Session 152

General Summary

• The two parties trudged through the maze, encountering ghosts and a yellow creature colloquially known as "The Hungry Tyrant", which may have been "the node", as defeating it caused the maze to dissolve into an idyllic forested area near a lake.
• Riley couldn't teleport everyone back right away, so they walked back to Axecut, sent a report to Biz Abrak, and began their rest for the night.
• Dazki woke Marvin in the middle of the night to go "have a conversation" with Riley. A conversation that involved the Dimensional Shackles.
• Once the shackles went on, Dazki tried to get Riley to promise not to hurt Siraye, but Riley was profoundly uncooperative.
• When Dazki gave her the key to the shackles, she lunged at him; Dazki had a vision, and something happened to Riley too, as they both seemed off-guard after.

Full Recap

  The separate groups make their way slowly through the maze in opposite directions.

• Within the maze, it is quickly apparent that there are magical glowing lights and ghosts.
• As the team of Dwardazik, Theran, Marvin, and "The Basilisk" got further in their direction, they started to hear an unsettling glitchy noise.
• When someone got damaged, that person would immediately teleport back to the center of the maze where they started.
• Smashing one of the magical lights would cause it to go out, and then the ghosts would change colors and become more vulnerable for a time.
• A separate head-like entity ("its golden stonelike flesh dripping with this white globular energy that circles around it") roamed the maze. Its favorite attack was to ram through its targets, but it also used eye beams, one of which charmed Marvin.
• When the head-like entity got close to Dazki, he shot it once with his pistol, which killed it. That must have been the "node", as once it died, the maze immediately began to dissolve, revealing a small lake and a pleasant-looking lightly forested area.

Theran: Were the "nodes"... creatures? The last time you guys came through here?   Siraye: No! It was a geyser last time!   Dazki: OK. And there's no geyser here now. Has it been a natural formation every time?   Siraye: Not so much a "natural" formation, but it's usually got some sort of invertebrate (or goo).   Dazki: Not like a creature. Not like a squirrel, or that skull, or a giant mutant bird, or anything like that?   Siraye: Nope. A big stationary thing, and it's usually above a big pit.   Dazki: All right. Definitely not what we saw last time.   Dwardazik: That sounds a lot better than having some kind of crazy Beholder-looking, laser-eye-beam-shooting, death creature!   Theran: Oh, that sorta reminds me of what was going on with the heartworms. Though there wasn't so much a "node" for that, it was just a bunch of worms climbing out of a pit.   Dazki: Yeah.   Dwardazik: To be fair, we did kinda run away from that big worm.   Theran: We shot it... and then ran.   Dwardazik: More importantly, where the hell are we?   Marvin: I guess this is what it's supposed to look like?   Siraye: This is where we were last time.

Dazki detects something glittering at the bottom of the lake, and Marvin retrieves it with his purple hand: (Arcana 22) it's a Dodecahedron of Doom. Dazki describes what it does, and they decide it's for the best to put it into the Bag of Holding (above Apple's objections, as she was... concerningly interested in having it).

