47: The Viper's Den
March 27, 2026
Setting
Greyport, early morning. The party surfaces from their pocket village in Iro's workshop at 6 a.m. after a day spent inside recovering from their battle with the void devils. The day's agenda: meet Lady Viper, make contact with the dragon Astro, and check in with an old friend.
Players Present
- Topher (DM) – also running Bru, Leliana, Scarlet, and Victor as NPCs
- Taylor Ramsey as Silas – Rogue/Sorcerer, holder of the dragon orb containing Astro
- Ali Leonard as Elspeth – Artificer/Paladin racer, pocket village architect
- Ellis Taylor as Olivia Cooper – Retired Detective, Devotion Paladin
Plot Events
Surfacing from the Pocket Village
After roughly a day inside the pocket village, the party files out through the catalytic chamber of Iro's workshop. Iro himself has fallen asleep in a chair just outside the porthole window, waiting for their return.
Scarlet demonstrates the village's new form factor: she locks the door with a key, and it collapses down, folding over and over like a piece of paper until it shrinks into a small capsule that she pockets. The days of a dimensional doorway floating awkwardly in Iro's workshop are over.
Iro rouses himself, delighted to have them back. A piece of lore surfaces naturally: Iro keeps a Polaroid scrapbook he calls his "horde," adding a photo whenever someone finishes a project in his workshop.
Bru's dragon scent, a side effect of carrying the orb, has become notable enough that the void devils could smell it during their last battle. The smell lingers.
Planning the Day
The party draws up a short list of Greyport contacts to visit before their departure to Eldoran in roughly a week:
- Lady Viper – head of the Twilight Company, rumored to have a plan for striking the Eldoran Empire
- Jasper – old friend running the Gaines Bankery, Brewery, and Bakery
- Astro – the dragon imprisoned in Silas's orb, due for a more civilized conversation
Silas also notes that while they're in Greyport, they should address the Iron Claws, and that Elspeth has unfinished business with a certain impostor racing under her name.
Victor accompanies them as liaison. The party takes a scenic gondola and then a tram toward the Twilight Company, which operates out of a building near the zoo under the cover name Richard Jones Investments.
The Twilight Company Entrance
The front lobby has a receptionist and a rotating seasonal password — a latte flavor. Victor, characteristically, cannot remember it. He guesses vanilla. The receptionist is unmoved. Silas, with a passive perception of 17, notices the receptionist is drinking something small and very green.
"Can we order a tall matcha?"
The bookcase slides open.
Victor is triumphant. The party is unimpressed.
First Glimpse of Lady Viper
The main floor of the Twilight Company is enormous — people moving, war boards covered in active plans, the hum of an organization at work. As they wind through, Silas spots a masked woman on a high catwalk:
- Black masquerade mask
- A large cobra coiled around her shoulders
- Red and black floor-length coat that moves like a formal gown
- Brown hair in a precise bun
- Black leather gloves
She whispers something to her snake, which uncoils and disappears into the building. She meets Silas's gaze, then turns and vanishes through a door.
The snake's name, they will later learn, is Mr. Slithers.
The Butler
The path to Lady Viper winds down through what appears to be a retrofitted dungeon — old cages now converted into creature habitats. A lit enclosure near the door holds a rat king, a small mass of rats fused at the tails, scurrying in circles contentedly, alongside other reptiles and insects.
A gaunt, impeccably dressed butler greets them at the door.
"Welcome. I assume you are here to see Lady Viper. She has been looking forward to meeting you, Taco Cat. It is a shame that you've dressed so poorly and look so dreadful. Would you like to consider coming back another time when you look less ghastly?"
He produces a steaming iron from his pocket and begins pressing Silas's clothes on the spot. Silas submits to this. Olivia and Elspeth have a different approach: Elspeth opens the pocket village, sprints through to the Lotus Casino, and returns in a few minutes wearing her pinstripe suit and carrying a cane.
The butler approves. He presents them:
"Presenting: Taco Cat."
Lady Viper
The sitting room is lit by fireplace and candelabra. Victorian wing-back sofas face a large desk. A cobra rests by the fire. A statue of a snake dominates the wall behind the desk. Lady Viper sits at the desk, smoking through a long cigarette holder, watching them file in with the stillness of someone who has been waiting for this meeting for some time.
She pours water for the group and opens the conversation:
"It is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance. I am Lady Viper, as I'm sure you know. I will allow you to introduce yourselves, though I know much about you."
She explains that she founded the Twilight Company roughly fifty years ago, after the Eldoran Empire killed her entire family. She had been scheduled to attend a ball but fell ill; she stayed with her aunt. That night, after the guests retired, they were killed. She was left alone, young, with a clear road ahead of her and a family fortune to fund it.
