Devil Hunters Campaign

In this campaign the party will be hunting down some devils for sport and glory. The devils that escaped from the Baleseign barrier in session 0 are scattered across Verrachia. At the end of this Arc of the campaign, will the Oakenguard choose them to gather support from the nations of Deacledroth to fight back the Devil scourge?

#### Potential Party Names

Hellions (temporary, no longer the case)

The Oakensong (Current)

### Characters

#### Players

April - Brie: Foreign Aasimar Warlock/Scout

Darian - Arfa: 'Alf Orc Horizon Walker

Steven - Erdrick: Human Hunter Ranger

Tyrone - Ptoughneigh: Camel Centaur Barbarian/Wizard

Luke - Miriam: Serpentfolk Monk

#### NPCs

tcpt. Antony Deltoy. TowerCaptain of Bakstas in Verrachia

Old man Jenkins. Grumpy old man who lives on a farm outside of Mazas.

Lord Plaktucas. Steward of the Old Quarter. The party made plans to ally with him and trade for soldiers in session 5.

Jeffery. Hapless mercenary of Kirsti's North Ward. Oldest mercenary in that section of the city. 24 yrs old.

### Setting

This campaign takes place in Verrachia Circa 1270. The Barrier that has stood between Deacledroth and the central threat of Balseign for centuries. Much of the support shown to the Oakenguard has waned and the towers themselves are a shodow of their former glory. The Tower at Bakstas has but six wizards employed and barely a dozen guards, half of which are on break at any given time.

Verrachia's once unified position of religious autocracy has crumbled much with time as well. Few states truly hold the Pope or Catholicism aloft as they once had, though the power held by this position remains strong. Samogitia, where our story begins, has grown fat on the spoils of a war to the north. Prostcurte have receded into their own bubble of self-importance and the Pope has not interceeded in the affairs of greater Verrachia in years.

## Session Recaps

### Arc 1: Devil Hunt

#### Session 0 - Breakthrough

*21/7/1270 3rd Era: Day of the breach*

Ptoughneigh and Brie recently arrived at the Verrachian Tower after being employed by the Oakenguard to fill space in the Wallguard

Arfa and Erdrick were following Arfa's nose, sussing out a potential planar disturbance

Around the same time the second group arrived, the barrier holding Balseign began to warp as AN UNIDENTIFIED DEVIL rode through on a Nightmare. They started causing havoc near the barracks as the party approached.

Brie approached quietly, not quite getting a look at what burst through. Ptoughneigh rode wide, trying to get a good view of where the barrier shifted.

Arfa charged in, pulling javelins from his magic pouch and landing what would be a solid hit on the UNIDENTIFIED DEVIL, though the weapon was less effective than planned.

Erdrick approached, tossing silver daggers to the other Ranger before charging in to get the fiend's attention.

The Nightmare strode into the ethereal plane as another group arrived. A Barbed Devil blasted a hole in the wall of the Tower, a mage prepared their spells and a devil dog started roaming.

Arfa took one of the Silver Knives and pumped it full of planar power, sending it like a railgun shot into the Mage, causing them to fly back and be Disintegrated by the barrier.

The Nightmare re-emerged as the Barbed devil begun sneaking into the tower after barely dodging a shot by Brie.

Ptoughneigh, Brie and Arfa formed up together to fight the Nightmare and Devil dog, soon joined by Erdrick. After the Devil dog was taken care of, Arfa and Brie headed towards the tower to stop the Barbed devil

They were quickly joined by Ptoughneigh upon prompting by Erdrick after the fiend rider was slain.

Unfortunately, as Ptoughneigh reached the tower, another group exited the Barrier, A Bearded devil, Two Imps -One swaggering one Chuckling- and a Gobbo Pile.

Brie took them from the flank through rhe hole in the wall as the fiends began spreading and burning the town around them as Arfa chased the Barbed devil up the stairs.

The nightmare fled after it's rider was killed, leaving a suddenly stunned Erdrick behind.

Ptoughneigh activated his Flying Boots, quickly joining Arfa at the casting chamber of the tower, the two of them just too late to stop the Barbed Devil from slashing the mages concentrating on the Barrier. The two of them closed thr distance quickly, forcing the Devil to flee before finishing the job.

Meanwhile, downstairs Brie managed to get the attention of the Gobbo Pile, doing their best to keep it at a distance while whittling it down to nothing.

Erd snapped out of his stun and tried to get the attention of the Bearded devil, while calling for people to evacuate. His efforts to get the Fiend's attention were fruitless until Brie strode out of the tower, Burning Divine Energy bursting out from her as she cursed in Infernal.

This celestial energy instanly incinerated one of the devils burning a local field and acted as a distraction long enough for Erdrick to take the Bearded Devil to the ground, though was unable to do much more before the older man was knocked unconcious by the Fiend.

Ptoughneigh and Arfa continued to chase down the Barbed devil as it fled, and Brie squared up with the Bearded devil, the celestial energy and her Rapier being enough to drive it back.

Ptoughneigh took to the skies, spotting the Swaggering Devil escaping after sauntering through the town, burning every building it passed without a care in the world.

Brie's light managed to wake Erdrick moments before she finished the Bearded Devil off. Ptoughneigh sent a Chromatic Orb off after the Swaggering imp, blasting it away before it could escape.

Meanwhile, Arfa began moving with the speed of the wind and chased after the Barbed Devil, failing to take it down before it got away, sending a bird to track it down and report back.

The Four collected themselves back together in the tavern, one of three surviving buildings, with the surviving townsfolk, Erdrick doing his best to patch any injured up as the others were hunting down the fleeing Devils.

#### Session 1 - Danger in the Water

*Day after the breach*

The group collected themselves back together in the tavern, one of the few buildings to survive the blaze set by the invaders. When Brie and Ptoughneigh walked through the door Erdrick flagged them down, telling them he needed to explain things when he finished with the current patient.

After confirming the pair had been recruited by the Verrachian Oakenguard and left with next to no guidance he sat them down and laid out the rules with Fiends

1. When you kill a Fiend on a plane that is not their home, their body will rapidly rot as they are resurrected in their home plane.
2. The slain fiend will remember it's previous life and be thoroughly pissed off. If it considers itself strong enough, it will hunt you down directly. Most however, will instead make deals that stack on deals that ultimately end up with your close allies betraying you for the Fiend.
3. This could only be avoided thanks to use of The Barrier. Now they have breached it, there are no guarantees anyone can be trusted or anywhere is safe.

Outside, the group heard a commotion and as they step outside they see the Tower Commander parading past the formed up Wallguard, shouting for a report from his men. Erdrick pulled on his Veteran's coat and caught the Commander's attention, explaining the two he was with were the ones who truly repeled the invasion - though not entirely successfully- alongside Arfa. After a short exchange of blows and update on why the tower was so poorly manned, the commander offered them a job - to hunt down the fleeing Fiends and confirm the reinforcements are on the way. The three pulled away, interrupting Arfa's attempts to collect his thrown weapons from high in the tower.

The three agreed to take the job after resting off the battle from less than an hour before. Alongside their given mission they also brought up the idea of contacting the Capital directly to garner the support required continent-wide to prevent another breach.

After a long sleep and some simple breakfast, the group reapproached the Tower Commander, negotiating for a pair of horses and a proper Writ from the Commander, meaning any cost of sending the troops would not be on the party's shoulders.

They took the northern road towards Kirsti, and after a few hours of quiet travel Arfa's Bird returned to him. With some difficulty Arfa managed to learn the Barbed Devil was within the day's travel. The chip on Arfa's shoulder and the potential to gain information from the Fiend diverted the group from recruitment into a Hunting party. They continued to travel through the night, reaching a mostly drained river as darkness took them.

The bipedal members of the party began to lead their horses down into the near-empty River bed and sunk deep into the mud. Ptoghneigh stepped deftly across the air above, keeping his cloud-walking sandals clean. From the opposite bank he spotted a crocodile laying in wait, and he fired upon it. The croc was quickly dispatched but after checking their surroundings more carefully, Arfa found that the beast was not alone. The crew fought hard to keep their horses safe, the crocodiles would latch on and pull them into a death roll. As they fought a giant crocodile swam upriver. Ptoghneigh plunged into the fight, urging the Erdic to escape before the huge beast arrived. The last croc was slain and Erdric scampered up the bank, but I was too late for Ptoghneigh, who's leg was caught in the giant crocodile's jaw. While the others fired much of their ordinance at the creature it was rolling and rolling. Ptoghneigh raged and wrestled but the pain was too much, and he eventually fell unconscious. When he awoke Erdric had dived into the fray, trying to pull the beast's jaws apart to no avail. It was Bree who struck the final blow and allowed them to escape with their lives, if not their legs, intact.

After the GIANT CROCODILE was finally felled, the party dragged themselved onto the far bank, too exhausted to think of taking on the Barbed Devil in the same night. They pulled together a makeshift camp, Binding up Ptoughneigh's shredded leg as best they could while Arfa got to work skinning the GIANT CROCODILE, bringing a few hunks of meat to put on the fire while they rested.

#### Session 2 - Hut in the Swamp

*2 days after breach*

Dot Points to be expanded later

* continued roughly half a day's travel north, transitions from forest into swamp
* in a swampy clearing, see a Hut, confirm they are close to Devil
* put together plan with intention to let the devil surrender.
* Erdrick and Arfa will take front door, as Arfa is keen for kill but works better at range
* Brie and Ptoughneigh will flank around the side and check for alternate entry/exit. Ptoughneigh will keep overwatch.
* Pass without trace, Protection from Evil and Good.
* pass by a scarecrow on way in
* windows on front and sides of building, too high to enter and boarded up.
* Brie comes right up to the rear of hut. Erdrick fails to spot something under the hut when looking for holes in floor.
* throw open door, see Devil harassing an old lady in Infernal.
* Erdrick tells him to stand down with Infernal taught by Brie, The Barbed Devil complies after taking a Javelin from Arfa.
* Erdrick tries to bind the devil, barbs slice rope so he manhandles it outside instead. Arfa, smelling something off nets the old lady.
* successfully bind the devil as Arfa drags the old lady out. She struggles while screaming in Sylvan. Ptoughneigh recognises her as a Hag.
* Arfa goes for the easy kill while shes netted, is stopped by Erdrick who just wants to get out without more fighting.
* Hag agrees to let them leave if they kill the Devil.
* Party wants information from the devil, but agrees to kill it after. Releases the hag from the net.
* as they leave with the Devil in tow, the Scarecrow animates to attack them. The hag believes they are not keeping to the deal.
* Erdrick unsuccessfully tries to placate her as the rest of the party leaps into action.
* Brie attempts to fake kill the Devil, pretending to slit it's throat before throwing it to the floor to conceal the not-wound before going off to fight the scarecrow. Erdrick attempts to help sell it, is unsuccessful.
* Arfa and Ptoughneigh peel off to take on the Hag.
* Ptoughneigh spits hot fire and burns down the Hag's Hut.
* The scarecrow is Beheaded
* Barbed devil attempts to skeddaddle, is clipped by Erdrick and finished with a javelin right in the sweet spot between the spikes thanks to Arfa.
* They take a Hag's Eye from the Hag, given to Arfa for the kill (shouldve been to Ptoughneigh on recap? lets retcon that?)
* Took a handprint as mark of kill before the Barbed Devil's body began to decay
* Maybe fast travelled back to the road (and further to a small village) depending on how wanna start next session.

#### Session 3 - Nightmares in the Town

*2 days since breach*

* The party arrived in the small farming town of Mazas as the sun dipped below the horizon
* head to the tavern, Erdrick buying the first round of drinks to celebrate the downing of another Devil.
* the place is packed with exhausted farmers, initially dismissed as they ARE farmers at the end of the day.
* Erdrick had a short chat with Brie, asking after the spell she cast on him during the previous fight before the party all went to bed
* the next morning the party rose to find an empty tavern, save for the tavernkeep who looked like he was struggling to keep his eyes open.
* Erdrick makes idle chat with the Tavernkeep over breakfast, the Tavernkeep revealing that he has been plagued by nightmares, piquing Brie's curiosity. After some probing the party learned that there had been an unseasonable fire down at the Jenkins farm, and that since that event the tavernkeep's dreams have been plagued by nightmares of Fire.
* Remembering that the Nightmare escaped their inital conflict, and that the Oakenguard Commander had claimed to leave some Rangers to investigate on the way back from Kirsti, The party thought it was best to ask around.
* Ptoughneigh hit up the General Store and bought two shackles and some Iron Chain. While there, they also saw a Silvered Sword on display, apparently left by an adventurer as pay for board some time ago.
* Brie comissioned a set of Jeweler's tools at the Smithy. They will be ready the next morning.
* The Storekeep, clearly also plagued by nightmares, elaborated on the situation on the Jenkins farm, giving directions and revealing that neither the Rangers or Old Man Jenkins had been seen since the rangers left town two days ago.
* About an hour's travel south from the village, the party sees the Jenkins home, a small trail of smoke wisping from the chimney. In the field is a black scar of ash, in one direction it stretches to the horizon on the other it ends in a large vaguely circular sprawl.
* Brie circled around the home, noticing the flicker of fire behind the curtains.
* they knocked on the door, calling out for old man Jenkins. There is no response.
* Brie activated her helmet, searching for nearby minds. She detects two sleeping creatures within, immediately breaking the connection due to her reverance for her own dreams.
* Brie insists that the party not interrupt the sleepers, choosing to stay by the building to see when they wake as the other 3 investigate the burnt scar in the field.
* Erdrick activates his Primeval Awareness to confirm that a fiend is nearby. Ptoughneigh charges along the scar, following it for a little over a mile, seeing it continues well past the horizon
* Erdrick has a closer look at the larger sprawl of burnt crops, not finding much. Suspicious that it may be the point the Nightmare took to the skies, he scans any plants in the distance, failing to spot any signs of burning.
* Once Ptoughneigh returns the party reconvenes to share what little they have figured out. Ptoughneigh brings up the idea of waking the people inside and is sharply told to ~~fuck off~~ go eat a second breakfast by Brie, an offer he takes.
* Erdrick takes a less direct approach to the situation, admitting to having trouble with nightmares - much to Brie's distaste - and brings up the idea that if he was in the place of the villagers plagued by nightmares he would want to be pulled out of it.
* Brie hesistantly agrees to Erdrick checking if they were sleeping calmly, provided he does not wake them. Agreeing to the terms Erdrick carefully enters the house, briefly stopped by a recently returned Ptoughneigh enchanting him with Dragonsbreath incase they were wrong about the building's inhabitiants.
* Inside are two fully geared Rangers sprawled out on the couch in front of a fireplace overflowing with ash. Erdrick carefully examines the Rangers, seeing them in a turbulent sleep.
* keeping to his promise to not disturb them, he instead takes ash from the fireplace and leaves a message for them, letting them know friends are outside and ending it with the Oakenguard's sigil.
* after taking a moment to check how the sound from outside carries, confirming that they would most likely hear the calls made on their inital approach, Erd returns to the group outside.
* after some delibiration, they agree that if the pair does not awaken by midday they will wake them themselves.
* Brie once again stays by the house as the other three begin a slow spiral outwards, searching for where the Nightmare may be hiding. little is learned other than the location of a small earthen animal den to the northeast.
* by the time the three return, the sun is high in the sky and Brie relents on her want for the Rangers to stay undisturbed. After a moment to get Brie's approval, Erdrick re-enters the house, flipping the sleeping folk on their backs and applying pressure to the pain point behind the collarbone to shock them out of the nightmares.
* after calming them down, the rangers reveal they are firstly, Hungry and Exhausted. Erdrick calls the others inside as he goes to the kitchen to make some simple food.
* The Rangers are initially confused, as by their memory they had just arrived when searching for Old Man Jenkins and had nodded off while waiting for him to return. The Black Scar was there when they arrived, with no sign of Jenkins.
* They continue to be confused as the party explains they were sent to check on them, two days ago. As information is shared, including suspicions of a Nightmare in the area, things become clearer for the pair.
* they are too exhausted to help other than sharing what little information they have. Most notably they share that the Nightmare attempts to choose and dominate it's rider, imbuing them with abilities such as fire resistance in exchang for following the steed's orders.
* Re-activating his Primeval Awareness, Erdrick fails to sense the Fiend and heads out into the field to see if it has simply travelled out of range as the others attempt to get more information from the feeding Rangers.
* When Erdrick returned to the sprawling area of burnimg, he picks up the Fiend once again, taking some time to try and get a direction by seeing where the sense dropped as he moved
* when unable to gain a direction within the limited span of his enhanced senses, Erdrick begins to walk back to the house, only to catch the faint beating of hooves against the earth.
* "NIGHTMAREI"
* End of Session.

#### Session 4 - Battle amongst the burnt crops

*3 days since breach*

The party gather outside of Old Man Jenkins' farmhouse, warned of the approaching fiend by Erdrick. The Nightmare tears out of the material plane, Old Man Jenkins limp within the saddle with a strange slimy creature feeding on the sleeping farmer.

Arfa charges forward, stepping like the wind before loosing a Planar-enhanced javelin directly into the soft body of the slimy creature. Brie manages to catch up with the Half-Orc, casting a ward of protection on him. Erdrick calls to Ptoughneigh to ready their Iron chains, as removing Jenkins from the fight should be a priority. After this call, Erdrick turns and seemingly waits as Ptoughneigh gallops up beside him, briefly seeing a look of terror masking the Old Ranger's face as the Nightmare charges in to melee with the Cameltauran. Ptoughneigh attempts to throw up a ward against the charging Fiend, the ward shattering after weakening the stomp of the Equine's hoof.

Brie channeled energy from beyond and quickdrawed two bolts of eldritch energy at the strange slime (NOT a bug) attatched to Jenkins' shoulder, only for it to briefly detatch and send out a psychic shock to the party surrounding it.

Erdrick managed to snap out of what was gripping him, taking the chain from Ptoughneigh, using it to throw jenkins from the saddle before wrapping the slack around the Fiend's neck. Ptoughneigh took advantage of his ridiculous speed to wrap the Nightmare twice more over before telling Erdrick to lock down the other side.

The strange slimy creature attempted to escape from the situation, only for Arfa to focus his attention on it, pinning it to the ground with a spear, only for it to begin tunneling into the soil.

Erdrick pulled the Trident from Arfa's quiver, pinning the chain wrapping the Nightmare to the ground with it's tines a moment before Ptoughneigh stamped the ground and took to the skies, tensioning the chain and locking the fiend in place.

Brie charged in with her rapier, taking advantage of the Nightmare's locked state to stab deep into it's flanks, wounding it deeply before watching one of Arfa's javelins exit out the back of the equine's head, thrown in frustration as the slimy creature escaped his wrath.

Brie reached out with her helmet of telepathy, focusing on the slimy creature and magically calling it to the surface where a prepared and very angry Arfa awaited with his Handaxe, bringing it down on the creature, reducing it to little more than slimy dirt.

Reverting to dotpoints cos sleepy brain slowing down and order isnt as clear

* Arfa collected the slime, seperating it from the dirt as best he can. Ptoughneugh takes a bite and experiences Psychic Reinforcement at the cost of his overall health
* Erdrick removes the Infernal Barding from the Nightmare
* Jenkins awakes and tells the party to get off his lawn.
* Arfa questions Erdrick's freeze early in the fight. Erd says he'll explain that night (next session)
* Arfa goes and makes peace with Jenkins, letting him in on the severity of whats going on
* The rangers (kicked out by Jenkins) agree to take the Nightmare corpse back to Bakstas and give a report on what the party has learned
* The party spends one more night at the tavern, picking up Brie's jeweler's tools and getting the Infernal Barding modified to put on a regular horse (who's horse its on is to be determined) before heading off towards Kirsti,

End of Session.

### Arc 2 Kirsti

#### Session 5 - City Living

*5 days since breach*

* The party arrives at Kirsti not long after sundown. Guards give them directions to a higher class tavern and a more civilian grade one.
* Arfa avoids entering the city proper, instead heading south to meet with a cleric he met last time he was in this area, sharing the tale of the Devils breaching the barrier and negotiating breakfast and board in exchange for helping the clergy feed the injured veterans outside the city.
* the rest of the party take the civilian grade tavern in the southern part of the city.
* the next morning they all meet up at the Keep, stepping into a foyer and making smalltalk with the secretary, being told that entering with a performance would be a good way to get on the Baron's good side.
* Brie plays on her lute, Erdrick juggles knives while Arfa and Ptoughneigh put on a strongman act
* Brie takes lead in speaking with the Baron, and is quickly aggrivated by his demeanor.
* Erdrick attempts to step in, but his disheveled appearance draws back any charisma he may have brought to the table. regardless, they convice the Baron that they could take care of the Letter's organisation as The Baron simply dismissed it to his underlings
* The party addressed the various Lords and Ladies at the court, declaring their preference for the older, clearly world wise, Plaktucas.
* The confined space seemed to get to Arfa, so Erdrick approaches him with an offer to do something outside the city walls. One of Lord Smithe's men takes this as an invitation to offer a meeting with their Lord. They are to meet at the Wilted Lily.
* Ptoughneigh and Brie take some time to look around the main plaza before heading to the Lily as Erdrick and Arfa peel off.
* Arfa fails to find a Armorsmith he is happy with to work on his crocodile leather as Erdrick collects his equipment from the tavern.
* they meet outside the walls, Erdrick bringing Arfa in on a training exercise, where Arfa is on the offensive trying to force Erdrick out of a drawn circle.
* Arfa is quickly victorious, though the exercise did take long enough to ease Arfa's tension from being confined to the city. After a short break for Erdrick to catch his breath, they return to meet up with the Wilted Lily Crew.

End of Session.

