Act Three, Chapter 48: "Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there. I do not sleep." (2023/09/23)

After defeating Sarni, Lotty uses her Sending Stone to contact Remmi. She tells him that we won the battle but that the area is too dangerous to be left unguarded. He agrees to send some of the Syndicate to secure it. While we wait for them to arrive, we go through Sarni's stuff and Berrik spends 40 minutes identifying the following:

- Robes of Scintillating Colours (3 slots)... Goes to Berrik
- Ring of Heartiness <3 (2 slots, gives 19 CON)... Goes to Berrik
- Potion of Invulnerability... Goes to Null
- Potion of Maximum Power... Goes to Flynn

Before too long, we see Remmi arrive with some Syndicate members. He explains that clean up is too risky in the short term, so the plan is for Mira to use the ice machine to encase the area in ice. We can't think of any better ideas, so it is what it is. Null gets on Remmi's case about Rhone's competence as head of security, given the situation we find ourselves in. Why would the head of security for a city-wide festival spend his day in an empty bar? Remmi gets defensive and calls Null empty - she is taken aback and a little hurt by this retort and quietly agrees. The party decides to complete a short rest before heading back topside to rejoin the festivities. Grug says something really nice to Null about how being empty means you're just able to have good things fill you up. Lotty realizes Nessie can't climb out of the sewer, so she re-absorbs the steel defender into her defense matrix. However, she realizes too late that the necklace of fireballs is still inside Nessie. The beads are shot into her mouth and she isn't able to avoid them in time. So now Lotty has a bunch of explosives in her stomach - It's deeply embarrassing and pretty uncomfortable. But this too shall pass... out the other end. She just has to keep very calm inside and outside until that time. Luckily, the McFinis are a very regular family, so it shouldn't be too long. Before we take our leave, Remmi calls Lotty over and tosses her an iron coin with a stylized "RS" on it. He explains that it should help her get into more places, referring to all the gold she paid to get down here. After some complaining, he tosses 4 more more to the rest of the party. Remmi implores us to keep what happened in the sewers on the DL. Okay, sure, now we're leaving.

Once we're back on the surface, Null and Lotty realize just how poorly they're feeling. Alas, the Divine Pansophical is closed for the day (even the clergy need a day off to get right fuckin' loaded every once in awhile) so we opt to just wait out our ailments. Sure hope the city doesn't see any mass-casualty events before the end of the night! As we walk through the streets Flynn can't help but want to take some credit for saving the city, seeing a ginger-haired dwarf Flynn haughtily tells the dwarf "You're welcome!" and the dwarf takes offense. He shoves Flynn. Things get a bit tense. Grug steps up to defend their friend and intimidates the dwarf into backing off. As the dwarf goes to leave, the party sees him clutch his arm and fall to the ground. Lotty runs over to cast Cure Wounds. As she leans over him, she realizes how closely he resembles her old friend Singe. She says so and the dwarf introduces himself as Cinder, half brother of Singe. He's not a monk like Singe, instead making a living as a sellsword. He knows Singe is dead and Lotty mentions that she was the one to bury him outside the city. They chat a bit more and Lotty feels driven to connect with this guy, perhaps because he so closely resembles her late friend. She mentions that the Last Stand Inn is a good spot to visit if he's looking to sell his sword and that if he ever needs anything from us to drop a line there. They part ways on good terms, but Cinder makes it clear that Flynn remains on his shit list. After he leaves, Lotty is wistful about Singe and says she would like to visit his grave later.

A feeble man of delicate health.

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The Ashen Company goes on to partake in the festivities. We stop at a Sno-cone stand that boasts every flavour one can imagine. The kindly loxodon Sno-cone monger refuses any payment, saying that her services have been paid for already. Lotty feels her tummy start to rumble ominously. She hurriedly orders ten elderberry Sno-cones, hoping to cool down the literal fire in her belly. Flynn asks Mordecai what he wants and the genie is delighted - he hasn't had a Sno-cone in eons! He goes with strawberry-kiwi. Berrik asks Grug for a suggestion, and so goes with "rendered beaver fat". Grug also goes with this flavour, but adds scoops of steak flavour and elderberry flavour to create a truly unique savoury experience and tips the vendor their new iron coin from Remmi. Null asks the loxodon to surprise her - the treat monger thinks a few moments and then produces a cone that is gold in colour. Null tastes it and the Sno-cone stirs up weird memory stuff. The flavour is familiar to her - she has tasted it before and associates good feelings with it, but she has no idea what it is. The loxodon tells Null it's butterscotch and the rogue feels strange because she doesn't remember ever having had butterscotch before. The party finishes their Sno-cones and moves on to more festival fun.

