Convergence Sessions 41 - 52

Session 41 The party took a brief rest in a room prepared for them by Primus' modrons (complete with hastily crafted mattresses and hors d'oeuvres prepared by monodrone chefs), after which they went back to the central chamber to attempt to nullify Cataclysm's tethering orbs. Ultimately, Allston was able to do so with the Rod of Neutralization and dispel magic. With Mechanus freed, Primus turned his attention to helping the party. He offered two things: a tiny mechanical dragon that could turn into a full-sized and autonomous mechanical dragon (once), and a summoning device for when Cataclysm was dealt with. With that, he'd be able to implement his plan for saving the planes. Primus postulated he could convert the machinations of Mechanus into a "vice" that would completely halt the motion of the planes. This did not come without its drawbacks, as Primus could not predict what affect this would have in the long term, only that it would prevent the planes from colliding.   Echoless in particular seemed disquieted about this proposed solution. She is intrinsically mistrustful of immortal, timeless beings like Primus and Cataclysm. She wondered about alternative options and considered the possibility of finally reuniting her Oculus Infinium half with Shepherd's, though she feared how that kind of power would affect her (the idea of sharing the power with Leona brought her comfort, however). Ultimately, the party agreed that at least they had one possibility here with Primus and would keep it in their back pocket. After a talk about what they might do with their lives once the fight was over, they completed a long rest in their swanky steampunk apartment. In the morning, they returned to Crucible.   Back on the Material, the party took the day to recuperate and wander the city, having encountered Reginald in the middle of a poker party with his pals (including the halfling escort from the party and Lucien the ghost being assisted by simulacrum!Aefaren). Allston took a stroll and came across a couple of kids attempting to "liberate" a designer-breed dog from an aristocratic woman, which he set his homunculus to put a stop to. Bran encountered a fledgling warlock who was being assailed by "shadow hounds" and brought him back to the manor to sort out. The party opted to take him to a secluded warehouse (the same where they encountered the conspiracy against King Dorian. It was occupied by workers, but flashing a few gold coins cleared them out) and watched over him. It quickly became clear that the "hounds" were figments of his imagination stemming from his connection to a shadowy tome. Leona broke the curse on the book and tossed it away, and with that, the poor man was able to get some shut eye.   Reinvigorated, the party returned to Mechanus to utilize Fulcrum to travel to Mount Celestia. They found themselves beneath a star and moon filled sky and immediately approached by angelic guardians who were weary of more extraplanar creatures arriving on their shores. The angels pointed them towards the Vestibule; a wayshrine that could allow swift travel across the seven peaks of Mount Celestia. The rub was that it only serviced celestials, but another angel called Galandiel could potentially help them, as could utilizing the wool of golden sheep. The party opted to seek out the magic-aligned Galandiel and set out in eagle form into the wilderness of Lunia, the first peak of Celestia.   On the way to Galandiel's tower, the party spotted a strange sight: an aggressive lava flow cutting through the silvery woods and setting fire to all in its path. What's more, magma elementals were spawning out of the molten rock. Following the stream, they quickly found its source: a rupture in the slopes of the mountain to the Plane of Earth. Lurking in the caldera was a massive elemental that resembled a giant worm made of magma. But as luck would have it, Galandiel and another angel called Kalen were here as well, investigating the rupture. The party introduced themselves and spoke briefly with Galandiel and explained their needs. Believing he could help, Galandiel escorted them back to his tower where they could speak in more detail…   XP earned: 500 each   Session 42 The party discussed with Galandiel how they could go about accessing the Vestibule to reach the top of Celestia. They also found that Galandiel and his library was a great source of information, which they dutifully used to get Zel a new copy of "The Lusty Lizardfolk Maid; Volume 3." Buttons also received some archaic writings on the nature of the Planes and a transcription of the Former's last days before going back in time. On the latter, Galandiel also posited that Echoless' amulet, when combined, could achieve an affect similar to what the Former did (time travel nonsense), as an alternate to Primus' proposed solution to stop the planes colliding.   But as for the Vestibule, the party merely needed to retrieve a flower bloom from the mountains above from which Galandiel could make a potion. Unfortunately, the peak where they grew was the sight of another extraplanar rift; this one leading into the Abyss. They had to shoo away a number of demons attempting to consume the flowers themselves, but they were able to retrieve enough uncorrupted flowers to bring back to Galandiel. On their descent back to his tower, Leona got the distinct impression she was being watched; seeing a shadowy figure out of the corner of her eye. She attempted to use true seeing, but was unable to spot the shadow again and got a glimpse into the true nature of the plane for her trouble, which she very much did not care for.   While Galandiel brewed their potions, the party chatted with Kalen and learned a bit more about the nature of angels, as well as his backstory; learning that Kalen had originally died long ago defending his loved ones (he alluded to this being Galandiel, but the party did not seem to pick up on this). With their potions completed, the party set off to the Vestibule, finding that its portal to Chronias (the top-most peak) was foggy and dark. Even after consuming the potions, they were unable to pass into that realm. Instead, they entered Jovar, the 6th peak of Celestia, where they found a forest of bejeweled trees that gave way to an expanse of endless sky and floating islands of precious gems. They could see a great temple in the distance swarming with angels, but opted instead to travel straight up the mountain. It took them over a day of travelling even in wind form thanks to Bran's wind walk spell, and they were forced to make camp on a cliff ledge.   While they rested, a quartet of angels on a scouting mission discovered them. Their leader, Daniel, questioned Allston as to who they were and what there intent was, ultimately trusting that they at least would not do any more harm. Daniel remained with the group to escort them the rest of the way up the mountain while his fellows reported back to the assembled hosts of angels below, who were locked in uncertainty as to what to do about the troubles in Chronias. During this time, Leona also experienced a dream/vision in which Fos again appeared before her and told her to seek out Dorcha, as they both required his help.   Finally, atop Celestia in the realm of Chronias, the party found the Heavenly Spire (though it was less a spire and more a temple built into the mountain peak). The peak was obscured by a swirling maelstrom, which the party debated attempting to penetrate over moving through the temple itself. On their approach, they discovered a crowd of obsidian "statues" that resembled surprised angels. Allston and Bran made the connection between obsidian and Cataclysm and urged the party to proceed with caution.   Within the foyer were a dozen looming marble statues that had certainly seen better days, but Echoless unmistakably recognized them as the Antecean Pantheon. At the far end was an ornate door guarded by a large, becloaked man who introduced himself as Tenebris, Lord of the Dead. Echoless again warned that the empire's old pantheon was not to be trusted, as the stories painted them as fickle and scheming. Tenebris, for his part, at least appeared uninterested in games and stated he merely watched the door, but it was the door that would decide who it would open for. He conjured a chest and offered a choice: dawn the robes within and leave behind all their equipment and they would be granted entrance, as it would be clear they came in peace. Otherwise, the door would not open. The party was largely retiscent to part with their stuff, but ultimately, Zel and Leona took up the bargain to at least see what lied beyond. The pair entered and found a split staircase leading up to different doors, of which they each decided to take one. Both found themselves immediately drawn into a celestial rave; hosts of angelic beings had crowded into the temple and pulsed with rhythmic energy.   