Brath'oul Clerebore

Human Sorcerer - Wild Magic / Played By Fredo Gallardo

## **Appearance**

An very slim Albino Male with almost no noticeable muscular tone to his body, standing at 5 feet and 10 inches (1.77M) tall.

His hair and skin nearly the same color with the difference being a barely noticeable glow to his skin. His eyes a clear almost light gray/blue that reflect a reddish pink hue when hit with light.

Dressed in an elegant suit made of slightly loose fitting black linens of fine quality and a matching woolen scarf wraps around his neck.  A long black robe, embroidered with golden fabrics and of the same linen material, drape over the suit from his shoulders down to just past his knees.

The robe has a hood that can be easily removed attached as well as slots where additional padding can be added for warmth.

A white uncolored shirt peeking out from the top of the robe.

## **Background**

As with most people aboard the Corsair, not much is known about Brath'oul's background. He joined the crew of the Corsair only two weeks before she made port in Wamor and the crew visited "The Half Dead Rat" Tavern. He obeyed Korinn Delmirev, the Captain of the Corsair, when she tasked the party with following the mysterious figure she was conversing with which is where this particular journey really began. There's a unique accent to his voice that is easily noticeable. It's unclear where he's from.

## **Personality**

Brath'oul tends to keep a neutral mentality, and as such meddling in the affairs of others is something he tries to avoid. The only exception is when those affairs involve people he truly cares about. He does, however, have very curious tendencies that could lead him into the same amounts of trouble.

## **Relationships**

### **Rinary Inys**

Rinary and Brath'oul had as normal a friendship as two pirates who had just met would have. They didn't know much about each other or see eye to eye necessarily but Brath'oul always felt that the magic users of the group should stick together. If only even if it was because they were the most likely to be taken down the easiest.

A few weeks into their journey they were imprisoned and fought to escape after having been being set up on a job. They were eventually captured imprisoned where they were forced to improvise their escape. ~~It was during this attempted escape that Rinari lost her life.~~

~~Although the crew was able to escape their imprisonment with Rinari's body in tact, there was little they could do to bring her life back to her corpse. In time they met Lady Thema who made a deal with them in exchange for information on how to bring Rinari back. After holding up their end of the deal, Lady Thema instructed them to acquire a feather from the crown of the Raven Queen and 3 drops of water from the River of Death. Until the Crew could acquire the requested items, Rinary would stay encapsulated in a crystal coffin under the watchful eye of Lady Thema.~~  Their friendship hasn't changed much since escaping the compound. They are still teammates with loyalties to the Corsair.

### **Talon Karde**

Unlike his relationship with Rinary, there wasn't an immediate click between the Talon and Brath'oul. Especially since within mere days of their meeting they shared more life and death experiences than either of them would like to admit. From the time they were nearly killed by a protective Golem while on a job he was asked to take part in (by Talon) or in receiving punishment in the form of lashes for something he was talked into doing (by Talon). Regardless of how you interpret their friendship, the point still stands that they trust each other, despite what history has written.

More often than not, you'll se Brath'oul willingly or otherwise being in the thick of Talon's shenanigans. Whether it's time they share in the Brig watching illusions and drinking boar's breath or watching two brawler's fight over coin at the "Horse's Head" in Taham.

### **Scurbiron Nulbara**

This is a relationship that makes more sense in spoken rather in visual form. A burly Dwarf that wields a war hammer and an Albino...Sorcerer. Somehow it works and it helps that they share the same interests, both the simple things as well as the luxurious.

From buying street meat off a cart in an alley to enjoying time in the spa and even robbing a church full of assholes, which if we are honest is the Churchs' fault for leaving their collection box OUTSIDE of their stead. The two have been through thick and thin and although they position themselves far from each other in combat, they always have each others back.

Remember the time we fed Jabari to his own pet Owlbears and the time we got whipped by herbs and other greenery at the spa? Good times.

### **Pollae**

Brath'oul has a large amount of respect for this fighter. Goal oriented, machine like precision, and a focus unmatched. The two haven't had much in the terms of one on one communication or intereaction but as the navigator on the ship and brilliant strategist on the field of combat, Brath'oul knows what his job is and what he's expected to do.

After her daring solo rescue that ended up saving the lives of the Crew, as well as allowed for the recovery of Rinary's body, Brath'oul would follow her anywhere.

### **Unkgill**

It would be hard to say that they have a close bond, however as with most things alcohol has brought them together. There isn't much else they have done together but he did manage to kill many a creature with darts and that's a pretty impressive feat on it's own.

Unkgill's command over his body, despite his intoxicated nature, is an impressive sight to see and his powerful strikes and attacks are enough so that Brath'oul is happy he is not to be on the receiving end of.

### **Iryn Vehlartah**

~~The new addition to the Corsair. Originally Brath'oul and Scurbiron used the commotion caused by her incarceration to their advantage in order to steal from the collections box. In the process they helped her escape and the two of them were able to leave the scene several pounds of coin heavier.~~

~~By chance they coincidentally ran into each other as both parties had made their escape from the fountain. Although Iryn asked a mere question, a conversation eventually ensued that ended with the guys offering a position in an attempt to fill in the missing spots they had on their ship since their previous capture capture that resulted in the loss of their crew and Rinari's passing.~~

~~Since becoming a full fledged member of the Corsair she has proven to be worth her weight in gold to the extent that even Korrin was impressed enough to assign her the position of scout.~~ Although Brath'oul remembers everything about Iryn, she's no longer around as she was never freed while the crew was in Biburh. There is an guilt slowly growing within him despite knowing that history was changed as he knew it after drawing fates.

## **The Story So Far...**

### **Session 1 -** **motherfucking SKY PIRATES! (AKA Welcome to Ningonde!)**

Like many of the best stories, this one started and ended with they way the are wont to do--with plenty of booze and a round of King's Ransom.

This ransom however would prove to be even deadlier than what Brath'oul had originally intended. Brath'oul sat in a circular table with shipmates he's been in the air with but this would be the first time he had met them. Pollae an Eladrin Fighter, Scurbiron a Barbarian Dwarf, Rinari a Tiefling Wizard, and Talon the Swashbuckling Human.

On the table were ten cards: The Black Sheep, The Maiden's Veil, The Silent Lovers, The Bard's Lute, The Jester's Hat, The Knight's Lance, The Liar's Truth, The Guardian's Shield, The Queen's Crown, and the King's Cup. With each draw of the cards, they drank more and more mead, ale, and booze. It only took a few rounds for Brath'oul to feel the warmth creep from his belly up to his neck and face. Brath'oul volunteered to get the next round and headed to the bar, where he heard, in passing, his captain--Korinn Delmirev--speaking with a strange figure in a mask and cloak. He overheard the whispered words "shipyard", and "Cwimbroney", and felt the need to interject. When he realized he had interrupted the captain's conversation, he apologized and thanked her for allowing him to join her crew before being led away by Pollae who quickly scolded him as she led him to the bar. Within seconds Brath'oul was short 5 gold and 5 drinks heavier as he passed out at the bar while his new acquaintances continued to drink.

Brath'oul awoke after what seemed like hours to the voice of Captain Delmirev commanding the group to tail the masked stranger she had conversed with. In his drunken stupor, it was difficult to move, but still Brath'oul staggered after his compatriots before ducking into an alley to vomit all the liquor he drank.

After what he thought was a few moments, he woke up the next morning aboard the Corsair. He passed the day bonding with his crew mates and using his abilities to flavor their bland meals. Once they had finished eating, the Captain informed them of their next target--a small chest made of iron and oak, under the protection of The Order of the Heavenly Sword.

Some days of travel later, the crew made their way into the shipyards, taking advantage of a distraction by the Corsair. After several near-deaths, some "shocking" moments, and a misfire, the crew found the chest. Brath'oul put out the lights in the building and attempted to put the guards after them to sleep. He succeeded, but could not contain the wild magic that struggled to escape him, letting loose bolts of lightning that struck their pursuers as they made their way back on to the Corsair.

### **Session 2 - Escape From the Shipyards**

As the crew waited atop the Barracks, A blast of Captain Delmirev's draconic breath lit up the night sky, buying the crew time and letting the Corsair reach them in time. One by one Talon, Pollae, Brath'oul, Scurbiron, and Rinari boarded the ship again, with the chest safely in their possession. With everyone in tow the ship soared forward up the side of the mountain using its speed to outrun the inevitable pursuit by The Order of the Heavenly Sword.

Taking advantage of their altitude, the Corsair readied for a broadside attack as two ships took off from the shipyards after them. As luck would have it, neither ship was able to land a solid blow as the smaller of the two vessels slowed the Corsair while the second larger ship edged closer and closer, preparing its attack. With the Corsair and the smaller vessel exchanging fire, the Corsair was able to land enough blows to the rigging's to disable their movement.The Crew's celebration was short-lived, however, as the larger ship unleashed a massive broadside attack, splintering the hull slightly and doing damage to the ship. The crew did what it could to mend and patch as others prepared cannons for attack.

Realizing the larger ship's significant advantage in size and power, the crew of the Corsair used all their resources to speed away across the water and make their escape. They landed on the shores of the Upper Wastes, between Challey Keep and the Tower of Iocha The Treacherous. After some much-needed rest, the crew continued south toward the Amber Isle.

Sick of their daily rations, Talon decided it was time to put meat back on the menu and went looking for something to hunt along with Pollae and Scurbiron. Rinari and Brath'oul went a different route, deciding that foraging in the area would prove more successful. It didn't take long before the hunters of the group stumbled upon decently sized tracks, which led them face-to-face with an Owlbear. Being the territorial creature that it is, the Owlbear felt immediately threatened and launched into attack. With the sturdier of the team going toe to toe with the best, the glass cannons heard the commotion and rushed to the direction of the ruckus. Working together they were able to fell the beast and with that, the crew enjoyed a night of drinking before enjoying some time off before heading to the drop-off point to turn in the acquired chest and claim their reward.

On their way to the drop-off, some excitement took place on deck as Rinari took part in a high-stakes game of "Liar's Dice" with Pogranix, the Dragonborn 1st mate of the Corsair, Scurbiron, Talon, and two other crew members Jareth and Jermano. As Jareth and Jermano were the first to drop out of the game, with Scurbiron following, and shortly after Talon who had bet and lost his pistol. Being the only two left still standing, Pogranix and Rinari raised the stakes, with Pogranix betting a gold dagger and Rinari her Spell Book. Time seemed to stop as they made the claims as to the number of dice on the table and it wasn't long until Pogranix called bluff on Rinari's claim. With the dice revealed Rinari was proven to be the victor and the new owner of the gold dagger, Talon's loaded pistol, and other valuables.

With the rendezvous point within reach, the crew made their way back to the Half Dead Rat, where the bartender showed them through a maze of underground hallways to the court of the Nameless. It wasn't long before they made it to a wide room with 10 other people waiting by the Nameless. Words were exchanged as the chest of Iron and Oak was handed over. Curious about what was in the chest, the Nameless made sure to let them all know that he knew everything about them, and they remained ignorant. He scoured the room and began with Scurbiron, revealing him to be a Dwarven prince. Pollae, revealing her as a Fey creature and claims that he knew of how they reached this land. The Nameless ended his revelations with Talon, exposing his previous failures and hinting at the multiple skeletons stored away in his past.

Pleased with the expressions on the crews faces, he opened the chest and pulled out a small ruby disk covered in runic markings. Confirming the delivery, he presented a reward to the crew in the form of 3 massive crates of gold ingots. Shaken but keeping their composition, the crew made their way back to the ship with their earnings. Making it back on the ship there was a metaphorical sigh of relief having completed the job as much of the crew looked hopeful as they pondered on purchases they would make in the near future. Just as quickly as their thoughts reached a point of peace and optimism was it thrust back into reality as an explosion near the Corsair sent a violent tremor through the ship and it's crew. As they looked toward the direction of the explosion, the crew began to mentally prepare for whatever trouble awaited them.

### **Session 3 - An Explosive Situation**

The dock, previously dimly lit, had erupted into flames and engulfed the area surrounding the Corsair. The crew inspecting the possible cause soon came under fire and were forced to get into cover. There were two options that the crew saw they could make: stay and fight off the attackers or abandon their winnings and escape with their lives. It was within these moments that the remaining party, while trying to get behind cover, saw one of their own get shot. Scurbiron took a shot to the shoulder that not only left a heavy impact but also rendered him unconscious as the force knocked him into the crates he was trying to get to. Brath'oul tried to stay behind cover from the areas were the shots were coming from but even he was caught from behind by an assassin's crossbow shot. Pollae, Talon, and Rinari rushed to the port hoping to board the Corsair and ready it's weapons to provide covering fire for their escape. Korinn, seeing the direction that the crossbow bolt had been shot from, released a spray of acid that forced the attacker to flea. Three figures approached from the South West approaching the remaining crew taking cover behind the golden crates. With the Corsair in position and the canons ready, two attacks went off taking out one of the buildings but misfiring the second time, seizing the canon's functionality. Shots ran out from atop the Corsair from the remaining crew with Brath'oul managing to put one of the approaching to sleep before ensnaring the Nameless Man in an earthen grasp. Rinari performed some impressive acrobatics buying time for the below crew to make their escape. Meanwhile the above crew threw down ropes and anchors to haul up what they could of the gold crates. At this time Brath'oul had a magic surge that poisoned Scurbiron shortly before being stabbed in the back and being rendered unconscious. Korinn managed to stabilize Brath'oul while commanding the remaining crew on the ground to retreat back on to the Corsair. With nearly everyone back on the ship except Scurbiron, Brath'oul, and the ships commander Korrin, the city guard began to corner in after having been alerted after the earlier roar of the canons and the following explosion. Korinn commanded everyone to escape with Brath'oul having another magic surge which created a 30 ft radius light that brightly lit up the area around them as well as blinding those within 5 feet of him, allowing for a very lucky escape as Korinn helped both Brath'oul and the incapacitated Scurbiron onto the final crate as it was hauled up with the ship making it's escape.

With their escape clean and their next few destination stops clear, the captain split the winnings amongthe crew with each pocketing 640 GP's each. It wasn't long before they realized the crew was low on rations and so they decided to stop along open waters to fish where they could until they reached their destination of Taham. Along the way the Corsair passed areas maintained by the Zariel cult and the Abbey of Fiery before reaching their final destination of Taham, the capital city of the Kingdom Alendaria.

Upon landing the crew took their time to stretch their legs before reaching to the nearest apothecary or potions shop. After the close encounter they had while trying to make their escape it seemed they best be fully stocked should an issue arise again where a crew member is found incapacitated or near death. After the shopping for health potions and supplies they crew headed to an armorer to see what they could purchase to aid in their defense but unfortunately the items they came across where not what they were looking for. With that stop checked off the list the next destination was the weapons smith where they found someone comfortable with guns. Talon, having lost his pistol to Rinari earlier that week, purchased a pistol along with a repair kit should anything happen to it. Pollae, having been practicing with her pistol, purchased ammunition to continue with her practicing of her firearm. Having refilled their parts and replaced lost items the next spot was that of a tailor, where Brath'oul searched for some kind of water repelling agent that could be added to his outfit but was unfortunately not something available for sale. Talon, not being one to miss an opportunity to be dashing, purchased a Tricorn Hat. After having spent the majority of their gold and feeling the sweet release of weight from their pockets, Rinari, Talon, and Pollae headed to a tavern on the west side of town called "The Horses Head" with Brath'oul following behind. After asking for the local liquor, he was presented with something called Board Breath which was really unpleasant. In order to clear the taste as well as looking to lighten the load went for additional wares he decided to stop at the finance district in able to exchange many of his coin from Gold to Platinum to greatly decrease the weight, along with finding a trinkets shop where he was able to purchase 2 flasks. Locating a tinkerer he managed to create hidden compartment within the flask that enabled him to store 2 different liquids within it, along with a pressure hole that would control which liquids would be poured from the flask. The last purchase he would make on his own was for a companion. Locating an exotic pet store, Brath'oul purchased a cockatoo before catching up with his friends at "The Horses Head" tavern.

