TPW Summary: Act III, Scene v - Session 5

 Act III: The Olden Days and the Next Generation

Scene v: The Grandmaster's Election

~~~~~

CW / TW: Addiction Recovery and Relapse

This section will be written in blue text if you wish to skip it.

~~~~~

Present Party: Athena, Nytra, and Sylyeras

Setting: The city of Jarna, capital of the kingdom of Saspar

Simon Cleves
Aasimar Conjuration Wizard
Chroma Conqueror
(Art made by me, using Heroforge)

Nytra took the knife that had been used to stab Sylyeras, and with permission from Simon Cleves - Finn's old friend and the headmaster of The Premiere Academy - she was able to use The Premiere's labs. Nytra was not an expert alchemist, but she knew enough to get by. Being from an artificer's guild further south, she'd met many alchemists before, and had picked up the necessary skills.

She was able to take what little was left of the substance on the knife, and come to some startling conclusions:

- The knife was not only poisoned. It also had a highly acidic substance on it, almost mixed into it.

- Further inspection of the acid led her to believe that it was, like the mark on Harry's back, something akin to the acid of gelatinous cubes but it was liquidated. It was also, like the cubes, attracted to heat. From this information, she gathered that the acid was used more as a carrier for the poison. It'd actively eat through the skin of its victims as it poisoned them. The victim would be in for a world of pain (which she gathered was why Sylyeras passed out immediately after being stabbed.)

- The poison was basically a cocktail of different types of poison that, all together in the acid, seemed to work together. The poisons were:

- Assassin's blood: a very common type of poison that Nytra had heard some alchemists in her time talk about. However, it was a type of poison that had to be ingested, not caused by injury.

- Wyvern poison: an extremely potent and expensive substance.

- Purple Wyrm poison: also extremely potent and expensive. 

- There was also some plant matter that was left over upon inspection. They were thin strips of some kind of green substance. Nytra took a few hours to use Mending to reconstruct it. She found that it was plant matter. Upon further research, she found a few plants that may be involved.

- Sap from an Imperian tree, known as the "black oak." The sap could contribute to the consistency of the poison.

- Spores from a fern-like plant called "credle" that grew in Stovald and Storzen. They were potent, but small and wouldn't be visible like the plant matter.

- Stems from a plant known as "ward lilies." The stems and leaves secreted a type of poison that burned when it came into contact with other organic material. They grew exclusively on the island nation of Trodia. That could be the plant matter she found, but she'd need to confer with a botanist.

Overall, Nytra determined that the person who made this stuff was not only an expert with chemicals and plants, they were also absolutely psychotic.

It would be possible to make an antidote, but she'd need several - one for each type of poison found - or she'd have to find a way to make her own cocktail. She'd also need a way to truly identify all of the plants involved, in case there was more than just the visible plant matter present.

She updated Finn, and he said that he knew someone who was quite good with plants. He'd need a full 24 hours to get in touch with that person, but they'd definitely be able to help. She was okay with that, and he checked in with the rest of the party later on. They were also for bringing in an expert.

~~~~~

Pharius Veladorn
Drow, Odette's Father & Candidate
for Grandmaster of Saspar
(Art by Shinyno on Tumblr)

While Sylyeras and Harry took their lunch upstairs, Athena had her lunch with Pharius and Odette. Pharius did not bring his girlfriend Minnie. He'd finally told her about Odette.

After lunch, Athena sent Odette upstairs in the hope that she'd take a nap. In the meantime, she spoke to Pharius:

"How'd she take it?" Athena asked. "Minnie, I mean."

"She's not angry, which is good. I think she's just... surprised. She doesn't know what to think right now. She asked to be alone for a while, to think."

"Do you think it'll be okay?"

"It will," he assured her. "She just needs a little time. Honestly, I'm not that worried."

They also discussed Pharius's involvement in Odette's life going forward. Athena told him that, regardless of whether or not he won the election, he was still welcome in Odette's life. He was appreciative, and insisted that he wanted to be, but that he had to be sure of his position of grandmaster before he could determine how he would be part of her life. Athena mentioned that she was worried about the life she'd been providing for Odette, but Pharius assured her that Odette didn't seem to mind. Odette clearly loved Athena, that much had been made clear to him the last time he'd seen the two of them together in the library.

Athena also took the time to fill Pharius in on the fact that one of the cults they were fighting, The Dusk, had someone in the election: Ego LaFontaine. That was definitely something that concerned Pharius, but he stated that they'd have to find proof of wrongdoing.

"If he's in the running, he has to have some kind of legitimacy backing him," Pharius said. "Either power, money, influence, or something."

~~ CW BEGINS ~~

Lastly, Athena debated opening up to Pharius. She asked him for a coin, which he gave her, and asked him to pick heads or tails. He picked the right choice - heads - and Athena told him about her addiction, and how she'd been struggling. She also told him about the argument she'd had with Finn after the debutante ball.

"I never... intended to go that far that night, I just... did," she confessed. "And it spiraled out of control."

Pharius listened, and then eventually told her, "If you think I'm going to judge you or think you... any less of an excellent mother because of that... you're wrong. Take a closer look at the coin I gave you."

The gold coin had an elven portrait on one side, and the number 1 on the other, followed by "DARSS."

Pharius explained, "That's a sobriety coin. One year, from the Drug Addicts' Recovery Services of Saspar. They're a support group for recovering addicts because... there are a lot of drugs that are legal here. More drugs means more addicts means... they need more support. I'm recovering from a drug called Stardust. I still go to their meetings sometimes. There's one next Sunday, if you want to go. I'll go with you. You don't even have to give your own name. The whole purpose of it is that... you go in, people know you and what you've been through, and you leave and you don't have to talk about it."

Athena claimed that she would think about it. Then, she smiled, and invited Pharius to come upstairs with her. She wanted to show him something.

~~ CW ENDS ~~

Harry
Human, Death Cleric of Bhaal
Lieutenant of The Dusk,
Leader of The Bloodied
(Art by AnnaHelme on DeviantArt)

Meanwhile, Sylyeras sat next to Harry on the floor, looking at him as he slept. Harry was still tense, still not fully relaxed. He sighed, and leaned back. Quietly, he prayed - for the first time, not to Cthulhu. He asked (not expecting a response) for any good god to please help him. Please help Harry to reach some type of serenity, help him not to suffer as much as he has been.

There was slight breeze. Sylyeras glanced at Harry and noticed a hand - a woman's hand - on his shoulder. It was there for a moment, and then it disappeared. Harry exhaled, and his body relaxed. Sylyeras was incredibly relieved.

Harry's sleep didn't last long, however. Both he and Sylyeras heard the sound of a child singing outside in the hall. Sylyeras opened the door to see Odette, and he offered for her to stay with them so she wouldn't have to nap alone. Odette happily joined them.

When Sylyeras introduced her to Harry, much like he had when he saw her at the tavern, he simply stared for a long time. Harry attempted to play a game with her: "a game they played all the time." Through more conversation with her, it became clear that Harry didn't recognize Odette as herself. He recognized her as someone named "Thea." Once that started happening, Sylyeras helped Odette settle down for a nap. Harry seemed a little confused, but he let it happen. Sylyeras asked Harry who Thea was, but he refused to elaborate and he seemed to be devolving quickly. Sylyeras attempted to help him by getting him out of the room, and into a bath, hoping it would calm him.

Odette Lavinge
Pharius & Athena's daughter
(Original Art by Brandon Dunn
on Art Station)
(Recolored by Athena's Player)

Athena came into their room shortly after. She'd wanted to bring Pharius to her and Odette's room to show him how cute she was when she slept. When she found that Odette wasn't there, she and Pharius searched for her. Luckily, they didn't have to look around for long. Pharius kissed Odette goodnight, and promised to get any information he could on the state of the tournaments. He'd probably come back for dinner.

Harry, while Athena and Pharius said goodnight, was standing in the doorway between the bathroom and bedroom, beside Sylyeras. He looked at Odette almost protectively. Athena grew concerned, and when she asked Sylyeras about it, they both tried to ask Harry about Thea.

The only thing Harry said was that he wouldn't tell Syl. "You'd be disappointed in me if you knew..."

Sylyeras insisted that he wouldn't be, but it didn't seem to do any good. Harry refused to talk about her.

Athena, for Odette's safety, removed her from the room. Harry immediately broke down, crying and begging for her not to take her, still believing her to be Thea. Sylyeras held him, and brought him to the bed. Once again, Harry fell asleep.

