Episode 53

This is Episode 53 of Dice, Camera, Action.

The Party
(Anna) Evelyn - Human Paladin of Lathander

(Holly) Strix - Tiefling Sorcerer

(ProJared) Diath - Human Rogue

(Nathan) Paultin - Human Bard

Van Richten's Eyes
The group is separated in this episode. Strix and Diath are in the room of Citadel Adbar where the ritual took place, while Evelyn and Paultin are in the toymaker's shop.

Evelyn's soul is apparently inhabiting Master Flamebane's construct. She is not happy.

Back in the ritual room, Van Richten is on the ground, unmoving. The heroes check on him. He's alive. They take off his goggles. Smoke billows out of his empty eye sockets.

Jasper the dwarf picks him up and takes him to a temple. Strix and Diath are freaked out.

The Bugbears
Diath and Strix head down a hallway, trying to figure out what to do. They realize that there are creatures lying in wait for them up ahead. Four bugbears step out of the shadows. They demand the iron flask.

The heroes aren't giving up the flask. They attack.

Jared has a new amethyst d20. He hopes it rolls well. Natural 20.

Waffles the baby owlbear has grown up a bit and wants to attack. Holly rolls for Waffles. Natural 20.

Strix drops a fireball on the bugbears, using careful spell so that her allies aren't hit in the blast.

Meanwhile, Evelyn examines herself. She demands answers from the toymaker. Evelyn wants Paultin to kill her so that the toymaker can reassemble Murderbot. Paultin leaves her and goes to get a drink.

Down below, an invisible assailant comes at Diath and Strix. This person, a woman, is wearing some sort of gas mask. She hits Strix with a lightning bolt and Strix is down.

At one point, Diath makes a perception check. What did the amethyst die roll? Natural 20.

Holly rolls a death save. Natural 20.

The mysterious attacker turns invisible and flees. Strix busts out the iron flask and tells Kuharik to follow them. He does.

Gutter
A half-dwarf, half-orc approaches and asks if Diath if he's related to Ashton Woodrow. Diath says he doesn't know who that is.

The dwarf hands Diath a sword. The sword's design is reminiscent of the city of Sigil. There's a word on it written in Abyssal: "Gutter." There is a key hole in the crossguard.

Diath takes the sword. The dwarf is disoriented, as if severed from a connection. He's upset. He wants the sword back.

The dwarf shakes it off. He says that he used to adventure with Ashton, and that the sword is meant for his descendants.

The Hand
Meanwhile, Paultin goes to the bar. He's got the severed hand out. He plops it on the bar. It comes to life - it has attuned to him. It animates and moves around. It can't fly, but it can move around like a crawling claw.

Evelyn comes in and checks out the hand. It's not evil. She makes friends with it, and gives it a fist bump.

Strix had told the dao to follow the bad guys. She realizes that she never said for him to come back. It appears that Kuharik has been freed from the flask. Strix is quite perturbed about this. She is rolling around on the ground, groaning.

Gutter, the magic sword, starts talking to Diath. It calls itself a "magic short sword of backstabbing." It wants Diath to use one of his keys in the sword's keyhole.

He does. A planar gate opens. A a creature steps through. She is an an arcanaloth named Shemeshka. Shemeshka recognizes Strix. Strix remembers. Shemeshka tried to buy her.

Shemeshka says she will answer three questions, and then Diath must hand over a key from his key ring. Each time Diath summons her to ask questions, he must hand over a key. Once the keys run out, that's it.

Diath asks his three questions. Diath gives her a key. She leaves through the portal.
 * 1) Who made this sword? "I did."
 * 2) Why did you make it? It was a gift for a descendant named Dareth.
 * 3) He asks about the death curse. Shemeshka says that an evil god-thing might be doing this to rejuvenate itself. She tells him to learn everything he can about Acererak.

Drawn Away
There is a foppish dandy watching Paultin and Evelyn in the bar. Paultin comes over and demands to know what his problem is.

He says that his name is Vorpus Krenner and that he's heard of the waffle crew. Their reputation precedes them.

His food comes. Waffles. Evelyn realizes that, in her construct form, she can't eat waffles. Anna says that she sheds a single tear. Chris says: "No you don't."

Paultin grabs a waffle and eats it. He has to make a Constitution saving throw. The waffles are poisoned? Paultin makes his save.

The bar is fading away. Evelyn had noticed Paultin's missing shadow was back. It stuck out to her more than normal for some reason. She was also sensing evil.

They appear somewhere else. They're in a castle. Someone's coming. Paultin quickly turns Evelyn invisible.

Escher enters the room. End of session.