Adventure 7

**Previous: Adventure 6**

A mission to infiltrate a major Obscurati gathering and learn more about the Ob and its goals.

## Quital Chase

### Session 1

Cold open: ObCon. McBannin is here as a ghost. So is Amielle, and she disapproves of all our gathered Ob folks. A security shadowlisk finds a godhand spy among the people and captures him. In the convocation proper we see Luc and Ottavia hanging with Finona and Zo, and we also see…Nicodemus, in Andrei von Recklinghausen’s body.

Back in Flint, we have a meeting with Governor Roland Stanfield that Delft apologizes for not being able to head off. Roland complains about how we’re eating up Flint’s funds and makes several demands that Delft tells us to ignore and really, it’s not like we get to decide on our own missions.

On the way to brief on the Guiding Star we encounter Beshela, who offers us a secretly cursed wooden pad and calls us ugly when we call her out on the cursed bit. An invisible man from the Unseen Court (kind of, stretching the definition) interrupts, uncurses the pad, and gives us the Absurdist Web after several rules-lawyer clarifications about what happens when he wants to retrieve it.

Delft tells us our next mission is to try and find Leone Quital and from there infiltrate the Obscurati convention. Given what we’ve learned since the last time we tried to infiltrate an Ob meeting, Cleone is worried about her fate if she’s discovered by Nicodemus and asks for ways to ensure her death if the Ob takes her.

Miscellaneous investigations: Cleone is able to identify the stone within the Obscurati rings as Methian stone. The spellcasters are able to identify the enchantment upon the rings. The party minus Cleone tests the possession juice to find it does indeed make you possessed, by Nicodemus. He gives a spiel about how the Obscurati aims to do improve the world in ways that bypass the usual red tape of national/international politics before Gatria kills him and tries to trap his soul in witch oil, as a test. Unfortunately it traps the host’s soul, but not Nic.

### Session 2

We arrive in Alais Primos, and immediately encounter kobolds obviously watching us, on Bruse Shantus’ payroll. Hoya talks to them and their job is to…look more suspicious than we are? All right.

We talk to Delft’s friend Joe Hobner, who is not Joe Hobner but Robert the Black, a Crysilliyiri bogeyman serial killer sent to intercept us on Quital’s trail. He paralyzes Gatria and could have killed her, yikes! Once we deal with him, enter the Beran spymaster The Strange One. He throws a book at Hoya, though hey it’s a useful book.

We continue on our way following Quital’s trail, and go to check out the Quital family vineyard/estate next.

### Session 3

…Sorta. While we’re in Alais Primos Gatria makes a detour to rob Rock Rackus’ house here. We learn SO MUCH about the planes and the Dreaming, and potential implications for the future. Av is the moon and contains both the Dreaming and the Bleak Gate, which fits with Nathan’s observations. We also find that a map of the Dreaming mirrors Risur’s geography, and recall some ominous information about ways to wake up the fey titans.

> **Gatria:** Why do you guys prefer the fey…?
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> **Mona:** It’s better than a DRAGON TYRANT.
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> **Cleone:** Well if you come from somewhere without magic, nobody bothers you.
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> **Marcel:** YEAH NOBODY BOTHERS YOU, BECAUSE THEY CAN’T. What do you want us to do about the fey titans???
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> **Gatria:** Well they don’t bother you in Danor because they CAN’T, because MARTIAL LAW.
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Gatria finds her main target, some scrolls of planar travel that Rock mentioned back in Adventure 3, and sends a message to Morgan asking about Rock’s whereabouts. Seems the Family has lost his trail, conveniently enough, because someone from the Unseen Court took him to the Dreaming.

Cleone remembers traveling through the nearby mountains as her first life, Lanza. They were a Crisillyiri soldier in a unit led by the future Roland Stanfield. (Also hey, her hometown is nearby! She hasn’t been back in thirteen years. Too bad we’re too busy to visit.)

