Nymian Rhapsody

We pick up on the 5th of Lenay, having just left Orlin.

## Watch Activities

Schwippers takes watch on the ship, aided by the ever-present, meditating Creon. Space becomes less populated here, so it’s calm and quiet. The next day, Creon does strength training with War Toad, putting him on his back and a thin plank of wood on his feet to get him to lift, but the Toad kicks the wood off into Creon’s nose. Throughout the day he keeps trying, but it mostly just results in him chasing War Toad around the ship, while everyone tries to hide their giggles. Schwippers tries to soothe War Toad (and forgive me if I now sometimes abbreviate his name to WT,) but doesn't help much. Schwippers tries to convey to the toad, with all his Firbolg might, “Toad. Swole. You.” The toad walks back to Creon and rolls onto his back. Creon whispers “I am indebted to you.”

Zephi, after getting Billy’s biography back from Sheevah, is looking for Schwippers, and grabs his hand and runs off with him. {Jerry sends Darcy memes, and it’s a whole thing. Vigil is very active on space Instagram, apparently. It’s in character.}

**A Tiefling, The Ghost of a Firbolg with a Fishing Pole for an Arm, and a Lawyer God Walk Into...**

### A Séance

Zephi and Schwippers go up to the crow’s nest, because the reception will be better there. She sets out the book of Billy, her bag, and her hamster, William J. Willsworth III. She plays her repetitive 4 notes to lend bardic inspiration, and Schwippers tries once more to talk to Billy from beyond the grave. Schwippers closes his eyes, and feels the presence of Lem around him. At first, Lem questions why Schwiperrs is doing this, as its far from why Lem allowed him to live on in his current form, but he insists it's righting a wrong, because it's helping a friend. Lem agrees to help, but just this once.

> *Schwippers feels a flurry of paperwork all around him, the feeling and sounds of sorting through things whispering past him. Then;*
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> Lem: …You say this person’s dead.
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> Schwippers: I guess not?
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> Lem: They’re not here, they’re not dead. Or, at least, they never died.
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> Schwippers: Can you tell me where they are?
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> Lem: That is the extent of my reach. Now, go continue to right wrongs.
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> Schwippers: Thank you your honor.
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*The presence fades, and Schwippers wakes. Zephi asks nervously what the response was like.*
Schwippers tells her what Lem said. Zephi hastily ushers Schwippers away while saying her thanks yous. After a few minutes, she can be heard loud and clear laughing, deliriously. Vigil and Sheevah debate going up there, and Vigil calls up and asks if she’s okay. She doesn’t respond, but plays joyful music the rest of the day, and sends sparks swirling through the air in fun patterns.

Vigil takes watch but doesn’t see anything, as he’s busy being distracted thinking about hay.

## Whale Whale Whale, What Do We Have Here?

Julia asks for advantage rolls on perception in space because “I have elf eyes.” Zephi takes watch, but even a day later, she’s too excited by the revelation of her father being alive to do be able to focus, opting instead to tease and annoy Creon. Creon wants to fight her but it would be “unfair” as she is “very small”.  He ends up trancing, and Zephi retaliates by braiding his hair in an old classic elven style. It’s nice, but he would never admit it.

We travel through the calm sea of stars, when we hear a low whine ring out through the night. Zephi immediately assumes this is a Star Whale, and messages everyone individually to wake them up. Vigil runs up *Haywatch* style, and Sheevah looks and sees a large charcoal shape in the distance, blocking out the stars, with some splotches of orange on the figure glowing and pulsing. It’s only slightly off course of where we’re heading, about an astral unit away.

Schwippers sings to the figure from afar, running through a whole list of songs. Vigil says we should give it a wide birth, and Creon preps the cannons. As we get closer, it becomes clearer that it is in fact a Star Whale; we can see its dried, cracked charcoal skin, with naturally glowing orange veins that pulse gently. Sheevah can tell it’s injured somehow, but not where. Schwippers points out that good or bad, we don’t know what’s inside the whale. After some debate, Sheevah tells Gerome to put the ship in park; we’re not moving until Creon, our cleric, helps this whale. Creon insists it’s a pointless endeavor—the whale will likely die anyway, it can do nothing for us, it takes energy to use spells and help, and it’s ultimately a distraction. Sheevah points out Creon’s refusal to help is the reason we’re stopped now, so he’s actually the distraction. He agrees to help the whale in exchange for nobody speaking to him unless there’s something important.

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> Vigil: For how long?
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> Creon: For the rest… of time.
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Gerome moves the ship closer to the whale slowly. The maneuvering doesn’t go so well, and the back of the ship knocks into the whale, grazing it. It lets out a low moan again, and it tries to move but it’s clearly struggling. Schwippers sends out a Calm Emotions at the same time as Creon attempts to heal it; this seems to make it a little less anxious, and the Star Whale stops trying to get away from the ship.

Vigil tries to get a better look, and it doesn’t look harpooned, nor does its blowhole appear to have any issues, but it is *definitely* having trouble making its noise. Creon misty steps onto the back of the whale without thinking about it and, oh shit, realizes a second too late that there’s **NO AIR IN SPACE**. Vigil takes control of the ship, and he and Sheevah maneuver with precision to be right up against the whale, putting Creon back in range and now able to breathe. He kneels and casts Remove Curse, to, unfortunately, no effect.

From the deck of the ship, Zephi reaches out to heal the whale, but realizes that it’s not wounded, it’s struggling to breathe. Vigil, fearing for *Creon’s* ability to breathe, throws out a lightning lure and roughly yanks him back to the ship by the ankle with a whispered “Yeehaw”. Schwippers sends a message to the whale asking to show us where it hurts, and it drifts slowly around to face us.

The whale, now facing us, is breathing heavily, and Zephi sees a large clump of vine lodged in the throat; it’s got some cuts and scratches on the inside, as though the vines were accidentally, though not fully, swallowed. We start brainstorming ways to get in there and help.

> Creon, *softly*: If you could… summon your vehicle…
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> Schwippers, *also softly*: My car doesn’t need to breathe…
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> Creon: if you could stay on deck, I could shoot an arrow into the mess of… dirt, vines…
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> Zephi: Hold on, where does the car come into this?
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> Creon: There’s a rope, attached to the arrow-
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> Sheevah: Back it up!
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> Creon: Tie the rope, to the car—(*whispers*) *the car drives.*
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> Zephi: See, why don’t you have more fun like this all the time?
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> Creon: This is *not* fun*,* I’m having a terrible day.
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> Vigil: You’re always having a terrible day. Is that what gives you strength? Is that what powers your magic?
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> Creon: I have had… *some decent days*.
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After a wild amount of debate, this is our plan; Vigil would tie himself to the mast, while at the same time, Creon would fire an arrow at the vines, with a rope attached that would be tied to Schwippers’ car. Vigil would use the rope Creon secured to sail into the mouth of the whale to hack away at the vines.

Creon’s arrow is fired and sinks into the vines with ease. Creon and Sheevah hold on to the rope securing Vigil to the mast, just in case. Vigil sends a quick prayer up to the Starfather, and swan dives into empty space. ...And *then* grabs onto the rope attached to the vines. He just wants the dramatics first.

### In the Belly (Mouth) of the Beast (Very Polite Whale)

Vigil pulls himself through and clambers onto the Starwhale’s tongue. It’s, of course, wildly difficult to see inside, as the inside of whale’s mouths are not known for being well lit. It’s gross in there. Vigil rolls a 25 to hack at the vines, but is running out of air. Vigil moves forward a bit to get at more vines, and suddenly... he can breathe again?

The vines here are green, and fresh, and crawling across it are small, glowing creatures. The air seems to be emanating off of the vines, and Vigil sucks in a big breath. He starts looking for the heart of the vines, but he can’t figure which direction they’d move in, so he decides to just walk further inside, and readies to defend himself.

About then is when Creon arrives inside the whale, seeing a path cut through by Vigil. He runs up and finds he can breathe again as well, and quietly approaches the captain.

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> Creon, *softly*: That’s odd.
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> Vigil: AHH! God, *fuck*, what!? What part of the plan was *this*?!
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> Creon: I thought you might be dead, so I came to… get you.
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Fun note, it’d been about 30 seconds after Vigil got into the whale that Creon jumped himself. Creon goes to start chopping away, but Vigil stops him, thinking that they shouldn’t hack out the living vines because there may be a creature inside who would get mad at them, so they should save their energy just in case.

### Tall, Green, and Handsome

The two make their way through, and eventually, Creon spots a figure—a… a person? lying in the vines. Their fingers are threaded together, legs crossed, a hat across their face—they look, frankly, relaxed. They wear leathers and a brown cloak, once well-made but a bit ragged now, and a shock of red hair sticking out against green skin.

Creon raises his crossbow, and Vigil readies his javelin. 3:00:35

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> Vigil: Excuse me! We need you to leave this whale.
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> *[The figure pops their hat on their head, and;]*
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> Figure: Right. Who’re all of you, and where the hell the stars go?
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> Vigil: Oh, so this is a full mistake—
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> Creon: You’re in a *whale*.
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> Vigil: You’re in a whale, mate.
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> Figure: I’m in a Whale?
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*He moves so the two can see more of him, and reveals extremely long pointed ears, much more so than an elf’s. They try to explain the situation to him, and, god:*

> Figure: Right, so I might’ve taken a nap a little bit further from the castle than I thought I did, that’s not great…
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> Creon: What planet, sir?
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> Figure: Planet? Aww, baby no, I’m not from a planet. *[small laugh]* Ah… am I in the Prime Material Plane, I’m takin’ it?
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> Vigil: …Yes.
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> Figure: Right. Not from there. \***laughs\*** I took a nap in the OtherFey, I woke up in the Prime Material. So… (*he shrugs***)** infinity vine is tricky.
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They talk about Infinity Vine a bit, and the figure explains that in the OtherFey, Infinity Vine is what wraps itself around the planets, connecting them all. Portions of the vine reach from the Other Fey all the way into the Prime Material. The figure asks if we could help him back to his plane, and if Vigil and Creon would be willing to help him move his stuff out of the whale—6 large crates. Creon quickly agrees to both, because he’s gay. Vigil asks him whats inside;

> Figure: Privileged information.
> Vigil: Well, we’ve got a ship, so that’s a pretty big privilege.
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The man explains he’s a trader of spices and other goods in the OtherFey, and that sometimes he comes through on the Infinity Vine and meets with people on the Prime Material Plane, to trade them things they can’t get anywhere else—and those goods are in his crates right now. Finally, everyone exchanges names, and we learn his is “Oliver Saffron, baby.” Every single player Loses It. As Saffron stands, Creon and Vigil see that this guy is *tall*. He swings one of the crates on his shoulders like a breeze, holds it up with one hand, and throws them a wink. Good lord. Vigil picks up two crates to show off to Saffron, who looks impressed and calls him “muscley”.

Saffron makes his way out of the whale first. Everyone on deck—Sheevah, Schwippers, and Zephi, all see him amble along the rope, and stepping onto the ship. He introduces himself, and takes special interest in Zephi. He grabs her hand and kisses it, next noticing Schwippers and Sheevah, and asks the three to help out moving the crates out of the whale. Vigil lands on the ship with the crate, and then returns to the whale with Sheevah in toe, while inside Creon hacks at some more vines that just wriggle away and recede from him.

Sheevah takes a closer look at the infinity vine, and realizes that it doesn’t look like it was bitten off by the whale. It’s not cut, or severed, or anything like that; it looks like it was *put* there. Sheevah pockets a few pieces of the vine that have already been chopped off.

Session 24 Meanwhile on the deck of the Karnival Kruise, Saffron and Zephi engage in small talk. He asks where she’s from, she deflects, and he tells her a bit about the OtherFey. Saffron slips straight back into flirting with her, while Schwippers makes a Vibe Check; the results are secret. Oliver turns to Zephi and Schiwppers and says;

> Oliver Saffron: Well, if you all aren’t gonna help them… looks like this is the best I’m gonna get it.
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He pulls out a sword and slashes the cables connecting the ship to the whale. Schwippers and Zephi feel a high level Charm Person spell wash over them, but they shake their way out of it. Vigil runs to the edge of the whale as he feels the rope go slack, now stranded about 35 feet away. As Saffron pulls his sword away, he drops something, and his appearance changes; his green skin turns a bit sallow, his nose grows longer, his ears turn down, his eyes turn white. The brown leather ensemble he wears morphs into metal armor under his long brown coat.

A lot of things happen all at once. chief among them, Oliver looks at Zephi and says, “We had such a romance. Alright boys!”

And another ship emerges from the darkness, no longer under a veil of invisibility. It’s manned by 6 creatures that look similar to Saffron, though stouter, who begin slinging ropes out toward the spelljammer.

We battle Saffron and his goons, creatures banned from the OtherFey called Darklings. The battle pushes on for a long time, and Saffron seems fixated on taking or killing Zephi, whichever he can manage. It's also clear he wants our ship, for reasons unknown, and latches thick vines on connecting the Karnival Kruise to his own ship. Most of the Darklings are pushed overboard or blown to smithereens, and Oliver is eventually done in by Vigil, who by that point is floating in mid space, no air in his lungs, with a javelin; once through the shoulder and the next through the chest. He disappears and it's implied he could maybe come back at some point, but meanwhile, we try to catch his ship, The Grayfly, but it goes invisible and is far faster than us, so it slips into the darkness. All becomes calm, and well.

We’re out of danger. Our captain is safely back on deck, the vines gripping our spelljammer have faded, Oliver Saffron is gone, at least for now, the Darkling goons are no more, and the Grayfly, with the remaining Darkling on board, has slipped soundlessly into space. All is calm, and quiet, and everyone catches their breath.

Creon points the canon at the Starwhale, and fires.

Vigil throws himself at Creon in an attempt to stop him from the completely unprovoked attack, but he can’t manage it. The canon crashes into the Starwhale's side and it moans in pain, rolling over. It shudders at the blow and tries to fly away, quick as possible, a new wound in its side.

## Make Way, Successful Hamster Coming Through

The crew argues on what to do next. Gerome is insistent that we really Don’t Need To Go To Nym. Like, really, really insistent, deflecting any time someone suggests it’s where we need to go next, and eventually he just heads down to the engine room. We set off in Sylveon’s direction, and Zephi gives the Horn of Secrets an unsuccessful attempt.

We approach the edge of DSK Space, and near a small DSK skiff. Creon immediately throws up a spell none of the party has ever seen before, and the black energy of Lead Warding envelops him. Vigil asks him what’s up, but he doesn’t respond.

A Gnome, a DSK private asks us our reasons for re-entry. Creon pulls rank and the private nonchalantly waves us through, and Vigil asks if he happens to know where Nym is right now. He says his cousin sent him a letter a week ago and mentioned they were about 40 units South of Xent. Hey, that’s not far from where we are now! Vigil is so excited he kisses the Private, and the ships part ways. *Finally*, our luck changes. Zephi fires up the Horn of Secrets and it begins to vibrate, and suddenly it turns, locking on to something in the distance. She calls out, and Sheevah swings the ship—and appearing out of thin, airless space, Nym appears.

It’s tiny, but we’re still dwarfed in comparison. It’s technically classified as a moon, though it flies alone as a solitary body. (Same, Nym.) Hundreds of tiny city lights make the planetoid sparkle, contrasting with the huge swaths of barren rock and small forest occupying much of the surface. In the center, the capital city Guildhome glints.

Gerome parks the ship. 2:37:40

> Gerome: Hey guys, we could just… *leave*.
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> Vigil: But we have no other… *job*.
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> Gerome: We don’t even have life insurance.
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> Vigil: Honestly, we should negotiate up.
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> Gerome: Right, so, does anyone wanna make a *really* good case for why we should go to Nym?
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> Sheevah: You have no choice? I mean, I think that’s a great reason.
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> Gerome: Actually, I think I have all the choice, seeing as I’m the one who can park this thing.
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> *[We debate more. Vigil offers to let Gerome just drop us off, and Creon is clealy getting a headache. Zephi asks what reason Gerome can offer for us* **not** *to go to Nym.]*
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> Gerome: There are a lot of people here who don’t want Gerome… ah, on the planet.
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> Creon: Then stay on the ship.
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> Gerome: Yeah, I don’t know if you guys get it… this is like, where *weird* shit happens. This isn’t Keller, this isn’t Magnica, this is the *real fucking deal.*
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> Vigil: Gerome, the ‘real fucking deal’ are all three feet tall. How bad can it be?
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> Gerome: This is where we cut to where you see how bad it could be.
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> Gerome soon relents, “You didn’t do a really good job of convincing me. You all just kind of threatened me? And these threats are way lighter than the threats I would get on Nym.”
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A small gnomish vessel approaches, sleek and gilded with bits of copper, strange piping along the sides. There are two arcane flames in the front that flash red and blue, alternating frequently. Fuck, space cops! A siren blares. Gerome casts Alter Appearance and turns into Hohn Jamm.
The ship is staffed by Nebolshi, the local Nymian police force. The Golova, Briwin Dordon introduces himself and asks for our business. Vigil says we’re merchants, and is so clearly lying. Zephi slips in front of him, and tries to give Creon a signal to cast Protection from Good and Evil (Which will henceforth be shortened to PGE) but he either doesn’t notice, or understand. Still not able to communicate very well, she makes a deeply wild call. She holds up her hamster, William Jacob Willsworth III, and shows him off to Dordon.

> Zephi, gesturing to the hamster: He’s a big deal.
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> [*Vigil swoons at the sight of the hamster to sell the lie.]*
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> Dordon: Aw, gee! Aw wow that’s a… that is a pretty little…. guy of yours, all cute, and—
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> *[He reaches out to pet it. Vigil bats his hand away]*
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> Vigil: DON’T touch the majestrate.
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> Dordon: I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry—
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> Vigil: He is a *judge….* of the highest order…
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> Dordon: Is he goin’ anywhere we could see, or something like that?
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> Zephi: It’s secret… for now.
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> Dordon: Okay, okay…
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> Zephi: Book dealings.
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> Vigil: He’s writing an autobiography.
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> Dordon: Alright well… we’re gonna have to get you passes to be on the planet, but I can lead you down there, we can lead you to Kengo Towers. That sound good to you?
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> Vigil, turning to talk to the hamster: Does that sound good to you, sir?
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> *[Zephi makes him give a little nod.]*
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> Vigil: We’re all good here.
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> Dordon: Alright fellas, lets take them down—we’ve got a celebrity here!
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## Gnome Sweet Gnome

They lead us down and we get a better view of Guildhome. Everything is built a bit smaller here. We approach the southern portion of the city, Jadeside, and we notice it’s… it’s just gnomes. Gnomes all the way down. We get a LOT of looks. The Nebolshi HQ is an old grain silo that’s been repurposed and is bustling with hard-working gnomes. Hohn Jamm is sweating profusely.

We’re asked to sign some forms that will get us badges for free passage through the cities of Nym. Hohn Jamm signs Hohn Jamm. We’re given passes, including William J. Willsworth III, and we leave. Creon thinks the star should have been War Toad.

As we pass through the HQ, Creon and Hohn Jamm overhear two police officers having a hushed conversation; they only catch a few words: ‘Magnica’, ‘Hot-wire’, and ‘Fizzlewick’. Once outside, Hohn Jamm encourages us to stock up, because now "we have a target on our backs", which he refuses to elaborate much on. All we get is that there’s a gang that, because of our connection to Hoh-- wait, fuck, *Gerome*, we are all now the #1 enemies of. All he says we can do now is fortify and get ready for the hit, and apparently, we gotta go to “headquarters”.

We walk the streets of Guildhome, “International Man of Mystery” Hohn Jamm leading the way. There’s a wall and set of iron gates that separate the wealthier area of the city from the outer sections. As we pass through, Hohn Jamm begins to shrink, and he’s suddenly back to Gerome again. He uses his wand of rogaine to give himself a bushy mustache, beard, and longer hair, as a disguise, plus his sunglasses from Orlin, which were an unbelievably sound investment. There’s a long way left to walk, so Schwippers go-go-gadgets into their Carsona and we all hop in for a ride. Creon hops in the driver’s seat, the rest of us cram in as well. There are a few other vehicles like it, which is wild, since none of us have ever seen anything like it anywhere else.

### Inside Gnome and Co., Inc

Eventually, we approach a crooked 3-story house that sits in the corner of the street, a plume of smoke coming off the smokestack on the side, several bikes chained up outside. We’ve reached Gnome & Co., Headquarters.

Gerome approaches the front door and gives a distinct knock, and then he’s asked for a password, which is apparently “The Lion Sleeps at Night”, the response to which is “And So He Roars!”

The door is flung open to reveal a small gnome, Gerome’s brother Corfan. Gerome is tackled in a hug and a stampede of footsteps is heard. The siblings descend down the stairs, oldest first, which is convenient. Gerome notices two of his brothers and his father aren’t present, but Schwippers and the party, who didn’t even know Gerome had a single sibling let alone a *hoard*, stand overwhelmed. Gerome finally introduces us; “Yeah, so, guys, this is the office. The office, these are… the other guys, I dunno.”

Corfan tries to introduce himself to Creon, but he just turns away, so Vigil steps in and greets him warmly instead. Everyone goes around for introductions and we're welcomed further in. Inside, there are lots of makeshift tables, (wood on top of couch cushions), tons of half-broken typewriters, papers strewn about and a flow chart in one corner; Controlled chaos. The fantasy equivalent of a shitty internet startup inside of a house. Gerome asks for ‘The Bear’ but he’s apparently off to investigate a crime, or maybe just got hungry. Gerome also asks for ‘Jebeddo’ who is off as well, and his father, who is upstairs resting.

Gerome wants to fortify, but ‘head of security’ (his older sister Lillick) is on break, so instead he introduces Gnome and Co.’s new employee, Zephi. 3:08:00. Tobi and Tabi show Gerome a new logo they’ve designed and there’s much talk of merch.

> Gerome: Shirts will be great. We’ll put on on the cow, he’s like a walking billboard.
> Vigil, *deadpan*: I am, yeah. (*laughs*) Finally! a purpose.
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Corfan invites us to stay the night and Vigil asks if they know of one Hector Gilligan. They know he’s an alchemist and Corfan says that Jumvat mentioned him on his last visit. Apparently, there’s a lot Gerome’s missed: Jumvat swings by once a week and pesters the Fizzlewicks, but they don’t feel like they can chase him off because it would upset the Hot-wires and thus their mother, who still likes the gang, apparently. Corfan says he visits their mother often at the Coppergrove, and Gerome doubles down on their need to up security, including changing the door password. He heads upstairs to speak to his father. Corfan entertains the rest of the party and Schwippers. Vigil asks about the Fizzlewick’s relationship with Jumvat, which Corfan says has changed since Gerome left.

> Corfan: It’s like… they really, really really don’t like Gerome? Um, and—
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> Vigil: What’s the reason? I mean, why?
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> Creon: Mm, yes, what is that reason?
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> Corfan: He hasn’t told you by now? He *really* fucked them over.
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> Vigil: Oh yeah how so?
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> Creon: Oh, do tell.
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> Vigil: In detail.
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> Corfan: Okay so—you know what the Hot-wires sell, right?
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> Creon: No, we don’t even know what the Hot-wires are.
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> Vigil: I dunno—scarves?
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> Corfan: So the Hot-wires are a gang, um, they control a large portion of the city. And they sell—they sell Glittercane, it’s like the main thing. Problem is, Gerome kiinda figured how to make, like, *better* Glittercane? He called it Dimples, and it sold like, *really* well? Like, *so* well that they started losing business? So they… you know, beat up on him a few times, and he kinda had to escape the city, so Jumvat comes around a lot and kinda has a lot of questions, like “Hey, where’s Gerome?” “Hey, you seen Gerome around?” “Hey, what’ve you heard from Gerome?”
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> Vigil: So, many different, unrelated questions.
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Immediately after this both stunning and completely characteristic revelation about our alchemist, Vigil pushes on about Hector, and Corfan does recall Jumvat saying he’s ‘got’ Hector, or something similar. Ah. Worrying! Jumvat apparently lives on the Elbi block. We consider ambushing him, but we have so little to go on.

Gerome heads up to the attic to check on his nearly 400-year-old father, Thoomwast. He’s asleep in bed with a leg propped up, snoring loudly. Gerome can tell his leg is better, having healed a bit since the accident, but not quite right, setting a little wonky. Gerome watches for a little while in silence, and then his inventor brain turns on. He quietly pulls out a tape measure and takes some notes to make a mechanic brace for him before leaving and letting him sleep.

Gerome takes the gang down to the workshop and casts Snare around the door, telling Corfan *not to talk to* *Jumvat*. Sheevah asks Gerome for some, ah, clarification on what Corfan told us.

> Gerome: Right, well, you see, I can’t really *be* here or they’ll *kill* me. What it comes down to is, I’m smarter than everybody else, and that intimidates them. So I can’t *be* here, or they’ll come after me and my family. So, I don’t *come* here very often, actually *ever*.
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> Sheevah: …Things are making more sense…..
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> Gerome: But because we have to be here, we’re gonna have to put up or shut up.
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>

Gerome insists we all have to upgrade our weapons and defenses and get ready for the fight of our *lives*. We all toss out some ideas for how to stop Jumvat or stop the Hot-wires. There’s a lot of debate. Zephi proposes that Creon cast PGE on her again, and she can disguise herself as a Hot-wire gnome, and get some intel that will help us take them down. Gerome, Sheevah, and Vigil warm up to the idea, Sheevah also mentioning that she can turn people invisible now, which means we could all sneak in after Zephi gains entrance. Creon refuses.

> Creon: No no, no no no. We’re not doing this, we’re not doing this. You’re very small and helpless, no.
>
>
> *[Zephi grabs Creon’s hand.]*
>
>
> Zephi: Then fix my head.
>
>
> Creon: I can’t—Zephi—You’re *far* too damaged, we can’t possibly—your brain—you’re very addled, it’s clear that you’re never going to recover.
>
>
> *[Zephi tries to slap Creon for that but he grabs her wrist and he tsks at her. Vigil and Creon banter a bit. Then;]*
>
>
> Creon: Zephi… perhaps another time I could help you with that. You can’t risk yourself, we can’t put *you* of all of us into a *crime* organization. Zephi, you have the stature and mental capacity of a child. I will not *allow* you—
>
>
> [*They bicker more, and Zephi is clearly hurt and upset. Vigil points out that Zephi would have to disguise herself as someone already in the Hot-wires and not a new recruit, so she can learn more about where Hector is.]*
>
>
> Creon: Lets just go in with guns blazing and blow everything up! I don’t understand why we’re trying to be secretive.
>
>
> Gerome: Alright, you do that, and let me know how it goes.
>
>
> Creon, *dismissively*: Gerome, they’re *gnomes.*
>
>
>
> [*Gerome swings to hit him, and Creon catches that too.]*
>
>

Vigil can tell everyone is grumpy and tells everyone to go get rest and we’ll gameplan in the morning. Gerome says we’ll have better luck if we can track down his last two brothers.

### Take a Walk on the Papaya Side

Zephi, upset, leaves the house. Creon follows her. Zephi casts disguise self to look like a young gnome blacksmith. She takes a stroll to a random tavern called “The Fast Papaya”. She's too frustrated to notice Creon, who’s attracting a lot of attention. Zephi just sits at the bar quietly. After a bit, she overhears a voice talking about The Bear.

> “Did you hear about The Bear? Yeah, he saved my little brother the other day…”
>
>

Eventually, she hears one of The Voices speak up and ask her what the fuck is up, and points out that her party members can get to her more now. She brushes it off. Later, as she’s leaving, she suddenly bumps *right* into Creon.

> Creon, *hesitant*: Ah. You’re out. I… Funny to run in… to you here…. at this… bar… on Nym…
>
>

Zephi is very much not pleased with the intrusion on her privacy. Creon insults her height and ability to hit, and she begins walking back toward the Fizzlewick home.
After she's gone, Creon enters and walks up uncomfortably close to the gnomish man who was talking about The Bear.

> Creon: Hello. I would like to buy some glittercane.
>
>
> Guy: Holy shit, wow, you just—*why* do you think I—I can’t unpack the ways that this is wrong. Hi! My name’s *Harold*! It’s nice to meet you!
>
>
> Creon: It’s better if we don’t do names.
>
>
> Harold: Okay—*I don’t sell Glittercane!* What is *wrong* with you?! Who—
>
>
> [*Creon turns to the bartender. He leans in, but it’s so far down and incredibly awkward.]*
>
>
> Creon: Hello… sir. Do you know where I could find… some… some Glitterc—
>
>
> Bartender: You should leave.
>
>
>
> Creon: Okay.
>
>

Zephi returns to the house and knocks, gives the password, and is allowed entrance by Gerome. Creon keeps hunting for Glittercane. He just barely eludes the Nebolshi, but comes up dry on his hunt. He returns to Gerome’s home, and Corfan won’t let him in. He takes his mace to the window of the Fizzlewick house, smashing it to bits. Lillick yells at him before Corfan just lets him in the door. Everyone heads to bed.

