Saf'yra Glan'odel

Corin Ashsong - Fellow adventurer

Genevieve Le Fleur Louve de le Foret - Fellow adventurer

M.P. Feathers - Owl familiar

Summer form: Green

Autumn form: Hazel

Winter form: Pale blue

Summer form: Curly red

Autumn form: Wavy brown

Winter form: Pale blue

Summer: Copper

Autumn: Light tan

Winter: Pale white

Saf'yra Glan'odel is an eladrin Scribe Wizard and one of the main members of the current D&D campaign. A curious young elf, she is always seeking to expand her knowledge. Traditionally, she has done this through books, but has recently been "encouraged" by Almaerifuh, the head librarian in Deli, to learn by going out into the world. She is generally composed and careful, but can be reckless when new knowledge is at stake.

## Description

### Appearance

Saf'yra, as an eladrin, changes her appearance based on the season she is currently affiliated with. She is most commonly in her summer form. In this form, she has copper skin, green eyes and curly red hair.

Though rarely seen in her other seasonal forms, in her spring form, she has light tan skin, blue eyes and green, wavy hair. In fall, she has light tan skin again, hazel eyes and wavy brown hair. Lastly, in winter, she has pale white skin, light blue eyes and light blue, straight hair.

When adventuring she is usually in simple traveler clothes, favoring earthy tones like brown and green. For more formal occasions, she tends to wear her scholar robes, stitched with the symbol of the library in Deli.

### Personality

The most obvious trait for Saf'yra is her eagerness to learn. She is constantly on the search for new knowledge, especially in the form of books and other written information. She has no specific specialty, being as well versed in nature and religion, as magic and history.

She is usually soft-spoken, even shy in the center of attention. However, this falls away rapidly when she has a chance to teach about something, or learn something new. She will sometimes explain something in the middle of combat or other tense situations.

While humble in most regards, she is proud of her knowledge and ability to learn. This can be dangerous, as she sees little need to protect herself from dark or forbidden knowledge, trusting in her own abilities. Only recently has this pride been humbled and she is even now seeking new ways to protect herself so she is not deterred in her pursuit of knowledge.

## Biography

### Before the start of the campaign

Saf'yra grew up among other Eladrin elves, living not far from the boundaries of the Feywild. Though not aggressively hostile, her people still tended to isolate themselves from the other races, permitting only very limited contact with them.

Saf'yra was an intensely curious child, even compared to other children. Her family generally indulged her constant questioning of the world around her. However, after seeing some of the few traders allowed in the area, she began asking more questions of the outside world. This was gently discouraged and it was assumed she would grow out of this in time.

Such was not to be the case. The limited answers she gained from the isolated elves only increased her curiosity. She began devouring what few books were around the village and spending her own limited money to buy more from traders. With these, she finally learned more of the world outside, the many creatures and places beyond.

In an attempt to direct her learning to more constructive directions, she was soon apprenticed to a local wizard. She took to it with zeal, but little focus. After self-educating herself for so long, she found it nearly impossible to learn from the dry old teachers she had access to. While managing to learn a couple of cantrips, she soon drifted from her studies, always drawn to her newest interest.

Upon reaching maturity, she set out to find one of the great libraries she had heard about in the larger world. Though sad to see her go, her people did not discourage this "unruly" child from leaving the village, lest she draw attention to their isolation.

She met up with traders and used her limited magic skills to earn her way across the land, drifting towards larger and larger cities, and libraries. In time, she would hear about the great library in Deli. After struggling and working her way, she managed to reach the library, watched over by the gynosphinx, Almaerifuh. Despite arriving with no money, she earned the respect of the librarian with her commitment to learning. She would become Almaerifuh's "little kitten" as she pursued her studies.

In this new setting, she excelled. She was able to learn from a wide variety of teachers and scholars at the library, and research nearly any topic to her hearts' content. It was during these studies that she gained greater skill in the arcane arts, formally gaining her first level of wizard. It was also during this time she first summoned her owl familiar, M.P. Feathers.

She spent multiple years living and working at the library. Her education would become extremely well-rounded. Saf'yra would be able to hold her own with academics from nearly any field of study. However, it soon became apparent her learning was stalling out. She struggled to learn and master more knowledge, causing her to grow frustrated. Almaerifuh noticed this and soon told her she would need to go out into the world to expand her knowledge. Despite her protests, she obeyed her mentor in this and left the library to learn what she could on the road. She was given a small amount of money from the library and an Arcane Grimoire as a gift.

Setting out, she used her knowledge of herbalism and alchemy to earn her way on traveling caravans and help people in the villages she visited. Combined with her basic magic skills, she was able to earn her way across the region. However, she would eventually have a run of bad luck, leaving her broke as she arrived in the small village of Hamburg.

### During the campaign

#### The Mysterious Carriage

Saf'yra would find herself in the Mountain Grouse Inn, looking for work. Also there would be Brick Ironstag and Genevieve Le Fleur Louve de le Foret and they would all strike up a quick friendship. Finding themselves all out of money and looking for work, the proprietor, Ciscero. He hires them to help clean in exchange for free food and rooms. The following day, Ciscero would introduce all three of them to Mayor Bryson Octavian. He would hire the three of them to guard a mysterious carriage through the mountains to the west to his father, the Baron of the Octavian Barony. They all agree and prepare to leave in the morning.

Along the way, they would be joined by Corin Ashsong. He had been sent from Hamburg to assist in the guarding of the carriage and would become another part of the new adventuring group.

The following morning, they meet with the other guards that have been hired, as well as a doddering old man driver. As they crossed the mountains, they would be ambushed by the mountain bandit Gregor, as well as the other guards turning upon them. During the fight, the driver revealed himself to actually be Kana, a human fighter that had been disguised as the driver. During the fight the traitor guards were slain and Gregor captured.

Later on, the group would be attacked by goblins, along with a goblin necromancer. After defeating them, Saf'yra recovered his spellbook and a bone covered in runes. Unbeknownst to her, it was cursed and would begin influencing her decisions. The spellbook would contain several necromancy spells.

As they entered the Octavian Barony, they would find the outlying villages were underpopulated. They had recently suffered an undead incursion led by a bone naga.

The group would arrive in the capital city of Durerea Vieții. There they would meet with Baron Quince Bonapard Octavian. At this point it was revealed they had been guarding horseshoes. It seems they were intended to be bait for the bandit problem in the mountains and deal with it. A job well done, our heroes were paid and permitted to stay the night at the baron's keep. Saf'yra noted that one of the boxes being hauled out was much heavier than the rest, but was unable to find out what it was.

#### Bandits, curses and demi-liches, oh my!

The group enjoyed a full meal courtesy of Baron Octavian. They briefly met his daughter Evandra Lynn Octavia. Saf'yra would go and explore his library. She was compelled by the cursed bone to find a book on undeath, and information on a compass to find a demi-lich. Fascinated, she copied down the information and decided to make this, requiring only virgin blood and silver.

The following day the group was politely kicked out of the keep. They split up for the day before meeting back up the following night. Saf'yra spent her time copying spells from the necromancer's spellbook she found. With the aid of the bone, she found this much easier than usual. She also discussed the compass with the group. They decide this was a good idea, though Brick was uncertain.

During their day apart, both Corin and Brick learned of a nearby mine to explore. Corin has spoken with the blacksmith Kevin, who said the mine was abandoned during the undead incursion, but ore had been left in the carts. He had sent Corin with a cart to gather what had been left behind. Brick had learned that a group of bandits led by Simon, calling himself "The Don", had been operating out of the mine and organizing crime in the city. The bone urged Saf'yra to go along with this, so they all set out to the mine.

They set a trap for the bandits, which worked well initially. However, they soon revealed they had dwarf and human prisoners and were using them as hostages. The group tried to negotiate for their release, but things soon broke down. Before they could be killed, a group of dwarves launched a volley of crossbow bolts into the surprised bandits. Led by the dwarf paladin Haearn Stoneborn, they had also been seeking the prisoners. They had been part of a trade mission that had been taken by the bandits. She quickly captured Simon and the remaining bandits, who were to be taken to the mountain dwarf kingdom for judgment.

