Aerois - Episode 183: The Infinite Staircase

Katie Morrison as Aila

Kim Richards as Nova V'ger

Rhiannon Frost as Sentry

Tom Hazell as Qillek Ad Khollar

**The Infinite Staircase** is the 183rd episode of the Aerois Campaign. It was broadcast live on both the Yogscast Twitch channel and highrollersdnd Twitch channel on 7th May 2023 from 5PM to 8PM BST.

*The Aeroisian(sic) Armada enters the Infinite Staircase and prepare some juicy Storm-Eye questions as the War against Hadar begins!*

## **Summary**

### **Announcements**

* Mark welcomes everyone and introduces the players. We have a full table again this week!
* Merch: there are two new limited-edition items on the FreshMerch store – an Aerois campaign pin and an end of campaign poster (The Heroes and Villains of Aerois). The prints are A4 in size, will be numbered, and will be signed on the back in a one-off stream on Tuesday at approx. 7pm.
* Members and supporters are thanked, and people are encouraged to join Patreon and YouTube member’s so that they can catch special member’s only material.
* Warhammer Fantasy RPG is being played on Wednesdays and is available on Twitch for 60 days after the stream – after that, they are only available to members. The crew is currently playing the module, “The Enemy Within”.

### **Recap**

*“Our champions have been on a long and arduous journey. After crashing on the continent Suvonna in an air ship, meeting a young girl, escorting her across the wilds, losing her to a strange portal and her absentee father, Kalus Valkyrian. They have lost allies, they have completed quests, they have become the Champions of Aerois. Having defeated various titans and restoring power to the goddess, Siaska, having faced against many villainous foes, both personal and those who serve an even greater evil, it has now come to the point where the final battle awaits. Hadar, the Star of Entropy, the all-consuming red light, now aware of the awakened goddess, Siaska’s presence, hungering… starving for it, there is only a matter of time until they come to Aerois.*

 *And so, with your new ally, Kalus Valkyrian, his fleet, the allies that you have gained along the way, you have set forth into Astral Space to travel to the far reaches of the Far Realm – the border of the Astral Void – a world called Entropis, an ancient world that serves as the breach point to Hadar’s prison. When last we left our heroes, you had boarded your ship, the Stormchaser, as well as the enormous Solwynn battleship, the Astoria, with various dragon ships, you have ascended into Aerois’ sky and out into the Astral Space beyond."*
### **Part 1**

*The team prepare for the impending war against Hadar with some interesting questions from Quill's Storm Eye!*

With the Cradle now down and various magical and Magitek enhancements to the ship, the Stormchaser is now flying in Astral Space. Lucius goes about the ship as captain, checking on the crew. Oriya declares that flying in space is not so different to sailing the ocean or flying in airspace, but the rest of the crew spends their time gawking at the limitless boundaries of space beyond the ship. Protected by a magical barrier designed by Azaria Perel, the Stormchaser still provides the crew with an atmosphere, gravity, breathing air, and warmth – some of the wolf pack try to push their hands through the barrier only to discover how cold space is on the other side. To either side of the Stormchaser fly the Tassadar and the rest of the Valkyrian fleet, and the Dragon Soul ships, and the immense Astoria.

Kalus has provided the Champions with a crystalline pass code, a device that plays a series of musical tones, that allows them to access the Infinite Staircase which provides faster than light travel. The Infinite Staircase is known to link all the planes together in a sub-plane and allows fast travel between them. They believe that, even at these fast speeds, it will take them two days to reach the warfront at the Broken Vale.

With upgrades to the ship, the old ship’s wheel at the aft has been replaced by a large metal and crystalline console with different sections built into it, including piloting controls, navigation arrays, and monitoring stations. Azaria has captured two elementals to use in the ship’s engines, although they are not particularly powerful.

