II The High Priestess

Session 1

The party started the session off by getting by Feste and meeting up with Dianna backstage. Dianna was disappointed to not see Bruniik, but was still touched that the party showed up to support her. Patches gave her fake flowers and Andrea gave her a picture she sketched of her during the performance. They started to tell her of some strange goings on (drugged members of the audience, strange masked figures in the rafters, bluebird seeming afraid). Dianna had answers to some, but not all-- she did not answer any though, as she did not feel it was the time or place to talk about it.

After much discussion, the party split up to look for clues. Andrea, Hapa, and Patches went to investigate the rafters. Hapa and Patches stood guard as Andrea scanned the different levels. She found a trapdoor that lead to the roof, though no ladder or staircase led to it. She spider-climbed up and got through to the roof. It was pretty barren, and she found no clues on the roof. She noticed people going to a building behind the EHA, and made a note of it. She made her way downstairs as Patches and Hapa distracted Adelaide who was trying to kick them out. 

Gesiqu'h and Simon explored the halls and made their way to Bluebird's dressing room. Gesiqu'h found a bottle of something smelled off-- something that nearly made her tear up and twisted her insides, yet it was not alcohol. Gesiqu'h stashed it as "evidence." As they turned to look further into the room, Bluebird entered. She was shocked, but not afraid. Gesiquh explained that Dianna had allowed them back so they could tell her what a nice show it was. Bluebird was oddly distant through it all. She asked if Gesiqu'h had been around the city, to which she mentioned she had recently arrived. She asked about the College district, mentioning it was nice this time of year. Gesiqu'h and Simon left, and talked about how weird and kinda crazy she was.

Dianna and Radmar went to talk to Benji, Igna, Maxwell, and Bruniik. Bruniik was a little off-- he complimented the show and ran off with Igna. Benji tried to soften the blow, but ran off as well. Dianna was furious. Radmar and Maxwell tried to calm her down, but she just became sad. 

The rest of the party met up and discussed their findings and their plan. After a while, they left for Studio 39. Upon arrival, they met Shapesphere at the door (again). They went in and went to the bar. They talked for awhile, Dianna mainly explaining what had happened with the Puck Pills and her strange encounter with the man from the sewers. Eventually, a barback got tired of them taking up space and got their attention. Michelangelo was the barback and got flustered noticing who was in the group. Dianna tried to apologize for cracking his face with a prop sword, and went to give him the flowers Patches had given him. He was conflicted and upset, and "had to take a moment." 

Gesiqu'h tried to focus on Michelangelo's emotions and ended up getting overwhelmed with the music. It sounded like the train station when she left her father for City 20-- Michelangelo seemingly turning around and turning into her father. She felt pulled from him by a cold grasp as she was overwhelmed with a dark purple aura that practically was strangling her. Simon shook her out of it, and tried to comfort her. 

Session 2

The session began underground at Studio 39. Feste offers the party some Puck Pills. Everyone declines for various reasons, leaving Dianna to accept after Feste questions why she hangs out with them. She begins to hallucinate and takes Radmar out to the dance floor. She immediately slips and falls in front of Tybalt who makes some snarky comments back and forth with her before leaving. The hallucinations got the better of Dianna and she found him very attractive and went after him. She tried to pin him to a wall (in a sexy, flirty way) and ended up just falling onto him. He rejected her, but made a comment that he should find out if anything was different with the Puck Pills.

The party gathered up Dianna and they began to walk home. On the walk, Andrea spotted Hah'nu-- but the party got caught up talking with each other and he ran off. The party got home safely, and Simon lingered to say goodbye to Gesiquh. He remarked that he'd think of a second date idea and then he'd come find her to take her out. As he left, the reflection of the overhead light in his eye caught Gesiquh by suprise-- it was a purple glimmer in his eye. Conflicted, she went to see Ceridwen.

She asked Ceridwen about her dreams and if she could connect to Caiphon in order to get clearer answers instead of strange sort of portents of the future. Ceridwen warned against it, but offered her tea to help her channel the Dream Whisperer in her dreams that night. She went off and meditated with her tea and went to bed.

That night, she dreamt her room had a tentacle covered floor and that purple light was streaming in from the window. She tried to navigate the dream before finally connecting to Caiphon. She asked him what the deal was with the purple glow the things connected to her past had and why Simon had it too. Caiphon said that the glow is a mark left by his interference. Caiphon mentioned that he did not know her Simon, but might know some "Simon character." As their connection ended, Gesiquh saw many glowing purple figures-- one of which she recognized as Ceridwen. She noticed several books glowing in different colors in this purple cosmic space. She did not see Simon in the lineup. As the light dimmed, she saw a single pair of glowing purple eyes set into a pale-white face with misty marbling shifting beneath the surface. Then she woke up.

The following day was 40 degrees colder than most other days this time of year, and incredibly windy. The party got dressed and planned to go with Dianna to the Theatre to catch up after the performance. Gesiquh was approached by Ceridwen who gave her the name of a text to look for, and suggested that she ask the Sages for help-- namely the one in the market district who could help send her in the right direction if they don't have it. 

The party set off and saw how empty the streets were on such a cold day-- other than the Illithid. 

In District 13, Andrea noticed someone rummaging through an old truck and trying to stay hidden. She approached and talked with the guy who kept denying everything he had been doing. He ran off and Andrea followed, as did the rest of the party. Andrea noticed the CP officers that were on their way turn around after their radios started to go off. The party introduced themselves to him (after he got out of the dumpster he was hiding in). He introduced himself as Wilhelm, and then left. Andrea was going to follow, but had a moment of crippling fear come over her. Dianna noticed the nearby cameras were out in the direction he was headed, and that none of them were turning to look towards her after they came back on. She ran after him with Radmar while Gesiquh helped Andrea overcome her panic attack.

Dianna and Radmar went down another side street and saw Wilhelm trying to get through a door. On the other side of him, CP officers were beginning to round the corner. Radmar recognized that he used Knock to open the keypad-locked door. The CP officers went by on their usual patrol, Radmar and Dianna not drawing attention to themselves. The others joined back up, where Radmar mentioned that he saw Wilhelm use magic and that Dianna needed to talk to him about something. They followed inside.

The room had some tech trash and some other scraps on one side, and the other was a strange computer that seemed to be modded with Illithid tech. Radmar tried to detect thoughts, but was overwhelmed by, seemingly, The Overseer. Radmar appeared possessed by the faceless voice for a moment before short circuiting and passing out. 

Session 3 

The session began with Radmar experiencing a telepathic connection to an entity that sounded like The Overseer. He saw memories playing on screens like they were video files. He saw a woman made of data and code attempting to look at a file that says "Access Denied." She asked him what the file was, and he stated that he did not know. Neither had access to it, and so she took a copy of the file with her as she left his mind. 

Radmar woke up to Dianna and Andrea shaking Radmar and slapping him to try and wake him up. He felt fine, aside from the jostling he was getting from the two of them. After they caught up on what each other saw, they thought that finding Wilhelm would be the best idea to get Radmar's memory back/unlocked since he was the one who could have done it.

Andrea and Dianna explored upstairs, where they found a shrine to the Overseer. Horrified, Dianna tried to keep Andrea from messing with the equipment on the shrine. 

Radmar followed where Wilhelm may have gone, and found that he was just too late to catch up to him. Lane followed and found a small note in a drawer that stated "Praise Be to The Overseer."

Radmar and Lane went up to join the other two who were tussling over Andrea trying to touch the shrine. Radmar walked up and fiddled with the mouse and keyboard to reveal a long log. He clicked two videos and it showed the same person at the start of the log, many years ago, to now. This individual was excited to worship the Overseer and mentioned various religious rites and rituals that he would perform in Her name. He even mentioned having the hope to be upgraded to a High Priest soon. 

Dianna messed with the computer and pulled up a map of the city with many glowing dots, many of which were located in District 8. When they attempted to identify the dots, the computer asked for a password. They failed and got locked out and the room turned red. The party fled. 

On their way to the theatre, Khrystahl waved Gesiquh and talked to her about Simon and warned her about his commitment issues with her friends. She made a few comments that revealed a bit of an abusive/bully relationship that her friends have with her, adding to the confusion with Lane and Simon's relationship.

Flashback to the bar at Studio 39 the night before and Patches was asked by Hapa if he wanted to go for a walk. Patches accepted and the two went up to the street. The two walked around and Hapa asked where Patches wanted to go and he said to "surprise me." Hapa got very excited and took Patches up to District 8. Patches had his eyes closed the whole walk until he felt the ground beneath him disappear for a moment. When he opened his eyes, he saw the whole of the city lit up in its nighttime lights glittering before him. 

Hapa and Patches talked about magic for a bit, leading Hapa to "teach" Patches how to do his magic. Patches unsuccessfully did any magic, but Hapa helped him along. Eventually the conversation took a turn and they talked about home. Patches excitedly talking about how he could never do the magic that Hapa could do, but talked about his skill getting out of a locked box and other tricks. Hapa remarked that his skill with "magic" was just like Patches's performance skills. 

The discussion went on and Hapa became less animated and more melancholy as they felt more homesick and lonely. Patches turned into a bear to cheer them up and Hapa leaned into him. Patches and Hapa made a promise that they'd get Hapa back to Wildspace and that Hapa would show Patches around. 

Hapa falls asleep for a time before Patches wakes him asking how they were gonna get down. Hapa tried teleporting them again, but failed. They had to wait until morning. Hapa prestidigitated Patches's clothes to be warm, as if just out of the dryer. 

In the morning the two jumped off the tower and Hapa teleported them onto the street safely. The duo went off and ran into Andrea, Dianna, and Radmar. They discussed what had happened and then went to the theater. Dianna met with Lady Hermia who said that they would have Dianna in more shows coming up. In the meantime, she might need Dianna to fetch another package from the City Crawlers, as the contents have gone missing from their last package as of the last night. She said it was a cocktail they make that Bluebird refuses to perform without. Dianna said she could go get more, and offered to pay-- but Hermia assured her that would not be necessary. Before leaving, Dianna asked about the masked/caped figure in the rafters. Hermia became visibly upset and said that it was probably nothing more than a shared delusion or a side effect of the Puck Pills and nothing more. 

Dianna went to leave, and Hermia asked for Dianna to not injure any more of the cast or crew. 

