Session 39: ...Where Mine Ends

General Summary

Clocks

Recap

Vinum 17 to Vinum 27, 3033: Year of Darkness

As planned, the Omens waited for the arrival of the Thunderbirds in their estate. They read through a file given to them by Khorvis, File #7777-4 - The Emerald Throne. The night of the attack, they sent off the Carthelians with the Ericksons, taking the seven of them on a field trip to a nearby isolated woods while the remaining Omens and Thunderbirds confronted Incandus Carthelian.

Sometimes, You Just Have to Kill Your Grandpapa

Entering the reliquary of Incandus, the patriarch asked if they had finally followed the path he set before them in his tomb. He couldn't talk about it then, when he gave them his hint, but he sees that they have the Morningstar. So clearly, his hint "Your journey begins where mine ends" led them to his crypt, which was weird for him to have because he isn't dead yet, right, and they must have removed the arcane seals on his tomb and entered the Pathways to find where he had hidden away the Morningstar when he was a younger man, since he wasn't ready to die and didn't want anyone getting their hands on the Raiment. Right?

Incandus was shocked to learn they hadn't done any of that and found the Morningstar nonetheless.

Amara charged up the weapon, releasing a curling attack that reduced the old man to a smoldering pile of twisted limbs and jutting bones. Unfortunately, his contract requires he defend himself and his contract to the best of his ability, and he assumed a terrifying form of fire and bone, masked by the cervine skull that plagued the Omens in their dreams the night before.

But the Omens and Thunderbirds defeated him, surprisingly handily. He thanked them with his dying breath, and the contract fell to the ground, unfurling and burning away in a lick of green flame. In the distance, the eight Ericksons cried out in pain, but were ground to dust by the mortar and pestle.

The victory was short lived, however, as when Andy and Anya returned, Ember timidly came upstairs to warn them that there was a guest waiting for them.

The Creature of a Thousand Faces

Aspen Carthelian waited for them in the audience chamber, green flame burning around the summoning circle, the blood of 7,766 sacrifices filling the pool around it. He recalled the Aspen Tongue to him, along with the boons he had given his warlocks. He seemed oddly giddy, excited to be free of the pact. Like he could finally breathe again, not that he needs to. He is never putting deals in writing ever again. Because you see, that contract was the only thing protecting you from him.

After a grueling combat that felled Anastasia, Augustana cut through Aspens form. But the creature spat out green fire instead of blood, and the wound burned with green flame. Because what the Omens didn't yet grasp became clear as green fire rose in gouts from his body. As his flesh melted off and long talons tore the weak flesh from his face to reveal the true cervine skull beneath, one that had only been seen in shadowy relief when he spoke with his warlocks. A truth that became clear when between his antlers, a terrible crown of emerald fire burned.

I am no lord, I am no devil, I am a GOD. I AM N̷͔̆ŷ̷̺å̶̛͕̰r̷̳̄l̶̞̕ǎ̵̤ẗ̸̫́h̷̼̯̀o̸̡̎̈́͜ẗ̵̩́e̵̱̺̋p̴̦̚̚, Ï̷̲̲̤̄̈́̊̎ ̷̡͐Ḁ̵͋̆͛̂M̴̙͍̭͔̓ ̷̡͈̯̦̑͑̇t̸͙̞͖̪͒͗̀̆̆h̶̜̣̬̏̕͜ͅe̴͖̤͌̕ ̶͚̈́͂C̴̨̧͇̦̰̆̌̇̑r̸̪̱̈́͗̓͊͝a̵̮͉̼̝͊́̈́͝w̸̳͌̈͝l̶͖͚̥͈̉́͆̚͘ͅī̸̬ņ̴̳͖̌̽̊̀͘g̸̻̩̮̝͒̀̌͊ ̷̹̔Ç̶̧͎̫͈̌h̸̗̣̼̠̿̈́͝ȧ̵͎͔͍ͅọ̷̧͌͐͐̚ş̵̻̫̏, I̷̢̛̱̦̎̆͑̆́̑̈́̆̆̑͗̑͋̚̕ ̶̛̭͈̯̈́̋͐̂͂̕A̸̗͓̠̥̩̟̓͌̈́̂̌̄͋̆̅M̶̢̧̡̛̛̰̹̱̤͕̃̃̇̀̕ ̶̡̢̛̹̥̹̗̜̯̘͇̤̖͓̠͍͔͕̎̈́̈́̾͗͐͂̏́̄̾̂̈́͝͝t̶̡̢͕̝̫̓̓̍́͘͜h̸͕̙̆͆̈́͝e̶̢͚̘̮̙̽́̂ ̶̱͚̝̟̮̠̮͖̫̯̙͌̉́͆͒̉̐̌̂̌̐͂͌Ę̴̧̨͇̱̠͇͖͍̰͍͕͈̻̦͖̲͗m̶̡̹̤̋̀̑̎̀̈̊̂͂͋̈́͛͑͗͑͝é̷̢̩̮̣̱͉̞͇̝͊́̂͐̑͐̅̄̇̚̕͝͝r̸̟̟̖̼̟̣̝͚̝͉̱͆́͘͜͝͠ạ̵̡̩̙̦̞̙̯͐̄̄̽͊͌̽̔̈́̍͜͠ḷ̷͔̣̠̤͎͑́͗̆̇̅͊̄̑̒̏̌̍͗̅͝͝ḑ̴͕̳̣̬̗̦̦̜̠̲͍͖͇̄̃͠ ̵̧̧̛̤̅͊̓̿̃̓̽̐̈́͐̒͗͝T̸̫̭͔͎̗̿̌̓̄̕ͅĥ̸͍̀̏̏r̵̪̘͙̜̤͉̻͖͇̮͌̽̐̀̆̅́̓̓̔̾̕͠ỗ̶̺͖̗́̈̋̓͌̂͋̐̓ǹ̷̨̡̧̢̙̮̼͙͉̪͇̠̞̙̏ȩ̴̡̖̼̣̼͍̗͚̳̖̲̈́̐̅̈́̌̽̄̀̀̏̉̈͗͝.

