Recap - 2025-06-26

The group stood on the deck of the very damaged airship, taking a moment’s pause after the controlled crash. The huts and shantys they had crashed into were knocked to pieces, but their occupants merely gave the group strong glares as they tumbled out and picked up the pieces. It was clearly apparent that their houses being knocked over was not unusual for these wind-addled denizens of Bedlam.

Orbys Bumblewing came running down the slope, shouting out, “My ship! Oh, by the gods on all the planes, my poor ship!” She asked the group what had happened, and Angelus B Damned tried to explain (lie) that it was a terrible accident and that they had tried to stop the Nimbus Knives but they managed to scuttle the ship before he was able to drive them away.

Orbys didn’t buy it, and asked them to leave her ship, but gave them a present before they left. She handed it to Josiah, telling him it was “the winds of Bedlam itself”, and that he should open it when they get outside of the city to really experience it. Josiah inspected it, and critically failing his rolls, saw what he thought was gold dust swirling on the bottom.

Chibro Rozand Tagleri Sunrunner stripped Dust Devil of his belongings (listed in the last recap), and Tag gave Chibro the Ring of Protection while taking the Ring of Feather Fall for himself. The group left, all deciding they felt no need to spend any more time in Bedlam.

They arrived at the portal location without issue, but even after finding the marked archway of stone, couldn’t figure out how to open it. Josiah remembered that Coats has told them it required a strong gust of wind to open. Chibro tried flapping his elephant ears to create a breeze, but it wasn’t strong enough. After some experimentation, Josiah decided to open the bottle and see what was inside.

An invisible stalker jumped out of the bottle, and immediately attacked Josiah. The group attacked it, driving it back, and Josiah managed to thunderwave it through the portal, activating it. They all dove through: first Hankin Hummock, then Chibro, Angelus, Cath and Tag, and finally Josiah. As they dove through, they were momentarily overwhelmed by the sights and sounds of Sigil.

As you exit the portal back into the lower ward next to the great foundry, the chaos of it temporarily overwhelms you. Soot-covered tieflings with glowing eyes haul carts of scrap beside squat duergar smiths muttering in Undercommon. Grease-slicked modrons scuttle by in precise formations, carrying tools or blueprints, while smoke mephits flutter overhead, laughing cruelly as they leave trails of ash in their wake. Bariaur laborers argue with bartering fiends at corner stalls, and the occasional fire genasi strolls past, basking in the steam. You see steam belching from the steam vents around you, and realize this one should be as well…if not for the portal.

As soon as Josiah dove through the portal, it disappeared, and the steam bottled up behind it exploded out. Much of the party was caught in the blast, and were blown out into the city streets. Josiah and Chibro narrowly avoided the steam, and immediately distanced themselves from the danger. Angelus was blown straight through the window into a nearby shop. Tag slammed against a wall, and Gobbie was bounced off a Spined Devil’s cart.

A tall human woman, mid forties, dressed all in black and with a tattoo of a star symbol on her neck, with broken holy symbols dangling from her belt, helped Tag up and introduced herself as Lorthaldel Strang, an Athar null. She asked where they were headed and, when Tag shared they worked for Small and Coats, laughed and said she knew them and could guide them back. Tag agreed for the group, and she led them back. Along the way, she proselytized to them about the Athar, who believe the gods are frauds, merely extremely powerful beings who hide the secrets of their great power from the primes and the planars in fear of losing their sway.

Gobbie was appalled by this heresy, and refused to participate. Josiah and Tag were both intrigued, and she offered for them to visit the Shattered Temple and meet the other Athars. Angelus and Chibro spent most of the walk in silence, Chibro still trying to recover from the madness he experienced, and Angelus still picking glass out of his hair.

Josiah shared that he used to be an automation, as Lorthaldel had picked up on an unusual affect of his. Josiah also discovered a small metal shard in his coat: a Fragment of Insight from the Logic Storm.

Once they arrived at Small and Coats Industries, they saw Coats out front locking up, satchel tossed over his shoulder. He began to inquire about their trip, but saw Lorthaldel Strang and paused. She said, “You should be more careful where you leave your valuables, Coats. I won’t always be willing to safeguard them for you. My hands are already full with that other mess you left with us.”

Coats responded, “Oh, yes, well, you know how these things are, sometimes you lose track of things. Tell the other Athar ‘fie on the gods’ for me, will you?”

Lorthaldel laughed and left the group, and Coats thanked the group for their work and paid them. They didn’t get the full bonus as they couldn’t make it look like an accident, but each party member earned 50 GP, plus a 50 GP bonus split between the saboteurs, Chibro, Tag, and Angelus. Coats told them that Orbys had sent a very petty Sending spell to Small, telling him to never send them back or she’ll toss them off the boat next time.

Coats then tells the group he has to go meet with a supplier and Small is working on something else, so they should take some time to rest up before the next adventure. He also talks with them a bit about the factions of Sigil, and confides in them that Small used to be a member of the Hands of Havoc, but he left when their methods got out of hand. Coats confesses to being a lapsed member of the Free League faction, but doesn’t elaborate.