Theran: All right. So we have a couple of spots where it's, "go -> destroy node -> leave -> come back -> it does this weird 'fuzzy walls, mobile creature node' thing". Is there, like, a third part to this thing's lifecycle? Is there something else it does after we do this?   Dwardazik: I don't understand. What do you mean?   Theran: So apparently, most of the time when a node shows up, it's spewing forth a bunch of these worm-type insect creatures; the node is a stationary thing, like in a pit of goo; you break it, and then all of the worms and everything go away. All right. Then the people who did it leave, and they come back.   Kris, returning from a chat with Riley: Hey, uh, lasses and lads? We're gonna have to... uh... it's gonna take a while to... we don't have any more teleportation. We should probably get walking.   Dazki: Give me, like, ten minutes to examine this area. I just want to see if there's anything unusual that we may have missed.   Kris: What do you mean, "we may have missed"? We weren't here before. We were underground.   Dazki: To see if there's anything weird or unusual about this location. Just give me a few minutes to walk around the edge of the pond and see if I can find anything weird, or that might be Turmoil-related. If not, then we'll head back.   Theran: So, I've had a bad feeling... was this the first time that worms attacked Fhaorn'Shaalth directly?   Kris: Yeah, I don't even know how they got over there!   Siraye: Yeah, I'm really concerned about it, actually! I don't remember any worms being that big. We had a theory that it was, like, worm tunnels (or portals) or something that was causing the nodes, like, wherever they would surface, and so they would eventually all go back. Well... that's what Riley thought, anyway. Does that mean that all of this stuff is gonna happen in the main city?!!!   Dazki: That's entirely possible...   Theran: We should probably try to warn somebody.   Dazki: All right, well, I have a way we can do that. It's a little roundabout...   Theran: Let me guess: contacting Biz Abrak and then telling Biz Abrak to contact them?   Dazki: Yep.

---

Dazki sends a message to Biz:

Dazki: Found more Turmoil outside Axecut. Suspect the worms attacking may cause transformation. Axecut could be in serious danger. Currently suspect a dwarf going by "Mother Girth". May want to evacuate Axecut for the time being. Also, look into "Fogwalker", may be in northern areas.   Biz: "Mother Girth" isn't in my notes. I can suggest moving Axecut civilians. The capital makes frowny-faces at me when I suggest that, but the Houses here will agree. Send data, I guess.

---

Dazki: Well, as I was walking around, it looks like the energy is still kind-of on the ground... but it's inert. So it might just be that the wind picks up, uncovers the Turmoil, then something passes by and gets contaminated. New node. Looks like it may not be completely destroyed.   Riley, stepping in, indignantly: No, it's duffinettely the worms from Mother Girth, and it can't be anything else! I would know!   Dazki: Why can't it be anything else, Riley?   Riley: Because I can't get rid of Fogwalker. I can't find him, so it's not him. And I'm right hyurr. And Mother Girth is the one with all the gross worms. And that's where we always get all of our Turmoil from.   Dazki: Well, maybe Mirage Prime put an insurance policy in place, and you two cannot destroy each other's Turmoil? Something to prevent infighting and to prevent any betrayals.   Riley: No, that is stupid. I would know.   Dazki: ...really? This Mirage Prime has told you everything?   Riley: He doesn't need to tell me anything! I'm my own person?, and I just fuggin', I know! And you don't know, so...   Dazki: OK, yes, you're your own person, but you're serving the master of Mirage Prime.   Riley: I am not serving anybody! I am my own person, and he's just, like, the slime beneath the feet of me, all right?   Dazki: The "slime" you had to make a bargain with, for the power you currently have!   Siraye: Guys! Can we not do this right now?   Siraye: ...or ever?...   Theran: Yeah... we need to be working together to figure this out. I understand that there's a lot of tension based on everything that's happening right now, but it will be a lot easier to take care of this if we can just calm down.   Riley leaves.   Dazki: Look. I'm not saying she's doing it on purpose, or that she is stupid, or anything like that. I'm just raising the possibilities that Mirage Prime might have contingencies and backup plans. That's all.   Theran: Makes perfect sense to me. Are they not supposed to interact with each other?   Dazki: That's what I understood from Baxton.   Theran: So it's possible that their magic might just work on entirely different types of stuff.   Dazki: They might literally not be able to interact with each other in a significant way.   Siraye: But, I see her do the...   Dazki: I understand, but I'm saying that... (he pauses to think a bit)... the creatures were destroyed, but the Turmoil essence is still here. The area hasn't been... for lack of a better word... "purified".   Theran: Cold weather may kill all the leaves on the tree. But it doesn't kill the tree.   Dwardazik: Well, we don't have any pure elemental fire or anything like that. Can we get the Firelord to do it?   Theran: This is happening everywhere, though. Even if the local Firelord spent the time going around scorching everything, would they be able to keep up with it at all?   Dazki: Basically, we may be on a timer for finding Mother Girth, and that timer is much shorter than we expected. Once we killed Baxton, a lot of his stuff died and withered away.   Theran: I thought he just kind-of lost control?   Dazki: Lost control of it, yes.   Theran: He was taking Turmoil and putting it into people.   Dazki: Yeah. I'm hoping the stuff that's just kinda dispersed around will just go away on its own.   Theran: Or at least that it's not... procreating.   Dazki: We should catch up with Riley and get back.

