Planet's Guardians (Party)

Kurald Rake

Raxus Green

Nakama Sen

Mi'raj

Lothar Von Hasselton

Reyfina

Jaster Colleus, Erena Colleus

Ayala Elheram

Leona the Deadlord

Maruyama O-Ryu

Three Trees Tribe

The Planet's Guardians, formerly the Keyholders, were a party of adventurers at the frontier of the new world in 1758 DE. Founded as an alliance of convenience for the purpose of safety on the long journey to the frontier, the group fought together against a number of threats, later being instrumental in the events surrounding Blood Knife, the Soul Forge, and later on the resurrection of the Mistontli people.

## Act 1: Strahd

Zander Foambeard, Reyfina, Jocelyn Keyra and Xiula Noheart bartered for passage to the New World on a wagon train, however as they crossed through the Royaume they entered a strange mystical realm surrounded by a thick fog. They had strayed into the land of Borovia, the home of Count Strahd.

Working together with the help of the vampire hunter known as Rudolph "Rictavio" van Richten, they soon made allies of the wereravens and the local people, eventually overthrowing the regime. Along the way, they made allies with the paladins Lothar Von Hasselton and Sir Palamedes, as well as the thief Vyr Vandalous.

After freeing the land from the curse by slaying Strahd the group parted ways with Xiula, who chose not to continue the journey after finding another calling.

They travelled onward, to the port town that would let them reach the New World.

## Act 2: Keystone

The party met a young officer of the Commonwealth by the name of Sylvia Reasenberg, who was boarding the same ship as they to the New World, the Misty Mermaid. Although Jocelyn realised something was off about the young woman, she did not raise any complaints as they teamed up to stop a bar fight.

In the morning, the party set sail on the Misty Mermaid to the New World, however it was not long before an attack of Sahuagin and a Pleiosaurus caused the ship to run aground, shattering and killing the crew and leaving the party stranded.

### Shipwrecked

Waking up on the shore, the party chose to head towards a large Mistontli temple to get a view of the area. Along the way, they were ambushed by the local wildlife such as Velociraptors, and had to flee into the rainforest for protection. They eventually found their way to the temple, where a search of the grounds led to them discovering the Keystone to enter.

Inside, it was revealed that they had found a "Key Temple" of the Mistontli. A strange apparition appeared before Jocelyn informing her that she was a Keyholder, that there are thirteen keys in total and that collecting these keys would "Save her people". Jocelyn was granted the title Lady of Gaia Empalis as the holder of it's key, a mark emblazoned upon the palm of her right hand.

### Novagorod- Home of the Commonwealth

The party made their way to Novagorod, or Nova City, the home of the Commonwealth in the New World. From there they tried to collect information on what the temples were, only to discover that no-one else had been able to even enter one- although many had tried. They found out that the temples are the keys to the mythical Soul Forge, an artifact of great power left behind by the Mistontli the discovery of which is valued at 20,000 gold pieces for each person in the party.

The party briefly met with the Hunter's Chance lodge in the city, but chose not to ally with them after Zander Foambeard challenged the Nomad to a duel to gain immediate acceptance and was unable to find her due to some form of invisibility. Deciding not to share what they knew or to join up with the Chance to work on discovering a lost temple, they instead met with a young Mage's Guild cartographer by the name of Althidion Liana, who hired them as bodyguards for his quest to find another of the thirteen lost temples.

The party journeyed east with Althidion, along the way coming across a wagon that had been overturned, it seemed the travellers from within it had been abducted. After a fight with a Dire Troll and it's cronies the party continued towards Empalis proper, arriving near nightfall to discover strange robed figures sacrificing the travellers from the wagon in a disturbing ritual. At the center of this group was a pair of Mindflayers, who used this sacrifice to open the door to the temple and enter within it.

The party were discovered by the cultists on guard duty, but were aided by a nearby group of Hunters, led by Vincent Baudeleire, the cheerful Lucien and a young lady known as Nomad. Vincent explained that they were looking for the victims of kidnappings and disappearances in the area. The group decided to take a rest before heading into the temple, during which Jocelyn used her abilities to spy inside and figure out the layout.

### A Second Temple

After resting and preparing themselves, the party entered into the temple of Gaia Veralis. They bypassed traps and creatures that had taken up residence in the ancient halls to find their way through to the central area, where they found the cultists and the Mind Flayers commiting sacrifices in an attempt to retrieve the Temple's Key. Choosing not to hesitate, with their Hunter friends in tow, the party charged into battle. The battle led to many close encounters with death, with Lothar Von Hasselton nearly falling prey to the Mind Flayers, but before the flayer could end his life the party brought it down with a decisive strike.

As the second Mind-Flayer approached the Key, Zander Foambeard charged it, hammer at the ready, and smashed the crystal to pieces. The energy of the crystal cut deep into his arm, branding his bicep with the Key of Veralis, designating him the Lord of Gaia Veralis. The party took out the second mind flayer, who was still reeling over this sudden loss, mopped up the remaining cultists and freed the remaining captives. They headed outside to camp for the night.

The party investigated the bodies of the cultists, discovering that all the cultists had been carrying a symbol, and also discovered that several of the captives had been branded with the same symbol. After a brief medical checkover, Reyfina confirmed that the captives who had been branded had been infected with Illithid parasites, and would within the week become Mind Flayers themselves. Faced with this choice, they agreed to give the branded captives a swift death, most of whom accepted this.

In the morning, the party continued their journey to the half-elf capital of the new world, Gaiapolis. Although they were to part ways with Vincent and the Hunters, they were given some advice- a secret bridge that the hunters had discovered, nestled in the mountain range, that would reduce their travel time by several days. The party won over the affections of Nomad, who agreed to help them as a guide to the Royaume city.

They set off south-east, towards the bridge, but during a brief hunting excursion ran afoul of a mating-pair of Massive Toads. After the small battle, they returned to their journey, pressing further onwards into the Scarpath Mountains.

### The Scarpath Mountains

Entering into the Scarpath mountains, the Keyholders ran afoul of a large beast known as a Tyrannosaurus Rex. In fighting it off, Lothar was very nearly killed before Cyla, Jocelyn's familiar fairy dragon, teleported to him and pulled him free. After killing the T-Rex, the party discussed the now-finally-visible fairy dragon that they had been made aware of.

Before long, the party were engaged in another battle, as a nest of Harpies had caught sight of the fascinating fairy dragon and decided to try and take it- for pet or food, it is hard to say. The party fought off the harpies, but discovered they had cut the rope bridge. The party descended into the valley to find another way around.