Back at the tavern Rinari was nowhere to be found as Talon spoke to the bartender in regards to someone named Nicholas while Pollae was speaking with a large man drinking a bottle of Boars Breath and sharpening a blade. Entering one step at a time both Talon and Pollae headed to the fighting ring where a human was competing against a Half-Orc. Not trying to lose an opportunity to make additional coin, Pollae, Brath'oul, and Talon placed their bets on their chosen fighters as the Human won in a surprising one making both Pollae and Talon heavy in the pocket yet again. It was at this point after the fight that Talon continued his search for Nicholas where he was able to find him at a table playing Liar's Dice. Not looking to lose any more of his hard earned coin, Brath'oul decided to sit this game out and watched Pollae and Talon play. It was a close game but ultimately Talon won the pool and more importantly, Nicholas' attention.

### **Session 4 - In Taham**

Nicholas having finally found someone interesting to liven up his evening grinned as he suggested another game of Liar's Dice. Talon, never the type to pass on an opportunity, agreed to another game with the figure and the wager was drawn. With the steep buy in Brath'oul decided to pass on this game and instead opted for a conversation that was more up to speed with him, the bartender. Moments later Rinari came through the door a soaked and dripping wet. Without missing a beat, Brath'oul moved towards Rinari asking what had happed as he began drying what he could with Prestidigitation. Rinari, not lacking in ability dried herself off and dodged Brath'oul's questions only exclaiming that she needed a drink. As the two headed to the bar for a few drinks, Nicholas and Talon's game was still heating up. After a few drinks Brath'oul, noticeably intoxicated, was rambling about how if the gods had wanted us to have the ability to fly that they would have granted everyone wings, however because they had not the wingless people are in some ways growing closer to the gods for having been able to craft and navigate with the use of the Sky Ships.

As the bartender rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to interject and get him to stop his mindless rambling, Talon placed a stiff arm on Brath'oul to grab his attention. In the moments that followed, Pollae had gone back to the ship to turn in for the evening and Rinari and Brath'oul stayed behind to hear of the job that had just been accepted by Talon. The details were lost on Brath'oul but he understood that he still needed to buy a few things, as did Rinari. Despite Talon's attempts to move things along as fast as possible given he had only been given 48 hours to complete his task. As Rinari and Brath'oul finalized their shopping, Rinari adding a Chameleon to list of companions, they moved forward to explain the situation to their Captain Korinn.

Korinn took a moment to think about the potential opportunity and promised to assist on this bounty by assigning Jareth and Jermano to help with the recon in return for a cut that was decided by Talon and Korinn. With the deal struck they all made their way to the relevant location by the fountain. In an attempt to get Brath'oul to stop his drinking Talon reached and successfully took one of his flasks emptying their contents. Not realizing one of the flasks had a pressurized compartment, Brath'oul stared wide eyed explaining that he had just emptied the water bits. When Rinari, surprised, asked what he contained in his Water Skin, he exclaimed "Wine!" As everyone got into position, Jareth and Brath'oul began bickering but soon made up using the wine skin to share a drink. With their friendly drink starting to get some of the attention from some of the guards, Rinari, Talon, and Jermano scouted from the rooftops towards their mark. Figuring out the best way to enter, they decided to return another day, partially due to Brath'oul's intoxicated nature. The following evening, the group returned prepared. Brath'oul, by the fountain, would use his position to distract the guards away from Rinari and Talon as they entered in from the top balcony once he rendered them asleep. Waiting for the signal he began casting the spell on the above guards knocking one of them unconscious, though as luck would have it music began emanating from his position and, recognizing it to be from his uncontrollable magic surges, decided to sing a song to normalize the hand gestures he had made earlier while casting sleep and to keep the attention on himself. Noticing that one of the guards was asleep, Talon and Rinari dropped down onto the unsuspecting guard, dispatching him quickly. As they entered they were met with further opposition, seeing that the guards on the outside were distracted by the noise above Brath'oul did what he did best...turned to the fountain and vomitted, spelling some of the Boars Breath he had in his flask into the fountain to create an air of overwhelming alcohol and then dropped one of his Lodestone components to create the sound of splashing water. Two guards approached giving Brath'oul enough time to slightly darken his appearance and compose himself. After apologizing and explaining he couldn't hold his liquor too well, he convinced one of the guards to enjoy some of the booze in his flask which nearly immediately took affect. The other guard, seeing what he believed to be a poisoning, attempted to apprehend Brath'oul. Additional guards had taken notice and stepped forward to apprehend him when he cast Sleep yet again, only able to have 2 guards succumb to his magics, another surge took affect creating a Mirror Image of himself. Taking the opportunity to darken his appearance yet again, he pointed at the mirror image directing the guards to run after it, making his duplicate run off into the night.

Noticing that his comrades had not yet made it out, Brath'oul rushed into the home making his way up to find that Rinari was no where in site as Talon was cornered by a number of guards. Using minor illusion, he created a disgusting morph of his form making it appear like it was surrounded in shadow as gold and ivory glowing ichor poured out from his eyes and mouth as he shouted in Celestial. The guards, frightened, turned their attention towards Brath'oul as he continued forward having guards seemingly fall unconscious as he passed using his appearance to mask the fact that he was simply putting them to sleep. Using the temporary confusion, Rinari ran past, in her invisible state, to look for what they had come to take and Talon struck a guard causing him to fall and slowly begin to die. As Talon ran past, the area now clear, to look for their intended mark with Rinari. Not being able to leave the injured man to die, Brath'oul managed to stabilize the now unconscious man sparing his life before advancing towards the other rooms. What seemed like mere moments, the relevant rooms where quickly looted of any valuables before they made their escape, Rinari unfortunately had fallen into a trap leaving an open space behind her. Brath'oul lent her a hand and the three of them escaped to the rooftops.

### **Session 5 - Not Out of the Woods Yet**

Both Brath'oul and Rinari waited for Talon on the rooftops overlooking the Plaza. Having narrowly escaped out of the building, they weren't the most thrilled with the idea of going back inside despite the amount of time Talon was taking below. As a commotion began building up as unconscious guards regained consciousness and backup was called to the area, Brath'oul and Rinari agreed to do what they could. Rinari would keep an eye on the outside and Brath'oul would go in to retrieve Talon.

Walking through the bloodshed in the same hallway, Brath'oul paced forward looking for his friend when he noticed a few guards beginning to regain consciousness from the previous sleep spells. Casting minor illusion on himself, Brath'oul was able to get to the guards warning them about going into the hallway as he made his way past them and continued downstairs where he ran into a worker and in a panic convinced her that terrible things would happen. As luck would have it, shortly before running into the worker, Rinari had caused a small tremor in an attempt to distract some of the guards gathering outside. One of which looking to blow on his horn in an attempt to sound the alarms. Rinari, not looking to let herself get caught, conjured up a stone which she positioned while reading her catapult spell and took aim, rendering it unconscious. Having caused a panic in the interior of their target home, people began to vacate the premises giving Brath'oul an easier time to explore the under chambers of the home unhindered. In his descent he came across a very weakened Talon. Not about to let a friend die her rushed to his aid to get him back on his feet. It was at that moment that Talon instructed Brath'oul to attack the statue, unsure of the meaning he took a few steps back waiting to see what Talon was talking about. Without hesitating, Talon took both of his Rapiers and struck up into the Statue's groin. Brath'oul watched on at the ready with his expression slowly turning into that of worry as he saw the statue come to life as it wasn't really a statue to begin with but a Golem. After striking the Golem, Talon took the opportunity to get some distance between them, leaving a very shocked Brath'oul to fail his attacks and get slammed into the ground by the Golem. Satisfied that one of the uninvited guests had been taken care of, it went back into it's stone form as Talon returned back to get Brath'oul. After regaining consciousness they made their escape where they made their way out upstairs.

Limping but moving forward thanks to Talon's support, Brath'oul casted an illusion on them to make them looked like injured guards. It was with this disguise that they were able to escape and how they came across Unkgil, a small Goblin trying to make his escape from the guards, later learning he had "accidentally" struck a guard in the neck with a dart and had caused him to bleed out. On their way back to the ship they noticed someone flying above them, it was Rinari on what appeared to be a flying broom. Reaching the Corsair ready to make an escape they realized this would not be as easy as they had recently thought. Riflemen surrounded the crew members aboard the Corsair with several of these guns focused on Korinn, their captain.

A rakish man stood there at the center, clearly the one in charge of the current situation. The man mentioned that Bower, Shadow King of Waymor, was impressed with the actions of the crew. They were then tasked with an offer, perform a successful a smuggling run. If successful they would help their more previous offenses disappear. Fail, and there would be trouble. Not seeing much of a choice, the crew begrudgingly agreed. Through final questions, they learned was that this messenger was not with the masked man. As they made their leave, the assailants forcibly removed Pogranix as collateral. With more on the line than they had originally anticipated, the stakes were raised that much higher.

The crew went through some of the items that they had found, some of Oxnards family items and history along with antique jewelry and a green dagger and, of course, the brook now in Rinari's possession.

As the crew took a well deserved rest they prepared for the next day where they had agreed to meet Nicholas, The Horse's Head. After a few drinks and some breakfast, Rinari was asked about the evening she came into this same bar soaking wet. She began telling everyone the story of how she came across Lady Thema and the task she was given in exchange for power.

#### **Lady Thema**

Encumbered by the weight of the gold paid to her by the ships captain, and the extra ingot she pocketed while no one was looking, Rinari set out to find a bag of holding to carry her loot.  The bartender informed Rinari that she could purchase such an item from Lady Thelma, but issued a dark warning that Lady Thema does not receive visitors warmly, and that the costs of her wares are high.  Undeterred by the bar keep’s warning, Rinari set out to find lady Thema.  Upon locating Lady Thema’s home, and while maintaining a safe distance, she sent a mage hand to slip a note under the door, offering an exchange of services.  Rinari sat patiently outside for hours, until finally, the door creaked open.  While no one was seen who could have opened the door, Rinari took it as an invitation, and cautiously entered the dwelling.

Once inside, upon finding the first floor empty, she made her way up to the second floor, where a light was seen leaking from around the cracks of a door.  Behind the door, sat Lady Thema, a mysterious figure with espresso tinted skin and exotic gold markings on her face, and a glint of mischief in her eye. Rinari offered her skills as a bounty hunter in exchange for a bag of holding, but it was not the price that Lady Thema wanted, telling Rinari that if she wanted such a rare item it would cost her half her sight. The price was too high for Rinari, who asked if Lady Thema might have some spells to sell her instead. The price for the spells was much more reasonable, all Rinari had to do is recover an item stolen from Lady Thelma that she held quite dear, an obsidian dagger.  The dagger was currently in the possession of Milosh, a Human Private Collector of Rarities who lives in the city’s upscale noble gardens. Rinari located Milosh’s home, and after casting invisiblity on herself set to work finding a way in.

Using her thieves tools, she entered through a window on the first floor, and began searching the rooms of the house until she found a safe.  Skilled with her tools, she opened the safe easily and located the dagger.  Knowing that time was of essence, she grabbed the dagger, ready to run for the exit, but as she lifted it from the shelf, a blood curdling scream echoed through the house and the door of the safe slammed shut as water began pouring in.  Rinari looked around for a mechanism to stop the water and open the door but was unsuccessful.  With the water rising higher and higher, she decided to blast her way out, hitting the safe with two fire bolts.  Once the door opened she heard the sound of guards rushing towards her. Once again she hid under a spell of invisibility and narrowly squeezed past the guards.  Soaking wet she made her way back to Lady Thema, who rewarded the return of the dagger with 3 spell scrolls- Cloud of Daggers, Entangle and Ensnaring strike. Having had enough excitement for one day, Rinari made her way back to the tavern to reunite with her companions.

#### **Back at the Horse's Head**

Invigorated and motivated by both the liquid courage in his body and the amazing story from Rinari, Brath'oul decided he too would do the unthinkable and challenged the fighter that bested the half-orc 2 nights prior. After the challenge and the wager was settled, Brath'oul removed his top robes as Rinari without warning cast enlarge on Brath'oul. Significantly larger, the fight was almost called off but the human fighter welcomed the challenge. In the spur of the moment, his companions placed large wagers. Brath'oul had to explain about his weak composition but it was too late, the bets were made and he was not looking to make enemies among his new compatriots. As luck would have it, and after a few magic surges that involved Brath'oul turning blue, into a potted plant, and the surrounding area becoming invisible, Brath'oul won the fight. Tattered, worn, and swollen in all the wrong places he was crowned the victor and they all continued to enjoy their drinks and breakfast before their next leg in the journey took place.

### **Session 6 - A Mysterious Smuggling Run**

The following day on the Corsair, there were a number of chests bearing Alendarian symbols. The crates were accompanied by three guards donning full black armor. While looking over the guards and crates the crew received their instructions, smuggle the crates into the Cirathean city of Biburh and deliver them or face the wrath of Wamor.

Left without much of a choice the crates were brought below deck while under constant eye of of dark armored guards. After planning the course, the crew had down time and some decided to play Liar's dice. Brath'oul, having trouble controlling his curiosity, decided to make his way down and befriend the guards. Chatting away he paid no attention to the fact that neither of the three guards responded or showed any interest in his banter. It wasn't long before the guards lost patience, with one of them opening his mouth revealing to Brath'oul that they had, had their tongues removed. Trying to make light of the new information one of the more impatience guards took out a dagger and readied to throw it towards Brath'oul's pet Cockatoo, Chandler Wing. Furling his brow he backed away slowly before making his way back on deck, waiting for them to land East of the Caldy Forest for the night.

While the adventurers rested and took time off to rest and sleep, the first sights they could see were the hills to the south, the woods at both east and west, and a tower off in the distance. It was at this point that Rinari, Brath'oul, and Scurbiron decided to explore separately in the woods. Brath'oul decided to make use of his time to scavenge a bit but found a foul looking mushroom. Decided to head back, he felt it only appropriate to let Rinari know he was heading back to the ship. In a strange turn of events while looking for Rinari, Brath'oul stumbled into a crazed looking Scurbiron before they both stumbled into the path of a Wereboar. Talon eventually joined the fray along with Unkgil but Brath'oul still fell having suffered significant damage. Getting a grip on reality, Brath'oul stood once more to assist his teammates as they all managed to fell two wereboars.

Back on the Corsair, the crew heads to Pogranix to see if they could have Scurbiron healed though only some of his wounds were cured and the curse remained. Scurbiron, deciding to be straight with his captain went to Korinn with some of the other crew to explain his situation as the curse continued to spread throughout his body. Upset and angered she made it clear that it was up to the crew themselves to find help within the city only AFTER they managed to deliver the crates as they were instructed.

Working to find a possible entry point they crew sought for available information regarding the city of Biburh. All they managed to gather about the city was that there is a cave opening somewhere along the northern coast of Biburh, the weather was unique to the region, 3 outposts patrolled the area resulting in high defense, and that the city is built vertically reaching the heavens with three rings surrounding it. Thinking of where to have the curse removed they ultimately decided that a religious order would be able to assist. With that they rested as they prepared for the upcoming day where they will be delivering the crates.

### **Session 7 - Making an Entrance**

Ultimately deciding to land on water and make their way along the northern coast, Brath'oul and Unkgil decided to bond over fishing as Rinari and Talon conspired to check the crates for their content. Rinari decided the best way to sneak through would be to turn herself invisible as Talon and Brath'oul would approach from the front in an attempt to distract the guards. While they were able to buy time for Rinari to check the contents, it was short lived with violence between the two groups resulted in a small exchange of gunfire that ultimately grabbed Korinn's attention, forcing her to intervene and punish both Talon and Brath'oul with a number of lashes and time in the brig. The two would later slightly bond over some Boar's Breath and a minor illusion created by Brath'oul to recall the events of the golem fight just days prior. In the meantime, having successfully made it past the guards Rinari took the opportunity to check the insides of 2 of the crates feeling and determining that the residue she was able to identify was explosive in nature.

Upon their release they were forced to make a quick decision to have Rinari scout with her flying broom in the hopes that she could locate the cave. After locating the cave it was apparent that the gave was man made. Using her invisibility to her advantage she was able to scout the alternating windows that were left when guard shifts were switched. A 5 minute window was confirmed to be the safe bet and Rinari returned to give the information to the crew.

The Crew playing mind to make sure to take advantage of each of the 5 minutes they had to clear their way in, were met with a locked and trapped gate. What seemed like almost forever, the crew eventually managed to safely open the gate and move forward. Guided by the guards that were in black armor, they progressed through making contact with a mimic along the way and dropping off crates as they went throughout the cafe system.

