Session 56
General Summary
- Annu held a meeting with the party, during which they turned over their "illegal and contraband items" and, in return, were given the role of "outside advisors" for the House of Crystal.
- The party and Annu tried to brainstorm how to reclaim the Turmoil chest from Morn'Tharur without immediately resorting to violence, but the party were whisked away into the Red Desert again while Annu was in the middle of a sentence.
- This stay in the Red Desert was different: they were able to interact with one another.
- In the Red Desert, a set of disembodied voices spoke cryptically to the party. They seemed to have a hard time expressing themselves using language, but certain key words and phrases stood out in particular:
- Jeopardy / Possibility / Calamity (referring to the path that the party is traversing)
- Unsuspecting / Involuntary / Last-Resort (referring to the adventurers coming to the Red Desert "by chance")
- Dismantling / Dangerous / Impending (referring to "a being of organized disorder, unstable stability" originating in Aeternia's plane)
- Tether / Harpoon / Conjugation (referring to an existential problem that the voices have)
- Warn / Support / Beseech (referring to what the voices are trying to do right now)
- Deliverance / Cooperation / Salvation (referring to what the voices want from the party)
- The conversation with these voices was interrupted by six unstable entities that engaged in combat with the party. One of them, covered in hardened nerves and eyeballs, was destroyed instantly, breaking off four weapons that the party used to destroy the rest.
- Immediately after combat, the party was returned to their house, apparently no time having passed since they were taken.
Full Recap
The session opens right after a long rest,
Annu having stayed with the party in their house throughout the night. Breakfast time.
Dwardazik: Well, I refuse to eat any more of that tasteless summoned food that Grogery can make. I'm cooking something!
Grogery: Well, we did just cook something last night...
Dwardazik: Yeah, but I'm hungry! I'm cooking more!
Dazki: Annu, I actually have a question for you. Annu just looks at him. Suppose that I were interested in learning more about Turmoil, how to prevent it, how to work against it. Would there be a way for me to apply for access to information kept within the House of Crystal, related to such knowledge?
Annu: Yes.
Dazki: How would I go about doing that?
Annu: Certain criteria would first have to be met.
Dazki: Will you please detail those criteria and the application process for me?
Dwardazik: Ohh, yer gonna be a servant of the House of Crystal, huh?
Annu: We can go over the criteria later. He address all party members. You have twelve minutes to complete whatever it is you need to do here, then we will have a meeting in the den.
Dwardazik: Wait, I don't know if I can even finish (Annu leaves) ...cooking. In twelve minutes.
Grogery: I don't think he cares.
Dwardazik: Hmmph. He is Undead, right? We all agree on that? (Grogery and Dazki both agree.) Well, that's just typical, then. An undead doesn't need to eat, apart from... I don't know... souls?
Dazki: I'm going to leave the kitchen and just make sure he doesn't go upstairs.
In fact, Dazki goes upstairs, himself, to talk with
Barry. Grogery informs the others who are still downstairs that he
gave Annu his journal back did not expressly forbid Annu from taking his journal back.
Upstairs, Barry has constructed a fort out of bits of furniture and linens for him to hide in. Dazki had told Barry last night to sleep in his (Dazki's) room if he was worried... but today, Barry is in Kesmet's room. Perhaps he forgot which room was whose, and he just picked one?
Dazki: Hey Barry. We're going to try to make sure that Annu, downstairs, leaves pretty soon. Could you do me a favor while we're gone?
Barry: What kind of favor?
Dazki: I need you to deliver some stuff for me.
Barry: Um...
Dazki: Just some papers, you know, things like that. It shouldn't take very long. After we leave, of course... and after we've been gone for a while.
Barry: I mean... I've delivered papers for you before.
Dazki: Yeah. I have faith that you can do it. Would you please do it again?
Barry: Are the papers dangerous?
Dazki: No.
Barry: The people who are getting the papers... are they dangerous?
Dazki: ...Yes. But not to you.
Barry: I'll... do my best, I guess.
Dazki: Thank you. May I have a piece of paper from your journal?
Barry hands Dazki his journal, but there's no free page left. Instead, Barry seems to have written down every word in the Common language that he knows, in almost alphabetical order.
Barry: I was trying to see if any of the words would remind me of stuff.
Dazki: Hmm. OK.
Dazki rifles through his pack. There are some blank papers from the forgery kit that was on
Baxton's desk, so he grabs a piece from that. He writes a letter in Thieves Cant, saying something to the effect of, "Thought this might interest you, favor for a favor. This is Baxton's blackmail material." He gives Barry explicit instructions to bring it this afternoon to
The Queen of Hearts. He gives her description and tells Barry where they've seen her before, telling "poetry".
Barry, after reading the letter in Thieves Cant: Why do you want to give the Queen of Hearts all this blackmail material? What do you mean by "favor for a favor"?
Dazki: She helped us earlier. This is valuable to her, so this should pay off our debt, plus a little extra so that she might owe us some more in the future. Also... you can read that?
Barry: I guess so. It just seemed... obvious.
