Broken Bonds: Episode 01

September 5, 2020 (Arcadum's YouTube)

### Reddit Thread

***Broken Bonds* Episode 1** was streamed on Arcadum's Twitch channel on July 12, 2020. A group of prisoners were transported to the Iron, where they'll serve their penance for their various crimes as the member of the Shackled Legion. The group travels with their handler, Gallant, to a nearby city named Emeryll for their first task, clearing a place from an undead happening.

## Summary

In Krazax, the land of the dwarves, Cassian drives a group of six prisoners to The Iron, the great prison. The first prisoner is P'mis, a Kobold Swashbuckler Rogue, who served as lackey for a band of marauding orcs and goblins. Hashbrown, a Stout Hafling Hunter Ranger, is imprisoned for stealing from the restaurant he worked for. The Dhampir Long Death Monk Bryan (female) skinned someone alive who offended her true love. Remag, an old Tortle Enervation Rune Mage, stole and counterfeited to send his grandkids to college. Li'lu, a Sprite Totem Warrior Barbarian, is the second murderer of the group, who chopped someones head off for looking wrong at her. The last prisoner is E'ar. She is a Water Genasi Dream Druid and wrongfully imprisoned for stealing cheese as a rat that a fellow druid transformed into.

On their way to The Iron the prisoners spot a two-headed, white serpent in a tree that is watching them pass by.

The group is received by Gallant Venicci. After she attuned everyone's collar to their respective cells, Li'lu bites down on her hand. While Gallant puts Li'lu in a sock as a response, P'mis tries to sneak up behind her and steal a key but fails. Gallant continues to punish P'mis by hitting him with the sock. Gallant leaves to fill out some parchment and the prisoners discuss the origin of their names and how to escape. When she returns, she reminds them of their collars and the attunement to the Iron. She hands out everyone's weapons for their first mission as the Shackled Legion. The group thinks about attacking her but decides against it.

Gallant and the prisoners arrive in the town Emeryll where they first enter the inn Double Trouble - Li'lu now with her spirit totem Totemi. Load, a halfling twin, warns Hashbrown about the mayor while his sister, Wide, gets Hashbrown a Hashbrown.
As P'mis is simping for E'ar and Bryan, they decide that Bryan drains some of P'mis's blood in the corner of the inn. Amelia Notta, a Paladin of Viderick, tries to punish Bryan but Gallant steps in.

On the way to the town hall they pass a tent and Gallant sponsors one fortune reading from Madame Cozoka, a fortune teller. As she reads P'mis's hand, she turns a card showing the twin-headed white serpent, gets fearful and hands the gold coin back telling the group that they would need it more than her. Li'lu threatens P'mis, so he gives her the gold coin.

In the town hall they meet the gross Mayor Lamino to clear northern ruins of spirits or necromantic work. Gallant sends the prisoners to investigate as she stays behind to investigate the mayor who more than doubled the payment without hesitation.

In the ruins the group finds a demon statue with a rune on the forehead that means open. Li'Lu accidentally touches a sigil that makes the rune turn red. The statue cracks and a creature appears. Bryan, who can speak necril, finds out that the creature's heart is missing and should be returned. P'mis searches a corpse and finds a ruby in it's chest. The creature takes the ruby and can finally leave this realm. It leaves it's scythe for the group. Bryan takes the scythe as her new weapon and it emanates black smoke.

They search the premises and find a stone angel statue with outcoves for switches on it's forehead, chest and sword. Remag flips the top one resulting in machinery noises from the northwest. P'mis wants to check it out and gets caught in an ice trap that almost kills him. E'ar makes him swear loyalty to her before she heals him.

After Remag activates the other two switches on the statue, a hatch opens revealing a way down below. Hashbrown jumps in and lands on a platform that is separated from the rest of the catacombs. He jumps across a large gap of water almost getting dragged down into the water.

The rest of the party follows down the hole. As E'ar swims the other members across the water, she notices a chest sunken into the sand at the bottom of the water. Remag helps her to bring up the chest that turned out to be a great hermit crap that scurries away leaving behind a large pearl. After putting the pearl into Remag's shell, the group breaks through the first door into the catacombs and get attacked by (Tutorial) Skeletons that pose no challenge.

After the fight they find a potion of greater healing. Remag gives it to P'mis since he almost died before but Li'Lu tries to force it away from him. P'mis asks E'ar, who he swore loyalty to, what he should do and she let's him have it. Remag dodges a spike trap and afterwards the group uses him as battering ram to break down an unlocked door. In the room, on a pentagram blood ritual circle a big rune golem appears.

## Featured Characters

### Main Characters

* Bryan
* E'ar
* Hashbrown
* Li'lu
* P'mis
* Remag

### New

* Cassian
* Gallant
* Load
* Wide
* Amelia Notta
* Madam Cozoka
* Mayor Lamino