Revelation of the Leopard Orchids 1477.01 to 1477.04

Heian and Onai are still away. -- Tranq and Ophion set out to find the leader of the Revelations. They decide to look for a secret place. They find a secret dive bar run by one of the factions of the Thieves Guild. They enter. Tranq notices that the boss tough guy has noticed Ophion, seemingly through his disguise. Tranq also notices one of the boss' companions is a tiefling in disguise, and that the boss himself is a vampire. Tranq tells Ophion what he has noticed. They sit and drink for a few hours, trying to subtly get information out of the barman. Suddenly the earth rumbles and the room goes dark. Tranq and Ophion stumble and then look around. Only the vampire boss and his two thugs are left in the room, everyone else has vanished. The vampire beckons them over. They saunter over, grabbing a bottle and some glasses on the way. The vampire says he knows that Ophion is Taleiriah's brother. He says he owes her, and when Ophion asks for more detail, the vampire shows Ophion the scars on his arm. The vampire's name is Armell Hart. He mentions he knows where Ophion and his friends are staying. Ophion asks after the tiefling female who was around before, and Armell says she is not anyone important. He asks what Ophion wants. Ophion responds that he wants to find the leader of the Revelations. Armell says the leader is in hiding, that everyone is looking for him right now. Ophion suggests that Armell might have connections he can use. Armell asks what Ophion can offer him in return. Ophion offers to kill Taleiriah, and Armell accepts. He adds his own condition however - that it is done within a year and a day, otherwise Ophion must return to Armell and serve as his minion. Ophion agrees. Armell puts his hand on Ophion's forehead, burning his mark into him for a moment, and then the bar returns to normal, everyone in their rightful places, nothing seemingly out of place. -- Atala goes to the Silver Order. The First Speaker appears in the mirror. She's furious that Atala appeared at the Emerald's Blaze convocation without having been chosen by the Order as a representative. Atala tries to placate the First Speaker whilst also finding out the information the companions are looking for. The First Speaker says she will organise an invitation for Atala to attend the Palace to find out what the Ruby Imperials are up to. The Silver Order is concerned about the Ruby Imperials more than the Revelation. The First Speaker also demands that Atala pass on any info she can about the ink. They want the ink and it's one of their top priorities. the Silver Order's top priorities:

the ink

the 1st scale of Yorlunga (not to be confused with the scale of Yorlunga we have in our possession)

horn of Aves Reva

Atala goes back to Korro's Court, checks in with the group in the library and heads to bed. -- Ruben admits to Mayb that he feels he can't trust his own thought processes at the moment. Ruben, Mayb and Kunoh check out the Korro Court library. Ruben and Mayb look for mentions of cults. Kunoh helps by keeping guard and occasionally pointing out books to Mayb he thinks might be helpful. Mayb indulges him because she's kind, every now and then pointing out words that Kunoh might recognise to look for. They find some minor and/or vague references. They note that every mention does correlate with a discontinuance event. They rush to the Seneschal and wake him up, asking how long the children have been sighted for this time around. The answer is a couple of months. The last discontinuance event was roughly 500 years ago, and was only minor. It was when the Witch Queens tried to take Hecate's spark but their ritual was interrupted, and they ended up being split over multiple dimensions. It is obvious to Mayb and Ruben that this is what is happening now - a discontinuance event. Whether it's minor or major yet, is unclear - it won't be clear until more time passes and the length and impact can be ascertained. -- Many hours pass, and in the morning, the Seneschal brings news to the team in the library that there are many people marching in the streets again. Tranq and Ophion arrive, weary and a little drunk. Kunoh turns and out of the corner of his eye is sure there was a figure in the corner of the room watching Ruben, but when he focuses, he sees nothing. He notes to himself it looked like a tall shapely female, wearing dark green war paint, perhaps of the Emerald's Blaze. Atala awakes and joins everyone in the library. An invitation arrives, an official decree from the Royal Palace, naming the 6 of us specifically. We also receive the information from Armell Hart - the High Prophet's name is Demonere Devont, and there are 4 prophets beneath him, the Polaris Prophets. We learn plans about where one of them, Temetric of Bankis, will be at sunset and where he is staying. Atala decides to head out to see if she can find some information. Everyone else has not slept, and so goes to bed. Atala find that the central city is closed off, with legions standing at every gate. The rioting is happening outside of the central city, so the legions are guarding the entrances to keep the riot from spreading in. The many towers are still under siege, the Whitestar and Darksun shrines are burned to the ground, sacked. There are flames and smoke everywhere. It is clear those with divine connections are being targeted. There are volcanic eruptions seen and heard from the west, ash floating down among the rioting. Rumours reach Atala that the High Prophet is at Glandri Tower, with a huge amount of people. She goes, there are tens of thousands of people, there is a force-field above and around the tower, in the plaza in front, a single figure dressing in red, screaming about how the gods are only taking care of themselves, that they are working against the people, blaming the gods and all divine practitioners and magic users. He mentions Oberon and Yormosha, the father and mother of their new Pantheon, by name. A large group of Revelationists are there, assembling catapults, balistae, and blasting against the force-field trying to get to the tower itself. Atala sees and feels that it suddenly gets very dark around the people, and there's a strange pulsing. Then the earth between the force-field and where she is splits apart with a massive explosion of force and radiant damage. Several hundred followers explode or