Campaign One

## Chapter One: Secrets of the Rift

The story begins on Orientation Day at the prestigious Marigold Academy. New students Odeon, Kelsa, and Eric all become acquainted with one another. The school is introduced to the academy's ministers: Dean Dean; Professors Taffy, Melvizara, Oldman, Ranger Rick, General Guffaw, Krudo; and Secretary Pinkner. The three friends meet two of the main custodians of the academy, Javo and Ravo. The first night, Eric looks out the window and sees a shadowy figure approach the window and make incoherent whispering sounds. On the first day of classes, Eric and Kelsa go to Rick and Guffaw's combat class, where they ask for volunteers. Kelsa steps forward and is forced to fight a tyrannosaurus rex. She is killed and she has a vision of a floating asteroid in space, which holds the corrupted Source of all magic. She is seen by a group of people who are there, one of which introduces himself as Fenzal. Fenzal mysteriously sends Kelsa's soul back to her body.

During this time, Odeon goes to the academy's observatory, where he used to live as a steward, and is confronted by a mysterious man named Jones. Jones tells Odeon that he has reason to believe the Dean of the Academy played a role in causing the Rift. Jones tells Odeon that if he kills the Dean, he'll give him whatever he wants. In between classes, Eric notices Professor Taffy sneak behind a large statue on the edge of campus. When he goes over to her, he sees that she's gone. He notices the statue is of the founder of the Academy, Archmage Fenzal. Eric convinces Kelsa and Odeon to join him in investigating later that day. During Taffy's class, Taffy tasks Odeon with getting some potions from a vending machine. She hands him a few coins, inadvertently giving him a coin with a fire symbol on it. Eric and Kelsa discreetly leave class and discover the coin is a key to open a hidden door behind the statue.

They descend downward and discover Fenzal's tomb. However, the body is not in the sarcophagus. They also discover a laboratory where it appears Taffy has been experimenting on corpses. Taffy comes down and tells them to leave, but is convinced to explain herself. She is trying to find a way to bring those who died in the Rift back to life, specifically Fenzal. She asks the three to find information on the inner-workings of the Source, which she says can be found in the forbidden Magic Wing of the academy's library. The three sneak into the magic wing with the help of Javo and are able to find an entire series of books about the mechanics of the Source. However, one of these books is missing. Odeon mentions the encounter he had with Jones in the observatory and suggests that they try to investigate the Dean.

The three venture to the top floor of the Grand Commons, where the Dean's office is located. They are greeted by Pinkner, who tells them that the Dean is in a meeting. Eric goes to the bathroom and tries to find a way to spy on the Dean. He discovers a small tunnel leading from the cabinet under the sink up into the ceiling above the Dean's office. He overhears a discussion between the Dean and an unnamed individual concerning funding for the school. The Dean mentions that although Fenzal's death was tragic, he is thankful that the leadership role fell onto him. Eric returns and the three meet with the Dean. Dean Dean briefly steps out to go to the bathroom (he had tacos for dinner) and during that time, the three discover a safe under the Dean's desk. Correctly guessing that the passcode is the year the Rift occurred, they open it and discover the missing volume of the series about the Source. The Dean does not return to the office, so the party leaves. They also notice that Pinkner is gone as well.

As night falls, the three go back to Fenzal's tomb to meet back up with Taffy. Odeon quickly reads much of the book they stole from the Dean. As they explore the tomb, they discover a random tavern run by a dwarf named Palehammer. Upon further exploration, they discover a hidden room that contains an undead Fenzal. The three fight Fenzal and Odeon is killed. Odeon finds himself on the asteroid with the Source and is greeted by Fenzal. Knowing the method required for cleansing the Source of its corruption, Odeon begins the ritual. Odeon then is greeted by his father, a cosmic being, telling him that his time has come to join him in the Cosmic Realm. Although tempted at first, Odeon ultimately decides he doesn't want to die just yet. He completes the ritual and cleanses the Source. Fenzal returns Odeon to his body, and Odeon continues to help the party fight the undead Fenzal. As Fenzal is battered, he slowly starts to become lucid to the point where he no longer attacks. Fenzal's soul returns to his body. Taffy enters the scene and finds what has happened, and the party learns that Taffy and Fenzal are lovers. The two share a warm reunion. Taffy thanks the party and tells them that the world will soon know that the Rift has been reversed. She tells them that the Dean must be confronted before he realizes what has happened. She also tells them that if thinks go poorly, there is an escape route through the tomb that leads to the beach, where a boat is waiting for them.

