Session0007

Episode 0007 - In Mixed Company
Previous | Next

**Setting:**

The Imlaq Colossus - March 28th-29th, 211 AW
**Synopsis:**

* The party speaks with the troop of soldiers from Hartwell, and Gragnok proves his innocence within a *zone of truth*, although many of the soldiers are disinclined to believe him anyway.
* Serafina Edelstein, the ranking officer of the remaining soldiers, insists that she must at least arrest Malkoth, but he too explains his version of the death of Levi Sarlin within the *zone of truth*.
* Before the party can discuss further, a swarm of undead emerges from the Imlaq Colossus. They manage to defeat most of them, and Frog turns the rest, which flee back into the Colossus.
* The party comes to an arrangement with Serafina Edelstein, wherein she will report finding Malkoth dead in the desert, and make no mention of encountering Gragnok. Her troops seem disgruntled at the idea, but nonetheless, the Hartwellian troops depart.
* The party spends the rest of the night discussing the events of the day, and answering each other's questions within a *zone of truth*.
* The following morning, the party delves back into the Imlaq Colossus to finish exploring.
* Within the Colossus, the party finds the titanheart - the device that once powered the Colossus - which is seemingly broken. They battle and disperse lingering infernal magic that resides around the titanheart.
* Further into the Colossus, the party battles a tarantuviper, recovers a magic item, and collects some crafting materials.
* Back at the control panel of the Colossus, the party discovers that the Psalm of Awakening only appears while Malkoth's amulet is inserted into the panel.
* Having fully explored the Imlaq Colossus, the party decides to leave it unlocked so that it can be investigated by the College of Mimrinoth, and they spend the rest of the morning burying it beneath the sand to keep it hidden until the College comes.
* As the party makes preparations to depart toward Ossidia, Lane Coronato suddenly appears. He insinuates that he has been listening to the party's conversation, and invites them to come back to Karaad to speak with him.

## March 28th

Immediately after the party defeats the soldiers from Hartwell and convinces them to surrender, XVIII attacks Gragnok, blaming him for putting the party in danger. Gragnok does not fight back, and says he has no intention to harm XVIII. The party quickly intervenes and manages to convince XVIII to stand down, at least until questions can be answered.

Regrouping after the fight, the party speaks with one of the Hartwellian soldiers - a medic who introduces herself as Serafina Edelstein, and says that with the death of Marius Dorn, she is now the ranking officer in the troop. Serafina accuses Gragnok of desertion, claiming that he murdered his entire troop, which included his own father, and fled the scene of the crime. He denies these accusations, and says that his troop was actually assailed by a necromancer, who summoned undead monstrosities to attack them. He says that during the battle, the necromancer fled into the forest, and he pursued, but the necromancer teleported away before he could catch them. When he returned to his troop, they had all been slain.

When Serafina expresses doubt about Gragnok's story, he offers to create a *zone of truth* to verify it. Serafina agrees to this arrangement, and Gragnok creates a *zone of truth*, which they both enter.

Within the *zone of truth*, Serafina explains that the Duke of Hartwell claims that Gragnok conspired with a necromancer and had his whole troop killed. He denies these accusations, and repeats his story, confirming its veracity.

Serafina urges Gragnok to at least let her and her troop arrest Malkoth for the murder of Levi Sarlin, a young boy, which was their original task. Malkoth steps into the *zone of truth* and recounts his version of the events that transpired in Hillenbrook and the death of Levi Sarlin, confirming their veracity, and insisting that the boy's death was an accident. Serafina says that many of the villagers of Hillenbrook vouched for Malkoth and defended his actions as well, but that the boy's mother, the mayor Deena Sarlin, did not. Marius Dorn, who was in charge of the investigation, sided with the mayor.

Serafina asks about the nearby hand of the Imlaq Colossus, and what the party's business is. Odell, also within the *zone of truth*, says that Malkoth is a ward of his family at the College of Mimrinoth, and that they are investigating this site because they believe it to be connected to Malkoth's uncontrolled magic powers.

