Information Gathering At MogNet Central

“Last time I went to Central, we fought an evil moogle. I know the odds are against that repeating, but maybe I should bring a third spear just in case.”
“Last time I went to Central, we found two moogle exiles and a Totema.”
“Last time I was there, I fixed a computer.”

-Champ, Kogel, and Kalil

Champ, Kogel, Naoko, and Kalil traveled to MogNet Central to begin digging into the legend of Thalatte, the former identity of Tiamat. Stiltzkin directed them to the Religion section to begin, commenting that they were excavating a section of Central known either as The Lost Archives or The Scratch Papers, depending which moogle you asked. The thought was that the Lost Archives may contain information regarding the period of time right after the Kouhei/Tetsu War, which up until then had been basically lost to time.

Kalil dipped into his memories for the time when he was a priest of Thalatte, which was from before he met Kheda, roughly 1100-1200 years ago. His place of worship was about a week’s travel east of Mournten, which led to his friendship with Odin. There were seven places of worship at the time devoted to Thalatte.

Kogel found a book titled Mother Thalatte, Goddess Of The Wind And Waves, and Kalil tried to remember if he’d ever read it before, which led to something truly startling.

Kalil’s Memory

The man sitting across the table from you, Kalil, is no longer your friend and partner Kogel, but an old man with a red beard giving way to gray, inquisitive eyes, and a scar on his neck that never healed cleanly. You know him as Van Rantald, the scholar who researched Thalatte and wrote what is considered to be the leading resource on the Goddess of the Wind and the Waves, cobbled together from research that survived the Cataclysm.
You also realize that, to your surprise, you’re not just remembering this conversation — it’s like you’re in it, sitting here in this cold, creaky tower, feeling the welcome flames at the fireplace to your right warming your numb fingers.
In this memory, you have enough time for two questions about Van Rantald’s book, because you came here to test him on his knowledge of Thalatte, and…
…you came to determine whether or not he knew too much, and if his life should continue past this night.

-GM

Kalil asked two questions.

“Where would Thalatte go if she needed refuge, solace, or simply a place to hide or defend herself from her enemies?”
“As I discovered during my research in the remains of Gunge Castle, she would travel to the land of her husband to be safe, for his strength was always more than enough to keep her enemies at bay.”

“How does Thalatte manifest herself or exert her power on the world?”
“Through the rise and fall of the rivers that carry her blessing. For those she favored, the rivers flowed full, enriching the land and allowing their villages to prosper. For those that displeased her, or forsook her blessings, the rivers would overrun their dams and their meager defenses, and then the rivers would run red, if her ire had been strong enough.”

Kalil stood and shook his hand, sparing his life, and then returned to the present.

Under The Sea

“If she’s in Ad Astra, she won’t be hard to find – only the Field is big enough to hold her without a lot of people noticing. And if she’s in Paradise, fuck the Boryokudan. We found her first.”

-Naoko

The realization that Thalatte would go to Bahamut’s land when threatened very quickly put things together for the heroes. Bahamut was worshipped in Kouhei, as that’s where he was summoned and where they found the altar to him in Kouhei Castle. Historical Kouhei was very close to modern-day Ad Astra. Naoko’s initial thought was that Tiamat would be easy to find because the Field is the only place that could hide her, but Kogel floated the theory that the Goddess of Rivers and Lakes could be amphibious, which former-priest Kalil couldn’t find any fault in. The Boryokudan’s submersible airship elicited a round of frustrated swears.

Various underwater plans were hatched — using the power of the Totema, Wind (Kalil) and Water (Kogel) to be able to breathe underwater, having Wu or Darien build advanced scuba equipment, or staying above the water at all times (the latter being Kogel’s idea).

The second book, The River of Life, followed. Naoko skimmed it and learned three notable facts.

1) Thalatte is the daughter of the //Something// Of The Sea, Bismarck.
2) Thalatte is native to Damocles.
3) The marriage that gave Thalatte the additional title of Queen Of The Dragons was one of god-politics, as it bridged the Two Worlds.

Kogel filled in the mystery word immediately — Totema. Thalatte is the daughter of the Totema Of The Sea, Bismarck. Kalil wracked his memory, and did not come back empty, calling to mind a conversation with a hooded man about Bismarck saving the Camoa from the Cataclysm by sinking their city and claiming it beneath the waves.

The third book was an art book, focused on the legend of Thalatte.

• The first is of a great blue sea, massive and deep, stretching to the horizon.
• The second is of islands dotting that sea.
• The third is of continents rising up with those islands.
• The fourth is closer on one of the continents, a continent criscrossed by seven rivers, all leading into a bay, a bay with the shadow of a dragon painted into the waves.
• The fifth is of seven windmills at the start of each river.
• The sixth is of six broken windmills, flames roaring on the seventh.
• The seventh painting is of the wreckage of the windmill, with a seven-headed dragon in front — six heads black, the seventh one the same deep blue as the ocean in the first painting.
• The eighth painting is of Tiamat again, but this time all seven heads bound together in one barbed black chain, extending off the side of the painting like some terrible leash.
• The ninth painting is the destruction of Kouhei Castle, Tiamat’s shadow in the clouds above it.
• The tenth, and final, painting is Tiamat in seven smaller chains, each extending off the border of the painting, with a new shadow over the imprisoned dragon — that of two dragon-wings, spread wide, topped by a crown.

While Kalil pointed out that windmills were a steady part of Thalatte’s worship, Kogel had concerns: “Think about it. You’re free from millennia in chains, you return to the one place you know is safe – and they’ve dammed your river and are drawing power from it. Is Tiamat going to see it the same way Thalatte did?”