In the valley between the mountains, they found a small hole that expanded into a cave system- discovering it filled with traps and the entrance inhabitted by giant spiders. After working their way around, they decided to follow the traps instead of the spiders, and found their way up to a large Goblin encampment.

While at first they appeared normal, the Goblin Tribewitch cast a strange spell from a magical cauldron, causing a shimmering purple/green light to encompass the goblins.

Meanwhile, a young nameless Drow hunter, for reasons kept to herself, tracks down the same goblin stronghold to make money for her journey across the New World. She interrogates a goblin and with the help of a sergeant of the guard, overcomes a small raptor pack before parting ways at the foot of the mountain.

The drow arrived at the cave in time to find the ensuing fight between the party and the goblin's tribewitch. They discovered that the spell allowed the Tribewitch to suck the lifeforce from the goblins around her, letting her regenerate any injury. After a brutal fight, the tribewitch demanded their surrender. The party refused, and continued to fight. Although they were victorious, Lothar fell in the battle.

The party cared for Lothar's body, but were stunned when a burn-scar of a pair of hands appeared- one on his chest, the other on his cheek, and he began to breathe again. Neither the mysterious drow or Sylvia could figure out the cause, and even eerier- neither could sense a soul or a mind in his body. They did not know what was causing the body to live once again, and it had yet to awake. Exploring the cave, the crew found a symbol embroidered on some robes hidden away, a symbol some of them were intimately familiar with.

They carried the body out of the caves, and set up camp under a small cliff for the night. As the night progressed, the party discussed their lives to get their minds off the strange thing that may or may not be Lothar. Sylvia spoke of herself, as the drow tried to figure out her and Nomad's origin. Nomad revealed her name- Anastasia DeGuranakov, and that she was once a member of the Commonwealth Military, like Sylvia is now. The strange group bonded during the night, and decided to travel together for at least a little way longer.

Finally reaching the Old Bridge, the Psion received her payment for the Goblin extermination from the Warden. They also met Jaster Colleus and his sister Erena Colleus, two fellow adventurers. Although Jaster tried flirting unsuccessfully with the girls, they stayed the night.

Waking up in the morning, they were soon attacked- a large young Black Dragon appeared, swooping down and demanding The Psion's Harp, when they refused, a fight ensued. The party dramatically fought off the dragon, killing it, although in doing so it was revealed to them that Sylvia was a Vampire. Although uneasy, they decided to look past this. They left their friend, Lothar, in the care of the Warden to wait for their other friends and continued on with the Psion.

### New Friends join the party

The group found their way to a small market town known as Farmer's Rest, to restock and get a disguise for Sylvia. After taking their time to resupply they were approached by Kurald Rake, the wizard, and his recently-found cohorts Raxus Green the sorcerer and Florissa, the druid. The three had met when cultist-kidnappers had attempted to take the young druid prisoner. It was here that the Psion also heard more news of her quarry, she discovered the Cloaked Drow she chased was travelling with a goliath known as Kora'tor.

As this tied into the cultists they had already met, the two group soon decided to work together to investigate a nearby sighting to the north. However, the town was soon attacked. A trio of hill-giants from the nearby mountains charged into town looking for food after having been, presumably, displaced. In the ensuing chaos, the group banded together with two new allies, Mi'raj, the monk and the Ronin known as Nakama Sen. After proving their abilities to fight together and inadvertently getting the Ronin fired from her previous position working guard duty for a caravan, the group headed off to the north.

### The Destroyed Farmtown

A few days travel from Farmer's Rest was a small town that had set up near the foot of the mountains. However, as the group approached they were soon surrounded by a foreboding air- the town was deserted and had been burned to the ground. What's more, only one body was found- a young teenager who had been stabbed as some sort of threat. Investigation led to the party to uncover that a drow woman and a goliath matching the descriptions of the Psion's quarry had been there, placed something in the well warded by heavy magic, and left.

The party disarmed the last trap on the well and claimed the prize, a mysterious magical stone, climbed down into the well, and down into the stream that fed it's water supply. They travelled a mile in the subterranean cave, finding the corpses of the villagers until they found a survivor. Cavas the Farmhand explained that the villagers had been thrown in by cultists, one-by-one, until all of the traps were disarmed- but the cultists could not remove the last seal. He told them that the Cloaked Drow woman had been injured by some sort of blade when she arrived in town, leaving a long cut down her face. Returning to the surface after saving Cavas' life, the party were ambushed by the cultists.

The sneering cultist leader mocked and thanked the party for removing the last magical ward, revealing himself as a member of The Blackened Tongue, the followers of a man known as Bloodknife, but as he was about to demand they hand over the stone the Psion leapt into action, slashing the man with her rapier. A fight was on, as half of the cultists fled to inform their masters and the other half stayed for the battle.

The cultists were slain, but not before a fire spirit was called by Summoning magic. This powerful fire spirit known as Efreet roared into life in the well, and burned and destroyed everything near it, before dismissing itself for unknown reasons, possibly due to the death of it's summoner. the party survived the ordeal, and headed to the west, to the old capital, following the only lead they had- the strange Cloaked Drow and her Goliath friend, who were tracking down a mysterious alchemist who had apparently arrived in the port.

After some minor encounters on the road, the party arrived at Gaiapolis, the home of the Royaume on the New World. They soon stayed at a small inn by the port, where they noticed a Halfling watching them. After a brief interrogation they discovered the halfling, Anats, was paid by the Drow and the Goliath to steal the rock from the well from the party and deliver it to them that night. Once the halfling was tied up, the party travelled to the alchemy shop of Ayala Elheram, an odd young elf who has a penchant for making peculiar potions. They inquired about the Drow and her Goliath friend, soon discovering that the pair were deeply interested in the Keystones and the Temples, and had bought many vials of potions designed to dissolve through any material.

### An Infernal Elemental

The party split into two, with Florissa, the Psion and Sen going to the meeting (with Florissa disguised as the halfling) and Kurald, Mi'raj, Sylvia, and Raxus staying behind to watch over the Halfling. Kora'tor greeted the group alone when they arrived, and delivered a message from the cloaked drow- the party should hand over the Keystone, and forget about everything they had seen.However, the negotiation soon was placed on hold as an explosion rocked the inn where half the party had stayed- a huge explosion that caused fires to rapidly spread out of control across the docks. Inside the inn, the party leapt through the windows to safety with Anastasia carrying the prisoner Anats out.

