Episode 23

Content Warning
Due to the nature of the improvisation, the content displayed within may be considered uncomfortable or triggering to some viewers. This includes: gore, body horror, themes of depression, dissociation, and anxiety.

This episode contains horror themes following the break, including blood and vampiric feeding that some may consider disturbing!

Recap
''With the Strings of Fate finally getting their allies to safety, the question arises of their next move. With a city of blood growing ever stronger above them, can they protect those beneath the bridge?''

Part 1
The party briefly regroups to fill each other in on what they heard from their individual conversations, then Azzurum approaches Selk to see if she knows any more about the Aquaine people. First, though, he checks in with her to see how she's feeling, and she says that she is feeling fine now, but still needs to properly thank Vincent.

Selk tells Azzurum that the Aquaine people were the indigenous people of the western coast of Aphra, where Wheldon and the Sovereignty now are. The Aquaine people are long gone, and although Selk has a bit of a connection with them (the symbols of Umberlee in her home), Astrid Downs would be their best bet for finding out more information. She also says that the separation of Wheldon between the lower and upper cities has been in place for a few hundred years, and the Ansyrian church came in maybe a century ago.

Meanwhile, Vincent seeks out Tasha, and finds her sleeping.

The group convenes a meeting with Astrid, Rowen, and Wolfgang to discuss next steps. The Strings of Fate tell the others what they know of the planes, the clocktower, the Aquaine people, and the rot that that Doc Berry had mentioned. Astrid says that in their recon of Wheldon, they had noticed that the heads of the households have become more and more agitated over the last year. They were also perhaps sickly, as their plans to prepare their heirs were accelerated.

The Aquaine people were forced out of their lands by the Starlight Sovereignty, but generally, this area used to be a settlement for indigenous worshipers of Umberlee. At the time, they didn't have the clocktower, but they did have the bell. Then, when Wheldon was built, the people of Wheldon moved the bell into the clocktower in "remembrance" of the Aquaine people, and they've left it up to keep up appearances even as they've shoved those people down into the undercity.

The bell originated as an artifact from the worship of Umberlee. In this area where Wheldon now stands was one of the Vandric trees - a tree planted by one of the primordial gods - and left in that tree was a bell. The tree itself was said to be gorgeous, with vibrant leaves in hues of blue, and the fruit was full of juice, or a water of life, that sustained the Aquaine people. They would ring the bell to give thanks to Umberlee and ask for her protection. When the Aquaine people were forced out, the tree wilted, and Wheldon was built on top of it.

Astrid's group has been trying to figure out how to get the bell back. It stopped working over a year ago, and there was no evidence that it had been moved. Following invoices, it seems that the town was trying to find a worker to repair it or forge a new bell. Vincent extrapolates that the bell was on the right frequency to keep everything in balance, and since it hasn't been ringing for a year, this happened - something they learned with Azzurum a few weeks ago. That leaves two questions - who started it, and how do they fix it. They agree the second is the more pressing matter.

Rowen gives a report on her progress on a plan for getting the people out of Wheldon. They had noticed that something - some force - was preventing the monsters from following people into the undercity, but they don't think that protection will last forever. One option is to send people in armored carts along the roads as far as they can go, but the better option would be to open the storm shutters under the bridge and send people up the river underwater. The Strings of Fate say that they know someone who had made a submersible (which is better than Rowen's idea of "water-goer-under") - Jarlaxle. Rowen wants to talk to them as it would accelerate the timeline and get people out of here sooner.

The group has a small disagreement about whether to trust Jarlaxle to help these people before Lidara and Azzurum finally convince Vincent to contact him with Sending. Jarlaxle's response to the spell is weak coughing, and he says that he can't join them in his "current state" and asks them to meet him at the tower.

Plans are made - after a long rest, the Strings of Fate will go to the clocktower to find the bell and Jarlaxle, and Astrid and her crew will work with the people remaining in the city, securing food and going on scavenging missions to look for more survivors.

In the late night/early morning, Vincent, Azzurum, and Lidara make their way to the overcity. The streets are now eerily quiet except for a howling, deranged laughter that seems to arise in the distance and the occasional sound of chewing from an alley. The bloodrock is now permanent and isn't fading in and out, and wolf-like creatures crawl along the buildings like spiders.

As they approach the clocktower, they see that the center marketplace around it has caved in on itself - although it hasn't broken through to the undercity - and in the crevasse is a small sea of molten gold, bubbling with heat. The clocktower itself is wrapped in a spiraling tower of bloodrock, and the laughter is coming from the top of it.

The group polymorphs Vincent and Lidara into tiny bats to cross the molten gold, and Azzurum gracefully swings across on his Astral Hook.

Part 2
ySafely across, the party opens the doors to the clocktower. They can hear ghastly music echoing from above, and all of the starlight decorations have been magically replaced with floating candles. Vincent finds the servant staircase that Tasha had mentioned, and they begin the very very long walk.

