Campaign Six: Desert Insurgence

After years of toiling away at the mines at Zithe's Prison, three friends forged in the fire of imprisonment are forced out into a world of danger. Can they survive the horrors of the Desert?
==Session 1: The Gauntlet Escape==
Zithe rules as a violent and inscrutable dictator over Kelwas, and keeps a mining operation going by sending all able-bodied prisoners into the Antax Mountains north of the Maggor Forest. For years, Thimble Goodfellow (an Elf Druid), Tiddlywinks (an Elf Ranger), and Kityu Durinn (a Catfolk Bard) labored and starved. That was until the yearly lottery chose these three to enter the Gauntlet. 20 prisoners were sent into a massive dungeon beneath the prison and forced to fight dangerous monsters while searching for three gems. The three prisoners that found the gems would be granted their freedom from the prison and set free into the world. The Trio battled their way past beasts, monsters, and terrifying traps. Tiddlywinks showed his ability to stomach the rotten limbs that littered the floor and a penchant for utilizing said limbs at impromptu weapons. Eventually, the trio discovered the three gems as well as a few other treasures. They also learn the horrifying truth that this Gauntlet turns the losers of the challenge into the monsters the party has to fight to escape. Thimble, Tiddlywinks, and Kityu were granted their freedom and set out to figure out how to survive in the world again.
==Session 2==
The party began the session travelling south of the Antax Mountains through the Maggor Forest. One week later, they arrived upon the small outlying inn, The Fiery Lizard, north of Kelwas City. It was here that the party met a surprise relative of Thimble, the half-elf merchant Dingle and his halfling bodyguard Reina (Halfing Monk). They offered the party payment to escort the merchant to the city of Kelwas, as well as a plan to win the great tournament upcoming there, and readily agreed. Little did they know, Tiddlywinks was distrustful of the merchant's plans to enroll them in them in a series of deathmatches, and as soon as the group was deep in the forest, he shot Dingle in the back of the head with his bow point blank. Reina was angered but was convinced to leave without further violence.
Before arriving in Kelwas City, the party was set upon by a wild leopard and forced to fight until Thimble was able to deter it with a Charm Animal spell.
Upon arriving at Kelwas, the party struggled to deal with the guards employed by Zithe to exact a toll, and barely avoided being thrown in prison. After realizing that swimming into the city across the river was likely suicidal due to its length and the parties lack of skill, they found some guards that were less taxing and were allowed to enter the city.
Having the entire city at their leisure, the group decided to try joining up with one of the local guilds, the Kelwas Knights. They arrived and were given beds, preparing to start up adventuring again the next day.
==Session 3==
Alya, leader of the guild, gave the party their first mission. There were concerns surrounding the red torch district and a certain Brothel that was conducting illegal activities. The guild was tasked with sending a team in to find evidence for such activities, and to get out.
That did not happen. But before they could even get there, the party came across a disguised Soval, who offended Tiddlywinks. The Elf Ranger quickly knocked Soval out, hogtied him, and left him in an alley after robbing him of a Blue Gemstone.
Once inside the correct brothel, and following a botched seduction attempt by Thimble and a bar fight distraction by Kityu and Tiddlywinks, Thimble was able to sneak into the owner's chambers and get the needed evidence, but not without getting spotted. Kityu also managed to find an attractive Catfolk man, and was instantly crushing. This led to her deciding to join the Tournament. During the ensuing chase down the stairs, the bar fight got out of hand and the booze and lanterns broke and set the building on fire. The group barely made it out of the building alive, but they were still being followed by the owner. Thimble did the prudent thing and cracked the fool over the head, leaving him dead in the street, but they came to the realization that if the owner was dead, they wouldn't very well be able to take him to court for all he's worth.
So the mission was a bust. They returned to the guild covered in burns and shambling with the gloom of failure. They were chastised for their recklessness, but allowed to stay for the night safe from the guards.
==Session 4==
The party was given one final chance to prove their usefulness to the Kelwas Knights. There had been rumors of a young woman being seen around several arson sites, and the party was tasked with rooting out the mystery. After working methodically through the Bazaar, the group met with Vel, a Suli and younger sister to Zithi. She enlisted the party into a coup against their former jailer, which would require them to reach the end of the upcoming Tournament to get in close enough position to begin the coup. On pain of being burnt alive, they agreed.
