Eastern Shadows

Scribe Notes

Summary

Adventure: Eastern Shadows
GM: Jono
Season: ~Spring 824 WK
Night: Starting Monday at 7pm on the 9th of September 2024 at Jono's place (dress warm).
Area: West of Carzala
Level: Low/Medium
Info: Information from players for Jono
House Rules: Jono Quickness and Slowness

Party

Character name	College / Skills	Race	Player
Ruby	Fire	Human	Kelsie
Sonny Holliday	Celestial	Hobbit	Michael M
Johann	Wicca	Human	Michael Haycock
Dae	Mind	Elf	Gus
Thornie	Earth	Dwarf	Michael P
Edwin	N/A	Shapechanger	Mark Scofield
Astaria	Air	Human	Josie
Frigg	Ice	Human	Charles

Party leader - Sonny & Ruby
Scribe - Dae
Mil Sci - Edwin

Loot - Google Docs of the loot from the adventure.

Loot part 2 - Google Doc of loot from part 2 of the adventure.

Employer

Mistress of Shadow (also known as Lulu Till). She is one of the local Guild leaders from Gugnir's Hope. Scouts have reported issue with a new band of Orcs. The guild master's wants more information.

Notes of the Season

"Of Cliffs & Fire Pigs, Hobbits found bliss through Dwarven speech"

Where bacon lost its way.

Having spent the night at the village of Green Goblins, and experiencing their usual 'hospitality' we notice three boats that are going along the river headed to the the cave entrance at the bottom of the hill, and we decide to follow them by taking the path that goes along the river. On the way we pass through their farmlands, and outer defensive structures. The forest on the outskirts of the cave seems to have been cleared of dead trees, and any and all fallen or rotting wood, we conclude someone might have been harvesting them for kindling. Upon arriving here, Edwin takes the lead with his dogs, and shortly after we see projectiles headed towards the boats, after a while an Orc leader pops out of the bushes, berating his underlings for their poor shooting skills. While enthralled by the spectacle, we notice some brown or maroon hobbit-like creatures also looking over the ongoing combat happening between the shore and the boats, some of them, ridding what looked to be pigs. Upon reaching them, we confirm they are hobbits, but not the ones we've previously encountered on the cliffs, these are dressed with a more wild flare, and carry themselves in a more road-seasoned fashion. They seem to belong to another plane, a fiery place. Sonny tries to Detect Arcana on them, but fails horribly, causing a black blob to raise from bellow his feet, it was quickly squashed by Ruby, whom didn't want any interruptions in finding out more about these unique flavour of hobbits. Karl, one of them starts communicating with Sonny, albeit on Dwarvish, making Ruby take on translating duties. They are in search for the goblins that have taken gear from them at an earlier time, some of which seem to be the Rain Staffs carried by Johann & Ruby, which are two out of six of the missing staffs. They are also trying to find captives of these goblins, including a bottled princess, and a hobbit named Kurtis. We've learnt that what has been driving these goblins out of these caves...nay...out of another plane, has been the Master of these hobbits, which they say it looks somewhat like our sickly looking companion, the elf, but were unwilling to share any more information about it, not even their name. We've set up a deal with the hobbits, to provide us further information on how to travel through the cave and control where we land (since if you don't you might fall into a random plane apparently), all we have to do is assist them with their hunt for items and captives. Meeting them can happen twice a month, at the beginning, and at the middle of the month, at the top of the cliff, during noon, the will wait for us no more than half an hour. Once our encounter with the pig riding hobbits concludes, we return to the Green Goblin Village, with newfound information at hand. Once there we see the goblins treating some foreign women with reverence, these foreigners seem to be acting a little bit like water fountains, and they seem to be licking and drinking water from them. It is a bit chaotic when it comes to the Green Goblins, I might have just seen it wrong. The rest of the day is spent with Edwin trying to communicate with the goblins about some work to be done to his amulet, but with little success, and Sonny trying to improve his communication skills with them. The following day, Sonny wakes up to a pile of trinkets (for the second time), most of them shiny, left for him, this time, he checks the pile, and decides to keep three large alligator teeth found there. We decide to head back towards Gugnir's Hope, stopping on the way to check with more hobbits! But this time, familiar ones, were we spend the night, and Sonny finds a message left for him by Antonella, which also leads us back towards home. Before hitting the sack, Sonny, Ruby, Johann and Edwin receive drinks. Sonny's and Ruby's drinks seem to have special effects, the former will help him with his sleep the next few days, while the later will make her move faster and further, for an unknown amount of time. Dae receives pansies, is it because he is an elf, or because he looks like he can't handle liquor?. During supper, we discuss with them the fire breathing pigs, and their hobbit riders, and they tell us of news of a traveling circus in Amber, comprised of elves and humans. Also they tell is that there once was a princes in a bottle, a sister of a Nixie, who was saved some 30 years ago by some adventurers. It wasn't clear to me if one of them was Mordrin, or a relative of Mordrin, but she did follow him down to a cave with a River. I was too busy smelling the pansies to follow the conversation, wonder where they were cut from?. But there was also a rumor that the Nixie went with Clementine, and that she had made a well somewhere, Ruby was having a weird natured conversation with an equally weird old hobbit. Ruby spent the night having weird dreams about Goblins, a whole horde of them chasing her. Sonny used detect arcana on her to determine if she was cursed, but fails to confirm or deny it. We leave the hobbits place next morning, and arrive at the lake where Mr Beaver has made his damn, we call for him, and he arrives, majestically riding his beloved steed, Mr Turtle. Elated to see us, in his dire time of need, he asks for our assistance during the next High moon, 'powerful creatures will try to steal salt from the rock in the middle of the lake'. These creatures are of dark magic, and expected to arrive towards the end of the month, in about 20 days, He fears they will put something on the water to drive him away, enabling them to perform a dark ritual. These creatures come from a place of darkness, perhaps a tower, cave, or plane. He offers potions to drive away death. At Ruby's request, he provides us with some of his powerful salt, which will prevent the undead from rising, and 'make already animated dead more sluggish?'(not too sure, was smelling the pansies). Sonny inquires about the most powerful magic these creatures can use, and Beaver describes it very similarly to Thorns of Corruption. He gives us 6 potions, and mentions "they will likely come five days before the full moon". Other than that, he informs us that elf merchants visited him three days ago, and they were also headed to Gugnir's Hope. We skip the pig farm on our way back, but still, during night-time, at the distance, come across some tiny dark creatures, casting long dark shadows. Sonny asks his friend about their allegiance, and receives the answer of not being problematic if we talk to them. We skip that suggestion, but Sonny gives his friend a fishing hook and POOF, the creature dissapears. Whilst camping at night, during Ruby's watch, we are 'visited' by a 10 foot tall (maybe it was the grogginess of the night, and it was not as tall) figure with menacing black bat wings, carrying a whip at her hip, a sheathed sword, wearing black gloves. She is dressed entirely in black, and has a set of black bat-like wings on her...her features...seem elvish. We decide to talk to her, it definitely wasn't an impulse of our elf deeming every other elf he finds friendly. She informs us she was in the search for Dae, his mother sends dark tidings about his 'sister', and confuses him, even more by calling it also half-sister, adoptive sister, and his uncle's child. When asked about her identity, she says she is one of the Zeladons (Cellar doors?). She casts a spell on Dae, which seems to be Shadow form at rank 15 (double duration), and leaves alone, after being rejected both by Ruby and Dae, about bringing them with haste, leaving behind a warning "Remember, the woods are not empty..." </nowiki>

"Of the Elven gaze, Homecomings turned unwelcome"

Elves in Gugnir's Hope

Early in the morning, the Jester Collective, set out and reaching the grove on the outskirts of a neighborhood where among many others, Dae's Family lives. A crowd of a dozen or so people...on closer count...fourteen, are occupying the front of the family workshop, which never gathers that much attention. On closer inspection, we find it might have something to do with the heavily decorated elves, more beautiful than or traveling water mage , standing there among them. Upon making our way through, Dae's mother takes him aside to let him know those elves, are from Elfheim, and they are looking for my sister, and on a lesser note, probably also Dae, due to readings made from the sky at Elfheim. His mother clarifies to him, upon his insistence, that it's not a biological sister, but a relative. We leave towards the busy parts of Gingnir's Hope, where we find the streets are more busy than usual, before proceeding further we are seen by some lads of the keep, urge for us to talk to them. They bring tidings of folk looking for us, Dwarves, Elves, and Hobbits. All three part of different groups, and while Sonny is the one the hobbits are looking for, they are unsure of the rest. Weary of finding trouble, or trouble finding us, we decide to skip the village and head towards mistress Lulu, and with our keen perception we see strange movement occurring on the bathhouse, and later also see Thorny's people changing the color of horses (on of them, a rival, throws thorny an object, but he nonchalantly catches it with ease) but we chose to ignore both interactions until we report back to the mistress. Upon reaching the forest were the Celestials dwell, we find a lot of folk carving pumpkins, and once we're further deep, we come across half a dozen Wiccans. It turns out, currently there are five rangers in Gungnir's Hope, while there are only 3 positions. It seems the elivish court has decided to replace some of the rangers stationed here. Additionally, the elvish court suspects Dae's father from sheltering and hiding dissidents here, al allegation that seems to emanate from an elvish faction from the past, that rased this claims against his family. And on the subject of the elvish court...they are also the ones who requested or summoner Gungnir's Water Mage to go to Elfheim, "I know that in good authority" Lulu states. We are informed that the group of dwarves looking for the Whimsical Gang, is doing so in regards for things what might have been found by Edwin Sonny & Johann sometime ago under Gungnir's Hope. Lulu asks Dae if there are any shapeshifters in his family, before ending our meeting and asking us to return at midnight for further instructions, since she has to digest the information we brought her in regards to the situation about the visitors from other planes coming from the caves beneath the cliff. We decide to head to the Bakery of Sonny's Family, go for some fresh Pies & Buns. Theresa gives us plenty of food, since she sees us so malnourished according to her standards. One of the lads working at at the bakery gives us some sausage rolls to lire the Water Snake, and as a tip Sonny gives him a silver piece. To kill some time we decide to head to the sheriff, but we spot the elves looking for Dae & his sister and decide to bolt before they see us, rerouting towards the bathhouse, only to be informed along the way, that the Dwarves that are looking for us are at Ruby's Forge currently, Sonny decides to dance with the shadows to find out more about the Dwarves and their motives at the forge, but can only make out "....west.....trade...." from their conversation. He sees them wearing half plates, which usually means they are out to kill somewhere, or that there is violence to be expected, but inside of the forge at least, they are acting respectful. Sonny is not spotted by the Dwarves, but a figure standing in the fire of the forge beckons him but the heat is too strong for Sonny to get closer. While we are keeping a low profile and awaiting Sonny's return, Ruby is approached in the street and is informed that the Baron wants to speak with her, and soon. Ruby goes there, and the rest of the Quirky Bunch decide to follow. We are intercepted by Caspar, the Baron's son. He is roughly 10 years our elder, and Ruby detects he is not the brightest of stars. He informs us that his father has been asking questions about her merry group of friends, and inquiring about our involvements with robberies. It seems someone is spreading rumors that our crew is involved with the robbery of thousand pieces. And the request to see us, has been put not only due to that, but also to comply with the court of elves demand. Casper is fast to let us know, that his interception is to avoid us showing up, leaving it to be read between the lines how much of this was his idea, and how much was his father's instruction. With newfound awareness of how many eyes are out looking for us, we decide to skip the village and head northeast, towards puppy town. Where Sonny attempts to DA the name of some species, to find out they are Ork-man, and where Edwin proceeds to show us a bit of how they train their beasts. While waiting there and keeping an eye out towards the forest where the Celestials dwell, we spot the people of influence from the village heading there, probably holding a special meeting to discuss the current affairs storming the village. But...we don't only see the people of influence headed there...we see the elves that are looking for us skulking to spy on the meeting and the mistresses. We discuss a bit of the power dynamics of the town and how the real power is in the had of all the Mistresses. Gugnir's Hope is led by them. We have a supper that still moves, it's a dark substance, which the courageous eater, was rewarded with 4 points of fatigue restoration for their bravery. Midnight comes, and we must go to meet Lulu, so we ask Edwin's mistress for assistance, and she startles the elves off, so we can proceed with a better chance of being unnoticed. Se gives us a contraption, a pink stone, that Dae's mother actually crafts, it's meant to stop elves, you put it in the ground and there is a high likelihood of them not being able to pass through them. We make our way to the forest, from which we see a purplish light emanating from it. As we get closer and deeper into it, we see a line of people, about a dozen or so there, primarily three of the Celestials, three of the Wiccans, and 3 of the blacksmiths. We are to head out to Blue grass, or so Lulu state. Once in Blue Grass we will enter another realm through the ponds where we will take upon further training to prepare us, while also keeping out of sight of the elves that are on the look for us, away from Gugnir's Hope's area. We are offered to take the endeavor of flying to Seagate to get Helena, the water mage to come back, but due to the elven peril, traveling to Blue Grass directly, takes precedence. We are given Strenght of Stone, and a blend of celestial magics, we are provided each with a torch, whose light shall only be seen by their holder. We head west, on foot, towards Blue Grass, upon arrival, we see the place covered by a blue lavander colour, a town made of stone round houses, with blue thatched roofs. In contrast to our town, this place is remarkably quiet. Arriving at the pond, swimming magic is cast on us, there is a woman with reptilian features, and something that looks almost like gills, she is always restless, moving her feet, never still. "On the pool, swim around three times, alongside the current that goes clockwise, once you do the third loop, you can come up outside again" she says to all of us, and while staring at Sonny she says to him that he should dig in the beaches at dawn. Once we hop on the pond, we almost lost Sonny, but luckily Ruby comes to his aid, and we surface on warm water, on a beach, where the climate is also warm, we hear the surf of the waves, and see a building in the distance and head there. We find Thorny's Mistress there, she is carving extra rooms. We are warned that terrible people live above the cliffs, and that we should avoid making big smoke, like explosions and such. At dawn, Sonny goes down to the beach digging for treasure, he sees a lot of shipwrecks along the beach with the low tide. This has been the first night that Ruby has slept with no nightmares recently, which is was a propitious omen for our following half a dozen weeks of training we were about to undertake.

"Of Sylphs and Dryads, take heed; their allure hides treachery under the canopy"

The sigificance of nutrition.

Our training is guided by our Mistresses, and a small mutant dwarf for Dae as his instructor (peculiar one, when darkness falls, she transforms into stone). After six weeks of training, a strikingly beautiful woman appears. Those more familiar with the urban side of Gugnir's Hope, Ruby and Thorny, recognize her as the Mistress of the Baron. She is known for her elusive nature, often staying in the shadows and maintaining a low profile. We are introduced to Lady Niccola by our Mistresses, who will guide us through a Greater Enchantment for each of us(Rank 14). We have the option to focus on two areas of our choice, one area for a longer duration (two seasons), or three areas over a shorter period (four weeks). Johann opts to enhance his combat, resistance, and spell aptitudes. While Sonny will work on his physical aptitudes (Stats), resistance, and spell aptitudes. Ruby will enhance her combat, resistances, and spells aptitude. Thorny will also delve into resistance and spells aptitude. And Dae only focuses on his spells. Before departing from us, Lady Niccola explains to us, that currently, at night, our spell success chances increase about a tenth (105), while during the day, it’s about a twentieth (5%). At the end of our training, around twenty witches perform a 'Blessing of the Child.' Surprisingly, this blessing even affects Sonny and Dae, who consider themselves the most mature of the group. Dae is disheartened to hear that he still has maybe fifty years to go before he truly grows up. As a result of the blessing, everyone receives a total of 22 points in Wicca to use as a bonus to enhance their chances of success in future endeavors. We are given a task, to follow a lead to the Plane of Earth. Several individuals plan to send some skallywags to take items there for recharging. This area is reasonably populated at this time of year. We are to discover the best way to sneak in and investigate the individuals fencing goods there. There’s a young couple, Mr. and Mrs. Joshua, accompanied by a mysterious third individual. They are set to meet a contact to unload their ill-gotten gains. The Rambling Man, well-versed in earth magic, appears to be leading them. We suspect they have contracted this group for assistance, and we believe he possesses one of the Rain Staffs we are searching for. Legend has it that he was once a doppelganger of a powerful mage who had a horn on his face. The Joshuas are traveling through the Fastness and enter the Plane of Earth via caves near the Green Water Goblins. Our mistresses know of another tunnel that leads to this plane, requiring a 24-hour walk to reach them. The witches provide us with two potions to be used within the week. One potion reduces our endurance but restores twice that amount of fatigue (13 + D), while the other heals all of our endurance.They escort us back to Bluegrass, where we encounter Katarine (or Katrine), the water mage, returning from Seagate. She helps with the turnips and gives each of us a turnip. While traveling on our cats, still through a high mana zone in the Fastness, Sonny’s feline warns him of something ahead, which he suspects is a tailed spider. As Sonny steps on his cat's tail, the creatures notice us—hybrid scorpion-hobbit creatures. In a panic, Sonny trips (00) and gets his foot (and Thorny’s cat’s paw) stuck in a trap, taking 6 damage. His cat darts past us, meowing in distress. We prepare for battle, unwilling to abandon our unlucky friends, as the code of the Goof Troop dictates. From another direction, we hear more creatures approaching, joining the Scorbbits. Ruby panics and flees the battlefield, while her cat unexpectedly goes berserk against the skeletons. Thorny’s cat faints, and although Thorny stands his ground, yet he hesitates to engage. I’m unsure what happened to Johan's cat, but Johann prepares a thorn wall as Sonny tries to free himself and Thorny attempts to rescue his cat. Dae makes a futile attempt at a mind attack on the skeletons, panic supersedes reason. For our relief, one of the Scorbbits/Hobbpions charges toward the skeletons. Three of the skeletons attack Ruby’s cat, and one moves toward Sonny. Another skeleton chases Ruby, and yet another advances slowly toward Sonny or Thorny. Sonny smashes the left arm of the skeleton that confronted him. One of the Scorbbits tries to strike Thorny, but he skillfully dodges. And the last one attacks Johann with its glaive with a very humble degree of success. Once we get our bearings, we manage to flow through the combat. We realize that among our assailants is an empty armored shell, a mechanical dwarf wielding the glaive, a reminder of the dangers that lurk in the shadows. We detect a shivering in the timbers around us. The Scorbbitt that fled has taken Ruby’s cat, rubbing it against the trees in an attempt to lure us into a trap, likely up the rocky hill between two raised areas with a gully in between. “We cann all be friends, you know!... Things don't have to get nasty!” shouts Sonny. Dae senses the source of the wind drawing closer and warns the group. “Throw me a magic sword, and I’ll throw you a kitten!” Shouts the Hobbpion, realizing our only magic sword is a loan, we try and manage to convince him to retrieve the defenseless cat from the gully, which is clearly not a trap, without anything to trade, but his own safety. The wind rustles through the trees as we approach. Going back to rummage to the chaos and loot of the previous battle, we notice that the scorbbit that fell due to Ruby's strike according to the catnapper, has woken up and fled. As we carry on, we notice that the wind subsides as Ruby's voice grows louder...from the shadows, a sylph man and woman emerge—fae creatures adorned in forest canopies, with vines wrapping discreetly around them. They greet us in Common from about thirty feet away and mention that rangers are searching for the elf, Dae. They inform us that the creatures we fought earlier come from the crypt, part of different groups. They lead us to a clearing in the woods, asking us for stories along the way. Dae recalls the route well enough to find our way back later. They offer us some stroggon(?) to eat while sharing information about Dae's uncle and how the elves have taken his sister. A powerful necromancer is heading toward our original path, intent on raising the fallen dwarven spirits. They offer to guide us to where the clay pigeons fall from the sky. Dae notices he has lost a few pounds since arriving with the sylphs. The rest of the party observes Dae flickering and flashing. After a mind check, Sonny realizes Dae is resisting the effects of the dryads. Dae also notices green growths appearing on the rest of us, indicating we are slowly turning green. Despite a failed mind speech check, to attempt to warn the group without alerting the Fae, Dae feels unwell while the others wake up refreshed. He negotiates with the sylphs for the release of his companions, they say he can come back for them, once they have harvested all the salt they need. On a fit of desperation, Dae offers them the salt obtained from the Beaver hermit, from his lake crystal, in exchange for their freedom. We spend three or four days in the forest, waiting for the dryads’ magic to subside from the party members—except for Dae, whom looks haggard, due to having a bad time waiting for the rest of the Foolish Fellowship to normalize. During this time Dae learns some basic Sylph/Sylphine language since his only interaction were the Sylph. (don't remember rank, so rank 0 it is). To make up for lost time, we press the march, forward while we hunt and forage for food, as our rations have been depleted by the cats during their struggle against the sylph curse, but hey, at least those chubby kittens ahve the nourishment to ride the path, and Thorny's cat has had time to heal his paw while resting & waiting. As we travel southward, we spot a group of people about a mile away. The trees are lush and green; spring has evidently reached this place. We’re all quite hungry from the exertion, with sore backs from riding. Using our fireless cookware, we prepare a meal while observing the distant group setting up a fire and a banner. Suddenly, we notice goblins (not green) preparing to attack this group. We discuss whether to warn them or intervene as heroes. Unbeknownst to us, Johan's keen Wiccan eyes catch a glimmer of light up in the sky.

