Session 12: To the Moon (and beyond)

4,615 XP

 

Following the events at Táofēng Settlement and the recovery of the angelic manuscript, the Feinting GOATs returned to the Clockwork Citadel. Before embarking on their next mission as outlined in the Pantheon directive, they consulted the Hierophant regarding Isadora Chapman. The elderly dwarf spoke fondly of "Izzy," recounting youthful adventures with her, including journeys into wildspace. He described her as a powerful force for good who, like himself, felt a strong pull towards chaos but, unlike him, ultimately embraced it. He cautioned that despite her elderly appearance, she remained a potent magic user, related to Baba Yaga (whom she calls "grandmother") and formerly close with Ded Moroz (Father Frost), though that relationship ended poorly.

Preparations continued as the Hammer Ship was fitted with a recovered psionic helm. This meant only Bao Bao, the party's sole psionically active member, could pilot the spelljammer. During practice, Bao Bao discovered her vitalist healing abilities could extend to anyone in physical contact with the ship while she piloted, effectively allowing her to pool the party's hit points for healing purposes – a significant tactical advantage.

Their mission took them to Dinos, Alluria's second moon, a fey-dominated sanctuary known for its illogical patchwork of climates and terrains. Landing the Hammer Ship in a temperate forest lake (as it required a water landing), the party journeyed about half a mile into an adjacent winter forest to locate Isadora's cabin. Elyndra investigated and confirmed the cabin radiated powerful magic.

Approaching cautiously, Akemi knocked on the door. Abruptly, the cabin sprouted enormous chicken legs and attacked the party. During the fierce battle, the cabin's door opened like a maw and swallowed Cut Cut whole. Inside, Cut Cut found herself unharmed within a cozy, extradimensionally large cabin interior. Outside, the fight continued, with Lenti briefly glimpsing Cut Cut's situation during a missed bite attack from the animated structure. Eventually, the party subdued the magical cabin, which settled back into its mundane form, sans legs.

An elderly woman emerged from an inner door, greeting Cut Cut before opening the main door to warmly welcome the bewildered adventurers. Introducing herself as Isadora Chapman – though she now preferred "Baba Izza" since her grandmother Baba Yaga had "moved on to the realms beyond" – she invited them in for tea, served by her anthropomorphic otter servant, Lard. The party noted she bore the 'Chaos' sigil tattooed on her forehead but did not wear the ice crown they sought. Akemi presented Baba Izza with a chaotic potion pouch, which delighted her.

When asked about the Crown of Snegurka, Baba Izza stated they could access it only by agreeing to a blind deal: she could borrow an item they possessed (without specifying which), and they must accept a gift they already possessed. Reluctantly, the party agreed. Baba Izza then requested the Sigil Master's Needle recovered from the Cloudspire Manor auction. Eyeing Cut Cut intently throughout the conversation, she used the needle to tattoo the Thri-kreen monk with the 'Violence' sigil, cryptically stating it represented Cut Cut's bloodline – something the monk would have to understand for herself.

Baba Izza then led them to a large stone room within the cabin, furnished only with a magically replenishing table of food and drink, a cauldron, and a complex puzzle. She informed them the crown was within this room and they could stay as long as needed, but once they left, they could never return. The party worked on the puzzle, assembling pieces into a small sphere that transformed into the magical Peridot of the Moon. Activating the gem cast a moon-infused *faerie fire*, revealing three invisible Moon Beasts. A fierce battle ensued. Cut Cut, entering a terrifying rage after a series of critical hits, single-handedly dispatched the first beast, splattering gore across the chamber. Each defeated beast left behind a small metal triangle. Assembled, these formed the Triforce Amulet, which caused a triangular pattern with 15 ghostly staff sockets to appear on the floor and a riddle to manifest on the wall.

Deciphering the riddle involved a numbering system (crescent moon = 1, sun = 2, full moon = 5, star = 10) and following complex movement instructions for removing ghostly staves from the floor pattern, akin to a peg puzzle. Solving the brainteaser yielded the Staff of the Sun. Following Baba Izza's earlier hints, the party combined the Staff of the Sun, the Peridot of the Moon, and the Triforce Amulet, using the assembled artifact to cast *moonbeam* into the cauldron. This revealed their prize: the Crown of Snegurka.

