# 12. Session Twelve — The Brotherhood Awaits **In-game start:** Spring 63 | **Played:** 18 June 2025 [[Lineage of the Veiled Kin/01 - Sessions/Session 11 - Locating Allies|← Session 11]] · [[Lineage of the Veiled Kin/00 - Campaign Overview/Campaign Overview|Campaign Hub]] · [[Lineage of the Veiled Kin/01 - Sessions/Session 13 - Beneath the Monastery|Session 13 →]] ![[Lineage of the Veiled Kin/99 - Attachments/Locations & Shared Scenes/The Misty Peaks road to Monastery.jpeg|780]] > [!abstract]+ TL;DR > - Switching back to the group, they head out of [[Polark]] and make their way back to the picnic site and begin to follow the tracks which appear to be heading in a South Westerly direction. > - [[Elena]] asks him directly one final time, if he knows of any trapped souls being denied the choice of their final journey. > - [[Elena]] tells [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] that this blade is cursed and likely imprisoning the souls of his fallen comrades. She explains that although she does not know quite how she is going to be able to free these souls, she now knows this is what she must do and her duty is clear to her. She will stop at nothing to liberate these souls and intends to achieve this. > - [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] fully supports this course of action and says that he wishes nothing more than to liberate the souls. > - As the group press on, they follow the tracks until around 4pm when they decide it would be, despite Raphius’ reluctance, unwise to track through the night and that they should instead find somewhere to make camp and shelter their fire from drawing too much attention. > - The two sit by the fire and catch up, with [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] telling [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] of her kidnapping and capture, and subsequent escape and of Will and her promise to help him. She appears exhausted and he suggests she get some rest as he continues his watch. > - As [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] wakes the group embrace her and speak with her. > - They find the place where [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] made her escape, but did not learn anything. > [!star]- Memorable Moments > - 🤯 **Revelation — Elena / Raphius:** Elena finally asks the right question about Vhail’s Blade, feels the evil pouring from it and tells Raphius the truth: the weapon is cursed and may be imprisoning the souls of the soldiers he lost. > - ❤️ **Promise — Elena / Raphius:** Once the blade’s nature is understood, Elena and Raphius make the problem theirs together: she will find a way to free the souls, and he will help her destroy the curse. > - 😬 **Creepy — Persephone:** Lost and alone, Persephone accepts shelter from a strange yellow-eyed man — then notices the manacles bolted into the floor of his home. > - 😂 **Funny — Pipe / Mealla:** Pipe patiently questions a rabbit about whether it has seen horses; Mealla’s immediate contribution is to wonder whether she can shoot it for breakfast. > - ❤️ **Reunion — Persephone / Raphius:** In the middle of Raphius’ watch, a flash of bright pink hair comes hurtling out of the darkness and Persephone launches herself into a relieved hug. > - 😨 **Ominous — Party:** Two smiling Brotherhood votaries pass the group on the road and greet them with a simple promise: **“The Brotherhood awaits you all.”** ## Session Notes Session starts with [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari]] alone out in the dark woods surrounding [[Polark]], with nothing but the sounds of the forest and the smell of pine for company. The night twinkles with bright stars, however morning is not far away as the birds begin to chirp. Her hands are still tied and her hair is loose. As she gets herself up and looks around, she notices the forest is dense pine with pockets of mist and that she is stood on a part of the mountainside with quite an incline. There are very few tracks around her. She manages to find a low hanging branch that she uses to sever the bindings around her wrists. ![[Lineage of the Veiled Kin/99 - Attachments/Session Artwork/Session 12/The Misty Peaks Dense Forest Night.jpg|780]] ![[Lineage of the Veiled Kin/99 - Attachments/Session Artwork/Session 12/The Misty Peaks Dense Forest Day.jpeg|780]] The realisation strikes her that she told [[Will Fletcher]] to trust her, but then she has left him with his captives. It also strikes her that she has had nothing to eat since yesterday lunchtime. She stops and ponders what to do, whilst rebraiding her hair and eventually decides to head back down the hill towards what she hopes is [[Polark]]. She finds herself quite disorientated however, and is struggling to ascertain which direction she was dragged in and which way would lead her back to her friends. Switching back to the group, they head out of [[Polark]] and make their way back to the picnic site and begin to follow the tracks which appear to be heading in a South Westerly direction. [[Pipe]] suggests that he could perhaps talk to local fauna to see if they were aware of any useful information. The group also chat and speculate that perhaps the monks could be leading them into an ambush. However, [[Elena]] says that she doesn't think this is likely, as if simply killing everyone was the goal, she feels that Brother Merric could have achieved this quite easily last night, and that he certainly did a number on her, as she gently runs her finger over a scar that runs from her nose to the corner of her lip, drawing it up slightly in an almost permanent smirk. As the group walk through the forest and follow the tracks, [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] walks over to [[Elena]] and mentions to her that he isn't sure if she meant to say this, if it was due to delirium last night or a fever dream, but she told him that she had been sent to find him. [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] asks [[Elena]] what she meant by being sent to find him. [[Elena]] asks if he remembers when they all met at the [[The Rusted Dagger|Rusted Dagger]] Tavern in [[Gambon]] with scraps of paper giving them a reason to be there. Well, on Elena's paper was Raphius' name. He asked why she had been looking for him and she explained that her mentor Piotr had been called back to official duties and that it was decided that she was ready to begin ascending the ranks and receiving her own directives from [[Nyxthys]]. She had been told of a number of souls being held captive by some abomination and that her directive is to free these souls and return them to The Keeper of Passing. She had been told that one [[Raphius Sunward]] would be able to give her more information about this and that she should seek him out. [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] continues to deny that he knows anything about this, but [[Elena]] asks him directly one final time, if he knows of any trapped souls being denied the choice of their final journey. [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] thinks for a second, and again recounts to [[Elena]] the story of his master who had been possessed and had begun killing his fellow soldiers around him. As he killed the soldiers their souls appeared to be drawn out and sucked into his blade. In a moment of clarity, he begged [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] to kill him and [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] obliged. [[Elena]] asked what became of the sword that had entrapped these souls, and [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] drew his sword from its sheath. He explains to [[Elena]] that no matter what he does to this sword, throw it away, smelt it down, it always finds its way back to him and he wakes in the morning with it by his side. [[Elena]] asks if she may inspect the blade. As she takes hold of it, an overwhelming sense of wrongness and evil overcomes her. She feels the aura emanating from it, and although she can sense that it is a magic blade, she can not tell much more about it. [[Elena]] tells [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] that this blade is cursed and likely imprisoning the souls of his fallen comrades. She explains that although she does not know quite how she is going to be able to free these souls, she now knows this is what she must do and her duty is clear to her. She will stop at nothing to liberate these souls and intends to achieve this. [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] fully supports this course of action and says that he wishes nothing more than to liberate the souls. He asks why she did not say anything to her sooner and she explains that she needed to know what sort of man he was, whether he was in league with the monster that had become corrupted and stripped these souls of their natural journey, or whether he was simply an innocent bystander. She forgives him for his ignorance, but says that now they both know where the souls are and that this blade iscursed, they should both make it their mission to release them. [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] agrees with her. [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] is both concerned, but slightly comforted that the souls of his comrades, the soul of Garric is still with him. Nevertheless, he is set to ensure they are freed. Set to destroy the blade. As [[Elena]] hands back the sword, he feel both relief…and guilt. Meanwhile [[Pipe]] has been listening in to this conversation and tries to talk to [[Mealla Glynn|Mealla]] about it, as he is quite surprised, but she is too focussed on tracking. [[Pipe]] eventually spots a rabbit and speaks with it about whether it spotted any horses. [[Mealla Glynn|Mealla]] then tries to shoot in for breakfast as [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] stomach rumbles. Switching back to [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]], she hears a loud crack of a branch behind her and turns to find a grey haired muscular man with wild yellow / orange eyes stood behind her. They speak and he asks what she is doing out in the woods on her own, and she explains that she is lost and trying to find her friends. He asks if she wants anything to eat and leads her back to a small dwelling. She notices manacles bolted into the floor of this dwelling and the man says he should get her back to her friends before nightfall as it is the 63rd of Spring and bad things may happen this evening. He says he does not live in [[Polark]] anymore, as the Monks would likely fear him too. He introduces himself as [[Dane]]. ![[Lineage of the Veiled Kin/99 - Attachments/Characters/Dane Talen.jpeg|780]] As the group press on, they follow the tracks until around 4pm when they decide it would be, despite Raphius’ reluctance, unwise to track through the night and that they should instead find somewhere to make camp and shelter their fire from drawing too much attention. [[Mealla Glynn|Mealla]] finds some mushrooms and [[Elena]] finds a suitable campsite for the evening. As they lay out the tents and the [[Weirdstone]], [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] finds a log and before he knows it, nods off, clearly exhausted having been up all night. [[Elena]] speaks with [[Pipe]] and [[Mealla Glynn|Mealla]] about the conversation she had with [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]]. [[Elena]] tells the group of her mission to free trapped souls and that she had been given [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] name as someone that may know something. She had confronted him about this and he had told her of his master's possession and how his blade may have the souls of his fallen comrades in. She warned the group of this cursed blade and said that she was familiar with curses, having grown up on [[World of Tarin/02 - Places/01 - Nations & Regions/Dharan|Dharan]]. She