46: Not Dead Yet

🎧 Podcast coming soon • March 20, 2026

The Birthday Party Interrupted

The fireworks are still going when Olivia looks up.

The sky inside the pocket village is close—unnaturally close, like a ceiling painted blue—and through it she can see what looks like tears opening across wet black paper. Void figures emerge from them: human-shaped, edged with starlight, traveling hundreds of feet per second. Behind the smaller figures, something larger and slower follows. A flowing sheet of darkness, near-invisible against the void, rippling like a black bedsheet, pin-pricks of stars threaded through its fabric.

Naomi sees them at the same moment and turns to the group.

Naomi: "Everybody behind me. Now."

The cake is still on the table. The golden fountains are still sputtering. And then everyone rolls initiative.

The larger being moves first. It circles the picnic table and casts what looks like a net of gravity—a miniature black hole that begins pulling everyone toward its center, dragging the table with it. The party wrenches free on strength saves, the table splintering apart beneath them. The void beings aren't communicating. They haven't said a word yet. They're just working.

The void weaver—the closer of the two—blinks directly into the middle of the party and detonates a pulse of force that rattles teeth and ruptures the air. Silus takes cover under the disintegrating table and drives his blade into it for 25 psychic damage, then vanishes into the chaos with a 29 on stealth. Brew hexes the nearest figure and holds. Olivia, armored and unmoved by the earlier lash attempts—both of which scatter off her plate—draws her battle axe.

This Little Light of Mine

The moonlight starts small.

Behind Naomi, pressed together in a knot at the edge of the village, the people of the pocket village begin to sing. One voice at first—Liliana's, quiet and certain—and then another, and another, until the whole group is moving through it together.

This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine.

The void beings react to the light the way something photosensitive reacts to a flashbulb. They shriek. It burns. It burns. Where the moonlight falls across the void fabric of their bodies, it doesn't illuminate—it unravels. Smoke rises from their forms. The melody grows. More and more of the crowd joins in. The moonlight spreads.

Olivia swings.

Her battle axe drags through the void weaver's form—the physical edge barely registers—but the lightning from Iro's infusion hits clean, and when she follows with a divine smite, the radiant damage tears the thing apart in a way that seems fundamental. The void fabric visibly shreds where the radiant energy passes through.

(The void weaver sniffs. It sniffs again. It turns toward the picnic table.) Void Weaver: "I smell the water."

The being between them splits sideways into three figures. The picnic table tears free and rockets toward Naomi and the crowd. Silus teleports in front of her in the same breath, knife drawn, and slices a clean weak point down the center of the flying table. Naomi, already moving, punches it in half with a single fist. The two halves spin away into the dark.

Silus and Naomi pose. The music grows louder.

Into the Void

With the closer beings sizzling and faltering under the moonlight, the larger figure in the sky makes its last move. It reaches through nothing—tendrils pushing out from under where the table used to be, searching—and finds Olivia.

She fails the strength save. She burns her last lucky point. The roll comes back worse.

The void being folds around her and she disappears.

Inside, it's not darkness. It's the opposite: she sees everything. All the planar dimensions stacked against each other, phased in and out, different moments in time layered on top of each other like transparencies. She is not falling. She is suspended in the fabric between things, and the void beings are all around her.

On the ground, Brew watches her vanish. He moves his hex.

Double Kill

The force ballista fires.

The beam punches through the being in the sky—22 to hit, 38 total damage—and the thing's dying words drift down as it evaporates:

Void Figure: "More will come. There's nothing to stop us anymore."

The small pocket dimension Olivia was suspended in dissolves. She falls—rapidly, from thirty feet up, in full plate armor. Brew is already casting. Levitate catches her at the last moment and she begins to drift slowly toward the ground, components still in her hands from an aborted spell.

She lands. She hugs Brew.

Olivia: "I love you so much, little guy. Thank you so much." Brew: (smells terrible) Olivia: (releases immediately)

Our Own Moon

The silence after a fight is different from regular silence. It's the silence of something having just been very loud.

The surviving void beings are gone. The moonlight fades back to the ambient warmth of the pocket village. And Silus looks up at the sky—the ceiling that was always too close—and sees the stars begin to recede.

Something is forming between the village and the void. Something like a barrier. A shimmer that wasn't there before.

Silus: "Holy s***. Guys. This isn't just a pocket village." (watching the barrier solidify) "We've created our own moon base."

Scarlet's voice crackles through the space from somewhere at the edge of things—she'd been outside the pocket village when the attack started, and she'd been monitoring the dimensional readings the whole time, watching the activity spike and trying to keep the space from collapsing.

