Session 16
The Stairs
Section titled “The Stairs”The Fated Eight carefully made their way down the staircase that had opened from the clock room. The dark and musty tunnel wore on them as they eventually realized that they had been walking for multiple minutes without making any progress at all. Jin threw a small blade down the stairs and saw it vanish into the darkness - without making any sound upon hitting the ground.
Aurevald took a glance around them and instinctively cast Dispel Magic to remove any illusions that could be affecting them. The casting successfully dispelled an illusion which made the staircase seem to carry on forever.
Walking back up the stairs they were able to find a walkway into a small study - full of books, research equipment, loose notes, and a double door on the other side of the room.
The Study
Section titled “The Study”Exploring the study revealed to the party a few pieces of information. They discovered a note that resisted comprehension; even that empowered by Arcane Magic, and another of Alexendar Tryst’s logs - this one seeming very recent indeed.
Log #52
Section titled “Log #52”“One final set of calculations are necessary before the core is finished and operational.
Tonight; I end the curse that has driven me to the edge of insanity, and free myself from sharing a body with a broken - yet admittedly brilliant -mind.
Tonight, I prove wrong all those who have doubted my work, and move civilization into a new age.
Tonight, I take the first steps towards reclaiming Fate from those who have embarrassed the title of Deity; on behalf of those who it should always have served.”
- Alexendar Tryst’s Log #52
Reading the log reminded Morgyn that Alexendar Tryst supposedly had a large personality shift after becoming an exalt member of The Arcane Will. It was understood that he earned that title after handling the excavation of an artefact dated to be from The Cataclysm - where he spent a week or so along the border of Terick and Orsana in doing so. Morgyn recalled that many presumed his change had been due to arrogance or ego but she swore she had accidentally heard him talking with someone else when he was the only person in the room.
Deciphering The Magical Note
Section titled “Deciphering The Magical Note”SHAI attempted to cast Comprehend Languages on the scrambled note but it resisted the influence of the spell - alerting them that the note itself had been enchanted to resist comprehension of all sorts. With a casting of Dispel Magic - the party were able to read most of it’s contents, but were unsure what to make of them.
“My Husband. He’s ill and I haven’t been able to help him whilst aiding your EfTegBUel - Can’t you save him now that you’ve succeeded…”
- The odd letter
A single word still refused comprehension even after the Dispel Magic - but the contents still confused The Fated Eight. The handwriting also seemed vastly different to that of Alexendar Tryst’s logs. Somebody stashed it away as they all continued searching the room.
Scabb Scurries Under The Door
Section titled “Scabb Scurries Under The Door”Aurevald - who had been waiting outside to rest after casting Dispel Magic - walked into the room and found Scabb searching in the opposite corner. Together they hatched a plan to open the door carefully, in case something was waiting for them on the other side. Scabb was transformed into a small creature; that could fit under the door, and sent under the door to scout.
Scabb gave the all clear and the door was opened to a section of balcony running around the middle of a truly humungous chamber.
The Huge Room
Section titled “The Huge Room”The Fated Eight made their way through the door and onto the balcony to take in the sights.
“You pass through the doorway and walk out onto a large balcony that runs around the interior circumference of a truly huge room - peering over it you immediately see a large, equilateral, triangular floor with a complex arcane contraption in the centre of this central main chamber. Looking around the room you, realize it is once again carved out of the stone around you - with the ‘panels’ in the shape of equilateral triangles that join at the edges to make a nearly; but not quite, spherical chamber.
Surrounding the contraption are all manner of work benches, desks, chalk boards and lab benches. Every one of which is littered with tools, notes, books, or odd shaped moulds. The floor is decorated with odd shaped and glowing pipes, which all feed back towards the contraption in the centre.
From certain angles - you can see the lower walls are thinner than those high up and there seem to be pathways that connect them various doorways cut out of the walls. Built into; and jutting out of, one of the walls you see a large, black, metal cage and next to it you see two long stair cases that curve along the walls in opposite directions.
