The Story So Far

**Current Level:** 5th **Experience:** 6500xp

**SESSION 15: "Friends in Strange Places"**

The 6 spent the next 8 days traveling from Hammerfell, flying across the mountains and the northern wastes, eventually arriving in Walderon, the Elven Jewel. It's magical lights illuminated the Elven city as they arrived alongside a tourist vessel.

After disembarking and receiving their visas, they were informed that they could have free reign anywhere at or below the market terrace. The Academy and various spires would remain closed to them barring any major business dealings. Hoping to do some shopping, the group headed to the market.

Separated into different trams, the 6 found themselves on seperate ends of the terrace and had wildly different shopping experiences.

Koordan, Irhtos, and Bolin made their way to Reginald's Reliquary, THE go-to magic shop in the city. It's proprietor, Reginald Von Ronsenberg III, an... intersting man, introduced himself and proved to be very adept at making a deal. He made fast friends with Koordan and revealed to him the leader of the Crimson Forge in the city, a blacksmith named Bori.

Meanwhile, Sallos, Marathil, and Team found themselves in Treasures of the East, a tented shop run by Bori, a talented Tabaxi blacksmith. His gruff personage belied his beautiful craftsmanship, his work looking closer to art than weapons of war. After a brief conversation on the merits of craftsmanship versus enchantment, Sallos and Bori were interrupted by Koordan.

Undeterred by Telan' s advice, Koordan proceeded to insult the Forge as a whole and, in broad, uncertain terms, offer Bori a business deal. Insulted by, from what he could tell, was what amounted to a glorified protection racket, Bori countered "I do not do business with theives." He went on to explain that the Forge in Walderon had little to do with the Forge in Hope or Athica and that he did his best to do right by his patrons. He bid them good day and returned to his work.

Leaving Bori's shop feeling angry and fed up with the Forge,  the 6 stopped by a small shop to visit Bartleby, an old friend of Telan from his days with 'The Family', a traveling troup of performers. This Half-Orc Alchemist granted them greater insight into the Forge's day-to-day operations but refused the 'better deal' they offered, saying he had always been treated right by the Forge.

Deciding that he would like to visit Reginald's himself, Sallos lead the group back to his shop and introduced himself, hitting it of immediately with the flamboyant merchant. He played coy with the young wizard, enticing him with knowledge of where to obtain troll blood (after making a sale of course) and insisted he could not legally obtain it, as it was considered a controlled substance by the Academy. Even as he said this, Sallos caught a sly look over at a street vendor through an open window down the street. He asked if he could meet Reginald in a more intimate setting and  invited him to a game of Knight's Honor after he closed up shop. Reginald, with an intrigued look on his face, humbly agreed.

**SESSION 14.5: "Just Rewards"**

An uneventful jaunt back to Hammerfell finds our heroes in good spirits if not good health. It was decided in transit that Sallos was the best choice to ask for Draso' s favor, and received a Dragonmark for their hard work. When questioned about the keys and the vault, Draso admitted to not knowing much on the matter. He did, however, recall being asked some 400 years previous by a man named Agronak, whose work was studied by Sallos' previous mentor.

While retrieving their reward, the 6 received two letters and a package from the local bartender. One letter came from their contact in Hope, Firebrand, stating that his business was being impeded in some way by the Crimson Forge and requesting assistance. The second letter, unsigned, came to them from the Regent's Right, asking for a progress report and urging them to practice more subtlety. The package was take from Scar-Maw's plundering of the southwest.

Meanwhile, the long overdue confrontation between Koordan and Irhtos came to a head in a surprisingly civil fashion. They agreed that Irhtos was not entirely at fault for Triss' change and that Koordan, seemingly adrift in life after their falling out, was to stay with the group for a time.

Their itenerary was decided before departing in the Ravenah. Their next destination was to be Walderon, in pursuit of more Keys to the Vault of Arcturus.