Upon exiting the stone room with the crown, Baba Izza's demeanor shifted drastically. Angrily declaring they were no longer welcome, she ejected them from her cabin and demanded they leave Dinos immediately.

The Feinting GOATs departed Dinos aboard the Hammer Ship, setting course for Athas. To shorten the three-week journey to one week, Bao Bao piloted the spelljammer into the Phlogiston, a volatile region of wildspace where fire posed an explosive risk. The journey proceeded smoothly until they were about two days from Athas. A Neogi Death Spider ship abruptly entered the phlogiston nearby, immediately attacking. The spider-ship's legs impaled the Hammer Ship, and Neogi pirates began swarming aboard.

Hand-to-hand combat erupted on the Hammer Ship's deck. The tide turned when one Neogi engaged Cut Cut, whose critical hit revealed the newly acquired 'Violence' tattoo. Recognizing the sigil (or perhaps mistaking it for another), the Neogi immediately ceased hostilities and began retreating, issuing apologies even as the party continued to attack the fleeing pirates.

A commanding voice boomed from the Death Spider, identifying himself as "Vess'rek" and profusely apologizing. Mistaking Cut Cut for a male Thri-kreen acquaintance named "Kha'Tikra" (apparently due to Neogi difficulty distinguishing Thri-kreen features and gender), Vess'rek claimed he hadn't known it was "his" ship. He mentioned thinking Kha'Tikra was dead, having personally looted his body and taken a distinctive crown – the Ka'riik Mind Circlet. Remarking that "resurrection was kind to Kha'Tikra," Vess'rek questioned why they were in a non-kreen ship without flying colors and inquired if Kha'Tikra was still pursuing the mission of "Total domination of Athas." The party deflected, stating their mission was secret.

Vess'rek, eager to make amends (perhaps out of fear or respect for the misidentified Kha'Tikra), offered to return the looted Ka'riik Mind Circlet and psionically repair the significant damage the Hammer Ship had sustained, including a destroyed catapult. The party agreed. Vess'rek came aboard, returned the psionic circlet to Cut Cut, and repaired the vessel. With apologies reiterated, the two ships went their separate ways.

Thus concluded Session 12, with the Feinting GOATs recovering the Crown of Snegurka, Cut Cut receiving a mysterious tattoo and a powerful psionic circlet, and the Hammer Ship repaired as they continued their journey through the phlogiston toward the volcanic plains of Athas.

Note: The following writings are from the character's perspective and are often private to the character. They are not considered "in-game" knowledge to the other characters, and any in-character reference to this information would be considered meta-gaming.

