Sessions 6-8 - Chapter 4: Finis - D&D Weekend

The teenager Xhoya sneaked out of Polly Pocket to join her Brother for Homecoming. Seeing him dance along the stars, the youth recognizes many of the small bursts of constellations as her own people, including several clutch members who went missing along the youth's journey here so far. She offers him a scorpion candy from Preydrus and giggles as he eats it incorrectly and reveals that Xhoya's friend Kiiellien had spotted her sneaking out. Ip notices Xhoya's wrapped shoulder through her Bollywood style dress, Xhoya reveals she was injured during the journey over here. Selflessly, the Aspect exchanges her arm with one of his own to take her pain as his, intentionally ensuring she felt like she was on His path. To help keep the youth steady Ip births a new constellation "The Traveler" to symbolize safety and reassure Xhoya she and her companions are on the right path. He also revealed that the clutch that traveled with Xhoya were brought along to ensure she arrived where He needed her to be, knowing at the time she lacked the bravery to make the journey alone and that she was the only one of His kin clever enough to be able to stop the Deremitru from destroying Pægor. When the time came, Ip agreed to help the youth with the knowledge needed to destroy the cube.   The Aspect descended in a globe of darkness and revealed some of His past to Xhoya and her friends who had come looking for her from the Polly Pocket. Each had a chance to ask their questions with the Aspect delivering expected snark with His replies. Ip questioned Echo's name, alluding to it being something temporary instead of an actual name. Kii seemed to know Ip personally but Ip played it cool, not allowing Kii to take control of His moment with His people. Sergeant Jaxion offered little words but the Aspect questioned his General and whether Kael Vurn truly had control of an army or if his command was far more limited to a Sergeant. Ip went into a tale of a time that he was once almost killed with his brother and Kii's father on Ashari during a moment where Kaida first solidified her position as an Aspect, facing Modesto head-on in your youth. Xhoya looked horrified. He also told tale that the sky was filled with worlds just like their own and that each star was a Sol with its own planet of life thriving from its light. Gidget brought up Puau as her chosen deity and was told Ip would do everything in His power to see if Puau -or Uavi- could join in 28 days for the next Homecoming. Gidget was elated. The Homecoming celebration came to an end and the party returned to sleep perhaps with some comfort that at least someone was looking over them and that war hadn't actually started yet but was instead perpetuated by the panicked peoples of Beaumont.   Kii continues to reveal more about her past and her age, how she lived shortly after Epoch and the land she comes from has a free flow of magic for all to use. She tells tales of her parents who fought an evil magician who attempted to capture magic for himself but ultimately defeated him with the help of Emy, the Goddess of Emotion who accepted His faults as Her own and vanquished the negative emotions to once again control them within Herself. Lux revealed her own quest for power, though her reasoning was for survival. Eventually this lead to a private moment between Kii and Lux where the celebrity revealed secrets to the outlander.   The following morning and the last day of the year was just as bitter cold as the one before it and like the morning before, the group of travelers awoke with a warding circle protecting the Polly Pocket. Little time was wasted to begin their arduous journey, lead by Jaxion toward the northern cliff sides of Scorpion Pointe, the rust-colored murals practically guiding them back toward Dar'Kindor's shack. The mountain looks different today - taller - and Echo spots horizontal lines in the mountainside through his heat sensors; while not large enough to travel through the cyborg is all-too-familiar with exhaust vents leading further into the truth that the mountain really could be alive. Little Orange Man was encountered along the path again after the travelers, who were afraid they may be followed by Deremitru struggled to conceal their tracks and were gifted with a Druidic blessing which allowed them to travel silently for a short while. Appreciation was quickly exchanged and they headed Eastward toward the creeping hill that held back the rusty old mining village. Somehow in only days the hill had grown another 50' and teamwork brought the group to the precipice swiftly. Little changed in the bowl of the valley on the other side however but a whole group of individuals descending at once was deemed unsafe so Kii and Xhoya sneaked ahead to scout out the area while the rest stayed back. Gidget kept the girls in her scope as they waded through rust-eaten vehicles and train cars, tools and tracks - just in case anything lurked behind them also unnoticed.   