16.2 Chaos Spares the Used

SESSION DATE: February 07, 2026
PRESENT: Rory, Kemurial, Zhanis, Freya

Deep Dive

![[Rory - 16_2 Chaos Spares the Used.mp4]]

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![[Rory - 16_2 Chaos Spares the Used.m4a]]

Adventure Photos

Adventure Song & Lyrics

![[Chaos Spares the Used.mp3]]

[Verse 1]
The arrow flew on feathered wings across the northern wall,
To meet the eyes of darkling kings and watch the shadows fall.
Matto watched with narrowed eyes and spun a tangled thread,
Of whispered paths and ancient lies and messages we sped.
The acolyte has turned away to let the judgment bloom,
While in the market, cold and gray, we walked into our doom.

[Chorus]
The cold has changed, the Bear awakes, the fire begins to rise,
Beneath the weight of our mistakes and judgment’s heavy eyes.
Don't tell me survival is a sign of grace produced,
For the Architect has a grand design, and Chaos Spares the Used.

[Verse 2]
The market stalls were filled with men who wore a merchant’s skin,
But shadows stirred within the den to let the strike begin.
Steve McQueen and his chosen few, they sought to force the path,
But Rory’s rage was deep and true, a storm of holy wrath.
Through Lightning Bolts and Eldritch fire, the invisible was shown,
Until the cowards in the mire were scattered and alone.

[Chorus]
The cold has changed, the Bear awakes, the fire begins to rise,
Beneath the weight of our mistakes and judgment’s heavy eyes.
Don't tell me survival is a sign of grace produced,
For the Architect has a grand design, and Chaos Spares the Used.

[Verse 3]
The Temple doors are opened wide, a vault of stone and fear,
With nowhere left for us to hide while reckoning is near.
Max and Felix join the line, with Gotrek’s dwarven pride,
And Ulrika’s noble blood divine is standing by our side.
Eldrick speaks from the highest stair, beside the golem’s frame,
With the weight of every winter prayer and the pressure of his name.

[Bridge]
The black cat watches from the height, a familiar in the gloom,
As the Inquisitor brings the light to search the crowded room.
"Chaos comes as comfort," he says with a voice of stone,
"It comes to walk the easy ways where the seeds of doubt are sown."
The statues breathe in cursed Praag, the cold is turning black,
While we’re lost within the winter fog with no way to turn back.

[Verse 4]
Ursun knows when the winter turns, and Tor provides the spark,
Dazh provides the flame that burns the whispers in the dark.
We stand within the circle now, where fair trials never go,
To the iron law we’re forced to bow while the tides of treason flow.
"Chaos spares those it intends to use," the warning rings so clear,
For the only thing we have to lose is the life we held so dear.

[Chorus]
The cold has changed, the Bear awakes, the fire begins to rise,
Beneath the weight of our mistakes and judgment’s heavy eyes.
Don't tell me survival is a sign of grace produced,
For the Architect has a grand design, and Chaos Spares the Used.

[Coda]
The Bear endures the cold,
The stories must be told.
The used are bought and sold.

World Anvil Journal

sooo… we wewen’t thupothe to weave the thity but we wint to the waww anyway. i thhot the midnight wettew into the chaoth tentth with my awwow. a thkawy acowyte man thaid it wooked bad that we wewe thpeakin to the enemy. i thaid he wath wong becuth he dont know the whowe thtowy. then the bad cat fowwowed uth to the mawket. kimiweel thaid the cat ith majik.

then thum mean men thowrounded uth in the mawket! they looked wike mawket peopow but they wewe bad fytewth. it wath a big big fyt! theve mcqueen gwappowed me an knocked me pwone but i hit him back vewy hawd. i wajed an i thmited him thow hawd he died. i am vewy thtwong. fweya wath invithibow an thhe thhot wightnin bowtth at evwyone. kimiweel made them aww vewy thkaweed with a feaw thpeww an they aww wunned away. i wint ha thpeed with a pothion an i caught them aww. i hit robert vaughn thow hawd he wath thtunned. then they thowwendewed to uth.

