Session 100 - Homeworld

GM Observations
- Ok, Session 100. It’s got to be big, right? Right. But I thought Session 99 was big. You mean this one will be bigger? Well, it is Session ONE HUNDRED. 

* Image of Ethan and Grant (cropped) by Gordon Napier
- I mean, why were the Dwimmerlaik after the memories of the Lords of Gossamer anyway? Wasn’t there some ‘greater purpose’? And after all – they’ve been trying lots of things for the last hundred sessions – trying to steal the Codex, trying to get Fiorin. Could it all be connected? Could it all be part of some MASTER PLAN? Ooo… now that’s scary.
- But surely it can’t be that bad even that Mowbray is dead? <pause> He’s not dead? <pause>Well, that makes a lot more sense for Session 99 then – after all things were collapsing, the Lords of Gossamer were trapped in the Void. It makes sense for Mowbray to sacrifice his minions and go after the PRIZE.
- But Bruce, what could possibly be so important that he’d go to these extreme lengths? I mean he was looking for worlds in the void, trying to steal the Codex to find something, and even trying to get Fiorin to remake something. But what could it possibly be? What could the Dwimmerlaik have lost that could be so important?

- And on that note, this is the last Session of a very big story arc. Grant and Ethan began in Session 1 as 30 point characters. This is the great conclusion of that story arc…. But it’s not the end. The game will continue while David and I are having fun.

Part 1 - Return to Marindar 
- Without further ado, Vala connects Grant into the Icon contact, there is a quick exchange with Drake and he is suddenly there, back in Marindar. Grant recognises that he’s arrived in the Queen’s palace. He hears the sound of gunfire in the distance – this is most unusual. Drake is dressed in his battle armour – he explains quickly that his forces are in control of Central, but there are some Dwimmerlaik who have not yet been captured or killed. His men are dealing with them.
- Like Grant, Drake is still adjusting to the influx of returned memories. He appears a little uncertain of himself, and he pauses every now and again when he speaks. Drake explains that he was ordered by the High Command (ie: the Dwimmerlaik High Command) to come here, but that ‘Grant’ came with him. ‘Grant’ was able to open the Door to Marindar (something that the real Grant knows that only he can Ethan can do). When pressed further as to who sent Drake, he is told Lord Aurin sent him. Grant is concerned by this – he remembers that Lord Aurum tried to assassinate two of Mowbray’s prodigies (Erla and Forst), eventually initiating the civil war (which Grant helped along quite a bit). Grant asks where this doppelgänger is and Drake points in the direction. He explains that he has quarantined the Doors so that none of the Enemy should escape. Grant asks when he was given orders to come here, and apparently it was weeks ago.
- Thinking quickly, Grant decides that he urgently wants to see Lady Sophia. She was in a coma, but her memories should have returned. He tells Drake that he’ll be in touch, then he shifts his form into a black bird and flies to her.
- Lady Sophia is in a private room at the Central Hospital. As Grant bursts in, she puts down her notepad and pen and says calmly that she’s pleased to see him. Grant is surprised by this reaction. She goes on to explain that she’s been reading up on what she has missed – she has been unconscious for a considerable length of time and there is much that has happened during that period(more than a year and a half!). Grant sits down on the bed – he strongly desires to embrace her but she has assumed a professional demeanour and it seems somewhat inappropriate. Lady Sophia assures Grant that she is fine, but she is not fully recovered. Grant pauses, and Lady Sophia gently points out that there is trouble in Marindar, and she will be here when he gets back. She suggests that he deal with this threat first and then return. Grant thanks her and departs.

