Session 89
General Summary
- On the party's last day in Overlook, Dazki started one last conversation with Jim.
- When Dazki asked what to do if they encountered the undead that were captured by the Beholder, Jim asked only that they send him their information.
- Jim also asked for one of the party's copies of The Mask of the Wasted Breath, to keep as a memento. Marvin gave him the one that Vicra was more recently working on.
- The party then went to find Hemsin and Hawney to get the information that they needed to be able to find the rest of W.E.I.R.D..
- Dazki offered them one of the doses of the party's antidote so that one of them would be able to come with them to guide them, but they declined and just pointed them in the direction that they came from.
- This left four doses for the party, so Grogery administered a dose to each party member except for Kesmet, who was content with forgetting these events — as long as someone promised to remember the bits of information that they got about Dennis.
- Dazki sent the daily report to Annu, including precise instructions on how to find Vicra's Lair, and then the party left to find the caravan.
- Before long, they came across the caravan, first spotting a smoke signal that Aggromir had put up as a distress call, and then E.D. angrily defending a particular area.
- Aggromir mentioned that the Beholder had been around with a small army of several undead, but it quickly retreated after losing several of its undead.
- The Beholder had petrified Dr. Perry, and E.D. refused to let anyone else near her.
- Barry had left to find some of the horses who had run off during the commotion.
- The party un-petrified Dr. Perry, who calmed E.D. down. As the two groups (minus Barry) were getting an idea of what happened and why, the Beholder returned to attack the party.
- Eyesore was following the Beholder around, claiming to act on Grogery's advice to "help people". He did not act overtly hostile towards either anyone in the party or anyone from W.E.I.R.D.; he had just told the Beholder that E.D. is a "fake Masterpiece".
- Eyesore tried to teleport the Beholder away with a familiar-looking teleportation potion, but he missed, and Marvin killed the Beholder.
- Dwardazik knocked out Eyesore with his wand, and he was about to go kill the gnoll before the rest of the party stopped him, mostly claiming that the gnoll is too stupid to understand what he even did.
- Barry finally came back with a horse, conveniently right after combat finished.
Full Recap
One Last Look-Over
At the start of the day, the effects of Overlook's Bewilderburr start to set in. Though it is weaker than before, Dazki and Grogery still feel some of the effects. Upon awakening, W.E.I.R.D.'s caravan has still not arrived. Just as Hemsin said: now would be a good time to worry about it.Dazki: We should go get the Quibblebits. We've got some stuff we need to figure out. Dwardazik: You know, we never saw W.E.I.R.D. come in. We were watchin' out there. Dazki: That's what we need to figure out. Dwardazik: Well. Nothin' like another day in paradise. Dazki: No rest for the wicked, right?They begin to get dressed for the day, when Dazki brings up a point:
Dazki: We need to figure out who's going to get the antidote and who isn't. We have four doses, and one of the Quibblebits needs to take a dose so that they can remember where W.E.I.R.D. last was, so we can start tracking from that location. Kesmet: Guys. I'll be honest. I haven't been paying attention much since I took the final shot on the dude. And he in no way helped me with finding Dennis, or figuring out his weakness... nothin'. I'm totally fine with forgetting this whole fucking nightmare. Marvin: Same. Kesmet: Whoever knows something about Dennis, though — Dazki, I think you learned something about him? — just remember that for me, OK? I don't remember it being that useful to killing him, but whatever. Dwardazik: I would prefer not to forget. Grogery: Likewise. Dazki: All right. So we'll have to see if it's OK if only one of the Quibblebits takes the antidote, or if they both insist on it and then we'll have to figure something out.They go downstairs. Dazki approaches Jim, who is there as usual.