For now, the pair was separated in a sea of hedonistic angels with no weapons and no way to communicate. Meanwhile, the rest of the party awaited anxiously outside to see what, if anything, would become of their friends…   XP earned: 3,700 each   Session 43 The party waiting outside were able to quickly find a way to gang the system of the ornery door that would only let you in "if you meant no harm." Realizing that it was simply "scanning" for weapons and armor, Bran found success in turning everyone into harmless animals (elephants) and walking in that way. Tenebris even allowed them to retrieve the stuff of the PCs who had already entered after giving it some thought; his only request was to pass on a message to Lovem that he should treat his "subordinates" better.   Meanwhile, inside, Zel encountered a most bizarre, but very welcome sight: Ysbetta, who was ostensibly here on a scouting mission. She wasted no time in seducing Zel, who only realized something was truly wrong when the act started to harm his soul directly. Fortunately for him, he was able to break free of the charm that had been placed upon him and fled before Amare, goddess of temptation, could do further harm. On the other hand, Leona managed to find her way through the crowd to the MC of the rave, Vinum, god of debauchery. She attempted to petition his help, but instead he charmed her and sent her on her way. Fortunately for both of them, this is when the party made their arrival in the form of giant scorpions; a form they quickly dropped to avoid alarming the party goers.   United, they went to confront Vinum, who clearly was directing the flow of the crowd and preventing them from progressing farther into the temple. Vinum attempted to beguile them all, but fortunately for them, most were able to resist his magical suggestions. So instead, he directed the crowd to attack, delivering a psychic scream that again miraculously, much of the party was able to resist (ironically, Allston failed). The battle was brief but tense. Buttons and Zel charged the stage while the others dealt with the swarming, wailing crowds. Buttons ultimately delivered the killing blow after shaking off another charm and took Vinum's obsidian tongue as a trophy. Curiously, with Vinum's influence removed from the crowd, many of the angels simply vanished in a puff of smoke while others slumped over into a sort of catatonic state.   Taking a brief respite, Zel, Echoless, and Leona went to go see what was up with what happened to Zel and encountered Amare in her true form, sporting an obsidian graft across her face and obsidian legs. Echoless instantly recognized her, which caused Zel some deal of distress, though he did almost fall for temptation again. Ultimately though, they let Amare be and she let them be. After that, they traipsed back to the other end of the temple to investigate another door Leona had spotted earlier. They found it blocked, but Zel was annoying enough that Cere, the goddess of knowledge and current occupier of the barricaded library, moved away the rest of the barricade to see who was banging. After initially being afraid that more mortals had come to kill her, she gave them some helpful information on who was present in the temple and what they were doing here, as well as how they were "brought back from death" in the first place. While Echoless wished to stay and pick her brain, she recognized that they'd been away from the rest of their team for some time and needed to reconvene.   Meanwhile, Buttons, Allston, and Bran made their way up into the next section of the temple, which was fully overgrown by a twinkling, night-time forest. Bran attempted to get some info out of the numerous owls that watched them from the branches, but they proved stubbornly taciturn. Allston scouted ahead and encountered a hulking, oversized owlbear that seemed quite intent on devouring the little gnome. Fortunately, Bran and Allston were able to make haste and divert the owlbear's attention. During the skirmish, a swift barrage of arrows shot out from the thicket by way of an unseen attacker. The owlbear retreated and the attacker did not make itself known, but it was clear they were being watched. At this time, the rest of the party was able to catch up and they hashed out what they had learned.   Bran spoke with the trees to find that they were in agony; a black magic was forcing them to grow in a place they had no right to be, and that Luma stalked the woods while Syliva, goddess of growth, desperately tried to mend the plants in her garden. Leona used her true seeing ability to peer beyond the forest and saw a multitude of "layers" beneath the forest; the closest one showing that the healthy trees were an illusion obscuring the gnarled, decaying trees beneath. She also saw different temple configurations with the insignia of multiple different domains. All this combined proved to give her something of an existential crisis. Regardless, with the group reunited, they decided to press on through the forest and see if they couldn't find some way to turn the tables on this so-called Lady of the Hunt…   XP earned: 3,500 each   Session 44 The party pressed on into the forest, navigating Luma's Labyrinth. Upon reaching a dead end, they were again sprung upon by the Huntress. She fought from stealth, but fortunately, Leona's true seeing was able to give them a general location to work with, and Echoless' utilization of an arcane gate allowed them to reach her through the dense foliage. A dispel magic from Bran removed her invisibility, and with a more or less even playing field now established, Luma retreated.   The party pressed on, opting to fly over the forest maze while Bran was still in dragon form. Towards the back of the interior forest, they discovered a cozy looking cottage that was far too suspiciously inviting to investigate fully. Buttons, who had gone to take a closer look, felt compelled to enter, but he was able to resist the compulsion and tear himself away from the cozy warmth and scent of baked apples and return to scouting the forest.   Realizing that there was not much to see from above the dense canopy of trees, they decided to again follow the nature trails, but taking to the skies when encountering an obstacle like a thick cloud of tendril-like fog blanketing a clearing. Eventually, towards the end of Bran's hour as a dragon, the party found another small grove; this one occupied by a weeping woman in a long, flowy gown: Syliva, goddess of spring.   Syliva was welcoming to the party and allowed them to rest and recoup within her withered garden. There she shed some more insight on how the Antecean gods had been resurrected, which of them were actively helping Cataclysm and which were sort of just here (like her, Cere, and Somnius, god of dreams). Leona also seemed able to settle at least part of her ongoing existential crisis upon learning about some sort of connection between Syliva and Fos (though the former did not recognize the name of the latter, but acknowledged an overlap in their Domains). She also revealed that there were two paths to the upper levels of the temple, both guarded by another god: Troporum and his workshop guarded one way, and Mere watched over the flooded passages of the other route. At least for the former, Syliva believed there was a hidden backdoor into Troporum's workshop.   