Session 91 - The Trapped House

GM Observations
- I’ve never been three sessions behind in writing these up before. ‘Real Life’ is very busy at the moment, to the degree that I’ve asked David to postpone Session 94 by a week. 
- This session was a bit of a filler episode that David cooked up in a hurry. He’s dealing with his own ‘Real Life’ issues at the moment.

Part 1 - Old Ground
- Ethan makes plans to return to the vicinity of Trollworld (GM’s note - last seen in Session 49) and the corridor of identical Doors. He remembers fleeing into Trollworld with Isabelle and Abbie when a tidal wave of something that wasn’t water came rushing down the corridor. He doesn’t relish the thought of heading back.
- Ethan decides that Stolvir and Macavity must come with him - he can’t simply leave them in Skandia where they could be nabbed by the Enemy. Both of them have been to Realm 0 so Ethan is now worried that the Enemy could trace them back to his home. Stolvir does not object to heading out on the Stair, nor does Macavity - he has smelt the ‘other cat’ (Kade) for some time and has been using sorcery on the sly to ‘deposit hairs’ around Ethan’s home. Ethan guesses that it will only take him a day’s walk to reach that section of Stair so he heads off, carrying the red disk (which looks very much like a wax seal although it is solid) that Kade gave him to keep in contact.
- En route, Wayfinding guides Ethan through a realm which is heavily fortified by the Dwimmerlaik. A transport with covered windows is waiting for him by the Door. He is ushered into the transport by two very heavily armed and armoured guards and the vehicle takes off. Ethan feels that he’s going the right way. The realm seems to equally balanced in both Eidolon and Umbra but Sorcery is very strong here. Ethan asks casually if they get many visitors here and one of the guard answers that it is very rare. Ethan is allowed to look out one of the slits in the side of the vehicle and he sees a barren landscape with pockets of green around isolated trees. There are many floating weapons platforms here. Ethan asks about whether the guards come from here and they do. They are on a contract - it isn’t pleasant work.
- After many hours they reach a modern, fortified, garage complex which is built around an old hut. The Door is located in the old hut. Ethan considers leaving a teleportation mark here but decides not to. Noting that this Door is also very well defended (many soldiers, gun turrets etc), he leaves through the Door and finds himself on the section of Stair with identical Doors. There is no water here, but it does look like the corridor has been scoured - whatever liquid rushed down the Stair has actually damaged it. Ethan is surprised by this - he didn’t think that was possible to physically damage the Stair.

Part 2 - Recent Activity
- Following his instincts, Ethan heads in the direction where the tidal wave came from, searching for the section of Stair which has seen recent activity. He passes the Door to Trollworld, and he passes the world into which he threw one of the Sons of Saul. After about 1/2 mile of corridor, the corridor starts spiralling up. The Doors are fewer here. After about 10 minutes of walking, Ethan finds an airlock Door which is shiny and there is a residue at the base. The residue is still smoking. Passing the Door, he carries on upwards. The next Door shows no sign of scouring, confirming that the airlock Door must have been the source of the acid wave. The Door itself is a double-door (Ethan has never seen one before), made of mahogany. Opening the Door he finds himself in a well appointed room with wooden paneling. There is intricate tracery decorating all of the surfaces and Ethan can tell that this has been enhanced with Eidolon. In the centre of the room is a dining table with a cream coloured tablecloth. The table has not been set. 
- There are two doors exiting this chamber. Macavity asks Ethan which way and Ethan chooses one of the doors. He can tell that there is another Warden within fifty metres. He also senses that there are other minds nearby, but they are ‘not right’. There are in distress - there is some sort of danger here.
- Opening the nearby door, he finds himself in an ornate corridor which has been elegantly furnished. There is no dust on any of the ornaments. It is spotless. He heads for the second door on the right - this is where the Warden is - so he decides to knock and he hears a muffled voice in response.
- Opening the door using his Warden abilities, Ethan finds a sitting room. There are many bookshelves here, some comfortable looking armchairs and a large trunk. Walking over to the trunk, he opens it carefully, expecting to find a person it in. Instead there is a jewellery box and an old rug. The Warden is apparently ‘in’ the rug.

Part 3 - Long Captivity
- Ethan frowns. Could the Warden be a ‘little person’? The rug doesn’t look big enough. Ethan asks the rug if someone is really in there. A muffled male voice sounds very unamused by the question and asks if he could be let out. Ethan takes out the rug and opens it. There, in the middle of the tapestry is a dapper looking fellow with a hawklike nose and a feather in his cap. The man is literally in the tapestry. He coughs, spitting out dust. He explains he’s been stuck in the tapestry for many years and the only way to free him is to substitute someone else for himself. Ethan thinks on this - this means that this Warden is not the one who has been recently opening Doors in this section of the Stair.
- Ethan also mulls over the fact that he can sense a handful of others here, but none of them are Wardens. Then he looks at Stolvir and Macavity. Macavity takes a step back, already guessing what Ethan is thinking. Ethan gives Stolvir a big hug and then asks him to step into the rug. Reluctantly, Stolvir does this. The tapestry opens up like quicksand and sucks him down. A man appears - the man from the tapestry - and instead there is now a woven image of Stolvir in the tapestry, looking rather glum.
- Immediately the man gives a shriek and runs for the bathroom. Ethan rolls up the rug (which whines a little bit) and Macavity follows him at a distance. He quickly traces the fellow down to the toilet and waits for him to finish. His groans are painful to listen to but finally he’s done.
- When the man emerges, he tells Ethan to watch himself as the whole house is ‘trapped’. He’d been stuck in the tapestry for a long long time. He explains that sorcery in this place is formulaic, with spells slow to craft but they have long term effects. Ethan sizes the fellow up, noting that he is armed with a flintlock pistol and a rapier. Suddenly there is a terrible shaking in the house, and then it suddenly stopped. When it stops, the man explains that the house does this at regular intervals - and the house reorganises every time.

Part 4 - The Other Prisoners
- Ethan checks his watch and begins timing how long it takes for the house to reorganise. He finds the dining room is different - it is bigger now. The corridor is less ornate and looks more like a suburban house. The man gives his name as Bartholomew. Ethan is surprised by this but he does not resemble Bartholomew Smith (GM’s note - his legal adviser in Realm 0) Bartholomew says that he came into this realm with a friend and he’d like to find her. Ethan agrees to this and he starts looking for someone else who has been trapped.
- It does not take him very long. Another two rooms away there is a washroom with a full length mirror. A dark-skinned man, dressed only in a towel with shaving cream still on part of his face scowls at Ethan. Ethan asks how long the man has been trapped and he tells Ethan that it has been more than 35,000 days - after that he lost count. The man says that the trigger for the spell was touching the taps with wet hands - he warns Ethan not do to this. Ethan asks if the man would like to leave his prison, and the man scowls at him again at what he believes to be a stupid question. Ethan tells the man that he’ll try to get him out but it will take him a little time. Macavity can barely hide his relief at not being asked to get wet and enter the mirror.
- Ethan can sense two others. He goes for a walk and quickly finds them. He finds one in a sowing room, trapped in a dressmaker’s dolly. The dolly has a face and she screams when she sees Ethan - Bartholomew calls her Sally and urges her to calm down. 
- The last individual is in one of the guest rooms. He finds a tea set and on the tea pot is a fine gentleman with a large curled moustache. He seems pleased to see Ethan and apologises for being unable to shake hands. Apparently he has been trapped here for over seventy years. Ethan thinks for a moment, aware that it has been more than ten minutes and the house could reorganise now at any time. He decides to try something on the distinguished gentleman - he tries a simple Sleep spell - it takes longer for him to get the effect off than normal, but he succeeds in putting the man to sleep. A snoring sound comes out of the spout.