disappear into the split in the ground. The force-field is down. The mob attack the tower directly now. The High Prophet pulses with energy and the crowd surges. Atala leaves as the leader and his followers begin to march forward towards the tower. Atala then proceeds to the courtyard where Temetric is due to be at sunset, to meet his followers. The space was previously a huge barrack tower, now is ruins. She notes there is only a narrow way to enter, which opens onto a large open courtyard, with some hallways and rooms semi intact around the outside. It is in a shanty part of town, many abandoned buildings, but none too close to the space. Atala returns to Korro's Court in the mid afternoon and awakes the companions to discuss plans. Mayb and Ophion disguise themselves. Ophion also uses his skills to help disguise those who cannot disguise themselves. Ruben is dressed convincingly as an old crone. Tranq and Atala use people they have noticed around town as the basis for their disguises. Kunoh comes to Ophion with a collection of very odd garments to work with, he ends up dressed similarly to the local people but with an unusual flair due to his size and insistence on certain elements being incorporated into his disguise. They head to the meeting place to arrive a bit earlier than sunset, to get into position and get the lay of the land. When they arrive, they split up to see what is happening. Ruben is acting a little strangely, Kunoh notices, so he keeps an eye on him. Ruben notices the intricate details on the walls, believing them to be of significance. He starts taking rubbings of the walls, muttering to himself about dwarves. A few local street kids take note of the "crazy old crone" and start circling, ready to jump, but Kunoh notices in time and pays them coin to bugger off. Atala draws some attention because she is a lovely looking woman, especially dressed as a local, many find her stunning. Thankfully, no one approaches her, and she melts into the background. Tranq, Atala and Ophion climb up high to get a good view. They notice look-outs positioned around the place, but they manage to avoid their detection. The look-outs' focus is on the main entrance and the surrounding courtyard. For lack of a better idea, since he is somewhat noticeable anyway, Kunoh takes a seat in the main audience area. Mayb hides in a nearby bush. Ruben hides in the shadows on the edge of the courtyard, with a good line of sight to Kunoh. Once it is sunset, people bring out lanterns, strange designs with three faces. A man comes out, silver armour, big red hat, tabard, feathers, jewels. He speaks of the white Wasps giving the 1st harbinger of the new gods - the White Stone. He says Stone will lead everyone to the new Pantheon. He says no one will be allowed to harm the White Wasps, that no one will touch the Leopard Orchids. Then he starts screaming about there being a traitor in amongst the crowd, one that is feeding information to their rivals. The companions all worry that he is referring to Kunoh of course, sitting there in his outlandish outfit, but then the speaker points to an old woman, saying it is Germaine who has been feeding the secrets! The old woman casts a teleportation circle and disappears. Mayb sees through the light before it fades, 3 figures all dressed in ruby red, one with a really big hat. He screams that they are compromised. People panic and begin to scatter. Temetric moves closer to where Kunoh stands, and gestures - suddenly the companions are all lit up with fairy light. He looks at Kunoh meaningfully and says "Next time" and he casts a spell. As he does, Atala shoots an arrow at him. Tiny shields light up all around him, but he stumbles slightly. Everyone recognises his magic as the sigil magic we saw Mama Tet and the Marid using. He manages to get his spell completed, and casts what the companions recognise as Word of Recall. A huge circle of light comes up and he steps through it. Mayb and Kunoh can see through the light, a brilliant white temple and what looks like the head of the Revelations. Without a second thought, Kunoh jumps through the portal. Mayb follows immediately. Tranq and Ophion, who had both been moving closer the whole time, also follow. Atala and Ruben head for the circle too, but it closes before they reach it. Through the circle, Mayb, Kunoh, Tranq and Ophion find themselves in a brilliant white 180 foot inner chamber, with the head of the Revelation sitting on a massive white throne, his 4 prophets standing by his side. Ophion calls out "Demonere Devont!". He looks at Ophion, asks who he is. Ophion suggests that he knows who they are. Demonere admits he does and demands to know what the companions are doing there and what they want. Kunoh asks where they are. Demonere responds that they are in the first temple rebuilt on the ashes of Atlantis, that they will "summon Atlantis back". He then offers to fix everything for the companions, to remove all the chains that bind them. Ophion starts steaming. He offers to Mayb that he can remove the sacrifice that Verenestra had to make to save Mayb. Mayb refuses. Demonere says he will grant his mercy and allow the companions to leave, and he reopens a teleportation circle. Mayb and Tranq head for the circle, dragging Kunoh with them. As Ophion follows, Demonere stops him and offers to get Tali for him so he can kill her but only if Ophion will serve Demonere. Ophion refuses. Demonere kicks him out. Ruben and Atala wait cautiously near the newly reappeared circle, pleased when their companions return. Kunoh demands from Ruben to know where Atlantis is, says that is where the head of the Revelations is. Ruben is astounded. He says he doesn't know but he mentions that Sealie knows - she once offered to give Ruben the time location of Atlantis for a favour she could call on at any time. At the time, Ruben managed to refuse the knowledge at such a price, but it is an option. Ruben mentions that Hecate was the patron of Atlantis, but she is sleeping. He reminds us that she is the Elder God of Magic, the one that the Witch Queens tried to take the spark of. We leave the courtyard. It's late and significantly more dangerous than during the day, especially in our large group. We quickly make our way back to Korro's court. Passing the locals, we hear talk of how the Ruby Imperials are going toe to toe with the Revelationists, that this is new because up