An intriguing event occurred when the party met a fortuneteller who had a Deck of Some Things, a weaker version of the legendary Deck of Many Things. Tiddlywinks received a danger-sensing necklace, Kityu received a magic card that was capable of getting her out of danger once, and Thimble lost some of his intelligence in exchange for improving his diplomatic abilities.
Now that they had two more days before the Tournament, and really failed at the first guild, they went to the Maggor's Companions guild for training. The group was paired up with a Crow Tengu named Pirus and sent to a ruin in the desert on a mission to retrieve a mysterious refugee. After Pirus seemingly died fighting Lions and Hyenas, and the rest of the party was very exhausted from the fight, they ran into the ruins screaming to get the mission over with. It turns out a violent baby dragon wyrmling was in the city and tried to attack. Kityu immediately pulled out her magic Tarot card, and the Dragon immediately became the party's best friend.
== Session 5 ==
Upon returning to Kelwas City, the party worked to find a way to protect their baby dragon while they fought in the tournament. Kityu and Thimble made contact with a ship captain under the auspices of Vel, and managed to use a powerful sleeping potion to sneak him onto the boat safely.
Next, the crew began their initial bouts in the tournament, fighting strange monsters to prove their worth. All 3 made it past their early rounds to get to the quarter finals.
The quarterfinals of the Tournament begin!
* Kityu vs. Reina
** Kityu wins!
* Tiddlywinks vs. Soren (Tengu Paladin)
** Tiddlywinks Wins!
* Thimble vs. Tes (Elf Ranger)
** Thimble wins, but follows up with the beautiful elf woman. She was sad to lose the tournament, as she wanted to get the money to help her sickly mother. Thimble nobly brought her the valuable gemstone that Tiddlywinks had procured, and said keep it for free. They then went out for a lovely date.
* Sandra (Sorcerer Tiefling) vs. Ju (Half-elf Fighter)
** Sandra wins against Ju.
Following the quarterfinals, there was a night to rest, and it was revealed that the semi finals would be TO THE DEATH (or disqualification).
== Session 6 ==
Semifinals
* Kityu vs. Tiddlywinks!
** Tiddlywinks disqualified for shooting arrows into the crowd. He was then taken to confinement until the end of the tournament.
* Thimble vs. Sandra
** Sandra basically makes herself faint after a short battle, giving the instructions to wait until the sunlight hits Zithe before attacking.
Finals
* Thimble vs. Kityu
** They successfully use their powerful performance skills to trick the crowd into believing an epic fight is going down, right until the moment when the coup was set to strike. Thimble summoned a swarm of bats to attack Zithi.
Vel appeared, and began a vicious battle with Zithi, spreading fire and lightning around the arena, and sent in her guards to murder the combatants. Kityu and Thimble were joined by Tes, Soval, and Barry. Tiddlywinks eventually managed to dupe the guards and got out to the battle. They fought valiantly, and took down the guards, but the destroying building around them was a major disruption. The swarm of bats also fled Zithi and began trying to feed upon the combatants. They worked to get out, but sadly Thimble died following a large amount of flaming debris falling upon his unconscious body. Tiddlywinks nobly hiked his corpse out of the arena before it completely collapsed.
Vel thanked everyone for the success of the coup personally, and gave magical gifts as rewards. She lamented the death of Thimble, but could only point them towards Vern Oasis for the potential mage powerful enough to use resurrection. Upon arriving at the wharf, it became clear that the boat with the Dragon had been attacked by pirates who had sailed upriver! The dragon was missing!
== Session 7: Save the Dragon! ==
The party and Tes met Eris Nimblefoot, a sailor and captain of the cutter GTS Relentless. At first uncertain about joining these ruffians on their dragon hunt, after realizing that it was clearly her old enemies, the Ace Goldbeak crew, she decided to join. They sailed upriver until they found the ship docked about a half mile upriver. Kityu used her excellent combination of lullaby and sleep to take out the two Tengu guards, while Eris and Tiddlywinks snuck onto the boat. They discovered a sleeping Ace, who Eris expertly killed with a swift rapier stab to the throat. They began to release the myriad of exotic animals trapped on the ship, while inadvertently allowing the dragon to set fire to the ship. After saving the animals, and paying off Eris most of the gold taken from Ace as a thank you for the shipping help, Tiddlywinks drowned the two Tengu guards.