One of the other Hartwellian soldiers insists that neither Gragnok nor Malkoth can be trusted, regardless of their *zone of truth*, and insists that it is some sort of trick. Several of the other soldiers seem to agree with this sentiment, expressing disdain for Gragnok's elven heritage.

Before the conversation can proceed any further, a large group of undead humanoids - seemingly those that Malkoth and Rye encountered within the Colossus previously - swarm out from within the colossus and attack. The party battles the undead. Gragnok urges Serafina to help them, telling her that it will help her chances of getting out of the situation with her troop alive. She complies, offering the party healing during the fight; however, most of her soldiers avoid the fight instead of cooperating.

AS the party is battling the undead, Frog uses his *turn undead* ability, causing many of the undead to flee back into the colossus, and many others to scatter and flee into the desert. The party dispatches the undead that remain outside the Colossus, and closes the Colossus' hatch, using Malkoth's amulet to lock it, effectively sealing the remaining undead within.

With the undead threat removed, the party discusses how to proceed. Serafina, seemingly convinced by Gragnok and Malkoth's stories, offers an arrangement wherein she will report that her troop found Malkoth slain in the desert. As proof of his "death," Malkoth gives Serafina the magic license of Immanuel Belder, after Serafina explains that Belder claimed the license was stolen from him by Malkoth. Serafina agrees to omit having ever encountered Gragnok, since his presence was seemingly a coincidence, and their mission was only to arrest Malkoth. At Odell's insistence, she also agrees not to speak of the Colossus, or the College of Mimrinoth's involvement with Malkoth.

Several of the Hartwellian soldiers object to this arrangement, expressing their disdain for Gragnok and their desire to bring Malkoth to justice, but Serafina assures the party that she will get her soldiers in line. With their business complete, the Hartwellians depart.

The party discusses their next steps. They decide to rest until morning, and then delve back in to the Colossus to finish exploring it and dispatch the remaining undead.

Rye offers to play the Psalm of Awakening - the song that he learned within the Colossus - claiming that it will grant the party the magical ability to not require rest. Jack and Odell express concerns that playing the song might activate the Colossus, but Rye suggests that the song won't be able to do so unless the Colossus has a power source, and points out that the colossus didn't activate when Israphel played the song. With everyone in agreement, Rye plays the Psalm, and the party gains its effects. No longer requiring rest, the party spends the rest of the night discussing the events of the day.

After some tensions emerge between various members of the party, and wishing to come to a better understanding of one another, the party agrees to take turns answering questions within another *zone of truth*. Rye refuses to participate unless he is allowed to ask each other party member a question in exchange for each question he answers. He also insists that the party must keep everything that he says a secret, expressing concern that they will ruin something that he has been working on for a very long time. The party agrees to this arrangement - with the exception of Patches, who creates the *zone of truth*, but remains outside of it and does not answer any questions.

The party spends the remainder of the evening asking and answering questions. The details of this conversation are organized below by character, rather than chronologically:

### Frog

When asked about his ability to shapeshift, Frog explains that he has always had the ability, and was born with it. He reveals that his parents were both tabaxi that served in the royal guard of Mycorrhiza. When he was still very young, his parents were killed protecting the royal family from an attack by Kameshima - specifically by Kamm. With her dying wish, Frog's mother asked the Queen of Mycorrhiza to raise Frog on her behalf. He was adopted by the royal family, and became the Crown Prince. Odell tells Frog that he is a changeling, and Frog says that he was unaware of what sort of creature he was.

### Gragnok

Rye asks Gragnok what he has learned about the party members from his *divine sense* ability. Gragnok explains that he has detected strong undead energy from XVIII, strong fiendish energy from Rye, a slight aura of undeath from Rye, and fiendish energy from Malkoth.

