Session 55-A: Sanctum of the Unseen

## Key Plot Developments

The group has acquired one of the final ingredients for the demon-banishing ritual: Xazax’s eye. Xazax’s slaves emerge from the surrounding tunnels. They’ve been branded with his symbol.

The slaves kneel to the goblins. They’re near-dead from exhaustion. The group, conditioned by the beholder’s oppression, hails their liberators as gods and gives them art, gold, spell scrolls, and other fineries in deference.

Trix immediately begins healing the most desperate people he can find. Bogtooth and Pyrite search the beholder’s lair and find a captured modron (short-circuiting after being separated from its marching order). Pix restores the modron’s (a duodrone) sanity and speaks with it. It feels like it is purposeless without its pod; since the orderer (the maze engine) has also been destroyed, it does not have a clear directive.

Trix speaks with some of the emancipated slaves. One of them, a goblin, asks if his group is the Green Hand of Vengeance. An angel of death, according to the goblin, destroyed Grampus’s gnome village out of vengeance for what happened to the goblins. Glyn’s vengeful actions have inspired these goblins to hold out hope that other systems of goblin oppression could be similarly smote down.

The group debates what to do with the emancipated people. Pyrite doesn’t care about them, but Trix wants to help physically and mentally heal them. He speaks with hundreds of the downtrodden and oppressed, inspiring them with the story of his struggles in the Underdark. For the first time, Trix feels like a true hero.

Bogtooth leads Tremble, the artificer, to the duodrone. Tremble indicates that, without a prime directive, the duodrone can add to the order of the universe by answering as many mysteries as it can. Thus, it’s named Zero Prime, Mystery Machine (a name that Lemon immediately takes).

Trix names what used to be called the Vast Oblivium as the “Sanctum of the Unseen.”

Next, they’ll head to Menzoberranzan. Tremble, through Trix, communicates with Wilenet K’Gaust. Tremble and Wilenet have a childlike crush on each other. Wilenet promises the group a safe place to stay.

The group teleports back to the Tower of Vengeance, where Vizeran prepares their ingredients for the ritual. He sends Finn to lead them to a secret entrance into Menzoberranzan. Pyrite secretly casts the geas spell on Finn to force him to serve her loyally; Trix secretly removes the curse.

As Trix falls asleep, he speaks with Finn—who reveals himself as Garl Glittergold. Garl shares his support and love towards the goblins, as well as his deep sorrow for Glyn’s actions (including killing innocent gnomes in Grampus’s village).

When Trix wakes up, Finn (an avatar of Garl) has no memory of their interaction. Instead, he describes the plan—to break into Menzoberranzan’s school of magic and steal the grimoire of Gromph Baenre, the drow archmage who summoned the demons in the first place. Finn reveals that Vizeran has been lying to the party—the ritual does not NEED to happen in Menzoberranzan. Rather, Vizeran wants it to happen in Menzoberranzan, where the rampaging demons would certainly destroy the city he hates.

## Memorable Quotes

* **Pyrite:** You’re not gonna rewire their thinking in a day unless they’re cursed or something.
* **Bogtooth:** Good thing we know a therapist, right?

* **Pyrite:** WE’RE the ones saving the world.
* **Tri**x: But we can also do that without being dicks.

* **Bogtooth:** These are sick!
* **Emaciated elf:** Is it not to your liking?
* **Bogtooth:** It’s good! It’s wonderful!! ……go rest.
* **Emaciated elf:** This was commissioned for Shedrak, our brother, but it is yours now.

**Vilna, surface human:** Will…will we be spared? If the lord ever fell, so will the sun.

**Duodrone:** I-what-is-the-apocolypse-one-two-three-for-no-more-order-there-is-chaos-chaos-chaos-there-is-no-order!

* **Duodrone:** I-I-we were part of a great march. We were lost, we were captured. Then you found us. The march was a failure. The orderer has not been restored. With no order there is chaos.
* **Bogtooth:** Anything we can do about it?
* **Duodrone:** It-it-it may be too late. Probability estimating. Chaos is assured. The apocalypse, the apocalypse, the apocalypse. The end of the material …..plane.

