Wake

## Wake Scalebound

Official artwork of Wake Scalebound by Jack Kaiser.

**Wake Scalebound** is a protagonist of Team Four Star's D&D series "TFS at the Table". He is portrayed by Nick “Lanipator” Landis.

## **Biography**

Wake is a saltwater merfolk. When he was a small toddler, his merfolk village was raided by the navy capturing them to enslave into service. Wake was spared by being tucked away in a massive ocean shell.

Wake was found by members of a fishing village that took him in and raised at the local monk temple. There, he learned to commune with the elements from Master Delpholos with other students, including two close friends that he considered brothers: Sheldon Rockspine, a tortle, and Therrin Flash, a human. He also made friends with nearby freshwater merfolk.

One day, the village was attacked by pirates. The monks and villagers fought to repel the invaders. The last thing Wake remembers before losing consciousness was a pirate standing over him with glowing, red eyes.

When Wake was 18, he found his way onto the Voltun, a ferry taking him to Jahal Cove and the beginning of numerous adventures.

## **Appearance**

Wake is a saltwater merfolk with carnivorous teeth. He has blue skin with red, shoulder length hair and fins and black eyes. He has a marking of a swirling seashell on his left pectoral. When traveling in public, Wake tries to hide his fish race by wearing clothes head to toe. He wears gloves, a bandana over his face, and a long brim hat that blocks his eyes if not he’s not directly looking at someone. His normal outfit consists of a martial artist gi, a kilt, and boots. In chapter two, he was also given a feather coat to wear during shows but has no interest in wearing it. Wake goes with nothing under the kilt because his legs turn into a fish tail when he submerges into water.

## **Personality**

Wake has had a troubled past full of hardships. As such, he has trouble opening up to other people. He has shown, once comfortable with the people around him, he has a fair sense of humor. He is very adaptable to situations, as demonstrated during the adventures on Vennin Island. Wake can be quick to anger when subjects of slavery or the navy are brought up. Often, his anger can overtake his better sense, such as when he punched Mr. Thoroughday and screamed at Viktor.

## **Adventures at the Table**

### **Chapter One**

In episode one, Wake was traveling as a passenger aboard the Voltun, heavily garbed to conceal his identity. After a few tastes of Grammy’s soup, Wake was able to figure out that the secret ingredient was seagull and was rewarded with a vial of cat’s grace, which he drank. Wake returned to his room early to check on his belongings.

Later, Wake was brought onto the main deck and questioned with the rest of the passengers at the request of the captain. When the Voltun was rammed by a pirate ship, Wake prevented Risf and the captain from falling overboard. Wake returned below deck with Eloy and Ezra after the pirate orcs began boarding the ship. There, they confronted and defeated a group of orcs that had broken into the ship and were stealing some of the cargo, rescuing Skrung from being betrayed by his former allies. Inspecting the cargo the orcs were after, Wake discovered a strange tumor within a goliath cadaver and stored it in a jar, sensing something malicious when he touched it.

Hearing a commotion from another room, Wake and the others went to assist Redd against the orc captain and two of his crew. Working together, they managed to subdue the captain before the reinforcements arrived, Wake using his water whip to sever the orc’s leg.

In episode two, Wake, along with Eloy, Ezra, Skrung, Redd, Pliskin, and Risf, were held separately after the orc raid. After arriving at Jahal Cove and being greeted by Timothy at the docks, they were taken to see Meed, a pirate lord and governor of Jahal Cove, who explained that the island was on lockdown due to abyssal monsters threatening the seas, and they were offered the chance to help investigate the situation.

At the Flappy Stingray, they met with Harros and Mary Pibbs, who owned the inn. Wake joined Harros and Gulfur for a few rounds of gambling before turning in for the night, winning a Yuan-ti amulet and a map to an abandoned ship from the dwarf.

The next morning, Wake went with Eloy, Ezra, and Risf to the Gimmi Brothers’ shop, the general store, and the Collective, where they met with Father Dorn, before stopping by the carve house.

In episode three, Wake, Eloy, and Ezra met Onslow Green at Jahal Cove’s carve house. The trio then headed to Black Street to gather some more information before setting out on their mission the next day.

After getting turned around by the locals’ trickery, they eventually found their way to Black Street where they ran into Skrung. Skrung, also seeking information, led them to an audience with Deimos, where they were told to seek out Yeldin Cave. The party then returned to the Flappy Stingray, where Wake told Mary about the sensation he felt when he touched the abyssal tumor before resting for the night.

The morning before they set out, Harros explained the mission would be to scout out a Navy company on the island. Although Wake advocated for bringing Risf with them, Eloy provided the best argument for taking Onslow in the party. Once Wake had purchased shock gloves and the party had resupplied, the group left along the western path out of down, which took them down the Squawking Path. There, they were attacked by a group of dire macaws.

In episode four, Wake discovered a chest containing tinkered weapons and a dead body garbed in a naval uniform buried near where they had fought the dire macaws. After Eloy’s flute was broken, Wake managed to fix it by forming an adhesive from beeswax and tree resin, earning Eloy’s gratitude.

Wake, Eloy, Ezra, and Onslow regrouped with Redd, Risf, Skrung, and Pliskin at Onslow’s village in Piranha Bog. To assist with their mission, the group hired Old Young Cletus, Onslow’s hunting rival, to travel upriver on an airboat as a distraction.

The two groups split up, with Wake’s team going toward Yeldin Cave and the other going ahead to scout the navy camp. On the way, they were attacked by a group of stirges which they defeated handily. During the fight, Ezra shot Wake in the back of the head with a crossbow bolt, providing one of the stirge drones an open wound to feed from.

In episode five, Wake, Eloy, Ezra, and Onslow found and explored Yeldin Cave. Searching the area, they came across two mimics: a chest that Ezra dubbed Trunky and a sword sheath called Kevin. Advancing further into the cave, the group encountered large spiders and red, abyssal-infected slimes.

As they approached the deepest reaches of the cave, Onslow was ambushed and nearly dragged off a ledge by a slime-controlled rat-man cadaver. Wake decapitated the fiend, allowing Eloy and Ezra to pull the gator-man back up but not before the creature bored into his head.

Then, they came upon the Manmaw, a two-story tall, red slime filled with corpses and a giant, rat-faced tumor. After Ezra was sucked into the Manmaw, Wake used his water ship to pull the half-elf out before being digested. Together, the group managed to slay Onslow’s long-sought prey.

In episode six, after killing the Manmaw, Wake found a greater healing potion among the carnage. Wake retrieved the rat skull and a vial of red slime from the remains of the Manmaw and gave them to Onslow as trophies of the hunt. While Onslow rested, Eloy, Ezra, and Wake explored more of Yeldin Cave, coming across a laboratory that had been used by Viktor and two more mimics: a trunk named Roy that ingests organic material and a ring named Lancy that produces skeleton keys in exchange for eating a finger bone.

Continuing north, they regrouped with Redd, Risf, Skrung, and Pliskin who had captured and bound a Yuan-ti woman by the name of Zia’ka. Wake calmed Zia’ka down by returning the Yuan-ti amulet he had won from Gulfur and unbound her. After an exchange of words, they agreed to help Zia’ka in her quest if she would help with theirs.

When scouting the naval camp, Wake overhead two soldiers mention a Captain Ave Lo and an Admiral Lockwood. After Ezra caused a distraction, Wake infiltrated the camp with Risf and Skrung. On their way out, they stole gold and weapons from the armory before igniting a supply of black powder. From the loot obtained in the raid, Wake received ten gold bars.

In episode seven, once they had safely made camp away from the naval outpost, Wake confronted Ezra about the Lockwood side of his family. Ezra deceived Wake and claimed to know nothing of any Lockwoods in the Navy. Back at the Piranha Bog village, they ran into Old Young Cletus, who had returned from his hunting trip with a dead, male Yuan-ti. Wake gave Cletus two gold bars for his services, but, when he continued to talk about killing the Yuan-ti, Wake punched the gator-man in the face.

