25.07.2023 - Scribe-5 - Aftermath

Recap:

• They defeated Arnini
• The level up and time skip will happen after this session
• The sidequests we've talked about might be a one on one or one on two conversation during the timeskip. If not they will be done like cutscenes during a normal session
• During the Arnini fight:
• A group of bounty hunters crashed the party, with one of them turning into a dragon
• They destroyed the device Arnini used to create new bodies
• The bounty hunters where there for the body of Coty's step-mother, and gave Coty the task of finding her soul
• We have not been able to figure out how Arnini was able to control Scribes
• Apparently, some bodies are kept in stasis in one of the rooms, one of which was Vanja Dristwood (Coty's stepmom)

This session

• The air still feels filled with magic
• Coty checks out the library. It is very well organized and contains a lot of books, notes, schematics and blueprints. There are also machine-parts, some seemingly alive.
• Coty is still a tiny gnome from the fight. She has also never been in a library before, and mistakes the notes as art, rather than knowledge.
• She asks Scribes for help on how to move everything from here to our base. Void pipes up that we have an altar/mirror/bowl that could let out subconsciousness travel here.
• Scribes realizes this is a pocket dimension, similar to a bag of holding. She starts furiously scribbling notes in her notebook.
• Void considers going into the room with the stasis-bodies, but he instead explores a room with a cauldron and sickly green/yellow light from the contents being churned. Red crystals line the shelves.
• The red crystals look similar to the one Arnini used in the Yömenie, and the flying spybot Bucket found
• Sylword is gathering the robot-clones, admiring the details and imagining a world where he created them alongside Arnini
• Void, Bucket and Coty's bots are pretty broken, but the rest are mostly intact
• It is clear that Arnini added everything he learned about the party into the robots
• Bucket looks through the bodies for followers of Rillifain, but is finding it hard to differentiate them from the others. He doesn't find any signs, but it looks like the bodies have been stripped of their valuables. There are about 50 bodies here
• Signs from Rillifain leads him out of the room and to the south west room, which is filled with magical and mechanical devices, along with personal effects from the bodies
• Among the personal effects there are symbols of Rillifain. There are a lot of them
• Bucket then calls out "Magic Item Room!", while starting to collect the hundreds of Rillifain symbols 
• He also finds loot: Gems, money, items etc. 
• He puts everything into a pile for the rest of the party to sort through, but tries to keep an eye on the money, to prevent Void from taking it 
• A falchion catches his eye. It consists of several pieces that are linked together. The crossguard covers the whole hand, and has many tiny needles on the inside of the hilt
• He puts his hand inside the hilt, and notices that the needles are able to prick the metal
• Scribes is multitasking. Her manifested spellbook is reading notes in another room, her quill is writing notes on accessing the lab in the future, while Scribes herself is reading through notes in the lab
   
