Session 22 (The Pirates of Atlas)

 

"Session 22"
The Pirates of Atlas episode
Episode no.	Episode 22
Original air date	March 3, 2024 (2024-03-03)

"Session 22" is the twenty-second session of the campaign The Pirates of Atlas.

Synopsis

Death returns Durgl to his crew and whisks away Willem and Maren. Reyen reminds everyone that the crew will be heading to the Labyrinth of Madness. He said that he was able to obtain keys from contacts he had. When they arrive at the labyrinth, they will be met by contacts who wish for a cut in the crew's profits in exchange for information and protection. Reyen explains that Elisia, the Butcher's daughter, is in search of time magic, a field of magical study that Reyen himself admits he is not knowledgeable about. Before they continue their voyage, they debate who should be the captain as Vidro questions the legitimacy and competency of Pravuil. They decide to roll die to determine who will be the captain after the majority of the crew agrees that Pravuil does not deserve to remain the captain in command. Zosteif wins the dice and becomes the captain in the absence of Willem and Maren. Vidro says he knows the headmaster in Atlas to gather intelligence about the labyrinth. On Captain Zosteif's orders, they head to Atlas. They join hands and Reyen casts them to the library.

After the spell finishes, they find themselves back in the library where Pravuil and Vidro were once in months ago when they first began their journey. A well-kept, well-groomed man approaches them with a pleasant smile. He greets them and says it is not often that someone successfully casts a teleportation spell into their library. He suspects that this is the handiwork of Reyen and Reyen affirms this. Vidro tells the man that they have come here to speak with the headmaster and Vidro gives their names. The man obliges and fetches for the headmaster. The crew looks about the library and students minding their own business, imbued with magic. There are numerous spiral staircases throughout the library.

Pravuil looks for books to read on wisdom and leadership. Durgl follows him. Durgl hears a familiar voice from his past and he looks back and sees the figure of London Tipton. Durgl is immediately excited upon seeing her. Tipton is surprised to see him as he shouts enthusiastically for upgrades. Tipton asks him what kind of upgrades he is interested in. He says he wants something to do with lasers. He asks her what she would recommend in that department. She asks if she could potentially enhance his tongue. Durgl continues shouting "upgrade" as Pravuil watches and Tipton works her magic on him. Zosteif goes into stealth mode, and no one notices her as she lurks about.

Meanwhile, Vidro (Kal'un) walks through the library and Reyen joins him. Vidro notices Reyen has a solemn look as he notices portraits of alumni, and one of them includes a portrait of Reyen himself. He says that he left too early to form any lasting bonds. Vidro remarks that the portrait of Reyen looks quite young. Reyen speaks of his past and says how he was a well-known author and had a different headmaster whom he was very close, and not like the one who currently leads. Vidro asks if Reyen met his wife at the academy and says he did not, he knew her before in the old world and she was too good for him. He says she knew everything and she was the only reason he ever came out of his cabin. Vidro said he figured he would bring Reyen here to reminisce of the past. Reyen says he has been with countless crews and it has all been a blur. He says that Willem's Willies have been the longest-lasting crew he has ever met and ponders why that may be. Their discussion is interrupted by the man who greeted them earlier as he beckons them to the headmaster. Zosteif stealthily follows after them and only Vidro notices him based on his periphery. She changes her identity into Mike Oxlong with the appearance of an older, mustachioed gentleman with a top hat. They ascend one of the staircases and stand before the doors of the headmaster.

