Aerois - Episode 147: The Best Defense

Kim Richards as Nova V'ger

Mark Hulmes as Aila

 Rhiannon Frost as Sentry

 Tom Hazell as Qillek Ad Khollar

**The Best Defense** is the 147th episode of the Aerois Campaign. It was broadcast live on the highrollersdnd Twitch channel, and hosted on the Yogscast Twitch channel, on 22nd May 2022 from 5PM to 8PM BST.

*The Stormchasers, aboard their giant new vessel, figure out their next steps!*

## **Summary**

### **Announcements**

* Mark welcomes everyone and introduces the players. Aila is away this week visiting family in Scotland.
* Thank you to Crispi and peggells from chat. Peggells did the amazing artwork for the Shansara Tour t-shirt that Tom is wearing - the shirt is not for sale, it was just made as a cool design and the shirts were paid for privately - a few shirts were sent to the HR team for them to wear. The Star Bane t-shirt that Kim is wearing is a bit of a joke from Crispi (Crispi: no it's not, Mark. It's no joke!): Mark drew it on a stream in MS Paint (it was his interpretation of a Sexy Star Bane T-shirt) and Crispi made it into a shirt. Thank you to peggells and a lot of different artists who were involved in creating the tarot deck (found here https://twitter.com/AeroisTarot): peggells organised to have the artwork printed as actual tarot cards and posted out to all who were involved and the HR crew.
* Reminder that HR will be at Twitch Con Amsterdam on 16th and 17th of July (minus Kim). There will be a live prologue of campaign 3 - it is a super early look into the world of Altheya (the setting for c3). The people on stage will not be playing their final characters but they may end up becoming NPCs in the main campaign. It is looking like the live show will likely be streamed on Saturday 16th at 2pm (ish), but this will be confirmed soon.
* Merch: this is the last week to get the "I Wish I Were a Birdy" t-shirt. Once this week is finished, it will be gone (never to be made again).
* Mark will be at D&D in a Castle - 20 hours of D&D over a weekend, you stay in the castle, attend a ball, and do many other activities - September 2-6 is Mark's weekend, and there are only 2 seats left at his table.
* Mark will be at MCM London ComicCon on Friday 27th and Saturday 28th of May. He will be wandering around and is happy to meet people and sign things (anything!) on the Friday and will be attending the Critical Role fan meet (going in disguise!).
* Rhi and Kim saw My Chemical Romance this week. The band was invited to come and play D&D with the HR crew.
* Sign up on Patreon to support the show, use your Prime sub on Twitch, buy merch, or even just encourage people to watch. These are all good ways to support High Rollers.

### **Recap**

*"The champions of Aerois were in the process of helping the titan, Valena, forge an artifact called the Starseed, a device that houses the knowledge, memories, and magical essence of Aerois, and acts as a beacon for the souls in the afterlife to follow it to another universe should this one fall to Hadar's hunger. The process had been extremely challenging, and Valena heavily weakened, however, Valla manifested a fragment of her true divine nature and through manipulation of time and space, altered the challenge to give our champions a fair chance. With Quill completing the Knowledge Foci(sic) and Nova the Connection Foci(sic), it was down to Sentry, who made contact with the Hope Foci(sic). After a moving and powerful exchange, and Sentry stating her hope for an Aerois that no longer needed heroes, the Starseed was completed. An exhausted, drained Valena laid down her hammer for the last time and took the party to witness the completion of her other project. The second task she had been given by Siaska, a tool for those who would rise up against their enemy. Transporting the party to the surface in the oceans of the Hawk's Dawn Archipelago, the champions witnessed an enormous vessel emerge from beneath the waves, a section of the arcane metropolis of Solwynn, restored and adapted, converted into a colossal astral battleship, the Astoria. While(sic) the Astoria and the gemstone constructs left to operate it in the champions' hands, Valena gave up her divine essence and re-joined with Siaska in the Halls of Infinite Resplendence."*
### **Part 1**

*The Stormchasers, aboard their giant new vessel, figure out their next steps!*

Standing in the Halls of Infinite Resplendence, the party can sense that Siaska’s power is greatly restored with the third titan now re-joining her. Sayanna has informed them that while she has lost most of her divine powers, she has been keeping an eye on occurrences on Aerois, and that the Guardian scouts that were dispatched to find the entrance to Kellara’s domain have returned with news about Kellara’s former paladins, the Order of the Blackened Rose. The party, meanwhile, has news of their own to deliver about The Astoria(see Trivia).

Nova brings up The Astoria and who might be the most appropriate commander for it – she suggests that, given Solwynn was a Guardian city, that Bishop might be a possible candidate. Sentry corrects Nova, however, saying that firstly, Solwynn was not a Guardian city but a city of Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and Guardians who were built to be part of its defence. Secondly, while they were high in the command structure for the Guardians, Rook and Bishop were Royal protectors or bodyguards for Queen Astoria, they were more used to taking orders than giving them, so might be better suited to a military. It is possible that Sentry has a leader-type Guardian somewhere in the Matrix, but she would need to spend time looking for the right Guardian soul as well as trying to find more Guardian bodies to host any other souls she wishes to bring out from there(see Trivia). This may give Sentry a chance to start looking for a successor should she need someone to take on that mantle one day.

The party decides to go back to the Stormchaser while Valla says that she and Max will go back to Horizon – she needs to continue her research on how to enter Atelicus’ and Kellara’s demi-planes and she says that she will talk to Dannica and let her know about their adventures and The Astoria. None of them want Dannica to panic when the large ship, larger than any in the Valkyrian fleet, flies into view. Valla is concerned about looking for Atelicus’ demi-plane because she does not know how or where to start because he is somehow different to the others. She suspects that the information that the scouts give them will be relevant to the demi-plane and that the breach point should not be too far away. Valla takes Max’s hand, the purple triangle of light appears behind her and swallows them – they vanish, gone to Horizon.

