Session 99
General Summary
- Grogery proposed a system for dealing with resurrections in the future, to hopefully help prevent another Kerro situation:
- Grogery will handle the cost of resurrecting any party members,
- But if the party kills someone who winds up needing to be resurrected, then the killer needs to pay 75% of the material cost.
- Kesmet worries that it's skewed against him; everyone else likes the idea.
- The party decided to enter back into the House of Crystal to do some further research into Annu's backstory.
- After learning all they could for now about Hestia, Scaldor, The Serpent War, Ashport's House of Crystal, and Annu himself, they went out to do some quick shopping, as Grogery still needed more diamond dust.
- While out shopping, Dazki noticed Ten of Hearts acting inconspicuously conspicuous, and followed him.
- Ten doesn't like what the Queen of Hearts has in mind for the party's meeting with The King of Jacks (who often goes by just "Jack"), so he had gone behind her back to have the meeting moved up, when she wouldn't be there.
- Dazki agreed to take the new meeting time, and then Ten gave him a cinnamon roll as he reminded Dazki that he's the one with the antidote to Marvin's poison.
- The party immediately traveled to the casino to have the meeting with Jack.
- Kesmet recounted the events of the previous night while under the influence of both a Zone of Truth spell and the perfect recall effect of the Rotor of Return. He also gave his account of what he knew of Kerro from before, and he returned the Rotor to Jack.
- Jack was conflicted: he knew that it was impossible for this to be anything but the truth, and yet if it were true, then it means that he had been betrayed by a dear friend. He decided that, because his and Kesmet's version of the truth don't line up, he would need to interrogate Kerro's body before considering the matter settled.
- As the party squirmed about, trying to somehow voice their strong objections to Jack's decision without coming off as being disrespectful, Kerro himself somehow teleported into the room, interrupting the scene.
- He had very old burn scars on him — matching where Kesmet's killing blow had burned him — and a very new stab wound in his side.
- He frantically yelled out a crazed speech, cut short by an exploding bullet to the neck from a revolver that Jack had kept by his chair.
- Jack, satisfied that this matter has been resolved, offered the party a reward, allowing them to choose what it would be. After some deliberation, they asked for the following, which Jack agreed to with a handshake, calling it their "deal with the devil":
- Back at home, Mot Noside was there, poking at the automaton. Dazki offered some help, which Mot readily accepted. After barely touching it, the automaton shattered, instantly killing Mot and damaging the other party members who were nearby.
Full Recap
Dwardazik: Heh, you gotta admit, guys — that was some pretty good jokes, huh?
Dazki: ...sure...
Dwardazik: I mean, "Divini-TEA"? Come on, that was pretty good!
Dazki: It technically qualifies as a joke.
Dwardazik: Man...
Dazki: How's this: I wouldn't start a career as a stand-up.
Kesmet: I'm still upset at what happened at the house, so I couldn't laugh.
Dwardazik: That's fine, whatever...
Marvin: He needs to work on his delivery.
Dwardazik: Now listen here. My jokes are fine. Annu just doesn't have a sense of humor. And we need to get on with our next task.
Marvin: Yeah, like making sure I don't fucking die.
Dwardazik: Well... yes...
Dazki: Sounds reasonable to me.
Kesmet: That is part of it, yes.
Marvin: Glad to see we all have our priorities straight!
Dazki: Queen of Hearts did say that she would find us, when she's able to arrange an audience with her father.
Grogery: Oh, here's a thing I wanted to talk about with all of you. I'm realizing I need to go buy a bunch of diamond dust, to make up for all the healing and stuff I've been doing since we left to take out Vicra. We should probably work out a more organized fashion about if we're going to raise people after they're dead — whether intentionally or unintentionally.
- If anyone in the party, you know, dies, then unless you tell me personally that you don't want to get raised, I'm just going to go over there and try to raise you. At no cost to you, because if you end up getting like that, then that's a lesson I need to learn as a healer.
- But if any of the people we're fighting against, where we really shouldn't've killed 'em... once we get to a point where we're all in a safe and stable situation, I would like the process to be for me to call for a vote from anyone who's up at the time. If a majority of us vote "yes", I will raise them, and 75% of the cost for raising that person will come from the person who killed them.
Marvin: I like that idea.
Kesmet: How much does it cost to raise someone, in general?
Grogery: 300 gold, or 500 gold if we get delayed. So if we kill someone and decide to raise them, it would be best for you to not delay the process!
Marvin: Good to know that the price of a sentient life is dirt cheap...
Grogery: It's really not dirt cheap.
Dwardazik: Sounds more like backup insurance, in case something bad happens.
Dazki: I'm a fan of this plan, and I support it wholeheartedly.
Marvin: Yeah, democracy!
Kesmet: I feel that it's slightly skewed against me, though, since I don't have a way to incapacitate people!
Marvin: ...you can just punch 'em.
Grogery: If people are really grateful for you handing out healing potions or what not, then they can back some or all of your bill?
Kesmet: ...I'm not handing any healing potions to enemies that we would kill.
Grogery: No, I'm saying that if we all agree after the fact that "yeah, this really wasn't your fault", then we can all chip in.
Marvin: Yeah.
Dwardazik: Seems reasonable to me.
Kesmet: But I'm not giving any healing potions to —
Marvin: Forget about the healing potions!
Grogery: I guess what I'm saying is it's kind of a conflict of interest for the people who would be most likely to end someone's life to not really have any consequences to it, whereas the person who has to make the choice to save someone would also have to deal with the conflict of interest of, "well, this is going to set me back, and I won't be as effective helping other people in the future". Does that make sense?
Dwardazik: Can you simplify that into a single sentence instead of a run-on?
Grogery: If people have actual consequences to killing people, then it's less likely to happen. If I'm not the only one who has to pay money to raise people, then I'm more likely to want to do it. So it helps everybody be better.
Dwardazik: I'm gonna support you.
Dazki: Like I said, I think this is a good idea.
Marvin: Yeah, free market and all that!
Dwardazik: I'm gonna support you, Dazki. I'm gonna try it your way for a bit.
Marvin: Hey, that means if Dazki kills Dwardazik, then we can make him pay to resurrect you!
Dazki: I'm not gonna kill Dwardazik! At this point, there is no reason for me to!
Marvin: ..."at this point"? You hear that, Dwardazik?
Dwardazik: Stop tryin' to instigate somethin'.
Marvin: Oh, excuse me, Mr. "Is Dazki Gonna Kill Me Tomorrow?"
Dwardazik: Dazki. I'll hold 'im.
Marvin: No need to! Just give me 24 hours, and I'll keel over on my own!
