Dramatis Personae
Beltin (Aasimar Dirge Bard/Cleric 10).
Bradley Weatherby (Human Dervish Dancer 10/Knife Master Rogue 7/Duelist 3).
"Jake" aka Alex, the actual character name but I refuse to go back and edit the old entries (Human Wizard/Rogue 10).
Totally still true neutral, Session 11.3 - 08/23/14
Day 17
The night of Beltin's communion.
Jake
Training continues and intensifies. After a while Jake leaves his recruits in the hands of Johann again and seeks out the services of an alchemist in the Camp to join up with his crew. Partly because an alchemist is a great tool to have and partly to help with his diabolical training methods: It is time for his men to learn the finer points of detecting poison... and it will be a high stakes test.
After asking around Jake learns there are a few people who dabble with alchemy among the nubs in Camp, but they are mostly under contract with the Crusade. But there is always Mama Grim...
Mama Grim is the Camp's oldest running apothecary and has her shop setup in an old burial mound in town that was cleared out, similar to Griswald the Undertaker's house. She's a bit senile and always happy to have guests, and she knows her alchemy though she sometimes gets bottles a little mixed up.
She's like a sweet little old grandma, Jake learns from an older resident in town, except of course she's a hag. And maybe a witch. Jake is not picky and goes to visit her.
Inside her tiny, cramped shop hang all sorts of strange and incredibly poisonous looking things, but the lady of house is nowhere to be seen. There is a small bell though, which after Jake repeatedly hits as he heard she was a bit deaf as well, comes a gigantic, lumbering, yet hunched over figure. She smiles at Jake and greets him warmly and ask what he needs.
Jake explains he is looking for an in-house alchemist for his new guild and offers her the job. She is mildly reluctant and easily distracted and rambles on about sweet anecdotes as you would hear from a rather sweet senile old lady, except troubling and sinister overtones tend to crop up from time to time.
A sweet story about her granddaughter as a child, who later communed with Orcus himself. A grandson who slew a thousand angels and bathed in their blood. Vague references to the "politics of Tsar," and "the gathering army of the dead," the both of which hold some interest for Jake, but the old woman seems unable to hold her thoughts together for much questioning.
Her concept of time is such that it is impossible to tell if she is speaking of the past, the present, or perhaps even of the future. The "politics of Tsar" might be a reference to a thousand years ago, a hundred, ten, or even yesterday. The same is true for the reference to an army.
She then asks him what he wanted to buy again.
Without too much effort Jake gets her to agree to come with him and when she asks about her shop, he says people will move it for her. Mama Grim is happy and takes his arm and continues to tell him vaguely disturbing and incomplete stories as they walk back to his compound. She tells him that practically everything in the shop is highly dangerous so he should watch out. Jake tells her it will not be an issue.
Some of the newer people in town seem shocked at the site of the hag and look ready to fight but none move openly against such an ancient and clearly feeble creature. Plus Jake would murder them and some may know it.
Back at the compound Jake orders his recruits to clear out Mama Grim's shop and bring it, and to be careful of what they touched. The men seem vaguely alarmed, but Roringard has this, as he pulls on his gloves and casts air bubble on his head; he's a straight shooter with upper management written all over him.
The men eventually get things all back to base and now Mama Grim has a small corner of their bunkhouse all to herself. She sits behind a counter as though still in her shop and talks politely to all the nice young men and say how they remind her of her children and great grandchildren and how so many screamed in the blood orgies to Orcus and so on. The talk makes some of the men nervous, but the old woman does not notice and smiles at them all benignly.
Jake instructs her to prepare some poisoned food and some not and she promptly pulls out several apples and points out which are poisoned and which are not. And then she corrects herself on which is which. And then she corrects herself again, assuring Jake this time she remembers for sure. The men see this and their sense of foreboding deepens.
Jake tells them their test is simple. They will have two apples, one poisoned and one not. They will choose and eat an apple. End of test.
Roringard succeeds with no doubts, but the others are much less sure and shaken by the test but know there is no backing out. Percentiles rolls for each... and they all make it. The last guy almost took a bite of the wrong one though before putting it down and biting into the other immediately, as though so he could no longer second guess himself.