~~~~~

Just before dinner, when Harry woke up, he didn't say or do anything. He stared at the other side of the bed, where Odette had been. Athena cast Greater Restoration on him again. It seemed to pull him back to reality before, and it did so again. Harry apologized. Athena asked if he'd be able to do this, learning that he was a cleric. He claimed that he could, and he could do it more often. She told him to cast it on himself tonight before bed. Sylyeras and Harry took their dinner upstairs again.

The others reconvened at the dinner table, where Athena told everyone the results of her Commune spell from last session. Nytra also informed everyone of what she'd discovered about the poison. Pharius mentioned that the tournament would be resuming the day after tomorrow, where it left off. Athena also asked Finn if he could go and make sure that Harry cast the spell on himself before bed.

When Finn arrived, he was also asked by Sylyeras if he would stay in the room with them. Sylyeras wasn't feeling particularly mentally well, and he worried for Harry's safety as well as his own. Finn, concerned, agreed to stay. Harry cast a spell on himself, and Sylyeras and Finn were both satisfied.

Before bed, Sylyeras decided to pray one more time, again, to a good god who would be willing to listen...

~~~~~

He got lucky.

That night, Sylyeras dreamt of a grove in a forest. There was a waterfall behind him - bright blue, that tumbled into a still pool of water. It was completely transparent; he could see each little stone at the bottom of it.

A woman's voice, quiet, carried on the breeze greeted him: "Oh... you poor thing, something evil has a hold on you, doesn't it?"

"Yes..." Sylyeras admitted. "I... Can you help?"

"Help you, or your friend?"

"Him first, but... who are you?"

"They call me The Quiet One."

On a successful religion check, Sylyeras determined that "Quiet One" was a title of Eldath, the goddess of peace in the Farelist Pantheon (Forgotten Realms.) She'd heard him before. She was hearing him now... and she took pity on him.

"I may be able to help you too, but I will need help," she said. "And perhaps some of it will come from you."

"What do you need?"

"I'm not sure yet. I must speak to my friends... but for the time being, I can help keep your friend tethered. Then, I will see what I can do for you."

Sylyeras trembled. "No tricks?"

"No," Eldath insisted. "I'm not the type for tricks. You asked for Good... I am not the type of Good that tricks. I will not hurt you... I want to help you."

Sylyeras's knees buckled, and he cried tears of relief. "Please... Yes, please..."

And then, he woke up... and for the first time after talking to a greater power, there was hope welling up in his chest for something better.

~~~~~

ART LINKS:

https://shinyno.tumblr.com/post/168555192674/commission-for-stelera-of-their-dd-oc-cropped

https://www.deviantart.com/annahelme/art/Rikko-858753094

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/A9obLN

NPC Concept: "If You Know the King, You Know the Kingdom" - Part 2: The Bureaucrats

Overview

I'm back today with part two of this series, where I'm taking a look at the types of governments that the D&D 5e Dungeon Master's Guide provides to DMs, looking to create some homebrew kingdoms of their own. I'm providing explanations, plot ideas, and also some thoughts on how to structure these governments for your games, where political avenues may be the party's best bet.

Today, we're going over a bureaucracy, which page 18 of the DMG describes as:

"Various departments [that] compose the government, each responsible for an aspect of rule. The department heads, ministers, or secretaries answer to a figurehead autocrat or council."

With that description at our disposal, let's dive into creation!

Who Are the Important People?

My Tri-Panthonic War campaign actually has two bureaucratic kingdoms: one in Biharte, which the players have not visited, and one in Degoa, which they have. I'd like to talk about the latter in this context.

The first question you have to ask yourself is what departments exist in my bureaucracy? This is really important, because each department is supposed to act as a facet of the government. What pieces of rule require their own departments? In Degoa, I had the following departments with a secretary for each one:

- State: oversaw diplomatic matters, as well as all other departments on behalf of the queen.

- Treasury: responsible for taxation, trade, and incoming revenue.

- Defense: oversaw the general defense of the kingdom - basically everything from local guards to the national army and navy.

- Justice: responsible for the court system, upholding laws in court, and anything to do with prison or incarceration.

- Agriculture: oversaw the production of food, including both produce and livestock.

- Communications: oversaw and supervised courtier services and any public means of communication, including arcane communication. They were also responsible for the quality of the roads in the kingdom.

- Arcana: oversaw the use of magic and was also responsible for educating mages within the kingdom.

- Papers: oversaw licensing for anything from magic use to businesses, and also responsible for the creation / checking of travel papers or passports for the kingdom.

These are just suggestions of course. More or less departments could be used, depending on the kind of society you want to create. If the kingdom has public education, consider making an education department. My inspiration for this came from looking up the different departments within the executive branch of the United States. The US president has several secretaries that serve on his Cabinet, and that is kind of how I intended for this to be. 

The capital city housed the main departments with the secretaries. However, all cities had offices for each of these departments in them, with undersecretaries and agents that worked within those offices. As you can see, there are a lot of people who could be important here, depending on what your players do and what kind of plots you have in mind.

The last thing to think about is the fact that this bureaucracy typically has a ruler at the top. The description in the book says that this leader is a figurehead, and I think that's an important detail to remember. That could be a really good detail to explore in a political plot. In Degoa, there is a queen who serves as this figurehead. Her responsibilities are few and far between, and almost everything is left to the secretaries. As a result, they're the ones with the power. The party may try to avoid the red tape of the bureaucracy and go straight to the queen... only to find that there's not much the queen can do for them. 

Another important question: what exactly is the relationship between a monarch and their bureaucracy? That will lead us into our next section.

Function / Motivations

As I stated in my last part, the overall objective of any of these institutions is to rule. They are the systems of law that allow a society to function.

However, overall motivations of particular groups may vary, and that's where the party comes in to interact with these types of NPCs and forward the plot.

- Does the monarch enjoy being the figurehead? Do they mind the fact that they're really just a show piece or a symbol? The party could be hired by the monarch to help them become important, to dismantle the bureaucracy.

- Do one of the departments need a little extra funding? Could the party go on a quest to get them something like a dragon's hoard? And of course, the party would get a cut too.

- Two departments can't agree on whether or not a certain issue belongs to their department or the other. The State Department calls the party in as impartial judges.

- A bureaucracy is often a very strict form of government with a lot of paperwork and "red tape" to jump through. Do they interfere with the party's goals? A task that might seem simple in other kingdoms just got a lot more difficult when the party is forced to deal with the bureaucracy. Can they find a way to accomplish their goal quietly? Can they make allies within the departments so they don't have to deal with that red tape?

A bureaucracy, much more than some other types of governments, is strict. Everything has to be in its proper place. The more departments that are involved, the messier and harder things get. In my opinion, a bureaucracy is more likely to be an obstacle for your PCs rather than an opportunity for allies. Individuals in a certain department may be willing to help your party... but the department itself might not care unless a huge favor was done for them. Even then, once they've held up their end of the bargain, they're not likely to help again unless another favor was done.

Speaking of favors, some bureaucracies may also be highly corrupt. The Treasury could be hiking up taxes, Agriculture might be lowering its standards for acceptable food for some reason, Arcana might be cracking down on certain types of magic or who can practice it, etc. In this case, your party may act as "Robin Hoods" almost, and help out the common folk.

Why Should I Include This?

In its own way, the bureaucracy is an interesting addition that makes your players think. It's hard to dismantle a government, especially one like this where there are so many different officials to worry about.