Outside, the raging inferno soon turned into a familiar beast- the Fire Elemental Efreet. The creature began roaring and tearing through the local businesses, spreading larger and growing it's reach, creating huge firey tornadoes of destruction as cultists descended, all targetting the party. As they fought, Kora'tor and the rest ran to their aid.

As the elemental grew until it was a fourty-foot high whirling tornado of fire melting steel and scorching rock, the owner of the inn revealed his daughter, Serra, was still inside the now-consumed-with-fire building. Mi'raj took it upon himself to save her, leaping through the heat and into the smoke-filled building, grabbing the girl and heroically pulling her out, but not before noticing the strange core of the beast inside the building itself. The elemental burst into another tornado of flame and Mi'raj sheltered the girl, saving her but taking massive damage in the process, he fell unconscious. Kurald managed to evacuate him to safety and healed him, he woke up as the party came up with a plan- destroy the core of the elemental and remove the flammable barrels from nearby so that it could not heal it's flame.

Kora'tor began running towards the fleeing cultists, The Psion attempted to follow but her attempts were cut short, as Anastasia took the opportunity to fire a warning shot at her feet- "Do not abandon this fight. Personal is not the same as important!" As the Psion took another step closer towards the crowd the goliath had run into, Anastasia fired, clipping the Psion's leg. The Psion turned around to aid the party, and Nakama captured one of the cultists alive.

Splitting into two groups, the party successfully removed the barrels while party B tried to target the heart of the beast. But they had no luck finding it until Mi'raj woke and took control, running back into the flame with his knowledge as to the location of the core. Fighting through the flames with Nakama at his side, he grabbed the core- a smoldering crystal- and plunged it into the nearest available watersource.

As the heat burned him, Raxus burst through the window and unleashed a healing spell, curing Mi'raj enough that the halfling was able to withstand the heat and the toxicly smokey air. Nakama drew her Wakizashi and plunged it into the heart of the crystal- as she did, the cooled-off crystal cracked and shattered into dust, the elemental let out one final screeching howl before it's fire died out.

### At His Majesty's Pleasure

Although the enemy was defeated, the terrified townguard ordered everyone to surrender and be brought into the town prison until their innocence could be assured. Sadly, the captured cultist chose to kill themself before revealing any information to their enemy.

After a discussion about the cult and their future direction, Loras DeStrife, personal bodyguard of Prince Beatrix DeLeon, arrived to break up the conversation. The prince soon followed, and told them that they were to be released, but offered them an opportunity- as they seemed to have the "secret" of unlocking the temple, they would be handsomely rewarded if they were to investigate inside the old temple that the city of Gaiapolis was built around.

After negotiating their release, and a stay in a fine hotel, the party agreed to come up with a response by the next morning.

The party chose to enter the temple of Gaia Yulevaul, located in the heart of Gaiapolis, in exchange for a payment of 100 Gold each, but not without some trepidation- wary of the absurdly high bounty on the Soul Forge, they prepare themselves for a betrayal.

The temple was cold. their breath crystallized in the air as they got further inside. Puzzle after puzzle- and terrifying elementals of ice and wind stood to block their path.

As they proceeded inwards, Nakama and The Psion began to take note of the carvings- they told the story of the temple's final lady, who took the throne following the death of the last one. When given the order to build the key to the Soul Forge, she set forth, enslaving the local populace to aid her, wary that they would not do as she ordered as she was still a young ruler, and they had been used to her predecessor's rule. As time grew on, she fought more and more rebellions, and grew a separate personality to her own, shattering her soul in two.

The lady attempted to use some sort of mind controlling liquid on the party to force them to release her, but the party were able to fight off it's influences. Mi'raj and the Psion were the most affected, but eventually with the help of their allies threw off the possessive curse.

The party met the "ghost" of the second personality, who has been fighting to keep the original contained in the temple. The ghost explained that the lady was using the temple's key to become unnaturally powerful. If they agreed to destroy Khuno and take her place as the temple's priest or priestess, she would unlock the path to the temple's final room.

They agreed.

### Corrupted Lady of Gaia Yulevaul

The party confronted the so-called Mourning Queen in the throne room- originally meant to simply hold the key, this room was adapted to contain a throne as a symbol of the Mourning Queen's madness.

The party split, half of them remaining behind while the other half ventured forth.

Upon reaching the inner sanctum, the Mourning Queen welcomed them, and thanked them for unsealing her throne room. The ones left behind were escorted to the Queen's throne by a group of Ice Devils who arrived not long after.

She offered them pride of place in her new kingdom, once she acquires the Soul Forge- new bodies like those of Ice Devils and immortality as her most treasured and celebrated subjects, however the party refused.

Although at first pleasant, once she was denied she turned violent, seeking to brutally murder all within the party.

There was a vicious battle, but due ot quick thinking of the party's wizard, Kurald, and the tenacity of the samurai Sen, they were able to defeat the lady's phantom and open the path to reclaiming the temple.

After a discussion of what to do, it was decided that Mi'raj would become the next Lord of Gaia Yulevaul, a decision not taken lightly. He took upon himself the Brand of the Key of Yulevaul, a mark on his forehead that soon faded to seemingly invisible.

The Grieving Child persona thanked them one last time, before leaving to the spirit world and the wheel. The party claimed the Ice Crown of Khuno and hid it, using the hole that tey had found before to sneak it out of the temple until they could purify it.

Leaving the temple, the party were confronted by the prince and his captain, as well as a group of armed soldiers ready to storm the temple. After advising him to wait until sending a team and to be careful due to possible unforeseen traps, the party parted on amicable terms, now considered somewhat heroic by the people of Gaiapolis for all of their deeds.

Looking back at the temple, they saw that like the other activated temples there was a shining beacon of light at the top.

## Act 3: Ahead on our way

### What now?

With the unsealing of the temple and another path to the Soul Forge opened, the party realized that they have a great responsibility. Once all temples are unsealed, those with the keys will be able to open the great doors to the Soul Forge- However, many who now possess or seek the keys would use a device of great power for ill. After a long discussion, the party chose to keep their eyes out for the remaining temples and stop others from claiming the forge until it could be better understood. The party reclaimed the ice crown, intent on breaking the curse they had discovered lay upon it.

The party's chosen course of action was to gather some funds- they went to the Hunter's Lodge in the city of Gaiapolis, a small building that served more as an adventuring hub than a true lodge, and took some tasks.

They discovered four tasks were available for adventurers of their calibre.

