Episode V: Pilgrimage

***Previous: Episode IV: Astral Rifts***

With Cyric, Jenova, and Laz Ursulus disappeared through a rift in spacetime, the Sandstriders are left with the task of hunting them down. Cyric wishes to reach The One, the Demiurge, the God-to-the-Gods; for what purpose, it is yet unknown. The Sandstriders will follow the Void God on his Pilgrimage, attempting to stop him every step of the way.

#### Part 1: The Green One

   *(This is a page about The Green One [Adventure]. You may be looking for The Green One [Person])*

The Sandstriders arrive in a strange mountainous land known as Viam. After seeing a far-off mountain with multicolored fires, they decide to embark in hopes of finding some answers. They encounter an **Assafling**, a monstrous spider-wolf, and are aided by a group of reptilian humanoids known as Zvar, led by someone named Osabo. Osabo and his companion, Kheswa, begin worshiping the Sandstriders as deities, and repeatedly say they must meet "The Green One," or Sinjal-Lu.

Osabo leads them to the Rainbow Hold, the settlement carved into the side of a mountain, and to the top of the settlement, the Green Keep. There, they see a dais of statues, some of which resemble themselves, and some of which resemble people who they have met along the way.

They are introduced to The Green One - who turns out to be Pointy, much changed, much older, and with a sense of amnesia or foggyheadedness about the past. After Faestepping with the Green Gem, Pointy spent centuries in a black nothingness, before appearing here on Viam. Pointy joins the Sandstriders' quest to hunt down Cyric, but first, they decide to help the Zvar with some mysterious issues they're facing.

Throughout their time in Viam, the Sandstriders remove an infestation of parasitic worms called **Rikog** from the Rainbow Hold's water supply; avenge a group of dead Zvar by hunting down and killing the Queen of the **Kri'Kla**, a giant centipede race; and broker a peace between the various factions of the Zvar. With their work complete and Zvar society safe, the Sandstriders travel across the Asam (the Acid Sea) to the Rezik, the Deadly Land.

Upon arrival, they are greeted with an acid-filled volcano, which seems to be affecting the entire landmass. Quen and Tolsmir notice an odd refraction of light that denotes a possible Rift at the top of the volcano. They travel through the mountains, eventually entering a cave which appears to lead towards the volcano.

They find Corrupted Zvar, grey-skinned and missing their eyes, as well as more **Rikog**. After some exploration, they find faceless statues - the same kind found in the Temple of Cyric in the D.A.S. - and discover they are emitting a magical field which is keeping these Zvar alive. Quen uses her psionic magics to dismantle the enchantment, rendering the rest of the Zvar into dust.

Walking past various dust piles, the Sandstriders make it to the top of the volcano and use the Tourmaline Turtle to enter another Rift.

#### Part 2: Firesoul

*(This is a page about Firesoul [Adventure]. You may be looking for Firesoul [Genasi type] or Firesoul [Location].)*

The Sandstriders come out of the Rift in Vuul'kira, the Plane of the Unwanted...but much has changed. They appear in what used to be the Shadow Forest, now burnt to the ground by the Genasi. They have overtaken the former Oasis and turned it into a stronghold called Firesoul. Rakeesh is a prisoner of the Genasi, and Treyn leads a small, weak band of no more than a dozen survivors, including Vyona. With Vuul'kira under the control of the Genasi, to whom the Sandstriders are public enemy number one, life will not be easy in the Plane of the Unwanted. The Sandstriders make it their primary mission to save Rakeesh, but to do so, they will need some assistance, and turn to their old allies the Thri-Kreen for help.

