- Isabella, Renato, and Thamior met with the vile Tammuz Orcus, one of the four sovereigns of the Abyss, in a diminished state. He offered an alliance, which the three accepted, his prized skull (and subsequent freedom) in exchange for two planetary spheres and his aid in the battle against Gabriel. The witch, assassin, and swordmage cleaned themselves of Orcus's taint and tracked down the others.
- The rest of the party moved on, taking the trident-etched tile into the Starcellar, finding a kind of subterranean observatory crafted of ancient technology more alien than demonic in feel. The ceilings were millions of woven strands of circuitry, at first the suspected Underworlds of the universe, but in actuality a map of the universe (all of it dead and destroyed, save the Yg-Raya system).
- The exact nature of the telecope, cannon, or simply 'device' with the fused alien corpse strewn upon it remains unclear. Tyvis was able to translate the symbols into a kind of zodiac, four of which were needed to operate the machine. The reason for even trying (besides potentially valuable knowledge) were the dead world trees he noticed mingled with the impossible intricate knit of cords. The scope may have had the ability to bring Ygdrassil back from his long wandering, or deliver the archdruid to him.
- Narra retrieved a planetary orb from the ceiling (still largely suspected to be either a power source, prison, or both), with the party's aid, and drew the ire of the primeval Lyth, either some diminished specter of the former goddess of beasts, or perhaos a vestige pulled through from the circuitry (which Shard and Narra found to be more of a gateway or bridge between points). Isabella forced the creature back to whence she came, though the questions only compounded what the exact purpose of the device was. Theories range from some sort of transportation device, an instrument to hunt vestiges and weakened divinities, to a nice conversation piece.
- The alien corpse- this pilot or engineer- , like a pallid giant with an elephantine snout and octopus-like hands, was apparently burned from the inside out. Isabella's ritual revealed something fired from the ceiling mesh, a black stream that killed him. Some assumed Lyth, others suspected the wild vessel, proven to kill those who tamper with it.
- Tyvis eventually speculated that Yth may in fact be anti-gods, something of the vengeful and maddened divinities after being drained of all divine essence. They'd seek out life-rich worlds out of instinct, only to destroy them. Their creations, the Yth, and truly anything they touch would become warped and wretched. And it could be this device actually did capture and drain things even as powerful as gods. Was the party standing before a Ythmaker?
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.
- Locate other planetary spheres and insert them into the Standing Stone in the watchtower in order to cross the archway and reach the Gate.
- Kill Gabriel and claim the Gate (whoever lands the killing blow).
- Perform the ritual to attune the Gate to Mercy.
