Session 40 - Secrets Best Left Unspoken

Plot points/Scenes

Long rest

• Fritz does not give free rein to steal anything that sort of looks like Millennium Artifacts
• (the recording missed this part because we were so eager to start Anna forgot to summon Craig, but basically Fritz - excited by having found another Artifact, lists off the types of Artifacts left out there from World Anvil and kinda sorta unintentionally told Jalan and Drant that they had semi-permission to steal something if it fit the description of an Artifact, she takes everything back (because Millennium Ring and Millennium Necklace, come on) and instead tells them to notify her of having found a potential Artifact before stealing it
• Long rest! Drant very excitedly suggests going to the library
• F: "...I'm confused why you want to go to a library, but I'm game"
• Jalan comes as well because he's also curious
• Drant starts looking for tattoo stuff, doesn't find what he's looking for, and just as Fritz is about to sit down with her book says "there's nothing here, let's go somewhere else, I know where we can find more books"

The Accursed Archives

• Drant leads us around the Stalwartz Library, we don't remember the building being this big from the outside, slowly as we keep going it seems mustier, danker, eventually get to a clearing in the shelves, in the middle is a relatively large podium with an index of sorts, the clearing is filled with tables all around
• Fritz is in heaven
• Drant demonstrates how to use the library
• D: "I want to look for magical tattoos"
• DM: "Are you sure?"
• D: "Yes"
• DM: "Make a wisdom save"
• F: *excited beyond belief* "what the fuck??"
• D: *cackling* "this is where the fun begins"
• Succeeds, saunters back with a book on Odicism and plops down at a table and starts reading
• J: "Drant...when did you learn to read?"
• D: "I dunno."
• F: "you...don't know"
• D: "yeah. I was looking for tattoo books and fell asleep and woke up here and then I could just read"
• Fritz is vaguely familiar of a folk tale that tells of a place like this: a place that exists outside of time and space that holds all of the world's secrets, it's told as a scary story for kids how dangerous knowledge can be - she remembers one name for it is The Dark Library but that's like the children's story version of it, can't put her finger on the real thing
• As we browse, we're aware of some grim reaper thing in the corner of our eyes, following our every move
• As Fritz and Jalan idle, not sure what to do, a tiny figure that looks like it's made of folded paper approaches, looks up at Fritz expectantly - she remembers that they're called "Record Hunters" and you tell them what you want to know and they bring you the knowledge
• F: "what first....uhh, The Mechanical Enlightenment"
• It turns into a little origami creature and scuttles off, (she declines DM's invitation to try to follow it), it returns, lands next to Fritz, holding a book, then says "secret for secret...exchange"
• Drant starts to explain that the knowledge here is far beyond what normal libraries have, and that the record keepers here are like keepers of secrets - you have to pay to access their knowledge by giving them a piece of knowledge they don't already have in their annals...a secret
• F: "ooohhhh boy....what dare I tell them"
• One of the record hunters tries to attack Drant with a silent scream for talking so much, but fails
• Jalan asks for a treasure map, his hunter turns into an origami dog and runs away, he tries to stealthily follow, is bombarded by razor-thin metal pages that erupt from the stacks as he passes by, but he continues on
• Passes an auto-recorder, seems to be consistently scrying on some house, there is a pen taking constant notes
• Passes by a window bathed in red light, no skyline or anything visible out the window but steady red light streams through it
• Jalan catches up with his record hunter, it hands him what isn't really a book, but a bunch of bound-together pieces of paper and looks at him expectantly
• Jalan (forgetting to give up a secret) tries to open it, fails a con save, is blinded and deafened, fails a dex save in his blind/deaf panic, immediately stumbles around the chamber loudly, yelps "ow", feels a dark claw scratching up his ankle and start dragging him away
• Drant hears a sharp crack, realizes something's not right, says "god damn it Jalan", casts Seek Phrase (AKA Ctrl+F) on Fritz, and takes off
• Gets the direction wrong at first, then casts Locate Creature
• Some creature with fingers made of blades as long as scythe blades ready to tear Jalan's heart out on the ground - when Drant comes around the corner, the creature snarls and then slinks away into the darkness
• Drant whisper-yells at Jalan for being loud, Jalan protests that he wasn't doing anything wrong, he was just trying to read
• (Fritz points out he followed his record hunter after the razor pages attacked him, and he tried to open a book without giving up a secret
• (J: "...well how was I supposed to know that?!"
• Meanwhile, Fritz remembers more about that bedtime story/folk tale - this place is called The Accursed Archives - place of dark, hidden, and arcane knowledge which often leads to the fall of empires (like the story of the Cathae) - it is a hub for secrets and forbidden knowledge, and it seems to distribute knowledge intentionally to sow discord and bring down empires
