[17e09] Blooms of Remembrance

The party dealt with the aftermath of their confrontation at the Storm Stables, showing the sympathetic bear shaman Ulgrim the ancient ritual chamber that cult leader Rhyzophus had corrupted. Cal, acting as Hyperion’s representative, offered the remaining giants and cultists a quest of redemption: free the halfling colony of Xaryuvia from beholder tyranny. When the party attempted to scry on Orlok for information, a third presence invaded Oz’s mind, calling him “my child” before launching a psychic attack that caused him to bleed profusely from a phantom vampire bite. Freki, in werewolf form, bit Oz on the same wound in an attempt to counteract the vampiric influence with lycanthropic essence, which worked but led to Oz retaliate violently, believing Freki had gone feral. The party realized Oz was becoming undead, afflicted with both vampiric and lycanthropic forces battling within him. Ulgrim created a protective cocoon that would last three days, but admitted the infection was beyond his power. He also suggested the questing giants seek out Theia, the Titan of Brilliant Vision—Hyperion’s estranged wife, whose name was forbidden to speak—for her aid in locating Xaryuvia within the catacombs. Cal gave his blessing despite knowing it could result in his disownment, and the party chaotically teleported back to Grohnea’s cottage.

They discovered Grohnea harvesting glowing soul butterflies from Sissae, who was covered in flowering vines—the result of a bloom curse triggered when Grohnea attempted to remove her White Crane tattoo. The curse was extracting Sissae’s memories and would soon transform her into mindless plants. As the party debated how to help, Vondal impulsively destroyed the central egret orchid growing from Sissae’s heart with an eldritch blast, killing her instantly but stopping the curse. Grohnea managed to harvest two more memory butterflies before the flowers disintegrated. Vondal summoned the genie Zanqaa, who granted Grohnea’s wish to restore Sissae to life, leaving her whole but unconscious. Grohnea said she would need soul larvae to cure Oz’s curses, but the party had brought them at her earlier behest. Grohnea confirmed she could use the six soul larvae to help cure the party’s various afflictions, but they would need to carefully conceptualize their self-image to separate the curses from their true identities.

The party found themselves in the aftermath of their confrontation with the cult at the Storm Stables, dealing with the remaining giants and cultists. Ulgrim, the bear shaman, and Kavaki, their old ally who had been acting as a mole, proved sympathetic to their cause. The Brood Mother, whose eggs had been corrupted by the cult leader Rhyzophus, had already taken her vengeance by dragging off and eating several hill giants. The party took Ulgrim to the underground hot spring to show him the ancient ritual chamber—a place originally designed to promote someone to godhood, but which Rhyzophus had twisted for his own dark purposes.

The conversation turned to the soul larvae that the party had been using to extract souls from their defeated enemies. Bec carried these strange entities in a pouch, and the party explained to Ulgrim that they needed these souls as payment to Grohnea, a changeling who could remove their curses. Grohnea had previously used two of these larvae to cure Callie and Bec, transforming them into butterflies that Grohnea somehow absorbed, but she told them she needed more souls to help anyone further, which had set them on this quest in the first place.

Cal, acting as Hyperion’s representative, delivered justice to the remaining giants and cultists. He gave them a choice: undertake a quest of redemption or face death. The quest he proposed was to free the halfling colony of Xaryuvia from the tyranny of the Xaryu beholder hive. The problem was that no one knew where Xaryuvia was located. The party began discussing how to find it, considering using their scrying abilities to locate someone who might know.

They decided to scry on Orlok, hoping he might provide a lead. As Ozborn made mental contact through the crystal ball, he felt a third presence—something neither him nor Orlok—connect to his mind. A voice spoke the words “my child,” and then Oz felt a psychic attack strike him. Blood burst from a vampire bite on his neck, gushing unnaturally as if an invisible vampire had attacked him. The party watched in horror as Oz began bleeding profusely from the wound.

Freki, in his werewolf form, immediately lunged forward and bit Oz on the same wound, believing his lycanthropic essence could help counteract the vampiric attack. Oz experienced intense pain from both the psychic assault and Freki’s physical bite, but the unnatural spurting of blood began to slow. Freki released his grip and backed away, yelling “It’s working!” while the rest of the party stood frozen in shock and confusion.