### Session 4

Quital’s family directs us to the Avery Coast Railroad, where he bought a ticket. After some kobold shenanigans we buy some rides to Nalaam, where someone has a letter for Tifa - Hoya’s alias from Adventure 4.

> **Stationmaster:** You wouldn’t happen to know a gnome Tifa?
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> **Mona:** WOW THAT’S RACIST.
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> **Stationmaster:** Well there’s this message from the LORD JUSTICE, who just happens to have a letter for Tifa.
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Poor guy probably gets this all the time asking every gnome he comes across. Hoya definitely knows Tifa, so she takes the letter and it’s from Lord Kulp passing a message on to Alais. Hoya promptly realizes that oh, this is Vekeshi Mystic business. Alrighty.

We also spy some assassins, who we ask the kobolds to take care of - which they do quite handily, and The Strange One later informs us that they were led by a Danoran spymaster answering to Han Jierre. He also points us to a time and station in Trekhom: if we get there before Quital, we can ambush him.

Cleone, shaken by this knowledge, sends a message to Florette warning her of the Obscurati and its ties to Danor’s government. Florette responds warning Cleone not to come back to Danor. Whatever Florette knows, the Obscurati has enough influence that Cleone is no longer safe or welcome in her own country.

### Session 5

We capture Leone Quital at the Trekhom train station, and Marcel puts him to sleep with a four-hour lecture on docker culture. Cue Alexander, who’s apparently volunteered us to free a lich up in Knutpara to obtain a possession ritual so we can infiltrate ObCon. Ummmm?

> **Alexander:** Apparently, Knutpara was a battleground of Triegenes and the Demonocracy, and it is an interesting location and is famous for a particular frost lich that the Demonocracy that rips people’s souls from their body and replaces them with new souls.
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> **Hoya:** I’m sorry, what.
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> **Mona:** You want us to take you to that lich?
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> **Alexander:** Yeah, that was the second sending I sent…
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> **Mona:** No. You have died TWICE–
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> **Cleone:** Couldn’t you have sent a sending to your SONS?
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> **Gatria:** Wow, and people tell me I have bad decision making skills.
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Unfortunately, Knutpara is the next destination. We web Alexander in the meantime for the trip over.

## Knutpara

### Session 6

We dungeon crawl through Knutpara. We manage to avoid encountering any giants or death bears, and Hoya asks the towers for information using her urban empath abilities. In one tower we find…Kvarti’s gun? That’s pretty concerning. We also find two researchers, Gangenwieck and Thornsenkertz. Gatria steals a research journal off of them that details some extremely inhumane experiments with planar oils and notes on what traits/effects each plane has.

### Session 7

More exploration of Knutpara. We find and free Kvarti and some other prisoners. Kvarti’s going to lead the prisoners to safety, and we give him Kulp’s letter to hand on to Alais.

### Session 8

After fighting the ice giant leader and his crew, we talk to the lich and confirm that Alexander will free him after Hoya learns the possession ritual. As part of the tutorial, they trap Quital’s soul in a chunk of ice that Gatria later melts. We promptly shove Alexander into the web, so conveniently there’s nobody obligated to free the lich! The lich curses Alexander, and…it didn’t take, once we’re back in civilization we take Alexander out of the web unharmed.

### Session 9

Back to Flint for a break. The party talks to Nathan Jierre about the planes, showing him the star map from Adventure 3. The Ancients’ star system used to look different, including a plane we don’t recognize…

Nathan explains a lot about how planes work according to his research: every plane has two aspects, one of which is dominant. It would take a godlike power to flip which is dominant, but it's theoretically possible.