Session 4

The session began with Dianna stepping out of Lady Hermia's office, greeted by a crew pressing their ears against the door. After scolding them, the party moves to the main room where Dianna explains that Bluebird's bottle is missing and that she has to look for it. Gesiquh returns to the party and gets caught up on what was going on. Andrea and Dianna go to find bluebird's quarters while Gesiquh, Radmar, Patches and Hapa discuss plans. Gesiquh says that she has something to say, but can't say it in the speakeasy-- Hapa and Patches can tell that she knows something about the missing bottle-- so the party heads outside.

Meanwhile Andrea and Dianna find Bluebird in her room. They ask her about her missing item, to which she nearly forgot she was missing. Dianna teased Andrea about dating Bluebird, to which Bluebird was oblivious. They ask her a couple of questions, and it seemed as if she was trying to say something but was forced to say something else-- as if she was speaking off a script instead of a conversation. Dianna and Andrea left feeling uneasy.

The party outside discussed the bottle Gesiquh stole after they all promised not to talk about it to Dianna. Radmar and Patches smelled and tasted the liquid, both having adverse reactions. Radmar eventually realized that the dreadful memories he was recalling when smelling the drink were moments of heightened emotions-- and heightening his emotions at the moment he was smelling it. He determined that the liquid had some sort of connection to the Shadowfell. At this point, Dianna and Andrea rejoined the party. 

The group discussed what was found out, keeping the missing bottle in Gesiquh's bag a secret. The party started to tell Dianna that the Passerine Society was drugging Bluebird in order to keep her around. Dianna got angry, and a very scared, when it was brought up that perhaps Bluebird was a lot like Dianna once upon a time and that Dianna could be the next Bluebird if they don't stop whatever is happening. Dianna did not want to hear any of it and threatened leaving the group, but Patches de-escalated the situation and the party went back to the apartments for brunch and to retrieve the Clown Map they received a few days ago.

After their brunch, the party went back out to District 19 to search for landmarks on the map. The party found a backlot filled with discarded theme park equipment. In its center, a vile carousel. Their attempts to sneak in and look around were foiled by Buddy Buttons. The party geared up for a fight, but Buddy spoke as if they knew the carousel was a sort of test for initiation. The party went along with it and got on the desecrated horses. 

Radmar and Hapa got on the horses adorned with bones and severed heads. Gesiquh and Patches got on the horses covered in food but missing mouths. Dianna got on the armored and blood stained horse. Andrea got on the oozy, smelly horse. The carousel began to move and distorted music played. Suddenly, Dianna throws a javelin at Gesiquh-- but misses. Andrea manages to get a clean shot off on Radmar. Their sudden bloodlusts were sated after the music played longer. Then Gesiquh and Patches became debilitatingly hungy, becoming Exhausted. Radmar also got ravenously hungry, simply becoming distracted. The carousel continued to move and the party called out to each other, apologizing for all that has happened in the minute that has gone on. Gesiquh, Patches, and Radmar all took psychic damage as they thought they saw pustules bursting out of their skin. The carousel kept moving along, testing their willpower. Gesiquh called on Caiphon's guidance, but it left her worse off than when she started. Everyone but Patches and Hapa felt their essence being drained, causing them to lose a hit die-- except for Radmar who lost two. The carousel began to slow down, but it had one last test for them. Everyone but Gesiquh lost a hit die-- except for radmar who took necrotic damage for his lack of hit die, leaving him nearly unconscious. 

Session 5

The session began with the party recovering from the Apocalyptic Carousel. Dianna was adamant about finding supplies to help Radmar, and even carrying him away-- but the party opted to have Hapa go find supplies after Radmar insisted he's been in worse situations before. Hapa created a duplicate of themself and sent if off to find a medical kit. The party went through the newly opened passage to the Carnival to find a road of different game stands. Patches could tell some of the clowns just wanted people to play their games, while others were intent on them losing. Meanwhile, Gesiquh had a brief moment where she saw the carnival from City 12 take over and a memory of going with her parents played out before her.

Dianna helped Patches find the right hammer to use for the Strong Man game in efforts to give him an edge. Patches became hybrid-bear Patches and critically crushed the bell, destroying the game. The clown gave him the Maul of Mayhem, and offered a second prize for breaking the game. Patches gave the Battle Rattle to Dianna for helping him. 

Gesiquh and Radmar went to play cornhole together. The others tried to distract the opposing clowns, leading one to accidentally score on themselves. The game was tied, so they went into a sudden death-- which they tied in again. After a final sudden death, Gesiquh and Radmar won. Gesiquh left with rose colored glasses and a halfing book on agriculture. Radmar left with a bitten sun hat and a glass figure of a rust monster.

Andrea did the Balloon Darts game, and tried to smooth talk the guy into letting her use her gun, but he refused. She only got two balloon popped on her first attempt. After trying again, she managed to get all 5 and she walked away with an opalescent conch shell that she could hear some faint laughter come from inside. 

Dianna went to the skeeball set up and flirted with the clown there. He said "sure" to Dianna's request to "clown around." She managed to get 270 points and got a bag of animal balloons (19 balloons). Patches suggested that Hapa try, and they got 240 points-- also leaving with a bag of animal balloons.

Radmar made a pit stop at the caricature stand and got his portrait drawn. The party then gathered up and followed a beckoning Buddy Buttons to the main tent. The party entered and Dianna approached the lone table with the lone phone in the center of the ring. The party answered the three riddles without fail, and saw the Gibbering Mouther sulk away. Gesiquh and Dianna noticed how Buddy became Horrifying and dripped black ichor from his eyes during the last riddle. When he came out into the ring, he had cleaned up his face and gave Dianna the key in the form of a large clown nose.

The party set off to try and find the next location on the map. Radmar deduced that it would be in some warehouse near the stadiums. Dianna led the party there and they began to search. Andrea followed the clues and led the party to a back alley where there was a clown-face door that was missing its nose. Dianna raised the clown nose to the door, where it was revealed to be a mimic. The mimic clung to the door, awakening that mimic too. The door shifted to the side and the party entered.

The party could see the dimly lit fun house mirrors and heard the discordant mumbling of something under the tarp-covered cage in the center of the room. 

Session 6

The session began with the party entering the warehouse at the end of the map. The party found a large cage with a strange Death Kiss inside. It demanded to be entertained or the party would be devoured. A music box was wheeled in and the party began dancing. After a moment, the music switched as four boxes were brought in. They fell open and four corrupted humanoids were revealed and they charged at them. 

They mostly maintained their dancing while combating the creatures, satisfying the Hierophant of the Dark Hunger. Their reward was a single request each. 

Radmar asked for the lost treasure of circus-ness, which turned out to be a strange reverse photobooth magic mirror thing. He later went inside and saw that he had to say something he wanted to see and press the large button, to reveal whatever it was he wanted to see. He asked to see his mother. It showed an eladrin woman standing on a beach. She did not seem well, but he couldn't gleam much else from it. 

Andrea asked about if Dusty was alive. The Hierophant responded "that's one way to say it," insulating that Dusty was not in the best of health, but was also not yet dead.

Gesiquh asked where is Gesiquh Chlaerq, causing the Hierophant to go mad temporarily. It could not come up with an answer, and offered another question. She asked if her friends were dead. It was unable to say for sure, stating that "they are... and they aren't..." She noticed a dark aura around the Hierophant, but saw a few small glimpses of purple in the midst. 

Dianna asked for someone to fall in love with her. The Hierophant gave her a Hadaran Love Potion that will make the consumer hers forever. 

Hapa asked to go home. The Hierophant said he was unable to do so, as that would go against the plans of the Dark Hunger. It stated that Hapa had already been saved, and that they should be grateful for the Dark Hunger.

Patches asked for the Killer Klownz and the Hadar cult to go back to where they came from and give back the land they took from the Street Performers. The Hierophant said that it could not do that. The Klownz and the Cult could not leave for the same reason Hapa was unable to be sent home. It also stated that it owned the land that they Klownz were on, prompting Dianna to realize that the Death Kiss was once a fun Beholder named Bamdrolsh that ran the Theme Park. It had fallen into a nightmare that caused it to become a Death Kiss, and the Hadar cultists seemingly twisted it further into a follower of Hadar.

Patches then asked for the Street Performers to be safe from the Klownz and the Cult's feasting and sacrificing, at least until the Illithid go away and then they will leave the city. The Hierophant agreed to this, saying that the Street Performers will not be harmed. This left the party wondering who else will get targeted by the Hadar cult. 

As the party was leaving, Gesiquh met Dubán and was briefly charmed by her Echoing Soul. Dubán seemed intrigued by her, and Gesiquh noticed that he wasn't being nice just to be nice-- but that he seemed to have some alterior motive.

The party started going down the street with the large box and Patches, unsure that the box was what they endured all of that for, hopped inside and asked where the lost treasure was. He saw a live feed of the party moving the box down the street. Patches got unnerved and told the party that the mirror seemed to hijack the feed from the camera down the street. The party then took turns going in and asking other questions of the box.

Dianna asked to see her brother. The screen showed a blizzard, but then switched to show an earth genasi man in the streets of City 4. Another man walked up to him and sat next to him. The two adjusted their hoods so Dianna could see it was her brother and an aasimar before the feed cut out. 

Gesiquh asked the mirror to see her parents. There was some strange purple glimmers in the screen and it showed the building she grew up in. Frustrated that it wasn't her parents, she asked again. The mirror formed a shoddy hologram static image of her parents holding hands. 

Andrea asked to see Dusty. She saw him restrained and the screen had strange Illithid writings. A symbol flashed before her before the screen cut out. She believes he is in a prison. 

The party talked a bit afterwards about the implications of the mirror and concerns about giving it back-- however, they could not come up with a way to keep it out of other bad hands. 

Session 7

The session began with the party moving the Mirror of Fun-tastic Fortune to the Backlots in order to return it to the Street Performers. Before returning it, the party had one last go at using it.

Radmar asked to see B'nestre's sword, which was shown to be lodged in a bloated and burnt clown corpse in a small battle field somewhere in the city. Radmar then asked about the royal children he attended to, to which made his tadpole squirm while the screen reported "Not Found." He then asked about the various members of his family. There was no image of his father. His sisters were seemingly safe in City 12 and City 6. Lyvcaryn, the sister in City 6 was seen with large covering over one of her eyes. He asked a final question about the memory that was seemingly locked or copied by the Overseer, to which the screen displayed "Access Restricted."

