Session Information

Session Date: 27th Aug 2026
Saga: 9th Saga - Dangerous Deities
Attendance: Sam Gallon,Rowan Hales,Tom Brothers,Caleb Hamlet,Jae Knight

Session Summary

The session opened in the aftermath of Chenris's apotheosis, with Viktor revealing he had successfully transformed himself into one of the tower-crystals, his body now covered in red crystalline growths and his eyes turned gold, effectively making him a mobile anti-god field. Halfbie woke up disoriented, their mannerisms different from both their old self and Chenris, and they vaguely remembered the name Gil-Galad, which Viktor warned them not to pursue. Mordecai stepped outside the party's Leomund's Tiny Hut to confirm that Seifer was still present, relieved to find she had merely been unconscious during the divine battle, though he warned her presence would fade if Viktor remained too close.

That night, the party was surrounded by hundreds of vampires from the Crimson Vanguard, led by a 7-foot-tall brute who refused to negotiate. After a tense standoff, a mysterious woman in a red satin dress walked straight through the Tiny Hut's barrier, revealing herself as the vampire queen who had helped the party earlier. Halfbie seized the opportunity to cast Geas on her, commanding her to take the tribe to Merrihallows. Though the spell couldn't force her to her death, she reluctantly attacked her own followers to compel their obedience, creating chaos that let the party escape to the church. There, an old wizard appeared in a newly manifested corridor, ushering them to safety as the vampire horde descended, and the corridor vanished behind them, leaving the party in darkness.

Full Session Notes

There was a momentary pause in the grand room they all stood in. The pause was broken when Halfbie's body fell from the sky. Their body hit the floor like a stone, lying unceremoniously some 30 feet from the rest of the party. Viktor lay on the ground, still conscious, but his body was contorted in bizarre ways. Parts of his skin were in tatters, literally ripping apart at the seams. Underneath the skin, it looked as if there were now large red crystal growths.

Approaching the cleric, Mordecai suddenly felt a draining effect that they either quickly got used to or that disappeared soon after it started. Viktor slowly stood up, wincing in pain as he did so. Now standing with his back to the party, he muttered to himself, "All according to plan". Turning to face the party, Viktor smiled; to the rest of the members, he looked at least 30 years old, and his usual red eyes were now golden.

Mordecai muttered something about how unfair it was that Viktor got to age backwards. They repeated the joke to Seifer, but she didn't respond; in fact, it felt like she wasn't there anymore. Mordecai quickly panicked and interrogated Viktor. Viktor nodded in satisfaction before explaining that the plan he had been working on for some time had finally been completed; he was now essentially one of the towers. He explained that he had initially shelved the idea until he found out that Marcel was a follower of chronovorus. He apparently got the idea from Lost Haven.

Mordecai asked if this meant that if they were Viktor's area of effect, then the gods would no longer be able to affect them. Viktor nodded his head, stating that was the intention. Mordecai suddenly realised that Halfbie was still on the floor unconscious and suggested that they should go and make sure they were ok. "We should do something, they're gonna be really confused on what the fuck is happening because like I'm not gonna lie that I can't hear Seifer right now and my head feels really empty and it's really freaking me out but I know she's still there they're probably going through the same thing except the other person's gone but they're probably happy about that but I don't know how to feel I don't know how they feel."

"How do we explain what happened to them?" replied Aiden

Mordecai gently coaxed them awake. Suddenly Halfbie's eyes snapped open wide as they deeply inhaled. They looked around the room frantically, taking in their surroundings and ignoring Mordecai's increasingly worried questions about how they were doing. finally Halfbie returned their gaze and explained they were fine. Their cadence and manner of speech were neither like the Halfbie they knew nor like Chenris, initially making them worry that Chenris was still inside Halfbie.

"I thought we would have gone home by now." they stated.

Viktor gave Halfbie a quick medical check to make sure that everything was ok. Despite the fall halfbie's body was physically fine; their mind and magic were chaotic, but that was to be expected given the circumstances. Halfbie asked whether the party planned to leave soon or camp out here first. Mordecai made an off hand remark about how the Ancient Dwarven Tomb would need a few days to recharge. Halfbie asked if they could just use Viktor's teleportation circle. All eyes fell on Viktor, who explained that even if he had the magic required to perform the spell, he wasn't sure if it would work since he didn't have full control over this body.

Eventually, after discussing their next options, they decided it was best to leave the room, make camp, and prepare to start their journey home. As they were leaving, Viktor pulled Halfbie aside and asked them two questions: 'Do you remember your name?' and 'Does the name Gil-Galad mean anything?'

With a confused look, Halfbie responds, "I'm pretty sure my name is still Halfbie... as for Gil-Galad... I don't know, it feels familiar... Why does it feel familiar? Is this something He want's me to find?"

"I'm sure it is nothing important", said Viktor with a glare that seemed to give his off-handed remark a motive.

"Its the lasting that Chenris didn't explain..." Halfbie pondered.

