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The End Draws Near

by Steel Claw

Captives

With our new captives -- and tensions even higher than before -- Murg prepared identify as Steel and Admin Connor secured the warroom, double-checking that everything in the room is in order. Auditor Murg determined that the half-orc, while unconscious, was at least unaffected by magic. We woke him with a kick to the ribs.

Thimbarr

Thimbarr is the half-orc assassin, working for the Crossed Hammers. He claims there are assassination factions in every city (not just those in the Accord). Giving us no more information, Master Theo and Murg decided to invest a mind sliver and suggestion to pull the truth from the orc, no matter the cost: "Every city, no more than five per cell. All over the world. We've been storing the explosives at key cultural and political spots. There's no connection between any of us; no contact, no dead drops."

It was the shapechanger, the gremory, that set this all up (one we haven't encountered yet, probably). It's been around for decades at least, twisted and broken, and thus extolling revenge on all the world. Argyle knows of it, but the gremory sealed this knowledge behind warding magic (so we can't just torture him, per se).

Thimbarr as explains that Argyle is a warlock (one of his secrets, so to speak). The halfling (Eliana) that we had captured is also a patron of the same master. He also believes the rest of the Crossed Hammers are dead; since they failed on their last mission, Argyle "slit the dwarf's throat and threw him in the river".

Abadar

At a side comment from Thimbarr, Advisor Murg called upon the holiness of Abadar, pulling the abacus from his belt and invokinf Abadar's holy number to cast truesight. Outside the window of the warroom, hidden from normal sight on the ethereal plane, a half-elf was suspended in air watched us with burning eyes. Merely making eye contact did something to Murg, throwing him to fear and delusions.

Eliana

The chaos roused Eliana: "No one can see Argyle. Seeing him has made him angry." Her patron -- Argyle's -- is the seraphim Abbaton, a high celestial of the lawful-good plane Elysium. Seraphim, without exception, are lawful-good. According to Eliana, Abbaton seeks to destroy all life ("restart the world" trope). Once the angel of death, the destruction of all souls is the only way to protect what's coming: the rise of a new god.

She furthers: even the gremory answer to something; there are powers above the seraphim. Those we (the Vanguard) oppose are working because they have information of the coming of a new god. The followers of Abbaton believe that they must destroy all life to save creation before the god rises, to save them. The gremory on the other hand seeks to cause chaos and take lives, to harness that fear and usher in this new god.

Eliana only faltered when Auditor Murg mentioned the Endless (the "Endless Pit"). In the ensuing back-and-forth, he learned this: the two choices we have:

Stop the "cleansing" plot. This would require use to diffuse all sending bombs.

Allow the charges to go off.

With all of this in mind, Auditor Murg once again consulted Abadar: "Can the bombs all be stopped?". The answer was a resounding YES.

Master Gaetan, Head of the Theives' Guild

Master Theo contacted his uncle: "If all of society collapsed, the Thieves' Guild [is on our side], right?" ("Yes, they want people to be around so they can steal from them."). And: "can the guild help find them? The only person I could think of to tackle this is you." ("Not all of them, not in time."). Discussion followed on how the bombs work: you cast mass sending to the bombs simultaneously (Theo's uncle has heard of this happen once before in history, in the Hallowed Isles). There's always one mind connected to it all. A special kind of abomination, a hive mind (yes, like an elder brain). Theo thinks it's in Arcadia, due to the attacks in the city and a few strange co-occurrences.

Theo explained all of this to us under his tiny hut, as well as Gaetan's identity. "We don't have time to explain why or how I know him". Murg, thinking ahead, cast identify to confirm his suspicion that she has a powerful curse placed upon her, sealing parts of his mind away.

"Hurry the wagon, boy!"

Murg and Steel, with Connor, took the captives with them to secure a wagon to break for the Temple of Abadar, before Argyle find the moment to strike.

Izol and Theo collected Lord Gladwell and Fineas and filled them in on the way. Gladwell described to Theo "The Night of the Red Moon", about three hundred years ago. A group of elves called dark magics to destroy the elvish government, and through one way or another the elves found the creature. Again, it is a conglomeration of hundreds of minds that can protect itself violently. Though it is flesh, and it bleeds, the creature can self-destruct in a way that almost wiped out the group that saved the elves that night. For the Night of the Red Moon, the hive mind was hidden simply (a place of common hiding -- "a place you would think to look but be surprised to find it").

By the blessings of Abadar and Selune, we made it to the god of civilization's temple unscathed. We made it inside, and Murg described the curse afflicting Eliana to the auditor on duty before hauling her to the altar. Admin Connor broke in, offering the coffers of Excellion to Abadar; a transaction the temple was all too willing to accept. In a great show, the curse was lifted.

Eliana, in an instant, was reconnected to the hive mind. Terrified, she directed us to the Bezian cistern that feeds into Bezia from the mountains. It allows Argyle free access in and out of the city.
Moreso, a warning from Eliana: if there is anyone you care about in the city, Argyle will get to them first.

Red

We made breakneck pace to the Veradin Caravan Co. headquarters. As we rounded the corner, we found the building in flames. Murg found both Andre, Hannibal, and the boy Alistair we took in: mutilated and dead. Izol was able to take them from the building, only then seeing the writing Argyle had left us: "Interfere, and more will follow".

Murg: "What I need is not consolation, but to balance His books once more."
Theo: "I've never felt angry like this. The gods need to look away."
(Murg wants to resurrect the three when this is all over)

Steel asked for a sending to Sapphire, and Finaeas stepped forward to assist. "Tell her we are headed to the Bezian cistern to end this; tell her to send me my fucking horse; and tell her I love her."

And we ride:

Eliana and Lord Gladwell are accompanying us. Thus, the party is:

Auditor Murglurbiyet

Eliana, Hand of Abbaton

Firebrand Izol Solla

Lord Gladwell of Hallowfen

Master Theobold Hornraven

Steel Claw, riding As the Dawn Rises