Aerois - Episode 33: The Portal Problem

Katie Morrison as Aila

 Kim Richards as Nova V'ger

Rhiannon Frost as Oriya Marius

 Tom Hazell as Pyri Adhara

**The Portal Problem** is the 33rd episode of the Aerois Campaign. It was broadcast live on both the Yogscast Twitch channel and highrollersdnd Twitch channel on 5th May 2019 from 5PM to 8PM BST.

*A moment of grief is interrupted by a new face, and worse; new portals opening up all over the place!*

## **Summary**

### **Announcements**

* Mark welcomes everyone and introduces the players.
* The sponsors this week are D&D Beyond, Nord VPN and Displate.
* Merch: there are two new shirts – a barbarian long-sleeved shirt with a dice motif down the left arm and “Barbarian fuelled by rage” on the front, the other is an “I’m a delight” shirt. You can get both as a bundle with a discount. Phone cases are also still available.
* In a few weeks, High Rollers will be at D&D live in Los Angeles. The livestream game will be streamed on Twitch on Sunday May 19th, 2019, at 11am PST/7pm BST. This will be a prologue game for the players returning as their Lightfall characters for a 10-part mini-series, Lightfall Descent (Rhiannon will be joining as a brand-new character in the setting).

### **Recap**

"*Having been whisked away to the far continent of Voksar, with the body of their deceased companion, Sentry, the party made a deal with a Dwarven priestess of Kellara, the goddess of death, to assist them in seeking Sentry's resurrection. In exchange, the priestess, Skaldi, asked the party for their help in pacifying an ancient ruin of an undead presence and whatever was causing the spirits' unrest. Descending into the ruins, bypassing magical traps and undead guardians, the party found themselves face to face with a strange woman in a corrupted shrine filled with an endless black void. Clad in ruined black cloth and a strange silver mask over her eyes, she attacked them, and drew upon some malign magic within the darkness. In the battle, Qillek ad Khollar, chosen of H'esper, god of magic and knowledge, fell in battle, and none could reach him in time to save him. Quill died, and his spirit was lifted up and escorted beyond the Cradle, into the afterlife. Having defeated the woman, learning she served a being called Hadar, Aila's memory recalled strange visions of things she never knew. Treasure was taken from the ruin, and the party returned to the village of Stenhill, as Quill's body was placed beside Sentry's and the group were left to decide what should happen next.*"

### **Part 1**

*The party are looking for a brand new path when multiple open in front of them!*

The party is back in the small stone shrine to Kellara with its lanterns around the walls and shelves full of wildflowers – Sentry and Quill’s bodies lie together on the central altar. Oriya tells the rest of the group that she is sorry to have lost Quill but is happy to assist them in whatever way she can while Aila thanks her, saying that things could have been a lot worse if Oriya had not been there. While Skaldi is casting *Gentle* Repose on Quill’s body, there is an incredibly loud sound that erupts through the village – a horrid, shrieking tearing sound like fabric and metal at the same time, and they feel a ripple of force pulse through the building – silt drops from the roof as the foundations shake. When they look out the slit window, they see a blue tear of energy forming in the air. Nova examines it from the window and sees a figure looking through the portal – they are wearing robes and an elongated mask, there is a sudden flash and Nova sees someone tumble out of the rift. She gets a flash of red hair and clothes that do not look native to Suvonna or Myrskyr, looking like a tight leather suit, more like the uniform that is worn by soldiers of the Court of Shadows.

The blue shimmering rift begins to close in on itself, then folds into nothing before winking out of existence, but there is a residual crackle of magic that passes through the town as it does. There are cries and shouts from the villagers as they try to work out what has happened.

The mysterious stranger lies on the ground, groaning in agony, and he hears the creak of a door as Aila opens the door of the temple to look out. She sees a male Fire Genasi with hair of flames that flickers at the tips, he wears a casual jacket over the tight black leather suit and is lying, arms akimbo, complaining to no one in particular that, “It wasn’t meant to hurt that much!” A few locals make their way over to the stranger with weapons out as Aila and Oriya also make their way to him from the temple.