1. The cartographer Althidion Liana had placed a bounty of 10 gold per person for his safe recovery in case he got lost (again) during his mapmaking. Sylvia, remembering that he was the one who gave them their map of the New World, suggested they take this. He was last spotted heading to the cliffs south of the city.
2. One gold each to ferry supplies from the city to an outpost to the south-east. This was a simple escort task, but they would cross dangerous and treacherous terrain on their way.
3. A fishing settlement to the east had requested aid, but had not said why, and had not responded to any further communication.

An additional fourth task- to lay eyes on and track the movements of the Tarrasque noted to the south east of Lake Caidendorg in exchange for an approximate 100 gold, was considered but ultimately refused due to the dangers inherent in such a task.

After taking these missions, the party headed to Ayala Elheram's workshop once again, and stocked up. She delivered on a promise, giving the Cloak of Obscurity to the party in exchange for a small sum of gold. While she proceeded to flirt with Nakama Sen as she had in the past, the Dragonborn Ronin turned her down, stating the difference in their minds and hobbies as the reason. Heartbroken, Ayala agreed to remain friends, realising the truth in Sen's words- sometimes a crush is just a crush.

The party split into three groups from here, Raxus headed to the Dawn Wardens, Sen and Anastasia to look for a horse, and Kurald, Sylvia and the Psion sought out the black market.

### Splitting the Party

At the Dawn Wardens, Raxus was received with stiff politeness by Knight Commander Tarin. After identifying himself as a friend of Knight Sergeant Terso, he was subjected to a zone of truth to test him before ultimately being accepted into the sanctuary. They asked him some probing questions into the events in the temple, and offered their help in decursing the cursed item that the party had found.

Raxus, who did not have the crown with him, considered the possibility. He was informed that Terso was away to the south of the city on mission to a temple, but would welcome the help in investigating it if he had the time, seeing as he was a trusted ally.

Nakama and Anastasia proceeded to head to the stables, where they met the orc woman who owned them. Although terse-talking and eager to sell them a "lemon", Sen's knowledge of cavalry allowed her to pick a horse that was much safer and more robust than either the mad horse of speed or the half-dead horse of age.

The pair christened this horse Beth. They picked up saddlebags and other requirements for her before heading off, back towards the city. On the return ride, Sen confessed her feelings of attraction to Anastasia, and requested a date with her. The sniper agreed to the date, although remains confused about her own feelings of friendship or something more.

Kurald, Sylvia, and the Psion spent the day searching for leads on the black market. Eventually, due to Sylvia's keen eye, they found an access point- a butcher's shop just off the market square with cartel markings etched on the door frame.

Although Gora the Butcher, a fat and muscular human man, was at first hesitant to allow them access to the secret cellar that was used for criminals due to their heroic enterprises, the group, but particularly the Psion, managed to barter entry. Disarming themselves, they followed Gora to a back room. Within, they found a dark cellar hidden under the meat locker where a number of shadowy figures in thick cloaks stayed.

The party got the Crown decursed in exchange for a small payment, but while able to keep what the item was a secret, they were unable to keep the fact it had been reclaimed from the temple hidden.

They negotiated for a pair of magical scrolls, a cheaply-priced diamond, and some additional trinkets to be delivered before leaving. However, as an attempt at some form of intimidation Sylvia tried to use her fey presence to scare the people within. This caused the defense systems to activate, and soon the three were surrounded with a great deal of weaponry, acutely aware of their own lack of weapons.

After a tense standoff, Sylvia was made to part with all of her money and one of her magical rings, due to quick negotiations, as well as the cartel threatening that they may have a job for her to finish paying her debt, and the party left, unsure of their standing or if the black market would follow through after such a dangerous exit.

### Parting of ways

At the gates of the city, the party had a small lunch watching travellers go by, during which Kurald took Anastasia aside. Aware that she had only agreed to escort them to the city, he asked her to keep an eye on the black market and the prince for them for the next three weeks, and try and meet up afterwards to discuss what she had learned. The commonwealth girl agreed.

As the supply caravan they had been hired to guard prepared to leave, Anastasia gave her parting words, left a small piece of her scarf to Nakama and her enchanted dagger to the Psion. Although they asked her to stay with thme, she said her goodbyes to the party. She promised to meet up in a few weeks once she had done what she needed to in the city.

Their goodbyes in order, the party left their city. Anastasia waved until they had reached too far to see, and then disappeared into the crowds.

### The Supply Convoy

Escorting the supply convoy was a simple, but by no means easy, task. the party disovered early on that the supplies that were shipping included wood planks and metal bars, and soon deduced that it had something to do with a Commonwealth-style rail system. They also discovered that one of the other wagons carried a steam engine, further confirming their suspicions.

On the third day of travel, the party were heading near a nest of large bird-like dinosaurs known as Pteranodons. On the request of one of the other mercenary groups guarding the caravan, Raxus took a closer look in eagle form, with Kurald riding upon his back.

The pair inadvertantly awoke the nest, however, and flew back to the caravans under heavy attack. The group had to fight their way through the large leather-winged beasts. The battle was brief, but nearly led to Sylvia being carried off by the bird-like dinosaurs.

### The town that no magic built

Arriving at Flatriver, the party met the town Sheriff- a young boy of fifteen known as Harvis. They asked him about the town and discovered that it was a farming and fishing colony on the river. As a small town, there were not any real cells and non-married groups were gender segregated into two barns that had been converted to sleep large numbers of people. They also discovered that the town had an unusually high intolerance for magic-users, even for an out of the way farm town.

Harvis and some of the others saw the Divine Church robes that were worn as a disguise by Sylvia, and asked her to perform a sermon in town. She agreed to perform the ceremony after mentioning that she followed the god Kurise, despite having limited knowledge of how sermons work. Meanwhile, the others investigated a disturbance from where Beth, the horse, was stabled. They discovered that a cat had been in the area, upsetting the horse, but had left as the party arrived.

While Sylvia prepared for the bluff of a lifetime- possibly of hers, as if she failed it would likely mean being chased by a very angry mob- the party asked about the town's mayor. Harvis revealed that his father had been mayor until he passed, and the roll was mostly fulfilled by himself, or his older brother when he was in town. Harvis became enamoured with the Psion and asked her and the rest of the group to join him and his mother for dinner after the sermon.

Sylvia managed to just barely muddle her way through an approximation of a religious sermon, even successfully (...ish) baptising a child, due to coaching from Raxus and aid from the whole group, and collected a decent amount of donations. The donations were given to the sheriff to be put towards a proper church to be built in the town.

