Perrinor

Session 102: A Taste of Home (February 26, 2026)

Last session, our heroes confronted Sentin Thornwillow on the final day of Hexicon. Eden attempted to exert her will over him with Dominate Person. She succeeded, but a poorly-timed burst of chaotic magic snapped him out of it, injuring some bystanders in the process. Pandemonium then broke out as a group of Central Command soldiers rushed in to arrest the party. They all turned invisible and started trying to make their exits. Eden and Maho Dimension Doored out to the entrance of the Hoss Convention Center, where some nearby guards immediately struck out. Heph was Faerie Fired after Sentin cast See Invisibility, and attempted to escape through the skylight. Henry Randall threatened an innocent bystander to try and get Heph to turn himself in, but he called his bluff, Shattered the skylight, and fled, pursued by an Imperial Conjurer. Heph called Princess von Riess to get him out of the situation, and he drifted down to the ground with the Conjurer close behind.

Meanwhile, Maho embiggened herself and fled, carrying Eden, trying to seek cover in some nearby alleys. The soldiers pursued, firing crossbow bolts that rendered Eden unconscious. Heph met up with the Princess as she was rushed out of the building by her guards, as well as encountering the cleric from earlier, much more powerful. As she healed a number of the injured escaping convention-goers, Heph got into a carriage with the Princess, the Conjurer, and some guards, and they took off. On a nat 20 medicine check, Maho brought Eden back up, and they set out to try and meet up with Heph.