**SESSION 14: "Abyss, Aftermath, Ancestry"**

Still locked in combat, the 6 continued their assault on the black priestess. Every blow struck saw Triss' flesh sag from her body like snot only to be sucked back into place a moment later. Seeing her pawn fall in battle, Triss pushed her opponent back and assumed a monstrous form of liquid flesh, her humanity lost in a roiling sea of slime. In her brief moment of respite, she slithered to a side-room filled with skeletons.

Her slime-covered form drew material from the swirling pool and began to envelope the skeleton of a Naga. She rose from the pile and fired a lightning bolt at the adventurers, nearly felling some. Koordan, in a misplaced act of heroism, planted himself at the door, telling the others to leave him. Ignoring this, the other six continued their assault.

Out of spells and desperate, Bolin fired an Eldritch Blast, striking a large gem that floated within Triss' serpentine form. The blast caused her body to rupture, launching the gem and showering the party with acid. Bolin observed the gem floating in the pool as Triss began reforming around it.

Koordan leaped into the pool only to be captured by tendrils of slime. Triss, struggling to hold her form together, brought Koordan close to her sagging, melted face and whispered in his ear: "Rrrrrrwee willrrr meet agairrrrn Kooorddrrnn..." before launching him against the far wall.

The pool swirled violently, and Triss' form melded with it as it drained. All that remained was the empty chamber and a bowl-shaped recess where the pool once was. Koord, mentally and physically exhausted, blacked out and communed with the Labyrinth-Keeper.

The rest of the group investigated the corpse of the fallen chief. Telan discovered that non-Lizardfolk who touched the gauntlets he was wearing received a heavy shock. Irhtos, on contact with the gauntlets, fell into a deep trance during which he experienced strange visions.

Waking Koordan and gathering their belongings, the 6 took a moment to consider their next move. Irhtos, by Lizardfolk tradition, was to be the new chieftan, much to Koordan's dismay. They eventually decided to head back to the Lizardfolk village to inform them of the chief's death and figure out what the next step was, if any.

Their arrival at the village was met with unrest and accusations of treachery. Surely it was some trick, or they had stolen the gauntlets. Irhtos was not initially believed due mostly to the fact that he had left the village many months ago and had not experienced the loss of tribesmen at the hands of the Maidens of the Black River.

Just as the tribe was moving to imprison them, a familiar face stepped through the crowd to defend them. Sle-vaas, the elderly blacksmith, made his way through and argued that Irhtos was the rightful chief, as he would not have defeated the priestess and her pawns if not for his skill. A brief meeting was had between the elders to determine Irhtos' fate.

After 20 minutes of arguing, accusing, and the occasional staff-bludgeoning, the elders returned to Irhtos with a decision. Though it was an unprecedented event, Irhtos was being considered as chieftan. The only stipulation was that Irhtos remained untested and of seemingly little value as a member of the village. Per tradition, he was tasked with leaving and bringing back something of great value to his people. Only then would he be accepted as chief.

Koordan remained vocally hesitant about the entire ordeal, going so far as to insult the Lizardfolk in their ancestral home for what he viewed as a 'weak' tradition. He was quickly reminded amidst blows to the head by Sle-vas' staff that "the Lizardfolk were building cities when the minotaur were still grazing in the fields", and that he had perhaps not learned anything from his endeavor in the temple.

Despite this, the 6 were offered places to sleep that night, and accepted gladly after a tumultuous day.

**SESSION 13: "Iron Skin, Iron Will"**

Dumbfounded that the object of his ~~obsession~~ affection was within his grasp, Koordan quickly tried rounding the pool of swirling acidic liquid. Triss, ever calm, waved a hand, sending up walls of the liquid to keep the party herded to the far side of the room.

In his confusion and rage, Koordan called out to Triss demanding an explaination, partly for the sudden slime walls and partly for the fact that he was left alone on the Myrin shores some 6 months past.