**Gnome Alone**

Meanwhile, while those two were out, Gerome, Vigil, and Sheevah pull a Kevin McCallister on the Fizzlewick house. They deck that shit *out*. They need a map by the end of all the hidden traps, and the Fizzlewick siblings help out, save Lillick, who looks on disapprovingly from the sidelines.

Vigil sets a Brother Battering Ram—if you cross a trip wire, one of the younger Fizzlewick brothers, Ronbis, is swung down to slam into the trespasser. Sheevah adds a bucket of oil above the door, and Gerome sets out at least 5 traps. Good lord. Jumvat's fucked.

### Forging in the Moonlight

In the middle of the night, Vigil is woken by the sound of iron hitting iron, hammer against a metal plate. Its coming from somewhere downstairs, and it seems to get further and further away until he enters the room he first thought was the source of the noise, Gerome’s workshop. It’s dark, and he has only a candle to see. Vigil sees that his axe is somehow down there—it glimmers and shines for a moment, and he hears the thud of iron again. He creeps forward and picks it up; though he doesn’t feel a burn, the blade glows red hot, as though it’d beet dipped into molten heat. He swings it around a bit; it looks almost like it's mid-forge.

Seeing no bucket of water to cool it, he finds a window letting moonlight into the room. Vigil takes the axe and dunks it into the moonlight, and the axeblade alights in the light and glitters unlike most metals would or even could. He pulls it back and turns to an anvil Gerome has lying around, and slams the against axe against it, and it’s the familiar thudding sound. He does it again and sparks go flying, the blade glinting, and a third time, and the blade seems to seal in the moonlight Vigil had dipped it in—it cools, and he brings up the blade, faintly smoking, and the lines around it glow and pulse. Now it’s a +1 weapon! How neat!

Vigil takes the axe and walks to the window, gazing out at the stars, and tries to tell the Starfather he’s trying his best to walk this path. Jerry gets a nat 20, so Vigil could swear a deep bassy laugh, and then a soft, “Good.”

### Breakfast in the Morning, Served with a Side of Banter.

Gerome heads down to his workshop, where it looks like the anvil was used in the night. Weird. He sets about making a Mustache Maker, a machine that will make you a mustache as a disguise. god. It looks like a spaghetti roller.

Creon spends breakfast carefully eating a hard-boiled egg. Schwippers shoves as much food into War Toad as he can manage. After shoveling several plates of food in the toad’s mouth, it rumbles and regurgitates it. Creon picks WT up, puts him on his lap, and tells Schwippers he’s not allowed to touch the toad anymore. Schwippers ignores him and makes a snowman out of the toad mucus leftover from the regurgitation. *Christ*. I was eating when I wrote this.

A gnome with a long white beard and a crutch, Thoomwast, descends from the attic to find they’ve got visitors, and greets everyone as Gerome returns from his workshop and is hugged thoroughly again. Gerome says Zephi is a full hire but the other guests are still going through the application process, and also that they all need to work on fortifying the house against Jumvat. Zephi asks about Gerome's mother-- and her lack of presence.

> Zephi: So… Mom? Mm? Mm?
>
>
> Vigil: Yeah, Gerome, is your mom out for work? Is she coming home this morning?
>
>
> Gerome: Nooo, she’s ah, looking at 25 to life, so, out of the kitchen until further notice.
>
>
> Vigil: Ah, cool, that was wildly insensitive, great.
>
>
> Creon: Makes sense, a family of criminals.
>
>
> Vigil: We’re *right* at the breakfast table.
>
>
> Schwippers: Did I not break you out of jail? Or was that something that I dreamed.
>
>
> Creon: We were let off. That charge was never… formally…
>
>
> Zephi: It’s on your permanent record.
>
>
>
> Schwippers: Yeah. I’m gonna tell your mom.
>
>

Zephi says she’s gonna fix ‘all the problems’ by disguising herself, and gives her plan insisting she can lead everyone off of Gerome’s scent and prevent any fighting. Creon *wants* to fight, and Gerome still thinks they should lure Jumvat and get answers from him instead. It's put to a vote, and violence wins. We debate how to goabout it, and Zephi tries but still has trouble communicating.

> Gerome: Listen. Why doesn’t Creon fix your head now, while we set up everything else up?
>
>
> Vigil: Yeah, we might get to hear more of the plan, in that case.
>
>
> Creon: Because it only works for 10 minutes! It’s this cruel… it’s like a gift that you take away. I wouldn’t want to do that to her, lets just let her… you know, be as she is.
>
>
> Zephi: Fix it! 10 minutes!
>
>
> Creon: You know it takes something out of me when I do these spells. It’s not just just ‘woosh woosh' of a magic wand. There’s an *emotional* aspect to this.
>
>
>
> Vigil: is that where all your emotions went?
>
>

Creon finally, *finally* casts PGE on Zephi, and she more fully explains her plan, which seems a lot more feasible now, but the idea to impersonate Jumvat is also tempting. There’s a lot of debate on whether or not to go out, and everyone debates and mostly berates Creon for being a dick. PGE fades and everyone (to varying degrees of frustration) agrees to stay put. Vigil asks Creon to cast PGE on Zephi again, and Creon says he needs a nap because this first level spell takes a lot of energy out of him. Vigil teases him for this repeatedly. Creon attempts to deck him, but misses, so Vigil gently forces Creon to sit at the table. Things are noticeably tense for a bit, and everyone breaks off separately.

## Out and About

Everyone goes about their day. Gerome asks Corfan to give Jumvat some tea when he comes by, and gives him the Sleep Tea he took from the Hag’s hut. Creon searches the Fizzlewick home for weapons, and tries to steal a crossbow and slingshot before being caught by Lillick.

Sheevah and Zephi go shopping and come to a shop called Poins’ Poisons, which is dark, dismal, and decently creepy. There are hundreds of vials, some of which have eyes that follow customers, and an equally weird shopowner, Poins. He shows the two a variety of potions, and is very very clearly unhinged. Like, woof.

> “If you want to poison something… like a rat… I have poison for that. If you want to poison something much larger… like a gnome sized rat… I have something for that.”
>
>

He's got a number of things he offers to sell, and Zephi takes interest in a small vial of Drow Poison. Sheevah trades in a dead piece of infinity vine to drop the price by 20 gold, and Zephi buys the vial off of him.
Meanwhile at the house, Schwhippers decides to talk to Thoomwast. Schwippers asks Thoomwast if he might recognize the make and model of a car, and then *Summons The Car To The Small Room They’re In?!?!* It knocks over a few small things but it doesn’t cause any real damage. Thoomwast takes it well.

> Thoomwast: That’s… that’s a big one! Where’d you come across that?
>
>
> Schwippers: Ah, it killed me.
>
>
>
> Thoomwast: Okay, alright, interesting.
>
>

Thoomwast reads the inscription of the side of the car written in Dwarvish, “Süb'ar—uu” and after Schwippers directs him to the papers in the glovebox, which give the address of Hokposs McGlynn.

Thoomwast recognizes Hokposs’ name, and remembers he works at the Coppergrove, where Gerome’s mother is. He’s a security tech who helps build drones and golems that help guard the prison. Thoomwast explains Gerome’s mother ends up in the prison “every so often”. Schwippers thanks him for the help, and plans to take a lil field trip up to Crisp Hill to... *"visit"* Hokposs.

Meanwhile, Gerome begins work on Thoomwast’s knee brace. He rolls a Goddamn 27 and creates a brace with a series of pistons that take pressure off the user’s leg perfectly. He brings it up to Thoomwast, now alone and sipping some tea, which deeply concerns Gerome due to Hag Related Trauma. Once satisfied it isn’t Murder Tea, Gerome helps his father put it on, and with some help starts walking around the room, with much less pain than before.

> Thoomwast: How long you guys think you’re staying?
>
>
> Gerome: Probably not too long, we gotta get back out there.
>
>
> Thoomwast, *clearly saddened*: Okay, yeah, well, alright, yeah.
>
>
>
> Gerome: But dad, you wouldn’t *believe* the things I’ve seen.
>
>

Gerome sits and spend the rest of his day with Thoomwast, regaling him with wacky stories. In his retelling, of course, Gerome always wins the fight.

> Thoomwast: Wait, so wow, this worm thing, you single-handedly were able to defeat this thing?!
>
>
> Gerome: I brought a new meaning to single-handedly!
>
>
> Thoomwast: NO! How did *that* happen?!
>
>
> Gerome: Pshh. You shoulda seen the worm.
>
>
>
> Thoomwast: Ha! Wow, I’m proud of you my boy, I am proud of you!
>
>

Thoom asks if Gerome plans to see his mother, but he says he’s not sure. Thoomwast acknowledges she may not have been the best at being a mother or communicating her feelings, but it’d be good to check in on her.

### Snitching

Creon wants to do research on the internal workings of the Hot-wires, and to do this he…. He goes to the police, the local Nebolshi precinct. This one is less funded and not kept up to the same standard as the precinct the party visited after landing, partially due to it being in Tinkertown. The grizzled officers inside are rather predictably not too thrilled to meet Creon. He tries not to turn up his nose at them as he asks them for information on the Hot-wires.

He’s led into a meeting room by one of the officers and gives his entire rank and real name, like a fool. Not surprisingly, the officer tells him that Hot-wire shit is classified. Creon asks to speak frankly and immediately insults Nym, Guildhome, Tinkertown, the Nebolshi, the precinct, and says that he, Creon, is actually very impressive and could help them really bring down the Hot-wires.

Jules rolls a nat 20 intimidation, which is just wild, and the officer goes to bring in the head of the force that’s dedicated to the Honeyside Hot-wires. In walks the same Gustavo (detective) who mentioned the Fizzlewick name at the main precinct the day prior.

Lt. Frankie (the Gustavo) and Creon begin to discuss Hot-wire intricacies. Creon learns that the head of the gang is named Booshi, an older gnomish man, who they don’t have many details on. He lists some other lower level grunts who’s names are known, like Jumvat Judwall, as well as Ms. Fanket Fizzlewick. Ah, shit. Creon says he’s heard of the Fizzlewicks ‘in reputation only’ as troublemakers and criminals, and Frankie mentions they’ve also heard Gerome’s name pop up, but they’re not sure how he’s connected.

Creon offers to exchange some information on Gerome for some manpower to help his ‘investigation’. He rolls really well on his persuasion, so Frankie offers a tip —that the Hot-wires have Hector Gilligan captured, and that they’re likely keeping him at the old War Guild, defunct since the war ended. Unfortunately, they don’t know what defenses they have or what kind of manpower they have protecting him, so they haven’t made a move yet, as they’re trying to work around them.

Creon teases some information and Frankie, *reaaaallly* wanting this info, sweetens the deal by offering Creon temporary credentials as a Private with the Nebolshi. Creon says Frankie will be given Gerome’s “exact coordinates” the next evening, and Frankie passes him a badge. Creon then modifies Zephi’s idea he shot down earlier, and tells Frankie that Gerome is in DSK Central Prison on K-Central. They shake and Creon leaves, even cockier than before.

### Fizzlewick Pride and Fizzlewick Prejudice

Vigil sits down for lunch with the Fizzlewicks. He goes fishing for embarrassing stories from Gerome’s youth, as any good captain should. He learns that Gerome was enrolled in and graduated from the Craft Academy, and was hoping to move on to the Prime Institute, but the family couldn’t afford to send him. They’re all extremely proud of him, and disappointed he couldn’t continue his education. He only left Nym several months ago.

Vigil also asks about the matriarch of the Fizzlewick Family, Fanket. He’s met with some mixed opinions. Fanket, he learns, was a higher-up with the Honeyside Hot-wires, and didn’t spend a lot of time with her family, regardless of the fact that she had 13 children. She was around more often many years ago, but as the Hot-wires began to do better, she spent less and less time at home. The breaking point was when Booshi took charge; Fanket assumed she’d be selected to be next in line, but the Hot-wires felt that it would be too risky, given that her large family would likely create too many ‘loose ends’. After that, Fanket devoted herself to rising in the ranks and rarely spent time with her husband or children. The older Fizzlewick kids have a much less charitable view of their mother than the younger kids, notably Corfan, who visits his mother often at the Coppergrove. He often brings her cheeses.

> Corfan: You know, she keeps asking me to put knives in the cheeses but—every time I bring it, I think, well, you’re gonna use the knife *with* the cheese, so why not just have the knife out? And then I bring it, and they take it away? So, it just, it gets confusing.
>
>
> Vigil: I… yeah, it just seems simpler to have the knife separate, otherwise it’s covered with cheese, it messes up the texture.
>
>
> Corfan: Yeah! I mean you don’t wanna have to nibble on it like a mouse to get to it first, to get to the knife just to use the knife, because then your hands are gonna get all cheesey. You know? It’s a whole affair.
>
>
>
> Vigil: I *completely* agree.
>
>

Corfan plans to visit his mother at the Coppergrove later in the day, and Vigil asks to accompany him. Corfan eagerly accepts. A quick jaunt to the slammer, then!

Around this time, the rest of the party trickles back into the home. Corfan invites Gerome to join them on their trek to the Coppergrove, but he passes. Vigil pulls everyone aside, and tells the group Gerome’s mother's Hot-wire history. Sheevah asks to tag along, and Corfan and Vigil happily accept.

After a solid hour and a half tram ride, the three arrive at the Coppergrove, a large brutalist structure with copper golems patrolling outside. The three visitors give their names, and are then led through the prison to meet Fanket. They’re led further and further down, even going beneath ground, and come to a hallway of mostly empty cells, and one that contains a small gnomish woman.

They’re given 15 minutes alone, and Corfan runs up to greet her. Fanket’s years in the gang have clearly worn on her, though it’s clear she was once very handsome. She sits in the corner of the room, on her cot, brooding. Corfan introduces his companions, and Vigil explains they're friends of Gerome and here on business relating to the Hot-wires.

> Fanket: Hot-wire business, you work for the Hot-wires, or he get in trouble with the Hot-wires again?
>
>
> Vigil: Ah, we’re actually… not working *for* them… we’re looking for a man they might… Have you ever heard of Hector Gilligan?
>
>
> Fanket: Maybe. [*pause*.] Corfan, give me the cheese.
>
>
> Corfan: Oh, yeah, absolutely!
>
>
> Golem: I HAVE TOLD YOU ABOUT THE KNIVES. *[cheese knives are removed from the platter]*
>
>
> Corfan: Oh! I just keep forgetting—oh but mom, I pre-sliced them for you today.
>
>
>
> Fanket: …Thanks. Okay. What were you saying?
>
>

Vigil explains that he knows Fanket is a Hot-wire and that she doesn’t like the new leadership, to which she pushes back and says she’s loyal to the gang. She’s closed off and very suspicious of the interaction, though it also seems like she’s normally like this. Vigil points out that at this point, after all she’s done, the gang ought to be loyal to her. He’s offering a way to make Booshi look really, really bad, and put her in the spotlight instead if she would only give him the way to get in and find Hector Gilligan.

After a 19 persuasion check, Fanket tells Vigil that although she doesn’t know where they’re keeping him, the Hot-wires caught Gilligan a month ago, and are trying to get him to recreate Dimples, a creation of Gerome’s. It, to her knowledge, is going fairly poorly. She suggests offering the Hot-wires a sample of Dimples in order to get Gilligan in our sights.

After a short farewell, Fanket returns to her spot on the cot and Vigil instructs the golem to lead them out. “Alright, muscles, take us out of here.”

1:51:30 On their way out, Sheevah gets curious about the makeup of prisoners. It’s mostly gnomes, but she also spots some dwarves, half-elves, and a single red dragonborn. It’s no one she recognizes, and she ducks her head to avoid being seen by them.

On the way back to the house, Sheevah asks Corfan about his mother’s prison record. She’s been in prison for about three months—before that she was out for about a month and a half, and prior she was incarcerated for a year or two. It’s a long record, so Sheevah cuts him off. Corfan visits 2/3 times a week, and Sheevah delicately asks if he knows how long the dragonborn has been there—apparently his name is Vance, and he's rejected Corfan’s offer of cheese. He’s been there about a year or two.

### Meanwhile, Back at the Fizzlewick’s

Gerome returns to his father’s room. Zephi follows, and approaches Thoomwast. She asks how old he is and after some debate Gerome confirms he’s 358. Zephi seems disappointed;

> Zephi: Mm. Okay. You’re too young.
>
>
> Thoomwast: Ha, well, I appreciate that! I think I’m a little bit of a spring chicken.
>
>
>
> Zephi: Um… childhood memories?
>
>

Thoomwast tells a little of his childhood; he grew up on Nym and inherited the house from his mother. He formerly worked in Jadeside at the Guildroman factory, but had an accident a year or two prior that forced his retirement. Working at the factory was a family trade—there’s always been a Fizzlewick there, as far as Thoomwast is aware, but ~a lot of the family records were destroyed a little under 1000 years ago, though he’s not sure how—perhaps due to being misplaced. He does pull out an old family heirloom, a small, non-functioning compass. It’s over 1000 years old, and seems unremarkable, other than being broken. The two kind of (?) talk about family, 1:57:00, and Zephi asks if he’s ever heard of Billy Velhiri.

> Thoomwast: Oh, yeah, that’s a little before my time but um… but my mom used to talk about him a lot. Yeah, he uh—
>
>
> Zephi: Why?
>
>
> Thoomwast: Well he visited the Jadeside factory once, Sprinkles’ guildroman factory when she was working there—she said she met him when he came by, and I remember she said… he had a way of looking at a person, where you just felt like there was a spotlight on you? And that you were all that mattered. Said she’d never felt like that about any person since. So people just like that, I guess! Would have been cool to meet him, I imagine.
>
>
> Zephi: He’s a good dad. [She immediately leaves.]
>
>
> Thoomwast: Wait—uh- hold… what’d—what’d she mean by, by dad?
>
>
> Gerome: Exactly what you think she meant.
>
>
> Thoomwast: Gerome… Gerome how old is she?
>
>
>
> Gerome: Makes you look like a spring chicken.
>
>

Gerome continues telling his father stories, and makes Creon look foolish in all of them. Amazing.

## Dinner and Something Approaching a Plan

Everyone sits down for a meal and tells them how much Fanket *loved* Vigil and Sheevah, and invites Schwippers to come next time. Vigil pulls the team and Schwippers aside and fills everyone in on their meeting and how to get Hector back. All we need to do is bring them fake but believable drugs! Gerome objects to this.

Creon boasts about his very productive day, that he knows where Gilligan is, has a badge, and has a plan. 2:08:00. Creon says he wants to bring Gerome to the Old War Guild and offer him up. Gerome is not a fan.

Sheevah suggests we work together and disguise Gerome when we all go there as a team.

Zephi suggests she disguise herself as Gerome, message everyone where she is when they take her, and then everyone attacks knowing more about their forces. Creon objects to this, saying Zephi is too weak.

Everyone argues. Gerome is very adamant that these plans will go poorly, and that we should try and get more information out of Jumvat first. Creon thinks this is a bad idea because the police told him Jumvat is on the upper end of the hierarchy. And it’s not like the police could be *Wrong*. At this, Gerome has a laughing fit, falling on the ground and kicking his feet and everything.

> Creon: Something funny, Gerome?
>
>
> Gerome: Yeah, you think the *chief of police* is the smartest person here.
>
>
> Creon: I didn’t say smartest. I was able to lie to him with incredible competence.
>
>
> Sheevah: Then why do you think they have accurate information?!
>
>
>
> *[Long silence. Vigil laughs.]*
>
>

Creon says he doesn’t care what anyone says, he’s taking Gerome and exchanging him with the Hot-wires. Vigil insists there’s an easier way to do this that doesn’t include sacrificing a party member. Zephi really wants to try disguising herself as Gerome, and Vigil suggests we do that plus some well timed invisibility.

We debate a bit, and hold Creon off of testing the Sleeping Tea on one of the siblings. He does suggest that he can call the Nebolshi and they can just arrest everyone no problem once we get Hector Gilligan back. Gerome asks if Creon thinks the only and sole thing holding the Nebolshi back from rushing the place is him, and Creon says, essentially yes.

Here’s the plan, part 1.

1. Wait for Jumvat to visit the Fizzlewick house.
2. “Talk” to him, get whatever information we can
3. Hitch a ride in our lawyer (‘s summoned car)
4. Get to the Old War Guild
5. Zephi disguises self as Gerome and goes in with fake Dimples.
6. ???? Profit???

That’s the basis of it.

Creon trances by the door that night, in case the Hot-wires want to try something.

### Kick His Ass, Baby, I’ve Got Your Spectral Form

Schwippers doesn’t really *sleep,* being dead and all. That night, Lem visits him.

> Lem: So, you’re on Nym.
>
>
> Schwippers: Yes, your honor.[*jokingly*]  Forgive me, for I have sinned.
>
>
> Lem: How are you feeling? You’re pretty close.
>
>
> Schwippers: Not close enough.
>
>
> Lem: You can get closer. You’ve got the address. You’ve got the name.
>
>
> Schwippers: But I’m worried about my friends.
>
>
>
> Lem: What are you worried about?
>
>

> Schwippers: I’m worried about Zephi, I’m wondering if she’ll ever… get all her parts back. And I’m worried about Creon, if he’ll ever find peace. And Vigil, if he’ll ever find some way of being his own. And Gerome… he goddamn *loves* to make them stuff. And I want Sheevah to read every book in the world. You know.
>
>
> Lem: They’re all special. They really are. Well, it’s nice to see they’ve had an effect on you. Are you scared?
>
>
> Schwippers: Scared of dying? No. Scared of dying *again*? Maybe.
>
>
> Lem: I—Schwippers do you know why I gave you this chance?
>
>
> Schwippers: To… bring justice to all, your honor?
>
>
> Lem: Sure.
>
>
> Schwippers: Democracy, perhaps?
>
>
> Lem: Schwippers there are… there are a lot of unjust deaths in the world. There are a lot of people who are wronged. And I can’t balance all of those. I gave you this chance because you never got to see what was out there. You grew up and lived all on your own there in Orlin, I watched you, and… I know what it’s like to be lonely. To… hold a job that is your own, but is… only your own. And what I wanted more than anything was to reach out to someone who I understood. And to give them a chance to see the world. And sadly, my powers extend only so far as controlling the rites of passage. But in that, I gave you a chance. And, if I can give you my dirty little secret, I hope you’ll understand… whatever you wanna do with Hokposs McGlynn, I’ll understand. But he doesn’t need to die for you to have succeeded in what I let you pursue.
>
>
> Schwippers: Hmm. That’s an amazing offer your honor. But I think I’m gonna kick his ass.
>
>
> Lem: And that too, makes me happy.
>
>
> Schwippers: Sweet.
>
>
> Lem, *peacefully*: Kick his ass, Schwippers.
>
>
>
> Schwippers: Thanks, your honor.
>
>

### Good Morning, Rat Bastard

Early the next morning, Jumvat comes a-knocking. Corfan opens the door for Jumvat, and let the traps commence!

1. While walking in, he notices and avoids the tar and feathers, but brushes it off and weasels through the door.
2. Next, the brother battering ram. He misses it entirely, and Ronbis comes hurtling into him, sending them both crashing into into the wall.
3. Third, the rug; he bounces off the wall and lands right on the rug, which rolls up and binds him tightly. Gerome taps his fingers against the stair railing.

> Gerome, smug: Well, well, well.
>
>
> Jumvat: Ohhhh, you son of a bitch.
>
>
> Corfan: Hey Jumvat! Want some cheese?
>
>
>
> Jumvat: You, you dirty son of a bitch. You rat, you bastard man.
>
>

Zephi checks Jumvat’s pockets, but he doesn’t have any communication device (though she does nab some coin and glittercane.) Creon casts Zone of Truth so we can get Gerome some answers, but he passes the save. Creon and Gerome threaten some fun torture, but Jumvat won’t give any answers, so they pass the buck to the much more intimidating Vigil.

Apparently, Hector Gilligan is being kept in the sub-basement of the nearby War Guild. Gilligan put up some magical security barriers as well; Jumvat doesn’t know what they are… or so he says. Creon starts sharpening his knife. Sheevah, remembering that it worked with Portant, decides to use her mage hand to grab Jumvat’s balls and squeeze.

He swears he doesn’t know what’s down there or how it works, only that Gilligan set up about 5 different traps. 12 people are in the guild to guard Gilligan, and Hot-Wire members can be let through without issue.

> Sheevah: Hey, maybe it’s time to let him down and make him a cup of tea. Corfan, Corfan, could you go make that tea?
>
>
> Zephi: We feel bad.
>
>
> Corfan: Oh! Alright, yeah. Is that the special tea that Gerome gave me yesterday?
>
>
> Sheevah: Yeah, yeah. It’s a—a show of friendship.
>
>
>
> Zephi:  —a hazelnut blend!
>
>

Creon lets Jumvat down but keeps him tied up. He does not seem eager or trusting of our Friendship Tea. We try to get some info from him about Booshi, and Jumvat confirms that if Gerome wanted a place in the Hot-wires making Dimples, he’d have one. Creon tries to get him to join the gang life, but Gerome just laughs.

Jumvat complains that he’s hungry, so Zephi offers to get him a sandwich if he sips the tea to calm down. Vigil prods Jumvat a bit more and we find out that he’s been to the guild a few times, that there’s no password, you just need to be a member of the gang, but that he isn’t allowed there anymore. He knocked over an experiment and it went down the drain into the sewer system, and now they have to get extra supplies. It was, in his own words, “a big vat of like, green shit, I dunno.”

Jumvat eats the sandwich Zephi brings and then sips the tea and immediately gets sleepy. As he’s fading;

>
> Jumvat: So, what do you… need from me?
>
>
>
> Creon: I think we’ve taken all we need! [He smashes Jumvat’s head into his knees]
>
>

### Goodbye Schwippers; It's Been Nice (Hope You Find Your Paradise)

With all our information gathered, the only thing left is to head off. We trust the siblings to deal with the now unconscious Jumvat, brace ourselves, and go.

Everyone hops in the Schwippers mobile, and the plan is set in motion. Once we approach the War Guild, Schwippers pulls over and lets everyone out, and then un-summons the car. Having had a change of heart after his conversation with Lem, Schwippers turns to the party and tells us that while it’s been fun, he’s gotta go take care of Hokposs on his own. We wish him well, though we ask him to stay, but he insists its time. He gives us some kind parting words, and he zooms off.

### They'll Never Know What Hit Them

##### **Here’s the plan (part 2).**

1. Creon casts PGE on Zephi, and gives his badge to Vigil.
2. Sheevah casts invisibility on herself and Vigil.
3. Zephi disguises herself as Jumvat.
4. Zephi as Jumvat leads Gerome in, with Creon coming as a ‘bodyguard’ Gerome’s hired.
5. Vigil and Sheevah sneak around and follow, ready to drop invisibility and attack with excuse of being undercover police.

Okay. Okay. Reasonable plan.

Lets fucking GO. Begin session 26. We approach the guild, a large building hidden behind a a high solid wrought iron gate. Three gnomes sit around a keg outside it, wearing H’s on their shoulders. Hot-wires, it’s assumed. Across the way there’s a tavern called The Patron’s Cup.

Gerome recognizes the gnomes outside the guild as Kilroy, Adeen, and Fesk. They all wear armor (though Kilroy’s is extra beefy) and Adeen has a pack strapped to her back. They see ‘Jumvat’ and Gerome approach, and regard them. ‘Jumvat’ explains Gerome is a gift, and he has an idea—they’re gonna talk to Hector Gilligan, make a new and improved product, and bring it to Booshi already completed. The grift goes through, and they agree.

### Trust in New Faces

Across the street at The Patron’s Cup, Jebeddo and Namfoodle are swinging by to pick up the latest correspondence from someone named Rectho La Gig Nil. They approach Harvey, the bartender, and Jebeddo is given a small sealed letter. He opens it immediately, and it says;

```
Trust in new faces and trust in old, but before all, trust in the bold.

```

He holds it to his heart and rubs it there for a little while.

Namfoodle, who Jebeddo shoo’d away, looks up from some shiny mould on the wall, and sees out the window… his brother Gerome! Whoa! Being held up by the scruff of the neck by that guy who’s always around the house asking about him, Jumvat. There’s also a tall elf there, and the three of them are speaking quietly to three gnomes outside the Old War Guild. Huh!

Namfoodle bursts out of the pub screaming “LET GO OF MY BROTHER!!”

Jebeddo notices and runs over, oblivious as to which brother could be in trouble this time.

Across the street at the War Guild, everyone looks to see a screaming, (seemingly) human man run out of the adjacent pub and straight for Gerome. He’s wearing a cowl of a bear’s head, which is wild, and behind him a gnome runs toward everyone as well.

Kilroy jumps back and brandishes a scimitar, as Creon steps between Charging Adult Man and the gnomes. He… *sigh*. He tells him to stop, as this is Official Police Business. Now the Hot-wires are freaked out, so ‘Jumvat’ tells them he’s just an overexcited new body guard. Gerome greets his... Brothers. They’re *both* his brothers?