Part 5 - The Madman
- Suddenly the whole house comes alive again, chattering and clattering, drawers banging and cupboards opening and slamming. The house has reorganised once more. Ethan can sense that the Door has moved - what was a two story house is now a four story house and Ethan can tell that he is on the ground floor. Ethan checks his watch - the house reorganises every fifteen minutes. He can feel a presence upstairs so he heads upwards. On the top floor there is a parlour room, and in the centre of a round table there is an ornate stand and a crystal ball upon it. Inside the crystal ball is the image of a floating face. He is elderly with scraggly grey hair. The man chuckles at him, and says that this is all that is left of him. Ethan tries a Sleep spell, but immediately he finds that the madman here is no pushover and they are locked in mental combat.
- Ethan is stronger but he is unable to properly engage because of the Breath of Eden. Instead he has to pin his opponent mentally and then extract the information from him. The madman is not real - he is a copy of a long dead wizard that was left to look after his house. However the long centuries of entrapment within the crystal ball without any sensory input have unbalanced his mind. Ethan pushes hard to take the information from him as to how the traps were created in the first place and how to disarm them. In doing so, he pushes so hard that the madman’s mind shatters into tiny fragments even though this was not Ethan’s intent. But he now knows where all of the traps are and how to disarm them.

Part 6 - Aftermath
- Ethan sets about freeing each of the prisoners, but he forces Balthazar to do the relevant incantation to free Stolvir. Ethan notes that the Door opens into a different place here - when on the 3rd Floor, the Door opens to a location close to Nexopolis - it looks like this realm opens in different places based on the configuration of the house. Ethan finds this interesting, and then decides that it is time to take the others to get some food. Returning the house to its original configuration, Ethan leads them back onto the original section of Stair and they head to a plain wooden Door which leads to a traditional English pub. There is no electricity or gas here but the place is welcoming and it is snowing outside. The people seem surprised that they have just come into the tavern without any sign of recent travel. Stolvir finds the fire most welcoming and he curls up to rest and warm himself. Macavity follows suit but maintains a safe distance. 
- As they eat, Ethan learns that the girl is Sally Shotgun, clearly Bartholomew’s girl. The well dressed gentleman with the moustache is a retired army colonel, and he carries a breach loading rifle and cutlass. The african fellow is Mason - a few of the locals give him a curious look as if they have never seen a dark skinned man before, but nothing is said.
- After a hearty meal, Ethan takes a short walk through the snow to the toilet (an outdoor pit sheltered by crude structure) and contacts Kade using his sorcerous device. He advises Kade that he’s met another Warden named Bartholomew but he was a prisoner, and not actively moving about on the Stair. Kade thanks him for reporting in and tells him to carry on. (GM’s note - Ethan knows that the Dwimmerlaik expect him to be friendly with other Wardens in case they can be recruited)


…. and that’s where we left Session 91.

GM Commentary

Session 93 was run last night. Now I'm three sessions behind on writeup. Sorry folks.

GM Commentary

S92 was run last night. It was a short one but now I’m two sessions behind on write-ups.

GM Commentary

Thanks. I'm a bit late with the writeup as I've been helping another campaign get started. Soon....

Feedback from Garomac

This is great stuff. Keep it coming.

GM Commentary

Session 91 was run this evening. Hopefully I'll get the write-up posted by Thursday.

Feedback from BelleSorciere

Mister_Bruce wrote:Session 90 - Memory Canisters

GM Observations
- Ooo… Session 90. This is good. Closing in on 100 sessions of this game - probably before the end of the year. It’s a massive effort to keep going for this long, documenting every session so hopefully some of you out there are enjoying this. David and I are definitely building the storyline up for the next 10 sessions. I can see already what is going to happen. Trell (Grant) is closing in on the memory store, and he’s got some ideas (which I won’t spoil as they are in the writeup below) as to how to turn the tables on the Dwimmerlaik. After all, the Lords of Gossamer have been on the defensive for a long time (many many sessions since Heldon’s Pass). We can’t have the Dwimmerlaik being the big bad indefinitely. Something needs to change the balance and that ‘something’ is coming. I think Ethan is also going to run afoul of the R.E.D (Red Eyed Dwimmerlaik) again and the things that are loose in Realm 0.

I'm still enjoying this, and hopefully others are as well.

Session 90 - Memory Canisters

GM Observations
- Ooo… Session 90. This is good. Closing in on 100 sessions of this game - probably before the end of the year. It’s a massive effort to keep going for this long, documenting every session so hopefully some of you out there are enjoying this. David and I are definitely building the storyline up for the next 10 sessions. I can see already what is going to happen. Trell (Grant) is closing in on the memory store, and he’s got some ideas (which I won’t spoil as they are in the writeup below) as to how to turn the tables on the Dwimmerlaik. After all, the Lords of Gossamer have been on the defensive for a long time (many many sessions since Heldon’s Pass). We can’t have the Dwimmerlaik being the big bad indefinitely. Something needs to change the balance and that ‘something’ is coming. I think Ethan is also going to run afoul of the R.E.D (Red Eyed Dwimmerlaik) again and the things that are loose in Realm 0.
- Anyway, we’re back to split sessions so that we focus on Grant and Ethan. Their paths will no doubt converge soon.
- And we must, must award Grant and Ethan more points soon. We’ve haven’t done so in probably a year!

Part 1 - Home at Last
- Ethan looks through Westgate cottage, refamiliarising himself with what is here. The ravens and cats flee in terror as Stolvir ambles through the corridors, sniffing here and there as he goes. The ravens squark loudly from the next room that they wish to lodge “a formal protest with the management” but Ethan ignores them. He finds a pile of mail in the study which has been carefully prepared for his review. The October 1988 edition of Time Magazine is beside it. On the cover is a picture of Abbie Powell - she is dressed in a business attire and looking straight at the reader. The caption says simply: “Superwoman.” Ethan frowns at this - if she’s on the front page of Time Magazine then she must has a high public profile.
- Abbie catches him leafing through the pages, and she hands him a freshly brewed up of tea. Ethan sips it - it tastes good. He comments idly that she has been busy. “You have no idea,” she says. Abbie explains that she has been gone too long and no doubt it’ll take her time to sort it all out, but she’ll manage it. She confirms that she is quite famous - she can’t walk down the street without being recognised. She seems a bit sad by this but brightens when Ethan suggests that he could simply use a glamour to make her appear as someone else to everyone but him. He explains that he uses a ‘mental invisibility spell’ when he wants not to be noticed. Her smile broadens and she suggests that they take a walk into town. She knows that there will be a mess waiting for her but she’d like to spend some time with him before she has to go.
- As they prepare to leave, Lucien explains that he needs to visit Jacob and he asks to borrow a car. Ethan shows him the car keys which gives Lucien an idea. Lucien asks for the two Keys that Ethan is carrying and he ‘fixes them’. The two Keys glows briefly and Lucien explains that the Keys only work on one of the Doors when the failsafes are triggered - he’s re-attuned it so that they will open all of the Doors. He asks Ethan to give one to Grant when he next sees him. Lucien also shares with Ethan that given that he’s still affected by the Breath of Eden, if Ethan wants to talk to someone via Icon, he should attempt a contact but not connect; the receiver will then initiate a contact using methods that they have devised which should then be safe.
- Leaving Macavity to calm the rest of the animals in the house, Ethan, Abbie and Stolvir go for a walk into Fiveways. Lucien waves to them as he drives by in the Eidolon Car (GM’s note - last used in Session 74 Part 1). 