Regardless, the party was able to achieve a short rest with Syliva, but towards the end, Luma's owlbear returned and began enthusiastically tearing away at the thorny barrier Syliva erected. The party opted to take it head on and readied actions. Syliva dropped the barrier and disappeared in the process, letting the party unleash hell; battering the owlbear to death's door in one fell swoop. It did survive long enough to tear into Zel, but the barbarian was able to reprise with a critical hit, finally decapitating an enemy with the vorpal sword. The fight was not done, of course, as Luma again stepped out of a tree and fired on the party. She led them on a merry chase throughout the labyrinthian woods, but ultimately, the party was able to keep up with her enough to deal substantial damage to her, with the bulk of it being from a hasted Zel who was able to overtake her when she had believed herself to be out of range (Bran also lit up a chunk of the forest with a firestorm). She again retreated, but not before they drew blood.   Now searching for Troporum's workshop, the party came to a seemingly empty grove, but some investigation sent Allston's artificer senses a-tingling. He cast dispel magic on a seemingly innocuous outcropping of rock, dispelling a mirage arcane that obscured a tarnished brass door. Buttons was able to pick the lock with some aid from Allston, and the party found themselves peering into what appeared to be a large garage/warehouse space. It was filled with tools, equipment, raw materials, and a massive, semi-autonomous hellfire engine that was none to happy to see the party…   XP earned: 1,700 each   Session 45 The party engaged the hellfire engine and were able to quickly overwhelm its defenses. Bran, in dragon form, delivered the killing blow; tearing the machine apart piece by piece. Things got complicated when the master of the workshop, Troporum, arrived on the scene and immediately went to work avenging his construct. To make matters worse, Luma arrived once again and took pot shots from the cover of the woods. During the battle, Zel and Leona were both knocked out, but ultimately, Echoless was able to close the back room's door (preventing Luma from firing in) and dispel the invulnerability spell Troporum had conjured onto himself. This allowed Buttons to land a killing blow with an arrow to the heart.   The party quickly made their way farther up into the tower. Buttons tossed some ball bearings down the opposite hall and slammed the door shut to buy some extra time from Troporum's constructed minions quickly making their way towards the battlefield. Fortunately, it appeared they were not being followed as they made their way up the bare stone stairwell.   Upstairs, they found themselves in a yawning throne room where each of them observed something slightly different. Leona saw two large, distinct thrones, while Buttons saw a host of kneeling mats arranged like it was a monastery communal. Zel and Bran saw yet another forest while Allston saw nothing at all. All of them, however, were aware of the ominous door at the far end protected by a familiar obsidian seal; one that would require a card from the Deck of Many Things to open. Having been worn out by the previous battles though, the party opted to attempt a long rest here in the relative solitude of the throne room. Unfortunately, they did not find and release Somnius from his imprisonment during their escapade through the tower, and thus their attempts to recoup were interrupted by vivid nightmares and restless sleep. Realizing that they would never be able to fully rest while the Antecean gods were still present, they decided to press on with what they could recover with an hour of down time.   Allston again drew from the Deck to open the door, this time drawing the Gem card, bestowing upon him 50k worth of jewelry, which he eagerly collected as Zel strode confidently up the now open staircase to the very top of the mountain. There, they faced Bellator and Alas, gods of War and the Winds respectively. Bellator offered them a chance to surrender and entertained the concept of a 1v1 challenge with Zel, though the party quickly shot down that idea. And while Bellator spoke of the importance of honor, he was not willing to let the party exploit that to attempt another long rest. And thus the battle began, though not before Buttons slipped Zel a potion of growth, allowing the barbarian to be on more equal footing with his adversary.   Bellator engaged with Zel, quickly showing why a 1v1 would have been a terrible idea. Meanwhile, Alas sped around to the party's rear as a show of intimidation, though this was quickly turned on him as Buttons locked him down with his sentinel abilities. Meanwhile, Lovem, god of storms, remained out of reach within the clouds encircling the peak and struck with thunderbolts and gales of wind. One such gale blew Leona and Allston off the mountain, but Allston was able to recover them both with his helm of teleportation.   Lovem personally joined the battle when it became clear Bellator and Alas were struggling and the party was still at more-or-less full strength thanks to a mass heal from Leona. Despite his aid, Alas and Bellator were both felled in succession, with Allston clipping Alas' wings with a firebolt, which caused him to plummet into the abyss. Meanwhile, Bellator was felled by a burst of lightning from Bran, though not before he succeeded in pulling Zel off the mountain and dropping him into the abyss. Fortunately for Zel, he was able to catch himself with his draconic wings and Echoless was able to bring him back into the fight with dimmension door.   Ultimately, the party was able to wear Lovem down; with a huge hit coming from Zel thanks to a well-timed critical hit (biting into Lovem's now exposed shoulder thanks to his pauldron being removed earlier by Allston's Wand of Wonder). Despite the immense power he brought to bear, he was unable to adequately spread the damage amongst the party and he was not spared by the invisible hand of the action economy. Zel finally got his wish of felling a god and struck the final blow on Lovem.   With the battle over, a strong wind blew away the golden storm surrounding the mountain. The peak quaked as the Antecean's bodies faded away to nothing; leaving only their obsidian grafts. Finally, the three tethering orbs that orbited the Spire fell to the ground and disintegrated. For the party's part, they were merely relieved that was one less thing to deal with, and now turned their attention to returning home and finding a way to access their last spire on the Positive Plane…   XP earned: 19,000 each   Session 46 The party took a moment to investigate the temple again now that the gods had been defeated and found it bereft of any indication it had been occupied. Troporum's workshop and all its contents were replaced with bare stone walls and the wooded labyrinth that comprised Luma's hunting grounds was now a simple cathedral complex. The only evidence that remained of the Antecean deities were there obsidian grafts and prosthetics that laid unattended on the ground. Even the grand marble statues that lined the foyer entrance of the temple had vanished, though the petrified, obsidian angels still remained crowded around the exterior. With that, it was time to return to the Material. Much to Zel's chagrin, the giant trophies he had taken (the owlbear head and Lovem's graft) would not be able to make the journey with him across the Planes, and thus he settled on just taking a beak and a hand.   Back in Crucible, the party found the city absolutely buried in snow and ice. While the northern realm was quite accustomed to its fair share of snow, it was clear that this was far beyond the norm. Despite this, Shadehaven Manor was still warm and inviting as ever, and within, the party found a small collection of their friends as well as a number of guards, messengers, and servants of their alliance. After a brief but boisterous welcome back, there was business to attend to: Messengers of King Dorian had been by in recent days asking to speak with the party. Upon sending a messenger to inform the Crown that they had returned, they were greeted by Dauntless and Minlin, members of Dorian's council and friends of Mr. Buttons. They delivered a message from the King indicating that he was willing to suspend any assassination contracts he "may or may not have" against Bran in favor of working together to save the world on the condition that Bran submitted to a Geas spell that would trigger should he take hostile action against the party. Bran accepted, and later, the party received a cryptic message, ostensibly from the Phantom Knight, that he was prepared to work with them.   