Party Foul

**"Party Foul" (1x20)** is the sixth session of the third chapter of A War On All Sides. The Eltivo Gala is interrupted by some fiendish invaders, and an old acquaintance.

## **Synopsis**

As Veramere Eltivo finishes his toast to the guests of the gala, a man bursts from the dance hall shouting "fiends!" In a moment's notice, a flock of small, devilish creatures burst forth from the room, revealing a large portal within. The fiends attack the guards and guests of the gala. Seeing this chaos, the party quickly move into action, scratching, clawing, punching, and slashing their way through the hoard. Despite their prowess, Ashok and Nowun had some difficulty in dealing with a rather crafty imp, while Ronwe used catapult to launch a potted plant at another imp to much success. Ashok finally felled his surprisingly nimble foe by missing, punching a plant, and sending the plant down on the imp. Whoops.

During the chaos, Kellen Arthur reveals himself, now sporting a devilish form. His eyes red with rage, he sends a crossbow bolt into the chest of Ivantar, who is able to resist the restraint. Kellen bore his fangs, revealing that he had been sent to kill the party, and slid back into the shadows once more. Nowun ran to attempt to hunt Kellen, but failed to find his target before Kellen stabbed him brutally through the gut with an infernal dagger. The dagger's poison nearly took Nowun's life, but he clung to consciousness enough to back away and spit in Kellen's face, angering him enough that he did not immediately turn invisible. This left an opening for the party, and Ivantar (using his Ghost Step magical tattoo) walked through the wall of the dance hall and fired an acid breath at Kellen. Omaronim closed the distance as well, and unleashed a swift kick to Kellen as he backed away, injured. Kellen turned invisible, but Omaronim followed and using his flurry of calculated punches, was able to find purchase and reveal Kellen once more. Seeing the battle turn against him, with most of the distracting fiends being dispatched, Kellen unleashed a blinding bolt at the party, severely injuring Ashok and blinding Nowun. As the group sought to finish him off, Kellen maneuvered himself into the middle of them and exploded into hellflame, knocking Ashok unconcious and finishing off the last of the fiends. The portal dissipated behind them.

With the foes taken care of, the guards rushed into the room. In the 20 seconds of the battle, they had been herding the guests out into the balcony and fending off the many more small fiends in the main room. Kazz'teki Lana'duul, the lieutenant of The Silver Legion, approached to gain intel on what transpired. Meanwhile, Ronwe shot a firebolt at a nearby potted plant, destroying it and causing all of the now on-edge guards to jump to defensive postures. Nowun led some guards to the hidden room, where he tried to frame Shay Broward for the murder of Gobi, the goblin of Therogg's Clutch. Though he was unsuccessful, Ronwe did succeed in making them believe that the goblin was a sacrifice necessary for the opening of the portal. Outside, Crawmi healed an injured woman in the dance hall, who revealed herself to be Zay'zell Poulin, the daughter of the emperor of the Eldin Empire. She wished to see Crawmi again, and revealed that her father, Al Buga Poulin, has taken a new advisor who is seeking to lead him into the war, angering Zay'zell and causing her to flee to Skyreach. Nowun was able to track down Ebbi Vinzen, the half-elven woman who had been staring at him previously in the night. She revealed herself as an agent of The Shadow Order, and stated that his father, Dagger Eyes, has everyone out looking for him to try to bring him back. Nowun had her pass on a message that he wanted to meet his father at his "usual spot".

A feeble old gnome named Mirrum Dositch introduced himself to Ivantar as the man who won the right to hire the party on as their patron. Confused, Ivantar sought more information. Apparently, the nobility here all made bids to lay claim on "Too Hot To Trot". Seemingly impressed by their performance, Mirrum wagered the most money and came away with exlusive rights to be the party's patron, should they accept. Mirrum revealed that in his younger years, he met a Kalashtar in Treetop who was a dreamer, a sort of fortune teller. He foretold Mirrum's wealth, but also his gruesome demise. Along with that though, the dreamer also saw a group (The Menagerie Group in fact) who came between Mirrum and his death. When he saw them in The Trials of Talahad, he was overwhelmed with memories and knew he must have their services. As the party finished up their individual conversations, they met up with Tyrael Mynteres, who came immediately upon being notified by Antoinette Dezier of the attack.

Tyrael was filled in by Nowun about what he overheard from Nellek Vazerio, confirming the suspicion that he was in fact the demon present at Kaspalia. Tyrael gave Ronwe a scroll of scrying as Nowun used disguise self to appear as Nellek, giving Ronwe a focal point for the spell. His vision was taken to a dimly lit room, where Nellek spoke to Bastion ir'Wando and the rest of Bastion's Bastion. "I am glad you see it my way... come, let us go to Forestsong, there is a cave there at the river's edge. You will know power soon enough..." A portal then opened, and Nellek and the Bastion departed inside, though the other members of Bastion's Bastion seemed hesitant. Hearing this, Tyrael and the party decided that they would immediately get teleported to the cavern to try to take Nellek out once and for all. No more running. Before leaving the gala, Crawmi had a quick chat with Veramere Eltivo about his mother, threatening the very powerful man for information. He was able to learn that Veramere dealt previously with Sindel Lonespire for a job, and that he feared she would be taken by pirates in the Mala'dash Archipelago, but was happy to learn the transaction went without issue.

The party retreated to the Sanctum of Sages for the night to gain some much needed rest. They discussed their next steps, decided to go to Forestsong and decide from there what do to after dealing with Nellek. Nowun and the group then departed to meet with his father Dagger Eyes in Firth's Kitchen in Lower Midway. Dagger Eyes expressed great displeasure in Nowun's apparent valorous attitude and virtues, but was happy when Nowun pivoted from saving the world to dealing with a drug trade, specifically Therogg's Clutch. Dagger Eyes told the party what he knew, and stated he would do further research and looked forward to working with his son once more. With new intel, the party went back to the Sanctum to rest and finally get some sleep. They could potentially have a very dangerous day ahead.

## **Featured Characters**

### **Player Characters**

* Ivantar
* Ronwe
* Ashok
* Crawmi
* Nowun
* Omaronim

### **New**

* Mirrum Dositch
* Zay'zell Poulin
* Dagger Eyes

### **Mentioned**

* Nellek Vazerio
* Bastion's Bastion

### **Returning**

* Kellen Arthur
* Veramere Eltivo
* Tyrael Mynteres
* Antoinette Dezier
* Shay Broward
* Kazz'teki Lana'duul

## **Quotations**

* "I tell stories, but I don't make all of them up" - Crawmi
* "Let's put a hold on the sugar daddy." - Crawmi
* "I shoot a firebolt at the plant." - Ronwe
* "I will not forget this." - Shay Broward to Nowun after almost being framed for murder
* "Hey Ivantar... turns out I can't dodge poison." - Nowun