Session 12 - The Hunt for Desmond Lothel Ralgar

Hardholme S3E12: Loth Hunt

Chris (as Chris), Aurelae (Lauren), Ulrich (Eric), Steve (Kamara), Nihilus (Caspar), and Carric (Ryan).

March showers bring April flowers. It’s beautiful, really. You’ve never seen such vibrant colors in Hardholme before! Rich purples, loud hot-pink, screaming orange, blue, green, polka dotted, you name it. Must be all that sunshine the plants are getting now that the cloud cover is gone.

Carric is carrying a lot of tension, understandably. And he’s sober for the first time since...well, since any of us have known him. Ulrich is being a bro. The group meets up and they discuss their options. Capture and not kill. Probably. Maybe. We’ll see.

Carric tells the entire Prentiss story AGAIN.

Kamara gets excited and leads the group south of town to “test the helm”. There’s a bunch of people in tents at the crash site. It’s grown considerably since the last time Kamara was there. It’s practically a tent city now! They’re all gathered there to research the ship and whatnot. Like a little paleontologist dig.

Kamara: “Hey there Vera, what’s up?”

Vera: “Nope. Where’s your wife? I’m not doing this.”

Kamara: “Okay then.”

With Vera in the lead, they have made some pretty significant progress with their research. The engine is made from a chunk of refined Veranium. They believe that magic users interfaced with the helm and that’s what made it work. They’re trying to replicate the helm, so they can put it in other vehicles.

Kamara: “Anyone need anything? Beer from Viven? We’re heading that way.”

Ulrich: “What? No we’re not…”

Aurelae: *elbows Ulrich* “Ssshhh!”

They walk into the tree line by the river. Once they’re out of sight, Kamara comes to a complete stop. He has LDR’s socks. Kamara does a Yuan Ti magic thing and magically tracks LDR with his socks. LDR seems to be within 1-3 miles of...all four Viven portals. Greeeeeeat.

Aurelae asks if they still wanted Teddy the Canar’s help. But nooooo. That makes sense and would help. She repeatedly reminds them of this as they ride and the boys discuss alternate options. None of them are as good as a Canar who can just smell and track him precisely. Carric just heard that LDR was probably in Viven and won’t do anything that puts him going away from there, even for a minute.

Kamara uses his crystal ball to scry for LDR. LDR is pacing back and forth in a small room, in front of a closed door. From the looks of the room, he’s in Viven. We can’t hear him, but it looks like he’s screaming at someone or something.

FINALLLYYYY Carric decides that they can go get Teddy. (After all, Teddy had agreed to help, just no one told him when or where to be.) Ulrich and Carric go ahead to Viven, and Aurelae, Kamara, and Nihilus go get Teddy and meet them in Viven.

Ulrich asks the Silver Flame guard at the Viven portal if they saw a Yuan Ti man with two Voidborn children with him. Actually, yes he did. They went “that way”. Lol BUT he hasn’t seen him leave, so that’s something.

Carric’s having a meltdown near the portals, “There’s like SIX people here! It can’t be THAT hard to find him! This place is a DUMP!”

Teddy the Canar is Aurelae’s friend. He smells the sock and zooms off in pursuit. He brings them to an apartment complex, and up to a hallway, and ends up pacing back and forth at the end of that hallway. There are three doors.

Two of the doors have nothing going on behind them. They are quiet. The other one has people sounds emanating from behind it.

Aurelae tries the handle. It’s locked. Ulrich bursts the door open with his Rod of Lordly Might. There’s LDR, just sitting there, playing with the kids. There are a bunch of toys, blocks and stuff. They all look very surprised. They all look a little terrified.

Aurelae talks to the children, tells them their mom is worried and loves them. The kids ask where Mommy is, and can they see her.

LDR wants to step out into the hallway. Kamara and Nihilus go with him. He looks pretty nervous and scared. Ulrich inches toward the inside door. “Niles, can we talk? What is this?”

Carric just teleports through the closed door inside the apartment. It’s a bathroom. And there’s vomit all over the place. Behind the shower curtain is… MORE VOMIT. It smells… like what you would expect a room full of vomit to smell like. He walks out of the bathroom and closes the door.

They all go out to the hallway now. LDR spins a story about how Jespora was going to steal the children, he just beat her to it. Aurelae calls him on his shit. Everyone backs it up. They say they saw his note.

Ulrich: “You killed Ander.”

LDR: “Who...who’s Ander? Why would you say that name?”

Carric: “You worked with him. He trusted you. There was no one else.”