"Of Perilous Skies & Unheeded Advice; the Crimson Descent "

A series of reasonable decisions and their consequences

The crew found themselves lurking in the tall grass, nestled between the river and a not so distant hill. The grass bearing the markings of recent grazing, likely from a herd of hundreds of creatures. Edwin quickly sketches a map of our surroundings to alert the travelers about the group of Goblins approaching, Ruby, ever observant, notes a commanding figure among the gobs, possibly their leader, a military scientist. Edwin commands his bat "Deliver this message, and return if they reply", and sends the bat off with the map. Suddenly, Sonny's companion, the little creature of darkness, emerges from his backpack, dragging along his unconscious cat. While checking this, he also notices some leaves falling from himself, and tries to Detect Arcana on himself, which results in "For the next three months, you are not a tree". Johann , focused on the goblin group, notices big figures among them, "there might be more than just goblins there". Being roughly at one mile from both groups ourselves, and those groups a wee short of a mile apart. wee see that from the hilltop, another group has gathered. Edwin leads us safely towards them, a journey that will take about two hours. As we approach, Thorny grants everyone the Strength of Stone (Rank 10), with an extended duration for Johann , Sony, and Dae. Dae Links the party with Mind Speech (rank 4) and Force Shield on himself. We stumble upon some ancient Runic writing, which Thorny examines. He interprets it as a grand invitation from noble figures, beckoning adventurers to share in food and fellowship before a great battle. Reaching the hilltop, we find wooden structures shrouded in an eerie silence. A faint yellow glow emanating from the center, which Edwin Sonny & Dae recognize as a burial ground. Carefully we circle around it, clearly aware of its significance. Thorny, momentarily entranced, approaches towards the glow, but Edwin snaps him back to reality. After we successfully and uneventfully descend from the hill, we make our way to the camp, an elf appears from the trees, inviting us to join their gathering. He is adorned with three bows, and half a dozen of variety trinkets. We warn him about the approaching group. Once we are seen by the rest of his companions, a couple amongst their midst, gives knowing glances to each other. From deep bellow, a pit clearly of magical origin, a glowing fire crackles. Stone steps lead down to it, where the sizzling of an unfamiliar six-legged creature—a strange land-mule hybrid—fills the air. Thorny and Sonny examine it without hesitation. “The Green Water Goblins have warned us of your arrival and your intent to assist,” the elf explains. They’ve been in heated discussion for hours, concerned about the Goblins’ advance toward the cliff where they perform hand rituals. This area is heavily infested with Goblins, and they aim to enhance their weapons and other items."We know we can enchant some items, lowering the requirements to use them" We share what we know about the goblin paste and Sonny warns them of the dark creatures lurking above the cliffs. The elf proposes we either fight or flee from the Goblins. Edwin earns the elf’s respect for his skills with animals, having himself once saved a small earth creature the size of a badger. Ruby learns that fire creatures are linked to the black tower, dealing with both the living and the undead. We inquire about the burial ground, which they believe belongs to the dwarves and hints at an unnatural union. Sonny asks about the halfling-scorpion hybrids (Scorbbits), learning they are known as Kast’on, beings that live, die, and are then added to other creatures. They hail from the south or the Lunar states. We discuss the wonders of Seagate, a place known for its wealth and guilds. While for them Seagate is a place that steals people's money, and needlessly form guilds. “You’re a creature of fire; have you been involved with these guilds? Do you like it?” They ask Ruby. Meanwhile Johann & Sonny contemplate and discuss flying to the Green Goblin Village to acquire more of their paste. Finally deciding to pursue this route. While in flight, they suddenly feel a chilling wind and lose sight of the ground. Johann decides to descend, but a griffon swoops down, snatching him from his blanket. Sonny attempts to grab Johanns but fails, plummeting himself as Johanns struggles against the griffon’s grasp. Sonny summons his shadow wings and veers in distress towards the sound of metal being crushed. Leading him to fly into a patch of unnatural darkness, in the already dark night sky. The griffon, clenching Johann tightly, dives towards the ground. Sonny follows, crashing into something unseen in the darkness. Johann manages to grasp an object that falls beside him. As Sonny tries to fly away, sufferint some bone dislocation due to the heavy wight pulling him down (too much cheese) he loses control and they both fall from the shadowy depths. Sonny somewhat stabilizes as he nears the treetops, realizing Johann is holding onto his ankle. He braces for a landing, softening his fall by landing on Johan. As they momentarily believe they’re safe, a goblin arrow strikes Sonny, sending him plummeting. In a swift motion, he pulls out a potion and manages to land in a way that allows him to drink it. More arrows thud into the trees around them, prompting Johann to conjure a wall of thorns for protection. He lifts Sonny and dashes away. As they race down the hill through the woods, Johann hears a familiar wailing and decides to alter their course. The group of six campers, including the couple and the elf, have a few scouts nearby. Edwin senses a large number of goblins lurking across the countryside. Johann carries Sonny toward a foul smell detected by the bat, guessing it must lead to the Green Water Goblin Village. Sonny spots about twenty goblins up ahead. Emerging from the trees, they see four main goblin groups crouching near the lake, while to their left, an ogre rides a rhinoceros, conversing with other ogres and orcs. Johann notes that many goblins appear weak, despite wielding hardened spears. They take flight, diving toward the village as rustling from the sky alerts them to their pursuers once more. Upon reaching the village, they warn of the massive goblin force nearby, along with the griffon. The monks exclaim, “Oh no, that’s really bad,” upon seeing Sonny, and offer to regenerate him. Though they cannot heal his leg, they suggest taking him to the cliff ritual for assistance. The Goblin Paste is effective at the underwater temple, the crypt to the north, and beneath the bladed trees atop the cliffs (the Copper Willow). Each Sonny and Johann receive nine pastes, and the villagers humorously suggest they cover themselves in literal magic excrement. They send Edwin's bat back with a redacted account of recent events: “Attacked by a flying magical griffon & tens of goblins. Hundreds are poised to assault the village. Sonny is heavily injured.” The travelers offer them some paste to aid their efforts. Edwin inquires about sacrificing an eye for a quiver, while Ruby considers tossing a foot in exchange for chainmail. Dae, in a desperate act for his armor, starts bleeding out despite everyone’s attempts, warnings, and pleads to stop him. "They know nothing, they just haven't tried, I'm sure that if I stop at the right time, nothing can go wrong, I will prove them wrong...this armor is going to be the stuff of legends" Dae thinks to himself. Thorny, Edwin, and Ruby hear distant thunder rumbling in the skies. Thorny listens closely, feeling the presence of his ancestors. Dae’s eyes glow faintly, and he senses the energies around him, alarming his companions, both new and old. “130 orcs and goblins are approaching!” he announces. The travelers suggest retreating to a nearby farmland to camp for safety. The Elf, warns Ruby in private, that in three moons, Dae will face a grim fate, transforming into a dark creature of depravity. They advise her to abandon her companion to avoid this doom. “We’re going to find a man on the Plane of Earth who can recharge items. There’s also a sect of vampire elves that might reverse Dae’s foolishness—if you wish to seek their mercy,” He adds. Edwin sends a message inquiring about Sonny’s condition, while Johann begins to reply but stops, realizing the bat is too tired to deliver it. The Green Water Goblins gather and produce a large pile, offering Sonny and Johann earplugs and nose plugs to endure the pungent magic. They dive into the heap and then take to the skies toward their comrades. A few creatures fly toward them but quickly veer off at the foul scent. Below, they see a waterfall leaking red. The noxious odor assaults their senses, overwhelming them as they continue their journey.

"Of Grounded Safety & Distant Traders; The Hammering of a Deal"

Plane of Earth and new business opportunities

The party is being compelled by the warnings from the Elf, to venture towards the Earth Plane before Dawn, for terrible things are foretold to happen to their in-house elf, Dae. And Thus, in agreement, the party leaders, Ruby & Sonny, decide to direct us there. Albeit the Squad of Mates are concerned for their friend Dae, they are no longer concerned by the state of their cats, for Edwin has made sure to check on them and assist them on their recovery after the tense journey. We asked the Elf about how they return from the plane of earth, and they mentioned that by going to the plane of fire, and that they know plenty of ways to get to the plane of fire. After gathering their belongings, both the merchant travelers, and the Goof Troop set on their way, being lead for four hours by the three rangers, northward through a valley, where a thick forest looms on the side, and other that the soft patter of the rain that begins to break, there rest of the sounds fade to an eerie silence, broken only by distant noises across the valley. Eventually the terrain shifts to shorter grasses and wetlands as we approach the river, passing by two burnt-out camps, remnants of goblin encampments, who seem to be also venturing with larger creatures. Eventually we reach the tunnel, inside it it's dark and somewhat warm, the river runs deep through it. Johann casts Walking Unseen, enabling the group to proceed undetected. Edwin tracks approximately sixty different sets of footsteps, leading into an 80-foot-wide passage. After over thirty minutes underground, the party finds dry riverbed canals, worn by time. At about 120 feet ahead, Dae spots the corpse of a giant creature, with a huge elephant like feet, its rib-cage torn apart, meanwhile Sonny glances at his backpack, where his cat sleeps peacefully, plump and content. Murmurs in Common—human and hobbit voices—echo from deeper in the tunnel. The travelers communicate using a rudimentary sign language. A few shadowy figures approach Sonny, revealing that the creature's remains will be repurposed into an unnatural war machine, of six arms. These creatures speak of their master being from the "holy land", a land being scorched by terrible foes. Sonny DA's the corpse of the creature and identifies it as a “Giant Earthworm” despite its legs and ribs. Sonny uses divination to identify the other side of two potential exits: one leading to “bubbling pools of despair” and another to an “endless sky of clouds”, we carry on until we reach the exit that the rangers are leading us to. The eerie moonlight casts long shadows in the rocky canyon, obscured by diffused clouds above. A strange plant descends from the canyon above, seemingly torn apart by unseen forces. The Elf warns that flying or falling may lead to vanishing. It takes the party two hours to ascend, with strange sounds echoing from the rock faces, retreating further into the shadows.br> Upon reaching the top, the party finds a sprawling landscape of hills and forests shrouded in deep, boiling mists. We make camp in an unnatural cave, made by our traveling companions, who seal it behind us for safety. The Elf casts Armor of Earth (rank 12) on everyone, cautioning about an imminent meeting with dangerous stone men who may wish to trade or gather information about them.Warnings echo of the risks of mentioning Seagate Guild; the farther they are from this place, the safer they will be. The Elf reveals that he, Dae, will lose strength each dawn and fears his family will disinherit him. He hints that the Elfheim might have been searching for him to stop this from having happened.If he turns to stone at dawn, he might delay his fate—but if he dies in the Fastness, he will remain trapped, and his friends will need to rescue him, he also mentions that Dae staying in the Earth plane might delay his ill fate. Dae refutes this as nonesense, that Elfheim was just trying to stop him from being, and I quote "awesome", "the stuff of legends". The Elf emphasizes that mere Earth Armor won’t disguise them, detailing its protections, and proceeds to warn us about the dangerous traders we are meeting, and about the stone men leading these camps, they are long and lanky creatures. "They might want to get your, or sell information about you...or neither. They might take you as hostages if they find out you're part of the Seagate's Adventurer's Guild". During the night, Dae studies his companions, experimenting with limited precognition and documenting the effects of their mana points for each of them, abusing his disproportionate current magical aptitude, and casting Limited precognition for "Control Person on my friend, through these mana points" to see how feeble their resistances are and point them out for them, he makes sketches of their anatomy for mana points and hands each one of them, at the bottom it the reminder "Do not lose this, and show it only to someone you trust, fix it". Morning comes, and the traveling traders brings out strange rock melons and offer us some. Ruby casts Fire Armor & Fireproofing(?) on us just in case. The light is consistent and constant, with the rare occasional shadow. The party travels towards what appears to be west, until we reach a stone post, tall, hazardous, surrounding it, are many stones and rocks marked with scribblings in different languages. We follow the directions given on one of these, the traveling merchants tell us "They are traveling south of us for the next few days". Not too long after, reaching a damp area where an ogre appears, speaking in a guttural tongue, asking why they seek their master.. The party replies they are there to trade and seek good fortune. They approach a deep ravine (from 400 to 800 feet wide depending on the part) with several tents (about half a dozen) on one side of it, and fresh smoke in the air. A large sled made of wood or stone sits idle nearby, with gaunt humans speaking a troll-like language. They inform us on that troll-like launguage that this is their camp, and to not offend them. They ask us if we're from Alussia, and "if you're going to brawl, no weapons please" While we are waiting for the traders that came with us to do their deals, the camp introduces us to three middle-aged women in red dresses, claiming to be from Alussia, the one speaking to us presents herself as Jasmine. They are part of a coven of mind mages in the new world. They offer to lift Dae's curse and provide a branch from a silver twig to aid in locating them in the new world "If you come to the elvish isles and use these branches with an enchanter, you can find us". Each party member receives a piece of said twig. We also learn they observe the high holidays (all) in the five sisters.The healing of Dae is offered for a price based on his weight in silver and provide Sonny with free assistance, using transmutation to fix his leg, though his knee remains injured. These women present paper dolls (4) that can activate item enchantments for you. and protect against lethal damage while riding. They also mention that the haunted houses can help detect hidden creatures and traps, and they can take lethal damage in the place of our mounts (in case of dogs or cats at least) They offer us some as samples to bring back to Gugnir's Hope, with hope for future trades. The party learns of the trader known as the Rambling Man, who promises to safeguard their interests and has clay jars that can send messages if broken. He informs us that the giant earthworm will last another four to six years, allowing for somewhat stable passage to find him. The Rambling Man beckons us to follow him into a tent, which once we set foot inside, we discovered it's much larger inside than out, "I obtained it from the Bazaar in the Plane of Air" he tells us once he notices our very expected surprise, the tent being about 15 foot on each side from the outside, yet about 45 feet on each side from ...well...inside.. We talk about negotiations, and reach a potential settlemete of 100 cattle per month for 10 All Storage gems of medium quality, we're given a sample of a low quality one, and he states that his medium quality ones, are twice to thrice as good as a low quality one, and that he will be hiring people to protect the cattle, at least on his half of the transport. We're also said that there will be a bonus if the deal is successful on the first three consecutive months. They negotiate for various magical items, Items the party gave where the Empty Goblin Bomb, The Potion of Diamond Skin, and the Enchanted Snake Quiver. ADHD Scribe Note note: Unclear if we traded only for the rain staff, or rain staff and the stack of Flocks.

"Of Dark Tunnels and Doubt; Welcome to the Jungle"

Taking the scenery route

We find our adventurers right after having successfully traded for the Rain Staff. The Rambling Man still offers to buy Thornie to send him to the mines, a place "all Dwarf yearn for and are more than happy to go to", at least according to him. We make a very limited precognition through Dae, of what will happen once we're on the way to the mines. "Thornie will be hassle free down there, but Ruby...she sets a trap which leads to her bleeding...Edwin and his dogs start growling, him starting to change his shape...". We promptly reject, selling Thornie was ridiculous, but, we were considering going as a full party. For some reason, the Rambling Man starts enunciating that Ruby's mom was a great woman. And makes a brief retell of his experience meeting her. The coven (of Mind mages?) promises to send a message through the wind a week from now. The traveling merchants are returning with the rangers, so we take this opportunity to tag alongside again, to the way back to the Alusia. Once we’re back to the cliff where we started on the earth plane, Edwin hears a faraway howling sound from up above the cliff we just descended, it might be coming from up the wall, or in the wall. We reach the stone turtle shaped wall. Once we get into the darkness of the tunnel, reaching Alusia, it gets bitterly cold for Ruby. We hear combat going on further ahead in the tunnel, it goes on for around 10 minutes, it dies a bit down, but Dae can still hear combat going on, the traveling company is tired, we’ve been walking for twenty six straight hours. Edwin sends the bat to check out , he comes back and informs of yummy insects, lots. Sonny sends Terry (his darkness friend) to go check things, but realizes he has not returned since he gifted him something, 10 minutes later he comes back with a handful of gems for him, they look like the ones we were given by the rambling Man to us. He says there are a lot of moving strange walls through the air. He says that his friends left when the goblins came, it was tragic, a tragedy. Sonny asks terry about the movie walls, and Terry replies“What!? There are no moving walls, its a tentacle monster!” After a lot of discussion, we decided to go one of the side exits in the corpse, that lead to a jungle, we feel sponginess under foot, extreme hot humidity, the only comfortable one right now is Ruby. Terry says “those creatures with bones in the nose are coming”. Ruby plummets fast asleep, exhaustion showing the limits of what the party can handle, starting with her. Edwin and Sonny detect some blue creature passing by. Sonny and Thorny go to sleep without a fuss. Johann goes to sleep shortly after. After an Hour Edwin goes to sleep. Dae stays awake until the first person wakes up, which happens to be the earth mage, Daes instantly succumbs to sleep, feeling relieved of someone taking over watch, only to be jolted awake by the earth mage a few moments after, to aid him towards an unnatural cave just created. Mid sleep several members of the party realize they are being dragged by the Earth mage and Dae, since she made an earth chamber after falling a sleep and recovering her fatigue. All of the outside noises go away and Dae believes no one noticed the underground tunnerl and people being drag to the hole to sleep. Terry wakes up Sonny, and asks if someone else speaks like him. Then Changes topic and splashes water on him. ‘What can I give you to make you happy? Do you like food” Sonny asks Terry, “darkness” he answers. “Is it safe here?” Sonny asks “maybe…” Terry answers. Sonny still had his 14 hard boiled eggs that were give to him by his mom. He shares the eggs with the group. Sonny DA’s a random plant to check its plane of origin. Fails 5 times, but on the 6th succeeds, “Alusia”, reassuring us, albeit not knowing where they are, at least we know it's the right plane...right?. Coming out of the earth hole, Dae is really hungry, as when he was starved for 4 days by his mom due to an accident. A prolonged fight with an owl bear, a distant memory, of which, mainly the hunger remains. Sonny hands Dae a piece of silver after noticing some kind of magic between me and the earth mage. The piece of silver starts to bends on each side on Dae's hand. Once back on the other side of the portal, we can sees something between us and the palisade, something is besieging the hill again. The paddies are grown to 10 to 15 foot high. Sonny clasps the magic manacles onto Dae, Dae feels betrayed. The travelers wanted to go to the Green Goblin Village but now we cant, 3 black things are seeing flying in the skies, Johann detects that they all are creatures who seem to be under the effect of shadows wings, but one of them has been subdued by something white and smudgy. About a mile and a half from us. Some of those creatures besieging the village have a strange head are...they seem to be Magi Ogre. Ruby sees her sister, Glory, come out of the forest, waving and approaching, with a half emptied quiver. Terry starts squirming in pain, and divides in two, Sony asks about this new creature's name, he says his name is Ernst. The Elf says he wants nothing to do with being dragged with the Dae disaster that is about to befall. The three flying figures seemed to be the elves looking for Dae. The Couple and the elf seem to take their distance from Dae. We hear a horrible screech from far away, Johans detects a staff 2 thirds of a mile away, towards where we intended to go. Thornie perceives 4 warring parties of goblins in the distance. He knows that due to the sounds of the dead being released and scared We have Strength of Stone of the eleventh rank cast on us One devilry imp and two undead attack us, first aiming for Dae. Thornie Succumbs to the Fear effect and gets frozen(legs wont move), Johann follows suit. We defeat the undead, the demon imp goes poof into embers, and the Ogre Magi end up retreating cowardly or strategically, once the Imp was gone. Sonny is still fears Dae and wants a promise of not being murdered The elf and the earth mage are still afraid of Dae. There a about 20 goblins between us and the wall, and they are shooting at the wall. We feel a Ogre Magi behind us about 75 feet. And there is an orc to the other side There is a green line of where the foliage stops between us and the village

"Of a Friendly Village & Unfriendly Relatives, The siege on the Green Goblins"

Don't hit the Goblin!