Dazki: Hey, Jim. It looks like we're going to have to leave a bit earlier than expected. People that we called in to help didn't make it, and they disappeared somewhere along the road. So, I believe this is going to be goodbye from us. I appreciate everything you've done; you've been incredibly helpful, especially considering everything that's happened. So I just wanted to say, to you and yours, thank you, and best wishes. I do have one question for you, though. Jim: Ask me your question. Dazki: My concern is that our friends may have come across the Beholder that was in the region. If we do find it, how would it be proper for us to handle the undecided that he has taken from you? I don't want to disrespect them and their wishes, but if they do attack us, then we will be forced to defend ourselves. Is there a generalized ritual that we can do for people of this town that would be respectful of them, if we are forced to defend ourselves? Jim: You refer to the zombies and other undecided that have been enslaved by the Beholder, yes? Dazki: Yes. Jim: If you could give me the information of those that must be lost, I will do what I need to after. Dazki: I don't know that we will be returning, that's why I'm asking — Dwardazik: Can't we send a bird? Dazki: The bird is with W.E.I.R.D., but possibly. Dwardazik: Is there no way that we can send a letter or message to 'im? Because now that I think about it, we may encounter them several days or weeks from now. If we did, there's gotta be some way to send that info back? Dazki: We will do our best if we encounter them. Hopefully, we won't have to deal with that. Jim: They are most likely already lost. Dazki: OK, I just wanted to know if there was anything we could do to help with what has happened, or may happen. Thank you for your hospitality, you've been a wonderful host. I wish we had been better guests. Jim: I have a request. I want that mask. Dazki: The one Marvin has? Dwardazik: The cursed one? Jim: Yes, the cursed one. As a token of remembrance. Marvin: We've got two. We can give you the more recent one we acquired, sure! It's the one he was tinkering with.Dwardazik pulls the group aside for a private chat.
Dwardazik: All right, guys. This particular mask. Do we feel that it can be used for malice or what? Dazki: No. Marvin: More than likely, it would just suffocate anyone who wears it. Grogery: OK, OK, OK. Hang on. Hang on. Someone's going to need to explain something to me, because I am really, REALLY confused about this. You guys are talking about... OK, so zombie farmers... not wanting to just... OK. You're talking about this all so casually that I am thinking that I might have forgotten something, but... OK. There's... a zombie in the corner of that room. No one is even looking at it weird? And... I just don't know what's going on. Marvin: You have forgotten a lot, Grogery. You forget things in this place. Kesmet: Zombie town. It's zombie town. It's fine. Grogery: And I... didn't raise a scene about this before??? Marvin: You have. Every single time. But then we say that you forgot. Because you forget. Dwardazik: Does someone want to explain to Grogery what's going on, here? Marvin: There's some ghost fart gasses that make us forget things here. These necromancer guys here, apparently they get permission from people before they die, saying "hey, can we resurrect your body as a zombie after you die?", and then they use 'em as, like, ... Dazki: That is a simplification, but yeah. Dwardazik: You never liked this, Grogery, but you were tolerating it for The Greater Good™. Marvin: Pretty much. Dwardazik: But you never liked it. Grogery: OK, that does sound a lot like me. OK. Forgetting about it hasn't made me like it any more. Dazki: Supposedly, that's what this antidote is going to help with, though it's apparently pretty rough. Dwardazik: Anyway, I think we all agree that handing over the mask is not that big a deal for us? Marvin: Er, I'd like to keep the first mask we got! Grogery: The mask, if you put it on, it could hurt you. So in theory, he could go to someone and say "hey, this mask will help you breathe good", and then they put it on, and then — oh no! — they're suffocating, and they can't take it off. Dazki: But Jim wouldn't do that. He's proven to be a much more honorable person than that. Grogery: Just saying that there is potential for this to do harm in the wrong hands. Maybe we should write down what The Mask of the Wasted Breath does, just in case? He said he doesn't want to remember certain things...Having watched the party apparently debating at length whether or not to hand over the mask, Jim approaches and seems to have overheard some of the conversation:
Jim: If you are concerned of my trustworthiness, then perhaps I should also return the Libram of Souls and Flesh you have given me? Dazki: We are not concerned with your trustworthiness. There was a separate concern that I had misunderstood to mean that, I apologize. I didn't realize it was meant as a warning. Grogery: I can imagine some villager not realizing what this does, putting it on thinking it might be useful, and then they wouldn't be able to get it off in time to save themselves. Dazki: However, Jim would not allow that to happen, so I have no problems giving it to him. Marvin: Well, I still want to keep the first one we got. But the second one, yeah, whatever. Dwardazik: Not much we can do with a cursed mask, anyway. Frankly, just remembering that damn thing gives me the heebie-jeebies. Marvin: Hey, man, I earned that kill, all right? I'm keepin' the first one! Jim, here, take the second one. (He hands it over.) I don't care. Dazki: OK. With that, I think we need to go find the halflings who have been helping out around town. We need to ask them to help track where the rest of their companions have disappeared from. Marvin: Yeah, where the hell are they? Dazki: They were out helping the village get ready to move. Marvin: Oh yeah, last time I saw 'em, the girl, Hawney... she was a camel? So they shouldn't be hard to spot. Dazki: Cool. Let's go take care of it, then. Jim: Farewell, travelers. Dazki: Farewell, and thank you for everything, then. Dwardazik: So far, all right. See you around, Jim. If we see you again, well, hopefully you'll offer us some tea or somethin'. Dazki: Hopefully, we will have some hospitality to offer to Jim, next time. Marvin: I probably won't remember!
