Session0058

Episode 0058 - If Your Friends Jumped Off a Bridge
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**Setting:**

Limbo - Sigil - June 15th, 211 AW
**Synopsis:**

* After defeating the hostile creatures of Limbo, the party locates a hidden githzerai monastery which houses the door to Sigil.
* In exchange for use of the door, the monastery requests that the party use a magic dagger to disease a nearby slaad spawning pool. The party agrees, and successfully fulfills the githzerai's request.
* Passing through the door, the party arrives in Sigil, where they head to the market ward to do some shopping, and meet up with Gregarian Advantis, a shopkeeper and acquaintance of Louche.
* After spending the day shopping in the market ward and gathering some information about the goings-on in Sigil, the party proceeds to the home of Natalie Shaw.
* The party finds Natalie Shaw's home ransacked, and with some keen investigation, deduces that she was probably taken by the Mercury Company, an underground yugoloth soul slavery syndicate.

**NOTE: This session recording includes retroactive roleplay for a previous session, as summarized in the session log for Session0057.**

## June 15th

On the stone platform amidst the stable region of Limbo that the party discovered, they are attacked by otherworldly creatures of Limbo. The party battles and defeats the creatures, which they discover to be formed of the destructive energy of Limbo itself.

After defeating the creatures and briefly regrouping, the party continues to investigate the platform and the inscription on the nearby pedestal, which describes overcoming one's fears. Odell discerns that the language of the inscription is Gith, and Malkoth suggests that it was likely written by githzerai.

As the party stands on the platform above the massive spheroid planet-like body at the center of the area, they can feel a powerful force pulling them physically toward the sphere. XVIII leaps from the platform down toward the planet, and the party witnesses as they are rapidly incinerated and crushed to death upon striking the surface of the planet. XVIII experiences themselves being brutally incinerated to death, but upon striking the planet, finds themselves unharmed, suspended in a peaceful and comfortable space, near a floating monastery amongst a vast sunset sky. XVIII deduces that the harm caused by plunging into the planet was illusory in nature.

XVIII communicates their findings to the rest of the party via their *telepathic bond* spell, assuring them that it is safe. After some discussion and hesitation, the rest of the party follows, likewise plunging into the planet and arriving at the monastery with XVIII.

Rejoined, the party makes their way to the monastery, where they spot several githzerai monks sitting in meditation. Arriving, the party ask the githzerai about getting to Sigil. Most of the gith speak no common, but they fetch their leader, Anarch Vithiren, who speaks common, and asks them their business. The party explains that they are trying to reach Sigil, and briefly explains their business there. Vithiren confirms that the monastery, called the Xaos Monastery, houses the door to Sigil, and that his order has protected the door for centuries. He also confirms that the githzerai are responsible for the miles of stable surroundings of the monastery in Limbo, and explains that the illusory planet is intended to deter unwanted and hostile visitors.

In exchange for access to the door to Sigil, Anarch Vithiren tasks the party with taking a magic dagger, which he provides, using it to stab the spawning stone of a nearby spawning pool of slaad. In exchange, he assures them that they will be free to come and go through the door to Sigil as long as they remain peaceful. The party agrees to this arrangement, and Vithiren gives them the dagger. Briefly examining the dagger, Odell deduces that it will deliver some manner of disease to the slaad spawning pools.

Malkoth asks Anarch Vithiren about the possibility of taking some of the chaotic material of Limbo to the Material Plane, in hopes of using it to craft a *plane shift* tuning fork attuned to Limbo. After some discussion, Malkoth trades Vithiren a piece of Material Chaos in exchange for a piece of the githzerai's stabilized chaos, which Vithiren says should stay stable for a number of years, even outside of Limbo. The githzerai seem particularly intrigued by Material Chaos, and unable to control it as they can with the energy of Limbo.

The githzerai send the party on their way to the slaad spawning pools, providing a trail of light that leads out of the monastery and back out some distance into the chaos of Limbo. Eventually, the light leads the party to a flying jungle island, flowing with rivers and streams of thick, viscous purple slime. Stealthily, the party makes their way to the center of the island through the jungle undetected. There, they find a massive pool of slime protected by several slaad. They spot a giant slaad hidden within the spawning pool, with a large crystal embedded into the base of its neck, which they presume to be the spawning stone. While investigating, the party notes the presence of thousands of slaad tadpoles within the rivers of slime.

After some discussion of how to proceed, XVIII turns invisible and sneaks up to the giant slaad with the gith's magic dagger. They stab the dagger into the crystal, and the dagger seemingly discharges its magic, as black necrotic ichor starts to spread out from the crystal and into the surrounding slime. The party flees, successfully escaping the slaad, as the spawning stone and pools continue to change to black.

The party returns to the Xaos Monastery, where they find the githzerai studying the Material Chaos. They report their success at the slaad spawning pool, and Anarch Vithiren shows them to the door to Sigil within the monastery. Before entering, the party lingers at the monastery for a short time so that Malkoth can conclude his research into creating a *plane shift* tuning fork attuned to Limbo. Meanwhile, Louche talks to Vithiren about his nature as a devil and a valkyrie.