Quill activates the gem on the Wayfinders Guide to take them all back to the Stormchaser – it has docked into the rough, rocky hull of The Astoria. The underbelly is shaped into the hull of a ship, and built into the sides of it are multiple hollowed out sections that act as hangar bays where air ships can be docked with gangways of metal and stone. Its construction is very reminiscent of Solwynn, but with a very large amount of metal including iron and steel, but also the rarer mithril and adamantine, there are also sections of crystalline material that seems to be common in astral ships, but they are not sure whether this is natural or has been brought in from elsewhere. The interior of The Astoria is generally enclosed space, but it looks out onto the sky or astral space from one end (they are not yet sure how this functions), there are staircases that lead up, and corridors that lead into the interior which is almost like an underground city street. There are buildings and lights that illuminate plazas, all built underground, and the ceiling has been enchanted with an illusion to create the images of fake skies so that it feels like you are outside or under a night sky depending on the time outside.

While Lancion and Penny have remained on the Stormchaser, Oriya tells them that Kamarra has taken the Wolf Pack and Howard onto The Astoria to try to figure out how to get around. Nova considers whether she should talk to Thalia about bringing the Twinstar Longbow aboard The Astoria, and it could either be docked underneath or put on the top deck, the entire front half of which is kept clearer like a wide city street, with fewer towers and turrets, but apparently used to park or launch smaller fighters and magitek devices.

They discuss with Oriya what she has been told by the Maidens of Valena and talk about needing to organise a crew for it. Oriya says that she and the rest of the crew want to stay on the Stormchaser, thinking of it as their home. They talk about the need to capture creatures to power the engines so that they can dock in the Astoria as it moves into Astral Space. Oriya does not think that the ship currently has supplies or weapons aboard, although the turrets appear to be functional. They will still need gunners to man the weapons as the gemstone Dwarves will only be able to do maintenance and keep the ship running (including maintaining the fragment of the World Engine), not fill in for any combat position. They will also need other troops – ground troops in case they are boarded, navigators, as well as people responsible for weapons, armament, and equipment. Nova suggests contacting all of their allies and seeing if they would be prepared to contribute to a crew for The Astoria – a crew truly representative of all of the races on Aerois that would fight for its survival.

Lucius suggests that they should consider using The Astoria as a refugee ship if all goes badly and they need to evacuate Aerois (taking as many people as they can), but Nova points out that The Astoria will be used as a ship of war and that taking refugees into a war zone and fighting many battles will put their lives in danger. Lucius points out that the refugees may be in just as much danger on Aerois as they would be on The Astoria if there is total war, and they realise that they should discuss this eventuality with the world leaders in Horizon. Nova believes that they need to ensure security around the teleportation circles on The Astoria and she suggests that Reyn may be a good candidate for that position. Quill wonders where D1 is so that he can ask a question of her and her face appears out of the wall, startling him – she offers her assistance. Quill asks D1 about what magical protections are available on The Astoria and she summons Emerald 4 to answer the question while D1 disappears into the wall again; E4 walks through the door – she looks similar to D1 with slight variations (a different haircut, slightly different outfit, but the same face).

E4 tells them that anyone who knows the correct sigils can use the teleportation circles, that the ship is not currently protected from divination magic and that protecting the whole ship thus would be incredibly difficult – she agrees that it may be possible to protect the teleportation chambers so that no one can scry on the sigils, however. Sentry asks about whether they could use magic to penetrate disguises: again, there is nothing currently available on the ship but E4 says that they may be able to place devices in strategic locations to detect invisibility or illusion (but not physical disguises). Quill asks about weapons that could be trained on the deck of the ship itself but E4 advises that all weapons are currently trained on areas external to the ship as it is assumed that the ship itself would be protected by Aerosian soldiers. E4 also makes them aware that the power supply for the ship is limited to its current uses, and that any further magical devices that they want to bring on board would need to be supplied with power from external sources, such as aetherium engines. She also confirms that while there is navigation equipment on the ship, there is no one on board who can control the systems; when they ask where The Astoria is, she is able to point out their location on a map before melting into the floor.

The crew is recalled to the Stormchaser, and they begin to make their way to Horizon. Lucius calls Quill to the captain’s quarters, summoning him by the name “Qillek” – there are several Wolf Pack members sent to get him, believing that he will be in trouble and Quill is nervous. When he gets there, Quill is admitted quickly and ushered to a seat next to a table with a hot cup of tea for Quill – Lucius paces back and forth. Lucius announces to Quill that he does not want to be a bird anymore and is not sure if that is offensive – he did not want to upset Quill, especially in front of the others. Lucius is worried how others (like his sister) will react, and he would like to return to Elven form but does not know how to reverse the effect. This makes Quill think about Valla’s use of her burgeoning powers over time in the forge, and he thinks it possible that she may be able to reverse time and revert Lucius’ body back before he made the wish which may undo the effect permanently. Lucius says that there are more important things to worry about and he is concerned about how tired Valla was after the use of her powers, he is, however, concerned that he may be allergic to feathers. Meanwhile, Nova passes a magic imbued rock to Sentry that allows her to hear Nova’s current favourite music. Lucius asks Quill to storm out of his room and look really upset, which he manages to do, convincing Nova and Sentry (who are outside the door), as well as some of the nearby Wolf Pack members, that Quill has really been in trouble with Captain Lucius.