The air in this room is electric as you each take in the surroundings.”
- Entering the huge chamber, as narrated.
The party made their way down the staircases and spread out to explore the room. Jin and Graxious made their way to explore the tunnel network, whilst Somnus and Morgyn looked around the centre of the room, Aurevald made his way back upstairs to check out the balcony, and Lady and SHAI investigated the large cage on the back wall of the room.
The Tunnels
Section titled “The Tunnels”Graxious and Jin made their way down the tunnels and explored some of the rooms - finding a letter written in the Drow language and a few other loose belongings. Continuing on, they noticed that one of the tunnels seemed much more crudely made than the others. They made their way down the tunnel 10 or so minutes in relative pitch darkness - before they heard the click of heavy boots approaching them.
They assessed the situation and made the call to return to the group as quickly and as carefully as they could - hoping to get the drop on whoever this individual was.
The Contraption
Section titled “The Contraption”Morgyn looked over the large contraption and noticed the large, green barrier that prevented getting any closer to it, as well as the large metal tubes that seemed to feed back into the centre of the contraption. Morgyn made some efforts to understand the Glyphchalk imbued console that lay just outside the barrier but wasn’t able to gleam much beyond the fact that drawing an Arcane glyph might be able to disable the barrier. Morgyn’s attention was taken away shortly after as SHAI and Lady investigated another part of the room.
Log #32
Section titled “Log #32”Somnus and Morgyn were able to find a loose letter nearby the contraption which turned out to be another of Alexander’s journal entries.
“The proto-anchor was completed to validate The Crucible’s suitability for this construction. It is crude and inefficient but it should prove useful for our test cases.
Every hour, I inch closer towards clearing my name and being free once again…”
- Alexander Tryst’s Log #32
The Cage
Section titled “The Cage”SHAI and Lady checked out a large, steel cage that protruded from the walls of the chamber. Inside the cage, they noticed a Human man wearing bartender’s clothes and presumed that it was likely Brannan - the last employee of The Rowdy Roan who had gone missing. They called over those who were still in the central chamber to work out how they might open the cage - and if that was even a good idea.
Touching the bars of the cage revealed a similar, but smaller barrier that prevented them from physically passing through - however SHAI was able to cast Cure Wounds and restore some of Brannan’s vitality. He awoke, confused as to who The Fated Eight were and concerned for their safety - warning them to hide before “he” returned back. He alerted them that the Monarch of Madness had caught him once trying to pick the lock and had it enchanted to inform him should anyone attempt to do so again.
He confirmed that his name was Brannan and that he had been taken after finishing a shift at The Rowdy Roan one night. He hadn’t seen much of Giselda or Mathias after being taken. He heard fragments of the torture they had been put through and was terrified to think what might come next.
The Books
Section titled “The Books”Aurevald returned to the balcony and collected a large stack of books from a table atop it. He found some loose items but was unable to find much of value from this endeavour. He did impressively manage to bring the stack of books down without dropping any.
Regrouping
Section titled “Regrouping”As everyone regrouped in the central chamber, Graxious and Jin returned and let everyone know what they’d found and heard - Brannan chimed in worriedly “It’s him, he’s back… The Monarch…” before hiding himself in the far corner of the cage.
SHAI; with the help of Comprehend Languages, quickly deciphered the Drow note that Graxious and Jin had found - revealing a puzzling message.
“Once my mind is free from this meat-bag; I will rip him limb from limb and take this ‘Anchor’ all for myself.”
- The Drow note, deciphered.
Before much of a plan could be made - the attention of everyone in the room was drawn to the doorway that Graxious and Jin had come through.
Quickly! Hide!
Section titled “Quickly! Hide!”Everyone’s attention was drawn the echoes of heavy footsteps approaching the room. The figure responsible for them was getting closer to their location quickly - prompting each of them to hide.
The room presented some opportunities to obscure themselves but a mixture of adrenaline and poor planning resulting in some of The Fated Eight choosing poor locations to hide.
