Session 3.11

23 Reasons Why
Players: Chris (DM), Elaine (Fallynde), Shane (Indigo), Rick (Rael), Catharine (Aurianya), and Brady (Chen)

With all this talk about lavos ore lately, the gang decides we need some! Are the Illithids afraid of it? Should we make weapons or armor out of it? Master Yiv was chained up with enchanted lavos that ensnared him and sustained his life, and his psionic-blocking crown was crafted of the stuff, so it seems damn important. Let's go to Matmar to obtain some, then head west to explore the Ashlands some more!

--VIVEN--

We leave Hardholme and head straight to Viven. Chen muses about having spent the past month or two in Viven, then immediately returning right after he JUST got back to HH. On the road, he informs us of CSM's latest theory, which is actually quite terrifying: they believe now that Davros simply does not exist anymore. Everyone we knew from there might be dead now, unless they somehow ended up in one of the vessels. Also, how many vessels are left inside the Void? They're thinking there may be no more Vessels and no more Arrivals after this!

Upon reaching Viven, we head to CSM to visit Natmine. The demeanor in the facility has calmed down a lot since our last visit. They're still unable to establish communication with Davros, and Natty now believes the 8th were genuine when they insisted there was absolutely nothing more they could have done to contact the CSM headquarters on Davros. She confirms the theory that Chen told us. That our old home may simply be gone, and that's why contact is impossible. That it's even possible Davros ceased to exist before Cyrus Hardholme (or rather, the survivors on his 1st Voyage) even reached this world. It's possible that every single Voyage existed within the Void at the same time for millenia, and they're only "dispensed" into this world once every year. Also, it might be possible that the 97th was the final voyage before Davros itself "ceased to exist." Scary shit!

We tell Natmine about the crashed Illithid airship, and she'd like to come by to check it out. We warn her that a tent city has sprung up around the wreckage, so she's likely to have some competition. We advise her to speak to Vera, who is leading the Pioneer's Guild in their own research on the ship. Rael reveals that the airship is controlled through magical will; he picked up this secret after bringing one of the Illithid corpses back to life briefly. "A little light Necromany," he explains.

Natmine has been concerned about a little goblin with giant ears [Fitz] who keeps calling her "Millicent." Rael and Natty, for the first time since she's Arrived, get to talking about their past lives back on Davros. (Indigo brought her to Viven pretty much right after the 97th's Arrival, and she stayed here with the 8th to solve the communication problem.) Rael asks if everyone back home thought he was dead. Natty explains that they were all worried about him, to which Rael muses darkly that everyone was better off without him. "I wasn't," Natmine responds. Before leaving, Natty gives Rael her well-wishes, asking him to be safe. "Don't worry, I'm trying to figure out how to become immortal! BYE!!!" and we rush out the door.

As seen before, Viven is quickly becoming depopulated; it's looking kind of like the equivalent of an old mall with lots of closed shops. Chen is in the marketplace, strolling under the city's glowing lights and talking to his new best buddy Jeljon. He asks the leader of the Greens if there were any materials they were expressly forbidden from interacting with by the Masters. "Oh, the Masters..." Jeljon makes a reverent religious gesture. All the Hyla peoples have been in mourning since the death of the 12 Mindflayers from the airship. He states that the Masters lived here before his time, so he doesn't know of any of their taboos.

--MATMAR--

We leave Viven and exit the northern portal, across Simsum Lake from Matmar. We pull out our handy floaty-boat, hop in, and start rowing our way across the lake! Well, Fallynde, Rael, and Indy row. Chen and Anya are practicing their meditation on the water. Anya is wearing her beautiful yellow robes that she got from Chen. ((That Chen GAVE to her, thankyouverymuch!)) Rael calls the color an interesting "choice..." He would have gone for violet robes himself. Anya is excited by this idea and asks Chen for some violet robes! He stares at her disapprovingly instead.

