# 11. Session Eleven — Locating Allies **In-game start:** Spring 62 | **Played:** 11 June 2025 [[Lineage of the Veiled Kin/13 - Session Notes/Session 10 - The Pyre at Polark|← Session 10]] · [[Lineage of the Veiled Kin/00 - Home & Navigation/Campaign Home|Campaign Hub]] · [[Lineage of the Veiled Kin/13 - Session Notes/Session 12 - The Brotherhood Awaits|Session 12 →]] ![[Lineage of the Veiled Kin/99 - Attachments/Session Artwork/Session 11/Vision Starfall.jpg|780]] > [!abstract]+ TL;DR > - [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] comes across a pool of blood and pieces of flesh, still fresh, hot and sticky. They all look for tracks, but find none. [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] casts light on a rock and [[Pipe]] summons his Glow Lizard to illuminate the area somewhat. They continue their search, shouting "[[Elena]]!" > - She tries to struggle, but feels a swift kick to her ribs and feels one crack. > - [[Elena]] comes to consciousness and croaks out that she should be dead, is this real? > - [[Elena]] smiles wryly, her face screaming with pain as she does so, "My life was so much more simple before I was told to find you, [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]]. I almost wish I never had." as she then closes her eyes and goes to sleep, leaving [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] both confused and pensive. > - Meanwhile, [[Mealla Glynn|Mealla]] and [[Pipe]] arrive back at [[The Mourning Pike]] and speak with [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]]. They tell her that it appears as though [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] has been taken / kidnapped off to the South West. [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] wakes [[Elena]] who is less than pleased that he has A. awoken her, but B. is once again suggesting they charge off blindly into the dark on a suicide mission. > - The group discuss how best to rescue [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] and [[Elena]] warns them of Brother Merric's strength and that she is hours ahead of the group, on horseback and that there is no way that they will be able to catch up with her, and that blindly charging into an enemy stronghold without a plan is suicide. > - A building rhythmic thumping seems to creep and the crystals begin to glow brighter. Everything becomes bathed in a golden light almost blinding her. A figure grows before her, a black silhouette, black wings emerging from their back. They look to [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] and she hears "daughter?", as [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] runs head first into a tree. > - They discuss what they will do once they are reunited. Should they seek to purge this [[The Brotherhood|Brotherhood]] from the land, as they had promised [[Enna]]? Or, should they cut their losses and move on, as Brother Merric seems quite powerful, though [[Elena]] admits she would not mind getting revenge on him. > [!star]- Memorable Moments > - 🔥 **Raw — Elena / Raphius:** Barely alive after Merric, Elena tells Raphius exactly what she thinks: **“Fuck you, Raphius. Your actions have consequences.”** > - 😬 **Dark Humour — Elena / Raphius:** Still in agony, Elena manages a crooked smile and tells him her life was much simpler before she was ordered to find him — and she almost wishes she never had. > - 😱 **Oh Shit — Persephone:** Persephone is hooded, bound, has a length of hair cut off as “proof,” taunts her captors about the Old Gods and is promptly knocked unconscious. > - 🤯 **Revelation — Persephone:** During the storm-vision a black-winged figure looks at her and says **“daughter?”** — moments before Persephone runs head-first into a tree. > - 😨 **Survival — Elena:** Elena wakes in the pine tree with birds pecking at the wounds in her face, loses her footing and begins to fall while already half-prepared to accept death. ## Session Notes The session starts with [[Pipe]] scrunching his face and his eyes shut, trying to go to his happy place [[Oxentrout University]]. He recalls a bustling university with maze like corridors steeped in history. He is a respected figure there. He recalls descending stairs into the Museum of History. On a clear day from the Astronomy department he can see his apartment in Tinkertop. However, the familiar smells of home soon turn to the smell of charred flesh as his memory is disturbed by the harsh reality of what lays before him; the charred remains of the woman burnt at the stake, accused of witchcraft. ![[Lineage of the Veiled Kin/99 - Attachments/Session Artwork/Session 11/Charred Remains.jpeg|780]] ![[Lineage of the Veiled Kin/99 - Attachments/Session Artwork/Session 11/Oxentrout 01.jpeg|780]] He stands surrounded by his companions. [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] is kneeling by the body, saddened that his actions were not enough to save her. As the group look around, they find that the other villagers have mostly dispersed. [[Mealla Glynn|Mealla]] approaches [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] and reminds him that this woman is beyond their help, but [[Elena]] is not; they should look for her. The group gather, and follow the direction [[Pipe]] saw [[Elena]] walk off in. They try to search for tracks, evidence of anything that might guide them towards her. [[Pipe]] tries to see if there are any animals nearby that he might ask for her