Hidden by the cover or night in the paddies in front of the Green Goblin Village, the adventurers are assailed by the pungent scent of battle and burnt flesh. In dire need of a plan, for both assisting their friends and getting inside the village, they discuss, longer than they should, but as long as they must. An attempt to form a mind-speech with Sonny and the Green Goblins yielded uncertain results, a language barrier was on our way, yet we press on. After much deliberation, they settled on a strategy, through the use of mana, Sonny and Johann will conjure walls of Light and Thorns, followed by a Dazzling distraction courtesy of Ruby, Dae will attempt to control one enemy, whilst Edwin will set his hounds on the goblins, and the rest will be ready for support for contingencies. As the Light wall shimmers into existence, a wave of relief washes over them; the Thorns wall, however, fails to get that nutritious boost from mana, and doesn't initially come to be, helping them keep their morale grounded. Ruby’s Dazzle is a resounding success, momentarily disorienting our foes. In a swift maneuver, we gain control of an ogre, and Edwin delivers a decisive blow, sending it crashing down with a torrent arrows. Albeit Sadly, it was the same Ogre that was controlled. The hounds, directed by the BeastMaster Edwin, charge into the fray, pairing off against the goblins. One goblin falls under the brave teeth of the dogs, while another lies severely wounded. In a moment of sheer panic, a goblin charges through Sonny's Light wall, with hopes to escape this chaotic scene unfolding near him...but only to meet its end, by the enlightened judgment of the wall. Seeing this, the goblins on the other side of the wall start taking their distance from it, for their companions demise, was enough of a warning for even the most feeble of minds. Seeing this chaotic scene, the Green Goblins on the walls of the village, shoot down arrows to the already felled Ogre, was it hatred? was it fear? Or was the Ogre not dead? No time to dabble on these questions. Advancing further towards the palisade, another Light wall rises, as well as the first Thorn wall, successfully creating a hallway to safeguard them from the perilous assailants. Our control of yet another orc proves fruitful as it slays a goblin next to it, causing another nearby goblins to scatter in fear, for the sight of their comrade's brutal end alongside the betrayal, has instilled terror, and it retreats towards the paddies into the night. Just after a couple of heartbeats since their plan started, Ruby self-isolated on one of the sides, engaging a massive orc, only to end up receiving a heavy blow, stunning her in place. Luckily, Thornie valiantly comes through, assisting her with a potion, for if she kept stunned, what would go down would bring down their morale forevermore. The half-foots perception yet again prove to be keen, for Sonny perceives the goblins tinkering with spherical devices, their intentions troubling. Are these goblin bombs? Their familiarity with them sent a chill down their spines. These fears are realized when they launch an attack, luckily, goblin precision has never been renowned, and their first bombardment fails to hit the mark. The goblin assailants are immediately rewarded by the green goblins via a shower of arrows, dwindling their forces further. As the chaos unfolds, a haunting howl is heard from the darkened woods. hastily beheading the fallen ogre, claiming its three-horned head as a grim trophy, and begin their ascent up the palisade, the adventurers our efforts are met with varied success. Suddenly, a couple of shaman (either large orcs, or just ogres) mounted on wolves, emerges from the paddies where they had once sought refuge. They unleash a volley of unnatural fire arrows upon the adventurers, but Ruby's protective magic mitigates the fire damage. In the ensuing scramble, Ruby struggles to climb the palisade; Edwin heroically tosses his dogs to safety, while Dae attempts to throw Ruby but fails, causing further bruises and annoyance on Ruby. Another round of goblin bombs detonates, causing chaos once more, their aim growing sharper with each throw, yet, not sharp enough....yet. Sonny erects another wall of light to shield the party from behind, giving some respite while trying to climb the palisade and walls. The Green Goblins continue their relentless assault with arrows, striking at the assailants. Then, from the shadows, undead orcs materialize, preying on those yet to scale the palisade, targeting Edwin and Ruby, whom are at the rearguard of those yet to be successful climbers. A fierce melee ensues as both of them join forces against a resilient zombie that has managed to cross Sonny's light wall. Our party finds itself torn between aiding the fight and helping others up the wall. Meanwhile the Shamans throws their own unnatural fire arrows at the party. After a few heartbeats on the melee with the zombies, and two successful bombings from the Goblin bombs (damaging the party, and the walls), the shaman's fire arrows are spent, and they retreat, slinking back into the cover of the paddies. The green Goblins throw jars of a strange, viscous substance to those still struggling on the wall, "break the tongue juice over your heads and you will be able to climb", someone manages to speak in common. Finally making it inside the village, and Sonny and Johann are requested to assist with their defenses, for the disruption of thorn and light walls seemed effective both in damage, and cutting contact between enemy groups. A Rock Orc, with eyes glowing red, as steadfast embers, is seen by Dae, running through the battlefield towards Ruby. Ruby sees this Orc passing through walls until reaching her and attempts to fell her. She screams"I am being attacked by a spectral thing". Dae, in a flash of instinct, dashes from the walls, but Sonny misreads the urgency, a misreading which was aided by seeing blood eyes in Dae, believing Dae is intent on harming Ruby. Considering Ruby's words, and his teachings, Dae tries a counterspell on the area where Ruby is fighting, and its successful. After the perils inside the village are dealt with, but the outside assault still somewhat alive, but succesfully detracted, they bring the party to their shamans, whom murmurs reassurances, claiming Dae is merely in a transitional phase. Then the elf that has been traveling with the merchants speaks to the shamans in a dark tongue. The shamans become surprised, and get on a slight defensive posture. They warn that as long as he resists temptation, his journey across the continent is inevitable. The Daegun, seekers of elven artifacts, may soon cross paths with him, if he chooses to. Or he may join a circle of mages. But regardless of how this transition continues, he will be falling away from their company unless this is stopped. There are words spoken, about Dae's forefathers, one of his grandparents, about 25000 years ago. A Dark aligned elf with death aspect.

"Of Cold Skin & Voyages through Darkness, a path towards Trials or Tribulations"

Elves in the Dark

The Green Goblin Village is quiet now, or at least as quiet as you’d expect after successfully thwarting a siege. The priests promise to take us to the High Priest, as soon as they deal with the wounded, which we do our best to help tending to as well, especially Dae. Ruby shares a potion with Johann and Edwin to alleviate the drain they had suffered from the battle. Meanwhile, Sonny assists setting up further starlight walls. After midnight, once the priests have enough leeway to assist us in the name of the friendship that the adventurers have established by coming to their aid in their times of need, one of the priests leads them, and says “Since you have a shadow aligned caster with you, we should travel with Shadow Form cast upon us. Also, you should be prepared to present a sacrifice of value to you.” When Sonny casts Shadow Form, a dark creature wiggle between the sole of his boot and his heel, Ruby & Johan’s quick observation of the spell misfiring are quick to strike it down, leaving nothing but a splatter. Ruby’s sister, Glory, offers to accompany through the portal, but they refuse. She offers to stay behind and watch over the elf and the couple. The priest wakes two more priests, and together they lead us up a hill, toward the heart of the village. There, amidst the shadows, lies a sunken building—a place where the villagers gather for celebrations. We believe the goblins might have built their village on the remains of an ancient dwarven hold. A quarter of an hour latter, they open a dark cold shimmering portal, through which a crisp air seeps through. Ruby casts fire protection on everyone ire protection and Fire armor. Mind speech is cast on the parry, and licorice is offered to the party. They are told this licorice will aid with alleviating harm that might be suffered during combat on the other side of the portal, in the plane they are using as a shortcut. We step through the portal, finding ourselves in a dark, colorless world. The path beneath our feet is rough and uneven, and we are struck by the smell of saltwater—though no water is visible. There is a faint sound of waves crashing in the distance, and for a long while, we walk in silence. The air is crisp cold and biting. Edwin, in the spirit of improving his reaction, requests that someone carry his bow and weapon, for he plans to shape change. Once in his beast form, he distinguishes a strange fungal forest ahead, shrouded in a purple fog. The fog seems to move, and there looking are whispers of tentacles stirring within (or are those coming from where the waves crashed?). The road they travel upon, oddly seems dwarven in origin, the stonework solid and ancient. After half an hour of travel, the priest informs them that they must ascend the hills and likely drive the creatures and robbers that plague the proximity of the portal we are headed to. As they proceed on course, the forest flanks on one side, and the sea stretches out behind. A strange, ominous presence follows them, a tentacle beast, no doubt. They hear a tapping from the hill ahead. Sonny, ever sharp, deduces that it’s likely someone using a cane. The priest grows tense, saying it’s not a wanderer but that tapping indicates that these people are likely in light armor, and some form of weaponry. The tapping grows louder, and the priest urges us to move west, towards the forest, to avoid the beast lurking near the swamp. Then we see them. A group of five towering elves, the largest they’ve have seen in years, likely 7 feet tall. Wearing strange garments with strange apparels, clothes on lower legs, armored on their torsos, walking with staff and swords at their backs. Their faces illuminated by glowing crystal bottles strapped to their waists, that swing as they walk and talk. The last of them pauses, sensing something amiss. They begin speaking in their foreign tongue, likely a form of elvish, but foreign, —something about “hidden treasure” or “lost treasure.” After a tense standoff, they leave, but the adventurers don’t dare go back to the path until their ranger, Edwin, decides it’s safe a brief yet lengthy ten minutes after. A few minutes after retaking the path, Edwin’s dogs catch the scent of something strange on the path ahead. Not long after the adventurers start climbing a hill, At the top they should find the portal according to the priest, “we’re halfway there” he says to Ruby, whom wanted a heads up in case she wanted to prepare some spells. Not long after that, they notice on the path bellow strange glowy circles—likely the elves, though we can’t be sure. Ruby attempts a spell, but it misfires, causing small, fiery porcupine-like creatures to appear. They try to nibble at Dae, but Ruby's fire protections shield him. In a moment of impulse Ruby explodes the creature, sending spikes flying across the party, whom had the fire damage ablated by Ruby’s previously casts spells. Further ahead, we notice an undead, when next to it, an enormous, pale creature erupts from the ground. It towers over us, about 30 feet from the grounds, a creature of ice and cold fury. The ground trembles as it charges, and Sonny moves quickly, dodging its assault. Dae, still eerily nimble, avoids most of the attack, Ruby and Edwin are also fortunate. Everyone dodging just in time, though the force of the creature's charge sends a chill down their spines. Sonny Strikes an undead in front of him with a mighty blow, making a moan of the trampled undead to resonate through that part of the hill. The priest starts the ritual, while we protect him and distract the creature, Dae calls his aggression by taunting and dancing around him. This misplaced self-confidence on then newfound unnatural power is likely to be the bane of his existence. Dae doesn’t completely dodge a blow, and gets Drained off of for points in Endurance, Strength, and Willpower. Sonny, with his boldness, after seeing the Ice creature focus attacks on Dae, attempts to parley with the beast. "There are five elves coming from that direction. Attack them, not us. We are friends." The creature hesitates but doesn’t fully relent. It grabs Sonny, demanding to know where the elves are. Sonny keeps talking, calling the creature the most powerful dark being I’ve seen in my life. This distraction gives us a brief window, allowing most of them to reposition towards where the priest is making the portal ritual . But just as we think we have an advantage, the elves return, having realised that our band had passed by them unnoticed earlier. One of them detonates a bomb that hits Dae and Johan. Dae veers towards the elves, luring the creature towards them, a risky endeavour, which brought further ailments on him, but as they fight, the creature charges through the elven ranks, stomping over them with little regard for anything or anyone. Amidst the chaos, celestial beings—creatures of light—appear, seemingly uninterested in our struggle. "Move along, move along" one of them commands. They demand gold in exchange for safe passage, except for Edwin & his dogs, whose nature allows him a free pass. After paying up, the party is made to know of ogre shamans following in their tail, hunting them, and warning them “do not to come back through whence you came”. The portal opens after the ritual, and they step through. Finding themselves this time, in a strange compound, surrounded by large, Yellow fish with razor-sharp teeth. The water is teeming with life, and lily pads float on its surface, where at times you find green frogs with purple spots. The heat is intense, the sun harsh on our skin and a strange scent fills the air—cinnamon and nutmeg. Sonny smells fresh healing buns with nutmeg and cinnamon on them, while some of the other party members at most discern only the nutmeg and cinnamon in the air. Sonny attempts to detect arcana, "Are we in the Plane of Light?" his answer is a “no”. Tries again but to the ground "What plane is it?" “Alusia” comes the response. We are greeted by three bald women dressed in yellow robes. "Greetings goddess" Sony says to one of the women there. They blush. “Your drentchness looks good on you" they say. The priest with us says something on a foreign language and bows to them, and says everyone should bow except as well Ruby. "Keep your men in check " one of the bald women says to Ruby. "You keep them as entertainment, now I understand" Dae, meanwhile, is in a dire state. A finger of his falls to the ground, smoldering and bubbling as if consumed by the curse of time. “Magic effect” Sonny tries to detect arcana on the fallen finger, “greather curse”, comes as a response. The women take a step back in alarm, but we explain his situation. One of them speaks softly, offering a solution: “if you wish to keep Dae alive, he may drain some of you, but this is only a temporary solution. Although if you do so, your sacrifices are rewarded by the elvish crown due to an unwritten treaty that will make you stronger in mind, by temporary loss in life. Requesting further options, they tell of an elf that came to them for assistance in guidance, although this was hundreds of seasons ago. Sonny detects arcana regarding “goddess that impacts”, his answer is something on the lines of “seasonal, sun god, sun queen, lord of lights”. They offer us food, and Edwin asks if they have something for his dogs, they offer to make the dogs eat the toads, and they actually encourage them to eat as many as they want. (Self-Scribe Note: Consider rewriting bellow) The priestesses in this temple are only interested in talking to Ruby, they inquire her why she travels with us, and she informs that they are a crew, and that the hobbit thinks he is in charge, and that Edwin is kind of new to the group. The buns they ate earlier helped the Draining the party suffered, except for the cursed elf. In addition Ruby and Sonny get an Ablative reinforcement on their armor of 3 points against draining. After informing them that they've come here, under the recommendation here they could get information or guidance on how to help Dae, they deliberate for a while and afterwards come with sticks guarding an elaborate cargo of more sticks, but these sticks have intricate woven and tied knots with strange things hanging off. There are no priests, only priestesses, and the guards are big burly folk who speak in high sneaky voices (eunuchs) "As you see I've done my research, went through or library and I am prepared to discuss what do you want to know and what you already know". "The lands that you have traveled through, are rich on mana and are set to avoid elves to get death, one of the rituals on the are to give elves the opportunity to reshape their destiny, which is one of the ones Dae as embarked on. They made this due to love between elves. This ritual will consume you unless you travel to the west." "These 5 trials will allow you to reshape your destiny.The night sky has significance with these Trials. Puzzles of the mind, hearth flesh, not just fights or might. " "Another option is to look artifacts and throw them from the cliff. Or you could request a blood elf trapped inside a Minotaur maze to remove the curse." The adventurers get more information about these trials Southern lands great desert pyramids, which is guarded by two large creatures, they have to find a way to bypass or make your way past them, these statues sleep when creatures are not around. Once in the pyramids proximity, the group can stay safely for many days, taht is only in regards to Dae, since it will not count against the timer for his tribulations, by the time they can see the pyramids, they will not be of this realm. Further information is given in regards to these statues, having a body of a lion and face of an eagle or hawk or griffon, a creature of the air. wings and terrible talons. And a tail with a rattle on the end that can spark the ground and spawn forth snakes. They have a strong poison, and the antidote is a strong hallucinogenic, makes you have insight on your line of ancestry, and sometimes, brief level of precognition. Once inside the pyramid, you must take a boat to far away from these lands, to the lands of trials, with an enemy to defeat. There is another way, given than they have Ruby, Dae and a hobbit with unreasonable amount of charm, there is a sect, of powerful mind mages that could help. Elfheim is another option, requesting assistance with the Wizard, but any elf that kills Dae currently shall be rewarded, so it'd be a tad bit risky. The Leaders decide to go with the trials. "I can help you with a few things to start with" The priestess says...

"Of Sands & New Companions, Puzzled by the Mongoose."

