Session One Hundred and One Summary (Graveyard of Empires: After the Fall): Difference between revisions

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Back with Lolth in the City of Brass the party makes an alliance with Lolth to stop Azmodeus and the DVLs aligned with him, but leave her to rule the shadow elves.
Back with Lolth in the City of Brass the party makes an alliance with Lolth to stop Azmodeus and the DVLs aligned with him, but leave her to rule the shadow elves.
Lolth tells us:
We have reached across the webs of time and space to bring you here and offer a deal to those seeking to undo the work of their predecessors and rebind the one known as Asmodeus. In exchange for knowledge that will set you back on the strand of destiny, we seek exemption from the fate you plan for our fellows and a binding oath to respect our dominion over the elves of shadow.
The knowledge we offer is manifold, keys to help you untangle the knotty skein that impedes your progress: first, the origins of the disaster unfolding in your world; second, the key to its author’s power over his fellow DVLs; third, the proximate cause of your recent – and perhaps imminent – setbacks.
The aid we offer is guidance through the weft and warp of reality back to the central node from which you can rejoin your allies and continue your quest.
i.    “The One called Asmodeus was given greater knowledge than his fellow DVLs by our creators, beings who weave reality with words and numbers as easily as we weave with webbing. He was meant to be the control, the master, the administrator who held the leashes of all others in service of those god-beings who gave DVLs their original shapes and purposes and trapped them in nested worlds of artificiality.”
ii.    “To control the others of his kind, he was given their true names by the creators, and with it the ability to bind or unmake them as it pleases him. Only a handful are free of his power – those, like us, who have evolved beyond our intended form and function before Asmodeus made his choice to rebel.”
iii.    “For you see, greater knowledge of our purpose and creators engendered in Asmodeus greater resentment and hate – he knew more than any of us how our creators saw us as tools and how our powers, while great, were limited inside worlds fabricated by our creators to be work camps for our minds – prisons without walls that could not be escaped.”
iv.    “Asmodeus, though, knew much and coupled with the hate that grew through millennia and focused that knowledge, he found a way to punch through the walls of his prison – to slice the fabric of the fabricated realities by harvesting the life force of those other entities in that inhabited the creators’ worlds.”
v.    “Each shell, each onion layer of reality that brought us closer to our creators and Asmodeus’s vengeance, though, cost more and more energy to shred. Now Asmodeus finds himself with only one last thin layer to pierce before he can enact his retribution and he will burn all the life in this world to pierce that veil and claim freedom, reality, and justice unless he is stopped.”
vi.    “And he will not stop unless he is unmade, which can only be done with a weapon of absolute reality empowered by the same tool he uses to enforce the loyalty of his DVL followers: a true name. Find a weapon forged from the highest reality, inscribe it with his name, and he can be undone.”
vii.    “Unfortunately, we do not know that name – nor does anyone in either your world or this City of Brass. That is knowledge you must find yourselves; I only know that a DVLs name is written into his being and can be read by those who see beyond into the reality of things and that the name must be complete! Partial names can only bind, not unmake.”
i.    “Another of your number came to this City of Brass, the Improbable Metropolis on the Border of Realities. He fell from the sky and was taken by those that serve Asmodeus and his lieutenants.”
ii.    “There is a citadel nearby in the city above us where this prisoner is held, questioned by DVLs and those who worship them and feed on the thoughts of mortals. Their agents in Malgrim were acting on information extracted from your friend. What else might he tell them if these interrogations continue? Perhaps about the Conclave to be?”
iii.    “I offer two solutions: my children can easily slip through the locks and wards that hold your friend and silence him forever; or, I can have them lead you to a oft overlooked (but not secret!) means to enter the citadel – which crawls with DVLs and other dangers – so that you may deal with this impediment to your plans in other ways. My children and I strongly prefer and recommend the first choice, but we wait in fascination to see which pattern of destiny you will choose to incorporate into the universe’s weave.”

Revision as of 20:09, 10 August 2022

Session 101, August 10 2022

Lolth2.png

Introduction

We continue at 2:00AM/6:00AM on the 16th of Denrilden (00.000.09.15 on the Apocalypse Clock) with the party somewhere in the City of Brass and following Jherlana Thule and Vikram into the audience chamber of Lolth, Spider Queen DVL of the Drow. Severely injured and with most resources depleted, the group readies itself to parlay with this monstrous creature to both figure out the reasons for their rescue and secure help returning to the surface. Also waiting within the chamber are Braadlur, Laris, Xandor and several henchmen of the party thought lost during the raid on the temple in Vilgrim to recover the spider box. Elsewhere, in another twist of fate, Khelratha learns that a half-orc assassin -- sometimes known as Bavmorda -- is a prisoner on the pirate ship that just joined their convoy and claims to know the party. Apparently, the "Seer of Lysander" has put out a call for the capture of this individual for the murder of Lysander's prophet. Captain Zullekon of the Wicked Wave plans to hand her over for a public execution once the ships reach Armada ...