Part 2 - The Gate to Skamino 
- Deciding that his next target must be his doppelgänger, Grant and Drake descend on the floating octahedral gate which contains the Door to Skamino. Skamino is a forbidden world. Grant has never been there, but he knows from reading Marindan history that a terrible battle was fought there during the Great War. Primal forces were unleashed and the world was devastated.
- Drake has arrived first with a group of his soldiers. The Marindans guarding the Door look relieved to see Grant. Drake has brought a prisoner – a Dwimmerlaik warrior who looks to be a low-level officer. He is bruised but not badly hurt. He is restrained with high-tech cuffs. Sizing him up, it’s clear to Grant that this one doesn’t want to die. Using Umbra and Ranked Psyche, Grant persuades the Dwimmerlaik to tell him what he knows. It’s clear to the prisoner that Drake will deal with him more harshly, so the Dwimmerlaik talks. He explains that they came back to recover Caliban, the Dwimmerlaik homeworld.
- Drake’s eyes boggle at this but Grant doesn’t understand the significance. He knows that Caliban is a Dwimmerlaik homeworld but doesn’t understand why this world is any more important to the Dwimmerlaik than any other. Drake explains quietly that it is THE homeworld. The one above all others. It disappeared during the Great War, supposedly lost. No one knows where it went, but it is supposed that it was cut off from the Stair and ‘fell into the void’.
- Grant mulls this over, and his blood runs cold. The Dwimmerlaik have been ‘fishing in the void’ before (GMs – note see Session 85). They have tried to find the Codex of a Marindan Sorcerer who fought in the Great War, perhaps hoping for a clue to where this might be. (GMs – note see Session 50). They even went to the Marindan version of Hell in an attempt to find that Sorcerer. (GMs – note see Session 47). And they tried to find Fiorin, the maker which Grant and Ethan managed to recover first (GMs – note see Session 72). And finally they used the Breath of Eden to attack the Lords of Gossamer – was it to acquire territory, or to acquire memories for some clue as to what had happened?
- It is clear that Drake is thinking this over too. Is it possible that the Dwimmerlaik have found Caliban, and what would this mean? Grant asks him what Drake knows of Skamino, and Drake explains that the final battle of the Great War was fought there. Both sides used great war hosts, and the bloodshed was terrible indeed. Drake remembers the battle fought between Lady Vala and the Dwimmerlaik Empress was so severe that the world itself ‘broke’, creating great chasms and ruptures in the earth and sky. Skamino was sealed off because of how damaged the world is. No one in their right mind would go there. It’s a remnant of the savagery of the Great War.
- Grant thinks and decides that he must go to find out where his doppelgänger has gone. The Marindan guards pipe up at this point and say that ‘Grant’ had two Dwimmerlaik with him – so there are three of them ahead of him.
- Drake is uncomfortable with this and tells Grant to look after himself. He also asks if Grant has any ‘last requests’. Grant considers the very real possibility that he may not come back from Skamino.

Part 3 - Shattered Stair 
- Stepping through the Door onto the Stair, he finds himself on a landing where the floor feels very unstable indeed. There are great holes torn in the walls through which shines blinding light. There are a few Doors along this section of Stair – but all are broken. One has even been torn off its hinges and behind, there is only a gaping hole. The corridor turns and ends suddenly in a wall of white light. Only one Door stands – a Door of stone which is cracked as if under great strain.
- Hesitantly, Grant opens the Door and he peers out into a wasteland of loose pebbles which vanishes quickly into clouds of fog. A short way from the Door there are a number of short robed creatures that appear to be looting a body. A boot goes flying while Grant watches. Under the protection of the Door, the creatures do not notice him.
- Grant emerges from the Door, quickly transforming into a Rancor which scares the creatures. With cries of ‘Utini’, the jawa-like creatures scream and run in all directions. The air smells very moist here, but there is a strange smell in the air – like gas of some kind. It is eerily quiet. Looking back at the Door, it seems to be embedded into the hillside like the entrance to a bunker.
- The body on the ground looks a lot like him, but in death the creature seems to have partially transformed back into his original form of a Dwimmerlaik. The Dwimmerlaik’s chest has been blown outwards, making quite a mess. Inspecting the body more closely, he is certain that this Dwimmerlaik was killed using Umbra. Worse, he knows exactly who did this. The signature is unmistakable. This ‘Grant’ was killed by Mowbray.