They walk up the road, realizing that they should probably try to check up on Soves. Dazki points out to Siraye that their house only has one bedroom. Apparently, Riley gets the bedroom to herself, Apple "refuses to sleep inside", the tree is nice for Siraye to trance near, and Kris has a bed set up in the library. Also, Riley is "primarily wizard-y stuff", as opposed to being primarily a warlock... she "knows, I think, every spell in the book at this point, although [Siraye has] never even really seen her have a book"... and she "even knows some cleric spells too"... ((Insight 22) Siraye is trying hard to dance around some subjects here... Dazki doesn't pry, though).

Axe Backwards

Soves is gone. He probably left shortly after they got into town.   Back at The Cloak and Stagger, someone else is tending the bar, a taller thinner half-elf. Some people do some shopping, and then the party turns in for the night. Dazki wakes up Marvin, however, asking for the Dimensional Shackles, and they walk over to the estate of The Quicksilvers. Dazki sneaks around the outside and — asking Marvin to wait outside — breaks into the house, creeping towards Riley's bedroom and disabling / deactivating / avoiding defensive traps.   Dazki sneaks up, puts the Dimensional Shackles on Riley without waking her, and then fires an arrow into the headboard right above her, startling her awake.

Dazki: Hey, Riley. I think we need to have a conversation... sorry to wake you in the middle of the night, but I figured this would be the best chance for it to be just the two of us.   Riley: What are you doing?!   Dazki: Like I said. We need to have a talk. (He pulls out his Candle of Truth.) This is a Candle of Truth. It will dim when you lie. Three lies, and it goes out completely. So, for example, I'm a twelve-foot-tall green bugbear named Tim. (The candle flickers.)   Riley: You need to release me.   Dazki: I will! I will, don't worry. But we need to have a conversation first.   Riley: No-no, I could yell, right now.   Dazki: Yeah, you could. But you haven't yet, so clearly, you're not interested in that. So why don't we talk? I'll be honest with you, you be honest with me. Sound like a plan?   Riley is breathing very heavily, and her eyes dart around the room in a panic.   Riley: Don't make me have to do this...   Dazki: I promise, no harm will come to you, all right? I just need to make sure we're clear on a few things. Understand?   Riley silently looks at him in disgust.   Dazki: All right. Now, so that I know you've submitted to the magic of the candle, tell a blatant lie.   Riley: I don't have to do a single fucking thing you say.   Dazki: No. You don't. (He sighs.) But, here, I was hoping we'd be able to have a nice simple conversation. I'm sure you don't want your friends out there to know —   Riley: To know what? That you're just as bad as everybody else? Just as corrupt, just as power-hungry? That you look for any excuse you can to get an advantage over somebody?   Dazki: You're right, I do like to use advantages over people, when I need to. And right now, I need to protect my best friend. Do you understand that? I need to protect Siraye. She cares a great deal for you, that's very clear. And what you've done in the past? Fine, whatever, you're trying to make up for it, trying to be a better person. For what it's worth, I entirely believe that. But I need to know — I need to be sure — that you are not going to hurt someone I care about. That's what this is about. This isn't about any Turmoil shenanigans or anything like that. This is about me protecting the people I care about. Protecting my best friend, from someone who might be a threat to her. That's what this is about.   Riley: You don't want to do this.   Dazki: You're right. I don't want to. But I will still do things that I don't want to do, to protect those I care about. And, yes, maybe that makes me as bad as who you used to be, or as bad as Lammergeyer... or even Baxton. But, you know what? Sometimes I have to do difficult things to protect the people I care for. I'm sure you understand that. So, you're not going to hurt Siraye... right? Not intentionally, you're not going to manipulate her, you're not going to use her, you're not going to enchant her, you're not going to have her take the fall for you for anything that may happen. RIGHT?   Riley, more forcefully and after a long pause: Don't make me have to do this.   Dazki sighs and tosses Riley the key to her shackles.   Dazki: Just remember. If you do, I can take that feeling of safety away from you again.   Riley: You're just like the rest of them.   Dazki: Maybe. Maybe everyone is a horrible, corrupt, vile, evil person deep down. When it suits their needs. Maybe that's true, maybe that's what I am. But, I am going to keep trying to protect the people I care about. Trying to protect everyone that I can. And that includes trusting you. Trusting you to keep your word. But trust shouldn't be completely blind. So, I am trying to make sure that I have an understanding with the person whom I feel like I can't fully trust at the moment.   Riley: You can't trust me. (The candle doesn't flicker.)   Dazki: Why not? You're just as bad a person as I am, is that why? Or is there something more?