Meanwhile, Zel made contact with Ysbetta to explain, and hopefully make amends, for his transgressions. Worried, the Night's Song spectre quickly made her way to Crucible to talk. Zel prostrated himself before her and begged forgiveness for accidently sleeping with the Antecean Goddess of Love, but as it turned out, Ysbetta was not offended. On the contrary, she was mostly just impressed he survived. Utterly relieved, Zel floated the idea of children and/or turning himself human and/or turning her into a lizardfolk, which she politely dodged by pointing out this was a conversation to have after the world was saved.   Then there was the matter of accessing the final Spire the party had in their sights: the Positive Plane. To that end, Brynn and Shepherd had devised a strategy to do just that, and all it involved was killing the party. They posited that if any mortal body would be burned away by the overwhelming energy of the plane, then you simply needed to go without a body. And so Shepherd could conduct a ritual that would effectively turn the party into ghosts; killing their mortal bodies but binding their souls in a conscious form still on the Material Plane. From there, they could travel through the Astral Plane and reach the Positive. Obviously, the party was not thrilled with this idea, and as Leona still wished to try to commune with Dorcha (as Fos had alluded to seeking his aid to reach her domain in the Positive Plane), she wanted to see if anything would come from that before committing to Shepherd's plan. Through an in-depth, trancelike meditation, she was able to make tentative contact with the deity, who asked her to go to Borne to commune with him within Hengellen's Oracle.   In the morning, the party reconvened (Allston having spent the majority of the night earning decent winnings at the Grand Meridian Casino) and set off to Borne by way of the Nexus. There, they ran into none other than Princess Tria Fortis, who was conducting research into the functionality of the Nexus and what happened to it when Antecea fell. She gave the party some updates on the White Tower Alliance and the progress of the Slaadi horde, the latter of which seemed to be slowly losing steam as they met fierce resistance at both Ceadun and Fürcenburg. She also mentioned that another elder elemental has yet to be seen on the field, perhaps owing to the party's defeat of two of them at the battle of the White Tower.   In Borne, the party ran into the familiar face of Orlando Indagare, whom they had assisted uncover some of the Heralds of Aevilok's infiltration last time they were here. He escorted them to the Oracle and caught the party up on what had been going on since they left: namely that earthquakes had been eminating from the Oracle for the past few weeks that have been putting the people of the city on edge (the party saw this first hand on their way to the Oracle as one of the shocks had caused an old chapel to collapse; doomsday criers pointed to this as a sign the gods had forsaken them).   At the Oracle, they found Dorcha himself was already there and waiting. He appeared as a simple traveler and bore an uncanny resemblance to Shepherd, minus all the decay and corruption. He revealed that Cataclysm had ousted him from his place at Fos' side on the Positive Plane and it was she who now "protected" the Planar Spire under the beguilement of Cataclysm. He also revealed that a powerful dark spirit called Vecna had taken control of the Spire on the Negative Plane where Dorcha's domain usually resided. He explained that the reason behind his loss of these positions is because his domain is shared by Cataclysm, who was able to rest control away from Dorcha. To that end, he offered an alternate to Shepherd's plan to access the Positive Plane. If the party traveled there in the flesh, he could use what influence he does have to shield them from the worst of the Plane's destructive energy. The only trouble is that they may have a hard time telling the difference between the true Dorcha and Cataclysm's doppelganger. The party pondered this and ultimately decided to try Dorcha's method (with the exception of Zel, who seemed weirdly enamored with the idea of experiencing death).   When the party finally returned to Crucible, they found that the team that had travelled to the Abyssal Spire had returned, though they bore with them ill news. Firstly, the wizard beltaine Nefari did not survive their battle with the demon lord Orcus and they wished to see if Leona would be able to revive her. More pressingly though was the matter of the deal Aefaren struck in secret to secure safe and swift passage through Avernus to reach the Spire: he discovered that Zariel was the arch-devil that coveted Allston's soul, and he had promised her his soul in exchange for protection. Upon hearing this, Allston teleported all the way back to Cognance in a panic (though Aefaren did hand him a note explaining what transpired in fuller detail). Aefaren went on to explain that he had no intention of fulfilling his end of the bargain, but in so doing was damning his own soul to Hell. Indeed, he barely had time to utter this before the elf was engulfed in flames; leaving nothing but a scorch mark behind. Still in shock, the wizard apprentice Idius probed the party as to what they would do: would they find Allston and trade his soul for Aefaren back? Sensing hesitation, Idius proposed a means of sweetening the deal. He and Wyrem, the loyal fighter Allston conjured with a Card from the Deck of Many Things, revealed themselves as traitors; Idius as a warlock of Zariel and Wyrem as a horned devil in disguise. They attempted to abscond with Ferdinand and Rolf, but fortunately, both were able to resist the Plane Shift spells cast upon them.   The devil was quickly dispatched and Idius incapacitated, the latter revealing that he had willingly accepted power in exchange for aiding Zariel in retrieving Allston. He also made it seem as though he would be punished for his failures and that any tortures the party could concoct would pale in comparison. With nothing else to really go on right now, the party turned their attention back to dealing with the Positive Planar Spire, for now believing that an assault on Avernus would be reckless…   XP earned: 1,800 each   Session 47 The party rested as best they could after the days stressful events (Leona seemed to be taking things particularly hard and had turned to drink). Allston returned in the morning with fresh bananas from a market stall in Cognance after taking some time to calm down. The rest of the party caught him up to speed and learned from Brynn that he had arranged for their old Gith'yanki friends they met during their first trip into the Nexus to transport them to a color pool (a sort of planar portal) that would lead directly to the Positive Plane. Zel again expressed interest in letting Shepherd kill him for some reason, which the lich found amusing and goaded on a bit before the rest of the group was able to convince Zel otherwise (once again lording Ysbetta over him).   And so the party set off again into the Nexus and met the Gith'yanki at the Conduit where they had last met. The captain warned them that two weeks would pass on the Material as they made the voyage, though it would likely feel like less time here on the Astral. Once on board, boredom immediately set in on Zel and Buttons, who began goading each other to pass the time. Meanwhile, Echoless and Bran had a quick chat about their experiences with the weird realm of the Astral Plane (the latter having never been; the former never having done so physically), and Allston communed with the blade Heart Eater, which he ultimately decided to attune with.   