Part 4 - Mowbray Lives 
- Grant is torn. Grant is alone here in a very dangerous place and Mowbray is here too, with bodyguards. He pulls out his Icon of Drake but no connection is made. He thinks for a moment, uses Wayfinding and is quickly sure of the direction that Mowbray has headed. He thinks quickly. Mowbray probably doesn’t know that he’s being pursued. There may be an opportunity here.
- He tries his Icon of Drake again and this time he’s successful. It seems that Icon ‘reception’ here is as patchy as the damage to this world. Drake listens, and when he hears that Mowbray is alive and here, he insists on coming through. Any uncertainty is gone from Drake’s face – he is clearly determined to hunt Mowbray. “No one hates them more than Drake does,” is something that Grant was told long ago. He sees that in Drake’s face now.
- In the distance is the sound of shelling, suggesting that there is still conflict here. Grant decides to call in additional reinforcements. He contacts Yaeger Zane, who is only too glad to come along. Grant pauses as he thinks about calling Ethan, but he decides that he needs him. Ethan asks for a few minutes, but he quickly joins the group. Stony-faced, he asks what is going on and is quickly filled in.
- The group heads off, but Grant is quickly forced to take lead. The rifts in this place are sometimes visible, and sometimes invisible. Worse still, the rifts move. It is clear that these rifts lead to many different places – sometimes somewhere, and sometimes nowhere. It would be so easy here to fall through one of these tears and simply disappear, perhaps forever. This is not a safe place to linger. Grant is the only one who can see all of the rifts (via Umbral sight) - the others can only see some of them.

Part 5 - The Ruins of Skamino 
- The four of them move very quickly across the broken landscape. There is the sound of occasional gunfire and a deep rumbling, like thunder. They sense another Warden, out there somewhere, but are not distracted. Ethan cloaks their presence using Mental Invisibility so that they do not attract attention. Drake pauses to inspect the body of a man whose face is covered by a gas-mask. The soldier wears the insignia of a red dragon - it’s Drake’s own symbol. The soldier has no weapon - the body seems to have been stripped of other equipment - but the soldier died recently as his flesh has not yet decayed.
- Further on, Grant spies a quartet of Dwimmerlaik soldiers on patrol. They are dressed in rags but they carry an odd array of weapons. One carries an energy weapon, another a percussion-cap rifle, and the others have crude bows and arrows. Grant concludes that the Great War never stopped here - the survivors may not even know that the war is over. They have continued fighting all of this time. Drake’s eyes are hard and he urges that they press on. Grant looks for some reassurance from Drake that he will come back for the men and women who have been left here all of this time - Drake tells him that he wasn’t aware that there was anyone left. Grant thinks that Drake will take action so he doesn’t push matters.
- Crossing a low rise, they are confronted with a wide expanse which is criss-crossed with terrible chasms like the land has been pulled apart. Some sections of the land have even been flung into the sky and float there in defiance of normal physics. The sky itself seems to be fractured here too - and there are great rifts in the sky, some of them moving and some of them static. Grant feels sure that some of these rifts lead directly to other places. There is no doubt that this is the epicentre of what happened here - whatever structures were once here are gone and this land is most certainly shattered. From the rise, they spy three Dwimmerlaik navigating carefully across the plane, avoiding the dangerous rifts. 

