¶ Session 033 - The Tides Demand Their Due
The Soots began this leg of their journey deep within the submerged, murky ruins of the Drownyard. Aware of the dangers ahead, Otto made the empathetic decision to send his cat, Motto, back to the safety of Drippy's, as the underwater environment was no place for a feline. To survive the depths, the party relied on the Shell of Easy Breathing, granting them the ability to breathe underwater for the next hour.
¶ The Dilating Hallway
Their first challenge was a deceptively simple stretch of hallway that defied the laws of physics. As The Soots attempted to traverse it, they were struck by a sense of discordance; the hallway seemed to stretch and dilate infinitely as they moved. Nitro and Clutch were particularly shaken by the temporal flux, but Otto, utilizing his keen investigative mind and knowledge of the occult, realized the terrain was magically disturbed. Through sheer mental willpower and knowledge, he broke the spell, allowing the team to pass through the stabilized corridor.
¶ The Blood Visage Combat
The party eventually found their way into a submerged locker room containing a large mirror. When Clutch paused to check his reflection, the image turned nightmarish—blood seeped from his reflection's eyes, and a silhouette of congealed blood pulled itself directly out of the mirror to attack.
A chaotic battle ensued as the mirror began manifesting horrors:
The Clones: The mirror first spat out a bloody visage of Clutch, and later, a nitrated version of Nitro.
Tactical Response: Nitro used her chains to grapple and slam the clones while Otto delivered precise strikes with his short sword and returning light hammer.
Shattering the Illusion: Realizing the mirror was the source, The Soots acted on Clutch's insight and covered the glass with a bolt of purple cloth, effectively disabling the mirror's power.
The clones eventually exploded into a spray of void-infused viscera, ending the encounter.
¶ Cults and Cursed Tomes
While exploring the sub-basement, The Soots scavenged several magical items, including a Grim Ring (capable of sensing the presence of undead) and a Ring of Minor Arcana. In a nearby bathroom, they discovered a labyrinthine symbol painted in dried blood with the chilling inscription:
"The tides demand their due".
Otto identified these markings as belonging to the Templars of the Ivory Labyrinth, a secretive cult dedicated to the demon lord Baphomet.
The group entered an empty classroom which looked like:
The expedition concluded in a library where an ancient book, The Chronicle of Unwritten Histories, slid off a shelf toward Clutch. Otto determined the book was cursed with temporal dissonance, filled with contradictory and shifting historical events. As they prepared to surface, a note slipped from its pages—written by Thomas, it referenced a mysterious "Lodestar":
16 Calistril, 4721 AR
I write this from the bell tower. It’s quiet. Too quiet. The Drownyard flooded when the Quake hit. Hundreds drowned. Their voices fill the water now. They speak only in bubbles and half-memories.
Climbing the bell platform nearly cost me my life. The stairs gave way halfway up. I clung to rusted chains and pulled myself onto the ledge, bleeding from my palms. Beneath the great bell was the final verse—etched inside the curve.
“When tears are shed in dusk’s lost light,
Call forth the name and bind the blight.”I wept. Not just for fear—but because I realized the truth. Beldrin didn’t build the Lodestar to show his brilliance. He built it to hold himself—his soul, splintered across aeon stone harmonics. Each verse is a piece of the failsafe.
The air turned still. Below, something rose from the water. A figure cloaked in silver thread and shadow. It looked like Beldrin. But it wasn’t. Not anymore.
I can’t leave. The stairs are gone. I don’t know what waits. If this is my last message, know that I found what I came for. But I do not think I was meant to find it. Beldrin is awake.
And he is not alone.
-T. Aswold
With their health depleted but their knowledge expanded, The Soots retreated to the surface to rest and plan their next move.