The next morning at breakfast, the Dean is not present. Eric and Kelsa convince a fellow student named Pete that he should fight the T-Rex in combat class. Not only do they convince him to fight it, but they also convince him to use only a broomstick. During combat class, Pete challenges the T-rex, only to be brutally beaten and thrown off the cliffside. Rick and Guffaw dismiss the class early. Eric and Kelsa meet back up with Odeon. The three go back to the Dean's office, only to find that neither the Dean nor Pinkner are present. Eric looks in the bathroom to find the Dean's corpse. The three are attacked by Pinkner, who has been given a magic bow by Jones as a reward. She shoots Odeon in the shoulder, causing Odeon to fall under her control. Kelsa rips the arrow out and Odeon returns to normal. The party is chased across campus back into the tomb (through another entrance in the graveyard) by Pinkner and two mind-controlled goliath guards. They find Taffy and Fenzal and tell them they need to leave now. The group escapes through the secret escape route, passing by several labs and classrooms. They pass by a door with a clock symbol on it, surrounded by blast marks. In the same room, Eric finds a strange wooden relic. Upon using it, Jones appears before them and is confused as to how it happened. Jones does not bother attacking the party, telling them that he's excited to see what happens. Pinkner and the guards appear, but the guards are unable to fit through the passageway. Pinkner fights the party on her own and Fenzal is unable to hold his own due to him having been dead for three years. Fenzal is badly wounded, but Eric is able to kill Pinkner with a shovel. Jones reveals that it wasn't the Dean who caused the Rift, but him and Pinkner (among a few others). Fenzal fires a powerful spell at Jones, but Jones effortlessly deflects it and kills Fenzal. Jones departs, wishing the party good luck. Suddenly, alarms start to go off from the Academy and an alert is announced that the Dean has been killed. The announcement names Odeon, Kelsa, and Eric as the perpetrators. The group meets with a wolven sailor named Calhoun, who helps them escape aboard his flying boat, the Annabelle.

## Chapter Two: Veil of Shadows

The party, now aboard Calhoun's ship, sets course for the nearby crime-riddled town of Eastmouth, where Calhoun has a contact named Gale that can set them up with new identities. Along the way, the ship is chased and attacked by a dragon turtle. However, the dragon turtle shares a knowing glance with Eric and then departs. Calhoun drops the three off in town and departs for Baragoon with Taffy. He tells them to meet him and Taffy in Baragoon in three weeks. The party explores the city, searching for Gale. They travel to a tavern and discover Palehammer is mysteriously also the bartender here. The party rents a room for the night. Continuing to explore the town, the party comes across a museum commemorating the famous Ten Legends, a band of heroes who, nearly 200 years ago, defeated a cataclysmic void beast known colloquially as Valkyrie. As the party examine the statues of the Legends, they feel power being channeled into them and weapons apparate into their hands. Odeon gets a ring, Kelsa gets two daggers, and Eric gets a staff. Exploring further in the museum, the group discovers a small office labeled “Locke’s Clocks”. They see that the door is open and there is a note on a desk addressed to the three of them. Inside the envelope are three watches with two buttons on them: “LOCK” and “SET”. The three press the “lock” buttons and see that it freezes the clock in place.

