Scion - Petro Campaign - Session 113
Yay! We defeated Mami-Wata's forces and saved Ville-au-Camp! And most importantly, we did it in style. So how did it all go down? Well, I guess you'll just have to keep reading to find out. (^_^)
In the last entry, I think I left off with us following one of Mami-Wata's chains deep into the ocean depths. Well, it eventually led to a massive ship that drifted beneath the waves like a wooden leviathan. Seriously, it was the biggest sailing ship I've ever seen, and the eerie sight of it drifting in the murky depths was weird, like we'd caught it in the middle of sinking. The chain we were following led to the ship along with a dozen or so others, so it was clear that the ship was the source of the things. Moreover, since the ship was the source of the chains, any captives the chains had captured were likely imprisoned inside. And the ship was well-defended. A couple of lusca were escorting it, and we could see roughly forty mermaids on deck or swimming around. There were probably a lot more inside too, so a frontal assault was not an option.
We withdrew behind a reef to discuss our options, and I suggested that T-Bone and I head inside to check it out and see what we could do. I could easily pass as a mermaid, and T-Bone could get in unseen to back me up. Elisa brightened up with her "I LOVE 'splosions! <3" look and suggested that we take the bag of explosives Charles made for her at the outset of this whole thing. While I was rescuing the captives, T-Bone could plant the explosives and cause a distraction with his pan pipes if necessary. Once we were out, Elisa could detonates the explosives remotely, taking out the ship. Hell yeah. (^_^)
T-Bone and I got on the ship with no problems, though I actually had to sneak onboard so as not to arouse suspicion even though I looked like a mermaid. Once there, I didn't have any trouble moving around, and I even made myself appear to have a scar across my neck to explain why I couldn't speak if someone spoke to me ('cause, y'know, I was holding my breath this whole time since I can't actually breath water). It turns out the ship was pretty crowded, with a bunch of mermaids and daughters of Mami-Wata below decks. One deck was full of Chilrdren of Nu, but the worst part was that one of Nu's avatars was there too, leading them in this weird, ceremonial dance that looks like something out of a barbarian movie. (>_<) The chains entered the ship through gaping holes in the hull and ended in the open maw of a huge, barnacle-encrusted skull set into the middle deck.
T-Bone and I split up. He planted the explosives while I freed the captives. The prison deck was lined with cells filled with minor Loa, and the key that opened the cages was enchanted so that only a man could open the cages containing women, and only a woman could open the cells containing a man. Mami-Wata's really got issues, you know? But it was no problem, 'cause I can turn into a man if needed. The bigger problem was the daughters of Mami-Wata guarding the place. But they fell to my mermaid charms when I gestured that I really, really wanted to meet them above decks, and so they headed there, eager to see what I had in store for them. Of course, I never actually followed them.
Instead, I shapeshifted into Luke Skywalker in stormtrooper armor and went up to the first of the cages, removing my helmet and holding out my hand to indicate that I was here to rescue the captives. I mean, what else was a I going to do to get across that I wasn't really one of the enemy. (^_^) I think I was inspired by one of the Loa who looked a lot like Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian, for the uninitiated out there). It definitely got the message across.
After I freed all the ladies, I transformed back into my real appearance and freed the guys. Then I snatched some strands of shadow form the murky corners of the deck and made ear plugs for everyone since I knew that T-Bone was going to start his distraction soon, and it wouldn't do us any good if all these Loa started an orgy on the ship. Once we were prepared, I prayed to T-Bone and he started playing. I'm glad I didn't witness how the distraction played out, especially since it involved the hermaphroditic Children of Nu. (>_<) Meanwhile, I got free with the Loa. Unfortunately, the lusca weren't affected by the pan pipes, so they came chasing us down. Holy crap, it's scary being chased by something that can swim a lot faster than you can and has that many teeth and tentacles! Fortunately, Charles, Adam, and Elisa were able to shoot the beasts into a pair of bloody messes before they could catch me and the Loa. And T-Bone saved me from from their biting jaws by manifesting an illusory motorcycle and "jumping" over one of the "sharks" before swooping by to pick me up. Thanks Fonzie, I owe ya one. (^_^)
Once we were clear, Elisa detonated the explosives. The ship cracked into pieces from the force, with bits of flotsam and jetsam flying through the bloodied waters. Almost everything inside the ship was killed except for Nu. But by that time we were safely away and out of reach. Pierre gave the Loa instructions to follow the now-dead length of chain back to Terrerio, and then we set out to find the sirens, which we hoped were stationed in Mami-Wata's headquarters. Not that we wanted to face Mami-Wata, of course, but, you know, best to kill two birds with one stone.
