Lolani Phyla attacks the party in the Temple of Night at the bottom of the Moonwell. Lolani scatters most of the party with Fear, but Barnaby stands toe-to-toe with her until the party eventually beats her. The seven strange women reveal that the Company Advocate Holly, a fairy, has called trials on the entire party. Ishild asks Haden to find the True Name of God and 20M gold pieces worth of doubly refined Greencake.
We revisited where the characters lived:
In Game 2, Kazola made Elgis a meteoric iron halberd and upgraded Kiltak's sword to +1, but I wasn't sure whether Kazola changed Kiltak's sword to meteoric iron. Mike said she did.
I gave everyone an Inspiration point for "peak PC driven role playing" in Game 10.
We finished the last game in the first room off the Moonwell, where the players had killed a vampire and freed Manfred Unger. Kiltak finished the last game by saying, "We're going to go all the way down and kill these bastards," and we discussed whether the party would investigate more rooms off the spiral, or go immediately to the bottom.
They decided (or I convinced them) to go immediately to the bottom, where they found the Temple of Night.
The Temple of Night
They came out of the spiral on the stair left of E, which was the relief carving of the moon that they'd seen looking down the Moonwell. They crossed the carving and went down to H, the Hall of Waking Dreams. Near the entrance they saw:
This hall is 45' wide and 80' long, with three circular alcoves at the far end. Two columns of pillars run the length of the hall.
Immediately upon entering, a table to the right offers devotional candles. Some candles are already lit and burn with a silver light, on tables on the left and right of the hall.
They asked if there were coffins there, and found several coffins on the floor, up against the left and right walls. They opened the first and found a sleeping vampire inside. They decided not to kill it, but Virgil decided to pilfer an amulet that it had. He rolled Sleight of Hand to take the amulet without waking the vampire; he rolled an 8 but used his Inspiration point to re-roll and got a 20.
Amulet of Vali's Protection from Sigrid
Gives the bearer resistance to radiant damage.
They shut the coffin and moved further into the hall. At the far end they found:
The floor of each of the three circular alcoves has a 5' circle on the floor, surrounded by a ring of glyphs.
Barnaby rolled Arcana with Help from Haden. He rolled a 20 and learned:
Barnaby did sit down in one of the circles, cross-legged, and dreamt:
You're in a market square like the one next to the Mooncalf. Lying on the ground next to one of the meat market stalls, there's a naked man, fitfully sleeping. He turns violently. A very disturbing cold chill goes through your body.
Barnaby did a Medicine check in the dream, a 22, and thought that the man was physically healthy. They discussed whether the sleeping man was a vampire, and Rob wondered aloud, "Is this me giving consciousness to someone who's a vampire?"
Barnaby nudged the man with his boot, and the dream abruptly ended. I could see Rob concentrating on the dream, trying to interpret it, but I said as a metagaming heads up that they didn't actually have the information to interpret the dream.
Rob asked if Barnaby could try to dream in another glyph circle. I said yes, if he rolled 20 Arcana again, but he didn't roll 20 again. Elgis prayed at one of the candle tables, but nothing happened.
They went north to the D, the Hall of Rebirth. From the entrance it looked similar to the previous hall:
This hall is 45' wide and 85' long, with three circular alcoves at the far end. Two columns of pillars run the length of the hall.
Immediately upon entering, a table to the right offers devotional candles. Some candles are already lit and burn with a silver light, on tables on the left and right of the hall.
In several places on the floor, dusty iron floor plates cover graves beneath the floor, some with elaborate and morbid art.
Barnaby casts Aid on Elgis, Haden, and Kiltak, giving each 5 temporary hit points.
Moving further in, they found a large astronomical clock, similar to the one that Manfred had been working on in his cage. Examining the clock, Barnaby rolled Nature with Kiltak's Help - 12 - and just learned:
DC 10: The clock shows times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset.
They saw three alcoves behind the clock, A, B, and C. They looked at C first, which was a little chapel. The chapel just had a little table with a sleeping figurine, some spend prayer candles, and some other simple offerings - beads and things. Barnaby did a Religion check on the sleeping figure, but didn't learn anything.
They looked in B, which was nearly the same as C except that the figurine was a standing woman.
They looked in A, which was again similar to B and C, except this time the figurine was androgynous. We discussed how this was how they'd seen Ajana represented before. Barnaby asked why undead would worship Ajana. He rolled a 24 Religion, and I said most people in Hollin recognized Ajana as a high god, but everyone had their own picture of Ajana. For instance, if undead interpreted Ajana as a god of evil, how was anyone going to say no?
Virgil prayed at the chapel, thanking Ajana for his tryst with Aurora. In true Virgil style, he also said he would be thankful for any more lovemaking, otherwise "to hell with you" and "help us out if you can." Virgil was Blessed. He also rolled Religion to be enlightened like he had been at the chapel of Ajana in Game 4, but only rolled a 12 and didn't learn anything new.