Non-plussed by his outrage, Triss calmly explained her intentions, so sure of her plans. She revealed herself to be the latest and most powerful member of the "Maidens of the Black River", a cult devoted to Juiblex. She revealed her eventual goals of obtaining whatever magic lay in the Vault of Arcturus to use in crafting some sort of vessel that Juiblex might use to enter the material plane. She explained that her current "companion", chief Schism of the lizardfolk, was kept close and would be one of her chosen few to wield the Tools of the Architects until such time as the vault could be opened. She thanked Irhtos, remarking that she would not have known about the gauntlets if not for the information she blackmailed him for all those years ago.

Koordan pleaded with her, calling into question all the time he spent caring for her just to have her leave him alone to rot. She remarked that he was an excellent tool that had served its purpose. She told him that she did not to outright kill or possess him all those months ago as he had proved more helpful and ultimately more useful to her unaltered. While she had not previously believed she would ever see him again, she saw the benefit in having an unaltered key-bearer and offered him a deal:

"Kill your friends or make them leave, then come to me. Things can be the way they were before, just you and me. You need only serve my master."

Fearing their friend's safety, the rest of the party decided to leave the chamber. Marathil, in an unexpected act of comeraderie to Koord, left him with words of resolution: "Going forward, will the name Koordan be known as one of honor, or treachery and lies?"

Hearing Triss' offer, Koord demanded assurance that he would not be turned, he demanded that he carry a key. She told him that while he could not have Schism's gauntlets, but he could have both of the keys in on display in Walderon many miles away. Koordan requested time to think about the offer and returned to his friends, making his way back to Slevaas' forge.

Initially wanting to avoid confrontation, Koord suggested that the group just leave, forgoing the cure for the addiction and their favor instead of fighting the powerful priestess. The party demanded her destruction based on their belief that she would bring ruin to country. Slevaas, still banging away at his anvil, reminded Kord that he had spent a long time chasing this woman and had never thought about what would happen when he found her, and now knew much of what he had experienced in Casamon had been falsehoods. He couldn't "go back to the way things were", it could never be that simple. Koord, on some level, had to know that.

On their return, Triss offered a snide remark about willing sacrifices. Koordan retorted with an answer to her offer: he loved what she used to be, and knows he can never return to those moments. Triss, disappointed in Koord's answer, summoned forth her patron's pact weapon and prepared for combat. Chief Schism adopted a martial form and prepared as well. What ensued can only be described as harrowing combat.

Triss and Koordan traded blows while the rest dealt with the Chief and what minions Triss could summon from the pool. Chief Schism, a burly individual even by Minotaur standards, reminded Irhtos how he gained his title, shifting time around himself to move and strike faster than normally possible. Triss continued raining down blows with her maul, her small armored form keeping the raging minotaur at bay. We leave the 6 locked in combat with a foe they can only hope to defeat.

**SESSION 12: "Unexpected Ally, Unexpected Enemy"**

Journeying deeper, the party began to feel the strain of repeated, unrelenting combat. A deadly trapped hallway and an magic-wielding Gelatinous Cube was nearly enough to lay them low.

Fortuitously, the repeated bang of metal on metal drew them to a offshoot of the maze and a large door locked from the outside. Within they found a ramshackle blacksmith's workshop manned by a Lizardfolk who identified himself as Slevaas. Surrounded by mountains of fine pieces, Slevaas explained his abilities were valued by the master of the Empty Ones, so he was left with his faculties and kept alive in exchange for arming the pseudo-army.

Slevaas offered them shelter to rest for what would most likely be a deadly encounter with the Juiblex worshippers. Slevaas, tireless, continued working through the night; his rhythmic banging helping keep Koordan awake as he kept watch. They spoke at length about the nature of their cultures and Kord's personal journey. Sensing deep-seated uneasiness and confusion within him, he offered Kord a chance to test his mettle at the forge.

After a bit of prodding, Kord hammered away at the glowing sword and promptly destroyed it with his unpracticed strikes. In an attempt to teach the young Minotaur a lesson, Slevaas compared him to a hammer, striking any percieved problem he encountered with blind strength. He stressed the need, in blacksmithing, to listen to the metal and strike with measured swings amd a rhythm rather than all of your strength. In short, "Less hit, more think."

