🐝33. like the bees
session 33 • 07/12/2022 • 2,460 words
🌞 DAY 9 • 📅 ELEINT 30
📌 Reidoth's Cottage, Thundertree
Vyerith
Attempted Interrogation
As Water!ren / Fake!ren stirs, Hugh and Will rush over to them and begin to ask them questions about their true identity. Though still disoriented from the beating they'd taken earlier from the group, Fake!ren makes it immediately clear that they wouldn't be cooperative, sarcastically even continuing to pretend to be the real Soren.
Will attempts to reason with Fake!ren logically, but to no avail, as Fake!ren accuses Soren of "working with Gundren to end the world". The interrogation is interrupted by Soren's chair getting dragged across the floor by Sildar bc he still can't walk :(
Soren's attempts to intimidate Fake!ren fall flat bc he has about as much mobility as a sack of potatoes right now. Soren admits that he's tired of how much threatening and interogating he's had to do these few days, and pleads with Fake!ren to just come clean.
Fake!ren, although initially unwilling, gets worn down eventually by the groups incessant mix of questioning, pleas and intimidation. When Soren mentions having met another doppelganger, Will notices that Fake!ren briefly seems panicked and questions them about it, though Fake!ren vehemently denies knowing Art.
Hugh offers Fake!ren 2 gp to show him their dick. Fake!ren sardonically agrees, at which Hugh puts 2gp on his knee and fucking takes their underwear oh my god. Soren idly comments that Fake!ren's dick is not anatomically accurate to his. Sildar fetches a blanket to cover Fake!ren out of courtesy.
Soren attempts to continue the interrogation by noting that Fake!ren had brought up past events that no one should know about, even the rest of the party. Fake!ren, as usual, offers a sardonic answer, but Will notes that he knows that doppelgangers can read minds, which aligns with the behavior of Art (who accurately brought up Soren's biggest fears and past despite not being Nezznar).
Dangers of the Forge
Eventually, as the party continues to try and gently wring information out of them, Fake!ren tells us their real name: Vyerith. The party tries to promise Vyerith that we'll put him in jail instead of killing them as they believe we will, but Vyerith remains pessimistic. The group attempts to probe to see if they're Jharym, but they vehemently deny this as well.
When Soren questions Vyerith's accusation that Gundren would destroy the world, Vyerith finally expresses their true intentions: to destroy the map and kill Gundren so that Wave Echo Cave, and the Spellforge, might fall into obscurity.
When the group points out that the Black Spider is now all the more likely to get to the Forge now that he's burned our map, Vyerith implies that they're aware the Spider is having difficulty with getting through the cave presently.
Vyerith also expresses that us (Gundren, Lord's Alliance, human/elvenkind in general) finding the Forge is no better than the Spider arming the drow with it; such a powerful artifact in the hands of anyone is a bad idea -- and as such, they believes, even now, that Gundren needs to die.
Soren gently tries to steer Vyerith towards the possibility that the Spider is surely using him as a disposable minion. At this, we learn that Vyerith has already recognized this, and is only using their position as a servant of the Spider to destroy the map and kill Gundren so that no one can get the Forge.
Soren reminds Vyerith that since they seem to have a good grasp on the Spider's personality, then surely Vyerith knows that the Forge falling into his hands is much, much worse than the party obtaining it. Vyerith sneers at this and asks Soren if he really thinks that he's so much better than the Spider / the other drow.
Vyerith tells Soren that he is no different from Nezznar, sending Soren through 293 stages of grief speedrun any%.
Jharym?
In the silence that follows, Vyerith "casually" asks about Art. We point out that they said they didn't know Art. They say that they know "of" Art.
In order to find out if Vyerith and Art know each other, Soren lies and says that we roughed up Art before throwing him in jail; as well as lets Vyerith know that Art was sent into a dangerous situation without backup for the Black Spider's amusement. Vyerith doesn't seem to react to this, though Will catches a very brief flash of anger.
Alone Time
To Try
Eventually, Vyerith says that they will only speak to Will. Hugh resists, but follows as the rest of the group retreat to Reidoth's bedroom.