They waited with baited breath as a muscular Human man wearing white mages robes entered the room. Taking in his appearance for a second - they noticed a twisted metal crown precariously balancing atop his head and a black fur coat slung over one of his broad shoulders. The figure generally matched the depiction of Alexander Tryst found in the previous room; although older and surprisingly more muscular. The figure suddenly disappeared and reappeared within the barrier around the contraption. He turned towards the centre of the machine and began to speak to himself.
The Fated Eight thought for a moment they had managed to avoid his gaze before he turned back around and walked towards the cage that Brannan was locked in. A gruff, vengeful voice spoke up at the sight of Brannan. “Boy… I know when I’m being lied too. Has someone made their way down here?” it said before pausing for a response.
Brannan was unresponsive at first; attempting to feign sleep to avoid interrogation - but was unsuccessful as The Fated Eight saw a large, wispy hand extend from Alexander Tryst’s right side and through the barrier to grab Brannan by the throat. Alexander slammed Brannan’s head into the barrier. “I warned you boy… Do not push me any further.”
Discovered
Section titled “Discovered”Alexander Tryst disappeared & reappeared inside the barrier once again, initially turning around to tend to the contraption - before looking back one last time and catching a handful of The Fated Eight in poor hiding spots. He let out a small chuckle before speaking at the party.
“Well, hello there. You must be The Fated Eight - I’ve heard and learned so much about you all in the past few days. You lot have a really bad habit of not staying dead - you know that?
Well I am outnumbered 8 to 1 - admittedly you would have me in a pickle if I didn’t have this… gesturing to the black and green orb in his right hand - roughly the size of a tennis ball.
Oh yes, I paid attention to all your tactics and secrets as you made your way down here. Yes, I paid special attention to Little Miss Orphanblood over there.
Not all of us are so lucky to get so many extra chances…”
- Alexander Tryst’s’ “Welcome”
The vengeful voice from earlier interjected with a hint of desperation in it’s voice “Ignore them you fool - turn on The Crucible and forge the core. Complete the mission.”
Alexander Tryst stood tall and chuckled loudly whilst dropping his fur coat and top half of his robes to the floor, revealing the face of a mangled and pained Drow fused into the flesh of his abdomen - before continuing speaking.
“Oh - how rude of me. Let me introduce you to my co-conspirator - this is Dresk Haol… he is the bane of my existence, but I as you can see I am fused to this magnanimous cunt.
It runs deeper than that - he’s in my mind; every second of every day he’s there blabbing on about something from The Arcanic Age or otherwise… I haven’t slept well in a decade. I would have completed a separation ritual by now if hadn’t been for High Arcanist Dose and the council getting in my way.
But now… I am closer than ever to completing my ultimate goal. There is one final step in the way - eliminating you and completing the core. Dresk my not-so-good-friend… I hope you’re ready for drastic measures…”
- Alexander Tryst’s reveal
As the orb in Alexander’s hand ignited with Arcane energy, the figure referred to as Dresk Haol yelled out in shock “Wait… what are you doing?” - howling in pain as white light washed over the chamber. The last sight The Fated Eight saw was Alexander Tryst crushing the orb. A cloud of deep purple and green smoke exploded around the centre of this chamber - obscuring the vision of everyone in the room.
The Smoke Clears
Section titled “The Smoke Clears”As the smoke slowly cleared - The Fated Eight saw a hulking brute of a Drow with a mane of white hair extending past his shoulders, standing where Alexander Tryst had a moment ago. The figure stood there, seemingly adjusting to his new physical form - as one of his arms started much larger than the other but eventually they evened out. It was a rather grotesque sight by all accounts.
Their attention turned towards the now much lither and rapidly bleeding out Alexander running towards the central pillar of The Crucible. The green barrier began to shrink as the contraption whirred to life, with Alexander plunging his arm into the central device. The barrier stopped just shy of protecting someone of Alexander’s current size - leaving the Drow figure; presumably Dresk Haol, unguarded.