After two more days on the river, the party arrived at Vern Oasis. They met with Nahara (Guildmaster and leader of the town) and Willow (Tes' warrior master). They were happy to see Tes returned safely to them, and seem to have a mysterious method for restoring Thimble to life, but want the party to help with a strange problem first. In the time since Tes left town, a mysterious house appeared on a plateau overlooking the city, and a persistent rain cloud has down poured around the house. The party agreed, and went up the hill, only to find that the house instantly melted into water whenever you touched a segment of it, and the fireplace was impossible to light. There was a strange urn on the mantlepiece, that once lifted, opened a massive hole to a slide that led deep beneath the hill. The urn smashed, and Tes realized they had arrived in the catacombs beneath the Shyver Shrine.
== Session 8: The Shyver Shrine ==
Tes, Eris, Tiddlywinks, Kityu, and Dragon (Name to be learned, currently nicknamed Toasty Boy), have fallen into the Shyver shrine. They slowly make their way back to the surface through a horrifying dungeon. Within they face Draugr, Cave Dwellers, Giant Centipedes, and finally faced the horrifying Otyugh.
Upon arriving at the surface and the shrine, they saw the massive statue of Shyver in a nearly abandoned cavernous Temple. The temple was covered in mosses and plants, and the statue was surrounded by a running moat. Tes walked up to the statue, presented her Blue Gem given to her by Thimble as a sacrifice. The party was surrounded by a wave of blue light, before suddenly reappearing back at the Guild House.
Upon arriving, Willow is seen running into the distance, unwilling to talk to the group. Upon meeting the leader Nahara, she is confused as to the party's presence. She is convinced that the group said they left to train, has never heard of Tes, and upon arriving back at the ship Thimble's body has disappeared....
== Session 9: Chasing the Body ==
Flummoxed and reeling, the party is on the hunt for their friends following their disappearance. They go to search the Shyver Shrine for clues. They find that Tes' footprints have disappeared from the shrine, and nothing else is amiss. Kityu has the idea of making an offering to the goddess for answers, and Eris knelt and offered several of the gems she had on hand for guidance. A small sapphire is taken by the Goddess for a clue. A fireball appeared above the statue, and a cold wind blew to the west. Afterward, the party asked for information from the local elven leader Yessi, who suggested the goddess is requesting they head West and things might reveal themselves. Before leaving, the party offers some humanitarian assistance by getting their economic situation off to a better start by intimidating local traders into letting the Elves into the local economic scene. The party left west for Kelwas City.
Upon arriving in town, the town seems mostly under control, but Zithe's stadium is a burnt husk. At the Bazaar the group discovers that the Wailing Obelisk has generated new glyphs, screams more, and glowed blue the same day Tes disappeared. The group meets with Eris' trader contact Gorim, and had a run in with a Tanuki who named himself "Alex" and his silent partner. The Tanuki quickly ran off after petting the dragon.
The group set off for the nearest pub, Barry's Tavern to sit down and plan their next steps, but learned that the bar had been commandeered by Vel's new revolutionary government. Vel invites the party to join her conquest of the entire Redwall desert, as well as stating she follows the will of Shyver. She knows something about Shyver "taking" Tes and Thimble, as well as being violently protective of Tes' honor. The party tentatively agrees to work with Vel, uncertain as to their future.
== Session #10: Maggors' Assassins ==
The party is tasked with making a home base in Kelwas, as there will likely be many missions for the group to go on in the coming days, and it's good to have a place to store treasure. Gorim tells his friend Eris about a real estate broker name Pliset that could be found in the bazaar. As the group made their way in, they quickly felt uneasy, as if someone was watching them. Suddenly, two people in nondescript black hoods starting shooting poisoned darts at the party. The party scattered to try and avoid the assassins, but there were many more assassins hiding in the crowd. Once the party began to defend themselves, and the pet dragon began spewing fire, the crowd began to run in terror, and despite getting some hits in, all but one managed to escape.