Shortly after leaving the final crate, an alarm was set off. Clear that this wasn't your typical cave but rather a military base, it wasn't long before they were confronted by guards followed closely by an overwhelming explosion confirming Rinari's previous findings. Outmatched and outnumbered the crew did their best to escape.

### **Session 8 - Fugitives**

The crew finally made their way to the surface after the explosion and began making their escape. It was clear at this point that this was less of a smuggle run and more of an attack. Shortly after making a run for it they were spotted by the guards as they all broke out into a chase. Unkgil managed to stay back and hide avoiding capture and scoped out the immediate surroundings where he spotted a guard up atop a building. After a stealthy dart throw, he made his way up to attack the guard, ultimately killing him in the process.

During the chase, the soldiers eventually broke their distance and even managed to tackle Rinari onto the ground. Not being known to abandon their friends in need, Scurbiron, Brath'oul, and Talon turned around to face their attackers. Unfortunately despite their attempts to free Rinari they witnessed as she was shackled and taken by the guards. Shortly afterwards, Scurbiron and Brath'oul were also eventually captured. Talon made a chance to escape, but unfortunately also became surrounded and captured like the rest.

Unbeknownst to them, Pollae had managed to get to higher position and witnessed the capture. She made her way as fast she could back to report to the captain.

Three days later the crew awakened yet again. Hungry, sleep deprived, and weak. All they could recollect was being dragged to a white non-descript building by the spire. They had been kept in this weakened state by Alendarian interrogators. Though not much was learned from the crew their attempts to break them only increased. During a quiet period the crew jumped at the opportunity to attempt to escape. Rinari managed to make herself smaller, while Scurbiron broke free from his shackles, the two of them investigating the room and freeing the rest that are chained. With his hands finally free, Brath'oul checked his breast pocket for his feather and illuminated it with Light, giving everyone a clearer view of their surroundings and a potential escape route above them. Rinari suggested the stronger of the crew to throw her up through the hole, but in his weakened condition only managed to throw her against the wall. Out of any immediate option, Brath'oul brainstormed with the rest and ultimately attempted to remove the spikes pinning their previous shackles to the wall. Summoning what little strength he had left, Scurbiron began pulling out the pitons and chains from the wall where he later created foot and hand grips as they made it up the wall towards their escape.

Making their way through the tunnel system as carefully and quietly as they could they managed to stumble upon a conversation held by some Ciranthean guards regarding a deserter that they had had managed to locate.

### **Session 9 - Escaping the Oubliette**

After waiting the appropriate amount of time for the guards to leave the crew dropped into the room where they stood in a wide room with 4 large statues before them. Investigating the area they found shattered fragments of metal on the floor. Inspecting the statues from afar they found that a statue on on the far left had a damaged weapon in hand, in fact all 4 statues had weapons in hand but only one of them was injured. Deciding to figure out if the statues were magically enchanted, Talon took a step forward. As soon as he was within 5 feet of the statues, the two closest to him came to life attempting to swing at him. Talon backed away suffering minimal scratches but the crew was now aware that the statues were stuck in place, unlike the event Talon and Brath'oul shared a few days prior.

One by one the crew took a chance and made their way past the statues and toward the door to what they hoped would be their exit from the prison. Unfortunately, it was at his point that Rinari suffered heavy damage.

The new room they were in was long, as long as the previous room was wide. The main difference was a pool of water that stretched 10 feet from the door all the way to the opposite end. Talon, as before, approached the water to take a better look only to be attacked, yet again, by whatever was inhabiting the water. Standing with eyes widened stood the crew as they saw a number of long tentacles extend from the pool and quickly take a swipe at Talon who managed to step out of the way. Not knowing exactly what to do, Talon lit a torch to illuminate the path as well as to distract the tentacles, Brath'oul cast mirror image on himself to duplicate his appearance in the hope that it could serve even further as a distraction. Splitting up, the crew ran to opposites sides of the lengthy room hoping to make it across without any further issue. Unfortunately within moments of missed attacks against Brath'oul's mirror images and a few unsuccessful swipes at Talon, the tentacles eventually found their mark when hitting Unkgil and Rinari as they were both slammed by the tentacles and fell dangerously unconscious.

Brath'oul being closest to Unkgil swept up his new found friend and continued to sprint forward after seeing that Scurbiron and Talon collected and ran off with Rinari's body. Unkgil was able to recover shortly after but in the moments that felt like eternity, Rinari did not return and it was clear she had not made it. Refusing to give up, the crew didn't give up hope on the idea that it was possible to bring her back. They made their way cautiously to the other rooms, checking for traps being once again being in another room. Just as the previous rooms had been wide or long, this room was high with the cylindrical room stretching high above the crew. Looking back they saw a gelatinous cube approaching them at it's standard slow speed and looking forward they found a pit with spikes adoring the bottom. Talon and the others looked around as Brath'oul tried to fasten something to Rinari to ease in carrying her up to the top. Before anyone could make a stride in their actions, Talon started climbing up holes that he found on the sides of the room before his hands started to become wet and shortly after the room itself began filling up with water. Taking advantage of prestidigitation, Brath'oul cast two effects bringing a sheeps bladder that he filled with air and a small rope he tied to the bladder and Rinari to float to the top.

It was at their bleakest point that the top of the room started to lower. Expecting the worse the crew was relieved when they saw Pollae being lowered down with the platform. She dropped ropes and helped carry everyone up realizing that Rinari is no longer alive. The second thought that came to mind was the amount of fire and destruction they were now witness too. Following a long smoke tunnel the group began to scavenging while holding onto Rinari's body. Searching in the immediate area the group found Briefing documents, military reports, and weapons. Scurbiron and Brath'oul put on uniforms of some of the dead guards and managed to convince a few guards to let them move forward so they can get the necessary supplies to put out the fire.

After being stopped a number of times and with Scurbiron now comfortable in his role as "El Comandante" they were able to advance finding another room with a very sassy captive whom they freed named Cholula. Finalizing their escape Pollae guided them to a room where their equipment lay. Reunited with their equipment, Brath'oul also pocketed some of Rinari's gear confident that they would find a way to bring her back. As the exited the facility they kept their heads down throughout the city until they arrived to an area that Pollae had guided them to, a factory with many of the remaining crew still accounted for... all but the Corsair and it's wizards that powered the ship.

Captain Korinn, for the first time, relaxed her posture as she extended her most deepest apologies. Explaining their situation and her guilt over how she felt responsible for having accepted jobs from the shadiest of charcaters that consequently lead us on the path we are on.

Refusing to give up any of his friends, Brath'oul worked hard to piece together whatever he could that would form as a cart where he placed both Scurbiron and Rinari and headed towards the direction of the church. Shortly upon arriving he asked them to remove a curse from Scurbiron and it was successfully removed, however the same couldn't be said for Rinari since no one in the area could perform the resurrection needed to raise her from the dead. Brath'oul's threats were ineffective in trying to convince them and no amount of shocking grasped testicle threats would sway them. Defeated, they retreated to a bar where they enjoyed a drink while Brath'oul asked around for help. He remembered the priests mentioning Lady Thema and overheard the same name "Lady Thema" while at the bar. It didn't take long for Brath'oul to relive the memory of a few days prior when Rinari told them the tale of how she managed to turn in her bounty to Lady Thema in the town of Taham.

### **Session 10 - In Cirathien**

War with Alendaria... That was the overhead chatter that was filling the air and more importantly the space in front of them as Korinn explained how they had been set up to start a feud and potential war between the Ciratheans and the Alendarians.

Unkgill and Talon headed to the nearest bar that they could find, specifically the Red Sphinx. Pollae stayed behind with the captain and the remainder of the crew. Scurbiron and Brath'oul intended to try to get more information on how to keep Rinari's body better preserved and headed to the same church that they had gone to previously. At the church they were instructed to go to the far back to find the priests they had run into previously: Edinburgh, Steve, and Jefferson. A statue stood overhead with three faces, two of which were smiling and one that was frowning. As the priests arrived they explained that the best way to preserve a body to their knowledge would be to find the embalmer. Once the directions where received and memorized Brath'oul stepped out only to find chaos near a fountain and the donations box for the church. Guards were trying to secure some kind of humanoid and put it back in chains, meanwhile Scurbiron was more interested in getting his lost funds returned to him, regardless of the source. After consulting with Scurbiron that his intent was to steal from the collections box, Brath'oul saw the commotion as an opportunity to distract from the theft and cast a small illusion on the box to make it appear as if it had suffered no damage as Scurbiron whacked at it with his weapon. Once getting close enough to dramatize the situation, Brath'oul cast light on one of the guards surrounding the humanoid which took the attention off the humanoid long enough for Brath'oul to cast minor illusion on the humanoid to make her appear as the leader of the group. Confused the guards began to scuffle among themselves allowing for Scurbiron to collect as much gold coin as he could and for the humanoid figure to make its escape.

As soon as the figure was out of range, Brath'oul dispelled the minor illusion and recast it on himself taking the appearance of a woman accompanying Scurbiron. While walking through the alley ways with Scurbi they managed to run into the same humanoid as before. Now in full view they realized that the humanoid figure was literally a fish out of water story as standing before them was a Triton Female. After a few pleasantries and "Your Welcomes'" from Scurbiron and Brath'oul they convinced her to come with them, after Scurbiron mangaed to buy some skewered meat with some of their new found coin.

Scurbiron and the new addition to their strange family, Iryn, made their way to the captain while Brath'oul made a quick stop to meet up with the embalmer who gifted Brath'oul with the necessary tools needed to embalm. Heading back to their hideout he saw the captain and Iryn getting into a lite verbal scuffle. Paying no attention to this he attempted to embalm Rinari's corpse as best as he could while listening to Korinn speak about a new job that would not only fill their pockets but also serve as a form of revenge, for what they were after was the Ruby disk that started this adventure.

The next course of action was simple, locate the wizards necessary to move and control the ship and free them. Only then could they board the ship and free the Corsair.

It wasn't easy but with a very dedicated plan and mild improvising the crew was able to locate their missing crew, feed some kebabs to them, break locks that were holding down their ship and successfully boarding every living, and non-living, crew member onto their vessel ready to fly out.

### **Session 11 - A Pirate's Life (Revisited)**

Fortunately the crew was able to make a swift escape and made their way back into the air where they addressed their main issue at hand. The crew had dropped from a a respectable size of 40 strong to a bare 17 in size. Captain Korinn took the crew aside and explained that with their smaller size they would have to pick up more than their usual job. Talon became the quartermaster, Pollae with her experience took up her role as the navigator, Iryn became the scout, Unkgill the shipswayne, and Brath'oul the brigmaster.

After feeding the two mascots, Maximeleon and Chandler, followed by quick fish banter and fishing the crew, was gathered by Korinn where she explained that it was time to hit their mark making their way from Hilonde. The ship was a merchant ship that was delivering the ruby disk that started this whole bit. Deciding to get into position in front of the sun to avoid detection, they loaded the canons and readied for the incoming vessel. A few hours in they spotted the yellow and green colors of the Hilonde merchant ship. Waiting for the opportune moment the Corsair strung up a white flag, got into position and eased their way closer to their target under the ruse of trade. Within moments the crew jumped into action, attacking their mast and making their way onto the other vessel. One by one with Brath'oul picking up the rear, they slowly dispatched the captain and many of the guards. Beneath the decks Unkgill made his way in to check for anything out of the ordinary and stumbled into 2 large behemoths of guards.

Iryn made her way to the captains quarters where she found the manifest of the ships inventory, took whatever valuables she could find and make her way out downstairs. Brath'oul trying to determine what was on the ship went into the captains quarters, found the manifest, and called over to Korinn on the other ship to send crew after getting the ship closer so that they could take their crates. Heading down stairs they finish off the other guards before trying to make their way into a room, without success. That room, potentially holding the ruby disk, was difficult to unlock and caused damage. Thinking of a way to get into the room, they landed both ships in a port, convinced a number of the crew to join them while setting off the remaining of the crew onto a small life boat...that was later ignited in a viking funeral of an event for refusing to join or conform.

It was decided that the best way to get into the damaging room, they best option was to tear up the wooden planks above the room in the captain's quarters and drop down onto the ship. The room, just as the door, damaged whoever made their way into the room but the prizes found inside where too much to leave untouched. Talon jumped in along with Brath'oul and they cleared whatever they could from the room. Making their way out Talon, as brigmaster, took the time to tally their remaining shot, canons, and anything else they could salvage.

Toasting their success and the new additions to the crew, they dispersed into their own groups. Iryn catching Brath'oul feeding both Maximeleon and Chandler managed to befriend Maximeleon, in the process befriending the chameleon and gaining it's trust.

Shortly after the crew landed in Taham. Their first stop was the Horse's head where they enjoyed a meal and some drink. They even managed to convince Scurbiron to jump into the ring and try to make his winnings for himself and his crew. Though, surprisingly, quite the challenge Scurbiron still managed to succeed and make a decent winning. Slightly richer the crew made their way to the markets to shop and resupply their ship.

It was at that point that Brath'oul made his way to lady Thema, with Iryn tagging along. There was a cost, as there had been with Rinari's previous experience with Lady Thema. Deciding a memory lost would be more than enough to derail his goals, he preferred the latter option of taking back something that had been stolen from her underneath the archives. It wasn't a simple process but through the collaboration of Rinari, Brathoul, and a gumshoeing of Unkgill, they were able to successfully yet barely make it out with their health in tact and made their way back to the ship.

### **Session 12 - A Blinking City, and A Quest Revealed**

Back on the Corsair there were a few new comrades that had been brought on by Korinn and the crew that didn't accompany Iryn, Unkgill, and Brath'oul. One that struck out the most was Amadi, a sentient machine made of various metallic materials that intrigued and scared in it's own special way. Taking advantage of their time to rest, Brath'oul waited a day before going to visit Lady Thema. The second the sun was up he awoke and took the crew with him to Lady Thema with Rinari's body for the good news. When Rinari's body was presented to Lady Thema, it was surprising to see how much interest she took in the Tiefling's corpse. Within moments Lady Thema encapsulated the corpse in a crystal material before accepting her stolen artifact in return from Brath'oul. She told them of what items were necessary for them to bring Rinari back, it was a disheartening reality when they realized that the items they would need included 3 drops of water from the river of the dead and 1 Raven Queen feather from her crown. Though Lady Thema couldn't explain exactly how to get there, she did inform them that the area they were looking for was in the underdark.

Scurbiron, after having learned along with the others in regards to the Ruby disk, decided to make a deal with Lady Thema as well agreeing to part with a memory in return for information.

She informed Scurbiron of 4 disks, one made of ruby in their possession and 3 others located in different areas. 1 of the disks could be found as a possession belonging to a storm giant that had been lost in a bet. The 2nd in a city full of a hated population of people, and the 3rd would be found south with the Dwarven kings of the mountains.

Lady Thema provided additional information regarding these hated people explaining them to be Aasimar. They were hated by the people around them and were forced to flee their homes. While the location of where they are is unknown, it is circulated that they disappeared shortly along with the Fayth following the defeat of the Heavenly Sword. The crew also learned that the disks were written in the Rodalian language and that they were used to lock and unlock some sort of passages.

As the Crew made their way out of Lady Thema's to process the information, the majority of the crew went shopping will Scurbiron and Brath'oul took a day at the bath house and spa to get pampered like the princesses they are. They even stopped along the way to get sandwiches for their fellow crew mates and friends. Korinn informed the crew of Pogranix's potential whereabouts and a decision was made to recover their abducted first mate.

Flying towards their destination they were surprised as the scene of warfare reached as far as the crew could see. Deciding to take the lesser route they went onto the waters surface to try to make their way through peacefully as well as look for potential loot and other crew that the Corsair's people could scavenge. They were able to convince 5 able bodied persons to join the corsair along with their cargo and some other materials. Iryn was even able to secure a couple of Alchemists Fire Canon balls but nearly dropped them as she boarded the ship. Thankfully, Pollae with her quick thinking managed to catch one with her physical hand while using her mage hand to catch the other, a third was caught by Brath'oul who though was out of reach cast Max's Earthen Grasp to cushion it's fall and hold it secure.

Making their way safely, they eventually found the island surrounded by countless waterfalls. The Crew of the Corsair had the ship drop them off safely before flying off a safe distance to avoid any issue. As Scurbiron decided to meditate to locate a creature able to communicate with, he located a cricket which guided him and by default the crew to a flat area surrounded by stones. Unfortunately, as they reached their destination, there was another object that Scurbiron ran into, a rope trap.

