Coulerain Campaign - Session 8 Recap

After the fall Jotaro wakes up confused. Dio catches him up on what just went down. Linen arrives to the scene in a hurry, looking over Jotaro's wounds.

He asks how they survived the fall. Jotaro didn't, he's told. His suspicions rise. He looks at Morrigan and asks if she used the Flower of Lorian. She says she did not. He asks if she would. She says she would not.

When Doram Greyjay arrives Linen recommends the initial measures be taken. Dun'Istar arrives shortly after with Naergon and calls Kai'ral a fool, knocking him down to the ground for his necromancy attempt on Jotaro.

Doram takes the Flower of Lorian and the Wand of Healing and gives them to Cammie.

Doram then takes Morrigan and Kai prisoner, he tells them every aspect of their lives will now be controlled by him and explains to them the elation he would feel if they put up the pathetic fight they would against him. He's been waiting for this moment ever since the two tieflings disregarded the millions of coutnrymen he lost, his comrades and his brother who gave their lives to fight the monster they unleashed.

Jorian asks to speak to Dun'Istar privately, who, troubled by the Party's fracturing, is about to resign himself to isolation. They talk of the Ring of Lorian. Dun'Istar has hope that if they still feel it there must be an unknown element that Lumerin has not planned for and that might be their key to victory.

Dio asks him before he leaves why Tie Alta, The Path of Light has chosen them. Dun'Istar admits he does not lead the path and cannot tell. Dio then asks what he should do about this betrayal. Dun'Istar looks off into the distance, out west. He shares the pain of Dio, he shares it more than he could ever know.

Dun'Istar disappears into his realm and is not seen again.

Back at the camp Cammie shows kindness to the tieflings and offers them berries to eat. Doram is bemused by this, Cammie is offering someone who would not save her life food. Cammie is sure in her decision and Doram allows it. Dio disapproves greatly.

Jorian approaches them next and takes a long while to think of the words appropriate. He reminds Kai that these people were the Red Hand Company not so long ago and that it's foolish for him to act in the manner he is acting.
Kai asks him to speak directly.
Jorian asks why they were ready to let Jotaro die.
Kai asks for a stick, he's given a dagger with a sheathe to use to draw in the dirt. He says he doesn't know much of fate, but from what he's been through and read, nothing is the way it seems. He mentions Morrigan's faith and how some people don't meddle in such affairs.

One of their guards laugh. He tells them everything they do is meddling and unnatural. They are the Amarthernilir, the Princes of Fate. They're the only ones capable of breaking the spear of fate. He finds their world view sad and despicable.

He says he personally would spit in the faces of all the gods if it meant he could return his companions to this world.

Jorian asks how the Raven Queen would feel about Kai being brought back. Morrigan says she doesn't care.

Jorian shows his disdain for their actions and asks what would've happened if they showed up to Kovacs without the heir of the city. He does not receive an answer he's satisfied with and leaves them alone.

Cammie meanwhile asks how Jotaro is doing. Jotaro says he's having trouble thinking, he's furious, he's angry, he's confused.
Cammie hugs him and tells him it'll all end well, she's sure of it.

When the time to rest comes Doram drags out the beds set aside for Morrigan and Kai from the tent and strips them of covers and pillows. Cammie offers them her sleeping bag. They refuse it.

In the morning Cammie gives them berries again, Doram allows it.

The Party begin the long march towards Udun with the Bayfrontian army escorting them.

Jorian speaks with a Bayfrontian captain. He asks how long it will take. A few weeks he's told. Jorian then asks if they'll have enough supplies, they will, special supplies have been set aside for the Amarthernilir and the Black Company. He asks about the plan and is reminded of the deal, they will be escored and they will act, the Bayfrontians are there for support, nothing less, nothing more.

Doram gives Morrigan and Kai some gear to carry, a load that would exhaust them each day through this harsh desert journey. Dio fills his backpack with stones and offers Doram to give it to them as well. Doram likes the idea. Jotaro tries to reason with Dio but he does not listen.

