Campaign 3

== Arc I: Light in the Dark ==
=== Session 1 - Sanctum of the Verdant Trickster ===
Twenty five years post Fluxx, Callum, Gaelin, and Marfer (a.k.a The Shadow) arrive at a 3-story tower in the autumnal Fox Clan woods at the same time as Echo and Yarra, and Echo's white constrictor familiar, Karma. Both groups were hired by a mysterious green haired figure to slay a beast at this location. They soon discover a hole in the ground surrounded by flowers, and that Walker, and their gale spirit hawk, Hikiki have holed up inside the tower.
Investigating the tower, they discovered a staircase leading down to a circular room with bookshelves lining the walls and a large orange flower in the center of the room. After looting a few books and spell scrolls, they attempted to leave before the flower closed the exit with its vines and combat ensued. After several rounds, the group defeated the Snapdragon. Callum harvested its heart and Echo harvested its poison.
=== Session 2 - Ward ===
After cutting through the vines of the Snapdragon, the group exited the cave and discovered a group of green tanuki spirits that had taken up residence in the tower. The spirits were met with caution at first but they gifted Walker a small blue stone and Echo's knowledge of nature spirits eased tensions. Soon, the group noticed the vines that were supporting the tower begin to wilt and the tower and surrounding land began to collapse as the group made a quick escape, Callum with his arms full of tanukis.
The group soon found a place to rest from their sustained injuries. During the downtime, Callum began to feel the Snapdragon heart start to move. Tossing it to the ground, it began to shift as black hexagons covered the object, Callum claimed to have encountered this curse before as a full-sized Snapdragon grew from the heart, this time covered with black hexagons with a singular red, metallic, hexagonal eye. He would later identify this creature by name: Ego.
A fight ensued as the group sprung into action. Callum was soon knocked unconscious by the cursed Snapdragon and Walker rushed in to stabilize him with their herbalism kit, discovering a black growth protruding from Callum's heart and tendrils spreading across his body. Gaelin pulled Callum from the fray with an earthen grasp. Echo then attempted to flee with Yarra. Suddenly, an armored figure wielding a glaive reached out to Callum with glowing rings of light that healed him and brought him back to consciousness. This figure would soon reveal themself to be Astryd Ansirah. Callum would then enter a rage and shift into the large, black, hulking, deer-headed figure that is Ego-Callum much to the shock of the rest of the group. Echo returned to the fray but the group would begin to escape after receiving advice from Astryd to do so.
The group followed her north-east to her base of operations and home. Along the way, they learned more about each others' origins, Callum explained how Ego hunts him yet he is able to control its curse, Walker vaguely explained how they met Hikiki, and Gaelin explained how he found his spellbook in a jelly cube he slayed for the Broken Horns. At Astryd's home, they met her pet goat Comet and found rest.
=== Session 3 - Prism Break ===
The group makes themselves at home in the temple Astryd is residing in. Everyone gets topless and drunk in the hot springs. 
The next morning, they discuss plans for the day. Callum is insistent on the need to hunt down and kill the Ego-Snapdragon before its able to "level a village." Astryd asks the group if they can travel west for her to the Refracted Reformitorium, a.k.a the Prism, to tell an old friend of hers (she doesn't say but, Vish) that she's still alive and kicking. She needs the group to go because she is banned from Illuminators' territory for trying to break him out before. The group agrees to help her after she helps them kill the Ego-Snapdragon.
The group then tracked down and hunted the Ego-Snapdragon, which lasted less than 2 rounds of combat before Astryd exploded it with a critical divine smite. They also discovered halfling footsteps heading south nearby (Marfer).
With Walker's wayfinder guidance, the group left Astryd and traveled for 5 days west to Prism. Entering the previous desert border between Scorpion and Crane clans on the outskirts of Bastakal, the group devised a plan to get inside the layered tower prison complex that is the Prism. Echo used Mask of Many Faces to disguise herself as her "friend" Eros de la Rosco, and explained that they would pretend to be Scripted polyamorous artists looking for a muse.
The group, led by Echo, lied their way into the Refracted Reformitorium. They entered the lobby where prisoners were free to roam about under the watch of six guards armed with crossbows. They found a caged homunculus, with a draconic name tag reading Doffle, amongst other monsters and prisoners. They briefly talked to Blaze the centaur who was arrested for violence and seemed to appreciate the Illuminators guidance and the nickname they gave her. Then they explored the prison chamber hallway and continued searching for the dark, goateed friend of Astryd. Echo met a yuan-ti before investigating the special door at the end of the hallway that had two helmets outside of it with Callum. Walker finds the figure they're looking for, who claims his name is Rajah. Echo and Callum talk to the bandaged and blind girl inside the cell, who matches the description of the "new girl" Lamprey. Asking her about the helmets they now wear, she explains that the guards think she's dangerous because she has a hunger and feasts on memories.
Echo grows attached to the girl, who reveals her name to be Zari, and feels bad for her the other prisoners. She discusses staging a break out with Callum. Both of them like the idea so they go to Walker to ask for their opinion. Walker vehemently disagrees and says the idea is crazy and that they "don't need the heat." Zari reads the aurus of the groups saying that Echo is dim, Callum is two, and Walker is warm. Callum then comes up with the idea of using Zari's memory eating abilties to destroy the guards' memories of the group ever being there. Walker asks Rajah his thoughts and he says he loves the idea. Much to their own dismay, they begrudgingly agree. 
Callum and Echo then work together to throw the guards into a small enough area for Walker to entangle them. Walker then uses their thieves' tools break Zari out, then Rajah, then uses ray of frost and Callum's strength to break out the yuan-ti. Echo begins to use lethal force against the guards and Callum enters his rage. They break into the lobby and Callum frees Doffle. Walker summons Hikiki and entangles several of the six crossbow guards as Echo (lethally) and Callum (unlethally) let into the guards. After knocking several of them out, an armored woman wielding a three-headed flail entered, as the Warden joined the fray.
=== Session 4 - Prism Break pt. 2 ===
The half-dwarf Warden enters and combat continues. Callum and Echo work at taking out the five remaining guards that protect each exit. Walker drops entangle to bane the Warden and a couple guards. Then the Warden uses her Radiance of the Dawn to deal a staggering amount of radiant damage to the party. Callum demanitates a guard and flings him across the room. With themself and Echo looking especially weak, Walker drops bane in order to cast healing spirit on Echo, but it only heals for 1 hp. Then it's the Warden's turn again. She ignites a searing smite on her flail and steps across the room, crashing the weapon into Walker, dropping them unconscious and leaving their body flaming. Things are now looking grim and Echo and Callum realize they should focus down the Warden. Echo unleashes her barrage of poisoned daggers and commands pseudodragon-Karma to sting. Rajah uses a healing word to bring Walker back to consciousness and Gaelin successfully casts hold person on the Warden, paralyzing her. Callum then rushes the Warden with Vitae Furtum, misses, but follows it up with an auto-crit greatsword attack. Walker then climbs back up to her feet and rushes the Warden to attack her with a sickle, misses, and teleports away with Hikiki in a flurry of ice. The guards continue to cast sacred flames on the party, which knocks Walker unconscious once again. Callum continues to attack the Warden, and shes looking weak. She fails to break free of the hold person. Then, Echo auto-crits with both of her daggers, sinking each one above and below her heart, before rending the heart from the body. She tosses the bloody thing to Karma, who begins to devour it. Gaelin then rushes over to Walker protecting them with a goopen grasp and succeeds on a medicine check to stabilize them. Echo and Callum dispatch the remaining guards.
With the fight over, the group goes over to aid Walker and Rajah uses another healing word to bring them back to consciousness. A dazed Walker then uses their last 2nd-level spell to recast healing spirit and the group takes turns rejuvenating themselves in it. They then decide to explore the rest of the prison in order to free the remaining inmates.
They first head to the Room of Reflection, a large hemispherical chamber lined with mirrors with a focusing lens near the apex. In the center sits a single chair, which Callum and Echo flank around to find an orc strapped in it, tattooed and weak. They ease his fears about being tortured again while Walker watches the door. After freeing the orc, Walker immediately recognizes him as Pekelo, a member from their old ship. They reveal to the others that they were a pirate and begin to ask Pekelo about how they ended up in Prism. He was captured by the Illuminators off the coast and was transported across the continent.
Next, the group heads to the archive. Walker breaks in using their thieves' tools, rolling a nat 20 on the check and another nat 20 on the following Intelligence save against the magical lock. Inside are rows of bookshelves holding tomes and spell scrolls and Echo and Walker's eyes light up. The two begin taking items while Callum investigates the large horn hung on the wall. Echo finds spell scrolls of shadow of moil, bestow curse, and enervation. Walker finds an Amulet of Resistance and takes several books about the Umbral Wraiths and the Order of Vitriolic Blood. The group has to convince Callum not to blow into the horn until they see an enemy. Callum also finds a book by a one Ryfon Sarren. Before leaving, Echo flicked a spark from prestidigitation into a stack of papers. 
They then entered the Rehab Court where there were 4 guards, 2 on the ground floor and 2 on a balcony above with crossbows. Walker kicks in the door with assistance from Callum. Callum blows the horn, which seemingly makes no sound except for a single guard that covers his ears in agony. The guard's crossbow then breaks on a nat 1, which Callum takes to be an effect of the horn, which is actually a Horn of Silent Alarm. Echo and Walker take pot shots with molten golden eldritch blasts and rays of frost. This lasted for many rounds before all the guards were eventually dispatched. Several inmates made a run for it including Blaze.
The party then escaped from the Refracted Reformitorium, heading east into the desert. The group begins to discuss their thoughts on the Prism Break. Walker pulls Pekelo aside and asks him what his duty was on the ship. He explains that he was a scout and Walker asks if he worked with Nuku, he didn't. They then introduce themself to him as Walker, shaking his hand. Walker explains to the group that they were a pirate off the eastern coast of Xi'Shu. 
Rajah talks with the group about why he was captured by the Illuminators. He was stealing money from the rich to share with the poor a la (great Xi'Shuan legend) Robin Hood. He continues to explain how Astryd Ansirah used to work with him, and how the Great Fluxx actually helped him regain his magic after losing it to a cursed disease. Echo brings up how she came into her wealth and station through earning it, but was confused about the plights of the commoner, including poverty and disease. She referred to the rest of the group as lowborn, which they did not like. Callum brings up eating the rich, though his enthusiastic energy makes it unclear if he was just joking or being serious, while Walker explains the dangers of those who hoard wealth. They compliment Rajah saying he follows an honorable path, that their pirate ship only took and never gave. When asked why they were a pirate if they didn't agree with it, they did it for family, their only family was on the ship.
The group makes camp and settles down for rest. Echo takes watch in her Sentry's Rest. Partway through the night, a canine figure stalks over the dunes, approaching the camp. It wears a basket on its back and sets it down to deliver two sealed messages, to Callum and Gaelin. After watching the messenger spirit pack up and leave, Echo snatched the messages and opened them to read.
== Interlude I: Sins of Vanity ==
=== Session 5 - Piss and Poison ===
The group wakes up in the desert morning. Walker pulls out a tome and speaks to themself in an unknown language, preparing their spells. They soon pack up camp and head back home to Astryd's.
On the way there, Yarra asks Echo if she can leave to go home and tend to the Dollhouse. Echo says she can if she desires to but that she'll miss her. The two hug and part ways. Pekelo also soon leaves the group. He explains to Walker that he'll be returning to the shore, to the ship. Walker wishes him luck and a farewell, and asks him not to mention them or the group because Walker left on bad terms. They come up with the lie that Blaze the centaur was the one to free the prisoners.
Arriving at Astryd's home, Rajah/Vish is reunited with Astryd, who is shocked to see him out of prison. The group explains how they freed all the inmates. Inside, Echo goes to her bedchambers and empties the shredded letters from her belly and burns them on a candle flame, cleaning the mess with a prestidigitation. With free time, Walker goes foraging and collects enough ingredients, alongside Echo's vial of serpent venom, to create a healing potion. Echo also leaves for the woods to converse with her patron in her hand mirror where the divination wards won't effect her communication. Echo explains to the cloaked, beautiful woman where she is and who she is traveling with, asking if she's heard of something called Ego. She says she may have but requires more information. Echo explains that a man she is traveling with wears an antler like the antlers on Ego. With piercing grey eyes the patron demands, "Get if for me." Echo says she will and says, "Thank you, creator." 
At the sanctuary, Walker is resting in the hot spring reading their newly acquired books and discovers information about the Umbral Wraiths' beliefs in the balance of light and dark and the Vitriolic Bloods' manifesto about requiring suffering to grow stronger. Two of the wraiths were captured by the Illuminators, one near the border of Fox and Unicorn clan. Callum lifts weights. Echo returns home and flirts with Gaelin, saying she'll help him at the library and that "it'll be a date." He gets flustered. She then joins Walker and Callum at the hot springs, and they are soon joined by a relaxed Vish. Walker asks him perplexedly if he's pissing in the pool which he denies by saying he's "not that guy... anymore." Echo asks the group what pissing is like and the conversation delves into an existential discussion about having a body. Echo describes being numb to most things, and Callum talks about the constant pain he feels from his tumor. Echo explains how she feels like her ability to emotionally care is weak but she's still in control, to which Walker says, "That's what he says," in reference to Callum. Callum swears he has full control over his Ego, but Walker still doubts him. Echo soon retires back inside. 
Echo writes a note for Gaelin, asking him to come to her room at midnight, and leaves it under his pillow. She then uses her Oil of Taggit on Callum's sheets and on the doorknob to their room. Then, she asks Zari to if she could distract Gaelin at midnight for a "secret mission" and she agrees.
Walker exits the hot spring to take a shower and get some rest. Callum, thinking about Walker's doubt in his ability to control Ego-Callum, goes out into the woods to test his self control. He enters a rage and tries to delicately pick a pear from a tree, but ends up tearing its flesh with his large, clawed fingers. He goes in to go to bed, but finds Gaelin passed out in his bed with the door open. Zari comes by asking for Gaelin, notices him snoring, and says "mission success" before walking off. Callum, with his heightened sense of smell, notices something off about his sheets, and recognizes the scent of the poison. Suspicious and alert, he removes the sheets and puts them under his bed and attempts to keep watch in their room, though he eventually nods off. In her room, Echo disguises herself as Marfer with her Mask of Many Faces, and goes invisible to enter Callum and Gaelin's room. She sneaks in and takes the sheets, putting them back over Callum, but he succeeds and resists the poison. Echo then has to cut the antler necklace from him, but ends up waking Callum. He swings a hand out, but hits nothing and doesn't really know what's happening, so eventually falls back to sleep again. Echo tries again, this time succeeding and running off with the antler. She drops invisibility and runs past Callum's open door as a taller Marfer. He gets up to chase her, shouting for her to stop, but she casts Invisibility again yelling, "The Shadow stops for no man!"
Noticing his necklace is now gone, Callum goes to find help. He asks Zari if she saw anything but she didn't. He goes to awake Astryd, but she's still awake. He tells her about the poison and she says she'll help Gaelin while he wakes the others. As Astryd casts lesser restoration on Gaelin and alarm on the room, Callum wakes Walker. Walker groggily wakes up, confused, asking what's happening. He explains that there was poison in his room, that Gaelin is passed out, and there was a thief in the building. He explains that it may have been Marfer but she looked too large to be Marfer, to which Walker offers the theory of Ego-Marfer.
Outside, with her mirror and the antler, Echo communes with her patron in the woods. The patron, lying in bed obsessing over her appearance, says to give the item to Karma, that she'll know what to do with it. Echo summons Karma and snaps the antler in half to keep part of it for herself. As she does so, black mist pours from the antler and strikes out at Karma. Echo screams.
=== Session 6 - Karma's a Bitch ===
Callum hears Echo's scream outside and runs to go help her. Astryd hastens his speed with longstrider and Walker chases after using Adrenal Surges to catch up and outpace him. Meanwhile, Karma has transformed into Ego-Karma, most of her white scales have turned black, a red metallic hexagon has covered her right eye, her fangs have turned black, and a single red horn has sprouted from the right side of her head. Echo hears Karma's telepathic cries for help and Ego's deep speech laughter. Echo grapples her. Ego-Karma bites her and Echo yells for help. Echo tries to hold person Karma, and drops her disguise self revealing her true, shattered, kintsugied form. Getting desperate, Echo slashes at Ego-Karma with her poisoned dagger, severely damaging her. Callum and Walker shortly arrive and listen to Echo's begging for them not to kill Karma. Callum rushes in and Karma bites him. Walker also rushes in and the two of them begin to punch the grappled Ego-Karma to not lethally damage her. Callum tears the horn from her head. Echo tries to punch Ego-Karma but her hands are too full grappling her to land a successful hit. Ego-Karma lashes out at Callum once more, biting his neck, and critting with devastating poison damage that knocks him unconscious. Realizing Karma is on death's door, Walker casts siphon ichor on her. Finally, wanting to end her suffering, Echo sinks a dagger in Karma's skull, killing her. 
As the familiar fades away, Echo drops to her knees-devastated-and siphon ichor heals Callum and brings him back to consciousness. Callum tries to hug Echo but she pushes him off even when he tries to double down on it. Walker stands there awkwardly, highly suspecting Echo of being the thief, but understanding the grief she must be going through. After a moment, Echo stands, seemingly way less phased than she was moments ago. Walker asks if she's okay and she says "Yeah, why?" Confused by what she means, they explain "Uhm, you know, because of Karma..." to which Echo says "Karma? What do you mean?" Very confused, Walker and Callum exchange a look. "Your pet," Callum states. "Your snake... that you just had to kill..." Walker prompts. "Oh yeah, of course," Echo replies unconvincingly. The two ask her if she can remember what just happened but she doesn't have any good answers. Callum searches for the original antler, but only has the new Karma antler. He finds Echo's shattered mirror, who takes it as soon as he shows her he has it. Worried at her sudden memory loss, Walker suggests they go back inside.
Walking into the temple, Astryd-standing guard over Zari-asks what happened. They explain. Walker asks if Astryd has any ability to remove a curse, to which she says she does, but would like to do so in the morning for how tired she is. Walker explains that something seems to be effecting Echo's memory and that it could be a curse, but also asks Callum if it could've been Ego, to which he says he's never seen that effect. Callum asks Astryd if she can hold onto the antler for him, and she goes with him to store it in a magically secured safe. Suspicious of Echo but not wanting her to know, Walker retires to bed and says goodnight. Callum asks for an unpoisoned room, and shortly after everyone goes to bed, Walker visits him in his room. Walker brings up their theory, connecting the dots about the poison, Echo's previous desire for the necklace, and the fact they found her in the middle of the woods with an Ego-Karma. Callum says it could be Marfer but they realize that it could have been Echo using disguise self, especially since the Marfer Callum saw was abnormally tall. The two agree to keep a close eye on her. 
In the morning, the group awakes to the smell of Astryd cooking breakfast. Walker and Callum devour it before they are about to do their laundry, but Echo offers to simply prestidigitation their clothes clean and does so happily. Astryd gives them the chore of traveling to buy food for her to cook them a feast. Before they leave, Astryd and Echo go to Astryd's bedchamber for some privacy. Astryd casts remove curse on Echo, to no effect; however, she seems dazed for a second and goes to the mirror to "check if everything was how I remembered it" and that she "sort of blacked out for a minute" even though she didn't. They return to the group. Walker asks if things went well, and Echo explains there was no effect and about what happened with Astryd. Walker asks if that seemed familiar to her, which Echo denies saying that she's perfect. Walker looks at her doubtfully then mumbling "Don't know about that one." 
Astryd than gives the group 10gp and a shopping list, and the group opts to head to Udecisi in former Dragon Clan instead of traveling 14 days round trip to Kochuza like Astryd somewhat suggested. Walker and Callum very much did not want to return there. They traveled for a day north to the city. In Udecisi-a town of grey, stone buildings and multicolored dragon banners-they found a bazaar/indoor mall and began shopping. They first stopped at a blacksmith, where Echo bought several daggers with an IOU cheque and Callum enquired about great weapons. The duergar sent them to the jeweler for enchanting purposes. There, they inquired the aasimar jeweler about his magic items. He procured a series of enchanted gemstones, of which, Callum and Echo both bought one. Echo also asked for her new daggers to be gem encrusted, paying with another IOU. Finally, Walker went to the tailor and bought a new suit for fancy occasions, and a leather jacket and corduroys for the cold weather climate.