#### Session 6 - Meeting the Lords

*6 days since breach*

* Erdrick and Arfa meet back up with the Wilted Lily Crew, Erdrick asks the others to take the meeting while he heads back to the tavern to clean up/recover from the ~~Asswhoopin~~ training session.
* Arfa, Brie and Ptoughneigh enter what is clearly a refurbished mansion. The ground floor has been retrofitted into a bar/entertainment area. Various staff are moving around furniture in preperation for customers later in the day
* The group are given directions to Lord Smithe's office. Inside are a handful of clearly hungover guards and Lord Smithe himself, strangely peppy and quickly hiding something in a desk drawer.
* The group is thouroughly unimpressed with the man, he speaks of his guards as if they were close friends (a sentiment not shared by the guards in question)
* Arfa almost immediately goes to leave. He is halted last second by the Lord putting forward a request for their contract. The party figures out who his ex wife is banging and he supplies the soldiers
* Brie pretends to care just long enough to get the details before the group leaves.
* Brie asks the barkeep downstairs what he knows on the situation, initially bribing with a copper and being snubbed, only learning that who his wife is bangin is the only thing the lord seems to go on about once a gold piece (supplied by Arfa) is introduced
* Brie flicks the copper to the barkeep as they leave, attempting to palm the gold before Arfa takes it back.
* The rest of the gang meet up with Erdrick at the tavern and catch him up on the situation before they leave for Lunch with Plactucas.
* On the way, they question another of Plactucas's guards in an attempt to confirm the good opinion they have on the man, and are happily vindicated.
* Just before they head to Plactucas's mansion they notice Lady Smithe leaving the keep and returning to her mansion, but choose not to disturb them until they meet the lord of the Old Quarter.
* Plactucas' mansion has clearly been standing there for decades, maybe centuries. It's guards seem well trained and disciplined. The group are invited in to the mansion, warned that the meal has already begun.
* When they enter they see a large dining table, with over a dozen members surrounding it of various ages. After a moment the party is brought to preplanned seats at the head of the table, a set of kneeling cushions set up in place of a chair once Ptoughneigh is recognised.
* The party enjoys a much richer meal than any of them have eaten in quite some time, while Erdrick eats he makes conversation with the Lord, letting him openly speak on his family and the goings on of the City creating a friendly atmosphere before they get down to business
* Much like Lord Smithe, Lord Plactucas has a request for the group before he can supply the troops. Plactucas simply requests some chaos within the Courts of Kirsti, so that when his force is weakened by the supply of troops his territory will not immediately be available for the others. The only caviat being that Plactucas must stay uninvolved.
* The party accepts his request, and takes their leave.
* The party meet up with Lady Smithe, who simply wants to fuck with her ex husband, promising to supply troops outside of the contract if the party manages to completely unseat Lord Smithe
* In a search for someone to tailor his Crocodile Hide, Arfa goes to the North Ward, where the party sees a bunch of fresh faced recruits clearly recurited without knowing what they were getting into. Arfa is pointed to Jeffery, the oldest of the North Ward's soldiers. Hes no older than 27. They manage to convince him to show off his sword throwing skills after learning of how he lost his previous sword.
* Jeffery fumbles his throw, sending straight up and almost killing himself if not for a swift kick from Erdrick.
* Ptoughneigh takes some time to chill at the stable, asking if any strange folk have been seen around, hearing of talks of a Camelman, an angel and potentially a hunt?
* Seeing how this ward is run Brie, Arfa and Erdrick decide to have a meeting with Lord Brothers.
* Brie tells him to stand up and listen but is ignored, so she grabs him by the collar and yanks him to his feet, her rage exploding out in celestial light. The guards step in to stop her...

END OF SESSION.

#### Session 7 - Scuffle in a small room

*6 days since breach*

* Following Brie's assault on the lord, the two guards began approaching the Aasimar
* The room filled with fog after a quick arcane word from Arfa, obscuring the entire area
* Arfa's axe whistled through the air, shattering the window behind the lord quickly followed by the 'Alf-Orc himself, the obscuring fog throwing off his judgement of where the lord was seated.
* The two guards stepped through the fog and attempted to apprehend the remaining members of the group
* Erdrick attempted to talk down the guard grabbing at him, unsuccessful due to a mix of the obscured area and the exhaustion from training earlier in the day catching up to him. Brie simply pushed the guard attempting to apprehend her away.
* After a short scuffle the fog lifted and Arfa popped into existence on the lord's table, presenting with an elaborate bow. He declared that the Lord's Guards had successfully passed their secret test. He is met with an unnamused look and an order to arrest the group.
* Brie squares up to fight back and a pair of manacles are slapped on her wrist before the Lord speaks up once again, presenting them with an offer to get out of the arrest.
* the group is to fetch a sword lost by one of his subordinates (clearly lining up with the story of Jeffery, the Oldest Merc) and in exchange the lord will supply soldiers for the tower and this whole situation will be ignored.
* Sensing this sword has more importance than he may be giving on, Erdrick attempts to alter the deal; instead of a few soldiers, they would recieve every soldier under his (and his subordinates') command.
* To the Ranger's surprise instead of refusing, he amped up the deal. When the group find the sword they must take it to a second location, activating it. The details of the activation were left hidden until a contract is signed.
* MEANWHILE AT THE WEST GATE
* Ptoughneigh attempts to enter the city following his visit to the stables and is stopped by men wearing Plactucas's colours.
* They claim that Brie and Erdrick had caused trouble in the Two courts. Sensing camelshit, he stepped back from the guards.
* "fuck this, get em bois" and two more guards step out from hiding and attempt to flank the Centaur.
* without hesitation, Ptoughneigh took to the skies, clopping his way over the wall and heading to where they were meant to meet
* he spots Arfa's axe embedded in a pillar across from the shattered window of Brothers Manor and decides to poke his head in
* BACK WITHIN THE MANOR
* Ptoughneigh's head pops in through the window, seeing Erdrick negotiate back and forth with the lord over the specifics of the contract.
* before they finally sign the contract, Erdrick requests time to confer with the party in private.
* when the Lord and his men leave the room Erdrick puts forth his plan: when the men come under his command he didnt intend to directly send them to Baktas, instead giving them the choice to return home with their pay (and spare them heading out to fight the North) or to head to Baktas and be deployed elsewhere.
* The question is then raised: is it worth all the fuckery Brothers will put them through?. Arfa brings up the plan they seem to be going with; Play along and get him the sword, but first feed this information to Plactucas so he can undermine Brothers if need be.

END OF SESSION.

#### Session 8 - Prisons and Suspicions

*6 days since breach*

* Ultimately it is decided that the constraints of the contract were too much to agree to. Brie steps forward and says she will take responsibility for what happened and knocks on the door to let Brothers know they were done discussing.
* Brie is escorted away by the dungeons by Brothers' soldiers. Arfa escapes to the adjacent roof after throwing up a fresh fog. Ptoughneigh strolls out the window and down to the street. Erdrick walks out the front door.
* After Arfa collects his Axe, the three free members head for Plactucas Manor.
* They are permitted inside with little question. Inside, they see Plactucas examining one of his soldiers
* Erdrick inspects the man and temporarily pushes him aside to address that people wearing Plactucas' colours attempted to take Ptoughneigh's head.
* Upon Ptoughneigh describing those who tried to jump him, the injured soldier confirmed that same person attacked him. The crew that attempted to take Ptoughneigh were no longer there according to Plactucas, who sent a replacement crew to fill the vacancy.
* After a quick back and forth emphasising how badly this couldve gone for everyone in the room, Plactucas provided a way to identify they were truly his solders (a small sigil representing their contract) after confirmation that the injured soldier's hadnt been taken
* The Three began heading back towards The Bloody Bastard, Erdrick puts forward the idea for Ptoughneigh to not travel alone. Factoring in Arfa's distaste of the City, he reccomends they head out of the city together
* Ptoughneigh takes laps around the city, enjoying the wind in his hair. Arfa joins him for a short time before heading back in to look for Jeffery.
* Arfa follows the blood trail from Jeffery to St. Nhen's Hospital in the Winter Quarter.
* Those within the church were too drugged up to help, and the Nurse who tended to Jeffery's apparently severed toe made a point to not question him when he was here.
* After an unsuccessful attempt to figure out where Jefferey lives, Arfa heads back out to meet with Ptoughneigh
* Erdrick spends a few hours people watching, hoping to identify those who attempted to ambush Ptoughneigh. He doesnt spot them.
* The Three meet up at the Bloody Bastard. Erdrick orders the eel and wanders off to have a chat with Brie in Prison. He is joined by the other two without arguement.
* MEANWHILE IN PRISON
* Brie has spent the past two hours going off at the guards, calling for her lawyer (Plactucas), demmanding her charge and immedieately disputing it in the same breath. the only break the guards get are when a bowl of slop is slid into her cell.
* The Three arrive at her cell and let her finish her rant before a bit of banter from Arfa. Erdrick has a chat with her, admitting that messing with Brothers wasnt a bad call, but to keep in mind that (at least until this job is done) she is part of a crew now and should act with that in mind (most notably by letting the rest of the crew whats going on)
* Erdrick ends his little speech by throwing her the eel meal and promising they'll be there for her when she gets out (in the morning)
* The three leave to settle down for the night (not wanting to raid the Wilted Lily until at least a day had passed)
* Back in prison, Brie recieves a new visitor...

END OF SESSION

#### Session 9 - Jeffery and The Artist

*6-7 Days since Breach*

* After the Three leave Brie to sit out the remainder of her sentence, she recieves a visitor: The same man who represented Moonshade at the Meeting of the Lords
* The envoy put forward that they had kept an eye on The Party and his Lord, Gunter, wishes to meet them for the Oakenreceipt
* Brie completely dismisses the man, almost to the point of not learning of the man's benefactor or where to meet him, and after an awkward wait (for the man) he leaves.
* The next morning, Erdrick and Ptoughneigh meet with Brie as she is released from her cell. She shares the meeting oppurtunity with the others and, with nothing better to do, they head into Moonshade.
* Meanwhile: Arfa joins the Clergy of St Aura's with their morning foodsharing with Smallwood. While playing bouncer Arfa notices a familiar face in the queue; Jeffery
* Arfa takes a bowl of soup and pulls Jeffery away from the crowd. Jeffery doesnt recognise Arfa, and the Half-Orc uses this as an opportunity to ask about the Sword he lost
* As it turns out, when Jeffery returned the damaged sword he threw into his foot, he was fired. Thankfully for Arfa Jeffery had a damn good memory when it comes to the Sword he lost in the Swamps due to it being a Dubious Family Heirloom.
* unable to get a good enough picture of the sword for his future plan, Arfa headed back into the city in search of an Artist, giving Jeffery the remainder of his soup; which goes immediately into the young man's pocket for later.
* The Three other members of The Party made their way to Dass Schloss, seeing the run down and poverty stricken state of Moonshade along the way.
* upon arrival and accepted entry into Das Schloss, they see a place very similar to Brothers manor in layout. The interior is significantly cleaner than the outside. The entire building is strangely windowless.
* They are led into Gunter's study, a small room lined with bookshelves. Gunter himself is a Human Male with a Toadfolk-adjacent accent and is AGRESSIVELY communist (potentially without realising what that actually entails)
* Gunter asks the party for the Oakenreceipt and to share the good word of Toad Communism in exchange for soldiers.
* he is refused, most notably because of admittance that he hadnt left his Palace in some time and thus could not be trusted with anything without it's walls.
* On the way back to Two Courts, the new Three come across Arfa, who just got pointed to the Flea Market within the district to find the local sketch artist.
* They have a look around the Flea Market, noticing a *Ring Of Feather Falling* and a *Robe of Useful Items* on display, though too expensive for any of them to buy
* Arfa finds the sketch artist, and asks if theyd be interested in drawing a picture for a homeless friend of his (Jeffery). He is VERY interested.
* The Party return to Smallwood, collect Jeffery and bring him back to the Artist. Ptoughneigh has a taste of the pocket soup (good soup) and Erdrick stays behind to see what stories he can get from the soldiers.
* Jeffery rattles off a description of the sword and the Artist gets drawing. After about ten minutes Brie notices the Artist's eyes flicking to the members of the party on occasion and checks the canvas
* in the center is Jeffery, Disheveled as he is in front of them but posing heroically with the blade, a small amount of soup dribbling from his pocket. Behind him are the beginnings of the party seemingly backing him up.
* After about an hour, the picture is done. Erdrick meets back up witht he party as Arfa hands over 10 Gold.
* Strangely enough, the artist asks how much for Jeffery. Taken aside by the question, Arfa repeats the 10 gold he was just counting out and is immediately handed back his coins for This Artist has found his Muse.
* Congratulating Jeffery on his new Job(?) they leave him to get acquainted with the Artist to surely inspire novels and fanfiction for years to come.
* Arfa brings out his plan: to recruit a caster who can locate the Blade for them and claim it for...well anyone but Brothers.
* The group buy some paper from the Artist and make up a Help Wanted poster, cutting Jeffery and the Sword from the sketch and using the rest as an identifier for any who would take up their offer.
* The party then spend the rest of the day doing nothing of particular consequence, making themselves comfortable at The Bloody Bastard as dinner is served, waiting for any who would take up their offer to arrive.

END OF SESSION.

#### Session 10 - Ugthanki Hunt

*7 days since Breach*

* Brie takes some time to go harass the prison guards from the other side of the bars, leaving the rest of the party to wait for any who noticed their job offer
* As the group is eating dinner a group of 5 armed men enter the tavern. Smelling trouble Arfa downs the rest of his drink and attempts to slip out of view, catching the attention of a Dwarven child.
* The armed men head for the bar and are pointed towards the table of The Party. Two men are sent to block the door out, placing next to Arfa, while the remaining 3 swagger their way up to Ptoughneigh and Erdrick
* Erdrick attempts to warn them off, giving them the chance to leave. Arfa attempts to intimidate the men by the door. When the men don't take the offer; Erdrick finishes his drink, stands up and tells the men to take things outside.
* Arfa notices a wizardy man shrinking into himself, clearly uncomfortable with these men. He pretends to go pay his tab, subtley catches the wizardy man's attention and palms him a gold as the two groups head out onto the street
* The leader of the Armed Men insist they fight in the nearby alley.
* The group has a "The Good The Bad and The Ugly" staredown for a moment, when suddenly the Leader leaps onto Ptoughneigh's back, wrapping their arms around Ptoughneigh's torso
* Arfa Misty Steps straight up to the rooftop as Erdrick unsheathes his weapons, driving the two men beside him a few steps further back into the alley before elbowing the Leader off Ptoughneigh.
* Arfa throws a pair of handaxes down at the pair at the open side of the alley, distracting them long enough for Ptoughneigh to turn around and grab the Leader under his arms.
* Before Ptoughneigh could take to the skies two of the men pull out nets and loose them, wrapping up Ptoughneigh and the Leader.
* The two at the back end of the alley attempt to press back at Erdrick but are brushed off.
* Erdrick tells them its not too late to just leave, and backs away from the men, instead taking the chance to make a strike against the Leader and slicing at the Nets binding Ptoughneigh
* Arfa leaps to the roof on the other side, giving him a better view of the situation, nimbly dodging a knife thrown by a man at the open side of the alley
* Arfa takes the knife thrown at him and returns it to sender. The bandit managed to dodge it, but it distracted him long enough to not notice the Planar-Infused Spear that had almost immediately followed it.
* Ptoughneigh snaps the frayed net and launches into the sky, taking the Leader with him to float above the spiked fence blocking the end of the Alley
* Arfa and the Speared Guard make a few exchanges, throwing and returning each other's weapons as Ptoughneigh dangles the leader precariously over the spiked fence.
* One of the men by Erdrick attempt to flip their dagger for intimidation, losing a finger when they catch it by the blade end.
* Erdrick calls up to the leader, giving him an ultimatum: Call off his men, leave and dont bother Ptoughneigh again, OR Ptoughneigh lets him fall.
* The leader calls out to his men, calling them off but saying they will come back another day. Not entirely satified with that answer, Ptoughneigh brings the both of them a hundred feet higher into the air.
* The Leader's Men heed his command and go to leave. Before the man Arfa was having exchanges with could turn around, Arfa drops down, charges his palm with Planar energy and slaps him hard across the face before scrambling up to his perch.
* The Leader breaks and agrees to leave them alone. Ptoughneigh heads back to the ground at top speed, causing the Leader to shit himself (not literally this time)
* When they touch down, Ptoughneigh unwraps the manacles from where he stores them and claps them on the man, bringing him into the end of the alley for interrogation
* The party learn that the group was not approached by a specific person to hunt Ptoughneigh but was instead invited to The Hunt by a letter. Upon fishing the letter from the man's pocket they see an open invitation to hunt the Ugthanki, as well as a place to meet when the deed was done...
* END OF SESSION

#### Session 11 - Search for the Sword

*7-13 Days since Breach*

* After a short Hoofing from The Party's Ugthanki, the Leader was allowed to flee, scrambling out into the streets of the Two Courts
* waiting around the corner of the alley, the party come across the wizard Arfa spotted in the tavern earlier. His name is Norbet, and he knew the Hunters as they "hired" him on several occasions and refused to pay him.
* After confirming the wizard is able to do what they need (specialises in detection and identification) the group agreed to pay the man one gold per day for however long their quest would take, starting the following morning.
* The group take a good long nap, wait for Arfa to return from his morning scedule, meet up with Norbert and take their horses north, riding for about a day and a half before spotting the Swamp previously mentioned by Jeffery
* Arfa, Brie and Erdrick begin scouring through the various mud piles for clues to where Jeffery's rumored battle was, while Ptoughneigh takes Norbert for a fly, attempting to magically locate the Sword
* the first day is unsuccessful, and they camp within the bounds of the swamp.
* on the second day at the swamp Brie manages to find a pauldron within the mud of the swamp, followed by Arfa noticing scuffs and broken branches to the north, giving them a direction to point their search.
* A few hours later, the wizard gets a hit on his locating spell, drawing them all into an area of deep mud. Glinting in the center, sticking out from a small island is the Runic Blade they are looking for.
* Ptoughneigh flies down and attempts to pull the blade, unfortunately to no success.
* Erdrick removes any loose gear that may be lost wading in the mud, hanging it from the nearby tree, and wades in towards the sword using a long branch to find a safe enough path to the center.
* by the time Erdrick reaches the island, he is almost shoulder deep and needs Ptoughneigh's assistance to get up onto the rise of the island.
* The two of them attempt to dislodge the blade, once again to no avail. Erdrick digs into the mud at his feet, stopping as he reaches a hard, stonelike surface.
* Arfa pulls his trident and throws it to the trio at the sword to give them something to break the hard earth underneath with.
* Ptoughneigh takes hold of the Sword's hilt and Erdrick slams the trident down with all his might, cracking the hardened earth the sword is embedded in
* then the ground begins to shake...
* The island begins to rise, Erdrick attempts to brace himself against the embedded trident, Ptoughneigh flies up and away, unfortunately Norbert falls from the Ugthanki's back, slamming shoulder first into Erdrick, sending them both to the ground
* from the Mud Lake rises a HUGE GIANT CRAB, revealing that the Sword was not embedded in stone or hardened earth; but in the creature's shell
* Brie and Arfa see this and snap into action, The Arf-Orc clambering up the tree they were standing by for a good vantage on his target while the Aasimar ducks behind the tree in hopes to not be seen by the beast
* When the beast finished rising from the mud, Edrick lifted Norbert up for Ptoughneigh to take and began working on opening the swordwound
* Brie pulls out her shortbow and aims, sending an arrow straight into the creature's eye as Norbert is plopped on the bank of the mudbank
* Ptoughneigh soars up to the sky and begins the process of long casting Beastspeak, meanwhile below Arfa has already beaten him to the punch and is attempting to communicate with the beast
* When no replies outside of screams of pain are given, Arfa begins reaching within his quiver, preparing to lauch spears at the creature's shell
* The HUGE GIANT CRAB attempts to sweep atop it's shell to remove whatever was causing the pain, the Gold Bangled claw only missing Erdrick thanks to a Planar Spear from Arfa throwing the claw off track
* The HUGE GIANT CRAB charges the shore, annoyed at whatever took it's eye and cracked it's claw.
* Erdrick got fed up with attempting to pull the sword and instead uses the Trident and sword as braces to force the crack in the shell open.
* The pain of this action sent the HUGE GIANT CRAB into a rage, this time successfully swatting the Ranger from his back, sending him into the mud of the bank
* Brie circled around to the right, hiding behind another tree and sniping another eye.
* the crab snaps forward, grabbing the tree in its claw and wrenching it from the ground. Arfa uses this motion to propel him forward onto the crab, unfortunately skating along the mud to the far side of the shell upon landing.
* Erdrick leaps up and dislodges his gear from the tree moments before it flies through the air, breaking into splinters as it crashes into the tree Brie was hiding behind.
* Arfa, still able to communicate with the HUGE GIANT CRAB explains that they are simply trying to remove the cause of the pain as he wiggles the Runic Sword free.
* The Crab thrashes around once again as Arfa recovers his trident and vaults off the beast's back.
* Happy with what they recovered, and seeing how hard the crab can hit when angered, the four on the Bank retreated to a safe distance, awaiting Ptoughneigh to join them.
* Ptoughneigh eventually finished his long cast of Beastspeak and attempted a short conversation with the beast, confirming the rough time the sword was embedded in the creature's shell.
* Once the group all assembled, they left the borders of the swamp and begin investigating the sword itself. A magic identification thanks to Norbert tells them it is a Sword of Beastslaying.
* After camping the night away, the group begins their trip back, Erdrick doing some more training with Arfa along the way, remembering he has notes from his old Training and sharing them with the new blood.
* At the end of the second day, the Group spies the walls of Kirsti once again...
* End of Session.