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Flynn sees a bunch of kids waging a snowball war and decides to join the side of our orphan wards. Lily is clearly running the show. Flynn uses Stone Shape and Cone of Cold to bolster their structural defenses and give them a higher launch point for their attacks. The rest of the party watches as Flynn's tactics and magic lead their side to victory. 

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Null leads the party towards some carnival games, with the goal of winning a prize. Null and Grug team up and tackle the classic family game of "Throw sharps at an increasingly more complicated living target with Price is Right rules". Null throws daggers at Grug and manages 3/5. Grug decides ale will help them succeed and gets drunk while throwing handaxes at Null. Grug manages 2/5, with one wayward axe landing in Berrik's shoulder. Oh well, both participants still receive small prizes! Grug hands over their mini Giant Dire Beaver plushie to Null, explaining that this is a wedding gift. Null is very touched and hands over her Green Dragon plushie to Grug in return.

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Next, Lotty heads towards McFini's Fine Emporium. On the way she receives a weird message from Remmi - Remmi wants her to come see him at the Last Stand Inn before the end of the day. He wants her to come alone. Lotty questions this and Remmi is evasive about what he wants to discuss, but still Lotty agrees to the meeting. At McFini's, Lotty finds her Aunt Ella and asks if she has anything that could help with her unique situation. Aunt Ella seems confused and disappointed at hearing that Lotty somehow managed to accidentally swallow beads of Fireball. She sighs and goes into her bag, pulling out a laxative potion. "This should help moves things along."

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Later, Lotty rejoins her friends. They offer to accompany her to visit Singe's resting place, and so we all make the short trek outside the city. Singe was buried near to where he fell, not far from where an earlier lineup of the Ashen Company defeated Fane (a lieutenant of Morrow Massani). Lotty is shocked to find the grave empty and the staff she left as a grave marker gone. There is no trace of Singe to be found. Lotty recalls what she knows about Singe, trying to find a reason for her dead friend's corpse to be missing. Who would come get him? She remembers that Singe had ties to Efreeti - he presented as a dwarf but after his death Lotty discovered he was a fire genasi. There is still no obvious reason for fire genies to come steal Singe's body, though. Lotty next inspects the grave and figures that it was disturbed about 6 months ago. It's been well over a year since Singe fell, so this timing is also very curious. Null decides to tap into the spooky death stuff she finds herself capable of doing and try to sense Singe's presence. She sits quietly for a bit, mentally reaching out to her surroundings. She senses the death that happened here and the dying trees around them, but there is no ghostly presence, no sign of Singe. Null tells Lotty she doesn't think Singe is dead anymore - she can't sense him here. This understandably freaks Lotty out, but there's not much she can do about it. Time to move on.

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The Ashen Company heads to the Last Stand Inn where Lotty sent Cinder earlier on; Rhone is still behind the bar. Null glares at him from afar and Rhone responds by holding up his middle finger. Lotty walks up to Rhone and relays that she met Singe's brother and that she told him about the Last Stand Inn. Rhone replies that Cinder is actually here already - he went downstairs to talk to Remmi. Lotty asks Rhone to let her through as well - She wants to know what the hell is up with Remmi's mysterious message. Before heading down,  Lotty tells Flynn that she's going to use the privy downstairs but asks that he message her in 1 minute to check in and make sure she hasn't exploded. After Lotty leaves, Flynn tries to follow but Rhone won't let him pass. Flynn can't stand being told not to do something, so he does the reasonable thing and heads to the upstairs privy so that no one will see him Dimension Door after Lotty. 

Lotty arrives to a closed door. She knocks, but there is no answer. She remembers how they used to enter here and knicks her finger, smearing blood across the door. It opens and she steps through. As the door closes behind her, smoke fills her vision and her nostrils. Something has gone terribly wrong. She calls for Remmi, but there is no answer. As she walks down the hall, the smoke and heat increases.

Meanwhile, Flynn arrives to the closed door of the Remmington Syndicate headquarters. He knocks and shouts, but no one comes to the door. He tries the blood thing, but the door won't open. There is nowhere for him to stick his fancy new Syndicate coin. Realizing he is trapped and without a way to Lotty, he takes out his book to send her a message.