In a bureaucratic kingdom, your lawful characters will really get the chance to thrive. The best way to combat a bureaucracy is to accomplish a quest by sticking to the letter of the law, and making the process as easy as possible by including as few departments as possible. More chaotic players with chaotic characters might find this type of storyline frustrating or difficult, but not impossible. It presents an unfamiliar challenge, which is never a bad thing in D&D and storytelling. In fact, I think it encourages creativity. The "Robin Hood" type questline could also be a really good option if you have a party that leans more towards chaos.

What's Coming Next?

So, that's all I've got for the bureaucracy! My next post in this series will come in about 2 weeks, and in that case, we'll be discussing confederacies. I'll see you all then!

WSS Summary: World 9, Amorous He - Sessions 5 & 6

Present Party: During session 5, Claudia was absent. During session 6, we had the full party of Aria, Claudia, Emori, and Steve.

Setting: Aboard the starship, Cave of Wonders, captained by a space pirate, Theron, and his crew.

The party made their way to the armory, where they discovered a plethora of fun and unfamiliar weapons. The place was run by a half-orc gentleman, Jorge, who the party would learn crafts many of these weapons, and allows the crew to use them for free. The two things that stood out to them were daggers with blades made from beams of different colored light, and a pistol that shot bullets that could cast certain spells on impact.

Emori had been playing around with one of the daggers, and seeing that she was going to catch it the wrong way, Confidence leapt in front of her and pushed her away. The light blade sliced his horn clean off, but they were able to fix it using Mending.

Aria wanted to test out her new gun, and was aiming for Steve, but had accidentally shot Confidence instead with a bullet containing the Haste spell. He'd attempted to come after her, but Emori talked him down, and he swore some revenge for later. 

Emori bought a set of daggers, Aria bought the gun and some bullets, and Steve ended up with a dagger and the gun and bullets.

After that, Emori and Confidence went back to his room. She tried to convince him to set up a meeting with Theron, which he said that he would and that he could get the whole party inside. Emori was hoping they could convince him to let Ali and Dahlia see each other, and then hear them out. Dahlia had a plan that would be able to benefit them both. He just gave her a few pointers on what to avoid.

- Theron was the genie - not a genie, the genie. He had a lamp and he could grant wishes. Theron's lamp, as far as Confidence believed, had to be somewhere on this ship and someone had to be holding it. How else would Theron be able to walk around like he does? He advised her not to talk about the lamp, it could be seen as a threat.

- He also advised her not to ask about the specifics of his vendetta against the king - Dahlia and Ali's father. Theron doesn't like to talk about it.

Bardic Captain Theron
The Genie
Captain of Cave of Wonders
(Art made by me, using Heroforge)

Emori gathered the party, and a few hours later, they all found themselves climbing up the stairs to Theron's quarters. He admitted them and invited them to sit across from him at the desk. When they explained why they were here and what they wanted, Theron seemed hesitant.

"In my experience, it's not a very good thing when two Ababwas get together to conspire..." he sighed.

"Dahlia says she has a plan," Emori told him. "What was your plan, now that you have the princess and the prince?"

"Simple. Drop them off somewhere where nobody will find them. I've discontinued the royal line. Trust me when I say, that's enough in the way of torture for the royals." He shrugged. "And the queen is too old, she can't have any more kids..."

"Dahlia also mentioned something about killing the king."

Theron was definitely intrigued by this. He seemed more willing to help with that... as long as he was the one to kill the king, who the party learned was named "Aladdin."

Ultimately, they convinced him to let the two of them see each other, and let them speak briefly and supervised by the party. That way, they wouldn't be able to conspire without the party telling Theron that they'd done so. They collected Dahlia and some food for Ali. On the way, they hatched another plan: using Emori's Mind Link, the Ababwas could talk freely between the two of them and the party without any ears (such as Kay or Lysander, the guards outside the brig) listening in.

Prince Ali, the Amorous
Human
(Art by toherrys on DeviantArt)

Princess Dahlia, the Courageous
Human
(Art by Sarctic on DeviantArt)

Ali and Dahlia talked telepathically about the potential of using Theron and his crew to siege the city of Agrabah and overthrow their father. Ali was hesitant at first, but with Dahlia's encouragement, he warmed up to the idea. He knew that their father had no intention of ever rescuing Dahlia to begin with. He knew that their father was a terrible, tyrannical king. Dahlia wanted to leave Agrabah entirely, along with the woman she loved. She'd leave the kingdom in Ali's hands.

"You're smart and you're brave, but most of all, you're amorous," she reminded him. "That's something to be treasured, Ali."

What the prince and princess needed now was to convince Theron. Dahlia had some trouble with that before, but maybe if Ali could come with her, he might see reason. She was still, at this point, wondering if finding the lamp would be their best option.

The party reported back to Theron, and he seemed willing to listen to Dahlia and Ali once and if he did not like what he heard, he was holding the party accountable for bringing up the idea at all.

That night, Emori did one additional thing: she made a trip back to the armory, asking Jorge if she could have a shield bracer engraved with some kind of phrase for someone she cared about. Jorge guessed correctly that Confidence was who she had in mind. She told Jorge that Confidence had previously told her that people didn't remember him. So, she wanted to provide Confidence with something, in case she had to go (knowing she would have to go), to tell him that she'd never forget him.

He suggested, "Well, what if it was just something like an 'I love you' or-"

"Whoa, we haven't gotten that far yet."

"You can love someone in more than one way, you know," he reminded. "Love can be meant romantically or platonically. If you put 'I love you' on the bracer, it lets him interpret it."

"But... what if he interprets it the wrong way?"

"Well... love is love. Love is a good thing, in all its forms. It's good to know what kind of love, but regardless, I think it'll be important to him."

She decided on the phrase: "I'll never forget you, my love. - E." It would be ready by tomorrow night.

On her way back to Confidence's room to spend the night, she happened to overhear a conversation between Confidence and another woman. She recognized the voice; the party had met her only once before in passing. It was Scarlett, the first mate aboard Cave of Wonders. Confidence had said before that the two of them had a bit of a messy history. They were arguing in his room, and Emori attempted to listen in. It seemed that Scarlett wanted something she seemed to know Confidence had, and he wasn't giving in. She was growing increasingly frustrated.

Emori knocked quickly when she heard them advancing towards the door. Confidence let Scarlett out and Emori in. Confidence insisted that their conversation was nothing to be worried about.

~~~~~

The next morning, the party went all together to breakfast. They desperately wanted to pick up Claudia. She'd been sulking in her room for most of the day before, thinking about her fiancée back in her home world: Amera. At this point in the campaign, the characters had been away for thirty years and hadn't aged except when they were in worlds. Their ages always reset when they return to the System Space, back to how they were when they first arrived.

On their way to breakfast, noticing that she wasn't herself, Confidence attempted to talk to Claudia. The two of them, being tieflings, spoke privately at the back of the group in Infernal.

"I envy you," he admitted.

Claudia seemed surprised.

"I envy you because I've never had anyone look at me or talk about me the way that you talk about your fiancée... and I don't think I ever will. Because that life just... isn't for me." He smiled. "Where I'm from, we have a saying: distance makes the heart grow fonder."

"We have a similar one."

"If she loves you as much as you love her... then she's not going anywhere. And you have to have faith in that. It means a lot to people when they know that they mean something to you."

The conversation did cheer Claudia up a little, but it was definitely odd. She'd met another iteration of Confidence in her first world. One that had tried desperately to kill her, and who had killed nearly everyone else in the party she was traveling with before (luckily, death isn't permanent when you work for the System.) They all ended up okay, but she'd still watched them all be brutally murdered by him. Seeing him now, younger, trying to make her feel better, was a huge change of pace. 

She punched him playfully in the arm... and the world stopped. She felt warmth in her chest. She felt like she'd gone home for a moment. This was something that had happened before to her, and to other members of the party with Confidence in other worlds. They were still unsure what it meant or why it happened.

Once they'd finished their breakfast, the party split up with their own agendas. All of them (sooner or later) led to them meeting Aquamarine, a water genasi who acted as something of a keeper for all things magic on board Cave of Wonders.

- Claudia took Aria along to look at spell scrolls. She wanted one for the Sending spell. She was curious to see if it would help her get a message to her fiancée, back in her home world.

- Confidence sent Emori to Aquamarine to pick up a few things so he could begin his revenge plot against Aria. He told her that he would teach her what to do, so she could replicate it if she ever had to do it again.

- Steve was curious about a Teleportation Circle spell, but Aquamarine didn't have one. She did tell him, however, that Jorge had been working on a teleportation device of some kind. When Steve asked Jorge about it, he was permitted to see it and study it. Apparently, it hadn't been successful. There were two crystals that powered it, and he was still trying to figure out how they were linked together.

Aria also told Claudia a bit more about where she came from, and her witches' coven back in her own home world. Even she missed home, the one person she had left there, and even the people she'd lost.

- They were a coven that had been ensuring the prosperity of their town by using their magic, but when they were ratted out by a rival coven, the townspeople were displeased.

- Aria's lover, Silas, had done his best to protect her and her coven, despite not being a witch himself.

- Aria's coven was hunted until all of them were killed except for her and Silas. This displeased the goddess that her coven had worshipped, and, as retribution, she had taken Silas away. That was why Aria's wish was to get him back.

