Episode 5 "Samaritan Lost"

Session #34: 4/25/2021

4th of Dalian 2350 of the 5th Age

Recap

 * The session began as Deadman Thokk gave chase after the mist forms of Zalfan and Dorethau, whose spirits were attempting to reach their resting places.
 * Meanwhile, Deadman was being pursued by Kandra, who had been charmed to fight for Dorethau and was ready to kill Deadman over it. She in turn was being pursued by Liosynth, who was desperate to break the spells hold over her sister.
 * As Deadman, Kandra, and Lio were on the move, Vendrin tended to his father, giving him a greater healing potion. Arthur was thankful to have been rescued and helped the other living prisoner, William Ijin, head of the city archives, to safety. Vendrin told his father that the safest place for him at the moment, would be the imperial senate.
 * Vendrin, Zeevah, and Tennebris headed after the rest of the party.
 * As the chase continued, Kandra fell behind Deadman and Lio was able to catch up. She pleaded for Kandra to hear reason, but Kandra was unable. Hermes took Lio's side and attempted to help Lio immobilize Kandra. After a very brief fight, Kandra used a potion of Gaseous form to escape them.
 * Lio reached out to Deadman using the earrings of whisper and Deadman was able to give them directions and inform the party of what was happening to him.
 * Deadman had tracked the smoke to their resting places. He was to destroy Zalfan's resting place, but Dorethau was able to instantly revive herself using a Talisman of Grisly Favor. She attempted to bargain for her life by offering up information on Vanthipur, but Deadman didn't know who that was.
 * Seeing that talking would do nothing and that she was on deaths door, she called out to Vanthipur who granted her some of his power.
 * Dorethau was transformed into a bastardized, monstrous vampiric creature. Growing to a height of 10ft, her bones cracked and reformed as she gained strength and power.
 * She attacked Deadman and brutally injured him, though he got a few licks of his own in.
 * Shortly after the fight began; Lio, Hermes, Kandra, Vendrin, Zeevah, and Tennebris were able to catch up. Kandra attempted to stab Lio in the back, but Lio used her Mark of Corellon to cause the attack to miss.
 * Vendrin used suggestion to break the vampires hold on Kandra, and Kandra was back to her old self, leaping into battle beside Deadman.
 * As the fight raged, Zeevah snuck around the edge of the cavern to burn Dorethau's resting place, ensuring that should they win, she would be dead. permanently.
 * The fight was long and brutal. A crowning end to one of the worst days the Good Samaritans had ever had. First Kandra was cut down by the monsters foul magic, but then Deadman Thokk was slain as well.
 * Hermes leapt into battle to avenge his mother, but was tossed aside easily. Liosynth was then beaten terribly.
 * With two of their companions down, and Liosynth near to death as well, the situation was desperate. Vendrin set a hail mary into effect.
 * Vendrin used suggestion to force Dorethau to pull a card from the Deck of Many Things.
 * Dorethau first pulled The Idiot, causing her intelligence to drop by 3 and forcing her to draw another card. This time, she drew The Flames. This caused a powerful fiend to suddenly develop an incredible hatred for her.
 * The living members of the party were astonished when a two columns of flame appeared and not one, but TWO devils appeared. Fernia and Belial, the rulers of Phlegethos were the targets of the card. Together they murdered Dorethau, resurrected her, and killed her again. Over and over again until they were satisfied.
 * With the fight ended, the devils interrogated the mortals that had caused them to be summoned. They reacted with less hostility when Vendrin told them his name. Zeevah could tell that they recognized the name.
 * The devils attempted to entice the party into bargaining with them, but were satisfied with Vendrin's gift. He gave them the Amulet of the Seelie Queen.
 * Belial also removed a spell from Kandra's corpse that would have caused her to be raised as a zombie.
 * With the battle finished, the party loaded their dead onto the backs of their animal companions and set off for the surface. As they left the Towers, they could see a mass of protestors surging from the Sprawl and into the city. They could also see throngs of people surrounding the imperial senate.
 * Vendrin led the party to a temple he believed they would be safe at. A temple to Dyadis run by head cleric, Ordin Nari. Ordin greeted them gruffly, but gave them shelter and revived Kandra.
 * Unfortunately, when the cleric attempted to revive Deadman, he chose to stay with his god and refused the resurrection.
 * The party retired to Ordin's apartment and slept for almost 12 hours.
 * Come the morning, they decided they needed to inform their friend, Chickensmasher Thokk, of his brother's death. The party sat around the Speaking Stone, trying to decide who would make the call.
 * Ultimately, Kandra made the call. Calling Thokk, she beat around the bush for quite a while before Zeevah took the stone and told him. Kandra then clarified.
 * Chickensmasher, who at that moment was presiding over his throne with his mother, Vykissa Thokk, informed her of his brother's death. They retired to their private apartment. Vykissa was heartbroken, but told Thokk that his friends needed him.
 * It was decided that Vykissa and Greatforge would watch over Isle Thokk while Chickensmasher was away.
 * Thokk had his court wizard teleport him to Stormwall. The teleport did not go particularly smoothly, as they only had a description to go by, but though they both took quite a bit of damage, they did end up in Stormwall. However, they ended up in an occupied apartment across the street.
 * The apartments owner was terrified, but Thokk took himself and his gnome and jumped from the balcony, yeeting out of the situation. Vendrin caught them with featherfall.
 * The party met Thokk warmly and allowed him a moment alone with his brother. Meanwhile, the gnomish wizard healed himself. When the wait was done, Thokk got the party together and demanded to know what had happened to his brother's displacer cloak. The cloak bore Deadman's pirate emblem and Thokk wanted to bury him in it.
 * Zeevah had taken the cloak though. She took offense at it and wanted to bury it separately from him to honor the displacer beast that had died to make it.
 * Thokk however was in no mood, when Zeevah refused to return the cloak, Thokk attacked her and took it. He wrapped his brother in it and had the gnome take it and his brother back to Isle Thokk.
 * Once Zeevah was healed, her and Tennebris climbed onto the roof of the temple to be alone.
 * while Thokk and Zeevah were busy, Kandra, Lio, and Vendrin waited. Suddenly, Vendrin remembered the princess! He cried out and grabbed the box that held Florence.
 * Lio and Kandra watched as he turned the key to open the box and was sucked inside.
 * Once inside, he found a small apartment occupied by not one, but TWO Florence's! Vendrin quickly deduced which of the two Florence's was the true Florence.
 * The changeling guard attempted to attack Vendrin but was quickly thwarted by Vendrin's magic. Florence then killed the changeling that had been keeping her captive in retribution.
 * The session ended as Vendrin brought Florence out of the box and introduced her to Lio and Kandra. The party decided to make haste for the imperial senate.