The Rails So Far (episode summaries)

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Ep. 1 - Fishing for Adventure
 We begin in a town called Riggle’s Run. Barney, Brothos, Rhystrata, and Yo-Na are summoned early to the office of the Mayor, who offers them two bounties: one, for the capture of Burton Bergerberry, the leader of a local gang that’s been stealing from the Town’s supplies of Riggle Fish, their main export. The other bounty was issued by a monster hunting mercenary group called the Scarred Assembly, for a creature called the Hag of Stillbend Bog. Mayor Riggle explains that this Hag is likely Granny Thistle, a person who came through town some time ago, leaving behind an ominous message in rhyme that promised cures for all ailments to anyone who asked. Right after she left town, the river which fed the rest of the towns commerce stopped moving entirely, and townsfolk began to go missing.

The party accepts these bounties, heading into the woods to search for the Bergerberry camp. They make quick work of the local toughs, detaining Burton and searching his setup. They do find a cache of Riggle Fish... as well as several vials of a strange blue liquid, papers with strange equations on them, and a letter addressed to Burton insisting that the sender needed their ‘orders’ back sooner than they thought, signed with a strange symbol that none of the party recognized.

As the party started to leave, one of downed gang members suddenly stood back up, shuffling towards them once again. They put him back down easily, but the party is shocked - none of them have ever seen this kind of spontaneous Necromancy. When interrogated, Burton has no idea what that could be about either. But he is able to tell them that the vials of strange blue liquid were some kind of new poison requested by the same person who paid him to obtain the Riggle Fish. Unfortunately, he has no idea what the poison does or who that person is - just that he was supposed to make the drop for both items in Abiddon, a massive city to the North-East which serves as the seat of Monarchy.

Ep. 2 - Heeeeeere's Brothos!
 The next day, the party sets their sights on the Hag Contract. They follow the instructions which Granny Thistle left behind, each leaving a vial of their own blood on a flat rock by the river. That night, they all gather in the same room to sleep in watches for safety - but their effort is in vain. When the four of them come to, they’re standing in a fog-laden bog, in front of a small, frankly creepy looking hut. The creepiness escalates when the door creaks open, revealing the hunched and horrible form of Granny Thistle, who offers each of the adventurers a chance to glimpse into their future - for a price. But they know she can’t be trusted. The battle is challenging and dark - Granny Thistle’s powers are harrowing to see. And just before Brothos lands the killing blow, time slows down around him, and Granny Thistle’s voice echoes through his mind:  “Safromet… so far from home, yet further than you think. What purpose could she have for you, I wonder?”

In the aftermath of the fight, the party finds the desecrated remains of four of the missing townsfolk, as well as strange and ominous magical objects. They burn down the horrible hut, and return to town to a relieved Mayor Riggle. They had all been missing for two days.

They receive their payment for completing the Bergerberry contract, as well as a map and directions to get to the Scarred Assembly of Abiddon, where they can collect their reward for neutralizing the Hag.

Ep. 3 - Myaska's Favor
 The next morning, the group heads off to Abiddon. One night, while taking watch, Barney wanders across what appears to be the wreckage of an airship - his airship. He explains to the party that a week ago, his ship had crashed in a storm over the Hallowgale mountain range; he’d woken up alone and severely wounded, and a pair of kind trappers had taken him to Riggle’s Run for medical attention. Among the wreckage, they find an intricately decorated black box which Barney had never seen before. Confused, they investigate it - Brothos identifies the metal as Adamantine, an incredibly strong material, and Yo-Na is able to detect strong magic radiating off of it in waves. They decide to take it with them, but not to mess with it, for fear of triggering… something.

The next day, Barney leads the party into the mountains, hoping to find the rest of the ship and, more importantly, his crew. They come across a large field strewn with scattered wreckage, as well as the bodies of two of Barney’s crewmates. As he mourns, the party is surprised by a group of Owlbears appearing from the forest - but these owlbears stand on two feet, wield spears, and grunt towards them as though trying to communicate.

They follow the owlbears to a Mountain Lake, from which protrudes the ruined body of Barney’s ship, Myaska’s Favor. The owlbears have built a community here, and they lead the adventurers to a cave, where they find three surviving crewmates: Una, Hugo, and Dax. After a tearful reunion between them and Barney, an older Owlbear leads the party deeper into the cave. They come to a cavern of glowing purple crystals, and with proximity to them, the owlbear, whom the party names Friend, begins to speak in full common sentences. He assures the party that they and their crewmates are welcome to stay as long as they need. The party thanks him, and with this assurance, they decide to swim out to the ship to investigate.

Rhystrata and Yo-Na search the hull, and find crates full of vials containing strange liquids. Rhystrata recognizes it as Wild Magic’s Rush, an illicit drug which she only remembers seeing at wilder parties she’s been to. She decides to keep this knowledge to herself. Barney and Brothos, on the other hand, take a look at the Captain’s office, where they find her journal, the ships manifest, a letter, a satchel filled with ten platinum, and strangest of all, a hidden compartment in her floor containing several feather fall spell scrolls. Upon reading the letter, they discover that the strange black box was meant to be taken to Darenthala and destroyed.

The party also finds the body of a small Gnomish man, the cook, whom they bring with them back to shore. They gather the rest of Barney’s fallen crewmates, and conduct a solemn cremation on the shores of the lake.

That night, while on watch together, Rhystrata presses Barney on what kind of merchandise his ship handled, and he admits to her that they transported illicit material - mostly drugs.

Ep. 4 - Two Tons of Trouble
 After seeing that the night would likely finish quietly, Rhystrata sends Barney back to sleep, continuing the watch alone. She takes a moment to sit on the beach of the lake, in front of the wreckage of Myaska’s Favor. Holding on to a pendant around her neck, Rhystrata seems to say a prayer, of a kind. But the night is quiet, and she receives no response.

That morning, after promising to meet back up with Barney’s crewmates later on, the party heads back out to the road, travelling for several days before reaching the Basben Fields, just outside of Abiddon. On the way into the city, Rhystrata drops some coins into a beggar’s cup - and time seems to stop around her. The beggar smiles as their eyes go white, and the voice of Myaska herself emerges from their mouth, asking Rhystrata what she could do for her, to which Rhystrata answers that she simply wants to know what the Lady of Lost Souls would do with hers. When Myaska simply replies, “Guide,” Rhystrata says, quote, “Why the fuck not.” Myaska accepts her acquiescence, and time resumes, trundling on towards the gates of the city.

There’s a temporary roadblock as the party stops to help a farmer whose cows are being ravaged by Griffins. During the tousle, they meet Luther and Two-Ton a Half-elf and Ogre duo who roam the Basben Fields trying to keep the farmers safe. The two groups decide to meet up later on at a bar called Mal’s in the Lattice Square of Abiddon.

The party takes a tram to the Scarred Assembly, where they hand in their complete quest and sign the book that grants them entry to the guild. Looking to make some money, they take up another contract for a Chimera some ways out of town. Business finished, they set off once again towards the Lattice Square. Mal’s Menagerie is a busy bar run by a huge red Oblex named Mal, who consumed an adventuring party and then took over the bar they used to run. He serves the party some hard-hitting alcohol, and they shoot the shit with Luther and Two-Ton.

At one point, Rhystrata flirts with an Aasimar named Delem, who tells her about Emergent Day - a point in the city’s history when massive trees sprung up on the west side of town, destroying many rich folks’ housing. Luther further explains that when the rich folks had to move, they displaced a lot of the poorer folks, forcing them to move to the Wallows - the slums of the city. Delem turns out to be a rich asshole, and Rhystrata very much wants to punch him - but Barney insists that they need to keep a low profile. Through the night, the party learns that Rhystrata was a soldier who fought hundreds of years ago in the battle against the Undying King.

Ep. 5 - Toll the Dead
 The next morning, the party rises heroically from their hangovers, and with the whole of Abiddon before them to explore, they go to the Library, where they find more information regarding the figure known as the Undying King. He had other titles, including the Undying Tyrant, and though the war was long over, he still had Loyalists - people who supported his rule. Yo-Na also discovers while speaking to some Librarians that the Institute where he used to work - and where he found his patron’s book - has been broken into, though no helpful information about the crime could be provided.

When they leave the library, the party comes across the March of the Dead - a city-wide event where those who have died during the week are carried in coffins to the Abiddon’s cemeteries. It’s usually a quiet and somber occasion - but not this time. Screams begin to erupt in the streets as the dead begin to claw their way out of their coffins. The party moves quickly, cutting down zombies as they move through the mourner-filled streets. Barney spots a suspicious cloaked figure on a rooftop, but in chasing them only comes face-to-face with a group of guards, who insist that the party gets inside the nearest safe place. They ignore these orders, and sneak close enough to a pile of the newly re-dead for Barney to cast Detect Magic - what he feels is pure, unhindered undeath, beyond anything he’s felt before.

When they take a tram across the city, the party is able to see several affected areas spread out across the sprawl. Each of them seems to be a similar size - about 100 feet across. With all the research of the Undying Tyrant, and the presence of undeath still hanging over the city, Rhystrata muses that there were rumors at the end of the war - that the victors didn’t actually kill the Tyrant, as his followers might simply raise him again. But still - nobody has seen him since.

Ep. 6 - Paper Cut
 The party heads back to Remy’s Roomy Respite, exhausted by the day. While Rhystrata trances, Myaska comes to her in the form of a man named Leolin, a follower of hers whom Rhystrata seemed to be familiar with. Myaska challenges Rhystrata, who seems to think that a person like her simply cannot be good. But Myaska argues that life, particularly an elf’s life, is long, and Rhystrata doesn’t seem like the kind of person who gives up easily. Myaska tells Rhystrata to look for her sign - a shooting star - and that she hopes Rhystrata will come when she calls.

Brothos uses the morning to visit the Church of the Everburning Forge, the temple for his Goddess, Breskafell. There, he meets a priest named Yazrael, the Hand of the Great Forge, who seems to know why Brothos has such a strong connection to their Goddess. Brothos is a Bearer - a mortal chosen at birth to bear the emotions of a certain God, to keep the Gods from acting rashly and disturbing the peace of the universe. Each God has several bearers for different emotions - but Brothos seems to bear them all, thus explaining why he explodes into flame whenever he feels anything intensely.

Meanwhile, Yo-Na and Barney head to the massive park in the center of the city, hoping to find information about the Argonius Conclave, a group of extremely powerful Druids who terraformed the mountains which surround the entire city of Abiddon. While searching the park, they find a hidden sign which reads ‘Haven’ in Druidic. . Travelling down the path, they come to a massive tree, which begins to move after Barney repeats the Druidic word out loud.. The two half-elves meet Mauveroot, a massive and completely senile Tree Ent. He tells them that the Argonius Conclave moved out of the city some time ago, looking for friendlier groves. Barney then asks about someone named Tianchi Fairweather - and Mauveroot confirms that she, too, was a member of the Argonius Conclave.

The party leaves Abiddon to track down the Chimera and fulfill their contract for the Scarred Assembly... It takes some time to reach the forest where it lives, but stalking the creature is relatively easy, as it’s left large swathes of burnt trees in its wake. The fight is brutal, and Rhystrata goes down, but Yo-Na lands an epic killing blow. They decide to rest there for the night.

Barney takes a moment to check the manifest that he recovered from Myaska’s Favor. It’s water damaged, but he manages to read a few entries - Wild Magic’s Rush, something called Third Eye, and a single entry titled ‘Sedwin’s Delivery’. He recognizes the Wild Magic’s Rush, and guesses that Sedwin’s Delivery is referring to the strange box, but he’s caught off guard by the listing of Third Eye. It’s a very powerful hallucinogen, and he’d heard Scorn forcefully turn down carrying it before. Confused, he puts the manifest away.

On watch, Rhystrata and Brothos share a one-on-one about Gods. He tells her that he is a Bearer of Breskafell, and she tells him that she is a follower of Myaska - but asks that they don’t share that information with Barney, who seemed to scoff at the Goddess when they discovered the wreckage of his airship.

On his watch, Yo-Na’s book starts vibrating. When he opens it, he sees that his patron, LeRoux, has written him a message: someone is coming after her.

Ep. 7 - Road Tripping
 The break in at the University is what tipped her off. Leroux tells Yo-Na about a powerful Archfey known as the Prince of Fools, whose obsession with chaos and merriment led to a line of pranks that steeply escalated in seriousness as he grew older. After the Prince attempted to ignite a war between the Seelie and Unseelie courts for his own amusement, his parents, Titania and Oberon, decided to punish him. No one knows what they did - only that the Prince  completely disappeared. Some hundreds of years later, he came back, but was different - he called himself the Satyr King, and caused uncontrolled chaos across the Feywild, instigating open conflicts between the courts.

Leroux tells Yo-Na that she came to the Prime Material plane to find someone to help her stop the Satyr King. Her previous wielder, Jensa, helped her discover an ancient weapon created by Titania and Oberon that was potentially powerful enough to stop him. But the two deific archfey had split the weapon into three parts - The Blessing of the Warrior, the Favor of the Fairy Queen, and the Unity - and hidden those parts across the Prime Material, in hopes of keeping it out of destructive hands. The only lead that Leroux has is from Jensa, who left six years ago to search for the Blessing of the Warrior in a place called Kelemtor, and never returned.

