Timeline

Iporis

This content refers to phenomenon on the continent of Iporis.

#### Albatross Assembly Makes a Statement of Neutrality: October 1, 515 PA

The Assembly proclaims itself as neutral, and allows for refugees from both sides to enter. Population swells as shantytowns are erected to house the new people.

#### Cloven Conclave Declares War on Nekronian Empire: September 6, 515 PA

Following a slew of mostly-false accusations of terrorism and attacks, the Cloven Conclave formally declares war on the Empire.

## Rime of the Frostmaiden Storyline

Gatsia

This content refers to phenomenon on the continent of Gatsia.

## The Scaled Bastards Storyline

Iporis

This content refers to phenomenon on the continent of Iporis.

### Epilogue

Darshan disappears quietly from Eastshire and returns to Peyden, where he is berated by his family and made into a local laughingstock for his failure.  After two years, he commits suicide. His head is exhumed and sold to Vicaver Sylvectus and Eskis Ikilem for 5000 gp by the Mudi family. He dies in February of 476.

Perchance and Balance return to Dremleen to live with the Dianthan family.  Eventually, Strum finds them too, and Perchance and Strum get married… somehow.

One day, Perchance receives a letter inviting her to Eastshire written by Sigma.  The handwriting is more rigid than usual, but she pays it no heed, and travels there with H’rard Strum.  Sigma, subjugated by his patron, S’bornisk, separates H’rard from the others and slays him for causing S’bornisk’s descent from his deva status.  H'rard dies in September of 474. Following the murder and freed from the will of his patron, the half-elf has trouble living down the guilt, and tries to apologize profusely to Perchance without avail.

Caeric finds work with Calliope, completing the Academy’s archive of plants, visits his family in the Moorwarden Forest often, and forms PISS (Pseudodragons in Scientific Studies) with the help of Sigma, an exchange program with the Academy that allows other awakened Pseudodragons from the Moorwarden to study with the Academy.

Donovan and Bud return to Gatsia to face Donovan’s tyrannical uncle.  However, their mission goes awry, and Bud watches Donovan suffer a crushing defeat in front of him, breaking the firbolg’s heart again and reminding him painfully of the death of his clan.  Unbeknownst to him, Donovan escapes with his life and hides in a small village, siring a son named Atticus Greenshard.

Armand returns to Peyden and reconnects with Impulse, the tiefling cleric.  He never really finds a romantic interest because he’s gay, and adopts a lizardfolk as a son.  Armand wasn’t very happy and tried to dispute using the scroll for Perchance but was ignored. He kinda becomes disgruntled with the rest of the party having made that choice and kinda drifts apart from them slightly.

Peyden falls in the coming years to the vine infestation, and refugees from the city flee to surrounding towns.

Vincent journeys out to the west coast to avoid his parents and adopts an orphaned aarakocra.

Duskset remains with Arkius in Phandalin.

Sigma passes another anti-Requiem policy in Eastshire, prompting the guild to send the Twin-Tailed Devil to assassinate him. He dies in December of 474.

Following Sigma and H’rard’s deaths, Caeric plants rowan trees by their graves.

### The Occulox Arc

#### Session 27: May 8, 474

The real Avantika is hunched over a map of Iporis, red strands of yarn connecting pins across the continent with pieces labeled “R”, “C”, and “S”, and a portrait of a halfling man with a pig-nose and a smoking pipe is pinned to the right-hand corner.  Balance and Perchance approach, though they both say different things.  Perchance states that the party was sent by Darshan Mudi to deliver the letter.  When Avantika starts to ask for details, Balance confesses that they were actually sent by Reprisal.  Bud pulls Donovan aside and asks why they even need the scroll of Regenerate detailed in the letter.  When Donovan states he doesn’t know, Bud asks Balance, who sends Herbert as a messenger to H’rard to ask.  H’rard snatches up the rodent and tells them that Perchance desperately needs it.  When the party does eventually form a cohesive story, Avantika procures a wooden case, and inside is the ancient scroll.  As she begins to hand it to the party, H’rard slips and says that they had already destroyed the Occulox core.  Avantika begins to put the scroll away again, wondering why she even needs to honor this deal.

Bud, seeing their difficult situation, pulls Avantika aside, hastily tells her that there are several rats in her room, conjures them, and grabs the scroll and runs.  The party makes a hasty getaway using Pass Without a Trace.  Perchance and Caeric suggest that they take refuge in Calliope’s office since they can trust the half-orc botanist, but the Academy is closed at this hour of night.  With that unavailability, they decide to hide at Sigma’s office instead, knowing that the overworked half-elf would be awake at this hour.  Along the way, Stave bandits stop the party after casting a Detect Magic spell and finding Vincent’s cloak, Perchance’s sword, and Donovan’s shield.  They attack and attempt to pry these items from the party, but Bud summons black bears to keep them occupied and Caeric casts Entangle.

Upon reaching Sigma’s office, the party knocks and the door is opened.  Before Sigma can say anything, Donovan rushes inside to hide.  Once the entire party has entered the candlelit room, Perchance uses the anti-magic bomb on him, dispelling the charm.  He blinks a few times, and suddenly realizes the weight of his actions while influenced by Darshan’s charm.  It takes him a moment to process that, which gives the party time to discuss why they needed the Regenerate scroll in the first place.  To demonstrate, Perchance takes the mannequin head off, and reveals her headlessness, much to the shock of Donovan, Bud, and Sigma.  Sigma sits more stiffly and grips a twitching arm by the wrist with his other, seemingly having a moment with his patron.

Bud is convinced that her state of undeath is a perversion of the natural cycle of life and death, and threatens H’rard with death.  He refuses to give the scroll to them.  After a lot of back-and-forth, Bud sighs and confesses that he needs to retreat to the woods to meditate.  He takes Donovan with him for safety.  There, he sees the parallels between Perchance and his lost clan.  By giving them the scroll, he could offer Perchance the second chance his clan never had.

They return to the office and give the scroll to Perchance, much to the relief of others in the room.  Caeric reads the scroll, and initiates the Regeneration.  Right as Perchance’s hair and horns are restored and the spell is complete, Darshan knocks on the door, here to see Sigma.  Instead, he finds that the scroll he had been working for is seemingly wasted on Perchance.

> "“NO!  WHY?? YOU’VE WASTED THE LAST WORKING REGENERATE SCROLL OF THE CRESCONIAN EMPIRE!  DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’VE DONE???  I NEEDED THAT!  THAT WAS MY ONLY SHOT AT LIVING!  YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH I’VE SACRIFICED TO GET TO THIS POINT!  I NEEDED THAT TO BE FREE.”"
>
> Darshan to the Scaled Bastards

Before Darshan can continue, Donovan knocks him unconscious.  Perchance thanks H’rard, hugs Bud, and has another heart-to-heart with Balance.

Session 26-27-finale

## Darshan's Letter

### Rewards

N/A

Having found refuge in the Requiem Den, the party faces Sarchasis, Lorun, and Reprisal, the apparent leader of the guild.  Bud, having not previously met the rest of the party, introduces himself.  Reprisal begins to ask the party about what they found in the demiplane.  Bud procures the Emi crystal he salvaged from the Occulox core, and Reprisal demands that he hand it over.  Convinced that she is up to no good, he does not surrender the crystal, and asks the leader of the Requiem what it’s significance is, given that he was a foreigner to Iporis.  She obliges, sets a theatrical display, and tells him that the crystals formed as a result of the god Galonoth creating gnomes.

Perchance brings Darshan's unsent letter to Avantika to Reprisal, and the tiefling is enraged by her mistress’ decision to keep her in the dark.

> "I CAN’T BELIEVE AVANTIKA WOULDN’T TELL ME ABOUT THIS!  THAT’S IT!  WE’RE BREAKING OFF FROM THE DEAN’S NETWORK!  IT’S A REQUIEM REVOLUTION.  WE’RE SOLOISTS NOW."
>
> Reprisal to the Requiem

Before she can truly take off with the plan to separate the Requiem from the rest of Avantika’s coup, Sarchasis butts in.

> "But.  Reprisal.  We depend on them for funding.  Also, Avantika’s been running this for 300 years?  I think it’s safe to trust her judgement.  If Darshan is actually willing to compromise with her on this, we should probably return his belongings at some point to establish peace"
>
> Sarchasis to Reprisal

Balance also advises against a revolution, and Reprisal eventually obliges.

> "ARGH!  YOU!  BALANCE!  YOU MESSED THIS ONE UP!  TAKE YOUR FRIENDS AND GO FIX IT- MAKE SURE THAT MUDI GETS WHAT HE WANTS.  MISTRESS AVANTIKA IS IN TOWN BY THE DOCKS VISITING, CHECK THE EPIPHANY, AND IF YOU SEE HER, SAY REPRISAL SENT YOU.  HURRY ALONG!  WE ONLY HAVE UNTIL 3 IN THE MORNING AND IT’S NEARLY 10."
>
> Reprisal to Balance and the Scaled Bastards

Reprisal crumples the letter several times before returning it to the party to deliver to Avantika.  On the foggy, salty streets of Eastshire, a pair of guards approach the party right as they depart the Requiem’s den.  Because of the limited visibility provided by the fog, the party has time to disguise themselves, as the guards roll up in search of Balance.  The guards push a wanted poster into their hands before leaving them alone.  Armand curbstomps a child.

It’s a busy night at the Epiphany.  Even though it is late at night, the nightlife is very much alive.  Wealthy aristocrats pack the halls of the restaurant, and the waiter denies the party entry until Balance reads the Thieve’s Cant on the carpet and signals to him that they were sent by Reprisal.  He leads them to the backdoor, where he says Avantika is.  The door is opened by an illusory version of Avantika that dissipates as the party approaches.  They enter.

Session 26-27-finale
#### Session 25: May 7, 474

In the demiplane, Perchance, H'rard, Donovan, Bud, and Caeric find themselves in an expansive library behind the Knowledge door. A pedestal in front of them reads "PLACE THE MOST VALUABLE BOOK HERE". Bud takes initiative and walks toward a shelf, finding a book of history encased in glass and flanked on either side by two statues. As he makes a move to grab it, the statues spring to life and attack. Caeric, Donovan, Perchance, and H'rard rush to his side to fight them off. Caeric throws various objects from the tables, Bud wildshapes into a bear, Perchance unleashes a volley of eldritch blasts, and Donovan jumps into the thick of the fray to fight them hand-to-hand. In short time, the animated armors are dispatched, and Bud attempts to place the book on the pedestal with no effect. Perchance then navigates toward another book, one about religion. As she moves to pick it up, the table springs to life and attacks. Eventually, it is also defeated, and the book is placed on the pedestal. No effect. Bud discovers a leather-bound blank book, enjoys the fact that nothing animates to attack him, and places it on the pedestal. Sunlight filters in, illuminating the area. The letters "Lo" appear in illusory script as the exit opens.

Back in the lighthouse, Darshan walks up to retrieve his bag, only to find Balance, Vincent, Armand, Sarchasis, and Lorun on the scene. Ladybird glares at Lorun, but says nothing. He demands that the party unhand his belongings, and threatens to report them to the authorities. Vincent grabs the bag and casts Blink, transporting himself into the Ethereal Plane and making his getaway that way. Darshan turns and corners Balance, berating her for trying to steal his things. Armand creates a distraction by casting Thaumaturgy and causing fire to spell out the word "penis" by his face. Iporis wild magic duplicates the spell, and Donovan sees the same thing appear by him. Lorun, Sarchasis, and Armand escape and follow Vincent to the exit. Vincent returns from the Ethereal Plane and sends Izora to distract Darshan and get Balance a chance to escape. They take to the streets and navigate toward the Requiem "den".

In the main room of the demiplane, the party decides to navigate toward the final room, Wits. Upon entering the office-like door, they are met with a messy personal room. A clockwork bird sings incessantly, and alchemist's supplies bubble as something boils. The party also notices two papers on what they presume to be Darshan's desk. One is a case study written by Vicaver Sylvectus and Eskis Ikilem, and the other is a letter to Avantika about modifying the Occulox to ignore Requiem and Crimson Consortium members if she can source a scroll of Regenerate for him. A plaque on the desk reads "What disappears as soon as you say its name?" The party figures it's silence, and smash the alchemy set and bird. Caeric takes special care to save the most corrosive element of the alchemy set, and douse it onto any papers that bear Vicaver's name. The party hears a mechanical click, and the letters "Ga" appear on the plaque as the exit appears. With that, they return to the main room, where Perchance casts Illusory Script and realizes that the letters spell out Galonoth. The four rooms are replaced by two doorways. One reads "Exit", and the other "Database". Perchance runs to the exit, while the others decide to investigate the database.

Upon exiting the demiplane, Perchance finds Vincent, Balance, Armand, Sarchasis, and Lorun on the run. Not far behind them is an enraged Darshan. She casts Hold Person on him to buy time, and they make their escape.

In the database, Caeric, Donovan, and Bud find a void of flying ribbons. They all orbit an Occulox Core. Bud discerns that the Emi crystal on the contraption is powering it, and persuades Donovan not to destroy it before investigating the gem. He plucks the crystal off, and Donovan smashes the Core with a mace, sending a rippling effect through all of the ribbons, and making them fade. With that, they leave, and find themselves on the floor of an abandoned tavern- The Requiem's Den.

Sarchasis and Lorun are infuriated at Balance for compromising their stealth mission. Donovan and Armand start to talk about the Thaumaturgy cast earlier. Perchance and Vincent move to defend Balance.

Session 25 audio
#### Session 24: May 7, 474

With the party divided, Vincent is left alone in the crowd.  Armand, a little late, enters halfway through the meeting, grabs crackers from the front, and sees Ezekiel Guinivere approaching Vincent again.  Vincent attempts to approach Armand in a discreet attempt at asking for help.  Armand ignores him, and Vincent is whisked off to the side, has his ear pinched by Ezekiel, and is firmly lectured about his role as the eldest son of the Guinivere family.  Armand notices the harsh treatment, and starts to walk over to talk with Vincent’s father.

