Episode 54: Whispers and Crossbows

After barely surviving their encounter under the Lighthouse, the Heroes of Bingle want to do one thing: knock it down. But even as they lay waste to the tower, the experience of that epic battle reveals surprising new skills for every single member of the team… even the smallest of them!

#### **DM/GM Intro**

*It started as a simple dungeon run…*

*But we are a long way from simple now. These 5 adventurers became the Heroes of Bingle when they saved Lily’s island home from a vicious warrior named Yan Mo. The half dragonborn Triton commanded a legion of undersea monsters to attack the beach gnome community, dragging residents and vacationers alike into the watery depths to become slaves - or worse.*

*After driving back the invaders and rescuing Lily’s family, the Heroes hoped they had seen the last of Yan Mo. But fate had other plans. Incredible magic has catapulted the team back in time 22 years and cast them in the unlikely role of protecting the 5 year old boy who will one day become Yan Mo. They rescued him and his family from a haunted castle infused with madness on the Isle of Rum. The boy’s father, Cho’Ran claims to know where the treasure cache of the Shaxen Gao Empire is hidden, and has made a deal to trade that knowledge in exchange for freedom from the bounty placed on his head by the dynasty.*

*The Heroes, working for the infamous pirate, Whitebeard, agreed to help Cho’Ran - to save his family - so that they may learn more about the extraordinary magical items - and the weapon - he says is inside the cache.*

*In the guise of mercenaries, they sailed to the port town of Boster, started a tavern brawl, competed in an underground fighting ring, and visited a clairvoyant sea hag who whispered visions of their past, present, and future. Seeing her chained and used as a sideshow attraction, the team returned to the sea hag’s den, killed the half-lings imprisoning her, and set her free. They also learned of a mysterious man living in a lighthouse on Ocean’s Gull Point, and the strange Liquor of the Dead he brewed there - inside the carcasses of dead creatures.*

*When the team discovered that man was responsible for burning the Castle Rum and aligned himself with a demonic being called the Lord of Crows, they decided to return to the lighthouse and confront him about his crimes. But that confrontation turned deadly, as the heroes were pulled down into a subterranean chamber beneath the structure and attacked by the Lord of Crows itself. Fortunately, James was able to banish the foul creature back to the plane whence it came and maintain his concentration on the spell while his teammates battled noxious plants, reanimated corpses, and a creature composed entirely of an undulating mass of the Liquor of the Dead.*

*The battle was harrowing and nearly cost them their lives, but in the end the Heroes of Bingle vanquished their foes and even achieved a new level of experience. Uggo took an oath to the Goddess of light and truth, the Candle Queen, taking his first steps toward becoming a Paladin. They were also able to investigate the grave beneath the lighthouse for clues to the Lord of Crows’ origin, and its connection to the mysterious Old Ones, said to have knowledge of a time before the great War of Ideas.*

*What they found was a bizarre object illuminating the space beneath the foundation. An obelisk, woven out of thin sticks and black raven feathers, rising out of the stony ground. Three primitive and enigmatic symbols adorned its front, which appeared to open like a sarcophagus. Choosing not to risk any further encounter with the banished demon, the team set fire to the feathers and watched as they burned, filling the cavern under the lighthouse with thick, billowing smoke. As we left off last week the battered and triumphant Heroes of Bingle emerged out of a drainage tunnel that emptied into the ocean. Uggo and Siv led the way, with Fahima, James, and Lily trailing behind, the three mages blasting away with their spells, back down through the passage at the infernal, burning obelisk.*