Session 88: We Meet the Mothers (August 7, 2025)
Last session, our heroes wasted no time after defeating Kogar Mistwall before immediately putting some of Maho’s blood on an altar and summoning deadly statues animated by Old Magic. Thinking fast, they refilled the bowl with water and with a decent religion check were given an option of wheat or a sword. Intuiting that the choice would not affect them, but something else, they chose wheat, because as Heph put it: “We’ve done enough destroying.” Disappointed in not getting a cool new sword, Elias dropped Jarles, reawakening his abandonment issues. Heph picked him back up, and Jarles let him do so.
The party returned to the site of the ruse wedding, Kogar’s corpse hoisted up the cliff face with a rope, and found that more people were suddenly in attendance. Many were emerging clown-car style from a rickshaw being pulled by the Archfey Darryl. Ash, a little wary of her father’s body, nonetheless rushed to embrace Elias, excited to be able to continue the wedding. Elias immediately proposed (after Heph kicked his leg to get him on one knee), which Ash took kindly but refused. She said she would love to date first, and to finish the ceremony that they had started. And so with Kogar’s body hidden away in a Rope Trick dimension, people began to settle back in.
During a conversation with Otto the Minotaur, however, during which the party remembered the only person able to speak his language was no longer with them, Karrl flew off to a tree, distracted. There an incorporeal Rormir materialized, having received Elias’s invitation. The party greeted him excitedly and brought him up to speed on what had just happened. Rormir produced a giant peach, saying it was a gift. Elias didn’t accept Jarles back from Heph to open it, instead using Jarles 3, revealing an Amazon box inside. Within the box was a wooden rod that controlled a chastity belt resembling a banana peel. Ash was given the rod, so that she could control the fertilization of Elias and any other “seeders” she may acquire.
Rormir faded, with Darryl glaring daggers at him the whole time, and the ceremony resumed. The Heavenly Cap, carrying a recording of the disappeared Mort, arrived, and Elias and Ash exchanged their vows. They put on their rings, which solidified and tightened slightly on their fingers. Finally, they kissed. Maho chopped down a tree with her new axe to make a path to the reception area, and the party began.
Heph, always practical, set about using the gathering to make plans. He filled Governor Literi in on some weaknesses of the Nor’Southern Isles fleet, gave Kogar’s body to Thad to see if he could do anything after returning it to Dalin, and convinced Darryl to help out in the Shivered Sea.
Maho walked up to her dad who was eating a large sandwich. They shared their mutual confusion about recent events. Maho asked him if he had heard from her mom recently, to which he took out a parcel dated a couple months earlier. Joerg said that Maho had become quite the warrior like her mother, to which Maho confided in her father that the killing she has had to do had been weighing on her. She was glad that Joerg seemed to be out of TK’s clutches for now, and that they will need to look into what happened to her mom after dealing with Sentin. Joerg made Maho her own sandwich, reminded her to take care of herself as well, and they sat down to spend some time together amidst the celebration.
