Crown Keepers

Official art of the Crown Keepers, by Hannah Friederichs.

The **Crown Keepers** are an adventuring party based in Tal'Dorei, primarily active in 842 and 843 PD, and are the protagonists of *Exandria Unlimited Prime* and *Exandria Unlimited: Kymal*.

## **Founding**

Dariax, Dorian, Fearne, Fy'ra Rai, Opal and Orym met outside of Emon in 842 PD. They had at least one adventure together in the city itself, approaching Thordak's Crater, where Fearne summoned a fire spirit that would become Little Mister, her monkey companion.

At some point in the same week the six adventurers traveled to a puddle that acted as a liminal space between Exandria and the Feywild. There, the group started to fight, and at the risk of ending up trapped there, Fy'ra decided to trade herself so her friends could leave; Dorian tried to fight the other genasi over that decision when the two of them were left alone, but the monk was stronger and sent him away, believing in the bard's potential. Due to the magic of the Fey Realm, the five adventurers returned to Exandria without most of the memories of the world they had spent together. While it is unclear it it happened before or after their memory loss, for having helped Lothar Cirrospect's family the friends were allowed to stay in his townhouse in the Upper Slums in Emon.

## **Adventures**

### **Crime and lost memories in Emon**

The five adventurers woke up in the townhouse after a party, realizing that they had somehow lost a week of memories. They spent the morning trying to reconstruct their steps from the past few days, and in the process noticed a suspicious individual lurking in the area. They discovered that a criminal, Poska, was very interested in opposing the gentrifying forces of Emon, which included attacking Lothar's house, so the party agreed to search for a treasure for Poska in exchange for her not damaging their friend's property.

They went to the port, and in the *Blightstar* (an Issylran ship) they found an onyx crown that made some of them feel sick just by holding its crate. They took it with them, and shortly after they started noticing strange dark figures following them. Those same figures attacked them in a warehouse that belonged to Poska's faction, so they fought and defeated these unexpected enemies. In that place they found residuum stolen from Zephrah, Orym's hometown, so the halfling suggested to go see the Fire Ashari that worked at the Scar of the Cinder King instead of returning to Poska (which led to the criminal ordering the house to be burned).

Although they were followed by an assassin named Arthur (that Opal charmed and neutralized), the group managed to leave the city, spending the night between Emon and the Fire Ashari settlement. While speaking about the stolen crown they accidentally realized that, due to its strange influence over its surroundings, it could only be one of the Vestiges of Divergence, specifically one connected to the Spider Queen, thus extremely dangerous; they spent the night keeping watch, and both Dorian and Opal noticed the influence of the circlet, although the latter was also busy dealing with Ted, her twin sister whose voice she heard in her head. The following day they reached the Fire Ashari, and although Orym was able to tell them about the residuum, Dorian and Opal prevented him from talking about the vestige. Lorkathar, one of the Ashari, told them about the strange elemental activity that they had fought recently, and when the group visited a plateau nearby, they found a strange glyph; while they were there Opal realized that Ted had taken away her powers, which was very inconveniente because when Little Mister approached the glyph he became a big elemental that attacked them, returning to normal when Dariax moved him away from that strange source of power.

Following Lorkathar's advice, the adventurers went to Gilmore's Glorious Goods, to see if the legendary Runechild owner, Shaun Gilmore, could reveal something about the glyph in the plateau. Although they had some problems, since Dariax's distraction (that was supposed to allow his friends to move through the city unnoticed) grew out of proportion, and Opal even pretended to be a young mother visiting the city with her child Nancy (Orym), they managed to reach the store safely. There they met Gilmore, and the whole group, to a greater or lesser extent, was fascinated by the charismatic sorcerer. He identified their onyx crown as the Circlet of Barbed Vision, telling them a bit about it and allowing the adventurers to keep it, though handing them an enchanted box with which they could send it to him if it became too much for them. Gilmore also told them that the mysterious sigil of the plateau seemed to be connected to the ancient arcane writing of the Qoniira, an ancient culture from the south, suggesting that if they found their ruins and their runic writing, he could translate the sigil. After warning the wizard about the Nameless Ones and buying things at his store, the adventurers left in a cart provided by Gilmore's Glorious Goods. Before leaving the city they were stopped by Poska and her henchmen, who were ready to resort to violence. However, Fearne saved the day by casting *Charm Person* on the leader of the criminals, buying time to leave Emon. Orym used the enchanted box to send a message to Gilmore and inform him about the situation with the Nameless Ones, and he, through the *Sending* spell, thanked them.