With the trap triggered a shot rang out and hit Scurbiron in the shoulder. As with similar events in the past, combat shortly ensued with a few rounds of combat siding in the favor the Corsair's Crew. They used their moments afterwards to heal whatever wounds they had acquired before deciding to move on.

### **Session 13 - A Den of Thieves**

Slightly recovered from their previous encounters with what appeared to be the guards of the island, the crew looked for any clues regarding how to find Pogranix. Iryn, using her druidic abilities, managed to relay a message to the Corsair through a bird while Pollae used her mage hand abilities to check a nearby rock face for any clues as to it's worn appearance.

Pollae quickly discovered a pressing stone a long with a sort of "Puzzle" necessary for them to advance through. The puzzle itself was slightly complex but nothing they could figure out with their combined wit and shortly after were able to progress forward as the clearing previously available to them opened up revealing a rope ladder leading down into darkness.

The cavern they entered, they slowly realized, was dome shaped. A main chandelier provided the majority of the light in the area along with several candelabra located around the space. There was an obvious captain along among the group surrounded by bandits and other powerfully built races. Not one to miss an opportunity and reach out to his contacts, Talon took the lead followed by Pollae and Scurbiron with Brath'oul and Iryn waiting above to avoid detection.

Talon approached the man whose name they had overheard to be Jabari and began speaking to him in the bandit tongue of thieve's cant. Jabari, interest peaked turned around and continued their dialogue. While they continued their back and forth it wasn't long before his interest wandered to Pollae and Scurbiron. When asked about their names they all answered truthfully with the exception of Scurbiron who gave the name "Motero" confidently. The crew were asked to strip and leave their weapons and gear where they stood and not wanting to provoke a violent response agreed and left their weapons in a pile.

Jabari, not one to be easily impressed, was intrigued by the guile of the three and quickly had them follow him where his men swiftly got into position and raised their weapons at them. With a quick nod Jabari instructed some of his men to put shackles around their wrists while he had two owlbears summoned to a pit directly below them. Brath'oul worried he would have to make new friends took his first action and cut out the more prominent source of light, causing Jabari to have two of his men investigated. Talon, making a quick decision sprinted past the guards to try to get to his equipment as Iryn, seeing her opportunity caused a spike growth to appear on Jabari and his surrounding men.

The crew of the Corsair succeeded in overpowering the bandits, with Scurbiron managing to throw two into the owlbear pit and even physically subduing Jabari himself. Iryn's Spike Growth proved too powerful for the unprepared bandits and the rest subdued the bunch with their abilities. Jabari was then interrogated for Pogranix's location shortly before being stabbed and thrown into the Owlbear pit where he exhausted his last breath.

Finally able to catch their breath the quick realization of the three doors caught there attention and although difficult to get into and riddled with traps, the crew managed to somewhat safely make their way through. The 1st door lead to an alternate exit by a waterfall, the 2nd lead to their room of stockpiled treasure, and the 3rd door lead to Pogranix. While badly beaten and in bad shape, Pogranix was still breathing. The crew did their best to heal some of the damage and clean some of the wounds and only Pogranix wasn't returned to her normal self, she did manage to rest and begin the long process of recovery.

### **Session 14 - Where to Next?**

With Pogranix recovering, the crew thought of a way to call attention to the Corsair. Iryn dove into the cove hiding behind the waterfall and made her way to open waters. Using her Druidic powers, Iryn called the attention of a flock of seagulls to fly towards the Corsair and lead them into the boarding slot hidden beneath the growth on the island. Moments later, as the ship docked into it's dock, the crew explained the situation on the island before leading her to Pogranix still recovering on the table. Pogranix was then moved by the ships crew into the captains quarters as Iryn handed her a healing potion just in case.

Pollae, explained the circumstances of the papers that she had found on Jabari and the table, notifying the captain of dealings between Alendarian and Ciranthean forces as well as reports of a ship that was badly damaged in a way only giants were capable of. There were also snippets of hints that they too were looking for the disks and the fact that the crew had bounties on their heads for the previous involvement in the bombing in Ciranthean.

Korinn, taking in the new information and including what she had already known into consideration, eased the worries of her crew by simplifying their available courses of action. They could wait for information regarding the Ciranthean and Alendarian meeting and approach carefully, look for giants in the north, or go where they would have the advantage in the Dwarven kingdom. Scurbiron reiterated that which had been mentioned before, he was royalty. He explained that his family and many of his people were wiped out by a horde of Gnolls which currently control the area he had once called home, Nulbaram. There were many incentives to heading to Nulbaram, if not simply for the sake of providing closure to their comrade then also to continue forward in their quest by acquiring what would be their 2nd of the four disks inscribed in runes. However there was one word that peaked the interest of everyone within earshot, the Gnolls were sitting on the kingdom's treasure. Having recently lost the majority of their earnings when they were arrested in Ciranthean, the prospect of refilling their pockets once more was more than enough to make the crew salivate.

Once business was off the table, the crew explained the trap system of some of the other rooms to Korinn and the rest as they began moving the chests in the other rooms containing coin, jewelry, and fine fabrics. Korinn was pleased that they were not only able to leave with Pogranix finally save in their arms but also with the bastards gold, she ordered the idle ships crew to begin loading the ship with what they could find. Pollae took time to plot their next course towards Nulbaram. Figuring the weather may be something they would need to take into account, the city of Penca was brought up as a possible stop to acquire the necessary supplies they would need for the trip along with an excuse for a short leave and exchange some of their newly acquired goods.

Before they could leave what was dubbed "Mystery Island" by Pollae, Brath'oul had one last thought that he made Korinn aware of. The island wasn't uninhabited when they first arrived, as they learned through first hand experience and their newly weakened state, and it was likely that if no answer or information would continue from this location that they were likely to come back to check the problem. With the approval of Korinn: Brath'oul and Scurbiron began positioning bodies and cleaning up any obvious signs of struggle while Talon brought gunpowder and improvised detonators that they could set on the bodies for whoever comes checking.

With the exhausting day behind them, the crew back on the ship, they began their four day course to Penca. Along the way maintenance was done, the same sounds of Pollae and Talon's shooting practice and the busy crew resonated aboard the Corsair. Brath'oul took a moment to try to teach Chandler how to flamenco dance and managed to get it into a rhythmic stepping dance which he dubbed a success. Iryn trained Maximeleon how to be a better thief, Unkgill tended to his alcoholic supplies and production, and Scurbiron prepared his mind for what was to come.

Four days cam and four nights passed as they found themselves at the docks of Penca. Korinn handed them gold to exchange as well as a chest of jewels that they would have to exchange to gold coin through a Jeweler. They learned that Penca was a neutral zone and that violence of any sort was heavily restricted. The city itself was surrounded by massive structure and entrance by sea would be done in the south gate. Regardless of the neutral status of Penca, the crew still realized that they were wanted persons and so would have to keep a low profile. As they stepped onto the dock and towards the city, they were asked to leave some of their weapons voluntarily. Although not required, Brath'oul decided to leave the only 2 weapons he had on his possession, 2 daggers. Some of the crew did the same, others not so much. Once the check-in area was cleared, they moved to exchange their gold coins to platinum pieces before heading to a jeweler.

The jeweler, as with most people, was a business man. Wasn't content with just exchanging the jewels for their equal value preferred to make a deal that would be much more beneficial to him. While in the process of haggling, the jeweler went into a safe room where he showed them what a jewel of value looks like. Not being one to miss an opportunity Iryn transformed to get into the safe room unnoticed where she later transformed into a monkey, taking the jewel from the jeweler and making an escape out in the street. The crew, not wanting to be associated with the stray animal, decided to make chase after the transformed Iryn pretending they were attempting to retrieve the monkey and the stolen jewel.

During this time, no longer together in a group, the group split ways and began branching off before eventually running into each other in front of a tailor. At the tailor, Brath'oul decided that he would finally get measured up for a new outfit and requested a new suit and robe with golden embroidery. Loose enough to include furs for the upcoming trip through the cold Dwarven mountains of Nulbaram. One after the other, other members of the crew ended up at the Tailor to buy warmer clothes before Pollae headed back with Brath'oul to make a final deal with the jeweler to exchange their cache of jewels for gold pieces.

With business out of the way the crew began to shop for needed necessities, even managing to stock up on potions, ship supplies, and other necessities. One spontaneous stop even found the crew in a shop operating with mysterious and magical wares. It was in this shop that Unkgill purchased a hovering blade and bottomless flask, Pollae became the new owner of the Deck of Many things, Scurbiron purchased a shield that offered added protection, and Brath'oul became the owner of a pair of Sending Stones. Iryn lingered in the shop for a few moments after the crew made their way out of the shop and they headed together to the nearby bar named The Merciful Rope.

Scurbiron, Iryn, and Pollae were the first behind a set of dice placing their wagers in the hopes of some added coin. Enjoying the atmosphere, live music, and overall theme of the tavern Brath'oul began sampling some of the alcohols at the bar. He met Jeff, the bartender, who introduced Ciranthean red wine as well as something he had never laid his eyes on before that was made by an Alendarian distillery, Blue Griffon. It's taste was just as it was described by Jeff, angelic. He shared a few drinks with his crewmates before putting money down on Scurb who could not lose a game of Liar's Dice that evening.

Through the good feelings and overall atmosphere soon faded slightly from Brath'oul as he noticed a table of four that would not take their eyes off of them. Trying to lose their gaze, Brath'oul approached Scurbiron and convinced him that a victory massage was in order and they headed to the nearest spa with Talon in tow.

Making their way back to the Corsair, Korinn asked the crew if they were followed or watched. Brath'oul explained the situation regarding the four that had been staring from at the Merciful Rope Tavern and it was enough information for Korinn to decide to postpone their journey until they determined their next move.

### **Session 15 - Into The Darkness**

Korinn suggested the crew wait until the following day for an opportunity to learn more about thee suspicious few that had been keeping an eye on the crew. Seeing this as an opportunity for some well deserved rest, the crew headed back to their friend Jeff at the Merciful Rope Tavern. Once the crew filled the place one after the other, having separated to both throw off their potential pursuers trail as well as taking the opportunity for some last minute shopping. Brath'oul was surprised to find Korinn and Pogranix at the bar, Pogranix still looking worse for wear but just a bit more at ease although still looking out of place in the vibrant colors and aroma's of the Merciful Rope. Before the last of the crew arrived, Brath'oul spoke to Jeff with Unkgill to see if there was any information that they could learn in Unkgill's quest to brew new and exotic liquors and alcoholic beverages. Through a bit of conversation they learned about rare ingredients like Alendarian Barley used to make whisky as well as Ginger that could be found East on the lonely continent. Unkgill was gifted a small list of cocktails and their ingredients and Brath'oul learned of a bottle of red wine simply named Wamore that is from a vineyard that has ceased to exist with only 78 bottles rumored to exist in the world of Ningonde.

When Scurbiron arrived at the bar he was pressed by Korinn and the others for information regarding his home. He informed them of any valuable information that he could think of. Specifically that he was a prince to an empty kingdom. That his family was murdered during their escape by Gnolls, Goblins, and Duergar. Scurbiron wasn't aware exactly how they managed to ambush them but there was little he could do at the time. It's believed there may have been some survivors that made their way to neighboring Dwarven kingdoms, but the kingdom of Nulbaran and Scurbiron's birthright had ceased to exist.

As the tavern began filling with sounds from the flute toting bard, the rich aroma's from the kitchen, and the musk of woods soaking in spilled drinks the crew began to think to scan the room looking for the men from the night before. Brath'oul thought a particular table with two men could be the suspects but there was no clear way to tell but he had a plan. When the Flutist was nearing the end of the performance, Brath'oul cast a minor illusion to create a sound behind the flutist, the sound itself was a loud fart. Having a good vantage and using their peripheral to scan the bar and see that the only table not looking directly towards the back wall, were the two at the table. Laughter erupted but the table stood still, they would prepare an ambush and they would act fast. As Korinn and Brath'oul made their way out, the rest of the crew slipped out unseen and made their way to the chosen ambush location. Stealing glances back from time to time, they saw the two men still following at a fair distance back. They walked into a store to give the impression that they were unaware and then stepped outside making their way through an alley. Walking towards the dead end they waited for their pursuers to get closer and walk past the crew. Turning around to face the men, the rest of the crew stood out of their hiding places where one of the men fell in fear knowing that they'd been found out. After a few well stated threats, the men introduced themselves as Frode and Arvid as well as explaining that they were hired to keep an eye on them by a man wearing a mask. The crew, knowing well what the punishment would be if they were caught murdering within Penca, decided to keep them alive but feed them false information. To do so they told Arvid and Frode to deliver a message to their employer, specifically that they were heading North West and if they followed them they were fools. In reality North West wasn't a destination they planned on visiting and figured by the time the finished in the Dwarven city of Nulbaran. Not sure if they could trust anyone the crew made one final stop to the Merciful Rope before returning to the docks to reclaim their weapons. At the tavern they explained to Jeff that they would be going North West in an attempt to throw anyone off their trail if they so chose to inquire about the crew of the Corsair.

After reclaiming their weapons, the crew made their way back to the ship and got it ready for departure. From that point they returned to their on ship duties and passing the time with what they could. The night before arriving at Nulbaran, Brath'oul awoke from his slumber after having dreamt for the first time in years. Although it wasn't like anything he's ever dreamed of before in the past, the dream itself was strangely comforting and he awoke with more questions than he's had to answer. The sounds of shouting began to emanate through the Corsair and Brath'oul ran up to discover two of the ships crew fighting amongst themselves. Although unsuccessful in calming them down Unkgill provided a form of relief with his newly acquired bottomless flask and it's Blue Griffon contents. Brath'oul ran to the captains quarters after realizing that the whole ship had been dreaming and as Korinn confirmed about the nightmares the ship had suffered only to see the landscape of Nulbaran approaching closer and closer with every second.

They decided to ignore the source of their dreams and instead decided to proceed with their task at hand. They dropped down using ropes hanging off the side of the Corsair where they eventually find a smoldering wreckage of a ship. This served as the crew's first sign that this area could prove extremely dangerous. Scurbiron took the lead on their expedition leading them through the crags and towards the entrance. With a firm push, the doors to Nulbaran opened and the smell of death emanated from the door filling their noses. Moving in they are greeted by a massive Dwarf's face that had been carved into the stone. Pressing further they found themselves in what Scurbiron called a receiving room where piles of remains where scattered in the large room. Remains of traps, active traps, and Dwarven faces carved into the stone became a regular sight for the crew as they continued forward.

It wasn't long before they were attacked by Gnoll's but the crew was able to dispatch them with ease and catch their breath. The dark walkways stretched for what felt like forever but Scurbiron acting as their lead eventually lead them to a door and stopped. No matter how hard he tried he could not recall where to continue forward, the only thing he could recall was a week earlier when he had made a deal with Lady Thema exchanging a memory. With no clear direction in which to go there was only one constant, the sound of Hyena like laughter and the scattering sounds of clawed feet. The Gnolls weren't only grouping up in larger numbers but were now also getting closer.

### **Session 16 - The abandoned ruins of Nûlbara /**

With the crew continuing its way to the lower parts of the massive underground structures it wasn't long before the growling and chirping laughter of Gnolls stopped sounding closer and were instead directly confronted by the Gnolls themselves. Battles were swift with Scurbiron unleashing all the rage he had held within himself and releasing it upon every Gnoll and creature that he encountered.

Soon they were face to face with their first real challenge, a locked door with a puzzling opening mechanism. With Scurbiron having traded his memories off for information, the crew found they were forced to solve the puzzle themselves. Shortly after undertaking the task another swarm of Gnolls began to approach from the opposite end of the room. Iryn, finding opportunity in their tight quarters, created a growth of spikes to grow from the ground behind them, making it so that anything that attempted to cross would find it not only difficult to traverse the terrain but would take damage after every attempted step. The Gnolls and their captain took aim from the rear while those too eager to attack from afar risked the difficult and damaging terrain in attempts to reach their potential prey. The crew seizing the opportunity created by Iryn split into two groups where one would attack from range while the others worked on the door. Surprisingly, even as the Gnoll leader fell, the Gnolls still laughing and foaming at the mouth made their way towards the crew, only to be disappointing as the door finally opened and the Crew made their way inside, closing the door behind them.