Brief glances into a few homes confirmed they were vacant and long-since abandoned except for one which contained a magic barrier that repelled the falling rust, keeping the home, landscaping and minimal commodities free from the rust plight. Xhoya and Kii both agreed stepping into the bubble to investigate was unwise and sneaked around it to find the first of three collapsed mine shafts leading into the mountain. Xhoya's small frame made her ideal to try to crawl through the rubble and an unexpected tumble down the other side revealed they were onto something. Xhoya, a bit sore from the fall discovered a very clear and well-traveled mine shaft with a wall of hollow, plaster-like rocks acting as a barricade to keep unwanted visitors out. Hand holds were even carved within them to allow easy transport out which the youth promptly took advantage of, finding safety in the old elf awaiting outside. Two more shafts were eventually explored, each one similar but more difficult to navigate through than the last and a route that lead further down into a canyon was decidedly ignored; a route forward lay before them and at least for now, they remained unseen. But as the girls turned around to call over their companions from across the valley and up the hill they both spotted a set of black beady eyes staring out the window of the protected shack directly at them. They froze.   Across the valley and now out of Gidget's scope, the remaining group members began to panic and swooped into the valley to find the missing party members, having last seen them disappear behind the dome-covered shack. Also unwilling to venture inward, Jaxion and Gidget army crawled around the outside of the shack to eventually spot the girls cowering in the collapsed mine shaft, their gaze set tightly on something just out of sight. Echo, fearless as could be crossed the barrier and with it watched all of the powdery rust stay behind outside of the dome. A being noticed the intrusion from within the domicile; a single reptilian eye glowered at the cyborg but seemed occupied in his own business, hoping instead that his dagger-like stare would keep the cyborg away. It was successful, though Echo did note the double-amputee seemed to have fashioned his own locomotive means without the use of metal. Neither moved toward one another and no words were exchanged. Eventually when the majority of the group rounded the back side of the shack and Xhoya was able to point out the eyes staring her and Kii down the truth of what had held the two girls petrified was revealed: an old decoration with glassy eyes stowed away and forgotten in a window. At last, the paralyzed duo was free to move again.   Regrouping outside of the mine shaft, Gidget quickly went to work creating a homunculus rust bat to act as a scout to fly down into the shaft and use echolocation to help reveal any paths or adversaries. The confident Sergeant climbed over the rubble and before the youth Xhoya could spit out there was a fall on the other side, he tumbled down the plaster rocks to the bottom of the shaft with a dull thud. Lights on his suit immediately flickered on and the group crawled in to follow. Gidget offered a magical enchantment to Jaxion's steam reaper, adding to its ferocity and slowly the group inched forward through the tight mine shaft. At their first junction, a 4-way intersection, they had to make a choice: the route before them contained rusted out tracks and a collapsing, hole-ridden floor that seemed to contain a fatal drop, the right and left paths seemed identical other than direction. Careful investigation of the shaft revealed vertical scratch marks, leaning further into the mountain's lifting off the ground and scratching the shafts with something stronger than rock. The investigation also revealed odd cylindrical shapes cutting through the intersection that upon further inspection appeared to be hollowed-out regions where massive chains once existed, likely now rusted out by the slaves rumored to be kept below. The sheer size of the void was telling of the titan it held and Xhoya was quick to shield herself with Mage Armor.   Narrowing their paths down to 2, the group discover waves of engorged rust mites crawling from the void where the chain used to exist and the bard Kiillien's quick thinking allowed her to speak with the beings. The large mites took kindly to the fleshy being and began to eat the rust from her skin and clothes as they spoke with her. Through conversations the mites requested to be brought down to the room that shimmers, one that cannot be eaten which the bard interpreted as rust-proof metal- they followed the instructions of the mites down the former chain shaft. The minutes drag an, Xhoya frequently scanning the map drawn by Petunia until she narrowed down the constellation-like shafts to identify which entryway they came in for a quick escape if one was needed. The deeper the group got the slimier and stickier the walls got until pipes began to appear across the ceilings, several leaking with a viscous black substance identified as oil, the same substance coating the walls and floors around them. The rust mites did not seem happy. Eventually the hollowed-chain path ended likely wherever the last slave worked here did: a 6' diameter rod of metal sat flush with the stone wall solidifying the group's theory that they were following the route of stone-locked chains. Echo's sensors picked up intense infrared heat and the group moved up half a level to find a shaft that would eventually lead them closer to the center of the mountain.   