Story Summary

Part 1: Cors Labyrinth

[11/15/2016]

Our story began on the road with five unlikely companions heading to the merchant sea city of Villben.  While none of them could recall the past few hours, they held a letter directing them to the city and to head to the Haggling Drunkard and deliver a coded message and a leather bound map to the owner.

After dispatching a group of goblins that had picked through the carrion of a plundered wagon, they traveled through the city’s outskirts of farmland and passing traders. They eventually reached the walled gate of the city where a guard attempted to shake them down for an entrance fee.  Orsik, the dwarf bard, managed to convince the guard that the group was a famous troupe of entertainers and that they had a very important event to attend.  The guard relented.

Upon entry to the city, the party took notice of the groups of orphans and beggars that lined the alleyways and sides of the main road into the city.  Some were taken by a few local orphans for a couple gold.  Dureyl, the moon elf, having been trained as an assassin and was keen to correct one of the orphans who attempted to lighten his coffers.

The Haggling Drunkard appeared after a short walk into the city proper.  The party met the jovial elf proprietor of the good-sized tavern named Celomir and delivered the coded message to him by asking if he had a bottle of Ubeqan brandy.  He replied that he only had Ubeqan ale but would be happy to serve some to the group.  They ate and drank after their travels while Orsik agreed to play a few delightful jingles for the patrons of the tavern in exchange for comped food and board for himself and his friends.

That night, Celomir appeared outside their rooms and led them to the third floor where the group met the mysterious woman known as Sparrow.  After exchanging the map she rewarded them with a tidy sum of gold and immediately re-enlisted their help the next day.  The party agreed to hang around for another day and Sparrow left the tavern with map in hand.

[11/21/2016]

The next morning after coming down to start the day, Gre$ha, the half-orc barbarian, woke up the local drunkard, Galrik Portscald, who always seems to be asleep in the tavern common room.  The man told the group about how he used to be a steward for the small council that originally governed over the city of Villben.  He explained how two decades ago the city experienced an event that came to be known as the Night of Knives in which all eight members of the small council were struck down by two assassins from the Thieves’ Guild.  The assassins received their justice shortly after the murders.  The reigning aristocratic family of the town, the Cors family became the de facto rulers of the city.

After learning of the city’s history, the man went back to sleep and the party noticed a ruckus that could be heard from outside.  The party investigated the situation and found a crowd of citizens and guards gathered around a small humanoid form covered by a white sheet.  The body was that of a halfling bard named Lorne Smallbriar who had been murdered in the street some time in the early morning hours.  With his elevated senses, Dureyl noticed something drop from the cut up body of the halfling as the corpse was transported away toward the inner city by the guards.  Upon retrieving the item it is found to be a family signet ring worn by the halfling.

Celomir appeared from an alleyway next to the tavern and asked the party to help him carry a few small casks into his cellar.  He used the small favor as a ruse to have a private conversation with the group.  Although distraught from the death of his friend Lorne, he held it together to deliver his message from Sparrow.  He handed them them a letter from her asking the group to retrieve a magic orb from an Elven ruin hidden in the Grappling Wood to the north.  Celomir gives them a cask of black powder to help them gain entry to the ruin.

Before leaving to find their quarry, Stumbleduck, the gnome wizard, decided to window shop for a few magical items but lamented his empty pockets after hearing of their price.  The party acquired a few provisions and headed out of the city and toward the wood.  A day and half into their journey they came across an old abandoned iron mine.  The surrounding encampment had been ravaged by the will of nature and the years that had passed since the mine’s operation ceased.  Rounding a corner, the party found the entrance the mine after following some old cart tracks.

Gre$ha channeled her strength to break a hole in the wooden slats which closed off the entrance to the mine.  Inside it was dark and expansive as a thick vein of iron ore ran past them along the wall.  An old door lead into an alcove that was hewn from the mine shaft itself. Inside was the long dead body of a dwarf clutching a letter he had written to his brother Dalin Blackmountain before expiring of his injuries.  The letter told of an elven barrow which the mining group had dug into releasing some manner of evil energy which brought with it monsters from the deep.

Proceeding on, the group came across a few more skeletal remains that looked like they had a rough encounter with something long ago.  They had held it at bay long enough to seal the hole they had made which was distinguishable because it did not match the elven architecture surrounding the wall.  Gre$ha discovered a silver mace on one of the remains which was surprising in quality and value.   The black powder cask was applied to the wall in question.  After a slightly disorienting explosion the party managed to recreate the entrance into the barrow.

Unfortunately, the remains of the two skeletons began to rise after the commotion, having been woken from their slumber.  Unafraid, they easily dispatched the walking bones and entered the barrow.

At first all was quiet and dark inside the circular cavern containing a few pillars with elvish script.  A large statue of a woman wearing a blindfold came into view holding two spheres in her outstretched hands.  Brennan, the elf cleric, called upon his knowledge of his ancestors and recalled that this was a statue to Vandria Gilmadrith, elven lady of war, justice and grief.  After battling a stone guardian and pilfering a chest containing ceremonial garb, the group managed to solve the puzzle involving the spheres opening the way forward into the chamber below.

This larger chamber contained a duplicate statue that was a little larger along with four lit braziers.  A few more bodies lay down here where glowing orb oscillating a magical energy sat at the base of the statue.  While moving slowly toward the orb, something on the ceiling didn’t look quite right.  Before the party could properly assess the object it dropped from the ceiling revealing itself to be that of a grick, a hungry dark-dwelling serpent monster.  Entering battle, the party awoke two more skeletons in the chamber and later a second grick.  Stumbleduck fell in the chaos and was on death’s door before Brennan stepped in to channel his healing energy.  While Gre$ha smashed some skeletons the group managed to defeat both gricks.

Ever the practiced mind, Stumbleduck careful took the orb from its place without touching it and the party began to exit, however the removal of the orb caused their original entrance to close shut.  Together they began looking for a secondary escape route.  Deciding to activate the orb to assist in their escape, Stumbleduck holds it in his hand as a surge of energy comes forth from the orb altering the environment before him.  The statue of Vandria now appears to be crying.  The light from the braziers does not penetrate the shell surrounding the orb.  And a rock outcropping which covered the rear of the cave no longer appears to exist, revealing a path through the rock.

[12/06/2016]

Taking the obvious exit, the group encounters an old stone ladder up and out of the cave.  Gre$ha employed her strength to break through the soil which had collected above the exit over the years and with that they emerged on top of a hill.  With expert survival skills the party found the original path they used to come to the mining camp and began to head back to civilization.

Upon returning to the Haggling Drunkard, Celomir was nowhere to be found.  The party decided to get more acquainted with the city and headed out.  While the townspeople bustled about preparing for the upcoming harvest celebration, they sold some of the objects of value which they had found on their quest to the barrow.  Selma Lightscarlet, the owner of the Selma’s Sundries, pointed them to Dalin Blackmountain, the dwarven weaponsmith, for sharper fare.  The group re-evaluated their equipment and went to check out the city’s bazaar where they met an old woman selling trinkets and a man selling potions.

Pockets full, the group headed next door to the city’s cathedral where they met the monk, Brother Matille and the caretaker and clergy leader of the cathedral, Vanguard Osik.  The party inquired with the Vanguard to see if there was any tasks worth doing the party could assist with.  The Vanguard told the party to return after the harvest holiday for work.  The party made their way back to the tavern in the hopes of meeting up with Celomir and to deliver the powerful artifact to Sparrow which they were contracted to recover.

[1/8/2017]

Sparrow was very grateful for their help in retrieving the orb.  She was also impressed by the artifact’s power.  Gre$ha was happy she earned a new silver mace which found its perch in a few skeletons.  In the interest of continuing their business arrangement, Sparrow offered 500 gold for help in rescuing one of Sparrow’s informants at the social event of the season.

The party was outfitted by Celomir to his joy.  Masks were also acquired as the event would be a masquerade party through the Cors’ Labyrinth, an infamous landmark in the city.  Everyone arrived as a light rain started after dusk dressed to the nines.  Weapons and armor were smuggled into the labyrinth itself by Brother Matille.  Drinks and games were had by some as the rest were content to hide behind their masks.  The group entered the labyrinth while bypassing a meet and greet with the Cors family themselves, minus one.

After some searching, the group found Sparrow and Matille.  Together they searched for a way to open the way underneath a statue which held a grated entrance to what seemed to be a sewer of some sort.  The group entered to a few horrid smells mixed together including cleaner and decomposition.  Dureyl came face to face with a gelatinous cube apparently used as a sort of gatekeeper to something worse.