• Maho and a freshly conscious Eden have escaped the guards and are working their way through alleys as Maho asks Eden what they should do next
  • Eden feels like she needs a rest, but Maho reassures her that being barely alive is all you need to fight at full effectiveness
  • Eden asks Maho if she saw where Heph went, but she didn’t because they left so quickly
  • They continue to the mansion, where Eden knocks on the door, but receives no response
  • Maho notes that the door won’t open itself and opens it, and they head back into the mansion
  • Morty is still sitting at a table, eating a bite of a sandwich and throwing it on the ground saying “this isn’t it” as the imps try to make him the right reuben sandwich
  • Maho asks him if he has any way to contact Heph, and he groans and looks a bit exhausted but says that he can do that
  • Maho asks him what he is looking for and he explains he’s looking for a specific sandwich, but it’s not here anymore
  • Maho hands him a sandwich from her Dad, asking if he wants that sandwich instead, and his eyes light up when he tries it saying it is close
  • Maho explains her Dad made it, and he says he has to get Maho’s Dad to make him more sandwiches, and looking like he’s got more energy he asks what they need
  • Eden asks him to contact Heph or if possible teleport him there, he can’t teleport, but says he can scry or send a message
  • Maho explains they just want to know if Heph is safe, and Eden suggests that he just use Sending
  • Eden crafts the message for him and Morty using sending to say “Hey, Eden and Maho are alive and they’re back at the mansion. How are you doing, are you safe, are you alive? Also I had-.”
• While this is all happening, Heph is in the carriage with the Princess, the conjurer, and two of the Princess’ guard
  • Heph sits quietly while the conjurer is in respectful but intense conversation with the Princess, explaining that she doesn’t think the Princess is safe because Heph is a known murderer
  • After a bit of back and forth, the Princess says “Enough, it’s too late, and I don’t want to hear any more of this arguing. I need to get some sleep, once we get back we can figure this out.”
  • The Princess asks if Heph wants anything to eat, and saying he does, she calls to Jan to have a late night snack prepped for us of scallops and shrimp cocktails
  • Heph can tell the Princess is unclear on the situation but likes Heph and doesn’t want to deal with the issue right now
  • The conjurer clearly wants to say stuff and ask questions of Heph, but is refraining due to being with the Princess
  • After a short time, Heph receives the Sending from Morty, to which he replies “Glad they made it. I’m with the Princess right now and should be okay, just have them sit tight and get some rest.”
• Back in the mansion, Morty relays Heph’s message to Eden and Maho
  • Maho points out that that is good for Eden, she needs to rest up
  • Eden and Maho explore the mansion a bit looking for bedrooms
  • Eden finds a door with an ornate carved pattern around the frame and on the door, and a really ornate doorknob attached, and opening it up it’s all similarly themed to the door
  • There is a fancy dresser and a four-poster canopy bed, with a window that looks out into a room that mimics the outside
  • It’s all fine quality wood and painted whites and greens, and everything is Eden sized
  • Maho asks if that is what her room is normally like, and Eden notes that it is remarkably similar to her old room from many years ago
  • Maho stands outside the door and asks Eden if she’s doing okay, noting she said some pretty badass stuff earlier
  • Eden says she’s been better, but she’ll be able to sleep here
  • Maho pushes a little, noting that Eden has done a full 180 on Sentin and Eden acknowledging that Sentin was not who she thought he was
  • She feels a little lost though, since Sentin was her last hope to figure out what is wrong with her, but Maho says she doesn’t really think there’s any wrong with her
  • Eden says she’ll save the apologies for when Heph is there, but Maho tells her that she doesn’t need to apologize, it’s more of an “I told you so” situation
  • Eden thanks Maho for helping her as Maho says goodnight
  • Maho goes to her own room, which is a lot like her room in her dad’s house, and settles in for the night
• The carriage comes to a stop outside of the mansion, and Central Command soldiers who were waiting approach the carriage
  • The soldiers briefly speak with the driver, who pokes his head in and says to the Princess that she is needed outside, and she says she’ll be right back
  • She has a brief conversation with the guards, including words such as Heph, arrest, and murder, and Heph gets the sense that the Princess might be conspiring against him a little bit
  • The Princess pops her head back in the carriage, and explains that we are going to head up into the palace and have a nice late dinner, and set up a room for Heph
  • There are 8 additional soldiers beyond the Princess’ guard, one of which seems to be obviously in charge, and as Heph steps out, the soldiers surround Heph, and the soldier in charge introduces himself and explains Heph is under their custody
  • They lead Heph in through the door, up some stairs and down a hallway to the east wing, through a door which is immediately closed and guarded by some soldiers, and eventually end up in a small self-contained apartment within the manor
  • One of the soldiers is flitting to and fro, seeming to be checking things as we go, using a square lens to check window ledges and door frames
  • The Princess enters and explains this is where Heph will be staying for a while, and she will send Jan in with food, and she gives Heph a bell to summon Jan
  • She explains she will be headed back to Eken in the morning, and says Heph is welcome back at her palace whenever he wants, once his stay here has concluded
  • She nods at the soldiers and walks out, and they nod back in an indecipherable way
• Captain Franz Hutt approaches and explains Heph is under house arrest and he is not to leave this apartment or communicate with anyone on the outside, and Heph is to remain here until the current political situation is untangled
  • The captain introduces Heph to a young Lieutenant Anton Taussig who will be personally guarding Heph, and he also mentions the conjurer (Ginevra Zambon) will be guarding him
  • The person checking everything finishes her checks and salutes the captain and leaves, and the guy in charge asks if Heph has any questions
  • The captain collects all of Heph’s weapons, including Jarles, but seem to intentionally leave him his belt and armor
  • Heph responds no, and he says he will take his leave, and if Heph tries to escape any sanctuary the Princess granted will be waved
  • The woman that was checking everything was also setting traps and alarms as we went, to alert folks to any shenanigans that Heph might try
  • Anton is standing watching, and as Heph sits down he looks to Anton and tells him to sit if he wants, and asks him if he wants food
  • Anton responds that he will stand and isn’t hungry
  • A few minutes later there is some activity at the door, and Jan enters, with two silver platters, one with scallops and one with shrimp martinis, and also one with shrimp Manhattans and shrimp margaritas
  • Heph thanks Jan for bringing food and offers him a shrimp, which is a very expensive and rare delicacy, and Jan is very touched and has a bit of shrimp with Heph
  • Heph tells him the shrimp from the Shivered Sea is even better, but he explains that he isn’t allowed to leave, and Heph tells him to feel free to come back for more shrimp later
  • After Jan leaves, Heph offers shrimp to Anton, but he continues to stand at attention and keep watch over Heph
• In Maho’s room, she uses her Blessing of Yura to cast Commune and ask her three questions