Oz, assuming Freki had been possessed or had gone feral, immediately retaliated with a flurry of attacks using his magic twin daggers. He struck Freki multiple times, dealing devastating damage as the werewolf tried to retreat. Freki continued backing away at high speed, insisting he was healing Oz, while the rest of the party struggled to understand what was happening. Callie yelled for Freki to stop, while Bec and Cal moved closer to intervene.

Bec rushed to Oz’s side and used a healing wand to close his wounds, but the healing manifested in a disturbing way—the flesh knitted together with an unnatural, writhing motion, as if something was wrong beneath the skin. Cal recognized this as a sign that Oz was becoming undead. The party realized that Oz was now afflicted with both vampiric and lycanthropic influences, two powerful forces battling for control within his body and soul. Callie placed her Clamulet of Protection from Turning around Oz’s neck, hoping it would help him resist the vampiric corruption, and he immediately felt some relieve from the dark urge to embrace vampiric power.

Ulgrim stepped forward and performed a ritual, manifesting his bear spirit and creating a spiritual cocoon of protective energy around Oz. He declared that Oz would be safe from the vampire’s influence for three days, but Oz immediately felt the protection beginning to slip away like sand through an hourglass. Ulgrim admitted that the force infecting Oz was more powerful than anything he had ever encountered and was beyond his ability to cure. The agents reasoned that Grohnea might be able to help Oz using her curse removal skills, now that they had more soul larvae on hand.

Discussion briefly returned to how the questing giants might discover Xaryuvia’s location. Ulgrim reluctantly suggested they seek out Theia, the Titan of Brilliant Vision, for treatment. The mention of Theia’s name struck Cal with deep significance: he recalled that Theia was Hyperion’s wife and his own stepmother, though her name was forbidden to be spoken. She had left Hyperion after a profound disagreement about the Ordning, the cosmic order that governed giant society. Cal knew that seeking her out would likely anger Hyperion and could result in his disownment. Despite this, Cal gave his blessing for the giants to pursue this path, understanding that their lives and honor were at stake, and Oz’s curse required immediate intervention. Kavaki pledged to join the Xaryuvia quest, and the party prepared to return to Grohnea’s cottage.

Meanwhile, Oz, still reeling from the attack and Freki’s intervention, confronted the werewolf about consent. He made it clear that Freki should have asked before biting him, and threatened that if it happened again, Freki’s last thoughts should be of his home in the Selva. The tension between them was palpable, but the urgency of Oz’s condition took precedence over their conflict.

Callie attempted to unravel the warding of mystic displacement to revert everyone back to Grohnea’s cottage, but she had conflicting memories about how the release should be handled. The teleportation proved chaotic and unstable, causing reality to shear around them. Everyone took significant damage as they were pulled back through the magical tunnel. Vondal, attempting to help, channeled the Flux to tamp down on the reality shear, but manifested a wild surge as a column of fire engulfing him when they arrived. Callie quickly used her Decanter of Endless Water to douse the flames, thoroughly drenching both Vondal and the interior of Grohnea’s cottage.

The party found themselves in Grohnea’s tea room, but she was nowhere to be seen. Freki attempted to speak with Claudius, the sentient plant that grew around the cottage, but found him deeply agitated and focused elsewhere. Following the plant’s attention, they discovered Sissae in the garden room, sitting serenely at the base of a tree. She was covered in glowing flowering vines, dozens of different varieties blooming across her body. A giant owl with a third eye and mask sat nearby, writing intently in floating books with multiple quills.

Grohnea appeared from behind the tree, carefully harvesting the flowers from Sissae’s body. As she cut each bloom, it transformed into a luminous soul butterfly that she guided into crystal containers. She explained that Sissae had come to her requesting removal of her White Crane tattoo, but when Grohnea attempted the procedure, a defense mechanism in the tattoo triggered a bloom curse. The flowers were extracting Sissae’s memories one by one, and if left unchecked, she would eventually transform into a field of plants with no mind remaining.