until recently, the Ruby Imperialists didn't seem to care what the Revelation were doing, but now they are actively fighting them. Back at Korro's Court, Kunoh is agitated from the fight-that-wasn't so he trains to work it off. Everyone heads to bed, Atala having a bath on the way. The next morning, Atala ducks out early and returns with a big smile and a fez for Kunoh. Kunoh is thrilled and immediately puts it on, proud as punch. We head to the Ruby Imperials. We see the Ruby Imperials floating all around the city walls, whilst the Legion are protecting the gates on the ground. It is very clear no one is getting into the central city without permission. We show our invite and we're allowed past. We hear from people we pass that around a thousand people were killed in the riots the day before. We are pointed in the right directions by people as we move along. The magic users of our group can feel a strong power. Tranq and Kunoh can feel something a little bit. This is clearly the Arcane seat of power, the magical heart, of the Semudan Empire. The Vice Rubisorge, Darksun, sits at the end of a big hall, with a line of people before him. Red tabard, black leggings. All our magic items suddenly glow red. And interestingly, all the exposed skin of Ruben's starts to glow red also. The disguises Ophion and Mayb had on no longer work. We introduce Mayb as our representative. When it is our turn, she is announced and steps forward. She begins by asking questions about the Leopard Orchids. We are asked what our interest is with them. We are all compelled to step forward and answer. We tell Darksun that the Orchid's motives are opaque and seem sinister, that we have suspicions they are part of something bigger and we have concerns the world is in danger, that they are letting stuff into our plane that shouldn't be here. When questioned, Mayb admits that Verenestra set her on this path. Ruben explains about how he was "healed" by them, but now he realises how much worse they made his situation. Tranq explains how he found out that the Orchids are working with the Revelations. Mayb explains that we thought maybe the Ruby Imperials could help us because we saw they tried to kill some of the Revelationists. Darksun answers that they believe Tavorious Stone is the "First of the Undying". The Ruby Imperials cannot get to him, as they have matters of the empire to attend to. He continues, telling us they know where the Revelationists are going but the Ruby Imperials can't go there. He is willing to tell us but only if Atala swears not to tell the Silver Order. Atala wants to know if it's the local chapter, or the entire Silver Order that is causing them such concern. Darksun tells her the Order has been working with the Revelationists. Atala swears that she won't tell the Order anything Darksun tells us until after the Revelationists have been dealt with. He confirms that the Leopard Orchids have emerged every time a discontinuance event happens. The Ruby Imperials believe this is a major discontinuance event, and they don't know what will follow as it has been so long since the last major one. He shares with us their knowledge of the Elder Gods situation - 18 are extinct, but 4 remain unaccounted for. Mayb asks about this new order the Revelationists are talking about, but Darksun says the Ruby Imperials don't know much. They do know a few of the key players in the Leopard Orchids - Nandi, Kudu, honeypot, Hottentot, Firelily, Gloriosa and Gazania - and they know they are a threat but they do not currently have the resources to destroy them. Their divinations tell them unless someone stops the Leopard Orchids, they will bring about "newgenesis", the creation of the mind. Ruben asks if there is a link between that and a wizard we read about who was involved with "abiogenesis". Darksun does not know but says their library would have information relating to this. Ruben asks for access to the library, which Darksun assures him he alone can have, but only if he remains with the Ruby Imperials Darksun explains that if Ruben joins the Ruby Imperials, he can have unlimited access to their library and they will provide whatever resources he needs. However, he would need to swear allegiance to them, and be at their beck and call, prioritising what they want and need done at all times. Ruben cannot decide on the spot, even after seeking council from his friends. Darksun gives him 24 hours to think on it, and he instructs Ruben that if he wishes to join the Ruby Imperials, he must present himself to the court the same time the next day. We are dismissed. We're taken out through the halls and we notice many rooms with beautiful elaborate metal screens covering the openings. We see some stone tablets with draconic writing on them, they are very old and have clearly been chiseled out of where they were originally found without removing more of the surrounding stone than was necessary, and then brought to the Palace for examination. Ruben is very excited. He asks Mayb to use her special ability to read some of the writing. Much of it is obscured but Mayb concludes these are very old artefacts, reading references to the Great Ones and the Old Ones (the Elder Gods), and names like Shevan, Zorasastra, and Chromus Major (which are recognisable as draconic names) and something about them being "apocalypse class artefacts used in the Probability Wars". Ruben feels like the term Probability Wars rings a bell but he can't recall details. He thinks these tablets may be over a million years old, maybe as much as 100 million. Kunoh picks Ruben up and carries him out of the room as he explains this to the party. On the way back to Coro's Court, Ruben sums up that as far as we have been able to work out, there are 18 Elder Gods now completely extinct. That leaves 13 remaining. 