Campaign 3

## Timeline

### Session 1 - Sanctum of the Verdant Trickster

Twenty five years post Fluxx, Callum, Gaelin, and Marfer (a.k.a *The Shadow*) arrive at a 3-story tower in the autumnal Fox Clan woods at the same time as Echo and Yarra, and Echo's white constrictor familiar, Karma. Both groups were hired by a mysterious green haired figure to slay a beast at this location. They soon discover a hole in the ground surrounded by flowers, and that Walker, and their gale spirit hawk, Hikiki have holed up inside the tower.

Investigating the tower, they discovered a staircase leading down to a circular room with bookshelves lining the walls and a large orange flower in the center of the room. After looting a few books and spell scrolls, they attempted to leave before the flower closed the exit with its vines and combat ensued. After several rounds, the group defeated the Snapdragon. Callum harvested its heart and Echo harvested its poison.

### Session 2 - Ward

After cutting through the vines of the Snapdragon, the group exited the cave and discovered a group of green tanuki spirits that had taken up residence in the tower. The spirits were met with caution at first but they gifted Walker a small blue stone and Echo's knowledge of nature spirits eased tensions. Soon, the group noticed the vines that were supporting the tower begin to wilt and the tower and surrounding land began to collapse as the group made a quick escape, Callum with his arms full of tanukis.

The group soon found a place to rest from their sustained injuries. During the downtime, Callum began to feel the Snapdragon heart start to move. Tossing it to the ground, it began to shift as black hexagons covered the object, Callum claimed to have encountered this curse before as a full-sized Snapdragon grew from the heart, this time covered with black hexagons with a singular red, metallic, hexagonal eye. He would later identify this creature by name: Ego.

A fight ensued as the group sprung into action. Callum was soon knocked unconscious by the cursed Snapdragon and Walker rushed in to stabilize him with their herbalism kit, discovering a black growth protruding from Callum's heart and tendrils spreading across his body. Gaelin pulled Callum from the frey with an *earthen grasp.* Echo then attempted to flee with Yarra. Suddenly, an armored figure wielding a glaive reached out to Callum with glowing rings of light that healed him and brought him back to consciousness. This figure would soon reveal themself to be Astryd Ansirah. Callum would then enter a rage and shift into the large, black, hulking, deer-headed figure that is Ego-Callum much to the shock of the rest of the group. Echo returned to the frey but the group would begin to escape after receiving advice from Astryd to do so.

The group followed her north-east to her base of operations and home. Along the way, they learned more about each others' origins, Callum explained how Ego hunts him yet he is able to control its curse, Walker vaguely explained how they met Hikiki, and Gaelin explained how he found his spellbook in a jelly cube he slayed for the Broken Horns. At Astryd's home, they met her pet goat Comet and found rest.

### Session 3 - Prism Break

The group makes themselves at home in the temple Astryd is residing in. Everyone gets topless and drunk in the hot springs.

The next morning, they discuss plans for the day. Callum is insistent on the need to hunt down and kill the Ego-Snapdragon before its able to "level a village." Astryd asks the group if they can travel west for her to the Refracted Reformitorium, a.k.a the Prism, to tell an old friend of hers (she doesn't say but, Vish) that she's still alive and kicking. She needs the group to go because she is banned from Illuminators' territory for trying to break him out before. The group agrees to help her after she helps them kill the Ego-Snapdragon.

The group then tracked down and hunted the Ego-Snapdragon, which lasted less than 2 rounds of combat before Astryd exploded it with a critical divine smite. They also discovered halfling footsteps heading south nearby (Marfer).

With Walker's wayfinder guidance, the group left Astryd and traveled for 5 days west to Prism. Entering the previous desert border between Scorpion and Crane clans on the outskirts of Bastakal, the group devised a plan to get inside the layered tower prison complex that is the Prism. Echo used Mask of Many Faces to disguise herself as her "friend" Eros de la Rosco, and explained that they would pretend to be Scripted polyamorous artists looking for a muse.

The group, led by Echo, lied their way into the Refracted Reformitorium. They entered the lobby where prisoners were free to roam about under the watch of six guards armed with crossbows. They found a caged homunculus, with a draconic name tag reading Doffle, amongst other monsters and prisoners. They briefly talked to Blaze the centaur who was arrested for violence and seemed to appreciate the Illuminators guidance and the nickname they gave her. Then they explored the prison chamber hallway and continued searching for the dark, goateed friend of Astryd. Echo met a yuan-ti before investigating the special door at the end of the hallway that had two helmets outside of it with Callum. Walker finds the figure they're looking for, who claims his name is Rajah. Echo and Callum talk to the bandaged and blind girl inside the cell, who matches the description of the "new girl" Lamprey. Asking her about the helmets they now wear, she explains that the guards think shes dangerous because she has a hunger and feasts on memories.

Echo grows attached to the girl, who reveals her name to be Zari, and feels bad for her the other prisoners. She discusses staging a break out with Callum. Both of them like the idea so they go to Walker to ask for their opinion. Walker vehemently disagress and says the idea is crazy and that they "don't need the heat." Zari reads the aurus of the groups saying that Echo is dim, Callum is two, and Walker is warm. Callum then comes up with the idea of using Zari's memory eating abilties to destroy the guards' memories of the group ever being there. Walker asks Rajah his thoughts and he says he loves the idea. Much to their own dismay, they begrudgingly agree.

Callum and Echo then work together to throw the guards into a small enough area for Walker to *entangle* them. Walker then uses their thieves' tools break Zari out, then Rajah, then uses *ray of frost* and Callum's strength to break out the yuan-ti. Echo begins to use lethal force against the guards and Callum enters his rage. They break into the lobby and Callum frees Doffle. Walker summons Hikiki and *entangles* several of the six crossbow guards as Echo (lethally) and Callum (unlethally) let into the guards. After knocking several of them out, an armored woman wielding a three-headed flail entered, as the Warden joined the frey.

### Session 4 - Prism Break pt. 2

The half-dwarf Warden enters and combat continues. Callum and Echo work at taking out the five remaining guards that protect each exit. Walker drops *entangle* to *bane* the Warden and a couple guards. Then the Warden uses her Radiance of the Dawn to deal a staggering amount of radiant damage to the party. Callum demanitates a guard and flings him across the room. With themself and Echo looking especially weak, Walker drops *bane* in order to cast *healing spirit* on Echo, but it only heals for 1 hp. Then it's the Warden's turn again. She ignites a *searing smite* on her flail and steps across the room, crashing the weapon into Walker, dropping them unconscious and leaving their body flaming. Things are now looking grim and Echo and Callum realize they should focus down the Warden. Echo unleashes her barrage of poisoned daggers and commands pseudodragon-Karma to sting. Rajah uses a *healing word* to bring Walker back to consciousness and Gaelin successfully casts *hold person* on the Warden, paralyzing her. Callum then rushes the Warden with Vitae Furtum, misses, but follows it up with an auto-crit greatsword attack. Walker then climbs back up to her feet and rushes the Warden to attack her with a sickle, misses, and teleports away with Hikiki in a flurry of ice. The guards continue to cast *sacred flames* on the party, which knocks Walker unconscious once again. Callum continues to attack the Warden, and shes looking weak. She fails to break free of the hold person. Then, Echo auto-crits with both of her daggers, sinking each one above and below her heart, before rending the heart from the body. She tosses the bloody thing to Karma, who begins to devour it. Gaelin then rushes over to Walker protecting them with a *goopen grasp* and succeeds on a medicine check to stabilize them. Echo and Callum dispatch the remaining guards.

With the fight over, the group goes over to aid Walker and Rajah uses another *healing word* to bring them back to consciousness. A dazed Walker then uses their last 2nd-level spell to recast *healing spirit* and the group takes turns rejuvenating themselves in it. They then decide to explore the rest of the prison in order to free the remaining inmates.