Arriving at the Sheriff's house for dinner, the party soon discovered that something felt off. Harvis' mother was a half elf woman, clearly somewhat confused and prone to spikes of anger, and made a comment early on that concerned the Psion- it sounded as if the woman had figured out what Sylvia was. She mentioned that a tragic mining accident had led to her husband's death.

She offered the girls of the party to stay in her house for the night, and the three of them accepted.

In the night, As Sylvia and Psion discussed what was on Psion's mind, Nakama decided to investigate the building. She stumbled upon an old cellar, inside of which was a set of student mage's robes of at least fifty years of age, and a broken wand. She took her discovery to the others who decided to let Raxus and Kurald know.

Bringing the pair back to the house to aid with the investigation, they once again descended to the basement, where they discovered a small diary belonging to the mage, and that the mage robes were designed to be worn by a woman. Kurald also figured out that the cellar was warded to hide it's contents- no magical detection could see inside the room.

The diary was long-winded and discussed theoretical experiments on corpses and the living- even, as it went on, putting these experiments into practice on homeless and other things. The diary soon became more hastily written, as a professor of the mage college seemed to have realized what she was doing. The diary owner had to flee, becoming an Apostate, and ended up falling in love with a farmer some years later.

It was then they heard scraping and shuffling from a small door that was almost congealed into the wall, and discovered a pool of blood that led to the door. Opening it, they discovered that a zombie had been locked into the room some years prior. After slaying the zombie, they inspected the room. They soon discovered where the blood originated from- someone had smashed their head on a stone, hard, probably been knocked into it, and a small writing desk that had notes on it.

The notes were written in the same hand as the diary, and seemed fairly incoherent at times. The husband of the apostate mage had been killed in a mining accident, and she was trying to revive him using her magic, but without a diamond or a proper resurrection spell it proved near impossible.

The party deduced that the zombie was the unfortunate aftermath, an unexpected result, and that the woman had locked it in the basement to hide it after being injured. They headed upstairs to confront the old woman.

But instead of the old woman, they discovered someone had taken her place. After revealing they had figured out the truth, the daughter of the family, Leona, revealed her identity.

Leona was a necromancer, following in her mother's footsteps, and as such was also an Apostate mage. She was taught in the secret basement the ways of magic by her guild-fearing mother. Leona revealed the full story, confirming the party's suspicions- after her apostate mother had failed to resurrect her father, the zombie she raised had injured her, causing the trail of blood and the brain damage her mother now clearly suffered from. Her mother had locked the sombie in the basement before losing consciousness, where Leona had found her unconscious. Kurald attempted to cast a suggestion on her to get her to not harm the party, however the spell seemed to fail, and mildly annoy the Necromancer.

Although upset by the news that the party had slain the zombified form of her father, as she was looking for a way to restore him to true life, she remained more concerned with what they intended to do with her mother- an apostate of her calibre would likely face execution if turned in to the authorities. the party negotiated to think about it for the night, which Leona agreed to- on the condition that she put up a boundary around the house to stop them sending messages to the outside world.

After the night, the party decided to confront the Necromancer. Kurald insisted that they bring her to the guild to face trial, believing that she had been enticed by the notes into her current path, as well as by the book known as the Kvana Toris Katan.

Leona refused, as she felt she needed to protect her mother and the people of Flatriver from the Guild. She offered the party three favours that they could claim at any time if they turned around and forgot what they'd found in the basement. Although Kurald tried to reason that the guild would heal her mother, she argued that being healed only to be executed was not worth it. Kurald attempted to cast a Hold Person spell on her, revealing that she was not physically present.

Leona took this as an attempt to force her into custody, and the negotiations were cut short, with her promising to see them on the path ahead, but also with the hope that they would "not see her". After the illusion spell that she was using to communicate faded, revealing the empty room, the party left the town, having made one more enemy.

### The Talkative Cartographer

Having asked around town about the wayward Althidion Liana, cartographer of the New World, the party discovered that he intended to take the route through the swamps to the nearby cliffs. These swamps, the townfolk recalled, had been home to many mysterious sightings that some consider ghostly.
As they approached the swamps, they saw small glowing lights dancing off in the distance. They wisely decided to stay away, having discovered from the townsfolk that they lead travellers astray, into the clutches of darkness.

The party discovered a ruined cart, and the desecrated corpse of a horse. Investigating, they discovered that it was the cartographer's mount and wagon, and that the cartographer had seemingly run off, chased away by the creatures that lurk in the swamp.
Making their way through the swamps, the group were attacked by a disturbing nightmarish hag-liike creature. Separating them from each other and pulling them into the dark, the Hag originally led to confusion and disorientation. Confused, Sen struck a figure that turned out to be Sylvia, causing severe burns.

While the Hag captured Kurald and Raxus, imprisoning them on an island away from the others, Sen attempted to talk to and negotiate with the dancing lights, trying to get them to guide her to her friends.

It worked, as several of the lights turned against the master they feared and led her to meet up with the rest. The battle was on.

The Hag was vicious, it attacked violently and consumed the glittering souls to heal itself, but the party remained triumphant, again and again fighting against her and pushign her back, before delivering a final shattering blow.

Leaving the now uncursed swamps together, the party sought out Liana.

### Finding the Cartographer

Liana was not far from the swamp. He had used all of his spells to get away from the Hag and had spent the past few days pinned against a narrow ledge by a cliff. The party helped him up, and he was relieved to see Sylvia among them. He paid the some of money and, after some prodding, revealed the totem he had discovered on his hunt for the Temple of Gaia Beriaus.

The party moved away from the cliff, camping out a safe distance as they waited for nightfall.

During the night, they heard the low rumbling of an engine. Anastasia had returned, bearing grave news from the city- The Royaume and The Commonwealth had clashed, a minor skirmish but one that had the militaries of both sides foaming at the mouths.

The party discussed what they would do, who they would ally with if they had to, but for the time being decided to remain neutral in the conflict. They went to bed and rested, but not without some worry for the future.

They were awoken in the night by strange moving shadows. Raxus assumed eagle form and flew off to invesigate, while the rest of the party began to awaken. On his return, Raxus found the campsite surrounded by an impenetrable black fog, created from strange moving shades that twirled and twisted like a whirlwind.

Inside, the party made a valiant effort to fight off the shades, but it was useless- when one was cut down, it simply split into more. They seemed transfixed on the staff, and overwhelmed the party.

The world turned black.

### The Labyrinth of Gaia Beriaus

> *Guest DM: SirScroggs (Raxus Green)*
>
>

The party awoke in strange rooms, one after another, with no sign of any of their friends.