Scarlet: "I wasn't sure if I'd be able to stabilize it. But it—it just stabilized. Right? Were y'all doing something? Whatever you were doing, keep doing it. Because it's working."

Victor slides out of a bush.

He has been in the pocket village for the entire battle. He has been here the whole time, he says. He didn't do anything about the void beings because he didn't want to interrupt. He'd heard something about plans to blow up Eldoran infrastructure and wanted to know more.

Brew: "Victor, you're not sending messages. You keep creating these archaic ways to talk to me and then never actually tell me they're there. I find them retroactively." Victor: "Why would you respond to me? I moved on. Lady Viper tells me how to blow things up now." Brew: (sniffle)

Silus hands him a pint of ice cream and a box of tissues and a pat on the shoulder.

Not Dead Yet

At Brew's suggestion, they use the sending stone.

The connection threads through the pocket village's dimensional fabric—through the layers Olivia saw when she was consumed, through the space between things—and finds something at the other end. Something that shouldn't be there.

Victor: "I was honing in on this sending stone. I believe you had connected it to the corpse of a dead god. And interestingly... it appears that our dead god is not so dead."

A voice comes through. Elven, and warm, and very much alive.

Luna: "I'm not dead yet."

She appears in the pocket village as a metaphysical presence—small but unmistakably there, moonlight reflected in the nearby lake forming the image of a tiny moon. Her features are elven, bright. She looks at her own hand with something like quiet wonder.

Luna: "I feel more myself. I I can imagine."

She thanks them. She says something about this space—the fabric connecting planar dimensions, the way belief functions within it—has allowed her to reside here in a form she couldn't maintain anywhere else. Then she asks who they are.

Anyone can give her religion, arcana, or insight. Silus rolls a 28.

What he understands: the pocket village doesn't just sit between places. It sits in the tissue that connects everything. And because of that, it allows connection to the actual essence of a deity in a way the material plane doesn't. The barrier forming above them isn't just protection. It's the pocket village becoming real—a dimension of its own, a small moon in the interdimensional dark, powered by the belief of the people singing inside it.

Morning by the Lake

Long rest. Olivia takes the beach and declines to explain what the cabana boy looks like. Brew accepts Olivia's invitation to the spa, somehow ends up muddier than before, and smells marginally better by morning. Silus spends as much time with Naomi as the night allows.

In the morning, Luna is sitting by a tranquil lake at the edge of the village. The reflection off the water below her is a tiny moon.

She is ready to talk.

Her account of what happened is careful and honest. Much of it she frames as her own failure—she had watched the dwarves imprison Astroenos Noxis, the void dragon, centuries ago, and had not worried about the consequences the way she should have. She had forgotten, she says, what mortals are capable of—for better and worse. She herself had been a mortal once. She had ascended to godhood because it was the only way she could protect the people she loved, and the price had been removing herself from the world.

Luna: "I think that a lot of this started because it's often hard when a god stops considering what mortals can do."

The Eldoran Empire, she believes, has realized something important: that belief creates power. They have built their empire around it, using technology as an apparatus of faith. The moon Eldora is not just a moon—it is a temple, a generator, a weapon. And whatever they fired at her was more than a weapon.

Luna: "It shattered me in the weave—the fabric itself. It destroyed me beyond just my physical form. It moved across these dimensions that we interact with in belief. And I don't know—it was more terrible than anything I have experienced before."

She describes the weapon: a massive white beam, fired in the blink of an eye from thousands of miles away, coming from what looks like a giant dish or bowl mounted on the side of the space station. The whole craft seemed to glow before it fired.

The party has a name for it within thirty seconds.

Olivia: "Space bowl." Silus: "Space bowls." Luna: (long pause) "...space bowl. Yes. I think that is what it is."

The Warden's Scent

One thing the void beings said is still sitting in the air.

Naomi: "It said something about a warden. It smelled a warden on you, Silus."

Silus does not think he has a warden. He does not have the dragon orb with him—it would have destabilized the pocket village—Ellmith is guarding it just outside the entrance. But he has spoken with Astroenos Noxis directly, multiple times. He was there when they re-bound the orb. Something of that contact has apparently left a trace.

Brew rolls a 23 on religion. The pattern assembles itself.

The Ninja Turtles, on the boat. Their conversation about balance. A dragon of the void doesn't just consume—it hunts. Astro's endless appetite for devouring reality was, in its own terrible way, a form of ecological management. The void beings running through the dimensional tears, attacking birthday parties, smelling wardens on paladins—they are prey animals with their apex predator removed. The prison that was supposed to solve everything created a different problem.

Brew: "An outbreak situation is maybe happening here."

Luna's partner Naraxis—the sun dragon, whose name the party has only heard in legend—is almost certainly aware that she was attacked. He is almost certainly furious.

Luna: "I think he would be quite enraged about the attack on me. I do worry that his wrath may scorch the very earth we live on." Silus: "You could talk him down?" Luna: "I could try. Usually very few other than me have been able to talk him down from one of his wrathful fits. But I think—it's clear to me that you've helped me come back. I think I could point his anger toward those responsible."

The Plans Take Shape

Victor removes himself from a second bush. He has been here for this entire conversation, too.

Victor: "Wait—do y'all want to blow up an Eldoran capital?" Brew: "Victor. How long have you been in that bush? Did you follow us in here?" Victor: "I've been here the whole time. I didn't want to interrupt. I've got the person you should talk to. Lady Viper has a plan—blowing up the grid, long-term plans for the space station." Brew: (beginning to cry into ice cream) Silus: (handing tissues)

Lady Viper, it turns out, is an older Twilight Company figure Victor has been working with for months. She has detailed plans for disrupting the Eldoran power grid and—eventually—the space station itself. Victor considers her approach rigorous. He left messages for Brew. He left them in very archaic formats, in locations Brew would have found retroactively. He maintains there was communication.

There was not communication.

Scarlet arrives—having apparently been listening from outside the door—with a map.

Scarlet: "All right. I've figured out our plan. The Dragon Balls. I found their locations."

The orbs—the binding artifacts for Astroenos Noxis scattered across the world—are the linchpin of whatever comes next. Seal Astro further, or release her; either option requires collecting them. Luna is honest about the tradeoff: sealing Astro permanently keeps the void dragon imprisoned but also keeps the natural predator of the void beings locked away. The dimensional fabric continues to thin. The void beings continue to multiply.

Alternatively: talk to Astro. Use the additional orbs as leverage to negotiate rather than dominate. Get her to play ball.

Silus: "Luna, I've been talking out my ass at people way more powerful than me literally my whole life. This is just the same thing on a different scale." Luna: (a long pause) "I think you are well placed to deal with it."

The parallel paths emerge:

Path One: Liliana's concerts, directed toward Luna. The singing that held back the void beings tonight was a proof of concept. Organized worship—real performances, real crowds, real belief—could restore Luna's power enough for her to manifest in the material world and speak to Naraxis directly.

Path Two: Blow up Eldoran infrastructure. Lady Viper has the blueprints. The party has the explosives expertise. Destroying the apparati of Eldoran worship—their holy sites, their technology, their space bowls—would undermine Eldora's divine power in the same way Luna's power has been drained.

Path Three: Collect the Dragon Balls. Wherever they are—south of Greyport, in gnomish territory, in orc lands, in Norman territory—Scarlet's map has them. Whatever the party decides about Astro, they need the orbs first.

And meanwhile: the Iron Claws still operating in Greyport remain unfinished business. Jasper is somewhere in the city. There might be a race. There is, apparently, a race.

Olivia: "I also had a thought. We have the perfect setting for a commune. Bring Luna's followers here. Let them set up. They could interact face-to-face with her. Grow their own food. Actually be a community." Luna: "This place is not your real world. I don't want you to get lost in here." Brew: "What is real, though? Reality is just a shared hallucination. So what's the difference?" Luna: (takes the joint Brew offers, watches it scatter into a thousand pieces, reassembles it with moonlight) "Not real. Make one yourself."

She can't grow stronger in the pocket village—she needs the material world for that. But she can be found here. She can speak here. And she has followers in a city called Haiou, somewhere in the ocean, who have never stopped believing.

The party takes that with them when they leave.

---

Key Information Learned

The Void Beings:

• They attacked because they "smell the warden" on Silus—a trace left from his direct contact with Astroenos Noxis and the dragon orb bindings
• Their stated motivation: "We must destroy them so they do not throw us back into the deep places"
• Their dying words: "More will come. There's nothing to stop us anymore."
• They are hurt by radiant damage and moonlight; physical weapons register weakly or not at all
• Brew's theory, backed by religion knowledge: Astro's imprisonment removed her as the natural predator of void beings; they are now running rampant through the dimensional tears she would have hunted

Luna:

• Is alive—present in the pocket village as a metaphysical manifestation, powered by belief channeled through the space
• Was a mortal before ascending to godhood; ascended to protect those she loved at the cost of removing herself from the world
• Her partner Naraxis (the sun dragon) is likely aware she was attacked and is possibly enraged
• Has followers in an ocean city called Haiou who may be able to assist the party
• Cannot grow stronger within the pocket village—she needs worship channeled in the material world

The Weapon:

• Luna describes a massive white beam fired from a dish/bowl mounted on the Eldoran space station
• It moved across dimensional and spiritual layers, shattering not just her physical form but her connection to followers
• The party names it: the space bowl