Quibbles 'n Bits
The twins are not too hard to find. They're arguing about something, over in a corner.Dazki: Hey, what's goin' on, guys? Hemsin, ignoring him: I'm just saying, like, you could use a better knot, and then we wouldn't have to worry about it coming loose if it rained. Hawney: I don't think it's gonna rain anytime soon. It's kind of, like, the end of the rainy season, so, like, it's totally fine to do the knot like this, you know? Dazki: Hey. So, the rest of your group hasn't shown up yet, is that right? Hawney: Uh, yeah? I guess that's true. Dwardazik: They should've been here by now. I mean, how much further ahead were you guys? Hawney: I mean, we were only, like, a few hours ahead, so... Marvin: And it's been well over a few hours. Hemsin: Yeah, I'm not gonna lie, I'm kinda getting a little bit worried. Dazki: I'm not gonna lie either: I'm more than a little bit worried. Hawney: Yeah, what do you mean you're only a little bit worried?! Like, that seems like way not enough worry. Dazki: Regardless of who is the "correct" amount of worried, we should go find them. Dwardazik: We're not gonna leave any dwarf lost, all right? Marvin: ...anyone, at all. That sounds better, right? Dwardazik: That's... yes... Marvin: Not just dwarves? Dwardazik: UGH. Semantics. Let's go save 'em! Hawney: You're gonna go... "save them"? What if they're, like, in actual trouble? Dazki: Yeah. We've been sending the bird back and forth so that they'd have a way to find us. Hawney: Yeah, Perry has the bird right now. Dazki: Yeah. And she hasn't sent it back in about nine hours. Hawney: Oh gosh, oh no, oh gosh! Dazki: ...so, there is one other little complication. There is a blessing from one of the gods on this place that makes you forget once you leave. And we have an antidote to that, but we only have four doses. Hemsin: Oh, but there's, like, five of you! Dazki: And the two of you. We need at least one of you to be able to remember, to lead us to where you saw them last, so we can start tracking. Marvin: Yeah. Which of you two has better survival skills? Tracking, navigation, that sort of thing? Hawney: Well, I know where they are, 'cause I know the angle that we went into town at. Marvin: No, but in general. Of the two of you, which of you is better out in the wilderness? Dazki: We know where they're coming from, but we don't know if they're still there. Hemsin: Well, why would they be somewhere else, though? Dazki: We don't know. Marvin: There's a Beholder out there. That's one option. Dwardazik: I really hope they didn't run into anything like that... Marvin: Not to be a pessimist, but it's probably him. Grogery: There also was a Turmoil-ey area over here that we already activated the containment on, so that should be fine, but if there's one out here, then there might be others. Hawney: This is very not good. There's no way W.E.I.R.D. can take on a Beholder! Marvin: What about with the Masterpiece they have with 'em? What's his name, "Fred"? Hemsin: E.D.? Grogery: E.D. would not leave Perry for anything. Dwardazik: Didn't they leave E.D. at home? Dazki: Perry was coming, so it'd be with Perry. Hemsin: And you guys have four, what, antidotes? Dazki: Four doses of this antidote, yes. Hemsin: Then it sounds like four of you have got to go out there and never return. Marvin: One of you guys should take one. Dazki: We'd like you guys to come with us to try to track down your compatriots as well. Hawney: I think it's a better idea if we stay here, 'cause then you can send the bird back to us, and then they would know the angle to go. Grogery: That's true. Marvin: You guys will eventually forget why you're here in the first place. Dazki: We also have this... (He pulls out the finger compass.) Dwardazik: That's true. Hemsin: Oh, that thing's really cool. Dazki: Perry made it so the she could find her way here. She gave it to us, for us to be able to find our way here. Hemsin: You know, I was wondering why she did that. Hawney: I already knew, so I wasn't wondering. Hemsin: You did not! Marvin: ...I don't know what the right move is, here. Dwardazik: The right move is to take all of us, go out there, and get ready to go fight. Dazki: All right. We will do that, then.They have a bit of a discussion about strategy, and then Grogery gives Dazki the first dose of the antidote. Dazki has a strong adverse reaction to it that knocks him down, but he'll live. Grogery then gives Dwardazik the second one. He's fine.