Part 6 - First Strike 
- Drake and Grant have been discussing tactics on the way. Mowbray is dangerous and they know it - they need to surprise him if at all possible. From their vantage point, they quickly size up the situation and decide on a two pronged approach. Grant has already realised that the rifts block normal and magical senses and could be used to shield a covert approach. He will attack and try to ‘ace’ Mowbray, but Ethan will use Grant as a marker and teleport the others in as soon as he makes his attack run, so even if Grant fails, the others will quickly be able to follow up. 
- Ethan is assigned to deal with one of the bodyguards, and Yaeger the other. Grant and Drake will focus on Mowbray. They hope that either Ethan or Yaeger will be able to kill one of the bodyguards quickly and then be able to help finish Mowbray.
- Ethan palms his Icon of Abbie and tries to reach her. However, the Icon doesn’t work where they are crouching. He puts it away and focusses on the task at hand.
- Then suddenly Grant is off (GM’s note - at Engine Speed) in the form of a black crow. He takes a winding path, using the rifts as cover wherever possible. This is a little disorienting because he too is blind to Mowbray for fractions of a second as he makes his approach. Unfortunately, despite Grant’s speed and strategy, Mowbray senses his approach at the last moment and he throws up an Umbral shield which causes Grant to miss his strike. Mowbray curses Grant, realising that this isn’t Bastiano but another Umbra Master. One whom he knows very little about.
- Ethan teleports himself, Drake and Yaeger into the action. Mowbray instinctively releases a massive Umbral blast in all directions which engulfs them all, including his bodyguards. The two Dwimmerlaik bodyguards respond by shifting their forms into terrible war forms - one looks like a giant mantis-sliver-creature with serrated arms and legs; the other bulks out, assuming a monstrous horned-demon form with bat-like wings and a great axe. Ethan withstands Mowbray’s blast, protected by his shield. Grant manages to avoid damage by using one of the rifts as a shield. Drake takes cover behind one of the Dwimmerlaik bodyguards, giving him partial cover and his armour withstands the rest of the hit. However Yaeger is not so fortunate - he takes the full force of the blast and the Umbra begins eating its way through the armour plating on his chest and wings. 
- Drake and Grant go straight on the offensive, but Mowbray demonstrates why he is the most powerful Warlock the Dwimmerlaik have ever had by wielding Channelling to deadly effect. (GM’s note - Mowbray has X+2 Rank in Psyche which can be used via Channelling in a Warfare situation. This matches Drake’s X+2 Warfare) As Drake and Grant attack, they are blocked with ebony knives and shields tentacled out of Mowbray’s own shadow. 
- Meanwhile as Yaeger tries to get his armour off, the great mantis-sliver creature attacks him, forcing him to jump here and there to avoid being skewered. The great horned demon attacks Ethan with its great axe - Ethan blocks it but he is thrown backwards like a rag doll due it its enormous strength. Each time Ethan is driven back, he picks himself up again and attacks once more. Yaeger finally gets his armour off and takes the sky, only to receive an urgent warning from Grant to fly lower as there are too many airborne rifts that Yaeger cannot see.
- So Yaeger returns to the ground, firing up his chainsword and proceeds to take pieces out out of the mantis creature. This takes considerable time as the creature’s hide is tough and it quickly regenerates damage. It also has many redundant limbs and Yaeger becomes quite frustrated with this. Meanwhile Ethan has worked out that he can’t beat his opponent physically, so he’s working on a strategy to outwit it.
- Drake and Grant continue to press Mowbray, but he suddenly gives another burst of Umbral power and blasts them back to give himself some breathing room. Glancing over his shoulder, he quickly gets his bearings and disappears into his own shadow, reappearing some way off. Grant’s armour smoulders - it clearly won’t protect him much longer. Drake sheds his helmet and shield which are corroding fast due to Umbral decay. He managed to protect most of his body with his shield, at the cost of his shield.
- Then suddenly Mowbray has reached a rift and before Grant can reach him to re-engage, he has vanished. Drake and Grant rush over, but Grant stops Drake from following. He assures Drake that he won’t be able to go through without some sort of shielding. The rift will almost certainly tear him apart - Drake will need Ethan if he plans to follow.
- Grant prepares Umbral defences and follows Mowbray through the rift.

Part 7 - Across the Threshold 
- Angry, Drake heads back to join the other two. He quickly helps Yaeger to kill the mantis-sliver creature by chopping it into many pieces. There is a sudden primal scream behind them and Drake and Yaeger realise that the horned demon is shrieking its death-cry. Ethan has managed to trick it and then drive it into one of the rifts with a mighty Force Push. The creature screams like it is being sucked into a blender, and black gore showers everywhere. Ethan is covered in a shower of black rain (GM’s note - Bad Stuff)
- Drake scowls at him and tells him to stop playing around. He explains which rift Mowbray went through and relays Grant’s warning. Ethan charges a powerful Eidolon shield around all three of them and they enter the rift. There is a tremendous feeling of vibration as the rift grinds against the Eidolon shield, but Ethan’s spell of protection is very strong (GM’s note - Dominant Rank Psyche) so they make it through.

Part 8 - Caliban at War 
- Upon making it through the rift, Grant is initially quiet disoriented. The floor is hard and shiny. The walls are gleaming metal. It appears that he's just appeared on a Death Star set from Star Wars. 

