Act IV, Chapter Forty Nine "Peace over Power" (11/10/2025)

Flynn uses telepathy to speak with the helmet. It answers telling Flynn he has failed. Flynn reminds it that it is a helmet and maybe shouldn't be too judgy. When he asks if it knows where it is, the voice replies that it rests in a white void.

He goes to Berrick, arguing that as a medium able to commune with and command spirits he should be immune to the helmet’s corruption. To prove his point, Flynn hands over every item he carries that houses a sentient spirit, asking Berrick to verify his claim. Berrick identifies each one but concludes that the risk is impossible to measure. No guarantee, no safety.

The void Flynn describes matches the Tower’s storage chamber, so Berrick travels there and uses Exaltium to identify the helmet without having to touch it. As the magic flares, fifty-two severed heads appear in the void, and the eyes of the helmet blaze with light.

Elsewhere, the others gather to debate whether Flynn should possess the helmet at all. When Lotty and Cade hear its name, Vorath Myrr, both recall stories of the most infamous emperor of the Aeonian Dominion: a sadist and tyrant who delighted in cruelty. Lotty tells Flynn that, powerful or not, she can’t imagine why he would want anything to do with a relic of something so evil.

Berrick returns from the void visibly shaken and drags Lotty in after him, knowing she carries a scroll of Legend Lore. Horrified at the sight of 52 severed heads scattered about the void, Lotty reminds Berrick that you don’t have to be near an object to cast Legend Lore, you just have to speak its name. Why on earth did he bring her into this room of horrors?

As she casts the spell the white void fades to black; the faint outline of a crimson throne forms in the dark. The severed heads rise and orbit around them, their voices merging as one. They tell the tale of Vorath Myrr - a tyrant so obsessed with power he was willing to sacrifice his own blood to seize divinity. His children struck first, and as his head was severed his soul was drawn into the helm. It has whispered ever since, tempting those who crave power over peace.

When the vision fades and the heads fall silent, Berrick sets to the grim work of clearing the chamber. One by one, he carries each head to the sphere of annihilation. Lotty lingers, still stunned, before joining him. Together they form a macabre bucket brigade of two, passing bloody heads to be destroyed.

The decision is unanimous: no one should ever wear the helm. Berrick even considers asking Ezra about its destruction.

Meanwhile a ship has been sighted over the last week around the waters of Ezra’s island. Scouts keep getting pushed back by fog whenever they go to investigate, and the ships disappear faster than a normal ship would sail.

The gang get a quick lesson in crewing a ship from Captain Kraz and scout out to find the boat. Either flying or transformed into something small enough to hitch a ride, our heroes head to find the ship.

Null is flying fastest and is just about keeping pace with the ship, whilst the others are fast enough to keep the boat in eye line. Flynn tries to Dimension Door himself and Lotty, but there’s something warding the boat that keeps bouncing them back.

Act IV, Chapter Forty Eight "Break the stone, save the girl" (04-10-2025)

After being missing for some time Lotty eventually finds Null in the shower; she dismisses the waiting queue and goes to join Null in the water. Lotty tells a story of an old school friend, Poke, who suffered trauma in a cave-in and it still haunted him for a long time. Poke develops a three-step plan that boils down to focusing on something else, surrounding yourself with the people who love you and finding something symbolic to remind you you’re a survivor not a victim.

Cade, wondering why his patients are bathing in the sea, joins them in the shower and reminds Null there is a child of innocence inside her and subtly summons the rest of the Ashen Company. They all sit together in the water (except Flynn, who sensibly came dressed for the occasion and took a shower) and talk through some feels before Null asks for the group’s help.

Leading them to the Alistair statue Lotty gives Null a mason’s hammer and a steroid boost in the form of an enlarge spell, and Cade erupts the foundations of the statue whilst Null goes to town turning the statue to rubble, surrounded by the people who love her.

Dear reader, my time is short and there were a lot of feels this week, so some conversation highlights:

Null finds some cake to give to Latherial along with a confidence smooch on the lips, no less.

