Edge of Midnight | Ep. 31 | Metamorphosis
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Welcome to Legends of Avantris. I'm Nikki Scarlet and you're listening to Edge of Midnight. Here is what happened last time.

Witch hunters, come receive your well-earned rewards. Our deal is sealed and these valiant witch hunters will not leave Druskinvold until the coven of the Midnight Moon is annihilated. There are witches at the masquerade. The Crescent Court is doomed and the four of you are absolutely powerless to stop it. You see the masked face of Anya Adelaide looking up at you with mischievous eyes and a malevolent grin. It's about time you met my daughters.

Such an introduction is long overdue. The form of Mother Midnight stands before you as nothing more than a shadow that lets out a gleeful cackle as the shadow slips off into the night sky and blinks out of existence. Twelve hooded female silhouettes standing along the balcony above you. The entire party has been turned to stone. All of you feel yourselves immediately stiffen as you are completely unable to move. You all have dropped to level three.

And just as your senses begin to leave you and surrender to your petrified fate, each one of you feels a sudden eruption of energy from your very souls. Change is the only constant in life. It may be one of the most terrifying things in existence, ripping us away from the warm and golden comforts of the known and familiar. But just like death, you cannot escape it.

and most times the change was what you needed at the exact moment it came. But that don't mean it ain't excruciatingly painful. Your senses have been plunged into darkness. Following the chaos of the previous moments when you joined the entirety of the Crescent Court in petrification, you all felt yourselves rendered completely helpless and even weakened by the dark magics of the Coven of the Midnight Moon.

Turned to stone by the witch known as Sister Effigy, your fate seems sealed until each of you feels a burst of power from within and you sense a presence within you. Blethika, you are surrounded by an inky void that's even darker than the darkest nights under a new moon with no stars. Oblivion, this is what your tenants strive for, the tenants of the Dark Lady, and yet

You wish to leave as quickly as possible. You even crave to see the twinkling of stars and the milk light of a shimmering moon if they could guide you out of this place so you could continue advancing your plans. You were so close. Then you hear something in the darkness. It's a whisper so faint it's nearly inaudible.

You can't even make out any words, but you know it is the voice of the Lady of Loss. It's even more distant and weak than you would have expected, but you understand the intentions of the feeble whispers. The tone denotes the immense desire to return to the realms of death from which she'd been banished so long ago. With you, her desired instrument of her grand return. All it would take is the tolling of a bell.

And despite your calculations and plans within plans, something happens even you don't expect: a sacrifice from Shar herself. The whispers grow fainter as the last fragments of the Goddess's power in this place pool above you like a blot of ink as you hear the tones of trust and hope in the final breathy whisper before the darkness shrouds you like a morning veil. Rigsy, you stand alone in the darkness, but hear the sounds of the jungle all around you.

The chittering insects play the symphony of life as you are lost in this realm of death. However, you see nothing until a flash of neon light appears before you and you see a small mote take form. It moves, slowly but deliberately, leaving a trail of glowing neon magic as it moves. It first arcs high, forming the shape of a gateway, and then doubles back, illustrating dozens of runic symbols like the ones that adorn your weapons.

When the final symbol is complete, the gateway fills with a swirling pink and green glow and you smell the stench of hot iron, burning tobacco, and flaming rum. You know that Mr. Crossroads is here. And soon, a silhouette takes shape in the gateway amidst the glowing light. You gaze upon a well-dressed man with a broad-brimmed hat rimmed with flickering candles. The figure then raises a slender arm and you see in his grip a severed human head.

In a swift motion, he tosses it to you. You attempt to catch it, but realize you cannot move, and it rolls to your feet. As it comes to rest, you see the bloody, decapitated head of Philip Druskinvald looking up at you. And suddenly, the neon gateway shimmers, and through the arch, you can see the landscapes of Druskinvald stretching to the horizon.

The gloomy moors and dark forests shift and change to teeming jungles and choking swamps. And winding through this reborn domain are two roads with no beginning and no end, crossing at the heart of the realm. You gaze out at an enormous crossroads as the hag's face in the moon turns to the grinning visage of your patron. In an instant, the gateway closes until it's just a flickering mote of neon light once more.

It rockets towards your chest and crashes into you with a flash of pink and green. Jericho, you are alone in the darkness, and the loneliness is suffocating. While the still and quiet is more calm and peaceful than you're used to, it feels strange, alien, wrong. You hear the flapping of wings and you see a dark bird land before you, looking up at you with bright orange eyes. It's Virgil, you think.

And suddenly, you're relieved that you're not alone for eternity after all, despite seeking solitude for the last several years. Suddenly, the bird explodes and you're surrounded by a surging swarm of feathers and a cacophony of caws and croaks of seemingly thousands of corvids. As you peer through the storm of feathers, you see two shapes take form.

One is just as much crow as he is man in shadow, covered in numerous eyes that all seem to be looking at the other shape beside it. The thing in the darkness resembles an avian creature, yes, but you can barely describe or make sense of what you see.

It appears to be the manifestation of hate and chaos, and seems to be older than anything you could possibly begin to imagine. It gyrates violently as four wings take form and a guttural shriek rings out, dispersing the feathers.

You realize that what's been inside you this whole time has been not one, but two demons, both so familiar yet strange. All of the numerous eyes across the form of the first demon look to the shrieking second demon with cold and calculated disdain before both of them are pulled together by a shadowy tether that connects them, crashing together and fusing into the realm you know you've known your whole existence.

before plunging into the cage in your chest. But not before the primordial abomination shrieks out words that are a mixture of command and plea. Say my name thrice, Pazuzu. Marius, wrath consumes you in the darkness after being deceived yet again by the witches of the midnight moon.

You curse them in silence as the void swallows you, your surroundings now reflecting the creature of darkness you became so many years ago. You pray for the light of Lathander to banish the darkness. You pray for the light of morning to come and guide you out of this place you found yourself. And finally, as if answering your prayer, you feel a warmth and you see a rose-colored light shimmering ahead. This is not the rosy glow of dawn.

as much as you wish it were. As much as you try to convince yourself otherwise, the smell of rose petals and perfume confirms it. The rose-colored light turns a deep crimson as it forms two seductive eyes that slink through the darkness, circling you like a stalking beast. Her sultry voice fills your ears and her heartbeat pounds in your head. My dear champion, this is not the end. It is only the beginning.

The eyes in the darkness circle around you faster and faster until the ring of red light forms a circle around you, filling in with a splashing of liquid and it seems as if you are standing above a goblet of wine. You have not yet claimed your prize. Hold on, did I move this too fast? I might have moved this too fast. Give me one second. You might not have supposed to hear that yet. No, no, that's where I'm at.

I got scared. I got scared. There's a lot after, there's a lot here. And so I got scared. We'll cut that out in the other one. You have not yet claimed your prize. My prize. Remember my dear knight, there's truth in the water and even more naked truth in the wine. I am sorry that the truth stings so very badly.

Then the wine turns blood red, crashing into tumultuous waves as it rises and rises all around you until you are fully submerged in viscous blood. You struggle to resist, but your mouth opens and you drink deep. I spooked myself because I was like, oh God.

Spooked me too. Your senses return to you as a thin cocoon of rock crumbles from each of your bodies and you can finally move once more, your dark gifts returning you from the brink of an eternity of stone. Moonbeams pierce the grand windows and bathe the ballroom in an eerie glow. You look around to the hundreds of statues and realize that only you four have been spared.