#### Session 12 - Friday the 13th

*13 Days since Breach*

* Returning from their adventure as darkness dips over the City, the Party notice torches both on top and within the wall moving eratically. Unsure of the nature of the panic, they pick up speed to reach the Winter Quarter before things could get out of hand.
* Norbert refuses to approach and is tossed his coin as they head in.
* Brie notices the graves by St. Nhen's have been disturbed, to the point that almost every headstone has a corresponding pit.
* Arfa keeps going as Erdrick checks the hospital, seeing it completely closed up. Arfa notices a dull thudding sound as he passes the buildings
* Ptoughneigh follows Arfa's lead and takes to the skies, the two of them noticing a group at the same time.
* attempting to beat down the wall was a pale, sharp fingered woman surrounded by what initially appeared to be areas of shade from the torchlight... that was until they began to move.
* Arfa calls out for the rest of the group, Erdrick spurring his horse to catch up while Brie sidles up against the side of the building being assaulted, making sure to stay hidden.
* The Shadows begin swarming the two Rangers, both of them suddenly feeling the weight of their equipment in a way they hadnt in some years.
* From above, Ptoughneigh pulls a diamond from his bag and starts channeling arcane energy into it, a ball of energy forms around the now spinning gem, splitting and crackling into electricity. The Ugthanki pulls the orb from the diamond and sends it down to the revenant, striking it square in the back.
* Brie lets an arrow loose into the mass of shadows, piercing it through what could be assumed to be it's head and causing it to immediately dissapate
* This action frees Arfa, who takes a dagger from his quiver, infusing it with planar energy and erasing another shadow as he teleports to the nearby rooftop
* The revenant hisses and finally spots the new target of her aggression, locking eyes with Ptoughneigh and freezing him in place. The revenant then begins to scale the building to reach her quarry
* Freed from the shadow's embrace thanks to Arfa's Dagger, spots Ptoughneigh floating unmoving and steps up to the revenant, cutting at it's leg and causing it to slip just far enough for Ptoughneigh to break free from the enchantment and rise out of reach
* One of the shadows attempts to surprise Arfa from behind, only to meet the steel of one of his axes
* The revenant, frustrated that they couldnt reach Ptoughneigh locks their glare on Erdrick, locking him in place as she backs up, taps her elbow and leaps off the roof, coming down on the Paralysed ranger with an elbow drop FROM THE ROPES
* before the revenant could attempt to finish the Ranger, Brie slips from the shadows and plunges her rapier into the creature's chest. Unfortunately this has less effect than planned, more annoying her than harming her from the looks
* Ptoughneigh gallops down, hoofing the revenant in the back of the head before dropping a small chilli into Erdrick's mouth, and after a swallow; arcs of lighting begin to blast out from it.
* this barrage distracted the Revenant enough for Brie to line up her rapier jsut as she wanted, pushing it deep in where the neck meets the skull, the creature going limp on the blade.
* After taking a moment to breathe and make sure no other Shadows were planning on attacking them, The group knock on the door of the house being attacked.
* the man inside tells them that once a year this happens all over the Winter Quarter and North Ward. Thankfully he is already familiar on what to do with "Betsy" to stop her from rising again.
* Feeling burns in his mouth and maybe a broken bone from the elbow drop, Erdrick taps out in regards to fighting any more of the creatures that may be within the walls. This, alongside reasurrance from Betsy's Husband that this does happen every year and they would likely be prepared, the group skirts around the edges of the city, ultimately being welcomed into St Aura's Church by Jovin and left to rest until morning.

END OF SESSION

#### Session 13 - Diplomatic Catchup

*14 Days since Breach*

* The group wakes the next day, spending an hour to help Jovin feed the people in Smallwood.
* The night prior Brie took the Sword of Beastslaying and took some time to connect with her Patron, binding the blade to them and gaining the ability to summon and banish it at will.
* After the feeding of the homeless, the group took stock of what the needed to catch up on.
	+ First of all, to check in on their (hopeful) patron, Lord Plactucas, and let him know what they have learned of Lord Brothers and the Sword in their possesion
	+ Secondly, to check the state of Kirsti after last night's attack.
	+ And finally, to prepare for their disruption of Lord Smithe to gain Lady Smithe's support.
* They head for Plactucas first, taking note that there was little damage south of the North Ward. Not factoring in Civilian timeschedules, when the party arrived at the manor they found Plactucas still in his nightclothes, preparing to rise for the day.
* They gave him an update on where they had been, including sharing that they had aquired the sword Brothers had been looking for. The sword itself was not enough to control brothers but the Lord confirmed that knowledge of it's purpose may be what they were looking for.
* While there they also shared the meeting place for the Camel Hunters, letting Plactucas take the original letter for distribution after noting down the important details for themselves.
* Before they leave, Plactucas asks for the sword, though the group is not ready to part with it quite yet, and convince him to accept a rubbing of the runes to identify.
* Queue: a meeting with Jeffery and his Artist. Jeffery seems exhausted, holding a pose atop a crate as the artist frantically scribbles and paints over what looks to be the same piece of paper as when the party had left them.
* The party manages to distract the artist long enough for Jeffery to relax for a moment, taking some water and rations from the party as they convince the artist to make a charcoal rubbing of the sword and send it with a receipt to Plactucas.
* after some struggle, the artist agrees, quickly does the rubbing and demands Jeffery to begin posing again.
* looking to find what Brothers may want with their sword, they head back north to his manor, spotting various of his wards scraping ectoplasm from his streets. They stroll into the Manor, stopped by what seemed to be fresh guards.
* Deciding to fuck around a bit, they manage to convice the guards they were expected and were to wait for Brothers in his office ("The previous guards knew of our meeting, didn't you get the memo?")
* Luckily for them, Brothers would be out for about an hour so they had a chance to rifle through his office
* unfortunately all they managed to find was a copy of The Lusty Argonian Maid hidden in an Economics Book
* When Brothers finally arrived to the mansion, he stormed up the stairs, threw open the doors to his office and was met very much Face to Mask with Brie.
* Terror fills his eyes for a moment before he pulls on his mask of Political Decorum.
* He asks what they want, and Brie summons the Sword, hiding the action beneath her cloak.
* Brothers begins stumbling over his words, offering various things in exchange for the Blade and them leaving. ultimately it came up to four choices
	+ 100 gold (later upped to 250 gold and finally 100 platinum)
	+ trading it for another "Rare Artifact"
	+ The previously agreed upon Soldier Exchange
	+ or access to the job involving The Sword implied in the previous contract.
* Brie managed to Convince him to show them the Artifact. Brothers told them to follow him to The Bank. Along the way they were joined by Two Brother's Solders, Two Plactucas Soldiers, and finally Two Lady Smithe Soldiers as they crossed into the Two Courts.
* They were guided into the Basement of the bank, to an Arcane Door. After a short casting, the door swung open into a space much larger than the basement would allow, filled with various safes and security boxes.
* Brothers opens up the large safe in the center of the room, pulling out a painted Urn clearly from an earlier age.
* Brothers did his best to convince the Party that it was of great value, despite not knowing anything about it outside of its obvious age.
* Brie begins putting pressure on him again, constantly pushing him for what he believes in worth The Sword to him. ultimately she agrees to take the previously mentioned 100 Platinum instead. They take the Coin, leave the vault and as the door closes behind them, the Sword of Beastslaying vanishes to the Plane of Her Patron.
* happy to leave Brothers alone (for now) after that grift, The party looks back to their list and thinks "Whats a better night to hit up the Brothel" (preparing to catch out Lord Smithe on whatever hes got going on in there)
* After a quick look through the local shops (potentially buying something?) they meet up outside The Wilted Lily

END OF SESSION

#### Session 14 - The Wilted Lily

*14 Days since Breach*

* Brie, Erdrick and Ptoughneigh enter The Wilted Lily to find Arfa who had already spent a few hours drinking at the establishment, a small pile of empty mugs surrounding his place at the Bar
* The group wander over and guide him to a table where he gives a basic talkthrough of what he had seen, most notably the bouncers entering from somewhere within the building as opposed to the main entrance.
* Brie started picking up on the music from the now-set-up band, playing alongside them with her lyre while Ptoughneigh puts through an order to the kitchen (from their reaction the first one in a long time) alongside taking a keg of ale, drinking from it like a bucket
* Arfa finishes his drink, gets up from the table and loudly declares he needs a piss and heads further into the building towards the Escort's Rooms.
* he sees three doors marked with numbers alongside a stairway to the upstairs, a guard standing at the landing midway up.
* wanting to explore deeper, he decides to try out a new trick. He begins channelling planar energy as he does into his weapons, but instead of forcing it to work with him he allows it to take his body for a moment. Riding the shift in energy he shifts somewhere between the Main Material Plane and the Ethereal Plane.
* He quickly finds that by influencing the energy he holds, he is able to move in all directions and pass through Material. He uses the few seconds he has before losing synch with the planes to drift up, bypassing the guard on the landing.
* he sneaks along the hallway, noting the door to Smithe's office at the end of the hallway. sneaking up to it, he slips past the side hallway to hide in the enclave that holds Smithe's door.
* The door to the office is unfortunately locked and Arfa sees a man at the end of the side path. a guarded door is a door worth investigating, so Arfa made a plan.
* He used the walls of the enclave to prop himself up against the rafters and sent a dagger through the window on the far wall.
* the glass shatters cleanly, and to Arfas joy he sees the guard walk beneath him and investigate, letting him silently lower himself down and head towards the formely guarded door. At the end of the hallway there are three doors. To the left: noise of revelry. To the right, a locked but silent door, and finally at the very end, the guarded door. unmarked and unfortunately also locked
* He hears footsteps and turns to see the Guard returning from his investigation. Arfa attempts to shift planes again but finds the first time drained him more than he thought, and he wasnt able to channel the planes.
* taking the next best option he takes the Left hand door.
* inside seems to be the Breakroom for the various Bouncers of the establishment. They look at him dumbfounded for a moment before jumping to attention. Arfa immediately leans into his drunken sway and asks for the bathroom. The guard enters the door behind him and asking WOTSALLTHISDEN.
* Arfa once again asks for the bathroom and the guard tells him to leave, the establishment not having any.
* Arfa is guided back down to the stairs, briefly stopped at the broken window to ask what he thinks happened. Arfa tells him it was probably a bird.
* Arfa meets up with the rest of the group downstairs to find Brie playing her heart out on a ballad about how shit Lord Brothers is. Ptoughneigh had set up a little burning cooking station for the chicken chunks he had ordered and Erdrick was quite unconvincingly acting much drunker than he was.
* Arfa let them know what he had seen and Erdrick began planning another trip upstairs. they waited a song or two before Erdrick caught the attention of one of the working girls. He loudly declared they were celebrating payday from Lord Brothers and was hoping to continue the celebration upstairs.
* While rambling at the poor woman, he dropped the number of the Guarded door (8) and that he heard thats where the good fun happens, begging to use that room when they went upstairs. This clearly shook the woman, who demanded to know who spoke about it. they dismissed it as just one of the other girls.
* not trusting his ability to infiltrate things alone he began rambling again, bringing up the idea of a menage-a-trois. When none of the others seemed keen on the idea he left the decision in the hand of the girl, who chose the Half-Orc.
* One payment, a pocketing of a component pouch and a short trip upstairs later, they found themselves in the room opposite the breakroom. They ask the Woman to head downstaris for some more drinks to keep the celebration going and Arfa flops down on the bed. When she returns Arfa is snoring and Erdrick gives her a shrug. She heads off to find out who's talked about the nearby room.
* After an hour Arfa had slept off the afteraffects of his planeshifting. He wakes and sees Erdrick on the other side of the room.
* they decide to give it another attempt. Erdrick silences the Orc as he shifts between the planes again. he passes through the wall, invisible to those within the Main Material Plane and walks through the guarded door.
* behind it is not a room but a passage. it wraps around the room they were staying in, a small mark on the wall indicating people may be listening into the rooms from there. a little further down, he sees a set of stairs but dipped back into their hired room before he lost sync with the plains again.
* another hour long powernap later they decide to see where those stairs go. he shifts again and heads straight for them. below is a door that leads to a completely encircled courtyard. Not having much time, he heads back towards the room. at the last moment before entering the wall he notices one of the other doors in the courtyard open, A woman wearing a cloak far too rich for this establishment crosses the courtyard and opens the door to the secret passage.
* Entering their shared room at the last moment before losing sync, Arfa flops on the bed once more, now with something to work with.

END OF SESSION

#### Session 15 - Title to be Remembered

*14-15 Days since Breach*

* Arfa shares the description of the Woman's cloak as he begins to rest. Knowing he didnt have a chance to follow them with the guard outside of the door, Erdrick thinks back to what Norbert had told him about his Locate object spell. He opens his Primeval awarenes and begins reigning in the heightened awareness; focusing it with the information Arfa provided. When fed the final detail his focus snaps into the direction of the woman, now walking through the hallway and into Smithe's office.
* Trying the door, Erdrick finds it locked, even when turning the key. Unable to follow their quarry, Erdrick instead begins spending some time to magically heal Arfa, allowing him to recover from the Planar Shift significantly quicker than before.
* Taking a moment to confirm the Cloak's direction before the focus is lost, Arfa once again shifts between planes and steps through the walls of their room and into Smithe's office where he sees a dark skinned woman lying under the sheets of Smithe's bed clearly awaiting company.
* Commencing Stealth Mission
* Within the office, seperated from the bed by a small dividing wall, lies the cloak the older Ranger was tracking.
* Arfa shifts back into the Material Plane and sneaks his way over to the discsrded cloak, noticing a Crest embroidered in the collar, as well as a lipstick-stained handkercheif he pocketed.
* He takes his place behind the solid desk of the office and waits for Smithe to arrive.
* After a few minutes he hears the door open, some cringe porn dialogue worthy teasing and the sounds of Smithe disrobing as he crosses the room to the bed
* After a painful minute of waiting for them to get sufficiently distracted, Arfa creeps up to the dividing wall, noticing a candle on the far side of the partition. Crawling as low as he can to not cast shadows against the bed or wall, he pulls a spear from his quiver and gently snuffs the flame, slipping back behing the dividing wall before the others could spot him.
* While waiting for the moment to pass, the Woman requests Doggystyle and to Arfa's luck, they did it facing away from him. Taking this chance he uses his Longbow to hook Smithe's pants and bring them to him, fetching a folded piece of paper and the key to the room as well as noticing a different crest on the pants. Pocketing both items, he sneakily takes the key to unlock the door before returning it and the pants to their place.
* Carefully pulling the door closed behind him, Arfa Misty Steps down the hallway, bypassing the guard in front of their room and strolling downstairs to share what he's learned, finding the older Ranger had already joined the others.
* They continue to make themselves known, collecting what they have learned together
	+ The Crests on the cloak and Pants dont match, but Smithe is wearing the same crest shown throughout the establishment. Arfa draws close enough copies of each crest for use later
	+ The handkercheif is fancily embroidered and the shade of lipstick is potentially recognisable
	+ The Woman spoke of meeting on Fridays instead of whatever day it is
	+ they dont use names during their soiree
* After another hour or so the group pack up their gear and head back to the Bloody Bastard, resting for the night.
* The following morning (day 15 since Breach) they bein investigating the altered crest, ultimately heading to Jeffery's Artist.
* Jeffery is doing well, as the artist had made enough progress for him to be allowed to sleep, and the artist has gone from painting layer over layer to carving away at the paint block to make a 3d painting.
* the artist has been around town long enough to recognise the altered crest at the former United Smithe Crest (pre-divorce)
* Erdrick once again taps into his Primeval awareness, attempting to locate any paired items to the cloak or handkerchief, confirming suspicions that the closest ones were within Smithe Mansion.
* They gain entrance to the mansion, Brie taking the lead with dialogue as Lady Smithe hosts them.
	+ Lady Smithe confirms the Old Smithe Crest.
	+ she is interested with knowledge we had the identity of the woman
	+ on description of the cloak, she gets visibly uncomfortable. the group heads up to the closet, finding an empty clothes protector. Smithe confirms that was a unique cloak within the collection.
* Happy to work on that lead, Erdrick and Ptoughneigh head out of the mansion, locking onto the missing cloak
* While they are gone, Brie manages to convince Lady Smithe to join for some Girl Talk over wine. The wine is shit but Lady Smithe seems to have no trouble downing multiple glasses. after some light conversation, too many glasses, and some coercing Lady Smithe admits she knows who most likely has the Cloak and it would be best that they shouldnt know they are under investigation.
* Meanwhile, atop the Ugthanki.... The searching pair quickly locate the Cloak in the possesion of a travelling guard detatchment from Plactucas' Ward. taking the last of his focus on the Object Erdrick manages to identify which of the guards is carrying it, pulling them away from the detatchment, bringing them over to the Artist's corner via Ptoughneigh. Ptoughneigh then heads back to the mansion to collect the others.
* Erdrick manages to relieve the tension of the basically kidnapping, having relaxed, casual conversation by the time the others have arrived.
* Arfa immediately recognises the woman as the one in Lord Smithe's Office the previous night.
* Brie immediately gets to harrassing the "new member of the group" as they head back north to Plactucas Manor to "confirm theyve got the right person" before elaborating on their job
* Plactucas takes a moment to catch onto the lie, getting Erdrick's attention as they leave and desprately trying to get them to bail on their plan. Erdrick promps the Lord to speak up with a fake invitation to go over the details.
* Now needing to kill time, Erdrick leads the new group over to the Post near Brothers Mansion, still bearing damage from Arfa's axe going out the window opposite
* Brie continues her relentless hazing of the new member, Erdrick occasionally playing good cop in an attempt to ease tension.
* They get to the Post, letting the guard, Sasha, spot the chunk of missing wood. She asks someone to hold her stuff as Erdrick gives her a lift up to investigate. Brie takes this opurtunity immediately
* as soon as Sasha is up investigating, Brie pretends to trip, Spilling Sasha's satchel's contents everywhere. Amongst them is the Cloak in Question.
* Erdrick catches Sasha as she attempts to drop down to hide it, giving Brie just long enough to comment on it and pull out the rich material.
* Brie makes a point to extravagantly put on the cloak, verbally noting the Smithe Crest on it, only to be shut down when pretending to ask what it is.
* Noticing enough time has passed, Erdrick "sends the rest of the group on" while he goes to meet with Plactucas, who immedieately reveals that Sasha is one of his moles, and the fact we have discovered her may cause problems in his overarching plans. He requests the situation is dropped, he will inform Sasha when she returns and he will happily see their business concluded alongside the agreed payment.

END OF SESSION

#### Session 16 - THE ARENA

*14-15 Days since Breach*

* Short Version: Erdrick let Sasha know shes potentially comprimised as The Mole and the Lords had their exhibition. Lord Brothers Won.
* Long Version?

Ted: Lord Smithe's court

Bernice: Lady Smithe's court

Richard "The Showman": Lord Brothers court

Dickolas "The Veteran": Plactucas court

GOOD PEOPLE OF OUR FINE CITY! WELCOME TO THE ARENA. YOU CAME TO WATCH A FIGHT AND A FIGHT YOU SHALL GET...LOWER THE GATES!

COMING FROM LORD BROTHERS' CORNER WE HAVE RICHARD! AND LOOK AT HIM ENTER OUR FINE ARENA, PLAYING TO THE CROWD LIKE A MASTER BARD

FOLLOWING HIM IS OUR CHAMPION FROM FROM THE LADY'S COURT...BERNICE! LOOK AS HER BLADE SHINES AS SHE RAISES IT TO THE CROWD, GIVING RESPECT TO BOTH THE PEOPLE AND LORDS ALIKE

BRING YOUR GAZE TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ARENA LADIES AND GENTLEMEN FOR THE CHAMPION OF THE LORD'S COURT, TED!...AND HE APPEARS TO BE MOCKING THE MEMBER OF THEIR PAIRED COURT, MUCH TO THE AMUSEMENT OF OUR FINE AUDIENCE

FINALLY WE HAVE THE CHAMPION OF THE OLD QUARTER, NONE OTHER THAN DICKOLAS. AS EXPECTED, HE SATUTES EACH OF HIS OPPONENTS BEFORE GIVING HIS GREETING TO THE COURT

THE SHOWMAN OF THE ARENA HAS RUSHED INTO THE CENTER! AND NOW...YES... IT LOOKS LIKE HE IS PETITIONING THE CROWD FOR HIS FIRST TARGET. IT SEEMS LIKE THE CROWD IS GOING FOR...DICKOLAS!

WHAT'S THIS AND TED HAS ALREADY GOTTEN RETRIBUTION FOR HIS EARLIER GESTURES AS BERNICE LOOSES A BOLT ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE ARENA INTO HIS CHEST WHILE WE FOCUSED ON RICHARD! THAT LOOKS LIKE A BAD ONE.

WATCH OUT, RICHARD! THAT CHALLENGE MAY ARRIVE SOONER THAN YOU THINK! DICKOLAS HAS CROSSED THE ARENA. A LIGHT HIT ON THE PAULDRON IS MET WITH A SHIELD BASH FROM THE VETERAN, IT LOOKS LIKE RICHARD HAS MANAGED TO STAY ON HIS FEET BUT...OOOH, ANOTHER BOLT FROM BEUTRICE, THIS TIME INTO THE BACK OF RICHARD! CAN THIS MAN GET A BREAK?

A FEW VOLLEYS BACK AND FORTH FROM THE LORD AND LADY'S CHAMPIONS AS THE MELEE CONTINUES IN THE CENTER...BUT WATCH OUT! IT LOOKS LIKE BERNICE HAS GOTTEN TOO CLOSE AND HAS BEEN DRAGGED INTO BY OUR SHOWMAN!

SEEING HIS OPPURTUNITY TED LOOSES ONE MORE BOLT INTO THE CROWD BEFORE JOINING THE BRAWL. THINGS ARE A LITTLE FAR FOR ME TO GIVE MORE INFORMATION FROM MY PERCH BUT IT LOOKS LIKE BLOWS ARE BEING PRETTY EVENLY TRADED

IT LOOKS LIKE TED IS TRYING TO SLIP OUT OF THERE BUT...NO! BERNICE AND DICKOLAS ARENT LETTING HIM GO ANYWHERE.

FINALLY THE MELEE SEEMS TO BE BREAKING UP AS BEUTRICE TAKES THE CHANCE TO BACK UP HERSELF, LOOKS LIKE SHE NEEDS SOME AIR AFTER THAT BRAWL. AND IT LOOKS LIKE DICKOLAS IS DOING THE SAME, POINTING AT THE RETREATING CHAMPION TO TEMPT THE OTHERS...

IT LOOKS LIKE THE TWO REMAINING MEN MAY TAKE HIM UP ON HIS OFFER...BUT NO! TED HAS PULLED OUT HIS CROSSBOW AND AIMED FOR DICKOLAS AS HE BACKS AWAY.

OOOOHHHH THATS SOME FAULTY EQUIPMENT! IF YOU MISSED IT LADIES AND GENTLEMENT, LORD BROTHER'S CHAMPION'S CROSSBOW HAS HAD SOME KIND OF MALFUNCTION! DOESNT LOOK LIKE HE'LL BE MAKING ANY MORE SHOTS WITH IT THIS FIGHT

BUT THE LADY'S CHAMPION IS CLEARLY NOT HAVING THE SAME ISSUE, SENDING A BOLT TOWARDS PLACTUCAS' CHAMPION WHO JUST MANAGED TO RAISE HIS SHIELD. HER FOCUS ON THE VETERAN HAS ALLOWED OUR SHOWMAN TO CLOSE THE DISTANCE. IT LOOKS LIKE THAT DUEL COULD GO EITHER WAY AT THIS POINT!

DICKOLAS CLOSES ON TED, BECKONING HIM IN FOR A DUEL BUT TED IS HAVING NONE OF IT, BACKING OFF TOWARDS THE OTHER DUEL. SPEAKING OF WHICH, IT APPEARS BERNICE HAS HIT THE GRASS! OUR FIRST ELIMINATION OF THE DAY FOLKS! AND THE TAKER OF FIRST BLOOD APPEARS TO BE...LYING DOWN BEHIND THE UNCONCIOUS BODY?