When the party rises, they investigate a set of caverns underneath the Chimera’s nest. They find what appears to be an underground hideout, with beds, trunks, crates, and cages. In one cage, they find a set of remains; a crate next to it seems to contain the body’s belongings - thieves tools, a jade swan figurine, a shortsword, white and blue robes, a well-thumbed book called The Righteous Path by Ventrick Loxodus (a well-known anti-magic zealot and extremist), and a medallion with a very familiar symbol on it. The same symbol that was signed on the letter they found at Burton Bergerberry’s camp near Riggle’s Run.

In a nightstand, they find a crumbling old journal. Most of the entries have been gnawed away by bugs, but one entry from six months ago references the body in the cage - apparently he threatened the people who lived here that if they didn’t let him go, some group called the Spellbreakers would be after them.

The party returns to Abiddon, collecting their reward for the Chimera contract and deciding to pick up another - this one for sightings of Basilisks at a place called Sweetberry Farms, outside the city. But first, they go to Mal’s. As they drink, Barney tells the party that he’d had a chance to read the journal which he retrieved from Myaska’s Favor, and from what he read in it, it’s likely that Captain Scorn picked up the box from a man named Sedwin in a town called Garendale - the last place Myaska’s Favor had stopped before crashing.

That night, as the party sleeps, Rhystrata heads to the wealthier part of town on her own. She finds the home of Delem, the Aasimar whom she’d met the first time they were in town. She enters the house, punches him in the face twice, sets his yard on fire, and then runs from the city guards all the way back to the Inn.

The next morning, Brothos goes back to the church of the Everburning Forge, where he communes with Breskafell as he forges a solid piece of steel into the form of a heart on fire.

Barney, meanwhile, takes it upon himself to acquire a vial of Third Eye from a Goblin named Genki Skazzat, who got it from someone named Big Papa. He takes it back to his room at the inn and downs it, resulting in a terrible trip and some not-insignificant property damage.

Ep. 8 - Farm House Rock
 After curing Barney of his bad trip, the party heads off to Sweetberry Farms with Luther and Two-Ton to take care of the Basilisk contract. The little bastards are a pain, but the group is able to put them down relatively easily without any of them turning to stone. However, they do find the stone figures of two dwarves, one of whom is shattered beyond repair. While looking around to make sure that all of the creatures have been taken care of, the party realizes that the farmhouse is weirdly bare - all that Barney is able to find is an old disguise kit.

In the barn, Brothos finds a trapdoor that leads down to a basement. The party climbs down to see a large desk strewn with papers and a portion of the wall boarded shut, with scratch marks in the dirt below indicating how the Basilisks got in. On the desk, they find a map describing the entirety of Abiddon, with notes on guard patrols, and several large circles that encompass entire blocks, and look almost exactly like the circles of affected areas the party had seen from above as they took the tram across the city.

They also find a small wooden box. When they open it, a cacophony of heinous whispers rings through the air, and inside rests a deep black stone which radiates the same pure undeath that Barney felt when he investigated the bodies in the city.

The party rips away the boards on the wall to reveal a tunnel that slopes downward into darkness. They send Luther and Two-Ton back into town before heading into the tunnel. After an hour of walking, the party realizes that this tunnel goes much deeper than just sewer level; in fact, it could go straight to the Underdark. And the dwarves that they found at the farm probably weren’t Dwarves. They were Duergar.

Ep. 9 - The Ne'er-Do-Wells
 The party takes the Duergar man, the strange map, and the creepy rock with them back to the hotel. They go to a magic shop in the Lattice Square run by a Minotaur Mage named Ofain, who says he can identify magic items. They first have him identify a box with a raven skull in it which they found at Granny Thistle’s hut - when you speak the word ‘servant’ in Sylvan, you awaken the raven contained in the box, which can complete the Animal Messenger spell. Then, they produce the black rock. Ofain tells them that the object is most likely a focus, or amplifier, for spells, and that it’s undead energy is so strong that it’s likely a piece of the abyssal plane itself.

The party leaves to take the rock across the Square to the guard headquarters. Rhystrata tells the boys to stay behind for a moment, as she goes forward to attempt to turn herself in for attacking Delem. The guards apparently haven’t heard anything about this, but they ask her to step inside anyway to double check. Concerned at her going in alone, Barney, Brothos, and Yo-Na step forward, telling the guards that they have information regarding the undead rising in Abiddon. It’s only when they produce the map  that the guards believe them and usher them inside.

After confirming that no report has been made by any ‘Delem’ concerning being punched in the face in his own home, Rhystrata rejoins the boys, and the four of them give their statements as they wait for the arrival of Inquisitor Zahir. Zahir is an intimidating tiefling who casts Zone of Truth on the party before grilling them regarding what they found at the farm. The Duergar they brought with them is taken into custody, and Guards are dispatched to collect the remains of the other. The party leaves the Stone and the map with the inquisitor, and are dismissed from the building.

They return to Mal’s and sit down for a good old group catch-up. Brothos reveals to the rest of the party that he is a Bearer of Breskafell.

Rhystrata tells everyone that she did go out during the night and punch Delem in his house. She explains that everyone who fought in the war against the Undying King had to do terrible things to keep Abiddon safe, on the promise that it would not be like other places where the rich and powerful could trample on the weak. The events of Emergent Day, and the aftermath that displaced all of those poor folks to the Wallows, meant that those terrible things they did were for nothing, and in her anger, she lashed out.

Yo-Na introduces the party to his Patron through his book. He tells the party that she’s being chased by the Satyr King, previously known as the Prince of Fools, and that Yo-Na is going to do whatever it takes to help Leroux be free of the Prince. Rhystrata, being from the Feywild, recognizes that name as the title of Hirsam, the Satyr son of Titania and Oberon.

Finally, Barney tells everyone that he lost his mentor, Tianchi, in the crash of Myaska’s Favor. He shares what he and Yo-Na learned from Mauveroot, and that if he can find the Argonius Conclave, he might be able to find her.

Later on, Brothos and Yo-Na split off from the rest of the party to go to the Church of the Everburning Forge. With Rhystrata’s blessing, they ask Yazriel if he’s heard of a man named Domraec Brightband, her commander during the war. Yazriel is able to tell them that Domraec was a General during the war, but is now retired, alive, and living in a small home in the champion’s row district. The two also spend time at the anvil, where Brothos helps Yo-Na forge a dagger. Barney, meanwhile, goes searching for an herbalism kit, eventually buying one from a shop called the Tenderfoot Apothecary, which is run by an animated suit of armor called MORP.

Ep. 10 - Party at the Top of the World
 The party departs Abiddon for the Hallowgale Mountains, in search of the hideout used by the crew of Myaska’s Favor. On the way, they stop at a small grove which Ofain directed them to, believing that some members of the Argonius Conclave could still be there.

In the forest, they meet Gordana, an ancient halfling Druid. She tells the party that the rest of the Conclave left 60 years ago, when the Mage Wood sprung up in the city. She also knows Tianchi,  but says that she was much younger and had a different last name - Selemkashi. Tianchi’s mother, Venthra Selemkashi, was the leader of the Conclave, and lead them far west, past the Spoke (a nexus of several large roads on the continent).

Gordana stayed because her granddaughter, Seldana, lived in the city alone, after her mother, Gordana’s daughter, died in the war against the Undying King. Though Gordana and Seldana didn’t see eye to eye, Gordana didn’t want to leave her granddaughter alone.

They promise Gordana to let her know if they find the rest of the Conclave, thank her profusely for her help, and get on their way, heading west.

One night during their journey, Brothos dreams that he is back in his home city of Zeg - but the temple of Breskafell is missing. Standing where it used to be, silhouetted by a sunset, is the goddess herself. Breskafell asks Brothos if he has was it takes to be forged in flame. The flaming heart which he forged in Abiddon appears in his hands, glowing with heat that he doesn’t feel, as she affirms that she knows this to be true.

She also apologizes to him. Becoming a Bearer was a choice which she made for him, before he could have any say in the matter. But she assures him that he will become indestructible. Alerted by her tone and her words, Brothos asks what is coming that he needs to be indestructible for? She replies only that she will apologize for that when the time comes. When Brothos wakes up, the heart of flame is still warm, and he has gained resistance to fire damage.

Yo-Na, realizing that he’ll likely need to go to the feywild in the future to help Leroux, asks Rhystrata if she knows how to get there. She says that she might be able to help, but they will have to be careful. After promising Yo-Na to secrecy, she tells him that she stole her sword from the grave of a war hero of the winter court, so that she could fight in the war against the Undying King; if she returns to her home in the Feywild, they probably wouldn’t be too pleased about that.

The party leaves their horses and wagon in the foothills of the mountain range, climbing the steep terrain until they finally make it to Barney’s hideout. There, they find not only the survivors from the Owlbear camp, but many more from the rest of the crew, and they reunite joyously with Barney while welcoming the rest of the party into their camp, where they eat, drink, and play cards, enjoying each other's company.

Eventually, the quartermaster, Coora, pulls Barney away to talk. Based on what each of them know about the day of the crash, they figure out that Captain Scorn likely abandoned ship while it was going down using the featherfall scrolls she had hidden in her office. Barney also pointedly asks Coora about the box, ‘Sedwin’s Delivery’, and it becomes obvious that they knew it was on the ship. Apparently, the captain had insisted that it was a personal matter, and that it must stay secret. As for the Third Eye, Coora tells Barney that there were… money issues. The Captain was being extorted, either for money or a favor, and had no choice but to bring it with them. The two end their conversation in favor of continuing the happy occasion, and celebrate for the rest of the night. With the coming of morning, the party rises, eats breakfast, and heads off to Garendale in hopes of solving the mystery of the black box.

But first, they make a stop back at Riggle’s Run, which is flourishing again. When they head to the Mayor’s office to try and see him, an assistant stops them, asking who they are. Brothos says to simply tell Mayor Riggle that, “It’s US.” And thus! The party name is born.

The Mayor is delighted to see US, and greetings are exchanged all around. But he does share some dark news. Two weeks ago, Burton Bergerberry, the gang leader US apprehended, was murdered in his cell. No evidence at all could be found, even by the crowns own investigators, who collected Burton’s body and took it back to Abiddon. Very Mysterious indeed.

But the newly-christened party head back to the Riggle’s Respite, where they first met, and party the night away, before rising again the next morning to continue on to Garendale.

Ep. 11 - No Sleep 'til Garendale
 On the way, they come across a bridge being ‘guarded’ by a man who demands they answer a riddle before they can pass - they do so easily, and he rewards them with a potion of water breathing. Turns out they were the only people that day to actually bother stopping. The man’s name is Open Tresscroft, and he’s travelling from Valis Minier to Abiddon, where he owns a shop called the Tenderfoot Apothecary, the same one Barney visited to buy his herbalism kit.

They bid adieu to Open after a quick lunch, continuing South and West as they skirt around a forest called the Deadwood. They come across a sketchy looking Hobgoblin who appears to be selling lemonade by themself… but as the party draws closer, they yell out, and a group of bandits jump from the trees to attack. Yo-Na goes down during combat, but is quickly brought back up by Rhystrata, and the party makes quick work of the bandits.

Upon investigating deeper in the woods, they encounter a strange phenomenon - none of them can cast magic after going a certain distance in. Put off by the strange dead space, US quickly moves on.

As they approach Garendale, Barney reveals to the party that there is more to the story of his ship’s crash. That day, Myaska’s Favor was skirting around a large storm as they maneuvered towards their hideaway. Seemingly from nowhere, two military airships appeared to flank them, one from the starboard bow and another from the stern. With no other option to get away, the Captain ordered them into the storm, where they were dashed against the mountains. On the off chance that Sedwin could have called the military after sending the Favor away with the strange box, the party agrees to approach carefully.

While exploring Garendale, US comes across a group of blue individuals who all look exceedingly similar. A local is able to tell them that the blue folks come down from the woods every five or six days to buy groceries at the market. Brothos attempts to talk to them, but they aren’t very forthcoming, so Barney decides to wildshape into a fox and follow them into the woods with Yo-Na’s flock of familiars. The group walks towards a strange tower, but every time Yo-Na and Barney try to get to it, in a blink, it’s moved to a different location. Frustrated, the two half-elves head back to town to discuss the mystery with Brothos and Rhystrata.

Ep. 12 - Against the Ropes
 Hoping to learn more about the tower, US heads to a shop called the Inlaid Vein. There, they meet Terrence, a Loxodon mage. He doesn’t know much, except that the building belongs to a Tiefling Wizard named Sedwin - the name of the person who gave Captain Scorn the strange box.

US then heads to the mines to find Jezma Dort, a Goliath Woman who seems to be the town’s unofficial leader, as well as the manager of the mine. She’s never met Sedwin in person, but she has spoken to his emissaries - the blue folks who work as his assistants. Four days ago, one of them was murdered in the town market. Sedwin had sent some of them to her to demand that she figure out who did it. She bemoans the amount of work on her plate, as she also mentions that the town's cleric, Arby Kimble, has gone missing, and on top of all of that, she’s had several mine workers go down into some new tunnels and not come back up.

The party offers to go down into the mines to investigate for her, as well as look into the murder in town. She heartily agrees, and the four adventurers descend into the mines. There, they face off against a Roper and several fey spiders. Rhystrata goes down, paralyzed by fey spider poison, but is revived with a lesser restoration and some healing.