Test completed! No deaths!
Bradley Weatherby
BW continues to grind rep with the crusaders, nub adventurers, and such.
When he goes to say hi to Jim and Joe at Skeriber's though he finds one of them is out on a job. Jim remained behind and explains how the new commander of the crusaders came to them to seek their services and wasn't put off by most of the rangers, including Skeriber, being away. It seems that they were in a hurry to be off and would not stand to wait.
He wanted a guide for some of his men to check out several locations in the Desolation, including the cemetery. He didn't come out and say it, but in the course of their negotiations (he was willing to pay an extravagant sum) the two rangers got the impression he was looking for signs of the previous crusade leader, Caepio, as well as a high ranking priest of Muir and a young Paladin girl who was a daughter of a prominent Bard's Gate family who all went into the Desolation and never came back.
BW may have heard of such a doomed expedition, says Jim, staring BW in the eyes.
Despite the current spider danger in the Ashen Wastes, Joe, the ranking ranger in Camp, agreed eventually mainly because it was a lot of money and he got the feeling it wasn't an offer he could refuse without consequences. He sent a message to Skeriber (not specified how) and he left with a small group of hardened crusaders that morning at dawn.
Vaguely troubling news, but not unexpected. What evidence could they possibly find to link back to the party anyway, right? Don't worry, the DM will probably come up with something.
BW puts it aside and asks around for a good place to buy some poisons. He is referred to a man named Marcus, who had the good shit but has disappeared. The man telling him this is not concerned, citing the fact Marcus was an asshole. BW agrees, but questions the man about who else would be good.
The man asks if BW met Mama Grim the apothecary yet and tells a bit about her... excluding that she is a hag. BW gets directions and goes. The shop is empty and deserted. He questions another old timer and learn about the spectacle Mama Grim walking down the street with that duelin' mage fella caused, though BW doesn't quite know why an old woman out and about should be cause for scandal.
It seems she found new employment with that new merc guild that's starting up and some of their people came back and emptied the shop. A couple nearly died doing it as they weren't careful about what they touched.
BW heads over to Jake's setup and talks to him. And then he sees Mamma Grim is a hag. And then it all becomes clearer. Regardless, he wants his poison, so he goes over to conduct business.
Mama Grim immediately greets him as "Jordan," one of her great grandchildren and tries to give him hug and kiss. He dodges back and says he just came for poison, granny. He figures playing the charade is to his benefit. Mama Grim looks over his clothes and tuts, saying he always was vain, but what kind of gramma would she be if she couldn't get her grandson something to eat. She offers him cookies and then takes them away saying, no never mind, those ones were cyanide cookies.
Oh her eyesight is not what it used to be, she laments.
BW refuses, but gets his poisons eventually... and plenty of troubling, possibly centuries out of date rumors. He decides he does not like Mama Grim, but she is a useful tool. One that provides poison!
That night, BW heads over to the Dancing Bear and eventually has a conversation with Floyd the bartender. With much alluding and euphemisms, they communicate.
BW is a free agent, no longer tied to the trade consortium. He is looking for a new job. This is interesting, says Floyd, do go on. BW mentions how they have a problem. A Lucky problem. One at the Sip of Blood. That could be solved quite easily.
Floyd smiles at BW with his dead-eyed smile and tells him this is also very interesting, but he would need to consult with his boss before such an arrangement could be made.
To everyone around them it sounds like they are discussing fine wines, and as such Floyd ends the conversation by pouring a glass for BW, on the house of course, and one for himself.
It is from the same bottle and Floyd drinks first to show the good intent. BW follows suit, and he may soon have a new business partner/employer in the Hospitality Guild. Or perhaps he is again presuming to tell dangerous people their business, just like the Benders.
Time will tell.
Beltin
Beltin hangs out with Lucky for a while and then meets Jake and learns about Mama Grim and the references she made about Tsar and an undead army. He is very interested and goes to speak with her.