### **Old roads and old friends**

The group traveled to the Verdant Expanse, and all of them started getting a weird feeling about the place. They found a portal to the Fey Realm, through which came a forlarren that looked like Fearne wearing the Circlet of Barbed Vision; although the dark fey, following Lady Elmenore's orders, initially tried to persuade the faun to return to her homeplane, she became aggressive when Fy'ra Rai appeared to protect the group. Although none of them remembered the fire genasi, they fought alongside her to stop the forlarren and her forces, managing to do so. Soon after, some Syngornian Verdant Guards led by Myr'atta Niselor appeared to check on the fey portal. The elven leader was suspicious about Opal (who had spent unconscious part of the fight, arguing with Ted about her missing powers) and cast *Detect Thoughts*, after which she allowed the party to continue their journey, with Fy'ra as their new member.

They reached Byroden, Opal's hometown, by the beginning of 843 PD, during the Byroden Forever festival (during which Orym discovered the wonders of pie), and before continue their mission, the group decided to participate in the Gem of Byroden pageant. The contestants were Opal, Fearne, Dariax and Dorian, as well as Cinna Brightbow and Lisle Vester, two other local women. Since the two latter did very good on the interview and talent contest portions respectively, the adventurers supported Opal's singing performance. After an evening wear portion, the human warlock won the title of Gem of Byroden, and before leaving Byroden she left her crown in Ted's bed (since apparently her twin had also left the town). Back in the road Opal, following Fy'ra's advice (since she also had a sister she missed), tried to have a sincere conversation with Ted through her pendant, but found only silence.

On their way to the Qoniira ruins the Circlet of Barbed Vision kept trying to influence different members of the party, with the Spider Queen whispering through their dreams. Dorian, in fact, agreed to help her reach Poska to turn her into her champion, and in exchange, Lolth restored his missing memories of the last week, revealing that Fy'ra Rai had met them and saved them in the past. The next morning the party found an obelisk, with runes that Dariax noted, and while they were there the voice of the Wildmother spoke to each one of them to know their motivations, after which a fey crocodile appeared to test them; Opal, using her whip, pulled it onto its back and managed to incapacitate it. As the group continued their way, Dorian asked to carry the circlet for a while, but suspicious of its strange tranquility around the vestige, Orym demanded that Dariax continue to carry it instead, noting faint signs of Lolth's influence in Dorian's appearance. That night Opal managed to finally talk to Ted in her dreams, and her twin admitted that, while she wasn't dead, she wasn't sure of where her body was, and showing her concern about a purple lady, which the adventurers would deduce could be Myr'atta Niselor.

### **The hidden city and its hidden magic**

The adventuring party (still without name, despite their efforts trying to find one) finally reached Niirdal-Poc, which was in fact a still inhabited Qoniira city, but hidden from the world. They visited Elam Genar, a friend of Fy'ra, and together they talked to the group about the Qoniira Tetrarchy and the situation of the city; while being there Elam revealed that the rune the adventurers had seen in the plateau near Emon roughly meant "place of burning"; they also had a meal together and shared a few interesting secrets between each other (like Dorian's true name being Brontë and Opal's being Georgina). While in the city Dariax discovered his connection with the Observer, a powerful entity honored in that place, and who had been following the sorcerer's adventures.