Upon investigation, they discover that this cavern houses a massive vein of Deltarium ore - the near-priceless metal which allows cities to float, and airships to fly. But this vein is solidly under ground, and none of it is floating. Unsure of what to make of this information, or who to tell, the party heads back up, straight back to Jezma’s office.

Ep. 13 - Trouble in Paradise
 Hoping to keep the miners from discovering the Deltarium, US advises Jezma to stop digging in that direction, lest her workers meet with more fey spiders. Barney uses the Animal Messenger Raven to send a message to Sedwin, requesting an audience with him under the psuedonym Chadlee Kholmace.

That night, Yo-Na dreams of being back at the Institute, when a strange voice comes to him, calling him the Tome Wielder. The voice coalesces into a dark figure with brilliant purple eyes, and insists that Yo-Na has something that belongs to it. Another figure, this one made of radiating light, appears next to Yo-Na, and he recognizes it as Leroux. The dark figure croons to Leroux that it’s time to come home, but Yo-Na steps forward, telling him to get lost.

Undeterred, the figure pulls a silver bookmark from the shadows, telling Leroux that she forgot it. ‘You shouldn’t leave things like this lying around… they could fall into the wrong hands.’

Outside of the dream, Rhystrata wakes to find three satyrs sneaking into the room. They grab the book from Yo-Na’s bedside table and run for the door. The party manages to wake and stop them, but it’s a very close call.

US asks Jezma why she had her folks digging in that direction. She says they were just branching out, but advises that they speak to Sevis, their geologist. The group advises both Jezma and Sevis to NOT go in that direction anymore, lest they meet more Fey Spiders. The party stops off again at the Inlaid Vain, where they get tattoos, both magical and mundane, and Barney sends a message to Sedwin, using the animal messenger raven that they picked up at the Hag’s hut in episode two, requesting an audience under the pseudonym Chadlee Kholmace. That night, Yo-Na has a dream where he’s at the Institute. A strange, dark voice comes to him, calling him the Tome Wielder. A figure of absolute darkness with bright purple eyes coalesces in front of him, and tells him that he has something that belongs to it. Next to Yo-Na another figure appears, this one made of glowing white light, and Yo-Na recognizes it as Leroux. The dark figure calls Leroux ‘my dear’, and tells her that it’s time for her to ‘come home’. Yo-Na, with a display of confidence, tells the dark figure to get lost. But they pull a silver rod with a tassel from their form - Yo-Na recognizes it as a bookmark, as he feels waves of distress pouring off of Leroux. The figure tells her, ‘You forgot this. You shouldn’t leave things like this lying around… they could fall into the wrong hands.’ As this happens, Rhystrata awakes from her trance to find a group of satyrs sneaking into the room. One of them grabs the book off of Yo-Na’s bedside table, running for the door. The party manages to stop them all, leaving one alive - but the single satyr bites a capsule of poison, dying before the party can ask them any questions.

The bookmark tt Yo-Na saw in his dreams falls out of the book. Leroux tells him that this is the Bookmark of the Pactkeeper - she hadn’t brought it with her to this plane, and the figure in Yo-Na’s dream, whom she confirms to be the Satyr King, clearly found it and used it to find her here. He’s pursuing her because he’s unnaturally obsessed with her - so much so that he declared her his bride, with no thought to her wishes. Yo-Na reassures her that this isn’t going to stop him from helping her.

The party fall into a fitful slumber, rising the next morning to find a group of Sedwin’s emissaries gathered outside their inn. Sedwin has agreed to an audience with US; but only if we find out who killed his assistant in the market.

When the party investigates the crime scene, they find a set of several footprints leading out of town, to a cave. Stealthing inside, they discover two people tied up and gagged in the corner, and four rough-looking individuals who are sitting around and discussing plans to kill the wizard in the tower. The party takes advantage of their stealth, catching the figures off-guard.

As they battle, the party recognizes the symbol of the Spellbreakers on some of their necklaces. Their weapons are made of a strange stone, and seem to have anti-magic effects, which the party just manages to save from.

US triumphs over the Spellbreakers handily, and they gather the remaining members of the murderous group together for questioning.

Ep. 14 - The Cost of Life
 Yo-Na unties the two prisoners. One of them, an elderly halfling, introduces himself as Arby Kimble - the missing cleric. The other is a dwarf named Bimbus Gaffor, the nephew of Birina Broskovitch, who owns the mine and lives in a large, fabulous mansion in town. The rope used to bind them has small stones woven into it - the same stone on their anti-magic weapons.

The town doesn’t have a jail, so Bimbus invites US to keep the captured Spellbreakers in the basement of his aunt’s mansion.

At the mansion, they meet Birina, an ancient dwarven woman… at least, that’s how she appears. Once they get down into the basement to stow away the criminals, her form grows taller, shifting and changing until she no longer looks like a dwarven woman, but a tall doppelgänger. She apologizes for misleading the party, introducing herself as the Grey Lady, leader of Hollow Hill Hideaway thieves guild. The basement is tall and vaulted, with a bar, and tables, and several other guild members.

The Grey Lady seems interested in what they’re doing in Garendale - particularly in what Rhystrata is doing in Garendale. More specifically, she asks Rhystrata if she is on the run. When the party is obviously confused, the Grey Lady produces a book of bounty posters and turns to a page which clearly has Rhystrata’s name and face on it - wanted dead, for 15,000 gold. The lack of crown markings mean that her bounty is moving specifically through back channels, to thieves, assassins and such. Apparently, Delem wanted revenge after all. Delem was getting his revenge.

Feeling the obvious threat, they ask the Grey Lady what she wants. As it turns out, she doesn’t want money, but rather wants to make a deal with the party. She’ll forget about the bounty, if they will help her locate an agent of hers who went dark after completing a job in Avalstrahd, as well as the object he was sent to retrieve.

While the party decides what to do, Barney asks to borrow the Grey Lady’s book of bounties. When she was thumbing through to find Rhystrata’s page, Barney had caught a glimpse of a familiar face. Barney searches frantically through the book, finally coming to the right entry. When Rhystrata asks him what he’s doing, he shows her the page - a 1,200 g bounty for the capture of a young woman with curly hair, named Yseult, for cavorting with and recruiting for a group called the Brotherhood of the Beast. Yseult is Barney’s sister.

The Brotherhood of the Beast is a group of Lycanthropes who live in the Splinterwood. They’ve recently been causing more trouble than usual for the towns around the Forest, as they’ve been attacking any caravans and killing or kidnapping anyone on them. Trade has completely stopped through those roads.

The Grey Lady produces a map, pointing out the road to Avalstrahd, where they would be travelling to look for her man. The city rests just outside of the Splinterwood. US decides to sleep on their decision, and stay over at the Hollowhill Hideaway.

The next morning, the party escorts the captured Spellbreakers into town, meeting Sedwin’s Emissaries once again and following them back to the strange tower. When they enter, they are greeted by a red-skinned tiefling who introduces himself as Sedwin. The emissaries move off with the Spellbreakers, leaving the party to speak with the wizard.

They waste no time in pulling the box from their belongings, placing it on the table before Sedwin. Barney drops the Chadlee pseudonym, telling the wizard that they had found the box in the remains of Myaska’s Favor, after it crashed out of the sky.

Sedwin opens the box - revealing an obsidian black helmet, encompassed by the same echoing whispers the party heard when they looked at the deep black rock in Abiddon. Sedwin says that the helmet is a relic that once belonged to a figure called the Herald of the Abyss. At the party’s confusion, he starts from the very beginning."At the beginning of the universe, there was one God, the first God, the Void; commonly referred to as the Progenitor God. Out of boredom and loneliness, the Progenitor God made the land, the elements, the universe, and more Gods to inhabit it. But the Progenitor God was not used to coexisting or bending to the wills of others. Wishing to return to it’s loneliness, the Progenitor God lashed out against the created Gods; but they fought back, pushing against the darkness. The Unceasing Void consumed what it could, hoping to destroy what it had made. But the created Gods prevailed, in the only way they could prevail against something which can’t be killed. They trapped the Void, and he became his own plane - one of unceasing nothingness, called the Abyss. The helmet, which Sedwin had found and acquired with the hope of destroying it, was from one of the Progenitor God’s first attempts to free himself and return. He bestowed it upon an individual who wished to free him, and the Helmet granted them great power. There are several such relics, and anyone looking to free the Void would need to have all of them to do so."When the party mentions finding a stone with similar attributes to the helmet, Sedwin immediately connects it back to the undead rising in Abiddon - apparently, there have been reports across the world of spontaneous necromantic events. The party recalls the Bergerberry gang member who rose again in Riggle’s Run. Somehow, energy from the abyss is pouring into corpses on the Prime Material and bringing them back to life.

Sedwin invites US further into the tower, where they see him in his true form - infinitely older and more worn than what they’d seen before. Sedwin reveals that he used to work as a professor at the Institute in Valis Minier, but was kicked out for what they called ‘necromancy’ - each of his blue assistants was created using his own life force, before he knew what it was doing to his body.

They tell him about the Deltarium Vein below his tower, and how it remained strangely subterranean. He teaches them that the Deltarium which levitates the flying cities on this continent have gained levitation by being charged over hundreds of years as they sat on top of intersecting ley lines. The vein below his tower had not been exposed to those powerful magical signatures, so it doesn’t have the charge necessary to float. It’s possible that the ore could be manually enchanted, if they had lots of time and many dedicated mages.

Sedwin is also able to translate the word Safromet for Brothos, who first heard it back in Granny Thistle’s hut. It’s an Ignian word, meaning ‘sun-forged’; it was also the name of the Sultan of the 746th dynasty of the City of Brass, who was notably the first Azier to ever sit on the throne.

US agrees to leave the Helmet of the Herald with Sedwin, until they are able to travel north with it to Darenthala.

Ep. 15 - Fall Where They May
In the morning, they find that Sedwin has marked six other places across the continent where spontaneous necromancy has been reported. At Barney’s request, Sedwin performs a scrying spell on Captain Scorn - they find that she is living in an inn located at the Spoke. Rhystrata recognizes a massive pile of rocks at the center of the Spoke as a holy site for Myaska, where travelers will leave a rock from their travels as they pass by. Scorn seems to be heading west. Sedwin agrees to contact the party every so often with updates on her location, and he also provides them with several magical pieces of paper, which will carry a message to any person they address it to, should they need to contact him.

As the party clears the tree line on the way back to town, they see that an Abiddonian Naval Airship has landed at the sky dock. Barney panics, wildshaping into a dog before they move forward. As they pass by, US can see that the ship is the Morningstar - a medical unit, mostly, carrying medicine into town.

They agree to the Grey Lady’s proposal, and she fills them in on the details of their job. Her agent, Lero Silverwind, was sent to retrieve an item stolen from her by the patriarch of the Howlitzer family, one of the noble families of Avalstrahd. Lero had confirmed that he’d killed Howlitzer and attained the object, but never reported back to Hollowhill. US will be taking Bimbus with them to find Lero, find the object, and find out why he failed to return.

The party hits the road for the long journey to Avalstrahd. One night, on watch, Brothos hears howling from far off in the woods. He sneaks in to investigate, and finds several Lycanthropes pillaging a blood-stained cart. They see him, and give chase. He kills one in the effort to get away, and the other flees.

Ep. 16 - A Date with Divinity
 In Avalstrahd, the party finds lodging at the Shaleback Inn, a rickety tower built on the back of a large aquatic creature swimming in a pond. They meet another lodger at the Inn’s bar - a handsome half-elf named Herois. Herois and Rhystrata share a few drinks before she invites him up to her room. When they get there, Herois apologizes, before pulling out a pendant with a familiar symbol of a shooting star over a mountain. His eyes go white, and Myaska’s voice comes from his mouth. Myaska tells Rhystrata that she’s worried there is a part of Rhys that Rhys is hiding from herself. Myaska warns against pushing it down too far, because it will only make it more difficult to bring back up. She also encourages Rhystrata to try praying a little more often. In seven days, she promises to send Rhystrata a gift, telling her once again to look for her sign. When Myaska leaves, Rhystrata asks Herois to show her how he prays.

The next day, Yo-Na searches the Library of the local Bard College for information regarding Titania and Oberon’s weapon. He finds one story detailing an individual who visited a place far to the north of the continent, where ‘the fey queen lays her gifts beneath a frozen star.’

US heads into Lower Avalstrahd to search for information about Lero. They find the Hell’s Pawn, a sketchy dive bar staffed by imps and run by a Tiefling named Thez. She tells them that Lero had come to her bar, gotten wasted, and started babbling about the ‘heist of the century’. Three days later, Halder Howlitzer was announced dead. Lero was then arrested, and would probably be executed after Howlitzer’s funeral.

With this new knowledge, Bimbus suggests that US leave him to work through his own channels, and split off to try and find out what they can about Barney’s Sister, given the proximity of the Splinterwood. They agree, heading out of town towards the forest. As they walk, Rhystrata asks Barney why he hasn’t seen his sister in so long.

Barney explains: Eight years ago, the two of them were forcibly enrolled into a training program for the Royal Abidonnian Air Fleet. They were supposed to leave the very same day - but Yseult, thinking quickly, had a plan to escape. She tried to get Barney to come with her, but in the tense and fleeting moment, he’d choked. He was taken to an Airship, where he would stay for four years, rarely touching down and unable to contact anyone but his parents and brother. He finally managed to run away by stowing away on Myaska’s Favor… but by then, he had no idea where Yseult was, and no way of finding her.