2 of these, anything about them, even their names is completely unknown to us. Of the 11 remaining, it is generally believed that 9 of these are active and 2 are unaccounted for, it's just not clear which are unaccounted for. We also discuss Darksun's invitation to Ruben, trying to help him work out what he should do. We know from experience that there is not a lot of racial diversity in Semudan, and some, like the Golden Brazier, have a policy of humans above all others, but as far as we know, the Ruby Imperials didn't seem like that - they had a number of people from different races in their ranks, so if they do want something nefarious for Ruben, it may (or may not) have anything to do with his being a dwarf. We near Coro's Court by mid afternoon. Suddenly Ophion leaps for Mayb in his exemplar form. Mayb ducks and Ophion flies over her, missing whatever he was reaching for. Everyone except Kunoh sees a blue imp appear out of nowhere, giggle and then disappear. Ophion explains he was reaching for the imp, that it was on Mayb's shoulder, he noticed it a few minutes ago and was trying to catch it unawares. Mayb knows imps are often used as spies, running errands for evil infernal masters. The imp did have the sigil for Mephistopheles on him, but we have no way of knowing if that was fake. We decide to head for the edge of the city where Tranq saw the Orchids disappear. The riots from previous days have died down, but the mistrust in the air is still palpable. There are still groups of people hanging around, looking like trouble, one wrong glance away from brawling. We manage to make it past without encountering further trouble. We walk on. The sun starts to set. Ophion notices the imp back on Mayb's shoulder. No one else seems to see it. It speaks to Ophion, asking if he's going to "get this done" Ophion responds, getting everyone else's attention but still no one can see what he's talking to. Ruben, Mayb and Atala all recognise that Ophion is speaking Infernal - everyone assumes the imp must have returned. Ophion asks the imp what it's referring to. The imp tells Ophion it knows we're on our way to kill the Orchids. It says to Ophion that it can take us to the right spot if we want. Ophion suggests the imp simply tell us so we can be on our way. It refuses. Then it says most of us are expendable, that "the big fella just needs you three" (Ophion, Mayb, Ruben?) Ophion confirms the imp means Mephistopheles and tells it that no one is expendable, that we're a package deal. The imp says it can help protect Ophion from burning up from his exemplar form, at no cost, but Ophion doesn't trust the imp and won't engage him any further. The imp takes out an amulet, deep blue sapphire, and throws it to Ophion who reflexively catches it. It magically attaches itself around his neck. The imp calls out "Just remember who gave it to ya when ya use it!" and then appears to everyone. It circles around the group, flying around, shakes its head and says in common "What a sad choice!" and then disappears. Ruben hears the imp in his head telling him it will see him at the laboratory. Thanks to the amulet, Ophion knows the way the imp was telling him to go. He ignores the amulet and we continue on the same path as before. We reach the outskirts of town. It is night proper now, and we are on the edge of the jungle. A small child suddenly darts across the path in front of us, scampering into the underbrush. We can hear something running after it from the way it came. Tranq tears off after the child, while everyone else decides to hide. A 8ft tall lead golem strides across the path following the child. It doesn't notice us. We head off into the jungle after it. Tranq eventually catches up to the child and asks why he's running. The child shrieks that Tranq is with the Yellow Monk. Tranq very confused responds that he's not with the Yellow Monk, he _is_ the Yellow Monk. The child runs off again. Tranq follows and catches up to the kid in a clearing. He notices 3 other small children hiding further up in the rocks. They call out to the first child to hurry up because the yellow men are coming. Tranq notices wild dogs staring him down. Suddenly the golem breaks through the trees. Tranq grabs the kid and runs off heading for the other children who have also taken off. He catches up to them, and they lead him into a secret grotto. Atala, Ophion and Ruben suddenly realise Kunoh and Mayb are not with them. Ruben offers to go back for them, while Atala and Ophion continue on trying to reach Tranq. Mayb and Kunoh are together, a little ways back. Mayb has noticed, when she looks back towards Zanji, she cannot see the city. Not only that but all the constellations that were missing before seem to be back, and the tear in the sky is gone. She notices a light off to the east and points it out to Kunoh. They realise they have gotten separated from the others, and they cannot continue into the jungle as neither of them can see in the dark. They retrace their steps back to the path. Ruben is lost. He takes a minute and then realises where he went wrong, and continues heading back towards the way they had come. As Mayb and Kunoh break out from the brush, Mayb puts her hand over Kunoh's mouth. Where there was a city, there is now a stream. There are 2 lead golems in the water, 6 mercenary warriors with lanterns standing on the shore, seemingly trying to figure out a way across. 3 wyverns with riders arrive and land behind them. The mercenaries engage with the wyvern riders, they are clearly together. Ruben quietly gets Mayb's attention. He had arrived and noticed the same scene. Meanwhile, Ophion and Atala reach a place where Tranq's tracks just disappear. There are ruins of a great city, and a palace, and 500m above, what looks like a massive 50m across, is a hologram of a blazing white star that is breaking up and falling apart. Where Tranq's tracks disappear, Atala casts detect magic and notices a thin bright crack through the rockface. There is also something glowing in the bushes nearby. She picks up the item, its a 13 pointed star with 13 circles, made out of twigs. She realises it must be an actuator for the crack. Maybe an alarm. In the relative safety of the grotto, Tranq puts the child down and he runs to his friends. The wild dogs are clearly upset Tranq is here but the child calms them, understanding that Tranq just saved his life. His name is Nuni. Tranq asks questions, wanting to know what he's gotten himself into. Nuni says they were just taking back what was theirs, and he shows Tranq a flower. [OOC: Tranq doesn't know it because to him they have never existed, but this flower is known in its native lands as a Leopard Orchid]. Tranq asks why the bad guys want their flowers so badly. Nuni tries to explain, but the other children interrupt and say the flower will stop them from dying. And they offer to show Tranq. they lead him underground to a big building with rounded pillars, tiled floor with blue and green swirled tiles. Tranq is