Editing Forty-eighth Session

{{Infobox session
  | title             = Forty-eighth Session
  | image             = Jalindi.png
  | caption           = A portrait of a [[Jalindi]]
  | campaign          = [[The Primordial Campaign]]
  | game_date         = March 8th, 2022
  | start_date        = Afternoon, [[Kirkuyey]] 17th [[261 IM]]
  | start_location    = Outside the [[Towers of Eriquat]], [[Jalinbeti]]
  | end_date          = Afternoon, [[Kirkuyey]] 18th [[261 IM]]
  | end_location      = The Chamber of the Triumvirate, [[Trappist Citadel]], [[Trappist]]
  | absentees         = [[Rayjok Halperion]] (Dave)
  | guests            = 
  | prev_session      = [[Forty-seventh Session]]
  | next_session      = [[Forty-ninth Session]]
}}
The [[Forty-eighth Session]] commenced with the party surrounded by [[Eriquat bloodcasters]].  Before them lay the shattered corpse of [[Shardenzar]].  The creatures immediately began to bubble over with blood that spewed from their bodies forming a bloody sphere enveloping everyone in the party.  The damage was horrific and the rescued [[Jalindi]] dropped unconscious from the assault.

==The Blood Bath==
The party, drenched in blood were all stunned save [[Obsidian Black]] and the [[First Nightshade of Aspan]].  The latter exploded into action and deftly sliced two of the bloodcasters apart.  Their blood splashed to the ground and evaporated within moments.  Meanwhile, [[Obsidian Black]] rushed toward the corpse of [[Shardenzar]], but not before unleashing his Draconic Aura. This left most of the bloodcasters in a state of awe as he made his move.

Obsidian whispered to the coin he had received from [[Shetani the Defiler]], "He is prepared", and cast the coin into the air.

That very moment the bloodcasters ceased all movement as [[Shetani the Defiler]] and four [[Nether World]] materialized around the corpse of [[Shardenzar]].  Shetani laughed in delight.  "You are so good to deal with," he said to Obsidian, "so quick to meet your end of the bargain.  Now, what was our deal again?"  

Obsidian reminded Shetani that he would gather the bloodcasters and return them to the [[Nether World]].  Agreeing that a deal was a deal, Shetani raised a crystal likeness of Shardenzar from his corpse.  Then he, his trio of demon companions, a statue of Shardenzar, and the four remaining bloodcasters all faded to mist.

==The Twin Towers==
As the demons vanished [[Mira Nephilim]] jumped to the role of party healer and began restoring the party's health.  [[Panamon Cree]] jumped to the role of the party's loot-ninja and raced to the corpse of [[Shardenzar]], quickly yanking an amulet from the stringy twisted mess that was once [[Shardenzar]]'s neck.  "Seize the power," said a voice inside Panamon's head which was unmistakably the voice of [[Æski]].

Panamon donned the amulet, and glancing toward the [[Towers of Eriquat]] could see the locations, colors, and dimensions of the various wards protecting the towers from anyone who was not of the council.  Dodging moving wards, Panamon flew (levitated?) to one of the tower balconies and entered what was formerly Shardenzar's study.  There he was greeted by a clay golem who informed him that the council was in session and awaiting his arrival.

==The Game is All But Lost==
The council chamber featured a nonagonal table with a filled chair at each edge.  The spellcasters [[Nickar]] and [[Zoranthar]] sat to the left and right of an empty chair.  To the left sat three [[Sewoch]]i of different appearances.  To the right sat three insectoid creatures of a like that [[Panamon Cree]] had never seen.

"You have changed your appearance," said one of the [[Sewoch]]i, telepathically.  

Panamon explained that it was his magic.  "And you have changed your voice," said a different [[Sewoch]]i creature.

Panamon assured him that it was strong magic.  "And you have changed your mind," said the third.

"It's very strong magic," claimed Panamon as he continued the ruse without pause.  "Now what of my friends here, have they brought any business to the council?"

[[File:CouncilofNineInSession.png|center|800px]]

The council explained that it appeared to them that his friends (Nickar and Zoranthar) were on a journey and not in their heads.  Understanding, Panamon asked what business the council had, and the business was to console him on the loss of the game.  The council assured Panamon that he was a "good player" and would be spared destruction when [[Otan]] was destroyed.  They then speculated where they might headquarter the [[Council of Six]].

[[Panamon]] explained to the council that the game wasn't over yet. Then he fished for clues as to what the game was about in the first place.  This inquiry led to offers of consolation mixed with laughter about the plight of humanity which was soon to be over.  With the meeting concluded, the [[Sewoch]]i moved off to their rooms, presumably within the towers, and the insectoid creatures simply vanished.