AND HERE COMES A BOLT FROM HIS CROSSBOW!, ONCE AGAIN THE VETERAN RAISES HIS SHIELD IN TIME BUT I DONT KNOW HOW MANY MORE BOLTS IT CAN TAKE

THE VETERAN APPROACHES THE REMAINING TWO, AND APPEARS TO HAVE SCARED THE SHOWMAN INTO ACTION. BACK ON HIS FEET AND SWINGING WILDLY BUT NEITHER OF THEM ARE ABLE TO LAND A SOLID HIT ON EACHOTHER.

IT APPEARS WHILE THEY WERE DISTRACTED, TED HAS COME IN AND TAKEN BERNICE'S CROSSBOW AND IS AIMING IT AT THE PAIR.

AND RICHARD HAS CHARGED THE CROSSBOW HEAD ON! HE MANAGES TO CLOSE THE DISTANCE BEFORE A BOLT IS LOOSED BUT...OHH HE HAS BEEN TAKEN OUT WITH A SWIFT STRIKE FROM THE LORD'S CHAMPION!

ITS DOWN TO TWO, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. TED RAISES THE CROSSBOW ONCE MORE, WILL THE VETERAN BE ABLE TO GET IN THERE OR WILL THIS BOLT BE THE END OF OUR MATCH?

I CANT BELIEVE MY EYES, DICKOLAS MANAGED TO RAISE HIS SHIELD TO BLOCK BUT THE BOLT HAS GONE *STRAIGHT THROUGH*! IT APPEARS THE BEATING DURING THE MELEE WAS ENOUGH TO WEAKEN HIS EQUIPMENT LEAVING TED OF LORD SMITHE'S COURT AS TODAY'S CHAMPION!

VICTORIOUS CHAMPION, RETURN TO THE PREARATION ROOMS AND MEET YOUR BLADEMASTER! If you have bet on The Lord's Court please see the gatekeeper to collect your winnings.

END OF SESSION

### Arc 3 Samogitia and Beyond

#### Session 17 - Night of the Lizzing Dead

*15-16 Days since Breach*

* Slightly disappointed at their unfruitful bets, and ready to get out of the City, the party heads back with the crowd towards Kirsti, ultimately heading to Plactucas Manor, where they finally pass on the receipt and send the troops West towards Baktas Tower.
* The group takes one last night at the taverns in the city
* Erdrick visits Ptoughneigh in the stables, checking in on the Ugthanki in regards to those that were hunting him, musing on Fear and learning just how far the Ugthanki's bestial nature lies.
* Before Dawn Ptoughneigh visits Jeffery, leaving using his magic to enhance the value of the Painting of Jeffery significantly.
* Early in the morning the group meets up by the stables, Erdrick leaving a care package for their favorite Teenager, and finally head south out of the city towards Samogitia
* As sunset approaches, Ptoughneigh scouts the nearby area and finds them a good place to camp as Arfa and Erdrick hunt for dinner. Erdrick manages to bring back a Monitor Lizard.
* That night, a Squad of Monitor Lizards strut up for revenge.[1]
* It doesnt go well for the lizards. The group now has 7 monitor lizard corpses and one bound lizard that Ptoughneigh intents to tame.

END OF SESSION

#### Session 18 - The Senovan Vault

*17 Days since Breach*

* Waking the next morining, Brie is introduced to Gladys (the pet monitor) and after dividing the new Monitor Rations and properly storing the Skins for use in Arfa's potential Croc Scalemail they head back out on the road
* A few hours into travel they come across a hillock with a small crevice cut into it. deciding they have time to investigate without losing the day; Brie, Erdrick and Ptoughneigh head inside. Arfa staying outside to keep an eye on Gladys and enjoy the fresh air a little longer before they head to Samogitia.
* inside, after a short tunnel they enter a small cavern, a carved stone arch on the far side and a long dead skeleton propped against the wall.
* Brie tapped into the knowledge of her Patron and understood the simple Cuneform-esque writing on the Arch, recognising it as a name as opposed to words.
* The skeleton's equipment had mostly decomposed outside of their Leather Satchel, containing a Journal. Flipping to the last page Brie reads the following

* The part about the Father's Ring is noted, and after a quick check where Ptoughneigh unfortunately accidentally seperated the skeleton at the waist, placing the upper half to the side, they do find the Ring, seeing it is made of gold and bears a gem encrusted family crest
* they then head through the Archway to a clearly cut corridor, leading to what appeared to be the front end of some kind of store, archive or museum. The whole room had been cleared out, outside of a few ruined books behind the counter one of which is taken. Ptoughhneigh also noticed some dragging marks across the floor towards the entrance.
* Heading out the back, accessed through a door with a long rusted away lock, they find the entrance to the Vault mentioned in the diary. next to the door is a combination lock and in the vast room coming up to it is a set of sunken squares with various nibers chiselded into them, alonside a set of tiles that clearly fit within the squares.
* After a while of speculation, Erdrick consults the diary, finding a page with similar diagrams from earlier expeditions. Brie tapped into her Patron's knowledge again to translate and they ultimately found this guide for the puzzle.

* After some time figuring out how the rules applied to the various areas, they manage to place the plates correctly and recieved the correct combination
* The Vault had been ransacked already (as foreshadowed by the scraping marks in the frontend), the only remaining pieces being a set of decoratively stained Ivory Dinnerplates and Dishes, an unopened crate and a chest in the back
* Ptoughneigh took to the crate, stomping down on an edge and opening that side like a door, spilling dessicated wheat across the floor. After a quick taste (its not great) he ruffles through and finds four unlabeled potions in corked vials.
* in the back, after pocketing the dishware, Brie pulls the chest out from where it got stuck on a shelf support and picks the simple lock, finding a mostly empty partitioned box containing a single scroll. upon opening they see it as an ancient map of roughly the Verrachia region, with various locations marked on it including the one they are now in.
* after taking a moment to make sure none of the items will be significantly damaged by travel they head back outside, locking the place down behind them and meet Arfa back outside.

END OF SESSION

#### Session 19 - The Toad from Grumm

*17 Days since Breach*

* The group, now reasssembled, continues south on the road for another hour or so, passing one or two other travellers heading north.
* as they get a little closer to their target they come across a Toadfolk heading north. He manages to catch their attention
* He introduces himself as Gillian, travelling entertainer. He had recently left Samogitia and was heading for kirsti looking for an audience
* he tempted the group in with potential rewards, explaining he works in bets on little games all the while somehow unpacking a whole stall setup from his bag
* to begin with he offered riddles.
	+ "I am not your brother but you are mine, who am i?" Answer: Your sister
	+ "One Knight, A Pirate and a Ninja fought on the sea, when the fight was over all the ships were sunk and the Pirate and Ninja left on lifeboats. who had died?" Answer: One Knight has died (meant to be obscured as One Night verbally)
* Next: Gillian summoned his Snail Familiar, Freddy, and challenged the group to a trial of Combat. Unfortunately for the snail, this piqued Arfa's interest. The half orc put his whole effort into the fight and took the snail down in a matter of seconds.
* Finally, Gillian wanted to test them against his largest challenge. he gave them a yes/no question each and if they guessed the creature they would be fighting they could win a much larger reward. unable to narrow down the creature through their questions the group instead took regular odds, betting a total of 10 gold.
* Gillian pulls out a hoop with a curtain hanging from it, dramatically shimmying it as he raised it far further than he could possibly reach and announcing
* THE TERRIFYING SHARKENBEAR!!
* A Bear with sharks for arms roared at the party. Erdrick and Ptoughneigh charged towards the creature, Brie sent a bolt of eldritch energy towards the heads of the beasts and Arfa flanked around the left while channelling spells into his weaponry.
* The Sharkenbear swung its mighty sharkenarms and took a bite at both Erdrick and Ptoughneigh, biting deep on the former and still slicing flesh on serrated teeth on a failed bite on the latter
* Ptoughneigh pulls the Manacle chains from his pack and tossed one end to Erdrick who wrapped the chain into the mouth of the shark that attacked him, then climbed over the shoulders of the Bear, locking that end of the chain into place as Ptoughneigh ran a circle around the creature. The two of them successfully bind up one of the sharks and the majority of the bear ready for Brie and Arfa to go on the offensive
* Brie briefly chants in a language the rest of them dont quite understand and the Sharkenbear is burdened with the Hexblade's Curse, recieving a shot from her bow into the free shark to put more salt in the wound
* finally prepared, Arfa pulls out his handaxes and sends them flying at the beast, biting in deep to the Sharkflesh as Erdrick makes some slack in the chain, swinging down and taking out the Bear's legs sending it crashing down onto its back upon the Ranger.
* the free shark roars and a wave is summoned, crashing against the grounded pair for a moment, distacting the bear enough for Arfa to lock his aim in
* The half-orc's trident shudders in his grip, launching with unbridled energy right into the throat of the bear. The trident continues shuddering as it flies through the air, seemingly striking the beast several times as it passes through, returning the summon to the aether.
* Gillian congratulates the group on their success, and after some short conversation helping the Grummfolk in where to find more prospective players and the Group learning of Little Grumm and the unsolved murders in the next city, they go their seperate ways.

END OF SESSION

#### Session 20 - Meeting with Command

*17 Days since Breach*

* Finally the Group arrives at the outskirts of Samogitia. Entering from the north road they first approach the Iron Row, an area of Smiths and Leatherworkers.
* Seeing a chance to get some gear made Arfa enters the Armourer's Quarter. After a short bout of peoplewatching he approaches one of the leatherworkers, Jeorge
* Arfa pulls out the Giant Crocodile Hide (See Session 1) and after some quick measurements and the realisation that the scales are much larger than origninally imagined, Arfa made a deal that he would get a chestpiece and two axes worth of wrapping out of it and the smith gets to keep whatevers left for a discount on on the order
* Happy with that, Arfa then heads deeper into the workshops to the Blacksmith's Square where a load of younger blacksmiths are performing the Blacksmithing equivalent of Flair Bartending for the crowd.
* Amongst them Arfa spots an Elven Smith working and catches their attention, seemingly snapping them out from a trance. Arfa produces the Hellmetal Horseshoes from the Nightmare and asks if the smith knows how to work it.
* Thankfully the Smith (Ingrid) does, claiming that with some time he could make some gear with it without losing its infernal nature. Once again Arfa haggles a cheaper price by offering to leave leftover material to the Smith, ultimately putting in an order for 2 handaxes and some darts/daggers provided the Half Orc also finds something to make the handle (Erdrick offers leather from the Nightmare's Saddle to heatproof it if they cant find anything else)
* Happy with his deals they then head towards the city walls. Quite familiar with the city, Erdrick lays out where to find where they'll find what they need
* First things first they head into Oakenguard Command. they are sent straight into the War room to meet with the OakenCommander.
* They were expected, and he greets them as they enter. The Group reports what they saw during the Breach, the two devils they hunted down, the state of the Soldiers they sent to the tower, and the theory that this was most likely a planned attack. With this information the Commander is clearly quite stressed.
* The Commander reveals to them that though there had not been any other breaches (that they knew of) they had lost contact with all Strike Force Rangers within Balseign at the same time as the attack, and that the organisation was undermanned and barely functional thanks to complacency creeping in throughout the years.
* Erdrick Leaves the room as soon as the Commander says theyd lost contact with the rangers
* The group is Promoted to Oakenspeakers (The voice of the Chairman), were given a voucher to get some appropriate outfits, and asked to drum up support for the Oakenguard while travelling to each of the different members to convince them to meet up for a summit to address the situation. It seems that The Pope would be willing to host (Verrachia hosting would work as an olive branch considering the relatively recent Drasillian summit)
* After the group is dismissed they find Erdrick in the nearby hallway, mid panic attack after trying to contact The Brangrove (where he formerly served.) Arfa attempts to calm him while explaining what happened. By the time the report was finished Erd was ready to move out
* They take Erdrick's earlier reccomendation and get rooms at the nearby Dead Leaves Tavern, leaving their horses at the attatched stables and dropping off any excess gear
* Brie puts forward the idea they hit the coupon's Tailor first as they will need time to make the outfits after measuring them.
* heading southwest they enter the Eye of a Needle Tailor, handing over their coupons and putting together some outfits from the available options, as well as some custom designs. They would need to come back later to pick up the tailored outfits.
* Finally they head towards Elmcrown University, heading straight for their archives, The various members picking out sections of books to research. The following topics were brought up to be addressed in the next session:
	+ What fireproof monsters are out there; and which, if any, prowl nearby.
	+ Information on tailors suited to camel garments
	+ Key info on devils -
		- Where do they live? Planes info
		- How do you fight them?
		- How do you kill them (for good)?
	+ Genealogist in town? Or genealogy of the ancient archaeologist?
	+ What Verrachian wars or conflicts are ongoing?
	+ The Pope: Who are his friend and who are his enemies?
	+ How are the oakenpowers?
	+ Details on the functioning of *the barrier*
* After their personal study was finished up, the loot from the Senove Vault was produced and asked to be put in a safe place in the archive until they find the decendants of the Archeologist they had found.
* Happy with a productive day, they finally head back to the tavern for a meal and drinks, Erdrick singing the recruiting song from back in his day to put the thought of joining up in the other patron's minds.

END OF SESSION

#### Session 21 - University Study

*18 Days since Breach*

* Waking the next morning, they head to Elmcrown University to have their questions finally asnwered
	+ What fireproof monsters are out there; and which, if any, prowl nearby: Devils and Dragons are the go-to. Elementals may also give usable materials (summonable at the Uni)
	+ Information on tailors suited to camel garments: Go to Sadamanah or ask the Grummfolk
	+ Key info on devils -
		- Where do they live? Planes info: Nine Hells
		- How do you fight them?: Radiant damage stops them remembering you, use Magical Weapons
		- How do you kill them (for good)?: Kill them on their home plane
	+ Genealogist in town? Or genealogy of the ancient archaeologist?: Decendant is a student
	+ What Verrachian wars or conflicts are ongoing? Warring with Pirates and nation to the North
	+ The Pope: Who are his friend and who are his enemies?: Samogitia is somewhat seperated, Orcs and Pirates dont like him
	+ How are the oakenpowers?
		- Zogazi/Dwarven: Orcs are too busy, Dwarves just send the people they wanna get rid of
		- Bardos: Fortress retrofitted into a Brewery, Contains the Oakenspy so might be a Front
		- Lairon/Sadamanah: Local political problems greatly negatively affecting the operations
		- Orange Nation: Just getting other nation's dregs
		- Verrachia: Breached, undermanned but this is not known to the public
		- The Brangrove: Still fighting with gusto but lost 90% of their force when lost communication.
	+ Details on the functioning of *the barrier*: BUFF Prismatic Wall, blocks all forms of teleportation even through dimensions.
	+ Before moving on, they organise for a message to be sent to the Archeologist's Decendant to meet them at the tavern that night, then head for the Conjuration Wing to potentially get an Elemental for fireproof coatings
	+ They meet a quite elderly professor who, after quite some back and forth, agree to test his students on dealing with an unruly FIre Elemental in a couple of hours. the group will be able to take the materials they are looking for.
	+ while waiting for the class, the group head back to the Eye of a Needle Tailor to pick up their commissioned outfits. NEEDS UPDATING/proper formatting
		- Arfa: Blue denimn trousers strapped up with various pockets and a place to attatch his quiver to the leg. a long cape and a half-cape with the Oakenguard Symbol
		- Brie: (IMAGE TO BE ADDED) Hakama-Style pants, Fancy gold-and-Blue tunic/dress, Black hooded Cape with patterend lining and a clasp depicting the Oakenguard Symbol
		- Erdrick: Cobalt shirt with cuffed sleeves, black waistcoat with green vine-like embroidery that forms the Oakenguard Symbol, Silver coronet/headband, waist wrap/buttcape situation.
		- Ptoughneigh: Suit and shades like the Camel Cigarettes mascot. Has the Oakenguard symbol on his cigarette packet in the chest pocket, needed adjustment as they hadnt worked with his form before
	+ After getting happy with their outfits, they head back for the lesson
	+ The Professor sets up a pool of water and summons a Fire Myrmidon, which is quickly quenched by the student's Water Wierds. Arfa is allowed to scoop up the Fire Powder(now mud) left behind. ~~They bring the Mud to Ingrid the Smith in the hopes it will work for them (To be seen?)~~

END OF SESSION

#### Session 22 - Toads and Teleporters

*18 Days since Breach*

* Went and saw how the Porter's Guild worked (passwords and traintickets)
* went to little grumm to see if they had any tailors for Ptoughneigh's outfit
* found an apocathery and made a deal to get a pound of a root that only grows in ancient ruins in exchage for a half-off Golden Acorn for Arfa
* Ptoughneigh comissions saddlebags from Arfa's Armorer
* Met Lita, told her about Jethro. She offered a Grumm based teleporter password in exchange for more Senove Stuff. Said she'll ask her friend whos already on it to meet us the next night.

END OF SESSION

#### Session 23 - Meeting Miriam

*19-21 Days since Breach*

* Next morning, went to Armorer's Quarter to pick up Arfa's new armour. Dropped into Ingrid's forge to give him the firemud. Firemud will work but will take time.
* pick up Ptoughneigh's Suit after it got refitted for his shape
* Arfa did some study on brass dragons in a hope to get a scale(i think)
* met with Lita and Miram (her monk friend) who agreed to tag along with us while we look into the vaults.
* decided to head along the southwest path of vaults since it goes past a dragonmountain
* headed out the next morning, picked up Ptoughneigh's saddlebags
* go to Zalos after a day and a bit of travel. Hear of Bandit problems in the southern forest.
* Spot a Bandit ambush, attempt to trap their trap
* they saw us do it and trapped our trap of their
* unfortunately we clapped their cheeks. 2 surrendered, the leader is unconcious.

END OF SESSION

#### Session 24 - Old Man in the Mountain

*21-23 Days since Breach*

* The various unconsious bandits are collected together, the bandit leader set seperate from his underlings. After some talking the party learns there is a second set of unaffiliated bandits in the area. Arfa brands the leader with his Oakenspeaker Signet ring and the group are sent north to Baktas in hopes to beef up their defenses.
* Consulting their map, the party notices a town at the base of the Dragonmountain around a day's travel down the road.
* When they camp along the road Arfa and Erdrick discuss the dragon. Reportedly being a Brass Dragon, one who thrives on conversation, the older ranger suggests the Arf-Orc tries to get some practice in by learning about the other party members.
* He begins with Miriam, using his broken trident to help her flip a large stone by the fire to sleep on. She speaks of her cold-blooded nature and how her Monastic methods focus on looking inwards for self improvement.
* Next he goes to approach Brie, who ignores him and plays her lute with increasing vigor to drown out his questions.
* Accepting he wasnt going to get anywhere with her, he finally moves onto Ptoughneigh. The Ugthanki sheds light on how they are created by their god, fully formed and filled with the knowledge of the previous of their kind. he also reveals he is but a few months old.
* Needing a little time to process what Ptoughneigh told him, Arfa set down for the night.
* When they arrive they find a tiny village (Trivdas), little more than a tavern, a blacksmith to maintain tools and some farms.
* heading into the tavern, it is relatively quiet, there is a bard playing bagpipes in the corner, a jolly merchant munching away at some kind of meal and the tavernkeep behind the bench cleaning some glasses
* the menu is mostly comprised of various boiled insects. Seeing this, Erdrick dips out to hunt something for the night's dinner. He comes back after ten or so minutes with a boar, which the Tavernkeep takes as payment for their meals and room.
* Brie sets up by the bard in the corner, pulling out her lute (or was it lyre?) and quickly takes priority of the performance. The bard puts down their bagpipes and sings along to her melodies instead.
* As they play together, the bard sings of Viuus, the dragon in the mountain, and how he helps those who come to him.
* The rest of the group settle down at the table by the Merchant and have a quick conversation, learning of a path straight to the dragon's lair, fairly frequently used bu those wanting an audience. The merchant agrees to send them along it come morning.
* In the night Brie is given a vision from her patron; Many bugs screaming for help in a pot. She rises early and heads down to the kitchen, purchasing the supply of spiders planned for cooking that day's meal. She takes them and releases them into the nearby forests.
* They head along the path, and by mid afternoon they reach the foot of a long stairs cut in the face of the mountain. They tie down the horses and begin climbing, reaching the cave at the top a few minutes after the sun dips below the horizon.
* The cave was considerably larger than they had originally estimated, the edge of the entrance carved with various patterns. in it's entrance sits a sleeping old man
* The old man wakes as they approach the top of the stairs, greeting them. He says he's waiting to meet the dragon again, having asked it to take care of a problem on his farm involving a raised ancient warrior in exchange for a token from a nearby monastery.
* The Party offers to help the old man out, as they have dealt with spectres before (see: Session 12: Friday the 13th) and there was a chance they could run into the dragon while they were there (as the problem would only present itself the night after they'd arrive)
* The old man chuckles and drops his act, revealing that to be a test to weed out the greedy and entitled who come knocking. Happy to deal with a group so willing to go days out of their way to help a random old man he invites them to stay and chat in his cave
* Arfa takes the lead, as he was the one ultimately with a request. They ask what he knows of the Senove Ruin to the SouthWest and the dragon reminsisces fondly, revealing he is multiple millenia old.
* After some more idle conversation, Arfa requests a Scale from the dragon and Viuus proposes a game, they guess how old he is and if they get close enough, he will give them the scale.
* he backs into the cave, shifting into his true form, somehow still cramped in the immense cavern, and lets Arfa take his guess.
* Arfa manages to get close enough (with some elaboration to back up his theory) and Viuus shakes a dinnerplate-sized scale free, clanking to the floor before the party.
* Conversation spreads to the other members of the party and Viuus gets especially interested in Brie and her ability to read any writing (learned from her patron in a dream.) The dragon plays around with it, writing first in draconic, then in a set of scribbles he makes up on the spot and she is able to read it without a sweat.
* The dragon is now quite invested in the party, keeping all but Brie up constantly talking and questioning until past midnight.
* Arfa has an idea as they talk and asks for a second request, to have the dragon bring them to the location of the Senove Ruins.
* "I am not a horse" -Viuus
* "Yeah but what if we raced?" -Ptoughneigh
* Curious on how the Ugthanki could possibly keep up with an Ancient Dragon, Viuus accepts the challenge allowing the other members of the party to ride him for the duration of the race.
* As the racers prepare, Arfa descends the stairs again and unties Kevin, telling him to follow them to the ruin.
* The party then climb onto Viuus' back and the two set off. Ptoughneigh takes a generous lead in the first half but is unable to keep the pace up and is overtaken in the last minutes of the flight.
* The party sees the sun peek from the horizon from hundreds of feet in the air as they approach the location of the ruins, the warm lights of the morning illuminating the world below them...