The headmaster, sitting at his desk, is surprised to see them and asks if they would like cups of tea. Vidro explains why they have come to meet the headmaster and informs him that they have plans to go into the Labyrinth of Madness and are aware of the zodiac key contained within the maze. The headmaster explains the lore behind the Zodiac King and his connection with the labyrinth. One of the mages long ago, Arcanus, was responsible for bringing magic throughout the multiverse. He says that Arcanus is the deity of magic and has a tome, a codex, Arcanus' Codex, which contains spells used by the deities themselves, ones deemed too powerful for use by mortals. Arcanus, fearing what one man could do, tore his book apart and spread the pages throughout the multiverse. These are known as the Scrolls of Arcanus. Even one scroll in possession by a mortal will make them extraordinarily powerful, but there is one scroll hypothesized to exist within the labyrinth whose value and power exceeds even that of the other scrolls. It is for this reason, many people who have gone to the labyrinth have been willing to risk their own lives to go after this legendary scroll. He says that he may have unraveled the motivations of the Zodiac King and says that because if someone were to reassemble the entire Scrolls of Arcanus into the codex, they would be able to achieve the power of a god. This is why the Zodiac King is seeking to restore the codex for himself. These scrolls are located in different worlds and their world happens to have one of the scrolls.

Vidro tries to process this information and wonders why the Zodiac King has taken so long to acquire the scrolls if he is already known to have some scrolls in possession already. Reyen theorizes that the Zodiac King may not been able to untap the full power of the scrolls yet and may not be willing to reveal publicly his power yet to this world. Vidro ponders if the Zodiac King is using his fellow zodiac signs and consuming them in the process to acquire power. The headmaster asks if Vidro, as the anari, has plans to counter the Zodiac King and the Blight. Vidro explains his crew's plan to go to the Dreamwell and plant the seedling in the Wildlands. The headmaster says they need to purge the Blight first before they can plant the seedling as he has the connection with the aasimar. Vidro explains there is a problem with Pravuil however currently as he was reincarnated into a slime. The headmaster turns his attention to Mike Oxlong and says he knows that it is Zosteif, a changeling, based on his activated sigils throughout the room. The headmaster explains that Pravuil's divinity can be restored through the Apple of Eden and with that, will be able to rebirth the Magi and stop the Zodiac King. The headmaster says that the Apple of Eden is capable of restoring one's soul completely but will also remove one from this time, and is only consumable by one. Based on the priorities, the apple should go to Pravuil. Reyen acknowledges this conflict. Reyen says he wants nothing more than to be able to see his mother and daughter again, even if this does mean he will not be able to see his crew again. However, he knows that his bond with the crew is undeniable. He says he would rather take his chances at the Dreamwell rather than the apple in the Labyrinth of Madness.

The headmaster goes on to explain the history of the world and that deities have not been able to directly influence the world ever since the arrival of the Godslayer. The deities, unable to have a direct connection, instead raise champions within this world by bestowing their sigils onto their chosen mortals, to carry on their will in this world. The headmaster points to their former crewmate, Akula, as an example, being chosen to be the prodigy of the shark god, Karthanus. The headmaster conjures up a bronze key and box before them and explains to them that it is a recall box which will teleport one back to the last safest location with a feast prepared for them. He wishes them good luck and they depart.

Durgl finishes his upgrading procedure. His tongue can now be engulfed in flames for a minute and he can cast a fiery breath. He is prepared to test it out but Tipton tells him to stop and say that they are in a library. She proposes they can meet together at a future date and location to test it out. Durgl smugly brags he has a lot going on in the world to handle first before they can have their date.

The whole crew returns to the ship. They see Diana Durathyon and Flynn. Durathyon looks disappointed as she speaks with Elisia who has boarded the ship. Their conversation seems to be rather terse. Vidro explains to Elisia what has happened and how he is now known as Kal'un. She says she has joined the crew to tag along with them in search of a spell from the labyrinth. She says she is looking for time magic.

Weeks pass as they continue their voyage. The crew discusses their plans in the Labyrinth of Madness in the mess hall as Ren prepares them individualized meals for each. He made Slorp Glorp banana for Durgl. He made a shot of whiskey and steak for Vidro. He made jelly for Pravuil. He made rose-petaled soup for Zosteif. Ren says during his leave of absence, he has yet to find a person worthy to hold the blade. He is now looking for someone known as the ronin to be the blade singer. Vidro notices that Pravuil's mind is slowly deteriorating and his memories are fading. They ask him basic questions as he has become resistant to the idea of taking the Apple of Eden and has slowly turned away from his divine destiny. Reyen places Pravuil on a catatonic state. They are concerned about Pravuil's mental faculties whose mind has become deranged as the result of becoming a slime. They debate what they should do as Pravuil will still need to be willing to accept the Apple of Eden. In his current state, it does not seem to be the case. They wonder if they could trick Pravuil into thinking that he wants to accept the Apple and stoop down to his level of intelligence.

