Session 74

The party begins their rescue of Concludion and Kitano from Votuum's Spiral. 
== Summary ==
Their shopping and frozen yogurt cooldown complete, the party prepared to teleport to Votuum's Spiral. Kiono ritual cast Water Breathing on the party, as well as Detect Magic so she would have it active upon their arrival. She then cast Teleportation Circle and transported the group to the circle Vidh Zadh provided. Upon arriving, an iridescent light coursed through the party, injuring them with various kinds of damage before dissipating. 
The Spiral was nearby, a large drill-like structure about 120 feet across and 200 feet in length. The party entered, finding themselves in a reception area. They found two bedrolls and lanterns in the room, indicating that it was likely the base camp for Kitano and Concludion. Kiono set about recasting Detect Magic, having failed to maintain concentration on it. The rest of the party examined the room while she did that, finding that it had already been gone over. The only thing of note they found was a guestbook, chronicling those who had visited the tower before. Teer called Concludion on the rockie talkie, trying to figure out where in the building the two were. Concludion explained that they hadn't gotten too far from the first room before being captured. He warned them to be careful, and the party made their plans to traverse the spiral. Kiono pointed out that the single door in the room was magical, containing conjuration magic. Unable to locate any traps on the door, the party opted to open it anyway. 
There was a flash of light, and the party found themselves in a vast library, with walls reaching several stories into the air. To their left, they could see a wooden door depicting a rose, a fancy set of double doors straight across form them, and to the right was a series of archways with a terrain model of some sort beyond. Upon inspection, the model was of a large hill with a hut at the foot of it. A rough set of stone stairs led up the hill to a flat stone platform, upon which sat a telescope, which was proportionally quite large. The party then made a lap of the room, using Kiono's Detect Magic, but finding only a small bell of note. A sign near it said, "Ring for Reception." After much debate, Teer attempted to lift the bell to take with them, but it was activated regardless, and the group was teleported back to the reception area at the beginning of the tower. With this knowledge in mind, they returned to the library and began to search it for signs of where Concludion and Kitano might have been. 
Teer attempted calling Concludion again, but there was only static. Ephemera soon realized that the two had been throughout much of the room, including through both sets of doors. Kiono found a thin black book on constellations sticking partially out of a bookshelf, containing constellations she had never seen or heard of. 
* The Abberant - The Abberant speaks in whispers and madness, but through it is a conduit to otherworldly power. Contact should be limited, but diverting its travel is worthwhile. 
* The Dragon - The dragon knows many secrets of the mortal world, but from the perspective of a lofty and dangerous predator. He can teach magics that will effortlessly destroy your enemies.
* The Mechanus - The Mechanus’ mind is orderly and precise, and knows how to refine spells to their perfected versions. It does not dabble in theory, but axiomatic truth.
* The Philosopher - The Mechanus’ counterpart in almost every way, the Philosopher is a repository of conjecture about the greatest of things. Borderline heretical.
Teer investigated the rose door, finding it to be a finely crafted wooden door, which he found impressive, but there otherwise nothing to note about it. Sors looked through the books that were not on the shelves, finding them to primarily consist of magical theory, including things like clerics and the source of their powers. She then attempted to use Locate Object to find Concludion's rockie talkie, but was unable to find anything. 
The party decided to go through the door with the rose on it. Despite not registering as magical, the group was transported to a garden by the same flash of light which took them to the library. Surrounding the garden were tall stone walls stretching high into the gray skies above. There were a number of flowering plants and a fountain with a toy boat in it. There was also a sitting area with wrought iron furniture, a book sitting on the table. Sors, excited about the plants, examined them, finding among them a tree with golden leaves, amber-brown bark, and dark cords running up from the roots. A single golden apple hung in the branches, with Ephemera and Teer recognized as being the same as the golden apples they had previously encountered on their adventures. After some tomfoolery, Sors took a bite of the golden apple, but found it to have been rotted, acting as a poison rather than a strength booster. Meanwhile, Kiono inspected the book on the table, finding every page to contain an illustration of the library. The toy boat appeared to be docked at a miniature dock. 
After a short rest, the party returned to the library, quickly confirming that the rose door continued to lead to the garden. They group then proceeded through the fancy double doors. There was once again a flash of light, and they were transported to a grand banquet hall. There were tables stacked with empty dishes, as though the room was being prepared for a feast, but had been halted ages ago. A single, unlit candelabra sat on one of the tables. On the far wall was a large painting of an art gallery, the bottom of which rested two feet above the ground. To their right was a plain wooden door, and another door with a rose further than that. The plain door was confirmed to lead back to the library. 
Sors threw the remains of her rotted apple through the painting of the gallery, and the apple vanished inside it. The party followed shortly, stepping through it to reach a gallery lined with dozens of paintings depicting various scenes. There were three unnervingly realistic paintings of the library, the garden, and an excavation site. There were also several more typical paintings of things like some dogs, a man, a sword, and a table with fruit. There was also a suit of armor at the end of the hallway, his hands empty, but seemingly at arms. As a joke, Ephemera attempted to pet the dogs in the dog painting, but found that she was able to actually pet the dogs. Acting on this, Sors stuck her head through the painting of the man, and found there was indeed a man inside. He had only a view of the world as seen directly in front of his painting, however, and beyond having seen two men, did not provide any information. 
Teer pulled the sword from its painting, a short sword with caked blood on the end of it. After Sors unsuccessfully attempted to pull the suit of armor apart, Teer placed the sword in its hands. The group was teleported to the center of a great colosseum, its stands filled with figures resembling burnt matchsticks. A portcullis opened, and another of the matchstick people emerged, wearing clothing similar to a ringmaster's. He announced the party as challengers and, when Sors declined his offer to battle the champion, declared that they would instead by fighting The Beast. He departed, and a great beast emerged. Chains kept him shackled to a far wall, but those were soon loosed, and the party entered combat with it. It used the chains to attack and move the party about, but soon they were able to defeat it. The matchstick man returned, asking if they wanted to fight the champion now. They once again declined, and the man left. Using Teer's Fly spell, they began an examination of the colosseum, which did not reveal much information. Teer attempted to fly outside of the colosseum, but was enveloped by mist and disappeared. After attempting and failing to contact him, Ephemera and Sors followed. They too were consumed by the mist and disappeared. 
== NPCs ==
=== Returning ===
* Concludion (rockie talkie)
=== Mentioned ===
* Kitano
== Items ==
* Constellations book (Kiono, from the library)
* Poisoned golden apple (consumed by Sors, then thrown through a painting)