* Image sourced from Google Images
- He can't see Mowbray anywhere nearby, and his head feels like a swarm of bees is buzzing nearby. Getting hastily to his feet, Grant heads for cover. This place might be Caliban, but he doesn't really know. But he does recognise this place as being fabricated by the Dwimmerlaik - he's seen enough installations whilst impersonating Trell. He starts looking for a computer console that he can access. Slowly the buzzing in his head recedes and he is able to use Wayfinding. He finds a console in an alcove and gets to work, whilst keeping his ears open in case anyone should draw near. Suddenly he feels a series of tremors through the floor. Grant knows an explosion when he feels one - something is going on here.
- Ethan, Drake and Yaeger Zane arrive in the same corridor. Drake and Yaeger are a little wobbly on their feet, but other than that, the shield has protected them. Drake sizes up the place, and Ethan heads straight to where Grant is located. Grant is not surprised to see them. Accessing the computer system from here is child's play for an Umbra Master who has worked on far more advanced Dwimmerlaik systems. This is Caliban, and they're in one of the military installations - this one is very deep - almost two hundred and fifty miles below the surface. However, it is more than 600 years in the past. The rift has transported them not only across dimensional realms, but back in time as well. It is the time of the Great War.
- The group is silent for a moment as Grant starts investigating what is happening that is making the complex shake. Drake clenches his fists. He advocates for a change of objective. Caliban disappeared during the Great War - he speculates that perhaps it was destroyed - perhaps this was meant to happen. Grant reminds them that they are here for Mowbray, but Drake presses that the mission should change. Drake isn't sure whether destroying Caliban is meant to happen or not, but even the possibility that he could end the War early and save millions of lives would be worth it. Grant points out that there is a civilian population on Caliban, not just military personnel. At this point, Ethan insists that he won't have any part in killing civilians (GM's note - Ethan has spent a lot of time with Abbie, and Abbie is the survivor of a destroyed world) Yaeger bluntly says that they should deal with Mowbray first, and Caliban second. Drake curtly agrees - it is clear that he holds a personal hatred of Mowbray.
- Grant discovers via the computer that Caliban is under attack. An armada of ships is attacking the planet - and they belong to the Mandragora (GM's note - the Mandragora are a race of space-faring dragonoids who in the present control great sections of the Stair, and are being courted by both the Dwimmerlaik and the Lords of Gossamer as a potential ally). They are also invading Caliban itself. Furthermore there are a number of other invaders. There are Lords of Gossamer here.
- The sounds of armoured feet is heard in the corridor, and Grant tells Drake that they'll use the same attack plan again. He then transforms and flies off after Mowbray, even as a number of armour-clad Dwimmerlaik 'stormtroopers' blast away at him. The other Lords then spring out from the alcove - Ethan takes some of the blaster-fire on his dragon-shield, and then he flattens them all with a Forge Push. Whilst Drake and Yaeger swiftly deal with the floundering Dwimmerlaik, Ethan tries to sense the locations of other Wardens of the Stair and the hostile Mandragora. 
- Ethan's concentration is swiftly broken by Drake who tells him to follow him. Running down the corridor, they are confronted by other groups of Dwimmerlaik troopers and even a Dwimmerlaik warlock - but they are no match for three Lords of Gossamer. The complex continues to rumble, and then suddenly is a red glow of a teleport and the corridor is filled with hulking armoured creatures. The Mandragora have arrived and they are heavily armed - they fire a few stray shots at the Lords of Gossamer, before realising that they are not the Enemy, and then they spread out to take control of the area.
- In the space of ten minutes, Drake has led them across multiple levels and down a turbolift to an even deeper section of the complex. They have arrived at some sort of power array, tapped deeply into the planet's molten core far below. Arriving here, Ethan can tell what Drake is up to. He's proceeding with his plan to destabilise the planet.

