Into the Wastelands: The Eternal Army

**Into the Wastelands: The Eternal Army** is a 12-part campaign that began its run in the fourth quarter of 2021. Having reached the halfway point of six episodes, it took a hiatus until March 2022. It was DMed by Naail Ishaq.

## Player characters

* Jamie Link, played by Mike Dopson
* Vega, played by G McDermott
* Malis, played by Evey Larham
* Veracity Tallow, played by Rebecca Hare (episodes 1-6)
* Protea, played by Hannah Raymond-Cox (episodes 1-6)
* Eldergreen, played by Liz Drake (episodes 7-12)
* Riik, played by Emma Rose (episodes 7-12)

## Plot

### Part 1 (episodes 1-6)

The party meet at The Predator's Lair, a casino/hotel in the town of Black Rock, on the edge of the Northern Wastes. Veracity, still cursed from the events of Seekers of Elturel: Buried, was sent here by previous team-mate Barda, who has personal connections with the owner, Salthazar. She meets Protea, an eladrin wizard looking for adventure (and stepping out of the shadow of her sibling Tharos). At the same time, drow fighter Malis Vesil (along with his manager/promoter Ichorcheeks the Itchy) and half-drow sorcerer/warlock Jamie Link, cousins who have a mysterious shared past, also meet at the Predator's Lair, while leonin monk Vega is there looking for his future - and also bumps into an old "friend", Xoksa.

All five are chosen to helm one of the Predator's Lair's most prestigious jobs - a system by which others can bet on whether bounties given by the Lair will be successful or not - and collect some supplies before heading up the road to find the orcs they have been hired to defeat. They find a painter on the road, Crispus Horatia, who they protect from goblins and hobgoblins - and who paints their portrait. Protea also dubs the party as Protea's Predators, to the chagrin of all of the others.

Travelling further, they find a series of skulls on pikes, which appear to be the other adventurers who attempted the job. Arriving at the orc camp, they find it overrun by goblins, and are forced to fight two tanaruuks in ritual combat. As they defeat them, the hobgoblin leader, Rulvuk, (who has casually subjugated a blue dragon) informs them that they are now Champions of Maglubiyet, and must come with him and help free his city, Arkenhassa. He also bestows his axe, Shanaynay, on Malis.

Over a celebratory meal, Rulvuk informs the Predators that an order of monks to Maglubiyet, the Priestesses of the Unholy Coven, require this pomp and circumstance - he genuinely just needs their assistance in saving his home from a group called "The Eternal Army". They agree to help, and pop back to the Predator's Lair for some shopping before heading into the Wastelands.

The journey is long and arduous, with the party avoiding purple worms and sandstorms, and discovering the ancient lost Tower of Rum. Finally arriving at the refugee camp outside Arkenhassa, the Predators meet a captive member of the Eternal Army, Hitara, who asserts that the army are all demigods, and routinely attack civilisations to balance the forces of good and evil, as well as defeat powerful threats to the rest of the realms. However, as the Predators have been named Champions, they are worthy to defend the goblins, and can win their freedom. The Predators are somewhat incredulous at this, but together with Hitara they defeat two purple worms that attack the camp. Protea also encounters their sibling Chiemon, who she thought was lost, and transitions from Spring to Winter at her family's lies on this.

The Predators continue on to Arkenhassa, and meet the Eternal Army, and their king - Amenah, Hitara's father. He reinforces the Army's mission, and the Predators remain unconvinced - but agree to fight their champion, Crydent, to free the goblinoids. They head into the arena... and that's where the six-parter paused!

### Part 2 (episodes 7-12)

The party return as they enter the arena to fight Crydent - although Protea refuses to take part and leaves, and Veracity is strangely teleported away, with Eldergreen appearing in her stead (with a brief vision of Drusilda the Conservator and a hurried message from Valka). The party also encounter Riik, an aarakocra from Arkenhassa, who wants to help fight off the Eternal Army.

Together, the group manage to defeat Crydent after a lengthy, difficult battle, with Vega snapping his neck in a moment of anger brought on by his connection to Maglubiyet. The Eternal Army congratulate the party, and Krond, a member of the Eternal Army, explains a little more about why the army are there: they weren't here to stop the goblinoids from growing too powerful, but to hunt down a hidden yuan-ti civilisation, led by a high priest of Sseth called Ilshalu, who used to wield Malis' axe Shanaynay. By defeating Crydent, the party have earned the right to help the Eternal Army - and once their mission is complete, they will leave Arkenhassa in peace.