END OF SESSION

#### Session 25 - The Second Vault

*(14/8/70) 23 Days since Breach*

* Left by the entrance to the Senove Vault by Viuus, the group begin preparations to delve inside despite the exhaustion of being kept up by the dragon's conversation.
* Miriam begins settling down outside the entrance, wanting to take the time to soak in the morning sun instead of delving underground. Meanwhile Arfa heads into the nearby forest in search of a Rat.
* After finding the rat, he uses magic to speak to the beast, asking if itd already been in the cave they were delving (yes) and whether it would be willing to go in ahead of them in exchange for some Big Food. The Rat Agrees and Arfa binds himself to the creature, able to share senses with it given time to focus.
* The group, Sans-Miriam, head down into the cave. The rat, sharing sight with our Arf-Orc, leads the way and they find an small overgrown cavern, root systems and vines coating the walls almost completely. To either side are passageways.
* Before they have the chance to invesitgate either tunnel, Brie tries to look for possible signage on the far wall, wrenching on some roots in an attempt to see anything hidden behind and barely avoids the grasping tendrils of a ManTrap
* The group step back from the walls, watching at two others begin to pull themselves from the foliage around them.
* Arfa pulls his axes, slamming one down through the grasping tendrils. Unfortunately, he carries his swing too far through, the blade of his handaxe chipping against the cold stone floor. He is able to slice away another vine with his other axe moments before he is engulfed by the creature.
* Meanwhile on the other side of the room, Ptoughneigh meets a similar fate after cleaving deep with his Battleaxe and Erdrick is engulfed while backing up Brie.
* Arfa uses his senses from the Rat to let him see outside of his bindings, using the extra vision to Misty Step out of it's grip.
* Erdrick manages to slice his way out of his binding. Confident in Brie's ability to take on the creature he moves across to try and free the struggling Ptoughneigh.
* A few careful lever cuts free Ptoughneigh's arms and head, allowing him to begin cutting himself free, assisted by one of Arfa's spears.
* The final Mantrap is taken down as it attempts to reach for Brie, who dodges deftly and slices away with the Jefferyblade moments before the creature is reduced to plantmatter by Arfa's planar-charged Spear.
* Brie collects up some of the Livingvine that made up the mantraps, hoping either the vines or their Acidic Sap may be useful in future while Erdrick tries to heal Ptoughneigh up a bit, the acid burning him far more due to his larger size.
* Arfa gives the Rat its payment of 2 Biscuits and lets it go on it's way.
* Brie and Erdrick begin pulling away at the roots where Brie had first investigated. Behind it, they dont find any signage as they had hoped but instead a wall a little too smooth to be natural.
* Arfa, after recovering his thrown weapons, prepares himself and shifts into the aethereal plane, phasing through the wall to find the lobby of the Senove Vault they were looking for.
* seeing a doorway, to his left he makes sure the door isnt deadbolted before heading through, meeting Brie in the tunnel beyond as she decided to explore the side tunnels.
* Heading into the lobby they see the remnants of long-rotted furniture. beyond an archway they see the puzzlelock, this one more complicated than the one they saw on the way to Samogitia, bearing three panelgrids as opposed to two.
* They begin working at the puzzle, managing to solve the side panels, but were unable to solve the central panel containing the Vault Combination
* Brie scans the room, spotting sets of carvings depicting Senovan armies, with a single member dressed in white.
* Looking at the panels they had to work with initially, she notices a single painted white panel within the inital clues. Realising this panel depicted a break in the pattern allows her to figure out the solution to the remaining grid.
* Opening the vault they see it mostly untouched. in the center of the room they see the recently-shriveled form of a Liminal Bush. Unfortunately they were unable to harvest the requested amout, though Brie mused on the idea of selling it instead to pay for the Gilded acorn, since its so rare and valuable.
* Also in the vault they found
	+ A Map of Senove locations identical to the one they have
	+ a set of 4 Potions identical to what they have
	+ A large diamond roughly the size of a fist
	+ A senovan cookbook
	+ And 4 unidentified magic scrolls
* Taking this loot, they head back outside to meet with miriam outside, quickly detouring to the other side passage they had spotted. Inside was a cave with some Plant-Zombies. they left them alone.

END OF SESSION

#### Session 26 - Return to Samogitia

*(End:21/8/70) 23-30 Days since Breach*

* Not wanting to waste time or throw off their circadian rhythm the party chooses to use the rest of the day on travel despite their exhaustion from being kept up by Viius
* they take a direct route back to the road rather than heading south for Trivdas. While hiking through the forest they hear the distressed sounds of Kevin, Arfa's Horse, nearby.
* The group heads in the direction of the sound, the trees thickening as they get closer. When they arrive at the source they see a treant "playing" with Kevin, scaring the horse and blocking off it's escape route whenever it tries to flee.
* Arfa steps out and declares kevin to be his horse to little affect to the Treant. The Treant claims that Kevin wandered into his territory and relieved himself on the tree's roots.
* Arfa tries to talk down the treant, bluffing by offering to let the treant relieve itself on Kevin in return
* To everyone's surprise, the treant accepted the deal, releasing sap all over the horse.
* the rest of the afternoon was spent cleaning the sap out of Kevin's hair in the river, with advice from Ptoughneigh.
* Once Kevin was as clean as he could be (still smells of sweet sap) the party set up camp for the night. Arfa managed to track down a Boar for dinner as Erdrick went hunting for something to spice up the meal a bit as a Reward for the past few days.
* That night Erdrick congratulates Ptoughneigh for his attempt at the race against Viuus. Ptoughneigh is humble, pointing out that he lost but is encouraged by the ranger who points out that if it was any shorter he wouldve won by a mile
* Erdrick also takes the time to thank Brie for speaking on learning skills in her dreams, considering how sensitive she gets on the subject. She confirms that she doesnt like hearing of other's, but it was acceptable for her to speak of it for the right reasons (in this case completing their mission)
* Finally the older Ranger tosses his chain shirt into the dying fire, fishing it out in the morning and offering it to Miriam to help her warm up in the mornings. This became a habit during the rest of their travel
* The party followed the roads back to Samogitia with little to speak of, save for a night spent alongside another travelling group a little south of Zalos.
* Arriving at the city's walls as the sun fell below the horizon, the group headed north to Ingrid's Shop in an attempt to get work on the Axes started as soon as possible. unfortunately the Elven Smith was not there.
* Heading into the city with intent to sleep at the Dead Leaves Tavern, they are stopped at the north gate and warned of Murders in Fiphchester. Noting this for later they head to the tavern and sleep through the night.
* The next day they head back to Ingrid's, dropping off the dragonscale. The Smith promises to have the axes done in a week (10 days from 20/8/70).
* Ptoughneigh and Erdrick then go hunting through various markets and specialist stores, looking for an Amulet of Intelligence for the Ugthanki. They manage to track down three. one for 40 electrum requiring a month of preperation to complete, and two for direct sale (100 elec from a pawn shop and 45E from the Grumm Wholesaler)
* to help fund this, the group decides to sell on some of the senove artifacts they had collected, keeping the coins for Lita.
* Erdrick reccomends the Sommer family, a lesser Noble family hoping to make a name for themselves. After a planning session, they take the Paintings from the Second Vault and request admittance to the Manor
* They successfully sell the Paintings for a whopping 40 Electrum, 45 if the family has the exclusive rights to auction on the party's other finds.
* The party take the lesser profit, as they were using Ptoughneigh's magic to enhance their price and didnt want that to bite them in the ass later.
* taking this absolute haul of coin, the party return to the Tavern and sleep. One step closer to Arfa's Axes to be complete.

END OF SESSION

#### Session 27 - Murder in the Streets

*22/8/70, 31 Days since Breach*

* Early that morning, the group heads to the Archaeology wing of the University, Seeking Lita to hand over some of the Senovian Coins they carry. Finding her amongst the more learned members of the classes. They hand over Ptoughneigh's bag of coins, drawing the attention of various members of the room. They also share a description of the mural on the wall of the Lock Chamber, hoping it could point her in the right direction. After they recieve the Grumm Portal Password, the Oakensong take their leave with Lita promising to update them on anything she finds.
* While still at the University, they head to the Chemistry/alchemy wing. There, they find an old professor who, after some convincing, offers to buy the senovian potions. They agree to sell him the second Potion of Abberant Tranformation (the first was drank by Arfa in the Vault) for a hefty 150 platinum [Needs Citation], with 100gp of that being deducted in exchange for identifying the other potions. They include:
	+ Potion 1: Elixir of Death, A thick, inky liquid that smells faintly of rotten meat. When you drink this shadowy potion, you fall into a cataleptic state, as though you had cast the spell Feign Death on yourself. The effect lasts for 1d20 minutes. (For the spell’s duration, or until you use an action to touch the target and dismiss the spell, the target appears dead to all outward inspection and to spells used to determine the target’s status. The target is blinded and incapacitated, and its speed drops to 0. The target has resistance to all damage except psychic damage. If the target is diseased or poisoned when you cast the spell, or becomes diseased or poisoned while under the spell’s effect, the disease and poison have no effect until the spell ends.) Worth 10ep
	+ Potion 2: Suggestion Potion, a vial of yellow liquid that smells of lanolin. When you drink this sweet potion, a course of activity is suggested to you, as though the spell Suggestion had been cast on you. You may make a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, you are magically compelled to buy every chicken in the nearest town and set them free. The effect ends when you finish what you were asked to do, or after 8 hours. (You suggest a course of activity (limited to a sentence or two) and magically influence a creature you can see within range that can hear and understand you. Creatures that can’t be charmed are immune to this effect. The suggestion must be worded in such a manner as to make the course of action sound reasonable. Asking the creature to stab itself, throw itself onto a spear, immolate itself, or do some other obviously harmful act ends the spell. The target must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, it pursues the course of action you described to the best of its ability. The suggested course of action can continue for the entire duration. If the suggested activity can be completed in a shorter time, the spell ends when the subject finishes what it was asked to do. You can also specify conditions that will trigger a special activity during the duration. For example, you might suggest that a knight give her warhorse to the first beggar she meets. If the condition isn’t met before the spell expires, the activity isn’t performed. If you or any of your companions damage the target, the spell ends.) Worth 1ep
	+ Potion 3: Oil of Infernal Espionage, A clear, viscous liquid that smells of peppermint. You can use an action to apply this small vial of oil to an iron door. The coated area becomes transparent from your side of the door, and remains transparent for 1 minute, or until wiped off as an action. 2 uses per potion Worth 30ep
	+ Potion 4: Potion of Aberrant Transformation, A flask of purple liquid, it smells of brine and seems to move slightly on its own. When you drink this bitter potion, your lower body is transformed into a mass of writhing tentacles, and you gain the ability to levitate up to 20 feet in the air. The effect lasts for 4d20 minutes and can only be ended as if it were a disease. *(none left in the party's inventory)*Worth 15ep
* The Alchemist also said he may be able to get in contact with some interested buyers for the other potions. The Oakensong said to leave messages at the Dead Leaves Tavern, with the proviso that they would only be guaranteed to be here for another week (Arfa's Axes).
* Pocketing this coin, Ptoughneigh realises he has enough to buy the headband they were hunting the other day so they head south towards Moonspirit Imports, where they had found the best outright price.
* Along the way, they noticed a small group of constables outside the front of a house in Fiphcester. Remembering word of a Murder amongst these suburbs, The group approach the constables, confirming their suspicions that this was the site of the murder, and asking permission to give the area a look themselves. They are let in, and told not to touch anything.
	+ Inside, they see the corpse of the victim, split most of the way through the middle. Nearby is the debris from where the roof was collapsed in, a three toed footprint amongst the dust. *Evidence 1&2: Point of Entry, Footrprint.*
	+ Ptoughneigh then takes to the skies, spotting indentations in the adjacent roof, as well as a nearby one, leading out East along the suburb. *Evidence 3: The Trail*
	+ The group have a closer look at the victim, noticing the wounds are rough and showing hints of non-standard damage. this hints at the kill being from a potenitally magical beast rather than a blade. *Evidence 4: The Wound*
	+ Erdrick and Ptoughneigh take off to follow the trail. Brie heads outside to try and learn about the victim and any motive someone would have to attack him, whereas Arfa stays at the site hoping to gleam any information from nearby beasts.
	+ Arfa casts speak with animals, calling out to any critters within the debris. He catches the attention of a Rat who, after some bribing with some of that Traveller's Biscuit, tells the 'Arf-Orc that it didnt see much but could confirm whatever did the killing was Larger than Arfa, Bipedal and Hairy. *Evidence 5: Non-Grumm intruder. Colludes with The Wound*
	+ Brie has little luck gaining any information from the nearby citizens, but is pointed to hotel Yorba in Little Grumm, where the victim would often hang out as his profession as a Fisherman put him in close business with the Toadfolk. There she meets a group of Grummish Fishermen, who she speaks to. They speak well of the deceased, saying he recently came into a major haul that he sold on to Moonshine Imports, and was unfortunately not able to enjoy his earnings due to being murdered. He often did business with the Imports and was considered a friend by many of the Toadfolk. She buys them a bottle of Grummish Moonshine as thanks
	+ Erdrick and Arfa follow the Trail east until they hit the edge of Fiphcester, where the rooves transition from thatch, which clearly holds the impacts of whatever was running along them, to wood. Using the path they had followed, they make a guess to where along the wooden rooves the trail would go, knocking on the doors along the path. The first house was a bust, as the owner has just returned from travelling. The next house contained a man nervous about the guards visiting him. Unfortunately for the search, the man was nervous due to the noise complaints from his party the previous night. Neighbours confirmed the party was loud enough to drown out any sounds they may have heard during the night, ending this path. What they did learn was that this happened last month, three murders in three suburbs.
	+ Gathering back together, Erdrick puts forward the idea that the Grummish footprint was of someone running from whatever made the rooftop trail. Arfa's description of the agressor, as well as Brie's confirmation that he had little to no enemies amongst the Toadfolk, knocks off the accused Grumm from their suspect list (Brie's information giving them something to continue to follow.) With this new theory in mind they begin noticing a few other details, a claw mark on a windowsll, a Clawed track outside, seemingly confirming a continued chase. They bring this theory to the attention of the constables, in the hope itll stop them from going after any of the Toadfolk.
* Taking Brie's Lead on the Moonspirit Imports being the next they'd want to question, they head south. While in the building Ptoughneigh buys the Headband of Intellect he was after, and they notice the Fishery section is being overrun with those selling. Brie asks a supervisor and they learn that Bartholomew, the other member of that crew, had not come into work that day. This was quite unusal for the Grumm man. Brie gets the man's address and they head to his house.
* There, they find a quite nervous Grumm man. Assuring him they aren't here to harm him, he invites them in. They say they are here about the murder and reveal they know he was there (confirmed as the victim's friend by the men at the Hotel) and he opens up. Barty was chased by something large and furry and angry as he entered the East gate late the previous night. Scared for his life he ran into the city, hoping it wouldn't follow him. When he heard it chase along the rooftops he ran to the first place he could think of, Alfed's place. The Chaser fell through the roof and Barty lost it in the scuffle. He had suspected the murder was his fault and was hiding at home since. Hoping to get more information on what they were looking for, Brie asks if she could use her helmet to delve into his mind and search the memories of that night. He consents but they are unable to learn more, as there was too much stress and panic in the moment. Erdrick attempts to help him settle his mind, but is not successful enough to gleam anything new.
* They tell Barty that they have already got the constables on the correct line of searching so he should be safe, though he should go into work to remove any suspicions caused by him hiding.
* Next they head to the gates Barty had passed through to question the guards. The same ones were on watch as the time of the event so they brought them in individually for questioning. They thought they were in trouble for not stopping the grummish man, hoping no one had noticed. When word of the murder was raised they spoke openly of the situation. They did not see what was chasing him, but did hear a faint whoosh moments later. About an hour after Barty ran into the city an old hairy man in a ragged coat left the city, walking strangely.
* Taking this information, Erdrick theorised that the Chaser leapt the wall, so he scaled to the roof. there he saw faint claw marks in the stone and a clump of hair caught between some stones. taking the hair, he calls Ptoughneigh over to see if they could work with it to find the old man, who they suspected to be a Werebear from the prints found outside the victims house. Erdrick Focused on the hair, letting magic guide him to any similar pieces nearby. Magic pointed him towards the inner city, so he rode Ptoughneigh out until that mark should've disappeared, only for one to still be within his senses. honing in the detection to include clothing tainted with the fur's musk, they noticed the direction change. They rode back towards the city walls, the location sending them off to the north partway into the ruins of Ghostend. Ptoughneigh rode off to fetch the others as Erdrick narrows down on the location, finding a month old corpse wearing the cloak described by the guard earlier lying amongst the rubble.
* After some investigation they call over one of the guards who confirms the cloak as the one the man was wearing. There were no signs of the body nor cloak being moved recenty to hide a trail so the Oakensong put forward the theory that perhaps the Host of the Werecurse was dead, but was not killed in a way that would kill the werecreature. This might mean that when the moons were full enough the werecreature would rise akin to an undead. The guard is told to pass on the prospective suspect to the ones investigating the murder, then told to come back and stay nearby as to witness the beast's rise if their theory is correct (though he is not asked to interfere if he doesn't wish to.) The Party, noticing the sun begin to dip towards the horizon, settle down around the corpse, hoping to trap it if the previous month's pattern of three murders over three nights followed through.
* Ptoughneigh also attunes to his headband and identifies the last scroll at this point. it was a scroll of: Holy Aura

END OF SESSION

#### Session 28 - A Fucking Undead Werebear

*22/8/70, 31 Days since Breach*

* In the courtyard amongst the ruined buildings of Ghostend, as the sun dips below the horizon, the Oakensong begin their final preparations.
	+ Ptoughneigh shackles the corpse's legs, wrapping the slack in the chain around its body. He then steps back and prepares himself to cast spells
	+ Erdrick cuts small envelopes in it's flesh and slides in silver pieces and stands vigil by the body.
	+ Arfa tangles it in one of his nets and finds a position on the rooftops to stand overwatch
	+ Brie pins the net down with her Silver Dagger, casts Protection from Good and Evil on Erdrick and takes position on the nearby roof.
* So, with the Guardsman as witness, they set themselves into position and wait the final seconds before night falls.
* Roughly ten minutes later, as the charm of Protection begins to fade, the corpse begins to stir. It strains against the chains and with a surprising strength from the withered body snaps the links surrounding it. One of these links flies through the air, striking Ptoughneigh's chromatic orb as it forms causing it to detonate. The burst of thunder damage disorients the Ugthanki, who is unable to recover during the fight.
* As soon as the corpse begins writhing, Brie releases two flashes of arcane energy, blowing apart chunks of dessicated flesh. Meanwhile from the other side, Arfa begins shifting between planes, pulling one of his spears and filling it with the abberant energy. He sends it down at the corpse, piercing it's chest.
* Erdrick, who is attempting to hold the corpse down as the others unload on it, watches as the spear begins slowly extracting itself from the creature's flesh. The wounds left by the two companions begin filling with stronger, furry flesh as the transformation begins.
* The courtyard is filled with moonlight as the coins in its skin begin to smoke, and the dessicated corpse grows and shifts, limbs becoming longer and thicker, the chest growing many times over, nails sharpening into claws, and a thick layer of fur growing across the whole surface of it's skin. Its a Fucking Undead Werebear.
* The Guardsman immediately runs back towards the city as moonlight floods the courtyard in a way that should be impossible given it's positioning. As it does a wave of lethargy comes over the Oakensong, their muscles slow as if they had been travelling day and night instead of resting but moments before.
* The Werebear throws the net from it and forces Erdrick off it's chest as it rises. It takes two swipes at Erdrick, cutting deep with its claws. While it's focus is on the older ranger, Arfa and Brie leap down from the rooftops; The Half orc bearing another infused spear, the Aasimar lunging with her Sword of Beastslaying. The beast roars out in pain, swatting at Arfa before attempting to leap away to the rooves. Erdrick manages to recover from the blows just fast enough to stab his Silver Dagger into its leg as it leaps, pulling it to the ground before it could grab onto the edge of the roof.
* The Werebear lashes out at Erdrick, biting the arm holding the Dagger before Arfa and Brie are able to drive their weapons into it again. Erdrick attempts to join in on the assault, but finds himself unable to follow through with the strike. Assuming he is under the thrall of the beast, he leaves his Longsword, Bronzed dagger and Silver dagger (all magical or silvered) within reach of Arfa before clambering up the roof to hopefully block another attempt at the Beast climbing away.
* The beast bites down on Arfa's leg and does leap away, unfortunately in the other direction. It attempts to clamber away and is met by two more Eldritch blasts and a slice from the Bronzed dagger thrown by Arfa, the latter skittering across the rooftop to land on the nearby road. The Werebear flinches in pain and is stopped just long enough for the group to move in on it.
* Erdrick notices whatever charm was placed on him lifts as the Werebear leaps away, and leaps over the courtyard to follow. He grabs the beast by the scruff of the neck as Brie sends two more Eldricth blasts into its back, causing it to roar in pain, leaving its open mouth as a target for a handful of silver coins from the Ranger. As the Beast attempts to cough up the coins, Arfa takes the Magical Longsword, climbing up behind the Wearbear and driving the point down through it's core.
* The Werebear collapses with that final strike, its body reverting back to the form of the Corpse as it's life fades away. Brie lets out some celestial energy to heal the Rangers' bites before Erdrick rushes over to collect the thrown Bronze dagger, recieving his other discarded weapons from Arfa as he returns. The group looks down at the corpse, Ptoughneigh finally recovering from the miscast spell, seeing it no different from when they found it sans its new injuries. Not sure whether it would rise again they decide to burn it, as soon as the bites and potential lycantropy amongst the party is looked at. The body is loaded onto Ptoughneigh for easy travel and they head back towards the gate to share their success with the guards.

