High Rollers DnD - High Rollers: Aerois #71 | Wings of Ishtar (Part 1)

Episode Date: May 18, 2020

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Pickaxe. 2300 hotels and make more memories to look back on here we'll set the scene life's a trip make the most of it at best western visit bestwestern.com for terms and conditions listen closely that's not just paint rolling on a wall it It's artistry. A master painter carefully applying Benjamin Moore Regal Select eggshell with deftly executed strokes. The roller lightly cradled in his hands, applying just the right amount of paint. It's like hearing poetry in motion. Benjamin Moore, It's like hearing poetry in motion. Benjamin Moore, I'm Katie. I'm playing Ayla, a wild elf barbarian.

And I'm Kim. I'm playing Nova, who is an air ganassi, and she is a hexblade warlock. Thanks to our regular sponsor, D&D Beyond, the official Dungeons & Dragons toolset. Create your free account and speed up your campaigns today. last time on eros our party of heroes find themselves stranded in another world elysium warped there by accident after trying to seal a rift to the far realm elysium was once a good and angelic world that has now joined the valkyrian empire arriving in ishtar city a major settlement on the world

the group makes an unexpected ally and have 24 hours to escape before their identities are discovered. After exploring the city, the party head to the Starport, a large floating ring above Ishtar that houses the many astral ships capable of traveling across astral space. They enter the Last Feather, a bar that serves the many captains who visit here. After meeting a cast of colorful characters, the group decide to hire the services of Captain Thalia Whisperwind, a Medusa, and her starship, the Twin Star Longbow. She gives them eight hours to allow her to prep before they can leave and head back home towards Erois. During this time, the group are contacted by the wings of Ishtar,

a small rebel cell that oppose the Valkyrian Empire. They visit an abandoned opera house and find the rebels hidden within, where their leader, a solar called Zellion, greets them. You had traveled down, uh, using some sort of,

uh, platform, um, to go deep deep beneath the the surface level of the city and are currently in a a war room of sorts there is a large table with parchments and maps um a few illusions projected to simulate various starships and weaponed planet bases and all sorts of kind of military targets um and around you see only a couple of figures um one appears to be a kind of angelic being um with these feathery wings and

bright fiery eyes um another appears to be a asimar um man uh dressed in fine robes and then the one that commands your attention most of all is a extravagantly uh an extraordinarily beautiful man um he has half of his head shaved and the other half has long brown hair that's been somewhat partially braided um very well built with glowing tattoos of geometric shapes up and down his arms and neck, a very large pair of folded angelic wings, and his eyes are glowing orbs of blue light. And you know this to be Zelian as he has introduced himself to you. As he gestures to you all, Welcome.

I am led to believe that we have you to thank for these codes. The teleportation circle aboard the Tassadar. You do. It is us. We are... Well, how do we know we can trust you? He does smile and just says, A very wise question. One that is quite difficult to answer in a way it is hard to tell if you can fully trust someone i can only offer you that my service for eons has been to protect life and now i seek to try and find a way to get many worlds not just my own

out from underneath the heel of callous but also it is trust is a two-way thing you have given us these codes but we have no way of verifying them not until we use them so I must ask you as well I need to trust all of you which is why I asked to meet with you an opportunity for us both to know each other to know our plans to know our desires and in your heads

one by one you feel this man speak to you through your mind it's a subtle, calming voice that speaks directly to you. What do you seek to gain from this? You hear in your mind. And we can respond in our mind?

Yeah, you can respond. Yep, yep. You can converse telepathically back. Is that also with everyone else hearing? No, no. This is individuals you hear. This is individual messages, one after the other. Unknown, not knowing that the others can hear the same message.

I'll let someone else go first well you don't know you're like this is a yeah I mean obviously out of character you need to give each other a turn yes yes in this context yes feel free quill I mean you don't have to respond you from from this from yeah what do you seek to gain from this well from this alliance i guess um giving the codes probably is is what is implied

to strike a powerful blow against kalistar bane and also to save Valar. And is that a lie, Quillic Adkalar? No, I mean, that's why we got the codes, right? Is that a genuine truth? That is what Quill believes? Then that's fine. Nobody else hears Quill's answer, so the rest of you are just left with this question lingering in your minds.

What do you seek to gain from this? I want to free the Tassadar, the member of the Triumvirate, the Eternal Triumvirate. And why are you in my head? Oh, and Valor. There's a girl called Valor. Tiangong, what?

It's just a big jumble of all those words. Right, that's fine. Is any of it a lie? No. Come on. jumble of all those words right that's fine uh is any of it a lie no come on he just kind of like stares at you in you know you're hearing this voice in your mind but you can just see this very intense you know unearthly beautiful but chiseled and masculine you know a soldier's face staring back at you um you can see the pulses, the tattoos on his arms and neck pulse ever so slightly. His wings are folded behind him. Yeah, yeah, he glows.