During their voyage, the party spotted what appeared to be a mountain-sized skull with a sword cleaved through it looming in the distance. The gith warned that it was wise to avoid such things in the Astral Sea, but the party's curiosity won out and they diverted course to check it out. At first it seemed as though the skull was fleeing their attempts to investigate, but soon they realized it wasn't getting farther away, it was shrinking. By the time they reached it, the skull and sword were perfectly normal-sized. Leona attempted to speak with the skull, but needed Buttons to translate its fully alien tongue. They learned very little of it save it claimed to be some kind of great leader of a kingdom called "Sahbia" and that he had been betrayed. As for the sword, when Allston attempted to pull it out, the skull crumbled. Later, he cast identify on it to find that it was a highly potent magic weapon, but he felt a cold presence attached to it as well that he could not quite put his finger on. There was some squabbling over who would hold onto the blade, with Zel of course wanting to add another overpowered sword to his collection, but the rest of the party was able to shame/bribe him into relenting and letting Leona have it for the time being; calling him weak for wanting a smaller sword and promising a card from the Deck of Many Things after they dealt with the Positive Plane.   Clearly, the sword was coveted by more than just the party, as shortly after, a Star Spawn raiding party riding in on a Psychic Wind attacked the gith ship, with its leader, a larva mage, calling out in deep speech to "find the blade." Ultimately, the party was able to repel the invaders, with Allston and Zel striking down the twin seers (the former absorbing one with Heart Eater), Echoless smiting the hulk, and Buttons exploding the larva mage into a pile of writhing worms (which were promptly incinerated). Leona and Bran also dealt significant blows with a destructive wave and planetar form, respectively.   With the Psychic Wind only minorly blowing the gith vessel off course, they were able to easily correct and reach their destination: a color pool leading to the Positive Plane. Upon entering it, the party found themselves on a bright, sandy beach, with the only meaningfully contrasting image being that of Dorcha and a small sailboat waiting for them. Dorcha explained that his protection also allowed the party to "see" the Plane in a way that they could interact with it and that so long as they remained close, they would be safe. He also warned them that should they die outside of his zone of safety, their bodies would be utterly annihilated. With that cheery thought, he led them up through a blossoming forest to the base of the tower, which appeared rather fairy tale-esque, all things considered. Along the way, small, ethereal creatures poked and prodded at the party, which Dorcha indicated as Fos observing their approach.   Inside the tower, the party was faced with a puzzle that they were able to poke and prod into working out. A number of statues with corresponding platforms allowed Buttons and Zel to utilize their strength to press the pillars that acted as an opening mechanism for a large bay door. Upon its opening, silvery mist spilled out and tested the party's mental fortitude. Fortunately, they all succeeded and were able to perceive the radiant wraiths that had materialized out of the fog, which seemed intent on attacking the party as they dealt with the rest of the puzzle…   XP earned: 7,000 each   Session 48 The party engaged the spirits in combat while simultaneously dealing with the rest of the puzzle. Allston utilized Bigby's Hand to chuck the discus across the expanse, causing the statue on the far side to throw his payload over to the party. From there, Leona was able to "calm" the eagle statue enough to place the tossed medallion into its corresponding socket. After mopping up the rest of the spirits, they were able to move up the stairs that appeared within the expanse. As they ascended the staircase, Buttons picked Dorcha's brain a bit about his "relationship" with Fos, specifically curious as to whether they engaged in "mortal pleasure" or not (no, they didn't).    The second floor was blocked by a door featuring a stone bust of an irritable looking woman. They quickly found the door would not allow them to force their way through, but Buttons was able to convince her to open up by making a show of penitence and prayer. Within the next chamber, they found that one trial from Harry Potter where they needed to drink out of a basin in order to reach the key to the next room. The basin was surrounded by a moat of water, which Bran poked his mammoth trunk in just to investigate, and found that disturbing the water summoned more angry spirits. The party fought them off while Buttons and Allston drank the acidic water from the basin. The ghosts attempted to possess some of the party; failing to do so with Bran but successfully possessing Zel. Thinking quickly, Leona banished Zel back to the material plane, leaving the ghost remaining where the barbarian once stood.   Zel found himself back in his home swamp near a hunters' encampment, where he was welcomed back as a clandestine hero. More importantly, he again met the adolescent lizardfolk who had jumped him last time he got banished. Zel had just enough time to challenge the boy to a contest of arms before being whisked back to the Positive Plane. He was just a smidge perturbed that this child again slipped through his grasp, but was placated when the party informed him he needed to drink the acid water, which he did without any problem at all.   Within the final chamber, the party found themselves in a rather cozy study with a prominent mirror affixed to the far wall. Upon investigation, they realized the reflection was not perfect and that there were specific items that they needed to find and position to match the reflection. Leona was able to identify one piece, a portrait, as that of Saint Merridan; an infamous Dualist figure who rebelled against a corrupt institution and died by self-immolation. Unfortunately, she wasn't immediately able to figure out how that could connect to finding the portrait in real space. Allston was able to identify a book in the reflection written by an author renowned for his paranoia. With that in mind, he was able to find a hidden alcove in which a statue of the author clung to his book, which required them to move very, very slowly in order to take the book from him. Lastly, Echoless identified the rod held by a stone hand in the reflection as a Rod of Lordly Might. Bran was able to find a suspiciously rod sized chest tucked in a corner that had a puzzle lock attached to it.   Unfortunately for the party, as Allston moved to check out the puzzle, he placed the book where it was in the reflection which caused crystalline, draconic spirits to emerge and attack the party with radiant beams and beguiling lights. While the party fended off the dragons, Leona noticed an urn situated on a stone slab and made the connection between the ash container and Merridan. Upon investigation, she found the urn to be filled with razers. Believing these booby traps to be protecting something, she called Buttons over to stick his hand in, upon which he was able to retrieve a rolled up portrait of Merridan herself. Shortly after, he was able to place it in the picture frame above the mantle while Allston solved both the puzzle lock and traditional lock of the chest and retrieved the Rod. With all the items in place and the dragons defeated, the party faced their final obstacle: a familiar obsidian frame requiring a card from the Deck of Many Things.   Zel insisted on drawing the card this time and came away with the Throne card, which bestowed upon him rightful ownership of a currently monster-infested keep somewhere in the world (as well as a silver tongue, for some reason). Beyond that they found themselves face to face to Fos and Dorcha in the celestial flesh.   The opposing duo insisted that the Dorcha travelling with the party was Cataclysm in disguise, and that he had brought them here to do his work for him in disrupting the Spire and then finally kill them by dropping his protection in the depths of the Positive Plane. Adding to the confusion, the tethering orbs usually found at the top of the Spire were nowhere to be found. The party found it difficult to decide who to trust, but came upon a few deciding variables: Cataclysm's trademark seal was already within the Spire, and Fos became confused when Echoless mentioned her visits to Leona and petitions for aid. Leona sealed the deal when she (ironically) used divine intervention to give Fos clarity. She recognized her "Dorcha" for who he was, upon which he dropped the act and assumed a hostile aspect. Cataclysm, still presenting as Dorcha, summoned all the might he could and shunted Fos away so he could deal with the party.   