Smite and Flight
| "Smite and Flight" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Campaign 1 session | |||
| Session no. | Session 37 | ||
| Session date | September 3, 2022 | ||
| Timeline | |||
| Start date | January 15, 354 WSK | ||
| End date | January 15, 354 WSK | ||
| Starring | |||
| Bean – Pine DMarty – Ricoril GuardianAngel – Gael Nixup – Versa and Bunnies as the Dungeon Master | |||
| Narrative chronology | |||
| |||
| Session order | |||
| |||
| List of Campaign 1 sessions | |||
"Smite and Flight" (1x37) is the 37th session of the first campaign of Itora.
The party compete in their first team vs team fight of the Grand Tournament against the Lunar Rose Guild, but not without close calls. While spectating other matches, Versa recovers some lost memories of her time after falling into the sea towards certain death.
Synopsis
The Lunar Rose Guild Match
Tanari opens the combat with a shot across the arena at Gael, who nearly snares the arrow mid air. Gael attempts to hit her back, but misses both shots while applying their Hunter's Mark to her. Versa uses Pyre to scout the advance of the enemy team. Hondo sees Gael perched on a rock and rage-runs up to them on his own, much to his teammates' chagrin.
Gael uses their Psychic Lash to hinder Hondo's advance, causing him to retreat. Pine's Dissonant Whispers send Hondo running from the fray, where Versa hunts him down and deals significant damage. Utilizing their sabotage, Gael downs Tanari with one critical hit. Tae, noticing Hondo in a bind, goes to back him up, dealing back-to-back critical hits on Versa, downing her with powerful smites with her acorn flail. Ricoril runs to Versa's aid, dumping all his Lay on Hands to bring her back up to nearly full health. The prone Versa dodges out of the way of Hondo's point-blank rock attacks. Gael targets Sister Blithe with their Psychic Lash to hamper her advance towards bringing Tanari back into the fight.
A melee breaks out between Versa/Ricoril and Tae/Hondo, trading many blows until both Lunar Rose members fall. Ricoril heads down to help the rest of the party after knocking Tae out of the fight, leaving Hondo for Versa. By sheer force of will, Hondo critically succeeds his death saving throw and returns to the fray in one last - inevitably futile - attempt to down Versa. Separated from their party, Sister Blithe manages to bring Tanari back into the fight. The two attempt last ditch efforts to damage or bind members of Friend and Friends, but once their other two party members are permanently taken out of the fight, Sister Blithe recognizes the battle is all but over. She offers to concede the battle, and Friend and Friends agrees, marking their first victory in the Grand Tournament.
Spectating
The party observe a handful of matches before their second match of the day. The Gloryseekers were victorious against The Scarecrow. Always Sunny achieved a surprisingly hard fought victory against Seda Squad by isolating and focusing specific targets. The Devil Slayers wiped the floor with House Woodmere's team by waiting for them to expend all of their magic item uses and finishing them with simple attacks and cantrips.
Entering the second round, the next match-up to close out the day are Friend and Friends vs Always Sunny and The Devil Slayers vs The Gloryseekers.
Versa's Journey
While waiting in the stands to descend for their next match, Versa is lost in thought. What lasts a few moments in real time is the process of recalling lost memories, specifically those between the fateful encounter of mutiny aboard the Avarice and her beaching on the shores of Lothbridge Swamp several days later.
The memory begins on the cold ground. Very woozy, she doesn't see much more around her other than trees before the pain and nausea causes her to pass out. She awakens again, this time in significantly less discomfort. She notices she's laying on a bedroll in fresh, dry clothing. She successfully sits up with some effort and surveys her surroundings, noting the open sky above the dense wall of trees that surrounds her with the exception of one opening. Through the opening enters a triton man, holding a bowl with a rag partially submerged in it.
He expresses relief that Versa is finally awake, remarking that he did his best to treat her wounds, but without the antidote in her coat pocket, she may not have made it. Versa, still weak from the in-progress recovery, grapples both with her physical injury as well as emotional strife. The triton introduces himself as Wairan, and urges her to take it easy. Inquiring where she is, he explains he happened upon her drowning body while out gathering supplies, and took her back to his home - a small, mobile island. He helps her up and the two walk to the stern of the island and sit along its shore.
After preliminary conversation about Versa's ordeal that led to her current situation, he tells her that while it may be a difficult path, pursuing answers is the right one, and that it will work out in the end - he's sure of it. He assures her that she is free to stay until she feels fit to leave and confront all the unknowns that plague her. He departs but the void is quickly filled by a cast of talking creatures - a sea squirrel named Gizmo, a tortoise named Don, and Pug the pug. The inquisitive group probe at Versa's current predicament, offering advice that ranges from innocently useless to genuinely insightful.
Over the next couple of days, the group continue to hang out with Versa as she recuperates, providing valuable companionship while Wairan is absent foraging and collecting resources. Gizmo leaves Versa with the wisdom "Don't trust anything with wings." Pug asserts "Don't trust anything that's not a dog," proceeds to bite Versa, and continues with "actually, trust no one". Tortoise Pope pontificates that she "try not to rush into things; it'll get [her] killed."
Once each day, however, Wairan returns to assess Versa's recovery and make sure she's doing alright otherwise. After a few days, Versa approaches him as he scouts from the stern of the island with the intent to express that she feels well enough to leave. He correctly guesses her intent before she has a chance to say so, and grins, announcing he has a parting gift as he eyes the approaching storm on the horizon.
He enters a stance, moving his arms and upper body in deliberate, flowing motions, causing the island to pick up speed. The seas grow choppier and the wind howls. Versa has trouble keeping her eyes open as the wind and water force her eyes shut. The turbulence intensifies before suddenly ending. Opening her eyes, she sees a sea of foam. Confused, she reaches down and realizes it's not foam - it's cloud. Wairan proudly announces, "Welcome, to above the storm." He promises to teach her what he can about the magic and materials required to make it possible to allow an island to take flight, and that should they meet again, he would be of assistance once more.
Back in the present, Versa sits stupefied for a moment. She immediately uses Disguise Self to transform into Wairan, asking Pine to cast Sending to this person. However, a familiar voice creeps into her mind before Pine gets the chance. Recognizing it as Wairan, the voice simply says gleefully and sincerely "See, I told you it'd all work out," with no further responses as she tries to reply. She cross references the gods she researched on her previous search for a deity, realizing that much of Wairan's clothes and jewelry had symbolism of Amilyos. Versa incredulously announces that she met a god and races to his nearest Temple, asking the first cleric she sees if they ever met Amilyos as a triton named Wairan. The cleric is very confused and Versa takes her leave, content that she has restored information useful in the pursuit of her airship dreams.
Featured characters
Friend and Friends
Companions
New
Returning
- Tae
- Sister Blithe
- Tanari
- Hondo
- Magpie (via Versa's Ring of Masks)
Mentioned
Quotations
- Gizmo (to Versa): Magpie? Like the bird?
References
| ||||||||||||||