They rested together for the night, though the bone was extremely leery of the dwarf. It encouraged Saf'yra to explore the mine while the rest slept. She went in, finding signs of a fight and bone fragments. Picking them up, she found they were drawn almost magnetically to the one she had. As she attempted to gather them, Haearn found her in the mine. Under questioning, Saf'yra realized she had been cursed. The dwarf took her back to camp and kept her under watch, promising to bring help for her.

In the morning, a human woman named Aggie came to the camp, offering to help Saf'yra. Haearn and her group, along with the prisoners, departed, while Aggie teleported the group to her home.

#### A Hob, Shift and a Jump

They arrived in a massive castle built into the nearby mountain range. The group split up, with Saf'yra being led to a large room with a ruby magic rune on the floor. After a ritual was cast on her by Aggie, she was separated from the spellbook and bone. Aggie explained that the bone came from the bone naga, who was trying to use her to bring back a demi-lich. This demi-lich is currently held under incredible magical protection in Aggie's castle. Saf'yra was shown this to emphasize the danger she had been in, though was sworn to secrecy on the matter. She retired to the library to calm her mind and research new means to protect herself in the future.

The following day, Aggie asked a favor of the group. She has communication with the local shifter tribes in a nearby forest. However, she has not heard from them in some time and is concerned for them. They exist near the hobgoblin fortress and armory known as The Citadel, so she is worried they might be connected. She asked them to investigate the situation and put an end to any troubles they might be having. Aggie also warns them that the tribes don't always get along, so her name may not help in all situations. She sent them with Sending Stones to communicate with her, which Saf'yra held on to.

They were again teleported to the shifter forest. They began to seek out the tribes, eventually meeting a mink shifter named Mustela. Though initially nervous, she agreed to let the group meet her mother, who is a leader of one of the local tribes, which is a mix of ursine and mink shifters. They met Washisa, another mink shifter and chieftess, along with a large bear shifter, who refused to give his name. They went to the tribe, which had a few permanent structures, but was semi-nomadic in design. Washisa does tell them the hobgoblins have been more active in gathering resources from them, though for unknown reasons. She asked Mustela to guide them closer to where the harvesting has been occurring, so they could investigate further.

They stayed the evening before setting out in the morning with Mustela. Saf'yra found herself increasingly frustrated by the distrust of arcane magic that the shifter's have, though has managed to make do so far. After several days of travel, they arrived at the canid village, which is a mix of wolf and fox shifters. They met with the wolf shifter Lupina, chieftess of the wolves, and her second in command, Bonk. After explaining the situation, she allowed them into their village. It was designed more nomadically than the ursine tribe. They met with the chieftess Fortuna, of the fox shifters, along with her son Cicatrix.

They learn that the canid tribe has been watching the hobgoblins harvest from the forest with much greater aggression than usual. They were hesitant to attack them, for fear of bringing the entire Citadel upon them. Though they had not asked Aggie for help, they hoped that by having outsiders help against the hobgoblins, it would be less likely to provoke a full war, which the shifters could not win. The group agreed to help and got what information they could, including the next expected places the hobgoblins would harvest from. Saf'yra also sent a message to Aggie to inform her of the current situation via sending stones.

The group traveled to the next expected location. True to the information provided, they found about two dozen hobgoblins harvesting the area, led by two sergeants and wizard lieutenant. Using M.P. Feathers and Genevieve befriending the local animals, they began to hatch a plan. As they don't know how important this harvesting is, nor why the increase has occurred, they planned to make the next area much more difficult to harvest, hopefully without provoking a full conflict. Arriving ahead of them, they began to set their traps.

The traps worked well, severely hampering the work of the hobgoblins. Even after doubling their number, it was not enough to continue their work. Eventually, a diplomat was sent under a flag of truce. He simply called himself Lieutenant, though when pressed for a name, he gave the pseudonym of Lieutenant Dan. He offered to buy the rights to the lumber for the attacks to cease. The group would meet again with the canid tribe to discuss the deal. They conferred with the other tribes and soundly rejected the deal. Saf'yra messaged Aggie, who asked they stall the deals until she could send help. She also asked they find out why they were harvesting so aggressively.

The group met again with Lieutenant Dan at midnight in a nearby grove. Despite the best efforts of Genevieve to find out why they were doing this, negotiations seemed to break down. As things began to fall apart, multiple hobgoblins, led by Warlord Krigsherre arrived by portal. They would learn that Lieutenant Dan had gone over his commanding officers in his gathering of timber for a large order. As punishment was being discussed, a woman named Aure appeared. Krigsherre seemed to defer to her. She ultimately removed the heart of Lieutenant Dan and considered the issue resolved. The group was spared as he did not want any more "prying eyes" upon their work. They then departed.

The group returned to the shifter village, explaining what happened. They had an evening meal. After a terrifying night, Saf'yra slept leaning against Brick that night. Aggie arrived in the morning. During discussions, she mentioned providing a home for them. They discussed what all would be needed for them, and she agreed to try and find something. It also seems Genevieve befriended a talking spider named Snivles the evening before. Aggie indicated it was working with their enemies, possibly Aure, and we should seek him out and squish him. The group set off to track him down.

After several days travel, Snivles reappeared while Saf'yra was on watch in the form of a raven. He promised her knowledge, but hesitated to come to the rest of the group. Ultimately she got him to come down, but Snivle's would manage to escape. They returned to the village and used the message stones to inform Aggie.

#### Into the Shadowverse

The group spent several days there. Saf'yra would spend her time studying the people and learning as she could. Genevieve would come to them with news that there was an area of forest that had become dangerous and wanted to hunt down whatever was causing it. They left and soon fought a wolfwere. The group successfully slew the beast that had been terrorizing this part of the forest. However, they also found a clearing with a clear imprint from a building. They deduced there was more to the situation.

As they left, the group noted the area becoming more grey and subdued. Eventually, they heard music from a nearby section of forest. Investigating, they found a man named Harkon Lukas playing a violin. He invited them to his cottage, which was much larger than it appeared on the outside. He offered them food and drink, then asked to tell stories. They told several before Harkon told an ominous tale of a group of adventurers being slain. In particular, he noted in this group their healing magic would fail them. Genevieve noted that her healing magics indeed were not working. She demanded they leave immediately. Saf'yra wanted to stay the evening and keep exchanging stories, but followed Genevieve's lead.

When they left, they discovered they were now trapped on the Plane of Shadows. Corin, using his knowledge of planar boundaries, began leading them to find a way out. They were hunted as they fled, even attacked by canine minions of Harkon. However, they would eventually meet an Unnamed Shadar-Kai. Saf'yra, despite the ancestral hatred between eladrin and shadar-kai, approached her to request aid leaving the Plane of Shadow. Ultimately, the shadar-kai agreed, in exchange for a future favor. She also attempted to make deals with Corin and Brick, whom both refused.

The portal would land them in the forest they left, though far off course. They landed in a small lake. They got their bearings, eventually deciding to make their way back to Hamburg, about 3 weeks travel.

#### Meow Bitch, Meow Bitch, please deliver

Along the way, the would encounter small nature spirits called kodama. They were friendly with the group. Though shy, one in particular, would sit on Genevieve's shoulder happily. After a few days of travel, they would stop following the group.

As they traveled, they would meet with a tabaxi scount named Sar'risch. He explained they had wandered into their territory. Despite efforts to explain it was an accident, when Genevieve mentioned the other tabaxi they knew, Ciscero, he became angry and demanded they be escorted to their leader. Finding they had been surrounded by the tabaxi, the group has no choice but to go along.

Upon arriving, they were brought before the king and queen. They told the group that Ciscero is accused of raping the queen and demanded to know where he is hiding. However, Genevieve insisted on getting to the truth of the matter first. It seems she was blessed by the forest spirits with the ability to discern the truth one time. As such, she went to independently question the queen and king, separate from the group. She would learn the queen was not in fact raped, but was consensual. It also appears Ciscero is actually some form of royalty. However, while still under the Zone of Truth, she also learned the king will not accept any answer except that Ciscero is guilty. Enraged that the king would waste her gift from the forest, she informed the king that he was a "punk-ass bitch."

Predictably, the king was not pleased and had the whole group imprisoned. Saf'yra managed to send a message to Aggie with the sending stones, who promised aid as able. The guards attempted to take the stone. In response, Brick ate the stone. The guards decided not to "retrieve it" and he was still able to receive messages through his stomach.