Still blessed with Little Orange Man's druidic silent footsteps they crept forward, stopping only when hushed draconic voices echoed throughout the mine shaft. They were close, evident not only by the voices but by a purple-red glow reflecting off the oily surface and the acrid scent of raw magic assaulting the group's noses. Pipes became more frequent across the walls and were joined by tubes, tanks and wires that all seemed to route forward toward the source of the light, smell and sounds. Rounding the corner the group spots the ceiling of a massive hollow room. A catwalk is a small leap away and is covered with old computers, machinery, engines and several cultists, droids and dragonborn. Below the catwalk some 80 feet down a crack in the floor belches mana constantly which appears to be captured by enormous machines stationed between a pair of cavern-sized hammers. A group of slaves are chained to a portable crucible on tracks, though the tracks are far beyond functional and are forced to drag it inches per minute. Dozens of other dragonborn work atop chains erupting through the ceiling that connect to the opposing wall while Deremitru gather around the forge below, apparently forging something out of sight.   Lux donned their Gh0st outfit and Echo disguised himself as one of the Deremitru and the two leapt across the small chasm to land on the catwalk. At first the Deremitru on the catwalk don't notice due to the foundry sounds drowning them out but eventually the two are noticed and approached by the cultists. Echo-in-disguised is questioned, asking what the Gh0st is doing in the upper levels as he's not permitted up here and the cyborg quickly pleads for the cultist's help with some slaves who are acting up. The two Deremitru approach and are instantly dispatched: one shot in the back of the head and the other nearly sliced in half by the lurking Jaxion's steam reaper. Only a droid was left on the catwalk but despite its best efforts to take down the BRN Sergeant, it too was quickly dispatched with an assist by the cardist Gambit but not before alerting the cultists in the cavern below of intruders. A mist of oil from nearby pipes seemed responsible for keeping rust mites away and slowly coated the group in oil, though nobody seemed to mind much as there were far more important issues to address.   Three slave dragonborn took notice of the intrusion but kept working, seemingly worried but too scared to flee their work. Kii and Xhoya quickly questioned the trio who revealed the collars they wore, complete with lights that turned from green to red as time passed, kept them tirelessly working to dissolve the titan's chains for 18 hours a day. If a breath was skipped, the slave was dealt with. They return to their rust-breathing duty, not willing to die now. When their plight is revealed to the rest of the group the mechanic Gidget quickly went to work with Echo to inventory the machines at hand to identify which, if any, could assist with the collars. When they found a panel with lights matching the colors of the collars they knew they were at the right computer but the ancient language of elementals did not seem to be related to anything identifying on the collars. What was worse is none of the "words" or symbols in Primordial made any sense and instead appeared to be nothing more that button mashing to jumble together a series of letters without meaning. A clue perhaps?   Further investigation of the machinery and archaic computer systems revealed all of the systems were labeled with and displayed the Primordial lexicon, a language luckily studied by both Lux and Xhoya. Investigation into the collars' serial numbers revealed very little however as the language among them was common. Jaxion peered over the edge and saw his next targets below: a group of cultists who would benefit from a new hole in their chest but the way down would spell certain death. He would need to find another way down while the group continued to try to break the hold of the collars. When the discovery that none of the Deremitru down here understood Primordial was made however, the secrets to the collars was revealed. The idiot cultists matched Primordial markings to their closest common numeral: once the collar's Primordial equivalent symbol was entered in order, access was granted and the collar could be opened and quotas changed to one breath a day, finally freeing the three slaves above who were quickly ushered out of the catwalk's opening. Meanwhile, Jaxion took to ripping apart several of the machines and engine systems, looping cables and wires around to make a makeshift rope that could see him safely down to the ground.   The tiefling slammed down onto the ground as the intruders above were spotted. Several of the Deremitru tending to the forged responded, revealing the truth to their ability to live in such a mana-rich environment. Bones and muscles snapped and bodies contorted into configurations and shapes not otherwise supportive of life and with otherworldly speed they leapt onto the walls and began crawling upward. The other half of the Deremitru raced toward Jaxion who was now on their level and prime prey for the magic-drenched cultists. The Sergeant darted across the foundry grounds, taking brief cover behind one of the dozens of pipes connecting the walls to the floors, ceiling to the walls and floors to the ceilings before charging directly into the incoming group of five who previously were surrounding a metal coffin-like box with a thick glass window near the top. An anguished, agonizing cry of pain rang out over the sounds of the foundry from the box suggesting something inside was suffering greatly.   