LDR: realization dawns on his face “...oh… you’re the boy…”

Carric: chugs a potion of frost giant strength and lunges at LDR “RAAAAAAAAWWWWWWRRRRRR!!!!!”

He slams him into the wall and starts swinging. LDR is crying. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Please!”

cue the Ben from Lost gets the shit beat out of him scene

Eventually they pull Carric off of LDR. LDR is pathetic. LDR spits out a couple teeth, blood is just pouring from his mouth, one eye is starting to swell shut. He just keeps repeating that he’s sorry. “I’m sorry that I never knew you, and I’m sorry about what I did.”

Carric: “Say it. Say what you did.”

LDR: “Ander and I go way back. We were both in a cult a long time ago. And we played a lot of music together, and we had a competitive streak. We discovered something, and it drove us kind of mad. And I… I killed him for it.”

Carric: “He’s alive.”

LDR: “Ander is alive?!”

Carric: “Surprise bitch! I’m a bard! And I finished it. And brought him back. Now where is she?”

LDR: “Who?”

Carric: “Prentiss.”

LDR: “Oh you know her too? ...I uh… I would rather not talk about that.”

Carric: “If you touch her, I’ll kill you.”

LDR: “I just want to leave with my kids.”

Carric: “I’ll kill your kids too.”

Ulrich: “If you’re so innocent, why did you teach your kids your song of essence?”

LDR: “I never finished it.”

Carric: “Yeah, because you SUCK.”

Ulrich: “What kind of sick person would do this to their kids?”

the kids are crying in the background

LDR: “Hardholme is not a safe place for my children. Do you SEE how people look at them? Some people have even SPIT on them. We stay inside all the time. Jespora was going to take them from me. They are in danger there.”

Ulrich gives LDR a letter from Jespora. It reads:

''“Dearest Des,

''I wish I could be saying this to you in person, but I’m afraid I am too much of a coward to do so. I fear this letter serves as a poor shadow, but it is all that I have.''

''I have wronged you, Des. I have listened to others’ opinions instead of simply doing what I should have — to talk to you. I was afraid for my safety and the safety of the children, and I realize that I had no reason to be. I had distanced myself to keep from having to face the path I had chosen.''

''We all have things in our past that we regret. Sometimes they are terrible, horrible things that we may not ever be able to make amends for. But we try, and that’s all we can do. I don’t know what is in your past, but I think you’ve proven yourself to be a good and gentle man to me, and a caring and attentive parent to Lucius and Jesmyn. That’s all I could ask of you.''

''Please, if you could find it in your heart to forgive me, come home. I miss you, and I miss the twins. Most importantly, I want to be able to tell you this in person.''

My heart to yours,

Jespora”

As he reads it, tears start rolling down LDR’s face.

Carric: softly “Well shit.” He leaves abruptly and goes to find Prentiss. Instead of knocking on her apartment door, or even trying the door knob, he BURSTS through the door frame with his still Frost Giant enhanced strength levels. She is fine. She asks about things, he tells her, she reiterates that she never wants to see LDR again. Encourages Carric to kill LDR. He swears to Prentiss that he will never let her eyes rest on LDR again, and then BURSTS out through the wall next to the door where he came in, leaving a second, giant, Carric shaped hole in her apartment wall.

Meanwhile, back at LDR’s apartment:

They ask him if he’ll come back, willingly, to Hardholme, to rejoin Jespora. Surprisingly, he agrees. He agrees to come peacefully, to stand accountable for kidnapping the children, to talk things over with Jespora.

Bulked up Carric rushes back to LDR screaming, “Imma kill him!”

Aurelae pulls out a potion of mind reading and drinks it, aiming at LDR.

LDR’s surface thoughts are just “Jespora Jespora Jespora”. And she doesn’t get any deeper than that.

Ulrich: “Did you finish your song?”

Carric is so enraged he is shaking.

Aurelae: “Okay Carric, are you really going to kill a guy who is cooperating?”

LDR: “You’re right, I deserve to die. Kill me.”

Carric: “I’m not falling for your LIES.”

Kamara: “I tried man.”

LDR: “I tried too. I figured you, Kamara, of all people would understand that. Did you not tell them who I was?”

Kamara: “Uhhh… I mean, it came up...sure…” Kamara looks decidedly shifty and uncomfortable.

LDR: “YOU of all people should understand. The atrocities you committed. That we committed together. Kamara.”

Aurelae: “Carric… why don’t you go take care of Prentiss, and we’ll get these guys back to Hardholme.”

