Session 25: Aboard the Wake

General Summary

The party began the day waking from a truly restful night’s sleep — occasionally disturbed by an excited halfling shoving various items into his newly acquired backpack.
  Colmir, Bob, Shadow, and Solas debated the usefulness of an airship. It was hardly stealthy - where would you even park it? Still, Colmir and Bob showed interest in poking around. Shadow, meanwhile, deciphered the arcane lock using the symbols found earlier, realising they represented Roman numerals:
  IIIIVIIII 1 - I 3 - III 7 - VII 2 - II
  With the correct sequence entered, the locking mechanism released, and the Elyza’s Wake began to sink.
  In a moment of panic, Solas dashed for the dock and leapt toward the ship’s deck. Armoured and overconfident, he vanished into the clouds below with a surprised yelp — to the amusement of the party. A moment later, a graceful (if sheepish) Solas rose into view again, wings outstretched. He boarded the ship and used the controls to raise it aloft once more.
  The Guardians had an airship.
  Using the ship’s blueprints, the experimental magical engine, and remnants of Melkerech’s magical paintings and a flying dragon toy, they achieved brief flight — reaching Rivior’s Keep to the east. The people below watched with confusion and alarm. Through the spyglass, Arabel shimmered in the distance, and the Hullack Forest broiled with black decay like a swarm of flies. Even the King’s Forest to the south looked sickened and cursed. Eveningstar loomed dark and silent — but near the Starwater Gorge, east by the river, a camp flickered in the distance.
  Descending to investigate, the Guardians surprised a camp of Purple Dragons. As they made peace, a strange glow caught their eyes - red, green, and yellow lights danced at the mouth of a fissure in the rock wall. From within floated a shape, round and drifting with curious grace.
  Multiple eyestalks. Red leathery skin. A single central eye. Readying themselves, the party prepared for danger... but this beholder wore a massive golden monocle, held a cup of tea and a top hat in its eyestalks, and greeted nearby children with glee.
  Bartholomew Buttons had arrived.
  Bob and Colmir rushed to meet him.
  Meanwhile, Solas, with Shadow in tow, was led to the largest tent — the command tent of Lady Tessaril Winter, who now lay bedridden.
  Lady Tessaril, though weakened, remained sharp and noble. She explained the fall of Eveningstar - a plague turning its people to monsters, resisted only by daily Greater Restoration. The survivors had taken refuge by the Haunted Halls, but Buttons - the eccentric beholder within - refused them entry.
  Meanwhile, Bob and Colmir met Buttons, who proved theatrical, excitable, and utterly devoted to his role as custodian of the halls. His original directive - to guard the place - had, after some incident, morphed into a new obsession: preserving the memory of the Halls by turning them into a full-blown tourist attraction.
  “Well now... I say, I say, what do we have here? A whole party of adventurers, rolled up neat like sausage links on a tavern plate. You here to explore, exorcise, or " he squealed with excitement "write a review?”
  "Where are my manners? I am Bartholomew Buttons guardian emeritus, ocular host, and full-time proprietor of the newly revitalised Haunted Halls Historical Experience.”
  He spun mid-air, his top hat returning to its perch with perfect timing.
  "Now, I ask you plainly: are y’all here for the standard guided tour, the interactive delving package, or shall we just waive your rights, bless your poor souls, and fast-track you straight to the nearest magical calamity?”
  Reunited, the party agreed. They paid five silver for the full experience and the coins were promptly swallowed by the beholder’s cavernous mouth
  Glancing forward they saw the source of the flickering lights: an ancient arcane sign, partially blinking.
  "The Haun ed Halls of Ev nins ar!! !!!" [23:03, 01/06/2025] Neil: The party had just begun to recover from their dramatic entrance when a familiar voice rang out:
  “Well — fancy the Grand Guardians! Good to see ya.”
  Aelira Duskfall, daughter of Lord Duskfall, approached in blue leather corset armour and leggings, a blade at her side and a wide grin on her face.
  She explained that her father had ordered supplies sent to the refugees from Tyrluk, and she had come to ensure their safe delivery and secure neighbourly agreements. Ever curious — and ever ready for excitement — Aelira insisted on joining the Guardians. “Now you’ve got a bard. Should a song need singin’, or a foe duellin’, I’m your girl.”
  The first stop was the Lost and Found, a corridor of dusty iron gates and a pile of discarded oddments — mundane items and a few strange trinkets. Buttons swept the gate open with great flair, and the tour began.
  At a crossroads, the party chose to head south. There they found a guardroom, with three petrified goblins posed in mid-ambush and a cheerful plaque on the wall: “Ambush Reenactment.” Beyond lay a privy and little else - though Solas discovered a hidden passage leading back toward the Lost and Found.
  Seeking a way to the vault beneath the halls, they attempted diplomacy and bribery with Buttons. The beholder, sharp-witted despite his eccentricities, resisted.
  “No no,” he insisted, “can’t be lettin’ guests backstage. Spoils the magic.”
  Undeterred, the party threatened to leave. Buttons was devastated — and quickly offered a compromise. “Fine, fine - one teensy peek behind the scenes. But no rummagin’, y’hear?”
  They learned the beholder had explored the entire complex, seeking to preserve it - and had “murdered absolutely everyone” in the process. “Can’t have surprise bandits jumping out at the paying public.”
  Heading west, they found the famous statue room - bronze figures flanking great doors. Solas deftly avoided pressure plates and discovered a secret passage north. Inside, a skeletal woman lay on a couch, a dagger in her throat. Buttons solemnly explained her story - betrayal by a thief she loved, a tragic lesson.
  The corpse jerked upright suddenly... then fell limp again. Nobody was in the slightest bit scared by this and ignored it.
  The next chamber featured foam-covered wooden swords and slow-moving skeletons The party dispatched them with ease. Aelira barely had time to draw steel. The whole thing a charade - a kids game of adventuring to fight the skeletons.
  “True adventurers now!” Buttons crowed. “Vanquishers of the restless dead - in under thirty seconds flat!”
  Next time: Session 26 - Staff Only