~~~~~

Later in the day, Dahlia and Ali were due to meet with Theron. The party waited for their meeting to end, knowing that if it didn't go well, then they would be held responsible.

After several hours, they were summoned back to Theron's office, where he told them that he and the Ababwas had come to a conclusion. He would help them siege the castle, he would kill the king, and the children could do whatever they wished with the kingdom. Despite the good news though, both Dahlia and Ali seemed dissatisfied for whatever reason.

For now, the party brushed it aside and Theron explained part of the plan they'd developed and since the party had been so helpful, he offered for them to pick the part they'd like to play during the siege. There would be a ground team that would get certain types of armor, and an air team that would pilot certain ships. He claimed that he would be able to give them more information later; these ships were stowed away on another planet, and they'd have to go pick them up. He also offered the party a reward of their choice if they were cooperative and assisted in the siege.

Once that conversation was over, everyone dispersed. Ali was no longer considered a captive, and the party offered for him to stay in one of their rooms with them. He accepted, and he was tired, so he opted for a nap but not before receiving some encouraging words about his ability to lead a kingdom after his father's death.

Claudia and Aria decided to ask Dahlia what had happened in the meeting over drinks. Emori also joined them after a brief chat with Confidence. It seemed as though Dahlia had gotten exactly what she wanted... but it wasn't so.

"I want my father dead," she said pointedly. "But the way Theron wants to do it... I don't want to watch my father suffer, even if he was a terrible man."

Scarlett
First Mate and Former
Captain of Cave of Wonders
(Art by kiikiibee on Tumblr)

Once again, Dahlia brought up her desire to find Theron's lamp and use it to make him cooperate. Claudia and Aria recalled what Emori had told them about the conversation between Scarlett - Dahlia's girlfriend - and Confidence.

"Your love, she's the first mate, isn't she?" Claudia checked.

Dahlia nodded. "Yes."

"Does she knows where it is?"

"Not that I'm aware. If she did, she knew I wanted it before. I... I like to think she would have... told me or given it to me."

They needed a straight answer, so they asked Dahlia if she could get Scarlett and when she did, they asked to talk to her privately, where they learned a few things and confirmed some of their suspicions.

- Scarlett had actually been the captain of Cave of Wonders until Theron came along. She'd let him have the ship, mostly out of curiosity and because she wanted a break.

- She believed that Confidence had the lamp, or at the very least knew where it was, which was just as good as having it.

- She believed that Theron could be persuaded without using the lamp, but that it wouldn't be easy to do. It also wouldn't be easy to get Confidence to give it up, if he really did know where it was.

Emori smiled. "Well... then I guess it's up to me to get it out of him."

~~~~~

ART LINKS:

https://www.deviantart.com/toherrys/art/commish-Dmitri-700365428

https://www.deviantart.com/sarctic/art/Gwen-DeLancy-395324626

https://kiikiibee.tumblr.com/post/180196741082/commission-of-a-flirty-red-headed-rogue

~~~~~

Credit to @ijaymendell inspiring this awesome campaign!

MMC Summary: Session 18 - A Free Bird

Present Party: Keviks, Lupan, Nana, and Wren.

Setting: The city of Lanti, in Midtia.

Lupan left the Mulcaster Estate with Kindred at his side in an attempt to go after Keviks and make sure he wasn't going to be attacked on his way to jail, and also in an attempt to speak with him. Two guards from the Mulcaster Estate followed him and showed him where the jail was. Lupan approached and immediately ripped the door off the wagon that was transporting Keviks.

The guards restrained Lupan and demanded an explanation as Keviks was brought inside. Lupan, through a series of persuasion and intimidation checks, was admitted, but had to wait until Keviks was processed. Then, he'd be placed in a secure room where Lupan would be able to see him. He'd have to leave all weapons and arcane casting objects at the door.