Their discussion is interrupted as Lara announces on the intercom that they have arrived to the shores of the Labyrinth. Reyen reminds them that they have the traveling party waiting for them. He proposes they could simply bypass them and continue into the labyrinth but to do so, they have only ten minutes to prepare and make haste. They decide to take the latter option and they rush their way into the shore. They arrive on the island which is dark and rainy. The shore is made up of completely black sand with no evidence of visible erosion as the waters near its edge are nearly completely still. Reyen tells them they will row their boats along the shore. As they row their boat, Pravuil, now out of his catatonic state, is interrogated by Vidro and Durgl, who assess his mental state. There are no signs of improvement.

They approach closer and closer to a vast construction project before them. In his past as an artificer, Vidro recognizes that the construction project appears to have been constructed eons ago by a complex civilization. A red aura seeps through the walls of the architecture, filled with a large fog, concealing its inner depths. There is a massive temple at the very center of the fearsome complex. Vidro uses his haki to sense any path they could take through the complex. His eyes shine brightly and after half a minute passes, he traces every possible path through the labyrinth. He is able to find one path that leads directly to the doors of the temple.

They decide to walk through the labyrinth. They stealthily creep through, pass by wall-sized slimes which look similar to Pravuil, filled with the bones and armor of the deceased, a large minotaur wielding an axe, a series of booby traps, and eventually, they find themselves at the base steps of the temple. They ascend the staircase and look behind, seeing how far they have come through the labyrinth. At the top of the staircase, they stand before tall doorway. Some sunlight peeks through at the very moment they make eye contact with the top of the door. The sun is perfectly aligned with the doorway's crested relic. Before they step through the door, Death suddenly appears and drops Willem off.

The crew explains what has happened to Captain Willem. They say they need to restore Pravuil's sanity and sense of divine purpose, which can only be achieved through obtaining the Apple of Eden, in order to make sure that Pravuil is able to purge the Blight. As they walk through the door, they pass by walls filled with celestial text which Pravuil would have remembered back in the day, but no longer knows now. As they continue through the temple, they find nothing of note except for at the center, which sits a large platform with a small segment about an inch elevated, with a lever which sits.

Vidro tries to understand how the lever works and what it could possibly activate. He is able to deduce that if they pull the lever, it will use the platform like an elevator which descends. Vidro cautions everyone that he does not know how fast it will descend and they could possibly die from falling to their deaths. Elisia and Reyen have feather fall while the rest can be brought down safely with Vidro's spirit. Willem pulls the lever as the platform descends roughly. The sound of dusty, mechanical gears fill their ears as they descend nonstop for five minutes. Eventually, they exit into a large cavern where they see a vast, endless landscape of mazes. There is no distinctive features or marks on anything except for the maze. Durgl notices something shiny, a blue light, in the distance while Vidro notices that this shiny object is an obelisk with five different stone with handprints and needles pointing out from them. with stained blood. As they approach closer to the obelisk, Vidro realizes that the handprints are perfectly shaped for elves. Willem tries to place his hand near the obelisk and finds that his hands are unable to match the curvature of the print. Pravuil lurches onto the obelisk and pricks himself into the handprint. He suddenly turns into mist and disappears. Vidro senses that Pravuil is in the deeper section of the maze, 50 miles out. Vidro proposes that he pricks his hand while someone holds onto his hand. Willem holds Vidro's hand and spawns his clone on the ready. As Vidro pricks his hand, Vidro's body turns into mist and Willem has not been taken. The light of the obelisk glows atop violently as it happens. Zosteif decides to prick her hand in the form of Vidro. She is whisked away. The rest of the crew are baffled. They decide to prick their hand one-by-one.