The 6 departed the next morning, some with more on their minds than others. They left a few decisions to chance and eventually found themselves at a stairwell leading down to a massive chamber. Within they found a swirling pool of a familiar liquid they had previously seen in and around the Empty Ones. In side rooms and along the edges of the chamber lay piles of bones of various humanoids and various other creatures.

Standing directly across the pool from the 6 stand two figures, one of them familiar to Koordan, both of them familiar to Irhtos. Triss, in flowing red robes, stands across from the group with the Lizardfolk chieftain, a hulking mass of scales and muscle.

She smiles, awaiting the break of the stunned silence.

**SESSION 11: "The Depths of the Devourer"**

Scrambling to discover the means to unlock the catacombs below, the 6 failed to note the trap door in an adjacent room. In a two-pronged attack, the Empty Ones surprised the party and dealt some heavy blows before falling. One particular enemy died on top of the barbarian, gurgling some malformed last words in his ear.

Their enemies slain, the 6 further explored the chapel, discovering a journal written in a language only the Paladin, Marathil, could read. It read much like the ramblings of a madman, and seemed to repeat phrases relating the mural to slimes and self-sacrifice. Putting the pieces together, Marathil dipped his hands in the remains of one of Empty Ones and prostrated himself before the mural. His show of "devotion" activated the mural's enchantment, opening a darkened staircase that lead deep below the swamp.

Lightness, twisting hallways lead the adventurers to a group Ochre Jelly patrolling the dungeon who were slain with little issue outside of a little acid damage.

We leave out intrepid adventurers running low on spells and health, unsure of what horrors await....

**SESSION 10.5: "The Empty Ones"**

Deciding to remain hidden, the 6 watched as the possessed Lizardfolk and Yuan-ti split, two headed North and three headed East. They decided against splitting the party and followed the two headed North towards the Lizardfolk settlement, Irhtos' home.

Though familiar with the terrain, Irhtos and co. quickly lost track of their quarry in the thick mud of the swamp. They continued heading North where they assumed the two reptiles had gone, eventually being ambushed by a squad of Lizardfolk guards from the village. They revealed that their chieftain was recently missing and that they heavily suspected it was the work of what they called "The Empty Ones", Lizardfolk, Humans, or Yuan-Ti who had been camtured and made into mindless husks. They also revealed the location of where they suspected the origin of the blight was: an abandoned temple shared by the Lizardfolk and Yuan-ti centuries ago.

Slogging their way through the mud the next morning, the 6 discovered the temple, a forgotten shrine devoted to Juiblex, The Faceless Lord. Within they encountered massive painting of Juiblex with a strange inscription above. In an adjacent room, they discovered numerous cages without doors housing 6 'Empty Ones' who seemed to "wake up" in their presence and attack.

After barring the door, the party desperately flies about thw chapel, hoping to solve the riddle of the painting, all the while ignoring the whispers from behind the door:

"Thrrrre master....will add....yoou....to the... collectionnnnnrrr...."

**SESSION 10: "Deals in the Dark"**

Feeling tired and (for some) thirsty, the crew returned to the Ravenah for some rest. Upon their return, they encountered a child who delivered them a message from who they could only assume was the Pit Boss. The message was, simply, "After sundown. Knock twice." Accompanying the message was a crude map depicting a well just north of town.

The 6 decided to go as a group, thinking of safety in numbers. After encountering a dizzyingly difficult well lid, they made their way down a ladder and a dimly lit tunnel to meet their mysterious caller. A man calling himself 'Draso' introduced himself to the party, his delicate features and relative finery seeming out of place in the decrepit tunnel. He offered them a deal in the heavy-handed way that only a man with too much power could.

He revealed to the 6 the sinister nature of the water that Koordan and Irhtos had drank. The water, mostly originating in the elemental plane of water, was steeped in a powerful but fleeting magic and those that become addicted to it begin wasting away without it. He offered the 6 an antidote for the addiction and a personal favor in exchange for investigating the disappearance of people within Hammerfell.