> "Just what do you think you're doing?"
>
> Armand to Ezekiel about his treatment of Vincent, Session 24

Armand starts to interrogate Vincent’s dad about his parenting methods, creating a distraction.  Vincent sneaks off and hides in the thick of the audience.  Armand finds Ezekiel’s treatment of Vincent to be horrendous, and spits in his face.  However, it falls and lands on the carpet because of his fangs.  He reconvenes with Vincent.

Donovan and Caeric navigate toward the four rooms of the demiplane.  Donovan confesses that he doesn’t feel like trying the intelligent-sounding rooms: Knowledge and Wit, and decides to start with Ambition.  Caeric agrees, and they enter, door locking behind them.  They step into a dark room.  Caeric, with darkvision, notices a table, a bench, and a shelf.  The table has something lumpy on it.  The duo approaches, and they discover an old cadaver on the table.  After the initial disgust fades, Caeric lifts the cloth from the body and finds a glowing wedge of crystal embedded in it.  This casts enough light for Donovan to notice a matching piece on the bench.  They press the two crystals together, and the exit opens, illusory script above the door reading “No”.

Back in the main demiplane chamber, they decide to try Discovery next, gripping the brass handles and entering.  They are met with an illusory street.  Transparent people sell wares, gawk at prices, and go about their day.  Around them, swarms of flying ribbons are in the sky, soaring like insects.  On the far end of the street, they notice one thing that is concrete- not transparent.  As they approach the figure, they see a firbolg, who introduces himself as “Bud”.  Bud and Donovan compare what they know about the demiplane, and conclude that this part of it repeats itself endlessly, and that there is a special trigger to leaving.  Caeric catches a yellow ribbon, and hears the thoughts of a corrupt cleric of Mielikki spending temple earnings on personal rent.  He expresses his anger at the “blasphemy”.  A window on a nearby building glows with yellow light that matched the ribbon.  Believing this to be their way out, Caeric attempts to catch other ribbons.  Donovan snags a blue one, hears something haunting, and encourages the group to work faster so they can get out sooner.  Another window lights up.  Caeric snatches another ribbon, the red lace encoding the thoughts of an unfaithful spouse, causing another window to glow.  Finally, Bud grasps a purple strand, hears something from it, and the exit opens, the letters “Th” hovering nearby.  Bud asks what an Occulox is, and Donovan promises to tell him after they escape.

The trio resolve to enter Knowledge next.  They kick down the door and discover that it leads to a library.  Weapons and armor of all types are spread across tables, and a pedestal with an inscription that reads “PLACE THE MOST VALUABLE BOOK HERE”.  In a pile of weaponry, Donovan discovers a shield with his family crest on it.  Confused, he picks it up, and finds a book on the history of Gatsia beneath.

The panel meeting draws to a close, and the audience starts to file out of the lighthouse.  Vincent and Armand, both concerned that their companions have not returned from retrieving the bag yet, decide to investigate.  They are followed by Sarchasis and Lorun, two Requiem agents.  Armand and Vincent both make mental notes of Sarchasis’ similar appearance to the assassin that killed Wendell.  They find Balance creeping out from a closet after Darshan’s guard passed by.  Vincent debates with Lorun briefly before they agree to grab the satchel and demiplane, and then run before Darshan can find them.

#### Session 23: May 7, 474

After awakening at the Portsmouth Bar and Inn, the party notices that their pet goblin, Hibby, is missing.  They ask the innkeep, a portly dwarven man, if he’s seen her.  After mentioning that he “relocated the vermin”, Vincent flies into a rage, restrained by Perchance.  Donovan, Caeric, H’rard, Armand, and Balance ask the dwarf where he let the goblin go.  He is visibly intimidated by the party, and replies that she was set out in the woods.  They then ask him to lead them there.

After wandering into the Warbler’s Woods, the party locates Hibby with a couple other goblins.  Vincent rushes down to the riverbank to ask if she is ok.  The goblin replies that she doesn’t like to live with tall people, and prefers the company of other goblins.  Reluctantly, the party allows her to stay there.

They then go to Nosarth's Academy of Arcane Arts to pick up Calliope's creation. Class is in session today, and the party receives a few awkward glances from students. Donovan snacks on the egg he snatched during breakfast while Vincent sends Izora to harass him for it. Eventually, they make their way to Calliope's office, where she is in the middle of a conversation with a student. They knock on the door, and everyone hides behind Perchance for some reason. Donovan does so with alarming amounts of success, while Armand has less luck. Caeric is small enough to hide easily. The human student in Calliope's office seems perplexed by H'rard and Caeric's ability to speak, and storms out of the room after getting her grade fixed. The half-orc procures a 2-inch glittery purple orb- the anti-magic bomb. She tells the party that it doesn't detonate easily, but it is expensive to create and fragile. Perchance and Donovan debate about who should carry it before they decide to return to the Portsmouth Bar to change into formal wear. The barkeep is still visibly frightened of them from the interrogation earlier.

The party travels to the Okeanus Lighthouse, wait through the line, and discover that the guard collecting tickets is the same burly tiefling who escorted them to the Occulox interrogation earlier. He looks a little surprised, but allows them to enter and moves on. The Scaled Bastards enter a large theatre-like hall. In the front, there are currently four panelists talking about the Occulox Project: Darshan Mudi, Senna Wiseacre, Estreya Ruguloth, and Sigma Murthy. They also talk about the assassination of Wendell Cui. Vincent is approached by Zeke Guinevere, his father, who asks him to return home. After he rudely shoves his dad away, Balance comes to his aid and casts Dissonant Whispers on the man. Zeke drops his ultimatum: return to Batek within a month, or Tharsis will be compromised. The crowd watches.

Balance notices two Requiem members in the crowd- Sarchasis and Lorun. She asks them for information on Darshan's bag, and then sneaks off with H'rard to retrieve it. Donovan and Caeric help them by distracting the crowd with rumors of the Twin-Tailed Devil and handing out crackers respectively. As they approach the satchel, a 10-foot wide shadowy disk emerges from it, and attempts to engulf them. Combat ensues. H'rard is taken in. Caeric, Donovan, and Perchance rush to their aid, but are also swallowed, leaving Balance fending for herself and Vincent alone in the audience.

Donovan, H'rard, Caeric, and Perchance see a 30x30 ft room with four doors in it. They also see this floating blue illusory script, which is only legible for Donovan. It says “GREETINGS MASTER DARSHAN.  ENTER THE PASSCODE VIA ILLUSORY SCRIPT TO ACCESS THE OCCULOX DATABASE OR EXIT.  AS A REMINDER, YOUR BACKUP QUESTIONS ARE ACCESSIBLE THROUGHOUT THIS DEMIPLANE.  FOR A HINT, PLEASE CAST ILLUSORY SCRIPT AND DISPLAY “HINT”", before following up with “REMEMBER YOUR TENETS OF WITS, KNOWLEDGE, AMBITION, AND DISCOVERY”.  H'rard realizes that the tenets mentioned belong to Galonoth's faith.

H'rard, Caeric, and Donovan in the DemiplaneVincent, Izora, Donovan, and his eggTharsis.Session 23 audio

## Break the Charm

### Prerequisites

Knowing Calliope, Sigma, and being in Eastshire

### Rewards

N/A

The party walks out of Sigma’s office and heads toward the Port District to reconvene with Donovan’s clients.  Understanding that Donovan wasn’t intending on staying with them long-term, the band allows Donovan to leave and take this quest.  The party and the band eat dinner together at the Maestro’s Inn to say goodbye.  There, they see a dragonborn bard playing the piano, reminding Vincent of Strum.  H’rard tries to look closer to compare them to the silver dragonborn assassin he saw earlier.  The party decides to rest at the inn for the night, renting boats to sleep on.

In the morning, Donovan, Perchance, and Armand are seasick.  They disembark the boats and return to land, where a courier is waiting for them- the same one they encountered at Dremleen.  The lanky boy hands them an envelope and asks if they need to send any reply to Sigma.  Vincent responds by handing him a rock.  The Scaled Bastards then decide to go get formal clothes in preparation for the formal event mentioned in the envelope.  They enter a tailor’s shop and pick out formal wear to rent or buy.  Balance leaves after making her purchase to meet up with a Requiem agent, **Yasheira Dumein**.  They talk, and the human bard haughtily tells Balance that the Requiem needs her to steal Darshan’s bag at the panel discussion tomorrow.  Before she can hand Balance the invitation document, Balance smugly replies that she has her own already.

The rest of the party decides to check in with Calliope, who was mentioned in Sigma’s unsent letter.  The half-orc greets them warmly and expresses her apologies for sending Caeric out to Phandalin like that.  Calliope procures payment, and also hands the party a set of lead headbands to block the divination magic associated with the Occulox.  They chat, introduce Donovan, and discuss Vicaver.

Eventually, Sigma is mentioned, leading Calliope to ask the party if they know he’s charmed.  When they express that they’re unaware, she describes something she calls an “anti-magic bomb”.  The faculty of Nosarth’s Academy of Arcane Arts keep these on hand to use in student mishaps or emergencies, but Calliope has run out of them.  She asks the party to retrieve an Emi crystal worth 5 gp, bone dust, and gelatinous cube extract, as well as a carton of milk so that she can make another for them to use on Sigma.  They leave to get the items from the Silvertip Shark, a nearby magical supply store.  There is no storekeeper, only a sign that says “HONOR SYSTEM: TAKE WHAT YOU NEED AND LEAVE PAYMENT HERE”.  Donovan speculates that this is one of the consequences of the Occulox.  They fetch the milk from the marketplace and Vincent bumps into an elven woman with a scar on her cheek.  After doing so, he checks to make sure his wallet is still there.  The party also notices a tall goliath woman in the streets with a small company of Kenku.

With that, the Scaled Bastards seek rest for the night at the Portsmouth Bar and Inn.  Knowing that it’s the cheapest place in town, they aren’t surprised by the condition of the rooms.  Perchance and Balance room, and H’rard reveals pieces of Perchance’s past to the tenarimar.  Vincent and Caeric rest, and Donovan has a nightmare about fleeing Gatsia.

D&D Stream- Session 22
#### Session 21: May 5, 474

Following their arrival in Eastshire, The Scaled Bastards are caught at the scene of the murder of an old man named Wendell.  The crowd surrounds them, but H’rard breaks off to pursue the assassin.  He notices the red cloaked figure with a silver dragonborn’s tail dash by an alleyway and disappear through some doors.  He returns to the party to find that the crowd had called for “Truthseeker agents”.  Two burly figures flanking a pissed looking halfling push through and demand that the party follow them.  They take Wendell’s body with them.  The Scaled Bastards are pushed into this tall, dark looking building where the halfling calls a hooded figure into the room to cast Zone of Truth on them.  He is wearing a dark robe emblazoned with golden embroidery and edges.  She then interrogates Vincent, as he’s the only one who failed his save intentionally to tell the truth.  The halfling and the hooded figure converse and go down a hall to retrieve “Occulox data”, which they say will take a few hours.  Leaving a half-orc guard in the room with them, they leave.  Armand and Vincent immediately go back to bickering while H’rard tries to make small-talk with the half-orc.

Eventually, the halfling and the hooded figure return and say that the party is free to go.  Armand questions the halfling on what the Occulox is and how it works.  She hesitates for a moment before bringing him into a backroom to see for himself, mentioning that she can’t make “heads or tails” of it anyway.  Armand investigates the whirring machine which he notices to beat rhythmically like a heart.  He also recognizes a component of it, detailed on the blueprints found in the sewers of Peyden.  With that, Perchance grabs Vincent and Armand, and leaves.

The party uses the map to navigate their way through the port city.  About halfway to Sigma’s office, they notice people following them.  The stalkers retreat into an alleyway.  Vincent dons the hood of his Cloak of Elvenkind to poke his head across the corner and fires a magic missile at the leader of the coup.  He knocks him out, and confronts the other two bandits, who mention “not being paid enough for this” and being there to rob the party.  Perchance notices the Cloven Conclave insignia embroidered onto the edges of their coats.  She scares the bandits off, and Vincent investigates the unconscious bandit leader.  He notes the meagre amount of coin in his pockets, and slides an extra copper piece in.

They then continue to the door of Sigma’s office, and hear frustrated yelling from inside.  The voice accuses Sigma of not taking action on a case that he has clearly made a stance on in the past.  The Scaled Bastards knock on the door, and are greeted by the lanky half elf.  Looming behind him is a tall, brutish human.  Sigma speaks with an obvious stutter and is very intimidated by the human, which introduces himself as Prince Donovan Greenshard from Gatsia.  He made an appointment with Sigma and is currently grilling the district governor on his failure to address the Occulox appropriately.

Every attempt to ask about the Occulox is interrupted by an unrelated question from Sigma.  He dismisses the letter he sent them as a “false alarm” and stated that he had “overestimated” the threat.  Vincent and Armand take note of the towers of papers on his desk, and knock them over in chaotic glee.  As papers fly, the party notices half-finished anti-Occulox papers and statements that Donovan and H’rard pick up and question Sigma on.  Donovan, especially frustrated that Sigma hasn’t been doing anything, is confused as to why he had these on his desk.  Perchance, Armand, Donovan, and Vincent investigate the scattered papers to discover maps of Eastshire with labeled “Occulox zones”, as well as an unsent letter to them begging them to come faster because “shit will hit the fan”.  It also mentions that he may not be able to communicate with them soon, and that they should direct their questions at Dr. Calliope.  The party confronts the half-elf with these.  Under pressure, Sigma attempts to write them a message on the back of the letter, triggering his geas.  He winces and reaches for his forehead, but manages to slide the note to them.  It tells them about a formal event coming May 7th that he can get them into.  They could interrogate the inventor of the Occulox there.  He also mentions that he had a conversation with the inventor, Darshan Mudi, yesterday on May 4th, which is when he got geased.  Sigma frequently responds to the party’s questions with “I can’t physically say…” Eventually, Donovan decides that taking down the Occulox is a goal worth leaving his current job for, and decides to join the party for this.  They decide to go to the Maestro’s Inn to get Donovan’s clients situated and find a place to rest for the night.