- No one on the way recognises Abbie, and Stolvir is mistaken for a large white dog rather than the huge dire wolf that he is. The walk is pleasant and they end up at the Tipsy Elephant for a pint, a game of pool and a meal. Abbie explains what she is doing with all of the goodwill and money that she’s been earning - she practically glows when she explains what she’s doing to make her adopted homeworld a better place. Ethan shows genuine interest. The only downside seems to be that she has lost her anonymity such that she can’t move around as an ordinary citizen. Ethan decides to think on that.
- While they eat, Finn (from the Raven Legion) recognises Ethan and comes over to see how he is. Ethan introduces him to Abbie (dropping the glamour), they chat for a few minutes and then Finn leaves. As Finn leaves, Ethan moves to put the glamour back in place but Abbie tells him that it won’t be necessary. She smiles and just tells him to watch. Ethan asks if this is wise but she just smiles and takes his hand.
- It takes less than five minutes for someone to recognise her - the word goes around the pub like a whisper. Ethan can feel their stares, but Abbie just ignores. She keeps talking and Ethan listens. At last they is interrupted by one of the bar staff - the girl says to Abbie that she’s wanted on the phone. Dutifully, Abbie goes to answer it. The call is short and she returns to the table to explain to Ethan that the ‘Foundation’ is sending a car for her. Ethan finds the pool table is busy so he suggests that they play darts until the car arrives. They play a number of games - both of them are very accurate and a small crowd watches in wonder as they play ‘around the world’, scoring each number in turn from 1 to 20. When at last the car arrives, Ethan asks if Abbie for a dinner date in a few days time and she agrees. She asks him not to get into too much trouble without her, and she leaves.
- Ethan stays at the pub for a while longer - some of the patrons ask him questions. It’s clear they’re curious and more than a little envious. They recognise him as a local but they haven’t seen him for some time. He tells them he’s been away but that he’s back. 
- Stolvir is a bit slow on the way back - some of the patrons had been giving him treats, amazed at how much he could consume. Arriving back, Ethan sits down on his bed - Macavity is asleep - but he decides to go the workshop rather than sleep. He goes through his equipment, and prepares to miniaturise what he needs for Skandia. He takes a keg-sized power generator and shrinks it for the journey.

Part 2 - Return to Skandia
- With Macavity and Stolvir in tow, Ethan leaves Realm 0 (Earth) and heads away on the Stair for about ten minutes before teleporting to the Skandian Door. He is still marvelling that this works now that he has his old memories back - he wonders if he is the only sorcerer in the universe to possess two magical paradigms as the teleportation spell was not originally his. It came from implanted memories. 
- Ethan is welcomed home. Macavity is shown great deference (the locals understand to revere cats) and Ethan heads to his house. The bed is made and the house has been cleaned. After arranging a proper meal for Stolvir and Macavity, Ethan uses psychometry to figure out who has been here. He finds that the locals have tried to keep his place clean in his absence, however he senses that the Red Eyed Dwimmerlaik has been through his written journal. Ethan uses Wayfinding but the Red Eyed Dwimmerlaik is nowhere nearby.
- Sitting down to think, Ethan remembers the realm with the Guardians where he met Marcavius - with his original memories restored he realises that that realm is only about two hours away from Marindar, which means that the Dwimmerlaik are very close to Marindar, and Earth.
- Ethan shows Macavity around the town of Hoffgard and he begins an inventory of the things that the Dwimmerlaik have brought to this world. They have provided a power supply, a lot of heating elements and also water purification systems and some modern medicine. Ethan considers the power generator that he brought with him - he is confident that it could replace the system that the Dwimmerlaik have put in place. He finds it interesting that the existing power source is deliberately not self-sustaining - it requires small blue Energon cubes (GM’s - yes, a Transformers cartoon reference) to keep it going.
- Ethan goes to see Morwen in the library and gives her a book from Earth, showing the history of the world and the development of its technology - this is to give the local Fabricators ideas. He then asks if he can ‘check something’ which he saw in her memories and she agrees to allow him to contact her psychically. Preparing a mental barrier, he then reaches out and is able to confirm that she has been tampered with by the Dwimmerlaik. Thanking her, Ethan explores more widely and concludes that the entire community here has been altered recently over a matter of weeks, years of history rewritten in their minds. Interestingly there was another Warden that came from Skandia, but he was not in the employ of the Dwimmerlaik - those memories have been altered.
- Ethan decides to explore some of the surrounding settlements. Most are small with only a few dozen families in each. In these settlements, the Dwimmerlaik have not tampered with the population but the locals do understand the importance of obeying the Masters. Some food supplies have reached them from Hoffgard, but none of the other benefits. As part of his survey, Ethan also concludes that the Dwimmerlaik have tampered with the environment here - it would normally be about five degrees degrees warmer but they have changed things. The communities here are slowly dying. The Dwimmerlaik have created a dependency on them by changing things. By making the place colder, it has affected the food supplies so that they need to import them, and also heaters powered by Dwimmerlaik-provided reactors are needed.
- Ethan mulls over whether to change things - he wonders whether to do so would ‘blow his cover’.

Part 3 - A Date with Abbie
- In the evenings Ethan talks a lot with Macavity, often about Abbie. Macavity counsels him that he thinks that Abbie loves him a great deal but it’s hard for her given that Ethan can leave the planet any time he chooses (and has done so). He advises Ethan to ‘give it time’, just be himself but keep the promises that he makes.
- Ethan returns to Realm 0 (Earth), showers and changes and then goes to meet her in York. Ethan drives the Eidolon car. He meets her at a upmarket restaurant called Ambiente - she is dressed smartly in a red dress. She’s clearly made an effort to style her hair and she’s wearing a little makeup and some silver earrings. Ethan can’t remember her wearing makeup before. The staff are extremely courteous and professional and the food is delicious. Even though there is some curiosity from the other patrons, no one interrupts them. 
- Abbie tells Ethan that unfortunately her time away has done more damage than she expected. She left suddenly, and for longer than she expected - so she’s going to have to work very hard to reassure people that the dream that she’s painted is still achievable and she’s motivated to do so. But then she changes the topic and asks Ethan all about his adventures. She is very interested when Ethan describes the Dwimmerlaik interference in the planet’s environment - she asks Ethan whether he would be able to fix something of that scale. Ethan is confident that he can, and she asks if he might be able to help her too - some minor changes on Earth could reap significant benefits. 
- Ethan asks after the monster that ‘ate’ the hotel GM’s note - last seen in Session 76) and Abbie says that it hasn’t been seen since. 
- After dinner, Ethan suggests that they go dancing but she declines, saying that she has too much work to do at the present time. She says that she had a lovely evening, kisses Ethan goodnight and asks him to take her out again. Ethan suggests that he take her on the Stair and she laughs. He persists and says that there is a world called Midas (GM’s note - last visited in Session 70) which would be a wonderful place to visit and isn’t at all dangerous. Abbie agrees to a weekend getaway in a fortnight’s time - this makes Ethan very happy.