During this time, the king had them starved and denied water. He returned each day to demand information about Ciscero, which was not given. On the verge of death, the group prepared to make one attempt to break out and kill the king. Instead, a guard arrived and threw them a waterskin. It seems he was an agent for Aggie. Later, a large fire broke out, providing the chance to escape for our heroes.

They began to flee towards Hamburg to warn Ciscero that the king would be hunting him once more. However, along the way they were picked up by a scarred tabaxi named Rawlin. She was sent by Aggie to help them escape the tabaxi lands. Using a hidden compartment in her cart, she smuggled them past several tabaxi patrols. However, along the way she learned from her own informants that Ciscero's bastard daughter may be in danger. It seems to secure his rule (and possibly out of spite), he is likely to attempt to kill her. As such, the group sent a message to Aggie to ask her to pass a message to Ciscero, while changing course to a nearby river village to find the daughter.

#### We're slaying a religion

Upon arriving, they learn the daughter has instead been abducted by a cult of human traffickers. Rawlin parts ways at this point as she has other duties to attend to. The group begins to hunt down the cult. They find a cell of them with two prisoners and exterminate the cultists. The prisoners are not the tabaxi daughter they are seeking. The tabaxi does not speak common, though she is from the same village. The half-elf is from Deli, in the opposite direction. The half-elf was named Nuala. Before leaving, the group was able to interrogate a surviving cultist. He revealed they have a main hideout in an old abbey 3 days west of where they are. They are cultists of Graz'zt. They are led by a man named Th'rsen. They then executed the prisoner.

They messaged Aggie again to ask if she can bring someone to bring the rescued women to their homes. A small group of tabaxi arrived, taking them to their homes. The group then set off to the abbey to exterminate the cult and rescue the women, hopefully Ciscero's daughter among them. They moved carefully, to avoid tipping off the cult to their approach.

Along the way, they found a cave that was another small hideout for the cult. After Saf'yra lured the guard away and killed him, they began to discuss how to approach the cave. However, upon hearing a scared woman within, they charged in. They found it was actually a leucrotta imitating a woman. Several cultists were there also, luring in travelers.

The group fought their way through, defeating the cultists and leucrotta. They continued on their way to the abbey. They found the cult within, along with their leader Th'rsen. They scouted carefully, finding multiple prisoners within as well. They estimated they had a few days before the missing group in the cave would be discovered.

Eventually, they settled on using an illusionary sound as though a prisoner had escaped and stepped in one of the bear traps that were lined outside. They lured a couple groups out, picking them off. However, they created enough noise to raise the main alarm. They rushed into the main building, battling with the leader. After a particularly difficult fight, they triumphed, slaying the cultists. They freed the prisoners, but did not find Ciscero's daughter among them.

They also recovered a large amount of gold, along with a Staff of the Python (went to Genevieve), an electric greatsword call Voltedge (went to Brick), a frozen dagger (went to Corin), a petal dancer ward (went to Saf'yra) and a vancian mask (went to Brick). They rested in the abbey for the night.

In the morning, they noted a large group of cultists arriving, along with a mounted figure following behind. They also had a cart filled with more prisoners. Fearing they were outnumbered, but unable to abandon the prisoners, they did their best to arm the women and prepare for a fight. However, it was soon found the mounted figure was in fact a paladin named Roland d'Artagnan, also known as "The Sentinel". He rode into the cult group, while the party flanked. Roland quickly destroyed the enemies.

Roland is a high ranking paladin and noble. He had been pursuing this cult. Now that it is eradicated, he was going to protect the rescued women until the rest of his order arrived the next day. During this time, everyone rested and healed, but none of the people rescued were Ciscero's daughter. Saf'yra contacted Aggie to let her know the situation. Aggie responded, stating the daughter was now safe, but they were needed in Hamburg quickly. As such, they traveled with the paladins to Boulangerie. While there, they were offered to stay the night at the d'Artagnan residence. They also purchased horses to get to Hamburg as quickly as possible.

They stayed the night at the d'Artagnan residence without event and left in the morning. Along the way, they encountered Gibraltar, a half-orc jester and traveling performer. He put on a puppet show for the party to much delight. Everyone tipped, though Saf'yra went over the top by giving a platinum piece to him. They continued on their way without issue.

#### Home is where the kitchen is

Arriving in Hamburg, Aggie informed them she would be there the following day. They chose to stay the night at Ciscero's place. While there, they discovered his daughter was now staying there for her protection. The relationship seemed strained by many factors, not least of which was her trauma. Unable to resolve the situation, most of the group went their separate ways during the day. Genevieve visited nature and encountered another druid named Katrin Thistledown, Brick stayed at the inn and ate, and Saf'yra visited the local temple to appreciate the art. She also encountered a few children and a cleric fox shifter named Fiori, who was their mother. She invited Saf'yra to explore, which she enjoyed.

In the evening, they returned to the inn to meet a large half-orc named MacTire and his employer, Barathion Goldleaf, the wealthy half-elf owner of Ciscero's place, as well as several other upper crust locations. He informed the group, politely but threateningly, that he did not care for the disruption to business that was caused by the return of Ciscero's daughter and the threats from the tabaxi it brought. He informed them it would be in their best interest to not interfere with his other businesses. The group largely hated him.

M.P. Feathers followed them out, but it appears they teleported away. However, the group did spot a group of teenage boys looking traumatized. Brick went to question them, discovering they had been harassing Oliver, the sous chef at Ciscero's place. It seems Oliver has been dating Selene, the tabaxi waitress there. They were all also interested in her, but had been rejected. It appears Barathion and MacTire may have already "spoken" with them about the situation. Brick had a...serious...discussion with the young men about leaving them alone.

They returned to Ciscero's Inn and stayed the night. In the morning, Aggie arrived and informed them she had found a home for them. She brought them to a ruined keep halfway between Hamburg and Kornth. It seems the keep had been lost to time for a long time due to a curse. It was owned by a barony at some point. The son of the baron succeeded his father at a young age, possibly through assassination. He neglected his land, including firing the loyal herbalist for a "younger model". He also turned to vampirism to ensure his ongoing rule and power. The herbalist cursed the land, unmooring from the land to drift through time. Only recently has it returned, after other allies of Aggie cleansed it of the inhabitants and curse. Time caught up rapidly to the keep, causing the damage our heroes found.

The group set to work exploring the keep and assessing the damage. They began to formulate a plan for fixing the place up, but chose to spend the night to find out if anything else would come to investigate. A weird old man arrived in the evening. Eventually he was revealed to be a deathlock, a cursed warlock likely from the cursed barony. He had brought crawling hands to take the place back, but was dispatched by the party. No other threats emerged for the group.

The following day, Saf'yra, Brick and Corin traveled back to Hamburg to employ people to fix the keep and get a functioning blacksmith for Corin. Genevieve stayed back to learn the lay of the land and the creatures inhabiting the surrounding forest. Corin met up with an old teacher, who helped connect the group with workers for the keep.

While the group was away, Genevieve befriended a local owl griffin. She had no name, but allowed herself to be called Lady Balance. The group was able to meet her, with Saf'yra asking many questions to learn about her. Additionally, Corin was challenged by one of the dwarf workers to make something to impress him, or the group would pay double for the work. Corin accepted this deal, though indicated it would take some time.

#### Hagging a Good Time

After this, Aggie approached the keep and offered them a new adventure. It seems a cyclops family that was relocated north of the area, near where Brick hailed from, has become unusually aggressive. She wished for the group to investigate and restore the peace of the area. They accepted and set off the following day.

As they got into the cooler climes, they encountered a couple winter wolf puppies. The pups fled, but went back to a large cave den. A massive winter wolf then stalked the party. Genevieve spoke with it, gaining safe passage, though she had to give a piece of cloth with her scent on it. The wolf left, though the party doubted the sincerity of the "safe" passage. Genevieve in turn picked up a small piece of fur nearby to get the wolfs scent.

Continuing onward, the part found the cyclops mother and child. Scouting with their birds, they could tell the cyclops mother was pregnant, but no sign of the father, who was likely the one that had been causing a disturbance. Scouting further, they found strange bipedal humanoid tracks. They followed these to a nearby cave where they found a strange fetish object. Identifying it, they found it was a magic key to open a portal in the back of the cave.