END OF SESSION

#### Session 29 - Slaying for a Cure

*22/8/70-23/8/70, 31-32 Days since Breach*

* After confirming the Guards will report the findings to the investigation team, The Oakensong head for the Temple District in Gildsettle in the hopes to properly dispose of the Werebear's Corpse and hopefully treat the curse.
* They find a Temple to Zehir with their doors still open and candles lit inside. Upon entering the church they are apporached by one of the Clerics
	+ "We need your help with a curse"
	+ "of course, what is this foul beast?"
	+ "Thats just Ptoughneigh, the corpse on his back was an undead Werebear so that needs to be properly disposed of"
* They also shared that Arfa and Erdrick had been bitten during the fight, the latter showing clear signs of a shared curse. The group is offered to stay in their Infirmary until morning while the clerics prepare a funeral pyre for the corpse
* The group make sure to watch the pyre burn down before heading to bed in the infirmary with Brie playing her Lyre for some time, perhaps a touch too jollily, until turning in herself.
* During the night Brie is taken by another vision. This time of sharp, bloody, fangs within a humanoid smile flashing in the dark, paired with an overwhelming sense of Responsibility.
* The next morning, they are met by the same Cleric who invited them in, asking if there is any cure for the curse. The cleric says their god will help them if the group performs a service for them. A Den of Vampires has set up not too far from the city.
* Brie immediately declares that they will do it. Erdrick, familiar with how some Aasimar and their patrons interact, agrees and starts packing his things without any further questions. The group is provided with four temporary anti-vampirism potions
* Ptoughneigh heads to the Library for some research as the others prepare to travel. He confirms the theories on staking Vampires in their Coffins to incapacitate them and leave them mortal. With this information, and Arfa's new Magical Darts to break restances if the fight drew out, the group heads West out of the city towards the Lair's location,
* As they travel Arfa carves at some collected wood to make two stakes each. A thick mist begins to crawl over the area and the plants mutate and twist in form as they get closer. swarms of rats run around their horse's feet. Ptoughneigh scoops one of them up and begins the process to speak with it
* When the spell is complete the rat says they're doing fantastic in the new environment due to the carrion strewn about each night. However, their bravest rats have been lost exploring the Cursed Cave. It also confirms they are not far from reaching the entrance.
* They see an orange glow in the mist as they approach the riverbank, a cliff between them and the lower area where the water meets. Before a cave sits four humans around a fire. There is no way for them to see into the cave without spending resources so Erdrick hid away his weapons and hopped down, sitting on a log next to one of the people and begins to play the role of a clueless new member of the vampire's Thralls. he manages to notice none of these members seem to be lesser vampires, only thralls, and notes they reference more than one vampire within the cave. They seem annoyed that he approached them during the day so he heads off under the guise to find food for "The Masters"
	+ "You do Pathetic well" - Arfa to Erdrick
* Given that neither Brie nor Arfa are visibly armed until the choose to be, they are chosen as the ones they will bring in under the ruse while Miriam waits to cover their backs if things go sour. Ptoughneigh offers to go invisible and scout the insides of the cave, an offer that is easily taken after a reasonable amount of time for "Erdrick" to find the others.
* Inside was three chambers, the first housing a coffin and two servants, the second filled with bats with a coffin propped against the wall, and finally a rear chamber beind a stone wall and wooden door which contained an altar with candles surrounding a coffin.
* After Ptoughneigh's return, he is sent back in to sneak into the rear chamber, ready to take out the vampire assumed to be in the altar coffin as soon as there's a ruckus and the rest of the group approaches the fire once again.
	+ "We told you to come back after dark"
	+ "yeah but they are performers, i thought the master would enjoy it before he woke"
	+ "You're not actually a new thrall are you?"
	+ "...No. Regardless, i'm walking in there and youre gonna let me."
	+ "Why Would we do that?"
	+ "Miriam, Arfa. Do your thing."
* as the thralls begin getting up from their places, Miriam leaps from the cliff, Large rock held with both hands, and slams her weapon down against the back of one of the thrall's heads, swinging it back up into their face moments later. Arfa pulls a spear, letting planar energy take it before sending it into the chest of another thrall. Finally, Brie sends two bolts of arcane energy into the one Arfa had targeted, and to their surprise the thrall was still standing.
* Erdrick runs past the thralls and into the cave, shouting that adventurers are outside and they need help. the two thralls in the first chamber tell Erdrick to warn the others deeper into the caves as they rush out to help their allies. This leaves Erdrick free to drive a stake into the sleeping vampire before they are able to rise.
* Deeper into the cave, Ptoughneigh greases up the lesser vampire in the altar coffin and begins stamping his feet against the air, slowly building up energy before charging out of the room and back in, leaving an explosive trail behind him, clearing many of the bats of the second chamber and disorienting the two attendant thralls long enough for the Ugthanki to launch a chromatic orb of Fire into the coffin, setting the grease and all three enemies alight.
* Outside, the fight continues to rage, Miriam swinging wildly and biting down on one thrall's throat. Arfa puts himself into the fray and begins fighting with his spears. Brie Finesses one of the thralls by summoning her weapon inside them. The thralls are far more hardy than initially expected and the fight begins to draw out. Miriam is knocked to the ground, Arfa is forced to shift planes to escape the onslaught and fight to his full ability. Erdrick returns from the cave, knocking two of the ones kicking at Miriam as Arfa and Brie clean up the ones standing around the outside.
* Erdrick clears the entrance of the cave from thralls and tells Brie to "Go please your god", motioning her inside to the paralysed vampire. She gives him a wary look as she passes him, but head in nonetheless.
* Arfa and Miriam are able to clear out the final two thralls with relative ease now they are no longer at the numbers disadvantage. Erdrick says to leave the vampire in the first chamber to Brie, but Ptoughneigh likely needs their help in the back so they run into the cave.
* Miriam and Arfa burst through the wooden door to find Ptoughneigh hovering over a burning thrall corpse as the mistform of the lesser vampire he was fighting reforms in the still burning coffin, reducing it to ash instantly. The remaining thrall tries to play dumb, poorly pretending to shake off mind control and is sandaled in the face for his efforts.
* Brie drives her Beastslayer's Blade into the vitals of the paralysed vampire, ending the threat for good. The group meet up in the first chamber, confirming there is no more threats they take a moment to finally stop after the extended combat, ready to check the cave for anything important (not left burning by Ptougneigh) and head back for their cure.
* NOTE: This combat went for at least 5 hours and involved 7 crits (positive and negative)

END OF SESSION

#### Session 30 - Tales of Verrachia

*23/8/70-1/9/70, 32-40 Days since Breach*

* While clearing out the Vampire Lair, Erdrick levers the pinned door to the final coffin open and it met with a Third vampire, who he pins with his spare Stake, letting the rest of the team unload on it until it stops hissing.
* Brie makes a point to take the vampire's teeth for a project later, alongside the female vampire (that she killed)'s elegant dress. Arfa takes the cloak from the freshly killed third vampire, noticing it's collar us unable to be uncocked. Finally they rifle through the pockets of the thralls gaining a decent amount of coin before taking the vampire heads as trophies and head back to Samogitia
* It was not long past 11pm when the party returns to the Chapel District in Samogitia. they enter Zehir's temple and are greeted by the same Cleric from the previous night. The cleric opens up the box beneath the altar and prompts them to place the trophies within. The two heads, one skull, and cloak are placed within (amongst some other assorted loot) and with a little bit of effort the door is closed. the difficulty to keep the door closed is immediately eleveated. The cleric opens the door once again and the items are gone. Zehir had accepted their blessing, and thus they were brought into the rear chambers to contintue the ritual.
* In the back rooms were two copper tubs, filled with hot water and infused with various ceremonial herbs. The Cleric tells the rangers that the curse would be removed alongside the filth from their bodies. After 10 minutes, they emerge clean as can be, Arfa's beard neatly trimmed in that time.
* Finally they are brought out to the Altar once more, where three tablets are laid out in front of them, each depicting one of the Tenets of Zehir
	+ Keep your acts obfuscated and secret. The night is your greatest ally. (Stealth)
	+ Strike quickly and without reason. Blind the target with their own confusion. (Fury)
	+ Kill slowly. Agonizingly. Or worse, enjoy it. (Sadism)
* They are prompted to take one and follow it for a number of days and, if Zehir is pleased, the curse will be lifted with permenancy. They both choose the Tenet of Stealth. Thanking the clerics, they head back to the Dead Leaves Tavern, having a Toast to another job well done before bunking down for the night.
* Over the next 8 days each member of the Oakensong go off on their own, agreeing to meet up again at the start of the next month.

*Arfa's Tale*

* The words of Zehir's Tenets rung clear in Arfa's head as his Mentor as a Horizon Walker, Balfor, often spoke those words during their training period. Accepting that he must finally seek out the Dwarf after this time, Arfa disappears in the early morning without a word or disturbing anyone with his passing. He roams south over the Zalos River, seeking a location that Balfor would often stay between the planes and spend his time fishing.
* The first day was spent locating the bend in the river Balfor favored. As he searched Arfa ruminated on his time with the Mentor, a tense period filled with constant jabs at his failures while learning and hate spoken against the Half-Orc's birth. These memories repeatedly remind Arfa of why he had avoided this meeting for so long, but the circumstances surrounding the Barrier and Zehir's (and in turn, Balfor's) words repeating in his head tell him that the time is *Now.*
* On the second day, Arfa finds the Dwarven Mentor sitting by the river on the Ethereal plane, fishing for fish floating in the air. Arfa slowly creeps up on the Dwarf, pulling one of his magical darts and waited for Balfor to pull in a fish. The moment the fish met the Dwarf's hand, Arfa shouted out to surprise him and prepared to ace the fish when it was dropped. Instead, Balfor spins on his heels, slinging the fish over his shoulder with intent to wallop the interloper with it. Before either attack is followed through there is a flash of recognition in the Dwarf's eyes. Despite this proof of skill, Balfor gives Arfa little to no respect outside of an intitial respectful grunt upon initial recogition. Arfa explains he is there less to catch up, and more to address the Planar Invasion. Balfor nods and says he will organise a meeting with the rest of the Conclave to discuss the matter, inviting Arfa to his tent.
* The Third Day, Arfa is brought into the meeting of the Conclave Elders, each projecting themselves between planes as opposed to arriving in person. Arfa tells the tale of the past Month, of the breach and their hunting of the Nightmare and Spike Devil. He acknowledges the Conclave's distate for the barrier, as it blocks the planes even beyond its required purpose but appeals to the Conclave with the threat of what would happen if the forces of Balseign were released in full. The vast majority, including Balfor, agree to leave their posts too help the Continent with the impending Threat
* On the Fourth Day, The meeting continues, the various Elders discussing how they will approach the problem, and Arfa speaks up once more, offering that they also speak with their Disciples, sending them as qualified support to the simple masses they have at the towers. The Conclave agrees to speak with their disciples and the meeting begins to close. As one last comment before the Elders return to their respective haunts, Arfa asks them for the location of one fo the Conclave's Sacred Ebony Trees and is obliged. Balor and Arfa dismiss eachother and the Half-Orc heads back north to find the Sacred Ebony Tree.
* Arfa Travels for the next two days. Eventually he finds the location of the Sacred Ebony Tree, taking the appropriate time to pay his respects and carve off some wood for use in future. Finally, he heads back to Samogitia, Arriving a day later than their initial plan, though without issues for it.

*Brie's Tale*

* Brie heads out in the morning of the First Day, searching for a Butcher in Andefera. Eventually she find's Joe's Butchery and asks if she could get the teeth from the morning's haul. Joe tells her he doesnt keep the teeth, as there is no reason for him to keep them, but she is free to rifle through the slop bucket out back. She takes up this offer, managing to fill a pouch with about 250 teeth from varous animals, mostly Bovine. She cleans up most of the mess that was made, thanks Joe and confirms she can do it again if need be ("I'll keep you to that") and heads back to the tavern to clean up and begin practicing working the bone with her jeweler's tools so she doesnt waste the Vampire Teeth. That night she takes some time to search out if there is a Thieves Guild within the city (There is)
* She spends the next day continuing to practice with the teeth, with her night being a little more eventful. During the night she haunts the city, noticing the telltale marks and speech patterns of the Rogues. she manages to track down a couple members of the Thieves guild and offers her skills to them. They give her a mission to recover the stash of a recently hanged member of their guild who's house was given away by the city after their death. they have the location of the building as well as a diagram of where to find the stash within the basement. She accepts the job, but makes it clear she is less for thieving herself and more comfortable acting as a distraction and information gatherer.
* The third day she continues to practice with her Jeweler's tools, feeling quite confident at this point. During the night she scouts out the targeted house. she notices the bedroom is upstairs and on the roadside, leaving the backdoor attached to a couryard the best option. There appeared to only be the two living in the house. She heads back to the tavern and plays her lyre for the rest of the night.
* The fourth morning, she heads back to the Target House. She mills around the roads nearby, waiting for the two members of the house to leave for their day's errands. She watches the windows incase she missed anyone the previous night. Using her Helmet of Telepathy to confirm her safety, Brie heads into the courtyard out back and picks the lock on the back door. It takes a little longer than she may have liked, but she was inside. a short investigation of the house she finds the stairs to the basement, finding the wall hiding the stash hidden by the new owner's possessions. She carefully pulls the crates aside and pressses against the trick brick, unlatching it and revealing the stash, containing a small wealth of coins, a Memoir and a bag of gemstones (Being the main thing the Guild was after). She carefully puts the trick brick back in position and slides the crate back into place. Using her helmet to confirm her safety, she extracts herself from the house, taking the stash back to the Dead Leaves to properly catalog before meeting the Guild Members and getting admittance into the Guild Proper, keeping the coins as payment for a job well done. She spends the rest of the night making a name for herself via her songs at the Guild Proper.
* The fifth day she takes the time to translate the Senovan Cookbook during the day and returns to the Thieves guild at night, being brought in on a job as a distraction the next night. She plays her lyre for the guild the remainder of that night.
* She took one more day of practice with her bovine teeth, as well as braiding the Mantrap Vine for her project. That night she hit the Ball & Biscuit Tavern for the Guild Job. She sees her target, clearly noble but too young to have carved out his own name. Brie sits down at his table and offers to buy him a glass of Bordeleaux Wine, playing up her native accent in the process. The two of them get talking about the various details on the Premium Alchohol. Brie is able to keep his attention with more specific details on the region the wine originated while the noble spoke on the specific flavour notes on the glass he is drinking. Around halfway through the time limit the Guild gave her, the Noble finishes his glass and attempts to excuse himself and head to his room. She manages to convince him to stay, however, with the promise of a massage that she enhances with her Healing Hands. This is enough to keep him in place long enough for the Thieves to walk back down the stairs and drop the Noble's room key back in his pocket. The noble bids Brie a pleasant farewell and she heads back with the Thieves to the Guildhall to collect her reward.
* On the Seventh day she finally begins to create a Vampire tooth Necklace with intent to leave it at Zehir's Altar in exchange for a boon. She makes decent progress on the first day but still needed more time. That night, she recieves a vision. She watches as she offers the completed necklace to the physical form of the Snake God. As she raises it in her palm a swarm of locusts sweep in and cover her, and when they finally leave she is left as a skeleton, the Snake God disappearing in the darkness.
* The morning of the eighth day, as two of their members had not arrived on the seventh as planned, she finishes her necklace, wearing it herself instead of offering it to the temple thanks to the omens from her visions.

*Erdrick's Tale*

* Erdrick heads downstairs on the first morning, asking the Barkeep for the date. Realising how long it has been since the initial breach, and in turn loss of communication with the forces within the barrier, he decides to return to the Sending Station within the Oakenhall to refresh their intel. While there he updates them on the Oakensong's efforts in recruiting and the hunting down of the errant Devils. He once again requests information on the forces within the Barrier, specifically if any contact has been made with Captain Elamaris (his former Captain). They had not regained contact, but they did confirm that it was a problem with the Communication Teams rather than directly with the Ranger Divisions. The Communication teams, who recieve information from the divisions and bring it back across to our side, were attacked at the same time as the main force, and they had trouble realigning the various connections. Erdrick tells them to send a courier to The Dead Leaves Tavern if there is any new information. That night he disappears into the wilderness, attempting to keep to Zehir's Tenats, spending his time pushing his stealth skills to find his absolute limit.
* The next day he spends resting and finishing the Vampire Society book he found in the lair. That night he once again heads out to the wilderness without a sound. towards midnight he manages to sneak all the way up to a Deer and their two foals, able to get close enough to reach out and pet the back of the adult's head. Feeling confident that level of "Embracing the Night" would be enough to satisfy the god, he spends the night camping out, returning to the tavern the following morning
* Erdrick spends the third day to reset his sleep schedule to functon during daytime.
* From the fourth day onwards he sheds his armour, leathers and weapons and roams the city with the Star of Dundrasil on display, hoping to find some of his people roaming around the city. He is unable to find any during his wandering but does keep up the Drasillian Stereotype for being the ones to help without question. Initially just helping people haul their goods around, at one point breaking up a fight between two brothers about a missing stash and potentially getting some recruits for the Oakenguard in the process, and finally helping out a Performing Troupe by helping them find a cure for their member who drank Grummish Moonshine. During the performance the troupe put out that night, he notices someone else wearing the Star within the crowd. he approaches them, but is disappointed to find he simply bought the pendant from a jeweler as opposed to it being an original. He gets the name of the jeweler for curiosity and apologised for disturbign the man.
* The last day is spent mostly in the tavern, waiting for the others to return or any messages from the Oakenhall

*Ptoughneigh's Tale*

* Ptoughneigh decided to try and pick up some jobs escorting travellers between the nearby settlements. He manages to make a trip to Zalos, carrying his employers at full speed, reaching more than a day early and earning a quite significant tip.
* From Zalos, he was offered a job to escort a group of 6 to Kirsti. due to this being too many for him to carry, he instead runs ahead and clears the path from obstructions and any potential ambushes so they can travel at a consistent speed. they manage to arrive earlier than originally planned, earning another great tip. On the final night of this trip, Ptoughneigh shows off by dashing to the city in question and returning with a local delicacy.
* Within Kirsti he was offered two jobs, a low paying job to return to Samogitia or a High Paying job from an Oakenguard Ranger to ferry him to the Tower. Ptoughneigh takes the Second job, taking the time to ask the Ranger and check around Bakstas about the new state of things while he is there. The Bakstas tower has had a significant influx of members since they left, the town and encampment well on its way to becoming a proper settlement again, though the Ranger does ruminate that despite their new influx of recruits there are still only a few senior members able to train them and thus progress is still quite slow.
* Ptoughneigh finally heads back to Samogitia, arriving a day late but with no consecuence.

*Reunited*

* Around midday 1/9/2070 the group is reuinited, sharing a drink and what they were willing to share of their various days solo. As they are sharing a courier runs into the Tavern, handing Erdrick a letter bearing the Oakenguard Sigil.

*Contact has been re-established with the teams within the barrier. Multiple teams have been ambushed and require assistance to escape. We can provide more details if you contact us*

* Upon reading the first line, Erdrick drops the letter on the table and immediately leaves for the Sending Station once more.

END OF SESSION

### Arc 4 Into The Breach

#### Session 31 - Return to Where it All Started

*1/9/70-4/9/70, 40-44 Days since Breach*

* Upon reading the rest of the letter, the rest of the Oakensong follow Erdrick back to the Oakenhall, heading into the Communications center to get more information.
	+ Contact had been re-established with the Brangrove Strike Force, the 100-odd members had been attacked at the same time as the barrier was breached, the different teams meeting up after the communication with the outside was cut. They were ambushed again and forced to retreat, entering a stalemate within a fissure. The Devils couldnt get a line of sight to assault the teams below, but at the same time the teams had no way to escape with the Devils surrounding them. The Oakenguard requests help to get the teams out of the stalemate.
* Erdrick declares he's heading over to help, asking the other members of The Oakensong if they're coming too. Of course they are, having come this far as a group as well as having decent experience fighting Fiends at this point.
* Arfa heads to Ingrid's Forge to pick up his newly finished Infernal Handaxes (and darts), asking the Smith for tips working with Ebonywood, hoping to make a shield with it while he was there.
* The group restocks, communicates their plans with the oakenguard (asking for some assistance from troops and maps of the area as they arrive) and head for Baktas Tower, noting the far shorter and more familiar path rather than leaving from one of the Brangrove's Towers.
* As they travel, Erdrick asks Arfa if he can borrow one of his axes during the night, hoping to expose himself to the presence of fiends before heading into the barrier.
* When they reach the tower, they see a far more populated settlement, mostly rookies and civilians hoping to build the place up to something more livable and workable. TowerCaptain Antony Deltoy provided them with a rough map of where they are going, as well as a selection of teams to help them out.
	+ These teams consist of: 10 complete rookies, 5 of the soldiers they had sent from Kirsti, or 3 experienced rangers who had just come back from leave. The Oakensong take the 3 Experienced ones
* Noting they were relatively rested, The Party chose to enter the barrier that day instead of waiting. They loaded up their horses and Ptoughneigh on rations, both for them and for those they hope to rescue. While the support teams prepare everything, Erdrick sits down the rest of the party and gives them an overview of what to expect on the other side
	+ PUT DESCRIPTIONS HERE
* When everything was prepared, they step through the barrier, their senses being filled with colour as they pass into the barrier, them dropping out at the very end as parts of them are still considered outside for a moment. When the party regain their sight and hearing they are met with Erdrick, who had stepped through first, swearing as the ruins on the other side were filled with Fiends.
* Big fight ensues, Arfa begins styling with his enhanced throws ( Spinning up and discus throwing now), Brie absolutely smokes the smaller ones with eldrich blasts and sneak bowshots before they can react, Ptoughneigh and Erdrick try to style on the Big Boss Boi, but Erdrick whiffs it and, while victorious, the whole group are ragged by the end.
* After confirming they got them all, The big boss being finished off by Brie's Radiant Consumption, the Oakensong limp back through the barrier to safety, telling the troops on the other side to secure the ruins so they arent ambushed again when they try again come morning.