What's happened? What is this? Are the witches still here? There was a lot of them.

I look to see if the witches are still here. You look up towards the balcony and all at first you reel back in horror as you see shadows cast against the walls of the balcony and you realize that it is not the witches, but shadows as the moonlight hits the pillars that extend from the railing of the balcony up to the ceiling, casting these long spindly shadows against the wall, almost human-like in form for a second.

But no, you are alone here. I think we are alone. I think that it is just the four of us who are able to survive the attack. We done get bamboozled again? Yes. And all we... Midnight almost got all of us and she just one witch. And that means that we gots to deal with twelve more? We have our work cut out. Same time? Yes, we have our work cut out for us.

That is a problem for another time. We have to find out if anyone has survived, what steps we can do. I have been protected, blessed by my Dark Lady. Yeah, me too. Unfortunately, I believe I have as well. I could have sworn that we had the same fate as these others. Yes, I thought that was the end.

We have been saved. We got saved by old Virgil and that other fella. That other fella. No, no, no. I was in a dark void. The cloak of oblivion. And I know that the Night Singer, she came to me. She protected me. She used her power to free me from that terrible petrification. What did you see?

Well, it was Virgil and that other fellow that's been with us the whole time. But I didn't know that it was Virgil, but it was Virgil, but he was actually two. I think it's what created him. I somehow know that. Hey, um... He says he can help us. I would not trust either entity. Do you think anything we do is real?

I'm not sure I understand your meaning. Like, I know what we're doing is like stuff, right? But do we have any say? Do we have any freedom in this? At this point it feels like we're fucking puppets on strings to various spooky bad guys. I would concur with you on that one. Yes. Now is not the time to despair. Now is not the time to act as though we have no power, act as though we have no choice. Oh, but they're all dead! Are they dead?

They are frozen as statues made into stone. Can we fix them? Can we fix them, fix them, fix them? Do we see Colette there? Yeah, you're standing next to the tiny statue of Colette. You can see that she, in the moment of being frozen, has a look of horror on her face as she was reaching out towards something, someone. I'll kneel down. Gazette, are you in there?

Give us a sign if you're okay! Was I too late? And I like looking into her stone eyes, her stone face. Roll a perception check. Fuck, I forgot we have dice in this game. That is a 12. You look into the unmoving, unblinking eyes of Colette and you see nothing. There's no rise and fall of her chest. There's no warmth to the stone. It is...

It looks to be nothing more than a spectacular likeness of the little girl that you knew before, but if you hadn't been here to witness what had happened this night, there's nothing remarkable about this statue that would lead you to believe that there's a life trapped inside of it. Perhaps this is just some curse, and curses can be undone, at least most of them. Yes, we may find a way to fix this.

It is a terrible coup, and we should have anticipated it, seen through the masquerade. I admit my eyes were blinded. This curse sucks. You ain't whistling Dixie, Prissy. Do I recall if the name of the witch that shot the petrification blast out was named? Yeah.

You had seen them talking to each other. Three of them had been communicating back and forth, and you know that that one was given a name. Okay. Sister Refugee. Try to remember. Oh, yes, thank you. You could have just asked what her name was. That was what I was endeavoring to solicit. Sister Refugee, she did this to all of these people, and there are 11 more. We cannot face them altogether.

Perhaps it's as easy as vanquishing this sister to reverse the curse. These people may be free if we separate her head from her body. It is possible that they are bound to her in this form. If we destroy her, then we may be able to free them from this state, restore the other lords and ladies of Droskenwald. Well, I mean, when we first arrived here, that's what Lord Philip kept talking about was cutting the head off a snake.

Maybe he thought that Mother Midnight was the snakily one and he just didn't see the snakes on the head of Sister Effigy and it was just all a big misunderstanding. And so maybe we don't need to kill all of them, we just kill Sister Effigy. All the people are saved, everyone goes home, we get to go home. I think perhaps he meant Mother Midnight in the same way that she tried to corrupt Fullsense. It is possible that she

is like the keystone of an arch. By removing her, we would destroy the other sisters, these witches. But there is no way to know for sure. Well, I mean, that's... I suppose, Mr. Lefka, that's one theory. But, I mean, all I was gonna say, I'm not disagreeing with you or nothing, but Mother Midnight ain't got snakes in her hair. So, I mean, either one could be the snake. We have survived. We must...

Look around and see if anyone still lives. Oh, did it get Lord Phillip and Lady Adelaide? And I'll run. I think we saw them. You saw them. I'm going to run over. They were over, I believe, by the banister. And you run over towards them, and you see that both of them look different.

Shocked. It's not the same kind of shock that you could see on Colette's little face. Hers was fear. But with Philip and Adela, it's just genuine surprise. You see that they are both entombed in stone. Their hands, their fingers laced together. Oh, gosh. What a least.

They got turned to stone together. I guess if I was them and I had to be turned to stone on account of a witch that's also sort of Medusa type thing, I'd want to do it with my best gal or my best feller. We have idled for far too long. We know what must be done. There are witches to kill and we're going to take care of all of them. Well, maybe they're still around.

You know, if they stuck around, you know, just to take a little nap before they leave. Maybe we can sneak up on them. Kill them! We must be on our guard. We do not know if they have left. Yeah, yeah. Uh, Virgil, Virgil would know what to do. Virgil, come on, come on, let us, give us a, give us the word. The bird is the word and use the bird, so tell us the word. Oh no. I think it has Virgil. What do you mean, it has Virgil? I think...

Or Virgil's not quite himself, or it's the other fella. It's the other fella. The other fella can help us. I think he can fix it. Who? Who can fix it? The other fella, what's been trapped inside? Not the bird, but the one that replaces Jericho from time to time. I thought that was Virgil.

Aren't they the same? Maybe I'm not following correctly. No, they are. Yeah, Vergil's the crow, but it's... Turns out what I thought was just Vergil was actually two... two demons. There's another entity. Two demons?! Or one, two parts of a whole. I don't... I'm sure there's some metaphor that I'm missing here. Two parts, two sides of a coin, two hemispheres. How can he help? Can he just fix it all? I don't...

I think Crossroads has started. See any Crossroads around? No, no. Virgil said that I shouldn't trust him. Right, Virgil? Let me get this straight. Oh, yeah. You shouldn't do it. You're telling us that Virgil is telling you not to trust someone.

Yeah, Virgil's not quite fond of the new feller, who I guess isn't the new feller, is actually the old feller, like older than all of his. This is rather concerning. I turn. Is Lavinia there? You roll an investigation check.

You actually remembered her name. I'm so impressed. Powerful. Brutal. You know what? Fuck it. That's enough. It just takes a long time. It just takes a long time. You're stumbling through the darkness. You trip over the stone foot of a gentleman that you didn't meet, and you slam into the huge form of the Iron Maiden.

frozen mid-conversation. Do not break any of them. You move backwards and stumble into the tall cat man that you had met.

You stumble forward even further and slam, and you stumble over a small rat-like woman in almost like a scientific outfit. She doesn't even fit in in this place, not wearing a masquerade outfit at all. But here, nonetheless, as you...

stumble through all of these people. You eventually find yourself-- - They're dead. Oh yeah, she's dead. - You stumble past Maggie McDuff, who is not even looking towards the balcony. She is almost hunched down, peering over with her hand towards her head as if she's trying to peer through the crowd, probably looking for Colette. As you eventually make your way probably where you should have started.

near the food table. And there, standing by the cakes, holding a stone cupcake aloft, is Lavinia. Olivia, they got you too! Don't give any ideas. What?! Nothing, nothing. I'm consoling the stone statues of Philip and Adele. I'm not there. Oh... We're gonna share that cupcake as soon as you're better.