The one assassin the party did manage to kill was a young dark skinned human girl, wearing the symbol of Maggor's Companions. As Tiddlywinks and Kityu had run-ins with them in the past, and that they have not sworn to Vel's side, it is assumed that is why they attempted to kill the party. Barry was brought over to assist in taking her to Vel's people for identification and to put the organization on alert to the attempts and potential future threats.
Returning to the Bazaar, the party met with Pliset, and worked out a deal so that they could pay half the price of a new home today, and get a 25% off deal if they can get him a job designing for the Vel government. The home the party purchased is a nice stone house in the Stonecutter's district.
== Session #11: The Barracks Raid ==
After finding a new home base, the party joined up with Barry's crew to root out the remainder of Zithi's soldiers that haven't vacated one of the barracks since the coup. Upon entering the well defended compound, an ambush was sprung and the party fought their way through the waves of archers atop towers just raining arrows down. A mysterious enemy appeared using magic, and upon closer inspection was found to be Prius, the guild member of Maggor's Companions that had been left for dead by the party. He had sudden unusual magical powers and whispered incoherently to himself. He was clearly out for revenge against Kityu and Tiddlywinks, but managed to escape after almost being killed by Kityu. It is believed there must be a traitor amongst Vel's companions that is passing information onto Zithi's followers.
Following the raid, Vel told the party that there are some disturbing stories of elemental magic running amuck in the southern tips of the Antax Mountains, and is worried that some of Zithi's other followers are there. The party is to travel to the Catfolk Village where the sightings supposedly were, via the Vern Oasis, and scope out what is going on. Eris managed to use her immense amount of leftover gold to make an investment in 61 barrels of ale, and is planning to sell it at the Vern Oasis for a big payday.
Along the way, the party saw a very familiar Tanuki being set upon by amphibious monsters. Eris taunted the annoying Tanuki and his silent compatriot, but sailed the GTS Relentless to shore to aid them anyway. Their names were revealed to be Squibble and Rowlan. They are convinced to tell the party that their pet dragon is named Ruga the Swift.
== Session #12: A Svirfneblin appears... ==
Squibble and Rowlan parleyed passage on the party's ship in exchange for information about a mysterious ancient library called the Infinite Library of Sands outside of the Vern Oasis that might have some interesting information about their baby dragon.
Upon arriving in Vern Oasis, Squibble and Rowlan promptly left for some unknown purpose, but said they might see them at the library later. Eris sold her cargo to the lovely bazaar master Urru a secretary bird tengu, and they went off to find entertainment for the evening. In the tavern, Kityu made contact with her old flame Raksha a.k.a. "The Bird" and proceeded to perform on stage with his bardic group. Tiddlywinks met with a strange gnome-like gunslinger having a quiet drink, who turned out to be a mage hunter seeking Squibble. Upon learning from Tiddly that he may have gone to the library, he set off in the night.
The next day, the party procured some camels and provisions for their long trek through the hot desert, and found the gunslinger Ferg resting outside the building preparing to go inside and find the mage. The group decided to enter the library together.
Upon entering the library, the door shut behind them. They were trapped! The party explored the Necromancer's Rise, the Fauna Circulation, and the Creature's Study. They fought several encounters with monsters inside the dark library, but the skeletons, tiger, and giant scorpions all turned to sand upon their deaths. Getting through this dungeon might be stranger than the party thinks...
== Session #13 The Infinite Library of Sands ==
After defeating the scorpions, the party was unable to open a stone chest so they dragged it to the entrance of the dungeon. Each room was a different section of the library. They fended off rushing water and electric eels in the Sander's Study, survived a Basilisk in the Reptilian Collections, stomped swarms of Crawling Hands and Grpyhs in the Magjicks Archives, and pacified raging vipers in the Serpent Stacks. In every room, the party discovered mysterious components of an outfit known as the Sander's items. Who was this Sander? Where are they now?
In one room, the party encountered a Wraith in the Beholder's Catalogue, but quickly found out they were sorely outmatched. Both Tiddlywinks and Eris suffered serious constitution damage. But in a brilliant feat of teamwork, the party defeated the Wraith with a combination of Ruga's dragon fire, Eris' magic sword, a scroll of Protection from Evil, and chucking several cure light wounds potions. Along the way, the party could not find any signs of Squibble and Rowlan's whereabouts.