but then the bad acowyte man matto came back with gawdth. he thaid we wewe hurtin hewpweth peopow! zanuth made a zone of twuth to thhow we wewe good but they wewe thtiww mean. they thaid we have to meet the high inquithitow wady in the tempow wight now. we waited fow our fwiendth makth an gortek an fewikth an ulwika to come hewp uth. gortek wath vewy angwy that anyone thought he wath with chaoth.

the tempow ith HUGE. ewdwik the high inquithitow wath thewe with hith thimowacwum an thwee big thtone monthtewth cawwed gowemth. the bad cat wath thewe too! ewdwik thaid a big thpeetch about the beaw god uwthun an how chaoth thpaweth peopow it wantth to uthe. he looked at uth wike he thinkth we awe bad. it fewt vewy thkawy an the pweththuew wath big. i hope we dont get executed in a puppet thhow. i need a WONG WEHTHT.

pweethe dwaugnir keep uth thaf fwom the gowemth an the thkawy inquithitow man an hewp uth find the keyth. pweethe hewp me find my mommy an my dady.

Private Notes

• We venture toward the northern wall and fire off the arrow with the note attached to it. After doing so, the acolyte following us thinks out loud about how we're sending a message to the enemy, and how that wouldn't look great on us when the Inquisition finds out. Rory responds saying that until you know the whole story, they're plain wrong, no matter how they twist the story. Kemurial says he's willing to tell the story by compelling truth, but the acolyte waves him off, saying that "taking the free will of the people" is also frowned upon. Well, if you don't want to hear the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, then they shall never know the truth. They're going to spin the story to fit their narrative as they see fit. The acolyte turns and leaves. But the black cat following us around stays.
• Kemurial casts Detect Magic on the cat, and as expected, it's magical. Definitely a familiar.
• We head back across the river toward the citadel, passing by grain silos and whatnot, and finally make it into a busy market. As we walk down the stairs into the market, some of the market people surround us. On further inspection, these guys don't seem like typical market workers. Their garb suggests they're much more than that. Kemurial asks what the meaning of their surrounding us is. Zhanis doesn't see that they're wearing anything identifiable. They respond that they're there to provide correction, and they need to "put us back on the right path. GET 'EM, BOYS!" INITIATIVE!!!

  • Round 1

    • Freya - Casts Greater Invisibility on herself, 2 Sorcery Points to Quicken an Eldritch Blast at Horst Buchholz in front of Rory, all three blasts hit.
    • Brad Dexter - Moves up to Kemurial, multiattack Punch Down, which would hit, but Kemurial casts Shield to prevent it. He tries again and misses. He tries yet again, and misses again. Bonus Action to Brace Up on himself, granting 13 temp HP.
    • Steve McQueen - Moves up and attacks Friar Karl, missing. Second attack hits and knocks him Prone. Third attack to Grasping Strike him, missing. Bonus Action Combo Punch to try Grasping Strike again, missing.
    • Rory - Rage, moves toward Steve, Reckless Brutal Strike hits, Charger adds some damage, gets pushed 15' away, but the guy Reacts with Cross Counter, reducing the damage taken and doing that much damage to Rory. Rory moves up to him again, takes another swing and hits again.
    • Horst Buchholz - Moves up to Zhanis, would crit, but Zhanis has adamantine armor and can't be crit. Zhanis casts Silvery Barbs to make him reroll the attack, and misses. Second attack misses. Third attack hits, knocking her Prone. Bonus Action Grasping Strike misses.
    • Charles Bronson - Moves up to a prone Zhanis, first attack misses. Second attack misses. Third attack misses. Bonus Action Brace Up for temp HP.
    • James Coburn - Moves up to Kemurial, first attack misses, second attack misses, third attack misses. Bonus Action Brace Up for temp HP.
    • Robert Vaughn - Moves up to a Prone Zhanis, all three attacks miss. Bonus Action Brace Up for temp HP.
    • Yul Brynner - Moves up to Friar Karl, Grasping Strike hits, so now he's Grappled. Second attack hits. Third attack hits. Bonus Action Brace Up for temp HP.
    • Friar Karl - Casts Guardian of Faith next to him. Brad fails the save and takes 10 damage, Horst fails and takes the full 20 damage, Charles fails and takes 20 damage, and James take 10 damage. The Guardian of Faith disappears after doing 60 damage.
    • Kemurial - Moves next to Brad, provoking from James, which hits, and would've knocked him Prone but he's immune to the Prone condition. Continues moving around Brad and casts Fear, catching all but Steve and Rory within. Charles, Zhanis and Friar Karl save, everyone else fails! Part of the Fear spell says those affected must drop what they're holding. The one Grappling Friar Karl fails, so must drop him. Nice!
    • Zhanis - Stands up, casts Hold Person on Charles next to him. He fails the save, and is now Paralyzed!