== Arc II: Trials & Truths ==
=== Session 7 - Wild Magic ===
The group finishes up the last of their shopping and finds rest at the Finer Miner. Inside, they find a few members of the Broken Horns, one of which is regaling a tale of a time he split a monstrous crocodilian creature apart by its jaws. Callum recognizes this person to be Ashutosh and loudly proclaims "Oh, I've done that too!" Callum and Walker get drinks and as Callum begins to explain his "backstory" to the group of Broken Horns, Echo and Walker join the circle to hear. Callum explains how he encountered a massive insectoid crawler and rended it in twine by its razor sharp mandibles. He proves it with acid scars on his hands and the Mandiblade on his right arm. Ashutosh is impressed and gives Callum 2 silver to buy a drink on him. Walker asks Callum where he's from and Echo gets upset that they've been traveling together for 12 days and no one's asked her where she's from. Teasing her-and being a jackass-Walker turns to Ashutosh and asks him where he's from. Echo storms off to the bar. Callum and Walker follow after her.
Walker asks Echo if she wants to tell them where she's from and she says that she's also asked them both if they've been married and they never asked her if she was. Walker explains that she doesn't where a ring so they assumed she wasn't, also that marriage isn't really something they think about. Echo explains that she's from a manor called the Dollhouse and that she's widowed. Walker continues to ask questions and learns that Echo doesn't really remember anything from more than five years ago and there's a year she can't remember and that's when her arm was shattered. She had been married three times in arranged marriages, the first arranged by her parents-that she doesn't remember-and the other two by an unknown person. Callum asks Walker for their "backstory" and Walker obliges. They explain how 25 years ago they were fishing with their cousins and older brother when they were attacked by a sea basilisk. Their brother got lathered with its petrifying slime and sank to the ocean floor. They rushed home for help and found the island of Awaiki exploded, lava filled the village and magma elementals were running amoc. They only found their grandmother and ended up living with her for years while their older cousin ended up joining a life of crime to support them, eventually they all joined a pirate crew. After years, they found a way to save their older brother, but now he was the same age as them and when he learned what they were doing for a living he left them. Walker never saw him after that. 
The group went to sleep and the next morning they found a hubbub in the plaza near the village entrance. A tall red tiefling in black and gold robes was fending off adoring fans. The group recognized this man to be Kishor Dharvim, a monk and the Mane of Dragon Clan. They notice he's brought the bodies of two slain shadow mastiffs with him. They talk to him and he says that they seem capable. He explains that he needs someone to clear out his temple to the north because it's been inhabited by an unknown force. Asking what they'd get in return, they agree to the job for the gold and reputation it would provide. 
They head half a day northward through the mountain trails before they find the colorfully painted stone temple. Walker notices that the area feels weird. There's an electric potential of uncertainty in the magic here. They test it by conjuring a yellow flower with druidcraft that comes out multicolored. They attempt to stealthily approach the temple, but make a lot of noise in the process. They arrive and Echo reads the Draconic script above the door, the Chroma Claw. They enter and find a courtyard where the shine of metallic armored figures can be seen hiding behind trees. 
Combat breaks out as six, small, dark grey, elf-like, fey creatures hop out to attack. Echo rushes in and misses all her attacks. Walker casts binding ice but they all succeed on their saving throws and only take half damage. Wild magic surges and Walker can suddenly cast spells much faster. Then the fey rush in with their daggers. A few hit Callum and two hit Walker, severely injuring them. "Owwwwww! Owwwwwwww!" they moan/yell as the necrosis seeps in. Then, the leader of the fey group casts darkness, blinding everyone. Echo casts shatter on several of the fey creatures and Callum, but a wild magic surge turns her into a porcelain vase. Walker disengages and benefits from the wild magic to also curse one of the creatures near Callum with siphon ichor. The leader dashes through the darkness and reaches Walker. Callum recklessly attacks and kills the cursed creature, healing some hp. Echo hatches from the vase and casts shatter again. Walker summons Hikiki but he doesn't do enough damage to kill the fey leader. It retaliates and slashes Walker, downing them. Callum then rushes out of the darkness to the leader, grabbing it and slamming it into the ground killing it. However, the creature erupts in a radiant explosion damaging Callum and the unconscious Walker. 
With all of the threats eliminated, Echo rushes to Walkers side and heals them with a healing elixir. Wild magic surges and Echo suddenly ages 6 years, though the effects are only mental.
=== Session 8 - Trials of the Chroma Claw ===
Exploring the courtyard of the Temple of the Chroma Claw, the group finds three buildings. In the first one they explore, they find racks of monk weaponry and notice pink crystal growths on the outside and find a large floating crystal inside the building. Shooting it with eldritch blasts and unhelping rays of frost, they disable the crystal, temporarily disabling the local wild magic surges.
In the courtyard, Echo hears the sound of voices within the largest of the buildings, an ornate stone temple. Echo casts invisibility on herself and goes inside to investigate. She finds a semicircular room with five statues of chromatic, serpentine dragons in an arc on the far wall and corresponding doors behind each one. From right to left: a red dragon rising from an inferno, a white dragon rising from a blizzard, a blue dragon flying under a storm cloud, a black dragon with a plague of insects, and a green dragon wrapped around a poisonous tree. Also in the room are three red-capped fey creatures with gnarly teeth and heavy iron boots wielding dual, silvered sickles. Echo goes back to the group to report her findings and Callum immediately charges in. Combat ensues with the redcaps which are dealt with after a few rounds of combat with Walker using their Relentless Endurance for the first time to not go down. After killing the redcaps, the group looted their weapons and began to investigate the room. Checking behind the green door, they only found a brick wall. However, Walker noticed there was a new, sixth statue in the room of a clawed hand holding a pearl. The group placed the pearl in the hand of the green dragon and watched as a green portal opened up behind the once sealed off door. Echo entered and Callum and Walker hesitantly followed.
Inside, they find themselves in a 40 x 40 foot room on a small platform overlooking a sea of poisonous gas. Echo reads a clue in Draconic, "To escape this room your task is this, find the lever amidst poison's kiss." They elect to send Echo, who doesn't need to breathe, into the gas to find the lever. After trial and error of following the arrow marked tiles, Echo eventually found the lever, which cleared the room of the gas and revealed a treasure chest which contained another pearl and 15 gp.
Outside, they gave the pearl to the white dragon and entered the corresponding portal. The trial room they found themselves in was a cold chamber with a 20-foot-cube of ice in the center, a wooden table with a hammer and a chisel, and a statue of a white dragon's head. Draconic script reads, "Icy visions carved in frost, heed the guiding words or all is lost." Walker picked up the tools and the others received visions of two different people: a ripped, shirtless man with large spiky pauldrons and a cocky smile and a magic wielding, levitating sorceress in a sexy dress, both of which has horns. Walker proceeded to listen to their companions verbal descriptions of the people in the visions, greatly aided by Echo's disguise self. After time was up and the carving had been completed, it was deemed satisfactory and the group received another pearl along with a spell scroll of frostskin. 
The next trial they choose was the black dragon's. Inside they found a clay statue of a wide-brimmed warrior with nine tails wielding a katana (Ryfon Sarren) in front of a pit of acid. Draconic script reads, "Embrace the chaos of acid's art to shatter and destroy the statue's heart." They decide to start damaging the statue and notice the acid starts to slowly rise as they chip away at it. Eventually, Callum busts open the statues chest, and a ball falls out that bursts open revealing a pearl and 25 gp.
They then tackle the red trial. Inside they find a library room set ablaze. There is a cauldron of boiling water, a red fiery quill with a scroll and ink, a mirror, and a clockwork machine. Draconic script reads, "To pass this test, channel your inner flame. Conjure a solution to this fiery game." The group investigates the various objects but can't find much use for them. Walker calms some of the flames with help from Hikiki, and they all start looking through books. Walker finds a clue in the one book with words that says "The answer is within your grasp." Reaching out into the air, their hand comes back and they're holding Brody's Decanter of Endless Water. Echo reaches out and grabs a Hair Dryer of Gust and Callum reaches out and grabs a Plushie of Help. As Walker uses shape water to put out more of the fires, Echo investigates the mirror and uses her Hair Dryer of Gust to put out some of the flames on the much more fiery than reality reflection. She asks Walker to help, but they get the idea that the clock gadget on the machine may have something to do with the future look at the library in the mirror. Echo prestidigitations the machine clean of rust and Walker turns back the dial several hours. A compartment in the machine pops open revealing a small vial of glowing liquid. The Plushie of Help explains this to be an Essence of Elemental. They then pour the essence into the cauldron and Walker uses some of it to write instructions for the elemental in Primordial. Throwing the quill into the cauldron, the water elemental springs to life and begins dousing the flames. They receive another pearl.
Finally, the group takes the blue challenge. They find themselves in a storm cloud, so high up land can't be seen below. Ahead of them three pathways of seemingly solid clouds lead to a platform in the distance. In the clouds above, Draconic script reads, "The storm's challenge is a trial of grace, the path forward requires an agile pace." Walker tests one of the clouds, which lasts for a few seconds before fading away. Not wanting to risk jumping across and falling into the abyss, Walker sends Hikiki to the otherside who easily grabs the pearl and flies it back.
Back in the semicircular room, they give the last pearl to the hand in the middle, and the whole room moves to reveal a new doorway. The enter. Inside is a similar chamber lined with a moat of water which is occupied by five more statues of the same dragons. In the far center of the room a familiar form sits in meditation. A red skinned tiefling, but with a disheveled beard and tattered robes sits. He opens his eyes and seems to somewhat recognize Callum and Echo, but doesn't know who they are. Echo explains that he hired them to come here and clear out this temple and he, confused, says that wasn't him, he's been here for years. His hands flicker between elemental energies. Behind the group in the entranceway, a blue skinned tiefling with wideset horns and a bow grins as he admits it was him, appearance momentarily flickering to match Kishor's. Echo asks, "Who are you?" To which he responds, "I'll tell you, because if you don't join me in killing this man, I'll have to kill you too. I'm Rueska Sand."
=== Session 9 - Negotiations ===
Echo puts her hand out to Rueska, "I'm Echo." He takes it sauvely and kisses it as expected. She greets Kishor the same and he responds with a curt bow. Kishor then explains that this chamber is only accessible by those who passed the Trials, that the gifts attained here are only for his students, and that Rueska meets neither of those requirements. Rueska says that the party has completed what they were hired to do, so he will take his questioning and conflict with Kishor outside.
Callum begins to talk with Kishor about why he seemed to recognize him. Callum rolls up his sleeve to reveal his Ego scars. Kishor quickly comes to realize, "Ah yes. That's where I know you." Echo and Walker are both confused and the former demands that Callum explains himself after several extremely vague answers. They converse over tea. He reveals that he is actually of noble blood, the first born son of Vikas Zhidane, the Mane of Turtle Clan. Walker is very taken aback by this new information, now suddenly the only "lowborn" in the group. Echo is now interested and prods Callum for where his father "draws his power" saying that "All Manes draw their power from different Demons." Callum explains that he thought it would be obvious, that Vikas draws his power from the Demon Joy. Walker processes as the conversation continues around them. Echo then asks Kishor where he draws his power, and he explains he draws it from the Spirit of the Five Dragons, but stoicly reveals nothing about which Demon. Echo is then curious about why Kishor seemed to recognize her. ... Echo explains that she draws her power from her Creator, that she is the "Echo of Vanity." ... Callum talks with Kishor about how the Manes are fighting a war against someone and losing. Ryfon Sarren is hunting down the Manes and Callum reveals to Kishor that he knows he was slain, because he read it in the slayer's book. Kishor is appalled to learn he wrote about it. Echo then explains that they've known eachother for some time and says they should share their secrets, prompting Walker. Walker retaliates asking, "Yeah, share all our secrets with a man we just met?" Callum tells Kishor that they have a vested interest in keeping eachother alive, so he'll help Kishor deal with Rueska if Kishor helps him find a cure for Ego. Kishor, however, explains that he needs someone to help conceal the Temple and that Rueska may be able to help. The group decides to go outside for negotiations, but a severely injured Walker decides to hide.
In the courtyard, Rueska splits an arrow in twine with another. They approach Rueska and Kishor asks what all of this was for. Rueska takes off his quiver and begins taking arrows out of it, laying them on the ground. Each of them are unique: charred with red feathers, etc, etc. Rueska explains he has five of his arrows-Anger, Fear, Happiness, Disgust, Calm-but that Sadness recently went missing. Kishor notes the connection with the Demons, but explains that Sorrow was lost on the Material Plane over two decades ago, during the Fluxx believed to be caused by Ryfon Sarren. Rueska is unaware of what this event is. He explains that time is weird in the Feywild, that 15 minutes here could be 30 years there and vice versa. Rueska asks if the Fluxx effected the Feywild but Kishor says he doesn't know because the Fluxx ruined most ways of planar travel. Rueska pulls out a fey crystal and tries to use it but it doesn't work. Through negotiations, Rueska agrees to help magically conceal the Temple and leaves to ... Walker returns his jacket that they found before he goes.
It's late, so the group decides to stay the night at the Temple. Echo takes her Sentry's Rest at the entrance to the Temple and meets Cirro, a student of Kishor's as he returns. Callum wakes up early and Walker sleeps in as they recover from the wounds received from the darklings the previous day. Walker eventually wakes. Kishor talks with Callum once again before they leave for Udecisi, Callum explaining that Vikas should not be made aware of his location but to tell him that "I'm doing fine." Kishor agrees and tells Cirro to join the group to help look for a cure for Ego. They leave for Udecisi, finally purchase the groceries, and encounter some strange people in town. First, they see a kobold woman who is asking for help. They approach her and ask her. Her town was attacked by raiders, she says they looked like Walker. After an accusatory glance from Echo, Walker claims that not all orcs know eachother. Then Walker shows the kobold their tattoos and she recognizes them. They were Nisian. They agree to take the kobold to Astryd's and will consider traveling to Unicorn territory to fight back. Then, they encounter a tall, disjounted figure in a hood. It looks at the group and says to Echo, "You look like you need work." The group asks what type of work. The figure, who seems to actually be multiple creatures stacked atop eachother, explains that House Okori wants help to spy on House Asakura. ... They make the trek back to Astryd's sanctuary. Arriving home, Walker explains to Astryd about what happened with getting tricked by Rueska and completing the Trial for Kishor Dharvim. Recognition spreads across Astryd's face.
== Arc III: Kindling ==
=== Session 10 - Flames ===
The party begins to plan and prepare for the upcoming conflict with the Long Talon pirates in Kuzubiro. Walker explains that most of them have firearms training and some of them may be capable with elemental druidic magics. They also say that depending on who's there, they may not be useful in eliminating the threat. The party considers which ally would be most useful and decide that Zari's magic sensing and defense weakening abilities would be most useful. They ask the kobold, who they learn is named Snurk, what she saw of the pirate threat and she admits she didn't see much. The party spends the rest of the day preparing. Callum works out and trains with Zari. Echo calls the Dollhouse asking Yarra to harvest the garden and updates her on a potential bachelor, Cirro. Walker spends most of the day distilling another Healing Potion. They also talk with Astryd about how they had seen druids in their tribe bring back people from the dead but they needed an expensive diamond to do so. Astryd explains that she's not rich, maybe in another life. Walker returns to their room, pulling out the Tome, feeling its now warm to the touch, and studying its now clawed through pages. They try to spark a produce flame again, but can't. That night the party enjoys a delectable feast from Astryd, and takes off the next morning.
On the five day trek to Kuzubiro, the party encounters wagon being towed by a donkey and followed along by four Illuminators. The party stops to consider what to do. Echo and Callum think it'll be good practice and a good deed to kill them here and now while Walker thinks it'd be a risk and isn't necessary when they can just sneak around them. Zari is scared to see them again. Finally, Walker agrees to help, saying, "Let me open this up then?" They plant their fingers in the ground and call forth all of the water in the surrounding land, summoning a tidal wave to crash through the wagon and the illuminators, instantly killing three of them and the donkey. Echo runs up to the final one and casts spiderbite on his neck, causing him to shrivel from powerful poison. The group searches through the soaked wreckage as Walker grapples with the fact of what they are now capable of, feeling devastated for instantly killing three people when they wanted to avoid death, but also feeling suddenly very confident in their abilities and about facing the Long Talon. The group finds nothing but soaked unmagical spellscrolls.
Half a day before arriving to Kuzubiro, the party is traveling through Unicorn Clan grasslands and Callum notices the ground is soft from burrowing and is able to warn the group quickly enough to avoid them being surprised. Three insectoid crawlers burst from the ground underneath them. One of them grapples Walker and all three of them slash into all three party members. Echo attacks with her serpent's venom poisoned sword and Hexblade's Curses the one grappling Walker. Walker, severely injured, sinks their fingers into the green one's carapace and casts vampiric touch to drain its life force. Callum goes Ego and begins recklessly slashing into the monstrosities, before stabbing one of them with his horns, using Vitae Furtum to drain its life force. However, the Ego lingers on the insectoid crawler as it glitches out and becomes an Ego-Crawler before splitting into two separate crawlers. Another wave of slashing from the crawlers occurs and one of them sprays acid at Callum and Echo. The green one bites down one Walker, almost knocking them unconscious but they fight back and stay standing using Relentless Endurance. Echo slices the green one in half using an Eldritch Smite and Walker sprints away with Adrenaline Surge before upcasting siphon ichor on both Ego-Crawlers. Callum slashes into one of the Ego-Crawlers, killing it and healing from siphon ichor. The other attacks Callum and splits into two again. The remaining normal crawler burrows away. Echo rushes in and jumps onto one of the Ego-Crawlers and slices its antler off, trying to harvest it, but the body and antler turn into ash as the creature dies. Sixty feet away, Walker furiously fires a ray of frost-somehow recklessly-at the final crawler, completely freezing it over with ice and killing it. With most of the group injured, they decide to take a short rest.
A few hours before sunset, the group arrives on the outskirts of the walled town/city of Kuzubiro. Plumes of smoke rise from within. They hide in the tall grass as they formulate a plan. Completely rejuvenated, Callum and Echo claim they should go in now, before anymore civilians are killed. Walker, down their most powerful battlefield-altering spells, thinks it'd be too dangerous and is willing to risk another night of whatever's happening to not risk their own lives. Skrunk explains that it's been eight days since they first took over the town. Walker, scared to face these pirates at anything but their strongest, walks off to find somewhere to hide for the night. In the tall grass, they pull out their Tome trying to find an answer but ultimately put it back away. They soon notice a figure crouching through the grass and it bumps into them. They try to grapple and silence them, but fail and notice that it's Pekelo and he's injured. Pekelo is shocked but happy to see them. He explains that the pirates are here searching specifically for them. Walker is conflicted. They quitely ask Pekelo if Nuku is here. He nods grimly. Even quieter, they ask if Mānea is. He says, "Thank the gods and all the creatures of the earth, he's not." Meanwhile, Echo noticed Walker quickly duck under the grass and disguised herself as Walker using Mask of Many Faces. She snuck through the grass and caught the tail end of the conversation, catching Nuku's name but not Mānea's. She calmly announced her presence and came out of the brush. Walker, somewhat unnerved seeing themself but yassified, continues the conversation with Pekelo. They ask if the villagers are in danger. Pekelo says no one is being killed, that they're all imprisoned. They ask how many they stand strong, a dozen, two dozen, three dozen? Three dozen and more. Everything in Walker is telling them to run, but some small part of them wants this conflict. Echo calls over Callum with the codeword "I don't know" and Callum stops playing double-blind rock paper scissors with Zari to meet up with them. They explain the situation and ask Pekelo where the best place to stay the night would be. The southern grass fields. They get moving. 
Falling asleep with Echo on watch, Callum and Walker enter a shared dream. They're in a grass field not unlike the one they fell asleep in, but the grass is endless. There is no Kuzubiro in sight. A figure approaches, an aasimar woman leaning on a staff and yawning. Callum recognizes her as Lin'Xi, the Unicorn Mane, and introduces himself. She introduces herself to Walker and they tell her who they are before asking "Is this real?" to which she says "I think you're just dreaming." She talks with Callum. He asks how Vikas is taking things, and she says "You know how he is," he asks "It's still up and running, eh?" and she nods. Callum asks if they will be able to meet again, that he needs to think things over, and she says they will. Walker asks is she's aware of what's happening. She doesn't know. Walker explains that raiders have taken over Kuzubiro, three dozen strong. Lin'Xi is concerned and asks them if they are going to help, to which they say that's what they're doing as soon as they wake up. Lin'Xi is grateful and says that she will bless their sleep and that if they ever need her help again, to rest in the wild. They thank eachother before the grasses grow infinitely into the sky and take them back into slumber. 