END OF SESSION

#### Session 32 - The Journey Within

*4/9/70-7/9/70, 44-47 Days since Breach*

* Taking the remainder of that day to recover from the battle, each member busies themselves in their own ways.
* Erdrick manages to find who was recieving sending from the trapped teams tomorrow, requesting that they can send a message out before they leave tomorrow.
* Arfa continues work on his Ebony Shield, though is finding the material far harder to work with than he thought
* Brie takes her possibly last chance in over a month to play her Lyre, and is approached by Erdrick who was curious if the Barrier had any affect on her connections to her Celestial Ancestor. She is a little offended by the idea that something designed to trap devils would have any affect on her Ancestor.
* Ptoughneigh focuses on resting up, as he was the most wounded of the party, as well as somewhat magically exhausted.
* The next morning, Erdrick heads through with the Sender and lets the trapped teams know that rescue is on the way, and to hold out for the minimum 10 days until they get there.
* The team (including the three Rangers from before) gets all their gear and extra rations together and heads back into the breach for their second attempt. The team left within the ruins allows them to immediately make more progress than the previous day.
* As they travel deeper, the ash piles higher and higher. Soon the walls of ash pile higher than their heads as they travel making visibility around them difficult, though the benefits to their stealth were just as great.
* Ptoughneigh takes to the sky to give them an idea of whats nearby. To their north lies a field of farmland, to the west a cleared road leading to a settlement to the north, and finally to the south they see the ongoing battle of a Haunted battlefield.
* As Ptoughneigh flies, he spots and is spotted by a roving group of Goblins on the Road. He diverts them north then uses temporary invisibilty to return to the party.
* The group take a more roundabout route to the south, skirting around the road to avoid any other roaming groups.
* As they reach their the end of their first day of travel through the Ash they come across an abandoned camp and choose to clean it up and use it for the night.
* Arfa continues to slowly carve away at his Ebonywood as Ptoughneigh and Erdrick search beneath the ash surrounding the camp for anything useful. Ptoughneigh manages to find a smooth purple stone that he pockets, whereas Erdrick comes across a discarded knapsack containing some older rations and a pouch of Knucklebones that he leaves behind.
* The "night" is relatively quiet, other than a few sounds that carry from the Battlefield to the south.
* The next day, the party heads back northwest, hoping to link up their path with a nearby forest of partially petrified trees, their canopies dense enough to trap a layer of ash, leaving the area below relatively clear.
* as they travel, Brie begins to hear noises ahead of them. not knowing what theyre going up against, she chooses to creep forward within range of her Helmet of Telepathy instead of trying to get line of sight
* she gets a significant number of minds within her range, most giving overwhelming feelings of resentment and despair, the other group giving senses of superiority and impatience. now she was this close she also hears voices in a language she doesnt understand.
* Returning to the group she shares what she found, and Erdrick follows her path through the ash to try and get some more information as the others discuss whether to avoid or engage.
* Erdrick recognises the language as Undercommon, though is unable to understand the words themselves. Using this extra tidbit they are able to pretty confidently identify the group as Drow Slavedrivers.
* Much to Arfa's distate, the group choses to simply skirt around the group as opposed to engaging as even if they took out the slavedrivers (which would likely wear them down more than they could deal with at this time) the slaves would most likely still cause them trouble.
* That night, with the forest within view in the distance, they find the ruins of an abandoned fort. Spare blankets brought by the rangers are stitched together to create a shade above where they plan to sleep to block out ash and the light from the Barrier.
* That night, Erdrick takes the chance to check up on how each of the members of the party are dealing with the journey and the environment within the Barrier as he brings around each of their share of rations cooked up with his supply of herbs and spices.
	+ Arfa is approached first, still working on his shield. As expected, he is still troubled by leaving the slaves to their fate. He is given a promise to deal with them on the way back if they come across them, but the rescue is more important at this moment. Arfa asks Erdrick how he's holding up given his reactions to Devils and such in the past. Erdrick realises he hasnt had significant trouble yet, though nothing theyve faced directly has been anything they couldn't find on the outside
	+ Brie is next, playing around with the strings of her Lyre, making sure they arent left tensioned during this period of unuse (apparently a myth that you need to do this). She didnt seem too troubled by what they had faced so far, and is left with her food and the promise that there could be places where she could play the instrument on the journey, even if its not here.
	+ Ptoughneigh is met on the outside of the camp, once again searching for interesting Stones. He refuses the food the food initially, as he still carries plenty in his stomachs from before, but says he'll eat it if hes left. Ptoughneigh seems to have no trouble with the heat of this environment, as his homeland reaches similar temperatures regularly. He is left to rest for the night.
	+ Miriam, much like Ptoughneigh, isnt having much trouble with the environment, as her Cold-Blooded body is actually able to perform better with the constant heat, no longer needing extended periods by the fire to rise in the mornings.
	+ The three rangers reveal just how inexperienced they are in regards to travelling deeper within Balseign, though the Party's competence both in the fight when they first breached and during the travel has instilled confidence in them.

* Once again they hear the sounds of the battlefield to the south as they sleep, but are not disturbed otherwise.
* The third day, they reach the edge of the Ashen Forest. Ptoughneigh and Brie produce lights for the party as within is almost completely dark.
* Arfa is given a light he could sheath within his Quiver to mute it thanks to Brie, and is sent off to scout on his own, to become familiar with the terrain within the forest, so if they needed to use its darkness as a way to escape, he could be the one to guide the group. He meets up with them at the spiderwebs mentioned in a moment.
* Ptoughneigh begins flying around both above and below the ash plug to get a good idea of what is nearby, spotting Steam Vents in the areas beyond the forest.
* The group, after some hours of travel within the darkness, come across an area dense with spiderwebs. The group decides to head south around them, hoping to find a clear path to the Ravine that holds their targets. The webbed area is thankfully not too much more expansive than they had seen initially, though in his scouting Ptoughneigh noticed three groups of enemies, close enough to be a worry. First, a camp of Goblins, second a den of Quaggoth, and finally a roving band of various creatures surrounding an Ogre Wrestling Match.
* Not wanting to risk stumbling dick first into any of these groups exhausted from travel, the party uses the blankets they stitched together at the fort to create a large hanging area for them to rest in, right up against the AshPlug. Ptoughneigh stays below with the horses, as there is not enough room and he is confident he could get out if need be.
* during the night Ptoughneigh is slithered on by a snake but its chill.

END OF SESSION

#### Session 33 - Chasm Stalking

*7/9/70-9/9/70, 47-49 Days since Breach*

* Ptoughneigh heads out to scout the Ogre Wrasslin Group while the rest of the party breaks down the hanging camp. The Ugthanki spots them slowly working their way down into the ravine. The group is confirmed to consist of the Wrasslin Ogres, A horde of goblins, some Drow Slavedrivers and a set of Human Slaves.
* The plan is made to head down to where the Wrasslin Group had descended and follow them from the top of the chasm, ultimately ambushing them when theyre in an advantageous position. Arfa is enthused at the idea of taking out the slavers, especially after they had to pass by the ones previous.
* They head southwest under the cover of Pass Without Trace, taking camp in the area cleared by the wrasslin group, bundling against the south side of the cleared area so they dont have their back against any of the groups they left behind.
* As they set up camp, each member goes through their usual procedures
	+ Ptoughneigh looks for unique stones, and comes across a strange greasy one. he realises it is the extrusion of an Ogre Blackhead, popped during Wrasslin and leaves it behind
	+ Arfa works on the Ebonywood, taking most of his time to work through a large knot right in the middle of the curve of the prospective shield
	+ Brie continues to care for her gear, most importantly her Lyre, to make sure it'll be ready to use as soon as they are out of the ash.
	+ Miriam helps the Oakenguard Rangers set up the camp, enjoying the heat.
	+ Erdrick looks over their map, planning for the next couple days.
* During the night as they rest, Ptoughneigh spots a large furry head poke through the north wall of Ash. He nudges Erdrick, who was next on watch, and the Older Ranger recognises it as a Quaggoth. The party were wanting to engage them tonight, knowing that there will be more of them as they are pack hunters. Erdrick carefully pulls out his sprig of Spruce, sliding it into the ash beside him and using it as components to cover the party with another cast of Pass Without Trace.
* He uses extra height gained by crouching on Ptoughneigh, spotting signs of six or seven total Quaggoth in the group, then slinks backwards into the ashwall, leaning in under the Big Blanket and carefully waking each member of the party and pulling them back out of the clearing. While they did this, Ptoughneigh watched as the Quaggoths (now two visible) sniffing at the Ogre Blackhead, clearly curious at the area more than having tracked the party.
* Erdrick asks Arfa if he can try to wake the horses without alerting the Quaggoths. Arfa takes the challenge, quietly casting Speak with Animals to calm them as they wake, and approaches the Horses.
* He wakes Kevin, Ya Bastard, and Horsebones without trouble, using their bodies to hide him from the Quaggoth but when he goes to wake Roquefort, the horse wakes with a start, attracting the group of Quaggoth.
* Kevin leads the other horses away as the Quaggoth rifles through Roquefort's Saddlebags, stealing the rations from within. With Roquefort still not being receptive to Arfa, he instead makes another plan. he slinks back and removes any easily accessable gear and runs back into the clearing, screaming in goblin.
* Arfa screams at the Quaggoth to stop stealing the Big Goblin's things, slapping the one holding a ration in the face and stealing it back. Unfortunately Quaggoth dont speak goblin. The quaggoth slaps Arfa back and goes to grab the ration back.
* Meanwhile, within the ash Erdrick had made preperations to give Arfa an escape route, Carving a whistling arrow to grab their attention and using his knowledge of Elven and what they had heard the other day to replicate the sound of Drow Slavers, who they had earlier seen slavedriving the Quaggoth.
* The Whistling arrow gets their attention, but the sound of Drowspeak sends the group into a rage. Arfa slaps Roquefort's ass and sends him running before Mistystepping away from the Quaggoth, who are left confused.
* The various parties begin moving towards eachother. Not wanting to leave the Big Blanket behind, Erdrick pulls it into the ashwall, unfortunately gaining the attention of the Quaggoth. They charge across the clearing and into the ash.
* Arfa is unfortunately spotted by one and is slashed at a couple of times before disengaging and hiding within the ash, leaving the Quaggoth to continue charging past and away from the rest of the group.

* Noticing that Roquefort bolted off in a different direction to everyone else, they make sure the way is clear of Quaggoth and take the time to hunt him down. Not wanting to be stumbled on again they continue travelling west for a time before completing their rest.
* When they awake, Erdrick heads along the edge of the Ravine, spotting the Wrasslin party still within, breaking down their camp at the same time the Oakensong are. He heads back and tells the rest of the party.
* knowing there was no easy way to get the horses to the far side of the Chasm without losing their quarry, they decide not to check the far side and instead Erdrick proposess that they travel fast today and get ahead of the ones in the canyon so they can attempt to ambush them the following morning. Erdrick and Arfa would lead the charge as they arent impeded by the ash as much as the rest of the party, and their trail would be easier terrain for the rest.
* They stay close to the ravine to avoid the majority of the Steam vents as they head NorthWest, crossing most of the field in a single day
* they almost sleep within a crater of a Steamvent, but realise and instead shelter against its outer edge. Ptoughneigh finds volcanic glass with liquid trapped within during that rest. The party uses up additional water rations to help recover from the run and rest.
* The next day, they once again travel quickly until they stumble upon some kind of Industrial Facility. Ptoughneigh turns invisible and approaches, seeing its a Kobold Settlement of some kind. Erdrick proposes that they simply skip around it as Kobold Traps can be as dangerous as a Fiend Ambush if youre not careful.
* They sneak around, finding a place to settle down for the night about an hour away from the kobolds, choosing not to light a fire to cook to guarantee they arent spotted.
	+ That night, Arfa finishes his Ebonywood Shield. Could still be polished up but it is ready to be used.
	+ Ptoughneigh looks for Stones again
	+ and Erdrick sits off to the side, agitatedly writing and rewriting something in one of his journals.

END OF SESSION

#### Session 34 - Ambush! Decisive Victory!

*10/9/70, 50 Days since Breach*

* The following morning the Group prepares for another day of fast travel, hoping to get ahead of the raiding party and attack them as they wake the next morning.
* Ptoughneigh volunteers to stay back gor a bit as the rest of the group travel to make sure there isnt another raiding party coming up behind to ambush them. During his scout he noticed the raiding party they were hunting were having trouble rising for the morning, giving them the oppurtunity to ambush them a day early - a oppurtunity theyd take, especially after seeing the encampment it was moving towards in the distance.
* Once regrouped close to the now rising Raiding Party the group prepares for the fight. Miriam is left to watch over the horses as they didnt have any ranged weapons effective at that range.
* Erdrick and Brie sneak up to the edge of the ravine, hoping the latter may be able to call some shots on their initial surprise attack. Unfortunately the ravine was deep enough that they couldnt get a good look, and even if they did the enemy would have a chance to react as the arrows flew through the air.
* Instead, the group prepared to loose volleys down upon the enemy while they were still gathered together.
* The raiding group consisted of a small horde of goblins, a few quaggoth, two ogres, three Drow, and four human slaves.
* the ambush went well. All but one ogre fell (fled instead), though a warning sax thanks to one of the ogres sounded down the ravine. Two slaves were also caught in the crossfire. Some highlights include
	+ The Drow Warmaden instantly going invisible, only to be revealed later by getting squashed by a boulder dropped by Ptoughneigh (aiming at another target) while climing the cliff.
	+ ogres throwing rocks and goblins. The latter didnt survive.
	+ drow warmaden thinking they had the upper hand in casting Cloudkill, only for Arfa to leap from the cliff and nail her on the way down (suspened by ropes)
	+ Formation of the HatredCopter (arfa dangling from a flying Ptoughneigh)
	+ greasing the cliff just as the last of them get within 10ft from the top, sending them falling to their death (also burning thanks to an infernal dart)
* After the fight, all used ammunition is collected and some of their wounds are patched up with Erdrick's healer's kit (including the surviving slaves)
* The slaves note the death of the other two, but dismiss it as that was not the first ones they lost. They are flown to the top of the cliff by Ptoughneigh and take the offer to travel with the group as they continue the rescue.
* no time for rest, we have an encampment to take.

END OF SESSION

#### Session 35 - The Ranger's Camp

*10/9/70-12/9/70, 50-52 Days since Breach*

* After patching themselves up they continue their travel towards the encampment.
* They find a place to camp near the ravine's edge, a small cutout in the side of a Bluff.
* Within this small cutout they spot a body, humanoid.
* Brie sneaks up to it, careful to make sure whatever killed them wasnt still around. The now confirmed corpse was an oakenguard member. The only thing of note he was carrying was a Sending Stone. It was later found to be damaged, only able to recieve not send messages.
* That night, they each went on their usual business. After dinner, Erdrick approached Brie, asking her if she could help him punch up a morale speech he was working on. She had some small notes but overall it was considered fine. Ptoughneigh finds a snail fossil.
* That night towards the end of watch, Arfa spots the dragon flying northeast of the camp, too far away to worry about but confirming it exists.
* The following day, they check the chasm and see the ogre that ran away staggering towards the camp, clearly having run througout the night. It wouldnt reach The encampment before the end of the day but would regardless mean they wont be able to surprise them as planned.
* Instead they formed the plan to sneak past the encampment while theyre preparing for the expected ambush, supplying the trapped Rangers to help with breaking them out.
* they travel fast, wrapping north to avoid being spotted by the encampment, reaching the edge of the Ravine as the "day" ended. They spot the Ranger's Camp, cleared of ash with areas of no-mans-land between them and the enemy encampments at each exit. The northern encamment appears to have been reinforced, though the south one seemed as lacking as the Eastern one they intercepted.
* spotting an area to climb down to the ravine floor, the bottom filled with ash to cover their entrance.
* they find a crevasse, starting at the ravine's edge and widenijg as it reaches outwards. Luckily there is a section just wide enough for them to slide into and set up camp within.
* That night, Ptoughneigh finds a Big Ass Rock and puts it aside for later. Erdrick makes some Whistling Arrows, one of which much duller than the others.
* during Watch, Erdrick notices footsteps coming towards them, spotting a foot about to step into the crevasse. He quickly grabs Arfa's shield, using it to work as a stepping stone so whoever it is doesnt fall in and reveal them. Other than that the night was quiet.
* The following morning they Pass Without Trace before emerging the next morning just in case. They make sure theyre not being followed and prepare their packs with rations. The party splits into two groups, miriam and the Rangers will make sure their camp and exit path stay clear while Arfa, Brie, Erdrick and Ptoughneigh Load up on Rations and head down to drop them off.
* They climb down the cliff face, out of view from the encampments, and trudge through the ash towards the camp. As they reach the edge of the Ashwall Erdrick pulls out his bow, takes off his Star of Dundrasil and attaches it to the dulled arrow and fires it ahead of them into the clearing.
* After a moment they hear the sound of an owl hooting. Interpreting it as an "all clear" they emerge and are invited within the camp.
* its filled with 40 odd Rangers, all of which seemed a little too chipper for their situation. They ask if the party was the ones to rescue them and seemingly get pumped when they confirm it.
* they are met by squadleaders who point them towards the War Tent in the center of camp. When asked if this is everyone they say yes \*wink\*
* The party drop their Supplies outside of the war tent and prepare to enter
* Erdrick takes a moment to calm himself before leading the others inside. Within is a simple war room setup dominated by a central table bearing a map similar to those the Oakensong Carry. On the far side of the table stands Oakengeneral Elamaris.
* Erdrick adresses the Wood Elf with an epithet spoken with familar fondness. Elamaris begins to adress them with clearly planned speech but cuts himself off upon looking up at the group.
* Both sides take a moment, both mentioning that they considered the other was likely dead.
* Shelving the reunion for after, the Oakensong step up to the table, comparing their maps with their own.
* Elamaris reveals that the call for help was part of their plans here. They were trapped but the situation was part of their plan. This group is the northen half of a Pincer Operation on the Dark Tower to the south. They were trapped in the Ravine and hoped that the rescue operation would work as a distraction for them to follow through with their plan.
* The Group started throwing around ideas to break the siege without direct conflict with the whole enemy force. Brie brings forward the idea of sewing chaos within their camps; initially with the idea of Suggestion with her helmet, Then expanded with possible spells available to the members of the camp (rangers by profession not class)
* Happy with the beginnings of a plan, word is sent out to the squadleaders to gather the campmembers for an announcement. Erdrick is left with Elamaris to reconcile as the others head outside to get familiar with the camp and help distribute the rations. They hear the sound of Erdrick Vaulting the table to tackle Elamaris into a hug as they leave.
* Once everyone had gathered The two within the camp step out. Ptoughneigh had prepared the Keg of Grummish Moonshine for a celebration. Seeing the crowd waiting expectingly, Erdrick follows through with the speech He and Brie worked on. Surprisingly its recieved quite well. Elamaris follows up with an announcement in Elvish that their mission is going through and had changed its name from something like "Victory for the Prince" to "Victory with the Prince"
* This follow up announcement is not met with a cheer but instead silent dread as a shadow spreads across the camp. As everyone looks skyward they see the silhouette of a massive Dragon diving down towards the ravine, Rider visible behind it's crest...

END OF SESSION

#### Session 36 - Escape!

*12/9/70-18/9/70, 52-60 Days since Breach*

* Going by the speed Viuus flew (See Session 24 - Man in the Mountain) the party estimates they have four hours until the dragon arrives from the East.
* A few plans are tossed around once word of what supplies and spells they have available. In the end they decide to go with the following
	+ one of the teams hiding in the ash will carry word of the rest of this plan to Miriam's group, that consolidated group will then leave for Bakstas immediately, as stealthily as possible.
	+ The remaining squads will return to camp, Eat and collect any essential equipment, leaving the remainder behind.
	+ Pass Without Trace will be cast on the whole camp and they will head for the SouthEast cliff
	+ Ptoughneigh will take Mold Earth Georg and four suitable lengths of rope to the top of the cliff which will be secured and sent down to expediate the climb for the remaining Rangers.
	+ When up top they will Recast Pass Without Trace and divide into small groups to evade pursuit. they will then meet up at a pre-planned place.

* The plan goes smoothly. the nearby encampments are only just beginning to move as they get to the top of the cliff. Unfortunately the dragon is close enough to be a threat.
* Now its close they can see its a sleek, thin purple skinned dragon with large milky white eyes covered in vicious looking barding. On its back rides a large Horned creature.
* Erdrick falls into a sudden panic attack as they prepare to move out. Thankfully Arfa slaps his ass hard enough to snap out of it.
* The groups move out, but the dragon makes pursuit. They divide and fan out. The dragon swoops three times, one of which was close enough to the party to hear the fight, and inevitable end, of that group.
* After the third swoop the teams all stop, making themselves as unoticeable as possible. no more swoops occur and instead the dragon flies to the peak of the mountain to the south and perches, watching the plain of ash beneath.
* The groups choose to lie down and rest until theres signs of either the dragon or the Raiding parties nearby. The rendevoux point is moved to a place close to the ravine.
* The next few days are spent slowly moving towards the meeting point, being careful to only move when the dragon leaves its perch to search the camp and confer with the raiding parties.
* after they had passed the latitude of the dragon's perch, they meet up. The parties stay seperate but within reach of eachother. The new plan is formed to climb down into the ravine, using the depth as cover as they head further south, ulitmately crossing and climing the far side in a single day to leave themselves the least exposed.
* the night before the climb we had some camp events
	+ Ptoughneigh found another fossil
	+ word is sent to the other half of the pincer formation, and they will meet up in time to attack when this group arrives,
	+ Arfa is thanked for helping Erdrick
	+ Erdrick shares the details of their role as The Oakensong with Elamaris. He confirms that they did not know about the breach, nor how lax the other parts of the Oakenguard had been.
	+ During the conversation Erdrick asks Elamaris if he'd go and speak on their behalf to his Parents, The Lord and Lady of Eldergate so they could keep travelling onto the next nation *when* they get out of Balseign. he agrees.
	+ Ptoughneigh asks if this is always how it is working for the Oakenguard. he is told they do this for up to four years at a time. he remarks thats four times longer than hes been alive,
* The newly consolidated party successfully climb the far wall without detection and make the remaining 3 days to their waiting place by the tower.