Zosteif is teleported into a completely new place. There is nothing but void but she finds herself atop a spherical-shaped mirror with arcane sigils surrounding her. She senses a magical presence and the voidness evaporates out as more spherical mirrors appear. She sees a distant figure as they have two blades out. She sees the person leap across the floating discs as she can hear his ribs crack as he falls to his death. She sees the spherical mirrors slowly float and orbit one another. She then hears a voice. "The trial begins."

Willem is teleported into the vicinity of a town which appears lively and peaceful. He notices the town is built in a ring-shape and defying gravity. It seems inconceivable and impossible. He looks about and sees a man taking form next to him. It is the Stormlord in his ghostly form emerging from his soul bag. His father looks at him and asks him if he has been brought here to be taunted. He says they are back in Stormwind. Willem says they are in the Labyrinth. The Stormlord is baffled by how real and authentic the place feels. Willem takes a gander around him and finds another copy of the Stormlord appearing, twenty years younger though. He sees his younger father running across the town, while the Stormlord's spirit does not notice. Willem draws his attention to his father's younger self. Stormlord is in disbelief, initially believing this to be the magic of Willem, and says he does not remember this day. They decide to walk through the town to investigate.

There is a beggar man at the alleyway as they walk through the town. He is a veteran he says of the "War". Willem says he came from the woods and asks about the war. The beggar says that he fought in the war to the east against the "bloodsuckers". He extends a hand to shake Willem's. Willem notices his right pinky is gone. The man says that they have arrived to the place where damned souls are condemned to. The man cackles as everyone around him thinks he is crazy. He says he arrived to this world by rowboat. He asks if Willem could spare him water from his canteen. Willem obliges. The beggar says this is the place where souls are let go. Willem asks for clarification if "this place" is the city. The beggar says so. Willem then asks if the beggar notices his father. The beggar says he does and that he will become restless and will end up like him. The beggar laughs and says he has been here for 842 years. Willem asks if he would like to take a walk with him. The beggar takes his blanket off and shows he has no legs. Willem offers to pick him up and take them around. Suddenly, Willem hears a thundering voice from the skies. "Willem, your trial has begun".

Durgl is teleported and finds himself in a brand new location where there is no color. While he himself is still colored, everything around him is black and white. He finds himself in a ring-shaped town floating in space. The residents moving about move lifelessly. People around him sound cynical and embittered. At the center of the town, there is a performance being held with the mayor speaking up monotonously, "This is the 100th festival and sadly, this will not be our last. At 8:00, we will come together to cry communally and at 9:00, hopefully one of us will finally escape here in being buried alive. As for the rest of us, we will go back to sleep and repeat the same thing once again for all eternity". Durgl looks about him.

Pravuil drifts blissfully as a slime and is teleported in the midst of a war. Thousands of figures surrounding him of various races are clashing. Death and violence at its maximum. He sees a dragon burst its fire against fields of figures. He then notices a horn blow and sees a set of armored knights with two hammers charging towards town. A performance of extreme sportsmanship. The knight grabs Pravuil and takes his helmet off. It is the form of a plasmoid. The knight brings Pravuil through the fortifications as they charge into battle excitedly. Suddenly, they enter into a home filled with innocent elderly people. Pravuil takes a pause as the knight encourages him to kill them. Pravuil is concerned and the knight says that he is not talking like a plasmoid for taking sympathy on the weak.

