Arc 9: Once Upon a Crime

Official illustration of Arc 9 Episode 1

Arc 9 is a level 4 adventure following a group of criminals thrust into the Feywild on a mission. It canonically takes place in the year 147 AE.

The connections to previous arcs are rather loose. It is connected through the name Borple on Serenity's gun, and through the starting town of Qto in Hyranor.

Unlike Arc 2, where the group of criminals did not really know each other, this group is a pre-established found crime family.

Because major parts of the arc take place in the Feywild, the standard rules of DnD don't always apply.

## Arc 9 Characters and Players

Characters and Players in order of introduction in Episode 0:

**DM** (Haley - She/Any)

**Serenity Sapphire** (She/Her) (played by Jess - She/Her) is a Harengon Gunslinger Fighter. She grew up rich, with her father being a famous private detective, but wanted to be cool and become a criminal, and her father gave her his permission as well as a gun from an old solved murder case. The gun is about the same size as her, and has the word "Borple" written on it.

**Art g'Rish** (He/Him) (played by Josh - He/Him) is a Grung Assassin Rogue. He is the founder and boss of the crime family, and also has his own family, too: a wife and two children. He is looking to retire in the next couple of years, but until then, he will make sure that his crime business is fair, the group has good working conditions, and the job gets done.

**Riot Hallowheart** (She/Any) (played by James - She/They) is a Tiefling Trickery Domain Cleric. They grew up and married rich, but did petty crime all their life, and then decided to take a gap year and become a criminal. She keeps her background and husband a secret, and only her best friend Juniper knows about it. Their deity is Shar, goddess of the night and thieves.

**Juniper Erydis** (She/Her) (played by Grace - She/Her) is a Protector Aasimar Oath of Vengeance Paladin. Since she got into trouble with her wife when they were 18, Juniper is missing one of her wings, as well as her wife, and is now searching for them, although she tries to not talk about her wife a lot. After murdering the group of criminals he went with, Juniper adopted Julian and has since retired from extreme violence. Now, in her new crime family, she tries to find stability, but has difficulty hiding her distress.

**Julian Crimeboy** (He/Him) (played by Gus - He/Him) is a Kalashtar Circle of the Grassland Druid. When he was 11 years old, he got cursed, and since then cannot age. He has been 11 years old for the past 99 years, and while he has the wisdom and intelligence of an adult, he also has the interests and desires of a child. With this group and Juniper as his adoptive mother, he is finally part of a crime family that respects him, and feels happier than ever.

The icebreaker question for this arc is: If you could have any fantastical creature as a companion, which would you choose?

* Haley: A griffin, because they were thinking about and love flying creatures. They did not choose a pegasus because they do not think that horse legs could survive any impact.
* Gus: Any type of creature that is basically a bird that a cat won't kill.
* Grace: An eirden (presumably because of Arc 6).
* Josh: A lobster with 4 claws instead of 2 claws because he would love to take care of it, for it to be his pet, live forever, and turn into an eldritch demon after 200 years.
* James: Her cat but if he could talk because she would like to know his thoughts.
* Jess: Godzilla because she wants to take him on a walk.

## Arc 9 Plot (Full Arc Spoilers)

### Episode 1

Art visits the apothecary in Qto after having received a message that there is work waiting for him. There, he meets up with his prospective new clients, a person that is hard to focus on accompanied by a little fairy. The person tells him that they are looking for people who can bring them back a very bright magical light source that was stolen, and that is most likely in a place marked on a map they have. For this, they are offering 5000 gold pieces of payment, plus 30 gold travel expenses, half upfront. Art tells them that his group will complete the job, they shake hands about it, and he goes home with the map and half the money to tell the others about it.

The day they are leaving, they have their respective morning rituals, as well as a shared crime ritual, and finish packing. Riot says goodbye to their husband, who snuck in through the window, Art says goodbye to his family, and then they do some last minute shopping, buying armour for Art, Julian, and Riot, a shield for Julian, some health potions, and a donkey that they name Wilbur. During their journey, Serenity notices that they are passing the same landmark again, but as she points it out, Art starts paying better attention to the map, and it doesn't happen again.