Carric says some very not nice things to Aurelae. Then insults her restaurant. Carric insults Teddy for no reason. Carric is now an enemy of the Canar. Maybe. We’ll see.

Carric: “Loth. If you were in my shoes, what would you do? What would you do to stop you from killing again?”

LDR: “Just do what you have to do.”

At this the group goes into a huddle again. For a long time. So much debate about what to do. At one point they all get quiet, they simultaneously look up and crane their necks at LDR, then snap back into huddled discussion.

Aurelae is having none of this shit. She doesn’t want the negative consequences that will follow WHEN they are caught if they just straight up execute a man who has offered to willingly come back to Hardholme. Either or both Ulrich and/or Carric point out that it won’t matter if no one tells anyone anything. Aurelae gestures wildly to the kids and yells, “What about them?!!! They are RIGHT THERE. They can hear us right now!” There is a pause. They don’t have to say it. Aurelae responds with, “NO ONE IS KILLING THE CHILDREN.” She tells Ulrich and Carric in no uncertain terms that if they choose to murder someone instead of allowing them to be processed under the council and Judicatory that they voted for and supposedly work to maintain and run, that she expects them to resign from the council immediately upon return.

Nihilus is tired of this bickering, and pulls out his Helm of Telepathy. He directs his thoughts towards LDR.

His surface thoughts: He isn’t afraid.

His desires: Power.

His deeper, hidden thoughts: “I should have fucking killed you.”

And at that LDR bursts into a giant six headed snake creature. He hisses at us as he puts a long, clawed hand on top of each of the children’s heads…

Aurelae doesn’t even hesitate, she pulls out her bow and shoots him. (26 damage)

LDR utters a word in an ancient language we don’t understand. Something happens that affects everyone in the room. Aurelae is deafened.

Then, suddenly and without warning, Jesmund falls to the ground, dead.

Ulrich valiantly swings his sword at LDR *thwap! Thwap! Thwap!* (60 damage)

Kamara pulls out Kamara’s Camara, and snaps a picture of what LDR looks like. He also sends a psychic blast at LDR and hits him. (26 damage)

Nihilus casts slow, but it doesn’t work.

Carric runs in at LDR and slices him with his psychic blades. (21 damage)

Aurelae pulls back her Radiant Sun Bow and unleashes two laser beam arrows to one of the snake heads. (38 damage)

LDR: Laughs with all six of his heads. “You fools. My essence will live on. Tell Ander I say hello. Bitch.”

And with that he rushes forward and goes straight for Carric. *Swipe! Slash!* He ferociously claws Carric. Carric falls to the floor, unconscious. (-3 HP)

Ulrich runs to his BFF and stabilizes Carric. (4 HP) Then he is overcome with fear and starts to run away into the hallway.

Kamara casts psychic protection and everyone is now protected from psychic attacks and gets a bonus to wisdom saving throws.

Nihilus tries to banish LDR, but it doesn’t work.

Carric strikes out at LDR, then bails to the hallway.

Aurelae steps into the hallway, and then shoots LDR. (45 damage)

Ulrich hits LDR again with his sword. (19 damage)

LDR runs after them into the hallway yelling, “I’m gonna kill that bitch Prentiss too!” And he claws Carric twice (-24 HP), delivers a flurry of bites to Ulrich (26 damage and he’s down to -7 HP), and constricts Aurelae with his tail (21 damage).

One of the snake heads bites three of Carric’s fingers from his right hand clean off. Carric is now laying unconscious on the floor and bleeding out.

Kamara teleports back into the room and sends a psychic blast at LDR. And again! (55 damage) Aurelae can feel LDR’s tail beginning to lose hold on her. All of a sudden, he falls limply to the ground… right on top of the lifeless bodies of Ulrich and Carric.

Kamara rushes forward to the body and before anyone can react, he takes a big ole chomp out of LDR’s body. Nihilus jumps in and pulls him off. They pull the body off of Carric and Ulrich, and they heal and stabilize them.

Aurelae checks on Lucius. He’s just staring, wide eyed, catatonic, and obviously in shock. She gives him a blanket and some water.

There’s some talk about Kamara eating the rest of the body (he really REEEALLLY wants to eat another Yuan Ti), and after THAT is thoroughly shot down by everyone, Aurelae revives Jesmund with a scroll of resurrection.

Nihilus puts LDR’s body in the portable hole. Carric collects Prentiss on their way out. She is very pleased with how things turned out.

Prentis: “Let’s get out of here. I’m never coming back to this dump again.”

END