When the party met with Thrascuur, one of the tetrarchs that led Niirdal-Poc, they shared information, advice and gifts to the adventurers, including that the rune near Emon was marking a place of potential danger, and that Fy'ra Kai (Fy'ra Rai's sister) was still alive. Later, in the streets of the city, the adventurers were attacked by invisible kidnappers who knocked Opal unconscious and tried to take her away, only to be stopped by the efforts of the warlock's friends, who rescued her (although unable to prevent one of the attackers to flee via *Dimension Door*). After that incident Ted (and Opal's magic) went strangely dormant; Fy'ra, who needed to find her sister, had to say goodbye to her friends, promising that they would see each other again, and asking Dorian to stay with the party, after which the monk left. The party, after one last night in Niirdal-Poc (during which Dariax's weapon is blessed by the Observer), decided that for Opal's safety they should keep moving, and they left after saying goodbye to Thrascuur and Elam, and agreeing to deliver a letter for Tetrarch Umejii if they found her traveling south.

The group reached the ruins of Niirdal-Sarqet, where they found a floating cube with words and phrases inscribed on its different faces. The adventurers managed to decipher the message from the strange structure, which caused it to break apart, releasing golems and a cloud of magic full of potential. The party confronted these enemies, discovering that the released magic was temporarily granting them abilities that they could develop in the future. Meanwhile, Opal was immobilized by residuum needles thrown by Myr'atta, who had come to separate Ted from her twin. The adventurers began fighting Myr'atta and her two elven allies while Opal tried to break free, and while the Spider Queen talked to several of the party members during combat, taunting them and offering them boons if they accepted to wear the circlet. A strange shape emerged from the earth, and those present realized that this was Ted, separated from Opal and transformed into an entity people could use as a patron warlock against her own will. The battle continued, even more intense, with Ted's monstrous form knocking Little Mister unconscious, and with Myr'atta doing the same to Dariax (who had just badly wounded her with his spear), although Dorian managed to heal his dwarven friend soon after. Meanwhile Opal, who had taken the sorcerer's bag, made a deal with Lolth and put on the Circlet of Barbed Vision; with her physical and magical energy restored, the warlock sliced Myr'atta's throat.

The group of friends tried to help the twins, and using the knowledge they had gained on their journey, they managed to bring them back together, carving the glyph for "Opal" — sister, family, home, safety, and belonging — onto the entity's massive head, causing Ted consciousness to abandon the physical world and restablish her mental connection with Opal. Having solved that, but realizing that the warlock was now wearing a vestige that she could not part with, the adventurers decided to stay together to take care of their human friend, resolve unfinished business, and avoid the assassins that were still hot on their heels. Since they were now protecting the bearer of the circlet, Dariax proposed that their party should be called "the Crown Keepers", and the rest agreed.

### **The Crown Keepers divided**

The Crown Keepers eventually returned to Byroden, Opal's hometown. Since she still had a lot to figure out regarding her sister and the circlet, when the Voice of the Tempest, leader of the Air Ashari, gave them a mission to investigate an attack on their town, Orym, Dorian and Fearne accepted, while Dariax stayed with the warlock for support. The three members of the Crown Keepers with a new mission visited Zephrah, Orym's own hometown, thanks to Keyleth's *Transport via Plants* spell, they were able to reach Emon to get on a skyship heading to Jrusar, in Marquet, to delve deeper into the source of the mysterious attacks against Keyleth and her people.

For eleven days Orym, Fearne and Dorian were part of Bells Hells, a different adventuring party in Jrusar, fighting crime and helping people. However, when the bard's brother, Cyrus Wyvernwind, appeared in the city and ended up wanted for being (unfairly) linked to a robbery, Lord Ariks Eshteross (an ally of the adventurers) got a ticket to send the air genasi to Emon, and Dorian, being so physically similar to his brother, agreed that it was best for him to accompany him. After saying goodbye to Orym, Fearne, and their new friends in Bells Hells, the Wyvernwind brothers left Marquet. They would eventually reach Tal'Dorei, and with Gilmore's help, the two of them would manage to leave Emon safely to go meet the rest of the Crown Keepers.