Trust him, Quill, he's glowing! He has wings and he's glowing! Sorry, carry on. I mean... Anybody else answer his telepathic question? I just want safe passage back to Eros to protect it and my friends okay

and is that is that I'm assuming that is the truth from Lucius as well yeah yeah that is yeah just wants to go home go on Sentry um Sentry would say, to gain an ally, perhaps a feeling that this fight is not just ours alone.

To restore a light that's already beginning to fade away. Very good. Does Aayla respond at all? She'd probably just say that she wants to go home. She just wants to get everyone back to her room.

She doesn't really care about anything else as long as everyone gets back safe. Okay. You see him kind of, a smile comes across his face. You are all very earnest, and you speak truth. A wise decision. Long have I had the ability to pierce through not only illusion but through deceit. I will know

if you are lying to me. My name is Zelian and for thousands of years I have fought for this universe, the multiverse. And now we find ourselves in a dark dark time he looks towards sentry a time when there is little light left in the world

there are still some good things and he walks up to you century and he places a hand on your shoulder and you see his eyes drift down to the glowing golden matrix. I had feared that Root had been lost long, long ago and it leaves my heart

immensely to know that the matrix could be passed on to a new guardian. Of you I have no doubt, warrior. If you have been chosen as the new prime, then I know that you are truly an agent of goodness and of life, and I promise you that you have an ally in me,

as Root once did. Protecting the light is my oath, and I've sworn to protect it all my life it's what I was made to do what is your name? Guardian Sentry or Sentinel Prime

a title fitting a fitting title turns back sees the rest of you kind of looks at Lucius and Aayla. It is no shame to just want to go home.

I can tell that you are not. I know where you are from and how far you are from it. You have lived in a good world for many years. Had I the choice to go back there, so would I. But I hope that also

that you would fight to protect that home, if there was a way to do so. Yes. Looks at Nova. Smiles and nods. Looks at Nova. Yes. I'm afraid that the Eterna are something of a mystery to me.

I know a little of them. But they are... They came after my time, when I had exiled myself from the worlds and the universe. But I know that Tassadar is a powerful being and I would much rather he be free than in the control of Calus.

And you, strange being of a world I have yet to visit, he looks at Quill. I do not know who this Valar is, only a little of what Hadriel told me. But if she is

innocent and you wish to save her, then I wish to give you that opportunity. And a decisive blow against the Valkyrian Empire, well, that can be assured. Provided we can complete... Well, well, that can be assured. Provided we can complete... Well, that a blow can be struck.

If you have any questions, please, I welcome them. I know your time is perhaps short here, but I have been around for some time. I know much. I have my own questions for you, but it seems only fair I allow you to ask yours first.

Are you a target of Starbane currently? What forces would you bring with you? I have very... The Wings of Ishtar are only a small group. Only a few angels committed to a small group only a few angels committed to my cause and a few celestials I am indeed a target

I have long been a thorn in Kallus' side even though we once fought together he knows how strong I am he knows that I am a match for him and some of his commanders but he has numbers, he has an entire empire and i have

but five other individuals and a few scattered more across the multiverse my forces are limited very limited which is why i have a plan to use the codes that you have suggested um the best way i can think of using them. But it will require aid. Aid from perhaps the ones who gave it to me. And he looks at all of you. But if you expect an army to overtake

the Tassadar itself, I'm afraid that that will not. That is not something I nor many others can provide. These forces, the resistance forces, we are scattered across many different worlds and we are small in number. Most people find

the Empire to be safe. To be easier. Do you know if there's a resistance in Ganas? No. I'm afraid not. I'm afraid that if you are from Erois then you have been shielded from

what has fallen for well, the rest of your people. Ganas is firmly a staunch defender of the Valkyrian Empire. Oh. The Ganassi and the other elemental planes are all firmly within the Empire's grip.

You will find very few allies there, if any at all. These guys have the codes already, right? Yes, yes, they do. Okay. What else do you need from us? Exactly. Your assistance in completing this mission. In retrieving the Tassadar.

Well, the Eterna that lies at its power source. In rescuing your friend and securing data that would be invaluable to the resistance that is out there, that will help form a plan, as well as information about your world, about Erois. We have not heard... I have heard myths,

stories about it, but most beings are unaware of its full existence. To know the state of your planet, to know what forces you have, to know what Siaska intends, what her plan is, those would be invaluable to us. They would be invaluable to Starbane, too. Yes?

Are you aware that Siaska is no longer with us? Kind of? Perhaps you misunderstand the nature of divinity, Eganasi. It is not possible for Siaska to have been killed. That is not possible.

Are you aware of the cradle? No. This means, is this something upon your planet? You must remember that your planet, none of us know of it. None of us know of its situation or its inhabitants. Okay. Question one.