Dazki: Yeah, no, it is, but lots of people would see this and take a completely different meaning from it. Anyway, if you could bring that to her, and make sure to give it only to her, then I would very much appreciate it.
Barry: Um... it seems like a really important job to rely on me for.
Dazki: I have faith in you, Barry. That's why I'm relying on you. If you're worried, then I can do it another time. That's totally fine.
Barry: I don't know where she is...
Dazki: OK. That's fine. In that case, can I at least store this in your fort?
Barry: Yes! My fort is very secure!
Dazki: OK. So we'll put this in your fort, and I'll come back for it later.
Barry: I will protect these.
Dazki: Thank you. And like I said, we should have him out of the house very soon.
Barry: Before you leave... could you bring me some food?
Dazki: Yeah, I can do that. Dwardazik was cooking something I don't know if it'll be ready... or would you just be OK with trail rations? ... I'll go see what's down in the kitchen.
Barry: OK. ...make him go away!
Dazki: Very soon.
Meanwhile, Dwardazik has finished making his food and moved over to the den to eat it, while watching what's going on with Annu. Annu has his recovered journal out on the table, along with several inks. He's going through his journal, carefully casing Mending a few pages at time, before using a few calligraphy pens to repair the damage to the inks on the pages. Dwardazik addresses him.
Dwardazik: So, are you, like, undead?
Annu: You are six minutes and twenty-five seconds early to this assembly.
Dwardazik: ...uh, so you're undead? Is that why you don't eat? Dwardazik points a potato at him.
Annu: I do not eat food.
Dwardazik: No wonder you have such a bad temper.
On Dazki's way to the kitchen, Grogery pulls him aside and says he wants a chat. Dazki promises to do so after he gets back from sneaking some food upstairs to Barry, which he does without incident (Annu doesn't notice at all, he's busy with other stuff).
Grogery: So... basically, Annu has his journal back, and he 100% knows about the other stuff that might have been in the caravan.
Dazki: Ahh fuck.
Grogery: I don't think it would be in our best interests to continue to hide it from him, considering all the trouble that he's made for us in the past.
Dazki: Damnit. I was hoping to use it to try to help Barry.
Grogery: I know, but we can't help Barry if we're arrested for having "illegal or contraband items" with us. It might be a good idea to try to make a deal with Annu, where we can get access to these later, if you're thinking about trying to work your way up the ranks of the House of Crystal?
Dazki: Yeah, you're not wrong. Also... (He pulls out The Book of the Mirage).
Grogery: Whoa, I'm pretty sure he doesn't know about that.
Dazki: No, he doesn't. It'll be a show of good faith.
Grogery: I'm not sure "good faith" means much to Annu, in particular.
Dazki: It will make him less suspicious.
Grogery: Well, it is your book, so...
Dazki: Hmm. That book that can become a copy of another book, do you still have that in your pack?
Grogery: Yeah. This would be a great book to copy with that, though we do have to worry about the writings possibly getting lost if the original gets immolated like the other things in that caravan were supposed to be.
Dazki: We may have a day or two before that happens, which we could use to copy the information out of the copy book.
Grogery: True. It may take them a while to get around to something like this, since all those people with that eye-spiral thing probably take priority right now.
They copy the book, and then Dazki brings Barry his food.
Meanwhile, Kesmet goes to Annu and brings up a topic for discussion, completely out of nowhere, which nobody could have possibly anticipated:
Kesmet: Hey, Annu, do you have any information on Dennis from The Hounds Guild? What's his connection to all this? I'm starting to get real confused. I know you aren't offended by me calling you a bitch... watching you, I think you just float around not getting offended by anything.
Annu: I am busy now. We can discuss this later.
Kesmet: Simple yes or no, do you have any information on this man? No response. Don't you float there and ignore me! No response. Ugh, fine. Please?
Annu: I have knowledge of a great many things. We will discuss this later.
Kesmet: Fine.
The twelve minutes having passed, all the party members (except Barry, who is focusing more on remaining equally alive) join Annu in the den for his meeting. Moments before the meeting is scheduled to start, Annu packs up his materials into what is likely a small pocket dimension.
Annu: It important that this assembly be held efficiently. You are inadequate at this. In addition to the usual guidelines set for civilized discussion, I will set additional (justified) guidelines that you will follow.
Dwardazik: As far as I understand it, we are still free people...
Annu: ... Guideline 1. You have a collective tendency to both rebel against authority and positively interact with personable individuals who are capable of claiming that they believe in your ideals. I will not relinquish my authority nor am I capable of deceiving or persuading you with charisma. This motivates you to act contrary to me. This action is undesirable.
Grogery: So wait, was there a guideline in all of that?
Annu: That is Guideline 1.
Dazki: That was... more of a statement than a guideline.
Dwardazik: Well that's because we can't convince you to have a drink with us!
Annu: ... Guideline 2. Your idealistic and highly emotional mental states often lead negotiation to an unusable state. It is useless to appeal to my sense of morality or my emotions, or to introduce ideological beliefs into the discussion. Any questions and actions not related to the facts at hand will only waste time.
Dazki: Again, not really a guideline, so much as a statement.
Kesmet: Are you telling us... not to waste time with, like... religion talk?
