Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- resources:adventure:the_river_and_the_sea [2018/11/11 23:00]
sallyo
+++ resources:adventure:the_river_and_the_sea [2020/01/07 22:21] (current)
sallyo
@@ Line 114: / Line 114: @@
 ====The Constant Companion====
+Aided by the Eye of Lakhesis, the party finds their way down through the cellar of an inn not far from Vollux’s house, through a disguised hatch leading to a hidden second basement, and from there into a network of tunnels beneath Rom. This section of passages is clearly of artificial origin - our heroes walk through stone arches and down flights of steps until, ah! - they find the way ahead flooded... with ichor-polluted water! All is not lost, however - someone has helpfully provided a bell on a pole, not far from the water’s edge.
+They ring the bell. For a moment, all is still, but then a dark shape comes gliding towards them across the surface of the water. As it draws near, it is revealed to be a huge black swan - heavily mutated with the apparent aim of converting it into a living swan boat, flat-backed and passive. Wicked hooks have been driven into its back, anchor-points for ropes that have presumably been provided so that passengers can secure themselves to the creature during the journey -
+- which begins gently enough, but soon accelerates into a desperate rapids-ride through the flooded tunnels. Florian takes the prow, concentrating on beating the swan about the head and neck to steer it safely between stone columns and under low arches; the others do their best to fight back swarms of ichor-mutated rats that are now gamefully leaping aboard the boat. The rats are persistent, and it is no easy feat to defend Florian and occasionally rescue one another from the dark waters, all while ducking under each arch they pass. At last, much the worse for wear, they traverse a large underground lake, finally fetching up on the far shore. Ahead, through another ancient archway, they see a light flickering.
+Our heroes head towards the light, which turns out to be shining from a single lantern at the centre of a large chamber. On one side of the room, crates and papers have been haphazardly thrown by someone clearly unacquainted with the most basic principles of housekeeping. Most of the floor is covered in arcane symbols - and there, standing at the far side of the room and wearing an expression of intense concentration, is -
+- eww. Councellor Apprentice Vollux looks like death warmed up in an acid bath; his body has been //horribly// ravaged by Erosion. Confronted by our intrepid investigators, he admits that he is indeed responsible for manipulating the flow of Spiridon Argyris’s stream of life... but wait - this isn’t what it looks like! He spent weeks in Argyris’s company, during which the two of them grew closer. They, well, they fell in love. Spiridon's passion for his work was one of the things that had drawn Vollux to him - but it was also the cause of friction between them. Spiridon had focussed on the project to the exclusion of all else, including his health; Vollux had told him to take better care of himself - they'd had rows over it. So when, in the middle of a planning meeting, Vollux saw Argyris succumb to a heart attack and felt the boundless sea of Erosion open up in that room, ready to claim the stream of his beloved's life, he acted on impulse.
+As Magister Audata’s apprentice, Vollux explains, he has some experience in Erosion Binding, an art that is little-known in Rastaban. He was able to harness this power in that moment - Spiridon should have died, but //no// - Vollux is holding back the sea, redirecting the waves of Erosion onto himself. If anything should disrupt the ritual, Spiridon will die in an instant - but Vollux may be able to save Spiridon at the cost of his own life, if those present will only assist him....
+At this point, fed by the high concentration of Erosion in the chamber, the extrusion of Lakhesis that the party has been carrying with them - previously only visible as a single eye - is now able to manifest. Lakhesis accuses Vollux of extreme folly: you can’t hold back the sea, and this love he feels for Spiridon is misdirected - he is only causing him to suffer by cutting him off from Erosion. He's not keeping him alive; he's //denying// him life, which is the experience of dying. The river and the sea are the same.
+Lakhesis advances upon Vollux, mouth gaping wide, provoking the party to make a decision. Will they stand in the way of Erosion as it comes to claim its own? After some deliberation (Quinn Alders has particular reason to feel conflicted), our heroes resolve to stand between Vollux and Lakhesis. The Erosion denizen is relatively weak here - the extrusion it has been able to project is only a tiny part of the whole - but still it puts up a vicious fight, extending its maw to feed upon the lives of its foes for strength. Still, our heroes are determined, and at last - after a long and bloody fight - the monster retreats, hissing a single word at its tormentors: "//EMNITY//"....
 ===== Debrief =====
+  * Lakhesis defeated, our investigators finally get a chance to quiz Vollux;
+  * Zosime and Iri discover that an ex-Commissioner friend of Vollux made the swan... but Vollux won't reveal their identity, insisting that he promised to keep it a secret;
+  * Vollux reiterates the choice on the table: they can interfere with his work and cause the death of their employer, or they can help him to save Spiridon at the cost of his own life;
+  * Against Vollux's better judgement, Florian and Quinn Alders decide to try for a 'third way', hoping to save both of them:
+    * Quinn Alders destabilises the tunnels to power the binding ritual;
+    * They gain a sense of the strand of Erosion connecting Spiridon and Vollux - it's like a writhing snake, or a river that keeps changing its course incredibly fast;
+    * Florian enters a berserker state to destroy one end of the stream, while his comrades cut the other end;
+    * They are able to detect the Erosion stream lashing out in all directions as it runs dry;
+    * Vollux falls exhausted, and there's an ominous rumble from overhead - but it seems like the ritual has worked....
+  * The swan hisses urgently, as the tunnels Quinn Alders destabilised begin to collapse around them;
+  * They take the getaway swan, carrying an unconscious Vollux with them.
+  * Back at the Argyris estate, Spiridon is sitting up and seems much better;
+  * He and Egmont are hugely impressed with the investigators;
+  * Silas is pissed, while Coralia seems relieved;
+  * Iri gives everyone Rod paladin feedback forms to fill in.
+  * Zosime takes the swan to the Commission;
+  * She is unfazed to discover her father in a hot tub with another high-ranking commissioner;
+  * Master Commissioner Draconis is delighted with the "bloody big duck", using it to accessorise the hot tub;
+  * Vollux, who continues to refuse to reveal the identity of his rogue ichorwerker friend, gets Taken Away.
+  * The Forest Touched get a debrief and (in Sowe's case) a talking to from Averick;
+  * Sowe is warned and the arm tagged. She is asked to report back if anything changes with it;
+  * Quinn Marshton is thanked for preventing things from going too badly wrong;
+  * Averick suggests that she speak with Marius and Heston, and to Jeremiah Stinglehelm and King Crescentius, about 'cures' for Forest touched.
+  * Doublethink goes on a date with Blimkins the butler;
+  * It goes well;
+  * Blimkins momentarily pings as a Shroud Paladin, just so that Doublethink can notice.
+  * Later, our heroes hear some troubling news. At about the time that the ritual went off, over forty people - most of them sick or elderly - died, including Zara, a much respected dowager of House Rom.
 ===== Consequences =====

User Tools

Site Tools

Differences

Page Tools