"This is my advice, i do not think you need to pursue this endeavor"

"Chenris left me a lot of information when he...ascended but for some reason this information was left behind"

"Maybe he didn't get to 'cause it wasn't important", intervened Drache.

"That would make sense because he's even left me with the improv lessons his mother made him take in exchange for going to Strixhaven early. It would make sense to leave something like this out of it." replied Halfbie.

They soon left the church, and Halfbie set up a Leomund's Tiny Hut for them to all settle down. Mordecai put their pack down and stood up, surveying their campsite, and even though the inside of the hut was temperature-controlled, they announced they were off to get firewood. Before anyone else could ask further questions, Mordecai left the hut and walked until they could hear Seifer's voice again.

Mordecai let out a massive sigh of relief, "Oh, I thought I'd lost you."

"If you had kept in the range of that fella, um, you might have," replied Seifer.

"REALLY?!"

"Well, I'm not sure, to be honest... It's my first time possessing someone."

"...This puts a spanner in the works, doesn't it?"

"We could always kill him"

"...We could always kill Viktor... no, no (that's a little extreme)[https://tenor.com/view/avantris-that's-a-little-extreme-gif-2485247142451748165]" There was a brief pause from Mordecai before they asked, "Where did you go?"

"I'm not quite sure. It's hard to describe... You know when you go to sleep? One minute you're on the edge of going to sleep, and the next minute it's morning, and then you're awake." Mordecai nodded, "One second that weirdo is fighting and then kills a god, then that weird doctor and the tentacle thing happened, and now we're in the deadlands at night"

"Ok, so it wasn't unpleasant?"

"Well, I suppose as unpleasant as being unconscious can be, it can be, but it's not bad. It's just not anything, is it?"

"I guess I'll try and check in with you as much as I can."

"That's alright Mordecai, truly"

"It was weird; I got used to you always being there. As soon as you weren't, it felt like something was missing; I didn't feel like myself."

"Mordecai, my sweet chicken, at some point, you're going to have to let me go." Seifer replied, much like a mother does with a child "And at some point you have to live your life, and I've already come to terms with that. until then, as soon as you step out of range, i'll be there for you"

Mordecai thanked Seifer for their kindness before moving the topic of conversation to Chenris's Deicide and subsequent ascension. Seifer agreed that, since they had no idea how he did it, they would have to chat with him at some point.

Seifer abruptly interrupted the conversation, "We're being watched; don't look up frantically. I don't know if they're friendly."

Aiden, who had snuck out of the Leomund's Tiny Hut to see what Mordecai was up to, also quickly spotted a cloaked figure in the tree line watching them. He couldn't see who they were, but he stayed hidden to make sure nothing happened.

Mordecai quickly picked up a nearby stick and returned to the tiny hut, closely followed by Aiden, who circled the hut and entered secretly from the other side.

Inside the hut, Mordecai entered the space and proudly held their stick aloft before announcing that they were also being watched. Having dealt with many similar situations to this before the rest of the party didn't seem to panic, especially since they were inside Leomund's Tiny Hut. Halfbie commented that they may disappear when the sun rises; besides, it would take an extremely powerful person to break a wall of force.

The party all tucked into their sleeping bags and quickly fell asleep. Mordecai stayed up mostly because they could not quiet their thoughts. It had been nearly two hours before Mordecai was ready to get some sleep. Before nodding off, they looked outside to check if the figure was still there.

They were.

However, this time hundreds of figures surrounded the tiny hut.

Mordecai quickly woke up Viktor, who was sleeping next to them. Mordecai pointed to the hundreds of eyes staring at them and stated that they assumed a responsible adult should know about the situation. Viktor, still groggy from just waking up, turned and woke up Drache and further explained the situation to him. When Drache asked why he had been woken, Viktor explained that as a responsible adult, he would know what to do.

Drache looked at the figures around them, then at his party members, before asking if they should wake the rest of them up. They decided that Halfbie would probably be well rested in a few hours, and the others needed time to rest anyway, so it would be best to let everyone sleep. With their magic returned to them, they would all be better equipped to deal with the situation.

2 hours later, Halfbie awoke from their Trance to find they were surrounded by hundreds of figures surrounding Leomund's Tiny Hut. "We need a responsible adult", they muttered before waking Drache to tell him the news. He groggily commented that there were more than last time, but the rest of them decided it would be best to wait them out until they got their magic and strength back, then quickly fell asleep again.

Halfbie stood up, made the hut transparent, and beckoned the closest figure over to them to have a chat. The figure stood up and walked over to the hut. Standing at full height, they were over 7 feet tall. Looking up, Halfbie asked, "You come here often?" but the figure met the question with a simple grunt.

"Do you need me to get one in particular, or are you just waiting?"

"Your hut will fall," the figure said in a gruff tone.

"Well... yeah? What do you want?"

"I want to eat you"

"ok, hmmm, do you have a particular way you plan to eat us?"

"Yes"

"So have you considered that there are no where near enough of us to feed all of you?"

"Correct"

"That doesn't sound like a good game plan."