They awake before dawn with the benefits of aid. The party quickly makes a game plan. Echo will turn Callum and Walked invisible so they can get over the wall unseen, and Echo will disguise herself as Walker and cause a distraction. Inside, Walker and Callum will attempt to free all the prisoners, and if all hell breaks loose they can "Make all hell break loose." Walker puts their hand in the middle and says "Alright we're coming up with a team name, right now." After some debate over the necessity of that, Callum and Echo put their hands in and Walker counts them in "On 1, 2, 3," they all shout at the same time. Echo says, "Nighthawks!" Walker, "The Three Amigos!" and Callum, "4!" They start their plan in motion. Callum rages and Echo turns him and Walker invisible. The two approach the wall and Ego-Callum climbs it with his monstrous claws and lets down a rope for Walker to follow. A disguised Echo approaches the southern gate, lights the grass on fire with a green-flame blade, and starts firing eldritch blasts at the guards. The guards fire their firearms after her, and upon impact, Echo panics, realizing that the bullets leave chips in her porcelain skin. Drawing the attention of several guards with a cartoonishly piratey Walker impression, she begins to run around the outside of the city to draw the attention of even more guards.
=== Session 11 - The Good Guys ===
Callum and Walker scale down the wall. Invisible, they stalk into the city to scout out the location of the imprisoned civilians. They find a few buildings: a stone Lion Clan building, a Unicorn clan building decorated with astral imagery, the Lox & Found Inn, and an Illuminators building. Though mostly unguarded, Walker decides to keep searching for a building that looks more clearly like a prison, thinking at the very least, that they'd care to guard the prison. They continue westward through the city. In the southwest corner, they find: a temple, a garden, and a large indistinct that is heavily guarded. Still not finding the "County Gaol" they continue northeast towards the town center. 
Meanwhile, Echo is running for her life outside the city, bullets whizzing past her. Terrified to take anymore damage to her porcelain form, she decides to drop invisibility on Walker and Callum to cast it on herself. She finds an entrance to the city and takes shelter in the Unicorn Clan building. She discovers it to be a library filled with stone tablet star charts, a stained glass window in the back. She closes the door behind her and slumps to the floor having a panic attack.
Walker and Callum are in the middle of crossing the street when they suddenly become visible. Walker makes it to the other side but Callum gets spotted by a triton pirate and can't cross. "Alright guys, enough. Stop sneaking up on me!" says the triton as he slowly approaches Callum's location wielding a trident. Walker is unsure if Echo just died or simply dropped the spell on them. They look ahead into a small side street and don't see any guards, so they signal to Callum to run over as they cast fog cloud in the middle of the street between them. The 20-foot-radius sphere of mist fills the street and the triton goes "Guys come on. I know you're in there! You're not gonna get me this time!" Callum rushes through the fog and makes it to Walker. Unsure of where to go, Walker decides to scout ahead and see what some of the other non-residential buildings are. They spot an apothecary; however, they aren't as stealthy as they hoped and a bunch of hungover pirates in the town center begin to chase after them. Walker successfully fires a ray of frost at the closest one. Walker and Callum begin to run down one of the main streets southeast. Knowing the area they are heading is currently unguarded, and seeing 7 pirates conveniently close together, Walker turns around and plants their feet. They pull at the mist and morning fog, chilling the air, and condensing it into a rushing tidal wave that slams through the pirates. The injured one dies and four others are knocked prone and severely bludgeoned by the rapids. Walker calls for Callum to go in and finish the job and he begrudgingly agrees. Callum rages and begins slamming the prone pirates into the ground and bashing the others' heads, instantly killing them. Walker picks at the remaining ones with rays of frost. A cutlass wielding orc rushes after Walker after they hide in an alley, Walker deflects most of the attacks with their silver sickle before summoning Hikiki to begin assailing the pirate. The two orcs make eye contact "Oh it's gonna be great to be the one to turn you in." "You're not gonna kill me." Callum finishes off the gunslinging pirate that Walker had sapping stinged and rushes into the alley way to finish off the final one. "Thanks big guy," Walker says before wiping Ego-Drool from their face.
Chained to a prison wall, Cori-a halfling Life cleric-is watching a gnome try to reach a small metal pin on the ground with their hands that are chained to the wall. Cori whispers that the gnome use his feet to grab the pin. The gnome is confused, and after receiving further instructions from the cleric, kicks the pin farther away. Luckily, Cori is able to reach it and manages to pick her own lock. Cori helps the other prisoners in her room escape: a minotaur, an elf, a kenku, and the gnome. She is able to reach a key that has been dropped to the ground in a hurry by one of the guards who went to chase after "Walker." They escape.
Callum and Walker, who are heading back to the southeastern portion of town, see a group of 5 civilians exit the unguarded Lion Clan building. They sneak over and introduce themselves. Seeing a tatted orc and a very tall human, Cori asks if they're with the pirates and Walker explains that they're not and they're here to free the citizens of Kuzubiro. Cori explains how they just broke out but have no weapons. They decide to take cover in the Unicorn Clan building. They enter and close the door behind themselves and Walker begins asking questions about the Long Talon pirates and the important landmarks around town. Callum notices disembodied heavy breathing and finds an invisible Echo who announces herself. "Oh do you all know eachother?" Cori asks. "Yeah we came here together. We came to free the townsfolk," Walker explains. "Yeh, we're kinda like heroes!" Callum announces and Walker cringes at the term, "It sounds pretentious." Cori asks how well they know eachother and Walker admits that they've all seen eachother naked, to which Cori says that's too much information. Echo is noticeably still panicking and explains how they've been injured. Cori offers to help but Echo explains the injury can't be fixed. Walker, worried, asks if she's been damaged and asks around the room if anyone can take a few hits, holding up their fists preparing to cast siphon ichor. Confused at what they're talking about, Cori offers a cure wounds. The group is wowed by the powerful healing spell and asks Cori how long she's been in town. She explains that she's with the Illuminators, that she was sent here to help people out, and has been here for about a month. At Illuminators, she notices Callum's visible disgust and Walker's poor attempt to nonchalantly ignore it, "Oh, like a mission trip?" Cori explains that she can tell they've had some history with the Illuminators and that she knows that they're not for everyone, but that she's here to try and help people. "We can talk about that later." They learn more about the various places around town: the Temple of Lox, the Astral Ale House, the Starfall Theater, the Purification Grounds (which is acting as the de facto storehouse and prison, and is most heavily guarded), the barracks, and finally the Rising Moonicorn Bakery which is run by the minotaur, Seze. Cori also explains they've heard the pirates are well organized under a single leader, either Nuku or Uhane, to which Walker says "They're the same person." Echo makes a comment saying Nuku's name is stupid. "Wow, okay. That's culturally insensitive," Walker says offended to which Echo says, “Walker, I'm going through a tough time right now, you're gooing to have to excuse my racism.” Cori notices Zari (who snuck in via barrel) is hiding behind Callum from Cori. Echo explains that they saved from an Illuminator prison. "What?" Cori asked. Yeah, they freed a ton of prisoners from the main Illuminator prison where they were tortured, one of whom was a child. Cori is extremely distraught to learn that the Illuminators would do something like that and begins to have a crisis of faith. Walker tells them to put her crisis on hold, work needs to be done, and Echo agrees saying she's doing the same. The group decides they should go to the Purification Grounds to collect their weapons and free more prisoners while an invisible Echo explores the northern part of town and the apothecary. They give her the Horn of Silent Alarm and part ways.
Echo enters the apothecary and finds it has been heavily ravaged by the pirates. However, she ends up finding 2 healing potions and a flask of Oil of Slipperiness. She crosses the street to head towards the smithy, but ends up catching the attention of two pirates. She acts like a damsel and distress, but walks past them and enters the smithy. Inside, the place has also been looted but she finds ingots of a strange metal. The guards enter saying "We're heroes who have come to save you!" She jumps from the shadows and kills one instantly with a critical hit green-flame blade from her war fan. The other doesn't have a chance to react before she again, crits with a green-flame blade war fan, and kills the pirate. After, she steals their gold and jewelry, rips their teeth out to add them to the shell necklaces, and then rips out one of their hearts and eats it, shredding it in her industrial shredder.
Callum, Walker, Cori, and the other civilians head towards the Illuminators' building. They find it to be guarded by an orc and the triton as well as 4 magma mephits that watch from the roof. Cori casts command and tells the guards to flee. The orc is charmed and sprints into an ally across the street, the triton notices the group and moves in to attack. The triton stabs Walker in the gut with his trident as the prongs frost over, casting a chilling booming blade. Walker retaliates with a binding ice that instantly turns two of the mephits into cracking obsidian. Callum cuts into the triton and Cori unlethally knocks him unconscious with a sickle slice to the knee, taking pity on him. Walker finishes off the other mephits with hailstones from Hikiki. The orc returns and Walker intimidates him using shape water to spin his friends blood in the air around themself. Callum grapples him and they drag him inside the building. Walker bursts in with a prepared ray of frost aimed at the few guards inside as Callum drags in the two guards from outside. They demand the guards for their keys and he slowly tosses them to Cori, who misses the catch due to Zari's psychic shock. She snickers. They free a few prisoners that were chained up in the building and use the manacles to bind the 5 pirates. Walker cuts some cloth and gags them.
Echo changes her clothes again, and heads to the back door of the Starfall Theater. She tries to unlock the door but crit fails, jamming the lock. So she knocks. A voice from inside tells her it's not her time to come on stage yet. Echo doesn't like being told what to do, so she rapid fires eldritch blasts into the lock, exploding the door open and entering. Inside, she's stage left. In the center of stage sits a single chair. The building is empty. A voice enters her head, "I told you. It's not time. Come back when the other performers are ready," and Echo is magically compelled to leave. The door closes shut behind her, fixed. She leaves to meet up with the group. 
The group meets with Echo on their way to raid the Purification Grounds. Echo explains what happened with the voice in her head as Walker hears a voice in their own. "Come now captain, you're on in 5. entrance on stage left." Walker explains, confused. Cori asks if they are a captain, they're not, were they?, they were never. That position won't be open for a long time. Callum thinks they should bash in to the Purification Grounds and get out with as much as they can as quick as they can. They move forward with the plan.
=== Session 12 - Curtain Call ===
The group rushes towards the Purification Grounds. They quickly dispatch the two pirates who stand guard outside the building before Callum hurls a grappling hook through a second story window. They climb the rope and find themselves on a balcony overlooking the ground floor, half a dozen pirates are inside. Echo opens up by dropping from the balcony and instantly decapitating a pirate with a green-flame bladed war fan. Callum charges in and attacks recklessly while Cori casts spirit guardians and wades through the enemies. Walker stays on the balcony and drops prone, taking pot shots at the injured pirates with rays of frost and hailstones from Hikiki. After several rounds of this and several dismembered, maimed, and brutally slaughtered pirates at the hand of Echo later, the group barely catches their breath before searching the building for prisoners and loot. Cori finds a ring of keys and her parents who she sets free. She apologizes to them for saying "the f-word" and explains how she's working with this group to save the city. They see the blood soaked room and watch Echo and Walker greedily digging through the gathered loot. "Killing is a sin, Cori," says her mom. "Mom, I can fix them." Echo and Walker find a chest filled with money gathered from the city, over 300 gold. Echo takes 59gp and Walker takes 10gp. Walker gets Cori's weapon back to her and she gives the keys to her parents to free the rest of the citizens. The group heads for the Starfall Theater.
They arrive at the entrance to stage left and find the door unlocked. Callum and Echo enter first and Walker follows suspiciously scanning the environment with their darkvision for any threats or traps. Nothing looms in the dark, but two white-gloved hands control a spotlight on the catwalk, aiming it at a hooded figure tied to a chair center stage who begs for help. Walker warns the group but Echo and Callum enter the stage to investigate the figure. Then, a group of 3 others enters the stage stage right: a towering loxodon, cracking his knuckles; a tiefling, who eyes Echo with a smirk; and a shifty goblin. All of them wear shoddily put together pirate garb, seemingly collected from dead bodies outside. Echo rips the hood from the figure, revealing it to be a lifeless wooden puppet, strings reaching into the darkness above. "Hey! That's our hostage!" shouts the tiefling. Combat breaks loose and Walker hears a voice in their head, "Captain, it's time to take the helm." White-gloved hands wheel the bow and stern of a ship onto the stage and a mast is lowered from the ceiling. Callum rushes in and fights the loxodon who lets loose a series of punches. Echo begins fighting the tiefling, inflicting her with a Hexblade's Curse, the tiefling hits her with a wicked sneak attack. The goblin rushes in to attack Callum's unprotected side. Walker, magically suggested, saunters onto stage and climbs the stern to take the wheel. Suddenly, they are fully immersed on an actual pirate ship. The stage and theatre fade away as rolling seas replace them. Ahead, they see jagged rocky peaks and a churning whirlpool, they begin turning the wheel to skirt the edge of the whirlpool, calling out warnings to the crew. Callum erupts into a rage, becoming Ego-Callum for the first time in front of Cori, and grapppes and lets loose into the loxodon. Cori prepares a goodberry and rolls several of the berries to her party members. Echo pulls out her scroll of bestow curse and kisses the tiefling, casting it on her, and stunning her out of action for several rounds. Walker keeps sailing the ship and gets the ship past the whirlpool. Ego-Callum begins using charges of his lighting gem to attack the loxodon which causes him to wince and scream in pain. The goblin shimmies up the mast and begins raining fire on the party. Several more rounds of combat pass before Callum rips through the loxodon, using lightning charges, and seething with rage and pain as he slashes the loxodon into pulp... wooden pulp. Callum chases the goblin up the mast but it drops down and knicks Walker's tome with a slash of its sword. Walker immediately stops caring about steering the ship and tries to grapple the tome back from the goblin but it runs off. Callum swings at the catwalk from the mast and destroys a stage light. Walker furiously chases the goblin off stage and the illusion of the ship disappears, meanwhile more and more props are appearing on stage and causing damage to the others. Walker casts binding ice and catches the goblin with it. Echo climbs the mast and jumps to the catwalk with Callum and the both reak havoc on it. Walker fires an ice knife at the goblin, killing it in a cocoon of ice. They run up and rip the tome from its cold dead hands. On the stage, the catwalk collapses and the tiefling gets drawn up into the darkness by her strings. A treasure chest is brought on stage. The Marionette appears and congratulates the group on a show well done. The curtains close and the white-gloved hands wheel the props off stage.
The party offers that Walker opens the chest and inside they find a drum inscribed with patterns of waves and rain. Callum exits his rage and is visibly shocked and quietly in pain. The group exit the stage and most of them talk with the Marionette in the audience. The Marionette explains that the drum is Walker's reward and asks if they'd rather be called "Haku." "It's Walker." Echo talks with the Marionette and asks... they tell her that she has a name. Her name is Emiko. This information changes a lot for her. Callum talks with the Marionette and asks "Will the pain ever stop?" and the Marionette says that they can't say for sure. Cori talks with them and asks if she is making the right choice leaving the Illuminators. The Marionette explains that Nuku is outside somewhere waiting for Walker, after all she came here for them.
=== Session 13 - Smothering the Flame ===
While everyone else is chatting with the Marionette, Walker is sitting in an audience seat, has pulled out their tome, and is continually trying to create fire. They focus and after a few attempts sparks alight in their hand and quickly fade away. They try again and suddenly a flickering flame is floating in their palm. They laugh and exclaim joyously that they've done it. They immediately start playing with it and showing it off, completely transfixed.
Meanwhile, Echo has pulled Callum aside and started apologizing to him. She pulls out the fake antler she shoddily made and offers it to him, explaining that she stole the original one trying to appease her patron and that she made this to give to her but doesn't think it would work. She makes it clear that she's trying to become a better person because she's realizing she wasn't always a narcissistic bitch and doesn't always have to be. She gags through her apology and vomits up heart chunks. She tells Callum that she learned her real name is Emiko, but he should just call her Echo for now, and that she feels like her patron is manipulating her. Callum explains how he hasn't had any personal dealings with any demons but thaf he doesn't trust them and thinks they don't have the best intentions for people after dealing with many of their warlocks. Echo asks Callum for three of her redeeming qualities and after much thinking and talking it through, he comes up with: 1) she is capable of growth 2) she actually cares for those around her 3) she is very capable at what she does. Echo breaks down crying during the conversation. At the end, Callum introduces himself to Emiko and Echo begrudgingly accepts his handshake instead of making him kiss her hand.
Walker and Cori hear Echo loudly breaking down and Cori asks if this is normal to which Walker says "very much not so." Walker tries to put out their fire and it burns their hand. They have to cast an ice cantrip to smother the flame. While Walker is playing with their produce flame, Zari sees its energy and asks, "How are you doing that?" and they put the tome away and respond "Like this," and casually produce it again. "That magic isn't yours though," she says. "Is anything ours?" Walker begins spinning water around the flame. The other two rejoin the group and Walker proudly displays their ability to create fire. Echo is surprised and asks about how they can do it and Walker explains how cold is just slowly things down, so heat is just speeding things up. Cori cheerfully says how they'll work as a team and find Walker's cousin and Echo explains how she is disgusted by her niceness but apologizes immediately. Walker is very shocked by an apology coming from Echo and verbally exclaims so. Callum tells Walker to be nicer to Echo and they retort asking, "Why should I be nice to her? She's never been nice to me!" Callum explains she's having a tough time and trying to turn over a new leaf and Echo extends her hand out to shake hands (not asking for a kiss on the hand) with Cori and Walker. After reconciling from the events of the day, the group decides to go out and find Nuku. On the way out, the Marionette hands Echo a mask that mirrors her own face and tells her to put it on when she's ready to change.
Outside, they step into the town center. It's somehow twilight, the fountain has been disabled, and atop it rests a pile of random loot (mostly furniture and personal belongings). Trails of gunpowder lead up the pile and across the way a tall orc with a long ponytail is holding a torch and giving a speech to a group of pirates about how they couldn't find what they were looking for so they'll burn the rest. "I never left!" Walker shouts and fires a ray of frost, putting out the fire on the torch. "Hakupehe..." Nuku starts up about how Walker should give her back the tome because they're incapable of working on their own. Walker retorts that they're doing better than ever with their new crew and Nuku doubts their ability to work with a team since they ditched the Long Talon. Nuku enters a bladesong and starts casting a spell but Echo activates her fey crystal, causing a wild magic surge that makes Nuku invisible and silenced. Nuku rushes in and attacks Walker with her shortswords? The rest of the party rushes in to intervene as well as a trio of Nuku's pirates. While combat ensues, Walker exchanges pained glances at their party mates to not kill their cousin. Walker explains how they're not giving up the tome and that they can't rejoin the Long Talon, that their practices are cruel. They mock Nuku for crossing a continent and imprisoning an entire city all because her father told her to. Nuku attempts to reignite the gunpowder leading to the loot pile and beyond but Walker summons a tidal wave to wash away the flames and all the powder. After several rounds of combat, Nuku is severely injured but manages to shift forms into a fire elemental form composed of black flames. The party finishes off most of the other pirates while laying into the black flame elemental but her flame shield protects her from the brunt of Walker's cold damage. Nuku blasts Callum and Echo with spouts of flame in the front line while also singing them with an intensely hot aura. Despite being resistant to the ice, the part is abke to whittle away at Nuku's defenses and Walker dissipates it with an overpowering ray of frost. Nuku collapses to the ground in orc form, looks to Walker with a newfound respect, and blows into a conch shell that turns her into evaporating seafoam.
With the threat eliminated, Walker rushes over and puts their hands into the dissipating seafoam, beginning to sob into the ground. Walker picks themself up and wipes the tears from their eyes. The party decides to recover from their wounds and get some rest now that the occupying force has been dealt with. Cori lets them rest at her parents' house for the night. In the morning they visit Moonicorn Bakery and meet with Seze who gives them a load of pastries and tells them about her sister who hasn't visited in awhile, Diza.
== Arc IV: The Winter Solstice ==
=== Session 14 - The Solstice Cometh ===
Before the party embarks on their journey westward toward Astryd's home and beyond to House Asakura, they decide to acquire some horses in Kuzubiro to shorten their travel time. They befriend the horses Mike, Waltuh, and Jesse.
On the ride home, the party rests and all of them that sleep (everyone but Echo) enters the grassy dreamland of Lin'Xi. Her and Callum have a conversation ... and she gives the party her blessing.
Echo arm ...
The party arrives at House Asakura in Crane Clan. They meet with the Lady and Lord Asakura who explain the job they need done. They need the party to gather any information they can about House Okori's latest arcane breakthrough at the upcoming New Year's festival on the winter solstice. To ensure loyalty, they have their children cast contigencies on the party, threatening to blow them up with fireballs or imprison them in force cages if they betray House Asakura in the next 10 days. 
The party waits a few days at the Asakura estate before dressing up in rich clothing and fancy makeup (at the hands of Echo) and riding in a carriage with the Lord and Lady to the Okori estate. Along the way, the carriage is attacked by a starcloak matron and her spawn.
