Session 36 Heaven's Burden
Firien’s heart sinks at Spiro’s declaration. It was true. Caelum and Bahamut were in conflict, but why? Bantonio swoons and collapses into Arti’s arms, utterly exhausted. Arti carries Bantonio back to his hammock and Blythe offers to take care of him. Gomruss and Arti exchange several futile theories, infuriating Firien. The dragonborn lashes out, accusing Caelum of praying on Bantonio’s trusting nature in order to perpetuate the Miasma. Spiro counters, claiming they simply do not have all the facts.
While the visions of both Caelum and Bahamut were genuine, Ten remained an enigmatic figure. Guy orders everyone present not to speak of this revelation with the crew, in fear of destroying morale. Everyone agrees. The Six of Steel part to ruminate on events. On deck, while Firien breathes deeply the purified air, Gomruss muses on the tenuous alignment of deities. He spots an earthmote with curious rock formations. Eager to test his theory, he suggests to Guy the earthmote may house a source of resonite. Guy orders the Verity to descend and assembles a landing party.
“Can I count on you, Spiro?”
“You can count on me, captain.”
“Good. That’s all I needed to hear.”
Guy to Spiro.
Butte Field
Examining the rock formations, Eureka discovers an alluvium deposited by a portal to the elemental plane of earth. Guy tosses his portable shovel to Spiro and the landing party start digging. After twenty minutes, Gomruss scrutinises the bottom of the pit. Crushing the brittle rocks between his claws, he finds purple sparkles in the dust. Pawing further at the sediment, a small shard of resonite falls into his palm. Elated, he calls on Spiro to perform his experiment. Though the Grand Paladin cannot make sense of Gomruss’ theory, he agrees to help.
The landing party stand well back as Spiro winds up his holy chakram. The aptly named Halo of Caelum glows with radiant energy as it builds momentum. Spiro releases Caelum’s weapon and it strikes the resonite with enough force to bisect it! A plume of Miasma erupts from the gemstone and becomes momentarily trapped in a cyclone before diffusing harmlessly into the air.
“EUREKA!”
“Yes?”
Gomruss proves his theory.
While Gomruss frantically scribbles in his notebook, Spiro plucks the two resonite fragments from the sand. Their purple tint had depleted, leaving colourless diamonds in their place! Vibrating with excitement, Gomruss uses Guy’s eyeglass to confirm their authenticity. Firien massages their temples. The question of the Miasma’s origin had become a cyclical conundrum. Arti recalls that Zephan and Eureka used diamonds instead of resonite in the lanterns when they discovered the latter could not be blessed. Before they can theorise further, the keen-eared dragonborn hear singing.
The Verity
Rushing back to the Verity, Guy spots several crewmembers preparing to leave on Tuperk’s balloon. The charmed deserters pay no attention to the captain. As soon as Guy hears singing, he orders the crew to cover their ears. Mustering the fury of Bahamut, Firien summons a storm cloud to shield the Verity. The first flash of lightning momentarily reveals the silhouettes of ten winged sirens approaching!
“Sirens! Traditionally, the crew would have to tie the captain to the mast and… what a marvellous song! Firien, what are you doing? Unhand me!”
Guy is charmed by the siren’s song.
Firien’s teeth sparkle with frustration as they tie Guy to the mast. Arti charges across the deck and grabs the balloon’s basket as it rises. Acting fast, Gomruss raises his staff. A purple aura locks one of the balloon’s sandbags in place, halting the deserters’ escape! Firien slaps Guy thrice across the face, snapping the captain out of his stupor. After hastily setting Guy loose, Firien reaches out to the storm cloud and unleashes a crack of lightning, zapping three sirens in close proximity!
“FIRE BROADSIDES!”
Guy.
Eureka and two crewmembers work to wheel the port cannon into position. With a thunderous boom, one siren falls from the sky leaving only feathers in its wake. Through the smoke from the cannon, Guy meets the gaze of the siren matriarch just before it disappears. Arti leaps into the basket to defend two deserters from siren attacks. Razor-sharp claws score Arti’s armour. Undeterred, the warforged swings his glaive, slicing into one siren’s torso. The aberration crashes into its partner, causing them to quarrel. While the sirens are distracted, Arti grabs the deserters by their collars and throws them onto the deck.
While Guy peppers the singing sirens with shrapnel, Firien summons the claw of Bahamut. The claw relieves one siren of its feathers, offering a middle finger salute when the aberration fails to retaliate. Spiro unfurls his wings and leaps into the air, spinning to charge his radiant weapon. The Halo of Caelum bounces between three sirens, disintegrating one and injuring the others before returning to his hand.
“I have had… A VERY BAD DAY!”
Spiro.
Terrence, one of two charmed clerics, yelps when a siren bites his shoulder. Fortunately, a bullseye from Guy allows the two crewmembers to escape. A familiar voice praises Guy. Spinning around, he recoils at the image of his wife. Quills erupt from her purple skin as her jaw comes loose. The siren matriarch sinks her teeth into Guy’s neck! Gomruss spins his staff, targeting the matriarch. In a flash of purple, her gravity shifts and she plummets into the port bulwark! Clutching his neck, the wounded captain stumbles over to the port cannon.
“Tuperk! Thirty degrees elevation on my mark… MARK!”
Guy.
Eureka and Guy turn the cannon loose and the crew hold fast as the Verity pitches up sharply! The cannon rolls inexorably down the deck, crushing the confused matriarch up against the bulwark. Seeing their matriarch in peril, the remaining sirens flee. The Verity levels out and the clerics begin healing the wounded. Guy strides over to the matriarch to deliver a mercy killing—one bullet to the head. He orders the body to be thrown overboard. The crew wince as the body adheres itself to the hull. Embarrassed, Gomruss belatedly deactivates his spell and the matriarch falls into the darkness.