• The cylinder is called the Enhanc-o-mancer, v.8003, and is capable of enhancing physical bodies, among other things.
• Artificers don't make spellbooks, but Arnini stored scrolls of spells that he got from somewhere. There is an inventory list and descriptions of the function of each room
• Scribes figures out the organizing system, finding a large folder with multiple spell scrolls:
• Globe of Invulnerability
• Phantastic Killer
• Wall of Force
• There are more scrolls sealed away in a case, but she is unable to open it
• Void sees that the case is enchanted, and we notice that it starts smoking if we try to leave the library
• It is made of soft, malleable metal
• Void tries to Dispel Magic at 5th level, and succeeds
• There is a notebook in it and a few pages, all written in the cryptic cypher that Coty found
• Scribes are able to decipher the pages. It is the key to the cypher for the rest of the library
• The other scroll is a Scroll of psychic projection
• Coty looks through the notebook is Arnini's thoughts on stuff like his relationship with Malagnim. It also includes Arnini's thoughts about her, where she gets her magic from etc. To make the perfect body for her
• She also finds notes on exchanges with Malagnim, where Malagnim brought a burned, dead body to the workshop; The leader of the path of light. Malagnim found a way to resurrect her (Arnini didn't see the process), and then they took her soul. Malgnim wanted the soul because he said that it was powerful
• Void and Scribes finds confirmed theories on how Arnini's grandfather made the warforged. It is written on three double sided pages
• There is a failsafe one can engage. The notes doesn't detail how, but Arnini had theories that clearly worked (he was able to control Scribe-5)
• Arnini also wrote how Scribe-5 was not created in a vacuum. She had "creation-siblings", and it is possible to know by her serial number/glyph who her siblings are.
• There are also notes that Malagnim likes spending time in the black hole area of Tidehaven (on this plane), which is also where Arnini sends the souls
• Coty checks in with Scribes how she is feeling after being controlled. Scribes is trying to focus on the mission to make up for hurting the party in combat. She is pretty shaken up
• This conversation is happening while tiny Coty sits on Scribes' shoulder
• Eventually Sylword, who is spacing out, follows Bucket into the magic item room
• He asks Bucket how his robotic body was made. Bucket answers that the suit of armour was made by the dwarven smith gods (Moradin). There are only three of them in the world. He shows the symbol of Moradin on the sole of his foot
• Beside the Moradin symbol is another: A symbol of a smith Sylword knows. 
• Sylword asks if Bucket met the smith, but the suit has been around for generations, hundreds of years
• He inherited the suit because he is a prince
• Sylword wants to meet Bucket's people, but Bucket can't return before he completes his quest
• Nvm, there might be 11 other suits
• Sylword tells him that he knows the family that built the suits. It is the mark of Sylword's master
• Bucket asks if this master has been to "the white city"
• Sylword knows where the master lives, and can take Bucket to meet him
• The master is apparently like Arnini: He turned his back the moment Sylword thought they were family
• The master suddenly threw Sylword out and tried to kill him. Before that Sylword saw him as his father
• Sylword thinks it is time to confront his issues, as that is the only thing he has not tried. 
• Bucket pledges to help Sylword, and Rillifain gives him a sign; a vision of golden leaves falling on him and lifting his spirits, with a great steed running towards him. He has taken an oath, and Rillifain has gifted him with a greater version of Bastien(?)
• They both start going through the loot: 9000 sp, 6000 gp, 450 pp, 500 gp worth of cp, 10 gold jewellery pieces, 10 statuettes, 1 diamond worth 1000gp, pouch of ruby dust worth 3500 gp, songsteel ingots, potion of superior healing, oil of etherealness, potion of flying, rope of climbing, robe of eyes (but mechanical eyes)
• We put everything in Scribes' chest
• Bucket shows Sylword the falchion. Sylword identifies it. It does cool stuff, including increasing melee range to 15 ft to pull towards the wielder. There is a red crystal set into the hilt emitting distress. It will fuse with the wearer upon attunement
• Void and Scribes goes to investigate the crystal room. They deduce that the liquid crystalizes into the red crystals, which can then be used. They can store souls. However, the risk associated with this is unknown
• We take some of the crystals with us to study
• Then the whole party goes to the "general store" (magic item room)
• Void finds a lance made of material imitating dragon scales
• Sylword finds a half-plate armour with the symbolism of a skull with its eyes ___. It seems magical. 
• Scribes finds a monocle, that can be turned to use different filters.
• Void helps Coty reach the shelves, where she finds a ? (don't know if I missed it, or if it simply disappeared in the break)
• The party discusses what Malagnim's plans are
• We're concerned about the possibility of Malagnim knowing about the emperor
•  We're also theorizing that Malagnim's song might mentally affect us during the fight with him
• We take a long rest
• During which, a column of light erupts from Tidebreaker, followed by a shockwave when. Music is coming from the darkness, the same song we heard from Malagnim before
• Sylword orders us to gather around him with all their belongings
• It's about 500 meters away
• Bucket picks up Salanth, Sylword picks up a piece of Arnini
• Scribes starts moving her spectral mind 250 m towards Tidebreaker
• There is something in the darkness, but she is unable to see what
• We're debating whether or not to go in unprepared or risk a long rest and potentially being too late
• We decide that we can't risk waiting. Void will Arcane Gate all of us to the edge of the darkness
• We arrive at the darkness
• Void goes through first
• Void can see through the darkness. Where the cobblestone road goes into the dark, the stones are very different. There are gilded columns 50 ft. away, and a gilded placa. It is the palace of the Gilded Sun (the emperor's palace from Hogo Sha)
• The plaza is mostly the same (including the scars of our battle), but someone has done some cleanup
• When Scribes moves the manifested mind, its light is battling the darkness, but manages to emitt 5 ft of light
• Casting light on the spectral mind only helps for a few moments. The music changes during the brief battle, but goes back to the way it was when the darkness returns
• Scribes instructs Void to sing, to see if it affects the music
• A piercing howl comes from the darkness. It sounds like the empress' child, before Void has a chance to sing
• Bucket backs up Void with his instrument. They perform a sylvan lullaby that Void used to sing to his sister
• Coty recognizes the lullaby
• The gentle song unravels the violent song of Malagnim, forcing the darkness away from us 
• The entrance to the palace is wide open. There are dead servants seemingly flung to the side, but no one alive
• It seems as if a tornado flew through with intent
• Void is certain this is Malagnim, looking for something and potentially finding it
• We follow
• The tracks lead towards the empress
• He is at the door to the empress' chambers
• He is playing a beautiful violin, which is enchanting
• The door is blasted to pieces, a scream rings out
• Coty drinks a random potion that emits light. Bright light starts coming out of her mouth. It only comes 5ft into its battle with the darkness. However, once she starts singing the lullaby Void sang a 40 ft area is lit up.
• She remembers a voice singing the lullaby to her. She remembers a female face, looking lovingly at her
• The entire hall is lit up, and we rush into the Sun's Rest
• The back wall is broken out of, with a path leading to the surface. He has the child!
• There is suddenly no darkness. The music has stopped. The only thing we can hear is the creepy shadow child
• Malagnim approaches the giant mirror. There are skulls and death, interwoven with life
• We're 250 ft away, rushing closer as fast as possible
• A glowing necklace around the child is matching a glowing bracelet around Malagnim's wrist
• He tells the child that it is important. "the song is not fully written. We must have more time. A lot more time" 
• That's when he finally turns to look at us
• Scribes uses her wand of stars to slam 3 magic missiles into the mirror, to no effect
• Malagnim looks at her in recognition. "I will play you into the song" 
•  Sylword throws a knife pretending to just miss Malagnim and land it on the mirror. His intention is to scry on it later
• Moradin answers Sylwords prayer that this works. The souls gather at the bottom of the mirror, catching the knife and bringing it into the mirror. Malagnim doesn't see it but reads on Sylwords face that it was intentional
• Malagnim uses his violin to throw the mirrored edge towards us. Causing a magical force of souls to push us away from the mirror
• "Child, we need much more time", before he steps into the mirror and walks out of sight
• After the souls hit us, they scatter in all directions
• The mirror frame now looks inert (the mirror itself is gone), souls are flowing all over the place. He just released them, for some reason
• Confused, we head back through the arcane gate, finding one of the statis people awake and scared
• Over time we realise that the souls don't automatically find their way back, and that the 'cleanup' will take time

The Plan