Session 18: All Roads Lead Out of Horizons Aerie

General Summary

Bastion Week

Tad dove into the archives researching famous dula-dulas of the past and surfaced something that changed the shape of his future. One of his predecessors had transformed into a powerful fire elemental. Tracing that thread forward into his own potential led him to a vision: a tlexolotl, a creature of considerable and alarming scale. Tad's response was immediate. He would do anything to achieve that form. Possibly including, but not necessarily limited to, finding the female dula-dulas when the time came.

Nyxek put his inquisitorial resources toward finding her. She should be somewhere in the capital. The search is active.

Kal planted Dragon Nip in the greenhouse — the good stuff, not the street-grade Dragon Taint they sell in alleys down in the valleys. It is going into the pizzas. Bob the Giant Crocodile received an upgrade: Bob's Grills, a set of magical golden teeth enchanted for humanoid slaying. Bob is now more dangerous and significantly more stylish.

Nyxek approached Khabroth about protective wards for the Wyrm's Oven. The Rune Carver carved a Symbol of Pain into the tunnel beneath the Oven free of charge, with an alarm layered on top of it. Anyone coming through that entrance uninvited is going to have a bad time.

Vutha held his parade. The Cult of Mornualin took to the streets with troops, drangolins, titles, and Baethra selling goodberry pies along the route. It culminated in the spectacle the crowd had come to see: the Emperor's Executioner biting through an effigy of the Fallacy's robot moon god. He bit through it in a single bite. The crowd lost their minds. A single gear fell from the shattered effigy into Vutha's hand, warm with fate magic. One side bears a 1. The other bears a 20. It can pull him into the presence of Praxis, the god he just devoured in effigy, or it can manipulate the outcome of a future trial. Vutha saved it. The Cult of Mornualin has officially begun.

The Conversation with Khabroth

A long conversation was held with Khabroth about the Boundary Monoliths and Gammoranth's plans for remaking the Red Dome. Gammoranth had made clear he wanted the Rune Carver returned as a shell ornament, and something in how he framed it led Nyxek to suspect the Dauphin's ambitions extend further than anyone has said aloud — a dracolich emperor of a future domed empire, sealed away from the multiverse with himself as its permanent gatekeeper.

Vutha asked the question nobody had asked yet: what happens if the ritual fails? Khabroth's answer opened a new problem. The Monoliths were built from whatever materials and arcane resources were available at the time — dragons, dragon breath, old eggs, embryos, things with potential. The same quality that makes something a viable sacrifice is the same quality that went into the Monoliths when they were made. Potential. And if the Monoliths fail, whatever is inside them gets out.

The whole Claw turned to look at him. Khabroth confirmed it. The Monoliths are powered by powerful somethings — creatures, children, dragons, demons, unknowns — and they can fail in a way that unleashes them. Nyxek made a note to study that further. The Claw filed it and moved on, because Diirhaas remains the more immediate problem and he has the mask that can awaken the Empress.

Raijin

Nyxek called on Vox Tempest Raijin to discuss the tunnel expedition and the possibility it leads outside the Boundary. Raijin's loss to Vutha had done something unexpected to him. He arrived oiled, flamboyant, and significantly more interested in Tad than in the expansion of the Empire. Nyxek dragged his attention back to his duty. Raijin agreed to contribute soldiers to the effort, though the Claw would be moving out ahead of his forces.

Preparing the Expedition

The monolith engineers confirmed that the hex crystal pulled from Midori's construct body can act as a beacon through the caldera tunnels. It leads somewhere dangerous and to wherever the constructs came from. Sora and the engineers repaired the Servok Miner. The Claw loaded it with traveling supplies and determined they would ride it through the tunnels like a wagon. Projected travel time: twelve days.

A scroll of Teleportation Circle was purchased so that Sora could pull the Claw back to the Wyrm's Oven via Nyxek's Rod when the time came. A batch of potions of cold resistance was crafted for the expedition. Kal confirmed the pizza box is coming.

The Claw is ready to move.