The three return to the inn for the night, but as they’re walking to their room, they are attacked by a group of bounty hunters. The hunters get the upper hand, and as the party is injured badly, the watches begin to glow red on the “Set” buttons. The three press the “set” button and travel back in time to when they pressed the “Lock” button. Realizing the power that these watches have, the party leaves the museum and intentionally does not go back to the inn. Knowing there are people in town hunting them down, the group decides to focus on searching for Gale. They encounter the singing monkey and Eric asks him what his deal is. Happy admits that he wasn’t always a monkey, and that someone spiked his drink with a potion that turned him into a monkey. The party learns that this monkey is, in fact, Gale. They ask Gale to help them with getting new identities, but Gale says that he doesn’t have access to his old resources or contacts since no one believes his monkey potion story. Odeon asks how they can find the contacts and resources, and Gale says that in order to get them, they need to be accepted into the Syndicate. Gale says if that’s something they’re interested in, they need to be specifically invited.

It is now very late at night and the group searches for a place to sleep. Odeon is interested in the mage tower on the south end of the coast, since he wants to learn how to use magic. The party ventures there and finds the door is unlocked.  They enter and are attacked by a magic carpet.  They defeat it by burning it, and then enter the main chamber of the tower.  There are several holding cells in the tower, as well as a large door that is sealed shut.  Various strange creatures are in the cells including a gryphon and a pegasus.  In one of them, however, is a man who called himself Rebus.  Rebus tells the group that he was captured by the tower’s denizens after he was snooping around in places he shouldn’t have. There are two red-robed figures that attack the party, but they’re able to subdue them. Rebus tells the group that after the Rift, the tower was seized by a mysterious cult called the Red Claw. He says the man who oversaw the taking of this tower dwells on the top floor. This man also has the key to Rebus’ cell. The group ventures up the tower, fighting more cultists and strange creatures. They eventually get to the top, where they meet a high-ranking cultist named Skotty. He isn’t hostile to the party, but says that if they want to take the tower from him, they need to be chosen by its true master. The group says they want to meet the true master, and they are sent up to the top floor, where they fight an animated suit of armor wielding a fiery sword. After a heated battle, the party defeats the being and claims the sword. They go back to talk to Scotty, who accepts that they have taken the tower from him. The group convinces him to give up his life as a cultist and to try coffee for the first time. Scotty is conflicted, but the group uses the watches to learn that he has a dog named Chimichanga, and they convince him by saying “what would Chimichanga want?” Scotty goes back into town and the party now has their own mage tower. They use Scotty’s keys and free Rebus, who thanks them and says he’ll remember what they did.  When the party is about to leave, they see that a tax collector has come to collect from the tower’s owners. Eric convinces the tax collector that he will be taking over tax collecting for the city. The tax collector gives Odeon a ledger of citizens that owe taxes. The party goes through the ledger and discovers a name that they recognize: Arthur Locke. Curious about Locke's identity, and also keen on making gold to garner the attention of the Syndicate, the party decides to start collecting taxes from the people on the ledger.

They learn quickly that most people that owe taxes are down on their luck and are living paycheck to paycheck, so they decide to only steal taxes from people that seem like they won't be too badly affected. The party goes to Arthur Locke's apartment, only to find that he has packed up all his things and seems to have left town. Dissatisfied with the small amount of gold the party collected from this endeavor, the party seeks another method of getting the Syndicate's attention. They eventually come across a group of orphan street urchins who are plotting to break into Pifko Manor, the home of the mayor, and steal from his vault. The kids see that the party is eavesdropping and threaten them. The party convinces the kids that they can help with their heist, since they're trying to get the attention of the Syndicate. The kids say it would definitely get the Syndicate's attention. They say that their "payment" to the party is letting them live. Once the party learns all the details of the heist (e.g. the patrol patterns, where the vault is, etc.), they use the watches to go back to before they met the kids. The party walks to the mayor's manor and tells the guards that they are bringing taxes that they collected, showing the guards the ledger and bag of money. The guards say that they may enter, but they'll be escorted and monitored.

The party is escorted into the property and led inside the manor.