To wit, Draso offered a written contract, seeming genuine in his offer. Koordan, angry that Draso was not forthcoming with information regarding Triss, insulted the man and received a thinly veiled warning. Faster than he could turn around, Draso crossed the room and lifted the 400 pound Minotaur off his feet by the throat. Blue scales creeped past his collar and sleeves as he calmly reminded Kord to mind his manners. Kord and, surprisingly, Bolan (out of a sense of camaraderie) refused to sign and left. The remaining four signed the contract, each imagining the possibilities of a favor from a blue dragon.

An investigation of some of the disappearances revealed some interesting facts:

-those missing were most often working adults, children and the elderly seemed to be spared

-one house investigated revealed signs of breaking
and entering but a locked front door

-a splatter pattern of burn marks in the wooden floor
and patches of dead grass leading away from the
house suggested something about the entity doing
the kidnapping was acidic

These revelations lead the group to think a group of (albeit strange) slavers was replenishing their stock of workers from this small fishing village.

Despite the growing tension, the 6 departed the next morning using Irhtos' knowledge of the landscape to guide them. Travel was slow going in the swamp as mud, insects, and inclement weather slowed them down dramatically. Their destination, the Lizardfolk villiage, seemed only a day's walk but would turn into three because of the gruellingly slow pace.

On the second night, the 6 awoke to a shriek from the North. Stealthily investigating the source, they discovered a surreal sight. Three Lizardfolk and two Yuan-ti (one humanoid with a snake head, the other humanoid with dozens of snakes for arms) had captured a fey-touched deer. This was surprising as Yuan-ti and Lizardfolk do not cooperate let alone hunt together. The scene was also strange in that their bodies hung limp as they walked in a jerky fashion. Their heads lolled to one side and their eyes remained rolled back into their skull.

The snake-armed Yuan-ti holding the deer maneuvered the mouth to line up with its own and began vomiting a thick green liquid into it. The deer struggled and writhed as if it were drowning and, after a few long moments, grew still. The Yuan-ti released it, laying it gently on the ground. After a few moments, the deer calmly (if jerkily) stood up and walked away into the woods. The 6 watched in horror as the snake-armed man straightened and began delivering orders to the others. Head still lolling, his mouth opened and released a series of sloppy, bubbling noises rather than speech.

It became clear that they were NOT dealing with normal slavers.

**SESSION 9: "An Unexpected Turn"**

After settling up in Athica, the next question became "what do we do next?". The 6 decided to send Scar-maw and his crew aboard their newly-outfitted ship to the southern coast for a "business venture" while they deliberated.

The two most prevelant suggestions seemed to be following up with Telvana's friend, Hume, in Ragnir's eye to the East and flying North to the Dead Forest in search of Koordan's lost love, Triss. After a surprisingly short deliberation, it was decided that the loose time constraints allowed for a trip North.

On the way there, their crew was set upon by a flock of Peryton, resulting in the death of one of their ship's navigators and the ship's mage, requiring that two of the party learn to assist in running the ship in their absence.

The Ravenah was docked in Hammerfell, a fishing village just south of the forest famous for its gambling house, the Pauper' s Pence, and it's delicious water. Two of the six decided to try their hand at gambling (with mixed results) while the others drank and kept an eye on the patrons. A short investigation determined that the casino was run by someone referred to as the "Pit Boss" and that he had at least some dealings with the Regent's Right.

When offered a chance to speak with the Pit Boss in exchange for a favor or two, discussions dissolved into threats and warnings. The 6 left the casino in a huff, some feeling thirstier than when they had arrived...

**SESSION 8: "Questions in the Cave"**

Against their better judgement, the 6 ran head-long into the cave towards what could only be their quarry: a hill giant. The giant, having torn away it's chains, lumbered into view, revealing a certain madness and an uncharacteristically distended stomach.