Ep. 17 - Out of the Woods
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="&#9660;" data-collapsetext="&#9650;"> When they reach the woods, US sends a message to the Grey Lady with what they’d been able to find out about Lero so far. Then, Barney wild shapes into the woods and heads in, with Yo-Na’s flock of familiars following. The plant life in the forest is thick and unnaturally sharp, cutting into Barney’s skin (so that’s why it’s called the Splinterwood). Barney comes across a man walking through the woods alone and decides to follow him, eventually coming to an overgrown stone structure with a tunnel leading below. Barney follows the man inside, moving through complete darkness until he sees a group of were-badgers digging at the end of a torchlit tunnel. He can also hear the sound of a deep, angry voice in heated conversation with a much meeker one. Barney tries to leave without being noticed, but accidentally knocks over a pile of rocks, alerting the Brotherhood members to his presence - he sprints out of the hideout, chased by Lycanthropes, and manages to get back to the party without being caught.

US decides to try and find more information in town before going back out to the hideaway. Thez, the Hell’s Pawn owner, doesn’t know much, but she is able to tell them that if they really want to get in contact with the Brotherhood, their best bet is to go to Sleath, a town one weeks travel south of Avalstrahd.

US decides to head to the prison to see if they can find Lero, and the object that he stole from Howlitzer. They are turned away by a rather rude human lieutenant named Olrick Faldrim. Rhystrata attempts to persuade the official by saying that she was sent by Domraec Brightband, her former commander, to check on the prisoner - but all the party receives is a piece of paper confirming his arrest, as well as a few snide remarks about the retired General Brightband. Infuriated, Rhystrata throws her gauntlet down in front of one of the Lieutenant’s men, directing them to tell Eldermore that she challenges him to a duel.

The party finds Bimbus, who is in disguise at a random bar in Lower Avalstrahd. Yo-Na disguises himself to look like Senza, a Lizardfolk from the Hollowhill Hideaway, and goes in to talk to him. Bimbus admits to Senza/Yo-Na that Lero is in prison, and though he hasn’t found the missing object yet, he just needs a few more days. Senza/Yo-Na tells him that he has two weeks, while US travels to Sleath to chase down a lead on Barney’s sister.

As they leave town, Brothos stops to buy a massive gauntlet to match Rhystrata, who teaches him the ins and outs of dueling.

Seven days into their journey to Sleath, Rhystrata catches sight of a shooting star arcing over a nearby mountain range - the sign of Myaska. The star grows bigger, heading straight towards her, before streaking over her head and impacting the ground with a massive explosion.

Ep. 18 - A Rock and a Scarred Place
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="&#9660;" data-collapsetext="&#9650;"> The meteor leaves a massive scar in the ground. When Rhystrata climbs down to examine it, she is transported to a pure white space, and she meets Myaska face to face for the first time.

Myaska promises Rhystrata that she will bestow her gifts, if Rhystrata pledges herself to her. Rhys accepts, and is anointed Myaska’s champion, and given her first task: Myaska plucks a star from the sky, and produces a baby Kirin, which Rhystrata is to care for until it is strong enough to take care of itself.

Rhystrata comes back to herself to see that the meteor is slowly melting away, leaving the form of a small, white-and-gold Kirin sleeping in it’s bowl. She names him Tarryn.

In Sleath, US finds a chapter of the Scarred Assembly, where they meet Delà, Martell, and Cassidy, whose jobs have pretty much turned into defending against Lycanthropes exclusively. They learn that members of the Brotherhood will come into town looking like non-Lycanthropic races, but then will kidnap people, turn them, and take them to the woods, where they are put to work on some unknown project.

There are folks among the Brotherhood who are a different kind of Lycanthropes - more primal, and very powerful, which is how they’ve managed to keep people out there against their will. Even though the Brotherhood has existed in the Splinterwood for some 40 or 50 years, the kidnapping, murder, and incessant looting are more recent, and they have no idea what started it. The party doesn’t mention that Barney’s sister has been kidnapped by the Brotherhood, but they do make their interest in the group obvious, and Delà suggests that they work together to stop the Brotherhood from continuing their destructive acts.

The party decides to sleep on it before making a decision. Before going to an inn, they stop at a place called the Mulch House - a shop run by a Lizardfolk named Musk, who Delà says is advertising potion cures for Lycanthropy. It doesn’t take long to figure out that Musk’s wares are bullshit, and even the ones that aren’t are heinously overpriced. They thoroughly threaten him against continuing to sell his snake oil, and he seems to get the picture.

When US settles down at Pat and Tap’s Tavern, Barney heads upstairs to send a message to Yseult using one of the magic papers Sedwin gave them. Brothos also reveals that he has gained the ability to wield magic, using his new Bard abilities to summon a silent image of Barney!

The next day, US returns to the assembly, agreeing to work together to stop the Brotherhood. Delà tells them that the Assembly has a fourth member, an Air Genasi named Vape, who’s recently made connections with the thieves guild in town. She suggests they head there to see if they can find more information. When they arrive at the thieves guild, Vape introduces them to their leader - a rotund and distinctly undead individual who calls himself the True King of Sleath. The True King of Sleath offers to give them the information they came for - but only if they do him a favor of equal value in return. Recognizing a bad deal, the party turns him down, and it seems like they’ll be leaving empty handed - until Brothos pulls out the massive gauntlet he bought in Avalstrahd and throws it at the King of Sleath’s feet.

Ep. 19 - The Grapes of Wrath
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="&#9660;" data-collapsetext="&#9650;"> The terms of the duel are settled: if Brothos wins, the King of Sleath tells them all he knows about the Brotherhood. If the King wins, he gets a favor from the party. The battle is intense, with the King of Sleath battling Brothos’ pure strength with his own skillful swashbuckling. But the radiance of Breskafell cannot be extinguished, and Brothos triumphs in victory!

When the fight is over, the tone of their interactions with the King and his men shifts abruptly from menacing to… friendly? US is invited to eat with the King and his crew, as he lays out what he knows.

As it turns out, a branch of the Brotherhood has been operating out of Sleath itself for some time now. They have a secret hideaway in the basement of a building called the Mulch House. Yes, that Mulch House.

US wastes no time in gathering their Assembly allies and heading there for a little bit of reconnaissance. Barney wildshapes into a spider and hitches a ride on Cassidy’s sock to get in unnoticed by Musk, before scurrying under the basement door. Inside, he spots several Lycanthropes, and two non-lycans passed out in cages. Unaware of Barney’s presence, the werefolks talk amongst themselves - one of them wonders aloud why they’re bothering to stay in Sleath, and why ‘Hakota’ is so interested in it. They’re silenced by a large were-bear slamming their hand down on the table, insisting that they stop complaining and just do what they’re told. The bearfolk then walks towards a bookshelf in the corner, rolling it back to reveal a tunnel that disappears into the earth.

As he walks down the tunnel, a were-tiger sitting at the table spots the spider on the ceiling, and flicks a dagger at it. Barney’s wildshape drops, and he falls to the floor in front of the creatures. With a well-timed message spell from Yo-Na, the party realizes what’s happening and rushes in to do battle with the Brotherhood.

The fight is vicious; Barney, Brothos, and Yo-Na are all bitten and infected with Lycanthropy. They manage to keep Cassidy out of most of the danger, but the party is badly bleeding by the end. In the aftermath, Yo-Na forgoes curing himself in order to banish the Lycanthropy from both Barney and Brothos.

While investigating the back room, Barney finds a were-rat, who surrenders immediately. He introduces himself as Simmons, and insists that he has no allegiance to the Lycanthropes US had fought. In fact, he’s been working with another person to undermine the Brotherhood’s power and kidnapping efforts in the city. A person named Yseult (DUN DUN DUNNN).

Ep. 20 - As Above, So Below
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="&#9660;" data-collapsetext="&#9650;"> Barney introduces himself as Yseult’s brother, begging to know anything Simmons can tell them. Simmons draws the party a rough map - the Brotherhood have one main camp and five outposts spread throughout the Splinterwood. At each of the outposts, the Brotherhood have their conscripted members digging, looking for fragments of some unknown object.

The Brotherhood is led by five main people, who Simmons says are different from the rest of them - similar to Dela’s description of the Primal lycanthropes they’d encountered. Hakota is the leader. Clayton is the messenger, a were-owl. Morcus is a large were-gorilla. And the last two are named Heinrich and Thelden, though Simmons doesn’t know much about them.

Simmons produces two messages he’d found in the were-bear’s desk.

This first one reads: ''‘the info provided by the Seer has paid off - we’ve located the first fragment. Increase the rate of your excavation immediately. Hakota’s orders. Signed, Clayton.’''

The other says: ''‘the second fragment has been located. The Seer is proving more useful than we realized. We have to find the third piece before the months’ end. If we can’t, we’ll regroup and clear outpost C of it’s infestation. It has to be there.’''

Simmons and Yseult were posted in Sleath to capture more townsfolk to turn into workers for the Brotherhood. The two had purposefully been doing a bad job of it - but a week ago, Yseult was relieved of her duty and called into the main camp, and her replacements (the werefolk US had fought) were doing a much more thorough job.

The camp itself has wooden walls and houses about 50 people, all loyal to Hakota - though it’s hard to tell who among them is truly there because they want to be. The Primal leaders of the Brotherhood have some kind of siring effect over the other Lycanthropes, allowing them to influence their thoughts. The only reason Simmons is able to resist is because Yseult discovered that Holly negates the siring effect, and both of them wear a locket containing a sprig of the foreign plant around their neck.

After Yo-Na heals himself and the two hostages, everyone goes back to the Scarred Assembly, where Barney finally reveals to Dela, Martell, Cassidy, and Vape that the Brotherhood has taken his sister hostage. They make plans for a rescue mission.

The next morning, Yo-Na opens his book to a burst of confetti and a large message wishing him a happy birthday. MATT ELECTS NOT TO SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH THE REST OF THE GROUP. >:(

The party gathers with the Assembly, and they head into the woods, with Simmons leading them to the main camp. Rhystrata and Dela flank the south wall, Brothos and Martell circle from above on Martell’s giant owl, Figaro, and Barney wildshapes into a giant badger to dig straight into the camp with Simmons, Yo-Na, and Vape.

The Burrowers come up inside a small storage building. When Barney peeks out into camp, he can see several folks mulling about - as well as a man standing on a small hill, surveying the camp. He’s a dark-haired human, with a finely kept beard, and a long, furred cloak. Simmons curses - it’s Hakota. The red tent where they’re likely keeping Yseult is situated at the foot of the hill, well within his eyeline. Seeing no way of getting there without a distraction, Yo-Na sends a message to Rhystrata and Brothos.

Rhystrata throws a vial of acid at the wall, breaking it down with Dela. Meanwhile, Brothos leaps from Figaro, falling to the earth as he bursts into raging flame.

Ep. 21 - Over, Under, and Through
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="&#9660;" data-collapsetext="&#9650;"> Hakota intercepts Brothos, shifting into a massive lycanthropic saber tooth tiger - but when he bites down on Brothos, Brothos doesn’t feel the effects of the turn.

Another figure emerges from the tent, draped in black robes and holding a staff twined with splinters and bone. He turns to Rhystrata and Dela, and his eyes go black as he summons a mass of obsidian flames which take the form of a humanoid.

Yo-Na, Simmons, Vape, and Barney make it to the red tent undetected. The inside is one massive cage, furnished with tables and strewn with diagrams, beakers, and medical equipment. Chained to one of these tables is a lithe half-elf woman with short, wildly curly red hair. It’s Yseult.

Yo-Na misty escapes into the cage and thunder steps out with her in tow, running back to the tunnel, and Barney, Vape, and Simmons follow behind. The rest of the party swiftly retreats, leaving the camp in chaos.

Once they return to the Scarred Assembly, Barney and Yseult embrace with tears of joy, reuniting finally after 8 long years.

With the morning comes breakfast, and explanations. When the Brotherhood turned Yseult, her medical skill piqued their interest. She was brought to Hakota, who, as it turns out, is deathly sick with an unknown ailment. His symptoms are strange and erratic - one day he’s fine, and the next he seems near death. What’s more, every time Yseult got close to him, Hakota’s symptoms would abate, leaving her unable to get a good look. She’d managed to document one significant symptom - a scarring rash that runs over Hakota’s chest in erratic patterns.

As for the dark-robed figure - the Brotherhood calls him the Seer, but his name is Desmaketh; a word Yo-Na recognizes as Abyssal, meaning ‘the fire starter’. Yseult doesn’t know much about him - only that he works very closely with Hakota. And while Hakota has been the leader of the Brotherhood for a long time, he changed a lot when Desmaketh appeared.

Ep. 22 - Holly Back, Girl
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="&#9660;" data-collapsetext="&#9650;"> Realizing that they will have to return to fight Hakota and free the captured Lycanthropes, Rhystrata suggests that the party enlists the King of Sleath and his men in a siege against the main camp. The King agrees heartily, and sends US to a local bakery run by an old halfling woman named Specka Roundrun. Specka turns out to be a cut throat arms dealer, and they acquire several magical objects to help them in their quest.

Back at the Assembly, Yseult has figured out a way to turn the Holly sprigs into an aerosol - all she needs is more holly. After Yo-Na cures her of her lycanthropy, Yseult hands her holly sprig over to Barney, to see if he can do anything with it. She also tells Barney that she never received the paper bird message that he sent three days ago.