  • As she asks questions, she glances out the window, and there is a moon painted as if it is night
  • She asks “Is my mom in Wichthafen?”, in response to which a dark cloud passes over the moon, a negative response
  • “Has Sentin been working in Wichthafen?”, and the dark cloud remains obscuring the moon, which is a negative
  • “Is Hooded Beth your enemy?”, and the cloud passes away from the moon, causing it to shine brightly into the room and the light turns faintly red, an affirmative response
  • Before going to bed, Maho wanders around looking for any rooms to do with Mona, and she finds Morty in the restaurant
  • Maho asks if he’s still looking for a sandwich, and he asks Maho if she has any more
  • Maho asks if the sandwich is because of Mona, and Morty says you could say that, or you could say he’s looking for Mona because of a sandwich
  • He says there will never be another sandwich like Mona’s, and he seems to imply he would give up a lot to get back to those days
  • Maho says she didn’t realize he was so sentimental, he seems like such an “in the moment” type of guy
  • He explains that it’s been a while since he’s been back here, and he’s lived a hundred lifetimes since then, in about 30 or 40 years
  • Maho notes she saw him smoking a lot of something, and she asks if he was always like that or if losing Mona caused it
  • Morty asks if Maho wants to smoke, and she says sure, she’ll try it
  • Morty pulls out a vial of blood, drips it around, and summons the demon from earlier, and uses its shoulder to light a couple of cigarettes
  • Maho takes a deep breath of the smoke and she handles it okay, but it is very unpleasant, and she tells Morty it is awful
  • Morty tells her you have to work your way up to it, if you do it constantly for a few decades you learn to live with it
  • Maho says this seems like a thing you’d do to yourself if you hate yourself, and he replies that he is fine, clearly seeming to not be very fine, but he in turn asks Maho if she is doing alright, because usually people who are good don’t ask him to do blood magic to get a cigarette
  • Maho says she is just curious about the demon, to which Morty replies that he is an Erämaan, from the continent to the west of Perrinor
  • Maho reflects on how a lot of shit has happened the last few weeks, but she feels like she is managing okay for now, her distant past is just some bullying in her youth, nothing like what he is going through
  • He responds being bullied is nowhere near as bad as losing the most important sandwich in your life
  • He then thanks Maho for rescuing him, which Maho says really was more Heph and Eden
  • Morty explains he hasn’t done much for the last few decades, but his life has been much more exciting since he started running with our group
  • Maho asks Morty if he’s done crazy shit before, and he asks her how many people she killed
  • It’s in the double digits, but two in particular stand out
  • Morty explains that when he was Maho’s age he was at triple digits, and at a certain point none of them stand out
  • He pivoted from killing to food to hiding in libraries, and if she continues down the path she’s only other paths will be closed to her
  • Maho asks him if he thinks she could still go to school after all of this, and he reassures her that she definitely could, he did
  • He offers to get her in, but she doesn’t want to be on the wrong side of the law, she doesn’t like that she has been and wants to stop doing that
  • After a bit more chatting about Morty’s tendency to run away, Maho takes a pack of cigarettes he offers and goes to bed, as Morty tells her to consider that she has paths to choose from
  • He snaps his fingers and the demon vanishes
• Heph spends some time before bed trying to make some headway with Anton, but he doesn’t really budge and is pretty committed to this job
  • Karrl inspects the building from the outside and spots more soldiers guarding the room, as well as the conjurer Ginevra watching his window
  • Heph walks over to the window and waves at Ginevra, messaging her to say “goodnight, hope you get some sleep out there”, but she doesn’t respond
  • No alarms go off as Heph does this, he gets the sense that spells of a low enough power do not seem to trip any alarms
  • He goes to the bedroom, taking the plate of scallops with him
• As Eden sleeps, she finds herself in her safe space, a childhood treehouse, drinking hot cocoa on a rainy day
  • She hears her mother’s voice calling from outside in the rain, she can’t quite make out the actual words that are being said but knows she is being called for dinner
  • She puts on her red rainboots and grabs her matching red umbrella and goes to climb down the ladder, but notices as she climbs down that nobody is actually there at the base of the treehouse
  • She puts up her umbrella and starts heading to the mansion, following a very familiar path, but it feels impossibly long and drawn out in the dream space, and she feels like she can’t get any closer to the mansion
  • Looking ahead she sees a humanoid figure standing in the fading light in the direction her house should be in, and the figure seems to helpfully hold out their hand to help
  • Eden says “Hello? Who are you? Can you help me?”
  • As she approaches she sees distinct elven ears and a business suit, and as she asks the question he retracts his hand in acknowledgement, nods, and turns and slowly walks in the direction of the mansion
  • Eden says “wait up” and then chases after the figure
  • She doesn’t seem to be able to get any closer to the figure as she chases it, and she has another surge of wild magic
  • Eden is able to keep this figure in her sight, but as she runs she sees another small primly dressed child approaching from the side, which she recognizes as The Brig
  • The Brig looks at her and sucks the life from her, which slows her, and the figure that was offering help seems to be getting away from her now
  • She throws down her umbrella to be less encumbered, and she chases the figure, yelling for help, and saying something is wrong, as she experiences another surge of wild magic
  • The figure stops and turns back to her, suddenly a bit closer, and it raises a wand, waving it in the direction of The Brig, which seems to cause it vanish
  • Sentin stands over Eden and lower his hand to help Eden up from the ground, where she had fallen without realizing
  • Eden starts to accept his help, and then remembering what happened earlier she starts crawling backwards away from Sentin, and his eyes narrow and he looks angry and frustrated
  • He pulls out the mask Eden has been wearing and approaches her, and Eden is shouting at him to stop, but that doesn’t stop him
  • She reacts by casting Fireball, but with Careful Spell so that she isn’t damaged
  • Sentin is singed and burned a bit by the fire, and with another burst of wild magic Eden poisons him as well
  • The mask in his hand falls to his side as he looks really unwell from the poison, and he looks at Eden with fear, confusion, and lack of understanding of how she works, and that lack of understanding is something he truly fears
  • Sentin vanishes and the rain clears, and the path to Eden’s home appears
  • She gets up, a bit dazed, and looks at herself, muddy and damaged, and starts slowly making her way home, calling out for her mom as she gets close
  • Eden sees her mom waiting for her at the house, and she can smell the scent of her favorite food coming from the house
  • Eden feels like the dream is ending, and she rushes to house, trying to get into her mom’s arms before the dream ends, and she is able to just make contact as the dream fades
  • Eden sits bolt upright in her bed, seeing the outside room reflecting the early dawn light, and she cries softly to herself

Referenced in

• Calendar