He attacked with shadowy ferocity, channeling black, necrotic energy as best he could into the Positive Plane. He summoned shadows to aid in battle and sapped the party's strength. During the battle, Leona and Zel were knocked down, but ultimately, the party was able to hold out long enough to destroy Dorcha's avatar (as well as the tethering orbs he concealed in the process). Notable moments were Bran, as a Planetar, flying Leona into range to hit Dorcha with her "vulnerability" channel divinity and allow Echoless to deal massive damage with her amulet blast, the party swarming Dorcha as he attempted to prevent the healers from doing their job, and Bran finishing the job with a smiting strike. Despite being dispelled however, Dorcha/Cataclysm did leave them with an ominous "see you all real soon…"   With that, Fos was able to reappear along with the party's Dorcha. She expressed deep remorse for being fooled and commended Leona for her steadfast faith; activating her pendant's final innate ability in thanks. They discussed briefly the nature of Cataclysm's plan and how to save the world from the Collision. Dorcha mused on letting the natural cycle play out as it may and allow a new world to grow and flourish afterwards, but the party seemed relatively uninterested in allowing the casualties that would incur. With that, they said their farewells to the deities and returned to Crucible once more…   XP earned: 10,000 each   Session 49 The party returned to Crucible to find the city swept up in howling gales. Within Shadehaven Manor, they found a multitude of their gathered allies making final preperations for the push against Cataclysm. Notably, Kruzikmaar was present and made it clear to Allston that he was going to attempt to rescue Aefaren from Hell after all this was over, and if Allston survived the coming days, Kruzikmaar would be bringing him along. The party also learned from Shepherd that they had successfully banished Vecna from the Negative Plane's Spire and broke its connection with Cataclysm. For his part, Shepherd seemed to have gained something from the experience, but he was retiscent to reveal what that was. Meanwhile, Zel got drunk on trixie juice, received oil of sharpness from Agatha, and attempted to steal the Deck of Many Things from Echoless, which earned him an electrocution for his troubles. Echoless also spoke with Leona and hatched a plan to "retrieve" Shepherd's amulet from Brynn's island, and she was confident the old elf would want to bring Shepherd into any conversation regarding the oculus infinium.   The next day, Allston took a brief teleport over to Cognance on a rare mission of generosity; looking to return the gold he had originally taken from the Ethereal Eagle now that he was filthy stinking rich. Unfortunately, he quickly found that all records of his membership with the guild had been completely wiped away as if he had never existed. This culminated in a confrontation with the guild master and some light terrorism, as Allston conjured an earth elemental to wreak havoc on the guild hall as he teleported back to Crucible in a huff. The rest of the group also got up to some minor hooliganism and went out shopping for mundane supplies like spellcasting components and poison. And as it clearly wasn't enough for one party member to possess a cursed, sentient sword, Leona attuned to the blade they found in the Astral Plane, and using the tongues spell to communicate with it, learned that it was called Kas and that it sought vengeance against its old master. Once they were all back from their respective nonsense, Brynn appeared in spectral form and allied a meeting to discuss their final goal: taking back Eodur from Cataclysm.   First, Brynn caught the party up to speed on what had been going on in the world while they were away: the dome of Eodur was expanding at a steadily increasing rate (now covering a 120 mile radius) and the effects of rampant wild magic were getting worse across the continent. Meanwhile, the Slaadi horde continued to march, though the cities of Furcenburg and Ceadun were still holding out against their respective sieges. To that end, it was imperative that the allied factions moved quickly and decisively. The strategy that Brynn proposed was turning the old Antecean Nexus into a bomb. The only rub was that the White Tower Alliance leadership, specifically Aurum and Christoph, would never allow such a powerful resource be destroyed. The party went back and forth on whether they should just go through with their idea without alerting the WTA or if they should open a dialog, with Bran, Buttons, and Allston being firmly on team "just blow it up," while Leona and Echoless supported at least trying to bring everyone together. Ultimately, it was decided they would contact Christoph and arrange a meeting on the morrow to discuss a joint attack. Should the Nexus be detonated though, Brynn made it clear that he would be the one to pull the trigger on the detonation, as his days were quickly coming to an end regardless. In the meantime, he recommended it would behoove them to seek out any other allies they could as final preperations were made.   After the meeting, Echoless looped the rest of the party in on her and Leona's idea of stealing Shepherd's amulet. With them all being in favor, they went ahead and "convinced" the white-haired wizard Cato to take them physically to Brynn's island. There, they attended a somber feast to honor Brynn and his impending sacrifice, which they used as a cover to distract him (by convincing him to try the drug Devil's Root) and steal the component piece for the secret chest he concealed Shepherd's amulet in. Despite the necessity of the task, Echoless still felt torn up over deceiving her old friend.   The following day, the party met with Christoph and Aurum, who to no one's surprise, were not keen on blowing up the Nexus. As predicted, Christoph tried to sell them on utilizing the might of the allied armies they had gathered; some 15K strong and growing by the day, as he put it. The party put up a convincing argument, and Christoph compromised and proposed using the Nexus Bomb as a plan B; one that they would rig up so it could be detonated should the invasion go poorly. The party was not entirely thrilled with this, but decided to agree for the sake of "togetherness." And with that, the party set about gathering what remaining allies they had not yet tapped: Echoless traveled to Borne to petition the Sacrosanct, while Buttons returned to Kittsadora. Bran sought out the Moon Dragon of the Forest of Souls while Zel returned home to the swamps of Luma Forest and found his old clan (and more importantly, the child that has been plaguing his dreams for months now, and finally got to defeat him in a duel and take him under his wing). Most notably, Allston petitioned Agatha's help to get him in contact with Hyrsam in the Feywild, with whom Allston willingly requested a "favor." They were also approached by envoys of both the dark elves of House Do'lar, whose matron had been freed from a chunk of soul stone by the party some time ago, as well as from the wood elves of Laminar on behalf of the party's old comrade, Princess Evangeline.   Unfortunately for the party, their "borrowing" of Shepherd's amulet did not go unnoticed, and Brynn confronted them about it. He did not request they return it or even tell Shepherd about it; merely warned them that the lich would find out on his own and that they needed to be ready for his reprisal. Despite this, the party still believed that this was their best chance of defeating Cataclysm and attempting to save the world from the Planar Collision without having to rely on Primus' proposed solution.   Finally, with all their allies gathered and waiting in Sigil, the party made ready for one last fight…   XP earned: 2,000 each   Session 50 The party gathered in Sigil with the rest of the Alliance Army (whom Leona is determined to affix a proper name to) and partook in the city-wide festivities that had been arranged to give this doomed force a triumphant send off. Allston used some of the ludicrous wealth he accrued from robbing the Ethereal Eagle to buy out an entire "den of ill-repute" for the night, while Bran, Buttons, and Zel engaged in some "safe" full-contact sparring provided by a spell developed by the Crown Mages. Meanwhile, Echoless and Leona shared a touching moment together as Echoless expressed regret over her hand in the world's problems. Also, Zel and Ysbetta got married, Vegas-style.   