They first head to the Room of Reflection, a large hemispherical chamber lined with mirrors with a focusing lens near the apex. In the center sits a single chair, which Callum and Echo flank around to find an orc strapped in it, tattooed and weak. They ease his fears about being tortured again while Walker watches the door. After freeing the orc, Walker immediately recognizes him as, Pekelo, a member from their old ship. They reveal to the others that they were a pirate and begin to ask Pekelo about how they ended up in Prism. He was captured by the Illuminators off the coast and was transported across the continent.

Next, the group heads to the archive. Walker breaks in using their thieves' tools, rolling a nat 20 on the check and another nat 20 on the following Intelligence save against the magical lock. Inside are rows of bookshelves holding tomes and spell scrolls and Echo and Walker's eyes light up. The two begin taking items while Callum investigates the large horn hung on the wall. Echo finds spell scrolls of *shadow of moil, bestow curse,* and *enervation.* Walker finds an Amulet of Resistance and takes several books about the Umbral Wraiths and the Order of Vitriolic Blood. The group has to convince Callum not to blow into the horn until they see an enemy. Callum also finds a book by a one Ryfon Sarren. Before leaving, Echo flicked a spark from *prestidigitation* into a stack of papers.

They then entered the Rehab Court where there were 4 guards, 2 on the ground floor and 2 on a balcony above with crossbows. Walker kicks in the door with assistance from Callum. Callum blows the horn, which seemingly makes no sound except for a single guard that covers his ears in agony. The guard's crossbow then breaks on a nat 1, which Callum takes to be an effect of the horn, which is actually a Horn of Silent Alarm. Echo and Walker take pot shots with molten golden *eldritch blasts* and *rays of frost.* This lasted for many rounds before all the guards were eventually dispatched. Several inmates made a run for it including Blaze.

The party then escaped from the Refracted Reformitorium, heading east into the desert. The group begins to discuss their thoughts on the Prism Break. Walker pulls Pekelo aside and asks him what his duty was on the ship. He explains that he was a scout and Walker asks if he worked with Nuku, he didn't. They then introduce themself to him as Walker, shaking his hand. Walker explains to the group that they were a pirate off the eastern coast of Xi'Shu.

Rajah talks with the group about why he was captured by the Illuminators. He was stealing money from the rich to share with the poor a la (great Xi'Shuan legend) Robin Hood. He continues to explain how Astryd Ansirah used to work with him, and how the Great Fluxx actually helped him regain his magic after losing it to a cursed disease. Echo brings up how she came into her wealth and station through earning it, but was confused about the plights of the commoner, including poverty and disease. She referred to the rest of the group as lowborn, which they did not like. Callum brings up eating the rich, though his enthusiastic energy makes it unclear if he was just joking or being serious, while Walker explains the dangers of those who hoard wealth. They compliment Rajah saying he follows an honorable path, that their pirate ship only took and never gave. When asked why they were a pirate if they didn't agree with it, they did it for family, their only family was on the ship.

The group makes camp and settles down for rest. Echo takes watch in her Sentry's Rest. Partway through the night, a canine figure stalks over the dunes, approaching the camp. It wears a basket on its back and sets it down to deliver two sealed messages, to Callum and Gaelin. After watching the messenger spirit pack up and leave, Echo snatched the messages and opened them to read.

### Session 5 - Piss and Poison

The group wakes up in the desert morning. Walker pulls out a tome and speaks to themself in an unknown language, preparing their spells. They soon pack up camp and head back home to Astryd's.

On the way there, Yarra asks Echo if she can leave to go home and tend to the Dollhouse. Echo says she can if she desires to but that she'll miss her. The two hug and part ways. Pekelo also soon leaves the group. He explains to Walker that he'll be returning to the shore, to the ship. Walker wishes him luck and a farewell, and asks him not to mention them or the group because Walker left on bad terms. They come up with the lie that Blaze the centaur was the one to free the prisoners.

Arriving at Astryd's home, Rajah/Vish is reunited with Astryd, who is shocked to see him out of prison. The group explains how they freed all the inmates. Inside, Echo goes to her bedchambers and empties the shredded letters from her belly and burns them on a candle flame, cleaning the mess with a *prestidigitation.* With free time, Walker goes foraging and collects enough ingredients, alongside Echo's vial of serpent venom, to create a healing potion. Echo also leaves for the woods to converse with her patron in her hand mirror where the divination wards won't effect her communication. Echo explains to the cloaked, beautiful woman where she is and who she is traveling with, asking if she's heard of something called Ego. She says she may have but requires more information. Echo explains that a man she is traveling with wears an antler like the antlers on Ego. With piercing grey eyes the patron demands, "Get if for me." Echo says she will and says, "Thank you, creator."

At the sanctuary, Walker is resting in the hot spring reading their newly acquired books and discovers information about the Umbral Wraiths' beliefs in the balance of light and dark and the Vitriolic Bloods' manifesto about requiring suffering to grow stronger. Two of the wraiths were captured by the Illuminators, one near the border of Fox and Unicorn clan. Callum lifts weights. Echo returns home and flirts with Gaelin, saying she'll help him at the library and that "it'll be a date." He gets flustered. She then joins Walker and Callum at the hot springs, and they are soon joined by a relaxed Vish. Walker asks him perplexedly if he's pissing in the pool which he denies by saying he's "not that guy... anymore." Echo asks the group what pissing is like and the conversation delves into an existential discussion about having a body. Echo describes being numb to most things, and Callum talks about the constant pain he feels from his tumor. Echo explains how she feels like her ability to emotionally care is weak but she's still in control, to which Walker says, "That's what he says," in reference to Callum. Callum swears he has full control over his Ego, but Walker still doubts him. Echo soon retires back inside.

Echo writes a note for Gaelin, asking him to come to her room at midnight, and leaves it under his pillow. She then uses her Oil of Taggit on Callum's sheets and on the doorknob to their room. Then, she asks Zari to if she could distract Gaelin at midnight for a "secret mission" and she agrees.

Walker exits the hot spring to take a shower and get some rest. Callum, thinking about Walker's doubt in his ability to control Ego-Callum, goes out into the woods to test his self control. He enters a rage and tries to delicately pick a pear from a tree, but ends up tearing its flesh with his large, clawed fingers. He goes in to go to bed, but finds Gaelin passed out in his bed with the door open. Zari comes by asking for Gaelin, notices him snoring, and says "mission success" before walking off. Callum, with his heightened sense of smell, notices something off about his sheets, and recognizes the scent of the poison. Suspicious and alert, he removes the sheets and puts them under his bed and attempts to keep watch in their room, though he eventually nods off. In her room, Echo disguises herself as Marfer with her Mask of Many Faces, and goes invisible to enter Callum and Gaelin's room. She sneaks in and takes the sheets, putting them back over Callum, but he succeeds and resists the poison. Echo then has to cut the antler necklace from him, but ends up waking Callum. He swings a hand out, but hits nothing and doesn't really know what's happening, so eventually falls back to sleep again. Echo tries again, this time succeeding and running off with the antler. She drops *invisibility* and runs past Callum's open door as a taller Marfer. He gets up to chase her, shouting for her to stop, but she casts *Invisibility* again yelling, "The Shadow stops for no man!"

Noticing his necklace is now gone, Callum goes to find help. He asks Zari if she saw anything but she didn't. He goes to awake Astryd, but she's still awake. He tells her about the poison and she says she'll help Gaelin while he wakes the others. As Astryd casts *lesser restoration* on Gaelin and *alarm* on the room, Callum wakes Walker. Walker groggily wakes up, confused, asking what's happening. He explains that there was poison in his room, that Gaelin is passed out, and there was a thief in the building. He explains that it may have been Marfer but she looked too large to be Marfer, to which Walker offers the theory of Ego-Marfer.

Outside, with her mirror and the antler, Echo communes with her patron in the woods. The patron, lying in bed obsessing over her appearance, says to give the item to Karma, that she'll know what to do with it. Echo summons Karma and snaps the antler in half to keep part of it for herself. As she does so, black mist pours from the antler and strikes out at Karma. Echo screams.