Dianna asked about Bluebird. She managed to see glimpses into some of the other rooms as the camera looked for her. She noticed that something was off about Hermia (grey-scale features, but applying flesh-toned makeup) and the goliath man was in the room with her. It turned to Bluebird, who was sobbing uncontrollably.

Andrea asked about her mother, to which it scanned but did not produce any image. She attempted again, but the longest lasting image was of ruins outside of a city.

Patches asked Gesiquh to search for his troop. She saw a few harengon in an alleyway, distraught and seemingly reserved. She told Patches that they were there, they seemed okay, and that they had been eating. Dianna went to comfort Patches, but turned away when Andrea walked up first.

The party was then led to the big top by the twin mime fairies, where they met with Augustus the Ringleader. Dianna was brutally honest about what they had just done to get the box, as well as the trauma the box itself seemingly caused. Eliwicke was elated by the story of adventure, but Augustus was concerned about the aggression. Patches told them about the request he made to the Hierophant of Hadar about keeping them safe, to which Augustus was pleased to hear. Dianna continued to try and rain on Patches's parade by saying that other people will get harassed or die now, but its fine-- something Patches and the rest of the party were not pleased to hear. Patches stood his ground against Dianna, causing her to storm off.

Hapa followed (leaving a copy of themself with the party). trying to see what was going on with Dianna. She made it clear her intent was to run off and do her own thing out of her frustration. Hapa attempted to convince her that her friends needed her, but she scoffed. Hapa asked about where she was going, and began to ask why she was going to do so. Pulling no punches, Hapa asked why she was going to do all of this if it was going to make her boss upset anyways. He also referenced that in the two days they've been with the party, Dianna has seemingly gone off on her own at most signs of issue with her, leaving her party behind. Dianna flashed back to her final argument with her brother, causing her to be left speechless. Hapa said that she should go with the party home, but that she is capable of making her own choices and dealing with those consequences. 

The rest of the party comforted Patches as he dealt with the emotional impact of standing up to Dianna. They then decided to go home, offering Hapa to come with. Hapa denied, saying that he had some things to find for Maxwell and Ceridwen the following day. They parted ways, and the party set off home. 

Dianna went up to the Eurydicean Hall of Arts to find Bluebird. She finds her, and asks if she is alright. She was very quiet and spoke low, saying she felt fine. Dianna tried to plan to pull her aside after the show to "talk business," but Bluebird was not interested in that. She said that they could talk at a later date, refusing to specify when that date would be. Frustrated, Dianna left-- headed for the Ebony Fly on the Wall. 

The rest of the party went home. On their way, they saw a raid on a building-- warned by the gaze of a large-eyed Owlin. The party continued on until Radmar saw someone hiding in the shadows, watching them. Andrea and Patches noticed Radmar's gaze, and noticed the girl in the alley. Patches physically pointed her out to Gesiquh, causing the girl to get out of hiding to speak with them. Patches introduced everyone and tried to explain why he pointed her out of her hiding spot. Andrea noticed that she was a Reborn. Gesiquh noticed a strange aura and blur around the girl, erasing features to make her almost look like a Faceless of Zhudun. Gesiquh also noticed that the girl was looking at Radmar as if she recognized him. She looked at Gesiquh with some fear, and like she thought she should know her. She finally introduced herself as Morana as the party set off. Radmar patted her on the shoulder, and simply felt how cold she was.

The party discussed the strange Morana and her apparent Zhudun-influence as they made their way back to their apartments. 

Session 8

The session began with Dianna heading to the Ebony Fly on the Wall to get some information on Lady Hermia. She briefly spoke with Betty Blight, who got her in to see Theresa. She asked for whatever information she had on Lady Hermia, the price being an IOU. She explained that Hermia was once a patron of hers way back in the day due to some shadow curse or something she was inflicted with. A little while later, she stopped coming in and only sent messengers with requests from The Director. She had also been informed of an event in the College District that led to the creation of Distilled Despair by Auntie Hattie, a night hag in the kitchen of the Ebony Fly on the Wall. Theresa didn't know much about the product, she was simply in it for the money.

Dianna went into the kitchen to speak with Hattie. She was told that it was Hattie's recipe, but she was not willing to give it up. Hattie explained that the brew subdued emotions, and potentially heightened the more sad/scared emotions if you weren't careful. Dianna bought a vial of the Distilled Despair for a ration ticket, refusing to give the hag a tooth or a lock of hair. She then went home and sat in the lobby until morning.

Gesiqu'h dreamed of a cold wind that faded away, reminiscent of what she felt on the Carousel of the Apocalypse. She saw a book in blue light on a table that got swallowed by shadows that crept up the walls. Echoing in the dark, she could hear the Hierophant of Hadar repeating her full name, stressing different parts of her name each time-- followed by the sound of footsteps walking up to her from behind. 

The party came down and was rounded up by Patches who noticed Dianna in the lobby and was afraid to interact with her for fear of angering her further. Gesiqu'h was chosen to go up to talk with her. The two talked about Gesiqu'h's dream, Dianna's trip to the Ebony Fly on the Wall, the missing bottle, and about the dynamic between the party and Dianna. Dianna agreed to let everyone come with, if they wanted to, to go to the College District to look into the Theatre.

The party started walking, but found themselves further discussing the dynamic between Dianna and the rest of the party. They trudged on, making it to District 4 before spotting Castor. Dianna led the party to follow him into the Cathedral of Celestia. The party followed him to the upper floors where the Good and Neutral gods were. On their way up, Gesiqu'h had a flashback to the QZ with the previous incarnations of the party. She became emotional, and Andrea pulled her aside to comfort her. 

Radmar went to pray at the Selune altar while Patches and Dianna focused on Castor at the Ilmater shrine. Dianna hid and watched as Patches casually strolled up and struck up a conversation with Castor. The two talked about Ilmater, and then about how Castor has lost faith in the gods. Radmar walked up and joined in, talking about the *lack* of divine influence he has felt. Dianna walks up and scolds them for talking to Castor. Radmar quietly rolls his eyes and takes Patches to the Selune shrine while Castor and Dianna start heading to the Graveyard.

Andrea and Gesiqu'h head down to the lower levels for the evil deities. Gesiqu'h sees a White Abishai in the Asmodeus shrine, growling at her. She moves along to the Auril shrine and has a strange momentary dream of the adventure of a young girl in Icewind Dale from many hundreds of years ago. The dream ended with a vision of the young girl holding a Psi Crystal. As she focused again, she heard footsteps from behind. Andrea was sniffed at by an Imp and was run into by a large blue dragonborn woman. She found herself at the shrine to Shar where there was a large black mirror. She looked into it, but was immediately afraid of whatever she had seen. She went around the corner, hoping to wait until it passed to try investigating again. 

Session 9

The session began with Gesiqu'h at the Auril shrine, turning around to see someone in an owl mask and a cloak staring at her. She was the same height, and her eyes looked like dark mirrors behind the owl mask. The masked girl gasped sharply, and began to dart out of the basement. Gesiqu'h tried to follow, but noticed how fast the girl was going. It seemed like she wasn't even stepping on the stairs going up, but practically floating up them. Gesiqu'h arrived at the foyer to see she was too late to catch up to the masked figure. She spotted a large metal creature that stared back at her. She scolded the creature for not helping her catch the masked figure, and it began to walk away. After a moment, she called after it to apologize. The creature stopped and acknowledged her. She asked if it knew the masked figure. It replied by giving the sensation of "no." Taken aback, Gesiqu'h asked its name, to which an image of a very standard, basically clip art, stick appeared in her mind. She began to confess her strange attraction to the shrine of Auril and about how things have been weird lately. The creature never responded, and eventually walked away. 

Andrea, after recovering from her panic attack from seeing whatever was in the black mirror, mustered up the courage to return to the mirror to give it a second look. When she looked into the Sharan black mirror, she saw her reflection. As she inspected herself in it, something seemed off. It definitely was her, but it looked a bit different. She looked at herself as if it was the first time she had seen her own reflection, and it looked strangely uncanny. Andrea pulled out her dagger to look at herself in it, and saw the reflection she had always known. Confused and disturbed, she went upstairs. 

Dianna followed Castor out to the graveyard. The two spoke with Corbin, Cleric of Jergal and the High Priest of the Gods of Death. Castor warned Dianna that this wouldn't be a happy conversation and that she could leave; however, she insisted on staying. Castor began to ask about whether or not his brother was dead, but Corbin mentioned that there has been no contact from the gods in a long time and that he can't check the Archives because of that. Castor quickly began to contradict himself, catching himself admitting that he thinks his brother is dead and awkwardly wraps up the conversation and leaves. Corbin and Dianna stand for a moment in the small stone building with a half embalmed body before Dianna says goodbye and starts for the door. Corbin goes to hold the door open when Castor bursts back in to say thank you, bumping into both of them. Dianna heard a shock-like noise come from Castor and Corbin, Castor recoiling and saying "Ow." Dianna and Castor left and stood in the street in the rain. Dianna attempted to comfort Castor, empathizing with what the loss of a brother feels like. Castor continues to contradict himself saying his brother might not be dead but doubt comes in and makes him believe he is. Castor goes to leave when Dianna mentions that she can find her at the Theater or in  District 6. Castor seemed impressed that she was a dancer and complements the talent she must have. Castor explains that he understands the time and effort it takes to train for something like that. He pulls out his rapier and shows an exquisite display of technical training that leaves Dianna in awe. The two go back and forth about how they could beat the other in a fight, but Castor explains that not only could he probably beat her-- but he isn't sure he's in the right mindset to not outright kill her in a sparring match. He bids her farewell and says that he'll see her around. Dianna heads back to the Cathedral.

