Session 53-A: The New Ways

## Key Plot Developments

Pyrite, recently feebleminded by Verin, has escaped through the chaos magic of the maze engine from the Endless Battlefield to find her family. Trix offers her a mushroom; acting like an animal, she swipes it way.

Uncle Rotgut, a ranger, uses animal handling to calm her down. Trix and Pix restore her mind. The restored goblin demands to know where Glyn is, and the party catches up on their months of misadventures since her death.

Trix uses his staff of divination to get insight into Glyn. Pyrite reveals her aspirations—after her clan of goblins was so easily destroyed by Glyn in the afterlife, she desires to become more than a goblin. Pyrite has ambitions of restructuring the whole order of things—changing the afterlife, replacing it with her new ways. She summons a familiar (Snik-Snik the snake), born from the lava and the remains of the flying snakes summoned by the destroyed maze engine.

Pyrite and Trix catch up. Tremble fixes his broken bow with his mastery of artificing. Pix, able to teleport without the maze’s faerzress interfering, returns the group to Vizeran’s tower.

Finn explains how he was able to buy a purple worm egg from the Hallens (the purple worm hunters) in exchange for his indentured servitude. Vizeran greets Pyrite, whom he recognizes as a powerful magic user. Vizeran and Pyrite communicate in private about their mutual desire to rid the material plane of demon lords.

The party has gathered many of the ritual’s ingredients but needs a few more. They debate whether to travel to Menzoberranzan or get a beholder’s eye first. Vizeran agrees with Pyrite’s hatred towards the city of spiders. Pyrite, traumatized by her experiences in the afterlife, behaves disagreeably towards the rest of the party until Vizeran interferes and leads the team in a group therapy session (prompting “I feel” and “I wonder” statements). After his session ends, they agree to confront the Eyemonger and take his eye.

## Memorable Quotes

* **Trix:** Pyrite, what are you DOING here?
* **Pyrite:** AaaaAARggg!
* **Rotgut:** Pyrite! It’s me, Rotgut! We met before!
* **Pyrite:** [Rotgut is friend.]

* **Trix:** Does anyone know how to cast greater restoration?
* **Pix:** I can cast it….
* **Tremble:** We’ve learned all sorts of things, like the magic of therapy, so maybe we can try to help her more now?

* **Pyrite:** Where the fuck is Glyn? Where am I? I’m dead!
* **Bogtooth:** You’re not dead anymore. A time machine brought you back!

* **Tremble:** There are THREE planes?
* **Trix:** At LEAST three.
* **Tremble: T**HERE ARE MORE THAN THREE PLANES?

**Pyrite:** There’s not a lot of time! Glyn is a demon, he’s working with Annarei, he’s rounding up the goblins, he’s really old, he went through some transformation, he killed my whole clan.

* **Pyrite:** When does this dream spell end?
* **Trix:** It’s not a dream spell.

* **Trix:** Have you seen Ichabod recently?
* **Pyrite:** …..I may have tried bonding him into a familiar.

**Rotgut:** So in the old goblin tradition there was this time where a bunch of heroes would make a lot of speeches and the chief would be there and the rest of us would stand in the sidelines and if someone said something about us, we’d have something clever to say.

* **Trix in Vizeran’s voice:** “He’s a dumb idiot, that brother of mine!”
* **Pyrite:** Vizeran’s smart.

* **Tremble:** We killed Mistress Ilvara! We shot her up with some arrows and blew her up with some magic!
* **Pyrite:** I wasn’t strong enough, Rotgut… I’m sorry.
* **Bogtooth:** Oh you didn’t need to be strong enough, we just went in there and talked to her, you know, we’re smart!
* **Rotgut:** It’s not about being strong enough or not. She was like a goddess in her lair. There’s nothing either of us could have done… there are some things you said in there that must have been helpful.
* **Pyrite:** And there are things I did to you that must have hurt.
* **Rotgut:** Yeah. But I know that you tried your best in there.

* **Bogtooth:** Sometimes you gotta hang with the clan.
* **Pyrite:** You’re not my clan.

* **Pyrite:** Glyn is not a goblin anymore. He needs to die…permanently. I don’t know how to kill demons.
* **Rotgut:** I do....you have to kill them on their own plane.

* **Trix:** Pyrite, frankly, I think Tremble’s killed more demons than you ever will
* **Pyrite:** ExCUSE me? You think the chieftess of clan—

* **Pyrite:** I just don’t want little tiny goblins to get hurt!
* **Tremble**: You need to trust me to keep myself safe.
* **Pyrite:** Then don’t be a goblin anymore. Be better.
* **Tremble:** Just because I’m a goblin doesn’t mean I’m weak.
* **Pyrite:** Yes it does.

* **Pyrite:** Your sun boy just gives you powers?
* **Bogtooth:** Well he has a different god now.
* **Pyrite:** You can just SWITCH gods like that?
* **Trix: I** don’t know why Pelor gave me powers in the first place.
* **Rotgut:** Wait you never said that you was working with Pelor before.
* **Trix:** Yeah, well…
* **Rotgut:** Pelor’s a bitch!