Back inside, Lotty has made her way further into the depths of the Syndicate headquarters. Two statues have toppled over and the high table is on fire. The smoke and heat get more intense with every step and she's finding it harder to see. Lotty activates Fire Shield. She trips over something as she keeps walking. Looking down she sees Remmi's chair, unoccupied. This is bad. Lotty picks up the chair and wheels it in front of her, rushing towards Remmi's quarters. The smoke and heat are heaviest here and she sees blood smearing the floor. In her mind, Lotty hears Flynn asking what's going on and Lotty hastily replies that there is a fire. We are in danger and she can't find Remmi. Flynn can't do much where he is, trapped between two doors, so he takes out his book to message Null and tell her Lotty needs help. Now.

Null, still glaring at Rhone, hears Flynn's call to arms in her head. She moves quickly towards the bar, urgently beckoning Berrik and Grug to follow. Null tell Rhone he needs to let us through right the fuck now. Lotty is in trouble and there's a fire. The barbarian reaches under the bar to grab his glaive - to Null's great relief he doesn't swing it at her. Let's go, he says, as he opens the door. We all rush down the stairs and encounter Flynn. We fruitlessly try the blood thing again, and Rhone attacks the door only to be knocked back. Flynn hurriedly tells Null to walk through - she activates Ghost Walk and crosses. Flynn mutters an apology to Grug and Rhone as he grabs Berrik and they Dimension Door to the other side. Null, Berrik and Flynn shout for Lotty.

Lotty is in Remmi's quarters and cannot hear her friends. She soon finds Remmi lying on the floor, barely breathing and covered in blood. Lotty heals Remmi as much as she can and gets him into his chair. She asks him what happened and his reply is unintelligible. Lotty pushes Remmi back towards the exit as quickly as possible.

As they try to locate Lotty, Berrik dispels what he thinks is an Arcane Lock on the main door. It opens, and our two Zanidonian barbarians tumble through. Flynn receives a message from Latharial, saying that she has been attacked by assassins and is badly hurt. She needs help. Flynn asks for her location and she replies with an address in a block of apartments near the Omnimarket, but she's being chased and is on the move. Flynn briefly ponders not telling Null about this to keep her from taking off, but in the end he tells her about L's situation. Predictably, Null starts running. Berrik stops her and Dimension Doors them twice to get them there a little quicker. They keep running and Berrik struggles to keep up with Null, burning two Misty Steps to stave off exhaustion. As they race towards the Omnimarket, Berrik receives a message from Mira saying that she's under attack. It's all she manages to say before being cut off (Why does no one start with their location??). Berrik tries to ask where she is but receives no reply.

Back in the fiery guts of the Last Stand Inn, Lotty finds Flynn, Grug and Rhone near the exit. They all look to a wounded Remmi in his chair, struggling to speak: "...attacked. Not safe". Lotty then receives a frantic message from Frug saying that the shop is gone. The family desperately needs her help. She feels pulled to go help them, but the situation at hand is graver. Lotty reluctantly tells her family to hunker down, stick together, everyone's under attack, she'll get there as soon as she can and she loves them.

Berrik and Null arrive at the Omnimarket - it's utter chaos. They see McFini's Fine Emporium destroyed and engulfed in flames. People are fleeing and screaming. Null focuses on the apartment buildings and spots Latharial leaping through a third story window to another building. Four hooded figures pursue her. When one misses the jump, Null sees them teleport to safety before they hit the ground. Well shit, they've got those dope-ass Dishonored powers. Null shotguns a potion of Fly and Berrik casts the spell on himself - it will be quicker to get to her this way. They zoom up through the shattered window to join the fray. As they square up, Null and Berrik see that L is unarmed and unarmoured, still wearing her cream-coloured dress. She's badly wounded and covered in blood. We've gotta get her outta here.

Back at the Inn, Rhone suddenly shudders, doubled over in pain. Flynn, thinking quickly, ushers both Rhone and Remmi into the jar with him to keep them out of harm's way. This leaves Lotty and Grug on the outside. Lotty hands the jar to Grug for safe-keeping and both make a run for the exit. To their surprise, a Wall of Fire ignites in front of them to block their escape. What the hell? Lotty tries to dispel the magic but it is countered. They see a dark figure emerge from the smoke. As the flickering of the flames dances across his face, Lotty recognizes the hyper-masculine and definitely not Bieber-ish tiefling figure. Her heart sinks. Long-dead, and yet standing in front of her, is Dolosius.

