Growth and Decay (Temprea 6/??) [7/26/26]
Woah it's been like a month since we played!? Summer has kept us pretty busy. There was a little downtime roleplay that happened during the break.
Vespera bathed Carrier, who is sleepy and thanks her while Vespera speaks in Sylvan to Carrier--who oocly we know can't understand it lol. Meanwhile, Vuokko has asked Amir and Brirsayne if they would stay with her for the night, as she's scared of the rot. Vuokko and Bri go into the bastion while Amir (for now) guards the outside. Vuokko has decided she doesn't want to sleep and tries reading some books with Bri (Vuokko is not good at reading lol). One of the books is something Bri read as a child and Vuokko asks about her family. She learns that Bri lost her family! Vuokko hugs her, not wanting to have made her sad for having remembered it. Then Bri asks about how Vuokko met Sam and Amir. Vuokko says she can't fully remember when she met Sam, just that she was always around after she left Zu's refuge. Then she starts telling Bri about how she found Amir hurt--including an illness that made him sneeze bubbles. This made Bri brust out laughing.
Brirsayne does the recap this week! (I forgot about Amir's shadowfell eye thing). Oh my gooosh the fluctuation in Bri's player's voice, the way it quivers as she speaks about this--AAAHHH "because of the tainted meat…oh, not meat [makes a gagging sound]".
We're a little slower paced today, since two people aren't feeling very vocal--so text messages it is.
Artwork this week by @mothsandlanternlight
GM has asked who of us is resting. Vespera rests with Carrier. Vespera is pretty much coiled up around/on The Carrier. Pillow time. Mostly over his torso, for ultimate infant protection.
Bri won't rest until Vuokko does, and Vuokko won't rest until Amir comes to the bastion. Amir does come and Vuokko has made a pile of pillows and blankets on the floor. She invites Amir and Bri to sleep with her. She's happily between the two and and says "I'm safe with my pack now" (heckin' cute!) Amir does a little prayer for Vuokko in the form of Guidance, then sneaks away once she's fully asleep to his personal bastion. Specifically his altar in the oasis. He's very perturbed by the idea of what happened with Carrier and he's very concerned about the Rot. He wants to attempt some sort of communion to the Maw. Since he was scolded by his father about being so willing to sacrifice his blood he isn't planning to use that. Instead he collects one of the usages of his Diamond Dust and puts it into a brazier before the altar as a symbol for a precious vessel for purity, while also burning some incense blocks or herbs. He'll also set his father's ashes beside himself during this ritual prayer sort of to guide him in this communion.
Amir hits us with a:
"أسعى عبر البوابة إلى كشف أسرار ما وراء حجاب الفناء. ساعدني في إزالة هذا البلاء عن حبيبي واكشف جنون صديقي. وإن لم تستطع، فأرشدني إلى الإجابات التي أبحث عنها." [Through the Gate do I seek mysteries beyond the mortal veil. Help remove this blight from my loved one and reveal the madness of my friend. If you can not, then guide me to the answers I seek.]
GM says Amir can give a religion roll with advantage and he can add guidance. He got a fuckin' 29!! Amir feels the same feeling he felt when he cut himself to communicate with the maw, feeling the pulses as if it is linking his blood--his very life force--to something deeper and more primal. He learned of knowledge long forgotten by his people, a practice that has been removed from the lexicon due to the extremity of what this practice is and does to a person that uses said practice. This was done long ago, before Zuiar was what it was. A ritual, using Soul Singing (something Amir knows of) that cuts a person's life short, extremely sever, to remove a bane from themself or another person. Amir would then go back and take his long rest with Bri and Vuokko.
Vance spent the night researching and got a 22 in arcana check! He learned that illness born of schools of magic were found in the Old Kingdom and were theorized to be dispelled by asking magic of equal magic weight. In the Old Kingdom using necromatic magic cast at the site of death could bring understanding of life banes. So if Vance and one or more people cast a necromatic spell, they can better understand life bane and maybe remove it from Vuokko.
OOC Vance is asking everyone what necromancy spells they have in common.
[---] Moving to Vespera and Carrier.
As Vespera has been looking after someone so young as Carrier it gives her a sense of familiarity. There is something about children that is deeply integral to Vespera. Children must be protected at all costs. Something almost feral deep inside Vespera that needs to keep children, not just her own, but every child safe. Vespera tucks Carrier in for the night, she brings Camulos with her and coils around Carrier in a spiral motif. She then casts Alarm over the door, with a mental alarm with Carrier, Camulos, the child, and Raspberry from not setting off the alarm. Vespera then goes to sleep.