### **Heist team in Kymal**

Since Cyrus desperately needed money to cover his own bounty, he and his brother met in Kymal with Dariax, Opal (who was using illusion magic to hide the sinister appearance the circlet gave her), and Fy'ra Rai (who had returned to her friends after failing to find her sister Fy'ra Kai). The Crown Keepers' goal was to win money in The Maiden's Wish casino, and although Dariax was being surprisingly lucky in games such as The Changebringer's Favor, he was also making the casino workers suspicious of him. The adventurers met two people in the casino: Jinoir, a young orange tiefling who tried to steal Opal's Pearl of Power, being stopped by Fy'ra, to whom he revealed that the Nameless Ones were in the city; and Morrighan Ferus, a rogue who was working as a bartender there, as a cover to steal stuff. When the lagomore heard that the adventurers were considering a heist to get Cyrus' money, she agreed with them, offering to help because she also needed to enter the vault of the casino.

They decided to sneak into the penthouse of Phaedrov Krishtan (the nephew of the casino owner), and although they managed to get in (after splitting up and trying various strategies involving disguises and familiars scouting), they ended up facing the penthouse guards, creatures summoned from a cabinet and three Nameless Ones assassins; the adventurers prevailed and managed to get the blueprints, and the songbird in Morrighan's mind confirmed that she should trust her new friends; when they returned to the lagomore's room, the group shared some information to get to know each other better, and they planned the heist using the blueprints.

After Jinoir contacted Fy'ra through Cyrus, the Crown Keepers visited a Chroma Conclave-themed spa, where the young tiefling told Fy'ra that the Nameless Ones were forcing people to stay in the city and join their cause (he had to join when he attempted to flee after hearing the noises of the adventurers' battle), and he revealed that one of the Nameless Ones was another fire genasi: her sister, Fy'ra Kai. The monk told Jinoir to save his own life, and he promised to stay out of the adventurers' way; later she told her friends all about it, because maybe her sister and her allies could be working against them. That night Lolth talked to Opal in her dreams, telling her to seek out the Children of Malice in Kymal; she, however, was more interested in working to improve the Spider Queen's reputation, which led to them reaching an agreement about the warlock becoming her champion, and to the Circlet of Barbed Vision awakening. The same night, Dorian and Cyrus spoke about their home, their duties and their chance to explore the world, and spent some quality time as siblings.

The next morning the Crown Keepers put their plan into action, although they found people much more nervous and on their guard at the threat of the Nameless Ones; indeed, while the adventurers moved through some tunnels they were attacked by a goliath lieutenant of the criminal organization; however, they managed to defeat him and steal documents related to his allies. The group reached the door of the vault, opening it with Mor's tools, and putting the money in Dariax's bags of holding; while they were there, Morrighan started hearing her songbird again, but this time more frantic, and found a marble carving representing a woman surrounded by raven feathers. Pushed by the noise in her head, Morrighan tried to destroy the carving, and when they noticed the rogue was in distress, the rest of the Crown Keepers helped her, successfully destroying the item; the adventurers could only determine that it had something to do with the Matron of Ravens, but an unknown force prevented them from finding out more through magical means.

The group managed to reach the glass skydeck reinforced with brumestone they visited the previous day, intending to deattach it from the rest of the building to use it to fly away; conveniently, that was when Cyrus (after complicated solo adventures) reunited with his friends bringing explosives to help with that task. Several Nameless Ones, including Fy'ra Kai, came in pursuit, but Opal cast "Major Image" to make them believe that the skydeck had collapsed, and that the Crown Keepers, as well as Poska, had perished in the fall. The adventurers began to float away, propelled by Dorian and Cyrus (thanks to the winged boots and the bard's *Fly* spell respectively), but as they did so Fy'ra Kai looked in their direction, ignoring the illusion, and made a chilling last eye contact with her sister. The Crown Keepers successfully left Kymal, and were briefly visited on the skydeck by a raven who looked at Morrighan with approval. The group stayed in their floating bar at least one more night (sleeping while flying), but eventully managed to land it, although not without difficulty, as Dorian explained to Orym through his sending stone.

