The party and NPCs plan their next steps, beginning to come to terms with the fact that Donovan may not be able to saved. Lauran makes a special appearance once again, this time leaving behind an object of great interest.
Characters Interacted With
Liu: Explained how his home village needs help fending off Undead and some rogue Ondinian forces. Very bewildered by what is going on.
Jinli: Practiced his acting for Michael and the party.
Guiying: Prepared a tuned needle and charged jade pieces for the party to fast travel via the elements. Has a role in applying Donovan’s medicine.
Nadyn: Still upset at Amanti. Told him that he was going to meet with Louisa again later that night.
Mei: Walked in on Bachariel and Fanna (disguised as Bachariel) twerking. In a bit of a bind.
Michael: Lead a discussion on possible ways to help Donovan and Mei, especially the Binding Vow. Later talked with Amanti privately about his family.
Yao Lufei: Played the Erhu again. Sadly forced to watch his son’s life slip further and further away.
Donovan: His quality of life is quite poor. May now have an obsession with Lauran.
Lauran: Gifted the party a special pearl eyeball.
Other Characters Mentioned: Anahe, Louisa, Big Brother Koi Spirit, Master Hua, Matas, Mei Mei the cat
Locations
- Eastern Shengdu Temple
- Liu’s home village (Mentioned)
Session Overview
The party started off getting up-to-date with Liu. He explained how he got a letter from his home village, asking for help fending off monsters. The letter mentioned Undead specifically, and Liu, speaking in a whisper so as to not to draw attention, also explained how there was concern over some Ondinian activity being seen as well. Liu and Bachariel were introduced to each other. Liu also caught up with Brooks, mentioning how it’d been a while since they last talked. Brooks explained how he didn’t feel the most comfortable using a messenger pigeon, much to Liu’s chagrin.
Liu asked where Michael was, and the party went searching. They found him in one of the temple courtyards with Jinli, who was talking about how he’d been practicing with the disguise kit Fanna had given him. Nadyn and Anahe were nearby, drinking lemonade at a table. Jinli asked if he could show off an act he’d been practicing, and Michael agreed. He then proceeded to act out a scene from an old Namese folktale about a village boy fending off Ghouls from his village. Michael and the party praised him, while also giving constructive feedback. Jinli was happy, lamenting how none of the Brothers in the Tigers of Nam ever played with him, and thanked the party. He was hopeful that once his Big Brother attained his human form again, he’d be able to show off what he learned to him. Jinli then exited the scene. Michael excused himself as well, saying he had important business to attend to.
Amanti approached Nadyn, attempting to strike up conversation, but Nadyn was still very reluctant to talk to him. Worse, Anahe seemed to eye Amanti with judgment. Finally, Nadyn softened up enough to talk to Amanti—He informed his dad that he was going to meet up with Louisa later that night. Amanti thanked him for letting him know, and the two exchanged farewells.
That done, the party had to figure out a transportation method to Liu’s home village. It was then they found out from Liu that his home village was, in fact, across the country, close to the border with Ondinia. The party pondered fast traveling via the elements there, but needed a needle tuned to a location and some charged pieces of jade to use that method. They sought out Master Hua and ended up bumping into Guiying. She was on her way to one of the storerooms near the infirmary to make more medicine for Donovan. The party asked her where Master Hua was, and she explained he was busy conducting a ceremony. After explaining their situation, Guiying was happy to create the needed materials for the party, but said she’d have to do it after preparing Donovan’ medicine. After Amanti insisted on helping, saying he’s had medical experience, she gave him a list of ingredients to fetch for her, and got to work.
The party went back into a courtyard to wait. In their boredom, Bachariel and Fanna had a twerk-off, with Fanna defeating Bachariel in a landslide and summoning illusory clones of Bachariel to join in on the twerking. Just then, Mei rounded the corner onto the scene, expressing mild exasperation that the two were goofing off, prompting the two to stop. As Mei dealt with Bachariel and Fanna, Liu asked Brooks what was going on, since it seemed like something heavy was lingering over the temple. Brooks briefly explained how Donovan and Mei were having issues connected to each other, after Donovan was the target of an “anti-government” group, giving enough information that it was clear that it was quite a deep and involved problem. Shocked, Liu expressed sympathy for Brooks having to deal with all of that, and asked if there was anything they could do to help. Brooks thanked them, but said there wasn’t much they could do at the moment. Mei, speaking up, said she was heading to a meeting with Michael to discuss the Binding Vow and Donovan, and the party could probably join as well.
Everyone followed Mei, who walked into the forest outside the Eastern Shengdu Temple until stopping at a clearing. Michael was standing on one of the lower tree branches, with Nadyn standing near the trunk nearby. After Mei confirmed with Michael that the party was okay to join them, Brooks and Liu flew up to the branch, Bachariel Misty Step’d, and Fanna and Amanti used their Ki Techniques to walk up the tree.