[---] GM: Okay. Lets shift things a little, as you all go to sleep. [I do not like these words.]
Vespera, as she shifts into dreams… she dreams of Amir's body, at the center of the whirling. There is wind and rain, she is hit by some of it. The wind grows restless now. The broken body of Amir has the moth climb out of the cavity of his chest. The moth is on fire now, though the flame is struggling against the winds.
GM: What would you like to do in this moment? Brirsayne ooc+text: crying is a free action.
Vespera kneels down by the body, reaching out to the moth to cup her hand around it. She uses the spell Silence, with the aspect of the spell where you can light or snuff out a candle/torch/small campfire. She is trying to snuff out the fire. Vespera feels that if she were to save the moth she would light herself on fire, she would need to take the fire into her. Above table Ves asks what color the flame is--she'd trust it more of it was blue--but it's just regular colors. Vespera takes in the flame, she can feel the pain creep all over her body. First from her hands then up her arms. She can see the moth begin to flap its wings and float off of Amir's body in front of her. GM asks if she screams. Vespera's player asks if there is a role for that and GM asks back if she wants to resist. After a moment of thinking, Ves does in fact scream--one of rage. The scream fills the whirling, echoing off of the winds. The moth flies even higher and with a speed unnatural to moths, it flies into her mouth. Among all of the pain from the fire, she can feel the moth crawling down her throat. Then in an instant the fire is put out. Not extinguished but her very being changes. She grows downy feathers from her body, from these flames. Feathers of a moth. Choices were made without her awareness, memories were lost but can be regained. The idol that everyone sees as a mindless unity is far beyond that--at this moment she is connecting to it. Bringing together something that has long been lost is not mindless unity. It is a necessary evolution. There is something beyond this place that has not looked upon it. Vespera knows she needs to make this place seen and in doing so she could make the world a lantern. She knows there is a great power she can call upon in the body. Would she like to? Yes.
Bones crunch back to place as the body heals in front of her. The wound closes and flames are removed from his body. The whirling is set ablaze, a great torch at the center of the world. [Perception check] At least 15 sets of eyes look down upon her, but there are more. Amir is brought back to life in front of her, then a different perception comes from outside of the dream, a crunch of bone being split. She is awakened from her dream from the alarm, the crunch is both memory and present. Something from the past is being invoked into this very room. Blood upon her hands, at first death, clattering of a bookend falling upon the floor. She's unsure why this scene is coming to her, her hands are covered in blood and there's a bookend on the floor. She can see Carrier floating in the air with a torrent of whispers. Whatever it is is dragging up her past and the past of everyone around here into this room. The closer she gets to Carrier, the more ill she feels, like her energy is being sapped from her. Carrier's belly has grown considerably, which makes no sense but little about this has made sense so far. Skipping the stages of pregnancy--she's aware that this would now be the third trimester. She knows children, it's almost here but not quite…Not long tho.
Then Carrier begins to come back to the body. Vespera looks him over, whispering apologies to him in Giant and Sylvan. GM has Carrier do a constitution saving throw of 16. GM then asks what Carrier's spell save is. Carrier feels in an instant an aging take over his entire body. He feels like something is draining his future from him, but at the same time it is working to undo the damage--blood being taken out and straight back in. There is nothing comfortable anymore, he can not ignore what is happening in his body. Carrier's eyes are full of pain and she reaches out for Vespera's hands and she holds his. He whispers "it hurts". On one hand she wants to find someone but on the other hand she doesn't want to leave Carrier. Vespera steps away from Carrier and tells him she's going to call for help. She's not leaving the room… She cuts her hands and draws circles in her blood, writing in half giant and half slyvan--and she's casting Find Familiar.
She can hear chittering before her as the little imp creature leaps from the blood. It says in a language only she can understand "had a rough night?" Vespera offers a smile kind of shakily and nods. "You or I?" Vespera offers it her bleeding hand and it places it's small clawed hand upon her palm. Vespera introduces herself and the imp says "Call it--" and it's voice chances as if many voices are naming it in the moment "Datura". Vespera tasks it with finding Vance, her knight, who can help her other friend who is in great pain.