Occulox Zone chart found on Sigma's deskD&D Stream- The Scaled Bastards Session 21
#### Session 20: May 5, 474

After exiting the Arcane Chimera in Peyden, the party hears a muffled curse from behind them- Ambition's voice. It is around 4:00 in the afternoon, and the Scaled Bastards decide to leave town. They encounter a human guard who asks for documentation and their reasons for leaving Peyden. He seems tired and says that they've imposed a guard system to regulate the people coming in and out to try and catch Cloven Conclave spies. Perchance and Balance present the letter from Vesa Copperfist, as well as the Smithrun district token she gave to Perchance. He sighs over the bickering between Vincent and Armand, and eventually lets the party go.

On the first day out, the party crosses Ignet's River, and H'rard hunts and eats a frog. They then continue toward the city of Wyndpa, and puzzle over how to get into the city, since it it floating. Caeric and H'rard try to figure out the teleportation circle they found while the Perchance tries to keep the rest of the party from fighting each other. Vincent manages to snap one of Armand's antlers off (since they were close to shedding anyway). The Scaled Bastards give up since Wyndpa isn't relevant to their quest. Eventually they decide to start setting camp, as it was starting to approach 6:00. Balance and Vincent opt to set up away from the teleportation circle in case something happened while they slept. They find a spot by some trees, where Caeric discovers 6 6-foot long cocoons in the trees. He asks H'rard to help him knock them out of the branches, much to the discontent of the rest of the party. Eventually, Caeric's curiosity gets the better of him, and he tries to cut open the cocoons. In the first one, he finds a dried corpse of a human in a Cloak of Elvenkind, which is given to Vincent. Vincent is skeptical of it at first, and asks Perchance to be the test dummy since she was "already dead". After seeing her don it unharmed, he takes it back. The other cocoons contain corpses in similar condition. In the rest, he finds a salvageable shortsword, two daggers, leather armor, glasses, and a spellbook containing the following:

Level 1 Spell: Alarm

   Level 1 Spell: Burning Hands

   Level 1 Spell: Charm Person

   Level 1 Spell: Chromatic Orb

   Level 2 Spell: Alter Self

   Level 2 Spell: Arcane Lock

   Level 2 Spell: Blindness / Deafness

   Level 2 Spell: Blur

   Level 2 Spell: Cloud of Daggers

   Level 2 Spell: Continual Flame

   Level 3 Spell: Animate Dead

   Level 3 Spell: Bestow Curse

   Level 3 Spell: Blink

   Level 3 Spell: Clairvoyance

   Level 3 Spell: Counterspell

Vincent claims this as well, Caeric takes the glasses, and he plants rowan by the dead. The party rests for the night. The next few days pass uneventfully until May 1st. Now formally in the Seehal Desert, the Scaled Bastards encounter a seemingly abandoned donkey on the desert road. Balance casts Speak With Animals, and learns that it is waiting for 3 days for its human to come back. Its human was led to Finam by "a group of pushy, unfamiliar people", but it is confident that its person will come back. This donkey is familiar with the roads here, and tells the party it will be about 4 days to Eastshire. With that, she thanks the donkey for its answers and they leave.

On May 2nd, the party gets stuck in a sandstorm. It passes after 2 hours of relying on Perchance, Vincent, and Balance to stick to the road. When the dust clears, they find themselves by a tall rock and the wreckage of a metal ship-looking thing. Perchance investigates the wreckage, noticing that it looks like a nautilus' shell. A blue dragon rises from the sand- the rock they had seen was actually the horn of the buried dragon. It demands tribute and service from the party in exchange for letting them pass. Caeric offers a jade necklace to the blue dragon, who called himself Othilius. The party is then asked to enter the wrecked ship, as the dragon was too large to investigate and loot it himself, so he has just been keeping an eye on the newest piece of his hoard. Vincent opens the door, Perchance finds a revolver (described to them as a "strange curved tube that has a trigger of some sort.  There are 6 barrels, and it seems that something is meant to be inserted into this contraption and fired"), and Balance notices gnome skulls with 3-inch holes cut into the tops. They present their findings to Othilius, who allows them to leave after they praise him. He takes off with a massive beat of his wings, knocking the party members backward and blasting sand into their faces.

On May 3rd, the party reaches Blackwater River and the end of the desert. H'rard spots another frog and eats it. He then realizes it was poisonous, and his mouth swells up. Perchance finds this amusing.

On May 5th, the party enters the edge of Eastshire. A tired half-orc guard asks them for their business and lets them in. They pass by a job board which mentions Balance's father, Crown. She seems bothered by this, and the party tries to comfort her. The Scaled Bastards end up walking behind a very slow old man in a crowded street. They don't seem too bothered by his pace. Suddenly, the elderly human gasps and falls to a knee, clutching at a dagger embedded beneath his collarbone. The party reckons the dagger had come from above, and that it was thrown. Vincent and Perchance race to the scene, and H'rard spots the assassin fleeing. Vincent rushes to tend to the dying man, but is too late. H'rard chases after the red-cloaked assassin. A crowd gathers around them.

Perchance being the only adult in the partythe guard at PeydenBalance and H'rardCaeric and H'rard watching the party fightCaeric and H'rard contemplating helpingCaeric opening coccoons while H'rard screams in warningCaeric in glasses by KammyCaeric in glasses by Tu Madrethe desert donkeyOthilius emergingEastshire job boardH'rard noticing the assassinH'rard chasing the assassinSession 20 D&D Audio
### Perchance's Amends Arc

#### Session 19: April 28, 474

With the cardboard box in hand, Perchance rejoins the group. They decide to open it up, discovering 6 papers inside. Armand, Vincent, and Perchance are able to decipher the scientific papers and come across blueprints for some sort of Emi powered contraption. Armand believes that these are tied to the Occulox Project due to the Mudi Laboratory symbol on the box. With the box empty, Hibby asks to burn it, and the group obliges. Vincent seems apprehensive about lighting a box on fire in a sewer, but the party doesn't listen. Thava checks in with the party, worried after smelling the smoke. From there, the party decides to leave.

They return to Vesa Copperfist's office. Vesa wonders why a box was left in the sewers, and mentions that she may have that investigated. She believes that thieves had placed it there, and that the project may be related to the murder of Keshav Mudi last month, where the prime suspect was the Twin Tailed Devil. They present the papers to her, and as promised, the dwarf procures payment for them. Vesa hands them a small velvet bag with 100 gp's worth of platinum pieces in it. In addition, there is a brass pin bearing the Smithrun district's emblem, a token of honor in Peyden. They accept their payment graciously and leave the papers with Vesa.

Thava makes her way out of the office, failing to notice that the party had not kept up with her. Strum, Caeric, Hibby, Armand, Vincent, Perchance, and H'rard had stopped to play with Vesa's pet gecko, Cornelius, in the lobby of the office. Armand stares at the critter hungrily, and Strum drags him out. Eventually, the party reconvenes and heads toward Jaxton's Pub in the Oxpass district, where Thava mentions they could grab lunch. The building is in slight disrepair, and the tavern patrons are messy, laid back people. This would seem to be the opposite of the kind of place Thava would frequeny. Thava seems to be very familiar with the barkeeper, and orders very hastily. She regards the party briefly before addressing Strum.

She asks Strum to stay in Peyden with her to investigate the deaths of the Angkhor clan- their family. Thava explains that within the past year, their blood relatives had passed away of a mysterious illness while she was on duty. Vincent expresses that he has been through similar, and they share a moment of silence. She then interjects with her theory that there was an inside job involved. With Strum's help, training, and time, they would be able to crack the case and find the answers they needed. Strum hesitates for a moment, weighing his options between choosing his friends and his family. Eventually, he addresses The Scaled Bastards, and tells them that they will meet again one day.

They eat, and Thava asks where their endeavours will take them. Perchance mentions that they are headed to Eastshire, which piques the interest of a figure in the crowd. She introduces herself as Balance, and asks to accompany the group there so that she may have safer travel. Vincent and Thava are both openly distrusting of her, but eventually the party allows her to tag along. The party decides to visit the Arcane Chimera, a spell shop owned by Ambition. After some conversation and interaction with the shop cat and his familiar, members of the Stave enter, engage in some sort of transaction with Ambition, and leave. The leader of the bunch accidentally slams the door on Caeric, assumes that he is Balance's familiar, and pays her 3 gp for her troubles. With that, the Scaled Bastards set out.

Blueprints in the sewerSession 19 audioAmbition and RingAmbition and RingRing and Brown CatH'rard calling dibs on Cornelius and CrackersStrum making his decisionThava copypastaing at AmbitionAmbition and the client that showedSeraphina, the client that showedAmbition @ the sheer amount of gold he was paid

## Vesa's Summons

### Rewards

10 pp, a brass pin emblem of Smithrun

Awakening to the smell of breakfast cooking, the party awakes in the Evening Hour Library of Peyden. Reverence and Anilith cast worried glances at Armand and Vincent's bickering, as well as Strum's attempt at controlling them. Armand yawns, showing canine teeth, much to the bewilderment of Strum. H'rard tries to catch Anilith up on Perchance's condition. The Scaled Bastards hear a knock at the door, and see a heavily scarred dragonborn hand a letter to Reverence. Armand approaches, too, but is told to sit down.

Perchance takes the letter and peels the wax seal off, revealing a letter from Vesa Copperfist, the district official of the Smithrun district in Peyden. It instructs them to meet at 89 Slopestead rd at noon. The scarred dragonborn asks to come in, and takes a closer look at Strum, while also casting suspicious glances at Vincent and Caeric. Reverence, Anilith, and the party continue eating. The dragonborn stands by the door and watches. Eventually, she and Strum recognize that they know each other, eventually leading to her asking "...Delmirev?", Strum's first name. She introduces herself as Thava, and insists that she is Strum's long lost sister. Strum confirms this after seeing the Angkhor clan symbol she keeps with her. Reverence and Anilith leave the room to allow them time to catch up. Thava is a dramatic, flashy individual who constantly shows off her military rank in the Nekronian Empire. She tells stories of time fighting the Cloven Conclave, including their druids, rangers, and other beasts. She brags and boasts without prompting, much to the amusement of H'rard. After inquiring about Strum's life for a while, she gets up, and beckons the party to follow. Mentioning that they still have many hours before the meeting with Vesa Copperfist, she takes the party around Peyden, though still suspicious of Caeric and Vincent.

Eventually, Thava brings them back to Smithrun, where they stand before 89 Slopestead. She confesses that they were supposed to meet her here, but now that she's already here with them, she'll just lead them in. The building is unremarkable, with a steep roof meant to keep snow off. It's made of cobblestone and wood. They see a lizard kept in some sort of tub in the mudroom, and the dwarf named Vesa Copperfist in the office. She interrogates the party on why they came to Peyden, and what they noticed from the vines. Perchance replies, remembering to omit the time they spent in the Conclave due to the current tension between the two factions. On Vesa's desk, the party notices a list of vine sightings and attacks, which reads:

April 27 - Killed Michael Lohst

April 22 - Killed Unidentified Dragonborn

April 13 - Attacked Impulse

April 2 - Killed Anya Bearslayer

March 10 - Killed Unidentified Human

February 23 - Killed Unidentified Dwarf

January 5, 474- Killed Unidentified Gnome

November 29, 473 - Killed Serena Satrinavi

September 17, 473 - First Sighting, Ignet’s River

Vesa then asks the party if they are adventurers, requests their group name, and offers them a job for 100 gp. Their mission would be to investigate the sewers under Peyden and find the source of the vines, as all of the sightings have happened near the sewers, and by the waterways. If possible, they would also destroy that source. Armand and Vincent argue. They accept, and Thava leads them to the Smithrun sewer entrance. They descend the ladder and find themselves in a dark cavern. Vincent shies away from the sewer water as Hibby lights a torch. Something snakes by Vincent's foot, and the party sees that the sewer is choked with vines. Armand and Vincent argue. Perchance and Strum investigated, while Armand examined the water. Perchance found holes in the walls where she had attempted to clear the vines with Eldritch Blast, as well as a light cardboard box. Strum found a giant, mucus-leaking flower-bud looking thing on the ceiling. Perchance collects the box, noticing how light it is, and the party departs to report back to Vesa.

Armand and Vincent arguing to H'rard's amusementArmand yawningH'rard laughingThava flexing on H'rard, and it having no effectperry the platapus meme part 1perry the platapus meme part 2Vesa's noteThavaSession 18
#### Session 17: April 27, 474

As the boat neared the Ahvahn docks, the Scaled Bastards notice guards wearing tabards emblazoned with the flag of Peyden. They help dock and disembark. The armored humans question them about their business in Peyden, as well as the town they came from. While they regard them differently after hearing that they had journeyed straight from Dremleen, they allowed the party to enter and rushed them to the nearest temple after seeing the severity of Vincent and Perchance's injuries.

At the temple of Galonoth, The Scaled Bastards are met with a tiefling male, hair pulled back in dreadlocks, who charges coin before any healing. He asks for a total of 60 gp, and gets to work on healing Perchance. As the party tries to explain Vincent's condition, he notices Caeric and H'rard speaking, which attracts the attention of an odd deer-looking person. This figure, Armand, approaches to inquire.

With their injuries stabilized, the party listens to the tiefling cleric, who introduces himself as **Impulse**, explain the current state of the city. He takes care to detail the impending Calamity, and mentions how he's going to use the gold earned to get himself and his family out of Peyden. With that, he ushers Armand to travel with their party for the day, whom he has taken in as a pseudo-apprentice. Armand reluctantly agrees.

With that, the party sets off in the direction of the West Ward district. En route, in a neighborhood in the Smithrun district, Caeric gets an ominous premonition from Mielikki warning him against traveling in that direction. He tries to get the party to stop, but in midst of the debate, a tendril rises from the sewer. Armand decides to shoot 5 magic missiles at it, causing the plant to retreat into the grate. After Strum investigates, it returns, longer, and deposits a cadaver on the street opposite of Caeric. Perchance slams a fireball at the vines in the sewer as the town guard arrives to investigate. the body having drawn a crowd.