The other side looked suspiciously like the Plane of Shadows, so Genevieve refused to go through. Instead she watched the entrance to the cave while the rest of the group cautiously investigated. Saf'yra determined it was instead the Plane of Dreams. When they returned, they found Genevieve missing. Quickly following the tracks, they found a hag had put her to sleep and was taking her away. When confronted, she teleported back to the cave. The group quickly followed after her, with Saf'yra unexpectedly taking charge.

They found themselves in a winding cave system far larger than should be possible from the connected small cave. They found several small bodies of water filled with glowing green goo. They ignored this to pursue Genevieve. At they continued on, they heard cries for help in a nearby chamber. Approaching, they found a chamber filled with corpses and a cage with a pixie inside. Brick freed the pixie, who warned them of the "lampads".

Saf'yra recognized the name as stranged crystalline fey that guard the paths to death. Two appeared and attempted to seduce Brick, to no success. They instead opted to fight.

After dispatching them, the group pressed on. They arrived in the lair of the hag, where she had disguised herself as a little girl in a cage, while Genevieve was in a silence area. Saf'yra mouthed the word "Demi", causing Genevieve to respond "Lich", confirmed she was real. She gestured at the disguised hag, who had now dropped his illusion to attack the group. After a short fight, they forced her to flee, fully defeated. They searched the area, finding a strange item. It was red, roughly egg shaped and covered in facial designs. They later learned it was a "beherit". Genevieve insisted on tracking down the last yeth hound, which the group dispatched.

They left the realm of dreams, along with their new pixie friend, named Labhar Aisling. She was able to use her abilities to scout out the cyclops and confirm they were now much more relaxed. The hag had been planting nightmares, causing them to be much more aggressive. With her gone, they would now return to their more peaceful ways. Labhar chose to stay with them, enjoying riding with Corin, as he was the only one that spoke Sylvan.

#### Staggering Home

As they were in the area, Brick asked the group to visit his family. They agreed, working north into the foothills. Saf'yra sent a message to Aggie to inform her the cyclops issue was resolved and they were visiting his family. They arrived without issue, meeting his very large family in the village of Ironstag. They met his mother Juniper, father Slate and his brothers Tuff, Granite, and Sycamore. Brick also introduced the group to his favorite cow, Beefcake. They were invited to a massive feast, which apparently was normal for their home. As they sat and chatted, they learned that, despite being summer, winter creatures from the north had begun appearing more and causing trouble, including eating livestock. Brick final brother, Cypress had gone out to investigate a few days ago, but wasn't back yet. They volunteered to investigate, after staying a couple of nights.

Tony, Genevieve's familiar, was sent out to scout. It found evidence of the area being over predated, but was swiftly destroyed in the air by a blast of cold. He did not see what it was. They also found evidence of worm like creatures, leading Saf'yra to suspect that remorhaz's might be to blame. They continued out into the wild to hunt the remorhaz's. During one of the nights, they were attacked by yeti's, which Brick confirmed was very unusual in the summer months.

They eventually came across a herd of wild horses and soon discovered the herd was being stalked by a group of remorhaz's. What was unusual was that they were pursuing the horses, even though they could not catch them. The party continued to follow, eventually noting a group of 13 white dragon draconians were also following the herd. They chose to continue to follow them. Ultimately the draconians would lead them to a nearby cave in the mountains.

Genevieve turned herself into a ground squirrel and scouted out the cave. She discovered the draconians were starving, but they also had Brick's brother Cypress captured and maltreated. Upon learning this, Brick attacked the cave without mercy. The group fought their way through and rescued Cypress. They found some evidence that a white dragon in the north had been coordinating this. As they left, they found the leader had eluded them and was waiting outside. He was a monk white half-dragon.

Saf'yra attempted to negotiate with him as best as she could. She did learn that the white dragon, whom he would only call "My Lady", was expanding her control and pushing out all non-draconic life from her region. He was also using a magic whistle to herd the remorhaz's to accomplish this, thus causing these creatures to come south out of season. Despite her efforts, no accord was reached. They quickly fought the monk and triumphed. They took the whistle, though he had little else of value. They decided to bring Cypress back home and figure out their next course of action. Saf'yra also contacted Aggie regarding what they had learned.

As they returned, they encountered a copper dragonborn named Ixan sent by Aggie. She was a fellow scholar and cleric of Boccob. Saf'yra and her immediately hit it off and happily chatted the entire time. They soon arrived back at the Ironstag home. Another feast was held to celebrate the return of Cypress.

#### Baby, it's cold (damage) outside

The following morning, Aggie arrived in the village to discuss what the party had learned. She explained that the dragon behind this was likely Ananta Jāḍō Kō Mahilā, translated as The Lady of Eternal Winter. Though Aggie does not know why she is choosing to expand her realm, she recommended against engaging directly with her. Instead, she asked they head north and scout the region out. She wishes for them to discover what Ananta is doing and disrupt it if possible.

They began their journey northward, bringing the horses with them to make good time. After a few days. they came across a small encampment of draconians, being led by a creepy looking white half-dragon. Corin scouted out the camp, finding a few dozen draconians. He also learned that they had learned of the loss of the whistle and that "his lordship" would be arriving soon. As Corin left, he was unknowingly followed by the half-dragon. The creature then went back to his camp. Despite the efforts of MP Feathers to distract him, he was not dissuaded. As such, the group picked up camp and swiftly moved to a new location, still within view of the enemy camp.

After circling around, they noted only 4 soldiers were left guarding it. They struck quickly and killed them before retreating again. The noise attracted the leader back to camp alone. They struck again hoping to quickly overwhelm him. During the course of the fight fight, a small white dragon sneaked in behind Corin. In the course of the fighting the leader was slain, but the dragon grabbed Corin and flew away with him. The remaining soldiers arrived to stop our heroes but they were quickly dispatched.

Though badly battered and low on resources, they knew that hay to save Corin. Saf'yra quickly sent an SOS to Aggie. Shortly after, Ixan arrived to help them. Ixan helped guide them towards the dragon's lair, which was a massive ice pillar with a large interior. They quickly discussed a plan. Aggie promised aid from her dwarven allies at dawn. They camped out until then.

During that time, Corin was kept in captivity by the dragon and interrogated. Corin learned the dragons name was Te Kaiwhaiwhai. He seemed to believe that the group was part of a larger plan against his grandmother. Corin stalled as best as he could, but eventually he figured out that the group was not part of anything larger. Dismissing the threat, he left Corin to starve or freeze.

At dawn, a large group of dwarves led by Haearn Stoneborn. Her and a small army of about 100 dwarves led a distraction against the lair, drawing out the draconians. The group snuck into the lair. M.P. Feathers scouted out the lair and was quickly killed by the dragon. They managed to find Corin. Ixan healed Corin of his injuries and frostbite and recovered his equipment. As they attempted to escape, the dragon blocked the exit with spike growth, and came up behind the group. A fierce battle began, with the group narrowly triumphing. They left the lair to find the dwarves victorious over the draconians as well. They deferred to Haearn as the arbiter of the distribution of treasure, especially given her loss of 11 dwarves.

Feeling overwhelmed after the battle, Saf'yra sought comfort with Brick again. She finally built up the courage to ask his feelings towards her. They agreed to take things slow, but asking for some romance as well. Brick began seeking a flower in the ice dragon's lair. Flattered by his effort, she subtly summoned one, which he quickly gave to her. She now keeps it pressed in the pages of her spellbook. A first kiss quickly gave way to making out for the heroes.

#### Disturbing the dead...politely

That evening, Brick had a dream of a mighty warrior named Truailligh. He told Brick that he was an ancestor of his and to seek out a nearby tomb. He indicated it would give help Brick in his quest to protect his people. Brick eagerly agreed and convinced the group to come with.

As they traveled, they were pursued by strange icy creatures. The group attempted to evade them, without success. In the end, they were forced to fight the creatures. After defeating them, they found them to be the living breath weapon of a white dragon. The group now knew that they were being watched by at least one dragon in the area, but pressed on.