* **Snik Snik:** What issss my name?
* **Pyrite:** Um…Snik…Snik?
* **Snik Snik:** Ssssssnik Snik. What is your name?
* **Pyrite:** Pyrite Demonbane.
* **Snik Snik:** What is our quest?
* **Pyrite:** Kick demon ass and make sure no other clan member gets hurt again.
* **Snik Snik:** There’s so much chaos.
* **Pyrite:** Yeah we should work on that.
* **Snik Snik:** Itsss apart of ussss. Sssssssick.

* **Trix:** We sorta used your bones and your hook horror’s bones to cross a bride.
* **Pyrite:** They still there?
* **Trix:** Maybe?
* **Pyrite:** I want my bones! And my hook horror’s bones.

* **Trix:** Did you get killed by bugs?
* **Pyrite:** I— yes…

**Pyrite:** Trix… um. Let’s kill Glyn, okay? Short Ears..let’s kill Short Ears.

* **Snik Snik:** Our friendssss are strong.
* **Pyrite:** Uh, maybe…
* **Snik Snik:** …………. I wanna eat stuff.

* **Rotgut:** Hey, we’ll see each other again real soon but I just wanted to say real quick….there was a saying back with Sklonda. Over time, the tree is bigger and stronger. It’s like every generation’s better than the last. Growing up it was hard to believe in that….it’s just something special to see so many amazing young people of the clan doing such incredible things…. I love you kids.
* **Tremble:** Awwww, uncle Rotgut!

* **Finn:** Well, I got the good news for all of us and the bad news is irrelevant!
* **Tremble:** No, Finn, tell us! We care about you!
* **Finn:** Well the egg was destroyed, so Vizeran was like…you gotta go get another one.

* **Finn: I**’m currently ….. DEEPLY in debt.
* **Tremble:** How much money do you owe them?
* **Finn: I** don’t know what the conversion ratio is but I have to hunt three separate purple worm eggs with them.

**Trix:** Johnny Candy doesn’t want us to finish the ritual!

* **Pyrite:** Pyrite Demonbane.
* **Vizeran:** Good name.
* **Pyrite:** Thanks.
* **Vizeran:** A pleasure to have you here, Pyrite Demonbane.

* **Pyrite:** Apprentice?
* **Vizeran:** Apprentice! So I don’t know how they found you ,but I can sense when someone has a keen eye for magic.
* **Pyrite:** Yes.
* **Vizeran:** Pyrite--are they your siblings, your friends?
* **Pyrite:** I’m not part of their clan anymore.

**Vizeran:** I was struggling because even a mind such as mine would struggle to command ALL the demon lords, but if there was another magic user to divide the burden…it could be done. This person would need to have no attachments. Can you think of anyone like that?

* **Pyrite:** Tremble. You CAN’T trust the world like that.
* **Tremble:** There are people that we’re friends with!
* **Pyrite:** Are your people friends with the chief of Menzoberranzan?
* **Tremble:** One of them is!

* **Trix:** But Pyrite, we’re built different!
* **Tremble:** We’re not weak, Pyrite. No matter what you think, we’re not just gonna die cause we’re goblins.
* **Pyrite:** We’ll talk about it later.
* **Tremble:** No we’ll talk about it now!
* **Bogtooth:** If you don’t talk about it now, it’ll fester, Pyrite.
* **Tremble:** Every time we don’t tell each other things, something bad happens!
* **Vizeran:** It is important that everyone talk to one another only on topics they are comfortable with, because not doing so is traumatizing in its own way!

* **Trix:** Pyrite, I didn’t mean to abandon you. I didn’t even know you died for months! I spent a long time looking for you!
* **Pyrite:** It was my fault I died, though. so…

* **Pyrite:** I witnessed first-hand demons beating all of the goblins. And WE witnessed first-hand adventurers beating ALL of the goblins! I have never been strong enough and these things from beyond this world are really, really strong. If I can become the opposite of a demon then I can be stronger than them.
* **Tremble:** When it comes to fighting your battles with just strength or magic or something, it’ll never be enough. You kinda solve all our problems by hitting them. But real strength is a character thing, ya know? Just because you die doesn’t mean you’re not strong!

* **Tremble:** Do you not wanna be a part of our clan, Pyrite?
* **Pyrite:** Well, I don’t feel like I’m part of your clan. But I made my own clan and now I’m the only one left.
* **Bogtooth:** The old ways weren’t working so it’s about time we make some new ways.

* **Vizeran:** Now let’s go around the room and give one adjective about how we’re feeling.
* **Finn:** [Looks scared.]
* **Tremble:** I feel a little bit confused but also a little happy, relieved, um, a little bit scared, but that’s not particularly new
* **Bogtooth:** Better.
* **Trix:** Resolute.
* **Pyrite:** …stronger.
* **Vizeran:** Okay, I think it’s all time we all…say it on three?
* **Everyone**: Mumble mumble beholder mumble ritual mumble!