A Second Option

“Yeah, maybe the guy who’s wearing her dad’s necklace, bonded to her ex-husband, and who just helped rebuild the castle she knocked down shouldn’t be the one speaking to the angry dragon lady…”

-Kogel

Kalil brought up the idea of going to see Bismarck, believing that his memory combined with Kogel’s connection with the Totema and Naoko’s navigational skills would let them go to the site of Camoa’s sinking. Through teamwork, they managed to triangulate the location to a chain of islands far to the south, and docked quickly on the largest of the islands. Kogel reached out to the Totema, much in the same way he did when he summoned the wave to keep Geist from crashing in the false world, and the Totema answered him.

The island cries out.
And from behind the Southern Cross, inside the arc of the canyon that once lay here, you feel something incredible happen — and then you see it.
The rest of the islands rising from the sea.
Islands that less islands than they are… barnacles, atop a sunken ship, if that ship was a miles-long shimmering green and blue whale, if that ship was the Totema of Water, if that ship was Bismarck.
Bismarck rises up out of the waves, fifty feet high, a hundred feet high, two hundred feet, five hundred feet, higher and higher still, until you’ve forgotten to estimate the height, and instead just gape in amazement.
Then Bismarck opens his mouth.
And inside, though it must be a trick of the light, it must be something else, something else you can’t define, you think you see… buildings, and nothing inside Bismarck looks anything like you would expect a whale to look, even one the size of the largest city you’ve ever seen.
Bismarck stays there, the fourth continent of Damocles, awaiting your entry.

-GM

Our heroes boarded the Southern Cross and prepared to enter.

Postgame

1 LP for participation
1 LP for discovering the history of Tiamat/Thalatte
Kalil: 1 LP for first instance of Session Play

Airship Graveyard

“If we want to keep anything, the key is to not give it to you, since you throw everything you have at your enemies.”
“I make no apologies for combat pragmatism.”

-Darien and Kogel

The full group of heroes reunited on Madain Sari for funnel cakes and recaps. After Naoko and Kogel recounted the Battle for Kouhei Castle, Champ and Darien filled the group in on their trip to the Airship Graveyard.

Champ’s group ran into the Boryokudan shortly after arriving — Mist, Margrace, Harter, and Essai. The Boryokudan were there to look into reports that Donnerich was working on some kind of secret airship weapon. What they found was less a weapon and more a WEAPON, and all seven of them fought against it.

Champ reported that the Boryokudan’s fighting prowess matched their own, and highlighted some concerning observations.

• Trey fired multiple shots that pierced the creature and then froze the gases following the bullet, sending tiny frozen knives into the creature’s body. He didn’t miss a single shot.
• Essai wasn’t even touched, and using ridiculous strength, and what felt like some level of Earth control, he parried multiple shots from the creature that would have crushed anyone who didn’t dare move.
• Harter and Aidan basically worked together to burn the place down on the way out, and Aidan’s prowess with fire is legendary — Harter matched him.

The WEAPON-like creature they fought was buried under three stories of rubble, most of the secret facility destroyed.

After another debate over how best to handle the Boryokudan, Kogel still having trouble letting go of his anger toward them, Champ pulled Kogel aside to ask if the Boryokudan situation reminded him too much of Coren Jones, and the damage done to his little brother. Kogel nodded, after a moment, and agreed to let the others take the lead on the Boryokudan matters, too concerned about his own temper to trust himself on the matter.

Aidan arrived at the same time that Kogel returned, ready to share his own extra mission after Champ and Darien left. Aidan eavesdropped on the four Boryokudan members after the fight and learned that the WEAPON-like entity they fought was an experiment done by another branch of the Boryokudan, and that none of the four seemed very happy about its existence. Margrace referred to it as “another one of the Doctor’s pieces,” and said it had gone out of control like the others. Aidan also said that their airship doubled as a submarine, which gave them unparalleled stealth and movement capabilities. Aidan returned to Madain Sari after a complicated trip through the Afterlife and Paradise.

The party then discussed their next actions. Kogel and Champ decided to focus on rescuing/freeing Thalatte, Naoko wanted to track down Liane, and Kalil wanted to find a home for Nephesh. Further planning was put on hold as Aidan launched into Over-Elaborate Story Time.

“So we’re up on the northern continent trying to find Raijin and his team, when we get ambushed by this zombie flying patrol. They get the drop on us and take D out early with these root-things, so Kalil jumps up into the jaws of one of the dragons and goes straight for the source. Then, he…”
“Have I hear this one? I don’t think I’ve heard this one.”

-Aidan and Kalil

Postgame

1 LP for participation
1 LP for Project selection

Kogel selected The Hunt For Tiamat as his Project.
Naoko selected The Search For Liane as her Project.
Kalil selected A Home For Nephesh as his Project.

The First Stage

“My Paradise, my rules. No one dies on my watch that I’m not currently furious at.”

-Naoko

Kalil, Naoko, and Kogel prepared to fight Omega Weapon, Dajjal, and try to save a castle full of innocent members of the Brood of the Dark Lord. Dajjal was emerging through the basement, his approach designed to deal as much damage to the castle as possible and bring it down on him and everyone in it. The party split up to try and get people out as quickly as possible, with Kogel and Naoko heading down to evacuate Argus, and Kalil and Sari heading up to evacuate the cultists.

Kalil, aboard his motorcycle, used his speed and recklessness to speed along the winding paths of the castle, and then followed that with the Sheathed usage of Fly in his Swordmancer stance to successfully eject everyone from the castle and down safely to the ground out of one of the towers. He then sped to rejoin the group.

Kogel and Naoko raced to Argus, but were met by Dajjal bursting out of the basement almost immediately, as the 15-foot giant threw Argus aside and began battering the heroes. Naoko and Kogel traded blows with Dajjal, neither making much of a dent against him, until Kogel took the vial of poison he took from Flynn Ruat’s would-be assassin weeks before and plunged it into Dajjal’s arm.