- Elias is having a conversation with Ash when the Rope
Trick runs out, and he notices Kogar’s body falling from
the sky
- He manages to keep her distracted while Thad grabs the body and gets it to the rickshaw, asking Ash more about her pact with Hooded Beth
- She doesn’t seem very interested to talk about it, given how stressful of a day it is, with her Dad dying and also getting “married”
- While talking Elias briefly drops to the ground, and thinking he might have gone unconscious she does a bit of CPR, and when he comes back to she makes some jokes about how now that they’re married she doesn’t have to be poor since Elias is surprisingly rich for a commoner
- Elias doesn’t need the details, but asks Ash if she is staying here or has to head back, and she replies that she doesn’t have anything she has to do, and that’s a nice chance
- After a brief awkward exchange about the physical nature of their relationship, Elias goes to grab a drink, Ash joining him, and he grabs an entire barrel, attempting to pry it open with Ash’s trident
- Prying off the lid, he finds Ana inside, and she pops out
and hands Elias a jug of some alcohol, saying “I think you’ll
like this”
- It’s dark blue with a strange thin head on top
- He pops it open and drinks it, finding it has a berry flavor and it is quite refreshing, and Elias feels a sensation in his stomach of falling from a height, and he feels a bit lighter, and he gives some to Ash
- He stirs it with the trident, again shrinking it down to an inch, and seems a little perturbed that Elias is stirring drinks with the weapon that killed Kogar
- Ash doesn’t seem to take the drink as well and throws up, and looks very light
- Elias notices that she is standing on her tip-toes, like she is trying to stay in contact with the ground
- Elias yells out “don’t worry I’ll save you” and jumps to grab Ash, jumping much further than expected, colliding with Ash, and sending her flying off into the air
- Heph and Maho notice Ash floating and Elias jumping, and Heph notices Ash is affected by Levitate, and Elias is affected by Jump and Feather Fall
- Meanwhile Heph has gone over to his Mom, who
immediately pulls him into an embrace
- She is very confused about what is happening, and Heph explains a bit about what’s going on, how other planes are real and half of Heph’s friends are from other planes
- He tells her a bit about who Kogar was and what it means that he is dead
- Amble asks if we’re all on drugs, and Heph says no, but he points to Elias and Ash and says they might be, as Elias is spinning Ash
- He accidentally lets go, and Maho bats her back to him
- Heph fills his Mom in on how the Governor is maybe not such a great guy, and also lets her know about what Spraus is up to
- Meanwhile Elias is gathered with some people making the fire giant break dance
- Heph mentions the mirror world to Amble, and she sighs and suggests they get a drink first, she seems a bit freaked out about what all is going on in Heph’s life and how he’s grown up super fast
- Maho is with the goliaths, checking out the new greataxe she got
from Kogar, chopping down trees to make training dummies,
and passing the axe around to everyone
- Suzuki suggests a drinking game, they chop the tree and whoever has the shallowest cut has to drink, and Maho suggests they drink the blue stuff Elias had
- Maho suggests an alternative, see how many pieces they can cut off the tree in 10 seconds
- Maho absolutely eviscerates the tree, time seeming to fold over on itself as the tree suddenly just bursts into multiple pieces
- The other goliaths try to compete, but none come close, and Elias makes 300gp from the bets he and Ash played
- The goliaths all down blue drink that Ana pulls out of nowhere, and they all get a bit light and are also affected by Levitate
- Elias walks up to Ana, and asks her what the blue
drink is and where it’s coming from, and Ana tells him it’s
time to tell him one of her secrets
- Elias is clearly drunk and leans in saying “I’m ready”, and she points to a rope tied to a rock near the edge of the cliff, and Elias isn’t sure what to do
- He goes and looks over the edge, nearly stumbling off the edge, and sees the rope is tied off to a sack filled with bottles, which she stole earlier in the day
- Elias asks why she gave him a weird look earlier, and Ana asks him if he’s happy with how the wedding has gone
- He looks around at all the chaos happening, and says it’s better than he thought it would be
- She points out Elias has lots of friends, despite acting like a loner
- Elias is surprised that people got his invitations, and she calls over Salty, who seems to have helped deliver the invites
- Elias suddenly hugs her, and she hesitates for a second before hugging him back, and he says “thank you, if you hadn’t talked to me on that boat I don’t think any of this would have happened”