The 6 took advantage of positioning and stealth to quickly fell the beast and secure the cave for some hard-earned rest. With more time to search, the 6 uncovered three things of note: a metal rod embedded in the giant's kneck, letters and notes regarding the raids(some stamped with a curious symbol), and a shrine set up on the petrified corpse of a long-dead dragon. Through an investigation and a bit of teamwork, the wizard and cleric discovered that the giant was being controlled by the rod via magic and that it's blood had been completely replaced with an undetermined substance of which samples were obtained. It was postulated that this substance and the rod worked in tandem to control the giant but also caused the sickness and madness that they witnessed earlier.

Our intrepid group of adventurers returned the next morning to their magnificently named ship, The Ravenah, finding the crew recovering from a night of debauchery at the hands of a traveling group of gypsies.

The 6 have now returned to Athica to settle all their business before shipping off on the next leg of their journey.

**SESSION 7: "Do Hill Giants Hiss?"**

Ship captain in tow, the six made their way back to the tavern to discuss plans for their airships and contracts. It was eventually agreed that they would fly Wys' ship as-is and would pay to re-outfit Scar-maw's, granting them access to a medium and a small airship for the next few months. A crew of 12 were hired through the Regent's Right to maintain the ship, allowing them to set off to take care of their Slayer contract while Scar-maw's ship was being repaired.

Their two-day journey went fairly smoothly as the 6 down their time aquainting themselves with the crew, learning to pilot the ship, and participating an varying degrees of animal abuse. They laid amchorbin the Gandru River and proceeded Northwest towards the location of the attacks.

Another day and a half of travel, the discovery of tracks and destroyed carts, and a number of turnarounds and setbacks brought the 6 to a large cave. Deciding that this was their destination, they painted themselves at the mouth of the cave, declaring to whomever was inside that they were here to kill them. Their threats were met with javelins and magic. Fog spewed from the cave mouth, obscuring the attackers as spells and even more javelins flew from within.

The fog was eventually cleared, revealing that a group of lizardfolk, rather than a hill giant, was attacking the group. They declared their allegiance to the "Mistress of Maladies" before falling to the 6. The last to fall seemed to be some sort of spellcaster and, as it died, activated a final spell. Now large rumbles can be heard from within the cave...

**SESSION 6: "Wyverns and Wherewithal"**

Harpy bits in hand, our team of intrepid Slayers made their way back to Athica to collect their reward. Upon their return, plans and preparations were made to leave for the next leg of their journey, flying to Ragnir' s Eye.

Their arrival at the sky-port was met with a gathering crowd, the perceptive of the group could hear shouting from within: "BRING US THE SLAYERS!"

As they muscled their way through, a tense scene began unfolding before them: an armored man holding a dragonborn woman hostage stood on the deck of Scar-maw's airship while 2 henchmen and a wyvern flanked the entrance. Seeing the adventurers, the armored man smiled and delivered to them a message: "The Crimson Forge send their regards."

In one swift motion, the man slit the throat of the woman, pulled a wand from his pack, and fired a massive fireball at the ship's crystal, disabling it. A fight ensued with Wys arriving amidst the fray, leaving one henchman asleep, the other henchman and the wyvern dead, and the armored man dying.

The party, deciding to keep the armored man alive to pump for information, healed him and attempted to carry him away. The armored man feigned compliance, then pulled a scroll from his sleeve and cast a second fireball, killing himself and injuring the barbarian carrying him.

Their reliable source of information extinguished, the party woke and threatened the sleeping henchman, revealing that the hit-squad had been sent by the Crimson Forge, a conglomerate of craftsman, artisians, and tradesman, and were tasked with eliminating the 6 for their dealings with the Regent's Right, stating that their under-the-table deals were cutting into the honest worker's livelihood.

After interrogating the man and finding Scar-maw dying below deck, the band was left with an outstanding issue: the airship they hired had been disabled. Seeing their predicament, Wys offered them a deal: he would allow them to trade out work (in the form of a Slayer contract)in exchange for ownership of his airship. He told the 6 he would be retiring soon and would no longer require the use of an airship, letting them take the airship and the contract would save him finding a buyer and give him a nice stipend to retire on.

