Session 35 Chasing Shadows—Part 2
Striking with desperation, Blythe’s scimitar relieves her attacker of its arms and the thri-kreen collapses. Clutching her wound, she swigs her potion of cure psychosis. Arti drops from the ceiling, dragging his claws down the thri-kreen hunter’s back. Before the hunter can retaliate, its kneecaps explode like clay pigeons! Guy blows on his pistol to cool the barrel. Meanwhile, Gomruss is locked in combat with the thri-kreen mystic. His chill touch has little effect on the aberration. Firien charges in to help, dealing a deadly blow with their flail.
The mystic grabs Firien’s arm, sapping their energy and rejuvenating itself. Firien ducks just in time for Blythe’s arrows to strike the mystic! Staggered, the aberration is unable to weather Arti’s final blow. The warforged winds up his flail to deal a radiant uppercut, ending the mystic’s tortured life. Bantonio looks away as Firien gathers the remains to perform funeral rites. Placing his hat to his heart, Captain Brush steps forward to deliver a speech.
“We therefore commit their bodies to the deep, where they shall be rendered into corruption, looking forward to the light of the world to come, and the day that the sea may give up her dead.”
Guy prays for the dead.
In the adventurer’s rucksack, Firien discovers a second diary and a logbook. The diary describes a forest earthmote shielded somehow from the Miasma. When the expedition entered the forest to investigate, they were picked off by a lightning-fast shadow creature. Only he and his friend escaped with their lives. Could Arti’s heart be shielding the forest? Firien and Guy study the logbook and determine they can follow the adventurers’ trail. It would take them approximately two days to reach the Shielded Forest.
The Verity
The Six of Steel trek back to the Verity in the pitch black of midnight, guided only by their lanterns. After debating who gets which hammock, Guy and Spiro employ Firien and Arti to help plot the route to the Shielded Forest. Spiro considers what forces might be repelling the Miasma—he knew only of Arti’s heart. Firien and Arti share a glance and decide to recount their visions of Bahamut, Ten and the pillar. Immediately, Spiro’s brow furrows, no doubt recalling the Grand Inquisitor’s warning about magical artefacts.
A thousand questions enter Spiro’s mind. Though Firien was hesitant to trust Ten, they knew Bahamut was guiding their path. Spiro beckons Bantonio into the room, keen to hear the opinion of a Caelum worshipper. Bantonio freezes, prompting Arti to question him. With a deep breath, Bantonio reveals that he spoke with Caelum at his shrine after the hearing. He instructed Bantonio to destroy the pillar. Firien squeezes Bantonio’s shoulder to calm his rising anxiety. Why would Caelum want to destroy the pillar? Spiro, evidently distressed, takes note of Firien’s words.
“Toni, faith is not transactional. Things shouldn’t be demanded of you in exchange for recognising your worth. You have that worth no matter what any god says.”
Firien to Bantonio.
Before retiring, Gomruss casts sending to Tabitha and his parents. Their replies are distorted and distant. Could the Miasma be disrupting his spell? A hypothesis stews in his brilliant mind as he snores. Unable to sleep, Arti visits Zephan on deck. The air genasi is performing maintenance on the lantern shield. Arti learns that each lantern has a blessed diamond at its core. According to Zephan, the diamond in Arti’s heart is worth at least 1,000 gold. He and Eureka experimented first with resonite, but the required blessing wouldn’t take.
996, Inceptum 2nd
Gomruss bolts upright with an idea! Dressing with haste, the dragonborn finds the Six of Steel on deck as the day crew take their stations. He explains how his sending spell was disrupted and compares the effect to that of resonite. Firien recalls the theory that the heart of Mundi Eversor was actually a giant resonance engine. The engine exploded, releasing the Miasma when Caelum struck it with the very weapon Spiro now holds. Gomruss suggests Spiro destroy a shard of resonite as an experiment. Reluctant to sacrifice his staff, Gomruss eyes Bantonio’s pendant. Instead, he resolves to find a resonite deposit somewhere in the Miasma.
As the Verity sets sail, Spiro steps forward with an idea of his own. He suggests Keijo perform the same guided meditation that allowed Arti to contact Ten, so that he might confirm Caelum’s message was genuine. Despite the risks, Keijo and Bantonio agree. Below deck, the three join hands. Before they enter the dreamscape, Firien utters some words of encouragement to the Grand Paladin. They seem to strengthen his resolve as he closes his eyes.
“I want you to understand sharing this with you was a show of good faith. In return, I hope that whatever we find out here… you can look at it with your own judgement.”
Firien to Spiro.
Dreamscape
Once again, Bantonio finds himself in the pitch black expanse from his vision. Every step he takes sends ripples into the infinite void, as if he were walking on water. Though he utters the same words as before, this time he is not alone. Keijo and Spiro stand beside him, observing. Suddenly, the darkness is pierced by a blinding light. Shielding their eyes, the trio watch as the setting sun morphs into a humanoid figure with his arms wide.
“Rodrigo Santiago. Is your faith true?”
“What do you mean?”
“The work must continue. Destroy the pillar.”
“Caelum?”
Caelum to Bantonio.
The Verity
Bantonio, Keijo and Spiro snap back to consciousness. Firien supports Keijo as he nods away the dizziness, then turns to Spiro. The Grand Paladin’s eyes grow wide. He clenches his fists.
“It was him. It was Caelum.”
Spiro.