Armand, not wanting to draw trouble to himself or his newfound group, uses his status as a current resident to dissolve any suspicion. The guards mention that this sort of activity has been happening more recently, express their condolences for "poor young Michael", and allow the party to leave the scene. They proceed, eventually happening upon the familiar library. Perchance storms into the Evening Hour Library, drawing the attention of a purplish tiefling, Reverence. The other, a gray tiefling working at the counter, teases Strum about Caeric and H'rard. Armand requests information on the Calamity, and Reverence answers, beckoning Perchance to join them. Armand discovers an old book called "*Theories and Speculations of the Calamity Prophecy*". Behind him, Perchance is recognized by her grandfather, who scoops her into a hug. The Dianthans then invite the party to stay the night. A group of kenku, lead by a tall masked woman passes by, stares at the party, and leaves. Vincent and Armand bicker while Strum asks H'rard about Perchance's opinion of him. Vincent summons Izora to harass Armand.

Session 17 audio
#### Session 16: April 27, 474

With the letter received, the party returns to the Fillian Inn to meet with Perchance.  H'rard mentions that there are abandoned teleportation circles on the edges of Dremleen.  However, Vincent and Caeric express their doubts.  With that, Vincent requests that they take a vacation instead, Perchance mentions having grandparents in Peyden, and Strum suggests visiting them.

Perchance and Caeric take one last walk around Dremleen to take in the marketplace.  They see the vendor of Matfield, as well as the lizardfolk Sarkaya.  They come across the temple of Mielikki, where Caeric offers his prayers and is acknowledged by his god.

With that, you dine, rest early, and settle in for the night.  Perchance and Vincent are haunted by figures of their pasts, while Caeric receives warning from Mielikki.

The party decides to take a detour on their way to Eastshire so that Vincent can catch a break and so that Strum can simp for Perchance and meet her grandparents. In the morning, you set out for Peyden.  You make a stop at Corova and note the aggressive vendors and desperate beggars. The majority of your journey passes without issue, but at the banks of the Seraph's River, Caeric senses something tailing the party.

A bulette, attracted to the scent of Vincent's rotting horse jerky, bursts from the earth and attacks.  Caeric manages to trap it in vines while Strum and Vincent pelt it with spells.  Eventually it breaks free, grievously injuring Vincent.  Strum heals him, and Perchance strikes a vital blow to the creature's back, forcing it to spit out Vincent.

The bulette turns its attention to Perchance and tries to eat her.  However, as it bites, Perchance casts Hellish Rebuke, incinerating its insides as she passes out from blood loss.

The party then drags their way over to the Seraph's River, where Strum hails down a sailboat manned by a tiefling named Sentinel and a silver dragonborn named Hryesha.  He obnoxiously plays the bagpipes of illusions to draw attention to them.  Sentinel attempts to stitch Vincent back together, but is convinced not to by her companion.  They allow Caeric to do it instead   Eventually the party boards their small sailboat, bound for Peyden.

Perchance comforting StrumPerchance's nightmareThe BuletteStrum is a simpD&D Scaled Bastards Session 16

## Something Bad in Eastshire

### Rewards

N/A

Arriving in Dremleen, Strum was able to convince the guards to let the party stay for two nights peacefully. Upon arriving in the town, the party decides to do a bit of shopping, Vincent purchasing a crab that he named Crackers that he now keeps as a pet, Caeric purchasing a Symbol of Mielikki, and Strum attempting to purchase pickled softshell turtles before H'rard steps in and stops Strum from being swindled by the shopkeep and purchasing enough for the whole party. The party then makes their way to Fillian Inn and makes arrangements to stay the night, Perchance covering the costs. After making themselves comfortable in their room, Perchance (through H'rard) explains that her family thinks she's dead and that H'rard will go with them when they visit them. Perchance gives Strum a ring with a distinct symbol on it and an inscription carved underneath it in Infernal. Arriving at the residence, they meet Perchance's mother, Confidence, and her father, Hunt. After giving them the ring and explaining that they found it and were told it belonged to them (a lie to keep Perchance's wish), they invite the party inside to chat and have tea. After a bit of bonding, Confidence decides to show the party their six month old son, Advantageous (Advent, for short), a symbol of their newfound hope. After leaving the residence, a mailman from Eastshire arrives to give the party a letter from Sigma, requesting their help and warning them about something "really bad."

* audio ->https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ixXK3gnN-sApZ5NFMNEzrz\_QEcJCDfFG/view?usp=sharing

perchance family ringperchance family homeD&D Scaled Bastards Session 15
#### Session 14: April 19, 474

**The party decided to take a long rest at the Stonehill Inn in Phandalin.** You collect Hibby and embark on your journey to Dremleen. Vincent gives Hibby 3 gold and promises to buy her trinkets later. On your first night on the road, you encounter two clashing groups of bandits. One of them screams for their fallen comrade named Ross. You manage to sneak by unnoticed, and make it to the ruins of Leilon, where you camp out in an abandoned home. The next morning, you awake to the noise of a herd of goats. Strum asks Vincent about the Haemodem Affliction, who reacts with visible discomfort. You stumble upon an ancient graveyard with the number 278 carved into the headstones. That night, you make it to the coast and camp out on the beach, where a small red pseudodragon dashes by your equipment. Strum coaxes it out of hiding and grabs Hibby before she can try to eat it. However, they are interrupted by a giant owl that snatches the reptile and gores it fatally. Vincent shoots the owl with magic missile, and catches the dying pseudodragon, which the party later decides to feed to Hibby anyway. You tell ghost stories around the campfire.

The next morning, you cross the hills and spot a hippogriff in the air above. Another herd of goats thunders past, and in hot pursuit, three hyenas and a gnoll. You watch them hunt and congratulate the gnoll on her success, to which she receives aloofly. At the end of the day, you manage to stumble into the town of Nerglade, and take a large room at the Shining Sea Hotel run by Bratomil the triton. He regards you coldly, and keeps on taking judgmental glances at Perchance. That night, Vincent decides to leave the nightmare totem under the mattress because the host was racist. In the morning, Perchance hands him 20 silver for being "a good host", and the party gets on their way. You manage to cross the narrowest point of the Seraph's River and make it to the gates of Dremleen. There, you encounter Stephanos and the travelling fortune teller. H'rard sneaks into their wagon, discovers a menagerie of captured magical creatures, and releases them all in a bout of free spirit. H'rard escapes just in time, and Stephanos is distraught and rambles about how the Broker will be furious with him. You decline his quest to help him retrieve the animals, and continue to the gates of Dremleen.

Session 14 audioVincent Murders Wildlife - D&D Animatic
### The Lost Lord of Phandelver

#### Session 13: April 15, 474

**The party accepts Mayor Harbin Wester's quest to explore Vicaver's tower**.  They rifle through the top levels before discovering the hidden passage to the cellar.  Vincent finds a series of drawers that activate the door.  Caeric finds lost stock from the Nosarth's Academy archive inside of the tower. He has now collected Fern Flower, Ignet's Tears, and Shrieking Mandrake.  With that, the party enters the cellar and explores.

The first things they notice are an abundance of water and pools, and images depicting a strange fish-like creature they later identify as an aboleth.  From there, they find records of past experiments (trials 1-4), discover the fate of Sadrina Tresendar, and find out what Vicaver was using the flowers for.  As they creep deeper into the dungeon, they find a flesh golem restrained by cables.  Perceiving the party as tresspassers, the golem attacks, injuring Perchance and Strum, before they are able to subdue it.  They note that they had to kill it twice because of the flower's influence and the notes that revealed the properties of the flowers.

Piecing it all together, the party reckons that Vicaver's patron was an Aboleth, and that he regularly received information and forbidden knowledge from the creature.  They present the information to the mayor, who rewards you your 20 gp each and Arkius, who is relieved his daughter seemed to have lived out her life free from the curse.  Duskset decides to stay in Phandalin to accompany the lonely manticore. With that, they decide to set out for their next adventure in Dremleen.

Vicaver's notes on Ignet's Tears and Fern FlowerAn unsent letter to AvantikaA used Regenerate scrollUpdates on Sadrina TresendarAttempts at curing Sadrina TresendarTrials 1-4Vicaver's deskthe Golem fightthe Omen pamphlet found on Vicaver's desk

## Investigate Vicaver's Tower

### Rewards

20 gp each

**The party faces Vicaver in the town square with their new party member Duskset**. After confronting him about his misdeeds, he ushers his apprentices to leave the scene while he speaks with the party. They flee, and he denies his actions. With that, the party begins a **persuasion battle**, and argues against Vicaver. After Strum, Caeric, Duskset, and H’rard present facts about his tower, his passion for hiding his deeds, and the nature of Arkius, the crowd sways to the party's favor.

In the midst of this, Vincent’s lantern sheds an arc of light, connecting to Duskset’s spine. They decide to investigate this later, as it seemed harmless, and faded after a few minutes. Vincent calls Arkius through his familiar, Izora. He arrives to face Vicaver, gives a speech, and allows the party to help him persuade the townsfolk to let him stay. They then help him acclimate to the old manor, and make plans for restoring it. Vincent apologizes for his previous treatment of Duskset, and tries to compensate by giving him some of his money. Strum comforts Perchance. The party stays the night at the inn while Caeric and Duskset put on a mukbang show probably. The next morning, the mayor calls them to his office, where Vicaver is being held and questioned about his deeds. He asks them to investigate Vicaver’s tower to search for evidence of his crimes, promising 20 gp each for contribution to the investigation

Arkius' Entry to PhandalinVincent's LanternArkius returning home
#### Session 11: April 14, 474

**Strum begins by performing on the bagpipes for the music-deprived musician, Arkius.**  In the middle of the song, a dragonborn rogue, trying to find treasure, peeks his head into the cave, and tries to keep his cover down.  Unfortunately, H'rard spots him, and alerts the manticore of his presence.

Arkius confronts the blue dragonborn, who introduces himself as Duskset, and accuses him of being asked to kill him.  The party attempts to calm the manticore, and they succeed, convincing him that such a scrawny, malnourished looking person simply wouldn't be capable of attempting to slay him.

Arkius relaxes, and casually mentions that the party should stay to live with him.  Perceiving this as a red flag, they attempt to create arguments and solutions to the problem.  They decide to bring him back to Phandalin and confront Vicaver for his misdeed against Arkius (accredited to Strum and Perchance), and then leave Vincent's raven familiar there with him (accredited to Vincent) to make sure that all goes smoothly with the reintroduction.

With that, the party, augmented with a manticore and a dragonborn, sets out for the road, learn more about Duskset, and reveal Perchance's undead nature, which he takes surprisingly well.  They manage to make it to Phandalin in 2 days of travel, where they encounter Vicaver, standing by gallows.

Arkius during Strum's Performance
#### Session 10: April 12, 474

**As H'Rard tried to persuade the manticore to let him have a few spines, a barlgura crashed through the woods and bit the beast**, causing chaos.  Unanimously, the party agreed to help the manticore.  The barlgura, apparently sent by Vicaver entangled the manticore and Strum, and then smashed Caeric unconscious.  Strum broke free of the vines to heal the fallen pseudodragon.

As Vincent turned the tide of the battle with his constant stream of magic missiles, Perchance wasn't having as much luck.  Eventually, the party and the manticore managed to banish the barlgura by defeating it.

Now convinced that the party wasn't going to kill him, the manticore led them to his lair, where he claimed he would give an explanation "without interruption".

The manticore, who is now known as Arkius Tresendar, tells his story.  He was once the human Lord of Phandalin, who fell ill with an incurable disease and bargained with a cambion for his health.  His deal had unintended consequences, and his firstborn daughter came into the world a tiefling.  Convinced that the xenophobic town of Phandalin would not react to her well, he hired the first magic user he had ever seen, Vicaver, to help find a way to make her human.  One morning, while checking on the wizard, Arkius witnessed something horrible and tried to flee.  Vicaver, not wanting word to get out, turned him into a manticore, so that the townspeople would regard him as a wild beast and fear him.

Arkius asks Strum, Vincent, and Caeric, as they are magic users, if they were capable of lifting his curse, but at the moment, none of them know those kinds of spells.  Crestfallen, the manticore asks Strum for a performance.

Perchance letting an injured Caeric rest on her shoulders
#### Session 9: April 12, 474

**The party had their first day and a half out in the woods.**  They had a conversation, and encountered 2 orcs by a stream who thought they were trespassing.  Strum was able to convince them to let the party go.  Attempts made to get information from the orcs weren't successful.  That night, Strum, Vincent, Caeric, and Perchance told stories around the campfire and got to know their comrade Khajiit.  A badger raided their food stores. Vincent was able to get it to leave, but was unsuccessful in befriending it.

The next day, on the forest path, Perchance and H'Rard came across a strange track in the dirt.  It was identified as a landing area, and Khajiit was able to track the creator of the trail.  Following the scent, the party spotted a manticore in the middle of eating a deer.  H'Rard wanted to talk to it.

Hrard by Tu MAdreH'rard trying to talk to the manticore
#### Session 8: April 10, 474

**To wait out the bad weather before trek up north, they explore the abandoned manor in Phandalin.** The party finds old documents, paintings, and note the mournful wind whistling through. Caeric picks a locked chest open and stumbles upon a packet wrapped in cloth. He gets Strum and Perchance's help in lifting it, and finds a cloak, a +1 Shortsword, and three potions of healing.

After returning to the inn, Caeric got to have the sweet chicken again, and went to sleep.  They bought camping equipment at Barthen's Provisions and got ready to brave the road for Vicaver's quest.

A painting seen in the manorPerchance and the sword

## Manticore Spines and Peryton Egg

### Rewards

500 gp (not collected due to incompletion)

**The next day, the wizard introduces himself as Vicaver Sylvectus, and writes to the party about a quest, and compensation for helping him.** He sends coin and a Hat of Disguise. The party meets up with him at the Shrine of Luck in Phandalin, where he asks them to run an errand for him. They would need to collect 30 manticore spines and a peryton egg. In return, they would be paid 500 gp. Vicaver explicitly states that a manticore can be found in the Neverwinter Wood to the north.