The group would eventually take refuge in a cave during a blizzard. Though not able to perfectly translate it, the carvings on the wall seem to indicate that the tomb they were traveling towards was the burial site for exiles and pariahs. They also indicated there was a guardian protecting this place.

They continued on. As they got closer, they would spot a zombie ice giant patrolling back and forth near the tomb, which was more of a barrow set in the ground. Tony Hawk, the familiar of Genevieve, discovered the frost giant had a cold aura and M.P. Feathers discovered he had an eye beam attack, blasting him away. Ultimately, the group decided to split up, with Genevieve and Corin distracting the zombie, while Saf'yra and Brick went to check the barrow.

The moment that Brick opened the door to the barrow, the frost giant zombie began heading towards them, unbeknownst to them. Corin and Genevieve would pepper the giant as it lumbered along, eventually felling it. During that time, Brick and Saf'yra would begin exploring, finding a massive burial complex and finding indications that a great betrayal happened to Brick's people. Eventually, as they began to understand the scope of the building, they headed back to meet with the rest of the group. They would find that an invisible barrier prevented them from leaving. 3 zombies would rise up at that time, telling them they were bound by the betrayer before attacking them. Brick and Saf'yra defeated them, but still could not leave.

The group reconnected at this point and decided to connect in the tomb, as they could not leave by any obvious means. They instead all headed deeper into the barrow. As they moved in, more of the coffins began to open. Deciding to not push their luck, they ran past the rising dead. Eventually they would come to a ladder that they climbed. They would arrive on a small indoor "island" surrounded by water. Upon the water was a viking style boat. They quickly used Shape Water to ice over the way they came to prevent the zombies from following.

Brick was convinced that Truailligh was a jerk betrayer. Saf'yra attmpted to get his side of the story. He did sell out some of his people to the frost giants, but supposedly to save the rest. How true any of this was became moot when he declared that he was going to possess Brick to escape. During the fight Corin protected Brick from being possessed. Saf'yra thought the boat was likely important to Truailligh and started a small fire on it. Truailligh noticed this and possessed Saf'yra instead. He threatened to kill her if Brick didn't surrender.

Corin decided to use the item he had been given by Grandfather while he was held captive by the dragon. Time stopped as Grandfather appeared, with only Corin left unaffected. He broke the possession on Saf'yra and raised the small fire on the boat into an inferno. When time resumed, it was utterly consumed, banishing Truailligh. They found his axe in the water below and pulled it up. They found it was a portal that only Brick could use. The group gathered around and he used the axe. They were teleported to a much colder area than before.

#### Mountain dwarves, take me home

Saf'yra was able to keep the group warm with a new spell. They reached out to Aggie for assistance. They began slowly making their way south as they could to try and make it themselves as well. Geneivieve befriended a local polar bear she named Loreka. As they made their way south, they were eventually woken by a huge silver dragon called Lapsus. He seemed quite annoyed at being brought out to save the party and Brick in particular did not like him. After some conversation, Lapsus decided he would be less annoyed teleporting the group rather than flying them back. As they teleported out, Brick flipped him off. This will never come back to bite him in the butt.

They arrived at Aggie's home where she once again let them stay for a night. The party relaxed, healed up and generally enjoyed being warm, clean and safe. The following morning, she told them that they had done well in the north, but it was becoming too dangerous for them and she was moving other "agents" into the area. It seems the white dragon Ananta was trying to become an ascended dragon, fusing with elemental power. She told them they could return home if they desired. She did not currently have the resources to directly send them home, but would instead send them to the Mountain Dwarf Kingdom.

They were greeted by several armed guards, but a chancellor, Konden Granitearm, spoke on their behalf and the guards stood down. He greeted them and asked if they were passing through or visiting. The group decided to visit the area. He gave them an extensive tour of the multi level dwarf kingdom, though warned them away from the 4th level where the tinker gnomes lived. Electric lights could be seen glowing from the massive iron doors. Though the rest of the group thought this wise advice, Saf'yra was very curious. After the tour, Genevieve insisted the group stay together, given their poor experiences with splitting up. As such, they decided we would each pick something to do. Saf'yra convinced them to go to the gnomish area first.

They approached the large iron doors, with wires running across it. Brick touched one of the wires and was given a powerful shock. A gnome then popped out from a small window in the door. They were let in. Inside was an absolute cacophony of machines, electricity and chaos. They soon found their way to a goggle shop run by Ectra Sparkvalve. Here Genivieve searched for goggles that would give her animal-like vision. They learned some details but didn't purchase anything quite yet.

Next they went to a machine animal store called Robensons Robotic Revelry, where Corin became interested in a "armor-dillo" that could roll around and entertain, while also able to release bright flashes of light and pepper spray, which all ended up hitting Brick. Corin was very interested, but haggled to do a favor instead of paying for it. He told the party there was a shipment of mithril that was lost and he wanted some of it. He was vague on the details, or how much he wanted, but agreed to give them the armor-dillo in exchange for some mithril.

Given the lack of details, the party asked Konden about it. He was annoyed they had gone to the gnomish area, but told them it was connected with Cragin Alestout, master of the Brewers Guild. He begrudgingly told them more information. It was about 150 lbs of mithril that was going to make a suit of armor as a dowry for his daughter. Somewhere on the way it was lost and all tracking magic destroyed or suppressed. Many others had searched for it without success. He gave them some "special" sending stones to notify him if they find the mithril and gave them an idea of where others had searched.

The group left his estate and went to a further away inn to eat and discuss. Everyone agreed that Cragin seemed very suspicious. Saf'yra reached out to Aggie, who informed them that Cragin was motivated by coin and they should beware holding the stone when they find the mithril. Saf'yra also used Identify to learn the stone had some manner of tracking on it, as well as being able to summon something to itself. As a precaution the group bought lead sling stones in the morning before leaving. As they traveled out to where it was lost, they put together a lead box to put the stone in when they wanted to break the tracking. For now they left the stone out.

After traveling a couple days, they arrived in the area where the shipment likely went missing. Genevieve spoke with a spider who told them a group of dwarves traveled down one of the tunnels. It stared as a well carved tunnel, but soon shifted to rough old mining tunnels and natural tunnels. They eventually reached a cavern. They scouted it with Saf'yras owl and Awakened Spellbook mind. M.P. Feathers was taken out by a roper. Upon searching further, there were 3 in total. The group used ranged attacks to force them to leave the cavern. They found a circle of stones in the middle that seemed to be a portal.

#### Black on White (dragon) Violence

They all jumped through together to find themselves in a barracks or dungeon of some sort. As they explored, they found it to be a military temple or barracks dedicated to Tiamat. They found multiple rooms that seemed to house sleeping dragonborn or half-dragons. They snuck through the area, finding a shrine dedicted to Tiamat as well. They found the exit, but a stone sentry dragon noticed them. It roared when they attacked it, awakening the sleeping half-dragons.

The leader, a black half-dragon named Xarvarax, told the statue to stand down and seemed willing to negotiate. The white dragons had failed to guard properly, causing him to send away the white and red half-dragons, to punish them. They eventually were led to his quarters where he explained more of the situation. It seems Cragin Alestout sent the mithril as a bribe to them. He verified this deal with a recording of the delivery and negotiations. The half-dragons have plans to assault the dwarven city. As part of this, Cragin would be installed as the new king. He had people search for the mithril to make it look like a true loss.

Xarvarax told the group that to be spared, they could run an errand for him. His unnamed master is also trying to ascend to a greater state. As part of this, they wish to sabotage Ananta Jāḍō Kō Mahilā's efforts. To do this, Xarvarax wanted the party to go to her lair and drop a magic item that would cause her domain to become swampy, weakening her control of the surrounding land. The group was highly suspicious of this deal. Ultimately, Saf'yra and Genevieve decided to get Xarvarax to show them some of the missing mithril to prove the truth of all this. They assumed when this happened the tracking coin would summon in assistance to fight the dragons. When he arrived with the mithril, it instead summoned a poison cloud.

Everyone quickly fled the room except Xarvarax, who roared and dispelled it. The group, especially Brick, was infuriated by the betrayal from Cragin. This convinced Xarvarax that this was unintentional. As such, the group opted to go on the quest Xarvarax offered, to drop a "swamp bomb" near the lair of Ananta Jāḍō Kō Mahilā's lair. As a sign of good faith, he sent his mate, Dryssa, with them. She is a half black dragon warlock, who's patron is Tiamat. Saf'yra attempted to make friends with her with discussions of arcane magic, to no avail.