While we row across the lake for like 2 days, Chen goes on at length about how Anya needs to balance her Tabaxi mind with her Human mind. The Human mind is full of chaos and only concentrates on what the body wants: eating, shiny things, fucking, while her Tabaxi mind is concerned with the aspects of life that are really important. We joke about casual racism toward Humans, and decide it's okay, because no one in the party is Human. Fallynde says that she's not racist, because she dates one. ;) Anya comes to the understanding that her Human mind can concentrate on the rowing, while her Tabaxi mind doesn't have to.  Indigo's chaotic quirk today is that he has a masochistic urge to inflict pain and ridicule upon himself. [We joke that this is because of Chen's ongoing lectures to Anya.] =D

Matmar is a very simple city with a tribal-like culture. It's full of Red and Green Hyla (the native Blues having been pushed out and resettled in HH). Fallynde and Indigo begin inquiring into information about lavos ore and the mines from which it's taken. We learn that when the Masters were around, they made the Blues mine the shit out of it. It turns out the Masters really loved the stuff! For what purpose, no one knows, but they sure took a LOT of it! We ask about how enchantable the metal is, but the Hyla have no clue about that.

We talk business with Liplap, the Hyla representative, about setting up trade agreements to get some of that sweet sweet lavos. Rael offers to sell them Simsum wine, but this is Simsum country! They can make their own wine if they want. Rael offers them a taste of his superior quality wine. Fallynde offers gold ore from the HH mine, and Chen offers to give them all the Canar they could ever want! Instead, they state that they're looking for a "lightweight, strong metal." That would be grandlium! We work out a plan in which Rael can supply New Moira with wine or ale -- whatever alcohol they want, they give us extra grandlium, and we trade that with Matmar for the lavos! Indigo is interested in his own supply of lavos and offers the services of his workshop to enchant the Hylas' everyday household items to make their lives a bit easier. The Hyla agree and plan to send ships to Hardholme next month to deliver the lavos and pick up the grandlium. Rael talks to the Hyla about finding new simsum species, while Chen and Anya go to the markets to look for herbs. Chen is especially interested in their Parpar Rie and buys up a bunch.

--THE ASHLANDS--

For the venture into the Ashlands, we decide to head to the southwestern area, into a smaller sub-valley that we saw from the sky on Ragrizzor's back. We venture out northwest from Matmar and enter the ashy Ashlands. The weather is sooooooo hot and dry! We wear cloth over our mouths to avoid inhaling the loose ash that's floating around in the air. We walk a path between a volcano and a river of lava, then turn westward check out the map!. We can see Psora circling us far overhead, but they don't appear ready to come down to talk to us or eat us, so that's well enough. They're probably waiting for us to keel over dead before making a meal out of us. Apart from the Psora, there's absolutely no other wildlife.

We make camp in a little cave in the volcano directly south of us, trying to keep some kind of roof over our heads. Chen makes some mushroom tea for Anya during their meditation session. Strangely, it causes her to find humor in everything! Chen encourages her to find the "Human" in everything that is humorous.

The next day we reach the sub-valley and decide to stay near the western edge, away from the lava, so as to have some potential shelter nearby. We walk south for a day, then reach a GIANT CHASM that's blocking our way further. It's actually pretty damn beautiful. Picture {or Google} the basalt pillars in Iceland. Ragrizzor had told us that he lives in a great chasm in the western Ashlands... this must be his home!!! Indigo really wants to go into the chasm and meet Ragz, but he's overruled (and out-sized) by the rest of the gang, who don't want to die today to a hungry Annunkai. :( (Indigo is Tiny today, fitting easily into Rael's palm, so any argument he has about meeting Ragz today is just met with warm laughter and a smile. Indy is the same size as his pet Wnga. They chat with each other while riding. haha)

We begin our trek back north, and after about half a day, we encounter the Psora overhead again. But this time they're flying down toward us! Time to fight? Time to talk to them?? There are 3 of them, and It appears one of them is mounted. "Mounted?" we ask, "On WHAT? On another Psora?" lol   It turns out a PERSON is mounted on one of the Psora. Instead of attacking us, they descend and land in front of us. The rider dismounts, and he turns out to be none other than the elderly Drow mage, 23!! He has dark skin and long gray hair and is also wearing... nothing but a loincloth and a satchel... He snaps his fingers, and the 3 Psora immediately drop dead. He opens his satchel and puts all their bodies into it. He then turns back to us and informs us that we're all in deep, deep shit.