Patches and Radmar discuss the gods, specifically Selune. Radmar explains some of the beliefs and traditions set by Selune, including the rite where Selunite children are sent into the wilderness and must find their way back as a test of faith. Patches asks a few questions, leading Radmar to reveal that he was once a knight in the service of a king and the royal family. Though he never had children, he explains, he has raised many children for other people as a part of his service to Selune. Patches is wowed by this, and begins to ramble off about how great Radmar must have been in protecting people from evil-- leading Radmar to recoil from a memory. He begins to remember the day of the invasion, but something blocks the memory from coming into full focus. As they discuss further, a hollyphant named Boradani interjects while cleaning the statue and offers her two cents. She says how people keep losing faith and how she doesn't blame them, but for some its a nice escape and offers hope. As the two start to question her about it, her voice lightens to a more angelic tone as they feel the presence of someone else behind them. E'atar, a Deva and the High Priest of the Upper Planes, pardons himself for interrupting. Everyone introduces themselves, and the conversation continues about the loss of faith. The Deva explains that the gods need their worshippers as much as the worshippers need their gods. He then gestures for the hollyphant to follow him and the two are left alone at the shrine of Selune again. The two start for the foyer.

The party reconvenes in the foyer and briefly discuss what has happened, with some omitting of details for privacy's sake (mainly Gesiqu'h and Andrea). Dianna is ready to move on to the College District, but Patches is very interested in learning more about the gods. The party discusses the importance, or lack thereof, of religion and having a god or gods to worship-- making Patches even more interested in heading to the basement to look at the gods of the Lower Planes. The party tries to dissuade him, but he is persistent and starts for the staircase. The party follows.

Patches sees all the different shrines, but stops when he sees two wererats and a wereboar. His excitement in seeing other lycanthropes is stifled when he recognizes the symbol of Malar, the evil god of the hunt and evil lycanthropes. He recalled his parents warning him about them. He had been told, as a child, to never harm anyone and to not use his lycanthropy to cause any fear or harm. They had explained that followers of Malar do not follow those rules, and in fact take joy in doing the opposite. Patches gets very afraid and books it to the other side of the room. He runs into a maelephant, who only acts aggressively towards him and walks off. An incubus noticed Patches's interest and abundant questions and walked up to try and help. Patches asked why "they" are here, to which the incubus explained that they are worshippers of an evil god and this is where they are allowed to worship. He could not get it through his fuzzy head that people like that could exist. The incubus explained that there is a literal god of murder a few shrines down, which further broke Patches. Meanwhile, Dianna was flirting with the devil who was happily flirting back. She then recognized him as an incubus (who wanted her soul) and swiftly left. Patches, feeling overwhelmed also left. The party thanked Kal, the incubus, and left. Andrea noticed Kal's gaze lingering on her and a gentle nod he gave her. Confused, she asked him what was up, but he responded with slight hostility. She understood that he did not recognize her, but was acknowledging her as one with an infernal influence. 

The party arrived upstairs to see Patches sitting in a pew, trying to comprehend what he had learned. The party tried to comfort him and help him talk through it, but Patches was not acting like his typical cheery self.  Patches admitted to Gesiqu'h that maybe he should start listening to the party when they say that he shouldn't do something. Patches was hung up on how someone could enjoy violence and murder, especially enough to worship a god of murder. Dianna squeaked about how it can feel good, causing Patches to really get shocked. The party mumbled about their mixed feelings about killing. Dianna said Patches must think of her as a monster and that he probably hates her now. Patches snapped at Dianna, saying that he did not think she was a monster. He seemed like he had more to say, but held back. Silence hung in the air. As the conversation had gone on, Patches was rubbing his face more and more and was slowly and unconsciously ruining his makeup. Patches noticed the makeup on his hands and got flustered and excused himself to go to the bathroom. He locked himself in and started to fix his makeup. 

Session 10 

The session began with Patches regaining his composure and returning to the party. The party checked in on him to make sure he was alright, to which he said he was fine and ready to go. The party set off to follow Dianna to the College Theatre.

Walking across the University Campus, the party passed by a group of scholars being lectured by Prof. Bedge Sulvok. Patches noticed that they were spread out in such a manner that looked inconspicuous, but were all intently listening to the lecture. The lecture was primarily about acid rain, but Radmar understood that it was more importantly about purification of water for drinking. The party commented to themselves about what they knew about acid as the class was sent to do their independent studies. They introduced themselves to Bedge, as she introduced herself as a member of the Dogma of Ohgma chapter of the Scavenging Sages. Gesiqu'h mentioned that she had met Khondrand before. Bedge mentioned he was somewhere around the college district. She went on to mention that the Scavenging Sages typically hole up in the University Library, and that Ereyth is the one who usually manages the texts in there. Radmar asked about giants runes, and if there were any texts on it. Bedge was not so sure, but confirmed that there used to be a chapter devoted to that kind of thing. She also mentioned that one of her students has a stand in the market who sells books and other texts, and that his name is Za'atar. Dianna getting impatient, the party bid her farewell and planned on meeting her again.

The party arrived at the theatre, where Andrea noticed something move behind the boarded up windows. The party discovered a broken door covered with a wood panel, shifted it aside, and went in. The lobby was dirty, dusty and in a state of rot and disrepair. A squeaky janitor's cart emerged from the dark hallway in front of them, getting pushed by a tattered tabaxi. He pulled out a broom, started sweeping, and greeted the party. He asked if they were here for the show, to which the party generally responded yes. The tabaxi told them to go get their tickets at the box office outside then, but they lingered to ask a few questions. Thrown off by this, the trembling tabaxi stiffened and his face dropped. He stammered "that's NOT your line," causing the party to understand that he was far more than an old cat. Radmar felt a twinge behind his eye that mimicked the shiver the tabaxi gave before getting back in character-- giving Radmar the understanding that the tabaxi is also infected with an Illithid tadpole.

The party went outside and stood in front of the box office to wait for someone to sell them tickets. The tattered tabaxi emerged again, but in different clothes and with a different accent. He offered them tickets for a gold piece, though he seemed to forget what show was playing. Radmar noticed a playbill for The Dragon's Nest, the show Dianna had just performed at the Eurydicean Hall of Arts. It's presence took the party by surprise and they said they were here for that show. Patches handed the tabaxi an old world bill, to which he mimed making change and handed it back and provided comically large tickets and some playbills. Dianna quickly opened it up to notice several of her bosses names were in the playbill in similar roles to which they filled at the EHA. 

The party entered the flickering light of the theatre again. Walking to their seats, a few of them noticed that there were decayed coprses in many of the seats. They sat in the front row, as directed by a large spotlight. Dianna could here some strange voices repeating the same words over and over before they faded away.

The lights went out and a large spotlight went on the stage to reveal the tabaxi in much fancier dress, though still moth-eaten. He introduced himself, in yet another voice, as Director Hermes. After the preshow speech, he went backstage, and promply reemerged in a new outfit. 

Hermes narrated the show as it went on. The actors were shadowy figures that filled out the rotting costumes. The role played by Bluebird was performed by a strange specter with wrappings across its face. It sang with ghostly wails as the shadows cried out as the orchestra. The show seemed pretty similar to the one Dianna was in, though there were some key differences. Dianna's show was about a maiden who was stolen away by a dragon and a knight going to save her. This performance was about a maiden who ran off with a dragon to escape a marriage with the knight. The dragon that was used in the show did not look like a puppet, but instead a cracked, and incomplete skeleton of a topaz dragon. At the end of the show, Hermes said that the dragon ate the knight and the maiden and the dragon lived together happily ever after. The shades on stage acted similarly to how Dianna's performance played out. 

When the knight's sword pierced the dragon, the specter playing the maiden screamed out. The building began to tremble, and green chattering wisps rose from the corpses in the audience. The shadows and the wisps were seemingly recalled into the hollow gem dragon's bones. It began to move on its own, seemingly under the command of the screaming specter. Hermes tucked his tail between his legs, remarking that that was not in the script and ran off. 

The party began to fight off the screaming specter and the incomplete dragon skeleton. Dianna ran up to fight with Andrea behind her. Gesiqu'h ran to try and leave the building, but was cut off by psychic fragments created by the specter. Radmar and Patches ran back to help as Dianna and Andrea held off the two on stage. After the psychic screams were dealt with, Gesiqu'h and Patches ran onto stage and hid behind the curtains. Radmar ran up the central aisle to confront the incomplete dragon skeleton that had crawled off stage and into the audience to bite at Andrea. Radmar ran up, and swung at the creature to no avail. It reared its crystalline head and clamped its jaws around Radmar's body, dealing critical damage.

Radmar fell limp with a mighty crunch. The rest of the party was filled with sorrow, and succumbed to the emotional echoes that permeated the walls of the old theatre. Dianna could not keep it together. She began sobbing uncontrollably, shouting out regrets. Patches fought through it, turning into a bear and leaping onto the dragon skeleton, bringing it down. Andrea pushed through the tears to retrieve Radmar's medical kit to try and stabilize him, but was not very successful. Gesiqu'h was trying to fight through it, stabbing the specter with her old dagger. She was nearly overcome with emotion when she called on the guidance of Caiphon, clearing her mind. She managed to slice through some of the wrappings on the face of the creature, revealing a decayed face of Bluebird screaming back at her, and eventually Gesiqu'h was able to subdue the raging specter.  She then ran off stage to help to stabilize Radmar. 

The session ended with Dianna uncontrollably crying out still, but feeling a pull from the old necklace from Bluebird in her pocket.

Session 11

The session began with Dianna coming out of her emotional outburst, and she turned her despair into anger. She put her old necklace she received from Bluebird on the Specter, revealing it as a ghost of a woman named Mavis. She looked and sounded like Bluebird, but had no recollection of who Bluebird was, nor what had happened since the finale of her performance over 10 years ago. Dianna began to yell at her, blaming her for the pain she caused her and her party-- and pretty much everything in general. Confused, Mavis tried to gather herself and find the words to respond; however, Dianna continued to yell at her relentlessly. Dianna then turned to the party and told them to stay put as she would go find someone to help Radmar, and she stormed out.

The party was cold towards Mavis, Gesiqu'h even taking a jab at her to blame her for the unconscious body before her. She attempted to apologize, but quickly understood that a mere apology was not enough. She cleansed Andrea and Patches of the effects of the emotional echo, and moved to the dragon skeleton. She began to mumble to herself. Patches, curious but still afraid, moves a bit closer to her after handing Radmar's body off to Gesiqu'h. He strikes up a conversation with her, asking about the dragon she was caressing. 

Mavis explained that the dragon's name was Thriin'urmalae, but his chosen disguise name was Praan Viik'Goraan. She told of their love for one another and opened the necklace to reveal an image of the two of them over 10 years ago in their prime. Over the course of the conversation, it is confirmed that Mavis has no recollection of the last 10 or so years; however, she recognized Hermia and the description of a goliath man. 