Forward they marched, carefully and quietly, with seemingly no end in sight, pathway after pathway, door after door until suddenly they were met with damp smells and reflecting lights. Edging ever so slightly forward they understood that the smells were coming from murky water that pooled, who knows how deep, below them... A narrow bridge being the only thing that separated them from a potentially fatal watery grave. There were, of course, some familiar sounds to be heard. One of the crew members even recognized the language they were speaking. In an attempt to parley and make peace with what Unkgill instantly recognized as the Goblin language, instead became a near immediate retaliation in the form of attack. As the crew advanced, dispatching enemies left and right, they found themselves on a dangerous situation as they noticed off to the far sides of the room were being used by Gnolls firing their arrows safely at a distance. In a feat as amazing as it is unbelievable Iryn, druid of the seas, raised a wall of water to shield them from incoming fire so they could safely take out the enemies ahead.

Feeling betrayed by the goblins he originally thought would assist him Unkgill asked Scurbiron for a boost to advance over a makeshift tower that stood on the opposite end of the bridge. Willing to comply, Scurbiron hunched forward readying himself for the throw. With Unkgill now comfortable in the air and behind his newfound enemies he, as well as the rest of the crew, worked together to take down the remaining combatants and advance to the next leg of their journey through the mountain.

### **Session 17 - In the Halls of the Last King of the Mountain**

Having made their way past the bridge room, the Crew found themselves in a larger room with a door near their immediate presence as well as what appeared to be a way down. Instinctively they decided to go into the doorway closest to them where they found themselves in what appeared to be an armory. For a moment things started to look up however it wasn't long before Scurbiron, while the rest of the crew were collecting replacements for their tattered and dulled weapons, started sharing what he could about his ancestor that founded the city Duergath Orfoe and his father Hardeck Nulbaram.

After leaving the armory they made their way to what appeared to be a form of garrison. As with previous rooms the garrison was void of any living beings, full instead of shattered objects, damaged weapons, and corpses both fresh and those that have been around for too long. Seeing no way to continue through a standard doorway, at least none that Scurbiron could remember or that the Crew could see, Pollae inserted a piton to the side of the elevated structure and tied a rope to it, making her way down onto a flat and almost cube like surface. With an exclamation she called for the rest of the crew to follow, which they did.

Once the the slab of stone, the Crew had a better view of what they were standing on and even noticed that Scurbiron's original ancester, Duergath Orcfoe, was the one holding the slab that they were on. Scurbiron would later explain that it was in this way that Duergath planted the seed into the mountain that would eventually become Nulbaram. Brath'oul stood in wonder for a bit as the crew dropped down from the slab of stone while Brath'oul followed a path leading to the underarm of the statue. There he was met with a long pathway leading to a door with a 10 foot gap on the floor. Not wasting any time, Brath'oul ran towards the gap releasing a firebolt in the direction of the door that splintered it open and into pieces, he leaped over the gap and made it to the side. Catching his breath for a brief moment he noticed 3 chests before him. He took a moment to inspect each chest and found one of the three completely empty. Another chest released a poison mist that caused some decent internal damage, but the third at the very least had at least a pound of gems. After placing them into his bag, he leaped back over the gap and rejoined the crew that were just making their way out of what Brath'oul comes to learn was Scurbiron's fathers grave. The final resting place of Hardeck Nulbaram had him slightly preserved along with his great weapon, crown, and ceremonial armor. Not wanting to be in a situation where they could be stolen, Scurbiron added the items to his possessions exclaiming that he will be the one to find the next king of Nulbaram.

With Scurbiron, now donning his father's weapon and armor, leading the way before them they make it to a room with a large metal grate on the floor below them. Looking down into it they see that there is no bottom that they could see in this large pit covered by the grate. It's in this area that the sounds of both Goblins and Gnolls echo from all around, though the familiar signs of incoming danger are more the sounds of screams and crunches, it's clear from the sounds that they are attacking each other and possibly eating each other alive as well. The nearest exit from this area is a door which they hastily made their way into. The room itself was mostly bare but it did provide the Crew with a room that could be easily guarded and a narrow entrance for whatever enemy to make it through.

Quickly making their way to rest in this room it wasn't long before their slumber was interrupted by another round of combat against the incoming Gnolls. It was a close battle but ultimately the Crew survived the door blasting open and coordinating in the narrow space.

After dispatching their enemies, the crew finally took the time to rest. It was during this time of rest that the Crew began to develop an interest for the deck of cards Pollae had purchased earlier while in Penca. Brath'oul decided to go first, drawing a card with a star drawn onto it, although at first he didn't feel any different he eventually noticed that there was an additional weighted flare about his presence that was even apparent to him.

Talon decided to draw as well, requesting three in total. The first two cards that hey drew were cards depicting both a rogue and a talon. Although nothing occurred after drawing the Rogue, he did realize after drawing the Talon that his boots which he had purchased in Penca had vanished. Not being know to be someone to back down, he drew his third card which quickly animated before pouring out of the card and coming into full form before Talon. It appeared as death incarnate and challenged Talon to a fight to the death, even warning the remaining crew from interference. With his new added charisma, Brath'oul attempted to help Talon without actually physically or otherwise challenging death. It was in this way along with Talon's skill that he was able to overcome the challenge and the Crew was finally able to take a well deserved rest.

### **Session 18 - The Royal Chambers of Nulbara**

Having finally gotten their well deserved rest, the crew had a very obvious problem that needed to be resolved, Talon lost his only pair of boots. It didn't take long for a replacement set of boots to be found however they were being worn by existing corpses and many sizes to small. With a bit of ingenuity, Brath'oul Cleaned up the boots after having removed whatever matter remained inside, as Talon got off the tips of the leather boots to allow for his toes to make it through. With that problem out of the way they all continued down the remaining path where they were face to face with large intricately decorated doors. Making their way through the doors they were met with a room full of furniture and the stale stagnant smells of their surroundings with at the end of every room they entered leading to yet another door.

Before long an opened door led to a different site, this time to a staircase heading down towards the darkness leading a a room with an open arch, filled with crates. Curiosity taking over, Pollae and Talon checked the crates only to be immediately attacked by goblins having taken residents in the crates. A battle ensued and eventually all but their leader was defeated. Unkgill, the only one who could communicate with the Goblin, began conversing with it only learning that the Goblins had gone to the cave system in order to find a place to call home. After their numbers were dwindled by the gnolls, and recently the crew, did they begin to go into hiding. Shortly after receiving the information Pollae approached the Goblin and killed it with her blade.

After their bout in combat the crew made their way down into what looked like a large room with a boulder directly in front of them. As they hurried down the stairs the familiar sounds of gnolls could be heard behind them. Picking up the pace they were able to make it to the large boulder but where unable to move it. It wasn't until the sounds of gnolls continued to get closer that Scurbiron placed his hands on the boulder and it began to glow with Dwarvish Runes lighting up as the boulder began to shift and then fully move off to the side. Brath'oul tried to provide cover fire by shooting a couple of firebolts at the darkness where the sounds were originating from. One by one as the crew made it into the chamber hidden behind the boulder it was down to Scurbiron and Brath'oul holding the line. Scurbiron looked at Brath'oul and instructed him to make his way in, he nodded in agreement but his face soon showed shock and he saw Scurbiron move the boulder behind him shut. Brath'oul shouted for Scurbiron to stop, but it was too late and all he heard before the sound was complete cut off with a final roaring bellow that could only originate from Scurbiron.

Looking defeated, Brath'oul slammed his fist against the boulder before turning his attention on how to find an alternative way to get to Scurbiron. The only way forward was forward and they eventually made their way into an area that looked like a large workshop with forging and smelting equipment in sizes that seemed impossible. While starring at their surroundings they made their way into an area with a large door with semi-spheres that appeared to be missing from the set. Looking around Talon was able to find a few objects on the ground that resembled objects that could belong in the door, he notified the rest of the rest of the crew about his find but before he could finish the sounds of gnolls continued to get closer, followed by a deeper growl that followed a set of laughs coming from a clearly more dominant gnoll like creature.

As the crew tried to figure out how to get the door open as soon as possible, it wasn't long before gnolls started appearing from all around them and a vicious battle ensued. With things not looking well for the crew, it was nothing short of a miracle that they were able to not only hold off the gnoll creatures but one even larger than they have ever faced. With their enemies defeated took a short rest to allow for their thoughts to catch up and patch up their new wounds.

### **Session 19 - The Vault, and Out of the Darkness**

Recovering from their previous injuries and adjusting to their new surrounds the crew began looking for alternate paths to advance further. A set of stairs were found that lead them down to a room with a large circular gap on the floor. Attempts to determine the depth of the hole proved futile as rope never reached the bottom and the stone dropped in never returned a definite sound confirming that it stopped.

Iryn made her way across after securing a rope and the rest of the crew followed after one at a time. From the other side Brath'oul was able to see that the large smelting pot that they had all seen previously was was connected to chains that followed the path of a groove on the ground. Making their way back and to the smelting pot the crew worked together to push the smelting pot following the groove and managed to get it halfway along the path before it stopped in place. Stuck and without any ideas and Scurbiron still strong in his thoughts, Brath'oul stopped to think about the times he'd spent with Scurbiron on their time off and someone managed to recall a story that he had told him regarding the smelting pot. Sharing the information with the rest of the crew they made their way to the top of the smelting pot where they were able to re-direct it correctly to it's final spot where a door opened, allowing them to advance.

Immediately after entering the new room, the most obvious thing that they could see was a pyramid shaped object that was 20x20 feet. A few stone chests were around the area along with several stands, a face carved from stone was present as well that appeared to be tethered to the wall in chains. The stands contained a few objects including a glove, a book, and a change of clothes. Talon went for the gloves, Unkgill went for the clothes, and Iryn went for the book. They then went to open a few of the chests which somehow resulted in triggering a panic attack in Iryn that resulted in her losing consciousness. Brath'oul feating for her life kicked the book out of her hands before trying to bring her back to consciousness. Shortly after the pyramid in the middle of the room begins to shake and open, exposing what they had been looking for, another disk. The disk itself was emerald in material and color. As the crew reached out for the disk the face carved into the wall cracked and shattered, exposing a large skeletal face that began to animate, gnolls apearing behind it along with visions of madness and hair covered arms.

Iryn was awoken and the crew began to make haste towards the exit putting as much distance between them and a number gnolls emerging form the skeletal wall. Dashing towards the exit, Brath'oul was letting loose a volley of Firebolts behind them managing to take out a few of their pursuers down. It wasn't long before they were back at the chamber where Scurbiron had left them previously. The scene was one of a horror movie with dozens of gnolls scattered dead in a newly bloodied chamber. There was no sign of Scurbiron in their immediate line of sight but they pushed past the gnoll corpses and found their way to the final resting place of Scurbiron's deceased father. That is where, kneeling before them with crown a top his head stood, Scurbiron prayed to his ancestor accepting his fate as the new king of Nulbara having exacted revenge on those that wiped out his people and family.

Having made their way back above ground and out into the the cold, Scurbiron re-sealed the entrance as his new family promises to help Scurbiron rebuild his home. Now safely aboard the corsair, Jareth arrived and almost immediately set Brath'oul off for no apparent reason. To have him leave them be, Brath'oul gave Jareth a gem stone worth nearly 100 gp to simply look the other way and leave them. It was during this time that the crew returned back to their regular tasks as they had plotted a course to Penca. Almost immediately as they took off, the traditional game of liar's dice was brought up with the price being more than just the standard gold coins they had previously wagered and instead had 2 cards from the Deck of Many Things placed as the pot. Pogranix, having mostly recovered from the previous torment she had suffered, was finally able to participate with the recreational activities of the crew and agreed to play. It was a close game but she joined the table and played with her own set of dice at the ready. One by one the challengers failed until Pogranix was the only one remaining, Pogranix rolled a final dice to determine who among the participants would be able to draw from the two cards available, landing on Pollae and Brath'oul.

As he pulled from the deck and brought the card to his view, he saw written on the card "The Fates" as a whisper of an idea ran through Brath'ouls mind. He had an opportunity finally to bypass the impossible task placed before the crew in order to be able to resurrect Rinari. Although conflicted, having only wanted to return home since being outcast, he made his final decision to revert the action that killed Rinari and instead made it so that she would be among them. He saw brief images and key events that had happened in reverse re-writing all that had happened with Iryn and the rest of the crew as he then saw some events that he did not remember with Rinari among the group. As he finally blinked he watched as in Iryn's place, Rinari was back. He stared at Rinari as he saw the crew act as if she had been there the entire time, testing Unkgill's new cocktail concoctions and sharing moments with the crew. He was amazed as well as shocked yet guilty knowing that Iryn was still somewhere in captivity near Biburh in Wamor.

After landing in Penca the crew made their familiar stops at the reception of the city, leaving their weapons, and making their way to their main hub, the Merciful Rope. They gave their regular greetings to Jeffrey, asked about new drinks they might be able to have as Brath'oul bought a round for the crew of the Corsair. Brath'oul and Scurbiron shared a moment of friendship and brotherhood as they, along with Talon, walked towards the spa and a restaurant recommended by Jeffrey, "The Gorgon's Eye."

### **Session 20 - Back to Civilization**

The short walk towards the restaurant was cut short as the promise of more gambling was brought up again in the form of Liars Dice. Brath'oul, deciding to obtain more information about the restaurant which they were planning on visiting, went back to the bar to speak with Jeffrey to ask about what kind of establishment the Gorgon's Eye was. After a few drinks and short conversation with Jeffrey, he learned about Joben and witnessed Rinari purchase something from a small statured, childlike, woman sitting nearby. It was in that instant that Brath'ouls vision began to blur and then split as he saw both Rinari and Iryn at either side of his peripheral. The white noise built up and increased in volume for what seemed like minutes just as he stood only for his knee's to buckle as he dropped to his knees then completely collapsed onto the ground.

As he regained consciousness, believing it to be the next day, he felt his body lifted from the ground and balanced onto his feet. The crew was there and nothing appeared to change, the same scene from before he lost consciousness still in play with Rinari completing her transaction. Trying to play it off, he instructed the crew that he knew where they would have dinner and invited the lot out to eat, confident that they would have seating after speaking with Jeffrey.

Still slightly recovering from his earlier breach of consciousness, Brath'oul used the sound of people to distract from the sound of Rinari's voice shifting from her own to Iryn's and then back again. Arriving at the Gorgon's Eye, Brath'oul was relieved for a moment to break away from the crew and began looking for anyone matching Joben's description. It didn't take too long for Brath to locate Joben and he approached asking for the possibility of entrance to the establishment for himself and his invited guests. Almost instantly Joben extended his hand in a passive way of asking for a handout, one which Brath'oul understood very well and handed him over multiple pieces of platinum pieces. Joben, now satisfied with their transaction, allowed the party entrance to the restaurant and they were guided to a table that had just been recently cleared. While they waited busperson's to clear the table and allow them to sit, they saw around them the food that was to come and realized that it was a pre-determined menu. Shortly after they sat they were all provided with the necessary plates and silverware while their first dish was served, followed by the next, and the next, until they reached dessert. The first dish that they were able to enjoy was a lobster salad, this was followed by a seasonal vegetable soup which was immediately followed up with a palette cleanser that left them with a light aftertaste of lime and rose. The main course arrived and the smell of roast filled the room as they were each presented with decently sized portions of both slow roasted lamb and potatoes. Just as they couldn't possibly consume another bite, the final thing to arrive were assortments of tea's and coffee's as well as different desserts. Enjoying a small conversation with his crew mates he stood and proposed a toast to the crew, lingering on Rinari before explicitly looking at the rest of his friends and new family with a "Welcome back."

The one thing they weren't expecting was the bill that awaited them, realizing now that it was 100 per person and not per table, Brath'oul bit the bullet having been the person to drag everyone along with him and paid the 500 gp. After settling the bill they left and split up to do their shopping with the agreement that they would meet up by the Apothecary after they were finished with their individual tasks.

It wasn't before long that one by one they ended up at the Apothecary where Brath'oul found out that many of the ingredients he was looking for were not available. So he waited for everyone to finish before following them to a blacksmith where they found Scurbiron just beat a Dwarven opponent to the ground and prove that he was, in fact, the new king of Nulbara. With more victory under their belt, by proxy, they returned to the Merciful Rope and retired to their rooms for the night.