--TULABRASEUS LOX--

23 asks why we're here in the Ashlands; it's a dangerous place. We say that we're exploring/mapping. Everyone introduces themselves to him, but he's completely uninterested. "I'm here to speak to the Infection," he replies. Everyone is confused by this, until Indigo coughs and guiltily comes forward (or he would, if he weren't still Tiny). Rael hands Indy over to Fallynde, who holds him up to 23 to speak.

Indigo confronts 23 about suddenly disappearing from Hardholme last year and constantly appearing in his dreams for the past 6 months. But 23 is confused by this, claiming that he's not been appearing in Indy's dreams.

"You most certainly are!" Indy claims. He pulls the Hollow Key pendant out from his shirt; he's been wearing it around his neck. "You retrieved this from the bottom of the lake and gave it to me in a dream!"

"I didn't give that to you."

"Yes you did."

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did."

"No, I didn't! Where did you even get that?!" It turns out that Indy has been sleep-walking for a while now. He, himself, dove to the bottom Lake Aequitas while sleepwalking and retrieved the pendant from the bottom. It also explains why Indy woke up one morning with Ashland ash covering his feet one morning... We explain Aequitas' possession of the pendant and subsequent self-explosion during the Battle of Sawsob. The "23" that appeared in Indy's dream told him to keep the pendant secret and safe at all costs, and that he'd meet up with him later. If that wasn't really 23 talking, then... who? We tell 23 that Arthas has been looking for the pendant. Ah! He knows Arthas!!!

23 gives us his backstory. His real name is Tulabraseus Lox, and he and his order of mages are as old as time itself. They're the Order of the Hollow Key, and their souls are bound to their Hollow Key pendants that each of them holds. When one of them dies, they're reborn, and they must find their old key pendant to regain their full memories and powers. Tulabraseus also happens to be the person that the city of Tul was named after. That's the city from where we departed on Davros. Arthas is also a member of their order, but he seems to have really bad luck with staying alive and keeping a hold on his pendant! He's always losing it, and getting killed when his current body is still young. Somehow, the last time the pendant was lost, it ended up with a tiny orphaned Aequitas, who had no idea what it was, and brought it through the Void to this place.

"You really need to give that pendant back to Arthas right away," 23 states matter-of-factly. Indigo becomes suspicous, "Is he dangerous...??" *no response* "Are YOU dangerous?!" 23 just smiles. He tells us that we're all in deep shit, and there's something important that he needs to show us. He pulls a bunch of dead Psora out of his satchel and throws them to the ground; he snaps his fingers, and they all come to life, ready to carry us through the sky. (Rael is impressed and makes a note of this.) During our flight over the Ashlands, Indy asks 23 when was the last time he remembers them meeting; 23 responds that it was in his hut in Steepridge, after he revealed to Indy the location of the Last Master [Tusk]. So it looks like every single dream appearance of 23 was actually something else entirely! Indy asks why 23 left HH and came here, to which 23 responds that it's a long story that he won't go into right now.

A little further background for everyone -- 23 landed in Hardholme on (of course!) the 23rd Voyage. His voyage was also plagued by the Void Curse that decimated the 72nd for the past 6 years. Like Indigo, the Curse was uninterested in Tulabraseus, but wanted everyone else. But unlike Indigo, 23 murdered everyone else on his Voyage as a way to save them from the unapparent "fate worse than death" scenario that each victim silently suffers. 23 Arrived alone, never spoke one word to anyone, and stayed alone in his Steepridge shack for 48 years.

23 brings us to the far western cliffsides, facing out over an empty ocean out to the west. Atop the cliff is a tiny hut where he's apparently been living. He enters the hut and tells us to follow him inside. After a brief moment of hesitation about following a naked elderly man into a tiny dark shack, we go ahead and venture in. Once inside the hut, something strange happens, and we're teleported somewhere else! To another tiny run-down shack. We exit, and it appears we're back in Hardholme! But wait, something's wrong...