> Jebeddo, *out of breath*: Namfoodle! You know Gerome’s been gone—
>
>
> [*he turns and sees Gerome, and slaps him right in his dumb face, and then hugs him. His hand just barely glances through Zephi’s disguise self. Kilroy notices. Fuck.*]
>
>
>
> Kilroy: Oh, you motherfucker!
>
>

After some back and forth, some spilled grease, a few thunderwaves, a well place Protector Boy, and a lot of confusion from the latest Fizzlewick brothers, everyone manages to get through the gate, and Vigil’s connection to the Starfather allows him to get it tightly re-sealed. He and Sheevah still haven’t broken their invisibility, and beyond Namfoodle and Gerome being pretty scuffed up, and an additional 4 goons being called, and our cover being blown, and the Hot-wires banging on the door trying to get in, things are okay.
The now seven gnomes want IN, so they can SKIN US, but it’s not time for that now.

> Vigil, still invisible: Alright, there’s no time for that now—we’re already up shit’s creek, let’s start paddling. We need to find Hector Gilligan, and get the *fuck* out of here.
>
>
> Jebeddo: Uh… who’s talking?
>
>
>
> Namfoodle: [*screaming*]
>
>

Gerome abruptly realizes he’s left his Protector Boy out there among the goons, and he and Zephi have the same thought simultaneously: blow it up. He presses the corresponding button and Kilroy, Adeen, and Fesk all take damage, though we can’t see.

We walk, and Gerome fills in his brothers.

## Have You Heard The Good News?

After the courtyard, in the building proper, there’s a dusty set of offices that used to be for creating mockups and blueprints for new weaponry during the war. There’s a center ‘war table’ area that has a large map of Zamana, out of date by ten years. Pieces remain from where the gnomes had previously tracked the movements of various factions.

Vigil finds a small kit of Smith’s Tools, and spots two heavy steel doors at the back of the room; on their exterior is a plate with the busts of two large lions. He leans in to whisper “Does one of you lie and one of you always tell the truth?” But before he can get an answer, [[Jebeddo]] is there, kissing one of the lion’s on the left nostril.

Uh. What?

One lion turns to the other, looking disgruntled, and the doors swing open.

Uh. ***WHAT**?!*

> Jebeddo: Guys, now seems like a great time to talk to you about my favorite teachings. You may have heard of the great sage, Rectho La Gig Nil? We have a ah, a little bit of a correspondence going on between the two of us. He’s sort of… my sensei, my master, he just provides me with words of wisdom and long ago, he provided me with some Five Tenets of his beliefs, which are: Number One, if you *ever* come face to face with a two-faced lion of steel, you MUST kiss it three times on its left nostril.
>
>
> *[long pause]*
>
>
> Zephi-as-Jumvat: Wh-What were the other ones?
>
>
> Jebeddo: I’m so glad you asked. The second one, is: Love is for believers. That one comes with a little wink. To the memory of Rectho! Who I’ve never met. Number Three is; Yesterday is tomorrow if you know what you’re doing. Number Four, To live is to knowingly die. And Number Five, all journeys must end, one way or another. All of my brothers have laughed at me for spending *hundreds* of gold on receiving these letters with these words of wisdom on them, but! Clearly! They’re paying off already.
>
>
> Vigil: …What’s the postmark? Is it like… ‘space’? Or is it like…
>
>
> Jebeddo: No I—I bring an envelope full of gold to the tavern, and I give it to my tavern-keeper Harvey, and then some time later Harvey has a letter for me, with these words of wisdom on them. I have *no* idea how our postal system works.
>
>
> *[Zephi lets the disguise self drop.]*
>
>
> Zephi: This is a lot. What you’re saying is a lot right now… and I respect it—
>
>
> *[Namfoodle screams.]*
>
>
> Zephi: Oh, no, please don’t do that. It’s fine. It’s really fine. I get a lot of people screaming for me, but I promise the celebrity thing is overhyped.
>
>
> Gerome: It’s fine, she’s a friend.
>
>
>
> *[Protection from Good and Evil fades away, and Zephi’s eyes fade to gray. Namfoodle is still, and perhaps more, terrified now.]*
>
>

**And Through Door Number One.....**

Everyone walks down the musty passageway that follows the doors; it’s pitch black, but Jebeddo manages to make out a panel on the left side with some kind of switch. He flips it on, and a glowing energy surges down a beam on the other side of the hall, lighting everything in faint blue. Zephi throws a copper down the hall to make sure there aren’t any traps, and everyone proceeds forth; the order is Creon, Vigil, Zephi, Gerome, Namfoodle, Jebeddo, and Sheevah taking up the back.

Vigil is preoccupied looking at his Smith’s tools, but Creon notices a large arcane disembodied eyeball at the end of the path that quickly flits away through a wall. Creon stops everyone, but as soon as he stops to investigate it hurries away.

Eventually the group comes to a set of three doors. Everyone stops and stares, and the middle door slowly creeps open. Vigil, still invisible, and Creon move forward a bit and spread out, just in time for Zephi to look through the opening door to see… *Billy fucking Velhiri*. But at the same moment;

* Vigil looks through the door, though, and he sees a short Halfling man, with rugged auburn hair an old overcoat, and a big open mouthed smile who says “Hey! I missed ya.”
* Gerome looks and sees his father Thoomwast, dressed in plush, expensive robes, well fed, and a fully functioning leg, holding a tall mug of mead and a chicken leg.
* Creon… sees himself step through the door. But here he sees himself in all the vestments of a DSK general. He greets the real Creon with a respectful nod.
* Sheevah sees a small dragonborn girl who says simply, “Hey, uh, mom and dad say it’s cool if you wanna come home now. That’s fine.”
* Namfoodle sees the entirety of the Fizzlewick family come out of the door, all complimenting him and telling them how much they love him.
* Jebeddo sees a shrouded figure step out from the door, a thick cloak over his head, a long wispy beard, and the ensignia of Rectho La Gig Nil across his chest. “Come hither,” he says.

All of the visions then step back behind the door, which closes.

Zephi screams, accidentally casts shatter which hurts the whole party, and then collapses. Creon wrenches the door open to find… an empty passageway.

Everybody discusses what they saw, but Sheevah deliberately lies and says she saw nothing, and evades questioning from Gerome and Vigil. Everyone’s convinced one of the doorways is a trap, but they’re not sure which. Creon moves to the far right door, and it’s just another passage. He opens the last to reveal the same. They’re just three empty hallways.

Sheevah leans down to tend to the unconscious Zephi, and gently shakes her awake while whistling the notes Zephi tends to hum. It doesn’t help, so she heals her a bit, and she picks Zephi up to carry her along. She’s still invisible, so Zephi’s just kind of floating there. Namfoodle freaks out and jumps into Jebeddo’s arms.

**Rectho Be Our Guide**

Vigil figures—hey, Jebeddo’s first rule was a clue. Maybe number two, *love is for believers*, applies here? We lean full into the trap, and walk down the hall. Vigil leads everyone, and… everything is fine! We pass through the hall without issue.

At the end of the hall is a small dias, on top of which are two pancake-like bronze platters, one atop the other, slowly spinning in opposite directions. There are a set of numbers and letters on each. The top reads, “28 L, 12 B, 13 L, 23 L, 2 D.” The bottom one says “15 L, 15 B, 6 C, 5 X, 11 G”.

Gerome and Vigil take a look at it, and Vigil, with the advantage of height, notices that there are small holes on top of the disks, and there’s a small metal rod attached to the dias by a little wire. Namfoodle says, “I know this game!” and puts the rod in the hole right when 13L and 15L on the top and bottom line up. Everything grinds to a halt and it levitates up, and stone steps appear beneath it. Somehow, he randomly guessed the right combo. *GO NAMFOODLE!* A voice from somewhere echos, “yesterday is tomorrow, if you know what you’re doing.”

Billy, Zephi's VisionEzra, Vigil's VisionA Healthy Happy Thoomwast, Gerome's VisionCreon as a General, Creon's VisionSabra, Sheevah's VisionThe Fizzlewick Family, Supportive and Happy, Namfoodle's VisionRectho La Gig Nil, Jebeddo's Vision**Potions of Greater Oh Shit Oh God Oh Fuck**
Everyone heads down the small stone steps and enter into a room stocked to the brim with potions of healing. Hoorah!

> Vigil: WAIT, WAIT, the next riddle is ‘To live is to knowingly die,’ so uh, don’t do that, maybe.
>
>

Everyone, like Vigil, is immediately suspicious of these “healing potions”. Gerome pockets one, and labels it with a skull. Sheevah looks around for other potions, and toward the back she finds one that looks… bad. It’s gone off, or was made poorly, and it’s got mildew around the cork. She picks it up and hands it (still invisible) to Jebeddo.

> Sheevah: It’s your philosophy.
> Jebeddo: Dying is not my philosophy at all, actually.
>
>

Creon, seeing no other gross looking potions, grabs it and drinks. Immediately he begins to convulse—he takes his full HP in necrotic damage, faints, and collapses on the ground, spitting black fluid up as he goes. Black liquid pools out of his mouth, and everyone is too stunned to do anything. Slowly, though, the black fluid begins to corrode the stones below, further and further into the ground. Suddenly, Creon gasps awake, sits up, and now there’s an opening in the floor, corroding away, leading to a small ladder further downwards. And he’s back to his HP pre-potion drinking.

> Jebeddo: Is this Rectho’s temple?! Like why is all this shit based on his teachings?!
>
>
> The Voice: To Live is to Knowingly Die.
>
>
> Vigil: Wait… if that was the off one, just try a normal one, and it might be okay. And you might get your health back.
>
>
> Creon: That’s quite a risk, why don’t you try it?
>
>
> Vigil: You fucking drank—what you *knew* was rat poison, this could only be good.
>
>
> Jebeddo: You willingly drank poison, but now you’re apprehensive at the chance of *maybe* drinking poison.
>
>
> Vigil: Nam—Rec—Nil—lag—Rectal ice cream would not like you for that.
>
>
> *[Creon rolls his eyes, grabs a potion, makes sure it looks alright, and swallows it. He takes 7 points of necrotic damage. He coughs as pain cuts through his throat.]*
>
>
> Creon: Fuck you very much.
>
>
>
> Vigil: …Do another one.
>
>

### Rectho's Temple/Hector's Laboratory

Everyone descends down the stairs, Zephi slung over Sheevah’s back, into a large open chamber. There’s the distant sound of water running somewhere, and several large stone pillars, plus a big dias in the center. On top of it is a laboratory of sorts, with tubing sticking out everywhere. The voice rings out once more; *All journeys must end, one way or another*.

Vigil is frowning, and then suddenly, boop! A lightbulb over his head.

> Vigil: Guys. Rectho la gig nil—It’s an anagram for Hector Gilligan. He’s telling us how to get him out of here.
>
>
> *Everyone loses their fucking minds.*
>
>
>
> Vigil: Sorry I just… I just realized that. Thought it was kinda neat, so.
>
>

He creeps up to the dias, but it… doesn’t look like anyone’s around. There are some alchemical components lying around that he recognizes from Gerome’s workshop, and a large supply of what looks like red glittercane sitting against a desk. The shine on it isn’t quite as brilliant as Gerome’s version, though. And he notices a shadow, before suddenly—

> Voice: KOWABUNGA!!!
>
>
> *[And from above him, a gnome with a long wispy white beard drops down and tries to land on Vigil’s back—but Vigil sidesteps and the gnome crashes unceremoniously to the ground.]*
>
>
> Hector Gilligan: Wh—Huh—I—who are you?!
>
>
> Vigil: Unclench, we’re here to get you out of here. We... Rylance sent us.
>
>
>
> Hector: Ho ho ho…. *very* good.
>
>

Sheevah pulls out the note to Rylance and lets him know we found Hector. The response comes; *Marvelous.*

Hector is excited to leave but says that first… we have to find his turkey. He’s delighted and furious to meet Gerome, and asks him for the secret to Dimples, which of course Gerome won’t reveal. Creon sneakily pockets some glittercane, while Vigil questions how to best get out, and what on earth the turkey *really* is. Hector insists it's a real turkey, which is almost weirder than this being a euphemism.

Hector suggests we escape through the sewers, post turkey recovery. Booshi is likely to have his turkey—apparently Hector could escape easily, but he’s being held hostage via turkey-napping. He won’t leave without it. God, it’s always *something*, right? Creon grabs Hector by the lapels and lists him up, and tries to intimidate him into letting us drag him out, sans turkey. He laughs, but Namfoodle grabs him up and he’s finally scared enough to agree to follow us.

He asks if we’re all ready to travel but… Zephi’s still unconscious. He opens his jacket to reveal many potions, and powders, and pulls out a potion of greater restoration.

Deep in Zephi’s unconscious mind, things are… weird. She comes to, convulsing in the black void she’s now very familiar with. The Creatures come toward her, and they talk, but she's clearly extremely shaken and can't form sentences properly. In an effort to wake her up, they present her with a memory.

Zephi creeps down a large hallway, brimming with a firm orange rock. There seems to be smoke at every corner wafting off of it gently. Eventually she comes to the end, her destination, and she can hear hushed voices. Leaning up against the door she hears the voice of her father, explaining to Jacob Willsworth his hesitations in letting Zephi and Jacob travel together as well as a device he gives to keep her safe; "[...] if anything happens, *anything* happens, and you think that she’s going to get hurt in a way that she can’t come back from, you use this. [...] Give her a number. Just give her a number, a number of years you want her safe, and it’ll protect her for that amount of time. Gives *you* enough time to find her. And I *swear to god:* if you use this on her, and you die before you find her? I’m gonna tear you a new one son."

The vision fades, as the potion of Greater Restoration is fed to her by Hector Gilligan. She tumbles out of Sheevah’s arms as Hector introduces himself, and she demands to know what he knows of Soul Vices.

In short, Soul Vices are arcane crystals; they can be used to capture a perishing soul inside of them. There are multiple purposes to soul vices—some can be used to retain the consciousness of those whose souls are being captured. Of course there are others who use them simply as fuel. There are some great, even dark mages that can use a soul vice to heal themselves by expending the soul within the vice. And there are others that can use these soul vices as a manner of capturing themselves, in a sort of backup, in case they should fall.

> Zephi: Like saving a draft?
> Hector: Of a sense, but you can’t open the draft until an ample body is found.
>
>

Hmmm.

Invisibility is ending soon, so we try to make a beeline for the sewers, which are accessible through a massive iron grate across from us. The only issue is that it’s much too small for most of the party members to get through, so Gilligan takes out a variety of potions that absolutely won’t help—a potion of Wild Magic, a potion of enlargement—which Jebeddo suggests everyone should try putting up their butt to see if it does the opposite. Hector is thrilled by this.

> Hector: Marvelous! You’re a genius! You should be an alchemist, my boy! What is your name?
>
>
> Jebeddo: Oh, right, I haven’t talked in awhile. It’s Jebeddo.
>
>
> Hector: Hahahahaha! So it worked then!
>
>
> Jebeddo: …Ahhhh, what?
>
>
> Hector: So I got you down here! Marvelous! Fantastic! Oh, it’s good to hear from you. I’m glad you’re here, finally. That correspondence was a fucking *nightmare*.
>
>
> Jebeddo: Wait… awww, wait, what?
>
>
> Hector: You see, what I had to do was, I had to make a deal with a man outside. I was casting this spell called Sending to communicate with Harvey, my old drinking buddy, and I got him to sort of put the word out about this whole like, thing that changes your mind.. I thought it would be… would pray on impressionable idiots, like young, haven’t figured out the world yet? But are stupid enough to go and try something. And somehow or another, it worked! Fantastic, hahaha!
>
>
> Jebeddo: I…. I gave you *so much money*.
>
>
> Hector: You really did! I could buy… I’m gonna buy like, a really *big* turkey.
>
>
> Gerome: Let’s put a pin in that real quick. Could you ask Harvey if there are still a bunch of gnomes out front on the street?
>
>
> Jebeddo: I’ve got another idea. Namfoodle, could you grab him really hard?
>
>
>
> *[Namfoodle grabs Hector, who screams, while Jebeddo searches him for money, and recovers his last month and a half of payments.]*
>
>

Hector’s out of sending spells, so he describes Harvey to Zephi and she casts Sending instead.

```
Harvey, comma, Hector asks if more gnomes are still outside. Period.

```

```
If so, Comma, can you get them gone for the rest of today. Period.

```

There's a pause, and then a voice that must be Harvey's responds;

```
I… don’t know who this is, but I trust Hector… There are *a lot*

```

```
of gnomes outside right now. I’ll see what I can do.

```

> Zephi: Well. Not great. Lots… of gnome. *Lots*. Of gnome… Lots of gnome.
>
>
> *From behind her, at the entrance of the alchemy lab, they hear a voice.*
>
>
> Voice: Yeah, I would say… it’s a lot of gnome, and you are all in… a lot of trouble.
>
>
> *Everyone turns to see what can only be Booshi.*
>
>
>
> Booshi: Yes, this has become… a recurring problem for me… You have become a problem for me Gerome…You have all become problems for me.
>
>

Invisibility drops. Namfoodle screams, and Vigil launches a spear at Booshi. Gerome, seeing Vigil and Sheevah’s invisibility fade, casts Alter Self to make it look like his disguise is fading, and that he *Really* Is Hohn Jamm. Only Hector Gilligan clocks this, and claps him on the back. Namfoodle… isn’t entirely sure what just happened.

We, of course, fight Booshi and his goons; three unnamed lil bastards, plus Adeen and Fesk. We (read: mostly Namfoodle) make easy work of the three gnomes in back, but soon after, Booshi pulls a stunt with Adeen and gets a metal pack strapped to him that injects him with Glittercane, turning him into the Cane Monster. Jebeddo pulls a Literal Giant Elk out of his bag of tricks to smash through the sewer grate, Hector falls in some acid, Creon nearly kicks the bucket, and Booshi is killed when Zephi melts his glittercane backpack.

Gerome saunters over to the nearly dead Booshi, grabs him up by the collar, and lets his disguise self drop.

          Booshi: You son of a bitch.

          Gerome: Say my name.

          Booshi: You think this is a good thing. You know who’s gonna be in charge after me? It ain’t gonna be fuckin’ pretty. (He dies.)

Gerome drops him. Sheevah heals Creon back to waking, and Gerome immediately approaches him, hands on hips, and does his best Creon impression to mock him for thinking we'd be able to walk right in with no problem. Gerome belatedly then realizes that the next person to take over the Hot-wires is gonna come down to either Kilroy, or his mother… yikes. Zephi proposes throwing the bodies in the acid to eliminate the evidence, but first, we loot them. She grabs a pistol off a goon, and Sheevah finds Adeen’s Acid-Pump Blade, and she refills the tank while we’re here.

We need proof Booshi’s dead, so Jebeddo suggests cutting the dead gang leader's head off, which Creon manages with Namfoodle’s help. He puts the head in his bag. Gross. Gerome disguises Hector with a moustache, and we prepare to leave.

We leave; all of us and the elk. We’re very stealthy, so much so that we hear voice and are able to avoid an entire second an encounter. Woo!! We finally find a sewer grate to clambor out of, which is unfortunately too small for the elk. Zephi spots an idling vehicle that putters away after everyone climbs out. It doesn’t look anything like Schwippers’ car, at least.

Gerome finds two taxis for us, and we get ready to head to… The Bear Cave? Namfoodle has an apartment, we suppose.

Creon, however, has other plans. He remembers that there’s a police precinct nearby. He asks for his badge back from Vigil and everyone says, “Ah, no, don’t do that.” Creon assures the Fizzlewicks they’ll be rewarded, but Jebeddo is especially nervous, and tells him that’s just absolutely not what’s going to happen. Despite everyone’s protests, he begins walking away.

> Gerome: Creon, stop now or we’ll hurt you.
>
>

> *Namfoodle grabs Creon and lifts him up, and yells in his face.*
>
>

> Namfoodle: BEAR CAVE!
>
>

> Jebeddo: As my brother so eloquently stated, I really think the best thing to do right now is to have this argument in The Bear Cave where we don’t have to worry about War Guild people fighting us while we discuss it.
>
>

Everyone hops in the taxis, Creon pulled along unwillingly.

### Enter The Bear Cave

We arrive outside of the Boom Court, in Crisphill. It’s a large open stone area with mounds of rubble and debris and trash. Namfoodle leads the gang over the gates and through large mazes of trash, down a hill, and to a small clearing with a little radio, some chairs, and a basket full of treats. He clutches a note in his pocket, turns to everyone, and says;

> Namfoodle: Guys… you may have heard of The Bear… well… I’m gonna drop some crazy knowledge on you. I’m… I’m the bear.
> *Gerome gasps.*
>
>

Gerome sits everyone down to plan, and Creon immediately goes down to trance. Fanket only has 4-5 months left in her sentence, but Jebeddo and Gerome think we should stage a prison break, instill her as the leader of the Hot-wires, and then their family will be in the clear. We also have to find the turkey, though. We could prison break, especially as Jebeddo’s been arrested before and could make us a general map of the first floor. We could try to hack the copper golems, but Hokposs, our only in, is likely dead at Schwippers’ hand by now. And we have no Sending left. Gerome mentions that, well, if the war guild has sewers we could crawl through, maybe the Coppergrove does too.

Meanwhile, Zephi pulls Hector aside to learn more about soul vices. And, hoo boy, is there a lot to learn. (Read about it here!) Essentially, Zephi’s lute’s secret soul vice is empty, but could have held as many as 5 souls. It’s also in some way intrinsically tied to those souls even now, and therefore cannot be used. The plate of Karafel is definitely a soul vice, but is beyond even Hector’s immediate understanding.

Creon, trancing, sees the figure of the red-haired woman in armor he’s now become familiar with. She swings her blade, but this time, the blood overwhelms her. A hand pulls her away, and everyone in the party can see blood dripping from Creon’s eyes.

Gerome decides to check on Jumvat before we leave, and goes to grab the head of Booshi from Creon’s bag. Creon wakes from his trance to hit Gerome over the head. He tries a few times more with no success.

Zephi asks Namfoodle where the candy’s from, and he informs her giddily it’s from his fans, which he has. Zephi is confused. It's a great moment. 2:45:50

Creon manages to pickpocket Vigil and get his Nebolshi badge back, evading the notice of everyone else. Everyone leaves to take cabs back to the Fizzlewick house—while folks are piling in, Creon suddenly decides to walk. Everyone objects, adamantly. He claims he wants to go to church, but no one buys it.

Sheevah says he can go if he gives the head back (who goes to church with a decapitated head anyway?) but he refuses. As Zephi begins to ask him to stay, he misty steps across the street—he tries to hide but he’s quite obviously standing behind a lamppost. Vigil tries to lightning lure him back but Creon flicks it off, and Sheevah starts to throw off an eldritch blast and Gerome takes out a shart. Zephi jumps into the front seat and demands the driver start driving before this gets worse.

Creon, still at 9 hit points, yells out that he needs the head for prayer, and everyone asks why he didn’t just say that in the first place. Zephi gives a big tip to the driver and tells him to go fast, and then immediately hops out of the car and demands to join Creon. Gerome yells fervently that we *need* the head, and that he doesn’t trust Creon to break off from the group with it.

> Zephi: I go with you… so they don’t hurt you. Trade off. Because you are not doing well right now.
> Creon: I ought to Command you.
>
>

Gerome throws his shart, and thankfully misses. Zephi shoos the cabs away, and she and Creon are left alone on the street.

## Splitting Up & Splitting Hairs

Creon wants to find a church for Otia, but in all his adrenaline trying to split off from the group, he forgot that Nym would only really have churches to Beldur, the god of trickery. So he heads to a nearby temple of Beldur.

It almost looks like a casino, and inside its colorful, upbeat, and has fun music playing. It’s a cool church! Very neat! Creon immediately begins searching for something akin to a confessional. But the god of Trickery doesn’t really have that—he does however find a gnome who runs a game of poker, who looks like he might lead the place.

Zephi sits down to play. The head gnome describes himself as more of Community Organizer.

> Creon: Well. I’m seeking spiritual advice—
>
>

> CO: Yeah?
>
>

> Creon:—as I fear I’m not in the right place—
>
>

> CO: So you like, pulled a prank or something that didn’t work?
>
>

> Creon: Well. No. I bleed from my eyes when I sleep.
>
>

> CO: You—okay—um, that’s a little outside of my wheelhouse, I’ll be honest! I more so, you know, pull grifts, make people confused, generally, fuck with shit, that’s kind of my vibe.
>
>

Zeohi plays some poker, winning some silver, and Creon tries to sneak away but Zephi clocks him, folds, and follows. She annoys him while they walk, poking and prodding, but eventually Creon realizes his bag feels… lighter than before.

Ah fuck.

Creon checks it casually, but the head is definitely gone. He doesn’t mention it to Zephi, but stops at the local Nebolshi station. Ah. *Fuck*.

Everyone else returns to the Fizzlewick House, and Gerome immediately goes to check on Jumvat, who was moved to his lab after the gang departed. He descends the stairs to see a chair with loose ropes around it and an open window.

Ah, fuck.

It seems as though he’s been gone about an hour, so, too long to start chasing. Looks like the plan to install Fanket Fizzlewick as head of the Hot-wires just got a ticking clock on it.

Jebeddo, who has plenty of criminal contacts, decides to check the black market at the Mansar Markets for some blueprints to the Coppergrove. It would be safest to move the Fizzlewick family somewhere else while all this goes down. How about The Bear Cave! Gerome rings the lunchbell to call a meeting, and tells the Fizzlefam they’re going on a field trip. Lillick, as usual, is not swayed easily, but Jebeddo, with his Eldest Brother powers, convinces her it’s important. It takes 40 minutes, but everyone is piled into cabs to the Boom Court.

Creon heads into the Nebolshi station, Zephi lingering behind. He meets detective Frankie and they go to speak together privately—Creon lies to Frankie and says he’s not friends with Zephi and he doesn’t even know her, and she’s kicked out.

Creon informs Frankie he has ‘single handedly decimated’ the Hot-wires, killing ’10 or 13, at least’ and that Hector Gilligan was ‘unfortunately lost’. The last of which Frankie doesn’t believe. He asks again for Hector’s whereabouts, as he’s an important guy.

> Creon: Well, it’s like this—
>
>
> Frankie: Tell me, tell me what it’s like.
>
>
> Creon: There was no problem with Gilligan going down because… Gerome Fizzlewick has taken over his place, and is now running the Hot-wires with his family.
>
>
> Frankie: Now, I thought you said Gerome Fizzlewick was on Keller.
>
>
> *[Long pause]*
>
>
> Creon: …I had say that, yes.
>
>
> Frankie: You know, it’s funny, because I did actually reach out to one of our [undercover officers] stationed on Keller, and they did go do a check to look for him in K-Central, and you know what, they’ve not come up with anything yet. So that’s funny! That’s pretty funny that he would just happen to be here, you know—Teleportation is some pretty high level magic, and I don’t see this guy having access to it.
>
>
> Creon: Well you know Mr. Fizzlewick, with his techs and gadgets and things…
>
>
>
> Frankie: You know I don’t know him, but it sounds like you know him pretty well, actually.
>
>

Creon tries to play everything off, saying he killed Booshi and came to the station as a courtesy, that the Nebolshi should move now if they want to eliminate the Hot-wires. But Frankie doesn’t let up—he revokes Creon’s badge, and arrests him, due to the fact he lied at least once about the outcome of the fight. Zephi sees two gnomes get up from their desks with handcuffs drawn at a call from Detective Frankie and she DIPS.

Creon tries to talk his way out of it, dragging Rylance’s name into it. Frankie doesn’t buy it whatsoever. He flashes his bracelet, which means nothing to these people. He’s arrested and taken to the Coppergrove.

When he arrives, he’s booked and put into a cell, with a red dragonborn named Vance—hey! That’s the guy Sheevah saw earlier! Chekov’s dragonborn right there.

Zephi’s running to the Fizzlewick house, and The Voices talk to her about the situation at hand. They tell her to go talk to Gilligan about the orb, and tell her to do better. Woof.

As she’s running, she bumps into the FizzleFam on their way to The Bear Cave. She waves them down.

> Thoomwast: Zephi! Hey! How’s it going? How are you enjoying Nym?
>
>
> *Zephi, running over, begins to gently slap his face;*
>
>
> Zephi: Arrest. Arrest. There’s been an arrest. They arrested elf boy.
>
>
> Thoomwast, *his cheeks being grabbed*: Oo! That’s not good. Do you wanna talk to your friends? They said they’re heading to the Mansar Markets.
>
>
> *Thoomwast gives directions, and Zephi sprints off. She finds and grabs Gerome, and grabs him by the shoulders.*
>
>
> Zephi: They arrested him.
>
>
> Gerome: …Where’s the head?
>
>
> Zephi: In custody. With him. He got arrested!!!
>
>
>
> Gerome: Okay. So, on to the market?
>
>

She gives Vigil the same update, and he’s the only one who seems even mildly concerned. But even he thinks letting him stew a bit wouldn’t be a bad idea. jeez, she ran the entire length of Guildhome for nothing.

The party begins the search for explosives, blueprints, and anything else that might make this prison break for Fanket easier.