That night Brath'oul had multiple dreams that seemed to be memories that were being relived. Sure that it was a dream he found himself wandering the streets of Penca only to find himself face to face with a familiar house. Just as he reached the red doors of the home, as with most dreams, Brath'oul woke from his slumber and sighed a sigh of relief as he made himself presentable for the days activities, no matter what they may be. Seeing that some of the crew had already gathered, he went to get the missing members of the crew and called them down for breakfast. After having his fill, Brath'oul headed to the blacksmith that they had come across previously and commissioned a mask be made for him, putting a down payment of 10gp before heading to a nearby petshop where he purchased a few things for his feathered mascot before finally heading towards the Bank of Penca to open an account and begin his savings as his form of insurance. Just as soon as he exited the bank, the scene around him began to unfold and he recalled the dreams he had just the night before. Tracing the steps he took his dream he found his vision blurred once more and he stumbled towards what his vision eventually cleared to, the familiar red doors that were not only present in his dream, but that he had visited before, but never in either this city or on the continent. Making his way to the familiar door, it creaked open just as it had before. Entering and finding himself in a dark room, he walked toward the stairs he knew would be there. As he ascended the first step, lights began to light up on the sides just barely illuminating his path. Just as quickly as he made his ascension up the stairs he found himself at the top, eyeing the open corridor which led him straight to the person he thought he'd never have to see again.

After would could have possibly been hours, Brath'oul made his way back to the Merciful Rope with enough pent up aggression to challenge a fighter to a no holds barred fight. After having a quick drink, he removed his long hooded robes, scarf, and tie and entered the ring with his daggers prepared in their sheaths. With a few quick movements and precise actions and attacks, his opponent fell unconscious with Brath'oul suffering only the most minimal of damage. Temporarily satisfied, he prestidigitatized the sweat from his hair and body and sat for another drink having learned that he had just succeeded in making his friends pockets just a bit more full. With what little gold he had left he ordered another round and Unkgill took the moment of calm to explain to the crew about his newly acquired bounty hunter license as well as a high profile bounty involving serial murders which have left 6 individuals dead, that the authorities are aware of, with interestingly small puncture marks on their neck. Shortly after their conversation and having taken the possibility of making spare coin as bounty hunters, the picked up where they left off and where tradition would demand by having them all take out their sets of dice to play a round of Liars Dice. Once the clicks and clatters of dice hit the table a stranger approached them to play, introducing himself as Stilgar he took a seat at their table. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary however, just as many before him, the suggestion of increasing the pool. Not having much to lose, the crew agreed and for the first time since learning the game, Brath'oul won the pool. Unsure of how to accept this new found confidence and as some what call it "luck" that seems he had acquired, he began to feel emboldened and, not taking consequence into his calculations, thought about what he would do with the reward of the potential bounties they would now be eligible for.

### **Session 21 - In the Free City**

With Stilgar having left the table after his defeat, Brath'oul asked Unkgill for any other information or lead that he could share or describe. Thinking back for a moment on the information he had acquired that day Unkgill described a tall dark man with a long sword that wore a long trench coat and a pair of steampunk style goggles. With what little information they had, the crew approached Jeffrey hoping to learn a bit more about their mysterious lead and to their surprise he knew exactly who they were talking about and confirmed that the person they were looking for shows up most evenings, seeing as he wasn't currently there they decided to turn in and call it a night.

The next morning the crew woke up and had breakfast. After they each had their fill they went to their designated areas to finish their last remaining errands before having to rendezvous on the ship and make their way to their next destination, wherever that may be. Brath'oul hurried to the blacksmith to pick up his order, paid the smith the secondary payment and was pleased with the work done on the mask. Looking out for anyone who may have followed him to the shop, he popped up and draped his hood over his head and made his way back to the Merciful Rope. Not sure what to do until evening as they waited for their lead, the crew passed the time with a bit of Liar's Dice before Scurbiron and Brath'oul discussed the possibility of a friendly match between the two. As they continued to describe their hypothetical battle, the surrounding people grew excited by the no holds barred fight between the powerful New Dwarf King of the Lost Kingdom of Nulbara and the strange pale Sorcerer with fancy clothes.

Before they could even finish their game of Liar's Dice, they were ushered on and cheered as they were taken to an room in the back that quickly filled with patrons of the bar as they began placing bets on the challengers. Realizing it was now too late to back out, both Scurbiron and Brath'oul agreed on a gentleman's duel until one of them was unable to continue. Brath'oul took of his Coat, scarf, and tie as Scurbiron stretched a bit before claiming his War Hammer and grasping it in both hands. As the two met at the center of the fighting field Scurbiron went first missing both blows followed by Brath'oul who cast a hypnotic image to stop Scurbiron in his tracks. Waiting for his rage like state to wear off, Brath'oul took a moment to concentrate on his next few possible actions before actually making a move. Having come up with a brief strategy, he cast a series of powerful magics snapping Scurbiron out of his trance and into his trademark enraged state. Charging towards Brath'oul he was able to get too powerful hits in that nearly dropped Brath'oul instantly. Attempting the same strategy as before, a hypnotic pattern began to re-appear in the air before Scurbiron, but unlike the last time this time he was prepared. With his greater lifespan and far superior battle experience, Scurbiron managed to shrug off the illusion and charge straight for Brath'oul. Unlike Scurbiron, Brath'oul lacked the countless experience gained on the field of battle and was hit hard by the Dwarf's barrage of attacks. The Sorcerer fell hard and the New King of Nulbara claimed victory.

Brath'oul didn't remember much the moment he woke up upstairs at the tavern, but he did know that he was in intense pain. He rested long enough to nurse some of the superficial wounds but his insides were still aching and ringing like a bell that had just been struck. He made his way downstairs in time to see the crew of the Corsair enjoying a few drinks as well as Scurbiron screaming at the top of his lungs by the bar with a strange and unusual drink in his hands. A few minutes later as Scurbiron ceased his loud screaming, Brath'oul noticed Unkgill approaching a man that matched the description he had given them all previously. Out of the corner of his eye Brath'oul saw what his mind automatically registered as impossible which brought back the headaches and unbalanced state he had suffered the day before. Fighting the strong pressure he turned to focus on the what he was identifying as Iryn, as his vision began to double and split he saw both Iryn and Rinari momentarily in the same spot. Grasping his head with his left hand he walked up to the bar and asked Jeffrey for a drink, refusing an invitation to try the drink that caused Scurbiron to scream.

Having control of himself again he looked over to Rinari and saw her trying to cut a deal with a flamboyantly dressed man, shooing Scurbiron during the altercation. While the rest of the crew played Liar's Dice, Unkgill learned that there was a nearby spice farmer, named Duncan, that may be able to sell him some of the required ingredients he needed to complete some of his cocktails. Another round of Liar's Dice passed while Scurbiron and Brath'oul decided that this flamboyantly dressed wizard had ripped off their friend and they decided to have a word with him and his possible acquaintances. Despite their best efforts of address and find a peaceful resolution, the wizards became verbally hostile towards Brath'oul and having lost his patience and still suffering from the nausea and headaches from his previous fight with Scurbiron and the strange relapses, he had enough and grasped them both in an earthen grasp, making his way calmly towards the door back door and towards the arena where he and Scurbiron had previously fought earlier that day.

Although he was initially expecting the sound of rustling chairs as patrons got to their feet and hurried to the stage surrounding the fighting ring, what he wasn't expecting the silence as individuals blocked his way from the arena. One of the two entrapped in the earthen grasp broke free and cast a powerful hand that ended hitting brath'oul and tempting his concentration. Realizing that the wizards had more pull in this tavern than he did, Brath'oul released the earthen grasp from the wizard that had ripped off his friend and apologized, explaining that he resembled a man that had did wrong to him in the past...a man named Christian Hendrickson. Worried that this could continue to escalate, as well as being surrounded by an unwanted audience, the wizard decided not to continue this further having already become a few hundred gold richer.

Defeated for a second time that day, Brath'oul realized that his luck had finally ran out and headed to the bar to Jefferey for another drink. As the rest of the crew called it a night, Brath'oul noticed that Unkgill was still speaking with Niphe. Joining their table he asked to participate in the potential hunt for the undead and as soon as they had settled their tab, they made their exit trailing Niphe.

Unkgill and Brath'oul were not very familiar with where they were heading exactly but the were unfazed by it due to the aura of confidence that Niphe was exuding. As they broke into a quiet house, Niphe explained his lead and advised them to get into position near the main room. After what seemed like hours a scream was heard from what they discovered was a man and woman. Emerging from their positions they sprung their ambush and faced what they assumed were 3 humanoids and 1 vampire. Together with Niphe, Unkgill and Brath'oul were able to avoid gunfire and dispatch the targets. What happened next took them by surprise as the "vampire" surrendered explaining that he wasn't really a vampire and actually a goon hired to have people taken out upon request. When asked to name the person sending him the targets the faux vampire hesitated to respond until Brath'oul slammed him on the floor and removed his ear. In a ploy to terrify the man into speaking, he tossed the ear to Unkgill who instantly consumed the ear and snarled. Not wanting to live his last moments in intense pain, he gave up his handler and explained that this person had no name and was only known as the nameless. Realizing that there was no safe place for this person again, Brath'oul killed him swiftly knowing that he would not survive long after having been discovered and that they would get information about who managed to stop him before actually disposing of him.

After turning in the corpses to the Bounty Hunters Guild and received their compensation, Unkgill and Brath'oul made their way back to the Merciful Rope where they retired for the night with the fresh thoughts of what the person had said and the lack of name they were given that had originally kickstarted their search for the disks, The Nameless.

### **Session 22 - A Pirates Life For Me**

The following morning, having had enough time spent in the city, the crew awoke the next morning and held a short meeting with their captain to determine where their next course would take them. They discussed the Bleesed City Thenione that was protected by a massive shield like black dome rumored to be inhabited by whatever was left of the Fayth. The Buarghun Highlands on the continent of Estra. Diam Keep with it's circumference scattered with small settlements, trappers, and remnants of the fanatical cult of the Heavenly Sword. As Rinari showed the crew the map of the ancient library, which she had recently acquired, the decision was unanimous to mark the location the map and began plotting their course.

With their destination clear, Brath'oul and some of the crew revisited Ulfgar the Blacksmith. There a greataxe was purchased for Scurbiron to replace the one he lost in Nulbara. Once the transaction was completed, the remaining crew eventually met up back on the shop where they journeyed ahead. While back on the ship, Brath'oul began setting up the deliveries that he had received specifically for Chandler. A set of steal antler's horns with a velvet covering for Chandler to perch on, along with fresh and dry assortment of fruits and nuts along with regular bird feed, and a small tin cup with which he could scream into undeterred.

One to two days time is all it took before they were present before the Blessed City of Thenione and it's obsidian like dome. Curiosity besting her, Rinari took her magical broom and Unkgill with her to inspect the infinitely dark dome surrounding the city. The Corsair stood nearby, slowly edging forward towards their destination making sure not to move so Rinari could easily locate them upon their return. Rinari determined that the dome's purpose was that of a force field while Unkgill determined that the field simply needed a drink. After politely offering the dome some of his Blue Griffon, he began to pour his bottomless flask over the field while Rinari inspected to see if there were any noticeable breaks on the dome. Left unsatisfied with no additional information learned about the dome, they began making their way back to the ship with what they have learned. It was during this time that Brath'oul, having felt sorry for mistreating Jareth again, decided to apologize the best way he knew how, with a gift. After apologizing, Brath'oul handed Jareth a fresh ration and made his way to the deck with the others awaiting Rinari and Unkgill's return.

After returning and returning to their daily tasks, it was another day before they came across the first sign of another ship since they left Penca. The ship carried new flag and was a similar brigandine type ship like the Corsair. With the promise of a potential score in their mind, the Captain was approached by some of the crew with the option of raiding the likely cargo ship. Rinari used her broom and the clouds as cover as she scouted the ship from a reasonable distance. The Corsair did it's best to be as passive in appearance as possible but shortly during her absence the absence of noise was quickly destroyed as an explosive sound followed by the sights and smell of a burning ship became instantly apparent. Taking it as a signal, the crew of the Corsair prepared to board and began attacking the opposing ships rigging's in an effort to slow them down. Just as with previous encounters, some of the crew of the other ship chose to live rather than perish with their ship as the crew of the Corsair began to plunder what they could from the new heavily damaged ship. Although many perished in the fire, 3 were able to survive the fire, not including 1 particular fighter on the ship that was taken as a prisoner to give information regarding any potential traps along with the content in the containers they managed to take.

With the crew safely back on the ship, they watched as what had been a fully functioning ship just moments ago, was now nothing but a slowly dropping fleck of ash making it's way to the sea below. All in all the total takings from the plundered loot was 200 electrum, 155 gold, 101 silver, some valuable textile and fabric materials, along with 2 crates that were filled with rocks of some kind. The three new crew mates of the ship were not able to explain or say with 100% guarantee the rocks were as they had not been informed themselves, they did however introduce themselves as Kato, Nicali, and Naveen.

Still unsatisfied with their answer, Brath'oul approached the only other survivor of the ship that had been locked away in the brig. Brath'oul didn't bother asking the captives name only wanting to learn information regarding the cargo but unfortunately, the captive was nearing closer and closer to deaths door at every passing moment. Although he did not enter the cell or remove the captives manacles, he did give heal him enough so that he could stabilize and answer his questions. In the short conversation he learned that the shipment was meant for Alendaria on the continent of Asland. Specifically the that Alendarian troops under Bauer were supposed to meet and pick up this shipment. It was as the conversation was ending that Talon, taking it upon himself to acquire additional information decided to question the captive again and freed him of his manacles and his cell, allowing him to be part of the crew. Brath'oul did not agree, but who was he to disagree with his friend.

### **Session 23 - To The Library**

Watching as the ex-captive made his way to the deck and acquaintance himself with the ship, Brath'oul waited for him to be out of site before approaching the captain. He explained what he had learned from his conversations with the man as well as the potentially dangerous substances that they were now in possession of in the form of stones, a similarity he likened to the time they were framed for the explosion at Biburh.

Leaving the captain to decide what to do with the information he gave her, he retired to his section which was now outfitted to accommodate his feathered companion. After clearing up any potential fecal matter using prestidigitation, he began to try to teach Chandler a new trick to add to his impressive repertoire of tricks.

With the day bleeding into night before the following days rising sun, the crew eventually made it to their destination. A derelict almost temple like structure of a size that completely took the crew by surprise. The door to the entrance was covered in vines as well as signs in different languages which translated to the simple phrase "Stay Out." Having encountered puzzle like entrance in the past, they started this entry as they had with the dozens before, a quick knock and a push. The door gave way and opened, welcoming the crew of the Corsair into the dark room before them.

They found themselves in the main room, a cylindrical room with books and scrolls scattered around the floor and maps etched onto the walls around them. A desk at the center of the table was checked and a few slabs of soft wood were found resting on it. While Talon inspected the wood, the rest of the crew noticed areas of the maps adorning the walls missing a few regions. Quickly taking out his dagger, Talon fashioned the wood into the shapes of the missing areas of the map and after the final piece was inserted an opening appeared leading them to the next area.

The room they entered revealed a very grim sight. No longer were they in a library but rather in something that resembled a morgue. Cadavers and other humanoid parts were on cool metal operating rooms or preserved in containers throughout the room. While searching through the room, Pollae discovered a bathroom and then entered only to be ambushed. Talon and Brath'oul identified the monstrosity right away, as earlier in their adventures they were nearly destroyed by one, before them stood a Golem. Round after round the crew whittled down the golem's stamina until it finally crumbled, at one point Brath'ouls fountain of wild magic even summoned a unicorn to Rinari's delight. Scouring the room one last time Pollae was able to find a key while the crew stumbled upon a detailed model of a human brain. Finding no way forward from this lab like room, the crew returned to the cylindrical room where they proceeded through an alternative entrance with a spiral staircase leading up.

The next few rooms stored research papers, one room in particular specifically on the topic of humanoids that resembled angelic beings and had wings. Trying to absorb enough information as they could they eventually made their way to a dead end. In the room they found three abacuses in the center of yet another cylindrical room. The abacuses were made of three different materials, specifically of obsidian, marble, and ivory. After trying to find some kind of combination or some kind of hidden switch they noticed a slot on the wall with no clear way to open it. Working together as a team, the crew wedged the door slightly before using their combined strength to open the door that lead to yet another stairwell.