> **Gatria:** So because we’re used as a focal point for the other planets, our planet is not doomed.
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> **Nathan:** Yes of course, but nobody is capable of moving it.
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> **Gatria:** Do you know how many impossible things…!
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> **Nathan:** If our planet was doomed, we would know about it.
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> **Mona:** Nathan, the world will literally end in ice.
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In addition, when a celestial body is uncoupled from its inherent planar energies it becomes doomed and placed into the Gyre, the graveyard of the stars where stars turn like clockwork. Which…Mona saw in one of her visions… Yeah, Nathan needs a nap after the party is done with him.

Two months pass. Alexander joins his sons on Maeve’s farm. Marcel has his docker wedding with Dreues. Hoya transfers Xambria’s soul from her head to a new body built by Tinker and Cleone. Cleone befriends Nathan, bonding over exile from Danor and their respective intellectual interests.

Once ObCon approaches, we jump some invitees at a hotel in Crisillyir and make with the possessions. Mona takes Ken Don, an Alais Primos librarian friendly with Ottavia Sacredote; Cleone takes Livia Hatsfield, an independent double agent for Risur; Marcel takes Gran Guiscard, a pro-establishment “docker”; Hoya takes Oscan Ligurio, who loves crime and murder; Gatria takes Xavier Sangria, a beefcake with a literal third of her dexterity.

## ObCon 501

### Session 10

ObCon time! On Nicodemus’ orders we mingle and meet more Obscurati folks, picking up Gardienne de Cherage (a Danoran noble tasked with punishing anti-Risuri actions or sentiment in Danor), Shane Wallison (a Danoran spy who knows Xavier), and Erskine Haffkruger (actually Gradiax crashing the convention via duplicant). We hear a lot of stories demonstrating that Obscurati members definitely include those who abuse their powers for cruelty. We also meet Abiera, who Mona recognizes as an old drinking buddy of Vihan’s.

> **Abiera:** I’ve heard every conspiracy theory that you could possibly think of. If it gets too close to the truth, I deal with it.
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> **Ken/Mona:** What’s the wildest one you’ve heard, then?
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> **Abiera:** Oh I heard this person go off for a few hours that Roland Stanfield was the Rag Man.
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Eventually the main event starts and the goal of the convention is revealed: the Obscurati means to change the planes via a ritual, and several people will propose ideas for a new world. Several Obscurati leaders and ghost council members pitch their proposals, with Cula Ravjahani standing in for the absent Kasavarina.

We start checking out the proposals and demos, starting with Amielle Latimer’s Watchmakers, a thousand years of planar enslavement to encourage goodness and stamp out the concept of doing ill; followed by Kasavarina/Cula’s Miller’s Pyre, using the planes to encourage empathy and value reason. Various jokes about The Red Strings Club ensue.

### Session 11

We check out more demos including Catherine Romana’s Colossus, which gives Obscurati members cyclical godlike powers; and Han Jierre’s Panarchists, magical libertarianism. Each demonstration is followed by questions of varying respectfulness. Ken/Mona ditches the Colossus demo to snoop around disguised as Catherine’s cat Esme and finds Zoltan’s dead body! Oh boy.

### Session 12

While we visit McBannin’s Arboretum demo (control over nature to support humanity), Livia/Cleone and Ken/Mona start to find hints that McBannin was involved in Zoltan’s death. After looking around at smaller factions/agendas, everyone at the convention is assembled due to official announcement of Zoltan’s murder. Nicodemus will be interrogating everyone.

Ken/Mona tells Nicodemus about McBannin. Nicodemus seems impressed with Livia in particular, and has a walk with her while Cleone screams internally.

> **Nicodemus:** What is it that allows you to see [beauty in] the world like that?
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> **Livia/Cleone:** Well, life is about as long or short but you only have one life to live. You can choose to take things for granted and see the same trees, same forest, all your life but… Everything changes. Even today, things that seem the same might not actually be the same in reality. Embracing new experiences, as well as familiar ones, you come to enjoy them for what they are.
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> **Nicodemus:** I see. From my perspective having that freedom to live and choose has given you the ability to appreciate that.
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Nicodemus feels his life is no longer his own. He’s been working towards this goal for a long time now, and is beholden to it. He truly wants the Ob to succeed, and they’re at the precipice. Cleone recognizes that he’s being more genuine than he usually is with his cult leader persona, because once upon a time Alastor knew him like this too. However, she isn't taken in by the conversation.