They travel to the Thri-Kreen's tunnels and help their old friend, K, fight off an attack by the Sandcrawlers, the Thri-Kreen's enemy race of giant centipedes. The Sandstriders ask the collective for help but are refused; it's too dangerous to send drones out right now. Quen asks how they can help; K suggests two options, gathering some Mafari Crystals (the Sandcrawlers hate them) and destroyed a brood of Sandcrawler eggs. The party says, "why not both?" and begins with the eggs. They work their way through some magical caverns, fighting sentient vines, until coming upon the eggs, defended by a Sandcrawler guardian. They defeat the guardian - but not before, through mind control, forcing him to destroy some of the eggs. Vuul'kira makes the Sandstriders ruthless, it seems; a quality which they may end up needing.

After sending the Thri-Kreen on their way, the Sandstriders fly to the Eastern edge of Vuul'kira. There, they meet a group of Oasis Exiles, led by The Mixer, whose soul was sent here after her murder during Episode III: Awakening. They have set up shop in an old cave full of Mafari Crystals - an ancient Shardmind graveyard. Pointy is emotionally distraught by this.

The Exiles trade with the Genasi in return for not being killed. The Mixer agrees to help the party and tells them that the Vis'tani caravan which carries a special potion to Sharassa will be arriving the next day.

When the caravan arrives, the party confronts Linn and, despite his nervousness, convinces him to help them. They gather some Mafari Crystals - somewhat to the chagrin of Pointy - and return to Treyn's HQ, to meet up with the Thri-Kreen drones. After dropping off supplies, the group takes the drones and heads to Firesoul to begin their dig underneath the ground.

A fairly uneventful trip - with the only hiccup being an attack by a few wild Moon Elves - brings the Sandstriders to Firesoul. The Thri-Kreen dig and eventually find their way to a stone wall. Quen uses a ritual, and the prison break begins. Through sneaking, fighting, and intimidation, the Sandstriders clear the prison of guards and rescue Rakeesh, who looks pretty well beaten down. They send him on his way with the Thri-Kreen and then, with the help of an Airsoul Genasi prisoner, take an elevator to the top of the new Spire, to confront Sharassa and go through the next Rift. Confront her they do, eventually killing her in fantastical fashion. After deciding to bring the Seven Colored Gems with them - minus the Blue, which Cyric apparently took for himself - they Planeshift through the Rift.

#### Part 3: Future Ghosts

The Sandstriders appear in a bay in a post-apocalyptic Seattle. They save a young boy named Gabriel from an attack by a Mech, and Gabriel agrees to take them back to his home. He is part of the resistance cell led by Jeff, but Jeff doesn't seem to recognize the party; apparently, they appeared in Gabriel's dreams a while back. Also, the party discovers that Common is French in this world.

After some back and forth, Gabriel agrees to take the party into the Ghost World, the remnants of the Matrix. There, they will meet Fulcrum, an entity that has been trying to contact Gabriel for a long time. They encounter a dungeon that tests their emotional capacity, and at the end, are transported to Fulcrum's Dojo.

Fulcrum fills the party in. Oasis, a rumored safe haven, is in fact a real place, located on an island formerly known as Cuba. Fulcrum says he can get the survivors there if they are able to somehow reactivate a plane. He also tells the Sandstriders about some strange happenings in the Hoh Rainforest, where Mechs have recently begun investigating after previously marking the area too dangerous. It is home to a creature known only as Species Z66.

After the party leaves the Ghost World, Gabriel takes a nap. They fill Jeff in, tell him to invite whoever he thinks should be invited, and let him know they will help him gather supplies and get onto the plane. Jeff tells the group to speak to Lillian, the group's best driver and mechanic. Lillian, it turns out, is an orc who takes an immediate shine to McCreedy. Once she gathers herself, she drives the Sandstriders downtown to the hospital.

Upon arrival at the hospital, the group finds some mechs, already destroyed, one of which has activated a homing beacon. Feeling the pressure, they enter the hospital to find a group of **Shadowrunners**, led by Dani. In the middle of negotiations, Mechs break through the wall and begin attacking. After a bit of fighting, the group decides to get the supplies and get out before more Mechs arrive.