#### Session 6: April 9, 474

**A massive apeish demon masquerades as the missing wizard.** The party sees through its disguise by questioning it, and it attacks in frustration. After defeating the barlgura, they notice the wizard, somewhat injured, laying in the back of the tower. He is rude, but allows the party to help him up and bring him back to town, where they reunite with Hibby.

Perchance helping Vicaver Sylvectus up

## Missing Wizard

### Rewards

360 sp, 20 gp, a Hat of Disguise

**Around town, you find clues about the whereabouts of the missing wizard.** After talking to Sister Garaele and the wizard's apprentices, Silas and Tyra, you learn the places the wizard frequents. Eventually, you find yourself searching a tall stone tower in the hills to the east of town. H'rard senses something fiendish within the tower's walls.

#### Session 4: April 9, 474

**The party finally arrives in Phandalin and delivers Gundren's supplies, earning 10 gp.** They stay the night at the Stonehill inn, and H'rard teaches Caeric how to use a fork while they eat. Vincent purchases a bowtie, and the party gossips with local townsfolk. This leads them to rumors of a missing wizard.

Perchance and H'rardCaeric and H'rard using utensils (MUKBANGGGG)Caeric eating chicken
#### Session 3: April 8, 474

**Deeper within the caverns, you find a cohort of goblins led by Yeemik.** However, he is charmed by Vincent, and allows the party to leave the hideout peacefully, granted that they bring his daughter, Hibby, with them. Hibby had always wanted to explore the outside world, and this was an opportunity for her to do so safely. Perchance's mannequin head is knocked off by an arrow, and it is revealed that she is headless.

Vincent charming YeemikPerchance and H'rardPerchance's head being knocked off by an arrow
#### Session 2: April 8, 474

**At the entrance of Cragmaw Hideout, you see a gnome.** He introduces himself as Lonk, and states that he has been trying to get in to explore, but hasn't yet out of fear of the goblins. The party decides to enter with Lonk. After encountering wolves and discovering a secret shaft, they battle a bugbear named Klarg, slay him, and continue into the caves.

Perchance and Bao getting stuck in the ChimneyMardyl also stuck in the chute

## Meet Me in Phandalin

### Rewards

10 gp

**After 8 months of travel, odd jobs, and making friends,** the party finds themselves in Neverwinter. Aided by Khajiit the tabaxi bard and Mardyl the dragonborn fighter, they take a job given by Gundren Rockseeker. The party is ambushed by a group of goblins while escorting Gundren's supplies to Phandalin. After defeating the goblins, they follow the last one as it retreats back to Cragmaw Hideout.

### Prologue

#### The Murder of Keshav Mudi: March 14, 474

The head of the Oxpass district of Peyden was assassinated. The suspect was detained, but escaped. Physical description matches that of The Twin Tailed Devil. The following day, Ladybird is hired by the Mudi family to track down the suspect. Ambition is interrogated due to his similar appearance, but cleared as unassociated.

#### The Scaled Bastards Oneshot 4: February 9, 474

**After waking up in Darandal, the party has breakfast with Tyriel** - some French Toast. She seems to suspect that there's more to Perchance than she lets on, but doesn't badger her about it and just asks that Strum be kept busy for the day. After making their way to Queen's Plaza, they deliberate on what to do for the day and Strum suggests they go to Blackridge for some of its famous guang-bing. After arriving there, they meet a seemingly friendly, but somewhat intimidating gnoll named Dagnyr, who seems to be good friends with Strum and *highly* interested in Vincent. But H'rard is more intimidating to Dagnyr than anything else and he takes the party under the sewers to meet his family, all of whom are equally as intimidated by H'rard. After meeting them, Vincent being *very* displeased being in a sewer and not entirely comfortable in the company of said gnolls, they all make their way to the Nekronian Museum of Artificers and Engineering, Dagnyr tagging along. There, they meet a tiefling who appears to be the curator of the museum named Insight. She seems to be rather infatuated with Strum, but he either doesn't notice or doesn't return her feelings. While learning about some of the history in the museum, they're rudely interrupted by a posh-looking aarakocra whom also seems to have annoyed both Insight and a gnome woman named Taimi, daughter of Donyella Timbers. The party, specifically Vincent, all have a go at annoying and pissing off the aarakocra, who's apparently a rival inventor. He leaves, and the party reconvenes and round back to Strum's. Upon arriving, Strum is surprised at home by his mother and with all his friends in tow, including a kobold whom is the park ranger and also a friend of Strum's, Tyriel gives Strum a gift. A hand-crafted fiddle. After the party, they all turn in for the night and get ready to head back out onto the road in the morning.

* audio -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/165OFFzZDxB3lqLos318maw9TNiIZlw5-/view?usp=sharing

D&D Scaled Bastards One Shot Session 4
#### The Scaled Bastards Oneshot 3: February 8, 474

**The party begins in the town of Northrun, staying at a warm cafe in the dead of winter.** Strum decides that the party needs to acquire proper clothing for the weather, and proposes that the party go clothes shopping. Perchance and Vincent go to the bookshop instead. Caeric and Strum approach a half elf vendor selling winter wear. After searching for clothing that will fit, Caeric jokingly considers purchasing a hat with rabbit ears on it for H'rard. Strum purchases a large pink coat for himself. At the bookstore, Perchance and Vincent scour the shelves for erotica and braille books with the help of two Tabaxi; Craig and Cragmire(?).

The party regroups at another merchant's cart. This one is run by a half-orc named Stephanos, and a fortune teller who ushers Strum over to read his fortune. The tarot card she reads reminds him of his mother, and he decides to go visit her in Darandal. The party sets out, encounters a half-ogre woman named **Grenda Trotchenkovsky "The Brutal Rock" Korsunsky Lusciouslips**, who seems tense. However, with some persuading, she calms down, and aids the party in a skirmish against ice mephits that approach.

Because you do not seem fit for travel in this weather, she offers to accompany you on the rest of the way to Darandal. Strum navigates the streets easily, finding his mother's home quickly. Vincent fucking poisons himself by eating berries. There, you meet Tyriel, Strum's mother, who treats Vincent, and invites you to stay the night. Emma can't write anymore since she had to leave early Rachel you do the rest pls.

Oneshot 3 - Strum's Birthday

## Botany Department Infestation

### Location

Eastshire - Nosarth's School of Arcane Arts

### Rewards

A health potion

**Sigma notes that the Nosarth's Academy of Arcane Arts had a help wanted listing.** Upon investigating, you learn that the botany department had been overrun with fungus, and needed help clearing it out. There, you met Dr. Calliope Stoneturner, a half-orc conducting research, and Bao, a monk from the Saffron Crescent Monastery. You defeat the source of the fungus, and Caeric receives a list of plants from Calliope that are missing from the collection.

Bao slaying the fungus0.5 Shenanigans

## Elaine's Cart

### Rewards

10 sp each, potentially other goods on request

**The party meets in the Eastshire marketplace.** They get to know each other and help a merchant named Elaine retrieve her cart from the woods. After finishing the quest, they resolve to meet again the next day to hang out. H'rard senses something off about Sigma.

Sigma Murthy meeting Perchance
#### Haemodem Epidemic in Batek: December 470 - October 471 P.A.

**Batek is hit with a more extreme version of the Haemodem Affliction**. A typically non-lethal disease outstays its visit and causes enough damage over time that it became lethal. It eventually clears after the involvement of many doctors, quarantine practices, and innovative use of magic.

#### Underpasses of Castle Arafiel Oneshot: October 31, 470 PA

**No one thinks anything is wrong with the servants in the Arafiel Castle in Finam... except for the annoyingly paranoid Aerin Arafiel**. He's convinced there's a conspiracy going on. People think he's hallucinating when he screams about black sludge in the tunnels, scattered pieces of brain littered in the dungeons, and the slinking of tentacles everywhere he walks.

Usually no one would care, but boy, does he have money. You've been hired to investigate the tunnels of the castle and see if there's any truth to his suspicions. Will you be able to uncover the perpetrators before you turn against each other?

#### Perchance beheaded: July 8, 470 P.A.

**Perchance is slaughtered** by an ambush on the caravan. H'rard, looking for an undead ghoulish servant, resurrects her as a lich accidentally by trapping her soul in a phylactery.

Klen watching Perchance's death
### Pre-Game Events

#### The Saffron Crescent Monastery is Established: 390 P.A

**The Saffron Crescent Monastery** is established in Northrun.

#### Qui'ternoki tribe of pseudodragons formed: 362 P.A.

**The wizards and the pseudodragons agreed to protect the Moorwarden Forest** together. The pseudodragons would remain its wardens and preserve its balance as long as they could in exchange for being Awakened.

#### Cloven Conclave formed: 350 P.A.

**The Vasilians and the Bathysoman Kingdom join** to form the Cloven Conclave. The Vasilians controlled the inland section of the Conclave territory, while the Bathysoman Kingdom controlled the coast and sea.

## The Red Terror Storyline

Iporis

This content refers to phenomenon on the continent of Iporis.

### Chapter 2, Return to Iporis

#### Session 4: December 28, 210 P.A.

The party is launched from the Plane of Air and land in water.  It tastes of salt, as they realize they’re in the harbor of Portia, back on Iporis.  They swim toward land, seeing the docks of the city they used to run.  As they do so, the party notices an old man on the dock surrounded by a crowd.  He is reading off of a paper, and proclaims that the city is freed from the Kingdom of Cyndrus, and that affiliation with it is treason, punishable with death.  Temminckii swims ashore and climbs onto the dock, approaching the crier.  He backs up, intimidated by the large tortle.  Holding out a sword, he threatens the man for information.  Under pressure, the crier confesses that this was the will of the Godhunter, and begs for his life.  The rest of the party is noticed by the people on the dock, and they send a boat out to “rescue” them, as they perceive the party to be drowning.  The Red Terror climb aboard, and are recognized.  Townspeople flee at the sight of the tyrannical rulers.  Back on land, Mavis notices an assassin creep up and nock a crossbow bolt at the crier.  She decides to throw a flame at the assassin to scare him off, and sets his cloak on fire.

Chaos ensues as the crier calls for guards, and the Red Terror leaps into action.  Jimmy takes out several guards for no apparent reason, while Hardtrein, Mavis, Freya, and Temminckii try to concentrate their attacks on the assassin.  Jimmy and Mavis are both knocked unconscious by the assassin’s poisonous blades and arrows.  However, Freya stabilizes them, and they are later healed by Hardtrein.  Jimmy shoots Mavis again, and Hardtrein expends most of his lay on hands pool to heal her.  Another assassin enters from the west, sees that the party killed the first, and snatches his body, fleeing westward.  The remaining guards flee southward and take cover in a shop, where they are pursued by Hardtrein, Temminckii, and Freya.  The goliath and tortle press them for information, and Temminckii forces Argus to testify that he killed the assassin if anyone asks.  If not, Temminckii would “hunt him down”.  The guard and Argus tell them that Illtern, the white dragon, is wanted by the city for “crimes against humanity”, and that the Godhunter has seized control of the Kingdom of Cyndrus.  Portia is now free and independent, but wants Illtern slain.  The party reckons that the assassins must’ve been anti-Godhunter, since they tried to kill Argus for carrying out her orders.

The Red Terror moves westward to pursue the assassins.  Eventually, they find a large, ramshackle building.  Mavis, having previously run a Crimson Consortium Outpost, recognizes the Thieve’s Cant on the building’s shingles, which read “CRIMSON CONSORTIUM OUTPOST 4”.  With that, they enter, and see a single guard who says “UeHG! Mistress Avan-- oh wait.  Who are you?”  However, he seems to recognize Mavis, and allows the party to enter without much resistance.  Freya and Temminckii recall that the Crimson Consortium is the local mafia, and runs several illicit schemes in the name of profit.  Among their activities are gambling, trafficking, and the maintenance of a black market.  The party tries to find a gambling room to get a bearing of the building.  Temminckii finds it, and tries to have people place bets on him in arm wrestling.  The gamblers oblige, and he wrestles against a half-elf for a while, having bets placed on him by Hardtrein.  With some deception, they manage to rig the next arm-wrestle by having Hardtrein intentionally throw the match.  As they do this, they hear pounding on the door, some muffled screaming, and the clanking of armor.  Eventually, the door of the gambling den is kicked open, and people scatter.  Standing in the doorway with a glaive, an axe, and gleaming blue armor is the Godhunter.

### Chapter 1, Ruined Royals

#### Session 3: December 23, 210 P.A.

**Following a short rest on the floating island, the party decides to try and get off. Using the ethereal wings granted by eating the berries, Jimmy tried to jump off the edge to try and find a bottom to the endless sky.** The rest of the party bickers, and in doing so, don't notice an Efreeti approaching them until he blasts them with desert wind, and coalesces in a funnel of flame. It strikes Freya and Mavis as odd, since they've identified themselves to be in the elemental plane of air, but the genie approaching them was a fire genie. With a crooked grin, a glance at Jimmy falling, and a snap of his fingers, the party is teleported into a lavish palace hall. Sitting on the throne was the Efreeti. He hungrily regards the Frostcore Reaver in Temminckii's hands and remarks that the tortle had stolen something from him. Summoning a very similarly styled scimitar, he points it at Temminckii, despite the tortle's attempt to play dumb.

Hardtrein notices the food and golden cutlery on the tables, and begins to take some for himself. Mavis, noticing similarities between herself and the fire genie, makes a bold guess and asks if he is her father. Without acknowledging her, the genie begins to talk about how trespassers of his palace are sentenced to fight in his arena. With a side glance at Mavis, he sends them to the dungeon, where the party is held briefly in the dark before being led into the empty arena. The golden cutlery vanishes. The efreeti, seeming delusional, addresses the empty seats as if they were filled with roaring spectators. As the party stumbles out from their cell, a starved rabid griffon is released from the opposite side of the coliseum. However, Jimmy, Mavis, and Hardtrein quickly dispatch it. Unamused with the quick fight, the genie urges the party to form teams and fight each other.