Dazki: Eh, I was gonna say he's not worth the 200 gold pieces.
Grogery: It's actually 225, but...
Kesmet: Hey, where we goin' next?
Dwardazik: What in the world has happened to us, that's making us make fun of death?
Marvin: Well, when faced with imminent death, I gotta make light of it somehow!
Kesmet: We're faced with imminent death on a daily basis.
Marvin: This is one I can't fight back against.
Dazki: Here's the thing, it's pretty common in Elven culture. We see a lot of our friends die of old age and stuff like that. You kinda just have to get used to it, and part of that is making jokes.
Dwardazik: "Divini-TEA"!
Grogery: So, hey, Dwardazik! What is it called when somebody knocks over a really big tankard of dwarven ale?
Dwardazik: A travesty?
Grogery: An "Amber Falls"!
Marvin chuckles.
Dwardazik: ...you take that back.
Grogery: I'm sorry, it's a pun!
Dazki: All right. Grogery. You wanted to look into stuff regarding Annu, right?
Grogery: Yeah, the problem is, we asked about him at the Undermart, and I don't really feel like we have any good leads on him. I mean, other than looking for his arrest and other stuff...
Dazki: I think that's a great place to start. We also had names of the people who were involved with arresting him, and getting him out, the current firelord, the previous firelord, and all that stuff. So we really have a lot of information to point us in directions to start looking.
Grogery: Most of the records regarding his arrest while he was still alive would probably be with the House of Steel, and we're not on very good terms with them.
Dazki: There's also the courthouse.
Dwardazik has his black book open, and he's furiously flipping through it. When he gets to a specific page, he stops and points at it dramatically.
Dwardazik: HA! So, actually, you mentioned Annu. Well, if I recall — and I took some notes a while ago — wasn't it actually Hestia who imprisoned Annu into this body, or whatever it is as a lich? So couldn't we look up information about Hestia and try to figure out what the hell happened?
Dazki: Sure, that's certainly one of the possibilities that we have! That's what I was saying, we have information on people that were related to his arrest and his turning into a lich.
Grogery: I guess we're going back to the library?
Dwardazik: It's an option, is what I'm saying.
Dazki: I think it's a good option. Like I said, that or the courthouse to look for court records.
Dwardazik: We're here right now. Maybe we can just do that. (He claps his black book closed.)
Dazki: Also, hopefully before we go see King of Jacks, we're going to need to sit down and have a conversation about proper etiquette.
Dwardazik: Uh... I know dwarven etiquette?
Dazki: Yeah, dwarven etiquette is probably considered fairly insulting around here.
Dwardazik: I'll have you know that I wasn't talking about the rough-and-tumble ruffian tavern brawl.
Dazki: No, you were talking about groveling at the feet of the Firelord and mentioning Amber Falls whenever you could instead.
Dwardazik: To be fair, I didn't really want to die!
Dazki: Neither did I, but you didn't see me groveling towards him like that. Stand straight. You're a proud man, show it!
Dwardazik: Uh, yeah. (He shrugs.) I'm not hunched over, if that's what you're asking for. Besides, I don't know about you, but I didn't want to insult the firelord, especially when I had no information about his demeanor. But I understand where you're coming from, Mr. Noble.
Grogery: This is also Undermart etiquette, sort of. It might be helpful for us to know a few, like, if they slip into thieves cant, maybe Dazki can let us know a few words where it's like, "yeah if 'this' starts getting brought up a lot, we should probably slowly back out", or something like that?
Dazki: I can do that. All right, so, first things first: to the library!
"That's great, nerds. You can go to the library."
The party turns around and goes back into the
House of Crystal. They don't need to ask
GIST to direct them to the library, since they were just there. Dwardazik approaches the old librarian lady.
Dwardazik: Excuse me, librarian, could you inform us about the history of Hestia? The location about any of that kind of stuff?
Librarian: Yeah, I'm gonna need to see some ID this time.
Dwardazik, whispering to Dazki: Didn't we get a pass?
Dazki, whispering back: No, not from Annu.
Librarian: There's been a lot of hooligans roamin' around areas they're not supposed to be in.
Dazki: How's this, could we get GIST to vouch for us that we work for Annu? Would that be acceptable?
Librarian: I don't take orders from no newfangled "artificial intelligence".
Dazki: Well, can we enter and look around the library without your help, then?
Librarian: Bah, if you're fixin' to go into the library, I'm comin' with you. I'm not keepin' any hooligans outta my sight.
Dazki: All right! Well, we will be in your sight for considerably less time if you guide us towards the books we need. Then you can go back to the rest of your business.
Dwardazik: What, may I add, counts as official permission to enter the library?
Librarian: Listen, I don't got time for this. Let's just get the books you need.
Dazki: Thank you.
Dwardazik: I mean, if we just need to fill out a piece of paper saying who we are, I coulda done that too.
They discuss amongst themselves about which research priorities each individual will take.
Editor's note: I don't think this was fully in-character, because it was partly the players communicating to the GM what their characters are going to be looking for, but it also wasn't fully out-of-character either, since they were reacting to one another's ideas. So it's here.
Dwardazik, black book open: According to what I have here, this all happened about 200 years ago during The Serpent War. So, we need to find out the actions of Hestia — perhaps in legends or mythology, or whatever they wanna call 'em, or in tales of war — how they established the entire damn continent here. The empire of the firelords. We should aim for something like that, and obviously look for anything spooky / undead-related that might relate to Annu. That's my suggestion, at least: Hestia, Annu, Serpent War. 200 years ago.
Dazki: Here's the thing, if we think a lot of the records related to Annu have been redacted from him, it's very unlikely that they will actually be in this library. So, I don't think looking for Annu, specifically, is going to be the best course of action. I think looking for information about Hestia and important events — especially magic-related — at that time would be a good way to go. Military history is also a good direction to take it, so we can split up and each of us can look for something different.
Dwardazik: And you know what, actually, looking here at my notes, it appears that I've mischaracterized the timeframe. It is, in fact, 200 years ago, right — but it's not necessarily during the Serpent War. I kinda lumped all that crap together. History's difficult in this whole damn place. It looks like he was locked up by Hestia before the Serpent War, and then he ended up in the government after Scaldor ended the war. So something happened here, with Hestia and Scaldor being on opposite sides of whatever happened with Annu. So I'm gonna try to find any information I can about Scaldor.
Dazki: OK. Grogery, what about you? What do you want to look up?
Grogery: I would like to look into the history of the House of Crystal and try to figure out who was running the House of Crystal before Annu, and perhaps maybe delve into reasons why Annu would have been installed as head of the House of Crystal. Was Hestia the head of the House of Crystal at the time? Did something happen to the previous one and Annu just got pushed into the spot? Was it founded specifically when he got rezzed, so he could run it?
