February 08, 2025

Hook

Kataleuin Duet 4 - Pthora, Cahyali

Plot Synopsis

The game started with a party divided, not metaphorically but literally. The gang had split themselves into smaller groups to cover more ground in the labyrinthian tunnels. Annabelle and Gale went on to explore the tunnels more. Rik and Remy found some marks on the walls, which Remy lit up, causing the walls to collapse. Chang and Izzu both almost walked off a cliff. Finally, Maris and Sauri came across an odd button that created a bit of an argument since neither could remember pressing the button. It took until Annabelle and Gale found them to get the whole thing sorted out. Meanwhile, Chang and Izzu were rescued by Rik and Remy, as the two were trying to scale the cliff to an empty void. The group eventually found an odd button that gave them weird flashes of memories that were not their own, but they thought were their own. Turns out, the button took memories from one half the party and put them in the other half of the party. Remy also found some odd tablets with words inscribed on them that he could not read. Eventually, Remy opened a door between them by pressing the button enough and losing a significant portion of the memories of the past few hours. Annabelle and Rik were both simply exasperated by the situation, Gale and Izzu were indifferent, Chang was cautious as usual, Sauri and Remy threw caution to the wind, and Maris gained a healthy dose of self-loathing from this debacle.
Regaining their senses, Remy gave Maris the tablets, reminding Maris that she finished part of the translation. Reading it aloud for the party, they learned that a group of people named the Voprosh used to live in these caverns below the permafrost. Near the collapse of their civilization, they wrote down a significant portion of their knowledge and language such that it would be passed to the next generation. Turns out, these were the tablets Remy found.
After putting all this together, the party found a large hole in the ground. Taking their time to descend, Sauri saw several souls in the distance. He watched as the flaming one of Adrik seemed to drop a normal soul, presumably Makar, and absorbed a great amount of holy energy. Though still weak, the party woke up at the bottom of the hole with new bruises and bandages. Maris checked the time only to realize they were missing 3 hours. The party had saved Makar. Waking him, they learned that Adrik was likely an old discarded piece of Tarus named Surt. This left the party to theorize who the Old Dreamt of Apathy was and how they related to Surt. They also discovered the name Empani written on the wall, unlocking some hidden parts of the groups’ minds. How or why they did not know. Two things were clear. Firstly, that Surt and the other one were likely headed to Ulos to burn the largest repository of knowledge on Cahyali. Secondly, they needed to learn how to disconnect a deity from their powers. As such, Rik suggested heading to Library of Archser in The Dreaming. The party then took a rest, ending the session.

Noteworthy Postgame Events