=== Session 15 - Shits and Giggles ===
The party drives up with Lady Asakura in her carriage to the Okori estate. Lady Asakura messages Walker and says that they look like the type that can steal something and task them with taking any valuable item they can pick up. They arrive a few hours before the big toast and main celebration begins and Echo makes a dramatic exit from the carriage with a dress coated in chromatic butterflies. Callum and Echo immediately recognize the large figure of Hiro, dressed in a suit with an emerald green tie, and see two guards attending his large stone lion companion. Inside the house, red-coated help check the party for weapons, which they left in their carriage. Walker and Callum head straight for the hors d'oeuvres trying a selection of sweets, savories, and a strange bloody fruit. Echo walks around scouting for recognizable figures. She sees Pricilla Odele, her ex-mother-in-law, and her dress becomes a somber blue. Callum and Cori head to a Mink Tube Race betting game and starting making bank playing against wealthy nobles. 
Meanwhile, Walker is searching the room for gaps in security. They notice the main room exits out to the gardens, the guest quarters, and through a garden closed door that is only accessible by those accompanied with the red and gold cloaked Okori family. They decide to sneak into the guest quarters and begin searching for rooms of importance. Walker pretends that they need to shit and are looking for a toilet and encounter Allyn who points them in the right direction. They don't go that way and instead enter an unlocked bedroom and begin looting it for valuables. They find an Orb of Time and a Bag of Holding with a sizeable amount of gold inside. At the same time, Callum has an encounter with Hiro at the gambling stage. Hiro... Echo steps in and starts flirting with Hiro, when he turns back around to look at Callum, Cori is instead in his place. Callum runs off to the bathroom to take a nervous shit. Echo invites Hiro to the garden with her and says she'll meet him out there in a few minutes. Exiting the bedroom, Walker runs into Callum who's exiting the bathroom. Echo walks with Hiro in the garden and the two discuss their patrons and the gifts they bring. Echo asks Hiro about his gem collection and he is guarded about his reasons for his collecting. Not too long after, Echo uses her Chromatic Butterflies to tract down the rest of the party. They meet in the guest hallways.
Walker mentions noticing the guarded doors, saying that's probably the way of the arcane laboratory. The start discussing plans to get in. Echo can make two people invisible but her and Walker argue about if it's better for her to disguise herself as an Okori or if they should convince an Okori to let them in. They decide try the convincing route and Walker can make a suggestion if the plan goes wrong. Cori and Walker go invisible while Echo and Callum use their nobility to convince an Okori. Walker summons Hikiki to sit on Callum's shoulder. They talk to ... who is happy to sell a security system to the Duchess Echo. They follow her into the laboratory and Cori and Walker sneakily begin investigating while she gives them the spiel on an automaton defensive unit. Cori steals some alchemy supplies and Walker steals a gyroscopic core (similar to the one found in Echo's chest), an automaton head, and a +3 Arcane Grimoire. Walker also finds a lever but doesn't want to pull it and expose their plot to steal and investigate. Echo and Callum finish the sales pitch and are escorted out to not miss the coming of the winter solstice. Walker then wargs into Hikiki and digs his claws into Callum's shoulder to let them know to come back in. Echo disguises herself as ... and asks the guards to let her back in. Inside, the party decides to pull the lever which reveals a spiral staircase heading downward into the lab. 
Down the staircase, they find a dark stone hallway. As they walk down the hall, torches alight the path. The hallway inventualy leads to a door but its guarded by two clockwork serpents. The serpents animate along with a crossbow turret and combat ensues. The serpents are extremely tough and the combat lasts for a long time as the party lays into them. Cori uses lots of spells to keep people from getting downed by the serpents' poison. She gets harpooned by the turret which cranks her up and grapples her to the cieling. Walker eventually hits it with a ray of frost empowered with Relentless Gale by their Conch of 1,000 Raindrops. With the serpents still not going down, the party decides to enter the door which was apparently unlocked. Callum manages to finish them off before heading inside. Inside, they find a man in a wheelchair guarded by two more turrets. The room he's in is an arcane laboratory filled with mechanisms and alchemy equipment. The man seems to know Echo and she has vague images of a past where he was fixing her flashing through her mind. ... Callum begins to interrogate the man about what his creations are used to and begins posturing to attack. Cori asks what he uses his potions for after noticing some arrows and he answers that he has been working on a Potion of Rest to help people. ... Walker then says "I suggest that if anyone asks, you've never seen us," and then asks Cori to cast silence on him so that they can discuss. She dies. ... Eventually, Rovan Okori reveals a creation he's been working on. It's a gyroscopic core like Echo's, but this one is made from green metal and seems to have moss growing on it. Echo asks the party to replace her old heart with it. Walker, with help from Cori, deftly swaps the two. Echo seems to reboot for a moment and then let's out a hearty laugh. Walker comments that it's the first time they've heard her laugh without being condescending. Walker then explains, in a new more hospitable voice, that Rovan needs to come with them so she can learn more about her past. He agrees. 
They hear heavy footsteps coming down the stairs and Walker demands that Rovan gives them the Potion of Rest. They give it to Echo and tell them to recast invisibility, and she does on Callum and Walker. Hiro enters the room. He asks about the destroyed sentries and Rovan explains "a malfunction." Echo, disguised as ..., tries to fool Hiro and leave with Rovan, but he sees through the disguise. She drops the disguise. ... Hiro talks to Rovan about similarly wanting to be away from the hubbub. And he let's them go.
=== Session 16 - Murder on the Dance Floor ===
Echo finishes talking to Rovan and Hiro while Callum and Walker sneak upstairs.
They leave the party to go meet with Lady Asakura behind the servants quarters. Walker casts fly on Rovan and tells him to meet them at an inn in Gwisin. They wait for over an hour and Lady Asakura never shows up.
Echo and Walker decide to go back inside to search for her while Callum stays outside with Cori to avoid Hiro. Inside, Echo is asked to dance with Sylvain de la Rue, a red tiefling, she asks him about the other members at the party and he explains how Lady Asakura donates to the Illuminators. Meanwhile, Walker is scanning the crowd for Lady Asakura and only finds Lord Asakura talking to other party members. They pull him aside and tell him that the Lady never showed up. He seems confused and explains the last time he saw her was when she went to their room to put away their belongings. 
Meanwhile, Callum and Cori are approached by a guard and Callum dons his Dr. Duke Malluc persona, offering the guard "some therapy." The guard opens up to them and is convinced to follow his dream of becoming a bard.
Walker and Echo investigate the Asakura's room alongside the Lord and discover the lifeless body of Lady Asakura. She had been killed by a necrotic stabbing of some kind. Cori and Walker are called by Echo's snakes and enter through the balcony. Cori tries to speak with dead but the spell fails (meaning its already been casted on her recently). A wraith-like figure appears outside and comes through the balcony, attacking and killing Lord Asakura. The iron crowned wraith tries to escape and the party chases after. He reveals himself to be Kairos Kinslor, the Kingslayer. 
Outside, Callum and Walker catch up to it, and it attacks Walker dropping them to 1hp in a single hit, losing concentration on the fly spell. Callum Ego-ifies and begins firing Elemental Breaths of flame into the woods after it. 
=== Session 17 - The Getaway ===
After the party trades hits with it, and Cori heals everyone back up, they decide to let it go. Ego-Callum is fully enraged and Echo uses her familiars to calm him down and out of his rage. He breaks down crying. They run back inside and Cori begins to cast revivify on Lord Asakura. The spell is successful and Walker talks him into packing up and leaving immediately. Echo, however, needs to get her mask back from Hiro, so she disguises herself as Lavender Okori and leaves the room.
In the hallway, she is immediately noticed by Lord Arven Okori. Her disguise fools him and she says that they should talk about their relationship. He seems shocked but obliges her. She asks why they keep Rovan in the basement and he explains that Rovan is unable to cast spells, and thus isn't allowed to carry the next generation of the venerable Okori name. Echo is deeply upset by this and smacks Lord Okori, and when he doesn't back down continues to slap him, letting her true voice out. He immediately sees through the disguise and banishes her. She appears in another plane, a bleak, grey, infinitely flat realm with a starless, dark grey sky. She stands in thin layer of reflective water and in her reflection sees the visage of Vanity over her shoulder. "You're a failure. You're not perfect," Vanity demeans her. "What do I have to do?" Echo asks.
Callum leaves out the balcony with Lord Asakura and the body of his wife. Cori and Walker leave out the bedroom door and attempt to sneak past a security bot by pretending to be drunk. Searching the ballroom they try to find Echo, and only notice her when she reappears from her banishment a minute later. Echo rushes to leave and Walker and Cori chase after her. Walker looks over to Cori and asks if they should cover their escape. Cori says why not. So, Walker summons a sleet storm that fills the ballroom with an opaque icy downfall and Cori aims silence at the location of Lord Arven Okori. Most of the partygoers slip and fall on the icy floor and many of them lose concentration on their glamours. Lord Okori tries to chase after them and dispel the sleet storm but cannot due to to the silence and difficult terrain. In the main hallway, Echo-running-pulls out her mirror, looks at it one last time, and smashes it into the ground. Walker and Cori chase after her. 
Outside, Callum and Lord Asakura have gained the attention of a security bot. Lord Asakura casts darkness on the carriage and begins to explain to the security bot that they are leaving, which it can't help but accept. The others rush out of the Okori Manor and hop into the carriage as Callum takes the reigns and drive them away.
On the way home through the enchanted wood, Echo explains to the party that she destroyed her mirror and she explains to Cori and Walker that her true name is Emiko. She explains that Vanity asked her to kill Rovan to become perfect. Soon, Emiko thinks she sees Rovan in the woods and asks to stop the carriage. Callum additionally thinks he sees nullifying nightshade in the woods. Cori sees ... and gets out, going into the woods. Roots wrap around her legs and she lets everyone to leave her behind and not follow her into the woods. Walker thinks something has made her go crazy and immediately follows her into the woods. Walker then thinks they see a stone statue holding a thick, unweathered tome. They attempt to burn the roots off of Cori with produce flame and succeeds, but the flame is green, which they blame on swamp gas. Echo and Callum and Cori all shake free from the illusions and begin to yell at Walker to come back. Cori has to grapple them and pull them out before they shake free.
They continue on to Gwisin and find that Rovan has safely made it to a fancy inn, disgruntled at being dropped from the sky. They return to Asakura Manor and demand pay from Lord Asakura who commands work to be done on a raise dead scroll for his wife. They receive spell scrolls of reincarnation and scry as well as several diamonds and a handsome amount of gold.
Walker goes to sleep and enters a dream. They find themself in a mountain valley pass way and the ground is littered with corpses slain in battle. In the distance they see a plume of smoke coming from a pyre of green flames. As they approach, they begin to hear a voice echo off the mountain walls. They get closer and tries reaching their hand into the flames and the voice asks if they would like to get vengeance. Vengeance against an evil that has wronged them. It asks if they want to kill their uncle, Manea. Walker thinks about it and can only picture the writhing black flaming form of Nuku when they last saw her. They pull their hand out of the green flames, and as they do, the looming figure of a four armed, three-times-slashed masked figure (Rage) thrusts at them with a glaive, stabbing them through the chest. They awake abruptly in a cold sweat.
== Interlude II: Banishment ==
=== Session 18 - Revelations ===
The party leaves for Astryd's with a newly acquired stolen horse, Skylar White-Yo. Cori tries to bond with the feisty Waltuh with the aid of Callum. After two daysish of travel, they arrive at Astryd's abode. Emiko finds Zari and asks her if she would like to reintroduce Doffle to his owner. Walker helps Rovan into his wheelchair and Astryd is unsurprised but not exactly happy to see the party bring yet another person into her home. They all head inside. Emiko and Zari find Doffle and bring him to Rovan, he dives into his lap and is ecstatic to see him again. Meanwhile, Callum goes to find Cirro. He asks Cirro if has received any word from Kishor Dharvim about his father. Cirro relates that Vikas Zidane is aware that Callum is alive. Walker finds Zari and asks her to read them, "You know how you told me my magic was fighting me?" and Zari gets a shit-eating grin. "Well, what does that face mean?" Walker asks and Zari slyly replies, "So I was right the whole time?" Walker asks her to read their aura as they cast produce flame but the spell backfires and burns them, which they put out with an errant ray of frost. Zari explains that their aura grew brighter during the spell, but after is still much dimmer than it was before. Emiko and Rovan have a private chat in his bedchambers about their history. She asks if she hurt him and he explains that she did not. When she continues to probe, it becomes obvious that she had but Rovan only claimed that it wasn't her, Emiko, who hurt him but Echo. She asks why she hurt him and he explains that they were married, because they were in love. Emiko finds that very strange because she never married for love, but Rovan explains that it truly was different this time, but Vanity drove her to betray him. 
Astryd makes the household a chicken soup dinner. Callum helps set up the table. Cori goes to invite everyone to dinner and awkwardly runs away when she sees Emiko and Rovan talking. While waiting for Emiko, Cori tells Callum and Walker that "They're having sex." After describing what she saw, Walker explains, "That was not sex." Cori doesn't know what sex is. Emiko and Rovan make it to the table and dinner begins. The chicken soup is delicious and Walker asks Astryd if she's ever had Nisian pork barbeque with pineapple. Astryd asks Walker, "Where exactly are you from?" and Walker explains they're from the Nisia tribe from Awaiki. She begins to process this information and Walker further explains its closeish to Alulu and very close to the Den of Thorns. Now Astryd is really sweating. Walker doesn't notice Astryd's demeanor change and explains how they actually don't know if Awaiki is habitable anymore because after the Great Fluxx, the island erupted and magma elementals were released over the island, destroying their village and killing their parents. Astryd stands up from the table and says she has to check on some food, but leaves the kitchen and dining room entirely. The party is now very confused. Walker asks Vish if she was effected by the Fluxx and he reminds them that he told them not to bring it up around her. Then Vish drops the bomb of information that Astryd Ansirah is friends with Ryfon Sarren.
The group is very shocked to learn that their patron is friends with the person they were told is responsible for causing the Fluxx. Emiko and Callum immediately begin to distrust Astryd. Walker, thinking of the havoc wreaked on their family by the Fluxx, gets up and goes outside to the springs. Cori follows after them. Inside, Emiko and Callum have a private conversation. Callum explains that, now that his father knows he's alive, he will be hunting him down. Emiko talks about her worries of breaking her pact with Vanity, and how she needs to return to the Dollhouse to save Yarra, protect her from the mirror room, collect some of her plants, and save Kip's harem. Callum expresses that he's worried his father will find him in Turtle Clan, but eventually concedes he's willing to go on a "Go For Broke Rescue Mission." They agree they should leave Astryd's as soon as possible. Outside, Cori finds Walker kicking their feet in the water. They talk about the recent revelations and Walker explains how they were intending on seeing Astryd about their tome because they had a really scary dream the other night. Walker also discusses how when Callum and Emiko first starting talking about demons, Walker was extremely cautious of them and didn't like them. So, when they told them that Ryfon Sarren was killing Manes, who are all in cohorts with demons and are functionally immortal due to their pacts with them, Walker's first thought was that Ryfon was doing a good deed. But then they explained that Ryfon was the cause of the Great Fluxx and then Walker's opinions on him became more complicated. Walker and Cori discuss how they can't be sure that Ryfon purposefully caused the Fluxx because neither of them have heard of a spell that powerful and if Astryd, who has been a very caring and open person, is friends with him, maybe he's not so bad. Walker even asks why, if Callum seems to hate most Manes so much, why does he hate Ryfon so much? 
They eventually all meet back in the dining room. They try to call Astryd over to apologize for reacting so harshly, but she says they'll talk in the morning. Callum and Emiko explain they need to leave soon and Walker explains that they wanted Astryd to look at their book for them, because they had a nightmare the other night. Walker explains the nightmare with the demon. Callum and Emiko demand that Walker doesn't talk to Astryd cause they fear what she will think if one of them has ties to a demon, that she might realize the others do to and not welcome them anymore, or worse, kill them. Walker begs that it was an accident and Astryd would understand, but they claim it's not worth the risk. Walker obliges. They ask Walker where they got the book to begin with and Walker explains how years ago they were searching for an anti-petrification salve to save their older brother, Hekau, and found notes that led them to a laboratory in the northern glaciers. Walker and Nuku looted the lab and found many magical artifacts, but Walker took and hid the tome for themself. They saved their brother, and about a few months ago were caught by Nuku practicing the magic from the tome. They were snitched on and had to run, where they summoned Hikiki for the first time.
The party agrees to go to bed. Emiko keeps watch outside Rovan's room. Walker stays up all night waiting to talk to Astryd. As the night progresses, their room gets hotter and hotter and hotter. In the morning, they go to retrieve the tome that has been in their bedside table for their entire stay here and find it billowing smoke. The smoke begins to fill the room so Walker opens the window and jumps out. They go around the building and enter the front door, finding Astryd in the kitchen. They vaguely explain how there is a problem with their book and it is filling their room with smoke but they should enter through the window. She obliges. Walker is nervous to touch the book but Astryd nonchalantly grabs it with her starmetal hand. She takes the book outside to the front yard and throws it into the gravel road. She angrily demands Walker explain what's going on and Walker timidly explains how they had a bad dream the other night where a four-armed demon asked to make a pact with them, but they refused!, and that's why they wanted to talk to her so badly last night. Astryd recognizes the description of this demon and asks Walker to retrieve her armor, and her glaive. Walker immediately agrees and goes inside where Echo and Callum and Cori are waking up and wondering what is happening outside as Walker drags the armor stand out the front door. They ask Callum to grab the glaive. Astryd starts putting on her armor over the tome. The party all makes it outside and decides its a good idea to also armor up if Astryd is doing so. When she is ready, Astryd raises her glaive, and strikes down into the tome with radiant, crystalline light. "Nothing can touch me during this, understand?" Smoke fills the front yard as a skeletal, ashy hand cloaked in green flame bursts from the ground.
Combat breaks loose as an undead warrior rises from the ground. It fires an arrow into the sky and four more undead warriors come forth. Echo casts cat's cradle which has a new appearance of dewy cobwebs on the big skeleton on the porch. Cori Turns Undead and the two archers begin running away. Callum Ego-ifies and begins laying into the big skeleton. Walker summons Hikiki and begins missing all their attacks. Walker tries slowing the undead but only hits the turned archers. Callum critically hits the big skeleton twice and nearly kills it. Astryd, protected by Cori's shield of faith avoids several attacks. Echo hits the big skeleton but it still stands. Walker eventually fires a ray of frost which critically hits the big skeleton in a massive overkill. The rest of the skeletons are dispatched of while Astryd finishes destroying the tome with a smite. The book erupts in one final bout of green flame and cold wind before being torn asunder, leaving only behind a pile of dwarven bones wearing a three-slashed mask, the body of Tudogeni, the Mane of Wolf Clan.
The front porch is mostly burned down and charred at this point and Walker puts it out with control water. "You let this thing into my house!?" Astryd grits her teeth at Walker. "I-I didn't know it was that bad!" they explain. "Get out! All of you get out of my house! Everyone but Zari has until tonight to pack their things and leave."
=== Session 19 - The Dollhouse ===
The party packs up their belongings and leaves Astryd's abode with their companions. Callum sends Cirro to Kishor Dharvim to tell him that Hiro has spotted Callum. The rest travel with their four horses southward for the Dollhouse. They travel for a day and stop in Kuzubiro. Cori meets up with her parents and breaks the news that they'll only be staying for a night and have to leave because they're on a time crunch. Emiko acquires rooms at the inn for herself and Rovan. Walker asks Cori about the Kuzubiro night life and ends up joining a pious stargazing party with clerics of Lox. They learn about Lox and explain their control over the powers over the domains of Devari, Telgen, and Neptia whom the cleric claims are more eager to share their powers than Lox. Meanwhile, Emiko visits the Starfall Theatre looking for the Marionette, but finds the place empty. She decides to go to the bar and orders a cosmo. While at the bar, Emiko remembers searching for information about nullifying nightshade. An hour east of Kuzubiro, she once visited a grave sight for a cleric, Ix, who sought to cure his curse with the flower. Walker arrives to the bar as Emiko is leaving in search of Callum for an important discovery outside of town.