They left through a portal and returned once more to the frozen northern wasteland. They began to trudge their way where Dryssa indicated the "swamp bomb" would have to be planted. Though spells, shapeshifts, and regular castings of Leomund's Tiny Hut, they were able to make slow progress. As they approached a frozen body of water, a huge icy crab burst from the ice. Though the party was able to defeat it, they soon discovered it was half-dragon, which meant that Ananta was already aware of their presence.

As they continued on, the group came across a group of draconians scouting. Seeing little option, they quickly attacked and overwhelmed them, with a hallucinatory terrain help from Dryssa. After overwhelming them, a large half-dragon/oni appeared to fight the group. After a brutal fight between him and Brick, the half-dragon/oni plane shifted away, likely alerting Ananta.

After further traveling, the group reached the place that Dryssa said was the right place. She had to cast for an hour to use the item. The group would need to protect her during that time. Initially, they were attacked by two white abishai, who were quickly dispatched. As the group continued to guard, a large adult white dragon, likely a child of Ananta, swooped in. Brick dubbed him Whitey. After some brief "negotiations", combat began. Brick leapt on the dragon and fought him as best as he could. Ultimately the dragon ripped Brick off and pinned him to the ground. As he was being pushed down, the ground suddenly turned warm and spongy. The swamp bomb was a success and a massive black dragon appeared to kill the white dragon.

Once the white dragon was defeated, the ancient black dragon turned to the party. She was Suon Kuningatar Jumalatar, leader of the half-dragons and draconians the group met earlier. She summoned in more black dragons to invade the lair of Ananta. The group was "encouraged" to witness her triumph and report it back to others. They were brought along with her forces on a bloody massacre of the whites. Though Ananta herself fought fiercely, the disruption to her elemental powers from the swamp power was enough to turn the battle against her and Suon triumphed. They were teleported back to the barracks they had left from originally.

They were given the evidence they requested and told to get the hell out. They swiftly left and made camp. As they set down, Saf'yra sent a message to Aggie to inform her of what they had learned and seen. She arrived that night to discuss in detail. She brought them back to her mountain fortress once more to recuperate. She informed them that she will help them get in touch with the right people to inform the mountain dwarves of Cragin Alestout's treachery.

Aggie brought the group back to the mountain dwarf kingdom and got them a meeting before the tribunal. Saf'yra explained their accusations in detail from her writing. For their own safety (and in case they were lying), there were kept in a safe room for several days. Genevieve did not do well, but struggled through. During one night, while Corin and Saf'yra were awake and the rest of the group slept, Grandfather walked through the door to speak with them, primarily Corin. He explained that if all went well, the dwarves would grant a boon to them and that Corin should request to borrow the Mercurius, an compass that can track rare minerals, even on other planes. Grandfather wishes for Corin to make something for him as payment for the past rescue. Saf'yra was dumbstruck by meeting a real baelnorn.

A couple days later, the trial was held, which went smoothly. After another couple days in the safe room, they were brought before the king and granted one boon. Saf'yra requested supplies sent to the keep to start her own wizard lab or workshop, Brick requested a ring of protection +2, and Corin requested to borrow the Mercurius per Grandfather's instructions. Genevieve requested 5000gp of diamond dust, along with a bag of holding. She promised that each time she revived someone out in the field, she would come back to resurrect one of the dwarves that fell in battle against the forces of Te Kaiwhaiwhai.

Corin had one more stop to make before departing. He returned to the gnomish engineer that started all this and told him he would not be able to get the mithril. Instead, he simply bought it for 25gp. Then Aggie brought them back to her home, and then to Hamburg. From there, they planned to return to the keep. But first, they visited Ciscero's inn to get dinner and check on things. They saw Selene there, seemingly doing well. When Ciscero was mentioned, she was a bit more vague though.

#### Aboleth ambushes Duergar delve

They spoke with Ciscero and found that things were strained between him and Selene. The group spent the night telling their adventures to him to spread the real story, as rumors were already flying. The following day, Genevieve met with the local druid Katrin Thistledown, whom she had met before. Katrin was very pregnant, and introduced her husband Jack Dangerous, a halfling "hero". While protective of Katrin, he was calmed by Genevieve acknowledging his bravery. After some discussion, Genevieve volunteered to help the local cleric, Fiori, with her shifter twins.

The party went to the temple and spent the day helping with the children. Brick in particular was in his element, rough housing with the wolf-like children.

During the same day, Corin went to purchase molds for his crafting project with the dwarf. He asked Saf'yra to come with to help him purchase the right styles to impressive dwarves. The store was run by the satyr Tasia Skiphoof. Saf'yra also noticed she had some interesting quills and inks. She purchased some particularly good ink and help explain to Tasia the items she had on shelf. Tasia also flirted with Corin and Saf'yra. Saf'yra was far too embarrassed and left the shop. Corin attempted to follow up, but managed to put his foot in his mouth, and was rejected.

After this, they returned to the keep. There they discovered the dwarves had done an amazing job with the stonework. Windows were still needed and the group needed to let the people in Hamburg they could deliver the furnishings. Still, amazing progress had been made. Corin promised to create something amazing for his deal with the dwarf.

Genevieve spoke with Lady Balance again, who was grateful the dwarves had left. She told Genevieve that a local cave a couple days north was disturbing nature, though she didn't know what was causing it exactly. Genevieve promised to investigate. The group headed north to the cave, encountering no difficulty along the way. As they got close, a group of grimlocks appeared, but were easily dispatched. Approaching closer to the cave, they soon saw it was inhabited by grimlocks and duergar that seemed to be mind controlled. A large briny pool was seen, and the slaves were moving it, bucket by bucket, to another pool. This seemed to be moving in the direction of Hamburg. The group concluded it was likely an aboleth and tried to devise a strategy.

They lured and fought a sentry outside the cave and pulled it a mile away from the area, breaking the control. He didn't have much information as he didn't remember his time being controlled. The group began formulating a plan to break the slaves free before going after the aboleth. They decided to free another duergar to see the reaction. This time, they were more prepared for the group. The duergar were invisible, but with copious light stones and pocket sand, they took another one and broke him free. They learned that there was a leader among them that might be more helpful than the rest. They returned again to try and free her.

Instead, the aboleth, named Hormush, spoke through her, questioning the party's intentions. Though initially diplomatic, it was decided the group was thoroughly sick of the aboleth and announced their intentions of freeing the slaves and making him leave. He began to pull his slaves back to him to protect himself. The group rushed in to fight the aboleth. About half the duergar died and all the grimlocks, but Hormush fled through a portal to the Elemental Plane of Water, vowing revenge.

The duergar were freed for the aboleth's control. Everyone agreed to rest and ensure the area was secure. Saf'yra used her awakened spellbook to watch the portal as they had no immediate means to dispel it. The duergar leader, NAME, was unable to breath air for a time, but with creative use of shape water, were able to help her until it wore off.

The group rested and eventually saw the duergar off, giving them goodberries to help their return trip. They left the cave and met with Lady Balance, who offered an acorn to destroy the portal. Brick planted the "bomb acorn", destroying the cave that held the portal to the plane of water. Genevieve was given a new acorn after this, that could grow a tree that could be the center of a druid grove. The best time to plant it was at the autumnal equinox in about 5 weeks. This left enough time to visit Deli to stock up Saf'yra's library.

#### How to make enemies and influence fiends

They left the keep and arrived in Corinth on the way, a river crossroads on the way to Deli. They got rooms at The Frisky Pony and each split up to explore the town. Brick devoured his way through many of the local street food vendors. Genevieve went to the local stables and looked for animals to heal and help. There Genevieve met Ora Ivywall, the halfling proprietor of the stable. She didn't trust Genevieve at all, especially when she said she would heal the animals for free. Eventually, Genevieve convinced her to begrudgingly allow her to work, but to promise to come back before the group left town.