Her plan for Eldoran:
- Eldoran's power rests on religion — belief creates power, and they manufactured themselves into a religion
- Destroy their places of worship across the continent
- Destroy the spaceport in Eldoran's harbor
- Target their violescence caches — a chain reaction could be catastrophic for the Empire
- The space station is out of reach for now; she has no plan for it yet
Reading Lady Viper
The party takes stock of her privately, passing insight checks around the circle.
Olivia (8): Believes everything she's saying. Notes that Lady Viper is extremely put-together in a way that is quietly intimidating.
Elspeth (16): Finds her composure almost paralyzing to engage with — her attractiveness is genuinely distracting, and Elspeth can't tell if the occasional eye contact is directed at her specifically or if she's just staring at the room. It feels both professional and isolated, as if no one has ever quite managed to treat Lady Viper like a person rather than a phenomenon.
Silas (28, with Flash of Genius and Bless): Sees through the performance entirely. Lady Viper is not primarily a strategist — she is a person of charisma, working through her own powers of persuasion to gather anarchists, misfits, and people hurt by the Eldoran Empire and steer them toward her personal goal of revenge. Her plan for Eldoran is meticulous. Her plan for after the ashes: nonexistent. This is not a political revolution. It is a grief project at continental scale.
Silas says nothing of this to Lady Viper.
The group confers via psychic link:
"I don't think she's bluffing us. I think our goals align when it comes to striking Eldoran, but she wants to burn that mother down. She doesn't care about who gets hurt in the process."
"We can still work with her plan. We can add finesse. Try to save civilians."
"I'm against mass murder. Just putting that on the table."
They decide to work with her — and to ask directly about her stance on civilians and refugees.
Her answer is measured: she wants to hold accountable those who killed her family. She does not believe that is every person in Eldoran.
The Long List
She has been watching Taco Cat for some time and is open to hearing their other plans. They outline:
- Luna's resurrection: They have made direct contact with Luna, who manifested in the pocket village after Leliana's song during the void devil battle. They want to build a congregation in Greyport to restore her faith and her strength.
"Because everyone saw the moon explode, she gives a symbol of resistance. If you're somehow able to bring any of her essence into our world, that would be a huge sign that even with the most powerful weapon we've ever seen, we can fight back."
Lady Viper agrees to help with logistics — events, space, connections.
At some point during the discussion, Elspeth asks for water. Lady Viper rises, retrieves a goblet from a side cart with an ice bucket, leans over, takes Elspeth's hands, and places the goblet in them. Elspeth immediately loses her train of thought. The party watches this happen. Olivia gently steers the conversation back on track.
To demonstrate the pocket village, Elspeth opens it in the sitting room. The village unfolds chaotically around them: the garage, the beach with a cabana, the gold fountain, a rainbow sky, a glimpse of the Lotus through a second door. Goblets of ice water materialize as Elspeth's attention wanders. Luna appears on a couch in a glade near the ocean.
Lady Viper stares.
"That is the embodiment of Luna in this space."
She is visibly moved. She agrees that a commune or congregation anchored in this space — with people who can move between the material world and the pocket village — could be a genuine asset.
- The rocket ship problem: Getting to the space station that destroyed Luna requires a ship. The party floats options: build one (needs massive violescence and specialized materials), steal one from the Eldoran spaceport, or steal components and build from parts. No solution is resolved, but stealing from Eldoran during the planned infiltration is the leading candidate.
"We have the schematics. We just need the parts and a lot of violescence."
Elspeth tries to find something shorter to call her — "Lady Viper? My lady? Ma'am?" — each attempt more awkward than the last. Lady Viper blushes. Elspeth moves on.
Lady Viper cannot offer a rocket in a week. She half-suggests they find the Colossus — then remembers they are gone.
The timeline: Lady Viper expects to begin infiltrating Eldoran in close to a week. In the meantime, the party is free to operate in Greyport.
What Olivia Knows and Does Not Say
When Lady Viper describes the night her family was killed, Olivia quietly attempts a history check. The DC is 20. She rolls a natural 20.
She remembers: at a detective conference years ago, colleagues from Greyport, a few drinks in, whispered something they were not supposed to share. They had the Lrange family killed. Only the daughter was left. Elizandra Legrand.
Olivia looks at Lady Viper. She says nothing. She tucks the name away.
Departure
Victor is sent to his lab. The butler bids them farewell and reminds them to dress better next time. Mr. Slithers coils affectionately around Elspeth's leg on the way out.
As they leave, Elspeth turns to Silas: "Were you flirting with her? Because that seemed to work in our other meeting." Silas, already devoted to a different goddess, deflects gracefully.
Communing with Astro
Back at the brownstone, the party assembles. Bru has, unbeknownst to himself, been carrying the dragon orb this entire time — Silas slipped it into his bag during an earlier scheme.
The party forms a psychic circle. Olivia casts Bless. Leliana provides bardic inspiration. Elspeth contributes warding bond. Silas grips the orb.