Why? Why? Why is that? Is that a callous thing, propaganda machine, or is that because of what happened during the war and Siaska's actions? It is. Any information about it has been destroyed, eliminated, removed from public record. But also, Calus only took his most trusted soldiers to this war.

took his most trusted soldiers to this war. We knew that he had made plans to attack a planet on the far edges of the multiverse, but its name was never mentioned, its purpose was never mentioned. He took only his loyalist fighters and soldiers

with him. Those of us who had any doubts were left behind, and information is controlled by the Valkyrian empire what little i have is what we can gather from our own scouting but callus controls the gates between realms he has ships that patrol the slip streams the slip spaces we are limited in what we can do we are separated yes my young friend need Need gestures to Lucius. You confused me with something you mentioned earlier, but

please, continue. You'll forgive my hesitancy, but we're on a new planet. We've been transported here against our will, and it's truly got Starbane's stranglehold. So,

to say that there is a resistance in such a locked down city has me cautious. So like you asking us for the truth and knowing that we can't lie, we don't have such ability. So I'm trying to be cautious for our safety and knowing that the information that we have on Aroas, which is crucial to its survival, doesn't go directly to him. Such concerns are often born from pain. I'm sorry for whatever has caused you to become... to have these doubts. I am afraid that... I do not know how to assure you. I am a

being of... I am a being that was not born, but rather created from a certain essence. The thought of me being deceptive is something that I am struggling to comprehend a being could believe about me. I am a solar. a being could believe about me.

I am a Solar. I was one of the twelve original protectors of this planet. My protection continues to this day. I can only offer you my word that you can trust me. You used to fight alongside Starbane. Why do you fight against him now? You must remember that thousands of years ago, Kallus was a warrior.

He was a warrior that protected life. He fought against Hadar. He fought alongside Siaska, your own creator. She fought alongside him. She loved him. They loved each other. It was a blessing to see them work together. Their love was incredibly pure and to see it was a blessing upon any being.

They fought against the Crimson Star. They saved planets. They saved cities. But over years he began to change. His heart became colder. His will stronger. And I saw them drift apart.

And it was a final thing that broke Calus' trust with many of us. And he kind of glances in Aayla's direction and his eyes linger for a moment on a small scrap of cloth at her waist.

At Alfheim. Alfheim things changed. When I saw what Kallus did what he when I learned of what he intended, I knew that my place was no longer alongside him,

much as Siaska did. What happened to Alfheim? We've seen the museum here, but it's obviously lies. I only recently found out that Alfheim existed thanks to Root Prime.

Your existence is a strange one, one I can... I have some theories about. Alfheim was... Most of the knowledge of Alfheim is... lost. Kallus has done... Well, Zarkira has done well to mask

the true events. If it had not been for Siaska, I doubt even I would have known the truth, but she told me before she fled. Kallus took something, or had planned to take something. He took it a

device, a relic, a powerful one that was at the heart of the planet, that had given it life, that had given its people magic and power. He took it, and without it the world crumbled. Calus told the elves of Alfheim that this was the work of Hadar. He rallied them to his cause, he invited them aboard his starships, and he took their magic, the knowledge of the Seeds of Rebirth, pretending a powerful magic ritual that the elves here knew, that allowed them to instill their memories and knowledge into new life.

He recruited them into his armies, he spirited them away on his ships but the thing that he took see asker stole I do not know its nature I do not know where she took it I can only assume to your planet of a rowis is my best guess. And that was the last we ever saw of her. They claim that she died, but I knew that that was not true. I felt her message in my mind

as she fled. Your people were... Your people are... Stums still exist. They are creations, replications of the elves of, the original elves of Alfheim. Their bodies are made new,

but memories, the knowledge of how to fight, of how to control magic, is instilled into them. It makes them stronger, it makes them quicker, faster, better in combat. Many of them still serve in Kallus' forces but there were breakaway groups,

clans that fled, that joined other nations. Sadly, most of those were destroyed. That's a lot of information about a lot of the i have no reason if you have more of course of course i can offer you anything it is information and knowledge i haven't found anyone else that has the same powers that I do, that can fight the same way that I do.

Powers, you say? I'll let my hands crackle lightning a little bit. Ah. Ah. Yes. Your people. You know Siaska is a divine, yes?

Kind of looks at you curiously, not sure if that's the case. A goddess, a true goddess, a power of divinity. Well, she is not the only. There were ones who came before, the ones who sealed Hadar away, and many more besides. The elves of Alfheim worshipped a pantheon of them, and that pantheon of divines bestowed upon

their people gifts. Yours must have come from such a being. Do you know anything about those beings? I was I was young when Siaska was brought into this realm I was young then

and when you have lived for thousands of years memories become ethereal, difficult to grasp I know that there was several of them. The power of a storm belonged to one. A man. A divine man. Great warrior. But my memory of him is fragmented at best.

And he would have passed back into the Genesis realm, like many of the first divines did when they felt that their work was done. He is no longer a part of our multiverse, I'm afraid. What's a multiverse? Multiverse is our realm. Not just our planes, but the encapsulation of all the realms. The inner, the outer, the far realms, the beyond it is a multiverse

different planes and planets combined together demi-planes demi-dimensions it is what we call the collective group of all of our life in this world, in these worlds right, thank you of course I hope that perhaps in this world, in these worlds. Right. Thank you.

Of course. I hope that perhaps as being open with this information I can, that perhaps you can see I have no intention to deceive. Century? Anything you want to add? Do you always plan to remain here on Elysium?

