Session0019

Episode 0019 - The Dead Are Sad Things
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**Setting:**

Aerzen - Hartwell - April 21st-23rd, 211 AW
**Synopsis:**

* In the Aerzen wilderness, the party defeats the ghosts inhabiting a ruined temple of Aedra, and discovers some information about agents of Aedra called valkyries.
* Resting at the temple overnight, the party discusses their plan moving forward, and decides to head to Hartwell, where Gragnok hopes to find some information about Duke Vincent Mason.
* The following day, the party travels to Hartwell, foraging some hallucinogenic starberries along the way.
* At Hartwell, the party discovers that the troops who they previously encountered at the Imlaq Colossus did not keep their encounter secret, and were hung for treason. They decide to camp outside the city rather than trying to enter.
* Outside the city, the party meets with Jack's smuggling contact, and learns that Duke Vincent Mason has left the city discretely with a small troop of soldiers, headed toward Orion's Crypt.
* At their campsite outside the city, the party eats the foraged starberries, then spends the evening discussing multiverse theory.
* In the morning, the party sets off towards Orion's Crypt, planning a stop at the town of Hochstall to meet with a mercenary hired to assist them in finding and killing Duke Vincent Mason.

**NOTE: The beginning of this session recording includes retroactive roleplay for the previous session, as summarized in the session log for Session0018.**

## April 21st

Within the ruined temple of Aedra in the wilderness of Aerzen, the party encounters the pair of ghosts that they saw before entering: one eladrin and one drow. The drow attacks the party as soon as they enter the temple, despite the ghosts' prior agreement to let the party stay at the temple safely. The eladrin tries to convince the drow to stop attacking, but the drow continues.

The party battles the ghosts, focusing on the drow who first attacked them. The eladrin joins the fight, but only acts to defend himself and the drow. During the battle, the eladrin and drow speak to each other in a combination of sylvan and undercommon, respectively, which only a few members of the party understand. The eladrin continues to urge the drow to stop fighting, saying that the two should leave the temple together, and expressing romantic sentiment toward her. The drow refuses, reciprocating the eladrin's affection, but insisting that what they've discovered in this temple invalidates their relationship. She mourns the fact that the two of them have been used and manipulated by the gods, and resolves that she will be free in death, continuing to attack the party, seemingly with the intention of being killed by them.

In the heat of the moment, with the battle ongoing, the party argues about what to do. Some party members wish to abandon the ghosts and the temple, while others - especially Gragnok - wish to destroy the undead, particularly the drow who attacked them unprovoked after promising them safety. Rye uses a *detect thoughts* spell to begin reading the surface thoughts of the drow, and learns that her name is Vikiira, and she has resolved to die here tonight. Frog attempts to defuse the situation using enchantment magic, but is unsuccessful, as Vikiira and Gragnok continue to fight, along with Malkoth and Patches.

During the battle, Gragnok awakens Syntithenai, unlocking additional properties of the blade.

Eventually, despite some party members' attempts to defuse the situation, XVIII kills Vikiira. Frog uses a *hypnotic pattern* spell to incapacitate the eladrin, and Rye reads his thoughts, questioning him about his identity and what the ghosts were doing at this temple. He learns that the eladrin is named Rowin, and that he and Vikiira came to the temple seeking answers about their own natures, and learned that they were valkyries. Probing Rowin's mind for the meaning of this, Rye learns that valkyries are agents of the goddess Aedra, mortal souls created by her in pairs, and unwittingly placed into the world on opposing sides of conflicts. According to Rowin's recollections, he and Vikiira learned that they were two such valkyries, and Vikiira could not tolerate this revelation, feeling that their entire relationship was a farce created by the gods.

Gragnok, after waiting for Rye to finish questioning Rowin, executes him, assuring him that he will be with Vikiira again in the afterlife.

Regrouping after the fight, the party recovers a pair of magical bows that were wielded by the valkyries, and begins exploring the temple further. They find the temple is decorated with imagery depicting opposing elements in balance - fire and water, war and peace, angels and devils, etc. A large relief depicts the goddess Aedra with arms outstretched, holding a pair of mortal souls in her hands - presumably valkyries. The relief is accompanied by an inscription that describes opposite elements in balance with one another. Studying the temple imagery, Rye speculates that perhaps he and Israphel could be valkyries.

Meanwhile, Odell and his homunculus, Laita, use an *identify* spell on the pool of water at the temple's entry, in which the party cannot see their own reflections. He learns that the pool is enchanted with illusion magic such that it does not reflect creatures, and abjuration magic such that when a certain condition is met, it activates a nearby magical device of some kind.

Exploring the temple, the party discerns that there is a hidden chamber behind a wall in the temple, and Rye uses a *stone shape* spell to open a passage into the hidden chamber. Inside, they find a chamber with an offering altar and a chest of treasure, including a scroll of *invisibility*. They deduce that looking into the pool of water while invisible opens a hidden doorway which leads into this chamber.