unfamiliar with the style of the architecture, it is like nothing he's seen before. The children tell him they need to wait there for Eanandier. The light fades, the children all sitting patiently with the dogs patrolling around. Tranq gives the dogs some of his food. Suddenly the wall glows and opens. Tranq immediately tries to protect the kids, but they assure him its fine, that it's her. Kunoh, Mayb and Ruben head back towards where Ruben split from the others. Kunoh trips over a jar, with a face on it, with sickly green gems for eyes, with a green light oozing out of them like tears. He thinks he hears whispering and chattering. He shows the others. Ruben immediately realises it's Carkade design but is confused because it seems recent. He grabs it. A little further down the path, Ruben's clothes suddenly start falling off him around his amulet. Now the amulet is exposed, it is clear it is glowing, and it is warm against Ruben's skin. Kunoh notices the green of the amulet is the same as the eyes in the jar. He knocks the jar out of Ruben's hands and onto the ground. The amulet stops reacting. The jar lands undamaged 20 feet away. Atala and Ophion notice 2 wyverns flying towards them and over them. The wyverns dive towards them, swooping at them. Atala attacks one, kills its rider. Both wyverns fly off. Ruben, Mayb and Kunoh rush towards the noise. Then they hear a loud crashing and lumbering coming up behind them and they hide. Two lead golems stride past. Once they are past, Ruben, Kunoh and Mayb follow quietly at a safe distance. They arrive to see Atala and Ophion engaged in combat. They rush in to assist. The golems are destroyed. Meanwhile, Tranq sees a small glowing child step out of the hole where the wall was. She says to Tranq that she does not know him, and he introduces himself. The girl, who is clearly Nandi, says that it's time to leave the bodies behind. Tranq demands she not kill these children. She responds that they are already dead. Nandi explains that they all fell through the gap years ago, to this last remnant of Atlantis. Over time they found the lifelight and now they can ascend. She shows Tranq where the bodies lie, of the children he has just been speaking to and the dogs he has just fed. Nandi tells Tranq that they're going to the place of the First 31. Tranq tries to convince Nandi that it's not a good idea. She offers to show Tranq the threshold so he can see it's safe. He realises that he's somehow ended up in the past, and that he has a real chance to fix things here. Going all in, Tranq explains that he's from the future, that clearly what they are about to do isn't safe, because in the future the children will end up hurting people, that they will do things that will tear the sky and destroy the stars. Nandi puts her hand on Tranq's face to see into his mind. At the same time, Tranq sees into Nandi's mind. He sees all about the lifelight, and the fringe of the Otherwhere, the place where the residual divine energy is stored every time an Elder God uses their powers. He learns the Atlantians were aware of it, called it radial energy. Nandi pulls away. She tells him "We will ascend. But I have learned much from you, and we will not emerge during these times of major discontinuance events, it is my solemn promise". Tranq understands and believes Nandi. She offers to Tranq that he may join them. He considers it, but ultimately decides he has far too many responsibilities. Nandi accepts this and whispers something in his ear those around them do not hear. Everyone hugs. The children and the dogs walk towards the gate. Nandi tells him to tell the others that the lifelight is anathema to beings from the outer planes because it is a different kind of energy. Tranq asks if they can tell him where Atlantis is, but they do not know - this is just a split fragment. They walk through the gate and it closes behind them. Tranq blinks and he is suddenly back on the path outside of Zanji, as are the rest of his friends. Everyone immediately understands that something very major has happened. We talk, and realise we all have two sets of memories. We know we were just fighting golems and talking to little girls about Leopard Orchids, but we also know somehow that these things didn't happen anymore. Tranq explains what happened with the children. We understand that history has been changed. We know that no one knows anything about the Ink of Architeuthis. In fact, we realise no one knows much about Architeuthis at all - this Elder God is clearly not a threat at all anymore, maybe is even inactive now? We head back to Coro's Court. It looks different, no more Emerald Blaze influence, and it turns out we are now here as guests of the Admiral, not the Emerald's Blaze. Ruben is no longer affected by the ink. There is no tear in the sky, no devastation from where dragons were thrown and exploded. The Revelationists do not exist. Tavoras Stone does not exist. The riots did not happen. The city did not burn and thousands of people did not murder each other in the throes of hysteria. Ophion suddenly knows that Taleiriah is no longer a threat and that he does not owe a debt to Armell Hart. Mayb knows her debt to Verenestra is repaid and she is also finally free from Mephistophele's grasp. Atala knows she is no longer at odds with the Silver Order. The corruption she had known from them seems to be gone now, having never existed. She also knows the item she holds from Drake Olgad is no longer "on loan" - he will not be claiming the shawl back. We are here in Zanji it turns out, not to do with any ink delivery, but because Ruben received an invitation from the Ruby Imperials who are incredibly pleased to allow him access to whatever records they have that he might find interesting. Ruben checks for the scrolls he wrote with his inky hand, but they are gone, never to have existed. Nothing from our past that relates to Architeuthis happened. And the Leopard Orchids are gone, all mentions of them in the papers from the library gone. They never existed eian is waiting at the Court when Mayb, Ophion, Kunoh and Ruben arrive. Atala and Tranq are nowhere to be found. - Heian has received a message from the Liodan Elves, ones that split off 500 years ago. They're visiting in a week and want to meet him. He thinks they want to make him King. - The people in the Court are different to the ones we've met before. If we concentrate, we