This sparks a scheme within the party to fake a fight. Temminckii fakes a strike on Mavis, but Jimmy and Hardtrein misinterpret it and actually start fighting each other. Freya kicks Mavis, and the genasi tries to set Jimmy's hair on fire. Zen inspires Hardtrein, who uses it to cast Bane on Jimmy. From there, the delusional genie laughs at the sheer absurdity of the fight. Finding this hilarious, the genie calls for them to stop, claiming that they have earned their passage out of his palace. Wiping a tear from his face, nodding at Temminckii, and giving a longer glance at Mavis, the Efreeti opens a portal. He claims, very delusionally, that the party has bested his champion, the griffon, and therefore has earned their way out. Freya notes once again how strange it is that a fire genie had taken up residence on the plane of air, and Hardtrein beheads the griffon behind the efreeti. Before they step through, Mavis tries to ask for acknowledgement one more time from the genie, to which he mumbles that her mother was Avantika. The party departs, taking the portal the genie had opened.

#### Session 2: December 21, 210 P.A.

**The party awakens to falling. Below them, sky and the wreck of the airship. Above, sky. To the east and west, sky.** Passing by are small motes of floating earth, islands in the never-ending expanse of air. The Red Terror groups up in the sky, tying their bedrolls together to form a parachute. Their fall slows, and Zen has trouble staying with the group. Temminckii creates his signature beartrap javelin, and fastens a rope to it. He launches it at the nearest mote of floating earth. The party slowly touches down, Zen in tow. As they land, the first thing they see is a berry bush next to a shrine of some sort. As they approach, Rook feels compelled to eat one of the ethereal glowing blue berries. She takes one, squishes it in her talons, and swallows. Moments pass, a sharp pain in the upper back, and a pair of blue ethereal wings emerge from her back, granting 40 ft of flying speed. Hardtrein, skeptical, exercises some caution before trying a berry himself. He finds that he also sprouts a pair of wings, and consequently plucks the entire bush of its remaining berries. It wilts. Hardtrein hoards them.

Freya approaches the shrine in the center of the island. She notices a button in the center of a pool of radiant icy blue energy, as well as an inscription on the side that reads “Only those who quiet the roaring winds can wield the Frostcore Reaver”. Seeing the hand print emblazoned on the stone button, she presses it. The symbol shifts to show numbers and it counts down from 20. As the numbers approach 0, the party panics, and demands berries from Hardtrein to allow them to fly away. They receive them, and take off, giving the ticking button a wide berth. Some mist hisses from the fissures in the structure, but nothing happens.

The party thinks for a moment, Rook suggesting that she cast Plant Growth to quell the wind around the shrine. They also consider shifting the stones of the island around to block the wind before Freya exclaims that she can cast Silence on the area. They do that, click the button, and watch the numbers count down. As it hits 7, walls begin to rise from the ground, enveloping the shrine. Everyone except for Jimmy and Zen stay inside. For Hardtrein, Freya, Mavis, Rook, and Temminckii, they watch the button stone crack down the middle and split, silver mist and icy glowing light giving way to a sleek, heavy glaive. Hardtrein grabs it.

With that, an air elemental is conjured to defend the glaive. It attacks everyone in the structure. Jimmy cooks food outside of the shrine building to give to his comrades after they finish their battle. Zen attempts to find cracks in the walls to break his way in. On the interior, battle rages as Temminckii attacks the elemental. Mavis stabs it a few times before deciding to retreat to pet her cat and play cards with Rook. They are consequently knocked unconscious by the elemental. Hardtrein is flung across the room, and Freya wrestles the weapon from him. With that, the elemental turns its attention to her. She tries to set it back on the dias, but to no effect. Zen bursts in to heal Mavis as a strong wind pushes Jimmy and Zen across the island. Eventually, Temminckii, in a state of aptitude, lands two critical hits on the elemental, dissolving it into a chilly breeze.

The party regroups, stabilizes Mavis and Rook, and decides to take a short rest to investigate the glaive. Temminckii attunes to it, and feels a compulsion; a pull toward the east, where a dragon-shaped carving in the shaft with an ink-blot inside is fixated in that direction like a compass. In that moment he knows, that, is where the dragon Illtern could be found.

Hardtrein and Freya fighting over the Reaver, drawn by ZanderThe Frostcore Reaver
#### Session 1: December 20, 210 P.A.

**The Kingdom of Cyndrus has been running for 5 years. They control the northwest part of the continent of Iporis. The towns under their control are Portia, Laurins, Spartin, Shington, Hahvahd, Simymelk, and Kahmi.** As rulers, their priority has been expansion above all else. Expansion has stuffed their coffers with gold, made them enemies and reluctant allies, and expanded their scope of influence. However, because they’ve only just become established, the only faction to recognize them as a kingdom is the Albatross Assembly. The Kingdom of Cyndrus has not been kind to the common person. Executions are fantastic public events where flocks of their aristocratic supporters gather to watch a beheading or hanging. Whispers from the edge of their kingdom speak of resistance, rumors fly of a prophecy. Paranoia is set deep within their minds. The Red Terror would give anything to ensure that they stay in power. In a frenzy, they send scouts out to search for the prophecy in an attempt to make sense of, and stop it. In doing so, they rekindle contacts with Zen, the tabaxi bard, and Hardtrein, the goliath paladin.

The returning patrol announces that they've found a lead on the prophecy, and drag a Kenku child to the castle. They ditch this creature on the steps of the Castle of Spartin, and leave. The unintimidated kenku, which introduces herself as Rook, asks for food first. Mavis and Freya oblige, and decide to bring the crow-folk inside. From there, Hardtrein interrogates her, cuts her shackles with his axe, and manages to coax her to tell them the prophecy.

As the Red Terror tried to decipher the cryptic text, they hear the alarms sound. The first one, which startles Jimmy, pisses him off, and he shoots the horn blower (as tyrannical dictators do). The next three alarm the Red Terror, which watch as an armorclad figure singlehandedly storms the castle. Rook, Freya, and Zen flee. Mavis laughs with glee as she sets the walls on fire.

Hardtrein, Temminckii, and Jimmy are cornered in the seating hall as they face down the fabled Godhunter. She starts violently glowing with celestial light as Hardtrein ponders what she could be after casting Detect Good/Evil. Jimmy raises his sword and attempts to defend the empire he's built. Hardtrein follows suit, raising his blade in defense. Teminckii throws an experimental javelin, and turns tail, not wanting to pick a fight he can't win. The Godhunter singles out Jimmy, smiting him and grievously injuring him. Hardtrein attempts to lead the hunter away from his friend and king. Jimmy flees, and Hardtrein notices an airship flash past in the windows, his friends on board. With a final Hunter's Mark and jab, he flees, the Godhunter hot on his tail. He manages to make it to the airship in time, and they get away from the castle.

The group ponders why an airship is needed to evacuate the royals of Spartin before the Captain points out the white dragon chasing them. The dragon wrecks the castle, presumably killing the Godhunter.

The icy dragon calls out for Cyndrus, a fallen red dragon of the past. The group reckons that he was searching, and sought out the kingdom thinking its namesake was near. Hardtrein and Rook recognize him as Illtern, the white dragon who has destroyed their homes in the past. In fury, they command their friends to attack the beast. They throw blades and launch their spells into the dragon's maw which does little to injure it. Illtern shrieks, and calls forth its Cold Breath. The airship is struck, and goes down. The commander slumps over.

The group blacks out, vision going blue as all sensation is lost to the frigid air. Hardtrein, unconscious, hears the whisper of Tyr; "One more chance to right the wrongs you've witnessed." Flashes of the dragon and the atrocities of the Kingdom of Cyndrus play in his mind. "Don't let this chance go wasted." Temminckii, unconscious, feels the force of a tidal wave and smells the tang of saltwater. A forceful voice booms. "Not yet."

The godhunter fightThe glorious godhunter seating hall battlemapThe Godhunter entersThe Illtern fight
#### The Godhunter Prophecy is Delivered: December 1, 210 P.A.

**The ghost of Ignet delivers the Godhunter Prophecy.** Whispers from the edge of their kingdom speak of resistance, rumors fly of a prophecy.  Paranoia is set deep within the Red Terror's minds.  They would give anything to ensure that they stay in power.  In a frenzy, they send scouts out to search for the prophecy in an attempt to make sense of, and stop it.

*On second eve of the new sun,*

*With flattened souls and tyranny begun,*

*Across the land, what can be found*

*The Godhunter who will strike them down.*

*With sundered cities and command lost,*

*And frigid white and red fates crossed,*

*Out from the rubble the new lords rise,*

*But it only sparks the Godhunter’s reprise.*

*Seal your fates and sharpen your blades,*

*Cross your heart and count the days.*

*For when the Hunter finds her prey,*

*They’ll face a choice that heavily weighs:*

*Right your wrongs and take the sword,*

*Or let the hunt continue once more.*

#### The Kingdom of Cyndrus is Established: March 18, 205 P.A.

**The Red Terror conquers Spartin, Portia, Shington, Laurins, Simymelk, Hahvahd, and Kahmi**. They have not been kind to the common person.  Executions are fantastic public events where flocks of their aristocratic supporters gather to watch a beheading or hanging.

## Sniff and Yiff Storyline

Iporis

This content refers to phenomenon on the continent of Iporis.

### Epilogue

#### The Siege of Portia: June 7, 204 P.A.

**The Red Terror** **attempts to expand its influence outside of Spartin, Shington** **and Laurins** and attacks Portia to gain access to its trade routes. However, a group of 5 people and their ragtag hired guard stood no chance against the city's organized militia. They retreated quickly.

#### The Siege of Laurins: May 31, 204 P.A.

**The Red Terror launches an attack on Laurins.** Their pace for expansion is ambitious, but with the help of hired swords, they manage to take the town.

#### The Restoration of Shington: May 27, 204 P.A.

**The Red Terror** **diverts some of its rebuilding efforts to Shington,** nearby ruins. Starting a small seed population there, they leave it be for some time, feeding it funds occasionally.

## Slay Feargus

### Rewards

to be discussed later

Without a place to stay for the night, the party camps out on the outskirts of Actran. Early in the morning, around 4 am, they are awoken by a monstrous roar. They look up to see two dragons clash in the skies. They watch as the black dragon, Feargus, slams a green dragon down into the town. The parties scrambles to get out of the way as Feargus shoots a line of acid at the green dragon, melting his arm off. Satisfied with her work, Feargus departs, claiming the edge of Ignet's Demise for herself.

The party returns to the scene before the emperor of Actran can. They question the injured green dragon, who reveals that his name is Limoz, and that he and Feargus had been fighting over a particular stretch of territory in the Ignet's Demise forest. Though he won't reveal why, he promises reward if the players can seek out Feargus and slay her.

With that, the party departs. Deep within the forest, a series of wrong turns leads them to face the ghost bronze dragon Ignet. The spirit confronts the party and condemns them for their crimes. Ignet warns them of their fate should they continue on their path of destruction, and then disappears. The party never locates Feargus.

#### Session 9: May 16, 204 P.A.

**Following a night at The Bullhead Diner, they begin to prepare for the Starlit Bretteur**.  Wholly unprepared, they attempt to enter before one of the ship’s crew stops them and informs them that it is a masquerade party headed across the Chunathan Bay toward Actran.  With that, they acquire proper dress and board the ship.  For a while, they speak with other nobility and their representatives.  Zen hears from a man named Seylor who asks him to buy him some time alone with another representative, Dulas.  Zen scares all of the other nobles off of the ship by setting a fire, allowing Seylor to approach the elderly man, seize him by the throat, and choke him before cursing him to become a Merrow.  Seylor disappears from the ship, and the party is left alone with the Emperor of Actran.  It is around 1 am in the morning on May 16th and they have just docked in Actran with the Emperor and his crew on board.  He is angry that the night he had arranged was ruined by “a fire”.  They party unboards the Starlit Bretteur.

### Chapter 3, Impostor!

#### Session 8: May 15, 204 P.A.

**The sun hung low in the sky at 3 pm.  They prepared to speak with the lawmaster** regarding the recent imprisonment of a few of their party members.   They then obtain a writ for access to the sewers, seeing that most of the slimy impersonations originated from there.  Nile shares his research findings with the rest of the group and they learn that a monster called The Oblex is responsible for the framing.  Freya insists that the writ only allow herself and Hardtrein to enter the sewers.  As the rest of the party hides under her umbrella spell of Pass Without a Trace, Hardtrein and Pal enter the sewers under the watch of a guard.

They enter, encounter a friendly slime they dub "Anthony", and meet simulacrae of Nile and Zen.  Upon defeat, the slimes retreat toward their main body.  After whittling away at its simulacrum, Ginger fires a critical bullet into the heart of the oblex and lights it on fire from the inside out, destroying it.  They loot the sewers.

Yves and Frans experience divine dreams in prison.  Yves is contacted by the Fidler, her god, and is met with some guidance.  Frans receives ominous messages about "Watching".

Pal and Hardtrein enter Fort Lehmonz to discuss matters of the job in the sewers.  Nile dispels the invisibility around him and destroys Anthony.  He then charms Lady Lehmonz and gets the rest of the party freed from jail.  They find rest at the Bullhead Diner.  Pal is contacted by "The Broken God" in a dream and gains a new spell.  The next day, you awake, and it is May 15th.

## Stolen Faces

### Rewards

Getting out of Jail

**At the southern gates of the city, they fought off a few bandits** looking for their riches and encountered a strange slime monster that left Nile slightly amnesiac.  Their party entered the city of Chunathan and asked a local about a few shops nearby and visited the Diamond Mine, the Highland Light Brewery, and The Woomy's Aquarium to stock up on enchantments and gear.  There was a decent amount of debate over whether they should purchase an enchanted diamond sword.  As the day drew to a close, they decided to rest at the brothel under the Law Offices of Appleton, Lian, and Hsiao.  Temminckii got a turtle buddy to sleep with and Nile really wanted to learn Enlarge/Reduce for some reason.  Like, in that specific area...

