Good!Party: Calisthum

We set to questioning the druid, who insists that he’s Razzia the Druid, local boy. He’s still obviously possessed. Meanwhile the mayor has shown up, and has some feelings about the smashed houses from the Earthquake spell. Marshall casts Zone of Truth and we start questioning the druid, who is not Razzia and is instead Arkthinveriflorgh the devil. 

The mayor Bes’re is willing to give us half of the treasure that Gosbeck collected; Martini does some math, and that’s way more than the town will need to rebuild, even taking into account the cleaning-up-shit portion of the job. Martini talks him down to one quarter. 

We bind the druid, and blind him, but note that he can apparently see us anyway. Bes’re informs us that the Appollyon-worshipping Adros priest reported to Septimus, who is probably the senior Appollyon priest in the area. Marshall detects magic, and picks up high-level Necromancy but can’t really identify it. 

Marshall: “What master do you serve?” 

Garglesnort: “We serve Appollyon. So do you, even if you don’t know it.” 

Somebody brings in the stuff from the bodies. Adros has all these wrapped-up scrolls on his belt; each one has the name of a druid, and the name of a devil. Marshall: “I’m an export in contract law, and this guy signed a really shitty deal.”

Bes’re wonders why they didn’t make him sign a contract, seeing as he is a hedge druid. He wants to know if we’re going to try to help Razzia. 

Ruin: “So the plan is we murder Septimus, and work our way down through the ranks of the priests.”

So, Calisthum used to be a druidic gathering place. The head of the Circle there had a way of summoning the other druids. Bes’re thinks we could either go after Septimus, gather the druids, or try to break the possession spell. 

Marshall suggests that we could kill Razzia and resurrect him. We decide to try it with the other druid from the square before we kill Razzia, since we killed the other druid already. Marshall casts True Resurrection on her corpse, but the soul is unable to return. The spell fails. 

Marshall goes to rest, and comes back with Greater Scrying prepared. He goes looking for the demon. He gets this vision of a room full of stone plinths, and enrinyes walking around – a bunch of very attractive winged devils. They’re just laying unmoving on the plinths. Chain devils pace around the edges of the room. There’s some rumbling around them, and a lava field visible in the distance. The carvings salute the great master Appollyon, and look to his coming again to claim the throne of the world from the usurper, Anubis. He lives in the Obsidian Fortress in Baetor. Appollyon believes in strength in all things; might makes right. A few of the plinths are empty. 

So we might be able to reverse some of this, but not easily. Our best bet is to prevent it from going any further. Since we don’t have a good way to locate Septimus, we’re probably heading for Calisthum. 

We get directions and head off to Calisthum. The tree in the center has lost all its leaves and its bark has turned black, but it may not actually be dead. The townspeople are over by the grotto, and there are raised voices. We head over, and they are retelling the story of the Holy Dragon Jensen. 

Apparently the monthly ritual of the Jensenian Virgin is tomorrow. Two ladies are walking away from the group, and one of them spots us and pulls us along to the inn. “Welcome to Calisthum! I’m Mirren, and this is my partner.”

Glandular is the guy who was just preaching. He used to be a druid, but now he’s the high priest of Jensenianism. Which… is going to complicate our mission. Wyeth the Merchant and Cyralin the Bard starts playing to entertain us. Kather the barmaid comes over and tries to flirt with Ruin.

Martini: “Be careful. He’s already impregnated no less than two people.”

Kather looks at Martini, then at Ruin. “In that case…” She turns to Marshall, and then trails off. “Um… would you like a drink?”

We get food, and yeah: all the druids here are now Jensenites. Martini suggests that they should summon all the druids and then have them convert to Jensen worship. The Innkeeper suggests that we should attend the ceremony and talk to the former druids there. 

The mayor Valder shows up, and we find that Artemis is also no longer welcome in their town. They drove out the worship of Artemis after the priest Ilsinor attempted to persuade Jensen to the worship of Artemis. 

Marshall: “I think it’s time for the holy fire.” 

Ruin: “Not yet!”

Wyeth comes over, still wearing his golden scarf. He’s a trader, charismatic, “So, guys, what brings you to Calisthum?”

Ruin: “We’re trying to save the druids from getting possessed by demons.”

