Feb 3, 2025

Fulton, backed up by Sandro as an acrobat, Six and Umbra as back-up dancers, and Mario as their sound guy, set up an impromptu audition with Grigsby who happened to have a few spare minutes. Sandro and Fulton impressed Grigsby who agreed to let them perform with the big star about to perform (who was basically an aging Celine Dion finishing her career out in Vegas) and promised to compensate them with exposure so valuable it’d be hard to quantify. He also tried to convince Fulton and Sandro they had a real potential future in performing, but should probably get away from the rest of the group who were just holding them back.

Grigsby did grudgingly allow the entire group to back-up quasi-Celine as she belted out aging pop ballards, and did a good enough job that he tipped Fulton a casino chip afterwards. As that happened, the casino suddenly became quiet as a portal appeared near the ceiling. Spotlights appeared out of nowhere along with dramatic music and a spiral staircase heading down to the floor. A stylish, jackal-headed humanoid appeared and waved to the crowd amidst rapturous applause. The crowd started chanting “Shemeshkuh! Shemeshkuh!” as it strode purposefully down the stairs while watching the PCs.

Shemeshkuh (played by old friend Jack Carpenter!) joined the party at the bar and introduced itself as an Arcanoloth (a powerful and important Yugoloth) who owns the casino and is also active as an information broker. One of its accountants, a modron, flipped out and ran away recently. As a manifestation of absolute Lawful Neutral, it shouldn’t even be capable of that. And if happened *exactly* when the players died mysteriously, so Shemeskuh thinks the two might be related. The yugoloth wants the modron back (it has sensitive business information) and if they players retrieve it (its believed to be in the Outlands somewhere, the plane of True Neutral) Shemeshkuh will help the players find out what exactly is going on with this glitch that gave them amnesia.

After some negotiating, the party agreed to help in return for 200gp in casino chips and 100gp in money for expenses, each. Shemeskuh also gave the party a portal key (looks like a golden casino chip) that if the party takes it into a nearby doorway, a portal to Outlands will form. Also, Shemeskuh will continue giving the party free rooms until the job is done (probably just one more night). The party had another drink, gambled away most of their newfound wealth, and then called it a night during which the party noticed every room was its own demiplane.

The next day, the party headed back to Fortune’s Wheel and won nothing of consequence (maybe another mind flayer tentacle) before bumping into Ingnatius Inkblot, the mindflayer investigator from the other day. Ingnatius asked if the party had noticed anyone disappearing or anything funny going on near Fortune’s Wheel. The party had not, but did notice a door next to the wheel. Maybe it’ll be important later. Fulton offered everyone the use of his Sensation Stone.

The party finished off their casino chips at the gaming tables and slot machines. Harvey ended up 5gp and Umbra won a pair of Dimensional Shackles but that was pretty much it. I don’t think anyone converted their 100gp spending money into chips, though Mario did immediately convert his chips into gp and has the full 300gp still.

The party had one last drink for the road, and headed out to use the portkey. A portal did indeed form in the Outlands, and we remembered that Six found a Portal Compass in the Mausoleum, maybe? So, the party always knows how to get back to the portal to Sigil.

The party was in the middle of an ancient ruin made from black marble, in the middle of a desert full of deep blue sand. The area was surprisingly small, just a few miles across, with towering trees bordering on one side and tall mountains on the other. A set of *enormous*, deeply set footprints crossed the sand nearby. The party followed the tracks toward the mountains, eventually coming upon the tower in a small copse of flattened trees, surrounded by odd fallen pillars, right next to the mountains.

Investigating the tower, the party discovered the ground floor was a large library full of books on the multiverse and obscure theories on it along with many reading areas and meditation nooks. There was a crystal sarcophagus with a long dead githzerai scholar inside. Its eyes had been replaced with bronze ones and if you talked about a subject, the eyes would look at where that subject could be found in the library. Also, one of the candles in a meditation nook pinged as magic, so it was gathered and will be examined later.

Sandro scouted up a large, spiral staircase quietly. He found a pair of armored tieflings quietly discussing betraying someone named Thlaarshk. The party headed up the stairs and Six greeted them. After a bit of unsuccessful small talk, the tieflings attacked! To be resolved next time.