Eloy, Ezra, and Wake took Redd, Skrung, and Zia’ka with them to investigate the Yuan-ti temple while Onslow, Pliskin, and Risf returned to Jahal Cove to report to Meed. After being greeted by Pinches, the crab mascot, they ran into Mr. Thoroughday, the head of the Fine Day Boardwalk Company in Jahal Cove, who gave them a verbal tour.

While waiting to challenge the carnival’s champion, Wake visited one of the game booths with the objective to knock down a pyramid of glass bottles. On his first attempt, he left one bottle standing and won a bag of three fae-glass marbles. However, on his second try, none of the bottles remained, and he won a fae-glass statue of Sealy the seal mascot, which he gave to Eloy.

Wake entered the arena and was confronted by Nedra, a hulking tiefling girl in plate armor. The two combatants clashed against each other, dealing fierce blows, but, in the end, Wake’s skill and focus gave him the upper hand.

After Wake, Eloy, Ezra, Redd, Skrung, and Zia’ka regrouped in the champion’s room, they talked with Nedra and Mr. Thoroughday and arranged to investigate the temple underneath the fight pit.

In episode eight, after a brief discussion in which Eloy mentioned that Skrung bore a resemblance to the goblin king and Wake stated his disbelief in the undead, he descended into the Yuan-ti temple with the others. While talking with the temple’s undead Yuan-ti guardian, it revealed that the Collective One’s heart had been stolen. It also mentioned that it would like Wake to fight the statue of the Collective One, but Wake declined the offer until they could retrieve the artifact. The party then returned to report to Mr. Thoroughday.

When the group informed Mr. Thoroughday of the situation, he was displeased it could not be resolved immediately. After Wake discovered Nedra was under contract to remain at the Fine Day Boardwalk as their champion, he punched Mr. Thoroughday through the contract. This complicated negotiations with him, but Ezra was able to successfully buy out the deal. On the way back to Jahal Cove, Wake decided to take in Nedra as his student and teach her to control her raw power.

Back at the Flappy Stingray, they rejoined Risf, Pliskin, and Onslow to tell Mary what they had learned on their expedition. Then, Wake, Eloy, Ezra, and Nedra went to visit Mr. Rattles, the local necromancer. There, the lich showed them an image of Viktor and told them that the abyssal were a reaction to too much magic being used by the navy. Wake took Nedra over to listen to a story from one of Mr. Rattles’ gargoyles while Eloy learned about magic.

After Eloy was launched into the general store by Nedra’s high five, Wake followed him in to meet Timothy and Abigail. Wake shared the area he had mapped with Abigail before noticing that Timothy had necrotic damage on his arm and learning that he might be Viktor’s next target.

Sending Timothy and Abigail to wait at the Flappy Stingray, the group visited the Gimmi Brothers next. Wake left his spear head with them to be coated in silver.

In episode nine, Eloy, Ezra, and Wake went to speak with Deimos to reveal what they had learned on their trip to Yeldin Cave. Each of them were given a potion of invisibility for their services. Additionally, Wake requested they keep watch over Timothy in case Viktor came after him. Then, they visited the Collective so Eloy could confess his worries for having used magic. Wake and Eloy returned to the Flappy Stingray while Ezra visited the Gimmi Brothers, and Wake took up a lookout position on the roof.

From his vantage point, Wake noticed a carriage approach the tavern carrying Meed, Harros, Ave Lo Eshtali, Arundhati, and Troy Hultch, and he joined them inside to participate in a parley with the navy. Eloy, Ezra, and Wake agreed to go with the naval officers to the southern island in pursuit of Viktor. They decided to take Zia’ka, Gulfur, and Skrung with them on the expedition.

The next morning, Wake retrieved his silver-plated spear head from the Gimmi Brothers before rejoining the others and heading to the docks. On the way to the boats, Grammy gave them some pufferfish pie, which Wake found to be delicious.

Traveling to the southern island, Wake swimming while everyone else stayed aboard boats, they were attacked by an abyssal bloater fish. During the fight, Ezra was pulled overboard by the beast, but Wake managed to rescue him. When a wave capsized the boats, Wake rescued the hulking paladin, Troy, who was sinking. All of them managed to make it to the island safely.

Once ashore, the party headed into the woods to search for Viktor. After some time, it became clear they were traveling in circles under the influence of the Green Ones, which Zia’ka explained protect the forests and can manipulate nature. Soon, they came upon a red cap, and, with a coordinated effort, they killed the creature before it could escape.

In episode ten, the southern island expedition party proceeded through the forest until they came upon a pack of velociraptors. Despite their attempts to hide, Eloy was discovered and bitten by one of them, prompting Wake to kill the creature. Afterward, Wake scavenged its hide and pheromone gland, which Gulfur modified into a pheromone bomb. Continuing on, they met a gnoll leading another group of raptors, but Wake stayed hidden until it became clear the gnoll was not an enemy.

The gnoll introduced himself through broken common as Quickin and explained that a deal had been made with Viktor to resurrect the alpha gnoll’s dead mate. When the party informed Quickin that Viktor was not to be trusted, the gnoll agreed to take them to his alpha, Yawrugrik. Quickin let some the two-legged party members ride some of his raptor mounts while Eloy carried Gulfur.

Traveling through the woods, their path was soon barred by traps and they were confronted by Glorriosa, one of the Green Ones that protects the forests on the island. They informed her that they were pursuing Viktor, and she showed them the numerous abyssal and corpses left in Viktor’s trail when, suddenly, the abyssal attacked.

Wake, Eloy, Ezra, Skrung, and Gulfur fought one wave of enemies while Quickin, Glorriosa, and the naval officers dealt with another. Once they had defeated the first wave, a massive, abyssal treant rose to face them. Using unprecedented cooperation, they eliminated the creature with ease.

In episode eleven, Quickin led the group through the path Glorriosa opened for them to the gnoll camp, which resided up on the mountain closer to the volcano. There, they met the tribe’s alpha, Yawrugrik, and explained the threat Viktor posed.

Yawrugrik led them to where Viktor was being held, but all they found were abyssal gnolls waiting for them. Pursuing the elf deeper into the volcano, Wake, Eloy, Ezra, Skrung, and Gulfur followed Yawrugrik down the southern path while Ave Lo, Arundhati, and Troy proceeded along the northern path.

Investigating the caverns as they went, they came upon a red cap in a glass display case, which Skrung immediately killed. As Skrung looted its treasure, he triggered a force rune, causing an explosion of glass to hit Eloy. Skrung offered Eloy the plunder, a bag of explosive runes, but Eloy wanted nothing to do with them and handed the bag to Wake.

Further in, they wandered into a ship graveyard where they found the mimic ship Yeldin. From him, they learned how his crew was turned into mimics by mind flayer experimentation and that a red cap may be lurking nearby.

After Yeldin was depressed by the prospect of not returning to his previous body, Wake left his mimic with Gulfur as he endeavored to repair the former captain. Wary of the dwarf’s loyalty, Wake attached an explosive rune to Gulfur’s neck, claiming it was a dud.

Noticing Skrung sneak off into one of the wrecked vessels, Wake and Ezra followed after the goblin, who was pursuing another red cap. However, when Eloy approached to try and assist, he alerted the red cap to their presence, causing it to vanish and angering Skrung.

Leaving Gulfur and Skrung behind, the rest of the group continued into the depths of the volcano. They swam through a submerged corridor filled with searing, sulfurous water. When Yawrugrik failed to emerge on the other side of the burning pool, Wake dove in again to save the gnoll, whose armor had gotten caught on the bottom.

Deep within the volcano, they regrouped with the naval officers outside of a massive chamber where Viktor was conducting some sort of ritual, guarded by several abyssal mind flayers. Finally able to confront his target, Wake shouted at Viktor as he entered the room. They managed to defeat Viktor’s horrifying entourage and converged on the elf

Wake launched an explosive rune into the portal that Viktor was opening, causing the creatures inside to scream in agony and turn on the elf, corrupting him into an abyssal and mind flayer abomination beyond recognition. After the transformed Viktor unleashed a mighty roar, only Wake, Eloy, Ezra, and Yawrugrik remained standing to fight.