After six hours of uneventful travel, they make it to Horizon: Nova goes to collect Thalia while the rest go to speak to Dannica while Reyn summons the Grand Strategist, General Faelissa, and Azaria Perel to meet with them. When Nova and Thalia join them in the War Room, there are some guests in the meeting as well, a pair of Guardians and a male Wild Elf who is dressed in furs and arctic clothing – he looks like a rugged warrior and is not familiar to them.

Dannica opens the meeting and asks if the Stormchasers would like to share their intel with the group first. Lucius begins to speak and it is clear that no one had recognised him until then – there are a few raised eyebrows (including Dannica’s), but everyone is too polite to say anything about the unexpected transformation. Lucius advises them about the enormous, Solwynn-based astral ship that is now en route to Horizon and Valena’s role in completing it: they see Azaria’s face, wide eyes and trembling lip, obvious even with her habitual veil, and can tell that she is beyond excited about it. Dannica is excited and relieved, saying that she is aware of Valena’s other gift and thinks that while she trusts the council, it might be better if it was kept between them, and Lucius agrees. General Faelissa is displeased by not being read in on the second gift but reluctantly resumes her seat when Dannica asks the Dragons to trust her, the champions, and the gods.

Reyn reports on their current understanding of the deployment and tactics of the Valkyrian forces: they have largely withdrawn, taken hold of the territories they currently have, and have taken defensive positions. They no longer seek to take any ground, and they are not seeking to reach out to smaller settlements – it seems that they have stopped any action against the Horizon alliance. The Grand Strategist thinks that it is possible that they may be waiting for something (a strategy or some move), or that the civil conflict between Xarkira and Kalus may have caused him to pause his actions on Aerois. Nova explains to the council in detail what happened when Aila used the Duskwillow coin, what was shown to Kalus and what they learned about his former relationship with Siaska. Dannica is not sure why Kalus would believe the vision that he saw over the description of the vision, knowing that images can be magically projected into someone’s mind. The Grand Strategist argues that Kalus would have had to order his forces to stop attacking, but that if he is convinced by the vision, he does not understand why Kalus would not withdraw entirely; Lucius argues that Kalus may not be fully convinced yet and so is waiting for further information, while the Grand Strategist also thinks that in the civil unrest with Xarkira, Kalus simply cannot commit more troops to the battle on Aerois. Either way, the Grand Strategist believes that their best strategy is to defeat the remaining titans and to gather allies and strength, such as The Astoria. Nova explains that The Astoria will need a crew, and Azaria says that the ship will be one of the most powerful relics on Aerois, that Solwynn’s mastery of magic is beyond anything on Aerois today – she is curious how The Astoria is capable of astral travel without an elemental or magical engine and says that it must be protected at all costs.

Dannica believes that the champions of Aerois should choose the crew of experts who will be in charge of The Astoria – she speaks plainly to the Grand Strategist, Azaria, and General Faelissa. Faelissa has a great military mind, but her interests are firmly with the Dragonborn and her interests in vengeance against Kalus, the Grand Strategist likewise has a great military mind and wonderful with logistics, but he does not know hearts and minds; Dannica says that she is too busy with Horizon. Dannica feels that the party should either select the bridge crew or even a commander who would choose their own officers.

Dannica informs them that she has received word from Duke Sovrano and Baroness Coralsong that the natural disasters in the Hawk’s Dawn Archipelago have now ceased and that things have returned to normal; as thanks, they have both formally joined the Horizon alliance and brought with them vast amounts of resources. Duke Sovrano brings with him fleets of sailing ships and swashbucklers to go with it, and they may potentially be able to work as crew on The Astoria. He is also very skilled with finances and will help with managing resourcing, acquisitions, and supplies The Baroness has sent Beastriders who can fight in the sea and are also sailors and warriors, and the Baroness herself can assist with marshalling and training of troops since she is a skilled fighter.

Dannica also tells Sentry that the Guardians are in Horizon and that with Valkyrian currently not engaging any battlefronts, they are currently without purpose – putting them on The Astoria may solve this problem while also providing protection for the ship. Lucius mentions that they are hoping to have a crew for The Astoria that represents all of Aerois, and Dannica says that something of the sort could be arranged: Griffon Riders from Gusthaven, engineers from Horizon, structural engineers from Goldthrone, swashbucklers from the Hawk’s Dawn Archipelago, and so on. They will need to find gunners or people skilled with magic for the arcane turrets as well as the bridge crew; Quill has the idea of recruiting Spell Clash combatants which many people scoff at, but the Grand Strategist thinks it an idea worth pursuing. Spell Clash produces powerful mages who are used to combat and battle against others, the sport has ceased, and even the theatrical competitors may be able to provide them with some distractions – a force of twenty or thirty mages could be a useful unit. Lucius suggests a force of Fey creatures led by Hope Rosemeadow which is also considered, and the Grand Strategist also proposes the Beastfolk (who count good archers and marksmen among their number) if only the party can deal with Atelicus. Dannica tells the party that she has updates for them regarding Atelicus and Kellara as well as some updates regarding Vortinssar.

