### Conditions - **The Ribbon** - 1 use (-2 penalty to death saves) - **The Fiddle** - 1 use # Session Start > The sharp smell of **copper**... > **Blood**. > **Iron**. > **Fire**. > > Father Renathyr stands before his flock encouragingly, and you sense his power from somewhere deep in your chest. You sense it in a way that feels undeniable, and as you turn the feeling over and around in your head, you struggle, OH do you struggle to find some, ANY indication, that this feeling is but an emotional response to the passionate expression of the followers that fill the courtyard. > > The sky is thick with dark red as the flames of the pyre lick at the moon like the flicking tongues of thousands of hungry vipers, tangled in a burning coil and desperate to be sated. You see the fire reflecting in Father Renathyr's eyes as they meet yours, and when he speaks it feels as if his words are coming from within your head. > > "Feast, my children, and feel the truth of the Crimson Rose! Feel her power as it courses through you. FEEL HER TRUTH AS IT DRIPS DOWN YOUR CHIN!" > > As Renathyr then raises his arms to the sky, you feel the first drip of rain against your skin. The next drop falls squarely in the center of your palm as you raise it to detect the rainfall, its splash thick and red. Thunder grumbles in the distance as the rain becomes stronger now, heavy drops crashing into the fire sizzle with the increasing tempo of a sanguine song. > > You look up to find the Crimson Faithful roused into a bacchanalian fervor, and a satisfied Father Renathyr closing the sermon to his flock before taking his leave. # Session Summary #### In the Courtyard - After orienting himself to the situation, Bimbap goes to talk to Jaeger the hound master on the balcony above the courtyard. He flies up there and started talking to him about the dog creatures, which Bimbap identified with. Things he learned: - these creatures do not seem natural. They are the creation of some sort of blood ritual. - the scriptorium holds books and shit that can be used to learn more about the religion and its past. - he seems very kind and welcoming. he invites bimbap to make himself at home - Ember and Seraphine circle the courtyard, and run the speech play again. They roll some ridiculous shit like 28 on their persuasion roll. They basically persuade the crowd into believing that they the members of the crowd are being tested about the crimson rose/the prophecy/etc. They speak with a number of members of the audience and learn the following: - There's some sort of prophecy, but it's unclear how much of what the audience is confirming is being confirmed because it's correct, or if the person has no idea and they're just making their best guess/trying to appease the party. - A ritual called "The Bloodletting" is rumored to be a critical part of getting into Renathyr's inner circle, and the details of this ritual are closely guarded. - One member suggests that Friar Olaf (who is a very pompous man) knows more. - The subjects of the prophecy are supposed to be responsible for ultimately freeing society from the weight of their sin in some grand cleansing effort. They spread the following rumors about "The Prophecy": - A band of **8 travelers** will arrive in a **carriage**, and they will be the ones to fulfill the prophecy. - "shed your tears of gratitude for those with very large shears for they keep all of our fears will not be here to shave, but here to save, for everyone's sake they will come with their rakes. " - "they may seem like feeble maintenance workers but they may be very noble steeds" - "trim bushes they might, but in need they will fight, not out of spite but out of pure clean might" - Ember and Sera go to chat with Olaf, and they appeal to his pompousness which works to great effect. Despite having to physically bend the knee, Olaf seems to be blinded by his throbbing chauvinism. They learn the following from Olaf: - He claims to hold the secrets to many ancient rituals - secrets that will not be read of in the scriptorium. - His quarters are highly private and secure. - He agrees to receive the concubines to his quarters later where they will participate in some sort of ritual. - As they are leaving to go to the scriptorium, they notice Father Renathyr standing in the doorway observing the courtyard curiously. He acts like he wasn't listening and shuts the door. - The party continues to the scriptorium, where they join Bimbap in his study. Eventually he finds a number of books of significant value, one of which - the rosen testement - he gives to Ember. He also finds letters from some of the members of the cult that reflect the sad, desperate state of their emotions. #### The Shield Heist - Louis is landscaping with Gazza and learns that he was in love with the woman here and that she is nowhere to be found. He suggests having a look around at the structures outside of the main castle. Louis takes the advice and sneaks into the stables and finds the badass Shield of Marius Renathyr, and in the process of doing so discovers an interesting chameleon ability that seems to be manifesting from the eldrich dagger - very cool! #### The Friar Olaf Con - The party then formulates a plan to infiltrate Friar Olaf's quarters: 1) Send Bimbap in with Ivy, who has been instructed by Ember to play it cool and stoke his ego. 2) Bimbap shields the window from view so Louis can sneak in from the outside. 3) When Olaf is distracted, Louis searches the place for valuables and scripture. 4) Profit. - They knock on the door, and when Olaf sees them he's thrilled that the council has finally agreed to send a guard with the offerings (bimbap). He ushers them into the room where he instructs them to form a line for the ritual to begin. - The plan immediately goes off course when Louis sneaks in from the front instead of the window, and Seraphine joins Ivy, also pretending to be a blood slave. - Louis sneaks incredibly well (again), remaining relatively unnoticed as he infiltrates under the camo cover of the chameleon effect. - Olaf IMMEDIATELY bites into Ivy's wrist, wasting no time in draining her life to the brink! - Seraphine reacts and offers Olaf her own wrist so that Ivy doesn't get drained completely (good move). - Bimbap rolls very well for investigation and notices something off about the desk in the room. He sneakily directs Louis that way. - Louis hurries to the desk and opens it up, successfully finding the private missive they are after. - In a panic, seraphine uses her powers of persuasion to convince Olaf that she knows of a powerful ritual where SHE consumes HIS blood. - As she is reaching in to suck his blood, Bimbap remembers reading something in the scriptorium about a dangerous, irreversible ritual that involves sucking the blood of a high ranking member of the Crimson Faithful. He does his best to signal her before she has the opportunity.... - <b style="color:rgb(192, 0, 0)">AND SHE FUCKING SLASHES HIS MOTHER FUCKING THROAT WITH A NATURAL 20 FUCKING CRITTING THIS FUCK WITH THE SCYTHE DAGGER WHAT THE FUCKING FUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!!</b> - As the blood gurgles from his mouth, though, HE BEGINS A TRANSORMATION INTO SOME HORRIBLE CREATURE OF THE NIGHT!!!!