That could be true. That's not a bad idea. And as I'm walking back, I'll sort of like tap her on the shoulder. And then I'll start to come back and as I pass everyone that's presumably dead, I'll look at the Iron Maiden and we'll share that point. And then I will rejoin my friends. I am working on, not working, but praying over Phillip and Adela. And I will...

whisper. Adela, Philip, you brought me to an amazing gift. You delivered on your promise and I will keep mine. I'm going to lift my mask up just enough to allow myself to kiss Adela on her forehead and leave a small lipstick mark there.

And then I will resituate my mask to turn back to the others. The stone is cold against your lips. It's unmoving, unfaltering. And you feel that promise that you made make take hold, but her eyes do not move. For what it's worth, I do not believe that they are dead. As we figure out the root of all of this, we'll cut our way through each of them. We'll fix this. I hope you're right. We were restored.

It may have been immediate, but by great power we were brought back to ourselves. I must believe that there is a way to save these people. And if there is not, I still intend to keep my promise. They're back. It's back. What? It's back. It's back. Are you... Jerry! Are you feeling all right? Yeah. What are you doing? Is that right? Is that...

Let me eat some punch. Oh, it's stone, too. Stone bowl. Like a stone scoop. It's not. It's only the people in this place that have been turned to stone. You imagine that Lavinia, just by nature of holding the cupcake in her hand, is what caused that to turn to stone. But you see that the entire table towards the back that had been filled with every possible delicacy that you could imagine is still there, piping hot, punch bowls filled high with

different flavors. The bar towards the back that Philip had been frequenting, though the bartender behind it has been turned to stone, the shelves are lined with expensive and

And frothing glasses of ale, I guess. I don't know where I was going with that. Frothing mugs of water. Frothing mugs of water. I'll kind of like raise up and I'll... Pistachios.

Can you please pass the pistachios? So I'm gonna make four cups of Rum Punch. And I'll grab a handful of pistachios and a couple of other treats. And I'll bring it back over. Alright. I think we all need a drink, after what we've just witnessed and been through. Thanks for the pistachio. Thank you. Jerry. Thank you, Khan. You should drink your rum.

Well, I'm working on the pistachio for now. Do you need a hand? That one doesn't have much lip to it. Try another. You're right, you're right, Miss Lepica. You pick up another one with very little lip. It's one of those ones where it's just like a little-- It's like the tiny little-- Those suckers. Well, maybe Jerry's right. Like Philly said, we gotta cut the snake off the head.

And maybe once we do that to all the snakes off her head, then they'll be back to normal. It means that wherever we go in Druskinval, there will be a power vacuum. No lord, no lady. All those people. Assuming that only the people here in the Crescent Court were turned to stone, there will be a leaderless gap. Oh yeah, this is bad. This is real bad.

I mean, even all the provinces don't have their lords and ladies. The whole... the whole... the whole... Crescent Court? God would turn the statues? We will have to explore the rest of the building to see if there is anyone who has survived. Oh, that's a good point. All that means, moving forward, is that power and strength will set things right. We can set things right. We will prevent chaos. We will prevent lawlessness.

We can fix this with our strength. There is much good left to do in this land. You're right. You're right, Sir Arius. It's a little help from our friends and a little bit of pastrami brings it out. Maybe a little bit of meat. This is right here. You can help yourself. I don't have to pass the sheet. Unless you need me to. Okay. I'll have that rum punch now. Together, this is not...

cheers for a moment of celebration. It is a moment of solidarity. Wait, hold on. I reach into my coat and try to pull out the idol of Kroxador. Is it still there? Yeah, still there. Still thrums with power. I hear drums in the distance. Well, I mean, the good news is we have this. That's something to celebrate. Yes, I still have the artifact that was gifted me, the death knell in my satchel here.

Perhaps that's what saved us. That might have been what protected us from this curse. I have no doubt it was my Dark Lady who extended herself, perhaps the last of what she could do in her diminished state to pull me free from the petrification. That may have been what Virgil did. All them secrets he got from the Archbishop and from Billy and from what we read and...

Miss McDuff's house. I think he's lost some of himself again. He did it to save us. Oh, gosh. I mean, you know, Crossroads did me a solid too. But I need to admit something. You know, I'm hoping it was just a dream that doesn't mean anything. But given, you know, the circumstances, I think, you know, the vision that I saw, I don't think Crossroads likes Phil very much. Why does no one like Lord Philham?

He's a stand-up guy who loves his wife and he's doing the best that he can! What makes you say this? Well, uh... What I saw was, um... Him throwing me the decapitated Ed of old Phil here. Oh. To me. And then taking over all of Dresden's world and turning it into the moon and making it all like a giant jungly swampy crossroad. What? You are saying that in your vision...

You... he conveyed the ambition of transformation for this land, for these people? Well, that's what I'm assuming. I don't really know exactly what he was trying to say. Um... But it's possible that maybe yesterday I had too many croissants, and sometimes when I have too many croissants, I get weird dreams that night. So it could just be, you know, a me problem. No. It is not a you problem.

If I've learned anything in my time, in these worlds, in these planes, it's to beware people offering you things. Just because someone promises that they can help doesn't mean that they'll do so without ulterior motives. I looked very intently at Jericho. Gosh, Marius, you really think people would do that? Go on to an adventure and tell lies? Unfortunately, Jericho, I know so. Well...

I think they're all lying about Lord Philip. I just think he's doing the best that he can. I think everyone just needs to come together and sing a tune and have a nice... have a nice cup of... cup of... a bottle of sarsaparilla and a hoedown. Yes. That would be lovely. Instead, we have to deal with witches who have some goal, some vision, their own vision, like your Mr. Crossroads. Yeah. Yeah. Um...

I don't know what more we can do here. Maybe we should leave, I guess? Do we... If we find the many people that serve this house alive, then we should instruct them to protect these statues, to make sure that they are not damaged or attacked or... Marius, I have a question. Yes? Yes.

We must know if they are holy stone or if there is a time limit. And you hear anyone's heart beating within these statues. That's a good question. Give me a moment and I will kind of shut my eyes and tilt my head up into the left and doing my best to drown out Blaththaka's pulse.

I try to see if I can sense anything and maybe I'll even lay my hand on the neck of one of the statues to try to focus on that as opposed to this. Next, there's a statue of a

another one of those wolf-like creatures, one of the curseborn next to you. A tall, dapper, well-dressed man. And you, even through the stone fur, you can see the vein that runs down his neck. You place your thumb on it and you

hone and focus your preternatural senses to pick up any sound of a heartbeat. I need you to roll a perception check for me, please. Natural 20. That's pretty good. Plus four is a 24. You hear two hearts. You hear Lethika's heartbeat, that same steady heartbeat that

almost haunts you in your sleep at this point. The only heartbeat that follows the four of you around. And you are able to separate it from all of the other noises in this place. As you think about the words that Letha had been saying about finding the people in this house and having them help with all of this, and is anyone here still alive? And you realize that not only is there not a single heartbeat in this entire chateau,

There's not a single sound in this entire chateau. This podcast is brought to you by our Patreon. Become a patron today at patreon.com slash legends of Avantris and gain access to tons of exclusive perks, including a monthly movie night and a weekly Patreon exclusive campaign set on the high seas. Shroud over Saltmarsh.