Gre$ha, much to her chagrin began to hear a voice inside her head calling out to her specifically.  The rest of the group wasn’t sure what to make of it.

A torture chamber lied beyond containing a few dead bodies and one live unconscious young man who identified himself as Leopold, a victim of the torturer.  Leopold couldn’t explain his abduction, but was able to assist the group with their charge after being healed himself.  Leopold also revealed the location of a camouflaged wall in the torture chamber which provided a much needed escape.

A note was also found in the torture chamber seemingly written by the torturer himself.  It stop of poison dosage, escape attempts, and direction by mother not to make too much noise.

Leaving the torture chamber by descending into the cistern of flowing sewer water was not an improvement, but it was a change of scenery.  The group found the captive Yanna Margolis, former handmaiden to the Cors family and informant to Sparrow.  The girl was unfortunately restrained by an agent of the mysterious voice, a bearded devil named Kherd. The voice spoke to everyone this time and told that this is what happens to naughty girls.  Kherd slit her throat with his saw-like bearded appendages and pushed her body into the cistern.  Sparrow did not hesitate to follow.

A battle ensued involving the remaining group, 4 imps and the bearded devil.  The fiends’ resistances posed a challenge to the group, but they prevailed after Dureyl had a close call with death.

[1/22/2017]

No sign of Sparrow or Yanna, everyone descended into the sewer to follow the water outside.  They were reunited with an distraught, but alive Yanna and a grateful Sparrow.  As the water picked up, the group moved along the retaining wall of the city’s shoreline until they met Brother Matille at the rendezvous point near the cathedral.  He took them by barge to a safe house located out of reach of any searching red cloaks.  There, they met Rimilde, a mute caretaker for Sparrow’s old safe house.  She warmed everyone’s soaked bones with some root vegetable soup.  Everyone promptly passed out.

In the morning, the group had the opportunity to hear the horrific tale endured by Yanna.  She asked them to kill the evil family so no one else would have to suffer.  Brother Matille had to return immediately as his absence would be noticed.  He returned by the barge he had lifted from an unsuspecting merchant.  Leopold opted to stay behind and recuperate with Yanna.  Everyone else had to conjure up a way to return to the city.  Sparrow had convinced the group that using the Eye of Gilmadrith on the family was the best way to out them as monsters.  She kept the eye safely hidden at her house in the city.

The party did their best to disguise themselves before heading out into the fray.  Stumbleduck and Brennan hitched a ride underneath a makeshift manure pile piloted by a stoic Gre$ha.  The subterfuge worked and the group managed to evade several inspections by red cloaks on the way into the city.  After reaching Sparrow’s rather large residence the group entered the cellar where they would find a large storeroom of wine, food barrels and other sundries.  Sparrow retried the magical orb from a hidey hole and the group discussed their options.

After being painfully interrupted by a group of six red cloaks, the group entered the heat of battle ensuring that the six gentleman who entered the alley to kill them would not be leaving the alley.  Since Orsik had used his thunder wave to blow apart the wagon filled with manure, the group was forced to think of other ways in which they could sneak their way into the manor.  The red cloak uniforms served as a better option that the manure wagon.

Not much resistance was met as the group brought in two prisoners who claimed to have information about Sparrow.  As they were introduced by the steward, a guard stepped forward from behind the prisoners and held up a glowing object.  Every false visage within 80 feet was immediately dispelled, including the human forms of Lady Dahlia and Lord Ralief.  Lord Armand looks better, oddly.  The black leathery wings of the mother and her son proved too much for some and everyone in the vicinity was sent into a state of shock.  Some soldiers began to flee the chaos while others remained, rallied by Orsik.

Lady Dahlia ordered her guard to kill the party, but none remained to obey her order.  Cornered, Dahlia and Ralief fought for their lives.  Sparrow forbid anyone to attack Lord Armand.  The monsters fought hard to protect their long usurped property.  Finding themselves outnumbered, the succubus and her cambion son escaped.  After the danger had passed, Lord Armand seem to come out of his reverie and attempt to stab Sparrow.  Noticing the impending attack, she was able to wrestle him to the ground and disarm him.

The group is able to stop fighting just long enough to notice that they all smell absolutely terrible.

[2/12/2017]

Trying to tie up loose ends, Sparrow asks the group to check in on Brother Matille.  They return to his cottage behind the cathedral to find that his front door is open and a few of his belongings are strewn about.

While combing the area for clues, Gre$ha gets a little impatient and triggers a gas trap on Matille’s locked chest with her fist.  After clearing out the noxious fumes and examining the chest, the party finds some clothes and information regarding Matille’s activity in Villben.  It is revealed that Matille may not be entirely who he says he is.

Also found inside the chest is a map of the nearby island of Othren, where someone Matille was observing may have sailed.  Faced with a single piece of evidence as to the whereabouts of their ally, the group returns to the Manor to consult with Sparrow.  The chamberlain of the manor unknowingly reveals the identity of Sparrow as Lucrezia Vash, heir to one of the murdered council members.  He leads them down a few halls.

They find Lucrezia at the bedside of the unconscious Lord Armand.  Brennan and Leopold combine their healing efforts to break a connection to Armand that was keeping him from being able to recover from his charm.

As Armand regained consciousness he recognized a very grateful Lucrezia and fell back to sleep.  As a thank you for the their help, Lucrezia sent word to the docks to prepare a ship to take the group to Othren.  She expressed her wish to find Brother Matille.

Feeling the need to prepare for the unknown, the party once again visits both Selma’s Sundries and Dalin’s Foundry to acquire provisions.  Lamenting at the extremely worn condition of her silver mace, Gre$ha decided to sacrifice it for the good of the group.  She gave the beaten weapon to Dalin with instructions to silver each with the raw materials.

After a well-needed night’s rest, the group set sail in the morning on the keelship Tiara piloted by the grizzled Harold Finchester.  Already onboard are a few crew members and two sisters ostensibly returning to Othren.

After a voyage lasting the better part of a day the ship encounters a dense fog surrounding the port town of Kelis.  Shortly after entering the hazard, the sound of beautiful singing could be heard.  Harpies began to assault the ship while the two sisters onboard revealed themselves to be hags waiting to help ambush the travelers.

After the party learned not to make eye contact with the uglier of the two hags they were able to drive back the onslaught with the help of Captain Harold.  Unfortunately, the fight made steering the ship into a proper dock a bit impossible the party found themselves ashore a bit faster than they would have preferred.

[2/26/2017]

After collecting themselves from a rather rough landing, the party left Captain Harold to his repairs and disembarked onto the eerily foggy fishing village of Kelis.  Slowly making their way through the town, the group noticed the complete lack of inhabitants and the deathly quiet atmosphere.

Finding the local tavern completely empty a few members of the group wander over to the large storehouse across the way and attempt to look for materials that the captain can use for his repairs.  In the course of their search, movement can be heard toward the back.  

After gathering everyone who was still in the empty tavern to the storehouse in the event of an encounter, Dureyl snuck around back to try and flush the source of the noise.  He noticed a small hole in the walls of the back of the storehouse that someone or something could potentially use as an entrance or exit to the building.

Making a ruckus, a dirty, scared young girl emerges from the storehouse.  After she is assured that no harm will come to her, the girl identifies herself as Gloria Wildoar and tells the group that the entire village went to the church up on the hill and never returned.  Asking her about anything else unusual that happened in town, she tells them about the two brothers who disappeared and how the town spent a few days looking for them on the island with no results.  The party takes the young girl back to The Tiara to be safeguarded by the captain and also deliver the materials needed to complete the repairs.

Deciding to begin their investigation for any clues as to Brother Matille’s disappearance, the group heads up the hill toward the church and is beset upon by several wraith-like entities who seem to emerge from the fog itself.  After dispatching the ghastly beings with expert efficiency and continuing up the hill, the fog begins to dissipate until the majority of the island comes into view.

Approaching the church, a few voices can be heard inside as Dureyl scouts the place out.  Two men inside seem to be having an argument and then proceed downstairs into the basement of the church.  Inside, there is no sign of the men, but some large footsteps and low growling can be heard from underneath the party’s feet.  The group steels themselves and proceeds downstairs to encounter two large undead ogres guarding what appears to be a large black door covered in bloody hand prints.

After the zombies are dispatched by the group, Stumbleduck studies the door carefully and takes notes about its nature.  The door itself appears to require a sacrifice in order to permit entry to an individual.  Everyone but Leopold chooses to enter the door with a sacrifice.  Leopold decides to wait about a minute for anyone to come back before entering himself.