Some agents recognized the bloom curse from their studies—a terrible affliction that few knew how to cure. Grohnea identified the large egret orchid growing from Sissae’s heart as the most dangerous element, stating that harvesting it would trigger something catastrophic without proper aid. She asked for the party’s help, specifically requesting to use the “fragments” of divine essence they carried to stabilize Sissae during the extraction. She warned them that the curse was accelerating and they had only ten to twenty minutes before the transformation became irreversible.

The party held a hurried conference to discuss their options. They considered waking Sissae directly, attempting to dispel the curse, helping Grohnea harvest the smaller flowers while leaving the central orchid intact, or even stopping Sissae’s heart to halt the curse’s progression. Vondal claimed he could use chronomancy to rewind time if their chosen solution failed, though the others weren’t entirely sure whether to believe him. The debate grew heated as they struggled to decide on the best course of action.

Without warning, Vondal made his decision. He unleashed an eldritch blast directly at the egret orchid growing from Sissae’s heart, vaporizing the flower instantly. Sissae slumped forward, dead. Grohnea looked at him in horror, demanding to know what he had done. Vondal explained his reasoning—that by destroying the flower and her heart, the curse could no longer feed, and they could resurrect her with more of her memories intact than if they had allowed the curse to run its course. The party was stunned by his impulsive action.

After overcoming her shock, Callie, enraged by Vondal’s sudden destructive action, punched him as hard as she could. At the same time, Grohnea swiftly moved to harvest the remaining flowers before they wilted, managing to capture two more soul butterflies. As the flowers dissipated, the party experienced fleeting tastes of Sissae’s memories—fragments of her past that they could almost grasp but which slipped away like rain. Then they heard voices: Isis speaking telepathically about “a gift from a benefactor” and letting “the vortex think it’s still controlling me,” followed by an older version of Grohnea’s voice whispering “Gods, forgive me.” The present Grohnea appeared shocked, as if she too had heard her own voice from another time.

Grohnea then revealed that she could not help Oz with his curses after all, as she lacked the necessary materials—specifically, soul larvae. Claudius interjected, reminding her that she had previously sent the party to retrieve those materials. The party confirmed they had brought the soul larvae as requested.

Vondal summoned his genie companion, Zanqaa the Devoted, hoping for magical intervention. The genie clarified that he had already granted Vondal and the others all their wishes, and was not a slave but rather lingered out of gratitude for his liberation from a previous arrangement. Vondal suggested that Grohnea had not made her wishes yet, and implored her to wish Sissae back to life. After some consideration, Grohnea did so, and Sissae’s body was made whole again, though she remained unconscious and unresponsive. But then for her second wish, Grohnea wished for Vondal’s pinky finger, and the genie promptly severed it from his hand.

Grohnea confirmed that she could use the six soul larvae the party possessed to help cure their various afflictions, as conceptualized by them.

> A summary of the curses affecting each agent: > > * Bec’s growing psychopathy and love of killing (though her allies do not know) > * Vondal’s terror of the Great Old One and bat-like features > * Oz’s antlers and doubled speed along with his dual vampiric and lycanthropic infections > * Freki’s venomous jaws and plant-killing aura > * Cal’s tusks, itchy mushroom-covered skin, and clouded mind

The party was instructed to carefully conceptualize their self-image so that Grohnea could extract only the parts of the curses that didn’t align with who they truly were. As they contemplated this task, they realized that some curses would be easier to separate from their identities than others, and the choices they made would define who they would become.

Last we left off, after confronting the cult at the ice palace and dealing with the aftermath, the party found themselves navigating increasingly dangerous waters. They had secured soul larvae to pay Grohnea for curse removal, delivered justice to the remaining cultists by tasking them with freeing the halfling colony of Xaryuvia from beholder tyranny, and attempted to scry on Orlok for information. But the scrying went catastrophically wrong when a third presence—something ancient and malevolent—invaded Oz’s mind, speaking the words “my child” before launching a psychic assault that manifested as a vampiric attack. Blood erupted from a phantom bite wound on his neck, and in a moment of desperate instinct, Freki bit Oz in werewolf form, believing his lycanthropic essence could counteract the vampiric corruption. The chaos escalated as Oz, thinking Freki had gone feral, retaliated with devastating attacks while the party scrambled to understand what was happening.

