Broken Bonds: Episode 08

October 1, 2020 (Arcadum's YouTube)

### Reddit Thread

***Broken Bonds* Episode 8** was streamed on Arcadum's Twitch channel on September 19, 2020. The group gambles with their life, and the house loses. Then things happen in a blur, a chokehold from a surprise appearance, a failed push, bonds finally broken. A failed swing chopped a hand, and the final action pushed the group into a completely new path.

## Summary

After some serious gambling from the party, The Show falls and the party is victorious. With Valloween in their grasp, Lazarus shows himself. The satyr quivers as the dwarf grabs at her throat and begins to crush it. Lazarus reaches into Valloween’s pocket and takes something out. Valloween quickly slaps it out of his hands landing in front of Li'lu. The sprite recognizes it as a family symbol of Vinicci, the same symbol on Gallant’s sword. The party tries to calm Lazarus down as they want to ask Valloween how she is connected to the Viniccis but he uses the command rod to halt the party.

The party decides that they don't really like what Lazarus is doing so, in a quick succession of moves, they manage to grab the control rod from him to break their collars and empower Valloween by putting away the Shapeshifter's Rod. With her powers back, Valloween controls the shadowy tendrils from her well, and consumes Lazarus. Valloween doesn't immediately attack the party as they just saved her and Li’lu decides to ask about Gallants’ brother. Valloween informs them that she has him in the lower prison cells. She will give up the kid, as he is of no use to her, if the party leaves her estate. The party agrees and Valloween gives Valor to the party. Bryan still worries if their oath with Lazarus of getting what he desires was satisfied so Bryan asks about the sigil. Valloween informs them that Lazarus wasn't after that sigil but the research of the experiments that Valloween was conducting. Apparently the dwarves were turning on each other for money, by kidnapping each other's children, and Lazarus was siphoning wealth to fund her research.

The party convinces Valloween to let them in on what she was doing that got Lazarus so vicious for and she reveals that through her research, Valloween has made a Shard of Oblivion. She asks the party what they see and Ea’r and Bryan look into the shard to find that it is somehow alive and moving. They hand it off to Remag for safe keeping and Valloween tasks the party to take the shard to a shrine of The Seven because she thinks it has something to do with them.

The party travels along the mountain and arrive to a shrine of The Seven. While walking closer to the shrine, the shard begins to vibrate as Remag nears. Remag decides to pull out the shard and take a step closer to the shrine. The violet shard shatters into 7 pieces forming a 7 pointed star. The shrine then presents a pedestal where someone might place their hand to which Remag does so. A violet light flashes and the 7 sided star expands all around Remag and he finds himself in an infinite shadow with a ray of violet light. Power surges from his arm into his right eye refracting his pupil into a 7 pointed star. Remag stands next to the other 6 violet eyes and the feeling of purpose fills him as the torch has been passed. The 7 pointed star reveals the past seven behind them and ahead is the golden tapestry torn and taught with the center filled with a sense of wrongness leaving being nothing. Remag understands that time is fleeting, that the end is upon the world but he also sees a tiny light, a thread of hope that he shares with everyone else. Remag catches glimpses of the party that the other violet eyes are in. Voices begin to sing, whispering instructions, telling him that the Herald beckons, his bonds are broken, and now the true battle begins. Without him the star is not complete, and without his companions he can’t do this alone, only together can hope survive.

As Remag bears the runes of the master, the Seven impart their wisdom. Knowledge of the runes fills his head. Remag now knows his true goals. They must now travel to the holy cities of Orde and walk a path through what The Inquisition left to find the ancient relics that lie within them because among those relics lies a secret that will tip the scales of the great war. The party is now free from the Iron and destiny is in their own hands.

## Featured Characters

### Main Characters

* Bryan
* E'ar
* Hashbrown
* Li'lu
* P'mis
* Remag

### Returning

* Valloween
* The Show
	+ Wiseguy
	+ Tommy Two-Hands
	+ Handyman
* Lazarus Lodestone