**Pyrite:**…….is it made of useful parts?

* **Bogtooth**: We’ll be a very green pod.
* **Duodrone:** Color is irrelevant.

* **Pyrite:** This IS their safe place. Their gods are still here. If you think anything else, you’re a fool. They literally bowed towards us.
* **Trix:** I think they bowed to us cause they’re afraid we’re gonna kill them!
* **Pyrite:** Nope. We’re in charge now.

* **Trix:** Looks, we want you guys to be safe. But we have to do some important things. And so do you guys think that you’d all be safe here in this creepy cave?
* **Goblin:** Yes, my lord, we are strong, our will has not been broken like the rest and we can certainly feed on the others.
* **Trix:** No, no. Ideally I’d like everyone here to make it out. Would you guys help us to help others?
* **Goblin:** …..we will do as you command.

* **Pyrite:** This world SUCKS.
* **Trix:** So we shouldn’t try to make it better?
* **Pyrite:** No, they’re going to go— never mind.
* **Trix:** What?
* **Pyrite:** Hmm? If you wanna multitask, go right ahead.

* **Tremble:** I don’t know what purpose I can give you, but I’d love to have you!
* **Duodrone:** Love? What is love?
* **Tremble**: Well, it’s like when you get that little feeling in your stomach..
* **Duodrone:** IRRELEVANT! We do not have stomachs.

* **Duodrone:** A most puzzling goblin. A mystery to be untangled. I have found my purpose. I will start with my most puzzling mystery: what is love without a stomach?
* **Pyrite:** Do you wanna find out what it’s like to have a stomach? I’m offering the magic of a lifetime.
* **Duodrone:** Whose lifetime?
* **Pyrite:** Yours.
* **Duodrone:** We will acquire our own stomachs and, as necessary, dissect and find out where the love resides.

* **Tremble:** Is there anything you’d like to be called? Like a nickname?
* **Duodrone:** A nickname? Nicholas? Nicole? No. No nickname.

* **Zero Prime:** I am Zero-Prime Mystery Machine.
* **Lemon:** Nice to meet you, my name is Zero-Prime Mystery Machine.
* **Zero Prime**: That’s my name.
* **Lemon:** Not anymore!
* **Trix:** Wait, so your name is Zero-Prime-Mystery-Machine-Almond-Glyn-Finn-Lemon-Glyn-Finn-Bogtooth-Duergar-Hat-Nort?
* **Lemon:** Yeah, and I guess all their names too! [He gestures to the 60 cult members.]

* **Trix:** Menzoberranzan is a hostile city.
* **Bogtooth:** Well that’s cause you didn’t have us - the masters of diplomacy!

**Wilenet K’Gaust:** Dear Tremble, It is so good to hear from you! I was so worried. Yes, please come to Menzoberranzan as soon as possible! Is Bogtooth still a kobold? Matron is making up the boys’ bedrooms as we speak. Please bring your cards so we can play Driders and Spiders again, and please remember to travel in groups! Love, always. Wilenet.

* **Tremble:** [Blushes and pushes up his glasses.]
* **Zero Prim**e: Gathering evidence.

* **Vizeran:** Please don’t hurt the ingredients. I’ll have to send Finn to get another one!
* **Finn:** …Happy to serve!

* **Vizeran:** You know, I think you all are a good influence on that lad.
* **Trix:** Thank you? Where did you meet Finn?
* **Vizeran: F**inn was a vagrant, wandering around the streets of Menzoberranzan. I though the Baenres were gathering some darklings for an expedition. But no one claimed him. That lad, he is more of a sneak than a sage, so all my attempts to teach him magic did not work out.