Vidro finds himself in a massive area of endless knowledge. It is a world of floating, shifting bookshelves which rotates slowly. There is a female figure moving each of the bookshelves around with great agility and dexterity. The figure says that she is the provider, not the librarian. She asks why he is here as he is neither a mage nor wizard. He explains how he got here. She says that he must be in the labyrinth for the scroll and asks why he should obtain it. Vidro explains the noble cause behind his and his crew's intentions and their quest against the Zodiac King. She questions whether he truly understand the conflict with the Zodiac King and why he should be concerned with the celestial-scaled war. Vidro explains his background and his personal stake at the war. She says if he is so insistent, he can receive knowledge here if he provides knowledge for himself. It will require losing some of his memory in order to obtain the knowledge here. She explains mages come here, willing to lose their memories of their family and loved ones, in exchange for essential spells. Vidro offers to sacrifice all of his memories from his past live as Ryul Vidro, in exchange for the knowledge here, as he has come to quite adjusted as Kal'un. She tells him to close his eyes and says the moment he opens them, he will see what he is seeking for.

Zosteif, in her trial, notices that her sigils match the sigils of a mirror 200 feet away from her. As she looks down, she notices the mirror she is standing on cracks. "There is an old saying, an old wife's tale, that breaking a mirror grants you bad luck", a voice says. She decides to lunge towards another mirror that has no cracks. As she lands, she does not damage it. The mirror starts to shine and as she looks down, she no longer sees her own reflection, but sees her manor. She sees a younger version of herself, holding onto her favorite plushie and book. The younger Zosteif takes notice of Zosteif and asks who she is. She says that she is herself older. The younger Zosteif asks if she would like come with her. Zosteif refuses, saying her mother is dead. She explains that their mother has died but the younger Zosteif says that their mother is still alive. She jumps to another mirror. This time it reflects a slightly older Zosteif. This time, it is the scene of her father and mother introducing her to Damien. She keeps jumping, seeing snapshots of her life with each mirror until she arrives to the one when she arrives to the one depicting the night Damien killed her parents. She sees herself instinctually hiding from the stormy night into his parents' rooms but notices of a wet puddle. As she picks up the object which is on the puddle, she notices blood. She hears a voice behind her and it is Damien. "You weren't supposed to see that, little Jue. You were supposed to be sleeping and be the next one". She leaps off the mirror and lands on another one. She hears a voice. "You can jump as many mirrors as you want--they will all show the same. They all lead a path to the same. The only way out is down". She asks the voice what it wants from her. It says that it is the architect of this world and that it is a place for souls to ascend.

Willem continues to carry the beggar through the streets as they follow the Stormlord into a familiar tavern in Flairwind. Willem realizes that this is the tavern he was never allowed to walk in because of his poverty. The beggar takes notice that Willem is visibly affected by seeing this and offers to leave to allow Willem time to walk in. Willem sets him down and he walks into the tavern. It is filled with pompous patrons. The Stormlord seats himself down, ignoring the pompous guests. The Stormlord grabs and snaps the hand of one of patrons.

Willem notices a robed figure who conceals her face and sits across the Stormlord. Willem takes a seat where the injured patron was. He sees the woman uncloak herself who appears to be a middle-aged woman with black hair with streaks of white, but appearing to be white not from old age. He sees the Stormlord speak to the mother and address her. The woman says she wishes for her son to be returned and the Stormlord denies it. They have a tense conversation about Willem and her state. The Stormlord tells her that she is not strong enough to be a mother or a woman. The Stormlord says if his son is out there and worthy, he will find him, but he will never find her. Willem's mother says she never wanted to bring Willem back to her but simply wanted to know he was safe. She offers the Stormlord a pouch of gold and says she wishes this to be given to Willem, in order to secure a future for him. The Stormlord accepts it and walks away. He then walks away and throws the sack at the beggar and Willem hears him mutter, "He will not have a crutch. My son will find me himself". The woman then notices Willem and says she noticed him staring. She says her name is Sophia. He introduces himself as "Billem". They speak and Willem confesses he is not quite sure where he is. Sophia says she is looking for her son whom she was persuaded to leave behind. Coming from a noble family, she was promised to another but fell in love with her bodyguard, or so she thought. Due to her nobility, she had to give up the lovechild she had with the bodyguard or die with it. She says she did not even know if her child was a boy or girl. Willem asks what would she do if she met her child again. She says she would begin to repent immediately, though not even a thousand years would be enough, in her mind, to absolve her sins against the child. Willem imparts some advice to her and asks her to follow him if she trusts him. She says she will, as long as he will not rob her and warns him she is quite trained and capable. He reassures her he will not and they walk.