Cammie protests. Doram tells her it's his business. He grows angry and tells her she's free to carry their burden if she so wishes. Cammie appeals to the fact of their group including the tiefligns as well.

Doram is enraged. He shouts how his fallen comrades and brother were, are a part of this group, not those two.

Jorian offers some advice to the Tabaxi. He tells her of the ugly face of the world and to be careful around the tieflings.
Cammie grows angry this time and hits him. From where she comes from everyone helped one another, no matter if they liked each other or not.
They're all equal to her, no matter what.

Jorian looks amused. Dio says he'd miss Cammie if Morrigan were to let her die. Cammie believes in all of them though and her resolve is not shaken.
Jorian tells her her faith is misplaced. But he hopes she'll never have to learn that.

Doram stops the carrying punishment on the third day after Cammie shows that she won't stop carrying sharing her comrades' burden.

Jotaro speaks to Dio. He draws his blink dagger and gives it to him. He says he needs to carry it if they find themselves in trouble again. Dio takes it.

Jorian asks if Doram thinks Lilith can make a new dragon. He says she should be able to anywhere withing the span of a thousand years.

Doram shares his thoughts of the Bayfrontians, explaining the history of the Unfaithful Lorians which settled the coasts of the Bayfrontian League when they refused to aid Lorain Ara'Med in his wars. He says they'll need to be kicked out of the Chernit Peninsulas after this is all done with. Doram seems to not be overly concerned about that task, he tells Jorian that the Bayfrontian army is like paper, impressive when folded up neatly and shown, but after the first rain of battle they crumble to a useless puddle of garbage.
He tells him that the Bayfrontians would fall if Lilith's army turned to face them truly and that Baylia, their capital, would be razed within a week.

The Party and the Bayfrontian Column cross the Chernit Mountains and enter the forest of the peninsulas. The column stops. Doram breaks a few noses when the column before he's told what's keeping them and when he's told a single clockwork is at the head of the column he demands it be brought to him. The last officer agrees, after seeing what befell the ones who denied before it was his turn.

A clothed clockwork female is brought before the Party, she introduces herself as Gwedhiel, a priestess of Lilith Lumerin. After her Satsumi follows. The panther is overjoyed to be reunited with Cammie.

Gwedhiel tells the Party of the true wonders of Lumerin's intentions, how she heals those who are sick, giving them new life where the Shadow Queen Morreniel, known as the Raven Queen to the Party, lets them perish.

Jorian flies into a blind rage when those words are uttered, the slaughter of millions is not a cause he can be swayed to support.

He smashes his fists against the metal frame of Gwedhiel, not feeling any of the pain as he lets everything he's pent up to this point out.

Dio calms him down and the priestess continues. She speaks of the long reign of Morreniel and how Lumerin seeks to end it. She tries her best to convince the Party, her intentions are true, as revealed by Kai who prods her mind with her permission.

Jorian presses his pistol to her head. She is not afraid to die. She claims she'll ascend to the Path of her Queen, Tie Maenas, the Path of Craft.
Jorian can't bring himself to end her.

Dio grows furious this time, he's heard enough. He takes out his firearm.

Morrigan approaches with Doram's permission. Gwedhiel tells her that her patron has a set end date to her rule, Morrigan carves the symbol of the Raven Queen onto her metal chest and curses her with an eternity of suffering after death. Gwedhiel says she will not be subject to that.

Cammie calls out to Doram when he asks Dio to do the honors. That enrages the lieutenant and he burns the clockwork priestess to a burning puddle of molten metal with his black eye.

Doram tells them that Tie Maenas doesn't exist and that he needs to speak with Naergon about this revelation.

The Party reach the ruins of Aros without encountering any resistance from Lumerin. Doram is worried about this, the Clockwork Queen wouldn't just let them enter her domain like this.

At Aros Doram stops to honor a monument standing at the foot of the last wall of the city left whole.
The Hero of Aros, it reads.
"First in, last out"
Dorian Bridgewater

They notice fresh flowers. Doram picks one up, mentioning how dangerous it is around these parts, but that the Lorians will never forget this sacrifice. He stares at Morrigan and Kai but says nothing

Cammie asks Doram if he'll allow her to take Morrigan to the sea and take a bath. He allows it under guard who he promises will not watch. He tells Cammie reminds him of his brother and he respects that, he was as headstrong as she has proven to be.