They reach their destination without bigger trouble during the journey or camping. It's a decrepit house with no path leading up to it. Julian turns into a mouse to check it out, and reports back that there are no people inside. They enter, and find it abandoned and full of dust, with a pool of strong Conjuration magic lying below it. Julian starts digging, and the ground suddenly turns into a bowl, as the earth suddenly warps around them. Nonetheless, they decide to continue digging, and are suddenly in freefall, falling towards a searing hot light with an eye opening in it, before they fall unconscious.

As they wake up again, they are in a forest, close to a stone path leading up to a house that looks similar to the one they were in just before, but in much better condition. They walk up towards it, Serenity knocks on the door, and almost immediately, they are greeted by a person with four arms and spiral eyes saying: "Mortals? You should have told me you were coming!"

### Episode 2

The party questions the spiral person, who they find out is called Lacewing, or the Spider, and he invites them into his house to look at his collected things, which are all for trade, when Art tells him that they are looking for a light source. The Spider also tells them that they are in the Feywild, and that there is a portal nearby.

Julian finds a mirror and shows it to Juniper, who sees Ilsa inside it and, without thinking, trades a moment of her time for it. Julian gets scared about what his mother might have traded away, and frustrated about Lacewing only speaking in cryptic riddles, so he runs off into the woods; Juniper follows him. Serenity finds a tiny broadsword, and when Lacewing asks her whether they can "have a word", she says Yes and unknowingly trades her ability to use the word "grass" for it. Riot looks for an item to send a message to the Material Plane and finds a red ring, which she exchanges for a drop of her blood after some consideration. Because they have been such a great guest, the Spider then tells Riot that they have a light source that was given to them, and shows it to them, Serenity, and Art. He tells them that the people that gave it to him are scary enough that he would lock his doors if they came by again, and that he would be willing to trade it for a name, eyes, or a shadow. Because she thinks it's cool not to have a shadow, Serenity gives up hers, and they have the item they were looking for and leave.

Outside the house, they wrap Riot's trenchcoat around the lantern to not illuminate everything around them, and suddenly see a human hand pressing against the glass from the inside. To possibly find out more about this item, Riot sends a message to his mother-in-law, Crystal Hallowheart, using his new ring, to ask her whether she knows anything about it. Crystal responds with a promise to look into it, and the hope that this won't delay Riot too far.

In the meantime, Julian ran into the woods and found a bird to talk to. The bird gives him directions to the nearest town, and tells him that the mushroom people there are sad and dying. Julian chooses to call the bird Will. As Juniper catches up to him, she tells him not to run off in a place as dangerous as the Feywild, and Julian in turn calls her out for making the deal without thinking. The two go back to catch up with the rest of the crew, and they all inform each other about what they learned. When asking the others what they traded away for the things they received, Julian becomes frustrated at them all trying to downplay or sugarcoat their deals. They all agree to be honest with each other, but Riot and Juniper roll their eyes at his emotional outburst.

Together, the group travels towards the town Will gave them directions for. Soon, they arrive in the town of Maatte, which is inhabited mostly by Harengon, Otterfolk, Elves, and little mushroom people. The mushroom people queue up in the town to stand next to glowing pedestals, and all seem very weak. As Julian questions one of the Otterfolk organising the queue about it, they tell him that the photosynthesising mushroom people have had a really hard time lately. When Julian doesn't understand, he looks up into the night sky and realises that the moon that used to be there has now set, and nothing has risen in its place.