His talk with Oscan/Hoya is short, but he drops something as he leaves: the Humble Hook, which has decided that it wants to hang with Hoya now. A new friend for Hoya!

### Session 13

We meet up with Ottavia’s group; she and Luc seem to be having a disagreement over his favor for the Colossus faction. Xavier/Gatria catches Finona’s attention and Finona catches the hint that she’s talking to Gatria.

> **Finona:** If it wouldn’t upset my group I would kick your ass right now.
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> **Xavier/Gatria:** That’s fair.
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> **Finona:** Okay, we’re gonna have to talk. You and I need to come up with a way to get the fuck out of here, so we can talk.
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> **Xavier/Gatria:** Working on it!
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Livia/Cleone talks to Abiera, since she knows junk about Risur and the fey titans. Unfortunately she doesn’t get much out of him, as Abiera wants her to vote for his faction before he tells her what it’s all about, but he does namedrop the Prophecy of Rot.

After the group checks out some other demos (faction and planar), Nicodemus approaches Ken/Mona hoping to reveal McBannin as a traitor using Ken’s knowledge of the Bonds of Forced Faith as a validator. Ken/Mona refuses, given that it’s forbidden information.

The first voting round occurs and is inconclusive, so the factions start looking at alliances.

At night, Xavier/Gatria meets with Finona to discuss exit plans. Finona wants to take Bree with her, but Gatria warns her she’ll have to be sure Bree won’t flip on us or else it’s no-go.

### Session 14

Still nighttime. Oscan/Hoya witnesses Amielle’s shooting competition, in which she extremely outperforms everyone else. Before dawn, Amielle visits McBannin to ally their factions and ask questions of a more covert nature.

> **Amielle:** Why, Reed?
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> **McBannin:** It’s a simple fact that I believe the other factions will lead to the ruin of this world. And perhaps, a little bit of it is emotional.
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> **Amielle:** And my faction?
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> **McBannin:** I trust you.
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> **Amielle:** *(Low nod)* And I will trust you in turn.
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In the morning, Gran/Marcel and Leone/Alexander tip everyone else off to a meeting of Obscurati leadership. They discuss finding Kasavarina to find and control Borne, and the possibility of luring Borne to a specific location that Han Jierre seems to dread. Before everyone leaves, Nicodemus ominously warns Leone/Alexander that he ought to reconsider his choice of votes.

Everyone returns to their rooms, but something else pops up: Gran/Marcel runs to find everyone else, because Leone/Alexander is being choked to death in their room.

### Session 15

McBannin is the one choking Leone/Alexander, but we manage to interrupt it and stabilize Alexander. Ken/Mona rats him out to Nicodemus, but not before we find out Constance Baden has been burned to death.

Breakfast is oppressive. Finona hangs with the party, essentially fake-dating Xavier/Gatria, and Catherine Romana pulls Livia/Cleone aside (with Oscan/Hoya for buddy system) trying to gain her vote. When Livia/Cleone is put too much on the spot Oscan/Hoya interrupts by “spilling” his drink on Catherine, giving them a chance to get away.

New proposals after breakfast: Miller’s Panarchists, Watchmaker’s Arboretum, Colossal Congress. Amielle gives a hardcore speech: "Never again!" Catherine snaps and claims that the only thing anyone can trust is power and the fight for power. She sure as hell doesn’t trust Nicodemus.

Nicodemus pushes the vote through, despite protests. No supermajority still, but Nicodemus announces that he has a solution; Cleone’s deja vu tells her he’s up to something. Lanterns activate, blue light like at Knutpara. Colossus voters and sympathizers, stay in this room; everyone else can go. The party smuggles Oscan/Hoya out, but Luc remains inside.