can remember them. - Ophion notices people are less concerned about tieflings than before. And everyone loves him, Ophion the famous rock star, especially. - Kunoh is believed to have single-handedly killed Wanambi, and Rusheed the Steward calls him "Mighty Warlord" to his face. We are shown to a lavish room, and Kunoh is presented with his original battle axe wrapped in furs - werewolf furs! There is a letter that says "Your army of the wight awaits to serve you, Great Warlord" and there is some werewolf artwork. - Ruben is the Dean of the Hall of the Arcane Mysteries, and is about to take over from Darksun. - A woman walks in, Mayb knows she should recognise her but she does not. She has a traditional red 3 piece garment on, with a magnificent headdress. She bows to Mayb and informs her that the first of her callers awaits an audience. Her name is Carla. She explains that Mayb has to decide who she will favour for the Imperial Coronation, because after all she will be on the high table next to the Empress as she is the Ambassador of the Fey. Mayb follows Carla and we all stick our heads around the corner of the doorway to watch. A beautiful man, a magician called Daja from House Heard, offers Mayb translucent pearls in an ivory trunk, asking to be her escort to the Coronation. A stunning woman steps out from behind Daja, reaches into the trunk and pulls out a necklace, then puts it on Mayb, telling her she looks beautiful. She is Lady Zaratee. Mayb accepts Daja as her escort. Daja offers to have Lady Zaratee finish dressing Mayb. They both thank her profusely and leave. Mayb and Ophion's trinkets react pleasantly to each other. - We have a group meeting. Everyone's very confused, but not feeling particularly concerned. - Ruben heads to the Great University. There's a giant door, with a squid design. He is swarmed, people rushing up to him from everywhere, calling him Professor. They have all figured out the answers to all the great mysteries - the location of Atlantis, the Apocalypse class artefacts etc - suddenly everyone's research just came together in this one day. There's maps, books, papers, blueprints, people calling out. He thinks he sees Lady Zaratee but when he chases after her, there is no one there. Ruben tries to grab what research he can. Ruben looks for his magic box, only to be informed they have lost his invisible box, but they point him towards his Sanctum, a magicky sphere, that he can compel things to. He compels the research to his Sanctum. They complain that he is taking everything. He assures them all he just wants to read over it, and he sends all the people away to research strange occurrences within the last few years. He makes the Sanctum small and puts it in stealth mode. He hears a woman laughing but when he looks, there is no one around. When Ruben returns to Coro's Court, he puts the Sanctum near his magic brazier, and it confirms it is a giant bag of holding. - The next day is Market Day, and Ophion is expected to perform. - Rusheed shows Kunoh to the group of men he is training. Rusheed announces the Dolg Catar are bending the knee to Kunoh as the True Khan of the Star Warrior, Kunoh the Inscrutable, and all the tribes are throwing off the shackles of the Hellegu. A loud cheer rings out. - Mayb is attended to by fey attendants, handmaidens, They read out the local gossip, the seelie and unseelie court listings - Mayb notes Verenestra's name does not get mentioned. They mention Lady Nakiasha, Lady Auchomelgen and Titania. Titania wants Mayb to ensure Ophion's engagement to the Janto Queen in Waiting goes ahead, because the court wants access to the "watery memories of their ancestors". The Janto don't know but they are a threat to the Fey. - There are shadow watchers around, no one knows who they are. One starts training and instructing Heian on how to reach the Hall of Lamentations with the intention of bringing the extinct Eldar back. The Shadow watchers meet in the Hall of Lamentations but because Heian is not Taerun, they can't take him with them. Their first is called Ens Seqqa. - Ophion's performance goes amazingly well, not a hitch. The Emperor-to-be watches from his palanquin. People are chanting, begging to touch Ophion, calling out. The people part and some short people in grey robes give Ophion a "gift from the Horned God", a statue made of platinum - it's Ophion standing victorious atop a fallen and destroyed Horned God. They say "We submit to you, Slayer of the Universe. Behold the Maker of the New World!" Ophion sees a wisp of Lady Zaratee - she mouths something at him, cackles and walks into the crowd. He realises she said "Northern Ghost" ... Before Ophion can do anything, the Emperor-to-be is whisked away and the soldiers are all looking anxious. Ophion addresses the crowd, thanks them, tells them they do him an honour he cannot accept with the statue. The people are devastated and do not understand why he will not accept the statue. Ophion tells them his greatest victories are still to come, that he is no god, and he released them from following a false god. They tell him they can only live if it is in the shadow of his light, and beg him to take the offering. He tells them he will mark a place in town in the coming week and they can set up a shrine there. They ackowledge Ophion as their Supreme Leader, tell him they are unworthy and bow their heads. Ophion shoos them away. - Mayb's handmaidens come to her, tell her its time for her midday commune with the Feywild. There is a demigod walking the courts spreading fear and rumours. Titania's enemies are talking. Lady Karma Foxlash, Lady Nebula Lemonbee, Lady Laurel Watergrove, Skullbriar. An echo is breaking down, light is just about to be extinguished, Titania keeps saying it's not the Feywild but that it could affect them. - Ruben experiments with his Sanctum. Eventually he figures out how to get inside. The Sanctum is modelled after his old study at Waterdeep. There is a taxidermied illithid that he doesn't remember ever having. There is also an illithid skull paperweight. There is illithid ink. Half written notes on the desk ... "Sless is not dead" ... Ruben thinks to himself that's not his handwriting ... "Kabirol is watching you" ... this one is not his handwriting and yet not the same as the last note either ... "Valt is your friend. Valt loves the Professor" ... what in the ... "Valt is very sentient. But Valt