They each began to examine their rooms, taking note of the numbers on each of the doors leading north, south, east and west- and began to explore. Each room they entered, they discovered was home to something odd- illusions of beaches, bizarre and horrible monsters, puzzles and, in one case, a strange art museum.

The Psion discovered that the strange bracelets they had awoken with were somehow linked to bonus "Lives", as when she was involved in a fatal accident with one of the puzzles she soon awoke staring at her own corpse. As they progressed, Sen, Sylvia, and Kurald all met, while Anastasia and Psion remained separated from the group, far away in the labyrinthian puzzles.

Finally, Mi'Raj figured out how to get through- discovering a series of secret passages underneath the room, he found first Psion, then Anastasia, and reuinted the whole group not long after. He also explained that he had discovered a pattern to the rooms- and if they followed it, they would find their way out.

The party found their way across a dark bridge and into a central chamber, where a Beholder met them. It seemed that the Beholder was tasked with challenging the ones who found their way to this temple to prove their worth, and after a fight, they were released from it.

### A Truth They Found

As they came to in the field, being tended by Liana and Raxus, they realized night had passed into day. As they spoke of what they had found, Liana apologizing for using a teleport spell to escape, the totem began calling to Sylvia.

As she picked it up from the mud and grass, it glowed brightly, and shot out a beam, branding a key over her closed left eye. She had been chosen as Lady of Gaia Beriaus. The spirit of Beriaus' head priest offered them three answers to three questions, before it went into the afterlife.

The first; Sylvia asked why she was picked. The spirit revealed that all the temples were built in honour of the gods of the Mistontli, and that Sylvia most represented the god of Beriaus.

The second; The spirit was asked and answered, informing the party that the Soul Forge was created to house the spirits of the Mistontli people, to shelter them from the 'storm'. And that, when opened, the Mistontli would be restored.

The third; The spirit was asked if there would be danger from opening the Soul Forge and rebuilding the Mistontli. He replied cryptically, that should there be a sacrifice, it would be "Worthy".

Finally, the Spirit warned the party that some of the other temples had been opened, and that the parties behind these openings do not have the future of the Mistontli in mind. It faded, and the totem reverted to completely inanimate wood.

### Reflection of the Past

As the party tried to figure out what someone would want with the key to restoring the Mistontli people, it was Liana who mentioned something when questioned- he mentioned how long ago The Winter King sought to turn into a God using the powers of millions of souls.

Something clicked the Psion, and she realized- why her wife had left, and why Bloodknife was here, with a cult. Bloodknife sought to use the power of the Soul Forge to turn himself into a God, to finish what the Winter King had started long ago, and return the Drow to a position of power over the whole world. The theory sent her into despair as she realized what it would mean.

Liana left, at the party's behest, to go to the city and look into what they had discovered so far. He promised not to reveal any of the information that he had discovered- for the sake of his friends and himself.

### Confrontation with Leona

Following this, the party proceeded to head towards the first of the ruins, nestled in the Scarpath Mountains. On their way, the Psion found a letter, ostensibly from her wife, requesting to meet up with her alone.

Although she left the party in secret that night and burned the letter, as she was told to, the party found out her reasons, and decided to leave her be and meet up with her later, electing to confront Leona, the Necromancer they met in the town of flatriver. They messaged her, and headed to the location which she agreed to meet- the old ruins by Scarpath.

However, the party arrived early and discovered that the ruins were lousy with the undead- brought about not by Leona but by natural means. After a battle with a huge Skeletal Dragon that had wiped out the people who once lived there, they confronted Leona herself, who revealed she intended to demonstrate to them the power of Necromancy by leading them to a place that would likely lead to their demise even without interference from her.

A negotiation started, where Leona discussed directly her plan to create an army of undead and Necromancers to force the Mage's Guild to reject the Apostasy charter, and place her as one of the leading mages on the council. Although it was conceeded that she had, from her perspective, reasonable motivations, ultimately the party persuaded her that the ancient tome Kvana Toris Katan that had led her to discover many secrets of necromancy was leading her mind astray through enchantments placed upon it by it's once-owner.

Mi'raj convinced her to allow the party to destroy the book, and after this to travel with them to see their side. She agreed, and stuck with the party for a while.

### The Beresal Path

> *"Here Lies Beresthal, Son of Orgam, the Groundwalker. He led us out of the dark. He awaits a worthy successor"*
>
>

After the situation with the Necromancer was dealt with, the party found their way to the ruins of the Beresal Path. Exploring the ruins, they discovered they were of Dwarvish origin- not, as they had assumed, Mistontli.

As they prepared to enter the tunnels, they were greeted by the Psion, who had received word that they were in trouble and chose to abandon meeting up with her wife at that time to go and assist them.

The party explored the ancient ruins and after passing through a trial which resulted in the Psion's body being permanently inverted so that her left side became her dominant, lit the beacon and discovered the ancient tramway that was hidden deep within the ground.

The tramway was designed to travel great distances rapidly, using a similar mechanism to a firearm as opposed to steam location.

The party went to the great shrine, where they were confronted by a pseudo-religious sentient statue of Orgam, the long-dead dwarf who founded the tramway. After being challenged to a fight the party defeated the dwarf, and he granted them Stewardship of the Path. Orgam explained that the Beresthal had been an attempt, some two hundred years prior, to bypass the Barrier- they had succeeded, but not without great risk, and built four stations on what is now known as the New World, or to the Dwarves, Terranua.

The party realised that, should they fix the tramway, they had essentially found a secret path that would allow them to travel the island far quicker than any of their adversaries could dream of.

As they emerged, they saw in the distance an airship- moving south at decent speed. They deduced it could well be Bloodknife, or at least another force, out to look for more pieces of the Key Temples.

### The Nexus Mind

The party left the tramway and travelled north, back to Farmer's Rest, to resupply for the next leg of their journey where they planned to head toward the ruins believed to be one of the Temples. As they resupplied they discussed the situation and realised that if Kora'tor and the Cloaked Drow were capable of finding the Keystones so rapidly, they must have found a secret.

Realising that both Kora'tor and this airship had headed south, they deduced that the ancient Wizard's Tower that was marked on the map as a surviving megastructure may well be the key to locating the Keystones. Between Kurald using his powers to communicate with the Goliath Kora'tor and Raxus Green confirming with the spiritual presence he could commune with, they decided to head south.

While in town resupplying, the party ran into Cavas the Farmhand, who revealed that not long after they parted ways he had been hired to sell magic scrolls by a strange wizard. However, after asking him about her it seemed he was hazy on what she looked like, or who she actually was, despite having "met" her. Concerned for their elderly friend they decided to setup a meeting that night with the woman.