The stranger is challenged by the locals, and he asks them if they have seen his companions, a man and a woman, then asks, confusedly, where he is. When it is revealed that he is in Myrskyr, he is obviously disappointed – he turns away from the group and starts speaking into a strange device on his wrist with a strange green glow that looks to the party like Starbane technology. The stranger can see that the main disc is cracked right down the middle and that essence is leaking out of it. Aila is suspicious of the man and asks where he is from, who he is working for and what the device is on his wrist; the man says that he is not working for anyone, slides over the question about where he is from (saying that he is “Kinda from Vortinssar”) and tells them that he found the device on his wrist. He reveals that Myrskyr is a long way from where he is meant to be and introduces himself as Pyri Adhara. Lucius asks him to explain himself, pointing out that he arrived in a similar way and wearing similar clothing to someone who wants to hurt Aerois. Before he can do so, Pyri feels heat and pressure building up on his wrist, the sphere of the device crackles and there is a burst of energy, splintering and shattering the device as the air in Stenhill crackles and another rift begins to form.

There is a tear in air and space, a chill wind begins to blow and snow flurries drift in from the rift. Two small winged, imp-like creatures and a larger humanoid creature with curved horns and wings, all made completely from ice, pull themselves through the rift, see living creatures and begin to run towards the nearest of them. Aila, having seen the portal appear just as Pyri’s wrist device exploded, blames him for its appearance, so she pushes him off the bridge into the bog behind them before moving through the bog towards the larger creature and swinging at it with her hammer but damaging it only with her lightning. Nova flings a *Firebolt* at one of the smaller creatures, but it ducks the attack – as it moves to attack Nova, Aila spins and shatters it with a blow of her hammer. The other small creature blows frigid air on Nova, Lucius, and Torman. Lucius throws a *Chromatic Orb* of fire at the larger ice creature and destroys it, melting it in front of Aila.

Torman pushes Nova out of the way and hits the smaller creature in front of them. Pyri clambers out of the mud back onto the bridge and uses a flurry of blows against the same creature, with small gouts of flame coming from each hand – the creature shatters under the focused fire. Aila sees the open portal and notices that there are shapes making their way towards the opening, which is blowing a freezing, howling wind towards them.

Oriya thinks that someone knowledgeable in magic will have to close it or that it can be destabilised by elemental damage. She attacks the portal with a *Guiding Bolt* from the Starlight’s Bulwark that they had picked up in the temple – it slams into the portal and causes it to start to collapse but just remains open. Three more creatures make their way through the portal and the ground around it begins to freeze. Across the other side of the bridge, another portal forms, this one green and verdant, growing with beautiful trees and flowers and they see tiny houses built amongst them. Unlike the other portal, where the creatures clawed their way through, with the green portal, five creatures appear to be thrown out of it: one is a tiny female creature with a flower crown and a dress made of acorns and rose petals, while the other four appear to be tiny warriors with miniature bows, swords, and shields. One of them speaks in a high-pitched but indignant voice, “What has happened? The Unseelie have tried to capture the Princess! We must protect her at once! My Lady!” The four warriors form a protective ring around the leader, attempting to take her back through the portal but unable to pass back through it.

Aila and Lucius both manage to insult the Sprites and they turn on Lucius while Aila blasts the cold portal with her lightning, still not quite managing to close it. The warriors all draw their bows and shoot needle-like arrows at Lucius who immediately falls asleep due to the poison on the arrows. All five of the diminutive creatures then turn invisible.

Nova blasts the portal with *Eldritch Blast*, finally collapsing and sealing it, then hits the gargoyle with a second beam, shattering part of its wing. Suddenly, everyone but Nova is confused as the Pixie Princess appears near the portal, having cast her spell. Pyri races off away from Nova, confused, then he and Oriya break out of the confusion.

Another portal opens, this one revealing a world of fungal infection, a land of mushrooms and strange growths and a hulking creature, covered in spores and growths emerges from the portal; they notice the gross infection is beginning to seep out of the portal itself. Aila attacks the gargoyle and destroys it while Torman remains confused. Nova slaps Lucius awake and puts a *Hexbade Curse* on the giant mushroom creature. Having seen that Lucius has awoken, the Sprites shoot their arrows at him again, putting him back to sleep.

The two smaller creatures (Mephits) claw at Aila for minor damage. Lucius remains asleep so Princess Persephone casts a spell on Nova that makes her see Lucius as a terrifying zombie that lurches and claws at her. The giant mushroom man punches Torman in the face, snapping his neck and causing mushrooms to grow on his face where he was hit.