The Emerald Throne reached up, tearing rifts in reality to its home plane, the Faen, to make room for its colossal frame. In the ensuing combat, the Omens forced the creature closer and closer to the Pillar, once obscured, hidden beneath the sacrificial altar but revealed in the rifts into the Faen. They bound it, stitching reality back together around their estate as they did.

The Pillar became a stabilizing anchor, forcing the entity to sit upon it, unmoving, as chains of shadow and gold sealed the Emerald Throne, and with a rush of roaring air, like fire burning in reverse, stretched taught to hold a burning green crown above the pillar.

But with its final words, the Emerald Throne cursed the groups: "I curse YOU, I curse this LAND, I curse the Carthelian Lineage until the Devil Themself dies!" And the entity was sealed away; conscious, able to perceive its surroundings, but trapped in the Pillar.

The Shadow's Gift

Anastasia, Lorelai, had fallen. As with Ilya, the world around her became painted in grayscale, and gray sand began to sift around her feet. From her perspective on the ethereal plane, she could see her friends clustered around her lifeless form.

Athena clutched Anastasia's body to her chest, deep sobs shaking her body. Voryx stood behind her, stoic as ever, but a black tear traced a line down his cheek as he put a hand on her shoulder. Junn Qo and Fyn stood together, both sobbing. Andy looked to the Gray Lady as she entered, remembering what happened when Ilya was taken from them.

Anya, like Ilya, was dressed in a traditional funeral shawl, but instead of a symbol of Carthelia hung around her neck, as one would normally expect from a warlock, it was the Gray Lady's symbol that hung around her neck, the crying infinity; an infinity icon that cries gray sand from its loops. The Gray Lady stepped forward from a swirling portal of gray sand, backlit by golden light, and wrapped her arms around Anya in a hug.

"Whether you know it or not, you made good on our deal," She said. "Prevent Aspen from gathering 7,777 souls. Now that we know it was one of the Seven Pillars, I suppose those numbers make more sense.

"But our deal is complete. I am here to personally thank you and walk you to the next life. When you are ready."

Sapphire and Junn Qo exchanged a look and a nod. They walked over and hugged both him and Fyn, then moved over and placed a hand on Voryx, who stepped back to allow them to kneel next to Athena. They softly kissed her forehead as she held Anya, and walked to the Gray Lady, saying: "Hey, don't tell anyone, but you were my favorite. Well, second favorite, after Ilya. Stay weird, okay?" as they passed Andy.

Standing next to Anastasia, they said "Hey, it's not so bad, this dying thing. I know this is only your second time, but take it from someone who has died at least once a week for who knows how long, Manto isn't all that bad. It's oddly comforting, in a way, to let go of what burdened you in life.

"Are you ready?"

Anastasia thought for a moment before shaking her head.

"That's okay. That's normal. Few ever really are, myself included, for all my poetic waxing.

"You know, yuouv eall been so polite this whole time," they continued. "Not one of you have ever asked about my bargain with the Gray Lady. Well, a long time ago, I cut my life short, and the Gray Lady offered me a shot at redemption. I would be one of Her Shadows in the afterlife, and in exchange, I could come back as many times as I wanted. And I could save another soul. Once."

They paused, looking to the portal, where in the golden light, they could see the silhouette of a familiar, greasy high elf.

"It's okay if you're not ready. Because I am."

And they stepped through the portal, taking Ilya's hand, and waved goodbye.

