Session Information

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

Session Summary

Following the contract signing, the party found The Hand dead, drained of all life, and discovered that Marcel's awakening had killed most of his clan. Viktor attempted to negotiate with Marcel for weapons and information, but after provoking the ancient vampire, he was bitten, ordered to cut off his own leg, and thrown from the room. Meanwhile, Halfbie explored the caves, found the dying Mouth, who revealed he had kept Marcel asleep for thousands of years because "he can't be trusted," and learned that if Vaelrith dies, Marcel would become far more powerful. The Mouth gave Halfbie a parchment containing a complex ritual to put Marcel back to sleep and then passed away peacefully. Halfbie also found a shadowy longsword in the armoury, but upon identifying it, they were transported into Marcel's body, realizing Marcel had swapped into theirs.

The party gradually uncovered the switch, and a chaotic series of body-swaps followed via the sword, with Marcel briefly inhabiting Drache and Mordecai's bodies while mocking them. The party managed to knock Halfbie's body unconscious to force Marcel out, but discovered his curse would simply reincarnate him into someone else if the body died. Halfbie eventually convinced Marcel to switch back by promising him "a night of fun," and the session ended with Halfbie blindfolding and cuffing Marcel in his room, preparing to escape.

Full Session Notes

After the contract was made, the party quickly filed out of the room and into the corridor, where they could all breathe again. As soon as they entered the corridor, they were confronted by the body of The Hand, who had crumpled on the floor. Viktor quickly rushed over to examine the body. The Hand looked like they had had all of the energy of their body drained from them, as his skin had been incredibly aged and turned pale. Viktor concluded this definitely wasn't natural and probably had something to do with Marcel's awakening.

Joining Viktor's side, Halfbie crouched to examine the body as well before dusting their clothes as they stood up and proclaimed, "Yep... they're definitely dead alright!"

"What an astute observation, Mr Halfbie" Viktor said flatly

Halfbie breezed over the Viktor's obvious sarcasm and turned to the rest of the party as they started trying to form a plan. Before they could even think about their contracted job, they needed to exit the cave safely. But before they left, they surmised the cave system might hold a few useful items. They announced their intentions to explore the area a little bit before leaving.

Mordecai said they wouldn't leave until they got their horn back. Viktor nodded, then said he still had a few questions for Marcel before leaving; he offered to grab the horn on his way out. Mordecai nodded and thanked Viktor for the offer.

Before entering Marcel's room, Viktor pulled Halfbie aside and told them he would be casting the legend lore spell to find out any information about 'Gil-Galad'. Halfbie hesitated, half-jokingly remarking that this didn't feel like it honoured the spirit of adventure. Viktor didn't care and cast the spell anyway, but frowned when it failed, indicating the word had no significant importance or legendary status. This revelation confused them both as Halfbie wondered why Chenris had left them this mystery.

With that settled, Viktor reentered Marcel's room; Drache and Mordecai refused to follow him and instead preferred to watch from afar... where they could still breathe properly.

Viktor goes to knock on the door before stopping himself; he assumed that since Marcel was so old he most likely didn't care much for formalities and etiquette^[1]. He quickly opened the door and said, "Hello, Marcel, I would like to have a quick chat if that's alright with you?"

Marcel did not answer, instead holding a glare that felt like daggers. Viktor tried to make conversation, but Marcel refused to engage. Halfbie, watching from the corridor, wondered if there was some etiquette he could respond to, and whether Elven etiquette might work, since it had probably changed over 1000s of years. Halfbie decided it was worth the shot and knocked rhythmically before entering the room, half-bowed. Without looking up, they bowed fully, then stood with their head down. "Lord Marcel, could I ask you a question?"

Halfbie quickly felt Marcel's hand wrap around their throat as he sinuously tapped the vein on their neck. "I am no Elf, You are disgusting"

"I meant no offense, i simply tried to use the most respectful etiquette I know."

Marcel slowly sat back on his throne and let the wizard ask their question.

"My question to you is as following: Would you rather your teeth be replaced with jam, or jam on your toast be replaced with teeth?" Halfbie asked their question with complete sincerity.

A deafening silence filled the room; even the bats hanging from the ceiling stopped their occasional squeaking. Watching from the sidelines, the party's jaws dropped as they waited with nervous anticipation to see how the Vampire lord would react to such a question. For an imperceptible moment, Marcel's eye twitched before he used magic to fling Halfbie against the wall for their insolence. Halfbie quickly recovered and stood up. With his head resting in his hand, Marcel answered: "i suppose the Jam on my toast..."

Halfbie bowed and walked out of the room without turning their back on the Vampire. On their way out, Mordecai grabbed them and demanded to know what they were planning. Halfbie smiled and insisted there was no rhyme or reason for their question, then walked down a corridor to explore the cave.

Left alone in the room, Viktor apologised for Halfbie's question, but Marcel met him with a bored statement about his lack of interest or care.