Cade finds his old friend Rhone and the stoic man of few words and the socially unaware Cade have as heartfelt a catch-up as could be achieved, and Cade asks Rhone if he can fashion him a leather belt that would adapt to his wild-shape so he could still have access to some of his equipment.

Null and Ezra have a catch-up. Null asks why he’s so protective of the helmet, and Ezra explains that it’s just too dangerous and even Flynn with his resistances wouldn’t be immune to its charms. When Null confesses to breaking the statue Ezra explains it hasn’t spoken for seven years since she killed Alistair. They share a drink and Null, sensing a feeling of doom in Ezra, tells him he owes his life to Vi and he has to live through this battle. Ezra gives Null a stone that she can use to cast mind blank on herself in a way that cannot be dispelled.

Our heroes find Grug holding arm-wrestling contests and gift him his bracers.

There’s a mini get-together as Captain Kraz, the old crew, Kel and new company mingle over food and music.

Act IV, Chapter 47: "Hail and hel-met" (2025/09/27)

The weird time soup that is our pre-siege tower hangouts continues. Narratively, we are all over the place.

With Cade in tow, Lotty asks Ezra if she can use his super-duper scrying device. When we last encountered this, Lotty had given up a couple decades of her life in order to confirm the location and status of Null's mother Evelyn. The wizard balks and wonders why she wants the costly option, when she has a perfectly good scrying orb in her possession. The last time Lotty checked, her old compatriot Geschut was being imprisoned and tortured by "Vi" in another dimension, so she thought she needed some extra juice. Ezra convinces her try the regular-strength scry first and it works out. Lotty fires it up and sees her old friend, the kobold Geschut, enchained and dangling from the ceiling of a frigid cell - Alive! She recognizes the location - it's Morrow Massani's old prison beneath the Last Stand Inn. Reader, I wasn't there so idk if that prison's on this plane or a different one [Reader, author two here - can confirm on this plane].

Lotty is beside herself - she had assumed Geschut was long dead. She wants to tell him that they're coming to rescue him. Ezra suggests Cade cast the Animal Messenger spell. Reader, I don't remember why Sending wasn't an option [Psst - Calitrax's wards]. There are concerns about whether a beast could survive the journey across the frozen wasteland to Sierrona and make it to the prison without being detected. What about a familiar? Cade's familiar Arthur is chosen for the trek, as Lotty feels that Null is too attached to Boobrie. But how to communicate with Geschut? Lotty scurries off to find Null, who she understands is fluent in Thieves Cant. Null is thrilled she finally gets to use this language/code/thing! At Lotty's request, she writes "Applejacks" in tiny font on a small, rolled up piece of paper - the perfect size to attach to the leg of a bird of prey. Lotty goes back to Cade and Ezra - they attach the message to Arthur and send him out into skies through a newly conjured window. Godspeed! Satisfied, Lotty sequesters herself to write down more resurrection secrets. Lotty discovers that there may we a way to work a revivify with a soul swap - knowing how eager her friends are to give up their lives for one another she doesn't advertise that discovery.

Later, Cade peruses the lich book that Berrik gave him. It reveals its secrets in exchange for some spare blood Cade found lying around (his exaltium juice doesn't do the trick), telling him that he needs minimum 23 souls in order achieve lichdom. Cade wanders off to ask Null how she eats/collects souls. She, a little too casually, explains that she just grabs them when people die near her, but that she can only hold 7 at a time and they're fragments, not complete souls. Cade doesn't think that will work and goes back to the drawing board. Null returns to her mother.

Flynn goes to find Null in the common room. Evelyn offers them both snacks and juice boxes before toddling off to tidy nearby. Slurping his apple juice, Flynn asks Null if she'll help him steal the helmet of Vorath Myrr. Null furtively glances at her mother and agrees. Though she knows Flynn will do this with or without her, in exchange for her help she asks that Flynn get Vorath Myrr to tell her how to quiet the recent Azher/Cali hauntings she's been afflicted with. The warlock readily agrees. Flynn tells Null that the heist will go down at a party to be held in two nights, and then he moves on to recruit Cade.