To make matters worse, the group gained the attention of the Gh0st who manifested out of a steam pipe at the base of the foundry and flew up to the catwalks with unnatural speed and precision. Xhoya panicked and clutched onto a leaky pipe on the ceiling, her weight not quite enough to cause it to break. Kii noticed the youth's plan and assisted in breaking the pipe which caused the entire catwalk to quickly flood with oil, hindering all who touched the catwalk's slick floors. Lux released an arc of lightning between them and their foe, careful to not ignite the oil-covered platform. Gh0st sat perched dangerously close to the catwalk's edge and fell victim to Xhoya's only words spoken to him "Your shoe is untied," causing him to fall over in crippling laughter. Gidget and Lux saw their moment and worked together to lift the being over the edge of the catwalk and sent him falling to his death below with a splatter right in front of Sergeant Jaxion.   With spider-like cultists crawling across the walls, Echo, Gidget and Silas took shots at them killing several before they made their way up to the catwalk. Echo activated his jetpack and departed the catwalk and Kii took flight, her eyes set on the dozens of slaves now trying to climb across the chains to safety. Cultists leapt at Kii and Echo from the wall digging sickly clawed-like fingers into the unsuspecting heroes while the remaining few leapt onto the chains in an attempt to stop the fleeing dragonborn from escaping. Down below Jaxion took on a group of cultists with several assists from the cardist above, deflecting attacks last moment, guiding the steam reaper to find its target and covering the Paladin in a celestial shield which absorbed a considerable amount of the damage inflicted upon him. As bodies started piling up -regrettably a few slaves included- the fight turned in the liberator's favor. Back on the catwalk Silas connected the chain on the opposite side with a well-aimed rope and aided more slaves to safety above. One by one the collars were disabled and dragonborn were funneled to safety in the tunnels behind them. With the remaining fight now taking place on the giant chains, a single slave and Echo took down the final Deremitru sending him to his death below.   More work was needed above still to free the slaves but Jaxion's sights were set on the metal box sensing whatever was inside could be dangerous. Unfortunately his weapon had no effect on the material -not even a scratch- instead only cutting external latches and hoses. Several more attacks were met with the same effect, including attacks by Lux's ashy claws and the two searched for another way to destroy whatever might be contained within; a peek in the window revealed a living being connected to hoses slouching down in the pod, barely alive. Once all of the slaves' collars were removed and disabled the rest of the group joined Jaxion below to investigate the capsule further, though the being inside was now slouched so far out of sight it was nearly impossible to identify what it could be. Gidget thought she spotted a humanoid being inside that seemed to be dying and convinced the group that it should at least be opened to investigate. She immediately circled around to the back of the container, eventually pulling off a panel to hot-wire the door open. The door hinged open with tired springs to reveal a sight inside nobody could have expected however.   A Keeper, as ancient as time sloughed out of the now-open pod with hoses still connected to his withered body. What were once vibrant wings rich in bright colors were dull and lifeless and the man's eyes and face looked like they'd been frozen in anguish for eons. Kii, sensing an ancestor of her own flew into action scooping the frail man up in her wings doing her best to comfort him. Every spell slot the bard had remaining went into healing the dying man, as dad many of the superstar's stimpacks and the Paladin's Lay on Hands. But despite all of their best efforts, the ancient Avariel elf continued to die before their eyes. The hysterical Kii summoned her Polly Pocket and brought the Keeper inside; the normally chipper Polly's face twisted to sorrow upon seeing the dying elf and a bed was quickly prepared for him along with every blanket the generous host could find. All of the party followed except Echo and Jaxion who took up post on the foundry floor, still cautious of the dangerous cavern they occupied.   