Saf'yra went to the local curio shop, run by a tortle named Monadikótita, better known as Mona. Saf'yra found an interesting candle first. It gave off transmutation magic and seemed to have something to do with day/night cycle. She also found two books that gave off magic glows. The first had a connection with the plane of fire and appeared to have information about fire based items and spells, such as potions of fire resistance. It was an old, threadbare book and Saf'yra purchased it.

The second seemed to have a connection with the plane of water and was titled "The Heart of the Leviathan". It was bound in blue shark leather. Intrigued, Saf'yra opened the book and was projected or given a vision of somewhere deep in the plane of water. There, she beheld The Leviathan. It was curious about her presence, since she didn't seem to have sought it out. As it was bored, it told her to keep the book close and that it would be in touch with her. It also seemed to be disgusted by the aboleth when Saf'yra told it of this. She was transported back to the shop. Despite not having been physically there, her hair was wetted down as though she had been swimming.

While entranced by the book, Corin came into the shop as well. Saf'yra soon snapped out of it and confusingly explained what happened. She then left. Corin shopped around, eventually purchasing an odd piece of crafted metal and a book indicating a previously unknown mine from an ancient book. He then wandered down to the worst part of town, eventually stopping at the worst bar he could find, The Bewitching Bell. He soon picked a fight with a dwarf, then made friends with him and was pickpocketed at some point. He was approached by tiefling prostitutes. Lacking any money, he offered to pay in entertainment, by challenging a dwarf to a round of dwarven skullcrush. He lost miserably and was knocked out. Later that day, the group found that Corin had not returned to The Frisky Pony.

They set off to find Corin. Asking the local animals and bribing a guard, they eventually found the tavern where Corin had been taken from, and then the alley where he was drug off to. It was an odd alley, with a well hidden hatch at the end. The group waited outside for others to approach.

During this time, Corin spoke with one of the tiefling prostitutes he had met the night before, who apparently was involved with the criminal group. She interrogated him to find out who he was working for. He "counter negotiated", trying to convince her to betray the group. Eventually, she came to realize he wasn't working for anyone.

While waiting, two mooks arrived at the alley. Saf'yra and Brick jumped them. Saf'yra managed to scare off the one she was working with, and Brick cornered his. However, when they learned the criminals were involved in human trafficking, Saf'yra became substantially more intimidating. She eventually convinced him to tell her everything he knew. Begrudgingly, she allowed him to leave with 10sp, explaining that he was to start a new life, repenting for what he did, or else. She learned the criminal group had, beyond the two mooks, 10 more normal bandits, sub-bosses Velxori, Arnon, and Phetari, and boss Thynexus.

The group entered the lair, finding in an old bit of sewer. There, they found three mooks sitting around a table. After a very short conversation, combat broke out. One the them blew a horn, summoning the rest of them. After a fierce bit of fighting, they killed most of the mooks and capture Arnon. He cooperated with them, telling them where Corin was. However, he then revealed he was just a distraction while the rest of the group fled. They tied him up and rescued the other captives. The normal people were given a silver each and told to go to the Frisky Pony until they could help them find their way home. They also rescued Corin, healed him up and figured out what to do next.

Doubting Arnon's words, they also searched the secret room, to no avail. Arnon also revealed that apparently the leader, Thynexus, has a very powerful devil father that Arnon was absolutely terrified of. They decided to leave him tied up with a note in the alley by the hatch for the guards to find, and set off to hunt down Velxori, Phetari and Thynexus.

The group headed to the docks and purchased a fast boat from "Gus" at a highly inflated price. They went down river and eventually spotted the remaining members of the criminal group. They struggled to gain on them, but eventually the other group had to stop and rest, allowing them to catch up. The criminals set up camp to allow their wizard to rest and restore her spells. The group began to plan their attack. They chose to launch a sudden strike, using light stones and a thunderball to disorient and overwhelm.

After a swift battle, Velxori was dead, Phetari surrendered and Thynexus used a magic ring to teleport away. Velxori turned out to actually be an oni in disguise. They took Phetari prisoner. Saf'yra attempted to interrogate her, but got very little from her. Brick and Genevieve found a letter sealed with black wax and an infernal symbol. Saf'yra identified it was marked with explosive runes if opened. They did not open it for now. They took their boat back to Corinth.

When they arrived, they sold the boat back to Gus, recovering a bit of their gold. They found that 5 of the prisoners they had rescued remained at the inn. The people were all from Deli, so they chose to come with the group on the trip. They planned to leave early the following morning. Genevieve had to visit Ora Ivywall again, the halfling owner of the local stable she had helped recently.

Ora was honestly shocked the this had not been a scam. She gave Genevieve a couple of horses and a cart on loan as thanks. She also offered to hire Genevieve to work there, which she politely refused. During that time Saf'yra and Brick checked to see if Arnon was taken in by the guards. However, they could find no information about what happened to him. They also purchased basic gear and weapons to protect the prisoners they rescued.

During the trip, Saf'yra decided to interview Phetari out of curiousity. She didn't learn much, but it passed the time on an otherwise boring trip.

#### Tobbles, Books and Thieves, we'd hear it from the people of the town

They entered Deli and dropped off their prisoner. They also split ways with the people they had rescued. Brick and Saf'yra took a room together in a nice inn, while Corin and Genevieve found a park to sleep in. Brick and Saf'yra fooled around together for the first time that evening.

Corin and Genevieve spent the evening sleeping in a park. A kenku by the name of Tobbles chatted with Corin during the night, offering a tour of the city tomorrow. Corin didn't immediately accept, but did ask how to meet up with Tobbles again.

The next day the group reconvened and ultimately decided to meet with Tobbles. Saf'yra was suspicious as this sounded like a common scam. However, Tobbles was good to her word, giving them a legitimate tour of the city. Around mid-day, they offered to buy her lunch, which she eagerly accepted. As they talked with her, they learned she was an orphan trying to honestly survive in the city that she had lived in her whole life. She had almost nothing to her name, except a shabby cloak. The group unanimously decided to adopt her and took her back to the inn.

They learned she was indebted to some dangerous individuals, though it was unclear how dangerous they were. It appears to be a kenku thieves guild. They got dinner with Tobbles and had a ruffian kenku names Jangles visit to try and bully Tobbles. The group informed the bully should leave Tobbles along or else. He left, but threatened them back.

They rested that night, but kept watch for the thieves guild. They did note that they were being watched through the night, but nothing happened. In the morning, they grabbed breakfast and then went to the library. At the entrance was Sakar the githzerai doorman. He begrudingly let the whole group in. They entered and Saf'yra reunited with Almaerifuh. They discussed her adventures and why she was there. Saf'yra learned that Aggie and Almaerifuh meet weekly to chat, so she was already somewhat informed of her adventures. Eventually Saf'yra showed her the two books she had obtained. Almaerifuh took the Leviathan book and had it sealed in her highest security vault, Vault 3. She also showed her the plane of fire book, which she promptly copied as well, along Saf'yra to keep the non-magical version. In exchange, she was allowed to have 100 books copied for her own library, as well as copying a few herself. Almaerifuh also informed her that the thieves guild they had crossed was quite dangerous, though she had an idea to help. She told Saf'yra to return tomorrow by herself.

When she returned to the rest of the group, she found Genevieve had found a wonderful book on ancient druid groves, Corin was reading about brewing and blacksmithing, and Brick and Tobbles were looking at maps. Saf'yra also had all their books copied, along with a wide selection of books for her own personal collection.

The following day, Saf'yra went alone to visit the library. Along the way, she was approached by a kenku who was threatening her again over Tobbles. While Saf'yra told him to stop, a very mysterious kenku appeared, seemingly blending in only 5 feet away. He struck the harrasing kenku rapidly, crushing his windpipe and lungs in a blur, then vanishing again. Saf'yra put the body out of clear view. Considering what she saw, the mysterious kenku appears to be Tenebrous Acri, considered one of the most dangerous 1-on-1 fighters in the city. He is the nephew of Magister Corvin Vulpus, a highly influential keknu merchant, and his unofficial enforcer.

Saf'yra arrived at the library to find that Almaerifuh had set up a meeting with Magister Corvin and herself. It appears Tenebrous was not a threat, but protection. He discreetly provided information about the leaders of the bullying campaign, named Latro, Fur, Occisor, and Sicarius. Without them, he believes the remaining subordinates will scatter and he can instead employ them. It was made clear that the Magister wishes no connection between himself and these actions. As such, Saf'yra promised discretion in the matter.

