Session 2-6: Full Restoration

Activity Log - Rebuilding a companion, a dire warning, and an infernal compact

General Summary

With the negotiations for restitution and payment over with, Klume set to work on Cojitron, managing to reactivate them as an automaton with the capability of assisting us, if not possessing their personality. With time rapidly counting down, we take a carriage to visit Good Bill’s home to see if his mother, Savilla, might be able to help us with her knowledge of rituals. After exchanging the customary wolf greeting with Bill, we are taken by Paris to see a weak-looking Savilla, who is abed and is still recovering from her recent ordeal trapped in the The Black Road. We explain our situation to her and our need to find a fire elemental to trade for Cojitron’s full repair. Her suggestions, however, were less than ideal. She knows fae rituals that could bring the attention of the Hart Family or even The Black Stag, which we encountered, to ask for assistance in granting our requests. These would come at steep prices, as we had nearly discovered on our last foray to that nightmare place. Though we would get what we needed, the unpredictability of the cost was not one we were yet willing to risk. Even less so her unenthusiastic thought of the Rite of Autumn, as the King’s servant nearly captured us for our transgression as we escaped the Road.
We thanked Savilla for her time, but the Fae were too volatile a choice. A debate ensued, with the self-proclaimed high priestess of Wynte, Svala, another option at the university. Horick naturally suggested the Night Manager of the MacMurdaugh would certainly be willing to grant us a way to our goal in exchange of service, which made me (noticeably) ill to think of, but we had less than half a day and the travel time would eat away more of it. Svala may in fact be able to help, but her reliability, the miracle of Tea Kettle’s rebirth aside, was questionable. The two of us very reluctantly agreed to go with the devil we thought we knew and traveled to Lakewatch Vale to see Horick’s patron.
We pay a carriage driver extra to take us to the border of the depressed area and make haste to the hotel. Fortunately for us it is still daylight, though with Horick’s status as an employee, we safely cross to the front desk, where once again he speaks to no one we can see, requesting to see the manager for assistance. The front desk, to his senses alone, directs him to the office, where Horick motions for us to sit at a table for the meeting. As usual, the hotel’s rotting timbers and dilapidated, ruined surroundings and damaged furniture were all that greeted us, but we sat nonetheless.
Almost immediately, Ringmaster Cavendish of the Midnight Circus appeared as if from thin air to join us at the table. He seemed almost childishly pleased to be treating with us. His involvement is not surprising; the Night Manager after all had tasked Horick with the safe rescue of him and his, as they served the same masters. Cavendish seemed human enough, abilities or no. His mannerisms betrayed a past before his entry into the infernal, if you knew where to look. He said that he would negotiate on behalf of the investors for the Hotel’s management, as a go between. We carefully go over what has happened to Cojitron and our need for a path to a fire elemental to subdue and bring back. Though we could not see whom he deliberated with, he said this could be done in exchange for service to the hotel, happy that he could be the one to present this deal to us.
As he says this, a fiery heat is felt at our backs as out of the corner of our eye, though not fully visible, some kind of head obscured by flames and a bestial hand slammed a contract onto the table. I was at first surprised at this behavior. Cavendish’s salesmanship was what one would expect from pact making, from what I’ve read in accounts in stories, but this reaction from what I assumed was the Night Manager’s true form (which Horick had no reaction to, because I assumed he still saw a gentile hotel employee) was curious. I deduced that whatever the investors were, their granting of Cavendish as the front to this deal meant a level of stewardship and getting one over on the Night Manager that the latter was not pleased with, even if the outcome was in their total favor. It also didn’t take the arcane knowledge of Tea Kettle and Cojitron to know that the Night Manager themselves were decidedly NOT of mortal origin.
The three of us poured over the contract. Having dug through many of Ian Becker’s work for Dayne Reed in this field (he was if nothing else highly competent at that part of his job, as Dayne was rarely a details person), we were especially on the lookout for any loopholes and traps in the fine print. We were not wholly confident, as devils certainly had the experience to craft such deals in their favor, but it did seem to be a largely straight forward employment contract, directing the signer to have the MacMurdaugh Hotel operational within ninety days of start of employment, and ready for opening within six months. The details of what those terms meant were clearly spelled out. The hotel needed to be repaired and within standards to Ghal Pelor for business operations and needed to be allowed to legally open as a property as it once was before the disaster, though this time, under the auspices of the investors. It didn’t take a legal expert to realize that this would allow them great access to the numerous opportunities for souls in the city, similar to how the Midnight Circus offers indulgences in return for your very essence.
