jdnd/sections/15-The Castle with the Steel Door - The Conclusion of the Chapter.md

## The Conclusion of the Chapter


### Meeting Omta

When the steel door opens, it reveals an extradimensional space, a black
emptiness. Within the space, the PCs observe a very vague humanoid form
- just a blurry outline. The form is resting on the vague outline of a
bed. It is very obviously asleep. This is Omta.

The black emptiness is the part of the void where Omta hides. The PCs
can walk out into this emptiness, and approach Omta. They’re not walking
“on” anything, there’s nothing there. But they can move around
nonetheless. Lada cannot cross the threshold - only the PCs.

As soon as the PCs cross the threshold of the door, they immediately
sense that their telepathic connection with Omta has gotten a lot
stronger. Tell them that they find it much easier to sense what Omta is
feeling and thinking.

As soon as the PCs approach, Omta speaks. Cards cards appear over his
body, in groups, just like on the scrolls. He is again communicating.
However, this time, the PCs have no trouble understanding what he’s
trying to say. They don’t need to “decipher” the cards - they just
understand. This is because of the much stronger telepathic link. Tell
your players that from this point forward, the PCs will never have
difficulty making sense of card-language again.

In card-speak, Omta introduces himself:

> I am the roll of the dice, the turn of the cards. I am
> unpredictability without chaos. I am the Deck, and the Deck is me - it
> is my avatar. It wants what I want. What I want, is for the universe
> to remain unpredictable and unknowable. I want to preserve the
> surprise and wonder.
>
> The situation is dire, and I need help. You are the only ones who have
> made any real effort to understand me. So I will ask you for your
> help.”

Omta wants two things from the PCs:

1.  Rennick cannot be allowed to destroy randomness itself. Help me stop
    > him.

2.  Don’t give my avatar, the Deck, to Tymora. She will use it to kill
    > me.

At this point, the PCs can ask anything they want to Omta. Before
answering anything, Omta demands: “Promise you won’t betray me to
Tymora. I don’t want to die.” Assuming the PCs agree, Omta will answer
any questions the PCs have to the best of his ability.

If the PCs ask why Omta is trying to take away Tymora’s worshippers,
Omta replies: “I have no interest in worshippers. I don’t need them. It
is true that some of her former worshippers are directing worship
towards me now. This is something they have done of their own
initiative, and I find it odd and confusing.”

If the PCs ask what Omta means by “I am unpredictability without chaos,”
Omta explains: “If you roll a die, it could come up 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6.
It is random. But the die will not turn into a mouse and walk away,
because it is not made of Limbo’s pure chaos. Pure chaos reduces the
universe to nonsense. I harnessed chaos, chained it, and turned it into
randomness. Randomness adds unpredictability without destroying
meaning.”

If the PCs explain that the Deck’s presence and the Deck’s power are
what is attracting worshippers, Omta will say, “I sent the Deck to stop
Rennick. By its own rules, the Deck cannot vanish until its goal is
accomplished. If you want the Deck to go away, help me stop Rennick.”

If the PCs ask what Rennick has done, Omta explains that Rennick has
devised a way to predict the outcome of random events, and that if
random events can be predicted, then they’re not random at all. Omta
wants this technology gone. If the PCs suggest killing Rennick, Omta is
fine with that.

If the PCs ask why Omta hasn’t taken a more direct approach, like just
killing Rennick, Omta seems puzzled. He says, “I did act directly, I
sent the Deck, and the Deck is me. The Deck might kill Rennick, or
imprison him, or stop him in any one of a number of other ways. That is
as direct as I can be. Anything else would not be random.” Omta is tied
up by his own ideology.

Assuming the PCs ask a lot of questions (which they should), the
conversation with Omta should clear up just about everything about
what’s really been going on. The only puzzle piece that’s still missing
is Rennick’s perspective: the PCs still don’t know exactly what Rennick
has done, or why.

At the end of the conversation, Omta again pleads that the PCs not to
lead Tymora to his doorstep. He is clearly terrified of Tymora.

When the conversation with Omta is over, the PCs must exit the void
through the steel door. As soon as they do, the steel door vanishes.

### Negotiating with Green

After the steel door vanishes, all that remains is the hallway to the
laundry room. A moment later, the bodyguard Mikhail sticks his head
around the corner and then shouts, “HEY! The Barrier is GONE!” Within
moments, Green and his entire entourage is there in the hall.

Green asks, “Are my employees safe? Where is Penny? Where are Tommel and
Zim?” He won’t talk about anything else until he is reassured that
everyone who works for him has been delivered to safety. If there’s
anybody who hasn’t been saved, then Green will immediately ignore the
PCs and go searching for the missing employees.

When Green’s employees are safe, Green profusely thanks the PCs for
helping. He gladly offers them a cash reward. Green will answer any
question, but he doesn’t have any new information: he’s been trapped in
the laundry room ever since the chaos storm, along with his entourage.
They tried everything to get out, but the barrier was impenetrable.

At this point, Lada does the job she was sent to do. She makes Green the
following offer:

> “Excuse me sir, I am here as a representative of Tymora. I have been
> authorized to make you an offer for the Deck. If you sell it to
> Tymora, Tymora will grant you five wishes. Bear in mind, that’s five
> wishes from a trustworthy goddess who will do her best to make sure
> you get exactly what you truly desire.”

