Session 9 - Against the Demons

Ok, so onto Session 9 which is very much a bridging session from one story arc to the next. We cleaned up what was left of Session 8 and started talking about the second story arc.

The session starts with Grant ….

Session 9 - Against the Demons

Realm 13 - Hell World
- With the Dwimmerlaik dead at Grant's feet, Grant took the creature's blade and a number of small black tokens (Icons). The landscape around him was completely desolate except for the stone structure that he had stepped out of, which appeared to have been moulded from same rock that he was standing on. Seeing the occasional lightning flash in the distance, Grant did not linger and he opened the Door to return to the Dark Tower.

Realm 1 - The Middle Kingdom
The Dark Tower
- Stepping back into the Dark Tower, a spider leapt onto Grant but was quickly thrown off. The dark-skinned woman was still unconscious, so Grant scooped her up and decided to climb the tower, even though the stairway which coiled around the interior which extremely narrow, less than a foot wide. Grant was confronted by a spider on a high ledge which bared its fangs at him. He then realised that there were things of value on the higher level but that these spiders could not communicate with him without a host. He remembered what Morant and Boswell had said in Tyndam (Session 5) - that they had wanted to return home. As such he decided to descend and see if he could find some of the Shang loyalists who had been 'captured'.
- Making his way to the exit, he spoke with two Shang soldiers who were being controlled and were guarding the tower entrance. Grant tried to communicate with them, but they were barely able to speak. (GM's note - the spiders had only recently attached to these hosts and had not yet achieved full motor control of the bodies) With some simple questions and yes/no answers, Grant was able to determine that the dark-skinned woman was of value to them, but she was not their master. He arranged a simple pact with them and was allowed to leave. He stepped through the tower entrance which seemed to be some sort of liquid barrier and out onto the plains.

Diplomacy with Arana
- Outside the fortress, Grant found that a vast army of demons had spilled out of the void portal, and a great chaotic throng of them were approaching the Xia lines. He considered his options, and decided to revive the dark-skinned sorceress.
- He was lucky (GM's note - Grant has Good Stuff) - Arana stirred, and promptly tried to stab him with a poisoned dagger which she had concealed in her belt. Grant grabbed her hand and she quickly realised that he was much stronger than she. Grant warned not to try again, and they they spoke quickly about the situation. She spoke coldly to him, and was guarded about her answers.
- Grant revealed that he had killed the Dwimmerlaik, her Master; and she told him that there would be others. She advised him that the Demon Lord would be uncontrollable without the Dwimmerlaik to direct him, and Grant convinced her to depart. (GM's note - Grant gave her a way out, because he did not think that she could be convinced quickly to join him and he wanted to remove her from the battle without killing her. He retained an Icon of her (from the Dwimmerlaik) and hence could follow up with her later)
- Arana stepped through the purple barrier back into her tower and was gone.

Against the Demons
- GM's note - what followed next was a condensed version of the battle as it was getting late. The reality was that Ethan was much closer to the Demon Lord than Grant was, so I summarised what happened.

• The Demon army smashed into the Xia lines. Even though the demons were not attacking as a coordinated force, they were individually stronger than the Xia troops and their numbers were increasing. Worse still, if a demon was slain, its life force would leech out as a yellow mist and animate the nearest whole corpse that it could find, making the demons very very difficult to kill.
• Seeing the situation as dire, General Xia took to the battlefield in person and Ethan's help was enlisted. The Xia army started to buckle and crumble, so Ethan began to seek out the Demon Lord himself. During the confrontation, Ethan received a contact via Icon and he used the Xia soldiers as a screen while he spoke briefly to Grant. Then he rejoined the fray, cut his way through the demons and engaged the Demon Lord in single combat. With the White Samurai's blade (GM's note - this is a 1 point hardened weapon) Ethan finally cut down the Demon Lord, and the void portal winked out, leaving behind only a massive hole in the ground.
• Grant did not wait for Arana to remove the Dark Tower from the battlefield. Even though he knew that he was physically tough, he decided not to attack the demons by himself, and decided to take the long way around to join the Xia lines. En route, he contacted Ethan and found that he was in the thick of things.
• Despite their leader being felled, the demons fought on, slaying many and transferring their life force to fresh corpses when they themselves were slain. The battle raged on all day under darkened skies. Arana kept her bargain and transported the Dark Tower away, revealing the Temple of the Four Winds as it was. Grant joined the fight and fought on.
• The battle ended at some point during the night, but neither Ethan nor Grant were sure that there were no demons left until the morning. The battlefield was strewn with dismembered corpses and there was an eerie silence over the battlefield. Those who had survived the night were too shell-shocked by the experience to say much. Grant found Ethan resting amongst the dead. Ethan sounded weary when he spoke. He noted that General Xia had fallen in battle and Ethan admitted that he had liked the man.
• Grant noted that the Emperor had returned and his soldiers had taken the Temple of the Four Winds.

The Wrap Up
- GM's note - David and I then talked about what next, and hence it was an open discussion about how to bridge between this story arc and the next
- Grant and Ethan decided that they would restore the Emperor's health by seeking a cure on the Stair. Ethan had learnt much from General Xia about the Emperor's failings and it seemed that much of the realm's discontent was as a result of the Emperor being distant and arbitrary in his justice. The old establishment had become corrupt and hated by the people, and hence a rebellion had taken place. Grant also shared that the Royal Library contained information about Greywalker and this would be worth exploring. They decided it would be worth restoring the Emperor, but Ethan said that he would replace the Emperor if he was unworthy. (GM's note - more precisely, Ethan said he would find another Emperor on the Stair if this reality's Emperor was truly mad. The characters have not tried to find a duplicate person yet, but it was a powerful moment where one of the characters said that he would interfere with the current reality if it did not meet his expectations)
- Grant also made the powerful point that a single Dwimmerlaik had a number of powerful allies (the White Samurai, the Red Wizard, Arana the Spider Witch and the Demon Lord) to catch only a single Lord of Gossamer (Greywalker). If there are other Dwimmerlaik out there who are enemies to people like Grant and Ethan, and even actively hunt them, then they are both woefully unprepared for what may come next. The death of the Dwimmerlaik is likely to be noticed if they are one of many - so who or what would come next? 

Hence we're now talking about a time compress, leaping forward probably 6-9 months of game time; and adding a number of points to the characters, taking them from 30 points to 100 points; and also some selected mini-adventures that need to happen.

• 1. Curing the Emperor - Grant and Ethan find the 'fountain of youth' or a medical centre capable of restoring the Emperor. We need to agree how that plays out.
  2. Eidolon - the royal library contains not only records of Greywalker's exploits, but also some of his teachings. Acquiring a knowledge of Eidolon is a spiritual journey and the materials contained in the library give a roadmap of how this can be achieved. Hence Grant and Ethan need to come up with their own version as to how they acquire Eidolon. (GM's note - alternatively, should they explore the sinkhole made by the arrival of the Demon Lord, it's possible that they may discover clues as to how Umbra works)
  3. Icons - Grant (in particular) has acquired a number of black tokens that can be used to establish connections with other individuals. Arana is the most obvious individual to contact as she has knowledge of the Dwimmerlaik and what they are capable of. That conversation would definitely happen in the period in question.

I'll have to tic-tac with David over the course of the next few days to finalise the above points, and then we'll kick off the next story arc. I will also publish the stats of the characters (as they were at 30 points).