- She replies that Elias doesn’t give himself enough credit, she merely pointed out what she saw, and he was already well on his way
- This conversation has moved Elias to tears, and she tries to comfort him
- Ana expresses how glad she is to have been invited to our party, and says Elias and the group are way better at adventuring that she ever was
- Elias asks one more question, asking what she stole ages ago, and in response she pats him on the shoulder, and says “Jeremias, that is my final trick”
- Elias realizes she stole his sense of security, and didn’t actually steal anything
- Elias hugs her again as he realizes she has helped keep him on his toes, and reverse pickpockets her 500gp without her noticing
- She notes she feels heavier with friendship, and Elias notes that he feels lighter
- She jokes that he peed himself, and he grits his teeth, agreeing and somewhat regretting giving her the money
- She decides to teach him her final secret, but they agree it should be when he’s less drunk, and he runs off back to the party, tripping and falling on his way
- Maho finds Elias and asks him if he’s planning to go
back to the Nor’Southern Isles after, and
Elias is stuffing his face with cake and mumbles some answer
- Maho invites him to find a place in Eken, saying it’s a big city
- Maho is watching the Princess, and Elias tries to encourage her to “go for it”, which seems to very much confuse Maho
- Maho explains Elias is a bit confused, Maho is really just wondering if the Princess’ ferret drinks or not, and notices that the ferret seems to run over to the guards to drink alcohol in secret, and Maho is disappointed she doesn’t get to see it
- Maho approaches her and asks her how the first day of the
convention was
- She greets Maho and tells her she left early, and Maho is confused, but apparently the normal time to leave a tomb party is at 9am
- Maho explains that we had to leave to get this party ready, and the Princess says it was worth it, the party is amazing, and Maho really knows how to live life with these parties
- She again invites the party to visit the castle, saying that they let you do anything there
- Elias messages Maho saying “it’s working, she’s totally into you”
- Maho ignores that and just seems taken aback at how rich she is and the resources she has access to, and the Princess says she can do basically anything, even get someone killed if they aren’t a good person
- The Princess mentions drugs, and Elias materializes, and she hands him some without even looking, and he walks back away
- Maho tells her that her ferret is cool, and Maho shows the Princess her spectral companion that she got from her companion’s band
- The Princess is surprised and asks what it is, and Maho explains it’s an Almiraj (a cross of a unicorn and rabbit) named Uuu (Üü) (Mushu without the M or sh)
- Tuki (the ferret) immediately crawls over and begins sniffing at Uuu
- Maho explains that almirajes are common in the mythology of Cryptop, and notes that Tuki and Uuu get along, and they should have playdates for their pets
- Maho asks if anything interesting from the con sticks out, and the
Princess doesn’t seem to know too much of what is
going on at Hexicon
- She isn’t into nerd shit and one of the few things she can’t do as a Princess is stuff nerds into lockers, but she wishes she could
- Science is good for the empire, but it’s not really her thing
- “Kensin Waldershits” is one of the people she really needs to remember, he’s an elf from the Morenwald, and she pulls out her bound book of notes and finds the page of Sentin Thornwillow, but flips past it looking for a different name
- The bulleted list says “From Fleetwood, selling weapons to Central Command, important to make a good impression”
- Maho also notes a woman named Magdalene Stanger, an inventor on TK’s payroll, basically he funds her research as long as he gets first dibs on it
- Meanwhile Elias takes his ground over to the Harengon, puts his
Ring of the Grammarian on her, and takes the bucket off her head, telling
everyone to stand back
- Elias suddenly starts glowing brightly as he is “Brightened” and every cowers in the sudden burst of light
- He is disappointed thinking nothing has happened, as people flee from his brightness
- Heph is still sitting with his Mom, as he tries to
explain the mirror universe his mom starts to think he’s lost his mind
- The conversation briefly turns to drugs, and Elias comes up offering some, at which point she congratulates him, and Elias hides the drugs
- Heph takes Amble to meet Maho and introduces them, and she gives Maho a hug, essentially hugging her leg
- Amble asks how Maho met Heph, and Maho explains it’s a wild story that happened in Wildeport, and Heph jumps in to explain that we set it on fire and blew out the wall
