Interlude XIII: The Sisyphus Circle
Session Overview
This flashback session revealed the tragic origin story of Bru and Silas's partnership, showing the heist that claimed their entire original gang. The players took on the roles of the Sisyphus Circle: Bartleby Thatch (Silas's alias), 11-year-old Bru, nervous leader Sander, heavy-drinking Alma, zen driver Spoons, stoic muscle Peaches, and flamboyant bard Cream. What began as a celebratory heist-planning session at the Cog and Steam bar ended in total crew annihilation at the hands of Helja Ungar.
The Setup: Planning at Cog and Steam
The Sisyphus Circle gathered at their favorite haunt, the Cog and Steam bar overlooking the Dne Zoo (featuring an owl bear petting zoo). The crew discussed their next job—stealing a mysterious item from the Pandora gang's three-story townhouse vault.
Crew Introductions:
- Sander - Anxious dwarf planner and gang leader, overly cautious about germs
- Alma - Sander's sister, a perpetually drunk dwarf who loved puzzles
- Bartleby Thatch - Halfling (Silas's alias), paranoid veteran thief
- Bru - 11-year-old goblin artificer with bombs and attitude
- Spoons - Human monk driver obsessed with kung fu videos
- Peaches - Half-orc muscle, silent out loud (but formal and articulate in his inner voice); makes tiny wire sculptures of animals and keeps a collection of miniature figurines
- Cream - Gnome bard with silver hair braided over one side and a lute, Peaches's best friend
The crew distributed their equipment: a portable hole (nicknamed "the cornhole"), spider climbing slippers (2 pairs), dark vision goggles (2 pairs), an X-ray vision ring, and grappling hooks. They also engaged in their tradition of drinking moonshine with dirt rubbed on their tongues after each successful job.
Target Building Layout:
- Three-story townhouse with basement
- Vault on 2nd floor
- Three entry points: front door, roof, basement via sewers
The Infiltration
Rooftop Approach:
Most of the crew rode inside the portable hole while Alma and Bartleby walked up the building across the street in their spider climbing slippers. From that roof, Sander fired the grappling gun (a special order from Fluke's old shop, now run by Iro) to rig a zip line to the target. The second floor had no windows, so Bru planted remote charges in the sewer and a breaching charge on the vault-floor wall. Bartleby pushed the button, and both went off together: a manhole cover blew off in a geyser of sewage that made residents think there was just a plumbing issue, and nobody noticed the second explosion. The team ziplined across through the hole into the building's second floor.
The Vault's Concentric Defenses:
The vault consisted of multiple layers, each with its own security system arranged like boxes within boxes. The team had to work their way through three distinct puzzle layers.
The Rainbow Door Puzzle
The first vault layer featured a large circular door with seven concentric circles, alternating red and blue crystals.
Puzzle Mechanics:
- Each crystal changed color when touched: red → orange → yellow → green, blue → indigo → violet
- Alma discovered touching crystals cycled them through a rainbow spectrum
- The solution required arranging all crystals in ROY G BIV order (violet, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo)
- Peaches systematically touched crystals to create the rainbow sequence
- Door unlocked with satisfying click
Running Gag: Alma mentioned her relationship with Robin was getting serious, confusing everyone since Robin had never been mentioned before in the entire campaign.
The Mirrored Hallways
Beyond the rainbow door, the vault split into two mirrored L-shaped hallways with interconnected mechanics.
Left Hallway (Alma & Spoons):
- Alma opened a door and triggered poison darts
- Dwarf poison resistance saved her (rolled 18 on con save)
- Found a button at the hallway's dead end
- Spoons navigated to another button, successfully dodging dart traps (rolled 25 on dex save)
Right Hallway (Cream & Peaches):
- Found identical mirrored layout
- Cream detected flame trap on door
- Discovered button mechanics: each hallway's buttons disarmed traps and unlocked doors in the OPPOSITE hallway
Solution: The crew established psychic phone communication (Silas's ability they should have used earlier). Alma and Spoons held down buttons in the left hallway while the rest of the team entered through the right hallway's now-safe door.
The Clock Puzzle
The final vault layer featured time-themed decorations leading to an inscribed door.