Emiko returns to the Burrows' house as Walker, suspicious, gets drunk and stalks her with Hikiki. At the Burrows' Emiko wakes up Callum and tells him about the nightshade. Cori, playing cards with Gaelin and Zari, overhears this and asks why she can't join them especially when she was the one who told them about the nightshade. Emiko lets her come and decides to pick up Walker too. They get on their horses and ride east. The party finds the grave sight to Ix who Cori knows is a life cleric whose curse changed that and Walker recognizes the pendant he wears as a symbol of the Blue Urchin Company. They're unable to find any nightshade at the grave sight but Cori explains how the nightshade only grows in the Shark Clan. Walker explains how the Blue Urchin Company was based out of the Den of Thorns before the Fluxx happened and the business went under. Walker also explains their theory that Ryfon used the nightshade as a component for a spell that caused the Fluxx. Cori shares a myth she heard that the Fluxx was caused by someone feeding the demon Sorrow an anti-magic potion. Whom Kishor had told them dissappeared around the time of the Fluxx. The party heads back for Kuzubiro to rest.
In their dreams, they are visited by Lin'xi. Callum tells her about how he's been spotted by Hiro and asks if Vikas has traveled through Unicorn Clan recently ... Walker asks if all Manes get big cats and Lin'xi reveals that her sleepy, four eyed, large feline companion is the demon Slumber. Cori asks if Lin'xi knows about the demon Sorrow. ... They receive her blessing and wake up. The party eats potatoes and molasses, Emiko buys chocolate chip cookies and bread with Rovan from Seze, and they head on their way southward. 
Later that day, they approach the necropolis of Arkhorzoth in southern Unicorn territory. When they reach the entrance, Walker suggests they leave an offering before continuing in. They leave wildflowers gathered from Ix's grave sight, Emiko leaves cookies, Callum leaves a gold piece, and Cori leaves ... They get off their horses and walk them through the necropolis. Along the way, thsy see graves and mausoleums for people from all parts of Xi'Shu but mostly Unicorn and nearby clans. Emiko ends up finding a building mostly inhabited by Shark Clan shrines and finds a shrine to the former Shark Clan Mane Kaneko Yoku and his deceased family. She leaves an offering of cookies for each of them and gives one to a caretaker.
After another day of travel, they arrive at the Dollhouse late in the evening. The Turtle Clan landscape is muddy, swampy, and full of heavy vegetation. The Dollhouse is a large Victorian style, plantation-esque manor that is overgrown with various vines and poisonous plants. Emiko collects her mail from her overflowing mailbox. They notice recent boot tracks in the mud. Emiko goes to open the door but Yarra immediately open and is surprised to see Emiko. They hug and Yarra explains that she thought Echo had died. She also explains that agents from the Order of Vitriolic Blood are here and have arrested Belladonna, another handmaiden, for researching where to gather Bile of Loxith. Emiko asks Yarra to prepare "black tea" for their guests and "peppermint tea" for their friends, and asks the party to go upstairs and lock up the Mirror Room. Emiko enters the dining room where a firbolg and halfling agent of the Vitriolic Blood are waiting for her. They give her the rundown on why Belladonna was arrested and the importance of the control and secrecy of the Bile of Loxith to the religious practices of the Vitriolic Blood. They ask who would have given her the order or knowledge about the Bilr and Emiko feigns ignorance claiming she may have learned about it from one of the many tomes in her library. Yarra delivers them their tea and the halfling falls unconscious but the firbolg maintains composure. The firbolg asks what happened looking at Emiko with suspicion. She claims that "our tea doesn't normally have that effect." She asks if could have her handmaiden back to which the firbolg explains she'll have to talk to Jassillo Hawkblade, the leader of the Order, for that to happen. She says to send them her way and pinches the halfling awake. She sends them off. 
Meanwhile, the rest of the party is brought upstairs by ... Emiko had warned them about looking in the mirrors for too long and they notice the terrifying fun house effect they have. At the doors to the Mirror Room, they go to lock the doors but Cori decides to peek through the key hole and sees that all the mirrors have shattered but notices nothing else. They wait for Emiko's guests to leave and meet her downstairs. She explains that Jassillo will be coming. She then gives them a tour of the gardens where the party meets ... and Kip's harem. The party rests that night on various bagettes or in the servant's quarters. The next day, Emiko and Walker do some chores around the house while they wait for Jassillo. 
That night, a heavy knock bangs on the door. Walker hides in the kitchen, Callum hides in Emiko's bedchamber, and Rovan and Cori hide in the library. Emiko answers the door and the black dragonborn Jassillo Hawkblade is waiting. Emiko invites them in and they begin to discuss the returning of Belladonna in the dining room. Jassillo is curious about where she may have attained this information and asks "Echo" is they can look around the gardens. Emiko agrees and Jassillo gives the gardens an in depth investigation while they chat. Emiko mentions she could have heard of the Bile of Loxith from a random book in her library, and Jassillo asks to look around the library. Cori and Rovan aren't prepared for Jassillo to be in the library and can't hide anywhere. Cori tries to clean up her research but does it sloppily. Jassillo asks Emiko about the extra help and she explains that more help means more help to help the help. Jassillo ends up finding a tome with information on the Bile of Loxith, which they confiscates to which Emiko's excuse is she "bought random books at garage sales." Jassillo is satisfied with their investigation and as Emiko goes to lead them out, they mention that night has fallen and ask if they can stay the night and travel in the morning. Emiko asks if they are okay with sleeping in the Tea Room, to which they say is fine. 
Emiko guides Jassillo Hawkblade to the Tea Room and collects the rest of the party whom decide to have a sleepover in the master bedchamber for safety while they plan on how to deal with the leader of the Order of Vitriolic Blood.
== Arc V: Your Heart Still Beats ==
=== Session 20 - The Dead Zone ===
The sleepover commences as Emiko watches the Tea Room in her Sentry's Rest. Walker tries to build a blanket fort with the rest of the party but it's unsuccessful, they instead play "sharks" with Zari and have a pillow fight. Eventually, Emiko goes to investigate the Mirror Room and finds the door leading from the Friend Parlor opened and the interior of the lock dissolved from acid. Emiko begins to run around the Dollhouse searching for Jassillo but can't find them. Outside in the garden, she finds the door to her Poison Shed open and Jassillo rooting around through her stuff. Breaking down, she demands that they stop. They cast a zone of truth, which appears as a green bubble, and ask her if she was investigating the location of the Bile of Loxith herself. She fails the save against it and cannot speak a lie. She admits that she was in fact looking for the poison, that it's too powerful a poison, and she just wanted to complete her collection. They apologize for being a rude guest and say that they were just conducting their investigation, and that she obviously doesn't have any Bile of Loxith, gesturing at the empty spot on her shelf devoted to it. Jassillo then asks her if she'd like to complete her collection. She inquisitively asks how. They explain that the Order's supply line to Kochuza has been cut off and their recent shipments haven't come in. They wish for her to investigate the problem and tell her to fall back if Vikas Zidane is the cause. The zone of truth pops and Emiko leads Jassillo to the door to return home. Before Jassillo leaves, Emiko asks them about what Rovan Okori did for the Order. They explain that Rovan was an inventor who mostly worked on potions for the Order and that Jassillo was unsure what caused him to end up in a wheelchair. Emiko ushes Jassillo out.
In the morning, Emiko finds her room more or less destroyed by the sleep over party and kicks them out of her room so she can fix her room up with Yarra. Downstairs, Cori and Callum make pancakes for Walker and Desdamona explains that spinach is the only edible plant in the Dollhouse. Walker asks Callum if Vikas also has a big cat like Hiro and Lin'Xi and he vaguely says "it's not a cat." Walker pushes for an answer and Callum explains that he has an otter named Koawa. In the kitchen, Emiko comes down and explains what happened with Jassillo. Callum ... Emiko approaches Rovan and asks him to explain again how he survived. He explains that Vanity had asked her to kill him, and when she refused, Echo had to distract her for him to escape, but at that point he was already paralyzed from the waist down. She then asks him to explain anything about how/why they loved eachother. ... Callum goes to talk with Gaelin and brings him to Emiko's mail. He shows him the letters from Mogami Kiovi of the Broken Horns and Gaelin fawns over how many times his name is mentioned. The two discuss returning to Kochuza, Gaelin thinks they would be heroes, but Callum isn't sure. ... Walker explores Emiko's map of Xi'Shu and plots the course to Kochuza, realizing that they used to pass through the towns of Lastan and Tshatola with the Long Talon. The party gathers their things and heads with Gaelin to Kochuza.
On the road, the party encounters no troubles traveling through Turtle Clan. They ask around in ... and the Vitriolic Blood presence their explain that the troubles must be coming from closer to Kochuza. They clomp clomp on. 
Eventually, the terrain begins to shift as they travel through Unicorn Clan. The grass begins to turn grey and eventually turns from dead grey to red. Walker sends Hikiki to scout ahead and they see that in the center of this area, the trees and plant life are red and twisted at hexagonal angles and about ten humanoid figures shamble about Ego-ified. Callum explains he's seen these before and they are what happens if Ego is left alone too long, an Egological dead zone. Hikiki loses control and falls from the sky in a fit of laughter and dies on the ground. Walker is terrified and resummons him in his empowered form and starts petting him as the group debates how to proceed. Walker and Cori come to the conclusion that this is the roadblock in trade route even though the Egos are Broken Horn members. They decide that they came here to stop the problem, and because it's not Vikas, they should proceed. 
Cori casts sacred flame on one of the Egos and they all immediately turn towards the group. Emiko thunder cunts into them and escapes on her horse. The Egos rush forward and attack Callum and Walker. Callum attacks with his greatsword and Walker summons a sleet storm to aid their getaway. Cori fails her Constitution save against the Deadzone and begins to giggle as everything becomes distorted and funny to her. The group escapes on their horses, but an Ego kills Skylar White-Yo, the horse that Cori is riding, and it shifts into an Ego-Horse. Emiko rides by and scoops up Cori. They clear the distance but from behind them hear the sound of lightning and thunder as they watch an Ego on the edge of the sleet storm get disintegrated by a lightning bolt. Callum and Emiko say they should turn around and help but Walker just wants to go back and find Jassillo like they had just decided was the best course of action after almost dying to just a few Egos. They tell Walker to drop the sleet storm and they go back to help out. They discover Mogami Kiovi dual-wielding firearms that fire lightning bolts, a shark-maw staff wielding necromancer, and Marfer a.k.a the Shadow wearing a displacer beast cloak all fighting Egos. They rush in and begin helping. Emiko casts cat's cradle, Cori heals Walker, Callum attacks with his greatsword, and Walker casts slow.
=== Session 21 - Flesh and Blood ===
The group manages to stave off the corrupted Broken Horns as well as a second wave of "Egodiles.' However, they flee with a third wave of "Treegos" at the behest of Mogami, who wants to retreat and build a larger team to clear it out. On their way to Kochuza, Callum finds out from Mogami that she was hired directly by Vikas, and begins anxiously singing to himself in an attempt to keep himself calm about his inevitable confrontation with his father. ...
In Kochuza, ... Callum takes the horns he harvested, alongside Echo's strange metal ingots, and takes them to a weaponsmith to forge a new weapon. Shortly after waking up the following morning, Callum is given a pair of chakrams called the WEAPONNAME. However, while he's in the middle of admiring them, he is interrupted by the return of Vikas, who spots Callum and immediately goes over to greet him. While Vikas is overjoyed to a point of tears and greets him with a warm hug, Callum greets him rather coldly and only reluctantly returns the hug. When Vikas tells Callum that they need to return to the Bastion to say hello to Arona and Kauri, Callum briefly rejects doing so, citing the immediate threat of Ego south of Kochuza. However, he relents when he realizes that Vikas wasn't going to take no for an answer. He speaks to the rest of his companions (including Gaelin), informing them of the change of plans before introducing him to them. He tells Vikas that he will agree to return on the condition that his friends can join him, which his father agrees to. ...
Upon arriving at the Bastion, Callum freezes outside, which prompts Cori and Echo to help him inside. The two of them, as well as Walker, reaffirm to Callum that they have no intention to let any harm come to him and promise to give him some backup if things go awry. Callum lets Vikas give the other four a tour while he goes upstairs to say hi to Arona and Kauri. ... He speaks to his mother first, who is overjoyed to see Callum alive and well. When he sees that Arona's arm has been replaced with a prosthetic, he begins to tear up. However, Arona reassures Callum that she's fine, has been for a while, and that she's just happy to have him back. She goes downstairs to start putting together breakfast, asking him to wake up Lin'Xi after he finishes speaking with his brother. When Callum greets Kauri, he quickly points out Kauri's deeper voice and growth spurt (making him taller than Callum), which the latter awkwardly confirms. While Kauri remains rather distant, expressing annoyance over Callum leaving without any notice, the elder brother sees the scars on Kauri's neck and cries into his shoulder, apologizing profusely. Kauri, like Arona, reaffirms that he's doing fine, adding that he's grown up. After talking with Kauri, Callum quickly stops by to wake up Lin'Xi, who expresses confusion over his appearance. Callum explains the "misinput" but voices his appreciation for her assistance nonetheless. He says that he doesn't want to be back here, and that he especially doesn't "want to go back there." Lin'Xi reassures him that she wants to help Callum by any means necessary.
Back downstairs, he reunites with Makiri, and introduces the party to his family, particularly trying to pair up Kauri and Gaelin. ... While the party, the Zidanes, and the Manes eat together, Callum confirms to Vikas that they are well aware of Ego's existence, and that the five of them have been managing well against it. After eating, Vikas elects that the party and the three Manes go clear out the dead zone together.
=== Session 22 - Subject E ===
The party, Vikas, Makiri, and Lin'xi ready themselves to head into the Egological Deadzone. Emiko approaches Makiri about a tarot reading. ... Walker is sent in after her. ... Callum talks to his mother and brother ... Meanwhile, Vikas shares a document with the rest of the party. The [CLASSIFIED] document describes the treatment and procedures around Subject E, Ego-Callum, though he is never named. Various bits of information are redacted or corrupted including names assumed to be of various Manes including: Hiro, Vikas, Makiri, Lin'xi, and Zhonghou. They read how Subject E was subjected to various tests where the limits of its ability were tested, concluding in the subject shattering adamantium and killing Hiro. The party is shocked and mystified by this information, but agree to withhold it from Callum until after the deadzone is dealt with. 
They all head out and pass a band of Broken Horns warriors who gave up and fleed from the deadzone. At the deadzone, they find 3 Tree-egos that they are able to cut through with relative ease (with the legion that they have). After the Tree-egos are slain, Callum notices Emiko's mask, that she had left with Hiro, in a tree branch. Upon grabbing the mask, Callum loses control and Ego smashes it. He shifts into Ego-Callum as a bright light shines out of his chest. Everyone's vision goes white. Their vision returns and they find themself in a white void, underneath the flying form of a huge Ego they've never seen before.
Ego transmutes through various forms as the party and the three Manes battle for their lives. Ego exhibits properties and abilities never seen before by the party as blinding chromatic light bursts from its chest. Momentary glimpses of Callum fighting back can be seen within the form of Ego. Among these flashes, the party see glimpses of moments from the perspective of Callum and other Ego-ified creatures in moments of pain.
=== Session 23 - Hit It Very Hard ===
The party continues to fight an uphill battle against the still-standing Ego, but Callum manages to overpower it in one final strength contest by using his point of inspiration and rolling a nat 20. The party is subjected to another Callum flashback with Arona, where she presses his hand into his heart, "The fact that you can press down on it and feel it beat, even though it's painful to do so, is what makes you strong as a hero. But as long as your heart still beats, evil can't prevail over you, because your heart is what makes you strong as a Zidane." Callum manages to regain partial control of his body, weakening Ego by burning off its wings and significantly hindering its shapeshifting abilities, a heartbeat is heard in the white space. Callum heals the party and briefly manifests in an apparition form (see a few points below), gestures to his heart, and tells the party to, "Hit it very hard."
Ego releases a Lux Mortis ray and kills Gaelin. Another flashback with Vikas teaching Callum how to withstand a water elemental's blow, Callum gives everyone a use of Relentless Endurance. Vikas then summons a water elemental to fight Ego. Walker uses polymorph for the first time, transforming into a giant ape constructed of ice and snow. They rush at Ego, grapple its shoulder, and reach through its chest to pull out its glowing heart with a nat 20 (Epic Godzilla vs. Kong moment).
Ego flickers and fades and the party sees an Ego-esque apparition of Callum, but greyscale, with various scars and burn marks, who smiles at the party and disappears to reveal an unconscious Callum. Callum comes to, everyone is emotional but Callum is loopy and cannot remember a thing. The white space vanishes, dead zone goes alongside it
The party returns to the Bastion, but makes a quick detour at Lin'Xi's place to get Cori's magic item (name would go here idr it tho). Back at the Bastion, Cori privately fills Callum in on the scary Ego stuff and shows him the file. Callum connects dots and confirms he was told that he (as Ego) previously killed Hiro, as well as his procedures being conducted in the Bastion's right wing. Cori (once again) reaffirms her commitment to helping Callum get rid of Ego.
While everyone else sleeps off their injuries, Emiko attempts to reconnect with Vanity, saying she needs Vanity's power to truly protect her friends, but cannot do so. 
Next morning, Callum reconciles with Kauri and apologizes for leaving him without warning, inviting him to join the party. The party questions Vikas, who explains the following:
# The Bastion is owned by Zhonghou, Mane of the Lion Clan
# Vikas appears to be deeply terrified of Zhonghou
# The lead researcher for Subject E is someone else named Z.
# Vikas, Makiri, and Lin'Xi strongly dislike Hiro and consider him a threat
# Callum has a grandfather named Noctis who was the Turtle Mane before Vikas (and tended to go back-and-forth with Zhonghou)
# Vikas implies that he harbors some resentment towards Zhonghou (and potentially the Manes as a whole) for how they erased Noctis's legacy
The party then departs from the Bastion (with Kauri), Callum bids farewell with Arona and Vikas, seemingly having made amends with his father.
== Arc VI: Denouement ==
=== Session 24 - The Bad Guys ===
The party leaves the Bastion and decides to pick up some food and find some steeds to ride back to the Dollhouse. The gang goes to Walker's favorite local joint, Pizza Tree, and orders several pies. While eating their food, Cori catches a glimpse of a red tiefling in the kitchen before he vanishes. She didn't get a good view but the unsettling disappearance makes the party want to investigate. Emiko uses her newfound Beast Speech invocation to talk to a squirrel and convinces him to investigate the kitchen for free pizza crust. The squirrel returns claiming there is no red tiefling working in the pizzeria. The party considers whether its Kishor or Sylvain, but moves on to try and find horses to purchase.
While walking, Cori catches a glimpse of a band of orcs and others wearing attire resemblant of the Long Talon pirates that were in Kuzubiro being led by a hulking figure of an orc. Cori calls this out to the group and Walker immediately ducks for cover in the nearest alleyway. Walker calls out that the big man is their uncle, Mānea, and Cori also says that she can see Nuku, so the others hide. Walker is terrified because Nuku was a difficult fight for them, and Mānea would be even worse, and they know that Mānea is still on the hunt for them and the Tome. Emiko asks if she can try to talk to them under a disguise self spell and figure out why they're here. Walker is also curious as to what they are doing, seemingly searching for something in Kochuza. They summon Hikiki and Emiko casts invsibility on them and Hikiki. Walker wargs into Hikiki and flies closer to spy. Walker watches Mānea interrogate a salesman if he knows anyone from Unicorn Clan, to which he says the salesperson across the street may be. Emiko saunters over in a devout, crystal-loving, Unicorn clan disguise. Mānea's anger bubbles through his charming and suave personality as he finds yet another salesperson who isn't Unicorn. Emiko begins talking him very eccentrically about Unicorn clan and Mānea begins asking if she knows anything about his "kin that has been taken from me in Kuzubiro." She claims to not know anything of it and jokes about the cruel pirates that were there. Around this time, Mānea notices something off about her appearance and plants a hand on her shoulder, dispelling her disguise. Nuku calls out that she is one the ones working with Walker. Combat ensues. Emiko disengages and runs down the street as the others try to run a different direction, hoping Emiko can lose them on her own. Walker is able to escape to another street but Cori is spotted by some pirates who split off from the others. Emiko tries to thunder cunt away but is counterspelled by Nuku. Mānea catches up to her and grapples her, his hands now beginning to crackle with flames, which singe Emiko. Emiko casts summon shadowspawn summoning a ghastly steed that lets loose a dreadful scream that frightens most of pirates, Mānea and Nuku included. Meanwhile, Callum and Cori are fighting off pirates in an alley. Callum begins pancaking pirates again. Walker, warging into Hikiki from a park they found, blasts pirates with Hikiki's ice and begins targeting Mānea. Nuku and the other pirates let loose into Hikiki, but he keeps flying. The fight continues. Mānea tries to ... but Cori uses her counterspell scroll to stop it. Walker eventually casts polymorph through Hikiki on Emiko, a blizzard of snow begins to turn her into a huge icy serpent (tyrannosaurus rex); however, Nuku once again counterspells and melts away the spell. However, the momentary change of forms allows Emiko to slip from Mānea's grasp and become invisible in the shadows using her One with Shadows invocation. Hikiki flies up but Mānea casts scorching ray on him, nearly killing him with the five rays, and then finishes him off with a quickened spell firebolt. Callum and Cori dispatch the final pirates that split off. Mānea looks for Emiko but can't find her. Suddenly, a figure on the rooftops hops down. It's Sylvain de la Rue. Mānea voices his frustration for losing them, saying "they're still in town" and Sylvain scolds him for making such a seen. They head off as Emiko escapes.