Upon Panamon's return, Obsidian had dumped the rest of Shardenzar's considerable loot for the party to examine and divide.  Hedgewind soon teleported the party back to [[Jalinbeti]] to unwind from the day's events.

==Revelations==
Upon her return, [[Mira Nephilim]] was immediately gathered up by her brothers and sister for a meeting.  When all together, they started to experience something very new that they had not experienced for many years; memories.  Each in turn they began to recount memories of how they came to be the people who they are.

The following revelations came to light...
* All of the [[Qurilissi]] (builders) were more than 1,000 years old.
* They had all worked on behalf of the gods to create [[Otan]], and two other major continents on this world.
* That 261 years ago, the gods "recalled" them, and lights from the sky either destroyed them or sent them back to their "afterlife".
* [[Spire]] had memories of the [[Kudik]], the creche or "afterlife" world, from which they were all hatched, and presumably return after death.
* [[Mira]] recounted a recent visit to the [[Kudik]], in which she saw thousands of unborn [[Qurilissi]].
* [[Mira]] recalled the attempt by the gods to "recall" (destroy) her but she was deep underwater and protected by a giant dragon-turtle.  This creature came to be her adoptive mother.
* The other builders shared similar stories.  [[Spire]] was buried underground and discovered by burrowing giants.  [[Tartilgan]] was frozen in a glacier and dug from the ice by the [[Garis]].  [[Jalindi]] had been magically imprisoned and was released by the [[Sewoch]]i.

Following the release of so many of their memories, they decided that they wished to inspect Hedgewind's meme construction.  They determined that all of the memes were related to humanoid life and social and political engineering.  They recalled that there were "builder-related" memes that they used to create [[Otan]] when they were young.

[[Obsidian Black]] provided the group with the Boatswain's meme, which helped induce another flood of memories.  The group resolved to 
Revisit the death machine.
Find more Memes suited to their use, and finally...
Find a way to locate and disable the [[Sewoch]]i portals.

==Panamon and the Goddess==
[[Panamon Cree]] briefly entered a dream state in which he sought to clarify the command given to him by [[Æski]].  He sensed her presence again and of course, her overpowering voice nearly stopped his heart.  "Seize the power!" she said again.

Panamon woke confused and called [[Saduakas Yermek]] on the communicator to ask for his interpretation of the message.  After some chatter about the position that Panamon found himself in, Saduakas seemed quite certain that Panamon was now the ''de facto'' leader of the [[Council of Nine]], and that the goddess clearly wanted him to use that power.

Inspired, Panamon went back into a dream state to contact his "friend" [[Zhannur Timurlan]].  In that dream, he revealed the existential threat to [[Otan]], suggested a global truce and a pact to work together to save the continent from the [[Sewoch]]i.  Panamon provided imagery from his recent memory to add to his persuasiveness.

Timurlan answered in the dream that Panamon should return to Trappist and address him and the other Garis Triumvirs collectively at the [[Trappist Citadel]].  Still in the dream, [[Panamon Cree]] agreed.

==Messages from Afar==
The next morning, [[Mira Nephilim]] had an excited bird speaking to her at her window.  Rubbing her eyes, she spoke to the bird who announced that her new bronze dragon friends, Suyis and Temir would like to relay a message.  The bird continued to say that the dragons had uncovered an example of the treasure that she was seeking.

Meanwhile, [[Panamon Cree]] informed the Garis rebels that he would be arriving shortly in [[Trappist]], but this time to enter the citadel as a guest of [[Zhannur Timurlan]].  As the conversation went on the rebels became happy, then concerned for the fate of [[Otan]].  They expressed more concern that perhaps Timurlan was simply setting a trap.  In the end, all agreed that the meeting was a good idea.

==Trappist or just a Trap==
After deciding to stick together (for once), [[Mira Nephilim]], [[Obsidian Black]] and [[Panamon Cree]] teleported under Obsidian's power to the rebel base in [[Trappist]].  From there they made a sneaky excursion to a neutral point in the Trappist streets where the boldly walked toward the [[Trappist Citadel]].  

Many [[Garis]] stopped to watch the trio in awe as the walked, having not seen a single example of a non-Garis person in the country since the outbreak of war.  When they arrived at the citadel, they were greeted by Beybisilik guards who eventually conducted them to an elevator and up to the top floor of the citadel.  There, they were directed to the bleacher seats overlooking the Triumvirate Chamber, where the nation's decisions were made.

The Triumvirs were speaking to one another in clipped tones about numbered and lettered directives and responding with numbered and lettered answers, which flew beyond the understanding of the hapless party.  After a few minutes were spent on this banter the Triumvirs stopped and addressed the bleachers.  They called for [[Panamon Cree]] to take the podium and address the Triumvirate.