Act Three, Chapter 47: "Volatile beads in the ass-end of Sierrona." (2023/09/16)

 The Ashen Company continues to battle the Chasmes. Flynn intelligently keeps his distance. Grug is having trouble hitting, as they are still intoxicated. Null goes unconscious twice. She suffers the effects of the proboscis attack, as does Lotty. We manage to eke it out, however, and those bugs are permanently swatted. Null and Lotty feel like shit - their HP maximums have been significantly reduced. We debate taking a rest, but decide there's no time since there might be terrorism afoot. Lotty decides to at least cast Lesser Restoration on Grug, who is somehow still sustaining their rage. Null debates going invisible with the cloak to keep baddies from hitting her, but it's decided that Nessie's See Invisibility is more valuable to have up.

Berrik still has Locate Creature up, and leads the way through the labyrinthine sewer system towards Sarni's ping. Ice permeates everything. We come across a subterranean jail that Lotty recognizes. As they move Null notices a glint out of the corner of her eye. Stopping to focus on it, she notices more in the floor and walls. She calls over her friends and we all recognize the beads of fireball embedded in the ice around them. The implications of what's going on here are clear. We have to keep moving -  the stakes are too high. As we get closer to the Locate Creature ping, the concentration of beads get higher. They are everywhere. Eventually see a chamber to the north so full of beads that it's emitting a bright light. Lotty stops to get her bearings and figures out that they are below the Omnimarket - the McFini shop and thousands of people enjoying the festivities are above them, wholly unaware of the potential devastation below them. We call our bosses but they tell us what we already know - we have to stop this. 

The party cautiously approaches the light and before too long they hear the voice of Sarni taunting them, but still don't see him. It takes Nessie entering the space to reveal the fox-like arcanaloth. Sarni is holding a torch and paces the room, occasionally pretending to stumble in an attempt to rattle the party. Knowing how risky a scrap in this space would be, we first attempt to open a dialogue with Sarni despite the fact that he's kind of a dick. While he initially feigns having any kind of benefactor, he does eventually admit to having a contract to do all this terrorism. (Lotty, Null and Berrik remember the fiendish twins who attacked Alya. Could Sextus and Seppia be behind this?) Flynn attempts to outbid Sarni's current contract, which the arcanaloth seems open to. His current rate is 10,000 so whatever we offer will have to be more than that. That little detail gets our hopes up, but Sarni soon clarifies that he meant 10,000 platinum. Not in the cards for us. The conversation continues, tenser now. Sarni taunts Null about her upcoming change in marital status. We see that he's wearing a necklace of Fireballs and still seems pretty committed to vaporizing Sierrona. Berrik can see this is going nowhere, and attempts to Banish Sarni. It doesn't work, so combat begins.

Grug, still raging from before, is ready for violence. They focus everything on Sarni, knocking him around and taking a decent chunk of his health. Sarni tries to Misty Step away, but is Counterspelled by Berrik. Sarni, an avid BG3 enjoyer, then attempts to cast a second levelled spell as an action on his turn. Flynn successfully clocks that he's attempting to cast Fireball to ignite the room, and so proceeds to Counterspell that as well. Lotty runs up and wrestles the necklace off of Sarni. She gently shoves it into Nessie's mouth for safekeeping. Flynn hexes Sarni and starts blasting. Null tries to extinguish the torch by smothering it against herself. The flame goes out on the torch, but she somehow manages to light herself on fire in the process. Seeing the ice around her start to melt, she activates Ghost Walk and hovers 10ft off the ground to buy some time. Sarni calls for back up in the form of an enormous pit fiend with a flaming mace. The fiend emits an aura of fear, which is super inconvenient for our heroes. The fiend's mace also damages the ground surrounding wherever it hits, exposing the embedded beads of fireball and making them vulnerable to ignition.