whereabouts, but he is unsuccessful. [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] comes across a pool of blood and pieces of flesh, still fresh, hot and sticky. They all look for tracks, but find none. [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] casts light on a rock and [[Pipe]] summons his Glow Lizard to illuminate the area somewhat. They continue their search, shouting "[[Elena]]!" The scene turns to [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]]. She feels a bag pulled over her head and hears Will cry out and then hears a thump and he grows silent. As she struggles, and before she gets a chance to really fight back, she feels several sets of hands restraining her and tying her hands. She hears several voices and the sounds of horses. She is patted down and her weapons removed from her. They grab her hair and cut a length off her braid. "They'll want proof, take this on ahead." As she hears a horse take off. ![[Lineage of the Veiled Kin/99 - Attachments/Characters/Will Fletcher.jpeg|780]] She tries to struggle, but feels a swift kick to her ribs and feels one crack. She is then dumped over the saddle of a horse. She tries to sit up, but ends up falling off the horse and hitting her covered head on the ground. "Dumb bitch" she hears one of the kidnappers mutter. [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] tries to get a rise out of them, by asking if they know who she is and that they know little of the Old Gods, but they refuse to rise to the bait. They then knock her unconscious as the horses take off. The scene then switches back to the others as they continue their search for [[Elena]]. [[Pipe]] casts detect-magic but doesn't see anything. [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] begins to wonder if the flying creature may have taken her, as there do not appear to be any footprints. [[Pipe]] tries to lure some animals to the group with the smell of carrion to see if he can ask them if they know where [[Elena]] is, but none approach. [[Elena]] awakens to pain and blackness, and the feeling of birds pecking at the wounds on her face. She screams in pain and weakly tries to swat them away, but unfortunately manages to loosen her precarious position in the branches and she hears a snap and she begins to fall. As she plummets, she relaxes her body, prepared for death to embrace her once more. [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] hears the sounds of snapping and cracking branches as he runs towards the noise. [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] notices something plummeting through the branches and makes a quick decision to intercept it. The broken and limp body of [[Elena]] hurtles through the air, as [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] puts himself between her and the ground and manages to catch her. She lands heavily upon him, [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] on his back with Elena's bloody and disfigured face dripping blood onto him. He immediately recoils and casts Lay on Hands to heal the wounds, as he then flips her over onto the ground and begins channelling healing energies into her, as some of the wounds on her face begin to stitch together. [[Elena]] comes to consciousness and croaks out that she should be dead, is this real? She felt [[Nyxthys]] embrace, why was it not her time? She weakly tells the group that it was [[Merric Veil]] that had done this to her, plunging a dagger into her face over and over and killing her, then bringing her back, only to kill her again. [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] grits his teeth as [[Mealla Glynn|Mealla]] brings over some water, which causes [[Elena]] to splutter weakly, some blood coming up with it. [[Elena]] allows herself to be carried by [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] as he picks up her limp body and begins to carry her back to town. What strikes the group, is how young and vulnerable [[Elena]] is, the opposite of her normal wisdom and strength that she portrays to the world. The scene switches back to [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] as her and Will are slung over the backs of horses, bound and hooded, as they canter across the terrain to who knows where. She tries to speak to Will who attempts to reply but is swiftly struck and silenced. [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] summons a psychic dagger into her hand and tries to flip herself over, taking a swipe at the rider. However, she misses, blinded by the hood and feels herself fall from the horse. She lands heavily again, and tries to get to her feet as the rider stops, dismounts, walks over to her, strikes her and picks her up and slings her over the horse again. Switching back to the other group, they arrive back in town at around midnight. They agree to head back to the tavern as this may be safe, but [[Mealla Glynn|Mealla]] says it's clear nowhere is safe, as the law appears to be the whim of [[Merric Veil]], having just burnt a woman alive. They entered the tavern with Elena's battered body as the barman [[Dars]] eyes them with some consternation, anxious about trouble being brought to his inn. He quickly ushers the group upstairs as [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] lays [[Elena]] down and unbuckles her armour. [[Mealla Glynn|Mealla]] applies a salve of honey to her wounds as [[Elena]] recounts what Brother Merric did to