--DARK VISIONS--

We're definitely in Hardholme, but it looks like a vision of future things to come, and there's a smoky smell in the air. We walk invisible through the streets of the city, and the whole place is in utter CHAOS! There are screams everywhere, Illithid are all over the place, and the residents are all in the streets, going mad! Flying vessels fill the sky and are humming and hovering overhead. Everyone is killing each other while all the Illithid stand around them and watch. One Mindflayer has its tentacles around Lex, who is screaming until his body becomes suddenly limp, his life force having been sucked away. Fallynde is battling Buckler to the death. She's enraged and frenzied, while he is Smiting her; the jeweled buckle she gifted him is splattered with blood. Chen and Anya are likewise battling each other nearby with killing intent. Chen rips at Anya's yellow robes as he kicks her in the face and knocks her to the ground before going in for the finishing blow. Ulrich and Rael are also fighting, tearing each other apart. "Well, that actually tracks," Rael muses. As the carnage continues, three new faces enter the crowd: Carric, Kamara, and Indigo. Indy's eyes are rapidly flashing different colors, as he cackles like a maniac. He lifts up the Ars Goetia, which floats in the air before him, devouring each of his friends in turn, black spirals pulling each of them inside the book...

23 brings us into one of the burning buildings, and the scene changes to another vision. We're now in a giant, dank, and dark cavern. We can taste salt. The room is impossibly large, and there's a faintly glowing green tank in the center of the room. The tank itself is massive, and there is a gargantuan half-jellyfish, half-brain that's floating peacefully within. There are wires and tubes emerging from the tank in every direction, leading up to the starry sky above. Except, it's not a sky above! It's alive! Our eyes adjust to the figure, which seems to be having trouble breathing. Coiled around the massive cavern is a giant Annunkai. The Great Mother. Kazzaran. The wires and tubes are ascending from the tank and penetrating her body. She's chained to the wall with massive glowing red links -- the same thing that held Master Yiv, but on a much larger scale.

Upon viewing this horrific scene, we all feel something whispering at the back of our brains. Chen, Fallynde, and Indigo fail their saves, and the Elder Brain "sees" us through our vision! We're instantly transported out of the vision and land back in 23's cliffside hut, back into reality.

23 is passed out on the floor. Chen and Rael quickly administer medical attention and bring him back to consciousness. He's confused by what happened; he meant to show us these visions, but there's no way we should have been "seen" by Dayvas... Concerning the vision, 23 reminds Indigo of what he told him when they first met after Indy's Arrival last year... that Indigo was wrong to come to this world, and that many would pay dearly for it. [This is why 23 calls Indigo an "Infection." Indy apologizes for not mentioning this interesting fact to everyone else after more than a year, but a good time never came around where it'd mesh well into the conversation! Especially since he spent his first half year as a murder suspect.]

We discuss the pendant and decide it'd be best to return it to Arthas, so that he could potentially help us avert this horrible future. We ask 23 for this help as well. We talk about the alleged Illithid outpost over the eastern mountains and the fact that since we were seen by the brain, we have all the more reason to act quickly. We also tell 23 that they took all the Voidborn children away. 23 creates a Teleportation Circle and instantly brings us back to Harholme. (The REAL one, in the present!) Super useful skill, innit.

--HARDHOLME--

So... how to find Arthas? Everyone always sees him around town, but now that we need him, he's nowhere to be found! Rael advises the best way to find him is to visit the guy who's business it is to know everything about everyone -- Lex. We all travel to the Reach to meet him. Inside, the bar is packed full of Orphans cheering and listening to Nick Elback play his same old songs. Grammarsh is in the crowd cheering, thinking he's listening to Carric at the Tipsy Tabaxi haha. Nihilus is also here, having a great time and buying drinks for everyone!

One of Lex's goons confronts us, "You don't belong here..." Rael replies that the goon looks familiar, "Didn't you try to frame me for murder once??" "Yeah, I guess I did," the goon confirms. Rael tries talking his way past the goon, offering money, but the goon won't have it at all. "The Boss is busy. You need to leave.  Now." Instead, Rael lowers his voice by an octave and threatens the goon with violence, but this also has no effect. Two other goons walk up behind the first, ready to pummel us. Chen and Anya are ready for a fight!