Grogery: Anybody else besides me? Kesmet: Nope. Marvin: I'm willing to pass it up. Dwardazik: All right, Grogs. Bend over, I'm goin' in! Grogery: I could just jab myself... Dwardazik: Nope! Give me that needle! Grogery: This is gonna leave an extra dose, so... Dwardazik: Grogs. Give me that needle! Marvin: It's not a suppository... Dwardazik: Can't be too careful. Give me that needle! Grogery: Listen. I've been doing medicine for — a while. I was about to say a number of years, but I realize that would probably make me sound very silly. I know where all the muscles and veins are. I'll be fine. Dwardazik: Yeah, me too! Marvin: You know goblin anatomy? Dwardazik: Uh... hmmm... all right... Grogery: The veins in goblin arms are, like, really weird. Dwardazik: What are they, square? Grogery: Closer to an orc's than they would be to an elf or a dwarf. Dwardazik: Hmm. I'll have to take an anatomy course or somethin'. Marvin: ..."square veins"...?! Grogery injects himself. No strong reaction. Grogery: Dazki, are you OK? Dazki, out of breath: I'll... I'll live. Grogery: You're not hurt or anything? Dazki: My chest really hurts from all that vomiting, and I've got a really bad headache, but I'll... I'll live. If I faint, then you'll know something's up. Grogery: ...OK. Marvin: ...actually, I would be open to taking that last dose, though I understand if we want to hang onto it. Grogery: If we're just leaving and not coming back, then there's no reason for us to keep hanging onto it. Dwardazik: I agree. Someone should take it. Marvin: Well, if the twins aren't gonna take it, then I will. Kesmet, you OK with that? Kesmet: You go right on ahead. Grogery: Kesmet doesn't want to remember anything about this place anyway. He didn't learn anything new about Dennis. Kesmet: I got accused by a one-legged man, and then I shot what looked like an Elder God in the face. Marvin: I'd rather not remember the tragedy of this place, but fuck it. We also learned a lot of valuable things.Grogery gives Marvin the last dose. He has the same harsh reaction as Dazki.
Marvin, wiping some drool from his mouth: Well, let's get on with it. Dazki: OK, before I send it, does anyone need to add anything to this message to Annu?The party is fine with the message, so he sends it as-is, as they leave the city:
He begins by describing the location of Vicra's lair, in precise detail. Disturbed as little as possible. Fighting and saving people caused some significant disturbance on top floor. Leaving the area now, searching for missing Turmoil researchers with useful information. Return to Ashport after.Annu's reply comes back right away, as usual:
Concerned that saving people is a biohazard. Government containment procedures recommend thorough elimination of any possible contamination, living or not. I will suggest local enforcement to look out for possible contaminated individuals near the area. I ask permission to track your location — only because we are comrades, and not because i need to.Marvin cracks up at the last sentence.
