116_20260517 The Cooperative Balloon

%% date:: [[2026-05-17]] %% # [[116_20260517 The Cooperative Balloon]] ![[116_20260517.svg]] ## Session Summary > [!tldr] [[116_20260517 The Cooperative Balloon]] > After splitting [[Gibbering Mouther|gibbering mouther]] loot and saying goodbye to a now-free [[Siora Fallowglade|Siora]] — who warns Ash that spirits like them are "not long for this world" before flying through a wall — the party retreats from [[The Gauntlight]]. On Level 4 they capture a silent, cat-sized floating metal eye with two tentacles (a surveillance device that floats like a balloon); Bond takes it to examine and the [[Cailean Key]] urges Vayle to free it too, but Vayle refuses. The party heads back to town for a long rest. > > During the rest, Zuhri has a vision of Ash's past: as a halfling on another world, he intercepted a beast that had locked onto Zuhri through a portal, and was sucked into it himself — confirming that Ash gave up his afterlife to save her. Vayle pieces together a second revelation: their *Doomed* condition was never from [[Melani]] (as [[Vandy Banderdash]] guessed) but from [[Achaekek]], lord of contracts, for breaking Siora's Red Mantis assassination contract. The Cailean Key remains puzzled by Ash, saying he is "not bound, but also not free." ^summary %% ## Video [Video]() %% --- ## Recap ![[ttrpgs/The Undead Unkillers/115_20260510 The Cailean Key Awakens#^summary]] --- ## Log Four more pentagram shards are awaiting somewhere on the devil's floor. For the gibbering mouthers, we received 160 gp of monster parts each: *mental, constitution, dex, piercing, medium armor, acrobatics, athletics* Cailean Key still wants to free Siora, but [[Vayle]] realizes that that's to free the shadow that's still in Siora, not Siora herself! [[Cayden Cailean]]'s edicts are: - Free slaves - Drink - Aid the oppressed - Seek glory and adventure Followers of his should not: - waste alcohol - be mean or standoffish when drunk - oppress the vulnerable - own a slave Before Siora leaves, she says to [[Ashnefrotty|Ash]]: "No hard feelings. It was just a job, and I did it well. I think you know as much as I do that spirits like us are not long for this world. It's going to come for us sooner or later, and if I were you, I would decide to leave on my own terms. Just a thought." Then she flies away through a wall. (Next time I have downtime, I want to do research on how to save Ash. Is what he is (an eidolon) a race?) We head back into town. As we go through Level 4, we see a small, cat-sized eye. It's one eye, metal everywhere else, floats up the stairs with no sound. - Ash grabs it and holds it for [[Jaspen Bond Callistair|Bond]] to examine. Bond takes it. - Vayle's Cailean Key wants to free it too, but Vayle says no. Long rest! But [[Zuhri]] has a dream! - I'm in a forest: orange sky, cool wind - There's sunlight, but the sun is not visible - I'm by a stream, and my feet are male! - I'm low on the ground. (I'm a halfling-- Ash) - I hear a commotion and I run towards it, dropping my apple. There's a beast, one that rarely hunts the area. I don't know where I am but I don't think I'm on Golarion. There's never been a disturbance in this area, just peace. The beast has blood all over its face and fangs. It's just eaten animals here. It's looking around for something else to eat. Then it sees something and starts to gallop on all fours towards it. - I feel afraid for whatever the beast is hunting. I run. Running is easy. I'm a monk-- I'm fast. I get there easily and find what it's hunting. I see a hole in space, a hole in this world like a tornado. I look inside the hole and see myself (Zuhri), lying on the altar with [[The Voidseekers|Voidseekers]] all around me, chanting. The beast jumps into the portal. Ash intercepts it and fights it. The beast runs away, and Ash is too close to the portal. He gets sucked in. This was Ash's memory. That beast would have been inside me if he hadn't intercepted it. Ash gave up his afterlife for me. Vayle realizes that their *Doomed* is not from Melani. Vandy Banderdash was wrong. Vayle broke Siora's contract. Siora is a Divine Assassin. She said that she feels the mark of her god on Vayle. Vayle has been *Doomed* by Achaekek because they broke his contract. Cailean Key is also confused about me and Ash. He says Ash is not bound, but also not free. And neither of us is doing it. We're in [[Otari]]! Next session: I want to do research to see what I can find out about how to save Ash/anchor him to this world. %% ## Excalidraw Data ### Text Elements ### Drawing ```json {"type":"excalidraw","version":2,"source":"https://github.com/zsviczian/obsidian-excalidraw-plugin/releases/tag/2.0.25","elements":[],"appState":{"theme":"dark","gridSize":null,"viewBackgroundColor":"#ffffff"}} ``` %% ## Granola ### Summary ![[plugins/Granola/Let’s Play Abomination Vaults-2026-05-17_09-01-11]] ### Transcript