Session 57

The party heads to a former temple of Time to further the recovery of her memories and self before heading out to Rama va Arel.

## Summary

Having not noticed the pale green light in the eye of the dragon corpse outside the temple, Ephemera was the only one to not be caught off guard when it suddenly attacked them. It targeted Teer, knocking him out more than once. Eventually, Teer cast Banishing Smite, banishing it to a demiplane for a brief time. When it returned, it was a pile of bone shards, having apparently exploded while it was banished. The battle having taken a lot of effort and resources, the party took some time to rest up before properly exploring the temple. During their rest, Teer and Sors collect shards of bone for later use, Sors asking Ephemera to create a knife from a particularly sharp piece for her. The knife created, she joined Mingal in playing music for the party.

Their rest completed, they finally entered the temple, this time actually knowing what it was. Ephemera used the medallion on her halberd to reflect light, activating a spot on the floor. The spot lit up and created a portal. Though concerned about where it might lead, the party expressed their support for her, and the group went through.

They appeared on the surface of a clock at the top of a tower in a dark void. The hands of the clock seemed to move at random intervals. There were thirteen strange symbols around the edges of the clock. The hands suddenly sped up, stopping at two of the hands, which then produced portals. One portal was black and cold, while the other was molten orange and hot. After a debate about the chances of the party surviving a trip to the literal sun, they went through the orange portal together.

They stepped out onto a stone platform suspended above the sun, where they could see an empty golden throne. As they approached the throne, a solar flare erupted, arching over the platform. Quraura appeared before the throne. She offered Mingal congratulations on regaining the favor of the Council and welcomed him back into service. To Ephemera, however, she expressed her displeasure over her return. The Council had always listened to her counsel over own, even when she wasn't *on* the Council. Since Ephemera's departure, they had listened far more to Quraura, which was something she was not willing to give up. Ephemera refused to leave, but promised to endeavor to ensure that her opinion was heard more often. This was not enough for Quraura. She stated that she would not assist in recovering the part of Ephemera she held, though she would not directly fight against her either. Uncertain of how to even begin remedying the situation, the party left, arriving once again at the clock tower.

There, Ephemera requested that the others remain behind while she went through the other portal to visit Lysaro. They obliged, though they had little choice in the matter as he dragged her through and shut the portal behind her. He held her in a hug, apologizing for not having known to warn her about how deep Quraura's frustrations ran. Ephemera expressed some frustrations of her own, having also not realized she was frustrated, her new fear that Meyrin and Yumia were also upset with her, and her concerns about the Dark having returned when he did. Lysaro offered her comfort in the form of a long hug, which she appreciated.

While Ephemera was gone, Sors used her Echo Sight on the bone knife Ephy made. She saw a black dragon fight a knight wielding a spear. The pair killed each other, the knight with a mad dash in with their spear, and the dragon with an acid breath in their face. Renn declared that she was going to pray to a random god when a chosen hand on the clock passed over a chosen symbol three times. Teer chose Melarue for her, and she began her vigil. The hand passed over it twice, but froze just before crossing it a third time. Ephemera returned then, apologizing for the delay and requesting that they move on with their plans while she processed. They returned to the temple, where she took another moment to finish recollecting herself. As she stood there, she had a brief vision of what the temple had once been like when it was frequented by her followers.

Their task completed, the party returned to Alibrook. Upon arriving, one of the street lamps flickered and flared, and a large gout of flame emerged toward the party. The flames formed into a fire elemental who pointed at Teer and declared, "Cash on delivery." Teer paid the elemental, realizing that this was a modified version of his own spelled used for sending messages, Galder's Speedy Courier.

In response to your inquiry, the warforged are fine. Though they still call me such, they seem to no longer truly regard me as their master, which is what I had hoped would be the case.
Rama Va Arel is dangerous, and likely not what you think. It was the height of Sky Elven hubris- a weapon to challenge even the gods, to establish their supremacy over other beings. It is why the gods allowed their destruction, why no measure was made to intercede, even after the Celestials had benefitted so greatly from their knowledge.
I aided Kethryllia as an engineer- I was only ever allowed to see parts as I worked on them, but It was not long before I began to glimpse the masterpiece. It was not long before I gleaned the purpose of the Grand Artifice. Gifted as I was, I was able to set within its structure the ability to wrest control from the others, and I used this to hide it away- transport it to where it now rests.
But I digress.
Rama Va Arel is a weapon- a powerful one, at that. And I would see it destroyed if at all possible. When I left it, I deactivated the core- rendering it inert, but the background energy could still be dangerous, especially if it’s suffered any damage in the intervening centuries. I suspect you, as a warforged, will be immune to its effects, but your allies may not fare so well. The core is the single point of vulnerability- control the core, and you control Rama Va Arel. I mean, there’s a whole control center, but still. Step One.
I abandoned my people- I can no longer lay claim to their legacy. I leave it to you to decide what to do with it. Abuse it, and I will stop you. Beyond that… walk carefully and take great care.
From Shadow and Bone,
Vidh Zadh