You can also go to thecrookedmoon.com to pick up your own copy of our first published supplement, The Crooked Moon, a folk horror tome for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. And don't forget to snag all of the extra goodies like dice, miniatures, plushies, a tarot deck, and more. Thank you. There's nothing. There's nothing. The whole mansion. Not even the servant staff? No movements, no noise. Not even Henri? You are sure that the...

Attack went beyond even this spacious room. It's as quiet and still as death itself. Oh, gosh. It is quiet. It is quiet. Let me think, let me think, let me think, please. Well, maybe we should get away from this depressing room. You know, go back to your common room, relax. There should be plenty of food and drink. I don't know what I keep in here, but... I agree we should go back.

We need to get our things, all of them, and we need to plan. There is enough refreshment and food there we can survive. I'm not to complicate matters, but I'm not quite feeling myself either. It's as if something is wrong. Maybe we just need to lay down and put a panini to go, maybe?

Panini gold would make, would do me fine. Oh! Oh! I didn't, I mean, I could go over and load some up on a tray. I didn't grab any paninis. I figured that was a little too heavy. I could maybe use it after the day we've had. All right. Just don't say panini three times. My, my strength has waned. My throat is dry. Worried if it's, if it's my condition.

As Marius says these things, you all think about how you're feeling. You all feel weaker. You don't feel quite like yourselves. Something has changed. What it is, it's hard to tell, but something is different. A little out of sorts. Do you want turkey and... What is that? Munster? Turkey and munster or ham and Swiss? Ooh.

They have vegetarian, but also you don't want to-- No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,

Maybe that's Havarti. It has a bit of a tang to it. I'm just guessing based on how it looks. I suppose the good news is that the witches must have retreated. Unless they have some way to disguise themselves or hide their presence. Oh, that's a good, yeah, that's good news. I mean, you'd be able to tell, right? Again, unless they have some way to disguise or hide their presence. What that means is that we can take some time to figure out why we don't feel right. Rejuvenate, rest...

We said our first thing. We can't stay here for long. We have work to do. I agree. There is no way to know if we were petrified for a minute, 15, an hour. That's right. I wonder if we should see if we can get to Philip's treasure room. Could there have been all of those valuables, all those magic items? Could their attack have been just...

To stop the ladies and lords of this place, or... It is something we should check. I admit I am feeling poorly, but... Something we should check before we go. I concur. Not to mention, there was a really cool hat and some guns that I wanted to pick. Well... Oh, you would look great with guns. Can we get in? At the very least, we can at least go to the vault door to see if it's been bus-wide open and a genuine hassle is conducted.

Like they sing in the songs. I have energy enough for this. Will you join me? I guess we should stay together, in case there is any witches about. I'll finish my paninis. Be ready for anything. I just shovel it in. Clank. We'll follow Epica. Roll a perception check and an intelligence check. Ooh. Ooh. Ooh.

Lethika. Lethika. Yikes. I am feeling 14 perception, and I am feeling not that 20, but this three. I am feeling four intelligence about whatever I'm encountering at this time. You begin to make your way through the chateau. You leave the ballroom, and immediately you see the servants of this place frozen in time.

In the exact moments of the tasks that they were performing when the Petrification spell encapsulated this manor, every entity within Chateau Clair de Lune was affected, not just those inside of the ballroom. You were right, Marius. It is an eerie quiet that meets you as you walk through the

cavernous halls of this place that had felt so filled with life up until the masquerade. So many moving pieces, so many people bustling around about getting everything ready. There had been a jubilance to this place, but now it's sorrowful, it's somber as your footsteps echo throughout the halls, throughout the entirety of the chateau.

And you had left from your chambers to head towards the, um, towards Philip's, for all intents and purposes, trove, um, for his, um, for his relic room. And you make your way back up towards the room. Uh, it's easy. You've made this journey many times. But as you're walking down the long hall, you begin to realize that you didn't make this journey alone. You had been led.

by Ava, one of the servants under Adela's employ. And you had just encountered so many things over the past couple of days. Your minds were muddled and your thoughts were clouded with all of the

All the new information, worrying about Phillip Adela, worrying about what was going to come with the masquerade, worrying whether these artifacts even existed that you realize as you walk through and you begin to talk to each other that none of you really has a clear idea of how to even get there. You remember that there was a pathway down

an hour passes, an hour and a half passes, and you eventually find yourself spilling back out into the grand entryway of this place, realizing that you may be able to find this room. And it's going to take a lot of time and a lot of effort.

I think it's... wait, hold on. No, no, you just come through here. We, we, we just, we're here. I swear that we passed this hallway and that it was a right here. Ten minutes ago. Well, no, I thought, no, we went straight, left, left, right. But then we hit right and we're back here. I recognize that painting. It was right here. Wasting our time? I just think. The point is, if I had some sort of magical vault of things, I wouldn't make it easy to find.

It is possible that we might not be able to find it without a escort or without some magical knowing that eludes me. Didn't Lord this place is like a dream house? Literally. Didn't Lord Philip say that it was made with the dreams of Miss Adela? For the dreams? Let us hope that the witches faced the same obstacle. I think they was mostly wanting to

Not kill, we won't say kill, because they're probably gonna be fine, but... They wanted to get- take care of the Crescent Court. Yeah. And then go back to their dark deeds done dirt cheap. It's like the natural next step from getting rid of the spooky Ghost Army. Oh, you're right. And then you get rid of all the lords and ladies of the entire fucking provinces. Speaking of, does anyone recall if we spoke to the Lord or Lady,

that potentially knew was having the problem with the sister we need to deal with. Hey, first. Hey, Mr. Svalls. Narcissa, I believe. Oh, yeah. Oh, she didn't like Phil very much, did she? That's a bit curious, isn't it? That is a little peculiar. She was skeptical that his leadership could see them through these dark times, and we now know that she may have been right. Did anyone see her statue in the ballroom?

I try to recall in my memory. Ditto. Roll an intelligence check. If we don't remember, we should go back and check! Man, I am rolling like hot garbage. Do you guys try to recall as well? I got a 16. I will also try to recall. 19. 3! 2. Lethika, you were focused a lot on Philip and Adela.

Brigsy, you were running errands for everybody. You were feeding everyone and mourning the loss of Lavinia. And Jericho, though your role was very good, you were at war with yourself, listening to the voices of not one, but two demons. You weren't paying attention to the people that were in this room, whose faces were on the statues that overshadowed you.

But you were, Marius, especially when you were listening and looking for life. You glanced over, you imagine every single face in this place, and you did not see the statue for Narcissa Vos. Damn it! I don't remember seeing her. We have to go back and check! There are at least more paninis. We hustle back. You quickly hustle back, and the room is exactly as you had left it.

She was looking like a- she was just like a lion, and she was like a harpy siren sort of bird lady. Split up. Look. Closely. We'll find her! I'm sure she's here! We begin to fan out.

