Dramatis Personae
- Marcy. Grapefruit nomad Steppelander. Amateur camel matchmaker, furniture fight emcee.
- Astia. D.W.A.R.F. Decapolitan Biomancer Ambassador. Friends with the world's greatest Fleshcrafter.
- Finn. Greenlander Phytomancer Emerald City Preacher. Body-slammed an armoire.
It's Been
One week since learning that Lacquer Stone 4-body purchased large amounts of rose water from an Oranjian merchant, our heroes had planned their next steps. Astia assisted Anise of Star with his research into the Skull of Rot while Marcy and Finn made a contact within an underground zine operation working out of the Harmonium.
The Crystalline Seed
Hitting the books confirmed Anise's suspicion: the enchanted skull found in Jonky Bonko's locker was indeed the Crystalline Seed left behind on earth when Rot, the god of biomantic flesh manipulation ascended to the cosmos. Astia and Anise learned that the skull requires six bodies sacrificed to break its six seals:
- A Rainbowlander
- A Steppelander
- A Cat Lord
- A Spectrum Satrap
- A Vome
- And a Vile, void-travelers once known as Elves. Very few known to exist.
Anise of Star discovered a new purpose for his life and resolved to roam the world in search of sacrifices for the skull. Astia made him promise that he would only use willing sacrifices, to which Anise agreed with the stipulation that he would take what he could get when it came to Viles. Having no use for it anymore, Anise handed the keys to the Buried Delicatessen to Astia and left the Last Serai with Basil of Planet.
Sodoba Purpureo and the Anarchist Collective
Marceline and Finn spent the week utilizing the fashion sense they picked up from spending so much time at YOUR LIFE BURNS FASTER IN THIS HOUSE to spot (fellow?) revolutionaries. Their efforts paid off in the form of a new contact: Sodoba Purpureo, a Violet City expat working on an anarcho-collectivist zine out of the Harmonium. Sodoba declined Marcy's request to convince her collective to "storm the Final Emabassy," but promised that if any of them were able to produce actual evidence she'd push their narrative hard as she could. Also, Sodoba's really cool and wears a clockwork balaclava.
What's that Saying About Plans Surviving First Contact with the Enemy?
Reconvening, the plan was simple: Marcy, Finn, and Astia would all disguise themselves as Spectrum Satraps (Marcy casting illusions on herself and Finn, Astia using body magic to literally change his form). Marcy would then approach the receptionist's desk and preoccupy them by asking about literally every service provided at the embassy while Astia and Finn snuck down the tube into the basement. Spells were cast, the operation was underway.
Marcy approached the receptionist desk and was greeted by a woman named Satrap 177 who immediately threw a spanner in the works by asking for her name. Everyone immediately realized they hadn't come up with aliases, and soon after realized that they weren't entirely certain how Satrap naming conventions worked. Marcy improvised "Satrap 572" and the receptionist told her to wait while she sent a message into the brass pipes reaching down into the basement. The receptionist then demanded an explanation as to why Marcy had given her a made up name, to which Marcy replied that she was suffering from amnesia. It took some convincing, but the receptionist eventually bought the story and began trying to figure out how to restore Marcy from a backup, a thing that Spectrum Satraps can actually do that Marceline assuredly was unaware of going into the operation. The receptionist apologized and explained that they were on high alert since a Satrap who works at the embassy was assaulted the previous week.
With the receptionist clearly distracted, Finn and Astia sprung into action walking at a brisk pace across the ground floor of the embassy toward the tubes in the back. An armed guard stood nearby and, when they were about to climb into the tube, asked incredulously why they weren't just using the stairs instead. Neither Finn nor Astia had a good answer, so the guard ordered them to identify themselves. Astia improvised "Black Diamond 420" at which point the guard immediately drew his gun and tried to pull off Astia's disguise. The guard was mortified when his assumption that Astia was an impostor proved incorrect; this was 100% authentic Spectrum Satrap (thanks to his advanced Fleshcrafting magic). Still, the guard was confused and demanded to know what some Satraps who didn't even know where the secret stairs were hidden had shown up and given him a made up name. Astia threw a hail mary: he put on his best top secret military official act and gave the guard the "Now Why Might That Be" treatment. It miraculously worked, and they were shown the hidden staircase behind the tube wells that Satraps use to travel less stupidly through the Final Embassy. They were in.
Below the Final Embassy
Finn and Astia were deep in hostile territory, behind enemy lines, in the belly of the beast. They descended the stairs to find themselves on a darkened bottom landing. Drawing glo-crystal rods from an umbrella stand, they crept over to a pit in the corner. Apparently, the tube they had planned to shimmy down moments before let out here: it was a trap, greased lower down causing unsuspecting interlopers to fall to their deaths. Listening at a door they heard footsteps and shuffling sounds. Finn peaked around the corner to spot a scientist-looking Satrap rummaging through some heavy wooden cabinets. Finn and Astia ambushed him, attacking with their bluntest instruments. He made a break for it but Finn cast a Levitation spell, effectively holding him in place while they interrogated him.
They learned the scientist worked tending to something called the Delicate Seer. He agreed to show them the Seer and lead them to the pool where it lives. Nearby was his research desk; he exchanged a journal full of his research notes for his life, and asked them to knock him out so he wouldn't be accused of treason or whatever. Finn obliged. After wading out into the cloud green water to embrace a synthetic egg full of post-human flesh, Finn and Astia saw potential versions of their future. Astia envisioned himself escaping successfully from the extremely dangerous situation in which they found themselves. Finn pictured himself kissing a girl for the first time.
The two crept down a hallway towards where they hoped to find evidence of dark phytomancy. They found a locked door at the end which Finn began to pick with his metal fingernails, but midway through the action heard the march of boots coming from the other side. We ended the session there, with sounds of an approaching threat and Finn's shiny metal fingernail stuffed into a keyhole.
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