Marvin: Haha, "it's not like I like you guys, or anything"! Dazki: Well, he's already been tracking us. He complained when we went into this area where he couldn't track us anymore, so I figure he's gonna do it whether we give him permission or not. Marvin has a sudden outburst: Fuck! Grogery: ...OK? Dazki: ...yeah. Um. So, anyway, we know the direction that the bird was going and everything like that. We've got our cart. So, Marvin, Dwardazik, you two are pretty decent trackers. Why don't you guys lead the way? Marvin: We could retrace our steps, I suppose. Grogery: We can go the direction Hemsin and Hawney came in through. Marvin: That's true.
No Overlooking Back
Dazki: So, Marvin, I noticed you've had — maybe rightfully so! — some disagreements with those in power, at various locations. A little bit of... belief that the way authority is presented is not always the right way. Would I be wrong there? Marvin: It kinda comes with the nature of being a nomad. I don't have a problem with authority as a whole, but when specifics come to limiting freedoms... halflings place a pretty high value on freedom. Dazki: I get that. Well, I am going to have to be in charge of some people, some land, as I'm sure you gathered. Marvin: Yeah, you're a lord, right? Dazki: A minor one, but yeah. Dwardazik: Oh, I knew you were a noble, but I didn't know you were a lord? Dazki: Lord is a general nobility title in the elven kingdoms. I'm actually a viscount, one of the lower ones. Marvin: I'm not an anarchist, if that's what you're asking. Dazki: No, I was actually asking what recommendations you would have about ways that I could be more respectful of people's freedoms while still taking on these responsibilities? Marvin: Hmm, it's something I'd need to think about a little bit, now that we've gotten to know each other a little better. I'm surprised you're coming to me for advice on that sort of thing. While I've definitely seen my fair share of those sorts of people, I've never personally had that level of responsibility. Dazki: It's always good to get the opinion of an outsider. Marvin: Let me get back to you on that. I need to give it some thought, based on what I've seen in my travels. Dazki: Yeah, of course! Obviously, there are limitations on what I can — or am willing to — do, just based on danger to friends and family if I rock the boat too much. Assassinations... aren't just things of story, we'll say. Marvin: Gotcha. No, I'll give it some thought. I'll be honest, though, I'm not that familiar with elven government. But I'm sure we can discuss that later.You trek out in the direction that you believe Hemsin and Hawney came from, for maybe an hour and a half or so. You see light gray smoke.
Marvin: ...when there's smoke, there's fire. Dwardazik: Dazki! We need your elven eyes!Dazki looks toward the smoke. It looks like more of a smoke signal of burning leaves than an actual raging fire. There might be some broken-down carts over there.
Dazki: It looks like there could be some carts or something over there. We should definitely check it out. My big concern is that they still haven't sent the bird back. Marvin: That's not good. Let's head that way.There is indeed a burning pile of debris, probably to act as a signal. There are also a few carts: a couple of them are still upright, and the other is tipped over, with boxes and crates strewn about to the side. You can see E.D.'s figure from practically forever away, huffing around near the front of one of the carts.
Dazki, shouting at him from a distance: Hey, E.D.! Is the rest of the group here?E.D. looks absolutely upset. You hear a gruff voice whisper from behind a rocky outcropping full of thorns, beckoning you over and asking not to approach E.D. They approach him.