### Episode 3

The Otterfolk man realises that they are not from the Feywild, and invites them for a drink to answer some questions, while somebody else cares for the queue. Julian tells him that they are from the Material Plane and need help to get back, and the Otterfolk, who introduces himself as Wudderrat, says that he cannot help with that, but can explain some things about the Feywild. He says that their economy works on bartering instead of coin, and that it's generally bad to give anything to fey. Then, he tells them about the sun. It was stolen before, and brought back by adventurers, and now it was stolen again, presumeably because people who have a star can see and sometimes even change the future. Around the time it was stolen, there was an earthquake at the mountain. He then directs them to a place where they can rest, offers them to ask him should they need anything else, and leaves.

Juniper wants to see the exact details of the contract Art made, but there is no physical copy. She is certain that they have the sun in their lantern, and despite the contract wants to open it to save the mushroom people, the Hanakow. Serenity agrees, but Art is concerned and does not want to assume they actually have the sun. Riot is also concerned about what might happen when they open the lantern, and fears they might get hurt. Julian suggests to open the lantern in a controlled environment and from a distance, but all of them are uncertain whether they will be able to fulfill the contract once the lantern is opened, and what consequences a non-fulfillment might have for Art.

After discussing their options, they decide to rest and after that go to a secluded space in the woods, where they open the lantern from a safe distance using a rope. Out of the lantern wriggles a brightly glowing arm. As they realise that nothing bad is happening, they come closer, and Julian uses his mindlink ability to communicate with it. As if from far away, he can hear a broken signal, and the arm introduces himself as Lee. Julian offers that they can help find his missing parts, if Lee tells them how to find them, and Lee points them towards a direction. Julian leads the way.

While they are walking, Art suddenly sees movement and a curl of red hair to the side, but as they pay closer attention, it doesn't happen again. Finally, they arrive at a waterfall with a pond, and a mermaid called Calliope staring at them. Lee informs Julian that they are close, but need to go down, and the mermaid asks them what they are searching for. Art and Serenity introduce them as treasure hunters looking for shiny things, and the mermaid tells them that she has a shiny thing, and they can take it if they get to it, deep in the pond. A rude man gave it to her and told her not to give it away, but if they just take it, that's different, and she wants to see whether they can do it.

Art, who is amphibious, and Julian, who uses *Wildshape* to turn into a reef shark, dive down 400 feet and find a chest there, which, after a bit of struggle, opens up to reveal a brightly glowing torso with no arms, no legs, and no head. As Julian mindlinks again, he can hear Lee, closer now, and all together, they swim back up and surface. Back on land, Julian opens the lantern, and helps Lee connect his right arm and torso.

### Episode 4

Lee leads them to their next destination by pointing towards it. During travel, Juniper checks the mirror and sees Ilsa having pleasant smalltalk with someone from the Albion family, the family that initially caught them. Juniper is upset by this, and Riot tries to comfort her, and offers to take the mirror. Juniper agrees, so that she doesn't have to look at it anymore. In the meantime, Julian talks to Lee more, who confirms that he is the sun. Dawna is his sister, the moon, and as Julian informs him that Dawna is looking for him, he says that he wants her to find him.

They notice a sharp decrease in temperature, and are suddenly walk through snow, before they end up standing infront of a tree with a door. After some time of consideration, they agree that Julian buries Lee to hide him, and then knock. Nobody opens, and the door is locked, so they pick the lock to open the door. Behind it is a spiral staircase going downwards, which they follow. After a little time, they land in a well-lit, large living space, furnitured and cluttered with a bed, a table full of food, a desk with some papers, some fossils in glass cases, and more. Along the wall furthest from the staircase, they find five square indents or panels in the wall. Juniper lifts one of them, and they all open up, revealing a lit up compartment, and each party member finds themselves with a slip of paper in their hand. Each of the paper slips contains a riddle, and together, they solve them.

* Riot: "I am fluffy or I am thin, depending on what's within. I am the last thing you feel, and the first from which you peel, what am I?" Answer: A pillow.
* Art: "I begin life tall and proud, but shrink and distort as I age. I warm, I fade, I wither away, what am I?" Answer: A candle.
* Serenity: "I'm proud and I'm small, I breathe and I fall, you crunch and I crumble, we sway and we jumble, what am I?" Answer: A leaf.
* Juniper: "In the living, I exist, in the closet, I persist, what am I?" Answer: A skeleton.
* Julian: "I have towns, but no homes, kingdoms, but no castles, and fields, but no crops, what am I?" Answer: A map.