Nile, Zen, and Frans have a threesome for no reason other than to infuriate the DM.  They wake up the next morning to find that 5 members of their group are wanted by the crown.  They plan to siege the city with their forces from Westin/Spartin.  After attempting to sneak out and investigate, 3 of you are caught by guards and put in jail, awaiting further sentence for the crimes they were framed for (or maybe, those crimes were righteously charged).  The date is May 14th.

#### Session 6.5: May 14, 204 P.A.

**After some relaxed travel and lighthearted pranks, the party sets out** for the city of Chunathan.  Zen draws on the other party members' faces as they sleep, and Nile and Patt try to create a garden in their wagon. They also encounter another adventuring group, who tells them that they came from Chunathan, and hands them a map of someone's cellar, as well as an ad from one of the taverns. Nile finds that the blank book from the stronghold in Oakton, now exposed to sunlight, showed text describing spells. Sniff and Yiff draw nearer to the southern entrance, having passed through the wild to make faster time on arrival.

Nile's book
### Chapter 2, Spartin's Rise

#### Westin is Recaptured and Renamed 'Spartin': May 3, 204 P.A.

**Westin is attacked by members of** **The Resistance**, an incredibly uncreatively named group of refugees from Westin who sought to reclaim their home from Lorenzo Devonmere. The Resistance is aided by the efforts of an adventuring party called **Sniff and Yiff**, among them, a former member of the Westin royal guard, Jimmy the Elf.

The town falls into the control of Jimmy and his childhood friend **Aiden**. Jimmy and his friends, Temminckii, Hardtrein, Patt**,** and Freya, rename the town to "Spartin". They also establish a guard organization called The Red Terror, in honor of the fallen red dragon Cyndrus, the Red Terror. The ghost of the prideful dragon hears this and appears for them with the intent of providing the location of its lair, only to be repulsed by the shameless scavenging of its corpse.

## The Starlit Bretteur

### Prerequisites

Finding the invitation in the Dean's Stronghold

### Rewards

???

**They have entered the Westin Fortress.  They then fight Lorenzo himself** and the red dragon zombie that he had raised from the dead to defend himself with.  They slew the mighty beast, and then killed the dwarven wizard.  Aiden rewarded them all with some titles, and Jimmy and Freya take the lead as the two of the most prevalent figures in rebuilding the town.  The ghost of the red dragon reveals himself briefly with the intent on telling them the location of his lair, but upon seeing Temminckii dig through his corpse, he disappeared, put off by the perverse act.  The party sits down in the castle and discuss their plans for the town, where to go next, and how to split the loot.  The date is May 3rd.

#### Session 5: May 3, 204 P.A.

**They visited a few places around Hahvahd including a wandering merchant named Joe.**  When they returned to your cart, they realized that their turtle, Anthony, had gone missing and ran off West.  They bought another horse for themselves.  Their previous horse died, and attracted the attention of a Chimera.  After what would appear to be the beginning of a lethal battle, Nile managed to persuade the Chimera to leave by offering it tribute.  They then arrive at Westin and fight their way into the town.  Jimmy notices that one of his former friends was slain and raised as a zombie.  Upon meeting with the Resistance force, they strategize and set up a sniper's post, grouping up with a tortle barbarian named Temminckii.  They then dispatch several zombie hordes and a flesh golem.  The Westin fortress and presumably, **Lorenzo Devonmere** awaits.  The date is May 3rd.

### Chapter 1, Crickets and Criminals

#### Session 4: April 26, 204 P.A.

**They cleared out the stronghold for the Dean**.  On their way back to Hahvahd, your purple tortoise, Anthony, breaks a hole in their cart, rendering it damaged and unable to keep people inside of it.  Over the next few days, they encounter a wandering merchant from Chunathan named Stephanos.  They buy a Decanter of Endless Water and a wagon from this merchant.  They are attacked by a lone manticore that almost kills Patt, and gossip some more, learning about some folk stories or lore of the nearby areas.  The date is now April 26th and they return to Hahvahd, play cards with The Dean again, and collect your payment.  Jimmy collects his now upgraded sword from the blacksmith and they sell some of your wares at the local merchant's trading post.  In Hahvahd, there is the Trading Post, the Inn, the Apothecary, the Blacksmith, the Library, the Shrine, and the Transportation Building.  News of a wandering merchant named Joe has come up in town.  The day of the invasion of Westin draws nearer.  Westin is about 2 days of travel away.

## Take Back Westin!

### Rewards

???

**They had your first day on the road to Oakton.**  Jimmy encounters some of his former comrades, who tell him of their plan to storm the ruins of Westin and take it back from the necromancer currently holding it on May 3rd, roughly 3 week's time.  The party also gains two new additions, **Victoria** and Yves, who decided that working for the Broker wasn't fulfilling, and that adventuring was a better lifestyle.  They manage to pass that encounter without conflict.  A day later, they encounter a large purple tortoise in the fields off the road on your way to Oakton.  Quickly they adopt this creature and name it Anthony.  It is shy, and Hardtrein had to lift it and push it onto the wagon in order for it to come with them.  Their single sickly horse is strained and your wagon is slightly damaged.  That night, they set up camp in a bad spot, and were attacked by swarms of mosquitoes.  The conflict was soon over, and they created mosquito bread from their fallen enemies.

For the next few days, they gossip.  They learn crucial information on The Broker and The Dean before arriving in the abandoned town of Oakton.  Quickly, they locate the southmost building and pick the lock on the cellar doors, allowing them to slip unnoticed into the stronghold.  The party splits, and they deceive the current thugs there into thinking that they are inspecting the crates that they had amassed in the stronghold for The Broker.  Hardtrein drugs the Broker's agents and steals their very nice cherrywood table.  They encounter a mimic and two partially tamed owlbears.  Some of their loot so far includes an invitation to the Hawthorne Manor in Chunathan, a smoking pipe, a blank book, and a silver earring.  The rest of the dungeon awaits, and the current date is April 18th.

found in the outpost

## The Dean's Stronghold

### Rewards

3000 gp (split)

**After taking up Kilos' job, they decided to investigate the goods they were told to deliver**.  Ginger receives his father's rifle as a parting gift.  After distracting Kilos, the party rifles through a hidden chest, discovering a sickle and a pickled heart-- still beating in its preservation fluid.  After travelling for a few hours, they are attacked by 5 jerboas, which they dispatch easily.  They manage to harvest some jerboa milk and jerky from them.  After about a day, they arrive in the town and attempt to sell their newly gained wares to the local merchant.  They sell your ginger and jerboa products, and buy a few new weapons for themselves.  Afterward, they go to the Apothecary-- called Herbs and Homebrew, from where you buy a decent portion of Smidt, a psychedelic mushroom.  They use this new resource on the town's blacksmith at Michael's Anvil.  Jimmy gets his sword upgraded, Ginger gets bullets made, and Patt and Frans split silvered arrows.

They seek out the inn to stay the night.  Upon entering the Emerson Inn, Ginger and Patt notice a group of symbols on a banner, and their group is led into the basement of the inn.  They meet a crime lord who calls herself the Dean, though Jimmy manages to get her name: Avantika Sulaweski.  She plays cards with the rogues, and hires the party to take back one of her strongholds near Oakton after seeing them prove their worth.  They accept the quest, and she says that she will pay you 3000 gold upon completion.  Freya beats up Nile.  Pal stays behind and doesn't go into the basement, but they relay the details of the quest to him.  The party stays the night-- Pal and Zen have an amazing time, and Nile lies sleeplessly in the room beneath them.  Patt creates Jerboa Beer somehow.

The next morning, they visit the COOP, and meet the shopkeeper named John Liar.  They buy some books, notable titles include "Gagtime".  Frans buys John Liar's shirt off of him.  They then return to Michael's Anvil, the blacksmith’s shop, pick up the bullets and arrows, and start on their journey to the stronghold out west.

## Cricket Problem

### Rewards

10 gp each

**Their adventure begins in the town of Simymelk. This settlement is fairly well established**, though it doesn’t quite have the population or traffic to be considered a city, and is ruled by a monarchy of nobles-- the Abygayles. It is primarily a fishing and farming district, located not too far from the coast of the Bay.

On this particularly windy day, Ginger was told to go into town to look for “people who look like they could do some damage” by his father, Kilos. As a ginger farmer, his fields have recently been plagued by swathes of crickets. He's confused as to why he needed adventurers to deal with a pest problem, but he knows better than to disobey his father.

In about an hour’s time, he manages to round up a wizard with a jerboa named Jerbizard, a cleric named Frans, a half elf wizard named Nile, a cat-man bard named Zen, an elf ranger named Jimmy, a fire genasi named Patt, a monk named Freya, and a goliath barbarian named Hardtrein. He feels that this might be a bit excessive for a pest problem.

The party, consisting of Frans the Cleric, Nile the Wizard, Jerbizard the Wizard, Ginger the Rogue, Freya the Monk, Patt the Rogue, Hardtrein the Knight Barbarian, Jimmy the Ranger, and Zen the Bard, gets hired to take care of a pest problem in the Xiao Ginger Fields. Their patron, Kilos Applepound is the father of Ginger, and sent him into Simymelk to collect a group of adventurers without disclosing the extent of the problem. Upon arrival at the farm, they discover that there is an incredible cricket infestation. After a grueling battle and lots of innovation, the party prevails, but not without bloodshed. Kilos offers them another job-- to escort a wagon of goods to a neighboring town. He reveals that really, he just wants an excuse for his son to leave the house and strike it out on his own. He says that the party may keep the wagon as long as his son travels with them. Hardtrein the barbarian and Jerbizard the wizard left that night, and in the morning, a paladin named Pal knocked on the door, having seen a posting on the “Help Wanted” board about a cricket infestation, but evidently, he arrived too late. They take a long rest (restocking all spells and health and Ki and rage and etc) in the Cuckshed house, and will discuss payment and their next job come morning. The rest in the Cuckshed was far from comfortable, but was enough to get them ready for morning.

## Hunt for the Green Owlbear Oneshot: January 17, 204 PA

Gatsia

This content refers to phenomenon on the continent of Gatsia.

Pal, Zen, Nile, and **Tiana** find themselves in Woodhaerst.  Approached by the innkeep who can no longer speak common, they set out to find the green owlbear.  Accompanied by **Vicaver the green dragon** in human form, they battle an otyguh, navigate the swamp, and clear an underground cavern.  In the end, Vicaver backstabs them and takes the cavern as a new lair.

## The Peydonian Sepulchre Twoshot

Iporis

This content refers to phenomenon on the continent of Iporis.

### Epilogue

Angela, Using her parchment and ink writes a letter to the rest of the party with instructions for whoever find it to give a copy to each of her companions. The note reads as such: "My ~~~companions~~~ Friends, I'm sorry to make it end like this. We fought through so much and worked as a team to conquer the challenges that awaited us and its not fair of me to leave you in such a terrible way. But this is how it must end, I have seen and learned much in my life on the material plane and I fear I can learn no more here. I assume by the time you get this I'll be in a different plane, the Feywild, if my guess is correct. It has so much potential! Magic roams wild there and I can learn so much from the Sylvan! I am leaving Solembum behind with order that once I'm through, to destroy the portal so nobody else has to lose someone to this, If I do somehow find you again it will be with many more stories and things to share with you all! If I dont see you again....Well just know that this was one of my favorite adventures that ive ever been on".

Dan tried to save Angela and couldn't, so he just turned back and went back to his post as a guard, but definitely plans to adventure again in the future. He probably tries to become pen pals with everyone.

Fnipper would go back to life in Peyden, constantly moving around looking for odd-end jobs to improve his magical prowess and "making the world a better place" by insulting everyone in his own twisted sense of comedy. He has no reason to leave Peyden because he feels a bond with his house despite his family practically ignoring him as a child. He would ultimately aim to become a Grand Mage of the Nekronian Empire if possible by using his magic day in and day out and hoping rehearsed practice can lead to excellence. This story of his adventure, however, would go down as another grand fairy tale he tells at his favorite tavern for a few copper pieces every night as part of his evening routine working as a pseudo-minstrel.

Laugh would try to help Angela out but eventually give up and spend the rest of his life adventuring with Leofyr. Laugh becomes penpals with Dan.

Leofyr would bring the body of Kumar back to Elanor and probably do missionary work for The Albatross (ft Galanoth as a personal god) and die of old age around age 70.

### Session 2: November 17, 200 P.A.

The party enters room 14, and see a stone carved mural embellishing the walls of this chamber.  The carving depicts Yuan-ti being healed by a staff wielded by a king.  It also shows the process of creating hopping vampires, as well as their role as guards of the tomb.  Angela uses some parchment, and an ink pen to try and decipher a faded section of the mural, and finds a carving matching the talisman she retrieved from Kumar.  She also investigates the hatch, and finds that it leads down into a tunnel.  The party decides to follow, and discover that it leads into room 19, the hound statue room.  Leofyr lays Kumar’s body on Solembum.  From there, they backtrack, and follow the hall and go up the stairs that lead to room 12.

There, they see a series of mirrors on the wall, as well as a central, dull red crystal.  The mirrors are labeled, on their backs, C, M, Y, H, S, and B.  Old, tattered robes and vestments are lined on racks along the wall.  Fnipper tries the vestments on, while the party puzzles over this setting.  The archway behind the crystal reads, in primordial, “Align the colors and strike the portal”.  Along the walls, inscriptions detail and ramble about contacting one’s ancestors to ask for wisdom and advice.  Angela takes the mirror labelled Y, and angles it toward the crystal.  A beam of yellow light arcs toward it.  With that, she experiments, and with Fnipper and Leofyr’s help, they manage to create black light from both the H S B and C M Y sides.  This causes the crystal in room 12 to connect to the crystal on top of the portal in room 9, opening a dark membranous gate.  Angela changes both mirror sides to red, and causes a red gate to appear.

From there, Fnipper and Leofyr try to scout the way to room 10.  They peek through the rubble between the hall and room 10, and see a bulging insect-like body.  Laugh quietly creates a passageway for them, while Dan, Angela, and Solembum use the secret passage from 11 to sneak up.  The party attacks what later turns out to be a Carrion Crawler.  Laugh and Angela slay it quickly, especially because they had landed a surprise round on it.