A fierce battle ensued between the remaining party members and Viktor, who now had several independently acting heads on long tentacles. Using more explosive runes, his spear, and sheer strength Wake fought against the monster, drowning Viktor’s main body in a pool of mind flayer tadpoles and decapitating the merfolk head.

When Wake noticed Eloy under the worm head’s enchantment, the merman struck down the creature, freeing Eloy from its grasp. As an abyssal lord began to emerge from the portal, Zia’ka appeared with other Yuan-ti and a massive avatar of their god, the Collective One, which slammed the portal shut and sealed it.

### **Chapter Two**

In episode twelve, Wake thanked the Collective One for sealing the portal. Looking through the items in the chamber, Wake found a strange stone that produces a constant stream of liquid gold. Wake returned to the ship graveyard with the rest of the party to discover that a week had passed since they confronted Viktor and the Voltun had arrived. Then, he voyaged back to Jahal Cove on the Voltun, leaving Gulfur behind to continue working on the mimic ship.

During the party at the Flappy Stingray celebrating Viktor’s death, Wake approached Skrung, who revealed his past as a forgotten prince of the goblin kingdom. Hearing his plight, Wake agreed to help Skrung search for the red cap who had stolen the goblin’s signet ring.

Later, Wake joined a round of gambling with Arundhati, Harros, Gulfur, and Nedra before starting up a conversation with Arundhati. Wake asked her if she knew anything about his people, and she suggested he go to South Xellus for more information. Harros pulled Wake aside to warn him about Nedra. Harros was unsettled by the unusual tiefling girl and suggested that Wake ditch her at the nearest opportunity.

After spending the evening making merry with their allies, Wake, Eloy, and Ezra followed Meed into the back to discuss their future plans. They decided to form a traveling group of entertainers with some of their allies and go from port to port, freeing slaves along the way. Meed informed them of the Grand Design, the secret of Barnacle Bay, and the Navy’s experiments pulling in magic from other realms. Then, he gave them a parcel to deliver to his pirate lord allies.

In episode thirteen, Wake, Eloy, and Ezra spent a couple of weeks relaxing and preparing for their next adventure. Wake purchased some cannons and other supplies for Yeldin and had his spear enchanted. He also began training Nedra, attempting to teach her self-control through meditation and sparring.

Later, Wake took Eloy to challenge the captain of the Voltun to recruit Grammy as their cook. After beating Havok in a fixed game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, Wake won Grammy for the crew. She approached Wake and Eloy and wrapped a piece of seaweed around one arm for each of them, claiming them. Then, Wake brought her to the Yeldin, where she immediately began making herself at home.

At the Flappy Stingray, everyone spent one last night together before the Wonders were to set sail the following morning. Mary provided the crew with a set of silver and jewel encrusted mugs as a memento of where their adventure began. As a gift for the new mayor of Jahal Cove, Wake gave Abigail a copy of the map he had charted of the southern island. When the Gimmi Brothers showed up, they stuffed Wake into a feathered outfit matching the ones they had made for Ezra and Eloy. Lastly, Meed provided a map of La Circunus marked with numerous places of interest. Moving on to business, the crew decided what role each of the members would take on the ship, with Wake being the first mate.

The next morning, the crew boarded the Yeldin and set sail eastward. After being at sea for a time, they came upon the Witness Tower, a massive, porcelain structure protruding out of the sea. Wake dove into the ocean to investigate the tower from below while Eloy, Ezra, Skrung, Onslow, and Zia’ka examined it above the water.

Wake found an entrance into the Witness Tower deep beneath the waves and, unknowingly working with the surface party, made his way into the observation deck at the top of the structure, where he met a minotaur. The creature congratulated Wake on getting so far and handed him a map to the Unwitnessed Kingdom before showing him outside.

Several nights later, the crew was awoken in the middle of the night when Yeldin suddenly stopped before a ghastly scene. Bodies and blood filled the waters ahead, leading to another ship. Wake dove in and retrieved a jacket from one of the bodies and a sample of the blood. Returning to the ship, Ezra identified an emblem on the clothing as that of Eburkal, and Redd was alarmed to reveal the blood was from vampires. Then, Pliskin identified the ship as the Mantaruva.

In episode fourteen, Wake, Eloy, and Ezra decided to take Redd and Risf with them to investigate the Mantaruva, leaving the other crew members behind to defend the Yeldin. The five of them took a rowboat over to the mysterious vessel, meeting resistance from the sharks and blood filling the waters.

Aboard the wreck, they found zombies wandering the decks and corpses piled together. Laying to rest any not living creatures they came across, the group proceeded deeper into the Mantaruva. Following the sounds of a woman crying, they snuck into a room with a man crucified in the center of a pentagram and a vampire lady in a white dress franticly searching through crates.

After Ezra stepped on a loose floorboard, the woman noticed them and immediately vanished. When Ezra was attacked by her, Wake lunged forward and stabbed the vampire with his spear. With their combined efforts, the group was able to take her down, but the man on the cross broke free and turned to face them.

After Eloy used heat metal on their new foe, Ezra littered the floor in front of the enemy with ball bearings. When their flaming opponent approached, he slipped on the small orbs and launched the cross he was wielding into the air, which came crashing down on its owner, plunging him through the deck of the ship.

Searching the room, they found various gems, artifacts, and other items of value. Setting the decrepit vessel ablaze as they left, the group returned to their rowboat and began the voyage back to the Yeldin.

Having successfully made their way back through the blood and vampire shark filled waters, the Wonders decided to end this threat of vampirism before it spread, so they dumped several barrels of oil into the ocean and burned away any trace of the disease before continuing their travels eastward.

In episode fifteen, the Natural Wonders continued their voyage eastward. Wake tried to teach Nedra more self-control by having Eloy place her under mind control. When Nedra fell overboard trying to punch the tap-dancing zombie Eloy conjured, Wake brought her back onto the ship. However, when he attempted to defeat the illusion, Wake also fell overboard.

Making landfall on an unmarked island, several of the crew were confused by the presence of so many deer. Offering a handful of rations, Wake lured one of the deer in close before slaying it with a quick strike with his spear. Leaving the dead animal with Grammy aboard the ship, he explored the island’s town with the others.

After several deer with unusually humanoid eyes attempted to jump onto the ship before mysteriously dying, Wake found Onslow on the deck transformed into a deer. Onslow was rushed to the local tavern, the Toad in the Hole, to avoid a similar fate

Resuming their investigation, they came upon a small, female kobold named Jalael. With Risf as an interpreter, she explained that the inhabitants of the island were turned into deer by “Him” and she had been researching the events for the past eight years. Then, she guided Eloy, Ezra, Wake, Risf, Redd, and Zia’ka to her den, where she showed them everything she collected from the town. During the trek, Wake began slow change into a deer, losing some of his merfolk features along the way.

Learning of something at the lighthouse built to protect it from the wendigo, which caused the island’s population to turn into deer, the group left Jalael in her den to venture across the island to find a way to reverse the enchantment. As they passed through the forest, they were confronted by Calliope, a faun girl warning them to leave the island.

After Eloy tried to use suggestion to convince Calliope to stand aside, it became clear that she was under the influence of some spell, so Zia’ka placed her into an enchanted sleep. Taking the young faun with them, they arrived at the lighthouse and were greeted by a gargoyle at the entrance, Carble. Hearing their plight, Carble allowed them into the lighthouse.

In episode sixteen, they searched the lighthouse for any useful items or information. Aware of his continued metamorphosis into a deer, Wake had his spear tied to his back by Ezra and soon lost the ability to communicate with the others. As they ascended the tower, Wake found several potions that Redd was able to identify: a minor cure wounds potion, a bane of fae potion, and an incomplete cure disease potion.

When Calliope woke up, Wake was able to somewhat speak with her, despite his transformed state. She was terrified of the wendigo, but Wake, Eloy, and Ezra were able to comfort her slightly and convince her to help them. They discovered that Carble was an incomplete project made to combat the wendigo.

