🐀110. names and titles

session 110 • april 30 2024 • 1,873 words

🌑 DAY 31 • 📅 MARPENOTH 21

Rat Coat

Rend starts the session off strong by peeling several of her pelts off of herself, stripping almost naked in front of a SHOOKTH Sarith, and offering the best-sized one to Sarith.

It's a giant rat pelt. Sarith says NO ThaNK YOU . Rend is confused because Sarith just complained earlier that he was cold and Will was hogging all the clothes.

Sarith explains that he thinks that Will deserves the rat pelt instead because it was warmer; and that he would gladly be the bigger person and accept Will's leather armor instead :)

Pleased at Sarith's graciousness, Rend trots over to Will to make this Cash Money offer to him. Will is like NO ThANK yOu, and--seeing Sarith's ploy to get his armor--explains that he burns hotter than most, insisting that Sarith keep the pelt.

Sarith and Will squabble briefly over who should wear the pelt. Rend, who never for one MOMENT doubts that perhaps people do NOT want her hard-earned trophy pelts, is confused. Someone suggests offering it to Diana. Will gets picked to be the sacrificial guinea pig to offer it to her.

Will offers THE ESTEEMED DUABA OF HOUSE ,,,, a gotdam rat pelt. Diana is like ":) Will hbeloved i am not afraid to murder."

Will ends up dumping the pelt on a sleeping Eldeth, who groggily accepts and rolls herself into a rat pelt burrito.

Personal Cloak Billower

Hugh sidles up and shows Rend that he also has a pelt!! Rend is pleased abt it. Hugh shows off the bear pelt they just recovered from the tracker draegloth; the pelt is enchanted to be a Cloak of Billowing.

Rend is AMAZED by the fact that the pelt can still move "even though it is dead". When she asks how he's doing that, Hugh explains "MAGIC"--prompting Rend to cast some of her own magic on her pelts to try and make them billow as well.

Unfortunately the magic she casts is thunderclap, which immediately ass-blasts the entire camp awake.

Unaware of how many "Character Disapproves" she just received, Rend laments that it didn't work. Hugh explains that he got it enchanted by a mage named Pax, and that when they got to the surface, he would try and get it enchanted for Rend too.

Droop, ever helpful beloved, offers to make Rend's pelts billow by manually flapping them while making "wooshing" noises. Rend is ecstatic about this. Your Droop has evolved into Professional Cloak Billower congrations.

Vanity

Will approaches Diana shortly after the Rat Pelt discussion again. Diana, more miserable than ever, wonders why her father kept coming down to this wretched place. She laments that everything fucking sucks down here, but assures Will that she trusts him with all her life.

Unfortunately, Will--shaken by his dream and more worried about the wellbeing of the party than ever--takes this moment to try to get her to put on Soren's armor once again. Diana's exasperation at having to have this discussion again quickly devolves into annoyance, when Will does not let up past her initial refusal.

Will's argument is that gritting her teeth and putting on the armor will lead to her increased effectiveness in the group, as well as her survivability. Diana argues, however, that as a cleric of Sune, her combative and clerical abilities stem from her beauty, and that wearing "ugly" armor will actively detract from her effectiveness and piety instead.

Will insists that she will not become "ugly" from putting on this armor, and coldly points out that Diana is choosing vanity over her own survival, quoting what his old mentor, Severin, once scolded him about before cutting off all his hair.

Diana is appalled and angered by this, and demands that Will leave her alone, which Will does.

Always Angry

Rend, experiencing the Rancid Vibes of the campsite, asks Hugh if the party is "always so mad". Hugh says yes; Rend is "oh :("

Hugh adds that the group "doesn't know how to look at the bright side of things". Rend sadly notes that there are very little "bright sides" in the Underdark, meaning the literal light level / subterranean darkness. Hugh points out that they have a campfire, and Rend solemnly agrees.

The braincell levels are off the charts.

Rend points out that when the vibes are Unwell in her tribe, a good tussle in the dirt always helps everyone clear their head and feel better again. This girl's conflict resolution skills seem to be "throw hands and dirt in equal measure".

Hugh agrees that he wouldn't mind sparring. Rend sizes up the "combatants" of this new tribe, and wonders aloud if Ront and Nezznar would also participate, being the largest individuals at the camp. Hugh proclaims that they are both weak because they are both cowards, surprising Rend.

Rend then asks about Will, whom Hugh also seems unimpressed by. Still, SOMEONE needs to take part in this sparring match, so Rend goes around to inquire and form her own opinions.

Invites to the Slave Olympics 2

Rend sidles up to Nezznar, Will, Ront, Sildar, and Diana to be like "u fight?? :3". This is, understandably, met with confusion every time.

Each time, Rend explains the situation (from scratch again LMAO GIRL have you considered gathering everyone together??): that she thinks the group's combatants should spar against each other so as to lighten the mood.