is trapped and needs your help. Valt protected the Professor. Valt buried all of your dead." ... "Your brother killed Ubor the Terrible. Ubor's nest was destroyed. " ... "Zergungal does not like you. Zergungal is nursing his wounds and is waiting to consume your tick tock brain. Zergungal loves tick tock brains" ... "Zergungal doesn't like you. And I don't like you either. Vess' nest is hunting the Professor" ... "but Valt still loves the Professor and Valt would never consume the Professor's tick tock brain." Ruben asks aloud "Valt who are you?" and he notices the taxidermied illithid has moved. Ruben looks down and realises he has drawn a picture. It's of a big demon like creature with huge wings. ... "Valt loves the Professor. Valt is good. The Professor is better. Long live Valt" - Kunoh is still training with the men. He quietly notices that when the men move, it is in fits and starts. Kunoh realises that they are moving through time as they are moving through space. Kunoh suddenly understands quantum physics. Devron disappears and doesn't come back. Kunoh asks the men, one after another, where Devron has gone. None of them ever knew him. - The group meet again at dinner. Kunoh tells Ruben this world is wrong. Ruben agrees. Ruben asks Kunoh to cut Ruben's finger, which he does. The finger bleeds. There are now 4 Professors. Heian asks for some wolf meat. He shares his wolf meat with Onai, who is sitting at the chair next to him. The serving staff put monkey brains in front of Ophion monkey. Ophion suddenly attacks one of the Professors. One of them ducks, the other 3 start asking Ophion why they hate the Professor. Ruben asks Mayb if she trusts him, she says yes, he takes her to his Sanctum. The 3 other Professors disappear. Valt is magnificent, Valt is great, all bow down to Valt. - Heian continues eating the wolf meat and then, Ophion's monkey brains. He asks for some dwarven meat next. Kunoh knocks it out of the server's hands onto the floor. They then bring out Catar meat. Kunoh knocks that on the floor too. Ophion turns to also have a go at hitting the waiter, and when he turns back, Heian has disappeared. When he asks Kunoh what happened, he doesn't know - he knows Heian isn't here but he doesn't know when he ever was. - Mayb and Ruben are in the Sanctum. There are 2 illithid corpses here now. Mayb watches as Ruben writes and these words keep appearing on the page in the voice of someone called Valt. Now there are three bodies, the 2 illithids (Sless and Zergongal), and 1 ulitharid (Ubor). Heian walks into the Sanctum, chewing on a wolf hock. In horror, Ruben tries to compel him out but it fails. Heian says I love you for ever and ever and ever and ever and .. - Lady Zaratee walks up to Ophion and Kunoh who are alone in the dining room. Kunoh asks if she knows what is happening. She answers "We're falling apart". She gets a clutch of feathers ... "Mattress backed whore would've loved this place" ... throws them around ... "The sky's wrong. Little Nandi always gets the sky wrong". She turns to Kunoh and Ophion "My northern puppets, you want Mama Tet to help you kill my sister, no". Kunoh understands. Mama Tet tells them "You're in the Otherwhere. The 3rd Witch Queen ain't here. We're surrounded by the dead, drawn like white wasps to the light. We're on the edge of revelations!" She tells us to go to where we first saw the Revelations Priest, and then to go where Nandi died the first time. - Ruben & Mayb leave the Sanctum and end up back in the dining room. Not-really-Heian reappears. Kunoh fills them in. They leave the Court. The sky is aflame with yellow and white light. Ruben thinks its Azetoth (who Mama Tet's Starless Communion worships) who is known for simulations. We are in a shining temple, fully reconstructed, light blazing. There is a terrible fear. Not-really-Heian says we're all going to die. He says thank you. We are in a blazing white space. We see a bright dot ahead of us, we head towards it. It is a throne, blazing, with the High Prophet slumped forward on it. Kunoh walks forward, reaching for the High Prophet. He disappears. - Kunoh is suddenly in a clearing as a small child, talking to one of his ancestors. He asks Kunoh what he's doing here, says it's not his time. Kunoh responds that he's trying to get home because he has to save the world. Kunoh's ancestor shows him to the cave. He says "When The Alin come, they will destroy us and our homeland" and now Kunoh is himself again, standing in the clearing outside of the cave, back at the night of Nandi and the iron golems. - Not-really-Heian follows Kunoh into the light. He turns into a different elf and walks off into the Forever Forest. - Ruben thinks a lot, brain going a million miles an hour, trying to figure out how to have the best of both worlds. Literally. He realises he can't stay and he walks to the light. - Suddenly the imp is puppeting Ophion. Mayb argues with the imp for Ophion's fate. Ophion's eyes are screaming. Mayb convinces the imp to let him go. Mayb and Ophion walk towards the light. - Heian and Ruben appear near Kunoh outside the cave. They can see the light peeking through the rockface. They don't know how to proceed. Mayb and Ophion appear. Ophion tells everyone we need the actuator. We find it, we use it, and the hill opens up. We walk into a grotto and see Nandi with 2 cute little puppies. Kunoh starts for Nandi. The imp appears to Ophion and says not to kill her. Ophion puts his hand on Kunoh's arm. The puppies yap. Nandi walks up to us. She asks Ophion why he wants to kill her. She exposes her upper chest, and says "If you want to kill me, kill me" Ophion responds there is no point if she won't die. She waves her hands around and a gateway appears behind her. She tells us we need to kill her in this place and she walks towards the gateway. Ruben realises the light coming through the gateway is the Lifelight. Ruben follows her and he says "You put this in me". She responds that she did not, she stopped it from spreading but she cannot remove it. He asks if going through the gateway will remove the ink, she replies that she does not know. She asks Ruben why we want her dead. He tells her it's because people think she is a weapon. She admits she is. Ruben says we worry she is in the wrong hands. She responds that she is in her own hands. She continues that her enemies want her dead - Mephistopheles wants her dead, and we