Session 27 - The Athenaeum of Ir'mee al-Ma

The party traveled from Beorhisto's Tower through the astral pane towards the The Athenaeum of Ir'mee al-Ma, the location of which Nedra and Caedryll knew from the map. Upon arriving they found an area of the astral sea that seemed strangely quiet and serene, a deep violet light permeating the region. At the center, floating in a shimmering cloud sat a bizarre and chaotic rock formation vaguely resembling the skull of a strange one eyed creature. There was an obvious entrance, an ornate but oddly shaped opening in the outer wall. After opening the door, several members of the party found that they had been affected by oddities. Augustus' butt was suddenly comically large. Haptic the pseudo-dragon had an arm replaced with a black tentacle. Caedryll's pants would not stay up, and fell to his ankles no matter what he did to hold them in place. Kuber found that a small reddish dog was following him around, always underfoot. Only Jeddak was spared a humiliating or confusing effect. The party found themselves in a massive hall with intricately carved walls, ceiling and floor. The carvings were bizarre dream-like images, some surreal, some totally abstract. Augustus found an image of himself, complete with the giant posterior. Kuber found images of a legend he knew from his home world. The effect was maddening. A voice spoke to them, telling them," I know why you are here." The party proceeded deeper into the structure and found themselves in a giant room with twisted and coiled chains for a floor and ten gems inlaid into the walls. The words "no I said I have eleven" was scrawled on the wall in blood. The room was an elaborate trap which psychically and physically assaulted the party with beams from the gems, chains from the floor, a terrifying vision of a massive beholder, and several smaller zombie beholders. While the party struggled to destroy the gems, surmising that they were the source of the danger, Caedryll magically commanded one of the zombie beholders to "eat all the gems." After destroying the ten visible gems, the charmed zombie moved to a hidden gem and destroyed it, ending the effect. Once the danger was over, a door appeared in a wall, leading to a spiral staircase which rose to a massive domed library full of books and other objects mundane and bizarre. Ir'mee al-Ma, a massive beholder with eleven eye stalks, floated from the shadows and thanked the party sincerely for entertaining him. He said, "I know what you came for, you may have the book." He offered to answer the party's questions after they had read the book.

The party rested while Jeddak skimmed the book looking for information. The Crowning Elucidation was a large book bound in leather with brass gears running all along its outer edges. The book could not be opened by anyone but Jeddak, who spoke Zenythri and understood the ever shifting patterns of the gears. The book was long, and dealt mostly with the philosophy and cult of the Zenythri, how they desired to bring a lasting order to the multiverse. The following passage is the most relevant to the current situation:

> Upon finding that the combined intellects of our race were insufficient to devise a final solution to the problem of disorder, it was decided  that the congress would commission a great thinker, part living, part automaton, part magical. This creation would ponder the problem and provide the crowning elucidation (final solution, terminal computation) of our creed, a solution to bring order and peace to all.
>
>

After reading this Ir'mee al-Ma spoke to the party. He told them that he saw the Adaranth when the Zenythri built it many thousands of years ago. He saw it churning away on its calculations for millennia. Then one day he dreamed of it, dreamed of the living brain of the Adaranth. After his dream the Adaranth changed drastically, possible having been driven insane by the dream of a beholder. The Zenythri became afraid of it when they realized that it had altered its program. They tried to destroy it but it was much too powerful and intelligent for them. It destroyed their entire race. Then 1,000 years ago the Adaranth turned its eye upon Ir'mee al-Ma and knew that it was being observed. At that point, the Adaranth disappeared and Ir'mee al-Ma hid himself from the Adaranth. Ir'mee al-Ma said believes his library is the only location in the multiverse that is not under the eye of the Adaranth.

The party took this information and pieced together a chronology of the events they knew:

Timeline (BI - before invasion)

**1000 BI**

* Adaranth destroys the Zenythri and leaves Mechanus

**500 BI**

* Jynjur and Bariashuu become enemies (according to Bariashuu)
* Katalii imprisons Abbar Savi and dies in the process (her soul trapped in Wall of Vapors in the ethereal plane)
* The Primus of the Modrons begins acting strangely (according to the Lone Modron)

**500-400 BI**

* Various other figures in Sigil begin to vanish, all agents of the Lady of Pain (according to Abbar Savi)

**200 BI**

* Beorhisto and Dyaspagon travel to the Wall of Vapors. Things go badly, Dyaspagon dies, and Beorhisto delivers the Page of Katalii to Shattered Temple in Sigil.
* Lone Modron goes rogue and leaves Mechanus, convinced that the Primus is being manipulated by an outside force.

**199 BI**

* Beorhisto returns to his home near Duskbridge in the Feywild.

**1 BI**

* Lady of Pain disappears

**0 BI**

* Sigil Invaded by the Grand Army of Revolt. Ir'mee al-Ma believes the Adaranth is behind this invasion.

* The Dogs of War conscripted into the Militias of Resistance.

1 **AI**

* Sigil falls to Jynjur's forces aided by the Modrons.

* The 90 Day Plan to liberate Sigil is planned.