OttD Session 5: One Final Trick

General Summary

The party, fresh off of their fight with a black dragon, split up at The church of Olidammara to rest and recover for a while. During their rest, Tornac spots Penguin taking Zerrof through a magical gateway. The party then tracks down Sconce, who is preparing for his demise. During this conversation, Sconce reveals that he is actually a prince, and had abdicated his right to the throne of Esma. He also informs them that his name comes from the small metal bit that holds torches to the wall. The party decides to wait with him until his demise. Eventually, Penguin arrives and, clearly under duress, slays Sconce in a single blow. The party spends a few minutes mourning, and then promptly burns the body to ashes and decides to not tell anybody else about what happened. When asked about Zerrof, Penguin agrees to take the party to Sigil to see what has become of their friend. He then leads them through the town, stopping to explain the tradition of Frame painting, and also to bring them for a shopping trip to Warehouse 19. Eventually, the party arrives at The Window, the cartographer's guild of Sigil. The party is briefly introduced to the owner, Pixo, and then taken to find Zerrof in a large square room. He is chained to an altar, with a pentagram carved into his chest, and with blood red eyes. Penguin says he is attempting to awaken Mazu, so he can negotiate with her, but refuses to specify what the negotiations are about. The party thoroughly investigates this scene. Vun Roade identifies some of the sigils as being related to gods, some of them dead, and also finds copious references to The nine hells. Despite the ominous markings, however, Zerrof does not appear to have been seriously harmed. Tornac offers a little healing, and Pestle and Vun Roade both say prayers to Mazu. The sleeping goddess does respond to these efforts, saying that she is lost in a dark place, and their voices seem to come from all directions. Tornac carefully considers the situation and concludes the thing Mazu needs most is additional followers. The party discusses marketing efforts, including going to print flyers, but are interrupted when Penguin sits cross-legged on the ground in front of the alter and begins some sort of ritual. Pestle identifies the ritual as a Dream spell, which allows the caster to enter the dreams of a sleeping individual.