Dresk muttered a Drow curse word under his breath before facing The Fated Eight front on. They each noticed his glowing red eyes shift to a sickly green as Alexander Tryst cast an unfamiliar type of Magic with his free hand. Sickly green tendrils of Arcane energy extended from his fingertips into the back of Dresk Haol’s head as he sternly issued commands.
“You are my Persona now. If you wish to return to Dresk Haol - you will eliminate the intruders.”
- Alexander Tryst influencing Dresk Haol
Dresk Haol let out a mindless and pained roar before charging towards The Fated Eight at full speed.
Combat Begins
Section titled “Combat Begins”Dresk Haol launched himself nearby Aurevald as fragments of crystal alit with the same sickly green energy before the abomination waved his hand in the direction of the Goliath male. At first nothing seemed to happen, but Aurevald felt his sense of balance thrown - realizing that his left and right feet had switched places.
Counters and Consequences
Section titled “Counters and Consequences”The Fated Eight made early efforts to damage Dresk Haol but noticed his physical form had the ability to turn gaseous to avoid severe harm from non-magical weapons and certain types of Magic - namely poison and fire.
The battle hung in this stage for a while - with some of The Fated Eight more limited than others, but each effort chipped away at Dresk Haol’s vitality. They eventually witnessed his physical form begin to destabilize - in similar fashion to that of Eden and Cain.
Early into the fight, Morgyn made a surprising reveal and prayed to The Fate-Cloaked Maiden before casting Guiding Bolt. The young Alchemist however was unfamiliar with Divine Magic and was not able to effectively wield this power. However, it was clear to Somnus that a burgeoning faith had taken root in the person once called Sophia Marrow.
At one stage, Aurevald managed to land a critical blow that would have likely turned the fight in The Fated Eight’s favour much sooner - only to feel Alexander Tryst whisk the opportunity out of existence. The spellcasters who saw were offput put the particular spell used to do this - but couldn’t place exactly why in the moment.
The Pipes
Section titled “The Pipes”SHAI made a conscious effort to investigate and identity the weak points of the 4 pipes that were now feeding The Crucible with various re-agents and alchemical components. At the same time, Jin - feeling limited due to the non-magical nature of his blade, turned his attention towards exploiting these weak spots and was able to puncture two of the pipes. In the moment however - it was unclear what affect; if any, this had on The Crucible.
Meanwhile; the rest of The Fated Eight continued slogging away at Dresk Haol until the end of this fight was in sight.
Knocking His Head Off
Section titled “Knocking His Head Off”Aurevald - pissed off at the actions of Alexander Tryst - swung his maul full force at a wounded Dresk Haol and ripped the head off of his mangled and corrupted form. A small moment of relief came over the party as the they went to turn their attention towards the remaining pipes and Alexander Tryst himself.
Unfortunately, Dresk Haol’s body did not fall to the ground in defeat. It stood half-lurched over, before twitching violently as Arcane energy crackled up and down the body.
Compounding Threat
Section titled “Compounding Threat”As the others of The Fated Eight turned towards the centre of this chamber - Somnus paid close attention to Dresk Haol’s body. Their connection to The Fate-Cloaked Maiden; the Goddess Of Death, made it very apparent to them that the a lingering consciousness persisted within the corpse in front of them. Each passing moment it grew ever larger in size, and Somnus made a split second decision in a moment of heroism.
Somnus flew down to the enlarged and bulging corpse that was once Dresk Haol and lifted it with every ounce of their strength. They knew that any moment now the corpse would give out and release a exponentially stronger blast of raw Arcane Magic. They lifted the corpse high enough that the rest of the The Fated Eight would be safe from the direct blast, but not so high that it risked damaging the roof of the chamber.
Somnus accepted their fate - whatever it may be - and dropped a Bag Of Holding to the ground and said some possibly final words to The Fated Eight. Had Somnus not been focusing their efforts on so many things at once - they would’ve noticed their blood-red string turn white once more.