Inside, in a dark crypt, the group is attacked by four red cloaks, confirming there is some sort of tie between Villben or the Cors family and their current situation.

[3/19/2017]

The group finds a similar holding facility and torture room similar to the one in Cors’ Labyrinth.  The setting turns out to be a trigger for Leopold who was able to suppress the episode through some meditation.  A mother and her young son were found in a cell, where Orsik kept them company.  The group learned that these individuals were the lost family of Gloria, the young girl they met in the village of Kelis.

The rest of the party entered a nearby cavern that bled further into the complex.  Progress was stopped almost immediately by a large number of walking dead and two creatures with large eyes and necrotic abilities.

Slowly clearing out the area as they moved, a fire trap was set off on a small wooden bridge as the group attempted to cross, eliminating zombies along the way.  Reaching the far end of the cavern they found a double set of wooden doors which led down a passageway.

After their trial in the cavern the group opted to take a long rest near Orsik and the prison cells.

[4/2/2017]

They were able to settle into an uneasy sleep when someone tried to open the door that Dureyl had propped himself against.  A conversation could be heard and the suspects set off to alert their superior of what they had found.

Taking a minute to wake everyone, the group proceeded through the wooden double doors at the opposite end of the cavern and entered a tunnel where they finally encountered a stone door and a panel with five symbols.  Pressing the symbols at random triggers an acid trap which the group had to work quickly to resolve by guessing the correct set of symbols on the pad.  They finally settle on Will, Void and Mind.

The door releases and the acid recedes as the path is opened to a large ceremonial chamber containing the forms of Vanguard Osik, Brother Matille, two wererats and a handful of zombies.  Osik welcomed them in his creepy way after being alerted by the two wererat brothers and began reading from a large, black, clearly evil book.

A magical shield of protection sprung up over the necromancer Osik as he read from the book, bolstering his defenses.  Entering battle, the party worked together using their resources to wrangle the book from Osik’s control as it was flung into the shield and thrown against the wall.  This gave them the opening to slay the necromancer which has been reaping the souls of the people of Kelis.

Stumbleduck took the initiative to safeguard the book after the battle and the group made their way to Osik’s opulent home away from home.  They found numerous valuable items and gold.  After evaluating their spoils they settled into a much needed slumber in the comfortable yet creepy room.  Stumbleduck took out the evil tome to study it and saw a dark vision before him of a powerful fiend asking if he was to be his new champion before quickly putting it away.

[4/25/2017]

Fearing for what might happen should Stumbleduck continue his study of the book, Dureyl took it upon himself to steal the book and safeguard it until such a time as they could come to a consensus on what to do with it. A brief discussion took place about the book but no one could come to an agreement so it resides with Dureyl for the time being.

The Party decided it was time to leave Othren and began their trek out of the catacombs of Caer Aufrain. Continuing along the path they had not yet traveled they encountered a barracks of red cloaks that were under the employ of Osik. A battle ensued leaving four red clocks dead from electrocution and one dead from grievous flesh wounds. The remaining red cloak and captain of the group saw reason in giving up the unwinnable fight. He was further convinced via magical means to dismiss the rest of the guards waiting above ground and to help the party uncover the blocked path back through the complex to the imprisoned Wildoar family, finally freeing them.

As everyone left Caer Aufrain and saw sunlight for the first time in a few days the fog which had enshrouded the island of Othren began to lift. The Party watched as the remaining red cloaks dispersed onto their ship and left. Walking down the hill toward Kelis, the Wildoars reflected on their survival, lamenting the complete loss of their entire village.

Boarding the The Tiara, Gloria Wildoar was finally reunited with her mother and brother. The ship then set sail back to Villben.

[5/23/2017]

Upon arrival at the port in Villben, Captain Harold Finchester said his goodbyes to The Party and to the Wildoars as they made their way into town. As evening approached, everyone had a need to barter with the local merchants but all businesses seemed to be closed as almost the entire city was funneling into the square in front of Cors' Manor.

A temporary gallows was found to have been scaffolded in front of the manor entrance for the city folk to witness the demise of Grim, the former thieves guild leader and right hand man of Lady Dahlia. Upon a platform on the gallows stood Lucrezia Vash, Lord Armand Cors and a third gentleman with a long blue gray ponytail and a mostly shaved head wearing monk garb. An undulating, magical rune could be found above the entrance to the manor.

The city guard brought out Grim, a man who scoffed at Lucrezia and lamented the new leadership of the city. The crier announced the execution of Grim and listed his offenses before the mob. Expressing no recalcitrance, the gallows trap door was opened the body began to swing lifelessly from the noose.

After the unpleasant event, Lucrezia found the Party and requested their presence in the manor for a discussion about recent events. They obliged and a meeting took place in a nicely furnished sitting room in which the Party was also introduced to Master Eldath, a mysterious and ostensibly ancient man who seemed to have a well-developed knowledge of the Tome of the Banished, held by Dureyl.

Master Eldath took the time to explain the history of The Doomed Trilogy and how thousands of years ago a blackfire dragon named Alhandra used the books to wrest control of nearly the entire material plane of Gl'rel by raising an undead army. The books, when brought together could channel the souls of the living directly to Cyric himself. Gaining Dureyl's trust, Eldath took the book into safekeeping while charging the Party with a quest to retrieve the second book which Eldath could feel pulsing from somewhere in Del Gohrum.

Eldath also reclaimed the Eye of Gilmadrith from Lucrezia.

The Party then decided to rent some horses and a wagon and set off for Del Gohrum after making their way around to the various merchants of the city.

Part 2: The Doomed Trilogy

[6/6/2017]

Having decided to shave a few days off of their journey, the Party chose to take Merric's Pass through the Gora Mountains.

After settling down from the first long day of their trek, the full moon came out while the Party was camping and triggered the lycanthropy curse which had afflicted Orsik after he was bitten by one of the wererat brothers back in Othren. The curse transformed the dwarf bard into a snarling creature with no memory of its true self. The group threatened, everyone woke from their sleep and acted to incapacitate Orsik without doing any permanent damage. Gre$ha did her best to grapple the wererat while Brennan used his abilities to hold Orsik in place.

After a pummeling, the wererat Orsik succumbed to his wounds and lost consciousness. The Party quickly tied him up in case the curse decided to take hold again during the night. Thankfully, the rest of the evening was uneventful and Orsik woke up with Dureyl watching over him waiting for another transformation. Orsik, however, did not remember what had happened to him.

The full moon behind them, the Party continued on their route to Del Gohrum through Merric's Pass. After several hours travel into the mountains, they came across an abandoned wagon containing some foreboding statues of people, some whole, some partial. Finding nothing of value, they continued on until the large overarching shadow of a stone giant fell upon them, wielding a massive club and grunting in his primitive language.

A battle ensued in which the giant called upon the help of his pet basilisk to bring down the intruders and turn them into statues of his own. The group of adventurers proved too much for the giant to handle and he fell after several attempts to crush some of the Party members.

[6/27/2017]

Two more basilisks caught up with the ensuing battle in an attempt to defend their fallen master. Orsik tries to force them to stand down by conjuring a major image in the likeness of the stone giant. Some of the basilisks were fooled for a moment giving Stumbleduck enough time to throw a few fireballs at their feet. Eventually the creatures were defeated.

Continuing on their heading of Merric's Pass, Stumbleduck noticed a fleeting trail of blood and stone which led up an offshoot path into the mountain side. While Dureyl wanted to continue on the path and ignore the potential trap, the good-willed nature of the rest of The Party prevailed and they took the alternate path. Gre$ha decided to take watch by the wagon and horses. The rest of the group explored the other path only to find the mouth of a large cave that extended into the mountain and around a corner. Dureyl reluctantly headed into the cave finding broken wagon pieces, broken statues and the carcasses of several beasts of burden.

Peaking around the corner of the cave interior, Dureyl found two more stone giants busy working on something. He saw a large stone wall that had been collapsed and rebuilt by the giants. They had also painted some sort of motif on the rocks to give the area significance. A humanoid figure paced slowly inside a giant-sized wicker basket turned upside down and held in place by a large rock placed on top.

After quietly alerting the rest of The Party, the group made their best attempt to stealthily enter the cave. Stumbleduck, however, unaware of the nearby danger came bounding into the cave loudly asking Dureyl what he saw. While face palming, Dureyl took the opportunity to loose an arrow at one of the now approaching giants. Engaging the stone giants, Leopold took some heavy damage from a great club as he attempted to protect his allies. As Brennan called for help from Gre$ha, he did his best to keep everyone healed up during the fight. Taking a few fireballs and guiding bolts, the giants soon fell.