Dazki: That sounds good, Grogery. Kesmet, what about you?
Kesmet: I'll look up Hestia.
Dazki: OK, look up the history of Hestia. Sounds good. Marvin, do you have any preferences?
Marvin: I'm going to help Kesmet.
Dazki: OK. I guess, then, I will... hmm. So we have Hestia, House of Crystal, Scaldor... I'll take a shot and look for stuff related to Annu himself.
(Investigation 9) Dwardazik and (Investigation 19) Kesmet + Marvin: Scaldor, Hestia, and the Serpent War
Scaldor is the current leader of Exignis, so it's not too hard to find information about him. He's been the leader for about 80 years; Hestia was his older sister. He inherited the throne at the end of the war, after the death of his sister. His sister had died during the battle with the Great Serpent.
Dwardazik, mumbling under his breath as he reads: Hmm... unimportant, unimportant, unimportant... trivial matters, trivial matters... tied to the Great Serpent — oh, I guess it makes sense why they called it "the Great Serpent War". Not very clever, but, ... hmm...
The Great Serpent War was so-called because of the conflict that eventually ended it. Despite the conflict, the wall was nearly complete. The skirmishing stopped, and a massive viper-like entity grew from the ground, more than tall enough to clear the wall and the no-man's land around it.
The Elemental Lord rose to meet it: the Phoenix Exemplar, Hestia Zepheros. Grabbing the legendary weapon, the World Sunder (which grows in size and power with the elemental), Lady Zepheros took upon her full form, a massive bird of fire. Not as massive as the Viper, and with the World Sunder in her talons, she faced off with the threat.
The Viper defeated her, the weapon plummeting to the ground below to be picked up by her younger brother Scaldor Haphistos. Enraged by the defeat of his sister, Scaldor assumed his full form — also a giant serpent — and grasped the World Sunder amongst his teeth and coils, its size and power swelling with his passion and rage. He slayed the Viper, its corpse still rotting to this day affixed to — and pinned by — the massive blade of the World Sunder.
(Investigation 21) Grogery: House of Crystal
Every major government with a firelord has the four-house system:
Crystal,
Stone,
Gold,
Steel.
Ashport's House of Crystal existed long before.
Annu acquired this house 70 years ago, when there was a change in firelords: the firelord who used to rule from
The Spire of Beasts had died, and a new one had replaced it. Annu came with that replacement. The previous leader of the House of Crystal was an elf by the name of Gorwin Texylraan, who then moved onto running
the university when powers shifted.
(Investigation 20) Dazki: Annu's History
Dazki heads towards the restricted section, (Stealth 22) ditching the librarian.
Annu had been looking to become a lich for a while, and he was a lich long before the war even started. He was imprisoned 200 years ago — just after the start of the Serpent War and the construction of
the wall — by Hestia, who was still the head firelord of Exignis at the time.
Near the end of the war, Hestia would occasionally visit Annu in
The Albatross, where he had been imprisoned, though Dazki is unable to discern what these visits were about.
For some reason, Annu was released by her brother Scaldor after the war, around 80 years ago. So:
- He was a lich before.
- Then he was imprisoned, probably for being a lich.
- Hestia would still meet with him, even though she's the one who called for his imprisonment.
- We don't know what they were discussing.
Though it's hard to tell what's lore / mythology vs. what's actual history, Annu seems to have been much more powerful before.
There are also some vague references to "special containment" being needed to keep such a powerful entity contained within the Albatross. The specifics are not readily discussed, and Dazki is unable to linger long enough to find out more, before risking getting caught by the librarian, so that will have to suffice for now.
Reconvene
The party shares this information amongst one another.
Dwardazik: Yeah, looks like I found out all I could about Scaldor. Just some generic history and stuff, nothing really juicy. Thank you, librarian. And next time, just let me know if there's any paperwork I need to fill out or somethin' to get, I dunno, a library voucher or somethin'? I'd be happy to fill it out.
Librarian: That's really something you should know beforehand. It's only my job to make sure these books stay safe from you dusty-handed peasants.
Marvin: "Peasants"?!
Dwardazik: Now, see here, there's no reason to be rude! ...hmmph.
Dwardazik, muttering extremely quietly under his breath: Typical elf.
They leave the library.
Dwardazik: All right, well, we gathered some information. What do you think we should do next? Meet up with your colleague you were having inspect the automaton?
Grogery: I also have to purchase a bunch of diamond dust...
Dwardazik: A short shopping trip, I wouldn't mind. Was there something else?
Dazki: We were going to speak with Gilda Lily, but I sent her a letter so we don't need to worry about that.
Dwardazik: We did mention to Annu about trying to get a state-sponsored boat, right? Maybe we could head over to the dock district at some point here and try to scope out to see if we can't get, perhaps, a captain or something. Or at least find out the prices for going upriver.
Dazki: That's a good idea — I would wait until tomorrow to do that. If we do that today, it looks like we are trying to flee.
Grogery: That's a good point.
Marvin: Yeah. Well, actually, wasn't the whole reason they gave me what they gave me was so they wouldn't do that? So, I mean, they wouldn't really care, because they know that I'll just die if we leave?
Dwardazik: You know what, Dazki, you're more clever than I give you credit for.
Marvin, giving Dwardazik a weird look: ...wait, really?
Dazki: Here's the thing. Yes, there is honor among thieves, but it also — especially for the type of people that would just take the Rotor and run — they wouldn't be surprised if we just left Marvin here to die. So...
Dwardazik: I would never!
Dazki: Of course we wouldn't. But if we were the type to take the Rotor and run, there's nothing stopping us from just letting Marvin die.
Kesmet: The bad guys might just assume, and mess things up for us, when we're just innocently trying to get a boat for other reasons.
Marvin: And if you guys DID let me die, I'd haunt your asses, until you guys died! Like, literally, your asses.
Dwardazik: Look, Marvin. We're not gonna let this poison take you. And for damn sure, we're not gonna allow some mafia ring or criminal organization to force us to do all this crap. We are, in fact, doing two things at once, and it just so happens that we're assisting ourselves with the mafia.
Kesmet: Makes my skin crawl...
Dwardazik: Let's just proceed with the next plan. You think that we should head back home and see if that guy from the gnome district, your expert, knows anything about the automaton? After we purchase those goods for Grogery?
Dazki: I think that would be a good idea.
Marvin: Oh, I'm not leaving Grogery's side. If I keel over, I'm gonna need his expertise.
Grogery: The good news is, if you actually die, I could probably still bring you back, but it would be the expensive version. Not the inexpensive version.