### **Part 2**

*The team update the world on their discoveries and we all get what we want: more dreams!*

Dannica gives them the following update for Vortinssar: she has no specific information about Tornado, but Norfir has told them that while Valkyrian forces are holding back for now, the one exception appears to be Vortinssar which is acting as if nothing has changed. In addition, several members of the Genasi council have been removed from office (accused of treason, sabotage, and plots to assassinate a dignitary of the Empire); Harmony, the leader of the council, and Shansara, a musician and officer in the Valkyrian army, both exercise significant control and influence in the city. Shansara’s popularity has become almost cult-like – at her concerts, her fans treat her like a living saint, and they refer to her as “The Guiding Light”, believing that she is responsible for helping the Genasi come home. Music is important to the Genasi and a large part of the culture which is probably why she was sent there in the first place – she has likely grown stronger since they first met her. The Seekers, a youth organisation that was helping Norfir are no longer considered lightly as dissident youths but are now being labelled as terrorists and violent activists; they are still attempting to work against the Valkyrians but almost the whole city is against them. It is believed that they are still working on the teleport devices that they hope will transport the city back to Genas and it is not known when this will be completed, only that the project is progressing. The city has become more locked down over time and it is becoming harder for Norfir to get her intelligence reports out. Dannica tells them that beyond attacking the city, there is no real way to stop them, and she has difficulty justifying doing so in any event – the people of the city voted for this project so that they could go home, and Dannica feels that they should have that right. Nova asks if they could sabotage the teleportation devices to prevent them from using that method, which she is concerned is dangerous and may take people who do not want to go, and Dannica advises her that she has agents in the city to do just that, but that they cannot spare any others. Nova thinks that Harmony must be under Shansara’s Eladrin charm effect because Harmony was born of all four elements and is meant to be the best of all of them, which is why they rule the council – Norfir has attempted to detect any spell effects but cannot, and it appears that they are working closely together for the interests of the city. It appears that Harmony is the one who has had the council members removed and Dannica suspects foul play but has no confirmation. Quill asks where Nova got her music rock and wonders if it is Shansara’s music, but it is another band from Vortinssar, My Alchemical Romance.

Dannica then calls Hunter Varnier to come forward to speak with the champions: a Wild Elf, dressed in blue and white furs, dressed for living in deep snowy areas but also with a mix between Celtic and Viking dress. The man, a grizzly looking man with a thick beard, wears a blue and white tartan bandolier, a thick heavy fur hood, thick mittens, and snow goggles perched on their forehead. He speaks to them in a gruff voice and recognises them as the ones that Morgaen Frostblessed had spoken of. Hunter Varnier is one of the Wild Elves of Aelseraph and has come to tell them of the great beasts: Stonemaw (the lizard that walks), Stormwing (the bird), and Tidehydra (a massive ocean-going hydra). He says that his people cannot kill the beasts but have been trying to corral and distract them and while it worked for a while, the beasts are learning and adapting. They have started to attack small settlements and ships but are learning how to hunt and destroy, getting instructions and teaching from Atelicus. The beasts have also begun mutating, and he cites Stonemaw whose body is covered in a runic bark that makes his hide impossibly tough (weapons and spells barely seem to do any damage), and the creatures’ endurance is astounding. Varnier thinks that there might be some trick to disabling them or striking them in a weak spot, but they have not located either yet. It is thought that if they are left much longer, they will only get stronger and deadlier. The Wild Elves have established a base of operations in the mountains north of Aelseraph towards the centre of the continent: it has easy access to the mountains and the coast, giving them good places to spy on all of the creatures. They are currently trying to work out how to beat the creatures and have lost a lot of hunters in the process, but believe they are making progress, and there is no current indication that the beasts will work together at this stage. The Elves have tried things like drugging food to poison them or get them to sleep but this is becoming less effective over time (they are either resistant or immune to the toxins), in fact whatever they do, the beasts are adapting and making all attacks less effective. Varnier mentions that the creatures are growing smarter and starting to use more tactics when they hunt. Morgaen sends her regards and will welcome them to the camp when they arrive and will give them any knowledge and help that she can. Varnier warns them that regular steel and the few artifacts they have seem to do very little against the beasts, and Morgaen suggested that “the one who can see” could check if “his eye can answer any questions”.

Varnier leaves and Dannica calls over the last two emissaries who are two Guardian scouts. The first has a small antenna on its head that branches in two as it comes out of its forehead, it is lithe, built for stealth and agility, more organic with a few stone plates over its body and carrying a quarterstaff slung on its back. The second Guardian looks more like a mage, it wears robes that are printed with vines and leaves, the same as its armour so it looks like the robes are part of them, and it carries a large metal staff engraved with a lot of runes, it also has three rows of two eyes down its face and a thin line for a mouth. The latter introduces themself as Stave of the magicians’ unit and introduces the other as Scout Dowser of the scouting unit (they realise that the antenna in its head is a dowsing rod). They have come on behalf of Scout Commander Hotshot, who has sent them to report on the Order of the Blackened Rose. They wave their hand and project a realistic illusion (almost like a diorama) onto the middle of the war table: it is a map showing a very dense jungle valley. Dowser tells them that they travelled to northern Jakkesh where they believed that Nightbloom Hold might be, it is believed to be the headquarters of the Grief Knights of the Order of the Blackened Rose. Stave zooms in on the illusory map to show a deep cut valley with a river running through it and a dense canopy of trees cutting off the sunlight to the ground below. The map zooms in to under the canopy into a darkened, overgrown hilly valley – this is the location of Nightbloom Hold, they believe that the hold contains a few knights as well as a Celestial being in the abbey who may be in charge. Approach via airship will be almost impossible because of the thick jungle but they have made a forward base in a clearing nearby (the map changes perspective) where they would be able to drop in from the airship (the land nearby is too rocky and steep to land) and meet up with Commander Hotshot. Dowser believes that the Celestial is using teleportation magic to send a small number of knights out into Aerois. Stave reports that being part of the scouting party, they noticed an extremely strong aura of necromancy in the valley around Nightbloom Hold – it is coming from large amounts of unusual undead.