Jebeddo leads the search for his contacts, and finds Mankus. They banter a bit back and forth and Mankus agrees to help him find what he’s looking for. Mankus leads Jebeddo and Gerome through the back door of a butcher shop, down to a basement, and one is retrieved for him for 75 GP. Jebeddo and Gerome split the cost, and return to everyone one blueprint richer.

The Mansar Market has more meats, fine wines, and exotic items than it does magical weapons, so there’s not much else here to aide in our quest. HOWEVER. This seems a bit Zephi’s speed! She pokes around and sees an older market stall that looks familiar. There’s a small gnomish woman behind a counter with a bunch of beetles and insects and spices and nuts. Zephi approaches, and the mint-chocolate caterpillars spark a memory, so she buys half a pound.

She pokes and prods and asks how long the stand has been here. The gnomes mother used to run it, her name was Rosalie. This finally triggers a memory, of Zephi and Jacob at the same stall in the Mansar Markets 400 years prior, buying some caterpillar cocoons that Jacob needed for a very important spell. He also mentioned that he might want to stop at Poins’ Potions for some mercury, and at the Tinkerer’s Guild library for some information on the Orb. The Poins thing is interesting because gnomes only live 350 years—is Poins his surname?!

### Purposefully Planning, Plotting, Puzzling

The Fizzlewicks lead the gang to the back booth of a small pub called the Gentle Inn where we can sit down and plot out this prison break. Darcy promises to get us a map… and yet…. will I draw one instead? Perhaps….. Session 28 There looks to be three entrances to the Coppergrove; the front door, a rooftop access door that lets out in the high security area, and a cooking oil vent that leads from the sewers—but it’s small, so only gnomes could fit in there.

Gerome has a plan. We divide and conquer—one through the front door like visitors, the others through the sewer. Front Door gang distracts the golems, and the sewer gang swaps her out with a minor illusion. Vigil mentions Creon, but nobody’s thrilled about the idea of doing that. Vigil suggests a third team for the roof, for him and Namfoodle to provide backup.

Jebeddo knows most areas of the Coppergrove are patrolled by 2 Copper Golems, though higher security areas can have more. Theres a lot of debate over how we’re gonna do this.

### Meanwhile, back in the Coppergrove

Creon’s cellmate has mostly ignored him, so Zamana’s bitchiest elf (said with love) starts looking for a weapon on him. But the dragonborn looks definitely unarmed. He looks to be about two inches taller than Creon, which makes him Creon’s Natural Born Enemy.

They’re both wearing the drag brown jumpsuits distributed by the prison. I say this because I said in the recording I’d make special note that Creon was no longer in his fancy boy clothes. Creon stands there and lears, uncomfortable and a little nervous. Vance pays him no mind for a long while, until he finally looks up.

> Vance: You know you can sit down, right?
>
>
> Creon: I won’t be falling for this, no. The moment I sit down you’ll have a—a prison shank up my ribs.
>
>
> Vance: Right. You have wildly overestimated your own importance. I… could not give less of a shit.
>
>
> Creon: Well that’s—that’s—that’s what I wanted. I have no quarrel with you, other than you are a criminal, and I *am* the law, but beyond that I don’t see any reason we should have to interact or in a negative or hostile… you know… relationship.
>
>
> Vance: …*You’re* the law. You’re in prison, in a jumpsuit. You know that?
>
>
> Creon: … I’m undercover.
>
>
> Vance: Right, so, my advice, you don’t start with that when you’re meeting a new person. If you are actually undercover. If you *are* undercover, pray tell what’s your mission.
>
>
> *[“Darcy, is he attractive?” “Uhhhmm… that’s up to you. He’s a fairly muscular red-scale dragonborn. It’s up to you if you think that Creon would find that attractive.]*
>
>
> Creon: My mission is… is to escape, now.
>
>
> Vance: ‘S that right. How you plan on goin’ about that.
>
>
> Creon: Well, I presume I’ll find a reasonable guard, I’ll state my purpose quite clearly, and I’ll tell him that I’m a member of the DSK, in fact, I’m an officer, and I believe that he will let me go.
>
>
> Vance: Right—your plan is to convince an *automaton* which has the reasoning capacity of a walnut, to release you from a prison cell it has been *programmed* to put you inside of. That’s your plan.
>
>
> Creon: Well. It was! Perhaps… I will do some re-strategizing.
>
>
>
> Vance: Perhaps you should.
>
>

He returns to leaning back in his cot. Creon asks for his surname but Vance refuses. “We’ll get there.” Creon offers a quid pro quo, if Vance will show him around, Vance will earn ‘favor’ with him—he’ll take Vance with him when he escapes. Vance says, again, the two will get there when they get there.

Some time later, dinner is brought in and the two talk again. Vance asks about Creon’s friends on the outside, and he seems very interested in “the dragonborn”, asking for her clan or creed, but all Creon can give him is her first name. Creon asks him why he’s on Nym in the first place.

“I… You know. Got in a little trouble. Tryin’ find something that ahh… was owed me. And it was here, so I went to… *reappropriate* it from its new owners, and… I myself was reappropriated instead, ‘n put in this prison.” Creon accuses him of being a common thief, and after some banter, Vance amends the misconception; “I’m a cartographer, see. My job is mappin’ things out, makin’ sure we know what parts are, and where they are. And if they’re planning on movin’, where there going to. But then I, lets say I went rogue, in pursuit of my duties.”

Creon and Vance chat a bit more, and Creon finds out that they don’t really just let the prisoners roam around. Weird! He really thought they might. Vance asks why Creon’s on Nym, which he says is “a Family visit” for one of his “friends”. Lots of “social time” it’s “very fun”.

> Creon: Well, mostly we’re just visiting some family…
>
>

> Vance: *Your* family?! Oh, one of your members, I understand.
>
>

> Creon: Yes it’s all very nice. Lots of ‘*getting to know each other*’. Lots of ‘*social time*’. Really it’s been lovely.
>
>

> Vance: You sound like that ain’t your cup of tea.
>
>

> Creon: I hate them all. I don’t—I don’t want to be anywhere near any of them ever again. Honestly, this might be the best thing that’s ever happened to me. In fact I belong in prison, did you know that? I killed a man.
>
>

> Vance: Right, you seem to have already gone off the deep end, Normally that takes a fella a few months, but I’m kinda impressed it’s only taken you a few hours.
>
>

> Creon: Only a few—!! Has it been only a few hours? It’s been days! I could have sworn it’s been days.
>
>

> Vance: It’s been—have you not been watching the sun? Oh you are… oh wow, you ain’t used to this kind of thing, are you. Well, if you don’t like them so much, why ya travellin’ with them?
>
>

> Creon: Well it used to be for work, but now I don’t know. I think it’s because… I have nothing else that I could possibly do.
>
>

> Vance: Boredom. [Creon nods] Well, that can make you friends sometimes.
>
>

> Creon: Your turn.
>
>

> Vance: Well. I grew up on Argar. I was part of the Desher clan, more northern side of the planet. Did pretty well for myself! Mappin’ out the territories of the desert and what have you. But you know, things happened to me, and cames by I needed to leave. Made my way through the area, found a spelljammer passing through, hopped on board, one way or another, found myself out here lookin’ for the other side of a map. And uh… soon as I can, I’ll be off this planet.
>
>

> Creon: And how long is your sentence?
>
>

> Vance: Well.. I was tryna rob the Merchant’s Guild, so… might be a few years.
>
>

> Creon: Unless of course…
>
>

> Vance: Unless of course, you’d be such a good friend.
>
>

> Creon: Friends do things without payment. I will require payment.
>
>

> Vance: Aw, shucks. Well we’ll work that out in time, won’t we.
>
>

## Ocean’s—Sorry, Nym’s Eight

We all decide to take a loooong nap at the Gentle Inn, around 10pm, and sit down to once again debate the plan. Vigil suggests we trip an alarm or create a distraction in one part of the prison to distract the guards, and asks if Zephi could have ‘one of her moments’.

> Zephi: I don’t know… if I could force…? But before… *this*, I could make things happen when I got angry. So. I could probably do… something.
>
>

> Vigil: Can you get angry on command?
>
>

> Zephi: I could do *something* on command.
>
>

> Vigil: Right. Well—the other thing is, I don’t want you to get taken away, or turned into a curiosity, then that becomes a whole new problem.
>
>

> Zephi: It’d just be… a temper tantrum. Nothing to get arrested for. Just… a problem. I’m good at being a problem.
>
>

> Vigil: You know your skillset, and that’s good. […] Okay. If you think you can attract the attention of a maximum security prison, without being arrested, awesome. I will trust you on that.
>
>

The plan (boy have we had a lot of those so far!) stands as such:

1. Zephi and Vigil go through the front door
2. Jebeddo and Gerome will go in through the sewers
3. The Bear and Vigil enter through the roof door

Gerome removes his armor to be more stealthy, and he and Vigil keep the Sending Stones, as Zephi can cast message. Gerome and Jebeddo add some moustaches from his moustache maker, So that if anyone asks who they are, they can just pretend to be Italian Plumbers with an affinity for mushrooms.

Jebeddo and Gerome sneak down through the sewers. After awhile they come to a place not marked on the map, but there’s light streaming down from above. Gerome tries to figure out where they are, but Jebeddo notices the sewer water here is… darker? He looks closer, and realizes it’s a purplish color. Weird. That’s when he and Gerome both suddenly inhale some noxious fumes. Jebeddo sees it coming and manages to blow it off, but Gerome gets a lungful, and is now poisoned for the next 10 hours. Fuck.

Jebeddo figures the poison was likely a security measure, and figures it’s a good bet that they’ve found another entrance. It gets really narrow, but they manage to get through, pop off a grate, and emerge… directly on the street next to Zephi and Sheevah, walking up to the front of the prison.

> Zephi: Oh. This is. Wrong.
> Jebeddo: I just came just to remind you, that when you make a scene, don’t get arrested. Now that I’ve reminded you of that we’ll go to where we’re supposed to be.
>
>

> Zephi: …Okay buh-bye.
>
>

Sheevah and Zephi come to the copper gate, Zephi dressed up nicely. They knock on the gate, and a few moments later, a copper golem approaches and tells us visiting hours are over. Ah. Right. It’s late; after 10pm. Zephi tried puppy dog eyes and says, “But I really need to. I really need to right now! I really need to, please?” It states that visiting hours are over again, and turns to leave. Zephi tries again; “Emergency. It’s an emergency. I’m his emergency contact.” It turns and Zephi, for the first time out of Full Zephi Mode, speaks at length.

> Copper Golem: Continue.
>
>

> Zephi: He… Well, he just got arrested today, and they didn’t take his medication, and I’m really worried, and I need to get it to him otherwise something really bad could happen, and—oh, gods—[*she feigns getting worked up, waving away tears*]
>
>

> Copper Golem: … Name the prisoner.
>
>

> Zephi: Sgt. Creon Eijor? *[muttering; “Eljor? Eijor?”]* Yes, that one.
>
>

> Copper Golem: Confirmed. Will lead you there.
>
>

> Zephi: Thank you so much—
>
>

> Copper Golem *to Sheevah*: Wait. One at a time.
>
>

> Zephi: No! She’s my helper? I have episodes.
>
>

> Copper Golem: …Proceed.
>
>

They’re lead through the sandy courtyard and into the front entrance; on the right is the room with the control panel. The Copper Golem says to "Deactivate Destruction Field."
A large black panel hovering in the middle of the hallway lowers and the golem gives the opposite command when everyone is through, and it slides up once more. After being led through some winding cell-lined halls, come to the cell holding Creon and Vance. They’re both asleep/trancing, so Zephi sends a message to him, and his eyes pop open.

> Copper Golem: Administer the medication.
>
>

> Zephi, *approaching the bars*: Hello in there, how *are* you? Are you okay? I brought your *medication*. So that you’ll be *okay*. And *safe*. I know how *bad* things can get without it.
>
>

> Creon: …Because of my *illness*. Ah. Yes.
>
>

> Zephi: Yes. Come over here. I know it’s difficult to accept that you’re ill, but you are. Very ill. You’re a very sick man.
>
>

> *[Creon approaches the bars, sticking his hand out. Zephi hands him… her vial of unlabeled Drow Poison.]*
>
>

> Zephi: Now remember. It’s *not oral*—
>
>

> Creon: I don’t want to talk about it.
>
>

> Zephi: Okay. I’ll send you the instructions. I don’t want you to get *poisoned* if you take it the wrong way. And remember when you make bail you have to *give it back to me*.
>
>

> Creon: Ha. I won’t be doing that. Thank you *so* much for visiting.
>
>

Zephi tries to prolong the visit by asking as to Creon’s well-being, but the golem begins to force them to leave.

Creon misty steps out of the cell.

The Golem begins to say a command to activate the alarm—

Creon casts Silence.

Zephi snatches the vial back and the golem swings to attack.

Creon tries to hit at the Golem but doesn't have much luck at first-- Sheevah lands some hits with her glave, which catches a grggily awakening Vance. He starts breaking open the bars, aided by Zephi, feigning innocence in case there are cameras. She sends a message to Vigil to alert him that it's their time to move. Creon finally jumps on the Golem's back and brings it to the ground, allowing Vance to stab his newly summoned scimitars and leave it disabled.

### Ceiling Team Six

```
Got to Creon, he broke out (dumbass); guard hitting us; silence on guard;

```

```
gates by cell are down; not much of a distraction. -Zephi

```

Namfoodle and Vigil await to climb on the roof of the Coppergrove—they get Zephi’s message and that’s their cue to get moving.

Vigil aims his crossbow at a smokestack, trying to use a grappling hook that will sustain them for a climb up to the roof. He fires beautifully (a nat 20!) and the grappling hook wraps around an iron bar several times, more than enough to secure it and provide a safe way up.

Cow Cruise and Namfoodle Bourne prepare to climb up as stealthily as they can—Namfoodle, with all his Bear-ly expertise, manages to keep quiet, but up across, Vigil makes himself a little too obvious.

> Copper Golem: YOU HAVE ENTERED RESTRICTED AIRSPACE. PLEASE MOVE OR YOU WILL BE FIRED UPON.
>
>

They move FAST—they *both roll nat 20s*, refusing to fuck around, and the Copper Golems completely lose track of them. Now on the roof, the two quickly make their way to the rooftop entrance, and check it for traps. The Bear gets close to the door, and they both stare at it for a moment. There’s a pause.

> Vigil: You know what? We should check for traps!
>
>

> *Namfoodle leans down to the door. There’s a pause.*
>
>

> Namfoodle: YOO-HOO!
>
>

> Vigil: …I respect that.
>
>

> *[Namfoodle steps back and waits. There’s a pause, and Namfoodle hears the thud of a Copper Golem walking beneath them.]*
>
>

> Copper Golem: STATE YOUR NAME. YOU ARE TRESPASSING.
>
>

> Namfoodle, *making his voice high*: There’s nobody in here!
>
>

> Vigil: Find another Copper Golem! Idiot!
>
>

> *[Vigil kicks it down the stairs—CG rolled a nat 1!]*
>
>

> Copper Golem: OW. OW. OW. OW.
>
>

Roll Initiative, folks!

Namfoodle runs down the spiral staircase and trips a trigger, dropping from a height and slamming down next to the golem. The stairs slide into the wall, leaving Vigil with no clear and safe way down. Namfoodle stands, and hits the prone golem twice, once with a nat 20, but the attacks don’t seem to affect it as much as they should.

Vigil decides, you know, YOLO, and cannonballs from the ceiling directly onto the golem, doing an Iron Man land. He rolls off and pops up, and slams his battleaxe down, slamming through it easier than Namfoodle did—looks like they’re resistant to damage from non-magical attacks/ weapons. Vigil surges and hits twice more, flashing back to the war and decapitating this fuckin thing.

Vigil yells “CEILING TEAM SIX” and goes in for a fist bump with Namfoodle.

### Sewer Squad

Back in the sewers, Gerome and Jebeddo are running around, lost. Jebeddo finally takes in a lungful of poison as well, and Gerome figures—huh, what about that mud from the Hag’s den? The brothers rub it over themselves, and about a minute later, the poisoning fades from them.

Okay, maybe they’ll have better luck looking for the exit into the jail now. Jebeddo grabs up the map and they soon find what seems to be the correct opening, and wiggling through. Jebeddo is wedged for a moment, but climbs out with a rope from Gerome, and the two emerge in the Coppergrove kitchens. They grab some aprons and food trays and, along with their moustaches, they look pretty believable as staff.

They sneak through the mess hall and come to a gate covered in a black void. Gerome tries to assess what it is and, with a nat 20 plus Arcanist’s Lore, bringing him into the 30s, he figures out that all non-magical items that enter the void are destroyed, and all creatures take damage.

He figures they can likely be turned off and controlled in the control room by the front of the prison, so the two head over and peak in—someone’s in there. They can take this guy right? Sure, why not. They go to open the door… and its locked. Someone starts awake inside and comes to the door to address them. 2:10:00. Gerome and Jebeddo convince the guy that there’s a maximum-security prisoner who got in a scuffle and needs to be feed right now due to health problems. They give Fanket’s name and the guy says that the maximum-security section of the prison is controlled by a separate circuit, but he can get them up to the golem who they’ll need to ask for permission to enter.

Gerome and Jebeddo walk the maze-like lengths of the Coppergrove and eventually turn a corner to see a red dragonborn stabbing into the back of a prone Copper Golem with a crystal blade, surrounded by Zephi, Creon, and Sheevah.

Zephi spots them down the hall and messages Gerome, to make sure it's him. Gerome doens't *usually* have a moustache.

> Zephi: Boss? That you?
> Gerome: …Itsa me, Gerome!
>
>

She summarizes what happened, and Gerome fills her in on what’s happened with Sewer Squad. The Mario Gnomes approach the golem and look to scavenge it for parts that could help us open the the gate. He discovers an alternator that can’t be removed from the Golem without its own destruction, but holds a cantrip for each of the schools of magic, which gives him a clue on how to open things down the line.

Creon finally drops silence, and Vance immediately asks Creon what the plan is supposed to be. Creon claims everyone here save for Vance works for him, which everyone vehemently denies, while Zephi stomps on Creon’s foot. Gerome and Jebeddo show everyone the map and explain the plan, and ask Creon and Vance to *Weekend at Bernie’s* the Golem so we can get through the next gates. Vance says he’d rather try leaving on his own, but Sheevah convinces him he’ll have an easier time if he sticks with the group. “Sure thing,” he says, “But I’m not gonna enjoy working with you.” Sheevah shakes her head.

Creon tries to steal Zephi’s gun from inside her bag, but she catches him red-handed.

> Zephi: What? [*Creon gives no response*] No, what was that?
>
>
> Creon: …I fell.
>
>
> Zephi: Into my bag.
>
>
>
> Creon: Seems so.
>
>

Jebeddo and Gerome explain *Weekend at Bernie’s* to Vance. Zephi pokes him and asks for an introduction, which he gives—the Tall Boys lift the golem up and everyone begins to sneak down the hall.

### Ceiling Team Six-- Well, Eight, Really--

Fistbump! Vigil and Namfoodle start looking for a way back up to the roof, so they’re prepared when there’s inevitable fleeing. Vigil can’t find anything of use on the golem, but Namfoodle finds a suspicious looking torch that he twists, and the stairs pop back out of the wall.

The two decide to sneak around and look for Fanket’s cell. And who comes upon them, but the rest of the party, bumping squarely into one another. It would waste an awful lot of time to figure out who Vance is, so Vigil just rolls with it and everybody continues onward. Zephi pokes Creon.

> Zephi: Hey! Head? Where did they take it? We need it back. Before we leave, you know?
>
>
> Creon, *looking her dead in the eye*: What head?
>
>
>
> *[He walks away.]*
>
>

3:08:00 The Team comes upon a door with 8 plates inlaid on it, and Vigil and Sheevah piece together fairly quickly that each one represents a school of magic. Gerome gets to work on the trigger for the cantrip machine inside the golem, rolls a *27,* and finds the trigger. The cantrips fire off and the door unlatches, and we’re in!

We follow down into the Maximum Security area, containing three cells. Two are empty while the middle holds Fanket, asleep. Namfoodle screams her awake, and she’s… not entirely unpleased to see us, but not excited, either. Gerome explains the situation; Booshi is dead, and we’ll only break her out if she agrees to becoming head of the Hot-wires and getting them off of the Fizzlewick Family’s back. She does, and she and Gerome shake on it.

Vigil asks Zephi to melt the bars and she does—but Creon doesn’t cast Silence, because we’re all so so caught up in the moment. Fuck. FUUUUUUCK. Heat Metal fades after the bars melt and a large Iron Shield Guardian steps out from the back of the Maximum Security area—we mistook it earlier as part of the wall. God DAMMIT.

Alright kids, roll initiative.

Session 29 We have, uh, a LOT of issues in this fight. There's a lot of whiffing, and everyone is just throwing their strongest stuff at these guys, (THERE ARE TWO OF THEM NOW) rather than try to disable them-- and there's an antimagic shield going on, which makes this shit impossible. It's chaotic, and Fanket tries to make a break for it, but Jebeddo runs after her. Zephi spots the antimagic machine and tries to disarm it, but Gerome manages it by floating all the way up in his escape balloon. With it disabled, we make much quicker work of them, and finally they're felled.

Everyone licks their wounds and readjusts themselves, and Gerome comes back to the ground with some carefully aimed rays of frost. Vance mentions there are some things he, and presumably Creon, had taken from them at the start of their incarceration, so it looks like we gotta head there next. Because, you know, we need the head. Booshi’s head? Which Creon *must* still have? Creon agrees.

Jebeddo catches up to Fanket, and convinces her to come with the crew, which she begrudgingly agrees to.

Vance says his best guess as to where belongings of prisoners are kept is by the central controls at the front of the jail. Sheevah and Vance discuss who they should make invisible; Creon volunteers, but after being such a flight risk and overall problem child recently, he’s veto’d. Sheevah will turn Zephi and Jebeddo invisible to go and grab the stuff, and Vance will turn himself invisible.

Sheevah encourages Vance to just grab his stuff and go, and Vigil asks why she’s protecting him but, no—“Definitely not on his side, definitely don’t want him to be here right now.” She’s clearly a little on edge around him. Creon pulls Vance to the side, and asks him to ensure his weapons and belongings are retrieved, as he doesn't trust Zephi to be able to find it, and wants everyone to know he Assumes the head is in the bag.

Vance also mentions the planes of darkness in the jail—those solid black portal looking things—they probably got put back up after all the alarms went off, so we’ll need to find a way around them. Vigil asks Vance why we should trust him, and he gives a pretty respectable answer, but Vigil can’t get a read on him, he just likes him. Creon tells everyone to trust Vance, as he’s “an academic. I trust those book-sy fellows.”

Sheevah goes on a bit of a rant about how the party can’t trust Creon. When he returns to the conversation, she says in part; “I would like you to know that I brought you back from the brink of death, and I can leave you there next time, if it comes to that.” A debate rages about how Creon can make things up to everyone. It goes on for... Awhile.

Zephi, anxious to get the fuck out, tells everyone that this is a crazy time to be having this conversation, and to save it for *after the prison escape.* Vance agrees. Jebeddo tells us we’re “a pretty bad group.”

Vance turns himself and Fanket invisible, Sheevah casts it on Zephi and begrudgingly on Creon.

Fanket, Sheevah, Vigil, and Namfoodle escape out the rooftop entrance, cleverly avoiding detection from several Copper Golems. They take the rope exit that Vigil and Namfoodle had used before, making their way across and away from the prison

Gerome, Jebeddo, and then an invisible Zephi, Creon, and Vance head out the main way, winding through the maximum security sector and approaching a shadow plane. The gnomes scream down the hallway over the blaring sirens, sounding panicked. Eventually the gnome from before approaches and feels bad for forgetting them—he lets down the portal for a few seconds. All the invisible folks manage to hop through just in time.

On the other side, the place is chock full of Nebolshi walking through the halls, as well as Shield Guardians and Copper Golems. Jebeddo bluffs through because of Union Laws. Gotta obey the union, folks.

Creon spots a locked door off to the side labelled ‘Material Dropoff’. He gently wiggles the handle of the door, but its locked, so he points it out to everyone else, and Jebeddo and Gerome manage to convince the employee that they leave their stuff in the locked room. The employee completely buys it, and the invisible folks pass through. Creon begins putting on his armor, while Zephi looks for the bag with the head and his other belongings. She grabs him and says she found everything but not the head, passing it all over, and Creon tells her to keep looking for it. She does, but finding no success, Zephi grabs Gerome and whispers to him that the head is nowhere to be found.

The guard hurries the brothers out, and everyone continues on to the front hall, and it’s time once again to stealth. We do so good we avoid an encounter and a chase, unbeknownst to us.

Ceiling Team 6 Take 2 manage to get off the roof of the Coppergrove without issue, sneak away 10 blocks from the prison, and then back to near the front gate to meet up with the folks escaping through the door. Everyone meets up in a dark alley, invisibility is dropped, and everyone is accounted for. Fanket says she wants to make sure everything is in order before she makes a move for being leader of the Hot-wires. All she needs from us is that we give her a day, and then everyone reconvenes. Vigil doesn’t trust it; so we ask who's best to accompany her.

> Gerome: Who’s gonna help you best make your claim?
>
>

> Fanket: Well, the family doesn’t have great standing with them right now, but probably someone who’s run shit for them before, someone in the family who hasn’t betrayed them *as of yet* would be great, so…. Jebeddo’s probably our best bet.
>
>

> Jebeddo: Yeah, Gerome, it’s not you.
>
>

> Namfoodle: I can’t come with you mom? :(
>
>

> Jebeddo: You’re gonna have to be the one to tell him, I’m not telling him.
>
>

> Fanket: Can’t have too many coming with me, sweetheart.
>
>

> Namfoodle: :( But, but I missed you. :(
>
>

> Fanket: And we’ll have plenty of time for… whatever it is we do when we hang out, or whatever, later. But as of this moment right now, I just need to do some stuff, handle some stuff with your brother.
>
>

> Namfoodle: So we can play later?
>
>

> Fanket:… Absolutely.
>
>

> Jebeddo: Remember the Fizzlewick saying. Mommy’s the worst, she deserves to rot in prison, and we don’t need her.
>
>

> Fanket: That’s a SAYING that we have now?!
>
>

> Jebeddo: Well, you’ve been gone awhile. You wouldn’t know.
>
>

> Fanket: …Can I ask that someone other than Jebeddo come with me now?
>
>

> Gerome: Nope! Already decided.
>
>

Namfoodle gives Fanket a few bear hugs, and then it’s off to the Bear Cave.

### Travelin' Man

Vance turns to leave, but Zephi stops him. He explains that he’s a cartographer, and so he has to get out and see the world. Sheevah follows the two as they slowly walk down the street.

> Zephi: I was wondering… *[her eyes flash gold]* How come, when you all the way to one end of Zamana, you end up on the other end? *[She makes a perfect circle with her finger]* Like this?
>
>
> Vance: …That’s a funny little mystery you’re aware of. That’s kind of the whole… great big question, right, to figure out for cartographers? That’s my big question, that I wanna figure out. ‘S what I’m doing this whole journey for.
>
>
> Zephi: My friend had the same question! He wrote a whole book.
>
>
> Vance: …Who’s your friend?
>
>
> Zephi: Jacob Willsworth.
>
>
> Vance: Oh, so you mean friend in the vernacular, I mean he was a… scientist, a mage that lived hundreds of years ago, right?
>
>
> Zephi, *gold eyes glowing*: No. That’s my friend.
>
>
>
> Sheevah: Zephi’s a fun one to have in the group.
>
>

Sheevah and Vance banter back and forth wondering why the other is here. Vanc mentions that people of their ilk (not dragonborns; warlocks of the same creed) don't travel in groups. She says it was an accident. Zephi asks about his interests in cartography, etc. Vance explains what he wants the Scale for:

> Vance: Alright. The big question, the big quandary for cartographers and for many of its high mages and pontificators, if you will, the thought process is that, well, Zamana is this infinite loop, then it must be where all things are, correct? But that doesn’t explain a lot. [...] this looping, this cyclical nature of Zamana, it don’t make sense, per say. There are a lot of people who wager there’s gotta be something beyond that, somewhere you can go *from* there. So, I’m on a personal quest to find a tool that might allow me to see a little further. To know a little more. […] I gotta tell you, my pursuit of this question don’t come from personal gain alone. See, I reckon [...]I can create maps, and diagrams, and instructions, understandings of our galaxy, that will allow people to communicate better. To stay safer, to perceive the futures of things. If I could perceive and understand the position of every planet and rotating moon was, I could create safe trade routes, things that avoided natural hazards. I could protect the *cosmos* from *itself.*
>
>

As Zephi listens to them talk, The Voices realize this scale sounds.... *very* familiar.