Fnipper investigates, and finds that the defeated Carrion Crawler had slumped over its meal.  After peeling it off, he finds the mangled, formerly undead body of what seemed to have been a drow.  He also notices a talisman on it, as well as a poorly made dagger buried deep in its chest cavity.  Angela takes the talisman with her prosthetic arm, and Laugh takes the dagger.  With his profound experience in all things shiny, he quickly recognizes it to be made of melted coins.  Angela suggests putting Kumar’s body into her bag of holding, but Leofyr strongly objects.  They argue for some time, and then Dan pushes them to continue on their way toward the portal they had activated.

On the way up, Angela notices a patch of mushrooms.  She plucks a few of them, but much to the party’s confusion, this causes small, green plants to sprout.  It seemed illogical, since they wouldn’t be able to survive underground where there was no sunlight.  However, the party left them behind to pursue the main portal.  After some trial and error, they bypassed the magical stone blocking the portal by infusing one of the talismans with blood, and using that to dissipate the illusory rubble.

Laugh runs up and into the portal, and finds himself lost and alone in a fiery hellscape - the Elemental Plane of Fire.  The party, seeing him disappear and the portal promptly shut off, flies into a state of panic as they try to rescue Laugh.  Fnipper and Angela race around the ruins to flip levers and fumble with the crystal.  Eventually, they flip the final required lever, hidden in room 21, and reactivate the portal.  Dan and Leofyr grab Laugh, and bring him back to the Material Plane.

The party decides that it’s time to head out; they had done the job asked of them.  From there, Angela looks over the portal one more time, apologizes to the party, and forces the illusory rubble to return, isolating her from the rest of them.  She takes the talisman that had activated the rubble, and attempted to destroy it by shredding it, but as soon as it made contact with her skin, it cut her.  The runes on the talisman glowed bright red, as the party, leaving, heard her say “oh.  Shit.”

### Session 1: November 17, 200 P.A.

The next expeditions reported hauntings; strange sigils and runes glowing, harrowing whispers, and feelings of lethargy and dread. As fewer and fewer parties dared to enter, the hauntings worsened. The scholars behind the exploration project made a call for aid. They needed experienced, able adventurers to investigate, and unravel the mystery of the Peydonian Ruins.

In the weeks prior, for one reason or another, The Psychotic Nerds had applied for the expedition sponsored by the Library of the Fostered Mind, a cloister of scholars and monks that are the closest thing the town of Peyden has to a government.  Today, November 17th, 200 PA.  Individually, the party members crested downhill toward the archaeological site.  Tents and temporary looking buildings have been erected around a tunnel into the hill.  Standing in the center of camp, they see a half-elf and a gnome.  They notice that the gnome is wearing a robe emblazoned with the symbol of the Fostered Council.  As the would-be Psychotic Nerds get closer, they notice each other; a tawny kenku, a stout gnome, a robed tabaxi, a masked half-elf, and a brightly colored triton.

They weave through the tents and structures and make their way toward the half elf and gnome.  The gnome, they recognize to be **Arya Satrinavi**, the Council member who presented the job to them.  She smiles and waves.  “Hello there!  I see our explorers are all here and ready.  Elanor, here, is going to brief you on the expedition while I fetch maps of the tomb”

She then scurries off toward one of the tents, leaving The Psychotic Nerds with a stern looking half-elf.  Her hair is pulled into a low ponytail, and a pair of glasses, far too small to be her own, rests on the collar of her shirt, above her heart.  She looks them over before sighing and pacing militantly.

The half-elf introduces herself as Elanor, and begins her briefing.  “Your job is to chart the unmapped areas of the tomb, and find a stop to the hauntings to ensure the safety of future expeditions.  Do not destroy infrastructure unless absolutely necessary.  As discussed earlier, you will be receiving 200 gp each from the Library of the Fostered Mind for completion of the task, as well as input in future research of this tomb, and recognition among the Fostered Council.  There have not been expeditions into the ruins for the past several months, so you should be unbothered there.  There was only one notable... threat inside the ruins- a hopping zombie vampire type thing- but by now he-it should’ve decayed enough to be significantly reduced in threat, if it’s even still dangerous at all.  From my understanding, you are very capable of defending yourselves.  Are there any questions?”

Fnipper and Angela inquire about the hopping vampire mentioned.  Elanor brandishes the scar she received from it, fiddling with the glasses she has on the collar of her shirt.  She tells the party to be careful, and that personally, she doesn’t trust the Council’s hypothesis that time had weakened the vampire.  Laugh and Fnipper mock Elanor.  Arya, the gnome, returns with documents, as well as a key to the gates of the ruins.  She remarks that they had to install these to prevent monsters from entering, so that explorers could be sure that they were alone.  Laugh takes the key from Arya, confirming that it will be safe with him.

Leofyr and Angela, as they enter the tunnel, notice scraping claw marks in the dirt of the tunnel.  They enter, and immediately notice the raised marble platform, and the brazier resting on it.  Angela approaches, as well as Dan, who notice that there is an inscription carved into the bowl of the brazier in primordial, reading “A temple is the head, and the pedestals, broad shoulders.  Keep them aflame and you -- ss the grand gate.”  Angela drops a torch into the main brazier, causing a third of the sentence to light up in orange.  Leofyr and Laugh notice smaller braziers in the rooms to the east and west.  These too, are lit, and the sentence in the main brazier glows.  The Psychotic Nerds hear a slow, stony grating noise.  They find that secret rooms have been revealed to them.

Leofyr and Laugh take the west lever room, while Dan, Fnipper, and Angela take the east lever room.  With a stone with Light cast on it in hand, Leofyr takes a precaution by casting Find Traps.  They coordinate, and decide to flip the symmetrically placed levers at the same time.  Angela, Dan, and Fnipper hear a warped splashing noise as the room behind them glows with red light.  They find that the portal had been activated by their levers.  Laugh and Leofyr go back into the main room, and take rooms 6 and 7 respectively.  They coordinate, and also decide to switch those levers at the same time.  Leofyr notices a patch of 9 pale mushrooms, as well as the ripped shreds of a piece of paper.  Dan joins him, and helps piece the papers together, which reveals a diary entry. Laugh and Fnipper investigate room 13, where they find three marble blocks and a hatch surrounded by levers. Laugh attempts to strike all three levers at once, but fails, and triggers a poison gas trap. Fnipper grabs Laugh and dashes out.

Angela, Dan, and Fnipper puzzle over the activated portal.  Angela casts Identify, and learns that the portal leads to another place on the Material Plane, and that place is nearby.  With that in mind, they bully Fnipper into walking through.  He begrudgingly obliges, steps through, and sees a figure move in the shadows.  Angela sends an Arcane Infused stone after him, asking if he is okay.  He returns it, and steps back through.  With that, the rest of the party follows suit, finding themselves in a large domed chamber with two active portals, a grate in the ground, a hatch to the side, and two levers.  Leofyr takes the second portal, and finds himself isolated in the dark in room 15.  Something moves past him, its teeth glancing off of his armor.  Alarmed, Leofyr tries to return through the portal.  The party decides to guard each entrance to that room, room 21.  Dan wanders off through room 17 into room 15, and is also attacked by something in the dark.  He is blinded, and Leofyr rushes to his aid, curing him of his blindness with a Lesser Restoration.  They then enter room 17, take note of the odd skulls adorning the walls.  Laugh eyes the relics greedily.

A voice echoed throughout the room like a static radio on repeat. “*Deface their domain and weather their fury, And cull your lights in flight and hurry*” it called out over and over again. Fnipper, seeing the peculiarly greedy eyes of the Kenku in the party, made another voice scare the party back into the portal room by casting Haunting.

The party returned to room 21, having seen that their foe was nowhere to be found. A lever stood in the middle of the floor, and Angela went forward to pull it. The grate in the middle of the room burst as acid splashed out and burned Anglea, Fnipper, and Dan. With the acid beginning to rise as it started filling up the room, the party, surprisingly enough, got their shit together and actually acted like a team for once. Leofyr threw open a grate to drain the acid as Fnipper used a mage hand to reverse the lever and stop the influx of acid in the room. With the crisis averted, the party continued eastward. Angela found a magic quarterstaff seemingly abandoned on top of a column with no reason. She climbed her Steel Defender, Solembum, and retrieved it, identifying it as a +1 quarterstaff that could cast Entangle and Create/Destroy Water.

However, the luck was just to run out as the party entered room 19. A brazier flanked by two hound statues on either side of the room occupied this ornate space. The party entered, gazing at the orbs with questioning eyes. The lights, however, wanted nothing of it. They slowly, gracefully entered through the mouths of the two statues and took control of the stone. A single breath weapon was the only sign needed to signal a hostile situation. Angela leapt to the center of the room, making sure to leave ample space for the statue. Fnipper, seemingly in a fit of bloodthirsty rage, incapacitated one statue and strangle the other through the power of earth-bending©️ swiftly. Dan, not knowing whether to fight or not, froze up and looked to others for guidance. Laugh, on the other hand, tried to…...consume the orb. It didn’t go well. The encounter led on, and things seemed to be dying down as one orb gave off its last breath of light before fading into nothingness.

All it took was one breeze through the room before Laugh turned to see a humanoid zombie-vampire with a protruding jaw of pointed teeth and a scroll with a blood-red inscription on it hovering just above his face. \*Zombie Senpai has entered Pictochat Room C.\* One bite was all he needed to leave his mark on Laugh, causing the kenku to flee for the other side of the room. Despite the Hopping Vampire's fearsome appearance, The Psychotic Nerds quickly disposed of him with the wisps being out of their way.

Seeing the scroll as a weakness, Dan fired a well-placed firebolt and quickly broke the spell that was giving the hopping vampire the unnatural speed in his state of undeath. His body sunk limply to the floor as the party could once more breathe easily. The spell “Speak to Dead” came in handy as the party, led by Leofyr, questioned the once-mortal archaeologist on his life events leading up to his demise. Nothing of great importance was unraveled other than what was shown in the opening animatic. The party then found a room of 5 unopened sarcophagi, which, upon being opened, revealed the bodies of 5 ancient skeletons, most of which had normal legs. Two had long snake-like tails that made them identifiable as Yuan-Ti. The Psychotic Nerds took their leave of the burial chamber. Leofyr picked up the body of the archaeologist for a proper burial later. He notices another slip of paper flit down from the ceiling, where it would've landed on the dead human's head. Alarmed, he swats it aside, and Angela investigates, picking it up with her prosthetic arm. It seemed that the archaeologist might not be the only one needing a burial later…

We leave off with our harrowing adventurers navigating their way throughout the tunnels, searching for further evidence of how this undeath came to be. Will the party make it out alive? Will they survive the curse of the cave? Find out next Friday on the next episode of: THE PSYCHOTIC NERDS!

Thank you, Crowcaller1, for volunteering to write the second half of this recap.

Figure 1Figure 2Figure 3Leofyr being bittenLeofyr and LaughLeofyr's glowing pebblesBringing the body backa document found in room 7the hopping vampireAngela and Dan flipping a leverFnipper strangling the hound statueAngela using her robotic arm to retrieve the talismanDan shooting a firebolt at the talismanLeofyr casting Lesser RestorationLaugh trying to hit three levers
### Kumar Aydin's Failed Expedition: May 9, 200 P.A.

In the year 200 PA (Post Albatross), a collection of farmers that had settled around a hill on the banks of the Seraph's River. This settlement would later become the city of Peyden. A troop of kobolds arranged a contract with one of the dragonborn farming families to handle their underground mushroom crop. They had tunneled into the hill to create room for this project. In doing so, they discovered the ruins of a caved-in temple. News got out to the nearby and ambitious Nekronian Empire, and its scholars flocked to the scene to try and make sense of these tunnels and the artifacts that had been recovered.

Accidents were expected to happen. Ancient, unstable ruins had a tendency to collapse. Revered human archaeologist Kumar Aydin was the first casualty, crushed by tons of falling rubble. After unsuccessful attempts to retrieve the body, his companions left the ruins, crestfallen.

Peydonian Sepulchre ExpositionEntranceTunnelHat AreaRunesCentral RuinsArchaeologist Kumar AydinKumar Aydin's fate
## Pre-Game Events

### Westin is Taken by a Necromancer: 199 P.A.

**A dwarven necromancer named** **Lorenzo Devonmere** singlehandedly storms the town of Westin with an undead army in revenge for the death of his brother. Among his assets are an undead red dragon-- the same one his brother was sent to slay by the royals of Westin.

### The Main Four Factions are Recognized: 75 P.A.

**All four of the factions recognize each other (the Nekronian Empire, the Albatross Assembly, the Vasilians, and the Bathysoman Kingdom) as other factions.**

### The Vasilians are Established: 74 P.A.

**Firbolgs and Tortles arrive** from the southwestern shore. give me time to finish their lore pls

### The Bathysoman Kingdom is Established: 58 P.A.

**A band of triton set up outposts by the southern shore.** They are soon joined by lizardfolk. The faction is established more as a formality than anything else so that they are recognized and able to protect their own land should the need arise.

### The Nekronian Empire is Established: 50 P.A.

**A disagreement over the ethics of necromancy, spearheaded by Alyssandra Devonmere, causes the first split.** Devonmere proposed that the dead be used as labor to improve quality of life for the impoverished, so that the poor are not forced to do labor-intensive jobs. After meeting intense backlash from the Albatross Assembly, she and her supporters set out to stake their own land.

### The Legend of the Albatross: 0 P.A.

**It is said that the Human settlers and Yuan-ti refugees met at sea,** where one of the Human ships had struck a hole in its hull. They were assisted by the Yuan-ti, and decided to form up as a fleet since they were going the same direction. When supplies had begun to run low, they saw a huge winged figure that loomed over the fog. It shot upwards and behind the fleet, blasting their sails with a downwind that they rode until they hit land. This is where the legend of The Albatross began, and is also why both races are so friendly with the Aarakocra who later appeared on the island.

This group landed on the northern shore, and established the Albatross Assembly.