Marvin: Yeah, and dying sounds like an experience I want to put off. For a long time.
Dwardazik: Ugh. I understand. You, Grogery. (He points at Grogery.) Stop talking about death! Marvin. (He points at Marvin.) You're going to live. Dazki... (He hesitantly points at Dazki.) ...you smell OK. Kesmet, let's go. If we're not going home, or to the store, then we're just going to that damn tavern, because I need a stiff drink.
Dazki: Hey, Dwardazik?
Dwardazik: Yeah?
Dazki: Remember what we said about remaining calm and leaving a good impression on that creature holding on inside of you?
Dwardazik sighs.
Dazki: Listen, if you want, after we finish our shopping trip, we can go home and I can help you meditate a little bit to clear that out of your head.
Dwardazik: OK. We got this.
Dazki: We do. Deep breaths.
Dwardazik: Really need some fucking dwarven ale...
They head off to the market to buy things. Dazki notices Grogery is running low on money ("financially challenged", as Kesmet puts it) and covers the cost of one of his diamond dust purchases.
Dazki also notices a familiar person in the bazaar: it's Ten of Hearts — nominally disguised, but trying to be obvious to anyone who might be looking for him. He's talking to a vendor at a stall that sells pastries. Dazki goes to buy a pastry from the same cart. As he approaches, Ten leaves to a more secure area. Dazki tells the party "hey, just a minute, I'll be right back", and follows.
Dwardazik: Wait, where's he goin'?
Marvin: I figure he's just beating somebody up who owes him money.
Dwardazik: Naw, I don't think he'd do that. I don't think Dazki cares about money that much, in that way.
Marvin: OK, beat somebody up who cheated on his girlfriend.
Kesmet: ...umm...
Dwardazik: Ugh. You know as well as I do that Dazki... is...
Marvin: ...doesn't get laid often enough for that to happen. No, I know, I know.
Dwardazik: I wasn't going to say that! He's married!
Kesmet: Yeah, he's married. His wife is, you know, like, a swinger or somethin'. It's fine.
Marvin: Hey, I didn't know what's going on with that situation.
Dwardazik: Look, we all know Dazki basically enjoys... he enjoys the journey more than he enjoys the destination, it seems.
Marvin: Ahhh, OK.
Dwardazik: That's just the kind of lad he is. ...maybe a little bit unlucky, too...
Grogery: Plus, from a biological standpoint, like, elves live a very long time... so there's probably less of an instinct to, like...
Dwardazik: Oh, PLEASE, by my father's beard, can we not talk about an elf's libido?
Grogery: OK.
Dwardazik walks off to find the nearest ale.
Ten: Do not underestimate Jack.
Dazki: All right?
Ten: Underestimating the Queen and I, that's stupid. Underestimating Jack is life-ending.
Dazki: I thank you for the advice. How would one typically underestimate him?
Ten: You just need to show respect. Not showing proper respect and restraint, to somebody above you, is often disastrous.
Dazki: Does he have any preferred titles, or is there any special etiquette that would be useful to know, for when we speak with him?
Ten: I don't have long to talk to you, so I cannot lay all of this out. I am going behind multiple backs to protect my own, here.
(Insight 20) The Queen isn't here, and it's his job to look after her. Instead, he's here alone, talking to Dazki. That means he has now betrayed
two superiors. It also seems significant that he pointed this out, right after warning you to respect those above you.
Dazki: Well, thank you, I appreciate that. I don't want to keep you any longer than necessary, so —
Ten: Then hear me out.
Dazki: Yes?
Ten: The Queen wants this to fail. She's looking to be underestimated. She wants to take credit. If she takes credit, you will be under her hurtful gaze forever. You will have proven that you are manipulable and valuable. I have gone and set up the meeting, earlier than she would have. If you take this meeting opportunity now, we can get ahead of her plan.
Dazki: Where do we need to be?
Ten: I can have Seven of Diamonds meet you at the front of the casino. We only have a few hours to pull this off. You will get what you want, I will get what I want, Jack will get what he wants.
Dazki, after a pause: And what about the Queen?
Ten: She will have to keep trying for your affection. She can't be mad at you for being manipulated: that's what she expects you to be.
Dazki: Fair enough. We'll head straight to the casino.
Ten offers Dazki a cinnamon roll, from a basket that he's carrying. Dazki takes one.
Ten: Also — He cracks a slight grin — I'm the one with the antidote. Not her.
Dazki: I figured that much.
As Ten
disappears behind a corner, Dazki makes no attempt to follow him, instead returning to the party.
Dazki: All right, guys. Timetable's moved up.
Grogery: Oh?
Dwardazik: Hmm? What's happened?
Dazki: We are meeting someone in front of the casino. Marvin, I believe this cinnamon roll is probably for you.
Marvin: Oh?
Dwardazik: ...what's the cinnamon roll for?
Marvin: I mean, I am kinda hungry.
Dazki: It's... from a friend.
Marvin: Uhh...
Dwardazik: Is this thieves cant?
Marvin: ...feel like this is a trap... but I am hungry.
Dazki: It is from the gentleman who has the antidote.
Grogery: Ohhhhh...
Kesmet: Wait...
Dwardazik: How did you get the antidote?
Marvin: Where's that fucker?!
Dazki: Don't worry about it. We're heading to the casino, right now.
Marvin: Do I eat this, right now???
Dazki: Yeah.
Marvin: Like, "RIGHT NOW", right now?
Dwardazik: OK, yes. Um, eat it and then... I guess we're going to the casino!
Marvin quickly devours the cinnamon roll as the party starts walking over towards the casino. Along the way, Dazki starts explaining the game plan.
Dazki: All right, here's what we do. "Yes, sir" / "No, sir". Speak when spoken to. Do not speak when not spoken to. Answer questions directly. Give the information requested, no extra, no less. Don't lie, even if it makes you look bad. Stand up straight, speak with respect. Bow deeply, but then get back up.
Dwardazik: Uh, you're kinda freakin' me out, Dazki. Are we goin' into something that's gonna be bad?
Dazki: We're gonna go see the King of Jacks. We are seeing a mafia boss. This is someone who is going to take a lot less shit than the firelord did.
Kesmet: Yeah, OK. I understand the gravity of the situation.
Dwardazik: I shoulda just gone to the tavern.
Marvin: Kesmet, how much do you hate He Who Must Not Be Named?
Dwardazik: Who? Dennis, that fucker?
Marvin: Oh, right. We can name the fuck out of him. No, I'm good.
Grogery: Do you mean the guy who poisoned you...?
Marvin: No. Dennis.
Dwardazik: He's on my shitlist, he's ruined my entire weekend!