Omega Weapon Emerges

Dajjal changes dramatically, as the runes on his body crack open and split due to the stress of the power inside his crafted body. His shoulders bulk up considerably, rising to the point where they are level with his head. His left arm twists into a massive sword, the same dark shade as Ultima Weapon. His right arm grows in size, mutating into a mockery of a metal-plated set of shark jaws, like Emerald Weapon used on the battle on Madain Sari. His body shifts and contorts a second set of legs, purple plated legs that turn him into a kind of centaur being, like Giga Weapon. The new body ends in a barbed scorpion tail, the same bleached desert red as Ruby Weapon. Diamond-studded falcon wings erupt from his back, reflecting the light from the sun breaking through the crumbling castle. His torso is the same burnt-orange screaming train-face as Terra Weapon/Doomtrain. He stands, the wings slicing through the stone, more light breaking through as parts of the castle crumble around him.

-The GM

Kalil crashed into the battle just in time to see Dajjal’s transformation into Omega Weapon, and the party launched into a full assault, Naoko adding Madain to their roster in the opening salvo. Kogel used the Fourth Vein to petrify Omega Weapon, but Omega’s Purity of Body cleansed the ailment almost immediately, much to Kogel’s shock. As Omega Weapon tried, and failed, to dislodge Kalil from atop its body, Victor, Sari, and Schutter appeared, joining the battle with the kind of remembered teamwork that carried them through their battles with Lord Acheron and Tiamat many years earlier. The finish to the battle came when Kalil, knocked off-balance by Omega Weapon’s constant movements, pivoted on his heel and sliced clean through the monster’s neck.

Restoration

“Okay, History’s Gunman, right. Time to use the first part of that name more than the second.”

-Kogel

After the battle, Kogel looked at the damaged Kouhei Castle, holes punched through the walls, littered with rubble, and swore to live up to the title of History’s Gunman as he used his Materia Fusion ability to combine Life and Earth into the brand new spell, Rebuild. The power that filled him unwound time and knitted the broken stones of Kouhei Castle, transforming the ruin into the wonder it once was, and transforming Kogel’s Materia Break ability into Materia Create.

The party gave Victor and Sari space to have their reunion, checked on the severity of Argus’s injuries and helped heal him with Potions, and then discussed the matter of what land Kouhei Castle technically was on, with Kogel favoring the theory of it being still Kouhei, and the Castle being an embassy in Paradise. Everyone then broke to go explore the restored Kouhei Castle, anxious to really see it for the first time.

Postgame

1 LP for participation
1 LP for mini-arc completion
1 LP for boss battle

Kogel gained an additional LP for restoring the castle.

“What do you need a guardian for?”
“This realm is full of monsters and demons, demons that will target a summoner specifically due to the command he has over them.”
“…No, it isn’t…”

-Naoko and Estelle

Kouhei Castle

Kalil and Naoko traveled deeper into Kouhei Castle in search of Lady Sari, in an attempt to rescue her from the Brood of the Dark Lord and bring the cult to an end. Kalil cut through the magical seal with Ascalon equipped with the Decay materia, and they proceeded forward until they reached two of the remaining cultists — a young summoner named Sullivan, and his guardian, Estelle. Estelle was clearly the smarter of the two, but Kalil’s unfailing politeness and Naoko’s notable lack of patience led them to leave quickly in order to announce the Queen of Paradise’s calling upon Lady Sari.

Kalil and Naoko waited in the throne room, but they were not alone.

“So few, so few… So few an audience… …for the Many-As-One.”
“…Oh, fuck.”
“Not again…”

-Lady Somnus/Nephesh, Naoko, and Kalil

Lady Somnus uncoiled from the ground upon hearing Naoko’s voice, demanding to know where the rest of her number were, behaving in an odd, disjointed manner. It wasn’t until Naoko confirmed that it was just she and Kalil, and they had not come to fight, that the reason for Somnus’s behavior became clear.

Lady Somnus picked up a hitchhiker when she left Unterstadt; Nephesh’s metallic individual souls. Over time, more of Nephesh gathered on Somnus, using her as a carrier to be free of the forces of EDEN under Striestadt; at least, until Somnus was shot and killed by Kogel shortly thereafter during the Doomtrain attack on Ad Astra. Desperate for safety, Nephesh used Somnus’s body as a host, keeping her outwardly alive in order to remain safe from prying eyes. The continued destruction of the Brood of the Dark Lord, coupled with Somnus’s injuries from being shot in the eye with a sniper rifle, led many to believe her erratic behavior was due to some kind of brain damage.

Nephesh wished for home, somewhere safe, somewhere he could be free and far away from any enemies. Kalil promised to help Nephesh, figuring that Darien could probably come up with something, especially with Nephesh being made up primarily of Striestadtians who were unable to return to the Lifestream upon their deaths at the hands of Huxley and his operations. Naoko spent most of the conversation attempting to crawl out of her own skin.

They heard Argus make his appearance, but trusted Kogel to take care of it when his voice cut in.

The door behind the throne opened.

Sari

You’ve seen her over and over again in the visions of the Old World, the war between Kouhei and Tetsu, as told by the otherworldly performances at Horizon.
You’ve seen her in passing, fleeting glances of a robed woman in the background with Hades.
Kalil saw her, desperately, from the back of his motorcycle, pleading with her to return to Victor and leave Hades behind.
But this is the first time you’ve really seen her — the sad green eyes, the dark hair pulled tight back from her face, the light scar on her left cheek, the thicker scar bisecting her right eyebrow.
The Sorceress, Sari.