Ildris, he weakly introduced himself as, Ildris Highwater. The final Keeper here. His whispered words were just as fragile as his body but in his dying moments he offered insights into their situation. He was captured long ago and has been used to power the foundry which was now supercharged with raw mana - as was the manasick Avariel. Xhoya knew the truth of manasickness, that none come back from it but she kept her hopeless words to herself for now. Ildris was a pilgrim who returned to Pægor not long after Beaus returned to the surface after the last Great Dying but he was captured and brought underground, having never seen the light of day since. He revealed his home as the Isle of Trees though he was unsure if his people's still lived. Kii recognized the surname as ancestors of Ashari's Avariel and told short tales of the ancient Avariel's great grandson Talia who freed as many people as he could to flee to the new world.   Conversations shifted to mountain Scorpion Pointe as the Keeper's energy and life essence continued to drain before their eyes, where the group learned the mountain was already alive and is moving willingly. The titan scorpion wishes to die and if freed, plans to travel to the heart of Monokomanika to sting the Eldest Aspect, killing them both in the process. The Deremitru were an ancient faction who went underground during the last Great Dying but didn't think that the future generations should be free to live off the backs of their ancestors. Now fanatics of the Elder Aspects, they work together to bring the end of the world should The Aspects fail to uphold what they believe is tradition and a needed purge of society. Through this, most of the Deremitru have become infected deeply with manasickness, twisting and warping their minds to drive the entire cult crazy. Through what they believe is divine right -and the group has yet to discover- these cultists seem oddly resistant to the manasickness blight and continue to remain alive, though the perversion of life is unrecognizable by most.   At this time a bright glowing being enters the Polly Pocket, blinding everyone inside with a pure white radiance. The form is familiar to one - Kiiellien - who recognizes The Gambit from the reflection she saw of him in the mirror back in the safe house. Gambit, in his true Okk'Shalar form approached the dying Keeper and spoke few words quickly. He had a divine purpose to be here, to free the Keeper who could help save Beaumont and he was willing to fulfill his destiny to see his task complete. With a single touch, Gambit's radiance extinguished and the cardist collapsed to the floor afflicted by severe manasickness. Ildris however, seemed to stop dying. Kii and Lux scooped up Gambit and placed him on the bed next to Ildris, tears rolling down their faces as they struggled to comprehend what just happened before their eyes and why a he would sacrifice himself for a complete stranger. Lux continued to break down, confessing she had been lying and would never be given the chance to tell Gambit the truth about her. Xhoya observed silently, knowing the advanced stage of manasickness Gambit had somehow contracted from Ildris would soon kill him. The youth struggled internally to understand why and how anything before her was happening. Gambit, now extremely weak, told the group his purpose in gathering them all together was to be exactly here at this moment and he -at least this version of him- sacrificed his immortal place alongside his Father Okk to save the Keeper. The manasickness quickly worked through the cardist, silencing him before the group's very eyes.   Hope drained from the faces and hearts of the group as they watched their friend dying before them but miraculously the Keeper seemed to grow stronger with every shallow breath of the cardist. Gidget, perhaps out of desperation leaned into faith and encouraged the remaining group members to leverage The Aspects to intervene if they could. After all, this man before them who gave his life to save a stranger was next-in-line Vox and a was being created by an Aspect. Lux took the idea and paired it with her monumental influence of Luxians across Beaumont. In a flash the superstar whipped out her phone but the piling notifications told of another grim tale nobody was ready to hear yet. In her previous efforts to thwart the Gazelle and throw it off their trail the superstar Lux announced publicly she was vacationing in XXXXXXXX over the holidays. XXXXXX's destruction dominated every headline and the changeling knew she was responsible. Swallowing the guilt for now Lux's fingers furiously tapped against her screen in a once-in-a-lifetime raw message to all of her fans, pleading for prayers to Okk, Ereshkigal and Brynn to help a good friend of hers recover. From the second her message was transmitted the device buzzed and dinged endlessly. Numbers of shares and re-posts crawled into the ten thousands in mere seconds and hundreds of thousands within a minute. A million wasn't far off and by that time the post exploded, ending mere moments later in the hundreds of millions -reaching nearly half of Beaumont's total population. As if by a miracle Gambit seemed to stabilize, an event Xhoya knew to be impossible. The group felt a wave of relief wash over them and in the moment knew neither Ildris nor Gambit were fit to move from their location and chose to let them rest. Ildris regained his voice and helped the group understand how to stop the mountain from rising. He revealed that the cube in their possession was capable of siphoning the mana vent dry and that it could be used to stop the flow of magic to the titan scorpion, halting its ascent and starving it of the energy it needed to rise.   