Charging into the cave with great axe held high, Gre$ha was downtrodden to learn that the battle had already been won. The Party was able to free the oafish but thankful Ammir Thorngage from the wicker cage, a fishmonger and native of Del Gohrum who had been recently captured by the giants.

Happy to leave the domain of Merric's Pass, The Party descended into the valley and after a few hours entered the small trading hub of Tora. There, they met the dwarf warrior Gundren Oathkeeper, local authority figure and constable of the area. They took in the tall statue of Rao, patron god of traders and travelers, in the middle of Tora. Orsik was almost immediately stolen away by a prostitute from the Golden Garter, a tavern and house of lady favors. The tall leggy brunette who stole him away begged him to perform alongside a harpsichord player. Dureyl decided it was prudent to have a few drinks at the bar.

Drawing some attention from a rather excellent performance, the de facto leader of Tora and proprietor of the Golden Garter, Madame Inaleth invited Orsik and his friends to a private dinner. After being led up to a private dining room and served by the employees of the tavern the group discussed their mission. Inaleth revealed to the group that the Valstahd Mine in Del Gohrum has been experiencing frequent collapses which almost always result in the deaths of many of The Unseen, the lowest caste of dwarves in Del Gohrum tasked with mining the minerals and gems which keep the economy of the city going. Ammir confirmed her summation of the problem, extrapolating a bit on the structure of the caste system. The Party learned that the contact they must seek out in Del Gohrum is named Uleas Boulderbeard, a prominent figure in the Valstahd Commission, the organization which oversees operation of the mine.

After everyone but the pious Leopold had availed themselves of the free services provided by the Golden Garter they turned in for the first night in a bed since their new quest began.

[7/16/2017]

Waking up early in the Golden Garter, Dureyl went to find a courier who was about to head out for the day and gave him a note to pass along to his contact. In the letter, Dureyl asks if the collapses reportedly occurring in Valstahd Mine have anything to do with disturbances in the Underdark. The Party then spent a short time preparing for the remainder of their trek to Del Gohrum by stocking up on a few needed provisions.

It was about midday when the group passed by the edge of Aukeen's Vale. It was decided that half the group would go hunting in the vale since foraging animals could clearly be seen at a distance near the lake. Dureyl, Leopold and Stumbleduck made their way through some of the brush between the road and the vale taking in the view of the strangely colored plants. The air itself almost seemed to sparkle. Entering a clearing, the hunting party was able to identify three horse-like creatures grazing by the water. One of the creatures had a spiral horn protruding from its head and turned to observe the hunters. Dureyl recognized the beast as a unicorn and gave it a verbal warning to flee. It thanked him for sparing it and immediately disappeared along with the two horses by its side. The search for fresh meat foiled, the group returned to the rest of the party.

Meanwhile, Brennan, Gre$ha and Orsik decided to follow the crying sound they heard emanating from the forest beside the vale. Getting closer to the sound, the group enters a circular area of the forest that looks as if it has completely withered and died with a large dead tree offset from the center. A sprite was discovered on top of the tree as it trained its small bow and arrow on the group. Noticing they were well equipped for a fight, the creature's curiosity overcame its fear and it introduced itself to the group as Xiomara, a protector of this part of the forest. Xiomara was crying because her forest appears to be slowly dying. All she could tell the group is that the evil pervading the area is coming from the mountain near Del Gohrum. She joined the party in an effort to discover and dispel this evil.

Oddly, it took over 3 hours for all the party members to return to their cart and to a frustrated but patiently waiting Ammir Thorngage. Proceeding on, they were able to get as far as the foot of the hill leading up to the entrance of Del Gohrum. The night was quiet and uneventful.

The next morning the party made their way into the city unmolested by the guard. A busy main street greeted them as a citizenry of mostly dwarves ambled about fulfilling their daily duties. After a long walk the group made their way into the Plaza of Rao, a large open area with a fountain and statue devoted to the god of wisdom. Overlooking the plaza is the Great Library, a large, tall white building unmistakable among the city landscape. A few of the group decide to enter looking for information on the mine or associated subjects.

The docent who greets them leads them to the library under croft where all the volumes dealing with the Infernal Reign and the Doomed Trilogy reside. A few books plucked from the shelves by the docent revealed some information the mine and of their quarry. Firstly, the mine itself is powered by a geo-thermal generator stored deep within. Secondly, the book they seek is stored in a device called The Oubliette which seems to be some manner of prison for magical artifacts.

Proceeding on, the group contacted Uleas Boulderbeard inside the Valstahd Commission building. They learned some more details about the nature of the mine collapses as well as the other parties who have entered seeking to find the problem. A magical pulse seems to echo through the mountain originating from somewhere within. Uleas suggests they find the Tarlagh Tunnel which leads to the generator and possibly the source of the disturbances.

Before entering the mine, the party connected with Galrik Thunderbelt, foreman of the mine and sister to the missing Siboline Thunderbelt. They spoke briefly before one of the magical pulses rips through the mountain somehow causing a large group of miners to flee out of the entrance.

Stepping into the fray, the group encountered two crystalline devils inside a previously collapsed tunnel. Gre$ha was hit with a suggestion from one devil and ended up burying her axe in Leopold before the spell wore off. They were able to dispatch the first devil, while the other seemingly transformed into a very valuable looking gem which Stumbleduck picked up and placed in the bag of holding.

[7/23/2017]

Following the lead of Galrik Thunderbelt, the group continued further into the mine entering a pitch black section made of the strange green-tinged material, slightly translucent ore known as condite. Just inside this path a dead dwarf warrior wearing a broken horned helmet could be found. Removed the Holy Half-Horn from his head caused his body to set off a poison dart trap catching those nearest to the body.

Further into the tunnel, a large black mass fell from the ceiling. Fighting it proved to be rather difficult as any close contact to it would result in heavy acid damage. Leopold, unfortunately in his effort to protect the group was sucked into the creature. Thankfully, he was pulled out after a rather rough exfoliation. The creature eventually split into two entities causing damage to equipment and weapons until both were dispatched. After defeating the creature, another energy pulse swept through the mountain.

Continuing into the generator storage room, a group of undead dwarves could be seen trying to clamor on top of a large cog, atop which a dwarven woman was tied. After laying waste to the zombies, the woman was identified by her brother as Siboline Thunderbelt.

As the party entered the large cavernous generator room they see the massive machine churning away on magma pumping in directly from an unknown source in the mountain. Additionally a water source could be heard feeding the machine with precious steam. The energy produced could be seen channeling through conduits made in part with the green mineral condite. Nearby one of the conduits was an old stone wall that had been recently broken into.

Inside the broken wall, the Oubliette could be found containing a square room with a floating stone box about the side of a bedroom. Underneath an emitter of some sort channels energy out seemingly the source of the pulses. Through a viewing window a woman and hooded figure could be seen operating one of the conduits. Proceeding past the box and into the control room, the woman was revealed to be Lady Dahlia Cors. Galrik Thunderbelt reveals himself to be none other than Lord Ralief Cors. As Dureyl got closer to the hooded figure, he recognized him as the undead form of Grim, the man everyone watched hang back in Villben.

After a brief scuffle, Lady Dahlia smashed the conduit, sending a very powerful surge of energy into the emitter causing the box to fall and crush the device. A blast echoed out from the emitter knocking everyone prone.

Exiting the box, a female tiefling with black eyes exits.

[8/13/2017]

Recovering from the blast of energy and shock wave of the collapsing stone container, the party begins their assault on the new foe who identifies herself as Kallista, the sister of Lady Dahlia.

Gre$ha, exhausted from the occasional telepathic annoyances of Lord Ralief, took a running swing at her foe, cleaving him nearly in half from groin to neck, sending his ashen corpse back to the Nine Hells. Her raging fury didn't stop there however as she delivered another deadly slice to Grim, the undead servant of Lady Dahlia, turning his form to dust.

Determined to escape her prison, Kallista hit back hard at the group with her necrotic magic and blackfire spells. The might of the group proved too effective though as Brennan doubled down on his holy magics, dealing a critical blow to Kallista and engulfing the room in holy light. When the dust settled, in the place where the tiefling warlock once stood, an ancient black book lay open, pages turning over gently.