her, a tear running down her cheek. "Fuck you, [[Raphius Sunward]]", she says. "Your actions have consequences." As she admonishes him for once again, charging in brashly, bringing unwanted attention to them and announcing himself a follower of [[Serapha]]. [[Pipe]] suggests that perhaps what happened was not [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] fault, as Brother Merric already seemed to be aware of Elena's actions at the goblin camp and may have already had his eye on her. [[Elena]] smiles wryly, her face screaming with pain as she does so, "My life was so much more simple before I was told to find you, [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]]. I almost wish I never had." as she then closes her eyes and goes to sleep, leaving [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] both confused and pensive. [[Mealla Glynn|Mealla]] and [[Pipe]] decide to go and look for [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] as she has not returned from her picnic. They find the location of the picnic and see an overturned and trampled picnic basket with signs of a struggle and horse hoof prints stamped into the ground. They decide to return back to the inn to regroup as they know they will not be able to track or keep up with horses in the dark. Switching back to [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]], he is sat on the other single bed in the room, with his sword on his lap, watching [[Elena]]. "Actions have consequences." he mutters to himself, thinking about how he killed his commander, how he antagonised [[Merric Veil]], how he encouraged [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] to go on a picnic with Will. "I must make better choices..." The sounds of hoof prints continue as [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] continues her uncomfortable journey, slung over the back of a horse in the middle of the night. She reaches out for Will's hands and finds them. She then tries to untie the ropes binding his hands, but finds it harder than anticipated. She puts her head on his shoulder and slowly he manages to manoeuvre the hood up and off her head, allowing her to see her surroundings. She sees a few people with a torch, inspecting some goods and talking a short distance away from her. They are still outside under the night sky, surrounded by trees with a small path working its way through the trees. They appear to have gained elevation and have travelled uphill. [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]], now able to see, comes up with a plan and says to Will that he's going to have to trust her, as she fae step's across the other side of the horses. Will falls off the horse at this, which draws the attention of the guards, causing them to notice that [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] is no longer there. She takes this opportunity to sprint off into the darkness. Meanwhile, [[Mealla Glynn|Mealla]] and [[Pipe]] arrive back at [[The Mourning Pike]] and speak with [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]]. They tell her that it appears as though [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] has been taken / kidnapped off to the South West. [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] wakes [[Elena]] who is less than pleased that he has A. awoken her, but B. is once again suggesting they charge off blindly into the dark on a suicide mission. The group discuss how best to rescue [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] and [[Elena]] warns them of Brother Merric's strength and that she is hours ahead of the group, on horseback and that there is no way that they will be able to catch up with her, and that blindly charging into an enemy stronghold without a plan is suicide. She suggests they rest, wait till sunlight and come up with a proper plan, perhaps even scouting the temple to get an idea of the layout / number of guards etc. If they wish to rescue her, then they will need to have a proper plan, not some half assed emotionally fuelled reaction. As the group rest, with [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] staying up to take the watch, he loses himself in thoughts of regret, his choices, how his actions have brought suffering upon others. He knows [[Elena]] is not wrong, but wonders how he can change things and make better choices. As he is deep in thought, he hears and sees the shadow and the flap fly across the village in the South Westerly direction. [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] runs, breathing heavily, sprinting through the darkness, away from her captors. She hears her pursuers about 50ft behind her, and she knows that she is lighter, quicker, more nimble and feels confident she can outrun them. She darts between the trees, attempting to lose her pursuers. As she sprints deeper into the trees she knows she is losing them. She notices the trees begin to darken slightly, then everything seems to stop as darkness envelops her. Ahead of her, she sees a silver thread fall from the sky. This silver thread seems to hang above her, descending vertically. No wait, a star... A falling star. First one, then two, then twenty, then hundreds. A sky of falling stars. She is running but moving nowhere. Suddenly an almighty BOOOM and the ground trembles as dust, wind & the elements howl as the stars crash into the ground. The ground continues to shake as she struggles to gain her