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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Echolocation" data-source="post: 8145769" data-attributes="member: 7011911">Session 31Courtesy of Ella's playerUnlike most Zeitgeist sessions, this one began promisingly! We’d finally captured Xambria and safely locked her in a cell and she was willing to tell us everything! It’s nice when things are easy for once.Xambria confirmed that the thing in her head was called Sijhen and that it was a “Gidim” - a race from another world. Sijhen had been trapped behind the Apet ziggurat’s seal for thousands of years, until it was released by the research team and took control of Xambria.Sijhen had been eating people’s brains to gain their memories - and from Caius’ it had learned about the Obscurati. Caius and MacBannin were both Obscurati - much as we had already guessed - and Xambria told us that each member of the Obscurati wears a ring. The material of the ring signifies which cell the wearer belongs to, and the length of the final word in the inscription indicates their status: a shorter word means higher status.Xambria was certain that the Winter meeting in Crisillyir that Caius had been intending to attend would have some Obscurati higher-ups there. She was also certain that Saxby - our boss - was one of the Obscurati.Xambria had one more bombshell to share: Sijhen was intending to open a portal to another world and bring back an invasion force - and oh! Xambria wasn’t really in control of her body after all… Whoops.In a blast of extraplanar energy the world turned transparent and Xambria climbed her way through the ceiling. Meanwhile, shadowy figures poured into the basement from the east and monsters flew through the building above.Sigh What was that I said earlier about things being easy?As the world fluctuated between see-through and corporeal we split up: Angharad dashing upstairs after Xambria while the rest of us confronted the shadowy figures. It soon became clear that these were the very same kind of shadowy figures we’d seen at the church with Steelshaper - a realisation which sent Ella into a murderous Rage. Perhaps more concerningly: at least one of these shadowy figures was one of Kell’s thugs - what the hell kind of deals has that man been making?In any case, much like the creatures we’d fought at Nevard’s rally, these shadowy figures vanished on death: their bodies mysteriously dragged elsewhere with a crackle of energy.Upstairs, Angharad was faced with a tough decision: should he get a badger gun? Or get Xambria? Wait, no - get Sejhin? ...Sejhambria? Xambri-jhin? ...Whatever. He eventually chose Xambrijhin and made it to the 2nd floor just in time to see Saxby hand something over to Sejambrijhin and watch the red-head vanish. Good ole Saxby.The kineticist didn’t have too much time to swear about it though, as tentacled eyeballs floated through the walls and started sending everyone insane. Well… more insane than they already were… But hey, what do I know? Maybe Josiah always makes out with his gun while Kaea sets things on fire? And Gaethan and Serena were probably just having a friendly firing contest in their office. Nothing to see here.Thankfully Pete, Carlao and Dima were all still sane! And leapt into battle with glee! Or at least Pete did. Or, rather he would have... if Angharad hadn’t stabbed him. Whoops?Between the insanely paranoid stabby funtimes upstairs and the many failed poison saves downstairs it took a while for us to defeat our respective enemies. But eventually we triumphed! And regrouped just in time to stop Saxby from running away. Oh - and also Delft was stuck in some kind of 1v1 versus a giant worm maw the entire time buuuuut... no one cared.Despite her best efforts to turn the other constables against us, we defeated Saxby - with Pete, Carlao and Dima’s help. During the fight Angharad got some fun cuddle time with the worm maw and Lisandra landed an absolutely savage riposte on Saxby with her rapier. Then Saxby attempted to run away and John shot her in the back!...And no, she didn’t die - she was just knocked out and handcuffed. Sigh Spoilsports.Anyway, the fun times didn’t stop there! As it turned out Delft was also insane! Fortunately, John was there to shoot his sword-cane and Angharad was there to shoot his insanity, and within a few minutes everyone was back to normal. Or… back to normally abnormal? Constables are weird.We inspected Saxby’s wedding ring and found an inscription: “Opportunity Begets Glory”, but didn’t have long to ponder this before Delft ordered us to bloody well deal with whatever the hell was happening. He gestured at the still fluctuating walls as they warped in and out of corporeality. Yeahhhhh… we should probably do something about that.We raided the storeroom for healing potions and then headed down to the basement. Angharad’s keen eyes had spotted something happening in the subway tunnel under the RHC, and as the world turned transparent once more, we saw Xambria down there - along with a familiar golden seal and a magical portal.We leapt through the floor and landed on the tracks, drawing Xambrijhin’s attention. The aberration asked us to let it go freely, but refused to state where exactly it was going. It became rather annoyed when Angharad referred to it as a warbeast, saying that it was actually a wayfarer but offering no further explanation. Ella tried in vain to get it to explain the workings of the portal, while the others debated just how far they were willing to go to fulfil the Voice of Rot’s orders.As the planar energies built all around us and the wall at the edges of the portal began to crack, John took matters into his own hands by shooting Xambria.Sijhen attempted to bargain with us, saying that if we killed it then it would take