Act III: The Olden Days and the Next Generation
Scene v: The Grandmaster's Election
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CW / TW: Addiction Recovery and Relapse
This section will be written in blue text if you wish to skip it.
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Present Party: Athena, Nytra, and Sylyeras
Setting: The city of Jarna, capital of the kingdom of Saspar
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| Simon Cleves Aasimar Conjuration Wizard Chroma Conqueror (Art made by me, using Heroforge) |
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.
~~~~~
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| Pharius Veladorn Drow, Odette's Father & Candidate for Grandmaster of Saspar (Art by Shinyno on Tumblr) |
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 ~~
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| Harry Human, Death Cleric of Bhaal Lieutenant of The Dusk, Leader of The Bloodied (Art by AnnaHelme on DeviantArt) |
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.
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| Odette Lavinge Pharius & Athena's daughter (Original Art by Brandon Dunn on Art Station) (Recolored by Athena's Player) |
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
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