Souvenir: Vanessa
DeVore's mask
It all started when Harvey Maylor came to you for help. One of his
reporters, Ellie Weissman, had been kidnapped by the Carnival. You went
to her office and found the Carnival trying to dispose of her notes. You
were only able to save one thing: an appointment calendar that listed a
meeting with Percy Winkley of the Midnight Squad.
After obtaining the location of his secret library from Maria
Jenkins, you paid Mr. Winkley a visit. You arrived just in time to
rescue him from some Carnival goons. He told you that he had spoken to
Ellie about some bracelets called the Bands of Shu. He also gave you a
mental monocle that would allow you to pluck Ellie's current whereabouts
from the minds of the carnies.
You took to the streets and returned with knowledge of Ellie's
location.
She was being held in an old warehouse. You ventured there, and
managed to free her from the Carnival. She told you about her
investigation into the Bands' power. She seemed to believe they could
help you fight the Carnival.
To recover the Bands, you had to go up against the Malta Group, who
were keeping the bracelets locked away in one of their bases.
Then you had to empower them. You brought the Bands into contact with
some Devouring Earth creatures to anchor them in this reality. Then you
faced the Praetorians while wearing them, in order to give the Bands a
taste of that which lies beyond this world. Lastly, you brought them to
Sister Psyche to complete the ritual.
With the Bands empowered, you were ready to set foot on the psychic
plane for the first time. You journeyed there and uncovered three of
Vanessa's memories: some travel guides to Italy, a porcelain mask, and a
pile of bones belonging to a woman named Giovanna Scaldi.
Giovanna Scaldi had to be important, but you didn't know how. You
went back to the psychic plane, but this time you were unable to learn
anything. Vanessa had found a way to protect her memories.
Harvey suggested you turn to Sister Psyche for help. You brought the
mental monocle to her, and she was able to greatly amplify its power.
The next time you went to the psychic plane, you were able to use the
monocle to summon forth a memory of Vanessa in her younger days. She
told you about her first trip to Venice, where she found a lovely
porcelain mask.
It was enough to pique your curiosity, and you went back to learn
more. The next time you encountered a memory of Vanessa, she told you
about the first and only time she put n the mask. When she put it on,
the mind of Giovanna Scaldi flooded into hers. It seemed that Giovanna
was an old Venetian criminal who had preserved her life by putting her
soul into the mask. Terrified, Vanessa packed away the mask and vowed
never to wear it again.
You and Harvey agreed: you had to know more. You went back to the
psychic plane, where you encountered one last reflection of Vanessa. She
told you that She had put on the mask in order to use its powers to
battle the Rikti. She succeeded, but she was never again separate from
Giovanna.
Harvey had a bold idea. If you could defeat Giovanna upon the psychic
plane, Vanessa might be freed. You went again to Sister Psyche, who
modified the monocle once more. Now you could use it to draw forth the
soul of Giovanna. You did so, and defeated the mighty villain on the
psychic plane.
You were hopeful that Vanessa and her minions had now been freed from
Giovanna's psychic grip. You went to one of their hideouts, but learned
that your hopes had been in vain. The Carnival was still going strong,
with Vanessa holding the reigns. Apparently she had learned much from
her time with Giovanna.
You had come to sympathize with Vanessa, but you knew she had to be
stopped. You used the mental monocle to uncover her whereabouts, then
went to her hideout and defeated her. Vanessa DeVore is currently
serving time in the Ziggursky Prison, under the watch of several
talented telepaths. It is unknown whether her mental powers are strong
enough to subvert their control.
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