Room Contents:
- 5 sundials with orbiting drift globes
- 4 hourglasses (various time increments, auto-flipping)
- 3 clock faces with 24-hour military time PLUS letters Y and Z
Door Inscription:
"TWELVE EPOCH"
Puzzle Solution:
- Sander's investigation (19) revealed the clocks had 24 numbers plus letters Y and Z (creating 26 total positions)
- Each clock hand could point to letters corresponding to numbers
- The crew set the three clocks to spell out "TWELVE" using number-to-letter conversion:
- T = 20
- W = 23
- E = 5
- L = 12
- V = 22
- E = 5
- Door unlocked when clocks displayed the correct letter positions
Inside the Vault:
The inner chamber contained numerous safes and drawers, but at the center sat an ornately carved mahogany box on a pedestal. A dragon was stenciled on top, polished to an impressive sheen. The box radiated a foreboding presence—a terrible secret waiting to be unleashed. The box was nailed to the pedestal, and Bartleby (Silas) began working the puzzle box with his skilled hands.
The Ambush
First Warning:
As the crew entered the vault's inner chamber, Bru (highest passive perception) heard crashing and yelling from downstairs. Alarms started sounding throughout the building.
Preparations:
- Silas worked on opening the puzzle box
- Sander called for everyone to evacuate as soon as they had the prize
- Bru placed remote explosive charges on the structural points of each vault layer as they went
- The crew let Alma and Spoons in and laid the portable hole in front of the vault door
- Spoons headed back to the getaway car and warned the crew over the psychic link that the Pandora gang was on the move: some heading downstairs, some coming for the vault
Pandora Herself:
The gang's leader, Pandora, came for the vault in person ("No one steals from me"). Bru's cannon hit her square in the chest (15 damage) and knocked her back, but she somersaulted over the portable hole into the room.
- She stabbed Peaches with a poisoned short sword for 37 damage and hit Sander with a poisoned crossbow bolt for 30
- Bru answered with Fire Bolt, then a force ballista shot that pushed her straight into Peaches, who German-suplexed her into the floor
- Peaches followed up with a critical smite that took off one of her arms and left her with 5 HP
- Sander walked up and finished her with a casual "360 no-scope" shot
The True Prize:
Silas successfully opened the box, revealing a black dragon orb with a galaxy-like star pattern swirling inside (like the galaxy from Men in Black). He shuddered as he touched it, establishing a connection that would haunt him for years. He stuffed it into his backpack.
Escape:
- The team made their way out via the zip line
- Bru detonated charges, collapsing the third floor onto the second
- The crew did a Tarzan-style swing across the street as explosions erupted behind them
- In practiced precision, they all put on sunglasses mid-swing (they'd rehearsed this cool moment)
- Spoons had the getaway car waiting: his own ride, running a V8 he pulled out of an F-150
The Order of St. George:
As the crew piled into the car, heavily armored dwarves with bloody weapons burst out of the Pandora gang's kicked-in front door. Their emblem was a lance piercing a dragon skull, and a high History roll identified them as the Order of St. George, a group of dragon slayers. Their leader pointed his bloodied greatsword at the crew and ordered them to drop what they had taken. Bru threw pocket dynamite, Spoons pulled a tire-smoking burnout, and the Order's Toyota Tacoma stalled before they could give chase.
The Blackwell Memorial Park Betrayal
The crew arrived at the drop point: Blackwell Memorial Park (a park for perverts, according to the gang). A lone cloaked figure waited in a clearing.
The Exchange:
- Sander approached with the code phrase: "My tribute to the queen"
- The figure responded: "To me what I am owed"
- A consigliere showed a chest full of gold payment
- Bartleby (paranoid as always) had switched bags with Bru during the drive, keeping the real orb safe while carrying a decoy medicine ball
The Reveal:
When Bartleby handed over the bag and looked under the figure's hood, he saw Helja Ungar—head of the Iron Claws dwarven mafia. His face went pale. She smirked: "My reputation precedes me, it seems."
She insisted on shaking hands to seal the deal. Sander refused, citing germ concerns. Helja snapped her fingers.
The Massacre
Gunmen emerged from trees and shrubs all around, opening fire on the crew.