One by one they entered the stairwell and made their way up to another room with a kitchen and dining room. Within moments the crew were yet again ambushed by creatures with tentacles. Brath'oul was the first that was swept up and instantly paralyzed. With the collaboration of the rest of the team they managed to hold off the beasts but unfortunately Unkgill was also swept up and paralyzed by one of the tentacled monsters. Not long after Unkgill was swept up, Brath'oul and Unkgill were free'd by the crew and together managed to destroy the third creature.

Taking the time recover from their previous trauma's the crew unanimously decided to finally retire into their long rest. Rinari began her ritual spell to summon a safe space for them to retire with a Leomund's Tiny Hut. Before sleeping, they decided on one game of Liar's Dice for the coveted prize of drawing one more card from Pollae's Deck of Many Things. Brath'oul ended up winning this game and drawing a card that, like many before, disappeared from his hand only to be replaced by an ornate wand. Not ready to share what he had acquired, Brath'oul kept it a secret before finally letting his heavy eyelids close as he drifted asleep.

### **Session 24 - (STILL) At the Library**

Sleeping was near impossible that night as the night was riddled with horrifying sounds in their surroundings. Nothing they could see through the magical barrier set up by Rinari but definitely heard. As the sun rose the following morning the crew woke up to finish their short detour adventure into the final chambers of the library. After a simple breakfast of rations, they were continuing on their way advancing through the library.

Hours into their day and shortly after noon, the crew found themselves in a large cylindrical room, a clear pattern from the previous rooms they have been in but still noticeably larger than some of the previous rooms. Having already been shocked by the smell and sight of gore throughout their journey through this construct, they almost had no reaction to what they saw before them, that is until they noticed a message scrawled in blood on the walls, "I see you."

Spreading around the room, trying to detect or identify anything related to the message, they made their way past various body parts belonging to various humanoid and creature alike. Approaching the blood written message they also became aware of a large arcane circle that Scurbiron suspected could be a summoning circle, Rinari took a few moments to examine the circle drawn onto the floor in blood and confirmed Scurbiron's suspicions. While trying to determine the origins of the or rather what was attempted to be summoned by the circle, a large humanoid was found laying on a stone slab off to the side of the room. Although wounded, it was obvious after checking the body that it was still alive. Beginning to treat the humanoid, in the hopes of acquiring some additional information from it, it slowly began to come to very wary of it's surroundings.

Brief introductions were made, the crew introduced themselves one by one and learned that the humanoid, named Hephaestus, is a druidic Firbolg. Hephaestus had been kidnapped by an unknown group and was used to aid, by force, in the opening of the portal at the center of the room. It was just as Hephaestus was finally regaining some of his strength and sitting up that a loud thud was heard and a bolt had struck Pollae in the shoulder. Drawing their weapons the crew formed a circle and readied their weapons, as Pollae removed the bolt from her shoulder a large bright flash focused and then violently exploded light out and filled the entire room nearly rendering the crew nearly blind. The fight was like nothing they've experienced before and all their efforts seemed almost entirely ineffective. Brath'oul scrambled for cover with Haphaestus, using the stone slab to cover as they hit the ground. It did little help trying to hide as their combatant had the ability to shoot from all directions. Once they all came under fire it was made clear that this creature wasn't shooting from all directions because of speed but rather from magical means, because of this they had to prepare their actions and wait for the exact moment that the monster appeared. Even with their handicap the crew was able to coordinate and work together to take down their foe. What happened next took the crew by surprise, as the monster stopped vanishing and stumbled a few moments before exploding. After taking a moment to catch their breath and nurse their wounds they continued forward, as they have before.

In the next room they came face to face with a severely injured old man. Using their resources to bring the old man back into consciousness, they tried to get as much information from the man as fast as possible. Shortly after the old man was able to speak he introduced himself as Zorlac and began telling them about a city of gardens named Chepstyd. The city is the Aasimar city where they are currently the only inhabitants that are able to enter and exit at will. This information proved useful given the fact that the black dome that Rinari and Unkgill had previously investigated is actually the location of this city. After making the correlation between the "hidden" city and the aasimar stronghold, they finally learned where to find the third disk that they were looking for. Thinking out loud among themselves, Zorlac heard them speak of the disks and warned them through the story of Lyanna, the Divine Hammer, and founder/leader of the Order of the Heavenly Sword. Specifically, he told them of the time the Heavenly Sword was a force to do good. It wasn't until they started using deadly force that the people began to see them not as saviors or hero's but of a fanatical group thirsty to spread a form of "Heavenly Celestial Justice" onto the peoples of Ningonde. The Aasimar was the race of humanoids that Lyanna was a part of, and even though they originally supported Lyanna, 500 years ago they came together with the other races and peoples of the world to stop her and seal her away with the help of the Fayth and the four disks, two of which the crew is in possession of, in what was once the capitol of Redolia where she is currently in stasis. When the crew asked for the location of the lost capitol they were informed that the region is up in the mountains and has since then been infested with dragons.

Having learned as much information as they could from Zorlac, the crew left the library with even more things to figure out. On the way out, Brath'oul made a point to pick up the abacuses made of obsidian, marble, and ivory taking them back to the ship with them. Upon arriving outside the first thing they noticed was that there was more than just one ship on the horizon. Approaching steadily back to their ship, the Corsair, they experienced a sense of déjà vu as there, just as before, the nameless appeared before them with what they could only assume was an entertained expression beneath his mask.

The Nameless expressed how impressed he was with the crew and explained that even though they thought that they were no longer working for them, that they had secretly and unintentionally doing Baur's bidding the entire time. He continued to explain that although Baur was pleased with their work thus far that he was becoming tired of their antics and even considered them a thorn in his side. Feeling the need to dispose of them, he sent the nameless to terminate the crew of the Corsair. The Nameless, however, explained that he does not work for Baur but actually for an organization called the Balance and although they had collaborated with Baur in previous plans that killing the crew is not something he plans to do. Continuing, he explained Baur's reason to control the disks, his goal is to take the disks for himself and unlock the ancient capitol of Redolia to look their wares of weaponry which is considered to be a lost technology and extremely powerful. Baur does this knowing that this will in turn release Lyanna from her stasis. Lastly, the nameless directs the crew to the Fayth for even more information on the 4 disks before making his leave and hinting at the very real threat that is Baur and his plans to eliminate the crew of the Corsair.

As the nameless and the additional ships eventually fly out of sight, the crew exhale a heavy sigh of relief as they stop and try to piece together what their next actions will be. Will they try to find a way into the Garden City of Chepstyd, will they reach out to the Fayth in the hopes that they will assist them with invaluable information about the disks, or will they look for the mountains guarded by giants for the fourth disk?

### **Session 25 - A Quick Getaway**

The crew had little time to make a decision on their next destination knowing that whenever the nameless man appeared, the enemy wouldn't be too far behind. The Pollae and Captain Korinn took a moment to look at the map and decided that heading to the Forlorne Bay would probably be the right location to head to. It wasn't a second longer that off in the distance they saw 3 approaching ships closing in from the distance.

Fast as they've always been, the crew of the Corsair began to scramble, making sure all the equipment is in order and the canons were readied and loaded. Ready for the approach of the enemy vessels, having dealt with similar experiences in the past after unwanted meetings with the nameless, the Corsair sailed through the skies at high speed trying to increase the distance between them as it made its way closer and closer to the clouds. With the enemy vessels gaining in their pursuit it was clear that two of the outlying ships were of a faster build while the 3rd a massive monstrosity with with canons peppering each side of it's large construction.

Talon took control of the situation with the support of the rest of the crew, knowing full well that they wouldn't be able to outrun them. He yelled out his plan to increase the Corsair's speed while climbing higher into the clouds, just as the ship made it's way to a denser part of the ship it would drop it's speed to a standstill to allow it to drop down between the two faster ships and blast their sails and rigging. Once at a complete stop, a denser cloud was found and the ship dropped it's altitude through it as the everyone on deck waited for any sign of the smaller ships. The moment their masts were visible, the Corsair increased it's speed once more before dropping altitude and opening fire on the two smaller ships, disabling one and badly damaging the other. Taking a sharp turn, the Corsair did take on canon fire but not enough to damage the equipment, yet was able to position itself before opening fire again and managing to disable their sails as well. Getting ready to speed forward, the crew underestimated the speed of the larger vessel and did not expect the dreadnought to have gained so much distance as it's large body cast a shadow over the entire Corsair.

As the dreadnought got into position, the Corsair's crew became temporarily blinded by a large blast of cannon fire that sprayed hot metal towards the much smaller ship. Damage was taken, but with it's large spray, the Corsair just managed to escape critical damage and maneuvered itself over the larger vessel and began attacking it's rigging and sails as it did with the other previous airships. It wasn't an easy task but by avoiding the majority of the Dreadnoughts cannon fire, the Corsair managed to pick at the large sails and mast rendering it partially disabled enough for it to make it's escape.

The crew began repairing what it could from the air before making it's way to their destination. As they arrived closer to the Forlorne Bay where they once again saw the outcomes of previous battles happening in the region. Seeing the opportunity to plunder Talon and some of the other crew looked out for any ships that appeared in fair enough conditions to be boarded and could potentially have loot. Within minutes they found one that was in fair better condition than the flotsam floating around the area.

The boarding party consisted of Scurbiron, Talon, Pollae, and Brath'oul. While Scurbiron and Talon checked below deck, Pollae and Brath'oul checked the captains quarters. It was clear to Pollae upon entering what would have been the captains quarters that this ship had recently been plundered. As they tried to search for any hidden loot within the quarters, they heard a loud smash as well as the clash of steal below deck. Hurrying down to where their friends had previously went to investigate they came face to face with another group of thieves. The fight was brief, but damage was done, and for the first time in a long time Talon felt the other end of the dagger used to attack him while his guard was low. Taking what they could, the rest tied up their new "Friend" named Charley while Talon began to interrogate and shatter one of his ankles in the process. Charley, the poor fool, didn't know much information despite the pain inflicted on him so Scurbiron shattered the other ankle. Brath'oul not interested in the senselessness of the situation returned back to the ship while the rest continued with their impromptu interrogation. Talon, Figuring that anyone that could land such a blow on him would be clever and capable enough to escape, left the shattered fool tied up in the remains of the wreckage of the empty ship.

### **Session 26 - The Open Skies Call**

Back on the ship, Brath'oul sets up his abacuses and organizes his small piece of the ship to make it comfortable for the night before feeding his mascot, Chandler, and turning in for the night.

The following morning the crew begins discussing what route to take in order to get to their destination. They decide to heard through a pass between Forlorne and Hilonde. There were rumors that it may be an area currently under siege but it was determined that they may be able to use this attack to their advantage. As they approach their destination a few days out, they stop by the water to allow their wizards to rest and they fish for a quick meal. They were fortunate this attempt and Brath'oul manages to catch 18 fish. As he fished there was a creeping suspicion that kept creeping up in the back of his head regarding the way that the crew had been acquiring new shipmates and decided to speak to his only reliable source on the ship, Jareth.

He offered Jareth the bounty of his catch and asked him to please prepare it in the mess hall for the crew to eat. Before letting him go he did ask him kindly if he had heard or seen anything suspicious on the ship. Although at first not able to understand what Brath'oul was referring to, it slowly grew on him that they might have spies on the ship and agreed to be Brath'ouls eyes until they were able to locate the potential leak.

Not wanting to underestimate the potential of spies on the ship, Brath'oul went straight to the Korinn to relay his suspicions and advice. The captain, though not wanting to believe it herself, had suspicions of her own and allowed for Brath'oul to investigate. Talon had caught wind of the suspicions and decided to investigate on his own as well approaching one of the newer crew members named Hansel. He eventually runs into Hansel and they scuffle for a bit before Hansel, the cooler headed of the two, pulls out a joint and smokes with Talon.

Jareth eventually meets back up with Brath'oul and explains that he believes some of the recent additions have been keeping specifically to themselves more than anyone else.  It's because of this that he had his suspicions and shared them with Brath. Jareth told him of their names, Theopold and Philip as well as where to find them. Once there was time and they were isolated Brath'oul approached them and began to question them. With the questioning not going in the direction he had been hoping for, Brath'oul decided to cast suggestion on them. Having the feeling that Philip was not successful to naturally repel the spell he began to question them further in detail in the hopes of getting even more information. As they found it difficult to synchronize their stories, both Philip and Theopold became frustrated and a powerful radiant energy began to focus on their beings before shining incorporeal wings shot from their backs and their previously amber colored eyes shone a bright radiant gold.

The two Aasimar tore through Brath'oul and made their way to the dock where they attempted to fly away in escape. Making their way quickly through the deck and past the majority of the crew, they immediately engaged and began to fight their way out. Damage was exchanged between the crew and the two spies until a portal opened up in the distance. Seeing a way out, the Aasimar flew at great speed towards the portal. Although one was able to make it through the portal, Brath'oul was able to dispel the distant portal in time to leave the remaining Aasimar stranded with nowhere else to go.

### **Session 27 - A Spy in our Midst!?**

Although Philip was able to escape through a mysterious portal in the distance, Theopold was left behind to fend for himself. With nowhere else to go, it wasn't long before the crew captured him and Korinn took initiative in the interrogation thrashing him around the brig like a rag doll with twigs for bones. Talon tried to ease her use of force on the Aasimar as it would be able to provide more information alive, however Korinn shut him down with a quick stare before continuing her onslaught.

Theopold, barely alive, gave away short answers to the questions. The crew learned that Theopold belonged to city watch of Chepstyd and he and Philip had been tasked with watching over the crew to learn what they had planned to do with the disks that they had been collecting. Korinn had Scurbiron lift up Theopold up and demanded that the Aasimar provide information on where to find the Garden City. As Korinn left, Brath'oul and a few others bandaged up the Theopold in the hope that him showing up alive to the Garden City would be a better way in than with his corpose.

Still unsure if there were any other spies on the ship, Brath'oul reached out to Jareth again while Unkgill set up a bar where he had hoped to pick up gossip while creating and testing out some of his cocktail ideas. Over time it was learned that two individuals, Milush and Celsus, would probably be the most suspicious based on the methods of which they joined the crew. After a series of interrogations on both of the suspected targets it was learned that despite still being bitter regarding the way of their contract to the Corsair, that their feelings were merely consequences of the Corsair's "Welcoming Party" and the crew confirmed that them being spies was very unlikely. Interestingly enough though was that the Aasimar that were found out were not part of the original crew, in fact they had purchased their way onto the ship that Milus and Celsus were working as crew. There was no previous contact with the Aasimar and they were only accepted on as a side job to generate extra revenue. After the interrogation process, Milush became a closer ally to Brath'oul even though just slightly.

With the City of Gardens getting ever closer, Theopold was brought onto the dick and held put on his knee's with Korinn berating him with insults and physical violence as the Aasimar began to glow gold as they began to pass into what turned out was some kind of barrier. The brighter the Aasimar's light shined, the clearer the image became to the crew of the Corsair and it was clear that they had arrived to the hidden city known as the City of Gardens.

Not long after a few Aasimar stopped the Corsair and demanded to know what the reason for their visit was as well as the way they were able to enter into the city. After eyeing Theopold, it was clear to the Aasimar and they demanded to speak with the captain. While initially the crew looked towards Jareth, Korinn eventually emerged and both she and the Aasimar in command seemed to have a previous history as the Aasimar mentioned that she was still alive. Due to Brath'oul interjections during the conversation between the captain and the masked Aasimar in command, he along with Korinn were taken as hostages to be interrogated. During this transport, with Rinari's direction, both she and Unkgill jumped onto the magic broom while she cast invisibility on them both. Meanwhile Talon and Pollae tried to maintain order on the ship and began working together to cause some sort of distraction.

As Korinn and Brath'oul were escorted into the city, they were soon separated and taken down two different corridors. Brath'oul waited in an interrogation style room were after what seemed like an hour the head of the Aasimar guard, Argus, that had spoke to Korinn on the ship entered and the two began conversing. Seeing as neither of the two were not reaching the conclusion they were expecting, Brath'oul chose to make the first move and attempted to intimidate the Aasimar Captain. When this failed Brath'oul transformed into his Radiant form as a last resort only, as was to be expected, for the Aasimar to transform into it's own Radiant form in a type of standoff. Dropping the Radiant form, Brath'oul tried once again to persuade the captain to take him to their leader with a spell and managed to succeed in his attempt. As they were making their way Brath'oul didn't count on any of the other guards from interfering, which they did. Trying not to harm any of the guards simply trying to make his way to their supposed leader, he wasn't so lucky as he shortly ended up on the receiving end of relentless ranged attacks. Brath'oul collapsed on the floor with two arrows in his back and his suggestion spell wearing off of the captain, Argus.