### Session 6 - Karma's a Bitch

Callum hears Echo's scream outside and runs to go help her. Astryd hastens his speed with *longstrider* and Walker chases after using Adrenal Surges to catch up and outpace him. Meanwhile, Karma has transformed into Ego-Karma, most of her white scales have turned black, a red metallic hexagon has covered her right eye, her fangs have turned black, and a single red horn has sprouted from the right side of her head. Echo hears Karma's telepathic cries for help and Ego's deep speech laughter. Echo grapples her. Ego-Karma bites her and Echo yells for help. Echo tries to *hold person* Karma, and drops her *disguise self* revealing her true, shattered, kintsugied form. Getting desperate, Echo slashes at Ego-Karma with her poisoned dagger, severely damaging her. Callum and Walker shortly arrive and listen to Echo's begging for them not to kill Karma. Callum rushes in and Karma bites him. Walker also rushes in and the two of them begin to punch the grappled Ego-Karma to not lethally damage her. Callum tears the horn from her head. Echo tries to punch Ego-Karma but her hands are too full grappling her to land a successful hit. Ego-Karma lashes out at Callum once more, biting his neck, and critting with devastating poison damage that knocks him unconscious. Realizing Karma is on death's door, Walker casts *siphon ichor* on her. Finally, wanting to end her suffering, Echo sinks a dagger in Karma's skull, killing her.

As the familiar fades away, Echo drops to her knees-devastated-and *siphon ichor* heals Callum and brings him back to consciousness. Callum tries to hug Echo but she pushes him off even when he tries to double down on it. Walker stands there awkwardly, highly suspecting Echo of being the thief, but understanding the grief she must be going through. After a moment, Echo stands, seemingly way less phased than she was moments ago. Walker asks if shes okay and she says "Yeah, why?" Confused by what she means, they explain "Uhm, you know, because of Karma..." to which Echo says "Karma? What do you mean?" Very confused, Walker and Callum exchange a look. "Your pet," Callum states. "Your snake... that you just had to kill..." Walker prompts. "Oh yeah, of course," Echo replies unconvincingly. The two ask her if she can remember what just happened but she doesn't have any good answers. Callum searches for the original antler, but only has the new Karma antler. He finds Echo's shattered mirror, who takes it as soon as he shows her he has it. Worried at her sudden memory loss, Walker suggests they go back inside.

Walking into the temple, Astryd-standing guard over Zari-asks what happened. They explain. Walker asks if Astryd has any ability to remove a curse, to which she says she does, but would like to do so in the morning for how tired she is. Walker explains that something seems to be effecting Echo's memory and that it could be a curse, but also asks Callum if it could've been Ego, to which he says he's never seen that effect. Callum asks Astryd if she can hold onto the antler for him, and she goes with him to store it in a magically secured safe. Suspicious of Echo but not wanting her to know, Walker retires to bed and says goodnight. Callum asks for an unpoisoned room, and shortly after everyone goes to bed, Walker visits him in his room. Walker brings up their theory, connecting the dots about the poison, Echo's previous desire for the necklace, and the fact they found her in the middle of the woods with an Ego-Karma. Callum says it could be Marfer but they realize that it could have been Echo using *disguise self,* especially since the Marfer Callum saw was abnormally tall. The two agree to keep a close eye on her.

In the morning, the group awakes to the smell of Astryd cooking breakfast. Walker and Callum devour it before they are about to do their laundry, but Echo offers to simply *prestidigitation* their clothes clean and does so happily. Astryd gives them the chore of traveling to buy food for her to cook them a feast. Before they leave, Astryd and Echo go to Astryd's bedchamber for some privacy. Astryd casts *remove curse* on Echo, to no effect; however, she seems dazed for a second and goes to the mirror to "check if everything was how I remembered it" and that she "sort of blacked out for a minute" even though she didn't. They return to the group. Walker asks if things went well, and Echo explains there was no effect and about what happened with Astryd. Walker asks if that seemed familiar to her, which Echo denies saying that she's perfect. Walker looks at her doubtfully then mumbling "Don't know about that one."

Astryd than gives the group 10gp and a shopping list, and the group opts to head to Udecisi in former Dragon Clan instead of traveling 14 days round trip to Kochuza like Astryd somewhat suggested. Walker and Callum very much did not want to return there. They traveled for a day north to the city. In Udecisi-a town of grey, stone buildings and multicolored dragon banners-they found a bazaar/indoor mall and began shopping. They first stopped at a blacksmith, where Echo bought several daggers with an IOU cheque and Callum enquired about great weapons. The duergar sent them to the jeweler for enchanting purposes. There, they inquired the aasimar jeweler about his magic items. He procured a series of enchanted gemstones, of which, Callum and Echo both bought one. Echo also asked for her new daggers to be gem encrusted, paying with another IOU. Finally, Walker went to the tailor and bought a new suit for fancy occasions, and a leather jacket and corduroys for the cold weather climate.

### Session 7 - Wild Magic

The group finishes up the last of their shopping and finds rest at the Finer Miner. Inside, they find a few members of the Broken Horns, one of which is regaling a tale of a time he split a monstrous crocodilian creature apart by its jaws. Callum recognizes this person to be Ashutosh and loudly proclaims "Oh, I've done that too!" Callum and Walker get drinks and as Callum begins to explain his "backstory" to the group of Broken Horns, Echo and Walker join the circle to hear. Callum explains how he encountered a massive insectoid crawler and rended it in twine by its razor sharp mandibles. He proves it with acid scars on his hands and the Mandiblade on his right arm. Ashutosh is impressed and gives Callum 2 silver to buy a drink on him. Walker asks Callum where he's from and Echo gets upset that they've been traveling together for 12 days and no one's asked her where she's from. Teasing her-and being a jackass-Walker turns to Ashutosh and asks him where he's from. Echo storms off to the bar. Callum and Walker follow after her.

Walker asks Echo if she wants to tell them where she's from and she says that she's also asked them both if they've been married and they never asked her if she was. Walker explains that she doesn't where a ring so they assumed she wasn't, also that marriage isn't really something they think about. Echo explains that she's from a manor called the Dollhouse and that she's widowed. Walker continues to ask questions and learns that Echo doesn't really remember anything from more than five years ago and there's a year she can't remember and that's when her arm was shattered. She had been married three times in arranged marriages, the first arranged by her parents-that she doesn't remember-and the other two by an unknown person. Callum asks Walker for their "backstory" and Walker obliges. They explain how 25 years ago they were fishing with their cousins and older brother when they were attacked by a sea basilisk. Their brother got lathered with its petrifying slime and sank to the ocean floor. They rushed home for help and found the island of Awaiki exploded, lava filled the village and magma elementals were running amoc. They only found their grandmother and ended up living with her for years while their older cousin ended up joining a life of crime to support them, eventually they all joined a pirate crew. After years, they found a way to save their older brother, but now he was the same age as them and when he learned what they were doing for a living he left them. Walker never saw him after that.

The group went to sleep and the next morning they found a hubbub in the plaza near the village entrance. A tall red tiefling in black and gold robes was fending off adoring fans. The group recognized this man to be Kishor Dharvim, a monk and the Mane of Dragon Clan. They notice he's brought the bodies of two slain shadow mastiffs with him. They talk to him and he says that they seem capable. He explains that he needs someone to clear out his temple to the north because it's been inhabited by an unknown force. Asking what they'd get in return, they agree to the job for the gold and reputation it would provide.

They head half a day northward through the mountain trails before they find the colorfully painted stone temple. Walker notices that the area feels weird. There's an electric potential of uncertainty in the magic here. They test it by conjuring a yellow flower with *druidcraft* that comes out multicolored. They attempt to stealthily approach the temple, but make a lot of noise in the process. They arrive and Echo reads the Draconic script above the door, the Chroma Claw. They enter and find a courtyard where the shine of metallic armored figures can be seen hiding behind trees.