Part 4 - Terraforming
- Ethan returns to Skandia and begins looking for where the Dwimmerlaik have changed the climate and weather systems, and then he studies them and corrects them using Eidolon and Sorcery. This takes him over a week as he travels all over the Skandian peninsula to the locations of the disturbances where the world has been purposefully ‘broken’. Ethan reasons that the Dwimmerlaik know that he has Eidolon so it is only reasonable that he should ‘fix’ what he considers to be broken - he believes he can justify what he is doing if challenged.
- During one return visit to Hoffgard, he switches over the lighting and heating supplies to the portable generator that he brought from Earth. Gremm and his Fabricators are surprised by this. They are a little worried at first about what the Masters will say, but Griffin (Ethan) explains that the resources that the Masters sent should be redeployed to other townships who have no such amenities, or returned to the Masters and a request made for other suitable benefits. This pleases Gremm and reassures him that the Masters will not be offended by what Griffin is doing.
- Whilst Griffin is away from the city repairing the damage to the planet, Kade contacts Griffin (Ethan) via the sorcerous stone that he is carrying. Kade tells him that a high-ranking Dwimmerlaik Lord who goes by many names (the Red Eyed Dwimmerlaik) has asked for Griffin to investigate a Warden on the Stair. Kade explains that this is most unusual as the Dwimmerlaik Lord in question is most reclusive and doesn’t normally ask for anything. Anyway, Griffin is requested to find out what is happening in a particular region of the Stair. The Masters are aware of Doors being opened and closed so a Warden is clearly moving about - but they don’t know who or why. Kade gives Griffin the rough location on the Stair and signs off. Thinking about the coordinates given, the region is unfamiliar to Ethan however it is reasonably close to Trollworld (GM’s note - last visited in Sessions 50 and 51). Ethan shudders as that was not a pleasant experience - Isabelle, Abbie and he almost died there more than once. He checks the date - he is supposed to be taking Abbie for a getaway in three days. (GM’s note - yes, cue Bad Stuff)


— and back to Grant…. 

Part 5 - Closer Still 
- Erla and Forst are pleased to see Trell (Grant) return. They have been given a most difficult task and they need Trell’s help. They explain that there is a Warden of the Stair named Galatea. (GM’s note - last seen in Session 38) She was once a Lord of Gossamer who fought at Heldon’s Pass. Affected by the Breath of Eden, the Dwimmerlaik stole her memories. Despite being disoriented and confused, Galatea possesses the ability to fly, she has superhuman strength and is practically invulnerable, much like the Sons of Saul. Curious about her, the Dwimmerlaik managed to move her to another world: Earth. (This is not the Earth that Grant grew up on so he calls it “Earth 2” in his head).

* Image by Portohle on DeviantART
- They explain that when the Breath of Eden affects a target, it establishes an Icon contact. Then a powerful sorcerous spell is unleashed, powered in part by Umbra. It rips the mind from the target and stores them away in a secret place, but the contact with the target is never truly severed. A link remains so long as the memories are held and the wound unhealed. 
- Originally the Breath of Eden was not meant for the Lords of Gossamer. The great Dwimmerlaik warlock named Mowbray invented it as a way to augment his own powers, stealing the witchcraft and abilities of others. However, things have changed and it remains a potent secret weapon developed which Mowbray’s Ailsiliar (his warlock-priests) continue to refine. The Dwimmerlaik are interested in many forms of control and influence over populations to make them compliant, pliable and obedient. It becomes clear to Grant that Erla and Forst are either part of the Ailsiliar (or will one day become part).
- Galatea interested the Dwimmerlaik because the Sons of Saul are all male, cloned from Saul himself. The idea of superhuman progeny loyal to the Empire is an intriguing one - they are curious as to whether they can create some sort of breeding programme with her. On this Earth, Galatea is known as “The Goddess” by the people of Metro City (and the broader planet), because she is like a god to them. She is still lonely and confused, but introducing a Son of Saul as a potential mate was not successful - the Son of Saul attempted to dominate her and the result was a battle which the man lost. Since then, the Dwimmerlaik have introduced numerous challenges for her - both natural and supernatural - attempting to learn more about her, seeking some weakness or flaw that they could use to turn her. Trell reviews the line-up and asks about how they made such superpower threats. Erla explains that they can use Sorcery to augment people. (GM’s note - Loki does this in the comic books all the time)
- In the meantime, Erla and Forst have been working through her memories, trying to figure out more about her. She has some of the most complex memories they have ever seen - as if she is a gestalt of many people. There are recent memories of Marindar, Arcadia, Heldon’s Pass and other places. She has memories of Lords of Gossamer such as Turadok, Drake, Bastiano, Grant and Ethan. There are also references in Galatea’s memories a Lady of Marindar called Sophia, and coincidentally they have acquired her memories. Also of note is that she seems to have a strong emotional connection to Ethan but it is not clear why.
- Trell agrees to help even though Grant feels that it is becoming problematic to remain Trell for much longer. He is finding that Trell is becoming an increasingly natural state for him to inhabit and he needs to keep reminding himself that he is Grant. He assumes it is a consequence of remaining ‘undercover’ in a shapeshifter form for an extended period of time.

Part 6 - Memory Hunt
- Erla, Forst and Trell operate out of a three level apartment in Metro City. Galatea is easy to find and track - and they believe the wards on the apartment will prevent her from detecting them. Trell asks about her movements and what she reacts to. Forst explains to Trell that she responds to disasters and threats, local and international, probably by listening to the news rather relying upon any super senses. He explains that both Bastiano’s and Grant’s memories have so far been undecipherable, possibly because they are Umbra Masters (this seems to be the prevailing theory). Drake’s memories have been carefully scrutinised because of the military value that they hold and there is detailed information on those. Turadok also have some memories of Galatea, but Ethan does not. 
- Trell asks about each of the Lords of Gossamer and he is told that they only have about a week’s worth of Ethan’s memories although they are not sure why. Ethan was recently found by the Dwimmerlaik, and a number of the Ailsiliar worked hard to construct a plausible set of memories that would convince him that he grew up serving the Empire. Lord Aurum believes that Ethan is a particularly strong Lord of Gossamer and will be useful to them. (Grant notes this but says nothing - he knows that Ethan has his memories back as Bastiano has been in contact with him).
- Lady Erla uses a small polished stone with runes on it to communicate with the Ailsiliar and request canisters of memories to be sent to them as required. Erla confirms that these are a ‘read only’ copy from the main memory vault, and often just the fragments required rather than all memories. Erla and Forst have equipment to be able to view the memories provided.

• Drake has very few memories of Galatea. He was in command and Galatea was a soldier under his command for a short amount of time. There seems little point requesting the actual memories. Lady Erla makes the point to say that Drake was successfully implanted with new memories and he is now a Servant of the Empire.
• Turadok has very lewd ‘memories’ of Galatea which are unlikely to be real. Grant looks through the memories - they are not particularly useful.
• Lady Galatea’s complete memories are shared. The canister provided is larger (about the same of a foam roller used for back support). Grant reviews them and sees her interactions with Lady Sophia and even himself. It is disconcerting being immersed in someone else’s memories and viewing events from Galatea’s point of view.