"About your request for us to kill Vaelrith, frankly I would quite like to do this regardless of your request, i stole a few things from his domain and his request has made it a lot more difficult to do certain things. We would appreciate it if you had any powerful weapons or items in your armoury that we could use to carry out the request."

"How is this my concern?"

"Then could you at least tell us the best way out of here?"

"I presume the same way you came in"

Viktor thanked Marcel for the information before leaving the room with his back to the Vampire. He suddenly felt his presence behind him as his fangs sank into his neck. Viktor reflexively cast banishment on the lord, but when it failed, he resigned himself to the fact that he likely couldn't break the grapple. After a few moments, Marcel released the doctor before complaining about how bad Viktor's blood tasted. Viktor echoed the Vampire's feelings before strolling out of the room, completely forgetting to get Mordecai's horn.

As he crossed the door's threshold, Marcel sliced Viktor's tendons, causing him to fall to the floor and leave him unable to walk. Viktor, too proud to stop, didn't stop after falling and began dragging himself across the floor. He then turned to face the Vampire and began casting the sunlight spell. But before the incantation could finish, Marcel appeared at eye level in front of Viktor and whispered in his ear, "Cut off your leg." The order came as part of Marcel's status as the vampire progenitor, making it impossible for Viktor to ignore.

Viktor immediately grabbed a knife and cut his leg off cleanly. As he did, Marcel grabbed Viktor by the scruff of his neck and threw him out like trash; before closing the door, he threw the leg out too. "Sooo i don't think we have the ability to fix this." Mordecai said sarcastically looking Viktor and his leg.

"It's ok, I've been working on a spell to regenerate limbs, it doesn't work yet but hopeful it will soon."

"You've kept that secret from me", proclaimed Drache, gesturing to his prosthetic leg.

"ok so let me get this straight," Said Mordecai, "We walked in there like the dog's bollocks, got decimated and leave. You then return and directly insult the guy??"

"I will not be talked down to by someone who worships the gods. I do not care how old or powerful Marcel is. Quite frankly, it is disgusting how his blood is flowing through me. Not to mention that he is a follower of Chronovorus." Viktor said, his voice full of contempt as he spat on the ground. "at least it will be easier to get out of the cave without this", as he waved his leg above his head.

At that moment, they all noticed that one of Marcel's bats had followed them out of the room and was watching them intently. After a moment, it jumped down from the ceiling and dropped a vial. The vessel was full of blood with rich black specs suspended in it. Viktor tentatively picked up the vial, and the bat then mimed drinking it. However, Viktor, as a doctor, refused to drink something he didn't know would do anything.

After a brief inspection, he infers that it is most likely Marcel's blood, but he cannot confirm anything since the mystical and arcane are outside his field of expertise. He resolves to have Halfbie identify it later, when they catch up with the boy, and puts it in his pocket.

Suddenly, Mordecai heard a thud, as if someone had fallen over, from Marcel's room. Mordecai, who also wanted to grab their horn, peered through the door to see what had happened. Inside, Mordecai saw Marcel's body on the ground, crumpled and confused. Mordecai tentatively walked into the room and grabbed their horn. As they were about to leave, Halfbie returned to the party and exclaimed in shock when they saw Viktor with one less leg. Mordecai was about to greet the party member before they heard scratching coming from Marcel's body. He was using his long nails to carve something into the stone floor. He had written "Fake"

Halfbie's POV

As Halfbie explored the cave system, he came across many more bodies of the other vampires living in the area. They had all suffered the same fate as The Hand. Eventually, they found themselves in the clearing where they had met the other servants; however the only one still alive was The Mouth, who seemed to be only just holding themselves together.

Halfbie approached The Mouth and greeted him awkwardly. The Mouth barely returned the greeting, instead focusing on his breathing to extend his life a little longer. Halfbie asked about everyone's deaths in the clan. The Mouth replied, "I rebelled"

Halfbie sat down next to The Mouth and asked if he could explain a little more. The Mouth then grabbed Halfbie's hand, forcing an ancient piece of parchment into it, "I kept him sleeping the entire time... He only wanted to sleep for around 50 years, but i kept him unconscious for 1000s of years."

"why did you do that?"

"He can't be trusted"

"What would happen if Vaelrith died?"

"We would become something much more powerful than he already is", The Mouth explained, fear practically dripping off every word.

"He is he the one who initially tried to kill Vaelrith?"

"No, he was never dead, Vaelrith simply trapped all this time."

The Mouth pleaded for Halfbie and the rest of the party to find a way to defeat Marcel instead of killing Vaelrith. Halfbie nodded and exclaimed that he already had the beginnings of a plan forming. Upon hearing this, the mouth seemed to let go and passed away peacefully.

The parchment the Mouth left him was clearly some complex incantation that even seemed to confuse Halfbie. From what he could tell, it would put Marcel back to sleep, but the preparations would take well over a year to complete, as the room and mechanisms needed fixing, and they would have to be returned to his Coffin.