Finally, the large room that had been magically sealed the whole time opened and to their awe, they found themselves in an expansive room: The Infinite Hall. In the center was a large globe of the world, but the undiscovered southern half was obscured in swirling fog. The globe had glowing dots around Gernon, two of which were in unexplored portions of the world. Around the upper balcony of the hall were 5 large doors with inscriptions in several different languages. To their awe, they realized the doors must be portals to the dots on the globe. Upon reading the inscription on the globe frame, they learn they had to defeat "The Infinite Five" to escape the dungeon. One party member touched the door, and they magically materialized in a clearing surrounded by thick jungle. The stone dais they stood on melted into quicksand, and they frantically but safely esacped. Just as they felt the pull of the portal taking them back, a mysterious voice came from the undergrowth, "Is that you, Shyver?" To Eris' utter surprise, her presumed-to-be-dead lost brother stepped out shakily holding a gun. And that was the last thing they saw before called back to the Infinite Hall.
== Session #14 Warp Tour ==
The party was beset with the terrible realization that they would need to face four more challenges before they'd be able to get out of this hall. Bedraggled and exhausted after hours of dungeon crawling, the party decided to rest in between challenges, ending up spending over two full days in the dungeon. The challenges were:
* Quicksand in the jungles outside of the Spice Coast, where Phillip of the Nimblefoot family appeared.
* A Desert Drake and two Fire Drakes in the desert outside of Dalux, where the mysterious glowing of Tes appeared to assist in the fight
* A Stone Giant and two ogres alongside an ocean front in the Far East. It was here that Eris Nimblefoot met her end, her avian skull smashed by the giant's greatclub. Despite utilizing every AC boosting item in the party, she could not escape this fate.
* A Hydra and two Giant Chameleons on Oyashima. Here, Thimble made his triumphant reappearance, apparently resurrected and able to wild shape into an elephant to assist in goring the Hydra. 
* And finally, a dark and stormy forest in the Southern Lands, where the group is beset by Dinosaurs. An incredible surprise occured when a resurrected glowing blue Eris Nimblefoot appeared and killed the massive beast that was attacking her friends. 
Upon their return from each challenge, they received a chest filled with even more incredibly magical items. They spent the time between challenges resting and mourning, but also found a mysterious book apparently written by Sander, the person that left behind all of the artifacts in the dungeon, that outlined the history of the Universe. Apparently, before Kalderus and before any of the Gods, there were 5 elemental beings of Fire, Air, Water, Earth, and Electricity. The group guessed that these corresponded to the Vel, her sister Zithi, and three unknown Suli out in the world who may be these primordial beings reincarnations. 
Upon completing the final challenge and bidding Eris a more triumphant final goodbye, the globe in the center of the Hall opened and revealed a magical bag with the symbol of Sander upon it. But before the party could grab the bag, it began to move! An invisible Squibble had been hiding and following the party for all of this time, and was attempting to steal the magical artifact. But a deep voice boomed out that "You are not worthy"...... 
== Session #15: The "Beach" Episode ==
Following a quick combat to allow a living walking brain to crawl into Squibble's head and possess his body, and the death of Rowlan by Tiddlywinks arrows, the party finally escaped the Library with their treasure, but with little knowledge that seems to aid their journey.
Upon arriving back at the Vern Oasis, the group is given a well deserved chance to relax. 
* The party met Alphonse Seabrook, a human bloodrager who has travelled all around Gernon and is excited to find some interesting potential traveling companions. 
* Kityu connected with Raksha, and had a fun little adventure tracking down his stolen instrument.
* Tiddlywinks and Alphonse conducted a drinking game with a local dragon expert who was only willing to give up information if someone could best him. Tiddlywinks and Alphonse came out incredibly successful. 
* Ferg made contact with a Sandcloaks guild training master who was able to give him some extra training on climbing and other physical activities. 
* The group found Eris' journal, revealing several of her backstory elements, as well as that she would be leaving her boat the GTS relentless to her party. 
After deciding to continue their journey with Alphonse along for the ride, there was an explosive sound from the bazaar, and the new party went to discover what was the matter. 