Mavis admitted that it was her fault her partner was killed, and that the goliath was the main antagonist of her tale. She had been performing with Praan at the College Theater for the first while after City 20 was established as one of the hubs of civilization. She did not have much, little food, little pay, poor living arrangements-- but she had Praan. It made up for most of it, but she wanted more. She had been offered a job by her coworker Malvolio Kolakaga, who promised her better living conditions, more food, and a larger audience. She took the position, leaving Praan and the College behind. Overtime at her new theatre, she felt empty and lonesome and devised a plan to go back to the College Theatre. When she arrived to the first table read, she explained, Malvolio and his goons were there, in the cast. She had to pretend like it was fine, but it was over before she knew it. On the night of the performance, someone had switched Malvolio's prop sword for a real one, and he stabbed Praan while he was off-guard and slayed him. The last thing she remembered was crying out, the room trembling, and it all going dark. 

The party was taken aback by her story, and began to theorize what was going on now. Perhaps Bluebird is being puppeted by this Malvolio, as it seems like the deal Mavis made is still in effect. They were concerned that Dianna was the next victim to be "puppeted" by Malvolio, given Andrea spotting a large masked figure in the rafters of the EHA's performance. When asked what she wanted to do, Mavis responded with "Kill Malvolio." Gesiqu'h suggested waiting for Dianna to return before they made any plans moving forward. Mavis then floated off, leaving the party alone.

Meanwhile, Dianna was running back to the apartments to find Benji. She returned, and ran into Maxwell who showed some concern over her injuries. She asked about Benji, to which Maxwell had no information, rudely dismissed him and she ran to find Igna. She met Inga in the stairwell, who was also concerned over her injuries, but took action once she mentioned that they needed Benji to help Radmar. The two gathered Benji from Igna's room and ran off to the College District. Benji whispered something to Igna and she peeled off from the group.

Benji entered the theatre, gagged a bit, and then horrified at the scene before him. A topaz dragon skeleton and Radmar in a pool of blood. He ran up to help him, and was asking what happened. The party all tried to explain at once, but Andrea cut through to give a brief synopsis of what happened. Fighting through the disbelief, Benji started to work on patching up Radmar.

Unconscious Radmar had been dreaming of various points in his life.  Slowly, features of the world began to blur and disappear. Eventually he was alone in the dark. A small mote of light appeared in the distance, slowly growing into a large purple star. The star opened to appear like a large starry eye, staring at Radmar. It looked to the side as a large object eclipsed it. The purple light that haloed the object turned to a sickly grey-green color, and the contours of a featureless face could barely be seen on the object. Then he woke up.

Benji, seeing Radmar beginning to stir, told him to stay calm and try not to speak. Radmar tried sitting up and talking, but immediately understood why he was advised not to. His cheek had been torn open, making moving his mouth extremely painful. His abdomen was also in immense pain when he tried to move-- not to mention the large mouth-shaped gash across his body. Elated that Radmar was awake, the party tried talking to him-- explaining what had happened to him. Benji quickly turned the conversation to the urgent matter of moving him to a location to have someone else look at him. Dianna quickly volunteered to move Radmar, to which Gesiqu'h shut down and volunteered Patches to move him. Dianna threw a fit, and started a yelling match with Gesiqu'h. Dianna said that the party did not need her and that she was useless, and Gesiqu'h, who has heard this far too much and was fed up with Dianna's focus-pulling, angrily confirmed that Dianna was useless and that they did not need her. Benji stepped in to end the yelling match, trying to remind the two that Radmar was still in a critical condition, and that it did not matter who moved him, just so that he wasn't jostled around too much. 

The party left the theater, and was led by Benji to one of the Medical Sciences buildings. The party was led into one of the practice lab spaces, and Radmar was set on a bed. Benji ran off to find something, leaving the party together in the room. After a moment, Benji returned with a minotaur woman with red cords named Loodra. She introduced herself and explained that she was the one who was going to do a proper examination and conduct the treatment. Benji asked if Radmar wanted to keep his shirt or allow them to cut it off of him, as the bite was in such a way that the removal of the clothes in a standard way would be very painful and could cause further complications. The party was asked to leave the room for the operation. Most of the party stood outside the door, but Dianna left the building. She was approached by Morana who gave her a letter to give to Radmar before walking off. Dianna pocketed the letter and walked off to the theatre where she sat in silence, waiting for Mavis to reappear.

After some time, the party was allowed back into the room. The party could see the full extent of his injuries, taking them aback. Loodra explained that Radmar sustained several injuries due to the creature's type and the trauma. Along with the horrifying scarring, Radmar was diagnosed with minor organ necrosis and a necrotized wound. Without magical healing, she is unable to help with the scarring or the organ necrosis; however, she did prescribe a treatment plan to stop the necrotized wound from getting worse. She explained that Radmar would need ongoing treatment to cure him of it. If he does not get the proper treatment, the wound will fester and eventually kill him. The party (minus Dianna) promised to take care of Radmar and make sure he gets back to this building every day until he is cured. 

Not long after, Morana entered the room. She approached Radmar and handed him a letter. She acknowledged the group, and left. Radmar read the letter, which said: 

Gentle Soul, 
Thine encounter hast brought thou to the veil, eternally marking thine body and soul. Decay pulls back the veil of flesh to reveal that which lies beneath. Thou has shown thine truth: selfless aid hath been given; and thus, a favor earned. Shouldst thou reach the veil upon another occasion, or wish to repair thine flesh to continue aiding those who need it-- seek us. Allow us the privilege of a debt repaid.

Gratefully,

M & the Unbound

Enclosed in the envelope as well was an address to find "them." Radmar then pocketed the letter.

Session 12

The session began with Mavis appearing to Dianna in the College Theater. The two had a tense start to their conversation, but as Dianna asked more questions of Mavis, she learned of what happened and the tension eased. Mavis, seeing herself in Dianna, tried to warn her about the consequences of working for Malvolio. Dianna was resistant to her efforts to dissuade her from working with the Passerine Society, as they could have changed in the last 15 years. Mavis reveals that she has a fleeting memory of the time as a grieving specter, one of Malvolio returning and taking something from the corpse of Praan. If he had become a better person, she speculated, why would he not try and save her from her torture if not to take advantage of her soulless husk that he "employs." 

Dianna explains that at least she would be useful to them, rather than the party. Mavis tried to explain that the party seemed to trust her, but she was resistant. Mavis continued "Relationships like that are hard to come by, especially these days. I suggest you take a moment to decide what's more important to you: the lives of those who think of you as a trusted ally, or the approval of your employers-- those who care not for you, and are willing to throw you to the wayside in order to further their own goals. And if I may-- from experience, those you work for are waiting for you to slip. It is your choice, Ms. Dianna-- but to commit yourself to Lady Hermia and Malvolio is to wish my fate on yourself. If this has been the only moment where your faith is shaken, believe you me, it will not be the last. There is no turning back, no second chance." 

Dianna, troubled, continued to say that she can't be who she is or who she wants to be with the party, but could be with the Passerine Society. Mavis, giving up, leaves Dianna with a final piece of advice: "You believe yourself useless and weak, and put on a facade of strength and confidence. Well then... You are weak, you are useless, and you are nothing but an evil man's play thing-- but that does not mean you will be forever. Strength is not a measure of who can shout the loudest and flex the biggest muscles, and until you can rid yourself of that philosophy-- you will be weak and a hinderance on those who genuinely trust you. Admitting you are lost takes strength. Facing your past mistakes and traumas, and growing and healing from takes strength. Apologies take strength. Love takes strength. I can only hope you begin to see that before those who willingly fight at your side are felled by the ghosts that haunt you."

Meanwhile, the rest of the party helps Radmar to his feet and decide that it's time to return to the apartments to get Radmar some rest. Radmar, noticing Dianna was not with them was interested in looking for her to talk, but the party was more concerned for his health than following up with Dianna running off again. Andrea requests permission to peel off and visit the Cathedral to follow up on some nagging questions she had left with. Before leaving, the party leaves a message with Loodra and Benji in case Dianna returns to find them. 

At the Cathedral, Andrea visits the lower levels to find Kal again. She asks him about their previous encounter, and he responds by talking about how she smells like an infernal-- mentioning an unripe fruit quality and calling her "half-baked." She brushed that aside to ask about the mysterious postcard that was placed in her bag, to which Kal mentioned it looked like a message from the Cult of Levistus-- a group of infernals that holes themselves up in the old City Prison. She dismisses that, asking about the Dark Mirror in Shar's alcove and if Kal knew of any places Shar worshippers gather. Kal said he knew little of Shar worshipper activities beyond the Cathedral, and that the Dark Mirror was just some fancy trinket made of polished onyx or something. She thanked him and went to look into the Dark Mirror again, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Andrea turned and went back to the apartments.

Dianna finished gathering herself after getting hit with Mavis's last piece of advice, and she went back to the Medical Facility. When she arrived, she saw Loodra, Benji, Igna, and Hah'nu talking-- but they dropped their conversation when Dianna entered. She asked about Radmar, to which Loodra explained the extent of his injuries. Somewhat relieved that Radmar was okay, she said she was leaving. Benji mentioned that they had all gone back to the apartments so that Radmar could rest. Dianna mumbled something under her breath, and left. Wanting to go back to the Passerine Society, Dianna started walking. Unconsciously, she started taking the path back to the apartments. 

Radmar was led into the apartments by Gesiqu'h and Patches, and was greeted by Maxwell who clambered up to see them. Maxwell mentioned how frantic/scared Dianna had been a few hours ago when seeking Benji for him. He expressed his gratitude that Radmar was alright and offered him any help he may need. They asked him to tell Dianna that Radmar wanted to talk with her, should she come back. 

