Session0060

Episode 0060 - The Right Conversations
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**Setting:**

Sigil - June 16th-17th, 211 AW
**Synopsis:**

* Louche throws a street party in the Market Ward of Sigil, where Titivilus shows up with a gruesome gift for him, and tasks him with traveling to Hades and securing a deal with a yugoloth named Zolgun in exchange for Mahadi's freedom.
* During the night's festivities, Odell receives an unexpected visit from Charon, Gregarian Advantis pays a visit to Logic, and the party collects more information about the Mercury Company.
* The following morning, the party makes preparations and plans for the Quorum Banquet later in the evening, and discusses how to proceed based on the previous night's events.
* The party spends some time doing some reconnaissance regarding Preston Reeve and Granite Vashar.
* Later, the party travels to Hades, where they make their way to the city of Niflheim and meet with the yugoloth Zolgun.
* Discussing Zolgun's arrangement with the Hells and his interest in the Mercury Company, the party eventually reaches an agreement to take out Ravaasta, the leader of the Mercury Company, in exchange for information and rewards.
* In the evening, the party attends the Quorum Banquet, where they begin to gather information about the political candidates, including some damning evidence regarding Granite Vashar.

## June 16th

Louche hosts his street festival in the Market Ward of Sigil, setting up several stages for musicians to play, and providing entertainment and drinks for the crowds of attendees. During the festival, the party notes the presence of several Quorum members, as well an increased presence of dabus. Granite Vashar makes an appearance at the party, briefly speaking with Louche. Louche identifies himself as the Trumpeter of the Apocalypse and shares some of his past as a devil in Sigil.

At the festival, Vazzoran, the yugoloth that Malkoth hired earlier to find information about the Mercury Company, approaches him and offers him information that he's gathered. He tells him that the Mercury Company can be accessed through a tavern in the Hive called the Gray Halo, and that auctions are held nightly. He explains that accessing the auction hall requires both a password and a physical invitation. Finally, he explains that a yugoloth named Zolgun in the city of Niflheim in the plane of Hades has some sort of vendetta against the leader of the Mercury Company, and might be a good source for more information.

During the festival, Gregarian Advantis goes to visit Logic at his shop again. He asks Logic if there is any reason, other than Granite Vashar's proposed regulations, that Logic does not want Granite to win the election. Logic says that there are other reasons, but refuses to reveal those reasons.

Meanwhile, back at the festival, Charon surprisingly makes an appearance at the party, and visits Odell. He asks Odell about his interest in Thalien Omadithas, referencing the conversation that he had with Malkoth earlier via *contact other plane*. Odell says that he wants to stop her ascension, and Charon emphasizes that doing so is of the utmost importance. Odell asks Charon if his plan will be successful, and Charon asks what his plan is. After Odell telepathically communicates his plans to Charon, Charon turns to leave without responding. Odell asks him about the possibility of trying to contact the souls of Thalien's parents to convince her to stop her plans, and Charon says such a thing is beyond his domain. Before leaving, Charon cautions Odell against who he associates with, referencing XVIII who is nearby. He also telepathically tells XVIII that their days are numbered.

Later, while Louche is performing at the festival, Titivilus appears in the crowd and listens to Louche play. After the performance, he approaches Louche, and accuses him of shirking his responsibilities. He presents him with the flayed chest of Mahadi, reminding him that Mahadi is being tortured due to Louche's failure to fulfill his role. He assures Louche that Mahadi will be brought to Sigil and placed under Louche's control once Louche completes his job. When Louche asks what specifically is required of him, Titivilus says that he needs to travel to the city of Niflheim in the plane of Hades, and secure the services of a yugoloth named Zolgun. He tells Louche that Zolgun already knows what services are required of him and that arrangements have already been made, but Zolgun for some reason is dragging his feet and playing coy, not holding up his end of the bargain. When Louche presses Titivilus for more details, Titivilus says Louche doesn't need to know.