  • Round 2

    • Freya - Moves toward Kemurial and casts 5th Level Lightning Bolt from her Staff of Power straight through the four southern enemies lined up nice and neat. All of them fail, taking the full damage! Suck it Brad, James, Horst and Robert! Changes aim and Quickens Scorching Ray at Steve in front of Rory. All three rays hit!
    • Brad Dexter - Still Feared, he runs away, provoking an attack from Kemurial, who uses Booming Blade thanks to Warcaster and swings his Foresight Scimitar, and hits, doing max damage automatically! Thanks to Booming Blade, and because he must continue to move, he'll take further damage, he takes even more damage! He can still use his Reactions though, so he uses Cross Counter to reduce the damage and do that amount of damage back to Kemurial. Kemurial maintains Concentration. Brad continues moving, provoking from Zhanis, who uses Toll the Dead. Brad fails his save, taking some good damage. Brad uses Bonus Action Brace Up for temp HP. Continues moving, provoking from Friar Karl, but misses. Brad continues, using his Action to Dash further.
    • Steve McQueen - Multiattack at Rory. First attack hits and knocks him Prone. Second attack misses. Third attack hits and Grapples Rory. Bonus Action Brace up for temp HP.
    • Rory - Prone and Grappled, Rory STILL CRITs Steve. Steve Reacts using Cross Counter to reduce the crit damage and do that reduction amount to Rory. Fine with me. Second attack hits, Rory pumps Staggering Smite into it, killing Steve. No longer Grappled, Rory stands up and moves toward Yul and uses Action Surge to unleash two more attacks at him. First attack at Yul ALSO CRITs! Yul uses his Reaction to Cross Counter, making Rory take some damage, which is fine again. Rory's second attack at Yul hits.
    • Horst Buchholz - Moves away from Kemurial since he's still Feared. Bonus Action Brace Up. Out of line of sight with Kemurial, he gets to try his save again, but fails.
    • Charles Bronson - Still held. Must make the save again, but fails.
    • James Coburn - Moves away from Kemurial since he's still Feared. Bonus Action Brace Up. Out of line of sight with Kemurial, he gets to try his save again, but fails.
    • Robert Vaughn - Moves away from Kemurial since he's still Feared. Bonus Action Brace Up. Out of line of sight with Kemurial, he gets to try his save again, but fails.
    • Yul Brynner - Tries to move away, provoking from Rory, who hits, and is now stuck next to Rory thanks to his Sentinel Feat! Reaction to Cross Counter. Bonus Action Brace Up.
    • Friar Karl - Stands up and casts Beacon of Hope on all of us, then moves toward Kemurial.
    • Kemurial - Pulls out Carpet of Flying and hops on. Flies northward and upward about 20' in the air to try to keep as many enemies in his line of sight as he can. Then he throws down a Tangler Grenade to try to stop Brad from getting way, but he saves.
    • Zhanis - Restrains Charles by tying his hands behind his back using his rope.