Horick, of course, being an employee already was ineligible to make this deal. Tea Kettle and I debated about whether we had time to risk seeking other help, but we had spent a couple hours already and had few leads. TK, in usual reckless fashion, volunteered to be the one to sign the contract, as his soul was already being pulled in several directions vis a vis his moon touched bat form (as odd a sentence as has ever passed my mind) and whatever unknown horrors he risked every time he used the ominous, colorful floating device he took from Ian Becker’s corpse. He thought somehow this would make his sacrifice less useful to the investors. I disagree with this assessment. If we were to have any hope of finding our own loophole with the hotel, then I should be the one forced into this role. It was likely hubris speaking, but I couldn’t be sure for all of his genius that he could navigate the reopening of the hotel while also searching for a way to sabotage their efforts at the same time.
Once the opening has been secured, the contract clearly stipulates that the signer is free from obligation and could depart employment. Failure, however, consigned them to eternal guest status in the MacMurdaugh. We had seen enough of the residents here to understand that part of the bargain. Without turning back to gaze upon the true form of the Night Manager, I indicated my acceptance, to Cavendish’s delight, and signed the contract. Almost immediately, my senses changed, and I saw that Horick must have been seeing for many weeks now; a beautifully appointed hotel with many uniformed workers busily tending to it. Though Horick’s “job description” equated him to an errand runner, I had the uniform and tag of relations and counsel management. Most importantly, my mind, if not my senses while in the hotel, was still my own. I felt no tugging as yet to accept the reality before me, and I had to ensure it remained that way while I was under this curse.
Cavendish, before departing, informed us that what we needed could be found in room 216. We quickly gathered ourselves and moved up the stairs. The floor, which was rotted and unstable before, now looked pristine and solid. Horick and I passed through with no issue, but TK fell afoul of a loose timber and fell through to the first floor again. Hearing the noise, but not seeing the hole he made, we rushed back and heard him squawk back that he was alright and would meet us on the 2nd floor again. I marked the spot for him.
TK, unfortunately for him, encountered the lost boy that we promised to visit from before. Angrily rebuking our friend for not keeping our promise, he attacked TK after a brief argument. He was able to use his magic to get away from the child ghost and escape back up the stairs, where he told us of his ordeal. It seemed that even being separated from the employees of the hotel for a moment would cause the guest to leap at the chance of attacking intruders.
Outside 216, we encountered a maid and questioned her, to TK’s annoyance as he perceived us talking to no one, as to the contents of the room. I used the key I was given to unlock it and beheld a hot, steaming cave. The maid looked within and noted that the door was a connecting portal and we would be able to come back through when we were finished, whereby it would no longer be a gateway to this place again. We steadied ourselves and entered.
We were immediately blasted by severe heat, which would have hindered us if not for our individual fire protective gear. We wandered the furnace-like cave tunnel a short distance before it opened to a large, rocky chamber where dwelt several fiery salamanders and one large cave bear blazing with scorching flame. These, we took, would suffice for Klume’s purposes. As we set upon them, they became enraged and attacked with a fervor.
The shell of Cojitron remained in the back row to support us with their icy magick while Horick and I waded in in an attempt to subdue as many as possible while trying to avoid confronting the bear. TK created a magical wall to keep them from overwhelming us, and we were able to score the first blows against the salamanders. The bear, however, had a nasty trick up its sleeve and blew forth a blast of flames from its maw. I was able to avoid it completely, but the others were singed, which forced me to try and distract it to keep it from killing us with another attack of its like.
Though we had managed to defeat a few of the salamanders, the bear was close to defeating us as it rebuffed my every attempt to steal its shadow, while raining heavy, deadly blows upon myself and Horick. We were able to injure it some but the battle became desperate and TK pulled the floating orb and used it to blast our opponents. This put paid to most of the salamanders, but the bear remained steadfast. The object once again changed shape and the colors it was emitting became more intense. TK as well gained a bright assortment of plumage to match the mysterious objects sheen.
It was around this moment that Cojitron returned to their senses, springing to life and taking control of their own body again. Surprised, we informed them of our situation, and they set to work weaving spells to help keep the bear at bay while we collected one of the dormant salamander’s in Klume’s trap. The bear unleashed another blast of fire and the rose that had been protecting me from the heat was spent; time truly now was not on our side.
We finished capturing the elemental salamander and Cojitron covered our escape back through the tunnel and to the portal door. We exited 216 badly hurt but alive, with the maid asking if we had what we were looking for. Opening 216 again, we found it to be an ordinary room. We filled in Cojitron on what had transpired and the deal I made, to their consternation. They confirmed that while their spark had reconnected with this shell, the darkness was still creeping and threatening to turn them into a shadow after enough time had passed without their core being replaced with pure one.
They then weaved a fantastic tale into what had happened to them after they were struck down by the shadow in the underground demon shrine of Shady Meadows. Their consciousness “awoke” in a shadow, gray landscape that was at once our own world but uninhabited by naught but shrieking undead and lost souls. Cojitron wandered beyond the gates of that world’s retirement home, finding nothing but shadow and gloom. Spirits darted about but largely ignored them, likely because they were drawn towards the lifeforce of mortal beings.
