Season 9, Episode 4: "Zwickmühle" Report
General Summary
The battle for Night ended in a thundering shout, as Carrot dredged the last reserves of his strength to manifest from the Hollow Blade. But rather than investigating the proceedings, he pointed instead to the great source of energy erupting from the Dreamlands (see The Beacon at Dylath-Leen), and warned Tesin that she needed to leave immediately. On cue, Valentina Terris and Lockette arrived via portal, stating that Mist was in grave danger.
Frustrated at the lack of closure, Tesin left the Hollow Blade with her daughters, following Valentina as she traveled the universe, collecting Isra and Cornelius from Montressor before diving into the Silence Between. They got about two breaths in before Flay, Abelina, and Anastasia arrived, with pretty much everyone unclear of the plan.
Valentina claimed to have a deep connection to the Abyss (where she believed Mist to be located), and indicated that Flay could get to Mist through her control of the Haze. She warned them not to delay, and then magically forced herself into slumber, allowing the Dream Team to dive into her dreams.
Mist startled awake in the Abyss, lying in front of a strange runestone carved into the small cavern he found himself in, his mind raging with insanity as his Apotheosis began. But it wasn't long before Mist realized he had company, as the nightmare of Moscaroth came to claim his old master's soul. He lurched forward, attempting to take Mist's divine essence, but was stopped as the Dream Team arrived in heroic fashion, defending their friend while Chamas fought on in some other existence. After some analysis from Isra and Flay, the group realized they had entered into Mist's mindscape, and that Chamas was fighting Crow and the remaining Horsemen in the actual Abyss. Mist glanced a brief vision of Chamas standing over his body, driving even his insane mind into action, but slowed as other visions began to assault his psyche, driven by the strange nature of his Apotheosis. He began to see visions of Lamashtu, but also of Lightning in the Wind and Balio Sondern, followed by twisted feelings of an entity known as Bard, and another know only as the Warden. Sensing the danger of engaging in this process while shrouded in madness, Anastasia used a spell gem given to her by Leto Xhao. The power inside seemed to wipe Mist's memory of the cure, but granted him back his sanity, aided in part by the lattice of spells put on him by Isra and Abelina. Meanwhile, Flay, Tesin, and Lockette did what they do best, hammering away at Moscaroth until he thought twice about eating Mist, eventually deciding to flee into the actual Abyss. But Mist was on a freight train barreling into an astral void, and his Apotheosis began in earnest.
Mist found himself on a stage surrounded by powerful entities, each represented by the visions he had seen prior — four aspects of Lamashtu, his brother, the mask of Balio Sondern, the Warden, and Bard. Behind, Sara No-Name pointed down the path to Nadir. He interrogated each in turn, bidding his brother to rest, and that he no longer needed his aid. He rejected Lamashtu outright, but found she was unwilling to leave just yet, and hinted that Mist's past had always been fraught with madness... The ghost of the moniker Balio Sondern went next, fading from existence altogether, before Mist turned his gaze to Sara. Now of sound mind, Mist revealed a secret he'd discovered in his waves of insanity — that Sara had been playing them all, pushing them to Nadir so that she was less attached to the Infinity Petal, and thus could one day leave it. At the accusation, Sara's kind façade crumbled, and she admitted having manipulated both them and the System to lead the Dream Team away from the divine. She explained her desire to kill Bast and this Petal completely, and that after the Dark Walkers had discovered her plan, they'd confronted her on it (see It Won't Be Long - Season 9) and later fled from the might of Azkhrumdar. In her, Mist saw a madwoman cursed with infinite life, now seeking only an end to everyone that had wronged her. He rejected her path, and Sara left of her own accord, delighted that everything was now out in the open. Mist followed this rejection with another jab at Lamashtu, but still the goddess would not budge. After attempting to take Mist over completely, the two severed their existences from each other, with Lamashtu crying a return to her real masters, the Cagn, and that she would one day come for Mist. With both his primary paths gone, Mist looked in sincerity to both Warden and Bard, and found the similarities between them. He saw in the Warden an old vision, of Mist as a boy, and a wicked gift from the Skinny Man. He saw in the Bard a savior of the Mortal Realm, slowly dying as he strove to give the Dream Team a fighting chance, having consistently rejected their ascendance to his realm of Valhalla. Ever the negotiator, Mist set out on a dangerous path, attempting to claim both identities as his own, but unsure of how exactly to claim them. Sensing the fading spirit of her friend, Lockette pleaded to the Wonder, its Blessing within her, and was rewarded with a manifestation inside the mindscape. Mist grasped the Mask Maker, seeing a path forward in the item's destruction, and made the dire choice to destroy the artifact in favor of the realm's stability. He saved Bard while additionally taking on the Warden, becoming an endless identity, a strange conclusion to an even stranger Apotheosis. The mindscape collapsed as Mist's body woke in the Abyss, showing them only a brief glimpse of Chamas' bloody back before the plane exploded with activity. Demons poured from every inch of the plane, attacking Crow, Charon, and Trelmarixian and sealing them from the rest of the party. A three-headed Jackal scooped up Mist's body, rushing into the darkness of the Abyss, and vowed to keep the Warden safe...