Deaths:
- Sander - Jumped in front of Alma to shield her; both were shot together
- Cream - Shot in the knee trying to run
- Peaches - Slowed down to carry wounded Cream; both were killed by concentrated gunfire, dying in each other's arms
- Spoons - The getaway car was destroyed by grenades thrown under the fuel tank; Spoons died in the explosion (his birthday was supposed to be tomorrow, when he'd planned to meet the underground racer LP)
- Alma - Killed alongside Sander (Sander never got to ground Bru)
The Escape:
Bru's force ballista cannon ran into the ambush and exploded next to Helja, tearing open the decoy bag and revealing the medicine ball instead of the orb. Enraged at the deception, Helja turned to pursue Silas and Bru, and ordered a bounty put on the halfling.
The halfling and goblin took advantage of their small size, jumping into a storm drain. Grenades followed but exploded just outside the range. They found a strong current in the sewers—Silas grabbed Bru by the scruff of his neck and they both leapt in, getting swept away to safety outside city limits.
Bru was shell-shocked and silent, shutting down emotionally. This was the first time Kevin, his homunculus companion, came to life, saying "I am Kevin. I like warm hugs." Bru fell into Kevin and cried.
The Aftermath: Dragon Horde Mountain
The flashback ended with present-day Silas and Bru at the Dragon Horde, watching the sunset. Silas poured drinks with dirt, their traditional toast. He reflected on Helja's death (Session 36).
Silas's Realization:
"I was wrong, you know? About getting soft when you start to give a shit about people. I don't think I would have stayed and fought if I didn't give a shit about you guys. Maybe. Or maybe I am just getting stupid."
He admitted: "For better or worse, we got a new gang now. Let's go join up with them again, I guess."
The Portable Hole's Return:
Bru discovered the portable hole stuck to Kevin's overalls—"Oh, that's where that went!" The DM ruled (subject to veto) that the party now has a portable hole in their inventory.
Character Moments
Bru's Trauma:
The session showed why Bru doesn't process loss well—he completely shuts down when people die. His creation of Kevin likely stemmed from this traumatic night, giving him an unshakeable companion.
Silas's Philosophy:
The massacre cemented Silas's "always keep moving" worldview: "This is why you don't stay. This is why you always have to move on. When you stay for a while, you get soft. You get sloppy. And this is what comes of it."
However, by the present day, Silas is reconsidering this belief after fighting alongside the current party.
Tomorrow Never Comes:
Multiple crew members mentioned plans for tomorrow:
- Spoons's birthday and meeting racer LP
- Sander planning to ground Bru
- Peaches's retirement and miniature figurine store
- Alma moving in with Robin, and the big announcement she was saving for tomorrow's party
None of them got their tomorrow.
Key Revelations
- Helja's Grudge: The crew stole the dragon orb from the Pandora gang for Helja, who was their secret client, but she never got it: Silas had switched bags, and he escaped with the orb, creating an 11-year vendetta that led to her hunting them
- The Dragon Orb: Now revealed to be the mysterious item Silas has been protecting all these years
- The Order of St. George: Dragon slayers who raided the Pandora gang the same night, adding chaos to the heist
- Original Crew Composition: The Sisyphus Circle was seven members before being reduced to just Bru and Silas
- Helisanna Connection: Mentioned as a potential client/cover after the massacre, possibly their first job after reforming
Ongoing Plot Threads
- The Dragon Orb's Purpose: What was Helja planning to do with it?
- Silas's Connection: The orb established a "fateful connection" when he touched it—what does this mean?
- Order of St. George: Where are these dragon slayers now?
- Bru and Silas's Next Move: They mentioned meeting Helisanna after this—is this how they entered the current storyline?
- Portable Hole: Will the party actually get to keep this powerful magic item?
Session Conclusion
The session ended with the current-day Silas and Bru preparing to rejoin their new gang, having shared this painful memory. The flashback explained the deep bond between the halfling and goblin, forged in tragedy and escape. It also revealed why Silas is so paranoid about clients, why Bru shuts down during loss, and why both have commitment issues with their new party.
The DM (Taylor) balanced puzzle-solving, combat, character development, and tragic storytelling throughout the session, creating a complete heist narrative with an emotional gut-punch ending. The players' knowledge of the doomed outcome added dramatic irony to every optimistic statement about "tomorrow."
Return to present day as the party deals with the consequences of defeating Helja and continues their current adventures.