Grogery: He's asking us to have our discussion purely on logical grounds, and not try to appeal to emotion or morality.
Dwardazik: Oh, I get it. So just ignore the whole spark that created the laws in the first place.
Dazki: To be fair, he's being rather polite waiting for us.
Kesmet: If it gets us closer to Dennis, I'll try anything.
Dwardazik: Might as well hear this through.
Grogery: Is there a Guideline 3?
Annu: There are no additional guidelines at this time. It would appear that two guidelines are already more than sufficient to confound you.
Kesmet: Wait... confound us? Why?
Dazki: I think you're proving his point.
Kesmet: Why would he want to confuse us...?
Dwardazik: OK, Annu, let's get started. What's our topic?
Annu: You are in possession of illegal and contraband materials. It is currently not in my jurisdiction to declare that you must return them to me. However, I will give you the opportunity now to relinquish any illegal or contraband materials of your own volition.
Dwardazik stands up.
Dwardazik: I have no "illegal or contraband materials" on my current person.
Dwardazik sits back down.
Dazki: All right. Grogery, why don't you give him the books and scrolls and stuff...
Grogery pulls out the remaining items that were retrieved from the caravan and sets them on the table, along with the original copy of The Book of the Mirage that Dazki received from Baxton.
Annu: You are correct in assuming that these are illegal or contraband materials. Do you relinquish them to me?
Grogery: I am... (He thinks back to last night) ...not forbidding you to take them.
Annu takes each item, moving it individually into a pocket dimension, pausing when he gets to The Book of the Mirage.
Annu: I do not recognize this item.
Dazki: We received it from Baxton. Under the current guidelines of this discussion, we find it reasonable to assume that this is contraband material.
Annu: My catalog does not contain this item. How unfortunate for me. He slides it into the pocket dimension anyway.
Annu, after collecting the rest of the item: You have a great many experiences with Turmoil and seem more unfazed than most. Do you offer a unique perspective that I do not find within other individuals around me?
Dwardazik: It's mainly because we've been trying to save this city from a threat that no one else seems to take seriously!
Grogery: I am uncertain if it's due to us having so much experience with it that it seems normal to us, or if we're just too stupid to know better.
Dwardazik: Well, this entire city seems to be festering with Turmoil. It's kind of hard not to deal with it on a daily basis! If only I were isolated over in the Palace, I might enjoy a more leisurely lifestyle.
Annu: Would it be safe for me to assume, which I do not like to do, that you possess a perspective, capability, or knowledge that would be useful to me, that I do not already have?
Kesmet: That depends... are you going to kill us and absorb our minds if we say yes, or something?
Dwardazik: I don't fully understand what you're asking.
Grogery: I do not know the extent of your catalog, so I cannot say if there is anything in our catalogs that might not be in yours.
Dazki: Based on the autonomy that we seem to have relative to you, and our experiences with Turmoil, it is indeed safe to assume that our perspective is unique, and it might be able to provide valuable insight.
Annu pauses, considering this.
Annu: You have demonstrated characteristics that would allow me to appoint you a role of "outside advisor". You have matched the following criteria:
- You have shown a tendency of cooperation, by willingly relinquishing to me goods that I have asked for.
- You have shown a capability of following the rules of a superior.
- Most importantly, you show a possession of a perspective, capability, or knowledge that can be appropriately utilized by the advisee.
Grogery: So... is this a job offer?
Annu: You will find it beneficial to take up the role of "outside advisor", in a temporary capacity.
Dwardazik: Would we retain our full autonomy, as we have had so far?
Annu: I do not hire you, I do not pay you. You are an advisor.
Dwardazik: Oh. Well that works out for all of us, then, since we've been trying to tell people what's really been going on in this city for... well, it feels like years, but it's only been a few weeks. Any dwarven city would have had this taken care of on the day it started, but... you know.
Annu: Being granted the role of "outside advisor" will allow you access to information that you would not otherwise be permitted to obtain.
Kesmet: Dennis?
Dwardazik: Sounds good to me.
Annu: It also offers me the same: information that I would not otherwise obtain.
Dwardazik: I accept this responsibility, but the moment that I find this relationship is no longer useful to me, I retain the ability to end it.
Grogery: Are there any precise terms of this that we need to be aware of?
Annu: The role of "outside advisor" is one of flexibility. A verbal contract will suffice at this time.
Dwardazik: I agree.
Dazki thinks about this a bit more. Annu may not be able to lie (or, if he can, he certainly hasn't shown as much, and this time is no different), but he can certainly be slippery. So far in this meeting, he has guided the party into making particular statements and actions, and then he
very explicitly revealed the three criteria that those statements and actions met.
We know that Annu is not fully capable of acting freely, and that it has something to do with avoiding illegal activity. He also appears to be rather forthcoming about this role being beneficial to both the party and to him... actually, just
him, not the House of Crystal. He hasn't even mentioned the House of Crystal once today, which seems
way out of character for him.
Given all that, it seems very likely that Annu benefits much more from this than
the government that employs him (and binds him???).