On first coming into the Temple of Night, Barnaby had rolled a 14 Religion to know who Phyla House's vampires would worship, and we followed that up now. I said that the three-chapel arrangement was common in Hollin. One was usually a chapel to Ajana, and the other two might be chapels to the faction's own god(s), or maybe to remember the monument's builder. But they still didn't know who or what the sleeping and female figurines might represent.
Elgis prayed at C, the chapel with the sleeping figurine, and received the blessing of confusion. He rolled Religion to see if he could learn anything - a 15 - and I said I would think about it and let him know at the next game.
Haden suggested sabotaging the astronomical clock, and Virgil suggested throwing the female figurine into the mechanism. However, Haden just turned the clock off instead, suggesting that misleading the vampires on the time of day might cause them to go outside into the sunlight.
As they shut down the clock, two vampires strode into the Hall: Maddox, the vampire spawn they beat in Game 10; and Lolani Phyla, a full vampire. Lolani and Maddox immediately attacked them and everyone rolled Initiative.
The whole party went before the vampires and focused on Lolani. Kiltak raged and knocked Lolani down with his maul, although she soon stood up with a legendary Move action. Haden hit her with Witch Bolt and Virgil hit her with a short bow sneak attack. Elgis hit Lolani with oil then his Gemfire Amulet meteors, setting her on fire, and Barnaby hit her with Sear Undead. Together they did 91 points of damage, bloodying her.
Lolani was a dangerous opponent though. She started to use some of her legendary saves to minimize the party's effects, and used legendary actions to claw and bite the characters after their own turns. The bites were particularly nasty, since they took hits from the characters and gave them to Lolani.
When her own turn came around, she regenerated 20 hits at the beginning of her turn. Although Kiltak had bottled her up in the Hall's entrance, she transformed into a Moon Shadow and moved past him into the Hall's center. She turned her Fear ability on them from there, and everyone failed the hard DC 17 Wisdom save except Barnaby. Fear gave disadvantage on attacks but also prevented them from moving closer to her, precluding many of their strongest melee attacks.
Although the 5e Fear spell is a concentration spell, I ruled that Lolani's Fear was an ability rather than the spell, so she didn't have to make concentration checks when she was hit. Partly for this reason, Fear really stymied the party. They each got new saves against fear on their turns, but failed them all during rounds 2 and 3. Many of them were limited to secondary attacks, particularly Kiltak, Elgis, and Virgil who normally had dangerous melee attacks. Elgis, for instance, was ultimately reduced to throwing his greatsword at Lolani when he couldn't move closer.
Since most of the party were running scared, Lolani and then Maddox focused on Barnaby. Baranby valiantly - even cavalierly - stood his ground through, literally going toe-to-toe with her. He fired up his Spirit Guardians on Round 2, which looked like badgers, and did Sear Undead again on Round 3.
Kiltak finally made his save at the top of round 4. Despite using some weaker attacks, the party had slowly ground Lolani down, and she was within one good attack of going down. So, we elided over the rest of round 4 and jumped to Kiltak's round 5 turn, and he finished her.
Maddox had also been hurt by Elgis's Gemfire Amulet meteors and Barnaby's Spirit Guardians. When Lolani was beaten, he again turned into a Moon Shadow and escaped the fight.
As the fight finished, many more vampires came down the Moonwell into the Hall where they were. The lead vampire introduced herself as Gunita Phyla, Lolani's second-in-command, or now that Lolani was dead, the head of Phyla House. She said that the party's fight with Lolani was tontine business, not Phyla House business, and they were free to go.
Tamara Marshall, who'd attacked Burgess Lorentz in Game 5, was also there. She nodded to Virgil and his Bat's Head Short Sword, saying that the party had won it from her fairly. Similarly, she acknowledged Kiltak and the blunderbuss the party had taken from her.
The party had never explored rooms F and G. As they filed out past all the vampires, they noticed that many vampires were now protecting the hall down to F. They asked what was there, and were told that "almost certain death" was there. Mike commented that he really disliked leaving lose ends, like not knowing what was there.
They went back up the Moonwell to Phyla House manor, then out to Ballard Street. There they saw seven women dressed in Victorian clothing waiting for them, the same strange women who'd confronted them in Game 5.
The women addressed Barnaby:
Barnaby Vere.
You "follow Gradska but not willingly," were "dragged into this," and are "present because you have to be." But in Game 6, Barnaby actually seemed concerned about Gradska's approval, saying Gradska "might not forbid Garth dying."
Tell us more about your relationship to Gradska. You're grudgingly loyal to Gradska, or your relationship is more like Haden's relationships with Aurora and Ishild? Meaning, you work for Gradska on paper but it's actually an antagonist relationship?