Vance hears a rhythmic knocking on his door. He is finishing up his research and opens the door to find Datura. "A knight has been summoned" [GM is using their little fiend voice x33]. Vance is all "The titles, the titles. Alright, where's Vespera." And he follows Datura back to the other room. There's lots of blood in places. "….. Do I want to know?" Vespera explains how Carrier is in great pain and you've been able to help him in the past. Vance says "I can try to make something, only thing I have on me right now is coffee and some hard drugs." Vespera opens her mouth at the hard drugs comment, then suggests caffeine is good for pain and asks how strong Vance can make it. Vespera also invites Datura to crawl up her arm and sit on her shoulders/horns. It sits on her horns.
Vance can concoct something with the stuff around. He rolls a 1d100, then crit fails an alchemist's supplies check. GM says he can make either an elixir of endurance or strength, Vance picks endurance. The liquid has a strange texture, like there's fur down the back of his throat. GM has Carrier do a constitution saving throw with advantage (12 vs 1!) and gets a 15. Carrier felt as though he was going to be split open with how much he's grown. Welp, it's early morning…what they gonna do now? Carrier oocly asks how the pain is… And GM says over board that this has saved him from taking a ton of damage. There is a pain deep in his abdomen, as all of his organs have been pushed aside. The "meal" he had last night has had a very potent effect on him over night. Carrier asks Vespera if this is how it always feels like. Vespera says yes, but much slower. (Vance headed back to his room at this point and Vespera touched his shoulder gently before he went).
Vespera fears her dream did this somehow. She tells Carrier the short version of dream. She tells him that she can not harm the fey, she has an easy time betraying most others, but not fey. Carrier says it's a good thing then… At first Ves thinks it's about both of them being tieflings, then Carrier confirms it's about her not hurting him. Vespera has a moment of realization that he is fey after looking at his horns and the leaves on his head. Carrier says change was necessary for what he needed to fulfill his purpose. Vespera talks about her dream more, about growing feathers and the moth being on fire. She muses if this is how Brirsayne feels and if this is just a warlock thing. Vespera is explaining about how the mouth went into her throat--saying how it was a long way down (she has a long neck) and is pointing to herself as she says this. GM points out that as she is doing this she can find real feathers on her body--iridescent black and blue feathers.
Very owl-like. At the moment it looks like a new born owl. Ves shows this to Carrier and he comments on how it wasn't a dream after all. Vespera asks if Carrier thinks past events can come into the present. She talks about how she woke up with blood on her hands, but no book end in sight… Vespera tells Carrier when he feels the need to feed, he may come to her. She's accustomed to blood offerings to the fey. She's worried that consuming too much of the dead could make him and the child ill. Carrier's facial expression changes when she mentions what happened before. Vespera assures Carrier that Vance is looking into Vuokko's condition. Ves clearly trusts Vance, especially after he impaled a hag.
Vance ooc: Impaled a hag (nonsexual, violent)
Vespera says she wishes to protect Carrier, as much as she can. She's not too strong but she thinks things are moving. She's not going to tell her patron of the machine. She's going to make a game of it, it is something she knows he doesn't. Carrier asks if she trusts him. Vespera says she trusts him with her children--their children--as she would trust a force of nature. There will always be storms, volcanic eruptions. There will always be fey, the spirits of nature. She would not risk her life for any arch fey, he is the only one she knows. She explains how he would not help someone foolish enough to go into the cold winter unprepared…He will still be there, he won't help them stoke their fire but wait until their last breath and then take them. She believes she could bargain on behalf of each of the party. Her patron doesn't lie, few fey lie.
Yah! Vespera and Carrier bonding.
[---]
We confirm that Brirsayne stays with Vuokko in the main room. Vuokko chooses to go into her trance instead of sleeping. Vuokko does her constitution saving throw, hitting a 15! The illness hasn't progressed past her arm. Vuokko takes from her trance. Vuokko's hair changes from the lower back of her head to her front, going from blond to white on the hair cut shorter. Then she gets a new blond highlight somewhere in her long hair. She is in Winter now.
Vuokko wakes up and rolls onto her back, lifting her bandaged arm above her head. She tells Bri it doesn't feel worse. Then she sits up and looks around, seeing that Amir isn't there. Bri tells her he stayed until she fell asleep. Vuokko is sad by this knowledge. [Amir's player had to step away cries] Bri changes the bandage. They talk about how Vuokko feels and where Amir was.