Combat breaks out as six, small, dark grey, elf-like, fey creatures hop out to attack. Echo rushes in and misses all her attacks. Walker casts *binding ice* but they all succeed on their saving throws and only take half damage. Wild magic surges and Walker can suddenly cast spells much faster. Then the fey rush in with their daggers. A few hit Callum and two hit Walker, severely injuring them. "Owwwwww! Owwwwwwww!" they moan/yell as the necrosis seeps in. Then, the leader of the fey group casts *darkness*, blinding everyone. Echo casts *shatter* on several of the fey creatures and Callum, but a wild magic surge turns her into a porcelain vase. Walker disengages and benefits from the wild magic to also curse one of the creatures near Callum with siphon ichor. The leader dashes through the darkness and reaches Walker. Callum recklessly attacks and kills the cursed creature, healing some hp. Echo hatches from the vase and casts *shatter* again. Walker summons Hikiki but he doesn't do enough damage to kill the fey leader. It retaliates and slashes Walker, downing them. Callum then rushes out of the darkness to the leader, grabbing it and slamming it into the ground killing it. However, the creature erupts in a radiant explosion damaging Callum and the unconscious Walker.

With all of the threats eliminated, Echo rushes to Walkers side and heals them with a *healing* *elixir*. Wild magic surges and Echo suddenly ages 6 years, though the effects are only mental.

### Session 8 - Trials of the Chroma Claw

Exploring the courtyard of the Temple of the Chroma Claw, the group finds three buildings. In the first one they explore, they find racks of monk weaponry and notice pink crystal growths on the outside and find a large floating crystal inside the building. Shooting it with *eldritch blasts* and unhelping *rays of frost,* they disable the crystal, temporarily disabling the local wild magic surges.

In the courtyard, Echo hears the sound of voices within the largest of the buildings, an ornate stone temple. Echo casts *invisibility* on herself and goes inside to investigate. She finds a semicircular room with five statues of chromatic, serpentine dragons in an arc on the far wall and corresponding doors behind each one. From right to left: a red dragon rising from an inferno, a white dragon rising from a blizzard, a blue dragon flying under a storm cloud, a black dragon with a plague of insects, and a green dragon wrapped around a poisonous tree. Also in the room are three red-capped fey creatures with gnarly teeth and heavy iron boots wielding dual, silvered sickles. Echo goes back to the group to report her findings and Callum immediately charges in. Combat ensues with the redcaps which are dealt with after a few rounds of combat with Walker using their Relentless Endurance for the first time to not go down. After killing the redcaps, the group looted their weapons and began to investigate the room. Checking behind the green door, they only found a brick wall. However, Walker noticed there was a new, sixth statue in the room of a clawed hand holding a pearl. The group placed the pearl in the hand of the green dragon and watched as a green portal opened up behind the once sealed off door. Echo entered and Callum and Walker hesitantly followed.

Inside, they find themselves in a 40 x 40 foot room on a small platform overlooking a sea of poisonous gas. Echo reads a clue in Draconic, "To escape this room your task is this, find the lever amidst poison's kiss." They elect to send Echo, who doesn't need to breathe, into the gas to find the lever. After trial and error of following the arrow marked tiles, Echo eventually found the lever, which cleared the room of the gas and revealed a treasure chest which contained another pearl and 15 gp.

Outside, they gave the pearl to the white dragon and entered the corresponding portal. The trial room they found themselves in was a cold chamber with a 20-foot-cube of ice in the center, a wooden table with a hammer and a chisel, and a statue of a white dragon's head. Draconic script reads, "Icy visions carved in frost, heed the guiding words or all is lost." Walker picked up the tools and the others received visions of two different people: a ripped, shirtless man with large spiky pauldrons and a cocky smile and a magic wielding, levitating sorceress in a sexy dress, both of which has horns. Walker proceeded to listen to their companions verbal descriptions of the people in the visions, greatly aided by Echo's *disguise self*. After time was up and the carving had been completed, it was deemed satisfactory and the group received another pearl along with a spell scroll of *frostskin.*

The next trial they choose was the black dragon's. Inside they found a clay statue of a wide-brimmed warrior with nine tails wielding a katana (Ryfon Sarren) in front of a pit of acid. Draconic script reads, "Embrace the chaos of acid's art to shatter and destroy the statue's heart." They decide to start damaging the statue and notice the acid starts to slowly rise as they chip away at it. Eventually, Callum busts open the statues chest, and a ball falls out that bursts open revealing a pearl and 25 gp.

They then tackle the red trial. Inside they find a library room set ablaze. There is a cauldron of boiling water, a red fiery quill with a scroll and ink, a mirror, and a clockwork machine. Draconic script reads, "To pass this test, channel your inner flame. Conjure a solution to this fiery game." The group investigates ths various objects but can't find much use for them. Walker calms some of the flames with help from Hikiki, and they all start looking through books. Walker finds a clue in the one book with words that says "The answer is within your grasp." Reaching out into the air, their hand comes back and they're holding Brody's Decanter of Endless Water. Echo reaches out and grabs a Hair Dryer of Gust and Callum reaches out and grabs a Plushie of Help. As Walker uses *shape* *water* to put out more of the fires, Echo investigates the mirror and uses her Hair Dryer of Gust to put out some of the flames on the much more fiery than reality reflection. She asks Walker to help, but they get the idea that the clock gadget on the machine may have something to do with the future look at the library in the mirror. Echo *prestidigitations* the machine clean of rust and Walker turns back the dial several hours. A compartment in the machine pops open revealing a small vial of glowing liquid. The Plushie of Help explains this to be an Essence of Elemental. They then pour the essence into the cauldron and Walker uses some of it to write instructions for the elemental in Primordial. Throwing the quill into the cauldron, the water elemental springs to life and begins dousing the flames. They receive another pearl.

Finally, the group takes the blue challenge. They find themselves in a storm cloud, so high up land can't be seen below. Ahead of them three pathways of seemingly solid clouds lead to a platform in the distance. In the clouds above, Draconic script reads, "The storm's challenge is a trial of grace, the path forward requires an agile pace." Walker tests one of the clouds, which lasts for a few seconds before fading away. Not wanting to risk jumping across and falling into the abyss, Walker sends Hikiki to the otherside who easily grabs the pearl and flies it back.

Back in the semicircular room, they give the last pearl to the hand in the middle, and the whole room moves to reveal a new doorway. The enter. Inside is a similar chamber lined with a moat of water which is occupied by five more statues of the same dragons. In the far center of the room a familiar form sits in meditation. A red skinned tiefling, but with a disheveled beard and tattered robes sits. He opens his eyes and seems to somewhat recognize Callum and Echo, but doesn't know who they are. Echo explains that he hired them to come here and clear out this temple and he, confused, says that wasn't him, he's been here for years. His hands flicker between elemental energies. Behind the group in the entranceway, a blue skinned tiefling with wideset horns and a bow grins as he admits it was him, appearance momentarily flickering to match Kishor's. Echo asks, "Who are you?" To which he responds, "I'll tell you, because if you don't join me in killing this man, I'll have to kill you too. I'm Rueska Sand."

### Session 9 - Negotiations

Echo puts her hand out to Rueska, "I'm Echo." He takes it sauvely and kisses it as expected. She greets Kishor the same and he responds with a curt bow. Kishor then explains that this chamber is only accessible by those who passed the Trials, that the gifts attained here are only for his students, and that Rueska meets neither of those requirements. Rueska says that the party has completed what they were hired to do, so he will take his questioning and conflict with Kishor outside.