Riley lunges at him, but Dazki interrupts with a Cutting Words spell that he "borrows" from Marvin outside... but she's not coming at him with her own hands. Instead, from her back, three pairs of almost ethereal misty arms — each tipped with a Mage Hand, dripping with frost — and one of them connects with Dazki.

Dazki, scrambling to regain the upper-hand: Do we have an understanding? And I have no idea what the hell that was.   Riley: ...I don't know either...   Dazki: Probably related to something that happened to me on the way into The Phantasmagoria...   Riley: I can't promise you I won't do what I have to do. Just as you... (she stops to catch her breath) ...can't promise the same to me.   Dazki: What I can promise is that I will give you every opportunity to do the right thing. Up until it puts the life of someone I care about at risk. And that I will believe in you, and I will have faith in you.   Riley: You're a liar. (The candle did not flicker.)   Dazki: I will do my best to believe in you. I will do my best to have faith in you. You're right, I may stumble. I may falter, I may fail. But what you will have is the best effort I can give you.   Riley: I won't. I won't have it.   Dazki: I'm sorry that you feel that way.   Riley: I have already failed you.   Dazki: How have you failed already?   Riley: It doesn't matter the "how", now, does it? I have failed you.   Dazki: The "how" matters! Because with the "how", it can be undone. The "how" can be worked against. Prevented.   Riley: I can't give! I only take!   Dazki: Then maybe you can choose how much you take, and be sated at some point. Before it hurts others.   Riley: Others deserve to be hurt.   Dazki: Does Siraye deserve to be hurt? What did she do that makes her worthy of being hurt?   At this point, Marvin — who has decided to get closer to the nearby window shutters to try to open them — triggers a Glyph of Warding on the shutter, exploding it and bursting him into the room.   Riley, ignoring Marvin and speaking directly to Dazki: I don't understand what you did... but I won't let you take anything else from me! I don't give.   Dazki: I'm sorry you feel that way. (He uses the earpiece to silently send a message to Marvin, asking him to leave. He reassures Marvin that he'll be fine.)   Riley holds her head in both of her hands, in a desperate frustration.   Dazki: I think this is where I need to leave. I hope we can find a way to help you. But know that if you try to hurt Siraye, I will stop you. No matter what it takes.   Riley: You're not here to help anybody but yourself.   Marvin: Well, that's a fuckin' lie. (He casts Dimension Door and teleports away.)   Dazki: ...Keep that arrow as a reminder.   Riley: Just like the both of them...   Dazki: Just like you too.

Dazki makes a swift escape. (Intelligence 13) He thinks back to the scene that he saw when Riley lunged at him... the man's icy-cold hands. Not the hands of a martial... perhaps they were the hands of a caster?