Vyerith makes Will promise not to speak of the following conversation to Gundren, which Will hesitantly promises. Vyerith confesses to Will that they are Jharym; that he still believes Gundren should die for the greater good, but does not want to hurt Gundren more than they already have . As such, Vyerith wants to tell Gundren that they killed Jharym in the woods, so that Gundren can receive closure.
As Will is heavily debating the morality of this situation, Vyerith and Will hear Hugh recounting the entire conversation to the group, as he has been listening secretly the whole time.
Vyerith angrily calls Hugh a worthless fool and refuses to speak about the situation any more. Will gently attempts to placate him, leading Vyerith to call themselves an evil monster to dissuade Will from the conversation.
Will speaks to them about being more than what the rest of humankind thinks doppelgangers are, pointing out that Soren also belongs to a "monstrous" race but is trying to be more than that.
Soren takes 9d10 emotional damage.
Seeing that Gundren is devastated by this, Soren suggests that Sildar speak to his friend and comfort him, which Sildar does.
Eventually, the party shuffles out. Gundren avoids eye contact with Vyerith (and vice versa) and sits in the armchair, staring into the fire. Soren awkwardly acknowledges that he might not be so different from the rest of the drow, but it "feels good to try", noting that Vyerith trying to take Gundren's feelings into account is "trying".
Vyerith sneers at this and points out that his attempt fell flat.
Judgement
Soren speaks to Reidoth, noting that Reidoth had seemed adamant that Vyerith be killed for being a doppelganger; Soren subtly wonders if they will have to fight Reidoth to leave the cottage with Vyerith. Reidoth asks what the group plans to do with the doppelganger; Soren states that the courts of Neverwinter / the Lord's Alliance would enact justice upon him.
Reidoth tells us that he has no issues with this, as the Lord's Alliance will surely want to execute the doppelganger as well. He tells Will to "ensure judgement is passed", which Will acknowledges.
Will asks Vyerith if they have a preferred form. Vyerith wonders if it's uncomfortable for Soren to see himself naked on the ground; Soren drily jokes that he doesn't mind as he's "very nice to look at".
Vyerith sarcastically wonders if Will has an issue "being around so many drow". Will tries his best not to think about drow, which of course ensures that he thinks about nothing but his past with drow. Vyerith tells Will to "stop trying so hard", which Will weakly tries to feign ignorance to. Finally, Vyerith switches to another form: a female halfling with dark hair, noting that this was her preferred form/gender.
The conversation once again turns to Art; Soren, in one last attempt to get a rise out of Vyerith, wonders if they should merge Art's cell with the "bloodthirsty redbrand bandits" so that Vyerith can have ger own cell. Vyerith cooly suggests putting her in the same cell as Art; Soren is now doubting that Vyerith knows Art.
Watch Order
Eventually, the group starts to discuss watch order tonight, with Will subtly noting that someone needs to keep an eye on Vyerith in case she escapes and/or kills Gundren.
Soren immediately volunteers for first watch; Will shoots this down immediately noting that Soren needs to rest. Soren resists firmly, denying that he needs to rest and seeming to lapse back into the "madness".
The party, noting by now that Soren's "madness" forces him to refuse kindness and pity towards himself, point out that Soren resting up and recovering his spellslots would be necessary to the party's survival; and that they want him to sleep not out of pity, but rather out of self-preservation.
Soren mulls over this and agrees that he would be more help to the party rested, and reluctantly lets himself get put into bed.
Bees
Droop and Will, who have first watch, remain with Vyerith while Hugh and Sildar join Soren in the bedroom.
Will and Droop begin their reading lessons (after a sizable discussion about how Droop can teach Will to be strong); Will starts by showing Droop the alphabet and giving him words that start with each letter.
As Droop struggles along, Will tries to start a conversation with Vyerith by asking her if she knows how to read. She skirts around the subject; she knows a little, never had the occasion to have to learn before.
Will asks Vyerith if she enjoys anything. Vyerith says BUGS lmao
Will tries to have a conversation with Vyerith about bugs, and though Vyerith is initially hesitant to engage in conversation, she eventually succumbs to Will's consistent attempts at starting a conversation. They talk about various bugs, and Vyerith is interested when Will starts talking about bees that pollinate the herbs and flowers.