The beach is full of remnants of the city, mostly children's toys thrown out by the sea. The beach is black, the sea is black, it is truly a tragic sight.

Dio talks to Doram about pain from his past, about a person he met and lost. Doram tells him of how his brother was, headstrong and sure of himself. Unstoppable in his path. He misses him still. He wishes that things were different, that he had succeeded in ripping out the Clockwork Queen's heart. But it was not meant to be.

Cammie and Morrigan share a bonding moment by the sea. Morrigan finally having the opportunity to tell Cammie what she had to say, regarding the claims of some members of the Party during her inability to speak under Doram's orders. She shares that her past has led to her current mindset and that she is glad Cammie is living up to the good she is displaying. Something rare, she says. She also mentions that whenever she'd act a certain way towards another, she was not met with the same. Which is why she is distrustful and reckless with her words.
"You should treat those around you the same way you'd like to be treated."
She says before scoffing at the unfairness of it, as far as Morrigan knows or has seen in the past.
Cammie on her end, shared how Morrigan sounded like her mother with regard to her words about treating others equally and how she believes everyone has their reasons for their actions, which brought a smile to both of their faces. A tender hug followed before they headed back to join the rest.

Doram lets Kai and Morrigan sleep with the Party.

Dio confronts them when they approach. Kai tells him to step aside. Jorian tells Dio to let them go.
Dio finds another place to sleep, he refuses to share a tent with them.

The Party dream.

Jorian thinks Lilith might be on the island of Udun, waiting for them to attack.

Kai looks for a secluded place to think and Morrigan follows.

Cammie searches for the members of the Party to give them food. She tells Doram about her dream, Dio recognizes he had the same one.

An officer asks how they mean to cross the sea of Lorian and after a few minutes ships emmerge from beneath the waves.

A ramp is lowered as they float to the coast and their captain descends. It's Wel, weathered, grizzled, battle-scarred and missing an arm, replaced with a rudimentary prosthetic.

Doram asks Wel how Little Bird is doing in Kovacs, she's doing as well as a leader can under such a siege.

Dio tries to rile Wel up but he's not the same young guard they once knew, he's the captain of the Cardinal Fleet now and tells him he has no interest in Morrigan and that his initial interest was due to dreams he received foretelling how their fates would be intertwined.

Kai is infuriated by Dio's jest but before he can conjure his spells Doram shuts him down with a look from that black eye of his. He's warned that the next time he breaks the commands he's been given to sit still and shut up will and him in the sea with the fish.

When the ships reach the shores of Udun Doram gives a rousing speech to his men. A speech about Dorian Bridgewater, a speech foretelling that nothing but death awaits them on that island and he's ready to accept that if it means that the Clockwork Queen is a step closer to the end of her days.
"To Bridgewater! To Death!"

Wel leaves them to their assault, he can waste no time now that Lumerin's dragon is not in play, he turns his ships north to gather supplies for the starving populace of Kovacs.

A scouting party goes first and then the Black Company and the Party are allowed to continue. They find a monolithic building of metal and stone. Two casualties are carried out. They're both suicides, the clockworks put up no fight.

The Party enter the gaping maw of this metal beast. Inside they find nothing but horror. Factory lines filled with the corpses of Lorian men, women and children. Lined with the remains of broken clockworks. Lilith has been converting them into her army.

Naergon sings an old song, the Lorian Grief, a tale of the funeral of Lorian Ara'Med and Gelirglind, the last son to die in battle alongside his father. Some Bayfrontians remember their roots and sing along.

Doram orders an officer to bury the bodies, in individual graves. He does not care if it takes the rest of their lives to bury the tens of thousands of corpses, they will do it for he commands it be done. Little does Doram suspect, the true horror is yet to come.

In the depth of the factory he finds a body in the process of conversion. A tough conversion from the looks. The black hands gives his identity away.