Dwardazik: Annu, as your advisors, we wish to be able to advise you appropriately. To be able to have context for the information that we have experienced so far. Would we have access to libraries and additional information that may not be available to the public, for academic and research purposes?
Annu: As long as the information is accessible to the rank of "outside advisor", and the information pertains to the topics specified by your role, then you will be granted additional information.
Dwardazik: Would I request that information here and now, or would that happen later?
Annu: In order to accept this position, I need a verbal agreement from all of you.
Dazki: If we agree to this, will you assist in ensuring that we are not summarily imprisoned and executed by Sorda'an?
Annu: I am not allowed to give preferential treatment.
Dazki: But you are allowed to advise?
Annu: I can give counsel.
Dazki: Would you counsel Sorda'an that our continued existence and freedom would be advantageous?
Annu: I already have.
Dazki: Very well, then. I agree.
Kesmet: Would you advise this way after all this is done? Or would you toss us away like garbage after?
Annu: I need a verbal confirmation to this contract.
Grogery: I verbally confirm to this contract.
Kesmet: I've worked for an organization that tosses aside its members. I'm not eager to go back to something like that. With the information that I have, it sounds like this might be more of the same.
Annu looks directly at Kesmet.
Annu: You lack sensibility.
Kesmet: I do not contest this.
Dazki: Regarding the position, are we allowed to voluntarily relinquish this position without suffering any repercussions at any point?
Annu: The only repercussions occur if you are forcibly removed from the position.
Dazki: But we may voluntarily relinquish this position at any time?
Annu: As long as you are not forcibly removed, on account of not following guidelines. With an increase in information and privilege comes an increase in responsibility.
Dwardazik: Would we have a seat on the council, as your advisors?
Annu: No.
Dwardazik: Would we have access to your House?
Annu: You would have access to relevant parts of the House of Crystal. This is not a career or a job. You are not a student. You are an advisor. It is a very minimal upgrade to your current position.
After some deliberation, the rest of the party convinced Kesmet to go along with it, at least temporarily, with the understanding that he would be able to leave this the instant that it's not beneficial to him.
Annu: In order to perform directly under my command, or to otherwise work alongside me, I am required to disclose certain bits of information. It is important that this information remains unsubstantiated to those not authorized to know it. Should this information be both dispersed and provable, it could cause instability in the relationship between the governmental forces and the populace... and immediate termination of your advisory role, among other consequences. He waits to see if this will be an issue for anyone.
Annu (cont'd): It is true that I am an ancient entity designated as an undead. It is also true that I am a being of vast power, vast knowledge, and vast ambitions. I must inform you that my accessible power, knowledge, and ambition are safely limited. I must inform you that I pose dangers comparable to any other individual of similar station or rank within the government.
Kesmet: Yes, you are very powerful, and ancient, and smart. We understand.
Dwardazik: As your advisor, if you no longer had certain restrictions, would that be better for you or worse for you?
Annu: I find this satisfactory for now. There have been worse alternatives. Now, then. Procurement and elimination of the Turmoil receptacle, currently in the possession of an ancient dragon, is the primary objective. It would be optimal to destroy the creature to retrieve the receptacle safely and efficiently. However, the situation is more complex. I cannot properly assess the social, economic, structural, or security risks of engaging and eliminating the ancient dragon. I will carry out a half-measure.
Dwardazik: If you kill the dragon, you unite The Spire of Beasts against you. Riots in the street.
Annu: I will retrieve the receptacle inefficiently, with minimal damage to the dragon and to the surrounding area. This will require assistance from trusted advisors.
Dwardazik: That's us! Thumb-point to chest
Kesmet: Ahh, we've been promoted from "outside advisor" to "trusted advisor"?
Dwardazik: Hey, that's a good point. Is that the same thing?
Annu: ...please follow the guidelines for our discussion. While it will be of little difficulty for me to remove the box from the dragon, safely getting to the location of the dragon without causing social implications is complicated.
Dwardazik: We are trusted in the Spire of Beasts. If we put manacles on you and march you towards Morn'Tharur, no one will bother us.
Annu: This is untrue.
Dazki: Do you have spells of disguise or invisibility in your repertoire?
Annu: Not today.
Kesmet: I do...
Annu: I can procure the box, but I need eyes to be elsewhere. The dragon is surrounded by pesky entities known as kobolds.
Dwardazik: Entities? They are creatures, not pests. They have lives.
Annu: ...it would be for the best that the dragon not know that you are involved in this procurement. You must distract the kobolds.
Dazki: Hm. What do the kobolds need most? Food?
Annu: Before we can continue this discussion, there is a secondary problem. My secondary objective is to monitor your activity and movement. Even in your new advisory position, you will still have your tendencies for poor and impulsive decision making while unsupervised. Additionally, I am unable to authorize certain methods of tracking without the permission of those being tracked.
Grogery: ...he wants the ability to scry on us whenever he wants...
Annu: This is incorrect.
Kesmet: Well color us assholes for assuming. What did you have in mind instead?
Annu: You will find the methods available to me... offensive.
Kesmet: You're not doing a great job of convincing us.
Dwardazik: Come on, explain. Stop being coy.