-The GM

Sari’s first words to Naoko and Kalil were that they shouldn’t be here — that this was only to be the Brood of the Dark Lord. She took over the Brood of the Dark Lord to bring an end to them. Lord Hades continued in the style of Lord Acheron from her time, far before theirs, and that any others who came would be like him. If the next leader had the intelligence and vision that Hades lacked, in favor of his own charisma and presence. The last thousand years of Sari’s life, watching every rise and fall of the underside of the world that worshipped the Destroyer, led her to believe that bringing the final elements of the cult together, and ending them, would be the only solution.

Sari ordered them to leave, stopping only to rescue Anise, The Girl, who went by AJ, who deserved no part of this. She reacted harshly when Kalil mentioned Victor in an attempt to appeal to the Sorceress from the Horizon performances. She told them to leave, that there was nothing in her actions that warranted heroes like them.

“They named me after you.”

-Naoko

Naoko’s simple words shook Sari, and the revelation that the former Avatar of Angra Mainyu, Yuna, was now the Aeon of Time and put the entire power of the Destroyer to rest, shook her even further. Sari’s stated goal, to be a weapon of the Destroyer for she felt that she warranted nothing further after the last thousand years, fell on deaf ears and a quiet fury from Naoko. Naoko and Kalil both had the idea to get Sari in contact with Yuna, and Kalil used the Paradise Phone to call Cloud and get that process started. Sari struggled to reconcile her knowledge of the Aeon of Time with the fact that Yuna was now the Aeon of Time.

Impending Doom

“Is that Tifa on the phone? Why are we calling Tifa? Since when does a phone work here? Who else HAS a phone here?” Why does Yuna have Tifa’s phone?

-Kogel

Kogel arrived as the ground began to shake, The Girl in tow, and stood around confused as absolutely no one bothered to bring him up to speed on what was happening. Cloud and Tifa reached Yuna, and for a few moments, the Aeon of Time and the First Summoner had a phone conversation.

“Hello, Sari. I think we’ve met before, but I wasn’t as much myself then I was now. I was… a little bit more, I think, then. Angra Mainyu may have been many things, but more than anything else in the world, Angra Mainyu sought to preserve, not destroy. They called us the Destroyer because of what we did to the world, but the reasons behind our actions were… different, than what was said. We sought to protect this world, and all of the others, from a much bigger threat called EDEN, one that created worlds only to destroy them when it didn’t approve of the outcome.
We, Angra Mainyu, took what remained of these worlds and kept them safe, bottled up and hidden away, frozen in time, so they wouldn’t really die. But we were wrong to do that. We took too many worlds, and we couldn’t just protect worlds by locking them away like that. We weren’t saving anyone, we were just imprisoning them. We decided — after meeting Kalil and the others — to instead let the worlds fight for themselves, and end that age of imprisonment. Angra Mainyu freed the worlds then, restoring Paradise to what you knew it as, and went away then. It’s not us anymore. It’s just me."

-Yuna, to Sari

The ground shook again as Sari realized the gravity of her mistakes. Sari told AJ to leave with the others, as she needed to put a stop to something that she started long before — Omega Weapon.

“Hades gave it his own name. Dajjal.”

-Sari

Postgame

This session had the most screaming-at-the-GM since the introduction of Naoko’s siblings in the false world.

Naoko and Kalil both earned two LP for this session.
Naoko earned a bonus LP for “They named me after you.”
Kalil earned a bonus LP for having a Special Aeon Phone.
Kogel earned one LP for his appearance at the end of this session.

Waiting

“You’re going to take her away.”
“If she wants to leave.”
“She doesn’t.”

-The Girl and Kogel

While Naoko and Kalil moved further into Kouhei Castle, Kogel remained behind with The Girl, as they both tried to learn a bit more about each other, without giving too much away. Seeing her interest in his unloaded gun, Kogel told her about Brotherhood, how it was his brother’s until Kogel died holding it, and when he came back, both he and the gun had changed. He told her all this because he didn’t want to die again, and she needed to understand how important that gun was to him, and how much he trusted her that he trusted his safety to her.

They spoke of the Brood of the Dark Lord, how Lady Sari commanded it after the death of Lord Hades, and how Lady Sari told The Girl that the goal was to merge this world and the other. The Girl knew of Hades sending Doomtrain to Ad Astra, and how Hades kidnapped summoners under the guise of Eidel, but she clung, desperately, to her faith that everything they did, they did for the best.

“You’d kill one person to save a thousand, right?”
“…no. Just one.”

-Kogel and The Girl

The Girl opened up to Kogel, almost reluctantly, about her life. How she lost her only family, an Aeon named Syldra. The Girl was a summoner, and Syldra her only Aeon. It’s incredibly rare for an Aeon to die, but The Girl carried around a red materia orb, drained of all of its power, as a memento. Lord Hades found her and rescued her, and gave her more than safety — he gave her a life, and a purpose. More than anything, though, he gave her a family. Lady Sari.

“My friends there, Kalil and Naoko? We don’t always get along. I’m kind of hard to get along with, I suppose. I got too used to being alone. I lost my family when I was young, and I found a new purpose. Hunting down people who’d done wrong, finding them where they hid or were lost. That purpose became everything. What I did became the entirety of who I was.

“And I did some bad things. I hurt people, because I thought that purpose meant more than people. It’s hard to let that go. My friends… they remind me that I’m more than just the gunman. And that scares me sometimes because I spent so long not wanting to be anything but the job. The purpose. So I just kept thinking of everything as the job. Nothing else mattered. Until they got in. They got through to me. Things matter. I matter. Even if it reminds me of what I lost, or what I’ve done, that matters. I could sign a contract and have something easy to die for, if that was the job. It’s been harder to find something to live for.

“So believe me when I say I know where you’re coming from. But I know that it’s worth having something to live for. If she’s what you have to hold on to – I will not take that away from you. I couldn’t."