On the top floor, they found the corpse of the lighthouse’s previous master and a note indicating that Carble only needed the completed cure disease potion, which still required poison oak, before he would be finished.

As the group left the tower to pursue the missing ingredient, Calliope and Carble coming along with them, they came upon several deer abominations, macabre hybrids of deer and the island’s inhabitants. The strange creatures were easily dealt with by Carble’s sonic screams, however. After noticing that repeated outcries caused cracks to appear around the gargoyle’s throat, a now fully transformed deer-Wake attempted to repair the damage with some clay.

Deeper in the forest, they came upon more abominations and horrific, skeletal deer monsters blocking their path. In spite of his new body, Wake was able to sneak close to the creatures by pretending to be an ordinary deer and quickly slew one of them before it could run for aid. With surprising skill, he continued his assault and killed several more of them.

Once they had retrieved the poison oak, the group returned to town and regrouped with Nedra, Pliskin, Skrung, and Onslow at the Toad in the Hole. Wake received and enthusiastic hug from Nedra, who was delighted to see a deer version of Wake.

In episode seventeen, Calliope revealed to everyone that the beans Pliskin’s group had found around town were what remained of the townspeople. Then, Wake and the rest of the crew that was out all night investigating the island took some time to rest at the tavern.

After waking that afternoon, the crew went about preparing for an oncoming attack that night, setting up traps, barricades, cannons, and anything else they deemed useful. When they were finished, Wake took up a position within the tavern along with Eloy, Ezra, and Nedra as a last line of defense for Onslow and Calliope.

Numerous deer abominations and skeletal monsters charged the Toad in the Hole, but defenses held for the early waves. Peeking out at the battle, Wake noticed a humanoid bull shark where Pliskin once stood. During the fourth wave, Risf misfired a cannon into the tavern, blasting Calliope into the main room, where Wake used a potion of superior healing on her.

On the fifth wave, the Toad in the Hole was invaded by more of their monstrous foes. They were quickly dispatched, but, in the midst of the fray, Onslow disappeared, with only a small, green bean remaining where the gator-deer had once been. With time running short for Onslow, Wake, Eloy, Ezra, Nedra, and Carble proceeded to the lake at the center of the island to confront the wendigo.

At the lake, Carble opened a pathway into the wendigo’s lair. While Carble remained outside, the others entered the strange realm created by the wendigo and came face-to-face with Him. Surprisingly, Wake found himself able to speak again. The wendigo attempted to negotiate, but the crew was unimpressed. After Ezra stopped the creature from devouring an arm from Wake’s body with a quick crossbow bolt, the wendigo vanished into the shadows, animating the bodies of Wake and Onslow to fight the intruders.

Deer Wake charged at his own body, stunning it with a fierce blow, but, due to the curse, he also damaged himself. Sensing something familiar about the body, Wake pinned it using his antlers and, with his control over ki, forced himself back into it, regaining his former self. Back in his original body, Wake noticed Ezra’s explosive bolt in the wendigo and snuffed it out to prevent it from disrupting the influence of Eloy’s hypnotic pattern.

While the wendigo was dazed, Eloy, Ezra, Wake, and Nedra managed to return Onslow to his body by forcing the bean left behind at the tavern down the gator’s throat. Then, Wake and Ezra covered the wendigo in oil and explosive bolts, igniting the creature in a massive inferno.

Cast out of the collapsing dimension with numerous other souls, Wake, Eloy, Ezra, Nedra, and Onslow landed in the lake at the center of the island. Returning to the town with Carble, they were greeted with cheers and treasure by the revived townspeople and agreed to travel to Bulkard to request aid for the village, taking Calliope as an ambassador.

In episode eighteen, the Natural Wonders spent a few days on Vennin Island resting after defeating the wendigo. Wake had the local blacksmith make a tetsubo, a large wooden club studded with metal inlets, for Nedra. While speaking with the village elder, they were told to contact Lieutenant Gore about potential aid for the town.

After departing from Vennin Island, Wake, Eloy, and Ezra showed Calliope around Yeldin and introduced her to the rest of the crew.

That night, Wake was awoken with the rest of the crew after Ezra sounded the alarm due to Raniero Confictura’s intrusion. After Wake confirmed that Meed’s package was still safe, they were unable to determine exactly how Confictura managed to sneak aboard the ship, but Redd found a scrying orb in the galley. Wake pitched the orb to Nedra, who launched it into the ocean with her bat, then stayed up to keep watch.

The next morning, they sailed into Bulkard’s port. Wake spent some time teaching Nedra how to read and write before sparring with her above deck, putting on a fantastic display for other nearby vessels, much to Ezra’s dismay.

Docking with the merchants, they informed one of the port workers, a bobcat tabaxi by the name of Bob, about the fate of the Mantaruva, providing the ship’s manifest as proof. Wake, Eloy, Skrung, and Gulfur went to the carve house to chat up some of the locals. They learned from a friendly tabaxi by the name of Pistachio that some children and gremlins had been causing trouble in the area under the flag of Blurderek Rumblood, one of the pirate lords.

After settling their business at the port, the crew was gathered and permitted entrance into the upper area of Bulkard. Wake disguised himself as a human called Sheldon Flash in case word of his actions at the Fine Day Boardwalk in Jahal Cove had reached Bulkard.

In episode nineteen, Wake instructed Nedra to practice her writing aboard Yeldin while he wandered around Bulkard. Then, he went with Calliope to visit Joh-Johes Adventurer Bizarre. Along the way, she bought two glass figures to remember each other by: a deer for him and a shark for her.

At Joh-Johes, Wake traded some of the items he had collected for two masks that he and Nedra could wear to the fight pit. When he tried to add an elegant dress that Calliope had been looking at to the deal, he was interrupted by Edward Caster, a pompous aasimar lawyer that wanted the dress for his daughter. The two potential buyers eventually agreed to settle their dispute by pitting two champions against each other: Nedra and one of Caster’s choosing. Before leaving, Wake gave Caster’s daughter three fae-glass marbles for her to play with.

That afternoon, Wake and Calliope regrouped with Eloy, Ezra, Zia’ka, Onslow, and Grammy at the Shipwrecked tavern for the meeting with Oso, the Kals’ advisor, Serpil, the Kals’ bodyguard, and Lieutenant Gore. Oso voided the deal Wake had made with Caster as a show of good will, but Wake decided to proceed with the arranged fight, which gained Serpil’s approval. After discussing the events on Vennin Island, Oso and Gore agreed to assist with rebuilding the town by providing trade and defense. However, they requested that the investigation into the whereabouts of the Collective One’s heart be handled by Kals.

Oso provided the Wonders with rooms at the Kal embassy for their stay in Bulkard and consented to let Zia’ka cooperate with the investigation into the heart’s location.

In episode twenty, Wake was relaxing in the Kal embassy with several other members of the crew when they were interrupted by AJ, a raggedy looking elf. He claimed to have been cursed by Schrodinger, the god of time, to teleport around the world every twelve hours in search of 100 items on a list.

After AJ stole guard uniforms from the embassy and they debated among themselves, Eloy, Ezra, Wake, and Nedra agreed to assist the stranger in recovering a dire elephant tusk from Bulkard’s zoo.

At the zoo, the group convinced one of the zookeepers that they were sent by the Kals and she gave them several tasks to attend to before letting them see the elephants. First, they were instructed to remove an object from the wing of Bruce, a giant bat.

On the third floor, Eloy put the bats to sleep so Ezra could climb onto Bruce and extract the object from his wing. After Bruce woke up and bit down on the half-elf, Wake used a stunning strike to paralyze the giant bat while everyone else escaped. The merman tried to stun Bruce a second time but missed, so Wake leaped from the third floor and fell into a pile of guano when Nedra failed to catch him. Then, he left the enclosure with the rest of the group.

Their next task was to remove a fae creature from the purple worm enclosure. They deduced that the creature was a faerie dragon and used a pile of magical artifacts to lure it out. The enchanted bait roused the small dragon’s interest, but it took some further cajoling with honey from Ezra’s alchemy jug and some of Wake’s healing rock candy to convince it to come with them, naming it Yt.