The three went upstairs and got Radmar into bed. Patches cleaned up Radmar's apartment and talked to Radmar for a bit about this and that until the topic of Radmar's tadpole came up. Gesiqu'h had been in the room the whole time, walked up with a glass of water, causing Radmar to become afraid that his secret had been revealed. Gesiqu'h, who had already known about Radmar's tadpole, did not seem to react-- leaving Patches and Radmar to believe that she had either not heard or perhaps did not care. When asked about it, Gesiqu'h mentioned Radmar's eye-- which had not been talked about yet, though was related to the tadpole. The tension climaxed when Andrea knocked on the door. Radmar and Gesiqu'h perfectly concealed the tension in the room, acting like nothing really happened. Patches seemed off, but Andrea took that as an understanding that Patches has been acting off since Radmar fell. The party asked Andrea about her trip to the Cathedral, to which she explained what she had asked and that it led to a dead end. Radmar became worried at the mention of Shar and infernal cults, and asked to accompany her should she investigate the prison. The four talked for a little while longer until Patches decided to head out to take care of some business himself.

As Patches was leaving the apartment block, he came across Dianna. Patches expressed his gratitude that she was alright, and passed on the message that Radmar wanted to speak to her. She said she would not promise anything, believing she would break any promise she made. Patches asked if she would willingly break a promise she made with him, and she said she might. He gave up, told her that it would mean a lot to Radmar to even make an appearance, and went on his way. When Dianna entered the building, Maxwell got up and told her that Radmar was looking to talk to her. She grumbled about being told that several times already, and Maxwell apologized. Dianna, summoning what strength she had, apologized to Maxwell for yelling at him earlier. He accepted her apology, mentioning that he saw the state of Radmar when they brought him in and understanding that she was flustered in the moment. He went back to the lounge and Dianna went up to her room.

After some time trying to patch herself up, somewhat unsuccessfully, she forcibly humbled herself as the guilt ate at her. She went over to Radmar's with her med kit to ask for help patching herself up, but was met by Andrea and Gesiqu'h. Radmar called from within the room, asking to see Dianna. Noticing she was still very much on edge, she asked Andrea and Gesiqu'h to leave the room. As they did, they decided to go back to Andrea's room to have that talk they had been meaning to have.

Radmar talked to Dianna, thanking her for getting Benji and how that probably saved his life. He started playing up the frail, old man angle and asked her to help him to the Market the next day and to help him get a gift for Benji and Loodra. Dianna said she wouldn't be good at that and that Radmar should ask one of the others. Radmar began to detect her thoughts, getting a full glimpse into the battlefield that was Dianna's mind. He doubled down on the frail, old man act, saying that he'd need help getting to the Medical Facility too each day-- and slipped in that she could get checked out too since she also got bit. Dianna recognized what he was doing and recalled guards acting like that to her when she was growing up. She softened up, and accepted Radmar's thanks and agreed to help him. She handed him the letter that Morana had given her to pass to Radmar. He read the letter to himself. It explained that this letter was predicted to arrive later than the first. It went on to explain that Dianna was going though a rough patch, as she had learned some dark truths that day. It asked Radmar to look after her and help her through, as she would be a formidable ally. 

Session 13

The session began with Gesiqu'h and Andrea having a chat in Andrea's room. The two discussed Gesiqu'h's past once again (a continuation from Arc 0 Session 5), Andrea saying that she doesn't  think she is really from Gesiqu'h's home universe. Andrea brought up the events of the Cathedral, asking about her panic attack. Gesiqu'h explained her flashback to the QZ, seeing her original allies and Pollux-- who she had to explain was the brother of Castor, but was unsure if he was dead or not. Andrea brought up her own strange encounter with the Dark Mirror on the Sharran altar, expressing concern for herself potentially having Sharran ties. Gesiqu'h doubted the validity of Sharran connections just because of one weird mirror, and went on to ponder what would happen if she looked in the Mirror. Andrea was not going to allow it, but she agreed to go back there with Gesiqu'h later in the week. 

Patches bounded off to the Cathedral in order to pray to Selune on behalf of Radmar. When he arrived at the altar, he found three people in prayer-- one of which was a talking polar bear. Patches asked the polar bear for aid in prayer, as it seemed like he was teaching a very anxious elf how to pray. The polar bear reverted into a goliath and introduced himself as Nanuq. The anxious elf on the ground was introduced as Eber, and the fidgety twink perched on the bench was introduced as Bran. When asked about what Patches was looking to pray for, he said strength and protection of a friend. Nanuq mentioned that the same was for Eber, but for himself. The two kneeled beside each other and the four joined in a prayer. Later, it was revealed that Eber contracted lycanthropy this lunar cycle and that the full moon the following night would be his first. As a wereboar, he could become vicious and he was terrified of the consequences. Patches asked what they all did during the full moon, and Bran became very defensive. Nanuq tried to explain that they can be found in the River District, but for everyone's safety they won't divulge that yet-- but are willing to open a friendship if Patches was willing. Patches thanked them and said they'd meet again, and went back to the apartments.

Gesiqu'h went over to Radmar's room to follow up about the comment she made about his eye. He was initially defensive, but Gesiqu'h came clean about her universal origin and her ties to Caiphon. Radmar, not seeing why she would lie, asked her to relax and open her mind to him. He began to detect her thoughts, getting visual aid and confirmation that her story was truthful. The influence of Caiphon started when she was a child, showed everything up until she was falling in the Caiphonic Void. Radmar saw the faces of Benji, Igna, Bruniik, and Loodra when the Resistance was mentioned-- and he saw the apparent death of Bruniik in the moments before the Void. Upon seeing the Void, Radmar critically failed a Sanity Check, resulting in 50 hours of hallucinations. His tadpole wrenched itself behind his eye, causing him severe pain. He ripped his eyepatch off, and he saw the world as if he was watching a 3D movie without 3D glasses. The only thing that didn't have this chromatic aberration was Gesiqu'h, who seemed whole. The two talked for a bit longer about the party, specifically Dianna. Gesiqu'h expressed her need to keep everyone together, and Radmar referenced his notes given by Morana. Radmar assured her that Dianna would come around at some point and invited Gesiqu'h to come with him to the market with him and Dianna. Gesiqu'h warned Radmar that Dianna will not want her there, but Radmar insisted. Gesiqu'h refused to leave him for the night, and tucked herself in next to Radmar and the two went to sleep.

Gesiqu'h had a Caiphonic Dream, but one where she was in more direct contact with Caiphon. He seemed displeased at first, but reminded her that he saved her and her friends in the theater. Gesiqu'h asked about Zhudun's interference, to which Caiphon mentioned that they "worked for the same benefactor," though that did not stop them from stepping on each other's toes. Caiphon offered Gesiqu'h a deal. Something is up with Andrea, and she needs to figure out what it is. She snuck into this world and something has been shielding her from Caiphon's powers. In exchange for power, Gesiqu'h has been tasked with figuring out what is shielding Andrea and to get rid of it. If she can't do that, Caiphon may not be able to give more helpful nudges. 

The next day, Radmar and Gesiqu'h go to collect Dianna to go to the Market. Dianna gives Radmar a crop top to wear to the market, and reacts as Gesiqu'h predicted: Dianna was offended that Radmar would bring Gesiqu'h with them. Patches bounds out of his room to greet everyone, and Dianna makes for the stairwell. She glides down the railings and gets into the lobby. Patches rushes to catch up with her, and meets her in the lobby. Dianna, Patches, and Andrea talk for a moment, Dianna still keeping her distance (both emotionally and physically). Radmar and Gesiqu'h join in after a moment, and Dianna continues to insist that its just her and Radmar going to the market. The rest of the party begrudgingly allows it, and the two head off to the market. 

The two make it there, get their ration cards, and spend a few on food for the week. They each saved a few and go off to shop for clothes. They meet Luaniis, an older drow woman who sells and repairs clothes. Dianna buys a shirt for Radmar and pays to have it adjusted as well. Radmar then purchases two more shirts. They receive the adjusted clothes and head off. Radmar and Dianna make their way to Degrobah's Pastries. Radmar purchases a pie as thanks to give to Loodra and Benji. Dianna asks what the best kind of dessert to give someone you want to court, and the dwarf woman pulls out some cookies, which she purchases.

Session 14

The session began with Andrea, Patches, and Gesiqu'h heading to the Market. They got their weekly ration cards, exchanged a few for rations, and made their way to Zaatar's book stand. Gesiqu'h asked about the book she was asked to find for Ceridwen, "Beyond Divinity: Essays Detailing Powers and Entities Beyond the Divine Domain." Zaatar did not have that, but suggested visiting the Scavenging Sages in the College District for some help finding it. Andrea was looking for the missing volume for her comics collection, but only found a sleeve for the missing text. Zaatar explained that someone found the cover in the city, so the actual text is probably around somewhere. 

Radmar and Dianna managed to avoid the party and did not see them. The two went down to the College District to meet with Loodra to treat Radmar's lingering injury. When they arrived, they spoke briefly with Igna who brought them into another room to be seen by Loodra. The buzzing of the overhead lights annoyed Dianna, nearly driving her to break them. When Loodra came in, she tightened the bulb to quiet it. She then started to administer aid to the injury.

Meanwhile, the rest of the party arrived in the College District in search of the Sages. They found Bedge with a class on the University Lawn, teaching about the full moon and tides. Patches became anxious once again, asking again that the party returns to the apartments before nightfall-- this time explaining that the full moon will be impacting lycanthropes across the city, potentially creating dangerous situations if they were to linger out and about at night. As the class was finishing up, the party spotted Dianna and Radmar leaving the Medical Building. They met up, and Patches re-expressed his need to have the party together in the Apartment Block before sundown. Dianna grumbled a bit, but agreed. Radmar asked if the party should be in the same room for the evening to be safest, and Patches explained that his family used to have Bear Piles on full moons to keep everyone calm and safe. It was decided that the party would have a sleepover that evening to keep Patches safe. They then went to the Library to look for books.

Gesiqu'h went to find her book for Ceridwen, and ended up meeting Ereyth Savatos-- a summer Eladrin the head of the Eyes of Ioun chapter of the Scavenging Sages. Gesiqu'h asked about the book, and Ereyth asked why she wanted it. She explained that she though Caiphon had something to do with the state of the world, and Ereyth quickly dismissed that thought. They told her that whatever she heard was probably some cultist ramblings and had no scientific basis. They followed up by saying the text wasn't in the building, but Bedge or Khondrand might know where it is. Angry at Ereyth for being so belittling, Gesiqu'h stormed off. 

Patches went looking for books about the Astral Sea and Wildspace. He found some old ship manuals, but ended up taking out some tourist guide-like books about the various civilizations and sight-seeing spots across the Sea. 