* **Pyrite:** Tell me something you wouldn’t otherwise tell me.
* **Finn:** Sometimes I kinda feel real upset cause I feel like I don’t belong cause all my family and friends are dead, and I try to make up for it by—
* **Trix:** REMOVE CURSE! Don’t worry Finn, you don’t have to say anything.
* **Finn:** Oh…I can talk about my dead loved ones if …if you want.
* **Pyrite:** You IDIOT! Why would you remove curse on the minion of the guy who’s most likely to betray us?
* **Trix:** Cause we have to be NICE to him!
* **Pyrite:** You’re making strategic mistakes! You don’t get it.

* **Trix:** Hey Finn, I’m sorry about what Pyrite did back there.
* **Finn:** No that’s okay. It’s getting late. Maybe we should sleep.
* **Trix:** Yeah let’s do that. But Finn I get the feeling that you’ve been wanting to tell me something recently?
* **Finn:** Ah yes, I, um. Maybe it is time. I dunno, perhaps I’ll sleep on it.

* **Finn/Garl:** Hi there, Trix. Could I join you?
* **Trix:** Yeah, of course.
* **Finn/Gar**l: I mean you’ve really made something remarkable out of this place haven’t ya?
* **Trix:** Yeah I hope so.
* **Finn/Garl:** You talked to me about religion. Are you a man of the cloth?
* **Trix:** Um, I guess so.
* **Finn/Garl:** You’ve trusted in me when you’ve had no real reason to, I guess. But I’m happy it’s worked out so far. Happy you’ve taken good care of us.
* **Trix:** I’m trying my best.
* **Finn/Garl**: You’re succeeding. If Vizeran is able to accomplish his goal, everyone in Menzoberranzan will die.
* **Trix:** We need to stop that.
* **Finn/Garl:** We do. Everyone deserves a second chance.
* **Trix**: Of course.
* **Finn/Garl:** But there’s something that’s been troubling me. It’s Glyn.
* **Trix:** What’s happening with Glyn?
* **Finn/Garl:** I understand his taking revenge on Grampus. As I told your sister, I don’t claim him. But Glyn has killed so many others. Gnomish children, goblins. I made a promise that I would get you all into the afterlife, but I don’t know what to do with Glyn.
* **Trix:** Do you know what made him like this? Again?
* **Finn/Garl:** There are some mysteries unknown even to me. I know that people are still going to get hurt. But I can’t break my promise either.
* **Trix:** What promise?
* **Finn/Garl:** I promised I would help you all. Get you into the afterlife you deserved. Help look after you in any way I could.
* **Trix:** The same thing happened a while ago where Glyn was convinced to act evilly. And I know the best thing to do….if it was to stop him…then I would do that. Whatever it took. I don’t wanna hurt Glyn, but we need to stop him from hurting people any way we can.
* **Finn/Garl:** You know, if you ask me about this in the morning, I won’t have any memory that this happened. Avatars are weird like that. But I wanted you to know that there’s a piece of me here, watching over you, doing what I can. And I’ll leave you with a word of caution: if there’s a piece of me here, I don’t know what other pieces of demons and deities might be running around.
* **Trix:** Interesting.
* **Finn/Garl:** But maybe it’s just me. I’m a tricky guy. Anyway, you’re just dreaming and none of this is real.

**Bogtooth: M**y body is a palace, I’m not allowing a demon into it!

* **Pyrite:** I think Bogtooth is a warlock.
* **Bogtooth:** Yup! That’s why I’m so good at WAR!
* **Pyrite:** But I’m the war MAGE!
* **Trix:** So he’s a warlock and you’re a war mage, but he’s always at war?
* **Bogtooth:** Exactly! With myself and with the world!

* **Pyrite:** If that sweet guy went to the future to disrupt the ritual—
* **Tremble**: Wait--he didn’t go there to disrupt the ritual…he went there to be there after it happened!
* **Bogtooth**: If that’s what sugar pie is doing there….
* **Lemon:** Beignets.
* **Tremble:** What’s that?
* **Lemon:** I was sneezing.
* **Bogtooth:** Gesundheit.
* **Lemon:** What’s that?
* **Trix:** It’s a pastry.