The conversation goes much like the ones Jake and BW had with her, but she notes the aura of death around him and seems pleased. He pushes her for information and she tells him that a great champion of Tsar was left after the fall and tasked to defend the Desolation. And so it now happens.
BW tries to figure out how she knows this and whether or not she even knows what she is talking about, but meets more recollections of her younger days. It frustrates him.
He concludes that the references to the "politics of Tsar" must be from before the city was emptied, but it is impossible to say for sure; the old women has no true sense of time anymore and from what he heard she has been in the Camp for decades.
He mostly considers the visit a waste of time.
That night as midnight approaches he makes his way to the church of Nerull and finds it deserted except for young Augustine in ceremonial looking robs of black and red standing near the pulpit. He attempts to act completely serious, but it is clear he is brimming with excitement as he greets Beltin and leads him into the office of Father Death.
Father Death awaits him in the room and tells him that it will be soon be time for his true communion. The desk has been moved and there is instead steps leading down into darkness. A faint smell of incense and corruption rises from the opening. One last, unsaid, chance to back out. Instead, when Father Death begins to descend the stairs and beckons, Beltin follows.
They walk into a cellar and down another corridor into a room dominated by a stone slab. Four people wearing the same ceremonial robes as Father Death and Augustine await, some talking quietly among themselves. Their hoods are up, but Beltin recognizes one as the other acolyte. He doesn't know the other three.
Lying on the alter, apparently unconscious, is BW's girlfriend.
Augustine helps Beltin into a set of robes and yammers on about how their should be more people here, but they couldn't make it, but it was ok. This kind of turnout was actually rather high.
With his appropriate attire donned, Father Death looks into Beltin's eyes and explains what will come.
He will pay homage to Nerull by performing an act of true death. Final death. The death of the soul. The girl's soul to be precise. The first communion with Nerull requires the soul of one who seeks the blessings of oblivion. The girl had attempted suicide, but was saved. Now she will have the final death she craves.
The fact that she wanted death comforts Beltin in the face of what he will be doing, just as intended. At midnight the ritual begins. Chants are performed. Sigils are drawn on the girl's flesh. Incense burned and blood offered. A feeling like static electricity fills the room as the chanting continues.
It becomes more and more insistent and the feeling of power escalates, as though something unspeakable had decided to make its presence barely felt. Perhaps Nerull had come to answer their prayers. Father Death holds out his arms.
The ceremonial scythe from the shrine above appears in his hands. He presents it to Beltin. The meaning is clear. The chanting reaches a fever pitch, the feeling of power and tension is almost overwhelming, and then suddenly there is silence. And Beltin brings the blade down into the woman's chest.
At once she tries to sit up, but can't. She screams and screams as blood pours out of her chest and then her screams are impeded as something black gaseous begins to flow from her mouth before coalescing into a sort of blackened gem resting on her tongue.
She slumps back, silent. Father Death picks up the black gem and tells Beltin to kneel and open his mouth. He does and Father Death feeds him the woman's soul.
A rush of memories that aren't his own flow through Beltin and then are gone, unremembered and un-mourned. A feeling like ice slides down his throat and into his stomach before it to dissipates.
Beltin knows he has just destroyed the core, fundamental aspect of a human being, the very concept of self... and it had been so easy. Is that all there is to a person, a mouthful of memories to digest and forget? So much for the power of the eternal spirit.
He ponders this as Father Death tells him to rise and embraces him. He is now one of them. He is a child of Nerull. And as such he can meet his new brothers as equals.
The other three men remove their hoods and reveal themselves to be the three remaining assassins of Clantock, the ones Father Death promised to deliver to the party in exchange for their help.
Well, thinks Beltin, this may be awkward.
End of Session. No casualties.
Notes: Beltin can know use the soul lock ability of a Cacodaemon once per day and he may consume trapped souls as though he were an evil outsider, gaining fast healing 2 for a number of rounds equal to the soul's HD.
That whole soul eating thing must have been a rather fundamental act of evil, thinks Beltin's player, but luckily for him he built that homeless shelter. If anything this should balance out all that good karma he gained there, keeping him true neutral. Right?...
