This page is read only. You can view the source, but not change it. Ask your administrator if you think this is wrong. ====== Session 13: The Soul Well ====== ===== Inside the Soul Well ===== ==== Vesper's Vision ==== As **Vesper** is pulled into the **Soul Well**, they experience a vision of a lost memory from when they first joined the circus. In the vision, a young **Vesper** walks a tightrope with ease. **Maestro Grin** watches, telling them: > You'll be the best. Emerging from the vision, **Vesper** confronts the **Maestro**, who taunts them: > Let me show you what you could have been, what you could still be. ==== The Rescue Attempt ==== Outside, the rest of the party looks into the depths. They tie a rope to **Jin**, with **Moss** acting as an anchor and **Gimbol** assisting. **Jin** leaps in, but the momentum pulls both **Moss** and **Gimbol** down after him. The party lands on a platform where **Vesper** is clutching their head, overwhelmed by visions. Lightning balls hang in the air, arcing across the chamber. Below them, a spiral of stone leads to a lower platform where a maskless copy of **Vesper** stands. As **Gimbol** lands, he begins clawing at his own skin. An image of **Bullog** attempts to tear itself free from **Gimbol**'s body. ==== The Descent ==== The party begins their descent. **Moss**, still tied to **Jin**, jumps but lands poorly, causing **Jin** to fall further and dragging **Moss** along. The fake **Vesper** fires a red, bone-like crossbow at the rope but misses. Vesper jealously claims that //they// would have made the shot, prompting a command to echo in **Vesper**'s mind: > Shoot. Under the influence, **Vesper** fires at the rope. **Sol** attempts to intervene but fails; fortunately, **Vesper** misses. As **Moss** nears the bottom, **Vesper** fires magic at a lightning ball. The act triggers another memory of the **Maestro** teaching them to create these lightning orbs. Nearby, they see a ghostly dwarven figure—**Durim**—screaming in terror within a cage of lightning bars. The **Maestro**'s voice returns to **Vesper**'s mind: > Do you remember your first soul, **Vesper**? **Vesper** recalls a faceless person and a ribbon of pale fire attaching to a small child. As **Vesper** grapples with their double, more memories surface. **Vesper** hears a familiar voice from the graveyard: > Will it hurt? **Vesper** screams back: > No, you will fly! A vision reveals **Vesper** throwing a little girl into the **Soul Well**. The **Maestro** applauds: > Now that is my soul reaper. As Vesper screams, gravity inside the **Soul Well** inverts. ===== The Maestro's Defeat ===== **Sol** strikes the fake **Vesper** with //Eldritch Blast//, causing the double to vanish and gravity to return to normal. The entire area shakes as spectral apparitions fill the platforms. **Vesper** collapses under the weight of the souls they have taken. The ghost girl, **Annabelle**, appears beside them: > You said you'd fix this. One final vision: **Vesper** is on the circus grounds, flinching at the applause. Vesper refuses to continue, and the **Maestro** sneers: > If you won't work for me, you're just another clown. **Vesper**'s nose transforms into a clown nose, and the memory fades. They recall waking up at **House Marrow** with no memory of their past, only the face of a clown in the mirror. The **Maestro** turns his gaze to **Moss** and **Jin**: > All good things come to an end, don't they? His arms elongate as he transforms into a hulking beast. He dives for them, misses, and plummets into the void. ==== Aftermath of the Well ==== As the **Maestro** disappears, **Vesper**'s gear melts away, replaced by new armor. The mask crumbles, and their face returns to normal. The souls dissipate, and **Annabelle** vanishes with a final "Thank you." At the bottom, the party attempts to free **Durim**. **Moss** consults the **Scepter of Oaths**, which identifies the prison as a **Soul Vault**. **Moss** forcibly removes the object creating the bars, severely damaging his hand—now a skeletal hand remains—and tosses the 🗝️ **Soul Vault** to the party. **Vesper** catches the vault just as **Gimbol** is sucked inside along with **Bullog**. Using a newly remembered ability, **Vesper** uses their dagger to create two orbs, teleporting the party to the top of the **Soul Well**. **Sol** flies out with **Moss**, who pulls **Jin** and **Vesper** up with a rope. ===== Return to Reality ===== Back in the circus tent, the "shadow acrobats" are revealed to be normal people. **Vesper** recognizes an old friend, the circus strongman, who takes leadership of the group. The party and the circus folk head back to **Blackreef**. ==== Encounters in Blackreef ==== At the tavern, they encounter the man **Sol** met previously: > Back in **Blackreef** already? **Moss** asks the man, now revealed to be named **Kaelen Cross**, for something to cover his skeletal hand. **Kaelen** mentions a 🗝️ **Package** left for **Moss** by someone in a reddish cloak and mask, claiming it was from **Moss**'s grove. **Kaelen** and **Sol** then depart for **Kaelen**'s manor. ==== Peace and Fire ==== **Vesper** visits the graveyard with wine. **Annabelle** and a ghost boy thank them and ask them to do good before disappearing. **Vesper** notices a glass of wine already poured on the ground. At the tavern, **Jin** orders a strong drink. The bartender sends it down an ice slide. A wizard offers to make it stronger. **Moss** pulls back the wizard's hood, revealing **Parsons**. > It's time for your friend to drink. **Parsons** pours a caustic liquid down the slide. **Moss** punches him, and **Jin** narrowly avoids the "drink," which burns a hole through a chair. ==== The Grim Delivery ==== At the manor, **Kaelen** instructs his servants to alert him of any newcomers and to delay "the hunt." > Alert me if anyone shows up , and put off the hunt until the little one shows up. Back at the tavern, **Parsons** casts //Fireball//, destroying the building. **Moss** and **Jin** escape and meet up with **Vesper** before heading to **Kaelen**'s manor. **Jin** finds bottles of alcohol waiting for him in a bush. **Moss** receives the 🗝️ **Package**. It smells of rotting flesh. Inside is a note: > **Moss**, you wander the world trying to mend what was broken, I'll give you something to practice on. The note is signed by **Parsons**. Inside the box is the severed head of **Moss**'s friend, **Bartholomew**. {{tag>session}}