Andrea went looking for her missing volume, and ended up finding a copy that was badly damaged. There were only a few chapters in the text. She went to check the book out and talked to George Earl Rhubarb, a very old orc librarian. She asked if she could help put the book back together, to which he was appreciative of. The two also talked about his late wife, whose ring he seemed to rub whenever he was getting overwhelmed or anxious in conversation with Andrea. 

Radmar and Dianna went into the basement to look for texts on Giant Rune Magic. Radmar managed to find a few texts on the history of that magic, but little on the application of it. 

The party met back up in the lobby where Gesiqu'h expressed her hatred towards Ereyth. Dianna offered to beat her up, but the party decided it was best not to do so-- though Gesiqu'h was appreciative of the offer. The party shared what they found and then followed Ereyth's suggestion and made their way to the Arcane Arts Block to find Khondrand.

Upon arrival, Khondrand was teaching a class that seemed to be focused on casting magic. He was in the middle of teaching the somatic components for Magic Missile. The party joined in, Patches doing an exceptional job at mimicking the movements. When the class was done, Khondrand addressed the party. Gesiqu'h asked about the book, to which he said he might know about its location depending on how much she's willing to pay. She thought of some indormation that Khondrand might be interested in, but was weary to say it in front of the party. The two went into Khondrand's office and talked. Gesiqu'h told him about what lies beyond the walls of the Cities. She talked about the Unravelling of the Weave, Eldritch Storms, and what it felt like to be outside the psionic dampening fields set up by the Illithid. Pleased with this information, Khondrand wrote down an address and told her that the Cult of Zhudun was the last to known keepers of the text. 

Patches had his ear on the door the whole time, and managed to hear everything said. He managed to get out of the way in time for Gesiqu'h to leave the office without noticing his eavesdropping. The party discussed their plans to get the text from the Cult, noting that Radmar has had some favors from them saved. The party mapped out their route, and found that if they don't spend too much time there, they might make it back before sunset. Andrea reminded the party that Gesiqu'h and her were planning on going to the Cathedral on their way back. The party set off, first to the Cathedral-- then tentatively to the Cult of Zhudun. 

When they arrived, Dianna went to look for Castor, but did not find him. She then started to head to the Lower Levels. Radmar and Patches went up to the Selunite Altar. Gesiqu'h and Andrea went directly to the Sharran Altar to look into the Dark Mirror.

Gesiqu'h looked into the mirror first. When the two looked into the mirror, they did not see anything different than before. She looked pretty normal in the mirror. Andrea stepped up to the mirror, and she could not see much off about her. Gesiqu'h's mind raced with Caiphonic whispers, but she pushed through and saw a crystalline horn growing from Andrea's head. She recalled a similar crystalline glow from a woman they met at the Resistance Base in her original world, one that tried to protect them from Caiphon. When asked what she saw, Gesiqu'h lied and said nothing-- but Andrea saw through it. She became frustrated and told Gesiqu'h they would talk about it later, without lies or secrecy. 

By this time, Dianna made her way down to the basement, looking for Kal. She did not see him, but she was approached by an Erinyes named Falza. She introduced herself as the High Priestess of the Lower Planes in the Cathedral. The two flirted a bit back and forth before Falza bid her farewell and sauntered down the hall. 

Session 15

The session began with Patches and Radmar spending time at the Selune altar in the Upper Floors of the Cathedral. Radmar was surprised that Patches was able to pray correctly to Selune, to which Patches explained that he met someone who taught him. He mentioned that Radmar's faith was admirable and he was interested in learning more about the Divine. Their conversation was briefly interrupted by Nanuq, who had come for a brief prayer. He introduced himself to Radmar and talked about Selune's protection of good lycanthropes. After their quick talk of Selune, Nanuq asked about Radmar's sister, Anwena. He said he never met her, but knew her wife Ilruune back in City 4-- saying that she spoke of Anwena and her twin at length, and the couple had apparently been separated by the Illithid. As he left, he mentioned that he could be found in the River District, should they want to talk more. Patches and Radmar wrapped up their chat and started for the Lower Floors. 

Dianna approached Gesiqu'h and Andrea after the two had finished a stand off at the Dark Mirror of Shar. The tension in the air was heavy, which was very confusing to Dianna. She asked why they were acting strange, but the two answered sarcastically and pointedly about each other-- further confusing Dianna. They mentioned the mirror, to which Dianna peered in to freshen herself up. She saw nothing abnormal, though the mirror was hard to see into anyways. Not long after, Patches and Radmar make it downstairs, where they notice the party standing before the Dark Mirror of Shar. Radmar keeps his distance, while Patches goes to retrieve the party-- promising Radmar he wouldn't look in the mirror, or even be in view of the mirror. 

Patches approaches, and explains that the party should leave soon. Dianna, still very confused, asks what is going on. Patches mentions that the mirror is a Dark Mirror of Shar and Radmar sent him to get everyone as to not be seen by it, for fear Shar would come after them. Dianna, realizing it's been a Sharran mirror this whole time, takes several steps back and freaks out on Gesiqu'h and Andrea for messing with a Sharran mirror. Gesiqu'h was pressed to tell what she had seen, but she stressed that talking about it, especially in the basement of the Cathedral of Celestia, was a bad idea and they could talk later.

Kal interrupted their bickering, causing Dianna to approach the party again. She offered him one of her new cookies, to which he was a bit confused. He mentioned that no one offers him tribute of any kind, and appreciated it. Patches asked for a cookie, and Kal wiped the crumbs off his hands into Patches's hand. They also mentioned to him that the mirror was dirty, so he wiped it off and left. 

Patches watched as he wiped off the mirror, accidentally staring deeper into it. As Kal finished, Patches could see a mist floating within the mirror. He could see a silhouette that looked a bit like his own, but a bit different. As he approached the mirror, the figure also approached. The face that reflected was not his own, but looked uncomfortably similar. It was as if it was a sharper, meaner, more threatening version of Patches staring back at the party. Those who could see it were unnerved, and the Party began to leave. The party pulled Patches from the mirror, but Gesiqu'h lingered long enough to see the figure in the mirror was not mirroring Patches-- it watched with a disturbing smile as Patches walked off before it was shrouded in mist once again.

The party debated what to do next, and decided to call it an early day and be home in time for the Full Moon that night. They returned to the apartments and started to set up for their sleepover. Radmar and Patches talked on their own for a minute before getting the rest of the party involved. 

As the party talked while setting up, the topic of what was seen in the Mirror was brought back up. Andrea said she was drawn to it, but that her reflection looked weird. When she asked Gesiqu'h to explain what she saw, she never gave a straight answer. The party began pressuring Gesiqu'h about what she saw and asked why she was avoiding telling anyone about it. She was furious and gave Andrea a final warning, saying that the information she has could lead to her death-- but that she is ready to let everyone know if that's what Andrea wants to have happen. 

Gesiqu'h explained her relationship with Caiphon and mentioned that there is someone protecting Andrea from something, but that Caiphon wants to get rid of that protection for its own reasons. She mentioned that Caiphon can probably hear her, and might try and do something if it finds out what that protection is. Gesiqu'h explained that she wasn't holding back information to be malicious, but because she cared so much for Andrea. Andrea was taken aback by that, not having had anyone be as caring and so adamant about her safety (potentially ever).

The tension was heavy in the room once again, but the party talked through it and ended up having a group hug to get out the remaining tension. Patches felt the moon begin to rise, and his anxiety began. He checked the hallways for people, and saw Maxwell and Ceridwen. He talked to them from afar about their plans for the night, and was invited over to Ceridwen's room. Leaving the party in his room, he went over to talk.

Patches talked to them about his own lycanthropy, and Ceridwen references her younger days where she had lycanthrope friends. Patches asked where she got all the paints and canvases and all for her star maps, to which she explained that Hapa and Maxwell often got her those things. Patches became worried for Hapa, who was still out in the city as the moon was rising. Ceridwen offered Patches some tea and brought him and the tea back to Patches's room. Ceridwen gave everyone some of her famous tea, but brought an extra cup. Before leaving, she also slipped Radmar a special tea bag "that should help." 

The party sipped their tea as Patches starting acting weird. After a few moments, he turned into a wild bear-- not the Peeka Booboo that they had come to know Patches's bear form to be. The bear was intimidating at first, but slowly the party understood that it was trying to keep them safe. The bear picked up each of the party members and put them in the pile of pillows. A knock at the door was heard, causing the bear to get defensive and growl at the door. After a moment, Hapa appeared in a flash of light behind the bear. They were promptly thrown into the pile and the bear settled in. The party rested with the large bear, safe and protected.

Gesiqu'h began to dream, but this time was immediately in front of Caiphon. The Dream Whisperer seemed unimpressed and agitated with Gesiqu'h's actions. It knew she had the information it sought, but was holding it back. Caiphon gave Gesiqu'h a choice in the form of two glowing doors: the easy way, or the hard way. She tried to trick the Elder Evil, but it failed. She then accepted the "hard way." She fell into a void. When she landed, she saw two figures turn to her. One looked like a teenager with sickly black veins, dark eyes, and a merciless gaze. The other looked like herself-- except covered in horrible burn scars, dark veins sprawling across her face, and inky black eyes. The two unsheathed swords of Caiphonic Purple light, and stabbed her-- jolting her awake in the morning. 

Session 16

The session began with the party waking up from the slumber party "bear pile." Gesiqu'h jolted awake after her Caiphonic Dream. The party woke up Dianna who was in a deep sleep for the first time in a while, and said goodbye to Hapa. They went on to discuss Gesiqu'h's threatening dream, mainly about the potential of doppelgangers or other bounty hunters coming after Gesiqu'h for taking the "hard way." Gesiqu'h then gave everyone a proper explanation of her history with Caiphon, including her experience in her original universe and getting tossed into this one. Important lore drops included the lack of Patches in the original world and Dianna coming to the city on the train with them, meeting Pollux and exploring the QZ with him, learning of Pollux's "dead" brother Castor, joining the Resistance with Benji, Igna, Bruniik, and Loodra, experiencing the Weave for the first time in many years, and watching Bruniik turn into a dragon and getting (probably) killed by a fire storm. Dianna had also reacted instictively to Pollux's loss of a brother, and tried to hide it but was not very successful.