Annu pulls out four small objects made out of peridot. They look sharp, each the size of a crossbow bolt's head, but barbed and entirely crystalline.
Grogery: What are those?
Annu: These objects are called "pinpoints". Their primary purpose, when they were created, was to track large migratory beasts. By impaling the beast deep in the flesh with one of these, the beast could then be tracked, and the beast would not be able to remove it by itself.
Kesmet: ...nope.
Annu: I would prefer to use a cursed object for this, but seeing as you have a cleric, the method would prove unreliable.
Dwardazik: So your first instinct would be to curse us? As your "advisor", I have to say that this is the opposite of any strategy for getting good advice.
Annu: A cursed object would be both easier and more comfortable to remove after-the-fact.
Grogery: So you want to embed those in us, or would you be fine with us just carrying them around?
Dwardazik: You understand that this is not an appealing idea.
Annu: I did mention that you would find both methods... offensive.
Dazki: Would it be acceptable for us to carry these on our person, instead of embedding them in our flesh?
Annu: I fail to see how making the device removable would aid in tracking the individuals.
Dazki: Well, it's either that, or we refuse flat-out.
Annu: It is certainly a conundrum.
Dazki: You have your conditions. We have ours. Do you accept the terms of our agreement?
Dwardazik: I'm not using it.
Annu: I cannot force you to do that.
Kesmet: Well that's a relief to hear.
Annu: But I do need alternatives.
Kesmet: What about... (He gesticulates with his hands) ...trust and faith?
Dwardazik: I don't have a solution to you right now, but I'm not going to have some tracking device embedded into my body, just because you don't trust us. One person after another in this city has been trying to manipulate, control, or otherwise try to destroy us. I've nearly died several times in this city, so frankly, it's the most dangerous place I've ever been in my life.
Kesmet: Hey, that last one was kinda your fault.
Dwardazik: And I don't find it acceptable for you to put a tracking device on me just because you don't trust us.
Annu: Do you believe that I should trust you, given the information that I know?
Dwardazik: Well, if we're going to give you a dangerous weapon, which could possibly be used against you, then maybe you should.
Kesmet: If you can't trust us, Mr. Floaty, then who can you trust? We're the people who came to the council ourselves, in order to assist in getting rid of the Turmoil. We gave you all the damn contraband, by our own free will. We're the only people who were able to take out Baxton while he was manipulating everyone else (and us, of course...). Who is more trustworthy than the four people in this room? Are we emotional? Highly. Do we get off-topic? All the time. But trustworthy? Definitely.
Dwardazik: Hmm. Annu, if you are compromised while you are tracking us, then the tracking compromises the entire operation: people like Baxton could use them to get to us.
Kesmet: I thought Baxton was dead?
Grogery: It was "people like Baxton".
Annu: Then we must speak of alternate plans.
Kesmet: I've submitted my alternate plan, which is simply to trust us.
Annu: This is unacceptable.
Dazki: Do you have the ability to scry on people?
Annu: I am not permitted to do this.
Kesmet: What prevents you? Do you need our permission, or are you just outright forbidden from scrying at all?
Annu: It appears that even I have insufficient rank for some information.
Grogery: So you don't know why you don't have permission to scry on us...
Kesmet: We can test this. Can one of us give him permission to scry on us, and then he can try it?
Annu: I think this discussion has gotten off-topic.
Kesmet: On the contrary!
Grogery: We were discussing an alternative method.
Dwardazik: Uh... were we?
Annu: I will not be able to scry. You will find an alternative. You preach adaptability,
Yoink
You are traveling through an endless desert of crimson red sand. You are alone. Wind rattles and howls through the sand, forming dunes against the perpetually twilit sky. Shooting stars occasionally streak through the sky. You cannot determine how long you have been traveling, but it feels like you have been traveling for some time now. Trudging through the sand, shielding your eyes and face from the cutting wind, you look around to find any mark of imperfection in the distance, and you spy a blemish on an otherwise invariant horizon. At this distance, its structure is very difficult to make out, heavily distorted by a heatborn haze.
Dazki can't identify the object on the horizon, even with his innate expertise at perception. He sits down and just waits for this to pass, like it did last time.
Grogery, Dwardazik, and Kesmet move towards the object.
- On the way, Grogery looks at the stars to see if he can recognize anything; he's positive that this is nothing familiar at all. There is no moon, there is no sun, and yet the sky is in twilight.
- Kesmet tries to cast magic on the way, but nothing comes out from him.
- Dwardazik pats around to make sure he has all his equipment, and... everything seems illusory. As if naked, but he appears not to be naked.
Those who moved towards the object find themselves standing at a garden of carcasses. It is unclear how long it took to get here; it's as if they just decided to travel, and then suddenly they were here, but they definitely feel like they traveled the whole way.
Large, ivory ribs of leviathans jet from the sand, traces of mummified skin and fiber still clinging to the sand-blasted bone. Strewn about the ground are smaller corpses of various sizes. Half buried in the sand, the corpses are in varying states of decay. Interestingly, sprouting from the bones and flesh are mushrooms, similar to what you would find growing in the sides of an elderly tree. Despite there not being a sun or a moon, long shadows are cast on the sand.