After filling and closing all compartments, a sixth section appears above the others. Juniper opens it, and there is a thin, golden braid inside of it, about four inches long and glowing. As she grabs it, they are suddenly in near pitch black, in a different space, with a single column standing in it, which has etched a riddle into it: "You give me away, and I die, you keep me, and I live forever, what am I?" The answer is "A secret", and they realise they each have to tell a secret.

The group mildly pressures Riot into going first, since they barely know anything about their life, but know that they are keeping secrets. When Riot tells them to fuck themselves, Julian is offended, so she gives in and tells a secret: this is her last job with the group. Julian, still slightly offended, is bothered by Riot just announcing her leave like that, but they decide to resolve that later. Art admits that somewhere near the duplex, he has about 3000 gold and various other objects buried. Serenity says that she doesn't actually need the money, since she comes from a rich family, and is only there because she likes them and enjoys being with them. Juniper says that she thinks she's a bad mother, and after he hugs her, Julian tells the column that he resents the way everyone treats him, especially because he thinks he is smarter than all of them. Still, the column needs one more secret, and Riot is pressured into telling another secret. She is surprised by the sudden resentment of the group, especially from Julian, and says that they don't plan on just vanishing, don't hate them, and that it isn't really their choice, either. Still, she gives in, and reveals that she grew up on the streets, has only one person who ever truly loved her, and is leaving to go back to them. Then, Riot turns their back and starts to leave as the pillar glows, and they are all standing back in the living space they were in, with Riot holding the glowing head of Lee.

Crying, Riot awkwardly hands the head to Julian, and then rapidly leaves to get the rest of his body; Art follows them. While digging, he tells them that there are no bad feelings from his side, and they can go live their life. Riot says that he is a good boss, and if she had a choice, she is not sure she would leave. In the meantime, Juniper talks to Julian, while Serenity holds Lee's head and goes back upstairs to not disturb. Juniper tries to explain it, but Julian is upset that Riot and Serenity treat the only life he has ever known as their vacation. While talking about their plans for the future, Juniper admits that she doesn't want Julian to join her on her mission to find back Ilsa, in order to protect him. Julian gets frustrated, since he feels like she doesn't take him seriously, refuses to let her go alone on that mission, and then leaves the room in a huff.

They all meet back outside the tree, where Serenity re-attaches the head onto Lee's torso. Lee tells them his story, of how he, Dawna, and a mortal named Deb defeated the monster that ate the sun, and when Deb was gone, and there still wasn't a sun or moon in the sky, Lee and Dawna made the choice to take these roles. He explains that Art has to fulfill the contract he made with Dawna, and that the person that stole him, a human named Render, still has a part of him, and is on the mountain where they fought the monster fourty years ago. Additionally, he promises to help them get to the Material Plane once he has his full body, and thus his powers, back.

### Episode 5

The group continues following Lee's directions towards his legs. During travelling, Riot and Juniper talk about Riot leaving, while Julian, still moody, does not talk much. As they all set up camp, Serenity and Julian take first watch, and she approaches him to apologise for asking Lee about his curse, making the assumption that he would prefer living without it. He accepts the apology and tells her that he is mostly upset with her because he feels like she does crime for fun, when it is the only way he was ever able to sustain himself. She explains that it is not fun for her, and that she does it for the group, who are the only people who see her as herself, and Julian can accept this.

While Riot is sleeping peacefully, Art and Juniper have weird dreams. They are each standing atop one of the peaks of the mountain that is visible from Maatte, and Art, too far away to reach Juniper, watches as a flying man circles her like a predator. It is Render, who wants her to give him the golden braid that she found in the riddle room and still carries in her pocket. She refuses, and he warns her that he knows what they are up to, and that the last pieces of Lee are held by friends of his, and that they have no chance against him. However, Render offers her that she can bring him Lee and the braid, and if he has learnt his lesson, they could both use his power for whatever they want. Again, Juniper refuses, and as Render warns her that there is trouble on the horizon, she wakes up.

