Capstone Summaries

For whenever theres a big event impeding the progress of the guild members

-Start of the Halfway Festival

**Saturday, September 13**

-Last day of the festival, where the culmination dance will take place

-During the dance, under the watchful gaze of the council members Idya, Lord Syrdar, and Charlotte, Xan Ruby-Light got down on one knee and proposed to Angrboda Unfrid with a ring held within a clenched bear arm.

-Upon saying yes, fireworks were launched, as well as an attack from Felicity Dire

-Arrows tipped with a strange crystal attacked Xan, Syrdar, and Charlotte. Killing Charlotte, Hitting Xan and Syrdar. Xan collapsed immediately but Syrdar was able to leave under his own power.

-The group composed of pirates from Felicity Dire, and the Drow army from Niflheim, led by Mother Megaera, Ine, and Ristel, laid siege to the halo

- Syrdar revealed the arrows were designed to steal souls, it didn’t work on him because he has removed his soul somehow.

- Syrdar and Idya argue over whether someone named Lorelai is involved. Syrdar leaves Tempest, washing his hands of the guild.

**Sunday, September 14**

-In attempts to gain ground, the drow forces attempted to capture Bill & Joey’s

-’Rin reveals to Angrboda that the crystal arrow tips steal souls and then can be used to power spells. She knew of no way to free a trapped soul, but research had said bodies can’t survive a soul being removed this way. She revealed that Xan might have had more than 1 soul.

-During the afternoon, Ine approached the storm hall, accompanied by Ristel, a few other high ranking Drow, and some guards,in attempts to “negotiate” with Tempest. “Hand over the relic from Kur’Hel, and there will be a chance at peace”

-In response to the negotiations not going in her favor, Ine casted a large spell, later revealed to be a Storm of Vengeance that dominated the halo.

-A group of guild members went on an excursion to fight back

-While there, it was revealed that the location of Bill & Joey’s used to be the original Storm Hall

-In the fight, the group encountered the Drow Priestess, Ine

-In a chase and battle, they managed to decapitate her, and put her head on a pike as intimidation tactics.

**Monday, September 15**

-In the late morning, early afternoon, a small group set out to Heccentricties to go salvage what remaining potions and stock was left.

-The group was successful in clearing out the shop of their remaining consumables, utilizing deception, disguises, and technology to ward off the Drow forces there.

-In response, Felicity Dire lined up the bodies of some Drow suicide bombers, and used them to blow up the small forest nearby Lake Eternity. Which started a large fire.

-Angrboda discovered in her care of Xan that he was wearing a disguise and that one of his arms was atrophied in some manner. When the disguise was removed, Alb Rugthy Nix, of the Tempest Council, was revealed.

**Tuesday, September 16**

-In the morning, a small group was sent out to Spraff Observatory with the intent to gain some allies.

-Utilizing gold and their renown, the group was able to get a group of 48 of “Tucker’s Kobolds”, whom were led by one Captain Sharpe

-Later in the day, a group was sent out to deal with the raging fire that was starting to encroach upon the orphanage and school

-In turn for saving the orphanage and school, the forest was largely burnt down, along with some housing that resided there.

-In performing Telepathy on the soul crystal Dill discovers that the soul in the crystal appears to be Alby’s.

**Wednesday, September 17**

-With the siege starting to favor the adventurers of Tempest, Mother Megaera conjured two large spider demons to lay waste to the halo. One to the Storm Hall, and another to Bill & Joey’s

-Additionally, Felicity Dire, went to Carson’s Menagerie and blew that up, along with all the remaining pets there. She did take an Angler Turtle, whom she named Bartholomew.

-With the incoming spider hoard, the adventurer’s morning was spent killing one of the large creatures that was trying to siege the storm hall.

-’Rin and Angrboda attempt to use Speak with Dead on Ine’s head, but it had been trapped by Mother Megaera.

-In the afternoon, Wessen’s Home fell captive to the Drow forces, and was forced to be destroyed in order to prevent them from gaining an overlook on the whole Halo.

-In the evening, a small group went to go rid the spider at Bill & Joey’s, revealing that Joey was gravely wounded by it.

-The group decided to hunker down and perform field surgery on Joey, keeping him out of mortal danger.

-Attacked by the large spider, the group decided to evacuate the survivors back to storm Hall, leaving Bill & Joey’s to be a temporary no man’s land.

-Later in the night, a small group of spellcasters went and killed the large spider

**Thursday, September 18**

-The day was quiet, as the adventurers knew what was to come. An assassination mission to Mother Megaera and Ristel

-The group killed a Drow guard with a key to a portal. This portal linked to an extra-planar space that mimicked the first floor of the Zau’Undar household.