Mist startled awake in the Abyss, lying in front of a strange runestone carved into the small cavern he found himself in, his mind raging with insanity as his Apotheosis began. But it wasn't long before Mist realized he had company, as the nightmare of Moscaroth came to claim his old master's soul. He lurched forward, attempting to take Mist's divine essence, but was stopped as the Dream Team arrived in heroic fashion, defending their friend while Chamas fought on in some other existence. After some analysis from Isra and Flay, the group realized they had entered into Mist's mindscape, and that Chamas was fighting Crow and the remaining Horsemen in the actual Abyss. Mist glanced a brief vision of Chamas standing over his body, driving even his insane mind into action, but slowed as other visions began to assault his psyche, driven by the strange nature of his Apotheosis. He began to see visions of Lamashtu, but also of Lightning in the Wind and Balio Sondern, followed by twisted feelings of an entity known as Bard, and another know only as the Warden. Sensing the danger of engaging in this process while shrouded in madness, Anastasia used a spell gem given to her by Leto Xhao. The power inside seemed to wipe Mist's memory of the cure, but granted him back his sanity, aided in part by the lattice of spells put on him by Isra and Abelina. Meanwhile, Flay, Tesin, and Lockette did what they do best, hammering away at Moscaroth until he thought twice about eating Mist, eventually deciding to flee into the actual Abyss. But Mist was on a freight train barreling into an astral void, and his Apotheosis began in earnest.
Mist found himself on a stage surrounded by powerful entities, each represented by the visions he had seen prior — four aspects of Lamashtu, his brother, the mask of Balio Sondern, the Warden, and Bard. Behind, Sara No-Name pointed down the path to Nadir. He interrogated each in turn, bidding his brother to rest, and that he no longer needed his aid. He rejected Lamashtu outright, but found she was unwilling to leave just yet, and hinted that Mist's past had always been fraught with madness... The ghost of the moniker Balio Sondern went next, fading from existence altogether, before Mist turned his gaze to Sara. Now of sound mind, Mist revealed a secret he'd discovered in his waves of insanity — that Sara had been playing them all, pushing them to Nadir so that she was less attached to the Infinity Petal, and thus could one day leave it. At the accusation, Sara's kind façade crumbled, and she admitted having manipulated both them and the System to lead the Dream Team away from the divine. She explained her desire to kill Bast and this Petal completely, and that after the Dark Walkers had discovered her plan, they'd confronted her on it (see It Won't Be Long - Season 9) and later fled from the might of Azkhrumdar. In her, Mist saw a madwoman cursed with infinite life, now seeking only an end to everyone that had wronged her. He rejected her path, and Sara left of her own accord, delighted that everything was now out in the open. Mist followed this rejection with another jab at Lamashtu, but still the goddess would not budge. After attempting to take Mist over completely, the two severed their existences from each other, with Lamashtu crying a return to her real masters, the Cagn, and that she would one day come for Mist. With both his primary paths gone, Mist looked in sincerity to both Warden and Bard, and found the similarities between them. He saw in the Warden an old vision, of Mist as a boy, and a wicked gift from the Skinny Man. He saw in the Bard a savior of the Mortal Realm, slowly dying as he strove to give the Dream Team a fighting chance, having consistently rejected their ascendance to his realm of Valhalla. Ever the negotiator, Mist set out on a dangerous path, attempting to claim both identities as his own, but unsure of how exactly to claim them. Sensing the fading spirit of her friend, Lockette pleaded to the Wonder, its Blessing within her, and was rewarded with a manifestation inside the mindscape. Mist grasped the Mask Maker, seeing a path forward in the item's destruction, and made the dire choice to destroy the artifact in favor of the realm's stability. He saved Bard while additionally taking on the Warden, becoming an endless identity, a strange conclusion to an even stranger Apotheosis. The mindscape collapsed as Mist's body woke in the Abyss, showing them only a brief glimpse of Chamas' bloody back before the plane exploded with activity. Demons poured from every inch of the plane, attacking Crow, Charon, and Trelmarixian and sealing them from the rest of the party. A three-headed Jackal scooped up Mist's body, rushing into the darkness of the Abyss, and vowed to keep the Warden safe...
Rewards Granted
Tarot Deck
- Lockette solidified her role as the team martyr by giving up the Blessing of the Wonder so that Mist could keep on breathing.
- Mist lost the Mask Maker as we know it, becoming something else instead.
Created Content
By popular request, I have created some information and skill trees for the players on Kumu. New and updated articles for:
- Mantle of Odium
- Divinity, Anguish, and Enlightenment (Campaign Guide)
Notes
Mist stuck to his guns even in the face of a drastic loss of power, which I think is really cool. In general, the party is weaker than they were before they died, but they've also successfully stopped Crow's initial push into the Material Plane. I think the ending of the campaign will make or break on how they recover before Crow returns...
It's time for some side quests!
Flame in the Night
Tesin Movahesh
Thunder in the Mist
Lockette Endrinmaster 12 2.0
Isra
Report Date
15 Sep 2022
Primary Location
Secondary Location
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