worries that [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] too, may fall to corruption also and the group should be vigilant for any changes in his behaviour that may allude to the curse taking effect. [[Mealla Glynn|Mealla]] wonders about [[Serapha]] and [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] beliefs and how he would feel about the imprisonment of souls. [[Elena]] assures them that he appeared genuine and wanted to help her liberate these souls. The group set up watches and head to bed for the evening. Mealla's watch passes uneventfully, as does Pipe's. [[Elena]] spends some time on her watch reading [[The Final Journey]] beginning to try and work out how she is going to rid the blade of its curse and free the souls within. She also hears the sounds of faint flapping to the South West. She wakes [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] for his watch, which starts uneventfully, until he hears rustling from the forest and sees a pair of glowing eyes and a figure with striking pink hair, as [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] hurtles out of the darkness and launches herself at [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]], hugging him tightly. The two sit by the fire and catch up, with [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] telling [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] of her kidnapping and capture, and subsequent escape and of Will and her promise to help him. She appears exhausted and he suggests she get some rest as he continues his watch. As the sun begins to rise, the group wake up and see [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] leant against [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]]. They go over to them and [[Elena]] is incredulous that she has returned to the group. She is not sure how this happened, but is grateful she has been returned to them seemingly unharmed. [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] says that they should go and rescue Will but [[Elena]] says why risk their lives rescuing someone that does not wish to be rescued. Will has wanted to join [[The Brotherhood]] and nothing had seemed to dissuade him. ![[Lineage of the Veiled Kin/99 - Attachments/Factions/Sisters of the Brotherhood.jpeg|780]] As [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] wakes the group embrace her and speak with her. She reveals that she would not be here if not for Will helping her. She says that they should go rescue him, but [[Elena]] hesitates and says that they should not be so eager to hand deliver [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] back to them. They have unknown numbers, goblins and a winged flying creature at their disposal and powerful leaders like Brother Merric. It could be a suicide mission to rescue someone that despite all evidence, still wishes to join the order. [[Mealla Glynn|Mealla]] agrees that they should be cautious whilst [[Pipe]] lists out the variables, facts, pros and cons of the plans. [[Mealla Glynn|Mealla]] also poses that the deeper they go into the Misty Peaks, particularly as they approach [[Voran's Well|Voran's Well]], The Brotherhood's influence grows stronger. Perhaps it would be wise to travel through their territory by keeping their heads down and not antagonising them. [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] suggests the opposite, and that if they are to meet the brotherhood in Vorens well, they should deal with the threat here. However, [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] then recalls that they took her ritual dagger from her, which was the item they were going to use to have [[Eli Soothpin]] find the laboratory where Persephone's parents are being held. The group sigh at this, as this tips the scales and makes the decision of what to do almost inevitable. They must retrieve this dagger in order to be able to find one of these laboratories. And so they head off towards the last place [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] was with her captors. They find the place where [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] made her escape, but did not learn anything. So they continue to follow the tracks towards the temple. As they draw closer the group spot two figures in brown robes approaching them. They are carrying empty baskets and smile at the group as they pass, with [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] hiding off behind some trees so as not to be spotted. "[[The Brotherhood]] awaits you all", they greet ominously as they carry on past. The group spend some time discussing how best to approach and enquire about Will and his whereabouts. They eventually decide to approach the settlement, but fully aware that if they are not able to negotiate or chat their way out, they may need to fight their way out, so should be prepared. ## Session End State > [!success]- Where Things Stand > - She appears exhausted and he suggests she get some rest as he continues his watch. > - [[Mealla Glynn|Mealla]] agrees that they should be cautious whilst [[Pipe]] lists out the variables, facts, pros and cons of the plans. > - However, [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] then recalls that they took her ritual dagger from her, which was the item they were going to use to have [[Eli Soothpin]] find the laboratory where Persephone's parents are being held. > - "[[The Brotherhood]] awaits you all", they greet ominously as they carry on past. > - They eventually decide to approach the settlement, but fully aware that if they are not able to negotiate or chat their way out, they may need to fight their way out, so should be prepared. [[Lineage of the Veiled Kin/01 - Sessions/Session 11 - Locating Allies|← Session 11]] · [[Lineage of the Veiled Kin/00 - Campaign Overview/Campaign Overview|Campaign Hub]] · [[Lineage of the Veiled Kin/01 - Sessions/Session 13 - Beneath the Monastery|Session 13 →]]