In the morning, the party assembled with all their gathered allies to choose who would join them as Dagger team (the invasion plan having been dubbed "Operation Cloak and Dagger"). They chose Shepherd (who insisted on accompanying them), Rolf (who volunteered), Ezekiel, Bartimaeus, Zandre, and Mul (who reluctantly agreed to join). They would also be accompanied by the MAGI wizard Volenor and Venatrix, who would be providing the means with which they would plane-shift to the MAGI base that would be their access point. With that decided, they said their goodbyes as Cloak team deployed to invade Eodur.   As Cloak found success in their initial push into the city and the establishment of command posts, Dagger entered the MAGI base. They found it warped and twisted by Limbo's magic and filled with bizarre phenomena, strange creatures, and of course, some of the slaadi (who stood little chance against the combined might of the assembled group). They did quickly find that their intended exit had been fully blocked off by a structural collapse, and instead were forced to utilize the teleporter further into the complex, which could send them up to ground level. Volenor instructed Allston on how to operate the control room (which was kept separate from the teleporter for security purposes), and he, Xandre, and Rolf made their way there in order to send the rest of the group onward.   The two groups cut their way through what resistance they found and reached their corresponding destinations, with the main group being sent up to the first floor of the complex. Zandre then kept his finger on the button so Allston and Rolf could catch up with the main group. From there, he would simply enter the ethereal plane and begin manually walking his way up.   On the first floor, Dagger found signs of bizarre experiments gone wrong, the screams of someone clearly in distress, and a fair amount of blood. They encountered a rabbit who had been polymorphed into a humanoid body that tried its best to communicate with the party (ultimately, Zel was able to "speak" with it the best, as by his own words, he "spoke idiot"). Further in, the source of the blood and screams became clear: a fissure had been opened into a wall that led to a yawning chasm the slaadi were using as spawning grounds for their mutagenic abilities. Allston deployed his earth elemental to block the passage, but the noise alerted a slaadi patrol. Venatrix volunteered to hold them off as the party progressed and revealed that she possessed the Wand of Orcus, which she would go on to use to summon an army of undead to resist the slaadi. Naturally, Rolf (very alarmed at this revelation) volunteered to stay behind as well.   Finally, as the party pressed on, they discovered the source of the weird animal-hybrid man. An associate of Volenor, Arcturia, had somehow concocted a transformative potion out of slaadi mutagen and used it on herself. Driven mad by the effects, she insisted that the group needed to undergo the transformation as well. Clearly not interested in the offer, the party readied themselves for combat…   XP earned: 1,500 each   Session 51 The party leapt into battle with Arcturia and her animal-hybrid abominations. With the combined might of the party and the rest of Dagger team, they were able to make relatively short work of the mutant wizard. Some battle highlights included Echoless counterspelling a maze spell meant for Bran, Bran assuming the form of a pterodactyl to do battle, Bartimaeus draining one of the hybrids within an inch of its life but then somehow critically missing the killing blow, Buttons and Ezekiel going full monk on the hybrids and mimics, and Allston's homunculus getting the killing blow on Arcturia, melting her face with acid spit. After the battle, some light heals were distributed, and Zandre regrouped with the rest of the party, having finally made his way to the top floor via etherealness.   With that, it was just a short jaunt to the exit, though the corridor leading to it had become animated and shifted violently around, making travel tedious. At the Atrium, they found seven doors surrounding a central pillar emitting a prismatic light. According to Volenor, there only used to be the one door. Zel "volunteered" to see what laid beyond one of the doors while Allston managed to suppress the prismatic light for the first door. Upon finding his door only led to a blank wall, Zel opened the next one over. This time, the pillar hit him with a prismatic spray (something that would have happened the first time as well had Allston not suppressed it), which very nearly turned him to stone. Fortunately, Leona stopped the petrification just in the nick of time. Doubly fortunate was the fact that the "correct" door was the next one over, preventing any further damage.   With that, the group found themselves outside in the central complex surrounding the Mithral Spire, which had been broken into pieces that floated in space around the central mithral pike. The whole area was deserted; surrounded by a towering maelstrom of fire and lightning. However, as they prepared to make their ascent up the fractured tower, an earthshaking roar split the air, and the fully realized greatwyrm Yolgorah stepped out of the flames. In an effort to keep the main party fresh for their battle with Cataclysm, Shepherd urged them to teleport up to the top and let the rest of them deal with the dragon. Zel in particular heavily resisted the notion of leaving his new wife behind to fight Yolgorah, but in the end relented as Allston teleported just the core six up to the top of the tower (with only a minor mishap during the teleportation process).   At the very top of the Spire, Palios awaited them; still resembling a mortal elf. He was joined by 6 death slaadi, who eagerly awaited their chance to tear into the party. A few words were exchanged. Allston demanded an apology for being catapulted off this very roof, to which Palios did apologize, claiming that if there were any other way to free himself from his paradox, he would have taken it. He commended them on their tenacity in getting this far, citing only one other group that had impressed him like this (looking pointedly at Echoless). He then went on to remind the group that their efforts were ultimately in vein, at that even were they to succeed in imprisoning him once again, the prison has never truly held him before, and that one day he would escape and the world would again be right back where it started. Naturally, this did not dissuade the party, who began their final confrontation with gusto.   It very quickly became clear that the Palios they were speaking with was an illusion, and so the group turned their focus on dealing with the Slaadi, who harassed them with fireballs and (attempted) fear spells, which failed thanks to the heroes' feast the party had imbibed the previous day. During the skirmish, Palios' voice could be heard ringing out like thunder in the storm clouds above. He didn't reveal himself, but he did conjure effigies of the cards of the Deck of Many Things that the party had drawn throughout their adventures. With the Rogue card, he turned Bran hostile to the group (thankfully he was able to shake this compulsion; though he did get zapped by the geas spell put upon him earlier). The star card dealt poison damage to Zel, targeting the constitution he had buffed with the card previously, and with the knight card, he conjured forth the spirit of Lazaros, the goliath warlord and antagonist of the previous campaign, into an obsidian body. Meanwhile, he also called upon the power of the Plane of Chaos itself to hamper the party with freezing ice and howling cyclones.   Despite all this, the party persevered. One by one the Slaadi fell, with Zel decapitating one right off the bat. Buttons was able to stun a few of them, and Allston absorbed one with Heart Eater. Lazaros traded blows with Zel, but Echoless was able to lock him down with a hold person spell, allowing the party to tear into him. It was then that Palios revealed himself from his hiding spot with a psychic scream. Fortunately, the whole party was able to resist the stunning effect this time and moved to engage. Lazaros was ultimately finished off with a divine word from Leona while Buttons, Bran (now in dragon turtle form), Echoless, and Zel targeted Palios, who used another card effigy, Throne, to conjure for himself an iron fortress. However, thanks to the powers of flight Echoless bestowed on the group, the sudden appearance of the ramparts only proved a temporary set back (mostly in the damage dealt by its sudden appearance to Bran and Echoless). Palios' enchantment magic was only able to slow the party down, and in short order they were able to overwhelm him, with Bran getting in the "killing blow."   