In the meantime, Julian has vented to Serenity about Juniper treating him like a baby, and has made the decision to run away and find Lee's legs on his own to prove himself. Serenity does not want him to go alone, so she joins. They leave a message telling the others to meet them at the mountain, and as they are going, Serenity purposefully leaves some tracks, until he remembers to cast *Pass Without a Trace*.

As Juniper awakes, she tells Riot about her dream, and only then realises that Julian and Serenity are missing. They wake Art, and Riot uses *Sending* to message Serenity, who tells them that they went in the direction of a tree that is shaped like a castle. She and Julian arrive at the edge of a lake that goes towards the mountain, and Lee tells them that his legs are inside the mountain, while Render and his arm are atop it. Julian, who thought they would be able to get the legs without coming this close to Render, then decides to stop, and they go to sleep in a boat floating on the lake. In the meantime, Riot, Juniper and Art arrive at the lake from a different side after getting lost for a bit, and Juniper finds the direction they have to go in by teleporting 60 feet towards Julian.

Art, who swims through the lake, is the first to arrive at their boat. He wakes them up, and, with his anger disappeared after hours of walking, tells them that he is proud of them for not going into the mountain. As Riot and Juniper arrive, Juniper goes to the side with Julian to have a conversation, telling him how dangerous it was to run away. He again mentions that she has made deals with a fey, which is just as irresponsible, and as she does not want to discuss that, he refuses to continue the conversation and walks back to the camp, leaving Juniper frustrated. Riot tries to comfort her, and she admits that she feels helpless about what he wants as well as his curse. When they go back, Serenity talks to Juniper and puts in a good word for Julian, telling her that he was the one who decided not to go into the mountain, and that she should give him more credit. Everyone goes to sleep but Art, who sits in the boat on the lake and is suddenly joined by a fairy named Ginger, who warns them about the dangers of the mountain. She tells him that they should be sneaky instead of fighting openly, and gives him a map of the lair inside the mountain, then flies away.

### Episode 6

The last watch of their rest is taken by Julian and Riot, and they start talking about their issues and what has happened. Both apologise for their behaviour, and talk about Juniper's dream, about Valerian, and about Juniper only seeing Julian as a child and nothing else. Then, they awkwardly make breakfast, as Riot suddenly sees a woman watching them from behind a tree. As soon as they make eye contact, the woman vanishes, and when they wake up the others, Art can deduce from the description that this woman was Dawna, and that she was also the one he saw following them some time earlier. Serenity tries to follow her, but it has become night, and the moon has risen in the sky again.

Art tells them about his encounter with Ginger, and shows them the map. They agree that Julian and Serenity should go in first to check out the mountain lair before everyone else follows. As they say goodbye, Juniper, who is still upset, is kind of distant towards Julian. Then, Julian turns into a spider, and Serenity uses her sword to turn tiny so that she can ride him.

They enter the mountain and squeeze past a big mirror, then through the main rooms, where they quickly find the correct stone to press so that the wall moves up, revealing the secret staircase, which Ginger marked with "this way". As the wall moves up, Julian manages to scurry away, preventing them from being squished, but Serenity falls down from his back. She only takes a bit of damage, though, and even manages to supress a scream, so they continue onwards down the stairs. Just a few inches behind the last step, there is a pit going down. For Serenity's safety, they decide that Julian goes down alone to have a quick look. He finds disturbed earth at the bottom of the pit, and two coffins. From this, and the portraits of two pale, red-eyed people in the main rooms, he realises that there must be vampires living in the mountain. Quickly, he climbs back up, and he and Serenity leave the mountain to regroup with the others and inform them about what they found.