However, during the meeting in an oddly seemingly-abandoned house, they discovered that the woman was merely an illusion spell. However, the magic had to come from somewhere, and they could also sense a powerful Psionic presence.

Investigating the basement of the house they discovered the Wizard's true form- A shining symbol of light inscribed on the wall, glowing with gold runes. Raxus recognized it as something the Dawn Wardens often used- a divine creation that was made with the purpose of gaining information known as a Spirit of Question.

Enquiring with the being, they discovered it had been placed there to gather information on the Soulforge by a god, and once it had answered it's own questions it would return to it's source. The party agreed to share their information with the being, in exchange for answering it's questions. Although the being could not answer which god's power it had come from, it revealed some key information before reaching it's expiry, as well as explaining that Cavas would be taken care of and thanked appropriately for his surface.

During this time, it explained that a god is like a full cup of water, and the Soulforge is effectively akin to a decanter of water, as such the God itself did not require it, but sought to avoid it's misuse. After this discussion, Mi'raj parted with the final words "Water *evaporates.*"

### Restoring the Beresal

The Party came to the realization that the fastest way to head towards the southlands was to use the Tramway, which would require them to restore the tram to functionality. They repaired the system and launched it, crossing the whole island in under half an hour, leading to much motion sickness and a sense of triumph.

## Act 4: The Untouched World

The party left the tramway to discover an untouched wilderness roamed by huge dinosaurs, some of them easily more than twenty meters tall.

To cross the water, they decided to leave their horses behind and have Raxus Green take the form of one of these Titanosaurs, which could easily walk through the deep water, and have the party ride upon his back. Using all of his strongest magic, he maintained the form for long enough to arrive on the small island, which they noted had been seemingly tamed unlike the wilderness that surrounded it.

They arrived at the Tower, and as they approached the huge door opened for them, almost as if expecting them.

After making their way through the experiments held within, including bizarre potions and a set of chairs that allowed you to get a full night's rest in under half an hour, the party met the Arch Wizard Slaati Elabalar, who identified himself as an elf of the Augury, and the last survivor of the mages who built the Soul Forge.

He revealed a device that showed the locations of the three keystones that remained on the island, and revealed that five of the temples, in addition to the ones the party knew of, had been opened. The party planned to head out to capture the ones that remained, but first- an Airship was approaching.

### Taking to the Skies...

The Airship was crewed by members of the Cult of the Blackened Tongue. The party used the wizard's tower weather control device to force the airship to land, and in doing so gained an opportunity to board the ship and clear it of the cultists. After an adventure that involved teleportation, quick thinking, and dinosaur riding, the party captured most of the cultists and freed the prisoners who were being held as slaves for an unknown reason.

Although there was a problem with the powerful Cadaver Collector Alpha-4 attacking the party, the Keyholders easily dispatched the magitek monstrosity.

The prisoners revealed that they were members of a Wood Elf Enclave that had been specifically chosen for raiding- the old and ill had mostly been killed, the fit and healthy enslaved, with the exception of two elves- an old man who was the Enclave's Elder El'Korus, and a young girl of maybe five years named El'Zaraha had been taken by the main force.

Interrogating the cultists, the party discovered that their fanatical devotion to the cult leader, this Bloodknife, runs to an almost religious fervor. The Psion supposes that this is due to him taking in outcasts after realizing that the leader of this group was a Casteless Dwarf.

### The Devourer Cave

The party landed the airship they had seized in a clearing within the nearby rainforests, and disembarked to head towards the closest Keystone. On their way, they discovered that the cave had been trapped by a non-native species of Devourer Spider, clearly planted to keep the Keystone safe. They also met the last survivor of a group of Hunter's Chance mercenaries who had been hired by an unknown Collector of Antiquities in Novagorod, who is also in possession of another of the Keystones. He identifited himself as Dorvuth, and revealed what little he knew to the party.

After saving the life of this mercenary, wiping out the Devourer Spider Queen, and claiming the Keystone, the party headed as fast as they could to the Commonwealth city of Novagorod.

### Return to Novagorod

Arriving at the city, the Party's airship was boarded by Commonwealth marines, however Sylvia showed her credentials to the lieutenant and the airship was escorted to the government landing zone for suspicious craft. Custody of the cultists was also taken by

The party made their way into the city, after Sylvia was debriefed by Captain Sabitova, and began hunting for clues left by this unknown Collector of Antiquities. Sylvia elected to remain undercover, limiting the assistance the Commonwealth government could provide.

At this point, Nakama Sen decided that it was time for her to leave the party. With her newfound spiritual abilities, she felt she needed to accompany the Wood Elves across the sea to settle them and find herself. She parted with the Keyholders on amicable terms, promising to meet them again once she had settled the Elves.

The Party headed to the Hunter's Lodge in the city, where they gave the tags and turned over Dorvuth to the leader, Vincent Baudeleire. Although they helped the Chance out a great deal, Vincent was unable to break the confidentiality agreement on the name of the contractor, or their personal details- however he implied that he frequently forgot to close the window to his office between the hours of midnight and one, and often left paperwork out on his desk.

On their way out, the party caught the attention of Maruyama O-Ryu, Sen's aunt who had recently arrived in the New World. She decided to join them on a whim, curious as to who these people who accompanied her niece were.

After some discussion, the party split up. During this time Raxus, the warlock, began to attune to his spiritual side, hoping to find the hidden shrine of his unknown patron. He followed the path laid out into the basement of a shack near the central marketplace, down a winding alley. Once there, he hesitated, and decided to regroup.

Meanwhile, Kurald sold the Devourer Spider Egg that he had found to an exotic pets trader, making a good amount of coin.

The group had already gathered when Raxus arrived and told them of the strange place he had found. Although they agreed to check it out, they decided first to meet the Collector of Antiquities. They took to an inn to retire, and Kurald used a scrying spell to discover the location from Vincent's notes. The Collector was said to live in the Wynding House. The party decided to first meet with the Collector, afterwards heading to Raxus' spot.

Come morning, the party headed to the old house. Inside, they found strange dusty displays of objects seemingly cared for. They met with a man who declared himself to be a manservant of the collector, and who handed the business side. The man offered money for the party's discovery of the Keystone, but the party refused. Suspecting the Manservant was none other than the Collector in disguise, convinced the Manservant that it would be for the best if he were to hand over the Keystone to the party. He agreed, on the condition that they eliminate Armitage, a former bodyguard who betrayed him and ran off with some items of value, founding a bandit group called the Blood Bullets.