The party (now dubbed Malis' Marauders by Twitch chat) rest before searching for the yuan-ti, and Krond (a member of the Eternal Army) gifts them all with visions: Jamie has a vision of Sazune, the shadow dragon who led a cult that she used to be part of with Malis; Riik has visions of Rulvuk and Arkenhassa freed; Eldergreen sees Drusilda the Conservator, implying a further connection; and Vega receives visions of Krond and Amenah, with some hint as to the Army's mission not being entirely above-board.

The next day, they head off to search for the yuan-ti city, and Shunaynay proves to be the key to finding it - but the team are paired with another team, made up of their previous rivals Xoksa, Tharos, their average friend (who turns out to be called Joe), and Ichorcheeks the Itchy (who Twitch chat dubbed the Yeetables).

Together, the team make their way below the city, finding a strange jungle, with an unmoving sun in the sky - and the yuan-ti within, who appear to be subjugating villages. Fighting off a series of yuan-ti priests, they rescue a tabaxi called Flicker of the Candle, who promises to tell them more about this space, which the locals call Naztiss, and turns out to be a demiplane. They guide the party to Azuss, a citadel on top of the only mountain within the demiplane, and through a bath-house. Behind a porcelain-like face, they discover water tunnels that lead to a central chamber and another statue with a porcelain-like face, now fully revealed to be Drusilda the Conservator, and this demiplane having used to have belonged to her.

However, the incumbent Ilshalu, also revealed to be an ex-member of the Eternal Army, rises from the pool, a yuan-ti anathema. The party defeat him, with help from the Yeetables, but the pool revives him, earning him his moniker "the Undying". The party eventually manage to defeat him by destroying the statue of Drusilda, which halts his regenerative powers, but also destroys the demiplane, dumping the inhabitants back in Arkenhassa and removing some of the yuan-ti's snake-like traits.

Returning to the Eternal Army, Malis absorbs the power of Ilshalu through his axe, and takes on a more snake-like form. The Eternal Army agree to leave, as promised, and the party celebrate with the returning Rulvuk and the rest of the refugees. Rulvuk's partner warns them that the Priestesses of the Unholy Coven have stayed in central Faerun and are looking to start a war - Vega offers to return and try and stop this. Jamie initially agrees to go with him, but Sazoon, her shadow patron, steals her away. Eldergreen and Riik decide to head into Kara-Tur for further adventures, while Malis draws the yuan-ti survivors into a new cult...

In a post-credits sequence, we see Hitara murder her father and assume the throne of the Eternal Army.

## Trivia

* Naail uses a critical hit deck (make and model unknown) to reward player/DM nat 20s and nat 1s, with some very strange results - including a forced low roll for the terrible first team name "Protea's Predators".
* Veracity's presence in the campaign was explained by Naail with a mysterious off-screen adventure involving the remaining cast of Seekers of Elturel: Buried and Voight, a character from Escape from Carceri.
* The Eternal Army were first mentioned at the end of Naail's last campaign, Escape from Carceri. The Count of Catalan was interested in finding out more about them from Odin, and sent Tharos, Xoksa, Joneth and Ichorcheeks the Itchy to investigate - and it appears his interest was peaked by the statue of Drusilda and the unending life it offered.
* Veracity was taken away at the top of the second part of the campaign with signs to a later reappearance, with hints towards Drusilda the Conservator and her curse, and reuniting with Valka from Seekers of Elturel: Buried. Drusilda then featured later in the campaign, with the demiplane Naztiss being revealed as having used to have belonged to her.

## Twitch Clip Archive

* Giant Toad
* Friendship touches
* Missed opportunity
* Malis on Shanaynay
* Malis's employment history
* Yay Malis
* Culinary Goals
* A moment's reflection
* Em scores a hit on the DM
* Personal goals
* I'd Like the Bear to be on Fire Please
* Meeting the Eternal Army...
* Purple Worms (We're Totally Not Doing Dune)
* Speak with Animals and Wargs Being Terrible
* Jamie's Terrifying Patron
* Talented DM
* Oh... Oh No...
* Bombastic Intro for the New Team!

## Media

A typical scene from Into the Wasteland: The Eternal Army.The title card for Into the Wasteland: The Eternal Army.The Eternal Army - IntroThe title Sequence from Into the Wastelands: The Eternal Army.Into the Wasteland- The Eternal Army (Intro -2)The title Sequence from Into the Wastelands: The Eternal Army's second half.A typical scene from Into the Wasteland: The Eternal Army, the second part.