Barnaby replied that the relationship was a little antagonistic, and (my notes) "that he didn't want to be there, and that he didn't want to do all this stuff. But If I'm not here, I'll have nightmares that drive me insane. It harshes my vibe. I'm doing what I have to do with as little effort as possible."
The women pressed though:
Does your loyalty to Gradska - or lack thereof - extend to Gradska's church in Hollin?
In Game 4, before you joined them, the party killed some witches in the Cathedral of Gradska - witches who were actually arguably clerics of Gradska.
Barnaby replied that he didn't know that, and looked around at the party to see if anyone was looking sheepish or guilty. And he said (according to my notes): "One way or another, I'm sure I'm going to get out of this. See you all in hell and keep my seat warm."
The party briefly described who was going to heaven and who was going to hell. Kiltak said that he was going to heaven, because he was the only honest one.
The women complained though that Barnaby hadn't answered their question, and repeated, did he feel loyalty to Gradska's church? Barnaby said (again my notes): "Usually people get things for being loyal. All I've received so far is some gentlemen who destroy things and people and property and fey and undead. Let's not get into the minutia. Let's just say, you give what you get, and in this scenario, I'm here and I haven't gotten anything. If I'm loyal to the church, I ask that the church is loyal to me. " The women commented that Barnaby's attitude was similar to Virgil's.
The women also said:
Does your loyalty to Gradska - or lack thereof - extend to the Gradskan royal line? Millicent claims to be the rightful Gradskan queen of Hollin. The party agreed to help Millicent in Game 9, and in fact did help her by forging stock transfers to her urchins in Game 10. But after Haden and Virgil gained control of Aurora, they just as quickly seemed to turn against Millicent.
Barnaby responded: "I am a begrudging priest of the god of war. It didn't say what war I had to fight. This sounds like a political battle, not a physical battle. I'm here to keep these people healthy and in good spirits. My task is done for today."
The women were not done yet though.
In Game 9, you were knocked unconscious. While out, your mind voyaged and reached out, but you woke with "the distinct feeling that Gradska was not there for you." How do you interpret that?
Barnaby said: "Gods work in mysterious ways. Sometimes they just miss a phone call."
The women said:
Ishild wants to solve the two guards riddle. Ishild wants to capture an honest person to experiment with the riddle, say Kiltak. But if Ishild actually had the solution to the riddle, he wouldn't need Kiltak, or say Annie or Gregor.
You have some information about the riddle that you have conspicuously not shared with the party though?
Barnaby said that he had information, but not the answer. The women said he hadn't been forthcoming though, and he said that was true.
Barnaby now turned the tables on the women, saying, "You seem to show up with a lot of information and ask a lot of questions and it seems like that's the end of the conversation. I have some questions." He cast Zone of Truth on the women, but they just said, "That won't work on us...we're not even here." Kiltak tried to touch the women, but found that his hands passed right through them - they weren't substantial.
Barnaby asked them, "The Brock House monument - what am I missing?" The women said, "There's a woman in the Brock House monument who's trapped by the two guards riddle...there are other people there who know the answer, but won't give it to her." Barnaby "rang up" Jasper and Jasper confirmed the women's information was true. The party discussed going to the Garlington, Helmin, and Gibb bank to resolve the tontine thread, then going to the Brock House monument after that.
However, the women also addressed Elgis:
In Game 4, you prayed at the chapel to Gradska in the Cathedral of Gradska, but was "hit with a feeling of emptiness." How do you interpret that?
Interestingly, you now have a cleric of Gradska with you, Barnaby.
Elgis responded that any feeling of emptiness he had was from being lovestruck, but the women responded that that wasn't true for Barnaby. At the mention of Barnaby, Barnaby said that Jasper told him that the spirit of Gradska was stirring, but the women responded that if Barnaby wasn't loyal to Gradska, maybe that was irrelevant to him? Barnaby said maybe he had zero interest in all the party's disasters.
The women said:
Virgil said he wanted to use control of Aurora to take over the Board, and you emphatically said you wanted that.
Are you sure that you can take over the Board? You have control of Aurora, but apparently some love-in-idleness is all someone would need to take control of Aurora back away from you.
Also, this plan seems to assume that Aurora directly controls the other fairies, but a chess queen doesn't control the other pieces.
Elgis replied, "I believe in Virgil's ability to woo anyone," and Virgil said "But the queen is the most powerful piece." The women said:
In particular, the fairies you know on the Board - Lilly and Holly - weren't raised in a mushroom ring. They were raised in human society, and we already know they have their own agenda. For instance, Lilly already ordered Lavinia to kill all of you, after Kiltak told Mia Whitman her child was a fairy. Arguably you're only alive because Lavinia wasn't sure which kill order to follow.