The things we do for our friends

The first thing the priestess did to help with the upcoming trials, was to take care of the injuries that Sonny had sustained a few days back while saving Johan. Alongside that, she offers to bring us to a couple of members of the elven courts, which currently, are in their jail. While heading to their training quarters, the priest from the Green Goblin Village there, offers assistance when hearing that the adventurers were in dire need to contact Gugnir’s hope regarding the deal with the Cows & the Rambling Man. “In two days, if not earlier, I will be heading back to my Village, I am willing to pass a message to someone if you’d like, perhaps to your sister?” he says referring to Glory, Ruby’s sister. Amongst the many tasks the adventurers recall, is helping Mr Beaver… but the time for that has passed, and they are concerned for him. Another one is informing about the Thompsons & the Rambling man. Also about staffs and hobbits, will they meet the fire hobbits and trade in their Rain Staffs?. There was also a message from the Coven of Mind Mages being sent to them in the coming days. After walking for a few minutes and discussing, we come to the training hall of the temple, where the Elven Court members, Astaria & Frigg are training with the people from the temple. Both of them inform the rest of the adventurers that they actually are there due to having an important message to deliver to Dae, and after completing this task, they will be considered free people of Alusia. The message for Dae is as follows, at least superficially: ”Dear De, based on your family’s great legacy, please return to those that love you”. The message is signed by 12 carefully written & ornate hand messages, stamped and embossed, with a metal sheened coat of arms. Dae starts pondering about the message, trying to read the underlying tone of it. Deep in contemplation. A priestess approaches them and ask “I understand you are the ones going to the trial” . Then leads them to where several big large ponds can be seen, where there are giant lily pads. This is where she has set her camp, she informs them that her mistress has gone ahead to prepare the way. She then proceeds to bring out a box, and rattles it, then handing it to a Dae “This will help you prevent further decay”. He opens it and turns to Stone. After some time, at night, a human woman, in her 50s or 60, approaches them “You are the people traveling to the trials, is it so?” she approaches one of the ponds, taking some of the water from it into the waterskin, which also calls out a mongoose out of the pond. “I do not know what creature might have taken to the desert as of late, but they should be serving under the Djinn” she warns. She puts the mongoose on Dae’s head, and he comes back to normal, well, his new normal at least. Puzzled & slightly scared by the fact that he suddenly has a mongoose on his head Through the time spent on the camp, she informs them of puzzles to get into the doors, and how these puzzles will vary depending on the moon’s phase, and suggest them to, once able to get through a door, to make sure it’s closed behind them. “If confronted by 3 statues of different colors, it will likely be a trial of might” “If you come upon a large pond, there will be a gem at the bottom of it, there is a mysterious creature there, those who have tried delving deep into the pond, have failed to come back” “There are 3 men, young, old, and middle aged, that will usually ask a riddle, the answer varies according to which of these 3 you chose to engage. I understand the middle aged one is the least risky of them. But beware, every time you fail the riddle you lose something. ”If you are successful….beware of the shadows. Once you succeed, stairs should be revealed, leading up, there you will find a sarcophagus, where you must retrieve a book guarded by a mummy… a book of thought ” After all her advice has been given the adventurers request for a set of red gloves, which she lends and requests to handle them with care, and not to forget to return them. ”please take notes of the goings in the trials, so we can use it for reference for those taking it after you” Traveling through the night, with occasional Clouds and Showers, once at place, they have to wait for dawn for the pyramids to reveal themselves, so she lends us again the box, leaves her assistant with them, and lends us the mongoose, so they can petrify Dae, and revert it. Sudden wash of eat comes, and they see miles and miles of sand with occasional patches of ‘something’, as dawn comes, we see a strange building far away rising from between the dunes. Sunny casts shadow wings on the company, while Johann does his carpet trick, and Astaria casts Feather Fall as well. The hallways towards the pyramid seem to be huge, about 80 feet wide and tall. The adventuring party is not overall very skilled at flying, the Feather Fall spell came clutch to save both Astaria and Ruby, who struggled slightly more than the rest in this occasion. After successfully flying into the pyramid, apparently avoiding the surveillance of the statues due to not touching the sands due to the flight, they come across a number of human and hobbit shaped creatures in the shadows, and Astaria notices a small, about 3 feet tall, small tornado, creeping towards the rest of the party. Sonny parleys with the dark creatures, whom request for a hand and a feet to allow an individual to pass. He haggles “What if I bring you fingers from inside”, the creature agrees, and asks for 5 toes once inside, and also says to Sonny “beware of the orc inside, he can cut through mana” Plants grow halfway on the inside, and beyond there are columns leading to some sort of hallway, where they can see some type or ruined vehicle, whose wood has decayed. Edwin, once further inside of the pyramid, asks his dogs if they sense orcs. They affirm, and indicate the direction. Sonny braves ahead alone, for he is hard to notice, after going up half a dozen stairs, he comes into a room where the temperature cools off immediately, and he gets cut off of the mind speech link as soon as he gets into said room. The room is lit by sunlight coming through holes in the ceiling, not holes from decay, but purposefully built as skylights. Once the rest of the party comes in, Astaria feels the air flowing freely in this room, the air feels particularly good here. Meanwhile, Edwins dogs grow restless, feeling that Orcs have been everywhere here. Sonny Detects Arcana on the statues “last magic to impact upon statue” “preservation. Does it on another one “can you animate” “yes”. On another one “What is your trigger”, he gets no discernable answer. At the end of the corridor, on one of the sides, there is a door with a set of runes on them, it seems that the adventurers have found a puzzle. After a few minutes attempting to resolve it, luckily they get it right on the first try, opening the path forwards As the sound of the opening doors reverberated through the pyramid, they heard something coming down from the corridor behind them, so they crossed the opened path, and saw it close behind them, giving a sense of safety regarding what chased them, and unease on what might be further ahead. Once the door completely closed, they focused on what lay ahead, a room with three figures in the distance, further down the hallway. At the sides of the room where they see these figures. There seem to be sitting arrangements, which have now been overtaken by plants growing on them, looking more like hanging gardens than an arena. In the centre, there are 3 large statues, the left one looking like a creature of ice, but clearly made of stone, somewhat resembling the one they fought recently on the shadow plane. The middle one, a hollowed suit of armour, which seems to fit the overall figure of an elf, but 12 feet tall. And the last one, looks like some sort of forest dwelling creature, but with a head like a bird of prey, or an owl,, beaked and with large clawed feet. Three small stacks of stone separated them from the figures, but once the adventurers started passing through them, the left figure started to move. Combat ensued.

"Of Ice & Riddles, The fruits of their labour"

Some would say being in the sand was better

The battle raged on during this trail. After successfully pushing the Ice elemental down into one of the holes in the arena, the giant elven armored suit still was engaged in fierce combat, and the huge chunk of ice dropped by the elemental was still ominously oscillating on the floor. Once we finally managed to bring down the empty armor, from the vibrating ice debris, a piece separates, into a horrifying looking ice creature, with long icicles for fingers, who came out and struck ad the Elf. Immediately and as a preventive measure, Johann & Sunny conjure walls surrounding the third figure, in case of, and for when, it starts to move. As the Ice creature received enough blows to shatter it's structure, it blew into pieces, of not just ice, but a fire-infused type of ice, exploding out towards both Frigg and Dae. Meanwhile, Sonny, always perceptive to the ways of temptations, notices a seductive goblin rummaging through the packs left at the entrance. She freezes when noticing his gaze, vanishing from his view as she does so. As this happens, They notice it coming out of the conjured walls the third statue, which had the figure of an elephant now as it burst out of it's stone form, comes also sporting some grotesque tentacle-like appendages. Despite the heavy damage from the barriers, it charges towards the adventurers with a terrifying force and effect, with Astaria being the first one to fall to the ground. Once it approached to trample all of the adventurers, on a closer look, the tentacles on the creature seem to writhe, like bloated maggot-like slugs, a very weird, disgusting, and confusing sight to behold, especially under such stressful circumstances. After some back and forth, and a few pulses of the Elephant ravaging through the adventurers, his mixture of endurance and adrenaline seem to start to take a toll on it, allowing Dae to briefly control the creature, forcing the parasites to come off of it. Frigg swiftly takes this opportunity to tests their might, by bashing and smashing into one of these slugs with their shield, advising the party on the frailty of these parasitic slugs, as Frigg shakes off corrosive acidic innards of the creature from their shield. Once the creatures are dealt with, the Goblin claps her hands, and of course, Sonny swiftly engages in conversation with her. She reveals that she had placed a silver penny on each of their backpacks, as she had been instructed (?). During this dialogue (where she repeatedly offers to give fertility buffs to the party) the temperature in the room normalizes. The group waits for nightfall, knowing the stairs will only appear then, allowing them to proceed. Three doors are present, though one seems to be already open—perhaps the one the goblin girl snuck through earlier, unnoticed by the others. Suddenly, a vast, shadowy staircase materializes from one of the walls. Astaria recognizes the shadow as something she glimpsed while flying toward the pyramid. Sonny sneaks ahead, discovering two black cats entwined on one side of the hall. They look like house cats, soundly asleep, their bodies pressed together in a tangle of fur. Sonny, through a detect arcana, senses them as ‘living sentient’, and as kind of creature 'spirit guides' perhaps. "In the darkness, goblins always have the power to escape," he hears them whisper. "Walk on this side of the corridor if you wish to survive," they advise, leaping nimbly from tile to tile. After a short time, the cats lead them to a door, blank and unmarked. The cats nudge Sonny, suggesting he makes the rest able to see in the dark. He casts Witch Sight. In front of them, they see a Door with a puzzle. “A spoken word unseals me” “It starts with T” “Halfway between twins, the next character lies” Almost instantly, Frigg murmurs through the mental link, "The word is threshold..." He swiftly explains his reasoning. The party agrees to proceed, and the door creaks open. Warm, humid air floods in. The spirit guides linger behind, asking for a mango, their request odd but insistent. The goblin girl follows the adventuring party through the threshold. Once they crossed, they found themselves outside, the night was thick with the scent of fruit trees—date trees, mangoes, and others swaying in the breeze. The moonlight casts shadows over the area, revealing the group is in an elevated position. The air, coming up on a draft from below, smells of sandy ground ahead, and the distant sounds of nocturnal aquatic creatures seep through the tree gaps. The goblin girl introduces herself as Blunder Foot. And Sonny informs us all that the cats had warned him that a crocodile always tells lies.Blunder foot says that crocodiles swing from three to three on the branches(?). Which adds an eerier note, to the already stressful situation. A bit of Astaria’s left eye wrinkles as she fumbles a feather fall on Ruby. Causing a small tear of frost to form while making a small frosty tear that comes down, and Ruby promptly stomps it out successfully. Ruby usually is used to stomp on wiggling dark creatures for shadow spells going awry, a frosty tear however, that was far from common for her. Dae spots a pit trap as they move toward the pond, making the party narrowly avoid it. The group discovers small animal snares and concludes that someone, likely humanoid, must live nearby. They find a desert fox trapped in one of the snares. The animal startles and disappears into the trees. Reaching the pond’s edge, they notice large skid marks in the sand, suggesting someone had hauled a massive vessel through the area, up and down the pond. At the center of the pond stands a tall tower, a light flickering atop it. Ruby, observing the mango trees, believes they act as ramps for the crocodiles. She decides to climb one of the nearby date palms for a better vantage. Sonny grabs a couple of mangoes, but upon biting into one, he finds an odd seed within. Using his detect arcana, he identifies “What is the seed” as a “Mango of the Great Desert,” A further attempt of detecting arcana reveals “what was the nature of the magic of the seed” “Attraction and farming of dryad magic”. Meanwhile, Johann begins gathering herbs, trying to make sense of their surroundings. The trees appear carefully pruned and maintained by someone, and numerous beehives hang from the top of these trees. Sonny uses his abilities to learn more, and a detect arcana indicates that we are still in Alusia. Johann stumbles upon a small gardening hut, further proof that someone has been living here. Sonny performs an additional detect arcana, to learn more of what he deems an attractive goblin, learning that Blunder foot is a “short-lived sentient desert goblin” and the nature of the last magic impacted upon it, being “transportation”. Blunder Foot reveals that, having passed her tribe’s trial, she is now their chief. She also claims that they now have the right to breed with her people for having assisted her. All of the adventurer’s thoughts veer towards Sunny with this revelation…His fame…precedes him. The adventurers exchange glances, unsure of what lies ahead but aware that they must press forward.

"Of Birds & Satyress, A profane toll for the vane."

Portcullis

The adventurers decide to wait until daylight and set up four watches to rest, Frigg & Sonny first, followed by Dae & Johan, then Astaria & Ruby, and finally, Edwin with his four loyal hounds & Blunder Foot. During the third watch, a snuffling sound is heard, suggesting something medium-sized is lurking nearby. Ruby uses her infra vision, while Astaria lights a torch in case they need to shift from the campsite. They discover four relatively large hogs. Astaria shouts to warn the group, but Frigg and Sonny are too exhausted from the previous battles and events to wake up. When the hogs, which seem to have holes in them, notice the flaming sword in Ruby's hand, they turn and walk away. Johann casts a thorn wall to ensure a safe rest for the night for the group. After returning to sleep, Ruby hears strange paw sounds from outside the thorn wall. During Edwin's watch, his dog alerts him to odd smells, describing them as "bad pig." Once the adventurers rested up, they scavenged for some fruit, and Dae brought a waxy honeycomb as well. On the pond/lake there are about fifty lily pads and a large chorus of frogs in the morning. Sonny found a reed boat. Which appears intact, but without ores, which seem to have drifted away. It measures eight feet long and six feet wide. Dae attempts a limited precognition of what traveling to the tower on the boat would entail. In his visions a large horned cow humanoid, covered in reeds, approaches the boat on its second trip (since the space wouldn’t suffice for the whole group at once). Johann & Ruby found two shovels in the nearby gardening hut, which they consider using as substitutes for missing ores. Once the group starts making their way towards the tower (Sonny, Blunder Foot , Dae, and Frigg with flying with Johan, the rest on the boat), some of them spotted a large humanoid figure walking toward the pond's edge on their end when the figure noticed them, moving closer and closer. The figure wore makeshift garments and slippers, with contractions on its toes. Dae notices a large eye on its face and a turban with a half-dozen humanoid skulls on its chest plate. Astaria notices an unnatural mist rolling down from the hill to the pond. Through the mist, she sees strange broils in the water. When the boat reaches the shoreline, they discover a larger reed boat, bigger than the one they were on. The island is covered in dew and mist, with dense undergrowth and a large tower at its center. The creature,now having arrived on the shore after our adventurers, performs an odd dance, which Dae associates with shamanic rituals—perhaps summoning a hero or a magical warrior, or something unrelated. The tower, made of sandstone, had an arched door and is about 40 feet across. Edwin and the dogs detect a humanoid presence that was recently here, smelling of lavender. Ruby notices that the tower appears larger up close than it did from the shore, and the metal from the portcullis is hot to the touch. Despite the mist, everything remains dry. Sonny detects arcana on the nature of the magic of the mist and discovers it has ‘deception’ magic affecting it. Dae senses danger as two people attempt to lift the portcullis, and Sonny spots rocks above the tower that could fall on anyone trying to raise it. The danger proves real, since only Ed seemed able to successfully remove a chunk of the portcullis, allowing for a small gap to pass through. When Ruby attempts to hold the broken piece, she experiences a strange sensation of the world becoming dimmer, with her vision blurring for a while. Sonny squeezes through to the other side, disappearing from view. When he turns around to see where he came through, he finds a long stone corridor and sees a five-foot-tall woman walking toward him, carrying a large pile of seaweed. He attempts to detect magic on her but fails due to distance. Scared, he tries to retreat. Ed continues to break away more of the portcullis, allowing enough space for the others to pass through with minimal difficulty. Suddenly, a voice, belonging to an authoritative woman, comes from behind them in the mist, greeting the adventurers, and asking the elf to please step away from herself and whoever comes with her. She invites them to talk or hide in the mist. As the group approaches, they find six women in yellow robes, who introduce themselves as servants of the Golden Circle. They warn the party that the last people that left their temple were pursued by an ogre. As a last comment she says “Next time you chose to sleep, take your amulets of protection off, we can come talk to you on your sleep, and discuss with you on your sleep” “we are the servants of the GOLDEN CIRCLE” Two of the six women fade away, and a third, perspiring, also disappears, “I will visit you when it’s dark, good luck” “we can’t see what you see, we’re not really here” . She mentions the presence of creatures like minotaurs, kelpies, or djinns. Sonny detects arcana and their magical nature, the result being “visitation”. Now with the mist gone, four balconies, bent in unnatural ways, reveal themselves at about 90-100 feet away. Astaria casts Feather Fall while Sonny uses Walk Unseen and attempts to climb the tower. Upon reaching the top, he sees layers of curtains and drapes between him and the interior. He spots people dancing in the distance and hears music through the shimmering curtains. He returns and throws down a rope. Inside the tower, the walls are adorned with relief artwork. Dae detects many happy minds, perhaps the musicians. From the balcony, the party sees a large pond surrounded by wild and carefully nurtured trees, with huts on one side. The pond, which looks more like a lake from here, is serene, with mystic wind chimes chiming faintly in the distance. Sonny detects arcana the magical nature of the curtains, confirming they are preserved remnants of living things. Johann passes through about five curtains, but when he looks back, the party is no longer behind him. He returns out of confusion, and from the balcony, he spots smaller balconies further up—about 60 feet above. Sonny climbs higher and notices small holes in the tower's side, likely pigeonholes. He avoids them, but further up, he spots small bones sticking out of the brick, as though the bricks were made from improperly ground bones. Reaching a balcony, he leaps across, only to find the edges are barbed. Inside, the curtains are a deep purple lavender color, and the tower’s doors are intricately designed with wooden frames and glass panels. A stone statue stared at them from above. Below, the cyclops continues to place dream catchers around the area. Birds fly from below and land on the balcony, waiting expectantly. Astaria feeds them and converses with them. “Good you speak to us, like the other interesting girl, a long time ago”. The birds mention “Sheisa”(?) at the top of the tower and refer to her as someone who no longer has friends, only balconies, since her former friends are now balconies. They also confirm that there are many residents in the tower, including a man who still resides there. After much debate with the pigeons, Sonny picks the lock, and Edwin barges in, followed by Dae. Inside, they find a sleeping chamber and a study, with an unusually tall (about 6 feet high) and beautiful satyress working at a bench filled with alchemical instruments. She looks startled but offers the adventurers potions to help them on their journey, mentioning that the gem they seek is at the top of the tower. She explains that the woman at the top was cursed by her stepmother for her vanity, causing terrible markings that drive others mad. The satyress came here for her own trial, which she completed long ago, and now she resides here occasionally for experiments and to assist the cursed woman upstairs. The satyr gives potions to Ruby and Sonny, for they were highly affected by the magics on the portcullis. After drinking them, Sonny becomes hairier and so does Ruby. Ruby regains her normal mana flow. She also lends them a wooden framed mirror to use when interacting with the cursed woman, as she avoids seeing her own reflection. Sonny asks about the woman’s likes, but the satyr refuses to betray the trust she’s built with the lady upstairs. She explains that the woman’s sores give rise to creatures, manifestations of willpower and hate. “Master Cobbler is what people used to call me before I took residency here” she answers when Frigg asks for her name. Before they leave, the satyr casts a lesser enchantment on Frigg and Astaria. Frigg casts Cold Protection rank 4 on the party, and they are given a special lens to help avoid the taints on the floor. The satyress provides directions (Left Right left left right) for navigating the maze, asking the group to promise not to harm the cursed woman. As they make their way through, they encounter ghostly figures and hear the goblin's “up up up” as Ed climbs to retrieve the gem from the pond. He successfully obtains the gem and descends with Feather Fall. The party pulls him to safety, but sinister creatures lurk nearby, keeping their distance. Back on the ground, the satyress is surprised they returned unscathed, telling them stories of treasure hunters who got lost in the maze. When asked for guidance, she mentions a crypt entrance near the planted fruit trees, warning the hobbit to be cautious of a trap on the portcullis. Sonny casts Fly on those who can’t fly, and the group flies toward the orchard. They encounter tall women in plate armor carrying large swords. The hobbit disarms the traps, and they descend into a stairway leading to wooden doors.