Durgl looks around the lifeless town and sees depressing food being sold everywhere. He approaches a vendor and asks what this place is. The conversation seems to not go anywhere as the vendor seems disinterested and bleak. He says people try to jump off the town often but they eventually come back. The vendor speaks of "punishment" and says they have tried to kill each other. The vendor says they do that all the time but they always end up resurrecting. A voice suddenly echoes loudly. It informs that Durgl was brought here, not to teach him a lesson, but to bring him for a mission. The townspeople around him decide to find ways to kill each other. Durgl decides to head over to the mayor and asks him where they are. The mayor explains he is the oldest resident here and it is a place to punish musicians and performers. The mayor hangs himself and the others around the mayor says that he will most likely be back in a month.

Durgl gathers the people around and proposes everyone to gather around to sing a song about how much they hate each other. Durgl asks if everyone hates life and everyone says so. Durgl proposes a new song to play. As he play, people slowly begin to participate and join. The colors in people start to get restored and people to have life in them. People dance and the town begins to turn into a carnival. The town becomes festive and life seems to have returned fully, united through Durgl's music. People start to ask questions from Durgl. At first, it is genuine and kind. Over time, the questions become more and more disturbing as they ask how they can kill Willem. A jack in the box is offered to him as the people, turning into maniacal clowns, express their bloodlust. One of the jesters gleefully asks for Durgl to give it to Willem and to unwind it. The jester thanks Durgl for bringing him back and says he can escape by jumping out of the town. Durgl jumps out and within a blink of an eye, after momentary pain, he finds himself back.

Pravuil, surrounded by various plasmoids, all debate whether they should kill someone who looks exactly like his sister. They say if Pravuil does not want to kill her, he is not a true plasmoid. They crank their arms to build up pissing canons. Pravuil grabs his sister and hops away, carrying her away from harm's way. He keeps hopping and then he vanishes back to the labyrinth.

Zosteif decides to do a leap of faith and jumps into the void, defying the god of magic. She slams into a mirror and crashes through, finding herself physically in the manor. The bodies of her parents lying dead, strangled and bloodied in their bed. She sees Damien finishing off his murderous act and sees him talking to himself, pledging his lordship to unknown figure. Damien speaks of a prophet that will bring "her" back to the Dreamwell and says he will do everything in his power to fulfill the prophecy. Damien then notices Zosteif and asks who she is. He tells her to begone and slams her out of the mirror with his power. She finds herself back in the mirror world. The god of magic once again asks what she is feeling, seeing Damien. She says she now feels ready to confront Damien but the god asks how she is prepared to confront him. She says that she finds hope through her crew. The god asks why she chooses not to rely on herself instead of others. She says she now finds solace in companionship and it took her a long time to finally realize this. The god offers her a choice to accept the Apple of the Eden to bring back her parents again, but at a price, she will never see her crew again.