The party gathers with the Assembly for planning - Yseult supplies that Hakota is clever, but prone to emotional overreaction, which they could use to their advantage. Yo-Na, in a flash of genius, suggests that they use the anti-magic ropes - which Yseult identifies as being woven through with ‘null stones’ - to bind Desmaketh, taking out a major player on the battlefield.

That night, Barney begins an 8 hour ritual casting of Plant Growth on the Holly sprig. Brothos, Rhys, and Yo-Na decide to take turns watching over him as he casts - a wise decision, as during Brothos’ watch, he hears strange noises from the rooftops across the street. Looking closer, he sees strange shapes huddled against the shingling. When he pokes one with a Mage Hand, the creature screeches, rousing the others - a group of three were-bats take off and fly away, over the wall. Rhystrata and Yo-Na come back outside, and the party spends the rest of the night protecting Barney. At the end of eight hours, the Holly has grown from a sprig into a hedge - more than enough to provide for Yseult’s invention.

Ep. 23 - Holly Hand Grenades
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="&#9660;" data-collapsetext="&#9650;"> The next morning, US sends off another set of messages to both Bimbus and the Grey Lady, explaining that their detour is going to take a little longer than expected. Over breakfast, they pontificate over the strangeness of the Seer, the dark-robed mage with an Abyssal name. Barney recalls that Ofain had identified the deep black rock they found at Sweetberry Farms as a piece of the Abyss itself. And Sedwin had said the same of the black Helmet, an artifact of power provided by the Progenitor God to his Herald - one artifact of many. When Barney brings up that Yseult didn’t get his paper bird message, Yo-Na speculates that it might have been intercepted.

With these facts hanging ominously over the party, Barney splits off to search for silvered weapons. He comes across a flamboyant merchant who advertises anti-werewolf and -vampire tools, but it all appears to be totally fake. The merchant introduces himself as Clayton - and recognizing the name of the Primal’s messenger, Barney hurries back to the Assembly for help.

Rhystrata, Yo-Na, and Brothos go back to the market to search for the merchant Barney described, but he’s nowhere to be seen. Only his stand and his travelling wagon remain. Yo-Na steps inside the wagon, and immediately sees a dead body matching Barney’s description exactly. As they draw closer, they see the telltale signs of a triggered alarm spell, and quickly move the wagon and the body back to the Assembly.

The party realizes that Clayton likely murdered this man and assumed his likeness to go unnoticed in town. They also realize that they haven’t seen Simmons for some time. A search of the Assembly confirms their fears - Simmons is missing.

The party doubles down on their preparation efforts, anxious to unseat Hakota and save their friend. By the end of the day, Yseult, Barney, and Brothos have managed to make four Holly Bombs.

US hides Yseult, Cassidy, and Tarryn at the Court of Sleath, in case the were-bats have a plan to take advantage of their absence. They meet up with the King of Sleath and his crew at the edge of forest, heading in to make their attack. The King of Sleath and his crew flank the camp from the south east, with US coming in from the north and Martell flying above for air control. They successfully infiltrate, launching their attack as planned. Yseults Holly Bombs work perfectly, reversing the siring effect on several of their Lycanthrope combatants. But as the fight wears on, the party realizes that there aren’t as many people here as they thought there would be. And though one of the primals - a massive hippo-man named Heinrich - is there, Hakota and Desmaketh are nowhere to be found.

Ep. 24 - Spread Too Thin
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="&#9660;" data-collapsetext="&#9650;"> With the camp successfully captured, one of the unsired Lycanthropes is able to tell US what happened. Clayton and Morcus had been sent back to town to retrieve Yseult, while Hakota and Desmaketh led the rest of the camp on to outpost C, where they would look for the final fragment of their unknown artifact. Yo-No, Rhystrata, and Brothos walk back to Sleath with the freed Lycans, while Barney flies ahead with Martell.

As they approach from above, they can see a column of black smoke rising from the location of the Scarred Assembly. It’s been set ablaze - Barney is able to retrieve just a few sprigs of holly before the entirety of the building and the hedge is incinerated. Down the street, he spots a were-bat on the roof of the Mulch House. He follows after, and can hear Simmons' voice echoing down in the basement. Fearing that they’ve captured his sister too, Barney once again wildshapes into a spider to stealth downstairs.

He immediately sets off another alarm spell, and is quickly returned to his half-elf form and subdued by Clayton, Morcus, and their Lycanthrope henchfolk. With a tragic natural one, Barney fails his Wisdom save against Clayton’s spellcasting, and the memory of where they hid Yseult, Cassidy, and Tarryn is pulled to the front of his mind for Clayton to read. After Clayton leaves with some of the other Lycanthropes, Barney manages to break both himself and Simmons out of their cages, running back up to the street and hiding in an alley to wait for the rest of the party.

When they hear what’s happened, Brothos, Rhystrata, and Dela split from Yo-Na and the rest of the Lycanthropes to run ahead, entering the Mulch House through the tunnel outside of town. They come face to face with Morcus and his thugs. The fight is brutal, and Rhystrata goes down - but they manage to succeed with no casualties. When the party finally meets back up, they leave the freed were-folks at the Mulch House and head to the Court of Sleath. There, they find Cassidy, unconscious on the ground, surrounded by signs of struggle. Tarryn emerges from a hiding spot - he’d healed Cassidy, and prevented her from dying. Yseult, though, had been dragged away by Clayton to leave Sleath.

US gives chase, tracking Yseult’s dragging footmarks through town until they come upon a group of people, led by an old man, carrying an unconscious form with a bag over their head. The old man - Clayton - shifts into his owl form and begins to fly away with Yseult. Yo-Na thundersteps up to him, dragging him down as the rest of the party fights off the Lycanthropes. When it becomes clear that he won’t get away with both Yseult and his life, Clayton drops her, turns invisible, and flees.

Desperate for a safe place to rest, the party heads to the Tasty Crumble bakery, where Yo-Na and Brothos are able to charm Specka into letting them stay the night. The party takes watches even as they sleep inside Yo-Na’s tiny hut.

During Rhystrata’s watch, she hears a quiet tapping on one of the windows. A small breeze is pushing a tree branch against the glass. As the wind picks up, it sends leaves whirling in small eddies through the air - which then begin to coalesce into a familiar humanoid figure. The voice of Desmaketh echoes around her: “Hello. I was hoping I could speak with you all for a moment.”

Ep. 25 - Accepted
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="&#9660;" data-collapsetext="&#9650;"> Rhystrata wakes the party, alerting them to the shadowy figures’ presence. Desmaketh says that he wants no quarrel with the party - on the contrary, he just wants them to take Yseult, turn around, and leave him to his plans. He won’t tell them what he’s looking for, but he promises that if they leave now, they’ll hear no more from him, the Brotherhood, or Hakota. Desmaketh admits that he is the one who made Hakota sick, and when he finds what he’s looking for, he’ll kill the Lycanthrope, ridding the Brotherhood of the leadership which pushed them to steal and murder.

When the party seems unwilling to do as he asks, he moves on to making threats. Desmaketh had managed to intercept the letter that Barney had tried to send to Yseult when they first got to Sleath. The object apparently provided a strong link for him to spy on them from anywhere, magically. If the party refuses to leave, Desmaketh promises to leave Hakota alive, the Brotherhood intact, and to paint a target on Yseult’s back so that she’ll never be safe.

He leaves the party to decide amongst themselves. They suspect that Desmaketh is involved with the abyss- And even if he isn’t, he’s influenced the Brotherhood to do terrible things. But Barney refuses to put Yseult in danger - and the rest of the party agrees. The next day, they say goodbye to their friends in Sleath, and move on, back to Avalstrahd.

When US arrives at the Shaleback Inn, where they were supposed to meet Bimbus on their return, Delsyn tells them that he hasn’t seen the dwarf in several days. Deciding that Bimbus is likely still undercover in Lower Avalstrahd, the party moves along to the Hell’s Pawn. Thez tells them that about a week ago, someone tried to break Lero (the Grey Lady’s agent) out of jail, and ended up getting arrested themselves. They begin to suspect the worst, and when a sweep of the city turns up no sign of Bimbus, their fears are all but confirmed. They begin planning ways to break into the prison, including using Rhystrata’s still-pending duel with Lieutenant Eldermore as a distraction.

Knowing that they won’t be able to take on any such feat until tomorrow, they head to the Bard College, where Brothos is able to get some guidance from the faculty. He spends time working on his burgeoning bard skills while the rest of the party dallies around town. At the end of the day, they meet back up - and decide to go on a tavern crawl!

Ep. 26 - The Crawl!
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="&#9660;" data-collapsetext="&#9650;"> The Party Gets Drunk and Shares Secrets.

US starts their Avalstrahd tavern crawl at ~Landscape~, a VERY expensive and upscale bar, where they trounce the bar’s reigning champions in a snowball fight. They stop briefly at a tavern called the Sunken Trove, which is magicked to appear completely underwater, before moving on to the Hell’s Pawn, where they get thoroughly wasted by winning a drinking contest. Thez is busy, speaking intensely with a half-orc who’s spread several sheets of (apparently) blank paper on her table. Yo-Na finally tells the party that it was his birthday last week, and Rhystrata gifts him her 300-year-old deck of cards. He confides that he doesn't like his birthday because that was the day his Grandparents sent him to the Institute in Valis Minier; they were at the end of their lives, and didn't want him to see them die. Rhystrata promises that she will stay around until he dies - even if it's bad. She also tells him a secret; that Valis Minier is her home, too.

The party gets some street meat, and stagger on to the Shaleback Inn.

Ep. 27 - Guarded Information
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="&#9660;" data-collapsetext="&#9650;"> The Party Does Downtime and Takes a Risk.

The party decides to take a few days to accomplish some odds and ends before attempting to break Bimbus out of prison:

Yo-Na, through some research, is able to find a map describing the locations of both Merinon and Kelantor - the place Leroux’s previous wielder disappeared while looking for the Blessing of the Warrior.

Brothos is still going to classes at the Bard college, and learns that no one has ever worked with unenchanted Deltarium before.

Rhystrata, meanwhile, sends a letter to Domraec Brightband, her former general, apologizing for not contacting him for 250 years and promising to visit if she comes back. She also briefly mentions that she might be fighting for his honor in her duel against Olrich.

Yseult dives headfirst into learning about Divination, hoping to understand the magic that the Seer is using to scry on her and Barney.

At the end of two days, the party gathers back together, and Yo-Na summons his flock of familiars to do some reconnaissance at the prison. He sneaks his rat inside, and is able to find the barracks, the main prison, a section with heavier security measures, a tall tower, and an absolutely massive armory. But he doesn’t find Bimbus, Lero, or where the Guards keep confiscated items.

The group decides to find out where the Guards drink and try to get more information out of them while their guards are down (hah). Rhystrata finds a man named Tasta, a retired guard, who seems to know Olrich - apparently, no one likes him very much. She invites him to come watch her beat the guy up, and he gladly accepts.

Brothos and Yo-Na are able to gather that all of the prisoners with magical abilities are kept in the tower - somehow, they are unable to use their skills there. That is where Lero is being held, and when Bimbus was caught trying to break him out, he was thrown in right next to them.

Rhystrata invites Tasta back to the inn, and she decides to roll the dice and try honesty. She tells him that she has a price on her head for attacking a noble, and he seems… pretty chill about it. Then, she tells him, in vague terms, about their plans to infiltrate the prison; and that they need help. He seems cautious, but tells her that he knows some people who’ve been inside. He agrees to put them in touch - with the stipulation that the party doesn’t kill any guards.

Ep. 28 - Decked by Many Things
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="&#9660;" data-collapsetext="&#9650;"> The Party Gets Honest and Does a Prison Break.

Rhys agrees to honor Tasta’s wishes, and the two of them share some dragon thistle and more conversation. She opens up to him about being a Noble when she lived in the Feywild - that’s why she doesn’t understand the Nobles here, who flaunt their power and step all over people with fewer resources than they.

That morning, the party sends a message off to Sedwin filling him in on the situation with Desmaketh, and then they head off to the prison to reconnect with Olrich Faldrim, the Human Leiutenant whom Rhystrata challenged to a duel. Olrich and Rhys agree to their terms; if Rhys wins, Olrich will give up his position as an instructor for the military. If Olrich wins, he keeps Rhystrata’s sword. (YIKES)

While they wait for dusk, the party splits up to finish some odds and ends. They send Yseult to Garendale with the cart, so that she won’t be connected to the prison break. Meanwhile, Rhystrata finally gives Barney her answer about whether or not she wants to be revivified if she goes down; she states that as long as Yo-Na is alive, Barney should bring her back. She ALSO decides that now is the time to let Barney know that she serves the goddess Myaska, namesake of Barney’s old airship. The interaction is tense - until he finally excuses himself, as he has ‘nothing good to say’. Meanwhile, Brothos takes some time to work with the Deltarium Ore he found in Garendale, and discovers that he can make it float by casting magic into it.

The party regroups and briefly meets with some of Tasta’s contacts, who are able to give the party helpful information regarding the layout of the prison. The devise a plan; Rhystrata will duel Olrich outside the prison, creating a distraction while Yo-Na and Brothos infiltrate disguised as a guard and a newly-arrested magic user. Meanwhile, Barney uses his wildshape to swim as a frog to the outside walls of the prison, where he hides in a tree, waiting to create a distraction once Yo-Na and Brothos reach the anti-magic tower and lose their disguises.