It is my desire that I would love to fight. But there was a time when I was a very reckless warrior, a time when fighting nearly led me astray, and so I am reluctant to go'm reluctant to go back to war but I wish to protect what life there is I take no joy in killing anyone, even members of the Valkyrian Empire

life is precious if it was if I could truly grasp what I wish it would be to resolve this in a way that does not end in death, in a way that does not end in death. In a way that I could return Kallus to the man that he once was, to turn his empire to the benefit of all worlds.

Sadly, that is not the case. Even Kallus himself, he has grown different. His empire has changed over the last 500, 1000 years. He has become distant he rules but like a shadow that looms over everything Zarkira and his other commanders have taken far greater control and I fear that their influence

has grown much stronger I wish only that we could return to the galaxy, the multiverse as it once was. A place of peace and prosperity for all. But that was before Hadar. Before Kallus' madness took him.

I mean, I think the greater problem here is we can deal with Kallus but then there's still Hadar to deal with and if even Kallus can't deal with Hadar with his multitudes of universes and galactic control and ships and empire

bleh yes this is why we must Siaska must return to the multiverse. Siasca is a true divine. She would be able to... She would find a way. I have faith.

Can I just... Can I just... I'm gonna... Can I just... Can I just tell him... I mean, Calus already knows this stuff, right? That's why Calus is attacking Aroas right now. I think we need...

I can at least tell him the legend, right? Yeah. So, I mean, Calus knows... Come on, Calus knows this stuff. Yeah, I... I'd say tell him if it helps him. If it's another way for him to gain our trust. If we can...

At least he's told us valuable information that he knows this is something that we know that he doesn't yes? you do you Nova, if you think it's best, if you know better than me, you're smarter.

So if you can read this and you trust him, then go ahead. Aayla's probably too deep in thought about everything she's just heard to kind of contribute, to be honest. Um, well, okay. Okay, I'll just do the legends, right? Everyone knows the legends apart from from people who aren't on Aroas, because Aroas apparently growing up in aroas we're told of the dark war

the dark war that happened when callus came to attack aroas and gods and mortals alike rose up against the court of shadows which i believe is called the remnant now, right? And there was a 90 year war. And at the end of this, there was a large assault by Kallus and Siaska used her divine power to banish him from Aroas and create this thing called the cradle, which protects Aroas from him. So by all means and purposes,

in terms of the legend, she's dead. But, well, I think we can all agree she's not quite dead. There is still something of her in the planet, right? He has a physical presence. It's just very high in the sky. And deep within the core, you are... Your knowledge of your world it's based on your history that you have learned

I sense no lies in what you have told me but it is from a perspective it is your perspective but I knew Siaska and I knew the divinities she is not gone nor is her being so dispersed that she cannot return.

If she did this, if she created this barrier, it is made of her very essence, but she can return from this. It would require something, there is something that prevents Siaska from reforming herself back into the goddess she was. I cannot answer that question, only you would be able to discover this matter. But I can assure you that Siaska's energy, if it exists in this cradle, then she can still return to the world.

There is very few powers. The hungering star himself is the only thing I know that can truly, truly destroy a divine. Yes, young man. I didn't doubt. When was the last time you spoke with Starbane? It would have been after Alfheim.

Perhaps a thousand years ago. And you've been on this planet of Starbane forming a resistance for how long? Not as long. After Alfheim I put myself

into exile for hundreds of years. I was ashamed. I was afraid. I was... I returned in the last... It is difficult, you understand. Sometimes, for being like myself, days seem like seconds.

Centuries can turn into minutes. I believe 200, 300 years ago I returned to Ishtar in secret to try and gather allies, to do what little I can to help people, not necessarily here but elsewhere. Through coordination,

through leadership. You were not with or have been in his presence since Siaska is now a cradle. No. And thus the lies and the propaganda he puts on Elysium is not something you could easily see through as someone that can see through lies. It is I can see through it.

Many planetars can see through a lie, but the power of a lie can sometimes be in not just it exists, but through how many people can believe it. A lie can often offer someone hope. It can offer somebody safety. People choose to believe that. If a man tells you that a piece of bread is safe to eat and you are starving, you will eat the bread. It does not matter if it is poisoned, if you are starving you will eat the bread does not matter if it is poisoned if you are starving

anyway most people would choose to believe the lie in order to satiate their hunger correct sometimes knowing the truth is no has no power over a lie many planetars and angels here on elysium and elsewhere in the empire they will know a lie if they hear one. But to have a history rewritten, the propaganda to the scale that Zarkira has enabled, that is a different thing. Even an angel cannot stand against a planet of people

who genuinely wish to believe in something. I mean, it would be an insult to the game if I don't insight check right let's just bury it and let's just do the insight check I mean an insight check isn't a lie detector but sure no I know but like

it needs to be done 17 I mean this seems like a being of pure goodness um he seems so genuine it's like he radiates just comfort and belief and it's everything about him like his body language the way that he is conveying this information like there's quill just wouldn't have any doubts that this guy is legit like it's that insight you're just like like i i trust this guy like yeah can i just say it's really funny

that we've been playing a rowers for like coming up to what two years now and we won't inside check all the people who've brookstoned us but the one insight check we do is on the divine angel creation. That's what I mean. We need to do more insight checks, and I'm just saying, I'll be the guy. And I, can I say to him... If you've got Zone of Truth, and you want to call Zone of Truth