A holographic projection of Reyn appears on the command console telling them that the Astoria and the rest of the fleet has given their clearance and that they are heading into the Infinite Corridor. The Valkyrian ships take the lead and emit their pulses into the space in front of them causing glowing spheres to appear in front of each ship. Each ship passes into their own apace anomaly and disappears. Oriya gets Lucius’ permission to project their musical pulse and a pure white sphere appears in front of the Stormchaser – as they pass through the disc of light, they emerge into a rectangular corridor that appears to stretch out in front of them. There are multiple areas that twist and turn, creating a stair-like pattern, along with breaks in the cubes that might be windows or new corridors that travel to other places. The view is unnerving for those who perceive it for too long, and many find that they must look at the deck of the ship to maintain their sanity.

Beside the Stormchaser, on either side, they see hundreds of other staircases that they believe to belong to the other ships of the fleet. Nova, in the engineering pod, is aware of the vast amounts of energy that the ship is using, as well as their status of being somewhere and nowhere at the same time. Her mind is blown.

Quill feels ill during the voyage and Nova reminds him of the Health and Safety pamphlet that she distributed to the crew – Aila has used hers as ammunition to pelt at the unsuspecting Wolf Pack, telling them to think fast (a couple of which immediately hit the deck), while Quill thinks he used his to wipe his beak after a particularly mucous-laden sneeze.

The Stormchaser has three new weapons thanks to Azaria, two of which need to be manned: the Perel energy cannon (which Penny is currently manning and can only shoot forwards), a rotary arcane turret that sits underneath the ship and can shoot in any direction, and finally, the Perel Magical Missiles that can be activated by the Captain, Navigator, or the Pilot.

While they make their way to the battle zone, Quill asks the Eye of the Storm why Hadar hasn’t destroyed Entropis.

*Quill’s vision turns cloudy, similar to before when it was a gift from H’esper. The vision is clear and bright – there is no uncertainty there, almost as if that connection, that power, has been restored in some way. Quill sees a broken world – a world where parts of it have been broken and shattered and are now almost separating away from itself. It is without any life, it is plain. There are structures, mainly buildings that are now ruins, and very little remains fully intact. While there are ruins, there are no trees, no oceans, not even dirt or soil – there is only dust otherwise, the dust of grey stone. Any features on the ruins have mostly been worn away but there are signs of humanoid statues and shapes, cloaked and hooded, and bearing weapons. Quill also sees eroded technology, cogs and circuits (unknown to Quill), complex gear systems, machinery, and electronics (not Magitek) – this all appears eroded but not rusted. The technology has gone black and seized up – it is not rusted, but is non-functional.*

*While most of his visions are accompanied by sounds and smells (as if he feels as though he is in a real place), this one is deathly silent. Quill begins to see the world as if it is in fast motion, the planet spins rapidly and he begins to see ships, sometimes Valkyrian ships, other times the ships of Nautiloids (Mind Flayers) or Githyanki ships, sometimes simply creatures, coming to the world as if they have been called. When they leave, they look very different to how they looked when they arrived – they become corrupted and influenced, each ship that leaves bears the mark of Hadar, as well as mouths and tentacles where there should be none. Red light replaces the purple of the Magitek, and Quill feels a presence… a deep and eerie voice is heard to whisper:*

*“Come…yes! Join… Be gifted before the end. Help me and enjoy bliss before it all becomes nothing!”*

*His vision begins to zoom away from Entropis and Quill sees millions of creatures and ships forming a flotilla – an armada of an immense, immeasurable scale, waiting…*

*Entropis is being used to call living creatures that swear themselves to Hadar as a point of pilgrimage. It is where Hadar’s influence is strongest.*

The Stormchasers reveal this information to Kalus and Siaska – it confirms what they both believed and Kalus says that he could have given some of that information to Quill had he asked, although he had not been absolutely certain about the significance of Entropis before now. Kalus was aware that he was only ever fighting a portion of Hadar’s forces but that now that it senses Siaska’s awakening, it will send out its full force. The force that Quill saw was made up of ships and creatures (giant creatures that had been turned into living vessels or weapons), and some of them appeared to be smaller than the Stormchaser. One ship that Quill saw, however, was enormous, larger even than the Astoria. He describes this flotilla to Kalus, including Beholder ships, the Valkyrian ships that he had seen (a mix of Xarkira’s ships and others that had been sent to fight, were presumed lost, and must have been corrupted).

