The Ashen Company waits a few more minutes in the foyer of the orphanage before an old, grey-haired woman in purple robes wanders in: This is Madam Trolley. She dismisses the guards so that they can speak privately. With Trolley’s permission, Berrik casts True Seeing for everyone’s peace of mind – nothing unexpected. Null (as Cyai) begins to try to present their case and the party soon realizes that Madam Trolley is as curt as she is ancient. This won’t be easy. Lotty tries to swoop in to give some room for Null to gather herself. Null tries a different approach, abandoning any secrecy by dropping her form and laying everything out on the table about her past and their questions. Trolley continues to be evasive. We learn the following, however:
- Null notices that Trolley showed a hint of recognition to Null’s changeling form.
- Lotty asks about the portrait of Vi on the wall and Trolley responds that her name was Esmerelda. She was adopted out to a loving home but eventually ran away from her family.
- Trolley acknowledges the incident that Fallah mentioned to the party but insists that the child was removed from neglectful parents. She tries very hard to deflect out of this topic.
Trolley eventually offers to go search the orphanage records
for the information the Ashen Company seeks, resisting any suggestions that
someone accompany her. Still highly suspicious, the party have no choice but to
agree to wait downstairs. As she leaves, however, Cade Wildshapes into a spider
and follows her upstairs to an office. In the office, Cade watches her pour herself a
drink, retrieve the requested records and then proceed to forge new altered
ones on older-looking paper. After she finishes, she locks the original records
in her desk and places the key around her neck. After nearly catching Spider!Cade,
she feels secure enough to pull out a sending stone and speak “We may have a
problem.” into it.
CUT TO DOWNSTAIRS
The party is restless as the minutes tick by with no work
from Cade. Lotty gradually informs everyone of the significance of Esmerelda’s
portrait. Null tries to sneak down the hallway to get closer but is interrupted
by a guard that emerges from one of the doors. She asks to use the bathroom and
he leads her to a privy down the hall, waiting for her outside despite her
protests saying that she would be awhile. Silas steps in to try to play
interference, attempting to lure the guard away with questions about weapon
maintenance and swordplay. He lays it on a little thick, however, and the guard
becomes suspicious. Null overhears and knows her time is short. Before leaving,
she carves a message at child height inside the privy, advertising a 10 gp
reward for delivery of Trolley’s record book to Fallah at the BoS. Going
outside to wash her hands, she tries to look at where Cade might be on the
second floor but all the second floor curtains are pulled closed. Inside, the
party continues their wait and tries to pass the time with awkward small talk
to the guards.
CUT TO UPSTAIRS
Trolley pulls out a brass, coaster-shaped device and takes an
arcane holo-call as Spider!Cade watches. A 2 foot tall hologram emits from the
device, showing an Aeonian elf man dressed richly in flowing robes. He says “This
had better be important”.
Trolley refers to him as “My lord” and explains that the
Ashen Company is there inquiring about special children. They suspect something
and have made certain connections. Trolley has drawn up phony documents but
admits that she doesn’t think they will satisfy the party. The man proceeds to
instruct Trolley to “Purge the facility, remove viable assets, and start over
elsewhere”. The arcane holo-call ends and Trolley gathers her false records. As
she goes to return downstairs, Cade hops out of Wildshape and summons a boa
constrictor guardian spirit, who proceeds to grapple Trolley. He shouts to the
Ashen Company to secure the guards and protect the kids. Everyone rolls
initiative!
Downstairs, the party leaps into action to non-lethally
attack and try to get past the guards. Upstairs, a grappled Trolley Dimension Doors out of the snake’s grapple and out of sight. Frustrated, Cade instructs
the snake to break the desk open. It does so and Cade manages to grab the
original records and the brass device before he and the snake begin to head downstairs.
The rest of the Ashen Company continue the brawl downstairs.
Null spots Trolley emerging from a new hole in the wall of the hallway, pulling
two children behind her. As she disappears at the end of the hallway, Null
shouts that Trolley’s escaping down the hall with kids. Berrik Dimension Doors
to the end of the hallway and sees Trolley attempting to escape down a secret staircase
beneath one of the privies. Lotty hastes Null and bids her to pursue, which she
does. As Berrik and Null confront Trolley, she attempts to Banish them before
fleeing down the toilet stairs. Null brushes it off but Berrik pops out of the
Material Plane. Silas arrives and cuts down pursuing guards with ruthless
efficiency, while Flynn and Lotty make quick work of the ones remaining.
Everyone soon converges on the toilet stairs, with Cade entering first. Hasted Null
and her boots of speed quickly rush ahead of the party. Silas activates his “Surpass
Mortal Limits” and follows not too far behind Null. The Ashen Company descends
into the perils of the lower levels.
Null races past a locker room and into a strange
Fallout-style lab area with large glass walls that look into a cavernous
chamber. Null sees several large vats in a ring around the room, each
containing a nude humanoid figure suspended in goo. She also sees Trolley
fleeing towards the far side of the chamber, kids in tow. Null unlocks the door
to the vat chamber and moves to grapple Trolley, hoping her friends aren’t too
far behind. She drags Trolley away from the two kids and tries to reassure them
as she moves Trolley back towards the lab doors. The rest of the Ashen Company
(except Berrik, who is still off living his best life in a harmless demi-plane)
continue their approach.
Trolley Misty Steps out of Null’s grasp and back to where she
was heading. She collects the kids and pulls a lever near a door on the far
side of the room, then leaving through the door and muttering “We have work to
do” on her way out. The lever, it turns out, released all the goo from the vats
and made the entire chamber difficult terrain. Along with all the goo came the figures
inside – identical, buck-naked Watchers all ready to scrap. A brawl breaks out
near the lab doors. One of the Watchers closes and locks the doors, leaving
Null trapped with most of the baddies inside the vat chamber. Thanks to Misty Step,
Cade and then Silas both appear in the vat chamber to rejoin the fight.
On Null’s turn, she is suddenly overcome with violent
flashbacks to her childhood – memories she did not know were there. Interspersed
with flashes of light, she is struck with brief sequences of the atrocities her
childhood self endured: experimentation, surgery, and child vs. child fighting pits.
Null is rendered catatonic by the rush of trauma and drops her weapons. Silas
sees this happen and immediately changes his plan to pursue Trolley – he could
drag Null away but her weapons would stay and she would be defenseless. He will
stay to defend his friend.
Lotty and Flynn finally catch up and enter the fray from the
lab. There is a barrage of Lightning Bolts and Thunder Steps from the birthday suit
brigade that downs a stunned Null and leaves Silas barely standing. Seeing that
things are getting desperate, Cade lays down a totem and performs a Cure Wounds
on Null. Null is still stunned but somewhat healed and now conscious, while
everyone else (except Berrik) heals a bit thanks to the totem. Berrik presumably
continues to have a great time in his demi-plane. We end the session there.