January 20, 2024

Hook

TSB;EoA: Katabasis Game 2 (Afuera City, Obsidian Canyon, Great Delve Expanse, Plains of Niya, Kurago)

Plot Synopsis

The party arrived at Afuera during a time of celebration. A large, bony man with a tall hat sat upon a great chair near the top of the pyramid-like structure. It seems as though they arrived towards the end, as the large person disappeared before the parties could say anything. Nakai spoke with the local alchemist and assisted in making the tea from the onionweed leaves. He also traded some information on plants with her, with Nakai mostly sharing mushrooms and the alchemist sharing mostly grasses and plants with bulbs.

Meanwhile, Wyren and a new traveler named Sayori explored the pyramid. Wyren accidentally alerted a guard and Sayori used her strength to toss Wyren to the ceiling and play the role of a dumb young child who got lost. While this didn’t fully work on the guard, he merely kicked her out rather than resorting to any more drastic measures. Wyren climbed back down and sneakily stole a strange orb from what looked like a piece of a mural, though it was too dark inside to get a good look at the whole thing.

The party quickly left town and began to scale the nearby delve with the sheer cliff. The Obsidian Canyon, aka Petl, is a treacherous place filled with jagged obsidian spikes that shred travelers' feet, but thankfully Nakai’s massive pet crab had enough speed, damage resistance, and wall climbing ability to safely cross most of the canyon without much issue. During the hour-long trek crossing the 30-mile wide canyon, the party met a pack of creatures called the Xolos. They appeared to be made of living flame constantly encircling the outline of a thin dog. One of them spoke Paroli and let the party know that the Xolos serve as guides, leading spirits out of the Great Delve Expanse. They attempted to help the party climb out of the canyon, but the crab had a hard time climbing up this less stable side of the canyon. A long series of shenanigans followed, including Nakai using his magical springy-mushrooms, Wyren using all of his units to allow the party to gain extra velocity, and some stranger shenanigans that culminated in Nakai taking the simple option of just giving the crab flight for 24 hours.

With this solved, the party entered the Plains of Niya. A brief stream-crossing and an encounter with an Ahuizotl in a stream went better than expected. Soon after, the party met Liliana, the Scarlet Blade. They learned she led a band of pirates many years ago and was killed by one of her own crew, a person named Sunny. The party offered to help Liliana come back to life if possible and get revenge. She mused on this, but declined the offer for now. Liliana revealed she had a daughter, and Wyren used some of his abilities to check on her daughter Rosy. In the vision, Wyren watched as the city of Setser from The Dreaming slowly disappeared and Rosy had a brief conversation with a party Wyren recognized as from the Congregation.

Meanwhile, Nakai and Sayori watched as the city of Setser appeared behind them in the Plains of Niya. The party went to briefly explore the city and learned Setser is a place where people trade memories for memories, and the entire city is covered in an enternal night, looking like stars across the dark skyline. Wyren took the time to explore his own many memories he’s collected from others. It was here that Wyren revealed he had the ability to take on peoples’ worst memories in order to better understand them, with both members experiencing the memory, no matter how repressed. Nakai got curious as to what his would be and Wyren used the ability. Suddenly, Nakai began to bawl as he relived the experience of going overboard accidentally and losing his family in the process. On the bright side, Nakai now knows who his dad is!

Noteworthy Postgame Events