Session 11: The Invasion

As the Ratcatchers stepped out of Remora’s bookbindery, the quiet tension of Lexica was shattered by a sudden, violent invasion. The skies above Tier 2 churned with unnatural colors, and monstrous creatures of writhing tentacles, bloated flesh, and faceless bat-like forms descended on the city. The Lexican Custodians, caught off guard, began opening fire with muskets and launching explosives to hold back the incursion. Amid the chaos, the Ratcatchers found themselves face-to-face with a flesh-horror and a flying tentacled beast, both of which they managed to slay in a brutal fight. Bloodied but alive, they ducked into a narrow alleyway, spending a tense thirty minutes patching up wounds and catching their breath.   From their vantage point, they could see the direction from which the calamity originated: the summit of the mountain, where the Observatory stood. Realizing the Lexican Custodians were overwhelmed and distracted, the Ratcatchers seized the moment. With the gates left unguarded, they made their move—hoping not only to escape the carnage but perhaps to strike at the source of the invasion.   Navigating through the city, the Ratcatchers witnessed the horrors unleashed upon the citizenry. Terrified civilians were dragged into alleyways or consumed outright by the advancing creatures. Pressing on with grim resolve, the group pushed through to Tier 4 and reached the Observatory perched high above Lexica. Within its once-sacred halls, they found the walls sheathed in a translucent, sticky white slime, the air heavy with the stench of decay and magic.   Their intrusion was met by four slug-like aberrations, but these were quickly cut down. Exploring the first floor’s wings, the Ratcatchers located an armory, scavenging weapons, shields, and a few healing scrolls. With renewed strength, they ascended a winding staircase to the great hall above. There, waiting for them, was a swarm of Nightgaunts—creatures whispered of in forbidden texts, known to originate from the Dreamlands. Likely summoned by some twisted ritual, the Nightgaunts proved a challenging foe, but the Ratcatchers fought through them and secured the floor, though it held no further clues.   Climbing once more, they emerged at the Observatory summit. The master bedroom lay in eerie silence, but inside they found a journal, intact amid the ruin. The entries detailed how the Lexicans had attempted to study the Red Coin, using science and magic in equal measure. The results were horrific—most experiments ending in death. The final pages seemed increasingly unhinged, scrawled with notes of ritual failure, psychic backlash, and references to something only called “the Master.”   In the central Observatory chamber, Sakuya stepped up to the massive lens, peering into the void. It was pointed at Althuun, the red star that had haunted their journey. As she watched, the star seemed to wink—not in the twinkle of distant light, but as if it was aware of her gaze. She stepped back uneasily.   The Ratcatchers exited to the Observatory’s outer plateau, where the wind howled and the clouds above churned with unnatural colors. There, standing alone, was a humanoid figure. Its greenish-yellow skin, solid pale eyes, and mouth writhing with tentacles marked it as something not of this world. Dressed in flowing black robes, it turned to face them and spoke in a voice that rippled like oil across water:   "I am happy worshippers have come. My Lord will be pleased."   The storm had reached its eye, and the Ratcatchers stood on the edge of a truth far deeper—and darker—than they ever imagined.