Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust

**"Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust"** is the 17th session of Mega Campaign.

## Summary

* We start off left in the underwater temple. We decide that now is the time to go to Pandemonium where the Wand of Orcus lies – we’ve collected all the orbs and we now have the means of getting there.
* We lock hands and teleport there using the Plane Shift spell scroll we found. Rock juts out from every corner. Its pitch black. The wind is howling. We are now in Pandemonium.
* We find the River Styx, which runs throughout Pandemonium and the negative planes of existence. It’s pretty gnarly. Felix dips a piece of wood into the river and it’s melted on contact.
* We spend a few hours travelling before stopping to rest. Duncan and Havai share a nice little conversation on their watch, and Felix and Malice hear some funny commotion on theirs.
* The sound they hear ends up being a cyclops accompanied by some goblins! Felix fries them to dust with Fireball and Malice is taken away by the cyclops in the ensuing chaos.
* We give chase and arrive at a goblin shantytown. At the entrance, we’re greeted with a bunch of goblins ready to attack us, but Felix once again just absolutely decimates them with Fireball.
* We follow where we saw the cyclops take Malice. All the poor goblins in the town are absolutely terrified of us.
* We arrive at a giant metal door. Felix’s hand turns to lead after he tries to open it; the door had an enchantment on it.
* Memphis gives Duncan a potion that hella bumps his strength up. After a lot of door pulling, we eventually crack it open.
* On the other side of the door lies a lich-golbin, the cyclops, and two Helmed Horrors.
* Malice was thrown into a cage and spends the encounter trying to break the door open.
* Battle ensues. Some of us come very close to death.
* Duncan rushes up to the lich and drives his sword into it. The lich, still being held aloft on Duncan’s sword, laughs and plants its hand on Duncan’s face. Duncan gives off one last scream before he disintegrates and turns into ash. What’s left of him includes his holy symbol of Asomak and his two swords.
* Havai whirls around to face the lich. *“Fuck you, asshole!”* And with that, he unleashes an Eldritch Blast that destroys the lich and sends Duncan’s remains scattered across the room.
* Memphis and Havai try to gather up Duncan’s ashes and place them in a jar. Memphis dons Duncan’s holy symbol. *“This can’t keep happening,”* she says.
* Felix searches the room and finds a portable boat that can expand out of a box and the lich’s spell book. Felix spends time transcribing the spells into his own spell book.
* On our way out of the lich’s lair and into the shantytown, Malice casts green-flame blade and tries to set a building on fire. It only scorches it, failing to ignite anything.
* Malice explains that we should kill the creatures that killed Duncan. Memphis asserts that more death isn’t the answer.
* We board the boat (which isn’t affected by the River Styx’s acidic liquid) and set off down the river. We eventually reach a portal out of Pandemonium next to another smaller cave entrance. We exit the boat and travel further down the cave.
* We take rest within a very small tunnel. During this time, Memphis casts sending and tries to inform Mugen of Yamma’s death. It fails to send. She decides against trying again.
* Memphis casts sending again and messages Clarke. She tells him that we’re doing wonderfully on our mission and that she hopes he’s well. Clarke replies with an update on how he’s doing; he’s been going crazy trying to figure out how to fix things, but he’s still trying. He asks Memphis to tell Havai, Duncan, and Weesin that they’ll become cameos in his next book. Hugs and kisses! After some more back and forth, they wish each other the best.
* Havai and Felix take watch. Felix begins to question Havai about why he’s so full of anger. Havai refuses to offer much on that, but we learn that Felix at one point had a family and had also been acquainted with Sionis (but he’d never seen Sionis in person, they were just close correspondents). Felix fights against Sionis because he killed his family. Felix was against Sionis’ enslavement of the goliaths, so he gave them safe housing in his family’s estate. Sionis retaliated by killing all of them and his family.
* Upon waking up, we travel further into the cave. We arrive at a chained off gate with a single keyhole in it. Memphis pulls out the key given to us by Asomak and unlocks it.
* Behind the gate lies the Wand of Orcus. The wand calls to Malice, telling him that wielding the wand will grant him the power to avenge those who’ve fallen to Sionis. Malice does not listen. The wand attempts to do the same to Felix, but he also resists it.
* After a lot of panicked discussion, we decided that Weesin should attempt to cast Dispel Magic on the wand to try and rid it of its magical properties. Weesin takes a step forward and attempts to cast it.
* Upon touching the wand, Weesin falls dead. He then rises as a zombie, taking the wand in his grasp from where it stood. We roll for initiative.