Letter to Master Kagemitsu at Tengai-no-mori Monastery by Caylen Redden

Dear Master,
     I don’t know what I’ve gotten myself into this time. As you know, while I greatly enjoyed my time at home, both for the brief respite from adventuring and the opportunity for additional training as well as practice with my riik’dasl, I soon missed my companions and therefore was also glad to reunite with the Feinting GOATs and be off on another assignment. However, things have quickly become complicated. We were dispatched to Dinos to negotiate with a former associate of the Hierophant, Isadora Chapman, and attempt to recover a crown which she had once worn. To accomplish this, we were to travel on the Pantheon’s spelljammer hammer ship, newly repaired with the helm from the crashed Thri-kreen ship discovered near Sakhmehet Village. Traveling through space was an exciting prospect, but I couldn’t help feeling uneasy on the ship. Although I have no memory of it, my first voyage certainly had a large impact on my life. Fortunately, it was a short trip to Dinos, and with her psionic abilities Bao Bao proved a more than competent pilot, so we reached the moon without incident. Once there, we quickly found Isadora Chapman’s dwelling, but we were surprised when the simple-looking hut grew a pair of legs and attacked us. I was pulled inside through the door/mouth and found myself in a comfortably furnished room, where I was forced to wait while the rest of the GOATs finished the battle. Once defeated, the hut admitted the rest of the party, and Isadora, who informed us she now goes by Baba Izza, came to greet us. When asked about the crown, she freely shared her dislike for it, but she was still reluctant to part with it. Rather than simply hand it over, she offered to make a deal, a customary practice among the fae, and as it turned out, the deal relied upon my participation. Throughout the conversation, she was especially intent upon me, which I thought was simply due to curiosity, since she had not encountered a Thri-kreen before. Unfortunately, the hag’s interest went much deeper than that. In exchange for revealing the crown’s location, she said she wanted to “borrow something you carry to give you something you already have” and would provide no details beyond that vague description until the offer was accepted. We accepted the terms somewhat reluctantly, wary of tricks since we had been warned of her penchant for chaos, but seeing little other choice to resolve the matter peacefully. Well, she filled in the details, and what she wanted to borrow was the tattoo machine we had taken from the “lost heirs” and use it on me. I had (and still have) several concerns, but the rest of the GOATs seemed to believe this was a reasonable enough request and, again, that we had little choice, so I allowed it for the sake of the party and our mission. I now have the enclosed symbol (which Korloth helpfully drew for me) tattooed on my thorax. I hope this will not prevent me from visiting the onsen next time I am home, but that is the least of my worries, because the design happens to be one of the sigils included on the diabolic manuscript we recovered for the Pantheon, specifically the sigil of violence. Its appearance on my chitin through the use of the lost heirs’ tattoo machine would seem to indicate that I am one of them. Although this makes a degree of sense, given that I am apparently the last survivor of the Riik-kek, I have no idea what it actually means. We still have very little information about the significance or purpose of the lost heirs or these sigils. I suspect in my case it may be related to the red Thri-kreen standing with the Great One in the vision shared by Tra-Dasik, but I dislike not knowing the particulars of the magic or entity to which I appear to be bound. As we continue our journey, I will spend more time meditating with the Chak’dasl and attempt to glean more useful information.

     The appearance of this tattoo alone is enough cause for concern, especially since we are now heading toward Athas, and (given my previous reception) I had hoped to avoid the subject of my heritage if we encountered other Thri-kreen, but I discovered it also has a tendency to glow red when I engage in combat. After completing the tattoo, Baba Izza, as promised, led us to the location where she had stored the crown we sought, but of course the matter was not as simple as just searching for the desired object. No, the crown could only be found by solving a series of puzzles almost as chaotic and nonsensical as the hag herself. Initially, the only thing of interest we found in the room was an assortment of wooden parts. After giving it some thought, we realized these were puzzle pieces that could be fitted together to form a sphere. Doing so (with some difficulty) rewarded us with a green gemstone which had the ability to cast light. Elyn used the gemstone’s power to illuminate the room’s dark corners, revealing large, tentacled moon creatures, previously invisible to our sight. As soon as the creatures realized they were no longer hidden, they attacked. In addition to physical blows, they employed a psionic ability which could cause temporary madness. Korloth was the first to fall victim to the psionic attack. I hoped to engage his foe quickly so he could recover, but I found it somewhat difficult to land blows on the creature with my gythka, even improved as it is with the new riik’dasl blades. On a whim, I decided to try a new weapon given to me by the other GOATs, a katana previously wielded by the oni they faced in the Táofēng Settlement, with a blue blade and an especially keen edge. I think the katana may become a permanent addition to my repertoire, because it was very effective, allowing me to dispatch the creature with a single swing. Afterward, however, the tattoo began to glow, and I found myself uncontrollably slashing at the thing until it was reduced to an unrecognizable pile of meat and viscera. Perhaps still suffering from some kind of mental influence, I had less success against the next creature and was temporarily disabled by its psionic attack. Thankfully, Bao Bao was able to bring me back to my senses before I turned on the rest of the party, and together, the GOATs were able to finish off the other two moon creatures. As each one fell, it dropped a piece of metal, and when these were fitted together, they created an amulet. Activating the power of the amulet caused a previously mundane pool of water in the room to glow, revealing a staff, and touching the staff brought forth a pyramid-shaped puzzle with fifteen squares and a variety of sun, moon, and star symbols. In order to solve this puzzle, we needed to first interpret a symbolic numbering system, then follow cryptic directions to remove a staff from each square in a particular order. This was truly a team effort. I caught onto the numbering system fairly quickly but had more trouble with the subsequent directions. Together, however, we were able to solve the puzzle without error and finally collect our prize, the icy crown we had been sent to retrieve. Once we had accomplished our goal, Baba Izza’s demeanor became much less welcoming, and she demanded that we leave immediately, so there was no opportunity to inquire further about the tattoo, though I suspect she knows much more than she let on.