Through ingenuity, skill, and luck, the Sandstriders make it safely out of the hospital and back to Jeff's HQ. After a night of rest, they depart with Jeff's Survivor group towards SeaTac airport. When they arrive, however, they see that Parker's **Partisans** have laid a trap, with the intent of taking Gabriel and the plane for themselves.

The Sandstriders make quick work of the **Partisans**, brutally murdering Parker. Then, they defend the plane against waves of enemies as it refuels. Aided by a timely distraction by the **Shadowrunners**, the plane is able to lift off safely, leaving the Sandstriders to head for the **Hoh Rainforest**.

The group finds the rainforest overgrown and wild. As they advance, they feel shaking of the earth, and begin to notice large clearings. Pointy notices a destroyed Mech; the Sandstriders see many more as they advance towards the epicenter of the quakes. Eventually, they find the Rift, with a Hawk scanning it. They begin to attack the Hawk, but after a few seconds, a giant, monstrous lizard-creature - Species Z66, ostensibly - emerges from the ground and begins to attack.

After a few tough rounds, the creature burrows into the ground again. The Sandstriders rest before heading into the next Rift, leaving Seattle behind.

#### Part 4: Outer Limits

*(See also: The Raven and The Spire)*

The Sandstriders emerge from the Rift floating in space. They are found by the crew of the Consortium ship the CSS WANDERER, and find out that their quarry, Cyric, has only been here two days longer than they have. They also learn about the Spire, the mysterious intergalactic force at war with the Consortium, and about the WANDERER's mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist from a prototype Spire ship called the VOIDWALKER.

While tracking the VOIDWALKER, the WANDERER is forced out of warp, a victim of some sort of trap. They are boarded by Spire Operatives, and a battle breaks out. The Sandstriders prove their battle prowess and come to an accord with the Captain, Ravi Anwar.

After fixing the ship, the crew sets off to follow the VOIDWALKER, but intercepts a message on all frequencies, emanating from an asteroid on a collision course with a Gremm-controlled world. The message claims it was the Consortium who caused this; Ravi declares it a false flag operation and redirects the ship towards the source.

The plan: a simple dropoff with a shuttle. In, out, on with life. The reality: after a quick briefing, the shuttle is shot down by a surface-to-air missile. The Sandstriders, as well as Chief June Spears, android "Andi," and a few other Consortium crewmembers, crash land in the hangar of the facility.

Quen uses her incredible intelligence and intuition to reprogram a turret. McCreedy and Tolsmir play battlebros and clear out a bunch of reprogrammed mining robots. The crew sneaks into security, seals the Illanian Terrorists inside the control room, and clears them out easily. The rest of the terrorists surrender and the asteroid is averted from its collision course.

The Sandstriders get a bit of downtime with the crew. Tolsmir gets a new tattoo, Pointy asks a million questions, and McCreedy converses with June. Then, it's time. The WANDERER catches up with the VOIDWALKER; the Sandstriders teleport onto the outer hull of the ship and find a way in after battling some defense bots.

Inside, the situation is chaotic. Spire Operatives and Illanian Terrorists run around, screaming about a prison break. A fight ensues. The party finds that Cyric is aboard the ship - a three-way battle between the Sandstriders, the Spire Operatives, and Cyric commences, wherein one of the Operatives activates a self-destruct sequence.

Cyric makes a hole in the hull and leaps through it, creating a new Rift on his way out. The Sandstriders eventually save not only Director Gork, but the ship itself for Consortium study. In reading the data files the Sandstriders realize an awful truth: the Spire is actually the Zvar.

Pointy, livid, asks for more historical information from the ship. Once he retrieves it, the party readies the Turtle and enters the latest Rift.

#### The Sandstriders

* Quen Sandstrider
* Teleragus "Pointy" Diragrion (or Sinjal-Lu)
* McCreedy
* Tolsmir

***Next: Episode VI: Origins***