Pyri slogs his way back through the swamp towards the mushroom creature and throws *Sun Bolts* out of his hands, doing multiple attacks and causing the creature to stagger back. Oriya uses the shield to cast *Sanctuary* on Lucius then steps up to the mushroom creature and pierces it with her rapier, releasing a cloud of spores from the wound she has just caused that poisons her. Aila sees mushrooms and a spreading growth starts to grow out of the portal in earnest, the mushrooms begin to emit a poisonous, choking cloud.

Aila shatters both of the Mephits with two hammer blows and some lightning blasts. Nova hits the mushroom portal with two bolts of *Eldritch Blast*, reducing its size by half. The now visible Sprite warriors turn their attention to Pyri who deflects one of the needle-like shafts but is hit by three others – he becomes woozy but does not fall asleep. The giant mushroom man roars and shakes his body, shooting out spores from his body that hit Aila and Oriya, Oriya is unaffected, but Aila breathes in the spores and starts coughing. Pyril *Produces Flame* and forces it into the mushroom man’s mouth, it staggers but is still up, so Oriya slices at it in a weak spot with her rapier and it topples. The area of fungal growth around the portal becomes wider and almost reaches them.

Aila tries to negotiate with the Sprites, trying to convince them to go home and stop putting her friends to sleep. Nova screams that Lucius is a zombie and tries to close the mushroom portal but misses it in her panic, and notices that as the fungal growths reach the dead creature that its wounds begin to heal.

The Sprites form up around their Pixie princess, prepared now to talk to Aila.

Princess Persephone asks Aila to help them and to send them home, because she thinks that their magic has sealed the portal against them. Pyri scrabbles around in the mud looking for his wrist device that he has lost but cannot find it. Oriya wakes Lucius up but Nova still sees him as a zombie, now savaging Oriya. Aila suddenly stares off into the distance.

Nova, in a panic, blasts the mushroom portal and destroys it, the fungal growth stops spreading, the mushroom man’s wounds stop healing, and it rapidly begins to decompose. Lucius, now awake and irritated, casts *Snilloc’s Snowball Swarm* at the Sprites, killing all of them and damaging the portal. The flower crown falls off the princess’ head and falls to the ground, undamaged, and begins to grow in size.

### **Part 2**

*After the panic with the portals, the gang get to know their newest ally and get ready to leave for new lands!*

The party has just fended off several portal invasions from other worlds or realms. It appears that there have been other portals that appeared elsewhere in Stenhill, but that the locals dealt with the rest of them. The dead bodies of the Sprites and the Pixie lie in front of where the portal to the Feywild had been and the Flower Crown now sits on top of them, enlarged. Lucius asks Aila to pass it to him, but she is unaware and staring off into the distance.

Lucius asks Pyri why he opened the portals, but he denies being involved. Nova uses *Mage Hand* to grab the crown and put it on Lucius’ head… as it hits his head, it shrinks in size to fit his head perfectly. All of a sudden, Lucius’ pointed ears grow wider and longer, his hair (which becomes longer, curlier, and more luxurious) gets pastel streaks in it, his skin begins to glitter, and a large pair of faerie wings erupt from his back, tearing his clothing in the process.

Pyri again denies being responsible for summoning the portals that appeared in Stenhill saying that his wrist device does not even work now – he taps on it to show them and is shunted 30 feet forwards as he is sucked into a small portal that appears in front of him. The watch then dims in power as if it is no longer functional. A woman comes running out and laments over the dead Torman.

Lucius, realising that he now has wings, lifts clumsily off the ground and tries to remove the crown but fails; the others cannot remove it, either. Nova inspects Pyri’s watch and realises that while it is similar to Court of Shadows tech, it is more similar to devices that she has heard about from her teacher that allow planar travel. It appears that this device is built for long-range teleportation but is experimental and may allow its user to engage in planar teleportation. The ring set around the device has set runes and looks very similar to those seen on a teleportation circle, and there is clearly Genasi influence, seemingly from the days when experimentation was going on in Vortinssar and Jassavir and figuring how to go back. Nova thinks that she knows how it works but does not know how to fix it.