Balanestra, Greens’ advisor, immediately weighs in:

> “Boss, I know we’ve been trying all this time to hold on to the Deck,
> but that’s a damn good offer. The Deck has been getting more and more
> chaotic, and if you try to extract five more wishes from the Deck, who
> knows what could happen. This could be a much safer way to get wishes.
> I think you should very seriously consider it.”

Green says:

> “Huh. I’m pretty surprised. I thought Tymora was going to try to take
> the deck by force. Instead, she sends a representative to buy it fair
> and square. I guess I misjudged her. Let me think about it for a
> minute.”

Then, Green insists that people leave him alone for a bit, while he
ponders. This creates a window where the PCs can talk to each other, and
to Lada.

At this point, the PCs have a problem. It looks like Lada might soon be
successful at buying the Deck for Tymora. Remember, Lada wasn’t there in
Omta’s void-space, and she didn’t hear Omta say:

“Don’t give my avatar, the Deck, to Tymora. She will use it to kill me.”

Lada doesn’t know that the Deck is sentient, and that it doesn’t want to
be given to Tymora. So it’s up to the PCs to deal with this situation.

At this point, the PCs have to negotiate with Lada. Let the PCs do their
best to talk Lada out of buying the Deck. But, in the end, Lada has
explicit instructions from Tymora, and Lada is a loyal priestess. She is
not going to disrespect her patron. She says:

> “I cannot oppose my goddess, but we can talk to her. She has always
> been reasonable. Maybe if we talk to her, we can come up with a plan
> that works for everyone.”

This is such a reasonable request that the PCs are almost certain to
agree. Lada says, “I am going to pray now.” She bows her head, and
softly speaks: “My mistress, negotiation for the Deck has had a
complication…” \<THUNDERCLAP\> Lada doesn’t get any farther with her
prayer. Tymora appears, in person, in the room. Green shouts “oh shit,”
and vanishes, along with the Deck, his bodyguards, and Balanestra.

If the players are on the ball, they may remember Balanestra’s deck
dream:

> Green, at his desk: “I can’t fight a goddess. What do we do if she
> attacks?”\
> Balanestra: “We teleport away, of course.”\
> Green: “Sure, but she’s a goddess. She can follow us anywhere.”\
> Balanestra: “She can follow us *almost* anywhere.”
>
> Green: “Where could I go that she can’t follow… oh, shit. No, no no no
> no!”

When Green and his entourage teleport away, Tymora looks around, and
says, “I see. They were afraid I would attack, and they prepared a
contingency some time ago. They cast a spell so that if I got too close,
they would all automatically teleport away to my sister’s realm.”

Tymora then says, “No matter. I don’t need the Deck any more. I wanted
the Deck because I thought it might help me to find the God who created
it. But I had a backup plan. I asked you to strengthen your telepathic
link to this God, so that I could trace the telepathic link. You did
exactly that. Instead of using the Deck to find him, I can use your
telepathic link, which I can see clear as day. I will now go and
challenge him.”

This should be an “Oh Shit” moment for the PCs. They promised not to
betray Omta to Tymora, and they already *have*, unintentionally. This
moment is the moment that Selune warned the PCs about:

> “Tymora is one of my best friends, and she is as trustworthy and kind
> as a goddess can be. But she is making a mistake. I encourage you to
> work with her, but just be aware: there will come a point in time when
> you have to tell her to stop what she’s doing.
>
> Here is what I ask of you: keep your eyes open. Use your brains. If
> you see her do something that you think is going to cause harm, you
> must speak up. Tell her, or tell her priestesses. Do not be overawed
> by her divine presence. You speaking up at an appropriate moment may
> be all that stands between her and disaster.”

The PCs must ask Tymora not to pursue Omta. They should be making these
arguments:

-   Omta means you no harm.

-   He is not deliberately taking your worshippers.

-   He will go away as soon as Rennick is dealt with.

-   He is absolutely terrified of you.

-   His purpose is legitimate: he is trying to protect the universe.

-   Selune, your friend, specifically asked us to tell you not to do
    > this.

In truth, Tymora is somewhat relieved. She isn’t warlike, she didn’t
really want a fight, and now she has an alternative path:

> “I will pause my pursuit of this God. If this God will go away when
> Rennick is dealt with, then we need to deal with this Rennick. I would
> like you to find him, question him, and do what is necessary. He is in
> the city of Sigil.”

Assuming the PCs agree, Tymora offers a boon:

> “I wish to thank all of you, you have served me honorably. You did the
> things I asked you to do. You protected my young priestess, Lada. You
> also helped to preserve peace. I believe you deserve a boon. As a
> party, I would like to to make a collective request - one boon for
> all.”

One boon that the PCs might ask for is a boon of luck - after all, this
is a goddess of luck. If the PCs ask for this, they all get the “lucky”
feat, which grants advantage 3x day on almost any die roll.

Another boon they may ask for is the destruction of the Museum of
Orethys. If the PCs ask for it, Tymora says she does not have the power
to destroy the Museum itself, but she says she *can* free everyone
inside. She snaps her fingers, and then she says, “The prisoners have
been sent to my domain. My priests will help them to find new homes.”

If the PCs ask why she can’t destroy the museum itself, Tymora explains:
“The Museum represents an ideology: that ordinary people exist for the
amusement of rich and powerful men. That ideology has many followers, it
has power. So therefore, the Museum has power. It is empty now, but it
will fill again.”

Selune also has a boon for the PCs: all members of the party can now
cast the “Selune’s Light” cantrip. This differs from a regular light
cantrip in that it lasts 8 hours, is a little brighter, and looks like
moonlight.