Session Date: 07/21/2025
Last Time
We left the city that was to be set up by the machine. Oryeon Onyons stayed behind to work on his career growth. Dr. Cecily SĂżtz left to go back home, Aramos - the city of mad science. Akker left for parts unknown.
We got an in with half gryphon half mountain goat creatures that flew us at least part of the way. Bosch made an enemy of a giant. After landing, the party went under the mountain where they learned two underground groups are fighting for dominance - Xulgaths and Dero. The Xulgath are a little too strong to be friends, but you know.
The party sans Faylen managed to convince the Xulgaths that we are just trying to move through the mountain and get out.
Faylen
Faylen helped set the construct up to create the city, which tired him out. He was left in a room to rest, but Salaavethor appeared. He didn’t have a shadow on appearing and then remembered on approach. He comments he has to fully exist in the plane for things to work. Sal promises that we won’t make any groups too angry and we will have fun: he snaps and we find ourselves in a storage room. Sal asks him to catalogue some books.
Faylen does an excellent job on what he can catalogue. Sal deals with problems as Faylen continues to catalogue,
The Party
Faylen appears and can see Bosch chatting with one of the Xulgaths, with the rest of the party with the Xulgaths as well. One of the Dero comments he’s seeing people that aren’t real again, and he throws a stone at Faylen. It hits his forehead and he says ouch! The Dero apologizes. Faylen stumbles over to the party and apologizes, commenting that he was helping Sal with book cataloguing.
One of the Dero asks if we want to help him with some experimentation: he has some meat cubes for food! He may also want to borrow our livers, and possibly give them back afterward! Tabby comments that that isn’t how livers work, and the Dero comments that this is why they need to do experiments. There is back and forth of them trying to discern the nature of spying or trying to convince us to help them with their experiments. Mary suggests they meet Dr. Sÿtz and discuss their experiments, which they will remember.
The Dero comments he needs something from us, and Tabby draws his sword. Bosch comments not to give up his sword, he needs it, and the Dero comments we can’t just move forward without something. Tabby offers to stab him and he comments that would a new experience so sure, go ahead.
Combat begins.
The wizard is the last one standing with all of us surrounding him and he suddenly decides that the experiment was over and he collected a lot of interesting data. He leaves and the Xulgaths have defeated their own Dero, and come over to see us. The Xulgaths think we are impressive, and they comment that we would like to leave, yes? There might be more Dero. We all agree heartily that we’d like to go, and Bosch comments that the Dero are funny (after a critical failure on laughing fit during combat).
Mary takes her time to patch us up after that fight. The Xulgaths comment that if we’re ever here again and we want to kick some Dero butt, we’re welcome to join the Xulgaths. If not, this has just been really nice. The Xulgaths admit that it’s fine that the Dero are here, but they’re tired of the Dero entering territory and harvesting their organs.
We make it to the door and everything is carved in stone. There’s another watch area. This wasn’t made by the Xulgath or the Dero - the Xulgath also don’t know who made it, it’s just always been like that. Bosch pushes the door. We step outside and it is night time. Built between two mountain tops and almost certainly supported by magic is a large keep. We see these giant hawks traveling in and out, there are fires dotted around on the keep, siege equipment, people - they don’t see us.
The Warhawks did not build this keep, they are simply occupying it.