- Raliana told Callie that her parents have split up! She heard through the grapevine from Archibald (family butler) that she was staying at the Hotel Crane. The servants all went with her, except Raliana.
- Nate on Auror: “I hate this gnome so much. He reminds me of a mall cop.”
- Freki smelled a strong unnatural smell in the kitchenette, and decided to leave. The smell permeated everything, but became less strong as he moved further away from the action.
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Back in the foyer, the party (sans Bec) discussed Auror’s plan to protect the Cornucopia.
- He will wall off the Cornucopia with walls of stone+force, and then arcane lock the door. The interior of the structure he builds is dimensionally anchored, alarmed and antilife shelled. Inside on the floor is a glyph of warding spell glyph with hold monster.
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He tried to get Callie to sign off on the plan, warning that it would be expensive but worth it. He was reluctant to name a price; the party thought ~20-50K gp of materials alone.
- An undead “courier” of “the Company” arrived: a revenant with a contract signed by Lord Rockwell! He had a work order for one year of service from undead workers: 21 skeletons, 3 ghasts, and a revenant butler. Callie ordered them to wait outside until the issue could be cleared up by her father’s return.
- Callie decided to send to her parents, one at a time:
a. [TO DAD] Undead platoon at the door, leader says they’re yours. I sent them away. What’s going on? Come home as soon as possible! b. [RESPONSE] Oh, you made it home! So glad to hear! Yes, I hired them. Cost-saving measure, you know? Please let them in. Be home shortly. c. [TO MOM] Where are you? Please tell me we still have live servants. Where is dad? Are you getting divorced? Come home as soon as possible! d. [RESPONSE] *emotional voice* Callie? Where are you?? I’m coming to save you, honey! Stay strong, don’t give in to the madness. I love you so much.
- Vondal appeared in the fountain. SPLASH! Then Pelor said into his head: “YOU ARE NOT WORTHY OF THIS POWER. BEGONE AT ONCE.” and he was flung from the fountain. Vondal was pissed! He spat into the fountain. The fountain shrugged it off.
- Callie poked her face out the front door and ordered the undead servants to make a path for when her parents got home.
- Oz heard a voice calling him “My chosen avenger” but that didn’t make sense to him. He thought maybe it was a telepathic wrong number. But the voice persisted, and he saw that the Horn of the Cornucopia had become a compelling-looking hornblade. Oz decided to grapple over there swashbuckler-style.
- Freki started dancing to create a distraction. Oz landed on the top of the fountain and talked to a halfling ghost identifying herself as Yondalla. He touched the Cornucopia and his hand transformed! The Cornucopia itself lost its magical aura. Vondal theorized that the halfling woman was “put outside of reality” somehow.
- Callie’s father returned home. He had a new tattoo of a white crane on his neck. He confirmed that he had hired the undead servants as a “cost-saving measure” and ordered them down into the manor to start working. A little while later, they heard Raliana scream.
- Bec realized that the revenant butler was her father, Letharil Galere. But he couldn’t remember her.
- Raliana screamed. “There are skeletons!” and came upstairs. Callie calmed her down.
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People started having weirder and more intense ideas:
- Freki wolfed out, trying to escape from the manor, but lost his direction.
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Callie (at the suggestion of Raliana) got the big idea that her parents might be mentally incompetent, and
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People had a critical moment to reject the reality of what was transpiring, and state a revelation:
- Vondal: “This is the work of the deep ones!”
- Oz, reluctantly: “This is not my hand!” and it returned to normal. The Cornucopia was also back to normal.
- Callie: “That’s not my dad!” And Rollo said, “What are you talking about?” But his tattoo disappeared!
- Bec was not sure what was real! Is it her dad? Isn’t it?
Freki: “The cook is the source of the corruption!” And she transformed into this:
