Session 46-A: Life Cycles

## Key Plot Developments

Uncle Rotgut rushes towards the team, chased by time elementals. Vizeran De’Vir is excited by the presence of these chronomantic creatures. The party tries to save Rotgut, but it’s too late; they catch up to him, touch him, and age him into nothingness. The party, aided by Vizeran (who showcases his mastery of the arcane), fights off the monsters. Bogtooth summons a bear, Lemon heals the group, Briar stabs, Tremble fires arrows, the Trix polymorphs an elemental into a turtle.

Trix’s suspicions about Vizeran’s fixation with chronomancy deepen. Vizeran makes proclamations about using the time bubble for themselves—perhaps the maze machine in the Labyrinth isn’t necessary.

Without warning, the time loop resets. Once again, Rotgut appears, chased by time elementals. This time, they destroy the monsters before they kill Rotgut.

Rotgut believes Bogtooth is Glyn; he’s stunned by Bogtooth’s growth as a leader and comradery with the rest of the group. He’s proud of how strong the children have become. They share what they know about the Society of Brilliance and reveal that Rotgut has been trapped in the loop for months. Rotgut believes that Giggles, the ogre driven mad by Nicholas Ice-Cream, is still alive and Annarei’s grove is a peaceful place; the group, recognizing the cognitive dissonance he must be experiencing, doesn’t contradict him.

Rotgut shares information about a sphinx named Persemone; he answered her riddles, and she left him go with the expectation he’d be back. Vizeran is intrigued by Persemone.

Trix casts greater restoration on Rotgut. He remembers everything—the messages to Glyn, meeting Pyrite, his thousands of lives and deaths, and how Persemone’s time gate is the key to leaving the time bubble. He’s deeply traumatized by his experiences, but the group encourages him to lead them to the time gate.

To center Rotgut and keep him breathing, they share stories about their clan. Rotgut talks about how the children survived when the adventurers (the Knitting-Club Heroes) used goblins as meat shields against Belak the Outcast. He explains how his father, Grandpappy Droop, led the clan to the Sunless Citadel and lived to a ripe old age before falling down a mineshaft. He describes being initiated into the Society of Brilliance. Trix explains how demon lords are fighting over the Underdark, bringing Rotgut up to date on the Society of Brilliance’s endeavors.

Finally, the group makes it to Persemone, the time gate’s guardian. She permits everyone to answer riddles for a boon and leave—except Rotgut, her plaything. Vizeran, after easily answering a riddle, studies the time gate as his boon. When it’s time for Rotgut’s riddle, he easily answers; he remembers all the riddles she’s taught him.

Trix, Bogtooth, and Briar convince Persemone that Rotgut can gather more riddles for Persemone if he’s allowed to leave. Rotgut, who knows how to cast sending, can communicate with her remotely. Persemone, an endless being, permits Rotgut this egress.

When Rotgut, thanks to the heroes, is finally able to leave Persemone’s lair, he realizes he’s become attuned to fragments of chronomancy around him. This means he has an intuition for how to traverse the Labyrinth and find the maze machine. Rotgut, deeply troubled by chronomancy, insists on destroying the artifact. Vizeran isn’t supportive of this plan; he’s fixated on preserving all vestiges of time magic he can.

Rotgut teleports the party to Y. Briar intimidates Y into revealing everything he knows about Pix, Glyn, and Misu’s disappearances. Y says that Misu is dead, but he doesn’t know about the other two. Vizeran leaves for his tower. The party rests before following Pix and Glyn’s footsteps.

Soon, the same drider that captured and killed Glyn and Pix ambushes them, striking with a webbed-up Dawnbringer. When they fight back, it tries to leave, but is captured when Briar pins it to the ceiling. Before they can interrogate it, Tremble, enraged, kills it with two shots to the head. Briar captures its soul in a trinket. Rotgut, in classic goblin form, loots its corpse.

When Tremble picks up Dawnbringer (which communicates in the voice of its wielder’s most trusted friend) and hears Pix’s voice, he’s overwhelmed with grief. Trix, listening to the blade (who speaks to him in Shuushar’s voice), tells Trix about the battle with Cyrog and Orcus. As the blade heard their dying thoughts, he realized both of them were going to a place that would make them happy—but that it wasn’t the same place.

## Memorable Quotes

* **Bogtooth:** ROTGUT?
* **Rotgut:** What? Who are you?
* **Bogtooth:** BOGTOOTH!
* **Rotgut:** BOGTOOOOTH?!

* **Bogtooth:** What are you doing?
* **Vizeran:** I’ve trapped them so that we may study them later.
* **Bogtooth:** I’M GONNA KILL THEM! THEY KILLED OUR UNCLE!
* **Vizeran:** That’s your uncle? What a coincidence.
* **Briar:** That’s your uncle?
* **Trix:** That’s our uncle!
* **Vizeran:** Bogtooth, my condolences about your un-CLE. But I believe you will see him again. Those were time elementals tinged with faerzress.

* **Lemon:** Huh…you feel different.
* **Bogtooth:** TRIX! You sound like you’ve been gurgling mud!
* **Briar:** You remind me of Tomas.
* **Trix:** Am I old?
* **Vizeran:** Yes, you are.
* **Briar:** No. You don’t look old to me.

* **Vizeran:** We can be wanton with our spells here. The energies will restore them over time.
* **Bogtooth:** So we get a do-over here! Good, good!
* **Vizeran:** It’s not just good, Bogtooth…. It’s life changing.

* **Briar:** How does it taste, young one?
* **Lemon:** That’s good rock.

* **Briar:** Would you like to eat the turtle?
* **Lemon:** WOULD I?
* **Trix:** Lemon, no! You can eat another turtle later.
* **Lemon:** Oh, okay. Later…skater.

**Trix:** If you erase the past, aren’t you worried that the good things in the present will go away too?

**Briar:** Goodbye…almost Tomas.

* **Trix**: How long is the cycle of the sun?
* **Briar:** Rotations and rotations and rotations. It’s an elegant dance.

**Vizeran:** Do you want to play it safe or live on the wild side for a cycle?

**Lemon:** I think I felt and remembered everything this time. I didn’t like it….

* **Rotgut:** Goblins! I found goblins! Thank you, friend! Watch out! This one really packs a wallop!
* **Bogtooth:** You’re our uncle! Clan’s blood is my blood an’ shit!

* **Rotgut:** WOT?! Are you little Glyn? Alright!
* **Bogtooth:** I’m not Glyn, I’m Bogtooth!
* **Rotgut:** No, you’re not. You don’t smell! Thank you, Glyn. I love your sense of humor, short ears!

**Vizeran:** Very well. Multiple birds, minimal stones.

* **Rotgut:** Glyn…I thought I’d never see the day.
* **Bogtooth:** We’re gonna get to Glyn!
* **Briar:** Yes! We need six goblins.
* **Vizeran:** Indeed, we shall save young Glyn.
* **Rotgut:** Oh! A dark elf! Weeeeell, I’ll just be on my waaaay!
* **Vizeran:** Hello, I’m Vizeran. I can be trusted.

* **Rotgut:** I thought you was like this little thing that was growling to himself and reading that book.
* **Bogtooth:** Yeah….well, things are different.

* **Rotgut:** Persemone has the time gate! Why is she keeping me here? I’ve been here for 1000 years! They’re all dead, right? I can’t go back to her. It’s gonna start again. There’s no escape for me! I was gonna be the bridge to all the goblins! I was gonna save everyone!
* **Vizeran:** My friend. I am skilled in the ways of therapy. We should talk about it. I’m a very friendly drow--unlike those I’m sure you’ve met before.

**Briar:** I am here to protect you all. Except Vizeran. You can protect yourself.

**Rotgut:** Listen, that’s just sort of the way of goblins. We die all the time for no reason at all. You remember the stories about your Grandpappy Droop? He lived to a ripe old age and then one day just fell down a mine shaft.

* **Vizeran:** Lady Persemone, it is my supreme delight to make your acquaintance. In legend, it is told that those of your stature might ask riddles in exchange for boons. Might we answer?
* **Persemone:** Oh! Would you like to answer some riddles?
* **Vizeran**: ……I would LOVE to.

* **Vizeran:** It could be gloves, but it could also be ghosts.
* **Persemone:** My friend, you are very good at riddles!
* **Vizeran:** My humblest thanks, my lady.

**Lemon: I**’ve lived and learned, so I can try. An egg? NO! An echo. NO! A secret

* **Trix:** Uncle Rotgut, don’t you wanna be able to tell Miss Persemone some riddles?
* **Rotgut:** Well, I guess I could try.

* **Rotgut:** I’ll let you know, it’s been the time of me life! So I’ll talk to you…how’s about tomorrow?
* **Persemone:** If your friends and your kin promise to keep you safe. Do you promise to protect Rotgut?
* **Briar:** In the name of riddles. I may not be good at them, but I’m good at protecting people.
* **Bogtooth:** You know, like we say, the clan’s blood is my blood. We all help each other out.
* **Vizeran:** Rotgut is most precious to me.

* **Rotgut:** I dunno what came over me when I was with her. Wait a second….I can feel them…. I know where they is.
* **Vizeran:** Let me guess. You can feel the location of other fragments of chronomancy, can’t you?

* **Rotgut:** My children….Briar, Vizeran. Listen to me. I can feel where that thing is now…. We NEED to destroy it.
* **Vizeran:** We’ll gather data. I could make another.
* **Rotgut:** If someone were to get their hands on something like that. And they were to use it…I dunno what they could do to this place. They could stick everyone in their own little time bubbles!

**Y:** ROTGUT! AND YOU’RE HERE WITH GLYN AND PIX! OH WAIT…

**Briar:** You will tell me where the two goblins are or I will end every piece of your existence.

* **Y:** HEY TRIX, MISU’S DEAD. CAN YOU REVIVE HER LIKE A CLERIC?
* **Trix:** Did she die in the last minute?
* **Y:** NO IT’S BEEN MANY MANY HOURS.
* **Trix: T**hen no. maybe one day.
* **Y: I** HAVEN’T SLEPT.

**Skriss:** Just so y’all know, Pix was really stressing out, so I gave her some weed. Y’all want some?

**Rotgut:** It’s the goblin way. They’s probably chillin with their grandpappy Droop in the eternal battlefield!

**Briar:** I need six goblins…

* **Rotgut:** Giant spiders! There, there, another! What ya gonna do is stealth and sneak attack em! It’s the goblin way!
* **Bogtooth:** I love my uncle!!!

**Bogtooth:** It’s not fucking fair. But we gotta find where your sister and Glyn are. There’s no way they’re gone. They must have dropped the sword. But we’re going to get them, and we need this thing to get em!