Nova asks if Pyri knows what the device is and where he got it – he tells her that he found it, which she is not sure that she believes. Nova asks if he is from Vortinssar and if he is a member of the Seekers, but he denies it, not knowing what the Seekers are.

Skaldi emerges from the temple, having completed the ritual on Quill and Sentry and asks if they are injured, noting the strange changes to Lucius. She meets Pyri and recommends that they come into the temple, particularly now that townsfolk are gathering around and may decide to blame Pyri for what has happened. Skaldi tells them that they will need a wagon to transport the bodies but that they are ready to go, and that she can cast the same spell on Quill should they wish to speak to him as they did Sentry.

The party interrogates Pyri who asks for introductions, and on hearing Nova’s surname asks if she is related to “the one who does the climbing the mountains stuff”. Nova asks if he means Coral and Pyri says that he is a huge fan of her sister and has seen her do the battle, but he is not a huge fan of sky jousting and is not familiar with Tornado.

Pyri describes his occupation as being “part of a group of people who go into places, pick up some stuff and get right out of there”. When Aila accuses him of being a thief, he tells her that he is a “reclaimer”. Nova suddenly remembers Pyri from the Atlas Academy but still does not entirely trust him given that he appeared through a portal at the same time as the other portals appeared. She realises, however, that Pyri does not understand how the technology in his watch works. Nova believes that Pyri was meant to teleport somewhere but that the watch device has gone wrong somehow and that this has distorted planar space around Stenhill, allowing the other, unstable portals to appear from other planes or planets.

As the group is discussing their situation, they realise that Aila has zoned out: once she comes out of it, they try to work out if she has been poisoned or injured in some way but decide to keep an eye on her in case further attention is needed. Skaldi recommends that Oriya and Aila go and procure a wagon to take the bodies with them and they invite Pyri to come with them if he wishes to.

Aila and Oriya go out into the town and see people trying to put out a fire at the inn – Veskin is standing in a shirt and boots (no pants and no underwear) helping to empty buckets of water on the fire. On the edge of town, they see the merchant and his son with the wagon that they had passed on the road with the Klakk, Skorb. They offer to buy the wagon and Skorb from the merchant because they want to go to The Midwife’s Forge, and he is headed to Katuvagg but he wants 50 gold for the wagon and 400 gold for Skorb. The merchant tells them to be careful because he has heard tales of Goblins in the mountains that are obsessed with lightning and the storms – he says that they are crazed, like feral little beasts. Aila tries to haggle with the merchant, but he is fond of Skorb, who purrs under his patting hand, and he refuses to let Skorb go for anything less than 375 gold. Oriya convinces him to let Skorb and the wagon go for 400 gold, and the merchant tells them that Skorb likes fresh worms.

Lucius is feeling playful and plays a small practical joke on Pyri, Nova high fives him and Lucius coughs – his body erupts in a cloud of glittery, silver pixie dust and Nova suddenly feels light on her feet.

There is a brief discussion about whether to go to the Shepherd or to The Midwife’s Forge. Skaldi tells them that The Midwife’s Forge was an old temple to Valena, the goddess of Creation, and there was a magical forge there where weapons were created for soldiers during the war. There were Ember Elves who were attendants who ran the Forge after the war, but they have fallen silent. There have been tales of people taking weapons and other broken things to the Forge to have them fixed. Aila suggests that they try The Forge first, then if they find nothing there, they can go to Katuvagg to find the Shepherd. Skaldi tells them that they will also pass by The Stormwall, home of the Aarakocra, and says that they may also have answers if needed.

They ask to speak to Quill before they leave and Skaldi agrees to cast the spell to allow it. Skaldi slowly lights each of the candles and lanterns around the room – the heavy scent of incense fills the air. Skaldi, with her long blonde hair, tied up in black leather bands, and crushing something with a mortar and pestle, wipes the mortar over her eyes to cover them in a black liquid. She closes her eyes briefly, reaches her hand out, then brings the lantern over the body and shakes it once – it emits a green flame, and she passes it over the body. They hear an intake of breath into Quill’s body, and she tells them quietly that Quill is ready to answer their questions.

Nova asks Quill whether, if he were to die, he would rather stay an Aarakocra or be happy coming back as something else – he says that he’d rather stay as he was. She asks if there was anything that H’esper has told him that he has not told them – Quill thinks that he has shared everything, that he is the Chosen of H’esper, that there is a relic in The Valley of Storms, and that he says to be very wary of Kalus Starbane. She asks if Quill has a preference for how they bring Sentry back – he answers that he would rather she is brought back as they know her.