Vyerith wonders why they do that, and when Will notes that its a biological instinct, and Vyerith notes the bees' instincts to sting as well, likening it to the widely-held believe that doppelgangers (and other monstrous races) are fated to do bad things due to their biological instincts.
Will points out that bees only sting when they're scared, and to protect their homes; and that the bees' instincts to pollinate also ensure that flowers grow.
Vyerith falls silent at this, and ushers Will to continue teaching Droop to read.
Loot Loot Loot
In the bedroom, Hugh starts trying to stab the cloak we found in Venomfang's lair with the needle we found in Venomfang's lair, alarming Soren and Sildar.
Soren, laying in the bed, asks Hugh if he wants him to identify the items; Hugh does, and starts bringing the various items to Soren. Soren identifies the following items and informs the group of their use:
Hugh has to leave the room to fetch the Javelin, which he had given to Droop. Droop, who has only gotten to the letter "b" in their reading lessons, sadly complains about how difficult reading is; Hugh and Droop have a small debate over the meaning of the word "below" as Will and Vyerith listen.
No Free Lunch
Shortly after Soren identifies all the items, and as Hugh is reporting their uses to Will, Sildar checks in with Soren. Soren again maintains that he's fine, at which Sildar challenges him to walk to the window and back.
Soren attempts to do so and immediately falls on the ground :( Sildar rushes over and picks him back up onto the bed, questioning what the gotdamn fuck is wrong with Soren.
Soren establishes that he feels like a liability to the party and that he has to make up for his past wrongdoings by working extra hard for the party. Sildar tells him that he's strong, and that he has more than repaid his debt to the party.
Soren tries to again bring up the parallel between he/Sildar and Jharym/Gundren, noting that he betrayed Sildar's trust in the beginning by trying to assassinate him; Sildar calls him a failure of an assassin and whore (Chris says this was out of character but we all know better.)
Sildar points out that Soren never managed to make good on the assassination attempt, and instead saved Sildar's life multiple times. Soren, exasperatedly, asks Sildar to acknowledge that they are at least even now; Sildar says "nop I will always owe you >:( "
Eventually, Will comes back in with Hugh. Soren questions Hugh on his "brain demon", wondering if the demon had ever asked Hugh for any favors. Hugh notes that the demon only talked about a wedding that it and Hugh had to prepare for; never any favors, disappointing Soren.
Soren notes that his "benefactor" had asked for an unspecified / open-ended favor, to be paid at a later date, which worries Sildar. The group muses over what an entity so powerful might want from Soren in the future (Hugh suggests killing another dragon, Will points out that it had literally chopped a dragon in half with one hit so it's unlikely).
Soren explains what his benefactor had looked like, that he was kind to Soren, and namedrops him as Graz'zt, which none of the party knows about. Sildar pleads with Soren not to take on any more debts; Soren agrees, noting also that Graz'zt (seemingly out of kindness) warned Soren against calling upon him again.
Soren states that he didn't want to keep important information from the group, and reassures the group that he had asked Graz'zt for one condition: that the favor not hurt his friends.
Sildar suggests that we can look up Graz'zt at Candlekeep when we get there.
Ignorance, Bliss
Hesitantly, Soren admits that he had overheard the conversation in which Will told the party about his village being raided by drow.
Soren subtly implies that based on his knowledge of how drow raiding parties operate, any bodies "missing" may have been taken alive to the Underdark, and may still be alive now.
Soren briefly recounts Colt's situation, with his parents, and repeats to Will what he had told Colt: that it would be dangerous and almost futile to go to the Underdark in hopes of locating and rescuing drow slaves, as well as that surfacers who remain in the Underdark for more than a few years tend to become "changed" or broken.
Still, Soren states that he would be willing to be Will's guide, should he ever decide to go seeking survivors from his village in the Underdark.
Will is quiet for a moment, but eventually explains to Soren that he has no intention of doing so--that he would prefer to not know the fates of any villagers, and that it's unlikely they have survived until now. Though seemingly guilty, Will maintains that he thinks the best thing he can do for himself is stay on the surface.
Soren agrees that the best way to honor the memories of those who were killed in the raid, is to live a good life. Will looks pained and extremely guilty, before leaving the room.
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