Settling in to rest at the temple for the night, the party discusses their plan moving forward. Gragnok wants to stop at Hartwell in search of information about Duke Vincent Mason, despite the apparent danger of visiting the city while he and Malkoth are both wanted for crimes. Jack says that he could secure the party discrete lodging with smuggler in the city named Annie Appleshine, a contact of his. Despite some reservations, the party agrees to go to Hartwell, after Gragnok assures them that he has no intention of starting any trouble, and simply wants information.

The party spends the rest of the evening resting at the temple.

Frog makes an offering at the altar to Aedra, and expresses his remorse for the killings of Vikiira and Rowin. Later, he attempts to send a message to Porcini using a *sending* spell, but doesn't get a response.

Around the campfire, as a round table conversation topic, Rye asks everyone to describe what kind of deity they would be if they could a god, citing the fact that Syntithenai was supposedly created with the intention of killing a god. Gragnok says that he would be the god of death for other gods, and do away with them all. Pepper says that he would be the god of elephants and stomp out bad guys. Rye says that he would take over as the Lord of the Nine Hells, but would restructure the Hells such that no one had to do any work. Frog says that he would be the god of happiness for those who need it most. Malkoth says that he would be the god of fire and drugs. Odell says that he would be a lawful god of knowledge. Jack says that he would be the god of adoption and orphans, expressing a distaste for the concept of birthright and inherited ability. XVIII is unsure what kind of god they would be. Patches says that he is already a god. When asked for his tenets, he casts a *divination* spell and asks his patron, who says that his tenets are finding the Phaelux Beacon and using it to rescue Tamrius Grimm.

Gragnok attunes to the magic ring that was recovered from the Inquisitors in Saltcrest, and discovers that it is cursed.

Overnight, XVIII has a dream wherein they recall Dr. Johann Conrad Dippel discussing the course of experimentation that was going to be done on them. Upon awakening, they tell Rye that if they were a deity, they would be the god of failure.

## April 22nd

In the morning, the party finds that Patches has shapeshifted into a kuo-toa. Using a *divination* spell, he asks his patron if he should start worshiping them. His patron seems amicable, although unenthusiastic, about the idea. Afterward, Patches uses a *remove curse* spell to end Gragnok's attunement to the cursed magic ring.

The party sets out toward Hartwell. Over the course of the travel day, Rye makes Gragnok a disguise to wear in Hartwell to conceal his identity.

In the afternoon, the party spots a riverside bush growing with golden star-shaped berries. Malkoth recognizes them as starberries, and takes the time to harvest them, explaining that they can be used for healing, and also have hallucinogenic properties. Frog also recognizes the berries, and says that they have religious significance to the followers of the Star Road, and are said to grant glimpses into the various worlds of the multiverse that are connected by the Star Road.

As the party continues on toward Hartwell, Malkoth, Gragnok, and Pepper each take some of the starberries. XVIII also takes some, in combination with hallucinogenic mushrooms provided to them by Malkoth, and then goes to sleep, in hopes of having more visions of their forgotten past.

In their drug-induced sleep, XVIII has a vision from their past, wherein they speak with Dr. Johann Conrad Dippel about the nature of his experiments, the sanctity of life, and his goal of creating a potion that would defeat death. The visions are altered and surreal, seemingly impacted by the drugs.

Meanwhile, Gragnok, Malkoth, and Pepper spot another wagon that is traveling nearby - seemingly a perfect match of their own wagon. They see themselves aboard the wagon, seemingly mirroring their own actions, but with some differences (for example, instead of Rye, Malkoth sees Lane Coronato aboard the other wagon).

Eventually, the drugs wear off, and the party continues their travel day uneventfully.

In the evening, the party arrives at Hartwell. Outside the gates of the city, they see a pair of bodies hanging from gallows. Odell goes to investigate the scene, and discovers the bodies are Serafina Edelstein and Jannik Kastner, two of the Hartwellian soldiers that the party encountered at the Imlaq Colossus. Serafina was the troop medic, who became commanding officer after the death of Marius Dorn, and vowed to keep Gragnok's presence a secret, and report that Malkoth was found dead. Jannik was one of her subordinate soldiers, who seemed at the time to be disgruntled with Serafina's plan. Posted at the gallows, Odell finds a description of the crimes for which they were hanged, indicating that Serafina was hanged for treason due to her plot to deceive Duke Vincent Mason, and Jannik was hanged for betraying Serafina's orders as his superior officer. A pair of wanted posters are also posted nearby, for Gragnok and Malkoth.

Odell regroups with the party, and they discuss how to proceed. They decide that attempting to enter Hartwell is too dangerous, given that their entire party's identities were presumably revealed by Serafina Edelstein. Instead, they make a small campsite outside the city, out of sight of the guards' patrol. Jack says that if they can get a message to Annie Appleshine, his smuggling contact within the city, she could look into whatever information Gragnok was hoping to investigate. To this end, Frog uses his shapeshifting ability to transform into a nondescript tabaxi, and heads into the city with a message written by Jack.