### Jack

After Odell expresses his disagreement with the regulation of magic, Jack demonstrates the ability to use magic, using somatic components to cause a large pile of sand to cover the hatch of the Colossus. When asked about these powers, Jack explains that he has no innate magic ability of his own - only the ability to manipulate existing magic in the world around him. He says that he has spent much of his time in the Alviren Empire trying to learn more about his abilities, and how to control them. Odell recognizes this type of ability as that of a conduit - a form of sorcerer that was rare during the Age of Arcana, and unheard of since then. He explains that a conduit is - like Jack - someone that can manipulate and draw power from existing sources of magic. He gives an example of one famous conduit named Myriostoma, a legendary hero of Mycorrhiza.

Rye asks Jack what he is carrying in his trunk. Jack says that he has a number of arcane implements that he has been hired to take to the Free Arcanists Lodge (a guild of illegal magic users) in the city of Paxeter, in addition to his own personal effects and some illicit substances. He also reveals that the trunk has a secret compartment which contains a powerful source of magical energy, which he uses to fuel his abilities as a conduit. Rye asks why he is so protective of this power source, and Jack says that people have come looking for it in the past, and the resulting confrontations have led to death and serious injury. He explains that the people who came looking for it claimed the be representatives of the Weavers Conclave, although he now speculates this have been false.

### Malkoth

Rye asks Malkoth if he has ever made any deals with devils, and Malkoth says that he has not. He also asks Malkoth when was the first time that he created an uncontrolled magic effect. Malkoth says that the occasion of his mother's death in Hillenbrook was the first time, although he has always had some innate magical abilities.

Rye asks Malkoth why he wants to know his heritage, and Malkoth says that he hopes it will help him understand the origin of his powers, and hopefully learn to control them.

### Odell

Jack asks Odell about his opinions on unlicensed magic. Odell says he disagrees with the regulation of magic, and expresses some distrust for the intentions of the Weavers Conclave.

Rye asks Odell if he knows what the term "titan god" means, referencing Israphel's earlier statements. Odell says that the term means nothing to him. Rye also asks what Odell knows about the name "Louche," and confirms that this is his name. Odell says that Louche was a powerful bard who lived in the Age of Arcana over 1,000 years ago, and studied under the legendary bard Passeri.

Rye asks Odell to help him finish exploring the Imlaq Colossus. In exchange, Rye says that he will tell Odell who built it. He goes on to say that the individual who built the Colossus never got credit, and that he wants their name shared. In return, Odell asks Rye to peruse the journal of Halimath Wasanthi, and help him identify the ancient languages it contains. He further explains that his sole motivation for adventuring is to learn about rune magic, based on the contents of the journal. When asked, he explains that rune magic was a form of magic that he believes was common in the Age of Arcana, but has been lost for 1,000 years.

Searching through the journal, Rye finds the word "Volus" written in an ancient dialect of infernal. Odell recognizes this as the name of the flying capital city of the ancient elven kingdom of Ayn Sitael. Jack recognizes it as another name given to the Tempest Gulf - a large body of water west of his homeland.

Rye asks Odell if he has ever heard of any other magical songs like the Psalm of Awakening. Odell has heard of a few other similar songs, all of which were written by the legendary bard Passeri in the Age of Arcana. He explains that the psalms could be used to imbue magical boons onto large audiences of listeners.

Jack shows Odell a painting that depicts Jack holding Syn aloft, and wearing a metal sphere on his belt, which is inscribed with primordial runes. He asks Odell if he knows what this sphere is, but Odell does not.

### Rye

Odell asks Rye if the name Halimath Wasanthi means anything to him, but Rye doesn't recognize the name.

Rye asks the rest of the party if any of them have any knowledge of prophesied apocalypses, referencing his own title, the Trumpeter of the Apocalypse. A few members of the party offer various rumors and theories about how the world might end, but nothing definitive.

