Season 10, Episode 2: "A Space Taxi to the Stars" Report
General Summary
Returning from their expedition into the center of Paradise, Mist and Deva shared their thoughts with Kikimora, Abelina, and Sir Hemmington, kicking off a whirlwind of questioning that leveraged the library around them.
Mist learned that Tommen had once visited Paradise and received an egg (likely the source of the Infinity Worm), and that Valentina had recently bartered for a smaller egg among Kikimora's pile of wares. Through Hemmington, they learned that the "Riley" mentioned in the System stats for the Heartstring might be a woman he knew on Absalom Station, and that she was somehow related to Norn.
But after learning that time in Paradise was not linear time, Mist and Abelina began to fear that they might not return quick enough to aid their friends in the coming war, and bid Kikimora and Deva farewell. Using her knowledge of the Other Side, Deva charted a road through reality that would take them from Paradise to the Mirror, and warned them that she sensed trouble ahead. Stepping through, the trio was startled as Sir Hemmington became ethereal and fell into the earth, just as they were transported to another plane that vaguely resembled Kikimora's home.
The Triad Unremembered stood directly in the path ahead, leading data ghosts not unlike Sara No-Name's previous form, and demanded to know Mist's intentions. When questioned about his allegiance, Gallenwald implied that Annabell and Valentina were conspirators — but after Mist showed surprise at this information, Varlet coyly suggested he look to Flay for answers. While Mist did not confirm his end goal, he refused the group's offer to join them as "Mr. M", as his trial to gain membership involved slaying Caesura. The ambiguity and denial led the Triad to become hostile, with Uldir stepping in to execute Mist and Abelina, but not before the tricky Ysoki plucked at Hearstring, and vanished to a safe place across the planes.
They arrived in Dusk, one half of a direct Mirror of Day and Night, where the very air created a sluggish atmosphere promoting sleep and stasis. The duo's exploration was cut short by a visitor, as a confused Kauma Gonjodonque hopped down from the trees, and explained that he'd been running to them across the planes. He pushed them through a Backdoor before the Triad could catch up with them, striding into Ezorod as if it were the easiest thing in the world...
Rewinding time, and shifting focus back to rest of the Dream Team, the crew finished their brainstorming and decided to reach out to Carrot. He confirmed that Ezorod was safe, and that he and Wyatt had battled a Demon-Daemon hybrid in the plain outside Ralhoma. The Jackal-like creature was bound near the engine of darkness that contained the Eshtayiv, and required both Zelophedad and Carrot to keep them imprisoned. Concerned, MaMa suggested they return to their home base, and given the current state of the Aga Jain, Lockette summoned a space taxi to take them through the nearby Fold Gate. However, they were stopped by Mu Draconis, who had just stepped out of her own taxi on her way to contact the Dream Team. She explained that Cromwell had asked for her help, but was cut short as the taxi arrived, and a peculiar old woman demanded they get inside. Thinking they would talk on the way the rest of the group pooled into the car, but blood ran cold as the woman revealed herself to be Riley — the true identity of BecomeXChaos. This dominated the conversation home, with Riley deflecting any serious conversation until they were behind the wards of Ezorod. She diverted most of the group into a conference room before Qwerty caught up with MaMa, and demanded to know the location of Fish and Wonton. Caught between a rock and a hard place — knowing that Fish had been absorbed by Crow, and having no idea what had happened to Wonton — MaMa stumbled through an argument that ended with Qwerty handing in her immediate resignation. The security systems across Ezorod went inert as she turned to pack up her children and belongings, and then left to Castrovel to void Wonton's crew assignment with TRAVIS. Although troubled, MaMa had little time to ponder the ramifications with Riley spilling information in the conference room. Despite their direct questions, Riley instead began to offer unsolicited advice to individual members of the group, and shared that her own skills came from an ability quite like Crow's — allowing her to intercept radio waves and infiltrate nearby Infospheres. Her presence on Absalom Station (near the Starstone) gave her access to a frightening amount of information, which had allowed her to follow the success and failure of the Dream Team, and now explain to them what they'd missed. Of particular note, Riley coached Lockette through her powers involving Tinker Tools, and revealed that Lockette could recall Tools that were not currently in use. On command, Lockette created a massive surge of energy that fished into the Other Side, and the semi-lucid ghost of Keltor arrived kneeling at her feet. He sighed with relief, uncovering the three Tinker Tools he'd managed to keep safe from Crow, and passed them onto Lockette before fading back into the In Between. As part of this transference, Lockette came to understand the other two Tinker Tools from the Other Side were actually in Tyrnog, although they were currently being used. The wave of ensuing confusion was exacerbated by the arrival of Gonjo, Abelina, and Mist. It appeared that Riley and Gonjo were working together through the System, and that now that he was in his right mind, Gonjo had come to appreciate the dire nature of their future. As the highest level players in the System, he'd come to request their help in stopping Crow from reaching the Boneyard, where the dread moon of Groetus contained one of two remaining stores of his divine essence (the other being the Bard). This surfaced questions of rescuing Isra from the jaws of death, currently caught in the middle of a war between Pharasma and Charon — prompting the arrival of Delilah-9, Cromwell, Carrot, and Zelophedad. With some semblance of the group together, Mist thought it was finally time to share the vision he'd seen at the center of Paradise... Only for Riley to refute the details, explaining that she was actually there when it happened — and that she was the grandmother of Bast.
