spoke a lot of words, i dont know if i spoke the truth
i was testing out krita today bc idk if the new tablet im getting will be compatible w sai? so i found out i like krita for rough paintings like this and i like sai for cleaner stuff
The party then continued towards the temple district, Yaracen locating a crypt carrying the same symbol as the amulet. The party felt a slight, phantom pain from the scars left over from their resurrection as they entered. Inside, they found a few undead, and a spiral staircase leading down. Yaracen scouted ahead while the party debated whether or not to get rid of the undead lingering in the alcoves. Reassured that there’d be no consequences waiting for them downstairs, they sneaked up and dispatched the creatures with ease. Notably, one skeleton proved remarkably difficult to finish off, and eventually killed itself after a magically-enhanced verbal lashing from Baldomero.
As they delved deeper into the crypt, they found a darkened hallway with an odd script written above the entrance. Ariel identified it as Celestial, and was able to give the party a rough translation. It described ghosts, how they were souls that clung to their old lives and trapped themselves in an endless cycle for refusing to simply move on.
An awkward moment turned heartwarming as Ariel received their first real hug in roughly 10 years from Xin, and the party entered the hallway, lighting torches to help them see in the darkness.
But after a few minutes, the light no longer revealed anything except the path beneath them, the walls and ceiling vanishing into the darkness. After several minutes of seeing no change in the scenery, Baldomero was able to detect that there was ‘magical bullshit’ at work, and the group decided to test if they were truly getting anywhere. Yaracen and Xin stayed where they were, holding onto the end of a rope (which quickly became several ropes, tied end to end) while Baldomero, Ariel, and Altair held the other end and made their way back towards the entrance.
As soon as they were alone, however, Yaracen heard a familiar voice calling his name. A beautiful elven figure emerged from the darkness, recognizable as his lost love, Rhea, who asked him to come with her. When he hesitated, an older elven figure joined her, this time recognizable as his lord and adoptive father, Lord Ultrist, who also beckoned to him. Still hesitant, Yaracen asked to take the amulet from Xin and put it around his neck to try and ward off the spirits. Immediately, the two figures were slashed in half. As their forms faded, yet another familiar figure appeared behind them, holding a sword and wearing a smug smirk. Yaracen flew into a rage and charged the man, dropping over the edge and falling into the darkness.
Meanwhile, the other group was dealing with a similar situation. Baldomero’s missing mentor had appeared from the darkness, tutting at her pupil’s crass attitude. She answered his questions correctly, convincing him that she was the real deal, but Baldomero refused to go with her when she refused to answer where she’d been in front of his ‘friends’, claiming that he’d gotten sick of her keeping secrets from him.
The group (minus Yaracen) reconvened, trying to make sense of the situation. Baldo was relieved to know that he’d avoided meeting the same fate as Yaracen, who, unbeknownst to the rest of the party, was alive and unharmed after falling a mere 10 feet from the bridge they’d been stuck on. He attempted to get their attention, but the magic trapping them kept them from noticing.
Xin decided to use the rope to lower herself down, tying it to the floating path and leaping into the darkness. She immediately fell flat on her face. After touching base with Yaracen, she attempted to climb back up the rope, only for it to snap and send her back to the ground. The party members still stuck in the illusion heard the rope break, and began to panic as their numbers dwindled.
Xin used a Misty Step spell to get back onto the path, trying to get their attention more directly. And though they could not see her or hear her voice through the illusion, she was able to telepathically inform Ariel of the situation. Ariel trusted her, and leapt down. Baldomero was not so trusting, and needed a good shove.
As the group below got their bearings, they were able to see the illusion’s process from an outside perspective, as a figure appeared before Altair. His long-dead older brother, apologizing for not being there for him. Altair apologized, knowing that his brother would not be proud of the person he’d become. He was offered a hug by the illusion, which he accepted, and fell from the path. Baldomero once again caught him, though quickly dropped to the floor under the tiefling’s weight thanks to his less than impressive strength.
Xin located a magical dagger in the clutches of an old skeleton, hidden in an alcove at the end of the path. After she tossed the skeleton over the edge to spook the other party members, the group found several coins scattered around the room– presumably tossed by other travelers to test how far the darkness went. Baldomero found a secret path that lead back up to the path, while Altair found a magical Gem of Brightness, with several charges already used up. Attempts were made to comfort the members who’d been targeted by the illusion’s ghosts, but Yaracen and Baldomero were unwilling to chat.
The group continued to make their way through the crypt, heading down another floor to find a room similar to the one they’d first entered, including the heavy stone doorway before them. They exited, and were met with the sight of overcast skies, a restless ocean, and a ruined city. The dreary atmosphere weighed down on them all, affecting Ariel, Yaracen, and Baldomero the worst.