Jack asks Rye what plot he has been working on that he is worried about the party ruining by sharing his secrets. Rye recites the following omen:

> "The children of the Nine have been doomed by the gods' folly, but their chains cannot endure forever. We wait, and we prepare, for the night will come when our bonds will be broken. No son of two worlds can be bound to one. The River of Blood will carry us to the City of Doors. The Psalm of Assimilation will be our freedom. And the Trumpeter of the Apocalypse will sound our return."
>
>

He explains that he was once a devil, and that the prophecy indicates that he is intended to help usher in an apocalypse. He wishes to avoid fulfilling the prophecy, and as such, became a mortal in order to escape this fate. Odell speculates that Lane Coronato and Israphel may be somehow involved in trying to ensure that the prophecy is fulfilled. Rye doesn't know if this is true, but speculates that Israphel is acting out of some other motivation entirely. Odell asks if Rye knows what Israphel is seeking at the Luxturrim Obelisk, but Rye says he does not.

Malkoth asks Rye what he knows about how Malkoth came into the possession of his infernal amulet, referencing statements made by Israphel earlier. Rye says that he only knows what he has learned from Malkoth and Lane Coronato - that the amulet was acquired by Natalie Shaw in the Outlands after a tryst with a powerful devil, later handed down to Lane, then left with Malkoth's mother, Miriam Arkin, who gave it to Malkoth on his ninth birthday.

Odell asks Rye about the inner workings and mechanics of the Colossus. Rye says that he doesn't remember how it works, and explains that he can only remember the past 700 years.

### XVIII

XVIII asks the party what devils, demons, and angels are. Odell offers a succinct explanation of these creatures and their natures, and the Blood War that exists between devils and demons in the Lower Planes.

Rye asks XVIII if they were ever experimented on by Dr. Johann Conrad Dippel. XVIII says they have no memory of being experimented on, but that they assisted with Dippel's other experiments.

## March 29th

At dawn, the party begins making preparations to finish exploring the Colossus. From within the hatch in the hand, they can hear the undead that had been turned by Frog have returned, and are attempting to break out. They set up traps outside the hatch, stage and ambush, and then open the hatch from a distance and quickly dispatch the undead. Looking through the bodies, they note that there seem to be fewer undead than were previously turned.

The party reenters the Colossus, and continues exploring. They make their way to the chest level, where they discover a barracks chamber, which seems to be disheveled from a battle that took place. A few ancient corpses remain in the room, and Rye and Malkoth collect the bones of what appears to be a devil. Rye suggests that it is strange to find the remains of a devil on the Material Plane, since devils killed on the Material Plane usually return to the Hells, and leave behind no remains.

Within the barracks, Rye points out the spot where he was killed. He says that he doesn't believe that he was a devil before his death, although he is unsure, since he can only recall the past 700 years. He speculates that his current body - his "new" mortal body - is actually his old body from before his death. In support of this theory, he searches his own body, and finds scars on his chest, which match the vision he had the previous day wherein he saw his own death.

Proceeding deeper into the abdomen of the Colossus, the party finds what appears to be the titanheart that they were searching for - the former power source of the Colossus. It is a very large amber crystal sitting atop an arcanomechanical pedestal, where all of the copper glyph-inscribed tracks throughout the Colossus seem to converge. The crystal seems to be badly damaged, with shattered cracks within. There are also two similar, smaller crystals in chambers to the sides of the room.

Before the party gets a chance to investigate closer, the crystals suddenly emit a bursts of infernal magic, which manifest into physical forms, shaping creatures of fire and darkness, which attack the party. The party battles and defeats these creatures. When destroyed, the creatures leave behind a substance that Odell and Jack recognize as Material Chaos. Jack explains the material's uses, and Odell deduces that it was a product of lingering, ancient magic within the Colossus.