### Shrine to an Unknown God

The Party arrived at the strange location Raxus had been drawn to and tricked their way into the house, pretending to be city inspectors. They found their way down into a strange dark shrine with a huge statue. After some experimenting, the party realised that it was some sort of automated sacrificial altar.

They took a moment to decide on a course of action, before Raxus decided to take a chance. He strapped himself to the altar and waited. As the blade passed into his chest, he was killed. The party watched in horror.

In the realm between life and death, Raxus was brought to stand by a strange voice, that seemed to come out of nowhere. The voice informed him that he was now the "Third Emissary", that two others had taken the path before him, and that he would have to follow their steps to learn more. Raxus felt a power growing inside him, ascending a level.

Raxus awoke, bloodstained but seemingly healed, in the shrine. The party rushed to his side- mostly- to check on his well being. A passage leading up and out of the shrine appeared, and after assuring themselves that Raxus was okay, the party headed up the tunnel. However, they were stalked by a strange, skeletally thin creature.

The Psion and Maruyama attempted to halt the creature, but it threw dirt into their eyes and escaped. As they reached the top of the staircase, they discovered that the exit had been bricked off- replaced with a sewer. Cursing, the party headed back down to the main room while considering why someone would build a sewer in a way that seemingly intentionally locked off this shrine.

They headed through a second door they found, into a room filled with corpses. They quickly deduced that the room was where those who hadn't been seen as worthy had been left, but as they began to leave, one of the corpses grabbed the Psion's wrist- a zombie!

The party began fighting these undead, although they were sturdy they quickly proved to be little match for the skilled adventurers, and were dispatched. As they arose from the dead, they heard an explosion and a rumble nearby, and turned to the entrance to see Lothar Von Hasselton with Erena Colleus in tow, coming to slay the undead.

After killing the last of the undead, the party conversed with their longtime-separated friends, and decided to work together for at least a little while. They returned to the surface, only to find that Jaster Colleus, Erena's older brother who was supposed to be guarding the entrance, had disappeared.

Suspecting that the strange skeletal figure had something to do with it, the party made a quick search before heading back to the sewers to make sure that there were no loose ends.

### The Flickering Palace

The party arrived back at the sewer entrance only to find a huge gathered crowd. The entrance great had been seemingly torn open, and apparently several women had disappeared inside.

Growing more concerned by the second as to what they may have awoken in the Shrine, the party immediately decided to head down, with Anastasia staying behind to guard the path in case another hostage is trapped.

As they crept through the sewers, with weapons and torches raised, and avoiding falling into the foul-smelling gunk that rushed through, the party began to experience a strange sensation. As if the world itself was shifting around them. Suddenly, they found themselves in a palacial corridor, with large statues of knights and gleaming stone walls and wooden floor. They followed the path onward until again, it transformed, revealing a world of fire, brimstone and lava. More concerned than ever, they headed further in, noticing a large statue of a naked man with a cloak.

The person gave off more demonic vibes as they looked at it, and as tehy began to plan, a voice spoke-

> *"Welcome to my palace."*
>
>

The voice belonged to an attractive man, standing at seven foot tall, muscular, and wingéd. Instantly, the party could see that he had demonic heritage. The man introduced himself as an Incubus Lord, and thanked the party for opening the portal he used to travel between the hell plains beyond death and the waking world. Realising what they had done, the party acted fast- attacking this imposing demonic being. They quickly realised that his self-styled title of Lord was no idle threat, as he attempted to beguile, bewitch, and bewilder the party- thankfully failing with most of them.

Although he attempted to persuade both Sylvia and Erena to jump into the lava, Sylvia was able to break free and lash out, attacking him. Eventually, Mi'raj dealt the banishing blow after the Demon Lord's summoned allies perished at the hands of the others in the party.

Once the sewer returned to normal, the party discovered Jaster as well as the two survivors who had been lured down into the sewers by the party. Jaster explained that he had seen them disappear and attempted to go after them, only to be caught by the Demon and held for use as a sacrifice to summon further minions from the hells.

The party regrouped at the surface, and Erena and Jaster decided that, while recuperating, they would take charge of guarding the shrine for the time being, and alert the party if anyone else attempted to use it. As they bid their farewells, The Psion took Erena aside and guessed, correctly, that she had something of a crush on Lothar. Although Erena would have liked to stay with the paladin, she realized that his heart belonged to another, and convinced him to go with the Keyholders, to wherever his destiny may be.

### The Blood Bullets

The party, with new addition Lothar, headed off to confront the Blood Bullets, the gang hired as security that the Manservant had asked them to dispose of. However, upon meeting with their leader Armitage, the party discovered the truth- the Manservant was an impostor, a cultist of Bloodknife and the true killer. Armitage promised to hand over the hidden keystone should they prove his innocence and get rid of the Manservant. As the party agreed, they were ambushed.

A group of cultists had followed them to make sure everything went well, and possibly to kill them once Armitage had weakened them. However, with the Blood Bullets help the party easily killed these assassins and left to confront the Manservant. Upon arriving at the Wynding house, they discovered the Manservant was preparing to leave. They blocked his egress and attempted to force him to turn himself in for the murder- he refused, and the battle was on.

Although the Manservant was a master of many magics, the party were able to gain the advantage and kill him. The Manservant's body exploded into ash as his magically warped soul proved unable to hold itself together.

The party explored the house, and discovered the body of the Collector in a second story bedroom. And something worse- hidden in a basement was an elderly elf.

### The Missing Child

After ensuring his safety, the elderly elf revealed he was a kidnapped wood elf- his tribe were descended from the Augury elves who helped to create the Soul Forge. And what was worse, his eight year old granddaughter was the last living descendant and had been taken to a cave nearby to create a machine to blast open the keytemples. The party promised to save the girl and took to the skies, in their airship.

As the airship flew, a huge dark cloud enveloped it. peering into it, a gross mass of flying snakes began to attack the ship. As the first few waves were slain, a huge snake, easily as long as the airship, flew out of the cloud and attacked, trying to tear apart the wings. The Queen of Flying Snakes was a dangeorus foe, but the party slew it. As it crashed head-first into the sands below, it's summoned cloud dispersed, along with the horde of smaller flying snakes.

The party soon found their way to the cave where the lost girl was being held, and found that it was strangely enchanted and surrounded by odd geography. After finding their way through a maze of traps, they discovered that the girl was being held by a doctor under the employ of Blood Knife, and the Blackened Tongue cult.