"Of Sarcophagi & Sacrilege , the wish of a Tomb Raider"

New totally harmless friend

Edwin, with the help of two others from the party, musters the strength to push open the heavy wooden door. The structure inside is made of well-crafted stone, and the walls and doors are adorned with old lanterns. Edwin continues with his dogs by his side, walking cautiously. Upon lighting the dusty torches inside, they reveal further stairs leading down. To the left and right are staircases, both descending to an oval room with furniture scattered about. An archway with double doors, marked with strange symbols and keyholes, lies ahead. Edwin’s dog halts about a third of the way down the stairs, noticing something unusual. One of the dogs communicated with him, the step had moved, which is why it stopped and just sat on it. Sonny, guided by the hands of fate, deactivates hidden pins under the stairs to avoid triggering a trap. Once in the ground level of the oval room, they notice that the door ahead has scales etched into it. Some of the keyholes look like traps, and once their old torch burns out, they light a new one. Suddenly, the door bursts open to reveal a large courtyard, where the sound of flowing water fills what formerly was just silence. The courtyard is lit by what appears to be sunlight, with sandstone pillars and columns. The space is ornately designed, complete with statues, walkways, and markings. But a foul stench fills the air. “There is a bad smell there, of a terrible creature, cow head and horns” says one of the dogs, retreating behind Edwin. A large humanoid scorpion, carrying a bucket or round object, rounds the corner and freezes when it sees the door open. Alarmed at seeing the adventurers, it turns to flee. Edwin hears the sound of claws scuttling away and decides to track what they assumed was Minotaur’s movements, trying to identify the door it may frequent in the courtyard. Frigg looks up and realizes the courtyard is about 60 feet high. A clanging noise emanates from the direction the scorpion went, followed by the sound of something opening. From behind the pillars, more scorpion-like creatures appeared, armed with spears. One of them looks thoughtful, while another seems startled. They wear strange horse-gear made of plant fibers and strange panels. The thoughtful one starts speaking in a guttural language, and Blunderfoot translates “Your mother dresses you funny. You have strange shapes. You’re weird monsters.” Blunderfoot continues shouting at them, causing some of the creatures to cover their ears in discomfort. Edwin hears the sound of claws scuttling away and decides to track what they assumed was minotaur’s movements, trying to identify the door it may frequent in the courtyard. Frigg looks up and realizes the courtyard is about 60 feet high. A clanging noise emanates from the direction the scorpion went, followed by the sound of something opening. From behind the pillars, more scorpion-like creatures appeared, armed with spears. One of them looks thoughtful, while another seems startled. They wear strange horse-gear made of plant fibers and strange panels. The thoughtful one starts speaking in a guttural language, and Blunderfoot translates “Your mother dresses you funny. You have strange shapes. You’re weird monsters.” Blunderfoot continues shouting at them, causing some of the creatures to cover their ears in discomfort. The doors are marked with pictograms depicting Jackals,a Chimera, a Mummy, a Minotaur emerging from an open door, and finally, a woman holding a bouquet of snakes. Looking back at the door they came through, Edwin notices slots carved into burial grounds, cleverly concealing hidden mechanisms. Next to a mummy’s display, there are mechanisms inside some nearby pots. Astaria attempts to pull the two large round handles, which start to swing open, causing the levers to creak. As the door opens, a foul odor floods through, confirming to Astaria’s keen senses—”this is a crypt”. Sonny, again led by the hand of fate, indicates the correct lever for Ruby to pull, and as the door opens further, blue smoke begins to swirl down from above, slowly solidifying. The adventurers quickly rushed through before the smoke fully materialized. Inside, a large, square throne room, with something atop the throne catching and reflecting the light from the torch, and from outside the door, which suddenly also shut behind them. A desiccated corpse is draped in fine wrappings beside two sets of old armor and weapons. Three pillars support an odd-looking book, and several ornate sarcophagi are scattered throughout the room, which was taller than what it was wide. The three books, chained to the stone pillars, are massive—around 4 feet by 3 feet, and 2 feet thick. They are secured with chains made of gold, silver, and iron, but also held down by old skulls, human hair, reed and wax ropes holding them to these stone pillars. The room’s mana seemed normal. Ruby casted weapon of fire on her sword, flame flickering on Frigg’s weapon to life as well, and lastly, on Johan’s. Four archways rise above them. Seven of the sarcophagi stand upright against the pillars, with two gilded ones significantly more decorated than the rest. Studying back towards the entrance, Dae saw a pictogram depicting a husband and wife wearing foreign garments, holding a book between them. The books exude a faint warmth, which Ruby senses. With the additional light, they realize the sarcophagi are carved directly into the stone, not merely placed against it. Edwin examines the room through the recently obtained gem, and sees a path emerge, which the group decides to follow. As they cautiously proceeded further in they noticed the floor has a metallic glow, resembling a grid. In the gaps between the grid, sand trickles down, falling into strange, shifting shapes. The path, made of cold iron, caused Dae to feel unwell in the presence of it. And the gem fails to work while on the path. Standing with the crystal on Ruby’s shoulder, Dae helps guide Edwin along, placing coins to mark their steps. As Edwin walks 15 feet in, he notices that the coins begin to trail towards the sandier areas. Once the path leads him in front of the throne, the guard to the left tightens his grip on his spear, and Blunderfoot grabs Frigg’s leg as everyone prepares for potential danger. Edwin attempts to grab the book bound by iron chains but feels a sharp pain as blood seeps through his gloves. He struggles to pull it free, but as the guard begins to regain mobility, Ruby casts fire, destroying the mummified remains in a burst of flames. Edwin proceeds further down the path, while Ruby and Dae continue to guide him. Meanwhile, Astaria and Frigg spot something that looks like a spider at first, but on closer inspection, it's a group of dark, beetle-like creatures climbing down toward Edwin. The creatures move whenever Edwin halts. The group realizes there are at least a dozen of these creatures. Edwin sends his bat to grab the red gloves, while he studies the pictograms on the sarcophagi. It looks like an accounting system, possibly scales. They tie two sticks together to help retrieve the gloves, which the bat couldn’t manage on its own. In frustration, Edwin musters his strength, shifts the sarcophagus open, and finds a mummy holding an incredibly square object wrapped in reeds. The mummy is preserved in fine cloth and adorned with beautiful, decorative weapon-like objects. Upon removing the book, the reeds dissolve into dust, revealing a book with an ebony glow to it. The leaves are a strange metallic color, hard to discern in the dim light. The beetle-like creatures moved like cold-blooded killers, colder than the stone itself. On their way back with the book, Edwin triggered a dart trap that heavily injured his knee, causing him to black out from the shock. Frigg and Astaria rushed to help him, while Johann grabbed the book. Johann smolders as he handles the book, but even after setting it down, the heat lingers. Edwin’s injury looked awful, the metal dart which grafted through his feet embedded itself in his knee, reducing his mobility.(Minus to AG and MD), (-1 to Agi and TMR) Astaria removes the dart and notices it begins to wiggle in her hand before she throws it into the sand. Meanwhile, Frigg and Ruby work to extinguish Johan’s fire, which had nearly evaporated his blood. Dae uses a healing cantrip to help fix the gloves which tore when Edwin transformed, while Ruby cleans the book, attempting to restore it to its former glory, or as close to it as her ability allows. Blunderfoot, startled, leaps into Astaria’s arms as she catches the torch. Between Astaria’s herbs and Johan’s healing paste, they manage to stabilize Edwin’s condition. As they inspect the doors, Astaria notices a slightly translucent, fairly-attractive man standing in the shadows. He appears tanned and exudes an air of elegance. He greets them with, “Greetings, adventurers. You have done well.” Astaria introduces the group, and the man explains, “I was once a prince, imprisoned by my evil cousins. They trapped me in the book you found. Since you’ve freed me, I believe I owe you something in return, so what can I do for you lady?” He kneels and produces a flower from thin air. Astaria feels a surge of air magic coursing through her. The group discusses what to request of him, and Ruby uses her gem to confirm the man’s trustworthiness. “There is another trial,” he says, “the Trial through the Mushroom Lands. The gem will guide you on the right path, though it is not always the most obvious one. There are three special mushrooms there that can remove any foul magic. If you wish, I can guide you.” Looking through the gem, the group discovers the hidden exit that the translucent man spoke about, it leads to a cliff, positioned midway between the Green Goblin Village and the Minotaur cave. Still nighttime, they realize they are back in the Fastness. The creature warns them that the cave is guarded by creatures with bat wings—gargoyles. Before descending the cliff, the party receives renewed buffs & Spells: Strength of Stone (+9 endurance) – Blunderfoot Feather Fall – Astaria Shadowform – Sonny Cold Resistance – Frigg Fire Protection – Ruby Mind Speech - Dae After some time, they discover a cave, and as they venture deeper, Astaria casts Vapor Breathing.

"Of Mistrusts & Travel Weariness, The Burden of Help Ungiven "

B&B, Books & Blood

( Information only Sonny knows at the beginning of this part of the story, he learns through a Detect Arcana that the gem they obtained is affected by ‘revelation’ magic, in addition to that, he learns that Ruby is subjected to a charm effect based on the translucent man) Sonny Detects Arcana on the red gloves explains the "nature of the magic on the gloves" and cryptically mentions "virginity." Sonny tells his companions through the Mind Speech “This figure is not what you have initially assumed, and Ruby is charmed by him after gazing into the gem”. Ruby inquires about the name of the man, and he responds, introducing himself as “Quilian” (Quilis?). "This tunnel leads to the mushroom trial" Quilis says. "I will remain here, generally in this area. Hang a ribbon in the cave entrance, and that will let me know you're nearby, everyday around noon I will cast an eye around this place to see if you have been through.” he continues. “I have a friend who could teach you & Dae magic.Her name is Mistress Ebon. You can reach her, but I cannot, for I am from another plane" he adds. “If…or when… you chose to go through the trial, you must reach the center of the caves, where you will find three mushrooms: an ancient one, a young one, and one in its prime. Solve their riddles to proceed.” The cave entrance where the adventurers are currently, is at approximately 200 feet above the river. From here they can see to the west many houses are burnt down, with parts of the walls and palisades being rebuilt on the Green Goblin Village. After gliding down and landing on a bed of tall reeds, they make their way to a main road, struggling through 15 feet of dense vegetation for two hours. After some time, they encounter a woman with a snake-like head, dressed in sandals, long pants, a wide-brimmed hat, leather armor, and a staff. She appears surprised as they stumble upon her. Sonny Detects Arcana to discern her nature "Shiraz" (snake people who live between the planes of shadows and fire), tries again to detect if she is of a particular college “celestial” "Greetings, humans, hobbits, and elves," she says, introducing herself as Shirazza. She reveals that she came to Alussia seeking help for her village, which needs heroes. "I also wish to enslave some... oh, like that one" she points at our goblin friend, Blunderfoot. “We're looking for eggs” Shirazza adds. “A red and a white egg. One belongs to a large creature with scales and long teeth that lives in the river.” She asks Ruby, “Have you encountered any particularly handsome individuals of your race, with a deceptive aura? I ask because there’s a demonic taint about you.” "I see you have dealings with elves of this nature.” She says, making clear the poor taste she has in regards to unique and special elves. “I won’t bother you further. However, if you send him to the plane of Earth, there are many elves there who live off the blood of others." "Are you all right, or do you need rescuing from these people?" she whispers to Sonny. Later, towards the end of the day, they arrive at the edge of Green Goblin Village, where goblins recognize them from afar. A few older goblins approach and greet them more formally, mentioning that they are to be introduced to the new chieftain. Once they get inside the walls, they see that several goblins are still being embalmed. “Many have died” one goblin explains. “We’ve had three war-chiefs this week alone.” “There’s a were-creature out there, seeking revenge on the ogres” another adds. “They tried to fly some orcs, but the chimera swooped down from the sky and dealt with them” a third explains. After discussing the help they need to get back to the temple of the Golden Circle, the group is led to three priests, noticeably older than when they last met them. The priests have always been human, not goblin, which makes their sudden aging even more concerning due to the implications of it. “I need to return to the Sun Temple” one of the priests says, the same priest that took them there last time. After a hot meal, he leads them through the Shadow Plane, using it as a shortcut to the Sun Temple. The priestess at the Sun Temple greets them. “I see you’ve returned, mostly successful” she says. She offers food for the men while the women, Ruby & Blunderfoot, are taken aside to tell her their story. Apparently, dark creatures tried to lead them to a different location between the first and second trial, where many adventurers are tempted to face dangerous creatures guarding treasures. When inquiring about the mushroom trial, since they had been hesitant to believe Quillian “I think that’s the back entrance to the fungal realm” she tells Ruby. Meanwhile, Johann performs a tarot reading on Ruby’s armor “There is a powerful creature on the book of thought that you can pull out, and if you manage to defeat him he will grant you a boon, if you manage to do so, we might use the creature’s blood with Dae the creature to release him from his curse” Ruby asks for help in removing her charm. The priestess offers to assist her in relieving Dae’s burden at dawn. The group prepares, having a hearty breakfast of Lilipads before dawn. Then, Ruby is knocked out and bound with stone-red snakes. Their skin turns ashen, and the snakes drain Ruby until she goes pasty in color and pale. Then they bite Dae, who protests, "I do not consent", which is important in elven society, well, at least according to Dae. Both wake up feeling fine. “I’ll only explain this once” the priestess begins, referring on what they must do to prepare to face the demon from the Book of Thought, but Ruby interrupts, so the priestess adds “I won’t explain” and gets up to leave, and does so. One of the other priestesses provided powerful leeches to drain the creature’s blood once it's debilitated. Remembering the amulet issue under the tower, they remove their amulets and go back to sleep. At dawn, sunlight bathes all of them except Dae, who appears to be evaporating and condensing until he stabilizes (effect of the ritual with Ruby’s blood). After four hours of sleep, they wake up on the shore of an island and feel the need to relieve themselves. They notice a group of around three dozen women, mostly human, hobbit, and elven, wearing red. “It seems you’ve been having issues reaching us” one of the women in red garbs says. After giving them a curated version of the events thus far, she advises them “Watch out for the lycanthropes; they’re not what they seem”. “They’re using blood magic to shapeshift, creating unnatural hybrids.” When inquired about what sort of relationship they have between them, they answer “We're friendly covens similar to ours, such as the Golden Circle Temple you are in currently” she adds. “We have an offer for Dae” says one of the women. “We need someone in his condition. We can use a free elf like him for our coven. An elf free of the reach of Elfheim. He could join our coven for a period of time.” To which Dae doesn’t reply immediately, having conflicting feelings and urges. Turning to Sonny, she offers cryptic advice: “There are a couple of items you could borrow, but if you ask for them, they’ll be denied. However, we can tell you where they are. If you bathe in lavender and adopt a different stride, an old woman who guards them won’t recognize you. She will mistake you for a human priestess. The dagger you seek is in a wooden box under a pile of ash in the heart beneath the stone. It's in a bone box and can harm Dae or any creature from the Book of Thought.” “The other item is a menacing creature that’s been living in the temple. It’s invisible and sheds its skin when cornered. Find it, corner it, wrestle it to the ground, it will shed it’s skin which can be used to create a cloak of invisibility .” She warns, “The creature in the Book of Thought is a dangerous succubus. You could avoid her by putting nettles on your pants to avoid getting trapped. ” Johann offers to make a perfume to repel her as a counter offfer. She also suggests, “You could castrate one of your servants to prevent the succubus’s influence.” “There are two things the succubus desires: either the sacrifice of one of your males or freedom from the book and the pit.”

"Of Blood & Ice, A Gift of Death"

Formerly awesome, still not handsome.

After much deliberation regarding how to approach and plan on getting the blood from the creature locked in the book, they came to the realization that the blood they had been seeking was likely Quilian’s all along. They requested the priest who had guided them to the Sun Temple if he could, albeit with short notice, take them back to the Green Goblin Village, and he confirmed he could take them back since it was still early morning. They safely traveled through the Shadow Plane all the way there. At dawn, Dae was given a vial of a vile, almost liquid substance to drink. On their journey east, while searching for the cave entrance on the cliff, they noticed the goblin camps and defenses had been relaxed. Goblins were either sleeping or intoxicated, grateful for a brief respite from the daily assaults on their settlement. Riding their mounts (cats and dogs), the adventurers made haste in their journey to reach the cave entrance before noon. At the top of the cliff,while searching for a solid support for their descent, they discovered a statue of an angry bull with a movable nose ring, where they tied their rope. Arriving ahead of schedule they tied the ribbon Quilian had given them to the cave entrance, then waited. After some time, a figure appeared moving through the grass, and about ten minutes later, what looked like a male adventurer climbed the cliff. It was Quilian, not being translucent since he had left the temple, and now wearing different gear, it was difficult to recognize him at distance. Ruby bluntly asked him for a vial of his blood, which he gladly obliged. She proceeded to extract the blood with success, she obtained it without issue or harm (rolled 03). Quilian shared that he was interested in conducting mushroom tests with them, as there was a treasure he desired, but anything else could be theirs if they helped him. He also mentioned running into a snake woman who seemed to be seeking slaves from this land. Around 3 p.m., they returned to the Green Goblin Village. After midnight, the priest took them through the Shadowlands once more, reaching the Sun Temple of the Golden Circle. The ritual, which would take about an hour, was to be performed at the top of a cliff where a snowstorm was brewing. Dae would have to be restrained for at least the first ten minutes. They were introduced to a group of fighting monks. The ritual required Dae to be naked, and creatures would emerge from the cursed, poisoned blood in him. Ruby asked for potions to replenish her magical power, to which the priestess responded that they usually had them, but they bathed in them. Blunderfoot, with a grin, said to Sonny, “I’m not interested in cheap heroes, only the real deal.” The priestess handed out spiked sandals for everyone and they had Shadowing spells on them. “Try not to be blown off, and it’s been good knowing all of you.” As the ritual began, five creatures appeared. The adventurers fought to protect the priestess and the monks, while Dae, tied to the altar, cursed his fate. He had begun this journey trying to protect others, yet now he couldn’t even partake in the battle. After about ten minutes, another set of creatures appeared, this time they adventurers were more prepared, surrounded by starlight walls cast by Sonny, making it harder for the group to reach the priestess and disturb the ritual. Some creatures struggled with their movements on the icy surface and the wind, falling off the cliff. One creature attacked the priestess but failed. The wind caused it to lose its footing, and it unexpectedly crashed into Ruby. Dae rushed to help, but just as he assisted, another creature cast a lightning bolt, striking him and stunning him, causing him to fall off the cliff. Sonny leaped after him and found Dae stunned. In the process of rescuing him, they were swept to the outer side of the starlight walls, separating them from the main group. Ruby was also thrown off the cliff, prompting Sonny to make another rescue attempt. After about twenty minutes, with no new threats appearing, four more creatures emerged. Finally, after another nine minutes, a shaman and a terrifying ogre arrived, joined by giant creatures, and a creature of earth with another Ogre creature. Dae made the Ogre who carried bombs, to fall asleep, causing a massive explosion where the ogre stood, since the lit explosive was not thrown, nor disarmed. That created rubble, which threw chaos across the battleground. The ritual concluded successfully, with the priestess proclaiming Dae a mortal. They were flown back down toward the temple, the deal sealed.

