Episode 94 - Withdrawals

Wounded from their battle with a demon horde, the HOB must evade capture by the city guards for breaking the Moratorium on Magic. Can they save their friends and find the treasure in Whitebeard's Vault? Is the City of Terlis beyond saving? So many mysteries, so little time!

#### DM/GM Intro

It started as a simple Dungeon Run but it has become a desperate battle  against an onslaught of demons. When these five adventurers went searching in an abandoned Dragon's lair for easy treasure, they never could have anticipated what they would find would cast them in such a perilous conflict. They emerged with a strange object trapped in crystal, and to identify it, they sought help from a wizard named Torvalt the timid. Torvalt told them that what they had found was The Secret Keeper's Amulet, a relic from the Aureate Age. A time mysteriously forgotten by everyone in Aïn. Torvalt was a member of a conclave of wizards, known as the Natural Order, who had been working in secret to try to track down the fabled Wardens, the 100 foot tall protectors of the realms who had recently gone missing. The Amulet was connected to the Wardens, when reunited with them it would reveal mysteries about their creation and the terrible threat they were created to fight. So, with the help of the Natural Order, the heroes of Bingle began looking for the Wardens. They traveled to Terlis, the largest city in Latlan, and met up with The Scholar of Nightstone Abby, Hermil Fesh. Fesh had mentored James Quillus at Nightstone Abby while secretly studying the lost history of Aïn as a member of the Natural Order. He and the students at Nightstone were among the few still permitted to cast spells within the city walls after a moratorium on magic was enacted by Terlis's Chief Regent, Persa Samuels. After a murder by arcane means, Samuels had evicted anyone caught using magic, pushing them out into the Shantytown north of Terlis.  During their time in the city, the heroes of Bingle had their own difficulties adhering to the moratorium. When a nettlesome proctor, named Audric Lucern, attempted to confiscate Fahima's magical phoenix Uggo threatened to rip the mans arms off and beat him with them. The next day, Lucern was found dead assaulted with his own dismembered appendages and the heroes of Bingle were immediately wanted for the murder, luckily they were able to flee the city and evade prosecution. But Jorl, the Shantytown merchant from whom they had acquired magical weapons was imprisoned as their accomplice. As they continued their quest they discovered that the Wardens had been captured by a powerful cabal, determined to siphon the titans elemental power for their own nefarious ends. This cabal was led by a shadowy spell caster named Kalkata Theed, The Ashen Mage. Each time they found a Warden, the heroes of Bingle faced off against another member of the cabal; a mad scientist in a floating sky tower, an amphibious warrior at the bottom of the sea, and ultimately The Ashen Mage herself at the top of an unstable volcano.

There, Siv's first love sacrificed herself to save the team smashing an ornate urn and unleashing a torrent of nightmarish abominations into the realms. The heroes escaped but found the countryside overrun by these unfathomable new creatures. Eventually, they made their way to Uggo's hometown of Thorn where Uggo's brother was leading the Orcs and commanding them to deal with the demons in a very different way. Uggo defeated his brother in single combat to become the new War Chief in Thorn but had to make a monumental sacrifice to begin the process of healing the city's wounds. Uggo severed his connection to his Ancestral Spirits and lost all of the Barbarian abilities that came with them, reducing himself to a low level Paladin. Under powered and vulnerable. Meanwhile, James was experiencing his own metamorphosis. Having defied his Great Old One patron, James' eyes darkened, his teeth sharpened, and his skin became veiny and paper thin. He was taking on qualities reminiscent of a demon himself, just as the team decided to return to his hometown. Last week the heroes portaled back to Terlis, eager to clear up loose ends. Once again they sought council from Hermil Fesh inside Nightstone Abby. This time disguised by the Seeming spell as a young musical group. But even as they gleaned new information The Scholar about the Old Ones, their meeting was interrupted by news that the city walls had been breached. Maintaining their disguises the heroes rushed to led aid, finding the Northern wall crawling with vile fiends. A treacherous battle ensued, Uggo was knocked unconscious and the team nearly defeated, but a combination of bravery and magical attacks managed to quell the demonic invasion. Bloodied and beaten, the team collected themselves and turned to leave only to see the city guard reinforcements arrive just in time to observe them in clear violation of the moratorium.