• Fritz looks for info on the mechanical enlightenment - and the secret she divulges is that "the ancient elf king Ralodithius still lives" (J: "aw! That was gonna be mine! I was gonna say he was in Soular Power" F: "NO for gods' sake don't do that, you gotta be smart about what information you give out, don't give them anything that'll bite us in the ass")
• Mechanical Enlightenment
• (before divulging secret): Big Want: eternal life through mechanical means - essentially lichdom without magic
• Sub stuff: as she starts reading through the books, the letters shift into unfamiliar scripts, then into words of her worst nightmares - she passes out, and when she wakes, the pages are blank
• Secret gains her all of the following and then some, apparently that was an impressive-ass secret:
• Want to obtain technical supremacy to enslave their homebase which is still weirdly redacted (F: "secrets in an archive of secrets??"), and use it to subvert the Volaris empire and take it over with version of mind control, already have decent versions of it, with higher officers using devices that see if you're operating with the club's best interests, and if not, exploding you (like Tsed's implant), currently working on similar smaller versions of this with simpler mind control, like what mind flayers have, imagine this will be easier to achieve if they first achieve eternal life, hence the Big Want
• Latest advancements: smudged out name of a city or person (like someone came into the library and purposefully smudged it out after discovering that the information was there)...Fritz attempts to use transfer paper and charcoal to see if an imprint remains on the page, but rolls a 3...that's a no
• DM jumps into secret room with Drant to ask him a question, jumps back and declares that she was able to get a little info: it starts with an O and ends with an M
• (F: "oh no....out of character I've totally figured this out already. But based on that roll Fritz has no idea, she's just gonna run around asking people if they know of a city that starts/ends with O and M and she's gonna have no idea how far off she is"
• (DM: "awww okay"
• Drant leads Jalan back to the main chamber and Jalan starts studying his treasure map
• Describes the island in great detail, and a detailed layout of traps and steps to get around them - step one, make a wisdom save, he fails, "you must undress yourself and roll around in the blood of chickens for two hours," and there's no step two
• He knows when he started reading that there was a step two out of the corner of his eye...his record keeper looks at him quizzically, "secrets? Exchange?"
• "Jalan Kendith has the Onyx Lion" (record keeper "Prince Jalan Kendith of the..." text starts scrolling over its body, going through Jalan's entire lineage...)
• Jalan gets to see some more of the instructions of how to get through the traps...in the form of riddles
• Jalan's Treasure Map to Vetusto
• "Four may enter, only one may exit, and the beginning, the four must stand at the corners of the one room and await the trials"
• "Those who have sought are many, those who have seen have passed by, the magic here is clean, but to those who wield it is unclean"
• "Dark all-consuming power, most likely related to pestilence"
• Details more steps, but they're blurred, "go take it with you. Return with the prize to us", the txt for step two is blurred out now too, new text over top of it which reads "the text will reveal itself in the temple"
• J: "ooh? I'm allowed to take it with me?"
• Jalan asks for bank account numbers/passwords - tells them that "Ralodithius is in the power company"
• DM: "..."
• F: "that's not very specific"
• RH: "that is a bad secret. Secrets? Exchange?"
• J: "ugh, fine. Power company is soul furnace"
• F: "jalan..."
• Record hunter begrudgingly accepts the 'secret', origamis itself into a sad panda and heads off to find the information
• Terry Moneybags - in Embassy Bay, filthy rich, username: richboy8080, passphrase to get past guards: password1234
• Fritz's secret was apparently so impressive that she's got more info she can ask for, she's super indecisive and it looks like the weird grim reaper things are getting impatient (D: "Friiiitz maybe we shouldn't overstay our welcome") asks for location of "the most enticing Artifact to Fritz, the Millennium Puzzle": held under lock and key in the Embassy Bay Stronghold, by the mayor of that city
• Jalan gets feisty and impatient, pulls a gem out of the encrusting of a book titled "Why Resurrection Magic No Longer Works On Creeh Colony"
• DM: "and it's the perfect size/value for resurrection rituals!" (F: "it's like a whole bunch of clerics after the Rapture were just like'...welp. What the fuck are we going to do with all of these resurrection gems now?' and just encrusted them into the cover of their books out of spite")
• He's not particularly subtle about it - Drant notices him doing this, and unfortunately...so do the library staff
• No longer red light pouring through the doors, dome of darkness appears above the clearing of tables, air becomes stale, darkness is getting closer and slowly surrounding us
• Drant: "we have to go!"
• DM: "does 44 hit?" Jalan then takes 46 damage and is stunned, all he hears in his head is the worst wailing and gnashing of teeth
• As Fritz and Drant start dragging the stunned Jalan out of the Archives, he saves from the stun, looks back, sees an extremely old wizard slinks back into the shadows
• Everybody simultaneously: "DEWEY!!!"
• DM: "...how did you all figure it out so quickly??"
• (to be fair, there is only one person we've ever met in any campaign who has a description/interests parallel to 'an extremely old wizard who hoards knowledge,' sooo)