-Kogel, to The Girl

Intruders

“Remnants of the Brood of the Dark Lord! I have come here today not as your enemy or your conqueror, but as your savior! Do not fear reprisal from those whom you forsook under the false teachings of Lord Hades, for I have come to deliver you from damnation by his hands! However, should any of you move to oppose me, your force will be met in kind, for I have not come alone! But fear not, for any who oppose me shall not perish, but will instead be brought out of the darkness and into the light! Lord Oneiros has returned!”
“Balls.”

-Lord Oneiros and Kogel

Argus, now calling himself by his Brood name, Lord Oneiros, entered Kouhei Castle with the intent of taking the Brood of the Dark Lord under his guidance and leadership. He came with about fifteen cultists following him, ready to defend him if need be. Neither Kogel or The Girl trusted them, and with Kogel seeming like less of a threat now that he was an actual person, The Girl gave him his gun back, asking him to keep Lady Sari safe.

Kogel confronted Argus, and the war of words was engaged, though neither man moved for a weapon at any moment; Argus was not even armed. Kogel warned Argus about bringing an army into a sovereign state, while Argus argued that he came with the blessing of The Destroyer Herself, and even manifested traces of Dark Fire to illustrate his point. After the cultists retired to the dining hall to wait, Kogel and Argus spoke quietly, with Argus saying that he came to hear his goddess’s voice, and to save a people that needed asving, that had been led astray under Hades for the past many years. Argus came to undo the damage that the Brood did as a terror cell, and he prayed that he would not be wrong in this aim. Argus took Kogel’s warnings to heart, and awaited his audience with the Lady Sari.

The Girl decided to take Kogel to see Sari and tell her about what was happening, and showed him to a secret passageway inside the Armory.

The Archer

“This is Schutter. As you can see, quite alive. Ally and friend to the Lady Sari.”
“But he’s dead.”
“Why do you people always think that’s the end to things?”

-Kogel and The Girl

The entrance to Sari’s room at the top of the secret passageway was barred by an armoire nailed to the wall with a large arrow. Kogel forced his way through, pistol drawn, to find Schutter on the far side, arrow nocked, ready to fire. They both stood down upon seeing the other.

Schutter told Kogel that Sari was downstairs with Kalil and Naoko, and that he happened to see a small creature that he suspected was one of the Destroyer’s shadow creatures and fired at it, figuring that he destroyed it in one shot. Schutter told Kogel and The Girl how to get to Sari, and then left, telling them that “we” would be coming to help Sari.

As Kogel and The Girl raced toward Sari, an ominous rumbling began in the basement…

Postgame

GM’s Note: While not said in the session itself, the “shadow creature” Schutter fired at was one of Nephesh’s individual parts, gathering information throughout the castle.

Link Points

Kogel earned two LP for the session, plus a bonus LP for a heated debate that never trended into a threat of imminent violence.

Storming The Castle

“I don’t suppose walking in under pretense of diplomacy is an option?”
“Well, I do own the place.”

-Kogel and Naoko

Naoko, Kogel, and Kalil traveled into Paradise and to Kouhei Castle, intent on putting a stop to the Brood of the Dark Lord once and for all, though Naoko harbored concerns about the rumor Squall shared about Sari being in charge. As they approached the castle itself, a memory overtook Kalil of a time where he saw Kouhei Castle, long in the past.

Kalil’s Memory

The blizzard’s wind slices through your armor, the cloak wrapped around you serving as nothing more than a wet towel plastered against your skin, sending icy daggers into your bones, fighting against your every step.
In the distance you can see it – the only light for miles, the only sign of civilization you’ve seen since you left that tiny logging village three weeks ago.
Every step is a battle, the snow crunching beneath your boots. You have to tap your hood to keep the snow from building up on it and weighing you down further.
But you press on, knowing that what rests in your pack cannot be left to chance, knowing that if you were to die out here, then many more would die after you… and though it would not be your blade that would free them from this world, it would be on your hands nonetheless.

Kouhei Castle included multiple rooms, each of which was explored by the party.

First Floor:
West Room – 1A. North Room, Left Of Stairs – 1B. North Room, Right Of Stairs – 1C. East Room – 1D.

West 1A – The room on the left wing appears to be a reception hall; there is a wooden desk and high-backed chair on the far side of the room, framed by tall windows hidden behind blue curtains. Five large bookshelves sit on the north wall, spines covered in letters you cannot read. Naoko discovered that the books looked to all be written here, from how the lettering was the same on each of these, and they appeared to be books of a primarily political bent — The Tonberry Nation, The Cactuar Of Saboten, The Caelondian Kingdom, etc. Other books were history books, religious texts (focusing on Bahamut, Alexander, Odin, Garuda, and others), books on native flora and fauna, etc. The desk was full of misshapen green materia, and since materia did not exist in the Old World they struck Naoko as peculiar.

NW 1B – This is, or at least was, an armory. Racks that once held spears, mannequins that bore suits of armor, and chests that must have once held many goods. They certainly don’t now — the racks are empty, the mannequins are bare, and the chests lay open, raided. Kalil found little of interest in here.

NE 1C – A small, restrained sanctuary, with an organ at the back, an altar in front of fifteen rows of pews, and a holy symbol in front of a statue of Bahamut at the back of the sanctuary. The statue is surrounded by candles — candles lit recently. See below for Kogel’s exploration.

East 1D – This dining room is dominated by the beautiful, long table in the center of the room, set with the finest china and piled high with food that fills you with an incredible hunger you did not have before you came in. Succulent bird, beef, bratwurst, and some sort of plant that starts with B for the salads that are set above and to the right of every plate. Kalil investigated this room, wanted no food, and left.