When they near their destination, Vincent uses Clairvoyance to look into the ballroom. It is light by eerie candlelight from floating candles, and the low light is a blessing. Ravenous teeth work at piles of strange, unrecognizable but delicious-looking morsels. The faces of the clock are stained with splattered remains, and the floors are cluttered with discarded, half-eaten creatures. Blood slithers up the walls to join with a jagged obsidian stalactite that has taken the place of the chandelier. Filling the tables - which are almost as full as they had been at the ball - the nobles laugh and cheer and feast, indulging in an ecstasy of drink and drug. Shaking servers bring platter after platter of indiscernible dishes to the table, and Vincent sees one of the servers is stopped by a noble, and teeth sink into his already punctured arm. The server has to crawl back to the kitchen.

Where the orchestra was, there is a now a throne of bloodrock, sharp and twisted in its design, with a massive figure (link is a guess -Auda) sitting atop it. Vincent sees Rayna and Lady Allegra taking part in the feast. Seated at a table closest to the throne enjoying a conversation with the figure is Valentina Thorn, with sharp vampiric features that seem more refined than the bestial vampires they had met outside. Her gown has been replaced, and she looks fresh, renewed, and natural in this role.

When Vincent doesn't spot Jarlaxle, he uses Message to try to make a connection - and the spell works. Jarlaxle says that he didn't expect them to actually come, and tells him that he is where the wine was being stored along with a few others who are being used as bloodbanks. He also warns Vincent to watch out for the head chef.

Azzurum disguises himself as Lady Allegra and enters the kitchen, intending to take the prisoners out for "blood business." Inside the kitchen, the human chefs are silent and focused and scared as they work. At the center of the line is an enormous figure wearing a chef's uniform stained in purple and crimson. He has ghoulish features and thin facial hair, and he stands above the others, supervising. Azzurum recognizes the food now that he has a close-up look - it is food conjured from the Plane of Gluttony, which is something that their employee Nazareth in Ciniath was able to do.

Azzurum is able to make it past this to the wine cellar, where he sees every server that couldn't keep up with the dinner rush and a few nobles, all looking weak, emaciated, and drained. They are clearly too weak to stand up and flee. A drow is among them - Jarlaxle. When Jarlaxle sees "Lady Allegra" he tries to crawl away, but Azzurum grabs him and tells him he's "not the sharpest" and Jarlaxle realizes its a disguise - "Oh fuck, thank god." Azzurum gives him a health potion while Jarlaxle tells Azzurum that they have been using the people in this room as "seasoning" for the dishes. Just then, they hear stomping and the head chef enters the room, the depths of his eyes looking like they're filled with blood. Azzurum tries to disguise himself as one of the servers but the chef sees through it. In desperation, he tries to Charm him, but the spell finds no purchase. The chef reaches for Azzurum, but Jarlaxle smashes a wine bottle across the back of the chef's head and yells "run!" Azzurum grabs Jarlaxle and starts to take off, shooting Eldritch Blasts behind him as he goes.

Lidara, who had been watching from the entrance to the stairs, sees this and fires an arrow at the chef. A battle-in-motion ensues, with the party attempting to make their way down the stairs as the chef pursues them. He is fast and strong, and manages to pull down sections of the stairs to block their path. Then, the creature turns to charge at Lidara - and the momentum of his charge sends him crashing into the wall of the stairwell and through it, straight into the dining room. The music stops, and vampiric eyes begin to look their direction.

Vincent grabs Lidara and casts Dimension Door to move them outside the tower at the edge of the molten gold. Azzurum, seeing vampires beginning to climb through the hole in the wall like ants, tosses a Fireball at them using a bead from his necklace. The force of the spell blows up this side of the tower, and bodies fall through the stairwell. The blast gives him some lead time, but the rest of hte vampires are still pursuing. Azzurum grabs Jarlaxle and jumps into the middle of the tower, casting Levitate as they fall down the center. Jarlaxle is initially frightened but regains his cool when he realizes the spell is helping.

At the base of the tower, the four regroup. Vincent and Lidara work together to slice the chains that bind Jarlaxle while they decide how to get back across. Jarlaxle only has his hat that can disguise him, but the rest of his magical items are in his bag, which is back upstairs. They all agree its not worth retrieving it. Instead, Vincent once again polymorphs Lidara into the giant black eagle, and they fly away - but they're seen, and soon a screeching swarm of vampiric bats is on their tail.

The Strings of Fate

 * Azzurum Esen-Carr
 * Lidara Mormaer
 * Vincent Obra
 * Renaer Neverember

Returning

 * Selk
 * Adelaide
 * Tidus and Tidan
 * Wolfgang
 * Rowen
 * Astrid Downs
 * Tasha Thorn
 * Doctor Neerja
 * Jarlaxle Baenre
 * Valentina Thorn
 * Lady Allegra
 * Rayna of Limon
 * Adela
 * Bonnie O'Donogan

Mentions

 * Doc Berry
 * Cygnet