Orsik kicked the book closed for good measure, sealing the dark mistress inside for the time being. Searching the dead body of Audrion Theora the mage, Stumbleduck finds a satchel containing a fair measure of gold along with a scroll of Speak with Plants and a marble statuette of an elephant.

After a short recovery from the battle, the party proceeds out of Valstahd Mine finding little resistance to the exit. Outside the mine entrance, the Unseen are preparing equipment to make repairs to the sections which were damaged. Cresting the top of the hill pointing down into the city, a terrible sight catches the attention of all in the area, including Xiomara. The black pockmark that the party found in Aukeen's Vale began to visibly spread across the entirety of the vale, turning it black.

After acquiring a certificate of escrow from Uleas Boulderbeard for services rendered, the group cashes out on their new found windfall. Leopold, took a few hundred gold and delivered some charitable provisions to the thankful people of the Unseen. Some shy away, seemingly afraid of what might be expected in return as they are not used to charity. For many though, hunger overrides caution and they are able to overcome their suspicion of the generosity. Orsik spent his new found gold on a lightweight mithral chain shirt boosting his defense.

Regrouping at the Gilded Flagon to enjoy their victory, Gre$ha challenges the strongest dwarf in the bar to an arm wrestling contest. All goes well until an attempt by Leopold to infuse Gre$ha with qi power does not go unnoticed. Flipping the stone table, a bar fight ensues in which Brennan used his stone shaping to form a protective egg around himself anticipating the worst. A performing Orsik managed to sway nearby aggressors to his side with a cleverly rhymed refrain. The remaining dwarf was quickly charmed by Leopold and convinced to hand over forty gold for losing the wrestling match. Festivities resumed.

After speaking briefly with Master Eldath, the group met up with him in the morning to secure the book. He took them to his stronghold, the Island of Stasis, which resides on another plane. There, in the void realm with blackened sky and blue grass Kallista was sealed behind an anti-magic case preventing The Tome of the Deceived from regaining its tiefling form. Sitting down to a meal on the island, the group learn of the final book and a ritual which must be performed to access it using Leopold as the key. Four items must be acquired to perform the ritual: 1) the skull of a chief monk of Belhaven, 2) an artifact from the celestial planes, 3) an artifact from the Nine Hells, and 4) a scroll containing the incantation required to power the ritual. Master Eldath fulfilled one of the requirements by handing over a locket which was supposedly crafted on the planes of Elysium.

Eldath instructs the party to begin their search in Gurst where Paelias, an old and dangerous acquaintance of Dureyl's holds information on the ritual scroll. The group is sent, one final time across the planes back to Gl'rel on the outskirts of Gurst.

[9/03/2017]

After camping out in the outskirts of the town of Gurst, the party prepares themselves for the inevitable encounter with the Bespoken, and Paelias, the leader of the shadowy organization. Dureyl decided to hang back a bit and wait and work on his disguise, hoping not to alert the Bespoken to his presence. He would arrive into town later, separate from the group and perform a little reconnaissance.

Upon entering the city, a group of guards were found to be leading a cart filled with mostly edible food out of the town. The beggars, homeless and orphans all took part in claiming what they could from the cart with a few guards hand delivering food wrapped up separately to the oldest of the downtrodden.

Walking further into town, it became clear that Gurst is a lake town, with buildings and homes built on top of large wooden stilts driven down directly into the lake. A floating mass of wood blocks and barrels created makeshift pontoons which doubled as the main thoroughfares of the town. Along these thoroughfares the party encountered a building that served as a notice board for the town. Three missing person notices caught their eyes as they all seemed to be recent. The notices also pointed to someone known as The Duchess for more information.

Finding her home near the end of the town in a cozy two story home, the group introduced themselves to Marzana Smallbriar, aka The Duchess, sister to the murdered halfling bard, Lorne Smallbriar, back in Villben. Marzana told the group about the death of her father and brother and how she has done her best to administrate the town and keep it running. Many musical instruments decorated the home, tokens of her brother. Her father's portrait hung over the small hearth in the house. Gre$ha and Marzana exchanged notes on hairstyles and decided they should reconvene later for a proper makeover. The disappearances of the three townsfolk, two scouts and a local fighter named Karden Doom-Rag. Marzana also makes the group away of the local thieves guild which hang out mainly at Moors Den.

Deciding to gather more information about the missing persons, they travel to Moors Den where Orsik overtly asks a lookout where he can find the Thieves' Guild. He bribes the man and he reluctantly lets them into the damp and musty establishment. The barkeep explains how the group has lost scouts of their own to a passing orc raiding party which could be found heading west. They were quickly encouraged to leave the premises after some tomfoolery.

After the meeting, the group heads over to the local tavern, Zenton's Downhaul where they partook in the local drink called mudwater, a licorice tasting liquor. Eventually Dureyl caught up with the group in the tavern after checking out his future meeting place with Paelias.

The next day, the group employs as much subterfuge as possible when approached the east dock of the town. Two men with black leather clothing and daggers attached to their belts stood guard at the end of the wharf, with an old stone building converted into a warehouse standing about 60 feet out from them. Two more individuals in similar clothing sat in a small rowboat playing cards.

Approaching the two men, Dureyl and Orsik played a game of who's who as the ostensible members of the Bespoken told them that Paelias would speak with only Dureyl. Leopold added some confusion to the mix as he attempted a rather successful acrobatic leap over the mean and attempted to climb on to the wooden platform which bordered the stone warehouse. He was denied entry with a boot to the face a couple times before relenting and swimming back to the dock.

Relenting, Dureyl decided to go alone to the warehouse where he finally met face to face with Paelias who employed some short lived cloak and dagger with someone pretending to be himself. After killing the failed actor, he sat down with Dureyl and told him of the item that he sought, a cube made of chain link which was hidden somewhere in the old ruined castle of Duneagle. This was also the location where the traveling orc band had been heading.

Paelias presented a map to the old ruin by calling in Dureyl's sister, Ashara, who was long-presumed to have died at the time Dureyl's family was murdered. She had been convinced of her brother's culpability in the murder of their family and has seemingly been raised by the Bespoken as an agent. A bit shaken, Dureyl returned to the group with news of their next quest.

[9/17/2017]

Leaving Gurst, the party headed west in search of Duneagle to find the chain link artifact.

Along the path, the party stopped briefly as they heard the low frequency beat of approaching footsteps, many of them. They barely managed to hide away behind nearby rocks and trees as an orc war band of 30+ warriors tore through the area. The leader of the band, a stout, heavily armored orc riding a worg was forced to stop briefly as his mount began to sniff out the hiding party. Thankfully, the orc had no patience for the sidetrack and reined up on the worg forcing him back on track.

Crisis averted, the group continued onward toward the ruined castle of Duneagle. When they arrived, they found the fort guarded by the remnants of the orc hideout. Several rangers kept vigil in the crumbling ramparts above the keep while a small group patrolled the ground level near the entrance.

Noticing a crumbling wall on the west side of the keep, the group moved around that way and attempted to sneak in. The climb was difficult for some, but eventually they were able to scurry up and into the interior of the orc's stronghold. Dureyl snuck up into one of the towers and dispatched one of the rangers whose body fell from the ramparts onto the sharpened logs below alerting the ground patrols.

The group prepared for a battle as orcs from inside and out rushed into the west side of the building. Dureyl was able to dispatch a ground patrol. Leopold employed a burst of speed to make a dextrous leap from the ramparts and managed to flank the orcs on the ground even after falling into a pit of sharpened spikes, taking minor damage. Fireballs and javelins went flying as a group of orcs who were having a meal engaged with the group.

After dispatching the wretches, the party moved into a room filled with refuse and the bodies of two men who were presumed to be the scouts for which notices were posted back in Gurst. A small chest lay among the rubble that triggered a trap of falling rocks on the head of Dureyl as he extricated the treasure containing an hourglass and potions of healing.

In the next room, a small group of orcs cheered on an orog who fought an exhausted barbarian man. They decided to assist the man by loosing several arrows into the orog, slowing him down and breaking up the fight. Flanking the orcs, the party managed to take them out and discover that the man was Karden Doomrag, one of the missing persons which Marzana Smallbriar had identified. He told them that he had been captured by the war band a few days prior along with the scouts who had undergone the same treatment, but fell to the orcs' physical tests of strength.