Dazki continues to sit down and wait.
The other three spot one another and reconvene at the spooky boneyard graveyard. By this point, they've all worked out that their gear is an illusion, and that they cannot cast spells.
Kesmet: Grogery! He pokes the goblin. The goblin gets poked. Why are you not an energy person? Also, where are we?
Grogery: I don't really know! It might be a good idea to wait for the others to get here. I don't see Dazki... I think Dwardazik is over there, though.
Kesmet: This is probably all just a dream, right? ...Annu fucking lied to us. I knew it. He got us to agree to a thing, and then he, like, bound our souls or whatever.
Grogery: I don't think magic can be that sneaky. If there were really a spell that binds you to something like this, just by you agreeing to it, then society would be a lot worse off than it is now.
Kesmet: Well, he did make us give consent explicitly. And then he fucking tricked us.
Grogery: Sure, but there are usually somatic and verbal components to spells that get cast, even stuff as crazy at this. I'm not even sure what "this" is, actually. Maybe we were attacked from the outside?
Dwardazik approaches, fists up.
Dwardazik, in dwarvish: ███ ███ ██████, ██ ███ ███ ███?
Grogery: I don't understand what you're saying...
Kesmet: Stop talking to us in moonspeak!
Dwardazik, back to speaking in Common: Are you friend, or are you foe?
Kesmet: Dwardazik, you asshole, it's us!
Dwardazik, looking at him cryptically: Are you... you? Or are you merely my representation of you, from my own perspective? Say something that only Kesmet would know!
Kesmet: It's all thanks to you and Dazki that we're not as close to Dennis as I'd like to be.
Dwardazik: Naw, I already know you would say something like that.
Kesmet: Annu is an asshole. This is totally his doing. I told you guys that we shouldn't trust him!
Dwardazik: That was literally what you were saying 5 minutes before we got teleported here. Frankly, the more you talk, the more you sound like an illusion.
Kesmet: Oh yeah? Well, can an illusion do... THIS?
He does an incredibly acrobatic trick, a wall jump off of one of the bones. He sticks the landing.
Kesmet: This is totally an illusion. It's a dreamscape, like the last time we got high on shrooms.
Dwardazik: Ahh, only Kesmet would do something like that. Or would he?
Grogery: Also, we can't cast magic right now for some reason. That's something that you probably wouldn't have known or suspected.
Dwardazik: So, what about these bones?
Grogery: I don't really know.
Meanwhile, Dazki hears some mumbling, murmuring voices on the wind. A voice does, however, address him. It is both familiar and unfamiliar:
Voice: Your traveling companions will be lost without you.
Dazki: I have faith in them. Besides, this is just some illusion, something weird going on here. It will pass, like it did before. This is unimportant, and unreal. Now, either return me to my reality, illusion, or leave me be.
Voice: It seems to real to me.
Dazki: I'm sure it is your reality, but it does not seem to be mine.
Voice: Perhaps we both feel out of place.
Dazki: Perhaps, though if it is real to you, I don't know why you would feel out of place.
He dwells on this a little more. The voices are new. It doesn't sound malicious. He investigates further to see what's going on, reaching out and around himself... not only is this
not an illusion, but he is definitely not in the location where he was before.
"Your traveling companions would be lost without you"? Might as well take a few cautious steps into it. Besides, if this really isn't an illusion, he would eventually need food and water, if not to find a way to escape. Worst-case, all that he will have lost is some time for reflection and meditation, and there'll be plenty more time for that if this is fruitless.
Grogery: So, has anyone seen Dazki?
Kesmet, shouting out into the sky: ENERGY DAZKI! WHERE ARE YOU?!
Grogery: I'm concerned that something might have happened to him.
Dwardazik: Well, might as well get started on some defenses. He begins to dig a hole, which is even more tedious than normal: none of his tools are real, and the sand is so fine that a lot of it just tumbles down back into the hole as it's dug out.
Grogery: These mushrooms... could we eat them? They certainly don't have any medicinal value...
Kesmet: They're not real! They're just, like, a dreamscape or some shit.
Dwardazik: What are you talking about? They're real.
Grogery: I've never seen anything like this (other than that one time, of course), so it all has to be based on something.
Dwardazik: I can feel this, Kesmet. How can this be fake? Grogery, about the mushrooms... give me a look at them, I'll see if they're good food...
Dazki approaches the cairn. He does not feel that he's traveled the distance that he's traveled, but here he is. The rest of the party notices him from a distance.
Dwardazik: HALT! Identify yourself!
Dazki: Hail, Dwardazik. It's Dazki.
Dwardazik: Say something only Dazki would know!
Dazki: This is not an illusion. We're all actually here. This is some weird-ass shit, and I want nothing to do with it.
Dwardazik: Wow. There's no way I'd make that one up...
Kesmet: OK. Now that all of you people are here... which one of you has got the cupcake?
Dwardazik: What in the blazes are you talking about? Help me dig this hole so we can have shelter!
Kesmet: From what? This is just a dream. Grogery, do you have the cupcake?