Teer quickly wrote a letter in return, asking Vidh Zadh for more information about Rama va Arel. While he did this, Renn asked Kiono if she knew a dragonborn and a young girl who might be searching for her, to which Kiono replied that she did not. His letter complete and sent, he and Kiono left for the Alibrook#Great Feather Inn for chicken nuggets.

The rest of the party searched the town for potions to purchase. They came upon Oceans of Potions, a small shop run by a goblin. The goblin, Kwizlik stood over giant vat of a mysterious, smelly green liquid. he explained to them that he had been taken from the Dragonlands to stock the Starter Dungeon in Alibrook. It had been him who had come up with the plan to rescue new goblins being added to the dungeon and replace them with the sick and elderly. He also told them that he had heard of Mingal while in the Dragonlands, that he had been a reckless chieftain who had miraculously defeated a dragon. Unfortunately, this had led others to follow in his footsteps, usually without such success. They purchased several of his strange potions from him.

Mingal said farewell to Dee, and the party boarded the Raquesval. They questioned Seresh about the potential of purifying the corrupted Harbinger. He was not entirely certain the details and would need to examine the situation in person before being able to answer for certain, but he did think it would be possible to build an apparatus that could slowly bleed the corruption from him.

At his request, Kiono turned Teer into a cat, and then she retired for the night. Renn asked Seresh about the symbols she had seen on Ephemera's clock. He explained that they were likely the symbols of the Council members as they had been when Ephemera had last been there. The last Council change had been after the Calamity, including the changing of a new Bahamut, Numry's predecessor, and Sazsaz's appointment after the previous god of luck had resigned, disgusted by the Council's decision to abandon the sky elves. Renn spent the rest of the evening with Goon, trying to learn some of his craft in the engine room.

Together, Mingal and Sors retrieved a stone from the temple, gathered by Ephemera earlier. Sors used her echo sight on it. She saw a time lapse of the temple falling to ruin, forgotten and buried. The dragon she saw earlier moved in, then fought, died, and decayed.

That night, Kiono had one of her dreams. She walked halls similar to those they had seen in Mingal's mindscape. There was heat radiating from below, though it was not hot. An unyielding metal fist crashed from from the sky.

## NPCs

### Returning

* Nox
* Quraura
* Lysaro
* Dee
* Mingal
* Seresh

### Mentioned

* The Dark
* Meyrin
* Yumia
* Vidz Zadh
* Goon

## Items

* Goblin Healing Potion (x4, two for Mingal, one for Miren, one for Sors)

## Notes

* Ephemera gained the ability to have clerics and paladins of up to level one.

Renn and Mingal Session Zero • Teer Session Zero •  Ephemera Session Zero • Kiono Session Zero
1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 18.5 • 19 • 20
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38 • 39 • 40 • 40.5 • 41 • 42 • 43 • 44 • 45 • 46 • 47 • 48 • 49 • 50 • 51 • 52 • 53 • 54 • 54.5 • 55
56 • **57** • 58 • 59 • 59.5 • 60 • 61 • 62 • 63 • 64 • 65 • 66 • 67 • 68 • 69 • 70 • 71 • 72 • 73 • 74
75 • 76 • 77 • 78 • 79 • 80 • 81 • 82 • 83 • 84 • 85 • 86 • 87 • 88 • 89 • 90 • 91 • 92 • 93 • 94
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113 • 114 • 115 • 116 • 117 • 118 • 119 • 120 • 121 • 122 • 123 • 124 • 125 • 126 • 127 • 128 • 129 • 130
 One-Shot Sessions
Train Game • Hell Game • God Game • Timeless Space One-Shot 1
Timeless Space One-Shot 2 • Timeless Space One-Shot 3 • Tiefling Game • 4/20 Game