Act Three, Chapter Twenty One: "Water, water everywhere. Nor any drop to drink" (2022/10/22)

The Ashen Company find themselves underwater, trapped in the clearly broken teleportation chamber at the Order of the Arcane Eye in Zazuza. Cade thinks quickly and casts Oasis, while Lotty casts Alter Self, giving the party some time to catch their breath (literally) and assess their surroundings. Their eyes scan the walls, looking for a way out. Eventually they find a large pile of rubble - a collapsed wall with passages on the other side. The way is shut. They try to dig their way out, but the work is too much (especially underwater) and so Berrik steps in to speeds things along with a couple castings of Arcane Hand. The beefy spectral hands makes quick work of the task and soon the party is able to move through a tight but manageable escape tunnel. We exit the tunnel and find ourselves in a large stone complex full of corridors, doors, rooms of all sizes and more water. The chambers reveal evidence of scholarly pursuits.  Are we at the Order of the Arcane Eye? Are we at the University of Zazuza campus? Are we at the combination Order of the Arcane Eye/University of Zazuza campus?

We don't get to wander for long before we are accosted by hostile seafolk (sahuagin)and their sharks. Battle begins! The first few we encounter are dispatched quickly, save for one. The fish priest flees and lets out a scream, surely warning any others nearby. Null shotguns a waterbreathing potion that Lotty handed to her earlier and gives chase, followed a bit behind by the rest of the party. Rushing ahead on her own proves to be a BAD IDEA. Null chases the priest down a hallway, through a set of door and into a cavernous chamber filled with enemies. At the far end of the space Null can see a light shining down from above where the room opens up at the top - a way out? She tries to hold her own but is quickly surrounded. A baddie closes and bolts the door to the chamber, blocking the rest of the party from following. Stuck in a hallway on the other side of the barred door, the rest of the party is ambushed by more enemies that were waiting in the adjoining rooms. Berrik grabs Cade and Dimension Doors to the other side of their obstacle. Flynn grabs Lotty and does the same. Poor Silas and Nessie do their best to keep from being overwhelmed until someone can open that door.

Inside the large chamber things get chaotic. Null's waterbreathing gets dispelled. Cade gets marked as a target for his Oasis spell. Flynn gets manhandled. Some people get frightened. Null is eventually able to make her way over to the door and unbar it for Silas and Nessie (who are thankfully still alive on the other side). Flynn gets fully Flynn-napped at this point - drowning, he is grappled and dragged up and away towards the light at the top of the chamber. Cade drops Oasis and Wildshapes into a giant Octopus to give chase. Everyone else follows as quickly as they can, trying to get their friend back and finish off the baddies in the room. Eventually it comes down to one fish priest remaining, nearly out of range. Though Lotty is the furthest away, she is able to end him with an immaculately placed Firebolt. We did it! Flynn is recovered and everyone lived. Time to leave this horrible, soggy place.

The Ashen Company follows the light above them and find themselves at the bottom of an even larger room than the one previous. This tall, cylindrical space has seemingly endless shelves of books spiraling their way up the walls and all the way to the top. This is the largest library any one of them has ever seen and, like the rest of this complex, it is completely submerged in seawater. Berrik wonders if this place might hold the key to making his spellbook more durable. Nass is an immediate looming threat but this is perhaps one of the largest troves of knowledge in all of Altisha - Are there more answers to be found here? 

Act Three, Chapter Twenty "Heart and Soul" (15-10-2022)

We return to the Ashen Company in the middle of the night. They are exhausted and the enemy that attacked their house has escaped. Everyone is discouraged and Cade and Flynn are on the outs. They decide to inspect the damage to their home. Lotty quotes an estimate of 1500 gp to repair the structure. Everyone hands Lotty 250 gp in advance – surely a McFini can help them. Repairing the damage to party morale, however, is out of everyone’s price range. Replacing the dragonoid volume from the encyclopedia is never going to happen either. We’d have to buy a whole new set of books! The party (plus Niko) decide to bunk together in the great hall for the night – safety in numbers. At last, a long rest.

In the morning, it’s time for a party debrief. Lotty and Berrik explain what they discovered from the book and show off their matching body art. Nobody knows much about the procedures described in the book, the Aeonian medicine is came from or what an exalted soul is.