Before entering the door, Lane Coronato speaks to Louche about getting an introduction to the devils in Sigil. Louche advises against it, assuring Lane that any association with Louche would not be viewed favorably by the Hells.

The party proceeds through the portal to Sigil, where they arrive in Xaos, the embassy district for the Outer Gate to Limbo. From there, Louche begins leading the party toward the Market Ward of Sigil to do some shopping, giving them all informational pamphlets about Sigil as they travel. Along the way, the group gets lost briefly, before eventually finding the River Styx and following it through the city toward the Market Ward. While traveling alongside the River Styx, the party witnesses the shadar'kai - angels of the Raven Queen - ferrying souls of the dead into the afterlife. They see one such soul being deposited in the streets of Sigil, seemingly lost and confused. XVIII stops to give the soul some information about Sigil, sharing one of Louche's pamphlets.

Arriving at the Market Ward, Louche leads the party to Every Ware, a magic item shop with which he's familiar. There, the party meets with the shopkeeper, an aab'shagua named Gregarian Advantis, and his assistant, a halfling soul named Loot. Louche greets Gregarian, the two having been acquainted when Louche was still a devil. After proving his identity to Gregarian by answering a question only the two of them would know the answer to, Louche introduces Gregarian to the rest of the party. Gregarian and Loot showcase some of their magical wares to the party, and the party buys some items from them.

Louche asks Gregarian Advantis if he has received any of Mahadi's creations recently. Gregarian recognizes the name, but says he has not received anything from him recently. Louche also asks if Gregarian has heard anything about Titivilus recently, but Gregarian has not.

When asked about some of the current goings-on in the city, Gregarian Advantis tells the party that there is an upcoming election for governorship of the Lower Ward. The two leading candidates are a longtime pro-business corporate candidate named Preston Reeve, and a grassroots people's candidate named Granite Vashar. Gregarian explains that elections are accomplished by the Quorum, a group of about three to four hundred of the city's most prominent and powerful individuals, of which he is a member.

After finishing their shopping at Every Ware, the party decides to set out into the remainder of the Market Ward and the Great Bazaar. Gregarian Advantis agrees to accompany them and act as a guide to the city, leaving Loot in charge of the shop in his absence.

In the Market Ward, the party continues shopping for magic items. XVIII and Malkoth get magic tattoos, and Malkoth purchases some fey drugs.

Lane Coronato briefly speaks with Louche, and considers setting off on his own toward Ribcage to find his way to the Hells. Eventually, he decides to stick with the party until after they find Natalie Shaw, as he wishes to bid her farewell.

After finishing their shopping, the party heads to the inn where Louche and Israphel used to meet, in hopes of finding a lead about Israphel. Louche asks the innkeeper about Israphel, and learns that Israphel last visited the inn several days ago, but hasn't returned since. The innkeeper confides that Israphel did not look well, and also explains that Israphel has recently been staying with a soul that lives near the Fountain of the Dead - presumably Natalie Shaw.

Louche, recalling that the inn was the location where he used a *ring of djinni summoning* to make a wish to become mortal, asks the innkeeper if a ring was found in his room afterwards, but the innkeeper claims that no such ring was found. Accompanied by Malkoth, Louche searches the room that he and Israphel used to share. There, they find a note from Israphel, which states that he has left Sigil , and will now be residing in the Astral Plane until work on the Titan of Sapphrius Bay is complete. The note includes a map providing the location of the door in Sigil that leads to Israphel's location in the Astral Plane. Louche contacts Israphel with a *sending* spell, telling him that he will come to the Astral Plane after finishing some business in Sigil.

Meanwhile, XVIII gathers the rest of the party aside, and they discuss what to do about Louche and the impending situations with the Hells and Israphel. The party discusses their hope that the worst case scenarios can be avoided, and that Louche's scheme to take himself and Israphel out of this universe through the Star Road is successful. They also speculate about the possibility of somehow breaking Louche and Israphel free of Aedra's control over them as valkyries, and discuss the possibility of trying to contact Aedra, since she is the ruler of Sigil. Nonetheless, the party ultimately discusses whether they are willing to kill Louche or Israphel if it comes down to it.

Meanwhile, back outside the inn, Gregarian Advantis meets with one of his informants, an aab'shagua named Alucia, who gives him the locations of a few new doors in Sigil, including an entrance to the city's underground.

Their business in the Market Ward concluded, the party heads to Natalie Shaw's home near the Fountain of the Dead. On the way, Louche tells the rest of the party about the note from Israphel.

Arriving at Natalie Shaw's home, the party finds the place has been ransacked and looted, having clearly been broken into. With keen investigation, Gregarian Advantis finds evidence that she was abducted by yugoloths, and deduces that she was probably taken by the Mercury Company, an underground yugoloth soul slavery syndicate.