Adam used mystery to discover where we needed to go, then we swam in that direction. We had to swim deeper and deeper, down into the lightless depths where huge, bioluminescent fish provided the only illumination. Honestly, it was a frightening yet awe-inspiring place. Beautiful in a way that only something so foreign and scary can be.
Eventually, Charles detected some odd vibrations moving through the water, and figured out that he was sensing the siren song, which was somehow being transmitted silently through the waters so that it only became audible near the shores of Ville-au-Camp. Pretty tricksy.
I don't remember exactly why, but at some point while we were discussing the siren song, Elisa and I danced in the water for a bit, which is hard to do but a lot of fun if you can make it work. Like I said, I don't know why we did that, but you know what? I do not need an excuse to dance spontaneously. (^_^) Especially not with my buddy Elisa. (^_^)
In the deepest depths, shrouded in darkness with the glowing fish creating the illusion of moving stars in a night sky, we found Mami-Wata's fortress. It was a castle built out of the dead coral, rising from the skeletal remnant of a once-thriving reef. A dozen or so sirens stood on the ramparts, singing their song, though as we discovered before, it was inaudible here. Flags that swayed gently in the current suggested that Mami-Wata was in the fortress. Not good. (>_<)
We needed to kill the sirens. If we could do that, Mami-Wata's assault would be pretty much hamstrung, and combined with the loss of her chains, she'd be forced to withdraw, unless she's even more desperate to find a man than we thought, in which case who knows what she'd do. (>_<) The problem was that the sirens on the rampart were probably only a fraction of those in the fortress, since they were almost certainly singing in shifts.
T-Bone volunteered to go in and scout the place out so we could formulate a better plan. He wasn't gone long, and when he returned, he reported that there were exactly 16 sirens on the walls and another 26 inside, along with roughly 60 daughters and Mami-Wata. Two whale-sized prehistoric fish (something like coelacanths) that could phase through the castle walls were swimming around patrolling the place. Mami-Wata herself was there too, preparing a sumptuous bedroom for whomever she ended up snaring. And she was attended by Simbi Macaya, a Loa god she slept with and who now serves her slavishly. Poor guy. Well, we can't let Pierre or T-Bone end up like that, now can we? Maybe one day we can save Simbi Macaya too.
So, we came up with a plan similar to the one we'd used on the ship. T-Bone and I would sneak in. T-Bone would cause a distraction while I gathered up the sirens inside the castle and murdered them with my ability to inflict horrid and immediate death. Meanwhile, Charles, Adam, and Elisa would annihilate the sirens on the walls.
The plan worked liked charm. Sort of. T-Bone started an argument among the daughter of Mami-Wata somehow so that they ended up fighting over who was the most beautiful. Well done! Meanwhile, I changed myself into a siren and drifted through the various chambers where the other sirens were resting and used my stunning beauty to entice them to follow me. Once I had them all gather in one spacious chamber, I tilted my head back and a cloud of enervating darkness poured from my mouth. As the darkness settled upon the sirens, they were wracked with a terrible plague that left them feverishly unconscious. Then all I had to do was go around and slit their throats. Hey, I said I was going to murder them, right? It's not pretty, but hey, it gets the job done.
By the time I was almost done, all the blood in the water must have attracted the monster coelacanths, because they came charging into the large chamber in which I'd killed the sirens. I very quickly slit the last few throats and then just tried to hold out and not get eaten by the fish until Charles could teleport in to rescue me. But T-Bone came to my aid! He appeared in the room and began darting around the fish, drawing their attention and keeping them from killing me!
I like the chivalrous T-Bone. It means a lot to me, him looking out for me like he does. He's an amazing guy. (^_^)
So, while all of that was going on, Adam, Charles and Elisa unleashed holy hell on the sirens on the wall. I swear, it must have been like a shooting gallery. The surviving sirens quickly shifted their singing so that their song could be heard at the fortress, hoping to immobilize their attackers, but to no avail. And in the end, when there was only one siren left, Charles pulled off this awesome move! First, he shot the siren, forcing her to shed her skin to survive. Then he teleported in to find T-Bone and I, and teleported us back out to the others and away from the fish. Then, without missing a beat, he shot the siren again, finishing her off. And the whole thing took just a few seconds. Charles definitely has style. (^_^)
We didn't really waste any more time getting away. We did not want to face Mami-Wata. So Charles teleported us safely away and then back to Terreiro. Soon after, the waters receded and Ville-au-Camp returned to normal. Needless to say, there a HUGE party like only the Loa can throw. They sure know how to celebrate!