We decide to ask Niko if he would want to be changed back to how he was before. The party quickly realizes they are notably bad at empathetically communicating with traumatized tweens. He freezes up and gets angry, throwing Lotty across the room – he doesn’t want it. He seems to be in a bit of denial about the reasons for his super strength and wants to be able to protect himself. He probably also has some unresolved trauma about invasive magical procedures. There is some back and forth with the party, especially Silas, trying to convince the boy that we love and care for him – it’s not pity that keeps us around. Some mediocre charisma checks later leave us more or less where we started on the Niko front. He’s calm for now, but clearly upset and traumatized. Silas will stay at the villa with Niko while we prep to go after Nasssandrial.

~~~Shopping montage~~~

We end up at McFini’s to finish up our shopping list, hire some contractors and get Cade a check-up.

Lotty’s cousin Bandla (sp?) agrees to take on the job of repairing the villa. Lotty advises her to only work during the day, when there are lots of guards around. Bandla wonders if they need some hazard pay, but the price remains the same. The work will take two weeks.

Cade asks for privacy for this next part. Frug (Lotty's dad) tells the shop’s worker’s to break early for lunch and the space clears. Cade is asked to lay on a table. Frug, assisted by Lotty and Berrik, open up Cade’s chest cavity to reveal Cade’s insides. Flynn, boosted by Null, holds up a light. Cradled amongst the wood, bone and sinew of Cade’s chest is his heart: a dull, clear gemstone. It is void of illumination or colour – drained. Frug explains that when godforged are created, a part of their maker’s soul is infused into their exaltium cores. He theorizes that the powerful magic within Cade’s heart stone, his soul-infused exaltium core, was depleted when he died a year ago in Alya and has been unable to renew itself since. Cade’s recent malfunctions show that his time is running out – power is at a crisis point. He needs a replacement for his soul-infused exaltium core (perhaps found at a ruined Exaltari temple?), or else Cade will perish. Frug estimates that Cade has just a few days left but suggests a way to temporarily stave off further depletion: 1000 gp worth of diamond dust consumed each day. The party pitch in to buy a 10k gp diamond necklace from Frug and crush the diamonds right then and there. This should buy them some time until Nass is finished, then we can focus on fixing our friend.

The party meet up with Silas and Niko, then stop at Remmi’s to drop off the boy. He’ll be safe here, at the very least. Maybe we can try to talk to him again when we get back. Null stays upstairs and pulls Lotty aside, handing her two letters and asking that she deliver them to Latharial in her stead. Lotty obliges. The first contains the latest intel Null has learned about Zanidonia. The second is of a more personal nature.

L,

I miss you. I know I've been absent and I know that Silas sort of told you why. And I hope you know that we did this because I didn't want any of it to touch you. But deep down I also know how foolish it is to try to hide from Lady Latharial of Uud. You deserve to hear it all from me. So here it goes, in the only way I could think of that wouldn’t put you at risk: 

The curse is back again - worse than before. The memory of what led to it is missing but I'm sure it's my fault. The Divine Pansophical couldn't fix it. I don't think Berrik can fix it. It's bad. I thought I would find answers about my past when we went to the orphanage and I was so stupid to think it would be that simple. I should have never gone back there. Everything linked to that place and that woman has brought nothing but pain - and not just to me. They retaliated by hurting the kids and they did something to Niko like they did to me. Lotty was killed by a cursed book from a Trolley lab - We only just managed to bring her back. And now Cade’s sick and this fucking dragon has decided it’s time for a showdown. I’m trying so hard to keep it all from falling apart and I feel like I’m drowning. It gets clearer every day that you all would be safer and better off without me, even if I’m afraid of who I would be without you. For what it’s worth, I’m so sorry for any danger or sorrow I’ve brought into your life. 

I know that I’ve let you down. The last things I wanted to be are a burden to you or a liability to our cause, and now I’m afraid that I am both. My bullshit curse and all its baggage is distracting you from all the important things you’re striving for. I know that you deserve a better partner, someone who can be present and support you in all that you do. I want to be that person for you, more than anything. 

Lotty made me an amulet that we think will help buy some time. I’m grateful and hopeful about it. It’s clear to me though, after coming back from whatever happened to me in the basement of the orphanage, that this won’t truly end until the one who did this to me lies dead at my feet. The cold truth of it is that control over my own mind and my own body can’t be fully guaranteed while they still live. 

I do have one thing left that they can’t touch though - they won’t ever control my heart. My heart is my own and so I give it freely and unconditionally to you. It’s yours, no matter what happens. 

