Session 418 - Nieval's Shadow Gets Sucked

Date: 23rd September 1625

Zenith Deity: The Lady

Moon Phase: Waxing Crescent

Moon Face: Pocked Face

New Backstory:

- Gryphon was gravely insulted by foreign diplomats in the century before he was cursed, and he challenged them to a duel immediately! +2 to Strength

- Nieval the Good heard knocking at the window of his war rig, and discovered it was a mutant wastelander come to kill him! Nieval survived, the mutant did not. Once per session, cause the most terrible threat on the encounter table to suddenly appear!

Events:

--- Nieval Gets Drained

- In the annex next to the chapel in the bowels of the castle in the middle of the Drudge Wastes, Manrat is staring at the toilet in horror.

- Alas, it is not your common toilet horror. It's a crawling swarm of shadows emerging from the bowl! Manrat slams the door in fear!

- He staggers out into the chapel, surprising the Quislist Cleric and the three Sisters of his retinue. He backs into his allies - Gryphon who grew up in this castle and Nieval the Good his hired goon.

- The others wish to flee and leave the Shadows to it, but Gryphon insists that these are just shadows so what's the issue? Plus there's meant to be a secret door in there somewhere, right?

- They go in, torches flickering aloft, and discover that in the torchlight the shadows are vulnerable to damage! Manrat shoots one and creates a shadowy hole in its chest.

- Nieval demands they use his explosive javelin and throws it into the bathroom, destroying the toilet and revealing a hidden mechanism behind the sink! It's the trigger for the secret door alright! The shadows get nuclear-shadowed onto the walls, and largely stunned.
- The party moves in, Nieval in front, and...

- An unstunned shadow bites the head of Nieval's shadow clean off! Nieval's strength plummets, leaving him a shell of his former self, barely able to stay upright!

- Manrat send in waves of rats to tie up the Shadows with their little rodent shadows while Nieval back, then under rat-cover, strikes the shadow that stole his strength! The shadow fades, revealing that these were the shadows of previous staff of the castle, and vanishes. Sadly for Nieval, his strength does not return!

- Between the rats and Gryphon's fancy sword, the shadows are defeated! Gryphon captures the last piece of the last shadow between two shards of mirror, which he insists works (it does!) because he wants to use it in a meal.

--- Nieval's Quislist Epiphany

- They head out, and the priest expresses surprise at Nieval's new look. He looks terrible!
- Nieval inquires into the Quislist religion and the priest takes pity, giving a sermon about how all men are weak in comparison to the beautiful and strong and noble Red Elves of Mars. Nieval is converted!
- As a sign of trust, he is entrusted with a Red Elf bubble tent which fits 5, expands out from a central device, and has a sort of frosted glass effect when viewed from the outside.

--- We Got Crabs!

- He returns to the others, newly enlightened, and finds Manrat and Gryphon forcing the mechanism that opens the secret door.

- It opens and reveals a room with a caved-in ceiling through which waste-sludge viscously drips. Stoneshell crabs raise their pincers in warning! The room has a whole lot of crab eggs strewn about in the ankle-high gunge. 

- Gryphon plays a song of peace which relaxes the crabs somewhat, and they allow Manrat close enough to feed one of them a hunk of Gryphon's Flavour Cube which has grown no tastier since it was first cooked. The crab vomits everywhere, and the party scarper!

- They head out into the chapel and briefly chat with the priest and his followers. They know nothing about the sinking floor towards the exit (they just walked in and weren't heavy enough to set it off).

- They also restate that there's an Elf with a magic greatsword around here somewhere. They don't know where it is though.

--- Bubble of Relaxation

- Gryphon suggests heading back out and having a bite to eat. Capital idea!
- It's a sustained drizzle that soaks into skin. Scrubby trees hang with withered fruits, which Manrat warns them away from. Last time he ate some autumn berries it made him so viscerally nostalgic that it took him a day or two to recover.

- Gryphon doesn't care, and assumes that you can probably cook out the nostalgic ingredients. He picks a few. They smell like something from an old memory he can't quite place. He tries some and feels his memories getting cloudy...
- The whole group decides to forage together for safety, and they find 6 skiprats! Long-legged hopping rats whose speed allows them to escape Gas Fronts. Manrat's rat swarms lure them in for the hunting kill.

- Nieval sets up the bubble tent and realises that from the outside things might look a bit suspicious...

- Gryphon cooks for everyone, slapping together a meal he calls Necromancer's Ravioli. He makes the ravioli itself from a Mushroom Goblin Head, filling it with rat meat and shadow-stuff. It is actually really tasty and is so good that tonight they count as sleeping in Splendid conditions!

- The exotic foods grant some strange powers, like Gryphon's shadow-wrought strength draining touch.

- They sleep soundly, safe in the bubble, and consider their plans for the morning.

Total: 5000 exp

Loot:

- Red Elf bubble tent

Foes:

- A bunch of shadows (450 exp)

Total: 450 exp

OOC:

- Carter the Chronicler and Cartographer (200 exp/level)

- George the Expedition Leader and Vanguard (200 exp/level)
- Charles the Paymaster and Chef (200 exp/level)

Exp Totals:

- George / Manrat Snels, Level 8 Ratman: 120034 (Level up at 224000)

- Carter / Gryphon, Level 3 Fighter: 6011 (Level up at 8000)

- Charles / Nieval the Good, Level 3 Specialist: 4188 (Level up at 7000)

*LEVEL UP!* +1d6 HP! +1 to Saves! +2 Skill Points! +Backstory!