Meanwhile while the two were under the care of Polly's realm, Jaxion scouted the foundry floor to find a single route heading northward and standing in the shadows of the cave's mouth was another Deremitru. This one looked different however, with their attire and attitude leading to them being a leader but their interactions timid and unwavering. The Paladin called them out of the cave and the cultist obliged but seemed to be followed by a bright red light trained on their back. Moments later, and now with Echo's attention, a being familiar to few emerged from the cave's mouth as well with its two-handed cannon firmly placed on the back of the cult leader. In an instant the cultist was transformed into pink mist, showering Jaxion and Echo in blood and disintegrated innards and the machine, Rexor, lowered its cannon. Jaxion called to the machine but received no response and Echo sensed no life within. When it was summoned to them the machine opened up to reveal nobody inside but instead that it was a suit designed to be piloted. They would later learn that the Keeper Ildris was responsible for controlling the machine, leading to further questions as to how he was able to do so and if the raw mana infused in him had anything to do with the odd power.   The rest of the group exit Polly Pocket and both Jaxion and Gidget fawn over the powersuit with Gidget eventually claiming temporary ownership of the new device. Lux revealed to the group her true form, that of an anthropomorphic wolf rather than a changeling and that the superstar form she was known for was the reason she constantly searched for power. To maintain the illusion of the changeling superstar meant she was constantly drained of energy and at least for now -and since her secret had been revealed- she maintained her true form of a wolf-like ashy being. This eventually leads to a long conversation about the Vox and mana in the world -Kii confirmed magic was free where she hailed from and the group felt this was a more natural way to live than paying for a commodity and possibly being poisoned by whatever refinement process was used to extract and bottle magic. They would come to agree that the solution to breaking the world's dependency on paid-for mana would be to create a shadow corporation under the pretense of Sanctuary's goal to free magic. While none of them would be known on the board by name, the idea would evolve into an anonymous-style anarchist company where any and all Beaus could claim to be Sanctuary in the name of freeing mana and the poison of manasickness the world was being micro-dosed with. And thus Sanctuary Inc. was born, both as a new company that would be started when time and location permitted but most importantly, a union of these Beaus who saw a purpose in life and watched several suffer greatly to bring them to this moment. Beaumont would never be the same again from this moment forward.   But their goal here wasn't complete yet. The slave dragonborn had all fled the cavern at this point but not before emptying the crucible of the bubbling mana-rich molten metal it carried. Clearing the cultists was only half of the objective and with access to a raw mana vent before them and a series of machines -and metal coffin- that seemed immune to the harmful effects of raw mana, Sanctuary Inc. got to work sand casting molds that would be formed into ingots, forged into plates and etched to perfection to mirror each of the six faces of the magic cube Lux possessed. After hours of processing and meticulous etching by Xhoya and Echo, two decoy cubes -identical looking to the original- were ready for infusion. But with all of Sanctuary Inc. being covered in some flesh, nobody was willing to complete the forging process. Gidget however had an idea that involved the Rexor suit and several of the foundry machines before them and quickly went to work. all 3 cubes were placed into the box Ildris was found in and the box was placed inside of one of the machines, the opened. As the party took cover they watched the mana vent rapidly drain of color, energy and life which was siphoned into the cube and its counterparts. Once nearly all of the mana was drained, Gidget opened the foundry machine and retrieved the coffin-box to find the three cubes fused together like an atom. Regrettably, she also found stamps on many of the components inside of the now-powerless machine that she recognized - GSG, or the Gunsmith's Guild - had supplied many of the components used in the foundry. Serial numbers were taken down for later, the clever Eladrin pondering if she could trace the order to someone to give any clues.   Sanctuary Inc. then destroyed the foundry machines ensuring nobody could return to try to complete the resurrection of the titan scorpion.   With hours having passed it was time to check-in on the manasick Gambit and Ildris, both of which were oddly positioned at the kitchen table in Polly's universe though Gambit was slouched and looked both exhausted and very ill still. Polly was present and tending to her guests with fresh food and cheery company. Xhoya immediately noticed the manasickness was relinquishing its hold on Gambit and sat across the table from him, holding his cardist hand in her Brother's own insect hand; her other own hand held Gambit's natural hand and channeled her hope into his recovery. Gambit's eyes barely opened to offer an incredibly weak smile to the girl.   