She returned to the group to inform them of the information and plan. Genevieve in particular was concerend about the morality of hunting down and killing these beings. As such, she suggested going to the local paladins of Tyr and asking for their input, as well as to gain legal protection in this. They entered the fortified church of Tyr, eventually meeting Sir Melvin. They explained their information, as well as concerns that the local guards were in the pocket of the thieves guild. They did not share Magister Corvin's name, in part because Saf'yra made sure not to share it with the group. He agreed to help them and ensure this was done lawfully.

He accompanied them to where 2 of the kenku bosses were going to be meeting. The group gathered inconspiciously, with Genevieve speaking with animals, Saf'yra reading on a nearby bench, and Brick posing as a prostitute. Eventually, a group of kenku arrived and handed off a large sack of money to another. Saf'yra informed Sir Melvin and they prepared to confront the kenku.

Corin rode up on the paladins steed to cut off the kenku as they arrived and distract them until the rest of the group could trap them in the other direction. Genevieve used her angel form and light stones to intimidate the kenku into surrendering to the group. They were able to take them with almost no resistance. They returned to the temple to lock up the kenku. On the way, they could already tell they were being watched by kenku and word was traveling quickly. They dropped off the first two ringleaders. While Sir Melvin processed the first two, the group quickly went to apprehend the 3rd.

Genevieve took the lead on the next group, using Charm Person to convince the leader to surrender himself to avoid any suffering or unneccesary punishment. He surrendered, though his subordinates ran and continued to spread the word of what was going on. They brought the 3rd one, Occisor, to the temple. Genevieve questioned him until the Charm spell wore off. She also left 10gp with the paladins to help him when he was eventually released.

By this time, the last kenku ringleader, Sicarius, had run to a safehouse, guarded by anywhere from 3 to 20 additional kenku. Concerned it might be more than they could handle, and hoping to continue to minimize harm, Saf'yra hatched a plan. She had the group go to a spell scroll shop she knew, run by an aasimar wizard named Orlan. Saf'yra knew her through the contributions her and her family had made to the library. Saf'yra picked up two scrolls of Disguise Self. The plan was to disguise Brick as Tobbles and wander around as her, pretending to be lost and/or hurt, while the rest of the party hid and planned to jump them. The idea was this would bait out at least some of the kenku involved, especially to avoid looking like they had been beaten by the party.

Brick went out disguised as Tobbles, while Saf'yra hid invisible, Corin disguised himself as a drunk, and Genevieve turned into a war horse being led by "Tobbles". Brick/Tobbles was soon accosted by three kenku's. Of course, Brick didn't speak the kenku language, so feigned being deaf. They shoved him into a nearby building, with Saf'yra following close behind. Corin waited for a bit just outside.

Inside they found a makeshift stable with a neglected donkey stalbed there. The building itself was pretty ramshackle. When the kenku tried to take the horse, it refused, lifting the kenku that grabbed the reins off the ground. Saf'yra scouted and found one set of stairs going up, and another down. From below she could hear movement approaching. At this time, Corin also stumbled in, yelling about buying the donkey. Brick took the moment of distraction to smash the rickety stairs, trapping the kenku below. At this point, the jig was up. They quickly incapacitated the three kenku. However, having broken her invisibility, Saf'yra was backstabbed by a hidden rogue, and nearly killed outright. She was quickly stabalized by Geneivieve as the rogue fled.

Brick and Corin quickly pursued the fleeing rogue, as Saf'yra was healed by Genevieve. Brick, now hasted, managed to hurt Sicarius, the would-be assassin as he jumped out of a window and into a waiting hay cart. Corin entangled the two minion thieves and then shot Sicarius from the window, killing him. The group quickly searched the building, finding a total of 7 kenku that they took prisoner. They also found a tresure chest with gold and gems. Sicarius himself had a *shortsword +1* and *leather armor +1*. They took the prisoners and began to return to the Temple of Tyr.

Along the way, they were intercepted by Magister Corvin. He wanted to take the prisoners into a "work release" style program, per the secret agreement between Saf'yra and himself. To keep things diplomatic, she asked the Magister to come with them as they brought them to the paladin order, and ask their permission, as the group had already promised to return them to the order. He agreed, and the paladins ultimatlly agreed to the Magister's plan.

Now with Tobbles finally safe, the group went out for a celebratory dinner with her. As they ate, a kenku informed them that the Magister would be speaking with them again before they left town in a few days. He would know where to find them it seems.

They rested that night and Saf'yra began making plans of what to do for the last few days in town. To start, she got the group to agree to go out on a "spa day" for everyone, especially Tobbles, and get her some nicer clothes. They also agreed to sell the shortsword and armor from Sicarius and use it to fund Tobbles future expenses and education.

## Relationships

### Aggie

Aggie is the person that sent Saf'yra and her group to investigate the shifter situation. Additionally, she is the one who broke the curse that was placed on Saf'yra by the evil bone. Though Aggie has not made a big deal of it, Saf'yra remains feeling indebted to her for her aid, as well as embarrassed about her own weakness.

### Almaerifuh

Almaerifuh is Saf'yra's mentor in her education, as well as the one that broke her from her own isolation. Though stern at times, the gynosphinx genuinely cares about her "little kitten" and is the reason Saf'yra has gone out into the world to continue her education.

### Brick Ironstag

Brick is a member of the adventuring party. Saf'yra admires, and is slightly jealous of, his confidence and courage. Though at this time she would not admit it to anyone, she has been increasingly attracted to Brick. She finds him handsome and enjoys his fascination by her magic, his kindness and his bravery protecting those weaker than him, including herself. At this time she has asked him to keep her safe from any mind-influencing magic, given he was the only person that noted how bad of an idea the demi-lich compass was.

### Corin Ashsong

Corin Ashsong is a member of the adventuring party. They have not spoken much, but get along well in their own respective silences.

### Genevieve Le Fleur Louve de le Foret

Genevieve Le Fleur Louve de le Foret, usually just called Genevieve, is a member of the adventuring party. Saf'yra respects her knowledge of the healing arts and is fascinated by her guardian spirit, Samael de Jacques, even if she has not been able to study it yet. She considers Genevieve a good moral compass, though is concerned about her willingness to go along with some of the more hare-brained schemes the group comes up with.

### Haearn Stoneborn

Haearn is the person who first noted that Saf'yra had been cursed by the evil bone. Saf'yra feels indebted to her for the aid she gave in this situation and would be willing to help her in future if they meet again.

## Character Information

### **Proficiencies**

Skills: Arcana, History, Nature, Perception, Religion

Tools: Alchemist Tools (known via Trance ability), Herbalist Kit (known via Trance ability)

### Notable Items

#### Current Items

Arcane Grimoire - Acts as spellbook, gives +1 to spell attacks and save DC's. When using Arcane Recovery ability, gains one additional level of spells restored. Given by Almaerifuh, inscribed with the symbol of the library. Bound to her by Awakened Spellbook ability.

Wizardly Quill - Created by Wizardly Quill ability. Copper body, sphinx feather, metal nib.

Petal Dancer Ward - Cape made of flower petals. Color can be changed as a bonus action. Petals drift behind as you walk, disappear before touching the ground. Aromatic, disadvantage on opportunity attacks from creatures with keen smell trait. Can also cast Druidcraft cantrip.

##### Spellbook

Current contents of spellbook are

Cantrip Formulas - These allow Saf'yra to change cantrips on a long rest

1st level

* Absorb Elements
* Cause Fear
* Chromatic Orb
* Find Familiar
* Identify
* Mage Armor
* Magic Missile
* Ray of Sickness
* Shield
* Silvery Barbs

2nd level

* Dragon's Breath
* Enlarge/Reduce

#### Former Items

Necromancer Spellbook - Obtained from goblin necromancer in western mountain pass. Bound in flesh, contained multiple necromancy spells. Was taken by Aggie when curse was lifted from Saf'yra.

Evil bone - Cursed item. Helped Saf'yra learn necromancy spells, but compelled her to seek out the means to restore a demi-lich. Taken by Aggie when the curse was lifted.