- During this period of investigation, Trell tries to figure out a way of sending back a canister and being able to track it via Wayfinding. He knows that it is possible to Wayfind to the main memory vault where the Dwimmerlaik are holding the memories, but the direct approach has already been tried and failed (GM’s note - Bastiano was injured trying this)

Part 7 - Interrupted
- Trell continues to look for some way to ‘harness’ Galatea for the Empire, whilst trying to find out where the memories are stored, or getting access to one of the stones that Erla and Forst are using to contact the Ailsiliar. During this process, he justifies getting access to Lady Sophia’s memories (which haven’t been heavily scrutinised because the Dwimmerlaik have higher priority targets) and a canister containing her memories arrives.
- But before he can delve into Sophia’s memories, Trell feels an additional presence on the level above. Using Umbra Sight, he determines that they have an intruder. A Dwimmerlaik warrior has materialised but remains under the cover of a sorcerous cloak. He is practically invisible with the glamour on him. Grant knows that Trell shouldn’t be able to detect this, but nevertheless he goes to investigate.
- The intruder moves swiftly through the corridors and Trell catches a glimpse of him going through the wall (phase-cloak spell) into Lady Erla’s room with a five foot javelin-like spear in his hands. Judging that this could be an assassination attempt, Trell goes clean through the door to Lady Erla’s room, triggering a sorcerous alarm. Even though the Dwimmerlaik is poised to strike, Trell quickly leaps to Erla’s defence and seizes the spear from the assassin. Immediately, the assassin releases the spear and phases back through the wall to escape.
- A chase ensues with the phased-assassin fleeing through walls. Nevertheless, the assassin is no match for Grant (GM’s note - First Rank Warfare and First Rank Strength)Grant hurls the assassin’s spear and pins him before he gets too far away. Unfortunately before he can apprehend him, the assassin goes limp - he has committed suicide. With no one observing him, Grant tries a mental link in an attempt to get anything from him - the Breath of Eden does not trigger as the fellow is dead - but the residual defences on this individual threaten to swallow him up into a black abyss and Grant has to pull back. 
- The glamour wears off the Dwimmerlaik and the body becomes visible. The individual’s body is covered in runes (GM’s note - runes runes everything is covered in runes in this session). Dragging the body back with him, Trell finds Forst with his sister. They quickly identify the body as from Clan Devish - the so called “Murder House” because this is what they are infamous for. They would not attack another Dwimmerlaik without it being authorised at a very high level. Both Erla and Forst look very scared and Trell directs them to return home to Chammont with the body for evidence. He plans to stay behind and see what their enemies will do next. (Grant also wants Erla and Forst out of the way so that he can work interrupted). Erla and Forst praise Trell for being so selflessly brave and they wish him well, asking him to use their Icon when complete. Trell agrees to this, but Grant knows that he can’t do this without triggering the Breath of Eden.

Part 8 - A Rift in the Empire?
- Trell makes himself a cup of tea and sits down to see what happens next. He does not have long to wait. Two attendants and a SWAT team enter the apartment, load up the equipment and Galatea’s memory canister (Trell has already hidden Sophia’s) and then make their way out. Grant (as Trell) considers subduing them all but he decides instead to become a bug and follow them out.
- They take the lift down to the basement where a Ford Transit van is waiting. After carefully loading the equipment, they head off with Trell following them. They travel across town and arrive at a warehouse surrounded by a chain-link fence. There they are greeted by Vibro, one of the superpowered criminals that Erla and Forst dropped into this realm. Vibro presents them with diamonds and other precious gemstones, and then produces a small stone Icon to contact his ‘Master’ to advise him of their success.
- Grant decides to transform into a superhero (very buff, Liefield style) and he quickly subdues them all. Taking the Icon with him and the equipment, he drives back to the apartment with all of the equipment. He also phones the police and anonymously advises them where they can pick up Vibro and the ‘stolen’ gemstones (even though the gemstones probably came from off world he reasons that they are ‘proceeds of crime’).
- Back at the apartment, Grant realises that he has a problem. He can’t Icon either Erla or Forst, and they will certainly discover that he is not Trell if they attempt to Icon him. So he contacts Bastiano - who cuts the contact and then contacts him back - and asks for assistance. Bastiano and Cooper Nassar (an Icon Master) agreed to come through. Bastiano’s wounds have mostly healed now. After explaining the situation, Bastiano is very pleased with Grant. They can think of ways of tracing back the canister to its source, and Grant has managed to retrieve the memories of two individuals (though whether they are complete or not remains to be seen). Cooper Nassar is also able to determine from the Icon who it belongs to - it belongs to Lord Aurum of the High Council.

* Image is from the Lords of Gossamer Sourcebook (Joe Shawcross) - this is Cooper Nassar
- Grant thinks through the implications of this, as does Bastiano. It sounds like they have discovered a schism in the High Council - they then talk as to how to exploit that as it could change everything.

GM Commentary

I completed the S90 writeup on Thursday night. Just waiting for David to review and make sure that I didn't miss anything. Then I'll post it up.  

GM Commentary

Session 90 was run this evening (both Grant and Ethan had their plot lines progressed). I'll hopefully get the writeup done on Friday and posted on Saturday.

Feedback from BelleSorciere

I am glad Ethan found his way home and got his memories back. The Griffin stuff was interesting (and I mean it had its rough spots but it was overall pretty cool), but once established it's great to move on.

Session 89 - Total Recall

GM Observations
- With the retcon/adjustments to S84 and S88, Session 89 ran a lot more smoothly and I began to enjoy myself again. I was not in a particularly good frame of mind but David was patient and I felt the session recovered lost ground and developed the character further. I’m in a much happier place now.
- When reading the narrative please note that the Lords of Gossamer have Ethan’s memories in their tank. They know that Ethan is without his memories.

Part 1 - The Mystery of Fambol
- In his prepared location with the unconscious body of Fambol, Griffin prepares sorcerous insulation reinforced with Eidolon and then proceeds to pull information from Fambol’s mind. This strategy works, but Griffin feels something lurking in his mind, probing to see if can be transferred (GM’s note - the Breath of Eden uses Umbra, and Griffin knows this) The process takes a few hours but Griffin is able to complete without Fambol regaining consciousness.
- Griffin doesn’t think on the information that he has gleaned about people and places. He pushes it to the back of his mind and he prepares a sorcerous teleport to the Door.
- Teleporting with Fambol results in him arriving just outside the lift well only a few metres from the Door. Unfortunately for Griffin, the local security forces are here. They are surprised by his sudden appearance and they react quickly but Griffin is faster. He ignites a lightsaber and kills Fambol on the spot, pulling out his shield to deflect the first wave of bullets that are directed his way.
- Fambol’s body hits the ground in two pieces, but it is not a human body. The two pieces are made out of wood - a mannikin. Griffin doesn’t have time to take this in. He fights his way through the security forces, decimating them before heading to the Door. 
- Griffin reaches the Stair and the guards are unable to follow. Griffin pulls out the severed arm from his satchel to see if the arm is still flesh and blood, but it too has reverted to a wooden state. The wooden arm is covered in densely packed runes over every inch of its surface. Griffin considers this very curious. He wonders whether he attacked some sort of doppleganger, such that the real Fambol is alive somewhere. But it seems doubtful that Wayfinding would have led him to a doppleganger, and the memories he plucked from the construct’s mind seem to be genuine. 
- Griffin heads home back to Hoffgard. He is greeted upon his arrival by some of Gremm’s associates but he politely excuses himself and heads to his own house. Stolvir is very pleased to see him. Griffin prepares what he will report, and then contacts Kade. Kade praises Griffin for accomplishing the mission but he is clearly concerned about the suggestion that the target had been replaced by a construct of such ingenuity. Griffin sends the wooden arm to Kade for analysis, and he promises to provide a written report of what he has learned. Kade signs off.

Part 2 - A Walk on the Stair
- Sitting back, Griffin thinks about the tea that he had recently (GM’s note - see Session 88writeup). He looks through his icons of Lucien, Greywalker, two women and one man. (GM’s note - the icons are of Isabelle, Abbie and Grant but he doesn’t know that) He picks up the Icon of Isabelle and thinks over it - he has kept a journal of his memories and what he remembers of her is detailed there. He re-reads the journal and he decides that he will try to find this mystery woman. Based on his memory he believes she’s important to him. 
- Settling down, he decides to try an Icon contact first. After all, he was able to use sorcery reinforced with Eidolon to prevent the Breath of Eden being transferred when interrogating Fambol, so he reasons that perhaps it will work via Icon. He prepares himself carefully, then attempts a contact. However, Griffin aborts almost immediately as he feels the Umbra component within him coiled and ready to slice through his defences the instant the Icon connects.
- Griffin settles down to write a report for Kade, detailing everything he learnt from Fambol. Once he completes this he makes a copy for his personal records (in his journal). He then contacts Kade and sends through the report which pleases him. 
- Griffin then heads onto the Stair with Stolvir. Stolvir is very keen to come and Griffin is keen not to leave him behind. Griffin expects to be stopped somewhere by the Masters but he plans to see how far he can go without being stopped. Using Isabelle’s Icon as a focus, he Wayfinds to her and starts walking. He expects it to be a long walk but given that he can teleport using Sorcery, he believes that it would be possible for him to journey, return home and then set off again from the last place he reached previously.
- Griffin sees no one for many hours but finally he senses another Warden on the Stair.