Over the past year I’ve been trying to be better about living for myself, especially now that I know I had the whims of others forced on me. I want to try to be honest about what I really want, with myself and with you: I want to liberate Zanidonia with you, for you, and see it restored. I want to make you smile every single day. I want to see you roll your eyes at my stupid jokes. I want to be at your side, in peace or in battle (especially the latter if you turn into a cool giant and save my dumb ass). I want to listen to you talk about your passions, your interests, your hopes and dreams and your worries. I want to hear you talk about your day. I want to do whatever you would ask of me. I want to watch you take on the world and push it to be better. I want to hold your hand.

And, above all things, I want you to be happy. Always - no matter what that means or looks like.

I am yours, with all I have left.

Null

Latharial gets a bit weepy and hands her own sword to Lotty, asking her to give it to Null – something to help keep her alive. Lotty wonders to herself what the hell was in that letter. Upstairs Null, knowing the significance of this gesture, is relieved. She’s unsure of whether it’s a loan or gift (surely Latharial will need a sword - she can’t just go walking around sword-less, especially when they return to Zanidonia). Either way, Null knows Latharial still cares for her and that is enough.

The party then head out of town, teleporting to the circle at the Order of the Arcane Eye in Zazuza. The welcome is not warm. It’s cold and wet, in fact. The Ashen Company find themselves in a doorless, windowless chamber full of water. This was not part of the plan!

Act Three, Chapter Nineteen: "What stupid poem could fix this home? I'd read it every day." (08/10/2022)

We return to the Ashen Company fighting off their draconic, anti-literacy invaders. Silas remains outside to safeguard Nikolai.

Berrik dispels Sickening Radiance, followed by Flynn turning the tables on a group of baddies with a very effective Synaptic Static. Cade, however, is afflicted with something strange. He involuntarily enters his sentry's rest on his turn, but is able to return to the fight in a later round. The off/on cycle continues to plague Cade throughout the rest of the encounter. The godforged is sparking - clearly malfunctioning. Alas, the battle waits for no one.

Null pursues the Dragon Blessed in the library, attempting to grapple her to no avail. Lotty holds her own while Flynn, Berrik and Cade start to move towards the library. Null lands a critical hit on the Dragon Blessed, greatly wounding her. The priest flees into an adjoining room, and Null is prevented from pursuing by a Dragonblood Ooze. It grapples her and nearly kills her in turn, with Null only barely managing to stay up (Still Standing). The Dragon Blessed attempts to cut off pursuit by summoning a Wall of Fire, enrobing the library in flame. The self-destructive changeling doesn't give a fuck and rushes through, somehow taking no damage. She swerves the Dragonblood Ooze, though, opting instead to launch herself headfirst through a glass window to get to the dragon priest. Flynn makes it to the first floor. Berrik, Cade and Lotty pick off baddies as they head towards the library. Null doesn't manage to get a good hit on the Dragon Blessed, and the priest flees again through the window Null had kindly just opened with her face. Flynn also chooses danger and rushes through the Wall of Fire, then attacking the Dragonblood Ooze. It has other ideas, however, and proceeds to throw everything at Null - she goes down. Cade inelegantly deviates Lotty to the library to join the fray. She manages to dispel the Wall of Fire and then proceeds to bring Null up. Flynn finishes off the ooze. Flynn, Null and Lotty give chase as the dragon priest flees north on the eastern side of the property. The Dragon Blessed approaches a tree and attempts to open a portal (Transport Via Plants), but Flynn Counterspells her. Null closes the gap. Surrounded, the priest Thundersteps away. Thunder ripples out from her feet as she vanishes, hitting Flynn and Null. Null drops again. Berrik and Cade finish off the remaining baddies inside. Lotty dashes to Null's side, stabilizing her but leaving her unconscious. Flynn flies straight up to try to get a vantage point, just barely managing to spot the Dragon Blessed open a portal in a tree at the west edge of the property. Too far for him. Desperate, he shouts her location in case Cade or Berrik are near enough to do anything. Cade leaps from the second floor of the villa (!), but not in time to give chase. The tree portal closes.