-Ristel was quickly killed, while Mother Megaera was holding ground with her spells.

-Once killed, a strange feminine voice was heard. “I still have purpose for her” and it possessed her corse, transforming into an Aspect of Llolthe.

-The aspect was large, and no longer humanoid. More fiendish in nature. Additionally, it seemed that the body could not handle it’s newfound power, as it slowly destroyed itself.

-The aspect also emitted a large poisonous gas from itself, that was very potent and deadly.

-However, that too was killed after a hard fought battle.

-Upon return, it was revealed that Felicity Dire had been charging up a weapon called the “Halo Breaker” and it was fired at the escaping group, Moth Man, and Tiny. Hitting Tiny and killing her.

-Dill uses Telepathy on Xan’s comatose body to discover that his soul is still there, it seems to remember Angrboda, and that nothing but time will allow him to heal.

**Friday, September 19**

-Drow forces start to dwindle and retreat without a leader

-The final battle.

-A morning excursion on Moths and the Glimmer, helped take down Felicity’s ship. Stranding her on the halo. Alone.

-The final fight, Felicity was in a suit made of metal, called DI:RE. Created by Antix.

-Armed to the teeth with Cerillium-tipped arrows, the battle was hard fought, and near deadly. However, the adventurers were victorious after the suit self-destructed. Scaring those present as Quill Runescribe tried to shield Felicity from the blast so she can be tried for her sins, but Felicity died anyway.

**Saturday, September 20**

-A salvaging team is sent to the remains of the Rancor to retrieve any and all treasure there.

-Those that fought valiantly were awarded with Medals of Honor

-Counting their losses, the Halo only had 157 casualties.

-The reconstruction fund was instantly filled.

-A man named Merlin appeared in the hall with a message from King Gilgamesh, inviting representatives of the guild to a ball to both celebrate the Drow defeat in Terranfall and to discuss passing over the artifacts in possession of the guild. Namely, the medallion from Kur’Hel, and the gemstones taken from Boogaloo(?) (Angrboda possesses the physical invitation)

## **Level 13 Capstone**

### Pre-Festival

A number of pets across the halo were reported missing. These pets included Vasyn's Procsym (Lybie), Wessen's Giant Fire Beetle (Red), and Dill's Rotund Frog (Grikk). A handful of in-pet-stigators made notices, went on searches, and inspected the areas where pets went missing. They found that the creature that did it was made of Blighted Blood, a substance from Duskvale that causes creatures to go into a violent frenzy, and that it could phase through walls and floors.

### The Zenith Festival

**Thursday, May 28**

- More and more pets went missing until two days before the end of the Zenith festival, ending with the disappearance of every Godforged on the halo. When the final festival event was announced, ("A kraken rodeo!") people noticed that the kraken in Lake Eternity was missing. Mere hours later...

"There is a faint shudder as it seems like the halo stops in place. No longer moving throughout the skies. The air grows unnaturally still and a dreadful silence rings throughout the halo. Then, before anyone can begin to investigate what is happening, the ground underneath your feet shakes violently. The sounds of shrieking and groaning fill the air. Emerging from various places in town, the docks, and the forest there are horrible monstrosities made of twisted flesh and bone. They move quickly, swarming the halo, catching almost everyone off guard. Anyone who has dealt with these creatures before would immediately recognize them as the Duke’s blighted forces. Swarms of winged blighted monstrosities take to the sky, surrounding the halo in an almost impenetrable cloud. Foliage begins wilting and healthy earth begins to gray. The halo is dying."

- Members of the guild rushed to the Storm Hall for safety only to find it mostly ruined, and Tabellarium (the AI that ran its defenses) dead after a coincidentally-timed attack from Alcides. Those from Bill and Joey's bar learned some of the creature were appearing from the basement. The adventurers holed up in the attached dorm building as the rest of the halo was overtaken. Those inside knew even then that the dorms wouldn't last for long. A plan was made to find a previously-purchasable bunker in town and hide everyone there, though this plan wouldn't be enacted for three days. At the end of the day, around two dozen civilians were safe in the dorms.

- Yue discovered a summoning circle in the woods near Lake Eternity, drawn with blood with a white mask at its center. He also found Reema's Whispering Wood tree, but didn't engage with either.

**Friday, May 29**

- Any remaining guild members made their way to the dorms.

- Yue met with Devana periodically throughout the invasion, but was unable to convince her to explicitly join Tempest's side (she instead later opted to help where she could without being obvious).

**Saturday, May 30**

- Guild members began heading out of the dorms in small groups to make rescues and gather supplies. These missions continued throughout the invasion.

- Icabe and Chase were rescued during a supply run to Heccentricities. Chase Scried on the pet thief and learned that it was in the halo crystal's chamber.