"You know nothing of vampires, do you?"

"No, not particularly. Although I do have a friend who's one."

"Wake him."

Eventually, Halfbie wakes up Viktor and Drache and brings them over to figure it out. Speaking to the figure, Halfbie introduces Viktor and the figure, whom Halfbie has dubbed 'Mm' since he refused to give a name.

Looking at Viktor, Mm says, "You are a weird little man. I will eat you first."

"You are a weird tall man; I will kill you last." sneered Viktor.

Mm laughed, "Why do you have crystals? I have not seen mutation before."

"More of a correction than a mutation, my friend."

"You cannot correct perfection. Anyway, why do you not teach these about how often you have to consume blood?"

"I did not need them to know it."

"Once every 2 days"

"Oh, you're a weak vampire. A Strong vampire don't eat much. I consume blood every two weeks. You guys are more than enough meal for our 200."

"What, do you think you are strong?"

"Correct."

"How about I make a good proposal? Suppose you can beat me in a one-on-one, you know, like a duel. fair game. But if I beat you, you and your vampires leave."

"That is stupid tactics. I am not idiot. We have strong tactics. We know strong tactic is right."

"And what will Marcel think of you destroying his messengers?"

"I do not care about Marcel. I am not a follower."

"But how long are you willing to wait?"

"Your heart will fall. Sooner rather than later. We know magic, I have eaten ten wizards in my time."

After seeing that negotiation did not work, Viktor asked Halfbie to stop any sounds from escaping so they could plan. Viktor wanted to know if Halfbie could extend the duration of the Leomund's Tiny Hut. Halfbie thought for a moment before saying it was possible, but it would be very difficult ^[1]. While chatting through their options, the party watched as more vampires began joining the horde. If they waited longer, it would probably cause even more vampires to arrive.

Viktor explained that he recognised this particular warband as the Crimson Vanguard and a particularly deadly group of vampires that even seasoned vampire hunters would hesitate to take on unless extremely well prepared.

Viktor surmised that all they needed to do was get to the church, and then they could all hide in the hidden room behind the bookcase. The only problem was that an entire swarm of vampires stood between them and the church. After various plans to create distractions or to convince the horde to leave failed, Viktor surmised that their best bet would be to keep resting so they could fight in top condition. Viktor and many of the party went back to sleep.

Halfbie stayed up to keep watch in case anything interesting happened. A few hours later, a woman[2^] on a skeletal horse arrived towards the back of the pack of vampires. She wore an elegant, long red satin dress. She had long black hair and a tiara with a vial of blood attached to it, sitting atop her head. After watching them for a moment, she jumped off her horse and confidently walked toward them. All the vampires nearby moved to make a path for the lady as they saluted her.

Approaching the hut, the woman cocks her head before walking straight through the wall of force. Walking casually through the barrier made everyone inside panic.

"Hi Queen, hey, uh, you just walked in. That's really cool and fine," said Mordecai. "How are you?"

"Well, how are you?" the woman replied with a practised smile.

"We're not really locals to the area"

"I can tell," she said passively. "Typically this is the point where you'd be grovelling at my feet for salvation."

"I must say you look fantastic. Where did you get the fabric from?"

"It's Spider silk", she said.

Halfbie took this as their shot to take control of the situation by casting Geas. With the help of Mordecai and Aiden, she was successfully ensnared in the spell. Halfbie gave the following command: "Leave this party unharmed and take this group of vampires with you to Merrihallows"

she laughed for a moment, recognising the spell quickly. "oh halfbie, I thought you had recognised me from when I helped you earlier. No matter, you should know this spell doesn't work if it would lead to my death."

"Well, I do recognise you now, but the spell is still in effect, i never said you couldn't take breaks along the way. You have a month to carry out my order."

"I don't lead this tribe; how will I be able to make them come with me? Do you expect me to bring them along by force?"

"That sounds like something for you to decide." Halfbie said with a smile as she let out a large sigh before leaving Leomund's Tiny Hut and calling to the group to follow her. All of them refused her immediately, so she pulled out her sword and attacked the nearest vampire.

Chaos erupted as every vampire charged at her. Halfbie quickly got everyone up and told them this was their chance to run for the church. They then cast dimensional door and picked up the still sleeping Viktor and teleported in front of the bookcase. Mordecai, Drache and Aiden all ran as fast as they could.

As they arrived at the main hall, they found an old-looking wizard waiting for them in a corridor that hadn't been there the last time they went to the church. "Get in if you want to live." Mordecai used telepathy to tell Halfbie and Viktor to come downstairs. Using Bigby's Hand, they picked up Viktor and ran downstairs and into the corridor.

Just as they passed the threshold of the corridor, a horde of vampires entered the church and began charging at them. But the corridor disappeared before they could reach the party.

The party stood in the darkness of the corridor, huffing for air.

Trivia & Notes

• James Absolom revealed that the Vampire in the red dress was called Selene. He also explained that her ability is to be able to analysis all the magic she sees and counter it.

Footnotes