When the dust settled, Oz found himself afflicted with both vampiric and lycanthropic curses battling for dominance within his body. Ulgrim’s protective ritual bought them three days at most, and the party decided to return to Grohnea, who might have the skills to save Oz. Ulgrim and the ex-cultists, with Cal’s permission, decided to seek Theia, the Titan of Brilliant Vision—Hyperion’s estranged wife whose name Hyperion forbid to be spoken—for help locating Xaryuvia. After a chaotic teleportation back to Grohnea’s cottage that left the agents battered and Vondal briefly on fire, they discovered Sissae trapped in a bloom curse, her memories being extracted as flowers while she slowly transformed into mindless vegetation. In a split-second decision that shocked everyone, Vondal destroyed the central orchid growing from her heart, killing her instantly but preserving more of her memories for resurrection.

Now, with Sissae restored to life through Zanqaa’s wish magic but still unconscious, Grohnea has confirmed she can use the six soul larvae to help cure the party’s various afflictions—but only if they can clearly define who they truly are beneath the curses. As each member contemplates their self-image and what parts of themselves they’re willing to keep or discard, tensions run high. Oz’s condition deteriorates with each passing moment, Freki and Oz’s relationship hangs by a thread after the biting incident, and the path forward requires hard choices. With curses intertwined with identity, and a quest to liberate the lost colony of Xaryuvia looming, the party stands at a crossroads where every decision could reshape not just their bodies, but their very souls…

They cleaned up the ice palace mess,
With Ulgrim and Kavaki no less.
They showed him the spring,
That dark ritual thing,
Where Rhyzophus had caused such distress.

Cal offered the cultists a quest,
To free halfling Xaryuvia oppressed.
They scried upon Orlok,
But suffered a shock—
A vampire’s bite pierced Ozborn’s neck!

Freki bit down with his jaw,
His lycanthropy countering the flaw.
But Ozborn struck back,
A furious attack,
Not knowing what help Freki saw!

The curses now battled inside,
Both vampire and werewolf collide.
Ulgrim’s bear shield,
Three days it should yield,
But Grohnea they’d need as their guide.

At Grohnea’s they found Sissae cursed,
With flowers of memory, immersed.
Vondal blasted her heart,
A controversial start—
Then wished back to life, death reversed!

Welcome to the episode where the party speedruns every possible way to make things worse: psychic vampire attacks, werewolf “healing,” impulsive murder, and wish-granting genies with a sense of humor. You know, just a normal day in D&D.

Ozborn tried to scry on Orlok and accidentally got psychically attacked by what’s probably a vampire god who called him “my child” before making his neck explode like a blood fountain. Freki, in peak werewolf logic, decided the BEST response was to bite Oz on the same wound without asking, because apparently consent is optional when you’re trying to counteract vampirism with lycanthropy. Oz, reasonably assuming his friend had gone feral, immediately stabbed him repeatedly with magic daggers while Freki ran away screaming “IT’S WORKING!” Cal wisely decided to allow the giants to seek out Theia—Hyperion’s estranged wife whose name is literally forbidden—to find Xaryuvia (which will probably get him disowned) so that he could ditch out back to Grohnea’s to cure Oz’s dual monster infection. But teleporting back to Grohnea’s cottage ripped a hole in the space-time continuum, causing everyone massive damage, and then they found Sissae being consumed by a memory-eating bloom curse. Vondal’s solution? Eldritch blast her heart flower and kill her instantly, then argue they could just resurrect her later. Callie was so mad she punched him right at crotch height, and Grohnea casually wished for Vondal’s pinky finger to be severed because why not add amputation to the chaos? Zanqaa the genie resurrected Sissae, and now the party has to decide which parts of their curses define who they are versus what they want to cut away. Nothing says “character development” like existential crisis during curse removal while your friend is quickly morphing into a vampire-werewolf hybrid.