The Gray Lady, shedding a golden tear Herself, stepped forward to offer Anastasia a choice: remain Anastasia, the tiefling of noble blood who was willing to risk even her Mortal soul for her friends, or return to Lorelai, the persistent rogue who vanished into the wilderness and was willing to do anything to see a future where her loved ones were happy. And in the swirl of gray sand that resurrected her, Lorelai formed in her lover's arms, who very punched and kissed her in quick succession.

Afterparty

In memory of Sapphire, the Omens and Thunderbirds through a wild rager. It's what they would have wanted. Caspian, summoned by Amara's Fey Shenanigans in the final moment of the battle, conjured a feast for the group. Legerdemain, never to be one to miss out on a party, emerged from the kitchen eating a pint of Amara's ice cream. Orianna summoned a troupe of minstrels from the Spring Court who brought along a man named Aengus Etain, legendary bard, with them, pulling him from where ever he was

Orianna sent Dorian a message warning him that it was time to confront Aspen, and when he arrived he brought Khorvis and Georgie with him, all ready for a fight. They were surprised when they were met with shots (like the drink!). And the group promptly got wrecked.

So, most of this belongs to the night, but I'll recount it for you all to the best of my own ability.

To start, it became tantalizingly obvious that there was a bit of a love triangle and/or polycule situation unfolding between Dorian, Georgie, and Khorvis. I know Dorian and Khorvis spent a lot of time alone together on the road, but the tension was palpable. Dorian and Georgie disappeared at some point in the night, and Khorvis wasn't too far behind them. Not sure if they found separate quarters or one big bed, but they were all three around in the morning and they seemed... closer.

Andy spent a good chunk of the night berating Fyn for his performance during the combat, to which he exasperatedly tried to explain that most if not all of his most powerful magics are fire based, and there is not much he can do against a literal flame monster in that situation. That did not stop Andy from repeatedly threatening to break up with him if he doesn't shape up, which oddly seemed to boost his mood. I don't think he realized they were in a relationship. Deep gnome mating rituals are mysterious and wonderful.

They had to be restrained for biting halfway through the night, after claiming that deep gnomes have a venomous bite that will get you high. Athena didn't believe them, and Andy proved her wrong several times.

Athena and Lorelai vanished into the woods with two bottles of wine each around the same time Augustana and Caspian went upstairs. Again, tension? Palpable. Junn Qo and Amara got Ember drunk, and as bad as I felt for the poor nothik in the morning, that was the first time I've seen him truly smile. Junn Qo wrapped Fyn and Voryx up in some scheme of Sapphire's they made the group promise to carry out in their memory. I'm proud of how far that silent monk has come.

The morning after was filled with hangovers, swapped shirts, and G-strings bedazzled with Sapphire's face. A grand time was had by all, which is good; I think you all needed that. the Omens deserved a win, and as far as saving the world goes, you didn't do a half-bad job.

For my part, I spent the night stealing drinks, mixing drinks that were perhaps stronger than they should have been, eating Amara's ice cream, and enjoying the company of this wonderful group of people. Aengus asked me very politely to bring him back to the Bungalo, but I thought it was much funnier if he had to walk of shame his way back again (it's not that far of a walk and the road will be swift beneath his feet, I made sure of it, calm down. Get your bedazzled underwear out of a bunch).

I also hid a door to the Pathways somewhere in the estate and you will never guess where!

— Ledge

Afterword

Life was quiet for a time. The Thunderbirds stuck around with plans to help make the estate a little bit more homey for as long as the Omens will have them. Dorian and Georgie returned to the dig site with promises to stop by for tea on Fridays, and after a time, maybe he'll bring Georgie along; he'll keep them update on project Archeologist Trap. Though based on the way they were looking at each other, updates might not be needed. Ember swears he saw them holding hands.

Khorvis will continue to rebuild the Pathfinder archives in the pathways, but will stop by regularly. After all, they have an outer god trapped in their basement, they'll need a Watcher to check in on them every now and then, make sure the Crawling Chaos doesn't creep back in.

Adventuring took a backseat to life. Until Vinum 27, when the Dark Storm ravaged the continent.

It began when the rain stopped. Held in the air as if gravity had suspended its reign. Mere days after defeating the Emerald Throne, darkness blotted out the sky, misty tendrils swallowing the rainclouds, swirling across the sky from a point in the southeast. White lightning crackled within the storm, starkly illuminating the misty darkness. It struck the spire of the estate, drawing a jagged burn line through the tiling. The world itself shook, knocking over ornamental suits of armor, shaking the Superb Owl painting loose from the mantle.

While everyone else felt the need to seek shelter, Andromeda felt something welling up inside them. They needed to see the sky.