  • Round 3

    • Freya - Moves up near Kemurial and casts Eldritch Blast. The first one CRITs Yul. Second and third both hit as well.
    • Brad Dexter - Runs north around the building away from Kemurial since he's still Feared. Bonus Action Brace Up, and fails his Fear save.
    • Rory - Moves around Yul, first attack CRITs! Second attack hits and kills him. Moves just north of Kemurial to be ready to chase down one of the enemies if needed.
    • Horst Buchholz - Continues moving away, and fails his Fear save again. Bonus Action Brace Up.
    • Charles Bronson - Still held and restrained. Makes his save on Hold Person so is no longer held, but IS still restrained.
    • James Coburn - Moves away from Kemurial because he's still Feared. Fails his save again.
    • Robert Vaughn - Still Feared, continues moving away, fails save again. Bonus Action Brace Up.
    • Friar Karl - Minor Heal, which is maxed thanks to Beacon of Hope.
    • Kemurial - Flies eastward trying to cut off those running along the east side of the area.
    • Zhanis - Stays put to ensure Charles doesn't break out of his restraints.

  • Round 4

    • Freya - Misty Step, then Eldritch Blasts at James. All three hit.
    • Brad Dexter - Runs away from Kemurial's new location, which brings him back into the fray with us. Brace Up.
    • Rory - Runs up to Brad and swings. First attack hits. He Reacts with Cross Counter, reducing the damage taken and doing that amount to Rory. Second attack CRITs! Rory pumps Staggering Smite into it, which enough to drop him!
    • Horst Buchholz - Runs from Kemurial.
    • Charles Bronson - Breaks his restraints. Bonus Action Brace Up for temp HP. Moves around Zhanis and moves away, provoking from her. Zhanis casts Toll the Dead. Charles fails, taking some damage. Continues to move toward Friar Karl.
    • James Coburn - Continues running. Brace Up. Fails Fear save again.
    • Robert Vaughn - Continues running.
    • Friar Karl - Disengage to move away without provoking.
    • Kemurial - Uses Keoghtom's Ointment for max healing thanks to Beacon of Hope. Flies south.
    • Zhanis - Moves toward Charles, casts Command on Charles, commanding him to Halt. Charles fails his save, and must Halt.

  • Round 5

    • Freya - Unsure, she's still invisible.
    • Rory - Bonus Action Potion of Speed, runs south and jumps on to the lower tier of the market, moves in front of Horst and Robert. Swings at Horst, hits. He Reacts with Cross Counter again. Second swing CRITs him, but he's still alive, but barely! Hasted Action to attack, which hits and kills Horst.
    • Charles Bronson - Unsure.
    • James Coburn - Unsure.
    • Robert Vaughn - Tries to move away from Rory, provoking. Rory's opportunity attack hits, preventing further movement thanks to Sentinel. He reacts with Cross Counter. Bonus Action Brace Up.
    • Friar Karl - Casts Guardian of Faith near Robert. Robert fails his save, taking 20 damage! Moves up onto the stairs.
    • Kemurial - Moves a bit and uses Keoghtam's Ointment to some more healing.
    • Zhanis - Casts Color Spray at Charles, but Charles has more HP than what Zhanis rolls.

  • Round 6

    • Freya - Unsure, can't see, but we hear Eldritch Blasts going off in the distance to the west!
    • Rory - Recklessly wails on Robert, hitting three times. He reacts with Cross Counter. Rory pumps Staggering Smite into the third hit, doing extra damage and successfully Stunning Robert until the end of Rory's next turn.
    • Charles Bronson - Moves up to Zhanis and attacks her three times, but they all miss. Bonus Action Brace Up.
    • James Coburn - Unsure, can't see.
    • Robert Vaughn - Stunned, automatically fails and takes full damage from Guardian of Faith. He tries to run, provoking from Rory, but Rory hits and kills him.
    • Friar Karl - Casts Guiding Bolt at Charles, which hits! Moves toward Kemurial and Rory.
    • Kemurial - Flies toward Rory and casts Healing word on Rory for max healing thanks to Beacon of Hope. Flies up 15' higher to a height of 35'. Action to Dash further westward toward Charles.
    • Zhanis - Uses her Wand of Paralysis on Charles, but he saves.