Callum begins to talk with Kishor about why he seemed to recognize him. Callum rolls up his sleeve to reveal his Ego scars. Kishor quickly comes to realize, "Ah yes. That's where I know you." Echo and Walker are both confused and the former demands that Callum explains himself after several extremely vague answers. They converse over tea. He reveals that he is actually of noble blood, the first born son of Vikas Zhidane, the Mane of Turtle Clan. Walker is very taken aback by this new information, now suddenly the only "lowborn" in the group. Echo is now interested and prods Callum for where his father "draws his power" saying that "All Manes draw their power from different Demons." Callum explains that he thought it would be obvious, that Vikas draws his power from the Demon Joy. Walker processes as the conversation continues around them. Echo then asks Kishor where he draws his power, and he explains he draws it from the Spirit of the Five Dragons, but stoicly reveals nothing about which Demon. Echo is then curious about why Kishor seemed to recognize her. bla bla bla. Echo explains that she draws her power from her Creator, that she is the "Echo of Vanity." bla bla bla. Callum talks with Kishor about how the Manes are fighting a war against someone and losing. Ryfon Sarren is hunting down the Manes and Callum reveals to Kishor that he knows he was slain, because he read it in the slayer's book. Kishor is appalled to learn he wrote about it. Echo then explains that they've known eachother for some time and says they should share their secrets, prompting Walker. Walker retaliates asking, "Yeah, share all our secrets with a man we just met?" Callum tells Kishor that they have a vested interest in keeping eachother alive, so he'll help Kishor deal with Rueska if Kishor helps him find a cure for Ego. Kishor, however, explains that he needs someone to help conceal the Temple and that Rueska may be able to help. The group decides to go outside for negotiations, but a severely injured Walker decides to hide.

In the courtyard, Rueska splits an arrow in twine with another. They approach Rueska and Kishor asks what all of this was for. Rueska takes off his quiver and begins taking arrows out of it, laying them on the ground. Each of them are unique: charred with red feathers, etc, etc. Rueska explains he has five of his arrows-Anger, Fear, Happiness, Disgust, Calm-but that Sadness recently went missing. Kishor notes the connection with the Demons, but explains that Sorrow was lost on the Material Plane over two decades ago, during the Fluxx believed to be caused by Ryfon Sarren. Rueska is unaware of what this event is. He explains that time is weird in the Feywild, that 15 minutes here could be 30 years there and vice versa. Rueska asks if the Fluxx effected the Feywild but Kishor says he doesn't know because the Fluxx ruined most ways of planar travel. Rueska pulls out a fey crystal and tries to use it but it doesn't work. Through negotiations, Rueska agrees to help magically conceal the Temple and leaves to bla bla bla. Walker returns his jacket that they found before he goes.

It's late, so the group decides to stay the night at the Temple. Echo takes her Sentry's Rest at the entrance to the Temple and meets Cirro, a student of Kishor's as he returns. Callum wakes up early and Walker sleeps in as they recover from the wounds received from the darklings the previous day. Walker eventually wakes. Kishor talks with Callum once again before they leave for Udecisi, Callum explaining that Vikas should not be made aware of his location but to tell him that "I'm doing fine." Kishor agrees and tells Cirro to join the group to help look for a cure for Ego. They leave for Udecisi, finally purchase the groceries, and encounter some strange people in town. First, they see a kobold woman who is asking for help. They approach her and ask her. Her town was attacked by raiders, she says they looked like Walker. After an accusatory glance from Echo, Walker claims that not all orcs know eachother. Then Walker shows the kobold their tattoos and she recognizes them. They were Nisian. They agree to take the kobold to Astryd's and will consider traveling to Unicorn territory to fight back. Then, they encounter a tall, disjounted figure in a hood. It looks at the group and says to Echo, "You look like you need work." The group asks what type of work. The figure, who seems to actually be multiple creatures stacked atop eachother, explains that House Okori wants help to spy on House Asakura. bla bla bla. They make the trek back to Astryd's sanctuary. Arriving home, Walker explains to Astryd about what happened with getting tricked by Rueska and completing the Trial for Kishor Dharvim. Recognition spreads across Astryd's face.

### Session 10 - Flames

The party begins to plan and prepare for the upcoming conflict with the Long Talon pirates in Kuzubiro. Walker explains that most of them have firearms training and some of them may be capable with elemental druidic magics. They also say that depending on who's there, they may not be useful in eliminating the threat. The party considers which ally would be most useful and decide that Zari's magic sensing and defense weakening abilities would be most useful. They ask the kobold, who they learn is named Snurk, what she saw of the pirate threat and she admits she didn't see much. The party spends the rest of the day preparing. Callum works out and trains with Zari. Echo calls the Dollhouse asking Yarra to harvest the garden and updates her on a potential bachelor, Cirro. Walker spends most of the day distilling another Healing Potion. They also talk with Astryd about how they had seen druids in their tribe bring back people from the dead but they needed an expensive diamond to do so. Astryd explains that she's not rich, maybe in another life. Walker returns to their room, pulling out the Tome, feeling its now warm to the touch, and studying its now clawed through pages. They try to spark a *produce flame* again, but can't. That night the party enjoys a delectable feast from Astryd, and takes off the next morning.

On the five day trek to Kuzubiro, the party encounters wagon being towed by a donkey and followed along by four Illuminators. The party stops to consider what to do. Echo and Callum think it'll be good practice and a good deed to kill them here and now while Walker thinks it'd be a risk and isn't necessary when they can just sneak around them. Zari is scared to see them again. Finally, Walker agrees to help, saying, "Let me open this up then?" They plant their fingers in the ground and call forth all of the water in the surrounding land, summoning a *tidal* *wave* to crash through the wagon and the illuminators, instantly killing three of them and the donkey. Echo runs up to the final one and casts *spiderbite* on his neck, causing him to shrivel from powerful poison. The group searches through the soaked wreckage as Walker grapples with the fact of what they are now capable of, feeling devastated for instantly killing three people when they wanted to avoid death, but also feeling suddenly very confident in their abilities and about facing the Long Talon. The group finds nothing but soaked unmagical spellscrolls.

Half a day before arriving to Kuzubiro, the party is traveling through Unicorn Clan grasslands and Callum notices the ground is soft from burrowing and is able to warn the group quickly enough to avoid them being surprised. Three insectoid crawlers burst from the ground underneath them. One of them grapples Walker and all three of them slash into all three party members. Echo attacks with her serpent's venom poisoned sword and Hexblade's Curses the one grappling Walker. Walker, severely injured, sinks their fingers into the green one's carapace and casts *vampiric touch* to drain its life force. Callum goes Ego and begins recklessly slashing into the monstrosities, before stabbing one of them with his horns, using Vitae Furtum to drain its life force. However, the Ego lingers on the insectoid crawler as it glitches out and becomes an Ego-Crawler before splitting into two separate crawlers. Another wave of slashing from the crawlers occurs and one of them sprays acid at Callum and Echo. The green one bites down one Walker, almost knocking them unconscious but they fight back and stay standing using Relentless Endurance. Echo slices the green one in half using an Eldritch Smite and Walker sprints away with Adrenaline Surge before upcasting *siphon ichor* on both Ego-Crawlers. Callum slashes into one of the Ego-Crawlers, killing it and healing from *siphon ichor*. The other attacks Callum and splits into two again. The remaining normal crawler burrows away. Echo rushes in and jumps onto one of the Ego-Crawlers and slices its antler off, trying to harvest it, but the body and antler turn into ash as the creature dies. Sixty feet away, Walker furiously fires a *ray of frost-*somehow recklessly-at the final crawler, completely freezing it over with ice and killing it. With most of the group injured, they decide to take a short rest.