Berrik decides to emit an aura of his own and casts Antimagic, hoping to foil Sarni's efforts by creating a magical dead zone within ten feet of himself. Grug attempts a combo by grappling Sarni within the Antimagic aura, but the fox somehow manages to wriggle out of their grasp. Lotty takes some time away from walloping the pit fiend to cast Heroism on herself and Grug, boosting their health and making them immune to being frightened. Strangely, both Grug and Flynn suddenly realize that Lotty's head is a sacred relic at that exact moment. Wow, magic sure is WILD sometimes. Null manages to put herself out and drops to the ground to join the fray, but is too scared to land much of anything. Newly escaped Sarni looses a fireball, melting the ice and making a large area of the battlefield vulnerable to ignition. He flees, trying to get into position to finish it off. Flynn pursues, using Eldritch Blasts to pull Sarni back. Grug also gives chase and together Flynn and Grug nearly bring down the slippery arcanaloth. Berrik sees what's going on and moves into position, using the Antimagic field to block Sarni's vantage point so that any fireball from that position would dissipate. Frustrated, Sarni Banishes Grug and Flynn before fleeing down an adjacent hallway. Null, still frightened of the pit fiend, suddenly sees Sarni appear to the south and he's eyeing the exposed beads before him. There's no one else close enough to stop him. She carefully darts across the damaged area to meet him. With one last desperate swing of her sword, she slices through his hands and ruins his face before Sarni dissolves into ash. Conveniently, all of his stuff remains in a pile on the ground. 

There's still the pit fiend, however! Grug and Flynn pop back into this plane of existence, no longer Banished. We all converge on the big guy and Lotty, who has basically been soloing him this entire time, is happy for the help. Lotty summons a construct. Null runs over for stabbies. Flynn pummels the fiend with Eldritch Blast, pushing it back against the far wall. Berrik drops Antimagic field, instead opting for Magic Missile's surefire results and lack of collateral damage. The fiend moves towards the vulnerable area, clearly driven to set off the beads with its fiery mace. As it swings, Berrik uses Sacrifice to redirect the blow towards himself and take its full damage. In the end it's Grug who comes from behind with their greataxe, chopping away to finish off the fiend. As it dissolves into ash, Grug manages to catch the fiery mace before it hits the ground. Grug's hands go a little crispy, but the barbarian doesn't feel it much thanks to their rage. 

So here we are -  the immediate danger is gone but there are still hundreds of explosive beads below Sierrona. Berrik stabilizes what he can with Ice Storm. We end the session there.

Act III, Chapter forty six "Plight one's troth on ice" 09-09-2023

Grug finally wakes up from their 10 day nap feeling truly rested and back to full health. To thank them for their unquestioning support in the tower Flynn has managed to purchase a magical tankard for Grug, after a few false starts in understanding how it works Grug soon determines they just need to ask for Ale and the tankard fills with amber nectar over and over again.

On the first day of Wintercrest the Ashen Company wake up to the unusual sight of snow falling on the Sieronna coast; there are children playing, making snow constructs and throwing snow balls at one another. Flynn and Lotty join in making snow angels whilst Berrick eyes the large icy dome covering the city. 

As is Ashen Company tradition; the group heads in to town for breakfast and beers, hearing about a new floating restaurant currently docked they decided to head there for breakfast. They find a converted Booty Taker and Crazy "one-eyed" Kraz behind the bar. Lotty and Kraz briefly reminisce as he explains he has retired from adventuring and is earning a great trade in the restaurant business and keeping significantly safer. Lotty's old pal Carr (the halfing lookout who gave her lessons on playing the banjo) is now the cook and serving up the delights of real bacon. Unfortunately there's no jellied pigs trotters for Grug but Carr is kind enough to send up some regular trotters at no extra charge.

After filling their bellies most of the company try their hand at ice-skating whilst Null realises she didn't agree a meeting place with Latharial and goes off to find her.

Grug skates like an angel, delicately gliding across the ice with the grace of a figure skater, Lotty goes around the ink once holding on to the edge  before deciding that's enough and goes to wait on solid land for the rest. Berrick spots Mira floating above the rink in deep concentration, it appears she is using the ice staff to create and maintain the icy weather dome surrounding Sieronna. Ever unlucky Flynn manages to stumble over a child only to be met by the child's stocky dwarven mother who in turn knocks Flynn on his arse with a threat of further violence causing Flynn to hold back an Eldrich Blast with all his willpower.

Meanwhile Null uses the sending stone to ask Latharial where they should meet, in turn she's playfully told to use her skills and find Latharial. Null goes to the Last Stand Inn first of all and a surely Rhone lets Null know Lady L isn't there. Rhone seems doubly frustrated that he's left tending the bar and providing security. After Null and Rhone bicker like siblings Null leave and whirls a snowball at him from the door that hits him square in the face, he sees the funny side and gives her a grin as she leaves.

Heading to the villa next Null sees clothes everywhere, it looks like Latharial (who is fancy enough to have more than one set of clothes!) was wrecking her wardrobe deciding what to wear.

Null takes to the rooftops to look for Lady L and spots her on the ice watching over some of the skating children. Null switches out her equipment and dons the cloak of invisibility, she grabs some skates, puts up her hood and stumbles across the ice to sneak up to Latharial for a surprise embrace. Latharial helps Null put on her skates and teaches her the basics of skating.

Latharial takes Null's hand and explains they need to take Calitrax out of power but Lady L doesn't want to rule, she wants to open a choosing for the people to pick who is in power so she can lay down her swords. She needs Null to keep her plans for power - or lack of - to remain a secret to keep morale up. Latharial goes on to say she wants to retire in her Dad's old cabin, take care of the orphans and make a life with Null. 

Lady Latharial asks Null if she'll marry her.

Despite the romantic proposal Null is full of her usual self doubt and almost tries to talk Latherial out of the proposal, giving her options to back out not feeling that she is good enough for the Lady. Thankfully Latharial has enough love for Null to give her several more chances to say yes and the couple are engaged. With the rest of the Ashen Company elated at the news Null tells Berrick he'll need to become ordained so he can officiate the wedding when Grug steps in to say he can officiate a Zanadonian wedding!

Lady L explains Null will need to fight any would be suiters for her hand in a fist fight as part of the ceremony. Grug offers to teach Null the ways and the two of them proceed to get drunk and throw punches at eachother!

The group decides to take a ride on the roller coaster that has been set up around the city, Null & Grug manage to hold on to their stomachs and Null spots a fox-like figure heading in to the sewers. After being a little too drunk to to pinpoint the direction she inadvertently sends Grug through the wall of a nearby home of an innocent old man, a threatening Flynn piles in after Grug & Null before the grown-ups redirect the chase for who they presume is Sarni. Flynn leaves a lifetime of gold for the old man by way of apology and Lotty removes the alcohol poisoning from Null as they leave (trusting Grug will sober up quickly enough, he's used to drinking in volume)

They rush to where a more sober Null thinks the figure disappeared and they find a sewer grate that is familiar to Lotty. She's been through this entrance before and realises it's going to cost some gold, recalling the first time she went through it only cost a gold or two and the next time it cost a hundred or two she tried to explain that it'll probably cost a small fortune for her to go through the grate but a reasonably small amount for the rest. Her explanation wasn't adequate enough and a small fortune is wasted but eventually they all fall through the sewer entrance.

Lotty warns the group of the various beasties she saw the last two times she was here as they chase after Sarni but she hasn't encountered the giant mosquito like creatures that begin to attack the group...

Act Three, Chapter 45: "Never get involved in a land war in Zanidonia" (2023/09/02)

Much like the previous session, we're still in several days of downtime before the festival begins. The following events take place at unspecified times over those days, so I kinda grouped them thematically. Wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey and all of that. Festival starts next session! 

"You up?"

Lotty is startled by the familiar voice in her head. Why would Berrik rouse her so late at night? There must be some kind of imminent danger! The voice quickly assures her that it's Derrik and everything is fine - he just wanted to check in. Lotty continues to be sleepy and confused and does not pick up what he's putting down. Derrik soon sees that this is not going very well, cutting his losses and awkwardly ending the conversation.

Potions:

Lotty takes the time to identify two mystery potions she's been lugging around since Ezra's tower. They are:

- Potion of Longevity: When you drink this potion, your physical age is reduced by 1d6 + 6 years, to a minimum of 13 years. Each time you subsequently drink a potion of longevity, there is a 10 percent cumulative chance that you instead age by 1d6 +6 years. Suspended in this amber liquid are a scorpion's tail, an adder's fang, a dead spider, and a tiny heart that, against all reason, is still beating. The ingredients vanish when the potion is opened.

- Potion of Vitality: When you drink this potion, it removes any exhaustion you are suffering and cures any disease or poison affecting you. For the next 24 hours, you regain the maximum number of hit points for any Hit Die you spend. The potion's crimson liquid regularly pulses with dull light, calling to mind a heartbeat.

Lotty decides to gift them both to Berrik. The years the scrying orb took from him are more obvious, given the lifespan of hobgoblins, and he is most at risk of coping with exhaustion as long as the caster of the Dream spell remains at large. He tries to politely decline, but Lotty insists. Lotty usually gets what she wants outta this party, so Berrik takes both potions. He drinks the potion of Longevity, gaining back 8 years and reducing what the orb took from 13 years to 5. He is grateful and pockets the other potion for later.

Lotty should be charging Null for all of this therapy:

Null finds Lotty in the kitchen one evening, determined to help with dinner. Lotty tasks her with reaching for things on higher shelves. Hopelessly inept in the kitchen, Null fees confident she won't screw this up. When there's a lull in cooking, Null decides to spill the beans to Lotty about her and Flynn's tangle with the cursed helmet in Ezra's tower. She explains how it first attacked Flynn and then it attacked her. It offered aid in defeating Azher, aid in undoing what was done to her (going so far as to show her a reflection of what she would have looked like). She goes on to tell Lotty that the only way she was able to escape the helmet was to take off the amulet and hope her tattoo would protect itself. It did, but she lost the amulet. Also, she may have lightly stabbed Flynn in the chest in the process. She's really sorry about how it all went down and hopes Lotty isn't even more disappointed in her. Lotty reassures Null that while she's still annoyed that she had to make another amulet, she isn't angry with her. Feeling a bit better, Null then asks Lotty to compare the child version of Null she saw through the orb to the adult version the helmet showed her. She wants to know if it was telling the truth or if it was a manipulation. Null changes her form and Lotty finds the resemblance between the two uncanny - The Null in front of her is very clearly an older version of the brown-haired, green-eyed child that Lotty saw through the orb. She is a clear relation of Null's Dara form, but this body is different. She is a bit shorter, her face fuller. She has a lithe build and bright green eyes, Her brown hair is cut shorter and styled with an undercut and braid. The right light shows faint colours peeking through the brown. Null asks Lotty if she thinks it would be alright to try out this body for awhile. Lotty is supportive, so Emily's gonna have to see how far she can push HeroForge's hair options when she goes to update Null.

Later, perhaps the same night, Lotty and Null are doing dishes. Null decides this is a great time to request more emotional labour from her friend. The rogue has been feeling unsettled since they discovered the truth about her mother. She cares for the woman's fate and wants more than anything to rescue her, but she is finding it difficult to manifest a deeper feeling of love. She doesn't really have a concept of what a mother means to her. Hoping to fill in the blanks, Null asks Lotty about her own mother. Lotty admits that she lost her mother when she was ten days old, and was raised by her Aunt Ella. She knows that Rose was a woodland gnome and that her father loved her more than anything, but that's as far as the connection goes. It was her Aunt Ella, together with Frug, that raised her. Love is less about blood and more about the people who surround you, the people you know. Null understands - she hopes that she will know get to know her mother and love her someday after they rescue her, but she is relieved to learn that she isn't broken for feeling the way she feels right now. Speaking of rescue, Lotty is from the north. Has she ever heard of a place like the one where she saw Null's mother? Thinking hard, she has! Her grandfather visited such a place when mine dust got to his lungs. While hospitals aren't very common in Altisha due to the availability of healing magic, there are a few places tailored to support patients with ailments that prove to be more chronic or less physical in nature. The only place of this kind in the north that Lotty knows about is the High Rock House of Healing. We're fixin' to depose someone in High Rock in the near future, so this is very convenient for us. Null and Lotty ends the conversation by affirming that in the same way you grow to love the people who surround you - the people you know - they care for each other.

Is somewhere called the Last Stand Inn really a good place to make battle plans that could decide all of our fates?:

Grug continues their days-long nap, so Lotty, Flynn, Berrik and Null drag the ice machine all the way to the inn. Curiously, Rhone is behind the bar and it's quickly clear that he does not excel in customer service. He tells us it's a temporary security measure, as they don't want to hire a new person before the festival. He and Flynn antagonize each other, with Null joining in a bit. Lotty tries to keep the peace. He seems to respect Berrik at least. Eventually we all head downstairs.