Louche asks Titivilus if securing Zolgun's services is all that will be required of him, and Titivilus confirms that it is. Louche asks why he needed to retrieve the *psalm of assimilation* in that case, but Titivilus says he doesn't need to know that either. Finally, Louche asks what will happen to him once the job is done, and Titivilus says that it's not up to him, and will be Asmodeus' decision. Titivilus tells Louche to meet at Ribcage when the job is done, and he departs. Before leaving, he also gives Louche a new infernal talisman, as previously promised in a piece of correspondence with Louche.

Seeing Titivilus' departure, Gregarian Advantis sends his familiar to follow him. The familiar watches as, after making his way a short distance away from the festival, Titivilus disappears.

Later that night, Odell uses his *book of sending* to contact the College of Mimrinoth, and warns them of the approaching danger from Israphel.

## June 17th

In the morning, Louche plays the *psalm of imitation* for the party.

Afterwards, the party discusses their plans for the upcoming day. Gregarian Advantis shares that, after some scouting, he was able to find Preston Reeve's personal residence and his place of business. He has tried having informants tail Granite Vashar, but they have invariably lost him, as he goes through various doors that other creatures have been unable to pass through. He also shares about his conversation last night with Logic, where Logic revealed that there are other reasons that he does not want Granite to win the election. Gregarian expresses some suspicion regarding the fact that Logic seemingly only wants Granite to lose, not necessarily Preston Reeve to win. Finally, he shares that his informants have discovered that an arcanaloth and Quorum member named Ravaasta seems to have ties to the Mercury Company.

Notably, over the course of this conversation, Gregarian Advantis seems to insinuate that he has access to some sort of network of spies and informants. The party doesn't press the issue, however.

Gregarian Advantis also reminds the party that the banquet for Quorum members is being held this evening, and tells them that he was able to secure invitations for all of them thanks to Louche's party the night before.

Louche tells the party about his conversation with Titivilus, and his task to secure the services of Zolgun in Hades. Hearing this, Malkoth shares what he learned about Zolgun and the Mercury Company from Vazzoran. Louche expresses an interest in addressing his business in Hades as soon as possible, given that Mahadi will continue to suffer until the task is complete.

Louche asks Odell about the possibility of undoing a genie's wish, speculating about the effect that his wish to become a mortal might have had on Israphel. Odell says that unfortunately, reversing the wish of a genie would be extremely difficult, if not impossible.

In order to help add some context to their plans, Louche casts *legend lore* about Zolgun. He learns that Zolgun is perhaps the most famed merrenoloth in the world, and one of the multiverse's most talented navigators and privateers on the River Styx. He is also a leader amongst the yugoloths of Niflheim. Louche also learns that a deal was struck between Zolgun and Titivilus, speaking on behalf of Asmodeus, though he doesn't learn the details of this deal. Louche speculates that the deal was related to the prophecy of the Trumpeter of the Apocalypse, regarding using the River of Blood to reach the City of Doors.

With this new information in mind, the party discusses how to proceed. They discuss the idea of killing Zolgun to prevent the fulfillment of the prophecy. XVIII objects to this notion, saying that he wants to get Zolgun's help retrieving the soul of Dr. Johann Conrad Dippel from the Raven Queen's Fortress of Memories. On something of a tangent, the party pushes back against this notion, debating whether saving Dippel is a good idea, and expressing an unwillingness to take on that risk to themselves. The argument grows somewhat heated, as everyone other than Dippel largely agrees that trying to rescue Dippel is a bad idea. Odell and Louche recommend the possibility of attempting to trade the imprisoned necromancers from the Purgatory to the Raven Queen in exchange for lenience for Dippel.

Eventually, the party decides to go talk to Logic about his interest in Granite Vashar losing the election. Meanwhile, Gregarian Advantis and Frog set out to do some snooping of their own in the interim. Gregarian asks them to get a feel for whether Logic would be willing to support a third-party candidate, instead of Preston Reeve.

Gregarian Advantis scopes out the venue for the upcoming banquet, and leaves his familiar outside to keep watch over any comings and goings. He also briefly stops by Preston Reeve's place of business, finding it guarded by disguised watchmen.

Meanwhile, Frog, accompanied by Falgron, go to try to track down Granite Vashar. They find him campaigning in the Hive, surrounded by throngs of supporters. After his speech, Frog speaks with Granite, introducing himself as a fellow politician in the Material Plane. The two discuss Granite's plans for magic item regulations and restrictions. Granite explains his goal to make Sigil safer and more equitable for the common man, but Frog gets the sense that Granite has some more selfish motivations as well. Frog asks to discuss the matter further later at the banquet, to which Granite agrees. Notably, with a *detect magic* spell, Frog does not detect any magic on Granite during this conversation.

While Frog is speaking with Granite Vashar, Falgron keeps watch on the surroundings, and notices a large demon watching them from a nearby second story window, seemingly acting as Granite's security. Falgron runs up to the window and speaks with the demon, asking him about his political support for Granite. The demon is largely dismissive, and eventually leaves through a nearby magical door.

Meanwhile, at Logic's shop, the party talks to Logic about his desire for Granite Vashar to lose the upcoming election. Logic confirms that he has other reasons that he wants Granite to lose the election other than his regulatory agenda, but he refuses to divulge these reasons, insisting that doing so would put him at unnecessary risk. After some conversation, Logic agrees to include an extra magic item in his promised rewards for stopping Granite's election.

Asked whether he would support a third candidate instead of Preston Reeve, Logic says that he wants Preston to win the election, but this is not material to the deal he has made with the party. He clarifies that the party's task is to make sure Granite Vashar does not win the election, and is not contingent upon anyone in particular winning.

The party regroups again to discuss their findings and their plans. Louche emphasizes his priority of rescuing Mahadi, and also says he wants to kill Titivilus. The party eventually decides that their best avenue is to follow through with his task of traveling to Niflheim and securing Zolgun's services. After making some preparations, they set out towards Hopeless - Sigil's gate town to Hades. En route, Louche gives Malkoth his infernal talisman, explaining that it might help him to influence Louche if it becomes necessary.

Arriving at Hopeless and the Outer Gate to Hades, Louche tells the gatekeepers that he is the Trumpeter of the Apocalypse on business with the Hells to meet with Zolgun. The party is allowed through. Inside, they find themselves in a small gatehouse inside of a deep and narrow ravine, in the bleak wastes of Hades. The yugoloth guards within allow them through, and warn them to stay on the path, which leads up through the ravine and out towards the wasteland, eventually to Niflheim. Not trusting the yugoloths, the party produces Patches' magic yacht, and flies up and out of the ravine to proceed toward Niflheim. The party's suspicions are confirmed, when they see monsters patrolling the path in the ravine.

Eventually, after a couple hours of travel, the party reaches Niflheim, passing over the River Styx along the way. Notably, their mere presence in Hades gradually begins to magically corrupt the minds of some of the party members, causing them to be overwhelmed with crippling ennui and causing some parts of their bodies to physically turn gray.

Arriving in Niflheim, the party is granted an audience with Zolgun. Louche introduces himself as the Trumpeter of the Apocalypse, and tells Zolgun he believes they might have some mutual interests. Malkoth says that the party wants to help deal with Zolgun's vendetta against the leader of the Mercury Company. Zolgun recognizes Louche's title, and says that the Hells have given him a very attractive offer, though he expresses some reluctance about completing the job he's been hired for. He seems surprised when Louche explains that he doesn't know about the deal that was made. Louche offers to pay Zolgun to double cross the Hells, but Zolgun says that Louche cannot offer him more than Asmodeus already has. He nonetheless remains coy regarding the details.

Regarding the Mercury Company, Zolgun confirms that he has a vendetta against Ravaasta, the leader of the Mercury Company, who he explains stole a wealth of soul coins from him, as well as his *soul brand* that he uses to make souls subservient to him. He says that he wants Ravaasta killed (and thereby returned to Hades), and his stolen goods returned to him. Gregarian Advantis asks for more information about Ravaasta. Zolgun explains that she formerly lived in Niflheim, but was unsatisfied with her station and set out on her own, stealing a number of his belonging on her way out. When asks, Zolgun says that Ravaasta doesn't have any other prominent enemies to his knowledge. The party expresses an interest in helping Zolgun out with this, as Malkoth explains that Ravaasta is responsible for abducting the soul of his grandmother, and Gregarian says that he's interested in her dealing as his colleague in the Quorum.