- Idya (one of Tempest's council members) arrived at the dorms and explained that she and the rest of the council had been out fighting and rescuing civilians thus far. She suggested those in the dorm send a scouting party to the crystal chamber.

**Sunday,** **May 31**

- A fog cloud appeared across the halo. It contained traces of Blighted Blood, and it only got worse over time.

- Higa finished a bomb using his construct Hisau, in order to create a distraction for the group moving to the bunker.

- The plan to take the bunker succeeded, and everyone inside the guild dorms were relocated into town.

- Cecilina and Anomie visited the Whispering Wood to speak to Reema. Reema gave them a seed to regrow the Whispering Wood in a safe place, and a Groundingroot, which could be cooked and turned into a Food of Lightning Resistance.

- Idya visited the bunker, and revealed the existence of a secret passage underground, through the old Storm Hall, and into the crystal chamber. She warned the late council member Alby had probably filled the passage with traps before it was sealed, so it would be dangerous to explore. A plan was made for an exploratory group to clear the way so another group could reach the crystal.

- A group successfully found and rescued Rick Irdan.

- A group went to the docks to light an SOS signal, and Asgard sent forces to the guild's aid, inluding Bedivere and Mordred. They only barely managed to make it, as Devana sent volleys flying from across the halo in the ruined Storm Hall.

- Yue convinced Devana to lessen the blighted forces around the bunker.

**Monday,** **June 1**

- Devana's orders came through in the morning- fewer monsters walked the streets of town.

- Civilian morale was at an all-time low, so 'Rin and Dill set up a therapy corner, and Nia attempted to rouse them with a speech.

- A large group used Wind Walk to clear out the blighted fog cloud.

**Tuesday,** **June 2**

- Bedivere made it to the bunker to establish communication between it and Asgard's forces.

- A group of guild members went into the basement of Bill and Joey's, destroyed its summoning circle, cleared it of all blighted creatures, and rescued Bill, Joey, and their daughter Edna. Groups of adventurers took turns keeping it in possession against the blighted creatures.

- Citizen morale was finally raised back up with many problems dealt with and a plan to destroy the creature harming the halo.

- Bedivere rescued Caradoc from his temple home after he was attacked by The Brass Devil, Orkath of the Dual Blades.

**Wednesday,** **June 3**

- Devana's efforts were discovered by her brother, and monster patrols around the bunker increased three times.

- A group went into the sealed path to the old Storm Hall to clear the way for the final strike team. After solving a trapped maze, puzzles, and riddles, all the while being instructed by old recordings of the late Charlotte, the door to the crystal chamber was unlocked, and a final Charlotte recording announced it would open in 24 hours as a security precaution. A plan was made for the final group to go down there the next day to face what was waiting for them.

- While that group cleared the passage, the council ran a distraction through the main entrance to the crystal chamber. The exploratory group communicated their success to Idya, only to find that they were in trouble. A group went out to attempt a rescue, but only Idya was able to make it out alive.

- A group made one final rescue attempt at the docks, finding plenty of civilians hiding out. Some of them were taken to the Tense River Basin by Milly, while the rest returned to the bunker.

- Anomie obtained the Teleportation Circle sequence for Castle Arda vecc Shur from Runemaster Odin.

**Thursday,** **June 4**

- A large fissure appeared, causing the Asgardians to lose their footing a bit. Three groups went out and successfully mended it before it could ruin the halo.

- Anomie sent everyone in the bunker to Castle Arda vecc Shur, and 'Rin and Foxglove smoothed things over with the guards and King. Whoever was left behind on Zephyr attempted to go to the docks to teleport the Asgardians away, but were refused. So they stayed as backup in Bill and Joey's for the strike team going underground.

- The final strike force makes it to the crystal chamber, finding the blighted monster perched on the halo crystal. Agni and Devana soon launched attacks from the shadows. Once the group dealt with the twins, the party focused their attacks on the creature. Once it was hurt enough, it revealed the missing Godforged trapped in pustules on its body. It tapped into the Godforged's power, and the party's final push involved them freeing them. By the end of it, the Godforged were free, Agni and Devana were both captured, and the crystal's light faded entirely; the halo was finally falling.

- The people who stayed behind all got off the halo one way or another. The backup team and strike team used Teleportation Circle to get to the others in Castle Arda vecc Shur, and the Asgardians gathered up their forces, freed whoever they could, and left on their ship since Devana was out of commission.

Eventually word got back to the guild members, all gathered together in Hibernian barracks: the halo had fallen in the Northrun Mountains and broken into seven pieces. The guild would have to be remade as something new and better- it's up to it's members to decide what it becomes.