"Of Seagate & Blue Grass, Their side of the story and what's to come"

Covering Distance

After returning from the Temple of the Sun, the adventurers traveled all the way to Seagate to do the loot split. Once that was dealt with, they located Kathryn, the cheese enchantress and water mage-in-training to take some time to reconnect with her. She’s noticeably stronger from her recent training and is eager to see her old friends, especially Johann. She shares that some individuals have attempted to abduct her, including a goblin accompanied by three orcs. She also asks if they have any "time nuts" and offers the group healing waters and other potions, all freshly made over the past two days (15 rank 6 Waters of Healing, and 15 rank 10 Waters of Strength). A representative of Vance, the Master of Bats, arrives, stating that Vance wishes to meet with the adventurers and warns them of a dwarf trying to abduct Sonny. They spend the afternoon eating, drinking, and gossiping while observing the many people around, many adorned with amulets. While heading to the tower that night, Sonny spots a ghost far away and uses Detect Arcana, “name of creature” identifying it as a “goat” with the “last magic to impact” being “blessings of the land.” Inside the tower, they find wooden doors leading to uncomfortable stairs. After climbing to the top, they’re greeted by a human woman who invites them in and informs them that their host will see them shortly. She mentions, “You must be Sonny,” and hands him a letter for his mistress. Taking the chance to inquire more about the goings on Seagate, apparently, hobbits from the guild mounted a raid and abducted one of the dwarves, which prompted retaliation against the hobbits. Ruby, growing frustrated with the lengthy conversation, tells them “Shut up and go to sleep.” The group is provided with strange blankets that make a sloshing sound. Sonny uses Detect Arcana on them and learns they have a magical divination effect, with the eastern ones seemingly infected by “plaits of light”. Before departing before dawn the apprentice explains that Erklick is one of the princes from the Shadowlands, and he can return them to the guild for a price (ransom) if they get stuck in the Shadowlands. The adventurers are granted Bat Wings (slow wings) cast by the Lord of Bats and fly towards Gungnir’s Hope, with Edwin carrying a lantern at the front. A wispy figure lures Dae into the forest, and Johann follows. After a while, Sonny and Ruby realize they’ve lost track of them. With some guidance, Dae finds his way back to the group. As they near Gungnir’s Hope, Edwin reminds them to first stop by Bluegrass to deliver news of the plane of earth. Upon arriving in Bluegrass, Castor, in charge of the healing turnips and garlic, mistakes Ruby for one of the dancers of the Black Tower in the Fastness. A young elf woman was also seen looking for Dae, but didn’t leave her name. Johann and Ruby try swimming in a pool to reach the mistresses, but they struggle, injuring themselves with water in their lungs and scuffing rocks on the way. Fortunately, the rest of the group helps guide them to safety. After a while, half a dozen mistresses and masters arrive. One of the mistresses, a witch not affiliated with Johann, leads them down a bright stony path to hear their side of the story, or as she calls it ”misdeeds”. Passing a mechanical contraption, they reach a small hollow with mosaic stones partially laid out. As they recount their story, they mention the Book of Thought and wonder if leaving it behind was due to magic. They note that a tarot reading performed before Dae’s curse was lifted revealed six deals, one of which was not beneficial to them. These deals include: Cattle Run Hobbit Exchange: Make it Rain Dae’s Curse Shroom & Incubus Beaver Town Mind Mages Coven The mistresses and masters request the adventurers resolve the situation with the elves to earn the back support of the elven Rangers. When asked about the Beaver, they explain he is currently working on magic involving salt and pearls and has been offered the guidance of the adventurers to clear his pond of invading necromancers. The adventurers are advised to resolve the elf situation, after which they will be guiding the freed Rangers to help with the cow trade. They are also told that the Rambling Man holds information about traders and powerful individuals controlling the hill. The Mistresses have offered powerful items in need of access to these individuals to recharge these items. Apparently, the group controlling the hill values dancing and holds noble titles. The adventurers are even offered/requested to consider training intensively for twelve weeks to learn how to dance. They are also instructed/suggested to take a pack of cows as a goodwill gesture in their trade with the Rambling man, and trading in for information. Mistress Alice, the missing person, is believed to have been taken by a faction in Elfheim, not Elfheim itself. The group suspects she was taken to the Delf, where mind mages and water mages are being captured to distort readings and mislead others. Likely to Dark elf's ruin in the desert, dark waters to an island, south of the elvish islands. The adventurers are also warned about Argon’s Watch, located west of Masada, at the frontiers of Alussia. As a side comment, it is talked about how the Blacksmith’s Tower is growing in standing. Sonny presents the letter from Vance, the Master of Bats, to the mistresses. To deal with the mushroom cave and the Incubus, they provide the adventurers with green and blue twisting carrying bags, filled with vapor-breathing potions, and scrolls containing nine Feather Falling spells (with a very short duration). They also give each adventurer a turnip to deal with mushrooms and blue garlic, advising them to leave it somewhere safe if they’re heading to the hill where the nobles are. Additionally, they want the adventurers to retrieve Bottles of Courteous Skill from the Rambling Man to help deal with the powerful individuals at the hill, holding sway over magical items. The mistresses also suggest postponing dealings with vampires and the Lich on the hill until the adventurers are strong enough. They offer to train them in swimming and drowning techniques and provide a rite of command for the Rangers once the elf situation is resolved. They provide a scroll of repeating counterspells “Once you start you jump to stop casting counterspells in the fastness” “Maybe if you jump with your feet while having hands on the ground”, else they cast endlessly till fatigue runs out. The adventurers are then informed that Ruby’s mother wishes to speak with them, and the holidays are expecting them for lunch. Ruby expresses interest in learning to boil people’s blood via spellcraft. Furthermore, in the next 18 months, the group is tasked with retrieving Aquelina and escorting her through portals to islands south of their current location to create a wave of life, an elemental force of nature that will need protection. The mistresses and masters seem to be building something more than just temporary solutions at this location. There is also another mountain with a pool of permanence, and once the adventurers have the potions, they will be given a way through the desert to reach it. Ruby’s mother, the holidays, and the elves remain top priorities for the adventurers. "Of Homecomings & Skin Rearing, A disruption in the cattle industry." The adventuring goof troupe sets off on foot from Bluegrass, heading toward Gugnir's Hope, a place some of their members want to avoid as if it were shark infested waters. As they approach the town, the sounds of lively music and dancing reach their ears, they’ve arrived in the middle of one of the cowboy festivals. Ruby, concerned about the usual pig chasing event, tries to be extra cautious. The streets are teeming with hundreds of horses, dwarves, humans, and hobbits. They see a large group of elves is seen pushing through the crowd with dwarves and hobbits gathered nearby. The adventurers try to lose them, while Ruby leads the group to her family forge. Upon entering the forge, they are greeted by two lifelike statues of elves, frozen in the exact moment they were about to step inside. Around a dozen apprentices, roughed up from their work, chatter among themselves, some sharing stories. Ruby startles them when they suddenly hear her ask, “What’s going on here?” One apprentice, pointing to the mangled arm of another, replies, “The elves were rough. Look what they did to his arm!” It turns out that the forge master had turned them to stone to prevent them from being burned alive. Ruby’s mother soon appears and wraps her in a tight hug. “I see trouble has followed you”, eyeing the elves hunting the group. “Do you know about your brother? One of the gypsies(Scribe note: not sure if I misheard) said you've been associating with the incubus—your eldest brother has gone into the Fastness to rescue you.” Ruby’s mother continues, “There’s talk about the Dark(? Was it black and I misheard?) Tower—it’s become a pressing concern. We need you and your companions to investigate what's happening there. We understand there is a threat coming from that direction, and that they have been recently reinforced.. A local of that area, an herbalist, Abigail, was scouting for us, but we’ve lost contact with her.” “Strange traders have been asking about you, too,” she adds, “and there’s word they had a meeting scheduled with you for the middle of the month.” “The Holidays have visited frequently, asking a bunch of questions,” Ruby’s mother goes on. “There are dwarves looking for you, they seem to think that you have items to trade with them” As they talk, they head down the stairs, where they encounter the baron’s mistress, accompanied by several guards. She informs them that one of the sheriffs was injured by a mind mage dressed in red. Ruby’s mother, offering a necklace to Ruby, hesitates before retracting it. “Maybe you don’t need this after all,” she mutters, but ends up giving it to her regardless. Soon, a group of twelve elves arrives at the forge, presenting an order to arrest Dae and take him to Alfheim. Ruby’s family invites the Holidays to join them in the forge. Johann speculates that Dae’s sister might be a Wild Elf. Sonny’s mother takes the letter they received in Bluegrass and meets with the elves. After a brief discussion, she returns, saying they will divinate Dae for half an hour. During the divination, the elves appear genuinely surprised. Dae is warned that if he deals with the Mind Mage coven, he will likely have to form a male version of their coven—something that has been wiped out in the past. Ms. Holiday returns the letter to Ruby, while Ruby’s mother informs the elves that they will need to carry the stone statues outside of town before the spell can be broken. Ms. Holiday tells Sonny that his father is concerned about him and that in a couple of months, they’ll need to deal with the undead in the basements of Gugnir’s Hope. Ruby’s mother also adds that the sheriff has lost two cowboys and one deputy in recent incidents. As the adventurers prepare to leave, hobbits and dwarves appear, heading west toward the game. A theatrical scene unfolds in the town square, where more than 400 people are gathered, some performing tricks with talking geese, others juggling, and even a few large horned bovines. Sonny uses Detect Arcana on the geese, revealing that they are “Short-lived Sentient” shape-shifters with magical abilities. One of the geese, eyeing Sonny, remarks, “I see you’re a celestial mage with poor manners.” Suddenly, more elves appear, and Ruby groans, “Not you again”. The elves retort, “We don’t like your tone”. The elves cast Strength of Stone on the party. An ambush is imminent according to them, there is a group of 3 elves that want Dae Dead. Three Elven rangers —whom the group has encountered before in Gugnir’s Hope and the Fastness—pop out. The two newer ranger elves are quickly put in their place by a more experienced ranger who has been in the region for over four decades. At Dae’s home, six new elven faces, bringing the total number of elves in the area to around 30. None of them have taken off their shoes. After a tense few minutes, Dae’s mother arrives, asserting her authority and sending the elves away. She warns Dae that three dangerous elves from Seagate are hunting the party, intending to kill them and bury their heads in high-mana zones. She also advises Dae to wear his father's amulet until they (who are they? Dae is too afraid to ask) return from Alfheim, which will be within the year. The rangers suggest visiting the witches to address Ruby’s demonic incubus influence. In a matter of minutes, they remove the incubus’s grip on Ruby and provide the group with shape-changing magical tools and skins for their cow transportation. The rangers prefer to run instead of flying to the wall where the cows are being moved, heading south toward the Rumbling Man. Ruby is advised to focus on the shortest elf if they encounter any further trouble. A hobbit suddenly appears from the shadows, introducing himself as “Bombi,” one of the king’s rapiers. Nine other hobbits emerge alongside him. Bombi declares, “I’ll stay here and deal with these elves.” In the distance, the adventurers spot a large encampment. They are informed that the elves hunting them are at Ridger’s Keep. Carson, a detective from the Number 1 Detective Agency, arrives with shadowy wings. He reveals that their mothers have hired them to cover their tracks and informs them that Dae is currently untraceable, though the rest of the group is. Carson hands over a large sum of money—around 100,000 silver pennies—for the cows and other repayments the group must do. The detectives will handle the finances from here on out, since the goof troop declines being responsible for such a sum. At the camp, goblin corpses in skull leather armor are scattered around. After an hour of preparation, the elves and hobbits announce that the cattle, in lots of 20, will be taken the next morning. The following morning, Johann gets to work turning the cows into foxes. The hobbits provide 30 chicken cages for the transformation. A few days later, the group arrives at an intersection between rivers and hills, near Ridger’s Keep. A dwarvish bridge stands there, and one of the rapiers mentions they managed to kill two of the elves. The shortest elf remains alive, vowing revenge on the adventurers. They also killed 11 hobbits. These elves are anti-elf supremacy and believe Dae is pursuing such an agenda The rapiers announce they will return to Gugnir’s Hope to assist the families and mention that Ruby’s sister is deeply concerned about the goings-on in the Fastness. They also warn the group not to cross the bridge at night, as a troll lives beneath it. Edwin spots a cluster of unmoving clouds in the distance, which they suspect are connected to the flying castle where the chimera once resided. They rest near some pins and a makeshift bakery by the hills, which the adventurers suspect is a former fire hobbit camp. The next day, they prepare to travel to the Plane of Earth with the strength of stone spell cast on them by the rangers. Upon reaching the Rambling Man's camp, they encounter Earth elementals. They meet Shirazza, who has been saved from the incubus by the Mind Mages and now requests their help. The Rambling Man discusses the situation, mentioning that the trade with him could happen every five days on the ramp, but the adventurers’ presence has made it harder to keep their movements inconspicuous. The Rabmling man complains about the ripples this adventuring group does on their travels After some time, the group returns to the caves in the Allusia Plane, where they spot goblins roasting a pig. They sneak past, taking the mules with the cows in their transformed fox shapes, with one ranger staying behind to guard the entrance. One of the travellers comes with the idea to sneak to the goblin roast, and cast animate corpse on it, to make them chase it out of the caves, securing the passage for them. At the Rambling Man’s camp, they- discuss the price for the cattle, four medium-grade (branch linked, holding up to 6 mana) or two good-quality gems (8-9 mana, fully transferable), the Mana leaking of the gems is about one per week, and you need to spend two fatigue to put in one point of mana in them. Ruby mentions the noble elves on the hill, and the Rambling Man agrees to discuss it further when they aren’t in the company of others. Dae brings up the Ogre Magi’s three-horned head, and the Rambling Man agrees to process it, for a fee of about 5000 SP if the result is of average quality since they are providing the raw material. But first things first—there’s the matter of the cattle. On the way back through the tunnel, the goblins make a foolish attempt to toss bits of fire around, trying to bring the fire to where they stopped the pig. Eventually, the group secures the passage, ready to continue their journey

"Of the Selfless Incubus & the Oppressive Shirazza, Commotions on the Hillside"

Told you he was harmless

It's nighttime, and they set camp where the fire hobbits had previously rested. The elven rangers murmur in a language foreign to the adventurers, pointing to various landmarks as they speak they take up guard duty while the party sleeps. Come morning, the adventurers are awoken by the comforting smell of warm bread, freshly baked by the rangers. Edwin notices a static cloud bank lingering between two cliff ranges in the valley. Johann spots a strange mist rising from the northern side of the Green Water Goblin Village (GWGV), where a dark tower looms within the forest. Orcs, goblins, and ogres have apparently set up camp to the west of the valley. The rangers announce that their mission is to return to Gugnirs Hope but stop by Beaver Pond and the Hobbit town on the cliffs along the way. They offer the adventurers the choice between "Strength of Stone" (rank 11) or "Armors of Earth" (rank 6) for protection. This is the first time the group climbs the hill from the south side, where they see more fruit trees than from the other direction. Sonny uses his "Detect Arcana" ability to study the ripe fruit, discovering its magical effects—boosted stamina. When he asks about other plants, the avocado trees seem to provide similar results. While Sonny continues his magical analysis, Johann searches for herbs and stumbles upon a hidden staircase. At the bottom, he glimpses what looks like a garden—likely a herb garden—but the party leaders decide not to investigate further at the time, albeit promising to check it later. The adventurers eat the fruits, hoping they’ll help with breathing inside the caves. They're delicious, and thankfully, no one dies from them. As they trek up the hill, there are small gullies that cause them to lose sight of Sonny, who leads the group, every now and then. After about half an hour, they reach the top and find small ponds surrounded by reeds and wailing flowers, emitting deep, harmonic sounds. Soon after, they spot a rhinoceros statue. Continuing their search, they finally locate the bull statue with the ring in its nose. Suddenly, Edwin hears a humanoid cry carried by the wind—it’s there for a moment but disappears just as quickly. Dae descends first and hears voices from the cave below. As Johann follows, he notices something of value lying at the base of the cliff. Once in the cave, he spots a figure lying injured with a guard standing watch. Ruby sees strange Corn Dolls. Sonny uses his "Detect Arcana" ability on them, identifying their magical effect as "Protection from Otherworldly Creatures". So far, the dolls haven’t alerted anyone inside the cave. Edwin calls down his magic rope to bring the group in, then sends his bat to scout the area. The bat reports, "There are half a dozen humanoids inside—smaller than you and injured". The party approaches cautiously, and Ruby greets the women inside with a cheerful "Hellooooooo!" The women, startled and on alert, seem to recognize Ruby. Gumberbell, a halfling, explains that they’ve been hunted by a snake woman who uses poison and strange magic to transport/kidnap her victims. Last they saw Quillian, the incubus, who was helping them, he got injured by the Shirazza. The women recognize the adventurers from Gugnirs Hope and explain that Quillian placed the dolls to protect them. There are 11 dolls in total, and two were sent to their village for safety. As Ruby moves toward the cave entrance to tie a ribbon, she accidentally triggers a trap—a bomb goes off, causing her to dive backward but still take some damage. The women confirm that this is the work of the Shirazza woman. After Ruby lights a torch for better visibility, the oil from the device begins to spread, but thanks to her flame resistance, she avoids any serious harm. She also notices several other similar devices hidden nearby. Small green, wriggling worms and snakes are scattered around the cave, seemingly part of the traps. Sonny attempts to disarm the bomb-like devices and manages to pull one free. Upon feeling something wriggling inside, he tosses it outside, away from the cave. Edwin notices a strange web-like contraption descending from the cliffside, and Ruby, not wanting to risk it, uses a fire bolt to burn it away. The web ignites, burning all the way to the top. The women explain that every time they try to venture deeper into the cave, they fall asleep, unsure of the reasons why. Edwin shoots an arrow at one of the egg traps, triggering a chain reaction of explosions. Four bombs go off, and about nine small, four-inch snakes crawl toward the entrance. Sonny uses his "Detect Arcana" to figure out whether the snakes are creatures of light or darkness, then casts a wall of light to block them. On his second attempt, he fails, and one of the dark creatures that rose from his feet intercepts one of the snakes. Sonny feels a strange loss at that moment. Johann collects some of the gunk left behind by the snakes, which they stash in Edwin's backpack. Sonny and Ruby have used Feather Fall scrolls, the former to descend the hill to the cave's entrance, the latter, just in case they needed to jump of the cliff due to the bombs While waiting for Quillian, the group notices five groups skulking in the grass, apparently hunting each other. A shadowy figure with a large straw hat—similar to the ogres and the snake woman—appears climbing the cliff. A fireball launches from the grass, narrowly missing the figure, who retreats into the cave. Sonny tries to use "Detect Arcana" to identify the figure but fails due to the distance. About half an hour later, a rope is lowered into the cave, and Quillian descends. He announces that he has a new task for them: to rescue a group of people hiding in the caves and bring them to safety, the safety of their own hometown, Gugnir's Hope, since the Shirazza is less likely to stir trouble there. Sonny asks, "What’s in it for us?" Sonny sets up several starlight walls and begins shooting through them. Between him and Edwin, they disable the traps—at least, that’s what they believe. A javelin suddenly ricochets into the cave, aimed at the party. Quilian denies any involvement with planting seedlings, though it seems possible the nine kidnapped women may have been seeded by him. Quilian casts a rank 15 Feather Fall spell on the group, despite Ruby's reluctance. They climb up the cliff, while Quillian takes the chivalrous task fending off the Shirazza After rescuing all 12 survivors, they reach the top of the hill, where it’s now nighttime again. Edwin announces (to avoid startling the rescued) that he will shift forms. He does so and catches the attention of one of the elven rangers, who holds a wiccan coil. Edwin struggles to resist its compulsion as one of the rangers warns in Elvish, "Do no harm to us". The rangers explain that they returned after visiting the hobbit village because they learned people needed help. Upon hearing about the Shirazza fighting Quillian, they “suggest” setting fire to the grasslands near the hills. The adventurers head north, toward the distant lights of Gugnirs Hope. As they approach, they feel a strange coldness coming from the direction of Beaver Pond. Edwin scouts for campsites nearby and finds several options. They camp for a few hours, since dawn was about to strike already, resting until around 10-11 AM. On the way to Gugnirs Hope, they encounter the Fire Hobbits, who mention they were battling the Shirazza woman just the day before.

"Of Crouching Assassin & Hidden Whale, let the auction begin."

