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Nulls & Gnomes

Last week, the party left the Sables and considered the massive scope of Praxis that they could investigate. They decided to revisit the Galavanting Turnip, the tavern where they originally met with Gregory before leaving Praxis to chase after the Circle of the Black Sun. Unfortunately, the tavern had been destroyed in the riots. They regrouped and decided to visit the Hedges. On the way, they ran into a not-quite-mob of angry anti-magic civilians shouting back and forth with a not-quite-militia defending the main road into the Havens, with the whole situation overseen by city guards trying to maintain order. Ayala defused the tension by tapping into the high magic zone's power to create a diffuse rain, scattering the crowd. The party talked with the aura-radiating people defending the Havens and learned what the situation had been like there during the struggles in Praxis.

The Havens had not been hit hard by the riots, which were concentrated more around the city council and the fancy people districts of the city. After the riots died down, the Havens focused on defending their territory against the threat - perceived or factual - from the Nullwardens, and the very clearly factual threat from the anti-magic hardliner civilians. Some of those people tried to burn down the Hedges's house, but apparently the Hedges had defended it themselves. When the party reached the Hedges, they thanked their escorts and went inside.

The Hedges eagerly welcomed the party into their house, and the two groups traded long stories of their adventures over tea and cookies. Mrs. Hedges regaled the party with a tale of how she tapped into the natural power of the Mystic Aura bestowed by the high magic zone to leap into the air in the middle of the night and blast the miscreants who were trying to burn her house down. Mr. Hedges revealed that he had at some point tried to explore Prax's Labyrinth1, and told them additional information about what to expect inside. According to him, the labyrinth seemed to twist into and around itself in physically impossible ways, and he could retrace his steps perfectly and find himself in a different location, making it virtually impossible to navigate. In addition, it seemed to be virtually impossible to leave tracks, intentionally or otherwise - they would disappear rapidly, making it difficult to even deduce where you had previously been. He and his adventuring group managed to escape by the simple expedient of trailing a massive rope behind them so they could follow it back out, but one of their number broke away from the chain and wandered into the perfect darkness, never to be seen again. The party thanked the Hedges for their valuable information, and decided to go meet with the Nullwardens. On the way, Ayala noticed a scrying sensor hovering around Mikolash, which she quickly destroyed.

The party arrived at the Nullwardens and decided to let Gregory take the lead, given his standing with them. The Nullwardens welcomed the party inside, and after a quick dismissal of particularly inconvenient magic, they led the party to a meeting room. There, the party met William, the Void Champion that trained Gregory. William explained that he could convince the Nullwarden Council to meet with the party - if they managed to convince him that it was worth the Council's time. They did. William led the party back into a room with a simple stone table and five shadowy figures ominously looming over the table from lofty alcoves. It was clearly intended in equal measure to conceal the members of the Council and intimidate any petitioners. However, that was not the greatest obstacle - that honor went to the simple door entering the room, which was carved of the purest cold iron, anathema to fey. Ayala was nearly unable to enter the room, but with Gregory's hand, she managed to make it inside.

The Council had been briefed by William on the relevant aspects of the party's escapades, and demanded to know what exactly the party wanted from them. The party explained their goals, and their need to enter Prax's Labyrinth. They knew that there must exist people who were able to navigate the Labyrinth, since Mammon's minions had managed to deactivate the device that rendered the dome over Praxis invisible. They hoped that a contingent of Nullwardens could nullify the magical confusion and track erasure that had historically doomed attempts to enter the labyrinth, and that they could somehow find or track people who knew how to navigate the labyrinth. The Council listened to their plan, and though they pushed back on the party, they generally seemed to understand the seriousness of the situation and the importance of working with the party - except for one of their number, who mounted ever more strenuous objections to any attempt to aid the party.

After one of those objections, the Council briefly adjourned the meeting to discuss among themselves behind heavy barriers designed to muffle sound. However, Chort's incredible senses allowed him to make out what they were saying. He identified that the Council member objecting most strenuously to the party's aid was Jeb, the newest member of the Council and the one who was generally perceived as being more moderate in his attitudes towards magic. The other members of the Council admonished him for revealing discord among the Council, which was considered inappropriate, and declared that the Nullwardens would have to work with the party for the time being to stop the greater threat. They responded to Jeb's objection that the party was simply seeking to use the Nullwardens as tools in a battle between mages by promising to fully investigate the party and their motivations after the events were done and pass judgment as necessary at that time.

When the meeting resumed, the Council re-emphasized their gratitude to the party for their part in dismantling no less than three massive rituals. They promised the aid of their finest Void Champions to assault Prax's Labyrinth - if the party could convince the Council that they could find a way to navigate the Labyrinth. Without some plan for how to find the ritual site, their journey could take weeks or even longer, even without any magical confusion. They also revealed to the party that the Nullwardens - working with Captain Tam - had captured people who had been paid to make the riots more violent during the first chaotic days of the high magic zone. The party was allowed to interrogate those prisoners if that would help them in their efforts. Finally, they informed Gregory that, in recognition of his tremendous service to the Nullwardens, the clear leadership he had demonstrated in guiding the party throughout their adventures, and his very high level, he was granted the title of Void Paragon - the highest rank in the Nullwardens, second only to the Council itself. The rest of the party would be granted brooches indicating the trust the Nullardens had placed in them, which should aid their passage through the city. The party expressed their gratitude and left - after another door-related struggle - to interrogate the prisoners.

All of the prisoners the Nullwardens had found told similar stories. They had each been individually approached by a cloaked figure while alone and convinced - from their stories, magically so - to vent their anger at the city in a more destructive way. The details of the cloaked figure differed significantly between the stories, though the cloaked figure always appeared to be of the opposite gender of the person being approached, so the party guessed that it may have changed its appearance with an illusion. The people were of mixed ages, but four of the five were from the Havens, and all had previously been at protests before being approached by the figure. On the fourth day of the darkness, when the Nullwardens returned, the cloaked figure returned and convinced them - in part by removing its previous delusion - to stop causing havoc. This helped explain why the riots had stopped so instantly after the Nullwardens returned. After the interrogation, the party contemplated their next moves.

Join us this week to figure out what to do about the Labyrinth with your new information and allies!

  1. Is that a reasonable by-product of the centuries he spent adventuring in a world with a relatively limited pool of exciting adventure locations, or an improbable coincidence that conveniently accelerated the main plot? You decide!

Stupid Awards

Mikolash: Diplo: Chort: Ayala:
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