party as best they could. Mordecai suggested that the Auditors could help them in their fight, but Xekai said it would interfere too much. Chenris butted in, sarcastically asking if pulling them out of the golden room was interfering too much.

"Well, I didn't try to take you out for a friend room, did I?" argued Xekai. But Someone had to mess up the plan again. I would've freed you eventually." Mordecai stared straight at the ground, unable to meet the man's eyes.

Halfbie then asked, "So are you friends with all the rulers of nations then?" Xekai simply remarked that they were a very powerful group.

"I never said you were, but like personal relationship with all of them." replied Halfbie.

"We're friends with several high-ranking people in nations," he replied, matter-of-factly.

"Is that why you're friends with us? Because you know the OFC is the whole thing. " asked Mordecai.

"We're not friends." Xekai replied glumly, "We're more like... work colleagues."

Their bodies soon returned to normal, and Xekai quickly stood up, telling them that it was time for them to return to the fight. He gave them a set of bows and daggers before opening a portal under them back to Lost Haven.

The two down next to a spurries Drache and Korrigan. Mordecai quickly explained, "Hello, um, so before we do anything, just letting you know, the crystal in the mech suit, that's the antimagic thing. If you defeat it, you get your magic back."

Drache seemed overjoyed that the two were alive, and they all joined in a big group hug around Korrigan. The shock of seeing everyone again brought Korrigan back. He then realised that Sara was starting to move closer to them. "Well, thank you for hugging me. Sara is coming towards us."

Halfbie dismassed his consered and hugged Korrigan tighter. Mordecai waved him off, half-jokingly stating, "Yeah, this is how we died. I've been there, done that."

"It's not too bad. You get used to it," said Halfbie, a bit too seriously for anyone's liking.

"Do we need to destroy the crystal that's in, then? " said Drache. Hearing that the robot was beatable, he gripped his greataxe and led the charge. Mordecai and Halfbie stood back, firing arrows while the rest fought at closer range.

After a better look, Mordecai notices and points out that the crystal is hidden behind a large sheet of gold plating. If they can destroy the crystal, then they can beat it. However, this proved to be easier said than done, as the battle was extremely difficult. The party's magical damage dealer and battle field controller didn't have access to their abilities and weren't very good with a bow.

Halfbie was extremely bad at using a bow, missing most of their shots. Notably, halfway through the fight, Slyva joined them, giving them some much-needed firepower and bow experience. Eventually, they got to the crystal and defeated the robot. However, with the robot's defeat, there was nothing keeping Sara alive, and she soon died as well.

Korrigan told the party to wait momentarily, explaining that he had promised to kill the king with Sera's sword but no longer had it ^[2], so he would have to do the next best thing. He then climbed up to Sara's body and, after a short prayer, fashioned her arm and robotics into a new blade. He held it up to the light and reaffirmed his promise to Sara before jumping down to the party with a steeled look of grim determination.

The party echoed his expression and followed him into the palace.

Trivia & Notes

• Considering that Malachi Darkthorne † poured Xekai a cup of tea and didn't expect him to do it or order a slave to, shows just how high-up/ respected he was with the nations leaders.
• Chenris Tallfellow ‡ judge their choice in tea, as they were using what many would consider to be low quality tea form The Desert.

Footnotes