Quillic Adkalar, you fucking go for it. I don't have it prepared, but I will say to him... I am not the captain of this storm chaser this crew around me lucius is the captain but i think i speak for everyone when i say i recognize a powerful ally we've been burned and scarred and hurt by mistrust and traitors and lies for far too long and it clouds our vision you've given us a lot of information

and I hope we can return the favor and I'll walk up to him and like hold out a hand we want the same thing as you to bring peace to this multiverse I suppose and if we

can bring back Siaska then that's all we can hope for he smiles and he kind of he's so tall he has to kind of go to one knee to kind of bring himself eye level to you Quill but he offers

this huge kind of tattooed palm and he takes your hand in both of them and he kind of bring himself eye level to you Quill but he offers this huge kind of tattooed palm and he takes your hand in both of them and he kind of holds it extremely genuinely and you feel this kind of warmth radiate off him he's just like I assure you we are allies and you can trust me and that's

if I can help bring peace to our multiverse I I will. There are some Solars out there who are not like me. They are blinded by their hate for Hadar. They are battle zealous. I was once like them, but I have changed after much reflection. There is only so much I can do, but I believe that

with your sigils for the Tassadar, there is a plan that we can deliver a strong blow against Calus's engine of war. We can rescue your friend and take

information that may help us. Well, bring peace. But there are other things as well. If you wish any points at Aayla, I will tell you all I know of Arfheim. I know a little of your culture and your people. I'm happy

to share it. He looks at Nova. You see his eyes pulse, Nova? I know that you suffer a great affliction, Ganassi. He gestures to your hand. I can sense its presence. Its undead nature.

I have a friend who can help. She can heal it. Yes. What? Yes. Yes? Yes. Uh, yes,

yes, please, please. He nods, and then he moves towards Lucius, um, and again, he kind of takes a knee,

and he looks. It is right to not trust all that you hear. You care for your people, you care for your friends, You care for your people. You care for your friends. You care for your world. These are only things that I can commend you on.

You do not have to trust me, and I do not ask of it. I just hope that you will do the best that you can for your people and your world. If you are willing. And I was going to anyway. I'm sure you were. And he's smart. He just smiles. And it's not a sarcastic. I'm sure you were.

It's a no. He genuinely believes that you would do everything you could and he's just like I know like he just smiles now he gestures to the table a plan then I have only limited forces but there are three objectives

if we are to infiltrate the Tassadar we will not be able to send a large force. The nature of these ships is that I doubt that we can send more than 10 individuals at best. This will need to be a stealth strike commission. We need to infiltrate the Tassadar and achieve three different objectives. The primary of which, to locate and rescue the eterna that powers it once the eterna is removed from the ship the ship will lose its power it will be not be able to function no

weapons no shields no ability to do anything that could harm anyone else it will remove one of callus's most prominent warships from his arsenal. Second Objective Your Friend Valar Hedriel mentioned that she was special. What nature? Why is she a prisoner aboard this ship? Why was she taken? She is not the prisoner as such. She is Starbane's daughter. Strange. He does not have lovers or concubines.

He keeps little counsel. I was just wondering about something you said about the seeds of rebirth that he took from Alfheim. We learnt that he learnt some ritual with Siaska to create

life. I wonder if the seeds of rebirth were part of that. No. No, they are a different thing altogether. The seeds of rebirth, perhaps there is a spell which replicates a similar effect. You are able to create a

body, a new body for an existing person. They are almost an exact replica. They are a perfect replica of the person they were before. A clone, we call them. The seeds of rebirth are similar, but the person is not an exact replica of the person they were before. They have a new personality. They have their own beliefs, their dreams, ambitions, but they retain some of the memories, some of the skills of the person

that came before. This, I believe, is how the elves of Alfheim continue to exist in our world. They do not procreate in the way that perhaps humans or perhaps Ganassi do. Instead, they recreate themselves in new versions new forms building upon themselves each time but if siaska if what you are saying is true and siaska taught callus this ritual that is something different that means that your friend vala is not just a prisoner or just callus's daughter she is a demigod. She has a spark of divinity within her given by Siaska herself.

Rescuing her must be a priority. We must make sure that Kallus does not influence her. That's been our goal for a very long time. It's just the Tassadar, you know? The good news is, though, is that she really likes us, so...

I'm glad. She likes daggers. In addition to both of these necessary objectives, then, the last would be to obtain information from a system that Calus uses. The ILM. Oh, the IMD. Sorry, not ILM. IMD.

The Illusory Message Database. This is a record of all of the messages, the information that the Empire shares amongst itself. It contains plans, missions, operations that Kallus is conducting. This will give us an edge. This will let us know what he intends to do with worlds, where his fleets are moving.