In a flash of smoke, heat, and crackling Arcane Magic - Somnus felt their very body be overwhelmed as Dresk Haol’s lingering consciousness was finally put to rest. The sheer Magical force sent Somnus’ nervous system into shutdown as they fell unconscious in the middle of the air.
At the same time as Somnus’ act of heroism - The Fated Eight witnessed Alexander Tryst stand tall from the centre of The Crucible as the barrier began to subside. He stood holding an incomprehensible object in his left hand. Any who tried to look at it for too long felt their head start to hurt as it seemed to be in a state of constant flux; it’s geometry shifting randomly and without reason. Alexander proudly proclaimed his victory as he pulled energy from “The Core” - his injuries healing completely in seconds.
“You’re too late… The Core is complete. Your fate is sealed.”
- Alexander’s proclamation
Before he could continue however, everyone’s attention was caught by the explosion above them - as The Fated Eight saw Somnus’ body begin to plummet towards the floor.
Lady’s Choice
Section titled “Lady’s Choice”Lady Snowblood assessed the situation and judged her efforts were best used to keep the pressure up on Alexander Tryst - trusting in her friends to slow Somnus’ fall.
She rushed towards Alexander and managed to land some blows on the frail Mage, however his response was most unexpected. Alexander chuckled and released a powerful incantation from his free hand whilst continuing his victory speech.
Breaking The Rules
Section titled “Breaking The Rules”Each of The Fated Eight; including Somnus’ unconscious form, felt the tug of gravity pull them towards the centre of the room. Alexander Tryst’s spell had warped the fabric of space to pull all of them back towards him - only Lady; through skill and a lot of luck, was able to avoid being pulled with the rest of The Fated Eight.
“It’s time I eliminate you once and for all - no more revivals, no more Fated Eight
- Alexander Tryst’s proclamation, continued.
Alexander once again raise his hands to cast a spell - with the spellcasters recognizing the somatic components of Cone Of Cold - and simultaneously pulled energy from the The Core to further enhance the potency and range.
Suffering The Consequences
Section titled “Suffering The Consequences”As Alexander Tryst moved his hands to release the Cone Of Cold spell - The Fated Eight noticed his facial expression shift to one of horror as the flesh of his left wrist began to decay rapidly. It was unclear in that moment what exactly had led to this but the Party leapt at the opportunity to turn the tides in their favour. Aurevald rushed forwards with Slaver’s Bane primed and landed consecutive heavy hits onto the unfocused Alexander and the others prepared to charge forth as well.
At that same moment - three other figures made their presence known. Two from the tunnels that Graxious and Jin, as well as Alexander Tryst himself had come from earlier - and one from atop the balcony closest to Lady.
Surprise Entrances
Section titled “Surprise Entrances”The Fated Eight saw an older Human man in red mages robes blink forwards and stand between them and Alexander, and a crimson blur rush towards the balcony level. Each of them recognized the man from both the painting in the previous room and a Glorious Gozos’ trading card, this was Thelnyron Dose - leader of The Arcane Will.
Thelnyron seemed rather calm in this moment - only loosely prepared to cast a defensive spell. As Aurevald’s hits landed onto Alexander Tryst’s body, his left arm broke at the wrist - releasing the object known as “The Core” as it began to fall towards the ground. Lady made a quick dash towards it to try and secure it, but a familiar man in black leather armour rushed down from the balcony fractions of a second earlier - before blinking to the other side of The Crucible in puff of shadowy-smoke.
Session Close
Section titled “Session Close”Some of The Fated Eight instantly recognized this man as the assassin who had backstabbed Lady Snowblood a few days prior. He also matched the description that Varg had given them of Caesar Plight to a tee.
He smiled as he raised his hand - middle finger and thumb primed to click any moment. The session ended with Thelnyron calmly issuing a short command whilst The Fated Eight wracked their brains for anyway to prevent Caesar Plight’s escape.