Xambria’s mind with it to the worlds beyond. But if we let it go then it’d give us her consciousness.Ella and Lisandra seemed inclined to listen, but John’s duty to the rest of Flint and Angharad’s duty to the fey titan compelled them to act. Combat erupted and a giant freaking tentacle-worm emerged from the portal behind the seal, grabbing Angharad and hoisting him into the air.John swiftly killed Xambria, Ella looked like she wanted to kill John, and Sijhen threatened to kill Angharad if we didn’t listen. It was all a bit of a mess - especially once Lisandra realised that Xambria’s spirit was somehow inside the worm along with Sijhen! And it seemed they weren’t the only two: as the worm’s hide split open and the flailing limbs of its previous victims spilled out. At the same time a deafening scream from hundreds of tortured souls filled the air.The force of it knocked most of the party to their knees, but John and Lisandra were still able to gun down the worm before it - or Sijhen - could do any more harm. As it fell, the energies from the portal behind it continued to build, crackling chaotically.Left with little time to act, Angharad and John set about trying to figure out how to close the portal, while Ella yelled at Lisandra and Lisandra tried to focus on Xambria.The archaeologist’s spirit was still there, but fading fast, and as she did she pleaded with Lisandra to let her enter her mind. In the absence of an agreement, Xambria turned to the rest of us, making the same plea - and Ella leapt at the chance. Lisandra immediately interjected and took Xambria’s consciousness into her own mind rather than risk the tiefling taking it. At which point Lisandra fell unconscious to the floor, overwhelmed by her new spiritual guest. The only guidance Xambria or her host could offer was a single phrase: “The lantern”.With little idea what else to do, John and Angharad set about destroying lanterns - the portal becoming more volatile with each hit. The two men quickly shoved the golden seal back in front of it and it seemed to help, but there was still one lantern left. Bereft of other ideas, Ella kicked it, and a massive wave of psychic energy slammed outwards: smashing into the minds of everyone nearby and flinging them back.Three constables didn’t get up after the blow: Angharad, Lisandra and Millie. The two humans were still alive - breathing but unconscious. But the blue jay... lay utterly still. Ella fell to her knees and screamed as she felt the empathic bond with her familiar shatter.The others slowly regrouped: Xambria’s spirit awakening Lisandra and John healing Angharad. The chaotic energies from the portal subsided: the world fading from transparency back to translucency and finally settling into corporeality. The city had been saved… if at a price.It was a somber walk back to the RHC.Carlao’s team was just rounding up the last few monsters, and they began to gather around as they saw Millie. Pete recited the blue jay’s deeds: retelling the brief but courageous career of Millipede the Magnificent - smallest of the RHC’s constables, but with one of the largest hearts.There was little time for grief though, as the constabulary - and the city at large - recovered from the attack. Delft was quickly inducted as Chief Inspector and cover-up stories for the attack were circulated to the public. In private, Delft quietly warned each of us not to trust anyone, and to prepare for a Winter trip to Crisillyir.We have an Obscurati party to crash.DM Notes<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The dramatic concluding combat was well received. I also liked the challenge of running so many moving bits at once.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The players enjoyed the character of Xambria. The ghostspeaker is a little nervous having a passenger, but her player is thrilled.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Honestly, after running The Dying Skyseer, I was skeptical that any other book could stand up to it. I think this book did, we all had a ton of fun. Some player highlights were the Voice of Rot scene, the Ziggurat of Apet, and the final encounter.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The players enjoyed the action movie scenes that separated more formal investigating. The players also enjoyed the deep dive into Angharad's psyche, his Vekesh initiation, and his sideplot of Tyler Starke. With this in mind, I'll be turning the splotlight onto Lisandra in the next book.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I find it hard to pull the trigger on characters, and it was a tough choice including Millie in the psychic blast. Ultimately, I thought Ella should suffer for her negligence. Her Distant Madness has taken route. Without the disease, should would have likely taken her time spellcrafting the lantern, and could have deduced a safe way to shut down the portal. But she was overcome by rage and fear. Although Millie is gone, it will open up new avenues for Ella. I know the player is comfortable with this too (though she is sad to see Millie go).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Shijen escaped. The RHC was one round off being nuked. I figured Shijen would notice the portal is nearly there and decide to fly the rest of the way. Shijen has feasted in Flint, and I figured the remaining psychic calories will be enough to fuel their journey home.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">I used Xamrbia's speech to give players information on the Obscurati Ring Code. The players nearly had it, but could not quite figure out the meaning of the final word. It's been two books, and they are very engaged constables...I thought it was a win they deserved.</li> </ul></blockquote>

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