The party meets back together and leaves town on foot. The rest for the night in Unicorn Clan before they can find another town where they can buy horses. While they are sleeping, Cori has a dream. She begins floating into the air, into the sky, and beyond. She gets higher and higher until she can see 30-foot-tall figure of a grey bearded man. The man's face continuously morphs, between young and old, feminine and masculine. They speak and tell Cori that she must see something, summoning a portal to a dimly lit room. Cori enters the portal and finds themselves behind a large throne. Four people can be seen from behind the throne. A laidback red tiefling with his feet on the table eating cheese cubes and balancing a knife on his finger, Sylvain de la Rue. A brick wall of an orc that's manspreading and furrowing his brow, Mānea Uhane. A blonde, high elf warforged sitting prim and proper. And, an aasimar wearing a half face mask, purple light emitting from beneath and a purple-irised black eye peering from underneath, sitting behind a clipboard. Sylvain and Mānea are discussing Walker and the party and a voice from the throne asks how they got away. The warforged brings to attention that she is tracking Emiko. The aasimar reminds the man in the throne that she needs to find and contain Subject E at all costs. A heavy white paw lands on the arm of the throne as he asks "Does one of you smell?" as he sniffs the air. He stands and turns to find Cori hiding behind his throne. Cori dashes for the exit door but the white leonin catches her with supreme agility. His skin barely clings to his face, his eyes a grim green, he is old. He casts hunter's mark on her and curses her with Primal Paranoia. "You better run now." Zhonghou plunges his claws into her glowing heart.
Cori jolts awake. Emiko and Callum, who were on watch, are concerned and ask her whats wrong as they wake up Walker and the others. Cori explains her dream. The group begins theorizing and making plans. They assume that the leonin is the legendary founder of Xi'Shu, Zhonghou, and also the current Lion Mane, and a warlock of Fear. The party considers their options. They realize that Cori is being tracked and Emiko likely is as well, and that its less likely that Walker and Callum are being directly followed because their hunters seemed unaware of their whereabouts. The group ends up deciding that they should split up and gather allies. Walker can polymorph and fly Callum back to Kochuza to gather the Manes of positive emotions they are allied with. Cori and Emiko will travel to Astryd's and try to regain her trust and hopefully the help of the Mane Hunter, Ryfon Sarren. Walker and Callum will use Makiri's ability to cast sending to communicate with the Dollhouse and the other half of the party.
=== Session 25A - No More Running ===
Callum and Walker prepare to leave for Kochuza after splitting ways with Cori and Emiko. Callum asks Walker what their "deepest darkest feeling" is. Walker thinks about it for a moment. The end up saying that they never expected to be here, a little over a month ago they were with the Long Talon, doing whatever Mānea needed of them. Callum asks about Mānea and Walker explains that he's not a good person. "I've killed people, Callum... People that didn't deserve it," Walker admits to him. That's why they had to run away. Walker asks Callum what his is, he says he'll think about it.
Walker wildshapes into a frosty giant eagle and flies Callum and Kauri to Kochuza. It takes several hours. Over the city, they can see guards lining the walls of the city, and they are joined by Long Talon pirates. They also can see the palace atop the hill in the city where Zhonghou resides. Walker circles above the Bastion while Callum attempts to communicate with them in bird form about the plan. They decide to land in the garden and avoid the guards which may be loyal to Zhonghou. Landing, they sneak into the unlocked meditation room. Inside, they find Makiri asleep on a floor cushion. Walker rushes to take their vitals while Callum investigates the room. Walker determines they are sleeping but nothing more and Callum notices many of the candles have been put out. Walker tries slapping Makiri awake to no effect. However, Walker can feel a strange energy in the room. They decide to hide Makiri better while investigating the rest of the building. They exit back into the garden and reenter into the living room. Kuawa also is snoring loudly, knocked out. They continue into the sanctum and find Vikas sleeping in his tree. They begin to theorize that Lin'Xi could have possibly done this. Down the hallway, Callum spots two guards standing beside an opened door to the Right Wing. Callum boosts Walker into the tree and Walker climbs across its limbs onto the upperfloor balcony, entering the master bedroom. They find Arona sleeping in her bed. They report back to Callum and claim they don't want to continue alone, in case Lin'Xi puts them to sleep and Callum is left alone. Callum and Kauri take the living room spiral staircase and Walker unlocks the trapdoor to let them up into the master bedroom. They continue down the hallway to the guest bedroom. There, they find Lin'Xi, sleeping, as usual. Walker tries pinching and shaking them awake but it doesn't work. Walker investigates further and finds that Lin'Xi's eyes under her eyelids are purple. Walker suggests bringing Lin'Xi outside to maybe alleviate whatever magical effects are causing the sleep. They hide her in a bush, but Walker can still feel the strange magical energy they felt in the meditation room and the rest of the building. Callum and Walker decide they need to continue deeper, that waking these Manes is a top priority with Zhonghou so close, and their allies so far. Walker tells Callum they'll have his back.
Callum rushes down the hallway, telling himself "no more running," to attack the two guards protecting the Right Wing. He grapples one and bursts through them with Amiotīra. One of their jaws falls off and Callum notices they are skeletons, held together with purple energy, wearing Lion Clan armor. Walker summons Hikiki who blasts through the skeletons, finishing them off. Callum steps into the Right Wing before Walker can offer to go first. They walk down a set of stairs where Callum opens a door and Walker fires a ray of frost at the first skeleton they see. Callum rushes in and begins attacking the group of skeletons and the eyes-closed ghast in the center of the room. A specter, made of pure purple magical energy, crawls across the ceiling and attacks Walker. The other undead lay into Callum. Walker uses Hikiki to teleport away and fires an ice knife at the group of undead, finishing them off in an explosion of icy daggers. Callum then rushes to the specter and cuts through it with Amiotīra. Purple energy from the bodies drifts deeper into the Right Wing. They continue in and find a room with a single ghost. They both quickly dispatch it. "Subject E, please join me to measure your vitals," a voice calls from the following chamber.
"No thank you!" Walker yells back. The source of the undead soldiers, as well as the unconscious Manes outside, is revealed to be Z - their full name being Director Cheng Zindra, who stands in the chamber's observation room attempting to conduct another procedure. Zindra continues to ask for "Subject E" to which Walker continuously cuts them off and demands to "Call him Callum. His name is Callum. He has a name." Callum, however, goads her into coming out and fighting them directly. She obliges, and transforms into a monster not unlike Ego-Callum, prompting Callum to do do the same. Walker tries to faerie fire her but she resists it. Zindra's Nightcrawler ability allows her to teleport around, evade, and chase down her enemies. However, the wounds that Callum sustained from the previous encounters cause him to go down to Zindra's necrotic attacks. Walker gives their healing potions to Hikiki who flies them to Kauri while Walker polymorphs into a giant icy ape and climbs the walls to attack Zindra on the ceiling. She dispels Walker's polymorph and drops between Callum and Kauri. Callum nearly dies before Kauri is able to resuscitate him with a healing potion. Upon coming back to his senses, Callum is revealed to have developed heterochromia iridium as a result of Zindra's downing blow, with his left eye being a deep purple that periodically flashes multiple colors. With the strength he has remaining, he defeats a frozen in place Zindra by repeatedly cutting her with Amiotīra, but pauses before going for the finishing blow. She reverts to her aasimar form within the shell of ice.
Callum investigates Zindra's heart to see if she is marked with Ego. While her heart is intact, Zindra takes off her mask to reveal a mark not unlike his own around her eye instead. Callum then stands down, first reprimanding Zindra for trying to kill him in the first place, knowing full well the consequences of doing so. He then asks if she's in the same position as him, which she confirms. She reveals that she is the daughter of Lin'Xi and has the same condition as Callum, though hers appears to take characteristics of Slumber rather than Joy. She explains that she resents her negligent mother for being immortal while she constantly flirts with death due to her condition. Callum notes that he does not know how old his dad is, but has not questioned it because he's gradually understood his dad to care deeply for his family and doesn't see it as something that matters to him. Walker asks Zindra how long she has had her condition, to which she replies "from birth."
Zindra then explains that she saw Callum as an opportunity for them both to understand more about their condition, genuinely believing that they could uncover a cure, and allied with Zhonghou out of disdain for her mother as well as access to Xi'Shu's most brilliant scientific minds. However, Callum notes that she did so at no expense to herself and at every expense to him. When she begins to argue that she wanted to try every solution and concoction that Xi'Shu could offer, he cuts in to float the possibility that perhaps a cure for their afflictions may be located somewhere outside of Xi'Shu. This causes Zindra to stand down completely, and the three decide to take her hostage.
Callum gathers Arona and the Manes, and sits them all down to explain what's been going on. He forces Zindra to reveal herself to Lin'Xi, and the group pries for information about Zhonghou, only for Zindra to reveal that she does not know Zhonghou's actual motives regarding the use of Ego, just that they disagreed on their motives. Zindra is also pried for information on her associates, and Vikas reveals that the Shark Clan's Mane was recently killed by Mānea, who intends to take over the position with Zhonghou's approval. He assassinated a mid-20's triton elementalist that was the upcoming Shark Clan Mane, and he is currently proving himself (with his forces in Kochuza) and that there has been no Demon to replace Sorrow. Walker deduces that, with Rage previously tempting them, it's likely that Mānea intends to fill the Shark Mane position with Rage as his patron, especially regarding his character and the fact that he is in possession of more of Tudogeni's magical possessions. Walker asks Zindra why she follows, or any of the Manes, follow a Mane of such a negative emotion. Zindra says "Zhonghou has known how to rule Xi'Shu since the very beginning." Walker objects to this notion saying "You know what I've always wanted more than anything? A fucking mutiny. Just because the strongest person got there first, doesn't mean they are fit to lead." Callum then fills the group in on their actions during the campaign, and reveals that they intend to ally with Ryfon. While the Manes object to this, Callum explains that he does not see an alternative and believes they can appeal to him by working off the assumption that Hiro will take Zhonghou's side, or by getting him to stand down and retire his quest entirely. He acknowledges the stupidity of the plan, but finds a degree of amusement in it. The Manes relent, and agree to speak to Mogami on their behalf in order to ensure that she does not attempt to attack Callum.
While Walker speaks with Makiri to send a message to Cori, Echo, and Gaelin, Callum pulls Vikas into the living room to speak in private, and asks him if Zhonghou is aware of what his phylactery is: his tree. Vikas confirms it, but expresses no concern at the thought of his phylactery possibly being destroyed because it was always going to die eventually. Callum expresses worry about his father's safety, to which Vikas reassures him that he knows the risk and is okay with it because he wants to ensure that nothing bad will happen to his son. Callum promises the same to his father, and the two hug.
Makiri sends the message: "HeyGirlyPops, Manes getting Mogami, Z is detained. Don't kill her, she's like Callum. Mānea Rage Mane? Kochuza on lockdown, we need Ryfon. Love you, good luck."
=== Session 25B - Untethered ===
Cori and Emiko travel with Gaelin to Astryd’s over a couple days, taking turns resting atop Emiko’s shadowspawn gorgon. They eventually arrive to find Ansirah’s house in the same condition they left it, burnt and crumbled, save for a note posted above the door: “Gone Fishing.” Cori isn’t swayed by the note and pounds on the door, which after a few moments, is answered by Vish. Cori and Emiko demand to know where Astryd has gone, and he claims that she’s “gone fishing.” Eventually, Vish relents, and allows the two into the house, where they find a teenage boy with fox ears and tails adorned in long flowing robes. The boy signs, communicating to Cori that his name is Michi, and that he needs their help. They agree, and Michi leads them to Astryd’s garden, leaving a trail of glowing cyan footprints behind him. The boy raises his hands and plants begin to erupt from the earth, curving and twisting into a circular gateway, from which turquoise mist flows through, forming a portal. Michi gestures to the portal, and Cori and Emiko follow him through.
The trio appear in the Crane Clan woods, the same mystical woods they have traveled through to get to the Okori estate, though a little less enchanted. Michi appears next to Cori and Emiko as a kitsune, leading them to a duo standing in the distance. One is Astryd, though more heavily armored, and she levels her glave at the approaching women, yelling at them for even considering returning. The other figure, Ryfon, adorned in a wide brimmed hat and mask, grabs her shoulder, assuring her that Cori and Emiko are with him. Cori and Emiko immediately introduce themselves to the figure, launching into a scattered pitch for why he should help them fight Zhonghou, though he waves them off, telling them that they don’t need to do any convincing. Ryfon explains that he brought them here because they are trying to get something out of the city, gesturing to the Illuminator city of Candlespring in the distance. He claims that neither he nor Astryd are very good at stealthing, and that he needs them to break into the vault to retrieve something very valuable, though he will not say what in case they are captured and questioned. Cori asks if the item has something to do with nullifying nightshade, and Ryfon says no, though they might also have a stash of that within the vault. Ryfon says that they will know the valuable when they see it. He also says that he and Astryd will cause a diversion to give them enough time to get into the vault and get out with the item. Ryfon also summons a simulacrum of himself from ice and snow to join them on their stealth mission. Emiko casts invisibility on Cori and herself, as does the simulacrum on itself, and Ryfon summons some fake restraints for Astryd and Gaelin, saying that he is going to turn them in as a distraction, since both are wanted Illuminator criminals. The four head off to enter the city.
At the gates of Candlespring, guards begin to gush over Ryfon, who is a hero to the Illuminators. Cori, Emiko, and the simulacrum begin to sneak off through the city, aided by Cori’s knowledge of the Illuminator capital. They pass by a temple, easily slipping past two guards before deciding to cut through the library. Emiko drops invisibility, disguising herself as the same Unicorn clan, crystal and astrology loving girl as before, whispering to Cori that if anyone should ask, her name is Eva.  Cori agrees and the two attempt to walk through the library as two Illuminator scholars, though they are spotted by an Illuminator researcher, who comes to ask them what’s up with them. Emiko claims that she’s a little intoxicated but is just so excited that Ryfon is here, and Cori exclaims that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. The Illuminator researcher asks if the two can watch her things for a moment while she goes to see Ryfon, and they agree. The researcher leaves, and as soon as she is out of earshot, Cori and Emiko take off to the town square, moments from the entrance to the vault. As both attempt to blend into the crowd, an Illuminator guard approaches Emiko, asking if she would be okay in participating in a routine search. As the guard grows suspicious, Cori faceplants, crying out and acting as if she's taken a really bad fall. The guard rushes over to help them up, giving Emiko enough time to Disguise Self and slip into the crowd. Cori also manages to slip away, and the two approach the entrance to the vault. 
Cori casts Dispel Magic on the door’s wards, and her and Emiko are able to enter the vault without any detection. To enter into the vault itself, Cori investigates a series of wards that require Illuminator or light spells be cast in order to bypass them. Cori proceeds to cast sacred flame, hand of radiance, and guiding bolt, easily sneaking into the vault. The main hallway of the vault is the shape of a circle, though Emiko and Cori decide to head right. Appearing along the circular hallway are three doors sealed with arcane locks. The simulacrum suggests that they could cast Knock on the doors, though it would probably notify everyone in the town square. After some more investigation, Cori determines that two of the doors are unlocked by the tenets of the Illuminators: “Provide Safe Refuge” and “Burn Away Blight.” The third door remains unknown, so they decide to investigate the doors they do know first. In the first door, “Provide Safe Refuge,” they find an armory filled with the weapons and armor used by the Illuminator guards. Posted in this room is a snoozing golden dragon wyrmling resting atop a small hoard. At Cori's request, Emiko stealthily snags one of the Illuminators’ morningstars before the two leave the room, and the arcane lock is resealed. The two then head over to the other door, “Burn Away Blight,” entering to find a series of scrolls guarded by floating animated books. Emiko finds a spell scroll of find familiar and Cori finds one of magic missile. Both leave the room, careful not to disturb the floating books. 
Cori investigates the third door, and remembers the phrase to be the third Illuminator tenet: “Guard the Light.” Emiko and Cori step inside, descending a flight of stairs towards a round room, the temperature within the room growing hotter and hotter as they move forward. Held by chains within the center of the room, a large, raging minotaur fights against her restraints. Cori and Emiko examine the minotaur, taking a look at the glowing bracers on the minotaur’s horns, determining these to be one of the sources of her rage. Cori runs and leaps onto the back of the minotaur, attempting to pull one of the bracers off despite them burning her hands, though the minotaur quickly grapples her. Cori gives some more attempts to tear the bracers off, though the minotaur eventually throws her to the ground. The minotaur casts burning hands, unleashing a torrent of flame towards Emiko. Emiko retaliates by casting Hex, though she quickly takes damage and loses concentration. The minotaur lashes out with more deadly attacks, and Ryfon’s simulacrum casts Fizban’s Platinum Shield over Cori, protecting them from the fire as they attempt again to take off the bracers. The minotaur pulls the cement block holding in one of her chains from the wall, swinging it over to Emiko, who takes a blow to the side of her face. Emiko now has a large crack running from her forehead, to her temple, and down her cheek. Emiko dives over to the minotaur’s right hand, examining the lock, which appears to be a circle with a smaller circle in the center that can be moved up, down, left, or right. After further investigation, Emiko and Cori determine that the codes to the lock must be ever-changing, due to small whirling mechanisms inside. Cori scrambles over to another lock, and both begin to plug in combinations, all while the minotaur whales down fiery attacks on them. Eventually, Cori triumphantly plugs in the correct combination, and together they are able to free the minotaur from her restraints. The simulacrum casts calm emotions on the minotaur, who eventually calms, running over to the simulacrum and shaking its shoulders, asking how long she has been there. Emiko and Cori explain the simulacrum is not actually Ryfon, though he is near to them. They explain that they are there to break her out, and Emiko asks the minotaur for her name. The minotaur introduces herself as Diza, and the three begin to head back out to the square. 
The simulacrum casts invisibility on the four, and they head back through the vault. Cori recasts her light spells to disable the wards, and they exit into the town square, finding quite a large crowd surrounding Ryfon, Astryd, Gaelin, and the leader of the Illuminators, Aurdol. They realize that Ryfon doesn’t exactly have a way to leave, while Emiko looks over the crowd to find familiar faces. After a Wisdom save, Emiko remembers that these figures are her siblings, Ezra, Eva, and Eros de la Rosco, as well as her mother and father, Ovette and Essex de la Rosco. Emiko pulls Cori into an alley and tells her that her family are here, and that she remembers the reason she made the deal with Vanity. She remembers the day that her sister and her best friend, Emory, was leaving to be a part of her new family, with her new husband. She remembers feeling alone, left with her judgemental parents and cruel siblings, and so after all of her research about demons she decided she would attempt to summon one. Emiko tells Cori to leave with Diza and the simulacrum and that she is going to attempt to start a scene, Cori refuses to leave her. Diza and the simulacrum take off for the outside of the city, while Cori and Emiko, invisibility dropped, begin to walk over to Emiko’s family. 
Cori stays within earshot as Emiko approaches her father, tapping him on the shoulder. Essex turns around, enraged to see Emiko standing before him. He demands to know why she’s turned up after so long, and to lose any idea of rejoining their family after what she’s done to herself. Emiko asks him if he knows why she left in the first place, because she’s only started to remember. Emiko accuses her parents of never loving her for who she is, simply because she turned out human, and she could never be as talented as her siblings, so therefore she would never be enough for them. Emiko tells her parents that the only reason she made the deal with Vanity was because they made her feel so worthless and alone, and she wanted to make sure she was perfect enough for people to love her and stay with her. Essex asks just how that turned out for her, and Emiko tells him that she has a family now, friends that love her and care about her even though she is far from perfect. Essex tells her that at least she used to be human, because he doesn’t even know what she is now. Cori, enraged by what she is hearing, flies out of the crowd, punching Essex square in the face. Essex grows angrier, and casts Flesh to Stone on Cori. Emiko slashes at her father’s face with her dagger, screaming at him not to touch her friend. By now the crowd has spread around them, and they have even gained the attention of Ryfon and Aurdol. Aurdol reaches out a hand, casting force cage on the trio, though it is quickly dispelled by Ryfon. Ryfon rushes over to Emiko, placing a hand on her shoulder as she is about to attack her father again, and dimension doors them outside of the city limits. Astryd breaks from her false restraints as Cori casts dispel magic on herself. Astryd rushes over, casting find greater steed, summoning a winged Comet the G.O.A.T., and helps Cori onto the back of the animal before taking off. Essex quickly follows, casting draconic transformation on himself and flying after them with spectral wings. Essex uses his breath weapon, singeing Cori and Astryd as they flee. Using Cori's magic breastplate, Cori switches their armor classes, and both glisten with the magic of the sun and the moon, mirroring each other. In the meantime, Gaelin is unable to break from his fake restraints, and slides and goops his way out of the city. 