The group wanders down the street on the edge of the Great Bazaar toward their dinners and beds at Chirper’s Inn, but on the way, they are ambushed by a swarm of Cranium Rats and a number of Razorvine Blights. The cranium rats accuse Chibro of being a murderer, and attempt to dominate him. He shrugs it off, and blows away a number of them from across the street.

Some quick battle highlights:

Gobbie dove across the street and drove his hammer so deeply into a Razorvine blight’s head that the head sank down to its abdomen.
Gobbie ran into a nearby building, and discovered it to be Fell’s Tattoos. Fell - DM, a disgraced Dabus, welcome him in and offered a tattoo.
Cath and Tag tag-teamed and killed some of the blights, but one fell onto Cath and cut it to pieces.
Chibro attempted to gain flanking by breaking the window and encouraging Gobbie to lean through. Gobbie refused, instead pulling a Javier.
The cranium rats cast confusion, and only Josiah and Gobbie managed to shrug it off.
Tag ran screaming into a nearby indoor fruit grove, and Josiah blew away a number of the cranium rats and burned the razorvine blights with his magical fire as he ran circles around them.
The razorvine blights succumbed to the confusion and ran away or destroyed each other, leaving only one.
Chibro shrugged off the confusion and blew away the cranium rats, ending the spell.
Tag softened up the last razorvine blight with multiple arrows, and Josiah finished the job.

After the fight:

Chibro spent his time stomping around and making sure the rats were all dead, and collecting the tails for bounty. He managed to find enough intact tails to earn another 8 GP.

Gobbie agreed to get a magical tattoo from Fell, who used his rebus abilities to generate and magically embed a permanent Spellwrought tattoo onto Gobbie.

Tag stepped into a nearby shop, and into an argument between two flumphs about what merchandise to bring to their shop in the Great Bazaar. The owner of the actual shop they were in, Sea of Opportunity, a Tabaxi who goes by ‘Sea’, introduced herself and told Tag she was closing up shop for the night. She explained that she gave her unsold merchandise to the flumph twins, and they attempted to sell it at the Night Market. If they were successful, she took a portion of sales. If they failed, they returned the items.

Tag asked if she had any items for a ranger, and she offered him an Unbreakable Arrow, but she said she didn’t want gold for it. She explained that creatures in Sigil, more often than not, don’t want just gold. Sure, gold will spend well for whatever items you need, but if you want something special, something from one of the Planers or the Cagers, you’ll likely have to give up something more valuable.

Sea, a former Spelljammer, longs for stories. Tag regaled her with the story of their most recent adventure, even dipping into some humor, but Sea was unimpressed. Instead, she asked for what drew Tag to Sigil. He told her, and she accepted it, and gave him the arrow. She then told him to be careful, that the planes are incredibly dangerous, and only a fool would venture out to them unprepared.

She also gave him some costume jewelry at his request.

Meanwhile, Josiah had a brief but enlightening conversation with Ding-Dong, a kobold street vendor who gave him a book detailing the 15 12 factions of Sigil, and advised him to read up and maybe join one. He said it’s not a law, but that it makes life in Sigil easier. Then he gave him one of his mystery “meat” sandwiches and wished him well.

The group finally made their way to Chirper’s, where Chibro took his meal to his room, as the bartender didn’t want his cranium rat stained hands and feet all over the bar. Gobbie went straight to bed, exhausted. Angelus took his meal with two succubi, who quickly realized it wasn’t worth trying anything with him as he was too full of himself to be flattered and instead just let him buy them dinner.

Tag and Josiah sat across from each other, and each were approached by a Modron named Checker. Checker was an odd modron, made up of colorful cubes instead of the standard bronze. He told the two of them that he was a Sensate, and that he wanted to record their experiences of eating a fine meal.

“Excuse me, I am Checker, Sensate Librarian. I would like to offer to pay for a fine meal for you in exchange for you allowing me to record your experience onto these sensory stones….You are an eclectic group of adventures from unusual places, and your experiences would give a helpful additional experiential data point in my research.”

Both agreed, and Checker did indeed buy them each a fine meal. Before they could eat it, Checker stuck the stone on the roof of their mouths, wedged in place like a retainer. They ate and drank, and enjoyed the meal, then Checker removed the stones and tested them.

For Josiah’s, he said,

“Oh my. Oh dear. This is not sufficient. This sensation is lackluster at best. I fear you do not know how to experience the truth of life. Please come visit the Civic Festhall and the Society of Sensates will show you the way.”

Josiah was shaken by this, and was immediately afraid his sentience was not true sentience, but rather still a subroutine, running in his now organic mind. Tag comforted him, saying “You’re as real as anyone here.” Checker tested Tag’s stone, and stated,

“Oh my. Oh yes. This is an excellent experience. The other sensates will approve. It will provide much information. Thank you for experiential willingness to further my studies. Please come by the Civil Festhall and we can interact at my library, though I am not always there.”

The two agreed, and Checker approached Angelus, who waved him off, refusing to allow him to put the stone in his mouth. The three eventually retired to bed, ready for a break before the next adventure.

Song of the Session

Hit Me with Your Best Shot by Pat Benatar

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