      Returning to the hammer ship, we once again took to space, heading for Athas. We reached the Phlogiston, a sort of current which would convey us to our destination more quickly, but we weren’t there long before we were set upon by a Neogi ship. Even though I now know Neogi were not responsible for the destruction of my tribe, they were still very low on the list of things I hoped to encounter in wild space. No words were exchanged before the Neogi ship made contact with ours, driving two protruding “limbs” into our hull, and raiders began to board. We began to fight them off, and I was grateful that I had purchased a ranged weapon before our departure, but I will admit to being somewhat happier once a few of the Neogi got close enough to engage in melee so I could deal more significant damage. Once again, my tattoo began to glow, and then something even stranger happened: the Neogi hastily apologized and began to retreat. After the boarders had returned to their ship, their leader, Vess’rek, came out himself to treat with me. He had mistaken me for another Thri-kreen, called Kha’Tikra, who once bore the same sigil. Vess’rek knew Kha’Tika to be deceased and had even looted the corpse, but he assumed Kha’Tika had been resurrected. I am well acquainted with the racist assertion that all Thri-kreen look alike, but at least in this case it worked in my favor. Deception is not a strong point of mine, but with assistance from Akemi, I was able to bluff, simply leaning into Vess’rek’s assumption that I was his old ally. I learned from Vess’rek that this Kha’Tika and the Neogi had once planned to conquer Athas together. Vess’rek also “returned” an item he had taken from Kha’Tikra, a circlet made of riik’dasl and Neogi metal clearly designed for a Thri-kreen, with properties perfectly suited to enhance the abilities of a monk. I find the coincidence disconcerting, to say the least, and I am uncomfortably reminded of the prophecy of the last of the Riik-kek. I certainly do not aspire to be the sort of person who would ally with the Neogi to subjugate a planet, and I believe I have successfully delayed that plan for now, but given that the tattoo seems to have the ability to influence my behavior, I am concerned that I may not have full control of my actions once we reach Athas. It will be a difficult conversation, but I believe    

      I need to discuss a plan for the other GOATs to restrain me if the need arises. I know they are all quite capable – they handled a team of oni-corrupted Mupalanese warriors in my absence, after all – but I still feel responsible for protecting them and would hate to cause them harm. Korloth is more than my match in terms of strength, but     I am faster and more maneuverable. Adrian’s guns can deal significant damage, but he is much less suited to close combat. Perhaps Elyn could transform into something particularly formidable, and I know she, Bao Bao, Akemi, and Lenti all have impressive magical and psionic abilities, but I don’t know if any of them would be a match for me alone. It is not my intention to boast; I merely speak out of concern for my clutch. If it comes to it, coordination will be required, so yes, I believe a plan is definitely in order. I will close the letter here and go gather the others for a conversation. As usual, I don’t know when this letter may reach you, so perhaps by the time you read it we will already have found a solution. If not, then perhaps you will be able to assist in the aftermath.
With hope,
Cut-Cut

The Full Moon and the Madness That Followed by Syd McVay

The full moon was back, shining bright and familiar, but there was no urgent need to tap into its power. Instead, I took some time to sharpen my skills, running through forms, testing my abilities, and keeping myself sharp. Philip was around, too—I’ve been teaching him new languages, trying to broaden his understanding of different cultures. He’s getting better at it, but sometimes he forgets that not everyone thinks like a possum. Still, he’s growing stronger and smarter every day. Honestly, I’ve gotten pretty attached to him. 