### **Traveling through Tal'Dorei**

The Crown Keepers continued traveling together, and as the apogee solstice approached, they stayed busy, since Opal was getting "a little dark". During the solstice itself they encountered Deni$e Bembachula, Dariax's ex-girlfriend, who had been looking for him (she sent him Gilmore's enchanted box at some point with a letter, but he returned it empty), and although she made visual contact, before she could talk to him she was suddenly transported away.

Two days later, when Elder Joan Abaddina of Hearthdell used her scrying well with some of Dariax's hair that Deni$e gave her, the water showed Dariax looking nervous and worried in an unknown location, and Dorian approaching him. After traveling to the Irriam Canyon the group *Scryed* again to find Dariax, finding him alone this time, eating in a tavern in Westruun. Orym tried to contact Dorian via sending stone to confirm who else was in that city, but the sending failed. Before she went through a magical portal to find Dariax, Deni$e told the halfling that Poska and the Nameless Ones were still trying to catch the Crown Keepers, and she showed him one of the many flyers with their faces on them.

## **Name**

The group remained unnamed for much of their adventure in the Rifenmist Peninsula. During this time, several names were proposed for the group, shown below sorted by who suggested the name:

**Orym**

* Ash Holes
* Odd Lot
* Gods' Folly
* Irregulars

**Dariax**

* Hot Pie Biters
* Tummy Rubbers
* Dorian Storm and his Blades of Fury
* **Crown Keepers**

**Fearne**

* Hot Ash Holes

**Fy'ra Rai**

* Chosen Ones

**Opal**

* Hot Ensemble
* Ho-semble
* Glitter S.H.I.T.s
* Glitter Shitters
* Hot Lot
* Hot Odd Lot
* Hot Machina

**Dorian**

* Sexy Six
* Dariax and his Dashing Backup Dancers
* Hot Cross Buns

Of these, the most popular seemed to be the Odd Lot and the Ash Holes. The Crown Keepers was first suggested by Dariax as they traveled toward Niirdal-Poc, in reference to their desire to keep the Circlet of Barbed Vision away from those who would use it for evil; the party later chose this name after Opal began wearing the Circlet, saying that if they gave up the crown they might change their name.

## **Members**

 Orym | Fighter | Alive | Adventuring with Bells Hells

## **Allies and friends**

**Player Characters**

 Morrighan Ferus | Rogue | Alive | In Tal'Dorei with the Crown Keepers

**NPCs**

* Elam Genar
* Keyleth, Voice of the Tempest
* Lorkathar
* The Observer
* Shaun Gilmore
* Ted
* Thrascuur
* Cyrus Wyvernwind

## **Enemies**

Alive
* Elmenore: Behaved antagonistically towards the Crown Keepers
* Lolth: She's currently a conditional (and untrustworthy) ally of Opal
* Poska

Defeated
* Myr'atta Niselor

## **Trivia**

* All members of the Crown Keepers are confirmed spellcasters, either by lineage, class or feats.
* This adventuring party is the only one that has a constant connection of a Betrayer God, Lolth, through her connection to Opal.