Scar-maw, in a similar act of self-preservation, offered give them the remains of his to use in exchange for a permanent job assisting the group on matters regarding their airship and travels, saying he could not afford repairs and permanent work on an airship is by and far more preferable than work in Athica.

With these thoughts in mind, the 6 returned to the "Dragon's Hindquarters" with Wys to discuss future plans.

**SESSION 5: "A Leap of Faith"**

The current leg in their quest for knowledge complete, our heroes(?) left the library; their next mission: find someone named Rovahn at the temple of Ioun in Ragnir's Eye. On the Enclave steps they were flagged down by a guard and delivered a summons. They had been called for an audience at the Hall of the Enlightened. Upon arrival they were met by an elderly dragonborn named Unbeor and an elven slayer; they were informed that Ceres, a Slayer they had met previously, sent this elven paladin in a attempt to establish a Slayer's post in Athica. Unbeor expressed interest in the idea but stated they would need to prove their usefulness to the Athican heirarchy before such a culturally invasive endeavor could be attempted. They were tasked with finding and killing whatever was killing Athican patrols in the mountains to the North.

After agreeing to the quest and introducing themselves to their new companion, the 6 spread out, combing the city for information that would help them in their endeavor. Between the 4 groups, there was mixed amounts of success in their information gathering, culminating in securing future airship travel with a man named Scar-Maw, the fact that some guards reported hearing sweet music from the north, and the idea that wherever was killing guards hunted in packs and excelled at setting traps.

Having prepared in every way they could think to, the 6 departed North into the mountains the next morning. After a few hours of walking, they encountered the sweet music described to them by the guards and, eventually, the harpies that were making it.

Despite their preparations, two of their number fell prey to the harpy' s song and nearly lept to their death in the ravine below. Some quick thinking and a large bit of luck saved them and the harpies were slain.

After the fight, as they collected themselves and their loot, a small, sickly pseudodragon was pushed out of a nearby best and immediately took a liking to the party's ranger, secluding itself in his bag. The 6 now prepare themselves for the trek back to Athica.

**SESSION 4: "Test, Travel, Telvana"**

Having worked out their plans for the immediate future, our band of miscreants gathered their things and returned to Hope to inquire about the Gilded Slayers. They were met at the magistrate's estate by the four Slayers assigned to hope: Garvin, Taldor, Wys, and Ceres.

Upon their arrival, they were offered a contract with the Slayers to kill 3 manticore in exchange for membership into the Slayers. Because of the relative difficulty of their mission, they were allowed to take with them any two of the Slayers to both assist and observe their progress. Accompanied by Garvin and Ceres, the adventurers slew the manticore and were inducted as Journeyman Slayers.

The newly inducted Slayers now had the pull to get to Athica, the normally isolated city of the dragonborn. The group took care of a few small ventures before leaving, investing with an associate of the Regent's Right to insure a small amount of income. They were allowed passage on an airship owned by Wys and enjoyed a relatively quiet journey to the city in the sky.

Their arrival was met with a bit of hostility by the dragonborn guards, but the outsiders were allowed to travel the city fairly unmolested due to their status with the Slayers.

After securing a place to stay within the city, 4 of the 5 sought out the platinum enclave, a Temple of Bahamut that has been outfitted to hold a massive library, curated by an ancient Amethyst Dragon named Telvana. She revealed that the 5 were not the first to inquire about the vault in recent days. She warned them that trusting them with the knowledge she had accrued over the centuries came with a thinly-veiled threat - unleash something terrible and face the wrath of the Arbiter of the Enclave.

Intentions and warnings on the table, Telvana told them what she knew of the vault, which admittedly was not much. She spoke of wars and Arcitects and the tools they used to seal the vault. She either could not or would not tell the group the location of the vault or the keys, but did point the group in the direction of an old friend of hers living in Ragnir's Eye who studied the vault who could tell them more.