Part 3 - The Dwimmerlaik with Blood Red Eyes
- He does not have to travel far before he meets the other Warden. It is a Dwimmerlaik with Blood Red Eyes (GM’s note - yes the major villain last seen in Session 56 - but Ethan has no memories of this so he doesn’t recognise him. However, the villain almost certainly recognises Ethan) Ethan’s arch nemesis is dressed in travelling robes of armoured cloth. Griffin greets him with deference, calling him “My Lord”. The Red-Eyed Dwimmerlaik is courteous and he offers that they walk together since they seem to be going the same direction. Griffin doesn’t particularly want company but he doesn’t want to arouse suspicion so he agrees to this. 
- As they walk, the Red Eyed Dwimmerlaik chats to Griffin. When asked where he is going, Griffin simply says that he has a ‘place in mind’ (as opposed to a person). Griffin asks for His Lordship’s name. The Red Eyed Dwimmerlaik smiles and tells him that he is “Sphinx”. Griffin is sure that the name is false but he goes along with it. Sphinx questions Griffin a little and Griffin explains that he is a loyal servant of the Empire. To this, Sphinx laughs and says that he’s never been particularly interested in politics - Griffin finds this a little odd. Nevertheless, Stolvir doesn’t seem to mind the extra company and he follows along happily.
- After a few hours, they reach a section of Stair that is completely dark. Griffin can feel a presence within the darkness but he does not sense any danger. Sphinx pauses and looks at Griffin expectantly, as if expecting him to take the lead. Griffin simply continues through the dark section using Wayfinding as his guide and the others follow him. When they emerge from the darkness, Sphinx praises him, saying that he’s observed other Wardens requiring a light to see and doing so “would not have ended well”. They find themselves in a new section of the Stair, where everything is polished brass except for the Doors which are made of a golden metal. Continuing on, they continue to chat for some time.
- At last Sphinx bids Griffin farewell, and says that he may call upon Griffin in the future. Griffin again shows deference and says that he is a loyal servant of the Empire and will heed their call. Sphinx chuckles at this and leaves.

Part 4 - A Bite to Eat and a New Plan
- Griffin is a little unnerved by his encounter with the Red Eyed Dwimmerlaik, though he is sure that he maintained his composure in front of him. Griffin feels that Sphinx knew him, or at least knew of him. He feels at a disadvantage because from his memories he has no recollection of ever meeting this individual before.
- Griffin and Stolvir resume their trek upon the Stair. Along the way they reach a Door and step through. On the other side is a warehouse-sized boarding house for cats and dogs of all sizes. The inhabitants are quite disturbed as Stolvir walks down the corridors, and Griffin needs to mentally calm Stolvir to stop him running around. 
- Leaving the premises, they find themselves in a world where everyone seems to have a linked ‘animal friend’ - all are ground-based and most of them seem to be a variety of canines and felines. Griffin is hardly out of place here but his ‘friend’ is much larger than anyone else’s. Stolvir draws many an eye as they walk down the street. The next Door feels near but Griffin decides that this would be a good place to stop and eat. Producing his wallet (a gift from the Masters), he is able to present coins which buy a meal and they sit down to eat it. (Stolvir has extra servings). Unfortunately for Griffin, the people here have never heard of ‘tea’ so he is unable to order any.
- After a hour, they continue on their way. The Door out of this world is in an older building that seems to have been preserved. Beyond is the Stair - a section made of translucent yellow bricks where the Doors are made of enamel. This section of Stair slopes upwards and the vertical height of each step is much greater than its depth, making travel difficult.
- After many hours, Stolvir is getting tired. But then suddenly the Stair changes and they find themselves in a level corridor where the floor appears to be made of railway sleepers and there are thick vines and moss (at least a foot deep) on the other surfaces. They carry on but reaching the lady in the Icon still seems to be a long way away.
- As they continue, Griffin thinks over the problem. He can’t contact her via Icon without triggering the Breath of Eden, and he knows that the transmission method uses Umbra. He considers using Eidolon to wipe out the Breath of Eden within him (he hasn’t tried that) but then decides that perhaps it might be safer to find a place where Umbra is extremely weak - an Icon contact might work from there. He Wayfinds for such a place and then needs to backtrack to find such a realm.
- Griffin and Stolvir journey down a fortified section of the Stair. There are gun emplacements here and there are signs of recent battle damage. But there is no one here. 
- The Stair changes again and he finds himself in a section of Stair which resembles the inside of a house. Plastered walls. Carpet on the floors. There is even the occasional painting. 
- Then suddenly he has found the correct Door. It has a mail slot, and the number ’31’ is painted on the frosted glass of the Door - but the number is mirror-inverted as if he is about to walk out of the house into the street. Griffin opens the Door and they step through.

Part 5 - The Perfect World
- Stepping out of the house and into an immaculate garden, Griffin can feel the strength of Eidolon here. The tree branches are perfectly shaped. The roses are perfectly formed. Every rosebush is nearly identical. Stolvir sits down on the verandah to rest and Griffin takes a seat and watches the world go by. The people who go by have very similar features and wear similar clothes. All appear to be the same age and the same height. There are slight variations but there is far less diversity here than other realms that Griffin has been to.
- Griffin takes some time to prepare himself. He can feel the Umbra within him is far weaker here but Sorcery also responds more sluggishly to him. It takes him time to build up a mental defence but once there, it is much stronger here as Eidolon is easier to wield. Keeping Stolvir close, he reaches out to contact Isabelle.
- The connection is made. He can still feel the Breath of Eden trying to get through but in this place he can hold it. However, just as soon as the connection is made, it fails. The mystery lady on the other end has refused the contact.
- Griffin closes his eyes and waits for a long ten minutes. He knows that sometimes people aren’t ready or available to receive Icon contacts. He hopes it will be one of those times.
- Griffin has long since decided what he will say and what he will do. He plans to be affectionate when they meet, figuring that he will be rebuffed if he is wrong and her reaction in either situation will give him important information about how she relates to him. His memories of her suggests that he cared about her in the past, so it’s reasonable to believe that she might have similar feelings. 
- After ten long minutes, he tries again. Again the connection is made briefly but refused. 
- Griffin wonders what to do next. He knows he has to find her, so he resolves to try again and if that doesn’t work he will need to keep walking until he eventually finds her.
- Then suddenly he receives an Icon contact. He knows it is her because he is still holding her Icon. The mental shield is still intact so he accepts the contact, holding onto Stolvir.
- Instantly he can feel her presence, a mix of joy, surprise and relief at the connection. Griffin embraces her (GM’s note - it’s a mental hug rather than a physical thing) and she reciprocates. In but a few seconds, Griffin can tell that she has genuine affection for him. He apologises and says that he’s sorry that he has been away for so long. He asks if it is safe to come through, and she agrees. 
- Suddenly he is there, in a room full of books. Books crammed onto every inch of the shelves, books piled on the floor. And she is not alone - Griffin recognises Lucien (from his Icon) and Bastiano (from the Masters’ briefing). Clearly in the ten minutes from the initial contact, she has brought in reinforcements. 