Michael introduced what the meeting was about—how to tackle the Binding Vow and Donovan’s ailing health. He reiterated once again that in the history of Lingguo there has never been a 100% successful revival. Donovan’s physical health was fine, but in other areas he has declined rapidly. Mei, upset at Nadyn’s nonchalance, asked why he wasn’t contributing more. Fanna piped up, saying how it was better to focus on helping Donovan than arguing with each other. Michael continued, explaining that in Donovan’s current state, everyone might want to start considering the fact that it’d be better to no longer prolong his suffering. After Amanti asked for elaboration, Michael laid forth the following facts: Donovan had stopped speaking, now lays in bed unmoving, and essentially has nearly completely withdrawn in himself. Attempts at using spells such as Detect Thoughts revealed that only basic feelings like pain and hunger dominate his mind, showing little interest in much else. Summarily, everyone’s attention might be better off being diverted to figuring out how to separate Mei and Donovan’s Souls or otherwise somehow reverse the Binding Vow. The issue with this, was that this Binding Vow was conducted by a Spirit, and the Spirit was nowhere to be found.
Fanna suggested maybe returning to the spot that the Binding Vow was made—The Caochuan Fair. Michael and Mei agreed that this would be a good start. The party also suggested that, since there seemed to be a Spirit of Spirits inside the plant constructs, they might be of help finding the Spirit that made this Binding Vow, giving them another option.
After some thought, Michael asked Fanna if he could ask them a personal question. Fanna consented. Michael’s question, as it turned out, was asking them if they knew why they had two Souls. Fanna admitted it probably was something to do with how they were “made” and the bizarre magic that took place. Michael explained that given their soul’s dual-structure, studying it might help them figure out how to untangle the Binding Vow. However, it could be a severely invasive process, and at the extreme worst, would result in them turning into a Frayed Thread. Despite this, Fanna said they would be willing to take part in this if it would possibly help Mei and Donovan.
Liu, realizing how grave the situation was that Brooks was involved in, looked horrified. Even while the party worried about helping him, he told them not to worry, saying that he was fine and he could wait. The meeting was dismissed, and everyone began to head back to the temple. Michael, however, asked Amanti if he could stay back with him for a moment. Amanti agreed, while the party waited ahead.
Now that the two were alone, Michael started by asking Amanti how things were going with nadyn. Amanti admitted that Nadyn was still mad at him, but he was still trying. Making no comment, Michael offered Amanti a cigarette. He accepted, and the two shared a moment smoking together. Michael then moved on to asking how Nadyn’s childhood was, as Nadyn had started telling him about his life before meeting him. Amanti also admitted that Louisa did more childrearing work than he did, and he was more focused on his work than he should’ve been. This was something he regretted. Moving on, Michael asked about how Nadyn’s brother, Matas, ended up in the Yumalyan Civil War. Amanti explained how he was always super passionate about things like that.
Michael mentioned next how he heard how Nadyn had ended up in the war too. This was when Amanti fully took over, admitting that he had fucked up, he regretted what he did deeply, and how he was scared and wasn’t thinking. Michael pointed out that Nadyn was scared too, and Amanti once again did not have a good answer for that.
There was a brief silence. Michael asked Amanti what he was willing to do for his son, and Amanti insisted that he’d be willing to do anything. More silence followed. Then, Michael took out an old dagger. He explained how it was an ancient artifact that had the power to grant any wish, but at the cost of one life. It manipulated the threads of The Weave itself to make the wish come true. Michael gave it to Amanti, who examined it without saying a word. He thought about his life and regrets, but resolved that if Nadyn could be happy, then it was ready. Prepared to end his life, Amanti took a deep breath and then plunged the dagger into his chest. However, right before the dagger made contact two things happened: Amanti’s Wildfire Spirit appeared right in the dagger’s path, hissing, and Michael lunged forward and grabbed Amanti’s arms to stop him. Confused, Amanti asked Michael what he was doing. Michael answered by grabbing the dagger back, breaking it in half over his knees, and throwing the pieces away. He turned back to Amanti and merely said “Your son doesn’t need you to die, he needs you to be there for him”, before jumping down from the tree branch and walking out of sight, leaving Amanti to ponder what had just transpired.
Amanti realized what he had to do. He went to find the party and told them that he’d be staying behind from this next journey to help Liu. The party accepted this. Now that the meeting was over, they went to go follow up with Guiying.