Lotty shouts for Cade, who rushes over to bring Null up with a Healing Word. Everyone is frustrated and deflated to have yet another enemy invade their home and escape their grasp. Silas and Niko rejoin the party at the west edge of the property, where they inspect the offending portal tree. Flynn lobs a series of Eldritch Blasts at the tree, felling it. Nikolai reveals, to everyone's dismay, that this was Roberto's favourite tree. All of the kids' initials had been carved into it. (Wow, we're bad parents). Cade is furious, rushing over to revive the tree. It wasn't the tree's fault that the dragon priest hitched a ride! Cade malfunctions again, and comes back strangely afraid of Flynn. Flynn worsens the situation by attempting to scare him. Cade takes on a defensive position and summons a tiger. They have a shouting match, with Cade accusing Flynn of being involved in their recent troubles. Flynn earnestly defends himself, but does nothing to defuse the situation. Cade shuts down again. Null takes the opportunity to lead Flynn into the villa and away from Cade. Cade, still malfunctioning, awakens this time with a strange bravado and moves to follow Flynn to continue the argument. Lotty steps in his path and talks him down, reminding him that he has other things to focus on. She died today, remember? And he wasn't there. Lotty gets through to him and explains that he is malfunctioning again - Something is wrong. He calms down a bit. Cade still suspects Flynn of misdeeds though - his Ashen Argot book went missing as soon as Flynn joined up. Lotty wonders why Cade would even need it, and Cade sheepishly admits that he never got around to learning the Ashen Company's language. As Lotty and Cade head inside, Lotty brings up something that has been bothering her since she came back to life. Dying put things in perspective, and she tells Cade that her wishes have changed when it comes to the prospect of being reincarnated.

Inside, the party inspects the charred library. It's definitely damaged and the villa itself has more holes than it used to, but it's not beyond recovery. The party's Encyclopedia of Monsters seems to have been the target. Most of it still survives, but some volumes are gone altogether - most notably the ones about dragonoids. Flynn and Cade begin to bicker again, with Cade airing his suspicious about Flynn to the whole party. Flynn provokes Cade further, which prompts Lotty to turn to him and ask (in Ashen Argot) whether he thinks he's helping. He pretends not to understand, and Lotty repeats the question in Gnomish. Cade is forced to admit to the party that he never learned their language and accuses Flynn again of misdeeds. Flynn spitefully returns the stolen book to Cade. Cade is overcome with anger and malfunctions, shutting down again. This quiets the room, as the party are reminded that their friend is in distress and they need to figure out what is plaguing him.

There is some speculation and some back-and-forth discussion about Cade's condition. Lotty and Berrik suspect that Cade's power source is depleting, forcing him into unintentional shut downs in order to conserve resources. What can we possibly do to renew the power source of a 1000 year old godforged, especially post-Cataclysm? Silas remembers that godforged worked alongside the acolytes in Exaltari temples all over Altisha during the time of the Aeonian Dominion - but they all fell to ruin after the divine cataclysm. Cade remembers something Ezra told him about how he was supposed to return to The Source in the Lands of Desolation - this is where Cade was made.

Problems continue to pile up for the Ashen Company as they decide what to do next. Nassandrial is their most pressing issue, but they need to do something for Cade. He can't continue in this state. Perhaps the McFini's could temporarily patch him up until they can put an end to Nass's provocations? Maybe Ezra has answers, if he still lives. We cannot journey to the Source casually - the Lands of Desolation are sure to live up to their name. The Ashen Company has much to consider.

Act Three, Chapter Eighteen "not the library, that's a first edition" (01-10-2022)

Downtime research discoveries:

Ashen Rider: There were multiple sightings of the Ashen Rider during the Cataclysm, there have been sporadic sightings over the last twenty years and there is always a trail of destruction left in it's wake.

Trolley: Somewhere around a year before Null arrived at the orphanage it was sold to a private holding company (under some duress from the previous owner) the company put Trolley in charge and the orphanage was very successful under her control. There have been rumours of someone matching her description seen in Blackbarrow visiting the Bellieve family.

Flynn Snr: no news

_______________________________________________________

Cade begins to stir from his sentry's rest as something pushes against him, he wakes suddenly to find it was the door he had nodded off in front of him that was pushing against him. The door was being moved by the hoard of beasties pushing through the door and Cade on to his back

As Cade is surrounded by drakes, zombies, dragon chosen and Dragon flesh grafters he manages to get out of the house and wild shape to take flight and perch above the villa to work out where his friends are.

As the rest of the Ashen Company rush towards the villa Silas provides words of support and comfort to Nikolai who manages to find a safe hiding place. Fighting their way through their own villa and seemingly unending hoards of, presumably, Nassandrial's minions the Ashen Company are able to regroup, to a degree, to at least see that they're together and all in once piece.

As the fight continues the villa starts to get a little damaged with some added skylights and a new open walk-way to the library, it seems that who ever is attacking their villa is sacking the library, maybe searching for something but nobody in the Ashen Company is able to understand the language.

Staggered around the villa the Ashen Company seek to remove these invaders and possibly think about downsizing to a property that their enemies don't all know the address for.