Second Floor

West 2A – A waiting room, where lords and ladies of varying levels of import would be told to sit and wait, probably with some tea or something, while the King or Queen prepared to welcome them.
It is also a bedroom, from the bedroll in the corner; a thin bedroll, white sheets and pillow, empty plate sitting against the wall, and an extinguished lantern on the windowsill above. No one found anything of interest here beyond the bedroll.

Center 2B – Blocked from entry via a barred door and a magical seal.

East 2C – This room is full of paintings, hanging on the walls and positioned on easels. Most are complete, though there is one partially complete in the far corner. All of the paintings are portraits, and the face on every painting has been scratched out. All save two — the largest painting in the room, of King Randall II of Kouhei, and the painting in progress, which is of Princess Sari, age 19. Kogel identified the painter as Bertrand Gwynhald, known for his series of paintings on kings and queens, and also found a painting that looked remarkably like how someone of the time might have described Kogel — the man in the frilly long coat, the feathered hat, holding a letter in one hand and a crossbow in the other one. They also found a program for Act 1 of Horizon.

The Girl

“You’re not taking her from us. You’re not going to kill her like you did him. If I have to fight you myself and die, then I will! I’m not letting you take her!”

-The Girl, to Kogel

When Kogel investigated the Sanctuary, and specifically the defaced holy symbol of Bahamut, a small girl attacked him, stabbing him in the shoulder with a poisoned dagger while shouting that he would not take the Princess from her. Kogel fought the poison with a Remedy and fought the girl by not fighting at all, instead putting distance between he and the girl and assuring her that they came to do no such thing.

The girl knew that Kogel killed Lord Hades, and she was intent on making sure nothing like that happened to Sari. Kogel talked to the girl carefully, trying to put her at ease without misleading her in any way. During the conversation, Kogel learned that the girl thought that Victor was dead, that Schutter too was dead, and that Bahamut was responsible. That’s why she defaced his holy symbol with iconography of Tiamat’s. She also wasn’t allowed into the rest of the castle, according to “the big guy,” Dajjal.

Kogel bartered himself as a hostage to allow Kalil and Naoko to continue further into the castle, and gave Brotherhood to the Girl (whom he was calling “little bird” by this point), though not before taking all of the bullets out. In return, the Girl gave the greenish-brown materia from her dagger to Kalil. The materia was a unique, never-before-seen materia called the Decay materia, created by Sari. The materia’s abilities would allow Kalil and Naoko to advance further into the castle and find Sari, and Kogel would remain with the Girl.

Postgame

Party gained the Decay materia.

The party gained 1 LP each for participation, and 1 LP each for good teamwork.
Kogel gained 1 LP for discovering Captor Girl, and an additional LP for not drawing once.
Naoko gained 1 LP for the search in the library, finding and correctly deducing the purpose of the materia.
Kalil gained 1 LP for an accidental brilliant pre-planning moment where the Ring of Sustenance protected him from eating food that would have allowed the inhabitants of the castle to track him as long as he was within its walls.

“Congratulations, Nathan. You can now say, ‘I beat a tabletop RPG trap on account of it being physically impossible for me to be hungry.’”

-The GM

On The Boardwalk

“So thanks to the Tonberry Restoration Committee, I’m heading up a store for the first time. And as you’ve probably guessed, it’s to do with your clothes.”
“Bless you, young lady.”

-Mariano and Kogel

Our heroes returned to Madain Sari and were greeted by Santana on behalf of the Tonberry Restoration Committee, who walked them through a set of large changes to the Boardwalk section of Madain Sari.

Three new stores opened on the Boardwalk, alongside The Other Side Of Life, Orlando’s Magic, and Dart’s Board.

Artimecion’s Artistry — The Weapons store, though the moogle in charge treats it like far more of a museum. Runes can also be purchased here.
Soul of Science — Owned by Darien. Gadgets and guns make up the order of the day, but Tech-Mods are also available.
Mileenese — Owned and operated by Mariano, where new clothes, both functional and fashionable, can be purchased. Tailoring can also be done here.

Shortly thereafter, the party ran into Squall Leonhart, who came looking for Naoko, Kogel, and Champ specifically. The remnants of Lord Hades’s forces retreated into Paradise after the battle, making their home in Kouhei Castle. Gabriel requested a team to investigate the airship graveyard from before the world broke, saying that he did see the Boryokudan ship go there, and maybe the Boryokudan were involved.

Kalil received a mystery phone call that turned out to be Arcell, sounding very strained. Arcell inquired as to Caelis’s whereabouts, but Kogel said that Caelis may still be imprisoned. Arcell said the search would continue, and warned the party to watch for any aberrant behavior with the WEAPONs. Arcell said he would call on the party again when they next watched a show at Night’s Run to check in.

Aidan mentioned in passing that he sold his motorcycle, the Furious Angel, for a charity auction to help a foundation for supporting single parents in Luxuocidad. Naoko pressed him on how he was doing, and Aidan assured her he was fine.

In the end, Kogel, Naoko, and Kalil prepared to set off for Kouhei Castle, while Darien, Aidan, and Champ would go to the Airship Graveyard.

Postgame

This session marked the addition of three new shops on Madain Sari, with new support mechanics. Naoko also debuted her new tonfas.

Link Points

Kogel, Kalil, and Naoko all earned two LP.

Politics

“I’m already too much of a symbol to these people.”

-Darien, upon seeing the Alexander-inspired Striestadt Separatists symbol.

Kogel and Kalil accompanied Darien to Striestadt to check on the Highwind’s status and for Darien to publicly thank Governor Martine for his help in their largely-private battle against Hades and the mysterious castle. Kogel received a call from Rato with a bit of information — houses in Donnerich being sold for gil on the gillion, and three shell companies all reporting back to one core company under a man from Kogel’s past — Forsk, with Gold Saucer Entertainment last time Kogel checked in.