Lastly, they were asked to check on the herd of nightmares, which shared a large enclosure with the dire elephants. The heat exuded by the steeds barred their path, but they lured the animals off to one side and continued around the flaming beasts, leaving Nedra behind to look after them.

Coming upon a band of sleeping hyenas, AJ conjured a small house on top of them, allowing the party to pass without disturbing the slumbering creatures. When they were blocked from crossing a river by several hungry sahuagin, Wake attempted to reason with them, but AJ convinced them to eat the hyenas, opening the path to the elephants.

Entering the enclosure, the elephants were alerted to the group’s presence by the scream of a child in the observation deck. Slowly advancing, AJ moved close enough to hold the dire elephant’s head in place with magic while Wake lunged forward and removed its rotting tusk with a powerful strike. Although Ezra managed to distract most of the herd with some rations, a baby elephant charged Wake. Thinking quickly, Ezra sprayed a can of toy snakes over the area, panicking the elephants and causing them to knock two children into the enclosure. Eloy and Wake rescued the kids as they retreated from the area.

Wake, Eloy, and AJ escaped by using a maintenance tunnel alongside the river as Ezra retrieved Nedra and left the way they had entered. Regrouping in front of the zookeeper, they tried to allay her worries, but AJ distracted her by revealing that the sahuagin were eating the hyenas. Wake gave the children some healing rock candy before releasing them into the crowd, and the group returned to town. After handing over the blink pyramids, AJ was enveloped by portal and disappeared.

In episode twenty-one, an exhausted Wake sat around a table at the Kal embassy with Eloy, Ezra, Nedra, Calliope, and Zia’ka. When Ezra created some boiling coffee to start off the morning, Nedra drank some, becoming so energized that she punched Lieutenant Gore, who had just joined them, square in the face. Gore was unaffected by the strike and invited Wake to throw a punch for comparison. Wake landed a better blow than Nedra did, and Gore was pleasantly surprised by the ferocity of the hit, which resulted in a trickle of blood leaving the man’s mouth. They were soon joined by Serpil Juniem, Oso, and Prince Ozlem Kal.

During the conversation, Ozlem revealed that he would be receiving a gift for his younger brother, the king, from the Fine Day Boardwalk Company within the next few days. Zia’ka was displeased that such little progress had been made to recover the heart of the Collective One, but Wake managed to pacify her for the moment, instructing her to gather the rest of the crew at the ship to meet later that day. Gore also asked the crew to visit Fort Dizmak later to discuss other business that he had in mind for them.

Wake and Nedra left to prepare for her upcoming match in the fight pit. After regrouping with Eloy and Ezra, the four of them headed to the bard college to meet with the headmaster. Isaac Thorne introduced them to Headmaster Nergalt, a graceful high elf who explained how the battle between himself and Eloy would be conducted. Wake was unsettled when Eloy suggested the Yeldin as the setting of the duel.

On their way to the fight pit, the group came across Onslow enjoying the result of a successful hunt. Before they left, he introduced them to Pogo Gama, the head of the hunting lodge, and was informed by Wake about the crew meeting later that day.

At the fight pit, Wake and Nedra went to the back room to await the match. Wake renegotiated his deal with Caster, wagering the skeleton key, a favor, and a charter on the Yeldin against ten platinum. During the fight, Wake shouted advice to assist Nedra, but she lost the match in the end, resulting in Wake losing the bet between himself and Caster.

Back on the ship, Wake explained his plan to use the blink pyramids to transport the Collective One’s heart aboard Yeldin after it had already set sail back to Jahal Cove.

In episode twenty-two, the crew meeting was interrupted by Raniero Confictura. The macabre tabaxi had arrived to parley with them on behalf of Lot Nyeth, the pirate lord. When Ezra found the scrying orb Confictura had used to appear on the ship, Wake smashed it. After some debate, they decided to try and cooperate with both Gore and Lot in an attempt to avoid making enemies unnecessarily.

Then, Wake approached a dejected Nedra, who was depressed after her recent loss at the fight pit. Sharing a story from his past, Wake comforted his pupil. Hearing his words, Nedra had an epiphany about her motivation to fight, which changed her outlook and calmed much of the rage within her.

When Grammy made Pistachio stew for the crew, Wake unknowingly ate the tabaxi.

Wake, Ezra, Pliskin, and Redd visited Fort Dizmak to find out what mission Lieutenant Gore wanted their assistance with. The Crabateer, a ship flying under the colors of the pirate lord Blurderek Rumblood, was in the area, and he asked them to subdue the crew and retrieve it within the next three days. They decided to accept the mission to stay in the Navy’s good graces.

On the way back to the Yeldin, Ezra and Wake stopped by Legitimate Larri’s shop to purchase a pair of scrying orbs for the crew. Using the down payment Gore had given them and the promise of more business in the future, Wake bought the second smallest pair for 4000 gold.

In episode twenty-three, after congratulating Eloy on his performance, Confictura requested the Wonders’ presence at the arranged meeting with Lot. It was decided that Eloy, Ezra, Wake, Pliskin, Skrung, and Zia’ka would go to Jovial Lot to participate in the parley.

Upon entering the carnival, they met up with Gavriil Bezumets, head of Lot’s research and development team, who guided them into the large complex beneath the carnival. They were taken into a tower-like structure where they were confronted by Saga, Lot’s quartermaster and owner of Bulkard’s zoo. She was not pleased that they had disturbed her property and growled at them as they all entered Lot’s room, where Lot and Confictura were waiting for them.

After Confictura verified that Meed’s parcel was untouched, the parley began in earnest. They discussed a variety of topics, including the fiasco at the zoo, Nedra’s past, and the Collective One’s heart, which Caster had purchased as a gift for the Kals. As neither group wanted Caster to hand the heart over to the Kals, Lot advised them to take the aasimar to the Unwitnessed Kingdom and obtain something of equal value to trade for the heart.

On their way out, Lot told Wake that the pirate lord Zazalamel was likely involved in the attack on Wake’s human village, causing the merman to storm out of the room. Then, they followed Gavriil back to the entrance of the compound. After Ezra caused a glass bean stalk adorned with beholder eyes to sprout, a still fuming Wake shattered the strange growth.

Before returning to the ship, the group, now without Zia’ka, went to the Catnap Inn to seek out Edward Caster. Wake attempted to make another bet with Caster, offering his own freedom up in a two-on-two match between himself and Nedra against two of Caster’s champions, but it was decided that they would take Caster and Barabus to the Unwitnessed Kingdom to look for treasure, with Caster taking 95% of anything he deemed valuable. Wake, Eloy, and Ezra, were marked to seal the deal, though Skrung and Pliskin avoided the same through deception.

Back on the Yeldin, the crew discussed the plans for both traveling to the Unwitnessed Kingdom and completing the mission assigned to them by Gore. They agreed to split into two parties to complete both quests in a timely manner. Wake would accompany the party heading to the Unwitnessed Kingdom.

In episode twenty-four, Wake left a note at the Kal embassy for Calliope explaining about a mission to the bottom of the sea to search for treasure. Once they had obtained the diving bell from Lt. Gore and were joined by Caster and Barabus, the crew departed for the Unwitnessed Kingdom. After arriving at their destination, Wake dove into the ocean to investigate the depths for any hint of the lost empire.

As he ventured deeper, where light from the surface no longer reached, Wake captured a bioluminescent jellyfish with a jar to use as a makeshift lantern. On the ocean floor, he found the remains of an ancient city that was now inhabited by various sea creatures.

Exploring further, he came upon a domed barrier that contained breathable atmosphere within along with what seemed to be a castle. Finding a cavern that might serve as an entrance into the strange bubble, Wake returned directly to the surface, marking the place to lower the diving bell by where he emerged.

Then, Eloy, Ezra, Redd, Risf, Caster, and Barabus climbed into the diving bell and descended beneath the waves while Wake swam alongside them. When they reached the bottom, Redd cast water breathing on the group inside the diving bell.

