Session 3: The Three Fiends Arent All Friends

The third chapter of our journey, "The Three Fiends," saw the party entangling themselves in the high-stakes web of Sigil’s most powerful brokers. As the "Sovereign Soul-Units" sought to ground their identities, they found themselves caught between the avuncular honesty of an exile, the quiet atonement of a ledger-keeper, and the predatory calculations of the "King of the Cross-Trade."

I. The Friendly Fiend: Practical Impossibilities

Before entering the shop, Grisland initiates a friendly cheer from his friends, including the Party Mug filled with Milk drank by Gauthak, as well as Halla (a tout, originally from Ysgard) - whom all cheer together to "Eternity"... 

The morning began at A’Kin’s Emporium of Practical Impossibilities in the Lower Ward. A’Kin, an arcanaloth of "dubious disposition," greeted the party—specifically Gauthak—as a returning regular.

• The Cheevo List: A’Kin provided Gauthak with a Receipt of Deeds (the "Cheevo List"), informing him that he didn’t need to understand the rules to leave marks on them.

• The Warning: A’Kin advised the party never to trust anyone, especially Shemeshka, revealing his own bitter history of being ousted from the Merkhant Guild for being "too kind".

• The Theft: A’Kin suspected that the messenger Nyxara had stolen something valuable meant for the party, redirecting them to his shop instead of the casino, perhaps as a test for someone other than the PCs...

A'Kin is a proxy of Tyr. An exile of the Merkants Guild. Hates Shemeshka. Loves a good story. 

II. The Bathhouse and the Goddess of Milk

Following a lead from Halla, the party sought to clean the "Mortuary grime" off their souls/suits at a local bathhouse.

• The Iron Pursuit: Halla warned that unrecognizable warriors (The Iron Pursuit) were tracking them at the front entrance.

• The Hathor Connection: The party escaped through a back portal into a secondary bathhouse within the Temple of Hathor. This sanctuary provided a brief moment of stability, directly fore-shadowing Gauthak’s hidden "Rite of Willing Milk," which affirms his self-ownership against Acheron's claims. He wears a magical milk ring, and drinks exclusively from it throughout every session we play with great joy. 

III. Fortune’s Wheel: Probability and True Names

The party arrived at Fortune's Wheel, the opulent casino owned by Shemeshka in the Lady’s Ward. They were met by Maryn’bl (Zaga), the Debt & Contracts Manager, who offered them free chips and rooms on the house per Shemeshka.

• The Rippler’s Streak: Farryn utilized her Balance Rippler feat to win big at the slots, forcing Maryn’bl to temporarily pause the machines for "investigation". Kayne looses to her and recalls that last time he was in the casino he feels like he luckily lost...

• The Glitch: During Zigga's spin of the Great Wheel, the mechanism stuttered and stopped between numbers—a "statistical impossibility" that signaled the deepening multiversal malfunction.

• True Name Authority: When a cabal of NPCs attempted to chant and manipulate the Wheel’s causality, Farryn witnesses Maryn’bl intervened. By speaking their True Names aloud, she forced them to leave, demonstrating that in Sigil, being recorded unfavorably is worse than death.

IV. The Private Audits

In the quiet corners of the casino, personal truths began to surface:

• Zigga’s Identity: Maryn’bl revealed to Zigga that she is a Tiefling, not a goblin. She was shocked that the entire party woke up together, noting that the Wheel usually separates such "anomalies".

• Kayne’s Scent: Maryn’bl’s pseudodragon, Mindi, noted that Kayne no longer "smells gears of mechanus" but of nature and dirt—a sign his Mechanus chains are loosening. Maryn’bl warned Kayne that his status had been moved back to ACTIVE, and he must cease his "investigation" during his stay at the Fortune's Wheel. (Not fully believing he was with the group perhaps.) 

V. Shemeshka’s Offer: The Modron Quest

The session culminated in a private meeting with Shemeshka the Marauder. The arcanaloth was direct: she offered the party 5,000 to 10,000 gold pieces each to find a "broken" modron named R04M (Delta-Nine) in the Outlands.

• The Lie: Shemeshka claimed R04M was a "rogue accountant" carrying sensitive data. In truth, R04M is a Living Ledger Cache containing illegal war-contracts she wants retrieved before Mechanus notices the drift.

• The Bonus Reward: Shemeshka offered a "favor that overrides jurisdiction"—a legal ruling or soul-destination that would never have to face the courts.

Shemeshka is also know as "King of the Crossroads" in cannon DnD 2e.

• In session 4-5 you learn that the casino owes Grisland a bank nite of 500k Gold, held at the local Hall of Coin. 
• Zaga has paid Zigga privately more than 30k Gold by Session 7.

VI. The Conclusion: He's Not a Construct

Before departing, the party tested a Smite weapon on Gauthak, confirming a startling truth: despite the Mechanical Core in his chest, he is not a construct but a living being. 

Maryn’bl warned the party that the casino was no longer safe for talk and suggested meeting her at The Red Ledger after hours.

The party stands on the threshold of the Outlands, no longer just amnesiacs, but assets in a war for the very records of existence. 

Stitching Hope In the C0DE: 

NPCS Met: 

• A'Kin the Friendly Fiend (Planescape 2E AD&D NPC)
• Maryn'bl Zagnibs, aka Zaga (custom)
• Bathhouse Babe who clung to Kayne to the casino 
• Shemeshka the Maurader, King of the Cross Trades (Planescape/Dnd NPC from 2E AD&D)

Lore Reveals: 

• Iron Pursuit - G&G 
• Feat: Mechanical Core - G
• Feat: Balance Rippler - F 

Read Session 4

Prepare for Court in Sigil Session 9-10. Trigger: Level 10.