He was admitted and found Keviks in a small room, chained to a chair. There was a table in front of him and another chair in the room. Two guards remained outside the room, and when they shut the door, the edges glowed blue for a moment. Lupan demanded to know what had been going through Keviks's head. Keviks explained a little, that he had to and that all of this was far bigger than he'd told anyone. Lupan knew the least about Keviks's past, and Keviks assured him that if the others came by, he could explain even more.

~~~~~

Meanwhile, at the estate, Nana and Wren filled in Baron Mulcaster and his wife about what happened. They explained that Orion had been charmed by Vekea Keenstalker, using a set of magic rings. Orion had been the one to tell them by playing with the ring, and by allowing Nana to use Detect Thoughts.

Baron Reginald and Lady Eloise Mulcaster
Wren's Parents
(Art by Djamila Knopft)

Orion Mulcaster
Human, age 25
Wren's older brother
(Art by Tina Yeh on Art Station)

"It was the only way I could tell them without telling them..." Orion said quietly.

The Mulcasters couldn't wrap their heads around such an atrocity. The baron asked, "What could they have wanted from us?"

"Money," Orion told them. "And influence, but mostly money."

Nana explained further, saying that she believed, from what she could tell from Orion's memories, that he had been stealing money for them out of the family's funds. Orion confirmed that this was true.

Baron Mulcaster sighed, "Well, when our accountant Frederick comes back from his vacation-"

"Frederick isn't on vacation," Orion stated flatly. "I know how much it was, I kept track." He gulped. "22,800 gold pieces..."

The Mulcasters were shocked, and Wren took a moment to remind her parents that the money isn't what's important. Their family is safe now, and that's what matters. Nana and Wren needed to speak to Keviks; they needed to know why he'd bothered to attack at this moment. While the Mulcasters checked on the security of their home and other children, the party made their way to the jailhouse. They also left Fang and Castilian behind.

Pulling strings as members of the Selection Party, and using Nana's position as Royal Court Mage to their advantage, they were admitted with the same restrictions: no weapons, no spellcasting focuses. They met with Lupan and Keviks in the same room. The door was closed.

Wren approached Keviks, and placed her hands on the arms of the chair he was chained to.

"What the FUCK?!" she screamed, letting her polite and calm façade drop for the first time in this whole situation. She continued, "My entire family could have been killed, Keviks! Sebastian almost was, and for what?! Not to mention, Fang was there! He could have been killed, Keviks, and it's our job to protect him."

Keviks insisted, "This is bigger than your family, Wren. It's bigger than the prince, and I can explain everything. I have nothing to hide anymore."

He informed them all of what he knew:

- Firstly, he reiterated the backstory that Wren and Nana already knew, mostly for Lupan who'd yet to hear it.

- As soon as Keviks was born, he was ripped away from his family. He'd been a soldier since birth.

- His first order out of training camp was to return to his village in the forest, where he'd been born, and to set it on fire. He'd done it, and killed everyone including his own family without asking questions. He'd been taught not to ask questions

- He was welcomed into the army after that. Free to make his own decisions (as long as they were in Erdia's best interests, of course.)

- He'd spent about a year, pillaging and conquering towns and villages to keep them under Erdian rule. This didn't bother him; it wasn't what drove him to leave. What did drive him to leave... was tyranny. Keviks did not want a world ruled by only one man or one country.

- Keviks flew away as fast as he could. Erdia hunted him for a short while, but they stopped. After all, what damage could a lost aarokocra with no family and no ideals but those imposed upon him by Erdia?

- Keviks admitted that he was not - is not - a good person. But he hopes now that by fighting back against Erdia, it can redeem him... if only a little.

- He also added that this Erdian plot was about a continent-wide invasion. They were planning a multi-step invasion, and from what he knew about the locations of two other generals - Ureik and Grisdain in Rockland and Lakeside - it seemed like they were doing it on multiple fronts, from multiple cities in Midtian borders.

Lupan claimed that it would be a bad idea to leave him here, to go to trial and let Erdia have him. "He knows so much about this, they won't let him live. And he knows about us and the prince. If they decide to interrogate him before they kill him..."

Nana claimed to have a way, and a plan, but that if she was to go through with it, she needed assurance from Keviks. As did Wren, for the time being, and the two of them produced the rings that Vekea and Orion had been wearing. They intended to put Keviks on a tight leash. Keviks said that he'd be willing. They'd hash out those details later.

Through a series of excellent deception and intimidation checks, Nana was able to acquire her spellbook and take it into the room. She also convinced the guards to leave the door unattended for the time being. She left it ajar and used Prestidigitation to make it sound as though the door had closed. The door didn't glow this time. Lupan used Primal Savagery to free Keviks from the chains with acid, and then used it to strike Nana at her request. Nana used her spell scroll that contained Major Image over Keviks, creating a phoenix-esque version of him. Nana asked Lupan to move by the door and for Wren to scream.

She did, and the chain mail of the guards down the hall came clanking forward, rushing towards the room. Nana had the illusion say the words "for Erdia" before bursting in an explosion. Lupan threw himself back as though the explosion were real, throwing himself into the guards and knocking them aside... so they wouldn't see Nana cast Invisibility on the real Keviks under the illusion.

They spun the story that Keviks had been there to try and frame the Selection Party and make it seem as though they were responsible for the deaths of Erdian dignitaries. They stormed out of the jailhouse, claiming to need to report to the king immediately. Nana requested that a high-level cleric be sent her way, if they knew of one, so that she could send a message to him. The Lanti guards were willing to cooperate.

Once they left, with Keviks quietly in tow, Nana told him to make his way back to the Cromdor Estate and to stay there until they got back. He went without arguing.

The other three took a moment to collect themselves, and Nana finally expressed the stress she'd been feeling through all this. How she'd always been a nanny and a history teacher and was only recently given the title of Royal Court Mage... all of this was so over her head. Lupan and Wren agreed, it was over their heads too... but now they were in it. The only thing they could do was keep moving forward together.

~~~~~

Keviks had managed to fly back into the Cromdor Estate through an open window. He had to sneak through Mirabelle's room with her inside, and he was only saved when she opened the door to speak to Quest. Quest, being a demigod with Truesight, saw Keviks in the room and discreetly helped usher him out.

"When did you get here, and why are you being a pervert?" he asked.

"I wasn't! Things are bad right now, but there's no time to explain. I need to hide."

With help from Quest's divine magic, he was able to send Keviks to where he was keeping his dragon hoard, at least for the time being.

~~~~~

The other three party members returned to the Mulcaster Estate briefly. Nana took the lead in lying to the Mulcasters and Fang about what happened to Keviks. She assured the prince very quietly that they would discuss it later. It was clear that Fang was doing his best to keep himself together at this time, and Nana said she was proud of him.

The Mulcasters also opted to send all of their children to the Cromdor Estate, which was better guarded, in the event that some crazy things were going to happen moving forward. On the way back to the Cromdor Estate, a dwarven cleric that Wren knew from performing at her bar - Thrinaine - joined the party. She was the cleric Nana had requested.

Upon their arrival, Admiral Cromdor - Mirabelle's father - was summoned. He was concerned and confused, but Wren said that she would speak with him about the situation. She explained that her family was in danger from Erdia and that the Mulcasters needed somewhere safe for their children. Cromdor was more than willing, but worried about how many rooms he'd have available. With the party here, and then a few gentlemen from Aincour who were staying for the engagement party (which was now canceled) there were few rooms. For now, he'd have to keep them in one of the parlors until a better arrangement could be found. Wren helped her siblings get settled.

- She checked in with Orion, and he claimed to be fine but he still seemed really distant. He thanked her for her help, and he apologized for something that happened long ago, but didn't really say what that was. Still, Wren seemed to know what he was referring to, and she said that it really didn't matter. She told him to rest.

- Sebastian appeared to be writing some things in a notebook, and when she asked how he was doing, he said he was fine but then added, "You know... I can still feel her hands around my neck..." Wren pulled him into a hug. Despite that, Sebastian seemed a little more worried about Orion, but he thought that seeing Mirabelle might help. He confessed that Orion had been having a hard time even before the engagement, and that Mirabelle had recently been a big comfort to him. It was odd... the Cromdors and Mulcasters hadn't had many relations until recently...

- Lastly, Wren went to Cassandra. She was alright, but mostly, she seemed more worried about the Selection. She asked Wren if she thought they'd cancel it, or postpone it. Wren didn't honestly know. She found that Cassandra seemed to have some insecurities about herself, especially when it came to her appearance and leadership ability. Wren assured her that no matter what, as long as she was happy and doing something she loved, she would be beautiful.

Cassandra requested a story, like Wren used to do when they were kids. Sebastian and even Orion listened as well, and it helped to lull the three of them to sleep.

~~~~~

Sebastian Mulcaster
Human, age 18
Wren's younger brother
(Art by Charlie Bowater)

Cassandra Mulcaster
Human, age 18
Wren's younger sister
(Art by NibelArt on DeviantArt)

Nana, Lupan, Fang, and Thrinaine went upstairs to send their message to the king. Nana left Fang in charge of that while she and Lupan talked.

Nana needed Lupan's advice. She was considering contacting Hugo DeMarco, the lich guildmaster in Kystad. He was powerful, and he would be able to help them.

"Can we trust Hugo?" Lupan asked.

"Absolutely not," Nana declared. "But I don't know a more powerful spellcaster, and if he truly works for the king, then it would be in our best interest - and his - to help us. I have one Sending spell left."

They decided it couldn't hurt to send him a message. They received no immediate response... but after about ten seconds, they received one behind them: "You called?"

Sitting on a couch in the other room was Hugo DeMarco, in his lich form with his face half missing. He gave them a wicked smile and asked for clarification. Nana told him everything they knew, figuring they wouldn't be able to hide anything from him.

When she finished, Hugo asked, "And what am I supposed to do about this?"

Nana requested that:

- Hugo track down and "remove" Riot Guard Captain Eli Hawks and Spymaster Ego, who Alaion had informed them were traitors to the crown. Ego was also on the hunt for Hugo's phylactery, so there were stakes in it for him as well.

- Hugo to ensure the safety of Alaion's family so Alaion could testify against Erdia

- Ensure the safe passage of the king from Kystad to Lanti, knowing that there would likely be a trial or at least now negotiations of some kind here.

Hugo agreed that he would, and in return, he would receive:

- An interview with Quest Carron

- Any information they'd gathered on the state of the Dragon Lancers thus far.

- 2 unspecified favors to be collected later from Nana only and no other members of her party.

He also offered information on the psychopath with the bow - Xade Omiryn. Well, specifically, he offered information on the bow itself. He'd owned it once, but had given it to another person (not Xade) when he had no use for it. After he completed everything else, he'd give it to them.

During this, when Nana seemed to hesitate in providing favors to Hugo, Hugo had turned to Lupan, and took note of the Mark of Spring on Lupan's arm. When Lupan declined a deal with him, Hugo chuckled.