Kesmet: I mean, I hate him, to my very core. What kinda question is that?
Marvin: No, I'm good. That's all I needed to hear.
Kesmet: ...robbed me of everything I... that's not even a question at this point...
Dwardazik: Do we need to get dressed?
Dazki: We need to go there now.
Grogery: Oh. OK.
Dwardazik does manage to quickly grab a couple of ales from a food cart along the way.
Dazki: Oh, and Queen of Hearts doesn't necessarily know this has been moved up. She's going to be caught off-guard.
Kesmet: Holy shit! Any reason why?
Dazki: To get us out from under her thumb.
Kesmet: I'm for it. Let's go. Sounds like it was orchestrated by that Ten of Clubs dude, but... you know, fuck him, but fuck her harder. Let's go.
Dwardazik: If you think it's the best choice. I'm going to trust your instincts on this one.
Marvin: Wait, so, I ate that cinnamon roll... am I supposed to start feeling better?
Dazki: I don't know if that cinnamon roll was the antidote or not.
Marvin: So you could've... just... given me a cinnamon roll? For no reason?
Dazki: He gave it to me and said "I'm the person with the antidote".
Marvin: It just... OK, I... let's just go.
Dazki: On the off-chance that it WAS the antidote, I didn't want to eat it.
Marvin: FAIR. OK, let's go.
Kesmet: Dazki. You said to be honest with what we say, even if it makes us look bad. What if it makes somebody else look bad?
Dazki: Then be honest. Do not lie.
Dazki slips
Baxton's Ring of Mind Shielding back on along the way.
Now You Know Jack
The casino is a lot less crowded in the middle of the day, but it's still technically open because... why would you close a casino? There is indeed a tiefling cleric waiting conspicuously out front. Serious, stern-looking. (Religion 12) He's not hiding what god he serves — it's not one of the main ones, must be somebody smaller. A demigod, perhaps. Not
Mirage Prime, not
Followers of Fame and Fortune.
Dazki approaches.
Dazki: Seven of Diamonds, I presume?
Without saying a word, the tiefling motions for the party to follow, then turns and enters the casino. Dazki relays this to the rest of the party, and they follow. Through the foyer, through the gambling hall, up the stairs to the VIP area, ending at a door. He gives a final glance at everyone, then knocks on the door. An interior guard opens the door, which leads into an executive suite.
Heavy cigar smoke pours out through the door as it is opened. The guard who opened the door is heavily armored. Seated at a side table is another armored tiefling, female, "probably some sort of sorcerer or wizard". At the main desk, towards the back of the chamber, is a third tiefling, the stetson on his head somewhat covering his long black hair, his horns holding up the brim ever so slightly. He sits with his feet up on his desk, smoking what appears to be a very nice cigar.
Dwardazik quickly scans the room, looking for trophies or artifacts that might give clues about his personality. (Investigation 17) this is definitely a man who has won many things. Though he doesn't overtly show off his wealth:
- The books on the bookshelf are all old, but high-quality.
- The floor is well-polished and filigreed.
- Shelves along the side of the room hold various trinkets, possibly magical. An old pistol, a deck of cards. Mementos, from something. The Rotor of Return would certainly look right at home on one of these shelves...
Dwardazik looks nervously back and forth between Dazki and
Jack.
Jack: My apologies for the inappropriate amount of seating. This meeting was cast on short notice. But — I've been told — for good reason.
There are two chairs in front of Jack's desk. Dark mahogany wood, well-polished.
Jack: Don't be shy.
Dazki, walking into the room: Thank you for seeing us on such short notice.
Dwardazik, following closely behind: The pleasure's mine.
The rest of the party enters, and the guard closes the door again. Dazki remains standing.
Jack: Well, let's have it then.
Dazki: Kesmet, if you would? We have retrieved an item that, we are aware, you intend to have. The Rotor of Return.
Kesmet slowly reaches into his pack and pulls out a bundle. He unfurls it to reveal the item. Once it is revealed, the armored guard at the door and the slightly-but-only-slightly-less-armored tiefling at the side table draw weapons. Jack holds a hand up, and they back down.
Jack: So. It seems you do have it. And?
Dazki: We found information that this — and the other artifacts you have related to the Orrery of the Wanderer — have been taken and replaced with false items, sent off towards the Invictus Una, towards a Mr. Dennis Donahue, by someone who had been working for you. Or — working for your organization, I should say.
Jack: Such an individual would not be working for me.
Kesmet: Pretending to work for you.
Dwardazik: I'm not so sure? Seems kinda weird, I think the Orrery kinda messes with time, I think...
Marvin elbows the two of them, a silent reminder of what Dazki said about showing respect.
Dazki: But we do not come here without proof of this. Kesmet, the gentleman with the rotor, killed the man who had stolen it from you, and we can tell you all of what happened. I know a man of your stature would not take our words without proof.
Dazki (cont'd): You know the rotor's power. If your cleric here, Seven of Diamonds, has access to truth magic, then we would be willing to undergo any spells you would like, to ensure our honesty in all conversations.
Jack makes a simple hand motion towards the Seven of Diamonds, who bows deeply at him and proceeds to cast Zone of Truth, hitting the entire room. All party members intentionally allow the spell to affect them. Jack is also sitting well within the zone, though (of course) it's unclear whether or not he attempted to save, or if so, whether or not he succeeded.
Dazki: All right. So, Kesmet, would you be so kind as to recall the events that led to us being in possession of the rotor?
Kesmet gives a fully detailed description of the events starting after they had made it inside the casino — from his perspective, of course, but the power of the rotor allows him to recall it all perfectly, even the parts that happened while he was drunk from one of
Aggromir's healing potions. When he gets to the part about murdering
Kerro, he characterizes it as a "lapse of judgment", and he does elaborate on the backstory that he knows of Kerro, from before.
As Kesmet gets into it, Jack leans forward, taking on
an intense formal pose, which Kesmet (Wisdom Save 8) finds incredibly intimidating. (Performance 19) He is able to push through the feeling in order to tell the tale as he had originally intended to, but the intimidation is going to linger for a bit here...
Kesmet finishes the story at the point where the party was back together and ready to go back home. The wispy, smoke-filled room is uncomfortably silent as Jack digests what Kesmet has told him. After the uncomfortable silence has lingered for an uncomfortably long time, Jack speaks.
Jack: Your tale is believable.
A short, but still uncomfortably long, pause.
Jack: And you have brought me (... ... ...) what I had thought I lost.
A slightly shorter pause, only slightly less uncomfortable.
Jack: But I would like to hear from your companions. What did you think of his tale? A crime of passion? Covering up evidence? Plotting future malfeasances?