A few hours before sunset, the group arrives on the outskirts of the walled town/city of Kuzubiro. Plumes of smoke rise from within. They hide in the tall grass as they formulate a plan. Completely rejuvenated, Callum and Echo claim they should go in now, before anymore civilians are killed. Walker, down their most powerful battlefield-altering spells, thinks it'd be too dangerous and is willing to risk another night of whatever's happening to not risk their own lives. Skrunk explains that it's been eight days since they first took over the town. Walker, scared to face these pirates at anything but their strongest, walks off to find somewhere to hide for the night. In the tall grass, they pull out their Tome trying to find an answer but ultimately put it back away. They soon notice a figure crouching through the grass and it bumps into them. They try to grapple and silence them, but fail and notice that it's Pekelo and he's injured. Pekelo is shocked but happy to see them. He explains that the pirates are here searching specifically for them. Walker is conflicted. They quitely ask Pekelo if Nuku is here. He nods grimly. Even quieter, they ask if Mānea is. He says, "Thank the gods and all the creatures of the earth, he's not." Meanwhile, Echo noticed Walker quickly duck under the grass and disguised herself as Walker using Mask of Many Faces. She snuck through the grass and caught the tail end of the conversation, catching Nuku's name but not Mānea's. She calmly announced her presence and came out of the brush. Walker, somewhat unnerved seeing themself but yassified, continues the conversation with Pekelo. They ask if the villagers are in danger. Pekelo says no one is being killed, that they're all imprisoned. They ask how many they stand strong, a dozen, two dozen, three dozen? Three dozen and more. Everything in Walker is telling them to run, but some small part of them wants this conflict. Echo calls over Callum with the codeword "I don't know" and Callum stops playing double-blind rock paper scissors with Zari to meet up with them. They explain the situation and ask Pekelo where the best place to stay the night would be. The southern grass fields. They get moving.

Falling asleep with Echo on watch, Callum and Walker enter a shared dream. They're in a grass field not unlike the one they fell asleep in, but the grass is endless. There is no Kuzubiro in sight. A figure approaches, an aasimar woman leaning on a staff and yawning. Callum recognizes her as Lin'Xi, the Unicorn Mane, and introduces himself. She introduces herself to Walker and they tell her who they are before asking "Is this real?" to which she says "I think you're just dreaming." She talks with Callum. He asks how Vikas is taking things, and she says "You know how he is," he asks "It's still up and running, eh?" and she nods. Callum asks if they will be able to meet again, that he needs to think things over, and she says they will. Walker asks is she's aware of what's happening. She doesn't know. Walker explains that raiders have taken over Kuzubiro, three dozen strong. Lin'Xi is concerned and asks them if they are going to help, to which they say that's what they're doing as soon as they wake up. Lin'Xi is grateful and says that she will bless their sleep and that if they ever need her help again, to rest in the wild. They thank eachother before the grasses grow infinitely into the sky and take them back into slumber.

They awake before dawn with the benefits of *aid*. The party quickly makes a game plan. Echo will turn Callum and Walked invisible so they can get over the wall unseen, and Echo will disguise herself as Walker and cause a distraction. Inside, Walker and Callum will attempt to free all the prisoners, and if all hell breaks loose they can "Make all hell break loose." Walker puts their hand in the middle and says "Alright we're coming up with a team name, right now." After some debate over the necessity of that, Callum and Echo put their hands in and Walker counts them in "On 1, 2, 3," they all shout at the same time. Echo says, "Nighthawks!" Walker, "The Three Amigos!" and Callum, "4!" They start their plan in motion. Callum rages and Echo turns him and Walker invisible. The two approach the wall and Ego-Callum climbs it with his monstrous claws and lets down a rope for Walker to follow. A disguised Echo approaches the southern gate, lights the grass on fire with a *green-flame blade*, and starts firing *eldritch blasts* at the guards. The guards fire their firearms after her, and upon impact, Echo panics, realizing that the bullets leave chips in her porcelain skin. Drawing the attention of several guards with a cartoonishly piratey Walker impression, she begins to run around the outside of the city to draw the attention of even more guards.

### Session 11 - The Good Guys

Callum and Walker scale down the wall. Invisible, they stalk into the city to scout out the location of the imprisoned civilians. They find a few buildings: a stone Lion Clan building, a Unicorn clan building decorated with astral imagery, the Lox & Found Inn, and an Illuminators building. Though mostly unguarded, Walker decides to keep searching for a building that looks more clearly like a prison, thinking at the very least, that they'd care to guard the prison. They continue westward through the city. In the southwest corner, they find: a temple, a garden, and a large indistinct that is heavily guarded. Still not finding the "County Gaol" they continue northeast towards the town center.

Meanwhile, Echo is running for her life outside the city, bullets whizzing past her. Terrified to take anymore damage to her porcelain form, she decides to drop *invisibility* on Walker and Callum to cast it on herself. She finds an entrance to the city and takes shelter in the Unicorn Clan building. She discovers it to be a library filled with stone tablet star charts, a stained glass window in the back. She closes the door behind her and slumps to the floor having a panic attack.

Walker and Callum are in the middle of crossing the street when they suddenly become visible. Walker makes it to the other side but Callum gets spotted by a triton pirate and can't cross. "Alright guys, enough. Stop sneaking up on me!" says the triton as he slowly approaches Callum's location wielding a trident. Walker is unsure if Echo just died or simply dropped the spell on them. They look ahead into a small side street and don't see any guards, so they signal to Callum to run over as they cast *fog cloud* in the middle of the street between them. The 20-foot-radius sphere of mist fills the street and the triton goes "Guys come on. I know you're in there! You're not gonna get me this time!" Callum rushes through the fog and makes it to Walker. Unsure of where to go, Walker decides to scout ahead and see what some of the other non-residential buildings are. They spot an apothecary; however, they aren't as stealthy as they hoped and a bunch of hungover pirates in the town center begin to chase after them. Walker successfully fires a *ray of frost* at the closest one. Walker and Callum begin to run down one of the main streets southeast. Knowing the area they are heading is currently unguarded, and seeing 7 pirates conveniently close together, Walker turns around and plants their feet. They pull at the mist and morning fog, chilling the air, and condensing it into a rushing *tidal wave* that slams through the pirates. The injured one dies and four others are knocked prone and severely bludgeoned by the rapids. Walker calls for Callum to go in and finish the job and he begrudgingly agrees. Callum rages and begins slamming the prone pirates into the ground and bashing the others' heads, instantly killing them. Walker picks at the remaining ones with *rays of frost*. A cutlass wielding orc rushes after Walker after they hide in an alley, Walker deflects most of the attacks with their silver sickle before summoning Hikiki to begin assailing the pirate. The two orcs make eye contact "Oh it's gonna be great to be the one to turn *you* in." "You're not gonna kill me." Callum finishes off the gunslinging pirate that Walker had *sapping stinged* and rushes into the alley way to finish off the final one. "Thanks big guy," Walker says before wiping Ego-Drool from their face.

Chained to a prison wall, Cori-a halfling Life cleric-is watching a gnome try to reach a small metal pin on the ground with their hands that are chained to the wall. Cori whispers that the gnome use his feet to grab the pin. The gnome is confused, and after receiving further instructions from the cleric, kicks the pin farther away. Luckily, Cori is able to reach it and manages to pick her own lock. Cori helps the other prisoners in her room escape: a minotaur, an elf, a kenku, and the gnome. She is able to reach a key that has been dropped to the ground in a hurry by one of the guards who went to chase after "Walker." They escape.