Aggromir: I was wonderin' when you guys were gonna show up here... Dazki: Well, your advance scouts told us not to worry until dawn. Dwardazik: Aggromir! Aggromir: Hey! Dwardazik: So, what's goin' on, huh? Aggromir: OK, uh... bit of a situation here. Marvin: You don't say! Aggromir: The wilderness is dangerous and all, but... the craziest thing just happened, right? Dazki: Yeah. Dwardazik: So fill us in. What's goin' on over there? Looks like E.D. is beatin' the shit out of some stuff. Aggromir: So, first of all, we got a situation with Perry. ... ... Perry's a statue. Grogery: What happened?! Aggromir: This is where the crazy shit happens — Marvin: Don't tell me. Beholder? Aggromir: What do you mean... you know about the Beholder?! Dazki: We warned you about the Beholder!!! It was in every message I sent!!! Aggromir: Well... I wasn't there for the messages. Marvin: Did Perry not relay... RRRGH... Marvin: OK. So, Perry's a statue. Go on. Aggromir: I just... I don't understand. I can't get back to the cart, because E.D.'s in a tizzy about this whole "Perry being a statue" thing. Dazki: Yeah. Aggromir: But also... why did the Beholder go away?! It's more than powerful enough to defeat all of us. Dwardazik: Uhhhhhhhhhh... don't look a gift horse in the mouth? Marvin: Well, what direction did it go in? Aggromir: It went north, which is why I'm definitely staying on this side of the wreckage. I ain't gettin' snuck up on by no eye-monster. Marvin: That's a sound plan... Dazki: So, I have a feeling that the Beholder just wanted to get out of here and have its little army of the undead. Aggromir: Oh, yeah! We killed a bunch of those. Grogery: Hm, it probably realized it was losing too many resources and decided it didn't want to continue to press its luck. Aggromir: I don't understand how it could have lost that many resources? It's just, like, the three of us. And... Barry. Grogery: Well, E.D. is, like... powerful. Dwardazik: Before we discuss and catch up, are there any more enemies around right now? What's the situation? Enemies, are we fighting, or is it just E.D.? Aggromir: E.D.'s here. Dwardazik: That's it? Just E.D.? Aggromir: And... I don't know, I don't trust this whole Beholder thing. Because it definitely could've just creamed us. I mean, it turned Perry into a statue! Dwardazik: All right, so that means we're currently, somewhat, not being ambushed, probably. Maybe. Dazki: I would assume so. Dwardazik: OK, all right, so we have some time to discuss and figure out what the hell's going on. Aye? Aggromir: Aye. Dazki: So, someone got turned to stone. Dwardazik: Can we cure that, or fix that? Isn't that what they were dealin' with in Ashport a whole bunch? Dazki: Yeah, it is. Dwardazik: So how do you fix that? Grogery: I'm lookin' through my reference material right now, but I think — Aggromir: That's great and all, but if anybody even tries to get anywhere near there, they're gonna have to get through E.D. Dazki: Can E.D. see invisible people? Aggromir: I don't... think so? Dazki: So it sounds like we have a plan, if Grogery has a solution. Marvin: If we just need to distract him for a bit, I can make him dance for a little while. Aggromir: Well, I've been wrackin' my brain here for the past couple hours or so. Dwardazik: First off, there's no point in even approaching E.D. until we can deal with the stone issue. All those bodies, those are undead, right? Aggromir: Well, they're more... dead-dead, now. Dwardazik: Right. OK. Where's everyone else? Aggromir: What do you mean, "where's everyone else"? Marvin: Who all was coming in this party? Dazki: It was him, Barry, the Quibblebits, and Callista. Aggromir: There ain't many of us, lad. Dazki: Barry's — (He looks right over at Barry, who cowering behind a distant rock, tending to a horse) — probably hiding somewhere. Dwardazik: Oh, Richter was staying, wasn't he? Dazki: Yeah, he was. Dwardazik: So where's Barry? Marvin: Yeah, where is Barry? Aggromir: I sent the lad out to go find one of the horses. Dazki: He's pretty good at that, so he should be able to find and lead it back here before long. So, do we have a solution to her being a statue? Grogery: I think I have a spell prepared that can deal with that. It'll consume some diamond dust, but I carry it around in bulk at this point anyway... Marvin: Do you need to get close? Grogery: It's touch-ranged. I need to be able to physically form a conduit of energy with the target. Marvin: That's fine. Grogery: The question is how I can get close enough to do that. Also, if it's something weirder than a typical Flesh-to-Stone or Petrification sort of effect, then I'm not sure it'll work, but it seems like it'll work to me. Marvin: Dazki, do you know if that's exactly what Beholders do? Dazki: Yeah, it would be the kind of thing that Grogery's spell should be able to reverse. Marvin: So I can guarantee you at least six seconds to run up there and cast that spell.They discuss detailed strategy and plans for a while. Ultimately, the plan is for Kesmet to turn Grogery invisible, and to have Marvin make E.D. dance for a while. When some of them start to overthink it, Dwardazik just runs to a relatively safe spot in E.D.'s direct line of sight and starts yelling "ca-caw!", over and over, to try to get his attention, which sets the plan into action:
- Marvin runs closer and starts playing a song on his mandolin, which makes E.D. dance in place furiously, occasionally getting dangerously close to damaging Dr. Perry.
