Episode 21: Ghostly Grapes

"'The gang gears up to go after getting grapes, giving up the ghost, and being graced by a gift.'"

Episode Events
After the events of the previous episode, the party regroups outside the castle walls. The party divides into two groups.

The first group consists of Ugarth, Mountain, and Hilltree, who repack the barrels of explosives into the cart. While doing so, they are caught by a castle guard. After a failed attempt to get him to leave, Hilltree stabs him hard in the leg, incapacitating him. Mountain attempts to aid him, but fails. Running out of time, Ugarth breaks the neck of the guard, and the three rush off in the cart.

The second group, Br'aad, Velrisa, and Brambleshank, travel back to the embalmer to retrieve Sylnan's body. As they go to leave the graveyard, Velrisa hears a distant whisper. This whisper is coming from a ghost child, who reveals that his name is Micheal. He is a trapped soul, accidentally slain by his brother, and does not realize his own death. Velrisa utilizes her grave cleric abilities and helps Micheal pass onto the other side, but not before Micheal shows her where his fathers shield remains. Velrisa, with permission from Micheal, takes the shield. It is described as a steel shield with the image of an eye with a blue iris on it.

The party regroup, and head towards the 'Pit', an underground shop and camp area for thieves and runaways. Velrisa and Ugarth set up the camp, meanwhile Mountain and Taxi go to purchase ingredients for food. Br'aad tries his first drink, getting incredibly drunk very quickly.

After resting for the night, Taxi takes Velrisa away from the group, and apologizes for the killing of bystanders in episode 19, Into The Dire. Velrisa does not forgive him, but agrees to still travel alongside him for the sake of the group.

As the rest of the party reawakens and prepares, they realize that they are unaware of where Sylnan's body has gone. Taxi recalled seeing Br'aad drunkenly dancing with Sylnan's body, and the party finds him under a table.

As the party begins to prepare for travel, Br'aad goes into the 'Pit', and purchases the items needed to summon a familiar, but does not have a brass brazure, and cannot perform the spell.

The party begins traveling through the underground tunnels, exiting the Great King's Wharf.

Sylnan awakens to find himself in Katherine's realm, but there is a presence of looming darkness. He notices Katherine, who is being held at knifepoint by The Barber, Lupin. He slowly slits her throat, and the realm shatters. Sylnan falls into a darkness, the purple ribbons surrounding him, as the demon possessing him speaks out to Sylnan, letting him know that he is still there, even after death.

Sylnan awakens once more, now at the fountain with Katherine in her realm. Sylnan explains that a demon possessed him after touching the large purple gem in season 1 episode 4, The Fast And The Furriest. Katherine suggests that the demon is latching onto a dark memory or feeling, and uses her abilities to travel through Sylnan's memories, described to be similar to how a VHS Tape rewinds.

The first memory they look into, Sylnan sees himself at the age of 3. He sees his father, Brendan, being dragged away by two armored men. Br'aad is there, freshly born, and their mother is on an operating table. Sylnan peers into the room Brendan was dragged away from to see the doctor, who he recognizes but is not named, injecting the Vengolor's mother with something lethal, killing her immediately.

The second memory they look into begins with Sylnan, age 9, visiting his mothers grave, when the younger Br'aad comes up to him, crying. Three children at the orphanage were bullying Br'aad once again, one of which is named Wendell. Wendell, described to be a chubby, freckled human child, has bullied Br'aad and Sylnan previously to this occurrence. When Sylnan confronts Wendell and the other children, they are beaten up, and the memory ends.

The next memory occurs at the orphanage. Sylnan is age 10, and Br'aad is the age of 7. Encouraged by Katherine to explore his memories further, and not simply relive them, Sylnan sneaks out the window. He overhears an orphanage caretaker drinking and chatting with two soliders, discussing how King Rigmund paid the orphanage in a large amount to keep the Vengolor brothers alive. Sylnan then notices a figure in a nearby alley watching him. He approaches, and recognizes a younger Olgaurt, who encourages Sylnan to run away from the orphanage. Sylnan sneaks back into the orphanage, retrieves Br'aad, and they sneak out the window together. The memory ends.

The final memory that is explored occurred roughly a year and a half before the beginning of the campaign. Sylnan sees Br'aad before him, panicked and covering something on his face. Br'aad explains that he made a pact with Ob'nockshai in order to be more useful. When trying to calm the situation, Br'aad reaches his hand out, accidentally shooting off magic. Sylnan dodges, but in fear and anger walks out on Br'aad. The memory ends. Sylnan reawakens from the final memory, and Katherine suggests that the self hatred he feels regarding his reaction to Br'aad's pact is what the demon is feeding off of.

Katherine also explains what happened to her. She had seen one of the fish folk, and went back the next evening to search for it again. That is when The Barber killed her. She explains that she believes she is a god, and can see different realities and realms, which is how she pulled Sylnan into her realm while he was traveling to the afterlife. She asks that Sylnan follow her as a religion, and pray to her, so that she may continue being a deity.