Moving along the seafloor, they went into the cavern near the base of the arcane shielding, using a weak spot in the barrier as an entrance to the long-forgotten realm.

Before braving the unknown ahead of them, the party took a short rest. Then, they ventured further into the caves, finding evidence of ancient equine centaurs and troglodytes, a race of lizard-like folk. Coming upon a submerged passage, Wake scouted out the path, returning with the terrifying knowledge that a blue dragon had made its nest on the other side.

They decided to attempt to sneak past the creature, hoping a fight with it would be unnecessary. Wake entered the room first, followed by Eloy, who cast silence over the dragon’s head, allowing the rest of the party to join them without waking it. Unfortunately, due to Caster’s actions, the dragon woke from its slumber, immediately noticing the intruders in its lair. Instead of escaping, Wake quickly drank an invisibility potion and snatched a suit of armor from the creature’s treasure hoard, trapping himself in the room with Eloy, Ezra, Redd, and Caster when the dragon blocked the exit with a massive claw.

In episode twenty-five, still invisible and clutching the suit of armor, Wake hid, barely avoiding the dragon’s claw, which struck nearby. The dragon introduced himself as Pabsvadri and blocked the other exit with his tail before demanding an offering from each of them.

When Wake attempted to move to a better hiding spot, he knocked over some of the treasure littering the cave, revealing his presence to Pabsvadri, who emitted a light roar in the merman’s direction, removing the effects of the invisibility potion. Wake tempted the dragon with the pheromone bomb made from the raptors on the Jahal Islands and a shock glove.

Satisfied with the gifts he had received, Pabsvadri raised his claw to let them pass, whereupon Wake immediately dashed down the corridor, still holding onto the armor he had stolen.

After being rejoined by those he had left behind, who displayed a mixture of anger and disappointment, including an irate Redd who had given up the notes she had collected as her life’s work, they continued to the tunnel’s exit, where Risf and Barabus were waiting for them. Wake handed the armor he had stolen to Barabus, who said it belonged to a member of his and Redd’s mother’s order and was capable of creating hurricane-like typhoons in water.

Proceeding deeper into the lost kingdom, the party stopped to rest in large room containing old medical equipment and centaur skeletons that seemed to have fused into the building. After the encounter with Pabsvadri, they decided to take a long rest with Wake, Barabus, and Risf keeping watch. During his watch, Wake looked around the room, finding a scroll of remove curse hidden among some books. Upon waking up, Risf was nowhere to be found, though his belongings remained.

Investigating the area, Ezra discovered a trail of unnatural coldness leading from where Risf was up a nearby spiral staircase. They followed the trail up the staircase, which was lined with centaur gargoyles armed with shields and spears. When Eloy spoke to one of the gargoyles, they attacked the party, shouting about “lesser ones” throughout the encounter.

Specializing in melee combat, Wake assaulted the gargoyles with a series of vicious blows. When one of the stone centaurs bashed Wake with a shield, he was sent over the edge of the staircase and fell into the room below. After Caster was also knocked off the stairs, Wake used the aasimar as a springboard to jump back into the fight, destroying a gargoyle with another flurry of attacks. As they slowly whittled away at the gargoyles’ numbers, they were able to work together to defeat all of the enemies.

Ascending the staircase once more, their path was blocked by two stone guardians wielding tower shields. Eloy placed one of the guardians under the suggestion that its partner was an enemy, causing it to hurl the other off the staircase. Then, Caster approached the remaining guardian and exorcised it with divine power, clearing the way for the rest of the party.

Further up the staircase, they entered a room where Risf was being held by a bodak, a spectral monster that appeared to be pulling out the kobold’s soul. After Wake leapt forward to attack the creature, it let out a horrible screech, summoning the souls of Risf and three centaurs to its aid, though Risf’s soul remained tethered to his body.

In episode twenty-six, Wake, Eloy, Ezra, Redd, and Barabus attempted to defeat the bodak and rescue Risf from its clutches. Wake engaged in combat with one of the centaur souls, using his enchanted spear to assault the spectral being.

When two of the centaur souls had been defeated, the bodak summoned another pair to replace them. Wake used his water whip to strike the bodak and bring it closer for another hit with his spear.

As the situation continued to decline, Caster walked into the room. The aasimar’s divine aura illuminated the room, damaging the bodak with holy light. With the malevolent spirit now weakened, Wake jumped and threw his spear into the creature, pinning it to the wall where it collapsed in on itself.

Having concluded the battle, Wake revived Risf with some healing potions. Then, Eloy discovered that what remained of the creature had transformed into a sentient staff that introduced itself as Grand’ejurefalt and explained some of history of the Unwitnessed Kingdom. In exchange for passage to the surface, Grand’ejurefalt agreed to guide the party through what remained of the fallen kingdom.

After the exhausting encounter, the party settled down for a long rest to recover before continuing on their adventure. Wake offered an apology to Redd for the loss of her notes to Pabsvadri, but she explained how her life was forfeit without them.

Resuming their journey, the party, now guided by Grand’ejurefalt, headed further up the spiral staircase and through more rooms, eventually coming upon a long bridge that led into a castle. Deciding to go across in two groups, Barabus, Risf, and Caster began traversing the bridge first. When the first group had made it nearly halfway to the castle, Wake, Eloy, Ezra, and Redd followed them, but a group of troglodytes launched a boulder at them with a catapult, hitting the bridge instead. As their footing gave way beneath them, the second group rushed forward, but a troglodyte grabbed Eloy and pulled him over the edge of the collapsing structure.

In episode twenty-seven, Wake immediately dove after Eloy, slamming his spear into the ground and commanding Ezra to fasten it in place. Attached to the spear by a rope, Wake managed to catch Eloy before he fell too far. With the momentum from the fall, the two of them swung within reach of the bridge and Wake grabbed onto it, giving Eloy the chance to throw a grappling hook for a more secure link to solid ground.

During the trio’s struggle to stay on the bridge, another boulder was fired from the ballista, hitting a nearby wall and showering them with rubble. Using the rope from the grappling hook, the three of them climbed back onto the bridge and hurried into the castle. As soon as they had entered the building, Redd closed an iron gate behind them, locking the trogs outside.

Venturing further into the castle, the party came across a young unicorn called Gilbert. After convincing him that they meant no harm, Gilbert led them to Gorroc, the elder unicorn, so they could speak with him. Along the way, Wake played a rousing game of Slap the Bloater Fish with Gilbert by kicking a nearby bloater fish that the unicorns had named Stupid Greg.

Entering into a central chamber, they met Gorroc and explained their purpose for being in the Unwitnessed Kingdom. After they agreed to assist the unicorns in returning to the surface, Gorroc told them where to find an artifact that could amplify his abilities and strengthen the barrier he was maintaining over the castle, but he warned them that they would have to pass a trial to obtain the device. In one of the adjacent rooms, Wake found a ring of evasion and equipped it.

Leaving the safety of Gorroc’s barrier, the party made their way into the remnants of a small town outside the castle grounds. Sneaking through the streets to avoid alerting any trogs, they came upon a house containing what appeared to be a troglodyte brood. When Ezra discovered that its head protruded from the building’s roof, Wake and Ezra decided to try sneaking through the second floor window.

Inside, the building was covered in slimy ichor and filled with eggs. As they investigated the room, they were surprised by Uxekulvax, the alpha trog, who rose out of the ichor. Uxekulvax explained how the trogs had been cursed by ingesting unicorn blood and requested that the party kill Gorroc, which would lower the barrier around the castle and allow the trogs to feast on the remaining unicorns. However, Ezra convinced Uxekulvax that dragon blood would counter the curse of unicorn blood, for which the trog was extremely grateful. In exchange, Uxekulvax “blessed” Ezra and a set of manacles that Wake provided.

Rejoining the others outside the house, they watched as Uxekulvax led the trogs into the caverns to fight Pabsvadri. Then, Wake used a scroll of remove curse on Ezra to lift the “blessing” he had received.