Olrich cheats during his duel with Rhystrata, but she hands him his ass anyway. The whole prison seems abuzz with the event, allowing Yo-Na and Brothos to slip in without much trouble. The two just manage to avoid the notice of the ‘Advisor’, an elven mage who ALMOST detects their disguises. They travel up to the roof of the prison and across to the tower, and just as their magical disguises begin to flicker, Barney casts a Storm sphere over the prison’s opposite end, attracting the guards attention so that they can run inside; and Rhystrata gets out of town on her steed.

Yo-Na and Brothos fight their way through several guards before finding Bimbus and the cards (as well as several magical items which they absolutely take with them). Barney keeps up his storm sphere for a minute, then resorting to casting shatter to keep the guards searching in his direction. When he runs out of spells, he casts fly on himself and attempts to leave without being noticed - but the Advisor is flying as well. She spots him, and gives chase; he banks to the East, and continues in that direction until her spell fades, leaving her behind.

With the guards sufficiently distracted, Yo-Na’s able to make it to the rooftop and Dimension Door both Brothos and Bimbus out of the prison complex, and after some time, all of them are able to meet back up on the road to Garendale.

Ep. 29 - Drawn Apart
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="&#9660;" data-collapsetext="&#9650;"> ''' The Party Draws Cards and Learns Lore. '''

Having broken Bimbus out of prison, the party meets up on the road to Garendale, where they take the time to identify some of the magical items which they looted indiscriminately from the prison.

The deck which they were sent to retrieve for the Grey Lady is confirmed to be a Deck of Many Things. Brothos pulls two cards - the Star and the Key, gaining a ton of strength and a Dagger of Blindsight.

Barney pulls the Moon card, gaining three uses of the Wish spell.

Rhystrata then pulls the Idiot card, reducing her to a -1 intelligence modifier and forcing her to draw a second card - the Void. The party watches as all of her memories pour out of her, flooding into the card. A rift opens in the air next to her, looking into an eternal darkness. A humanoid figure crawls out of the floor, grabbing the card and devouring it whole. It calls Rhystrata by her name, and introduces itself as ‘the end which approaches all things’.

Having watched all of her memories play out in quick succession, Rhystrata grows fearful that the party will learn things about her past which she is not proud of, and might leave her behind. Motivated by this, she tells the party of her experiences during the war against the Undying King - both the horrors that she experienced, and the horrors that she committed.

As they continue north, Barney uses speak with plants to learn more about the Splinterwood. According to some Flora there, the woods were cursed by the God of Death, Githrix, known as the World Spider, to keep mortal beings out of it.

Bimbus decides to flee northeast to avoid the potential wrath of the Grey Lady, who honestly might kill him for getting arrested. The party agrees to tell the Lady that Bimbus pulled five cards from the deck, the last of which killed him in a massive explosion.

Barney uses one of his wishes to wish back the intelligence that Rhystrata lost to the Idiot card, and the two of them finally talk about Rhystrata being a follower of Myaska. When Rhystrata tells Barney that she only started praying to Myaska after she saw the crashed airship, Barney is angry and hurt, asking her how she could see the crash and then choose to put her faith in Myaska.

Rhystrata tells Barney that her husband was a follower of Myaska, until he died of old age. He was a half-elf, and Rhystrata, being a full-elf, outlived him. Myaska is the Goddess of lost souls, and Rhystrata, being lost, turned to her. And now, as a follower, when Rhystrata dies, she will be with her Husband in death.

She tells the rest of the party soon after, and the episode ends with a party group hug.

Ep. 30 - Exhausting All Options
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="&#9660;" data-collapsetext="&#9650;"> ''' The Party becomes the Prey, and Wishes a Tower Away. '''

As the party heads north, Barney finally gets a response message from Sedwin:

Another Abidonian airship has arrived in Garendale - a large galleon called the Divine Ire. Barney recognizes it as an infamous warship, sent out only in the worst of circumstances. The Abidonian soldiers have dispelled the magic which obscures Sedwins tower, and the Ire has begun a threatening holding pattern around the building. Barney tells Sedwin that he has to leave immediately for his own safety, but the wizard refuses to go; instead, he promises to hold off the attack for as long as he can, until US can get there.

The party pushes themselves to exhaustion as they travel through the night to reach Garendale. At the crossroads to the town, they are set upon suddenly by a massive fey centaur accompanied by four blink hounds, who calls out to Yo-Na: "“Tome Wielder! Surrender yourself. There is no running.”"The battle is fierce, with the Centaur focusing his brutal attacks on Yo-Na, who falls unconscious during the fight. When it’s clear that US has the upper hand, the hunter plane shifts away, promising them that his prey never gets away twice.

When they reach Garendale, the Divine Ire is releasing salvos of arcane missiles on Sedwin’s tower. A magical forcefield holds off the blasts, but the barrier fizzles and shakes with the effort, clearly having been working for a long time. A deep voice reverberates from the war ship:"“Any further attempts to thwart our cause will only do you worse. Release yourself to us, Necromancer!”"In town, barricades of Abidonian soldiers have been set up to block the entrance to the forest. Rhystrata uses her name and rank, and the name of Inquisitor Zehir, to get past the barricade. Barney flies to the Divine Ire and casts call lightning, attacking the crew to create a distraction. Yo-Na and Brothos dimension door to the tower, where they find Sedwin planning his surrender. When Rhystrata and Barney join them, Sedwin explains that he is too weak to run with the helmet, and his force fields won’t hold for much longer. Their best and only option for US is to allow Sedwin to turn himself in, and use the distraction to sneak away with the helmet so that they can take it to Darenthala. As Sedwin goes to make preparations, Brothos sneaks another card out of the Deck of Many Things, pulling the Knight card.

Refusing to leave his friend in the hands of the military, Barney uses his last wish spell to move the tower and everyone inside to the area surrounding Kretenburge, a small city far to the north. And with a loud rumble, they are whisked away to a quiet and peaceful forest, dusted lightly with snow.

Ep. 31 - New Kids on the Block
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="&#9660;" data-collapsetext="&#9650;"> ''' The Party Recovers, and Realizes their Mistakes. '''

As the party settles in their new digs, Barney contacts Yseult to update her on the situation. She tells him that the Divine Ire has left Garendale, and she’s leaving town to return to Valis Minier.

Rhystrata prays to Myaska for guidance; Rhys worries that in order to protect her friends from the Void card, she might need to leave the party. Myaska offers her comfort, and Rhystrata resolves to stay, for the sake of Terryn at least.

Yo-Na locates Sedwin and explains what happened with Rhystrata and the Void card. Yo-Na intends to ask if it would be possible to scry on the card to locate Rhystrata’s memories, but Sedwin is immediately concerned, and calls the party together to speak with them. He tells them that the Void card is actually a connection to the Unceasing Void (the Progenitor God). When that creature in the darkness consumed Rhystrata’s memories, the Progenitor God learned about the location of his Helm, and the party's plan to destroy it in Darenthala. He must have someone made a connection with someone who has power in the military, and ordered them to attack Sedwin's tower and retrieve the Helm. The party resolves to avoid the Abidonian military for the foreseeable future, and to put off returning the Deck of Many Things to the Grey Lady until they’ve dealt with the larger problems at hand.

Rhystrata takes some time to explore the woods, where she meets Temmy the dryad. Temmy introduces the party to her ‘friend’, Joren, a rugged and very gruff human. Despite his prickly attitude, Rhystrata is able to connect with him, the two of them sharing their experiences of loss.

The party visits the nearby town of Kretenburge, where Yo-Na heads to the library. His research yields more information about the Satyr King. The Satyr King's parents, Titania and Oberon, banished him from the Feywild when his chaotic nature grew too destructive; that's why he was missing for so many years.

Brothos and his new Knight, Dren, invent ‘stickball’.

Barney asks Sedwin to scry once more on his old captain, Avery Scorn. They find her deep in the forest to the west, among some kind of commune. She asks one of these people for help, and when they answer, Barney recognizes the voice of Tianchi, his Druidic mentor whom he lost in the airship crash. Avery asks Tianchi to help her locate the quartermaster of Myaska's Favor, Coora, who was the only other person to know about the box on the ship, and whom Barney talked to when the party visited the Myaska’s Favor hideout weeks ago.

After finding out that Avery and Tianchi are safe with the Argonius Conclave, Barney casts divination to ask the God Tal’Kair where the Divine Ire is going. He learns that the ship is to head back to Abidon, and then immediately deploy again.

Ep. 32 - Wight Wedding
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="&#9660;" data-collapsetext="&#9650;"> ''' The Party Flies by Night. '''

The party decides to head to Darenthala, post-haste. They gather some supplies in Kretenburge before saying goodbye to Sedwin and heading northward, under cover of darkness. They travel by night for several days, their only interaction being between Brothos and a pair of friendly Stone Giants, who teach him how to play Bouldertumbly. After a sporting round (which Brothos loses) US continues onward, making good time until Barney spots what appears to be an abandoned town off the road. After a decisive coin flip, the party strays from their path to investigate the settlement.

The sign of the town reads ‘Compstead’ - some of the party recognize the name as a settlement that was quite new before it was abruptly abandoned due to some unknown tragedy. Everything is broken down, but there’s one building that seems to have been deliberately attacked - a church to Heskadin, the judge of the Gods. Inside, the building is ransacked. Skeletal remains slump in destroyed pews. At the top of the aisle, a pair of skeletons appear to be embracing in front of the pulpit, upon which rests a dark, heavy book with thick chains wrapped around it. Behind the podium lies a pile of dust with only an old black cape to indicate that it used to be a person. With detect magic, the party realizes that the book carries powerful abjuration magic, and the skeletal couple wears matching rings, each enchanted somehow.

As soon as they touch the book, the skeletons in the church shake to life, controlled by the shades of the dead couple. After a harrowing fight, Yo-Na takes some time to truly identify the book, but something keeps the spell from working. All he learns is that if he truly wants to learn more about the contents of the book, or attune to it, the book would require the sacrifice of an innocent person.

Ep. 33 - Forging Forward
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="&#9660;" data-collapsetext="&#9650;"> ''' The Party Reaches Darenthala and Meets the High Beacon. '''

US decides to take the insidious black book with them to Darenthala, hoping to destroy it. They also identify the rings they found on the fingers of the embracing skeletons as Rings of Matrimony, which they decide to take with them.

The party continues Northward until they see the massive obsidian spire of Darenthala reaching up from the mountains. They pass through the incomprehensibly large gate, and enter the city inside the mountain. It’s there that they see a massive draconic skeleton lining the edge of the lively streets, and Brothos remembers something:

The northern part of the continent was once terrorized by an ancient dragon, named Kothrime. The goddess Breskafell heroically defeated the beast in one-on-one combat, and was then chosen by Heskadin to ascend to godhood. As she rose, she struck the ground and created the Volcano Darenthala, as well as the city within it.

The party heads straight to the city’s temple, where they meet the High Beacon of the Ironsong, Shiva Coalbrim. Shiva is an ancient dwarven woman with kind eyes and a warm demeanor, and she welcomes the party graciously. Brothos introduces himself as the Bearer of Breskafell, and tells Shiva of the party’s goals: to destroy the adamantine box in the lava of the holy forge.

Shiva explains that the lava of Darenthala is not only magical, but is also the heart of the people of Darenthala; the city continues to exist only because they closely protect the forge. Disposing of dangerous items in the lava is possible, but also highly dangerous, and as such, before the High Beacon can give her blessing, the party must first secure permission from the King of Darenthala.

Shiva promises to arrange a meeting the following day between the King and the party. US thanks the High Beacon profusely, before splitting up to allow Brothos to work the forges in the temple of his Goddess. They eventually rejoin in the Artisan’s Court of Darenthala, where they spend a happy evening dancing, singing, and partaking in the food and ales of the city. When the next day dawns, they are greeted with an invitation to the throne room of the King.

Ep. 34 - Ruff Terrain
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="&#9660;" data-collapsetext="&#9650;"> ''' The Party Recieves a Royal Quest, and Meets Big Dogs. '''

The party arrives in the throne room of Castle Deepstone, where they are greeted by King Daggart Blackstone. Brothos steps forward to explain the party’s plight: He requests King Blackstone’s blessing to use the holy forge to destroy the ancient and evil relic US carries in the black box. Before bestowing his blessing, King Blackstone requires that the party prove their good will towards the city of Darenthala by completing a quest:

A large winged beast that seems to wield the power of storms has taken residence in a cavern to the north of the city, essentially cutting off all air travel in that area. King Blackstone and his daughter, Jendalla, disagreed on the best method of solving this problem. Three days before the meeting, Jendalla decided to take matters into her own hands. She left the city in secret, heading northeast with her bodyguard to Viorellhiem, where the ancient Dragon Kothrime once lived and Wyverns now thrive. Jendalla plans to find some Wyvern eggs and bring them back to Darenthala to be domesticated, so they can be used in the fight against the creature to the north. The party’s quest is to intercept Jendalla and her bodyguard before they reach Viorellhiem, and bring them back to Darenthala.

The party accepts this quest, and the King outfits them with a Tundra carriage, driven by a gnome named Felton Backabound, and drawn by six Huskers (massive dogs, something like a cross between huskies and dire wolves) named Bobo, Finky, Poppa, Wilbur, Spatz, and Coco.