footing. She is deafened and overwhelmed by the experience. ![[Lineage of the Veiled Kin/99 - Attachments/Locations & Shared Scenes/The Misty Peaks Polark Stars.jpeg|780]] As her senses threaten to overwhelm her, she notices glowing crystals emerging from the ground, glowing blues, reds, browns. She notices the figures of her companions beside her, bracing the storm seemingly unaware of her. They are glowing, as she looks down at her hands and sees she is glowing golden. Golden glowing tethers seem to link her with her companions. A building rhythmic thumping seems to creep and the crystals begin to glow brighter. Everything becomes bathed in a golden light almost blinding her. A figure grows before her, a black silhouette, black wings emerging from their back. They look to [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] and she hears "daughter?", as [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] runs head first into a tree. Sun rises as [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] wakes [[Pipe]] and the others. [[Elena]] is feeling much better after a nights rest, though still sore with some healing scars on her face. [[Mealla Glynn|Mealla]] readies some breakfast for the group as they discuss how to find [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]]. They agree that they should find some horses, and some information about the temple. They decide to try and do this without violence, given the strength of their adversary. They discuss why [[The Brotherhood]] would have taken [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] and what they would want with her. [[Mealla Glynn|Mealla]] tells [[Elena]] of her tattoos and the cult with her parents. [[Elena]] recalls [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] being from Sol Cove and wonders how [[The Brotherhood]] would be involved with that in anyway. As the group leave [[The Mourning Pike]], the villagers of [[Polark]] do their best to avert their gaze and avoid interacting with the group in anyway. [[Mealla Glynn|Mealla]] and [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] head over to the lumbermill in hopes of acquiring some horses. The forewoman tries to ignore them as the two ask if she can help them be on their way with some horses, and says she can't help them. [[Mealla Glynn|Mealla]] becomes incensed and says to the woman she knows she is frightened, but how can she treat people this way, do they not want to do any trade? The forewoman says she doesn't want any trouble or attention, which is what the group caused last night. [[Mealla Glynn|Mealla]] airs her grievances loudly for the workers to hear. ![[Lineage of the Veiled Kin/99 - Attachments/Locations & Shared Scenes/The Misty Peaks Polark Encounter.jpeg|780]] [[Elena]] and [[Pipe]] head over to [[Maria Threnn]] at [[The Braided Satchel]] to enquire about some information. They ask about horses and she suggests [[Aldric]] may have one. [[Elena]] asks about [[The Brotherhood]] and the goings ons. [[Maria Threnn]] tells of them living up in the temple for years without issue, used to be quite good traders, but then they began to preach and things turned sour. [[Elena]] then asks for some incense. She lays out incense from Pinnacle which has an almost 'Tibetan' vibe to it. [[Pipe]] enquires about some items, but swiftly finds he cannot afford anything; healing potions, ever lasting matches, satchels of food. They return to the tavern and regroup with the others. They consider speaking to [[Aldric]] but [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] recalls that he was on the council at the burning last night and thinks he is likely in with the Monks. [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] tries to speak with [[Dars]] once more, but again finds little response. The group agree to leave the village on foot after [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]]. They discuss what they will do once they are reunited. Should they seek to purge this [[The Brotherhood|Brotherhood]] from the land, as they had promised [[Enna]]? Or, should they cut their losses and move on, as Brother Merric seems quite powerful, though [[Elena]] admits she would not mind getting revenge on him. With the likelihood of acquiring horses seeming slim to none, the main group decide to head off in search of [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] on foot and begin their trek to the South West, following the horse tracks. ## Session End State > [!success]- Where Things Stand > - The forewoman tries to ignore them as the two ask if she can help them be on their way with some horses, and says she can't help them. > - They ask about horses and she suggests [[Aldric]] may have one. > - [[Pipe]] enquires about some items, but swiftly finds he cannot afford anything; healing potions, ever lasting matches, satchels of food. > - speak with [[Dars]] once more, but again finds little response. > - With the likelihood of acquiring horses seeming slim to none, the main group decide to head off in search of [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] on foot and begin their trek to the South West, following the horse tracks. [[Lineage of the Veiled Kin/13 - Session Notes/Session 10 - The Pyre at Polark|← Session 10]] · [[Lineage of the Veiled Kin/00 - Home & Navigation/Campaign Home|Campaign Hub]] · [[Lineage of the Veiled Kin/13 - Session Notes/Session 12 - The Brotherhood Awaits|Session 12 →]]