Kesmet:
Dwardazik: I know Kesmet. As I've adventured with him, I know his goals. I've seen his passions. I know his unending goal has been to defeat Dennis, who he believes — rightfully so — has wronged him, by murdering his family. I believe that he believes that what he did was justified. And to me, I think that's justice.
Marvin: If I could, sir? There's only one thing in this world that I know, for certain, 100%. And that is that this man, Kesmet, hates Dennis. More than any other being in this world can hate any sentient being. I believe that he did exactly what he says he did.
Grogery: If the implication is that Kesmet was doing this to hide some other thing — that he might be working for Dennis Donahue, in some description — honestly, we have been through several things that a plant would likely not have put up with. Logically, it only makes sense that he is here with us because we are pursuing goals similar to his. Which, now, includes going after Dennis Donahue.
Dazki: For my part, I believe Kesmet's word: that he killed him in a moment of passion, in a moment of desire for vengeance. I do not believe that he was trying to cover anything up by doing so. He was following his feelings in the moment.
Jack: Do you believe, O companions of Kesmet, that he is adept at manipulation?
Kesmet:
Dwardazik: I would say, to some extent he is, sir. I've seen some of his tricks, performances, things like that. He can tell a great tale. But when you get to know someone, one can generally tell when they're performing and when they're speaking in confidence. I don't think he's lying or pretending, here.
Dazki: I believe that he is capable of manipulation. However, I am choosing to trust him, in that moment. He has proven, in the past, to be a friend of mine. To be loyal. I believe that returning that loyalty and trust is appropriate.
Grogery: I agree that I have seen him exercise abilities in manipulation and persuasion, but like I brought up, it's a logical problem: we've been through life-threatening situations that would not have benefited him, had he not been driven by this desire to see justice for his family, and to end Dennis.
Jack: You understand my suspicion?
Dazki: Of course. It would be a mistake for us to assume you would not be suspicious of us, returning something as valuable as this to you, under such circumstances.
Jack: Being forced to believe this tale means that one of two people has betrayed me. And I do not like to be betrayed. So it's important to know if you are betrayer or not.
(Insight 22) Jack
has to believe Kesmet. There's a truth spell, and he's using the Rotor of Return's ability. He's being extremely cautious: if this is true, then it means he was betrayed by "one of his favorite men", as Queen put it. Also, it seems, every second that he doesn't have his artifact in his hands, he is getting just a little bit more stressed out.
Kesmet: Oh, may I put this down? It's kinda heavy, and I've just been holding it this whole time.
Jack: I believe you've told enough tales. Please return the item to me, its rightful owner.
Kesmet slowly, carefully, deliberately approaches Jack's desk and gently places the rotor on it.
Dazki: We did not come here with any intent to betray you. We only wish to return the object and clear our names.
Jack: Betrayal is happening. Let's just say, I've noticed your interest in my community. And certain members within it.
Jack motions to Seven of Diamonds again, who bows reverently. 7D takes out a special amber-colored glove and grabs the rotor with it.
Jack: Any reason, then, why my Queen would be so interested in you?
Dwardazik: Sir, maybe it's our achievements? Maybe we're an unknown force that has come to the table and decided to mix things up? Many strange things are happening these days, honestly...
Jack: Dangerous troublemakers is what you are.
Dwardazik: Dangerous, yes. Troublemakers... not intentionally, sir.
Kesmet: We're... sorry? We never meant to cause you any grief.
Jack: I am uninterested in trouble. And yet, it seems, both you lot and my Queen are interested in it.
Dazki: I think that it is more, trouble seems to find us.
Jack: You insinuate that the Queen is trouble, then?
Grogery: We insinuate that trouble is going to happen, regardless. That it is possibly her aim to be the one to control the results of said trouble, rather than to allow whatever happens to happen.
Marvin: And, if I could add to my friend, we are here today, returning the Rotor of Return to you, because we would like to resolve said trouble.
Jack leans back in his chair again, dropping the intense pose.
Jack: Which is why you're here now, then? I hadn't expected to meet anybody until later. I still have a problem with you. I believe your tale, but without a usable body, we can't get both sides of the story. And I don't like only hearing one side of the story.
Dwardazik: Sir, forgive my ignorance, but does that mean you have a method of interrogating the dead?
Grogery: There are methods clerics can use to interrogate the dead.
Dwardazik: I'm aware of that, Grogery. I'm just trying to understand if that's your intention, or if you are asking us to... get the other side of the story, sir?
Kesmet: Yeah, that was a little cryptic. What do you require of us, specifically?
Dwardazik: As I understand it, you're asking us to get the other side of the story?
Jack: Was I being cryptic?
Dwardazik: No, I just thought maybe you were asking us to be... useful, for something else. That's all I'm thinking...
Kesmet: You said you didn't like only hearing one side of the story. We can only provide you our side, though. Is there something else we can do beyond that?
Jack: Without a body, you had to go through great lengths to convince me. Going so far as to potentially corrupt your reality by touching my artifact. You believe — and, because of the use of such an artifact, I believe — that the body is now nonexistent. This is a problem. How do you intend to fix this problem?
Marvin: I have a suggestion... why not cut the head off of the snake? Let's get Dennis, alive. And then, after you've questioned him, then Kesmet can exact his final revenge.
Jack: One more problem. Other than you informing me how to do my job.
Marvin: No disrespect, sir, just an offer to be of service.
Jack: You believe unerringly, and you are telling the truth. That doesn't line up with what the truth is. There are dangerous things at work, then. Which means none of this can be trusted. But, you are coming to me... do you want a deal with the devil? You don't.
Dazki: I do not wish it; however, I feel in this situation, what I wish may not matter particularly much at the moment — because I do wish for survival, more.
Jack: I am not interested in forcing you into a situation you do not want to be in, at this time. But, I would like to know more. Kesmet, if Mr. Kerro Schene was indeed in The Hounds Guild, and you knew him then, what can you tell me about him?
Kesmet tells him what he knows. To the party members,
nothing he says is new, but because of the truth spell, it does confirm that he hasn't been lying to them at least...
Jack: Curiouser and curiouser. This is concerning to us. Because that does sound like the same man. Do you guys have anything else to tell me? Anything. Make my day. Because right now, I'm down to one out of three pieces. And I do appreciate the retrieval of the one. But, you understand, this is a net loss.
Dazki: Yes. So, the part where it may help with your pieces is that we intend to pursue this Turmoil mage who is working with Mr. Donahue. And, in the event that we are able to take care of said situation, we certainly would not have need for those pieces of the Orrery of the Wander and would be happy to return them to their rightful owners. Being yourself, of course.