Quill describes the enormous ship that he has seen to Kalus: it is a technologically advanced and magically enchanted Viking longship that is the most massive thing he has ever seen. Kalus’ eyes widen before he tells them that this is of concern. It is a Fenrir Class ship from a world lost millennia ago when Kalus was making the beginnings of his empire. Hadar consumed the world of the Giants which had two large classes of ships, the Fenrir and the Jörmungandr , both of which were immense and called ‘Sun Eaters’, capable of destroying stars.

The ship is large and slow but powerful. The Giants were a dominant power in the multiverse for a long time and it is only because of Hadar that they were eventually destroyed – when they would wage war, the Giants would send a Fenrir Class vessel to destroy stars and wipe out planar systems. The Giants were one of the original forces to fight against Hadar with Siaska and the Guardians but over time they were consumed slowly and eventually brought down. Valkyrian thinks it unlikely that Hadar would be able to fully use the ship’s potential unless there are still living Giants to pilot and use it, but Kalus thinks that is unlikely. Kalus reminds them that fighting the ships is not their plan – they must get forces through to Entropis, make their way to Terminus Keep, and through to defeat Hadar as quickly as possible. Knowing about the Fenrir allows them to plan better – they can ensure that their fleets are spread out so that fewer ships are destroyed at once. Kalus acknowledges that there will be many deaths but says that ships will be stationed above Entropis to buy them the time that they will need to land, take Terminus Keep, and to fight Hadar. Sentry shares her intelligence on Terminus Keep from Root – she discloses that the keep is heavily trapped and full of moving corridors (which is Hadar’s doing), and that it will not be easy to navigate. Kalus believes that they may need to do certain tasks once they land on Entropis and before they can take the keep – he plans to use most of his forces to establish a forward base near the breach point and to secure it before bringing in Siaska and Valla top open up the way, then they, Kalus, and the Champions will step through and face whatever awaits them in Terminus Keep.

Quill asks Kalus what foes they might face amongst Hadar’s minions and Kalus tells them that they can expect to face Beholders, Mind Flayers, Giants, corrupted Valkyrian forces (Angels, Devils, Fey creatures), undead, beasts and animals. Given Hadar’s ability to corrupt and mutate creatures, it is also possible that they will fight amalgamations of any or all of these.

While they travel to the Broken Vale, Lucius takes time to reflect on his previous encounters with Hadar and his minions, the words of wisdom from his friends and companions, Siaska’s return, and his recent drive. Gazing upon the mask of Moonstar, he sees the light shining thorough the darkness and feels a new sense of purpose and calm. Sentry goes about the crew and checks on the morale of the various elements – the Wolf Pack seem happy enough – they know that they have orders to follow and are being well looked after, but the larger picture is a little beyond their ability to comprehend. Kamarra, being wiser than the rest of the pack, is clearly worried about her family. Howard and Lancion are not at all prepared for what is to come, but Penny and Oriya are seasoned and ready for anything that can be thrown at them. Sentry tries her best to give them words of encouragement and support, but they remain shaken by the future. Aila spends her time checking on the weapons and throwing things at the Wolf Pack.

As they are about to exit their staircase into the Broken Vale, Quill uses the Eye of the Storm once more to ask the question, “What powers has Xarkira gained from Hadar?”