Pepper (Patches) and Dianna were taken aback by all the information, as it was a lot of information that was very hard to wrap their heads around. Dianna began to get frustrated that no one had told her any of this, while Andrea and Radmar seemingly knew some of the information she was giving already. She was on the verge of leaving when the party pleaded with her to stay to listen, as she never learned any of that because she had left the party so frequently. Pepper tried calming her down by explaining that he also knew little to none of the information, and tried to comfort her by showing that he too was in over his head with the information being dropped on the party. 

Ceridwen stopped by to retrieve her tea set and was met with Dianna having a bit of a breakdown about how she might be dead in other worlds and how she might die in this one, among other things. Ceridwen tried to comfort her, but couldn't quite find the right words. She explained how the stars at night are like other worlds, but how they are going out. She tried to lean into taking solace in the fact that we are here in this world, so make the most of it and live the life that those other versions of us might not be able to be living.

After she left, the party decided it might be time to start getting ready for the day. The plan was to go to the medical facility to get Radmar his treatment, and then to visit the Cult of Zhudun's hideout to retrieve the text for Gesiqu'h/Ceridwen. Radmar also promised Pepper that he would let Pepper give him a clown makeover for the day, after his medical treatments were over. 

Pepper asked Dianna to help dress him, as he was not going to be getting in his clown attire for the day. While they were picking clothes, Pepper tried to relate to Dianna again-- trying to get both of them to process everything. Dianna was upset, as it seemed like she was just roped into a conversation instead of being useful, but Pepper insisted he genuinely needed help with his clothes too. 

Radmar and Andrea had a brief chat before getting ready as well. They both came clean about the names that they have been using, versus their actual names. Andrea told Radmar that he could call her Annie, though he insisted on calling her "brat" if he was to land himself in that fatherly/guardian position again. Radmar did reveal that his name was really Allaire, but he has had plenty of other names in order to cover up his identity from past mistakes.

Session 17

The session began with the party making final preparations for their day. They were met by Simon lingering in the lobby, waiting for Gesiqu'h. He had come to ask her on another date, whenever she would be free in the week. She mentioned she was busy today, but could be available at night. Shocked at the turnaround, he agreed to meet her at night. 

The party then started to head to the medical facility on the College Campus to get Radmar treated for this lingering injury. Upon arrival, they met with Benji who looked a bit rough while sitting, reading a magazine. He took Radmar to the back and began to administer treatment. Afterwards, Pepper took Radmar into the bathroom to give him a clown makeover. The two later reemerged where Radmar was introduced as Weepy Willow-- in full clown makeup and attire. Benji was taken aback by the transformation, and tried to keep his comments to himself. The party mentioned they had some dealings with a cult they had to get to, and once again Benji stifled his response. 

On their way to the address given to Radmar and Gesiqu'h, Andrea noticed an air genasi pulling a classic spy stunt-- attempting to hide her intent behind a large newspaper she feigned reading. Once she noticed Andrea staring, she got up to introduce herself. She said her name was Dara, and that she was looking for new friends. Andrea was very hesitant to give her any information on herself or her party members. She eventually went around her and walked up to the rest of the party to introduce herself, and again stated how she was looking for new friends and that the party seemed interesting. Gesiqu'h hid behind Dianna while Dianna went into guard dog-mode and began to intimidate Dara. After a bit, Dara gave up trying to talk to the party, and she walked away. Gesiqu'h expressed her distrust in her, and the party agreed as they continued to make their way to the hideout. 

Upon arrival, the party was confused at the prospect of a cult hiding in a boarded up business plaza, but Gesiqu'h and Andrea spotted a away in through the parking garage. Radmar attempted to detect thoughts of others in the area, but could only find his party members. As they walked through, they found a staircase up to the upper floors and to the basement. Assuming evil cults would be hiding underground, they made their way to the basement. Andrea quickly noticed a faint smell of death and decay hidden under the damp and metallic quality of the air. As the party kept moving, the scent of death and decay became even more prevalent. Gesiqu'h and Pepper could not see through the dark, while Andrea, Dianna, and Radmar could. They saw piles of bodies, all sustaining a myriad of injuries. It was noted that these piles were not random, but were organized by injury type. Some piles were of burn victims, others horrific stabbing, and some still had a frozen visage of terror cemented on their corpse. Radmar tried to detect thoughts again, but nothing new came up. The party quickly left. 

After debriefing on what they just say, the party moved upstairs. Pepper could just barely make out a conversation coming from a few doors down, and even recognized the voice of Morana being one of the two talking. Andrea opened the door to the next room, revealing several faceless bodies laying on makeshift cots. Radmar attempted to read their thoughts, but was overwhelmed and succumbed to the complex madness of their minds. For the next minute, Radmar became ruthlessly angry. Signs of his winter fading a summer returning began as he told Dianna to "shut the fuck up" and wrenched Pepper's hand off his back. The aggression quickly spread, leaving everyone distracted to the githzerai that snuck up behind Andrea and placed a blade to her throat. 

The party stopped squabbling, as their attention turned to the Gith. As she began to question the party of their intentions, Radmar's madness subsided. Everyone fell under the effects of Calm Emotions from an unknown source. The whole room looking at him with anger and fear, he became full of guilt for his actions he can't seem to remember. He apologized and moved to try and parley with the Gith. He mentioned that they had received an invitation from the Zhudun cult, and that he had helped them before. Morana appeared beside the Gith, and confirmed Radmar's intentions as true. 

The Gith stood down and introduced herself as Aisling. Gesiqu'h mentioned she was looking for a book and Radmar mentioned he needed help with one of his injuries. The party split up, Gesiqu'h and Pepper went with Aisling to get the book for Ceridwen while Andrea and Radmar followed Morana to get help. Dianna, still upset about Radmar yelling at her, lingered for a moment and contemplated her options. She ended up lagging behind Radmar's group. 

Radmar's group were brought down to the courtyard in the center of the buildings. There, he was told to lay on the "altar" in the center while she summoned the Faceless. Andrea stood by him, while Dianna lingered off to the side, still processing everything. 

Gesiqu'h and Patches made it to the third floor with Aisling. Gesiqu'h gave her the title of the book, and Aisling asked about her intent with the text. She did not mention Caiphon, but instead expressed interest in the Divine. Pepper diverted by asking about the Zhudun people, to which Aisling quickly mentioned she is not a part of them-- but was here to comfort Morana. She properly introduced herself as Aisling Astrea, the Lone Githzerai Chosen of Khirad, and Representative of Khirad on the Council of the Children of the Apocalypse. She explained that Morana was the chosen and representative of Zhudun. As they were getting ready to leave, they spotted Dara entering the courtyard. Gesiqu'h and Pepper asked if there was a way to cleanse themselves of the Calm Emotions, to which Aisling mentioned she is good with emotions. She slapped each of them, clearing them of their Calm Emotions. The trio rushed downstairs. 

Meanwhile, the Faceless arrived and one wearing patchwork robes, reminiscent of the ones Radmar had thrown over the Faceless in the fisherman's basement, stood above him. It's hands hovered above Radmar and lingered over his gut. A few moments of agony later, and his affliction was cured. Radmar attempted to detect thoughts again, but found the same maddening barrier. The Faceless he saved, who's hand had withered slightly in the curing of Radmar, put his hand on Radmar's arm-- a gesture Radmar understood to mean as a "thanks" or an understanding of favor repaid.

Dara enters, and begins riffing about how she wasn't invited to the get together, and how Destiny won't be happy to hear that she's neglecting duties to hang out with her faceless dolls. Dianna steps up and re-enters guard dog mode, taking up an intimidating stance and shutting down Dara's attempts at childish bullying. Dara does not take this lightly, and her cloud-like hair begins to darken like storm clouds. Gesiqu'h, Pepper, and Aisling enter, and Dara mocks them just the same-- exuding a "oh it would be a shame if something were to happen to you" vibe. As she begins to raise her arms, cold winds blow and lightning crackles around her-- but quickly subsides as a new figure enters the courtyard. 

The tensions rise as the new figure is identified as Destiny, the self-proclaimed leader of the Children of the Apocalypse. Dark veins snake across her face, her dark eyes appearing like small voids in her skull. Dianna recognizes the markings as those similar to the goliath from the sewers, the one she had Mavis's help in identifying as Malvolio. They are Half-Illithid. Morana and Aisling get choked up and Dara immediately turns to start appeasing Destiny. Her gaze scans the crowd in the courtyard, and lingers on Gesiqu'h. Destiny turns to Dara and says that the two of them are leaving. She starts to complain, but finds herself silenced by a sudden chokehold and psychic blade pressed to her neck. She says again, that they are going to leave-- and she remarks that she will not be so kind upon their next meeting. Dara succumbs to Destiny, and is led out by her. 

Gesiqu'h remarks that Destiny was one of the two figures from her Caiphonic Dream. She asks Morana some questions before coming clean about her own ties to Caiphon. It is revealed that Destiny was not the original seat holder on the council, but took one of the two left by a former member-- Lane. She recognized Gesiqu'h as Lane previously, and was confused by her. After the events of that day, she understands that they are two different people. Lane had the chair of the Illithid and Chosen of Caiphon, up until fairly recently. One day, Lane stopped showing up and reached out to Morana for aid. Morana saw her, horribly burnt all over her body. She said she woke up like that after having a strange dream of fiery rain and a dying dragon. She asked Morana to give her letter of resignation to the Council, and she began working more with the Illithid. When asked about weaknesses, Morana could not come up with any. She remarked how she never liked talking about her parents, but that was about it. 

Gesiqu'h asked about Simon, to which Morana says she had not spoken to a Simon. She mentioned that the Chosen of Caiphon left after having disagreements with Destiny-- and that he was a changeling named Gris. Gesiqu'h remembered an old Caiphonic Dream where she saw others touched by Caiphon, and asked about Simon-- but was instead shown a face with a shifting, marbled complexion. Her stomach dropped, believing Simon and Gris were the same person. 

With tension hanging heavily in the air, Morana and Aisling expressed the support of the Children of the Apocalypse, or at least some of the more generous members, towards her goals. If Gesiqu'h ever needed aid, she could find it with either of them, and potentially Duban, who frequently hangs out with the Killer Klownz and the Cult of Hadar.

The party, now loaded with a heft of new information, quietly made their way back to the Apartments. Gesiqu'h, now having to prepare herself for a tense date with Simon.