### **Session 28 - Chepstyd, The City of Gardens**

*Brath'oul was incopacitated this session*

Rinari and Unkgill continue their invisible journey through the tower and eventually managed to locate where they thought the captain was being held and tried to find a way to break her out. Having Unkgill act as a distraction Rinari went to work on getting into the room they believed their captain was. Unkgill no longer invisible uses his abilities to keep the guards busy until Rinari is able to break in but busy work eventually turns to an all out brawl.

Elsewhere, in the tower the other three (Talon, Pollae, and Scurb) find themselves in the tower sneaking in and trying to find out where Korinn and Brath'oul were being held. Eventually making their way into an office to begin looking for clues and end up finding a few items that they could make use of. Through passing whispers they end up overhearing what appears to be information regarding a "Blue" man that was being held. They believed this to be regarding Brath'oul and picked up on that lead. Approaching the door, Talon prepares one of the grenades as the rest of the crew prepare for a possible confrontation. The door is opened, the grenade is thrown into the room, and shortly after the explosion the three crew members barge into the room and attempt to pick off the survivors. Unfortunately things don't go as originally planned and the the fight goes wildly out of hand. Pollae, Rinari, and Talon end up on the opposite end of the sword and are commanded to surrender. Talon, ever the defiant one, refused to surrender as he equated surrender to certain death. Unfortunately this act of defiance ended up costing him his life as he was beaten inches from death and did not survive the altercation.

Back with Rinunkgill, despite his best efforts Unkgill eventually got pinned down by the Aasimar guards and Rinari in a heroic break dropped invisibility from herself to rescue Unkgill. Unkgill in turn came to Rinari's defense as they continued to get overwhelmed by additional guards. After dispatching the guards Rinari manages to clear the lock on the room and she and Unkgill make their way in.

Scurbiron and Pollae, now under the watch of the Aasimar guard, are escorted away from Talon's corpse and out of the room. They were led to a large banquet sized room where dozens of guard and other individuals were sitting in eating, then they saw their Captain speaking with someone that was introduced to them as Memna. Pollae exclaims as she see's their captain and tries to quickly explain the activities that took place though to their surprise they see no visual distress or distraught type reaction from their captain. Upset they immediately assume that she must have been brainwashed.

### **Session 29 - Proud Stands the Spire**

*Brath'oul is incapacitated this session*

Pollae and Scurbiron were still in the same room with Pollae still focusing on trying to get through to Korinn. Realizing that she isn't going to get a good read on Korinn, Pollae started to ask Memna question regarding their missing crewmate Brath'oul. Agitated at the nagging nature of Pollae's questions and the assumptions regarding Korinn's current conscious state Memna gave Korinn a light glare which prompted Korinn to ask that Memna escort both Pollae and Scurbiron away.

Scurbiron frustrated at Korinn's behavior loses it in a rage and headbutts one of the guards attempting to escort Pollae and himself before throwing a table shattering against the wall. Memna, already displeased with the surroundings, transforms into her Radiant form threatening additional violence against the crew pressing on the fact that they had already lost one of their members. Realizing that he doesn't have the upper hand, Scurbiron calmed his nerves and fed them with the meal present.

Rinari and Unkgill now inside the room accidentally trigger a trap and are hit by a mind spike but were able to brush it off. Afterwards Rinari was able to find a pattern to many of the door passages in the form of glowing bricks as well as a book that had a few ciphers in there that she began researching.

After eating their fill, Scurb and Pollae were escorted to their quarters. On their way Pollae broke the silence by asking their escort a few questions. In this exchange of conversation she learned that the Aasimar believe that they have a divine missions and utilize strange meditation rooms which they are escorted to and placed inside of. Shortly after they meet an elegant man that leads them to an elevator and later to a brown room. They discuss the Aasimar room and its illuminated by a beam of light, the man leaves them in the room as a repetitive metronome starts clicking and mirrors around the room begin to spin. Pollae loses control and begins to vomit but Scurbiron was able to resist the influence of the rooms magic however the words "There is nothing amiss in the city of gardens" is heard.

Using the information learned from the books and having a clearer understanding of the ciphers, Rinari was able to figure out a way out and into a well decorated and fancy room. While searching through the room they find information regarding a blue prisoner that they believe to be Brath'oul. Continuing their search through the room they both heard sounds from the adjacent room. Investigating where the sounds were coming from, they recognized that the voices belonged to both Scurbiron and Pollae. Scurbiron is instructed to check the door and finds Rinari and Unkgill but lies to the Aasimar escort by saying that there was nothing there and closes the door behind him. Eventually, Scurbiron succumbs to the control of the Aasimar's brainwashing and is forced to check the door again. Hearing the command, Rinari casts invisibility on both herself and Unkgill to avoid detection.

Rinari and Unkgill split up but follow Scurbiron and Pollae who are taken into an elevator and placed into separate resting rooms and locked in. Taking advantage of her invisibility spell, Rinari waits for the opportune moment to free both Pollae and Scurbiron from their separate holding rooms. Guards becoming suspicious of the abnormal behavior on the floor decide to seal off the floor and call in the support of magic users. Despite Rinari and Unkgill still being invisible, the magic users were able to detect their presence. Not taking any chances, the crew hid to stay out of site and overheard the guards talking about a blue man being tortured on the same floor. Although they were able to find the room where the blue man was being held they learned that it was not Brath'oul. Unkgill feeling pity for the man decided to set him free only to realize the only thing on this blue man's mind was revenge for the pain and torment that was being done to him and re-directed that damage in the form of magical fury against the guards responsible.

### **Session 30 - More Than Meets the Eye**

Using the chaos as a distraction, Rinari located Brath'oul holding cell where he was speaking with a female guard. The rest of the crew got together to witness the destruction that the tortured prisoner was unleashing upon the guards. Before lunging into battle Rinari mends Brath'oul's tattered clothing but the female guard, Jenna draws her sword commanding everyone to surrender. The blue prisoner is subdued and the rest of the group are escorted to female guards quarters. Once at her quarters she introduces herself as Jenna Clerebore, commander of the Aasimar guard directly under Argus.

The crew are eventually led back to their Captain, Korinn, who is still seemingly not in full control of her senses. Refreshments and foods are brought out to the crew as they discuss how they would make their leave from the city of gardens as they are reminded that there is nothing amiss in the city. As the conversation continues the blue prisoner is brought into the room and presented before Korinn. Brath'oul is then purged of his blue pigmentation by Jenna, who is revealed to be his sister who then introduces the blue prisoner as Orev. A word is exchanged between captain Korinn and the leader of the Aasimar guard in which an agreement appears to be met, the crew is then led back to their ship along with Orev.

Pogranix is in shock that Korinn is seemingly friendly with the Aasimar despite their negative history which is made apparent as Pogranix reveals that Aasimar had killed both her and Korinn's family. Fuming that Korinn has normalized ties between herself and the Aasimar Pogranix confronts Korinn whom brushes off Pogranix's objections and eventually has her locked up and sent to the brig along with Orev for her insubordination.

Given the recent hostilities, Korinn decides to postpone their leave from the city of gardens and docks the Corsair as the crew and the captain is escorted back into the city. On the same day they are given a tour through the city and are advised to avoid a specific area that is quarantined due to some kind of disease.

### **Session 31 - There is Nothing Amiss in the City of Gardens**

It was very obvious which parts of the city were under quarantined and which were not based on the quality of the construction and the upkeep of the streets. Jenna, serving as one of the crew's entourage explained that those under quarantine were not capable of communicating properly and were also prone to speak on paranoid delusions. They explained that the College of Healing wasn't able to diagnose the disease afflicting the population and so had them quarantined and left in that state for years.

The crew were then guided to where they would be staying during their stay in the city of gardens. Although alcohol was not available in the city, they were provided with cured meats and fresh produce while Unkgill provided the alcohol from his bottomless flask. In their free time the crew decided to stretch the boundaries of their freedom from within the city to see what they could get away with while under watch.

Intoxicated the crew made more of a ruckus where Scurbiron eventually cracked the front door, irritating the guards and as a result having the door repaired and fortified along with the addition of more guards. During the shift change of guards, Argus who had interrogated and nearly killed Brath'oul upon arriving in Chepstyd entered to introduce himself to the crew. An elderly male Aasimar with a very ornate set of plate armor and 2-handed sword decorated with wings and a pommel in the shape of a hammer which Brath'oul recognized as the symbol of Lyanna, the Divine Hammer and founder of the Order of the Heavenly Sword.

Expecting another fight with Argus, Brath'oul prepares preemptively but is calmed when Argus explains that he merely came to speak to them. The talk with the crew went from a simple conversation to an interrogation where Argus asked the crew why they went to Nulbara and their other expeditions before confirming to them that there was "Nothing is amiss in the city of gardens." A short pause later Argus asked the crew if they opened the rift in Nulbara which the crew decided to avoid answering directly. Argus cast suggestion on Brath'oul but its affects failed, which allowed Brath to take advantage and pretend to be under the effects of the spell while feeding false information to Argus. Brath'oul told Argus that the Bauer, the Shadow King, was the one that was responsible for the opening of the rift. With Argus having gotten the information that he was seeking he left the crew to the rest of their evening.

The next day they were awakened and escorted out of their rooms and guided around the city once more allowing them to shop and get familiar with the city.

Back on the ship, Pogranix and Orev begin to conspire together on how to escape the ship and eventually the city of gardens. With the help of his Quasit friend, Orev was able to obtain the keys to his cell where Pogranix led him to the room where they store the weapons and munitions. From there they sneak off the ship, into the city and begin their hunt for Korinn.

The crew eventually returns back to their quarters after a long day and the following morning they leave while Brath'oul stays behind to speak with Jenna whom is finally revealed to be his sister. Brath'oul speaks to her and tries to convince her that finding a way back home should be their ultimate goal. Unfortunately it appears that Jenna has already made peace with the fact that she wasn't able to get back home and pledged herself to the cause of the Heavenly Sword, and Lyanna, as she reveals the insignia of the divine hammer tattoo'd to her arm.

### **Session 32 - A City Shrouded in Secrets**

The rest of the crew continued wandering around the city looking for information and finishing up their shopping. Eventually they ended up getting a few tips on where to go for more information and found themselves at the library. After learning a bit about the laws and order of Chepstyd they met up with Brath'oul at their quarters and figured they needed to dig up more information about the quarantined area. Back at their quarters the crew find a note that read "Meet at the Quarantined Zone." Two guards, suspicious of their interest in the city, join them inside of their quarters where Brath'oul fakes an injury to distract them as a few drinks are spiked and the two guards are convinced to drink. Weakened, the two guards are easily subdued as Unkgill removes their tongues to prevent them from sharing information about the crews whereabouts.

No longer having anyone on their trail, the crew made their way to the quarantined area reaching a chasm. After clearing the chasm and narrowly avoiding getting caught, the crew were called from the shadows by an strangers voice. Walking towards the voice they were met with a human male named Luthor who confessed to having written the note. Luthor led the crew to what at first glance was a dead-end but then through secret means a passage was cleared that led to a storage facility. While making their way through Luthor explained that there was a phrase that could potentially aid them, "all gardens must die so they can be reborn."

Luthor further explained that Argus was behind an uprising where he was secretly getting rid of the human's in the city of Chepstyd by claiming that they are diseased. The reason for this was to "purify" the city inferior races. The crew also learned that the ship was currently under heavy guard and evacuating the city in their current state would be normally impossible. They asked Luthor about information regarding the disk and they were directed to Davos who explained that the disk would be located in the treasury at the very top of the tower. Once he was alone, Brath'oul spoke to Davos as well to learn about a book that Lady Thema had asked him to acquire months earlier in order for information on how to find his home. Davos led Brath'oul to Ramek who informed him that the book was on a floor above where the treasury was and fueled with new hope saw his chance.

After a few moments of rest, the crew join up again and then figure out a plan on how to acquire access to the disk. Realizing that the best course of action would be to pretend to be prisoners, they make their way to the spire and enter the elevator where an explosion, used as a distraction, allows them to cut straight to the vault after stepping out of the elevator.

Finally making their way to the vault area, they see that there is a shock track set up along with 8 well armed guards.

### **Session 33 - Awaken The Beast; or, an uprising**

The guards were not aware of the crew's whereabouts and so the crew used this to their advantage and attacked the guards, taking them by surprise. Through a quick and accurate coordinated series of strikes, along with the sudden arrival of Orev and Pogranix, the guards were quickly subdued and the crew began working on opening the vault door. Rinari blasted through the first door with a small cylindrical boulder she was able to summon and then catapult it with a spell. Brath'oul and Unkgill found a panel off to the side that seemed to be powering the machine and informed the group. Scurbiron reached in with his weapon and managed to damage it in a certain way that the electrical defense was rendered useless and they were able to make their way into the vault. The crew quickly made their way inside grabbing what they could, but their time was cut short as the familiar and threatening voice of Argus was heard in the yard outside.

Argus, joined by Jenna and a number of guards, commanded the crew to surrender took them to the high council. Once there the crew was face to face with their ruler, Lady Dromeda and captain Korinn. Orev and Pogranix presented a note to Lady Dromeda with information regarding a revolt within the city that would be led by Argus but Argus denied the allegations and placed the blame on Korinn's crew. Brath'oul convinced Lady Dromeda to allow him to speak and explained how Argus had pledged his allegiance to the Order of the Heavenly Sword, specifically to Lyanna the Divine Hammer. At the mention of Lyanna, the room grew silent, after what seemed like hours Argus finally spoke up, once again denying the allegations. Brath'oul made a reference to the hammer design on Argus' weapon but to his surprise it was now missing from his sword. Thinking quick, Brath'oul used prestidigitation to create the symbol onto Argus' weapon and used light to illuminate it and grab everyone's attention. Finally convinced that the Corsair's Crew were not at fault and how the brainwashing and manipulation, along with the false state of disease which forced the cities human population into quarantined areas, Korinn was released from her controlled state and the High Council ordered the guards to arrest Argus only to be surprised by a number of guards who stood by Argus, clearly on his side.

With the immediate chaos, Brath'oul took advantage to speak once again to his sister and convince her to go with him now that he was close to finding a way to get back home. Putting trust in her older brother, Jenna drew her sword and shattered his chains while releasing a large puff of smoke that allowed them enough time to escape.

During Brath'oul and Jenna's escape, the crew and the Chepstyd guard do battle with Argus and his followers. Korinn and Pogranix, finally together again, join the crew in combat.

### **Session 34 - A Garden of Ash; or, The Aleph**

With the battle drawing a close, Argus manages to get away after a number of explosions rip through the city of gardens. Making their way towards the exit, the crew see's Brath'oul and Jenna approaching while aboard the Corsair. Once everyone was aboard the corsair it began to gain altitude until Jenna hinted to Brath'oul that they were near the floor that they needed to be. With a slight look of regret, Brath'oul looked back at his friends and then towards Jenna as he nodded and opened a dimension door that teleported both himself and Jenna off the ship.

It was during this poof that the a large shout that exclaimed "Summon the Aleph!" tore through the air as the ground beneath the Corsair violently shook. Once the violent shaking became a constant rumble a loud boom exploded through the city followed by the piercing roar of an enormous creature. It was then that the crew saw it... an ent of impossibly large proportions reaching out towards the Corsair and launching lengthy vines that seized the ship in midair.

Preparing for battle in the hopes of making a successful escape, the crew loaded up their canons and armed themselves to free themselves from the Aleph's grasp. For what seemed like hours, the crew fought hard against ent's that traveled along the vines from the Aleph to the ship as well as to destroy the very vines that were seizing the ship. The crew below decks spent the remainder of their time volleying cannon fire at the Aleph itself. Not being one to remain on the ship, Rinari activated the magical broom and flew towards the Aleph to attack it. Unfortunately as the Corsair finally freed itself from the Aleph, Rinari became its main target and was swatted out of the air where she hit the ground below. Fortunately however, due to her magical bandages, Rinari was once again able to piece herself back together and make her way back to the ship.