Part 9 - Mowbray's Master Plan 
- Grant has found it very difficult to locate Mowbray. Mowbray clearly knows the intricacies of this world and how to get from A to B without using Doors, corridors or turbolifts. Nevertheless, at last Grant has found him by using his Mastery of the Stair to open Doors to him. The first Door he opened led him straight into a firefight between Dwimmerlaik and a number of Lords of Gossamer (none of which he recognised). The second Door led him into a section of corridor which was controlled by the Mandragora - they opened fire at him as soon as he entered the area. But at last, the third Door has led him into a vast chamber. In it is a massive device, revolving and rotating like a planetary system. Grant has no idea what it does, but it radiates power, and he can see Mowbray deep within the structure.
- Grant, still in bird form, lines up to attack Mowbray but suddenly realises that there is more than one Mowbray here. He quickly counts four of them - and all appear to be real and not illusions. That shouldn't be possible even for a Shapeshifter, but this is Mowbray.
- As he studies the Mowbrays, Grant realises that Mowbray is aware of his presence. Speaking in the Dwimmerlaik High Tongue (which Grant can understand), Mowbray says that he does what is needed to ensure the preservation of the Empire and warns Grant not to interfere. Shifting back into his human form (and with his hand on Ethan's Icon), Grant replies in the High Tongue that he's seen the Empire and doesn’t share Mowbray’s high opinion of it. He notes that none of the subjects have any personal freedom. Mowbray frowns and admits that he underestimated Grant - he didn't expect the Lords of Gossamer to possess a third Umbra Master. (GM's note - the other two being Bastiano and Oscar)
- Ethan responds to the subtle Icon contact and tells Grant to keep Mowbray talking. Something has happened and Drake has a plan. He asks Grant to stall. Grant doesn't understand why, but he goes along with it. Mowbray obliges him, explaining to him that he has no intention of changing the outcome of the Great War. The defeat was, in his opinion, necessary. But when Caliban is severed from the Grand Stair, he plans to reconnect it again at the appropriate time, restoring the foundation of the Dwimmerlaik Empire and all of its hidden treasures, gathering his wayward warring flock (referring to the current civil war) and beginning the cycle anew. This time the Dwimmerlaik will be successful, becoming the Dominant and Supreme Power in the multiverse. (GM’s note - cue dark triumphant music)
- Mowbray doesn't seem particularly interested in fighting Grant but he warns Grant that he will annihilate him utterly if he interferes. Grant continues to covertly nudge Ethan to hurry up, especially when a number of Dwimmerlaik troopers arrive via sorcerous teleport to reinforce the position and cover the exits. They don't immediately attack Grant so he keeps Mowbray talking whilst listening to Ethan. Ethan explains that Drake was going to destroy the planet, but Drake has had a change of mind after he sensed that his own son is on Caliban (GM's note - "A feel a presence, a presence not felt since.... " quoting Darth Vader) - the one that Mowbray killed during the Great War. Drake never knew that his son went to Caliban and he has suddenly realised that he might actually be able to save his son.

Part 10 - Enter Oscar 
- The conversation is interrupted by the red bloom of a sorcerous teleport as a squad of heavily armed Mandragora arrive with two Lords of Gossamer that Grant has never seen before. One of the Lords of Gossamer is dressed in a high-tech set of battle armour and Grant suddenly realises that he wears a wrist blaster made from the same technology. This is Oscar!

* Image sourced from Lucien’s Guide: Legends and Lies (Rite Publishing Supplement) - I can’t easily credit the artist of this one.
- The other Lord of Gossamer is dressed in powered armour, but he appears to be an aged veteran of many battles.

* Image sourced from Google Images, but it appears to be a colourised Space Marine
- The Mandragora don't waste any time engaging the Dwimmerlaik and a full-blown firefight ensues. Spotting Mowbray, Oscar gives a primal roar and leaps to attack him. Mowbray is clearly displeased with the intrusion and he reforms himself from the four 'splinters' and unleashes Umbral havoc against Oscar. As Oscar blasts back, the delicate movements of the machinery is disturbed and great sections of it fall away, forcing Grant and Mowbray to move.
- Grant pushes Ethan again, telling him that 'now' would be a good idea. 