With the barbarian trailing behind, the group continued on into the lower floor where Dureyl succumbed to a second trap of falling rocks as he tried to open a door. This alerted the orcs in the common room ahead where yurts and a hearth fire were set up indicating a living area. A battle ensued in which Stumbleduck employed some lightning and mage armor to counter the rallying cry of the orc blade of ilneval. After clearing this room, the group discovered a whelping pit where two orc claws of luthic defended a group of orc whelplings with two cave bears watching from behind.

After some rather primitive conversation, the group came to an agreement with the orcs to allow the female orcs and their little ones 24 hours to leave.

Heading down a set of stairs further into the bowels of the keep, the group encountered a statue of a regal looking warrior which seemed to be guarding a large stone door against which the orcs and placed a makeshift barrier of wood, rocks and metal to keep the doors from being opened from either side. The placard on the statue read:

May Lord Tivus Olgarion, Steward of Duneagle and Huntmaster of the Kropek Wilds forever guard the tomb of his kin from those of dishonorable countenance.

Deciding this was a good place for a long rest, Stumbleduck set up an arcane alert at the entrance of the keep. Dureyl decided to speak with Master Eldath by lifting the mirror from Leopold's pack, however he awoke during the theft. After discerning that Dureyl wanted to learn about Eldath's affiliation with Paelias Leopold relented his hold on the mirror and stood out of view to listen in on the conversation.

Eldath's face appeared and the two spoke of Paelias, learning that both men occupied a role in keeping The Balance of the material plane. While as leader of the Harpers, Eldath employed his agents to bring about positive changes in the world to prevent utter chaos, Paelias as leader of the Bespoken used the negative nature of his organization to enforce order in his own way. Dureyl expressed concern about the safety of his wife, Aunlia after Paelias intercepted his message to her back in Del Gohrum. To his reprieve, Eldath passed the mirror to Aunlia who was apparently in safe keeping inside the Silent Keep. She told him not to worry about her safety and to continue his mission. Eldath also was able take a guess at identifying the artifact that Paelias was after, The Diviner's Prison, an enchanted cube made of chain links which has the ability to permanently capture the attention and sensor of a spellcaster who tries to scry on the person holding the artifact.

Resting in this area proved problematic as Stumbleduck's alarm went off some time during the night. The party awoke and after a sweep of the castle, the orc women and the whelplings had left along with their pet bears apparently leaving through the front.

Luckily, the party was able to continue their rest. As they dreamt however, visions of the next room danced through their heads. Gold and treasure occupied their thoughts leaving a last impression of the wealth to be found when they awoke the next day.

Moving the clutter and reinforcements from the stone door took some time but was an easy enough task for the seven of them. As they entered the next room, they found a crypt containing seven coffins, one for each of them. They opened a few as Gre$ha threw the lids off the sarcophagi breaking them into pieces. Soon after, two otyughs emerged from burrow holes in the walls on their three stumpy legs with spiked tentacles flailing wildly. After getting manhandled by the creatures, the group finally managed to put them down and Stumbleduck took one of their teeth for later use.

In the remaining stone coffins, the group found some good loot including The Diviner's Prison.

[11/16/2017]

After clearing out the fort of Duneagle, the party retraced their steps to the front of the ruined structure to investigate a small shed at the front of the barricade. Inside they found the severed heads of several humans, presumably scouts sent to surveil the orcs all with their right eye missing.

After they leave the shed, the party found themselves stealthily surrounded by members of the Bespoken who requested that they relinquish The Diviner's Prison in exchange for the information they seek. They begrudgingly gave up the artifact to learn that the individual they are looking for is named Kasmar, a non-human creature who lives near the sea in the depths of the Kropek Wilds, a lush forest to the southwest of Gurst.

The group decided to return to Gurst in order to escort the exhausted Karden Doomrag back to Marzana Smallbriar who granted the party a reward of gold for their efforts. Along the path they discovered the bodies of the orc females and their whelplings unceremoniously discarded halfway into the woods.

When they reached Gurst, a battle had clearly taken place. After speaking to some of the guards, the party learned that the town was still smoldering from a recent clash with the orc raiding party the group had passed on their way to Duneagle. They quickly made their way back to the home of The Duchess. Karden promptly passed out in her living room while Orsik began to admire the musical instruments that belonged to her brother. He discovered that several of them were magical. After trying a shawm that seemed to generate a bubble of silence around the player, Orsik tried a dulcimer which put Marzana to sleep while her hair was being braided by Gre$ha. Finally, he played a war drum which brought with it a disembodied chorus, though no other effect could be observed from playing it. Orsik bartered with Marzana for the dulcimer which he acquired for a modest sum.

Back on the path westward, the party took a hard turn south toward the Kropek Wilds on their search for the mysterious Kasmar. After a few full days travel, they reached an area of the forest near the sea where a tall, smooth, twisted stone tower with cracks came into view. The cracks had dark objects attached to them that looked almost like sutures. The flora surrounding the tower differed greatly from the nearby forest biome and was reminiscent of the life that the group witnessed in their brief jaunt through Aukeen's Vale where some of them met a unicorn.

Making their way through the strange flora, Stumbleduck made use of his speak with plants scroll to converse with a small blue flower. It told him that there were 8 creatures residing inside the tower and that you could enter by flying or simply walking. As they got closer to the tower, they could plainly see that the sutures which appeared to be holding the cracks of the tower together were made of dark hair.

After the spell faded they reached what looked like the front door. An elliptical etched groove where a door would normally be was the only visible sign of an entrance. Brennan observed the thickness of the tower wall and decided to use stone shape to fold back the vestigial door of the tower, gaining entrance to the first floor.

Inside, cages of various animals hug randomly through the floor. It was fairly dark but a candlelight could be seem flickering from the floor above along a stairway attached to the side of the tower. More hair could be found inside, omnipresent along the walls and the ceiling and slowly undulating as it moved absentmindedly along the structure. Light footsteps could be heard from directly above. They called out to whoever was above them, identifying themselves.

An excited elf-life woman came running down the stairs who the group found to be very familiar but couldn't quite place her. Dureyl on the other hand recognized her immediately as a now human-sized Xiomara, the young sprite girl that adventured with them from Aukeen's Vale into the Valstahd Mine back in Del Gohrum. She seemed a bit out of breath and explained that she was frantically trying to brew a potion to negate the hair coursing its way through the tower and disabling her master, Kasmar. She asked for the group's help in determining which of the four ingredients she had narrowed down to use in her potion.

Seeking more information on the ingredients, Dureyl snuck up into the third floor where the form of Kasmar could be seen covered in his own hair which seemed to be possessed of its own will. He hung from the center of the room about 15 feet off the ground suspended by tendrils of his own hair. His eyes were rolled back in his head and appeared a full white color. Dureyl made his way deftly to a desk where several books could be found, including a journal written by Kasmar open to his last entry. He mentioned making a potion to increase the growth rate of his hair and using eye of xorn as a main ingredient. This did not assist them in understanding the ingredients they had to work with so Dureyl returned to the third floor to seek more books. It was at this time that Stumbleduck decided to assist in his search and when he entered the third floor whispered out to Dureyl which unfortunately caught the attention of Kasmar.

A battle ensued in which the hair tried to ensnare Dureyl. Reacting to the presence of the party, Kasmar summed a creature made of earth out of the floor of the tower itself which Leopold leapt in front of. The party fought both creatures while Kasmar was freed from his hairy bonds and managed to hurl two large rocks at the group. After the earth creature was destroyed by a powerful lightning bolt, Kasmar was hit with a similar blast, singing his hair and breaking the rest of his bonds. The form of the small, stout creature dropped to the floor imbuing him with seemingly supernatural strength.

A final lightning bolt brought down Kasmar rendering him unconscious. Xiomara rushed up the stairs with a potion at the ready, but upon seeing her master on the floor, she dropped the flask as it smashed upon the floor and rushed to his side.

[12/3/2017]

After reviving the singed Kasmar, the party speaks to him about the incantation they are supposed to acquire. Kasmar tells them that he is the neutral guardian of the balance, the third point on a triangle including Paelias and Eldath. When the balance tips one way, he helps push the other way. He used to keep a hard copy of the Wigard's Gate incantation handy until he was befriended one day by a wizard named Orghast Filarion who gathered what information he could about the incantation and then stole it, fleeing to Belhaven where he caused the disaster at the monastery. As a result of that event, Kasmar never puts the incantation into scroll form and keeps it solely in his head. He also issues a warning to the party that if they do not have the correct material components when using the incantation it will go as smoothly as it did last time. He describes what each is for, but is unsure why the party requires a skull of a chief monk of Belhaven until he notices Leopold's situation. He tells them that Leopold was an unfortunate bystander during the disaster and needs the skull as an additional component to release him from his link to Wigard.