In episode twenty-eight, the party continued to travel through the ruins of the ancient town until they wandered into a coliseum where they were greeted by a semi-functional sphinx. Once they had confirmed that they were there to take the Trial of Wills, Eloy, Ezra, Wake, Redd, Risf, and Barabus stepped into the central ring of the building and prepared to face the test. As an aasimar, Caster was exempt from participating and took a position in the stands.

When the sphinx began the trial, ethereal doppelgängers of the six participants appeared across from them. With the party preparing to take on their duplicates, the copies appeared to perfectly imitate each member’s actions. Suddenly, Ysoria, a stout, halfling-sized, female aasimar, appeared out of a portal. Appraising the situation, she began assisting the party by attacking their wraith-like clones.

Wake, seeing no point in attacking himself, decided to wait patiently, but this caused his copy to grow in size. Using the size of his doppelgänger to his advantage, Wake went over to Ezra and hit him on the head. Although this was a more minor inconvenience for Ezra, his copy sustained heavier damage from the enlarged duplicate of Wake. Repeating a similar process with Risf, Wake gave the kobold a hug and a high five, which caused the merman’s larger duplicate to eliminate Risf’s clone.

After Risf’s and Barabus’ counterparts were defeated, the remaining enemies each grew slightly larger. In a remarkable display of grace and athleticism, Wake leapt over Ezra, and the half-elf caught the merman on his descent. Because Wake’s clone was a size larger, though, Ezra’s double strained to achieve the same feat. Then, when Wake tickled Ezra and they collapsed onto the floor, Ezra’s doppelgänger was crushed under the gigantic, ethereal merman. With another foe vanquished, the remaining three grew even bigger.

With a powerful blast of lightning, Ysoria slew Wake’s doppelgänger, whereupon the final two opponents were enlarged once more. Using his water whip, Wake slashed at the giant duplicate of Redd and split her in two, leaving only Eloy’s clone remaining as it began growing once more.

Rushing toward the enormous doppelgänger of Eloy, Wake unleashed a fierce series of blows upon it. After the entire party worked together to chip away at the creature before them, Barabus landed the final blow with his hammer, and the shadow deformed.

Having passed the test, the sphinx allowed the party to take a glowing cube that appeared to be emitting the same energy as the shield protecting the undersea kingdom. On the way back to the unicorns with the artifact, they noticed that Pabsvadri appeared to be trapped on the outside of the barrier.

When they returned to Gorroc, the cube’s energy rejuvenated the ancient unicorn and provided him with the strength to repel both Pabsvadri and the trogs. Thrilled to hear that the entire herd of unicorns would be able to escape through the portal Ysoria had appeared from, Gorroc escorted the party back to Pabsvadri’s den so they could recover their lost items and plunder the dragon’s hoard. Unfortunately, the pheromone bomb was nowhere to be found. Leaving the unicorns and Ysoria to pass through the portal, Eloy, Ezra, Wake, Redd, Risf, Barabus, and Caster rushed back to the diving bell. Using the scrying orb, Wake signaled to Zia’ka to raise the bell back up.

Taking the bell back to the surface, they noticed that the Yeldin was accompanied by a naval vessel. Just as they made it back onto the ship, Pabsvadri emerged behind them, furious at the theft of his treasure. However, before Pabsvadri could make another move, the claw of an ancient brass dragon suddenly erupted from the water and grabbed the much younger dragon by the neck. As the brass dragon’s head rose from the beneath the waves, it revealed itself to be Lieutenant Gore.

In episode twenty-nine, the entire crew was stunned to discover that Lieutenant Gore was actually an ancient brass dragon. After he launched Pabsvadri far into the horizon, Gore returned to his human form and approached the Wonders, informing them that Skrung had been injured on his mission and was receiving treatment at Bulkard.

Before making their way back to port, there was an accounting of the treasure that had been collected on the expedition to the Unwitnessed Kingdom. Caster accepted Grand’ejurefalt’s knowledge as his share, leaving the vast quantities of gold and treasure for the Wonders to keep. Hoping they had retrieved enough to trade for the Collective One’s heart, the crew returned to Bulkard.

Back on land, Eloy, Ezra, and Wake went to visit Skrung in a medical ward at Bulkard, where they saw that he had a wooden peg in place of the lost limb and suggested replacing it with a prosthetic that doubled as a gun. Then, taking Zia’ka with them, they met with Lot Nyeth again to settle the deal that had been arranged. In exchange for all of the magical items they had discovered in the Unwitnessed Kingdom, Grand’ejurefalt’s journal, and a map of the undersea realm, Lot agreed to give them the heart of the Collective One.

After meeting with Lot, Wake went to visit Calliope and told her about the adventure to the Unwitnessed Kingdom. She was shocked at the incredible tale and the encounter with a dragon. Then, she informed him that Prince Ozlem, Serpil, and Oso would be visiting her island and that she would be accompanying them. As a parting gift for the Wonders’ assistance, Calliope gave Wake a ram’s horn that can greatly amplify the user’s voice.

Returning to the Yeldin, Wake noticed that the Collective One’s heart had already been loaded onto the ship. Still dejected from hearing about Calliope’s return to her island, Ezra was able to cheer Wake up a bit before the merman sent himself into a hallucinogenic state by licking Yt. When Wake was free from the effects of the faerie dragon secretion, he felt something stir within himself and demonstrated a new ability to create a sonic burst with his ki (shatter).

Before departing from Bulkard, Eloy, Ezra, and Wake made one last stop at Legitimate Larri’s shop. Wake requested a magical, blue, messenger sea gull from the genasi.

With their business on the island concluded, the Wonders set sail for Jahal Cove to return the heart of the Collective One to its proper location. Along the way, Pliskin, Onslow, and Skrung began trying to replicate Yt’s bodily secretions with Ezra’s alchemy jug, and Gulfur offered to refine the concoction for various uses. After arriving back at Jahal, Zia’ka used the blink pyramids to transport the heart back to its proper location. Anointed the role of priestess to the Collective One, Zia’ka gave them the magical compass she had used to find the heart and granted the Wonders the protection of the Collective One. Bidding farewell to Zia’ka for the time being, the rest of the Wonders departed Jahal Cove on their next adventure.

### **Chapter Three**

In episode thirty, the Wonders began making their way to Eburkal. After retracing their path to Bulkard for a time, they diverged from familiar waters and turned more toward the mainland. Wake continued to train Nedra, teaching her to use a more disciplined style of fighting. As they continued their journey, the ship and crew were plagued by torpedo snails, small, black, poisonous creatures that occasionally turned invisible.

One night, a mysterious fog beset the Yeldin, and it was infested by numerous torpedo snails. Spending the night removing the scourge of snails from the ship, the Wonders were exhausted when dawn broke.

That morning, Yeldin ran aground onto the sandbar of an archipelago as they sailed through the fog. Deciding to take a short break after the long night, each of the crew took shifts on watch to look out for any danger. After everyone had rested up, they awoke to find Poliffi, a female, seagull aarakocra, entangled in the Yeldin’s rigging. She had gotten lost in the fog and requested to stay with the Wonders while regaining her bearings.

Bursting onto the deck, Redd revealed that the torpedo snails were infected with vampirism and demanded that the island be investigated. While the others stayed behind to watch over the ship and scavenge materials from other wrecks on the beach, Eloy, Ezra, Wake, Redd, and Nedra set off to explore.

After passing through a jungle filled with poisonous plants and scavenging a ring bearing Rumblood’s symbol from a corpse, the group came onto a beach where they could see a galleon buried upside-down in the sands on a nearby island and flying a Rumblood flag. When Wake attempted to swim over to it, he was dragged underwater by a large, jawed tentacle.

In episode thirty-one, when Wake broke free from the unknown creature’s grasp, it emitted a black cloud of ink that enveloped the merman. Swimming towards the surface and out of the darkness, Wake prepared to fight whatever dragged him down. Eloy illuminated the undersea foe with some faerie fire, so Wake attacked it with a sonic blast (shatter). Through a combined effort, they were able to defeat the sea monster, which turned out to be a goblin squid.