Stave tells them that a ‘normal’ undead being will retain an essence of the soul that it once housed and that this is what binds and animates it; the undead around the Hold in Jakkesh are different – they are bound by a magical force that animates them, giving them strength and speed, but it links them into a hive mind like a colony of ants. They have noticed that the undead tend to be ancient and skeletal and have black flowers and vines growing inside their bodies which seems to have been part of the process to animate them. They have also noticed animal carcases and suspect that some of these may also have been converted. Stave reveals that they have encountered a single knight while scouting and it destroyed fifteen Guardians single-handedly (they have brought the bodies back for Sentinel Prime to reclaim the Guardian souls). It is odd, they say, that the knight fought them when there was a threat but that after destroying the fifteen Guardians, it seemed to grow disinterested and stopped fighting once they allowed it to leave; Stave believes that this is because the Guardian’s soul is trapped inside its matrix and not able to be freed by killing the body. The knights are able to channel some magic, are competent warriors, are heavily armoured, and have some unusual abilities – some can command swarms of insects, some have power over ice and cold, one was wreathed in flame (a powerful, armoured and larger figure), but they seem scattered and never seem all to be in one location at the same time. They have not seen any mounts, but the dense jungle makes it hard to travel on anything but foot, and the growth in the valley has accelerated over the last few months. While the knights seem to have command of the undead in the hive mind, Stave is not sure if they are part of the hive mind themselves.

They are warned that there are vast amounts of the undead in the valley and that the forward operating base have to maintain a constant perimeter defence; when Stave travelled through the area, they were encountering packs of twenty to thirty of the undead at a time, and even if they were dispatched quickly, the group had to relocate because more would rapidly appear. They do not appear to be skilled at tracking, but once detected, someone has to be quick and clever to get away – while the undead are strong, quick, and agile themselves, they have no independent thought and cannot complete complex tasks such as searching. Stave thinks that the flowers may give the undead special powers or strength, and yet a priest Guardian was able to destroy them with holy energy as if they were normal undead, so they may be turned or destroyed. Normal magic (such as a fireball) was also very effective at destroying large numbers of them.

Dannica tells them that Skaldi Ravenscar is in Horizon and not well. Dannica is confused because the creation of undead was always the antithesis of Kellara’s teachings and the Order of the Blackened Rose used to seek out and destroy undead. Either her madness is worse than Zephyr’s or there is some corruption, but she does not believe that Kellara is creating an army – she believes that the undead are a symptom of a larger problem, they are being conjured, summoned, or drawn to the area but whatever is controlling them is not directing them. There is some concern that if left alone, the undead area may expand and grow in strength.

Quill wonders how Xarkira was able to block teleportation into Horizon and Azaria tells him that Xarkira had placed a device into the mechanical dragon creatures and that the teleportation blocking ability was connected to the devices. Azaria has tried to reverse engineer the enchantments on the device, but it is incredibly complex, written in an alien script and language. One positive is that the effect will be exceedingly difficult and expensive to recreate. Quill had been hoping to block the knights’ teleportation abilities. Lucius suggests that they could capture the Celestial in the Binding Sphere, but Azaria comments that if they capture a Celestial with a connection to necrotic or negative energy, they will then need to capture a Fiend with a connection to positive energy, not impossible, but unlikely. Azaria is hoping that after studying the Astoria, she may find other ways of travelling Astral Space and Lucius suggests that Lily and Sprocket also go to assess the Astoria. Stave and Dowser ask Sentry to visit the nearby barracks when she can to see to the dead Guardians so that she can store the old souls and send new ones into the old bodies.

Quill is concerned about Atelicus’ beasts getting stronger the longer they are left and worries that they will start to attack larger settlements, but General Faelissa offers the service of the few Dragons that are left to keep all of them occupied and away from towns for as long as they can while the Wild Elves try to work out how to vanquish them. Faelissa makes a request – she asks if some of their mages can come and speak to the party about the fragment of the World Engine aboard The Astoria which must hold immense power. Her hope is that they may be able to find a way to waken the Dragons that slumber in their own vessels, and rather than waiting and hoping for Siaska to do it, she hopes that the power of the World Engine may succeed. Doing so, Faelissa says, will give them extra defences and weapons. The three ships on Aerois are the equivalent of the greatest of Kalus’ warships, being of the same design and make, only powered by Draconic spirits rather than Eterna. Faelissa hopes that there may be a way to jolt the Dragon spirits awake from their long slumber.

Lucius is cautious, asking what happens if the Dragons do not wish to assist them once awoken and Faelissa tells him that if their enemy is Kalus Valkyrian, they will assist. Lucius asks what would happen if their enemy was not Kalus, but Hadar and his forces – Faelissa is less committed saying that it would depend on what agreement could be made with Starbane. Long before Kalus came to Aerois, he took the Dragons’ world, Draconia, and captured some of their people; Faelissa thinks that if it could be agreed to return their home world and their people, the older Dragons may be convinced to not to fight Starbane, and the ancient spirits would listen to them. Faelissa is yet to be convinced, however, having seen what Kalus is capable of, telling Lucius that the Dragons have fought Kalus before – he convinced half of their world to join him, and the other half he put to the sword, and what forces are on Aerois are the survivors of that encounter or their children.

Dannica calls the meeting to a close and Azaria leaves hastily to try to get to The Astoria as quickly as possible. After the room has cleared of all but Dannica and the party, she warns them about the Dragons, that although she trusts them as allies, they can be reckless. She also mentions that Valla has told her of the Starseed – she believes that they should keep that information amongst their most trusted companions because while it provides hope, it also is an acknowledgement and acceptance that they will lose and that would not be good for morale. Dannica is also hoping to speak to Azaria once she has had a chance to examine The Astoria – if there is a way that a sliver of the World Engine can power The Astoria to go to Astral Space, there is a chance that Dannica may be able to unlock greater depths of the power of the phoenix inside her and she may be able to also take Horizon to Astral Space.