* Composite - Lucien and Bastiano are by Jason Rainville, Isabelle (middle image) is by jas-tham from DeviantART

Part 6 - Lords of Gossamer United
- Coolly, Griffin ignores both Lucien and Bastiano and he moves to embrace Isabelle. Isabelle mists up and she kisses him - she’s clearly very relieved to see him. Meanwhile, Griffin can tell that Lucien and Bastiano are giving him the ‘once over’ to see if he is carrying anything that could be used to locate him here. Griffin ignores them, relieved to be with Isabelle. He knows in his heart that she knows him and loves him (at least to some degree). Here at last is something real.
- Griffin feels that he is still on the Stair, even though this looks like a realm. He wonders if this is the Athenaeum - the Dwimmerlaik have long theorised that Lucien has a domain within the Labyrinth but they’ve never been able to find it.

* Image sourced from Google Images
- At last Isabelle breaks away, distracted by Stolvir. Stolvir is wagging its tail. Isabelle is surprised to see him with a huge dog. Griffin puts his hand on Stolvir’s head and mentally tells Stolvir to calm down and behave. Isabelle then asks him where he has been, but she slips his Truename into the question. (GM’s note - Isabelle has Invocation and she has long known Ethan’s Truename) Saying his Truename rattles Griffin. The implanted memories within him feel shaken up, disturbed - the foundation is no longer solid and he suddenly knows that the memories aren’t really his. He can tell the difference.
- Lucien asks him if he is all right, and Griffin admits that he is not. Whatever she said to him has made him feel very ill. Lucien leads them to a nearby room and asks him to sit down. Lucien asks for someone to bring some green tea, and shortly after a young woman with blonde hair (Abbie) brings in a tray. Stolvir shows some interest when a black cat (Macavity) follows her into the room but Macavity quickly goes for ‘high ground’ so that he can watch and remain out of the white wolf’s reach. (GM’s note - Griffin can’t have any reaction to Abbie because he has no memory of her at this time)
- Griffin drinks a little of the tea. Everyone is watching him. Isabelle asks gently what is the last real thing he remembers, and Griffin parries the question. She goes on, gently telling him that they have his memories and they’re in the next room. They know that he doesn’t remember. Again, Griffin parries, asking how she would know that - did she ‘take a peek’? Isabelle blushes, her normally pale skin going quite red. She bites her lip and tries again, offering to help him remember. By this time, Griffin has used Wayfinding and confirmed the truth of her claim - his memories are literally next door. 

Part 7 - The Tank
- Griffin thinks hard. The Dwimmerlaik told him that the Lords of Gossamer have his memories, and they have just admitted to this and offered to give him his memories back. He thinks that Isabelle is telling the truth. He feels that she’s telling the truth. So he asks hypothetically how this would work. Lucien offers to show him.
- In the next room in a transparent vessel are four sets of memories. Lucien and Isabelle explain that they can return his memories to him, using his Icon as a filter. Lucien hands him the Icon and again, Griffin can tell that this is the real him. He knows just by touching it.
- Griffin asks what will happen to the memories that he already has. Isabelle answers and says that they should simply fill in the blanks. Griffin says nothing, and Isabelle surprises him by guessing correctly that somehow he has other memories now. Looking alarmed, she asks Lucien what would happen. Lucien calmly answers that both sets of memories would remain in Ethan’s head, but he would be able to tell which are real and which are implanted as the fake memories will not have the same coherency. He believes that it is almost impossible to craft perfect memories which are completely coherent.
- Griffin finishes his tea. He asks if they have ever done this before and Isabelle explains how this happened to Ethan. The history of Heldon’s Pass and the Breath of Eden is explained - how it has affected many of the Lords of Gossamer. To try to reverse engineer it, Greywalker offered to be the test subject for a modified version, and his memories were siphoned off to a memory storage vessel. Unfortunately Ethan contacted Greywalker during the procedure so his memories were also taken. They subsequently restored Greywalker but they couldn’t find Ethan to be able to restore his memories. One of his friends, Grant, has been looking for him for some time within Dwimmerlaik territory. Isabelle also explains that Abbie lost her memories trying to contact Ethan, but luckily the memories were stored here and Macavity contacted Isabelle for help. It was just luck that Isabelle happened to be here at the location where the memories were being held so they could reverse the effect very quickly for Abbie.
- Griffin listens to this and finds that the explanation fits. He can tell just by looking at the memory storage that it can’t possibly hold dozens of hundreds of individuals’ memories. The Dwimmerlaik story that the Breath of Eden was developed by the Lords of Gossamer doesn’t make sense. So he agrees to the procedure. Isabelle looks pleased. The others appear relieved.
- It takes a few hours to prepare but Lucien explains the procedure each step of the way. A strange fellow with a grey beard and glasses that Griffin does not recognise (GM’s note - this is Cooper Nassar) assists Lucien and Isabelle. Isabelle reassures him that all will be well.

Part 8 - Total Recall
- Ethan emerges from a black sleep with all of his memories. Attempting to process a lifetime of memories caused him to black out. He’s in bed and he feels a lump nearby. It’s Macavity, curled up on the bed. “Are you okay, boss?” the cat asks. “Take it slow.” Ethan realises that Stolvir is also in the room, sleeping peacefully. “Don’t worry about him,” says Macavity. “We’ve reached an understanding.” Ethan asks Macavity what has happened and Macavity says that he’s been asleep for just over two days. Ethan starts at that, and immediately gets out of bed. Macavity gets up, stretches and asks what his hurry is. Ethan can’t find his clothes, or weapons. Macavity explains that they were put away in case Ethan was confused when he woke up - Macavity judges Ethan “confused” by his sudden erratic behaviour. 
- It is not long before Isabelle and Lucien come to see Ethan. They reassure him that everything is okay, the procedure worked and he is not in any danger. But Ethan is not calm and he insists that he needs to leave as soon as possible. (GM’s note - Ethan is worried about being out of touch with the Dwimmerlaik and putting the people of Skandia in danger, but the Lords of Gossamer don’t understand that because it hasn’t been explained to them.)
- Isabelle tries a different tactic and says that she’s contacted Grant to let him know that Ethan is safe. This calms him a little but it is clear that Ethan still wants to leave. Macavity interrupts and asks for some time to talk to him in private. Isabelle and Lucien agree to withdraw. Once alone, Macavity reminds him to “take it slow”. Giving him a few minutes to calm himself, Macavity says that he and Abbie were really worried about him. Before Ethan runs off, he owes it to her to at least talk to her. Ethan sees the logic in this and agrees to it. 
- Macavity scoots off to inform the others and then shows Ethan to a place where he can bathe and dress. Stolvir shows no interest in leaving - he remains fast asleep. Macavity gives Ethan some privacy but he occasionally chimes in to tell him what he has missed. Macavity remarks that Ethan should have seen Abbie at the Seoul Olympics. He jokes that she was very mad that Ethan hadn’t even shown up, but then she became very worried, and then desperate. This tactic works - Ethan calms down as he remembers more about Abbie and becomes concerned for her.
- Once Ethan has showered and changed, he follows Macavity to the kitchen. Even the kitchen is full of books - cook books of every kind. He has a bowl of cereal and some tea, and Macavity makes a discrete exit. Ethan is not alone for long - Abbie comes into the kitchen to see him. She’s dressed smartly, mostly in white.