Outside, the group decides to take Lee with them so that they can use him as a weapon should need be. Then, they all together walk back into the mountain and down the stairs, where Julian climbs into the pit by himself again, with Art and Juniper ready to push Lee towards him should he need help. Using *Mold Earth*, he digs up Lee's legs, which immediately illuminate the space, and even though Julian casts *Fog Cloud* to conceal them, as he teleports back towards the others they can all hear a single, pointed piano note coming from the main room. As they get back there, the woman from the paintings sits at the piano, one finger pressed on a key, looking directly at them. They re-attach Lee's legs, which is accompanied by a bright glow that stuns the vampire woman, so that the group can run outside, get into the boat, and row into the centre of the lake.

In the boat, they first make sure everyone is okay, and Riot heals Serenity from her earlier wounds. In the meantime, the vampire woman calmly strides out of the mountain and lifts a hand to ring a bell. Black smoke begins to roll over the mountain, and Juniper realises that it looks just as it did in her dream. Not wanting to waste any more time, they row the boat back to shore, away from the mountain entrance, and begin climbing the mountain at a side angle. Riot, after struggling a bit, casts *Sending* to send a message to Valerian, telling them that she will be home soon and loves them. Then, as the people in Maatte see Lee's light and realise that someone tries to fix things, the black smoke rolls over the edge of the mountain, and they hear Render saying: "Hey, birdie. Change your mind?"

### Episode 7

The party gets up the last bit of the mountain, and Juniper recognises the scene from her dreams, except now there are flowers on the ground. Render is awaiting them, carrying a huge axe and wearing Lee's arm tied to him with a thick dark cord like a sash. He offers Juniper again that she should give him what he wants to make things easy, while Juniper half-heartedly tries to convince him to give them the arm so that they don't have to fight him. Julian asks what Render wants, and he tells them that he wants to go back to the Material Plane, but only with as much power as possible, so that he can be powerful there. As nobody agrees to a deal with him, he starts the fight by attacking Art.

Serenity starts attacking the cord that holds Lee's arm around him, weakening it. Without all of his body parts, Lee cannot do much, but starts plucking flowers, which causes Wild Magic effects to happen, but on Initiative 1, Render starts tearing Lee apart even further. He rips off one of Lee's fingers, and throws it over the edge of the mountain. Juniper uses Radiant Soul to sprout another wing and flies off to get the finger back, but cannot find it. Julian casts Heat Metal on Render's axe, forcing him to drop it, and then picks it up and jumps off the mountain with it, hoping that his mom will catch him. Art climbs down the mountain side and actually finds Lee's finger about 40 feet below him, while Render continues ripping Lee apart and tosses his head over the mountain edge. Juniper manages to catch both Julian, who still holds the axe, and Lee's head, but to her anger, Julian throws away the axe into the abyss. When she expresses her anger about that while flying back towards the mountaintop, he jumps from her arms and gets up the last bit by himself. Then, Serenity manages to shoot through the last fibre holding the cord together, and Lee's arm drops to the ground.

Render hits Riot unconscious, but immediately Art manages to heal them with their own healing potion. Serenity attaches Lee's arm to his torso and then picks a Wild Magic Flower herself, which turns her into a potted plant. Art asks Julian to give him Lee's head, and then reattaches both the head and the missing finger to him. Lee stands up, only missing a single piece, and reaches a hand over to Juniper. She gives him a sad look, and gives him the missing braid while apologising for keeping it. He takes it, and reattaches the braid himself, which results in a light that is much brighter than for any other of the reattachments. Then, with an expression that is almost sad, Lee places a single finger on Render's back, and Render burns to ashes.