Jack: You have no good reason to do that. Which means you have bad reasons for doing it, unless you tell me?
Marvin: Staying alive would be my personal reason...
Kesmet, frantically: Gaaah! This is frustrating! Look. We never wanted anything to do with any of this crap! I just. Wanted to find. And kill Dennis. But we somehow keep winding up back here, for one reason or another! We don't care about these goddamn pieces. I don't care about the rest of the world, you can have them! We don't care! I just. Wanted. To get to Dennis! This is all secondary! We're not against you. We don't want any of this. We don't want any of this trouble that we're in.
After Kesmet's outburst, the other tieflings in the room focus their attention not on Kesmet, but on Jack, to see how he wants to respond to this. Slowly and deliberately, as if to ensure that the deafening silence lingers in the room as long as possible, Jack takes the opportunity to discard his now-finished cigar and light a second new one.
Jack: Once again. I am uninterested in forcing you to do something you don't want to do. To enter a deal with the devil you do not wish to take.
At this point, interrupting the conversation, Kerro Schene teleports into the room. Long-healed burn scars mark the side of his face and neck. Fresh blood leaks from a stab wound in his side. His crazed eyes dart around the room, locking onto Kesmet and his face turning to a wicked, gasping smile.
Kerro: Time has finally smiled upon my vengeance! I have been raised from the dead, and I've dedicated my second chance to making your first a living hell, and now the time has come for me to finish the deed! If I am doomed from choosing a different path and allying with the Hounds, then it was all worth it! It was worth it to end both of our suffering, RIGHT NOW. RIGH —
Kerro's rant is interrupted by a gunshot from Jack, his body collapsing from an explosive impact to his neck (obviously fatal). His body is now encompassed by a swirling sphere of redirected smoke. (Arcana 18) The gun fired a
Bead of Force, exploding on impact. Dwardazik pulls out just his shield and holds it in between him and Kerro. Marvin and Kesmet just look upon the body dumbfounded, quietly muttering obscenities to themselves.
Jack returns his still-smoking revolver to the holster that must have been there at the side of his chair and simply says:
Jack: Well. It seems the matter has been dealt with. We no longer have a problem.
Kesmet, looking to Jack with a very surprised expression: What the fuck?!
Dazki: ...OK, then. That was... unexpected.
Dwardazik: I can't take this...
Jack: I suppose, with the job fully complete, you should be offered a reward for your cooperation.
Kesmet: What the fuck?
Marvin, sitting down in a chair, muttering quietly to himself: What is going on...
Grogery: Who... raised... him?!
Marvin: ...how did they raise him?!
Jack: We have a body to question. Tit for tat, you deserve a reward.
Dwardazik: It's interesting, what he just said, though... hmm...
Kesmet, turning to the party: What the fuck?!
Jack: Focus.
Kesmet, sheepishly: Trying to! OK, reward. Sure, yeah. What reward?
Dwardazik: We would appreciate a reward, sir.
Jack: What do you think your job is worth? What is it you desire of me?
(Insight 20) Jack is playing a neat little game here. If the person lowballs and just asks for something super cheap, then Jack can just give them that. If they do
happen to go too high, then he can still just have them pay the difference between that and what he had in mind. That said, in this circumstance, it seems like it would be
quite difficult to go overbudget...
The party begins to discuss amongst themselves, and when it's clear that they don't have anything in mind right away, Jack pulls out a small hourglass to measure about
five minutes. Generally, the discussion goes like:
- Kesmet is satisfied (and shocked [and damn-near speechless]) with the closure that he now has on Kerro, so he opts out of asking for anything specific.
- Dwardazik just wants their debts erased so they can go about their business free and clear.
- Dazki wants leniency for Ten of Hearts, who arranged for the meeting to be Queenless.
- Grogery also wants leniency for Alfalfa. Marvin agrees.
- They also need a boat, and Marvin + Dazki are interested in having more direct access to the network of information brokers throughout the country to get access to more privileged information than what someone like Alfalfa would normally offer.
With seconds to go on the timer, Dazki responds:
Dazki: Thank you for giving us time to discuss our request for a reward. There are a couple of people who have aided us that we would like to make sure that, if possible, no ill will would be done to them: both Alfalfa and Ten of Hearts. Also, assistance with your information network about finding out more about these Turmoil magic users who seem to have become inexorably mixed into our lives. I can let you more about them.
Dazki (cont'd): And, if we have other outstanding debts that we are unaware of, having them removed as well (provided that this is not asking too much of you).
Kesmet: The appropriate amount of debt removed, and perhaps letting us know what remains.
Jack, smirking very slightly: You must have accrued quite a bit of debt to have included that within your rewards.
Dazki: I do not believe we have, but it is always better to be safe than sorry. Is this asking too much of you?
Jack: This is the deal you wish to forge?
Dazki: It is.
Jack: This is your deal with the devil.
Dazki: I don't know if I would call it that, as I do not see you as "the devil", per se, but... yes, in the colloquialism, yes.
Jack rises from his seat — shorter than anyone probably thought he would be, roughly 5′6″. Marvin stands too. Jack extends a hand to Kesmet for a handshake. Kesmet uncomfortably looks at the hand, closes his eyes, and shakes it. Jack sits back down and takes a long drag of his cigar.
Jack: I believe we are done now.
Dazki: Thank you for your time.
Dwardazik: It was a pleasure.
Marvin bows a little.
Dwardazik nods curtly.
They all leave the room, stepping past Kerro's body. Kesmet, the last one out, stops briefly to look at it, shakes his head, mutters another "What the fuck..." under his breath, and leaves. (Perception 10) The body is definitely Kerro, as far as he can tell; Kesmet knows burns. The scars definitely line up with the visual that's seared into Kesmet's mind of when he killed Kerro just the day before, but... the scars are also definitely old. The stab wound is new.
Seven of Diamonds tails them through the casino to watch them leave. When they are clear of the casino, Dwardazik and Marvin take a huge sigh of relief. Dazki speaks first:
Dazki: Yep. Feels just like being back at home.
Grogery: OK, but what in the actual heck just happened?!
Kesmet: I think it was Dimension Door. And then more mafia crap.
Grogery: That... it was a blink-and-you-miss-it thing. I'm pretty sure that wasn't Dimension Door, maybe there was some sort of enchantment on the box to switch his place with, like, a robot? But then, like... where did he go? And who — he said he was "raised from the dead", so he died, but where did he go? Who raised him? How did he get back here? They have security here!
Dwardazik: Grogery. There's only one solution to this: a really strong drink.
Kesmet: I concur. Also, Grogery. Grogery. (He kneels down to get at eye level with Grogery.) It doesn't matter.