Marshall is quietly going full-on crusader. Ruin suggests that Martini should check in on the Vestal Virgin Nim; he should go see about finding the giant ape. We head up to our room, and the murals are… Jensen stepping on an Artemis worshipper, and the fortnight of a thousand beds. Marshall is incandescent with fury. 

Martini goes to find Nim; she seems to have rooms in the grotto under the hill. Martini turns invisible and strolls over there. There is a priest walking around in the grotto, but he doesn’t notice Martini. The entire temple is decorated in golden tones, and the altar is a bed. Martini stays to the ceiling and walks silently to the back, where there are four smaller rooms. 

Martini starts knocking on doors. The priest comes and looks down the hall. “Hello? Glanduilar? Elendor? Nym? Did you wake up?” She uses Ghost Sound to distract him, and finds Nym’s door. Nym refuses to open her door, citing the need to spend the night in prayer and also the fear that if her time comes too soon she might eat Martini.

Martini picks the lock and goes inside anyway. She introduces herself as a women’s advocate and starts chatting sympathetically with the Jensenian Virgin, who is very happy with her lot. (She isn’t. She’s locked in the temple all the time now, and she’s not allowed to drink, celebrate, or have guests. And now the whole locked-in-a-box-for-her-lycanthropy-once-a-month thing has gotten weird. It didn't use to be a ritual, just a quiet necessity.) Martini promises to come back for her.

She pops back to the room. Marshall and Loris the scholar are in there, sharing a gristle loaf. (Don't ask. It's disgusting.) Loris has been commissioned by Mayor Valdor to write the history of Jensen. Loris, however, isn’t quite buying it, and Marshall encourages his skepticism. 

He also tells Marshall that Zagheera has turned wild and mean, and is even meaner now that she’s pregnant. Marshall spares a thought for Ruin, but decides he doesn’t need to bother to warn him. Ruin can take care of himself, after all, and also that would be work. Interestingly, the departure of the legendary paragon ape coincides with the decay of the tree. 

Martini shows back up, looks at the conversation in the room, and heads back downstairs. She hangs out in the common room and listens to the drunk people. 

Ruin heads outside of town and locates some gigantic monkey footprints; he continues ghosting through the trees until he comes to an area rich with monkey prints. After a little bit there’s a knocking behind him, and Ruin whips around to find a giant, hugely pregnant gorilla. On the plus side, she is every bit as surprised to see him as he is to see her. She screams and raises her arms, then attacks. Ruin Dimension Doors up into the trees and hides until he’s healed. 

Then he pops back down to the ground and yells, “I don’t want to fight you!”

The gorilla snarls, charges, and misses. Ruin turns and runs. She slaps him on the way out, doing some damage. He’s healing now, and sprinting at the same time. She takes off after him, comes around and blocks his way. Ruin: “I don’t want to fight! I’m trying to reunite you with your druid!” She snarls and claws at the earth, ripping up trees. Then she slaps Ruin again. 

Ruin spots a burned-out tree with a hollow and dives into it. By the time Jagheera finishes ripping it open, Ruin has used Dimension Door to escape. 

Ruin returns to the room. “Martini?” 

Marshall: “Downstairs.”

Ruin heads downstairs. Martini: “The ape?”

Ruin: “Berserk.”

Marshall passes out, and in the morning wakes up. “Oh, hey, Ruin. Important information. Apparently that ape is pissed.” 

 

Ruin: "I noticed that." 

Marshall decides to sit out the ceremony, and Navis the hermit joins him up on the hilltop. Martini and Ruin go down into the vault with everyone else. Valdur: “Just put your clothes in a cubby and head on down.”

Martini: “What?”

Ruin: “Let’s get naked.” They strip down (except for Martini’s slippers of spider-climbing, which she keeps on) and head downstairs. 

The priest is preaching about how they’re going to enclose the Jensenian Virgin that she may not hurt anyone in her monthly beast-time. Then a massive orgy breaks out. The barmaid offers herself to Ruin, who takes a moment to read the room before diving in. Martini hooks up with one of the merchant’s guards. 

Then, as we’re emerging, we hear a couple of branches crack on the other side of town. A giant monkey head peers out, looking at Ruin. 

 

Zagheera has found him.