  • Round 7

    • Freya - Unsure, can't see. But again we hear Eldritch Blasts going off in the distance! She yells to us that she's pursuing James.
    • Rory - Hearing Freya's call, Rory responds by running toward her voice. Rory sees him, but must use his Hasted Action and Action to Dash to reach him, and does so easily. Bonus Action to continue Raging.
    • Charles Bronson - Tries three more times to hit Zhanis, but can't, and simply waves the white flag, and lies down prone on the stairs.
    • James Coburn - Tries to run away, provoking from Rory, who hits, preventing further movement because of Sentinel. He gives up as well.
  • Combat over.
• After James surrenders, Rory holds James's hands behind his back and walks with him back to the center of the market to the rest of the group. In the meantime, the group has manacled Charles.
• We hear footsteps. The acolyte shows up with some guards and tells them "There they are! I TOLD you they were attacking helpless folk!" Charles and James both weave a story saying they're innocent. Zhanis immediately casts Zone of Truth. The acolyte and the guards view this as a hostile action. Kemurial tells them he's a paladin of Mystra and means no harm, but they attacked us first. The acolyte asks how they can trust what the spell does. Zhanis begins questioning them while we and they are inside the Zone of Truth. They still try to weave the story in their favor while technically telling the truth. We explain our side, but they're not having it.
• They claim we're at an impasse. The guard captain vouches for our honor. This makes the acolyte give us an option to leave as long as we give them our word we'll meet with the High Inquisitor. Rory says we will at some point, but we have more pressing matters to attend soon. They say we MUST meet with him before nightfall. Kemurial asks the guard captain's name, to which he replies Dylan Chandler. We also ask the acolyte's name. They reply with Matto Lupton. We agree to meet them, but it needs to happen fast.
• They send a runner to take us immediately to the High Inquisitor, and another to get the Duke, pronto.
• Zhanis casts a Message spell to the Duke, telling him to expect a runner to be by shortly to bring him to the Temple of the High Inquisitor. And Freya casts one to Max, telling him to gather himself, Ulrika, Gotrek and Felix and come quickly. We'll wait outside until they show up, then head inside.
• We arrive at the temple. We wait just a bit and the four arrive to help us, including Max, Ulrika, Felix and Gotrek. We do not see the Duke, however. There are two high-ranking guards from his citadel that appear in his place, however.
• We fill in the four about what's been happening and our plans and whatnot. Ulrika, related to the Duke, will throw her good word in. Felix will of course be on our side wholeheartedly, and Gotrek will vehemently deny being connected to the Chaos, because he's a dwarf and HOW DARE THEY ACCUSE HIM OF SUCH!
• We enter the temple, and it's HUGE. At the top of the stone stairs, we see the simulacrum of High Inquisitor Eldrick, and presumably Eldrick himself. They are guarded by three large golems. At their side is a small cat. At the bottom of the stairs is a large group of robed figures, probably other acolytes.
• High Inquisitor Eldrick speaks:

Children of Kislev…

You were not called here because you are strong. You were called because you are still standing.

Look around you. This city still draws breath. Its hearths still burn. Its walls have not fallen... yet. And do you know why?

Not because Chaos has grown weak. But because we have not grown soft.

Chaos does not always come as an army. It comes as comfort. As coincidence. As men who walk away untouched while others are taken.

It comes whispering: Surely this was chance. Surely this time means nothing.

Ursun teaches us otherwise.

The Bear endures winter not by closing his eyes... but by knowing when the cold has changed.

I tell you now: the cold has changed.

You have felt it. In the prayers that ring hollow. In the streets where laughter fades too quickly. In the way wickedness survives while the faithful are buried.

Do not tell me this is nothing. Nothing does not leave marks.

Tor does not strike blindly. When thunder rolls again and again over the same ground, it is not accident... it is warning.

And Dazh… Dazh does not ask what the flame will consume. Only whether the fire is needed.

We are not here to panic. We are not here to rage. We are here to stand watch while others sleep.

To question what others accept. To endure the hatred of the comfortable. To be called cruel so that Kislev may be called alive.

Some will curse us. Some will plead. Some will insist that survival proves innocence.

Remember this: Chaos spares those it intends to use.

That's it for this session!

Adventure Loot

Loose Gold Found

Total:
Converted:
Split:

• Gold has been split