Part 11 - Battle Royale 
- Ethan accepts the Icon contact and suddenly Yaeger Zane, Ethan are there. But they are not alone. Lady Vala is with them - she looks different. She looks a little slimmer and younger, but her face is as serene as that they have seen before. Drake has contacted the Lady Vala of the past, and called her to Caliban!
- The battle that ensues is terrific. The great machine in the room is smashed by primal forces. Mowbray is attacked on three sides by Grant, Lady Vala and Oscar whilst Ethan, Oscar’s ally and Yaeger Zane engage the Dwimmerlaik on the ground. With the machine destroyed, Mowbray no longer has to hold back, and he wields Umbra and Void energies with lethal force. The complex shakes and begins to collapse in part. Oscar is thrown back and felled by Umbra energy (GM's note - which ultimately means that he becomes 'tainted' by Umbra). However the combined might of Grant and Lady Vala is too great. Despite extensive use of Channeling, shapeshifting to restore himself and void magic to attempt to escape, Grant and Lady Vala are too strong. Mowbray's escape from the chamber is quickly followed via Mastery of the Stair. More Dwimmerlaik who are ordered to interpose in the corridors are dealt with swiftly and, nearly exhausted, Mowbray flees into what appears to a sanctuary chapel. 
- Mowbray clearly expected to find reinforcements or allies in this chapel, but at last his luck has run out for none of the guardians are here to aid him. (GM’s note - yes, Mowbray has Bad Stuff)It is in this red-lit chapel, flanked by statues of the Dwimmerlaik heroes of the past that the final duel is fought, and at last he is struck down and his staff broken. Exhausted, wounded, and with black blood dripping from his mouth, he surrenders.
- Grant takes a moment to think on this, but Vala does not hesitate. She thrusts Vajra into his shadowed form, and bright lines of Eidolon tracery criss-cross his form. Mowbray opens his mouth for one last scream from which no sound is emitted and then suddenly in a flash of light, Mowbray is gone. 
- Vala levels a gaze at Grant and considers him. "I don't know you," she says. She introduces herself as Vala. When Grant introduces himself, she replies that she will remember his name. (GM's note - which is a nice tie-in back to Session 43 where Vala alludes that they have met before. Ah, isn't time travel grand) Grant says quizzically that where he comes from, Vala was never on Caliban, so he probably should not speak of this until they meet again and Lucien has restored his memories. Vala nods sagely.
- They make their way back to find the others, fighting their way through more Dwimmerlaik as they go.

Part 12 - Escape from Caliban 
- Grant is quickly reunited with Ethan and Yaeger Zane. Yaeger has decided that he wants to keep a set of Dwimmerlaik armour (and one of their funny helmets) as a souvenir, but more Dwimmerlaik keep arriving, and he's running out of Mandragora to use as shields. They are tough, but there are a lot more Dwimmerlaik than there are Mandragora. Ethan has given up using his lightsaber as as weapon and is blasting away with a Dwimmerlaik weapon from behind the cover of his dragon-shield. He's made his way over to Oscar, whose skin is shifting colour and texture due to exposure to Umbra, but Ethan keeps getting interrupted such that he can't finish healing them. The other Lord of Gossamer has continued to provide covering fire for Ethan and Oscar, blazing away with a bolt-gun that never seems to run out of ammunition. (GM’s note - a boltgun that never runs out of ammunition, you speak heresy, BLAM!)
- Grant and Vala re-enter the fray like a wrecking ball, carving through the Dwimmerlaik formation from behind, before finally cleaving through the Warlock at the front that had erected a protective shield which allowed them to advance more easily. Heading over to Ethan, Grant tells Ethan to leave Oscar. Ethan doesn't understand but Grant yells over the blaster fire that he's meant to be infected by Umbra or else Oscar will never train him in Umbra. (GM's note - oo, more time travel weirdness) Ethan agrees to contact Drake, and he initiates the contact.
- Grant yells out to Yaeger Zane that they are leaving, and he blasts a number of Dwimmerlaik with Umbra to hold them back. Unable to keep all of the pieces of armour together, Yaeger settles for a whole dead Dwimmerlaik and flies him over to where Ethan and Grant have huddled. The contact is initated and suddenly they are gone, leaving Vala, Oscar and the other Lord of Gossamer to deal with the Dwimmerlaik.
- They arrive in an alcove where Drake and other Lord of Gossamer are holding position. Grant notes the family resemblance - Drake has managed to locate his son. The rift is nearby.
- Grant calls out that it's time to go but Ethan hesitates. He thinks for a moment what would happen if he were to stay - could he somehow prevent what happened to Abbie's world of Meridian? But then he pushes the thought aside, and says that he's ready. There is a firefight in the corridor as they make their way to the rift. Grant puts up an Umbral shield to protect the others and then Ethan erects an Eidolon shield around himself, Drake, Yaeger and Drake's son. Together they enter the rift, and Grant follows immediately after.