Callum and Walker, who are heading back to the southeastern portion of town, see a group of 5 civilians exit the unguarded Lion Clan building. They sneak over and introduce themselves. Seeing a tatted orc and a very tall human, Cori asks if they're with the pirates and Walker explains that they're not and they're here to free the citizens of Kuzubiro. Cori explains how they just broke out but have no weapons. They decide to take cover in the Unicorn Clan building. They enter and close the door behind themselves and Walker begins asking questions about the Long Talon pirates and the important landmarks around town. Callum notices disembodied heavy breathing and finds an invisible Echo who announces herself. "Oh do you all know eachother?" Cori asks. "Yeah we came here together. We came to free the townsfolk," Walker explains. "Yeh, we're kinda like heroes!" Callum announces and Walker cringes at the term, "It sounds pretentious." Cori asks how well they know eachother and Walker admits that they've all seen eachother naked, to which Cori says that's too much information. Echo is noticeably still panicking and explains how they've been injured. Cori offers to help but Echo explains the injury can't be fixed. Walker, worried, asks if she's been damaged and asks around the room if anyone can take a few hits, holding up their fists preparing to cast *siphon ichor*. Confused at what they're talking about, Cori offers a *cure wounds*. The group is wowed by the powerful healing spell and asks Cori how long she's been in town. She explains that she's with the Illuminators, that she was sent here to help people out, and has been here for about a month. At Illuminators, she notices Callum's visible disgust and Walker's poor attempt to nonchalantly ignore it, "Oh, like a mission trip?" Cori explains that she can tell they've had some history with the Illuminators and that she knows that they're not for everyone, but that she's here to try and help people. "We can talk about *that* later." They learn more about the various places around town: the Temple of Lox, the Astral Ale House, the Starfall Theater, the Purification Grounds (which is acting as the de facto storehouse and prison, and is most heavily guarded), the barracks, and finally the Rising Moonicorn Bakery which is run by the minotaur, Seze. Cori also explains they've heard the pirates are well organized under a single leader, either Nuku or Uhane, to which Walker says "They're the same person." Echo makes a comment saying Nuku's name is stupid. "Wow, okay. That's culturally insensitive," Walker says offended to which Echo says, “Walker, I'm going through a tough time right now, you're gooing to have to excuse my racism.” Cori notices Zari (who snuck in via barrel) is hiding behind Callum from Cori. Echo explains that they saved from an Illuminator prison. "What?" Cori asked. Yeah, they freed a ton of prisoners from the main Illuminator prison where they were tortured, one of whom was a child. Cori is extremely distraught to learn that the Illuminators would do something like that and begins to have a crisis of faith. Walker tells them to put her crisis on hold, work needs to be done, and Echo agrees saying she's doing the same. The group decides they should go to the Purification Grounds to collect their weapons and free more prisoners while an invisible Echo explores the northern part of town and the apothecary. They give her the Horn of Silent Alarm and part ways.

Echo enters the apothecary and finds it has been heavily ravaged by the pirates. However, she ends up finding 2 healing potions and a flask of Oil of Slipperiness. She crosses the street to head towards the smithy, but ends up catching the attention of two pirates. She acts like a damsel and distress, but walks past them and enters the smithy. Inside, the place has also been looted but she finds ingots of a strange metal. The guards enter saying "We're heroes who have come to save you!" She jumps from the shadows and kills one instantly with a critical hit *green-flame blade* from her war fan. The other doesn't have a chance to react before she again, crits with a *green-flame blade* war fan, and kills the pirate. After, she steals their gold and jewelry, rips their teeth out to add them to the shell necklaces, and then rips out one of their hearts and eats it, shredding it in her industrial shredder.

Callum, Walker, Cori, and the other civilians head towards the Illuminators' building. They find it to be guarded by an orc and the triton as well as 4 magma mephits that watch from the roof. Cori casts *command* and tells the guards to flee. The orc is charmed and sprints into an ally across the street, the triton notices the group and moves in to attack. The triton stabs Walker in the gut with his trident as the prongs frost over, casting a chilling *booming blade*. Walker retaliates with a *binding ice* that instantly turns two of the mephits into cracking obsidian. Callum cuts into the triton and Cori unlethally knocks him unconscious with a sickle slice to the knee, taking pity on him. Walker finishes off the other mephits with hailstones from Hikiki. The orc returns and Walker intimidates him using *shape water* to spin his friends blood in the air around themself. Callum grapples him and they drag him inside the building. Walker bursts in with a prepared *ray of frost* aimed at the few guards inside as Callum drags in the two guards from outside. They demand the guards for their keys and he slowly tosses them to Cori, who misses the catch due to Zari's psychic shock. She snickers. They free a few prisoners that were chained up in the building and use the manacles to bind the 5 pirates. Walker cuts some cloth and gags them.

Echo changes her clothes again, and heads to the back door of the Starfall Theater. She tries to unlock the door but crit fails, jamming the lock. So she knocks. A voice from inside tells her it's not her time to come on stage yet. Echo doesn't like being told what to do, so she rapid fires *eldritch blasts* into the lock, exploding the door open and entering. Inside, she's stage left. In the center of stage sits a single chair. The building is empty. A voice enters her head, "I told you. It's not time. Come back when the other performers are ready," and Echo is magically compelled to leave. The door closes shut behind her, fixed. She leaves to meet up with the group.

The group meets with Echo on their way to raid the Purification Grounds. Echo explains what happened with the voice in her head as Walker hears a voice in their own. "Come now captain, you're on in 5. entrance on stage left." Walker explains, confused. Cori asks if they are a captain, they're not, were they?, they were never. That position won't be open for a long time. Callum thinks they should bash in to the Purification Grounds and get out with as much as they can as quick as they can. They move forward with the plan.

### Session 12 - Curtain Call

The group rushes towards the Purification Grounds. They quickly dispatch the two pirates who stand guard outside the building before Callum hurls a grappling hook through a second story window. They climb the rope and find themselves on a balcony overlooking the ground floor, half a dozen pirates are inside. Echo opens up by dropping from the balcony and instantly decapitating a pirate with a *green-flame bladed* war fan. Callum charges in and attacks recklessly while Cori casts *spirit guardians* and wades through the enemies. Walker stays on the balcony and drops prone, taking pot shots at the injured pirates with *rays of frost* and hailstones from Hikiki. After several rounds of this and several dismembered, maimed, and brutally slaughtered pirates at the hand of Echo later, the group barely catches their breath before searching the building for prisoners and loot. Cori finds a ring of keys and her parents who she sets free. She apologizes to them for saying "the f-word" and explains how she's working with this group to save the city. They see the blood soaked room and watch Echo and Walker greedily digging through the gathered loot. "Killing is a sin, Cori," says her mom. "Mom, I can *fix* them." Echo and Walker find a chest filled with money gathered from the city, over 300 gold. Echo takes 59gp and Walker takes 10gp. Walker gets Cori's weapon back to her and she gives the keys to her parents to free the rest of the citizens. The group heads for the Starfall Theater.

They arrive at the entrance to stage left and find the door unlocked. Callum and Echo enter first and Walker follows suspiciously scanning the environment with their darkvision for any threats or traps. Nothing looms in the dark, but two white-gloved hands control a spotlight on the catwalk, aiming it at a hooded figure tied to a chair center stage who begs for help. Walker warns the group but Echo and Callum enter the stage to investigate the figure. Then, a group of 3 others enters the stage stage right: a towering loxodon, cracking his knuckles; a tiefling, who eyes Echo with a smirk; and a shifty goblin. All of them wear shoddily put together pirate garb, seemingly collected from dead bodies outside. Echo rips the hood from the figure, revealing it to be a lifeless wooden puppet, strings reaching into the darkness above. "Hey! That's our hostage!" shouts the tiefling. Combat breaks loose and Walker hears a voice in their head, "Captain, it's time to take the helm." White-gloved hands wheel the bow and stern of a ship onto the stage and a mast is lowered from the ceiling. Callum rushes in and fights the loxodon who lets loose a series of punches. Echo begins fighting the tiefling, inflicting her with a Hexblade's Curse, the tiefling hits her with a wicked sneak attack. The goblin rushes in to attack Callum's unprotected side. Walker, magically suggested, saunters onto stage and climbs the stern to take the wheel. Suddenly, they are fully immersed on an actual pirate ship. The stage and theatre fade away as rolling seas replace them. Ahead, they see jagged rocky peaks and a churning whirlpool, they begin turning the wheel to skirt the edge of the whirlpool, calling out warnings to the crew. Callum erupts into a rage, becoming Ego-Callum for the first time in front of Cori, and grapppes and lets loose into the loxodon. Cori prepares a *goodberry* and rolls several of the berries to her party members. Echo pulls out her scroll of *bestow curse* and kisses the tiefling, casting it on her, and stunning her out of action for several rounds. Walker keeps sailing the ship and gets the ship past the whirlpool. Ego-Callum begins using charges of his lighting gem to attack the loxodon which causes him to wince and scream in pain. The goblin shimmies up the mast and begins raining fire on the party. Several more rounds of combat pass before Callum rips through the loxodon, using lightning charges, and seething with rage and pain as he slashes the loxodon into pulp... wooden pulp. Callum chases the goblin up the mast but it drops down and knicks Walker's tome with a slash of its sword. Walker immediately stops caring about steering the ship and tries to grapple the tome back from the goblin but it runs off. Callum swings at the catwalk from the mast and destroys a stage light. Walker furiously chases the goblin off stage and the illusion of the ship disappears, meanwhile more and more props are appearing on stage and causing damage to the others. Walker casts *binding ice* and catches the goblin with it. Echo climbs the mast and jumps to the catwalk with Callum and the both reak havoc on it. Walker fires an *ice knife* at the goblin, killing it in a cocoon of ice. They run up and rip the tome from its cold dead hands. On the stage, the catwalk collapses and the tiefling gets drawn up into the darkness by her strings. A treasure chest is brought on stage. The Marionette appears and congratulates the group on a show well done. The curtains close and the white-gloved hands wheel the props off stage.