The party manages to convince Kasmar of their intentions to put an end to The Doomed Trilogy and Wigard with the help of Eldath. Kasmar gifts two books to Stumbleduck: Consequences of Death Eschew and Burned Sky, two volumes which will expand his understanding of magic if read without interruption for 12 hours. Over the course of 24 hours, Kasmar writes a scroll for Wigard's Gate.

The next day, scroll in hand, the party finishes up questioning Kasmar about the incantation and the material components when Eldath makes an appearance. He is bemused that Kasmar was the steward of the incantation. He goes over the remaining artifacts the party must acquire and suggests that he has found a possible candidate for the hellish artifact. He reveals that he has been in contact with his "extended family" and has gleaned several facts from them about the succubus Lady Dahlia. Her real name is in fact, Ferrera, and if there was a royalty in hell she was most assuredly be a princess. He impresses upon the group that they had previous had contact with her sister, Kallista, when they fought her in the mines at Del Gohrum. Ferrera is the chosen daughter of her father and the one who is charged with returning the volumes to him so that he can choose a new protege and usher in a new Infernal Reign. Ferrera was also granted a token of favor from her father that was crafted from the claw of Alhandra himself. This token would count toward their requirement for a hellish artifact.

Eldath suggests scrying for her and gives the party a Scroll of Scrying. He advises them that he has never met her so his chances of finding her were low, but he would be willing to perform the task if they wished it. Stumbleduck, never one to back down from a magical challenge decided to cast the spell. Making little work of the 5th level spell, he left his body and sought out the wayward succubus. Eventually, his censor settled on a small clearing inside the now dead Aukeen's Vale. There his glimpsed the fiendish woman near a stone fountain. He noticed she was carrying something in her hand before he was able to end the scry, the object forced Stumbleduck into it, sealing his consciousness inside the object and unable to return to his body.

After a few moments, Stumbleduck's face began to contort with pain as blood began to run down his arm. Wiping away the blood, the party reveal a message scrawled into his flesh:

“Your constant meddling has come to an end.

I’ve bound and trapped your magical friend.

Come find us both in the vale of death.

Or he’ll suffer and writhe until his last breath.”

The party began in earnest to find him, knowing that the message most likely referred to Aukeen's Vale. They said their quick goodbyes to Xiomara and the korred Kasmar. Unable to help the poor gnome, Eldath was able to plane shift the party to his Island of Stasis for a brief reprieve. Gre$ha swaddled Stumbleduck and tied him firmly to her back. Dureyl met up with his wife to confirm her situation and then they were off again back into the Material Plane, near the entrance to the vale.

The bodies of several dwarfs with armor reminiscent of that from Del Gohrum litter the tree line. They all appear to have succumbed to slashing wounds. As they made their way into the forest, the blacked husks of the trees made for a melancholy environment. Walking through it felt as if all positive emotions has been sucked from their very beings. After several hours of travel, some activity beyond the slow howl of the wind broke the silence. The clattering of chains became more prominent as desiccated vines and dried moss were replaced by rusted chains strung throughout the trees.

An infernal hunting party managed to catch up with the group as howls and flickers of flame caught their attention. Two hellish looking humanoids wreathed in flame without faces rode atop mounts that looked like horses from a nightmare. Three hounds of otherworldly provenance surrounded them and a battle ensued. The hounds' fire breath proved the most difficult obstacle for the party to avoid, but they managed to hold their own against the hellish suits of armor. Singed but alive, they managed to dispatch their attackers.

After a brief respite, the group continued on following the ringing sound of chains. They finally found their target, a small grove with a large stone fountain with elvish script wrapping around the edge. From the center structure of the fountain a steady stream of blood flowed forth. A skillfully-carved statue of Aukeen herself stood over the fountain with an arm outstretched. At the front of the fountain, seated on the lip, an imp played a discordant tune on a rather ugly stringed musical instrument. The imp stopped playing when he saw the group and held up the Diviner's Prison, pretending to poke and prod at it. The center of the device glowed brightly with the captured censor of a creature.

Dureyl decided to take matters into his own hands and fired an arrow clean through the imp's head causing him to fall backward into the bloody fountain as the artifact slipped beneath the surface behind him. This triggered something, as the blood level in the fountain began to rise. Two humanoid figures seemed to rise slowly out of the blood, their bodies wrapped in chains that also swung freely around their bodies. The chains in the trees nearby began to jangle and contort in response. 5 more imps also rose out of the crimson liquid ready to attack.

The party did what they could without the help of Stumbleduck as the chained beings put on masks of loved ones, frightening Gre$ha and then Dureyl. Orsik inexplicably left the battle half-over and disappeared through a dimension door finding himself hundreds of feet away and patiently waiting for some purpose. At some point, after tearing through some of the imps and downing one of the chained friend, Brennan noticed that the statue of Aukeen that has been watching over the fray was now missing. Eventually, the Diviner's Prison was found in the pool of blood. After a few hard cracks with a weapon, the object was destroyed and Stumbleduck's consciousness became his own again.

Meanwhile, Orsik felt the form of a woman sidle up against his own. He felt a pair of lips brush against his. At first, a great pleasure washed over his body but before long the kiss had soured and those lips felt hot and painful as his life essence began to leave his body.

All the fiends around the fountain dispatched, the party began their search for the missing dwarf. Dureyl headed off in one direction and Leopold, another. Leopold was the first onto the scene to confront the animated statue wrapped in the embrace of Orsik. The statue approached Leopold and the veneer of Aukeen was shrugged off as the form of the succubus Ferrera came into view. The two began a heated fight as Orsik tried to defend her. He cast Suggestion on Leopold via Ferrera, sending him back to the party to report on a false location. Due to a hurried suggestion, the spell faded immediately and after a confusing moment, Leopold was able to direct everyone back toward the succubus and their endangered friend.

[2/11/2017]

The group found Orsik nearly unconscious on the ground having been charmed heavily by Ferrera. Near to him lay a ripped and ancient piece of parchment. The Declaration of Statutory Armistice had been left as a message to the party that all bets were off and that the decision to break the contract had been

Heading back to Kasmar's tower to lick their wounds, the group met up again with Master Eldath to discuss options. They had lost their opportunity to acquire Ferrera's hellish artifact and needed a new material component to complete the incantation. They found a replacement in the broken contract. Though it had lost whatever magic bound the original deal, it still qualified.

Eldath offers to transport the group to Belhaven to search for the portal to Wigard's domain.

An old man named Thurmond notices the group apparate out of thin air and engages them in conversation. He also seems to recognize Leopold somehow. He points them up the hill to the monastery where the original incident had occurred.

Once they reached the entrance to the monastery, a small voice cries out, "You're uh, not really going in there are ya?". A sentient cat carrying a small pack on his back greets the party and introduces himself as Busy Bee. He is further convinced to come with the party to help find mice which he had offered prizes for in exchange.

Inside the building, they party found the undead form of Orghast Filarion. He tells the party that he has never left the building and cannot do so of his own free will. Wigard managed to bind him to the Monastery in payment for his failed attempt to free him from his prison.

There is a heated exchange between Dureyl and Leopold as Orghast himself was responsible for the death of Leopold's friends and family. Orghast tells the party of Teska the Revenant, the undead soldier that guards Wigard's domain and warns them of his power.

After speaking to Orghast they soon hear Wigard's voice:

“Even though he desired to serve me, Orghast was of common stock.  He failed in his task to free me and suffered imprisonment along with me.  He was however rewarded for his effort with the blessing of undeath. I am merciful after all.”

The group descends into the monastery and are soon beset upon by a sand golem which they are able to dispatch without much trouble.

Wigard continues to taunt the group as they continue onward. A banshee in the kitchen of one of the fallen monks guards some rather high-quality spices. When she is sent back to the void a note falls from her form revealing her romance with another monk.

Down further the party went until they were face to face with Teska and with the broken portal containing Wigard. The fight did not last long as Teska could not compete the numbers that were thrown at him. Orsik was able to sway his mind while Brennan was able to strike fear into his undead form.

The party decides to rest before their final task. Their dreams are unpleasant and foreboding.

[2/25/2017]

Stumbleduck proceeded with the incantation to open their way forward.

The magically fissured teleportation portal began to crackle with sparkling purple energy as the pieces began to recede further into the ground to form a stairway down into a dark and winding cave.

Entering the main chamber of the prison, the party notices the corpses that have long since rotted away to bones. The chamber itself seems to resemble the inside of a gigantic rib cage.