Now that it was safe to cross the water, the party made their way onto the next island to investigate the large shipwreck. Wake busied himself scavenging the squid’s corpse while the others crossed over to the island, taking some meat and teeth off the creature’s body along with a large eye. Finding torpedo snails along the shaded side of the vessel, they decided to search the inside of the ship, using a hatch that was placed on the top of the ship to enter it.

Within the dilapidated structure, they found evidence involving the Bottled Lightning Project, similar to what had been seen on the Mantaruva. As they delved deeper into the ship, they came upon a massive, millipede-like creature that could form and deform human faces along its carapace. When they attempted to pass by it in a hallway, it lurched upward, revealing a bloody, human ribcage on its underside, grabbed Nedra, and dragged her through a small opening into another room. The rest of the group immediately chased after it to rescue her.

Using a flaming torch, Wake assaulted the terrifying monster, but Nedra remained firmly in its grasp. When the creature turned toward Eloy, Wake struck it again with his torch. After successfully defeating the monstrosity, the ribcages along its underside melted away, leaving only the millipede shell remaining.

Taking a brief moment of rest after the battle, the party healed their wounds. Wake gave a remove curse scroll to Redd and used one on Nedra to eliminate the effects of any venom she had been injected with. Then, they were joined by a large orc and an adolescent half-elf with two pseudodragons on his shoulders. The pair introduced themselves as Mite and Roc Ashdrake, members of a group of paranormal investigators looking into the Bottled Lightning Project. Wake had long heard tell of the renowned Ashdrakes and was ecstatic to be in their presence, but, seeing that they actually existed, he came to the realization that undead must also be real. The two parties agreed to work together to search for any clues that might be found on the decrepit ship.

In episode thirty-two, Eloy, Ezra, Wake, Nedra, Redd, Roc, and Mite continued to explore the ruins of the overturned galleon. As the investigation took them deeper within the vessel, they found evidence that it was being inhabited by vampires. Their previous encounter and the remains of gruesome experiments also indicated the presence of flesh golems.

Suddenly, Nedra was struck with a poisonous dagger from an unseen assailant. Chasing after the shadowy figure, the group subdued and captured a young, sickly goblin vampire. With the group divided on whether to kill the thrall or not, they agreed to keep him alive until they had searched the entire ship. Leaving Mite and Roc behind to look after the captive, Eloy, Ezra, Wake, Redd, and Nedra pushed forward in the hopes of finding and killing the head vampire.

Proceeding onto the next floor of the ship, they came upon a room filled with traps. Ezra was briefly pinned against a wall by a large bladed trap that swung down from the ceiling, but Wake pulled the contraption loose and freed the half-elf. When they attempted to open a door leading out of the room, they discovered that it froze anything that came into contact with it. Wake was the first to experience the enchantment when his hand froze after grabbing the door knob. With some clever thinking, Wake was able to open the door by forcing water into the weak points of the door (elemental attunement) until he could break it with his spear. Fortunately, Redd was able to thaw Wake’s hand before they continued onward. Inside was a laboratory that had been used to create flesh golems. The room contained trunks filled with various body parts, and corpses comprised of an amalgamation of races hung on crosses.

As they made their way back out of the lab, a wall of ice covered the doorway, trapping Nedra inside. However, when the ice melted away a moment later, Nedra had vanished. Then, Eloy, Wake, and Redd were caught in an enchantment as they heard a strange humming in their minds and a halfling girl activated a machine in the center of the room. The three of them converged on the machine in a trance as numerous blades, guns, and other weapons closed in on them from every side. Wake managed to break free of the spell and attacked the small girl with his water whip, which freed Eloy and Redd from her influence as well. The child retreated to the other side of the room as the weapons came together, making a wall that hid her from view.

Enraged at the girl’s escape, Wake punched through a wall. On the other side of the hole stood a large flesh golem, and a panicked girl’s voice rang out, “Get him Mr. Slaps!” Then, the golem smashed through the wall, revealing itself to be constructed from various pieces of human, ogre, troll, griffon, and octopus bodies.

Wake struck at the monstrosity with his torch, which Mr. Slaps did not seem to appreciate. When the golem retreated due to Eloy’s dissonant whispers spell, Wake grabbed one of Ezra’s explosive bolts from the ground and pursued the creature, but he was ambushed by two vampire children, a boy and a girl, that launched balls of ice. Pushing forward despite the surprise attack, Wake threw the bolt at Mr. Slaps. Wake managed to dodge a charge from the golem but was clawed by one of Mr. Slaps’ griffon arms soon after.

As combat wore on, Mite, followed shortly by Roc, appeared to assist in the fight against Mr. Slaps, charging the flesh golem and raining down a series of heavy blows. With the detonation of the explosive bolt, Mr. Slaps burst into pieces, but the vampire children were still fit for battle. Eloy downed a potion of firebreathing and belched an intense inferno at the vampires, incinerating them. With their foes finally defeated, the party took a moment to heal up and recover their strength.

In episode thirty-three, Eloy, Ezra, Wake, Redd, Roc, and Mite searched the ship for Nedra. In the deepest reaches of the vessel, they came upon a magically protected door that emitted bolts of electricity whenever anything living attempted to open it. By showing the gargoyle overlooking the door the vampire child they had captured earlier and asking politely, Eloy convinced the gargoyle to let them pass.

Inside the enchanted door was another laboratory where they found Nedra encased in ice and a vampiric doctor by the name of Gustav Murgun. After a brief dialogue with the doctor, he vanished, and they were able to free Nedra from her confinement. Scavenging what they could from the lab, the group left the galleon and began heading back to their own ships.

As they made their way back, Ezra left with Mite and Roc to take a tour of their ship, leaving Wake, Eloy, Nedra, and Redd to return to the Yeldin. Wake had Risf take a look at Nedra, and the kobold revealed that she was very susceptible to the cold: her blood was partially frozen.

After Ezra had been shown around the Ashdrakes’ vessel and they had given the Wonders two crates of the bladed cannonballs and materials for repairing Yeldin, Roc and Mite were invited aboard the mimic ship. They were intrigued by Risf’s relationship with Vexkor and pursuit of godhood but satisfied that the kobold did not seem malicious in his intentions. Before parting ways, the two crews exchanged symbols showing that they had met and were on cordial terms with each other. With the Ashdrakes taking custody of the captured vampire child and burning down the vampire-infested shipwreck, the two groups set sail once more.

Staying near the archipelago, the Wonders made for the port of Rite. After Gulfur had gone into a seizure as a result of sampling faerie dragon secretion manufactured with Ezra’s alchemy jug, Wake, Eloy, and Ezra managed to stabilize the dwarf. As loud noises beset the crew, Risf came in to oversee Gulfur’s recovery, and Wake, Eloy, and Ezra rushed above deck to investigate.

During the voyage, the Yeldin had wandered into the presence of a massive storm giant and was caught amid numerous large manta rays trying to escape. Eloy garnered the giant’s attention by playing a soothing song on his bagpipes, but, when the song stopped, the giant seemed displeased. He grabbed the ship in his massive hands raised it to his face.

After briefly attempting to climb the giant, Wake and the rest of the crew were dropped, where they landed on an island. Wake woke up from unconsciousness in a tree alongside the corpse of Gulfur, who had his heart cut out. After dislodging himself, he took Gulfur's corpse to the capsized Yeldin, where he met up with a few members of the crew, and Eloy shortly thereafter.

 **Chapter Four**

In episode forty-seven, two months before Wake and Nedra were tasked to help a northern mountain city three days away from Rite. The sky was red that day as the ivory tower fell.

## **Notes & Trivia**

* Wake's character was inspired by Donnie Yen's portrayal of Ip Man and Vash the Stampede. He can be silly but is ready to go when things get serious.
* Wake's name was given to him by the humans that found him after his merfolk village was raided. He was named for being found in the ocean wake (Wake) and being covered in scales (Scalebound).
* Wake's favorite animals are sea turtles because they looked like little, fat angels when he was a baby.
* Wake's favorite food is crab.
* When Wake submerges in water, his legs fuse downward from the torso.
* Wake seems to favor, and possibly have a romantic interest in, Calliope.