Quill mentions their plan to use The Astoria as a refugee ship – she says that it may be useful if Kalus is going to destroy Aerois to ferry some people away (but at that point they may as well join him to save their lives), but she reminds them that if Hadar is successful, being on The Astoria will not save anyone. She tells them that from her experience on Horizon, soldiers need their family near them because they fight best when protecting those they care for, they also need entertainment, and food. There will be room for many civilians on board who will also be necessary for the operation of other things on the ship. While there is the possibility of taking those in need onto the ship, with Kalus’ forces no longer advancing, no one is suffering, and his forces have treated any who have surrendered with civility. As far as they can tell, in the territories that the Valkyrians control, like Gisella and Vortinssar, the people seem happy and there have been no waves of refugees seeking to leave them.

As they finish up their discussions, Nova asks Dannica if they can borrow Reyn to organise a security force to guard the teleportation circles on The Astoria, Dannica agrees saying that Reyn can take some of the Horizon guards with them to create this security group. The issue of Lucius’ new form is finally brought up by Nova and Dannica says that she was just going to overlook it, as had everyone at the meeting, out of politeness and then takes her leave. It comes out that Quill is not in trouble with Lucius. They discuss a temporary job with Arval, ferrying people and supplies to The Astoria with his fleet of ships and end up appointing him as the Quartermaster for The Astoria. Sentry restores the fallen Guardians and then gives Her Majesty’s Rose to Petal: Petal recalls the sword as being Rook’s but says that she does not know how to fight with it. Sentry is happy to teach her when she has time.

Nova gets Quill to send a message to Tornado:

*“Dear brother. I want to help you, but I don't know how. Tell me and I will do it. I'm so proud of you.”*

Quill sends the message, but it is as if something is blocking it and the message is not received (Quill knows that Cloud is not dead, just blocked from receiving the message). The exhausted party decides to rest.

Quill dreams:

*He finds himself on the top of a tower, staring across a peaceful valley at night. Despite the darkness, there is enough light to see the shapes of mountains and the lights of civilization of a great city in the valley below him. A great temple, a familiar temple, stands at the end of the valley, a winged humanoid figure carved into the mountain above it. Something of the perspective, the tower, reminds him of a similar dream, once before. He notices as well that the familiar prismatic glow of the Cradle is not there. Instead, the sky is littered with brilliant lights, many big and bright, that shine down on the world. Some of them move slowly and steadily, growing brighter or fainter. He realises some of these lights are stars, distant planes in the astral sea and some of them are ships coming and going to Aerois. Somehow, he knows these bring visitors and settlers and take the people of Aerois to see new places and people beyond their imaginings. It is a peaceful world.*

*He senses a familiar presence, soft air and wind, a light touch on his shoulder. He hears the cry of gulls and smells the sea breeze. Vibrations like the beat of a hammer against anvil seem to pass over him from this presence, and a soft feminine voice calls to him,*

*“You have always seen the possibilities of the future and the pain of the past. Whenever you envisioned yourself a proud messenger of the guild as a young boy, or you pictured the sad origins of a strange person you met on a lost road, H’esper knew this of you. He trusted you with a precious gift, to use that gift to learn, to grow, to ask questions. I am not he, but he is my son: he is my curiosity, he is my mind. Now he has returned to my heart along with two more of my children and my power returns. My body sleeps but my essence dreams, and here the dream of a god meets the dream of her champions. What do you think you can see?”*

*Quill replies, “I see a hopeful future - a dream for Aerois.”*

*“As I have said, you have always been able to see the possibilities of the future. H’esper chose well.”*

Lucius, no longer an Elf, dreams:

*He walks down the streets of Gusthaven, he knows the route well; it is the path home. The Elenasto estate is missing, but a long dinner table stands in the green field where it once would have stood. He sees many people sitting at this long table: some are misty, ethereal things - he knows they are people, but their features, their clothes, their voices are unimportant. But some, he knows well, he sees his companions, Sentry, Aila, Quill, Nova. He sees the crew of the Stormchaser, Oriya, Faeth, Kamarra, Howard, all of them. He sees Prince Aridan and his sister, Edea, they are speaking with his father, Virian, and his mother, Elluin. They are laughing together, his father looks relieved, as though the weight of years and stress has been taken away.*

*Lucius observes for a little while so that he can soak in the moment then gently walks towards them. As he steps closer, the sky darkens, the city becomes engulfed by a pitch-black void, and the dinner table becomes in shrouded by a red light. The darkness leaves only a small space around him and the dinner table before it slows to a crawl, inch by inch. Nobody else seems to mind or notice the darkness or the light. They're happy. His heart aches in pain and feels like it will burst inside his chest. His body shakes and trembles, the air so thin he gasps for every breath. The Darkness looms and a voice seems to call out,*

*“I will end it. End the pain, the fear the grief. Come to me.”*

*Lucius considers the offer for a moment before replying, “It would be easy”.*

*“Yes, easy. Painless.”*

*“But what is it all for?” asks Lucius of the voice which does not answer. “So that's the problem. You're not an answer. And I'm still looking for one.”*

*The Darkness rushes towards him in a burst of speed, a great fanged maw of inky black reaching out to swallow him in rage... and he hears the cry of a gull. He feels the wind blow behind him and the resounding slam of a hammer against an anvil. Motes of light surround him as waves of faint prismatic light, very much like his own magic, weaves around him like waves and air, and begins to hold the darkness back. His companions, his crew, now notice the darkness - they rush towards it, and they drive it back beyond Gusthaven, away from Aerois. And as far as they go, you still see the light of Sentry’s matrix, the flash of Aila's lightning, Nova’s Tiangong, and Quill’s magic still there, present, holding that darkness away. A feminine voice speaks to him,*

