Blood's Awakening 06/15/2023 session recap

♣ Blood's Awakening: the party
♣ Blood's Awakening recap - part 1 - part 2 - part 3
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• The fight continues! The party manages to kill almost every cultist but, just when they think it might be over, a new enemy appears: it’s a draconian dreadnought, a very large and tall monster, born from dragon eggs that were corrupted or warped by magic. Even if it’s a powerful enemy, The Rose of Winds slays it fiercely.
• However, when the creature dies, it bursts into flame, taking Celio by surprise: the sudden explosion reminds him of the Fireball that killed him years ago; and he stands frozen in fear, shocked. Worried, Caliban runs to him and calms him down.
• While looking for Marco, the party realizes that the inn has been looted of all valuables. Money, silverware, paintings, nothing is to be found. Most likely, it’s all in Mohkvaris’ lair.
• Some more cultists attack the party but with some very efficient planning, the party defeat these enemies as well. They loot their body only to find some weapons and nothing else, so they decide to bring them to Collevecchio Mondavio, thinking they might come in handy to the soldiers.
• The party is about to leave La Sosta to march on Collevecchio Mondavio, when Winter stops them: it needs to talk about something important. Since the beginning of the journey in the besieged Latavium, Winter has realized that the adventurer’s life isn’t cut for it, and thanks the party for the time they spent together. From this moment on, Winter is no longer a part of The Rose of Winds and will travel back to its master Corrado.
• The Rose of Winds looks for Marco some more, but noticing there’s no sign of him, they bury the bodies and press on. With Sending, Polvere lets Giada know about what has been found, and she replies she’ll keep her eyes peeled.
• Polvere can’t help but notice that while the sky is still heavily clouded, there aren’t any more lightning strikes here and there. The dragon nerds (Caliban and Vittorio) presume that Mohkvaris is resting or having his dinner; it is dinner time for The Rose of Winds too, after all…
• Polvere pesters Colamasso some more about The Iron Falcons with Sending, but Colamasso basically ghosts him, not before revealing that the issue he had with them involves money.
• During the evening, the party reaches Collevecchio Mondavio. There’s no magic barrier protecting it, right now, and the dragon seems to be gone. The guards stop The Rose of the Winds at the city gates: they take the letter from the governess of Lexiapolis and bring it to the castle. After being registered in the city’s archives, the party is free to enter the city.
• As the party is escorted to a couple of places where they can stay for the night, a guard informs them that Alexander Aerimus will welcome them in his castle the following morning, at 7am. She also adds that Mohkvaris left the city a few hours ago, with a final warning: he will conquer the whole region, and Collevecchio Mondavio will fall. The guard doesn’t seem worried: she’s very confident of the city’s defenses.
• Vittorio has been in Collevecchio Mondavio back when he was a member of the Borlotto Company and he remembers the top two taverns: La Coda Di Volpe (The Fox’s Tail) and Bisboccia e Bagordi (not a literal translation, but: Bender in the Center). The Fox’s Tail is your typical inn with many rooms, managed by a family of drows who takes great pride in their centennial perpetual stew. Bender in the Center is more of a restaurant with a small stage, and it’s one of the few places where you can have a lot of fun in town.
• The party decides to stay at The Fox’s Tail: Celio and Serpico, among the party, are incredibly curious to taste the perpetual stew. Amalia, the owner, is very kind and welcoming, and tells the party that she didn’t want to leave town and let her precious stew go to waste.
• The Iron Falcons are there too! Vittorio instantly recognizes Michele, a halfling monk that was with him in the Borlotto Company many years ago. Vittorio approaches him to clearly provoke Michele and tensions soon arise since Michele isn’t friendly at all (of course): he still thinks that Vittorio is a thief and so do his friends, so he asks Vittorio if his new companions know about his past.
• The Rose of Winds defends Vittorio, just like The Iron Falcons defend Michele’s point of view. Sensing the tension in her own inn, Amalia stops the discussion. The Rose of Winds leaves for Bender in the Center, where the friendly owner Sandra gets them a few rooms.
• The following  morning, on November 30th, both The Rose of Winds and The Iron Falcons are brought inside Alexander Aerimus’ castle. It’s very awkward for a few minutes, but the awkwardness is just about to increase significantly…
• Entering the council’s room, with all the closed curtains so no sun damages the vampiric governor, there stands Alexander Aerimus: he looks rather young-ish but his deep, sad eyes betray his real age and (probably) hard life (HOT. VERY HOT. SO HOT). Caliban notices immediately that he’s wearing one of the few, very rare Robes of the Archmage. Only eight of them exist in the world and it’s quite the sight (Alexander, but the robes too...)
• Other people in the council are the headmistress of the merchant guild; the great priest of Menelgond (god of travels and trade); the captain of the city guard; and Alexander's personal advisor and spymaster… The one and only, the man the legend… Aidan Emporiello. Yes, THAT Aidan, Vittorio’s ex lover and friend who betrayed him and falsely accused him of stealing from the Borlotto Company.
• Aidan looks slightly older than he actually is, mostly because of his beard which is almost completely white. His nose is crooked, though not by much, and he sports a scar on his lips (a memory from his last fight with Vittorio). Vittorio is, of course, shocked and scared. Instinctively, he hides behind Serpico’s shoulder and he’ll spend most of the encounter with Alexander staring into space and being silent.
• Alexander asks two questions to the adventurers: “why are they there?”, and “what is your specialty as a group?”. The Iron Falcons specialize in stealth, infiltration and monster killing; The Rose of Winds are good at tactical fights and adapting to the situation. As for the second question, The Iron Falcons are very straightforward: they’re in Latavium just to kill a dragon, collect the reward and call it a day. The Rose of Winds is almost on the opposite end of the spectrum: they care about the people and they want to be the ones who step up and protect those in need.
• At this point, Vittorio gathers some courage and adds that he already killed an adult chromatic dragon and, OF COURSE, Michele has to add that he did too; Aidan whispers something in Alexander’s ear but he covers his mouth.
• Alexander says goodbye to the adventurers for now; he has a couple of trials in mind to test their strength. He’ll meet them again later in the morning, then everyone leaves.
• Outside the castle, Caliban casts Rope Trick so the party can have a safe spot to rest and talk. Vittorio is confused and scared, and on top of that, there’s also an important question: should The Rose of Winds bring up to Alexander that his advisor is part of the Red Hand (one of the most dangerous criminal organizations in Altia)? Everyone has their own valid opinion and for the moment, they decide to sit on this matter. Vittorio asks Polvere to contact Aidan via Sending, since he wants to talk with him; but the message basically bounces back, like he’s protected from Divination spells and such.
• Caliban offers to schedule a meeting in the traditional way and Vittorio agrees. Feeling lost, scared and confused, he knows his friends have his back, and they all leave to relax before the second meeting with Alexander.
• Polvere tries to console Vittorio and hype him up. He’s a little awkward, but he’s sincere: Vittorio hugs him and Polvere, for once, isn’t stiff. ♥