END OF SESSION

#### Session 37 - Tower Assault Part 1

*18/9/1270, 60 Days since Breach*

* The morning of the battle arrives. Confirmation from the Southern Force comes through the Sending Stones that they are ready to move whenever the Northern (Party's) group are in position.
* Ptoughneigh and Erdrick ride wide, scouting what they can of the inner fortress through windows and confirming the makeup of the force ready to repel the Southern Rangers. They meet up with said group, confirming plans and the number of troops ready for the assault.
* While they do that, Arfa heads out and makes a deal with some Carrion Birds to give them cooked meat in exchange for the bird to fly around the fortress, Arfa's Beast Sense giving him a full and clear view behind the walls. This information is shared with the Southern force via Ptoughneigh and Erdrick.
* The plan is set.
	+ The Southern force will move in, pulling the majority of the force away from the Northern Walls, ideally out into the field of battle.
	+ Arfa, under the shroud of Ptoughneigh's Invisibilty will lie in wait by one of the catapults, ready to disable it at the beginning of the battle
	+ The Northern Group, split into three teams, will move to the edge of the ash under cover of Pass Without Trace. When Arfa disables the Catapult, pulling the enemies attention, they will cross the distance and form up against the bottom of the castle wall, climbing it to occupy the forces and hopefully stop those in the courtyard from climbing the walls.
	+ Brie and Ptoughneigh will then fly above and supply air support where needed, ready to drop down in an oppurtune position if one provides itself.
	+ Once the force is securely upon the walls, they will outnumber the enemy and the battle should be secured in their favour. They will then use the enemy's fortifications against them as they come from behind, hopefully disorienting the main force long enough for the Southern Rangers to win the conflict

* Everyone gets into their positions. The war Horn is sounded on the far side of the fortress as Arfa sneaks up to the Western Catapult. He waits for the Main Enemy force to move away before slashing at the ropes for setting and firing the catapult, forcing to fire early and wide. He then uses the surprise to leap back over the battlements before they could react, clambering along the wall to not be where theyd expect.
* Once the force turns to look for the sudden Half-Orc, the Ranger's charge, ducking below the fire of the goblin archers and avoinding most of the shots. Erdrick begins his climb up the Eastern Guardhouse as the others flatten themselves against the wall to be smaller targets on the following volley
* The drow in the courtyard begin moving towards the stairway, hoping to head off the rangers as the archers fire down the wall, fortunately not able to get a good angle.
* Meanwhile Arfa shifts between planes, phasing through the castle wall and into the courtyard. seeing the inner section is not enclosed, he then shifts across to hide within the chamber between the Western Guardhouse and Catapult Turret. He hears the drow begin climbing the stairs.
* Brie and Ptoughneigh launch from the ash, two Eldritch Blasts lancing out and smashing into the enemies on the wall.
* Erdrick finishes his clamber up the wall as the rest of the rangers begin theirs. he sends a goblin archer sailing off the battlements before drawing his weapons and engaging the Drow Guard waiting at the top.
* Arfa continues his mission *within their walls*, heading into the lower area of the Guardhouse and spotting the locking mechanism for the gate. He calls it out through the Sending Stone and is told to leave it alone until the Rangers finish climbing the walls as the Ogres are continuing to wait patiently behind them. Instead he decides to peek out the door, spotting the Tiefling Commander. He spins up one of his infernal axes and takes careful aim, slinging it so the blade slips between two ribs, followed by a Stinging Dart, unfortunately going into the doorway behind the Tiefling as it doubles over in pain from the axe. He then slips back into the connecting hallway.
* The Enemy attempts to Rout the allied force, roaring out in victory as they take positions on the wall ready to meet the enemy. The archers make another volley down on the Rangers, who are mostly unaffected, reversing the dynamic of the Rout as the goblins begin to panic as the Rangers get closer.
* Two drow engage Erdrick on the wall, managing to trip him momentarity, and while he isnt able to take either down the Old Ranger keeps his guard up, unfortunately exhausting him as he continues to fight waiting for the rest of the force (2x Crit Fail, -1 Intmod, -1 Conmod)
* Spotting an opening as they focus on Erdrick, Brie steadies her aim, bracing against Ptoughneigh as he flies her into position, and fires her Shortbow into a weakpoint of the Drow right up against the wall, giving Erdrick the oppurtunity to rise again.
* One of the Ogres waiting at the gate attempts to follow Arfa into the Guardhouse on the Tiefling's orders, but the Half-Orc is nowhere to be found. Arfa had already moved onto the ground floor of the Catapult Turret with intent to disable it once again as the crew managed to pull together repairs in the meantime. He summons an area of spike growth behind him to cover his retreat, The Ogre has a BAD TIME thanks to these spikes.
* On the far turret, the other catapult fires into the main Allied force. Realising they couldnt risk it firing again, Erdrick attempts to get an angle to throw a dagger into it's firing spring in an attempt to disable it but is struck on the back of the head by the drow, stunning him.
* Arfa climbs up to the trapdoor leading to the Western Catapult, launching the goblin standing upon it off it's feet and slamming his axe into the gears of the ratcheting mechanism, leaving a large crack in the main gear, barely holding itself together.
* Brie and Ptoughneigh soar down to support Erdrick as the rest of the Rangers finally clamber over the top of the walls, drawing weapons and preparing to engage the enemy. As they make their descent, the Tiefling commander spots them, drawing geometric glyphs in the air mesmerising Brie just as she drops from Ptoughneigh's back. Ptoughneigh is able to shake Brie to her senses before any enemies can take advantage of the situation but the group is left wary of the Tiefling.
* To Be Continued...

Final positionsEND OF SESSION

#### Session 38 - Tower Assault Part 2

*18/9/1270, 60 Days since Breach*

* Thanks to the Ranger's introduction to the battle Erdrick was able to slip out of his engagement with the Drow, climbing onto Ptoughneigh and channeling some healing magic to help keep himself upright.
* Annoyed at the Tiefling's attempt to charm her, Brie pulls out her bow and takes careful aim at the Tiefling standing below them, loosing an arrow and piercing their heart, dropping them instantly
* Ptoughneigh tells Erdrick to hold on before stamping his feet a few times, sparks generating on contact with the stone. He then charges through the enemy forces, leaving a trail of fire behind him as he goes past all the enemies along the East side of the north wall, Kicking off the Drow aiming the Catapult to make his turn south to the edge of the fight on the East Wall.
* Meanwhile, back on the West side of the North Wall, Arfa climbs onto the catapult, striking at it's working gear as he focuses on an area in the wall in front of him. The catapult tries to fire, sending its ammunition straight down into the tower instead of forwards, causing the Turret roof to collapse in on the Ogre attempting to follow him. Once the catapult collapses into itself he Misty Steps most of the way along the wall, coming closer to meeting up with the rest of his companions
* Brie begins moving along the wall towards the Eastern Catapult, launching Eldritch Blasts ahead of her at the Drow attempting to trigger it.
* Behind her, Arfa breaks out into a sprint, launching himself over the gate, throwing a Planar Axe into the drow as he flies through the air. The Drow drops to the ground, he pulls his axe from the body and continues his sprint towards the other Catapult.
* Erdrick jumps from Ptoughneigh as the Ugthanki begins to stamp his feet again. The Older Ranger makes a slash at the Firing Spring Rope of the Catapult, the rope barely holding its tension before the Ugthanki charges back the way he came, the flaming trail consuming the rope's last threads.
* The Quaggoth set to load the Eastern Catapult pulls out another rope from his supply box and begins to wind it onto the catapult, but before he is able to make significant progress Arfa grabs it from behind and hurls it over the castle wall into the courtyard below.
* Seeing the Quaggoth attempting to rise after it's fall, Brie once again pulls out her bow and takes Steady Aim at her target, sending an arrow into it's brain.
* With the Catapults out of comission and the enemy severely outnumbered by the Rangers now securely on the walls the battle was wrapped up in almost no time at all. Arfa takes the Tiefling Commander's head as a sign of victory.
* The rangers begin moving into their positions to assault the rear of the enemy's main force from within the Fortress. Arfa, Erdrick and a group of Rangers repair and prepare the Eastern Catapult, ready to fire upon the enemy. While his feet are still sparking, Ptoughneigh charges out into the enemy force, flipping between diving down to burn as many targets as possible and flying high to avoid return fire from the army.
* Once the Rangers were in position, Elamaris asks the group to make sure there are no more surprises within the tower once Ptoughneigh gets back. They agree and begin making their plans.
* Once Ptoughneigh returns, they agree on the plan to scale the tower, checking windows as they go, and using the roof access to surprise anyone inside. Brie climbs onto Ptoughneigh and they begin flying up, taking time to check windows on each floor of the 120ft building. Meanwhile the two party Rangers prepare to scale the surface.
* To save himself some time, Arfa decides to launch himself from the gatehouse to gain some starting height. He sprints, leaps, throws a Javelin into the mortar between bricks as a handhold, and does not make it anywhere near as far across the Courtyard as he planned. Instead he once again Misty Steps up to the first tier of the tower.
* Erdrick takes a much slower, more standard approach to his climb as holding the wall early in the battle had more than exhausted him.
* The order of arrival at the top of the tower is: Ptoughneigh and Brie flying up, followed moments later by the scrambling Arfa, and finally Erdrick (actually still a floor or so down as the next part begins)

##### The Final Battle

***Click link above for untainted formatting. Thanks for this April.***

The sound of boots on stone, as Brie drops hurriedly from Ptoughneigh’s back, is loud in the ashen hush of the parapet; it draws the attention of the creature lurking on the far side of the tower’s roof.

Waiting for the rest of her companions, Brie assesses the monster; it’s tall as an ogre and nearly half as broad, with long spiked horns that curve in wicked protrusions from its skull, and broad, leathery wings spread open beside it like the billowing of a monstrous cloak. It shifts those wings as the Aasimar watches on, revealing a menacing bident clutched within its main hand and thick chains that hang around its muscled body in lieu of clothes.

Refusing to be cowed, Brie begins chanting her Hexblade’s Curse as she strides across the tower towards it, drawing her runic sword of beast slaying from the ether to form into her outstretched palm.

Moments later, she hears the rush of air as Arfa vaults himself over the crenelations, and if the sight of the waiting monster surprises him, his training doesn’t betray it.

As though he’d planned it, Afra spares a moment to fling the severed head of the Tiefling commander to the ground in front of it; a savage smile twitching across his lips as the Fiend recognises the gory lump. Having barely paused, Arfa charges the Fiend, launching two magical darts into the enemy’s chest.

Erdick, waiting below, needs only see Ptoughneigh for a moment - ears pricked forward, furred arms ready by his sides, tail twitching impatiently behind him - to know that something is waiting for them.

“Something up there?” he asks, voice more gruff than usual, as the Ugthanki lands long enough for him to swing onto his back.

“A Devil, big scary one,” Ptoughneigh replies, sounding more impressed than afraid. “Has horns, big fork,” his hands move as he gestures widely, all the while hurtling effortlessly upwards with his usual alarming pace.

They crest the rooftop and Ptoughneigh feels Erdick go tense with recognition as he sees the fearsome glory of the Fiend. He’d know that beast anywhere: a Horned Devil, the First-Rate War Devil of the Nine Hells. Gods above, he thinks to himself, *Elamaris might’ve mentioned they have a bloody Cornugon.*

All four Oakensingers watch as the Cornugon beats its wings and launches upwards, swooping deep to charge at Brie and Arfa. It makes motions with its freehand as it flies, conjuring flame into its palm and hurling it towards the duo. Brie dives and tumbles underneath both the flame and the Fiend, springing to her feet in the blind spot behind its wings. Meanwhile, Arfa parries the flame with his Ebony Shield, deflecting the attack down towards his feet. The Cornugon raises its bident above its head, ready to bring it down on the Half Orc.

“Ignore the Bident! Avoid the Tail!” Erdrick shouts out as he runs across the roof to join the fight.

Taking the warning, Arfa pivots right, letting the bident swing wide, but there’s little he can do as the Fiend’s barbed tail stabs in from below his shield. The razor edge of the tail slices at the Half-Orc’s leg, but luckily the hot venom from within meets only open air.

Brie takes the Fiend by surprise, thrusting her runic blade into the creature’s back as Erdrick and Ptoughneigh charge forward. Erdrick immediately slashes at the tail, attempting to sever it while it’s extended. His blade cuts almost halfway through, slicing through the tough muscle but not completely disabling it, while he spits at the creature in Infernal.

“Capy iz py haf marlyv kiwzirv,” Erdrick snarls, shaking his bloodied blade in challenge. *Come at me, You Horned Bastard.*

Ptoughneigh slams into the Fiend hoof-first, following Erdrick’s lead and swinging at the tail with his Moon-Touched Battleaxe as he kicks off from its chest, still not quite severing the tip.

Enraged, the Fiend lashes out. It lunges its bident towards the Ugthanki with enough force to punch partway through his shield and shatter the wooden shaft. The unexpected resistance is enough to throw off the Cornugon’s aim with its tail, poised to target Arfa, who’d planned to use the others as cover to pull back into his preferred range.

Disorientated, the Fiend instead stabs itself in the side of the torso, the venom causing the flesh to begin melting. It flinches at the unexpected sting of its own venom, exposing a new weakness to Arfa, who means to capitalise off of the blunder.

The Half-Orc takes careful aim, charging up his axe with everything he can muster, and sends it directly into the wound. The extra force supplied by his Planar Charging has the Fiend reeling, stumbling back towards the corona of light suddenly flaring behind it.

Brie had prepared for her next assault by unleashing the full force of her Radiant Consumption, but just the touch of her divine aura is enough to destroy the remaining will of the battered creature. Her light blasts the very soul from its body, leaving a hollow corpse to fall to the smooth stone of the roof, wings crumpled beneath it like a bolt of ruined black silk.

As with all fiends, the body begins to rot before their eyes, and the weary adventurers quickly descend to claim the spoils of their victory.

Arfa immediately makes for the tail, drawing out the sickly venom and filling a small vial with the noxious fluid, as Brie decides to take the Cornugon’s horns for her trophy. While the others pick apart its body like vultures, Erdrick and Ptoughneigh begin unwrapping the iron chains from around the body, getting them ready to be carried by the Ugthanki as Erdrick presents the plan to break the rest of the enemy army. As an extra touch, Arfa takes the Tiefling Commander’s head and attaches it to where the tip of the tail used to be.

After some short preparation, Brie stands on the top of the tower, her light shining down on the battle through the fog, gradually drawing the attention of the masses. Ptoughneigh flies off the tower, dangling the body above the battle for all to see.

As those below begin to take notice, Erdick steps to the edge of the lowest tier of the tower, Arfa positioned resolutely behind him. He draws in a deep breath, his torso straining as he prepares his words to carry across the whole battle, and shouts out for all the enemies still remaining to hear.

“THIS FORTRESS IS ONCE AGAIN UNDER OUR COMMAND! YOUR LEADER HAS BEEN PUT TO THE SWORD AND IF YOU DO NOT SURRENDER, YOU WILL MEET THE SAME FATE! LET IT BE KNOWN THIS FORTRESS IS HELD BY THE OAKENGUARD!”

Upon seeing their defeated leader presented before them, what remains of the Balseign army throws down its weapons and submits to capture.

The Battle for this Tower is finally over; for today, at least, the Oakenguard wins.

END OF SESSION

#### Session 39 - Once more out of the Breach

*18/9/1270-23/9/1270, 60-65 Days since Breach*

Note: This recap was dont months after the fact so it is only a rough estimation of what happened

* entered the Tower from the top to check it out as the Oakenguard wrap up the capturing of prisoners and settling into the Tower.
* find a few rooms, a Commander's personal chambers, a larder, an armory, a war room and various others
* when investigating the Commander's room (pre-barrier original commander) they find their journal. this is read and passed onto the oakenguard upon their leaving
* i think something was taken from the Armoury or Larder
* the Larder (kept stocked by the occupying devil army) was used to facilitate a celebratory party. Drinking was done, Brie added music to the atmosphere.
* During the party Erdrick and Elamaris sneak off to have a private chat. Erdrick tries to connect with his old partner but midway realises how much they have changed. Ends on the note that Erdrick will not be able to join him in there, Elamaris is too engrained in the Guard to leave with him but they promise to reconnect with eachother when the Elf shows up to the big oakenguard meetign theyre planning.
* After the party the group is given a bunch of monster teeth, a currency in the zone. some of them spend them, others exchange it for gold. Erdrick gets a magic cloak, cannot confirm what other purchases were made.
* After recovering from the hangover, the Oakensong prepare to leave for the Barrier's Edge. The Commander's journal is passed on to the people staying at the tower.
* no major trouble when travelling south to the edge.
* A Comms Officer is met at the border to give the new password and let them pass through
* After a (10 day) week and a half within the Barrier, the party finally goes from the thick, dry hot air of inside to the thick, humid hot air of the Brangrove Jungle on the outside.
* Recognising the mountain base they leave at, they are able to estimate a 3-4 day wait on Miriam (who got told where they were going before they left the tower)

End of Session

#### Session 40 - Cult of Grack'thoon

*23/9/1270-24/9/1270, 65-66 Days since Breach*

* Finally free from the Barrier's opression, the group begin heading towards The Brangrove's Intel Tower, where they planned to meet up with Miriam in a few days. On the way they take the chance to clean off the month-and-a-half worth of infernal ash buildup
* As they get closer to the tower they notice a group of robed figures causing a ruckus outside the encamptment of the fortress. Erdrick, being the only one who can speak/understand Elven, translates their shouting as protests against the Tower claiming it to be an affront to their god.
* Not caring enough about them, the Party just walks past, finding a tavern within the fortress. At this point it was edging into the beginnings of sunrise so the tavern was empty except for the late staff.
* Ptoughneigh orders all of their leftovers, including a spider-based dish, and a round of drinks for everyone. The party settles down to finally relax and discuss what to do next.
* They decide to head through to Lairon next, their teleportation code for Grumm letting them come back to the eastern side of the continent without much issue.
	+ Arfa had visited the provincial settlements a few years back but knows nothing of the cities or recent goings on
	+ Brie had some familiariy with Mondresa, the Northern Laironese Capital, but did not stick around in the country long enough to call herself familiar with the country.
	+ Erdrick has anecdotal information from stories told by his previous companion, though has never been in the region himself
	+ Finally, Ptoughneigh knows of the region due to proximity to his spawnlands but had no more to give than what the others know.

* Rooms were hired out once their former occupants wake up and leave for the day. Arfa doesnt emerge from his room in the afternoon when the others gather downstairs. The old spider meal was blamed.
* As she slept, Brie was assaulted by chain visions.
	+ Steam vents
	+ a Snake eating it's own tail
	+ Ogres Wrastlin within the circle created by the snakes
	+ Quagoth scavengers
	+ A Rain of Arrows falling on a raiding party
	+ Rangers trapped within a canyon
	+ a pale Dragon soaring the skies
	+ A Dark Tower with a Devil atop it
	+ The thick jungle of the Brangrove
	+ Eight cultists surrounding a stone dais, preparing to sacrifice someone lying upon it
	+ A sudden Storm.

* Brie awoke, remembering the robed figues they saw on the way in and drawing a connection to the cultists. The Barkeep confirms that they had been there for the past month and had escalated to violence at least once before.
* The group, sans-Arfa, head back outside. They manage to pull one of the robed figures seperate from the rest of the group of ragers. this figure explains that they worship the God, Grak'thoon the many \*something\*'d Boar. Grack'thoon has domain over 128 acres of land where he will rage around. The Robed Figures explain they measured the Tower by eyeball, measuring it at 128 ft tall (possibly accurate) and this particular height was a deliberate choice to anger Grack'thoon.
* having a bit of trouble accepting what they were saying, Erdrick offers the idea to change the height of the tower. The robed figure says that will be acceptable as long as they also denounce their worship of the tower in the process.
* Wanting to make sure this is actually accepted before they figure out how to change a tower, the party asks to confirm with the person in charge. they are told the leader of their group cannot be met by outsiders, and is within the temple of their god.
* Brie attempts to bribe them to bring her in and they are offended, as she attempted to bribe them with 128 coppers (Heresy!) and the deal is shifted from 1 foot higher or lower to the tower must become shorter. declaring these demmands, the group leaves for their temple.
* Brie disappears to follow them, Ptoughneigh flies off to Transmute his Stone (not a euphemism) and Erdrick goes to find a shovel (wanting to pile up dirt to bring the ground up, making the tower shorter)
* Brie expertly follows them down the road towards the Highway, watching as they peel off about half an hour down the road. she marks the place to turn off on a tree.
* She finds an old ruined pyramid with a small camp surrounding it. the robed figures come up to guards wearing much nicer robes at the Pyramid's entrance. they excitedly say something she doesnt understand before leaving to sit in the camp.
* Brie scouts out as much of the encampment as she can without getting caught. she spots a small extention on the face of the pyramid, a small trail of smoke coming out of it. she sneaks past the patrolling guards, climbing up to the extention and using it for cover as she investigates.
* it appears to be a Chimney for interior fireplaces. she is able to remove the metal grating covering the top, providing access to the inside. not wanting to slip and fall down, she decides to disengage from the encampment and return with help
* meanwhile, back in the Fortress, Erdrick is reminded he is getting older and has abandoned the piling up dirt plan. instead he has gotten audience with the TowerCaptain, Gweg Guii. He lets them in on the successful operation to save the away teams and to take the tower. This seemingly gives them celebrity status in the Towercaptain's eyes.
* Erdrick tries to get permission to chisel off the top of the ramparts of the towers, citing the cultist's previous violence and their attempts to appease them. The towercaptain responds by declaring they can deal with some rowdy cultists.
* leaving the tower, the Two meet up. Brie lets Erdrick in on the cult and, not knowing where ptoughneigh was and not wanting to disturb Arfa, they agree to check it out more thouroughly. but first they want to know if the supposed Sacrifice is already in the Cult's grasp and if the Prophesised Storm is coming.
* Storm first. they go to the local Weather Station and meet Carl and Skye Weathers who confirm a freak storm seems to be forming and will reach them in the next few days. While there, they ask if anyone has gone missing recently. they heard of Young Man Jenkins' (middle aged) daughter had mysteriously disappeared.
* They get the location of the Jenkins farm and head out that way. they pass by the marked turnoff for the Pyramid and Brie is let in on the anti-deforestation laws that would get her imprisoned for decades if caught doing that in future.
* arriving at the Jenkins farm, they are invited inside once they declare interest in finding their missing daughter (still missing)
* they get to see a recent drawing of their daughter, Françoise, and are told about her hatred of Mathematics and fondness of one of the young Tower Porters, having gone to visit him at the tower before disappearing.
* accepting that the cult's obsession with 128 and numerology mark her as a target for sacrifice, the pair thank the farmers and head back to the Pyramid under the influence of Pass without Trace.
* Brie guides them to the chimney, once again removing the grate and telling Erdrick to climb down (he will climb back up and lower her down with a rope after checking things out)
* he peeks out of the chimney gap, into the room, spotting a group of extemely finely robed figures surrounding Françoise lying on the Dais, as well as some guards at the door, facing inwards. Brie connects with Erdrick using her helmet, hearing his constantly running thoughts processing the time within the barrier before he begins actively translating the conversation being had by the figures
* the rest of the head cult members would be coming tomorrow night, they will commence the ritual on their arrival, they dont believe the offer to shrink the tower, and if it does happen it is a sign of weakness (in their benifit).
* after the conversation ends the robed figures leave and brie is let down to use her helmet to connect with Françoise. As soon as it confirms she is just sleeping and not dead, Brie Disconnects and the pair head back to the tower, hoping to join up with the others before taking more action, having been given a timeframe and desperately wanting Arfa's abilities to teleport and phase through walls when going for the rescue.

End of Session