Willem, back on the port, finds himself with Sophia as they travel towards the ports of Flairwind. Willem says he is bringing her to the child she is looking for and asks him what should she do to find atonement and forgiveness from him. Willem says she will find out as she meets him. Willem takes her to where he used to be as a child. They see the younger Willem eating meaty scraps from a half-orc. Sophia approaches the younger Willem and half-orc and asks if the two are okay. Sophia says she notice they look hungry and she introduces herself to them. She offers to learn more about their story and treat them for a meal. She beckons them to follow her. Willem watches as Sophia holds hand-in-hand, both of the young boys. A voice emerges and says "If only that is what happened". Willem says he was merely curious of how it could have been but would not change a thing. The Stormlord returns and explains why he believes so firmly in the philosophy of absolute strength. The Stormlord admits that Willem has shown him that there is more to life than strength. The Stormlord said he had always wanted more and he only felt true content when he drew his last breath. He says that there will be no one left to speak of his name, but many will speak of Willem's name. Willem says he is unsure how long he will stay here, but the Stormlord has a choice. He can join Sophia and the boys for dinner or sit with the beggar for eternity. The Stormlord says although this place is not real, he is willing to be the father Willem deserved, in exchange to be freed from Willem's soul bag. They sever their connection and the Stormlord takes physical form and asks why Willem decided to grant him such mercy. Willem says, through his own path, he robbed the life of his other self, and says that he is giving that second chance he took to someone else, to reassure himself. The Stormlord says that Willem may have received his strength but he has received the tenderness and love from his mother. The Stormlord says this may be the last time they ever meet, but says he has never been prouder of his son than now, and bids him farewell as he says he has a son to raise.

Zosteif, confronted with the opportunity to take the apple, the god asks her what she wished to be at the Dreamwell. She says she wished to be invisible completely so that she could torment Damien forever. She says she initially wanted this but through her time with the crew, she says she wanted to spend her life enjoying, rather than hellbent on revenge. Zosteif asks who the god is again and he says he is Arcanus, but is being projected as an echo. She asks where he has been and says that she has a mission with her crew to end the Zodiac King. Arcanus takes this as her decision to choose her crew. She is then whisked away.

The entire crew finds themselves floating and they all speak of what they have gone through. A voice booms and they see a white coloration. They see magical runes and symbols twirling about with hooded wizards orbiting about. Pure arcane light shines through. "You have gone through my labyrinth, both physically and mentally". The voice explains what has happened to each person. Kal'un has sacrificed his past memories for knowledge, Zosteif has given up a chance to see her parents again to not betray for her crew, Durgl has freed a people but unleashed an evil, Willem has learned to let go and accept his fate, and Pravuil...has learned almost nothing.

The voice, recognizing Pravuil's great state of deterioration as a result of being a plasmoid, he imbues him with all the restored knowledge of his past self. Pravuil's sanity is restored and the voice says he will learn his calling and purpose in the Dreamwell. He explains the fates and meanings of each of the crewmates. There is a common thread for each of them. They must go through the Dreamwell to activate this.

The voice warns them that the Dreamwell is a machine which sometimes gain sentience and will demand one soul for a wish; a safeguard to ensure that an important wish will only be granted. No one can choose to sacrifice themselves. Instead, it is done at random. The deceased soul's wish will still be granted but they will pay the price dearly. The voice offers them the gift they wish to seek and spins its hand to reveal an apple encased in a gold with two branches. It offers it to Pravuil. The moment he consumes it, they will all be taken back to the mortal world. The scroll meanwhile, has been given to a wizard. The voice also informs them that one of the Zodiac signs, Scorpius, has already come here and taken away the scroll, and will be waiting for them at the Dreamwell and is prepared to take them down. Scorpius is seeking their keys to unlock the rest of the signs. The Blight meanwhile, advances. They have two choices: give the keys to those who will face Scorpius, or confront him head on.

Pravuil consumes the Apple of Eden and he is restored to his aasimar form at long last. They are then teleported out as the labyrinth collapses and sinks into the underworld. They are greeted by a dusty Reyen who says if they also had to fight fire-breathing spiders. They said they did not, but they faced their own trials. Reyen said he thanks them for taking him to the Labyrinth and while his original goal was no longer achieved, he has decided to continue his journey with the crew into the Dreamwell.

They ask each other what they would wish from the Dreamwell. Reyen says when he spoke with Arcanus, he learned that the Dreamwell has a cooldown upon each wish. They each explain their wish and their mutual understanding of the potential consequences which may arise from making a wish. Elisia says she knows a navigator in the Navy, Abigail, who knows the path to the Dreamwell.

Featured characters

Player characters

• Anradeem Pravuil
• Durgl
• Jué Zosteif
• Ryul Vidro
• Maren
• Willem