2021-10-02
Night of the Bear. Survival Optional.
Jericho is at the edge of the Sorcerer King’s lands
Lowen is working with Alice on something I couldn’t hear
Isabelle, Bree, Brigid, Natasha all at Serendipity Ranch
- Bree probably went somewhere else but I couldn’t hear it
Gerhardt is looking for Dworkin with his stabby stabby
Silas wants to improve his Master of the Stairs stuff
- Dale gave him pointers and maybe Finnegan too?
Bree is mulling over with Clarissa the idea of the mind meld with grumpy Brand. It didn’t go so well last time so, additional help would definitely be useful. Who should they recruit? Clarissa suggests someone in Chaos, but they would be expensive — like controlling interest in (?) kingdom. “I want you to be well and secure and fully in control of yourself,” Clarissa says. While she works on this and other preparations, Bree heads to Amber.
Silas took a tent somewhere to set up camp a short ways in. It is quite dark and depressive with a sense of dread. Something is definitely watching, though nothing immediate is happening. The undershadow seems fine. Silas waits for a while but eventually decides to leave. He goes back to the door and upon opening the door, the stairs are no longer there! The sense of dread grows and undershadow is now quite dangerous. He offers the creatures to come up to where his is, and they start attacking him despite his attempts to negotiate. Well that was disappointing. Silas pulls out an Icon of Dale, who is not answering. Twilight turns into darkness and a tendrilled monster slides closer.
Isabelle is heading down the stairs towards the Pattern in Amber. She receives an Icon call and accepts it. She accepts it and finds Silas being pursued by a dreadful beast. Sensing the imminent physical and psychic danger, she yanks him through to her as fast as she can. Despite her haste, for a brief moment it connects to her in the contact, but she is able to slam it shut using all her force. Bloodied and battered, Silas picks himself up and dusts himself off. Isabelle offers a spa treatment and he says he might take her up on it later. He heads off on his own. She ponders a discussion with her brother about walking the pattern and decides to delay doing it for now.
Clarification: Bastiano does NOT actually have a direct connection to developing the virus. The Sorcerer Kings released the virus in his village. Bastiano razed the village to stop the spread, and later he was approached to work with the Sorcerer Kings. While the demon connects those things into one story, it is actually separate events.
After Jericho shares info with Brigid to share with Valla, he reaches out to share it with Benedict. He isn’t able to reach Benedict, but instead talks to Oberon. Before Jericho leaves to go find and destroy the production facilities in the Sorcerer King lands, Oberon asks him to make a formal write up and strategic proposal of how to proceed.
Brigid and Natasha? Sorry I missed this piece. Something about making a call and being a watch out in case something goes wrong?
Bree believes that one of the shards has pattern, but since they haven’t found it yet, it probably knows they’re looking. Arriving in Amber, she looks for a way to be involved in something useful. She sees Isabelle supporting Silas up the stairs and approaches them.
Gerhardt arrives next holding a box encrusted in symbols. He’s clearly trying not to draw attention to it. He seems refreshed and renewed, Isabelle notices. What is his secret?? They’ve got to incorporate that into the spa regimen! He does seem a bit sad and wistful beneath that, but don’t we all?
A lump in the sofa moves. Dworkin emerges with spidery joints and a very suspicious look. He looks at Bree, then Gerhardt, then the box, then back. “Are you sure you should be carrying that?” Dworkin asks Gerhardt, looking at the box. “Give it to her.” He grabs their hands and walks them down to the hall of mirrors and shoves them through one.
Gerhardt and Bree arrive on a floating island rock in the back of a weigh station in the void sea. Remnants of a past camp are nearby. He must have pushed them through to allow them to speak securely. Gerhardt begins to talk and Bree interrupts — “What’s in the box??” They discuss the situation and the unfortunate fact that this Gerhardt is a sleeper agent for the Unmakers, a perfect copy of Gerhardt. It seems a combination of Dworkin’s skills and Gerhardt’s connection to the real Gerhardt will allow them to locate him.
Silas and Jericho find dead guards somewhere. I have no idea what they’re talking about. Kitchen convos ftw.
Valla says it’s nice Brigid will be meeting with Bastiano, but reminds her to be wary around him.
Giant paw print on the soulless guards. Bree offers to inspect the bodies. (Lowen wasn’t able to find anything.) Nobody can find the giant behemoth, so it must not look like itself at the moment, right? News flash! Murders on the road to Amber! Amberites, assemble! Everyone gathers to help find the Thing. Gerhardt gets enough info to get a sense that this reminds him of the Golden Child (Bayshonne?)
Tythonians? Excuse me? These aren’t know to leave the worlds they’re in.
They find a young child who is still alive following an attack from the monster. His family was killed by a loose horse that attacked them, then it walked away looking like his mother. (He thinks his mom might be alive because he doesn’t really understand skin walkers.)
Brigid goes to where it should be heading and she listens for its sound. Bree finds it walking as as pregnant woman towards Amber. She trumps Jericho and warns him, and he spreads the word to clear the roads? Natasha talks to someone about it. Everyone talks about all sorts of things and nobody makes a decision.
They clear the civilians and make a huge spectacle to get everyone to steer clear. Bree opens a trump gate to an isolated place in front of the woman. Isabelle is ready to back her effort to keep the gate open. Brigid emits/plays/? something like death metal. The woman lifts her hand in a particular gesture and the gate shatters.
Gerhardt uses the Eidolon and sees that the true form of the monster is barely contained rage. Brigid can’t quiet its song at all. Jericho tries to talk to it, but it doesn’t care to interact. Seems like it’s on autopilot. Brigid does something that pisses it off and it says, “You are not one,” and it flings her away. Gerhardt creates an Eidolon slide and Silas somehow brings her onto his airship.
Lowen dies.
Boat’s on fire.
Sword becomes a darkness dagger that feels slippery and unreal. The essence of void itself. It’s trying to tear apart existence. Welp, that sucks.
Gerhardt makes psychic connection with the monster-woman. “I have a message for the one called Oberon,” it says. “You are not him.”
Gerhardt dies. (He gets better.)
Lighting strikes into the sky and down upon Random.
Jericho asks Alice about the monster and she says it’s Magog. She could probably make him strong enough to fight it and hold on to his soul. Still, he would probably die. He’s on board with this plan.
Faery Oberon comes with the entire Summer Court. Let’s see if he dies.
“I heard thou hast a message for me.”
“Yes, you are an Oberon… of sorts.”
“The (?) propose an agreement or something for whatever.”
“This is all very interesting, Pyre Daia, but I don’t think I have any interest in allying myself with scoundrels.”
“You are both truth an a lie.”
Oberon draws his sword and demands the creature leave.
It leaves.
Brigid heads off with Faery Oberon and Natasha accompanies her.