It will give us a very strategic and tactical advantage. To do this, I suggest that nine of us travel to the Tassadar. Four, including myself, and the five of you. Split into three teams. Once we are aboard the

Tassadar, we will have very limited time before we are discovered. That means we must achieve all of these objectives as quickly as possible, and that means we must split our forces to achieve them simultaneously. Then we return, we transport ourselves away, and escape before their full forces can be mustered against us. There are some things we could do to aid in this. There are precautions, planning, preparations

we can make that will make this easier. First of all, a detailed map of the Tassadar, precise locations of its systems and rooms that we will need to access. This will need to be acquired from a Valkyrian archive somewhere. We also require Valkyrian uniforms and signets tied to the

Tassadar. These cannot just be acquired anywhere. They will need to come from one of the Imperial Magitek foundries that make them. Lastly, any supplies that we can gather, such as ways to get past magical defenses, wars of forces, arcane eyes, these sorts of things. Supplies like scrolls, potions, anything we can acquire would be useful. My team can handle one of these missions. We can secure one of them, but

my reach is limited. It's not to say that we cannot do the mission without them. It will, however, make it considerably easier if we do. Right. We'll get thinking on which one we're best at. This will also take some time. I imagine that your time here on Elysium is limited,

and that this is not something we can do immediately. So, allow me to give you this, perhaps as a symbol of my trust to you. And he offers a small silvery rod. This is a focus rod. If a spellcaster can conjure the spell to transport you across planes, this will bring you to our

hidden base for the wings of Ishtar. This is just a temporary office. This will bring you directly to our headquarters. Oh. Where is that located? this will bring you directly to our headquarters oh where is that located it is deep within the city itself I would not say more just for

in case there are any concerns but this will take you there directly so forgive me detailed map of Tassadar Starbane uniforms and what was the last one again the uniforms are

supplementary it is the signets these are special devices emblems rings that are carried by officers

of the Valkyrian Empire they allow you to access things like doors systems allow you to override elements

we will need some, at least. We have one. Any magic you have to discard, not for the Tassadar, I imagine. Each station or ship has its own signatures that you will need. Any magic

you have to conceal yourselves, to disguise yourselves, will also be useful, but do not rule the fact that we may need to fight our way out once we are discovered. I imagine that it will... Any of these preparations will help us buy time. They will limit the amount of

forces we will need to fight, but be prepared. Wouldn't anywhere we return to be a target for Starbane? He'd surely be able to track us after we leave. No. The teleportation circles do not work that way. It is very difficult to track somebody once they use a teleportation circle,

unless you know the signals that they have used to travel. I have a specialist in my team. They are adept at teleportation and playing our magic. I believe that we will be able to escape undetected. It's not Piri, is it? It is not Piri, no. Okay. We haven't got long

left on Elysium. Where do you suggest we go? I'm afraid that I do not have such intelligence, but these kind of facilities are scattered across the multiverse. If you are traveling back to your world,

I imagine that you will need to take some sort of astral ship to get there. You may discover one along the way, or perhaps if you speak with captains of these ships, they may know of facilities such as these. You may be able to use one for the time being. If not, I will do my best to try and research one, and I can send you that information once I have it. But it will be difficult to find. How can we coordinate with you once we find these things?

One of my companions can contact others whilst they are sleeping through a spell called Dream. I will be able to send you that information via that method. If you have anyone who can use message to perform the sending spell, now that we have met, we should be able to converse via that means as well. I can do dream as well, but Quill can do the sending. Then I recommend that you will try and

contact my conjuration specialist. I myself do not need sleep, as do many of the angels within my employ, but Tuvor, my Aesimar, you will be able to contact him. Who's more? Tuvor. Tuvor.

Tuvor. Tuvor? Tuvor. Very good. Just thinking of Star Trek here. Yeah, I know. Tormann. Is that legit?

Oh my god, did you do it i wrote i wrote the name and then i was like huh it's kind of like tuvok lol uh i wrote the name anyway i know he said tuvok yes sorry this this will be a danger but i do not have the forces to complete it by myself but it would be a great blow against the Valkyrian Empire, and it would send a message. It would perhaps inspire others to join us.

But also, work with your world. Erois is a mystery to the universe, and as far as we know, it is free from Kallus' propaganda from his lies. Yours may be the last planet's propaganda from his lies. Yours may be the last planet still free against

his reign. I wonder if that's for good reason. Why it's secret. Why it's protected. That's why I'm reluctant to tell people about it. You do not need to tell more than me. I mean people on your world.

Rally your world against it. If you can find a way, search... I'm sorry, I do not know exactly the nature of your planet, but there must be some who know more about Siaska that may know of a way that you could restore

her to life. Speak to your leaders of your worlds. Rally them. This is a threat. Calus, he will not wait forever. He will not simply allow your planet to go unconquered. It is only a matter of time

before he brings his force to bear. He already has forces on the ground, and the gateways have been opened. It's only a matter of time. But we'll do what we can. That is harrowing news. You must hurry.

