All right so we continue our wee scrap with our doubles: Worse Null and Fake Lotty are left. My notes on Saturday weren't the best, so we're truckin' along from mostly memory.
Actual Null stabilizes an unconscious Berrik in the pantry, before Ghost Walking outta there to find the fight. Worse Null has fled, you see. Actual Null heads towards the closest ruckus, which ends up being the two Lottys. Elsewhere, Worse Null rolls up to harass Flynn and Orun. It doesn't bode well for our warlock. Eventually the girls waste fake Lotty's fake ass and skedaddle to find Flynn. When they find him it doesn't look great, but he's alive. The three wait a round for Worse Null to show up, but she doesn't. Null worries about Berrik's safety with Worse Null running amok and so runs back to the pantry. She ghostily launches herself through the wall just in time to stab Worse Null through the guts and save Berrik from certain doom. Initiative ends. We drag Berrik's unconscious body back to Flynn and Orun, as the polar bear can't easily move between rooms. The fog is dispelled for 20 minutes, giving us enough time to bring up Berrik, heal, and have a rest before moving on. Flynn and Berrik peruse the book on Soul Transference that Null had grabbed from the detention riddle level. It turns out there's nothing in there that would help them find a solution for Ezra's predicament, but Berrik knows how to become a lich now, I guess?
The next level we portal into is an arid desert, reminiscent of Silas's tales of his time in the Sands of Illyria. We are in a nomadic camp of some kind and we can see several tents scattered amongst the rocky hillside. There's evidently no one around except some monkeys and pack animals, so we split up and start exploring to figure out what Jigsaw shit Azher has in store for us today. Flynn immediately realizes Orun can't climb up to the more elevated parts of the camp, and so opts to hang out with his new bff. Eventually Null spots a robed figure rummaging inside a tent and gets their attention with a brusque "HEY". They signal for her to wait until they're done with their rummaging. Null is annoyed, but that soon turns to seething anger when the figure turns around to face her. It's Erithax's favourite princess, the source of our personal and global woes, the arcane rune ruiner, the oligarch of orphanmaking, the one senior citizen we would giddily push down a flight of (Ali)stairs - the Marionettist. Yeah, him. Fuck this guy. Null beckons her friends over. Berrik and Lotty arive in time to hear that we're supposed to find something in the camp - something important that we left behind. Ugh, more games. We're mad as hell but know we have to play along. Null makes a mental note to add "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" to her next playlist about her feelings. Flynn conjures a ramp for Orun using Wall of Stone.
It doesn't take long for us to discover what Assy was talking about. We find our friend Silas kneeling in the topmost tent. Well, a version of our friend anyway, It looks like Silas, but half his face is ruined and dark and a corrupting green glow emits from one eye. He is in a trance and doesn't respond when we speak to him. The Ashen Company is distraught as hell. We thought we had successfully sidestepped the Silas/ Niko heart dilemma - Did we swerve a moral quandary only to be slapped in the face with the consequences of trying to get by with everyone intact? Null's insight tells her that Assy believes he's tormenting them with the real Silas. Is their friend damned forever because they tried to write in a third option? We wonder what's become of Niko, but dare not speak it out loud. Null kicks Silas's weapon towards Flynn and moves to gently inspect him. She touches a hand to his chest and feels a warm vibration on his left side. Heart stuff is afoot. She starts to remove his armour but that triggers initiative.
This version of Silas hits really fucking hard, has AOE's, and multiple abilities that incapacitate for entire rounds. And he mechanically qualifies as undead?! Yikes! We fight for a couple of rounds and it's not super fun. Everyone except Assy is palpably sad and angry, even Silas.
That doesn't stop him from hitting Null with some kind of effect that leaves her stunned. Was it a Negroni Sbagliato recipe?
Okay bye, see you next week!