I'll roll an investigation check. It'll be a group check, so each of you roll for me please. Dr. Stone, this is an investigation you said? Yep. 10. I need to use a different dice. Warm it up a little bit, warm it up a little bit. All right, all right, 15. You know what, these dice are going over here, these dice. Welcome back. 15, 20. Five, 20. You, it takes an hour.

for you to go from statue to statue and statue. This was an incredibly well-attended masquerade. Everyone, who was anyone, was here tonight. And you do your due diligence as you move from statue to statue, shining what little light you have amongst yourselves upon the faces of the imprisoned and you

move from one end of the ballroom to the next. You even make a second pass just to be sure, and as you spill back out quietly into the hallway and begin heading back towards the grand entry room, there was no sign of Narcissa Voss. Well? Did anyone find her? I am convinced that she is not here. No. No, I didn't find her either. Jericho?

No, I looked over every single birdly person I could find, and none were dressed like a roaring lion. She's not in there. Is it possible that she also escaped, managed to either prevent and run, or stop the, undo the transformation? Anything is possible, but I don't find it likely. Well, she was very wizardly, if I recall correctly. Exactly right. So maybe she liked it.

Had like a Quicksilver Sass and just bamped out of here. Quicksilver Sass. The answer may become clear when we head to her province and see what's happening there. She may have an explanation. Well, I... What was the name of her province again? It was... Ashramar. Ashramar, yes. She said that Sister Effergy was messing with the ley lines and stealing students of the school and creating monsters with them. That is two reasons to visit.

Let us make Esramar our first destination when we are ready to go. With a little bit of luck, perhaps. She's escaped this because she was already preparing for what may come. Okay. How are we going to get there? Good question. We will walk. Samarians, could you give me a first aid? Sure. I guess, are we stepping away from the others? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm trying to back them away. Your footsteps echo down the hallway. More paninis, Briggsie.

Yeah! When we was walking by the north wing of the chateau, when we was walking by that stable, did you happen to hear any, like, horse heartbeats? I know that Witchstomper is out at the stable along with all of the, perhaps all of the mounts of all of the various lords, ladies, and their entourages. I just don't want to worry Briggsie about Witchstomper.

Good question, did I? Did you, you were as far as your hearing could get you and you imagine it was quite a distance but you are unsure if it would reach the stables. You did not hear any sounds. Okay, well, I don't want to worry Prince either. We'll cross that bridge tomorrow. I am unsure if I'd even be able to perceive that far.

Okay, well, we'll uh, we won't broach it till tomorrow. We've all had a good night's sleep and a good breakfast. Alright. Okay. Uh, we don't know how we're gonna get there, Briggsie. We're gonna walk. Briggsie and I are at the table. You know, which Stumper could be dead?

Jericho and I return to the rest of the room. Is everything okay? Everything is fine. I believe we should have the ability to procure some sort of mountains.

We have to make the assumption that there was a limit to Sister Refugee's power. At some point, we will find the living again. Yes, let's get some rest. And I need to lay down, I think, or at least get propped up in an old broom closet. Let's find the proper bed. And let's go maybe back to our quarters, and maybe they still have all of them refreshments they laid out.

Them little... Them boxes with all of them fancy seashell-shaped chocolates. It's like you... When you got one of those, you felt like the richest person on the land. Remember those? Ooh, a dad's root beer. I... I... I don't feel... I don't feel so good, Mr. Briggs. Let us get some rest. I am drained myself. Yes.

We need to prepare, both physically and mentally. We need to make sure we have the supplies that we need. Even in this short time, I feel as though my blade has gathered rust. I must polish my armor, my weapons. Yeah, you're right. Let's get some rest. And I just remember that Virgil was awfully keen on getting this key here. We'll reach into my coat, and we'll pull out the amber key. Maybe if we just use our artifacts, that's why we came here. Maybe we...

Worst case scenario, if we can't figure anything out, we could just go home. Yes, perhaps. We all sought these artifacts for a reason. It is a chance that was almost stolen from us tonight. We must take time. Yeah, you're right. I guess. All right. You all right, Breezy? Oh, I'm so glad you asked. Don't ask him to do that, Breezy.

Do you worry that... I mean, we're trying to be heroes and save everybody, right? But like, we haven't been very successful. And look at us, we're basically the fucking Monster Mash. You're a scarecrow full of weird demons. He's a vampire. I'm a rotting zombie crocodile pirate. Hell, that's true. And Leffica doesn't wear underwear.

What is that thing doing here? I just don't think we're heroes. The most monstrous of all. It was a graveyard smash. Dracula, in your son. I'm going back to my room. We are not heroes, Briggsie. That isn't the point of all of this. The point is that we were brought here to deal with a great evil. We're going to do it. That is our ticket home.

These mists, these creatures, all of this. It's evil that's beyond us. But we're going to deal with it. We made a commitment. We will attempt to deal with it. We will try every trick we know. We will find others who can help. We will join together and we will fight them. Come what may, we will find a way to get to them and perhaps see victory.

Take solace. We're not heroes. We don't need that weight on our shoulders. We have a job to do and we're going to do it. You're right. It's a job. It's not... heroics. We're gonna do the job. Yeah. And we're gonna get paid. I think Philip would pay us right away if we saved his life and his wife and everything. In this case, we got paid up front. You have your idol. I consider this half up front. Is there perhaps a second idol that you are looking for? Because we're doing jobs.

We're the witch hunters. And we do it for coin. Tomorrow morning.

Let's go hunt some witches. Fucking, I don't know what to do with you. Bring me the nuts. I'm the witch hunter. I hunt witches. I'm the big ape. I'm the big ape. I start doing munches. And this conversation, this conversation continued as you made your way through the massive hallways of Chateau Claire de Lune.

Up and to the second floor, down the familiar hallways that you've traveled so many times at this point, and eventually into the common room that you all share. It is here that you look around, you don't see any servants here turned to stone, though you did pass a few on your way getting to this room specifically. The tea service that had been laid out for you before the masquerade is still there, but no longer piping hot. The tea is cold.

but the tea cakes are still there, the small sandwiches cut into adorable little shapes are still there. The fire is still roaring in the hearth, though you imagine that within, at some point during the night, it's gonna turn to nothing but embers without anyone to keep it. But you settle yourselves down and you're able to have this conversation. You eventually make the statement that in the morning,

you will hunt witches, and you will sit in silence for a while. All of you feeling the heavy weight of the artifact that now rests on your person. The first time since all of this happened that you've really gotten to truly think about it. Now that you've done everything that you could possibly do for this place, the weight of it is almost oppressive. Realizing that none of you have really had the opportunity to

to look at it very clearly. Are we alone? No, you're all still in the common room. But you, each of you have your own individual bedrooms. I rolled a two and a three on intelligence tonight. And so the first time I attempted to walk into a room, it was the wrong room. And I would have sort of, oh, that is one way to be petrified. And then I'd close it and make my way to the common room.

Without even a word, Lethika just stands up from the settees and makes her way towards the room that is her own. And shortly after, Marius, Briggsie, Jericho, you all eventually find your way to your rooms. You sit in silence for a while. And then, Briggsie, you've walked by the...

The copper bathtub that is in the adjoining bathroom of your room. Multiple times. Thought about filling it and how nice it would be to take a bath. Think about the way the water reminds you of the ocean. How long it's been since you've seen the waves. But one thing has stopped you. As much as you would like that comfort, that relaxation. It's the weight of the idol of Kroxigor at your side. Can't seem to...

