Session 27: A View of the Past Report

General Summary

Previously

  After convincing Terridar Shadowmoon of their mission, he advises them that they need to figure out both where to set off the device, presumably at the site of the original Incident, and how to adapt it to work under the strange physical laws here. The party decides that they, with their resources and information from Paraxis, might be able to enter the Great Library. They decide to travel there, with the Knight Giraldus the Loyal as their guide, to hopefully learn where the Incident occurred. After that they will go to Cog Castle to find Professor Lassiter, who hopefully can help them adapt the device to work properly here. And if necessary, they will then travel on to Stone Manor to consult with the Vampire Lord Valentine.   The few days to the Great Library is mostly uneventful, except for an attack by leatherwings. When they arrive, they find an army of Corrupted camped near the library, with a Malakar attempting (and failing) to break in to the Library with a pair of demons.   They manage to avoid the enemies, and gain entrance to the Library with the Reality Comb, after getting detailed directions and sending Giraldus on his way to alert his order to the threat of the Corrupted. Unfortunately, the army is now aware of their entry, and so leaving will be problematic.   Inside, the guardian spirit / AI welcomes then, and eventually shows them events leading up to the cataclysm, starting with a Great Debate between a prominent wizard and scientist. Each argue that their civilization is caught in an unsustainable balance between the forces of magic and science, and must choose one or the other.   As we start, the scene of the debate has shifted to something new.  

Session Notes

 

Interlude in a Jazz Club

The party finds itself instead a dimly lit room with several human musicians playing strange-looking devices on a raised platform. Various other tables surround theirs, with patrons in strange garb. The AI walks over in the uniform of a waiter, and checks on how their visit is going. They ask various questions, but eventually realize this is an interlude, and the AI seems intent on showing them what happened, but in its chosen way. They settle in for a very pleasant meal, and once they let their waiter know they are ready, the scene shifts again.   

The Experiment

  The party finds themselves now in a strange chamber, the floor and ceiling curving away in every direction. Suspended in the center of the room by a number of tubes is a single large device, round, shiny and covered with blinking lights. Along a narrow walkway on either side of the chamber are a pair of consoles with glowing lights, and a portion of the platform you stand on extends right up to the device itself. The walls of the spherical chamber are covered in hundreds of iris-like apertures that occasionally open and flash, causing the artifact to glow with a blue flame. A faint buzzing noise can be heard in the background, seemingly coming from all around you.   Great windows look out from high above the nighttime city, with tall towers visible at distant points, flashing with lightning in the darkness. The party is dressed in ceremonial lab coats, and Maximillian the Brilliant, looking considerably older than last they saw him, is addressing them, apparently in the middle of a speech:  

As you know, despite all the reasons I gave them, the Autarch and the Great Council chose not to make a choice between science and magic. I blame the priests of the Lady of Shadow, so intent on keeping their precious "balance". We scientists have spent the last 20 years building and maintaining these Stabilizers, of which this tower, which we affectionately refer to as "The Clock Tower," was the first. The Stabilizers have kept this realm from tipping over to the magic side, despite the wizards' best efforts, but now this will change. With this reactor, amplified by the connection with the other, larger towers, we will initiate a phase change in the fabric of space and time. This Great Breakthrough will irrevocably shift our civilization on the path of science, and pave the way to the future! And none of this would be possible without our patron, Lord Valentine.

  As he says this, a handsome man in black evening clothes, with a red lined cap steps forward.      Lord Valentine forward nods to the assembled group, praising their vision, hard work and dedication. He then removes a medallion from around his neck, which fits into a slot in the side of the reactor. This causes a panel to open, and Maximilian places a glowing container within. Lord Valentine relocks the casing, and replaces the medallion around his neck. After an attendant hands out champagne (except for his glass of a sticky red liquid), Lord Valentine wishes them all a toast "To the future!" After the toast, Lord Valentine departs, Maximillian busies himself at a console, the party and others spread out to their designated stations, and the scene shifts again. 

The Summoning Rituals

  The party finds itself elsewhere. This time, they are is an ornate chamber, decorated with magical sigils. The party is robed in wizardly robes, and apparently participating in some sort of summoning ritual led by Kuronin the Glorious (looking well preserved), which is just coming to a climax. As it does, a red cloud appears in the center of the massive sigil, and a beautiful, tall female demon steps out. She says, "I am Sabine, and I am here to serve you. What is your wish?"   Kuronin respectfully greets Sabine, and explains:  

The scientists are fools, and their "Great Breakthrough" is a dangerous experiment that threatens to destroy us all. They are too well protected from our magic, and our powers fail when we draw close to their so-called Stabilizer Towers. We need to stop them, and for that we need the most powerful, and otherworldly magic. We will pay the necessary price for your help.

    Sabine smiles, and says, "I know just who can help you..." The scene shifts again, but the group is still in the same room. An unknown amount of time has passed, and the party finds themselves participating in the summoning of another demon lord. This time, it is Amon the Wolf - the Marquis of Prophecy. He is handsome, decadent and well-dressed, with a black rapier engraved with silver runes in one hand and a ghostly blade in the other. He shows up, flanked by a variety of demon soldiers.  Amon the Wolf smiles (wolflishly) and is delighted to help. He says he will "summon some friends, and make it a party".  

The Incident

  The scene shifts back to device in the Runetower, where the events seem to be reaching a crescendo. The pulsing lights and energy beat faster, and a deep thrum vibrates through the room. As Maximillian attempts to make the final, delicate adjustment, demons erupt from nowhere. Panic and bloodshed ensues, sending the experiment horribly awry. As the experiment is disrupted, arcane energies are visible leaping across the sky in an array of unearthly colors, leaping from Stabilizer to Stabilizer, amplifying the energy.    As the very fabric of space and time is torn, the device erupts in a pulse of energy, incinerating the nearer scientists, staggering the demons, and threatening to engulf the party--until it freezes in midair, and the AI steps into view, asking "Is this what you wanted to see?"   The party confirms that yes, this is what they needed. Over the course of the conversation:

• The AI explains that the sight of the Incident is still known as the Clock Tower, a derelict and non-functionaly runetower in the Barrens of Ghost Mire. 
• Yes, his records contain the details of the experiment, and some information of devices like the Planar Stabilization device. 
• Despite a long discussion among and with the party, they really don't know what will happen when they trigger the device. Will the transition be as violent as the Incident? Will the people here who (or whose ancestors) came from other realms be sent back home or carried along? What will happen with Umbriel, the Lady of Shadow, who Zurvan told them was captured in this realm by the Incident? Will this bring back some sort of balance, or destabilize it?
• Jessa notices with concern that the Reality Comb (which they were counting on to direct them out of Scatterpoint and back to Paraxis before the devices triggers) is quite inert after guiding them into the library. 

The AI is eager to allow more "visitors" into the museum ("There is quite a line outside!"), though the party attempts to convince him this would be unwise. He does provide the party with an exit to the Zone Underground (the former maintenance tunnels, sewers, etc. that span the former city), though he warns them of potential dangers there. The party descends, leaving their mounts behind on the surface, with the intent of getting as far as they can from the army before resurfacing, and then making their way on foot to Cog Castle to find Professor Lassiter. Hopefully, Lassiter can help them properly modify and trigger the device.  The party hopes to avoid meeting Lord Valentine, since his motives are even more unclear now.