- As an invisible Grogery moves in to cure Dr. Perry's condition, the other ranged individuals (including Aggromir, who has climbed up a rock to take aim with his Arbitrator) take aim at E.D., just in case they need to subdue him.
- Grogery looks over the statue for injuries / damage: it's not damaged yet — E.D. seems to taken good care of it — but with E.D. thrashing about, it's only a matter of time.
- Kesmet, realizing that being on top of a rock next to Aggromir would be better than the alternative, also climbs up. Aggromir hands Kesmet his flask; rather than drink from it, Kesmet looks confused and just pockets it, which clearly upsets Aggromir.
- Grogery finally gets the opportunity to cast Greater Restoration on the statue, then skitters away from E.D.
Marvin: That could've gone poorly! Grogery: That could've. But, we're good! We were careful, and it paid off. Marvin: I already love this spell... Perry: What the hell did... anything... just happen?! Why are you guys here now?! Grogery: OK. So, we have good reason to believe that there was a Beholder in the area. Perry: Yeah, there was a Beholder in the area! I can confirm that! Grogery: When Hemsin and Hawney showed up at Overlook without you, we figured that they ran ahead. When it was morning and you still didn't show up, we thought that maybe something happened to you, and we found this. Perry: Something did happen! Very astute. I'm... kinda surprised everything is still here. Marvin: Well, there's a bunch of undead lying there on the ground. E.D.'s work, no doubt? Perry: OK, yeah, but... like... look at how minimal the death toll is here, right? Dazki: Yeah... the Beholder looks like he clearly wanted other things. Perry: "Other things"? Dazki: Like you said, everything is pretty much still here. So he / she / it had goals other than just rampaging across the countryside. Who knows, maybe it just wanted to go set up a bureaucracy somewhere! Perry: I don't recall Beholders ever being overly bureaucratic. Dazki: ...it was a joke. Perry: OK. Sure. Wanna help pick up the supplies here, I guess?
Over where Dwardazik and Kesmet are, Aggromir still hasn't let his guard down. He's still very suspicious of the scene.
Aggromir: Something's not quite right here. Kesmet: What do you mean? Aggromir: There's no way a being of that power just leaves. Dwardazik runs up to a zombie and bashes it with his mace. Dazki: REALLY, Dwardazik?! Dwardazik: There's a suspicion that the Beholder might be laying a trap for us. Dazki: I think these guys look dead enough as it is. Dwardazik: I'm just saying, what happens if — (He looks at the wagon.) — ...can a Beholder turn into a wagon? Marvin: ...is the Beholder a mimic? Dazki: What?!?!?! ...As Dwardazik is poking the horse that's the furthest north, and investigating the overturned wagon... Appearing next to Dwardazik — as mist, originally — are two figures. The Beholder... and a fucking gnoll. The Beholder makes three eye beam attacks at Dwardazik, as Eyesore yells out:
Dazki: OK. So. Like we said. Beholder in the area. It escaped from Vicra's lair, because it was Vicra's guardian and lapdog. I think it just wants away.
Dwardazik, yelling back over to Kesmet: Hey Kesmet, if I try poke an illusion, then I'll be able to see through it, right? Kesmet: Yeah, if you touch it or something.
Perry: No, it's just... the order of operations here doesn't make any sense. If it was merely trying to flee, then why would it come over here, and then cause havoc, and then leave some more?
Dwardazik meticulously goes around to each body and pokes it gently.
Dazki: I don't know. Beholders are intelligent creatures. It may have had some motivations that we don't quite understand at the moment. Perry: I guess it looked kind of scared for a bit. Dazki: It was probably afraid of E.D., because E.D. was created by Vicra. It was basically enslaved to Vicra.
Dwardazik goes around to the horses and starts poking them as well.