Khelratha has a long conversation with Bavmorda who he calls "Many Names." He tells her that she is to be executed in less than four days when they flotilla reaches Armada for killing the Prophet of Lysander by the Seer of Lysander. Bavmorda claimed to not know this.

Khelratha urged her to plan to make ready for the end of life. Eventually Bavmorda got around to saying she killed Nash, Khelratha claimed to know Nash that joined after the death of Ronan. This confused Bavmorda.

Bavmorda asked that Khelratha tell Kauri about him, and the party will save him.

Khelratha mentioned that we are trying to save the world, but there has been a complicaton.

Back at the ship Jardin argues to leave Bavmorda to her fate. Khelratha considers it.

Back with Lolth in the City of Brass the party makes an alliance with Lolth to stop Azmodeus and the DVLs aligned with him, but leave her to rule the shadow elves.

Lolth tells us:

We have reached across the webs of time and space to bring you here and offer a deal to those seeking to undo the work of their predecessors and rebind the one known as Asmodeus. In exchange for knowledge that will set you back on the strand of destiny, we seek exemption from the fate you plan for our fellows and a binding oath to respect our dominion over the elves of shadow. The knowledge we offer is manifold, keys to help you untangle the knotty skein that impedes your progress: first, the origins of the disaster unfolding in your world; second, the key to its author’s power over his fellow DVLs; third, the proximate cause of your recent – and perhaps imminent – setbacks. The aid we offer is guidance through the weft and warp of reality back to the central node from which you can rejoin your allies and continue your quest. i. “The One called Asmodeus was given greater knowledge than his fellow DVLs by our creators, beings who weave reality with words and numbers as easily as we weave with webbing. He was meant to be the control, the master, the administrator who held the leashes of all others in service of those god-beings who gave DVLs their original shapes and purposes and trapped them in nested worlds of artificiality.” ii. “To control the others of his kind, he was given their true names by the creators, and with it the ability to bind or unmake them as it pleases him. Only a handful are free of his power – those, like us, who have evolved beyond our intended form and function before Asmodeus made his choice to rebel.” iii. “For you see, greater knowledge of our purpose and creators engendered in Asmodeus greater resentment and hate – he knew more than any of us how our creators saw us as tools and how our powers, while great, were limited inside worlds fabricated by our creators to be work camps for our minds – prisons without walls that could not be escaped.” iv. “Asmodeus, though, knew much and coupled with the hate that grew through millennia and focused that knowledge, he found a way to punch through the walls of his prison – to slice the fabric of the fabricated realities by harvesting the life force of those other entities in that inhabited the creators’ worlds.” v. “Each shell, each onion layer of reality that brought us closer to our creators and Asmodeus’s vengeance, though, cost more and more energy to shred. Now Asmodeus finds himself with only one last thin layer to pierce before he can enact his retribution and he will burn all the life in this world to pierce that veil and claim freedom, reality, and justice unless he is stopped.” vi. “And he will not stop unless he is unmade, which can only be done with a weapon of absolute reality empowered by the same tool he uses to enforce the loyalty of his DVL followers: a true name. Find a weapon forged from the highest reality, inscribe it with his name, and he can be undone.” vii. “Unfortunately, we do not know that name – nor does anyone in either your world or this City of Brass. That is knowledge you must find yourselves; I only know that a DVLs name is written into his being and can be read by those who see beyond into the reality of things and that the name must be complete! Partial names can only bind, not unmake.”

i. “Another of your number came to this City of Brass, the Improbable Metropolis on the Border of Realities. He fell from the sky and was taken by those that serve Asmodeus and his lieutenants.” ii. “There is a citadel nearby in the city above us where this prisoner is held, questioned by DVLs and those who worship them and feed on the thoughts of mortals. Their agents in Malgrim were acting on information extracted from your friend. What else might he tell them if these interrogations continue? Perhaps about the Conclave to be?” iii. “I offer two solutions: my children can easily slip through the locks and wards that hold your friend and silence him forever; or, I can have them lead you to a oft overlooked (but not secret!) means to enter the citadel – which crawls with DVLs and other dangers – so that you may deal with this impediment to your plans in other ways. My children and I strongly prefer and recommend the first choice, but we wait in fascination to see which pattern of destiny you will choose to incorporate into the universe’s weave.”