After our last mission, we regrouped and reported back to the church. But experience has taught me that not all truths need to be shared, and we kept some information to ourselves. This was something my dad, Tom, always tried to teach me back home. There’s a fine line between when to speak and when to stay quiet, and it’s one of those lessons you only really understand after living through it. I miss him a lot. I wonder how the shop’s holding up, if he’s managing everything alright. Truth be told, he would’ve been a huge help on our journey—his charm alone could have saved us some trouble. But reminiscing won’t get me anywhere now. 

We had another mission lined up: retrieve Baba Yaga’s crown. Apparently, her descendant, Baba Izzy, had it—and that was going to be a problem. Izzy had once been sharp, powerful even, but time and chaos had worn her down. The old dwarf who told us about her had a strange mix of respect and caution in his voice. She might seem fragile, might even seem lost, but she was still a dangerous witch. 

The church gave us a specialized hammer for the job, something engineered into a cyanic helm, meaning Bowbow would be the ship’s main pilot. Al figured out she could channel healing through the ship, redistributing health across the crew. It gave us a major advantage—and we were going to need it. Space isn’t kind to the reckless. 

We set course for the second moon of Dinos, where Izzy supposedly lived. Finding the cabin wasn’t hard. It was exactly where we were told it would be. But stepping up to it, I could tell there was magic woven deep into its walls. I pulled back to tell the others, and we moved forward carefully. Akemi, our most charismatic, took the lead and knocked on the door. No answer. Instead, the cabin sprouted massive chicken legs and launched itself into a fight. 

It kicked. It clawed. It pecked. None of us expected a battle against a literal monster-house. Then, in the chaos, Cutcut got too close and was dragged inside. We tried yelling, tried breaking through, but the cabin shut itself tight. The only one who got close enough to catch a glimpse inside was Lenti—just long enough to see Cutcut before the door slammed shut. 

After a struggle, we got the cabin under control and made our way inside. There, Cutcut and Izzy were already talking, like nothing had happened. Akemi stepped up, made introductions, and even gifted Izzy a bag infused with chaotic magic. She loved it. When we explained why we were there, she confirmed that she had the crown—but getting it wasn’t going to be that simple. 

Izzy offered a deal. If Cutcut agreed to let her give a tattoo, she’d allow us access to the crown. It sounded innocent enough. Some eccentric witch wanting to leave her mark? Weird, but fine. Cutcut agreed, and the tattoo was done. 

That was only the beginning. Izzy led us into a room, promising the crown was inside, but only if we passed three trials. First, we solved a puzzle that required forming a perfect sphere—unlocking a spell that lit up the space. Second, we fought moon beasts, each one dropping a piece of metal as they fell. We pieced the fragments together into an amulet, which revealed new markings on the floor. The last challenge was a test of logic—decoding a riddle and using numerical order to align staffs. Once we cracked it, the crown appeared. 

Izzy wasn’t happy. She shoved us out the door, but that was fine. We had what we came for. 

We were two days out from the Citadel when trouble found us again. A Neogi Death Spider ship ambushed us, its mechanical limbs latching onto our own, trapping us in place. Escape wasn’t an option. Fire was too dangerous in our surroundings, limiting how we could fight back. I turned to ice magic, throwing everything I could at them. The battle was intense—until Cutcut’s new tattoo lit up bright red. 

Everything changed. One of the Neogi recognized the mark, sending a message to their captain. Within moments, the fight stopped. They backed off. 

A voice—someone powerful—started speaking, but not to us. To Cutcut. The Neogi believed her to be someone else, someone involved in an entirely different mission. The tattoo was their proof. We played along, letting them believe the lie. Their captain apologized, claiming they owed her something, and even offered to repair our ship. We took the repairs, the weapon fixes, and the chance to heal up, but the relief didn’t last long. 

That tattoo—the one that seemed harmless—was anything but. Cutcut was changing, her rage growing, something unnatural simmering beneath the surface. And now, as we head toward Athas, that fear is turning real. There’s a prophecy hanging over us, one that warns of destruction. If Cutcut loses control, if this tattoo’s magic takes hold, it might not be a warning anymore—it might be our future.