The news that caught Darien’s ear, though, was Martine privately telling him that he planned to retire at the end of the month. Martine felt that he was no longer the leader that Striestadt needed. Martine’s skills were in economy above all else, and he felt that Striestadt needed a true politician first and foremost. Darien told Martine he wasn’t interested in the position. Kogel and Kalil took part in a brief philosophical battle, but put it on hold to investigate the explosion outside the city a few days before.

Explosions In The Sky

“Will said their findings were very inconclusive, unfortunately, due to a high presence of Striestadt officials and Donnerich officials at the site trying to battle over who got to inspect it first. They weren’t able to do a thorough investigation as a result, but they gathered what intel they could.”
“Why would Donnerich officials be present?”
“Politics. Fear that it was testing some kind of weapon. There’s a lot of frustration on all sides right now. The explosion took place roughly at 11:30 PM, according to reports from people living in the general area, mostly farmers and a few people traveling to Night’s Run who heard the sound on the road. One person claims to have witnessed a blinding light like the flash of a thunderbolt right before they heard the sound. No one was harmed; the area hit by the explosion was wilderness. Trees splintered, rocks pulverized, ground torn up, but no bodies recovered.”

-Darien and Kogel

The group fanned out to investigate upon arriving at the detonation site. Kalil confirmed that the explosion didn’t match the shape of any charges he knew. Kogel took the previous investigation’s report of mysterious feelings (Will saying one section made him “all tingly”) and translated that into a Regen-like effect for materia. The explosion was from a moving detonation source, not just planted. The explosion was not Time-based, as their stopwatch test came back negative. The explosion happened in midair, due to the pattern of vegetation. There was a distinct lack of debris, however, which puzzled them. Kogel’s perimeter inspection confirmed that nothing was summoned out of the blast. Using Kalil’s Elemental-linked armor, the party shifted materia to try and determine what materia removed the “tingly” feeling.

It turned out to be Holy.

The party ran through the list of people they knew who had the capability of using Holy-based energy, and their whereabouts during the time of the explosion.

Alexander (absent along with Darien)
Trias (in Paradise at the Cathedral of Alexander)
Madain (Tomogara Ascendant, and with Kalil during the time of the explosion)
Yuna (captured by Hades)
General Leo (absent along with Darien)
Brotherhood (with Kogel in pocket world)

Religious iconography was also found etched into the explosion itself — Darien spotted it by following lines through rocks that matched when looked at from a certain perspective. The script was known by Kogel, having seen it inside the hastily-erected churches of Alexander on Quel’Malar. Naoko translated it (via text message) as “something about sinning and the word for glory. She says the grammar is multiple subjects, hostile and meant to condemn.”

Darien found the same phrase on a picture Kalil sent him from the Striestadt Separatists location, a picture of Darien fighting Ultima Weapon in Striestadt and the following quotes: “For all have sinned and shall be born in the glory, and He shall shine his Divine Judgment upon thee,” at the top of the image, and a quote from Darien at the bottom: “I feel that Striestadt’s technological ingenuity is among the best gifts it can give the rest of Damocles.”

Darien theorized that the Striestadt Separatists were building their own Alexander; perhaps not an Aeon, but a mobile battlestation with Holy energy acquired from somewhere. The blast came from the northeast, pointing to the small mining town of Irvan or the Boryokudan-controlled city of Murond. A flyover confirmed that Irvan was the location of the explosion, and the party left after that confirmation, no one feeling very good about what they discovered.

Link Points

Kalil and Kogel both earned 3 LP.
Naoko earned a bonus LP for assisting via text message.

Commander, you are to proceed with the Operation at the earliest available hour. See to it that the Operation is carried out to its fullest. Remain true to the SeeD Code of Conduct in all forms. All risks are to be understood before the Operation begins.

-President Cidolfas Coppola’s letter to SeeD, delivered to Champ Justice via Chief Jackson Coppola of Night’s Run

Champ, Naoko, Kogel, and Daryl met at Garden to discuss the issues facing SeeD, primarily those surrounding funding, but also about the events of the previous day in Night’s Run. The letter Jackson gave to Champ gave orders for the secret purpose of SeeD to begin immediately. The secret directive in SeeD was keeping Donnerich’s power in check, and called for a hostile takeover if all over avenues failed. While the idea was met with varying levels of excitement (Naoko was strongly against, Kogel remarked he’d do that for free), they focused on other avenues.

The “seat on the Council” idea came back up. The Council members serve terms of four years, with no term limits. There used to be just eight seats on the Council, with the President serving as the tiebreaker, but Shadrach Masters successfully pushed for a ninth seat under the pretense of giving the military an official, equal presence. The military seat is held by Grand Admiral Thomas Juriani, who Aries described as “a good guy. Part of advisory board that court-martialed and discharged Jones. Responsible for fixing the Navy’s rep in wake of that scandal, though you could term it whitewashing if you were in a bad mood.”

Three seats on the Council are currently up for election:

• Giancarlo Valdes, Transportation
• Russ Haley, Economics
• Marie Killham, Energy

Kogel pushed for a long-term plan, not getting one seat on the Council in their favor, but five. It’s not enough to get intel, the party needed to be able to counter any Council member plots. Kogel’s initial idea was to discredit Shadrach by linking him to the Boryokudan through his son, the One-Armed Dragon, and possibly linking them both to Huxley, known to be a huge threat to society due to the Highwind debacle in Striestadt (the link being the Dragon’s artificial arm).

In the middle of arranging the plans — Naoko to Striestadt to talk to Huxley, Kogel digging more into the history between Dragon and Shadrach — Kogel had another thought regarding the plot.

Bring the Boryokudan into it.