So, all's well that ends well. I'll be starting my new tour in a few weeks, but I hope we can resolve the centipede plague that's been troubling my pantheon first. I'll keep you posted!
In the last entry, I think I left off with us following one of Mami-Wata's chains deep into the ocean depths. Well, it eventually led to a massive ship that drifted beneath the waves like a wooden leviathan. Seriously, it was the biggest sailing ship I've ever seen, and the eerie sight of it drifting in the murky depths was weird, like we'd caught it in the middle of sinking. The chain we were following led to the ship along with a dozen or so others, so it was clear that the ship was the source of the things. Moreover, since the ship was the source of the chains, any captives the chains had captured were likely imprisoned inside. And the ship was well-defended. A couple of lusca were escorting it, and we could see roughly forty mermaids on deck or swimming around. There were probably a lot more inside too, so a frontal assault was not an option.
We withdrew behind a reef to discuss our options, and I suggested that T-Bone and I head inside to check it out and see what we could do. I could easily pass as a mermaid, and T-Bone could get in unseen to back me up. Elisa brightened up with her "I LOVE 'splosions! <3" look and suggested that we take the bag of explosives Charles made for her at the outset of this whole thing. While I was rescuing the captives, T-Bone could plant the explosives and cause a distraction with his pan pipes if necessary. Once we were out, Elisa could detonates the explosives remotely, taking out the ship. Hell yeah. (^_^)
T-Bone and I got on the ship with no problems, though I actually had to sneak onboard so as not to arouse suspicion even though I looked like a mermaid. Once there, I didn't have any trouble moving around, and I even made myself appear to have a scar across my neck to explain why I couldn't speak if someone spoke to me ('cause, y'know, I was holding my breath this whole time since I can't actually breath water). It turns out the ship was pretty crowded, with a bunch of mermaids and daughters of Mami-Wata below decks. One deck was full of Chilrdren of Nu, but the worst part was that one of Nu's avatars was there too, leading them in this weird, ceremonial dance that looks like something out of a barbarian movie. (>_<) The chains entered the ship through gaping holes in the hull and ended in the open maw of a huge, barnacle-encrusted skull set into the middle deck.
T-Bone and I split up. He planted the explosives while I freed the captives. The prison deck was lined with cells filled with minor Loa, and the key that opened the cages was enchanted so that only a man could open the cages containing women, and only a woman could open the cells containing a man. Mami-Wata's really got issues, you know? But it was no problem, 'cause I can turn into a man if needed. The bigger problem was the daughters of Mami-Wata guarding the place. But they fell to my mermaid charms when I gestured that I really, really wanted to meet them above decks, and so they headed there, eager to see what I had in store for them. Of course, I never actually followed them.
Instead, I shapeshifted into Luke Skywalker in stormtrooper armor and went up to the first of the cages, removing my helmet and holding out my hand to indicate that I was here to rescue the captives. I mean, what else was a I going to do to get across that I wasn't really one of the enemy. (^_^) I think I was inspired by one of the Loa who looked a lot like Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian, for the uninitiated out there). It definitely got the message across.
After I freed all the ladies, I transformed back into my real appearance and freed the guys. Then I snatched some strands of shadow form the murky corners of the deck and made ear plugs for everyone since I knew that T-Bone was going to start his distraction soon, and it wouldn't do us any good if all these Loa started an orgy on the ship. Once we were prepared, I prayed to T-Bone and he started playing. I'm glad I didn't witness how the distraction played out, especially since it involved the hermaphroditic Children of Nu. (>_<) Meanwhile, I got free with the Loa. Unfortunately, the lusca weren't affected by the pan pipes, so they came chasing us down. Holy crap, it's scary being chased by something that can swim a lot faster than you can and has that many teeth and tentacles! Fortunately, Charles, Adam, and Elisa were able to shoot the beasts into a pair of bloody messes before they could catch me and the Loa. And T-Bone saved me from from their biting jaws by manifesting an illusory motorcycle and "jumping" over one of the "sharks" before swooping by to pick me up. Thanks Fonzie, I owe ya one. (^_^)
Once we were clear, Elisa detonated the explosives. The ship cracked into pieces from the force, with bits of flotsam and jetsam flying through the bloodied waters. Almost everything inside the ship was killed except for Nu. But by that time we were safely away and out of reach. Pierre gave the Loa instructions to follow the now-dead length of chain back to Terrerio, and then we set out to find the sirens, which we hoped were stationed in Mami-Wata's headquarters. Not that we wanted to face Mami-Wata, of course, but, you know, best to kill two birds with one stone.