"At least when you deal with death, it's a promise," he claimed. "You can't say the same with archfey."

After that, he disappeared.

~~~~~

The party all reconvened in Fang's room with the Dragon Lancers as well. Keviks was revealed to be alive, much to Fang's personal relief. Keviks also provided more information, including something he'd learned from Jack: the Erdians are planning an assassination attempt on the royal family. Alaion was assigned to kill King River. Xade was assigned to kill the young princes.

Nana, in her rage, struck him but Keviks felt as though he'd deserved that. He admitted as well that he'd intended to go alone and find each of these generals and kill them. He realized now that he never could have if the party hadn't been there, and he fully expected them not to help at that time.

"I still don't know... who killed Nithea?" Keviks asked.

"Couldn't you tell by the lightning burns?" Lupan said, referring to Nana and her frequent use of the spell Lightning Bolt in combat.

"I mean, I figured, but I had to ask." Keviks looked at Nana. "Thank you... for killing my mother."

Having been his general, and the only adult authority figure Keviks had known, growing up in the army... Nithea really had been something of a mother to him.

The party also concluded that there was no need to use the rings, at least not now. After that, the party dispersed, hoping to get some rest after what was a very, very long day.

~~~~~

Fang needed to see Mirabelle, to relax and unwind. He started to make his way towards her room. Castilian accompanied him, and on the way, granted him some sage advice: "You do not have to be afraid to express your feelings with us, Fang. Sometimes it is really important to just... let them all out."

Fang seemed to take Castilian's advice to heart, and thanked him very much.

~~~~~

ART LINKS:

https://twitter.com/djamilaknopf

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/4blGw4

https://www.instagram.com/charliebowater/

https://www.deviantart.com/nibelart/art/Olivia-FFXIV-Com-792159212

NPC Concept: "If You Know the King, You Know the Kingdom" - Part 1: The Autocrat

Overview

I absolutely adore politics and a royal aesthetic when it comes to the fantasy genre. I think I make that pretty clear by the types of games I run; right now, two thirds of them are based in politics.

I wanted to start something of a series on the blog here, since I like talking about and exploring different government structures. In the 5e Dungeon Master's Guide, there is a chapter on how to homebrew your own worlds and kingdoms. On page 18, there's a table on which someone could roll a d100 to determine a kingdom's government. 

I've been struggling with my Campaign Concepts lately. I'm in school, and I haven't had as much time to flesh them out as I think I would want to. That gives me more time to focus on something like this, which comes to me much easier.

So, if I can, I want to go through each of these government types and talk about the NPCs that would be associated with them. I also want to discuss their potential as allies, patrons, and villains for your campaigns.

Today, we're going to start with the first type on the table: Autocracy, the leader of which would be the "autocrat." The book defines this type of government as:

"One hereditary ruler wields absolute power. The autocrat either is supported by a well-developed bureaucracy or military, or stands as the only authority in an otherwise anarchic society. The dynastic ruler may be immortal or undead." (pg. 18, Dungeon Master's Guide 5e)

Who Are the Important People?

Even a government with only one ruler has multiple people involved in keeping the country running. Any of these NPCs could be important to your story or players in multiple ways (we'll look at that a little more later.) For now, let's just see who our most important people are with this.

The first and most obvious is the autocrat themself. For this example, I'm going to use a government from earlier in my Tri-Panthonic War campaign: the government of Stovald. This ruler's title, rather than something like "king" or "emperor" was "Paragon." The paragon at the start of this scene of the campaign was Emmanuel. It's important to establish how this leader is treated by their people, especially when they're seen as the only authority within that kingdom. For example, Emmanuel was a tyrant. He demanded respect from his subjects and forbid anyone from speaking ill of him or his regime. The people of Stovald feared him, to an extent, and if they had any misgivings about him, they would harbor them in silence. They say "absolute power corrupts absolutely" and I would not be afraid to explore that with an autocrat. In that way, they can make for excellent villains. However, there are plenty of examples of benevolent absolute rulers throughout history that you can draw upon as well. Ashoka the Great, a former emperor of India, is a perfect example. After a particularly bloody conquest, he swore off violence in favor of compassion and relieving the suffering of the poor. (Britannica, article here)

When talking about autocrats, since they are hereditary, it may also benefit the DM to think about who's inheriting that position. That means that the DM should also consider looking into different succession laws. I kept mine simple. In Stovald, only men can inherit land or titles, and succession passes through the eldest son. Emmanuel was going to be succeeded by his eldest son, Hugo. Hugo wasn't the only child, however, and this holds true in history as well. Most nobility or royalty had at least two children: an heir and a spare. Hugo had two siblings: his brother, Phoebus (the spare), and his sister, Esmerelda. Obviously, Esmerelda couldn't inherit much as the youngest child and also as a daughter, but she ended up being quite important to the plot. These younger children often aren't paid much mind. As a result, they can get up to mischief on behalf of the party, while still holding some political sway (depending on your succession rules and cultural norms, of course.)

Then, we have the advisors. Even absolute rulers rarely rule without help. There has to be some thought behind that "well developed bureaucracy or military" in order to make the kingdom feel real. If the autocrat is militaristic, surround him with generals. If he's scholarly, surround him with scholars. Are these people "yes-men?" Potentially. Compared to some of the other government structures that this table provides, the advisors don't have much of a say in their rulers' decisions. They can sway him, sure, but ultimately, the autocrat's word is law for everyone. He may have nobles or vassals who own land, but it would not be too far out of the realm of possibility for him to dictate how they operate. Even the wealthy, though they might be able to influence him, are firmly under the thumb of an autocrat. Additionally, the autocrat doesn't need their advisors to make a decision. They can think of a new law, write it down, and have it executed in hours without talking to anyone else.

Function / Motivations

With all of these builds that I'll be doing as part of this series, the obvious primary function is to rule. These are governments; their function is to provide law and order. The question you need to ask as the DM is how.

Autocrats can be enemies or allies depending on their motivations. They can also be a multitude of creatures, outside of humanoids. I've played in games that had autocracies ruled by dragons - some kind, some not so kind. The book's description also describes "undead" as being an option for an autocrat. A lich king is a classic D&D BBEG. In those cases, their "well-developed" support comes from sheer might or magical prowess. Not any group of adventurers can brave an adult or ancient dragon or a lich. It provides a great challenge and final boss fight.

A benevolent autocrat can act as the patron of the adventuring party, funding an expedition or granting them a quest. An evil one can be a formidable foe, humanoid or not.

When it comes to the heir to this autocracy, they can work their way into the plot in multiple ways. The most obvious of these ways is in a regime change. The heir could actually be the enemy, plotting to overthrow the compassionate autocrat in the background. If the autocrat is the tyrant, perhaps they're an ally to the party trying to overthrow their parent. Now the party has an acceptable ruler and can prevent something like a civil war among other nobles or generals in the kingdom. Additionally, the heir could also be on the side of their parent. For example, there could be a benevolent prince who aids the party on their endeavors. On the other hand, there could be a conquering princess with her own army, declaring new territory in the name of her parent and kingdom. The heir may also hold a lot of political sway with their parent. If your game is a political one and depending on the direction you take, this can be a game-changer. Kidnapping that conquering princess and demanding that the autocrat draw his forces back? Very possible. Asking the compassionate prince to convince his father to give the party the pay raise they've been waiting for? Also very possible.

Advisors or generals can also serve as mini-bosses or party allies and patrons, depending on the circumstances. Knowing these people and how much influence or power they have can really help the party. With an ally, you know their limits as to how many strings they can pull. With an enemy, you know their strengths and weaknesses. Neither of these should be overlooked. Although the autocrat's word is law, others with power may not be pleased with that law (more ally / enemy potential.) The one drawback to having an ally in this position is that once the autocrat has made their final decision, there really isn't anything the party or their ally can do. If that decision messes with the party's plan, then it's another obstacle for them to overcome.

Why Should I Include This?

Autocracies were not uncommon in the world, by any means. Researching historical cultures with absolute rulers will be a great place for you to start. You can create some really interesting settings when you put your mind to it.

With this concept, the idea is that you get one of two things:

- An ally or patron with the ability to write laws, acquire items, or send aid with a single word. They don't necessarily need the input of their advisors to do so. They can act quickly and have their laws executed almost immediately.

- An enemy with the ability to summon armies and conquer land with a single word. They don't need the input of their advisors to do so. They can act quickly, which challenges your party to do the same thing to try and stop them.

There's potential for more allies and villains within this too, in the ranks of those closest to the autocrat. It allows for an element of political intrigue, which is always something I really enjoy in my games.

What's Coming Next?

Next week, I think I'm going to continue this series in lieu of a campaign concept. Like I said, it's becoming difficult for me to really flesh those out with school and everything.

Next week, we're going to talk about bureaucracies and how they can factor into something like an autocracy, or perhaps another form of fantasy government.

TPW Summary: Act III, Scene v - Session 4

Act III: The Olden Days and the Next Generation

Scene v: The Grandmaster's Election