Second Chances

“Caelis wanted a perfect world. Hades wanted to serve Angra Mainyu. The Boryokudan are an unknown. Their pawns follow orders out of coercion at first, and then brotherhood. Not out of any kind of fanaticism or creed, not from what we can tell, right? But someone has to have a plan. Crime always has a purpose – but this goes beyond just accumulating wealth. They’re destabilizing governments, they’re willing to kill innocents to do it. I want to know who, I want to know why, and then I’ll have a target. Until then, I have a bunch of unknowns. And if Mist is right, and these are basically decent people coerced into evil deeds… I have a bit of experience with that.”

-Kogel

Champ shared Kalil’s information with the group about Boryokudan members who may be convinced to jump ship — Trey Margrace, Sebastian Essai, and Sabin Harter — plus the added interest of Nahaje Mensah being part of the NRTF. Mist’s identification of the two women behind the attack on Aidan at the hotel opening in Luxuocidad, Reis Argent and Katrina Cespar, as another Boryokudan cell. The main plot being worked by Mist’s section of the Boryokudan was to find Tiamat, which was met with much profanity.

As the meeting wound up, everyone took on individual tasks.

Naoko would take Wu to Striestadt shortly to speak with Huxley and determine his involvement with the Boryokudan.
Kogel would oversee Katari Front investigating the Council members.
Naoko would also oversee the distribution of SeeD missions as her position as Squad A Captain outlined.

Sages

“The Sages, capital S mind you, are a close-knit group of scientists who dedicate their lives to furthering humanity’s knowledge of all things scientific. Combating diseases, overhauling city infrastructure…”
“…dealing with Striestadt’s pollution issues, helping Night’s Run deal with the monsters without having to build higher and higher walls, better understand the creatures in the Field, and—”
“Space.”
“Yes. All the things we were doing before we all died in that explosion.”

-Taur and Grey

Taur and Grey asked Kogel and the others to think about potential new Sages, people to help usher in the next age of enlightenment on Damocles. Names that quickly came to mind from Kogel and Naoko were Arich Zokunnen, Rachel Zokunnen, Romaji Kaigo, and Kanji Kaigo (with Julia Tilmitt mentioned as a history consultant).

Naoko privately confirmed Sabin Harter’s involvement with Taur and Grey after the meeting, and said that the reason the antidotes dried up is that they ran out of pure Lifestream crystals, “the kind that only get harvested maybe once every two hundred years.”

Kogel and Champ privately met with Bahamut regarding Tiamat, after warning him that Naoko would be showing up on a rampage in the coming days. Bahamut said that Thalatte must be set free, and that Tiamat must die.

Bring the young summoner and her flock to the site of your rebirth into this world, and call upon me. I will show you the way.
Promises will be kept.

-Bahamut, to Kogel

Link Points

Kogel and Naoko both received two LP for this session.

Gathering Information

“Independent of their impact on my trade, the NRTF is more of a joke than something to praise. One of their ‘finest’ was thrown out of the city for domestic assault, even, but you’ll never hear them admit it.”

-Edward

Naoko, Kalil, Champ, and Mariano traveled to Night’s Run to follow up on two issues — the status of SeeD with President Cid under the Donnerich City Council’s control, and the case of this Boryokudan member claiming to be part of the Night’s Run Task Force.

After scaring the life out of Constable Owain of the City Guard, Commander Justice and the rest of his party explored the city while they waited for Chief Jackson to return from his rounds. They elected to track down the “spoony bard” Edward, whom Naoko had helped right after the Garamonde Tournament of Champions with Simeon and Constance.

Edward told them the story of Nahaje Mensah, kicked out of the NRTF for a domestic assault call. The rumor was that Mensah’s wife was running around on him, and he did not take this well. Edward figured that Peponi Mensah was certainly Nahaje’s ex-wife by now, and knew that she was living with another man. Nahaje’s parents — Ezekiel and Rayya Mensah, then and now members of the force — all but disowned him for his actions.

Confirming The Story

“If I sent someone to infiltrate this Boryokudan, whatever they are, then why would my guy on the inside blow his own cover soon as someone showed up?”
“Maybe he felt SeeD was trustworthy. Maybe he felt buying himself the time it would take us to investigate his claim would be enough. Maybe he choked under the pressure. Maybe it was a big April Fool’s Day joke. I don’t know, chief. You tell me.”

-Chief Jackson Coppola and Naoko Kyuudou

After Naoko forced his hand, Jackson confirmed that Nahaje was indeed a member of the NRTF, on deep cover to infiltrate the Boryokudan. Five people know that the domestic assault case was a fabrication — Nahaje, Peponi, Evan (the “other man”), Jackson, and President Cid. Jackson intimated that the Boryokudan infiltration mission came down from Cid himself. Cid being under the Council’s house arrest, though, made it impossible for them to get any messages through to him reliably.

Political Takeover

“Caelis ‘currently on our side’ Balthazar.”
“I’d correct that to Caelis ‘not actively murdering us’ Balthazar.”

-Naoko Kyuudou and Champ Justice

After meeting with Jackson, the party discussed methods to take down the Donnerich Council and restore Cid to power, including:

• Having secret leader Caelis Balthazar order them to stand down (Naoko’s idea)
• Creating a doppleganger of an existing member (Kalil)
• Aidan getting on the Council (Kalil)
• Darien getting on the Council (Champ)
• Boss Justice getting on the Council (Champ)
• Champ demanding a seat on the Council (Champ)
• Latosha Justice getting on the Council (Naoko)
• Take over Donnerich (Kalil)

The party leaned toward getting Latosha Justice a seat, and then spent the rest of the evening watching the Mogtasticks, a highly-reviewed play at Horizon.

Postgame

Naoko, Champ, and Kalil received two points for participation and one point for hilarious cape jokes.