Part 13 - An Ending 
- It is a surreal feeling being back in Skamino. Drake urges them not to celebrate too soon as they are not safe here. He instructs his son to follow Grant and Grant leads the way back to the Marindan Door. (Grant considers flying ahead and then using an Icon contact to bring them through but decides that this could be dangerous for those left behind. He also doesn’t know if an Icon will work reliably here). Again, Ethan uses a shielding spell to make them invisible (Mental Invisibility) and they make their way back to the Door. 
- The route back is uneventful despite the sounds of nearby shellfire and they make it back safely. To Grant’s relief, Marindar is just as he left it. He was a little worried that bringing back Drake’s son could have changed things, but it doesn’t seem to have affected anything here.
- Yaeger Zane is pleased to be 'back in Marindar' as he hasn't been here in some time - he decides to go and get ‘cleaned up’ and then look up some lovely Marindan ladies that he once knew.
- Drake sheds a tear (a manly tear) as he embraces his son, Eric. He thanks Grant and Ethan warmly for bringing his son back safely and says that he is forever in their debt. Drake asks Grant for his permission to rest in Marindar for a short time, and Grant agrees to this. 
- Grant contacts Lady Vala via Icon and they talk briefly about what has happened. Vala reveals that she remembers Grant from Caliban but kept the knowledge secret until now. Vala praises what he has done for the Lords of Gossamer, and says that the Empire will not recover quickly from such a loss. She suggests that he rest awhile but they should talk soon about the future. Vala would value his counsel and insights about the Dwimmerlaik given that he has lived among them. Grant agrees to this.
- Grant reminds Ethan that they have not talked for some time - he urges Ethan not to leave too quickly. Ethan checks his watch and believes it to be a little after midnight in Westgate. He says that he needs to leave but he promises to return soon. Grant points out that ‘Christmas’ is not far away, and even though the event is not celebrated in Marindar, he asks for Ethan’s help to make it a special time for both families. Ethan agrees to this, but Ethan offers a counter-suggestion that they catch up at their favourite inn in Versais ‘next Thursday’. Grant grins at the idea of returning to an old haunt.
- Seeing that Ethan is about to depart, Drake makes an effort to talk to him. Drake offers Ethan an apology, and says that he was so focussed on avenging his son (who was slain by Mowbray) that he was quite prepared to destroy Caliban. He thanks Ethan for persisting long enough with him for him to realise that his son was on Caliban. He admits that if he thought that Ethan was going to stop him, Drake probably would have killed him. It takes a brave man to stand up to that. (GM’s note - all of this happened ‘off camera’ - Ethan tried to reason with Drake. Ethan managed to work out that Drake’s son was killed by Mowbray. And then by fortuitous circumstance, it turned out that Drake’s son was part of the attack on Caliban - something that Drake did not know. This is Drake’s Good Stuff at work. Why did we include this? Because Grant’s reputation is solid with most of the Lords of Gossamer, but even after 100 sessions, Ethan is relatively unknown.) Ethan doesn’t know Drake very well but he recognises that a tough man has just made a heartfelt confession - he offers his hand to Drake, and Drake shakes it firmly. 
- Ethan tries to initiate an Icon contact to Abbie in the hope that she is still awake, and to his pleasant surprise she is. He vanishes when she accepts the contact.
- Leaving the octahedral gate to Skamino, Grant confirms that all of the Marindan gates (Doors) are secure, and then he takes a car to street-level. The driver is surprised that he doesn’t want to fly home, but Grant wants to walk through the city streets to his home. He takes in the smells and sights of Central, and heads for home where he knows that Lady Sophia will be waiting for him. Grant hums ’When Johnny Comes Marching Home’ and a smile widens across his face as he realises that it’s finally over.
- In Abbie’s house in Manchester, Ethan embraces Abbie and promises her that he’s not going anywhere for a while.


.... and that's where we end Session 100. Next up, the Christmas Special.