Rewinding time, and shifting focus back to rest of the Dream Team, the crew finished their brainstorming and decided to reach out to Carrot. He confirmed that Ezorod was safe, and that he and Wyatt had battled a Demon-Daemon hybrid in the plain outside Ralhoma. The Jackal-like creature was bound near the engine of darkness that contained the Eshtayiv, and required both Zelophedad and Carrot to keep them imprisoned. Concerned, MaMa suggested they return to their home base, and given the current state of the Aga Jain, Lockette summoned a space taxi to take them through the nearby Fold Gate. However, they were stopped by Mu Draconis, who had just stepped out of her own taxi on her way to contact the Dream Team. She explained that Cromwell had asked for her help, but was cut short as the taxi arrived, and a peculiar old woman demanded they get inside. Thinking they would talk on the way the rest of the group pooled into the car, but blood ran cold as the woman revealed herself to be Riley — the true identity of BecomeXChaos. This dominated the conversation home, with Riley deflecting any serious conversation until they were behind the wards of Ezorod. She diverted most of the group into a conference room before Qwerty caught up with MaMa, and demanded to know the location of Fish and Wonton. Caught between a rock and a hard place — knowing that Fish had been absorbed by Crow, and having no idea what had happened to Wonton — MaMa stumbled through an argument that ended with Qwerty handing in her immediate resignation. The security systems across Ezorod went inert as she turned to pack up her children and belongings, and then left to Castrovel to void Wonton's crew assignment with TRAVIS. Although troubled, MaMa had little time to ponder the ramifications with Riley spilling information in the conference room. Despite their direct questions, Riley instead began to offer unsolicited advice to individual members of the group, and shared that her own skills came from an ability quite like Crow's — allowing her to intercept radio waves and infiltrate nearby Infospheres. Her presence on Absalom Station (near the Starstone) gave her access to a frightening amount of information, which had allowed her to follow the success and failure of the Dream Team, and now explain to them what they'd missed. Of particular note, Riley coached Lockette through her powers involving Tinker Tools, and revealed that Lockette could recall Tools that were not currently in use. On command, Lockette created a massive surge of energy that fished into the Other Side, and the semi-lucid ghost of Keltor arrived kneeling at her feet. He sighed with relief, uncovering the three Tinker Tools he'd managed to keep safe from Crow, and passed them onto Lockette before fading back into the In Between. As part of this transference, Lockette came to understand the other two Tinker Tools from the Other Side were actually in Tyrnog, although they were currently being used. The wave of ensuing confusion was exacerbated by the arrival of Gonjo, Abelina, and Mist. It appeared that Riley and Gonjo were working together through the System, and that now that he was in his right mind, Gonjo had come to appreciate the dire nature of their future. As the highest level players in the System, he'd come to request their help in stopping Crow from reaching the Boneyard, where the dread moon of Groetus contained one of two remaining stores of his divine essence (the other being the Bard). This surfaced questions of rescuing Isra from the jaws of death, currently caught in the middle of a war between Pharasma and Charon — prompting the arrival of Delilah-9, Cromwell, Carrot, and Zelophedad. With some semblance of the group together, Mist thought it was finally time to share the vision he'd seen at the center of Paradise... Only for Riley to refute the details, explaining that she was actually there when it happened — and that she was the grandmother of Bast.
Rewards Granted
Tarot Deck
- MaMa transferred the Blessing of the Shield of Light to Mist as was intended by Maximus Erebus.
- Mist received the Eclipse Malkin arrow from Flay.
Created Content
New and updated articles for:
Notes
Riley takes the chaos often dished out to NPCs by the Dream Team and dumps it directly back on their heads, and I love it.
Flame in the Night
Tesin Movahesh
Thunder in the Mist
Lockette Endrinmaster 12 2.0
Report Date
16 Jan 2023
Primary Location
Secondary Location
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