Want to put it down. Not necessarily that something's drawing you to it more so than just curiosity. This is the thing that you have been hoping for, that you've been searching for, and it's finally there. And yet you don't feel all that remarkable. You feel less than you were yesterday. You can't stop thinking about it. You take it out, you turn it around in your hand a little bit, you stare at it. It's small.

I'll look at it and I'll look up at the bathroom. Why was my room the bathroom? You're just in your bathroom. No, I know, but what I'm referring to was in the crooked house. I'm waxing philosophically. Okay. I'll think back. My bad. Continue, please. Remember that time? Today.

In the crooked house. If you make me spit tea on my laptop, we're ending the session early. Well, we all got our own rooms. And I got the bathroom. You know, Briggs, maybe you should look inward to figure out why Spooky House would decide, you know what, that fella? He's awfully bathroom-coded. Tch.

You wax. I do, Mr. Cito. Philosophically to yourself for a while as you stare down at this idol and you turn from the bathroom, make your way back into the room and to the hearth that roars there. Staring into the fire, you realize that now is the time to truly look more deeply at this thing. You place the idol of Kroxigor on the ground and the ancient stone... Sorry, give me one minute. Ahem.

Oh man, I really should have more tea. You place the idol of Kroxigor on the ground and the ancient stone of the statue makes a hefty thud as you place it on the floor. While the idol is not very large, you see that the seated crocodile god has its hands outstretched as if to grasp a hefty blade. In the quiet solitude of the room, the gem that adorns the layering crocodile seems to glow with an ancient power, and you almost swear that you can hear distant drums.

Oh. Is that what you want? Is that what Crossroads wants? You want this? And I will, to my hand, summon the Cutlass and sort of look at it. And, you know this thing. You've given me a lot of fucking grief over the last few years, you know that? So have you. I'm not pointing at the... I'm assuming if, you know, that's what the god looks like. I don't know if it's wonderful. I think I know what I need to do. Will you give it back?

You know, Briggsie, the Cutlass Cratch, you don't need to be the Cutlass. That's not who you are anymore. That's not what I am anymore. Fine. Take it. And I will take the Cutlass and I will put it in the hands of the idol. As soon as you place the Cutlass into the clutches of the idol of Kroxigor, the gemstone eyes of the statue glow with light as the pounding of drums fill the room.

You look at your blade one last time before a bright flame flares up and consumes it in its entirety. With a final bang of the drums, the idol and its gems instantly crumble into dust. Pain wracks your whole body. The agony is so great it feels like you're dying and you collapse to the floor as your flesh begins to change. The gray, rotting flesh turns bright red and pink as it stitches itself back together over your bones.

and even your chunk fills in. The curse of undeath leaves you as your body is restored and you realize you can taste the air. Oh my God. Oh my God. Is this real? And I feel my chunk, my seams. It's smooth. Oh, hold on. And I want to run over to the bathroom. On the counter, I had brought some rum punch. You did, yeah. To go. And I will pick it up.

Before it even gets to your lips, you can smell the potency of the rum. This is top shelf alcohol. You can taste the smokiness before it even hits your tongue. You swirl the alcohol around in your mouth, tasting rum for the first time in as long as you can remember. Punch this!

I grab Panini's... Pistachios... Oh my god, he does this sick. Oh, fuck it! Shells and all. Crossroads! You didn't trick me, you didn't lie to me! Let's fucking go! And I'm gonna pull my gun out of my holster and shoot an Eldritch Blast into the... Just into the air, into the room, or anywhere.

You attempt to channel your magic, but nothing happens. You look down to the once glowing runes on your hex gun and they are dull. It's now simply a collection of wood and metal, utterly useless. You realize now your connection to the magic that Mr. Crossroads granted you has been completely severed. You are normal. You are weak. - I'll throw the footlock on the ground.

I mean, crossroads. Hold on. Hold on. Is this fine? Is this fine? Are there mirrors in the bathroom? Yes. I want to walk in and look at myself. There's a large ornate mirror. As a live crocodile man for the first time in many, many years. And see myself. And it's almost like looking at a stranger in the mirror a little bit. Or like seeing a ghost. And I'm like, well, I'm back to normal, but...

There's no sword, there's no gun, no sparks. I try to Meech Hand and my wrist just holds tight, holds firm. Oh god. Marius is gonna freak! He was just saying all that stuff about strength and power and shit! I'm on the Q of Medusa! Like this! Oh!

Crossroads. Crossroads. Come on, this wasn't a deal, right? Like, it wasn't like takesies-backsies if I did this. It wasn't a whole thing like, I'm gonna come and get the idol and then, you know, we would be pals for like the rest of time. How am I gonna help you kill Philip Druskinvold? Like this. Like this! And I'm gonna like pick up my old, just hunk of wooden metal and just like chuck it on the ground.

The sound of it clattering against the stone echoes throughout the room. There is no answer. Crossfrags. Come on, crossfrags, what the fuck? Come on! And I'm gonna go to my things and shuffle through, you know, it's like feathers and bones and various, like, jars and stuff. I'm gonna pull out a bottle of rum, and I'm gonna take my punch glass, and I'm gonna top it off.

I know you were around here somewhere. I'm gonna go through and pull out this like bottle of almost like slightly phosphorescent neon pink powder and I smell kind of that brimstone and I'm gonna put it in. Ah, alright.

You finish your ritual and call out in your panic.

And for a moment, you think your calls have gone unanswered. Then you realize there's an extra door in the room that was not there before. You see that it is framed in glowing neon pink and green. Hello? Nice door. I'm like very kind of hesitantly go up to this new door and I will open it.

You open the door and are met with a wall of neon light that gyrates back and forth and oscillates between green and pink. You smell tobacco, rum, and hot iron as a voice calls out from within the doorway. You broke our agreement, Briggsie. The souls in that sword were for me and not for that old dead god. But, but, but, wait, wait, wait, hold on, hold on, hold on. I mean, how is it I'm supposed to know that?

But I'm a generous man, and I believe in second chances. If you want a hope of surviving in this place, you know you need my help, old friend. You'll get your old magic back, and a weapon mightier than the sword. I can... I can be powerful? I can? There is a cost to power, of course, and we both know that death pays for power.

But because I'm so generous, you'll stay whole and healthy and fully alive as you go about the day. You will even keep your taste for the finer things you crave so much that you will be able to eat everything your heart desires to the point that you can never get enough. So I can be able to taste and eat and drink and smell? He says there's no kind of catch.

Well, I only ask for one reward. Um, and what was that? Druskinvold, I'm tired of sharing a domain with my dear brother, and this place would make a mighty fine crossroads. Old Phillip has been here long enough, I think.

But don't worry, you don't have to kill him until after you get rid of the witchy pests in the basement of my new home. So, what do you say, Briggsie? Do we have a deal? Suddenly, an arm extends from the neon doorway. Long fingers outstretched for a friendly shake. So, I got me power back. And I get to stay like this. And all I gotta do is kill the witches. And then kill Philip Druskinfall.

Alright, you got a deal. We have a deal. One I know you won't regret. You clasp the hand of Mr. Crossroads and make another deal. Immediately, the neon magic transfers down from the door, through the arm, and onto you. You feel pain return as flesh withers and retreats from your hand, your face, your side. You feel your bones becoming exposed as an undead hex afflicts you once more.

