Quick Summary
The team continues their sticky-handed investigations through the lair. Sun-and-Stars find that the dark is worse than the bite. Chicory runs up against a wall and has a shocking encounter with the Berbalang. Once reunited, the team finds everything they have been looking for. The Arcane Duo determines how to deactivate the transportation block; Ellsee is drawn to a remnant of Dyana.
Session Recap
Session opened with the team making a plan to ring their Lovely Bells in case of trouble, as Chicory stayed on the landing platform to further study the spellwork, and Sun-and-Stars went to investigate the southern terrace in the crystal mind chamber.
On ascending the stairs to the terrace, Solstice found herself psionically anchored in place, and Ellsee experienced the same effect but was able to resist it. When the crystal mind asked Ellsee what they were doing, Ellsee conveyed “just looking” so persuasively that the crystal mind released its hold on Solstice and let them both go up. There they found an arcane study and many objects of interest, including pages from a spellbook (some of which were drained of their magical essence), a bottle of mesarthium, and a desktop coffer.
Solstice picked the lock and attempted to take the bejewelled scroll case within for Chicory, but the coffer proved to be a miniature mimic which bit down on her wrist, trapping her hand in the coffer, and activated a sphere of magical darkness centred on the scroll case itself. Solstice blindly whacked the mimic against the wall, and on Ellsee’s advice, cast dispel magic on the darkness. After intimidating the mimic to release her, Solstice noticed a trio of cavities above the decorative stone mantle, and a black diamond resting on the mantle itself. She took the diamond, and Ellsee took the spellbook pages and mesarthium.
Meanwhile, Chicory hyper-focused on the spellwork and began to understand its chaotic nature; they determined that there was a control panel or similar elsewhere in the lair, located north. They and Arye headed through the curving hallways in order to find it, but as they ventured northwards they activated a magical trap that generated an impassable wall of force and separated SpellSword. Chicory was unsure of their ability to safely deactivate the glyphs and rang their bell for help, and Arye left to get the others on their instruction.
While waiting for their teammates, Chicory realised they weren’t alone when the berbalang attempted to tip the huge bottle of lightning energy in their direction. They ran up the stairs to a dilapidated library, and with a Kairos shot they destroyed the rubber-ended pole that it was using, but it retaliated by agitating the bottle and causing an explosion of elemental energy that Chicory was caught within.
Working fast, Ellsee and Solstice worked together to deactivate the glyphs long enough to pass, while Arye had an irrational moment and repeatedly hit the wall of force with Arclightning. Once reunited, everyone was relieved to find Chicory still standing, if very injured. Ellsee cast cure wounds for Chicory, and Solstice provided doses of Dahlia’s healing ointment to Chicory and Laetus; on swallowing a dose, Laetus threw up a black slug-like creature that Solstice stomped before it could wriggle away. After a moment to breathe, everyone moved forward into the shadowed and ruined library.
Chicory searched the bookshelves with Arye’s help and found many strange fragments and bits of information, including a name in Celestial that hurt them to write into their journal (“Maanzecorian”) and The Tome of Dreams. Ellsee examined the elemental bottles from above, and Solstice investigated the workstation present. When Solstice pressed play on an alien phonograph, the team heard the sounds of Laetus’ tortured screams, and Solstice determined that the notes and blood sample were in service of a cloning project. Solstice took the blood and notes, and snapped the recording in half.
After Ellsee comforted Laetus, they paced until their attention was caught by a tiny silver cage, which contained a light that emanated very faint emotions. Chicory confirmed it was a soul cage and likely the other part of Laetus mentioned by the crystal mind, so Ellsee put it in their satchel.
As the team moved past the library, they found a desk within a large spell circle that Chicory recognized as the counterpart to the spell circle from the landing, three lecterns containing arcane tomes, and shelves containing an eclectic collection of items. On the desk were many valuable items, a huge book lying open, and a pair of gemstones. Solstice investigated the strange tomes, particularly intrigued what appeared to be a star map, and got Chicory to pass her the pair of gemstones with mage hand. One gemstone was ruby red and the other deep purple, and both were cut similarly to the black diamond from the lab study.
Ellsee looked through the shelves, finding that most of the wondrous items were broken or drained of their magic, and realising that they were the belongings of past adventurers who had journeyed into the lair and never left. She found Laetus’ cane sword, and gave it to Chicory to decide what to do with it; they thanked her and promptly threw it into the void, then went back to their investigation.
After resisting being enthralled by the open book, Chicory was able to peer through the illusion and see that the “desk” was actually the control panel they were searching for, and the tempting items resting atop it were illusions and would trigger alarms if touched. They dispelled the illusion on the desk itself, allowing Solstice to help them determine how to deactivate the block on transportation. Together, the Arcane Duo were able to solve the puzzle, but knew that using the control panel to alter anything in the lair would certainly make their presence known and may activate other yet-undiscovered security measures.
Meanwhile, Ellsee discovered an old journal embossed with a crest depicting a hawk, crescent moon, and three stars. They knew it had psionic weight, but the draw towards the only piece of Dyana that she had seen in the entire lair was irresistible. On the front flyleaf was a smeared inscription in the Symboran language, which Chicory translated for them: Know thyself. — G
When Ellsee turned to the first page of Dyana’s diary entries, they felt an invisible thread of psionic energy reverberate, like a strand of spiderweb carrying vibrations to its spider. Session ended with Ellsee dropping the journal in shock and their friends looking to them in question.