### Episode 8

With the moon still standing above them, Art feels how his contract is fulfilled and lifted from him, and the other half of their payment appears infront of the party, on the ground. Julian runs up to hug Lee, and Lee offers all of them to bring them home, and grant them some wishes beforehand, although he is on a tight schedule. Juniper asks to have her second wing again, and he makes it grow back in white-gold. Art wishes for six donkeys to be tied to a post in the backyard of the duplex, and for a cool cowboy hat, which he gets. Serenity wanted the crime family to stay together forever, but understands that this is not her choice, so she instead also wishes for a cool hat and a matching jacket. Riot, afraid that Valerian and he might turn out like Valerian's parents one day, wishes to keep his empathy and moral compass, and Lee grants them that wish, even though he feels like he is cursing them.

Julian, overwhelmed by the sudden opportunity, is a bit apart from the others. Juniper goes to speak to him, and apologises for yelling at and upsetting him, but still refuses to take him with her on her quest to find Ilsa. Julian is still angry, and tells her that she is being selfish and made him hate himself over the last days by pushing him away and treating him like a little boy that she has to keep nice and safe. She apologises again, but refuses to change her mind on this, so they hug tightly once again, before Julian walks away to Lee. He apologises to Art, since he is already short one employee, hugs Serenity and Riot. Then, he mindlinks to Lee, asking him to be allowed to move on, since he has already spent more time alive than he was supposed to. Lee is distressed about this wish and tries to offer Julian other options, but none of them would offer Julian any comfort. Finally, Lee offers to turn Julian into a star, and he asks what that is like, and whether he becomes lonely or sick of the Feywild. As Lee admits that he sometimes gets lonely, Julian proposes that he could become the second sun of the Feywild. Lee agrees, and makes Julian a sun. Afterwards, Julian says properly goodbye to everyone, and Lee promises to take care of him. Juniper, crying, gives Lee the bracelet, and Julian apologises for what he said, and tells her that she did good in preparing him for his life. Then, Lee sends Art, Serenity, Riot and Juniper back home to the Material Plane.

As the four of them are engulfed in light, Serenity feels something tug at the back of her spine, but succeeds on her Charisma saving throw and gets through. Juniper, however, flickers out of existence just as the light is at its brightest, and while the others roll a 27 on their d100 of how much time has passed since they went to the Feywild, Juniper comes to back again on the mountain. Renders ashes are still there, and the sun, now a little bit brighter, is in the sky. She remembers her deal with Lacewing, and flies to his house, seeing the Hanakow lying flat on their backs in the sun as she flies over Maatte. As she knocks, Lacewing asks her to come in, and greets her sitting at his loom, weaving. She asks him for a way to get home, and they tell her that they have one, but she has not liked their prices before. Still, she wants to know the price, and he offers to become a Warlock patron for her, instead of her being a Paladin. Reluctantly, she agrees, and together with her new class and a teleportation back to the Material Plane she also receives his finished tapestry, which shows the whole party and Lee on the mountain, next to the ashes that used to be Render. On her way home, Juniper rolls a 24 on her d100.

She lands back in the hut they vanished from, but the floor is whole and unbroken. Wilbur the donkey is outside, miserable and hungry, but otherwise healthy, and the two of them go on their two day journey back home, where they are greeted by a frazzled Landra, and six additional donkeys in the backyard. Six days after Juniper appeared, the others come back to the Material Plane, and after a short rest, Riot Sends a message to Juniper to make sure she is alright, before they also travel back to Qto. Arriving there, Landra finally receives the full story of what happened, which she could not really get out of Juniper, and Riot decides to introduce Valerian to the others before they leave a few days later. As they do so, they leave a gift for everyone: Art, who thinks about starting ranching instead of doing crime, gets Riot's share from every single job she went on. Serenity gets the address and an open invitation to the Hallowheart estate. Juniper gets the Sending ring together with a little note with a heart inviting her to call anytime. As Riot and Valerian leave the duplex for the last time, they walk past the little memorial Art has built for Julian, which says: "Julian Crimeboy - Sometimes those who burn the brightest shine forever. He's not dead, just the sun."

## Trivia

* This arc was originally supposed to be 3rd level but Haley was persuaded into making it 4th level by the party.
* The idea that the whole group would live in the same place came from Grace.