What Has Been and Would Be
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| "What Has Been and Would Be" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Campaign 1 session | |||
| Session no. | Session 29 | ||
| Session date | June 25, 2019 | ||
| Timeline | |||
| Start date | January 9, 354 WSK | ||
| End date | January 9, 354 WSK | ||
| Starring | |||
| Bean – Pine GuardianAngel – Gael Nixup – Versa and Bunnies as the Dungeon Master | |||
| Narrative chronology | |||
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| Session order | |||
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| List of Campaign 1 sessions | |||
"What Has Been and Would Be" (1x29) is the 29th session of the first campaign of Itora.
Synopsis
Versa's Vision
Versa, you find yourself underwater. You notice something in the distance, where the sun rays shine upon the shell of a massive creature - and it’s approaching *fast*. Versa attempts to swim up, breaks the surface, only to be swallowed. Everything goes dark.
You awaken suddenly, coughing up water. The air is humid and pungent. Glancing around, you appear to be in a chamber. An inch of liquid covers the floor, the fleshy walls appearing to jostle and pulse. You find yourself in a cartoon-logic belly of the beast. Versa punches the walls, which ripple.
Looking around, you notice pieces of wood, a flag here or there, and many, many skeletons. What catches your eye, however, are a set of two who appear to be sitting side by side, leaning against one another. Their clothes are tattered but your eye immediately goes to two things - a rusted cutlass by one’s side, and a familiar starry cloak on their back.
The skeleton come to life, clutching the sword/cloak. “What do you think you’re doing??” Versa asks where they got the cloak, and the skeleton returns the same question. They quickly come to a stunning realization - it was the same cloak, they had both been Captain Vice, owner of the Cloak of the Endless Seas.
Versa fangirls, and has so many questions. The skeleton asks to tap Versa’s forehead in order to make the conversation easier. She agrees and closes her eyes. When she opens, sitting before her, she sees two humans, a man and a woman, in their mid 70s.
They introduce themselves as Harold and Helen. Helen embarks to tell the story of how she became the first Captain Vice.
Tale of the First Vice
Helen and Harold were a poor couple, living in Ockburn, unsuccessful in most employment ventures. The jobs they held down came and went with the seasons, and only provided enough to put food on the table. Helen felt desperate for a breakthrough, cursing the gods, begging for an opportunity to make it in the world, to make a difference - to be feared rather than be afraid. This caught the attention of something, who reached out to her, promising her the powers to pursue her ambition. She accepted with open arms. She began to come into quite a bit of money; her husband was astounded but was more relieved than concerned at the sudden wealth. Her chosen profession? Piracy. Months passed and they were finally living the lives they dreamed of, a she continued this double life. But, you see, Helen held yet another a secret from her husband - she was an Eladrin.
So, one day, when a mass demonstration by the Order of the Voiceless Lark put the whole country in a frenzy, everything changed. They had caught an alleged mass murderer, an eladrin, who was sentenced to public execution by the Order. Allies freed the elf, but were quickly outnumbered and outmatched. Four combatants took out dozens of Order Knights before each were caught and executed that very day. The victors, the Order, justified their triumph over the slain eladrin, spreading rumors and ill sentiments that caused an increase in distrust and attacks against fey for years.
Helen whisked away in the middle of the night, leaving instructions for Harold to access the vault of savings she had been collecting, telling him that she is sorry, she loves him, and that she’s so grateful for everything. Lastly, and most crucially, for his own safety, she can’t tell him any more, and that they should never meet again.
Harold is broken by this news - news he refused to accept without answers. He pulled some strings, eventually picking up a trail leading him to Blancgarten. One stormy night, he makes his way to a tavern on the island. He enters, drenched, asking if anyone knows a Helen, describing her. Nobody claims to know anything. However, sitting in the corner is a figure, in a starry hooded cloak, holding back tears. Harold, dejected that his lead came up empty, purchases a room at the inn, and heads to sleep.
After a knock at his door, he opens it to see the hooded figure, an eladrin, who claims she has information. He shuffles her into the room excitedly, and the two sit down. She nervously attempts to explain the situation before giving up and ultimately changing her form to become Helen, his dear wife. He’s briefly taken aback, confused, on the verge of accusing her of deception. She attempts to calm his concerns, telling him things only each other would know. He collapses into her arms, as she tells him everything. Among other things, she explains her true name is Jelenzora, but she adopted a different one to avoid complications, but that she would take any name, so long as he liked to say it. He says that he fell in love with Helen, but that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Happy to be together again, they vow no more secrets, and that wherever life takes them, they take it on together.