When they walked by the infirmary, they saw that she was inside, rolling up her sleeves and putting on gloves to finish preparing Donovan’s medicine. As they took a step in, however, the scene in front of them changed suddenly in a flash—The room now contained Donovan, who was dangling limply from Lauran’s grip as he held Donovan up. To their great disgust, the party say as Lauran took out a measuring tool and took measurements of Donovan’s empty eye socket. Aware of the party’s presence, Lauran turned to them and asked if they wanted to help.
The vision the party saw disappeared just as soon as it had arrived, and the infirmary was back to how it was before. Guiying was preparing the medicine, Donovan was lying motionless on the bed, and his father was seated in a chair by the bed with an erhu on his lap, looking dour. As Michael had said, Donovan didn’t appear interested in anything that was happening at all, and his remaining good eye seemed to just stare at nothing.
Fanna felt an item in their pocket, which they took out. It was a beautiful oyster shell with gold accents, and a latch on the end to secure it shut. They opened the latch and saw inside the oyster, resting on a cushion, was an artificial eye made of pearl. The iris was made of Nephrite Jadeite, and had a small gold ring around it. Knowing immediately what it meant, the party debated on whether to destroy it or not. Eventually, they decided to give it to Master Hua, Guiying, or Michael.
Guiying finished preparing the medicine and began approaching the bed. At this, Yao Lufei picked up his erhu, leaving the party to watch as Guiying gently gathered Donovan up and began reapplying medicine to his wounds. As his father played a sorrowful tune on the erhu, Donovan was silent and unmoving, still staring numbly into empty space. Soon, the song ended, and Guiying finished applying the medicine.
Liu grabbed the party, absolutely horrified, and asked what was going on, and why Donovan looked like that. After some debate, Fanna decided to give the full summary, of how the “anti-government hit” on Donovan started his downward spiral, Lauran’s involvement, and Donovan becoming what he was now. Liu was left stunned and didn’t know what else to say.
Guiying approached, confirming that she had finished preparing the needle and jade for them. Taking the opportunity, the party informed her about the scene they saw with Lauran and the pearl artificial eye being delivered to them. She also reacted with concern and mild horror, and gladly took the eye from them, assuring the party that her, Master Hua, and Michael would examine it thoroughly.
As the party turned their attention back to the infirmary, Yao turned to them, and they began talking. Yao admitted that he didn’t know what to do anymore. It seemed his son would never recover to his old self. The Eastern Shengdu Temple could not take care of him forever, but he couldn’t afford to take him back to their hometown and care for him there. Fanna encouraged him to not give up hope, but Yao was not convinced, saying how it seemed like his son had just “given up.” The others told him that his son was stable physically, but if the inside—his mind—had given up, how was the outside—his body—supposed to heal?
Though he’d asked the party before if they knew anything about what happened to him, he made his plea with them again. Seeing how bad things had gotten with Donovan, the party decided now was the time, and Fanna explained to Yao about Lauran’s involvement, and how it went a little ways back. They tried assuring Yao that the party had been working on hunting down Lauran, but Yao scoffed and said that “clearly they hadn’t done a good job.”
As this conversation was going on, from his bed, Donovan slowly was trying to sit up, seemingly interested in what was being said. As Fanna and Yao talked about Lauran, they both heard Donovan start muttering “Lauran” quietly. Yao asked his son if he knew Lauran, but Donovan just muttered “Lauran” again. He seemed to struggle for a bit, prompting Fanna to hold their arm out to help him, only for him to seize it frantically. Focusing on Fanna with his one remaining eye, Donovan asked where Lauran was. Fanna replied back that they didn’t know, and asked why he wanted to know. Struggling through his injuries, Donovan cryptically rasped how he he knew that Fanna knows Lauran, and demanded that the party bring Lauran to him. When Fanna asked in turn why Donovan wanted this, he declared that only Lauran could cure him, ending the session on another ominous note.
Key Learnings
- Liu’s home village was being plagued by increasing monster attacks. Undead specifically have been sighted, along with a few reports of Ondinian activity as well.
- Fanna would be given special provisions to allow them to travel back and forth from Liu’s home village to the Eastern Shengdu Temple, in the hopes that studying their dual-Soul makeup would provide insight into untangling Mei’s Binding Vow to Donovan.
- Michael and Mei would work on pursuing the Spirit that negotiated the Binding Vow.
- Amanti has chosen to stay behind from accompanying the party with helping Liu in order to better spend time with Nadyn.
- Lauran gave the party a special artificial eyeball made out of pearl, jade, and gold.
- Donovan’s mental and emotional condition has decreased dramatically—he has been reduced to laying in bed, unmoving and unspeaking. The pain and despair has become so much that his remaining thoughts are of wanting to die. Only when Lauran was mentioned did he seem alert, and only because he believes that Lauran can cure him.
Items Of Importance
- Tuning Needle
- 1x Charged Jade (2 Charges)
- Artificial Pearl Eye (Given to Guiying)