Our character? Want to teleport us back home? Okay. Yeah. I mean, you can ask him in character if you really want. Come with us, boo- us boo boo is an astral spaceship the best course of action and is our time

helping Tassadar too much of a distraction considering that our now that you know this information and how time is crucial your friend your valour she is truly a daughter of siasca and

callus then yes yes she could perhaps be a key to all of this but not only that the tassadar well the tassadar is a warship is a formidable enemy you would be robbing your your foe of a great weapon to use against you and gaining an ally. If the Eterna inside is as powerful as is to be believed,

you would need their help. That is your choice to make, not mine, though. If you do not believe that this mission is essential, then that is your decision, and I leave you to it, and I trust in your judgment. In regards to returning home, I'm afraid that that is not something that anyone will be able to easily help with. As your world has been secreted away, none know the way to return to it. the way to return to it. To shift to a world,

you must have a connection, a device that will attune you to that world and allow you to shift there. Teleportation magic alone will not be enough, not without specially designed teleportation circles. I'm afraid that you will need an astral ship to return home, as far as I know.

There may perhaps be other ways, but they are beyond my ken. Okay. Before you leave, allow me to assist your friend. What was your name, Ganassi? Oh, hi. I'm Nova. Nova Veejer. Hi.

He offers a hand, this giant palm stretched out before you. Come with me. Oh, boy. oh okay i'll give you my nice hand not my bad one thanks he very gently kind of holds it and you feel this radiant warmth and he leads you out of the room you've been in uh down a short stone corridor into this beautiful indoor garden it's kind of like a little uh not quite a greenhouse but there are all sorts of weird strange fauna and flora you can see there are these little fuzzy half rabbit half fox creatures kind of scuttering around um and at the center of it is a woman she has feathered wings like uh zellion does but they're

rainbows the the feathers are each a different color and they create this kind of resplendent rainbow effect of these wings um you can see she's got very and they create this kind of resplendent rainbow effect of these wings. You can see she's got very dark skin with kind of golden hair spilling around her face. And her eyes are like a serpent's, however. They're like a snake's eyes. And he kind of leads you to her and she kind of turns around with a bright smile. This is Yoresa. She is a bright smile. This is Yoresa. She is a Coatl

and she will have the ability to mend that which has been taken from you. And he turns Yoresa, would you aid this one? Of course, Elion. I would be most honored to help. Greetings little Ganassi. What is

your name? You're beautiful. You are very kind. My name is Nova Veejer, Miss, Ma'am. Oh, my gosh. Greetings, Nova. Come. And she takes you and leads you to a chair, and she sees the metal gauntlet.

Yes, I can sense what has been taken from you. This is dark magic. Very powerful. Do you... Is it all right if I remove the gauntlet? Oh, yeah, just don't touch it. I don't really know quite what it does at the moment if you touch it. Ah, yes.

She very delicately removes the metal gauntlet and displays this. And it's gotten worse since you put the gauntlet on, right? Like, the flesh has turned completely black around the arm. These dark veins stretch up into your bicep. And it's just this skeletal hand that's left. She looks at it and there's tears like form up in her eyes. And she looks at you quite sadly, just like a tragedy. You will lose the sensation for a while.

Whatever magic this arm possesses will be lost. But you will feel whole again. She kind of nods, and she begins weaving her hands over it, as she casts a spell. She casts Greater Restoration, and you watch as the black

veins begin to recede, and the flesh turns back to the kind of pale blue of your skin, and it begins forming muscle. And you don't feel any of this. It's like completely numb. It begins to form muscle and stretch and the skin begins to envelop over again as your fingers reform.

And after a few, perhaps 30, 40 seconds, your hand is completely remade. Numb. You can't move your fingers and touch stuff, but you can feel its back, and she kind of strokes her hands up and down it. And when she touches you, it's almost like her skin has got a feathery feel to it.

It doesn't feel like human hands that are brushing alongside you. And she's just like, There. Made whole once more. You can remove the hit point reduction that you took from the thing. What? It's what greater restoration does. It restores the hit point reduction, which was the effect.

I remind myself what it is, but sure. I also need to remind myself. Yeah, you can find it. She stretches her hands whilst this is being done. And yeah, the necro hand is no more. Thank you so much. you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you i can write with two hands again i can write with

two hands again two hands uh whilst this is happening with nova is there anything the rest of you guys i want to just quickly chat about or ask or do or we didn't see any of that right that was taking i mean if you went if you mean, you could have followed. There was nobody stopping you from, like, if Lucius was worried, he could have followed. I think I would have seen it from a distance, allowed the surgery to take place, but kind of sat back and just enjoyed watching Nova get better and kind of well up a little bit,

and then look back at Quill, and then his arm bit and then look back at Quill and then his arm and then look back at Nova again. I'm just going to be jumping around everywhere and I'm probably going to jump hug Lucius and anyone who's in here, you're getting a jump hug. It's back, you're on. No, I don't have

greater restoration, no. It's a fifth level spell, I believe. Yes, so I don't have it. And, no. It's a fifth level spell, I believe. Yes, so I don't have it. And also, when you do it, you have to pay money to do it. She doesn't, because it's an innate spell for her. This is amazing! I'm in space and I have my hand back and I know where Ganas is!