However, it was clear that this was only the beginning of the fight. Palios' spirit was not absorbed into the prison. Instead, his body dissolved into a plume of smoke that began orbiting the tower and coalescing into a serpentine form. Finally, the smoke took on corporeal form, and the massive, god-like visage of Cataclysm's true avatar loomed over the already battered party…   XP earned: 5,000 each   Session 52 The party engaged Cataclysm in one final, epic confrontation. It quickly became apparent that Cataclysm's true form was leagues above even the strongest foes they had ever faced, as his elementally-infused spear scythed through them and dealt out massive damage with each blow. In addition to fighting the Fundamental Avatar, the party found themselves battling the Plane of Chaos itself, as Cataclysm commanded it to whip up howling cyclones, blinding sand and dust, and freezing air, in addition to summoning a storm of vengeance to rage above them.   And yet, the party stood fast, utilizing every tool at their disposal to stand against this existential threat. For a time, it seemed they had finally met their match, with Leona being forced to use a mass heal only a few moments after the battle began. Cataclysm proved surprisingly mobile and illusive, preventing the likes of Zel and Bran from engaging in melee combat where they exceled. The scales finally began to tip in the party's favor when Mr. Buttons scored a critical hit with his Sword of Sharpness, lopping off the arm that held Cataclysm's spell book, preventing him from casting any further spells or utilizing the effigies of the cards from the Deck of Many Things. Allston was then able to remove it fully from play by first taking it with him into the ethereal plane with his blink spell and then dropping it off the edge of the Spire. But even without this particular tool at his disposal, Cataclysm proved an overwhelming force, bringing most of the party close to death's door, with only a flash of genius from Allston saving Buttons from being completely atomized by Cataclysm's most deadly attack.   The second turning point occurred ironically immediately after Leona found herself incased in ice and tumbling off the tower: She called upon Fos and Dorcha to grant her and her comrades the strength to finish the fight, and did the gods indeed deliver. Leona was freed from the ice and brought back to the battlefield in a flash of light while the rest of the party was rejuvenated and the storm of vengeance was dispelled. With fresh vigor, the party continued their battle, with Leona priming Cataclysm for a full-force blast from Echoless' amulet with her channel divinity ability that caused vulnerability to the next source of damage taken. What's more, they were miraculously able to pull off this combo twice, with Echoless' amulet recharging itself enough for a second blast. She followed this up with a meteor swarm using her meta-magic abilities to force disadvantage on Cataclysm's save against it, which he failed, taking the full force of the meteoric impact.   Despite the brutality of the party's onslaught, Cataclysm's avatar fought on, slowly being chipped down from Mr. Buttons barrages of arrows, Allston's caustic brew spell, and devastating blows from Zel (when he was able to get in range, at least). It eventually came down to just a handful of hit points among both sides, with several party members being knocked unconscious and brought to near-death on a few occasions (each of them were KO'd at least once throughout the duration of the fight). Ultimately, it came down to Allston getting a quick heal on Zel, bringing him back up (after surviving far longer than anyone expected thanks to him simply being too angry to die) and allowing him to heroically use his one wish to get everybody back up and revitalized. With that, Cataclysm no longer possessed the focused energy to repel them and Buttons landed a lethal strike with an arrow, opening him up for an incredible group finish from the rest of the party; with Allston making sure to shoot him in the dick with a blight bolt while Echoless and Bran brought down torrents of lightning, Leona lit him up with holy energy, Buttons lopped off more of his limbs, and Zel sank the Axe of Binding into his chest.   And with that, Cataclysm was again bound.   Now came the matter of undoing his work: at first the party figured they would simply break the obsidian mechanism affixed to the tower like the others, but Shepherd, upon arriving with the survivors of the Yolgorah fight, warned against it; claiming the blast would atomize anything within miles of the tower. To that point, Zel was devastated to find that Ysbetta was not amongst the survivors (nor was Ezekiel or Volenor), but Leona assured him they could tend to that later. Under Shepherd's suggestion, Buttons summoned Primus to help them understand their options. The Lord of Law surmised they had three choices, two of which would result in someone's physical death (destroying the mechanism outright or "overwriting" its functionality with their own psyche), and the last of which was the riskiest but if successful, would prevent any further death: subdue Cataclysm through a battle of wills and force him to shut off the tethering mechanism. At first, the party was unsure who should take up the task. Leona volunteered, but Echoless argued, insisting she had the best chances of success, even though Leona believed she needed to survive for the next step of their plan to save the world from the Collision. Ultimately though, she relented and allowed Echoless to confront her old nemesis once more. Stacking as many buffs as they could on her, Echoless channeled all her willpower and bade Cataclysm relent. And he did. With that, the tethering mechanism crumbled, the beam collapsed, and Eodur was brought back into the Material Plane.   Finally, the matter of dealing with the Collision: Primus again offered his solution, but the party had other ideas. Allston teleported them to the currently vacant Lunar Forum Citadel far to the North where Leona could attune to Shepherd's amulet in peace. Upon doing so, she felt a connection to the lich, sensing his confusion followed by rage, but he never physically appeared before them. Instead, the party teleported back to the Spire where the battle still raged frantically below, being met with a barrage of questions of where they had gone from the gathered leadership of the Allied Army, not the least of which was Shepherd demanding to know what they had done with his amulet. Echoless confronted her old friend directly and was able to talk him down.   And so the two halves of the Oculus Infinium were brought together for the first time in over a millennia. Leona and Echoless approached the Spire and established a connection between themselves and every living creature throughout the cosmos. They relayed what they sensed to those gathered: they could pull everyone out of time to avoid the Collision and bring them back when the dust settled, with the big caveat being large swathes of infrastructure, farmlands, and wilderness would be wiped out during the Collision. Alternatively, Primus' solution would halt the Collision; no one would die in the fallout. The party debated the ramifications of each, but ultimately decided on a fresh start. They would let the planes correct themselves and return to a natural balance. From there, they would do their best to mitigate the fallout and save as many as they could on the other side, but they would not doom future generations to the unforeseeable consequences of halting the movement of the Planes.   A final flash of light, and the party found themselves standing in the light of a new day. Now all that was left was to see what had become of the world at large and find their place in it…   XP earned: 26,000 each   The End