Homebound Heretics 26-10-2025 [[Session 24|<- Previous Session]] ### Recap Finally felling the Crones and the Evil Squad, the party ends up face to face with a Krataz'za. Isembard force ages Blue to a young dragon and immediately petrifies himself afterwards. Though the party focusses on the demon, Smonk realizes that the portal must be closed, or the demons will never stop coming. He plunges his healing hands in the rift, sacrificing himself to save the Vivarium from the demon horde. As the dust settles on the battle, the Snigg Squad recuperates and reflect on their loss. They look at their surroundings and start to debate what to do with the portal and the tomb of the Crones. ### Summary After making a choice on how to deal with the portal (by making it Naheles and Isembards problem), the Snigg Squad teleport back to Oreton with Majibili's new found powers. However, once there they immediately teleport into a crowd of workers guided by Oreton guards. Though they manage to bluff their way out of public magic usage, mainly because the guards do not believe anyone to be so stupid as to practice heresy so much in the open around the guards, two guards still head towards the church to warn Hakkar about the incident. Walking around in Oreton, the party quickly notices the state of the city and how it has changed after they left. The streets are filled with beggars and many houses on the west side of the Glintering Vein are broken down or fully collapsed. In addition they notice that some folk seem to be branded with an certain mark. The Snigg Squad sneaks their way across the city and makes it back to the Leaky Tap, where Allen is quickly recognized and let through to the hidden basement. There the party reunites with Randall, who has done his best to keep the rebellion running in Allens absence. They discuss what they can do for the city in the few days before the Pillager army arrives, while hearing about the horrid treatment the church and the Barons men have put the people of Oreton through. They learn that anyone associated with the aid given by the cult of the Poopfairy has been branded with the mark of "Arcane Whore" and any person suspicious of aiding the rebels or practicing magic have been captured and swiftly executed. The Snigg Squad decide that they must remove the seats of power before they can unite the city and prepare for the siege. In the 24 hours before the rebels and the Snigg Squad will execute their plan to overthrow the government each member helped prepare for the cause in their own way. Allen and Randell worked together to figure out the identity of five merchants that had an audience with the Baron the next day so they could impersonate them to gain access. Majibili (in lice form) and Nibiru (not in lice form) help scout the mansion of the Baron, mapping out the gaurd routes and any vulnerable locations where the Baron might be exposed for a swift arrow to the head. Goryn and Akhen focus on helping the people of Oreton, spreading food and aid where they can, all the while they sing the praises of the Snigg Squad, the Lester dynasty, and the Poopfairy. Drildo and mainly an invisible blue help clean up some of the rubble and collapsed buildings, while sorting out the pieces of material they can use for the palisades for the siege. Only Sven seems to struggle. Heading to the church as a holy person of Morana, he tries to infiltrate. However, he is quickly recognized as one of the travellers who teleported into the city and associated with the Snigg Squad. Guided by two buff paladins, Sven was taken to the office of none other than Hakkar, the high Primogen to be questioned on heresy. Though the Primogen has an air of courtesy, the undertone is clear; Betray the Squad or perish. Though Sven politely declines Hakkars offer, it is clear the offer isn't one that can be declined. Thankfully, a call upon Morana herself helps Sven out of the situation, as he is pulled into the wraithworld and can phase through the walls. He checks for hidden doors in the office but finds none, after which he swiftly flies back to the Leaky Tap. That night, the Professor visited both Strigr and Hershall, both to less than optimal results. Strigr seemed more defensive about his dreamwalker visitor than the message he gave and Hershall seemed more interested in the fate of his sales than that of the lives of a thousand people. Not only the Professor had a busy night. Goryn was called upon for a midnight meeting in a tavern by a mysterious note. With Nibiru and Majibili as scouts, Goryn headed to the Blunted Axe and was swiftly picked up by none other than the Beasty Boys, who had recently been declared as terrorists in Grimm Thwaite after a Bulbhog attack (huh, familiar...) With the promise of aid and safekeeping, the Beasty Boys vowed to help the Snigg Squad with the pillager siege, as long as they can ensure their safe passage out of Oreton later. The day of judgement had come. Before they left, Nibiru gave the 'oke, cool' sign to a severely traumatized thirteen year old child to torture and drown a few merchants in their own excrement. Blue hung back in the hideout, while Nibiru and Majibili went and climbed the roof of the mansion of the Baron. The rest of the Squad, under effect of the Seeming spell, entered the mansion as the five merchants expected for audience. However, the group quickly noticed something was off with the Baron. With a hidden dispel magic, Allen was able to break the magic beholden on the Baron. The lifeless body which had been puppeteered by an unseen force collapsed. Chaos soon ensue as guards started rushing about the get the Baron out of the room and to the mansions doctor. Luckily Nibiru and Majibili were able to sneak into the chimney of the room where the doctor worked. However, as luck would have it, the doctor decided to light the hearth. After some water dowsing shenanigans, the doctor demanded them to show themselves, but was met with an arrow before he could finish his sentence. The two stole the body of the Baron (confirming that he died of organ failure a while ago) and noticed that the doctor seemed to be stitched together and filled with stuffing. They climbed to the roof with the dead Baron and shouted to the whole city that the Baron was dead. Meanwhile in the audience chamber, the remaining Sniggers dealt with the guards and the nobles within the room and debated on if the nobles were worth something to the rebellion alive or if it was better to kill them. Once on the roof Nibiru and Majibili saw the chaos on the streets. The inn the original merchants had stayed within was exploded with shit, spreading dysentery and illness. Next to it a large fight was happening between two clades of guards, those loyal to Liam and those loyal to the Baron. The prison was up in flames and the outcome of Liams jailbreak seemed uncertain. How were they getting out of this one and what moves will the church perform in this chaos... [[Website/DND/Curse of the Crones/Sessions/Main/Session 26|Next Session ->]]