The Pocket Village:

• Is stabilizing into a permanent dimensional space—no longer just a prototype
• A visible barrier has formed between the village and the void, suggesting it is becoming its own dimension
• The belief of the people inside it (singing "This Little Light of Mine") contributed directly to driving back the void beings and seems to be powering the dimensional solidification
• Victor was in there the whole time

Victor and Lady Viper:

• Victor has been working with Lady Viper—an older Twilight Company figure—on plans to disrupt the Eldoran power grid and eventually the space station
• He left messages for Brew in archaic formats Brew never found
• Lady Viper has detailed schematics and a long-term plan

The Orb Dilemma:

• Sealing Astro further: reduces dimensional thinning long-term but removes the only known predator of void beings
• Releasing Astro: restores the ecosystem but unleashes a dragon whose explicit goal is consuming everything
• A third option is emerging: negotiate with Astro using the additional orbs as leverage
• Collecting the orbs is necessary regardless of which path the party chooses; Scarlet has a map

Character Moments

Silus: The birthday party was supposed to be his. He got the cake and the song and Naomi walking through the golden door—and then he got void beings. What he does with void beings is teleport at them, roll 32 on dexterity, slice the picnic table in half, and pose dramatically with Naomi while the crowd sings. When Brew cries about Victor, Silus hands him ice cream and tissues without hesitation. His 28 insight check about the pocket village being their own moon base is delivered with the conviction of someone who already knew this was going to happen and has been waiting for everyone else to catch up.

Brew: The force ballista kills the last void being, saves Olivia's life, and ends the combat in the same turn—Brew at full efficiency. But the Victor revelation breaks something in him that isn't repaired by Silus's ice cream. He has been replaced, professionally, by someone named Lady Viper, who is apparently better at blowing things up. The mud spa with Olivia helps. He comes out marginally less fragrant and emotionally no better, but he comes out.

Olivia: Gets consumed by a void being, witnesses the layers of dimensional reality stacked on each other, and comes back calm. She immediately hugs Brew for saving her and releases him within approximately one second. Her combat instincts are on full display throughout—taking damage on purpose to save lucky points, recognizing that the void beings are hurt by radiant damage and adjusting. The "space bowl" naming is hers. The commune idea—actual followers living in the pocket village, face-to-face with their goddess—is the most interesting strategic thought in the room.

Luna: Her first words after months of silence are "I'm not dead yet." She is careful, honest, and self-aware about her own failures of perspective. Her account of why she ascended to godhood—to protect people she loved, at the cost of removing herself—gives her a dimension that gods in this story don't always have. She does not take Brew's joint.

Unresolved Threads

• The void beings will return—they said so themselves. What comes next, and in what numbers?
• Naraxis, the sun dragon and Luna's partner, is presumably aware of the attack on her. What is his current disposition, and how close is he?
• Collecting the Dragon Balls: Scarlet's map points south and into gnomish and orc territory. What guardians, factions, or hazards are waiting at each site?
• Lady Viper and the Twilight Company grid disruption plan: what does she actually need, and when does the party meet her?
• Haiou, the ocean city with Luna's followers: who are they, where exactly is it, and what can they contribute?
• Astro is still imprisoned, still aware, still sending void beings toward Silus because of the warden's scent. What happens when the party approaches her for negotiation rather than re-binding?
• The Iron Claws remnants in Greyport remain unaddressed
• Jasper is somewhere in Greyport; the bakery fire at their arrival has not been fully investigated
• A race is apparently happening

Notable Quotes

Naomi: "Everybody behind me. Now."

Void Weaver: "I smell the water."

Void Figure: (dying) "More will come. There's nothing to stop us anymore."

Luna: "I'm not dead yet."

Silus: "Holy s***. We've created our own moon base."

Brew: (to Victor, tearfully) "You're not sending messages. You keep creating archaic ways to talk to me and never actually tell me they're there." Victor: "Why would you respond to me? I moved on. Lady Viper tells me how to blow things up now."

Luna: "I think that a lot of this started because it's often hard when a god stops considering what mortals can do."

Silus: "I've been talking out my ass at people way more powerful than me literally my whole life. This is just the same thing on a different scale." Luna: "I think you are well placed to deal with it."

Brew: "What is real, though? Reality is just a shared hallucination." Luna: (scatters his joint into a thousand pieces and reconstructs it with moonlight) "Not real. Make one yourself."

The session ends in the morning light by the lake, with a map of Dragon Ball locations, a moon goddess sitting in a dimension the party built out of imagination and belief, and plans to blow up infrastructure in three different directions at once. The birthday party was ruined. The pocket village is permanent. Luna is alive. The void beings are still coming.