Derkhan is by the garden, looking over the freshly gathered crops. They are in crates, ready for collection for us. She seems to idly be looking over the crates looks to us with an impassive look, giving us a slight nod. Derkhan wasn't expecting visitors. We bring up what happened with Carrier yesterday, eating rotting flesh. Derkhan is not surprised. Bri is concerned with how this can't be good for Carrier and Derkhan says there is nothing normal about Carrier and their purpose. She looks to Bri and Vuokko to see their expressions, Bri is concerned and Vuokko looks a little curious.
Derkhen asks if we remember her request when they first met. Vuokko has a blank expression for a moment then says "it was something about taking care of the baby?" Vuokko asks if Carrier's only purpose isn't to have the baby. Bringing the baby here is the current purpose of the moment, but not his only.
Derken says there's something she's been holding off to tell Carrier, calling Vuokko matron and saying that she will not always be here. Carrier will need his friends. She cares for him greatly, she is ready to give everything and she too serves a greater purpose. Bri asks what Derkhan and Carrier are. She's worried about the blood drinking. It's not Carrier who needs it, it's the baby. The baby is what hungers. Vuokko asks if the baby will want blood when it arrives here. Derkhan doesn't know, everything will change when it comes.
Carrier will no longer be 'Carrier' once the baby comes. He will have to choose his own name and his own purpose. Bri asks what Carrier was before being Carrier. Derkhan's face shifts, a hint of sadness creeping into her eyes. She lets loose a single tear down the side of her face. "A lost boy." She weeps for the day she met him. Bri asks why she wept and Derkhan hits her with the "did you choose the traumas that brought you to the place you are now?" She hopes that we will be there for him.
Bri asks if there's a way to combat a zombie rot. Derkhan says it's better if we see. She uses the mirror to show us a glimps of her world--the bastion disappears and we are standing above spiers of crystalline structures--they make up cities, realms, kingdoms., surrounded by inland oceans surrounded by crystaline blue. The center of these kingdoms has a spire stretching up that casts an iridescent sheen over all the kingdoms. Past this beauty, we focus in one a smell section of a small town. We see people frozen in place. Standing there as if interrupted by something. There are rotten individuals… The streets have been filled with rot. A thick miasma runs through the street.
Derkhan says her land is cursed. They know of ways to cure it--cutting off limbs or locking people in time.
Vuokko falls to her knees, covering her mouth with her good hand. She's staring blurry eyed at her arms, repeating "no no no." Bri comforts Vuokko and tells Derkhan "you could have just said no."
Derkhan says she knows of a way to cure it because it is in the early stages; before we reach the fullness of the day, there's a drastic option we may take. She gestures her fingernails across her shoulder blade. Remove the infected limb and any surrounding tissue. Brirsayne looks at Vuokko with wide eyes because she's in winter and knows how easy it is for her to be swayed by others. Vuokko says she trusts Vance, but if he comes up empty then it may be the best way.
Vuokko stands up and gives a slight bow to Derkhan, saying she appreciates her answering their questions. Derkhan requests us to send Carrier to her when we can. Bri starts to thank Derkhan but Vuokko slaps her bandaged hand over her mouth [yuk!] and reminds her not to thank a fey. "You mean to say is that you appreciate or you're greatful." Bri corrects her words, saying she appreciates Derkhan's honesty with us and apologizes if she said anything that came off as disrespectful.
Derkhan is staring at Bri's wings and goes back to something earlier--asking if she's sure she's not in mortal danger. She should reconsider what position she is being put in. Bri does an insight check on Derkhan, rolling a 22. There is something unsettling about this conversation. There's a glimmer in this moment that Derkhan has a purpose and intent behind she says. Everything is very very calculated. There is almost a guarantee here that she's trying to drive a wedge, to cast doubt in this moment. Bri asks what Derkhan means and she[D] questions "what reason have they given to you? For the gifts they bestow." "They are allowing me to prove a worthiness."
"And in lieu of your failures, do you think yourself worthy of gift or punishment?" Bri has much to learn, she would hope she no longer has the ire of punishment "One of the greatest gifts someone can give someone is a lesson. This is food for though" Derkhan urges Bri to strongly think of it.
Bri makes eye contact and says she thinks we all could use with a little more forthcoming. Derkhan says she speaks, she answers, do they? Brisayne has no answer to think of, she turns to leave. (Vuokko follows after her, grabbing her dress/skirt or hand.) There is a seed of doubt forming in Brirsayne's mind. There is something strange about Derkhan, about Carrier's purpose, about the sincerity of her wish and Carrier too. No one is being forthright.