Outside Feelings

Year, Season, Month, Days: 5990 F.Y. Frinle, Novulu 2-3

After ensuring the vampire was completely dead, the party decided to take evidence of their crime before embarking toward the estate of Count Adrastante Morcorath. Upon reaching the extravagant estate, the party was “greeted” by attendants, one of which was arrogant and rude to the party and known as Rome, note this for later; The other attendant, Forzix, was quite kind and helpful to the party, advising them that the Count had the ability to read minds.

After leaving Rome with a vague threat, the party entered the estate into an exceedingly large entrance hall, without a sense of where to go, the party chose to take up seats near the fire. Molly was aware the party’s mind was being read and was able to direct the prying mind to thoughts about the current situation.

The party observed, in the painting above them, an entirely black, featureless, figure with a white cloak float out of the image and descend, their cape forming into a floating chair.

Hiding only the fact that a stake was used, the party told Morcorath the entirety of the events that occurred with the demon-worshiping vampire and gravebound. Morcorath took the time to review the ashes and identified the vampire as Vanessa, a problematic resident in his domain. He cast a spell and a beam of fire was seen falling from the sky in the distance.

After gauging his response, the party revealed the plot to overthrow Marasennah. The Count agreed, but only if he were to gain power and influence. As a show of good faith, Molly offered to share a detailed memory of her torture.

Molly, instead, felt the world fade away and encountered a cat with heterochromatic purple and blue eyes, staring at Molly until shapeshifting into a human man in chains and a chunk missing from his head. It called to her to come forward and asked which god Molly believed they were, Molly guessed Novulu, The God of Torture.

Novulu offered a deal: Live in the pain of the torture for a time for a piece of information to allow vengeance on those who tortured her. Molly agreed with no hesitation. A finger was dug into her forehead and brain. Molly collapsed, screaming, into crippling agony, and was ripped back to reality.

Molly shared the memory with Adrastante, much to their horror.

As the company left the estate, Felicity asked Molly if she wanted her inside feelings to become outside feelings or to get a hug as she is very soft. Molly shared some of the information around her torture with the party. The party halted their advance to have Rome lead them to a particularly disgusting bathroom at a colosseum where he was then notified this was his new post. He stomped off in disbelief before the party returned to the inn, but not before noticing the still-smoking crater where the party killed Vanessa.

The party chatted with the goblin and rented out the entire inn to also function as a sick bay. Molly shared their orphan heritage, how they became a thief, and their troupe was captured and everyone tortured and killed save for Molly. Felicity gave heartfelt backhanded sympathy.

Felicity learned Tektun was not naturally sticky and touched him for the first time before asking if he laid eggs, Tektun revealed he was male and did not, in fact, lay eggs, but was capable of fertilizing eggs.

The party decided to keep the Samsaran’s in the inn, but the party discovered had been infecting the Samsarans and that none of them had died.

Molly dreamt horrible nightmares and also saw Novulu in the background of every one of them, but only out of the corner of Molly’s eyes. Felicity awoke feeling and looking sickly, much to her panic. The party requested a cleric, and a nosferatu appeared at the doorway, looking very much like death. The party got the cleric to agree to no vampiric conversion nor selling them into slavery.

The nosferatu, Holtrod, identified the disease as False Death and that the Samsarans would recover within a week or so, however, Felicity was sick and could require healing to maintain her health, the party paid him to heal Felicity.

After hearing about the party’s extermination of the Gravebound, Holtrod offered to connect the party with a friend, Merly, who needed something exterminated in their basement.

The vampire asked Felicity if she was Captain Redclaw and, after stating they were, revealed information on the ship’s location. Felicity dug further to gather where that information came from and pulled out a severed head which Felicity recognized as one of her former crew, Zoniel.

Felicity had Holtrod allow her to ask Zoniel four questions through magical means. Felicity learned Merly killed Zoniel nearby and was not near the rest of the crew when he died.

Giddy with excitement, Felicity asked Holtrod to turn the head into a Beheaded that could burst into flames, grab, swarm, and scream at Felicity’s command. Her tengu-head pet, Zoni, followed her at head level as the party made their way to exterminate whatever was in Merly‘s basement.

Taking the opportunity, Zoni knocked on Merly‘s door. Merly opened the door and the party identified them as a jiang-shi. The party offered to kill the one big spider occupying the basement. The vampire gave very little information save that the spider did not really have babies, there were 4 other extermination attempts, and to follow the large gate and webbing after locking the door behind them.

The spider webs increased in thickness and overall coating of the walls rapidly as the party descended the staircase. The party saw the large main gate ahead as well as two side passages. The group decided that Zoni could burn the webs, which he did, and the room slowly began filling with smoke.

Covering their faces against the smoke, the party crouched below the smoke and saw several different brass plates. The one on the left “food storage”, “alchemical storage”, “great room/ballroom”. Realizing some elements of alchemical storage could react with each other and the flames, Molly shoved as much as she could into the bag of holding as it could carry and took the rest of the materials and attempted to neutralize them and was moderately successful.

Shortly after, the flames reached the supplies and a series of reactions occurred. The party lowered to the ground, including Zoni, for safety. After being told to find the spider, the head flew off in an attempt to fulfill its directive.

Several quips later, a jet of magnesium-white flame shot out of the doorway, blinding Molly in her one eye and Felicity choked on the smoke. Felicity noticed Zoni coming back with a large spider in tow.

Molly stood up and threw a bomb at the spider while blinded. After impact, Felicity realized it was not flesh or blood dripping from the spider’s wounds, but other spiders within a husk of a large spider.