Oh my gosh! This is useful. Anything from anyone else I would probably ask to learn more about the culture and anything that I can learn about Alfheim while that's happening yeah

he kind of like smiles and is like of course my knowledge is limited I spent some time there during the better days. They are strong people, a warrior people. They were competitive.

They would fight for land and for titles, for love, for self-expression. Fighting was born into the elves of Alfheim. But not just fighting. There was an art to it this cloth that you carry there was an art in creating it each clan i believe they were called would choose their colors that represented what they stood for what was what gave them

the most purpose in their lives and they would weave it they would design it and color it and it would become their emblem this process was greatly respected the weaving of, of dyeing of colors, it was not seen as a luxury, but a necessity. To be as respected as skill with sword or bow or axe or hammer. They were a people who enjoyed life. They laughed loud.

They drank deep. They sang. They danced. They loved as deeply as they hated. laughed loud, they drank deep, they sang, they danced, they loved as deeply as they hated. Rivalries were common. And they... I'm not surprised that when Kallus spoke to them of glory in battle, when he told them of an enemy that very few could defeat,

it inspired something in them, I believe. It appealed to this warrior nature within themselves. And with their divines gone, I think he fulfilled a purpose that they had been missing. Your people were always religious. They had had a deep connection to their pantheon, to their gods. And when they

left, I think they took part of their soul with them. Kallus gave them something to believe in again. They gave them a fight, a just, worthy cause, a great enemy. And many of them joined. But I can only

assume that some of them went to Erois and perhaps found something new to believe in. A new cause to fight for. A new home to defend. I'm afraid I don't know much more than that, but that is what I can offer.

If you ever have an opportunity to speak with Siaska herself, she would be able to offer you more information about the Divines. She would know them far better than I. Or she is of them. I already feel like I am the one Alfheim descendant

that actually knows something about that planet I didn't even know it existed until recently so I guess I consider myself lucky that I have a new home home is a funny thing Elysium was not where I consider myself lucky that I have a new home. Home is a funny thing. Elysium was not where I was born or created.

I was created in Celestia, but there was something about this realm that drew me to it. The way its people lived their lives. The way that they fought. The way that they laughed. Home is not where you were born. Home is not where you were born. It is not where you are created. Home is where you can find happiness. I'm glad that you have found one such place.

He smiles. Apparently, right now it's the deck of an airship that we can't get back to so we keep fighting for that places a hand on your shoulder have faith

not in gods or in beings of power but in yourself and in your allies looking at the group of you, it looks sort of like a round. I have a good feeling that you will find your way back in short, short time. Anything from anyone else?

Nova's just whooping and hollering. By the way, it was 13 HP 13 I've got it written there 13 there you go and it is restored back so you may increase your maximum by 13

and it heals back I'm up to 92 yay nice blimey nothing sentry quill I'm just trying to come up with plans on how to get stuff back

I think most of it is going to be like talk to Captain Thardia yeah she might know anything from Sentry? I think Sentry would be probably like watching Aayla have the conversation with Zelion and then

when she knows that they're finished she'll put her hand on Aayla's shoulder and just say after all this, I'll put her hand on Aayla's shoulder and just say after all this I'll get you a drink. That's a bit of a lot to deal with. You too.

I think we could all do it with a drink right now. I think at this point Nova's just going to run up to the both of them and throw herself on them and be like, look at my hand! Look at my hand! And try and rub it on them be like look at my hand look at my hand and try and rub it on their faces but it's a bit numb and floppy so yeah it's like like dentist hand i like it a lot better than the black hand i'll be honest the uh the dead hand was a bit it was horrible you know what! Hey Nova! High five!

High five! High five! I really just wanted to see you try and do it with a really numb hand. I'm not gonna lie, that was really funny. We can do anything! And that's just gonna be ad infinitum for like the next 5-10 minutes. Well, if there's nothing else, Zelian will basically bid you goodbye

and say, when you are ready, contact me and find us. But you will always have an ally here. The wings of Ishtar will stand by the people of Erois as and when we can.

And with that, The wings of Ishtar will stand by the people of Erois, as and when we can. Okay. And with that, you can leave and head back, I'm guessing, towards the spaceport. The starport, I should say, not space. It's not called space. Towards Thalia, see what she can give us for this info. Thalia, yeah, sure. And figure out what they can do.

Thalia, yeah. And see what they can do, one of the three jobs they could take instead because they can take the hard one I mean yeah you'll probably need to pay them to do that because you're paying for a ride back home not surface to do stuff

didn't Zellion say that? oh yeah as in like Zellion well it's more like two objectives and then the third one is gather up whatever magic shit you can like potions and scrolls and wands in the vein of like

there's going to be magical defenses you're going to need to get by. So things like Dispel Magic and Invisibility are going to be very useful. So it's really two jobs. So whichever one you guys want to do, they'll do the other one, is basically the premise. Cool. Which one sounds

least deadly? Oh god, no, both of them do. Well, it's time for a break. We're going to take a break, and then when we get back, you guys will arrive at Shishpashport. Thank you.