~~~~~

CW / TW: 

- Graphic descriptions of scarring

- Allusion to severe torture and brainwashing, to the point of being unable to distinguish reality from dreams or lies.

- Brief mention of abuse by a parent

If you wish to skip those sections, they will be written in blue text.

~~~~~

Present Party: Athena, Nytra, and Sylyeras

Setting: The city of Jarna, capital of the kingdom of Saspar.

Athena grabbed the attention of Finn and Nytra as she watched Sylyeras on the other side of the arena. She noticed a tiefling woman approach behind him. Athena didn't see what this woman did, but suddenly Syl was being carried away by her and a human man she didn't know.

Seeing this, Nytra sprung into action and cast Levitate on Finn. She climbed on top of him and Finn picked up Athena as well. Finn used his newfound levitation to propel himself up and forward, running on the tops of people's heads and shoulders to get the party closer to Sylyeras. As people started to notice them, guards were called, and people evacuated the area. The party peppered spells at these two strangers.

Finn dropped the party off to fight, and started to explain the situation to the incoming guards, but not before casting Banishment on the tiefling woman, causing her to disappear. That left only this human man left, and he was a force to be reckoned with. They gathered that he was likely a divine caster of sorts; he'd summoned large angelic creatures with black wings and gaunt faces to aid him. Nytra had used Haste on herself, and healed Syl before attacking this stranger. 

Sylyeras pulled himself up, approached this man... and then turned and blasted Nytra with Witch Bolt.

The man took this moment to turn himself invisible and run, dispelling the angels as well. Sylyeras followed him, listening to the sound of his footsteps.

When the tiefling reappeared, Finn had her arrested. Nytra and Athena were rightfully angry at Syl, but Finn assured them that they would find him, and figure out what was going on. Nytra opted to head back to the house they were staying at. Athena went to find Odette.

~~~~~

Harry
Human Death Cleric of Bhaal
Lieutenant of The Dusk,
Leader of The Bloodied
(Art by AnnaHelme on DeviantArt)

The man's name was Harry, and he and Sylyeras had a history together as childhood friends before Harry dropped off the face of Roglovar, and appeared now as a cultist. Not only as a cultist, but a leader of The Bloodied, a cult for the god of murder, Bhaal, that was operating inside a larger assassin's guild, The Dusk. Sylyeras had been determined to see that his friend was redeemed ever since he saw him in Midtia.

Sylyeras sprinted after the sound of panting and footsteps and finally managed to grab hold of someone that didn't appear to be there. When he did, he felt a fist connect with his face and he let go. Harry stood before him, fist clenched, but with a look of disbelief on his face, as if he couldn't believe he'd done that. Sylyeras stared back, equally shocked.

Harry sighed, "I-I told you not to see me again..."

Syl launched into a speech about Harry, how they'd grown up together, how they'd been friends. He begged Harry to leave and to come home, to come and see Ariel, Syl's wife, who Harry had sailed with when they were kids.

That made Harry stop, and he looked at Syl in disbelief. "I... She's not dead?"

"No... No, Ariel's alive," Sylyeras insisted. He used his wedding ring with a small Sending Stone inside to call her.

Ariel was a little confused at first, but then just went along with it. Sylyeras told her to keep talking to him, to tell him about her day and to tell him stories. He held his hand up to Harry's face, so he could hear. Harry said nothing. He just held Sylyeras's hand with his left hand and gripped the side of the ring with his right. He listened, and cried. Sylyeras stepped closer, and wiped away Harry's tears.

For a moment, Harry stopped and turned suddenly as though he'd heard something. Sylyeras looked, but he didn't see anything.

"What's wrong?"

Harry blinked several times. "I hear the whistles..."

Sylyeras continued to talk to him, continued to have Ariel talk to him, and begged him to come home.

"I-I don't have a home..."

"Your home is with us, Harry," Sylyeras said. "It always has been with us..."

"I-I don't wanna go back to Aloth..." He started to cry even more, and he shook his head.

"They're not going to hurt you. Come with me, I'll protect you."

Harry hesitated, but then gulped and said, "If we're going to go, we have to go now."

Sylyeras started leading him away, running, and he asked Ariel to sing along the way, keeping the hand with his ring on Harry's shoulder, so he could hear her too. The two of them ended up at a tavern, far away from The Premiere Academy's arena, and once they got into their own room, Sylyeras pulled Harry into his chest, and the two of them sobbed in each others' arms.

~~~~~

Athena had left Odette with Pharius, and with a quick cast of Sending, she learned that he, Odette, and his girlfriend Minnie had retreated to the library. She found Odette and Pharius looking at an art book together, and let them do that for a while before making her presence known.

Odette Lavinge
Pharius & Athena's daughter
(Original Art by Brandon Dunn
on Art Station)
(Recolored by Athena's player)

When Odette came up to Athena, Athena asked, "Odette, do you like Mr. Pharius?"

Odette looked at him. "I guess so. He's nice."

Athena pulled her into a big hug, and she fought back tears. Athena had always been worried that Odette would meet her father and he would take her away, or worse. She'd always been insecure about the life she was living and providing for her daughter. When she pulled away, Odette stared up at her.

"Mumma?"

Athena knelt again. "Yes, baby?"

Odette placed a hand on Athena's cheek. "You know I love you, more than the whole world, right?"

That was something Athena had always said to Odette, something she didn't know that she desperately needed to hear back. Athena held Odette and cried. Pharius sat beside her, comforting her as best as he could, being nearly a stranger.

Athena invited Pharius and Minnie to lunch, and then said to Odette that she had a present for her, but that Pharius was holding on to it for now, and it was up to him whether or not she got to have it. Essentially, she was giving Pharius the option of being able to see Odette, as her father, if he wanted it. He seemed thankful for the opportunity. 

She also sent a message to Sylyeras, asking where he was. Sylyeras explained as best he could that Harry was an old friend, not a cultist, and that he needed help. Athena also received his location, and went to go find him.

"You didn't see any of that," she said to Pharius as she was leaving.

Pharius nodded. "No, I didn't."

~~~~~

Athena found Sylyeras and Harry at their tavern. She sent another Sending to Finn to let him know, and Sylyeras requested that she tell Finn to bring Simon here. He was worried that a spell of some kind might be affecting him. They knew Simon, Finn's former party member, was a powerful wizard.

For the time being, Athena decided to cast Greater Restoration, to see if it would end any effects on him. While she did, she noticed that Harry was staring at Odette. She waved at him. The spell took effect, but there was little change in Harry's behavior, other than that he seemed more alert and was actually able to form sentences. Athena also removed the dagger that was still stuck in Syl's back.

When Finn and Simon arrived, Simon went to work on spellcasting while Sylyeras explained the situation to Athena and Finn.

Simon shook his head in disbelief. "There's... no magic on him, except for the residual casting of Greater Restoration. There's no curse. There's no poison, and no disease. He's... fine."