have been set on this path by someone whose motives we have not questioned sufficiently. Suddenly there is a huge steaming blue demon standing with us, seething and pissed off at everyone. It is Ophion's exemplar. "THIS IS THE FACE OF YOUR ENEMY" ... Dun dun dun. The enemy stands before us, it is an avatar of Mephistopheles. He is easily 8 foot tall, and is brandishing a couple of Japanese long swords. Ruben sneaks away and puts his journal down in the light spilling out of the doorway. Nothing seems to happen. Ophion is lying on the ground, exhausted. Mephistopheles attacks Nandi, shooting rays of ice at her. The party attacks Mephistopheles. We try to banish him, but it fails. We hurt him a little. He casts ice spells, eventually creating an ice wall splitting the group in half. Ophion gathers his strength and stands. He takes Nandi's hand and makes to leave. Mephistopheles tries to win Ophion over (telepathically) but Ophion stands firm. The avatar of Mephistopheles disappears into blue light, which bounces around everywhere, as huge glowing orbs. The kids and the dholes all reappear. The kids concentrate the energy into a single ball which Nandi blinks away. Nandi thanks us for saving her. She explains Mephistopheles is trying to circumvent his own demise. The Places (see The Spaces) are drifting further apart and he doesn't want to go the way of the others, he thought he would 'hitch a ride' on the new divine spark. Nandi explains she and the other children are the Guardians of the Gate. The gods can't come here. Mephistopheles was only able to because he was linked to Ophion. It becomes clear to us at this point that we have been manipulated into thinking the Leopard Orchids were the enemy in order to get Mephistopheles to this place of power. We learn that the gods have divine spark - radial energy that moves through The Spaces, and accumulates at the edge of the Great Beyond. This Lifelight has awareness and cannot be controlled, only coerced and with difficulty. It produces new divine sparks, each time different to before. It is anathema to the outer planes beings (such as the modern day gods). We learn that the gods and the planes are not eternal. Gods rise and fall with and as the planes do. The more they ascend, the lighter they get, so it becomes harder for them to descend. The power behind the Elder Gods makes them last longer than the new modern gods who come and go sooner. We learn more about the Spaces - Chaos, Great Beyond, Lifelight, Otherwhere, Quanti, Threshold, Timevoid, Void Nandi gives us a blessing each, specific to our needs. -- We leave, and we arrive back at Coro's Court. It has been about a week. Everything has returned to how it was before we left the town the first time - the tear in the sky, the riots (although they are calming down). Ruben is sad to discover that he did not bring back any of the Lifelight in his journal (the trick with the book in the doorway). We receive a message "The Semseers request your permission to attend". We give them permission. We hear them start to arrive instantly. We meet them at the teleportation circle. One person steps forward, introduces themselves as Semseer Audell from House Gaoro, and asks a favour of us. Semseer Audell tells us that the Semseers are unaligned so they need our help in putting off the White Wasps mega swarms which are expected any day. They explain the White Wasps are leftover energy from the Elder Gods being destroyed. Whenever a rift is created between The Spaces, they are attracted to it, to destroy. During major discontinuances, they can congregate into mega swarms, massive balls measuring up to 40km diameter. The Semseers are desperate and they have come to us because we're unaligned, like them, and they fear others would use the megaswarm as a weapon against their enemies. Then ... there's more. Out of the teleportation circle, a female human cleric is brought out surrounded by blue light. The Semseers explain they've frozen time around her, and ask us to please not touch her or the light. They tell us the human's name is Dawn Eventide, and she has a symbiant called Drana, which we can see superimposed over her. They explain Dawn travelled to the past - Carkade era - and after she returned, her father, Patriarch Divine Alaclif Eventide of the Radiant Coast, sent her off to the High Temple of Lithander because she was starting to "lose herself". The symbiant Drana had attached itself to Dawn in the past to escape the Alin and the Carkade. The Drana were a very clever hive mind race, so clever they forgot to be conscious and aware, so when the Alin and Carkade attacked, they were easily overpowered and enslaved to control the power of the Spaces. Some of the clerics at the High Temple, where Dawn was being kept, changed their minds about helping after the attack by the Revelations, and they were going to instead use her as a weapon. They had been trying to wake Drana with Dawn to be used as a conduit only. They have managed 3 attempts so far, and each time a magical disaster occurred. If they succeed and Drana is awakened and Dawn is killed, it will create a runaway vortex ripping through The Spaces because the Drana is out of time and will have lost its link. So, the Semseers beg of us that we need to help keep Dawn safe. 2 of the Semseers will stay to continue the non-detection spell they have on her. We especially must be cautious of the Drana's Hammer, members of whom we met at the Convocation, as they want to rule and will no doubt try to use Drana to take advantage of that - they chose the name they have because they have a weapon that was possessed by the Drana, a 15 foot green obelisk. They tell us we need to go to one of the wormholes to access the Timevoid. There are only 2 wormholes in total, and only one is close enough - Pokio Pyramid. They say "a dead mind revitalises Drana's gift" - Tavarus Stone maybe?? (see notes from March) -- Kunoh knows that the Carkade and the Alin were trapped on the Alin 12 Worlds within the Void (due to Kunoh's ancestors and their allies' successful attempts to fend the Carkade-Alin alliance off in the long forgotten past). Kunoh asks the Semseer to find out what is happening at the wormhole because it should be sealed ("above the stronghold of the last Warrior King"). Have the Carkade escaped the Timevoid, and if so, how? Is their re-emergence what has caused the latest major discontinuance?