You begin to feel that familiar Jinxcraft magic fill your being as you harness it again. You realize you can still taste the iron in the air, and the familiar smell of stinking rot no longer haunts your nostrils. With the handshake completed, you realize that Crossroads is holding your voodoo gun aloft. It begins to glow and grow in size. You blink, and where your gun had been,

is instead your patron now holding a large Jinxcraft blunderbuss. Don't forget that at the end of all of this, you need to use this to blow a hole in old Phil. Don't cross me again. Goodbye.

The blunderbuss clatters to the ground as the neon doorway slams shut and the door itself disappears. You are left alone, undeath returned, while you walk the night and you feel a strong feeling of hunger. Jericho, you're alone by the fire. These sounds of the chateau, they used to, the previous nights, kept you feeling jubilant, not alone.

Comfortable, cozy, the sounds of your friends milling about in their rooms, but not this night. This night, you are met with nothing but silence. Virgil, I really wish you would answer me. Virgil? Virgil, are you there? I know you're in there. Is that you, Virgil? I know you're talking crazy. I know we had a plan once we got this thing. I know you gave me instructions. I don't know if I'm... I don't know if I can do it, Virgil.

I know that we rehearsed it, but we couldn't finish it. Come on, Virgil, where's that weird old gross girl that's been my best pal? Are you there? We had our whole lives together. Well, my whole life together. Do I have to use this to save you? Do I have to use this to save me? Do I trust you? Do I trust you, Virgil? Are we doing this? I do trust you, Virgil. We've both done some real bad things, but you always stuck by me thick and thin. All right.

I hope this works. You better not leave me hanging, Virgil. Raum? Raum? As soon as you say Raum's name thrice, your coat splits and the metal door of the cage in your chest flies open. A black shadow of an avian demon emerges, spreading four wings as a jagged beak protrudes from the undulating mass of demonic darkness. Raum!

*Romanian gibberish*

As soon as Raul invokes Pazuzu's name thrice, the thrashing demon splits in two. The demon of secrets growing in numerous eyes all along the shape of its shadowy avian form as a chaotically gyrating primeval proto-demon splits off with four wings of its own, surging with unbound and unstable power as it shrieks cacophonously. Now, Jericho!

No! And with all this going on, I'm holding on to the Ember Key. No, Jericho!

I take my hand and I slam my cage shut. And when I do that, I take the amber key and I slam it into the keyhole and turn it. The lingering, corrupted echo of Pazuzu lets out a malevolent shriek that is instantly snuffed out as the door of your body's cage slams, and the amber key locks it shut.

Suddenly, it begins to glow with bright golden-orange light as a slithering dark shape fills its form and pops out of your keyhole, clattering to the ground. The thrashing hate of Pazuzu fills the key, raging against this new prison until the power of the key hums and glows brighter and brighter, changing shape as the darkness stills within. Calm returns to the room as you are left alone.

and where the amber key had been is an amber figure of four splayed wings, humming with demonic power. A darkness fills your periphery as a shape emerges from around your back, chest, and shoulders. A shadow formed into a four-winged crow covered in eyes. It stretches its wings and leans its head down, looking at you with orange eyes, its pupils shaped like four pointed stars. You know the look. This is Virgil now.

The weird, gross old crow is gone. The shadowy demon lunges forward to snatch up the amber figure and your banjo, swallowing both whole with surprising quickness. All of the eyes glow and blink along Virgil's form before he coughs up a banjo remade, the amber figure of four wings serving as its new headstock. The ritual is complete, and it seems as if Virgil really was 13 steps ahead of Pazuzu.

As you reach down to pick up the new banjo, you realize your body has changed. Where once had been limbs of metal and wood, your left arm and right leg are now large crow talons. Virgil, that was really your dear old dad from Amanda's Beacon? Yes, that was. Take it, it's yours. He cannot hurt us anymore. And we shall use him like a power battery, just like the hags used to kill another Brigantine. Well done.

I must go, Origin Rez. You go do that. You go do that, Virgin. I'm gonna maybe practice a jaunty tune. Well, guess I got new plucking fingers. And I'll try to work out my crow talons and try to pluck a few tunes. And you are once again alone as you try to navigate your new limbs. Lethika, I'm sorry.

You sit on the edge of the bed, staring at the armoire in the corner of the room, thinking about changing, taking off the mask that adorns your face and this dress that's a little too tight after the ordeal of the night, no longer comfortable, not like the second skin it was when you first put it on. And yet your hand lingers near back, your mind focused solely on the bell.

You reach towards your other side, knowing not to trust back with this item. You pull it from the satchel at your side. You hold up the death knell, watching it. You hold it up and look at it in the light. You observe the cracked black metal and its various adornments, knowing that this is the last hope of Shar to return to the realms of death. With how you hold it carefully, it does not make a single sound. I will...

slowly stand and make my way over to perhaps one of the tables where I face a mirror and where I might have put... The vanity in the corner of the room. Yes, exactly right. Exactly right. And I will set it down very carefully and then in an excited breath of air I'll take a few more steps and make sure that the door is locked.

You move across the room near silently as you reach towards the knob, turn it slightly. You feel the hitch of the lock. It's clearly in place as you make your way back towards the bell and towards the vanity. I will look at it and I'll look for a long time, just thinking about everything that's happened getting me to where I stand and reach up and pick up my mask.

and pull it from my face. I'm going to turn it and hold it aloft and sort of look at it for a long time before walking forward and setting it down next to that same vanity mirror.

I'll channel the power I've grown so familiar with over the many years and step outside of myself for a moment, once again creating that illusory duplicate of myself. This version

without the mask, wearing the snake dress, perhaps, of what I've been wearing all day, but facing the version of myself that my allies have become so familiar with, the purple and black vestments, the mask there, this illusion version, and I watch this version of myself for a slow moment. Okay, Lethika, everything is going to be okay.

Everything is going to be alright. You have made it this far. Only, only a little farther to go. I'm going to walk over back to the bed where I've set down my bag. Bag, you have been holding on to something for me for almost all of our time here in Druskinvault. Will you return it to me now? The grotesque bag at your side opens and the creature within extends a gray arm with too many elbows.

In its hideous fingers, with those long yellowed nails, it holds a beautiful silver flask, crafted into the shape of a barn owl, and offers it to you. Thank you, Bag. And I will lift this silver flask into my hands, pulling it free from the fingers of Bag. As soon as you grab the flask, it flashes silver, and the thing in the bag lets out a shriek. Two arms extend out towards you, and its darkened veins turn silver.

The tangled, stringy black hair spills from within the depths of the leather bag as the creature experiences one final, agonizing death rattle before the hideous arms and matted hair slump limply forward and quickly wither away. The bag that had been by your side for so long tears in two. Its faded and worn leather strips drift to the ground, destroyed. In the moment of Bag's death, the flask lit up with a brilliant silver light that filled the room with a calming and peaceful glow.

You hold the flask in one hand, surrounded by that calm and the memory of that glow. You smile as you cradle the bell with the other. Thank you, Bag. I hope that you find peace lurker within the bag. You have been a fine companion at my side, but the price of this power is death. I will turn and I will look at the bell. Jarr, lady of darkness and loss and oblivion.

for too long you have been diminished, trapped within this very death knell. Once wrung, you would be free to spread your darkness and loss and the destruction of all things. In all that time, I have been your priestess, pretending. Adela was correct when she foretold the future. I am a traitor, but not to my beliefs or to my friends.

leading troubled souls and suffering people into your dark embrace? I have done evil for a chance to be standing here now. And now here I am. Dark lady, with this act of retribution, I deny your resurrection. I consign you to the void. There is only one goddess of death. Only one dominion.