Adam used mystery to discover where we needed to go, then we swam in that direction. We had to swim deeper and deeper, down into the lightless depths where huge, bioluminescent fish provided the only illumination. Honestly, it was a frightening yet awe-inspiring place. Beautiful in a way that only something so foreign and scary can be.
Eventually, Charles detected some odd vibrations moving through the water, and figured out that he was sensing the siren song, which was somehow being transmitted silently through the waters so that it only became audible near the shores of Ville-au-Camp. Pretty tricksy.
I don't remember exactly why, but at some point while we were discussing the siren song, Elisa and I danced in the water for a bit, which is hard to do but a lot of fun if you can make it work. Like I said, I don't know why we did that, but you know what? I do not need an excuse to dance spontaneously. (^_^) Especially not with my buddy Elisa. (^_^)
In the deepest depths, shrouded in darkness with the glowing fish creating the illusion of moving stars in a night sky, we found Mami-Wata's fortress. It was a castle built out of the dead coral, rising from the skeletal remnant of a once-thriving reef. A dozen or so sirens stood on the ramparts, singing their song, though as we discovered before, it was inaudible here. Flags that swayed gently in the current suggested that Mami-Wata was in the fortress. Not good. (>_<)
We needed to kill the sirens. If we could do that, Mami-Wata's assault would be pretty much hamstrung, and combined with the loss of her chains, she'd be forced to withdraw, unless she's even more desperate to find a man than we thought, in which case who knows what she'd do. (>_<) The problem was that the sirens on the rampart were probably only a fraction of those in the fortress, since they were almost certainly singing in shifts.
T-Bone volunteered to go in and scout the place out so we could formulate a better plan. He wasn't gone long, and when he returned, he reported that there were exactly 16 sirens on the walls and another 26 inside, along with roughly 60 daughters and Mami-Wata. Two whale-sized prehistoric fish (something like coelacanths) that could phase through the castle walls were swimming around patrolling the place. Mami-Wata herself was there too, preparing a sumptuous bedroom for whomever she ended up snaring. And she was attended by Simbi Macaya, a Loa god she slept with and who now serves her slavishly. Poor guy. Well, we can't let Pierre or T-Bone end up like that, now can we? Maybe one day we can save Simbi Macaya too.
So, we came up with a plan similar to the one we'd used on the ship. T-Bone and I would sneak in. T-Bone would cause a distraction while I gathered up the sirens inside the castle and murdered them with my ability to inflict horrid and immediate death. Meanwhile, Charles, Adam, and Elisa would annihilate the sirens on the walls.
The plan worked liked charm. Sort of. T-Bone started an argument among the daughter of Mami-Wata somehow so that they ended up fighting over who was the most beautiful. Well done! Meanwhile, I changed myself into a siren and drifted through the various chambers where the other sirens were resting and used my stunning beauty to entice them to follow me. Once I had them all gather in one spacious chamber, I tilted my head back and a cloud of enervating darkness poured from my mouth. As the darkness settled upon the sirens, they were wracked with a terrible plague that left them feverishly unconscious. Then all I had to do was go around and slit their throats. Hey, I said I was going to murder them, right? It's not pretty, but hey, it gets the job done.
By the time I was almost done, all the blood in the water must have attracted the monster coelacanths, because they came charging into the large chamber in which I'd killed the sirens. I very quickly slit the last few throats and then just tried to hold out and not get eaten by the fish until Charles could teleport in to rescue me. But T-Bone came to my aid! He appeared in the room and began darting around the fish, drawing their attention and keeping them from killing me!
I like the chivalrous T-Bone. It means a lot to me, him looking out for me like he does. He's an amazing guy. (^_^)
So, while all of that was going on, Adam, Charles and Elisa unleashed holy hell on the sirens on the wall. I swear, it must have been like a shooting gallery. The surviving sirens quickly shifted their singing so that their song could be heard at the fortress, hoping to immobilize their attackers, but to no avail. And in the end, when there was only one siren left, Charles pulled off this awesome move! First, he shot the siren, forcing her to shed her skin to survive. Then he teleported in to find T-Bone and I, and teleported us back out to the others and away from the fish. Then, without missing a beat, he shot the siren again, finishing her off. And the whole thing took just a few seconds. Charles definitely has style. (^_^)
We didn't really waste any more time getting away. We did not want to face Mami-Wata. So Charles teleported us safely away and then back to Terreiro. Soon after, the waters receded and Ville-au-Camp returned to normal. Needless to say, there a HUGE party like only the Loa can throw. They sure know how to celebrate!
So, all's well that ends well. I'll be starting my new tour in a few weeks, but I hope we can resolve the centipede plague that's been troubling my pantheon first. I'll keep you posted!