There's a Whale lot going on

After brief discussions with the Fire Hobbits, the adventurers make their way back to Gugnir's Hope, encountering no further surprises outside the town. However, as is often the case with their homecomings, they are caught off guard once they enter the town. A massive whale rests in the town center, perched on top of an enormous wagon. Locals claim, “they’re teaching people how to skin it and harvest its blubber.” Sonny Detects Arcana on the whale which reveals ‘the last magical effect upon the whale was skinchange’, and ‘confirms that it is a formerly living animal’. Upon spotting the rag tag gang that usually entourages her son, and the subject himself, Ms Holiday says that "A short ranger, with a bow crafted from rarified(clarified?) ash and a green cloak, has been looking for you lot". They make their way to Ruby’s family forge, where work is still underway on the gates. In the courtyard, a group of traveling humanoids is engaged in a discussion with several of the Blacksmithing masters. The adventurers head to Ruby's mother’s office, where they find her having a bowl of soup. "They’ve scammed us over in the Plane of Fire" she tells them, explaining how assassins from that realm have been kidnapping people for leverage. She warns Ruby to be cautious, advising her to send a warning two days before completing her training, adding, "And I expect you to pass the first time". Ruby's mother reveals that the people gathered in the courtyard are mercenaries from the Plane of Fire, whom they’re considering hiring. She then hands Sonny a small dress box to deliver to his father but quickly takes it back, saying, "I’d better send someone else." Turning to Dae, she adds, "And you, stop killing elves" which leaves him utterly baffled and confused. As they leave Gugnir's Hope they see dark clouds and fog forming and rolling off the hills, becoming dim and dreary. The mistresses says that one of the witches is doing weird things, that she may have been possessed by some magic or whatnot… Their journey takes them back to the island through the misty ponds of Bluegrass. Home to a group of cannibals that seem to yet become aware of their presence in the island and are still oblivious to the training facilities secretly built on the island. These reclusive people, likely castaways, reside on the far side of the beach, living in isolation. The cannibals have connections to pirates, sooner or later, they’ll uncover the truth, and someone will have to deal with the situation—potentially the trainees themselves, hopefully other trainees, and not these adventurers. Twelve weeks pass on the island as the adventurers complete this leg of their training. Dae, having successfully uncovered the barkeep’s favorite food on a small island as his test, received a special insole for his left foot (which seems to be some sort of code for the spy community) as a reward for his cleverness. Meanwhile, Ruby receives an urgent message from her mother. It seems the elven assassin hunting them has escalated things—now dropping whales on people and terrorizing the town.The Baroness, in the meantime, writes a stern letter to Ruby’s mother, expressing disappointment with Ruby’s progress. The Baroness insists that Ruby needs to apply herself more seriously. As a result, Ruby is sent to town to meet with her mother. There, Ruby receives a scolding and is told to stop disagreeing with her trainers, a reprimand that stings more than she expected. Johan, meanwhile, has managed to brew three potions from his herbalist training, though they where brewed for training purposes, these potions provide a +4 boost to two attributes for six hours. Edwin, on the other hand, forms a bond with an island hawk, though the bird isn't too keen on traveling by water, complicating their plans somewhat, so it remains on the island, waiting for his return. The Masters equip the adventurers with disguises to help them return to town unnoticed. Dae receives a fake mustache and beard, which, after about an hour after donning them, slowly transform him into a human appearance. The more control he gains over his thoughts, the better he can shape his disguise, allowing him to fine-tune his new form. Sonny is given a flat cheese board, which, when flipped over (and only by him), reveals a hidden compartment with a set of enchanted thief’s tools. These tools are 15% more effective than normal, though their enchantment will diminish with time. Their primary strength lies in disarming traps, making them perfect for Sonny's skill set. Ruby and Edwin receive a magical chess set. When they play, it grants them three ranks in Military Scientist, and for the next three months it will give them insights on Military Science. While their base skill level (BC) remains the same, they gain insights and abilities up to three ranks beyond their current military scientist level, giving them an edge during their training. Johan, ever the keen observer, discovers that three enchanted moles have taken residence beneath the enchanted garden. The creatures are unlike any ordinary moles, and everyone is impressed with Johan's find. In recognition of his discovery, the Masters give him a set of stirring sticks, cryptic in their purpose. They tell him not to worry about what they do now but that he will figure it out on his own in due time. Sonny, eager to test his tools, uses Detect Arcana (DA) on his them, confirming they are indeed “very good thieves' tools.” He also is very curious about Johan’s stirring sticks, and offers to Detect Arcana on them, uncovering their nature of enchantment, enhancement. Using these stirring sticks while in High mana zones will double the duration of the imbibing (not shelf life) of what he stirs. As their training progressed, some of the group achieved new milestones, reaching journeymen status. The group finds themselves deep in the underground tunnels, surrounded by a growing presence of Wicca mages. As they navigate through the shadows, they begin to realize that more people in Gugnir’s Hope practice Wicca than they had initially suspected. While being briefed and updated on the elven assassin issue, they are told of an opportunity of a potent greater enchantment waiting to be cast—if they manage to acquire two high-quality black pearls and two high-quality white pearls per person, she will be able to perform it. The pearls must be plucked from the sea, a task easier said than done. The cost? An undisclosed amount at this point. Additionally, they are informed that if they successfully eliminate the elusive Elven assassin hunting them, she will not only reward them with a free enchantment but also organize a supply of potions. She holds the secret to crafting permanent greater enchantments and can even alter the ones the adventurers currently possess, though these alterations are quite costly, and the exact price is still undisclosed. A farmer comes to see Mr. Sonny Holiday with a curious tale. A dark pig, one that walks on two legs,has been appearing on his farm, seeking Sonny. The pig sometimes brings gifts, such as reeds, which are known to come from north of Candlestorm Farm. The farmer insists that Sonny is the one the pig is seeking, and that the gifts are meant as a way of contacting Sonny for him. With an eerie sense of mystery, the farmer adds, “I know the third secret, the one hidden beneath the stairs…”,speaking in dark speech, a language he seems to know only a little, adding further intrigue to the situation. Sonny now finds himself with an unexpected link to a strange and possibly dangerous source. The Masters instruct the group, "In the morning, we’d like you to go to the embassy and tune this tuning fork to locate the assassin and deal with him". The town is bustling with a mix of cowboys and saffron-robed people, a scene both familiar and unusual. The adventurers head to the Rapiers, hoping to gather more information on the elf assassin who has been terrorizing the town with whale carcasses. Sonny greets the Rapiers, stating, “We’re dealing with the elf assassin”. The Rapiers confirm their suspicions and share valuable intel. -The elf uses a poisoned estoc and a poisoned mangosh, both of which can bypass armor. However, they suspect the elf may be able to ignore enchanted armor or even armor that was once living. -The assassin is immune to stuns, can reflect attacks when in line of sight, and uses magic to enhance his abilities. -The elf assassin is rumored to be part of a cult, which the Rapiers refer to as “The Cult of Unforgiveness,” with a faction known dismissively as “The Nuts” since they split into two -The Rapiers also share details about a cursed item, the Clock of Disappearing and Devouring. If the assassin is stabbed with it in the bag, the item will devour the person who wielded it, but a wooden weapon can avoid this fate The Rapiers are trying to draw him out by auctioning off items once owned by his companions, which he has attempted to burgle several times. They also mention that he might be an E&E, which complicates matters further. “We can make you immune to the poison,” they offer, “except for the elf, whose constitution seems weak.” With their mission in mind, the Rapiers suggest setting a trap for the assassin that night, but when the time comes, the elf does not show up. Instead, the adventurers, with the Rapiers' help, begin planning how to draw the assassin to Seagate. The next day, they are given an execution order from the Baron’s Mistress, Cathryn. The witches assure them through their readings that they will have a 12 hour head start once they reach Seagate to set up their trap. The witches offer their well wishes and slip Johann some silver pennies, 15 from one, 8 from another . The group flies toward Seagate, passing over hills, vineyards, and crop fields. They safely arrive at the outskirts of the city, the day is clear and sunny, and after a much-needed four-hour rest, they set foot in Seagate. Once in town, the Rapiers arrange rooms at the Short People’s Association (SPA) while the adventurers go about their tasks. They plan to seek out a divinator to assist with the cape, as well as a Namer to help put a spell into the spelltrap they had prepared back in Gugnir's Hope. They also learn that the Chandler’s can create tracking items, which can be written down in a book or attached to people to track them if transported unwillingly. While the divination takes place, the Rapiers head off to the town's more lively spots, indulging in hobbit-like revelry. Johann and Edwin stay at the auction house, watching as the item is divinated. Ruby, Sonny, and Dae make their way to the embassy, though Dae’s disguise quickly starts to deteriorate. His appearance becomes more grotesque, drooling and bow-legged, as the magic of his disguise unravels. At the embassy, they are made to wait until an elderly woman greets them. After handing over their letter of introduction, they are soon met by a woman in a toga, pants, and belt. She wears three large bracers on each of her forearms, quite chunky and distinctive. “According to your letter of introduction, you are here for a very powerful item,” she says. Sonny explains, “We’re on the hunt for someone causing trouble in a rural town with whales.” The ambassador hands over a small case and opens it, revealing a bone tuning fork. “You can use it as frequently as you'd like,” she explains, “but it will tire you each time.” She demonstrates its use, with Sonny acting as the volunteer. The fork will pull them unreasonably toward the direction of any nearby whale, making it an invaluable tool for tracking the assassin. Sonny tries it and immediately feels a strong pull toward Old Seagate. Ruby asks, “What’s the total range?”, the ambassador replies“The range is about what a person can walk in an entire day”. "Bring it back within the next couple of months, else we will send inquisitors for you." The ambassador warns them. The group regroups at the auction house, and they decide to call a Chandler to mark up the cloak for tracking. For 200 silver pieces, the Chandler marks a piece of wire that is sewn into a seam on the cloak, and they record it in their tracking book. Once the divination on the cape is complete, they ask the diviner about the location of the effect. The diviner informs them that it will be wherever they were at the same time the previous day. When asked about the disjunction spell, he confirms it will prevent the effects from triggering, giving them a strategic edge. A Rank 3 disjunction is successfully cast on the trap. With the plan set, the adventurers finalize their preparations. Their strategy is to prepare a spell, throw a bomb, activate the disjunction, and then trigger the prepared spell, a mental attack, ensuring the battle takes place in a room no larger than the spell’s radius. Meanwhile, Johann consults his tarot cards, attempting to predict when the elf assassin will appear at the auction house. Ruby and Johann decide to seek out Kathryn, the water mage, but on their way, they encounter a bloodied woman emerging from an alley. Ruby notices the woman’s severe injuries, she’s been raked by a large feline. As the air moves, Ruby catches a distinct cat smell coming from the alley. Just as a young woman leaps over to help the injured woman, the monstrous feline strikes. The monstrous feeline, about 25 feet long, attacks Ruby from its impressive reach, pouncing up the wall to get a better angle on them. Ruby tries to strike, but the feline dodges. Fortunately, Johann manages to land a successful hit, causing the beast to shatter into pieces and vanish as black smoke, the same smoke that begins to bubble from Ruby’s wounds. Ruby eats a turnip to stop the festering, then proceeds to feed the turnip to the injured woman, saving her life just in time. The guards arrive, applauding the adventurers for their quick action, and offer to buy them drinks at the Cock and Featherafter they finish their shifts. They share information about the crime lord behind the attacks from the tigers and mention how the mayor is close to dealing with him. Later, Kathryn, accompanied by two other women and a young man who recites moving poetry, meets up with the adventurers. When she sees Johan, she rushes to him and hugs him warmly, which he reciprocates. The young man, as it turns out, is from the Duke’s court. Ruby and Johann fill Kathryn in on the latest developments, and after some divination, she reassures them that it should be safe to have dinner. As they relax and prepare for the next steps, Dae’s danger sense suddenly goes off. The plan is put into action, and it goes off perfectly. They slay the defenseless assassin. The elf assassin’s shoes are revealed to have a shocking effect on non-elves—handling them causes one’s bones to jellify. The auctioneer offers to divinate the assassin’s items for them, thanking them for not destroying the facilities. However, he notes that 180 silver pieces will be required to replace the cashmere carpet. The party casts a Clean cantrip to tidy up the mess, and the blood in the room coalesces into a floating ball, taking on an elvish form before it flies toward Dae. Ruby quickly interposes herself with her shield to protect her companions. The assassin's malice and commitment was still present, even after death. Ruby realizes that with the cloak, she can likely track where the rest of the assassin's belongings are. Edwin uses the assassin’s cloak to teleport to the location where the elf was the previous day. He arrives at what seems to be a cottage in Seagate, where a chest is likely to have been moved. Forty minutes later, with the help of a Chandler, they find Edwin and head back to the chest. Using Sonny’s expertise as a locksmith, the adventurers open the chest. After beginning to disarm the traps, Sonny discovers that the chest contains three traps. Despite the nerves, Sonny disarms them all without a hitch, successfully securing the chest and bringing the group one step closer to richness, I mean, their target. Inside the chest: -Empty rack -Ink black cloth squares (12)(which causes the hair on Sonny’s feet to stand up) DA’s reveal destruction, he realizes that with some skill they could confer spells on weapons. -3 Spike bombs on the chest (spikes are magical, the body is a porcelain bowl) -Mechanism wind-up toy of some kind, with lots of twisted circles on it, with gems and stones. (Orory/aurory prediction?) - Notes to remember: -Fire Hobbits want to buy the rain staff 100.000 SP per staff. -Cock and Feather tavern is where Kathryn the water mage is staying. -D-5 +6 waters of healing will neutralize the poison -Waters of strength D-2+10 55 minutes -Disjunction Range 10 plus 10 per rank -600 Spent on the trap itself (300 Ruby 300 Dae) -600 on the Divination of the cloak -600 on casting Disjunction on the trap -200 on putting the chandler’s tracking on the cloak. (200 Dae) -200 silver extra to the chandler to find Edwin with the cloak -The elves' boots, I did not catch entirely what they do. - BeltBuckled , hold one of the personal casted spells which happen automatically if you are struck. -Estoc and Main Gauche, allows you to cut spells from the air, increases either your defense or allows you to attack with the weapon, or attack an opponent's magic. - Armour of reasonable quality, leather and exceptionally well made. - Picking up the Cloaks that where ordered and paid for seasons ago

"Of Seagate & Old Seagate, Taking care of not so hidden slavers"

Why big cities are a hassle and Gugnir's Hope is actually quite quiet

After Sonny detects arcana on the mysterious items obtained from the elven assassin, the adventurers decide to carouse through Seagate, taking in the sights and enjoying the city’s lively atmosphere. Eventually, they join the Rapiers and venture toward a strange location deep within the city, specifically, Old Seagate, where rumors speak of bizarre rituals involving sea creatures, used for its eerie activities. Upon reaching their destination, they discover the body of someone who appears to have been devoured by an unsettling creature, “Was it a whale, a shark, or something else entirely?”. The crowd spectating the event is quite varied, and many of the hobbit acquaintances & relatives of Sonny inquire about how much does he want for the elf. They hear rumours about a Dwarf that can detect gold veins. Among the people from the crowd interacting with them, there is Donk, a dwarf whose instinct tells him that they are adventurers, and so he tries to convince them to fight down below, he offers to sponsor them to do so, which they reject. The adventurers witness a curious spectacle, a hobbit fighting wasps in a cage for a full hour. However, when the cage eventually breaks, chaos erupts. A few of the wasps escape and, upon stinging individuals, begin to petrify them. The scene quickly spirals out of control, but just as the adventurers are standing on the sidelines to allow people to escape, they spot something far more disturbing, a spectral ogre, seemingly escaping the scene unnoticed. Sonny, DAs on a fairy and discovers that the last magic cast on it was entrapment. This revelation sends the party into motion, as they now understand the ogre was likely part of a larger, more sinister plot. With the Rapiers hot on the ogre’s trail, the adventurers decide to return to the guild, gather their gear, and regroup. The Rapiers hand them a rolling rock to track their whereabouts while tailing the Ogre’s movements. Once they meet up with the Rapiers again, they’re told the situation is dire. The slaver Orcs who have been causing havoc need to be eliminated, but there are laws to break, murder and larceny will be necessary to erase the tracks of dealing with these Orcs & Ogre, and the adventurers must assist the Rapiers in this covert operation. The Rapiers cast Strength of Stone, rank 9 to help them survive in the coming battles. The party proceeds to climb down a steep wall, where they intercept an ogre whose body is a grotesque sight, with hundreds of fairy legs sticking out from it. The Rapiers, however, did not partake in battle, for it was time to have a snack, some Hobbits are more flexible than others in these traditions, the Rapiers are traditionalists. In the midst of the chaos, an orc, perched on a giant inflated pig bladder(?), enters the fray. The ogre’s attacks seem strangely effective against Johan, getting endurance blow after endurance blow…something is off. Then, a bomb appears at Dae’s feet, only this isn’t just any bomb. It duplicates him, creating an evil doppelganger who lunges to strangle Dae. The copy proves to be a dangerous foe, and when Dae kicks it, he injures himself. The evil version casts a mental attack on Dae, and both him and Dae fall unconscious in a sudden, eerie sleep. Meanwhile, Edwin stays focused, peppering arrows from a distance, while Sonny fends off two orcs lurking behind. With coordination and an unending rain of arrows from Edwin, the Ogre menace is dealt with. The Rapiers decide, however, that the best course of action is to not erase the traces of their deeds as initially planned. The situation has grown more complicated, and the crimes that surround them are far more severe. They will report the situation to the authorities, despite the risks. The loot from the battle includes a magic shield and a magic spear. After a brief discussion, the adventurers choose the shield, while the Rapiers claim the spear for themselves. The shield makes all Fatigue Blows to Endurance Blows when it has a weapon spell cast on it. The city guards counterspell the Dae Doppelganger and the party is awarded a 500 SP reward, which they use to purchase gifts. They also receive exoneration for any crimes committed that night. Once they regroup with Kathryn, she warns them of something strange happening at the bay to the north, a massive white shape has been spotted about thirty miles from the coast, While roaming through Seagate, the adventurers are on the lookout for presents for the Mistresses at Gugnir’s Hope. During their search, they come across a strange scene a large paw print. A dark little creature approaches Sonny, speaking cryptically. It warns that they should leave Seagate, and that it has hidden two small coffers at the bottom of Sonny’s pack one with silver and the other with gold. Once outside of the city Sonny inspects them, finding a curious symbol etched onto each, as well as an image of an angry hobbit, all bearing Seagate's mark. As they leave the city by flight, Dae momentarily loses track of the group. When he catches up with them, they notice he is bleeding a strange, blue, gooey liquid, on his part, Dae notices something else, two pairs of wings popping out of a white cloud, trailing behind them. The party makes their way back to the guild, after a perilous landing by Dae, almost killing him and Johann, they head to the guild to get the tracking checked and counterspelled. Once counterspelled they are confronted by a bizarre shark-infested, six-legged fish that emerges from Dae’s body. Upon finally returning to Gugnir’s Hope with Kathryn and two Kings Rapiers in tow, the adventurers prepare for their next challenge. They immediately attempt to use the wishbone they’ve acquired, but no results come. No whales in the vicinity, Gugnir’s Hope has plans for the bathhouse, intending to hold a consecration ritual to rebalance the elements. They suspect that more supernatural manifestations are likely, and the adventurers will need to be prepared for a more than likely battle.