Having run out of questions for the moment, they step outside to consider other things to ask. When they return, Nova asks Quill if there is any family he would want contacted or any burial rites he would like performed if the worst happened – Quill tells them that his family already thinks him dead and that they would not need to tell the family anything. Lucius asks Quill if he is his best friend – Quill says that he thinks so, and the spirit leaves Quill’s body.

The party goes to fetch the wagon and notice many locals in doorways staring through slitted and suspicious eyes at Pyri, thinking him to be responsible for all that had occurred in the town. When they get to the edge of town, they find the wagon, a sturdy affair with a basic wooden covering, and there are also chains with pitons that can be lowered from the sides that allow the wagon to be staked out to withstand the harshest winds. Out the front, hitched up to the wagon, is a huge, dark blue shelled lobster crab with big eye stalks, large dragon claws and tiny legs under its armoured carapace.

They load up the bodies and make their way out of Stenhill on the northern road following alongside the Langstrom River on their way to The Midwife’s Forge.

## **YouTube Timestamps**

2:25 - Stream starts
2:58 - Tom's still here
3:09 - Ignore the spoiler. IGNORE IT.
3:39 - Watch them die in real time!
8:39 - Intro video
9:40 - Recap start
11:04 - Recap end
11:05 - Tom's notes
11:18 - Episode starts
13:16 We need a leader (not Lucius)
13:42 - Lucius is a beta male
14:00 - Fantasy jump scare
15:34 - A dramatic entrance
16:02 - Tom's new character description
16:53 - Tom has returned as the new big bad of Aerois
18:31 - It's Hades
18:50 - He has two arms but there must be something missing
21:06 - The arse end of nowhere
21:39 - His arm is just super interesting guys
22:04 - Well it's on the screen, Mark
23:00 - Best hiding spot
24:47 - Throwing shade
24:53 - Name reveal
25:07 - Torman, son of Torman
26:24 - Portal opens
28:12 - Battle begins
28:27 - Torman and the masters of the universe
30:08 - Mark's beautiful reflection
32:54 - Torman is the new Barris
34:33 - Aila's kill
36:42 - Lucius' kill
36:58 - He's like a pokemon, he only says his own name
38:19 - So he's a monk
38:40 - No-heal squad
39:30 - Pyri's kill
41:24 - Just lots of arcana checks
44:03 - This is when this becomes a portal problem
44:32 - Confused fairies
45:34 - Mark is planning a TPK by laughter
47:21 - These fairies mean business
48:02 - Oh but it was so funny
49:36 - Nova closes the portal
50:01 - Princess Persephone
52:39 - Lucius does not have issues
52:55 - Pyri's confusion roll
53:56 - Oriya's confusion roll
54:58 - This really is a portal problem now
57:00 - Aila's kill
57:22 - Torman's confusion roll
58:37 - 4 more sleep needles
1:00:35 - Zombie Lucius
1:01:54 - Torman, no!
1:03:18 - Do you know the mushroom man?
1:06:42 - Pyri is trying his best
1:07:50 - Aila's kill
1:08:22 - A+ roleplay
1:09:19 - The fairies will stop at nothing
1:09:41 - We love deflect missiles
1:11:19 - God, Aila, you're supposed to be better
1:12:05 - Secret spores
1:13:27 - Monks are confusing
1:15:13 - Oriya's kill
1:16:55 - The A+ roleplay continues
1:17:57 - Tiny Bowsette
1:20:00 - Lucius us a zombie forever now
1:20:22 - Aila's away with the fairies
1:20:49 - Nova closes the portal
1:21:11 - Lucius' revenge is a dish best served cold
1:23:17 - Break begins
1:23:37 - NordVPN skit
1:33:21 - Break ends
1:34:15 - Aila is still zoned out
1:34:26 - Kim went to deep into the roleplay
1:35:20 - Lucius is the prettiest princess
1:35:55 - Becoming Titania
1:40:17 - Torman, the only true hero
1:41:03 - The gift of clumsy flight
1:50:50 - Pyri's a big fan
1:52:06 - Spanner in the works
1:54:06 - Pyri has a phone and it's canon
1:54:53 - High school reunion
1:55:51 - Trott realises the reality of the situation
1:59:21 - Zoning out is Aila's only respite
2:00:04 - Pyri's done some nasty stuff in front of portals
2:07:11 - Lucius never has to walk again
2:08:20 - Veskyn in all his glory
2:15:40 - Playing the sympathy card
2:17:37 - A heart wrenching goodbye
2:18:43 - Thanks for that Ri
2:19:10 - Favourite colours
2:19:35 - Pranked
2:20:28 - Pixie dust
2:23:00 - Robot racism
2:27:51 - Oriya's a little forgetful
2:28:27 - Tom's not happy
2:33:57 - Speak with dead
2:39:09 - Lucius and Quill break everyone's hearts
2:41:43 - Pyri and Aila
2:45:45 - Is Torwald related to Torman?
2:46:44 - Pyri is a Charmander
2:47:59 - Episode ends
2:50:04 - Donations
2:52:51 - Stream ends
*feel free to add extra timestamps of significant events!*