Andy darted for the door, eyes filling with starlight. When they reached the outer courtyard, they seemed to curl up for a moment before their body wrenched back, shining a pillar of purple light to the sky that filled the estates entire exterior.

Within it, Andromeda transformed, taking on a starry form unlike any seen before. A colossal humanoid of void and starlight. Within, the stars themselves did not move; it was like Andy was a window through the fabric of space, allowing one to see the stars of another reality. In an echoing voice, they said:

D̶̯͕̈̾ù̵̜̋s̷̱̿̅k̵̠̽͆ ̶͕̍͋F̵͖͂͠ͅa̸͈̐l̴͕̗̊l̸̨̮̚ś̸̨̠

A̷̙̎ǹ̸͕͠ ̴̪̩͝o̷̙͗͊m̵͕̳͊͗ȅ̸̗n̵̮̑ ̵̩̲͊̕o̶̫̓̈́f̵͇͗ ̴̡͎̐̋f̵̡̺͆i̷̜̓͊ȑ̵̜̂e̶̙̱̎͐ ̶̠̬͌b̵̖̭̐u̴͓̅̊r̸̻̖̀̿n̸̲͂s̷̟͆͘ ̵͚̜͊̐a̵̭͑͘g̷͎̿a̶̫̓ḭ̵̂n̸͇͆͜s̷̹̐ṫ̵̰̱̐ ̶̱̫͗t̸̖͑h̷̫̃e̵̝̔̀ ̵̾̎͜Ṇ̴̽i̶͕͛g̵̹̋͒h̸̢̓t̶͉͆͝ ̸̨̅

F̵̭̈́o̴̗͗̽ů̴͈̹r̸̤̱͆ ̷̫͚̎͝p̶͉̦̓̀ï̷̤͌l̵̨̛͕̈́l̸̢̗̏a̴̘͋r̶̻͊s̸̡̤͒ ̴̡͐̓m̷̪̫͂͘o̸̚͜r̴̝͖͒͝ȩ̷̛̟̚ ̷̧̳̅m̷̡̑ụ̴͝ş̸̗͒̒ţ̸̦̉ ̵͈̈́͗b̷͕͓̒͝e̷̡̢̍͊ ̵̡̍͗ṧ̶͔ḧ̵̠́a̷̝̎́t̸̼̀t̸̺̓é̸̘͈r̷͙̀e̸͖̥̊́d̷̨̛̮̀ ̶̗̓̊

Ṱ̶̭̏o̶͎̟̎̔ ̶̨̝̾̓u̷͓̹͘n̴͎̬͑̓s̷͈̦̔ĥ̷̜̞ȃ̴̬̂ͅċ̷͎ķ̴̌͆͜l̵̠̿͝e̴̹̱͊ ̸̡̾ẗ̶͙́͠ḧ̵͕̫́͝ḛ̶̉ ̴͚͇̃̆s̶̠̭̈̃h̸͕̍e̵͇͋̒p̶̨̓̽h̷̢͆̚é̸̝̤r̸̦̓̊d̵͉̓̍ş̵̺̄ ̷̮͝ͅ

Á̴̼̩ǹ̷̹d̴̞͎̑͂ ̷͔̉b̷̻̊i̵̡̊͝ṟ̴̝̒̋t̸̙͛́͜h̶̖̟̐ ̸̛͇͔͌a̴̹͛̄ ̴̗͔̊Ṉ̷̈e̵̤̅ẅ̵͈͈͠ ̵̠̗̑W̸̛͖̐͜o̷̠̐͘r̴̰̃l̸̲̙̅̀d̸̨͚͠ ̵͍̦̒

S̴̻̈̊o̶̪̎͐ ̷̭͌s̷̝̃͂p̴̺̜̃̅a̵̫̦̒k̴͎͆̂ë̷̠́ ̷̮̃̍t̵̜͓̐͘h̵̨͉̊̂ë̷͉̝́̈́ ̴̛̹̈́V̶̧̝̓̚ḭ̵͎̃o̸̫͆̕l̸͕͗e̷̩̕t̵͖̔̉ ̵͎̺́E̸̳̙͒v̴̮̬̀̈e̵͎͑̅r̷͔̱̉ḿ̵͇̈́ô̵̡̆ŕ̷͎̼ė̵̼͔

And as quickly as it had lept from them, the light and stars rushed back in, and Andromeda collapsed.

Missions/Quests Completed

Hours to Midnight. The Emerald Throne did not collect enough souls through the Aspen Tongue to accomplish whatever it had hoped to achieve.

Hours to Dusk. The Dark has arrived.

Days until Dorian's Birthday (Vinum 26). While it was not directly addressed, Dorian felt celebrated through the many toasts (and many more shots) you all took in his honor during the afterparty.

Notes