Proceeding down to the hip level of the colossus, the party finds a storage area with clockwork elements and repair parts, as well as nitroglycerin and other materials for crafting explosives. Rye gathers these materials, explaining that he can use them to make dynamite. He reveals that he didn't know how to make explosives before becoming a mortal, and isn't sure why he knows how to do so.

Making their way down one of the legs of the Colossus, the party finds signs of more recent damage to one of the knees - seemingly where a very large creature burrowed into the structure. Confirming their suspicions, the party encounters a tarantuviper nearby, which they battle and defeat. Within the creature's den, they find several corpses - including those of the missing undead - as well as a magical mortar device. Rye searches for the remains of anyone that he recognizes, but doesn't find anyone. He collects the jaw of one of the corpses, in hopes of later speaking to it using magic.

Studying the mortar device, Rye discerns that it seems to be the handiwork of Mahadi, and also notices that it is etched with a symbol matching Malkoth's amulet. He warns that the device might be powered by Asmodeus, and advises them that it could be dangerous to use.

In the left arm of the Colossus - opposite of the arm that they used to enter - the party finds that the elbow joint is badly damaged, and the forearm and hand are filled with sand. Based on his vision from the previous day, Rye deduces that the this damage was the result of the forces of Pelor breaching the Colossus.

Finally, the party goes to take another look through the head of the Colossus and the control console. They find that the Psalm of Awakening is no longer inscribed on the wall above the console. At Rye's suggestion, Malkoth inserts his amulet into its slot in the console, and the Psalm of Awakening reappears.

The party exits the Colossus, and discusses their next steps. They decide to continue on towards Ossidia as planned, by way of Avallon and Paxeter.

The party discusses whether to leave the Colossus unlocked, or lock it before they depart. Odell explains that he intends to report the location of the Colossus to the College of Mimrinoth, and would like to leave it unlocked so that they can explore it. After some discussion, the party agrees to leave the Colossus unlocked, but bury the hand under sand. Odell leaves behind a climbing piton, in hopes that the College will be able to magically detect its location and excavate the Colossus.

The party spends the rest of the morning burying the hand of the colossus, using a combination of magic and labor. When they're finished, it has reached nearly midday, and the party decides to rest until nightfall to avoid the dangers of traveling through the desert heat.

As they are resting for the day, they spend some more time talking about their backgrounds. Ilex reveals that she is from the Tanglewood, but that she spent the last several years in the town of Marigold - a settlement of Mycorrhiza. She expresses some interest in Mycorrhiza, and explains that she learned about the Star Road in Marigold.

The party discusses Malkoth's uncontrolled magic. Rye speculates that his powers manifest when he is angry or under emotional duress. He suggest that Malkoth might benefit from trying to learn to suppress his magic abilities, but Jack disagrees, cautioning against trying to repress inert magic.

Jack offers to try to use Syn to help Malkoth control his magic. In order to test the idea, Malkoth casts a fire spell at Rye, and Jack uses Syn to cause the fire to part around Rye, preventing him from being damaged. Odell asks Jack to explain more about his magical abilities. Jack says that it normally takes him years to practice with another person and learn to control their magic, but the properties of Syn allow him to do so more easily. He insists that he is incapable of performing magic on his own, and that all of the magical effects that the party has seen him produce are actually coming from the magical power source in his trunk, and that he just manipulates them.

Odell asks to see Jack's source of magic, but Jack says it would not be safe for him to do so. He does, however, admit that he doesn't like to keep the magic source hidden, and he hopes that eventually he won't have to. he explains that the Weavers Conclave - or someone claiming to be the Weavers Conclave - has come looking for the source before, and also for him due to his abilities. Overhearing the conversation, Harper Wood shares a similar story, explaining that someone claiming to be the Weavers Conclave tried to kill him for his psionic abilities in Avallon. The party speculates about whether or not these incidents were actually the doing of the Weavers Conclave, or someone else masquerading as them.

Around sundown, the party makes their preparations to depart. As they are preparing, Lane Coronato suddenly appears nearby.