Exiting the Accursed Archives

• Head back to our area, realize that no time has passed - like maybe 20 seconds since we descended into the Archives
• Fritz is very excited, asks how Drant was able to find this place and if he can get back there or knows how to get back there
• D: "I was sleeping, I woke up, I thought it was a dream, but now I can read!"
• He also says he's not super sure how he got there...it's probably easiest to get to if you're already in a library but it's not a certain thing, he thinks maybe you have to be chosen by the Archives to enter and then you can find it/lead other people into it
• Jalan starts protesting the whole 'being attacked for defacing a book' thing loudly (J: "I didn't deface it! I just took a gem out of its cover!" F: "that's DEFACING-"), little record hunters peer over the top of some shelf and glare at Jalan, he tries to run away and they attack him in little bird forms as he runs out
• Drant says we should just let this play out, and maybe not bring him back next time - Fritz is all too happy to oblige
• Jalan is actually knocked unconscious by the record hunters and collapses in some aisle between bookshelves - Fritz couldn't give a shit, and before Drant can get to him, Alvira says "oh for goodness sakes" and stabilizes him before going back to her studies
• A cut from our frantic flight from the Accursed Archives and the party arguing to a beautiful shot of a backlit reading nook, bathed in warm evening light, with the silhouette of Alvira surrounded by piles of books, studying serenely...then approaching footsteps and swearing and Jalan trips and collapses face-first, bleeding in front of her table with furious little paper birds assaulting his body
• One of the record hunters turns itself into a pen and starts writing on the back of Jalan's hand, not only on his skin, but into his blood..."I will not steal from others. I will not steal from others. I will not..."
• DM: "do you guys stop it?"
• F: *aghast* "no!"
• D: "are you kidding?"
• Wakes up with a scar on the back of his hand, harry potter style - "I will not steal from others."
• Decide we want to go to Embassy Bay Stronghold - Fritz is enticed by the Millennium Puzzle, Jalan knows Terry Moneybags is there, Drant's along for the ride as always

Crafting an Artifact

• Helping Jalan - he asks Fritz for the second time if she can help him transform his quicksilver clay into an OP magic item, she tells him what she told him before - it's impossible and way outside of her capabilities
• He then goes to the Wizards' Enchanting Guild and asks their aid - they say they don't have the mechanical prowess - so he returns to Fritz and asks if she'd just be willing to assist the process, and how many days she can give - she says she wants a hard line, how many days does he need, and what will she get in return
• He can't really think of anything she wants, doesn't really know how many days he'd need her for...
• Fritz says 'fuck it,' I'll do it, however many days you need, but asks for "10 Outstanding Favors in Perpetuity" in return
• He surprisingly doesn't try to bargain her down, and agrees - essentially, if he brings to her an outrageous idea or wants to do something she doesn't approve of, he will, without question, abide by her wishes if she calls in a Favor
• He gleefully declares that he'll just run her out of all of her Favors by endlessly suggesting that he wants to steal something and every time she says no it'll take a favor, she says that she'd say no even without having Favors to spend, she does that every day, it'll have to be big important things where they both mean business that will actually take a favor
• And she ends up having to dedicate the entire week to this project: with no breaks. The mages are constantly picking her brain on how to improve the design...takes 16 stress (on 5d4)...exactly enough to put her at 20
• Takes an affliction...and while Phil's gone, we realize how perfect this is...Anna says "I'm being followed by fate" and Drant's new goodies, she rolled the exact number she needed to get an affliction, the affliction was actually very fun, it is called "Stalwart" which is just one letter off from the town we're in...
• Dedicates a Karma to the project as well (if she were in her right mind she wouldn't just out of spite for Jalan, but she gets so absorbed and obsessive in her work that she pours her heart and soul into making the best creation possible)
• The ball which ends up being an ingot-sized blob of metal was able to absorb four ingots worth of Phantasmium but maintain its shape/size/mass
• PROPERTIES - Velkaa
• +2 version of anything, like a buckler that generates +2 AC, a dagger of +2, alchemy kit +2... (not able to create weapons of the heavy or two-handed properties)
• It seems to prefer to take the form of an ornate bracelet on the wrist of the wielder with an inlay for a gem
• It also has some form of sentience...it will sometimes turn into a thing before you know to ask for it
• But also...it gets better the longer it spends with its wielder, like it'll turn into random things that the wielder doesn't actually need in an attempt to figure out what they want before it gets to know them and their expectations
• DM: "did Fritz just invent machine learning?"
• (D: "I just don't want it turning into anything kinky once Naomi walks into the room"
• (F: "oh god-"
• (D: "like a plus 2 dildo"
• (J: "no, we're done here-"
• Mechanical properties pretty nebulous, but there is an exhaustion mechanic where it can no longer be anything but a bracelet for the week, and the wearer becomes exhausted if it is pulled from too much
• Fritz has intimate knowledge of arcane mechanical stuff now, is able to improve arcane mechanical devices as she wants
• (D: "she finally got the skyrim perk!"
• Is also fairly confident that she's just created an item that will one day gain the status of Artifact
• Drant uses his Karma, makes a tattoo, and effectively gains +5 movement speed
• Fritz also has the time to draw up the schematics for the next tier of her armor, though she's not able to construct it yet

Plot type

Session

Parent Plot

Act 4: Untitled