In which our heroes delve into Vim’s mind, witness a number of personal memories and help reconstruct his shattered self.
Session Recount
Previously, whilst our heroes were doing a quest for Jurian to rescue his archaeological team from an island with a large monolith, they encountered some intelligence sappers which look like brains with legs. Vim, at the front of the party within an air duct, was almost permanently killed by having all his intelligence drained, but in the final seconds was the party managed to prevent such a fate with the help of a fallen aasimar using his necrotic shroud scare the intellect sappers away from taking the last remaining intelligence points. Vim, now in a catatonic state, was dragged around the rest of the mission.
Cut ahead to rescuing the archaeological team, we checked Vim into the house of Jurasco for the healers to restore him. After a few days, whilst our brave adventures were taking in some hard earned ales in the Golden Dragon tavern, a messenger boy from the house of Jurasco summoned them to the hospital exclaiming there was news of Vims condition. Upon reaching the hospital, they were informed that his prognosis wasn’t good and as a last ditch effort they wanted to try an experimental treatment where they all needed to be hooked up to a machine with wires and tubes and metaphysically enter Vims mind along with the good doctor Arabella d’Jurasco.
Upon arriving inside Vim’s head, the party is met with an all white circular room with pedestals holding busts of attributes, with doors behind them – all of which have no handles. Behind the bust for Intelligence, the door has been shattered and a white mist obscures the vision. Connected to the intelligence pedestal is a chain and just inside the doorway is a somewhat large platform, big enough to host and support our fearless group. They all board the platform and Kaster pulls on the chain to glide the platform along as if it were a ferry through the mists. As the platform smoothly glides across a cloudy abyss and into the next room the group are confronted with a white chest, supported by chains in the middle of the room with what seems to be a circular indentation on the front. Investigating yields no results and so they continue on the platform out and through the mists using the chain. Through the next area they travel between thousands of tiny drawers in large columns on either side of them and encounter a wispy character that is confused why everything is in disorder. Dangling on the chain is a mask, upon touching the mask the group are whisked away to a memory of Vim’s childhood. The memory when Vim is confronted by bullies and rescued by a small boy named Tiko. Upon resolving the memory through combat, Theren, who touched the mask, now has in his hand a small piece of a puzzle. The group gather that they need to get all the pieces of the puzzle to form a key to unlock the chest in the first room and one by one, touch masks in sequence that are on the chain to access Vim’s memories and receive a piece of the key.
The people that help Vim throughout his memories are people that he as a Changeling turns in to and the group now understands more about Vim’s life – except for the time when he died in the forest several weeks ago.
Nearing the end of their task the adventurers enter a memory where Vim was in his family’s manor home after his parents had returned from a dangerous expedition. The conversation at the dining table being held was on the topic of once again they had to move because it was being dangerous. Vim, Tasha (sister), brother and uncle are in attendance.
It is at that moment the home was stormed by some drow with markings on them from the temple of the fire scorpion (from the aforementioned parents expedition) who straight up murder his brother, father and mother (red wedding style).
Vim, Tasha and his uncle escaped with our heroes help but as they were rowing away from shore in their escape boat, one of the drow archers sank 2 bolts into his uncle’s chest and the memory ends and the final piece of the puzzle is granted to the group.
Completing the key, which is circular with all the pieces combined, is now available to insert into Vim’s memory chest and fix the intelligence hole in his memories. Opening the chest makes the mists swirl violently and consequently the heroes woke up from the procedure and see Vim stirring from his coma.
Session glossary
- Sir Hadrian of Cragwar – the title bestowed to Hadrian after he stopped the Valen Hill Brotherhood in Breland
- Dr. Arabella d’Jorasco – a dragonmarked halfling healer specializing in mental illnesses
- Hoff – a dragonborn kid from Stormreach, who used to bully Vim
- Orsik – Vim’s instructor in the arts of infiltration and spycraft; captured on the job
- Misha – Vim’s first kiss
- Leth – Vim’s sister, survivor of her family’s assassination
- Perrigan Forstaff – a wealthy gentleman from Stormreach; assassinated by Vim
- Joshua “Pithy” Swanstammer – leader of a Khorvairan expedition into Xen’Drik
- Mika Broadshoulders – a halforc woman from Stormreach; in the security business
Turn of the Age 