> The Voices: …We had one. There was a scale back from where we were. But it was used, it was ended, it was brought to the orb. It was *consumed* by the orb. There shouldn’t be another one.
>
>

Vance explains he’s gotta find the other side of a map to a temple, though he already has one half. He believes the other half might be found within the Mercantile Guild; his previous attempt to retrieve it got him thrown in the Coppergrove. Zephi offers to help him get it. Sometimes, she says, she could show up and just get what she wanted like that. “I’m interested to see if your smile is as profitable as you say,” Vance says. They agree to meet the next morning at the Mercantile Guild.

Once Vance is out of earshot, Zephi and Sheevah agree they both very much need that map.

To The Bear Cave!

## The Night of A Million Points of Inspiration

We get through the city unscathed, and head down to the Bear Cave. Some of the Fizzlewick kids greet their mother, but the brothers receive, and give, much warmer greetings. Their mother is basically just… going through the motions.

Zephi asks what is *up* with Fanket. And also, their Very Tall Gnome Brother.

> Jebeddo: I mean, what do you wanna know? Typical deadbeat mom.
>
>

> Zephi: That’s not typical!
>
>

> Jebeddo: I mean… look man, she—she has a lot of positive traits. Pretty much all the things you guys wanted to break her out of prison for are what make her a terrible mom. She’s  in line to be in chare of a gang, she’s real shady, she’s a criminal, all these things make her a bad mom.
>
>

> Zephi: Why are there so many of you, then?
>
>

> Jebeddo: My mom is good for two things. Drinkin’, and fuckin’.
>
>

> Zephi: Hmm. Okay. Very big gnome? Very big gnome.
>
>

> Jebeddo: Very large gnome, nothing to see here. Granted, around the time he was born and stuff my mom had, like, a really good friend? Who was a human? That hung out a lot? But… I don’t see any reason to think that’s related.
>
>

> Zephi: No… no.
>
>

Folks take watch—Zephi notes a head pop down amongst the garbage during the second watch. She messages Vigil awake and tells him someone’s watching. Vigil asks her to cast Faerie Fire. She wakes Sheevah and then casts it, and across the way a humanoid figure lights up and begins to run away.
Zephi, Namfoodle, Vigil, and Sheevah take off after the figure. We catch up easily, as he trips and falls on a stubbornly placed piece of garbage. He’s a human figure with a big scruffy beard. Everyone points their weapons at him, while Zephi asks who he is. Namfoodle insists everyone calm down—this is probably just a fan here to leave candy!

> Guy: I-I’m the bear’s Number One Fan. My—My name’s Gil?
>
>

> Namfoodle: Wait! If you’re my number one fan, what does this note say? *[Unravelling the note, and then crumpling it up]* Wait no don’t read that!
>
>

> Gil, *reciting from memory*: Dear The Bear, I am your #1 fan. I hope I’ll have the courage to introduce myself to you, eventually. Until that day, please accept these gifts. From, #1 Fan of The Bear.
>
>

> Namfoodle: He’s for real! He’s the real deal!
>
>

> *[They give each other bear hugs.]*
>
>

> Zephi: But who *are* you.
>
>

> Gil: My name is Gil. I live in Crisphill, um, I’m—I’m a beggar, I steal what I need, I make my ends meet. *[he pulls out chocolate bonbons]* I brought these? *[Namfoodle gobbles them down.]* Can I go? I—I won’t say anything about whatever this is!
>
>

Zephi leaves, as this is not her purview. Vigil double checks that Gil isn't involved with the Hot-wires, and leaves as well. Namfoodle offers his autograph, and Gil pulls down his tattered clothing to reveal his chest. Zephi and Vigil, still in earshot, hear Gil say, “Sign my chest!!”, and they have a bit of back and forth, ending in Vigil asking to hear more about the Voices in Zephi’s head the following morning, which she agrees to.

> Gil: Thank you! Uh, could I, could I ask for one thing? Mr. Bear?
>
>

> Namfoodle: Of course, anything! :)
>
>

> Gil, *exceedingly emotional*: …could I… could I just… could I get a hug?
>
>

> Namfoodle: Yeah, we already did that, c’mere for another!
>
>

> *[The two embrace, and Sheevah watches as literal tears stream down Gil’s face]*
>
>

> Gil: I’m so… I’m so proud of you, I’m really proud of you. Um….
>
>

> Sheevah: How did you happen to find us here?
>
>

> Gil: Find you here? In The Bear Cave?
>
>

> Sheevah: Uh-huh. How’d you know where the Bear Cave was?
>
>

> Gil: I… I’m a big fan, I’ve kinda just been pursuing him for awhile… I….
>
>

> Sheevah: Okay, but how’d you get the information:
>
>

> Gil: Well I… I heard about The Bear, and, I became a fan, I just thought it was a really noble things, so I just started following after all the crime scenes he busted up, and eventually I got to one when he was there, and I just… followed him till he came back here, and then I knew where he was and I just left things for him. *[Turning to Namfoodle*] Well, it was really nice to finally meet you…
>
>

> Sheevah: As his Number One Fan, you’d wanna help him out if you could, right?
>
>

> Gil: Oh, a hundred percent, if there’s anything I could do I would love to!
>
>

> Namfoodle: Yeah! Like being my sidekick! One of my cubs! :)
>
>

> Gil, *covering his mouth and softly weeping*: I would love that more than anything
>
>

> Namfoodle: It’s like we’d be family! :D
>
>

> Gil, holding back sobs: It’d be just like that, yeah, it’d be just like that.
>
>

> Namfoodle: It’d be like I’m your dad! :)
>
>

> Gil, *hyperventilating*: Yeah, yep.
>
>

> Namfoodle: And I can give you bear hugs! Welcome aboard, bud!
>
>

> *[Gil, overwhelmed with tears, snot, and emotions, can’t speak for a moment]*
>
>

> Gil: …I…. I would love that more than anything.
>
>

> Sheevah: And if we needed to get in touch with you, how would we do that?
>
>

> Gil: I, uh, [still crying] I’m usu, *[sniff]*, I’m us, *[sniff]* I’m, *[sniff]* I’m usually on Henson street in Crisphill, *[sniff]*, ah, ah, just begging, what have you.
>
>

> Namfoodle: You could come live at the Bear Cave!! :)
>
>

> Gil: Uh, is the rest of the family there?
>
>

> Namfoodle: Yeah, totally! They love to make new friends!!! :D
>
>

> Gil: Oh, no, that’s alright, I don’t want to impose at all.
>
>

> Namfoodle: Yeah, come on, why not!! :D
>
>

> Gil: No, I don’t wanna… ruffle any feathers or anything, I’ll just be, that’s totally fine, you can just come find me, if you want me or anything, that’s all.
>
>

> *[Sheevah slips 10 gold into his pocket, but Gil notices.]*
>
>

> Gil: Oh, I couldn’t possibly—
>
>

> Sheevah: Please? Just call it advanced payment for whatever help you might give us.
>
>

> Gil, crying again: Thank you.
>
>

> Namfoodle: Can I have some too? :o
>
>

> Sheevah: …Yeah, yeah, you can have some in the morning, bud.
>
>

> Gil: Well, I’ll be…. [*He reaches out and touches Namfoodle’s beard, crying again*] I’ll see you soon, hopefully! Do you, do you have a sign out, a thing bear cubs get to say?
>
>

> Namfoodle: We just hug, dude.
>
>

> Gil: *[crying hysterically]* Of course you do, of course you do. [*They hug deeply*] Okay. Bye, bye for now!
>
>

> Namfoodle: BYE!!! :)
>
>

### Gods and Pariahs

Everyone goes to sleep, save Vigil and Sheevah who stay on watch. 1:43:00. 20 minutes into the shift, Vigil plucks up the courage to ask Sheevah about her weird interactions with Vance.

> Vigil: Sheevah, it... it seems like that other dragonborn has the same kind of magic you do. It really set you on edge.
>
>
> Sheevah: Lots of people use the same kind of magic I do, what’s the point.
>
>
> Vigil: Who are those people?
>
>
> Sheevah: Other—other people with patrons, it’s not uncommon.
>
>
> Vigil: So, every patron turns scales or skin crystalline when you cast a spell?
>
>
> Sheevah: How many dragonborns have you met? Maybe that’s not weird.
>
>
> Vigil: Maybe it’s not! Or maybe you’re being defensive, because you have a reason to not want to talk about it.
>
>
> Sheevah: Maybe… maybe I don’t wanna talk about it, maybe this conversation’s over, maybe we’re done.
>
>
> Vigil: Maybe. Or…
>
>
> Sheevah: What—what do you want to know.’Cause you’re being cagey about it.
>
>
> Vigil: I wanna know… if you have the same quest he does—or similar—I wanna know what your quest is! I wanna know anything about it.
>
>
> Sheevah: The object that we’re after sounds like it’s the same thing, the reason does not.
>
>
>
> Vigil: What’s your reason?
>
>

> Sheevah: Mmmm. Acceptance?
>
>

> Vigil: From who?
>
>

> Sheevah: Family?
>
>

> Vigil: I guess we don’t count as your family.
>
>

> Sheevah: …Look, I’ve been on my own a real long time, and you guys are nice to have around, but I think I learned my lesson with family a long time ago.
>
>

> Vigil: Then why do you want acceptance from people it sounds like you learned a pretty harsh lesson from?
>
>

> Sheevah: Ahhh, don’t we all want acceptance from the people we can’t have it from.
>
>

> Vigil: Yeah, but…
>
>

> Sheevah: You work at something for long enough, it’s really all you can think about. I don’t—I can’t have any other goals because this has consumed my life for so long that… why try anything else.
>
>

> Vigil: You could look for acceptance from people who… want to have you around?
>
>

> Sheevah: Nah, ‘s too easy.
>
>

> Vigil: [*laughing*] ‘Kay. So, what… what lesson did they teach you?
>
>

> Sheevah: Family?
>
>

> Vigil: Yeah!
>
>

> Sheevah: Ooo. Life is hard? Sometimes you gotta figure out your own way…?
>
>

> Vigil: I think everyone on the crew learned that lesson. Even the Fizzlewicks learned that lesson. What were your spec—
>
>

> Sheevah: They don’t seem to be the *tightest* of families. Well, a lot of them do, I guess. But maybe the ones that we run with don’t. [*laughing*]
>
>

> Vigil: Do you have experience with less than tight families?
>
>

> Sheevah: …Have you been listening?
>
>

> Vigil: Yeah! And you haven’t said anything.
>
>

> Sheevah: Yeah. I have experience with less than tight families. At least with me, anyways.
>
>

> Vigil: Will you say what happened with them?
>
>

> Sheevah: …What do you know about dragonborns?
>
>

> Vigil: Very little. I don’t… I know that my people tried to take over your planet—
>
>

> Sheevah: Thanks.
>
>

> Vigil: It was—Yeah. Well, it was a couple generations ago, but I don’t wanna excuse myself from the sins of the father. Um, that’s all that I know. I know that you beat us with the help of the DSK, is there anything else?
>
>

> Sheevah: [*sighs*] They honor family and clans over everything else, and I’m here. And not part of it. And that was not of my own choosing.
>
>

> Vigil:  Did your patron put you out? Or… Did you request to leave?
>
>

> Sheevah: I definitely didn’t request to leave, um… I don’t know I would say my Patron put me out, though I’m sure my family would see it that way.
>
>

> Vigil: Ah—Was your patron someone your family was deeply connected to, part of your religion?
>
>

> Sheevah: There is no religion on Argar, anymore. The… the dragonborn people believe that the gods abandoned them a long time ago.
>
>

> Vigil: Are you working with the one god who didn’t?
>
>

> Sheevah: Oh, she—she did.
>
>

> Vigil: Is she looking for acceptance too?
>
>

> Sheevah: …Yeah, I think you could say that. I think it’s hard to assess what the priorities of a god are, but that’s about right.
>
>

> Vigil: You seem like you have a pretty close relationship with her.
>
>

> Sheevah: I thought so.
>
>

> Vigil: What changed?
>
>

> Sheevah: Well, when you’re traveling across the universe you learn a lotta stuff. I got more information than she was giving me.
>
>

> Vigil: Information that she didn’t want you to have?
>
>

> Sheevah: Mmm… I don’t know. Information that she kept, one way or another. She is my patron, after all. I can’t talk ill of her.
>
>

> Vigil: I thought it was a, ehm, you made the pact of your own volition. Isn’t that how those things work?
>
>

> Sheevah: Yeah… yeah.
>
>

> Vigil: So, she hasn’t screwed you over bad enough to make you rethink your deal.
>
>

> Sheevah: No, she hasn’t screwed me over. She was quite helpful in a time of need, and I offered my services in return.
>
>

> Vigil: And you were cast out?
>
>

> Sheevah: Yes. Like I said, the dragonborn honor family above all else. When you pledge your loyalty to someone else, they don’t take too kindly to that.
>
>

> Vigil: So you pledged your loyalty and the family didn’t take it that well?
>
>

> Sheevah: [*whispers*] Yeah.
>
>

> Vigil: I’m… really sorry to hear that. My family wasn’t proud of my choices either.
>
>

> Sheevah: Ah. Were you 13?
>
>

> Vigil: I was a little older, but not old enough to make a difference.
>
>

> Sheevah: Fair enough.
>
>

> Vigil: Why did you choose a deity over family loyalty?
>
>

> Sheevah: I needed help. She offered it. There was no one else there.
>
>

> Vigil: What about the people who honor family over all else? Weren’t you part of a family once?
>
>

> Sheevah: I was, I ran off to find something, got myself in a sticky predicament, and there wasn’t anyone around to help.
>
>

> Vigil: Well where’d you run off to?
>
>

> Sheevah, sighing: …To find the same thing I’m still looking for. That Vance is...
>
>

> Vigil: Vance is?
>
>

> Sheevah: [*laughing*] Oh yeah, Vance is off looking for something. It’s a scale. Might as well tell you everything now, you’ve managed to open the floodgates, why not.
>
>

> Vigil: What’s the scale important for, is it for your shared patron?
>
>

> Sheevah: It is. It’s where she gets her power.
>
>

> Vigil: Why doesn’t she have it?
>
>

> Sheevah: Got taken. *Long* ago.
>
>

> Vigil: Do you know by who?
>
>

> Sheevah: I do not.
>
>

> Vigil: So… how does she give you your power? You draw from her, but she has no source.
>
>

> Sheevah: Well… she is a god after all, she didn’t lose *all* power. Some of its innate.
>
>

> Vigil: So, you chose to follow this god, left your family--
>
>

> Sheevah: Was kicked out of my family.
>
>

> Vigil: Mmm, the verb is important, yeah. Chose to follow this god in your time of need, family turned their backs, and you went searching.
>
>

> Sheevah: That about sums up my entire life, thanks.
>
>

> Vigil: Ah. Sorry to put it in perspective. It’s… almost word for word a description of my life, except I chose the DSK over the god. And that turned a lot of people away from me too.
>
>
> Sheevah: Hindsight’s 20/20.
>
>
> Vigil: Cow blindness, but yeah. [*Sheevah laughs*] Well. Thank you for trusting me, a little bit. If you feel like you wanna tell any specifics, I’m here. You know where to find me.
>
>
> Sheevah: There’s not much more to tell, I guess.
>
>
> Vigil: Do you ever see yourself going back to Argar?
>
>
> Sheevah: That is… the whole point of this quest, yes. Not until I have the scale.
>
>
>
> Vigil: Well, ehm, I understand that it’s not Rylance’s priority, but if you ever need a hand getting the scale, I think a good portion of the crew would help. I can only speak for myself, but.
>
>

> Sheevah: I—I can think of two of you. Let’s not rope Creon or Gerome into this.
>
>

> Vigil: Fair, I wouldn’t want to speak for them. Yeah. I appreciate the trust for the first time in… I think first time any of us has actually opened up.
>
>

> Sheevah: Not gonna say I loved it, but you should try it some time. Mainly cause I’m nosey.
>
>

> Vigil: What do you wanna know?
>
>

> Sheevah: At the moment nothing, I’m exhausted.
>
>

> Vigil: That’s fair. Lemme know.
>
>

### A Battle I'll Fight On My Own

Next watch. Creon has been pondering a spell he knows, Remove Curse, and wondering if it would work on Zephi. He’s not sure. Frankly, he has no idea. He sees Zephi asleep. He’s alone on watch. He looks around, to make sure everyone else is asleep as well, and then approaches her.

Careful not to wake her up, he touches her wrist, and tries the spell. His chest glows, and beside him there’s a flicker of red hair. Divine energy pulses through him, and he feels the curse begin to leave Zephi’s body.

But then, it starts fighting back.

In Zephi’s brain, she hear’s a voice say, "*No no no no, we’re not going away that easily*," before her brain feels as though it’s been lit on fire.

The curse lashes back out toward Creon, through their connected skin, and does him *32 points of psychic damage.* He’s blasted backward, and crashes to the ground a few feet away.

As she suddenly wakes, all Zephi sees is Creon being pushed away from her and through the air, so she scrambles up and toward him. She perches over him, a hand ready to cast magic hovering above him, and asks what the hell just happened.

> Creon: I was trying to make it up to you.
>
>

> Zephi: Make what—what did you do?!
>
>

> Creon: It doesn’t matter. It didn’t work.
>
>

> Zephi: It does matter, you *did something* to me.
>
>

> Creon: No. I failed to do something to you.
>
>

> Zephi: You tried to *do something to me* while I was *asleep*. I deserve to know what it was.
>
>

> Creon: It’s—it’s stupid. It was a healing spell. I was trying to remove the.. the Voices. It won’t happen again.
>
>

> Zephi: Well, only sometimes, you know that right?
>
>

> Creon: Only sometimes what?
>
>

> Zephi: I only want it—*me—*sometimes. I can’t… I don’t want them *gone* forever. Just… sometimes. Temporarily. Like a vacation.
>
>

> Creon: Why would you ever not want to be yourself?!
>
>

> Zephi: Because… that me did something. A lot of things. But that me… struck a deal, or something—it doesn’t matter. They have something I need, and I have something they need, so, it works out. And I’m not… remember when there was the door? In the Guild?
>
>

> Creon: Yes I remember the door.
>
>

> Zephi: I don’t know what you saw. But *I [making hand gestures]* freaked! I blew up a bit.
>
>

> Creon: Yes, we were all injured, I definitely remember.
>
>

> Zephi: Well, I think if I was suddenly just—that? Just me? All the time? After everything that’s happened? All of sudden? I think the same thing would happen but bigger. I don’t know. I don’t really remember what it was like. I wouldn’t know how to *be* that person. I’m still me, but I’m more of… I’m what’s *left*.
>
>

> Creon: What if I’m more interested in you than this… watered down version I’ve been seeing?
>
>

> Zephi: Then you can ask *while I’m awake* to talk to ‘*me’*.
>
>

> Creon: I was just trying to help.
>
>

> Zephi: I know. You should talk to people before you do that. I think a lot of your problems would be solved if you just talked to people. Why… why didn’t you try while I was awake?
>
>

> Creon: Because I was afraid it would fail, as it did. And I didn’t want you to get your hopes up.
>
>

> Zephi: It’s not devastating when I’m 'not me', you know. It’s not worth getting hurt over.
>
>

> Creon: If I had known I’d be hurt, I probably wouldn’t have done it.
>
>

> Zephi: Fair. Why do you want to talk to that me? What’s wrong with *this* me?
>
>

> Creon: I just believe that you could be better than you are. You have the… capability for so much. You have a lot of potential, and I see it being wasted on this… shadow of a self.
>
>

> Zephi: Do you wanna talk to me… now?
>
>

> Creon: It’s fleeting. It doesn’t matter. It’s the middle of the night. It’s nothing for anyone.
>
>

> Zephi: You said you wanted to talk to me. I’m giving you the chance.
>
>

> Creon: If you don’t want to be *better*, if you don’t want to be your actual self--
>
>

> Zephi: I want to earn it. I don’t want it just thrown at me. I’m working to be better, thank you. Cast it.
>
>

> Creon: Fine. *[He haphazardly throws the spell at her. Zephi’s eyes go gold, her hair seems more lively, he shoulders set back. She takes a deep breath.]*
>
>

> Zephi: You have been nothing but an arrogant cruel, ridiculous man since the day I met you. Want to talk about wasted fucking potential? You have a *death wish.* You don’t respect yourself, you don’t respect anyone around you, but ultimately, you don’t respect any of your gifts.
>
>

> *[Creon begins to trance.]*
>
>

> Zephi: No no no no. You will hear me. You wanted to talk to the real me, here I am.
>
>

> *[Creon comes out of his trance.]*
>
>

> Zephi: Why are you here with us if you don’t want to be? Why do you say such awful things to those who protect you, to those of us who put our lives in your hands in return? Why do you run away?
>
>

> Creon: I don’t say terrible things. I say *true* things.
>
>

> Zephi: You said I was weak, and then just a minute ago you said I had potential. I have never—Do you know who I am? Do you know who I am, Creon Eijor? Do you have *any idea* who I was? I have broken men like twigs for saying half the things you’ve said to me. I’ve broken hearts men didn’t know they had, and I broke bones they had forgotten about. So maybe you should be a little kinder, especially when I hold… so much *potential*. Gods. '*Potential*.' The condescension… I don’t really know what you offer *me*, Sergeant. I see potential in you as well, I suppose, but you’re burning it up, whereas I far exceeded my potential years ago. I will continue to exceed my potential. I am 400 years into the future because of the power I held—and what are you? What make you think you are any better than *Zephi Fucking Velhiri?*
>
>

> Creon: I used to be, and I’m not anymore.
>
>

> Zephi: What happened?
>
>

> Creon: I had a mission, I had a purpose, and you, you and this band of misfits have taken it from me, and you’ve taken my ideals and my principles, and my one purpose, the one thing I knew how to do—
>
>

> Zephi: Is this because of what happened in the Hag’s Den?
>
>

> Creon: You’ll have to be more specific.
>
>

> Zephi: Is this because you got conned, told you were fighting for something noble and important, and instead you were just a lackey for some organization that wanted you only for your blood? Saw you as nothing more than fuel? Just a pawn?
>
>

> Creon: I don’t mind being a pawn. Pawns are important. They’re how you win the game. What I *do* mind is believing in something like it is all there is, like it is my religion, and having it swept from under me because of sentimentality, and some misplace affection that I’ve grown… for you.
>
>

> Zephi: Listen, I don’t deny that that sucks shit. But you are *not* the first person willing to die for Zephi Velhiri, and you would not be the last to regret it, either. What’s important is that you find a way to deal with what you did, and what you did was noble—just because it wasn’t *your* nobility doesn’t mean it wasn’t noble. Is saving someone not enough for you?
>
>

> Creon: And I killed my superiors in the process. You see how that complicates things?
>
>

> Zephi: And if your superiors weren’t who they said they were? Weren’t really your superiors at all? Were actually going against the ideals you held dear? Which, by the way, they were. You signed onto something very specific—it was supposed to line up with your identity, but they played you. It’s breach of contract. You can keep the things you held dear—just cut out the rotted bits.
>
>

> Creon: That philosophy is the entire thing wrong with our society. You think every individual can be the decider of what is right and what is wrong, and you know not how to live--
>
>

> Zephi: No just—you can just *decide* to be good. You’re putting yourself through pain on purpose. You’re worshipping at its alter. You think you’re not important enough to decide how your corner of the world should work, why not?
>
>

> Creon: I’m plenty important.
>
>

> Zephi: You just said you thought you were a pawn! And you were fine with it! You don’t respect yourself, and you don’t respect your place in the universe. You have a bracelet just like I do. So clearly, there’s your purpose right there; someone still thinks you’re important. Let yourself be, don’t fight against it. You fight against everything. Just accept it, and let someone show affection for you in return, for once.
>
>

> Creon: Goodnight, Zephi.
>
>

#### A Choice is Being Made

Creon goes into a trance.

He sees blood rising up over the hills around him, cresting over and flooding the valley of The Bear Cave. He watches his friends awake in the blood, watches everyone around him scream and drown. A hand reaches out for him, desperate, but he remains unmoving, and watches it sink below the blood. It passes his eyes, and the world to him then is nothing but roiling blood, consuming his vision.

He hears a voice, deep and guttural say, “Good.”

Deep within the red there comes a bright light. Like sunlight, slow at first and then bursting out. A handle with a blade begins to extend toward him, just barely visible ahead of him. The blood begins to fight back, pushing the blade further and further away from him, but the blade gets closer still.

He reaches out and wills the handle toward him. As he wraps his fingers around the hilt, he sees that it’s made of all curved lines, the pommel looking like a sun with sunbeams extending from it. It flashes white—he hears the same guttural voice growl, “No… No!”

A second voice comes in, brighter than the other. “A choice is being made.”

The light flashes, and all of a sudden Creon is thrown out of his trance—no blood, no sword, nothing. Just the empty night around him. He returns to his trance.

### Turkortality (Turkey Immortality)

>
> Hector and Gerome take the next watch, 2:21:00
>
>

> Hector: How… how *did* you do it? Dimples, I mean.
>
>

> Gerome: Oh, that. You know, it’s the darndest thing. It was sort of like a happy accident, to be honest. I couldn’t tell you the thought process involved with coming up with it, but ah… the results I guess speak for themselves. You kinda… you have to get a little bit *crazy* in the lab.
>
>

> Hector: [*excitedly*] HAHA! [*suddenly* *serious*] You’ve no bloody fucking idea.
>
>

> Gerome: If I told you exactly how I do it, you won’t be as satisfied as when you figure it out.
>
>

> Hector: Ohhhh… I like how you think, Mastermore.
>
>

> Gerome: But yeah. How was, I dunno, time in the cell? It was kind of like a sweet basement.
>
>

> Hector: Well, yes, I mean it was fine, they brought me lots of food and various things I asked for, I convinced them to bring me a couple things that might not have exactly been needed, HAHA! But I enjoyed myself. No it was fine, it’s just… I manlike me needs to be able to roam free, and the security of my turkey comes above all, and I was terribly worried about that.
>
>

> Gerome: Tell me more about the turkey! Is this like a long time pet? Is it… more than a pet?
>
>

> Hector: Well—what you have to understand—when I was first studying at the Craft Academy all those years ago, one of my first assignments was to try and pursue the alchemical feat of creating life, as it were. Of course, the assumption is that you can’t create life out of nothing—you’re not supposed to be able to succeed. It’s ah… a sort of set-up-to-fail operation, and your final paper on the matter is supposed to explain why it failed, and your understanding of the alchemical procedure. The problem is… I succeeded.
>
>

> Gerome: Go on.
>
>

> Hector: I made a turkey. Out of nothing. Um… It kind of… I was just trying some things one night in the laboratory, I was fairly drunk, I don’t remember exactly what I did, but one way or another I *was* able to create a turkey. And its stayed alive for several hundred years! I’m not sure what kind of turkey it is? It’s exact ramifications or abilities or what have you, I’ve been studying it for some time, but its just kind of… *alive,* and I’m not going to question it much further than that besides the occasional poke and prod.
>
>

> Gerome: Huh. Well, we’re really gonna have to find this turkey.
>
>

> Hector: Oh, absolutely! [*cackles*]
>
>

> Gerome: If anything, in the name of science!
>
>

> Hector: In the name of *science* my good man, in the name of science.
>
>

> Gerome: Have you ever tried to replicate the experiment, perhaps make more turkeys?
>
>

> Hector: …Well… no, I can’t say—I can’t say I have, though I’d be willing to give it a damn good shot. I’d need a proper lab, and I’d need a willing assistant, haha!
>
>

> Gerome: Oh, I think I’m there for ya. Do you remember how long the experiment took last time? Was it done in a night?
>
>

> Hector: I worked deep into the evening, but I can’t remember the exact hours it took me, no.
>
>

> Gerome: Okay, well… if you’re free tomorrow, maybe we could…
>
>

> Hector: Well we’ll need a lab! A lab, and all the possible accoutrements you could have for it.
>
>

> Gerome: We can find that.
>
>

> Hector: Well then sure! I’d love that very much. [pause] Well! Master Gerome. I can’t thank you enough, you’ve been very helpful in the past few days. I… I do have to ask though, out of cautious… fear. Why are you helping me?
>
>

> Gerome: Well, to be blunt, we’re being paid to do it.
>
>

> Hector: Right, I’m sure you’re paid for this sort of thing all the time.
>
>

> Gerome: But, you know, we met you, and you’re a very charming fellow. A gnome of great intellect. And you know—
>
>

> Hector: Say less, say less!
>
>

> Gerome: Not many of those around these days.
>
>

> Hector: You’ve no idea. Some of the people I used to work with back at the Academy… marvelous folk, marvelous folk. I miss them dearly.
>
>

> Gerome: Ah, the Academy.
>
>

> Hector: You, um—you went to the Craft Academy, correct?
>
>

> Gerome: Yes.
>
>

> Hector: Well I remember, I remember there was a promising word of some young alchemist or artificer coming up when I was on the board… I remember hearing a few words that there was a member of the Fizzlewick family, of all folk, that was rising up the ranks rather well, doing rather well at the Academy. In line for the Prime Institute, I imagine. What ever happened with that?
>
>

> Gerome: Ah, you know, financial hardship. Gang related incidents. You know how it is around Nomingdale.
>
>

> Hector: Right, right of course. [*long pause*] I—Gerome, you’re a talent, I hope you’re aware of that. What you’ve pulled off with Dimples is a very tricky operation… something that wasn’t easy for me to do when I made my turkey, it seems like you’ve done with Dimples, and I want you to know that I wish you the best with your pursuits.
>
>

> Gerome: Oh. ...Thank you. You as well.
>
>

> Hector: Thank you. Well. I suppose we should get to the actual watching.
>
>

Gerome pours Hector a drink with his Brewer’s Kit, making mead for the both of them to carry them through the last watch.