~~ CW BEGINS ~~

When Syl tried to ask Harry about what happened, what they'd been doing to him, Harry scratched at his right shoulder, and claimed not to remember. He repeated again that he didn't want to go back to Aloth. Athena asked if she could look at his shoulder, and he nodded.

Athena noticed the beginnings of a scar that was large, old, and ugly. It was a deep groove in his back that had strange markings inside the larger scar itself. They were holes, perhaps like someone had taken some kind of serrated blade to the skin and dug the smaller barbs further in. She couldn't see much just from the shoulder though.

"Would it be alright if I took a look at your back?" she asked him.

Harry shook his head. "Not here... Somewhere else. Bigger and bright."

They decided that taking him back to the house would be the best idea. Finn went ahead, claiming to have an idea.

~~~~~

Finn met up again with Nytra, who was resting after the fight, and explained the situation to her. She wasn't super willing to help Harry, especially after the fight, where he'd given her quite a beating, only to have Sylyeras turn on her too. She claimed that if she was going to help, Finn would owe her big-time, and he was okay with that.

He wondered if, perhaps, there would be any lingering substances in Harry's body, something non-magical and that wasn't technically a poison either. A drug, maybe. He recalled Venus mentioning the name, Aloth, and that The Dusk were rumored to have an alchemist. What he wanted was to see if Nytra had any experience with alchemy, and maybe if she could identify the substances used on the dagger as well as any lingering on or inside of Harry. He also wondered if she'd be willing to play detective; to use this information to either reverse engineer or at least try to understand the alchemist's thought processes. He could get more information on this alchemist if Athena would be willing to contact Venus.

She agreed, but needed the school's alchemy labs, and Finn assured her that he could get her in.

~~~~~

Everyone else returned not long after that, and to keep Harry comfortable, only Sylyeras, Athena, and Nytra were left in the room so they could examine his scars. Harry was hesitant to remove his shirt at first, but he did, and the party stood, shocked.

The Symbol of
The Dusk: an Assassins'
Guild in Roglovar

The scar Athena had seen on the top of his right shoulder extended down, all the way across his back, stopping at his left hip. There were other scars here too, some of which looked like they were made with smaller blades, others like maybe they were from old whippings. The center piece of it was on his lower back, where there was a brand the size of a dinner plate of The Dusk's symbol: half of a sun beside half of a crescent moon. Sylyeras recalled that Harry had once had several tattoos on his back and a half-sleeve on his left arm. The back tattoos, some of them were still there... or, rather, pieces of them were, where the skin was left un-mangled. The arm tattoos were gone. They'd been almost peeled or perhaps flayed off, leaving only long, fine scars in their wake, and Harry's bicep looking thinner than it should have been.

Sylyeras couldn't bring himself to speak. Athena could only mutter a quiet "Holy shit" as her eyes scanned all of the marks.

Nytra took the lead and inspected the scar Athena pointed out to her. She didn't know much about medicine, but she knew a lot about chemicals. The circles Athena had seen inside of the scar itself weren't from a blade. They were more like pock marks, like one would see from acid. However, even coating a blade or other weapon with acid wouldn't have this... little or precise of an effect. Nytra was reminded of only one type of acid that, if weaponized, might be able to produce such an effect: acid from oozes, such as gelatinous cubes. That acid was congealed. It could be placed and forced to sit somewhere without running down the back like liquid acid would.

They told Harry he was all set, and Sylyeras took Harry to his room, where the two of them could have lunch.

~~ CW ENDS ~~

Athena offered to use the spell Commune, and see if she could contact her god, Kelemvor, the god of death, about any of the information they'd learned, to see if he had more insight. She and Nytra brainstormed three questions. When Kelemvor spoke to Athena, the holy symbol around her neck was cold, but grew lukewarm after a few seconds. His voice was calm, but deep and rumbling.

- "Is the brand the thing that's hurting him?" to which Kelemvor answered, "Partially."

- "Does the person who hurt him have the ability to congeal acid?" to which he answered, "Yes."

- "Is he still suffering from any lingering effects?" to which he answered, "He always will."

Just before the spell ended, faintly, Athena heard Kelemvor say, "I will be seeing you soon. Just to talk."

Athena sat, both afraid and excited. Kelemvor had never reached out to her before. What could he want?

~~ CW BEGINS ~~

Sylyeras brought Harry back to his room, and the two of them, over lunch talked about what Harry remembered.

- Firstly, Harry wasn't sure if this was real. He wasn't even sure if the Sylyeras he was looking at was the real Sylyeras because Syl was so far from what he knew... or thought he knew.

- He remembered what he believed to be dreams about himself, Ariel, and Sylyeras being on a ship together. Sylyeras said that it was true, but that they hadn't sailed all together. Harry had sailed with Ariel.

- Harry also remembered a woman, very tall with brown hair, who used to hurt Sylyeras. He remembered how much he hated her. Sylyeras said that was his mother, Isabelle Ashglade.

- Sylyeras mentioned that Ariel was a Pirate Lord, and that seemed to confuse Harry. He thought she had joined the Hegovan Mafia, but Sylyeras insisted she hadn't. He reminded Harry that she hated the mafia; they'd killed her parents, which led her to piracy.

- Harry seemed to think that Pirate Lord Astra - Ariel's former captain - had died because her ship sunk, which wasn't true as far as Syl knew. 

- Harry had been told that Sylyeras wanted him dead. Syl insisted that wasn't true.

~~ CW ENDS ~~

Sylyeras told him everything that he remembered. They grew up together as pirate kids. Sylyeras got his own ship. Ariel and Harry's captain - Pirate Lord Astra - died, and Ariel took over. Ariel told Sylyeras that Harry left the ship to pursue other things, and then... he hadn't heard from Harry again. Harry paced a little, to process all of it.

Then, Sylyeras told him about what he'd been up to, and that he and Ariel had been married. Harry stopped, and looked at him. He didn't seem particularly shocked, but instead... he was heartbroken.

Sylyeras stood up. "You look like you want to say something."

Harry turned. "No."

"Please... You can tell me. You're upset, I see it. Whatever you're going to say, it's not going to change my opinion, Harry. I love you."

Harry looked at Syl over his shoulder. "No, no it won't. And that's why I won't say it."

"It won't change it negatively, I mean." Sylyeras walked up to him. "Please..."

Slowly, Harry pulled Sylyeras closer. He held him under his forearms, the tips of his fingers by his elbows. He studied Sylyeras for a moment, and sighed, "Do they still call you the bastard pirate prince?"

"Yes..."

Harry chuckled. "That's funny... because to me, you were never a bastard. You were rarely even a pirate... but you were always a prince."

Sylyeras blanched. "What?"

Harry held Sylyera's hand, the one with the wedding ring, and asked, "Can she hear us?"

"No... not now. Why?"

Harry stepped a little closer, and placed one hand on Sylyeras's shoulder, and the other on his hip. He asked, "Would she kill me if I kissed you?"

Sylyeras stood, completely stunned by the remark. Harry, seeing the expression, stepped away a little. Sylyeras's mind raced, pulling up moments from their childhood, thinking how he could have missed something like this... but he did. The more he thought about it, the signs were all there. He'd just been so in love with Ariel that he'd missed them. He remembered how Harry would wrap arms around Sylyeras, pull him close, and how they would say they loved each other.

Sylyeras remembered one night, when the two of them were tipsy and Ariel was performing, and Sylyeras said to Harry, "I'm in love with her."

He recalled perfectly how, in that moment, Harry had smiled at him. He'd lifted his glass in a silent cheers, finished it in one gulp, and immediately ordered three shots.

Sylyeras teared up. "I-I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, I..."

Harry approached him again, and pulled him into a hug. The two of them sank to the floor, with Harry's back against the wall. Sylyeras cried.

Harry sighed, "You know... Even if this is real, I think I always thought of you as a dream."

When Sylyeras had finally managed to collect himself, he looked up at Harry. He'd fallen asleep.

~~~~~

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