*“There is no peace in the void. There is no relief for those who are consumed by it. Those are things only the living and the ascended can have.”*

*He feels his family stand beside him, his mother holds his hand, his sister leans against his other arm. He feels his father's hands around his shoulders proudly, standing behind him. The woman continues,*

*“Battles fought and lost, great accomplishments, grand adventure, jokes with friends, the comfort of a lover, small joys, frivolous pleasures, every second we live is defiant against the power of time itself. Every minute we say “I will try” is something to be proud of. We do not need to all be great leaders or warriors, oracles, or scholars. Art, words, music, they hold a power all their own. Artists can see the beauty in things others do not. Musicians can change a heart when words and spells cannot. Without these things, the heart of a world is lost. You have always seen the world in beautiful ways. My body sleeps, but my essence dreams and here the dream of one god meets the dream of her champions. Who are you?”*

*He replies simply, “I am Lucius Virion-Elluin Elenasto.”*

Nova dreams:

*She finds herself in an old city. She doesn’t recognise it, but there is something familiar about it. It is empty, but clean and there are no signs of battle. She stands in a deserted plaza, buildings all around her with blue skies overhead. At the edge of the plaza, there's a great statue of Siaska raised on a platform with short steps leading up to a shrine of the Starmother at the base of the statue. On those steps, sits Kalus Valkyrian:*

*“I did not think we would meet again in this way. Nova V’ger.”*

*“Neither did I, are you OK?” she asks him.*

*“What a question to ask your… enemy?” he casts back towards her.*

*“I guess in some ways you are, but in others... I've always said I see your logic. And I see your connections and I see your motives and I wish I wish you would see ours.”*

*“What an interesting phrasing given whatever your friend Aila did. I have seen much but I still have many questions and I will not find the answers to those questions here on Aerois. I do not know if you will tell your military allies or if you will keep this to you and your close companions. I do not have the power to stop you either way. I am leaving Aerois for a short period of time. There are answers I must find, questions that must be asked based on what you and your kin showed me. But before I go, I come with two warnings. One for all of you, one for you.*

*“I warn all of you, you and your companions who have marked yourselves the champions of Aerois: Atelicus, I know that you are restoring Siaska, helping the titans re-join her. Some of them have been driven to unnatural desires. Atelicus is different to the other titans. This is not something that your history would ever teach you, they have revered Atelicus as a god, a protector, a warrior. But remember I was there, I fought them, I know Siaska. The Titans: you know what they are? You know that they are aspects of Siaska’s personality, elements of herself?” Nova agrees that she does. “For the most part, these Titans were created from positive traits of Siaska’s, things that she's proud of - her curiosity, a sense of adventure, her love of life and stories. There are a few exceptions, Zephyr was perhaps more rebellious than she realised, Siaska’s own rebellious streak influencing her adventurous side. But Atelicus is different. Atelicus is born of feelings that Siaska did not hold in high regard about herself. Atelicus is her temper, her protective nature, her desire to grow stronger in order to protect, and much like Zephyr, who was influenced by another divine, Thor, Atelicus is influenced by another divine called, Typhon, a dangerous and powerful one if I remember correctly. Of all of the titans, Atelicus was the one that I was concerned with the most. When you face Atelicus, if you struggle, if Atelicus is more than you can handle, contact me and I will grant you my aid. If he threatens, Siaska’s rebirth. I will come.”*

*“How can I contact you, especially if you're in Astral Space?” Nova asks Kalus.*

*“Either you will find a way, or I will still have many eyes on Aerois.”*

*“Of course, I got rid of that,” says Nova, thinking of the amulet that she discarded.*

*Kalus smiles. “I have no need to spy on you as I once did. The other is a warning for you. Vortinssar: Shansara and Harmony, they've shut off communications from my imperial orders, my command. They've installed devices to prevent communication.”*

*“That explains that then. I tried to contact my brother who was not in Vortinssar...” Nova is puzzled.*

*Kalus continues, “You need not worry with me, there are no other forces to listen here. This is a warning for you. For one who has given me respect and at least been willing to talk - a recompense perhaps. Shansara and Harmony are obsessed with returning Vortinssar to Genas. I believe that it is a part of your Harmony’s nature, because they represent all people, they are more connected to Genas than perhaps even I realised. They have become obsessed with returning there and Shansara, this following, this duty that she's been given, feeds into her ego. She has become convinced of her own legend that the Genasi have created for her. I have ordered them to stop, but they are ignoring me. It seems that I do not have just one rebellious force within my army. Perhaps my grip is not as strong as it once was. Be careful, their plans to transport Vortinssar back may work. They are intelligent, but what they are hoping to accomplish is a great deed. It may have disastrous consequences.”*

*“Is there a way you can delay the teleportation project?” Nova queries.*

*“I have done what I can. I've ordered them to stop and in some ways, I would not rush to refuse the Genasi who wish to return home.”*

*“I'm not asking for stopping it just delaying it, so we have time…”*

*“I will speak before I leave. I will send a message to whatever agents I can and ask them to aid in the sabotage that I know your forces are at work doing.”*

*Nova seems perturbed that Kalus would know this but thanks him sheepishly. Kalus tells her that he is no fool and she agrees.*

*“I'm going to try and find these answers. When you have done what needs to be done and the problems of Aerois are resolved, you will have my answer to your greater questions. Goodbye, Nova V’ger.”*

*“Just be safe,” Nova tells him.*

*“I have lived a very long time, do not worry about me,” says Kalus as the connection ends.*

