155: Mortuary of the Gods

Synopsis

• Isabella reanimated one of pilot aliens, which communicated with a mixture of psionics  and "whale songs". She was able to ask it three questions, confirming the alien race were hunters of vestiges, which powered their technology and sustained their immense lives (in the millions of years). She also discovered how to properly operate the device, and that "isochron crystals" in the chambers beyond held whatever might be left of the stolen gods.
• Eilessa discovered a compass embedded in the chest of the alien corpse which leads to planetary spheres.
• Narra risked delving into the forbidden recesses of her Void-born knowledge to learn much and more about the alien race, known as the Ibha Varana. In the process, Yog-Sothoth was able to enter the ship as a floating, ochre orb. Renato quickly distracted Narra and led her from the room, knowing the very sight could risk tearing down whatever skaffolding Endymion might have placed to support his daughter's sanity.
• Sensing truly infinite knowledge, as Narra had once before, Thamior ignored the warnings and reached for the floating sphere (and failed two saves, the last a natural 1) resulting in his immediate destruction. The party was considerably shaken,
• In the hall, Mercy kept a close eye on a dormant black pudding posing as a door, ultimately tracking and trapping a massive nest of them with Curck's aid.
• Isabella continued on to a northern room, discovering a failed ritual circle and explosive runes designed to trigger and destroy the entire level. After disarming the local runes, she realized Gabriel has not been able to access the isochron crystals the alien mentioned.
• Powerful divine and primal power emanated from the walls of the ritual chamber, and Eilessa and Narra summoned the control panels through a mixture psionics and song, not unlike the Ibha Varana might have done.
• Tyvis harnessed his wildshape to transform into a specific alien species, an psionic-singing illumine like the archdruid Arent. In such a form, he was able to interface with the consoles.
• Between the intense concentration of the party psionists, Tyvis' biological permutations, and Renato's manipulation of the underlying machinery, the isochron chambers were opened throughout the level.
• The party found two stunning speciments of divinity, one a nature goddess labeled in the foreign tongue 'Karana' on the exterior of her crystal, the other an axe-wielding war goddess labeled 'Kishar'.
• Tyvis, with a rudimentary understanding of her ethos and much hope for a new goddess of nature, freed Karana, who at least approaches his expectations. Though initially confused, she caught on quick, though lamented her diminished limitations. She was small within the Siege, which prevented her full divine power from flourishing.
• The goddess agreed to help defeat Gabriel and the Yth, and the party is left to decide what, if anything, to do with the apparent war goddess and whatever other divinities they might find.

Objectives

• Use the ritual books in Isabella's possession to summon forth two planetary spheres upon the Altar of Seven World Trees within the Mothers' Cloister (wherever that is).
• Retrieve Orcus's prized skull from the white baths of the Shrine to Kishar in return for two planetary spheres and his aid in the fight against Gabriel. 
• Use the Ibha Varana compass to locate other planetary spheres and insert them into the Standing Stone in the watchtower in order to cross the archway and reach the Gate.
• Tailor a new pantheon from the isochron crystals to bolster Yg-Raya's defenses and aid in the trials ahead.
• Kill Gabriel and claim the Gate (whoever lands the killing blow).
• Perform the ritual to attune the Gate to Mercy.