On their final day of travel, the party is set upon by swarms of snow bugs. An epic battle ensues on the moving carriage as Felton pushes the Huskers to sprint to safety. Bobo (and the rest of the party) takes some big hits, but the party is able to eliminate the swarms before the worst happens. They heal Bobo, and continue onward to Hirfaldir.

Ep. 35 - A Time for Pinkies
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="&#9660;" data-collapsetext="&#9650;"> ''' The Party Heads into the Frozen North. '''

To avoid drawing too much attention, US leaves their carriage and dogs outside of town with Felton. Upon asking around town, they find out that the dwarven princess Jendalla Blackstone and her silver dragonborn retainer Bresk had come through about a day ago, stopping only to feed their dogs and find a guide who could take them through the mountains. At the local public house, they meet one of these guides - a dwarf named Hessen Bissant. He was almost hired by Bresk to take them through the mountains to Viorellheim, but was refused when he asked for one of their Huskers as payment. Instead, the princess and her retainer hired another guide, named Delmar, whom Hessen says is cheap, but also an idiot.

Rhystrata promises Hessen that if he agrees to be the party’s guide, their very wealthy employers will show their gratitude. Hessen agrees with money signs in his eyes, and the group heads north in the morning, taking only their Huskers.

It’s not long before they come along traces of blood in the snow. They find the body of a Halfling, whom Hessen identifies as Delmar, the guide. Nearby, the bodies of two Yeti’s are slumped in the snow, having obviously been cut with expert swordsmanship. Two tracks of Husker footprints are still visible, heading away from the path to Viorellhiem.

US hurries to catch the Jendallah and Bresk, moving into mountain passes as the sun begins to set. They are just barely able to catch sight of a cave opening through the snow storm, where they see a flicker of firelight. Inside, they find the Princess and her Retainer, who seem to be fine despite the storm and the yeti attack. They explain to the princess that they were sent by her father to retrieve her, and she insists that she won’t go back until she gets what she came for - Wyvern eggs.

Brothos brilliantly suggests that for her own protection, the Princess goes with Hessen and Bresk back to Hirfaldir, and the party goes to Viorellhiem in her stead. Bresk seems very pleased with this plan, and the Princess agrees, though only after making them promise that they will try their best to retrieve those eggs.

They spend the night in the cavern, and in the morning, Hessen points US in the direction of Viorellhiem, before disappearing into the snow with Jendalla and Bresk. It doesn’t take long for the party to reach a sprawling forest in a bowl between the mountain peaks. Strange columns of ice peak over the treetops; as they approach, they realize that inside each of the columns is the body of a frost giant, frozen to death by the icy breath of the ancient dragon Kothrime.

In the center of the forest stands a massive icy formation, which has broken and cracked across the front to reveal a massive stone door several dozen feet tall; Brothos recognizes it as the work of giants. In an attempt to open the door, Yo-Na casts knock; the sound of the spell carries through the forest, and the party hears the answering screeches of Wyverns. They hurry to push the door open, Brothos, Dren, and Rhystrata all throwing their strength against it as Wyverns begin to fly towards them. They just manage to make it inside, closing the door on a blast of ice, as they enter the home of the frost giants.

Ep. 36 - Frozen in Time
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="&#9660;" data-collapsetext="&#9650;"> ''' The party finds the eggs they're looking for... and one that they're not. '''

Inside the frost giant’s keep, the party finds the main entrance decorated with four massive stone-wrought giants, each a different type - fire, stone, cloud, and storm. Further in, they find what seems to be an archive. A large mural on one wall depicts five massive figures, each handing a bright star to another, smaller figure. The writing on the mural titles it as ‘the passing of the heart’. While investigating the archive’s texts, Yo-Na discovers that the Giants were originally called Titans, and were created as warriors of the gods. When the Gods left this plane, they took their power with them, and as a result the Giants have gotten smaller and less powerful with each passing generation - something they refer to as ‘diminishing divinity’. Before the original Titans disappeared, they channeled a portion of their primordial power into objects called Titan’s Hearts. They gave these hearts to the leaders of each of the Giant clans, to be passed down through the generations - that's what the 'passing of the heart' mural depicts.

The party then realizes that Breskafell had, in fact, channeled magic into the heart which Brothos had forged - and that heart was currently in a cart with Yseult on its way to Valis Minier.

IGNORING THAT REVELATION, US continues on, intrigued by the possibility of finding the Frost Giant's heart. They finally come to what appears to have been the Frost Giant throne room. The Frost Giant Jarl (King) is frozen in his throne, his expression shocked and terrified. His retinue surrounds him, forever locked in their last, horrific moments. It is gruesome to see.

The party moves into the Jarl's crypt; a massive, vertical column lined with the tombs of past Jarls that descends deep into the earth. At the bottom of the crypt, they find the roosting nests where the Wyverns keep their eggs... as well as a massive pile of treasure, on top of which sits a 12-foot-tall, glowing egg.

Brothos moves to destroy the egg, intent on ending the lineage of the Dragon who destroyed the Frost Giant’s community. Rhystrata stops him, asking if he would also punish her for the crimes of her family. With great difficulty, Brothos drops his axe, taking a moment to mourn the loss of his ancestors.

While investigating the rest of the area, the party finds a wall emblazoned with the symbol of a star - similar to the symbols painted in the archive mural. They find the release for the wall, and it falls open, revealing a tunnel that continues on into darkness. The party quickly gathers three Wyvern eggs, loots some of Kothrime’s treasure, and moves forward into the darkness of the tunnel.

Ep. 37 - Cut to the Heart
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="&#9660;" data-collapsetext="&#9650;">  The Party Breaks a Curse and Enters a Divine Trial 

At the end of the tunnel, the party finds a massive cylindrical room which stretches high above them and disappears into the darkness below. Four statues of Giant-kin stand around the edge of the cylinder, each a different type - storm, cloud, stone, and fire. A bridge extends from the tunnel to a circular platform at the center of the cylinder, where sits a giant-sized turnstile, as well as four large spheres - each a different color - and four spherical divots in the platform.

Through trial and error, US is able to arrange the crystal spheres into their appropriate divots; at which point the Giant-kin statues move of their own accord, each reaching forward, grabbing a handle of the Turnstile, and spinning it upward, revealing a fifth Giant statue, this one clearly a Frost Giant. The statue is clasping its hands to its chest, and a bright light shines from within its grasp. It also seems to be missing a helmet. Thinking back, the party remembers that the  body of the Frost Giant Jarl, frozen to death in the throne room, was wearing a helmet which could possibly fit this statues’ head.

US realizes that they must re-ascend to the throne room to retrieve the helm so that they can unlock the statue and get the Titan’s Heart. They retrace their steps, but as they near the Dragon’s Hoard, a group of Wyverns catches sight of them, and begins to attack.

As the party begins combat, Brothos calls upon the power of Grithax - the unkillable warrior trapped inside his axe - to aid him in his rage. Brothos’ beard begins to smolder with smoke, instead of it’s usual flames, and where his rages are usually filled with outsized emotion, this one seems to be fueled by unfettered anger and violence.

During the fight, Rhystrata and Tarryn (her baby Kirin) are targeted by an icy breath weapon. They both fail their dexterity saves, but Rhystrata uses her ability Aura of the Guardian to take the damage which would have hit Tarryn. At that moment, from the inscription on Rhystrata’s greatsword, the word ‘guardian’ begins to glow. The metal blade of her greatsword shatters into pieces - leaving behind another blade, completely identical, but made entirely of ice. Rhystrata hears an unfamiliar feminine voice in her head which simply says, “This isn’t how this usually happens,” and instead of falling unconscious, Rhystrata’s body is encased in icy armor, leaving her with 1 hitpoint, and 20 temporary hit points on top.

Brothos jumps forward, and with Rhystrata, he slays the last of the Wyverns. But as silence falls, Sean asks Josh to make a wisdom saving throw, which he critically fails.

Brothos consciousness falls back into darkness, and Grithax takes control.

Brothos swings at Rhystrata, burying the axe in her side and knocking her unconscious. Yo-Na rushes in to subdue him, but Brothos knocks him down, too. He then begins to stalk towards Barney, who finally sees that Brothos’ eyes have been completely clouded over with a deep black. With a strike from his storm sphere, Barney is able to knock Brothos’ unconscious. Barney heals Rhystrata so that she can bring Yo-Na back, and does just enough to stabilize Brothos’ body, afraid of what might happen if he regained consciousness.

The party is completely distraught, and consider throwing the axe over the edge of the bridge in the cylindrical room immediately. In the end, they decide to wait until after Yo-Na has had a chance to remove the curse on Brothos.

Inside Brothos’ mind, Grithax is urging him to forsake the party so that they can grow strong together. He shows flashes of Rhystrata’s fallen body, and then Yo-Na’s, as though to prove their weakness to Brothos. Brothos retreats further into his mind, until he sees a gleaming white hand reaching through the darkness. Grithax tells him to ignore it, but the hand becomes an arm, then a shoulder, and then the face of Yo-Na is glimmering in the darkness, begging Brothos to come back. Brothos ignores Grithax’ fury, and grabs the hand. Yo-Na pulls him out of the darkness, breaking the curse.

The party decides that they need to rest. When they awake, it’s Brothos himself who throws Grithax over the side of the bridge, into the darkness below.

Fully rested, the party treks back up to the throne room, retrieves the Jarl’s helm, and uses it to unlock the Titan’s Heart. The Heart is a massive cut gem which hums faintly with energy, and to Brothos, the song sounds so, so familiar. He places his hands on the gem, and prays to Breska Fel, who invites him to bring his friends forward as well.

Rhystrata, Yo-Na, Barney, and Dren all step forward, placing their hands on the Heart. Brothos leads them in harmony with the humming of the gem; and suddenly, they are not in the Frost

Giant’s palace anymore.

US finds themselves in a sprawling desert battlefield, scattered with weapons and armor. High above them, the Goddess Breska Fel towers into the clouds, her eyes gleaming. She extends her hand downward, and in it she holds the metal heart which she gifted Brothos. He accepts it sheepishly, and she tells him not to lose it again.

Breska Fel speaks to Brothos: She tells him that there are many things that she needs to tell him about who he is, where he comes from, and what his connection is to the Hearts. But before she can do that, she needs him to prove that he is ready to face what is coming.

With that, a massive colosseum begins to rise around the party, and Breska Fel herself begins to shrink. In one hand, she holds a massive sword, and in the other, a great shield. She tells the party:

“I need you to win.”

Ep. 38 - Legacy of Safromet
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="&#9660;" data-collapsetext="&#9650;"> The fight with Breskafell is grueling, but the party emerges victorious, even through her gauntlet of tests.

After their triumph, Breskafell tells them of a good friends she once had on the plane of fire; an Azier named Safromet. Safromet led the enslaved peoples of the City of Brass in an uprising against their captors. They were victorious, and Safromet rose to the throne. Many years later, those whom he had defeated returned, killing Safromet and reclaiming their rule. In an attempt to revive her friend, Breskafell combined the power of the Titan’s Heart of Fire with her own Divinity. Safromet did not revive - instead, the powerful magics together created a new life in his body - and that life was Brothos.

Breskafell tells the party that she has seen the many threads of fate stretching onward into the future, and each of them seems to end with the return of the Progenitor God - the evil entity whose helmet they were set to destroy in the fires of Darenthala. She tells them that if they wish to find out more about stopping the Progenitor God, they might be able to find out more from the God Dathrimore - who is responsible for magic existing on the prime material plane, and who built the prison for the Void. Breskafell promises to vouch for US in the King of Darenthala’s court, provided that they are ready to face the Void when it comes.

Having received Breskafell’s divine direction, they are sent back to the Frost Giant’s home. As they exit, they notice that the pulsing which emanated from the Dragon’s egg when they first showed up is no longer there. There is only a very soft beating coming from inside the egg, rhythmic, but spread very far apart. Rhystrata asks her god, Myaska, for guidance, and receives a vague feeling of motherly concern. Rhystrata sends healing energy into the egg, and that motherly concern suddenly crystallizes into a clear direction: run.

US quickly flees the palace, making their way back to Hirfaldir. They tell the mayor and the citizens what they saw, sharing their fear that a young Dragon may soon be loose the area. They leave the townsfolk to make their own decision on whether to go or stay. US quickly gathers the Princess and her bodyguard, and they head off again towards Darenthala.

Ep. 39 - Triumphant Return
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="&#9660;" data-collapsetext="&#9650;">

The party hands the three Wyvern eggs they found to Jendalla.

On the way back to the mountain city of Darenthala, US tells Jendalla and Brask all about their time in the Frost Giant’s keep, and what they found there. They hand over the three Wyvern eggs they collected from the crypt of the Jarls, and Brothos conjures a minor illusion to illustrate the size of the Dragon’s Egg they found there. Brask, who is a dragonborn, seems surprised - in all the stories he’s heard of Dragons, he’s never known an egg to be that large.