Doram collapses. He yells out in pain. He can't believe they crossed that line, they exumed the body of his brother buried at the Field of Bronze and Blood and defiled him here.

He takes his brother's corpse, it's a heavy burden but he does not share it with anyone. Outside he buries him in Lorian dirt once again with aid from Jorian. He promises Lumerin will pay for everything she's done and then some.

Doram turns to Kai and Morrigan. They are now free to act in the Party, they either chose to be a part of it or leave, he'll need them for what will follow. They agree and delve deeper into the factory of horror.

On a raised platform they find by following tubes of red liquid that power the production lines they find a crown. It is guarded by two sentries that awake when Cammie draws near but Doram's rage cannot be held back. He annihilates the both of them, fusing their metal bodies into the stone as he burns them off the face of Coulerain.

The Party gather around the Crown. Together with Doram Greyjay and Naergon Naylor they free the crown.

Then Kai speaks the name of the Stranger. The Party are bound by darkness as he takes the crown into his hands.

At the last moment Kai changes his mind, he refuses the Stranger's deal. But it is too late, the crown's thorns bite into his flesh and take control over his mind. Kai dons the Crown of Ara'Dur forcefully and the spirit of the Dark King possesses him, throwing the Party against the walls of the great hall as the factory starts to collapse.

Doram asks Naergon for permission to let loose and before he gets an answer a hellfire barrage engulfs Ara'Dur, seemingly obliterating him.

Doram's eyes bleed with rage. His left eye becomes black and flames spew forth from it, hotter than ever. But Ara'Dur is left standing. Doram's hellfire cannot destroy him.

Morrigan and Cammie lunge at Ara'Dur but their attempts to break the Crown off his head are futile. Kai, trapped inside the body of the Dark King calls out for help and does his best to stop himself from harming them.

Naergon comes close. Morrigan begs the Raven Queen, she begs every god she knows of, she begs Naergon. To do something, anything.

Naergon says he can try, if Kai'ral is still somewhere in there.

Naergon orders Doram to hold his fire as he presses his fingers to Ara'Dur's crown.
"Brother, I know we haven't gotten along in the past, but please, do not let this happen."

Naergon manages to start splitting Kai'ral from Ara'Dur as the hall is assailed by a figure of pure darkness. Ravens fly forth to thwart it and a bright light shines from the east. Dark, Shadow and Light all entangle in combat.

Kai'ral is split from Ara'Dur and Naergon tells the Party to take him away, he and Doram will deal with the Dark King.

Dio, angered at the outcome and thirsty for vengeance against Morrigan and Kai attempts to stop them from escaping the collapsing factory. Jotaro's words of discouragement slow him down enough to allow Cammie and Morrigan to get away with Kai's lifeless body and there is nothing left for the Amarthernilir to do except be crushed by the monolith or flee.

They flee to the outside where they look upon the Isle of Udun, sinking into the sea.

Cammie gives Morrigan the Flower of Lorian and she uses a petal on Kai's lips, just as the tale of Olorin told them.

The Song of Gelirglind Lorian kept inside the petal spreads through the body of Kai'ral and the color returns to his cheeks. He draws breath again.

The island continues its descent into the abyss as the battle in the heart of the factory fades. Darkness is all that is left from the spectacle of Ascended force.

At the shore, Bayfrontians jump into the sea in desperation. The closest shore is too far away for them to swim to, but the other alternative is to sink into the abyss.

The dark clouds are divided by the hull of a flying ship.
At the front of the ship the sun outlines the figure of Little Bird. The ship throws down its ropes and saves those nearby, including the Party. Morrigan uses her conjured wings to fly Kai'ral up to the deck.

On their climb up they watch as the landmass sinks and sinks and sinks. Into darkness.

The isle of Udun is no more. Naergon Naylor, the Storyteller of Tie Glind, the Path of Song and his Singer, Doram Greyjay, are lost.

The fear of Lumerin looms heavy over the Party. She allowed all of this to take place.

The Party remains fractured, if they do not reconcile their differences, Lumerin will continue to have the upper hand and Dun'Istar's unknown element might not prove enough to secure their victory.