B-SIDE: SESSION 1
The ‘B-Side’ campaign is actually in the same setting, focused on different characters in the Athanar Marches. In addition to the npc Silenne from the A-Side, our party is:
Fara Undertree, the height of fashion, dwarven seamstress to house Vassar. She previously served Ivandra's mother Castia, who she loved with all her heart, though she never knew her feelings were requited. She continues to serve Ivandra, who she treats as her own adoptive daughter. Since Casyia's death she has slept her way through most of the castle staff and Vassarein guard. Brute Fighter. Played by Megan.
Liriel Selevarun, tattooed wood elf carnie. She is a wanderer exiled from her family, seeking out new inspirations to hone her Art - a mix of dance, martial arts, tattoos, and mystic elemental powers. Incorrigibly vain. Has no idea she's got a Charisma of 6. Four Elements Monk. Played by me.
Nisha Loy, human musician. Also a carnie. Performs music alongside Liriel's act, among others. Useless lesbian flirt. Lore Bard. Played by Gwen.
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The campaign begins as Ivandra orders the evacuation of the castle. Castle Vassarein is abuzz with activity as people prepare to flee. Fara Undertree, personal seamstress and tailor to Ivandra, is instead busy preparing several outfits for Ivandra while she’s away. [“I should probably let her dress herself, but I don’t trust like that.”]
Ivandra comes to offer her money before she goes, but Fara continues finishing up the outfit she’s working on. When she notices Ivandra’s red-rimmed eyes, she takes a handkerchief and walks over to place it directly in her breast pocket, because that’s the kind of person she is.
Fara is very upset with her basically-adoptive-daughter sending her into exile – “It’s not exile…” “It feels like exile!” and has Mom Words for her about not letting the castle burn down, not wearing some kind of hideous wool smock while she’s gone. She gives her a hug goodbye before she leaves.
Afterwards, she goes to find Silenne, who is in the garden, brooding near the sepulcher. She’s despondent over being bested by the other spy; “I feel like I’ve been so monumentally useless.” Fara resolves to go with her, and that they’ll enjoy this ‘vacation’ together. She leaves a flower for Castia before they go.
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As their carriage approaches the under-construction walls of Rothanvar, they pass by a collection of colorful tents and people, and large crowds drawn to them.
Rothanvar is full of a very diverse assortment of people, foods, sights, and sounds – and everywhere the scent of sea-spray. It is a tiered city, built on a seaside bluff (and on elven ruins). The more affluent part is up in the Clifftop district. In addition to steep streets and stairs, there are massive lifts used for transit from the clifftop down to the waterfront district. There is a FAR bigger wealth disparity here.
Fara and Silenne look for lodging at the tavern called the Cliffside Keep, rather than the… EXTREMELY sketchy waterfront inn, the Silent Siren. The nice tavern is PACKED.
After a night of empty flirting, Fara awakes to Silenne, who is gazing out the window, apologizing to Castia for not being there for Ivandra. As she comes back to bed, she touches Fara on the shoulder – she catches her hand, and says, “It’s going to be alright, goose.”
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That same night, Liriel also wakes up to the sound of footsteps outside and fingers scraping along a tent. (“ftr even though liriel doesn’t NEED to sleep, she definitely DOES” “elves on sleep: ‘I just think it’s neat!’”)
She pokes around outside, seeing and hearing fantastically bejeweled knives FWIP into the ground nearby. As she sneaks around trying to find the source, she hears a voice behind her – “Are you lost, love?” There’s pale a figure in ragged clown’s motley, white and black and grey and blue. She looks vaguely elven, and her eyes are closed. Liriel starts slowly backing away
“Nooo, I work here? But um, if you lost some knives, they’re right over there –“
The figure smiles, holding out a hand, in which a knife appears.
“Oh, they ARE yours, yes, just like-“
The figure’s grin grows wider, and three more knives appear.
“O-oh, you have lots of them, oka-“
The figure starts juggling knives, as more and more appear.
“That’s very impressive actu-“
Now there are nine knives, no longer juggling, but floating in midair. They all turn to point at Liriel. “DO YOU WANT TO PLAY WITH US?”
“Nooo, I really don’t, I was sleeping and-“
The eyes open, they are completely empty. The grin is even wider, face cracking. She’s very very, close, and Liriel earthbends a bunch of dirt up between them and runs back towards the tents screaming. There is angry-sounding snarling and scuttling from the other side.
Others start to burst out of the tents, asking what’s going on. I catch one last glimpse of a tattered motley darting behind one of the tents, and try to tell everyone what happened.
Osvaldo Salazar: Kazalian halfling, ringmaster. Dark olive skin, MANY sailor tattoos. Short and compact. Short black hair, shaved sides, many piercings. Medea’s husband.
Medea Salazar: Tiefling illusionist. Tall, pale, freckled with crimson, long violet hair (normally braided), hooves. Mute but hearing; signs. Osvaldo’s wife. Circus mom.