Dwardazik: From enemies!
Grogery: No idea what you're talking about.
Dwardazik: We are in a strange land, with no defenses, no weapons that work, and you're worried about ANYTHING ELSE other than our safety?
Kesmet: Last time we tripped out and saw this place, a weird energy being gave me a cupcake, and then I woke up.
Dwardazik grabs a bone and fashions it into a club.
Grogery: Dazki, do you know if these mushrooms are poisonous? I know they're not medicinal, but maybe they're good for eating?
Dazki: I wouldn't know much about that. I wasn't really in the kitchen all that often, so I wouldn't know the difference between eating mushrooms and the poison mushrooms.
Grogery: Ahh, you're not the "make your own poisons" kind of guy. I see.
Dazki: Also, that's kinda racist to assume that elves would know poison, or all the mushrooms in the forest! He pauses a bit. I'm joking.
Dwardazik, with a fanatical gaze: Maybe they're healthy. He goes over to them, staring at them. He takes one and squishes it... it seems benign. He starts putting some into the pit.
Voices now address the party. It is eerie, but kind. Occasionally, they change the location of its origin, but they don't emanate from anywhere in particular. It speaks over themselves on occasion, as if it cannot decide what they want to say.
Voices: You traverse a path of j̯͆e͚͠opar̔ͅdyp̒ŏs̿s̓i͘b͠ìĺi̒t͌y͆c̘a̟l͚a͙m̹ịṯy͉. Your fate intertwined with us. Haphazard. Regrettable.
Grogery: Does anyone else hear voices?
Dwardazik: WHO HAS TAKEN US? WHO?
Voices: Time and language are c̱̍o̝̿nfũ͓si̻̕ñ͍g̞̀a̤w͢k̜w͜a̹r͙d͕ǘn͂c͘o͝m̈́f͑ö́r͒t̊a̕b̏l̋è to us, yet one feels too short to use the other.
Dwardazik: WHY HAVE YOU CAPTURED US?
Voices: By chance, adventurers travel here. A cluster of the far-flung. Different, but similar. U̬͒n̻͊s̾͢ū͎spḛ̃cti͇͞ngi̊n̑ṽo͑l̈ȗńt̚a͗r̈́y̕ḽa̞s̙t̫-̫r͙e̩s͖o̪r̜ţ.
Dwardazik: This earth is dead. I feel nothing from it. It is just sand, and... worthless!
Voices: By chance a deity germinates on your origin plane. A being of organized disorder, unstable stability. D̪̈ï̥s̻̑m͇̕ant̏͜li̪̽ngD̟a͎n͈g̩e͟ṛo̗u̩s͔I͗ṁp͞ėṅd̛i͑n̛g̐.
Kesmet: That's definitely Annu.
Grogery: I don't think it's Annu...
Kesmet: You're right. DENNIS.
Dwardazik: You speak cryptically about something that makes no sense. You speak of gods and deities as if you are among them.
Grogery: Well, somebody had to be giving Baxton his powers.
Dazki: ...it's talking about the Turmoil itself.
Grogery: Hmm, manifesting some sort of willpower?
Kesmet: What do you want from us, you weird disembodied voices?
A sudden flash of light in the distant sky. A massive dark meteor screams through the sky on the horizon, impacting the red sands. In silence at first, tossing sand and debris in the distance. A while later, the impact hits you: a loud, crashing blast of rumbling and subterranean thunder. From the impact site of the meteor, a black mercurial serpent emerges tyrannically from the ocean of sand. An otherworldly roar cuts through the wind as the head of the beast impacts into the sand once more, like a breaching whale returning to the depths.
Grogery: That wind was not illusory...
Voices: Your origin plane is in t͓̾ù͜ṟ̔mō̧i͕̓lt̆u̇r͐ḿo̚i͐l͡t͓u̧r̙m̜o͢i̝l̗. Chaos and order, pṙ̡o̰̔p̽͢ó͖r̲̉t̗͑i̖̓on͒ͅä̰́t̮͡ẻ̯r͈e͕c̟i̝p̙r̲o̱c̝a͕l͍ån͠ťa̛ġòn̈i̋s̃t̽i͝c͝.
Dwardazik: Help us to stop the Turmoil, then!
Voices: A contaminating t̹̑e̗͆th̢̚er̯̊h͉a͕r̜p̭o̜oͅn̢c̊o͘n̛j̎u͘g̋a̿t͂i̚o̒n̕ draws us to an unfavorable eradication.
Dwardazik: Is anyone else hearing this, or am I going crazy?
Grogery: Yeah, we're hearing it.
Dwardazik: Is no one saying anything? How can you not respond to this?!
Voices: Fortuitous happenstance that we are able to ẅ̨́ar̙͘ns͂u͊p̎p̂òřt͆b͢e̹s͖ȩe̞çh̫.
Kesmet: Those last three words were very different!
Grogery: Are you guys... "the Mirage"?
Another terrifying impact, as the serpent breaches once more. It seems to be getting closer, but it is far in the distance.
Dwardazik: Help us! Save us!
Dazki: So, what is it you want from us, disembodied voice?