Zolgun tells Louche that he has information that Louche might want. After some negotiations, Zolgun offers to give Louche information about his deal with Asmodeus in exchange for slaying Ravaasta. In exchange for the return of his *soul brand* and stolen soul coins, he offers the party 50% of the souls returned to him (a reward requested by XVIII).

Louche attempts to shake Zolgun's hand, but Louche's hand passes through Zolgun's, as it's revealed that his form is illusory. Zolgun explains that the Hells warned him that Louche would probably try to kill him, and he was simply protecting himself.

Afterward, Zolgun shows the party a door within Niflheim that leads to Sigil's Clerk's Ward. He explains that it's a one-way door normally, and returning back through it requires an attuned key. He gives them one such key, effectively only allowing one party member to return via this door.

Returning to Sigil, the party regroups at Every Ware, where Gregarian Advantis checks in with Loot. Loot says that, as requested, he's been having informants keep an eye on any movement regarding the devils or the Hells. He makes note that there have been an unusual amount of comings-and-goings from Ribcage, the Outer Gate to the Hells, and some meetings between Titivilus and Vassia, a devil abassador from the Hells and Quorum member. Nonetheless, Gregarian's informants have not turned up any specific information about the Hells' business.

The party makes preparations to attend the evening's Quorum banquet. Discussing the need for a third candidate to replace Granite Vashar if the party prevents his election, Gregarian Advantis suggests that he could take on this role. He offers the party magical paintings that would give them a permanent link to Sigil if they assist him in this endeavor, to which the party agrees.

In the evening, the party attends the Quorum banquet. After their introduction, the party splits up to make their rounds throughout the ballroom and gather information, with Gregarian Advantis feeding them information about attendees telepathically.

Louche begins to subtly plant the seeds of the possibility of Gregarian Advantis becoming governor, though he does so without insinuating that there should be any suspicion that the election candidates are going to change.

Falgron makes note that a large caucus of demons seems to be in support of Granite Vashar, including the demon he saw earlier at Granite's speech. Gregarian Advantis identifies the demon as Melius.

Malkoth meets with an extremely wealthy businessman named Spiros Chronelis, who speaks with him about his drug dealings, and the possibility of purchasing his fey drug business from him. Spiros gives Malkoth a business card to get in touch with him. As Spiros is retrieving the card from his pocket, Malkoth catches a glance at a Mercury Company auction invitation in his pocket, with the numbers "7, 4, 6, 8" written on it.

XVIII speaks with a quorum member named Kazymyr Sokolov, who Gregarian Advantis explains is a vampire. They discuss Kazymyr's history as a vampire and life in Sigil, and XVIII also shares some of their own history, including Dr. Johann Conrad Dippel and how they became a vampire. Kazymyr shares how vampires are typically created, which requires an existing vampire to feed a slain corpse their blood, and then willingly relinquish their own control over the resulting thrall.

Odell attempts to speak to a star spawn about rune magic, but gets no response from it. A pair of genies explains to him that the star spawn never speaks.

Jack listens in on a conversation between Preston Reeve and Ravaasta, wherein Preston expresses concern about the upcoming election, and Ravaasta assures him that with the yugoloths' support, his victory is certain.

Gregarian Advantis speaks with a githzerai monk named Math about selling the githyanki silver sword that he recovered the previous day from the astral plane. The two make plans to meet in the morning at Every Ware to discuss the sale.

Frog speaks with Granite Vashar, and tries to figure out his ulterior motives for restricting the sale and creation of magic items, but he can't deduce anything new. Frog warns Granite about the safety of the citizens of Sigil if they are unable to protect themselves with magic items. He also questions Granite's association with demons in the Quorum, but Granite insists that a diverse coalition is necessary to win the election.

During the evening's events, Granite Vashar and Ravaasta have a somewhat heated social altercation, wherein Ravaasta accuses Granite of abusing the Quorum. Some of the party's most insightful members note that the altercation seems somewhat practiced and false.

While retrieving a refreshment, Odell spots a mercury-colored marking on the back of the neck of one of Granite Vashar's servants.