Day 22.2: Lost Souls

Agatha is defeated but not gone it seems. Her body dissolves and is sucked into the ground by dark, black tendrils beneath the floor. Every. Single. Piece. Of her. Not creepy that… Makes me wonder if she was truly against us. I snag her journals and notes to dissect later.

 5 panels of runes line the walls of her burrow. All talk of the Chained Tyrant

Throw stones if you want to
Break bones if you want to
You’ll not escape my grasp

You may have buried me low
But it won’t redeem your soul
You’ll not escape my grasp

in defeat, I’m never truly bound,
I’ll rise again from the ground
So take a breath it’s one of your last

Make your confessional, whispered in vain,
No freedom from me, just endless pain.
So take a breath it’s one of your last

Your final breath won’t set you free,
For I return from the depths eternally.

How many souls might be trapped here against their will. Whatever they bound here, the whispering Lady (banshee we kind of banished outside) its jailor for all time. Diana asks HIM to ferry Agatha’s soul and maybe get some answers. When HIM returns it say Agatha is not within the river of souls and in fact there are many, many souls trapped her, some ancient. Diana seems to think the Ley Lines are what are being used to trap the souls but they have been corrupted.

In a small room to the south, we find various cauldrons and a creature guarding them which pops out as Mutu stumbles like a bull in a fine wares shop. A brief scuffle ensues, but not much of a challenge. We gather up the herbs and supplies because who knows what might be valuable.

Unable to do anything now without more research, we search the area and find some items. We are able to ID all but one. As we move back through the hallway we entered, we once again come across the binding rune and Charles starts to glow. Not one to suffer the undead, Mutu charges in (sigh) to find a throned king looking dude and what seem to be his 2 attendants. Charles at least manages to get a fireball off before Mutu engages, which they did not like!

For some reason they decide I looked like the juiciest target (I mean I do have more meat on my skelton compared the Mutu – but damn) and tended to concentrate on me. Mutu does his best to protect me and I take my pound of undead flesh too, while Charles and Diana/HIM take out their own chunks. I manage to take one down. Unfortunately, they manage to take me down too. A dark ominous entity looms towards me, but just as it might pull me under, Jenny Dreadful snags me for a tea time chat (WTF??)

A delicate tea set rests upon the table, its porcelain cups bearing designs that change with every heartbeat—one moment intricate vines, the next, swirling galaxies. Steam rises from the cups, the liquid within shifting from deep crimson to emerald green, then to a shimmering, pale gold. The air is thick with a scent both inviting and unsettling, a perfume of unfamiliar flowers, spiced with something darker, more ancient. Seated at the head of the table is Jenny Dreadful, her presence radiating an unsettling blend of the fey and something darker, older.

“You know, Kiren, I’ve been mulling something over ever since our first little tête-à-tête. It’s rare—exceptionally rare—that I get outmaneuvered in a deal, especially without knowing all the players involved. But it seems that the Withering Man managed to keep a few… pertinent details shrouded from me when he bound me to this task of making you break your bargain with Moria or, well… meet an untimely end. Quite irritating, really. But after meeting you and your companions, I suspect it has more to do with your… unique nature than with his cunning.”

“You, my dear, are far more fascinating than I initially realized. Chaos is a marvelous thing, you know. It has a way of revealing truths and unearthing secrets. And chaos, it seems, follows you like a shadow trailing a walking dream. Or perhaps, a reflection?”

“Ah, but now we come to the crux of the matter, don’t we? Bound by our ancient protocols, I must make thrice the attempt to fulfill what has been struck—a contract is, after all, a binding thread in our grand tapestry, and so the trial by three dictates. The first thread has been pulled, but two more remain, weaving opportunities far too precious to sever with the bluntness of death.”

Suddenly a brilliant light pierces the darkness drawing me back, back to my new found family. I blink open my eyes in time to see Mutu smashing a second of the undead creatures DEAD. I stand and sneer at the creature, “Nice try, but now you pay.” Whether inspired by voice or just because I they really seem to hate the undead, the party viciously gangs up on the remaining creature until he suffers the more permanent dead. A last word rings out from the creature – “Kath’uhlzha”