Halfbie put the note into their spellbook to keep it safe; they probably wouldn't be able to put the Vampire back to sleep, but it might be useful. Continuing, Halfbie eventually found the lair's armoury. Many of the weapons were decayed and/or broken from sitting there for 1000s of years. However, one longsword was in perfect condition. Taking it from the rack, they unsheathed it and found the blade pitch black, as if made of shadows, as if it absorbed the little light left in the room. Halfbie cast Identify on the blade before the vision completely turned black. When they opened their eyes, they found themselves in Marcel's grand room.

Halfbie tried to get up, but their body failed them, and they crumpled to the floor. Halfbie was now certain they were in Marcel's body. Does that mean Marcel is in my body??

Before they could react, they saw Mordecai quickly enter the room to grab their horn. Through the open door, they watched in horror as their body turned around the corner with the sword attached to their back. Halfbie had to convince Mordecai and the party they were the real Halfbie; they quickly began writing a message in stone; the body they now inhabited was weak. So they could only carve the word "fake" into the stone floor.

Their actions caught the attention of Mordecai, who tentatively stepped closer to see what they were writing. Seeing what was written, Mordecai hesitated, then used telepathy to speak with "Marcel". Once they connected, Halfbie tried to explain the situation as best they could. Mordecai exclaimed if they really were Halfbie, then who was Chenris' professor at Stixhaven?" Halfbie quickly answered correctly.

Mordecai turned their head to look at "Halfbie" who was crouched down and tending to Viktor's leg. There, a quick burst of light flashed as Viktor's leg reattached, making Viktor extremely suspicious of how Halfbie could heal a limb like that. It was a much higher tier of magic than what either of them had access to. They passed it off as something they figured out. They then pulled out the piece of paper the Hand gave the real Halfbie and asked if anyone knew what it did. Viktor's eyes narrowed as he asked how someone like Halfbie wouldn't know what the incantation did.

"Halfbie" feigned ignorance and suggested they get a move on, as the only thing they found worth noting while exploring was the sword on their back, which they handed to Drache, who marvelled at it. They all began walking away, leaving Mordecai and the real Halfbie in Marcel's room. When asked if they had a way to move, the real Halfbie used Bigsby's magic Hand to fly through the corridors after Mordecai.

The two eventually caught up with the rest of the group in the room where the real Halfbie talked to the Mouth. They burst into the room and Mordecai exclaimed that this Halfbie was a fake.

Marcel tried to deny it, but after Mordecai explained what had happened, he eventually gave up and said all he wanted was the chance to go to the surface and enjoy life for a while. None of the party liked the idea and asked if he would switch back; Halfbie even said it might be difficult to complete Marcel's request to kill Vaelrith without a fully functioning body. Pointing out that it was nearly impossible to perform the semantic and verbal components of spells and rituals. He sighed, then healed the body's hand, making it much easier to move and articulate them.

"There you go, now run along." Said Marcel.

The party pushed back even harder; Drache then accidentally activated the sword, causing Marcel and Drache to switch bodies. Now looking down on everyone, Marcel laughed and proclaimed how amazing his new body felt. After reestablishing who was who, the party tried their best to get the sword from Marcel. This scuffle eventually led to Viktor taking the sword and casting banishment on it.

While they waited for the sword to return, Marcel looked at the rest of the party like someone analysing a restaurant menu before ordering. Mordecai gave a nervous laugh before explaining that Marcel wouldn't enjoy being in his body, since he would have to deal with Seifer, who wouldn't tolerate him.

"Seifer...Seifer... Do you mean Seifer Willow? oh i would love to have a chat with her!" Marcel explained. He then quickly grabbed the sword and forced a switch, leaving Mordecai in Drache's body. He then felt incredibly quiet. Mordecai tentatively used empathy on their own body, only to find Seifer and Marcel arguing over who should have the body.

Mordecai, using the strength of Drache's body, wrestled the sword away and forced Marcel to switch; then, after a lot of effort, they finally managed to get Marcel back into Halfbie's body. Knowing that their body hadn't fully recovered from Marcel's attack from earlier, they shouted for everyone to attack their body. Their theory was that if their body were unconscious, it would be much easier to switch bodies and leave.

They then all attacked, quickly knocking out Halfbie's body. however before they could do anything, a blood-red whirlwind began vortexing around Halfbie's body, throwing everyone back. After resurrecting Marcel, Polity asked them not to try killing the body he inhabits, as his curse would simply cause him to reincarnate into a random person nearby, making it impossible for the original owner of the body to return and causing great inconvenience for him.

Eventually, Halfbie convinced Marcel to switch back, promising him a night of fun. The two returned to Marcel's room as Halfbie, through practised motions, put a blindfold on Marcel and cuffed his hands behind his back before beginning his escape preparations.

Trivia & Notes

• This session was the birth of the ViktorXMarcel Yaoi Meme.

Footnotes