## Morning Comes

Fanket and Jebeddo get ready at the crack of dawn to meet with allies that could potentially vote for Fanket to take over the group. You read that right, the Hot-wires are a democratic institution.

Their first stop is a home in an older area of Midguild, to an old Hot-wire buddy of Fanket's. Kalsorian, a forest gnome, answers the door, and is not thrilled to see them, but invites them in.

> Fanket: I need you to understand Kally, that… Kilroy… Kilroy’s great, Kilroy’s fine, an old buddy, but he’s status quo. He will keep us on a going course. We will not improve, we will not grow, we will not change. I can make change.
>
>

> Jebeddo: Kally what I want you to imagine… the gang right now, it’s like a swamp. It’s just a lot of, ‘you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours’… What my mother’s gonna do, she’s gonna try and drain the swamp. She’s the outsider’s insider. She’s there to kick ass and get that deep state outta the gang.
>
>

> Fanket: I just need you to understand, we are… We’re not gonna last much longer as a group if we allow someone like Kilroy to take over and not respond to the present threats to our organization.
>
>

> Kalsorian: no yeah, I understand, it’s just… you disappear a lot. We send word to you in jail, we don’t hear back. We need someone we can rely on, someone who’s not going to be dependent on their family or… or be concerned that a familial weak point is gonna crop up.
>
>

> Fanket: The Hot-wires are the world to me. I’m not gonna let anything get between me and the gang, if I have your vote.
>
>

Kally says he’ll consider, and then ushers them out.

### Lost Your Head?

At the bear cave, people interrogate Creon about the location of Booshi’s head. He explains that it was, in fact, stolen before he got to the Nebolshi station.

> Creon: I thought we could win some favors with the police because we’d taken down a long time criminal. But I got in trouble for lying, because I thought I had the head to prove it, but I did not. Somehow.
>
>

> Gerome: So you disobeyed captain’s orders. Because we didn’t want you to go to the police. You promised us you would only be going to church.
>
>

> Creon: He’s not a real captain—
>
>

> Vigil: Well—I’m *your* real captain, and you went and made that a lot more complicated than it had to be, and then messed up making it complicated, making it even more complicated. Where is the head?
>
>

> Zephi: Was it gone before we got there?
>
>

> Creon: Yes it was.
>
>

> Gerome: Creon. Are you sorry?
>
>

> Creon: …If I give you my gold, do I still have to apologize?
>
>

> *[Silence. He slips Gerome 10 gold wordlessly]*
>
>

> Gerome: Now say you’re sorry.
>
>

> Creon: I have purchased my apology.
>
>

Vigil, Creon, Zephi, and Sheevah head to the Temple of Beldur, which was the last place Creon knows he had Booshi’s head. As soon as they enter, Zephi slides in for another game of poker whille Creon, Vigil, and Sheevah start searching for anyone Creon might have interacted with the last time he was here.

Seeing no one he’s certain he recognizes after a quick glace around, Creon pulls out his pistol and cocks it. Vigil tries to shout him down, especially as he *just broke out of prison,* but he’s determined.

Creon fires the gun at the ceiling. The gnomes in the church all jump and turn, asking what the hell Creon did that for, while he reloads the gun.

Creon calmly tells the worshippers of Beldur that something was stolen from him the previous day, and that he will give them all 10 minutes to return it; if he doesn’t get it back, he’ll kill them one by one.

Fearfully they tell him to go outside, as someone named Jenny has what he’s looking for in the courtyard. Outside, Vigil, Creon, and Sheevah find a 13 year old gnome kicking Booshi’s head around like a soccer ball. She’s a little rough around the edges, but is smiling and having a good time.

Vigil steps in and kicks the head around with Jenny, getting it away and picking it up to spin around on his… wait for it… *finger*. Finger! **It’s confirmed, folks. Vigil has fingers.**

Anyway, the head immediately falls off, and Vigil picks it back up, trying to play it cool, and tells Jenny we need the head, but we’re willing to trade her.

Creon points his gun at Jenny.

Vigil tells Creon to put the loaded gun down, but Creon won’t, as she’s a ‘thief’. Jenny nervously explains however that someone found the head and brought it back to the church, so she and the other local kids have just been playing around with it. “He’s a cop, don’t talk to him,” Vigil says, and then agrees to trade the head for a silver piece, which Jenny runs off with to buy another ball. “Not cow hide!” Vigil asks as she leaves.

Vigil makes Booshi’s head into a ventriliquist dummy to tease Creon, who rolls his eyes and leaves. Sheevah laughs. They all return inside the church to see Zephi win the round of poker, taking a share of the pot leaving a third of it as a donation to the church.

Everyone leaves, and Vigil asks Zephi if he can tag along with her and Sheevah to meet up with Vance, which she agrees to, and asks if she wanted to talk more about the Voices, as they’d agreed to do the night before. She takes out Jacob’s book, and explains that for whatever reason, Zamana seems to wrap in on itself like a sphere. Vigil asks why the Haladesh never made use of this in the war—great question, cap.

Zephi explains that this is part of Vance’s quest too, so clearly people have been asking the same question Jacob has for the 400 years since. Vance needs the scale, but that may be affected by the fact that the Voices said the orb was fed a scale, and so she may need it, or it may be gone.

“What’s the orb?”

“*Great question!”*

Zephi explains she’s still not sure what it is, really, but she had it, briefly. She says that something went wrong after she and Jacob opened the box, and that he put her in the necklace, she remembers seeing the tree, and that’s all she remembers before being in present day Zamana. Vigil clarifies that the necklace was a Soul Vice, and Zephi agrees, but she’s not sure where Billy would have gotten it.

Zephi and Sheevah reason together that payment for helping Vance retrieve this second half of the map should be getting a picture with a sight gem of the full map, and they set off for the Mercantile Guild.

### Fool Me Once

Hector, Namfoodle, and Gerome go on a Turkey Quest. Hector buys a fuckton of supplies for Gerome’s laboratory. They approach the Fizzlewick house, and all excited to go in, they don’t realize until too late that something’s up. The door opens from the inside right in their faces, and out steps a Nebolshi officer, who calls out to his colleagues, and suddenly the three are absolutely swarmed. Guns are pointed at them, sending stones are taken out, and they’re asked;

> Nebolshi Officer: Which one of the Fizzlewicks are you?!
>
>

> Gerome: Fizzlewick? I don’t know any Fizzlewick!
>
>

> Namfoodle: I’m Namfoodle!
>
>

> Nebolshi Officer: Nam—holy shit, they got Hector Gilligan here!
>
>

> Hector: Um—Yes. NO! I’m not Hector Gilligan! I’m… Rectho La Gig Nil, the legendary prophet and monk!
>
>

> Gerome: Yeah! And I’m Hohn Jamm La Gig Nil!
>
>

The Nebolshi don’t buy it, and they’re brought inside to be interrogated by none other than Detective Frankie. The cops have found… a *lot* of Glittercane on the premises, and Frankie doesn’t believe all the supplies they’ve just brought in are for ‘Turkey Related Purposes’.

Frankie says that he’s looking for Creon, who, having broken out of jail after promising to deliver Gerome to Frankie, has given ample reason to believe that the two are connected. This is the very fun way in which Gerome learns Creon was going to sell him out to the cops. He wasn’t, of course, but Gerome and Frankie don’t know that, do they?

Gerome is now extra willing to sell out Creon, due to, as Frankie puts it, ‘Inter-party fighting’. Gerome says he doesn’t know where Creon is at the moment, but agrees to have a burly Nebolshi fellow named Lukas follow him, to use a sending stone when they find Creon. Frankie promises that Gerome’s “freedom is ensured, as long as you fetch me Creon Eiljor.”

The team goes to leave, but Frankie amends that he will, actually, have to keep Hector Gilligan. Gerome offers double or nothing—who else does Frankie want? The detective asks if Gerome knows anything about a dragonborn named Vance, and Gerome promises to get the Nebolshi both the cellmates in exchange for Hector being allowed to leave with them.

Frankie agrees, and the three, followed by Lukus, leave the house. Gerome does some insightful thinking and realizes that he and Hector are far higher bounties than Creon and Vance—Frankie almost certainly will not be keeping up his end of the bargain.

The three manage to lead Lukas on-- Namfoodle is able to *body* Lukus, and Gerome grabs up his sending stone. Gerome and Namfoodle talk/intimidate/force Lukus into agreeing to pretend to have lost their trail, and show up to work at the Nebolshi precinct the next day with no idea as to the three’s whereabouts. As a parting gift, Gerome temporarily brands Lukus’ head to say;

‘Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice, you can’t fool me twice.’ Lukus runs off.

Session 30 Jebeddo and Fanket continue walking the streets of Guildhome, visiting various key and high ranking members of the Hot-wires in attempts to convince them to choose Fanket in the upcoming vote.

As they walk toward Jaidside, Fanket asks Jebeddo if he and his ‘companions’ brought a ship with them, but Jebeddo confesses he doesn’t know much about what Gerome’s been up to—they’re involved in some scheme, he’s been roped in, and it’s all been a whirlwind. But they had to have gotten onto the planet somehow, he supposes.

Fanket explains that she wants a getaway in case things go bad that night. How bad could a vote go, though! Jebeddo asks how it works—is it like a caucus? It’s more like Kangaroo Court, apparently, and she just wants a backup plan. Jebeddo suggests spreading a rumor that Kilroy is working with the Nebolshi in order to undercut his vote, which Fanket likes. They agree to go to Kilroy’s to find whatever dirt they can on him, but as they’re walking there, she catches some Nebolshi tailing them.

They duck into an alley. Jebeddo reasons they’re looking for her, not him, so he empties a nearby barrel, puts it on an abandoned dolly, and has Fanket get in it. He covers the barrel and begins to wheel it down the street.

The Nebolshi approach Jebeddo in the street and ask if he knew the woman he was walking with, and Jebeddo quickly makes up a story about the woman mugging him and running off. They totally buy it, and Jebeddo criticizes them for not being efficient at their jobs, letting criminals escape from prison to go mug people on the streets, before just marching off to Kilroy’s.

### Buddy In-Law

At the Merchant’s Guild, the gang approaches and hear Vance’s voice say “Howdy” from behind them, but they turn and realize he’s made himself invisible. He mentions that it’s ballsy for Creon to be visible, having just broken out of jail, but he says there’s no need to worry, and covers his face with his cloak like thor in ragnarok.

Vance says that from experience breaking in last time, he believes the map is in the Merchant Chief’s office, belonging to a gnome named Salfando Lentini. There’s an alarm on the window, so they’ll need to find a way around that, or a different way in.

Zephi asks how fancy it is inside. Apparently it’s *very* fancy, and Lentini himself has a taste for the eclectic, especially artifacts and vintage stuff. Sounds like Zephi’s sort of man; she suggests walking through the front door. Vance admits he hadn’t tried that before, and Sheevah makes him agree to showing us both sides of the map as payment for helping him. So long as he gets to keep it, he’s happy with that.

> Sheevah: Zephi, if we walk through the front door, what’s the plan after that?
>
>

> Zephi: Well usually I just walk in places and I get what I want, so that was sort of the plan. That I walk in.
>
>

> Vance: She’s confident, ain’t she.
>
>

> Zephi: Have you ever—nevermind.
>
>

Creon secretly draws his pistol beneath his cloak, and Vigil asks Sheevah if she’ll have to race Vance there—she doesn’t actually think it’s there, but she thinks that when it’s not there, he’ll struggle for a next step more than the party will. But we’re likely going to have to go there, and that the piece of the puzzle we’re likely missing could be Zephi herself, or in Zephi’s head. First things first, we need the map.

The inside of the Mercantile Guild is so fucking sexy. Zephi immediately enters Full Zephi Mode, and realizes that this place feels *very* familiar. This front room may have changed, but it feels almost haunted, like she’s been here several times and would normally remember it well. At the end of the hall, there’s a gnomish woman behind a desk who asks if any of them are Guild members. Creon cocks his pistol. Zephi knows that Billy likely would have had a membership, so she tells the woman to check under ‘Velhiri’

Apparently they’re, unshockingly, behind on their Guild membership dues by about… 400 years. She now owes the Guild… 13,000 gold pieces. Uh-huh. Zephi says she’s here to speak about settling that debt with someone, and asks for Salfando Lentini. The woman calls up to Lentini with a messaging device, and mentions that they’re here to discuss the Velhiri Family Guild membership. Lentini urgently tells the woman to send them up immediately.

They ascend velvet covered stairs and approach a door at the end of the hall, which opens to reveal a stout gnome with a grizzled beard saying, “Wellll, hot fuckin’ damn, come on inside, didn’t know there was any left of you!”

He gets an actual look at Zephi and his jaw drops, and freaks out, ushering them inside and offering drinks. Creon immediately requests crushed ice, and Zephi asks for whatever Lentini is drinking, which is apparently the finest Elven wine available. Zephi hasn’t met Slafando before, but his surname now rings a bell, and his face shape seems familiar, like she’s met a family member.

> Zephi: Lentini—I do believe I’ve met some people in your family before, how are you darling? How are things, how is the guild? You know you’re the only person who’s really given me the welcome I deserve, but that’s another thing entirely.
>
>

> Salfando: Ma’am—*where the hell have you been?!*
>
>

> Zephi: Oh that’s… quite a story. I wouldn’t know where to start! I told everybody not to look for me and that I’d be back soon, after all. Soon is a relative term. But I’m back, aren’t I?
>
>

> Salfando: My daddy told me *so many* stories about you and your father.
>
>

Salfando goes on to talk about Billy’s work with the guild. Vance whispers to Sheevah to find an excuse to leave, so that they can look for the map—she makes sure to tell him not to touch anything. Yet. Sheevah asks to take a look at the odds and ends in the room and Salfando agrees with no issue, friends of the Velhiris are friends of his, so long as there’s no touching.

36:40 Zephi encourages Salfando to tell any stories that have been passed down, and he tells one of his father and Billy, where a few months before Billy left for the Haladesh, he spoke of a woman he was infatuated with, who he’d only read about. He wanted nothing more than to marry her. Salfando’s father said that Billy hadn’t even met the girl, and he should probably meet her, and her father, do things the proper way. But Billy was dead set on marrying her. And so Salfando’s father helped Billy secured the provisions to get the Starship Crimson all the way out to the 9 Rings to find her.

This is notably the first time Creon has heard that Billy ever went to the Haladesh. He seems immediately on edge. Zephi tells Salfando that once all the relevant accounts are back online, she’d love to start up the family business again and work with him. Lentini is happy to, as long as the debts are settled, as he never officially left the guild. “My father very rarely did anything officially,” Zephi says. Salfando laughs, and agrees.

Sheevah peruses Salfando’s large collection, a lot of artifacts—a statuete of a space hamster, rare scraps of ancient guildroman and spelljammers… but no map. She spots a scrap of old parchment off in the corner, written in a script she can’t quite decipher-- Almost proto-gnome. The way its written, is sounds like guildroman being invented, and possibly even spelljammers. 42:50. At the very bottom is a name; Kelung Fizzlewick.

Sheevah turns and asks Salfando about it, but he admits he hasn’t hired a scribe yet to translate it. Sheevah offers to translate more for him, and he eagerly pulls out some drow-ish books from the Haladesh, which he’s fairly certain are cookbooks. Sheevah offers to write down a few recipes, which Salfando is grateful for, and Zephi asks to see more of his collections.

He walks over to a wall and pulls on a small metal rod, which was recovered from an old mining site on Valen, a weapon from a brand of monk that was found on the planet. He pulls back a curtain to reveal one of his personal favorites, a painting of Billy Velhiri giving a wink and fingergun, with his autograph at the bottom.

> Salfando: This is something my father gave me, that I’ve kept and kept pristine for *years*.
>
>

> Zephi: Why thank you, he’ll appreciate that.
>
>

> *[A beat]*
>
>

> Salfando: W… He’s still around? *Your father’s still around?*
>
>

Zephi brushes it off and asks if he has anything on the Tree of Worlds, the Orb of Universal Casting, or any maps he might have. He talks about the Tree of Worlds beliefs a bit, and then mentions that the orb rings a bell.

### Ear to the Wall

Jebeddo and Fanket continue down the street until its safe for Fanket to exit the barrel. They walk around Jaidside and come to Kilroy’s house, an old tudor style, nice but looking to be unguarded. Jebeddo sneaks around but doesn’t see anyone inside, so he wedges open a window and weasels his way in.

The house is fairly nice, with a solid collection of alcohols. He can hear voices upstairs, but they don’t seem to have heard him. He looks around, but he doesn’t really know what he’s looking for, especially as its dark downstairs. Jebeddo spots a coatrack, notepad, and decides, you know what, there’s still a great way to make this work. He forges a note from Nebolshi authorities, thanking Kilroy for his assistance in arresting Fanket, and slips the note into Kilroy’s pocket. Deeply deeply clever work there.

Jebeddo notices the voices above him get a bit heated before dying down a bit. He sneaks upstairs to try and hear what they’re saying. He manages to get up the stairs without a peep, and hears Kilroy speaking to a lower level Hot-wire goon Jebeddo doesn’t recognize.

> Kilroy: Listen, I don’t… if she takes power, I don’t think the Hot-wires are gonna stay the Hot-wires. I don’t know what she’s planning or what she’s been working on, but there’s a lot at stake here, and I think she has bigger ambitions than just drug running.
>
>
> Goon: Isn’t that a good thing? You know, don’t we wanna increase the sales, expand the business, everything like that?
>
>
> Kilroy: Yeah, but… I don’t know what she wants to trade in, what she wants to sell in, the sorts of things she wants to pull. We’re comfortable where we are. I don’t think there’s a reason—we’re providing for our family, the people who work with us and for us. That should be the goal. I don’t know what her goal is but it seems… overly ambitious, and I am very nervous on that fact.
>
>
> Goon: Kilroy, you don’t even know what it is.
>
>
>
> Kilroy: I know I don’t, but we’ve gotta find out what it is. We *HAVE* to find out what it is.
>
>

Jebeddo slips down the stairs and back out the window as the conversation dies down. He arrives outside and… Fanket is gone, nowhere to be seen. She *always* does this. He looks around and after about 10 minutes sees a figure that looks like her with a hood pulled up, walking up and down the docks. He hurries forward to find her but loses sight of her as he crosses the street to the docks, until she creeps up behind him and accuses him of following her. He asks where she went and she answers only that she had to go take care of something.

“I hate you so much,” he says. He tells her about the note, but not about the conversation he overheard, and Fanket leads him to their last stop.

### Benny and the Gnomes

Namfoodle, Gerome, and Hector decide to break into the Craft Academy to use their laboratories. Hector mentions he’s pals with a member of the kitchen crew, so the group decides to go in through the service entrance.

Namfoodle flags down a worker exiting the kitchen and asks for his pal ‘Johnson’. The worker is suspicious but Namfoodle tries to convince him that they want to try Johnson’s Sloppy Joes, which Hector claims are the best on Nym. Namfoodle claims they are Sloppy Joe Aficionados, which is a bigger word than I expected from him.

Not only does the worker not buy it, they accuse Namfoodle of being a “40 Year Old Human Man” which is just patently false, before slipping back inside.

They find a high up vent, and Namfoodle lifts Gerome so that he’s able to crawl through, and next, Hector. Namfoodle stands watch while his brother and Hector look for an entrance he might be able to fit through.

Across the street from the Craft Academy, Namfoodle sees three younger teen students of the Academy surrounding a smaller student, who looks a little nervous. Namfoodle creeps forward, and hears the students pressuring the smaller kid into doing their homework for them, as punishment for showing them up in class with a better experiment. If he won’t, they’ll just beat him up.

Looks like this calls for a local superhero!

Namfoodle approaches them and looms over them, easily 4x their height.

He rolls a nat one.

They are not, exactly, intimidated.

One of the students mocks Namfoodle, grimacing at him, and Namfoodle goes to pick the teenager up, but they slip out of his grasp, and make fun of him, and Namfoodle tackles the kid to the ground. The other two bullies punch the smaller kid in the stomach, and run away. Kid Namfoodle tackles scrambles up and runs off as well, leaving just Namfoodle and the smaller student. 1:07:30 Namfoodle checks in with him, and won’t answer when the kid asks for his name, just pointing to the Bear cowl. This means nothing to the kid, so he introduces himself as Namfoodle. The student introduces himself as Benny.

Benny’s mom tells him he’s a smart kid; he’s attending the Craft Academy for the first time this year and he really enjoys his alchemy class. “Yeah, Alchemy,” Namfoodle nods, “I know what that is.”

> Namfoodle: Do you know how to make turkeys?
>
>

> Benny: Like how to cook a turkey?
>
>

> Namfoodle: No, like how to *make* ‘em. Do you have a lab? I have a friend who makes turkeys in labs.
>
>

> Benny: L…like he breeds turkeys? Like he makes two turkeys have sex and then that makes another turkey?
>
>

> *[“Namfoodle has definitely not had the Talk.” “Yeah—”]*
>
>

> Namfoodle: Uh, no, he uh. What?
>
>

> Benny: I don’t know what else you mean—
>
>

> Namfoodle: He makes turkeys. How else—where else would they come from?
>
>

Benny and Namfoodle talk about the alchemy labs in the academy, which benny says are accessible by keycard, which he has. Namfoodle asks if Benny wants to show off the lab and then they can watch his friends make turkeys, which Benny seems excited for, though trepidatious given Namfoodle’s age. Eh. He’s probably just a teacher.

They waltz through the Academy with ease and come to the alchemy lab. Benny lets them in, and in the middle of asking where Namfoodle’s friends are, a ceiling tile falls through and Hector and Gerome come crashing to the ground in a heap, arguing over directions.

### Blood Feud

Creon grabs Zephi’s wrist and pulls her to the side, out of earshot. He questions her about Billy being in the Haladesh. It gets… tense.

> Creon: Your father was *in with* the *Haladesh*?
>
>

> Zephi: ‘In’ is a strong word—
>
>

> Creon: I think ‘in’ is the exact, *literal* word, it seems.
>
>

> Zephi: He was not… *in with*… no. Not that I know of. He was on the side of the DSK, as far as I am aware. And I think it would be something I remembered, if he weren’t.
>
>

> Creon: Well forgive me for not trusting your memory. It seems we’ve just been told by a firsthand source that he was in fact—
>
>

> Zephi: This is what I know, and if you want any more information I would be happy to lend you his autobiography. He went to the Haladesh, he was there for about 9 years or so, and he returned with 6-year-old me. If you *listened*, I’m fairly certain this visit was just to meet and marry my mother. And that was it! He was not ‘*in with’* the Haladesh. I don’t have any memories as of yet of being there, and if it were important it seems to me I would have by now.
>
>

> Creon: It seems to me there’s no mystery at all. It seems that you are half… *that*. It seems to me that he was… *mixing blood*. There’s no—
>
>

> Zephi: ‘Mixing blood’?! That’s xenophobic *and* racist!
>
>

> Creon: Well Zephi, it’s no mystery any more why you hear voices. You’re cursed because it’s *in your blood*. It’s *evil*.
>
>

> Zephi: Creon, I would like to *briefly* remind you that you can say whatever you’d like about me, but I’ve been a very successful, accomplished person in my life. I don’t know what ground *you* have to stand on— [*Creon walks away, but Zephi uses message to continue speaking]* but I know that I was not *cursed* because of *where* I was *born*, or *who* I was born *to*. I don’t even know where I was born, but it has nothing to do with who I am. I am not *evil*, thank you very much. And besides, the war is over!
>
>

> Creon: The war is still happening, Zephi, and apparently, I’ve been consorting with the enemy this *entire time*.
>
>

> Zephi: Do you really think the place you’re born determines everything about you?
>
>

> Creon: Yes, I *absolutely* believe that, *yes*.
>
>

> Zephi: Hmm. If that were true, I figure you’d be a bit more *accomplished*.
>
>

During this whisper fight, Lentini asks Vigil for his name, but Vigil, panicking, remains silent. He lets out a snort, pretending to be a rough and tough bodyguard. It doesn’t really pass. To distract from the plentiful awkwardness between them, Lentini pulls out his information on the orb, sometimes apparently referred to as the Orbus.

Lentini and Zephi chat about Rylance, and how the war efforts were saved mostly by Sylvion entering the fray, and then Zephi moves the conversation to asking about any maps Lentini might have; he apparently just got one, and pulls out half a torn map. Bingo!

It’s to a temple, reading ‘The Temple of Negula’ at the top in Yuan-Ti, and though it’s unclear which planet it is, the map depicts a lush and difficult to navigate forest terrain. It’s old, but there’s no way to tell just how old it might be. Sheevah and Zephi swing convincing Salfando to let them take a picture of the map to study, and he’s been sufficiently charmed by them that he accepts as a thanks for Sheevah’s translating several of the recipes.

To give Sheevah and the others some more time to snoop, Zephi decides to lightly flirt with Salfando and distract him. With a nat 20, he’s completely enthralled, but Zephi manages to fire off a Message to Sheevah, that whatever she does cannot be connected to any of us, or to Zephi, or this all goes up in flames.

Sheevah takes a deep breath and decides to pull what is possibly the wildest fucking move in history. She makes Vance promise to meet up with us later, and then tells him to drop invisibility, grab the map, and then we can ‘chase’ after him. Vance squeezes her shoulder in agreement, and then puts the plan in motion.

BOOM! Vance is suddenly visible.

Lentini’s servant startles and Sheevah screams, and then Zephi screams, and then Vigil swings to hit Vance and intentionally misses. The fake punch is so (nat 20) fucking good that Vance is able to throw himself up against the wall, stumble forward, grab the map, and cast Expeditious Retreat. His legs light up crystalline and blasts out of the window, glass shattering and flying everywhere. Zephi and Salfando grab onto each other in fear.

Vigil jumps out the window onto a trashcan below, ready to ‘chase’ Vance, while Vance stumbles to the ground, a bit scraped up. Vigil pulls him to his feet, pushes him in the direction he plans to have them run, and whispers “Punch me *right now*.” Vance clocks him in the jaw, winks, and runs off down the road. Paper and other debris are swept up into the air as he runs.

Zephi seems in shock and breathless and asks why the hell the *Mercantile Guild* of all places doesn’t have higher security. There’s a round of apologies for everything and Zephi, ‘feeling bad’ gives Salfando the sight gem of the map until he can ‘recover’ the artifact itself. Sheevah, Creon, and Zephi leave to let Salfando deal with the Nebolshi, as he’ll have to file a report. As they leave, Creon checks for Gith artifacts though he finds none, and Sheevah pockets one of the recipes she wrote out.

Zephi messages Vance.

```
Vance, thank you for the heroics today; very grateful. Please meet at entrance

```

```
Of Boom Court so we can collect our payment.

```

Vance says he’s a dragonborn of his word and he’ll meet everyone there.

### Fighting Dirty

Fanket leads Jebeddo back into Tinkertown, to an old shop front, black wood with purple lettering; it’s Poins’ Poisons! Fanket says this visit is personal, and asks Jebeddo to stay outside. He unhappily agrees. He puts his ear up to the door, but can’t hear anything, so instead peaks through the keyhole and notices an open window on the other side of the building, and decides to try listening in that way.

Now on the other side of the building, Jebeddo clambers up some barrels and listens in to a frankly unnerving conversation.

> Poins: Yes, no of course I did what I could, I—I made sure I poured it directly into the system.
>
>

> Fanket: Right so it’s, it’s throughout Guildhome, correct?
>
>

> Poins: Yes, no it’s ready for you whenever you want to spark things up, get things kicking.
>
>

> Fanket: Okay. Marvelous. Here’s your coin.
>
>

> *[there’s the sound of some coin being exchanged]*
>
>

> Poins: So, where would I have to go to… *initiate* things?
>
>

> Fanket: You should probably head down on Jaidside, right by—here, I’ll write it down. [*She writes something down]* So, if you head down there, you can just wait for my signal, keep a hold of this, and I’ll be in touch.
>
>

> Poins: Of course, of course, yes, no problem.
>
>

Jebeddo makes it back to the front of the building in time with ease, waiting for her nonchalantly when she exits. She says Poins is a vote for her for sure. Jebeddo asks who Poins *is*, and Fanket claims he’s an alchemist the Hot-wires used to use before Gerome and later Hector came along. She’s a tough nut to crack, and it’s hard to tell if she’s purposefully avoiding something important, so Jebeddo tells her straight up not to fuck him and everyone else over.

Fanket’s answer is avoidant at best, but she claims she’s doing this all both for the Hot-wires and for her family.