Grogery: Yes it does!
Kesmet: Just say "what the fuck?". He's dead. We're done. We didn't even get a chance to raise him, so we didn't even vote. We're done with Kerro. Corro. Whatever.
Dwardazik, chuckling: That's what you're concerned about?!
Grogery: But you have the implication that there might be other people around that have what he had going on. It would be nice to be able to know what's going on.
Dwardazik: No, I understand, Grogery.
Kesmet: It would be. But, you know what? It really doesn't matter. We'll eventually run into whoever we need to run into, on our way to try to kill Dennis! Dennis is all that matters.
Dwardazik: Perhaps we can... talk about this back at the mansion?
Marvin: Yeah.
Dwardazik: And I just have to say, we already know that there are things afoot messing with time and reality. This is simply more evidence to add to the stack. And the stack is going to require a lot of alcohol to shift through.
Kesmet, concerned that he might lose his newly reacquired memories of the time in
Overlook when he drops his attunement to the rotor, makes a comment about writing it all down before he forgets.
Dwardazik: I still question if drinking that potion was even the right choice.
Kesmet: Yeah, I remember you guys drinking the potions now. Man, that looked bad. Vomited and everything,
Dazki: Drinking the potion — knowledge is always the right choice.
Dwardazik: I understand, and I don't regret it. But I could do without some of the horrors I saw.
Marvin: Do you think Jack seems pleased with what we asked for?
Kesmet: I feel like we're still tied in with whatever's going on with the mafia.
Dwardazik: We're not dead, and it doesn't look like someone's trying to stab us in the back right now.
Marvin: That's a huge plus! So, um, am I still poisoned?
Dwardazik: Well, how do you feel?
Kesmet: I was presuming that you weren't?
Grogery: He wouldn't have let us go without — oh.
Marvin: Ten wasn't... ahh, shit. Well, that cinnamon roll better have been the cure.
Dazki offers Kesmet his journal to use in writing down the details he remembers (asking him to try to just stick to the last ten pages) or so. He jots down some quick notes about the broad strokes, but realizes that he has enough time before losing attunement that he can buy an entire journal to write all the details down in, so he doesn't take up too much space at all.
Dwardazik hails a cart to take them home.
Rosalin meets them at the door when they arrive, informing them about the strange little gnome who's here.
Dazki: Ahh, good! My friend has made it, glad to hear that!
They go to the drawing room and spot
Mot Noside by the automaton. Jersey is watching him from the hallway, like a hawk.
Dwardazik: Ah, Dazki, is this your friend here who you mentioned?
Dazki: Yeah, this is Mot.
Mot: Quiet-quiet-quiet! I'm trying to concentrate!
Dwardazik: Should we leave you alone, or something? You can tell us what's going on with it, right?
Mot: This thing is... this thing is equally impressive and confusing!
Dazki: Yeah, —
Mot: I mean, some of these components here wouldn't even be able to run, by design! Why would they be taking up space in such a crowded cavity! This just... this just isn't a workable bot, but I think —
Dazki: I can tell you that it was ticking. Yeah, it does not look like it should be able to run, but I think it runs anyway —
Mot: Look at this actuator system and linkages! Look at this! It's reminiscent of the heat valve controller systems in the Invictus Una! And the custodian engines! That's old tech.
Marvin: But it's really small, though? That's really hard to pull off, right?
Mot: It's much smaller.
Dazki: So, do you know anyone who would be able to craft anything like this?
Mot: I mean, this was definitely built by some sort of an expert, but I mean, there's not even any tooling marks or imperfections or anything! And this would be a master craftsman.
Marvin: Sounds like that would narrow it down pretty quick?
Dazki: I didn't see any type of symbols or markings of any craftsmen. Usually, they leave a mark on their works.
Mot: Oh, it's definitely an old gnomish design, but there's no identifying marks. And that's very odd for traditional gnomish work, I agree. This thing is insane!
Marvin: Could it be plagiarized?
Mot: I mean, there's not even manufacturer stamps for the metals! Who even melted the metals? There's no tooling marks! How do you make a gear — like, even if you poured it, there would be imperfections, and there's not!
Dazki: The claim that we have — which, you know, fairy tales and all — is that this was made by "The Metronome Man", himself.
Mot: Oh, bullshit. That's not an artificer.
Dazki: No, I know.
Mot: That's a spooky ghost story!
Dazki: I know. Could just be... yeah, someone claiming they're this mythic "metronome man".
Mot: And it used to "tick"?
Dazki: Used to tick. I stopped the ticking: we were concerned that the inner workings would break down and that it would explode, causing damage. With all the pressure and everything inside of it, from all of the ridiculous components. (Dazki points out how he disabled it before.)
Mot: So, I'll keep working on it, but this is old gnomish war stuff. And bad ideas, it looks like.
Dazki: Yeah. Well, I appreciate your help with this. Thank you so much, if you can think of anything that you would need, or that would be helpful, or if you can figure anything out, just let us know.
Mot: I, well, perhaps your tools are better. I want to reanimate this ticking mechanism.
Marvin:
Dwardazik: If you're going to do that, we should be careful. It could become hostile.
Dazki: How about we take it out back to the back courtyard, and do it there?
Mot: There's so many more variables...
Dazki: All right, sure. We'll do it here. You and me, we'll work together on it.
Mot, looking excited: Promise?
Dazki: Yeah! Let me run and get my tools, we'll do it right now.
Mot: Perhaps if I can get a few pieces moving, we can better understand it.
Dazki runs over, grabs his tools, and comes back in a not-story-relevant amount of time.
Dwardazik: Look. I don't trust this thing. (He pulls a chest aside towards a wall and sits on it, back against the wall. Shield drawn, he watches Mot work.) Don't mind me. Hey Grogery, want to play some cards?
Grogery: Sure.
Dwardazik: Come on over here, let's get some cards.
Kesmet: Gotta ask. Does figuring out how this robot works get us closer to finding Dennis?
Dazki: Yes, because it was made by that Turmoil mage that was working with Dennis. At least, it helps us figure out how to stop his other minions.
Kesmet tries to help out, but it seems like the two tinkerers have got it covered. Suddenly, something Mot touches causes the automaton to
shatter violently, instantly killing Mot and damaging Marvin, Kesmet, and Dazki.
The bits and pieces seemed to need very little actual manipulation in order to get them working again, which is odd: every piece that they touched would tend to move and fiddle with itself, "as if it's some weird hand puzzle". Eventually, as the clamoring array of bits / scraps / gears lurches — twitching with each of the ticks that have resumed within the metronome chest —
the session ends on a cliffhanger.
But hey, the machine seems to be working now!