Once that’s sorted, Nicodemus gives the Colossus room a speech. He assembled the Ob to do good in the world, but by voting for a corrupt and power-grabbing proposal those gathered have proven themselves unworthy of the privilege/responsibility. Addressing Catherine directly: looks like I won’t be helping you become queen after all, but I WILL reunite you with your brother.

Ghost council in the room draws weapons. Ottavia screams and lunges for the door, but Bree grabs/restrains her.

Cleone gets super deja vu over Alastor getting gently murdered.

### Session 16

Inside the Colossus room the massacre begins. People are lulled into complacency by the lanterns; people are killed, and then their ghosts banished from the Bleak Gate. This happens to Luc, and we see Catherine begging for her (after)life before they can banish her.

In the chaos Erskine/Gradiax reveals himself, and turns out the entire duplicant is a walking bomb! Bree is injured, and Zo is straight up killed. People are trying to escape (the massacre in the Colossus room? The bomb? Yes) but running into the shadowlisk as they do so.

The shadowlisk is guarding the boats in the Bleak Gate, but we can catch one in the Waking. We manage to save Ottavia, Bree, Finona, and Catherine’s familiar Kelland (who is just a normal cat now that she’s dead). We successfully rendezvous with the Guiding Star.

Bree and Finona will have to change their names and lay low, but they’ll survive. Ottavia is understandably despondent, but we get her a place to work at Daewin’s orphanage. Oscan and Ken are handed off to the Family to be dealt with; Gatria shows Xavier what the Obscurati really is via ObCon memories and sets him free to do his thing because he was never really a bad guy. Gran and Livia are gonna be arrested, though Cleone will advocate for Livia.

Debrief with Delft: poor guy has more paperwork every time we find new “friends.” Teleportation has been funky, small issues with teleportation/planar travel escalating into bigger issues. Could get very bad very soon. House Romana is dead with both Irwin and Catherine deceased, but it’s also going to be disgraced and the two posthumously stripped of their titles.

Next mission: the Ob thinks we’re dead, so it’s a good cover to get to Kasavarina (and by extension Borne) through Asrabey Varal.

### Session 17

Back in Flint. Cleone breaks the bad news to Nathan about Luc’s death while giving him advance warning of another party visit, and he’s extremely upset over losing both his cousins.

Between the party and Nathan we can guess that the site of the ritual to change the planes is Axis Island, where Nathan was stationed for research before everything went to hell in Adventure 1. This might also be why Danor started expanding, leading into the Yerasol Wars. Borne was probably created for the purposes of carrying out the ritual.

Hoya visits Gideon with Kelland more bad news about Catherine’s death. Gideon is also upset. Gatria catches Hoya visiting and confronts her about Gideon’s secret before taking her to see Morgan.

> **Hoya:** Since you were FOLLOWING ME, you can guess, but I figured it out right after we confronted Lorcan Kell. Why do you think I was trying to cover for him? I’m not a good liar!
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> **Gatria:** Actually, you’re pretty good now and that scares me. Gideon, on the other hand, is worse than you used to be.
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> **Hoya:** Secrets are going to get him killed!
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> **Gatria:** Weren’t you the one who advocated for no secrets?
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> **Hoya:** Yeah, and everyone hated that! So fine, people can have secrets. Sometimes. Maybe.
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Morgan is pleasantly intimidating. He trusts Hoya with the Humble Hook and will keep her possession of it secret, but if the Hook ever stops approving of Hoya he’d like to return it to its original people (the Clergy).

Mona asks Vihan about Abiera and the Prophecy of Rot. “They say that when the world ends in ice, the Voice of Rot will eat it all and bring about the final emptiness.” Too bad Mona is fated to die before that! Once her meaning dawns on Vihan, he’s more loving towards Mona - trying to make the most of their time together.

**Next: Adventure 8**