## **Featured Characters**

#### **The Stormchasers (Player Characters)**

* Aila
* Nova V'ger
* Lucius Virion-Elluin Elenasto
* Pyri Adhara
* Oriya Marius

#### **Returning NPCs**

* Torman
* Skorb
* Veskin
* Torvald (merchant)
* Skaldi

#### **Mentioned NPCs**

* Kellara
* Valena
* H'esper

## **Featured Locations**

* Myrskyr
	+ Stenhill

## **Trivia**

* In the announcements, Mark talks about the Twitch integration so “you can watch them die in real time” – both cruel and prescient, especially for this episode. Ouch, Mark, ouch.
* When Tom’s new character, Pyri, is introduced, he is described as a Fire Genasi with literal flames for hair, like Hades (from Disney’s Hercules) when he’s mad.
* People from Myrskyr are called Myrskyrans.
* Mark’s instructions to Katie with her catatonic state was that it was up to her when she came out of it, but that every now and then her face would go blank, and she would stare off into the distance. When she came out of it, she would be unaware that she had zoned out.
* **Magic Item: Flower Crown of the Faerie Princess (described by Mark as “near legendary”):** Cursed Item, automatically attuned (if already attuned to three items, you must lose one of them). The wearer’s voice becomes a slightly higher pitch and tone. Charisma becomes 19 while wearing the crown. You have advantage on any Charisma ability checks on interacting with any non-Elven Fey (e.g., Pixies, Sprites, Satyrs, Dryads, etc.). You can use an action to cast one of the following spells: Entangle, Invisibility, or Polymorph -once one spell is cast, it cannot be used again until the next dawn (use Chr as the spellcasting ability). The Faerie wings grant a flying speed equal to your walking speed. You can fly up to a number of hours equal to your constitution modifier per day. You cannot remove the crown and the physical effects are permanent while the crown is worn. Trott mentions “his flaws”, which delights Mark, and mentions that something will happen when he “sneezes or coughs” as well. Mark revealed later that if you pick the crown up, you must make a wisdom saving throw or put it on your head.
* Mark has almost immediate regret about giving out the Flower Crown when Lucius starts speaking regularly.
* Klakks are the size of bison.
* It is revealed that Oriya had healing potions that Rhi had forgotten about, meaning that Quill needn’t have died. This was pointed out in a YouTube comment according to Mark. It was later pointed out (in Twitch chat?) that Quill could not have regained hit points anyway because he had an effect on him that prevented healing (although it would have stabilised him).
* Pyri’s hair is flame-like but does not give off heat or light.
* At the end of the episode, Mark rolls to see if there will be a storm (25% chance) as they leave town – yet again, his dice decide that there will be a storm.
* Thanks were given to Whoody for the musical themes Quill’s Final Flight and Sentry’s Last Stand.

## **Quote**

* Trott: “What have you brought?”
* Tom: “I don’t know!”
* Mark: “The best thing is, Tom was not expecting this.”
* Tom: “You have to remember, when it comes to character creation, we tend to give Mark very little and just let him run with it”.
* Kim: “Speak for yourself, brah.”

* Mark: “I want Aila to wear the crown. Fairy princess Aila would be amazing with a big hammer, flying. BAH!”