One night, while Rhystrata trances, she lingers on the memory of her sword shattering into pieces while fighting the Wyverns, and she once again hears a deep, feminine voice saying: “This isn’t how this usually happens.” When Rhys opens her eyes, she is in an old, familiar crypt: one she used to spend hours in while she lived in the Feywild, looking on the graves of fallen Warriors of the Winter Court. One statue in particular is no longer still, but animated - the shade of the warrior who was buried in that grave. She introduces herself as Tefir Venralas, the Frigid Flame and Great Protector of the Winter Court, and the last of the Justicars. Rhystrata introduces herself as well, as Warrior, Paladin of Myaska, and the Person who stole this sword - which Tefir is now holding - from her grave. Tefir explains that usually, a sword like this would reach its full potential after a ritual of unsealing - in the Order of the Justicars, when a warrior dies, an echo of their soul is sealed within the weapon they weilded during their life, so that they can be there to welcome the next Justicar who is deemed worthy to join the order and wield their blade. Since Tefir was the last of the Justicars, she did not expect this would ever happen.

But, she explains, there is another way to unseal a weapon like the one Rhystrata stole; over a long period of time, by allowing it to form an opinion of you - and, if it deems its wielder worthy, the weapon will unseal itself. And so, while the Justicars are no more, Rhystrata is also no longer a thief - because the sword chose her, and it belongs to her now.

When the party reaches Darenthala, they follow Jendalla straight to the keep of the King. He’s admittedly a little upset when he finds out that they went to get those Wyvern eggs - but when they tell him that Jendalla wasn’t in any danger, and he sees for himself that she’s okay, he repays the party with a hearty thank you, a promised favor, and a shit ton of cash. He also grants them what they were looking for in the first place: permission to use the Holy Forge to destroy the Relic of the Void. They show the King an image of the Dragon Egg, just as they did with Brask, and tell him about Myaska’s warning to leave the Frost Giant’s keep as quickly as possible. Together, they agree that some sort of reconnaissance should be done in that area, and US promises to help the King with whatever super-uber-mega Dragon might come from that egg, if he needs it.

All that settled, they head to the church, where they are welcomed by the High Beacon. She leads them to the heart of the sacred forge. She lays out the components for a long, arduous ceremony, and the party gathers around her to help with the trial - casting their own various buff spells, as well as throwing some of their dearest belongings into the holy lava in sacrifice. Rhystrata gives an amulet with the symbol of Myaska that was given to her by her late husband, Leolin. (Barney gives his bottomless mimosa glass) Together, the party tosses the intricate, black box containing the Helm of the Progenitor God (which has been with them since episode 3!) into the lava, and in a burst of divine light, its evil is consumed, and the icon is destroyed.

The party spends the rest of that day and the next participating in some much needed R&R. They spend much of the money from the King on magical items from the local Artificing school, and Barney does a little bit of site-seeing, finding a farm for crystals that help power peoples’ homes and devices, like little fantasy batteries. He also stops by the Temple of Breskafell again to ask about Dathrimore, the God whom Breskafell told US is responsible for magic existing on the material plane, and also who built the prison of the Progenitor God. The church folks aren’t able to tell him much - but he does find out that Dathrimore is specifically the God of redemption and miracles, and if they want to find out more, their best chance is to head south, to the cities of Lorenthas or Dawnguard.

Ep. 40 - Rhythm of the Rhysk
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="&#9660;" data-collapsetext="&#9650;">

After their shopping trip, US considers using the King’s favor to ask for an airship - they have a lot of places to go, and are in desperate need of faster ways to get there. Before they walk in, though, Barney stops the party and suggests that they instead use his last Wish spell to get what they need, since there’s currently no air traffic in this area, due to a massive lightning bird to the north shooting every ship it sees out of the sky. He offers to send a paper bird message to Una, one of his crewmates, to try and get whoever is still together to meet them in Kretenburg, where they can Wish Myaska’s Favor back. Brothos admits to wanting some extra time to stay in Darenthala anyway, and so the party agrees - Barney sends a message to Una telling her not to trust Coora (the Quartermaster, and the only other person who knew that the Relic of the Progenitor God was on the ship) and to drag him if she had to to a town called Kretenburg, where the crew would find him with a new airship for them to fly.

Brothos spends his week mostly at the sacred forges in the Temple of Breskafel. There, he smiths a maul-length hammer made completely of metal, leaving a hollow space in the head. From there, he finds some incredibly skilled mages, who say that they can successfully enchant the hammer with some fiery, explosive boon - but if he wants it in a week, he’s gonna need quite a bit more money than he has. Brothos admits this to Rhystrata one night, and she quickly gathers the rest of the party to go out and win some quick cash by gambling.

Rhystrata and Barney win a very successful hand by bluffing the rest of the table into folding, and then Barney leaves Rhystrata to win a second hand by luck and charisma alone. They leave the gambling den with more than enough gold to pay for the enchantment on Brothos’ hammer. Brothos names it ‘The Forge’s Rhythm.’

Before leaving Darenthala, Barney casts Divination to learn whether or not Una got his message. He chooses to reach out to Dathrimore. Barney is transported into a vision, where he appears at his crew’s hideout, and watches as time progresses extremely quickly - five rotations of the sun, and then it slows down, and he sees a paper bird fly to Una, who unfolds it to read his note. The rest of the crew gather around her joyfully, seeming intent on making the journey to Kretenberg. When the vision ends, Barney feels the presence of it linger for a little bit, before disappearing. Unsure of what to make of that, he recounts the experience to the party once they are on the road to Sedwin’s tower. Rhystrata asks him about the extent of his ability with that spell, and seems to be interested in asking a question of her own, once she has time to think about it.

The session ends as the party wakes up in their Tiny Hut, to the familiar sounds of Stone Giants throwing rocks around for fun.

Ep. 41 - Hoofin' It
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="&#9660;" data-collapsetext="&#9650;"> ''' The Party Gets a Windfall. ''' The party sits down for a picnic with the Stone Giants, where they learn that some of them have seen the Titan Heart of Stone. It was hundreds of years ago, and in the hands of the Tizgana tribe, on Dornatir - the continent that Brothos is from.

Brothos plays another game of Boulder Tumbly with Rieg and Kin, this time winning by a landslide (hah). When they get their prize - a large chest with an ornate lock - Barney immediately sets to work opening it up. Inside, they find rows of potions worth a LOT of coin, as well as a letter, which reads: "Esteemed Bishop Olaran,""I was delighted to hear you had reached out to our company once more to fulfill your preparatory needs for the upcoming expedition. Contained within this chest, you will find everything requested, as well as some samples of our upcoming products, free of charge. Bes of luck to the church in their endeavors, and keep Kilmore Industries in your thoughts for all your brewing needs!""Kalista Kilmore"Bishop Olaran is the head of the Church of Tharanos (the God of the Sun) in Dawngaurd (the city which the church-goers in Darenthala told Barney to go to to look for information regarding Dathrimore). Barney recognizes Kalista Kilmore as a very well known maker and seller of potions. They look deeper into the chest, and find a secret compartment that contains even more vials - these ones filled with a liquid that Barney immediately recognizes as the drug he took in Abiddon, an extremely powerful and dangerous hallucinogen called Third Eye. There’s enough for about 30 doses.

US decides to bring the chest with them, as they say goodbye to the stone giants and continue onward to Sedwin’s Tower. When they arrive, Sedwin is still safe, and seems to be making good time on setting the tower’s defenses back up. They tell him everything that’s happened while they’ve been gone - including the wyverns, the dragon's egg, the destruction of the Progenitor God’s Helm, and the chest from Kilmore to Bishop Olaran. He promises to look into the mystery of the bigger-than-usual Dragon’s Egg.

They stop in town to get navigational tools and paint, resell their horses, say goodbye to Sedwin, and then head out on foot in the direction of the hideout, hoping to meet the crew on the way before wishing for the airship.

One night, on watch, Yo-Na tells the party that he hasn’t been sleeping since the Centaur attacked them on the road. They ask him if he’s talked to his book about it, and he then admits that he also hasn’t talked to his book in quite some time, because there’s just been so much going on. Barney suggests that he waits until they’re all safe in the air, and then reach out to her. Yo-Na gratefully takes the out.

While Rhystrata is trancing, she senses a presence in her mind. The dark figure that she saw when she pulled the Void card appears before her, but it’s different - one of its legs is almost clay-like, crumbling, painful looking from the destruction of the Helm in Darenthala. It threatens her to stay out of the way, lest it put itself in hers. Images of Yanfir and Leolin are pulled from her mind, and the Void reminds her that she cannot protect her friends from so far away. At the same time, Barney and Yo-Na, who are on watch, spot a hand bursting from the ground - then another, and another. A thick, black fog seems to be sinking into the earth around the hut, and from that earth rises a legion of the Undead.

Ep. 42 - Grave Danger
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="&#9660;" data-collapsetext="&#9650;"> ''' The Party Fights a Legion of Undead. ''' The undead rise from the ground unceasingly. The party is vastly outnumbered. As the combat continues, Rhystrata spots a figure in the sky, above the chaos - when Barney wildshapes and gets closer to it, he sees that this figure flies with massive, leathery wings. The thick black smoke that fills the air around the battlefield and seeps into the ground where the dead are rising pours from a pouch tied around the figures’ waist. When it is discovered, the figure breaks away from the combat, leaving the party to finish the rest of the undead. Barney falls unconscious twice.

The party inspects the battlefield after they finally slay the last of the creatures, but it yields no more information. Thoroughly shaken, they gather their belongings and head off down the road.

Ep. 43 - Skeleton Crew
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="&#9660;" data-collapsetext="&#9650;"> ''' The Party Finally Gets an Airship. ''' US finally reunites with Barney’s old crew mates. They pull off to the side of the road for lunch, and Barney uses his last wish to restore Myaska’s Favor to how it was before the crash. Everyone climbs on board, and they spend the day painting the ship to try and make it look different enough that it won’t be recognized. Barney is voted in as ship captain, and with the crew’s permission, he changes its name from Myaska’s Favor to the Fortune Maker. They all agree that before they can head south to Kalentor, they need to stop at the Spoke for supplies.

(They also realize about 3 hours out that they’re going to need ship papers. Barney and several crew members assist Yo-Na as he masterfully forges a manifest for them. They may or may not need to pay someone to get professional fakes done in the future.)

When they arrive, the party follows Rhystrata to the heart of the Spoke, where they enter the temple to Myaska - which actually just kind of looks like a B&B? She speaks with a priest to find out more about Myaska, and how she usually interacts with her followers. She gets a new medallion to replace the one which she sacrificed in Darenthala, and also asks for advice on how to get Tarryn a hobby that isn’t stealing.

Meanwhile, Barney spots a hot tiefling across the bar who’s looking a little frazzled. He goes to say hello, but just as he’s asking to sit down, he sees that the tiefling is reading papers that are marked with the symbol of the spellbreakers. The tiefling rushes to put them away, and after a friendly conversation, Barney invites him back to the Fortune Maker for dinner after he and the rest of the party finish their shopping. The tiefling, whose name is Chivalry (kill me), accepts, and the party heads off to purchase supplies for the ship.

Ep. 44 - It's Always Like This
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="&#9660;" data-collapsetext="&#9650;"> ''' The Party has a Dinner Date. ''' While in the market, the party happens upon a person selling ‘pets’ - one of which is a baby displacer beast. Unwilling to keep the creature in a cage, the party bullies the merchant into a cheaper price before taking the creature back to the Fortune Maker. They retrieve Chivalry and bring him back to the ship, where Barney wines and dines him before asking him about his connection to the Spellbreakers. Apparently, Chivalry has been in contact with a different group called the Cast Asides; a collection of thieves and murderers who consider magic to be the ‘ultimate expression of freedom’. Chivalry seems unenthusiastic about working with them, but they’re the only group he knows of that directly opposes the spellbreakers. The reason that Chivalry is going to Vamore is to meet with a contact from that group; they have information for him about a known Spellbreaker hideout. Chivalry’s job will be to break into this hideout and gather as much information as possible to pass back to the Cast Asides. The rest of US joins the conversation, and they offer to take Chivalry to Vamore, where he will stay for several weeks before meeting with their Cast Asides contact. Once He’s gotten the relevant information, US will return, and help him destroy the Spellbreakers’ hideout.

With all that being settled, the crew of the Fortune Maker packs up and heads south towards Vamore. On the way, the party spots a figure far below being set upon by a long, many-legged lizard spitting lightning from its mouth. Without much thought, Barney leaves Estelle in charge, and the group jumps over the side of the ship, hurtling towards the ground.

Ep. 45 - Behir Comes the Money
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" data-expandtext="&#9660;" data-collapsetext="&#9650;"> ''' The Party faces a Shocking Foe. ''' When the party lands, they see two Behir, one full grown and one smaller, chasing a Goliath woman. They jump to her aid, dispatching the attacking creatures. It turns out that she is part of a community of Goliath that live in these mountains, and the Behir have been spreading prodigiously, endangering their group. The Goliath tribes’ Stone Speaker took a relic with them to the Behir’s cave some time ago, and hasn’t been seen since. This Goliath, Tarla, had gone to the same cave to look for them - only to be chased away by the male Behir and their offspring. The female, who is MUCH BIGGER, is still there - and guarding the Goliath’s relic. The party agrees to go with Tarla to retrieve it. They try to move stealthily, but aren’t quite quiet enough - the Behir attacks, swallowing Brothos in the process. They eventually cut her down as well, and are able to find a LOT of loot - including the Goliath’s relic. They bid Tarla goodbye, and settle down for the night to rest and harvest some Behir body parts. __INDEX__ __NEWSECTIONLINK__