Perry: Oh, you know, that could make a lot of sense. Well, that means that we're... very fortunate, then. Marvin: Oh, yeah, Vicra's dead by the way. Dwardazik: Yeah. Didn't we say that in the message? Marvin: I don't remember. Dazki: Yeah we did. Marvin: Memory's kinda foggy. Dwardazik: But Vicra's dead! (Thumbs up.) So you've got E.D. under control, right? Perry: As much as he can be controlled. Right, buddy? Did you hurt these guys again? We've been over this. Marvin: No, he just put on a little dance for us, is all. I don't know if he was too happy about putting on a dance, but I made sure that Grogs could get over there and not get harmed. To, you know, un-statue-fy you. God damn Beholder... I hope that thing drowns in paperwork one day.
Eyesore: See? Look! I told you that's not a real one! There's nothing to be afraid of, right? You're so stupid! It's a fake masterpiece, it's fake!
Combat Summary
- The Beholder would exclusively fire beams of magic from its eye stalks, three on each of its turns and then one at a time as legendary actions on other people's turns.
- As the Beholder stayed 20 feet up in the air, Dwardazik was limited in what he could do. He initially focused on Eyesore, but the gnoll ran away faster than he could give chase.
- The enemies had appeared on the far side of the area, very far away from where Aggromir had set up his ballista, so he had to spend a lot of time carrying it over instead of attacking.
- During the fight, Eyesore yelled out once, "You're so stupid! Why are you here?! I'm helping, just like you said! I should help people! Now you're being stupid!"
- One of the Beholder's eye beams began to turn Grogery to stone (like Dr. Perry had been), but a tactical oversight by the Beholder prevented the effect from fully solidifying.
- Dazki dropped his Bloodspine bow and some arrows next to Dwardazik so that the dwarf would have something he could do, then he switched to shooting the Beholder with his gun.
- Another of the Beholder's eye beams hit E.D., charming the masterpiece for a time and causing him to rampage against the group, starting with Dazki.
- After noticing that E.D. has been charmed, Dr. Perry moved her attention away from the Beholder in order to try to distract E.D., hoping to stop him from causing any more harm. However, one of the Beholder's eye beams immediately went for her, drawing her in.
- When Kesmet dealt massive damage with his most powerful attack on the Beholder, Eyesore reacted by throwing a vial of teleportation at the Beholder... but he missed, and it shattered.
- Seeing this, Grogery also went to cast his own massive beam of light at the Beholder, which was still not quite enough to kill it. As you fire your blindingly bright beam, a terribly sickly black beam comes towards yours, but your beam fights it off.
- Marvin ran out to do a Dissonant Whispers, which was finally enough to kill off the Beholder.
- Once the Beholder was down, Dazki shot Eyesore and then Dwardazik used an immense blast from his Chromatic Wand of Magic Missiles to take down the gnoll, returning Bloodspine to Dazki on his way.
Aftermath
Dwardazik: This gnoll is done. Marvin: You can't just murder him! He's too stupid! Dwardazik: He's done. Kesmet, standing between the dwarf and the gnoll and dropping invisibility: Dwardazik. He's down. Hold on just, like, two seconds, and let's see what went on here. There's no honor in killing a downed foe. Grogery, casting a Hold Person on Dwardazik and walking next to Kesmet: If it were up to me, we're not going to kill people who are too stupid to hurt us. Too stupid to know what the right thing to do is. Marvin, also walking in between Dwardazik and Eyesore: We need to know why. Killing him doesn't gain us anything. We need to know why this happened, why he all of a sudden decided to align with the Beholder. Where did he get all these stupid teleportation potions from? It could be related to more Turmoil shit. Let's question him some more, figure out what's going on. Dazki, to Dwardazik: ...look. I get it, but this guy's like a beardling, right? He's just looking for some strong guidance. The quickest thing he found was that Beholder. Now, obviously Eyesore's too stupid to make the right decisions. But, we can take him with us to Ashport, find someone there who would be willing to give him good, reasonable work so that he could try to be a good person. He's not malicious, he's just — not dumb, but... — not... particularly... capable of reason. So please, I'm asking you, as a friend, please, no more unnecessary death. Barry, showing up with a horse: Hey, I got the ho...rse... — holy crap!As soon as Dwardazik breaks free, he runs over and makes three vicious strikes... into the Beholder, to make extra sure that it's dead.