Outside of the city walls, Ryfon and Emiko meet up with Diza and the simulacrum close to Emiko’s childhood home. Emiko asks Diza if she could set the house on fire, to which she quickly agrees, hurling a flaming cantaloupe through a glass window. Shortly after, Emiko’s siblings, Eros and Eva, dimension door in front of the house. Eros and Emiko hold each other’s gaze, before Eros gives a tearful nod and casts guidance on her. Emiko dashes to Eros and wraps him in a hug, telling him that none of it was his fault, and that he always understood her. She apologizes for leaving and he tells her that she made the right choice. Emiko tells him that he should come visit her in Turtle Clan, and Eros looks at the burning house, telling her that might be soon. Emiko tells him that he would really love to reconnect with him in the future, and Eros nods, saying he’d like that as well. Comet touches down, and Cori and Astryd join the party as they flee into the Crane Clan woods. Ryfon summons another portal, and the group is safely returned to Astryd’s home.
Exhausted, Diza and Astryd embrace, and Astryd tells her that she has been trying to break her out for three years. Astryd asks if Cori has the sending spell, as they need to send a message for Diza, and Cori agrees, though admits she will need a rest before she is able to do so. Emiko retreats into Astryd’s house, raiding her pantry for spell casting components to ritual cast find familiar, finding everything with the help of Ryfon. As she goes to set up her spell circle, Cori approaches Ryfon, telling him that there’s so much she’s heard about him that she doesn’t know how to make sense of it all. Cori says that she’s heard many people refer to him as a “mother-fluxxer,” to which Ryfon chuckles, admitting that it’s rather clever. Cori asks him about the Fluxx and whether he caused it or not, telling him that she’s figured out it has something to do with Sorrow. She asks him how he managed to slay the demon, and if that had anything to do with nullifying nightshade, which Ryfon doesn’t confirm. Though he claims that if they are going to go after Zhounghou, he would rather do it without killing the demon Fear, to which Cori agrees. Cori then tells Ryfon about their friends, explaining that Callum is under a certain malady that they are looking to cure with nullifying nightshade. Ryfon inquires about Callum’s origins, and Cori tells him that Callum used to be experimented on by the Manes, which actually led him to killing Hiro. Ryfon shrugs, claiming that that’s not too hard, as he manages to do it about every year. Cori mentions that Callum was able to break through adamantine to do it, which shocks Ryfon: “This ‘Callum’ must be a genius.” Ryfon asks Cori about her past with the Illuminators, and Cori tells him that she used to be apart of them, and that she worships the god Lox. Cori apologizes for lore-dumping to Ryfon, to which he replies that it is more than okay, since he is usually the one lore-dumping to others, and that it’s a nice change of pace. Both decide to turn in for the night, and Cori finds herself a smoky yet otherwise undamaged room to rest in.
Emiko meditates within her spell circle, thinking of her friends and her loved ones, attempting to summon Karma. After a moment, she opens her eyes to find herself in a beautiful mindscape garden filled with poisonous blooms. A fountain sits in the center of the garden, surrounded by four statues, depicting Cori, Walker, Callum, and Rovan. Sitting by the fountain is a masked Marionette, who beckons her over. The Marionette tells Emiko that they are glad to see she’s finally made a good choice. They tell Emiko that “she” is going to be very angry, and Emiko laughs, telling her that they know, but in all honesty, “I don’t think my soul has belonged to her for a long time.” The Marionette nods, pulling out an ornate golden mirror in perfect condition, holding it out to Emiko, asking her to prove it. Emiko takes the mirror, tossing it on the ground and stabbing through and shattering the glass with a sharpened stiletto heel. The Marionette laughs, and tells Emiko she thinks it’s time that she draws her magic from a different source, gesturing to the statues surrounding them. Emiko nods and agrees, telling the Marionette that she’s beginning to put together a picture of who she wants to be in her mind, and that she’s going to try and be that better person. The Marionette says that they are looking forward to seeing her prove it, and Emiko wakes sitting in her spell circle, a beautiful snake coiled in the sand before her. Emiko squeals and shrieks at the top of her lungs, diving to embrace Karma and waking the house in the process. Astryd and Cori burst from their rooms, weapons in hand, to find an ugly crying Emiko holding her snake. Cori asks what happened, and Emiko tells her that she’s no longer drawing her magic from Vanity. Astryd angrily storms out of the room, and Emiko laughs, sending a burst of joy in her direction. Cori and Emiko draft up a sending spell to reply to Makiri, and both head to bed, preparing to journey to the Dollhouse in the morning.
"Heygirlypops, got Ryfon, Ansirah, and other. Visited Candlespring, broke out Ceze's sis, met the old fam. Who’s 'she?' Headed to Dollhouse. Ryfon really hates Manes."
=== Session 26 - Family Found ===
Before leaving the Bastion, Callum and Walker stay the night. Callum roams the Right Wing, stopping in every room, and remembering how it used to be. His shadowy echo is wailing into the corpses of Zindra's undead thralls. Callum looks down upon the experimentation chamber from the observation deck, a perspective on the room he's never seen before. He walks down into the experimentation chamber to the old chair they used to bind him to. He swipes the dust off and lays in it, thinking, how much smaller it feels now. He thinks about all his new friends, his companions, Vikas, Lin'Xi, Kauri, and Arona, and how all of them have supported him in different ways. He gets up from the chair, and upon noticing that he doesn't feel powerless and scared sitting in it, he walks over to his echo. He tries to touch the echo and gets shocked by a jolt of electricity. However, Callum seems unfazed by it, propping the echo up from its rampage and says, "This place can't hurt you anymore. You're stronger than it now." He tearfully hugs the echo (getting shocked again), and the echo reciprocates the hug, disappearing after doing so. With the newfound perspective, Callum speaks to Zindra the following morning, and forces her to come with and help them defeat Zhonghou in order to atone for previously taking away Callum's autonomy by experimenting on him. She relents and agrees to help.
In the house, Walker is rummaging around for healing potions they could restock on before traveling. While in the meditation chamber/library, Vikas walks in and complains about not being able to sleep. Walker is grabbing scrolls of healing word and cure wounds and explains that they are taking them so his son doesn't die, like he almost did today. Vikas thanks Walker for being there for Callum and protecting him. "Forever," Walker replies. Vikas then drags a bookshelf to the side and reaches behind it to grab a small, engraved, wooden spell scroll case and hands it to Walker. Walker holds onto it for a moment in Vikas' grip and bows in respect to him. Vikas begins to read a book, with pictures, upside-down, categorizing the animals of Xi'Shu. Walker finds another copy of the same book and takes it with Vikas' permission. The next morning they leave for Astryd's with Kauri, Arona, and Zindra as a bound prisoner.
After returning to Astryd's abode, Cori and Emiko rest before heading south to the Dollhouse. Emiko asks around for a smoke and ends up on the back porch smoking hookah with Astryd. Emiko asks her how she is always so apathetic, talking about how all of these emotions are coming to her now and some of them are really painful and sorrowful. Astryd replies that her feeling these feelings is important and beautiful because it means she truly cares about the people she loves. 
On the road to Astryd's, Walker and Callum receive a sending message from Cori telling them about what happened in Candlespring and that they are heading to the Dollhouse. They correct course and end up running into them south of Astryd's on the road to the Dollhouse. They can see each other in the distance and Cori and Emiko sprint to see them. Emiko tackles Callum in a hug and sends Karma to tackle Walker. They are all excited to see each other again, alive and well, but notice Callum's new purple/flashing heterochromia and Emiko's new crack in her face. They also notice a trio slowly catching up behind Emiko and Cori of Astryd, a minotaur (Diza), and an elf in a wide brimmed hat (Ryfon) who walks with a small fox (Michi). Emiko and Cori explain that Ryfon really hates Manes and they should be careful about mentioning them in front of him. They all quickly run through what happened while they were apart, including the information that Zhonghou doesn't have a pact with Fear, Fear has a pact with him.
Astryd, Diza, and Ryfon catch up to the party and Cori and Emiko introduce Diza to them. They walk and talk. Walker says it's good to meet her and that her wonderful sister, Ceze, misses her. Emiko, Cori, and Callum begin explaining to Ryfon that they have additional allies, and that he needs to keep his mind open. They explain that they are working with three of the Manes to take down Zhonghou, but these Manes can be trusted, they are warlocks of positive emotions, and they have agreed to help take down Zhonghou on the pretense that the Mane Hunter will help take him down. They also explain Callum's affliction, that he is the son of Vikas Zidane, and that the Ego curse was passed down to him through birth. They ask Ryfon to consider sparing these three Manes, until after Zhonghou is defeated. Emiko begins writing up a contract, although Ryfon doesn't agree to sign it.
Seeing Ryfon remain obstinate in his goals despite the efforts of his companions, Callum decides to pull Ryfon to the side in order to convince him to make peace with Vikas, Makiri, and Lin'Xi. Away from the others, Callum voices his disdain for the Manes (particularly Hiro, who is revealed to have repeatedly dissected Callum in the past), pointing out that they are almost all complicit in the experiments conducted at the Bastion. However, Callum also voices his disdain for Ryfon, believing his quest of killing all of the Manes to be short-sighted and harmful to those around them - namely their families. While Ryfon protests by saying that Manes typically don't have families, Callum quickly rebuts his argument by pointing out that Vikas does, and witnessing his father die and come back from the dead is scarring the rest of his family. While he understands the hostility towards Manes like Hiro, he believes that Manes like Lin'Xi, Makiri, and his father are worth sparing because they show regret towards their misdeeds and are trying to atone for them by helping Callum, and thus ultimately have selfless motives in spite of their flaws. Because of this, Callum argues that Ryfon's inability to see that means that the high elf isn't a good person, but adds that he doesn't believe anyone around them is truly good - including Callum himself. However, this does not deter him from putting his faith in those around him because, as Callum puts it, "I'm not sure we can be good people, I think all we can be is better." Ryfon does not press further, and although he does not agree to the terms, he decides to think on Callum's words.
Diza munches on cantaloupes and rolls in the grass. Walker asks Astryd if they can speak with her. "Oh what now?" Astryd replies but Walker only says that they want to apologize for bringing Tudogeni's phylactery into her home and causing a significant amount of it to burn down. Astryd asks Walker about their connection to Mānea. Walker admits that he is their uncle, but that they hate him and want nothing to do with him. Astryd proposes that if Walker can use that pirate gold to pay for the repairs, she will forgive them. Walker admits that they don't really have any gold at the moment and Astryd explains that they can pay her back after Mānea is defeated. "Which, hopefully, that will happen," Walker sighs.
After a days travel, the party arrives at the Dollhouse. It has had some expansions since they were last here, some of which are still somewhat work in progress like the theater. Emiko checks the mail and finds a letter marked with a lion insignia that simply reads "Surrender peacefully." She goes inside and is excited to see Zari. She runs off with the girl to brush out all the knots in her hair. Desdamona is excited to see Walker. Rovan enters the entrance chamber and asks where Emiko is. The party explains that she has ran upstairs to untangle Zari's hair. Cori explains to Rovan that Emiko didn't forget about him and has been really excited to see him again ever since they left. After brushing out Zari's hair, Emiko dons a spectacular dress with disguise self and makes a grand entrance at the top of the entranceway stairs to greet Rovan. She walks elegantly down the stairs, and then rushes forward to hug him. She tells him that she's really happy to see him and that she couldn't stop thinking about how she just wants to spend more time with him. He says that he is glad that she's back and remembers him. She asks him to talk in the garden. They walk around the garden where Emiko explains to him that she wants to spend the rest of her days getting to know him. She fidgets with her pocket and kneels before him. She produces a ring in her palm and asks him if he'd like the same. He smiles and says "This was so much better than the first time." He says yes, and puts the ring on, which Emiko has imbued with the memory of this moment.
Cori excitedly freaks out inside looking out the window. After a little more time in the garden, Emiko and Rovan return to her bedroom to continue "talking." Callum finds Arona, and the two go out into the front yard to train. The fight starts with Arona deftly disarming Amiotīra from his hands with her battleaxe. Callum then gets the upper hand on her and gives her a small cut. Callum then summons his shadow and tries to surprise Arona with it but she summons her winter storm rage and causes Callum to slip, catching him just before he hits the ground. Meanwhile, Walker has wondered off into the swamp and found a body of water to rest by. Raindrops dance on the water's surface and Walker casts scry on the surface, focusing on a bracelet they're wearing, causing it to go still with an image. They scry on their brother, Hekau, who is frying a fish in a small shack. Along the walls, he has pages from the Long Talon's logs pinned up as if he's piecing something together. He exits the shack and looks out into the ocean, rubbing one of Walker's bracelets that they had traded. "Stay safe, Hekau," Walker says as the mirage fades. 
That night everyone returns to their new themed and personalized bedrooms. In the morning, Emiko wakes up early and has a "post-talk" glow as she gets help from Astryd to cook eggs for everyone. Cori asks Emiko how things went with Rovan and she is elated, showing off her ring, and that her cracks have been repaired with gold kintsugi. Callum asks Emiko if her and Rovan "rooted," to which Arona scolds him for bad table manners. Walker thanks Emiko for the delicious eggs. Walker also thanks Astryd for allowing their friends to stay the night at her home. Astryd takes it, then apologizes for overreacting in the moment where she kicked them all out of the house, and for being overwhelmed with emotion. "I forgive you," Walker states. After finishing breakfast, Ryfon announces that he and his companions will be traveling back to Kochuza to scout it out for the party to follow. The party says their goodbyes and the trio leaves. 
Emiko decides that she should investigate the Mirror Room. The party follows her upstairs and into the Mirror Room. Inside, they find a hatch to the attic open in the corner, an attic Emiko was unaware of. Emiko scouts ahead with Karma and finds a glinting, golden figure hiding in the dark. Walker tosses a grappling hook up and Emiko climbs it. Walker sends Hikiki to follow and Callum sends his shadow. Emiko approaches the figure, who faces her and appears as a warforged built from mirrors from the neck down with golden hair. Emiko asks her if she is Echo. The warforged replies, "I am your improvement, I am Kagami." Kagami explains that Vanity has replaced Emiko with a more "perfected" version. Emiko asks her if she thinks of herself as perfect, Kagami does. Emiko then asks Kagami if she wants to know how she was built, to which she says she does not. "I'll explain how I was created then," Emiko responds. She describes how Vanity tore her apart and removed everything from her besides her nervous system, then imprisoned her in a robotic form. Emiko then shows Kagami her Magnum Opus and explains how it's made her more human. Kagami relates that she is here to take it from her. Kagami moves to attack and Walker teleports Emiko out with Hikiki. Emiko ends up in the master bedroom with Rovan. She explains to him that she is running to find another heart for Kagami and gives him a kiss, but when she pulls back, Sylvain de la Rue drops his disguise self and attacks Emiko with a booming blade. Emiko disengages, taking the booming blade thunder, and runs to go downstairs and find a gyroscopic core in the laboratory. Kairos assumes his Form of Dread and catches up to Emiko, sneak attacking her, and downing her. Cori runs out of the Mirror Room to cast healing word on Emiko. Callum attacks Kagami through his shadow eight times, hitting five times, critting twice, severing her left arm from her body. Kagami tries blinding the shadow with her Radiant Reflection but the shadow is immune. Walker teleports Hikiki away from Kairos, damaging him, and climbs the grappling hook rope to the attic, sending a ray of frost at her that misses. Kagami looks at Callum and says, "I know what makes you tick," as she shoots him with her Shock Blaster. Kagami then casts ashardalon's stride, destroying Callum's shadow and running past him, Walker, and Hikiki damaging them all with fire. She then tries to burn a hole through the floor to get to the floor below. Callum rushes through the Mirror Room and catches up with Kairos and begins wailing into him. Walker jumps down and runs across the Mirror Room to get Kairos in their sight. They cast hold monster on him, freezing him in place, paralyzed. Cori heals Emiko some more. Emiko tries to attack the paralyzed Kairos, but misses twice. Kagami drops from the attic in the Mirror Room, and casts lightning bolt on Callum, Cori, and Walker but they all succeed on their saves. Callum rages and swings at Kairos with his blade arm He hits five times, critting each time, dealing 114 damage. Kairos shatters into chunks of ice. Walker turns to Kagami and polymorphs themself into a huge serpent. They bite and restrain her, knocking her unconscious. Emiko takes her body and tasks Arona with keeping her safe while the rest of them search for Rovan.
They can't find Rovan in the house so Cori casts locate creature and pings him outside the house. Walker drops their polymorph and they all leave out the back to follow Emiko. Emiko summons her shadowspawn horse as a mount, dashing through the swamp, and Walker wildshapes into a riding horse to carry Cori as they chase down Rovan, who's gaining distance on them. As they run off, they find a plate-sized scale and a winding path heading into the distance. A sense of insecurity comes over Emiko and Callum as they see their reflections in the puddles, but the two manage to shake it off.
=== Session 27 - Metamorphosis ===
The party chases after Rovan, following the slithering pathway left in the mud of the Turtle Clan swamp. Eventually, the trail leads them to a large clearing in the center of which is the half-serpentine, six-armed figure of the demon Vanity. In one of her arms, she holds a choking Rovan Okori while she gazes at her reflection in a hand mirror she carries with another. Vanity taunts Emiko telepathically, telling her that her parts can be reused to forge something better. Emiko rebukes, telling her that they beat Kagami and that Vanity will never be able to beat perfection. Vanity conjures two specters interposed between her and the party. One is the ginger high elf, Otto Odele, and the other is the white haired tiefling, Yaoki, both exes and victims to Echo. Emiko uses her shadowspawn horse to attack Otto, but the ghost is immune to the cold hooves. Walker casts tidal wave and knocks one prone. Cori summons a guardian of faith which smites the damaged Yaoki, evaporating her into ectoplasm. Cori also uses her Wheelturner's Chestpiece to share cantrip lists between her and Emiko. Callum rushes forward and begins attacking Otto with Amiotīra. Emiko casts sacred flame on Otto, and he burns away in pink flames. Vanity ... Walker casts faerie fire on Vanity but she succeeds against it. Callum rages and begins attacking Vanity, she attacks back. Vanity casts mental prison on Emiko, trapping her in an illusory sea of undead, wracking her mind with psychic pain. Then she summons a spectral echo of herself. Cori casts dispel magic on Emiko, freeing her from the mental prison. Emiko's shadowspawn horse destroys Vanity's echo. Walker casts call lightning on Vanity, but she uses her hand mirror to deflect it back at them. Vanity looks at Callum and telepathically insults him, "You don't even know what you are," using her Exploit Imperfection to target his intelligence, stunning him. Vanity uses Exploit Imperfection on Emiko, "You can't even hold yourself together," targeting her strength and her brittleness, stunning her. Walker fires a ray of frost at Vanity, but she deflects it back at Emiko. Vanity begins to lay into Emiko with her four swords. Emiko goes unconscious from the strikes. Ego-Callum and his echo lay into Vanity. Rovan is able to escape Vanity's grasp and falls to the ground. Cori heals Emiko, bringing her back up, but Vanity is ready and continues to attack the prone Emiko. Emiko is downed, and struck twice more, as Vanity plunges two of her swords into Emiko's back. She rips her back plating away and reaches through the open wound, and tears out Emiko's heart, the Magnum Opus. Vanity absconds with the heart, slithering off into the swamp. Emiko lies dead.
Ego-Callum chases after Vanity. He catches up to her, attacks her with his claws, he is able to disarm Vanity of the Magnum Opus and throws it back to the party, his echo catches it. Walker dashes over to collect the heart and delivers it to Cori who is preparing to revivify Emiko. Walker then summons a sleet storm, centered on Vanity, to obscure her view of Emiko and slow her return. Cori realizes Emiko is still at risk here in the middle of the swamp, and that Vanity will be searching for the heart, so she runs off with it towards the Dollhouse. Vanity cuts her losses and disengages from Ego-Callum, slithering away. Callum runs back, slowly, through the sleet storm. Walker picks up Emiko, and apologizes to the prone Rovan as they run with her body back to the Dollhouse. Callum emerges from the storm and gathers Rovan on his back, following the party.
