- And here’s what happened to Grant after Session 46, starting with the World’s End Inn. Sometimes sessions with Lurker37 go off on tangents and sometimes they go very smoothly. This was an example of a smooth session.
Realm 31 - The World’s End Inn (Wooden Door)
- Grant and Aramon listen to the conversation between Bresh and the huge Asian fellow. Grant can tell that Bresh’s companion is a Warden of the Stair. Referring to himself as “The God of War”, this man’s name is Samaran (GM’s note - yes, the same Samaran from Campaign 3) Samaran is very proud and confident in his abilities - he seems eager to test his mettle and listens intently to Bresh’s proposal. Bresh wants to employ Samaran as a ‘bodyguard’. When Samaran scoffs at this, Bresh explains that his destination is Hell itself. He teases Samaran with the prospect of a fight with the Lord of the Underworld and Samaran is intrigued by the idea.
- At this point, a barmaid provides Samaran with another huge beer which he starts drinking. Samaran has no idea that Grant has spiked his drink with a Umbra-based poison to weaken him. Samaran finishes his brew and orders another.
- The conversation continues and Bresh grows a little frustrated with Samaran’s arrogance. Grant orders food, but then goes to the bathroom to relieve himself before it arrives. When the waiter passes the table where Samaran and Bresh are sitting, the waiter trips and dumps the hearty stew over Samaran (again, due to Grant’s interference). A little unhappy, Samaran goes to the bathroom to clean himself up. He is feeling a little unwell and uncomfortable anyway (due to the Umbra-based poison).
- Grant is waiting for him. Grant clobbers “The God of War”, using a combination of Umbra and raw warfare and Samaran is KOed. Grant quickly strips Samaran down, and dumps him in the toilet. He then uses his Psyche to find out more about him - he learns that Samaran truly believes himself to be “The God of War” but that he has no knowledge of the Dwimmerlaik. There is an uncomfortable moment with the two of them crammed into a toilet cubicle when an elf enters the toilet block to relieve himself - but the elf does not appear to realise what Grant is doing. Grant breaths a sigh of relief and dons Samaran’s massive armour, changing his shape to match Samaran’s form (using Shapeshifting). He then takes Samaran’s money pouch (leaving the fallen “God of War” with a few coins for his trouble), cleans up the armour and goes out to continue the negotiations with Bresh.
- Bresh does not appear to notice the switch and Grant enjoys pretending to be Samaran. However, Grant knows that the real Samaran could wake up at any time so after a few minutes of dialogue, Bresh manages to ‘convince’ Samaran to join him. Samaran flexes his muscles and says that he is keen to begin immediately. Bresh seems surprised but pleased. Bresh leads Samaran to the back rooms of the World’s End Inn and selects a Door. But then he pauses, and then asks Samaran to open it for him. (Grant hopes that there is not a similar spell on this Door which will undo his Shapeshifting guise, and luckily for him, this proves to be correct). Samaran opens the Door and the two of them step through ….. leaving Aramon behind in the Inn with no clear directions as to what to do next….
Realm 32 - Hades (Black Wooden Door)
- Samaran and Bresh enter a sunless underground realm in which everything is shades of grey and the ground is lifeless. Bresh leads the way, descending further, but they run across one of the guardians - a monstrous three-headed dog which is taller than a six storey building. Bresh leaves the fighting to Samaran, and Samaran wounds, then kills the massive guardian (Grant does what he thinks Samaran would do in the circumstances to maintain his guise).
- They travel further into Stygia, and come to a cross-roads where a black robed woman with a partially hidden face is waiting for them. She warns them that this is not a place for the living, and Bresh insists upon directions to the ‘King’. The lady tells them the path (which is straight ahead) and offers Bresh a small silver bowl. Bresh is afraid to take it, and commands Samaran to take it instead. Samaran takes the bowl and puts it in a safe place.
- Journeying on, they come to a slow flowing stream. There, waiting for them is a grim ferryman. Bresh hands over a strange coin (which he acquired in Dirham) and motions for Samaran to do the same. At this point, Grant looks through the purse and sure enough finds another ornate coin which he hands over to the ferryman. The two board the skiff and the ferryman poles out onto the still waters. Samaran decides to sit down - he remembers his Greek myth and wonders if the river could be the Lethe (whose waters erase one’s memories).
- From the water, Samaran and Bresh can see distant grey figures amongst the mists - souls of the dead who are trapped forever in the underworld. Time passes and Samaran finds it hard to tell just how much time has passed …. then suddenly out of the mists looms a massive edifice - it is but the first structure in a massive city on the banks of the river.
- The ferryman sees them safely ashore, and the two of them look up at the grand structures which dwarf them. They make their way further inland, climbing steps and levels. The city around them is colossal, but it is also grey and dead. At the limits of their vision are the grey shadowy figures of the dead, but none will approach them. Bresh passes Samaran a golden amulet and tells him to keep it hidden, but says that he will need to put it around the neck of someone when Bresh instructs him to do so. Samaran agrees to this.
- At last they reach Hades, the God of the Underworld. He is the first individual they have seen with any colour in him - his robes are a majestic purple. His form dwarfs them - he is over 15 metres tall.
* Image by Kometani on DeviantArt
- Hades asks in a booming voice what their purpose is in his domain. Bresh boldly asserts that they seek counsel from one of his subjects. Hades warns them that this is not the realm for the living (effectively threatening them that they won’t leave alive unless he permits it), but inquires what they are prepared to offer him. Bresh offers up Samaran, stating that he would be an excellent general for the ‘Armies of the Dead’. Grant is unsure whether Bresh is about to sell him out or not, but goes along with it. Hades muses over this, and expresses interest in conquering realms beyond his own. Hades asks which soul they are seeking. Bresh gives the name as ‘Banatar’, which is an unfamiliar name to Grant.
- A grey soul comes forward, wearing a grey toga. The individual’s style of dress reminds Grant of Marindar. Bresh asks Banatar to identify himself, asking him questions of Banatar’s past to test whether this is truly the individual that Bresh is seeking. During Bresh’s questioning, Grant learns that Banatar was once a sorcerer of Marindar who fought against the Dwimmerlaik during the Great War. He senses that things are building to a climax and he subtly pulls out his Icon for Ethan, and surreptitiously initiates a contact.
- Bresh smiles openly as he realises that Banatar is the genuine article. He turns to Samaran to say something, but in that split second, Samaran draws his scimitar and cuts Bresh in two. Instantly Bresh’s body crumbles and becomes lifeless and grey, his black blood seeping into the stone floor in an unnatural way.
- And just as suddenly, Samaran is gone before Hades can react. Ethan has accepted the Icon contact and brought Grant through.
GM Observations - Part 2
- So what just happened, you might ask? Grant figured out that Bresh was very close to acquiring Banatar (which was his target) and wasn’t sure whether he was about to be abandoned in Hades or not. Even if Bresh was going to take Samaran with him, Grant figured that wherever Bresh was going next would not be pleasant for him, so he decided to kill Bresh and get out, figuring that he could figure out the significance of ‘Banatar’ later. Which he did of course, but that’s in the next session’s writeup…..
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