**SESSION 3: "Trust"**

Upon opening the reasonably simple door to the Regent's hideout, the adventurers were met by a laughing man in fine clothes who identified himself as Issac Tribley, a 'handler' in the employ of the Black Regent. Rather than fight the group he offered future employment with the Regent's Right, revealing that he knew of their exploits through the Regent's many eyes(including those of the Captain Varnson of the Hope city guard).

In return for their services, they were offered sole access to the lair they currently stood in and any treasure the came across in the employ of the Regent. After taking the evening to deliberate as well as settling things up with the magistrate(who informed the that the Slayers were scouting again), the group unanimously decided to throw in with the Regent; Their task: Investigate the existence of the Vault of Arcturus, a fabled store of ancient knowledge, riches, and magic that often serves as the archetypal goal of a folk-tales in the region.

To begin them on their quest, Issac suggested three places they begin searching, Ragnir's Eye, the oldest established city in the region, Ascana, where the elders of the Minotaur hoards gather for their yearly event, and Athica, home to the Platinum Enclave, a grand library overseen by an Ancient Amethyst dragon.

With that, Issac and his goblin companion, Trench-foot, teleported away, leaving the five to furnish their newfound home and begin their journey.

**SESSION 2: "Skeletons and Secrets"**

Having retrieved what they were looking for, our 5 miscreants set off back to Hope to deliver it to the magistrate. As they retraced their steps, they happened upon the clearing ever they had once slew a flock of giant eagles, finding three Aarakocra, two males and an older female, tending to the remains. The female identified herself as Kilmah, a seer in service to the Lady of the Winds, the goddess Akadi. She apologised that their flock had ranged too far and attacked. Before their departure, told them of her village, Olos, and let them know they're always welcome. She left Koordan with the words: "What you seek lies in the woods of black."

Curiosity overtaking him, Koord asked the group of they knew of These "woods of black". Irhtos, oddly knowledgeable on the subject, agreed to share what he knew in exchange for the letter they retrieved. Inside, they found a strange trade manifest and a warning from the Black Regent. Wanting nothing to do with this, Irhtos resealed the letter with a mending spell and the journey continued.

Upon their return, they were tasked with flushing out and eliminating the local chapter of the Regent's Right. After some searching and buying of information, it was revealed that the Right already knew of this order and had begun clearing out already.

The 5 chartered a small smuggling boat to take them near the hideout outside the city. On arrival, a short, heated conversation with the axebeak-mounted thugs turned deadly. After slaying or scaring off any would-be attackers, out heroes(?) entered the cave, finding a stone-faced door, 5 wells and skeletons littering the floor.

After identifying themselves, the door lamented that he would have to watch 5 more adventurers drown as a wall slammed shut behind them and the illusory words "The Password is Skeleton" appeared above the door. Water poured into the room from the wells and did so faster and faster as the group pleaded with the door, the 'password' seemingly ineffective. Finally, after several heated minutes of guessing, panicing, crying (on the door's part), and breakdowns...a breakthrough. After tricking the door into speaking the password, the water drained from the room. The door lifted, revealing a large, popular mansion interior and a finely-dressed man laughing at their attempts.

**SESSION 1: "Are We Level 2, Yet?"**

Prisoners beneath the Law District of Hope, our heroes(?) had all but given up hope before they were offered redemption. They would be released from the silent pit in exchange for agreeing to investigate the disappearance of a shipment of goods coming from Walderon as well as any tangential errands that arose.

Upon their release and a evening of getting to know each other, the 5 adventurers found work on a caravan that would take them as far as half way in exchange for their services. After a close encounter with some strangely powerful eagles, the 5 stumbled upon the remains of the ill-fated caravan. The bodies that weren't outright burned all exhibited surgically precise stab wounds to the neck and spine. Scattered among the bodies were empty canisters with traces of some sort of propellant.

The 5 found what they were looking for: a resealed letter addressed to the Magistrate of Hope, Regis Talon. They were beset upon by goblins while investigating and are currently holding the only surviving hostage until they can determine what he knows.