Your nihilistic goals of despair and hopelessness and annihilation shall be silenced forever. In the name of my true god, in the name of Striga, your power will be silenced forever. A fitting end. Be gone, Sharr. And I will uncork the silver flask and being very careful to keep the silence, flip the

the bell and I will pour in the contents. You pour the glowing mercurial liquid into the death knell, filling it up to the top of the dome. It fills it up entirely, oozing through the prominent crack as the metal quickly goes from being perfectly rigid to soft and malleable. A few moments later, the entirety of the bell itself is fully consumed in silver, melting away and dripping onto the floor until nothing remains of it.

In the revelation of your treachery, you hear nothing from the goddess you deceived beyond one last faint and feeble whisper, followed by silence. Shar's presence and power is now gone from Druskinvold forever. You hear the soft chirps of a barn owl as you stand proudly in your room, now dressed in the vestments you'd been longing to don for so many years.

The mask fits perfectly, just as you had remembered. The familiar feeling brings you a soothing peace as you no longer require the treachery and trickery of Darkest Night to hide that you were a cleric of Striga, the Prime of Death. Marius, even from here, you can hear her heart beating. Louder. Faster. You know that all of you have these items, and whatever Lethika's been going through has...

stricken her emotions. You can feel the changes in her temperament and the way that her heart beats. And yet that's not enough to distract you from what you hold in your hand. The Grail of Dawn, an item that you were not even completely sure truly existed. The item that could save everything. I'll be standing there looking at this grail and my breathing will kind of

Increase a little bit more rapid as I'm looking at this not still not believing that I'm holding it in my hands I'll set it down on maybe a center table. It's in my I take a few steps back from it. I look at it I think to myself and kind of murmur out loud. This is it. I have to know this is the moment and I'll take several steps forward as I peer deep into the cup and Say out loud show me the truth

You place down the Grail of Mourning and peer into its enchanted waters, asking for it to show you the truth. You wait and wait, and finally the water ripples and it shows you the truth in its depths. You see scenes of what you've been fearing for so many years. The kingdom of Votonia has been destroyed. Its once beautiful capital city is an abandoned ruin. Its once great keep is smashed and has crumbled in on itself.

Where there had once been miles of farmland and villages of small folk, there is nothing but torched wasteland. Carrion birds and scavengers pick at the bones of the thousand slain that litter the ground across every corner of the once vibrant kingdom you had grown up in. You see the remnants of numerous battles clearly lost and cannot tell which of your kingdom's enemies is to blame. Perhaps all of them, but none of that matters now. Betonia is no more.

And the waters show your deepest fear. In the broken castle atop a smashed throne is the desiccated bones of King Victor Denathria, brittle gray hair still clinging to the withered skin on a rotting skull, a blade run through his ribcage. The prayers to Lathander could not save him as you see the smashed bells of the Church of Lathander littering the floor of the nave where you had prayed so many times. There was no salvation for your home.

Upon seeing this, I'll drop to my knees and clasp my hands together and... No, morning lord. No, please, I beg of you. I know that I've faltered. I know that I've stumbled, but I've served my kingdom dutifully. I've served you faithfully. Even after I lost everything, I continue to serve you. I need you to help me.

Please, Mourning Lord, I need you to fix this. Give me the power, the strength that I need. Please. I've been so strong for you. Give me a sign. Anything that says that I am, that I've been on the right path. Please. Anything. You pray and plead and ask for a sign. But mourning does not come. Lathander does not answer.

But as you open your eyes, you realize the room is far darker than it was mere moments ago, and you feel a presence with you. You look up and you see a curvaceous silhouette in the darkness looming over you, almost entirely shrouded in shadow. You see her blazing blood-red eyes looking down at you with hunger. "I told you there was terrible truth in the water, but all is not lost."

There is a sweeter truth in the wine. Look. You look down and see that the Grail of Mourning is now filled with a rich red wine that smells of the fragrance from the last evening you dined with the Duchess.

And as you peer within, you see visions, as beautiful as they are terrible. Vittonia reborn. Your home kingdom under a blanket of night with its people brought back from the dead. Skeletons, ghouls, wights, wraiths, a kingdom of undead and other such creatures of the night. It's not what Vittonia once was, but a new Vittonia, far mightier than the feeble sun-worshipping kingdom it had once been.

And sitting proudly in the reclaimed castle, Lich King Victor Denathria sits with Vampire Lord Marius Renethir at his right hand, commanding the legions of the dead and a host of blood knights to claim vengeance against all of the enemy kingdoms that were responsible for Votonia's fall. And in this vengeance, and the return of what once was lost, true happiness. I understand now that the Mourning Lord cares not for me.

I am his forgotten son, his exile. Since that fateful night I have been cast aside by this high and mighty god. All this time, all these years, I've turned monster and I must embrace it. And you, you are here before me yet again, offering this, this future. Yes.

This is what I can give you. All I ask is that you kneel before me as my knight, pledge yourself to me, and offer me the Grail so that I may remake it into an artifact of actual use to us. Trembling, I will get down on one knee and present the Grail. The shadowy form of the Duchess reaches down and caresses along your face.

the smell of roses overwhelming you. My brave Marius. As you extend the grail of mourning toward the curvaceous shape before you, the duchess extends her slender fingers, slinking her index finger into the crystalline water of the cup. Immediately, darkness consumes the grail. The metal turns black and the water turns to blood. Present your soul.

I'll reach down to my left side and draw my longsword, and holding it in two hands, raise it up to her and bow my head. You raise up the sword that has been at your hip for a whole lifetime, and you offer it to Lilith of the Nine Hells.

She grabs it by the pommel and slowly dips the tip of its blade into the black grail. The blood within immediately shoots up the blade and hilt, consuming it, changing it, reforging it. Just as with the grail, the metal turns dark and is adorned in a ruby rose, forever changed by the hellish power of the Duchess of Sin.

The looming figure above you then lowers the blade and gently rests it on each of your shoulders, and you are knighted for the first time in more than 70 years. Rise, Samarius Renethir, Blood Knight of Lilith, the Queen of Hell. Thank you, Your Grace. I will serve you loyally and wield the power to conquer your enemies. With your help, I will restore my king to his rightful place.

None will stand before us and I will stand by him for all eternity. I and I alone will deliver my queen's sweet kiss to her enemies with the point of my blade. The duchess turns the reforged sword around and presents it to you.

As soon as you grip the pommel, the silhouette, along with the black grail, turns to an undulating mass of dark blood and slithers towards the blade, seeping into the enchanted metal. Then, from within the sword, that familiar voice rings out: "You are my sword, and I am yours, my knight." All of you fade to black. Whether it is exhaustion,

or something else. It is unconsciousness that takes you. You all awake in a circle in the middle of the common room. You look forward with that a dream, but Lethika, there is no bag at your side. Jericho, you feel the wings flutter behind your back. Briggsie, blunderbuss is heavy in your hands. And Marius, the scent of roses is thick and heavy.

After taking the time you needed to process what had happened with each of your artifacts, you look around at each other and realize that not just you are different. All of you are different. And you now see how your companions have changed. ♪ ♪

And that is where we will end the session.

Well done, Nikki! Well done, guys! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job! Good job!

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