*Quill’s vision turns white and cloudy with great clarity as it always has. His vision returns to Entropis. He sees, standing on a cliff precipice, looking out over the broken ruin of a city, a familiar woman with long black hair and silver ornaments and blade-like devices woven into it. She wears a red dress and tall black leather boots studded with armour plates. On her back she wears golden wings of metal almost like some sort of ornament.*

*Quill sees the figure turn and look directly at him and he notices that her eyes are no longer the humanoid ones that they had seen before – they are now more like a serpent’s. The woman addresses Quill directly, “I’ve been waiting. I knew you would use your little gift on me one day, Qillek ad Khollar, and I’ve been waiting”. Quill realises that he is unable to move.*

*He is frozen and unable to turn away. The woman continues, “What did you ask, I wonder? Was it what powers I might have gained from Hadar? Was it where will Xarkira be on Entropis?”*

*The woman walks up to Quill, and he feels something grab his face as she reaches out with her hand.*

*“Well, this time, there are no answers, and there never will be”, and she jabs her clawed hand into Quill’s right eye.*

(The rest of them see Quill’s Storm Eye turn black, and blood begins to pour down Quill’s face and notice that he is paralysed. They try to shake him out of it but nothing happens.)

*Quill is stuck in the vision and feels Xarkira pulling her eye out of its socket while she chuckles, malevolently. He feels himself becoming injured as this process continues and he is helpless to stop it.*

(Lucius casts the Lesser Restoration spell that Quill had put into his Ring of Spell Storing – this breaks the paralysis but Quill feels immense pain as they see his storm eye begin to turn black and shrivel away. Aila pours a Potion of Healing into his beak.)

*Quill, no longer paralysed in the vision, can still feel his astral presence standing in front of Xarkira.*

(Sentry puts her hand on Quill’s face and tries to fill him with golden energy from the Matrix as she casts *Protection from Good and Evil* on him. Quill’s eye is now gone, disintegrated.)

*The last thing that Quill sees and feels is Xarkira’s hand trying to reach into his eye socket to get to his brain.*

*All of a sudden, it hits a golden barrier, some sort of shield that pushes her hand out and away from Quill. “No! That wretched Guard…” and the vision ends.*

The *Protection from Good and Evil* has shut Xarkira out and prevented her from possessing Quill. It appears that Xarkira had been anticipating this for a very long time and has lain in wait, ready to pluck an all-seeing eye from an incredibly perceptive bird with her magical trap.

As the Champions attempt to recover from the shock and horror of what has happened to one of their own, a call comes through the messaging system to advise that they are pulling out of the Infinite Staircase into the Broken Vale. The last thing they hear before the messaging system goes dead is, “Oh god, there’s…” and the Stormchaser erupts from their transport corridor into an active warzone.

They see Valkyrian and Dragon ships fly past them, being chased by corrupted Valkyrian and Nautiloid ships. Below them in space is a flaming planet and around them is the madness of a galactic astral battle. Oriya turns the ship sharply, ducking and weaving to avoid a flaming Valkyrian ship that has been overwhelmed by aberrations of eyes and mouths. As they swarm all over it, the ship goes shrieking past them and the Champions overhear the crew, screaming in fear. It is all Oriya can do to steer sharply out of its way to put them in a place of relative safety before they join the battle.

### **Part 2**

*The Stormchaser enters a massive galactic battle as the war against Hadar begins!*

Part 2 Full Description

## **YouTube Timestamps**

0:00:00 - Intro
0:06:12 - Dun Duns
0:07:10 - Part 1
1:28:17 - Part 2

## **Featured Characters**

#### **The Stormchasers (Player Characters)**

* Aila
* Lucius Virion-Elluin Elenasto
* Qillek Ad Khollar
* Sentry
* Nova V'ger

#### **New NPCs**

* New NPC 1
* New NPC 2

#### **Returning NPCs**

* Returning NPC 1
* Returning NPC 2

#### **Mentioned NPCs**

* Mentioned NPC 1
* Mentioned NPC 2

## **Featured Locations**

* Location 1
	+ Sublocation 1
	+ Sublocation 2
* Location 2

## **Trivia**

* Trivia 1
* Trivia 2

## **Quotes**

* Quote 1

* Quote 2