Wigard himself is perched atop a rocky outcropping. He tries to sway the party to his side and thanks them for opening his prison.

In the center of the chamber, the The Tome of the Forgotten sits inside a glowing blue flame, pages turning listlessly.

Wigard opens up his claws revealing two gibbering mouthers which are the collective parts of his enemies that were slain in the cavernous room. A grueling battle commences. Wigard's forms seems to meld with the very shadow itself making it difficult to get a bead on him. The book inside the flame continuously raises skeletons from the ground itself. After taking a rather brutal hit from Wigard's shadow breath, the party manages to knock the Tome of the Forgotten loose from its perch inside the flame. The skeletons stop raising and they can focus on the dragon.

Nearing death, Wigard is able to regain his breath and breaths the life from the body of Brennan Liadon, a possessed shadow forming his place.

Wigard himself them succumbed to his wounds and perished. His dead form however siphoned power from the blue flame and brought him back to a state of undeath. Angry, he began to claw his way to freedom out of the cave.

Deciding it was time to make use of his relic, Leopold activated the skull of the monk of Belhaven. The gem set into the forehead of the skull began to grow bright and as it did, sucked the blue energy from the center of the room and fighting back the shadows. With the power stored in the skull, Leopold directed it back onto Brennan, reviving his corpse to continue the battle.

After a failed attempt to escape the cavern, Wigard is knocked to the ground where Leopold is able to deliver the final blow.

The group takes his shadowy wings as spoils and are able to recover The Tome of the Forgotten.

Master Eldath is ecstatic to learn of Wigard's defeat. He has been recalled to Elysium and has passed on his duties to Dureyl's wife Anulia who has proven most effective at helping to run the Silent Keep.

Part 3: Breaking the Caste

[3/18/2017]

Three weeks later after eliminating the gravest threat to Gl'rel for two thousand years, the party can be found in Del Gohrum.

In between study binges in the Great Library Stumbleduck manages to contact Celomir and asks him to do something with the wings that he acquired from the dragon. After a few weeks, Celomir gave word that he would be returning with something grand.

The the preceding weeks, some members of the group have been collecting information about the caste system and who may actually be in a position to shake things up in the long-held social structure. An old contact of Dureyl's has managed to reach out saying that he knows someone in a position of power in the black market that could help them. The contact will meet him at a tavern in the evening to discuss.

Ravari from The Guild in Briarport turns out to be the contact and enters the tavern disguised as a cat belonging to a dwarven woman. He speaks to them about his current boss Gremkyl a secretive but prominent member of the black market in which members of the Unseen are frequently patrons. Ravari promises information regarding the movers and the shakers of Del Gohrum and proposes that there may be some leverage the group could gain from the right person. He then turns back into a cat and leaves.

Soon after, Celomir arrives at the tavern in a huff looking for them. He has been robbed of the item he was going to deliver to Stumbleduck on his way back from Kandolir.

The investigation of the missing item leads them back to Tora where they ask around regarding recent robberies to find that a lot of missing dragonborn travelers have been found dead lately related to the robberies. Following a lead, the party proceeds into the Ralakor Badlands where they encounter a nomad hunter by the name of Kilgeash. He permits them entry to the area to search for the highwaymen.

After several hours of search through a canyon, the party finds the encampment. Several men can be seen idling by their camp. After dispatching all but one the group hangs the man from a tree by his arms in order to gain more information. They learn that the group is called the Draconic Inquisitors. It is a very old sect of zealots that roam the country-side eliminating any Dragonborn they come across, thinking that they are all collectively responsible as a race for the Infernal Reign.

The party also recovers Wigard's Shade, a powerful stealth cloak made from the wings of an evil dragon. They return the captured man to Tora for justice and decide what to do next.

[4/22/2017]

Ravari sends word for the group and meets them for breakfast in the basement of the Tipsy Satyr Bar. He tells them about his business dealings in the city over the past two years and how he has worked for a man named Gremkyl. They discuss the politics of the city and Ravari explains to them the tiered caste system of the city. The party asked for information from Ravari on some of the movers and the shakers of dwarven city.

At the end of the conversation, a loud thud could be heard a floor above and armed men came streaming down the staircase. Ravari turned into a rat and tried to make a bee line for the stairs. One of the men was quite perceptive and must have had a history with Ravari because he kicked the rat clean off the staircase and back onto a nearby table which broke his fall as he turned back into a human.

The party fought off the intruders while still full from breakfast. The men were identifiable as more members of the Draconic Inquisitors.

The group also walks away with information about 3 major players in the city's aristocratic landscape. The first was Tharadin Feldspark, a wealthy Vuldur man who was born a Kuldjargh and adopted by a wealthy jeweler. Second was Bonnlin Rubyglint, daughter of a wealthy and influential Peth. Third was Tishnora Darkenwell, an aged scholar, oracle and widow.

The party first approaches Tharadin by speaking to his manservant Jalnik. Dureyl tries to gain his favor under the guise of honest patronage, but Tharadin is very abrupt with his expectation for a legitimate reason to meet with him. The man is surrounded by guards and seems a bit paranoid of danger.

Tharadin explains that his mother was a maid in his father's household. They developed a relationship after his wife passed away. The obvious result was a child who was half Vuldur and half Kuldjargh. His father was shunned and his raw gem and fine jewelry trading business would also have been boycotted if it had not already been a lynch pin of the economy.

After the young boy's mother died of an illness, Tharadin's father officially named the boy his heir, jumping him three levels on the caste system.

About two years ago, Tharadin's father was killed during a robbery of a unique gem that had been found in the mine. Tharadin inherited the jewelry business and keeps it running to this day. He asks the party to help him continue his investigation into his father's death and would reward them for any information leading to a resolution.

Tishnora Darkenwell became the next name of the list to receive a visit from the party. Her maid, Lotoni receives the party at the door and asks them if they are fate-touched. Dureyl responded in the positive and so they were given entry.

Tishnora enters her sitting room, led by Lotomi, barely able to see. She greets the party and begins to divine information about the group, what they've done and what they will do. She tells them of the sickness growing in the earth that has caused Aukeen's Vale to wither. When pressed on what exactly the cause was, she reveals that she believes it is an atropal. She also believes that if it continues to grow unchecked it could wither the entire plane.

After finishing up their tea the party regroups back at the tavern. They were given 5 invitations to Bonnlin Rubyglint's party by Ravari. They have a few drinks and get into their finer wear wondering if they should also don their animal masks.

They make their way through the affluent district of the city to the Rubyglint manor. The entrance and first floor was mostly covered with party goers with a few guards blocking entry to an L-shaped stair case leading up. The group recognizes Uleas Boulderbeard at the party their former patron when he still worked for the Valstahd Commission. Together they go down a floor to the Moving Puzzle. Doing their best to solve the puzzle that changes form, they race to the end among different paths eventually finding an exit. After stepping off the indoor attraction the group notices an Unseen carrying another wounded Unseen through the complex. Through the cracks of the puzzle can also be seen Unseen beneath the puzzle in cramped quarters working the mechanism.

The group heads back upstairs with Bonnlin in tow.

[5/6/18]

Dureyl and Stumbleduck hatched a plan to investigate the floor above, unfortunately Stumbleduck couldn't quite make the jump and Dureyl continued on alone. Dureyl entered Bonnlin's office after some difficult with the trapped door, electrocuting him on contact.

Inside the office, a standing bust of her father Oskars watched Dureyl search through the drawers of her ornate desk. Inside, he found a vaguely written business agreement for Bonnlin to sell some sort of commodity to Gremkyl.

The party soon observes a messenger moving with some haste through the crowd to meet briefly with Bonnlin. He hands her a piece of paper and leaves as quick as he came. Combining Orsik's charm and Dureyl's sleight of hand, the two manage to lift the information from Bonnlin's person finding a note that reads:

• Wesim Mudsunder
• Khourdealsia Stonehorn
• Sirgrina Greyshaper
• Morvorax

Warehouse on 32 Goldmark.  Waiting on word from clients.  All will be claimed soon, you have my word.

They proceed the next day to the location on the map. They incapacitate the only visible guard by forcing him to retch his lunch in an alley. Inside the building, 2 captive beats can be found, a giant scorpion and a giant eagle. 3 Unseen and one Dragonborn Prisoner can also be found in cages. Inside, some Erach and a few Draconic Inquisitors can be heard arguing amongst each other.

Some of the guards try to escape but are ultimately brought down by the party.