Elgis said Virgil needed to woo Lilly and Holly, and Virgil said they owed Lavinia a debt of gratitude - but the women said the party had killed Lavinia in Game 9.
The women now gave the party some ominous information.
Also, Lilly and Holly went to their backup plan the same day you killed Lavinia. Holly is the Company Advocate, the Board member who calls show trials, and she immediately called trials on all of you.
The secret police took a day to figure out where you all live, but now they've been to all of your homes while you were out today. You might not want to go to your homes tonight.
The players discussed who was left on the Board, mentioning Lilly and Holy. The women said:
To pass the Advocate's trial, you need two innocent votes among the Board members present. But there are only three board members left alive - Lilly, Holly, and Anya. Lilly and Holly are unlikely to vote innocent.
There were two additional board members that easily might have voted for you - Parja and Helmholtz - but you guys killed them at the Mooncalf bar.
They discussed their situation more broadly. They asked who was leading the secret police now - I said probably Colfax, whose name they'd seen on communiques in Hobnail Prison.
They considered who else they might kill to get out of their mess. They discussed killing Millicent, but I pointed out that Millicent wasn't the only living heir to the Gradskan throne - besides her own direct descendants (Helga, Klaus, and Huggins), there would be Millicent's other relatives. I also mentioned that Huggins was a child, and there was some dark talk from Barnaby about killing Millicent's urchins. They asked who on the Board would let Millicent to claim the throne, but Christian/Haden correctly said that Millicent didn't need anyone to let her if she accumulated enough stock.
The women addressed Haden.
You were concerned about Aurora becoming "dangerous" and wanted leverage against her. And you did get it - the love-in-idleness that Aurelian gave you.
However, was Aurora actually dangerous or threatening?
Haden said, Technically, I guess I acted out of fear. She was a powerful being that had control over what I needed to accomplish and I wasn't sure what would happen.
That seemed to satisfy the women, or least quiet them. They turned to Kiltak:
When you listened in on Lavinia and Garth's conversation at the Mooncalf bar two days ago, they discussed whether to take out Elgis, or the fairies on the Board. Garth said "He could be convinced to take out the Board because they're fairies and they've turned on him," and Lavinia agreed, saying the fairies "were secretly conspiring to take over the Company" and it was her job to stop it.
However, you and Virgil immediately attacked them shouting "Fight the fairies!" and the party killed them. The logic there seems...questionable.
Kiltak said, "Hello! Barbarian! I love a good fight." Like Barnaby, he also turned on the women, saying, "Who are you people?" and accusing them of tracking the party and other things. The women said they were just spectators, but Kiltak said, "For who? For what purpose?" They said they were there to learn from the party's moral choices, and Kiltak said (I believe) "An immoral person can be honest at the same time. I act on instinct more than anything else. I'm an agent of chaos."
To that the women said:
You also killed two non-fairy board members - the Admiralty Secretary Parja and the Master of Revels Helmholtz. Board allies are a valuable asset - those two easily might have given you the two innocent votes you needed in the trials Holly has called on you.
"Agent of chaos" seems to explain killing Parja and Helmholtz.
To this Kiltak just said, "We wanted to see the fight and it didn't happen."
The party wanted to go to the Garlington, Helmin, and Gibb bank next, to resolve the tontine thread. However, I asked if they were going to take a long rest first, and they said yes.
In his sleep, Haden received a visit from Aurelian and a message from Ishild, which Christian related to the other players:
You wake to find Aurelian in your room, idly looking through your belongings.
He congratulates you on mastering Aurora, and asks you to congratulate Virgil for him as well. However, he reminds you that he wants Aurora to surrender her attendant Petunia to him. He says that he and Petunia are going to do it three times.
He then disappears.
You are woken again, by a Message in your mind, from Ishild:
My good Haden. My new work urgently requires the True Name of God (of Ajana) and 19.8 million gold pieces of doubly refined Greencake. Please retrieve these for me immediately. I will generously reward you.
Actually, just make it easy on yourself - make it a round 20 million gold pieces of doubly refined Greencake.
Regarding our continuing business on the two guards riddle: my other minions brought me a door, so I now only require an honest person, one door, and a hungry lion.
Virgil also had a visitor during his long rest. He rolled a successful Perception roll and woke to see:
During your rest, you wake with a start. You open your eyes and are silently alarmed to see a woman sitting next to your bed - it's Lilly the fairy, the Company Board Chair that you brought a dewberry to yesterday.
Before you can say anything, she disappears. However, the smell of love-in-idleness remains.
Dan mentioned the love-in-idleness bottle that Virgil still had, but when I reiterated that Virgil had passed a Perception check, the players realized that Lilly had been there to try to put love-in-idleness on Virgil.