Flynn convinces Cade to help with the heist by telling him that Flynn intends to use the helmet's power for good. He's helping their chances in the siege by taking it on, while also protecting the public by keeping the helmet from falling into the wrong hands. 

Null goes for a walk, looking for the enchanted statue of young Azher that Ezra keeps on one of the lower floors. She finds it, and tries to use a bit of bravado on it. It is unfazed. The statue begins to taunt the rogue, reminding her that she’s his legacy, he’s in her bones and blood, and that every time she does her weird soul stuff she is imposing his will unto the world. Null tries to deflect by comparing herself to what Calitrax is doing, but it doesn’t work and the statue goes in harder on how her weird soul stuff is actually the best and all by/for him. Eventually, Null cracks under the torment and grabs a nearby fire poker. She pummels the gleeful statue until the nose flies off, then tosses the iron poker and flees. She needs a distraction, so she decides to swing by Ezra’s office and scope out the helmet. 

Null enters Ezra's office super suspiciously while the wizard scribbles away at something on the desk. She notices the display case is empty, save for a note that simply reads "No". Ezra, without looking up, comments that he had to move it for safe-keeping. Null pretends she has no idea what he's talking about and leaves to report to Flynn.

Null finds her warlock friend just as he's telling Silas about the party. She lets Flynn know that the helmet is gone - Ezra stashed it away. Flynn begins to brainstorm another plan. Reader, I don't remember what led to this [I got nothing], but Flynn tells Null during this conversation that she's destined to eat souls forever. Already fragile, Null freezes and takes her leave to go to the showers as Flynn resolves to involve Berrik in the heist scheme.

Null retreats to tower's communal showers to have a little breakdown, wracked with dread over the prospect of her being damned as a tool of the Marionettist for the rest of her days. She goes full Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale, sitting fully clothed in the shower. 

Berrik is cornered by Flynn, who tries to get him to spill the location of the helmet. Berrik very quickly understand that this is not a good idea. He asks Ezra what the deal with the helmet is and why Flynn shouldn't have it. Ezra confirms that it's bad news bears, but says that Berrik can decide to pass on the helmet to Flynn after all this is over if he chooses to. So weird that Ezra thinks he won't be around to have an opinion.

Berrik returns to Flynn and says it's no for now, but offers to do a Legend Lore about it if he can source the necessary components. Flynn clings to the hope that he might be reunited with the helmet, if only Berrik could see how powerful it was and how it might help their cause. Flynn scuttles off to find Lotty, thinking she might have the components. 

Lotty does have the components, but she's in work mode and Flynn doesn't get round to asking when instead, Lotty asks if Flynn can help brainstorming how to source Craz a ship that will get them to Sierrona. An icebreaker? Or just a normal ship with some extra help?

Meanwhile Silas, who has been oddly quiet for the last little while and distracted in such a way that one might think he was off dealing with a facilities infrastructure emergency, suddenly peps up and goes to find Nikolai and Lilly. He spots his former wards quietly sitting together at a far table in the mess, and goes to greet them. Lilly is cordial, while Niko is shut down and surly. The boy's stein shatters as he grips it too tightly. Niko storms off without acknowledging Silas. As Lilly makes excuses for Niko's behaviour, Silas spots a poorly masked bruise on the side of Lilly's face. Silas asks what happened - Did Niko do this? Lilly continues with the excuses for Nik's behaviour and says yes, but that it's not his fault - he didn't mean it and he lost control. Reader, Yikes on Bikes.

Silas goes after Niko and find him in the same side office where Null and Lotty hid from Evelyn. The boy, well man now, is clearly in distress as he cuts his own chest. Silas looks on, upset, and steels himself for a difficult conversation with his wayward, abusive son.