### TurkeyCraft

Benny leads Namfoodle, Gerome, and Hector to the labs, and they get to work.

(this bit happens in session 31, as Nick was absent for 30)

The two toil away, and though they’re not quite able to find the exact combination of ingredients Hector used the first time, but around the second hour, they start adding some fine packaged meats, some acid powder, and some distilled water. After casting some ritual enchantments over them and about ten minutes of waiting, these three ingredients come together to form… a globule of fat, with an open mouth, no eyes, looking sort of like a blobfish.

Gross, boys.

Hector’s excited to have created something, at least, and Gerome is also excited. It looks like a neutral state of organic matter, that could accept… maybe other organic matter?

Ever the experimenter, Gerome pricks his finger and bleeds into the glob’s mouth. Suddenly, in his head he hears his Armor Class and Saving Throw Proficiencies read off. The blob decomposes a bit. Benny pokes at it.

Gerome now has the spell Globule of Testing!

This is all well and good, and it’s cool to have made something but, as Gerome points out, this is not a Turkey. Unfortunately, they’ve exhausted their supplies for the day, and Hector suggests they pack up before giving it another try the next day. After they pack up, he gives Gerome a gift; 50gp worth of blueprint paper, and a small pearl to cast identify. Gerome thanks him happily, but suddenly, they hear steps down the hallway. Benny starts panicking trying to find a way out. Namfoodle ushers everyone into a cabinet. Seeing nowhere else better to hide, Namfoodle runs and hides behind the door. \*

The door swings open and hits him in the belly, which causes him to giggle. A gnomish professor looks up, confused and on immediate alert.

> Professor: Um—who are you?!
>
>

> Namfoodle: Who are you?
>
>

> Professor: I’m a professor here, professor of astronomy—who are you?!?!
>
>

> Namfoodle: I’m the janitor! :) I’m new. :)
>
>

> Professor: I’m gonna have to ask you to leave, please! You’re not allowed to be here. I don’t know who you are or what business you have in this facility, but I have to ask you to leave, or I’ll be calling the Nebolshi.
>
>

> *[Namfoodle closes the door gently behind her.]*
>
>

> Namfoodle: I really don’t wanna do this. :/
>
>

> *[She’s terrified. He tries to lift her up, but nat 1’s. Rough rolls for Namfoodle today. She wiggles out of his grasp, opens the door, and runs down the hall.*
>
>

> Professor: INTRUDER! INTRUDER!
>
>

> *[Namfoodle runs behind her.]*
>
>

> Namfoodle: INTRUDER! INTRUDER!
>
>

He splits down a different hallway, and keeps running, until he’s eventually, accidentally, run straight out the front door. Hector and Gerome meet him in front, and Hector G congratulates him on a job well done. “Did they ever find the intruder?” Namfoodle asks. Gerome pats him on the shoulder and assured him they did.

### The Enemy of Enemy Is My Contingency Plan

Jebeddo and Fanket finish up, and Fanket goes her separate way to prepare for the vote that evening. Jebeddo, of course, has other plans.

He takes a long walk right back to Kilroy’s house, and knocks on the front door.

The door opens to reveal Kilroy, immediately confused and a bit on guard. Jebeddo raises his hands.

> Kilroy: Jebeddo, what the—
>
>

> Jebeddo: I wanna—parlay. We should talk.
>
>

> Kilroy: Alright, come on in.
>
>

> Jebeddo: Look. You don’t trust my mom, I don’t trust my mom. But if you can’t give me a good reason to trust you more than her… I think she’s up to something, I think she’s up to something big, and I wanna see the Fizzle family be safe from you guys. I have a feeling what she’s doing today will be really bad.
>
>

> Kilroy: You understand that if I come into power, your family can’t stay on Nym. It’s not even up to me, I mean I don’t have much hard feelings toward you Fizzlewicks, but… y’all have been a problem for the gang for awhile now, and if my first act of leadership is to pardon you guys, that’s gonna be put me in a whole lotta shit. It’s gonna make Fanket look a lot better in comparison.
>
>

> Jebeddo: Well she *is* a Fizzlewick—
>
>

> Kilroy: Right! No, I understand. But they would understand it coming from her. If I do it out of nowhere, they’ll think something funny’s going on.
>
>

> Jebeddo: What if the Fizzlewick Family is the one who exposes a plot.
>
>

> Kilroy: …Fair enough. I could see that happening, then. What sort of plot.
>
>

> Jebeddo: I don’t know exactly. But I know she’s been working with Poins? Used to be an alchemist for the gang?
>
>

> Kilroy: …I don’t know Poins. He wasn’t an alchemist for us, we didn’t have an alchemist. I mean, we had one way way back in the day, but they came in and out, and Booshi was the one who did a lot of the early experimentation. We didn’t have a Poins.
>
>

> Jebeddo: I see. You’ve been very helpful. What I need to know is, if the Fizzlewick Family is the one who takes down Mama Fizzlewick, can we get a pardon?
>
>

> Kilroy: …Yeah. You got a deal, Jebeddo. How’s this gonna work though? How would this go down? Is this gonna happen before tonight? There’s a whole meeting?
>
>

> Jebeddo: No, I know. Just be ready, tonight.
>
>

> *[They shake on it.]*
>
>

> Kilroy: You know, I don’t… I don’t blame you kids for coming out the way you did. You had some weird circumstances. *[Jebeddo laughs]* No no, no, we’ve all had some weird circumstances, but Fanket… I mean, fuck, I love my mom, and I can see why you’ve got a tough relationship. She’s uh… she’s a lot.
>
>

> Jebeddo: Yeah, we don’t get along great. It seems to be that the difference is that while I am not above breaking the law to get by, she really seems like the really fucked up kind of criminal. Does some stuff I just can’t watch happen.
>
>

> Kilroy: Yeah, her priorities are strange. What I’ve never understood though is that ultimately, a lot of her desires are circled around your guys’ family. She did things… she was *captivated* by Thoomwast for years. I mean, that is what kept her coming back to you guys. I don’t think she… well, I shouldn’t say that, but, she kept coming back to Thoomwast. For all her evils, for all her weirdness, for all the strange things she’s done… she loves Thoomwast. She’s got a thing for that man.
>
>

> Jebeddo: Yeah, well. Everyone’s gotta have something, right.
>
>

The two say their pleasantries and Jebeddo departs.

### Back in the Bear Cave

Vance comes to The Cave. Namfoodle asks what other ways a turkey can be made, other than through Science. Jebeddo pulls Fanket aside.

> Jebeddo: Hey, so I did a little research.
>
>

> Fanket, *interested*: Yeah?
>
>

> Jebeddo: The gang never had a fucking alchemist. So why don’t you tell me what the fuck is really going on here before I blow this whole shit up? [...] Hey Namfoodle, can you come over here for a sec?
>
>

> Namfoodle: Here I come, brother!
>
>

> Jebeddo: Ah, mom is feeling *really* sad, and she just needs a *really* tight hug. Like squeeze her just as hard as you can, make her feel all the love.
>
>

> Fanket: Namfoodle, I swear to god, I don’t need a goddamn hug. Namfoodle I don’t need a goddamn hug right now!
>
>

> Namfoodle: AWWW, HERE I COME! *[He grabs her up easily.]*
>
>

> Jebeddo: Aww, Namfoodle, don’t let go until I see in her eyes she’s ready to let go. Alright mom, why don’t you tell me what’s really going on before Namfoodle loves you to death.
>
>

> Namfoodle: I love you! I loooove you! I love you mom! I llllllooooovvveeee yoooouuu!!!
>
>

> Fanket: ….I had him make some poisons for me. In case we needed to, we could maybe… I could posion some of the key members of the Hot-wires, get rid of them, get them out of the picture.
>
>

> Jebeddo: Holy shit! Okay! You should have just told me! I’m way more down with that, I thought you were gonna poison the water supply or something!
>
>

Jebeddo tells Namfoodle to let her down.
Meanwhile, Vance puts the map together. 2:13:00. He breaks out Salfando’s half from the frame, and then pulls out a long tube from the pack on his back and speaks a message of draconic into it; *For Aether Bound, For Aether Sought*. Another piece of the map falls out of the tube at this command, and pieces it together, revealing that the planet this is on is Sahvorim, which sounds as though it’s in the Haladesh. Zephi pulls out a sight gem and takes a picture of the completed map.

> Sheevah: I take it this is where you’re going next?
>
>

> Vance: Perhaps. Might need to gather some supplies before I head out there.
>
>

> Sheevah: And then what. If it’s there, you go… home? You drop it off?
>
>

> Vance: Yeah. Give it back to her. Get the power that I’m lookin’ for, that sight, and become the greatest cartographer this galaxy’s ever known.
>
>

> Zephi: Not—not to be pedantic, but I also know a *very* good cartographer and I’m just letting you know that it would be very, *very* difficult to surpass him. But I respect the hustle, I really do.
>
>

> Vance: What would you do, if you found it, Sheevah?
>
>

> Sheevah: Take it home. Give it back.  I just… I know you owe us nothing. But if you could do me a favor, when you get home.
>
>

> Vance: Yeah. Zephi, you mind giving us a moment?
>
>

> Zephi: Oh! Yes, sure, do your… your dragon-y things. I have a bitchy elf to crush. *[She leaves, and Vance turns to Sheevah]*
>
>

> Vance: What do I gotta do.
>
>

> Sheevah: Just… Find my parents? *Really* rub it in their face. *[Vance laughs.]* And maybe mention me when you see her again.
>
>

> Vance: Don't know how welcome I’d be at a clan such as yours, but…
>
>

> Sheevah: Hey, get the power first, I don’t care!
>
>

> Vance: Well. Fair enough. Ah—before I leave, gotta ask you something. When did she come to you?
>
>

> Sheevah: Probably about… 4 or 5 years ago?
>
>

> Vance: No, I mean—what were you doin’?
>
>

> Sheevah: Got lost. Sands.
>
>

> Vance: …Oh, *shit*.
>
>

> Sheevah: Yes. It was…
>
>

> Vance: You ran to the Demon Earth.
>
>

> Sheevah: On accident.
>
>

> Vance: Yeah, that’s not something most Dragonborn go seekin’ out. Damn.
>
>

> Sheevah:  Yeah I… didn’t really think about it.
>
>

> Vance: Fair enough, fair enough.
>
>

> Sheevah: And you?
>
>

> Vance: I was standin’ on a Cliffside. Um… I didn’t think I’d ever find a way to get off Argar, to do what I wanted to do. To map everything. I thought it was a foolish dream of mine. And my… inability to be as proficient with the dracojax as ah, some of our brethren are, meant I wasn’t as valued as some of the brothers and sisters in my clan.
>
>

> Sheevah: Yeah, you’re tellin’ me.
>
>

> Vance: So…marched out onto side of a cliff, thought… well, maybe dragonborns *can* fly, we’ll find out. And as I was fallin’, tryin’ find that out, I started to fly. But it wasn’t me flying. She picked me up. And… we talked. I told her my dreams, she gave me her offer. And that’s what brought me here. I was 19 at the time. You sound like you were *young*.
>
>

> Sheevah: 12.
>
>

> Vance: …That’s intense.
>
>

Sheevah gives Vance one of the Sending Stones, so that he can keep in touch. He agrees and leaves the Boom Court, slipping out amongst the garbage.
Zephi marches over to Creon and Vigil, intent on finishing their conversation from earlier.

> Zephi: Should we talk?
>
>

> Creon: It seems to me we have no reason to speak to each other anymore.
>
>

> Zephi: If you don’t want to talk, I’ll do it for you. Vigil, I think it might be pertinent for you to know as our captain that Creon attempted to cast a spell on me while I was asleep last night.
>
>

> Creon: She’s twisting my words, I was—
>
>

> Vigil: There were no words, there were actions.
>
>

> Creon: She’s twisting my actions. I was trying to help her. I feel you’re distracting from the revelation that you are, in fact, half Haladash!
>
>

> Vigil: No, the revelation is that you tried to do something to a crew member while they were sleeping.
>
>

> Creon: I tried to heal her.
>
>

> Zephi: And more importantly, it wasn’t a revelation! If you had been with us at the Sloe-Down rather than run off with your cult-y murder friends, you would have seen and read my father’s book. We knew all this!
>
>

> Creon, *looking at Sheevah and Vigil*: You two *knew*?!
>
>

> Both: Yep.
>
>

> Sheevah: Read it, cover to cover.
>
>

> Vigil: And I just want to put it out there, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Not every member of the Haladesh is evil.
>
>

> Creon: What kind of military man are you?! You don’t think the enemy is evil? We’ve been fighting the Haladesh for over a thousand years.
>
>

> Vigil: I’m the kind of military man whose war is over. I don’t need to fight them anymore, and neither do you. There’s no more fighting to be done.
>
>

> Creon: You’re deluded if you think the war is over! You’re going to erase the war crimes of the Haladesh, what they’ve done to life and death itself?! Because the war is over, because somebody signed a contract, suddenly all the sins are forgiven?
>
>

> Vigil: I don’t think Zephi as a one-through-six-year-old had anything to do with fucking over life and death itself.
>
>

> Creon: *It’s in her blood!*
>
>

> Vigil: There’s a lot of stuff in your blood I’m sure you wouldn’t want to atone for either. And also your past, which you haven’t revealed to us at all.
>
>

> Creon: I have no shame! I was raised by high elves, I’m from a respectable family, I have nothing to be ashamed of, in fact I am proud!
>
>

> Zephi: And I’m proud of my family! If you wanna get pedantic about what ‘our people’ have done, yours are the ones who refused to help a struggling war effort until it benefitted themselves. I don’t really think it matters myself, but—
>
>

> Creon: My people got involved once our high council was attacked. It was simply allowing the lesser creatures to fight amongst themselves until you involved us.
>
>

> Zephi: So you *do* think we’re all lesser? Then why is it that we have to save you, time and time again? We just broke you out of prison. You tried to rescue someone who didn’t need rescuing—
>
>

> Creon: You’re *deluded* if you don’t think you need rescuing. You hear voices in your head, you don’t speak in complete sentences half the time, you need to be *fixed*.
>
>

> Sheevah: Zephi has people to help her if she needs. You are losing friends one by one, every single day.
>
>

> Zephi: I just want to be your friend! What is it going to take!
>
>

> Creon: Well I just found out you’re the enemy I’ve been fighting my entire life.
>
>

> Zephi: How am I the enemy! Sheevah? Vigil? *[there's a really, really, really long pause.]*
>
>

> Creon: You won’t get anything from Vigil, he’s a military man, like myself.
>
>

> Zephi: You just called him ‘lesser than’! A ‘lesser creature’!
>
>

> Creon: Only by race.
>
>

> Vigil: I’m not getting in between this, but you don’t get to do anything to anyone that they didn’t ask for, and that *includes* when you tried to get me to *murder you.*
>
>

> Zephi: WHAT?!
>
>

> Creon: …That was between us.
>
>

Creon gives an apology to Zephi, which she does not accept as Creon admits it is given partially just to end the conversation. Flabbergasted that neither Sheevah nor Vigil cares about this ‘revelation’ as to Zephi’s heritage, Creon storms away.

Fanket walks over to the remaining group and begins to plan things out. Jebeddo fills everyone in on Kilroy having the note in his pocket, and that he thinks Jebeddo will be backing him. Namfoodle mentions that the Nebolshi have their house swarmed.

Fanket explains that the Hot-wires are currently running out of BumbleTom’s Beekeepers in Jaidside. With nothing else to prep, we gather up, and go to participate in what will surely be a rousing debate and thrilling example of democracy at work, with spirited, but peaceful discussion, ending with one candidate peacefully assuming power.

Right?

Session 31

## The Candidate

Everyone walks to the Bazaar in the Midguild, and approach Bumbletom’s Beekeepers, a little shop that sells honey, beeswax, raw sugar products, and mead.

Everyone follows Fanket inside. It’s a pleasant little shop with an automaton in the back that gives a greeting. Mama Fizzle gives what seems to be a passphrase; “Do you have any spiced honey?” The Automaton replies “It’s not in season,” to which Fanket gives the final response, “Shame. I’m looking for something hot.”

The Automaton’s eyes flicker, and it turns to the side. It reveals a set of barrels that unlock and unwind against the wall to reveal a set of stairs leading up. Fanket leads us up. The passage lets out to a large meeting room with a large rectangular table in the center, with a number of upper level Hot-wire members sitting around it. The head seat (ha,) however, is empty, and Kilroy stands behind it near a board with a variety of Hot-wire dealings mapped out. Jumvat looks up from a honey barrel he sits on against the wall and alerts the room to our presence.

Immediately, Fanket is asked to make her case as to why she deserves to be in charge.

> Jebeddo: I think it’s a pretty easy choice, seeing as I have it on good authority that Kilroy is working for the Feds!
> Kilroy: *Excuse me?!*
>
>

Jebeddo claims he’s certain that Kilroy is making reports to the Nebolshi, so Jumvat grabs him and searches his person. Jumvat rolls poorly. After a minute or two he finally finds the forged note Jebeddo wrote, and another member of the gang goes to inspect it. She rolls badly too, and agrees that the note seems fairly incriminating.
Fanket plays it off, as though it’s not even a big deal, and makes her case.

> Fanket: Listen, I have known you all since I was nothing but a street urchin. I have given my life to this gang. My children have worked for you, I have worked for you. And I’ve watched us grow. I saw what Booshi brought it up to be. I saw glittercane skyrocket. But it’s old news. There is more we can do. We have the members. We have the experience. With me, the heights you could reach... I have a way we could control the Guildmaster himself. Nym would be ours to do with what we want. Do you want growth? Or do you want the steady-on practices of old?
>
>

> Kilroy: You’re all fucking insane. She’s obviously crazy, right?! Like we all see that?! Namfoodle. What do you think about your mom. C’mon. Just be honest.
>
>

> Namfoodle: I-I love mom!
>
>

> Kilroy: You like to give her hugs, right?
>
>

> Namfoodle: And kisses!
>
>

> Kilroy: Yeah? When’s the last time your mom hugged or kissed *you*.
>
>

> Namfoodle: Well, I don’t remember much—
>
>

> Kilroy: Jebeddo. You see your mom a lot? She’s around, she’s present in your life?
>
>

> Namfoodle: Well not when she’s in prison, but also not all those times when she wasn’t in prison but also wasn’t there…
>
>

> Kilroy: Exactly. Jebeddo, do you trust your mother? You trust her? *[Jebeddo laughs]* Gerome! Gerome, remind me, why did you leave Nym?
>
>

> Gerome: Cause you’re an asshole!
>
>

> Kilroy: Oh, cause I’m an asshole! It doesn’t have anything to do with being beat down by a couple hot-wires? Cause they found out you were selling a better product, and not cutting the gang in? Was that it?
>
>

> Gerome: That wasn’t *great*.
>
>

> Kilroy: How do you think they found out that you were doing that. How do you think they learned about that.
>
>

> *[Gerome looks to Fanket]*
>
>

> Gerome: Mommy?
>
>

> Fanket: He’s fucking with you, kid. I didn’t do anything like that. I wouldn’t do that to my own kid.
>
>

> Zephi: I’m—I’m sorry, I’m a little confused, do you expect the leader of a prominent gang to be nice and cuddly? I’m sort of lost on what the angle here is.
>
>

> Kilroy: That’s not the point. Doesn’t matter if you’re nice, the point is they have to be trustworthy. And if her own family doesn’t trust her, then how the hell is the gang supposed to trust her.
>
>

> *[Namfoodle raises his hand]*
>
>

> Fanket: Namfoodle what, what do you wanna say.
>
>

> Namfoodle: Didn’t—didn’t you say to Jebeddo that she always loved our family and she would never do anything like that. So now you’re not saying that, and… I dunno.
>
>

> Gerome: Look, Kilroy, when it comes down to it, her whole family’s here. Where’s yours?
>
>

It’s put to a vote. Kilroy rolls at disadvantage, Fanket rolls straight.

*Every roll* is a 19.

The vote is split dead even. Fanket tells them that someone has to change their mind, one way or another. Fanket rolls a nat 20.

The hands for Kilroy slowly fall away, and Fanket walks to the head of the table. She sits, and gets comfortable. She says everything needs adjusting. First order of business, she thanks Kilroy for his service to the gang, but says that that service has concluded. She raises her right, gloved hand. It *pops off her arm* and *skitters over* and *plants itself on Kilroy’s face*. A flash of violet light bursts out, throwing him backward, ripping skin off his face, and dealing serious necrotic damage. The hand jumps off and pops itself back on to Fanket’s arm.

She promises to finish him off later, but now it’s time to meet the new recruits. She pulls out a sending stone.

“Poins! Do it.”

There’s… a trembling noise. It reverberates across the *entire city.*

The ground beneath us grows hot and purple flames suddenly shoot up through the woodwork, igniting the room. Screams are heard outside, and crashing sounds. A wall of flame shoots through the room of Bumbletom's. Gerome, Namfoodle, and Zephi take fire damage. It’s initiative time, baby!

Fanket looks startled at the extent of the devastation she’s wrought, but not the damage itself—Zephi scrambles forward toward Fanket.

> Zephi: What the fuck are you doing!
> Fanket: Bringing friends!
>
>

She takes another look around the room, and realizes the purple and blue flames are… familiar. Everything is perfectly reminiscent of the final fight in the Ironbane Mines. Fanket’s hand twists slightly, and a single worm wriggles out.

> Zephi: IT’S THE WORMS AGAIN!!
>
>

Vigil charges through the flames, convinces the other Hot-wires we’re on their side, and stabs Fanket. There’s some commotion, a lot more hitting, and then the very conflicted Namfoodle spots Hector’s Turkey, which he nobly rescues. Kilroy, fittingly, lands two blows with scimitars on Fanket, knocking her out and knocking us all out of initiative.

Gerome runs over to his mother to get a better look at that gloved hand. It’s…

It’s *his fucking hand.*

It’s the hand he lost to the black hole back in the Ironebane Mines! He really was his mother’s right hand. *Ba dum tchss*. Gerome puts the hand in an empty jar he has, with some oil to preserve it. As he’s pouring the oil in, a familiar voice reverberates through everyone’s minds, sounding completely sardonic;

> Spawn: Well. Hello there! It’s been too long since we’ve seen each other! As you can see, I’ve come in larger number this time. Thank you *very* much for bringing the key to accessing your galaxy, straight to where we needed it. It’s no matter if you close it now; we’ve got an army. My suggestion; ***RUN***.
>
>

Zephi joins Sheevah at the window and they look out over Nym. With the fight gone and the voice out of our heads, everyone now hears the sounds of crackling fire, alarm bells, and screams all over the city. Across the skyline of Guildhome, Zephi sees blue palls of light hanging over the entire city, exactly like we’d seen in the Mines. Far, far in the distance, she spots a giant black orb, hovering over the estate of the Guildmaster. Out of it spill hundreds of aberrations, pouring onto the street below.

FUCK.

Vigil gets up on the table and addresses the Hot-wires.

> Vigil: Listen. She played us just as good as she played you. But what’s gonna happen now, if you want all of your people to get out of here in one piece, we’re all gonna need to stick together and get the fuck out of this city.
>
>

Jumvat is actually the first to speak up, and agree to Vigil’s plan. The other Hot-wire’s hop on board, and Vigil asks if they have enough ships to get *everyone*, like, *the whole city* off Nym—they agree to try their best. Vigil also suggests moving the planet in the hopes the orb won’t follow.

Zephi uses Sending on Salfando.

```
Salfando, it’s Zephi; on an errand and Nym’s gone mad. Are you safe?

```

```
Where are you? Do you need help? I can get you out.

```

A pause, and then;

```
Zephi?! Ms. Velhiri, it’s a wonder to hear from you. You have any idea

```

```
what the hell is goin’ on out there?! We’ve been—No, NO!

```

He’s cut off in the middle of screaming. As if things couldn’t get any worse!

Zephi runs to Vigil and tells him we need to get to Lentini; He’s one of the guildmasters, which means he could have access to moving the planet, he’s powerful, and we need him in the long run too. She’s only got 1 sending slot left, but Vigil says it’s worth it, so she tries again.

```
Salfando. 25 words. Where are you so we can come get you?

```

A luck check is made.

```
Zephi, I’m hiding in my closet. There’s something crawling through

```

```
my apartment, I live right above my office. Help and I’d be *forever* indebted.

```

Hector asks what’s going on, so we fill him in as well as Jebeddo and Namfoodle on what the fuck the worms are.

Sheevah whips out her paper to message Rylance;

* Spawn are back; on Nym. BUT WORSE SO MUCH WORSE
* Gods alive. What do you need?
* Help! Getting everyone off Nym!
* I’ll reach out to the Emergency Council.

Vigil tells the Hot-wires to start pulling all their strings, because it’s life or death for the entire planet. They put out word through their sending stones to mobilize all their ships and pick up as many people as they can, civilians included. Zephi is unwilling to wait anymore and runs through the flames back downstairs, followed by the group of us, Gerome and Hector picking up the turkey and running with it together.

## Out of the Honeypot and Into the Fire

On the street, everything is chaos. Smoke clouds our vision and coats our lungs, and as we run down a street and turn a corner, a massive wall of flame erupts and blocks our path, about 15 feet high. Zephi, full of fire herself, says fuck it and runs through. Everyone follows and manages to dive through the flames, unburnt. The few Hot-wires who followed us begin to split off down alleyways, trying to help direct screaming civilians and runaway carts.

We keep running, and suddenly the ground beneath us rumbles again, and a few tentacles or Wormy bastard arms reach up to grab Sheevah. Vigil cleaves the thing in half with ease, and we keep going. As Sheevah gets her bearings she sends a message to Vance with her stone;

```
Mass evacuation. If you can, help.

```

There’s no response.

We finally arrive at the Mercantile Guild. Unsurprisingly, as we get closer to the zone just below the orb, things in the city get worse. At the Guild, we’re spotted by a few grue; Zephi throws faerie fire at them and they light up in brilliant pinks and golds, and Vigil eviscerates one, Sheevah blasting the next into oblivion while Vigil deflects a third running at Zephi. Namfoodle cleaves through this grue, splattering it all over the ground. Creon hits another and explodes that one too, finally clearing our path. Zephi tears up the stairs of the Guild, while Jebeddo tells Gerome he’s gonna go get a ship, and that Gerome has to go check on the family.

Hector, Gerome, and Namfoodle run for The Bear Cave. They make it inside to see their entire family with makeshift weapons, primed and ready to go and face off against *nine grue.* That’s a lot of wormy boys! The brothers begin to fight back, but are outnumbered by the grue by a lot. The family gets in some hits, but then Lillick and Thoomwast drop, unconscious. Gerome and Namfoodle do their best while Hector feeds healing potions to the two unconscious Fizzlewicks, and soon, after some especially solid hits from Namfoodle, the grue turn and flee.

Dashing up the stairs of the Mercantile Guild, Vigil pushes past Zephi and blasts the door down, wood scattering. There’s a single big—well, not grue, inside. This one is bigger; a Mangler. Zephi and Creon flank the thing, though they both miss their attacks—Sheevah makes the first steady blow, and it’s easier going from there. The Mangler takes special issue with Zephi, but she stays standing, and Vigil finishes it off; he whispers to the Starfather axe, “These are the bastards that dug up your grave. Help me send them to theirs.” He slashes through the Mangler and pins its dead body up against the wall.

At the docks, Jebeddo gets to his criminal contact, Curio DiCaprio *(DARCY ARE YOU FOR REAL)*. Jebeddo convinces Curio to trade him room aboard a small skiff for 50 gold (a highway robbery, by Curio’s own admission). He tells Jebeddo to meet him by his ship the Telemaco in an hour with the Fizz fam, and both families can escape no problem. Jebeddo agrees and runs off to grab them.

In The Bear Cave, said Fizz fam is licking their wounds, and Gerome heals Thoomwast a bit more. They all ask what the hell is going on and Gerome tells them it’s The Big Prank, which is apparently the term in the church of Beldur for The Apocalypse. Nice, Nick. Hearing that Jebeddo is getting them a ship, Lillick helps gather up the family and then realizes, hey, wait.

Where’s Corfan?

Oh FUCK

Gerome and Namfoodle split off to look for their brother. Gerome makes sure they take along our brigade of animals, and Namfoodle stops to give Thoomwast his axe, which he tearfully accepts.

Gerome pours all his might into searching for Corfan (nat 20! Plus 8!) and finds him, lying amongst the trash a whiles away. There’s a worm, feasting on his chest, but hearing Namfoodle’s heavy foot falls, looks up, startled, and slithers away in a rush. They run up to him, and it looks like he’s stabilized naturally. Namfoodle gathers Corfan up in his arms, and Gerome casts Cure Wounds while Namfoodle gives him a kiss on the forehead. He coughs awake, blearily happy to see both of them, and Gerome congratulates Namfoodle on healing their brother with his kiss and the power of family. Namfoodle puts his arms up to celebrate and drops Corfan. Oof.

Everyone accounted for, Namfoodle scoops up Corfan again and he and Gerome start running to the Jaidside docks.