Damian Timori: Human; older man; currently in classy pyjamas. Runs a "house of curiosities"
Suraan: Massive dragonborn; 6’3; rust-red, covered in scars. One of her eyes is a clear blue-green; the other is milky-white, with a ragged scar. Doesn’t talk much; sometimes signs. Strongwoman.
Nisha: Gwen’s character! Our bard.
There’s no trace of what I saw anywhere. No knives, no knife marks in the ground, no footprints but my own – only the mound of earth and grass I pulled up.
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The next morning, after Fara picks out Silenne’s clothes and is shocked to learn she swims – “Alright. You have a secret life, as some kind of pond-floating trollop.” – they decide to check out the circus.
Osvaldo is in top form bringing in the crowds, [“No sick or elderly patrons!”] with the help of a claque pretending his hair was turned white by seeing the performance the previous night. [“Claque: Gentlemen, you are about to see something what was frightened to deaaaath - on the top of my headth"]
The two are amused, and decide to check out the carnival a bit. “It’s nicer than the last one we saw, ay lost they all HAVE clothes" "Yes, I'm not mentally redressing all of these ones. Much."
Fara feels a chill on the back of her neck, and whips around to see – someone looking familiar. A woman in pale lavender, a shock of dirty blonde hair, a thin-boned hand reaches out towards her… and suddenly the reverie breaks, as a crowd of laughing children passes between them.
They go to the fortune-reader, which Nisha has recently taken over. She gives the excited Silenne a love reading, gathering that she’s in a rut, and may have to look in new places.
Then she gives Fara a reading, on her family, and ‘fate’ takes over the spread. There are a lot of cards about home, industriousness, work, but then things take a bigger turn. Queen of pentacles – three of swords – page of wands – the devil. Nisha feels compelled to keep placing cards. Eight of swords – the star – two of wands – eight of cups – Death. She almost reaches for another card, but stops.
[For those of us who don’t tarot, ‘Fate’ summarizes for us: the queen of pentacles represents Castia; the page of wands is Ivandra. There’s a big choice coming for her – the Devil, Glasya and the Star, Apphia. Restriction, loss, and Death – while not always literal – is combined with a strong sense of finality, inevitability.]
The two leave, a bit glum, despite Nisha’s attempts to focus on the hope in it. After getting some mead, they visit another tent, with the sign ‘The Illustrated Woman.’
The tent is dark as they are ushered in, and through their colorblind darkvision, they can see Liriel seated on the floor. She slowly begins to rise, twisting and dancing, as sparks of fire flit from her fingers, offering brief glimpses of her and her tattoos, glimmering in the bursts of light. As she reaches her full height, she makes a grand gesture and the lanterns in the tent alight.
She continues to dance, weaving and sinuous, as she begins to focus on a large urn on the floor. As she dances over it, a serpentine form begins to emerge, made of water – it twists and turns, following her dance as it rises out of the urn entirely, growing more draconic in appearance, until the dance reaches its climax – the water dragon rushes towards the small audience, before bursting into a light mist.
Liriel bows and keeps posing and preening as Silenne and Fara approach to admire her tattoos and unsubtly check her out. She's fully tattooed from the neck down, covered in overlapping, shimmering designs that seem to move as she does. Most are beasts and magical creatures, particularly dragons.
They ask more about her tattoos, which Liriel is proud to tell them she did herself as she shows them off.
"Even the ones on your back?" "Oh, yes! I'm *very* flexible." Silenne swallows audibly.
They ask if she tattoos anyone else - she does, but it's painful and permanent. She also offers temporary painting, which Silenne eagerly accepts. Liriel takes her aside to show them her sketchbooks, and paints a little dragon on her wrist and forearm, in cerulean and violet.
Fara, who has been watching intently, asks if she can get one too. She is delighted to be offered Liriel's sketchbooks to look through, immediately giving Silenne the rest of her mead, and chats about a potential collaboration, using some of Liriel's designs in outfits. She ends up getting flowers painted along her collarbone (and carefully sealed so they won't rub off on her dress).
Nisha, who has been relieved of fortune-telling duty, has joined them in the tent as Liriel paints on Fara. She reintroduces herself to Fara and Silenne as the musician who accompanies Liriel's performance in the big top. "It's not as close and personal as this performance, of course, but oh, you should see what I can do with fire in that space!"
Fara rolls insight to see if Nisha and Liriel have fucked, and we decide they have. Nisha's flaw is that she's 'always a sucker for a pretty face,' after all, and flattery can get her everywhere with Liriel.
["We've been playing the A-side for months and there have barely been any kisses, and in the B-side our characters are already making movies on each other!"]
After some more flirting, Fara asks for other sights they should see - Liriel has trained long and hard for this, and she manages to promote some of the other circus performers' acts rather than simply declaring herself the greatest sight there is to see. Even if it's true. Nisha gives her an approving nod as she recommends they go see Suraan and Damian's daytime acts.
End of session.