Don't Fear the Reaper

The Acolytes in Sexy Tights make it back to Setessa and then lead their army into Deuteros.

## Major Plot Points

* The Acolytes made it back to Setessa and joined the army of the living's war council. King Demetrius Heliodson praised the party for their hard work. "The communities of Theros have never been unified like this before."
* Oracle Morrigan Ambrose asked the group if they discovered anything about The Returned, especially Queen Nekros in their travels. The Acolytes decided to keep Queen Nekros' identity a secret for now.
* Archon Daenyra Drakos questioned Barbara Duke over her finances. Her sister and business partner, Ruthless Baddie Ginsburg, had been seen with the crime lord Antonin Scalea. Barb feigned ignorance and claimed her businesses were all legitimate. The archon then questioned Dikarus Bottombane. They discovered Emma Diamondfrost was the Silver Queen from documents left behind by Prince Varik Heliodson and that she was Dikarus' mother. She found it suspicious that Emma died "accidentally" when the Acolytes were on Regina Isle and then they inherited it. Dikarus wouldn't talk unless he had a lawyer. SBG3 and Sybil Ringwell spoke up in defense of the party. The council was adjourned without any arrests.
* The party then went to Deuteros with their unified army. A shadowy veil prevented any living humanoid from entering the city. Oracle Morrigan crafted pseudo-Returned masks that could make our heroes appear to be undead. It was then they were reunited with Codnus Bearbody who said he'd been off partying since he last saw the group.
* Aryan Grande and Barb put their masks on and went into the city first. Dikarus connected with them telepathically along with Muchomucho M Amor. The two bards reported that the city was cold, built out of black stone, and had a cloudy sky. The rest of the party joined them after. A visibly pregnant Juxxtina was also inexplicably in Deuteros. Muchomucho gave her an extra mask to conceal her identity.
* The Acolytes stopped by Grey Gardens first. It was a national park for The Returned. Each party member was greeted by a Returned druid who gave them a black rose and asked who they lost. Codnus' upbeat attitude raised some suspicions but the heroes were able to keep their cover. They discovered the gardens were a place to honor fallen Returned soldiers.
* At the market, Barb bought bath bombs and a picture frame with a stock portrait in it. SBG3 was shocked to discover there was a Sprocket In Your Pocket clearance section.
* Inside the Queen Nekros temple, Clows Kufas found the Wall of Memories, a wall Returned humanoids write fleeting memories from their mortal lives. He found a note from Queen Nekros that read, "~~Had~~ Has a Son."
* The group noticed a beam of dark energy shoot out of a tower and empower the veil over the city. They went to it and discovered they needed to do shadow puppets in order to open the door.
* In the tower's study, green bubbles encased each party member. Gargoyles in the corners started counting down from 10. Codnus, Barb, Clows, Muchomucho, and SBG3 left their bubbles. Dikarus, Aryan, Sybil, and Juxxtina stayed inside their bubbles. When the gargoyles counted down to zero, they spewed acid on those outside of their bubbles. The acid corroded a hole in the wall into the next room. SBG3 tinkered penises onto the gargoyles.
* The next hall terminated with a giant golden face. The mouth of the face led to the next area, however, the mouth kept closing and opening with sharp teeth. Aryan passed through but was bitten. Codnus was bitten as well but stayed there to keep the mouth open for others to pass. He stayed as long as he could before passing out. Sybil cast shatter on the face and the rest of the crew made it through safely. Codnus used his magic to heal himself.
* In the laboratory, Aryan and Barb collected some Returned poison. Aryan poured some acid on the floor and revealed a basement area. Barb used her compact mirror to see inside and found a hall with a Pterax Caelum statue. SBG3 poured more acid on the statue and revealed it had a thunder trapped built in the throat. They used the acid to burn a hole in the roof and climb to the next level.
* The party found a bestiary where a Returned beast master was supposed to kill creatures and bring them back as zombies. Therio explained to the group he disliked doing this as it destroyed the personalities of the animals. Sybil turned him into a slug with her polymorph spell and put him in a cage. SBG3 captured a fleecemane lion with a Ballsy. They freed an imprisoned and very rude Pegasus.
* The next chamber has statues commemorating Umbra Lee and Leonvari Boneclaw. Codnus danced on Umbra and was struck by the statue's boobytrapped sword. Leonvari's statue threw a spear at SBG3 but missed and destroyed the locked door to the next area.
* The penultimate room was filled with Daxos Shadowhorn, Elvirus, and Vanora Wake statues. Clows found Reduce potions on the Elvirus statue. He cast reduce on himself and went into the final room. Megalos was in there protecting the veil crystal. His four swords knocked Clows unconscious.
* The party drank their Reduce potions and rushed into the room to help Clows. Aryan hit the undead giant with her giant slayer crossbow. Sybil summoned an elemental. Barb cast bane on the many-armed giant. SBG3 unleashed scorching rays at him. Codnus' aura of life restored Clows. Muchomucho's wrath of nature spell trapped Megalos in vines. Juxxtina struck him with a guiding bolt and discovered Megalos was vulnerable to radiant damage. Megalos broke free from the vines. Dikarus critically hit the giant with an arrow fired from his goddess bow. SBG3 unleashed a radiant beam from his sun glasses. Codnus cast blight on Megalos but the giant absorbed the necrotic energy and used it to heal himself. Muchomucho launched a fireball at him. Juxxtina continued her assault with guiding bolt.
* Megalos raised his swords and killed Codnus. An enraged Clows cast gravity sinkhole and then killed Megalos by stabbing him in the eye with his dancing sword.
* Sybil cast speak with dead so the party could say goodbye to Codnus. The minotaur bequeathed Muchomucho his horns. Juxxtina healed the party in preparation for their fight against Queen Nekros.
* You're all level 9 now!