Nezznar

Nezznar is disgusted and initially haughty about the idea of sparring. However, when he hears that Diana might be participating as well, he eagerly agrees to participate, if only to get back at her for his previous misgivings about her (failing to revive Soren).

Will

Will is sad-wet-eyeing in a corner after getting yelled at by Diana. He is concerned that the party might hurt each other; Rend assures him that "everyone will just be playing!! :D" completely oblivious to the daggers that Nezznar is staring at Diana LMAO. Will hesitantly agrees to participate.

Ront

Ront agrees to participate upon the self-proclaimed addition of a food prize.

Sildar

Sildar declines the invitation, still cradling Soren's dead body. Rend understandingly moves on, though she has been made skeptical of Soren's moral character by the Sarith/Will conflict last session.

Diana

Rend comes over to Diana, who is presently crying Rend heartily apologizes for being loud earlier, and notes that she does not often "listen to the brain demon".

Diana offers her a big smile and thanks her, noting that that brightened her (shitty) day and that Rend seems very kind. Rend notices her tears, sniffs her, and asks her what is wrong with her eyeballs LMAO.

Diana tries to brush off Rend's (misguided) concern, but eventually admits that she's absolutely miserable down here, that she misses how everything used to be on the surface and that she's been trusting all the wrong people.

Rend crouches down to meet her at eye-level, and ardently admits that she, too, misses the sky and thinks everything down here is too dark and quiet. She tells Diana that it is not so bad to "miss home, miss past", because that means "it was good times worth missing"; then assures Diana that "we need try make good time now, so that we can look back later and miss now".

Diana wonders how they can do this. Rend ponders this, and wonders what Diana's home looked like, so that they might try to recreate it.

Diana pops tae fuck off about House Talmost's luxurious manor in Waterdeep, but most of it is lost on Rend, whose idea of luxury is Extra Large Mud Puddle. Eventually, Diana gets through to Rend by describing her garden ("like meadow?" "like meadow!") , which was full of beautiful flora such as roses and white lilies, and yellows and lavenders that look like the rising sun.

Rend thoughtfully listens to Diana gush , clearly a little lost, but warmly congratulations Diana on seeming more like herself again ("good! there more light in your eyes now."). She asks Diana if Diana wants to participate in the sparring match to come LMAO.

Diana thanks Rend for listening and notes that she does feel better, before agreeing to join the sparring match.

Killed 'Em :3

Rend expresses excitement that she's gotten so many people to spar with, and notes that "the spider man" is especially excited to fight Diana.

Diana looks over at Nezznar with a cordial smile; Nezznar meets it with a sadistic one.

Rend, local village idiot, thinks that they are smiling happily at each other, and commends them both for being good sports. When Diana asks who all are fighting in the sparring match, Rend has trouble remembering Nezznar's name, since she has not interacted with him much.

Diana gives Rend Nezznar's actual name--“Lord Nezznar". Rend seems to be of the opinion that his name is "Lordnezznar" and laments how long it is. Trying to get her to understand the concept of nobility, Diana asks her if there were ever people in her tribe who demanded to be called specific titles of respect--Rend matter-of-factly states that there once were "speakers who force us to call them Chosen of Yeenoghu", but that she killed 'em all :D

Diana knows that Yeenoghu is a powerful entity who has many a cult in Faerun. Rend also adds, again, that she refuses to listen to demon in her head, and advises Diana to convince Hugh not to as well.

Diana asks if Rend herself has a title she wants appended to her name, like "Chief". Rend seems unfamiliar with the concept and says they can just call her "just Rend". Diana repeats "just Rend", making Rend worried that she's accidentally appended "just" to her name as a prefix. So much braincells in the room.

By My Name, Again

Rend sidles back over to Nezznar to show him that she's learned his name, though she somewhat butchers the long name as "Lornezzar".

Though Nezznar is initially offended, he realizes she is trying to call him by his "Lord" title, and is surprised. He asks her who taught her that; Rend says "flower lady", and points at Diana, who waves demurely.

Rend realizes that she did not, in fact, ask for DIANA'S name, and laments her carelessness. She asks Nezznar what "flower lady"'s name is. Nezznar considers this, and gives Rend her actual name in turn: "Lady Diana".

Nezznar inquires idly about the sparring match, and learns that Will has also agreed to fight, to his somewhat surprise due to his conceptions about Will's cowardice. Nezznar tells Rend that he's changed his mind about fighting Diana, and now wants to fight Will.

Rend wonders if it's because they have the same hairstyle--since Soren had helped them both tidy their hairs after they'd gotten it shorn off at Velkynvelve. Nezznar corrects Rend, saying that it's because they fundamentally disagree with each other a lot.

Rend is like "ohhhh, like rivals!" and launches off into a speech about her rival, Narl, whom she play-wrestles a lot. She proudly claims that "because I bigger, I win most times", and reassures Nezznar that he would likely win against Will because he is also bigger.

We end the session the way we started: