Having successfully reprogrammed the Machine of Infinite Regret the Ashen Company are given the opportunity to ask any questions they may have of the machine. Flynn steps up first and asks the machine what the most popular cheese is, a nice Gouda is the answer.
Down to business, Flynn asks “how did your world end?” The machine explains the greatest minds on it's world pulled together to create this machine; an entity to try and preserve life. However there was too much indecision and not enough action. When they realised they couldn't win the battle they decided instead to try and wait it out; sending their people out in status hives hoping that they will reawaken in brighter times. Asked about when the cycle was, what weapons they used, how close they were to winning the fight - The machine now exists outside of time a normal space but it theorises that its cycle was the one before the Ashen Company's current cycle, it explains they couldn't stand up to the overwhelming force even with their powerful rays of magical damage.
As the conversation continues the Ashen company learns that this machine was created by the One Who Watches to try and discover what the perfect world would look like, the One Who Watches talks to the machine about why it's cycle failed and why other cycles failed; in all the cycles before the peoples had reached some level of advanced magic or technology and all then go on to destroy themselves. The One Who Watches believes that the best chance for civilization to not kill itself is to kill it first, offering the chance to a few people to survive the destruction and become a deity of sorts to shepherd over the next evolution of beings.
The machine offers the Ashen Company a boon as reward successfully overcoming its challenge, they can be gifted a mote of cosmic rewriting, a single opportunity to rewrite an event in the last 100 years, or, the gift of knowledge. After a short deliberation of what they could change that wouldn't have disastrous butterfly effects they opt for knowledge.
The machine explains that the one who watches will watch over them, how they act and behave and if they impress - the One Who Watches will ask for help with a problem. All civilizations fail at some point, he uses the Wyrms Eternal to cull civilizations. The Ashen Company will have an opportunity to propose new solutions or be given the option to become shepherds of the next cycle, lastly the option to return to the fight and try to resist and defeat Erathax to allow for another cycle to continue.
As the group or consider this horrific and twisted logic Null has a realisation that the One Who Watches believes it's probably doing the right thing. Silas also has a thought that the One Who Watches doesn't have the Ashen Company to help make decisions and do the right thing.
As the Ashen company believe this building they hear ringing through their minds “ingenuity” from the One Who Watches.
Back out into the strange sea of floating structures and cities and worlds the group heads towards another strange looking structure. Inside they see a green pasture, flowers seem to be moving but they can't feel any wind, there's a smell of blossoms in the air but something just seems a little bit wrong. As the group start to walk towards a structure at the end of the garden the flowers all seem to be talking to each other, different volumes, different conversations, all layered over each other. Suddenly, in unison the voices all say “welcome to the garden of the dead, it is rare that living come, have you come to join us?”. After rapidly confirming that they weren't there to join them the Ashen Company co continue through the garden as quickly as they can. The air feels heavy here, uncomfortable, the ash and co begin t the ashen company begin to battle with exhaustion.
As they approach the stone structure in the distance Barrick casts Oasis but finds it doesn't seem to help much. Silas detects that the ground here is both consecrated and desecrated all at the same time, there is some kind of temple that looks druidic there's an overgrown cracked moon symbol, maybe this was in worship to some kind of nature or lunar God. Behind them the Ashen Company sees someone tilling the ground; a humanoid shape wearing a cowl with antlers protruding and yellow eyes showing underneath. There's a sword on his back but at the moment he seems to be peacefully planting seeds.
Null asks the stranger what he's planting and he tells her their souls, she asks to see one of the seeds and it felt strangely like one of her soul tokens. Without giving it maybe as much thought as she should, Null “eats” the seed. Null sees flashes of a young man's life, ending painfully had the destruction of his world. The rest of the group, watch Null die and a small plant grow immediately from her chest.
Good intentions and bad plans snap in to action-
Step 1 - Revive Null
Step 2 - Teleport plant out of Null's chest
Step 3 - Try again, this time also teleporting Null in the opposite direction
Step 4 - Push Null's lungs, heart and other assorted internal organs back in to Null with a Wish spell
Step 5- Revive Null
Lessons learnt = 0
There was more, the gardener had been there planting millions of seeds for 30,000 years, maybe there was something about a moon goddess and some healing eater but honestly the Null eats seeds thing was really the highlight.