BATTLE: THE GANG VS. THE GANG

Round 1 The goons take us into the back room of the Reach, where Lex is sitting behind an overcompensating desk with his legs crossed up on top of it. "What the fuck?!" he exclaims when we enter. There's a mob of other goons standing around the sides of the room too, looking pretty unfriendly. Chen is raring to get to fighting again! Rael offers Lex money to help us find Arthas. Lex glances at one of his goons standing on the side of the room, and the goon nods affirmative. But Lex won't give us any info. Rael offers, "How does 'Lex: Hero of Hardholme' sound?" He tells Lex that finding Arthas will save the city. Lex is listening now, but he wants more than money -- he wants to enter the wine business. And he wants Rael to show him how to make HIS wine. Not that cheap shit. Rael is extremely hesitant, but after a moment of putting his self-interest aside, he agrees. In exchange for 2,000 gold and the secret to making Rael's wine, we learn that Arthas has actually left town. Loooolllll He headed up north in the company of the Strydyn 59th...  Apparently in his desperate search for his key pendant, he heard something about keys and the Temples and wanted to check it out.
 * 1) The first Goon takes a swing at Rael!  He misses!! Rael knocks him to the floor instead!  The music in the tavern STOPS and all eyes are on us!
 * 2) The second Goon takes a swing at Rael, but he dodges in and points his gun upward, pressed against the underside of the Goon's chin.  In a low voice, face-to-face, just Rael, the Goon, and the gun barrel, Rael asks once more, "I really just want to talk to my dear friend Lex."  The Goon is still not having it.
 * 3) Fallynde is tense and holds her action...
 * 4) Chen is also tense, but raring to fight!  He holds his action...
 * 5) Anya follows suit and holds her action as well...
 * 6) Indigo casts Dominate Monster on the Goon in Rael's face!  The Goon stands down and gives a terse nod to the one on the ground.  Nick immediately begins playing again, and the crowd loses interest in us. COMBAT OVER!

--NORTH TEMPLE--

We leave Hardholme (again lol) to make our way to the North Temple to intercept Arthas. About half a mile out of town, Indigo decides to release his Dominate hold on the goon he had taken control of earlier, and the gang watches bemused as the goon looks about confused, then jogs back to town.

FAST TRAVEL!

We ride hard to reach the North Temple, resulting in Exhaustion when we arrive at the mountain. The 59th's stryders are tied at the base, too. Our climb up the mountain actually goes really well, in spite of how tired we are! We head inside the temple and explore until we hear, "Ah Fuck..." from a distance away. We head toward the sound, where we find Lars, fallen into a trap. (It's the same trap Fallynde fell into 2 years ago!) The other 59th members are here too, and we help them rescue Lars. After some uncomfortable talk (of the unrequited love vs. 'ignoring you' variety) between Lars and Fallynde and weary looks between the kenku and Chen, we get around to the reason they're here.

Arthas talks about how he's CERTAIN his key pendant is here, in this temple. Well... he's KIND of right, isn't he?! Indigo removes the Hollow Key pendant from his neck and offers it to Arthas. After a moment of stunned silence, Arthas takes the pendant from Indy and wraps the chain around his wrist into a holding knot. Did his eyes just gleam for a second? Fallynde checks the chain to make sure he won't lose it again. Arthas feels a little hurt by Chen, who never told him that he knew where the pendant was earlier; it turns out Arthas had considered Chen a really close friend during their Voyage (this close friendship is news to Chen, who never really paid him any mind before).

With Arthas' full memories and powers restored, we explain the whole situation with Tulabraseus Lox and the floating island of Illithid that will inevitably attack us. We ask him to help us in rescuing our friends and fighting the Mindflayers, and he agrees to return to town with us. The Strydyn 59th decide to stay here and finish exploring the temple. "Lars, make sure everyone checks for traps!" Fallynde yells after him.

--HARDHOLME--

Upon our return to Hardholme, we meet with 23. He and Arthas curtly nod to each other in recognition. They've literally lived forever and know each other quite well. Arthas just always happens to get killed somehow when he's still young and has had more bodies than Rael has had clients.

We ask them for assistance with rescuing the prisoners of Zalatar. Arthas seems interested in helping, but it takes 23 a minute and a prolonged glance toward Indigo before he agrees to help us. It turns out that they can cast Teleportation Circle to transport the prisoners instantly back to Steepridge; we just need to get 23 and Arthas up there to the island...

And thus another important piece of the puzzle falls into place, and our plans solidify a little bit more as our rescue mission draws near: Zalatar Attack Committee:  Mission Of Rescue Regarding Imprisonment Subcommittee (ZAC MORRIS!)