Walker catches up to Cori and the two begin preparing to revivify before they run out of time. Callum catches up with Rovan and lowers him to Cori. Cori begins to reinstall the Magnum Opus, with the help and guidance of Rovan. Cori then produces the diamond component and begins casting revivify. Time seems to tick in reverse as the grass underfoot ages backwards through the seasons. Emiko awakens. The slight drizzle causes her discomfort as it hits the network of exposed nerves in the wound of her back. She is in extreme pain and discomfort. Callum reverts to his human form and tears are streaming down his face. Cori tries to heal Emiko but the damage is too great. Cori carefully picks up Emiko and carries her back to the Dollhouse while Callum and Walker help walk back Rovan. 
Arona greets them at the doors to the Dollhouse, looking solemnly to the party as they enter. Emiko turns to Arona, asking her to make sure that Zari is in her room, to which Arona nods. The party takes Emiko to her bedroom and lay her face down in it. They discuss what they should do and Rovan expresses that he doesn't know how to make repairs this large. They discuss potentially getting help from the medical expertise of Zindra, or the mechanical expertise of Kagami. Cori talks to Rovan on the side and asks him about Kagami. Rovan suggests performing an autopsy on Kagami to steal her parts to repair Emiko. Cori explain that Emiko was the one who wanted to save Kagami and give her a new heart, but tells Rovan to look into it. Cori decides to find Zindra and ask her for help. She finds Zindra in the garden and explains what happened. She asks Zindra if she could attempt to help, and Zinda explains helping people isn't her thing. Cori asks her "Do you want to be a good person?" ... Zindra is unsure. Cori again asks for help and threatens to kill Zindra if she sabotages the operation in anyway. Callum and Walker remain in the bedroom with Emiko. Emiko asks them to bring her a mirror, and they both cautiously ask her why. She explains that she would like to see her body again, so that she can prepare to say goodbye to it. "Are there even any mirrors left in this house?" Walker asks and Emiko gives a pained chuckle. Emiko tells her friends that her body does not serve her, that she is an open wound of a person because she does not heal like the rest of them. Callum explains how he's been picked apart his entire life and how the pain is constant, but he always manages to fight through it. Emiko tells him that she has a chance to be alive, to have a heart that beats and a body that stitches itself together. "I want to feel, I want to smell, I want to taste. I want to eat pizza in Kochuza with y'all. I want to breathe," Emiko somberly states. "Emiko?" Walker asks. "I'd love to eat pizza in Kochuza with you. We'll do whatever you want." Emiko laughs and thanks Walker. Emiko says that she's been trying to rid herself from Vanity, but as much as she tries the body she is in will always be hers. She will always be stuck with Vanity as long as she remains in this body, so in order to completely cut herself off from Vanity she wishes to be reincarnated. Walker explains that they'll find some water to use as a mirror for her. Outside the bedroom, Walker runs into Cori who explains the plans for Zindra to help heal Emiko, to which Walker explains plans have changed. Walker draws some water and carries it to Emiko, turning it into a sheet of floating water for her to see herself. Emiko gazes upon her body, all her cracks and imperfections, and says that she's ready. Emiko turns to Rovan, asking him if he would still love her even if she wasn't in her current body. Rovan tells her that he fell in love with Emiko, not her appearance. Callum offers to hand her away, into death, and her new body. Emiko accepts. They each say their goodbyes. "See you on the other side." They smile at each other, and Callum reaches into Emiko's chest and removes her heart. Emiko dies. Cori begins to cast the reincarnation spell from her scroll. As the spell is cast, Emiko's body blooms with poisonous blossoms. The Magnum Opus blossoms with the same flowers, forming the skeleton of Emiko's new body. Emiko's now golden eyes open in bed with her new form: a tall, green dragonborn with horns, a hood, and feathers. White scales replaces all of her scars from her past body. Everyone tells her that she looks stunning. They celebrate and give Emiko room to adjust. 
Later that night, Walker is roaming around outside the Dollhouse when they notice two figures in the distance walking towards the front entrance. They recognize both figures to be Eros de la Rosco and the Marionette. They say their goodbyes to each other, the Marionette waves to Walker, and then disappears. Eros approaches the Dollhouse and Walker welcomes him, realizing that he's Emiko's brother. They welcome him in and offers to get him some tea. Walker takes him to the tea room where Desdamona is and Walker asks her if she can prepare some tea for them and the guest. She asks what type of tea and Walker says, "Only the best for our esteemed guest." Desdamona is frightened and asks for clarification and Walker is clueless. Eros says that he's tired and could go to bed if Emiko is sleeping, so Walker offers to get him some sleepy time tea. Desdamona just tells Walker to prepare the tea themself. Walker explains the Eros that Emiko is doing fine, great actually, but she's gone through some changes. They explain that Emiko looks very different and that he shouldn't be scared. They offer to go see if Emiko is awake. They knock on the master bedroom door and after some shuffling and mumbling, Emiko answers the door. Walker explains that her brother is here. Emiko gets dressed and goes to see her brother, who has been escorted to the Parlor for Friends. Emiko is happy to see her brother and explains her new appearance and that she's happy about it. Eros accepts it and apologizes that he put the fire out that was burning their house down shortly after Emiko left, but that he's here for her now. 
=== Session 28 - Surging from the Depths ===
At the Dollhouse, Callum trains in the garden with some targets he found in the shed. He practices his new Turtle Stance, casting thorn whip on the targets. Walker and Cori join him outside. Cori asks them ... Emiko comes out and talks to Callum. She broaches the idea of finding an education for Zari, and the idea of potentially adopting her if Callum is okay with it. Callum says he'll think about it more after the Zhonghou threat is dealt with, but that he agrees that Zari should get an education, magical training, and socialization. Zari chases Zindra around the garden with Eloise the snapping turtle. Callum asks Emiko if she could give him some poison and he is able to correctly identify, that yes it's poison, using detect poison and disease. Callum then tells Emiko that he's excited to give her away, the right way, as she wanted. Emiko says she would love that, and leaves to talk to Eros. Emiko asks Eros if he'd be interested in teaching Zari to use her magic, and offers him a wage to do so. He agrees. Emiko then visits Kagami. Kagami is magnetically stuck to a table in the laboratory, and has had dicks drawn on her forehead by Cori. Emiko explains her new appearance, and explains to Kagami that she wants to install a new heart for her, to give her the capacity to feel emotions other than rage, envy, and vanity. She then shows Kagami her reflection in the mirror, and the sight of the drawn on dicks makes her pass out. Emiko then works with Rovan to install one of his gyroscopic cores into her chest cavity. ... Cori sends a sending to Vikas asking how things are going in Kochuza. He responds saying that they have gathered Mogami and are waiting in the city, but to be weary of the increased guard presence. The group packs their things and leaves with Arona, Kauri, Rovan, and Gaelin. 
They travel for four days, having nightmares along the way. Cori dreams of her friends dying in front of her and being unable to save them. Callum dreams of his friends suffering from Ego. Emiko ... Walker dreams of being aboard the Long Talon, watching canons fire into a Turtle Clan village. Outside of Kochuza, the group is able to see the increased presence of guards along the walls, but also people streaming into the city for the upcoming Fortunetide festival. Callum uses his Bear Stance to grant the party temporary hit points. They discuss plans on how to get to the docks where Ryfon told them to meet up and end up settling on crawling in through the sewers. However, Emiko is unadjusted to her new nose and is overstimulated by the stench of shit and piss. So, the party splits into two groups: Shitters and Quitters. The Shitters (Walker, Callum, Arona, Kauri, and Cori) follow Walker through the sewers as they clean it out with shape water, however Walker comes out the other side poisoned. The Quitters (Emiko, Rovan, and Gaelin) go through the main gate, and are stopped by guards who detect magic her new magical skeleton. They finally meet up inside the city walls, and Emiko prestidigations everyone clean. They travel through Kochuza, stopping to buy disguises. Callum dons a Kochuzan baseball cap and sunglasses and Walker becomes a babushka, carrying the party's familiars in their wicker basket. They arrive at the docks and see that the long, armored ship of the Long Talon and its fleet are moored here. Cori ends up noticing a sign that says, "Cori, Callum, Emiko, and Walker meet here," and is scared its a trap, but Kauri doesn't see the text. Walker deduces it must be illusory script that only they can see. 
They find the Dockmaster, a salt-and-pepper tabaxi named Patches, and he leads them to a small platform at water level where Astryd, Ryfon, Diza, and a triton named Peona'kai are waiting. Emiko explains her new appearance and hands out fliers announcing her undated upcoming wedding. Walker asks Astryd if she can cure their poison. She uses Lay on Hands to do so. They begin discussing plans. Ryfon explains that the goal is for the party to lure out Zhonghou so that the he and his party can find Zhonghou's phylactery and destroy it. Then the party will escape out of the city while they deal with Zhonghou... unless they need all the help they can get. The party asks Astryd if she can locate creature the Manes. She senses Vikas chowing down on food at the Fortunetide fish festival. They decide to let Emiko go find them and bring them back, because she's the most unrecognizable in her new dragonborn body. Along the way, she makes eye contact with Nuku, who holds her gaze for a moment but drops it eventually. She finds the Manes and Mogami at KelpBurger, Vikas is chowing on stacks of seaweed while Kuawa eats buckets of fish. They seem nonplussed about her new appearance. Lin'xi mumbles a pass without trace onto them and they make their way back. Walker, who has been following them as Hikiki, spots Mānea aboard the Long Talon, and he's talking to a small figure. Not an orc, but green with yellow hair, who appears to be a child. Walker is absolutely confused by this and flies Hikiki down to Emiko and the Manes trying to gain their attention. Hikiki gestures towards the Long Talon, but Emiko shoos him because the pirates have spotted him. He then walks through the crowd before flying away in the opposite direction to lure the pirates away. Emiko is able to bring the Manes to the rest of the group as Walker hides Hikiki down an alley and dismisses him. The party tries to lower tensions between the Manes and the OGs and Emiko hands out more wedding pamphlets. Cori and Emiko ask them to sign a contract to agree to not kill each other until after Zhonghou is dead. Emiko decides to scout the Long Talon with the less noticeable Karma in hawk form. Aboard the ship, Mānea cautiously eyes the hawk as he is showing the boy the symbols on his necklace. He shows him an eagle symbol and Karma is able to see a book symbol and a ghost symbol. Eyeing the hawk, he tells the boy they'll continue this conversation later. "Liking what you see?" he asks it before telling it he'll let it go freely if it leaves now. Karma stays and Mānea releases a blast of fire at her, killing Karma. They continue to discuss plans, and decide to wait for the celebrations to die down to minimalize civilian casualties. They wait.
The sound of heavy boots along the dock above can be heard below. They hear the voice of Mānea, "Get into your positions, it's time," and they notice the Long Talon pull out from the docks and begin to sail off. The boy runs off into the city. The sea begins to churn and the water level slowly rises. The group quickly puts together a plan to escape and stop whatever plan from happening. Walker teleports themself, Cori, Rovan, Arona, Kauri, and Gaelin to the dock 10 feet away from Mānea and Emiko thunder cunts herself and Callum to the deck of the Long Talon. The companions sprint away as Walkers casts binding ice on Mānea, locking him in place but resisting the cold damage, and Cori summons celestial interposing them. "You!" Mānea casts totemic assault, firing spiraling flames at Walker, singing them, while Nuku runs up and breaks him free of the ice. 
Meanwhile, on the Long Talon, Callum and Emiko notice that the ship is crewless. Confused, they begin to investigate and find the inside of the hull inscribed with a plethora of sigils. On deck, the notice the ship begin to rise from the sea. They look overboard and see electric blue scales beneath the ship, surging from the depths, as the head of a gargantuan sea dragon lifts the Long Talon from the sea. Emiko uses her last spell slot to thunder cunt herself and the now Ego-Callum 90 feet out into the sea. From the docks, the Manes and the OGs see the massive kaiju emerging and leap into action. Ryfon dimension doors himself and Astryd to the deck of the ship while Peona creates a pathway of ice across the sea for Diza and Mogami to follow her on. The Manes go the main land to begin saving civilians. 
Cori uses her Channel Divinity: Sol Orbis and begins to beam with sunlight as a radiant halo appears above her head. Walker reaches towards the water and conjures elemental to animate a water elemental from the water. Hikiki teleports the companions even further away. Mānea summons a wall of fire surrounding Cori and Walker which burns them. Cori rebukes Mānea with her Sol Orbis. Ego-Callum swims as fast as he can to carry Emiko back to the docks. Emiko moves to attack Nuku. A lightning bolt strikes Ryfon atop the Long Talon as he casts haste and Astryd calls Comet with summon greater steed and begins flying around the sea dragon. Peona gets Diza to the dragon and she begins climbing it. Mogami shoots at the dragon. The water elemental climbs onto the dock and Whelms both Mānea and Nuku. Nuku is restrained inside the elemental but Mānea is shoved out of its space. Cori heals Walker and the elemental and sacred flames Mānea as her celestial lays into him. Walker reaches out to the water and sky and summons their Walking Storm, flying into the air. The storm puts out the wall of fire, "You!" they shout pointing at Mānea. Hikiki hits Nuku with a hailstone. Emiko releases a poison breath weapon against Nuku and Mānea. Mānea then casts reverse gravity on Walker, Cori, and Nuku, which Walker resists from their flight. Cori and Nuku go flying 100 feet into the air and Cori rebukes Mānea, which causes him to lose concentration on the spell. Cori plummets but Walker saves her with feather fall, Nuku however hits the ground. Mānea dashes 60 feet away down the dock. Both Mānea and Nuku are shattering from the damage they sustained while in the Walking Storm. Ego-Callum chases after Mānea, dives into the earth, and erupts from underneath him, tackling him into the sea beneath the docks. He Action Surges and makes two more attacks against the orc before swimming away.
=== Session 29 - From Whence You Came ===
In the water, Mānea begins firing totemic assaults at the party. Walker’s water elemental attacks Nuku and downs her. Walker rushes in and pulls their cousin from the elemental and hides her near a dock building, stabilizing her. They sit there for a moment with her. Nuku wakes up coughing and Walker tells her that it's over. They explain that Mānea didn’t care about her, he didn’t try to avoid hurting her in that fight, and he was going to let her die. Nuku says that she wants to retire. Ego-Callum, Emiko, and Cori all fire shots at Mānea but the water protects him from most of the attacks. Walker walks up to the dock side and aims their frosting hand at Mānea, “You belong at the bottom of the sea,” they state as they fire a ray of frost at him. Downing him in the water. 
Mānea sinks but Ego-Callum drags his body up to the dock. Walker asks Nuku if she wants them to revive Mānea before it's too late. She sighs and says that his time has come. Walker approaches Mānea’s body and Hikiki says his goodbyes as they kick his body into the sea, “From whence you came.”
The party rushes into the city to help the Manes. They find Lin’Xi and ask if she can give them a catnap before they go to find Zhonghou. However, Hiro descends from the palace with his stone lion dog, Shishi. Lin’Xi is able to banish herself along with Hiro and Shishi, giving the party the opportunity to head to the palace unimpeded. 
They arrive at the palace and its door is ajar. Inside, they find a hallway with stairs going up and down, as well as a single door with light pouring out. They cautiously enter the room and find a theatre. The Marionette stands on stage, “And then the party enters the palace… uhm ahem… you’re not supposed to see this part,” they say as they notice the party enter. Floating white gloves in the audience turn to look at them. “Uhm, how about we go to intermission,” the Marionette suggests. “I thought everything was predetermined,” Walker asks. “I’m starting to think that really isn’t the case.”
The party watches a small intermission play of another group of adventurers at a carnival, who fall into a sinkhole and fight large bug creatures. The characters don’t know but these adventurers are themselves in another life, in another campaign, but the threads are pulled by the same Marionettes.
=== Session 30 - Passing on the Torch ===
The party receives the benefits of a short rest and they thank the Marionette as they leave to find Zhonghou’s phylactery. As they leave, the Marionette portents their futures. Walker rolls a 16, Emiko rolls a 6, Callum rolls a 13, and Cori rolls a 10...
Walker investigates upstairs with Hikiki and Emiko investigates downstairs with Karma. Hikiki finds the Manes’ offices on the second floor, and finds a balcony outside of Zhonghou’s meeting chamber on the floor above. Karma goes down to find the palace vault-thick fog covers the floor-and continues down to find a crypt. Inside are ten tombs, each to a diseased Mane. On the back wall is a mural split into two parts. The first shows a cycle of various animals all attacking each other. The animals each represent the various current and old Clans. The second mural shows the animals all bowing in a circle to a lion in the center.
They go up to investigate the offices and find various bits of information about the history of the Manes. Callum finds keys in Vikas’ office. The most important finds are in Hiro’s office: a vial of nullifying nightshade, a vial of contained Ego, and a vial of contained Subject Z.
They continue down into the vault, and Callum is able to unlock the vault with Vikas’ keys and they begin exploring the mountain of gold. However, they can’t find Zhonghou’s phylactery. Callum, however, does find a silver turtle shield which he puts on his back. The party is attacked by a zombified Kaneko Yoku, the previous Mane of Shark Clan. The combat doesn’t last long but Hikiki accidentally kills Karma with an explosion of ice. Walker apologizes saying they couldn't see the familiar. They group decides to use the keys found in Vikas' office to open the vault door. Inside they find mountains of gold, a magical turtle shield, but no signs of the phylactery.
The party heads cautiously into the crypt. The party looks for clues to where the phylactery may be. Callum shares a moment with the tomb of his grandfather, Noctis Zidane, and receives a vision of the man with his raptor companion Chowder. Walker expects there to be a Zhonghou oriented tomb at the end of the chamber but only sees the narcissistic mural at the end of the wall. They get an idea. They conjure an earthen fist and punch a hole through the wall, which crumbles backwards, revealing a large chamber.
The party enters, checking for traps, and sees a pedestal in the center of the room that houses a single pearl. The party approaches while avoiding traps. Emiko sees that the pearl is engraved with various animals, however, a towering green eyed figure appears behind them. Zhonghou, regaled in a suit of dark steel armor that glows with sickly green light, stands at the crumbled entrance with a giant warhammer. Combat breaks out. Emiko realizes that the pearl is warded with a magical effect. Zhonghou casts sickening radiance which begins to heavily damage everyone in the room and causes them to become slowly more and more exhausted. The party tries to weaken him but he leaps around the room, causing them to become frightened and stuck in place. Walker polymorphs into a sperm whale and attempts to swallow Zhonghou but he banishes them to a demiplane. They find themself stuck in a wooden crate, sinking in the ocean as water drips into the claustrophobic space. In the chamber, Callum tries to grab the pearl but it stuns him. Emiko tries to figure out a way to destroy it without Ego and settles on coating her dagger in nullifying nightshade and attacks Zhonghou, but he legendarily resists it.
Things are looking grim. Everyone is taking extreme damage. Zhonghou downs Cori, and the party is without a healer while Walker remains banished. He targets Callum with a Power Word Kill, but Emiko dives in front of him and takes it, instantly dying. Zhonghou then casts cloudkill to finish off Cori and Callum, losing concentration on his banishment which allows Walker to escape. Walker sees the party in shambles, and determines the only way for any of them to live is for them to escape with Cori. They polymorph into a tyrannosaurus rex and scoop Cori up in their mouth, running with giant speed to escape the cloud kill. Callum gets a hold of the phylactery and begins to crush it using the strength of Ego. He is able to destroy it. At this point, Emiko is dead, Callum is nearly dead, Cori is unconscious, and Walker is running. Everyone is nearly totally drained of energy. All of Marionette’s portents have been used but one. In her dying moments, Cori calls out with a Divine Intervention. She rolls… and fails.
However… the Marionette answers her call, and replaces the roll with the portended 10. Everyone is immediately restored to full health and ability and Emiko is revived. Each party member takes a round laying into the weakened Zhonghou with their strongest attacks. Ego-Callum and his echo of his pain get the final blow, bashing him back and forth. 
The party rejoices. Emiko and Rovan kiss, Callum and Kauri hug, and Walker and Gaelin hug as well. Cori watches smiling. The Marionette catches eye contact with her and beckons her over.
The Marionette pulls out a small book and shows Cori the final page. It simply reads “And then the party defeats Zhonghou.” They turn the page but it’s just the back cover. “I don’t know what happens from here,” they say. Cori looks over and sees that the party’s companions are all wearing drama masks like the Marionette’s while the party members each have a unique spectral aura. The Marionette then grants Cori visions of past lives, adventurers, some with the same auras, some with different ones, who join the story and take off their masks. The Marionette hands the book to Cori. “I think we can write our own story from here,” she says.
== Epilogue ==
wowee!