Next we see the couple, Harold is returning from Ockburn with her savings in tow, as they embark on their next voyage - a life on the high seas, together this time. For thirty years, they sail together, as she gained a fearsome and respected reputation under the moniker Captain Vice (it was his idea, because he couldn’t quit her). When the life of piracy became too much, they retired, passing the ship, the title, and the cloak on so that the next generation would make their own mark.
They lived out the rest of their days on Blancgarten in a domestic life - well, as domestic as life on a pirate island gets. They started a tavern, together. They had no children, but adopted many many exotic pets. Decades later, they would eventually die peacefully within a week of each other.
Versa asks them a few more questions, learning that Helen passed on the cape to an elf named Larrel, who was young at the time and may still be alive in the present. She also learns that the original bounty on Captain Vice was 477,000 gp. She learns the name by which Helen knew the BBESM - Kallas.
Versa also learns absolutely nothing about why her planned actions with regard to sacrificing herself for Magpie would not be the best course.
She hears the call of Ricoril, and knows her time meeting with this legendary figure is coming to an end. Her consciousness is pulled back into the present.
Pine's Vision
You find yourself standing on the Avarice. Scattered across the deck, you recognize lifeless bodies. Kismet, her standard jovial expression replaced by terror. Lure, slumped, clutching her holy symbol. Kevin, felled, amidst signs of ferocious battle. Magpie, facing away from you, reaching towards a bound Versa. You see your friends, lined up, alive, and beaten within an inch of their lives, tied to the mast of the ship.
Then your focus shifts, towards the shine of a setting sun. A figure, silhouetted, laughs triumphantly, surrounded by armed mercenaries. A french horn, dangling from his belt, glistens in the sun. He holds a staff, topped with a skull wearing a wig of red hair, with shining emeralds embedded in its eyes. He then turns to speak to his men, stepping out of the sun’s path. You find yourself staring at an uncanny reflection of yourself, wearing a black beret, dressed in expensive fineries, spattered with blood. An arrogant toothy grin stretches across his face.
“Looks like we’ve put in a hard day’s work men, but we’ll all get our cut nonetheless.” He glances down, to the body of Magpie, which lies infront of an inconsolable Versa. “Shame about the captain, though, she could have fetched a pretty bounty alive. She really shouldn’t have interfered with my work.”
Versa curses him out, and Dark Pine continues to lament about what he claims had to be done, intentionally stepping on Kismet's pan flute. He asks them again if they have any information on The Lark that they'll volunteer. Versa volunteers the information, he thanks her and orders his men to free her from her bindings. She takes the opportunity to lunge at him, but is unable to reach him before his mercenaries shoot her down. He turns to spit on her as she lay dying, but Pine launches as volley of Eldritch Blasts at his dark reflection while chiding him, which causes Dark Pine to give pause, lean over in discomfort. He announces that the day of work has caught up to him, and that he will be resting in the captain's quarters. His mercenaries ask what to do with the other two captives, and he orders them to be locked up in the brig below.
Inside, he sits down in the captain's chair like a Skyrim jarl. He and Pine engage in a long ideological debate about why he is the way he is, and if it's truly how he wants to live his life. Ultimately, Pine breaks through to him enough times that he is no longer content just sitting around, and heads down below deck to deal with the remaining captives.
He once again asks Gael to give up information about The Lark, and they once again refuse. He gives a subordinate the signal, and they unleash a Moon Beam upon the changeling, forcing them back into their normal form. Ever defiant, Gael refuses again, and is struck yet again by the beam. Pine chides him once again, asking him if this is really what he wants; Dark Pine gives pause. He orders his subordinates to let Gael go, and collect their possessions in a crate on the docks. He also orders Ricoril to just be dumped somewhere on the docks.
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References
Art:
- ↑ Gael, beaten in Pine's death vision, by GuardianAngel (source). This file is a copyrighted work. Its use in this article is asserted to qualify as fair use of the material under United States copyright law.
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