[[Panamon Cree]] heeded the call, walked to the podium, and said...

Stay tuned next week for another exciting adventure of The Primordial Campaign!  Will Panamon make a case?  Will the be peace?  Is it a trap?  Does the future of [[Otan]] rest on [[Panamon Cree|Panamon]]'s next words?  Don't you dare miss it!

==Cabinet Report==

===[[Aspanjalisi Prefecture]]===
[[File:AspanjalisiPrefectureCouncil.png|thumb|300px|[[Aspanjalisi Prefecture cabinet]]]]
{| class="wikitable" cellpadding="10" style="background-color:#ffd9ab" 
! style="text-align:left;"| Cabinet Postion
! style="text-align:left;"| Name
! style="text-align:left;"| Report
|-
|'''Minister of Agriculture'''
|[[Zhanik Zaure]]
|Farmers have arrived in the region.  Planting of very short-season legume crops is underway.
|-
|'''Minister of Mines'''
|[[Darkhan Kasisi]]
|Can't talk, prospecting.
|-
|'''Minister of Trade & Development'''
|[[Zhanik Akerke]]
|Is not a time to write reports, is a time to make money.
|-
|'''Minister of Magic'''
|[[Saduakas Yermek]]
|The bridge has been completed and various merchants have taken an interest in the town.
|-
|'''Minister of Religion'''
|[[Elnara Kasietti]]
|Can't talk, praising Woden and raising funds for a temple.
|-
|'''Shadow Cabinet'''
|[[Aysha Uri]]
|Wondering what needs cleaning.
|}

====Weekly Statistics====
{| class="wikitable" cellpadding="10" style="background-color:#ffd9ab" 
! colspan="2"| Revenue
! colspan="2"| Population
! colspan="2"| Food
! colspan="2"| Trade
! colspan="2"| Military
|-
! style="text-align:left;"  | Income
| style="text-align:right;" | 0 GP
! style="text-align:left;"  | Immigration
| style="text-align:right;" | 0
! style="text-align:left;"  | Production
| style="text-align:right;" | 0 Osmina
! style="text-align:left;"  | Imports
| style="text-align:right;" | 0 GP
! style="text-align:left;"  | Recruitment
| style="text-align:right;" | 0
|-
! style="text-align:left;"  | Spending
| style="text-align:right;" | 0 GP
! style="text-align:left;"  | Emmigration
| style="text-align:right;" | 0
! style="text-align:left;"  | Consumption
| style="text-align:right;" | 0 Osmina
! style="text-align:left;"  | Exports
| style="text-align:right;" | 0 GP
! style="text-align:left;"  | Losses
| style="text-align:right;" | 0
|-
! style="text-align:left;"  | Surplus/Deficit
| style="text-align:right;" | 0 GP
! style="text-align:left;"  | Net Change
| style="text-align:right;" | 0
! style="text-align:left;"  | Surplus/Deficit
| style="text-align:right;" | 0 Osmina
! style="text-align:left;"  | Surplus/Deficit
| style="text-align:right;" | 0 GP
! style="text-align:left;"  | Change
| style="text-align:right;" | 0
|-
! style="text-align:left;"  | Treasury
| style="text-align:right;" | 0 GP
! style="text-align:left;"  | Population
| style="text-align:right;" | 24,000
! style="text-align:left;"  | Storage
| style="text-align:right;" | 0 Osmina
! style="text-align:left;"  | 
| style="text-align:right;" | 
! style="text-align:left;"  | Total Troops
| style="text-align:right;" | 0
|}

* an Osmina is roughly 100kg of food.

====Alerts!====
New Ministers to be added!

==[[Everything Amiss in Otan]]==
There is a new link for this:  [[Everything Amiss in Otan]].

==Player Notes==
Add some notes here if I have any (important) errors or omissions. 

Panamon instructed Zhanik Zaure to focus on crops that allow for maximum yields in a short season to feed the population quickly and for next season to prepare a mix of high protein crops with another half of high income-producing crops.  

Panamon instructed Saduakas Yermek to focus on recruiting artificers and magic shops to open in town and promote the province as an excellent place to do business with reduced taxation for magical suppliers/creators. 

Panamon asked Akerke to find some suitable to head up the docks and ports to provide shipping along the river.  Perhaps he knows a boatbuilder?

Aysha to search our for any potential weak links.  She may also be good in establishing a network between Aspanjalisi and Araldar.  Does Dauren have any problems that need to be "handled"?

Elenara was asked if she can recommend fellow Clerics to represent the other religions (see spreadsheet). 

{{Copyright notice}}