"Of Twigs & Charcoal, The river of incarceration"

Get him some clay for goodness sake

The ritual to balance the elements in Gugnir’s Hope is delayed, for the whole whale situation needs to be resolved, to mitigate the risk of additional stress and worries for interruptions while performing it. The party receives four potions from the herbalist that increase the WILL attribute (for rank hours), and are cast Strength of Stone (at rank 15). After using the bone again, something is detected to the north. They request C/K-athryn to perform a reading for them "I see a ghostly white ship at sea, and people pulling a whale from a white net. It’s in your future". Johann performs a card reading. The signs indicate that, after a week of lacking sustenance, and the sunset's mysterious absence, they will discover the coast of a forgotten city. The mistresses inform them of a ship leaving Seagate heading in that direction. Some of them are interested in this voyage for various reasons, and may offer their assistance through spells in case the sea approach is preferred. The Celestial Mistress asks if they’d like help gathering branches on the way to the pond. She asks them to pick her up at her barn in the morning, where she summons large black mounts. Ruby freezes in fear, while Sonny hides behind the mistress, for some reason, Dae seems unaffected by these creatures. After departing with the mistress, they arrive at the vicinity of Beaver's Pond a few hours after noon. Edwin notices translucent undead. "Powerful greater undead" the Celestial Mistress says, so they decide not to delve further into the area for now. They move on to the timenut area, where she speaks of a celestial tree that provides twigs capable of storing spells. A few miles away, there's also a fire element tree that, with some charcoal, can do the same for fire spells. She doesn’t know a safe path to the fire tree but suggests Ruby inform her Mistress and other fire mages about it. Shadow She casts Shadow Form (Rank 20) on the entire party (and pets), and Strength of Darkness on most. Ruby casts Fire Armor on everyone, granting 32 ablative fire protection. They learn of smokeless fire from the Ent's grove with the unicorn, south of the hotlands. If you take wood from there, light it on fire, and then douse it with water, it will enchant it. The enchanted wood depends on where the water comes from, such as from Green Goblin Waters or the Plane of Water, although Sandsprites will attack anyone who tries to do this. While discussing different things, the party is told that salted weapons will deal an additional hazard to the Shirazza lady. The Celestial Mistress believes the Wicca will be able to craft amulets using Mana gems from the Rambling Man. While heading along the river, they spot a small carrel holding prisoners. But feel it’s not the right moment to attempt to free them, waiting for nightfall is the plan they chose, Since they have time to spare till nightfall, they head to the celestial tree, guided by the Mistress, who warns that this can only be done once a year. The group can collect five twigs from each tree, and Sonny imprints some magic onto them, Rank 5 Shadow Wings, Rank 9 Starlight, and Rank 9 Darkness. One of the twigs combines both Wall of Light and Wall of Darkness—this one is given to Sunny. The mistress tells Sonny that he can meet with the Clock-maker on Ein (main?) street, who can provide him a map to the brambles of the celestial tree. He is also a celestial mage. Next they head to the well for Ruby to perform the log and water ritual. She manages to perform it without attracting the attention of the Sandsprites. However, on the way out, Johann falls to the bottom. On a second attempt, he injures his hand on the chains. The Celestial Mistress mentions that Dae will need to speak with the unicorn, hinting that since he seems to have yet to kill with a weapon, it'd be of his interest to interact with him. They go to the ENTs to try and fix the hand of Johann, the ENT there is an earth mage, more knowledgeable than the ones from GH. -Amulet he can add theet to. Seems that is the treasure lost for Sonny, somewhere in the fastness. You throw it down to the ground and concentrate your fatigue on the ground (1 point) and it will give smokeless fire. Sonny detects a hidden creatures, at the same time we see the guard The hidden creatures was an impo, once combat starts, spiders appear to assist te guard and the imp. One pulse latter a shaman with an earth elemental come out of the carrole, carrell, The Elemental says that he will not fight for 3 boxes of magical clay, When Sonny kills one of the spider,s he sees a snake like thing whipping creatures. Johann notices that where the spiders goes to, it’s full of sand, Like a dessert They go to the Ent’s forest, to try and get help to heal Johann’s hand. The Ent here is an earth mage, more skilled than the ones from Gugnir’s hope. When inquiring about his lost treasure, Sonny is told It turns out there’s an amulet he can add teeth to—likely his lost treasure, somewhere in the Fastness. Ruby asks how to use the smokeless fire, and are told to focus their energy on the ground (spending 1 point of fatigue), and it generates smokeless fire. After all is said and done at the Ent’s place, night is about to fall, so it’s time to head back, and try to save the prisoners down by the river. Once they are close enough, Sonny detects hidden creatures at the same time that the group spots a guard. The hidden creatures turn out to be an imp. As combat begins, spiders appear to assist the guard and the imp. A pulse later, a shaman with an earth elemental emerges from the carrel. The elemental demands three boxes of magical clay in exchange for not fighting. When Sonny kills a spider, he notices a snake-like creature whipping at other creatures through the portal that opened up trying to swallow him. Johann realizes that the area the spiders are headed to is full of sand—like a desert.

"Of Stubbornness & Fatality, Quick! A potion for the Herbalist!"

Death will come for us all

The battle intensifies as Hobbits, humans, and goblins manage to escape captivity amidst the chaos. Mistress Lulu, in the midst of the combat, unleashes Black Fire upon the massive Shirazz (snake lady), bringing her crashing down, albeit also exposing Ruby to unfriendly fire. As soon as the beast falls, the spiders and the other shaman vanish, leaving only the sleeping shaman behind. With the battle over, the party moves to free the remaining captives in the river. Just as they’re about to begin, Edwin and Dae spot a shimmering white object descending from the sky at breakneck speed—it's the Chimera, that blasted cursed and stubborn Chimera terrorizing the skies in the Fastness! The creature crashes down in the middle of the party, immediately targeting Johann with fatal intent, and the Chimera’s intent, and she(?) saw through it. Sonny quickly erects a wall of darkness to shield the group, buying them time. Meanwhile, Mistress Lulu casts Shadow Step, whisking Johann away to safety and carrying him back toward Gugnir's Hope… but something about the execution of her spell seemed odd.. A goblin communicates with the elemental, negotiating for a safe hole to rest in. As tome passers and they feel it's safe enough, they head to the grove, where a grove child greets them and says to Ruby, “The foxes have warned us you were coming.” The Grove Child proceeded to prepare a spell to divine the whereabouts of Mistress Lulu, pinpointing the desert hotlands where they had been the day before. She gives Ruby a stone that will guide them to Lulu and casts Strength of Stone spells on the party for added endurance(18 points of endurance on Dae & Sunny, 17 on Ruby 16 on Edwin). She also requests that they gather red and yellow flowers along the way. The stones infused with Strength of Stone are revealed to be rank 18 with Sonny's DA. “I can give you a tortoise” she says, “and if you place it on the corpse, it will bring the spirit back—but beware, spirits may try to claim him. Wait, the one who died is your herbalist friend? Then I’ll give you a potion”. The Grove Child, who asks to be called Sue-Lee (for true names hold power), urges the group to bathe and clean their gear in the pond while she casts Strength of Stone on them. Before they depart, Sonny casts Shadow Armor on everyone, and Ruby casts Fire Armor to further protect them from the harsh environment they are headed. As they descend into the well, they are greeted by an intense brightness, and the desert surroundings begin to shift. Edwin notices a herd of gazelles moving west, and to the east, hills surrounded by some sort of mist. Sonny DA’s, and realizes they find themselves on the Plane of Fire. They try the stone, and it doesn’t work, but remembering the instructions they await until 8 am(ish) and try again, the stone now starts leading them towards the misty hills. On the way, they encounter Mistress Lulu, flying toward them with her shadow wings. They emerge from the well, and the group feeds the resurrection potion to Johann. Dae heals him as best as he can, and they return to the grove. Ruby asks Sue-Lee for insight into why the Chimera is so obsessed with Johann. Sue-Lee explains "You dealt the killing blow to the creature beneath the water, and the Chimera believes you stole its victory. It now seeks to overcome you, believing that by killing Johann, it will claim the Mantle of the Lake." Mistress Lulu reminds them that they had planned to gather clay for the earth elemental. Sue-Lee suggests they bathe and clean their gear before heading to the mines to avoid (or reduce chance of) detection by the Minotaurs. As the group is performing their preparations, Johann crafts an amulet for Sonny, with a flower Sonny had with him. A dwarf named Roger briefly talks with the group. A pack of white spiritual wolves is summoned to accompany them on their journey south. After a little over an hour, they arrive at the mines, with their memories of the journey feeling hazy and no signs of fatigue. Mistress Lulu casts Witch Sight on Edwin and Ruby. Johann discovers strange mushrooms that amplify light and other attributes. The group collects five buckets of magical clay, and after almost getting caught by the minotaurs due to a clumsy Elf whom we shall not name, they end up returning to the Earth Elemental in the river, and they are told that three of the buckets will be needed for trade. Edwin then loots the body of the fallen shaman. As he handles the shaman's belts, he is stung by something hidden within. The cloak is made of feathers, infused with enchantments likely related to slaying creatures (Cloak, “type of enchantment” “protection”. A set of suspenders, with apparently a Strength enhancemen. And the Mask seems to boost Perception. Lulu also asks the group to gather timenuts from the grass, which they do, collecting a total of 54 in various quantities. Finally, they head back to Gugnir’s Hope, preparing for the next leg of their journey. The following morning, they are to head south towards the Islands of Adventure.

"Of Life at Sea & Stowaways, a Knife in the Dark"

I miss the grasslands

The journeymen of the guild gather the Nutty Bunch and escort them to the mistresses and masters that are organizing the voyage, and will be traveling with them. The journey will be made by a diverse group, including elf rangers, hobbits with their tasty treats, guards courtesy of the Duke, and rugged cowboys. Among the passengers are also Ruby’s mother, several members of the smithy, three of Ruby’s siblings, Kathryn the water mage, and Cathryn, the baron’s Mistress. “If you succeed in your task, we’ll assign subordinates to you for the next six months” The mistress informs them, the Nutty Bunch doesn’t seem to know what to make of this at this moment. “Two guards will be with you on this trip. If you fail to return them safely, or they report any form of disrespect, you will be held accountable.” The guards assigned to them are William, whom is mute, and another whose name remains unspoken, or the elf was a bit deaf when it was mentioned, regardless, he is quite rude, so hardly deserves to be mentioned. Both come from Seagate, and they inform the party that their mission is to infiltrate the Forgotten City. Meanwhile, the mistresses and masters will deal with necromancers seeking the power of a leviathan. “We suspect the undead at Beavers Pond are waiting for the forces beneath Gugnir’s Hope to break free” they warn. The group travels to Seagate on flying carpets, to then set sail to SeaCroft by ship, with a small boat following alongside. A discussion takes place about bombs, the ones they are expected to place on this mission, which turn out to be designed to harm only undead creatures. The bombs should be safe for the party (a.k.a. the living), though possibly not for Dae, or so it’s hinted at. There are nine of these bombs, and detonating just one creates a 500-yard blast radius. If multiple bombs detonate together, the effect, and area of influence, expands. “The bomb briefly reanimates undead, causing them to suffer the consequences of prolonged exposure to daylight”(?). Sonny is sent to the kitchen, while one of the mistresses works on improving the group's stealth. He is informed that the cook is under suspicion (not properly kosher?). Sonny offers the cook a strange pie containing wriggling black creatures he found in the kitchen (the pie, not the creatures). Twenty minutes later, the cook expands, eventually growing to the size of eight people. A loud explosion and a foul odor follow. From the cook’s enlarged form, four dark creatures emerge with a message for Sonny: “The cook intends to poison people”. Four individuals are assigned to clean the kitchen, and once they are there, they are attacked by the dark creatures. The goof troop from Gugnir’s Hope fight to save them. During the battle, one of the creatures takes control of Dae, forcing him to attempt a kick at Ruby, sadly he misses. More creatures appear, but once one of them fires a lightning bolt, it’s plan and intent backfires (not the magic itself, it was casted successfully, planned poorly, like a barbeque during the rainy season) which ricochets and kills two of the other creatures. After the fight, it’s discovered that one of the scrubbers perished before help could arrive. Afterwards there is an investigation, and everyone not present at the scene, is too eager to assign the burden of what transpired to Dae, whom is fairest of them all, and more innocent than a baby unicorn sleeping in the dewy grass of a grove. Ruby, Edwin, and Johann have their boots altered to reduce the noise they make. They are instructed to take Johann's flying carpet through the canals. They’ll encounter the undead sisters,creatures with snakelike hair (gorgons), whose presence is much more difficult to handle than that of their living counterparts, if they decide to reach the city through the skies. Glory had already been sent ahead to liaise with the scouts. “I might talk to the mistress about getting us another Wiccan, so we have two carpets,” it’s suggested by one of the guards (?).

“Expect to encounter townspeople, larger numbers of undead, pirates, and slavers along the way”. A total of six companions or support is sent alongside the nutty bunch to the shore. A dwarf casts Rune Shield on them (with special greaves), and the group is granted Shadowform at rank 18 (38 points of defense). They also receive Strength of Stone at rank 16 (17 endurance), Waters of Strength at rank 4, and either a rank 6 enchanted weapon or a weapon of flames. Two journeyman Wiccans are amongst those accompanying them. William carries a rod that turns anyone recently dead into a small(and definitely not snow) figurine when struck in the head. Upon reaching the shore, Glory arrives with an elderly woman who greets them warmly. “Greetings, Mr. Holiday. I’m pleased you’ve come. Your cooking is well known”. She warns them of the ghostly sisters and the dangers of taking the quick route through the skies. Instead, she suggests a path revealed by the local crocodiles, whom she befriended by feeding them goats. Someone appears to be blessing these crocodiles, perhaps an inhabitant of the caves. “These crocodiles spoke of an underground canal”, she explains, “it’s wide, though somewhat unpleasant”. She adds “Long-tentacled creatures dwell beneath the canal”. After some time, Mistress Lulu sends two dwarves with beautifully braided beards to deliver instructions. “The day after tomorrow, we’ll arrive at the city after dark, around 9 o’clock. We’ll have about an hour and a half to get into position, and the other operations will begin at 9 to provide a distraction”. The group heads to the hideout, led by the advanced (both in age and skill) scout. The dwarves bring a timer with them. After roughly an hour, they discover a spiral staircase leading to a hiding hole where two hobbits and a dwarf are waiting. “Are you from Gugnir’s Hope or Superstitious Mountain?” one of them asks. “You can call me Bridget. I’ll give you a tour.” The hideout is carved from Dwarvish stonework, with a large carpet winding through the place. The carpet has a peculiar magical effect, which Sonny identifies as “Stored Terrors”. The rest of the goop troop makes a silent prayer in their head for Sonny’s whimsical friends not to make the carpet act up… “The dwarves built this place for me” The ancient scout (or was ti Bridget?) explains. “Most of their tunnels are six feet wide and tall, but this one’s different. They usually use arches, but here they went with a square design”. Note: During the downtime whilst travelling in the sea, Johann performs a divination to determine if anyone in the group possesses the Mantle of Water. The result indicates that no one does. However, then another divination reveals that the mantle is currently held by a sky being. During the sea voyage, Edwin, Ruby, and Dae gain basic seamanship* skills, while Johann and Sonny learn a bit about cooking (managing to open seamanship* to 0 for Edwin Ruby and Dae, and cooking for Johann and Sonny). The whole group does Stealth training whilst on the ship. 95% sure it’s referring to be Artisan(Sailor), but this scribe is faulty at best of times…so wouldn’t trust him...specially considering he has deleted the whole Eastern Shadows wikipage twice while making this update through the week

"Of Forgotten a Forgotten City & Eerie tunes, A Goof Troupe's recount of their endeavours."

Well, it came for me.

Staring towards the city from the lookout, they saw buildings of sandstone, large avenue streets, and scattered waterways strewn over the place. First thing over the morning some sort of sandstorm scrubs the place clean and blows out from the city in clouds. By 11 o'clock in the morning, a small group arrives from the ship, heading to their hideaway. The party consists of three dwarves, half a dozen sailors, and a few of their mistresses and masters. One of the dwarves inquires about a feast, to which Sonny replies that it will be a victory feast, but that will happen after the fact. These individuals were brought here to cast magic on the party. After some haggling for food, it’s discussed that two more ships have arrived safely, and the four other groups, each handling different tasks, are already in place. Later that afternoon, buffs are cast on the group: Strength of Stone, Shadowforms, and a unique enchantment that allows a single magic roll to be rerolled if failed. The group is set to travel to the Forgotten City to trigger the bombs, they are offered to have Weapon of Flames or Enchant Weapon (Both at Rank 6)to provide more power to the group. ---------------------------------- Glory warns the group of necromancers in the area, and advises them not to bring their cats as the risk of death for them is too high. The team adjusts the tightness of the bomb lids to make it easier for Sonny to set them off. As they take off on their flying carpets, they approach their destination. Sonny detects undead forces in the sky and DA’s them “Greater Summoned Undead”, their true names: "Void Catcher”. Drawing closer, they see a massive portcullis with holes and a shimmering wall of light, which after Sonny DA’s it, “Magical effect of shimmering light: Ward” and “Spell contained in the ward:Bound speech”. Once on the other side stands a figure atop three corpses. Sonny uses DA again, to identify the figure as a wight. As the three carpets land, the figure sniffs the air and looks toward them. The guards suggest that the party trigger the ward and be ready for anything. One of the dwarves proposes tunneling through the wall, and soon the group is marching through the newly created hole. The party arrives at the middle of a large cross-shaped cathedral, with a set of crushed doors nearby. Green crystalline vegetation clings to the structure, holding something aloft. They feel a flapping from above. An eight foot woman is playing an organ, while a massive purple gem, about eight feet tall, stands at the center of the floor. Floating magical… energy?... things? come from the organ, landing in the gem. The cross-shaped cathedral also holds a swirling void leading to a well-lit desert, where skeletons and zombies stand in ranks, wearing ancient armor with crosses on them. After a few tense moments (pulses), Sonny detonates the bombs, nearly bringing down Dae and Edwin along with the undead. The purple gem remains glowing. Edwin fires a barrage of arrows, striking an svelte goth-like elf. Meanwhile, Dae fails to cast a spell, but stubbornly tries again, only to be interrupted by a necromancer. After breaking free, Dae is drained of his endurance by another necromancer, leading to his demise, a clear example of how previous successes gave birth to a deadly level of arrogance on this member of the goof troop. Ruby shatters the purple gem, causing the giant elf to react angrily, speaking words none of them can understand. Dae, after passing, watches Ruby crack his skull with a longsword. The dwarves throw bombs, taking out two more necromancers. The necromancer (???) bard, once enslaved and controlled by necromantic magic, is freed by the party, and . A bomb is tossed into the Thorn wall Johann had cast earlier, and the party removes their earplugs, which had protected them from the necromantic bard’s mind control. Dae’s spirit is contacted by a voice trying to release the blood magic from his body, but he refuses, albeit reluctantly, oh, how shameful of the elves! Edwin’s left arm is petrified by a bolt from the golems summoned by the elf near the gate. The group retreats as only the elf with golems and the bard remain, the last necromancers defeated. The wiccans, guards, and dwarves leave with part of the group, while Johann prepares his carpet, and Edwin and Ruby loot the wight. Though the wight resists the magic, they manage to obtain some spoils. The party escapes the ruins safely. Looking back from the crest of the hill, they see smoke rising from the town. The three ships on the shoreline seem well-guarded. Mistress Lulu expresses pride in Sonny for emerging unscathed from the ordeal and compares him to the elf and shapeshifter, who had been less effective. The group is awarded 5000 rewards for training or spells. Dae is revived at the guild, and the party celebrates at Gugnir’s Hope, where they are introduced to their “Dweebs.” Six months of downtime are expected before the next season begins, (with two months between the end of this adventure and the start of the next season).

Buffs & Mil Sci

Long Term (assumed always on)

Magic (caster)	Rk	Effects	Duration	Da	Ed	Jo	Ru	So	Th
Greater Ench.	here's hoping	+ to Res, Mag, Com, and S&S.	Var
Fire Protection (Ru)	6	vs normal fire	7 hrs
Fire Armour (Ru)	6	28 pt ablative vs magical fire	7 hrs
Self Only
Purification (Dae)	5	5 pts of MR. 1 pt MA	24 hrs	?

Short Term

Magic (caster)	Rk	Effects	Duration	Da	Ed	Jo	Ru	So	Th
Shadow Wings (So)	6	36 mph, 126 miles range	3.5 hrs
Walking Unseen (So,Jo)	6		7 hrs
Weapon of Flames (Ru)	7	+8 SC, +5 Dam, +8 dam vs undead, cold, water	12 min
Mind Speech (Da)	4	Range 70ft - One primary target plus 5 other targets	50 mins

Misc

Herbalist Lunch/Broth

...

Watch Order

8pm	9pm	10pm	11pm	12am	1am	2am	3am	4am	5am	6am	7am
Edwin + Dogs		Jo				Dae				Edwin + Dogs
Sonny				Thornie				Ruby

Marching Order

Skirmish Formations (Front)
Default ... ... ...	Double File ... ... ...	Single File ... ... ...

Significant Items & Loot

Loot

-Ogre Magi Head, 3 Horns
-Gem with Revelation magic (unsure if to be returned)
-Book of Thought (unsure of what happens to it until end of Seasons/Adventure)

Items Traded

Traded In

1. Staff of Rain

Traded Out

1. Empty Goblin Bomb
2. The Potion of Diamond Skin
3. Enchanted Snake Quiver