At the Mercantile Guild, Zephi wrenches open the closet door. She tells him he’s got to come with the party, and asks if he has a way to contact the Guildmaster. He said he tried earlier, but got no response—actually, he tried all of them, and they were all silent. We tell him to grab the essentials from his office collection before we run. He needs a few things; the painting of Billy, notes from the inventors of Spelljammers, and a Portant of Beldur, a small pen, which he offers to Zephi. She reaches to grab it and it shocks her, because it’s a prank pen, because *Of Fucking Course*. “A little prank during The Biggest Prank?! Salfando!”

Zephi cuts the portait of Billy from its frame, while Sheevah grabs the notes from the Spelljammer inventor, and steals a couple of books. Zephi and Sheevah roll 24 and 18. Darcy says we’ll handle it during the week and he’ll get us that info. Darcy I love you but we never got it and I’m allowed to roast you for this because the Nym arc has been over 100 pages in Word so far. It is my legal right.

### Two Paths Diverge in a Bloody Field

Creon approaches the corpse of the Spawn to inspect it, oozing blood. His eyes focus on the drop of the blood, until it’s all he can see. His eyes begin to pour blood. He loses consciousness, and all he can hear is the sounds of screams and cries that wrack the city, until that fades to the sound of gunshot, and war. People crying out in battle, pain, and anguish. He’s used to this, it often accompanies him while he trances, but the sounds of pain multiply by thousands, and overtake him. It’s a bellowing wail—Creon reaches out to touch the blood coming out of the Spawn Mangler, and suddenly—he’s no longer in the room.

He turns to look and finds that he’s now on a battlefield. Not just any battlefield, though. He’s 40 years prior. At one side is Thomas Soj, swinging with an axe before pulling out his blunderbuss and firing, before running off with a call that he’ll find Creon in a moment.

He’s suddenly *swarmed* by Gith. They run at them, heads covered with familiar protective helmets, and they swing down on him. Falling into step with his past self, he swings at them, cutting through them, unseaming them. They fall back, piles collect around him, dead at his sword. Suddenly, the sound of the battle is drowned out by a dull, methodical wooshing sound, the pulse of blood. Without being able to stop himself, he lifts the helmet off of one of the gith.

It’s Gerome’s face.

He reels, and lifts another; Sheevah’s face. Another, Vigil’s face. And finally, another; Zephi’s face, dead cold eyes staring back up at him. Her nose is broken, and there’s a deep gash across her face. The blood from his party members’ bodies begins to pool around him, gushing an unnatural amount. Creon looks up at the sky, and realizes that it’s not tears he’s feeling, but that the sky is raining blood. Past that, the broiling red and yellow clouds spell out words for him.

YOU HAVE WALKED THE PATH OF BLOOD FOR 250 YEARS. IT WILL NOT SO EASILY RELINQUISH YOU.

Creon lifts his sword, and drops it. The blade plummets; though it should fall into blood, it clatters to the ground in front of him—the blood is gone, and the rain is still falling, but it’s slowly turning back to water. He focuses his attention to the bodies of his fallen comrades, and starts performing healing spells. The blood pours faster from the sky now. Each of his party members coughs at his healing spell, before falling limp, no matter what he tries.

He turns and sees a new sword in his hand, the same one he grabbed in his previous vision. Holding it tight, he finds he has access to something he didn’t before, and a blast of healing light explodes from his hand; all of his colleagues are brought back from beyond death. They stumble to their feet, and the blood from the sky is now a torrent.

Creon looks around for a sign of red hair, and for the first time, he sees in full, a knight; A full set of armor, a chest piece with a golden sun, holding the same sword he is, and long red hair trailing behind her. He hears her laugh, and the vision fades, and he’s back in Lentini’s office.

Vigil notices Creon with the blood coming from his eyes, and he gently lays a hand on Creon’s shoulder, which is the sensation that pulls him out of the vision. Creon whips around, getting some blood on the minotaur’s face, and looks at him in the eye and says, with a bit of surprise,

> Creon: You’re alive.
>
>
> Vigil : Are you alright?
>
>
> Creon, *pushing past him*: I’m fine, I’m fine.
>
>
> *[Vigil grabs his upper arm.]*
>
>
> Vigil : It’s okay if you’re not.
>
>
> Creon: We’re a bit busy.
>
>
> Vigil : And you’re a bit bleeding. Now is the time to tend to wounds.
>
>
>
> Creon: Quite right. *[He downs a health potion]*
>
>

We run to the Jaidside docks, tragically out of Sending slots so we can’t text Schwippers and ask for a ride. Sheevah brings up to all of us that last time we fought the Spawn, the way we stopped it was disrupting the rings of fire. So, that’s our plan.

The docks are in chaos. There are grue everywhere, screaming civillians, and fire. Jebeddo gets the family on Telemacho and he, Namfoodle, Hector, and Salfando join the party on the Karnival Kruise.

Thoomwast quickly pulls Jebeddo aside and tells him to get home safe, and gives Namfoodle’s axe back. While that’s happening, Namfoodle hears a cry for help! He turns, and there’s Gil!, His Number One Fan, surrounded by grue! Namfoodle goes into a rage and destroys both grue in one hit each. Gil thanks him and gives him a big hug before ushering him to the Telemacho. Gil says, “I’m really proud of you—” and then boards the ship. As it’s lifting off he finishes with “—son!”

This doesn’t register with Namfoodle. The sun is a completely different place!

As we finally find the ship, where flames are burning out from either side, and we spy—a spawn hulk on the deck. Of *course*. It looks like it’s protecting something… looks like the ship is the key they need.

“The Karnival Kruise carrying a deadly disease to all aboard and everywhere it lands is a *little* bit on the nose.” –Issac

We decide to try to distract this hulking spawn with Gerome’s Boi and sound thaumaturgical sounds, but it doesn’t work, and upon firing, the Boi misses.

The Spawn Hulk roars. Namfoodle roars louder.

Initiative time!

## The Gang Become Exterminators

Session 32 For awhile, we get away with positioning ourselves and hitting the beast, a Mangler, without alerting it to our presence; but like all good things, this comes to a dramatic and violent halt. Namfoodle rushes up as well as Vigil and get right in range, while most everyone else runs aboard the ship. Gerome scurries below deck to the core room, and discovers and he isn’t alone. There’s a limp, sickly looking Rock Gnome, breathing creepily. His clothes look like he was once an Alchemist, but there are worms crawling through his skin. while they fight, Gerome gets it to move, so he can get a better look at the core in its current state; the gnome seems to have smashed a glass vial of purplish fluid that Gerome recalls from the Ironbane Mines over the top of the core. It’s seeped down, dripping off the sides, and that’s where the flames are originating from.

Gerome realizes the purplish liquid connected to the flames is Ilithid blood. And the smell is the same smell that he and Jebeddo caught when he and Jebeddo were crawling through the sewers. He knows that if he can sever the connection between the blood and the flame, he can sever the connection to the Phlogiston. WOO!!! Above the deck, Vigil, Namfoodle, and the Mangler wallop each other. Vigil swings twice on the Mangler and cleaves through it, and it responds in kind. One of it’s hits is a nat 20, and oh my fuck does Darcy roll a lot of dice. Vigil takes 41 points of damage, and he is, unsurprisingly, knocked the fuck out. While unconscious, Vigil feels himself floating. He looks down and sees he’s over Magnica, his body slowly drifting toward the star near it. As he gets closer her feels the familiar thud of iron against iron, of the forge. Just as Vigil is about to touch into the flames of the star, he wakes up, dazed and stumbles awake, as Creon heals him. Sheevah finishes off the mangler with a blast, and our two tanks Namfoodle and Vigil stand on shakey legs, only a handful of hit points between them.

Zephi, now officially out of Full Zephi Mode, fills in the Voices;

> Zephi: […] Worms, again. Worms. *Again*.
>
>

> Voices: Right. The Spawn is back. Vash has truly given up on us.
>
>

> Zephi: Could you say more about that?
>
>

> Voices: You have to close this portal. *Now*. Break the connection.
>
>

Namfoodle bleeds on the ground, while down in the core room, Gerome grabs a jug of vinegar and gives the core a bit of a washing. Zephi runs down to see the two in car wash mode, and tells him we have to *Go*. Belatedly, she sees Poins’ gross dead body, and identifies him.

Outside, the outer ring of flame spreading from the Karnival Kruise begins to flicker and wane, dying out. It looks like all we needed to do was give this thing a good scrub! The giant hole hovering above the Guildmasters estate begins to shudder and shake, and shrinks down by a great deal—from the size of a building, to the size of a room. Spawn still pour out from it; and everyone gets onboard and in place. Namfoodle asks for a turn driving.

Zephi, as navigator, is able to get a look at the remaining ring of fire—it’s the smaller one, running just above the Whal—but can’t find any pillars, the ones the party saw in the Ironbane Mines that we had to knock over. However, she can see gaps where the pillars *should* be. She points it out to Vigil and Sheevah, and Sheevah points them toward the nearest gap.

We narrowly avoid a building that shoots out a pillar of smoke, and then another—we finally reach the empty space in the flame, but there’s… nothing of note. Well. Looks like it’s in the sewers. Time for another jaunt for the Fizzewick brothers, this time including Namfoodle! (Who is healed up a bit by Sheevah before he goes.)

They descend down to the streets via a rope, Namfoodle’s bear outfit just appearing as he goes. The Bear hoists a Gnome Hole covering off the street and the three climb down into the sewers. Gerome and Jebeddo look around but see nothing, until they hear a hiss and a Spawn Grue leaps out at Gerome.

Above ground, three spawn grue leap out and land on the deck of the Karnival Kruise. Roll initiative, kids.

In the sewers, Namfoodle swings but hits cobblestone. Jebeddo stabs down at the grue and crits, nearly killing it in one hit. Gerome Ray of Frosts and also crits, freezing it to stone and watching it crumble.

Hector throws a vial of acid at a grue, hitting it between the eyes. Sheevah whips out her glaive and slashes one of the wormy boys to bits, and Zephi fires her guns at the same grue Gilligan hit, and it staggers. That same grue sinks its teeth into Hector and knocks him unconscious. Creon runs from the grue near him to attack the one near Gilligan; he tolls the dead and it shrivels and dies, and then casts Spare the Dying on Hector. Vigil slashes at the final grue and pushes it off the ship.

### It's Going Down, I'm Yelling Timber

In the sewers, Jebeddo notices a set of sigils written into the ground in a language he doesn’t recognize. They run down the walls of the sewer, and at one point dip under the water to meet each other. Jebeddo searches for clues of how to stop this thing in the direction and positioning of the runes. He realizes it’s an enchantment that needs to be activated, and points it out to Gerome.

> Jebeddo: Hey, Namfoodle, I don’t want you to feel left out—you got any ideas?
>
>

> Namfoodle: Can I smash it?
>
>

> Jebeddo: Yeah buddy! You can smash it.
>
>

Gerome makes an Artificers Lore check and manages a *30*. The runes are written in Deep Speech, and he can recognize the pattern as a sealant of sorts to the Board Ethereal, a transitive point at which someone could enter into the Ethereal Plane. Well. If it needs activating, let’s activate it! Gerome has Jebeddo and Namfoodle stand in the right spots and they all press the runes, and they light up, and everything shifts. They’re still in the sewers, but everything is a strange foggy white, like they’re standing on clouds.

Suddenly in the center of the passageway is a giant obsidian obelisk that rises up and out of the sewer, out into the street, and it appears that whoever constructed them constructed them in the ethereal plane so they could be hidden until activation. Because the Board Ethereal is still connected to the Prime Material Plane, the pillars were still able to connect with the ship’s arcane core through the ilithid blood in the sewers.

Gerome remembers that the first time we were up against the Spawn, we beat it by knocking over the pillars, which he informs Namfoodle and Jebeddo of. Gerome fashions together a bottle of Dragons’ Brew, casts Arcane Weapon on it, and launches it all with a Catapult. Darcy lets him double the damage for everything, because there's another crit.

They line it up and fire, lighting it up, and it shatters against the pillar. Nothing happens at first, and then there are cracks along the Obsideon, and then it SHATTERS, fire wreathing up around it, and then the obelisk begins to crumble and slide and fall….. right on top of the brothers three. Oh, dear.

Gerome rolls a 0, somehow.

Jebeddo slides as the debris falls, and scrambles up just in time to slam the arcane sigil, though both his brothers take some fairly heavy damage. They emerge on the Prime Material Plane, back in the sewer proper, Gerome unconscious and Namfoodle nearly so. Gerome makes a death saving throw.

Gerome rolls a nat 1.

His luck has really changed—two nat 20s in a row to get here, and two nat 1s. Oof. Jebeddo tries a medicine check with advantage but rolls two 2s. The next death saving throw is a success, and Jebeddo and Namfoodle kick their asses into gear, crit, and Gerome comes back to life, gasping for breath.

In the ship, the crew notices the inner ring of fire begins to flicker out. The portal begins to close, and everyone hears the voice in their heads say *"no, nO!*” and the portal grinds close. Unfortunately, the city is still crawling with Spawn. The Sewer Squad returns the way they came, and climbs aboard the ship looking fairly disheveled.

The fire has spread so that it’s taken over some buildings, and the spawn roam free. Sheevah suggests we fly above and reign down terror upon the Spawn, but we’re not sure how to do that effectively.

### Oil Spill

While everyone’s talking Gerome pulls out the jar containing his hand floating in oil. He notices the spawn inside the hand, the little worms that stuck around, seem to be wriggling around in discomfort. Sheevah heals him up, and he tells everyone that it seems strange. He takes it out, and the moment the hand hits the air it starts to wriggle violently, coming back to life—Gerome shoves it back in the jar right away.

The worms don’t like oil, we guess. Salfando mentions that there’s an Oilbond store close by in Jaidside. He points the way, and we’re off. We narrowly avoid a building after another pillar of smoke, and then (mostly) skirt out of the way of an explosion, though the ship takes some fire damage. Next, tendrils of worms shoot out from the ground to grab the ship, restraining it. Creon, Vigil, and Zephi get to hacking, as Sheevah dodges another tendril shooting out for her.

The tendrils are hacked away, and we arrive at the Oilbond store. Vigil asks Creon to fire on the oil store with the canon, if he’s sure he can hit with precision to knock some grue off the roof. One is killed and a few more scurry off, and Salfando informs everyone that the store has a stock of oil in the center of the building. If we could lower a cable down, we could take from the tankard.

Gerome says we need a siphen, or a *lot* of spray bottles. Jebeddo suggests we just take the whole damn thing. Creon points out that oil on fire is maybe bad. Gerome takes a closer look at the oil and it looks like it’s really good quality, which is Darcy’s way of saying don’t worry about that. Gerome wants to freeze the oil and slide it around town. Hector Gilligan, who Zephi has just healed back to consciousness, ask why we aren’t just lifting up the tankard. This conversation lasts 30 minutes. We do love debating, huh?

We blow up a hole in the roof, and Vigil, Sheevah, Zephi, and Creon, go to down the exploded opening. Gerome brings out his Defender Boi. There’s a lot of barrels of oil in the store, as well as a bunch of grue. There is a big fight. Many grue explode. None of us die. And isn’t that what’s most important? I have been writing for over 100 pages now. Do you guys even read the fights? I understand if you don’t read the fights. Some of them are cool, but I get it. Should I still write them up? Idk. Let me know. Is this subtly a way for me to find out if you actually read this arc? Yeah. Will I go back and write up this battle??? Maybe. Maybe not! That’s the spice of life, kids. What you need to know is that Vigil falls down a hole which is funny, and we tie the tankard to ropes and Zephi tells Namfoodle and Gerome we’re good to go.

Everyone gets on board the ship, and the battle appears to be evening out, with the gnomes, Nebolshi, Hot-wire, and civilian alike, fighting back. Creon proposes putting all of the oil in the water system and breaking the hydrants to spread everywhere. We grab up the rest of the small barrels to have a supply of them, 20, and Gerome names a few spots that would be best to deposit the oil into the water system.

We decide to recruit some Nebolshi; Vigil convinces them to help out by pouring the oil into the water supply, and we load up the smaller barrels onto their ships when they agree.

The ship heads for the center of the problem, the Guildmaster’s estate, which still has the largest concentration of Spawn. As we fly we nick the side of a building, and we’re restrained again soon after by a tendril of worms. Everyone hacks away, Creon crits on a canon hit, and Sheevah nimbly rolls out of the way of yet another tendril. We dodge a pillar of smoke, but swerves into a fire and takes a bit of a singeing.

Finally at the Guildmaster’s Estate, the party sees absolute *disaster*. It’s broiling over with Spawn, now so thick its impossible to see the building underneath. There’s Nebolshi on the ground firing up at them, but it’s not helping much. Time for our Oil tank! Creon slides down the rope and opens the lid to make sure our aim is precise, and Zephi heats up a hole on the bottom of the tankard-- just large enough for oil to spill out, before she ends the spell. Oil spills out readily over the top of the building, and the worms retaliate by sending a tendril up to grab Creon. He dodges and hangs on, and Sheevah pilots well enough that the oils coat the Spawn.

Gerome observes the effects of the oil, and realizes that while the oil doesn’t kill the Spawn, it makes them a great deal more susceptible to damage. The Nebolshi are able to cleave through them as they fall off the estate, and some of the worms die on impact with the ground.

### No One's Home

It’s sunrise now, the star closest to Nym rising over the horizon. The Guildmaster’s estate is still covered, and a few members decide to descend to the ground to fight there. After a few hours of fighting, most of the spawn are dead. Sheevah blows up the roof of the estate so we can get in and possibly either help the guildmaster, or control the planet ourselves.

The inside is devastated. It’s like walking through a house after a fire, everything eviscerated. Everyone’s down there, so we ask Salfando for directions, and he’s able to find the master bedroom.

On the bed is a gnome, lying limp on the bed. Oh dear.

Zephi uses message to say “*Wakey wakey!*” She hears a deep voice reply, “*No one’s home.*”

The body sits up, and lurches forward limply. Vigil swings his axe down on the husk, slicing through but not killing him. Zephi lights the bitch up with Faerie Fire, and Namfoodle smashes through the thing with his maul, splattering the animated corpse all over the wall. He sheds a tear. “I’ve never seen a dead body before!” Vigil puts a hand on his shoulder to comfort him.

Zephi turns to Salfando and asks him if there’s a way to contact the other Guild leaders, and leads us to the controls. He’s a little shaken up—fair, given he just saw a friend and close colleague turned into a zombie husk and subsequently splattered against the wall.

In the control room, there’s a set of glittering knobs and buttons as well as a three-dimensional map of Zamana. Salfando identifies himself to the system, saying the Guildmaster is unable to serve, and it recognizes him. He reaches out to the guilds. First, the Home guild. No response. Then the Alchemists’ Guild; nothing. Next, the Tinkerer’s Guild. Silence. And then;

> Vance: Right, no, no problem, looks like we got things all sorted over here. How’re y’all doin’? Assuming the gang’s all there. Sheevah! How ya doin’.
>
>

> Sheevah: *Vance*?!
>
>

> Jebeddo: It’s our boy!
>
>

Vance says he hopped in to help when he saw things going south, and went to the first guild he could get to. The Tinkerer guildchief is completely fine, and Vance sends his best. The Tinkerer’s Guild owes him for life now, so he’s in a great mood.

Salfando seems very overwhelmed but insists it’ll mostly hit him later—Zephi tells him he’ll be a good Guildmaster, and gives him a hug. Aww. Sheevah writes to Rylance and tells him the urgency is gone, though Nym will still need some help.

### Drifting into Visions

Everyone, Salfando, Hector, Namfoodle, and Jebeddo included, retires to the Karnival Kruise. Sheevah, as she’s drifting to sleep, feels her scales grow warm and crystalline.

> Aether: Hello. We haven’t talked in a bit.
>
>

> Sheevah, *sing-song*: I’ve been a little buuusy.
>
>

> Aether: Right. No, I’ve… you are my eyes. I’ve noticed. [long silence.] Are you managing?
>
>

> Sheevah: I mean… as well as I can. Got a little off track but… getting around to it, I guess.
>
>

> Aether: Right. Well I’m happy you’re okay.
>
>

> Sheevah: How many of us are there?
>
>

> Aether: A good number. Can’t be more than twelve. But…
>
>

> Sheevah: ***Twelve*** In the entire universe is not a sizable number.
>
>

> Aether: It’s more than one. Which is… a lie of omission on my part. It’s possible that I… I’m still getting better at this… part. Knowing what matters. To you. Knowing… what hurts, and what doesn’t. I… I don’t want you to think that in any way I don’t value you, or don’t care for you in the way that I told you do. I do. Thoroughly.
>
>

> Sheevah: I—I never thought you didn’t.
>
>

> Aether: I didn’t want you to think that on finding out there was others. I didn’t want you to think you were 1/12th as loved as you thought you were.
>
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> Sheevah: Just sounds like you had twelve times the love to give.
>
>

> Aether: Yes. Something like that.
>
>

> Sheevah: And as long as we’re still working towards the same goal, I guess its not that big of a deal.
>
>

> Aether: Yes. But—I would warn you, not by design of my own, but by sheer limitation of my power, at the end of this road, I can only give out one blessing. There are many of you. Enough to provide good competition. I don’t want you to hurt the others, I don’t want you to pursue destroying each other’s chances, but I do want you to know, I can’t promise the blessing that I offer to every single one of you. Only the one that can bring it.
>
>

> Sheevah:  So when this is over, and when you get what we’re looking for, if I wasn’t the one to find it, do I lose everything I have now?
>
>

> Aether: No! You’d still have the powers that I’m able to give you. But there’s more that I can give with the scale. Sight beyond sight. Perception. And power. I can’t give that to more than one.
>
>

> Sheevah: …Is everyone else’s quest just as noble?
>
>

> Aether: How do you rate such a thing? They all seem to help, in some way or another. Vance seeks to map this galaxy—with the blessings of this scale, Vance could potentially understand the orbits of the stars and planets, could predict cataclysmic natural events far in advance, and what you’d like to do would help to bring families together, to bring Argar together. But I am limited. I am not Otia, I’m not some of these other deities. I’m the Keeper of Zamana, and my blessings are few.
>
>

> Sheevah: And what…. What will *you* do once you get it back?
>
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> Aether: I will try to bring them back. My brothers and sisters who we lost.
>
>

> Sheevah: Don’t… don’t get me wrong, I’d like to be the one to find it, but if I don’t lose what I’ve already gained, I don’t know that I mind if someone else’s noble quest gets fulfilled.
>
>

> Aether: That’s honorable. But all the same, it is kind of our deal.
>
>

> Sheevah: NO, no, you’re right, I got the map and everything, I’m on it. But if Vace gets there first.. Like, I, I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m on a planet, I had to make a pit stop, with the—with the planet that moves around, that can go anywhere, and I couldn’t let the bad guys take over that—
>
>

> Aether: No, yeah, that was honorable, and you’ve well, and for that you will be rewarded, I promise. But you must know, the quest is dire, and the faster we get it, the less dire. There is rumor of something dark coming to Zamana. These Spawn may indeed be hinting at that. But my knowledge beyond Zamana is limited, as are my powers within it. That is all I know.
>
>

> Sheevah: If there’s a chance the scale is destroyed, would you have any way of knowing that?
>
>

> Aether: If the scale was destroyed, I would cease to be, your powers would be lost, as would Zamana.
>
>

> Sheevah: That’s a…. that’s a relief to hear.
>
>

> Aether: Right. Well, I wish you the best, Sheevah. I wish you love.
>
>

Also during the night, Zephi has a moment with the Voices—she learns the main one she converses with is named Leopold, and he shows her a memory of the deal the Voices and she made to find the Orb. He mentions that his world was destroyed by a woman named Echton, and that Vash does not seek to harm her family, nor her mother’s ‘realm’, but that they could ensure Billy would be powerful beyond belief if she got it to them. They also gave her the lute, and encouraged her to seek out a young doctoral candidate from the Prime Institute named Jacob Willsworth. (Full Memory Here.)

Everyone wakes up at level 6.

Gerome uses his Brewer’s Kit to make coffee, as he does often. Zephi makes French toast. Everyone sits at the table, and Creon somewhat awkwardly stands, somber. Zephi puts a hand on Salfando’s shoulder. “I’m sorry for whatever is about to happen.”

> Creon: I do not believe in apologies. They are for men who prefer words over deeds. So I will make this brief, and allow my future actions to speak for me. But I feel compelled to tell you this; I seen you all dead and lifeless by my own hand, and I have no intention of seeing any of you that way again. Zephi. *[He looks at her.]* I don’t regret saving you from Lt. Uthorim. I don’t think I even regret killing him. But you must understand I fought the Haladesh and all it stood for my entire life. Discovering your origins was a betrayal that made me question everything I know about you. Question whether I know you at all. But the truth is, I do know you. I know you all. Despite your flaws, you are, at your core, good. And despite my own, I have developed a certain attachment to you. I find that I have made enemies with you, when I should have made friends. I will not beg or demand forgiveness, but I would be grateful for the chance to earn it.
>
>

Embarrassed, he leaves.

Everything is silent. Namfoodle eats several more slices of toast in one bite. Jebeddo speaks up.

> Jebeddo: Well, not that you guys aren’t a great influence here on Nym, but where are you headed to next?
>
>

> Zephi: We have a friend to help. Thaphus.
>
>

> Gerome: …Who is it?
>
>

> Zephi: Karn!
>
>

> Gerome: …Oh yeah what are we *doing*?!? Let’s go!! No, but actually we should check in on the family first.
>
>

Speaking of, hey, where’s that boat with the entire rest of the Fizzlewick family? It looks like most of the families who fled are back, docked, but not yet allowed to reenter the city.

Zephi runs off to give syrup to Creon. She knocks.

> Creon: Who is—who is it? *[Zephi knocks again, Creon opens the door.]*
>
>

> Zephi: You forgot. The syrup.
>
>

> *[Creon looks down. There is already syrup on his plate. Zephi knows this.]*
>
>

> Creon: No, I don’t need any more syrup, Zephi.
>
>

> Zephi: Oh. Um. Why not. You should try. Having more good things. More good things make bad things go away.
>
>

> Creon: That is exactly what I am trying to do.
>
>

> Zephi: So here’s. Some syrup. To make things. Better.
>
>

> *[He takes it.]*
>
>

> Creon: Zephi. Thank you.
>
>

> Zephi: Okay. Yeah. Thank me. *[She leaves, but makes sure his door stays open, and then calls back to him;]* More French toast! And Friends! It’s weird to just leave!
>
>

Hector calls out to Creon to get him to talk about Gods and Death, and he slinks back to the table. Sheevah offers to translate any documents for Salfando, and everyone has another hour to enjoy the meal. Jebeddo gives Gerome a gift in a small sack, telling him it's something really special, but not to open it until we leave the planet, so Gerome tucks it away. After breakfast, we drop off Salfando at the Mercntile Guild and then land at the Jaidside Docks, beginning our search for the Fizzlewicks. We finally find the Telemacho, out of which are stepping the remaining Fizzlewicks and Gil. Namfoodle runs up to Gil, smiling.

> Namfoodle: I did it dad. I saved them!!
>
>

> Gil: Bear! *[Gil wraps Namfoodle up in a big bear hug.]*
>
>

Thoomwast walks over to Gerome, and puts a hand on his shoulder.

> Thoomwast: Hey, kid, um… you… we never, you know… we’re *really* proud of you. Hope you know that. I know… stuff with the Prime Institute didn’t work out, I know that, but… I’m really proud of you. And… what really matters is seeing how far you fly, now.
>
>

> *[Gerome looks around.]*
>
>

> Gerome: Who’s cutting onions *right now*?!
>
>

> *[He hugs Thoomwast.]*
>
>

> Thoomwast: I suppose you and your group are heading off soon, huh?
>
>

> Gerome: Yeah, we have other planets to fuck up.
>
>

> Jebeddo: Maybe don’t come back for a little while? So we can recover from this visit?
>
>

Thoomwast tells the party we’re welcome at the house any time, and they should be able to handle the remaining Hot-wires by themselves. Speaking of which, Jumvat creeps out from behind the family at this moment. He climbed on board, figuring nobody would notice or mind. What a lil stinker. Corfan let him on, though. Zephi grabs away Corfan to play hopscotch, inviting Namfoodle along as well. But first, The Bear scoops up his little brother Gerome for a big hug, and whispers; “I think Gil is our real dad.” And sets him down. Gerome looks between them and then replies, “Fuck, I think you might be right.”

Next, Gerome taunts Jumvat, and makes him agree to stop chasing Gerome around the galaxy, to be his criminal contact on the inside. We just saved the planet and displayed a truly frightening amount of power, so he agrees, and then slips out.

We board the Karnival Kruise, and wave goodbye to Jebeddo, Namfoodle, and the rest of the family.

Gerome opens the sack Jebeddo gave him. It’s full of flash powders, and it blinds him for a moment with a loud bang. When he recovers, Gerome pulls up a small note on the bottom;

```
Gotcha again, Brainiac. Love you, be safe, call if you need me.

```

Goodbye, Nym!!

And onward, now, with Inquiring Stars.