The party offers that Walker opens the chest and inside they find a drum inscribed with patterns of waves and rain. Callum exits his rage and is visibly shocked and quietly in pain. The group exit the stage and most of them talk with the Marionette in the audience. The Marionette explains that the drum is Walker's reward and asks if they'd rather be called "Haku." "It's Walker." Echo talks with the Marionette and asks... they tell her that she has a name. Her name is Emiko. This information changes a lot for her. Callum talks with the Marionette and asks "Will the pain ever stop?" and the Marionette says that they can't say for sure. Cori talks with them and asks if she is making the right choice leaving the Illuminators. The Marionette explains that Nuku is outside somewhere waiting for Walker, after all she came here for them.

### Session 13 - Smothering the Flame

While everyone else is chatting with the Marionette, Walker is sitting in an audience seat, has pulled out their tome, and is continually trying to create fire. They focus and after a few attempts sparks alight in their hand and quickly fade away. They try again and suddenly a flickering flame is floating in their palm. They laugh and exclaim joyously that they've done it. They immediately start playing with it and showing it off, completely transfixed.

Meanwhile, Echo has pulled Callum aside and started apologizing to him. She pulls out the fake antler she shoddily made and offers it to him, explaining that she stole the original one trying to appease her patron and that she made this to give to her but doesn't think it would work. She makes it clear that she's trying to become a better person because she's realizing she wasn't always a narcissistic bitch and doesn't always have to be. She gags through her apology and vomits up heart chunks. She tells Callum that she learned her real name is Emiko, but he should just call her Echo for now, and that she feels like her patron is manipulating her. Callum explains how he hasn't had any personal dealings with any demons but thaf he doesn't trust them and thinks they don't have the best intentions for people after dealing with many of their warlocks. Echo asks Callum for three of her redeeming qualities and after much thinking and talking it through, he comes up with: 1) she is capable of growth 2) she actually cares for those around her 3) she is very capable at what she does. Echo breaks down crying during the conversation. At the end, Callum introduces himself to Emiko and Echo begrudgingly accepts his handshake instead of making him kiss her hand.

Walker and Cori hear Echo loudly breaking down and Cori asks if this is normal to which Walker says "very much not so." Walker tries to put out their fire and it burns their hand. They have to cast an ice cantrip to smother the flame. While Walker is playing with their *produce flame,* Zari sees its energy and asks, "How are you doing that?" and they put the tome away and respond "Like this," and casually produce it again. "That magic isn't yours though," she says. "Is anything ours?" Walker begins spinning water around the flame. The other two rejoin the group and Walker proudly displays their ability to create fire. Echo is surprised and asks about how they can do it and Walker explains how cold is just slowly things down, so heat is just speeding things up. Cori cheerfully says how they'll work as a team and find Walker's cousin and Echo explains how she is disgusted by her niceness but apologizes immediately. Walker is very shocked by an apology coming from Echo and verbally exclaims so. Callum tells Walker to be nicer to Echo and they retort asking, "Why should I be nice to her? She's never been nice to me!" Callum explains she's having a tough time and trying to turn over a new leaf and Echo extends her hand out to shake hands (not asking for a kiss on the hand) with Cori and Walker. After reconciling from the events of the day, the group decides to go out and find Nuku. On the way out, the Marionette hands Echo a mask that mirrors her own face and tells her to put it on when she's ready to change.

Outside, they step into the town center. It's somehow twilight, the fountain has been disabled, and atop it rests a pile of random loot (mostly furniture and personal belongings). Trails of gunpowder lead up the pile and across the way a tall orc with a long ponytail is holding a torch and giving a speech to a group of pirates about how they couldn't find what they were looking for so they'll burn the rest. "I never left!" Walker shouts and fires a *ray of frost*, putting out the fire on the torch. "Hakupehe..." Nuku starts up about how Walker should give her back the tome because they're incapable of working on their own. Walker retorts that they're doing better than ever with their new crew and Nuku doubts their ability to work with a team since they ditched the Long Talon. Nuku enters a bladesong and starts casting a spell but Echo activates her fey crystal, causing a wild magic surge that makes Nuku invisible and silenced. Nuku rushes in and attacks Walker with her shortswords? The rest of the party rushes in to intervene as well as a trio of Nuku's pirates. While combat ensues, Walker exchanges pained glances at their party mates to not kill their cousin. Walker explains how they're not giving up the tome and that they can't rejoin the Long Talon, that their practices are cruel. They mock Nuku for crossing a continent and imprisoning an entire city all because her father told her to. Nuku attempts to reignite the gunpowder leading to the loot pile and beyond but Walker summons a *tidal wave* to wash away the flames and all the powder. After several rounds of combat, Nuku is severely injured but manages to shift forms into a fire elemental form composed of black flames. The party finishes off most of the other pirates while laying into the black flame elemental but her *flame shield* protects her from the brunt of Walker's cold damage. Nuku blasts Callum and Echo with spouts of flame in the front line while also singing them with an intensely hot aura. Despite being resistant to the ice, the part is abke to whittle away at Nuku's defenses and Walker dissipates it with an overpowering ray of frost. Nuku collapses to the ground in orc form, looks to Walker with a newfound respect, and blows into a conch shell that turns her into evaporating seafoam.

With the threat eliminated, Walker rushes over and puts their hands into the dissipating seafoam, beginning to sob into the ground. Walker picks themself up and wipes the tears from their eyes. The party decides to recover from their wounds and get some rest now that the occupying force has been dealt with. Cori lets them rest at her parents' house for the night. In the morning they visit Moonicorn Bakery and meet with Seze who gives them a load of pastries and tells them about her sister who hasn't visited in awhile, Diza.

### Session 14 - The Solstice Cometh

Before the party embarks on their journey westward toward Astryd's home and beyond to House Asakura, they decide to acquire some horses in Kuzubiro to shorten their travel time. They befriend the horses Mike, Waltuh, and Jesse.

Lin'xi

Gaelin

Echo arm

Contingency

Okori arcane break through

Starcloak

### Session 15 - Shits and Giggles

The party drives up with Lady Asakura in her carriage to the Okori estate. They arrive a few hours before the big toast and main celebration begins and Echo makes a dramatic exit from the carriage with a dress coated in chromatic butterflies. Callum and Echo immediately recognize the large figure of Hiro, dressed in a suit with an emerald green tie, and see two guards attending his large stone lion companion. Inside the house, red-coated help check the party for weapons, which they left in their carriage. Walker and Callum head straight for the hors d'oeuvres trying a selection of sweets, savories, and a strange bloody fruit. Echo walks around scouting for recognizable figures. She sees Pricilla Odele, her ex-mother-in-law, and her dress becomes a somber blue.