* Image by Haryarti on DeviantART
- Abbie is composed, but Ethan can tell that she has a lot on her mind. She asks if she can join him and he agrees. She asks him how he feels and Ethan says that he can remember almost everything now. There is a gap in his memories of perhaps a week (GM’s note - the period before appearing at the farm realm is still a mystery to him as the real Breath of Eden was also triggered, not just the Lords of Gossamer ‘modified’ version. He knows that he was tracking of sighting of something but the plant zombies surrounded him in vast numbers when he took too long in the library - but there are still bits missing to the story here) He says that he’s still adjusting. He needs a little time. Ethan explains to her that he had a memory of Isabelle from the shield he carries - a time that he sought to protect her - and that confused him. 
- Abbie listens and gently says that they have plenty of time. She knows that most wounds don’t heal overnight, but she promises to be there to help. She asks if he really needs to leave and go somewhere ‘out there’ and Ethan explains the situation to her. He explains that the Dwimmerlaik gave him a realm to protect, with the implicit threat that if he didn’t help them when asked that the people would be punished. Abbie pauses and then admits that it’s times like this that remind her how ‘beautiful’ he is. She encourages him to go and help them, but presses that they will never be free from the Dwimmerlaik unless he helps them do just that. Ethan blankly asks how he could move an entire realm - he believes it impossible. Abbie smiles and says that even she knows that such a feat is not impossible - the Door can be moved. Ethan is astonished by this - Abbie explains that Lucien could do it if asked.
- Ethan thanks her and he relaxes. She explains that she’s had months to work with Lucien and the others and she’s learnt a great deal. But it’s time to go home. She’s been away too long and there is much that needs to be done on Earth. She asks Ethan to come with her - to come back home. Ethan agrees to come back to Earth briefly (because she cannot get into the realm without help) but then he must return to Skandia to see what can be done. Abbie smiles and offers to go with him. Ethan worries that it will be too dangerous for her, but Abbie laughs and says that she is no longer the ‘little girl’ that he had to rescue time and time again. She emphasises that Ethan doesn’t have to face this alone. 

Part 9 - The Journey Home (Marindar)
- The Lords of Gossamer discuss the next steps. Bastiano is most concerned about security - they don’t want Ethan to be able to find his way back into the Athenaeum in case he’s not on their side. Abbie and Macavity are keen to return home with Ethan, and Lucien agrees to travel with them. Isabelle suggests that they head to Marindar first as only Grant and Ethan can enter this world (as it is on lockdown) and then it is only a short journey to Earth. Isabelle reminds Ethan that his family is still on Marindar and some of them may wish to return home.
- Before departing, Ethan manages to speak privately to Isabelle. He explains that one of his only real remaining memories was of her (via the shield) and that’s why he sought her out. He says that he would have offered an apology if he felt that he was being deceptive, but he assures her that the affection was genuine. Isabelle smiles and says that she knows, remarking that one can tell a great deal ‘from a kiss’. Ethan promises to see her again, and Isabelle laughs at that, telling him that she appreciates the thought but that he shouldn’t make such promises. They part amicably. 
- The journey to Marindar is quick. Lucien reshapes the Stair in a way that Ethan has never seen, changing Doors and layout to create a new path to Marindar. They enter via the Approach and arrive at one of the octahedral gates. There they are welcomed and Ethan is quickly reunited with his family in one way or another.
- Ethan’s parents are off-world, exploring another planet. They are pleased to speak to him via ‘holovid’ and had no idea that he had gone missing. Ethan’s elder brother Ben has joined the Marindan defence forces, met a Marindan girl and they have a baby on the way - he couldn’t be happier. Ethan’s twin brother Mark has matured significantly. Always enamoured by fast cars, he started spending a lot of time in Ethan’s Marindan workshop but the technology was beyond him - so he’s gone ‘back to school’ to train as an engineer. Apprenticed to a Master Engineer named Villius, he’s really ‘knuckled down’ and is trying to make up for lost time. Ethan is astonished by Mark’s transformation - here is a brother who used to ‘live for the moment’ now trying to build his skills so that he can design and maintain technology centuries beyond what he grew up with. The only constant seems to be that the girls on Marindar seem to love him just as much as those on Earth - Mark always had a bit of an easy ride in Ethan’s mind.
- Grant’s family have also settled in on Marindar but Ethan only spends a brief amount of time with them. None of them have seen Grant in a long time, and they worry about ‘Poor Sophia’ who was struck down by the same Breath of Eden effect as many others. This is news to Ethan - he didn’t realise that both Grant and Sophia were afflicted - and apparently it was when Grant attempted to contact Ethan that the effect was triggered. Lady Sophia is still in a coma, and Grant is trying to find her memories. Ethan is saddened by this.
- Ethan asks Lucien what made him decide to come along. He asks if he plans to visit the Elf-Queen in Arcadia, to which Lucien chuckles and says “one day, but not today”. Lucien explains that he’s concerned about what Abbie has told him about what is happening on Earth. He’s going to find Jacob and see what they can do as it sounds like things are coming apart. Ethan shares what he knows and this makes Lucien even more concerned. 
- Taking a deep breath, Ethan asks about whether Lucien could move a Door on the Stair. Lucien shrugs and says that he can easily do that. Ethan then asks for his help, explaining that the people of Skandia would need that in order to escape once and for all from the Dwimmerlaik. Lucien offers to help, saying it’s the least he could do for someone who helped Isabelle so much (GM’s note - a reference to Ethan’s quest to help Isabelle find Lucien and ultimately rescue him from the Red-Eyed Dwimmerlaik) Ethan thanks him. Deep down however, he has no plans to do this immediately as it could be useful to remain as ‘Griffin’ for the time being.
- Ethan finds some of his things in his lodgings (Mark has long since moved out). Abbie encourages him to take some of his music with him. (GM’s note - Ethan has a copy of his music on a data crystal stored in Marindar for probably 50 sessions) He smiles - it has been so long since he heard her sing. Abbie is surprised by this - she didn’t know he even knew, let alone that he had a copy of her album. (GM’s note - Ethan first discovered that the cats had a tape of her first album in Session 74 Part 1) Abbie is quite pleased when she finds out that Ethan likes her music.

Part 10 - The Journey Home (Earth)
- After spending a day on Marindar, they take a short journey to Earth. Ethan checks the nearby Door as usual and finds that none have been disturbed. Opening the Door, they find themselves back in Westgate cottage. The house is comparatively clean. Abbie explains that she made some changes in his absence. As for Mordecai’s Raven Legion team (Ethan had forgotten about that - (GM’s note - last seen in Session 76), two of the soldiers are on guard in the house with the others in lodgings in Fiveways. The blue haired woman greets Ethan - they are even more excited to see Lucien but unfortunately Lucien has no word about Mordecai. The two soldiers radio in a report to Finn - Lucien asks for a briefing as to their observations whilst Ethan goes to his room to look around. 
- The room is familiar to him. He remembers it and it doesn’t feel like an implanted memory. He is relieved. Suddenly Macavity leaps up on the bed and snuggles down, right in the middle. Ethan stares at him, surprised but he realises that he shouldn’t be. Macavity always sits in the middle of the bed and has to be persuaded to move. Ethan looks over at Stolvir and asks Macavity where the wolf is going to sleep. Macavity chuckles and points out that Ethan will have a riot on his hands when the other birds and cats see what he’s brought home. 



…. and that’s where we left it. Ethan is home, but he won’t be for long as he wants to go to Skandia. Abbie wants to go with him. Ethan needs Lucien to move the realm and take it out of danger, but there are still unanswered questions which mean that he might want to be an ‘Imperial Agent’ for a while longer - after all, where are the memories being held? What (or who) is Tiano? And who created the doppleganger of Fambol? 


.… but being back on Earth is important because this is where many of David’s plot threads lie.