Within the city, Frog meets Annie Appleshine, and gives her the message from Jack. She agrees to meet the party at their campsite later in the evening. While in the city, Frog also stops by the city's adventuring guilds and purchases some magic items on the party's behalf.

After Frog rejoins the party at the campsite, the party awaits Annie Appleshine. In the meantime, he uses Syntithenai's magical properties, and awakens the sword in doing so. With all of the party members now having awakened the blade, they find that its power has grown even further, providing each of them with enhanced abilities. Odell once again casts *identify* on the sword, and learns that if a single individual remains attuned to the sword for too long, it could lose its power.

Shortly later, Annie Appleshine arrives at the campsite. Jack briefly explains their situation. Gragnok asks her to check in on some of his friends in the military - the few who treated him amicably - and make sure they're well. He also asks her for any pertinent news around town, and the status of Duke Vincent Mason. She explains that the Duke discretely left town a few days ago under the cover of night with a small entourage of soldiers, and was rumored to be headed to Orion's Crypt to meet with somebody, though it's unclear why or with whom. Gragnok asks her to try to find a mercenary for hire who would be willing to help kill the Duke. She agrees to look into it, although she seems skeptical that anyone would be willing to accept such a job.

XVIII asks Annie Appleshine to look for any information about a wanted necromancer. Annie says that she's unaware of any such individual, and points out that it seems strange that Gragnok is wanted for conspiring with a necromancer, but there is no bounty for the necromancer themself. The party also sells Annie the cursed ring from the Inquisitors, disclosing the nature of its curse. Afterwards, Annie heads back in to the city, saying that she'll meet the party again in the morning.

The party spends the rest of the evening resting at their campsite.

Odell speaks with Frog and Buttonworth about the Star Road, in hopes of beginning to work on developing a new rune. He also takes a starberry, in hopes of enhancing his understanding of the Star Road. Jack, Rye, and Frog also each take a starberry. Under the influence of the starberry, Odell speaks with an alternate version of himself, and they two discuss multiverse theory. Rye sees an angelic version of himself, followed by Israphel, and later Asmodeus. Jack sees Djinni and an alternate version of Pepper, and the two discuss the possibility of a universe wherein all three of them survived.

Meanwhile, XVIII and Gragnok work together to stealthily cut down the bodies of Serafina Edelstein and Jannik Kastner, and give them proper burials.

Later, the party discusses the implications of multiverse theory, and the possibility of alternate versions of their own world. They speculate as to whether their visions of alternate versions of themselves are real, or merely hallucinations. During the conversation, Buttonworth refers to different worlds as "Fragments," which Odell recalls to have been a motif of the writings of Tamrius Grimm. He asks Buttonworth where he learned that term, and Buttonworth says that it is one of many terms that refer to the different worlds connected by the Star Road.

On their late-night watch, Odell gives Frog a collection of notes that he took at the Fable Bearers Sanctum, detailing the Fable of the Thousand Year Door that was told to them by Aristoadle. He apologizes for taking the notes, as Aristoadle had insisted that the information should not be put into writing, and tells Frog to do what he wishes with the notes. The notes are contained in an envelope addressed to Dorrakar Bloodhoof at the College of Mimrinoth, with a cover letter asking Bloodhoof to research the notes.

## April 23rd

In the morning, Annie Appleshine returns to the campsite. She relays a message from one of Gragnok's friends, Ronnin, wishing him well. She also explains that she found a mercenary willing to help the party in exchange for 1,000GP. When asked, she says the mercenary is a thri-kreen named Chak-ik-cha, who specializes in psionics. Gragnok agrees to the terms, and XVIII also chips in to help pay for the mercenary, citing their dislike of Duke Vincent Mason. Gragnok gives Annie 100GP as a down payment to take to Chak-ik-cha, and tells her to have him meet the party in the town of Hochstall, two days' travel north of Hartwell, en route to Orion's Crypt.

The party sets out northward towards Hochstall. Over the course of the day's travel, Malkoth and Rye work together to preserve the remaining starberries, and begin creating a synthetic alchemical version of them.

The remainder of the travel day is mostly uneventful, and at nightfall, the party stops to make camp. Around the campfire, Rye shows the party his *pipe of remembrance*, a magic item which illustrates one's most heroic and impressive memories in its smoke while it's being used. He offers to let the party use it, though it can only be used once per day. At the party's insistence, Patches agrees to use the pipe, as they are all curious about what heroic deeds he might have accomplished. When Patches smokes the pipe, the smoke forms imagery of incredibly heroic feats: slaying a planar-powered titanic dragon, participating in a revolution in an undersea city of merfolk, defeating a mighty djinn sheikh in the plane of air, killing the Duke Bael in the Nine Hells, battling an undead sphinx, and defeating a githyanki king in the astral plane. The party questions him about the meaning of these heroic feats, but he is evasive and noncommittal in his answers.