Ildris was in a much better state however with hardly any traces of manasickness and a considerable change in his appearance adding both vibrancy to his colorful wings and youth to his appearance. Conversations with him lead to the understanding that he was some 8,250 years old though 8 of those eons were spent stuck under the mountain. While he was not an ancient Keeper of the Second Iteration his parents and grandparents were and they bestowed the knowledge Keepers carry with them, none of which he had ever given up in his 8000 years of torture. The Keeper was sent on a pilgrimage to establish trade routes to Pægor when he was captured by Pægan cultists in disguise, drugged and brought down into the mines where he never again saw the light of day. He was extensively studied and tortured before being imprisoned and infused with endless raw mana but seemed unconcerned with retribution or vengeance. He learned a little about the new world he would be introduced to and had only old knowledge as a lead to find more of the cult now known as the Deremitru, suggesting Sanctuary Inc. travel to Savior where he could escort them into the ancient bunkers where the cultists ancestors may still live.   Sensing the people who rescued him were worthy of some truths he carried with him Ildris revealed several: That the iterations are indeed real but The Aspects who burned the world were never successful in purging the lands fully. Once the fires finished raging there were still people from the second iteration who refused to surface and instead made permanent residence beneath Savior and other parts of Beaumont. Ildris believes many of these people wish to see the world truly die as The Aspects intended and would stop at nothing to ensure the end of humanity all in the name of Blink, the last Aspect to burn Her world. Ildris' parents and other Keepers of the time sealed the fanatical zealots away during their time underground believing they would sabotage the population struggling to survive. To those sealed away, it was an abomination and sacrilegious that people would defy The Aspects and believe none should be allowed to survive. His tale captivated Kiiellien and the Keeper recognized right away the marks of Blink speckling her wings, forming a bond between the two immediately.   Ildris also suggested that the refining process of raw mana was infecting the population, perhaps on purpose, which could be responsible for poisoning millions over time. This lead even further into the need to create Sanctuary Inc. and allow the Beaus of the world to dictate their own needs for mana and use magic as it was intended during the time of the ancient Keepers. When the subject of the cubes came up and the groups' ownership of one Ildris inquired about the location of the other three, suggesting that there are in-fact four cubes spread throughout the world, not just three. Theories flew across the Pocket dimension as to the fourth cube's whereabouts, who could own it and what it could mean for mana harvests, The Gazelle, the BRN, Blackaxel, the war - just about everything. Ultimately they decided that if the BRN had two cubes -one at Monokomanika and another elsewhere that they wouldn't keep the fourth cube a secret and would instead flaunt its power as a deterrent for invasion, war and the like. What was perplexing to the group was how such a relic could disappear from all known history which then lead to the realization that The Blackaxel Cartel possessed the power to also alter facts in real-time, as was evident by Silas's wanted poster being changed effortlessly by Agent Dodson.   Could Blackaxel be in possession of the fourth cube? If so, who in the BAC could be in possession of such a powerful artifact and how could they have kept it hidden for thousands of years while also making it disappear from every record, text and memory across the continents? All questions lead to one outcome: Z3r0. This mysterious giver of power, money and tools seemed to be everywhere all the time, all-knowing and impossible to locate, had no known visage or place of origin and possessed power that was suspiciously sourced. For now anyways, this would be the best lead they had. Sanctuary Inc. heeded Ildris' advice to travel north to Doladaro to visit the Pægan capitol of Savior, descend its depths and investigate the ancient chambers that once housed the entire surviving population of Beaumont. Their destination was set deep in the heartland of BRN territory in the most populated town to ever exist in the history of Komana.   Battle weary and tired, they retraced their steps out of the caves back to the surface and into the evening of the final day of Finis. This would be the last solset of the year but at least they were accompanied by now-free dragonborn slaves marching ahead of them to the soothing tune of Little Orange Man's flute, leading the slaves and the newly formed Sanctuary Inc. to relative safety in the old mining town of Glasten's Landing.