Remmi, Latharial and Mira are all at the high table. We deliver the ice machine and they all seem pretty stoked. Mira uses Telekinesis to transport the device to her room so that she can get it ready. The device will be used to freeze the harbour and create a sort of winter wonderland for the usually warm city. Sounds fun! Null mentions she doesn't think she knows how to ice skate. Not to worry, Latharial says she will teach her.

We ask about the kids. Remmi says they are at school. We find out that Remmi and Latharial took the the time to break the news about Niko and Silas, as us deadbeats had swerved our own wards and immediately took off for Ezra's tower without speaking to them. The party wonders if we're really cut out to raise kids - they certainly deserve better than what we've provided to them. Lotty asks about the possibility of finding them more stable caregivers, but that will have to wait until after our conflicts are resolved.

Remmi and Latharial ask how we fared in the tower. Flynn's bravado initially takes over, saying it was easy and fine. We soon correct the record - it was horrible and not fine and, in fact, Flynn lost his hand and his life. Berrik decides this is a good time to tell our allies what he saw in the Astral Sea. The last thing Ezra was studying before he left the tower - 100's (1000's?) of slumbering, gargantuan dragons lying in wait for something. Remmi seems to think this is connected to "Those That Came Before" and therefore Ezra/Azher. (Maybe we should follow up on what he means by that).

At this point, it's clear to Remmi and Latharial that Ezra wasn't at the tower. Do we have any idea where he is? Berrik describes the super-powered scrying orb and how he used it to find Ezra. All we know about Ezra is that he appeared to be underground somewhere in the Lands of Desolation, locked in battle with an unknown figure. We have no idea where to start looking beyond that. Remmi is troubled, as are we all. Ezra's safe return is integral to our long-term success against the Marionettist. Remmi tells the party that he will need to go search for Ezra himself - he will bring Mira, perhaps Kel. Rhone can stay and run things in his absence. Wait a sec, why can't the Ashen Company go find Ezra?

Latharial breaks the news that she will be marching their forces north to Zanidonia shortly after the festival, and she is asking the Ashen Company to honour their agreement to help liberate her homeland. Calitrax and the Marionettist are amassing power too quickly and so we cannot delay the war campaign long enough for us to find Ezra - it will have to be either/or. Latharial continues to describe the plan in more detail.

1) Latharial will publicly martial our forces and march northward. She will make a show of settling in for the long haul, building outposts and laying sieges. She wants to avoid open warfare with her own people and pull Calitrax's attention her way.

2) Meanwhile, the Ashen Company will infiltrate High Rock directly and cut off the head of the snake. Latharial is hoping that doing this will net them a victory without mass bloodshed.

Caveats: We cannot teleport into High Rock - we will have to sneak in and we CANNOT be caught, or else this whole plan is for naught. Calitrax has taken steps towards lichdom, so we must find and destroy her phylactery before we confront her. We cannot rely on Sending Stones for communication, as there is no way to tell who is holding it (we can still rely on Flynn's book however). Also, Calitrax is able to consume souls to bolster her powers. Not sure how we overcome that, but I guess it's good we're aware?

Null expresses concern over being sent into a hotbed of Marionettist activity while she still bears the mark on her neck. The amulet protects her from outside influence over long distances, but what if it can't be relied upon at close range? She made a promise to L and and she knows that her friends need her, but she is worried about losing control of her body in a place where there is no help to be had. She had been hoping that Ezra might be able to help her before the march on Zanidonia, but he remains lost. Remmi offers to perhaps bring Ezra north if they find him quickly enough. Lotty promises to knock her out if she loses control. Null buries her fears - we will have to make do and make sure we stay extra quiet until it's time to strike.

At some point, Flynn makes an impertinent comment to Latharial about her hating chairs. Latharial immediately understands what he's referring to and Flynn immediately understands that he fucked up. The Lady of Uud punches her fists together and doubles in size - she is furious with Flynn over the invasion of privacy and rebukes a very uncomfortable Flynn until he apologizes. Null's got heart eyes over this whole encounter. L reverts to her original size after extracting an apology from Flynn, who promises not to do it again.

Now that things are awkward, the discussion trails off. Null asks L when and where she should pick her up for the festival. L is evasive, replying with "You know where to find me". Null is momentarily confused, wondering if she's missed something, but she soon realizes L is being cheeky. With that, the party tries to get excited for the upcoming festival. We hope it brings joy to the populace, as well as to ourselves. Gods know we need a bit of uncomplicated mirth before the gravity of what comes next sets in.