== Session #16 - All Djinn breaks loose ==
Following the explosion, Tiddlywinks sent Ruga to do a quick scouting mission, which revealed that there was an army of hundreds surrounding the oasis, and a massive explosion had rocked the bazaar. The crowds were in full panic mode, and deciding what to do next nearly impossible. Alphonse and Ferg detected magic of an overwhelming, even deific level, emanating from the bazaar. Tiddlywinks and Ferg were strongly of the opinion that they must attempt to escape the city by using the GTS Relentless as soon as possible. Their new ally Alphonse and Kityu thought it would be suicidal to try and escape while an army is closing in, and wished to make haste for the Guild hall in the center of town. Thus, the party was split.
Alphonse and Kityu fought alongside Ruga against two massive Djinn that swooped down from the guildhouse after cutting off the head of the horn blower announcing the impending attack. Alphonse made short work of them using his enraged and enlarged form, but after the battle Ruga felt a horrible pain...
Tiddlywinks and Ferg attempted to escape, and ran across a platoon of seven soldiers. They were a mix of Humans and Orcs. Ferg had already cast invisibility, and so went undetected. Tiddly was by no means so lucky. While he managed to get off several devestating shots, he was eventually cut down by several terrible axe strikes. He might have survived if not for the constitution drain that had caused the death of Eris only a few days previously. Ferg managed to escape, for now.
Ruga, sensing the death of his bonded master, flew off. In a cutaway scene the players did not witness, Ruga was taken away by some mysterious figure. 
Alphonse and Kityu made their way into the Guildhouse, and proceeded to assist the sandcloaks in their fight. After securing the building and stopping the explosion of the alchemical storehouse, they left in search of the members who were taken as slaves.
At the docks, Ferg continued to stealthily move along, witnessing the chaos of the invading army killing, looting, and capturing slaves. The ships were being burned incessantly, and the Relentless was likely to be burned soon. So Ferg decided to escape into the desert, heading toward the bridge that led to the elf refugee camp. But he was waylaid by a surprise from his past. A man named Moreidwyn Shimervale, an old bounty hunting ally who Ferg believed he had killed, arrived saying he was planning to kill Ferg as revenge. Ferg managed to deftly escape, but knew that Moreidwyn would continue to follow. 
== Session #17 - A Bazaar Battle ==
Following their valiant clearing of the Sandcloaks guild, Alphonse and Kityu aren't out of the woods yet. In the bazaar, they see Kityu's sister Raiku is miraculously in town, and may be about to be killed. They rush out quickly into the warzone to rescue her, assisted by Gully, a samurai Orc adventurer. They ran into a myriad group of people out of their collective past, continually feeling that somehow destiny is drawing all of the people they know to this spot. Sadly, Gully was killed by a powerful blast of flames shot out by an Efreeti. 
Returning to the Sandcloak's guild, they realize there are fewer than 10 fighters left, and they need to escape. Alphonse and Kityu go and talk to Yasmin, who is quickly surmised to be the Earth Suli from the legend, and sister to Zithi and Vel. She assists the remnants of the guild and a few other escape through a tunnel under the guild, which let out on a ridge about 100 meters south of the bazaar. From their vantage point, they were just able to see Zithi announce her plans for world conquest, her alliance with Dalux and a powerful Tiefling guild, and her capture of the goddess Shyver (trapped in human form). She proceeded to exectute Nahara and Urru before a crowd of newly enslaved denizens of the oasis. 
== Session #18 - A Moment of Peace ==
Overlooking the Bazaar, Alphonse noticed his ex-partner Firecracker, and almost went down to talk to her but was convinced to stop by Kityu. The fighters met back up with Ferg before Yasmin teleported the group to Kelwas City. A Tengu came and gave Vel a message requesting some people to come meet a man named "Sander", who is supposed to know more about the Suli and ways to fight Zithi. Yasmin teleports Alphonse, Ferg, and Kityu to Grand Rock, Kityu's home town. 
== Session #19 - Grand Rock ==
In Grand Rock, it is found that there have been a lot of attacks by drakes lately, so while the trio is going up the mountain to find Sander, they said they would go kill some of them and try to rescue another of Kityu's little sisters. They began trecking through the caverns, fighting some monsters and generally having a great dungeon crawl.
== Session #20 - A Mother Fucking Zombie Drake in a Fire Lake ==
Continue fighting through the caverns, including an epic fight against an undead drake, before meeting Rugara the Kindler, a gargantuan Brass Dragon. 
Category:Campaigns