Cojitron decides to head in the direction of the hospital, thinking that we could potentially have gone there in the real world. The journey is disturbing to them, but they are unmolested, until they reach the hospital and find a nurse fleeing a screaming undead. Cojitron jumps to their defense and casts a thunder spell to ward it away. They take the woman’s hand and run from the undead banshee. Once they are somewhere a little more secure, she introduces herself as Verna. She does not know how she got here but is desperate and frightened. Cojitron decides after some deliberation to head to the MacMurdaugh, correctly deducing that we may head there as the undead is thick in that part of the city. Verna is convinced to follow. Cojitron then notices that three golden, glowing orbs appear around her, giving them words of encouragement and wisdom. They feel that these mysterious orbs will help them on their journey, finding them somehow familiar and comforting.
Along the way to the hotel, they are beset by the undead again, which forces Cojitron to use the orb to heal themselves from the damage sustained in battle. One orb relays a message to them, which they find very familiar, as it pours forth its light and energy. At the hotel, Verna is pulled from Cojitron, forcing them apart. Cojitron is saddened by this but sees our forms entering the MacMurdaugh and, sensing our intentions, follows us inside. Within, she meets another spirit, this one of a blue haired woman who claims to have lost her memory but believes herself to be a queen of some kind in the living world. There is an odd manner to her, but Cojitron, being the kindhearted clanker that they are, allows her to join them as they try to find a way to us. The blue haired woman reveals that there could be a way back to the living world, but that they were trapped here and unable to affect their own escape no matter what they tried.
She suggests that they go to the “heart” of the hotel, the basement furnace. Cojitron is slightly wary of what the Night Manager could do on this side, but the “queen” seems confident they can escape before he notices. The basement, flooded and rank in the real world, is dry and functional here. The furnace blazes every brightly, and the queen advises Cojitron to use their magic to damage it as best they can. Cojitron launches beams of frost at it, diminishing its flames bit by bit. A horrid noise issues from upstairs, and the queen warns that the Night Manager has sensed an attack on the furnace and urges Cojitron on. Cojitron expends another orb to power their magic, its light and encouragement seeming ever more familiar and closer. The monumental surge of magic from them renders the furnace temporarily inoperable, just as flaming footsteps bang against the staircase leading to the basement. A gateway opens before them, and the queen demands Cojitron open it to let them through.
Something seems instinctively very suspicious in this situation, and while they hesitate, the woman begins to panic, demanding that Cojitron get them out of there, where she’ll be able to fix the problem of their shadow cursed spark. Cojitron summons the last of their golden orbs, and the words of encouragement become clear to them, and they see the face of their kindly gnomish creator, telling them that the court of Stryxis is still a danger to all in the city, and to be wary of them. The light from this orb reveals the “queen” for what they really are, the spirit of Stryxis, trapped in this hellscape and seeking to escape with Cojitron’s help.
Cojitron leaps through the gate alone, just as the Night Manager bursts into the basement. Through shadow and light, they are reunited with their shell in the middle of the desperate battle with the fire elementals.
After Cojitron is done relating their tale, I ruminate on this deeply. The golden tyrant still held sway, and their creator’s warning could not be taken lightly. What though, had this to do with the MacMurdaugh and the investors? We knew that Beth attempted to reopen the hotel, poorly, and was murdered by Ian Becker for her troubles, himself a follower of The Faceless Court. These would have to wait as I must now put forth my ultimate performance; to reopen the MacMurdaugh, to then once again effect its permanent destruction.
I decided to look into my personal room, just as a precaution. Opening the door, I ask TK what they see instead of the richly appointed personal quarters I myself now saw; he confirmed it was a rundown room just as the others. I let TK and Cojitron know that if I ever started to buy into the lie like Horick has, to render me unconscious to be locked away somewhere. I would not suffer the loss of my mind on top of the indignity of this employment.
We race back in a carriage at the border of Lakewatch Vale to Klume’s shop, where he installed the elemental to power his lab and repaired Cojitron’s corrupt core. With our deal completed and welcoming back our erstwhile companion, we left to visit. I needed to know if the defenses her mother placed around the store would work in disrupting their constant divination into my location and movements. I sensed that it did and prayed that no hotel familiars would annoy me the way they had Horick. I knew that I would need to begin work soon and concoct a believable reason for being here while I did so, to keep suspicion at bay from the investors that I would be so undetectable for large stretches of time. Perhaps this was what I was born to do, not to be a paragon of the stage at all, like Imhe’, but to play the role of rebellious double agent in service to the city and its people. There could be no higher stakes, besides my own soul. The end for now,
~Bayour S.