*“I do worry about you that's the problem,” thinks Nova into the void.*

## **YouTube Timestamps**

0:00:00 - Intro
0:08:34 - Dun Duns
0:09:32 - Part 1
1:23:30 - Part 2

## **Featured Characters**

#### **The Stormchasers (Player Characters)**

* Aila (played by Mark)
* Lucius Virion-Elluin Elenasto
* Nova V'ger
* Qillek Ad Khollar
* Sentry

#### **New NPCs**

* Elluin Elenasto
* Hunter Varnier
* Stave
* Scout Dowser

#### **Returning NPCs**

* Kalus Valkyrian
* Virion Elenasto
* Edea Elenasto
* Siaska
* Oriya

#### **Mentioned NPCs**

* Howard
* Kamarra
* Penny
* Lancion
* Scout Commander Hotshot

## **Featured Locations**

* The Astoria
* The Stormchaser
* Horizon

## **Trivia**

* Clarification from last episode:
	+ Mark said that he does not understand scale very well, so he may have overdone it when describing The Astoria as being “as big as two or three cities”. He said this week that it is still *very big* and would fit the same number of people in it as Horizon.
	+ Tom asked how long it would take to get from one end to the other. Mark’s response was , “Long enough for anything important to happen, but too long for you to dilly dally in doing so. It has narrative/plot armour amount of time.”
	+ Best OOC descriptions were the Macross, a Star Destroyer, a big capital ship like Battlestar Galactica, but bigger than an aircraft carrier.
	+ D1 mentioned assigning a commander, but not one of the Stormchasers. Mark says it does not need to be a military commander but should be a good leader who can inspire people around them, like Lucius. Ideally, they would have some ability with and knowledge about tactics but could also assemble a team. Consider it like the Enterprise with a bridge crew – the captain/commander can have a weapons expert, tactical officer, science officer, etc. The commander can also choose their own bridge crew. Lucius suggested that the obvious answer was Howard.
* There are a dozen or so Guardian bodies that they left at The Nighteye in Myrskyr(ep 29), left over from the Dark War. It is unknown how badly damaged these bodies are and whether they are useable, but it is probably the largest lot of uninhabited Guardian bodies of which they are aware. Another possible source of bodies, should Sentry need them, would be Dwalinden near Rosehall (episodes 6 & 7).
* Mark confirmed that the Starseed is now on the Sun Ship with Palador. If the worst happens, and Hadar wins, the Sun Ship will fire the Starseed into the Well of Eternity and that will take it to a new universe. The hope is that the Fateweavers will cut this universe off from everywhere else basically sealing this universe’s fate.
* With many of the crew being fans of My Chemical Romance, and having gone to concerts recently, there were multiple references to the band and its songs this week – from lyrics, and a stone that played their music when lifted to the ear, to the drop of the name of a band in Aerois, “My Alchemical Romance”.
* Tom says that Quill and Sentry nearly didn’t get on the air ship, that they were going to go and get cake because there was a really nice bakery. Sentry says that the cake looked delicious, had brown stuff on it and cream as well. Nova had a hand-written itinerary and was an hour early. Lucius (somehow) ensured that the air ship was going to be on time because “it was the first time he was taking control”.
* The Stormchaser is a medium sized ship. The hangar bay that the Stormchaser is in could fit about five or six similarly sized, medium vessels into it. There were larger ships (proper war ships with black powder cannons) that they encountered in and around Gisella and the City of Glass. Two or three of these larger ships could fit into the hangar bay where the Stormchaser is currently docked. The Twinstar Longbow is considered a small ship because of the number of people it can carry, but it has a large wingspan – it would take up about the same size as the Stormchaser.
* There appears to be a level of similarity between what Azaria has done with high level enchantments and magical infusion on the Stormchaser and some of the old Solwynn magic and enchantments (compared with the magitek of the Valkyrian ships).
* The gemstone dwarves can merge through stone and crystal and travel almost anywhere on The Astoria like it is water. They cannot travel through metal or non-organic material. They would be able to travel via dirt but not wood. To initiate transport, the gemstone Dwarves have to start on a piece of stone (or crystal) large enough for their body to fit through, but they do not know if this is necessary for the whole path of travel. They effectively use the spell *Meld with Stone,* which they can use an unlimited number of times. It sounds like a liquid melting sound as the enter the stone.
* Mark says that if they are thinking of The Astoria as a refugee ship, they should think of it like Noah’s Ark – they could take a few people, enough to repopulate another plane, but not the entire population of Aerois.
* Without a crew, The Astoria can only move at a crawl.
* A fan art video of older art was shown during the break.
* Hunter Varnier speaks with a deep, gruff voice and a thick Scottish accent.
* Tom has been playing a lot of Monster Hunter, Mark had noticed, so decided to add some of that into the game for him. A comment that Mark made in his Discord was “So much of my DMing is reacting to the players, what they get interested in, what they don't, the theories they come up with, or the stuff they note down.”
* Kim got excited because the Grief Knights made her think of the Borg from Star Trek, but Mark said that was not intentional. The hive mind was one thing, but the ceasing to attack was not because they did not view the Guardians as a threat, more that they could not get at their souls, so the knight lost interest.
* When Sentry says to Lucius that the wolves love him and that he is married to one, it takes a moment for him to remember about Faeth.
* Kim said during the donos that someone in chat mentioned that it was awkward that Siaska was trying to contact Nova, only to find that she'd been blocked by her ex tying up the phone lines. Mark's response was, "Ex? In whose mind?"
* Mark indicates that Petal has Red Mage as a class now. Red Mage is a class in Final Fantasy that has been adapted to work in 5e.