Things had gotten.. complicated, to say the least.
Picking up where they last left off, the party chased down the fleeing cultists with an order from Tracia to not kill all of them as she went to inform the rest of the guards of the situation, and hopefully prevent them from escaping.
The chase first took the party through the crowded bazaar, filled to the brim with citizens who had been evacuated into the market district for their own safety. Half the cultists shoved their way through the crowd, while the other half took to the fringes and dodged around several market stalls that had yet to be taken down. Yaracen and Ariel were able to just barely keep pace with the first group, while the other group began to topple the stalls when they noticed Altair, Baldomero, and Xin tailing them. Altair was unfortunate enough to be caught entirely off-guard and slipped on some fallen fruit, while Xin and Baldo managed to easily dodge the hazards.
The cultists then fled into the tight alleyways between the myriad of shops surrounding the more open bazarr. Yaracen and Ariel kept to the ground, while Xin, Altair, and Baldo took to the rooftops. Unfortunately, the tight corners and unfamiliar location caused Yaracen to lose track of his quarry entirely, and Ariel was only barely able to keep track of them. Up above, the remaining party members had no trouble keeping track of their quarry, and managed to keep an even footing as they leapt across the narrow gaps between buildings.
The cultists exited the alleys on the other side, knocking down several crates to block the path and slow down their pursuers. Yaracen and Ariel had no trouble avoiding this, however. Those following by roof were forced to jump down if they wanted to keep up. While Xin and Baldo made excellent landings and avoided injury, Altair was not so lucky. He landed directly atop Baldomero, slowing the bard down, but also avoiding taking any damage from the rough landing.
From there, the cultists had a straight shot to the still-open gates into the city’s Harbor District, and catching up was only a matter of the party pushing themselves to run faster. Ariel fell behind, too tired from the other obstacles. Xin fell back a bit to throw her spear, and though she failed to hit anyone, she was able to quickly dash ahead and use it to trip up one of the cultists. Baldomero managed to tackle a second to the ground, Altair stopping to help secure him. The two remaining cultists fled through the gate just as it closed, Yaracen stumbling into the gate mere moments afterwards.
A well-placed Eldritch Blast from Xin and a crossbow bolt felled one of the cultists through the gaps in the gate, but the one remaining cultist continued to flee until he was entirely out of sight.
The party restrained the cultists they’d caught, who turned out to be incredibly panicked about something. Baldo was able to determine that they were not possessed, and even got them to answer his questions with an impressive threat. The more coherent of the two revealed that that they were just mooks who’d joined up with the ‘Followers of the Sleeping One’ at the promise of payment, and that they’d been uninformed of exactly what they were getting into. He admitted they’d gone down into a crypt with a larger group in search of some kind of amulet, but was unable to describe what he’d seen, growing horrified at the realization that they’d left the others– including their boss, a man named Jeremy– to die while they’d made off with the amulet and fled for their lives. He also noted that the cultists who’d gotten away was the one with the amulet in hand, and warned that, even though it had gotten the undead to ignore them, something about the thing felt wrong.
The party turned the cultists over to the guards, who scrounged up a few healing supplies for them as they took some time to rest, catch their breath, and discuss their next step.
They tracked down and cornered the remaining cultist, who’d surrounded himself with a small group of undead bodyguards as he searched for a small ship to escape on. The rooftop group failed to sneak up on him, thanks to an impressive harmony between Baldo and Altair giving them away, but a Shatter spell from Baldomero easily made up for this, causing massive damage to the entire group. A few Magic Missiles from Xin were able to take out the cultist himself, while the remaining party members cleaned up the undead.
Ariel and Yaracen investigated the fallen cultist’s body, discovering that the man looked practically undead, himself, and was still twitching despite his fatal wounds. Ariel found the amulet and took it off the cultist’s body, which finally stopped moving. After some deliberation, the group made their way back to the market district. They were unable to convince Tracia to leave her post and join them, thanks to the undead hoard rapidly piling up against the Market District’s walls and gates requiring her attention, but she was able to provide them with a map and gave them directions through the city. The group carefully rappelled down the wall and into the hoard, the amulet apparently doing its job and making the undead ignore them.
They made their way back to Madame Eveline’s shop, but found it empty and apparently long-deserted. Ariel took a moment to set the amulet aside, it’s aura already making them feel ill. Xin held it instead, saying that she would probably have an easier time handling it. Meanwhile, Altair stumbled across one of her Tarot Cards (XIII - Death), along with a note:
This is the first step.
I apologize for leaving, but I know you will succeed!
Good Luck,
- E
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