Dwardazik: Give us a weapon to use against the Turmoil!
Voices: D͕̄ḛ͂l͓̂ḯ̮v̪͝ȇ͇r͚͝à̗n̖̿c͎̅ȇ̗C̀òo͂pe͘r͐ati̒o͛n̒S̼ạlv̡a͜tion̢.
The rumbling from the last impact has not subsided beneath your feet.
Voices: Evidence imminent.
Shattering from the sands beneath you, six ichorous and thin tentacles burst forth. They split and split towards the tips, more and more reminiscent of branching arteries or thirsty roots. Dripping from the tip of each grows the shape of some sort of... entity, a puppet for its puppet master. The six entities spawned are inconceivable to your brain. Your brain has a hard time understanding it. They seem very aggressive.
Voices: By chance a deity germinates there. A being of organized disorder, unstable stability. A d̞̃i̮͂s̮͆m̨̃a̦͞nt͋͢l̦̂iń͇gd͓a̲n̙g͕e͔r͜o̡ṷs̙ĩm͗p̃e͊n̅d̓i̾n͞g͌ paradox. By chance, adventurers travel here. A cluster of the far-flung. Different, but similar. U̬͒n̻͊s̾͢ū͎spḛ̃cti͇͞ngi̊n̑ṽo͑l̈ȗńt̚a͗r̈́y̕ḽa̞s̙t̫-̫r͙e̩s͖o̪r̜ţ. To give it form and purpose is to create a monster. Six fragments from one being. Six places at once.
Key Combat Moments
At the beginning of combat, a beam of starlight impales into The Visionary. Like a glass prism, the ray splits into four colored beams that strike the sand around the party.
- The green beam solidifies into a bladed bow of green plasma.
- The orange beam crackles into a bejeweled staff.
- The yellow beam forms into a sun-tipped mace.
- The red beam hardens into a resplendent war-pick.
The entities do not behave normally at all, see their page for details about how each one moves and acts.
Throughout the encounter, the voices keep repeating one line:
An individual divided. Five fragments from one being. Five places at once.
When an entity is destroyed, the voices say:
A collective united.
For the three who immediately decided to travel upon entering the Red Desert (Dwardazik, Grogery, and Kesmet), all of their attacks hit their targets without much trouble at all. Dazki, however, has a much harder time hitting. In fact, the majority of the fight is spent trying to help Dazki get clear shots on his targets, while triaging the damage on the party members who were unlucky enough to take hits from these unusual creatures.
Dazki takes an early hit from the Skittering Pony, but Kesmet is able to keep him mobile by giving him the ability to fly.
Kesmet also does an early teleport to get himself and Dwardazik as far away from the fight as he feels comfortable doing, both to try to mitigate Dwardazik's incoming damage and to keep himself free of these stacking debuffs (since if he loses concentration, Dazki will lose his flying ability and certainly get overwhelmed).
Late in the fight, Kesmet gives flight to everyone except Dwardazik, so Dazki can flank with him.
The entities are eventually vanquished.
Yeet
As the final starlight beam crashes into the final entity, you are no longer in a red desert. You are back at your house. None of the resources expended during that encounter were actually spent. In fact, and you do not know why you know this, but you are now in possession of an additional object. Clasped in your weapon hand is a wedge of clear glass. It is eroding rapidly; you suspect that you have no more than four hours to use its effect. You do not know why you know this, either, but if you put the four objects together, then they will form a lens that you can use to contact the plane you just came from.
Annu (cont'd): you are adaptable, you will adapt.
Dwardazik knocks his chair down, jumps back, and presses himself against the wall to make him feel comfortable.
Dwardazik: What... just... happened?
Kesmet: OK, I suspected Annu at first, but I don't know anymore!
Dwardazik: Is everyone all right? Dazki, are you all right?
Dazki: Yeah, we're good.
Annu: Everyone here is fine. Words cannot injure a person.
Grogery: So, Annu, I take it that you have no idea what just happened?
Dwardazik: Yeah, Annu, just shut up for a moment...
Kesmet crawls under the table and just sits down.
Dazki: I think we can discuss this at a future moment.
Dwardazik: Are you sure? We're not going to discuss what just happened?
Grogery: Future. Future moment. We have someone who cares very deeply about his time.
Dwardazik: ...I see.
Annu: I don't often say this. I am confused.
Dazki: We were transported to another plane for what was quite a long period of time, but to you it was a split-second. We had to do battle against entities that represented the Turmoil. There were six pieces of one entity. One piece clearly represented Baxton, whom we have already killed, and it was destroyed immediately upon showing up. It would seem that there are five more out there that we need to defeat before the god of the Turmoil can come to be on this plane.
Dwardazik: ...what is happening... how did this happen to me... I'm just a merchant... why is this happening to me?!
Dazki: I'm sure you think we're ridiculous and that we're making this up, but that's what happened to us.
Dwardazik: ...what's going on here... how did this happen?!
Dazki: Now, are we going to go take care of getting the stuff from the dragon?
Annu: As I was stating just seconds ago, there is a problem with that plan.
Inspiration is distributed: everyone now has 1 point.