He rolls a 29 on his Wisdom save against a DC of 25.
The world drops away. He is drifting through outer space. Stardust and starlight arrange themselves into a massive draconic form: Astro.
"Hi, Silas. You've come again. A new tact."
Silas acknowledges the binding ritual plainly: it worked. They both know it can be done again, tighter if necessary. He is not here to taunt her. He wants an option that does not end with her devouring the world.
"When I sleep here — if you are still alive, I will eat you. And if you are not alive, I will destroy anyone that is around you, friend or family. I will have my revenge upon you."
Silas does not flinch. He points out that the choice is between her and the void devils, and neither option looks great for the continent. He rolls a 26 on persuasion.
Astro's posture shifts. She studies him differently.
"What if that happens a long time from now? How long would it take for you to feel okay? A hundred years? A thousand years? A billion years?"
Silas tells her he will come back and they will try this again. Astro sends him out.
But before she does:
"Work quickly, Silas. I have other people talking to me."
"We know where they are. So maybe that'll change soon."
The orb goes quiet. Silas opens his eyes. His nose is bleeding slightly.
"We made progress. We made progress."
Jasper at the Brewery
The Gaines Bankery, Brewery, and Bakery — the port-side location, mostly brewery — sits next to an old church and an orphanage. Out front, a beer garden is covered in jasmine-draped trellises, all in bloom. The place is chaos: a kindergarten class is loose among the tables, debating sausage toppings.
Jasper is in the thick of it.
"All right, can we get toppings? Yes, you get to choose your own toppings — but only one pump of mustard. We're not going to have the mess we had last time. Jared, I'm looking at you."
He spots them and lights up. Miss Mabel handles the sausage line while Jasper pulls them aside with beers.
They fill him in:
- They've made contact with Luna
- They want to organize a concert or benefit event to build her congregation in Greyport
- Jasper's beer garden and the old Winter King church next door could be the venue
- The Winter King and Luna seem naturally aligned — cold, night, tidal pull, light in darkness
"I think we could do that. And hey, we got a bunch of people in town for that race — probably could pull all those visitors in for something like this."
Jasper will make calls for contacts in Eldoran for when the party arrives. He's relieved to hear they'll have at least a week before heading out. He hands over VIP tickets for tonight's event at the bakery — champagne, the solarium, a proper night out.
"When you're ready to put up your boots, I think you'll always have a home here. I'll make sure of it."
The Week Ahead
The party tallies their immediate priorities before leaving for Eldoran:
- Luna's congregation — organize at least one concert, likely using the beer garden and church venue Jasper offered
- Denlin – the racist orphanage owner who has violescence and has been racing under Elspeth's stolen identity as "Bellith Booper"; heist or race diversion under consideration
- Iron Claws – still active in Greyport, still a problem; the newspaper conveniently lists their locations
- Rocket ship logistics – needs violescence, materials, and a plan; likely involves the Eldoran spaceport heist
- Astro dialogue – Silas will return to the orb before any major decisions about the other dragon orb sites
The orb expeditions — Gnome Territory in Wyol, the Warsong Republic, and the Goblin Enclave on the turtle — are each at minimum a week of in-world travel. They will wait.
Notable Character Moments
-
Silas's negotiation with Astro is the most progress he's made with her. The offer of "a long time from now" is no agreement, but it is the first non-hostile exchange they've had. The detail that others are speaking to her — likely through the other orbs — raises new urgency.
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Olivia's history check gives her a private piece of information about Lady Viper's true identity (Elizandra Legrand) that she chooses not to reveal. The decision to hold that card reflects both her detective instincts and her genuine empathy toward someone whose loss she recognizes.
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Elspeth's pocket village tour goes entertainingly sideways — goblets of ice water materializing out of concentration, a cabana beach forming before the village is even finished — but lands exactly right. Lady Viper's reaction to seeing Luna is genuinely moved.
-
Jasper, now running a brewery and caring for an orphanage, has found something grounding. He still carries the weight of his old life but it fits differently now. The scene with the kindergarteners is the warmest the session gets.
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Victor cannot remember the seasonal password. He tries vanilla. He is wrong. The group takes the tram anyway.
Themes
- Revenge versus vision: Lady Viper is capable and genuine in her hatred of Eldoran — but Silas sees that she has planned the burning without planning what comes after. The party will need to supply the vision she lacks.
- Negotiating with power: Both Lady Viper and Astro are beings who operate on their own terms. Silas and Olivia each find small footholds — through patience, honesty, and knowing when not to reveal what they know.
- Building something: Concerts, congregations, rocket ships, a week in Greyport. For once, the work is not about surviving — it is about building toward something.
Session MVP
Silas — For the Astro negotiation. A 26 persuasion and the genuine emotional work of sitting across from something ancient and furious and asking for a conversation instead of a fight.