## **References**

1. ↑ See "The Oh No Plateau" (E1x02) at 2:10:35.
2. ↑ See "The Nameless Ones" (E1x01) at 0:15:34.
3. ↑ See "A Test of Worth" (E1x05) at 1:26:10.
4. ↑ See "The Nameless Ones" (E1x01) at 1:06:26.
5. ↑ See "The Draw of Destiny" (3x01) at 1:12:25.
6. ↑ See "The Aurora Grows" (3x49) at 1:22:10.
7. ↑ See *Narrative Telephone* episode 18 "The Breakup Lettah" at 23:33. Deni$e is characterized in Aimee's original story, transcribed at its section on the *Narrative Telephone* transcripts article.
8. ↑ See "Somewhere Out There" (3x59) at 3:29:27.
9. ↑ See "Somewhere Out There" (3x59) at 3:29:27.
10. ↑ See "Crisis of Faith" (3x61) at 4:36:19.
11. ↑ See "A Haunted Past" (3x63) at 3:42:08.
12. ↑ See "A Haunted Past" (3x63) at 3:43:23.
13. ↑ See "A Test of Worth" (E1x05) at 29:49.
14. ↑ See "A Test of Worth" (E1x05) at 29:55.
15. ↑ See "A Test of Worth" (E1x05) at 30:20.
16. ↑ See "A Test of Worth" (E1x05) at 3:19:29.
17. ↑ See "A Test of Worth" (E1x05) at 3:19:49.
18. ↑ See "A Test of Worth" (E1x05) at 3:20:14.
19. ↑ See "A Test of Worth" (E1x05) at 3:20:58.
20. ↑ See "A Test of Worth" (E1x05) at 29:21.
21. ↑ See "A Test of Worth" (E1x05) at 3:22:45.
22. ↑ See "A Test of Worth" (E1x05) at 3:42:33.
23. ↑ See "A Test of Worth" (E1x05) at 30:10.
24. ↑ See "A Test of Worth" (E1x05) at 3:19:36.
25. ↑ See "A Test of Worth" (E1x05) at 3:19:52.
26. ↑ See "A Test of Worth" (E1x05) at 3:19:58.
27. ↑ See "A Test of Worth" (E1x05) at 28:57.
28. ↑ See "A Test of Worth" (E1x05) at 3:19:14.
29. ↑ See "A Test of Worth" (E1x05) at 3:22:34.
30. ↑ See "A Test of Worth" (E1x05) at 3:26:03.
31. ↑ See "A Test of Worth" (E1x05) at 3:20:36.
32. ↑ See "The Gift Among the Green" (E1x06) at 4:40:09.
33. ↑ See "A Test of Worth" (E1x05) at 3:26:03.
34. ↑ See, for a start, Dariax saying it's better for them to have the circlet than for the creepy people eyeing Fearne to have it.  See "The Nameless Ones" (E1x01) at 3:01:54.
35. ↑ See "What Comes Next" (E1x08) at 3:26:09.

**Art:**

1. ↑ Official art of the Crown Keepers, by Hannah Friederichs (source). This file is a copyrighted work. Its use in this article is asserted to qualify as fair use of the material under United States copyright law.
2. ↑ Fan art of a fun night, by Lap Pun Cheung (source). Used with permission.
3. ↑ Fan art of Gilmore, by Lap Pun Cheung (source). Used with permission.
4. ↑ Official full-body portrait of Fy'ra Rai, by Hannah Friederichs (source). This file is a copyrighted work. Its use in this article is asserted to qualify as fair use of the material under United States copyright law.
5. ↑ Fan art of Opal, Ted, and the croc, by Joanna Johnen (source). Used with permission.
6. ↑ Fan art of DireFearne, Fy'ra, and Opal, by Nathan Long (source). Used with permission.
7. ↑ Fan art of Dariax's wings, by Swisidniak (source). Used with permission.
8. ↑ Fan art of the aftermath of the battle, by Charis Dussek (source). Used with permission.
9. ↑ Fan art of Dorian's farewell, by Casu (source). Used with permission.
10. ↑ Official art of Morrighan Ferus, by Hannah Friederichs (source). This file is a copyrighted work. Its use in this article is asserted to qualify as fair use of the material under United States copyright law.
11. ↑ Fan art of the voices in their heads, by Dylan Chinn (source). Used with permission.
12. ↑ Fan art of Cyrus arriving with the explosives, by Melissa Hahn (source). Used with permission.
13. ↑ Fan art of three different reactions to the Crown Keepers, by Taylor Weltzer (source). Used with permission.
14. ↑ Fan art of Opal wearing the Circlet, by Scout Villegas (source). Used with permission.