- Amble says she knew Heph would do big things she just wishes they were safer and close to home, and she seems glad Heph has some capable people with him
- Amble asks where Maho is from, and Heph notes she’s from Cryptop, and Maho jumps in to explain that she and her Dad live in Eken, or rather did, her Dad now lives in Ivalgo
- Heph shows his mom his new trick with flying, which she seems excited about
- Maho asks about the potion shop, and about Amble and Spraus moving from Homeburr
- Elias chimes in, asking Amble if she’s met his mom, and he introduces Amble to Elias’ parents
- Elias’ parents still look at bit frazzled from their time living in a cave, and have been enjoying the food given they were eating raw fish before
- Elias pulls Maho aside, and asks her if she landed a
date, and she replies that they set up something for the pets, completely
unaware of what Elias is implying, and Elias oblivious
to how oblivious Maho is
- Joerg is also there, meeting the rest of the parents
- After a bit, Maho nudges Joerg and asks him about the letter, and he pulls it out at the table, and begins to open it up to read it with Maho
- Heph is also sitting at the table, a little awkward and not sure what to do, and Elias passes out in Heph’s lap, having worn himself out
- Maho exclaims partway through “what the fuck??” and Heph just sits quietly, waiting to hear more, Elias briefly waking up and then going back to sleep
- Joerg opens the package alongside it, and pulls out a cloak that indicates Maho is a fully trained warrior who is ready to lead and train warriors of her own
- Maho is very confused, as the letter seems to imply her mom is out in the world, but it’s not clear where she is at this point
- Maho gets up to go ask the other goliaths if they know anything about her Mom, and as she walks away Elias notes it’s a nice cloak she has, and flips his cloak around to match
- Maho goes up to Izume and Suzuki, and Izume says last she knew
Mana was going on a training mission
- Suzuki cuts in a says the duties for running drills and training was passed on to others who were under her, and they were not told much about where she was going, she just said she needed to take a trip to train and learn
- Maho has the cloak neatly folded, but does not put it on, she hasn’t seen her Mom in a long time and now her Mom is actually missing, and it’s a weird feeling
- Heph asks about how Joerg and Mana met, and learns Joerg was up in the mountains searching for griffins and spent some time in the goliath village
- Maho suddenly has a realization and runs off to find the Widow
Seer’s daughter, Heph and Elias following, and finds
her somehow sitting alone at a table
- Maho starts off by thanking her for coming and expressing happiness that she is there, and then gives her the Perfume of Madagascar Vanilla, which she inhales and seems to enjoy the scent of
- Elias wanders off to go dancing after she comments on the vanilla bean being plucked from the vine at a young age
- Maho asks her if she knows of any magic to locate people from far away, and the daughter says her mom could scry using her crystal ball
- She herself doesn’t have the gift, but has some training and could scry at a rudimentary level
- Maho goes on to explain her mom is missing, and asks the daughter if she could perhaps tap into her abilities at all to figure out where she might be, and pulls out the cloak from her mother
- Maho pulls out the cloak and puts it on the table
- Heph runs back to Joerg and asks if he has a painting of
Mana, and he starts to pull a small painting from his wallet, and
Elias shows up and recreates it with a Silent Image, and it
turns out it’s an erotic painting, and Joerg is suddenly very embarrassed
- “It’s tough being long distance!”
- Elias walks the image over to the table with Maho and the daughter, at which point we learn that the garment is more useful than the image, and Elias dismisses it
- Maho’s first reaction to the image is to throw a cloak at it and demand she put some clothes on, and the cloak phases through her and Maho realizes it is an illusion
- The Widow Seer’s daughter closes her eyes and starts waving her hands, and after a few moments she says she can see her, she is traveling and in a hurry
- Heph can tell there is no magic happening, and Elias can tell she is doing some sort of general fortune telling routine
- Elias and Heph try to trigger the fortune, Heph suggesting Maho give her a lock of hair
- Her eyes turn white and the crystal ball fills with a mist and she is now looking off into the distance and her body goes more rigid, and in the swirling mist of the ball we see an image begin to form
- Maho recognizes her mother, as do Elias and Heph due to their recent familiarity with her